All right. I'm finally back with another chapter for ya'll, and this time it takes place during the Lost Adventures comic called (wouldn't you know it?) "Swordbending". I have to admit, I think I kind of rushed towards the end. Sorry 'bout that. :P Anyways, please do enjoy this latest installment and review! :D

NOTE: The bold AND italic words (example) are representing Katara's inner self. It's like a tiny voice in the back of her head that she's not aware of, but sometimes she will be able to hear it. It's kind of like what her heart is trying to say to her, but most of the time her hatred towards Zuko drowns it out.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan, the brillant geniuses behind one of the greatest cartoon shows in the history of cartoons. Their work is legendary, and I salute them for it.

Swordbending

"Come on, Twinkle Toes!" shouted Toph as she blasted another rock at the Avatar. "Show me how you stand your ground!" Aang assumed a horse stance and punched with his right fist, shattering Toph's attack into dust. He quickly jumped up and kicked flaming arcs from his feet, which Toph blocked with a rock wall. She dropped her earthen defense and said, "Nice touch with the flames, Twinkle Toes, but this is Earthbending training."

"Sorry, Sifu Toph," said Aang as he timidly rubbed the back of his head. "Zuko said I should try to use my Firebending in my other training sessions so I can get a better feel for it." He dropped his arm as he shrugged his shoulders and said, "My Firebending skills just aren't that hot right now." He gave his teacher a cheesy grin and comically said, "Get it? My skills aren't that hot?"

"Ha ha, Aang," sarcastically said Katara from the sidelines, causing the Avatar to look at her. She gave him a smile and said, "I think it's a smart idea for you to use your other bending styles in each training session. That way, you can quickly switch back and forth in your tactics during your final battle with the Fire Lord." The three of them were in a remote part of the temple, an empty courtyard that was being used for Aang's Earthbending training. Aang and Toph were position on the courtyard itself while Katara sat on a fallen pillar off to the side. Everyone else was off doing their own thing: Hakoda, Suki, and Chit Sang were gathering berries in the near-by forest while Sokka, Zuko, Teo, The Duke, and Haru were in the main part of the Temple.

"That's good and all," commented Toph as she crossed her arms, "but Aang really needs to work on his Earthbending right now. I'm trying to make him stand his ground better, and I can't do that when he's jumping all over the place shooting fire from his feet." She pointed at Aang and added, "When you're with me, the only thing you'll be doing is chucking rocks, throwing dirt, and smashing the ground. Got it?"

"Yes, Sifu Toph," replied Aang as he bowed to her, and Toph dropped her pointing arm as she smirked. Aang looked over at Katara and cheerfully said, "Thanks for trying, Katara." She smiled and nodded appreciatively at him, eliciting a smile on his own face. Aang turned serious again as he faced Toph, taking another horse stance as he prepared to Earthbend some more.

He seems to be focusing on his training more than usual. I'm assuming that you're involved in there somehow?

I'm just trying to show my support for him by cheering him on and commenting on what he thinks about the training.

And how do you feel about doing all that?

It makes me feel better about helping him out, but…

What's the problem? He certainly seems happier.

I don't know…maybe I feel a little guilty about the whole thing. I know he's focusing more on his training, but I can see that longing look in his eyes. He wants me to say that I love him as more than just a friend, but I can't say those words.

Boys are like that, Katara. They think we'll do exactly what they want us to, and that we'll just throw ourselves to them because of one kiss. Aang may have feelings for you, but he's also very young and has a lot to learn about love.

I know, but I don't want to hurt him.

Love is a powerful emotion, my dear. It can bring great joy and happiness to the heart, but it can also bring pain and sorrow as well. You might have no control over whether he's being hurt on the inside or not.

That's what worries me.

"Watch out, Katara!" cried out Aang, snapping her back to reality. Her eyes widened as she saw a rock sailing towards her, and she threw her arms out as she screamed and fell backwards. The rock flew over her and smashed into a pillar behind her, weakening the structure and causing it to fall over her. Katara screamed again as she threw her arms above to protect herself, shutting her eyes as she braced herself for the crushing pain. The looming presence over was suddenly blocked, leaving her in darkness as the pillar smashed on top of her.

When she realized that she wasn't dead, she uncovered her arms to see Aang standing over her. The Avatar had jumped over to her as the pillar fell and bent an earthen dome over them, protecting them from the falling pillar. He looked down at her and frantically asked, "Are you okay?" Even in the darkness that surrounded them, she could see his gray eyes shining with life. It was as if the dome was her night sky, and Aang was her stars. She could see herself staring deep into his soul, watching his worry and concern flow through his eyes. She thanked the darkness for covering her fierce blush as she looked at him, feeling her heart race at how close they were in this enclosed space.

