A/N: Wow… it's only been a week, but it's felt longer than that! I'm so happy I am able to update today! You see… I've had a sort of, W.L.I. (Writer's Loss of Inspiration) and I didn't care about fanfiction anymore… O.O yes, but thanks to reading some fics, and some support from people and reviews (thanks everyone who has reviewed! You guys are awesome!), I've got it back, and therefore we now have…
Chapter 3

The room was filled with dark candlelight and husky incense was burning around the table. Surrounding it were cushions and on one of them was the old woman she had come to trust. She was most likely the only person in Tochigi that she could trust with her life. How they met was by accident. Katara had been trying to get some food, and when she was running away, it fell out of her hands, and some men nearby took it from her. The woman saw Katara's hungry, pale face, and took her aside. Fortunately, this woman wasn't so hard set for the war as everyone else in the town was.

"Evening Miaka."

Katara bowed slightly, as she took off her mask. She set it down on the floor, taking a seat across from the old red beauty. That is what her name meant, and she was definitely the epitome of that. Her parents wanted her to be a graceful woman, which men would swoon over. They were poor, her parents, and they wanted a rich man to be her suitor. But Miaka never wanted any of that. When she was old enough, she ran away, and found an old woman, just like her now, to take her in. Since then, Miaka devoted herself to helping out others. She had learned how to meditate, and burn incense for any illness. Miaka smiled meekly and then closed her eyes.

"Katara, it is late."

"Yes, I know. But I wanted to give you something."

Miaka opened her old amber eyes and eyed the girl suspiciously. When she saw Katara pull out a black bag, and from it pull out some gold pieces her head began to spin.

"Katara! How on earth did you get that? Please don't tell me…"

"No! Miaka, I would never steal!"

She calmed down a bit and sighed.

"I earned it."

"Oh really? May I ask how?"

Katara looked away from the woman as she handed her the money.

"I worked for it. At a parade…"

Miaka's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. Terror, disgust and worry filled her eyes all at once.

"Oh no… please don't tell me you were a part of that horrible, degrading show!"

Katara finally managed to look up into her eyes, and she nodded sullenly.

"I don't want this! I can't accept spoiled money! It's filthy!"

She threw the gold pieces across the table, back at Katara. The candle's flickered and a soft breeze blew by. Miaka stood up and closed the window shutters.

"I'm so sorry Miaka. But I had to do it! There was no other way for me to earn money without giving myself away."

The old lady looked at her through the corner of her eyes, and then wrapped her arms around the girl. Katara hugged her back; it was almost as if she was hugging gran gran.

"It's just that when you said that, I became so worried. Are you okay? Did those men hurt you?"

Katara pulled away and smiled.

"Miaka, do I look like I'm hurt? I'm fine. Besides, someone pulled me away from the men just in time."

"Oh? And who would that have been?"

Katara opened her mouth, but closed it promptly.

"I … I don't know. I never saw anyone near me. It was like the shadows pulled me in or something…"

Miaka sat down again and closed her eyes.

"It could have been some spirits."

Katara chuckled to herself quietly. The only thing wrong with the lovable old woman was that she believed in all that supernatural junk.

"I don't think so. But whoever it was didn't want to stick around. Those men were becoming rowdy."

"Well I know why."

Katara blushed, and the two of them laughed a bit. Miaka took the money back, and put it safely inside her pocket.

"So, why dear Katara have you given me this wonderful money?"

"Well, I did want to repay you for your hospitality. You are the only person I can count on, and you are risking your life doing so."

"It is nothing. It is what I live to do."

"Yes, I know, but still. You have helped me so much… and now I need your help again."

Miaka cocked her eyebrow and smiled.

"What is it you need?"

"Have you heard of the four jewels?"

She gasped briefly, and nodded.

"Yes I have. A horrible thing they are. Why would you need to know of them?"

"Well, as you know, I am here trying to help the avatar. I think that if I had one of the jewels… let's say the Carmine, then maybe it could help Aang defeat Fire Lord Ozai."

