Chapter 7: A New Friend

Zuko was sick of all the injustice he had to face that day. Why couldn't people just be nice to their neighbors and move on? He always thought of himself who can adapt to unexpected situations well, but he was shocked nonetheless. Zuko carried Katara on his back and made a run for it after the soldiers left. He didn't know if there would be reinforcements, and he wasn't going to stay to find out.

He hooked the strap of the dual dao swords over his neck, then slung Katara's quiver and bow across her back. Zuko was felt oddly drained of all his energy, after Katara had passed out. They weren't in a good position. He decided that before anything else, Katara's safety was his priority. He steadily walked down the mountain, following the river near his house. He remembered he and his uncle had passed through a large city before climbing up the mountains.

His uncle… Zuko knew that he was alive somewhere, so he bit back the negative thoughts and regained his composure. His uncle was his fire bending teacher. A master that could definitely protect himself when the need arises. He could take care of himself.

Sweat began to slide down the sides of Zuko's face as he continued to roughly walk down the mountainside. Was Katara made up of pure muscle mass? She was heavier than Zuko would have admitted. The adrenaline rush in the beginning helped him ignore her weight and escape, but it was pressing down on him hard now. He had to bend over slightly so Katara wouldn't fall off being unconscious and all, and his lower back muscles were heavily burdened upon. But he refused to give up. He needed a doctor to look at her. Even if it meant that he would be under debt for the rest of his life.

Wait. Why did he think that? Zuko thought about it, and realized he's only known Katara for a little more than a week. He wondered why he felt so protective over her. He remembered the feeling he had after the spar, when Zuko couldn't find her; it was devastation. He felt devastated that Katara was no longer in his sight, possibly injured, all because of him. Where did these feelings come from? Zuko continued to question his feelings as he pushed his exhausted body down the mountain.

Oh! It must be because she saved me when we first met. It's only natural that I'd feel like this. Since she saved my life, now it's my turn to save hers. This makes sense… I finally understand these strong feelings. That's right, I have to save her no matter what. It's the only way to pay her back for all her kindness. I can do this…

Zuko thought his body was going to break by the time he approached the outskirts of the city. The small river expanded wider and wider, and the ground was beginning to even out. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him, and he felt like his body was burning. The sun was beginning to set and the thick mass of trees started to disappear behind him. Zuko refused to set Katara down once to rest, because if he did, he knew his body would refuse to pick her back up again. He gently laid Katara on the ground, removing the quiver strap and the bow, and he felt his hands slide from underneath her thighs. Zuko extended his fingers near her throat. She was still alive and breathing. He let out a sigh of relief as he collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. His arms and legs silently trembled against his body, and his breathing was quick and shallow.

Zuko stayed hugging the dirt and looked at Katara. She hadn't woken up or moved a muscle since she passed out, and Zuko was starting to panic again. She wasn't running a fever, frowning, and didn't bat an eyelid. It was as if she was… NO. He wouldn't think that. She was definitely alive, and he knew he had to get her somewhere safe.

His breathing had calmed to a certain degree, so he agreed that it was time to move again. He willed his arms to shift, and pushed himself up to his knees when he heard a rattle in the bushes. Startled, he directed himself to the noise when three figures burst out from the trees.

A small boy with dark messy hair and ragged clothes ran out towards the river. He was being chased by two large angry men in sloppy red armor with brown splatters of their heads and chest.

"You little punk," huffed one of the guys. "How dare you throw mud balls at us. We'll make you pay." He reached over to his waist and pulled out his sword. The child backed up to the river, breathing heavily and glared at the two men. "Nowhere to run now, huh?" mocked the other man. The two men grinned evilly and began to approach the child with their swords pointed.

Zuko thought he had no more energy to spare, so he was surprised to find himself standing up in anger. How could two grown men point their swords at a helpless child? He couldn't understand it. And he wouldn't allow it. Katara was indeed his priority, but he couldn't just overlook what was happening right in front of him.

He quickly grabbed his dao swords and unsheathed them, the familiar weight of the metal rested in his hands. Zuko focused on his remaining energy and strode forward at the two men.

