When the ship first broke through the ice and shattered through the protective wall of the South Pole, Katara had been filled with anxiety and dread. The sight of the stoic young fire prince marching down the ramp, eyes narrowed into angry slits, made ice creep into her heart.
The first thing that Katara noticed about the fire prince was how young he was. He was intimidating no doubt, decked out in complete Fire Nation armor, muscles framing his body, and a scowl curling over his face. He gave off an air of authority that announced, I'm strong, I'm intelligent, and I know how to lead. But despite the regal aura he was putting out, there was no hiding the fact that he wasn't much older than her brother.
As the prince began barking his demands, his low husky voice calling out for the long lost Avatar, Katara's eyes unintentionally met his and she gasped, taken aback by the deep golden color of his irises.
He paused for a moment as his gaze meets hers; not long enough for anyone else to notice, but it was evident enough to Katara. The moment was fleeting however, and was broken quickly when he reached behind to snatch at her grandmother.
This was the first time fire met water.
From that moment on, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation becomes the face of the enemy, the main villain who was trying to capture the world's last chance for peace. In Katara's eyes, he was composed of nothing but evil, anger, and hate.
When Zuko caught up with her that night, his hands locking around her fragile wrists, she wondered if it was a twist of cruel fate that had allowed her to be caught by the evil prince.
"I'll save you from the pirates," he growled in a low, smooth voice, while Katara contemplated in the back of her mind if this was his idea of humor.
Katara was sure after he tied her up to the tree that Zuko was going to hurt her if she didn't give him information. He had already threatened to harm her and Sokka if he didn't get what he wanted. Panic began to blossom in her stomach but she forced it down, trying to channel the courage her mother had once possessed into her own spirit.
"Go jump in the river!" she spat, bracing herself for the stinging slap. But it never came. Instead she watched as something flickered in his eyes. A hint of panic, maybe a little uncertainty. Perhaps he really had been bluffing. Maybe he didn't have it in him to hurt her.
He sighed almost in concession. "Try to understand," he whispered, his voice taking on a pleading tone that Katara had never heard from him before. "I need to capture him to restore something I've lost. My honor."
Now this made no sense to Katara at the time. There was no way it could. The story itself was too long and painful to be unraveled right then and there, but fate would lead them to that moment when the time came. The only thing that Katara knew then was that there was a bit of underlying hurt in that sentence, which spoke volumes to her. Her confusion was quickly dissipated however, when Zuko finished his sentence.
"Perhaps in return I can restore something you've lost." He held up something blue and shimmery, twisting it around so that it glinted in the moonlight.
"My necklace!" Katara was not very surprised he would stoop to bribery, but the action itself unnerved her. That whole time a piece of her heart had been tied around Zuko's wrist, just out of her own reach.
Their first major battle happened at the North Pole in the Spirit Oasis. Goodness, did it make her feel alive. There she was, finally strong enough to face the villain that had threatened them for so long. She evaded every single one of his attacks and even threw some of her own, the calm serenity of the Spirit Oasis brought to life with the dance of water and fire.
Unfortunately for Katara, her prowess in bending didn't translate over to good battle sense. Despite being the best of Master Pakku's waterbending students, she was not experienced enough in fighting to know you should never turn your back to your opponent.
As she felt the blast of his fire searing from behind, Katara wondered when she had gotten so foolish as to let her guard down. She had known Zuko long enough to know that he never, ever gave up.
As she felt her eyes slipping shut she heard Zuko faintly remark, "You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun."
The next time Katara and Zuko crossed paths was a different situation entirely. He looked years younger, stripped off his armor and free of his ponytail. In its place was a new crop of shiny dark hair that fell across his eyes. Katara soon got over the shock of seeing him and narrowed her eyes, unpleased he had popped up just when she thought things couldn't get any worse.
Zuko said nothing as Katara yelled, staring up at her with sad, empty eyes. He just sat there, listening quietly to her words. Somehow his silence made her angrier, the frustrations of the day and her confusion with him forcing her to put more acid into her voice.
"You're a terrible person, you know that? Always following us, hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood."
