Adopted from XXX-Rated

Monster of Ember Island

Chapter 5

"Awww what a cute little fox~!" Ty Lee squealed out while she pet the fox as she and Mai sat beside him to warm up and dry off after having been dumped into the river by the sky bison. "So this little guy sensed your spirit and came to find you?" she asked while Naruto nodded and fed the fox a piece of jerky.

"Yeah apparently my spirit knows the group of spirits this guy belongs to as well as who he works for. It helps out at some kind of library and my spirit wants me to go there" Naruto told them as Azula stared down at the fox with a bit of a frown.

"Not to question your spirit's decision or deny his request but can I at least ask why he is so interested in you going to this library?" Azula asked, showing she was more just wondering than trying to dismiss things.

'Allow me to talk to her' the Kyuubi said in his head before Naruto instantly felt it take him over.

This wasn't the first time the Kyuubi has taken him over, it having happened in the past back before he was chained up. Honestly it wasn't all that invasive since all he could really do was talk through him and move slightly since whatever was keeping the spirit in him also made sure the spirit couldn't take control of him entirely.

"I know you are curious and most likely slightly worried for the boy, but we need to go there. Wan Shi Tong's library holds tomes that could help the both of us severely so you can either get things ready to help us or we'll go alone" the Kyuubi declared through him, standing up and staring down Azula while she saw Naruto's sapphire blue eyes turn blood red with his pupil turning into a thin slit.

"I meant no disrespect as like you said, I am indeed merely curious and worried. Last thing I want is to drive a wedge and cause you to want to leave" Azula calmly assured the spirit speaking through Naruto before it nodded and Naruto's eyes returned to normal which allowed him to sit back down to continue warming up Ty Lee and Mai.

"Give me the rest of today and tomorrow to get things ready…though it comes at an inopportune time as I am needed at another base to lead a project" Azula told him with a frown, personally wanting to go with him to this spirit library since even she had to admit it sounded interesting.

"Ooo! I can go with him! I'll lead him to the base when we are done at this library place" Ty Lee suggested with an excitedly raised hand before Azula cleared her throat, her eyebrows furrowed and the fist she was coughing into being tightly clenched.

"Actually, Mai would be the much better choice for this" Azula told them, getting both Mai and Ty Lee to look at her in confusion and slight hurt added in Ty Lee's eyes.

"Um no offense Naruto but why me?" Mai asked while quickly making sure he knew he wasn't the reason she didn't want to go but instead it being just because she felt it was an annoying chore in general. She was also unsure why she was being asked to go when Ty Lee was seemingly more than willing to go.

"Because you know the location and path to the base better than she does. Things will just go smoother with you going with him than her going, now hurry up and get dried off so we can get going" Azula hurriedly explained before she turned towards the train and walked off.

"Great, I love libraries" Mai droned out, lazily holding her hand out towards Naruto before he got the message and quickly used his fire to dry them off near instantly with his fire.

"Sorry you got roped into things Mai, hopefully it won't be too bad" Naruto said, a bit sorry for roping her in like this. It's not like he was against spending time with her since they were just now starting to get on moderately friendlier terms but last thing he wanted was for it to be forced.

"It's fine, it could be worse and trust me…it has" Mai told him with a wave to tell him to stop worrying before she got up and walked off towards the train.

"Boo~! I wanted to go with you and the little foxy here~!" Ty Lee whined a bit as she leaned against him, still sitting beside him with a somewhat childish pout on her face while she pet the fox who seemed happy to be getting so much attention.

"I know but if Azula thinks its safer and easier this way then we have to trust and go along with it in the end. I promise I'll look for some books you might like there and bring them back" he told her with a smile, rubbing her back a bit while she smiled and scooted closer to him. Naruto couldn't help but blush a bit, unsure whether or not to keep his hand on her lower back while she sat up against his side.

"Alright enough flirting you two, come on or we'll leave you behind!" Mai yelled out, getting Naruto to quickly pull his hand away, a blush heating up his face while Ty Lee pouted a bit more and glared at her friend.

"W-We weren't flirting! I was just telling her not to be so upset about not going with me to the library" Naruto tried to defend himself which only got a slight smirk from Mai who nodded as if she didn't believe him before she started to walk back to the train with him going after her to try and explain.

-Next Morning-

The next morning seemed a bit hectic as, separate from them, the train's captain and crew seemed to be charting their course to the next Fire Nation base. His group though was trying to figure out where he and Mai were going since all they had to go off of was that there was a library and the fox would guide them.

If they were going to go they'd need to know where the library is terrain wise so they can have the right kind of mount to ride.

"So how does this work? Can you talk to the fox?" Mai asked as they ate breakfast, looking at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"No…at least I don't think so?" Naruto questioned, curious how it worked when he had a massive fox inside him only for a scoff to tell him no.

"Bring out a map, they can read maps and know them well enough to recognize where the library is roughly. I might be able to talk to them but I'm not playing translator" the Kyuubi told him with Naruto relaying it to Azula who seemed prepared, already having one rolled up and ready for them.

