.

Day Two

Hidden Identity

(I'm shamelessly taking inspiration from Boogum for this one.)


Katara cursed as the scarf haphazardly wrapped around her face came loose, pooling around her neck. Not far behind her, she could still hear guards shouting. With another curse directed at Toph and Sokka whose screwing around had gotten her into this mess, she ducked into an alley to fix her disguise. The metal coins affixed to her makeshift headscarf jingled loudly as she knotted it in place and she prayed that the guards hadn't seen her ripping the various articles of clothing she now wore off mannequins as she'd run through the crowded boulevard. Not having the luxury of time to choose a proper disguise, what she'd assembled resembled a crazy old crone who owned several possum-cats more than anything approaching the look of a normal Fire Nation teenager.

Catching her reflection in a polished copper pot, she cringed at the sheer eccentricity of the outfit. There was absolutely no way she was going to make it back to her friends dressed like this. She stood out far too much. Spirits, why had they ever thought coming to the capital was a good idea? They were right under the Fire Lord's nose and Team Avatar were about as subtle as a moose-lion in a teashop.

Much to Katara's relief, it seemed as though the guards hadn't caught on to her disguise. She could no longer hear them running about on the main street. She knew better than to think they'd given up, though. One didn't just knock over a whole cart of antique vases and get to walk away scot-free. She just hoped that none of the others had been caught. If the Fire Nation were to find out the Avatar still lived while they were trouncing about in the capital city of all places they were going to be in a world of trouble.

Taking a risk, Katara peeked out from around the corner, trying to get an idea of where she was. Her running had taken her many blocks from where she and her friends had been when Sokka and Toph's fooling around had knocked over the cart and she no longer had any idea what part of the city she was in. The best she could tell from looking around was that she was still in the market district, but close to the end of it. The busy main street terminated after one more block where it was interrupted by an enormous lake. Suspecting she would be safer in an area with fewer people, she slipped out of the alleyway and headed for the lake.

The lake was indeed less crowded. There was a pedestrian path bordering it that broke off from the main street but few people walked along it. The lake seemed to serve more as a reservoir than a place of recreation. With nothing better to do until the market street became safe enough to go searching for her friends, Katara decided to take a walk around the lake. It would give her something to do while she killed time.

The walk from one side of the lake to the other took about thirty minutes and during that time Katara considered their present situation. The day of black sun was fast approaching and sometimes she wondered if they were doing enough to prepare for it. Aang had made no headway toward finding a firebending teacher and while faffing around scamming scammers and holding clandestine dance parties in caves was fun, it was using up precious time. What if the invasion failed? What if Aang's only choice was to fight the Fire Lord before the comet like they'd originally planned? These were the thoughts that haunted Katara at night when she couldn't fall asleep. If only they could find a way to give themselves more time. If only a firebending instructor would just magically appear in front of them, saving them from having to look for one.

"Argh! Why can't anything ever go my way!"

Katara was snapped out of her musings by the frustrated shout coming from the other side of a group of fancy-looking houses. Her wandering had taken her past the lake to a new part of town—a much nicer part.

Curious what part of the city she was in now, Katara wandered up the lane toward where the voice had come from and just as she made to peek around the corner a quickly moving body collided with her, sending her stumbling backward onto her rear. The person who hit her stumbled as well but managed to keep his footing. He winced visibly as she connected with the ground and the next thing Katara knew a hand was being offered to help her up.

Katara took the hand gratefully and opened her mouth to thank the young man for his consideration but the words died in her throat when her eyes landed on his face. "Zuko!" she squeaked before she could stop herself, for the teenager standing before her could be none other but the angry jerk himself. He looked different from when she'd seen him last—his hair was bound in a knot at the top of his head and he wore armor of red and gold—but that face, that scar, was unmistakable.

Zuko raised his one good eyebrow at her slip and she watched his eyes travel over her. They stopped at her eyes, the only visible part of her face under the headscarf, and she thought she saw recognition there for a heart-stopping half second, but then he shook his head and his expression returned to normal. "Um, yeah," he said, looking somewhat confused. His eyes traveled over her outfit again and slowly, as if not sure he really wanted to hear the answer, he asked, "Who are you?"