It is right there where she gets a response. A flicker of hurt, anger, and pain flashed across his eyes, but Katara was burning too much to care.
"You don't know what you're talking about," he growled back, his voice thick and swimming with emotion.
His reply sparks retaliation in her. "I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire nation took my mother away from me." And it is then when the tears begin to fall, hot and wet down her cheeks. She doesn't know why she is telling him this. She doesn't expect him to care. Doesn't expect him to feel regret. Maybe she just wants to shove down his throat all the barbarism she knows his country is capable of. Maybe she wants to give him a fact that he can't deny. Or maybe she is just so used to telling everyone that it's become a part of her identity. Katara: the pathetic crybaby of a girl who lost her mother.
What she doesn't expect is for Zuko to grow silent once again. "I'm sorry," he said. "That's something we have in common."
It's his tone of voice that stops her. It is soft and regretful, laced with its own quiet kind of pain. She's never heard him sound like this. So fragile. So real. So human. There is something about the way he worded it as well. He does not say, I lost my mother as well. He deliberately says, that's something we have in common. Katara had said the Fire Nation did this to her. How could their stories be the same thing?
Katara quickly pushed the unsettling thoughts to the side because right then there was a heartbroken boy in front of her who needed her help. And she never, ever turned her back on people who needed her. Even if that person was Zuko. So she reached out to him in the hopes that maybe she could stitch together what she had just broken.
Katara got to her feet and walked toward him, meeting him halfway. She looked down sheepishly and dug her foot into the dirt. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before," she murmured quietly. And she was. Sorry, that is. She doesn't know what exactly has changed in Zuko but somewhere deep down she knows that he's always had this side to him.
Zuko shrugged off the apology. He seemed defeated, beaten down; as if the world had drained him for all he was worth.
Katara turned toward him a little more, wondering just how far she could confide in him. "It's just … for so long now whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face," she confessed.
A pause. "My face. I see." She looked up to see Zuko pressing his fingers to his scar, his golden eyes lowered to the ground.
Her soft confession soon turns to shame. "Oh no! That's not what I meant!" she protested.
Zuko turned away from her. "It's okay. I used to think this scar branded me. The mark of the banished prince doomed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately … I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny even if I'll never be free of my mark."
Katara frowned and wondered if it was really a destiny he chose if he sounded so crushed. She wasn't sure what exactly had given him his scar, but she didn't need to. All she knew was that he believed it had once defined him, marked him for who he was.
A sudden realization hit her. Zuko had said cursed to chase the Avatar. Cursed. Cursed. That didn't sound like the prince Zuko who had chased them all around the world.
Katara's thoughts wandered back to the days of the waterbending scroll and pondered what exactly Zuko had meant when he needed Aang to restore his honor. Just like that, his fiery nature burned down to ashes right in front of her.
Could it be that he hated this as much as the rest of them did? Maybe he wasn't doing this out of malice or selfish intentions. Maybe he really was just as confused as he seemed.
Her natural will to heal and hope, is what drove her to offer her spirit water to him, to take back what had been inflicted on him so long ago.
Even when all that hope and promise was burned down later in a whirlwind of lightning and betrayal, Katara would still look back on that day years later with no regret in her heart, despite the fact that it was filled to the brim with hurt and bitterness at the moment.
It was after the incident in Ba Sing Sae when Katara vowed to be less naïve. A little less trusting, a little less gullible, a little less easy to be tricked. So when Zuko comes to them at the Western Air Temple with his head bowed to them, Katara does not hesitate to douse him.
A month ago, she would have been disgusted with herself for knocking him down when he is already on his knees, but the hurt from the crystal catacombs is still sharp in her chest, holding her back from whatever forgiveness Zuko was so desperately trying to gain.
She knew after a while that Zuko was worthy of trust. After all, he and Aang went to discover the Sun Warrior civilization together and came back in one piece. Not to mention he went with Sokka to the most dangerous prison in the world, risking his own arrest, just to rescue her father.
