A: TLA © Bryke

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. The plot is mine, though.

A/N: Edited. New readers, please review! :3 13/01/13

I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.
- W. C. Fields

The Opposing Elements

Chapter 7 – Over-exhaustion and Truthful Lies

"He's planning on attacking," the words fell from her lips, her brown curls swirled in the icy wind as she stared across the ocean, the sun setting into the water, sun rays littered across the snow, not even melting it.

"Well, we can't do anything about that, Sugarqueen; we have to wait until he strikes us first."+

"He won't," Katara's golden gaze turned on Toph, her fists tight; her knuckles were turning white. "He's cunning, he's the Firelord Toph, and he doesn't get his hands dirty unless absolutely necessary." A sigh escaped Toph's lips, the youngster began running her hands up and down her bare arms. Almost immediately, Katara threw her cloak over the girl, icy temperatures didn't bother her any more. Toph snorted, pulling the cloak closer.

"I think he's got his hands dirty enough in the past, Katara." But the girl didn't hear it, because she was already on the other side of the deck of the ship.

A sigh passed her lips, her mocha hands pushed through her hair, her eyes scanning the dark, narrow hall-ways of the ship, the air felt compressed; it felt constricting, just like metal. She stood outside his door, her hand ready to knock, ready to confront him but the action was cut short as the door was threw open, Zuko appearing, hanging onto the door-frame, a wry smile playing on his lips. "It's rude to spy on someone," Katara smirked, her earlier depression gone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Zuko, my most humble of apologies." The smile vanished off of his face; his eyes were searching her face.

He shifted on his side; a look of pain briefly crossed his face, "why am I on the ship?" Katara rolled her eyes, watching as he tried to discreetly hide the pain.

"As much as I love your tribe, I'm not putting you out there until you're fully healed, I don't want my friend to freeze."

Zuko looked at her with a strange expression; his cheeks were a slight ruddy colour, "Friend...?" Katara nodded, a bright smile appeared on her face, her eyes closing in happiness, and Zuko was surprised to see such a smile aimed at him. "I don't understand you, Katara." She winked at him, her smile still in place.

"It's because I'm Firenation, Zuko. I have no mercy, I show no compassion and the only emotion I do show is anger, simple." He rolled his eyes, watching as she walked straight passed him, strolling into his room as if it's her own.

"Yeah, you can come in," she turned to face him, sticking her tongue out.

"Thanks, Zuko." Zuko stumbled towards the velvet chair beside his bed, trying to look as regal ass possible around Katara, trying not to show any sign of his pain. "Suck it up, Zuko. I'll go get you some water so you can heal some more, okay? I know you want to see your mom." Zuko sighed, slumping into the chair, throwing her a grateful smile, it was a small one however, and it was noticeable.

Katara returned four minutes later with two goblets of water, at the minute, she was trying to keep herself balanced, her knees were shaky and she felt nauseated, dizzy and cold.

The sudden clashing of metal hitting metal echoed around his room and Zuko jumped up, looking straight at Katara, watching as she was slumped against the door frame, a trail of blood trailing down her face. The goblets were tipped over, the water splashing across the smooth surface of the floor, moving with the gentle rock of the boat. "Katara!" He rushed over to her, his hand going straight to her head, he hissed, the scalding temperatures nearly physically burning his hands.

He hovered over her, his arms encasing her body as he searched for any other injuries; he didn't find any. But as he looked closer, he could pick out the dark circles under her eyes, the slightly pale complexion of her usually bright skin, her brows that seemed to furrow and shallow breathing. "Katara?" He called her name, trying to get a response out of her, any sort of response.

Zuko's eyes scanned between the hallways, his room and Katara, debating whether to leave her and get help, or carry her to help... He went with the latter, deciding not to leave her. With as much strength he could gather in his current state, he gently soaked her hair in the spilt water, the water turning into a glowing blue where she was hurt, before it dimmed back to bloody water that he discarded, immediately scooping her up after.

With laboured breath, Zuko took step after step, calling out to the isolated ship, Katara was burning his skin where she subconsciously grabbed his wrist, and it was already starting to blister. Her grip kept wavering between extremely tight or really loose, never in the middle. The black-haired man leaned against the icy, metal wall; the contrast between Katara's skin and the wall was scarily large, it made Goosebumps arise on his alabaster skin. He caught his breath, clutching Katara tighter to his chest so he wouldn't drop her, he called out once again, his voice hoarse and raspy.

Zuko could see the bridge of the vessel open; a blizzard obscured his view from the world. The bridge was covered in a thick layer of snow, just how long had he been out? He didn't understand anything, why Katara had suddenly collapsed, why she had come to his aid in the first place...

The gentle moaning of Katara covered his thoughts as he focused on her, looking down as her eyes began stirring behind her lids, her mouth began to form inaudible words. "Ka-Katara...? Wake up," his whispered words travelled the small distance and made her eyes gently slide open, revealing a dead bronze hue. A small, weak smile appeared on her face, her eyes began to meld and turn into their normal colour.

"Zuko," he nodded his head at her but turned to face the snow once again, the white blanket was a huge contrast against the deep grey-ash colour of the metal; it was a great difference between the Firenation, too. "Are you okay now?" He smirked at her, his eyes rolling at the obvious lack of self-concern she had.

