Chapter Seven: The Sparring Partner

Present Day- The Fire Nation

Piandao's estate looked exactly the same as it did years ago. Dressed in loose, sleeveless tunics and pants, Katara and Sokka approached its gates before exchanging a look.

"Ready?" Katara asked smiling at her brother's eager expression.

"I was born ready," Sokka replied before knocking the same way he did when he had first arrived.

Piandao was waiting for them in the foyer, sipping an iced drink with a slice of lemon. His steel-colored eyes assessed the siblings as they entered the room.

"So," he began. "You want to learn the ways of the sword."

"Yes, Master Piandao," Katara said, politely bowing to the older man.

"Why?" The question came out sharp and quick, like a snake's bite.

"I want to learn so I can defend myself if there ever comes a time where I cannot bend," Katara replied immediately.

"But that is not the only reason why you wish to learn."

Katara lifted her gaze. The nonbender's expression was shrewd, giving nothing away.

"No," Katara agreed evenly. "I want to use this to focus my mind. I have been… distracted lately. Bending helps, but I want to learn another useful skill."

Piandao knew of Kanna's passing, being a fellow member of the White Lotus with Iroh and Pakku. Still, he offered no consoling words. His gaze turned towards Sokka.

"I see you located your sword," he commented, eyeing the sword sheathed along Sokka's back.

"My friend Toph, who is an earthbending master, can also metalbend. She found it for me when we were travelling and helping the nearby villages rebuild."

Piandao nodded. "Then we must forge one for your sister."

Katara leaned in close to Sokka. "You don't happen to have anymore of that space rock, do you?" she asked, grinning.

"Find your own stuff to forge," Sokka hissed back.

So when she did, Piandao did not seem surprised when she came to him, asking him if she could forge her own findings, just like Sokka had.

Ooo0ooO

Katara was waterbending at the river by Piandao's estate when she found the material she knew she wanted to forge into her sword. After a long day of practicing with wooden swords, the master had allowed Katara to spend the late afternoon bending while he and Sokka stayed behind to catch up.

The river carved through the land, as if someone had taken a knife into the earth's crust. Katara could sense how deep the river was, and how fast it current could pull someone under.

A glimmer from deep within the riverbend caught Katara's attention. Using both hands, she lifted the water, creating a sort of bridge so the water flowed up from the ground in an arch so she could peer down in the mud.

Shifting the water's course, she pushed it away from the area of the riverbend she wanted to take a closer look at. Using her spare hand, she dipped her hand into the mud, finding that about two feet down, there was a smooth layer of rock.

When she dug further down, she uncovered enough solid rock and pulled it from the ground. When she was finished, she washed her hands in the river, which had returned to its natural course.

She could see the layers within the rock, which when cleaned, glistened in the dying sunlight. The glimmer that had caught her eye made a grin spread across her face before she made her way back to the estate quickly.

Piandao took one look at what she carried, and gestured for her to follow him into his workshop. The heat from the furnace was intense, smoldering, and sweat was pouring down Katara's face, neck, and back while she worked the rock.

The rock had to be mixed with steel, and when it was finished, Katara felt another spark run through her body when she beheld her sword.

While Sokka's was pure black, Katara's gleamed silver, with rivers of blue and green running along the blade from the riverbed rock she had uncovered. In the right light, it seemed opalescent, as if the ocean had been solidified with liquid moonlight.

"It suits you," Piandao said as he handed it to her, bowing.

Ooo0ooO

After a few weeks, Sokka and Katara said their goodbyes to Piandao, who claimed he had taught Katara all that he could, and that she could rely on her brother for further instruction.

As a parting gift, Piandao gifted Katara with a sheath for her sword. It was a deep blue, nearly black, with gold and silver designs that depicted the sun's trek across the sky down on the side, and the phases of the moon down the other.

She wore it down along her spine, just like Sokka did.

On a pair of ostrich horses, the siblings made their way out of the countryside, and traveled down the main roads that would lead them to the Fire Nation Palace.

"I miss Appa," Sokka grumbled late one afternoon. His brown cheeks were red from the constant sun and heat.

Katara nodded, bending some water from her waterskin, offering it to Sokka, who opened his mouth eagerly. When she had some water, she straightened in the saddle.

"We'll be there tonight," she reminded him. "Not all of us can have a flying bison."

"Do you think the Sun Warriors will let us use their dragons?" Sokka asked.

Rolling her eyes, Katara said, "I doubt the last dragons want to be used like air bisons."

"You never know, they might be bored!"

Katara opted to ignore him, stifling a yawn.

Ooo0ooO

"Fire Lord Zuko, you have some visitors. They are waiting in the main hall."

Zuko nodded, descending from his dais to follow the guard. After a long meeting, he was tired, but he felt a boost of energy when he realized who was waiting for him.

The first thing he saw was her- and the sword strapped to her back.

Katara turned, giving him an illuminating smile. "I told you we would visit."

"I'm glad you did," Zuko said, embracing her first then Sokka. "I'm sure you're tired and hungry. Come."