That alone should have been enough to forgive him. But somehow, it wasn't. Because this wasn't about trust anymore. She knew she could trust him with her friends. He was … different somehow. He was confident and sure, but lacked the arrogance he once seemed to possess. For once, he seemed to know exactly what he was fighting for and why, but that didn't matter to Katara. It wasn't about protecting Aang anymore. This was a more personal matter. He had hurt her when he sided with Azula. She had opened up to him, made herself vulnerable around him, even offered up her beloved spirit water as an act of kindness and he just threw it all back in her face. The consequences of his decision had almost killed Aang and scared her half to death. She wasn't sure if she could forgive him for that.
She reaches out to him from the air and pulls him safely onto Appa the day of Azula's attack because she was repaying a debt. He had saved her from falling rubble, so now that act was repaid. It wasn't a step toward comradeship or friendship. She wasn't sure after the history they've had if they could everbe more than two people with a common enemy.
It is only when Zuko confronts her about her behavior does Katara really tell him about how his actions affected her. He winced at her words and bowed his head, but he didn't make excuses. He didn't even bother with meaningless, I'm sorry's. Katara was not going to let him forget about what happened between them in Ba Sing Sae, but he doesn't try to. Instead, he asked what he could to do to make it up to her.
Despite her response that basically claimed she was never going to forgive him, he still didn't give up. That was Zuko, she was learning. He was very committed to the whole idea of redemption and earning people's acceptance, and a traitorous part of Katara felt bad that nothing in his life was about unconditional acceptance and love.
The trip to the Southern Raiders was a turning point in Katara's life. She finally confronted the man who was the reason for all her nightmares, all her pain, all her heartache. She looked him straight in the eye and let him know that she held his life in her hands, that she was now stronger than he ever was or will be.
Katara had every intention to go through with the act. The pain and anger that had resurfaced once Zuko had mentioned that night had turned her into something ugly; a vengeful spirit looking to relieve her hurt and rage.
The whole situation had brought to light how different she and Aang were. It bothered her to know that Aang couldn't really understand why she needed this. She understood that she was acting angrier than her usual self, but the anger was a part of who she was too. No matter how sweet or caring she may be normally, she'll always have that sadness and anger in her as well. An uneasy part of Katara felt that Aang didn't want to accept that part of her –he only wanted to see the nurturing mother figure he had grown so accustomed to.
She hadn't needed to hear old monk sayings from when he was a boy. She hadn't needed him to accuse her of acting like Jet. She needed someone to support her, understand her, and help get the closure she needed.
She never would have believed that Zuko of all people could give that to her. But there he was first thing in the morning, sitting outside her tent, promising he could take her to find him.
That day he settled behind her on Appa and directed her on where to go. He didn't force conversation on her, didn't try to use the trip to get her to see him in a different light, didn't overstep when he wasn't needed. He was doing this to gain back her trust ultimately, but he also understood that this trip was for Katara and no one else.
Although Katara promised herself that this quest was for her mother and her mother alone- Zuko was just an annoying factor she would have to ignore- she still found herself opening up to him again on the long trip to Whale Tail Island.
"Don't you worry about my strength," she said when he advised her to rest. "I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came."
Just like that, the story came pouring out of her like a waterfall. It was just so easy to talk to him because he listened. He didn't pass judgment or form his own opinion on things. He was just there as a steady support and in a weird way, Katara appreciated that.
Zuko didn't bother saying he was sorry when she finished her story. He had been through enough tragedies of his own to know that saying I'm sorry didn't mean anything. Instead, he stared out at the clouds drifting past and said, "Your mother was a brave woman."
Katara closed her hand around the necklace that Zuko once held ransom. A million years ago. When Katara was a different person.
"I know."
When they finally arrived at the ship of the Southern Raiders, Zuko stood back and said nothing when Katara bent the blood streaming under the leader's skin. His golden eyes widened in surprise and shock, but he never mentioned it after that. Not once. Maybe it was because he saw the horror and self-disgust in her eyes when she realized she had the wrong person. Or maybe it was because he had no problem accepting every side of her, even a side as dark as bloodbending because he knew he had flaws similar to her own.