When she didn't respond right away, Aang again asked, "Are you okay?" As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she began to see him better. Now she could make out his Air Nomad robes, which were wrapped around his shoulder. His bald head glistened with sweat, giving a slight gleam to his blue arrow.

Her mind finally began to work again as she said, "Yeah, I'm fine." She paused and nervously added, "Umm…could you help me up?" Through the dimness she saw Aang nod and reach down with his hand, taking hers in it and pulling her up to her feet. She stumbled slightly as she stood up, grunting as she fell forward a little. Aang gave out a little yelp as she fell forward, catching her in his arms to keep them both from falling over. Katara's eyes widened when she realized that Aang had caught her, her own hands pushing against Aang's chest for support. They found each other staring into the other's eyes, violent blushes burning their faces like the fury of a dozen suns.

"Umm…hi," timidly said Aang as he stared wide-eyed at Katara, his arms trembling with anxiety and embarrassment. She could feel his heart racing underneath her palms, and she could also feel his lean, muscular chest underneath his robes. She knew her own heart was racing just as fast, matching the frantic rhythm of Aang's heart.

"Hi…" she breathlessly replied, her eyes wide with fear and surprise. She was scared of what could happen next, so she immediately tore herself away from him. She could see a pained look enter Aang's eyes as she tore away, as if he didn't want their contact to end. She quickly averted her eyes from him as she folded her hands behind her back and hastily said, "Thanks for saving me."

"Uh…no problem," anxiously replied Aang as he turned around, letting his back face Katara. He tore down the earthen dome around them, letting the stone sink back into the ground. With his back still facing her, he asked, "So…everything's okay with you? No broken bones, no-"

"I'm fine," Katara quickly interjected, staring at the ground as if she wanted it to swallow her up at the moment to spare her the embarrassment of what had happened.

Dang, girl! For someone who doesn't know how she feels, you sure do like to get up close and personal!

I stumbled when I stood up! It was an accident!

Didn't you once say that 'there are no accidents'?

This is an exception!

I'm sure it is.

ARGH!

"Hey, guys!" called out a young voice, causing Aang and Katara to look towards Toph's end of the courtyard. They saw The Duke waving excitedly to them as he shouted, "Come on! Sokka and Zuko are going to have a Swordbending Kai!"

"A what?" asked Toph as she turned to face the former Freedom Fighter. A confused look came over Katara's face as she stared at The Duke, her eyebrow raised incredulously.

"A Swordbending Kai!" joyfully repeated The Duke, a bright smile on his face. "They're going to fight each other with their swords near the sleeping area! It's going to be awesome!"

"That sounds cool!" excitedly said Aang, who was now back to his cheery self as if the recent incident was already gone from his mind. "Oh! I'll referee!" he happily added before he sped out of the courtyard with a burst of Airbending, leaving the others in his dust. The Duke was close behind him, leaving Toph and Katara alone in the courtyard.

"What was all that about?" asked Katara as she walked up to Toph, who gave her an uncertain shrug. Katara looked back to where Aang and The Duke had run off to, but when she looked back at Toph she saw that the blind Earthbender had folded her arms across her chest and a smug smirk across her face. "What's with you?" she asked her blind companion, who gave a knowing chuckle.

"I felt you two underneath that dome," she said slyly, causing the return of Katara's blush. "You must have really liked being in his arms like that," she smugly added as she nudged Katara's elbow.

Katara realized something at that moment as she gasped and exclaimed, "You meant to do that! You let that rock fly towards me because you knew what would happen! I thought you were on my side!"

"I am," said Toph, "but I thought you could use a little push in the right direction."

"A little push?" incredulously asked Katara as her eyebrow angrily twitched. "You let a rock almost smash my face in for the sake of getting me close to Aang?"

"Pretty much," nonchalantly replied Toph, causing Katara to slap her palm to her face as she groaned. Toph playfully punched her female friend in the arm and said, "Come on. We gotta go see your brother get beat by Sparky."

"Fine," muttered Katara, feeling a little peeved at the blind Earthbender. "But I'm rooting for Sokka, you little traitor."

"Hey!" exclaimed Toph as she dropped her arms by her side. "I'm no traitor! I'm only rooting for Zuko because I know he's going to win, that's all."

