Chapter 9

"I'm Fine. . ."

Kai sat silently on the cot as the doctor bandaged the reopened wound on her side. Occasionally, she flinched in discomfort, but she did not complain.

"Okay," sighed Dr. Shin as he completed bandaging Kai, "I managed to do what I could, but you're going to have to avoid any sort of strenuous activity if you want to recover quickly."

"Alright. . ." she said bluntly

"Speaking of strenuous activity, why were you and Prince Zuko fighting?" asked the doctor. Kai said nothing. She just looked at the doctor for a brief moment, a blank expression on her face, and then got up slowly from the cot. The doctor offered his arm for support to the weakened girl, but she silently declined his offer by pushing his arm aside. The doctor sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get the answer he desired, so he languidly eased back into his chair and returned to his desk. "Okay, well, I want you to take it easy for now. The more rest you get, the sooner you'll recover got it?"

"Yeah, I get it. . ." sighed Kai as she staggered towards the door. Her body was halfway out the door when she slowly came to a halt, her hand on the door frame. Where was she going to go? She couldn't go out on the deck or back to the room that she and Prince Zuko were sharing, since he'd probably be at either of those locations and the last thing she wanted to do was run into him after what had happened earlier. Even though it was Kai's intention to tease and poke fun at him, she didn't want him to think that she was making fun of something as serious looking as his scar. Kai groaned a bit and turned around to face the doctor, who was at the moment, absorbed in his paper work.

"Uh. . ." she uttered, not wanting to disturb Dr. Shin. Hearing Kai's faint voice, the doctor lifted his eyes from paperwork and looked at Kai from behind his glasses.

"What is it?" he asked kindly, with a bit of a smile.

"Um, I was wondering. . . is it okay with you if I stay here for a while and, I dunno, sleep?"

"Sure thing," smiled Dr. Shin. Kai nodded at him before she walked back over to the cot and plopped down on it. Seeing her semi-reckless behavior, the doctor jumped a bit in alarm. "Hey! What'd I say about straining yourself?!" Kai, who had her arms behind her head, turned her head a bit to look at the doctor. She raised and eyebrow and shook her head.

"Relax, I'm fine. . ." she sighed as she further situated herself in a more comfortable position. She finally found a comfortable position resting on her side.

"Do you need a blanket?" asked the doctor.

"No," answered Kai bluntly. Slowly, Kai closed her eyes and drowsiness started to overcome her.

"Are you comfy?" asked the doctor, Kai's brow furrowed in annoyance at the interruption.

"Yes. . ." Silence fell over the two of them again, which allowed Kai to surrender herself to the peace that was slumber.

"If you need anything you can jus-"

"I'm FINE!!" barked Kai as she pressed her face further into the pillow her head was resting on in a feeble attempt to block out the doctor's voice. Kai could hear the doctor chuckle softly for several moments and she could have sworn that he said something else, but it was too late. Kai was out cold.

Once again Kai dreamt that same eerie dream from before. Where a duplicate of herself covered head to toe in blood whispered in an lifeless monotone voice "Die" over and over again. Only this time, when her "twin" opened her mouth to speak, it was not only just her voice that was heard, but there were other voices that accompanied it. With every passing second they grew louder and louder until they grew so loud that it seemed that the voices melded into one, creating a terrifyingly deafening roar. And just like before, Kai woke up just before her "twin's" extended bloody arms could wrap around her neck.

Kai's body bolted upwards as she woke from her nightmare, but the sudden and sharp movement made the muscles in her side spasm painfully. Kai cringed and held her hand against her side trying to suppress her pain. Her chest rose and fell rapidly underneath the loose fitting shirt as she panted trying to regain her breath. Her heart pounded so loudly that she couldn't hear anything else and it also felt like her heart was threatening to burst through her own rib cage. Kai fell backwards onto the cot in an exhausted manner and calmed her breathing and heartbeat. Once she had regained her composure she looked around and suddenly noticed that doctor was no longer in the small infirmary and she could faintly hear voices coming from the other side of the door. Slowly, Kai got up from the cot and crept over to the door, stood there completely still and listened.

"So she's in there?" murmured a voice

"Yeah, apparently she got into a brawl with Prince Zuko,"

"Oh? who won?"

"I heard Prince Zuko did," Kai's eye twitched in annoyance at the comment.