"I was planning to use the location the fox found us and how it had come from the direction of the desert to determine the best mounts to get you both but having the spirit itself tell us is much safer" Azula told them as she unrolled a map in front of them, already having formed an idea of what to give them for their travels but clearly wanted to make sure they were rightfully prepared.

They all watched as the fox looked around the map before it quickly placed a paw at a spot inside the desert, tapping one of its nails to show exactly where it was pointing to.

"Hmmm, close to the middle of the desert and quite a ways away from the base we are heading towards…I'll have to call for some sandfish hounds for you both so you can get through the desert quickly" Azula told them, marking the point the fox was pointing to with a dot of ink before she rolled the map up once the spot was dry.

"Sandfish hounds?" Naruto asked, confused what they were since he hadn't heard of creatures like them before.

"Sandfish hounds are a rare variety of creature, a large hound mixed with a sandfish lizard, a creature able to almost swim through sand. They are the quickest beings when traveling through sand and the Fire Nation keeps some bred for expeditions into potentially loose terrain and they are kept nearby. I'll have a request for them sent after breakfast" she explained with a smile, happy to show off her knowledge and use her power to help him before she took a sip of her tea.

Breakfast had to be rushed a little bit, as much as Azula didn't like that she had to, since everyone was busy and Azula was needed for a lot of the preparations.

While Azula got things ready Naruto figured it was best to get his things together while the fox laid on his bed happily napping away. 'Are you sure this guy is a spirit and not just a wild animal who is happy to get some food and place to sleep?' Naruto asked a bit jokingly as he watched the fox huff contently in its sleep.

"That owl makes them work non-stop, while they don't mind they also do enjoy some time to relax like anyone. Just wait until you meet Wan Shi Tong and the size of his library, you'll understand why it wants to rest then" the Kyuubi told him, Naruto only able to nod a bit since his spirit was definitely the kind that knew what it was talking about.

"You're getting ready, good. I told her you most likely were but Azula wanted me to check and make sure" Mai said with a sigh once she walked into his train car only to plop herself down on the edge of his bed, purposefully sitting as far away from the fox that she could. "Apparently the sand hounds are being brought over already so we need to be ready to go when they get here in a bit" she added, getting him to nod just as he finished up.

"Well I'm good to go as the upside of not having much means packing up is always takes little time" he told her, closing up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder before standing up. "What about you? Do you have everything ready to go?" he asked as she got up off his bed and started walking towards the door.

"I don't need to bring anything other than my knives and darts, you can bring your stuff with you if you want. Honestly it's probably best since we are going to a library, gives you space to carry whatever you get" Mai said given she didn't care one way or another while also understanding how given his low number of belongings it was easier for him to just bring his stuff along.

"Come on buddy, time to go" he said with a quick whistle, getting the fox to quickly perk up and run off the bed to follow after them.

The sandfish hounds showed up an hour later and to Naruto they looked like massive lizards with sharp claws and fangs alongside thick wolf fur on their backs that looked more like a pelt that was draped over them rather than actual fur they grew naturally.

"Wow these things look nothing like I was expecting…" Naruto muttered as he walked up to them with Azula and the others.

"They are a rare sight since it is said to be near impossible for those besides the Fire Nation to capture them in the wild as they are one of the two major predators of the Si Wong desert. Though the ones raised by us are just as deadly as the ones in the wild, not even a sand shark will dare come close to you while riding them as two is enough to give a sand shark trouble" Azula explained as she stared down one of the sandfish hounds, locking eyes with it before the animal actually bowed its head to her.

"Here, you two will need these" a Fire Nation soldier spoke up as he walked over, handing both of them a metal canister the size of their fists with a screw off top. "In each of these vials are sand that has been marked in their pheromones, opening them up will get both of them to return to you near instantly as it tells them you are their territory and they are naturally engrained to protect their territory" he continued to explain while the two of them pocketed the canisters.

"And this is where the sad part comes into play" Azula said, walking up to them once the soldier was done explaining. "You see, after you are done at the library I have a rather intense event planned, one I know you will not want to be around so that leaves an option I am sad to suggest" she continued with Naruto quickly putting together where she was suggesting.

"So you are going to have me stay somewhere again like I did in Gaoling with one of you coming get me when we can go?" he asked, not seeing how this was sad since last time they were apart for no more than two days.

"It's sad this time because you will be going somewhere that while it's safe for you it's quite difficult for us to contact you. The only place nearby where our 'event' is happening would be Ba Sing Se" Azula revealed, making it clear just how difficult it would be for the princess of the Fire Nation to contact him or even send someone to get him while he was in the Earth Kingdom capital. "Though don't worry, we will be able to when the time comes. Do not doubt my nation's reach" she assured him which only made him chuckle a bit.

"I don't doubt it but how am I even going to be allowed in there?" he asked before she gave him a soft smile and pulled out a small thin book.

