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Chapter 10

Come Closer

…

Katara pushed a stray strand of dark brown hair over her shoulder and turned her face to the evening breeze. It was sunset, and the palace gardens were bathed in pink and gold from the fading light. Leaning back while enjoying the view, she took in a long, deep breath filled with the scent of the distant ocean and summer blossoms. As she did, she noticed Suki's curious eyes watching her.

"What?" Katara asked.

"Nothing," Suki said simply.

Not caring to press further, Katara looked over her shoulder towards the outdoor training course down the path from the tree they were sitting under. If she squinted hard enough, she could see the light reflecting off of the faux weapons some men were sparring with.

Watching their swift movements and the occasional smooth blast of fire from their fists made Katara itch to join them.

However, she was not going to. She was purposefully sitting out there with Suki and her nephew to do some much needed chatting. It started out as any other conversation they had, but Suki stopped talking at one point and decided to give her curious glances and contemplative silence.

Katara wouldn't mind it, but it dragged on to an almost uncomfortable level. When she met Suki's eyes again, this time with a downward turn on her lips, her sister-in-law finally seemed to get the message.

"Sorry," she said, "I was just thinking about something."

"What?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with Zuko lately."

"Well, now that I'm actually being included in political talks, I am."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?" she asked as she pulled a purple flower out of her nephew's hands before he finished shoving it in his mouth. To keep him from crying over his suddenly lost toy, she distracted him by handing him a stick. He took interest in it immediately and hobbled over to Suki to sit on her lap.

"You guys are up late almost every night."

Katara ran a hand through her hair in contemplation. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hm."

"Hm, what?"

"Hm, nothing. It was just a comment."

"I haven't spent that much time with him."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you have."

She looked down and started pulling at the grass. "You know how busy we are. There's a lot of work we have to do, and Zuko specifically asked that I be included in business now that he's feeling better."

"If political talk is all you guys are doing late into the night, it's a wonder why you aren't walking around with stress headaches every day."

"It doesn't bother me. I like being a part of things. Work isn't all we talk about."

"Okay, what are you staying up late to talk about?"

Katara was quiet for a moment, unsure what to say exactly. Now that she thought about it, there wasn't anything in particular they chatted about into the late hours of the night. They lost track of time changing from one random topic to another. "Things. Is there something wrong with it?"

She shrugged. "Nope."

Katara did not like the look Suki was making, but instead of saying something more, she laid down on the grass and stared at the sky.

Maybe she was spending a lot of time with him, but it wasn't time wasted. She could explain to Suki (again) that they were both trying to figure out what was going on with the Northern Water Tribe. Her, Zuko, and occasionally Sokka spent long hours into the night discussing their slowly forming plan on how they were going to handle the problem.

Not that it ever went anywhere. Katara's suggestions of spearheading the problem were always shutdown by both of them. Zuko and her brother would rather scheme in the dark like everyone else around the palace than do something productive about it.

She huffed, frustrated with that particular thought.

Zuko asked her not to confront the northern tribe about the problem. She wholeheartedly did not like it, but she was legitimately trying to learn the ropes of how things worked. If her brother and Zuko insisted that staying away for the time being was the way, then she would begrudgingly try her hardest to listen to them.

It certainly didn't make it easy, though.

"Why were you thinking about it – Zuko and I staying up?" Katara asked, trying to distract herself from her slowly forming bad mood.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then," she sighed and leaned over so that she was looking straight down at Katara. "I'm sure you've noticed how easily rumors are spread here, right?"

"Yes, all the women do at the bathhouse is gossip with each other."

"We do that too."

"True," Katara admitted.

"Right, well, in the bathhouse last night, when you and Zuko were hanging out, I heard something."

"What was it?"

"It's about you and Zuko." Katara only blinked. Suki continued, "Apparently, there's a rumor going around that you spent the night with him."

She scoffed in response, waiting for Suki to admit she was joking with her. However, when seconds passed and her serious expression didn't change, Katara realized she was not trying to be funny. "What?" she said solidly with widened eyes, then quickly sat up, almost bumping Suki in the chin. "They're saying what?!"

"Do I need to spell it out? They're saying the Water Tribe ambassador spent a passionate night with the Fire Lord. Some are saying multiple nights."

Though completely shocked and angered, her face suddenly turned a deep shade of red when uninvited images flooded her thoughts at the way Suki worded those sentences.

"That-! I can't believe they're saying that!"

"I can."

"What!" Katara shrieked, "Suki, you can't be serious!"

"I said I can believe it. I didn't say I actually do."

"That's just as bad!"

She shrugged. "I can see why the rumor started. You guys don't exactly keep it a secret that you're alone with each other at night."

"People are with him all day long! It's the same thing!"

Suki hesitated. "Katara, you stay up with him past midnight and then you sneak back to your room to get to bed. That sounds every bit of suspicious to anyone looking at this from the outside."

"But we're not- we're not-!"

"You can just say the term 'sleeping together'. I know you guys aren't doing that, but a few others seem to think so."

Katara jumped to her feet. With white knuckled fists, she raged, "That's so ridiculous! We are not doing anything like that! Don't they all know I'm with Aang?!"

"They do. They used the term 'scandal' when they were talking about it."

"I can't believe this! I would never- we aren't-!"

Katara froze when she heard the sound of Sokka's laughter and Zuko's low voice. She turned to see them walking side by side from the training course towards her and Suki. She clamped her mouth shut when her brother stepped between them and scooped her nephew up into the air. When she looked to Zuko, he had a smile ready for her.

