A/N: I know this chapter's short, but it leads up to the next one. I also know the emotions are fast, but sometimes, that's how love is. ) Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Chapter 5: Capture

Kozu grabbed a pack of supplies for his guest then headed to her room, knocking before entering.

"Come in," Kozu heard her say. He entered and felt his breath leave him as she stood up and turned to face him. She wore a red shirt, one that revealed her curves exquisitely. He had never seen her look so beautiful.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. Kozu looked as if he had stopped breathing. She watched as he turned his head and took a deep breath before turning to face her again.

"You look good," he said, looking at her again. Kalaya almost swore she saw a blush on his cheeks, but it was gone in an instant. He held out his arm, waiting for her. "If you're ready, my lady?"

She smiled and hooked her arm in his. He had never been such a gentleman to her, and it was nice. He escorted her out and to the docks.

"Which way?" he asked, looking at her expectantly. He had never seen her smile so much. She was usually frowning, crying or yelling at him. He liked her this way, smiling and pleasant.

"South," she replied, smiling back at him. She had never seen him this courteous for this long before. It was rather nice not having to be angry with him.

They walked towards where she had set up camp, through the small port town and into the surrounding forest, talking occasionally about things like weather. Finally they reached her boat, but Kozu didn't release her arm. He turned her to face him, looking into her dark blue eyes. He had never noticed how deep they seemed to go, as if he was staring into the depths of the sea.

"Do you like me?" he asked.

She stared at him in shock, looking back into his golden eyes. "Do you like me?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I asked first," he said, grinning. She was not going to win this battle. She dropped her gaze to her feet.

"Yes," she said shyly. She raised her gaze to his once again. "Your turn."

"I like you too," he said. He pulled her close and kissed her. She didn't resist, and only kissed him back. He pulled away, before the kiss became too deep. He wasn't sure if she could tell that she had now kissed him twice, but didn't want to push his luck. He cared for her, but he had a personal mission to finish first.

He handed her the sack he had brought with them. "There's enough food to last for five days. And some money. It would be best if you didn't stop and headed as far away from Zow as possible. Be careful Kalaya, I…just be careful." He couldn't tell her how much he cared for, not yet, but he wanted her to be safe. Kalaya smiled at him. He worried too much.

She started undoing her braid, and he looked at her, puzzled. "Here," she said, handing him one of the two blue ribbons she had woven into her braid. "I want you to have this."

Kozu looked at the ribbon she held out, the puzzled expression still on his face. "Why?"

Kalaya stared at her feet again, and he noticed a blush forming in her cheeks. "As a way of thank you. You've given me so much; I wanted to give you something back."

He smiled. "I only did what was right and proper. Here, an even exchange." He undid the dark red tie holding his topknot and handed her the red ribbon, taking her blue one.

She hugged him, and then headed to push her canoe out to sea. She looked back as she headed out, and saw Kozu watch her go. She waved at him, smiling, as he faded in the distance. She thought about the kiss he had given her, and the kiss she had given the blue spirit. She thought they were similar, but since they were her first kisses, she couldn't say for sure. She glanced back several times until she saw only ocean and shoreline. After he had faded from view, she looked at the red ribbon in her hand before tying it around her neck. Sure, that was the sign of engagement for her people, but this was different. It felt right.

Kozu watched her fade into the horizon before he turned and headed back to his ship. He needed to plan, to make sure Zow never hurt anyone, let alone Kalaya, again. He looked at the ribbon in his hand as he walked back. She had given it to him. It was just a ribbon, but it had meant a lot for her to give it to him and he treasured the small gift. He wrapped and tied it around his right wrist, the sign of a lover, but this was different. It felt right.

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Kalaya headed south, only coming ashore to sleep. She had tried to sleep the first night on the canoe, but she kept waking up, expecting a fire navy ship to appear. She avoided all fire navy ships she saw. On the third day out, a storm hit. She rode through it as she passed a town, but it tossed her around. She made it to shore as the sun was setting and the storm dissipating. She fell asleep immediately, tired from battling the storm. The next morning, she looked over her canoe and supplies, looking for any damage. There was a large gash in the bow that would have to be repaired soon before it started leaking, but other than that, everything had survived. She pushed her canoe out and paddled carefully to the next town.

She stopped north of the town, seeing two fire nation ships in the harbor, and drew her canoe into the tree line. She didn't want any trouble with the soldiers and she certainly didn't want to meet Admiral Zow again.

Kalaya made her way through town carefully, avoiding all soldiers. The town was small and poor with wooden buildings that leaned into one another to stand straight up. She bought some earth kingdom clothing to blend in more. She frowned at the light green color, but it helped her to blend in. Her blue water tribe clothing just stood out too much, and she didn't want to ruin her red shirt. As she headed towards the port to find some ship glue for her canoe, she saw a group of soldiers coming her way. She turned down another street and came face to face with Zow and four other soldiers.

"Well, well, we meet again," he said, grabbing her wrists as she turned into him. "Now, you're mine." Kalaya kicked his shins, tore free of his grasp, and ran back the way she had come.

"Get her!" Zow yelled from behind her. She almost ran into the group of soldiers she had originally turned to avoid and they grabbed her, holding her. She fought as hard as she could, biting and kicking until one of the soldiers clubbed her on the head.

"Take her to my ship," she heard Zow say as she started losing consciousness. "When she awakens, I'll question her. It's so much more pleasurable when they're awake." Her mind screamed at her to fight, but everything went black.