Next chapter! Yay!
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Enjoy!
Zuko opened his eyes groggily to something nudging his side. He looked up to see Katara looming over him with her arms crossed and her face slightly amused.
"Rise and shine, Sparky." She said his new nickname with a tease and he groaned rolling onto his back. He opened his eyes and looked out his window to see that it wasn't even dawn. He sat up on his own bed and rubbed his eyes lazily, Toph had told him that he better sleep in his room last night because Katara was determined to get out of the house at her usual time. An hour before sunrise.
"So what are we going to do today?" He asked groggily before yawning, "Toph said that you aren't aloud to do any of your normal duties until tomorrow," he looked up to see her smirking.
"We're going to go for a little walk around town so I can see how you interact with others," The way she said it reminded Zuko of of a teacher or a therapist and he raised an eyebrow posing the question of her tone, and she chuckled. "My brother's idea, he can't wait for the "jerk bender" to mess up so he can get some extra sword practice." Zuko narrowed his eyes at this but nodded and stood, walking over to the chair that had his shirt slung over it. He pulled it slowly; he could feel the girls eyes on his back and shoulders. He knew that she wondered about the many scars that marked it.
"Life in the Fire Nation isn't as easy as you think," he said quietly before turning around. Her mouth was opened as if she was going to answer but no words came out and her cheeks were tinted slightly pink. "Are we going to go then?" He asked trying to spare her of embarrassment, he'd witnessed how unnecessarily snippy she got when she was flustered. She nodded and turned leading the way out of the house. He followed her as they hopped off the porch, not bothering with the steps, and they began walking up hill. Zuko found this strange since the heart of the village was downhill, but said nothing.
After a few minutes of walking in silence a large wooden building came into view. The shades were drawn over the windows and the sliding doors were closed. He followed as Katara walked toward the building and they both paused at the bottom of the steps.
"What is this place?" He whispered.
"A test," the water bender replied with a content smile on her face. Zuko cleared his mind and prepared it for whatever might lie inside. Katara jogged up the steps and he followed behind her she placed her hand on the door and looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Ready?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows. Zuko took a deep breath and nodded facing the door and clenching his hands into fists. Katara slid the door open and Zuko visibly recoiled at the squeals and loud laughter that met his ears.
He looked around to see children running and playing in every direction. He looked at Katara, who was smiling broadly and taking in the scene in front of her. She then took a step into the room and crossed her arms plastering what Zuko knew was a fake scowl.
"Well, well what's going on here?" She said, a scolding tone in her voice. Zuko watched every eye instantly turn to them and he froze not knowing what to expect.
"Katara!" He could've sworn that they were trying to burst his ear drums because every single child screamed it at the same time. He watched all of them rushed at her and tackle her with hugs. She was laughing now, trying to hug every one back at once.
Her laugh was so happy and joyful, filled with life. It was the first time he'd seen her so... happy.
"Who's the strange red man?" The voice cut through all of the laughter and Zuko turned around to see a little girl with a pigtail that stuck up from the center of her head. He turned to look at Katara for guidance but she simply smiled gently and nodded toward the child. He turned back to the girl, took a deep breath, and knelt down on one knee.
"My name is Zuko, what's yours?" He held out his hand and gave a small smile. The girl smiled shyly and took his hand.
"My name's Luna, It means 'the moon'." She gave him a proud smile showing that her two front teeth were missing. But what Zuko noticed the most were her bright blue eyes and dark skin tone.
"The moon, huh? Did you know that the moon is the source of water bending? I wouldn't be surprised if you grow up to be a great master." He smiled while he said it earning another toothy grin.
"That would be cool!" She squealed, "Then I could be just like Master Tara." Her eyes glowed with happiness as she looked behind him at the water bender.
"I bet you will be," He replied smiling before standing and turning to face the water bender again. She gave him a half smile before turning and looking around the room, which he did as well. There was only one older girl in the room and Zuko judged by her apron that she worked there.
"Jin? Where are the other women?" He heard Katara ask the girl, who fiddled with the hem of her apron nervously.
"In the kitchen, Miss, there was a problem with one of the children." She said stuttering slightly.
"Which child?" Katara replied firmly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure. I've only just started working here yesterday."
"Well, what was the problem?"
They ordered me not to tell." The girl finished turning her gaze to fall on the floor. Katara put down the young boy she was holding on her hip and knelt down and whispered something to the children, who cheered and raced out of a door at the back of the room. Then she turned back to the girl she called Jin.
