This installment of the 'Zuko's One' series centers around all the times that Zuko and Katara meet. Each chapter will have a different POV (either Zuko or Katara, as I didn't to limit myself to only writing and developing one character). This is the series that is meant to bridge 'Meeting Your One' and 'Zuko's One' together! Any additional fanfics will either be snippets of chapters from this installment, or set after 'Zuko's One.'

This would have been out sooner but I've been so busy with work, school, and writing my own poetry book that finding the time to write fanfics was cut short, but I'm back and so excited to be continuing this series. I can't promise regular updates, but know that this universe has not been abandoned (there is still so much to write!)

Anything familiar belongs to the creators and writers of ATLA, and I take no credit for it; anything not familiar or changed is fully mine and that credit belongs to ... me. lol.

I hope you enjoy! Much love.

She is exhausted. Her joints ache after saving Aang from the Unagi. What had he been thinking! She takes a steady breath. He is still a child, she reminds herself, and he's been out of the world since before the war. He must still not understand the implication of this war. He wants to have fun, and Katara can't blame him. She is older now, her childhood lost to the war, but even she wishes she could be as carefree, as naive as the last Airbender.

They hidden behind some large rocks, the wave she summoned and the splash of the Unagi having dropped them there. Aang is breathing very weakly and she's trying not to panic. She's done this many times before. She isn't the most skilled waterbender, rather, she isn't skilled at all. But she has saved Sokka many times from choking on water in his lungs (the first time it was mere desperation that had saved him, she didn't remember how she had done it) so she moves quickly before the final hope of the world is gone. She does not panic even as this thought is roaring in her mind.

"Come on, Aang," his body is trying to do it on his own, but he is too weak after the struggle with the Unagi. "Breathe."

Then something that is scarily familiar happens. She feels a tug on her heart, like a string pulling at it. She sees red. Then the image of that angry Firebender flashes in her mind. Her eyes are drawn outside the cavern. She sees his boat approaching Kyoshi long after her own body has been alerted to his presence.

"Zuko!" She turns back to the still weakly breathing Airbender. Her hands roam over the young boys chest again. "Wake up Aang," she whispers, giving one last pass of her hands over him. That does it, his body relaxes and the water gives way up his lungs.

The Airbender sputters and heaves as the water leaves his body. "Katara, don't ride the Unagi," he coughs, "not fun." And then he closes his eyes, his breathing evens out and he is asleep.

She gathers his limp body up in her arms as she hears the firebenders approaching. They obviously mean to plunder the island until they find Aang. She will not let them take the Airbender from her. Then she hears that voice. That one voice that has been weaving itself in her thoughts since the day she first saw him.

It's raspy and silky all at once and she can't help but be attuned to it.

"I want the Avatar alive."

She presses the young boy closer to her chest, mutters and pleads for Aang to wake up. They need to move from here, they need to leave. Oh where is Sokka? Her mind whirls all over the place. They need to find Sokka and get out of here. Aang needs to get up. Her body is too weak to carry him. She can't do all those things at once. She nearly drags the Airbender as she moves further inwards towards the side of the rocks as the Fire Prince on his war rhino passes them. They have gone unnoticed and she is grateful that her silent pleadings to Tui and La have been heard.

Still, her eyes do not leave the Fire Prince as he passes. The tugging and the ache in her body thrums even as he disappears from her view.

The Fire Prince has started a commotion outside. She can hear that damned voice of his screaming out for his men to find the Avatar. Then she hears the Kyoshi warriors begin to take him on. Something about the thought of the Fire Prince fighting on his own brings her a sense of dread she can't explain.

She's still with an unconscious Avatar in the cave so she can't see what's actually happening. Then she feels the boy stir.

"Aang?"

He opens his eyes. "Katara, what's-" he hears the crash of metal against armor and then the roar of the Fire Prince.

"Zuko." She tells him. "He's here."

"Looking for me."

She nods. "We need to find Sokka and leave now. We can drive him out and then lose his trail like before."

He shakes his head and she gets up. "No, I need to go and face him."

"Aang, you've been hurt, we just need to find Sokka and leave. Zuko will abandon this place as soon as he sees us in the air."

Something tells her that the Fire Prince will not bother with Kyoshi if he sees his target well on its way out. This brings her some semblance of comfort. Kyoshi will be spared if only they can leave now. There's more clashing and screaming. She hears Suki over the commotion. Then she hears Sokka. She doesn't notice when Aang rises and makes his way out of the cave. She's too late to stop him when he practically flies towards the middle of the street where the Fire Prince and Suki are engaged in a fight that seems equally matched.

Parts of Kyoshi are on fire. She feels sick to her stomach as she takes this fact in. She finds her gaze locked on the moving form of the Fire Bender. Feels anger swell in her heart. Anger and fear. Zuko has not yet noticed Aang.

"Come out Avatar!" He dodges a blow from Suki. She's running towards the fight when she notices that he is not firebending as he fights the Kyoshi Warrior. The heat of the flames that is starting to engulf the island make her sweat and she feels suffocated. Another dodge, another blow, he does not use his flames.

