paixaorpg | Missing Something [Active]

Entry tags:

Missing Something [Active]

Character(s): Zuko, open to anyone else
Content: Prince Zuko arrives
Setting: Vanaheim Gate
Time: Twilight
Warnings: ...Zuko's temper, lots of angst, and...oh yeah...FIRE.

"I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!!!!" A huge burst of flame flared up from the fire, washing Zuko in bright light and intense heat. But when the fire fell, it wasn't night time. And Zuko wasn't on the beach anymore. Mai and Ty Lee and Azula were nowhere in sight, either. "What?" he asked the empty air.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" he shouted, just as loud as before. "Where am I?!" The questions both fell silent, hardly even echoing across the empty field that surrounded him, and the massive walls that faced him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Flames accompanied his scream of anguish, engulfing him and everything around him in a colossal wave of fire. The grass under his feet was scorched black, and even some of the earth. He fell to his knees, striking the ground with both fists angrily, as if somehow it could help him feel better. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!" he yelled, flames spouting up as he repeatedly struck the ground in agony.

He just sat there for a minute, crying and beating the ground uselessly, until finally he looked around. In front of him was a large gate, and a small line of people going in. It reminded him of Ba Sing Se.

Ba Sing Se...and Uncle...and the Avatar. His face screwed up into a grimace as he thought of that stupid tea shop, and having to help his uncle run it. Uncle had been the one in the wrong! It wasn't Zuko's fault that he'd turned traitor, and hadn't helped defeat the Avatar when Azula snuck into the city. Zuko had done the right thing to help her fight Aang, he knew it! So why was he still so angry?! But he'd already burned a scar into the earth here. It wouldn't do him any good to lose his temper again...so he took a deep breath, just like Uncle had showed him.

"I guess...there's nothing better to do..." He joined the line, trying not to jostle anyone but quick to threaten any of them who jostled him.

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Finally. Riku sighed to himself. About time. After having had a history of being caught by visitors and ending up as an instructor of Paixao 101 several times, it was refreshing to get to a gate and not be questioned. Distracting the guard had been painfully simple this time around, and his pride showed when he removed the hood from the gray cloak he'd bought for the occasion. It wasn't as effective as an Organization coat, but it worked nonetheless.

Riku'd only been outside the city once, albeit only a few days ago. Still, that never did satisfy Riku's curiosity and need for freedom. Vanaheim was the gate closest to a beach, and even if it was just as fake as the one the next floor up, it was easier to access and one he'd yet to explore. He breathed in the air, barely able to taste the salt on the wind.

However, his rare moment of peace was shattered by a terrible cry, and some distance away Riku caught sight of a brief but intense conflagration. And at the center of it was... A man. He watched, listening to yells he couldn't make out before seeing the figure join the line. That can't be good.

With an irritated sigh he hooded himself and headed back in as soon as the newcomer entered. However, with the guard facing out past the gates, instead he found himself caught as soon as he ineffectively tried to duck past the large sentry. When the man scolded Riku for cutting the line but in turn blocking Riku from view, the teen flashed his journal. "Just making sure I'm back by my curfew," he smirked. The guard blinked and Riku used the opportunity to simply pass through.

He hadn't been too far behind the new arrival, and finding him wasn't too hard. Now it was a matter of watching where he would go. If I can tail Sora and keep tabs on the Organization, this should be easy.

Zuko took a second to figure out how to use the weird thing he'd been given. It wasn't at all simple, since he could read any of what it said, but eventually he found it had a "voice" thing, that could speak in his language. Some of the commands were pretty obvious, and he decided to use it to make a...post, he thought it said?

After that, he walked further into the city. It wasn't strange that nothing seemed the same as it had at home, or anywhere he'd been, though it was...similar. The buildings were kind of the same, at some level, big blocks with roofs on them, and balconies too; and the streets were paved with stone too. It was mostly the way everything was decorated that was so different. There were the normal city things of shops and restaurants, and the other odds and ends.

However, that didn't change the fact that even with a map, Zuko was lost. The map seemed vague to him, though he was probably...missing...something.

"Who are you?!" He whirled around, trails of flame lighting up as his feet slid over the pavestones. He hoped they'd serve as a warning to whoever'd been following him, and that they would just leave him alone after seeing it.

Riku kept his distance amongst the people, tending to stick to dimmer-lit corners and walls. But one thing he had learned while hiding from the Organization was how to move with the crowd, too. When the scarred teen's impressive display sent the people gasping and stepping back, Riku moved with the crowd.

