*SPECIAL ZUTARA CHAPTER*

After serval months, I'm finally back. Easily my biggest chapter ever. Like it says this is a Zutara chapter I promised. Also I'm working on a lot of stories right now (mainly with zukofan2005) and the next Seduction Game is coming out next.

note: Sai are those 3 pronged fork-weapons. Think Raph from TMNT , Bola-line whip is that whip weapon used by a pirate in the "Waterbending Scroll"

Beta-read by: IceBlueCrystal

Enjoy.

Betrayed and Loved

Meanwhile…

Once everyone had licked there wounds, and got back to camp, they noticed Appa was gone.

"Do you think it's possible that Aang…" Zuko started.

"I'm sure Aang will come back," Katara said trying to reassure herself. "He just needs to cool off that's all."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Sokka walked up holding a piece of paper. "This was pinned to your tent Katara. Everyone look at this."

If everyone wants to keep secrets from me,

I won't be around for you to NOT tell me.

I'm leaving and I'm not coming back.

I'll defeat Fire Lord Ozai myself if I have to.

Don't bother contacting when I do.

-Aang

PS Toph left with me since she's the only one who didn't try to lie to me, so I can still trust her at least.

It had been 2 days since Aang had left. The group was traveling on a ship they had 'acquired' while trying to find out any sightings of Aang. They managed to get a lead on a sighting that was taken later the day Aang left. Seeing as there were no others, it was the best they could do and it was better than nothing.

Katara walked up to the main deck. She saw Zuko leaning on the railing looking out to sea; she walked over and leaned on railing in a similar fashion. Zuko didn't even seem to notice her.

"Like old times huh? On a boat... searching for the Avatar." She said trying to get Zuko to talk.

Zuko didn't budge; he looked like he was thousand miles away.

"Copper piece for your thoughts?"

He turned his head at her, acknowledging her question. He sighed heavily before answering. "When I first joined your group, I was trying to help end this war by teaching the Avatar firebending...but now because of me we're-"

"Hey, don't blame yourself for this." She cut him off. "This isn't your fault. Maybe if we told Aang in the first place…" she couldn't finish. Going though that scenario in her head a hundred times already, going through it again didn't help.

"Yeah." Zuko went over to the wall and slid down on to the floor. "I know." He rested his elbows on his knees and buries his face in his hands. "If I didn't kiss you went I did his would have been a lot easier too."

Katara walked up to Zuko and looked down at him. "Can I sit with you?" She was pouting her eyes little; Zuko nodded. She slid in between his legs and rested her back on his chest. Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist, resting her arms on top of his. They rested their heads against each other's as they watched the yellow and orange rays of the setting sun.

"Zuko." She started softly. "I'm not sorry."

"What?"

"I mean I am sorry for Aang and his current position. But I'm not sorry for us. Despite how things turned out, I'm glad we're together. I wouldn't want that to change no matter what. It's just…talking about what it has caused…it hurts. It's like no one but us wants this, but I'm still not able to not willing to give it up. Even with all the hate and pain from everyone…does that make me a bad person?" Zuko heart warms as she says this but sad that it made her so flustered.

"No it doesn't. Maybe we shouldn't talk about for now. I hate to see you like this."

Katara turned her head to his. "You have a better idea on what I should do with my lips?"

Zuko looked at her and smiled. "I could think of a few."

"AHEM!" Katara and Zuko jerk their heads toward the voice. They saw Sokka leaning on the wall with one hand and the other on his hip. "You two look so broken up about Aang." He spat out sarcastically.

"SOKKA! Do you MIND?" Katara yelled.

"Yes I do mind." Sokka stated.

"And for your information we just finished talking about him." Zuko added.

"Hard to talk with your lips pressed together." Sokka started making-out with the air in a mocking fashion.

"Oh please Aang said the same thing to me."

"He did?"

"Yeah, except his version was better than yours."

They've been like this ever since Aang left. At each other's throats about Zuko dating Katara. Katara missed having the peacemaker around. She saw Suki come around corner to see what the commotion was about. "Suki if you please."

"Gladly." Suki grabbed Sokka by his 'wolf-tail' and pulled him inside down some stairs.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW."

Once they were in the food gallery, Suki practically threw him into a bench and put her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong with you? Why can't you just be happy for your sister?" She glared coldly at him.

"It's not that I'm not happy for her. It's just… I can't stand the sight of Zuko all over her like that. Isn't he like 2 years older than her?"

"Well isn't Aang like 2 years younger than Katara?"

"That's different." He replied bluntly.

"Well it's not like there doing anything too bad." Suki sat down next to him and gave him a little push with her shoulder. "I meant it's not as bad what we did that night in the tent." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Remember?" She said playfully as she started tracing circles on his chest with her finger.