"The forging of a passport is easy and simple and you lack the black hair and amber eyes are our nation is known for. Your hair might cause some confusion but it is highly unlikely they will think 'Fire Nation' when they look at you" she explained with Naruto accepting the passport from her, it looking real at first glance though with this being his first time seeing a passport he had no reference to go off of.

"But Azula! He's going to be lonely in Ba Sing Se with no one there with him!" Ty Lee cried out, seemingly just hearing about this plan as well given how quick she was to hug his arm and how tightly she was holding onto him. "Can't I stay with him? It's not like I can't change the color of my outfit or anything" she said since the thought of him being alone made her feel like they were abandoning him.

"Ty Lee you can't, I need you and Naruto will be safer if he is alone since if anyone from the Avatar's group saw you they'd recognize you. Naruto on the other hand has only briefly met them so there is less a chance they'd notice him if he keeps his hood up" Azula explained and showed the both of them just how much she had thought things out. It seemed that the last thing she wanted was for him to have a 'connection' to them in the eyes of the Avatar's group to ensure he was safe from them potentially going after him.

It was obvious that he'd be safest if he was alone given he had only ran into the Avatar's group once and during that time he only focused on grabbed Mai's brother and defending himself.

"Well sending me to Ba Sing Se is one way of letting me see the world" he said with a slight smile, patting Ty Lee's head to maybe help ease her given how strongly she was pouting.

"I'm a princess of my word so if us being apart for a while allows you to see more of the world then I am willing to set things up for you temporarily" Azula said with a smirk, putting emphasis on temporarily to make it clear to the both of them.

"Great, now that that is all sorted out can we get going?" Mai asked a bit impatiently, already waiting atop her sandfish hound and letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Yes you both can as it is about time we head off as well" Azula said, ignoring Mai's impatience but also knowing they had to set off soon. She smiled a bit as she walked over to him before Ty Lee quickly hugged Naruto.

"I'm going to really miss you Naruto! I know this trip to the library is important but I sooooo wish you didn't have to go~!" Ty Lee whined out as she nuzzled against his chest, frowning up at him since the mere thought of him being away like this stung in her chest.

"I admit that it'll be weird being away from you all for a while given I've only really been around you all since leaving the cave but with everything it is probably best I go on my own for a bit. Like Azula said, its not permanent so I'll be back to travelling with you in time" he assured Ty Lee, hugging her back softly while rubbing her back a bit as she tightly hugged him before he frowned once he realized something.

"Wait…how will you be able to tell me you all are done if I'm in Ba Sing Se? This isn't really somewhere you can send Ty Lee to fetch me" he quickly brought up, turning to Azula who gently moved Ty Lee back as the girl started to let go of him on her own.

"I have my ways so don't worry, you'll know when it's time to leave" she told him before walking closer to him with a bit of a frown. "I do have to agree with her though, I'll definitely miss you just as much" Azula confessed as she surprised him, and her friends, by hugging him.

It wasn't like Azula wasn't the kind to be close with him given how she acted in Omashu and in other occasions but this had a different tone to it. Those previous cases it was more her being playful while this was more tender, her resting her head against his chest as he could only hug her back with a blush on his cheeks.

Though the hug couldn't go on as long as he thought Azula wanted it to, her pulling away with a slight frown on her face being proof of it. "As much as I enjoyed that we both have places to go…I shall see you again in time. Travel safe" Azula said, a somber tone lingering around it before she walked off with Ty Lee quickly following her and waving to him the entire time until they got into the tank train.

"Don't expect a hug from me or anything you hear?" Mai said in a slight warning, getting a chuckle out of him as he hopped onto his sandfish hound.

"Don't worry, I'm not. Hell I didn't expect Azula to give me one" he muttered, still surprised by the hug from her before the fox yipping shook him out of his thoughts and brought his attention back to what they intending to do.

"Enough about that though, we need to head out. Lead the way little guy" Naruto said with the fox yipping again excitedly before quickly taking off and leaving them to follow after it.

He knew the Si Wong Desert was massive, he had seen it on a map which made him realize it was bigger than all of Ba Sing Se, but the sandfish hounds were traversing it like it was nothing. Honestly, he was a bit surprised the fox was able to stay ahead of them with the intense speed their mounts were going at but then again this was a spirit fox so normal animal speed didn't really apply to it.

The fox seemed on a direct path, it clearly knowing where to go as it never curved around nor did it stop to get its bearings. It didn't seem to take long before it stopped and sat down once they reached a tall tower sticking out from the sand with a window at the top of it.

"Think this is the place? Doesn't quite seem like a library" Mai questioned as they both got off their sandfish hounds, Naruto grabbing his bag beforehand which was a wise choice as the animals instantly burrowed under the sand to relax and enjoy the sand the second they were off.

"Tell her not to worry, the library is just hidden under the desert" the Kyuubi told him, Naruto relaying the message which merely got a shrug from Mai.

"Well…did you bring a rope and a grappling hook or something cause if not I'm going to have to carry you and fly" Naruto suggested only for Mai to shoot an arrow up at the window that seemingly had a long rope attached.

