"His name was Miroko Sang." Prince Zuko told his uncle. Uncle Iroh and some other men were in the mess hall eating breakfast. Zuko was informing his crew of the amazing scene that Leiko and the assassin had displayed. Zuko was in utmost shock, and no matter how many times he tried to grasp the whole thing, he still couldn't believe it. Leiko, his old best friend who seemed to helpless years ago, had killed a man. He knew that she had changed and trained for years, but watching her kill a man with her bare hands almost made her seem… daunting.

Meanwhile, Leiko was in her room on her knees on the floor with the tag in her hands. She was repenting for what she had done, like she would always do if she had done something wrong. The tag dangled from her fists and she stayed there with her eyes closed for some time. No matter how many times she asked the gods for forgiveness, it seemed like she could never express it enough. Tila stayed quietly perched on a dresser and watched her master pray. Leiko finally stood up and placed the tag under her pillow. "I have to talk to him." She said to herself and opened the door of her room. Tila flew over and resumed her usual spot on Leiko's shoulder as Leiko walked down the hallway.

She could hear chatter from the mess hall and knew that everybody had to be in there. She entered slowly without warning and everyone in there went silent. Zuko looked up at her and then at General Iroh.

"Good to see you Leiko, I hope you are okay after your encounter." Iroh stated.

"Yes, it must have been terrifying." A soldier came in as well. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine thank you. I've been through worse." She answered softly. Some men just nodded as others stared at her. She knew they were shocked about the news. And as much as she didn't want to she knew that she had to confess about the new her. The person she had become and the things she had done. She was still the same person, but with hidden secrets that could no longer be hidden. "Zuko…may I talk to you."

"Sure." He replied, still sitting.

"I mean in private, just the two of us." She requested. Zuko just looked at his uncle who nodded. Zuko stood up and followed Leiko out of the mess hall. "Where do you wish to go?"

"Let's go to my room." And they entered his room.

"Tila, shoo." Leiko told her bird and she flew away. Then Leiko closed the door behind them. "You may want to sit." And he sat down on his bed. She walked over to him and took a seat next to him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Leiko didn't look at him.

"Zuko…I'm sorry that you had to see what I did earlier." She said, "I hope you don't think of me as a completely different person. The truth is," she looked further away and turned back, "This is who I've become. When I fight, if I am struck then I always lose control of myself and start to get carried away. It's a problem I've had for some time now. I guess it's a way my father's evil has somehow seeped into me. He taught me to not only unarm and impair but to finish them off. I never forgive myself for doing what he wanted. I repent over and over again after every event, but it never seems enough. I haven't been able to talk about my feelings towards what I do to anyone. My father, along with others, praises it. Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only one who believes that killing is wrong. I wanted to show you something, but I'm afraid of what you'll think." And there was no speaking between them for some time. Zuko placed an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm.

"You can tell me." He told her. "I know that Zhao hasn't been the father you deserve. Besides, we're friends. We used to tell each other everything." She looked up at him and then reached down and removed her shoe. She raised her foot and held it in the air in front of Zuko's face. Zuko's eyes scanned up and down her long, slender leg, but then noticed a black tattoo on her ankle. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's the mark of the slayer." She told him and then lowered her leg. "My father didn't raise me just to be a warrior and a general…but an assassin as well." She crossed her legs and ran two fingers over the two black, parallel, squiggly lines. "He had this put on me shortly after you left. He knew I was bottling up a lot of rage and anger, and he said he was going to put it to good use. Any man whom my father had a grudge with I was ordered to destroy. And I did my job reluctantly. Like you." Zuko just looked at her, not knowing what to say.

"How many men have you killed?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Counting Sang, eleven." And she bowed her head, "That's eleven eternities I'll be spending in hell."

"It's not your fault."

"But I am not some conditioned servant…I did this." She said standing up and facing him. She hugged herself and sighed. "I obeyed my destiny. And my rage from having everything taken away from me spurred me to do it. It drove me to obey. Every time I thought about how I was treated, beaten, how you were banished…and taken away from me…I used that anger and it was my greatest weapon."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Zuko told her as he stood up too.

"Yes there is!" she shouted. Zuko touched her arm again. "I've embraced my destiny by allowing hate to shelter my eyes from the truth. No matter what the situation nobody should have to die. But I became what I hate and I destroyed."

"But Leiko, that person attacked you, which means that you did nothing wrong."

"I did. And I wish I could take it back but I can't. And it won't be the last time I put someone to death." And with that Zuko placed his arm around her again and she rested her head gently on his shoulder.