"Hey," he growled. All three faces turned to his direction. "Two men ganging up on one little boy is a bit shameful, no?" Zuko forced his voice to sound steely, and tried his best to mask up how weary he already was. He hoped these men were simple soldiers, but even then, he wasn't sure he could take them down in his condition.

"Haaaah?" snarled one of the guys. "You have a death wish, or what?" he glowered back at Zuko as the side of his face twitched in anger.

Zuko kept clam and put on his best I'll-kill-you-if-you-don't-leave-face. "I actually came back from the mountains after some intense training, and I don't mind using my new skills on you," he bluffed. In a technical sense, what he said was true, but he just didn't have the strength to fight both men while protecting the young boy. To further prove his point, he called fire within his palms and sent the heat down the blade. The metal began to glow a bright orange and hissed with the high temperature. "I'll melt your skin off," he whispered in a low voice. Zuko continued to stare at the two men with his face void of emotion.

All three pairs of eyes widened at the sight of his swords. One of the men let out a low grumble and stepped back. Zuko took this chance and quietly took a step forward. The men flinched at his sudden approach and gave a quick glance at the young boy before stepping back again.

"W-we'll let you off this time," one said quickly. "Don't think you can get away with this though." The other added a quick nod and angry glare at Zuko before turning around and running back.

As soon as the men were out of sight, Zuko felt his energy drain from his arms and he fell towards the ground again. He stopped his face fall by sinking the blades in the ground in front of him to support his heavy body.

"Mister!" shouted the young boy, and ran towards Zuko.

"You okay, kid?" asked Zuko, raising his head to meet a worried face. "They didn't hurt you?" The young boy shook his head 'no' and Zuko nodded in understanding.

"But mister, what's wrong?"

Zuko nodded again at the boy and gave him a reassuring smile. "Just, really tired… do you live in this city? I'm in need of a doctor for the young lady over there" he said, gesturing towards Katara. The boy nodded quickly and smiled.

"My mom can help her. Come to my house, I live close by." Said the boy. He looked at Zuko with beaming eyes. "And I have to thank you for saving me back there."

"All right," said Zuko. He couldn't be picky about any help that was offered to him. "Lead the way." He forced his legs to stand up again, and pulled his swords out of the dirt. Zuko sheathed the swords back and slung the strap over his neck again. He walked towards Katara, and mustered the strength needed. He was going to save her. He had too. Squatting in front of her, he grasped her wrists and pulled her arms over his shoulders, setting her on his back again. With all his determination, he hooked his hands under Katara's legs and stood up again.

The young boy watched Zuko carefully, and extended out a hand. "I'll hold the bow and arrows for you, mister." He said with a smile. Zuko gave the boy a small smile back and handed the bow and quiver to the youngster. "Careful," said Zuko. "These belong to her, so you have to be extra gentle." The boy nodded fiercely, determined not to fail his task.

"I'm Lee, by the way. Thanks for helping me out, mister," said Lee cheerfully. He looked awfully happy for someone who almost died. Zuko smirked at Lee's optimism, and followed the boy towards his house, with the weight of Katara's limp body over his.

"Lee!"

Zuko had walked another arduous journey towards the boy's house. It wasn't that far from the river, but every step felt like his body was going to break down. He listened to the Lee's rambling about how cool Zuko looked with his swords and how awesome it would be if his brother were there too. Zuko only heard half of the things the boy said, and occasionally grunted at him to agree. A farm of pigs snorted at their arrival, and a dark haired woman burst out from the front door, looking bewildered.

"Lee, where have you been?" she swooped down and hugged Lee. "Your father and I had been so worried about you." Lee's mom continued to hug him tightly and release sighs of relief.

"I'm okay mom, really!" Lee pulled back from his mother's embrace, smiled and pointed to Zuko, "this mister helped me!" Lee's mother finally noticed Zuko and gasped. He must have looked worse than he thought.

"Oh my goodness," she said, standing up again and addressing Zuko. "Thank you for helping my son today." She bowed at Zuko and continued, "I know my son's a little reckless, but he has a good heart, really, I—"

"Mom, not now!" Lee complained. "His friend needs help!" She looked up at Katara, and nodded quickly, "Excuse me, please come in. I'll do what I can to help."

