This came out longer then I ecpected it too, I really hope you guys are enjoying it!! And and and!! I will dedicate the next chapter to anyone who can guess correctly what Zuko's special day is!! I know lame and all just getting a dedication... but heh its all I can really offer right?

anyways, on with the show! and Reviews are ALWAYS welcome

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The meat remained a mystery, but Aang was grateful for the Camots, Katara did not return to them for the rest of the day, and Zuko made a point of pulling Sokka aside and telling him that he should apologize, this did not go down to well, Sokka downright refused saying that he had no reason to apologize and if Katara could not take an accusation like that in her stride then there must be some truth in it, and she was in fact the one at fault for hiding this from the group. Zuko had actually gotten rather annoyed over this and was about to start shouting at the boy before he realized it had nothing to do with him, Sokka could think what he wanted of his sister, who was he to argue about it. Though it did wind up with Zuko pacing away from them pinching the bridge of his nose, He was determined not to loose his temper today, but Sokka had a way of pushing his buttons. Even if he did not know why.

Footsteps fell short then as a person barred his path, Zuko looked down to an unmoving Toph, he tried to step by her, but suddenly there was a hunch of rock blocking him, a sigh issued past his lips and he then replaced the newly formed frown with a smile.

"You know… this is not the only way to get my attention…"

Toph smirked and crossed her arms over her chest "I know, but this seems to be the most effective, Anyways Sparky. You're going the wrong way Katara is down that way"

The frown re-appeared "I was not planning to go to her" He turned to walk in the other direction but once more it was blocked.

"Yeah, but now you are"

Zuko turned to Toph and huffed a bit of steam out of his nose

"Now now Sparky, keep it for later, you can get your payback in the ring, right now you have a mission, Good luck with that"

Toph slapped his back with more force then he was ready for and he found himself stumbling in the direction she was sending him, he straightened, glared at her, realized it was lost on her as she was blind, and then began to press forward… of all the days… it was strange to be consoling the waterbender on this day…

He was sitting up on a balcony her legs hanging over the edge with a handful of pebbles beside her, she was absently chucking them out over the edge, just watching them as they fell till she could not see them anymore, Zuko hopped up on the edge beside her and let his legs flip over to swing as her did.

Katara looked at him and then promptly looked back out to the ravine, there was silence for a good while, and Katara silently fumed, still more silence, her fuming died to curiosity… silence still and curiosity lead to desire for sound, for him to say anything, with him just sitting there, it was unnerving, comfortable but unnervingly so…

"What do you want?"

Zuko seemed to snap out of a daze, he turned his golden eyes to look to hers and there was that small smile on his lips again, the smile that once more brought a slight heat up to her cheeks, and Katara found she was inwardly cursing herself for being unable to hide it. Yet Zuko did not seem to notice, and if he did, he made not issue of it, instead he almost whispered to her…

"I am not really sure myself…"

Her heart skipped a beat and she could not reason why, well she could reason why, but she was now utterly in denial, she was not going to admit why that happened to herself, she was not going to think of just how close his voice sounded, or how it sent a shiver over her skin to hear him speaking in a whisper, as though he was saying something private meant to be heard only by her… perhaps she might have read to much into his words had he not went on with them

"Toph sent me to look for you… I think she is worried about you, I am sorry Sokka got the wrong impression, but I meant every word I said about you the other night, I have never met anyone like you, I mean, Azula is strong yes, but she has been training for years with many different masters, and I struggled under the same training as she did… I suppose when I think about it, I really should be jealous of you. When we first met, you could hardly get the water to move how you wanted it to, and now… now it is almost like it is part of you and as much as I know I should be envious and annoyed about that… I just don't find it in me… Weird isn't it? And above all that, you seem so unaware of how amazing you really are, I mean you can fight better then mostly all the Firenation, and you can heal other peoples wounds, but even beyond that, you have this… this ability in you, you just seem to radiate kindness. I mean, I know you don't really like me, but you still used your gift to help me, that's really special. Sokka is really lucky to have you as a sister…"

Katara was listening to him with a slow sense of astonishment, she was in shock that he was saying all this, and a little lost for words, and as he finished his words he ended with a bright laugh, she jumped slightly and he waved his hand a bit before he regained his words.

