Judgement
Chapter Five- Training
Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
-Sicilian Proverb
Katara woke up due to someone shaking her semi violently. She groaned as she opened her eyes to see no sun.
"What time is it?" She asked rubbing her eyes after the shaking stopped.
"Sunrise, time to train." Zuko said tying his shoes. Katara sat up slowly and looked at him like he was insane. "What? You wanted to train with me, let's go." He said tossing her clothes to her. "They aren't washed yet but it would be pointless to wash them just to train in them."
"That's true." She yawned and threw her legs over the side of the bed. "Get out so I can change." She told him. He looked at her a little shocked at her firmness. But nonetheless, he stepped out.
Katara changed rather slowly only half awake. She quickly put her hair up and she was sure it was a mess but it wouldn't really matter. She smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes then went to knock on the door.
"Alright, let's go." Zuko said opening the door.
"How are you this awake?" She asked yawning in the middle of her sentence. He chuckled a little at her tired look.
"I rise with the sun." He said.
"Yeah but the sun's not even fully up yet." She protested.
"You better wake up if you even want to think you have a chance of beating me." He smiled leading her through the corridors.
"Oh whatever." But she couldn't hold back yet another yawn. She then realized that they were on the deck of the ship. "What are we doing here?"
"This is where we're going to spar." He told her. "I don't think you want to jump over board do you?"
"No thanks." She took a deep breath. It had been days since she had been out in the fresh air. "So, are we doing this with or without bending?" She asked.
"Let's see what you can do without your bending." He said getting into a fighting position. She quickly followed and waited for him to make the first move.
Zuko ran at her and she expected him to attack her by hitting her but he slid down and kicked her feet from under her. Katara yelped in surprise but quickly caught herself and stood back up throwing a punch to his torso, only to have it blocked quickly. Katara kept throwing punches and kicks but it didn't really get her anywhere.
Zuko was getting sick of her predictable moves so he caught her arm and spun her around so her back was him then kicked her back. The kick was lighter than it would have been if they were actually fighting. He was definitely toning his hits down, even though he wasn't supposed to.
Katara stumbled forward and sighed in frustration. She knew she wasn't the best fighter without her bending (especially when she wasn't awake) but she sure as hell didn't want Zuko to know that. She slowly approached him, hands at sides, innocent look printed on her face. Zuko kept his guard up but didn't attack. When she was close enough, she threw a punch which he caught, along with the one from her other fist.
"You've gotta do better than that Tara." She let a surprised look at the nickname quickly pass over her then disappear.
"I'm not that innocent." She whispered then swiftly kneed him in the stomach, hard enough for him to let go of her hands and let her back away. "Maybe you should keep that armor on." She smirked at him. He looked up and growled slightly.
"I won't need it." He said running at her.
They sparred for a half hour before each were growing somewhat bored of the same thing over and over again. Zuko was sure he could take her down no problem if was using all of his strength, but that might end in harming her, which he couldn't do.
He rolled his eyes as she backed away preparing for another attack. He smiled slyly before forming fire in his hands and shooting it at her.
Katara's eyes widened from the surprise attack and dodged the flame with time to watch it soar above the ocean. She turned to look at Zuko and gave him an accusing look.
"I thought you said no bending!" She shouted.
"Actually I said I wanted to see how you could do without your bending." He smirked. "I said nothing about me not being allowed to bend." He watched as she shook her head than ran at him full speed. Even though he saw it coming, it surprised him and he fell down onto his back with her on top of him.
"You cheater." She said half laughing at their position.
"I didn't cheat." He told her unmoving.
"Yes you did." She put one hand on each side of his head and pushed herself up to look at him. It was then that she noticed his hands were on her hips and he was looking her in the eye. Neither of them moved for a few moments.
"You look like hell." He told her. She looked taken back and let out a stunned laugh.
"Charmer you are." She told him attempting to get up.
"No really, you're hair's a mess, you have dirt on your face." He chuckled again, holding her on top of him. He wasn't even aware he was doing it either.
"At least you're honest." She mused aloud. She smiled and looked him in the eye. He really was kind of cute, even with the scar. It seemed to add to it somehow. She realized she was staring and she pushed herself all the way off of him, despite his hold. "I should probably go take a shower." She said dusting herself off awkwardly.