"I come prepared now you climb up first" Mai said as she pointed to her dress, quickly making it clear that she didn't want him looking up her skirt. "Also stab this into the top so we can climb down inside" she added while handing him an arrow.

"Got it, see you inside" he told her before he started to climb up the rope with the fox seemingly running up it with no problem.

"Oh and Naruto! If you look up once you start climbing down I will stab you" Mai growled out from below him, her tone showing she was not joking around.

"I promise I won't even dare think about it" he told her with a bit of a shiver as he could just imagine the glare she was giving him from below.

Once at the top he quickly stabbed his arrow into the window like he had been asked only, instead of going down the new rope, he waited at the top and helped Mai onto the windowsill.

"Why aren't you going down?" Mai asked with a confused look while she pulled the first arrow out, pressing a button on the side of it to reel the rope back into it.

"That is why. I felt you'd want to retrieve your arrows for there to be no sign of us coming here and doubted it'd be easy to yank them out. So rather than damage the window more than we are doing I'll just pull it out from here and use my fire to slowly descend" he suggested before Mai shrugged her shoulders.

"Saves me the effort and risk of the arrow breaking when I try and pull it out. I'll move to the side a bit so I don't accidentally get burnt" Mai said as she started to climb down the rope.

He waited a bit once she got to the end of the rope for her to move out of the way before he pulled the arrow out and recalled the rope just like she had. Even now, as he looked down to see the massive insides of the library, he didn't have a fear of heights or falling as he dropped down.

Careful not to accidentally set fire to anything he kept he used his fire in short bursts to slow himself down before tucking and rolling to lessen the force of things at the end.

"Nice fall" Mai said with a smile smirk as she accepted her arrow back from him.

"Hey, it was either that or I potentially catch something on fire" he told her before a deep voice grunting got them to turn around to see a massive black and white barn owl walk towards them.

"Yes and I thank you for being cautious with your fire unlike the spirit inside you normally is with it" the owl said as it looked them over. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the spirit Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things and besides being an apparent vessel to a spirit you are both humans which are no longer allowed here in my study" Wan Shi Tong told them, narrowing his eyes at them as it hunched over to look at them closer.

"Wan Shi Tong, you owe me for helping you create this library and lending you my foxes as your 'Knowledge Seekers'" the Kyuubi said as it spoke through Naruto, his voice deepening and his eyes turning red like before. "My vessel and his friend will not harm your stupid library as we are in search of info for how to get me out of him safely" he added, getting a raised eyebrow – or at least the equivalent that a giant owl could do without eyebrows – from Wan Shi Tong who stood up straight with a sigh.

"Fine, you do have a point. I am eternally in your debt given I wouldn't have been able to have all of this without your help. But!" the spirit started off before pointing a wing at them "if you wish to peruse or, in your vessel's case only, check out material you need to contribute to my library" he declared while Naruto and Mai looked to one another.

"Sure, I don't know how factual it is but consider it a guide of how low the human's knowledge of spirits is" Naruto said as he pulled out the book he had brought with him from the temple and offered it to Wan Shi Tong.

"Ah yes, humans truly do not understand us. Even the Avatar barely does but at least with this gone there will be no future cases like you" the owl said as it passed its wing over the book, seemingly making it disappear.

"I guess I have this. It's just an old book that has some stupid…poetry that I wrote when I was bored and there was no one around me…which I swear if you tell the others I'll use you as target practice" Mai said, ending it with a threat directed at Naruto who held his hands up in surrender to show he had no intention of revealing her secret.

"Stupid or not, one's thoughts can be considered knowledge into their soul so I will accept it. Follow the Knowledge Seeker as it and I will guide you to the section you seek" he told them, once again passing its wing over Mai's book and making it disappear like his book, before it motioned for them to 'go on in' with a wave of its wing.

Naruto looked at Mai as a fox yipped at them, her shrug showing she didn't care before the two of them followed it through the library with Wan Shi Tong behind them.

"This section is normally extremely off limits but this is a unique situation so only the vessel may peruse it. Your friend will have to check other sections with a Knowledge Seeker if she wishes to" Wan Shi Tong explained with Mai sighing and waving him off.

"I don't care, show me some knife throwing stuff and I'll be content while he does whatever he needs to do" Mai said since she really didn't care about not being allowed to read one section of a library she didn't really want to come to in the first place.

"Sorry, I promise we won't be here for too long" Naruto apologized given he knew she didn't want to be here.

"It's fine, it's important to you and you've been tagging along with Azula's stuff despite not wanting to get involved. We all decided helping you and letting you come here is the least we can do to make up for it" Mai assured him as she wasn't really annoyed, just her usual bothered mood so it wasn't his or anyone's fault, before she walked off with the fox leading her way.

"Just continue down this path and we will arrive at the section" Wan Shi Tong reminded him and getting him to continue walking until they got to a set of massive doors. At first Naruto wasn't sure how they'd open up with their size, and probable weight, only for them to open easily with a flap of Wan Shi Tong's wings.

