The ship stopped again to stock up on rope and to make little repairs from the storm on an old Air Nation island. It was deserted and covered with weeds, giving Leiko a perfect chance to practice her hunting. She was tired of fish anyway, so she figured something new would be something nice for the crew. So she gathered her bow and arrow and set out on foot, telling Zuko and Iroh that she'd be back by the end of the day.

Leiko was cutting through the grasses with her katana with her bow strapped to her back. She spotted a rabbit like creature and took out her bow and an arrow. She crouched down and aimed for its side, shooting it and killing it with one shot. She walked up to it and pulled the arrow out and held it upside down, letting the blood drip, and then stuffed the wound with a piece of cloth and wrapped up the whole creature. "Number two." She said and placed it in her bag with the other one. Then she went on and searched for more.

After finding and catching her fourth one, she was stopped when a cold blade touched her cheek, making shivers run up and down her spine! She went motionless and drew in a quick breath, it couldn't be good. "So, you are the great Leiko; daughter of the magnificent Admiral Zhao. A warrior in training. You don't seem all prevailing to me. Rise young one." A man's voice said with a heavy accent. She rose to her feet slowly as the blade slid off of her and then turned around to see what menace challenged her. Her heart stopped when she saw a samurai standing in front of her. Oh no…a samurai! She thought. He was wearing a purple, yellow and green outfit with a fire nation flag on his back. And as a mask, he wore a creature skull with horns over his face. He laughed threateningly. Leiko gulped. She could easily take on other warriors, but a samurai, the most deadly of all fighters, she didn't stand a chance. Tila screeched from up in a tree. Leiko could feel her hands begin to shake. "I am Tomo Nabu. I tell you this because you should know the name of your executioner." And he readied his sword. Leiko did the same and placed her katana against his.

"Please, I don't want to fight." She tried.

"Scared?"

"No," and she glared, "I'm just tired of slaying people." Her voice squeaked. The samurai laughed and rubbed his sword up and down hers.

"My dear, you need not worry about that anymore." And he went to strike her, but she backed up and missed his blade. "Fight me!"

"You were sent by my father?"

"He told me he has no pride in owning a deceiving daughter."

"I fled for my life."

"Looks like you're going to lose it anyway." And he swiped his blade along her face, not cutting her, but making her gasp in fear. "Why don't you just let me do my job, there's no way you can win." Leiko though about what Zuko had said and spun her sword around and struck a fighting pose on one foot.

"I can do anything." And then they began to fight.

Nabu flung his sword around with grace and violence, and Leiko blocked his blows as fast as she could! She had never fought a samurai before and knew that it was easier said than done. In fact, nobody had ever fought a samurai and lived. Nabu's tricks were wicked and kept her falling on her back and a sharp edge in her face. So she did what she knew was the best to do, she ran. She took off and into the woods as Tila flew down and followed! I can't win! She thought as she gripped her slashed upper arm and ran. She hid behind a tree and caught her breath. But the blade went through the trunk and rested above her head! She darted forward and up another tree! She rested on a branch, but the samurai suddenly appeared in front of her! She jumped back and onto another branch, gripping it with her arms and then slid off and down to the one below her. The samurai swung his sword again, cutting the branches and sending from one to another! She fell out of the tree and landed on her back! She rolled over as the samurai leaped down with his blade extended, stabbing it into the ground where her head would have been! She took off running again, trying to escape the mighty fighter. She had to think of a way to protect herself, and fast. When it came to samurai, the only way to beat them was by cleverness. Something Leiko did indeed have.

"There's no way you can win!" Nabu teased as he hopped out in front of her out of nowhere and tripped her with his sword. She fell to the ground and turned to see the man who held his sword above her head. "I can do everything and anything you can't!" and he laughed.

"Except for one!" and she sent an enormous flame up from her fist. Using a huge about of chi, and knocked the man back onto the ground! She did a jackknife up and ran forward with more flames in her hands. "You are withheld to the samurai code, which means you cannot fire bend!" and she used both hands to send more flame at him! He yelped and moved out of the way. "But I can!" and she kicked out, sending more flames that he couldn't deflect and he fell back against a tree.

Leiko didn't stop, throwing flames at the samurai. But then he began to dodge them, giving her a harder time to injure him! So she went past the basics and used some more intensive training techniques. She spun around as he skipped around her with his sword and sent flames in all directions. The samurai yelled in pain, and Leiko began to spin with one leg out, burning him constantly until he fell to the ground. Then she walked up to him. "I used to look up to the samurai," she said and then he snatched his mask off.

The man had pale skin, with deep scars all over his face. His hair was black, but shaved on one side, leaving the rest pulled up into a bun. He looked up at Leiko with wonderment and fear. Leiko glared down at him. There was a long draw of silence. "I lose." The man said and he drew out his knife. He placed it against his stomach and sighed. "I must die. In honor of the samurai code." Leiko gasped and grabbed his wrist.

"No!" she tried to stop him, "You don't have to." She couldn't stand to see any more death, let alone a suicidal death. The man shook free of her grip.

