I hate you uncle.

Staring out of the window from his seat in the...'bus'...at the featureless darkness of the endless tunnel, Zuko mulled over his problems in an attempt to find a solution.

Although I really should find out how this bus works. If, NO!, when I become Fire Lord, I should take this bus and duplicate it for the army. If we had transports like this we could outmaneuver the Earth Kingdom without the same sacrifices.

Zuko's hair had grown long since he had cut off his ceremonial topknot. The months of living as a traitor of the Fire Nation and refugee had forced him to forgo his royal habits and mannerisms, reducing his sitting posture to a slouch and his superior gaze to mere pride and confidence.

I must admit, once I became used to it, this manner of sitting turned out to be far more comfortable.

A small grimace twisted his face, But every time I sit, I am reminded of my status as an exile and a traitor. How ironic that I finally get the chance to return home, only for it to be as a criminal, instead of as the Crown Prince. The world certainly does have a twisted sense of humor when it comes to me.

With a shake of his head, Zuko broke from his train of thought, refusing to accept self-pity or continue the brooding unworthy of Fire Nation royalty, Not that anyone cares, of course.

Another small shake of the head, I am better than this. I don't need hope, I don't need luck; I'll make my own and earn my rightful place in the Fire Nation, no matter the political scheming of that dishonorable bastard Zhao. All I have to do is find the Avatar, wherever that coward is, and I can gain father's approval and my throne.

Turning from the black surroundings, which he was sure gave rise to his darker mood, he examined the empty seats around him. This bus reminded him of tales he had heard as a child, tales of when Uncle was General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, and the man laying siege to Ba Sing Se, back when Iroh was a man who sent letters to his niece and nephew regarding the magnificent Earth Kingdom capital and its trains.

The fact that this vehicle came closer to the tanks and land trains of his own Fire Nation yet provided superior capabilities to the Earth Kingdom equivalent only enhanced both his pride in his home and his hurt, whispered from the depths of his mind, that he might never see the land of his birth as anything more than a prisoner, let alone an heir to the throne.

Uncle Iroh had arranged for him to come to this school, this 'Youkai Academy' that had avoided detection by the Fire Nation for the past century, so that he could hide from his increasingly persistent sister. Zuko was hesitant to leave his uncle, the closest thing to a true father he had, alone against the world after they had just reunited and after Zuko had finally gotten over his stupidity.

But the old man had continued spouting off about tea and 'proper educations' until Zuko had relented with a roar of frustration. Whenever Zuko asked about his uncle's plans, the old man only gave a mysterious smile and said, "I have many friends who will hide me, but you need a stable place so that you may find yourself."

Zuko had proceeded to remind Iroh of all the 'old friends' who had hunted the two constantly and despite his more respectful attitude he still saw no need for "finding himself" when it would separate the two again.

Constantly distracting the boy with wise remarks and a refusal to answer questions, Iroh had led Zuko to a small Earth Kingdom village and a strange, metal vehicle with many glass windows. Before Zuko figured out what was going on, Iroh had shoved him through the door and waved goodbye, all while smiling happily at the anger and betrayal on Zuko's face.

And now here he was: riding in some strange vehicle under a mountain, a situation that in no way reassured Zuko. If it weren't for his implicit trust in his Uncle looking out for him, he would have blasted his way out an hour ago.

As it were, he had threatened the driver a few times to find out where he was going but only gotten a few creepy leers and glowing eyes from a shadowed face as a reply. Resigned to spend a year at school, he cursed lost time.

Iroh had reassured him that people he knew would look for rumors of the Avatar's return, but Zuko honestly didn't believe that after 100 years of succesfully hiding from the entirety of the Fire Nation military that a few old geezers with a love for tea would catch wind of the ancient bender.

But without a ship and closely followed by his sister, Zuko had little choice but to hide for the time being. He could use this year to train himself, to get stronger, faster, smarter, and better.

"Good. So long as I am going somewhere and have a purpose." I won't be able to dwell on the past.

His brief thought went unspoken, and unacknowledged.

The light in the bus slowly started to brighten, a pinprick of light in the distance coming into focus. Zuko broke from his musings to observe the upcoming surroundings, only for the bus driver to turn around and smile at him, eyes glowing extra bright, "He he he he, you had best prepare yourself now...when we come out of this looooong tunnel, we'll be right in front of the school. Youkai Academy is a veeerrry horrifying school."

