A.N.: Thanks a lot for the reviews, guys! More interesting things are coming soon I promise.

Chapter Three: Interlude at Kyoshi

It turned out that the bay with the giant koi fish that Aang wanted to ride was also home to a titanic sea serpent. He made it out of the water safely but not before almost giving her a heart attack.

In their haste to flee the sea serpent's beach, they failed to notice a group of shadows following them until it was too late and they were ambushed. One of them hit Katara in the back, knocking her breath out of her lungs. A blindfold was drawn over her eyes, encasing her in darkness. "Sokka! Aang! L-oooomph," she grunted, as she was hit again in the stomach, and her hands were grabbed and held behind her back. She could hear Aang's and Sokka's similarly pained exclamations.

But Lee's still fighting, she realized, straining her hears. She could hear the clash of metal, and surprised shouts. Then someone pressed a sharp thing against her neck. "Drop your swords," a low voice said behind her. "Or your friends will pay." The sounds of fighting stopped abruptly.

She tried to push the person behind her away, but they were too strong. "Drop them," the voice repeated, applying more pressure to the blade, and Katara was forced to tilt her head back to avoid her throat being slit; she couldn't help the whine that escaped her lips. There was a moment of silence before the distinct clang of metal hitting stone. She heard Lee's grunts as he too was bound and gagged.

They were marched through the forest in silence. Katara tripped often over rocks she couldn't see; a stiff hand was always there to catch her and right her without a word. Aang tried to reason and negotiate as they walked. "Who are you? We mean no harm to Kyoshi Island, I promise. Where are you taking us?" But there was no response, and every minute Katara's heart rate climbed until she could hear nothing but the rush of her own blood.

They're Fire Nation. Why didn't we check whether Kyoshi had been invaded? They're going to kill us.

She wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't give them that satisfaction. She was going to bite and spit and hate them until her last moment.

But when they were all tied to a wooden post, and the blindfold was finally removed, she wasn't greeted by the sight of pointy black and red uniforms. No, their captors wore green and bronze – colors of Earth; and white face paint and they were all girls.

She was so shocked she didn't know what to say. On her left, Sokka was similarly speechless, until he blurted, "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"

"There were no men," the leader replied. She was a short, slender girl with shoulder-length brown hair who couldn't have been much older than Katara herself. "We ambushed you."

"There's no way a bunch of girls took us down!" Sokka protested.

"A bunch of girls, huh?" She approached, snapping open one of her fans, a weapon with wickedly sharp metal blades. "The Unagi is going to eat well tonight."

"He didn't mean it!" Katara said. "My brother's just an idiot sometimes." She looked for Lee and Aang, seeking help; but Aang was tied to the other side of the pole, so she couldn't see him, and Lee, although he was right beside her, seemed… amused by the situation, rather than frightened. She could only see his profile, but it was easy to tell that he was smirking – what was he so happy about?

The only man mixed in among the female warriors was older, probably a village leader or something of the sort. "Enough. Who are you? How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" He walked around to Katara's side of the pole and glared straight at Lee, who sobered under his gaze. "Kyoshi island has stayed out of the war so far and we intend to keep it that way," he spat.

"I'm not a spy," Lee replied, tilting his head up in defiance. "I'm from Omashu."

"Really? Because you sure don't look it," the man accused. "I say we throw this one to the serpent and question the others."

Thankfully Aang managed to convince the warriors that he was the Avatar with a little air-bending demonstration, and the atmosphere changed. The leader of the warriors, Suki, swiftly apologized and untied them. They were welcomed to the village, asked if they wanted anything to eat, they were even given a place to sleep.

Katara was overwhelmed by the hospitality. Not an hour ago she'd been convinced these people were going to kill her – and now they were offering them free food and drink and a tour of the sights. Aang, however, was perfectly happy with the turn things had taken, and spent the rest of the afternoon making friends with the warriors and the villagers. Sokka had holed himself up in the boy's room to sulk, grumbling about girls.

That meant that Lee was the only person she could voice her uneasiness to.

"Don't worry, Katara. We can trust the Kyoshi warriors. We're safe here." She'd noticed the suspicious looks the villagers shot him when his back was turned, the hard edge around their smiles when they spoke to him face to face. It was strange, the way they were so hospitable with her, and all their hostility converged on him. She supposed that if he was happy with their situation despite that, it was probably alright.

There was one more thing that puzzled her. "How did Kyoshi manage to stay neutral during the war?" In her eyes, choosing not to fight against the Fire Nation was almost as bad as siding with them.

Lee sighed and bit down on another juicy, sweet fruit. "Kyoshi wasn't important enough to be targeted by the Fire Nation at the beginning of the war, and they don't have very strong ties with the Earth Kingdom either. They preferred to stay out of it in order to keep their people safe."

