Hey all! KJ here!I finally got an idea for this chapter. But before the chapters, reviews.
Starlight: I'm glad that you think it's a good story. And I am updating, see?
Dark Wolf on a Full Blood: thanks. Updating, see?
Nyx-Night Goddess: Glad you think its neat.
PolskaGirl: Updating!
NOW ON WIT THE STORY!
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Katara groaned as she started to wake up. She opened her eyes a bit and was surprised to see that she was in a tent and not the forest.
"Oh! Your awake!" a voice at the end of the bed said. Katara tried to pick her head up to see who had talked but she couldn't move. She shifted a little and gasped in pain. "Don't try to move. You're hurt." a girl said as she walked to the side of the bed. She was a tall girl, about as tall as Katara, with long black hair that's tied back in loose braid. She was wearing something that an earth kingdom boy would have worn( think Zuko's outfit in Zuko Alone combined with Katara water nation top.) "I'm Kazi. He said that you are Takara, right?" Kazi said. Katara raised an eyebrow.
"He must have forgotten again. He always gets my name wrong for some reason." Katara said. Kazi laughed.
"That sounds like my brother. Except that he forgets everything, not just names." Kazi said while laughing. Katara laughed too. "Wait, if that's not your name, then what is?" Kazi asked. Katara smiled.
"Katara." She told Kazi. Kazi smiled.
"Well, Katara. Your friend really cares about you." Kazi told her. Katara blushed.
"Wh-what?" she stammered out. Kazi smiled at her reaction.
"Yep. Don't tell him this," Kazi said as she pointed to another bed in the tent. Katara could just see it and she saw a body on it. Kazi saw her trying to see and sighed. "Want some help to sit up?" Kazi asked. Katara nodded. Kazi carefully helped her sit up. Katara hissed in pain. "Like I was saying, we had to put a sleeping herb in his food just to get him to sleep." Katara looked over at the bed and saw that a conked out Zuko was laying on it.
"Yeah, well, I had to force hiron herb down his throat just to get him to take it." Katara said. The girls laughed for a bit before falling silent. Katara sighed before talking again. "Hey Kazi?" Kazi looked over at her. "Where am I, anyway?" Katara said, realizing that she didn't know anything past the lightning blast at the fight. Kazi smiled.
"You are at dasanteki camp. It means mercenary, by the way. We're here to fight with the Avatar when the time comes. We are all trained fighters. All together, there is about six hundred people ready to fight." she said. She also guessed what Katara's next question was going to be. "You have been unconscious for four days." Katara just stared at her.
"Really?" she said. Kazi nodded.
"Yeah, and that's why I said that Kuzo is a good friend." Kazi said. Katara was about to ask but she got it. Fake name. "He wouldn't leave your side for a minute. We had to kick him out of the tent so we could check your wounds. Finally, we drugged him. That was the third day. He has been there," Kazi pointed at the bed that Zuko was on. " for a day and a half. He hasn't moved an inch. We tried to wake him up earlier but we couldn't." Kazi explained. Just as she said that, Zuko moved a little. He groaned and groggily lifted his head. "Hey! Why didn't we try this earlier?" she exclaimed. One of the tent flaps moved and another girl came in.
"Good to see that you are awake. Time to change your bandages." she said. The groggy Zuko put his head back down, trying to get some more sleep.
"Great timing, Ali. Could you help me get groggy out of here?" The other girl, Ali nodded. They walked over to Zuko and grabbed his arms.
"Hey!" he said, still in a sleepy voice, though. Kazi and Ali smiled evilly behind him.
"One, two,…." Ali boredly said. She always helped Kazi do this.
"Three!" Kazi loudly said as they shoved him out of the tent. Katara smiled at them. They were just too much fun. They turned back to her. "Time to change your bandages. Lie on your back." Kazi ordered her to do. Katara painfully did what she was told. Ali and Kazi carefully unwrapped the bandages that she just noticed that she had.
"Do you remember what happened?" Ali asked in a monotone voice. "I'm Ali, by the way." she said. "And you are?"
"Katara." she answered. Ali nodded.
"Are you a bender?" Kazi suddenly asked.
"Yes and no, I don't remember what happened. All I remember is Azula shooting lightning at me and pain." Katara said. Ali sighed.
"That lightning attack scarred you. Bad. And your bending might be gone for a while." Ali said. Kazi nodded in agreement. Katara gasped.
"But my water bending….can't be gone." she said with wide, sad eyes. Kazi sadly nodded.