"Thank you," Zuko murmured as he stepped into the house after her. The house was small, yet spacious to fit a family of four. He followed Lee's mom to a small room that had a bed in the corner, but looked unused for some time. Zuko set Katara down on the bed and panted from exhaustion. He watched Lee's mom look over Katara, when a man in a green vest and a dark beard walked in the room.

"Sela?" the man called out. Lee's mom turned her head to meet the man, when he spotted Zuko. "You must be the young man who saved my son, thank you." He said, inclining his head towards Zuko. "I'm Lee's father, Gansu. And this is my wife, Sela," he said, gesturing to her. Lee ran out from behind his father and smiled at Zuko.

"I'm Zuko," he said, also inclining his head in return. "Thank you for helping me, as well." Gansu smiled firmly at him.

"My son told me what happened," said Gansu, slightly glaring down at his son. "We'll do whatever we can to help you." He frowned deeply and continued, "I'll make those fire nation soldiers pay for what they did to my son. Although…" he looked down at his son again. "It was partially your fault for provoking them!"

Lee recoiled from Gansu's voice and frowned, "But they were bothering old man Ted at his store! I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!" Lee pouted and crossed his arms. Gansu sighed at his son's stubbornness and Sela giggled. She rose from checking Katara and smiled at Zuko.

"She's fine, honey," said Sela. "It looks like she has a couple scratches here and there, but her breathing and internal organs appear to be fine. I think she must have very tired. Did she do any sudden strenuous activity?"

Zuko wanted to answer truthfully, but realized that it sounded crazy. Oh, nothing much. She just suddenly turned ultra powerful, killed a couple dozen soldiers in their blood, and drastically altered the landscape with her bending. Not to mention her eyes turned red and she was levitating in the air.

"I'm not too sure," stuttered Zuko. "She just suddenly collapsed on me this morning, and hasn't woken up since…"

Sela nodded understandingly, and Zuko was glad she didn't ask him further. "She should wake up soon," she smiled reassuringly and raised the blanket over Katara's body. "You should rest too, Zuko. Honestly, you look worse than your friend here."

"You can sleep in my bed!" said Lee enthusiastically. Zuko smiled and patted Lee's head.

"Thanks, Lee," he said. "But you should sleep in your bed, you're still growing, no? And I'm fine with sleeping on the floor here."

"Oh, but…" said Sela. "We can't let you do that, you should rest properly…"

Zuko smiled gratefully at her, and continued, "Don't worry ma'am. I'm used to sleeping on the floor. No need for blankets either."

"But…" Sela bit her lip and frowned.

"Sela, the young man said he's comfortable the way he is," said Gansu. " And I'm sure he wants to rest now." He put his hand on her shoulder and started pulling her towards the door.

"Oh, all right…" she sighed. "But I'll just leave these here incase you change your mind. It gets pretty cold at night." Sela set down a folded blanket near the bed before smiling and turning to leave.

"Hey, mom," said Lee. "Can I sleep on the floor too?" Zuko heard her groan at her son, and Gansu responded. "No, Lee. You're too young." Zuko smiled slightly as Lee complained and the family's footsteps grew distant. He looked down at Katara's peaceful face and sighed. Picking up the extra blanket, he unfolded it and layered it on top of the other sheet. He was sure Katara was the one who set the two blankets over him, before the she and Sokka left to hunt that early morning. He smiled at the memory and set his chin down on the edge of the bed. Zuko gently brushed the loose strands of hair from her face and closed his eyes. He thought about her bright blue eyes, her laugh, her smile, and how he wished to hear her melodious voice again, before finally drifting off to sleep.

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long to update. This week has been hectic.
Anyways, I know there wasn't a lot of high action in this chapter, but I felt the need to tone it down after some crazy cliff hangers in the previous chapters. I hope you liked this chapter nevertheless. (:
Also, to answer 'LovinZuko''s question, Katara isn't the avatar... but I won't say anymore on what she actually is. hehehe. I have yet to decide whether I want Aang, or the existence of the avatar at all in my story. But I do have ideas on how to incorporate him if there is a high demand for the avatar... (: You guys can decide.

See you soon.