But his men are and they are setting everything aflame. They need to leave now.

Then, he misses a step and Suki knocks him to his feet. There is a pang in her body as he falls. Almost as though she can feel where he has been hit. She's almost to where they're at. She spots Sokka, only recognizing him because of his wolf's tail, fighting alongside the girls.

"Sokka!" she shouts, her breath ragged from running. She sees the Fire Prince turn his head sharply to her. There is something that flashes in his eyes as hers meet his. Then Aang shouts over the commotion.

"Hey! Over here!"

And then she loses the Fire Prince's attention. Suki has moved out of the way. This isn't her fight, and clearly, it isn't Katara's either.

"Finally." She hears the Prince say. He takes a fighting stance. "Give yourself up Avatar, and no further harm will come to this island."

She looks around again. She needs to do something. She cannot fight for Aang, no matter how much she wants too, and she is too weak to fight at all. But she needs to do something.

She moves away from where her Avatar and the Prince are facing each other down and along the streets helping women and children move away from the burning homes and into safer buildings.

The Firebenders seem to concentrate in one area specifically and many of the outer areas are safe from their fire. But fire can spread quickly and right now they are lucky that there seems to be little air to spread any wisps or embers.

She is helping a small child inside when she feels Aang land next to her.

He looks relatively unharmed, just shaken. He looks back towards the statue of Kyoshi already splintering from the fire that engulfs it. There is a pain in his eyes that seems to age his face significantly. She almost feels like crying when she sees such joviality quickly turn into solemnity and the young boy's shoulders sag with burden.

She places a firm hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault." And it isn't, not really. It's the fault of that crazy Fire Bender.

Aang looks into her eyes desperately, like a child in need of a long and warm hug. His grey eyes are cloudy, stormy and Katara fears that he'll go into the Avatar State. Kyoshi might not survive that.

Calmly she takes his hand. "Then let's find Sokka and get out of here. Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know he will. It might feel wrong to run, but it's the only way now Aang. Come on, let's go."

She hopes her assumption about the Prince is right.

Sokka almost falls off Appa's tail before she grabs onto the back of his shirt and heaves him up. She hears Aang call out a "yip, yip," and they're off.

She gazes over the saddle and down onto the village. The flames are going down, and much of it can still be salvaged. She prays to Tui and La that they will be okay and that they make it through it all.

She prays to Tui and La that Zuko and his men leave the island before it's too late. Unthinkingly she seeks out the form of the Fire Prince. And when she spots him, she has to hold on tighter to the saddle as her body involuntarily lurches forward. They lock eyes again and even though they are many miles apart she can feel his gaze burning through her entire being.

Her lower belly clenches and she feels the tug on her heart. She sees red.

But as she assumed, she hears him call out to his men to stop their attack. His voice borders on sounding guilty as she sees him take a quick look around the village.

"Back to the ship! Now! Do not lose sight of them!" as he screams this he turns back and looks at her again. Her body reacts and she leans further out.

"See Aang," she says, voice hoarser than usual, "Zuko is leaving. They'll be alright."

Sokka huffs and crosses his arms. There is still some paint smudged on his face.

She looks at Aang again, the boy has a strange expression on his face. "I know it feels wrong but it's the right-"

Aang's sudden dive from over Appa stops her. She screams out to him, but he hits the water before she can finish any coherent sentence.

Bile rises in her throat. She follows where Aang's body has made a splash back down to an equally shocked Fire Prince watching. He holds a hand out to keep his men at the shore. It's almost as if she can hear his thoughts as she hears his voice inside her head 'what is the Avatar doing?' The chills that course down her spine only get worse when she sees exactly what Aang has planned. Only this time, she can't be there to save him from the Unagi if it all goes wrong.

The village is left free of any growing fire by the time Aang climbs back into the saddle. She feels the relief that Sokka expresses from letting go a long, almost exasperated breath.

Aang puts his hands up, gaze shifting downwards as he begins, "I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous."

"And reckless," Sokka adds. The look in her brother's eyes bearing too close of a similarity her fathers.

"Yes it was," she agrees with both of them, fighting to keep her voice from breaking. They could have lost Aang today, three times over. She can just feel Sokka thinking the same thing.

She takes them both into her arms, and feels as they all relax. The fight leaving their bones as Appa flies on against the waning sun leaving behind a smouldering village and a shouting Fire Prince.

Later that night, when they've stopped a lone piece of island far from Kyoshi, hidden enough to not have any enemy find them, Katara finds herself thinking about Zuko as they left him on Kyoshi.

She thinks about how he looked at them as they finally flew on and away for good. Pained. He looked in pain there dripping wet, with a snarl on his lips before he began his shouting.

She tries not to ponder on why remembering his pained expression makes her feel like crying for a boy she's supposed to hate. For a boy whose voice she just can't get out of her head.

She might pray to La before finally drifting off to sleep to help her understand why she feels conflicted over her enemy. But La doesn't seem to answer her, at least not then.