"Thank you," I said to his back. I wasn't sure I'd be able to say it to his face, so I took advantage of his back when I could. He turned at the sound of my voice and I could immediately detect the tightness in his jaw, the hardness in his eyes that betrayed his calm expression.

And almost too fast for my eyes to even detect it, his hand pounded against the wall near my head, so hard I though his fist would break right through it. I flinched and small surprised sound that I didn't even know I was capable of making, slipped past my lips.

I looked up at him, at his face, watching as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. It looked like he was battling himself, small lines creased near his tightly shut eyes and I had to stop myself from reaching up and smoothing out each wrinkle.

In that moment, Zuko was a nineteen year-old boy. He wasn't the all-powerful leader of the Fire Nation. He became a teenager for those few seconds, something I thought I would never see him become. He was conflicted and confused, and above all, human.

And then, startling me once again, he opened his eyes and looked right into mine.

"I'm sorry. I just want to kill him. I want him dead, and I don't know why."

Zuko pushed away and left me standing there with my back against the wall, my heartbeat erratic, feeling frightened, bewildered, annoyed, and something else I couldn't exactly put my finger on.

I made it back to Akemi's house after closing time, so I had to take the hidden side entrance up to the apartment. She hadn't shown it to me when she'd first brought me here as a safety precaution. The girl was smart after all.

"I'm back!" I yelled out as I opened the apartment door. Immediately, I was assaulted by hugs and wet kisses from the kids, something I'd gotten used to coming home to each night. I would definitely miss this when I found somewhere to live on my own. I'd been asking around to see if anyone was renting out a room for me to stay in, but so far, no luck.

"Great, Katara! I could use your help with something for a minute," Nori said from the small kitchen. She walked out of the kitchen looking frazzled, a wooden spoon in-hand, wearing an apron over her dress that barely covered her huge stomach. "Could you get the kids in the bath? I'm trying to make some bread for tomorrow and Akemi is still out working."

"Sure."

"Thanks, you're a life saver."

And there it was again. The guilt. It just kept creeping back somehow. If they knew what I was really doing, I wouldn't be a "life saver" to Nori or Akemi, or the kids. I'd be a traitor and it killed me to think that I was feeling guilty about betraying people who I should be considering my enemies.

I had to get my priorities straight.

"Come on guys," I said, scooping up Shinji and making my way down the hallway. The twins followed, arguing and tripping each other down the entire length of the hallway. I looked back to scold them and felt my throat constrict, immediately overwhelmed with thoughts of Sokka. I missed him so much it hurt. We'd played like that hundreds of times when we were younger. He'd trip me, then I'd freeze his feet to the ground, and after he hacked the ice away from his ankles with his boomerang, we'd chase each other around the village until sunset.

How many times had I gotten angry with him? Wished for him to just disappear after a fight? And now it seems like after all those years I've gotten my wish in the most sick, twisted, horrible way. I envied myself from the past. Sokka was there in front of me. I could punch him and trip him and kick him all I wanted. I could see him there with me then, but now, I don't even know for sure if he's alive.

I turned my attention away from the twins and swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. No crying.

"So have you found a place to stay yet?" Nori asked me from where she sat at the table as she sipped from a cup of tea.

"Ah, no, not yet. I've been asking around, but I haven't been able to find any available lodgings." We spoke in hushed tones so the children didn't wake up. I'd finally been able to wrestle them into bed after their baths about an hour ago and I didn't want to repeat the process again if they woke up. "I'm sorry. I didn't plan on staying here this long." I sat down at the table across from Nori.

"Don't worry, Katara. You've been a great help around here. The children adore you and Akemi sees you as her own sister already. We wouldn't mind you staying with us a bit longer."

"Really? Are you sure?"

She gave me a warm smile and said, "Absolutely."

We worked out the arrangements. I would live with them for the duration of my stay in Caldera, pay a small fee each month and help out with the teashop on my days off. It was a fair trade, plus, I'd already grown accustomed to life with them.

"I'm home, Mom," Akemi slipped through the door.

"You're late today." It was more of a question.

"Ah, yeah. I met up with a friend after work and we got caught up in the time. Sorry," Akemi shot a look over at me and winked. Oh, she meant that friend. The way she talked about Makoto made me want to barf. If she thought I wasn't going to throw her to the sabertooth moose-lions, sadly, she was wrong.

"Don't you mean you got caught up in his beautiful brown eyes?" I put a hand to my forehead and pretended to swoon, holding in laughter as I spoke.

"Oh?" Nori's eyebrows perked up as Akemi's face turned beat red. "It was a male friend?"

"Mom! Spirits, Katara! I can't tell you anything!"

And we all burst out laughing, completely forgetting that there were three sleeping children in the next room.

It had been about two days since my last training practice, and two days since Zuko swooped in that day to save me. I wasn't, by any means, prepared to see him again. I was feeling a mixture of things toward him at the moment: gratitude, amazement, curiosity, but most of all annoyance.

I was doing fine on my own. Yes, I was pinned against a wall, but I had a plan to get myself out of it. I didn't need his help, but he just had to swoop in and save the day.

