AN: This story takes place immediately after "The Southern Raiders". This is my first Avatar fic, so I apologize if it's a little OOC. Reviews are always appreciated!
"Are you sure you're alright?" Zuko asked, looking at Katara with concern. She glanced at him from where she sat on Appa's saddle.
"I told you already," she said, shifting her eyes away from his. "I'm fine." They lapsed back into silence.
After a few minutes, Zuko tried again. "Katara?" He waited until he had her attention. "The leader of the Southern Raiders… When you saw him you… I mean, what exactly did you do to him?"
Katara sighed and shook her head. "It's not something I like to talk about, really." Zuko started to apologize, but Katara cut him off. "But I want you to understand. It's kind of a long story, though. Let's stop for the night, and I can tell you."
Zuko landed Appa and left to look for firewood while Katara set up camp. He wanted to ask her as soon as they landed, but he knew it wasn't what she needed at the moment. Still, he had to know. Katara took complete control of the leader of the Southern Raiders, and it scared him. To be able to have so much power, to take away someone's free will if you wanted… Even when she threatened his life at the Western Air Temple, he had never been so scared of what Katara could be capable of.
When Zuko returned to the campsite, he silently arranged the wood and started the fire. Katara walked into view with a pot of water for rice. "Thanks for starting the fire, Zuko" she said, giving him a small smile.
Whoa. Katara actually smiled at him? And thanked him? Facing her mother's murderer really must have changed her. At least she didn't hate him anymore. He nodded at her uncertainly, and went to go feed Appa.
Katara had dinner ready when he got back. He desperately wanted to break the silence, but he was sure that Katara would break it when she was ready. They were halfway through the meal when she finally said, "Aang, Sokka, Toph and I often stop in small villages for a night or two while traveling, so we can rest or restock our supplies. Once, we were camping out in the woods on the edge of a town, when an old woman found us. Hama," She shuddered as the name left her lips.
She looked up from the fire, and Zuko was shocked as he saw the haunted look in her eye. He'd never seen Katara look so terrified, so vulnerable. But she continued her story.
"She had offered to let us stay with her for a while, and I immediately felt a connection with her I couldn't explain. Not too long later, we discovered that Hama was a Waterbender, and she had actually lived in the Southern Tribe. Everything made sense to me, and she became a sort of mentor. Hama taught me so much about Waterbending that I had never realized before. I learned to pull water from almost any resource; plants, even air. At the time I never suspected," She broke off, as if trying to compose herself. She was staring so intently into the fire, and Zuko just had to reach out to her, to assure her that she could trust him with this story. After all, everyone had moments they weren't proud of, and Zuko could have written the book.
He gently placed his hand on Katara's arm, and was half surprised when she didn't flinch. She met his gaze with a serious look in her eye. "Hama told me that she was a friend of my Gran-Gran when they were growing up. But she was captured by Fire Nation soldiers, who had held her captive along with others. She was desperate to find something, anything to bend to help her escape. And she did, finally, in the soldiers' very blood."
Zuko practically felt his heart stop. After what he'd seen Katara do, he suspected something along those lines, but hearing the words said out loud was a whole other story. Katara was staring at the fire again.
"After I found out what she did, I tried to get away from her. But she had taken control of Aang and Sokka, and the only way to stop them from hurting each other was to stop Hama. It was terrifying, making her blood flow however I wanted, but I had to do it to protect them. I will never forget how she looked after I paralyzed her. She was proud of me, and I was sickened. After that, I vowed never to use Bloodbending again." She wrapped her arms around her knees and closed her eyes.
Bloodbending. Zuko had no idea what to say to that; all he knew was that he wanted to help Katara somehow. "I can hardly imagine how horrifying that must have been for you, Katara. But I do know that you are strong enough to overcome anything, and you will do anything to protect your family and friends."
Katara's eyes flew open, and Zuko was shocked to see that they were shining with tears. "But Zuko," she argued. "I willingly bended that man's blood without a second thought! I didn't even care enough to check that he was the right guy! If I could do that, then what kind of monster does that make me? How do I know I'm any better than Yon Rha?"
"Katara!" Zuko grabbed her hands. She looked at him with surprise. "Listen to me. You are not a monster, and you could never be compared to that murderer! You fight with your entire soul, with honor, something I could never fully achieve. You are a brave, good person who will do anything for her family. So what if we didn't know that the leader of the Southern Raiders was Yon Rha? No one could have anticipated that he retired, and it's not something you could have controlled. I know you, Katara, and I know how you fight. You did what you thought was right, and you didn't hold back because he didn't deserve it. You didn't use Bloodbending for the sole purpose of being cruel, and that's the biggest difference between you and Yon Rha. Hell, that's the biggest difference between you and the Fire Nation in general."
Katara slowly started to pull her hands from Zuko's, who promptly released them, thinking she was uncomfortable. Katara gave a soft laugh and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug and stood up. "Thank you, Zuko. And not just for saying those wonderful things about me. Thank you for bringing me on this mission, it was something I needed. I'm sorry I was so awful to you, and I promise that I will never act that way towards you again. Unless you really screw up," she added, making Zuko chuckle.
"But you were wrong about one thing. You said the people of the Fire Nation were all cruel. Well, the man sitting in front of me right now proves that theory wrong. You are honorable, and going to make a wonderful Fire Lord one day, Zuko." She bent down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and walked off to prepare for bed.
Zuko couldn't help but grin at these words. Having Katara's support meant more to him than the rest of the gang's put together, because he worked hard to earn it. Finally, he felt like he deserved to be counted as a member of the Avatar's family.