DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor am I in any way affiliated with Michael Dante DiMartino or Bryan Konietzko. This story is purely fan-made.

"The company I can live with"

Those words had kept Zuko awake for most of the night. They had stirred emotions in him which he found difficult to ignore, no matter how hard he tried to dispose of them. He had stared up through the darkness, glaring bitterly at the ceiling, contemplating what he was to do next. He knew that by now he should've got at least some information out of the Water Tribe girl he was imprisoned with, but he had nothing. Apart from several very amusing stories of how idiotic her brother was, but they were no help in capturing the Avatar. But now the girl seemed to be opening up to him. She had been talking more and attacking him less, which had been a pleasant change of events. Not that Zuko couldn't handle being attacked by a girl, but it was boring having to listen to the girl shouting all his faults at him. So why had he got next to nothing information? The strong Zuko - the Zuko that would prove to be the future Fire Lord, the Zuko that Azula and his father wanted him to be - would have used and discarded of the peasant by now, but the softer side to Zuko (it figured that this side would show up now, he had thought bitterly) didn't want to see the girl in any more pain. She had been through enough pain, caused by either himself or his nation.

And this was what had been keeping him awake. Why did he care about this girl's feelings? He should be indifferent, perhaps act concerned to gain what he wanted to know, but that was it. Instead he was beginning to regret his involvement in the plan to capture the Avatar, mainly because it would mean betraying this Water Tribe peasant.

Get a grip, Zuko told himself sternly. You'll just have to start trying harder to get the information, that's all. After you've got that, you can be out of this cell and eat properly, since it's clearly malnutrition that's causing you to think this way.

Zuko agreed with himself forcefully, but still couldn't fall asleep. He tried to preoccupy himself with thoughts about winning the war, or how returning to the Fire Nation would feel once he had the Avatar. But, of course, all thoughts of the Avatar led back to the boy's companion and Zuko's current cellmate. After all of his thoughts managed to lead back to the Waterbender, Zuko gave up trying to otherwise occupy himself and focused on the problem at hand:

It seemed he was beginning to feel something other than hatred towards the girl he was supposed to hate. Zuko didn't know what it was, but knew that this girl already had his (admittedly reluctant) respect, and asking for anything more from him was just greedy.

The only thing she is asking for is an apology, noted a voice. Perhaps if you offered her that, she may be more willing to divulge information on a certain Airbender?

It took Zuko a moment to register that for once the voice actually seemed to be on his side. It was a new experience, and he took a second to revel in it. Then it was back to business.

So I apologise and she'll tell me anything? Zuko asked sceptically.

He heard the voice sigh. You really have no idea about girls do you? It asked, exasperated.

You're a figment of my imagination, you're telling me you do? Zuko shot back. He wanted help from the voice, not ridicule.

If you just apologise, then she isn't likely to trust you ever again, the voice told Zuko, with obviously forced patience, you need to mean the words, show her that you're truly sorry.

And if I'm not truly sorry? Zuko asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Lie. The voice replied simply. Take a leaf out of Azula's book. So long as you seem sincere then the Waterbender will buy it.

Zuko nodded to himself in the darkness, processing what the voice had just told him. It made sense, despite coming from a disembodied voice that only he could hear.

Hey, noted the voice defensively, for a disembodied voice that only you can hear, I give pretty good advice.

Zuko was forced to agree, before shutting his eyes. In the morning he would swallow his pride and apologise. Just as long as he didn't have to mean it.

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Despite her tiredness, Katara couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts were whirring around her head so fast that she could barely make sense of some of them. Mostly they consisted of wondering if Sokka, Aang, Toph and Iroh were okay, or any possible escape plans. She briefly wondered if Cai was going to help them anytime soon, but that seemed unlikely now; if he wanted to help then he would have come by now. Then there were the thoughts on Zuko. These were the most complicated of all, and these were the ones that Katara couldn't make sense of. She could never predict what he was going to do or say next, and this made him dangerous to her. She knew that she couldn't trust him, but a part of her wanted to. Katara knew that this was insane and unreasonable, but she couldn't deny it. She wanted to understand Zuko so she could know why he was angry most of the time, perhaps help him work through his issues. By nature Katara was a caring person and she was determined to help anyone who needed help. Whether they wanted it or not.

Closing her eyes once more, Katara tried to empty her mind of all thoughts and focus on sleep, but this proved to be difficult when there came a loud banging on the door. Immediately the lamps were lit and Katara could see Zuko already sitting upright, glaring at the door suspiciously.