Zuko looked at the man and scoffed, unable to resist displaying his contempt for the overdramatic display, "I'm pretty sure I've seen worse before." My sister is ten times scarier than anything I could find at a school, or anywhere else for that matter.

Ignoring the memories of his sister's attempts to drag him home, Zuko stood as the bus came to a halt.

Walking down the stairs, he observed the location of the school and had one immediate thought, Where the hell is this.

The trees, the stormy sky, the dark green cliffs and seas, the random headstones scattered about; nothing seemed to fit anywhere in the Earth Kingdom. Just how far did that tunnel take us?

After one more glance for anything he might have missed, which included the top of some sort of building in the far distance, Zuko let a sigh escape his closed off expression, "Too bad I can't return home."

A cry, a scream really, from behind him had Zuko whirling around, though his preoccupation and the bag he was carrying prevented him from moving out of the way as a bike, one considerably more streamlined than the clunky novelty toys from the Fire Nation, ran right over him.

His head smacked onto a rock, opening a gash that slowly gummed up his hair. Dazed, he tried to sit up and found himself restricted by a small body. Blinking slowly, his vision came into focus and he found himself face to face with a groaning, pink haired girl.

"Owww...I'm sorry. I got dizzy from my anemia. A...are you okay?" The girl looked up at him and Zuko was forcibly reminded of Ty Lee by the rounded face, innocent and questioning eyes, and bright pink hair. There was one big difference though: this girl stunned Zuko with her almost unnatural beauty, rather than a few well-placed jabs to block his chi.

A startled exclamation of, "Oh no! Blood!" brought Zuko back to himself. Finally noticing the sharp pain in his head, he reached up to probe the damage and find out how hurt he might be only for the girl to suddenly invade his personal space holding a handkerchief.

Yep, she and Ty Lee would be immediate best friends.

Before he could push her away, she swayed and fell into him, "Oh...the scent of...blood. I...I can't...I lose control when I smell blood."

Zuko stiffened at the close contact and the forcible reminder of his bloodthirsty sister, How the hell could a girl who looks like that be as bad as my sister?

Except that she had fallen against him, not started throwing fireballs at him.

She looked up at him, drawing slowly closer, and Zuko was at a loss as she continued talking in a soft voice, "I'm sorry but...it's just cuz'...I'm a vampire." And she bit into his neck.

The pain pushed him into battle mode, and he pushed her up and away, rolling backwards and jumping into a fighting stance, prepared to draw his dual dao from their sheathe at his side, "What the hell was that!" he roared.

He silently cursed himself for stupidity, I should know better than to let my guard down around a girl, no matter how pretty. Azula and her friends have taught me that much.

She immediately looked sad, "I'm sorry, I'm Moka Akashiya. Although I look like this, I'm a vampire."

Zuko regarded her suspiciously as he tried to figure out what the hell he had just run headlong into. A vampire? I remember hearing old legends about blood suckers and strange, uncrossed bats.

He hesitantly reached up to touch the two puncture wounds on his neck, wiping some of the leaking blood off while keeping both eyes securely fixed on the girl who had bitten him. Poison? That would probably kill her too though. So not an assassination plot...yet.

He decided to confirm the legends, "So...as a vampire you drink blood?"

She jumped and became excited, "Yes. Thank you so much for the treat! Your blood is so yummy."

Zuko almost immediately facepalmed, but years of dealing with his uncle kept him still, though he lost focus. Great. She's as 'bloodthirsty' as my sister and acts just like Ty Lee. Next thing you know she'll start throwing knives and begin muttering about how boring everything is.

The thought about Mai caused a twinge of sadness to pass through him but he pushed everything aside to pay attention on the situation at hand.

Reluctantly, he followed her down the path to the building that he had seen earlier. She chattered on about various things, until she asked him a rather pointed question, to him at least. "Er...um...so do you hate vampires?"

She looked a bit like a kicked puppy as she said that, and Zuko, never really spending much time with girls his age who weren't attempting to trick or kill him in some way, felt immediately unsure of what to say or do to get rid of the expression that he knew shouldn't be on the girls face.

"Oh...um...no I don't really know anything about vampires. So...uuuhh...I can't say that I hate vampires."

That seemed to be enough for her, because she brightened up and resumed speaking animatedly, "That's great! Then if you're okay with me, please be my friend. I was feeling lonely since I don't know anyone here."

Zuko would have been struck by the radiant smile but his knee-jerk reaction to any situation that he deemed time wasting came to the fore. With more force than necessary he said, "No!"

