When Katara opened her eyes she was sprawled across the Captain and her body hurt. And she was very cold and very wet. She tried to get up, but, since her hands were tied behind her back, she only succeeded in tangling her legs with Zuko's and smashing her face against his unscarred ear. It wasn't so bad. He smelled good.

Captain Zuko pushed Katara off of him and stood up. He brushed himself off and examined his arm, which had already begun forming a large bruise. He cast an annoyed look down at Katara.

"You're a waterbender," he stated.

"Yes."

"What else are you hiding?" Well, there was her healing ability. And all the things her waterbending master, a strange and twisted old lady named Hama, had taught her, including the dangerous art of bloodbending. There was also the fact that she had heard his name before. Obviously she had heard of Captain Zuko; the young and ruthless pirate who commanded the feared Blue Spirit, but she had heard someone speak his name before: Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. She decided none of this needed to be revealed. What would these pirates use against her?

"Nothing," she said. Captain Zuko's eyebrow rose like he knew she was lying.

"Untie her," he commanded in a loud voice. Several pirates rushed forward to untie her. Some put their hands in places where there was no rope. Katara desperately wanted a bath. The rope was finally removed from her wrists and she sat up and rubbed them. She was surprised when there was no rope burn. Zuko had some quality rope.

"Get up," Captain Zuko said. Katara stood. She looked at him warily. He was shrugging out of his overcoat to reveal a loose fitting white tunic. He straightened his belt, which was buckled over his shirt; the shirt passed a little down his waist and hung over baggy, black pants. The pants were tucked in worn brown boots. A silver sword handle peeked out from the sheath attached to his belt. All this pirate was missing was a hat.

"Ok, waterbender. Show me your best bending." Captain Zuko stood straight and tall, his hand placed lightly on the hilt of his sword. Katara stared at him, unsure. He wanted…a battle?

"Unless you're too scared," he said with an evil smile on his face. Katara grimaced.

She inhaled slowly, raising her arms and pulling all the water on the deck into a wave behind her, then exhaled, pushing the wave forward to Captain Zuko. It hit him, but all it did was momentarily break his footing and get him soaked. He made a face at her. She smiled sweetly.

Zuko blew steam from his mouth and then brought a flaming fist forward. Katara dodged it by crouching on the ground. She sprang up, raising her arms, and flung her hands forward, hundreds of sharp icicles speeding for Zuko. He kicked and punched them out of the air. Katara made a water whip and wrapped it around his waist. She tugged him forward. He broke free and slashed the air with his foot. Searing heat was inches from Katara's face.

"No more playing, I want to see some real bending!" Captain Zuko called.

"I hate firebenders," Katara growled under her breath. She sent more icicles his way. Captain Zuko blocked them easily. He ran toward her, punching the air over and over, jets of flame shooting at Katara. She raised a wall of ice, the fire ricocheted off the ice, and Katara sliced the wall, sending large chunks of ice straight for Zuko. He punched them with burning fists and raised his foot, but before he could attack, Katara sent a giant wave at him and he stumbled, then tripped and fell. He skidded backwards and hit the mast.

"Firebending is in the breath, Zuko! Stop using your muscles! Breathe!" Iroh shouted from the sidelines. Katara shot him a glare and he held his hands up, apologizing.

Captain Zuko stood slowly and breathed in, then exhaled and flames escaped his mouth. He took another deep breath and then kicked out, a huge line of fire erupting from his foot and speeding at Katara. She raised a wave and knocked it down. Suddenly, the battle got much quicker. Zuko charged with fire streaming behind him from his hands. Katara raised the water and created an octopus-like shape around her, the water tentacles snapping out at Zuko. Zuko halted and brought his hand in front of him, two fire whips tangling with the water tentacles. Katara let her octopus come crashing down and she crouched on the ground freezing Zuko's feet. He melted them easily and kicked fire at her again. She jumped up and spun her arms wildly, the water swirling around her and then flowing rapidly at Zuko. He ducked onto his stomach as Katara sent a five tailed whip at him, then put all his weight onto one leg, crouching, and spun the fire around him in a circle, looking like he was break dancing. He did a back flip as Katara threw an ice dagger at him and landed on his feet. He summoned up a great wave of fire and pushed it towards Katara. She blocked it with an ice wall and braced herself for another wave of fire, when Zuko came flying over the wall. He landed in front of her and grabbed her wrists with one hand, then used the other to push her up against the wall. He grinned and let out a steamy breath.

