They made it to Gaoling five days later and managed not to kill each other. Katara couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement as the city came into view. She couldn't wait to see her brother and Aang.

But she also couldn't help the anxiety that coiled in her belly. She was bringing Zuko along, possibly in close proximity to Aang. It didn't really matter that he was wanted by the Fire Nation, that he no longer traveled with his uncle, and that he hadn't given her a reason to be suspicious of him over the last week. He was still Zuko.

But indeed, things had gone well enough since they came to their agreement. There had been no more arguments, at least, although neither could contain themselves all the time, occasionally exchanging barbs. But otherwise, Katara could grudgingly admit that the two of them worked well together.

Zuko still didn't talk all that much, but she got the feeling that he wasn't an exceptionally chatty person. It sure made for dull company, though. But he didn't complain when Katara passed the time by talking. It was mostly one-sided, but she didn't mind. It helped keep her mind off of things.

They rode into Gaoling, and Katara immediately set about looking for a possible earthbending teacher. Her inquiries were directed to one Master Yu, who was allegedly the best earthbender in the city. But upon arriving at his school, they only found his students and a substitute teacher.

"But where did Master Yu go?" Katara asked the substitute.

He only shrugged. "How should I know? I'm just filling in."

"What about the Avatar?" Katara pressed. "Did he come through here with a Water Tribe guy?"

"Kid, I just get paid to give lessons," the substitute said wearily. "Now if you aren't here for an earthbending lesson, get lost."

Katara narrowed her eyes at him before she stomped back over to Zuko, who had lingered at the mouth of the school, a wide-brimmed hat pulled over his head to conceal his scar as much as possible.

"That was a waste of time," Katara exclaimed, tossing her hands in the air in exasperation. "Master Yu is gone, and the substitute had no idea if Aang and Sokka were here or not."

Zuko looked up at her, the corner of his lips pulling up in a conspiratorial smirk. "I might have a lead."

Her eyes widened. "What? Really?"

He jerked his head towards the school, and Katara spotted a couple of boys around her age kicking a small boulder around like a ball.

"Them?" Katara asked curiously.

"I overheard them talking about something called Earth Rumble VI," Zuko replied. He met her gaze. "The Avatar's looking for an earthbending teacher, right?"

Katara bit her lip. "It might be worth asking about. Come on."

Katara grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the boys, pasting a friendly smile on her face.

"Hi! My friend and I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking about something called Earth Rumble VI," Katara said to them. "Could you tell us where it is?"

The pair of boys appraised Zuko and Katara with obvious distaste.

"Sorry," one of them sneered. "We don't talk to half-breeds."

Katara's jaw dropped open. "Excuse me?"

The older of the two ignored Katara as he looked at Zuko with a taunting smirk. "What, did a firebender light a fire in your mom's belly, half-breed?"

"I'll show you fire—" Zuko threatened, starting forward.

Katara held up her arm to stop him. "Let it go, Lee. We don't need these guys."

"Come on, Chen," one of them said to the other. "We don't want to be caught hanging around these losers."

The two of them sauntered away, laughing and jeering at Zuko and Katara's expense. Katara was upset, and she could tell that Zuko was angry too.

Zuko curled his hands into fists, his jaw clenching. "Stupid peasants!"

"Maybe lay off the peasant talk," Katara said out of the corner of her mouth. "Need I remind you that you're a peasant now?"

He looked at her, his brow furrowed, but then he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. "Right." He pursed his lips. "So what now?"

Katara looked after the way the boys had gone, her expression set with grim determination. "I think I can get them to talk. Wait here." She started after them. "Hey boys, wait up!"

Zuko watched Katara take off after the boys. He lingered by the school, settling his hat low on his brow. The boys' stupid insults stung. He wasn't a half-breed! He was a prince. And to bring Katara into it? That was low. Cowards.

But then Katara came running back to him. She grabbed his hand again and pulled him along.

"Come on!" she urged.

"Where are we going?" Zuko demanded to know, even as he allowed her to drag him with her.

"Away from here!"

Zuko happened to glance down an alley. He saw the two boys frozen parallel to the ground, their tops of their heads pushed together as they cried out for help. Zuko snickered.

"Should've frozen their mouths too," he told Katara as they ran.

She giggled. "Yeah, maybe. But I know where the Earth Rumble thing is happening." She produced something from her tunic. "And I stole their tickets."

"I never took you for a thief," Zuko found himself teasing.

They slowed down to a brisk walk and Katara let go of his hand. She threw him a mischievous smile.

"I'm not against stealing if it's for a good cause," she told him.

"Yeah, I guess you're not," Zuko remarked as a smirk tugged at his lips. "Didn't you steal that scroll from those pirates?"

"Yeah, I did." She shrugged. "But then you stole it from me, after you tied me to a tree—"

"Let's not talk about that."

"Fine." Katara looked down at their tickets. "We better go. It'll be starting soon."

Earth Rumble VI was held underground. Katara thought that the whole place looked pretty seedy. People were placing bets on the matches, and there were all types of suspicious sorts hanging around.

Zuko clearly noticed it too as he leaned closer to her and murmured in her ear, "Stay close to me, okay? I don't like the look of this place."

"I need to ask about Aang," Katara told him.

"What, you can't do that when I'm there?"

"Well, you don't exactly have a warm and fuzzy personality." He scowled at her, and she pointed at him. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

He huffed out a breath. "Whatever. I'll just hang back a bit, but I'll be close if you need help."

Katara patted her water skin. "I think I've got it covered."

He rested his hand on the hilt of the swords that hung from his lean waist. "Me too."

Katara arched her eyebrow at him. "What, you can actually use those? I thought they were just for show."

He glared at her indignantly. "Yes, I can, thank you very much!"