"I just realized why I get annoyed at Sokka so easily, its not you I am jealous of, it's him"

Zuko chose that moment to swing him self around on the low wall, he lent back a small bit to look her in the eyes once again, and his smile was brighter than she had ever seen it before

"Don't let him get to you Kat… err Peasant, in fact, I think it would be best if you played up to it, I think it would be a perfect payback"

Katara actually smiled when he corrected himself, it was weird, but he really cheered her up, he pushed forward then and made to leave, at that point Katara turned around and looked to his receding back, she was confused (not the first one that day) but now she wanted an answer

"Zuko, Why are you-"

Zuko had turned to face her but had a hand held up, he then straightened his tunic and held his nose aloft, this got a giggle out of Katara and she then just rolled her hand off to the side

"Okay okay, Oh your Snobbiness, Why are you telling me this? I mean… you have been a bit weird all day, like you know something we don't."

Zuko smiled and nodded "your right, I dooo know something you don't, and for now, I think I will keep it that way, Fair well Peasant, I have things I have to attend to… namely the site Toph chose… what's the odds that she has me at a terrible disadvantage?"

Katara was moving towards him, she vaguely wondered as to when she had turned, let alone stood up, as she came to his level she smiled once more, but it was a weary smile, Zuko was holding back on something, but as much as she might have the last week, this week she was not suspicious.

"I don't know, there is a lot of great earthbending places in here, I mean, you can call fire to you anytime, for Toph and me, we need to have something near us, I think it is more evening the odds, besides, I would be more concerned about her sending you to me, Maybe she thought I would soften you up for her"

Zuko laughed and shook his head, and Katara was slowly getting used to the sound.

"I don't think it is that, I mean, I guess I am the most neutral here, Aang would obviously take your side in things, Toph tends to do things by force, and I doubt that works on you"

"Works on you though" Katara interjected

"Yes, surprisingly so, Anyway I just think she saw me as the most harmless…"

"What about Haru? He is pretty harmless?"

"Well… that's true…"

"And Teo is a great listener"

"I am a good Listener!"

" I did not say you weren't, I am just saying that you were not necessarily the only choice Anyway, Thank you Snobby, I should go get dinner started…"

Zuko stopped remembering a thought he had the day before.

"Yes about dinner."

"What about dinner?! Are you trying to imply that I am not a good cook?"

"No no it's not-"

"Because I will have you know that No-one has complained before and I don't think you are in a position-"

Zuko gripped her hand and pulled her attention to him, once again she felt that heat flair over her cheeks and once more Zuko did not seem to notice

"That is not what I am saying, I just don't think it's fair that you are the only one to cook here, I want to help you."

"You can cook!?"

"Well, no… but I can help you…"

Katara stared at him wide eyed and it took a moment for her to realize he was still holding her hand, there a dilemma cropped in her mind; did she whip her hand away? Or did she tell him to remove his hand? In the end she opted for pulling away slowly and then shaking her head

"Well…. Alright, but you have to do everything I say"

--

Dinner was going to wait. When the returned to the fountain area, together as Sokka pointed out much to Katara's annoyance, Toph declared it time to fight, Katara began protesting about them having to have dinner first, and how Aang had not had any training from her yet. Toph was unmoved by this and merely picked a chunk of wax from her ear

" Yeah whatever sugar Queen, I am not about to eat before I fight, I don't wanna cramp, and Aang can do his training afterwards, its not like he will be tired, its me and Sparky fighting , not you and twinkletoes, so the sooner we start, the sooner I get to kick his Firenation butt and eat dinner"

Zuko didn't say anything, he just turned and left to go to his room, the group watched him leave, and a few moments later return with his twin swords in hand, this got Sokka pointing wildly at him

"I knew it!! You ARE going to Cheat!! Swords!! That's not firebending!! That's Sword fighting!!"

Zuko shrugged a bit and turned to Toph

"You wanted a serious fight right? Do you have a problem with me using my swords?"