"I've seen it happen before. But water bending, awesome. Then how did you end up in earth nation land?" she asked. Katara went silent. Kazi was about to ask again but Ali slapped her hand over Kazi's mouth. Ali glared at her, showing a rare emotion. Kazi immediately shut up and they quickly wrapped the bandages before leaving Katara to her thoughts.
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Zuko groaned as he came back to the awake part of the world. Some voices had woken him. He opened his eyes and saw Kazi talking to an awake Katara.
"Hey! Why didn't we try this earlier?" he heard Kazi say.
They must have been trying to wake me up. Zuko thought. He heard a tent flap open and guessed that it was Ali. He was right.
"Good to see that you are awake. Time to change your bandages." he heard her say to Katara. He put his head back down and tried to go back to sleep. But they weren't going to let him do that.
"Great timing, Ali. Could you help me get groggy out of here?" he heard Kazi ask. Zuko definitely didn't like where this was going. He felt them grab him and pull him off the bed. They picked him up so that his back was to the door.
"Hey!" he said, still in a sleepy voice, though. He didn't like being picked up like a piece of fire wood.
"One, two,…." he heard them say.
"Three!" Kazi cried and he found himself falling backwards, out the door.
"Whoa, careful!" a voice from behind him said. Zuko got ready to hit the ground but it never came. He looked up and saw that Klario had caught him. "They throw you out again?" He asked as Zuko stood up.
"Yeah." he tiredly said. Klario noticed that.
"Kuzo, man, you really need to get some sleep." Klario said. Zuko glared at the tent.
"I was asleep before they kicked me out." he said. Klario laughed.
"That sounds just like my sis." he said. He tried to get Zuko to talk again but he couldn't get him to. They both went and sat against a large boulder. Soon, the girls came out. Normally, at least on of them would have said something, but both of them were silent. "Not a good sign." Klario muttered as he got up and followed his sister away from the tent. Zuko sighed and went back inside the tent. He came inside and found a silent Katara who was staring at the other side of the tent.
"Katara?" he quietly said. She didn't even turn to look at him. "Are you alright?" he quietly asked. She sighed and kept staring. "I'll go get some food and come back, alright?" Still, no answer. Zuko sighed, stood and walked out of the tent towards where everyone was gathering for dinner in search of some food for Katara.
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Katara heard Zuko come in but she didn't look at anything. All she could think about was her lost bending and all of her pains.
"Katara?" Zuko quietly said.
Yes? she wanted to say but she still continued staring, not wanting to talk.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
Do I look alright to you? She sighed and stared at the wall.
"I'll go get some food and come back, alright?" he told her.
I'm not hungry. He stood up and left again, leaving Katara all alone to deal with her pain.
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Zuko sighed as he grabbed some food for himself and for Katara. He was about to head back to the tent when a hand reached out and stopped him. He turned around and saw that it was Ali.
"Kuzo. Why are you here and where is Takara?" she asked, not letting him know that she knew her real name. He must have hid her name for a reason.
"She is back at the tent and I'm getting some food for me and her." he said. Ali frowned at him.
"She needs a friend more now than ever. Get going." she ordered. Then she walked away leaving a puzzled Zuko behind. He went back to the tent and saw that Katara hadn't moved at all.
"I got some food." he said, trying to get her to talk. "You hungry?" no answer. "Well I am." he continued in his one sided conversation for about five minutes. She didn't move an inch. "Katara! it's a little hard to hold a conversation with someone who doesn't talk!" he complained. He put the extra food on the ground by her bed and laid down on his bed. "I going to sleep. The extra food is by your bed." he said before falling asleep. Katara glanced over at him. He was asleep, as far as she saw. She moved for the first time in a while and walked to the tent flap. She peered out and saw that there were more tents outside and many people moving around. She also saw that the sky was getting darker. She yawned, suddenly tired. She went back and laid down.
"I can't live without my bending……" she whispered. She tried to sleep but found she couldn't. She put her head in her hands and found that she had some bandages on her face as well. I was wondering why I couldn't see out of my left eye. she thought. She turned over and grabbed some of the food that Zuko had gotten. She laid down and let her tears that she had been holding in fall.
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Zuko groaned as he woke up.
What woke me? he thought as he looked around. He saw that it was dark out and that the camp was quietly so he guessed that it was pretty late. He had heard a sound and it woke him. He was a pretty light sleeper. He heard the sound again. It sound like someone's muffled sobs. He rolled over and looked at Katara. He saw that her shoulders were shaking.
"Katara?" he quietly said. "Are you okay?"
