A/N: Hey everyone! Okay, I just got back from my vacation and once again, sorry for the delay. Anywayz… Here's chapter eight!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. Disclaimers tend to depress me. My doctor said I should I shouldn't write them anymore because they're bad for my health.

Chapter Eight: Shadow from the Past

Katara threw her fist as hard as she could at Prince Zuko. Zuko blocked it with his forearm and sent a punch at Katara. She lunged to the side to avoid it and saw an opening. She aimed a kick at Zuko's side. Quickly recovering, Zuko managed to evade the kick, but just barely.

Katara stood crouched over, with her hands on her knees panting. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and her dark green sleeveless top clung to her skin. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but strands of hair were falling out. Zuko, who stood against the railing of the top deck of the ship, was breathing pretty heavily himself. He nodded approvingly at Katara. "Not bad."

Two and a half weeks had passed since Katara found herself, unable to remember anything on Zuko's ship. After Zuko's comment about Katara in her kimono, Katara felt awkward around Zuko for the next few days. Zuko, however, acted as if nothing had happened. Katara still thought sometimes about what, if anything, that little incident meant. After a while though, she started to feel silly. Zuko never seemed embarrassed around her. She figured she was reading too far into it and he was just being polite. All the awkwardness was soon gone.

She was wrong though. Although he didn't act embarrassed, Zuko felt uncomfortable around her after he said that. He didn't know what possessed him to do it. It was the truth, of course, but telling Katara that different.

As he said, Zuko had begun training Katara to fight. And, his first impression had been dead on- Katara most certainly had a natural aptitude for combat. All she needed was proper instruction. She had only been training for a couple of weeks and although she couldn't beat Zuko, she could fight well enough to give him a good workout. She was a fast learner and was improving every day.

Katara looked up and grinned. "Thanks." That was big praise coming from Zuko. Katara relished any compliment she got while training from Zuko, no matter how small. His compliments were so few and so infrequent that it was a big deal to her whenever she got one. It wasn't that Zuko wasn't impressed with her, but when he had been trained, he almost never got complimented. Only reprimanded. He was teaching Katara in the same way he was taught.

Zuko and Katara picked up the towels they had hung on the railing and wiped their faces. Katara threw the towel over her shoulder and leaned against the railing. "So, how was I today?" she asked. A strong breeze blew through the open deck. Katara was thankful for it. She undid her pony tail and let her long hair blow in the breeze. "Ahhh..." she said and closed her eyes.

Zuko was all business. "You're improving. You still have a lot of work to do as far as your stances though. Don't sacrifice the correct stance for force. The power will come as you master the move. You're doing well as far as defense, but your offense leaves something to be desired. Like I said, work on your stances."

Katara nodded. She knew it would benefit her to listen to Zuko's advice. She turned around to face the ocean. "So that's all for today, I take it? It's getting dark." Zuko hadn't even really noticed it, but she was right. The sun had already set.

"Yes. That's enough for today. Be ready tomorrow, though. We're going to run through the sequences we did today and you'll learn some more. I may even start you off with a sword, but we'll see if you're ready." He started to make his way inside. Katara followed him. "We'll go eat something now, then get some rest. Remember, I expect you to be out here at dawn tomorrow morning."

Katara sighed wearily. "Of course."

000

After dinner and a quick shower, Katara wearily made her way back to his room. She was exhausted. Zuko was really pushing her hard. They trained nonstop for the entire day sometimes. Now that Zuko was semi-patiently waiting for the Avatar to come to him, he had more free time on his hands. And he didn't realize how lucky he was to have Katara to occupy his time. If he had this much free time before, he would have lost his mind stewing over catching the Avatar, as if he was already obsessed.

Katara tiredly changed into her deep blue night shirt and pants with the crescent moon and waves on them. She gave her hair a quick comb and climbed into her bed. Her exhausted and aching muscles relaxed and Katara sighed in relief. Nestled underneath her silky red blanket, Katara blew out the candle on the table next to her bed. She closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened that day. She smiled to herself a little when she found herself thinking of today as a "normal" day. Breakfast with Zuko and Iroh, wearily listening to Zuko rant about the Avatar, then training and dinner. She was getting used to life aboard Zuko's ship, falling into sync with the people. It made her happy to think that she was finally getting back to her old life.

Things were good. She and Zuko were getting along well enough. They had plenty of petty arguments, but nothing serious. Zuko was getting used to having Katara around and found he liked having her there. She was someone his own age (or close to it) to talk to. And he was happily surprised to find that she was very mature. He liked that about her. He could have a serious conversation with her.

Katara was tired. She felt her thoughts slipping away and welcomed what she thought would be a peaceful night's sleep. She was wrong, however.

000

Katara felt the wind whip through her hair. There was a heavy fog all around her. There was somebody next to her. A boy? She thought. He squinted to try and make out his features, but they were hidden by the fog. She thought he was trying to speak to her, but she couldn't hear him. Her own thoughts and breathing and heartbeat were all she could hear. Then, the dream suddenly wrenched and changed. Everything was dark and Katara felt the breath being stolen from her lungs. Someone called her name… The boy… She turned around frantically, trying to find him. She couldn't see him. His voice seemed so far away. She couldn't take it anymore. She was suffocating, she needed to breathe…

With a gasp Katara bolted upright. She was panting heavily and her heart was racing. She sat there a minute, letting her eyes adjust to the dark. She groaned in frustration. That dream plagued her every night. She always saw that same boy, but his features were always clouded and she couldn't remember what he looked like. His voice though… She remembered his voice distinctly.

