I was thrilled with the reviews and hits I got on my newest chapter! Thank you so much to everyone for reading! Now of course, I just COULDN'T leave out the meteor sword. :D Enjjooyy!

Chapter 23 – Sokka Finds a Master

…..

"Now, Piandao lives in a castle set just here, in Shu Jing." Iroh pointed to the spot on the map. The old man knew well of the work of the sword master and was glad to help Sokka in his quest to become a master swordsman.

"It will take you about a week on Appa to get there. Be forewarned Sokka, he is a tough man, he does not bend easily. But, he is an excellent swordsman. Good luck."

"Thank you Iroh." Sokka hurried from Iroh's room to meet with the rest of the group. He quickly explained his plan, asking Aang for the permission to borrow Appa for the ride. No sooner had they finished lunch that afternoon that Sokka had gathered a bag of supplies and his map and headed out toward Shu Jing, well aware of the journey he had ahead of him. While everyone had gone about their business, Katara paced around nervously. She had picked at her dinner and barely responded to anything anyone else had said. By the time everyone else had gone to bed Katara was still up, tossing and turning. She soon gave up on sleep and silently slipped into the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea which she barely touched as she continued to pace back and forth.

"Ya know, you're gonna wear a hole into the floor." Zuko's voice made her jump, her tea sloshing from the cup. With a quick flick of her wrists she returned the tea into the cup, placing it onto the table.

"Zuko…you scared me." She gave him a soft smile, trying to hide that anything was wrong, before gazing back out the window towards the night sky. Zuko walked to her, placing a hand on her back.

"Katara…he'll be okay. Your brother is strong." She turned to him, moving in for a hug.

"I know you are right. But he's my big brother…he's always been there for me. I'm just worried about him." Zuko chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Katara, kissing the top of her head.

"Boy, I sure wish I had a sister like you. Azula's not exactly the caring type…" Katara turned her gaze to Zuko, bringing her hand to rest against his scarred cheek. He tilted his face into her hand, closing his eyes in comfort. His hand covered hers and the two slowly leaned in for a soft kiss. As they parted, Zuko linked his fingers through Katara's and lead her to the cushioned window seat where he sat, coaxing her to sit with him. She needed little persuading as she lay back against him, resting her head in the spot between his neck and shoulder. Her head fit just perfectly. He wrapped his arms comfortably around Katara, his thumb rubbing her arm soothingly.

"I promise Katara, your brother will be okay."

"Thank you Zuko. …You always make me feel so much better."

"You do too Katara." He paused a minute, his chest feeling nervous. "You've always been there for me, even when I was the most stubborn, rude jerk ever. You never gave up on me…and you've always had faith in me. I could never thank you enough for that… I-I love you Katara."

Katara moved her head slowly, leaning on one elbow to look at him. Her cerulean eyes met his amber ones as her voice came out in a whisper. "You…you do?"

"Yea…I do." He smiled to her, Katara returning the smile.

"I love you too Zuko." The two moved in towards one another to share in a passionate kiss, Zuko's hand tangling into Katara's hair. They finally pulled apart, gasping for breath, smiling to one another. Katara could have sworn she could fly at that very moment as she stared into the eyes of the man she loved. Zuko stared back at her, gently brushing a strand of her lose hair behind her ear, bringing his palm to a rest against her cheek. Katara turned to his palm, kissing it lightly, as she lay down, resting her head against his chest, her arm wrapping around his side. Slowly the two drifted off into sleep, wrapped up in one another.

….

"We're almost there buddy. Good job!" Sokka smiled as he pet Appa's head. The behemoth gave a low groan in response. Sokka led Appa into a soft land and leapt from the saddle, making his way towards the front doors. He took a deep breath before reaching for the large, ornate knockers on the doors. It had taken Sokka nearly a week to reach the place of Piandao, stopping only for rest, food, and once to change into the fire nation clothes Zuko had lent him. Finally he reached out his hand, grabbing the knocker and tapping it against the door. When no answer came he reached for both, knocking frantically. The doors flew open, a butler stepping out.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to see Piandao. I ask to be trained by him."