Katara immediately turned away from him and he looked taken aback by her cold shoulder. With her cheeks reddening again, thinking of nothing but what Suki just told her, she folded her arms with a scowl. Sokka started a conversation and Suki mouthed a 'we'll talk later' to her when neither men were paying attention. Katara appreciated her willing ear to rant to, but she did not want to discuss it further!

Spreading rumors about her and Zuko? Unbelievable! Claiming that they- that they spent the night with each other? Absurd!

It was official, she hated this place! Secrets, scheming, and now obscene rumors? This was not the kind of trip to the Fire Nation she was expecting!

"Someone doesn't look happy," Sokka said.

"I'm fine," she muttered, trying to angle her face away from Zuko when he eyed her questioningly.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Gossiping," said Suki.

"Oh, your guys' favorite past time. What is it now? Another governor's teenage daughter pregnant? A love affair with a noble and a maid?"

"None of your business," said Katara; her eyes briefly meeting Zuko's before turning away again.

"I didn't really care anyway," he said with a shrug, then turned to Zuko. "You said the chefs will make whatever I want, right?"

"That's what I said."

"Hungry?" he asked Suki.

"I could eat something."

"Good. Katara?"

"I'm fine."

"Alright, well, we're going in. I'm starving." He helped Suki to her feet, then looked over his shoulder. "Sorry I'm bailing on you guys tonight."

"We'll do it again before you leave," said Zuko.

With one last goodbye, they walked away. Katara tensed up the moment she was left alone with Zuko. As she watched her family disappear into the palace, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes in distaste. Those gossiping women would probably just love to catch her and Zuko alone like this. More fuel for that stupid rumor.

"Something on your mind?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, but it's not important. I don't want to talk about it."

"I didn't ask you to."

"You were going to."

"There's a rumor going around that you spent the night with him."

With a groan, Katara shook her head to get rid of the words, and considered the option of following her brother and Suki into the palace to leave Zuko by himself. It wasn't a bad idea, especially since people were getting the wrong idea about their time spent together. The last thing she wanted was for more people to hear about it and take it as truth instead of bathhouse gossip. Even if it was untrue, to certain ears, it could be detrimental to her reputation as an ambassador…

Katara bit her lip.

'Maybe it is a good idea if I leave him alone tonight. If anything, to stop more of that rumor from spreading…'

"Do you have any plans tonight?" he asked.

"Not exactly."

"Care to go into the city with us?"

"'Us'?

"The Royal Guard and I. We're going to train down there."

"At night?"

He nodded. "We're doing tracking drills. I told you about it before."

"When-" she started, but didn't finish, suddenly remembering the last time they went into the city for the vigil. If she remembered correctly, she was the one who suggested they try it out when he brought it up. It seemed fun at the time. "Oh, you mean running around like a bunch of criminals."

"If that's how you want to put it. Want to come?"

She looked off to the side in contemplation, then sighed, "I don't know."

"Why the hesitation?"

If only he knew.

Going inside and leaving him be was probably the best option, but she couldn't help her slight curiosity. It seemed like a fun challenge the first time he brought it up, and going out definitely beat spending the night sitting around her room.

"You said other people are going to be there?"

"Yes," he answered with a questioning look.

"Okay…are you sure you want to invite me? You seemed pretty skeptical when I brought it up the first time."

Zuko's name was called in the distance behind them. Shen waved at him, trying to usher him back to the training course. "I'm still skeptical. You're going to be easy to find, but I think you should come anyway."

"Why?"

"I want you to. For old time's sake, I guess. What else do you have to do tonight?" He started walking away, but looked at her over his shoulder with expectant eyes.

'Keep a rumor from growing,' she mentally answered.

Zuko kept walking until the sound of his footsteps disappeared and nothing but the swaying of the trees met her ears. Feeling antsy in the quiet, she sighed heavily, then found her feet moving forward before she realized it.

Rumors were rumors, Katara told herself, and that's all they were. They spread like wildfire, were extremely overexaggerated, and often untrue altogether. Why should she worry about what a few women were gossiping about? She heard a few far more obscene rumors make their rounds lately, and no one actually seemed to take them seriously.

If worse came to worse, there were people she trusted to help set the record straight. She knew the truth, Zuko would know the truth if he ever caught wind of the rumor, and if anyone asked, she'd pound the truth so far into their ears they'd walk away with a massive migraine.

It was nothing but a floating lie, and she wasn't going to tip toe around it as if it were true. The next time she visited the bathhouse, she was going make it very clear to all of them how much of a lie that 'scandal' was.

And she would refuse to leave until she found out who started that rumor in the first place.

Feeling good about her decision, Katara unfolded her arms and tried to let it go for the rest of the evening.

Focusing her attention on Shen, who stood at the head of the group going through drill plans, she finally started to listen. She didn't know the captain of the guard very well, but the few times she spoke with him he came off as a jokester. To hear him giving instructions in a commanding, deep voice was odd.

She stood next to Zuko and about thirty others under some sort of pavilion at the edge of the city. It was dark, both the night and everyone's stealthy clothes they were dressed in. The serious look on everyone's face started to change Katara's nonchalant attitude about their training.

Apparently, her first assumption that it was going to be just a glorified game of hide and seek was not accurate. Everyone, including Zuko, looked so…determined.

When the captain finished, the men started gearing up and preparing. "So, what'll it be?" asked Shen as he walked up to her and Zuko.

"What will what be?" she asked.

"Will you be running or chasing the first round?"

