Zuko wondered whether he was hearing things or having a bizarre dream. Perhaps Jet had finally convinced him to try something from one of the more dubious food carts? He'd been warned once that certain molds could cause hallucinations. Aang was still standing before him, back to the infirmary window, his uncertain but hopeful expression starting to fade.

Before disappointment could take hold, Zuko made himself admit, "I'm nowhere close to being a bending master, Aang. I couldn't teach you the way you need to be taught."

The kid's jaw dropped. "I thought you'd say no!"

"Then why did you ask?" Zuko snapped.

An enormous grin took over Aang's face. "I've seen a lot of fire benders, Zuko. Most just blast their flames all over the place. Once I got Zhao so mad he set his own boats on fire! It was hilarious!"

"You what?" Zuko asked disbelievingly. "Do you have any idea how reckless that was? He had a violent temper and no honor! Zhao was dangerous. Do you know what he was capable of?"

"That's why I had to do it."

Zuko backed up and sat down, burying his face in his hands before raising it to ask, "Why are we even having this conversation? I can't teach."

The other boy sat as well. He hesitated before he went on. "I've gotten you mad, too, Zuko, but you've never lost control like he did. I've never seen you start a fire you didn't mean to." He squeezed his hands together and seemed to force himself to meet Zuko's eyes. "That's the hard part, isn't it? Making flames is easy."

Zuko didn't tell the Avatar how late that skill had come to him. Instead he addressed the part he hoped he'd misunderstood. "You've made fire. Tell me that was an accident. You aren't crazy enough to try teaching yourself, are you?"

Aang winced at the anger behind his calm tone. "There's a deserter, his name is Jeong Jeong. He's a master and I really do need to learn, so Roku convinced him to teach me."

"Roku," he repeated, fighting a chill. After all, it couldn't be him.

"He was the Avatar before me," Aang reminded him helpfully. It was. Does this kid get any peace from his duty? He tried to shove the thought aside but heard himself say, "I know that! How often do dead Avatars talk to you?"

"Not all of the time. I just needed help convincing Jeong Jeong, so Roku, I guess I channeled him somehow."

The former prince thought over what he'd heard about the onetime general. He'd have to ask his uncle about the ghost possession thing. There had to be a way to protect Aang from it. "They say that Jeong Jeong hates his own fire. If that's true, he shouldn't be teaching anybody."

"He did say some strange stuff", Aang admitted, "but he was willing to teach me. Only I messed it up."

"Tell me," Zuko ordered when he hesitated. What kind of harm had the unstable bender done to Aang?

"He gave me this exercise, trying to keep a leaf from burning completely. It was almost like meditation. I got bored and, well, I knew I could make a real flame. I was bored and since he left me alone to practice, I did it. I had the fire in my hands and it was so easy and I just... kept going."

Zuko hoped his scowl didn't frighten the younger boy but he couldn't hide his displeasure with the whole story. "You started to play. Haven't you heard the saying about playing with fire? Every nation has that one."

Aang shrugged, looking guilty. "I was careless. It was so easy. I thought I was in control."

"Why did he trust you alone?" Zuko asked, managing not too grit his teeth. "You can't have studied with him for long."

"We were there for a couple of days."

"And he left you, a child new to his element, alone and unsupervised? No true master does that, especially with fire."

"I am the Avatar," Aang reminded him.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Zuko realized he'd shouted and paused to listen in case he'd drawn attention from downstairs. Then he continued, lowering his voice. "He was derelict in his duty to you! Fire is the one element that's within its user! You could have..." He forced himself to stop. To breathe, before beginning again. "Fire is the hungry element, the one that fights being contained because it wants to spread and grow. It's the one element that can turn against its user if the bender isn't in control. How badly were you hurt?" His eyes roved Aang's exposed skin but he didn't see any scars.

"I didn't get hurt," Aang told him, "but I burned Katara."

He hadn't noticed any scars on her, either, although their recent encounters had involved Zuko trying to escape the water bender's notice, so he might not have spotted them. "How bad was it?"

"I burned her hands." Zuko winced, but the kid brightened, adding, "That's how she found out she can heal!"

"That was lucky." Aang tensed at his harsh tone and he continued grimly. "You were lucky to burn a water bender who could heal herself."

"I didn't mean to!"

He sighed and told the air bender, "You aren't entirely to blame. No true teacher would neglect a student like Jeong Jeong did."

Zuko fought a sinking feeling in his gut as he went on. "What you need is a master who respects his own element and the others. One that's patient enough not to wander off when he's training you but persistent enough to get you to focus. I've seen how fast you pick stuff up. You need a master who's incredibly talented, someone who will challenge you. Not many benders can match the Fire Lord, Aang, in skill or power. You need someone who can. I'll talk to him," he said unhappily, "but he really does love his tea shop. I can't promise he'll do it."

"Huh?"

"My uncle," Zuko said, realizing the kid hadn't followed his thoughts after all. "I believe he wants the war to end. He wants balance restored to the world. The Jasmine Dragon is like a dream for him, though."

He rose again to pace. "I can't promise he'll teach you himself. He can be stubborn and he likes being comfortable. He's comfortable here. He knows people, though," Zuko said, thinking of the contacts Iroh seemed to have scattered across the Earth Kingdom and the colonies. "If I can't talk him into teaching you, he'll know someone who can."

"You mean it?" Aang asked. "You'd really help me find a master?"

"Yes. I will."

"Because you want to restore balance, too."

Zuko nodded, but added, "Even if you weren't the Avatar, any adult has a duty to see a younger bender trained. Accidents can be deadly."

"But you aren't doing it just for that. You already said."

He had. He'd said that interfering with the Avatar's mission was a crime against the world. Not helping Aang to succeed when he had the means might be just as bad. "Yes. What help I can give is yours. Just remember, I'm nobody now, not a prince."

Aang bowed his head, apparently deep in thought. When he looked up, he said, "My friends need to know about you."

"They don't," Zuko insisted. "If I convince Uncle, or if he sends you to somebody else, you need to be able to work together. They may learn to trust Uncle or a stranger, but they hate me and will never trust me. I've given them plenty of reasons not to."

"You haven't just decided to give up, you've decided to help", Aang responded. "If my friends recognize you, they'll report you because you're a dangerous enemy, but you aren't any more. Helping us makes you an ally and we need all the allies we can get."

It isn't mercy, Zuko told himself, it's logic. The kid really does need all the friends he can get. Allies, he corrected himself. We can't be friends.

"I need to warn Uncle just in case," he said, bowing to the inevitable. Aang's companions hadn't seen him or his uncle, but their luck would run out. Wasn't it better to risk a controlled exposure than a meeting on the street? And if this did work, they'd have have one less reason to fear. "We can meet tomorrow night, all of us, to talk." "At our place or the Jasmine Dragon?"

"I think it would be less suspicious if you came for tea," Zuko said slowly. "Gan says Katara tried to apologize for soaking me when I was sick. You've been hanging around trying to convince me to talk to her, so we're all getting together tomorrow evening. You wore me down."

"That'll be great!" He hesitated. "Maybe I should work up to who you really are, though. Sokka's sure the Blue Spirit is on our side, so if I tell him that part first, and that you can help me find a fire bending master, maybe it'll help with the shock."

"They're your friends. Doo what you think will work."

"I won't let them tell. I'll make them promise before I say a word."

Zuko mustered a weak smile. "Thank you. I still have stuff to do here before I worry about everything else. How are you at cleaning tile?"

That huge grin broke out over Aang's face again. "Just watch me!"