And it was again a matter of seeing what happened. If the man walked off, Riku would have to follow, and more carefully this time. Unless specifically called out, he had little plan to reveal himself to a potential threat. Not yet at least. Right now it was important to pick his battles.

"I know you're following me, so come out!" Zuko yelled into the crowd, getting a few more steps backward, some whimpering, and a few gasps. "I'm not going to ask again!" He made a fireball in his right hand, but again, this was more of a threat.

The prince had his own issues to deal with, without people trying to stalk him. No one here even seemed to know who he was, so why did they even care?

Hidden by the shade of his hood, Riku's eyes grew wide at the threat. He was unable to tell if this was a bluff or if this guy actually intended to follow through.

But these peoples' lives are fake. Not even convincing anyway. Does it matter if an illusion is hurt?

...Am I totally sure these are all natives?

And he picked his battle.

"Threatening innocent people to find someone?" Riku stepped out on the newcomer's left as a collection of bright blue sparks formed a weapon. "That's pretty low." His "sword" appeared to be make of wings, the primary one belonging to some demonic bat or dragon. A turquoise eye gleamed at the hilt. Needless to say, people stepped back from the now-armed hooded figure.

The prince almost took a step back when a solid weapon suddenly formed out of nothing in his stalker's hand. Well, nothing but sparkles, anyway. But he kept his place, and kept what little composure he had left. It wasn't very much.

"Following someone for no reason is pretty low, too!" Zuko shouted back, letting the ball of fire dissipate in favor of taking his stance. "You've never even met me before, so why do you care where I'm going?!"

In contrast with the other teen's volume, Riku's voice was much quieter, but it still had an edge to it. "I step out of the city and I see some guy with a temper leave a blast mark in the ground. And then I see the guy walk into the city I'm stuck living in." Riku reciprocated the gesture, dismissing his weapon. However, his fingers were clearly at the ready. "Sure I'll just sit back and wait to see what happens. Not like we don't have enough threats around here, anyway."

A glance to the side let him know the people had scattered. That was certainly for the better.

"I'm not going to let some random guy who saw me firebending trace my every step around this city!" He threw out one hand for emphasis. "Who are you, anyway?!" Zuko was not happy in the least with this guy, especially after he'd been at home for a while. He'd finally been treated like a prince again when he got back home, and now here was some jerk who wanted to pick a fight. Zuko hadn't even been here for an hour yet.

His forward foot moved just a little more, ready to strike at any moment. This guy was really frustrating, and if Zuko had to he would just make the jerk leave.

Firebending? Riku narrowed his eyes as he listened. "Riku. Some guy who's trying to get his friends home." The tone of his voice lowered. "Your turn."

That slight movement from Zuko caught Riku's eye. This guy was bad news, and Riku was waiting to see whatever stunt the guy pulled. If the spellcaster decided to fight, he'd have to focus in taking this guy down before he lit the city on fire. And if he did... Well, Riku decided not to focus on trying to put out a massive fire.

Edited 2010-03-31 03:56 (UTC)

"I'm Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation. And you're bugging me." Zuko didn't back off any, nor did he let himself relax. "I was just on the beach with my girlfriend and my sister and her circus freak, and it wasn't a fun conversation, all right? Mind your own business!" A gouts of flame burst from under Zuko's feet, and fire engulfed both his hands as he clenched them into fists.

The moment Zuko ignited his fire spells Riku called back his Keyblade. "Sorry to bug you, your Highness," Riku replied, his voice swimming in sarcasm. "Look, protecting the people I care about IS my business. Back off."

A wisp of darkness floated up from Riku's outstretched hand as he prepared to defend himself.

"How am I threatening anyone? I haven't even done anything! I've been here less than twenty minutes and you're already accusing me of trying to hurt people!" The flames jumped higher for a moment as Zuko yelled, but died away quickly.

"What makes you better than me, that you just see me getting angry and all of a sudden you have to protect people from me?!"

This time Riku lowered his weapon, but didn't dismiss it. At this rate he'd manage to get some form of whiplash.

"You're telling me that making a fireball and shouting at a crowd isn't threatening. If someone did that around people you lived with, what would you do?" "Last I checked, people didn't catch on fire when they got angry. And I never said I was better than you. Get it right." Riku lowered his volume along with his gaze.

"Is getting angry suddenly a crime?! Get off my back!" Zuko barely even paused to take a breath. "Following someone isn't exactly the most innocent thing either. Take a hike!"

