Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I've taken advice under consideration as I continue writing this story. I also enjoyed all of the positive comments :)

At sunset, Kai walked into the room Zuko was being suited up in. He scowled, seeing the look of determination on her face and put a hand up.

"Leave us," he ordered the servants. They bowed and left and his jaw clenched as he looked down at her. "What?"

"Leave them alone."

"They're harboring the Avatar! It's their sacrifice."

"Zuko, these are innocent people. You can't harm them simply because they're in your way!"

"Yes, I can."

"I won't let you do this. You aren't a monster."

"Stay out of my way, Kai. I'm trying to get us home. I'm doing this for us!"

"No, Zuko, you're doing this for you."

He scowled at her and looked at the door.

"Guards! Take her to her room and make sure she stays there until I return."

Two soldiers entered the room and took Kai by her arms, guiding her toward the door. "This is suicide, Zuko. He's got a century of experience on you. Don't do this!" she begged over her shoulder. The door slammed shut behind her escorts and she pulled roughly from their grip. "Unhand me! I can make my way to my own room," she hissed, storming off to her chambers. She heard the latch lock behind her and she paced the room, her anger keeping her from holding still. He would harm innocent people in order to reach his goal. This wasn't him! This quest to find the Avatar and return home was driving him to do things he would never have done before his banishment. This wasn't her Zuko. The click of the latch pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up as Iroh stepped in, carrying a tray of food.

"Good evening, my dear," he greeted, sitting on the bed and placing the tray beside him. "I brought us something to eat."

She let out a heavy sigh and sat on the bed beside him, not hungry in the slightest. Instead, she just poured herself a cup of tea. Iroh glanced at her curiously and she busily blew on the tea to cool it. She loved him dearly, he was like a father to her, but she wasn't in the mood for company and her anger was still boiling just under the surface.

"What is weighing so heavily on your shoulders, my dear?" he asked, and she finally set the tea back on the tray, letting her shoulders slump.

"Iroh, could I confide in you? Well, it's more of a question…"

"Of course," he said as he dug into his rice.

She took a deep breath before continuing, unsure of how he would take this. "How do you do it? You've always taught me kindness, forgiveness, and good. How can you watch as your nephew brings harm to other people?"

Iroh heaved a heavy sigh, similar to her earlier one, and she waited patiently for his answer.

"Kai, our Zuko is filled with good, but he struggles with the darkness his father feeds to him. We can't force him to see our way. He must find his own path and we can only guide him in the right direction. I see great things in the future for both of you. He just needs to find his way first."

She looked down at her hands, mulling his words over. "So…we have to just watch as he makes bad decisions?"

"The lotus blooms eventually," he told her, picking up the now empty tray, courtesy of him. A loud hum filled the ship and he glanced down at her. "I believe they're back."

Kai got to her feet and followed him out the door. A guard moved to stop them, but Iroh just pushed the tray into his hands. "Please take that to the cook and tell him it was delicious."

He led Kai up to the main deck where Zuko was standing in front of a bald kid with strange tattoos and yellow monk clothes who was being held captive by two guards.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks. Take the Avatar to the prison hold. And take this to my quarters," he told Iroh, shoving the staff into his arms.

Kai's eyes widened when Zuko said the boy was the Avatar. "Impossible…" she muttered to herself. How was he the last airbender? He could be no older than twelve. The airbenders had been extinct for over a century and the Avatar should be extremely old, not a kid. She watched as the guards took the kid away before walking up to Zuko. Before she could question him, he gave her a rare smile and pulled her close. He must have forgotten how mad they were at each other in his excitement.

"We've done it, Kai. We can go home."

She gave him a weak smile and looked away, worry replacing it. He thought this was his way home. A twelve-year-old kid. But she couldn't be one to argue. After all, he had fought him, so he must be the Avatar. Still, how could he think he could gain his honor back with this? To her, he had never lost it and the unease from before slowly crept back into the pit of her stomach.

They both snapped to attention when a guard came running up from below decks.

"The Avatar has escaped!"

"What?" Zuko's hold on Kai tightened painfully and she gasped.

"Zuko!"

He looked down, his expression contorted with fury and he paid no attention to her pain.

"He'll go after his staff. Come on!" He took her hand and ran toward their cabin, where he had told his uncle to put the staff. He stopped in front of the door and turned to look down at her.

"Go find Uncle and stay with him. I'll take care of this."

"Zu-"

"Just go!"

She frowned and started off down the corridor, irritation putting a scowl on her face. Why was he treating her like this? She could take care of herself and she was more than capable of fighting her battles. She was growing tired of his orders. She wasn't some kind of maid to him! She thought about defying his orders for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth it, and entering Iroh's room. She found him asleep and she began to pace the room, not wanting to wake him and trying to block out his snores.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a bald head poked through, glancing around.