Her face fell and Zuko felt something that didn't really strike him often, guilt for something he said. He usually didn't care how what he said affected others, but maybe her similarity to Ty Lee, another irrepressible girl that had honestly been as nice to him as circumstances would allow, had him backtrack quickly.

"I'm...I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I just came here for the year to work and I don't really have time for..." Her face, which had risen slightly at his words, again began to fall into a sad frown and he completely lost track of what he said next, "I guess we could be friends. Um...I'm Zuko by the way."

Her shout of happiness and hug caught Zuko by surprise as he attempted to comprehend the sentence that just came out of his mouth.

The class itself was rather bland, the teacher an excitable woman with a strange hairdo resembling cat's ears. It wasn't until she mentioned that "Youkai Academy is a school built for monsters to attend!" that Zuko snapped to attention.

His hard mask dropped along with his mouth as she elaborated, "The world has long been under the control of the humans, and for our continued survival monsters have taken to peacefully coexisting with humanity. At this academy you will be studying 'How to live among humans.'"

Reassembling his indifferent expression, Zuko thought through everything he had just figured out. Okay, so I met a vampire, who sucked my blood. Unless that was a lie. And here I learn that this whole school is a place for monsters to blend in with humans, unless that is also a lie.

His frantic thoughts were broken by a student speaking up one seat ahead and to the right of his, "Hey teacher, would it not be better for us to eat up those puny humans, and in the case of beautiful girls, to molest them.

To be entirely honest, Zuko was never quite sure when he stood up or why, though he certainly agreed with the actions as he spoke up, "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you some dishonorable coward who would force a girl? You disgust me, and if I ever hear about you causing trouble for a girl I'll teach you a permanent lesson."

The boy turned around to glare at Zuko, who glared right back, but the teacher pretended that nothing was going on in the hopes that nothing would go on. "Since this academy is within a secret sacred world, humans who know of it's existence will be put to death or something."

Zuko was so intent on staring down the brown haired punk that when he heard the announcement he merely turned his glare onto the teacher, forgetting to switch to the appropriate facial expression of dumbfounded incredulity.

Uncle sent me to an academy where they would kill me if they discover my identity? How is this any different from the rest of the world? And how did he know of this place?

The sheer number of sucker punches he had taken recently let him breeze over the fact that his life was now in danger, but that didn't keep him from cursing out his uncle with every word he'd picked up from his crew and the ports they had stopped at.

A minute or so later, while the punk continued to glare at him, a voice that Zuko recognized came from the open door, "Sorry I'm late. After the entrance ceremony I kinda got lost in the school."

Moka walked into the classroom to the general awe of the boys and universal envy of the girls as the, frankly ridiculous, shouted exclamations of joy deafened Zuko.

Rubbing his ears, Zuko was startled when Moka noticed him with a loud, "It's Zuko!" and hugged him. She ended up sitting next to him all class while he zoned out and tried to think through his situation. He was leaning towards staying at the academy rather than facing his sister in a hostile Earth Kingdom. Most of the boys in the class did their best to intimidate the boy sitting next to their newfound idol.

Not paying attention as he was, Zuko blankly got up at the bell and found himself getting dragged down the hall by Moka. Surprised by her strength, and unable to resist her infectious happiness, Zuko just went with the flow until Moka was brought to a screeching halt.

Standing in the center of the large hall was the punk who'd spent the class splitting his time between glaring at Zuko and leering at Moka.

"Hmmm, aren't you the pretty one. You are called Moka Akashiya, are you not? I'm your classmate Saizou Komiya. Nice to meet you!" From there, Saizou attempted to grab hold of Zuko by the collar, only to find his hand halted by Zuko's. The two teens paused to stare each other down, though Saizou continued talking.

"By the way, why is a beautiful lady like yourself associating with a guy like this?" The strength behind the hand reaching for Zuko increased, again surprising the firebender, who was forced to take a step back to keep from getting snagged.

As Saizou sneered in triumph, Moka, flustered, grabbed ahold of Zuko's other hand and ran off with him again, "I'm sorry. I'm having fun with Zuko now."

Moka stopped running in an alcove under the stairs, while Zuko regarded her quietly, though a little resentfully. I could have taken that guy.

Leaning forwards a bit, Moka spoke, "That was surprising wasn't it, I got a little scared. Are you okay Zuko?"

