Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Dimension ❯ At the Mall ( Chapter 7 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Hello! Hello! Wow… a lot of reviews! Anyways, sorry I haven't been updating! ^_^' I had lost the disc (yes…. Again! GRRRRR) But now I have it again! A few things I'd like to say…. Hiya AMK!!! Wow… a review for each chappie?! 0_o I feel…. So loved! Also… I'm not being mean to Zuko! I'm just… playfully teasing him! Thanks for all the reviews everyone! ^_^

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me.

***************On with the story**********************

Everyone was back at Beth's house where Tohru, Saka, and Beth were discussing a new problem. Money.

“Ah… let's see… I guess thirty-five dollars for each person should be enough,” murmured Tohru.

“But where are we gonna get all that money?” asked Saka, “There are… 8 people, and 8 people times $35 is… $280…”

“Can you please hurry up??? I'm hungry!!!” moaned Sokka.

“You're always hungry, Sokka.” Katara replied in a flat tone.

“Except for the time he got beaten by a girl at Kyoshi Island! He kept on moping!” Aang reminded Katara.

Zuko sniggered.

“I wouldn't laugh if I were you.” Tohru growled in low voice.

Zuko immediately stopped and looked away.

“Uh… Tohru?” Sokka began.

“Don't ask…” she answered with a shrug.

“Ok…”

Iroh glanced at Zuko and thought, `I wonder when I'll see Nirvelli… I've seen Adamina and Sora already.'

“IROH!!!” Saka shouted in his ear.

Iroh blinked, “Yes?”

Saka shook her head, “Come on, we're going.”

******Later when everything is sorted out and we're all headed to the mall******

“We're going to the mall! We're going to the mall! WE'RE GOING TO THE MALL!!!!” Beth half-chanted, half-screamed.

“Kill me now.” Zuko moaned.

“I don't know…. It's kinda catchy!” Aang replied. He was about to sing along when Zuko glared at him.

“Sing along and I'll kill you.”

“And if you try to do that… I'll kill you, Zuko!” Saka tugged on his ponytail.

Iroh sighed as he watched the pair trade insults, “Alright. Alright. That's enough you two.” He shook his head when they ignored him.

“So what exactly is this thing, again?” Sokka held up a twenty dollar bill (the ten dollar bill and the five dollar bill were safely in his pocket) against the sun and studied it.

“That's what we use as money.” Tohru answered. She began to walk besides him.

“A piece of… green paper? You use this to pay for stuff?” Sokka stared at Tohru.

“We are in a different time period Sokka. Don't forget that!” Katara reminded him.

Sokka was silent, “… Oh yeah.”

“Don't lose that!” Tohru warned.

“Sure thing.” Sokka replied.

Tohru sighed and looked over at Saka and Zuko, who were fighting...as usual. She closed her eyes, `Why me...' She wondered, as she went over to them and broke up the fight.

Fortunately, the two hadn't hurt each other too much.

“We're almost at the mall, so would you two please act your age?” asked Tohru exasperatedly.

Saka sweatdropped, “Sorry… but I like fighting.”

“I do too but not right now, ok? People are staring.”

People were staring at the strange group. Beth had, thankfully, stopped… singing/chanting/shouting.

**********Inside the mall*****************

“There sure are a lot of people!” said an awed Aang.

“Of course!” replied Beth, “This is the mall where everyone loves to go!”

“Now then… let's shop for clothes! We'll meet back here in two hours and eat, ok?” Tohru suggested.

Everyone else agreed and set off to different stores.

************Tohru and Sokka*************

“So what size do you where?” asked Tohru. They were at Old Navy and were shopping for a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts.

Sokka stared at her, “Size…?”

“Uh… never mind. Here.” She handed him some jeans, “Try all of them on and tell me which one feels the most comfortable.”

“Ok.” Sokka began to take off his pants.

Tohru saw what he was doing and blushed. She smacked his hand, “You're not supposed to do that here!” She led him to the male changing rooms, “Go into one of those stalls and change there.”

“Oh… sorry Tohru,” apologized Sokka.

Tohru smiled, “Its ok. After all, you're still new to this stuff!”

*******************Beth, Aang, and Katara******************

“Oh… hmmmm….” Beth frowned.

“What's wrong Beth?” asked Katara.

“Well…” Beth began, “I don't know who we should shop for first…” She looked at Katara then Aang, “You or Aang?”

“Does it matter?” asked Aang.

Beth shook her head, “No not really!”

