This War of Ours
SUMMARY: In a world where the Fire Nation rules the world and only a few pockets of resistance remain, children are brought to the Academy in the Capital under the guise of harmonious learning. As Katara starts her journey in the hallowed halls, she quickly finds out that some things are not as they seem. [Zutara AU, inspired by Harry Potter]
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
CHAPTER 4
to bend or to break
The child reached out for her father's hand. Small fingers grabbed air as he continued to walk ahead without sparing her a second glance.
I did something bad, didn't I? That's why you're leaving me, she whispered into the swirling snow.
Her brother was shouting at her from a distance.
If you weren't a stupid waterbender, she'd still be alive!
The child heard a smack and stern words from her grandmother, but it was muffled by the wind and snow. Her father was still walking away and there wasn't anything she could do but look.
Katara woke up gasping into her tear-sodden pillow. She couldn't quite remember her dream, but it left her with aching loneliness as deep as the ocean.
She gazed blearily at the scene outside her window. The waves lapped the shores in one endless undulating dance, and only the slivers of silver from the reflection of the moon lent color to the seas.
The moon here looks so small, mused Katara, sleepily rolling onto her back and tugging slightly on her blanket. Maybe that's why waterbenders came from the Poles. Because the moon's closer to us there.
Back at home, in the cold nights spent huddled between layers of fur, Gran-Gran told her the tales of the first waterbenders, of the Moon Spirit and the Ocean Spirit, of their eternal dance. Push and pull. Life and death. Good and evil, Yin and Yang.
Suddenly, Katara didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Judging by how high the moon hung in the sky, it was almost past midnight. Which meant everyone would be asleep.
She could finally practice waterbending. She'd been waiting days for the perfect opportunity, and this was it. She silently thanked the spirits for waking her up in the middle of the night with a horrible dream.
Trying to be as quiet as she could despite her excitement, Katara slipped the waterbending scroll from under her pillow and padded out of the Water Tribes' floor and down into the Great Hall.
The silent stillness of the Academy at midnight magnified the sound of every step she took towards the Western Courtyard. Katara glanced over her shoulder as she reached the archway. The Great Hall remained empty.
She excitedly ran towards the river before the shadow of the shack stopped her. Did Sifu Yugoda sleep in the shack? Would she wake up at the sound of waterbending? Katara wasn't sure the gushing of the river could mask her attempts at the water whip.
But she had to try.
She trekked upriver, keeping the muddy banks to her left, staying within the shadow of the treeline. The moon wasn't full yet, but it was enough to illuminate her if Sifu Yugoda did live in the shack and woke up to a noisy, rule-breaking student.
For a minute, Katara let herself get acquainted with her surroundings. The immense granite back wall of the Great Hall was on her far right; even in this distance, even through the trees, the building loomed in the darkness. She hastened farther until she was sure she was level with the Western Courtyard.
She hadn't explored this part of the Academy before in broad daylight, but now, under the dim glow of the moon, it seemed peaceful, beautiful in its stillness— as though it had been untouched and unexplored by anyone else. Katara began to relax.
She found a boulder near the river and deemed it a good enough spot to prop up the waterbending scroll, weighing down the curling edges with loose rocks she found. She took her stance.
Water rushed up to her bidding, curling around her arms. She consulted the scroll for her next position, squinting in the dim light of the moon. A voice interrupted her before she could make her next move.
"What are you doing on our grounds?"
Katara yelped, water falling uselessly with a splash. She whipped around at the direction of the voice.
She almost didn't see the girl before her; the forest green robes she wore blended with the darkness of the trees, and she stood with such stillness that Katara would have missed her completely if it weren't for the gleam of her eyes.
"Long Feng and Sifu Fong don't take kindly to students wandering around at night, you know," the girl continued, flicking a strand of chin-length hair from her face.
"Why are you out here, then?" Katara challenged, preparing to summon a wave in order to escape.
The girl shrugged and stepped into the moonlight. She looked about Katara's age, maybe a year older. Her dark blue eyes— they were almost green in the moonlight— assessed Katara suspiciously.
"I wanted to get more training in," she answered simply. "Why are you out here?"