She tapped her finger against her thigh. "Running."

"Chasing," said Zuko.

"Alright. We don't have targets this round, so everyone's fair game. You get caught, you come back here and wait. Then, you get lectured on why you were caught."

"Simple enough, but I have a question. What's the point of all this?"

"To hone your tracking and evasion skills," said Zuko. "It could come in handy if you're ever being chased or chasing someone through the streets."

"Tracking? In the middle of a city?"

"You don't need to be in a forest or on the snow to track someone."

'How is tracking someone on smooth pavement even possible?' she idly wondered, but said nothing more.

Shen walked away and Zuko looked down at her while readjusting the fabric around his neck. "Don't make it too easy," he said with a smirk.

"I doubt it's going to be that hard." Katara waved her hand dismissively.

Zuko smirked wider. "We'll see."

Within minutes, the runners took off into the night. Katara was feeling confident at first, but when her and the others scattered until none but the people in the busy streets surrounded her, she had a sense she didn't really know what she was doing. Everyone else seemed to have a goal in mind when they ran into the alleys.

Though, it wasn't the first time she dodged eyes through a city. Shaking away her inhibitions, she moved with purpose and got to work on her slowly forming plan of evasion.

Their goal was to make it to the courthouse without getting caught. They could use any tactic they wanted as long as it was reasonable (such as no setting buildings on fire, or she guessed her case it would be to not flood any streets). Quiet and quick, the onlookers in the streets were completely oblivious to her antics, leading her to wonder why on earth Zuko was so confident she would be found so easily.

She wasn't that interested with the entire thing at first, but as she eyed the courthouse in the distance and slipped from shadow to shadow, her boredom slowly began to dissipate. Perhaps it was the night air, or her sleek movements that caused the change in her attitude. Adrenaline started flowing through her veins that brought on an itchy excitement.

There was something very satisfying about sneaking around the way she was.

However, just as she was starting to have fun, Katara was forced to eat her earlier words with Zuko when Shen found her after hardly making it six blocks from the starting point. She barely heard him sneak up behind her, and had to control her startled, instinctual reaction to freeze him to the wall.

"You're out," he said as he walked past her, lightly smacking her shoulder.

Then, he was gone.

It happened so fast that it took Katara a moment to catch up.

'What! Out already?!'

With a huff, she stood straight and leaned against the wall while glowering in the direction Shen disappeared. She was doing so well! Maybe this 'game' really was harder than she thought.

She had plans of taking the next round more seriously, mind churning with new way to hide and run, but Katara did not turn around. With her pride wounded from being caught so quickly, a spark of defiance flashed through her and she kept moving.

At the least, she could practice getting there. She did not want to be the first one going back to base. No one else knew she was out. As long as she didn't run into Shen again, she'd be fine. Technically, it was cheating, but still…

As Katara grumbled under her breath, she pulled her hair back into a loose, curly braid. Looking up to the roof of the building next to her, she decided to change her tactic. After a minute or two of pulling herself up pipes and cracks in the walls, she was on the shingles and looking at a higher view of the city.

Pulling over her hood once again, and taking on a more determined edge, she set off jumping from roof to roof of the buildings below her. Still, uneventful minutes passed, but even though she hadn't seen any of the royal guard nearby on the barren rooftops, she didn't allow herself to get too confident.

Zuko teased her and made it more or less clear that he would come after her. She expected him to show up at any second to rub it in her face how easy she was to catch…

"…you spent the night with him."

Katara's footsteps suddenly slowed and her cheeks flushed again. She tried to block it, but she couldn't stop the brief, conjured up images of her and Zuko and their supposed night of passion - the things everyone thought they were doing instead of going through scrolls late into the night. Each and every one of them was unwelcome for a thousand different reasons, and she shuddered at the idea of it.

Just a rumor. Just a rumor. One she needed to get out of her head!

She only just over what she thought almost happened the night she healed him – when she thought she saw him lean closer to her, staring at her lips. She had enough uninvited speculations from that night alone to last her a lifetime. The idle gossip and the idea of Zuko almost kissing her were not a good mix.

"Ugh. Why does that keep coming back?" she mumbled.

It was all her imagination. That moment when they were sitting next to each other on his bed was nothing but her seeing things. Yet, at times like this, she couldn't stop that tiny voice in the back of her head from making her wonder what would have happened if it were true.

Suddenly losing interest in the courthouse, Katara walked over to the edge of the damaged roof she was currently on and looked down in the street, biting her lower lip.

If…if he did kiss her, then what?

She actually already knew the answer. She would have shot him down, left the room, and probably avoided him the rest of the trip, never to come back after that. Never mind the cringeworthy fact that he would have felt something for her because of it, it would have been outrageous if he actually had the nerve to do it. Aang was the man she loved. Everyone knew that, and he most certainly did too.

Though…

If she didn't run away, if she let him take her lips just like she thought he was going to, what would have happened? Something told her it would have been nothing like the kisses Aang gave her in the past. He had such an intense look in his eyes at the time, and, these days, he was so commanding and passionate. She could only imagine what a kiss like that would have been like.

"Found you."

Katara nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped around to see Zuko casually sitting on a higher ledge staring down at her. The moonlight was barely reflecting off his eyes, enough that she could faintly make out the amber color. Proudly, he was wearing the same smirk from earlier.

Incredibly embarrassed by the thoughts he interrupted (thoughts she was actually considering!), she seriously contemplated jumping down to the street and running back to the palace. She quickly spoke before he could notice or comment on her suddenly flustered appearance. "Don't look so smug."