Katara was so emotionally drained and defeated after that point, she was ready to abandon the whole thing and give up. Zuko, on the other hand wasn't ready to give in so easily. As Katara numbly walked into the hall, Zuko's words echoed in her mind.
You look her in the eyes and tell me you don't remember what you did.
His voice was so full of anger and passion that for the first time Katara wondered if Zuko was perhaps not referring to that man completely, but to the person who took his mother away. Perhaps this mission was as therapeutic for him as it was for her. She groaned and shook her thoughts away when she saw him come back out into the hall. This was no time to think about Zuko. This trip was still for her.
Zuko did, in fact, manage to find the whereabouts of the retired leader of the Southern Raiders. As soon as she learned of his identity, the spark in her was reignited, and the fire returned to her eyes. They stealthily followed the trail through an old village and finally came face to face with a murderer.
Yon Rah was a pathetic, weak, empty shell of a man, and when Katara saw the kind of broken soul he truly was, she decided to spare him. It was a split second decision, but final nonetheless. Maybe she would have done it if she were protecting somebody she loved, but no- she would not have this useless old hag put blood on her hands if the results would be the same. Spirits knew she already had enough regrets after the hurtful things she said to her brother that morning. After that moment, she knew that no matter what she did that day, her mother would still be gone. So she would do what he could not. She would walk away with clean hands. It would be hard, but Katara would survive this. She had to.
She left him cowering and crying in the mud with Zuko close behind and trudged back to where they hid Appa. This was not before she caught the hard look Zuko aimed at him to let him know just how lucky he truly was.
It was evening when the two exhausted benders finally arrived back on the shore of Ember Island. Zuko left Katara to her own thoughts long enough to let Aang and Sokka know everything was okay.
So Aang had been right after all. Violence and revenge wasn't the answer. It usually never is. But that was something Katara needed to learn for herself. If she had simply just listened to Aang, she never would have been able to be at peace with her decision.
Sitting at the edge of the dock trailing the tips of her toes over the surface of the water, Katara thought she might finally be able to understand Zuko's decision for siding with Azula in Ba Sing Sae. It was easy for others to preach about what was right and what was wrong, but the world was not as black and white as it was once made out to be. Sometimes the right path isn't always clear. Zuko could have joined them that day, but he wouldn't have been sure of what he was fighting for or why. It was something he needed to figure out on his own. And now that he finally had finally sorted it all out, he was more at peace with himself than he had for a long time.
Perhaps that was how Zuko knew what she needed. Maybe he had just recently discovered for himself that the paths you take in life don't mean anything if you don't choose them on your own.
"You did the right thing." Aang's words reverberated deep inside her skull. "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing."
Katara got up and turned to face him. Aang was right- she had needed forgive. But it wasn't Yon Rah that needed forgiveness- it was herself. She needed to let go of her own guilt in order to truly begin to get better. Maybe Aang couldn't understand that, but that was okay. And she was okay. She was.
"I'll never forgive him." Katara turned toward Zuko, a half smile brimming on her lips. "But I am ready to forgive you." And with that she stepped forward and threw her arms around him, trying not to think about how natural it felt to do so. Zuko's eyes widened, but he smiled and wrapped his arms around her as well, giving her an affectionate squeeze.
Katara knew that there was no going back from this now. They were no longer allies working together on a common cause. They were friends. And as Katara walked back from the dock to meet Sokka, she thought that maybe she had needed a friend like him all along.
Fire and water no longer clash against each other. Now they work together, the elements twisting and twirling in a dangerous dance. It was nice seeing the two opposing powers face against each other, but it's deadly and beautiful when they team with each other.
There is no huge, earth-shattering change after the Southern Raiders. Katara and Zuko don't have deep, heart to heart conversations every day, but all the awkwardness and tension had simmered out of the group, and team avatar finally felt complete.
Katara doesn't feel the weight of responsibilities weighing down on her anymore. She still acts like the mother of the group- Katara doesn't think she could break that behavior if she tried- but now she had an older member of the group who helps her along, and she appreciates that.