"I wanted to get more training in," replied Katara just as simply.
The girl grinned at her. "I can imagine why. From what I hear of Water Tribe training, your Sifu is an old coot. Shame he doesn't teach girls."
"I know." Katara found herself grinning back. "It's really unfair."
"I'm Suki." She bowed slightly as she introduced herself and ventured out into the open, leaving the safety of the shadows behind.
"I'm Katara," said Katara, holding out her hand. Suki grasped it firmly. A warrior's grip.
"So. Wanna show me what you've got, Katara?" Suki asked, sizing her up with her dark eyes. Katara felt herself deflate a little.
"I actually haven't got a lot," she said, averting her gaze. "Not unless you count freezing fish or controlling the snowballs I throw at my brother."
The other girl covered her giggle with her hand. "No, those don't count." She regarded Katara curiously. "How were you planning on training, then?"
Katara gestured at the waterbending scroll. Suki's eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline.
"Did you steal that from the library?"
"I didn't steal it," said Katara, rolling her eyes. "I'm just borrowing it until I master all the forms."
Suki laughed heartily at that, before quieting herself down, a smirk still tugging at her lips. She pulled out a fan from her sleeve. "Alright then. Let's see some moves, waterbender."
Katara reviewed the positions quickly, noting when to push and pull at each transition. She'd barely dropped into a half squat when Suki smacked her arm with her folded fan.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Your position's all wrong," explained Suki. Katara jutted her jaw defensively. "You gotta keep yourself rooted, otherwise—"
In a swift motion, she sent Katara down with a swing of her legs.
"—you'll end up like that." Suki finished her lecture, smiling smugly as she helped Katara to her feet.
It took all of Katara's determination not to snap at Suki, because for once, someone was actually teaching her how to fight. She took a deep breath and resumed her stance again, this time putting more weight on the balls of her feet.
"Better," Suki acknowledged. "Now I wanna see some action."
Katara summoned a tendril of water, shifting into the next position as she formed it into a whip. She sent it slashing in Suki's direction, but it disintegrated before she could move into the next form.
Suki just watched silently as Katara attempted to form a whip again, and failed again. Brows furrowing in concentration, Katara snaked the water along her arm, only to have it splash to the ground two feet from Suki.
"Why don't we—" The warrior started, but Katara cut her off.
"I can do it, Suki!"
Suki took her remark in stride. "It doesn't seem that you can, Katara."
She stalked a few paces away from her and suddenly whipped her fan in a wide arc. Katara summoned a wave of water to deflect the unusual weapon.
"Hey!"
The fan returned to Suki's hands, reminiscent of Sokka's boomerang. Even the girl's smug smile reminded Katara of her brother.
She didn't even give her a pause before whirling the fan in her direction again. Katara sent a jet of water in Suki's direction, but she just stepped nimbly out of the way and caught her weapon in mid-air.
Growling, Katara sent wave after wave towards Suki, but her opponent simply dodged them. She managed to duck Suki's metal fan before delivering another water jet in the warrior's direction, only to find out that Suki was already behind her, fan at the ready.
That stupid fan!
"Argh!" She made to grab Suki's arm to prevent her from throwing it, only to realize, from the other girl's surprised expression, that she had wrapped a tendril of water around Suki's slim wrist. The fan fell to the damp earth, the water whip following in droplets.
"I did it!" Katara's disbelief at her skill faded and giddiness quickly took its place. "I actually did it!"
"That was so cool!" Suki said. Again, her enthusiasm reminded Katara of Sokka whenever he crowed about her "magic water skills". Katara couldn't help but laugh delightedly.
"I can't believe I did it. All it took was me getting annoyed at your fan, Suki," Katara admitted.
Suki laughed and bent down to grab her weapon. "I'm glad my Kyoshi warrior skills could be of service. Do you think you can do it without having to be challenged to a fight?"
"I think so, yeah," Katara bent more water, this time not concentrating so much on her form. She let the liquid become a part of her arm before flicking it into a delicate whip. She grinned. "I think the key was— I think it's just a part of me, you know? It goes where I want it to go."