She could almost feel his smile widen in response.

"I didn't think anyone would come through this way," she quickly added.

"You'd be surprised how many people think going through the slums is the easiest way to get to the court house."

Katara looked around her with a raised eyebrow. "I've been in slums before. This is definitely not run-down."

"For Fire Nation standards, it is."

"Of course it is," she sighed under her breath. "I expected you to be further ahead by now."

"Someone has to keep an eye out for cheaters."

"Are you saying I'm cheating right now?"

"Yep. Shen got to you first, didn't he?"

"How did you-?" She folded her arms and looked away, but not without stealing a glance at his lips. "Maybe."

"Figures."

"Why is that?"

"He's got a weakness for beautiful women. I guessed he would go after you first. Probably wanted to show off."

Katara's cheeks reddened for the hundredth time that night, wondering if he realized what word choice he just used. At the corner of her eye, he seemed calm and unaffected, so he probably didn't…

Did that mean Zuko thought she was beautiful?

She shook her head and cleared her throat. "I want to try again."

"I'll find you again, before anyone else this time," he teased.

Though flustered, she was not in the mood for his haughty attitude. She glared at him from the side. "Get that smirk off your face. I wasn't taking it seriously when he found me this round."

Unaffected by her scowl, he jumped from the ledge onto the shingles. "If you say so. Still, you won't make it five blocks before you're out again."

"We'll see," she said, repeating his own challenge from earlier back to him.

As Zuko approached, Katara turned around and walked across the roof, intending to get back to base (where she would not be stuck alone with him) as quick as she could. His eyes were on her every skittish step she took and it was incredibly distracting. Because of that, she wasn't paying much attention to where she was walking.

When her foot hit an oddly shaped shingle, the wood below it creaked and groaned. "Wait!" Zuko shouted.

There was some sort of snap below her heel, then the ground fell through. Her eyes widened and by the time she reached out to grab onto something, she was surrounded by darkness. She hit the ground hard, unable to catch her fall. Boards of wood landed all around her and she was showered with dust so thick that it made her shut her eyes and cough.

Pain shot up through the thigh she landed on and she bit the inside of her cheek. Above her, she heard Zuko yell again. "Katara!"

Her eyes were closed, but she heard him jump down next to her and felt his hands grab her arms. "I'm okay."

When she moved to stand up, he pulled her up himself. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. I'm not-ow!" She flinched and Zuko let go of her immediately.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to grab you that hard."

"You didn't. It's my hands." She wiped at her dust-covered eyes with an uninjured, clean spot on her wrist before holding both hands palm-up. They both looked down to a few cuts and a large bleeding gash caused by the splinter pile she landed in.

Not bothering to study it too long, she reached out next to her and pulled water out of the air, then wrapped it around her hands. The water glowed for a few seconds before she let it drop to the ground, revealing no blood and sealed cuts. Zuko stepped back from her; the worry on his face gone.

"I forget you can do that sometimes."

"I know," she said, briefly thinking about the scar below his chest. She gestured to his arm when she noticed torn material. "Did you fall through too? Your wrist is bleeding."

Zuko lifted his hand. "No, but I didn't pay attention to where I was landing when I jumped down."

Katara lifted her own hand. "Let me see it."

"It's just a small cut. It's not a big deal."

When he wouldn't hand it to her, she grabbed his wrist and covered the small wound with water. Zuko waited patiently as she healed it the same as her own. She tossed the water aside when she was done, and inspected his pale hand, absentmindedly running her finger over the now pink line. "Good as new."

He was still for a moment as he watched her nail brush against his skin, but then suddenly sucked in a breath and pulled his hand away. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Rubbing at her sore thigh, she looked up at the decent sized hole in the ceiling and then to the messy pile they were standing in. With a sigh, she pulled out her braid and tried to shake the dust from her hair. "Do they build all rooves that weak in the Fire Nation?" she asked.

"No. I told you it was the slums."

Zuko reached up and grabbed onto one of the boards on the edge of the hole. He lightly pulled and it snapped almost immediately.

With her eyes adjusting, Katara looked around the darkened room and realized they were standing in a small shop of some sort. "I wonder who the owners are. I just ruined their shop."

"They'll be fine."

"Fixing something like this isn't going to be cheap."

"I know. I'll have gold delivered to them in the morning. Enough to fix this."

"Oh, that's kind of you."

"It happened during training. It's on me." He reached up to another spot and tugged, only to have another board crash to the ground.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We need to get out, don't we?"

Katara looked around the shop for a door and spotted one. She walked up to it only to find it completely chained up with the lock on the outside.

"The door's chained shut. It's rusty and weak. I bet I could cut it off with some ice, but I'd rather not ruin more of the shop."

"Don't worry about it. We'll go back out the way we came, and when we leave, we should probably avoid rooftops in this part of the city."

As she looked back to watch Zuko continue to try to find a sturdy spot, something glinting to the side of her caught her attention. After squinting her eyes because of the low light, she recognized some of the trinkets in a decorative case nearby. Looking around the room again and noticing related items, she suddenly realized what kind of shop they were in.

"I haven't been in one of these places in a while," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a fortune teller's shop."

Zuko looked around only half interested before reaching up again. Katara stepped further into the shop, curious about the wares. When she stepped up to a counter, she looked into a bowl full of painted rocks with strange symbols on them.

"Back when I used to travel a lot, I'd always try and visit places like this," she said. "They were always a lot of fun to walk through."