"Yeah." He said still lying on the ground. "I'll take you." He stood up. "C'mon, let's go." He said walking ahead of her. He didn't see the smile that crossed her face, or how her blush deepened as she watched him walk.
Katara heard a knock on the bathroom door after she took her shower, dressed, and redid her hair. She went over and unlocked the door to open it. She saw Zuko there standing over her, sweaty and breathing hard.
"You kept training?" She guessed.
"Yeah, what else was I supposed to do? Sit out here and wait?" He asked.
"Okay true." She shrugged. She stepped out of the bathroom and Zuko stepped in.
"Uncle Iroh will take you back to the room and after my shower I'll be back in to bring you breakfast." He told her getting ready to close the door.
"Oh Zuko!" She called before he shut it all the way. He opened it up to look at her. "You look like hell," She smiled sweetly. "And you kind of smell." He just glared at her slightly before closing the door. Katara just laughed to herself.
"It seems you and my nephew are getting along." Iroh pointed out.
"He's alright." She shrugged walking towards the room.
"I told you he wasn't as bad as you thought." He said smugly as he walked with her.
"Alright, he's not all bad, but he does still have me hostage here." She pointed out.
"You didn't seem to mind early this morning while you were sparring." He laughed.
"Oh…" Katara felt the blush creep up to her cheeks. "That was uhh, nothing." She stumbled with her words. "We were just sparring." She told him.
"If you say so." He smiled again as they reached the door. "You know, he is of courting age." He told her.
"What?" She shouted a little surprised at the randomness of the comment. "Why does that matter at all?" Katara stepped into the room.
"I was just saying." He closed the door before she was able to say anything else. Katara took a moment to think about it but quickly shook her head and erased it.
Zuko knocked on the door and when she answered, he walked in holding the tray with food. She was sitting on the bed just thinking about many things. He put the tray beside her and stole a strawberry off of it.
"Hey!" She complained. "Isn't that for me?"
"You don't want it now, do you?" He questioned. She just stuck out her tongue is disgust. "So," He started awkwardly. "Would you like to get out and walk around a bit?" He asked.
"Um, yeah sure." She said picking up her own strawberry to eat. "Am I aloud to walk around on my own now?" She bit into the strawberry already knowing the answer.
"No." He answered quickly. "But, if my uncle or I are with you, you can walk around." She nodded a little disappointed but a little happy at the same time. "It's not that I expect you to jump over board and swim away. I just don't trust my men still."
"Oh." Katara smiled sweetly at the thought that he might care. "A walk sounds nice." She nodded continuing to eat. "Who will be taking me around?" She asked.
"Uncle is busy today so I would have to go with you." He said looking away from her.
"You don't mind?" She questioned.
"Hey! If you want to stay in here all day again that can be arranged!" He yelled.
"Sorry," She said sheepishly. "Didn't mean to make you mad." She was confused by his sudden change of moods.
"It's okay." He said harshly, not really understanding why he snapped at her either. It was just that she made him feel so many different things at once, it was hard to understand it. "Hurry up and eat so we can go."
"I'm not really hungry, why don't we go now?" He asked standing up and moving to the door. All Zuko did was nod and follow her. After stepping out of the room, he went to reach for her arm as a habit but stopped himself and left his arm at his side.
The walk was silent for a bit, the tension filling the air. Katara looked over at him and saw him avoiding her gaze. She took the time to really look at him. He was wearing his armor now, though she didn't understand why. It's not like they were heading into battle or anything. He did look good in it though. She would never say that to anyone, rarely to herself even. She was on the side of him that had the scar and she took a minute to wonder about it.
It wasn't as ugly as many people would think. She did wonder what was hidden beneath it though. It held some story, something painful, but it was never let out. She wanted to know the story though. She had to hold herself back from reaching up to let her fingers brush the edge of it.
Zuko caught her stare and suddenly became self-conscious. He turned his head as far as he could from her, hoping she'd get the idea. He didn't need her questioning him and he knew she would.
Katara's eyes fell to the floor when he turned his head. She didn't mean to stare, really she didn't. It was just so… fascinating. She muttered an apology but he didn't respond.
