AN: (sobbing uncontrollably) I want to thank all those who stood by me after Katara183's reviews. Those review affected me more than I'd like to admit, and it's nice to know ya'll like my story enough to stand up for it. Thanks bunches. (stops sobbing) I feel better.

AN: I've separated all Avatar characters into three groups.

1. Those that look like monkeys constantly. Ex: Fire Sage leader, Admiral Zhao.

2. Those that look like monkeys when they're mad or upset. Ex. Cabbage dude, King Bumi, Iroh

3. Those that almost never look like monkeys. Ex. Katara, Zuko, Suki

In other news, let's see what happens to Zuko when he goes through a normal day at Kyoshi Island.

Chapter 12: The Unagi

Katara sighed. They were on Appa, and everyone save her was asleep. She was used to the way Sokka and Aang slept, Sokka like he'd never sleep again, Aang like he only slept to wake up. Zuko was entirely different. Now, he had his back to the edge of the saddle and was partially upright, his head had long since fallen down on his chest. His arms were crossed across his chest, one leg bent, and the other straight.

Katara had learned a while ago how fast he could get up from that position. Dressed in black pants and a loose blood red shirt, Zuko made sleep look like a chore, and she was surprised to see Momo sitting in his lap. The lemur was looking at her with big eyes. She glared at the poor beast.

"How can you sit near such a bastard?" Momo tilted his head and chirruped softly, Zuko twitched and Katara froze. Golden eyes flitted open to meet huge green ones.

Zuko lightly scratched the lemur behind his gigantic ears. He mentally noted that he didn't know the lemur's name. He stood slowly, but the lemur was unperturbed, and without hesitation, climbed up onto his shoulder. Zuko had long since gotten used to the way the bison moved, and he walked easily to the front of the saddle and silently viewed the mist and clouds below them. He knew Kyoshi Island was not far.

"What are you thinking about?" The girl's tone of voice sent a coil of anger through his heart, but he tried to control it.

"I'm thinking about the last time I was here."

"When you nearly burned their homes down?"

"….Yes."

"I hope they return the favor when we get there."

"I hope they let me burn you first."

"What are you two talking about?" Aang had woken up. Katara snapped her mouth shut but Zuko was actually compelled to answer.

"That last time I was at Kyoshi." Aang's face fell.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure when they find out you've changed sides that everything will be okay." Zuko looked at him, disbelief in his eyes.

Sokka woke up later and Katara fixed breakfast. Zuko refused to eat until Aang commanded him to. Around them, the fog cleared and when breakfast was over, they could see Kyoshi just ahead of them. It was clear that they hadn't forgotten Zuko's raid, for they were still making repairs.

Zuko sat down in the saddle and crossed his arms across his chest. "I think I'll just stay up here." Sokka frowned.

"No you won't."

Zuko just looked at him knowingly.

When Appa landed on the outskirts of town late that evening, Zuko sat determinedly in the saddle, and Sokka glared at him.

The villagers came running out of town as Aang and Katara got off Appa. The elder came up and smiled. "So, Avatar, you have returned to us. There were rumors that you had been captured by the Fire Lord, as well as rumors that the Fire Prince is dead." Aang smiled.

"Well, I was captured by the Fire Lord, but I escaped, with some help."

Suki came running up as he said this and glanced around. "Where's Sokka?"

"Be there in a minute!" Sokka called. They all looked up towards Appa.

"For the last time Sokka i'm not going...what…you...PUT ME DOWN!"

And then a certain Fire Prince landed on the ground in front of Suki, who pulled out her fans, but Aang was quick.

"As you can see, Zuko's not dead, and he's on our side now."

Sokka jumped down from Appa's saddle.

"Told you that you weren't going to stay on Appa."

Zuko glared daggers at Sokka as he stood, brushing dirt from his clothes. "That's it. I'm not teaching you another thing." Sokka just smiled.

"Yes you will." Zuko sighed, and his anger evaporated.

"I know." Suki put up her fans as Zuko and Sokka smiled at each other. The elder turned to Zuko and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If the Avatar trusts you, then so do we Prince Zuko."

"Thank you, and it's just Zuko if you don't mind. I'd also be happy to help with any repairs that I can while we are here."

"That will be much appreciated. But now, you and your companions are no doubt tired of travel. Rest and be welcome."

One of the villagers came forward and led them to a house where they could stay.

The messenger ran into the room, catching his breath as he bowed to the Fire Lord. Admiral Zhao and Princess Zula were standing next to him, and all three eyed the messenger when he came in.

"My Lords and Lady, Prince Zuko is alive. He was spotted just east of the border in a small village, and he left with the Avatar."

Zhao cursed, and the Fire Lord waved his hand, dismissing the messenger. He turned to Zula.

"As much as I want you to have the throne, my daughter, you know what you must do."

Zula nodded. "Zuko will die, and I will see the Fire nation restored in all its glory." The Fire Lord nodded his approval.

"Admiral Zhao, Zula, you are dismissed. I wish to be alone."

The Admiral bowed and the Princess nodded, and they exited together. Once out in the hallway, Zula called to Zhao. He turned and returned to her.

"Zhao, if you help me kill Zuko, I will make you my king." First greed, and then lust formed in the Admiral's eyes, but Zula did not regret her decision. She knew how power-hungry Zhao was, and she also knew that she'd need his help. The Admiral held out his hand. "That's a deal, Princess."

She grasped his hand firmly. "A deal in which you better hold up your end." I'm coming for you big brother, and you better watch out.