"Sorry. Did I wake you?" she said in a scratchy voice. Zuko stood and walked over to her bed. He sat on the edge.
"Its alright. Anyway, I asked first." he said as he poked her shoulder a little, trying to get her to sit up. Katara sat up and Zuko saw that she had been crying for a while. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were tear stained. "Are you….." he started to ask but he was cut of. Katara threw her arms around him and started to sob. He stared at her open mouthed for a minute before lightly putting his arms around her and letting her cry on his shoulder. "Need to talk?" he said while staring at the wall of the tent. Her shoulders kept shaking and the truth came out. Her fears that she wouldn't see her brother again and the fears that her bending might be gone.
"I don't know what I'll do without my bending." she sobbed out. He hadn't said anything while she talked and he stayed silent for a minute before wrapping his arms around her in a hug.
"Its going to be okay. You'll get through this." he said as she cried some more. 'And I'll help you through this too.' he added under his breath. Soon her shoulders stopped shaking and her body relaxed. He heard her breath even out and he felt her head fall on his shoulder. He looked down at her a saw that she was fast asleep. He sighed and shook his head. He carefully moved back until he was leaning against one of the tents earth bent support beams. He let her body on his and leaned his head back, slowly starting to fall asleep. He fell into a deep sleep and for the first time in weeks had no dreams and a peaceful sleep.
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Katara sighed as she help Kazi carry some buckets of water to the medical tent. It had been three weeks since she had woken up and she had made herself busy. She had found out that Kazi was a helper in the medical section and she had started to help her. Zuko was off training somewhere while she carried water. What sounded more fun?
"Watch where your going." Kazi warned. They were starting to get into some rocky areas.
"Thanks." Katara said back. Everyone at the camp was so nice. Only two people knew that her name was Katara and everyone else called her Takara. Katara looked up when she heard a loud commotion at the head of the camp. Kazi heard it too and she grabbed on of the people that was running by.
"What's going on, Arden?" she asked the boy. He smiled happily at her.
"Lady Sa is back!" he cried. Kazi let him go and he took of towards the front of the camp.
"Alright! Katara, lets go!" Kazi dropped the bucket and grabbed Katara's wrist, making her drop her bucket too, and dragged her to the front of the camp.
"Who's Lady Sa?" Katara asked. Kazi slapped her head with her free hand.
"I'm an idiot. Lady Sa is our head healer. She is the one who taught me all that I know. I can't wait for you to meet her, she's really nice." Kazi said while starting to push through the crowd. Katara tripped and lost Kazi in the crowd. Katara sighed and shook her head. This always happened. Kazi kept running forward, to happy to notice that she had left Katara behind.
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Zuko twisted and turned with his swords by the lake. He had been getting out of practice lately. He sighed and let his mind wander while still practicing. He thought about the first day after Katara had woken, the night that he had gotten a good nights sleep……
Zuko sighed as he stirred. He looked down and saw that he was sitting on Katara's bed and that he had Katara in his arms.
"What the…." he quietly said before remembering what had happened the night before. Katara was still fast asleep. He leaned his head back and dozed of again.
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He stirred when he felt Katara move.
"What the……" she said. "Oh, right. My fears confession time." she sarcastically said. He kept his eyes closed. "Oh, he still asleep. Don't want to wake him up." he felt her gently moving his arms off of her shoulders and he felt some weight leave the bed. (not that Katara is heavy).
"You awake, Katara?" he heard Kazi say from the end of the tent. Katara shushed her.
"Be quiet." she said and he knew that she was pointing at him.
"Oh, right." Kazi said. He heard both girls leave the tent and he stood and walked over to his bed, falling fast asleep immediately.
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"Watch it!" a voice called from behind him, bringing him back to paying attention to what he was doing. Zuko realized that he had gone towards the trees and that Klario had gotten in the way and was pinned against the tree with Zuko's swords at his neck.
"Sorry." Zuko muttered as he pulled his swords back. Klario let out the breath that he had been holding.
"I was about to get skewered and you just keep going. Were you even paying attention?" Klario moodily asked.
"Not really. But you shouldn't have came in front of a practicing swords man." Zuko shot back. Klario shrugged and earth bent himself into a tree. They guys stayed out there until Kazi and Katara came to get them.
"KLARIO!" Kazi shouted as she bent him back out of the tree. Yes, both of them are earth benders.
"Ow, sis. Did you have to do that?" Klario complained while rubbing his head. Kazi laughed.
"Yep!" she replied. Katara smiled.