"Mmmmm." Sokka smiled leaning his head and closing his eyes. Remembering that night, after Zuko left, where he and Suki…

"NO! NO! NO!" Sokka said standing up and flailing his arms. "This isn't about that. I just don't want anything to happen to my baby sister." Sokka crossed his arm with a grunt.

Suki's face lit up. "Oooooooh, now I see what's this is about."

"What?" Sokka asked with a perplexed look on his face.

"This isn't about her dating Zuko. This is about you worrying about your younger sibling growing up."

"What!" He dropped his arms to his side. "No it's not!"

"I may not be Toph," Suki stood up with a smirk on her face. "But I can still tell when you're lying."

"How's that?"

Suki walks up to him and leaned into his face. "'Cause I'm your girlfriend, silly."

Sokka turns away from his girlfriend and starts pacing back and forth. "Ok maybe it is." He said in an admitful tone. "But I'm her big brother. I'm supposed to worry about her, and be over protective."

"Sokka she's a master waterbender. I think she can take care of herself. Besides, you all trust Zuko now, even Katara. I'm sure he'll treat her right. Like you do me." Sokka eyes widened. "Not that right." Suki quickly added.

"Oh." Sokka signed. "I guess you're right. But I still don't like it."

"Give it some time. I'm sure you'll come to trust Zuko with Katara and her with him."

Just then they heard a high-pitched scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAH!" It sounded like Katara.

"Wanna bet?" Sokka said in anger. He ran back upstairs with his hand on the hilt of this sword. Once he got back on deck he yelled. "HEY, WHAT'S GOING…" Sokka stopped. He saw Katara behind Zuko who was facing four men on deck he hadn't seen before. "…on?" Suki followed behind him, just as surprised to see the men as Sokka was.

"Oh. You're backup's here." The short one said.

"I don't need backup to beat you Lee." Zuko yelled at him.

"Lee? Zuko you know these guys?" Suki asked.

"We meet at a festival a few days ago." Lee answered for him. "Along with his…succulent little girlfriend."

Katara got a bad taste in her mouth at the word 'succulent'. "Polite as every aren't we Lee?" She spat out sarcastically.

"As always." Lee bowed mockingly.

"Wait a minute. Are these the guys you told me about, who tried to mug you and Zuko?" Sokka said with hand still on his sword.

"Mug?" The one called Sneer spoke up. "Is that what they told you? No, we wanted something a little more…satisfying." He said in a distasteful chuckle.

Sokka glanced back and forth between Katara and the looks the men were giving her. Then it hit him. "No…" He finally drew his sword. "You creeps were going to touch my sister!"

"Your sister?" Snob said adjectively. "If she's your sister, then where were you that night?" He glanced over at Suki who had draw her fans. "Fooling around with fan girl over there?"

Sokka's face flushed. Mostly from anger, but also from the fact he was half-right. He took a step forward ready to attack.

"Easy there Sokka." Katara warned. "They're just trying to wind you up. I got in trouble the same way."

Sokka grinded his teeth, but held his ground.

"Looks like they just got done playing dress-up." Quake gave an unintelligent chuckle. "He's got his hair in a pony-tail."

"IT'S NOT A PONY-TAIL!" Sokka yelled. "It's a 'warrior's wolf-tail' that I proudly wear as a warrior of the Water Tribe!"

"Water Tribe?" Lee looked back over at Katara. "Ah, yes. Too bad I hear they don't train women in waterbending." He sneered.

Katara yanked out some seawater, and bent it around her arms ready to attack. "They had a few…cultural changes not too long ago."

Lee's eyes widen for a second then he smirked. "Well surprise, surprise. Looks like we would've benefited from capturing you."

"Is that why you're here? To capture her?" Zuko asked in a demanding tone.

"No actually." Lee answered. "We were just stowing away on this ship last time it was docked. We didn't know we'd find the former Fire Prince and the Avatar's lackeys."

"We're not his lackeys." Sokka commented. "Wait, you know who we are?"

"Yes we do." Snob answered.

"We could hear everything, while we were hiding in the lift boats." Sneer added.

"Yeah we figured out everything." Quake paused and thought a moment. "Wait what we figure out?"

Snob and Sneer smacked Quake in the back of the head. "Can't you remember anything with that big head of yours?"

"Let's recap then." Lee started, turning back to the group. "We know the Avatar is traveling alone, and that you all used to travel with him and that you're looking for him. Question is…why isn't he traveling with you?" He turned his attention to Katara. "I'm understanding it has something to do with you and your hothead boyfriend. Which your brother just seems thrilled about."

"SHUT UP!" Katara yelled with a fierce look on her face.

Lee jumped back mockingly. "Oh for a waterbender you sure have a lot of fire."

"You want fire?" Zuko formed orbs of fires in both his hands. "I've got plenty, so back off. I beat you once and I'll do it again."

"Yeah? Well this time I'm a little more sober." Lee boasted.