Captain Zuko's crew was whooping and hollering for him and his uncle was behind him, clapping him on the back. His face was shining as he let go of Katara. He turned away from her, appearing to completely forget about her. She glared at his back. Yeah, that's right. Soak it in, you stupid pirate, she thought bitterly. She stalked over to her tunic, which lay forgotten on the deck, and bended the water off her body and out of her hair. She pulled the tunic over her head, then slowly walked over the mast and leaned against it, casting murderous glares at Captain Zuko.

After much praise and laughing from the crew, Zuko glanced back at Katara. She was leaning against the mast, picking at her fingernails and staring at the ground. Every now and then she would frown and look up at him, and look away quickly when she saw him looking at her. He smirked.

Captain Zuko walked over to her. He stood directly in front of her so she couldn't ignore him. Katara gave him an annoyed look.

"Yes, Captain?" she asked, being sure to put extra sass in her words.

"You're pretty good. But I won; therefore I get to decide what to do with you. You'll work on the ship, following my orders, until we make port in Pachi. Then, I don't care what happens to you." He crossed his arms for effect. Katara met his eyes.

"What? You didn't tell me we were playing for my freedom! That's not fair!" she cried, stepping closer to him and jabbing him in the chest. He grasped her wrist and held it tight.

"Have you ever heard of a pirate that's fair?" He had a point.

"At least I didn't have anyone help me," Katara said, pointing with her free hand at Iroh. He looked away guiltily. Captain Zuko's face twitched.

"He just reminded me," he said, letting go of Katara's wrist. She rubbed the red mark he left there.

"Cheater," she mumbled. Zuko froze with his back to her. He looked like he was shaking, and for a second his hands actually glowed red. Katara backed up against the mast, her heart pumping. Then Captain Zuko took a deep breath and his hands returned to their natural pale color and he kept walking. He trotted down some stairs, unlocked a door with a wooden plaque nailed to it that said "Captain", and shut the door with a soft click.

Note to self: never upset a temperamental firebender.

Zuko shut the door as calmly as he could, but when he was alone is his room he let his anger out. He kicked a small wooden table with china dishes stolen from a nobleman. The table flipped over and the dishes shattered on the floor. He punched the table and it split, the wood splintering up. He set it on fire.

Zuko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stepped over the flaming table and picked up a pitcher of water that sat on the dresser next to his bed. He poured the water onto the flames, and then shattered the pitcher too. He collapsed on his bed and began the tedious task of taking splinters out of his hand.

Pinto, the man Katara had kicked when she first came on the Blue Spirit, handed her a sponge and a bucket of soapy water.

"You can scrub the railing," he said, scratching the back of his head. He turned to walk away, then stopped.

"Welcome ter the crew," he called over his shoulder. Katara felt a sinking feeling inside her. She was officially part of the crew now, for however long a time.

The railings turned out to be covered with algae and bird poop. Katara sighed; it was back to work again.

She untied her hair ribbon from her wrist, where she always kept it, and tied her hair up in a bun. She dipped the sponge in the water and began scrubbing the railing.

The algae and bird poop mixed with the soapy water gave off a nauseating smell and made Katara's eyes water. Most of what was on the railing was dried and old. It was stubborn and didn't want to come off when she scrubbed. Every now and then she came to a snail, and she would peel it off and toss it into the waves below. After what seemed like an hour, Katara took a break to stretch. She looked at what she had done, about three feet of railing, and then what lay ahead of her. The railing circled the entire ship, plus there were railings on the stairs leading up to the front of the ship and the stairs leading down to the Captains quarters and the inside of the boat.

Katara wiped sweat off her forehead, dipped the sponge in the water, and began scrubbing again.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," she sang to herself.

AN: Anyone catch my rope reference? Tehe. Pachi (Pronounced: paw-key) is an Earth Kingdom town I made up. Sorry about how short this chapter is. Chapter 3 is gonna be much longer; we delve into Zuko and Katara's past. Can't wait! Thank you for alerts, faves, and reviews! I saw all fanfiction stuff on my email and I'm like awww, you guys XD Review answer time, I think.

XrhiaX: haha Zuko's a pirate! Hope you like this chapter too :)

SnoopyGirl123: lawls he was very surprised

Kiren: Thank you! Haha :D

Medusa's. Protege: You're welcome! I hope you're right

Devdev2013: Thank you!

Kittyhawk09: uh-oh! No hiding it now :p I've been working on some art for the story, I'll post a link when it's done :)

XxEndriagoxX: He did, didn't he? :p

Thanks again! Reviews please!