Zuko was a really good support for her to lean on when things got a bit tough with the gaang. When Aang disappeared just days before Sozin's Comet, Zuko stepped in and gave them all someone to look to for guidance. It felt natural for everyone to follow him. Every single one of them had actually developed some semblance of a real connection with Zuko and relied on him more than they would have liked to admit.
Katara especially. The two got along easily. They were comfortable with each other. If they hadn't grown up in a world separated by war and fire, they could have been best friends.
Katara was no longer hesitant to use her nurturing nature with Zuko, so when she found him sitting cross legged in front of his Uncle's tent, she didn't pause before sitting down beside him.
He trusted her as well too. Zuko's regrets and insecurities flowed easily up to meet them and Katara was right there when he needed consoling. She smiled as she watched him take a deep breath and disappear into the tent. He would be fine, she knew. Iroh had always been able to see Zuko was a good person, even when his good intentions were somewhat buried beneath the surface. He would forgive him because Zuko was sorry. And Katara knew that by now, Zuko's apology was good enough.
When the rest of them gathered to talk with General Iroh before heading into battle, Katara wasn't sure what to expect without Aang. All the plans and strategies they had previously discussed no longer applied.
What she hadn't been expecting was for Iroh to insist on Zuko becoming Fire lord.
"A new person must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor."
Zuko gazed up at him with wide golden eyes. "Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes."
"Yes you have," Iroh agreed, something passing between the two of them that Katara didn't understand. "You struggled and you suffered. But you have always followed your own path and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."
Katara felt a weird lightness floating through her body. She and the others never really discussed what would happen after Aang defeated the Fire Lord. In fairy tales, once the bad guy is defeated, everything goes back to normal again. But this wasn't a fairy tale. This was the real world.
When no one was looking, Katara peered up and studied Zuko's face. He looked scared, nervous, unsure, but there was also the fierce determination in his eyes that Katara had begun to associate with him. She thought back to how long and hard he fought to get on the right path and decided right then and there that Zuko would become a great Fire Lord.
Ever since her mother died, Katara associated fire with violence and destruction. Something that tears things down and devastates everything around it.
Jeong Jeong had shared her view of fire as nothing but a terrifying form of fighting, forcing people to walk a line between humanity and savagery. At the time she had no reason to think otherwise, being burned by Aang herself and seeing countless others including her friend Bato bear permanent burn marks on their skin. To her, fire was evil. Fire was pain.
Katara knew she had been wrong when she witnessed Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai.
For the first time in her life, she saw fire for what it truly was for a firebender: Passion. Energy. Life.
She had never seen Zuko bend like this before. He had come such a long way from his skills at the North Pole. He was actually holding his own against Azula, despite her initial worries when he first told her he would be fighting alone.
Katara had wanted to get angry when Zuko agreed to the duel, claiming that Azula was just trying to separate them, but had shut up quickly when he noted that she was slipping.
"And this way, no one else has to get hurt."
The words rang in her ears as the battle had begun, the world lighting up in bursts of blue and orange. She watched as the colorful flames swayed intricately around one another and met up again in an explosion of heat and light.
Katara understood right then why Zuko was the right firebending teacher for Aang.
He was all passion and emotion; filled with the energy and drive to what was right for the world, even if it meant making the hard decision to fight against his family. Zuko understood what it truly meant to be a firebender. It had to be you out there during that fight. Firebending was the only type of bending that required the bender to create the element themself. It's all their passion and drive emanating out from the depths of their soul. It's everything they've ever felt or fought for that's expressed during their battles.
Witnessing the fight going on in front of her, Katara finally gained respect for her opposing element.
She knew that Zuko had to go into this fight alone for reasons other than her safety. He had to face up to Azula, show he could stand on his own, make it known that he was finally strong enough to challenge her. Katara understood that. She did. And she was proud of him.
Katara did not consciously run out into the battlefield toward the end; she had just been so swept away and moved by the entire fight that she found herself shifting closer to the two siblings.
It was only when she saw Azula's eyes glance her way that she knew she had made a fatal mistake.
The lightning shot out fast from her fingertips, bright blue and crackling with energy. Katara was stunned into shock as she watched the bolt shoot faster and faster towards her.