"Why? There's nothing but junk in them."

"I don't think it's junk."

"Well, I don't care for them."

"You don't believe in fortune telling?"

"No."

"Not even a little?"

"Not really."

"I kind of do, but not the way I used to when I was younger." She ran her finger over a couple crystal balls in the shelf next to her. "Before the war ended, when we were headed to the north pole, we met a fortune teller."

Katara momentarily sneered at the memory of Aunt Wu and how the village she lived in was totally convinced she was some divine being, when, in reality, she was a fake. Her and Aang had to take matters into their own hands and bend the clouds in order to convince the people their village was going to be destroyed.

"Did you all get your fortunes?"

"Yep. She told Sokka his future was full of struggle and anguish and that it would all be self-inflicted."

Zuko laughed lightly at that. "What did she tell you?"

She glanced at Zuko briefly in contemplation. Now that she thought about it, besides asking her what she should wear or eat, the only things she wanted to know about were her future family and love life.

"Oh, nothing you'd be interested in hearing."

"Tell me."

Katara shrugged. "She told me how many kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids I would have. She said I'd have my third great-grandchild before I peacefully passed away in my sleep." Katara picked up one small crystal ball, in particular, that caught her attention and inspected it, finding that it had in interesting array of colors in the moonlight. "She also said I'd marry a very powerful bender."

There was a moment of silence.

"Aang is a powerful bender."

She ran her thumb over the smooth surface. "Yeah," she said lowly, "I guess she got that part right…but, who knows? She ended up telling us she wasn't the real deal and that our future is what we make of it."

Zuko stopped grabbing at the roof and watched her instead. When it stretched on longer than she was comfortable with, she slowly turned to meet his eyes. "Has someone ever told you what your future holds?" she asked.

"No."

"You should try it."

"I don't really care to find out how many kids I'm going to have or when I'm going to die."

"Do it for fun then."

"Didn't you just say my future is what I make of it? If that's the case, getting my fortune sounds like a waste of time."

"Zuko, you need to loosen up. I said it's for fun, remember? Though, if you insist, we'll look at it your way." She held up the crystal ball with a small smile and looked at him through it. "What does the noble Fire Lord see in his future?"

"Noble?" he scoffed, "I wouldn't say noble."

Katara raised her brow at his tone. She was referring to his high-born status, but it sounded like he thought it was about his integrity. "Why not?" When he shook his head, she pressed, "What's keeping you from being noble?"

He looked away from her. "Wanting things I shouldn't."

"What things?"

"You don't want to know."

"I do."

Zuko eyed her for a moment in silence, but then walked up to her. The second he stepped a little too close, Katara tried to back up, but bumped into the counter behind her. Startled, she could clearly feel the heat coming from his chest.

Obviously not noticing that he was invading her personal space, he reached out and took the ball from her, sighed heavily, then held it up. His golden eyes flickered intently between his loose black hair. "I see a sleep-deprived Fire Lord standing next to his wife with a couple of kids and a happy council."

Katara cleared her throat. "That's it?"

"Hopefully a peaceful nation, too."

She leaned back some. "Why a happy council?"

"I'm married and they have their heirs."

"Their heirs?" she repeated.

"Yes. Once they have them, they'll finally get off my back about it and be satisfied. It'll make my life a lot easier."

"That's a sad way to put it."

"Why?"

"Heirs to the throne or not, they're still your children. I feel bad that you only see them as things you need to give to the Fire Nation."

He looked completely thrown off by her words; almost dumbfounded. He finally took a step back, giving her space he never should have taken and allowing her to breathe better. After blinking a few times, he looked away with something between a scowl and an apologetic frown on his face.

"I…" he trailed off.

"I don't like your negative outlook," she said softly.

He looked down at the crystal. "Tell me what you see."

She slowly reached out to him, and, careful not to touch his hand, took the ball from him and peered into the crystal. "I see a man who's a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world. He's happy and surrounded by people who care about him."

He suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Who's to say I don't have that now?"

"You're the one who told me you're surrounded by people you don't trust."

"Maybe that's not true anymore."

"You're not trying to argue with me about it, are you?"

"No…"

She sighed. "Then don't disagree with me. All I'm saying is your future is full of happiness and people who love you."

"…love, huh?" he asked awkwardly.

"Of course. You're such a pessimist sometimes." She set the ball down and walked across the room towards the hole she created. However, she got distracted when a poster on the wall caught her eye. "You make your own future, remember?"

Zuko scratched the back of his head and his scowl returned, which annoyed Katara more than it should have. "For what you described, I don't know."

"Fine, if you're going to be like that, maybe you should just let fate decide."

Zuko didn't answer.

Katara knew that snooping through people's stuff wasn't okay, especially after she wrecked their shop, but she couldn't help reaching out and tapping the familiar designs on the poster. "That's odd. I don't usually see stuff like this very often outside of temples."

"What is it?"

"Things you use to make visage tattoos. You know, tattoos that tell you your fate."

"That's not something odd."

"I mean it's odd to see these drawings in particular. I recognize them from the air temples and a few other spiritual places I've been to. Aang told me that only spiritualists can do these tattoos." Her lips turned into a small smirk. "If it's so hard for you to imagine your future, maybe you should get one of these for some insight."

"I doubt it's any more reliable than that fortune teller you just told me about."

"Maybe not, but would it be worth a try?"

"You realize that spiritualists drink opium to get high, then they tattoo on your back whatever the 'spirits' tell them, right?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" she trailed off. "Still, though, spiritualists might be better fortune tellers than the usual type. Maybe the spirits know things about us that we don't."