She frowned. "Still."

"If they openly opposed the Fire Nation, they would be crushed in an instant. You saw how few warriors they have, and the Earth Kingdom wouldn't send reinforcements. They didn't have any other choice." He got up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get my stuff back. They still have it."

"Really? They gave mine back as soon as they freed us. Why would they keep yours?"

He shrugged. Katara decided to go with him, since Aang was still hanging out with those girls and she didn't have anything better to do. Also, she was a bit concerned. For some reason, the villagers really didn't like Lee. She didn't think they'd actually refuse to give back his stuff, but it was better if she went, just in case.

They found Suki near the edge of the village, talking with the elder. Lee cleared his throat awkwardly to announce their presence. "Oh," Suki turned towards them. "Lee, Katara. I'm truly sorry about what happened. I didn't know you were travelling with the Avatar."

"No harm done," Lee replied, before clearing his throat again. "Actually, I was wondering if you could give me back my swords. And the… things that were in my pack."

Suki smiled innocently. "Oh, I forgot about that. One of the warriors left your stuff in the dojo." Katara didn't believe for a second that it had been an accident, and by the look on Lee's face, neither did he. "It's closed now, but we'll open it again for training tomorrow morning. Perhaps you could swing by?" The tilt of her tone, the look in her eyes, it was clear she was issuing a challenge.

Lee's eyes narrowed. "I'll do that."

"I don't like her," Katara commented after they were a safe distance away. Part of it was the binding and gagging, and she still couldn't believe Kyoshi refused to fight the Fire Nation – but most of it was because of Suki herself. She was so confident, so smug, and had the same hard edge in her eyes when she looked at Lee. "I don't think we should stay here for too long."

Lee was still staring after the warrior. "The Fire Nation doesn't know that the Avatar has returned yet. We're safe here. Besides, Aang looks like he's enjoying himself." He nodded towards their friend, who was currently showing off his airbending trick with the marble to the village girls. Katara grimaced. It was true, Aang seemed to have cheered up from the whole Monk Gyatso thing, perhaps a bit too much. She hoped he wouldn't let all the worship get to his head.

The next morning she had a fight with him about it, because it had gotten to his head. A humble monk, her foot. She stomped off back to Appa and their supplies.

Really, she thought as she rummaged through the bags, making a mental list of the food she needed to get, why was she always the one who took care of this? Why couldn't her stupid older brother be the responsible one for once, instead of going off to sulk like a little kid? She was especially pissed because Aang was right, she had been jealous that they'd been having fun without her. She wanted to play around and have fun too. But someone had to make sure Appa was being taken care of and their supplies were ready in case they had to leave early!

Her task done, she decided to go look for her moronic brother or Lee and see what they were up to.

She found them near the dojo at the edge of the village. Sokka looked angry, while Lee just seemed amused, watching her brother pace back and forth in front of the wooden building. "I'll show them," Sokka declared and stomped inside. Lee followed. Curious, Katara peeked through a window.

Her brother had interrupted the Kyoshi warriors' training. She didn't feel an ounce of sympathy when he got his butt kicked. In fact, she was glad. Katara loved him, he was her brother, but his sexist comments had gotten increasingly more annoying and it was time someone put him in his place. Even if that someone was Miss-I'm-A-Super-Pretty-Fearsome-Warrior. As Sokka limped out of the dojo, nursing a bruised pride (and a bruised behind, if the way he rubbed his posterior was any indication) Suki turned to Lee, who had been quietly slouching in the corner. The glint in her eyes was back. Katara tensed.

"Do you want to show us some manly fighting moves too?"

Lee straightened. "I just came to get my stuff back."

One of the warriors gave Suki a bundle. "Oh, yes. This." She unwrapped it, revealing Lee's swords and… the blue theatre mask? Katara frowned. "Curious thing, this mask. You know, Kyoshi is isolated from the mainland, but interesting rumors do reach us." She held the mask up to her face. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Blue Spirit, would you? They say he's a skilled dual-sword wielder."

He stiffened. "Never heard of him."

"I see." She lowered the mask. "Even so, since you're already here, why don't we have a little spar? Kyoshi doesn't get to see much action, as you can imagine. It could be a good training exercise for my warriors."

Katara missed Lee's response because Sokka popped up next to her, also looking into the dojo. "What are they doing?" he whispered. Then, as he saw Lee unsheathing his swords and taking up a guarding stance, while opposite him Suki unfurled her fans, he smiled. "Yeah! You show her, Lee." Then the fight started.

Katara's jaw hit the floor.