She knew she was going to die. But after everything they've all been through, dying in the place of the future Fire Lord who would make things right with the world seemed like a pretty good way to go.
Then everything went wrong when Zuko jumped in front of her.
"No!"
The world stopped spinning as the lightning hit him in the chest dead on, sparking with the heat. Katara watched, horrified as he slammed into the ground, the electricity shooting out of him in his half desperate attempt to redirect it.
"Zuko!"
He had taken lightning. For her. Katara. The Southern Water Tribe Peasant. Her heart crawled into her throat as she ran over, just barely dodging the blast of fire Azula aimed at her head.
The rest of the fight was a blur as Katara detained the deranged fire princess. She paid her no mind as she secured the chains on her wrists and rushed over to where Zuko lay, groaning from the pain. Her heart crawled into her throat as she knelt down beside him, gingerly placing her hands behind his head and shifting him onto his back.
You're a horrible person you know that? Always following us, hunting the Avatar! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood.
Oh spirits, why was she doing this to herself now? Katara squeezed her eyes shut and shook away the thoughts as she set her water encased hands on Zuko's chest.
Katara had already lost one boy who once betrayed her trust. She knew what it felt like to fail. But this was different. This was Zuko. And he did this for her. If she failed now, she would never forgive herself.
Katara gritted her teeth and pushed harder, feeling her chi flowing rapidly through her. Underneath her glowing palms she could feel the flesh stitching back together, mending slowly.
It was another minute before she heard a quiet intake of breath from beneath her. Katara peeked open her eyes and smiled when she saw Zuko looking up at her.
"Thank you Katara."
Tears of gratitude squeezed out of her eyes. "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."
Katara helped him to his feet and watched sullenly as Azula's pained shrieks echoed through the air. Somewhere miles away in the Earth Kingdom, the rest of the gaang was cheering and ridiculing the defeated Phoenix King on the failure of his master plan. But here in the Fire nation, Katara and Zuko were forced to bear witness of the decaying of a 15 year old girl's mind.
No cheering or celebrating was necessary here. Both Zuko and Katara knew this was not a happily won victory. Something had still been lost, but that was something one comes to expect from war. Katara looked down because she couldn't stand to watch even Azula in so much distress. But when she felt Zuko stiffen next to her she put a gentle hand on his back just to let him know she was there.
It is hard to put into words the kind of bond that is formed once somebody takes lightning for you. It is not an act that is pushed aside or shrugged off as no big deal. It is also not an act you would do for just anyone.
Katara and Zuko don't talk about the Agni Kai very often. The rest of the gaang doesn't mention it much either. They know something deep and permanent happened between the two of them that day, but it never seemed necessary to address it more than once. The war was over. Everybody was safe. That was most important.
Months after the end of the Hundred Year War, Katara and Zuko have truly become best friends. Zuko is no longer just the bad guy that switched sides anymore; he is a part of her family. And Katara is grateful for that.
"The nobles are still pushing me to make a decision on the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom."
Katara looked up from where she was relaxing in the lounge of the Fire Nation Royal palace.
"Don't worry, Zuko. I'm sure we'll figure out a solution soon."
Zuko ran his hand over his face. "I just- ugh! I don't know how to make everyone happy. No matter what I decide someone will end up losing."
Katara frowned, pushing herself up off the cushions and sitting down next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"I know you want to help everyone. It's a part of who you are. But sometimes, you'll have to find that you can't please the entire world. There is no easy solution. The important thing is that you're trying, and that means a lot."
Zuko gazed up with her with wide, sad eyes. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the new Fire Lord was only sixteen.
"Those people in the Earth Kingdom- I don't want them to think I am just like my father. That I am refusing to give back their land for personal gain. I want them to know I'm trying to help them, but I don't know how."
Katara's heart leapt out to him. She hated seeing him like this. So vulnerable and unsure.
"How could you think you are anything like your father? Everything that you've done to end the war shows just how strong you truly are. None of your actions after you joined us had been for selfish reasons. You are nothing like him."