Oh, crap. Katara cursed in the privacy of her mind. What was she supposed to say? What kind of reasonable explanation could she give for wandering around in one of the Caldera's posh neighborhoods looking like a homeless person?

It was actually Zuko who saved her by asking, "Are you supposed to be a fortune-teller or something? If so, the market's that way." He lifted a hand and pointed back in the direction of the lake. His brow scrunched up in suspicion then and he said, "But you should know that street peddlers aren't allowed in this district. Unless you were asked to come here, I'll have to report you to the authorities."

Katara had thought she was saved, but now she was in even deeper hot water. The last thing she needed was for Zuko to turn her in to the guards. Her cover would get blown for sure and Zuko would know the moment her scarf was off who she was. She'd be lucky if she got away with her life. She could at lease count on being thrown in prison till she rotted.

Panicking, she said the first thing her brain could think of before Zuko could make his mind up to turn her over to the guards. "I—I came here to see you, actually."

Zuko promptly looked at her like she was crazy. "You came here to see me?" he repeated skeptically. "You just ran into me by chance. I don't even live in this part of the city."

Katara inwardly winced at her mistake. She was doing nothing to help her own case. At the risk of digging herself in even deeper, she hurriedly said, "Uh, I knew you would be here! Due to my, um, fortune-telling?"

Honestly, Katara was surprised Zuko was even letting her speak. He'd never struck her as the patient type. She was proved right on that front when Zuko gave her a decidedly unimpressed look and said, "Look, I don't buy into fortune-telling and all that other pseudo-mystical pray-on-the-gullible nonsense." Katara's cheeks flushed as she was reminded of Aunt Wu and how she'd been totally taken in by her fortune telling "I'm really not interested in paying someone to lie to me. So thanks, but no thanks."

Before Katara could even think about making a break for it, Zuko's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. He made to lead her away and in one last-ditch effort to get him to believe her she cried, "Wait! I can prove it!"

To her astonishment, Zuko paused. He turned back around and cocked his head to the side, looking bewildered.

Katara took advantage of his cooperativeness to say, "Just let me do a reading for you. You don't have to pay me. The, uh, spirits asked me to come and find you and I—they won't be satisfied until I've told you your future. You know how spirits are."

The argument sounded weak even to her, but Zuko looked somewhat uncomfortable at the mention of spirits and after a moment's deliberation he relented. "Fine." To her relief, he released her wrist. "But," he tacked on, "that doesn't mean I'll believe what you tell me."

Katara quickly nodded. "Of course."

Spirits, what had she gotten herself into? She inwardly smacked herself. She didn't know the first thing about fortune-telling. This was going to blow up in her face.

But, she reasoned, she couldn't back out now. If she didn't do this, if she couldn't find a way to convince Zuko she was the real deal, she could kiss her freedom goodbye forever.

There was a park bench just a few yards away in the direction of the lake and Katara gestured to it. "Why don't we have a seat? I mean, nobody wants to have their fortune told standing, right?"

Zuko acquiesced, albeit hesitantly, and the two of them made their way over to the bench and sat down. Katara bit her lip as Zuko settled himself beside her. This was so weird. To think that she and Zuko would share not one but two civilized conversations. Although after the way the last one played out she wasn't exactly happy about getting to do it again.

Before she could begin, Zuko gave her another appraising look and asked, "Why do 'the spirits' want you to tell my fortune so badly anyway? I still can't believe you would come all the way over here just to read my palm—or whatever it is you do." He cast his gaze about as if searching for bags of bones or a crystal ball. Of course, Katara had nothing like that.

Katara cast her mind around for an answer that would satisfy him. "Well, that's because…because you, uh…you have a matter weighing heavily on your soul. That's what the spirits told me."

Beneath the ocean of cloth she was swaddled in, Katara crossed her fingers, hoping she was right.

Zuko actually looked taken aback at her declaration. She could tell by his expression that she'd hit the nail on the head.