"I doubt it."

'Always the pessimist,' Katara thought.

"You have no faith in the spirits, do you?"

"Not really. Besides, who would want a tattoo like that?" he asked as he gestured to the poster of the many types. "They're ugly."

Annoyed with his sour attitude, she folded her arms. She happened to like the designs he was scrutinizing. "Maybe I have one of those 'ugly' tattoos."

He raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, unconvinced.

"You haven't seen me in five years," she said, "maybe I got it during then."

There was a small smile tugging at his lips. "I don't think so," he said confidently.

"How would you know? It could cover my entire back."

He scratched the side of his head. "Nope."

Uninterested in arguing, silence fell between them again. Just like before, Zuko wasted no time to continue staring at her. "We should probably get out of here," she said, averting his eyes.

Zuko nodded and walked past her and stopped directly below the hole.

She looked around the room again. "I don't see another door. I guess we really are going through the roof. It doesn't look like there's anything in here we can stand on."

"Come here." She turned around to see his hands locked together in front of him. "I'll hoist you up."

"What about you?"

"I can jump and grab onto the wood and pull myself out."

"I can do that too."

"I'm pretty sure you're too short for that, but if you want to try, go ahead."

What she said was more out of defiance. She had no problem using Zuko's help. It would probably be a better idea than jumping up and down like a fool trying to reach the beam. Instead of answering back, she wordlessly walked up to him and hesitantly put her hands on his shoulders while lifting her foot into his clasped grip. She was very aware the way her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the detail on his lips.

Instead of pushing her weight into his hands, she hesitated a moment, a little taken off guard by how warm he was beneath her palms. The last time she touched him she was sure his skin was cooler. Someone once told her that firebenders ran hotter than the average person. Maybe there was some truth to it.

"Something wrong?" he asked in a low, raspy breath that brushed across her face.

"No. You're just…really warm."

His small smirk was back. "Firebender, remember?"

Whether he did it on purpose or not, she could swear the broad, muscular shoulders she was gripping onto heated up even more. His gaze was intense, and his face was suddenly too close.

"…a passionate night with the Fire Lord…"

She suddenly wished Suki hadn't told her a thing about it. It was a cringe-worthy thought, but for some reason, with Zuko so close and his skin and body heat so incredibly warm…a new idea came to mind. It was small and one she didn't immediately try to beat down – she didn't have the attention to do it with Zuko's breath brushing against her neck like that.

Her and Zuko sneaking around at night instead of doing political work.

Them locked away in his bedroom doing the sort of things some people thought they were doing.

His lips pressing against hers with his strong arms holding her in a tight embrace.

Katara didn't realize she was standing still, unmoving and all too aware of how fast her heart was beating, until the smile on Zuko's lips faded. She was painfully aware of her sudden hesitation and most likely beat red now that she realized how far she took that daydream.

Zuko did nothing, even though the tension in the air was clearly affecting him as well. He didn't even try to look away from her when the air turned almost unbreathable. When he did move, it was to faintly run his thumb across the tip of her foot still cradled in his hand.

An almost painful chill ran up Katara's back and she looked away from him.

"What am I grabbing onto?" she asked very quickly.

Zuko didn't miss a beat and hummed his answer. "The large beam right above us."

"Okay."

"You ready now?"

She could tell by his knowing look that there was some underlying meaning to that question, but Katara didn't want to think about it. The only thing she wanted to do was get away from Zuko as soon as possible.

"Yes. Don't let me fall."

He hesitated, then smiled lightly. "Only if you want to."

"Well, I don't, so hold on tight."

Zuko closed his eyes and let out a huff of a sigh.

He easily lifted her until she was high enough to pull herself onto the beam. Once she was on the roof, she gratefully embraced the cooler air, and avoided any odd-looking shingles. As she did, her eyes wandered skyward to the brilliant streaks of light now adorning the sky.

"I guess it's that time of night again."

"Did you say something?" Zuko asked as he jumped up to the beam. He pulled himself out as easily as he said he would.

Katara turned away from him. "The lights are out."

Zuko looked upward momentarily, but seemed more interested in her. When she refused to look at him, he turned away. Taking careful steps, he walked over to the edge of the roof. "Everyone's probably back at base by now. We might be the last ones to show."

"Yeah…" she trailed off as she looked up the mountain towards the palace. Katara shook her head, suddenly losing the desire to keep going with their tracking game. She suddenly wanted to be alone in her room; away from everyone, away from Zuko.

"Come on. Let's go through the streets." Zuko grabbed onto the rain gutter and disappeared below. She heard him land on the ground with a thud.

Feeling a little numb, she followed Zuko to the ground and stared at his back as he looked out the alley into the street.

"Hey, Zuko?" she said very quietly, "I, uh, I think I'm going to head back-"

"I know I've been giving you a hard time about it," he interrupted, not seeming to notice she was talking at all, "but, instead of being one of the chasers, I could partner up with you the next round and show you a few things, if you want."

He smiled at her over his shoulder.

She had to admit it was hard to say no with that sort of excitement in his voice. Still, she was quiet.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Let's go," she said with a sigh and walked up to him.

Zuko's smile widened even more before he covered his face and walked into the street. She followed behind him and didn't make it twenty steps before both of them spotted a familiar man leaning against a building they were walking past.

Shen eyed them looking very bored, but raised an eyebrow when he made eye contact with Zuko. "Don't mind me," he said with raised hands.