"Well I'd turn away now if I were you, he hardly ever takes anyone as a student."

"Either way, I'd still like to see him." Sokka bowed his head. The man sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Very well. This way." He led a quiet Sokka to a large room, where a man sat at a table, his back to the door.

"Well?" the man's voice was deep and intimidating. Sokka dropped to his knees in a respectful bow."

"Please sir, I've traveled a very long way to see you. I humbly beg to train under you and learn the ways of the sword."

"And what makes you think you're worthy of becoming my pupil?"

"To be honest sir? I don't think I am worthy. I'm the only one in my family that doesn't have anything special about them. They're-they're all masters. And me? All I've got is a map. I can't do anything. But I'm a fast learner. And if you'd let me, I'd be honored to be your student." The man looked up from his calligraphy, staring out the window.

"What's your name?"

"S-Sokka ..sir"

"Sokka? Hah! That's an unusual name." Piandao's statement was dripping with suspicion.

"Oh! Uh-no…no. Where I'm from? The…Fire Nation colony? It's a very common name." Sokka chuckled nervously

"Let me guess… where you come from you're the best swordsman in your colony, and you want to learn from a master? And you think that just because you come and give some pretty little speech that I'll just accept you and teach you to be a master?"

"Please sir… for once I'd just like to feel like I'm worthy of something." Had he been in a less somber mood, Sokka would have mentally kicked himself for being such a kiss-up. But for one of the few times in his life, he was being completely serious. Finally, Piandao stood, turning from his seat.

"Well then, we'd better get started."

…..

"The most important thing to remember when using a sword, is to consider it an extra part of your body." Piandao moved through a few slow moves with his sword.

"Sooooo….like an extra head?"

"More like a really long, super sharp arm."

"Great! Sooo…when do I get a real sword?"

"First you must learn the basics…how to breathe and lead your sword as a part of you."

"Oh…" Sokka sighed disappointedly. He looked up catching Piandao's disapproving look and straightened up, forcing a smile onto his face. "I mean, oh!" he chuckled nervously, keeping the smile there until Piandao had looked away again.

…..

"AAuuugghh! Umph!" Sokka flew back once more, his back slamming into the rock wall.

"Again!" Piandao shouted from his perch above the ring. He looked down to Sokka and the large man currently sparring him. The past few days Piandao had spent teaching Sokka the most basics of the sword and concentration. Today he decided it was time for him to put his skills to use. Sokka stood up, bending over to catch his breath.

"Remember Sokka…think of your sword as an extension of your arm." He charged towards the large man once more, this time fairing much better in his spar. By the end of the day Sokka was exhausted, bruised and sore. Piandao c lapped the warrior on his shoulder, a light smile of praise on his face.

"You are doing well Sokka. But do not become too confident. You still have a long way to go."

"Thank you Master." Sokka bowed his head before trudging off to check on Appa, and then to the room granted to him by Piandao. As tired as he was, Sokka was unable to sleep. He felt too sore to sleep, and instead took to sitting on the sill of the large window in his room, staring up at the moon.

"Boy Yue…I never thought it'd be this hard to be a master swordsman. I think my backside is gonna be bruised forever." He chuckled quietly, resting his head back. His eyes had just started to close as a stream of bright green light flooded the sky. His eyes shot open quickly to see a large green meteor streaming through the sky. He watched as it crossed over the nearby hill, slamming into the ground. "What was that?" It was but a few seconds before he smirked, looking up to the moon.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Stop complaining and get to bed. Geeze Yue, when did you get to be so bossy?" Sokka smiled as he climbed under the blankets, quickly falling asleep.

…..

Well folks, looks like Sokka's training is actually going to be 2 chapters, and not one like I had originally intended. Ideas started flowing and before I knew it, I'm at 4 pages! I didn't want to make the chapter tooooo long, so I figured I'd split it here! RxR! I shall update soon! :D