"Guys, it almost time for dinner. You've been out here for over four hours!" Katara told them. Both the boys stared at her. At that moment, their stomachs growled. Loudly. Kazi and Katara laughed while the boys smiled sheepishly.
"Come on. Lets get some dinner." Katara said and everyone agreed.
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"Attention!" Miss Uya called from the front of the building that they eat in. Everyone kept on talking. "SIERRA LA BOCCA!" she yelled at them. They immediately shut it. They didn't want to have to deal with an upset Miss Uya. "As many of you have heard, Lady Sa has returned." a cheer echoed through the building. "Yes but she will not be joining us tonight." the whole room groaned. "She is tired and resting but she will see all of you tomorrow. You can eat now."
Kari jumped up and down in her seat. "I can't wait to see her!" she cried. Klario sighed and grabbed her before she could fall out of her seat.
"Calm down." he said before going back to his food.
"Who's Lady Sa?" Zuko asked. Everyone at the table turned and stared at him. Kazi smacked her head.
"DUH! I forgot to tell you. She is the best healer I know. She knows a great lotion that helps reduce scars." Kazi added. Zuko touched his scar and Katara touched her bandages. "Oh sorry Kuzo. I guess that brings up a painful memory, doesn't it?" Kazi stupidly said. Zuko winced.
"I'm done." he quietly said before standing and leaving the building. Klario reached over and hit Kazi on the head.
"Learn to keep your mouth shut." he said before turning back to his food. Kazi did the same. But Katara stood, grabbed hers and Zuko's plates, and walked out after him.
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Zuko sighed as he walked into the tent. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Why were all of his bad and painful memories coming back all of the sudden? He stayed like that for a while. He didn't know how long he stayed like that but he did hear someone come in the tent.
"Zuko?" Katara quietly said. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." he said as he laid down, facing away from her.
"Alright." she sadly said, knowing that something was eating him up. "I brought you some food. I'll just leave it here." he heard her put a plate on the ground and walk to the door. "Goodnight." she said as she walked out, leaving Zuko alone.
"Why do I always do that?" he asked. "She wanted to know if I was alright and I just pushed her away." he said. "Why do I have these feelings for her?" he asked as he fell asleep with Katara on his mind.
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Kazi hurriedly ran through the camp, trying to avoid tripping over the lazy people who weren't in their tents yet, in search of Katara and Kuzo. Lady Sa had asked her to find them. She wanted to meet them personally! It was an honor for them. She saw Katara walked towards the building.
"KATARA!" she shouted as she ran at her. Katara turned towards her just as Kazi jumped on her.
"Whoa!" Katara said as she lost her balance, ending with both of them on the ground. 'What was that for?" she said once they were standing again.
"Oh, I've got great news! Lady Sa wants to meet you and Kuzo! Tonight!" Kazi excitedly said. Katara smiled.
"What are we waiting for? Lets get Kuzo and go!" Katara said, remembering to use Zuko's fake name. Kazi smiled and grabbed her, pulling her towards her tent where Zuko was sleeping.
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Zuko gasped as he sat up. He had dreamt about the Agni Ki again. He had just laid back down when Kazi and Katara came bursting into the tent.
"Kuzo! Get up!" Kazi yelled in his ear. Zuko groaned but didn't move. Kazi glared at him a bit before grabbing the blanket that was underneath him. Katara came over and grabbed it to.
"One, two,……" Katara said and Kazi smirked.
"Three!" they cried as they pulled the blanket and Zuko off of the bed.
"Hey!" Zuko cried as he untangled himself from the blanket. "What was that for?!"
"Just get up and come on!" Kazi cried. Zuko glared at her.
"What for?" he asked.
"Lady Sa wants to meet us." Katara told him. He glared at both of them.
"I'm going back to sleep." he said as he crawled back into his bed. Kazi glared at him before earth bending his bed on its side, knocking him out of it in the process. "Hey!"
"You are coming whether you like it or not." both of them said before dragging him out of the tent. He fought back the whole time. Klario was waiting for them nearby.
"They have to drag you out here?" he boredly said.
"Yes!" the girls said. Klario shrugged and joined them.
"Lady Sa want to see you?" Klario asked when they got near the front of the camp. Kazi nodded excitedly.
"She always wants to meet the new people at the camp asap." She told Katara and Zuko. They nodded. Zuko yawned.
"Don't worry. You can sleep soon." Katara said as they walked into the tent.
"Lady Sa?" Kazi said as soon as all of them were in there. There was some movement behind a curtain at the back.