"Sober? You mean he was impaired the last time, and he still fought like that?" Zuko thought in almost amazement.

"Oh and…" Lee reached for something on his back. "We couldn't sneak these in at the festival."

Lee drew what looked like an oversized claymore. Compared to a regular claymore, it just as long, but 3 times wider and the center near the hilt was probably 3 inches thick. It was almost bigger than him. Quake drew a giant cone-shaped club covered in metal studs, Snob drew a pair of Sai, and Sneer drew a bola-line whip.

"Careful guys. These guys are dangerous." Zuko warned. Everyone readied his or her fighting stance for an all-out brawl.

"Hey Lee!" Everyone turned to see Sokka leaning on a rack of barrels with his sword on his shoulder. How he managed to make his way over there without anyone noticing him doing so was a mystery. "As much as I'd LOOOOOVE for you to stick around so I could pay you back for harassing my sister, we're on a mission, sooooooooo…" Sokka raised his sword and sliced through a rope, releasing the barrels and sending them stampeding toward Lee and his gang.

"HOLY-!" Lee didn't have to react before the barrels crashed into him and his associates sending them overboard. Crash. "AAAAAAH!" Splash.

Sokka held this hand to his ear. "Ah, music to my ears."

Everyone looked stunned at him. Zuko leaned over to Katara and whispered. "Where'd he learn that trick?"

Katara whispered back. "I don't know but Sokka is smarter than he looks."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Sokka walked over to the edge of the boat to see Lee and his crew clinging to the barrels for dear life. "I see you guys come anywhere NEAR my sister again and I'll stick my sword where the sun don't shine." He sheathed his sword and walked over to Zuko and Katara. Even after learning what he did, he still felt like a heel for accusing them of…whatever he accused them of doing, so he decided to let it slide…just this once.

"Um…" He starched the back of his head unsure what to say. "If anything else happens…just holler okay?"

This surprised Zuko and Katara even more than the barrel trick. Suki just grinned at him for some reason unknown to Zuko and Katara. Sokka went back inside and Suki followed, leaving Zuko and Katara alone.

"You want to know the worst part of that whole thing?" Zuko said.

"What?"

"That was the first time anyone used the words 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' about us and that slime-ball Lee had to be the one to say it."

"Ugh, you're right." Katara said in disgust. "Well you know…" She smirked and wrap her arms around his waist. "I think you're a pretty awesome boyfriend."

He smiled and did the same to her. "You're not such a bad girlfriend yourself." She giggled and gave him a kiss.

Several hours later Lee and his crew wash up on shore near a town. The sun had gone down so the lanterns were lite. Lee coughs as he pulls himself to he feet.

"Curse that Water tribe swordsman."

"Uh boss?" Snob said timidly.

"WHAT!"

"It got wet boss." He inverts a bag and a solid pink mass fall and plops on the ground.

"Great, fantastic." He spits out sarcastically. "Just fucking perfect, I thought I told you to put it in a water proof bag!"

"No, you told Sneer to do it."

Sneer jumps up. "What! No, he told you to it."

Snob gets in his brother's face. "You calling me a liar?" He throws the empty bag in his face.

Sneer pulls the bag off and says "No…I'm just calling you stupid."

"Why you-" The two started grabbing and slapping each other like a couple of five year olds. This was giving Lee an even bigger headache.

"Ugh." He groans. "YOU'RE BOTH STUPID! Now stop it!" When they didn't he started rubbing the bridge of nose. "Quake will you shut them up?"

Quake didn't say anything as he pulled them apart with his boulder-sized hands. Then he slammed their heads together "OW!" and let them fall to the ground.

"Good, now…" Lee looks toward the town and see an open tavern. "Come on I need a drink." They all enter the tavern still soaking wet, and sit at an open table. Before they could even order their first round, they noticed someone walk in. It was PRINCESS AZULA! She had two soldier escorts with her. She sits down at the bar and notices the bar keep doesn't notice her.

"What you want?" He says without looking.

Azula scowls. "AHEM!"

The bar keeper notices that the princess of the Fire Nation is his costumer. "Oh!" he says nervously. "I'm very sorry you're highness. What can I do for you?"

"I trust you have spring water."

"Yes of course. Only the best for her highness." He get's out a glass and fills it with water from a fancy a glass bottle. "Again, very sorry. Anything else I can do for you... your highness?" Azula cracks a small smile in the corner of her mouth. The man was obviously intimidated by Azula, which is just how she liked it.

"With ice." She adds.

"Of course." He goes in the back and comes back with a small glass of ice and pours it in her drink. "Anything else?" He said timidly again. Azula's eyes narrowed as she stares at the glass. "Your highness?"

She reaches in her drink and pulls out an ice cube. "What is this?"

The man is a little off-put by her question. "It's ice Princess."

"What kind...?"