So he spoke slowly, "I'm fine, you just need to worry about yourself." With a shake of his head, he forced himself off the wall and began plodding down the corridor, hit feet dragging across the floor, "Katara, you're running a fever... You need to rest," he stared down at the girl only to find her gentle snores and open mouth. Sighing, he picked up the pace to the room he had previously been in, laid her on the bed and cleaned the little rebellious splash of blood up; he didn't want her to get sick over it...

He searched around for his parka, wanting to go outside to see if everything was OK. After a quick healing session on his wound, a check-up on Katara and a little snack in the kitchen – he made sure to make Katara a little something too – he decided it was time to put the Water Tribe's mind at rest.

He found his parka. Oh yeah, he found it all right, just not the whole of it. Curiosity ebbed inside him as he continued to glare at the small piece of blue fabric and fur, the itchy texture made the clothing definitely his, and it was so other people wouldn't steal them.

He followed each piece until he reached the open bridge, bigger pieces of his parka had started appearing now, he wasn't sure how many pieces there were, or if this was some sort of joke, but he wanted his parka back, his mother had made him that! His fists clenched as his temper begin to rise. Without thinking, he stepped out of the shelter of the vessel and into the chilly temperatures of the South Pole, this was his homeland, he hadn't been here in a month and the only way he had managed to maintain his sanity in the Firenation prison was Katara's weekly visits.

Now, all he could see snow, but amongst that was the tell-tale sign of his village: the small patch of smoke arising from the white ground.

He was about to start reminiscing when a very loud groan burst through the silent air, bringing Zuko's attention to a large...animal? Its fur was real thick with a slight beige tint, a dark emblem adorned the creature's head, from what he could see, it belonged to the air-nomads, which had been wiped out years ago. It groaned again, its feet beginning to move towards Zuko, the rhythmic beat of six heavy feet reached his ears and he was afraid the beast would fall through the ice... But as soon as its giant tongue stroked the whole length of his body, he couldn't care less about what happened to it.

The Thing's eyes opened, revealing dark grey eyes, they stared into his eyes for a couple of seconds, and then it moaned again. Its giant mouth made Zuko back away slightly, it was huge. "He-hey boy or girl... Where's your owner, huh?" As soon as he finished the sentence, a small war cry was heard from behind him. He pivoted on his foot, turning to face it. A boy was charging up towards him with a sword in hand, wearing full red. "Firenation?!" As soon as the boy was about 7 metres away, Zuko recognised him; he was the Firenation's prince!

The images of his and Katara's fight flashed in front of his eyes as he remembered how he had nearly killed her, how he had – no – could've killed the Firelord... His body moved automatically, the sword that was aimed for his heart was stopped between both his palms, inches from its intended target. "Waterbender! Where is my sister!?" His eyes were a ferocious gold, but underneath that, they were covered in a layer of worry. In 4 seconds flat, Zuko tripped the boy up, spinning the sword to land in his opposite hand – hilt in his hand – and pointed at the boy's throat.

"Depends what you want with her, Prince." He snarled the words, acid literally dripping onto the Firenation boy underneath him.

With a sudden burst of energy, the position was switched; the boy had disarmed Zuko of the sword completely, now holding a dagger to his neck. "If you've hurt her, I'll kill you!" The acid seemed to rival Zuko's, the dagger was pressed against his cold skin, and he could feel the warmth from the boy's body despite him not being a bender.

"What do you want with her!?"

"Don't question me, Peasant! I want my sis-"

"ZUKO!"

Sokka glared at the boy underneath him, he was so angry, knowing that it was possible that the Waterbender beneath him had killed his sister, he refused to believe it for the time being, though. "Don't question me, Peasant! I want my sis-"

"ZUKO!" Sokka turned to face where his little sister was standing, her hand clutched to her side, her opposite fist alight with a ferocious flame of white-blue. "Let him go or I'll kill YOU where you stand!" Her eyes were glistening with tears, he could see because she only stood about 6 metres away from their position. Her legs were shaking from the force of holding her body up and the dark circles under her eyes had become more prominent. Without thought, he scrambled off of Zuko and threw the dagger into the snow, dropping to his knees after walking a couple of steps.

"Katara, I need to explain several things. I know you hate me with your very being, I know that I've always acted cold towards you, I know-"
"Just tell me why you are here," her voice was strained and in a tangle, but the words were still forceful.

Sokka breathed out harshly, bowing his head slightly. "As soon as I realized you didn't take Appa, I knew how much hatred you held for out Nation. But that has nothing to do with this. Before mom died ten years ago, she made me promise something... She told me to not "smother" you, to make you a "strong person that finds her own path". Mom couldn't afford you to become ruthless like our father."

Katara's brows furrowed, her legs increasing in their shakiness.

Zuko quickly regained his footing, taking his place by Katara's side, a reluctant look firmly on his face as he removed the water from his tunic. "If you're telling me this, then you could've fulfilled mom's wish."

"Just because I'm here, Katara doesn't mean I haven't done horrible things in the past. Mom wanted you to grow up alone, so you could become the person you are today. You refuse to rule the Nation; you're even blunt about it. You try to protect everyone you meet – if they haven't done anything wrong," Sokka cast a look at Zuko, who immediately dodged his gaze, "even if it turns your Nation against you..."

Katara knew Sokka was staring at Zuko but she couldn't bring herself to remove her gaze from her older brother, he looked truly genuine, but she didn't know whether it was a game of deception or not...

What else had she been oblivious to?

Edited. :3 Review please!

BlackTorment