“Then let's shop for Katara first!” Aang suggested.

“Ok!”

**************Saka, Iroh, and Zuko**********************

The trio was walking around, trying to find a good store to shop for clothes for Zuko and Iroh. In doing so, a large group of girls had begun to follow them.

“Oh my gosh, he's so hot!”

“What about his eye?!”

“So what? Who gives a damn about his eye? He's still hot!”

Saka's right eye was twitching. She stopped walking and sighed angrily.

“Are you alright?” asked Iroh.

“I will be when these girls stop following us…” she glared at Zuko who was still walking, “Why do you have to be so damn sexy?!”

Zuko stopped suddenly. He turned and stared at Saka, a tint of red on his face, “What the hell did you just say?!”

Saka mentally kicked herself for saying the comment so loudly, “N-nothing. Come on!”

Just then, one of the girls grabbed Zuko's arm, “Come and have some fun with us, sexy!”

Saka growled suddenly, and she heaved the girl off of Zuko, “Leave him alone!”

The other girl glared at Saka, “Let go of me you loser! What makes you think that he'd want to be close to a revolting creature like you?!”

A pang of hurt when through Saka's eyes, but she merely shrugged. “Oh I don't know… but I do know for sure that he hates sluts like you!” She let go of the girl and began to walk away. Iroh followed her.

Zuko glared at the group of girls in disgust and stormed away in Saka's direction.

***********Tohru and Sokka***************

Tohru looked at Sokka, “Hmmm… well those jeans fit nicely… and those shirts you wore before all look good on you too… hmmmm… how much were those things again?”

Sokka went back into the fitting room and gave her the shirts.

“Ah! Thanks!” Tohru looked at the price tags, “Well these are three for five dollars and those jeans are seven dollars each so… if we buy the two jeans and six shirts that will be… twenty-four dollars!”

They went to the cashier who scanned the items, “Your total is twenty-four dollars!” (A/N: I'm not going to include tax.)

Tohru turned to Sokka, “Your money?”

Sokka handed it over to her. Tohru counted out twenty-four dollars and gave it to the cashier. The cashier then placed the clothes in a bag, “Here you go! Have a nice day!”

Tohru gave Sokka the cash she didn't use back to him. They left the store.

*************Beth, Aang, and Katara**************

“Here!” Beth handed some shirts, skirts, and shorts to Katara, “Try these on!”

Katara eyed the shorts wearily, “Are they supposed to be that short?”

Beth nodded, “Yup! That's why they're called shorts!”

“Okay then…” Katara went into the fitting room.

Aang tapped Beth's shoulder, “What are these?” He held up a pink lacy bra.

Beth blushed, “A-Aang! Th-that's a bra! Give that to me!” She snatched it out of his hands and put it on a random shelf.

Aang stared at her confusingly.

*************Saka, Iroh, and Zuko************

“Here. Try this on!” Saka handed Zuko some jeans and cargo pants. “I'll go look for shirts.”

Zuko stared at her, “Where do I go to change?” he asked. Saka stopped and pointed at the changing rooms. “Oh. Thanks.”

Iroh was sitting comfortably in a chair while Saka found him some clothes as well. “Thank you, Saka.”

Saka nodded. She turned around and bumped into Zuko. She stepped back and looked at him. He was wearing a tight black shirt that showed his chest muscles and baggy jeans. Saka blushed and looked away. Zuko raised an eyebrow and looked at his uncle questioningly.

Iroh merely shrugged and looked at the clothes that Saka gave him with interest. Zuko shook his head.

Saka, who had regained her composure, straightened up. “Well um… that looks…” She coughed awkwardly, “very nice on you.”

“Thanks.”

**********Later with clothes bought and everyone starving for food***************

The group met up at the merry-go-round which was located inside the mall and next to the food court. They were all carrying two bags on each arm per person. They still had money for food however.

Beth was humming happily. Tohru looked over at her and told her to `please shut up.' At that, Beth stuck out her tongue. Aang and Saka laughed.

“So Saka-chan,” Katara looked over at her, “how have you been dealing with Zuko?”

Saka tapped her chin. “Well… I got into about four fights with sluts who want to go out with him so… pretty good.”

Tohru grinned. “I bet that makes you happy!”

Saka nodded. “You bet! And not only that! I release more of my anger doing something good!”

“Is what you're doing really good?” Zuko muttered.

“Well… unless you want girls all over you…”

Zuko rolled his eye. “Whatever.”