"An ice…cube?"

Azula raised her voice. "What kind of WATER is this CUBE made of?

"Well water?" The man was completely confused.

"As in NOT spring water?" She gave him an angry glare.

The man immediately got scared. "Um..."

"Because why would I ask for spring water if you were going to put well water ice in it?"

The man clears his throat. "I'll um…get you a different drink."

Azula stops him. "You didn't answer my question. Why?"

"I guess I wasn't thinking?"

"WASN'T THINKING!" She throws the glass at him. He ducks and it shatters on the wall behind him. He was now officially terrified.

"I...I'll just, uh, go..."

She rises from her chair. "YOU'RE SERVING ROYALTY! I'D BE DOING A LOT MORE THINKING IF I WERE YOU!"

"I'm sorry Princess." He whimpered.

"IF YOU'RE SO SORRY THEN FIX IT...AND GET OUT OF MY FACE!" The man whimpers and hurries off to get another glass, being careful enough to not step in the broken pieces of the first glass. "Imbecile." There was a hush over the tavern, all eyes on Azula. She shot her head at the crowd with a look at would curdle dairy. Everyone suddenly found an interesting spot on his or her table to look at. Azula fell back into her chair. The recent betrayal of Mai and Ty Lee was still fresh in her head and made her testier than usual (if that was possible). She didn't want to been seen as weak, so she used her use of fear to keep control over everyone as usually. Which as far as she was concerned, was the way it should be.

Her concentration was broken by a voice. "Ah princess Azula." She turns to see a short man bowing at her. "It is such a pleasure to meet you."

"Who are you and why should I care?"

"The name's Lee, I'm a bounty hunter."

"Delightful." She said unenthusiastically. "Do I look like I need one?"

"Well I hear your looking for the Avatar...and your brother."

"Yeah so? Everyone knows that and they all want me to hire them...what makes you so special?"

"Me and my boys specialize in capturing benders, we never fail."

"Your boys?"

"My crew, Snob, Sneer, and Quake." He motions toward his table.

She looks over that his table and the boys give her a wave. "Not interested." The barkeeper comes back with a new glass of ice water and sets it down timidly like giving raw meat to a tigerdillo. Azula turned and took a sip completely ignoring Lee.

"Did I forget to mention I saw your brother? Angry one ain't he, with a big scar on left eye?"

Azula's eyes widen at this statement, but relaxed them before turning to Lee again. "Is that so?" She said sounding intrigued, but not desperate. "When and where?"

"First saw him a couple days ago at a festival in a village not too far from here. Saw him again just a few hours ago on a ship. Funny how I keep running into him." He said with a confident smirk.

"Hmm." She doesn't think she should believe him, some random guy, but she wasn't one to let good information to just slip by, so just to make sure. "Continue."

"Well both times he was with some girl...dark skin, blue eyes and turns out she was a waterbender. Ring any bells?"

Azula thought to herself. "That Water Tribe peasant? What would she be doing with Zuzu alone?" "Was the Avatar with him?"

"The Avatar, no, and it turn's out he had a thing for that girl your brother was with, and he 'stole her from him'."

"You don't actually mean..." Azula looks like she's about to laugh. "My brother is with that filthy waterbending peasant?"

"Broke the kid's heart so much he ran off because it." Lee continued.

"Really?" Azula gave her signature cat-like smile and this. "How interesting."

Lee smirk widened at fact he had the princess's attention. "I found that out on that ship I mentioned. They're looking for him, along with a Water Tribe swordsman and a girl with fans."

Azula recalls the 'Water Tribe swordsman' and the other girl from their encounter at the boiling rock, but she noticed someone that wasn't mentioned. "Wasn't there another girl? A short, blind earthbender?"

"Um...no, and it looked like everyone was on deck at the time. Was her name Toph? They mentioned someone named that, who is with the Avatar."

Azula smirks, she finally accepts this man to be of some use to her…for now.

"Sit down." Azula turns to the bar keep. "Hey you!" The man jumps at the sound of her voice, obviously still scared of her. "Get my new friends some drinks." Not wanting to anger her anymore, he gets right on it. Azula turns her attention back to Lee. "So…" She said leaning her chin on her palm. "Tell me more."

Lee waved his finger at her. "Ah, ah, aaaaaaaah." He rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

Azula lifted her head off her palm. "Ah yes." She snapped her fingers and one of her escorts threw a bag at the table. When it hit some of the gold pieces spilled out on the table.

"Oh yeah!" Lee exclaimed scooping up some of the coins and watching them fall back into the bag. "That's what I'm talking about!"

And the sh*t storm just keeps getting bigger. Thank you to zukofan2005 for help on the Azula/Lee scene and my betareader for getting back to me so fast.

Next Chapter: Find out what Toph was going to ask Aang.

When will it be up? ...LOOK A DISTRACTION!

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