"Hang on Katara…"

It haunted her.

Katara got out of her bed and fumbled around for a match. When she found one, she struck it and it burst into flames, giving the room an eerie glow. Hands shaking, she lit the candle next to her bed and blew the match out. She sat down on her bed with her back resting against the wall. She had tried every night to decipher her cryptic dreams, but to no avail. She kept telling herself it must have been one of the crew members calling to her the day she forgot everything…

But, he seemed too young. He was a boy, she knew that much. Not much older than herself. She mused with the idea that it could have been calling her. He fit the description. She wanted to believe that. It would make everything so much simpler. But, she remembered that voice. It was not Zuko's.

She closed her eyes and tried desperately to conjure an image of the mysterious boy's face. It hung cruelly on the very edge of her consciousness, teasing her, just out of reach.

Sighing in defeat, Katara sat in bed a few more minutes, letting her heart beat slow. She reached over, blew out her candle and settled down for what she now knew would definitely not be a peaceful night.

000

"That was truly pathetic," said Zuko, shaking is head in disappointment at Katara as the made their way down the hallway towards the dining hall.

Zuko ended their training session early because he simply couldn't take it anymore.

"What is wrong with you today Katara?" he asked, "Yesterday you had most of those sequences mastered, but today…" He didn't need to finish.

Their session had gone awfully. Because of her lack of sleep the night before, Katara couldn't focus, had horrendous coordination, and couldn't concentrate on anything Zuko said. She wasn't even listening to him speak then. And the fact that Zuko wanted her ready at the crack of dawn didn't help much either.

"Look," said Katara wearily as they entered the dining hall, "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't sleep well last night."

Katara and Zuko sat down across from each other at the table. Katara put her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes. They had dark circles under them. A man approached them and set two bowls of domburi in front of them. Katara muttered a thanks and picked up her chopsticks. Zuko picked up his chopsticks and started eating also, but without any thanks. He eyed her carefully. "You were having trouble sleeping?"

Katara hesitated. She had thought about telling Zuko about her dreams before, but had always decided against it. She was afraid he might laugh at her and dismiss her dreams. They mean something; Katara was sure of it. There had to be a reason she always dreamed about the same thing. Maybe Zuko can tell me what they mean… she thought.

"I was having… unpleasant dreams." She replied carefully.

Now she had peaked Zuko's interest. "What sort of dreams?"

"Well… I think they might have something to do with the day I lost my memory."

Zuko's heart beat sped up slightly. He hated it when she talked about that. She believed she was from the Fire Nation and he had told that lie so many times, he sometimes found himself believing it.

"What makes you think that?" he asked carefully.

Katara set down her chopsticks and looked Zuko in the eyes. "Zuko, when I fell overboard… Did anyone call to me?"

She can't be remembering things can she? Thought Zuko. "Of course, several men did."

Katara nodded a little. Zuko hoped this answer would suffice, but somehow he knew it wouldn't. "Yes, but anyone in particular?" she asked. There was no turning back now. "A boy perhaps?"

Zuko sighed, but inside he was panicking. "Katara, you're not making any sense. What happened in your dream?"

Katara looked down. "Well, you see, I have the same dream every night. It starts out with a strong wind blowing, lie I'm moving fast. Then I see a boy near me. His face is always clouded though. I can never remember it. Just when I try to see him better, the dream changes…" she stopped.

"Go on." Zuko prompted her.

"It's dark and I can't breathe. I think it's when I was in the water. Then I hear the boy calling me. He says 'Hang on Katara!' It sounds so far away. And just when I think I can't hold on anymore, I wake up." Katara finished. Zuko didn't say anything.

"So?" she asked tentatively, "Do you think it's that day?"

Zuko didn't think it was that day, he knew it was that day. She was remembering things in her dreams. This was not good. He looked up and realized she was waiting for an answer. "Yes… I think it might be when you lost your memory." He finally said.

Katara started to get excited. "That's great! Zuko, that means I may be starting to remember things!"

"Yeah…great…" he replied weakly.

Then, the excitement somewhat drained from Katara's bright blue eyes. She remembered the whole point of telling Zuko. "But who is it calling my name? He is definitely too young to be a soldier."

It must be the Avatar or her fool of a brother… thought Zuko bitterly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Katara replied confidently.

"Well…" said Zuko trying to think fast, "It might be me."

Katara's expression clouded. "What?"

"Well, I'm the youngest man on board. It must me in your dream. I was talking to you not long before you went overboard…"

No… thought Katara, It's not him. It's not his voice. I'm sure of it. She got the feeling there was something he wasn't telling her.

Zuko saw the conflict on her face and decided to change the subject. "Why didn't you tell me you've been having these dreams all along?" he inquired.

Katara looked down and blushed a bit. "I don't know… I guess I thought you'd think it was stupid or something…" Tentatively, she brought her aqua eyes up to meet his amber ones. She didn't see mockery there.

"Well, I don't. Don't hesitate to tell me anything. This could be important." He replied without much emotion. Especially if you're starting to remember things…. He thought.

Katara gave him a slight smile. "Okay."

Zuko finished eating and told Katara he had things to take care of and she should get some rest. He left soon afterwards, leaving Katara to ponder who this mysterious person was…