"Beyond these doors lies knowledge not seen in ages, I warn you not to be like other humans and become hungry for power. I only allow you here because your spirit would not guide you here if you were a dangerous type but that does not mean I will not do everything in my power to protect my knowledge and my kind from danger" the massive spirit warned him, Naruto calmly meeting the owl's eyes without feeling too afraid.

"I promise, I am only here to try and learn for a way to release him and keep him safe. If I did intend to abuse my spirit's power, like you said, I wouldn't be here" he tried to assure the spirit only for Wan Shi Tong to turn around and start walking off.

"We shall see. I have other things to attend to so if you need anything the Knowledge Seeker you came here with will guide you to where you want to go" Wan Shi Tong said before turning around the corner and leaving him alone in the massive section.

'Well…where do we start?' Naruto asked with no idea how to begin in this massive library.

"Follow the spirit, it knows where I want you to start" the Kyuubi told him, Naruto looking over to see the fox spirit sitting patiently waiting before hopping up with a yip and racing off to guide him.

Now Naruto knew he wasn't the smartest guy but at the same time he wasn't an idiot. Reading tome after tome about spirits though, that was making him feel like an idiot….

"Don't worry kid, I don't expect you to understand much of this. Just keep looking and I'll decode anything that pops out" his spirit said in a surprisingly understanding tone, surprising given he honestly expected the spirit to call him an idiot or something. "I'm not that mean you brat!" it yelled, reminding Naruto it could hear his thoughts.

'Sorry! You can't blame me given all you do is yell at me…' he grumbled before turning a page. 'What all have you been able to figure out so far?' he asked since so far he hasn't had the faintest idea what all these books were talking about.

"From what these books say our bond is…a bit difficult to undo. If I had to guess, due to the Fire Sages having been allied with the Avatar in the past they were privy to a bit more knowledge than expected. They somehow made our bond similar to the Avatar and his spirit only I don't have the gift of reincarnation" the Kyuubi explained, making Naruto frown at how this didn't spell anything good for them although he pause as he caught something.

'Wait the Avatar has a spirit in him!?' Naruto asked in shock, getting a sigh from his own spirit.

"Yes, how else do you explain the bending all elements, avatar state, and reincarnation cycle?" it told him as if it was something overtly obvious. "I won't go into details but yes, the Avatar does have a spirit in them, a powerful one and our situation is rather airtight. If I try and force my way out one or both of us could die which means all of firebending dies…only way out is if you willingly do it and even then it'll end in your death" he revealed, making Naruto sigh and lay down back on the ground.

'Humans like only about 100 years if we are lucky and time goes by quickly for you right? I promise I'll let you out if I think I'm on the verge of dying' Naruto told him since this was all he could do.

"Idiot! Don't talk about dying so nonchalantly…but I guess I could have worse humans to be stuck in. A few more years in you won't be too bad" the Kyuubi admitted with a 'hmph' which only made Naruto laugh a bit at.

"Are things helping you like you thought they would?" Wan Shi Tong asked as he walked back into the 'spirit' section of the library.

"Yes and no….it answered some questions but not in the way we really wanted….thanks for letting us in here at least" he told the spirit with a sigh before sitting up. "Say, before I leave, do you think I can check some books out? They'll just be simple books, nothing from here, and just for some friends of mine who weren't able to come with me" he asked with Wan Shi Tong staring down at him as if to consider the request.

"I suppose you could if you left with a Knowledge Seeker to return them when you are done but you must first do something for me, something only you can" Wan Shi Tong said, motioning with a wing for Naruto to follow while some Knowledge Seekers worked on putting the books he had brought out back to where they came from.

"You see, right now you and your friend aren't my only visitors and recently they visited a…damaged section, a section only your spirit can help me fix" he continued to explain before they arrived outside a section with a red banner above the door with the symbol for 'Fire' on it and four stone dragons decorating the area leading up to it.

All in all it screamed 'Fire Nation' from head to toe so to speak.

"Oh good, you're finally here. The owl told me to come wait here for you" Mai said with a sigh while Wan Shi Tong paid her little mind and stopped in front of the door.

"Yeah he says he needs my help with something, you find anything you like?" he asked, Mai giving a 'sorta' gesture with her hand.

"In the past someone from the fire nation came here. I was hesitant on allowing him access but did so in the end only to regret it in the end for after getting what he wanted, knowledge to destroy his enemy, he burned everything in this section" the spirit revealed, the doors opening to reveal an entire massive section full of only ash and dust.

"People from the Fire Nation are secretive and like to keep stuff about their home secret…times have changed them" the Kyuubi told Wan Shi Tong through him, the spirit nodding in agreement before motioning to the ashes.

"If you return what is lost I will allow you to check out items from my library" he said, Naruto frowning since he wasn't sure what he could do to fix things.