But just what kind of trouble could Zuko have, she wondered. As far as she could tell, he had everything he'd ever wanted. The Avatar was "defeated", he was back home in the Fire Nation, and his people talked about him like he was a hero. It seemed to her that all ought to be sunshine and rainbows in Zukoland.

Unexpectedly, Zuko's eyes narrowed and his expression turned deadly serious. "And what matter is that, exactly?"

Katara once again cursed in her head. She may have been right, but it sounded like she'd pressed some kind of button. Don't let yourself be intimidated, she told herself. Stay cool. In a daring move, she reached out and took his hand. She turned it over and pretended to inspect his palm. His skin was white but calloused in a way that showed he was no stranger to hard work. Recalling his shout from just before they'd collided in the street, she said, "You feel as though the universe is conspiring against you—that there are many things in your life not going the way you believe they should."

She thought Zuko would rip his hand from hers and burn her face off for daring to touch him, but he didn't. He blinked at her in surprise, the threatening look from before falling away. His brow was still furrowed but she read only confusion in the look. "How…?" he started but seemed unable to find the words to construct his question. He started again and this time was successful. "You could tell that just by looking at my palm?"

Katara inwardly celebrated. She'd been right again. Maybe she could get away with this after all. It's just psychology, she told herself. You're a people person. You can do this.

"The spirits guide my eyes," she said, injecting some mystitude into her voice. She made another grand show of studying his palm and thought about what direction to take this. As long as Zuko was buying what she was selling, she might as well try to get something meaningful out him. It was a rare opportunity to learn more about her enemy, after all. Testing her luck, she said, "I can see that your spirit is in turmoil. Could it be that the home you've returned to isn't what you imagined it would be?" That seemed like a pretty safe bet. It was only natural that the Fire Nation might seem different to him after so many years away.

Zuko's lips thinned and he nodded once slowly. "Yeah," he said, sounding somewhat subdued now. "You could say that."

Katara watched his face curiously. Just for a moment, there'd been a hint of the Zuko in the catacombs in his expression. The look caused a strange mix of feelings inside her. She stuffed those feelings back into the crevice they'd crawled out from.

"But you achieved your destiny," she prodded. "Surely you have no reason to be unhappy?"

Zuko's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, you're right," he submitted. "I should be happy. Achieving your destiny is supposed to make you happy. But…"

Katara nodded encouragingly.

"I don't know." Zuko used his free hand to rub the back of his neck uncomfortably. "It feels wrong."

Katara had to fight not to show her surprise. Could it be that Zuko was second guessing his decision? "Do you…regret killing the Avatar?" she asked tentatively.

Zuko's eyes widened. It seemed her question had hit close to home. He recomposed himself and looked away down at the street. "Of—of course not." His inner struggle was apparent on his face. "It needed to be done." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I fulfilled my destiny, so it had to have been right."

Katara stopped herself from raising an eyebrow skeptically. That was some awfully skewed logic. "Have you ever considered that…maybe you haven't fulfilled your destiny?" she pried. "If it doesn't feel right, then maybe it isn't."

Zuko's face scrunched up incredulously. "Of course it is," he defended quickly. "I know my destiny."

Katara frowned. Zuko was awfully snappy for someone professing to be secure in his rightness. "And who gave you this destiny?" she shot back. "Was it the spirits?"

Once again, Zuko looked uncomfortable. "…No. It was my father."

This time, Katara did raise her eyebrow. "And does the Fire Lord speak on behalf of any higher power?"

"…No."

Ha. Looking directly into his eyes, she said, "It sounds to me like what you were given wasn't a destiny but orders. Just regular orders from a man serving his own interests. You call it your destiny, but even you can see that what you've been doing isn't right. You've hurt people. You've burned down property. Your actions led to the death of a twelve year old boy who never did anything to harm you or the people of the Fire Nation. Now, maybe this was your destiny. But if you accept that, then you accept that you were destined to be a villain."

She was pushing her luck, she knew. She could have just told Zuko to stand on his head under the moon for three nights for good fortune and gone on her merry way, but her stubbornness and hot-headedness had gone and made her all preachy. She would be very lucky if this didn't blow up in her face.