She'd known, in the back of her mind, that Lee was dangerous. She just hadn't realized how much. The way he moved was brutal and deadly, all speed and explosive power. He twisted and jumped and flipped and Katara simply couldn't understand how anyone could move like that. Lee had never boasted or even hinted at this strength. Sure he carried swords around and she'd assumed he'd be good with them, but this was another level entirely.

He was a Master.

Where had he learned? She could feel herself being pulled in deeper and deeper by the mystery surrounding this boy.

At first, he easily overpowered Suki. His swings were relentless and lethal, aiming for Suki's head, sides, knees. She barely managed to block them in time with her fans. He gained momentum with every clash of metal, pushing her back step after step, until he slammed her into the wall with a powerful kick. Suki grunted, but picked herself up, ready to engage again.

"Is this the best the Kyoshi Warriors can do?" Lee taunted.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Suki smirked, even as she wiped a bit of blood from her lip. Lee launched himself at her again, swinging down. Suki blocked with one of her fans, wincing as the blade slid down her forearm protector and glanced her elbow. She swiped with her other hand, but Lee easily blocked it. It was intense and a bit frightening.

"He's going to win," Sokka whispered.

"I think so too," Katara replied.

However, it turned out Lee couldn't keep up the same intensity with which he'd started for long. His movements slowed down, his breath coming in rasped pants, sweat rolling down his nose. As he faltered, Suki surged, revealing a speed that she'd obviously been holding back. She swung at him again. Lee blocked the fan with one sword. She brought her other fan down on it, twisting her grip. The sword flew out of Lee's grasp and embedded itself in the wall.

His eyes widened in shock, but Suki didn't let up; with a sudden burst of energy, she rained on him a flurry of blows that Lee struggled to meet with just one blade. He stumbled back, losing his footing. Katara gasped as Suki took the opportunity to hook her leg around his foot, but instead of falling, Lee twisted back, put his free hand on the floor and flipped away from her. He sprung up, making a move to get at his other sword. Suki saw it coming and cut him off, swiping diagonally with her fan. "Oh, I can't let you do that."

"C'mon, Lee," Sokka cheered under his breath.

Katara watched as Lee gripped his only remaining weapon with both hands and his face became intent, his expression smoothing. There was a moment when they only stared at each other; a drop of sweat rolled down Lee's chin and splished on the floor. He lunged. At the last moment, Suki twisted and twirled, and threw him into the wall with the help of his own momentum. Lee grunted with the impact and turned, but he was too late. She was already there.

"Dead," she announced, as she held him against the wall with her body and the blades of the fan pressing on his throat.

Hey, Katara thought, frowning. They weren't moving, only breathing hard as they stared into each other's eyes. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but there was something charged in the air, in the stillness of the silence.

Lee smirked. "Not quite." He glanced down, where his blade was kissing Suki's side, between the plates of her armor, angled with the gap between her ribs. He could slice into her lung with a flick of his wrist.

Suki smiled and stepped back, while around them, the other Kyoshi warriors clapped.

"They were both quite good," Sokka grudgingly acknowledged. He seemed unhappy, for some reason.

"Are you kidding? They were incredible. Did you see Lee at the beginning? He was like, he was like Aang, but more-" she searched for a word. "More wham!" she exclaimed, making a chopping motion with her hand.

Sokka grimaced. "He wasn't that good."

"I thought you were cheering for him?" Understanding dawned upon her, and she grinned. "Are you jealous because he managed to beat Suki even though you got owned?"

"I'm not jealous." He scowled and stalked off.

Inside the dojo the Kyoshi Warriors resumed their regular training. Lee stepped out, and he and Katara ambled back into town. He was smiling. "I saw the spar. You were really good," she complimented.

"Thank you."

"Where did you learn?" She was beginning to suspect that Lee was involved with the Earth Army. Omashu, his hometown, was where the resistance was based after all, he'd said so himself. And he was wanted by the Fire Nation to the point they had chased him down to the South Pole. Could it be that Lee was a seasoned soldier? His fighting skills certainly suggested it. And there were other little things, like the stiffness in his posture and the shadow that sometimes fell over his face, they were all things she'd seen in the warriors of her tribe when they came back after a campaign.

"I was taught the basics by the best swordsman in the F– a master swordsman when I was younger. The rest of it is self-taught."

If he was involved in the Earth Army, why did he keep it a secret? Katara wondered. It wasn't like they were going to cast him out of the group, on the contrary, a connection with the Army would be really helpful. Maybe he was a deserter? She assessed him out of the corner of her eye. He didn't seem the type, but it would explain some things.

"You could learn, you know," he said, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Learn what?"

"A weapon."

She opened her mouth, then closed it, surprised. It wasn't like women were forbidden from learning weapons in her tribe. She'd just… never really found the occasion. She'd always thought the way Sokka wasted away the morning battling imaginary monsters with cries of "Hiyaaaaah!" was a bit silly and selfish since there was so much to be done around the village. And when she did have some free time, the pull of waterbending was too strong to consider doing anything else.

