Katara knelt down next to Zuko the moment the door closed. She gently brushed a tuft of hair from his forehead aside, the action causing him to turn towards her.

From this angle, his unscarred side faced her. The cut ran across his eye, causing him to appear to be winking at her. She hoped it hadn't scratched his cornea. Even with her exceptional healing abilities, she knew wounds such as that would more likely than not result in permanent damage.

"I hope you're planning on using those tears to heal me," Zuko grunted at her. He was attempting the joke to lighten the mood, but the instability of his voice ruined that intention.

Katara reached her uninjured arm up to wipe at her face, surprised that she was still crying.

"There's, um, not enough," she started. "I'm sorry I can't help."

The boy maneuvered himself so he could sit up straighter next to her, being very careful not to allow his back to touch the wall.

He looked over to meet Katara's still-leaking eyes. Shame overwhelmed him as he realized that she was wasting tears on him.

He shrugged, looking away from her in favor of studying a crack in the ground. "I've had worse. Besides, I'm pretty sure they at least know that you were telling the truth."

"They should have hurt me, instead," she argued.

"Sherik knew you'd react more to watching someone else in pain."

"But you didn't deserve it."

"You don't know what I deserve," Zuko countered darkly, still refusing to meet her eyes.

"Take your shirt off."

"Wha- what?" Zuko's eyes flicked up to hers and widened a fraction.

"Let me look at your back."

He shook his head. "I don't think that's the best idea…"

"Neither was letting it happen in the first place," she retorted.

"I didn't let it happen! It would have happened anyways!"

"You didn't have to take all of it! I would have taken some if it meant he'd stop hurting you. Or maybe if you'd done what he asked you to do the first time- "

"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?" he was full out yelling now. "Hurt you more than I already had? That's what they wanted. They were using me to get to you. They knew it would hurt you more if it was me doing it."

"But whatever you would have done would have still been better than having to stand by and watching them hurt you like that! Because of me," Katara's voice broke a bit on the last word.

Zuko's mouth opened to retort, but closed it again when he realized that she was right. If the positions were reversed, he'd rather take the blows than watch them being dealt to someone else.

"I'm fine. Really," he lied through the pain his yelling had caused.

Katara opened her mouth to dispute, but snapped her mouth shut as the door opened, revealing a red-haired man. Before she could even leap to her feet in defense, the guard held up one large hand in a peaceful gesture. Taking note of Zuko's indifference of the man's entrance, she allowed herself to remain still, but kept her muscles tensed and prepared for conflict.

Red slowly lifted a pail of water over the threshold while remaining outside of the room. He kept an eye on Zuko, who was still sitting on the floor in a position that would cause his back the least amount of pain. The general had given strict orders to not allow the boy to leave the room, but to have him spend the night in the girl's cell.

Not that he'd put up much of a fight in his state anyways, Red thought.

Meeting the girl's eyes, the guard nudged the pail farther into the room with his foot before nodding shallowly and closing the door.

.

Zogen's orders had come as a surprise that evening. The boy's involvement in the waterbender's interrogation was different, but sensible. Red had, of course, noticed the way Zuko's step had gained more life since he had been bringing the girl food and water. While he wasn't strictly given a time limit for which to be in her presence, the scared boy most certainly seemed to at least enjoy her company, if the time spent in the cell revealed anything.

But of course he would be used in whatever way possible if it meant Zogen could gain information. The girl who he'd heard attacked two guards obviously possessed strength and courage, which is why she didn't break after the second day. Red had been around the facility long enough to have heard the screams of those sentenced to being burned by the rods the firebending guards carried around for the soul purpose of causing pain and marking the prisoners.

When Sherik had entered the room along with the general that day, Red had unconsciously hoped that the girl held the information they sought. There may be no stopping the torture if she ended up not knowing. But, then again, a bender such as herself would most certainly be killed once the information was extracted.

Sherik had been hand picked by the Fire Lord himself to oversee the treatment of the guiltiest war criminals. Whether or not they held information, Sherik would be tasked with physically breaking a person, making them beg for death. At that point, of course, he would oblige most mercifully.

Red had seen many people turn to that pathetic state of being in his years here, and he had earlier assumed that this waterbending girl would be no different.

But this girl was interesting. She somehow must be important enough to warrant Zogen being present for her interrogation sessions. He doesn't usually attend, preferring instead to sit out and await the day where he could witness the individual walking around the facility as a shell of who they were before.

If Zogen cared about his guards more than a spec of dust on his robes, Red may have thought that he chose to oversea the girl personally to ensure protection of those questioning her. However, this would not be the case. He had watched each session of her even before she attacked with the water in her own cell. He even made sure she was cared for, with orders to keep her fed and alive.

After today, Red had been surprised at the order that he himself was to bring food and water, rather than the boy, who was to remain in the room with her.

Once he brought the water in, it was obvious why the boy was not able to perform this duty.