"Like an extension of your arm," Suki supplied, nodding. "That's what they taught us when handling weapons. One, not separate."
"One, not separate," Katara repeated as she drew another whip, this time thicker and longer. She turned to the older warrior solemnly. "Thank you so much."
Suki smiled warmly at her. "No problem. It was fun sparring a waterbender. They never let us do that. Besides, we girls gotta help each other out, y'know?"
"Yeah." Katara wiped the sweat on her brow. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, exhaustion was quickly taking its place. She picked up her scroll from the boulder and bent the dampness away. Her muscles groaned in protest.
"We better head back before Long Feng and Fong find us." Suki put an arm around her jovially. "I don't know how they mete out detention in the Water Tribes, but I am not cleaning the Earth Kingdom bathrooms on the first week back. It's like they roll themselves in dirt after they bend. Ew."
Katara giggled as they made their way back to the Great Hall. She and Suki said their goodbyes at the bottom of the West Wing stairwell.
"Don't be a stranger, okay?" Suki said with a wave. "Let's spar again when you learn some new moves. Then I won't go easy on you."
"That was you going easy on me?" Katara said in disbelief, but Suki had already disappeared.
Shaking her head amusedly, Katara made her way up to the Water Tribes chambers. It was only when she was at the door that she realized she had no water to bend to open it.
Oh no.
Katara froze in the stairwell. The night remained stock-still and silent, but her heart bounded in her chest, begging her to move.
How can I be so stupid?
Frantic thoughts ran through her head. Maybe she could run back to the river and bring some water to open the door? Her body ached in bone-crushing fatigue; she wasn't sure she could bend for that long a distance. Maybe she could bang on the door and hope one of her classmates could hear her? It was the middle of the night, and it could alert the Sifus of her nighttime training.
Maybe she could find a place to hunker down until it was safe to come back?
But where?
Katara's feet dragged her to the third floor of the East Wing before she realized where she was going. She breathed a sigh of relief. The doors of the library were unlocked, and Katara didn't care about its ominous creak as she trudged in.
She made her way to the far, shadowy corner where the Air Nomads' literature laid and plunked herself against the wall without a second thought.
There were a lot of things Prince Zuko did not expect to see, and that was saying something, because he was not one to startle easily. But there were few instances that caught him unawares.
One was his uncle relaxing in the hot springs, buck naked in the sunlight, with only the steam and bubbles saving Zuko's eyes from further torture. Another was the shy smile on Mai's face when he kissed her for the first time, back in the palace gardens, when he was unscarred and carefree. The last one had been his father, standing on the other end of the of the Agni Kai arena, flames dancing in his dispassionate eyes.
This scene before him was much less harsher than the last time he was surprised, but it was still something unexpected.
What is she doing here at this hour?
She was Water Tribe, Zuko deduced from her blue robes and the dark hand that peeked out from mounds of curly brown hair. She seemed to be younger than him, maybe about Azula's age, judging by her small stature and skinny frame.
And she was sleeping on the floor of the library.
Zuko scowled as he returned the Air Nomad scrolls he borrowed— not stole— back into their rightful places, careful not to make too much noise. The last thing he needed was some stranger finding out that the Fire Prince was reading up on Air Nomad culture.
He browsed the tags of the scrolls, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom instead of lighting a fire that could awaken the sleeping girl. Idly, he wondered why she wasn't sleeping in her dormitory, like a normal person would. Did her people throw her out? That seemed unlikely. Uncle always blathered on about the Water Tribes' "sense of community." Still, it didn't stop the lance of pity that shot through Zuko as he surveyed the girl from a distance.
No, Zuko told himself firmly, not everyone is in the same situation as you.
She probably got locked out of her common room after a midnight romp with someone from a different country. Zuko was not surprised. The library was a favorite spot for hot-blooded teenagers who didn't share the same quarters.
That can't be right. She looks too young.
But what is she doing here, then?
Deciding that it was a puzzle that wasn't his responsibility to solve, Zuko turned to the puzzle that did require his attention: capturing the Avatar, and regaining his honor.