Saka and Beth gasped. “You're turning into a modern day teenager!!!”

Zuko glared at them. “SHUT UP!!!”

Tohru looked over at Sokka who had been quiet the whole time. “You ok?”

Sokka looked at her and nodded. “Yeah. I'm just hungry. Really hungry.”

Saka, who had heard, jumped on him. “Then let's eat!” They both toppled over.

“OW!”

Zuko's eye twitched. `Idiots.' He thought.

They ordered Chinese food for everyone except Tohru (who instead got pizza because she didn't like Chinese food) and sat down. Beth and Saka ate happily. “Mmmmm!!!”

Aang stared at his food. “How do I eat?” he asked.

“With a fork of course!” Beth replied. “Oh wait. You guys don't know what a fork is, do you?”

The gang from the past shook their heads.

“Well then…” Saka held up a fork, and Beth explained everything. After a span of two minutes, everyone had more-or-less gotten the hang of it. (A/N: Hey. It really isn't that hard you know. XD)

“Dig in!” Beth and Saka both cried. Aang, Katara, and Sokka nodded and began to eat. Zuko stared at Saka as she ate and wondered what it was like for her to always be insulted.

`She isn't as ugly as everyone claims…' He thought.

“Uh, Zuko?”

Zuko blinked and looked over to Katara. “What?”

“I think you should stop staring at Saka. You're making her uncomfortable.” Katara pointed at Saka who was now trying to sink under the table. Tohru's eye was twitching as she punched Zuko's arm.

“Leave her alone!”

Zuko grimaced and looked down at his food. “Hn.”

“Y'know.” Beth placed a finger on her chin. “It's weird how you guys are getting along. Well I mean kinda. We do still fight sometimes, but right now Zuko isn't trying to capture Aang. It's… kinda nice.”

Saka sat up in her chair. She had a cheery disposition. “Yeah! It is nice.” She looked at Iroh. “How do you like you're food?”

“Hmmm.. not as good as homemade but it is quite delicious. My compliments.” Iroh replied. He took a sip from his drink and immediately began to shiver. “Such a strange taste! It feels as if my tongue is on fire!”

“Really?” Saka got his drink and took a sip. “Oh! That's coke.” She handed the drink back to him but Zuko snatched it away. She glared at him. “What?!”

“You put your mouth on that.”

“So?”

“So?! It's dirty now!”

Saka shot up from her seat. Taking her half-eaten food, she walked over to the trash bin and dumped it in. “I've lost my appetite.” She walked off.

Tohru sighed. “Now you've done it.”

“What? What did I do?” Zuko glanced at her.

“You've made her feel even worse than before.” She finished the rest of her pizza, which wasn't much, and stood up.

“How?” He asked uncaringly.

Tohru glared at him. “I'm not going to tell a bastard like you.” She ran after her friend.

The table sat in silence and all eyes were on Beth. Beth blinked and scooted back. “I… I'm not going to talk about it. If you really want to know, then you have to ask Saka herself.” She looked a little worried. “I don't think she'll tell you guys about it though. She was afraid to talk about with Tohru and me so…”

“She might not tell us about it?” Katara finished with an uncertain tone.

Beth nodded. “Yeah.”

Iroh took the drink from Zuko gently. He pulled out the straw and inserted it through the other end. He took in a mouthful and swallowed. He turned to Zuko. “See? There is always a simple solution when you take the time to look for it. You should not have reprimanded her so.”

“Hmph.” Zuko looked down and continued to eat. He didn't taste the food however. He swallowed hard and his eyes suddenly widened. `I treated her like everyone else has.' He quickly finished his food and stood up.

“Uh-uh!” Beth shouted as she grabbed his arm. “You can't just go after them now.” Her eyes were hard as she made him sit down. “We don't where Saka or Tohru may be right now.” She huffed. “I really wish I hadn't left my cell phone at home!”

“What a… `cell phone' thingy?” asked Aang.

*************Saka and Tohru************

Saka sniffed as she looked down at the floor. She tried to calm her breathing and went to an empty bench. She sat down and held her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook as the tears began to fall. Passerby looked at her with curiosity but kept on walking. `Onee-chan?'

`You can't stay here Little One.'

`But Onee-chan… where else can I go?'

`Home?'

`But how will I get there?'

`How did you get here?'

“Saka!”

Saka looked up to see Tohru running towards her. She smiled slightly. “Hi Tohru-chan.” She wiped her face. “Where are Beth and the others?”