Zuko's brow furrowed in anger. "How can you say that? Do you mean to call my father—the whole Fire Nation villains?"

Katara gave him a pointed look. "What do you think? You've seen the world. You've seen the suffering the Fire Nation is causing. You've experienced it firsthand. There's good and evil in everyone, Zuko, and I think the reason you're unhappy is because the good inside you is telling you that what the Fire Nation is doing is wrong."

She was making an effort to appeal to his better side. As angry as she was at him for what he'd done in Ba Sing Se, there was still a part of her that believed he had one.

"That's…"

Zuko seemed to be floundering so Katara decided to help him out. Speaking to him in a gentler voice, she asked, "Was there never a moment, one tiny instance, when you thought about abandoning your destiny? Tell me honestly."

She knew there had been one. She'd seen his internal conflict on his face when he'd been forced to choose between his uncle and his sister in Ba Sing Se. She wanted to believe that had been real.

Zuko lowered his chin. He was frowning again but not at her. He said nothing, but that was an answer in and of itself. He couldn't bring himself to admit to his own indecision.

"You want to be a good person, don't you?" she asked, still gently. She thought she was beginning to understand. "You've known for a long time that what Ozai is doing is wrong but can't bring yourself to go against him."

Again, Zuko said nothing. Katara frowned sadly and squeezed his hand. "It's not too late to change, you know. You can help put an end to this war. You're not—the Fire Nation's not bound to Ozai's will."

Zuko directed his gaze pointedly down to where she held his hand in a tight grip. "…Is that what your fortune-telling told you?"

Katara blushed and quickly released his hand. She'd become so caught up in their conversation that she'd nearly forgotten the role she was meant to be playing. "Erm, yes," she said lamely. "That's, uh, what the spirits are saying."

Zuko levelled an appraising look at her. "And what are the spirits suggesting I should do, exactly?"

Katara cleared her throat and adjusted her headscarf nervously. "Well, that's up to you. Far be it from a humble fortune-teller like myself to tell my prince how to live his life. I'm just saying that you have options."

Zuko nodded slowly. "Uh…huh."

Clearing her throat again, Katara swiftly stood from her seat. "Well, would you look at the time. I'd best be going now. As you said, people like me aren't supposed to be in this part of town." She took a step backward. "It was nice talking to you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko made no motion to stand from the bench and Katara let out a breath of relief. It seemed he was allowing her to leave. She turned on her heel and began walking back the way she'd come.

She made it all of ten feet before Zuko's voice stopped her. "Wait."

Katara's heart skipped a beat. Oh, no. Hesitantly, she turned her neck to look over her shoulder at him. "Um, yes?"

Zuko hadn't moved from the bench. He was watching her with steady eyes. "The Avatar," he said seriously. "If he were still alive…he'd need a firebending teacher, correct?"

Reluctantly, Katara nodded.

Zuko's gaze didn't move from her. "I see."

He said no more after that. He merely stood and began walking away in the opposite direction.

Katara watched him go, her heart racing in her chest. That was…incredibly strange.

Well, no matter. She was free to go and she wasn't going to squander her good luck. She swiftly turned and ran back to the lake.

oO0Oo


And that's day two. This one was a ton of fun but also surprisingly hard to write. I struggled with both Zuko and Katara's characterization here because both their feelings are in such disarray at this point in the series. Katara is full of anger at Zuko and Zuko is trying to reconcile his ambivalence about being home. I probably should have made Katara angrier and Zuko less cooperative, but I didn't really have the time to fully flesh out their reasoning and thought-processes here. That's the problem with writing stories for a deadline. You gotta keep it moving even though you want to linger. Also, you can probably tell that I'm really terrible at keeping these short anyway. I'm doubly pressed for time when my stupid brain wants to bust out over 3000 words for each day.

A huge thank you to those of you who reviewed the first chapter! I was delighted to see some familiar faces in my inbox. I hope you enjoyed the second day and I'll see you again tomorrow!