Now visibly annoyed, Zuko did his best to keep his tone normal, "Of course I'm fine. Why?"

Moka shrank back a little and haltingly replied, "Oh. I..I was just worried is all."

Wind taken out of his sails at the sad expression and temper fizzling out, Zuko sighed, "Moka...why are you so friendly to someone like me? I have a terrible temper and I'm not exactly an open sort of guy."

Moka interrupted him with an uncharacteristic amount of force, "Dont say that! To me you're not mean or anything Zuko!"

Taken aback by the strength of her statement, and distracted by an unfamiliar warmth in his chest, the teen could only reply with an intelligent, "Huh?"

Outburst over, the beautiful girl became hesitant again, "Be...besides...We're on bloodsucking terms."

As Moka squirmed happily, hands on her cheeks and a blissful smile on her face, Zuko could no longer resist the urge and facepalmed, If you could combine the traits of half the people I know, you'd get Moka.

She again invaded his personal space, leaning forward to place a finger in front of his face, "Be proud of yourself! You have grade A blood Zuko! It's way better than any of the blood packs that I've drank before. It's full-bodied, carries a sensation of heat edged by cold, has a perfect mineral balance, and even tastes a little spicy!"

Wondering how exactly his blood became spicy, Zuko threw up his hands in exasperation, "What am I, food?"

No longer quite so enthusiastic, she answered, "Well...actually you know. Th...that was my first time, Zuko."

"What?" asked Zuko.

Moka smiled again, distracting Zuko, "You're the first person whose body I have ever fed from Zuko. That feeling...I'll never forget it."

Again the strange warmth appeared, accompanied by a wry thought, Well if that isn't a dysfuctional relationship I don't know what is. Wait, yes I do. My family. Brilliant.

And then Moka shoved him into the wall so hard the wood cracked. One hand covered her face shyly, "Oh...I'm so embarrassed."

The two spent the rest of the day exploring the academy, though Zuko accompanied more to keep Moka happy than anything. That and it felt strangely right to just listen to her talk so excitedly about the strange things found all over the school grounds.

He kept up his surly demeanor, but something about the way she had defended him from his own opinion kept the moody teenager interested the entire day. Just under the surface he was glad to have met a person who seemed to just like him, instead of hating or using him.

They returned to the school dorms as the sky got darker, though that wasn't really much of a difference, and Zuko found himself rather nonplussed by the bare trees, haphazard arrangement of buildings, and armies of crows.

Moka, on the other hand, had a comment, as she did about most things, "So cool. This building is so full of character and dignity."

Zuko snorted, "I don't even want to ask." He grew pensive as he looked back from the dorms to regard Moka before gazing wistfully at the horizon, "I wish I could show you where I grew up. Those buildings were truly majestic."

Moka returned the pensive look as Zuko started for the entrance to the boys dorm.

The next morning, Zuko had a formal resignation letter prepared, though he was reluctant to actually make use of it, not to mention that he had no real reason as of yet to leave. He had no idea of the capabilities of the monsters but they were disorganized students, meaning that they were far less of a threat than the Fire Nation military, the Earth Kingdom army, or Azula's head-hunting team, let alone all three factions combined.

As he walked down the path from the dorms to the school buildings, he heard a loud, arrogant voice from his right, "Hey, wait up loverboy."

Turning to the voice, the prince found himself looking slightly up into the face of Saizou, who maintained a superior yet angry expression on his face.

Refusing to be intimidated, though mindful of the strength displayed yesterday, Zuko stared him straight in the eyes, knowing that his scar unsettled most people. Saizou, however, seemed too puffed up in his own impressiveness to care, and started talking again, "It looks like you had a lot of fun with Moka Akashiya yesterday."

With surprising speed, he caught Zuko, who was not expecting much more than a staring contest, and slammed him into a nearby wall.

"And you're gonna pay for it today! What is your true form, huh?"

Zuko kept his face impassive, though he reached up and slapped Saizou's hand aside before the monster could react, and coolly replied, "I'm a vampire."

Saizou's eyes flashed, and he punched the wall next to Zuko's head, breaking a large hole in the wall and causing the rest of the stone to tumble to the ground.

Without flinching, the firebender watched as Saizou worked himself into a frenzy at the failed attempts to push Zuko around, "Vampire you say? Vampires are immortal, powerful monsters. It's even said that they're the best at using youki."

"Are you such a vampire!? Don't lie to me!" he roared, his hand growing several times larger.