"Sure you are," sarcastically replied Katara as she rolled her eyes. Deciding to focus more on the upcoming Swordbending Kai, she added, "I think Aang had some white paper sheets in his saddlebags in case we needed to make a map. We could use those to show which side we support by whatever we draw on there."

Toph scoffed and dryly said, "That's good and all, but there's just one little problem with that." She waved her hand in front of her milky green eyes as she added, "Hard to draw when I can't see." Katara mentally hit herself, chiding herself for forgetting about Toph's condition.

"You could get the Duke to draw for you," Katara suggested. She smiled and added, "I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out." She knew that Toph and The Duke were good friends, so she figured the blind Earthbender would agree to her plan.

Toph nodded as she smiled and said, "That could work." She chuckled and added, "Oh man, this is going to be great! Snoozles getting his butt handed to him by Sparky." She folded her arms behind her head as she pleasurably said, "Ah, I can feel the satisfaction already."

"We'll see about that," slyly said Katara as the two walked out of the courtyard, making their way down to where the others would be gathered at.

Almost done… Katara thought to herself as she began to put the finishing touches on her white paper sheet. Using a black piece of ash from their campfire, she had drawn the symbol of Waterbending on her paper. Underneath the elemental symbol was the image of a sword, one that looked very similar in shape to Sokka's Space Sword. Katara was sitting on a long block of stone, with Toph sitting on her left. The Duke stood next to Toph while Haru sat on his own rock block off to the side, Aang's staff leaning next to him. Teo was in his wheelchair off to Katara's right, patiently waiting for the Swordbending Kai to begin.

The Duke had finished drawing Toph's poster and was handing it to her as he happily exclaimed, "Finally, some action around here!" Katara was drawing in the third wave on her elemental symbol while he said this, and when she was done she admired her handiwork. She glanced over to see that the Duke had drawn a pretty close resemblance to Zuko, only the eyes were black dots and a smile was drawn on his face.

Why would he draw a smile on Zuko's face? The guy hardly ever smiles unless he knows things are going his way. She looked up from her drawing to take a look at the setup for the Swordbending Kai. A large circle had been carved into the ground by Aang's Earthbending, designating the fighting area. The circle stopped about eight feet from where the spectators were sitting, while Sokka and Zuko were in the middle.

Zuko stood on the side closer to the crowd, holding his dual Dao swords parallel to each other off to his side. Sokka was on the opposite side of the Firebender, holding his black sword blade down in front of him and his left hand off to his right side. Aang stood between them, holding his arms out to keep the two fighters at bay. She smiled at the confident look on her brother's face, and even from her seat she could see a fire burning in his sharp blue eyes.

"Don't get your hopes up, Sokka," warned Zuko as he kept his stance, shifting his dual swords for want of a better position. "I started training with Master Piandao when I was just a kid." He chuckled smugly and added, "So I think I can take a beginner like you."

Katara smirked at Zuko's back and silently said, Sokka trained with Master Piandao too, so he's not exactly a pushover.

I don't know. Toph wouldn't choose a side unless she knew what she was doing, so Zuko's got to have some skill with dual swords.

Maybe, but Sokka is so going to wipe the floor with that Firebender's smug face.

Don't get your hopes up.

"All right, you guys," said Aang as he looked back and forth between the two combatants. "I want a good, clean Swordbending match!"

"There's no such thing!" retorted Zuko, holding his left-handed sword just above the right side of his face. Aang held his pose for several more seconds, making sure neither of them would jump in too soon. When he was ready, he whistled with his fingers and jumped back from the ring.

As the two combatants ran at each other, Sokka asked, "So you think you're hot stuff, huh?" He swung his sword towards Zuko, only to have the Firebender skillfully block it. The two parried back and forth, the sound of clashing steel filling the tranquil air.

Katara held her paper sheet up as she happily shouted, "Go, Water Tribe!" She saw Toph hold up her poster, and when she glanced over she saw that Toph was holding it upside down. She smiled to herself as returned her attention to the match, watching as Zuko caught Sokka's sword in between his blades. The two spun around so that their positions were switched, and Sokka yanked his blade out of Zuko's trap.

Sokka jumped back from the Firebender and smugly exclaimed, "Lemme show you how we do things down south!" Katara stood up and cheered for Sokka as he charged in, seeing The Duke correct Toph's hold on her poster out of the corner of her eye.

"Like I said…" said Zuko as he spun around Sokka's sword swipe, eliciting a confused look on the Water Tribe warrior's face. Sokka spun around to face his opponent just as Zuko swung wide at him.