Seems I'm not the only one with insomnia…Katara thought as she slowly sat up. She instinctively ran her hand down the side of her hair to ensure it was straight, then stood up.

"Stay there." Zuko warned her as the lock began to click. Katara was about to protest at this order when the door opened and there stood the smirking Dai Li agent that Zuko had punched defending Katara. Only this time, the agent had brought friends. Katara's eyes widened as she wondered what they were doing here. However, none of the men seemed to be paying attention to her. They were all glaring at Zuko, some wearing smirks that matched their group's leader.

"I told you you wouldn't get away with it." Said the lead agent. His friends laughed menacingly, but stayed behind their leader who was still in the doorway.

Katara just stood there, unsure of what to do. It all depended on Zuko's next move really. If he attacked, then so would she. There wasn't a lot of water in her pouch even though it was filled to the brim, but there may be enough to drive off six men.

"You took your time in coming back. And I notice that you didn't come alone." Zuko observed calmly. Katara didn't understand his calmness; her heart was racing right now and she was rooted to the spot. She silently begged him not to make things worse as she caught sight of a few of the men grasping daggers.

Oh Gods…Zuko if you have any sense at all then you will not rise to this…Katara thought in desperation as she tore her eyes away from the daggers to the leader in front of her.

"Are you suggesting that Akio is a coward?!" Roared a man towards the back, causing Katara to shiver. None of the men paid attention to her, except the leader (who it seemed was named Akio) who's eyes flicked towards her, a small smirk settling on his face.

"I'm suggesting that if Akio was as confident as he appears to be, then he could fight me by himself." Answered Zuko, still unfazed by any of this. He paused, then glanced to the men carrying the weapons. "I'm guessing that you're going to fight me?"

"That's the idea." Snarled Akio in reply. His gaze snapped to Katara again, the smirk growing. "Unless of course you'd rather we-"

He moved forward towards Katara, but Zuko stepped in between them, quick as lightning.

"Leave her out of this." Zuko snapped, pushing Katara backwards as he spoke. While Katara hated being the damsel in distress, she was grateful that Zuko did not want her involved. This didn't mean she wasn't going to get involved; she was. But only when the time was right and she knew she wasn't about to get stabbed.

"Fine." Spat Akio, rapidly drawing a long blade from a sheath on his belt. "Then we'll settle this."

Zuko smiled slightly. "I suppose we will."

He shot forward and punched Akio with such force that Akio's head jerked towards the side. Akio's friends stood staring, transfixed, for perhaps three seconds. Then they all lunged into action so furiously, that Katara stepped back, alarmed.

I'm a master Waterbender! I shouldn't be afraid of a few men! Katara scolded herself, as she watched the men attack Zuko. Admittedly, he was doing very well considering the odds. Hurriedly uncorking her water pouch, Katara withdrew the water and proceeded to bend it, pushing the men backwards with the force of the water. One man slammed into the wall, rendering him momentarily incapacitated.

"Kumo, Anzai, Ryozo take care of the girl." Akio shouted over the din that had broken out along with the fight. Three men nodded and advanced menacingly on Katara, who, refusing to be beaten by three thugs, assumed her attack stance. One man (Kumo? Or was it Ryozo? Katara wondered briefly) saw this and faltered, looking to his companions as if for instructions. Rolling her eyes at how pathetic this man was, Katara water-whipped the men, causing them to yelp in pain and scurry back to Akio who was locked in a fight with Zuko.

Katara saw with some satisfaction (okay, a lot of satisfaction) that Akio appeared to be losing. Akio was quick, but Zuko was quicker. Every time Akio swiped the blade at Zuko, Zuko had already dodged and threw another punch. Even the remaining agents were hanging back, mixed expressions of fear and awe upon their faces. Katara saw her opening and attempted to take out the agents in one big water sweep. It didn't work. It did however alert all the agents (Akio included) to Katara's presence. The moment of distraction proved very bad for Akio, as Zuko had managed to acquire a knife, undoubtedly dropped by another agent in the scuffle.

"Get him away from the girl!" Akio screamed at his followers whilst trying to gain the advantage in his fight. The toughest-looking man remained separated from the rest of the group and advanced upon Katara. He was so large that he obstructed Katara's view of Zuko, who she needed to see to determine if he needed any help. Especially since he all of a sudden seemed surrounded by the remaining members of Akio's little gang.