While he didn't particularly like anyone in this place, Red didn't dislike the boy for any reason. He mostly kept to himself, didn't cause trouble, and would be the source of relatively decent conversation from time to time. Of course he knew of his status. Everyone did. But Zuko never acknowledged it (not that it was anything to brag about, really), which Red appreciated. He understood more than anyone that it was best to erase one's past self to make life in this hellhole less unbearable.

While his mind was occupied with thoughts, Red's body went through the motions of obtaining food for the two people in the locked cell. He often became unaware of what he was doing during his time here. Not that it mattered at all. The less he had to be aware of, the quicker the time would pass.

He arrived back at the door carrying two bundles of leftover meat and vegetables. He considered knocking to announce his entrance, but decided against it in favor of encountering a potential attack from the girl. Nudging open the heavy door, he opened it just enough to allow him to slip in, while being sure to keep his foot out to prevent it from locking him in.

While the girl flinched, she didn't command the water to attack, instead keeping it tense and ready.

Red observed them for a moment, noting the angry welts on Zuko's back and the bleeding gash in her arm. She must not have begun to heal him yet, or maybe she can't, he thought.

Shaking his head to clear out his thoughts, Red tossed the two tied bundles towards the pair with a grunt.

With one final perusal of the strange girl, he exited the cell.

While extinguishing the remaining lights in the hall, Red headed to his bunk in the guard quarters, allowing his mind to finally shut off for a bit. As he awaited sleep to come, he let his mind drift over his past for a few fleeting moments. Allowing himself to do so during the day was dangerous, as it could compromise his strict guard persona, but, now, he was in the safety of darkness. He could hide the smile that formed at the thought of combing silky brown hair with his fingers, or the tears as he remembered a home going up in flames, trapping a boy inside. His father had cried then, too, as saw the thick smoke and hungry flames in the distance, but couldn't make it there in time.

Taroh fell asleep, allowing Red to go into hibernation for a few hours before he had to take over once again.

.

Katara watched uneasily as the guard left, then glanced at the pail. She could sense the water within it, felt it calling out to her. It seemed to promise to make the hurt go away, if only for a while. She sniffed a final time before using her dirty sleeve to wipe her eyes and turning her eyes to Zuko.

"Please, at least let me look. I have water now. I'll be able to help you." Her words were soft, but pleading, as she moved a bit closer to him.

Zuko merely snorted with a frustrated shake of his head, but did nothing as Katara reached out to touch the hem of his shirt.

The girl hesitated a moment, giving him the opportunity to pull away if he was truly uncomfortable.

Eventually, Zuko relaxed, giving in to her kind touch as she began to lift his shirt to reveal the flesh underneath.

Katara strategically avoided looking at his bare back, instead focusing on removing the fabric as gently as possible to prevent it from brushing up against his body. She paused when it reached his underarms, waiting patiently until Zuko lifted his arms up to aid her in pulling the shirt over his head.

Katara tried to ignore the heavy weight of the soaked clothing as she let it drop to the ground. He had certainly lost a lot of blood.

Zuko nearly sighed in alleviation when the burden of his shirt was lifted off his back, exposing the heated skin to cool air.

Katara, on the other hand, had to hold back a gasp at the sight of his back fully exposed.

She hadn't realized just how many strikes he had taken for her. Dozens of lines of various depth intersected each other, forming angry red patterns woven into his skin.

Calling out to the water, she carefully pulled the liquid towards her, dragging the bucket in her direction.

The grating sound of rusted metal on stone drew Zuko's gaze up from the ground. He watched as Katara gracefully drew clear water out, forming it into a thin sheet. He nodded his permission when she hesitated.

She used the water to rinse away blood that seeped from his wounds, causing him to hiss on contact. Once she was able to see the cuts better, Katara knew that even her healing couldn't fix the damage completely. He would have scars there for the rest of his life.

Because of me, she thought.

Zuko was gritting his teeth at even the slightest pressure the water put on his wounds. The coolness helped a bit, but he still wished he'd have passed out from pain by now.

He craned his neck a bit to watch Katara toss the dirty water in the direction of the waste-hole before submerging her hands in the bucket. As her hands took on the soft blue glow, Zuko turned away and shut his eyes tight, preparing himself for the touch of her hands on his back again.

He could practically feel the power from her on his skin when the door opened again, causing the water to splash to the ground as Katara's concentration broke.

As they watched Red toss two bundles of food towards them, Katara took a moment to look at the guard. She had only seen him through the door when either Zuko or other guards were coming or going. He was at least an entire head taller than Zuko, and definitely possessed a substantial amount of muscle (albeit hidden beneath a layer or two of protection gained from indulging in too many cakes). He didn't have any noticeable scars like Zuko or Zogen, but his reddish brown beard and hair were distinguishing enough features.

While his size suggested strength and ability in a fight, his eyes were a warm color, like honey dripping from a hive. Katara searched his eyes for as long as he seemed to be studying her.

He blinked first.

As he left, Katara wondered if he would be the one to hurt her some day.

Wow sorry for such a long wait! Good news is i have 2 chapters to post today! Yay!