"Hmm… I do see your point. Carmine would without a doubt weaken the fire lord considerably."

She looked around, and then leaned in closer over the table. Her voice became hushed, almost like a whisper.

"Girl, you have some guts to go after something as valuable as this. You could get yourself killed, but you are determined, I know that."

Katara nodded and listened on.

"I have heard rumors coming from the main tavern of Tochigi that the jewels are nearby."

"Yes, I went there last night," she paused as Miaka closed her gaping mouth, "and heard about the jewels there. Do you know anything else?"

"There is a man, I've heard, who is bluffing about not knowing anything. If you see someone hiding among the crowd, not saying a word, not drinking a single drop of anything, I believe you will be able to get closer. Otherwise, I'm afraid I know nothing."

Katara nodded, and stood up. She bowed and smiled.

"Miaka, thank you, thank you for everything."

She waved her hand and smiled. Katara put on her mask, and stepped outside cautiously. The night was still young.

..:-:..

The voices and laughter of the men were becoming louder as Katara turned the corner. She saw the familiar tavern she had been at the night before. As she neared it, she looked around to make sure no one was following her. The sky above was filling up with more clouds. She had grown accustomed to Tochigi weather, but for some reason the clouds seemed more ominous than before. The air around had in it moisture, and she could feel it within her veins. So much time had passed since she had last water bended. It was creating a hole inside of her soul, and she desperately wanted to touch the water hovering invisible to human sight. But she had more important matters to attend to. Katara slipped into the tavern and had to immediately hold her breath. The smokers were near the entrance that night, and she could barely stand the fumes.

Katara tried not to focus on that too much, and instead she tried to slip around everyone, trying to find the person that Miaka had talked about. Everyone seemed to be doing something though, and the situation looked hopeless. Maybe Miaka had been wrong, or maybe the man wasn't there at the moment. But as Katara was passing by the drunks, she heard something that made her stand still.

"Ha! I bet you five gold pieces that the Red Spirit could knock you out in less than ten seconds!"

"Oh yeah? Well who says there even is a Red Spirit?"

"Have ya checked your pockets lately?"

The man did check his pockets, and grinned when he pulled out his money.

"Looks like I've got it all right here! There's no such thing as a Red Spirit, just like there was no such thing as a Blue Spirit. I'm tellin' ya, it's all fire nation propaganda!"

The others laughed at him, and one put a paper to his face.

"You see this? This is the Red Spirit. If you don't watch out, who knows what will happen!"

The man took the paper, crumpled it, and flung it over his head carelessly. Katara tried to remain calm as she took the paper into her hands.

"There ain't nothin' to be afraid of! It's all a bunch of…"

But Katara didn't hear the rest, because she was walking away, reading the unfolded piece of paper. To her horror, it was a wanted poster, of none other than her. The resemblance was too familiar to her disguise; the red dragon like mask, and the black uniform. She couldn't believe it. How the fire nation had spotted her out was unimaginable, and Katara didn't remember doing anything wrong, ever. She had never stolen anything; she had just lain low, scrounging for food here and there. All of the thinking she was doing distracted her so much, that she didn't even realize she was walking around, not caring at all who, or what she would bump into.

The paper fell out of her hands, her bag of fortunes spilled onto the floor, and she could have sworn she was dreaming. Katara stepped back, and so did her reflection. She was staring right at herself. The red face, the black uniform, it was as if the image on the paper had come alive.

Zuko's mouth hung wide open, although no one could tell but himself. Right in front of him stood his exact opposite, but much shorter. The disguise was the same, but he couldn't help but feel like something was strangely familiar. All of a sudden, the tavern became silent as every pair of eyes hung onto the pair. The smokers thought they had smoked too much, and the drunkards believed themselves to be in nirvana. There was a pile of gold on the ground, and there were two Red Spirits. The rewards for two wanted men were very high.