"Get him outside! Anzai - the girl!" Katara heard Akio hiss and there came a great sound of movement behind the large man named Anzai in front of her. Momentarily forgetting herself, Katara shouted out "No!" and moved forward in an attempt to stop the men from taking Zuko. Of course, Anzai could not allow this to happen, and backhanded Katara across the face with such force that she fell to the stone floor, clutching her stinging cheek. But she had no time to feel pain. Akio and the other guards already had Zuko in the corridor, with Anzai not far behind them. Just as Katara was pushing herself off the floor, Anzai turned around.

"Don't worry, we'll have your boyfriend back in one piece." He sneered at her. "Well, more or less." He added, before slamming the metal door shut.

Katara, having heaved herself off the floor, raced over to the door and slammed her fists upon it angrily.

I let them go! They want to kill Zuko and they have the tools to do it…and I just let them take him! Katara continued to beat the door at the door until her knuckles bled, and tears mixed with blood. Only then did she stop.

Unsure of what else to do, she walked around the cell, bending the water that had splashed around back into her pouch. To an outsider, it seemed that Katara was in a stupor of grief, but to Katara herself she knew she just felt guilt. Whilst it was true she shouldn't be expected to take on several men single-handedly, she knew that it was in her abilities to do so.

If only Zuko weren't so proud, Katara fumed, sitting down on her mattress, scowling. He should've let me attack them the moment they came in the doorway.

It wasn't like Katara to merely give up, but that was what she had no choice but to do. She couldn't open the metal door by herself and even if she could, one backhander had sent her reeling, so what good would she be in hand-to-hand combat? Katara could only hope that, for whatever reason, Zuko would not be killed. Over the past few days she had seen another side to Zuko…one that she did not entirely hate. The notion of not hating someone from the Fire Nation confused her, but she had tried to push the thought aside.

The minutes dragged by tortuously for Katara, and the only company remained her thoughts, whispering viciously of Zuko's fate, and how useless she was for not doing anything. Vivid images flashed in her mind, and Katara slammed her eyes shut in an attempt to block the scenes of brutality out. She could not bear the feeling of guilt, of knowing that another human's life could be, right at this moment, snuffed out, and all because she couldn't take a hit to the face. Even telling herself that Zuko would not allow himself to die did not work; people often did not have a choice in the matter.

For how long Katara sat there, tears creeping out under her eyelids, she did not know, but when the lock of the door clicked open, she leapt to her feet. Angrily clutching her water pouch, she withdrew the water, ready to spring an attack on whoever opened the door. Although the lock had clicked, it took unusually long to open the door. Suspiciously, Katara edged closer, raising the water high and bending it so it took on a razor blade like effect, ready to swipe at the enemy.

"Help wouldn't go amiss right now." Rasped a voice. Startled to hear the familiar voice, Katara immediately released her hold on the water and bended it back into her pouch. The door was suddenly roughly pushed open, and a single hand shoved Zuko back inside the cell, then disappeared, hurriedly slamming the door shut.

Standing still, stunned, Katara simply stared at Zuko as he turned around to glare at whoever had just pushed him.

"How did you-" Katara began, but broke off with a gasp when Zuko turned back to face her. His face was badly bleeding, and his right eye showed the makings of a terrible bruise. The source of the bleeding appeared to be several cuts scattered about his face. These cuts looked deep, but not fatal. Katara scanned him critically, not noticing a dark red stain spreading on the fabric of Zuko's clothes just above his abdomen.

Noticing her horrified look, Zuko managed a small smirk. "You think this is bad? You should see Akio."

"You didn't-" Katara started doubtfully, but Zuko cut her off.

"He's alive, just badly wounded. His pride and honour are in a worse condition however."

Every word he spoke seemed an effort, and Katara noticed that Zuko had begun to sway slightly and had turned paler than normal. A sudden stricken look passed over his face, and he moved his quivering hand over his stomach, keeping it there for perhaps four seconds. Then he slowly peeled away his hand and stared at it. Katara could see his hand from her position, and her eyes widened when she realized where the source of the blood now covering Zuko's hand had come from. He's been stabbed…Katara thought in a daze, as she slowly tore her eyes away to look Zuko in the eye. To Katara, the following seconds happened in slow motion.

Zuko meeting her eyes for a fleeting moment, confusion etched onto his face…Zuko frowning and shaking violently…Zuko collapsing sideways onto the cold, stone floor…Zuko just laying there unmoving…his eyes shut…his blood dripping steadily onto the stone beneath him.

A/N:

Hmm, not sure about this chapter yet…it took me awhile to write, and not just because my mother has discovered the internet and has been hogging the computer :P Thank you to all my reviewers, you brighten up my day :D Please review with your thoughts on this chapter.

(Woo, the Avatar episode "Siege of the North" is on tomorrow!!!)