"How did you find us?" she asked.

"It's my job to know what Zuko's doing at all hours of the day," he said simply before folding his arms, "Aren't you supposed to be back at base?"

She looked away and mumbled, "…yes."

"Cheater. What's with the mess? You're covered in dust."

"I fell through a roof."

"Did you now?" he asked then looked straight at Zuko. "That rough, huh?"

Katara missed the very aggressive glare Zuko gave him in response, too busy trying to shake more dust from her hair now that he pointed it out. "It wasn't that bad," she said languidly.

"Oh, really? No small burns anywhere I hope."

"Um, I didn't fall into a fire. I got a few cuts and maybe a bruise or two, but I'm fine."

Shen smirked. "Sounds interesting. Tell me more."

Zuko suddenly grabbed her shoulder and ushered her to walk beside him. "No. We're leaving, and I'm thinking about firing you."

Shen crossed his arms behind his head and followed. "You'd miss me too much. I was only making sure you weren't…hurt. You can be such a prude, er, I mean peach sometimes."

"He had a gash on his palm from following me down," she said, "but I took care of him."

"Heh. I bet you did."

"Stop," Zuko growled.

Katara looked between Zuko's frown and Shen's crooked smirk curiously, wondering if she missed the reason for Zuko's hostile attitude toward his captain.

"Are you going to tell me what I did wrong?" Katara asked while looking at Shen over her shoulder. They decided to take a shortcut that brought them right through the middle of a busy street. Even at this time of night, the bars and shops they passed were alight with activity.

They talked some on the way there, but the trio fell silent once they stepped into the large crowd. Zuko didn't seem nervous because of it, but he kept pulling his hood down further, and the cloth on his face up higher.

"For one, you took the straightest path to the courthouse. Rule number one with evasion: never head in a straight direction if you can help it."

Katara grabbed her chin in contemplation, considering the advice. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, you left your back wide open. You put too much attention on the streets and alleys ahead and not what's behind you."

"Hm. You want to add to that?" she asked Zuko with a pouty frown. He stepped up closer to her, and she responded by picking up her pace, maintaining the gap she purposefully put between them. If he was bothered by it, she didn't turn around to check.

"You weren't paying attention when I found you. Something was on your mind and I was able to sneak up on you because you were distracted."

Katara fidgeted with her hands, remembering very clearly what was on her mind at the time. "Oh…"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Going back to the palace," she lied.

"Do you not want to be out here?"

"I don't' know…" she trailed off, then became distracted with a large group of people in front of their path.

"We should get out of this street," said Shen, "I don't like how crowded it's getting."

Without hesitation, Zuko followed Shen as he moved towards an alley. Katara didn't follow, though, and it wasn't because of the big crowd that lay ahead of them.

"Katara, are you coming?"

She didn't answer back and her brow furrowed. She was standing next to a building that looked crowded. Too crowded; even for a restaurant, if that's what it was. People were walking in and out every few seconds, each of them looking a little despondent. Their completely downtrodden expressions are what made her hesitate in the first place. She looked up to one of the windows when she heard coughing echo from it.

Zuko walked up next to her. "What is it?" he asked.

"What is this place?"

He inspected the building. "It's a healing house – where people go when they're sick."

"There are so many people in there. Is that normal?"

He hesitated a moment. "No, it's not."

"Hey," Shen's voice called from the opening of an alleyway. When both of them glanced towards him, he waved his hand for them to follow.

"Come on. Let's go."

Katara bit her lip, looking between Zuko's disappearing back and the healing house. With a sigh, she turned away and started following the two men, trying to ignore the itch to walk in there and find out what was going on. The familiar urge to investigate and help never failed to appear when she saw something odd like that.

She was leaving now, but maybe she could stop by tomorrow to find out what was going on. There were too many people in there. Maybe she could help somehow…

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the building she was walking away from, and Katara froze. A second later, she turned on her heel and rushed toward it. People in the street halted too with wide eyes. It sounded like a woman was dying in agony.

When she was inside, Katara weaved and pushed her way through the stuffy air and groups of people until she found the woman that was screaming.

She was kneeling on the floor and grabbing onto her head fiercely. The cot and table next to her were knocked over with shattered glass and water at her feet. A frantic man was in front of her with his hands on her shoulders. He looked utterly confused and terrified at what was going on.

Another woman, a healer possibly, ran up to the two. "What happened?!"

"I don't know," said the man, "She just fell over and started screaming!"

Someone bumped into Katara from behind and she briefly glanced back to see it was Zuko. He had questions in his eyes, but when he turned to the scene before them, he didn't ask them.

The woman started sobbing. "I c-can't do this anymore! Please make it stop! Please!"

"Hiyori, listen to me. You need to lie down," the healer tried to say soothingly.

She clutched onto the man in front of her and pressed her face into his shoulder. "It doesn't help. N-nothing helps! I can't take it!"

The man picked her up in his arms and Katara walked up to them. "What's wrong with her?"

"Please stand back," said the woman as she eyed her and the crowd forming around them.

"I can help." Katara reached out and pulled the water from the ground. Some people around her gasped when they saw it hover in the air above her palm. She was vaguely aware of the way Shen and Zuko tensed up and looked around the room.

"You're…a waterbender?" the woman asked in surprise. She looked to the crowd again. "Okay, follow me."

The healer ushered the man with the woman crying in his arms to follow, and yelled at the others to get out of the way. They made it to the back of the building and walked into a dimly lit private room. Another similarly dressed woman, probably an assistant, walked up when she saw them. "Is that Hiyori?"