If he were being honest with himself, he didn't fully understand his father's renewed interest in hunting down the Avatar, when it was a well-known fact that the Fire Nation effectively put an end to the cycle. His great-grandfather had taken care of that— it was a tale of pride passed down to Zuko's generation.
"There is no indication that the Avatar is even alive, My Lord."
His father had been livid. He remained motionless in his stony silence, with only the flaring wall of fire indicating his anger. His council cowered on the floor of the throne room. The Fire Lord spoke with clipped conviction.
"I assure you that he is, Commander Ji. We have evidence of movement in the Air Temples."
It did not surprise Zuko that his father's words spun the military into action. He was the Fire Lord, the ruler of their world, and Zuko had attended enough council meetings since he came of age a year ago— he knew full well how powerful his father was.
What surprised him was the battalion his father ordered to lead the expedition. The 57th Division was full of green combatants, with as much experience in real battles as Zuko had, which was none.
"We will draw him out with our forces. Once we determine the extent of his power, we will converge with the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force."
It was Commander Ji who suggested the ruse— despite the assumed age of the Avatar, the Fire Nation does not send its best and brightest on a mission ill-prepared.
But those who haven't risen through the ranks yet, oh, those people were expendable to Commander Ji. They could be facing a false lead, or they could be facing their immediate deaths in the hands of the Avatar, the greatest disruptor of peace and unity.
"He's just one old man, Father, and the last of his people. We don't need to sacrifice our men for this mission. Surely one squadron— or even one man— is enough to subdue him."
In the back of his mind, Iroh's voice scolded, "You never think things through, nephew," but he did not care for his uncle's admonishments— until the flames that silhouetted the Fire Lord rose nearly to the ceiling and his father sneered at him, lips pulled back to his teeth.
"Very well, my son. If you believe one man can subdue the Avatar, then bring him to me yourself, and do not show your face until you do. But before that, you must learn respect."
Zuko growled at the memory, yanking a scroll off the shelf harder than he meant to. Its neighbors clattered to the floor— the Fire Prince froze, suddenly remembering the peasant girl sleeping not less than five feet from him.
Luckily, the Water Tribe girl did not stir.
Prince Zuko breathed a sigh of relief before borrowing— not stealing— a couple more scrolls from the Air Nomads' shelf.
The morning after her stint at the river, Katara found herself desperate to learn how to heal, if only to soothe her muscles that practically creak with exhaustion.
She'd woken up way later than she intended; dawn had long passed when she came to. She all but ran to the Water Tribes' common room, and already she met several students— mostly Fire Nation, and she didn't know why they were up that early— when she made her way to the opposite wing of the Academy.
Now it was all she could do to keep her eyes open as Sifu Yugoda threaded water through the grooves of the wooden dummy. The glow of the water was mesmerizing to Katara, hypnotizing her, inviting her to sleep like the lullabies her mother used to sing.
It was no surprise that she didn't notice the lessons were over. Yue's touch on her shoulder broke her trance. Katara started, noting that her fellow waterbenders were already making their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Katara, are you alright?"
Katara rubbed her eyes and tried to stifle a yawn as they joined the other girls. "I'm fine, Yue, really. I just didn't get enough sleep last night."
Yue's blue eyes tightened with concern, but before she could say anything, Gumi's teasing voice cut her off.
"Oooh, were you up all night missing your boyfriend?"
"W-what?" Katara yelped. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Girlfriend, then?" Gumi prodded cheekily.
"No!" Katara tried to fight off the blush creeping into her cheeks to no avail. "Why would you think that I'm involved with someone?"
To her horror, it was Sifu Yugoda who answered.
"Your necklace, dear," the woman explained, pointing at the band around Katara's neck. "In the North, moonstones are carved and given to your intended. A promise, so to speak, to spend the rest of your lives together."
"We don't have that tradition in the South." Katara's hands clasped around the stone resting on her throat, suddenly weighed by its implications.
"Well, that's a shame. It's incredibly romantic." Baya said, looping an arm through Yue's conspiratorially. "How did Hahn give you your necklace, Princess Yue?"