"I can undo the damage fire causes to a degree. On inanimate objects it is easy and I can do it as long as the majority of the ashes are contained, living beings are more difficult as it has to be relatively fresh damage for me to be able to heal it. I'll take care of it, you just fill the room with my fire and I'll stop it once its done" the Kyuubi explained to him, once again shocking him at what his spirit could do but nodded along.

"Might want to step back Mai" Naruto suggested, motioning for Mai to get behind one of the stone dragons as he took a deep breath and summoned his fire to envelop his arms. Knowing he didn't have to do anything really, everything relying on his spirit to do the real stuff, he slammed his hands on the ground and poured fire into the room.

The sight of things reforming through the fire from the ash was an interesting sight as while the fire burned he watched as bookshelves were pieced back together with books following shortly after. He was amazed by it all once everything was finished and his fire stopped.

"Whoa….that was amazing" Naruto said as he looked around the newly restored Fire Nation section.

"I should honestly be grateful you decided to come here otherwise all of this would be still destroyed. As promised I will allow you to check things out from my library and will give you this" Wan Shi Tong said before it waved a wing over the ground in front of them, revealing a rather large egg once his wing had passed over.

"An egg? Gee, thanks" Mai said with a raised eyebrow as she walked in behind the spirit.

"This egg was left behind ages ago when I kicked a traveler out of my library, I do not have the warmth needed to hatch it nor am I an animal caretaker. I researched what animal will hatch from this and it isn't some fragile egg so do not worry about it breaking and keep it heated with your fire periodically throughout the day if you wish to hatch it" the spirit explained before it turned around.

"Thank you for the egg and the permission to check books out" Naruto quickly thanked him with a bow, getting Wan Shi Tong to look back at him slightly with a nod before he left. "Well? Guess we better see what all is here now after I fixed everything" he turned to tell Mai while he picked up the egg, seeing it was nearly as big as his torso.

"Are you seriously going to keep that thing?" Mai asked as she poked the egg lightly with a raised eyebrow.

"Its an egg given by a spirit, I feel I'd be stupid to throw it away" Naruto told her, getting a nod from Mai since she saw his point. "Now come on, we have permission to be here but I feel overstaying our welcome won't be too wise for us to do plus you probably want to get out of here as soon as we can" he continued before he slid the end into his bag and headed deeper into the Fire Nation section with Mai.

He was amazed at the books and scrolls around this section. For Azula he found a few old firebending stances that were apparently depicted with blue fire alongside and for Ty Lee he found a few different things tai chi and yoga related. He even was able to find something related to knife throwing for Mai which, while she acted like she didn't care about it, he saw a ever so slight smile forming on the corner of her mouth so he took that as a victory.

For him, browsing for something to take was a bit tricky. He didn't quite have anything that was 'his thing'. Being stuck in a temple for several years and being a part of some child spirit program didn't give him much time to get hobbies.

'Guess I can get something about meditation and tea since they are the only stuff he really did while in the cave, maybe some basic guides to things like knife throwing since I do enjoy that with Mai...hell I can maybe even find some to learn how to play that flute I made a little bit better' he thought while he put those scrolls in his bag as well.

Playing a flute was something he picked up out of boredom, whittling one out of bamboo...sure it was crappy but it worked. He'd probably try and look around for a real one when he had more time.

He paused a bit as his eyes landed on a scroll. There wasn't anything particularly standout-ish about it, the end of it was red like all the others around it but the spiral design mainly was what caught his eye.

'The Settling of Ember Island' was written on the outside of the scroll. He wasn't sure why that interested him, Ember Island is just a resort island from what he remembered with very little full-time residents so why was there a scroll about something for it?

He didn't get much time to dwell on it as the whole library started to shake violently to the point he almost fell over, him putting the scroll quickly in his bag before steadying himself and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Mai! Are you okay?!" Naruto yelled out as he ran out from the row of shelves, hoping none of them fell or were about to start following.

"Yeah, I'm fine other than some scrolls falling on my head. What was that? An earthquake?" she asked, walking over to him as the library was still shaking around them a bit before a Knowledge Seeker ran over and started yipping at them.

"He's the same one that guided us here, he says the Avatar and his friends angered Wan Shi Tong so he's drawing the library back to the Spirit World. Long story short we need to go. Now!" the Kyuubi yelled at him, Naruto widening his eyes before he grabbed Mai's hand and started running, briefly explaining things to her and making it clear they absolutely needed to leave.

"Can't the fox go and yell at the owl to stop or, I don't know, let us leave before it tries to punish the Avatar?" Mai growled out, clearly annoyed at the situation and glaring at the fox that was following them.

"It says it can't Wan Shi Tong is really angry as the fire nation man burning a part of his library was the first strike and the Avatar lying about no abusing the knowledge here was the last straw. He's just supposed to go with us cause we are taking scrolls" Naruto conveyed to her what the Kyuubi told him again which only made Mai sigh.

"Leaving here is going to be difficult if we run into the Avatar and his friends. What are we going to do?" Mai asked as she looked up once they got into the main area of the library to see a rope coming down from the window entrance. They quickly had to brace themselves though as Wan Shi Tong flew up in a burst of speed from below them.