"Um, why don't you tell me about your ship?" She offered as a suggestion to break the tension between them.
"Okay." He said quickly moving to the other side of her, so that his unscarred cheek was facing her now. "This ship was built in the Fire Nation when I was born." He started as Katara just nodded and kept walking with him.
Zuko led her through corridor after corridor telling her different things about the ship. Katara smiled at how passionately he talked about it. She never really thought he'd be passionate about anything but he was passionate about the ship.
He led her up a small flight of stairs and onto the deck of the ship. There was a light breeze that felt good against her skin. She paused to look out into the ocean to find that's all there was. It was a beautiful sight though. She leaned up against the railing and just looked out into the water.
"You really like this ship, don't you?" She asked once he paused. He just nodded. It was like she hit a nerve or something. "That's good." She turned her head to look at him. He was also leaning on the railing and his scarred cheek was facing her. She made it a point not to stare this time.
Zuko sighed and looked at her. Her hair, although tied in her braid, was blowing in the breeze and the look on her face told him she was thinking about something. He just didn't know what. She was rather pretty, even if she was just a water peasant. Of course he wouldn't admit it to anyone.
She caught his gaze and smiled shyly, not sure what else to do. She cleared her throat awkwardly as he turned away and moved away from the railing.
"I guess you should take me back." She told him. "You probably have a lot to do."
"Yeah." He whispered. He had absolutely nothing to do today. It was half the reason he was willing to take her out walking…half. "C'mon." He said motioning for her to follow. She smiled sweetly at him as she walked up beside him.
As they walked, they were silent but it was comfortable somehow. It didn't really make sense. Just a little while ago there was tension between them. Now it was just comfortable. As they walked, their arms brushed against each other a few times due to the closeness of their bodies. Neither of them seemed to mind though.
When they approached the room she walked in front of him and stepped in. She turned to smile at him but he was starting to close the door.
"Zuko," She called softly. He opened the door slightly to look at her. "Thank you." She smiled. He just nodded, shutting the door to lock it.
After Katara had eaten dinner and Iroh took her to the bathroom, she returned to change into the nightgown. She quickly changed as she normally did then folded her clothes to put at the end of the bed.
She walked over to the table at the other end of the room and looked at the four candles set up there. They burned brightly and she sighed. The candles themselves were plain and unscented. But the flame atop of the candle is what interested her. They flickered constantly, never settling down. They were enticing but if you got to close it would burn you. She dropped her eyes to the ground. Just like him.
"Katara?" She heard Zuko call from outside the room.
"Come on in." She said moving away from the table and toward the bed. He walked in and watched her climb into his bed. He shook his head wondering how he got himself into this situation.
He knew what was happening, but he didn't like it. He was not supposed to feel anything but hate for her. He wasn't exactly sure what it was he was feeling towards her but he was feeling something other than what he was supposed to. Seeing her climb into his bed again only reminded him that this was going in the wrong direction.
Zuko didn't say anything as he followed his normal routine of kicking of his shoes and taking off his shirt before climbing into bed. He put the candles out and it went dark. He liked it better like that, he couldn't see her then.
"Zuko," She whispered turning over to face him. He didn't say anything, just made a slight noise to tell her she had his attention. "Thank you for taking me out today." The way she put it made it sound like he had taken her out on a date or something.
"No problem." He said curtly hoping she would turn away from him and go to sleep. She did stay quiet and fall asleep but she was still facing him.
By this time, his eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could see her peaceful face. He turned to face her fully and reached out to brush her face. As his fingertips brushed her cheek, he realized what he was doing and he pulled away.
Now he was frustrated with himself and he turned away. Tomorrow he would make sure to change his attitude. This will not happen. I won't let it. He thought to himself.
This is another chapter I'm not sure I like. I'm actually changing what's going to happen in the chapter so it might take a little longer to get up. I am going to work on it today though so it might not, it all depends. I've been up since about five thirty (for some reason beyond my thinkig ability) and I've got a few ideas buzzing around in my head. Anyways, drop a review and let me know if I'm going downhill with OOCness or not.
Also, sorry about the short training scene. I'm not really good at the fight scenes. I hope it was okay though.