"Nope"

"Alright then"

"You can't be serious" This was from Katara and she just looked between the pair who answered in tandem

"We sure are"

"We certainly are"

--

The hollow appeared to be part of a true cave, complete with stalagmites and stalactites, Zuko was silently looking around as though taking in the surrounding, and Toph was crunching her feet into the ground with Aang standing beside her.

"Toph are you sure this is okay? I mean. He really does seem serious about this; he has his swords and everything"

"Yeah, metal Swords, heh I can take him out without breaking a sweat, no worries Twinkletoes" She then pointed a finer towards Zuko and exclaimed "Get Ready Sparky! It's time to face the Blind bandit!"

"YEAH!!" Sokka exclaimed this before he could stop himself, the rush of the earth rumble springing back through his veins

Zuko just looked over his shoulder to her and then smirked slightly

"Blind Bandit is it? Okay Dusty" The group mouthed 'Dusty' with slight giggles "If that's how we are going to play this, Say hallo to the Blue Spirit"

Zuko unsheathed his double swords with a flair and Sokka pointed to him with his mouth gawping, he had seen wanted posters for the blue spirit about the place for a while now, and in a way he thought it was cool, like some hero or something, he heard tales of how the spirit took down benders without bending himself, he would never had thought it would have been Jerk face, Beside him Katara was making a similar expression, and Aang was the only one who did not seem surprised.

"Guys I already told you Zuko saved me from Zhao"

"Yeah, but you never said he was a masked superhero at the time" Sokka seemed a bit red in the face as he said that and he turned then as Katara huffed beside him "What!"

"A mask doesn't make a hero Sokka…"

"So you're saying that we should have known it was him anyway, that Aang saying Zuko saving him must have obviously meant he was the Blue spirit?"

"No, I am just saying you are over reacting like you always do, I mean I was the painted lady, the costume did not give me super powers, it just hid my identity"

"That's not the same! The blue spirit was Cool!"

"Sokka!!"

"Ugh Guys, trying to have a fight here" Toph and Zuko were both looking towards them, though Zuko's eyes had gone a little wide and he was staring at Katara, he had no Idea she was the painted lady, but he had heard about her exploits in that village, and is suddenly made a lot of sense, and he could not help but smile to her.

It was Sokka that noticed the Red this time, and he glared daggers at Zuko for a moment, but then his face softened, He was far from stupid, and something clicked with him, Zuko did not know, he had no idea, it was just like with Katara and Aang, it was obvious how much Aang liked her, but Katara did not see it… but that meant that Katara… Sokka looked at his sister for a moment and then back to the fire prince, a knot of worry spread in his chest. This could not be good.

Zuko and Toph faced each other, and neither did anything, Zuko was formulating a strategy, and Toph, well she was trying to find Zuko, as he was not moving a muscle, the wait went on for a full 30 seconds before Toph raised a wall in front of her and flung it forward, it had the desired effect Zuko moved, she could see him not as he Jumped and broke the wall with a burst of flame, when he landed she sent a short pillar out to catch him, but it was then she realized how agile he really was, his feet barely touched the ground before he was back flipping away from her pillar, and she made a note that he was almost as light footed as Twinkletoes, a dozen more pillars shot up and she had not hit him once, she sent up another twenty all at the same time and to her surprise he griped to the edge of one and hoisted himself atop of it.

She began to shot rocks at him as he balanced to the top of the pillars she had sent up, but he hopped from one to the other, he did not miss a step at all, Toph was finding herself impressed by his ability to avoid her attacks, and not just avoid them, he was shattering them and holding his ground a lot of the time, he was like a good mix of airbender and earthbender, knowing when to hold his ground and when to avoid an attack. It was almost like he was attuned to all the elements. And that was a curious thought.

She tilted her head and looked in his direction, but that was when she felt the heat coming her way, Zuko from his vantage point began to send a mass of fireballs down at the girl, she backpedaled away from them and sent walls of dirt to snuff them out, but this is where things became confusing for her, as she could not longer see Zuko.

Katara watched as Zuko began to slice through the pillars and the stalactites around him, She tried to ignore the fact that she could see the sweat glisten on his arms, or how flexible he was to be able to pull of those moves, to aid in this she brought her attention to his swords, his blades were a blur of motion still sending out waves of fire towards Toph, the girl now seemed to be searching around, as though looking for something, her eyes were squeezed closed and her arms constantly moving.

