I'm rushing here and I'm trying to update as fast as I can! Time is closing in on me and I want to finish this story because I don't like to abandon things. Disclaimer ahead!!

Disclaimer: Idon'townATLAoranyofitsaffiliates.

"Get out of the way, boy!"

"No!"

An older man moved forward. His mouth was moving but his words were muffled to the young boy.

The other man pushed him aside.

"Shut up! You are not to interfere in my affairs!"

He rounded on the boy.

"Move!"

"No!"

The man headed towards him.

"Move, or I'll make you move."

"This isn't right!"

The man stopped.

"You dare oppose me?"

The boy's small frame shook, but he tried to stand tall.

"Yes."

The man roared and grabbed the oil lamp from off the nightstand. He swung it against the wall and it shattered.

"You, will, obey, me."

The man suddenly reached forward and grabbed the boy by his front.

"You will obey me or die."

The boy struggled against the man's grip and kicked his leg out.

He must have hit something for the man grunted and dropped him.

The boy slid away and resumed his position.

The man glared.

"Very well."

He pulled a box of matches from his shirt pocket and lit one. He held it high.

"You know what this is, don't you boy?"

The man started to grin as he picked up a shattered piece of the lamp.

He advanced towards him with measured steps.

"Don't bother answering. I know you do."

The boy took an involuntary step backwards.

The man stopped a few feet away from him and sighed.

"You should have moved when you had the chance."

He threw both the match and the shard at the young boy.

Though he saw it coming, he did not react in time.

His face exploded into a whirlwind of pain and flames filled his vision.

He heard a scream and from his other eye he saw a young girl standing in the doorway.

She was smiling.

A strand of black hair fell into her face and she gave a short puff to remove it.

"Hel…help me!!" The boy exclaimed as he vainly tried to remove the flaming shard from his cheek.

She tilted her head.

"Why?"

xXx

"Zuko! Zuko! Wake up, my nephew, wake up!!"

Zuko jerked awake. He was sweating and his breathing was erratic. His hands had balled into fists around his sheets and they were in no better shape than he. They had woven themselves around him as if to protect him from the savage nightmare.

Zuko turned towards the face of his concerned and wary uncle. "It…I had that nightmare again."

His uncle nodded. "So I figured from all of the tossing and turning…and screaming."

Zuko groaned as he wiped sweat from his brow. "I was screaming?"

Iroh nodded and dabbed around Zuko's face with the edge of his sleeve.

"Yes. It was rather high-pitched, to be honest. I thought you had already went through puberty, but obviously…,"

"This is serious, uncle!" Zuko exclaimed as he slapped his hand away. "I haven't had that nightmare for two years! And all of a sudden it comes rushing back!?"

"Hmm…that is rather odd. It seems a lot of odd things have been happening since you met that girl."

Zuko stiffened.

"You know as well as I do, uncle, that she has nothing to do with this."

Iroh shrugged and stood to his feet. "Very well, Zuko…,"

Zuko's heart raced. "Don't say that!"

Iroh turned back towards his stricken nephew and sighed.

"Sorry. I forgot about that." He turned around and headed towards the kitchen.

Zuko untangled himself and placed his legs over the side of his bed. He let his head fall to his knees.

What was going on with him!?

He pulled himself upright when he heard a knock on his window.

He turned and held back a gasp.

It was her.

She was standing outside with her arms crossed. She jerked her head.

Come on

Zuko hesitated and glanced tried to see around the corner into the kitchen. The light was on and his uncle was humming. Water was running. He wouldn't hear him leave.

Zuko looked back towards her. She was still standing there, waiting.

He held up a finger ("Hold on," he mouthed) and went in search of his discarded jeans. He looked under his bed and found them. Zuko yanked them on over his boxers. He grabbed his white t-shirt from atop a nearby box. He pulled it over his head as he walked towards the window.

When he finally got it on, he was directly in front of the window…in front of her. She was looking straight at him.

She had been watching him the entire time.

Zuko coughed in his throat to try and relieve the embarrassment and she jumped. Zuko smiled mischievously.

Oh! Had he interrupted her……thoughts?

He opened his mouth but his attention was caught whenever her head slightly moved. It was almost if she was trying to look around him. He turned over his shoulder and saw a shadow headed towards his room.