Zuko continued to meet the enraged gaze of Saizou, until a flash of uncertainty passed through and the teenaged monster walked away, "Anyway, don't ever go near Moka again! If you even talk to her you're a dead man."

The dead trees whistled in the stormy winds as the clouds swirled overhead. Zuko slipped through the forest, old habits lending his feet stealth.

Holding onto the few belongings that he had left, the banished prince attempted to come to a decision. As it were, he had already signed the resignation letter and was half way to the bus that would take him back to the human world.

He really wanted to think through his decision like his Uncle had been telling him to, but the inevitable conclusion was that he stood a better chance in the Earth Kingdom than here at Youkai Academy.

Saizou had an incredible amount of physical strength, and that was apparently while still in human form. If monster's were capable of that, add in that it was only a matter of time until Zuko was found out, and it was not a question of if he would find himself on the receiving end of deadly strong attacks, it was when. He had a far easier time blending into the refugees inundating the Earth Kingdom cities than he would here among the monsters.

But the further he got from the school, the more he wanted to turn around.

For one, his uncle would have trouble finding him if he left. That included the fact that his uncle sent him to this school for some reason, and Zuko knew his Uncle, for all his faults, was a brilliant man.

Secondly, he kind of liked the idea of just going to an academy for a year. Monsters or not, at least some were reasonable and nice. Why live the life of a desperate man fleeing war with an impossible quest to fulfill when a relatively comfortable life as a student awaited. He could make friends, act his age, and finally go to school with "regular" kids.

The problem was that he had a job to do. He had to find and capture the Avatar, no matter what. He had long since abandoned comfort and fleeting happiness in search of his honor, his home, and his inheritance.

To give up the search now, even knowing that his uncle had spies listening for the Avatar, hit upon his pride and independence. Then again, the encounter with Saizou demanded that he stay at the school; just to prove to the bastard that no snot-nosed little hot head could scare off Prince Zuko.

The only thing that he knew for sure, was that some part of him wanted to stay at the school.

Again immersed in his thoughts, Zuko didn't notice Moka approaching him until she gave her customary enthusiastic greeting and hug, "Morning! If we don't hurry we're gonna be late."

Surprised more by the sheer amount of time that he had been spending in thought recently than by the girl's hug, Zuko turned to her with a rather solemn expression. "I'm sorry Moka, but I'm going to be headed back to the human world. This school just isn't for me."

Bright green eyes widened at the mention of the human world and she spoke with particular vehemence, "No way! You can't go off to the human world! I hate those humans. You have to stay here at this school!"

Her voice softened when Zuko didn't respond and she elaborated, "You know I...I went to a human school for years. I was so isolated...no one believed that I was a vampire and I started to think I was weird. I started to think that I was different from everyone, and that maybe...maybe it would be better if I just disappeared. It was tough..."

"But...you said it was alright even though you found out that I'm a vampire and so...this has been the first time in my life that I haven't felt alone!" She smiled warmly at him, but Zuko had never been a very tactful speaker.

She tried to continue and Zuko cut her off, "And what if I was one of those humans? Would you hate me too? Would you be willing to be a friend with me despite that?"

Moka froze, "No way...there's just no possible way for a human to be here." She recoiled slightly as she met his eyes, and Zuko felt an inexplicable hurt, one that he knew all too well even if the origin eluded him. It was shame, shame and disappointment at the knowledge that someone had rejected him.

But she wasn't his father, and he refused to let anything sway him, "Moka, I have a destiny to fulfill. I have no choice if I ever want to go back home, and staying here would be a waste of time and effort. Not to mention that you don't even want me here."

He turned to go, but, pink hair swirling, Moka reached out to stop him, "Wait! Really Zuko…!"

But he spun and his eyes blazed, anger at her trying to stop him and at the pain that, deep down, he knew she caused, raising his voice, "Let go! You hate humans right!? Oh and excuse me for having so much more to worry about than whether or not I will pass the next test or make a new friend."

With a jerk of his shoulder he stalked down the path, steps stiff and quick.

Zuko once more stood upon the cliff tops where the bus had dropped him off. Honestly he was becoming alarmed at his recent tendency to think about things, yet also pleased for he knew Uncle would be proud.

I have a mission to complete. I have to capture the Avatar for the Fire Nation and to regain my honor and home. But...is this right...to just run from something like this? Am I choosing to pursue my goal or shy away from Uncle's advice because of a few snags.