"Kazi? I'm guessing that you brought the two new people. Am I right?" a kind, calm voice said from the back.
"Yes, she did. And once she found out that you wanted to see them, she nearly crashed into five people and managed to knock me into a tree with her earth bending." Klario informed them. Kazi blushed in embarrassment. The voice laughed from behind the curtain. Zuko frowned. He recognized that voice. But it couldn't be!
"Hello. Its nice to meet you." the voice said. "Takara and Kuzo, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's us." Katara answered. Zuko sighed. Behind the curtain, a tall lady stood up. There were candles behind her. The curtain moved and Lady Sa came out from behind them. She was tall and wearing an earth kingdom dress. Part of her long hair was pulled up in a high earth king down ponytail with the rest down her back. She smiled at them.
When Zuko saw her his heart jumped. It couldn't be her. It just couldn't be. His stomach churned and his head started to spin. He felt like he would faint.
"Takara, Kuzo," Klario said. "May I introduce Lady Ursa, our head healer and nurse, more commonly known as Lady SA." Katara smiled and curtsied a bit. Lady Ursa nodded her head.
Zuko silently gasped when Klario said her name. She was here? All this time she was at an earth kingdom camp? he head was spinning and his stomach kept churning. The room felt like it was closing in on him. He couldn't stand it anymore. He turned and ran out of the room. He was barely outside when his stomach heaved and he was sick.
Katara had heard his breathing started to get jerked but she didn't anticipate him turning and running.
"Kuzo!" she cried as he ran out.
"Is he alright?" Kazi said as they followed him out of the building. Lady Ursa followed them. Katara gasped when she saw him on the ground. His body was shaking and he kept leaning forward every so often. She gasped when she realized that he was being sick.
"Kuzo." she said as she knelt next to him. He was still shaking and surprisingly, he was crying. "Does it hurt?" he tried to answer but was hit with another wave of sickness. Katara gasped and started to rub his back, trying to get him to calm down the way that her mother had done with her and even the same way that his mom had done for him. He kept shaking but still calmed down a bit.
Kazi and Klario stood back and watched. Lady Ursa saw her started rubbing his back and remembered doing that before.
"Kazi, Klario, lets get him back to their tent." She said. Kazi and Klario nodded. Kazi quietly told Katara and she agreed. Zuko felt them start to move him and he tried to move but his legs didn't want to move. He barely knew it when they got him in the tent and on his bed. Katara put her hand on his forehead.
"He has a fever." she quietly said. Lady Ursa nodded.
"I'll go get some medicine. Girls, you come with me. Klario, get him in some new clothes that don't smell." Ursa said, taking charge. All of them nodded and went to work. The girls left and Klario carefully pulled off Kuzo's throw up smelling clothes. He gasped when he saw the burn marks that were all over Kuzo upper body. It was almost like he ran through a fire.
Man, this guy must have had it rough. Klario thought as he grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt for Kuzo. When he pulled them out, another outfit came with it. It was a completely black outfit that was perfect for blending in in the dark and the shadows. I'll have to ask him later
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"Klario, you're too quiet." Kazi said later. Kazi, Klario, and Lady Sa where sitting in Lady Sa's tent. Katara had stayed with Zuko. "You alright?" she asked. Klario had been quiet since earlier.
"It not like you to be so quiet for so long." Ursa said. Kazi agreed. Klario sighed and told them about the scars and the outfit.
"Strange." Lady Ursa said. Kazi agreed.
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Katara sighed as she put the wet cloth on Zuko's forehead again. He kept moving around in a fevered sleep and the cloth she had put on his forehead wouldn't stay.
"No……" he muttered as he turned over again. Katara sighed and picked the cloth up. She put with the water knowing that it would stay. Katara sat on his bed and picked his head up and put his head in her lap. She quietly started to sing and song that her mother had always sung to her when she was sick. His body relaxed and he stopped moving back and forth on the bed. Katara singing seemed to calm him down. She smiled as she started to fall asleep. The last thing she saw before falling asleep was Zuko.
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Lady Ursa quietly pushed the flap open. She thought that she was still awake because the candle was still burning. She was wrong. Ursa smiled when she saw Katara with Zuko's head in her alp, both fast asleep. Ursa silently pulled the balnket up over Zuko. He sighed and moved a little.
You remind me so much of my own son. Kuzo, I think that you are even like him. My Zuko. she sadly smiled and blew out the candle, bathing the tent in moonlight. She quietly exited, leaving the teens to their sleep.