The prince took another step forward, slamming his arms down to either side and shooting flames into the ground behind him.

"Great way to avoid the question." He glared at the prince, instead tossing a new question out. "Tell me how you plan on getting any help around here acting like that?"

Riku kept his stance, squinting in the light of the flames. However, he didn't raise his weapon. The keybearer was never known to run from anything or back down. That being said, he'd prefer not to fight, as much as this spoiled prince was getting under his skin.

"It's not! But how do you expect me to act any different when all you're doing is accusing me of doing something that hasn't even happened yet?! I was already in a bad mood before I came here, and you're not helping!" Zuko was barely keeping his anger in check, and his hold over his emotions was quickly slipping. If this idiot didn't leave soon, he was going to find out why messing with the Prince of the Fire Nation was not a good idea.

"Fine." Riku dismissed his Keyblade a second time and crossed his arms. Letting his guard down like that was the last thing he wanted to do, and he knew doing so was either very smart or very stupid. "You still don't get it. The only thing I've accused you of is scaring the people here and threatening them with fire. Look. If you didn't find me and I didn't see you do anything, I'd've been gone. Got something to hide?"

"Why would I have something to hide?! I don't like people following me, is that so bad? You still haven't given me a good explanation for stalking me in the first place!" Zuko raised a fist as he shouted this time, again for emphasis.

"I told you," Riku growled. "I saw you practically make a crater with your tantrum out there. Which means you can be dangerous. I've got friends here and I gotta live here until I get out. Tell me why I shouldn't want to see if you're a threat?" He narrowed his eyes.

Zuko aimed a blast of fire right next to the man's ear. The scarred prince didn't say a word, but his face was twisted into a scowl. He was panting, and standing in his firebending stance. He threw a punch at the air with his other fist, and aimed another fireball at the other side of Riku's head.

For a moment, just stood there panting. "Yeah, I'm dangerous," he said, voice low.

Riku's eyes widened and he moved aside from the first blast. The heat of the fire stung his skin a little and he found himself reaching for his hair. His palm burned slightly as he smothered a few strands that had been less fortunate than his ear. His guard back up, he had just enough time to bring up his right hand and lower his head to protect his face. The other fireball slammed into a barrier made of glowing blue hexagons.

Once Dark Shield and the flame dissipated, Riku's open palm curled around the forming hilt of his reappearing weapon. He raised his face only enough to scowl through his overgrown bangs.

"Good to know." He took up a ready stance with a palm held out. His fingers motioned he was prepared for more.

Edited 2010-03-31 08:59 (UTC)

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!" Zuko yelled, still trying to hold onto the last vestiges of self-control he had, and shaking from the effort. "I'm not going to sit here and take this from some punk who can make a big club out of thin air just because he thinks I might be a threat! If you're not going to leave me alone, THEN I'LL JUST MAKE YOU!!"

The prince lit both fists on fire and leaped forward, bringing them down above his target as he came back down to the ground.

"Luck with that, Zuko." Where have I heard that name before?

As the prince rushed Riku, the keybearer flipped backwards, springing off his left palm. It was almost exactly the same move he performed years ago against someone with an equally bad temper. Instead of landing with his feet on the ground, he landed on a pillar and pushed off into the air. Judging by the prince's power, distance would be ideal, though Riku knew Zuko had impressive range from his previous attack.

With a smirk, Riku returned with his own fire. Six white and blue fireballs erupted from his hand, all homing in on Zuko's location below.

Zuko's eyes followed Riku as the other teenager dodged his attack, before pushing himself off the ground in the same direction, vaulting back into the air. He surrounded his body in a sphere of fire when he saw Riku shooting weird-colored fireballs, and when Zuko's fire dissipated he was completely unharmed. He landed a few feet in front of Riku, and from the landing position low to the ground he swept his hands just above the cobblestone, gathering a huge wave of tall flames and sending them in Riku's direction.

Dark Firaga slammed into Zuko's fiery shell and moved around it. Riku frowned a little, but all he needed was an opening. He landed in time to see his opponent seem to pull a wave of fire straight from the earth.

Riku sprang up, twisting midair and bringing down his Keyblade into the ground facing Zuko's direction. "VANISH!" A narrow wave of crackling azure energy ran straight along the ground towards Zuko, slicing a huge gap in the wall of flame. Riku stood still as the flames past, doing little more than send his hair flying back.

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