Am I just afraid that I could never get along with a normal girl?

The bus pulled up and Zuko made to step in, but he paused as the bus driver addressed him, "Hehe...so you're running away after all." Zuko bristled.

"Somehow I had the feeling you would...that is fine sonny boy. If you have another purpose and no regrets you may come aboard."

Moka wandered through the forest, idly kicking a stone. "No way...no. Even though I had finally made a friend."

Tears leaked from her eyes like clear pearls despite her best efforts to hold them back, "Even though it was the first time in my life that I thought I had a friend."

A hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her backwards, an eager and almost mocking voice drawing her eyes, "Hey! Why is it that you are so alone?"

"Saizou!" Moka exclaimed.

Licking his lips, Saizou leaned in slightly, "You shouldn't be lonely Moka Akashiya, when you could be with a man like me."

Without a pause to let her respond, the teen threw Moka to the ground and whipped off his jacket, "Mwahahah...I am serious. Your beauty is incomparable to those puny human girls that I have forced! I want you Moka Akashiya!"

Saizou began to warp, his body hissing and growing through his clothes as deep laughter came from his mouth, "Ohhh...I can't stop myself when I feel like this. My body just starts to ache. When I come to this point, there is no stopping me...I just can't stay in human form any longer!"

Moka stood rooted to the ground, unable to move from shock, "N...no. Someone help."

Now barking out insane laughter, Saizou strode forward, "Hahaha! I'm going to enjoy this little violation of the school rules."

Out of the cluttered forest nearby, a fireball roared straight at Saizou, causing him to reflexively duck away and stop pacing forward.

Zuko strode up to stand next to Moka, trusting to curiosity and incompetence to keep Saizou from taking the initiative.

Without glancing to the side, he said his piece, "Moka...I decided that I was going to stick out the year. Just because I would be safer in the human world doesn't mean my Uncle was wrong to send me here. To be honest, I'm just not one to leave any challenge alone. And I do want to be your friend, vampire or not."

By now Saizou had grown angry enough to break into the conversation, "I believe I warned you not to come near Moka again."

Rattled by the sheer size of Saizou, but bulling through the fear and turning it to determination and anger, Zuko came up with a quick plan, a phantom voice of Iroh echoing approval in his head, "And I thought I told you that I would teach you a permanent lesson if you ever caused trouble for a girl again you pathetic bastard."

Unfortunately, Zuko had judged Saizou incorrectly. The monster's speed far exceeded what his size implied, and before Zuko could do more than pull back a massive fist had swatted him through a large gravestone.

Saizou laughed heartily while Moka ran over, "What's wrong, wannabe vampire? Did you not think a rogue monster like myself would challenge a so-called vampire? After all, no vampire can throw fire. YOU'RE TO WEAK SCUM."

"H...How horrible! Even though you came back for me, this happened." Moka brought Zuko's head up, though his eyes were closed tightly in pain.

Tears gathered in her eyes again, "I'm sorry...after all, humans and monsters are very different, aren't they? Because I'm a vampire, I suck the blood of humans and just end up causing harm...The truth is that the whole time...I just wanted to make a friend, human or otherwise. But I guess it's impossible, since I'd surely do nothing but hurt you as well, Zuko."

Zuko uttered a small, pained chuckle and grasped Moka's shoulder to lever himself up, Broken left arm, a few cracked ribs, and lots of bruising. Sounds like every other damn day.

He pushed into a standing position while Saizou quieted down at the obvious defiance. Moka broke out in disbelief, "But you can't fight right now! You're hurt! And you're just…"

Zuko looked down at her briefly, eyes flaring gold with a combination of pain and adrenaline, "Moka. I am a worthless man with no home and no honor. You shouldn't cry over someone like me."

What the hell did I just say?

Stepping into a loose stance, one altered by the fact that his left arm was pressed firmly into his chest, Zuko faced Saizou again, "So. Was that it? Are you ready to get burned to hell you arrogant peasant?"

Saizou snarled, "What the hell are you blabbing about! DIE SCUM!"

The large muscled form charged forward, closing in on Zuko. Without batting an eye, Zuko spun his leg up and around to unleash a devastating arc of fire to redirect Saizou away from Moka. With a roar, Saizou took the blow and slammed to the side.

Well trained and battle hardened, the firebender sprung at the opening and unleashed a flurry of kicks and backhands that rained flame on the monster. Unfortunately, injured as he was, none of the attacks had the necessary force to do more than shove the slab of muscle around.