“They're at the food court.” Tohru answered. She sat down next to Saka. “What's wrong Saka?”

“It's nothing.” Saka lied.

“Those tears and red nose tell me otherwise.” Tohru patted Saka's head. “Now tell me what's wrong. You're worrying us. Is it what Zuko said to you?” Tohru was slightly confused when Saka shook her head. “No?”

“It's everyone.”

“What do you mean?”

“All those other people keep putting me down, and I try not to dwell on their words but… it hurts.” Saka slammed her fist onto the arm of the bench. “I… know that Zuko hates me but it wouldn't hurt if he laid off of the insults a bit.” Her eyes softened. “That's the only reason why we fight. I'm the kind of person who can't leave things alone.”

Tohru had been silent the whole time. She gave the younger girl a hug. She got up and held out a hand. “Come on Saka. The others are worried about you.”

`Go ahead. Go.'

`Ok Onee-chan.' Saka smiled and grabbed hold. She got up and the two ran back to the food court.

**********Food Court***************

Beth pushed her food around in her to-go box and sighed sadly. “It's.. been a bit longer than usual.” She looked at the others who were done eating and were now just sitting around. Her eyes strayed to the bags then to the merry-go-round and finally to a large water fountain outside. She sat back and heaved another sigh.

“Would you stop?” Zuko snapped.

Beth's eyes narrowed. “It's your fault!”

Iroh looked over at her with interest. `Perhaps now I shall see Nirvelli…'

Zuko's eye narrowed. “What do you mean `my fault'?”

“Just as I said! Your fault! If you hadn't hurt her feelings then Saka wouldn't have run off like that!” Beth stood suddenly as she glared at Zuko.

“Beth-” Katara held out her hands to pacify them.

Just then, Beth saw Saka and Tohru out of the corner of her eye. She instantly ran over to them and threw herself on Saka. “Saka you're ok!” Saka screamed as they both fell to the ground. Tohru massaged her temples while repeating `Idiot' over and over again.

“Hey…”

Tohru looked over at Aang.

“Does this mean that we're going now?”

Beth got off of Saka and helped her get up from the ground. “Yup! Off we go! We're going home!”

Saka brushed herself off and went over to the bags. “So… which is which?” Beth and Tohru went over to her and they put all the bags on the cleared table.

“This is Sokka's bag!” Tohru handed it to Sokka. “Think you can handle it?”

Sokka smirked. “Of course. I am a warrior after all.” Aang and Katara snickered. Sokka pouted at them.

“These two are for Katara and Aang!” Beth said with a cheer. She held one in each hand.

“Do you want us to carry it for you Beth?” asked Katara.

“Yeah! It wouldn't be very fair if we made you hold them both.” Aang agreed.

Beth shook her head and replied with a smile. “It's fine.”

Saka nodded. “Here are Zuko's and Iroh's bags.” She was about to grab the handles when Zuko beat her to it. She looked at him with a calm face, though she was a bit angry on the inside. “What-”

“I'll… carry them for you.” Zuko replied. His back was turned so that no one could see his face. They all stared at him then at each other. Zuko was berating himself mentally. `Why am I doing this?!'

`Perhaps because you want her forgiveness?'

Zuko's eye widened and he turned his head and looked at Saka. He frowned when he saw brown eyes looking at him. `Was I imagining her voice?'

`No you were not.' Zuko heard a malicious giggle. `I've learned that I can communicate with someone without having to possess Saka after my Little One becomes extremely emotional.'

`Emotional?' Zuko studied Saka's expression closely. `I don't see-”

`She's taught herself how to hide her emotions behind the perfect mask.' There was a pause. The voice that followed was full of sadness. `But sooner or later that mask will break and she'll be even more vulnerable than before.'

“I see…” Zuko murmured. Saka tilted her head slightly in confusion.

“What?”

“Nothing. Let's.. go home.”

Saka looked over at Tohru and Beth who merely shrugged. “Ok.”

***************************************************************** **********

Phew! How many months has it been? Mind you, I didn't update what I had written at the beginning of the chapter. So yeah. I think I'll finish writing the rest of this story first then post them every few days. ^^

My writing has gotten a little better I think. I'll do my best to work on each upcoming chapter everyday, but I do have high school now. @_@ So I'm not guaranteeing anything, k?

By the way, I've missed you guys! :[

I'll bet my old reviewers won't be here anymore though. That saddens me but it is kind of my fault. ^^; Oh well. Review please! ^^