The trio walked together down the hall where the large dining room was already occupied by two familiar figures.

"Iroh, Ursa!" Katara exclaimed, she could greet them both.

"What a pleasant surprise," Iroh said warmly, before noticing her sword. "May I?"

Katara unbuckled her sheath and handed it to Iroh. He withdrew the blade, murmuring softly at its beauty.

"I see you took my advice," Iroh said, smiling, handing the weapon back. "Piandao is an excellent craftsman and teacher."

Katara and Sokka nodded, taking a seat at the table. As dinner was served, Sokka told them about his journey with Piandao during the war before Katara told them what her experience was like.

Zuko watched Katara, noting how her posture seemed more grounded, more self-assured than it had been the last time he had seen her. Her eyes were more focused and when they turned towards his, he held them.

"I'm going to take you up on that offer," Katara told him. "How do you feel about a sparring match- one with swords, one with bending?"

Zuko leaned forward. "I haven't used my dual broadswords in a while, so if you take it easy on me…"

"That's unlikely," Katara smirked.

Zuko smiled in response. "As for bending, I have been looking forward to a rematch."

"Trust me, Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match."

His gold eyes blazed in response to her words, the same ones she said to him at the Northern Water tribe during the eclipse.

Ooo0ooO

The outdoor arena was built a few months after Zuko became Fire Lord, and it was where he preferred to practice firebending. The old arena that had been used for Agni Kais was still available for guards and soldiers to use.

Katara and Zuko faced each other. It was late in the morning and the sky was overcast, heaving with clouds and the promise of a rare summer rain.

Katara felt her lips curving upwards at the possibility of rain.

Zuko struck first, sending a thin firewhip her way, trying to throw her off balance. Katara twisted, opening her waterskin to summon a tendril of water that she quickly bent into three ice daggers that she threw at Zuko in rapid succession.

The duel continued, and steam hissed and rose from the arena has fire collided with water.

By the end, they call it a draw, with both of them panting and covered in sweat.

When Katara wiped off her face and drank some water, she grabbed her sword. She watched as Zuko unsheathed his dual broadswords. Her heart raced in anticipation, her previous exhaustion from the first duel forgotten.

This time, it was she who struck first. Although he had two swords, Zuko was amazed at how quick and balanced she was with her weapon.

When they locked swords, their faces close, they smirked at each other before pushing back.

Katara attacked with quick, rapid movements met to throw off her opponent, and when she slashed down, Zuko gave a muffled cry when her sword sliced through his tunic.

Freezing, Katara immediately lowered her weapon. She could see the thin red line along his pale skin where her sword had struck him.

Summoning water from her skin, she bent it around her hand. It began to glow as she stepped forward. "Take off your shirt."

Zuko lifted a brow, which Katara chose to ignore as she began pulling at his tunic with her free hand. When it parted, Katara swallowed and placed her hand along the shallow wound.

His skin was so much paler than hers, she noted. The scar on his chest was more faint than she remembered and he was muscled in a way she hadn't noticed before…

Shaking her head, Katara saw that he was healed and stepped back, tossing away the bloodied water. "All better," she said, trying to ignore the way her heart was racing.

"Thank you," Zuko said, in a low voice. "Do you want to go again?"

When she nodded, Zuko simply removed his tunic altogether, leaving him bare from the waist up.

La, help me, Katara silently prayed, struggling to focus.

Ooo0ooO

"How did the sparring match go, dear?"

Katara blinked away the images of Zuko shirtless as she smiled at Ursa. "It's nice to spar using bending again," Katara said. "Especially with someone who isn't another waterbender."

The women were walking along the Palace veranda, enjoying the cool dusk. The rain had evaded them, but the clouds kept the sun away.

"I would like to see you duel with your sword," Ursa told her. "I've heard many great stories about Piandao. I was pleased to meet him upon my return to the Fire Nation."

"Really?" Katara asked, glancing at the former Fire Lady.

Ursa nodded. "It's not frowned upon for women to learn how to wield weapons here in the Fire Nation," she said, tucking her hands into her sleeves. "But it's something I myself have never learned. It interests me to hear about why you chose the sword, instead of say, a bow and arrow."

Katara shrugged. "I never considered anything else."

So they continued walking, talking amongst themselves, before they went inside to join the others for dinner.

Zuko kept glancing at Katara, remembering how she had looked as they sparred. She was fierce, unstoppable.

Katara glanced at Zuko once, and when their gazes locked, she thought about how he had looked while dueling. He was different while wielding his swords versus when he used his firebending. Both were an intricate dance, both beautiful, but different and just as dangerous.

Then she found herself eager for their next sparring match.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.

Author's Note: ahoj: Thank you for your review, it made me so happy! I will include a future scene where Ursa and Zuko discuss their family. I didn't choose that Ursa plot because quite simply, I have not read the comics. I know what the story line is vaguely, but I wanted to make the reunion my own. More Zutara to come keep reading!

Please review!