Zuko swiftly turned back and unlocked the window. She moved out of his way as he leapt through and shut it behind him. He motioned with his own head to move and she followed after him through the trees.

Iroh walked back into the room, a tea tray in hand.

"Zuko! Would you like some tea?"

xXx

They walked in silence for awhile, both unsure of how to start.

The gravel crunched beneath their feet and crickets played their tunes all around them. An occasional croak would permeate the air, but beside these products of nature, nothing else could be heard. Zuko and his uncle lived on the outskirts of the city. They had both agreed that the city had been too loud. Blaring horns ,screeching sirens, yelling people, and the sewer could only be taken for so long.

After they closed down the shop for the day, they would leave to relax in their own little paradise out in the woods. It was peaceful. A grateful reprieve from the horrors of the past. To Zuko, it was his getaway.

"Why did you want to help me?"

Zuko was snatched from his reverie. He was slightly perturbed until he figured out it was his mysterious companion who had spoken.

He shrugged. "I didn't like what you do…and I don't think you do, either."

It was a slight stretch, but how do you tell someone that you've only met three times without creeping them out?

He heard her sigh and he turned his head to her.

"What's the matter?"

She grinned. "I thought….," she waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind."

Zuko shook his head. "No, no, no! You brought it up, now you have to answer it."

She shrugged. "I thought, you did it…because…,"

She sighed and looked up at the sky. "I thought you cared."

Zuko paused in his steps. His heart jumped to his throat. He cleared it.

"Well….I, um….,"

She turned to face him, her sunglasses still hiding her eyes.

"No, don't worry about it. It was a misunderstanding and…,"

"But I do feel that way!" He blurted. He sucked in a breathe.

Oh my God! How could I be so stupid!?

She slowly arched an eyebrow.

"Really?"

Zuko tried to compose himself and gave a weak smile.

"Really, really!"

Zuko was watching her face for a reaction when she turned away and began to walk again.

Zuko blinked.

Did she just…smile?

Zuko controlled his fluttering heart as he followed after her.

xXx

When he caught up to her, she had stopped at the lake. He walked up beside her and noticed that she was looking at the clear water.

"I have never seen such beauty in all my life."

Zuko was surprised by the awe in her voice.

"Yeah, it is pretty nice."

She squatted down and let her fingers drift across the water.

"I love how the water can seem to move with its environment. It does not fight it, it just moves it and shapes into what it desires, never truly interfering. It maintains life as it flows through your body, but can take it away in the same fashion. It's so strong and powerful."

An insect jumped from the water and landed on her outstretched fingers. She brought it close to her face and the corner of her mouth pulled into a grin.

Zuko looked down at her.

"Kind of like you?"

The grin was swept from her face. "Yeah. Kind of."

She flicked the insect from her fingers and stood.

Zuko could feel he had said something wrong.

"I didn't mean to offend you..,"

"I don't know why I came here," she interrupted, her eyes still looking out at the lake.

Zuko stayed quiet. When she said nothing further, he decided to break the silence.

"Maybe, it's because you trust me."

She stiffened. "I trust no one."

"Well, then why else did you come here?"

She hesitated. "Maybe to finish some business."

Zuko snorted. "Oh don't start that whole 'I have to kill you' thing!"

She winced. "That's not what I was talking about."

He was getting exasperated. "Then what?"

Silence.

"I'm not sure, really…,"

"Oh great! You show up banging on my window..!"

"I did not bang, I tapped…,"

"…And then force me to get dressed…!"

"I did not force you. Nice abs, by the way."

Zuko felt the blood rush to his cheeks. "Don't…try to change the subject! And then you get all offended over most of what I say!" Zuko grumbled. "Girls are so sensitive…,"

Her head whipped to look at him. "What!?"

He looked away, still frustrated. "You heard me! Girls are so damn sensitive!"

Zuko heard a thud and he turned around to find her sword lying on the ground. He arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"You think girls are sensitive?" She dropped down into a fighting stance. "Well then prove it."

Zuko looked her up and down, then gave her a sly grin. "I don't think so."

"What's wrong? You don't want to… 'hurt' me?" She grinned. "Don't worry. I can handle myself."