"No, apparently Shin and General Iroh came in and stopped it before anything serious could happen,"

"I saw the fight from the control room. That girl is seriously dangerous, she moves so fast that I almost can't see her and she looks like some sort of animal too. Do you think it's a good idea for her to stay here with all of us? Who knows what kind of trouble she might bring-"

"An animal? I don't get how you see that, if you ask me she's pretty cute,"

"Cute? Hey, all she has to do is move some hair from that face of hers and I'll bet she'll be pretty damn hot,"

"Mizuki, if that was pun, that was horrible,"

"HEY!" Kai recognized this voice, "What are you men doing?! Quit standing in front of my infirmary gossiping like a bunch of old women and get back to your stations!" She could hear the men who were standing just outside the infirmary door now leaving. Kai reached for the door and before even one finger touched the cold metal, the door slid open revealing the doctor. His brow was furrowed and he had a look of frustration about his face. His eyes widened in surprise, he clearly wasn't expecting Kai to be up, let alone be standing in front of the door. "Oh, hey kid. . ." he said as he rubbed his temples a bit before walking into the office, "how long have you been up?"

"A couple of minutes. . ." said Kai, her voice trailing off at the end of her sentence. Kai looked at the doctor who plopped down into his usual chair. His face depicted a mixture of frustration, anger, worry and other emotions that she could describe. The room became silent with the exception of the doctor's incoherent mutterings and sighs of frustration and seeing that there was nothing to be said, Kai shrugged and walked towards the door. Suddenly, Dr. Shin bolted out of his seat and grabbed Kai's bandaged wrist and jerked her back into the infirmary.

"Where are you going?!" exclaimed the doctor, he almost seemed appalled by the simple action of Kai walking out the door.

"Uh, outside. . ." she said slowly. Gently she tugged her hand trying to free herself from the doctor's grip. But, instead of releasing her, his grip only tightened. It was almost like Dr. Shin was trying to protect her from something that lay waiting to attack Kai once she left the safety of the infirmary.

"No, you're not!"

"What? Why?" Kai demanded in a harsh tone that startled the doctor.

"Look," he said sternly, "you are not leaving this room!"

"So, what are you going to lock me up here?!"

"I don't mean it like that," sighed the frustrated doctor.

"Then how do you mean it?!" demanded Kai angrily.

"I mean, you're not leaving this room without someone accompanying you. . ." slowly explained the doctor in an attempt to calm the two of them.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" exploded Kai, "WHAT AM I?! FIVE?!!" Kai violently jerked her arm away from the doctor and stormed out of the infirmary.

"WAIT HOLD ON!!" called the doctor as he scrambled after her, but when he looked down the hallway Kai was no where to be found. Kai ran down the dimly lit hallway, her muscles aching with every stride and crying out for her to "stop". But, she ignored her own pain and fatigue and kept running.

"Where does he get the idea to tell me what to do!" she thought to herself as she turned made a sharp turn around a corner. Suddenly, Kai found herself on the ground her butt and legs throbbing achingly against the cold metal. She looked up, stunned and confused as to how she had fallen.

"Oh! My apologies!" said General Iroh as he bent down and offered a hand to help the fallen girl up, "Forgive me, I didn't see you there. I suppose my cushion of belly knocked you down," he said with a hearty laugh, patting his large stomach, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. . ." grumbled Kai as she got up, ignoring Iroh's offer to help.

"Are you sure?" he pressed, "You appear to me in pain. . ." Kai looked at him with a slight glare.

"I'm fine. . ." she said between her clenched teeth. Kai sighed and started to walk away, only to have Iroh pull her back and drag her in the other direction, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she barked.

"You look like you need some tea. I have recently acquired a new set of tea cups that I'm sure you would just love!" laughed Iroh as he dragged Kai down the hall.

"I'm not interested in a damn tea set!" she shouted, struggling against the old man's grip.

"Well, that does make sense. After all, it is not the tea set that makes the drink so warm and fulfilling, it is the love that goes into making it," explained Iroh in a mocking, yet philosophical manner.

"I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOUR DAMN LOVE POTION TEA!!" she shouted

"You'll have some? Splendid!" he said with a hearty laugh.

"WHAT?!! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!! LET ME GO!!" bellowed Kai. She continued to struggle and pull herself away from the old man, but he continued to drag her down the hallway. In the midst of the struggle, Kai noticed a man emerge from down the hall, where she had originally planned on going, behind a small pillar that jutted out from the wall, like he had been waiting for something. He looked at her with for moment then at Iroh. His eyes narrowed and filled with anger when they fell upon the laughing old man. Kai ignored him and focused her attention on her "kidnapper" only this time, she struggled less and eventually followed him without question.

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Author's Note:

GAH!! Another filler chapter…. –does the bow of shame- sorry, sorry, sorry, SORRY!!!

Anyways as always, sorry for any typos (I proof read my work, but some typos may still be there) and comments/review are welcome.

Till next time,

BeautifullyAbstract