Forced off balance, Saizou nevertheless weathered the barrage. Zuko attempted to slide around the hulking ogre and knock him down, but what Saizou lacked in experience and skill he made up for in cunning. With a yell of rage, he ripped up a gravestone and hurled it at Zuko, who had to leap out of the way lest the speeding rock kill him.

Roaring in anger and pain, Saizou moved in for the kill and the two soon engaged in a flurry of close and mid-range combat. Zuko did his best to stay out of the supernaturally fast youkai's reach and gain distance, but Saizou kept closing, brushing off flame and surprisingly powerful kicks and punches.

Goddamit! It feels like I'm kicking iron! Even using chi I can't get enough strength to do more than superficial damage without using firebending, and that only burns into that ridiculously tough skin, it has no stopping power if I can't move freely.

The clearing quickly became a flaming ruin as Zuko used every bit of grace and precision he possessed as the Blue Spirit to avoid the grasping hands and took advantage of countless days spent drilling katas to unleash punishing flames. Fireballs, daggers, even small firewhips lashed out at Saizou, but the youkai weathered the assault and pursued Zuko everywhere he went.

The outcome, was inevitable, no matter how stubborn Zuko was. Without the use of one arm, hindered by pain every time he took a breath for an attack or dodge, and unable to outlast the tough and indomitable ogre, Zuko took a crushing punch that finally broke some of his ribs and slammed him into a tree near Moka. Saizou laughed in triumph at finally catching the elusive prey that had ravaged his body with fire, and Moka was able to approach her friend.

Tears that had been stemmed in awe at watching a human fight a powerful monster on even footing, renewed at the terrible state of Zuko. Blood stained his torn shirt and his left arm bent in an unnatural place. The right side of his face was splotchy from where he'd hit the tree, but he continued to breath.

Moka leaned in to hug him but a hand reached up to press against her chest, and clouded golden eyes regained their sharpness, "No. Get out of here Moka."

She tearfully shook her head but Zuko forestalled any protest by leaning forward to get up again. That turned out to be a bad idea as a pulse of pain ripped through his chest and he coughed up blood. Falling forward, Zuko hit the ground hard and slowly succumbed to the darkness.

When Zuko had made to stand for a second time, he had gripped with his right arm. It just so happened that what he pulled on was the rosario that hung from a chain about Moka's neck.

Earlier, the two had discussed how the rosario sealed Moka's true form, and now the coincidence saved them both. His fall yanked the cross away from the chain, and Moka gasped as forgotten youki flooded her body.

Saizou paused from his advance to put down the annoying fly that had somehow managed to hurt him despite being pathetically weak. An overwhelming and terrifying power flooded the clearing and the pink haired Moka Akashiya began to stand up; still facing Zuko as her hair bled silver and fell to the side of her face, hiding her countenance from view.

In fear, Saizou took a step back and the girl's eyes snapped up to meet his. Except that these weren't the green eyes of Moka Akashiya. These were blood red and radiated power and contempt.

The awakened vampire stood tall and crossed her arms, "What's wrong, rogue one? You...want me right? Just try and take me by force." Mocking eyes and a sarcastic voice echoed through the dead forest, "Here...won't you come?"

Saizou overrode every instinct screaming to run and roared, charging in with an outstretched hand as big as the girl standing there calmly waiting for the attack.

The hand slammed into Moka and came to a stop. Saizou could only watch in fascinated horror as Moka spoke from inside his impotent hand, "Attacking me with just this degree of power. You had better realize your place."

A devastating kick slammed into Saizou's face and sent him sailing into the surrounding forest, knocked cold.

Moka stood in a ready stance, "A low class monster such as yourself who has nothing to show for his size, doesn't even make for a decent opponent in a contest of strength."

With Saizou taken care of, Moka turned around and walked over to where Zuko still lay on the ground.

The silver haired vampire reached down and turned Zuko over, mindful of his injuries, and picked him up in a bridal carry.

She looked at his scarred face in contemplation for a second, "You are an interesting human, Zuko. I had heard of benders at the school I went to in the human world, but had never seen one. For a human to fight against a monster while severely injured...you have earned my respect. Still...I wonder what you meant by no honor and no home."

Turning and leaping through the forest, Moka carried the unconscious teen to the infirmary, "I'm glad that Outer Moka met a human such as you. This school may not be as boring as I thought."