Katara looked up again and held in a gasp, Zuko was on the roof of the Cave literally scaling along it, One arm gripping to the niches that he was finding while the other was sending out a blast of fire to Toph every so often and then to a few pillars, knocking them into each other, he was also slicing at the natural structures about him making them fall, the sound of earth falling was horrendous, but the vibrations could be felt even by Katara, and that was when it clicked with her, Zuko was providing a camouflage for himself.

Toph could not hear him because of the noise, and she could not see him with the falling rock causing the disturbance, and what was more, his insistence barrage was keeping her to busy to be able to concentrate, it was a pretty genius strategy, and just as he was right above Toph, Katara had to restrain herself from calling out, He leapt from the roof and sliced out at a point of rock jutting out from the ceiling above, it began to hurtle down towards Toph just as Zuko did, Toph reached her hands up, and for a fleeting moment Katara thought that she had seen him, but as Toph hurled the rock away from her, Zuko dropped behind her and crossed his double blades over her Neck. The blind girl was gasping for breath, and so was the fire prince. He had never had to work so hard in a fight since he had fought against Katara in Ba Sing Se, but the triumph was clear on his face, and the shock was evident on Toph's

"I could not see you"

Zuko leant into her, removing his swords as he did so, he then whispered to her ear softly "maybe next time you will then?"

The small girl went red and snapped her head around and pushed him away with a bit too much force and he fell flat on his back. Zuko held to his ribs and laughed fully before flopping his arms out to the side of him, he was breathing pretty heavily and his hair was sticking to his brow, Sokka was the first one to stand over him, the smile on the boys face was enormous.

"That was COOL!" Zuko seemed to have gained a new found coolness status with Sokka, and Aang and the others came to crouch beside him, all nodding enthusiastically, Zuko turned his head a bit to the side, just enough to see Katara standing off a bit, her arms were crossed and she looked a bit haughty, but he only grinned at her

"Well, what did you think?"

Katara frowned and stepped in closer to him "Not bad I suppose, for a Snob"

Zuko grinned and chuckled a bit "Well I am honored to have such praise from a lowly peasant like you" Aang, Sokka, Haru and Toph all looked horrified and murderous as the words poured from Zuko's mouth, but they quickly changed to a confused silence as Katara actually laughed and sat beside him, poking at his ribs where Toph had hit him, and just as she thought would happen, Zuko gritted his teeth.

"You may have won the battle, but it looks like Toph got in more hits on you then you did on her, So your royal snobiness, Where does it hurt?"

Zuko just smiled and took a deep breath

"I sprained my wrist when I sliced through one of the pillars earlier on, I have bruising around my ribs, I believe I have pulled a few muscles in my arms, and I have may have twisted my ankle in the final fall… But other then that I am fine"

Aang and Haru Winced as Zuko recounted his ailments, Toph looked slightly embarrassed for pushing him so hard, but Katara looked slightly annoyed, she turned to Toph and sighed.

Can you earthbend the floor under him and bring him back to his-"

Katara looked horrified as Zuko sat up of the floor and made to stand

"Zuko! You're hurt; you should not push yourself like this"

"I am fine Ka-ta-ra, Besides, I have had much worse done to me before, I got caught in an explosion and survived, this is nothing"

"Is that how you got your scar?" Silence went about the room as Aang asked the question that they had all wanted to ask him from the moment they first met him, Zuko seemed to grow a bit distant, but then shrugged a bit, he began to walk towards the exit, then his voice floated back to them, and it seemed heavy.

"No, it wasn't an explosion, Three years ago Firelord Ozai Gave me this scar and a mission to capture the avatar, it was a lesson in obedience, anyway, it doesn't matter, I am going to wash and wrap up my wrist and ankle, I will catch up to you guys later. Toph, Thanks again for sparring with me, it was fun"

For a moment the group did not think he would answer, but when he did, they did not know what to say, Katara though she already knew the reason, just held her head down as Zuko walked away

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Next chapter... cooking XDDD