Zuko turned his head to the side, letting his dark brown locks fall into his eyes. "That's not true. I'll always have his blood in me," he answered coldly. "And his mark on my face."
Katara's heart dropped down to her feet. She reached her hand unthinkingly toward his face, but she stopped herself.
"Your- your father did this to you?"
Zuko looked up suddenly, as if realizing what he just said, but sighed, dropping his head back down. "Yeah. Yeah he did."
Katara shook her head, trying to ebb the ice that was creeping over her skin. "But-but why?"
Zuko smiled humorlessly. "It's kind of a long story."
Katara studied him before crossing her legs in front of her and shifting closer to face him. "I've got time."
Zuko looked at her for a bit before taking a deep breath. "Alright." He sat back and tucked his legs up to his chest like he was trying to make himself smaller.
"I was thirteen. My mother already had been banished and my uncle had returned home from his 600 day siege at Ba Sing Sae. When I was a child I was very stubborn and strong willed, but always seemed to fall short of what was expected of me. My father saw me as a disappointment from the day I was born, lacking the fire in my eyes that identified me as a firebender."
Katara stayed silent, watching as she saw Zuko close into himself and fall into the past.
"I struggled with firebending from day one. I never seemed to catch up to Azula, who was mastering forms like crazy. With my mother gone, I was more on my own than I had ever been before."
Zuko sighed, shutting his eyes. "I thought that the best way to show my father how dedicated I truly was to inheriting the throne would be sitting in on a war meeting. I was never going to impress him with my firebending or my natural confidence, so I thought I could show him dedication."
When Zuko opened his eyes, the golden color of his irises seemed shades darker than before. "I talked my uncle into letting me join the next war meeting. He warned me beforehand that I was not to speak, that it would not be taken lightly if I did. I guess I should have listened."
Katara kept her eyes on him, trying to ignore the budding dread building up in her chest. "When I got there, the meeting had already started. The generals were discussing various war strategies they were going to use against the Earth Kingdom. One of the generals suggested they use a group of young recruits as bait so the older, more experienced soldiers could take out the rest from behind. He seemed to get pleasure from talking about the plan, referring to the new recruits as 'fresh meat'"
Katara shuddered and covered her mouth with her hand. She was not surprised about the Fire Nation's cruel tactics, she had just never believed they would be used against their own men.
"I spoke out. I didn't think it was right to sacrifice such young recruits for the sake of a stupid war plan. It seemed like a betrayal to me."
Zuko shook his head and rubbed his temples. "My father was not very happy with me for that outburst. He told me that I would have to fight an Agni Kai because I had insulted the honor of the Fire Nation. I told the general I had insulted that I wasn't afraid, but I misunderstood what he meant."
Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, and Katara knew the painful part was coming. "Because I had spoken out in my father's war room, it was the Fire Lord himself whom I had disrespected. When I went to face the general that night at the Agni Kai, it wasn't him. Instead, I had to duel my own father."
Katara gasped, her blue eyes widening in shock. She thought back to Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai and wondered just how horrifying it must be for a thirteen year old to face one of the most ruthless firebenders in the world in a duel.
"I couldn't do it." Zuko's voice was laced with pain. "I begged my father to show mercy; I told him that I had never meant any disrespect, but he didn't care. I knelt on my hands and knees and tried to tell him that I was sorry, but he claimed that I needed to learn respect. And suffering would be my teacher."
Katara felt her eyes beginning to burn. How could a father say something so cruel? To his own son?
"The stadium was packed with nobles that night, including my sister. I'm sure she got a lot of pleasure from seeing all that." Zuko scoffed without humor. "When my father blasted the fire at my face, it was the most intense pain I ever felt. I could actually feel my skin was being ripped away."
Zuko stared up at her, meeting her eyes. "After that night my father said I had shown shameful weakness and banished me from my home. I would only be allowed to return with my honor once I captured the Avatar, somebody who hadn't been seen in over a hundred years."