Yue ducked her head uncomfortably, hand delicately touching the ornate necklace around her neck. "At sunset, on the highest point of the palace, overlooking the ocean."
All the other girls swooned, but based on the princess's tone and hunched shoulders, Katara didn't believe that Yue thought it was romantic at all.
"I heard Hahn was one of the best warriors the Academy has ever seen," one of the twins— Yuka, maybe— said with a twinkle in her eye.
"And he's so dreamy!" The other twin sighed, and the rest of the girls dissolved into giggles.
"Leave it to Princess Yue to snag the best tiger seal in the herd," Gumi teased, digging an elbow into Yue's side. The other girl's lips flattened into a strained smile.
"Oh, don't worry, Gumi," Baya said from Yue's other side as they entered the Great Hall. "There are plenty of koalaotters in the sea."
"Or a couple of mooselions in the Earth Kingdom," Gumi nudged Katara, wagging her eyebrows at a group of boys lounging on the Earth Kingdom table. "Ooh, imagine getting mauled by that one."
Katara followed Gumi's line of sight and met the sharp eyes of a tan, dark-haired boy who was chewing languidly on a piece of straw. There was something arresting— and wild— about the way he carried himself that sent Katara's heart hammering. Perhaps it was the simple, tattered black tunic he wore, standing out against the green and gold brocade worn by those around him. Perhaps it was the way he leaned back on the table, crossing his long legs casually, as he examined the twin hook swords resting on his lap. Or perhaps it was the way the corner of his mouth quirked into a lopsided smirk when he saw them lingering. He sent a casual salute in the direction of the girls, making the group— Katara included— giggle and blush.
"Katara!" Suki waved at her from farther down the Earth Kingdom table. Katara shook her attention away from the Earth Kingdom boy. She grinned at Suki and detached herself from the Water Tribe girls, ignoring the surprised and suspicious looks she got from them.
"Come have lunch with us," Suki said as Katara reached her side. "These are my fellow Kyoshi warriors, Jia and Ling." Katara looked hesitantly at Suki's friends and they smiled back at her as hesitantly as she did.
"Are we allowed to have lunch at other tables?" Katara asked, trying not to sound rude. She glanced around the Earth Kingdom table and her eyes landed on the dark-haired, sharp-eyed boy again.
Suki rolled her deep blue-green eyes at her. "Oh, since when do you care about rules?" Katara widened her eyes in warning and Suki raised her hands defensively. "Hey, I was just teasing. The headmaster actually encourages it. Unity, and all that."
"O-okay…" Katara sat herself down tentatively beside Suki. Her friend, Jia, who was sporting the same chin-length hair, regarded her with curiosity.
"Bender or warrior?" she asked curtly, but not unkindly. She slid a bowl filled with rice and pan-fried elephant koi towards Katara, who caught it before it barrelled off the table.
"Bender," answered Katara. She'd observed, from her encounter with Suki, that the Kyoshi warriors seemed unwilling to participate in long, meandering conversations.
"You gonna join the benders' spar after this?" Ling, the other Kyoshi warrior, inquired in a rather reedy voice.
Katara shook her head. "Female waterbenders aren't trained for combat," she explained bitterly.
Her answer was met with incredulous huffs from the female warriors, and a miffed "I know, right?" from Suki.
"Hey!" Suki said, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "You can observe them fight, y'know. When they spar later. Maybe you can try out some of their techniques."
"Yeah," Jia added thoughtfully. "Just because they don't teach you doesn't mean you don't have to learn anything at all."
Katara opened her mouth to agree, but a loud explosion echoed from the Eastern Courtyard. Katara and the Kyoshi warriors leapt off the bench and joined the other students scrambling to the windows, eager to see the action.
The Fire Prince and the Fire Princess faced each other in the open space, flames cloaking their fists.
Suki glanced at Katara, who watched the scene with open fear.
"Looks like the benders' spar started early," the warrior commented, pursing her lips.
A/N: Is Suki gay? Maybe. Nah. I don't know. I just like tough women and sexual tension in places where it shouldn't exist lol. Also, there might finally be a Zutara moment next chapter! But we'll see what my muse has in mind. Please, please let me know what you think!