An Earlier Intersection

DISCLAIMER: I've said it time and again, Avatar: the Last Airbender is no possession of mine. So this is merely my humble tribute to it.

NOTE: I am so very sorry for the delay. I didn't expect to be gone for so long. I'm sorry. My life has been a whirlwind of activity and in the past three weeks I have had very little time to write (out-of-town retreat, preparation for graduation and college graduation, moving out of my house, etc. I won't bore you with the details…)

I don't even know how much time I will have to write. But since this story is not going to be very long, I will endeavor to update it as often as I can. So sorry again but here is the next chapter. I will try to have the next one up soon. Thanks for your continued support.

Don't worry. I will try to minimize delays between updates. The next chapters won't take this long before they are posted.

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Katara really enjoyed going to the market when she could. It was a chore she looked forward to the most because aside from being able to replenish their much-needed supplies, she also got a chance to have some time by herself.

As much as she loved the company of Aang, Sokka, and lately, Toph (though the earthbender was beginning to get on her nerves), Katara missed having some quiet time alone. This gave her a chance to relax a bit and to mull things over peacefully.

Another great benefit was that the market was always the best place to catch up on the latest news and gossip (whichever was more prevalent). She would listen carefully to whatever was reported about the progress of the war, any rebellion attempts, and any leads to capturing the Avatar. People were always eager to talk and Katara took advantage of this. And whenever she could, she contributed some false information on the whereabouts of the Avatar, just to throw people off course a little bit.

One day, when she was negotiating the price for some dubious looking cabbages, Katara heard something particularly interesting.

"Are you sure it was really the Fire Lord's son who came to your village?" one woman asked loudly.

Immediately, Katara was on alert and looked around to see where the voice had come from. It wasn't difficult to find the speaker for a small crowd had already gathered around to listen to her unusual story. The waterbender joined them and listened in.

"I know how strange it sounds," the woman continued, "and if I wasn't there myself, I wouldn't believe it. But it really was him. He declared it to the whole village and he showed his firebending."

"Did he attack you? How many soldiers did he bring?" someone asked.

"That's the weird part," the woman answered, "he was completely alone."

At this Katara's eyes widened and she listened even more attentively. She hadn't seen Zuko since the North Pole and after seeing those "Wanted" posters, she figured he wasn't travelling with a retinue of soldiers anymore. But he would at least be travelling with Iroh, wouldn't he?

"And we didn't recognize him at first, not until he showed his firebending," the strange woman continued, "he was dressed just like one of us, worse even, just like a peasant. And he didn't say much. He even helped my friend repair his roof and talked to my friend's son. We"

The woman went on to relate all the events that took place in the town where Zuko passed by briefly. Katara listened in astonishment at the account of the young prince single-handedly facing a fierce gang of earthbending bullies to defend the villagers.

She had never known Zuko to do things other than hunt down the Avatar so hearing of his unexpected heroism was a treat for the waterbender. She longed to hear more. Unfortunately, the story was coming to an end.

"We couldn't let the son of the Fire Lord stay in our village, of course," the woman concluded, "so we sent him away as soon as the earthbending bullies left."

"Just like that?" someone asked, "didn't he react violently? Didn't he threaten you?"

The woman paused and recalled for a moment.

"Come to think of it," she replied, "he didn't do any of that. He just packed his things and rode away on his ostrich horse without a word."

At this the other people started muttering amongst themselves, speculating and commenting on such strange behavior from one of their enemies. Katara was perplexed as well. What she heard of Zuko at the market wasn't quite consistent with his behavior to them on previous occasions. The old Zuko would not have allowed anyone, especially Earth Kingdom peasants, treat him that way. But for him to take such outright rejection in silence, Katara admired and pitied him.

He seems so different now, Katara thought, hardly the proud prince I fought at the North Pole.

There was still a chance that the woman at the market wasn't really talking about Zuko but Katara had a hunch that she was hearing the truth. The physical description given, the emphasis on his scar, and other details confirmed his identity. Besides, there didn't seem to be any real incentive to invent a story that seemed so strange.