Plus, benders were supposed to fight with their element, not regular weapons. "But I'm a bender."

"Not yet." At her offended look, he lifted his hands in surrender. "What I mean is… uh… I know you'll become a very powerful bender in time." He scratched the back of his head. "But right now, you're… You would be defenseless against a Fire Nation soldier. And even master benders have moments when they can't bend, like, what if you don't have any water, or you want to keep your bending a secret?" His golden eyes were honest. "It looks like we'll be staying here for a few days, and there's a perfectly good dojo. You could ask Suki to teach you the basics of self-defense, at least."

They were getting closer to the village, and in the distance Katara heard Aang's carefree laughter, followed by girlish giggling. "What about Aang?"

"What about him?"

"He's a bender too. Shouldn't he learn as well?"

"Um, Aang is… His staff isn't just a tool for airbending, he knows how to use it as a regular weapon too. My guess is he can also fight without it."

She gave it some thought. It wasn't like she didn't want to learn a weapon but… It didn't feel right. She'd worked so hard to learn the few waterbending moves she knew, and if she switched to something else now it would be like giving up. Plus, she wasn't super enthusiastic about spending time with Suki. "I see where you're coming from, but I think I'd rather work on my bending for now."

Lee shrugged and gave her a little smile. "It was just an idea."

She was practicing with a bowl of water in her room, and actually making some progress, when Aang dropped by. "Hey Katara, remember how the Unagi almost got me yesterday?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Well, I'm going to go ride it now. It's going to be real dangerous."

She twisted the water to form a coil. "Good."

"You're not going to stop me?"

Great. So first he went off with his adoring fangirls and ignored her completely, and now he wanted her attention. Fat chance. She was finally succeeding in getting the water to move as she wanted. "Nope. Have fun."

"I will," he challenged.

"Great."

"I know it's great."

"I'm glad you know."

"I'm glad you're glad."

"Good!"

"Fine!" He slammed the door and left.

Five minutes later her anger was replaced with worry. Ride the ugly giant serpent that shot water out of its mouth and had teeth longer than she was tall? Even if Aang was childish sometimes, that was downright stupid. So of course she went to check up on him and of course when she arrived he was about to get eaten by the titanic sea snake; and in fact he would have been, if she hadn't grabbed him fast enough and propelled them both towards the shore with the strongest waterbending push she'd ever managed in her life.

The adrenaline slowly wore off, and she was able to bend the water out of his mouth the same way she'd twisted the coil of water from the bowl earlier. Aang coughed and started breathing normally, much to her relief, though he wouldn't wake up. Katara laid him down on his side and took off her soggy parka and pants – the water had been freezing, she didn't understand how he could swim in only his underwear.

She fussed while she waited for him to regain consciousness, checking his pulse, listening to his breathing. She wanted to go back to the village and ask for help, but she couldn't leave Aang behind and she didn't think she could carry him. She decided to wait and in the meantime tried to bend the water out of her clothes.

She'd thrown her dry parka over Aang to keep him warm when she heard the sound of someone running. It was Lee. "What happened? Some girls in the village said Aang had gone to ride the Unagi."

"Yeah." She looked down at their bald friend, who was finally beginning to stir.

Lee slapped his hand over his own face with a splat sound. "I can't believe him." He knelt down next to Aang and patted his cheek. "Come on, kid, wake up."

"Five more minutes," Aang mumbled, snuggling into Katara's parka.

She sighed and stood up. The scare with the Unagi had taken everything out of her. She left Lee to take care of Aang – for once, she didn't want to be the one to deal with him.

That evening, at dinner, Sokka revealed he'd spent the day training with the Kyoshi Warriors. Katara was surprised that her brother had gotten over his manly pride enough to beg for a lesson. It still didn't change her own stance on the matter, though.

Aang was unusually silent, shooting furtive glances at Lee who sat on the opposite side of the table. The older boy gave him a meaningful look; Aang gulped and turned towards Katara. He bowed.

"I want to apologize for earlier, Katara. It was really irresponsible of me to go ride the Unagi alone and I'm grateful that you saved my life."

The apology was genuine and warmed her heart, so she apologized too and promised to spend time with him and his new friends the next day. This made him really happy, and for the duration of the meal he chattered excitedly about all the plans he had in store for her. Katara smiled, looking forwards to it.

The next morning she woke up gasping, but she didn't remember what the nightmare had been about. There had been the same scorching blue as that night they spent at the Temple, but the specifics escaped her.

Must be the Unagi, she thought, and promptly forgot about it.

She never got to do any of those fun things Aang had planned, because the next morning, the Fire Nation attacked.