"I have no choice." He said and then he jabbed the knife into his stomach. Leiko backed away slowly and turned her face away with her hands over her eyes. She could hear the man behind her groaning from pain, and straining to finish the job. Then she heard his body collapse. "You are a warrior." The weak voice said and then there was nothing. Leiko gasped and refused to look back. She couldn't bear to see what might lie behind her. Her hands shook and she took off running in the other direction, Tila flying down next to her and following. Tila chirped.

"No Tila, I can't look!" Leiko cried. Tila chirped again. "No, I'll just go back to the ship." And she ran until she stood in front of the large iron boat. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Act like nothing happened." She said and Tila perched on her shoulder. Leiko just boarded the ship like nothing was wrong and greeted the soldiers on the deck. They waved politely. Then she walked into the ship and up into the mess hall.

Iroh was in the mess hall, drinking some tea and eating a biscuit. Leiko stopped in the doorway when she saw him. She knew that Iroh would be able to seek out what was wrong and what happened. She just removed the sac from her shoulder and placed it in front of the cook. "I brought something else for dinner other than fish." And then she went to walk out, but Iroh stopped her.

"Leiko, you're shaking. Is everything alright?" Iroh asked. Leiko turned and crossed her arms, trying to look calmer.

"I'm fine. Just the thrill of the hunt." She lied and went to walk out again. This time she made it past the threshold.

"Some tea will calm your nerves."

"Maybe later." And she walked out. As she did, her arms moved up until she was hugging herself. The image of the man committing suicide stayed with her. She scurried as fast as she could to get to her room, but she bumped into something hard and wet.

She looked in front of her and saw a rock hard, buff chest and a set of abs. Water dripped down off the pale skin and stopped just below the abs when they reached a white towel. Leiko felt like she was invading one of the men of the crew; however she looked up and saw that it was not one of the soldiers or crewmembers. It was Prince Zuko. She blushed when she realized who the delicious looking body belonged to in front of her. For a quick second she wanted to see the rest of him, but the thought vanished when he spoke to her. "Leiko," a water drop ran down his temple to his cheek and down to his chin, where it fell. Leiko was enchanted and her mouth gapes open for a second. Was this the helpless prince she had saved from the angry ocean? "What's the matter?"

"Zuko…" she spoke up after a while, "I-I'm sorry." She said and looked back at his chest, her mouth still agape. "Forgive me."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm…I'm fine." She fibbed again.

"You look like something scared you."

"Nothing, I just got back from hunting." She told him, "I brought back dinner." He looked at her funny and then glanced at her arm.

"What happen to your arm?" he asked. Leiko looked down at her right arm and saw the gash she had forgotten about.

"Uh…" she started, but he took her arm and looked at it. She got more goose bumps up and down her back.

"That's a real slice you got there." Iroh said as he approached from behind and looked at it with Zuko.

"It's nothing." Leiko said.

"It's from a sword." Iroh said as he looked closer at it. Zuko looked at Leiko, who was bighting her lower lip.

"How did this happen?" and she didn't answer, "I think we need to know." Leiko just bowed her head.

"I fought a samurai." She admitted.

"YOU WHAT?" Iroh and Zuko bellowed.

"Yes, he attacked me while I was hunting. I had no choice but to fight him."

"Where is he now?" Zuko asked.

"He's gone…for good. I beat him."

"You killed a samurai?" Zuko asked in shock.

"No. He killed himself."

"A samurai must kill himself if they fail their mission." Iroh explained, "When Leiko defeated him, he had no choice. But Leiko, how did you defeat him?"

"Fire bending." Leiko replied. "He couldn't bend, so I won."

"Do you realize you're the only one who had fought a samurai and lived?" Iroh told her with a hand on her shoulder. "That is quiet an honor."

"I guess it is."

"I'll tend to her wound, Uncle." Zuko said and he gently pulled Leiko into his room. When the door closed, thoughts ran through Leiko's head. Oh dear God, we're in his room, and he's only got a towel around him! He's practically naked! Her thoughts stopped when Zuko took her hands in his and beamed at her. "I can't believe you did it! You actually beat a samurai!" he cheered to her just loud enough for them to hear. She just smiled. "Do you know what this means?"

"No,"

"You're a real warrior now!" he said and he picked her up and spun her around in the air.

She was shocked. Prince Zuko would never act like that normally! It showed that he really cared about her. He set her back down and hugged her. "This is amazing. You've finally done it. You're what you've been working so hard to become!" and he walked over to his drawers and pulled out a bandage and some cream. First he took a cloth and dipped it in a bowl of water that had been in his room. He cleaned out her wound gently and she just watched. "Was it hard?"

"He was an impressive fighter. He almost killed me."

"But he didn't. And you're here now, that's all that matters." And he took the cream and rubbed it into the gash. Then he took the wrap and wrapped it up tightly. "You're an amazing person Leiko Sikari." He called her by her warrior name. "Now you can forget about that slayer's emblem and think about what's ahead of you." She looked down at her bandages.

"Leiko Sikari." She repeated and smiled at Zuko. It was whom she had thought become, and now she really was.