Zuko turned away and crossed his arms. "This is so stupid…,"

"You gotta walk the walk if you wanna talk the talk, Zuko."

He felt a heat go throw him when she said his name. He turned back. "Do you really want to go through with this?"

She said nothing as she motioned him forward with a gesture.

Bring it

Zuko felt himself crouching down into a fighting position, as well. "All right, then."

She lunged forward at such a speed that it almost threw him off his feet. He jumped back to avoid her fist and dropped low. He watched the surprise etch on her face as he placed his hands on her abdomen and pushed. She flipped but still landed on her back. She rolled and spun to her feet to where she was back in her fighting stance. She grinned.

"It seems that I have underestimated you."

Zuko grinned right back. "And it seems I have overestimated you."

She frowned and lunged again. Her fist aimed for his head and he dropped low again. This time, she was ready. When he dropped she pushed off of the ground and flipped over him. Her back was to his and she kicked backwards. Zuko was sent flying and he landed near the water's edge. He rolled and stood to see her smiling triumphantly.

"Don't be so damn cocky. It's not attractive."

She allowed him to drop back into his stance before attacking again. Instead of aiming for his head she decided to steal his move and drop down. She kicked at his legs but he jumped out of the way and kicked out at her exposed her chest. She gasped and reached out and caught his foot. She spun it and he lost his balance and fell at the water's edge once more. She stood over him as he coughed, trying to remove the dirt that had floated into his lungs. She cupped her ear.

"Now what was that you were saying again?"

He mumbled something and she frowned. "What was that?"

Zuko groaned. "I said I was sorry."

She smiled, victory filling her up.

"For…?"

"For this!" He reached up and grabbed her shirt as his foot pushed against her stomach and threw her over his head…right towards the lake.

She yelped and grabbed his hair at the last minute, dragging him with her. They were at the shallow end and did not get sucked down, but that did not replace the fact that both were now horribly wet. She emerged first, coughing and clawing herself up to the edge. Zuko came after in the same fashion and dropped down beside her, their backs against the cool ground.

Both were gasping for breathe, neither were ready to resume their squabble. Suddenly, Zuko started to laugh. She turned to him, eyebrow arched.

"What the hell's so funny?"

He weakly waved his hand around, then dropped it to his side.

"I don't know!"

She stared at him for a moment, then joined him in his laughter.

They laughed and laughed until they could laugh no more. When all that was left were sighs of contentment, she said, "You were right." Zuko turned his head to look at her, ignoring the hair that was in his face. "About what? Girls being so sensitive?"

She laughed. "No!"

She turned to him and pushed the strands away from his face. She smiled. "About me trusting you."

Zuko felt his heart race again.

What should he say!?

"So who was that old man?"

He blinked, momentarily confused. "Who?"

She sighed and rested her head on her fists while she looked at him. "You know, the man who was in the kitchen."

"Oh! That's my uncle." He smiled to himself. "He's a great man. He's been taking care of me since…well, for quite awhile."

If she caught his hesitation, she said nothing of it. In fact, she said nothing at all.

Zuko grew concerned. "What's wrong?" He felt a shock go through him. "Do you not have a family?"

She blinked out of her stupor and shook her head. "Well, actually, I do."

Zuko's eyes grew wide. He hadn't expected that!

She suddenly rose to her feet and brushed herself off, although she was still wet.

Zuko licked his lips nervously. "Um…wh..who?"

She looked down at him smiling, knowing exactly why he sounded so worried.

"Not a husband, if that's what you're thinking!"

Zuko sighed in relief then cleared his throat to mask it. He leaned up and looked at her.

"Then who?"

Her smile faded and she looked away towards the lake.

"A brother."

Zuko's eyebrows arched. "A brother??"

She nodded, then turned back to him and extended her hand.

"Would you like to meet him?"

Big woot! This chapter seems just a little rushed to me, but I still like it! I would write more but there's a storm outside and it's scaring the beejezus out of me! Also to Zombie, don't worry, I'm not a (professional) writer either! I just go with how I feel it should be, but thanks for the tip! And to Claria, I'm sorry I missed a question. How long has she been an assassin? You'll see. Okay, I hoped you liked it, and if you did, review pleaaze!