A/N: I always pictured that Bato received his burn-scar from saving someone else's life in that battle. In the original draft, he saved Hakoda's life. But after rereading it and over-analyzing it, I found that it wouldn't make any sense if he had with the way I had written it. So, instead, he wound up saving some little n00b's life.

And on a side-note: I suck at writing battle-sequences. VV;

Bato glanced over at Hakoda, their eyes meeting for mere moments before the chief turned his attention to the sleeping Fire Nation camp. The men readied themselves for the attack as the scouts let out a low whistle to indicate the perimeter was secured and it was safe to move. The water tribe warriors began to sneak forward, their weapons glinting in the pale light of early sunrise. Thirty more feet until their perfect ambush… Careful to make as little sound as possible. Twenty-five feet… Now twenty… Fifteen…

A fire nation infantryman stepped out of his tent with a stretch and a yawn. Hakoda froze in place as he noticed the soldier and quickly motioned to his men to stop moving. But it was too late. The soldier's eyes widened as he noticed the tribesmen in the woods and let out a startled yell. "EVERYONE! WAKE UP! WE'RE UNDER AT-"

The soldier collapsed with a loud OOF as Hakoda's boomerang connected with the side of his head and knocked him unconscious. The chief cursed under his breath as mass movement was heard inside the tents, indicating that the fire nation camp had received the message and were now preparing themselves for battle. Hakoda signaled his men to continue forward to salvage what little advantage they had left with a harsh war-cry.

Fire nation soldiers rushed out of the tents in their quickly and sloppily thrown on armor as the warrior's began their assault. Spears clashed against armor; fireballs whizzed through the air, only to be narrowly dodged by the trained tribesmen. Despite their loss of the element of surprise, the Southern warriors seemed to be driving the infantrymen back towards their ships..

Hakoda smirked as he twirled his spear and slashed it into the side of a cheaply armored soldier, forgetting all about his worries from the previous night. The soldier stumbled back, falling to his knees as Hakoda prepared to deliver another blow.

"Watch out!"

A familiar voice distracted Hakoda from his attack as he looked to the side to see Bato push one of the younger, less-experienced tribesmen out of the way of a rather large fireball. The young man fell heavily to the ground, absolutely stunned while Bato took the blow that had been intended for him. Time seemed to slow as Hakoda watched his best friend collapse onto the ground, letting out pained cries as the flesh of his left arm became engulfed in the flame. Hakoda growled ferociously and lunged forward, unable to control the immense rage that overcame him. He slammed the butt of the spear into the soldier's gut and watched as the man who injured his friend flew back and collided with a tree. The soldier looked up at Hakoda, the fear clear in his eyes as he shakily turned and fled.

"RETREAT!" Somewhere to Hakoda's right, the platoon leader shouted to his men and the Fire Nation soldiers obeyed, turning and fleeing towards their ships.

Cheers erupted wildly among the Water Tribe as the boats took of and sailed away. The cries of joy seemed distant and foreign to Hakoda as he kneeled down beside his injured friend. The burn was as bad as he expected it to look, completely devouring Bato's arm and covering a good portion of his chest. The smell of seared flesh made the chief's stomach churn, but the feeling was dwarfed by the wide array of emotions that were flooding through him. Hakoda growled lowly as he looked over at the young tribesman Bato had saved. The young warrior, Kato, still sat on the ground, wide-eyed and tearful, shuddering as he looked at the man who had pushed him out of harm's way.

"H-he saved me…"

Hakoda nodded slightly as he focused back on Bato, carefully lifting the barely conscious man to avoid bothering the still smoldering arm. Kato stood as well, trailing behind the chief as he began to walk towards the abbey. The young man continued to yammer on with apologies and how he had been careless, but Hakoda wasn't listening to him. His mind raced with questions: iHow could Bato have done something so stupid and selfless? Didn't he realize how much I need him? /i

Bato's eyelids fluttered as he tried to remain conscious, despite the pain. "I'm sorry, Hakoda, but I couldn't let one of our men die."