"Whoa!" cried out Sokka as he jumped back to avoid the attack, though his evasive maneuvers caused him to lose his balance. His back slammed into the ground as he let out a painful "Oof!" Katara winced in pain with her brother before dropping her poster and giving Zuko a dirty look. Aang held a hand out to his side as he indicated Zuko as the winner of the match, while Toph held her Zuko poster up with a victorious smile.

Zuko turned his swords upright as he smugly finished, "Don't get your hopes up." Sokka sat up with an angry look on his face, obviously hating the fact that he lost to Zuko.

"Rematch," Sokka said firmly as he stood up and took a fighting stance. "Now." Without waiting for a reply, Sokka charged in at Zuko again. He tried to bring his sword down on Zuko's head, but the Firebender block the attack from above with his crossed swords. Zuko then kicked out with his right foot, knocking Sokka onto his back as he slid on the ground.

"Another loss for Sokka!" exclaimed Aang, but the tribesman didn't care. For five minutes straight, he attacked Zuko again and again…all without success and all with painful falls to the ground.

Sokka's not doing so well.

I can see that! Ugh, this is humiliating.

Zuko's just the better swordsman. Have you been watching the way he moves? He's unbeatable!

Sokka will find a way. He always does.

Sokka's face hit the ground hard as Zuko won yet again, and Katara covered her eyes with her hand as she muttered, "Ouch." Sokka was losing, and very badly at that. With each loss, he kept getting worse and worse with his sword. He kept making mistakes while Zuko kept his cool, allowing the Firebender to flawlessly outwit him time and time again.

"This is ridiculous," said Zuko as he pointed his sword at the fallen tribesman. "I'm obviously better than you. Why don't you just give up?"

Sokka scoffed as he got onto his knee, brushing the dirt off of him as he sarcastically asked, "This is from the guy who unsuccessfully hunted Aang for three years?"

"That was totally different!" protested Zuko as he held his swords to his sides, watching as Sokka got back on his feet.

"Sure…" drawled Sokka as he gripped his sword handle again before charging and shouting, "'Cause it'll only take three minutes to beat you!" He swung at Zuko only to have his own sword yanked out his grip by Zuko's block, sending it flying out of the ring.

"You were saying?" asked Zuko as the now-weaponless Sokka stood back, staring with a defeated look as his sword flew away. His eyes shifted to his back, as if an idea were forming in his head.

Suddenly, Sokka yanked his boomerang out of its sheath and flung it as he shouted, "Hyah!"

Zuko ducked to avoid the projectile as he shouted, "Hey! No boomerangs in Swordbending!" He stood up when he realized what he had said, and quickly added, "Wait, I mean-" He didn't get a chance to finish because the boomerang came back around and smacked him in the back of his head, making him drop his swords as his head was snapped forward. Zuko fell to his knees as he painfully held the back of his head, eyes bulging wide with disbelief and shock. Katara picked her poster back up and cheered, knowing that Sokka had scored a victory over Zuko.

That look like it hurt.

Who cares? It was hilarious, and Sokka won because of it!

"Zuko's right, you know," said Aang thoughtfully as he crossed his arms and walked up to Sokka. "You did cheat, so he still wins the match."

So much for that.

Oh shut up, will you?

"I may have lost the battle of swords, young Avatar," proudly said Sokka as he caught his boomerang and sheathing it into his back holster. He held his arms up victoriously and added, "But I won the battle of words." Aang gave Sokka a toothy grin as he celebrated his unofficial victory over Zuko, while Katara had a smile of her own.

"Hmph," Zuko muttered as he stood back up, an annoyed look on his face.

"You know," said Aang, "I think Zuko should have his sleeping spot changed." He looked at the Firebender and cheerily said, "You can move your stuff to the sleeping pavilion with the rest of us. You definitely earned it after a great match like that."

"Whatever," Zuko mumbled as he walked off and picked up his swords, making his way back to his quarters with an angry look on his face.

Aang seems to be accepting Zuko even more than usual.

He's spent more time with Aang than anyone else. Of course Aang would like him as a friend. Wow…I can't believe I just said that.

Lots of people like Zuko already. Now you just have to follow their example.

Ha! Like I would ever wish to be his friend!

Be careful what you wish for…you might just get it.

Author's Note: Up next, we begin...The Soutern Raiders Saga! Woot! :D It'll be The Southern Raiders episode (duh) spread out over about three or four chapters. The Southern Raiders is one of my favorite episodes, so expect a lot of awesomeness from it. :) Until next time, my friends!