"There isn't too many ways with them around and all this stuff going on….I have a plan but you have to trust me" Naruto told her, looking her in the eyes before she nodded.

"Okay I trust you, what's the plan?" she asked before she widened her eyes as he handed her his bag and picked her up in a bridal carry.

"Hold on tight and try and make yourself smaller" he told her, a serious tone to his voice as he quickly started running towards the railing while Mai quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and shut her eyes tightly just as he leapt off the side of it.

As they fell Naruto made sure to keep himself upright before he kicked his feet down and summoned his fire. As the jets of fire burst out he was a bit wobbly given whenever he did 'fly' he used his hands as they always felt a bit more stable.

He kept the power strong but condensed, not wanting to burn down the library while still ensure he can fly and after a bit he was finally able to stabilize and start flying up towards the exit.

"I am so going to kill you later for this!" Mai yelled out as he quickly flew up, Naruto ready for whatever yelling she had for him after this but given the circumstances this really was the only way for them to get out.

While flying up he focused solely on aiming for the window, doing his best to point himself towards it. He really hoped no one from the Avatar's group was nearby but as he flew past, quickly looking to the side, he groaned internally at his luck as he saw the water bender staring directly at him while she faced off against Wan Shi Tong.

'Great….lets hope that doesn't bite me in the butt' Naruto thought as he sped up through the top tower of the library.

This was where things got the trickiest as he had to mess with his speed, weakening it as they got up to the window to allow him to stop near it before he bent his legs up. With his feet pointed back behind him, to direct his fire behind him, he quickly used it to propel him out the window while pulling Mai close so she didn't hit herself on the frame of the window.

Once out the window he found himself with another, more serious problem: landing.

He had to keep a stable speed to get some real good distance away from the tower and the Avatar's group so with Mai in his arms and a bag full of important stuff on her lap he knew this was going to be a rough landing if he didn't change how they were going.

With some movements of his feet thankfully he was able to turn over, his back now to the sand as he braced himself for impact, intending to take the entirety of the fall to keep Mai safe.

Crashing into a dune of sand at high speeds was about just like he expected it to be, rough and a bit painful as he slammed into the ground and skidded through the sand. He did his best to shield Mai from the brunt of the crash as well as keep them above the sand while they gradually slowed down and stopped.

"Owww…..that stung….how are you Mai?" Naruto asked as he opened his eyes only to blush and widen his eyes a bit.

"Oh I'm fine…this position though I could do without" she said in her natural flat tone though he could feel a hint of slight annoyance as, due to the crash, she had somehow ended up straddling his chest.

"I-I didn't mean for-trust me, I know" he started to say before Mai interrupted him, patting his check with a slight smirk before she got up and offered a hand to him to help him up. "Thanks for protecting me though, you aren't hurt right?" she asked only for him to shake his head which made her glad at least, she didn't know how she'd feel if he got hurt protecting her like this. "Though next time I could do without the flying" she told him with a flat tone while she pulled him up to his feet.

"Sorry, flying out of there was the only way I could think of that ensured that the Avatar and his friends didn't try and fight us. They easily could have thought we were there to attack them and honestly with the threat of being stuck in the spirit world I felt avoiding that was for the best" he told her, getting a nod from her before she pulled his bag up out of the sand for him.

"We should get going. Last thing we need is them finding us as I don't feel like fighting" Mai said, handing his bag to him before motioning for him to follow only for a yip to catch their attention.

"Oh good! He did follow us" Naruto said with a smile as he crouched down a bit to pet the Knowledge Seeker that had ended up following him.

"Great, you have a pet, now come on we need to get moving" Mai said as she started walking on ahead, leaving him to quickly catch up once he found his sandals.

"Shouldn't we be calling out sandfish hounds?" Naruto asked her while bringing out his metal canister only for Mai to push his hand down a bit and point off at a dust storm a bit away from them.

Though he swore it was getting closer to them.

"Don't, there are sand benders nearby. Sand benders are raiders, they go after anyone travelling through the desert if they think they might have something interesting and the last thing we need is for them to go after us for our sandfish hounds" she explained which only made him a bit more confused.

"I thought sandfish hounds were the apex predator of the desert? Shouldn't they be able to outrun and take care of some sand benders?" he asked since if they could take down sand sharks some benders be no problem for them.

"Sand benders are annoying as they are one of the few groups of people able to restrain them by trapping them in the sand. It's best to get some distance from the benders before we try calling them" Mai told him, remembering the warnings Azula had told her before they had left.

"Well if that storm is sand benders they are coming this way" Naruto alerted her as the storm had only been getting closer and closer since she pointed it out.

"Of course it is….sand benders go after anyone going through the desert and we happen to be an oddity due to the fact we are travelling on foot….be ready for a fight" Mai groaned out before she stopped in place, Naruto getting the message that they were now waiting for them to show up before they continue moving.

It didn't take long for the sand benders to arrive, their sand-sailers surrounding them with several of them looking ready to attack.