He turned toward her slightly. "I was wrong, you know," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "All my life I had been told that expanding the Fire Nation was what was best for the world; that it was just us trying to share our prosperity with everyone else. Over my time as a refugee I figured out the truth and horror behind the war, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to realize." His voice cracked a bit, and Katara watched as his golden eyes began to shimmer.
"When I saw for the first time that the Avatar was just a kid it felt like some kind of sick joke. I either had to capture this little kid and make him prisoner to the Fire Nation, or stay banished from my home forever. It didn't seem fair." He swallowed hard and fisted his hands in the front of his tunic. "I never told anyone about what happened that night. For the longest time I thought that my scar was the mark of weakness and failure. But I've grown to accept it as part of me, even if it does permanently mark me as Ozai's son."
He had just barely finished his sentence before Katara threw her arms around him, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. All this time none of them ever knew. This was never the story of a ruthless villain trying to doom the world from peace. This was just the story of a good hearted boy who was trying to find the right way in the world. This whole thing started because he was trying to save some lives.
Katara thought back to when she first saw Zuko striding down the ramp at the North Pole. She had thought he was so intimidating with the bald ponytail and scar covering his eye. It was exactly the kind of appearance a villain should have. She wondered how she would have felt if she had known the only reason for his scary appearance was because a heartless father went too far.
Everything about Zuko suddenly made sense. Of course he was always so afraid to listen to Katara rant about the evils of the Fire Nation. Because the one time he had spoken out against his country and shown compassion for others, he was viciously punished for it.
"Oh Zuko," she murmured into his hair. "I am so sorry."
She felt him take a shuddering breath but he swallowed it down, refusing to give in to the emotion. He was Zuko. He was strong.
"The offer still stands you know," she said quietly, running her fingers through his dark strands.
She felt Zuko move away from her. "What?"
"I could heal you. We could go back to the spirit oasis. I could take it away." Katara is serious. He doesn't deserve that scar. His father never deserved him.
Zuko edged back and studied her for moment, biting the bottom of his lip. "Katara- that's kind of you- really it is. But I think that offer should have expired by now. Besides …" He pauses, as if trying to find the right words. "I'm not ashamed of it anymore. For the first time, I think it's something to be proud of. If I had to do it all over again I would still speak out against what happened. My scar is something that reminds me of what I'm fighting for every time I look in the mirror. I'm fighting for my people. My country. For the good of the world. I'm willing to take a few scars if that's what it takes. I can't turn back time and change what happened. No matter if I'm healed or not, nothing is going to change the fact that my father did that to me. But I think I'm finally okay with the person I've become because of it."
Katara is still crying. She is so proud of the person sitting in front of her right now. It would have been so easy for Zuko to give in to the prejudice of the Fire Nation and keep all the glory after the fall of Ba Sing Sae. But he didn't. Because it was never about personal gain. It was about doing what was right.
"I'm sorry that I walked away from you that day," Katara said quietly, wiping her hand across her cheeks. "I got your hopes up and then I just followed after Aang. I shouldn't have left you in the dust like that."
"No." Zuko's voice is stern. "Don't be sorry. I'm not sure if it would have made a difference. I probably would have still chosen Azula's side and then none of us would be in this position right now. But I'm glad we met down there. Even as enemies we could always talk to each other like people. I think in a weird way, I needed you. I needed you there to teach me something important about the truly good people in the world."
Katara sat there, shocked. Had she really made such an impact on him?
"You know, none of it really compares to jumping in front of lightning bolts," she says teasingly.
"I think it does." Zuko's tone of voice surprises her. "You mean a lot to me. You believed in me under Ba Sing Sae. You forgave me on Ember Island. You showed me what it was really like to have a friend. To have a family. I'll always be grateful for that."
Katara swallowed down the lump in her throat. "I'll always be grateful to you too. For giving me closure. For saving my life. For being the first to show me that somebody from the Fire Nation can be unbelievingly good. For giving me hope in the future again. For everything."
Zuko was not expecting that. It's not normal for people to say that he means a lot to them too, but for once he doesn't question it. He was beginning to learn people were capable of unconditional love.
And just like that, the sun and the moon become one. Fire and water. Push and pull. Tui and La. Yin and yang.