"Yes, lie her down here." The man did as she said and gently put the younger woman down on the cot. The healer shut the door, but not without suspiciously eyeing Shen and Zuko who stepped in behind them.

"What's wrong with her?" Katara asked as she knelt next to the bed.

"She- well, we don't know. She has a debilitating headache, but we don't know what's causing it."

"A headache…?" Katara asked. She bit her lip at the incredibly small list of things she could do for that. However, her hesitation was brief and she turned to the man. "Can you turn her over?"

He did as she said and when Katara could see her neck, she covered it with water. It lit up in her palms, and everyone in the room stilled. Slowly, the woman's muffled weeping lessened and her body visibly relaxed. When her eyes drifted closed, the water stopped glowing and Katara brought her hands back. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Hiyori?" the man grabbed her shoulder, and Hiyori didn't respond. He turned Katara accusingly. "What did you do to her?!"

"Calm down. She helped her." The healer touched her cheek and took her pulse. "She's asleep. It's the first time she's gotten any rest in days."

The man blinked and then hunched his shoulders. "I'm sorry. Thank you."

"It's fine. I'm glad I could help."

"What did you do, exactly?" asked the assistant.

"I just relieved some of the tension in her muscles. It helps, but it doesn't take away what's wrong with her."

"It's more than we were able to do. I've never actually seen a waterbender heal someone," said the older woman. She seemed very relieved, but her face slowly fell and a hard look settled in her eyes. "Thank you very much for helping her, but I have to ask you to leave now."

Katara's smile fell. "Why?"

"Mostly, it's for your safety. I also do not trust strange men who carry weapons and cover their faces," she said as she glared at Zuko and Shen.

They didn't react to her comment. "Why is it for our safety?" Zuko asked.

She looked to Katara. "My dear, there are people in here that will hurt you if they find out you're a waterbender. I do not have the means to keep you safe from them."

"I see," Katara said while looking at the water she dropped to the floor. She could more than handle herself against any threat, and with Zuko and Shen beside her, there was no way they'd lose a fight if one were to break out, but that was not the reason she felt wounded by the woman's words. She still wasn't used to the reminder of people's prejudices.

"That, and," the healer continued, "Hiyori is not the only one who is suffering because of headaches. Almost every person in this place has the same problem. We believe a sickness is going around."

"A sickness?" Katara repeated.

"Okay, we're done here, especially after that," Shen said as he walked towards the door, then eyed Zuko. "Don't touch anything."

Zuko, however, did not follow him. "What kind of sickness?"

"I believe you should listen to your friend over there. Please take your leave and let us handle the situation."

"I want to know what's going on," Zuko said sternly.

"And I am refusing to tell you. Leave, or I will ask the soldiers in here to escort you out."

Katara could see the impatience on his face, covered or not.

"Don't-" Shen started, but stopped when Zuko pulled down the cloth covering the lower part of his face and removed his hood.

Everyone in the room looked at him incredulously before Katara caught sparks of recognition on their faces as they studied the scar surrounding his left eye. The man next to Hiyori jumped to his feet with his mouth gaping. At the same time, the healer took a step back, startled, then immediately bowed.

"M-my lord!" the man exclaimed as he bowed as well.

Shen did not look happy about Zuko's decision to reveal his identity. It was a wonder how all of them immediately knew who he was in the first place. Katara doubted Zuko frequented places like this.

In a calm, yet commanding voice he asked again, "What kind of sickness?"

Looking slightly terrified, the healer answered, "We do not know. It's been going around for about a month now; one that I nor any healer I've spoken to is familiar with."

"Are headaches the only symptom?" Katara asked.

The woman nodded. "More and more people have been coming to us every day because of headaches. Hiyori was one of the first."

"And nothing has helped?"

"Nothing at all, but light sedatives and what you were just able to do."

The room fell quiet as a slightly ominous feeling settled around them from the news.

"You should leave this place," said the assistant as she looked straight at Zuko.

"Shh! Do not speak to him like that!" hissed the older woman.

"It's true, though. I don't mean to disrespect, but, if you stay, there is a chance you could catch whatever is going around."

"I agree with her," said Shen. "We need to leave. Now. We shouldn't have come in here in the first place."

Shen sent a small glare in Katara's direction. She was surprised by it momentarily, but quickly shot the same look right back at him. Zuko seemed to notice it and stepped in between them with his own frown. "You said this started a month ago?" he asked the woman.

Turning away from Shen, Katara looked back down at the sleeping woman and a ball of worry welled up in her chest. As a conversation picked up, the voices somewhat faded as Katara took in the other's appearance. It was clear she hadn't gotten much sleep in days, possibly weeks.

The sight brought on a sense of de ja vu for her, and how eerily familiar it was other situations she'd been involved with in the past. There were a few times her and Aang passed through towns or villages where a sickness was going around. She always offered to help as much as she could in those situations, but there some things that waterbenders just could not do.

Even in sleep, the same pained expression she had seen on so many others before was lingering on Hiyori's features. Uncaring of the consequences, Katara put the back of her hand on her forehead. The woman mumbled slightly and turned her head upward. As she did, a lone tear ran down her cheek, glinting in the faint lantern light.

A/N: I always intended the character Hiyori to be in the story, but now she's just in a little earlier than scheduled. Remember, I only give names to characters who play a part in this fic.

The new chapter 11 is in the editing stage. Hopefully, it's out sooner than later.

Thanks for reading. :(