But something about the way the villagers repaid Zuko for his fighting for them irked Katara. He had clearly done them a service, without asking or expecting anything in return. He didn't deserve to be so poorly treated.

"Why did you send him away like that?" the waterbender blurted out suddenly, "he helped your village, didn't he?"

The others turned to her in surprise and Katara felt slightly embarrassed by her outburst. But she was determined to get some answers. And the woman before her seemed to consider her question seriously.

"I guess we were a bit harsh on him," she conceded, "after all, he wasn't much more than a young man passing through anyway."

"If you ask me," someone spoke (who hadn't been asked anyway), "you treated him just fine. He's the Fire Lord's son, the son of the man who continues to wage war on us all. He shouldn't be trusted."

"All that might have been some act or trap to try and capture you," another person added, "at least you were wise enough not to fall for it."

"Never trust a firebender," someone said, and this comment was met with general approval.

Katara didn't dare make another comment in Zuko's defense because she didn't want to call attention to herself. The general prejudice against firebenders, especially those in the Royal Family (banished or not), was so strong that Katara decided to remain silent though she still felt that their judgment of Zuko wasn't completely fair.

She had to agree that some of their allegations had merit, considering their limited experiences with firebenders. And she couldn't blame them for their fears and suspicions. These were the unseen scars of war.

"But he seemed different from other firebenders," the woman from the village added, to the others' surprise, "he was travelling alone, and seemed tired and hungry when he arrived. He seemed very…ordinary. Now that I look back on it, I don't think he intended to harm anyone. He was just passing through, like anyone else."

Before another round of conspiracy theories could be voiced, Katara ventured a comment.

"He's a fugitive now," the waterbender said, "his own father wants him hunted down and captured. I don't think we should think of him as our enemy anymore."

Just after she said this, Katara was surprised at how much she meant each word. She didn't know what to make of this sudden firebender sympathy.

Of course such a controversial comment raised a lot of hullaballoo in the market but Katara was spared from an extensive debate by the arrival of some long-awaited merchants from Ba Sing Se. They brought more products and more interesting news as well. The small crowd dispersed and the matter was soon forgotten, except by a few other pensive people.

The village the woman had come from was not far from that are and for a moment Katara wondered if Zuko was taking a parallel route. Why was he travelling alone? Was he still running away or was he trying to find a new home? How much had he changed from the time they had fought at the Northern Water Tribe? Katara surprised herself at how curious she was about him. From all that she had seen and heard recently, she was beginning to think that she might not recognize him if she saw him again.

Of course, whatever else about his demeanor may change, he would always have that scar to distinguish him from others.

She shook her head at such a notion. Why did she care so much, anyway? It wasn't important. It wasn't relevant, at least not at the moment.

"I must be getting too used to the others," the waterbender thought in an attempt to justify her pondering on Zuko and his circumstances, "so my mind keeps straying to less predictable people."

Katara finished the marketing before returning to the camp, taking her time to reflect on all of the news that she had just heard. She considered telling the others all about it but when she arrived, she saw that Sokka, Aang, and Toph were having some fun. She didn't want to ruin the jovial mood by sharing some serious news.

And they still hadn't told Toph the complete story about their run-ins with Zuko. It would take too much time to explain everything. Katara didn't want the newest addition to the group feel left out. And she still had to adjust to Toph's behavior. Katara had thought that adding a girl to the group would bring her more comfort but it seemed like the opposite was happening.

Besides, the most important thing at the moment was for Aang to learn and master earthbending. And he had to practice his waterbending as well, of course. The Avatar's training was the top priority. Everything else had to be set aside. There was too much going on for her to be dwelling too much on the mysterious behavior of a former foe.

What is the point of discussing Zuko anyway? Katara thought resolutely, now that he isn't trying to capture Aang anymore, it isn't likely that we're going to bump into him anytime soon.