"Travelling through the Si Wong desert on foot eh? That's really dangerous don't you think?" a man asked, him stepping off one of the sand-sailers and taking a few steps towards them.

"Don't worry we can handle ourselves, how else do you think we got this far?" Naruto replied making sure to keep things nonchalant since he didn't want to give them any power, even if they were surrounding them.

"I see your point but I can't just sit by and pass by someone in need. So how about we help guide you out in return for whatever is in your bag there" the sand bender said with a smirk clear in his tone as he pointed towards Naruto's bag.

"Yeah no, we're fine on our own so leave us be already" Mai told them flatly, glaring at the sand bender before she felt the canister shake a bit under her shirt.

"Sorry but that isn't going to happen, especially now that we know you two have sandfish hounds. So how about we keep this simple, you give us what you have and we won't have to hurt you" he said as more sand benders got off their sand-sailers, the sand slowly starting to stir in a large circle around the two of them.

"I'd like to see you try" Naruto growled out, summoning his fire a bit before the sand benders quickly summoned a tornado of sand around them.

"Ugh! Annoying sand benders! They are like air benders with how they use sand!" Mai yelled as she pulled up her shirt a bit to cover her mouth while Naruto used his hand as best as he could.

Naruto frowned as he looked around, knowing knives and fire wouldn't be of any use with this storm around them and if they did nothing they'd most likely suffocate. 'How well would lightning work here?' Naruto asked the Kyuubi, clenching his free hand as he heard a chuckle in his head.

"A little wind can't effect lightning kid, give them a nice warning" the Kyuubi said before lightning started to arc on Naruto's arm.

'Perfect' he thought with a smirk, pointing forward with two fingers and his thumb up as he took aim on the sand-sailer behind the man he figured to be the leader of the group. He wasted no time before he fired his lightning, it hitting the mark and obliterating the sand-sailer.

The vortex quickly stopped after the sudden destruction of the sailer, the sand benders obviously not expecting lightning while Naruto smirked and summoned more lightning on both of his arms.

"I'll give you five seconds to flee before I start firing more lightning at all of you and trust me, I'm a pretty good shot" he warned them, cracking his neck as he locked eyes with the leader.

"Retreat! Get out of here now!" he yelled as Naruto and Mai watched him and the sand benders quickly flee, the ones who were originally riding the destroyed sailer going to other ones so they weren't left behind.

"Good job, nice to see you can hit a target with something at least" Mai teased him with a smirk while he simply rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Lets just get out of here" Naruto said, flatly looking at her before opening his canister to summon their rides, the Knowledge Seeker grumbling in agreement.

The desert was a nice experience but he really found himself just wanting to leave now. 'Stupid sand benders ruining the desert…' he grumbled internally as Mai summoned her sandfish hound, also deciding this was enough desert for her as well.

'Guess next for me is Ba Sing Se….I wonder how that'll be' he thought as he found himself really looking forward to seeing the Earth Nation capital and wondered how things would go in the impenetrable city.

-Chapter End-

Before I get to the story notes I would like to remind everyone I do have a Pat reon which includes rewards like seeing progress updates, notifications to new stories I plan to do, voting polls, and early access to chapters before I post them on FF.

Simple go to Pat reon's and paste:

/user?u=4783680

At the end of Pat reon's url and you'll find my page.

You don't get anything that everyone here won't get aka there will be no "Pat reon exclusive stories" or things where I have to get a certain amount of money before I work on something as both of those are shitty practices.

It is solely "hey, you want to support me, a disabled unemployed writer who survives off my disability checks? Thanks, I appreciate it" and nothing more

So yeah, check it out if you want, now onto chapter notes!

Woo! Chapter 5 is finally done! I cannot tell you how long I was struggling/stuck with this chapter but after I got past one part that was slowing me down a bit things just keep rolling faster than I expected.

I honestly really liked the library, it added some interesting bits and things to be shown down the road like the whole egg situation as well as the scroll about Ember Island.

I will admit I was tempted to have Ty Lee and Azula give him a kiss on the cheek when they said goodbye but some people who I talk with regularly said that might be a bit too fast and I agreed after thinking it over.

Naruto will be going to Ba Sing Se next since Azula knows he wouldn't like being with them during the drill fiasco. I have plans for how he gets there and who he meets so it'll be fun and since he is there he'll be able to interact with Team Avatar a bit and show them how he really isn't an enemy to them

Plus now Naruto has a pet/friend fox! I felt making a Knowledge Seeker (to be named) follow him around and travel with him would be interesting and cute, plus he serves an important purpose in mind later down the line

Bit of an edit I made, I added flute playing as one of Naruto's hobbies since it is a peaceful thing he could have picked up in the cave

All in all things will pick up interestingly in a few ways so look forward to it!

Ages:

Aang 14

Toph 15

Katara, Azula, and Naruto 16

Sokka, Ty Lee, and Jin 17

Zuko, and Mai 18

I hope you all liked it

Until Next Time

Rate and Review!

Buh-Bye!