She gave him a teasing smile. "Well, it's good to know you're not entirely useless."

He opened his mouth to retort, but then Katara started off, exclaiming, "Look! There's one of the wrestlers. Let's go find out if he's seen Aang."

She approached the burly man, feeling only slightly off-put by his size.

"Can the Boulder help you?" he boomed.

"I'm looking for some friends of mine," Katara said.

"If you are not here for an autograph, the Boulder is not wasting his time," the wrestler said.

Katara squared her shoulders, ready to give him a piece of her mind, but Zuko put his hand on her shoulder and gave a slight shake of his head.

Zuko reached into his tunic and pulled out three gold coins. "Now will you answer the lady's questions?"

The Boulder considered it for a moment before he swiped the coins from Zuko. "Fine, the Boulder will answer the lady's questions."

"My friends might have come through here," Katara said. "A Water Tribe kid and a bald monk with tattoos."

Suddenly, the Boulder's face contorted into an angry mask. "Those two! Those two conspired with the Blind Bandit to make off with the grand prize! The Boulder does not take kindly to liars and cheaters."

"Hold on!" Katara said defensively. "Aang and my brother aren't liars or cheaters!"

The wrestler narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you calling the Boulder a liar, little girl?"

"Yes!"

"No, she's not," Zuko cut in. He shot her a pointed look, and Katara curled her lip. Zuko looked at the wrestler placatingly. "Why don't you walk us through exactly what happened?"

The Boulder considered them for a moment. Then he looked at Zuko. "They came through about ten days ago. Young kid, and another fella in blue. Showed up here when the Blind Bandit fought. The younger one challenged her. We all thought he was a fool. No one has bested the Blind Bandit. But lo and behold, he knocked her out of the ring and claimed the prize. But the kid never touched the Blind Bandit. They threw the match."

Katara frowned as she digested that. The description certainly sounded like Aang and Sokka, but why would Aang jump into an earthbending match? Unless he thought that this Blind Bandit could be his earthbending teacher? It was the only logical explanation that she could come up with.

"Anything else you can tell us?" Zuko asked. "Who's the Blind Bandit?"

The Boulder looked away. "No one knows who the Blind Bandit really is."

Zuko eyed him curiously. "But…?"

The Boulder's eyes cut over the area before he dropped his voice. "But a few days after that, the owner of Earth Rumble, Xin Fu, left. And the earthbending instructor, Yu, left too."

Katara looked at Zuko, her frown deepening. What was going on here? Had Aang and Sokka gotten themselves mixed up in some kind of trouble?

Zuko grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the wrestler.

"Hey!" Katara protested.

He shook his head. "He didn't know anything else."

She glared up at him. "How would you know?"

He scowled down his nose at her. "I've spent the last three years questioning people. I like to think I know a thing or two."

Katara didn't have a counterargument to that, and she suspected that Zuko was right anyway, even if she wouldn't admit it. But that led to another issue: if Aang and Sokka weren't in Gaoling anymore, where did they go?

She and Zuko left the underground tournament. Darkness had fallen outside. Katara let out a frustrated huff of air.

"Now what?" Katara said as she looked up at Zuko.

He didn't look at her. "Now we go our separate ways."

Her jaw dropped open. "What?"

Zuko looked down at the ground. "I said I'd bring you to Gaoling. I did. I'm sorry you didn't find your brother and the Avatar, but it's not my problem anymore."

He started to walk away. Katara let out an incredulous noise before she stomped after him.

"You can't just leave me here!" she shrilled. "I have no money, no supplies, and no way of finding my brother or Aang. You're leaving me no better than you found me!"

Zuko glanced back at her. "You're not half-starved and delirious from heat exhaustion."

"Oh, well, thank you so much for that!" Katara retorted sarcastically. "I can't believe you're just going to leave!"

She didn't know why she was so surprised. He was right; he'd fulfilled his end of the bargain, just as she had upheld hers. Zuko had brought her to Gaoling. He didn't owe her anything. But Katara found the thought of being completely and utterly alone, in a strange city, terrifying. And even though Zuko had been her enemy up until a week ago (and maybe he still was, she supposed she didn't really know), it was better than being on her own.

"Like you really want me to stick around," Zuko bit back. "You're just using me."

Katara scoffed indignantly at that, but wasn't that the truth? It doesn't mean I have to tell him that, she thought.

"It's a mutually beneficial arrangement!" Katara shot back.

"The agreement was until we got to Gaoling," Zuko replied. "We're in Gaoling. You're on your own from here."

Katara bit her lip, but he kept walking. Katara hurried after him, wrapping her hand around his arm. "Zuko, wait!"

He ripped his arm out of her grasp. "What do you want from me?"

"We're both on our own," she said, lowering her voice. "You have nowhere to go, and I have somewhere I need to be. Would it be so bad if we continued working together?"

Zuko seemed to consider that for a moment. He licked his lips before he spoke. "Why would you want to keep traveling with me? We're enemies."

"But do we have to be?" Katara implored quietly. "You said it yourself. You and your uncle are traitors to the Fire Nation. What else are you going to do?"

He looked away, his lip curling into a scowl as his eyes smoldered. Katara waited for him to answer, but when he didn't, she decided to push him just a little bit further.

"I need your help, Zuko," she said softly. "I need to get back to my brother and Aang. I can't do it on my own."

Finally, Zuko met her gaze. His expression was unreadable. Katara held her breath, waiting, hoping. He exhaled through his nose.

"Fine," he said. "I'll help you. Just until we find your brother and the Avatar. Then we go our separate ways."

Katara felt relief wash over her. She closed her eyes for a brief moment. Then she looked at him. "Thanks, Zuko."

Who would've ever thought I'd ever be saying those words? Certainly not her.