"Oh, sorry," he said with a sheepish smile when he spotted Kai, taking off quickly. Kai leapt towards the door and poked her head out into the corridor, glancing right and left. Nobody was within sight until a herd of soldiers came rushing around the corner.

"Which way did he go?"

She merely shrugged and closed a door, a small smile on her lips. At least she could do some good unsupervised. Loud crashing from down the hall caught her attention and she opened the door once again to step out. She could still here the crashing as she started down the hall, coming to a stop in front of Zuko's door. The Avatar burst through the door and moments later, Zuko came barreling after him. She glanced into the room to see that it was completely destroyed. She started off after them, running out on deck to find them fighting on the bridge. She started to run toward them paused when something in the sky caught her eye. Was that a six-legged flying cow? Whatever it was, it was cutting through the air straight toward the ship.

"Appa!" she heard the Avatar shout.

That shook Kai out of her shock and she glanced toward the bridge to see Zuko knock the Avatar into the water. She ran to the edge, searching the water. She fell back as he burst through the water with glowing eyes and water whipping around him. Her eyes widened and she felt Zuko's arms around her just before the Avatar bent a shockwave of water onto the deck. The air escaped her as the water rushed over her, sending her flying overboard and out of Zuko's grasp. She hit the surface hard, knocking the air out of her and her lungs automatically tried to expand, filling them with icy water. She twisted desperately in the water, unable to tell which way was up or which way was down, and black spots were quickly filling her vision. Suddenly, strong arms pulled her up and she broke the surface. She coughed and gasped for the sweet air around her, recovering from her almost drowning. She turned to her savior, discovering it was one of the guards.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice, but she couldn't see his expression through his helmet.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she told him, coughing again.

"Good. It's safer if we stay in the water until the enemy leaves."

The enemy? The Avatar was the enemy? Wasn't the Avatar supposed to represent all that was good? Those words just didn't fit into the same sentence and she was thoroughly confused about everything.

She watched the continuing battle and her eyes widened when the Avatar sent an avalanche of ice onto the bow of the ship. A large wave built from the boat and sent Kai under once more. This time, she broke the surface, coughing and spluttering. The guard took her arm and began to swim back toward the ship. They reached a ladder that had been thrown down to them and he urged her to climb up. She hadn't realized how numb she felt until she tried to move. Her muscles protested with sharp pangs as she climbed and she grit her teeth against the pain. She finally reached the edge of the ship and two more guards pulled her over. Zuko was there in moments, encasing her in a warm embrace. She shivered uncontrollably and cuddled closer to his chest, seeking his warmth.

"Dig the ship out and go after them!" she heard him say, his voice distorted slightly with her ear pressed to his chest. He tried to lead her away, but her muscles refused to let her move and with a frustrated huff, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to an empty cabin. He set her on the bed and she began to protest as his warmth was taken from her. He pulled the blankets from the bed and wrapped them around her before pulling her to his chest. Her teeth chattered and she still shivered despite the new warmth.

"Thank you, Uncle," she heard him say and he began to take her warm blankets away from her.

"No!" she protested, grasping for the blankets.

"Kai, stop. You need to change out of these clothes."

He pried her fingers from the blankets and began to pull her clothes off.

"I-I c-can do it," she protested again through chattering teeth, trying to push him away.

"Just let me."

She stopped struggling and soon he had her in warm clothes. He pulled her close again and this time her muscles were more obedient as she clung to him, still shivering. She buried her face in his neck, feeling him flinch against her ice cold skin.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, rubbing her back in an attempt to warm her up. "I tried to grab you but you slipped from my grasp."

"I'm okay," she reassured him, her teeth no longer chattering.

He ran his fingers through her wet hair, his golden eyes hardening in anger. "The Avatar will pay for this."

"Zuko, I'm fi-"

She was cut off by his lips as he kissed her. He broke away, resting his forehead against hers.

"I almost lost you," he whispered in a broken tone. "I'm nothing without you, Kai."

Her blue eyes softened and she gently lifted his face so their gazes met.

"But I'm still here. See?" she pointed out, gently stroking his cheek. He sighed and leaned his cheek into her palm.

"He will still pay."

She sighed, figuring he was now going to hold a grudge. He had grown pretty good at that.

"Let's get some rest and hopefully, the ship will be ready when we wake up."

She nodded against his chest and he pulled her down onto the bed, pulling the covers around them. She curled up into his side, resting her head on his chest as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair. A look of worry passed over her features as she stared at the wall. How could she remain loyal to Zuko when everything they were doing felt so wrong? She wanted to be with him but she was growing weary of his rampage across the world to capture the Avatar. Now that he had been found, she feared that the journey was going to get much worse.

A/N: Hope this fixed any appetite for action. R&R!