Zuko snapped quickly back into reality, as Katara was just beginning to realize the height difference. He stooped low, and scooped the gold into the black bag in one swift motion. He darted away as the shouting began. Katara got a hold of herself, as she saw her earnings being stolen away from her. She received a big boost of confidence then, and she ran after whoever it was in the disguise.

"The Red Spirit!"

"No you idiot! There's two of em!"

"Who cares?"

"I told you so!"

Zuko darted around tables, and jumped over them too. The doorway was so close, and when he stepped out into the night, he stopped slightly and breathed a sigh of relief. The clouds were now looming overhead, but he didn't care. In his hands was a hefty sum of gold. Katara saw her nemesis dart away, and her anger began to boil. Somehow within a five second time frame, she had acquired so much strength that she had knocked out a whole group of men with her whip. It was either that, or the fact that the men were really drunk. In good time, she had made it out of the confusion, the shouts, and the chaos, out into the fresh, moisture filled air. There he was.

She wasn't sure if it was a he, but from the height, it most likely was.

Zuko heard a soft, almost inaudible movement behind him. When he turned around, he saw that his double had appeared from the tavern. Katara pulled out her whip, and without time to react, Zuko was now a lot less wealthy than he was a second before. Katara tied the bag securely to her waist, but this was a terrible move, because this allowed her rival to knock her down. Whoever it was had swung his legs right at her, causing her to fall face down into the dirt. She knew it had to be a guy, he was built like one, and his legs were really heavy, the pain told her.

The gold scattered around again, and Zuko tried to pick up as much as possible. Katara looked up however, and was soon on her feet again. She wasn't afraid of him, not anymore. Her arms punched with all of her strength and Zuko wasn't sure what to think. They didn't hurt his gut so much, but it was a punch and he stumbled onto the ground. Up above, the clouds parted for a while, and the winds picked up slightly. When he looked up at his rival, Zuko saw that her cape had flown away from her body, leaving the moonlight to outline her curves. Underneath his mask, he blushed just slightly, and then looked away. She took out the whip again, and wrapped it tightly around his neck.

Katara didn't know why, but she was enjoying this. For some reason, she felt like she owed it to herself to inflict pain on him. She tugged on the rope, and Zuko could only let himself be dragged. And then he reminded himself; this was a girl, he was getting beat up by a girl. Out of the blue, Zuko pulled on the rope and Katara fell forward right on top of him. Zuko shoved her off, and Katara went rolling to her side. Inside, her temper was becoming uncontrollable. This guy thought that he could toss her around like that? Well he was wrong.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the catlike reflexes of Zuko. Instantly, he had seized her whip, and with its end, he wrapped up Katara's wrists. Zuko pulled her up, and she winced, but didn't let any cry of pain come out. He was now holding onto her by her wrists, and she was inches away from him. For some reason, he let go of her. For some reason, he had just thought of the water bender, and how some long time ago, he had held her in that same position.

Katara sighed with relief as she felt his strong grasp loosen. She hurriedly picked up most of the gold, and decided she should just run before he had another chance to get her. Just as she was about to though, both of them heard shouts.

"The Red Spirits are in the street!"

"Get them!"

"Fire benders are coming!"

"No! I want the reward!"

Katara's eyes widened and she stood frozen to the ground. Everywhere around her, lights were coming on in the street, and in the houses near it. Zuko had already darted into an alley, but then he looked back at the girl, who stood in the street, barely moving. He breathed in deeply, and angrily. Why did he have to have so much honor in himself?

Quickly, Zuko darted into the street, and as drunks and smokers alike were coming out of the tavern, Katara felt someone grab her arm, and pull her away into the alley. Once again, she was saved, by what Miaka had called spirits. But when Katara turned around, she saw that her spirit was none other than the person she had been fighting not even a moment ago. He signaled her to be quiet and to follow his lead by putting a finger to where his mouth would be. She nodded, and then he ran away. Instinct told her to follow him, and so she did. Unfortunately, when they got out of the other side of the alley, they bumped right into three fire benders. Katara saw no way out of it, but her partner in crime had pulled out some smoke bombs, and instantly they were all mixed up in dust and smoke. Once again, she felt the strong grip of the man take her arm, and she was lead out of street and back into another alley.

