A/N: Yay! Chapter 2! The conversation between Iroh and Zuko might seem a bit rushed, but it is because both of them are kinda edgy and nervous around the other one since the "incident"...well, that's all for now! ;D


Chapter 2: In the Shadows

Zuko had changed back into his worker's robes...peasant's robes. If his father had seen him, he would've been ashamed...but lately, Zuko had cared less about what his father thought of him, and more about what his uncle had thought. The old man may have been a bit eccentric...but Iroh had been the only one who had stood by his side the last three years. When Zuko made a mistake, Uncle had always been there to bail him out...when he had left the old general's company, believing there no reason to travel together anymore, Iroh had secretly followed him. He'd watched out for him...

And then, Zuko had let him down. Iroh had held so much faith in him...faith that he'd choose good, instead of evil...faith that he would join with the Avatar and defeat his father, instead of join Azula and work with the man who had marked him for life. Now, even Zuko himself didn't know why he'd helped Azula. She had never helped him with anything...and his father held nothing but contempt for his firstborn. So why had Zuko disappointed the one man in his life who had actually mattered, only to help the one who could care less whether he existed or not?

Even he didn't understand what had been going through his mind back in Old Ba Sing Se...

But now he knew what he had to do, and as he made his way through the endless halls of the palace, Zuko's golden eyes searched for any sign of his sister. Azula was nowhere to be found as he went down the staircases to the dungeons, where Iroh had been taken. The old firebender was silent as Zuko opened the metal door; he was immersed in his meditation, a small fireball floating over his open palms.

"Uncle?" Zuko's voice was soft, uncertain. Just the thought of his uncle made him remember the look of complete shame on his face back in the catacombs...when he'd saved the Avatar and the waterbending girl.

Iroh's eyes opened, and the flame fizzled out in his hands. He gave his nephew a single, cold look before turning away, his eyes glistening sadly.

"Please, Uncle...I...I'm...Sorry." Zuko stepped up to the bars that separated him from his beloved uncle. He set down the tray in his hands, pressing a button to open the cell door, before picking the tray up again and stepping around the old general. He sat the metal tray down in front of Iroh, a sad frown on his handsome face. "I hope this is ok...I didn't make it this time. I saw you throw the tea out back at the abandoned town..."

He took a step back, uncertain, when his uncle didn't even chuckle. Zuko knew his tea making skills were…sub-standard to say the least, but the old man's lack of emotion was unsettling to the scarred Prince. He tried once more to get a reaction. "It's ginseng...your favorite."

When Iroh made no acknowledgement that Zuko was there, he sighed and started to leave. His hand was inches from the doorknob when that familiar voice came to him again…and Zuko was so relieved to hear it that he was unsure if it was reality, or his mind playing tricks on him.

"Zuko, I never would have imagined you taking Azula's side back there. You said yourself...'Azula always lies'..."

The prince turned around abruptly, eyes searching the old man. His head was held high, despite his position as a prisoner...much like another prisoner he'd had, over a year before...Zuko shook himself, nodding solemnly.

"I know, Uncle…but I'm going to change it."

"It is not that easy. Now that you have given her your trust, it will be that much harder when you betray her…and it will be that much harder to earn my trust and respect back…" Iroh stood, turning to his nephew. "I will give you one more chance, my young nephew." He frowned, but a spark of hope for the misguided prince shined in his eyes. "This time, I know you will make the right choices."

"I'll try." Zuko turned to leave, but then spun back to face Iroh. He threw his arms around the old general for just a moment, and then hurried off…leaving his uncle with a small smile on his old lips.


Katara slid down another side alley, clutching the package of medicine to her chest. Jin's words rang in her ears…"Our only hope of peace now…"

The young woman and her mother had been all too kind to her…Jin had made her a cup of tea to help her nerves…but it hadn't helped much when she found out where Jin had learned how to make such good tea.

"I learned from my friend Li's uncle, Mushi." Jin had told her. "They just opened a new tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon, and Mushi asked me to…"

"Wait." Katara had interrupted. "The Jasmine Dragon?"

Jin had nodded, oblivious to the growing dread in her companion as she went on. "Yes, Mushi is a very generous and kind man, if a bit eccentric…but Li is different. He's much more closed and quiet…I imagine something traumatic happened to him when he was younger that makes him act so troubled. He's really quite nice once you crack his shell, and he's handsome, even with the scar…"

"Scar!" Katara had jumped at that, nearly upsetting her teacup. That single word had set it in stone. Everything the girl had told her had been triggering memories of the angsty Prince and his uncle…but it was that one statement that had triggered the worst of them all…the frenzied look in the boy's liquid gold eyes as he'd attacked…and then the look of final triumph as the young waterbender had been brought to her knees, her best friend mortally wounded in her arms…

The dazed look in Jin's eyes had faded when the other girl had, and Katara hastily made up an excuse to leave. "Thank you for the medicine, and the tea, but I really must get back to Aang." And with that, she'd almost ran from the store, leaving a confused Jin behind.

"Once you crack his shell…" Katara grumbled to herself as she turned a corner in the dark alley, "There's nothing more under that than a heartless, self-centered…"

She stopped with a grunt as she ran into someone, and as she regained her breath, the smell of alcohol wafted to her sensitive nostrils. The huge man looked down at her, a drunken smile on his ugly face.

"Hello there, young lady." His words slurred; his eyes glazed over. "What'cha doin' out here so late?"

Katara mumbled something about shopping, and tried to push past the wasted man's wide girth. Unfortunately, the narrow alley left her little room to work with, and she found herself trapped.

"Why don't'cha let me walk you home?" he told her, reaching for her arm. The smell of his breath nearly made her throw up, but she held it down. "And then you can make me some…"

He stopped abruptly as a thin rope of water lashed across his face, leaving a deep red welt. He growled, stepping closer as Katara moved her hands to prepare for another attack. "A feisty one, eh? All the better for…"

He never finished the remark, because a stone hand flew from the shadows near Katara's shoulder and clapped itself over his mouth. The force was so much that it toppled the drunken man, leaving him groaning on the cold, wet ground. Katara turned to thank her savior, but another hand reached out to her, swiftly moving to cover her mouth as the figure moved from the shadows.

"Don't try to run." His voice was monotonous, and almost soothing to the terrified girl. He moved to her side, sweeping his hand in front of her eyes to remove the stone glove from her mouth. Her eyes followed the movement, and she didn't notice the man's other hand move swiftly to the base of her neck. The blow left her reeling, and in the few seconds it took to recover, he hit a few more pressure points. Katara fell, incapacitated, into his arms. Her eyes fluttered shut, and he grinned as he hoisted her into his arms, starting off through the mist that was starting to fall from the cloudy skies above the city.


A/N: Yes, I know...every GOOD Zutara fanfic has Katara getting attacked by a drunk man and then saved by Zuko...but this time, she was saved by a Dai Li member and captured again! But that doesn't mean my fic won't be as good...it just means the Dai Li guy got to her first! ;D