The next morning, Katara woke fully refreshed for the first time in a long time. Aang and Sokka were still sleeping, but Zuko's bed was carefully made, and its occupant nowhere to be seen. Suki came in with breakfast for herself and Katara.

"Suki, where's Zuko?"

"Making good on his offer."

"What offer?"

Suki sighed. "He's on the other side of town helping rebuild the elder's home."

Katara's eyes went wide. She had heard Zuko's words but hadn't expected him to uphold them. After breakfast, she followed Suki to where she had said Zuko was working. Her quick eyes spotted Zuko by one of the walls with a worker. The worker was holding coils of metal around the beams to secure them, and Zuko was using a thread of concentrated fire to fuse the coils together. Both were shirtless and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

An older man came over to Suki and Katara. "Thanks to that fire-boy we've gotten so much more done. We used to have to use flaming logs to melt the steel and it took forever, but him? It takes him barely 10 seconds."

In truth, Zuko and his helper had already moved to the next coil. Suki smiled. "I knew it would be a good idea to have a fire-bender on our side."

Katara snorted. She didn't think anything Zuko did could ever be good. He was probably sabotaging the house as they spoke. Suki and the man looked at her, but she ignored them, and finally stomped off, choosing to go practice her bending rather than chance a confrontation with Zuko.

Suki frowned but instead of following Katara, she went up to where Zuko was working. Zuko turned and looked at her when he was done fusing that particular coil. "Yes?" She smiled and held out her hand.

"Hi Zuko, I'm Suki. I'm the leader of the Kyoshi warriors." Zuko took her hand and shook it firmly.

"Congrats." Suki laughed at his tone.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come and train with us once you're done here. It would help the girls and me to fight against a real fire-bender." Zuko smiled.

"I definitely could use the exercise. That week in a coma has really gotten me out of shape." Suki looked him up and down.

"Well, if that's out of shape I'd love to see you when you're in shape." Zuko laughed and the leader came over to them.

"You go on, Zuko, we're done with the coiling for now and I'm sure you'd rather be training." Suki laughed and grabbed Zuko's hand before he could protest. He just managed to grab his shirt before she dragged him off at a run, leading him to the training hut.

Even 'out of shape' as Zuko said he was,none of the girls were a match for him, so they all ganged up on him. After two hours of non-stop 'training,' Zuko allowed them to defeat him, mainly so he could take a break. As soon as he was down, they let him go, and he collapsed at the side of the hut and didn't move until Sokka and Aang came in.

"Hey Suki, what'd you do to the poor boy?" Suki got up from where all the girls were just sitting around to answer Sokka's question. Zuko was sound asleep.

"Nothing. That's just what happens to fire-benders after they work on houses for three hours and then train with a group of female warriors for two."

"Oh."

Sokka, Aang, and Suki trained for a while after this miniature conversation. None of them noticed when Zuko got up and left.

Zuko tied his shirt around his waist so as not to lose it, and headed out of town to the shore. He had a promise to keep.

Katara was down by the ocean, going through each water-bending move she knew. She was vaguely surprised to see Zuko coming down to the shore. He didn't see her, and she ducked behind some rocks to keep it that way.

He took his shirt off his waist and laid it on the sand and then took off his boots and placed them beside his shirt. Then, he waded out into the ocean, and when it was waist-deep, he dove beneath its surface. Katara was shocked. For some reason, she had believed that Zuko couldn't swim. She nearly fainted when she saw him on the back of a Koi, but then she began to laugh.

It was the moment that she started laughing that a thought of the Unagi crossed her mind. She'd laid back in laughter, now she sat straight up, watching Zuko dive from the Koi's back. Just above a dark shape in the water.

She watched in horror as the Unagi burst from the water beneath Zuko. He may be a bastard, but he didn't deserve to die.

Zuko was far from helpless. He'd felt the water shift and was prepared when the Unagi surged up from the depths. He'd caught onto the Unagi's head, and when it reached its full height out of the water, he'd managed to stand up. But the Unagi felt him and shook its head, and Zuko fell over to the side, only stopping by grabbing the ridge above the Unagi's eye socket. He now found himself staring into its huge yellow eye. It glared at him and attempted repeatedly to shake him off and into its mouth. Zuko managed to geta dagger fromthe ankle holster he never took off.

A more determined shake of the Unagi's head threw Zuko onto the place on top of its head. The constant thrashing was taking a toll on Zuko, and he was still tired from the morning's work, but he knew what to do. Crawling over to one side of the Unagi's head, he took the dagger and stabbed…directly into its eye.

He drove the dagger deeper until it was buried up to his shoulder. Then, Zuko bended, forcing fire into the depths of the Unagi's brain.

Katara heard the Unagi screech, and it tossed its head as it twisted in its last moments. She saw Zuko's now unconscious body fly across the sky and slam into a rock a few feet away from her. Running to him, she was astonished by what she saw. His right arm was covered in blood andwho knows what elsefrom shoulder to hand, in which was clutched a dagger. Judging from the partially caved in appearance of the lower left side of his chest, he had a few broken ribs. Blood flowed from a cut on his forehead and from several across his shoulders and chest.

Several villagers had heard the Unagi's cry and had come running. Katara shouted to them and one of them scooped Zuko into his arms. The ground shook when the Unagi crashed to earth. It sighed deeply and then was still.

If you read, please review! I'd love to know whatever thought crossed your mind while reading my story. Thanks bunches. BTW...monkeys!