This time, Zuko motioned for Katara to run through the alley, while he ran up to the rooftop of a house. From that height, Zuko could see the tavern, and that a fire had been started. Tochigi was being lit up everywhere, in search of the infamous Red Spirit. Zuko had no clue how this had happened. All he wanted from Wontai was information, and so he got it. The next thing he knew, he had bumped into his red spirit double, a girl, who was now running away below him. He decided he should be doing the same, and before he knew it, he was back down on the ground, following her from behind.

Katara thought it odd that the man who had fought her for her money, was now helping her, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that they were both being hunted down, and that they needed to get to the forest as quickly as possible. A shocking thought occurred to her. If she wasn't the person who had committed the crimes, then maybe he was. They could have easily mistaken her for him, but why would they believe her? And if the fire nation found out that a water bender was in their mists, then she wouldn't even be allowed to speak.

She found herself among another street, but it wasn't familiar to her. Obviously, she was not going towards her part of the forest, but there it was in the distance, on top of a massive hill. Another group of fire benders had turned the corner, and Katara swore to herself mentally. The mystery guy was up somewhere on a roof, and she was down here, most likely as bait. How stupid she was to have believed he wanted to help her. But then all of a sudden, he was there, right by her side. She smiled inwardly; so he was a good guy after all.

Together, they fought the fire benders. She pulled out her whip, and he pulled out two broad swords, from where she had no clue, but all that mattered was that the group of six fire benders had gone down, and the two red spirits were left without a scratch. Unfortunately, another group of fire benders with torches were running towards them. Katara and Zuko ran into yet another alleyway, and they dodged trashcans, and old boxes. When they reached the end of the alley, they were found with a tough obstacle. In front of them, there was a ten-foot tall fence.

At the other end, the fire benders were nearing.

"I think I see them over here!"

Katara's pulse was going insane, and she knew it was the end of their game of hide and seek. There was no way she was going to get over a ten-foot fence.

But Zuko had another idea. Quickly he wrapped one arm around Katara's waist, and then with the other, he climbed up on a pile of boxes. Katara wrapped her arms around the man's neck, as she saw her feet leave the ground. Beads of sweat formed on Zuko's head, and inside of his disguise, it felt like he was burning up. Finally, they were at the top of the fence, and they could see the other side. It was the massive hill; it was their way out of this mess.

Katara couldn't manage to get herself to do it though. The drop down looked unbearable, and she froze to her spot. Zuko was growing agitated, and he could hear the fire benders getting closer. He pulled the girl in close to him, and gave her a tight hug. Katara gasped when he did it, but she felt safe in this person's arms. It was his signal telling her to trust him, and so she did. They jumped down onto the other side of the fence together. The boxes on the other side tumbled from their height, and a cat scurried away. Zuko lifted his head up, and saw that he was on top of the girl. Katara's hands were on his shoulders, and then she traced his arms until she could finally push him away. The man wasn't a man; he was a young man as Katara could tell from his tight muscles, and the way she was blushing underneath her mask.

Zuko helped her stand up, and then the two of them ran up the hill as fast as they could. The fire benders heard the tumbling boxes, but when they got to the other side of the fence, there was no one in sight.

..:-:..

"See! I told you that the Red Spirit was real!"

The men were now settling down again in the tavern, getting back into the regular way of things. One side was filled with smoke, while the other was filled with drunks spitting up as they talked. However there was one man, who stood absent to all the other men. He looked from one group to the other, and he never accepted anything to eat or drink. Finally, after a few moments of contemplating, the man walked out of the tavern, and pulled on his hooded cloak. From within it, he pulled out a bottle of poison, and then he slipped away into the dark, just as the clouds covered the moon, once again.