"Take them outside, they are much easier to deal with." The girl nodded gratefully before following the children.
Zuko followed Katara through a swinging door to what must have been the kitchen and he saw two women standing to the side of the room whispering to each other in panicked tones, and a young boy sitting in a chair facing the corner of the room.
"What's going on here?" Katara asked a bit sternly.
"Tara?" Zuko heard the child ask, still facing the wall, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Zuko could hear the tears in the child's voice.
"Master Katara!" One of the women explained and they both turned and bowed slightly, "Nothing, we were just discussing how we are suppose to punish the boy." She said waving her hand over to the child whose shoulders were now shaking in silent cries.
"What could he possibly have done?" Katara's voice rose in anger.
"He-he, well he-"
"He fire bent, miss. He's a fire bender."
Katara felt her eyes widen in shock at what she'd just heard about her dear little friend.
Kuzon is a fire bender?
She shook herself out of her surprise and glared daggers at the two women, she opened her mouth to yell at them but the man next to her beat her to it.
"How dare you," His voice was level, but Katara could hear it shaking with rage, "You're going to punish him for fire bending? That's like punishing him for breathing, it's part of who he is. He can't choose what kind of a bender he is." He paused closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, "You will not do anything to harm him. Understood?" He finished by looking each one in the eye with his smoldering gaze. The two young women were shocked into silence, and simply stared at him with their mouths hanging open. "I said, do you understand?" He raised his voice and both of them nodded frantically.
Katara tore her astonished gaze away from him and walked over to the child, kneeling next to him.
"Kuzon?" She asked when she saw his face, it was as white as a sheet and his eyes were squeezed shut.
"The voice, is it real?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper. Katara turned her eyes back to Zuko who tilted his head to the side as if asking what he said. She turned her attention back to the shaking child and took his hands in hers.
"Kuzon, look at me," He slowly opened his eyes so that his fearful golden orbs were staring into her gentle blue ones, "Where do you know the voice from?" Katara knew she had to ask, even though she was scared of what the answer might be.
"He," the boy's eyes now darted anywhere but her face and she put a hand on his cheek and he looked back into her eyes, "He saved me from the fire."
Katara's heart stopped. She knew exactly what he meant. The people in his village were massacred, the carcasses would have been burned, not buried. She closed her eyes and pulled the boy into a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her, gripping her shirt in his small fists. When she pulled away she put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his face with a sad smile written on her's.
"You are the bravest eight year old I've ever met," He smiled at her with tears still in his eyes, "Everyone is playing outside, how about you go join them?" Her dear little friend nodded and wiped his tears away, Katara placed a quick kiss on his forehead before moving aside for the boy to pass.
She watched carefully as he saw Zuko, he froze when he saw him, Zuko's eyes widened, then the boy walked up to him and did a traditional Fire Nation bow. After a moment Zuko returned it and the boy scampered out of the room to join his friends. The man didn't look back at her, but stared at the ground in thought.
Katara stood and approached the two women who were still standing in awe.
"If anything like this happens again, you are to tell me before you even consider punishment. Understood?" Both women nodded and bowed in respect, "Good, we'll get out of your way." Katara finished, walking past them, grabbing Zuko's arm, and marching out of the orphanage.
They walked slowly and silently, side by side. Katara noticed that Zuko looked at the ground instead of ahead of him.
"What is it?" She finally asked him, he glanced at her before turning away again.
"What'd he say?" He asked her quietly. Katara sighed and stopped walking, and he turned to face her.
"He said," she started before pausing and closing her eyes, "I suppose I should thank you," she said looking at him again to see a confused expression written clearly on his face, "He said, 'He saved me from the fire'." She watched him looked at the ground and close his eyes, his brow furrowing in thought.
"He told us that he escaped, and that he hid in the woods to wait for a refugee to find him. He didn't think of that on his own did he?" She turned her eyes away from him to look at the ground.
"No, he didn't," he said sighing, "He made it here unharmed?" He asked, she turned to see him looking at her.
"Yes, thank you," He gave her a small smile and he shrugged, "No really, Zuko, you're a hero."
Whew. That was a long one! Hope you enjoyed! And I would like to announce that A Fighter's Heart has reached 40 followers! You guys are so good to me! But I've noticed that only about five of you review! D: Let me make something clear: The more reviews a chapter gets the sooner I'll put up the next one. I'm writing them ahead of time now so I can put them up any time! Review, Review, Review!
Also look up that website if you want your story published! Nanowrimo. com
Love you all!
Kmsitterley