Zen kept his distance, but didn't hesitate to send a malicious glare in my direction every once and a while. I wasn't nervous that he would try anything, but each time I looked at him it reminded me of what had almost happened and how irritated I was with Zuko.

"Alright, split into pairs! We're going to go over blocking tactics so everyone grab a sword and a partner!"

I'd gotten used to the practice routines. It'd been a killer on my muscles at first, but now, I was able to move ten times as quickly as I was able to before. My strikes are harder, my moves sharper, and my footing became sturdier.

Just a few weeks into training and I was already noticing major differences in my fighting style too. Fire Nation fighting styles are almost always head-on approaches. Everything is attacking directly and forcefully. It's almost the complete opposite of Water Tribe fighting styles, where you'd use your enemy's energy against them. I couldn't exactly take down the other guys while training, but I was able to hold my own now. It felt pretty rewarding to see the surprise in your opponent's face as you knock a sword out of their hand.

I wiped my forehead on the back of my sleeve and grabbed my sword. I paired up with a heavily muscled man named Ryou who look like he was in his early thirties, but I wasn't exactly sure. The only thing I knew for sure about him was that he was possibly the friendliest and second most intimidating person I'd ever met. The first time I'd paired with him he had me flat on my back with three waves of his sword. Then, he'd just grabbed me under the arms and yanked me up, apologizing with a bashful smile plastered across his face. One time he gave me a pat on the back that was so powerful it was more like a shove, and I flew right into a stack of practice mats.

I know he has good intentions, but I'm still a little scared of him.

Nevertheless, he was a great partner to spar with. Ryou was a long term force member, so he had all the experience I didn't. He instructed me and challenged me at the same time. He wasn't exactly as fast as he was powerful, so I guess you could say that I challenged him too. I was more lithe where he was stronger. We'd been jabbing at each other and practicing blocking techniques as the instructor had ordered when I suddenly felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I could feel someone's eyes on me. I signaled to Ryou for a break and scanned the room. Zen wasn't glaring at me again, but when he saw me looking his expression morphed into a scowl. And then his eyes slipped behind me and widened for a moment before he looked away and threw himself quite enthusiastically back into the blocking routines. What was that? I twisted around to see what had flustered him and immediately spun back around.

Crap, he's here!

What was he doing here? He's never comes to the Task Force training sessions before! I felt my face heat involuntarily and I cursed myself silently. Why the hell was I so conscious of him?

"You okay, Katara? You look a little flustered," Ryou commented as he tossed a jug of water to me.

"I'm fine. Just a little hot in here, that's all," I mumbled and took a swig.

I turned my head slightly and glanced out of the corner of my eye, but Zuko was talking to the instructor Hitoshi so I examined him a bit closer. He wasn't wearing any armor, just a red and gold tunic, so I assumed he'd just gotten out of a training practice. His hair was loose and flopped over his forehead, covering his scar, making him look younger, and I had to pinch my leg to remind myself that I shouldn't be scoping him out. So I told myself that I wasn't scoping him, just assessing my enemy. Just assessing.

And then he was looking at me again and I resisted the urge to look away first. I couldn't let him intimidate me and get the satisfaction. So I stared…and stared, until I felt my cheeks heat again. It started to become difficult for me to breath under his gaze, so I let out a huff, keeping my eyes on his. But then, one corner of his mouth twitched, and he was smirking at me. Laughing at me!

I couldn't stand him. He's so full of himself and I just wanted to smack that stupid smirk right off his face. I rolled my eyes and looked away, giving in. He wasn't worth getting worked up over anyway. I turned back toward Ryou, only to find him smirking at me too.

"What's with that?" He asked.

"What's with what?" I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion.

"What's with the intense staring contest? And why is your face all red again?" Ryou perked up his eyebrows and I knew immediately what he was trying to imply.

"What's with the interrogation?" I snapped. He held his hands up in surrender and I let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. It's nothing. Probably a completely different situation from what you're imagining."

"Okay," he shrugged it off. "Let's just get back to work."

Hitoshi called over Makoto and me to after practice and who do you think had to stand right next to him? The Very Fire Lord himself. Of course.

Makoto and I sauntered over to them and bowed to Zuko then turned to Hitoshi. I told myself I was keeping my gaze away from Zuko so I wouldn't become irritated.

"Makoto, Katara, you both know very well that this is our Fire Lord," Hitoshi said as he motioned to Zuko. "He's here to see if you two are ready for your first tasks."

"If we're ready? Didn't we prove that already in the Labyrinth, sir?" Makoto asked.

"Well, yes and no. You're both very qualified, don't get me wrong, but we need to see if after a few weeks of training, you've picked up the techniques properly."

"You've got to be kidding me," I spat out.

"Katara," Makoto warned.

"Sorry," I muttered. "It's just that we've already gone through so many qualification rounds. What other tests are we going to be put through?"

"Each of you will fight, one-on-one, with Fire Lord Zuko. Since you'll be protecting him on missions, we'll let him be the judge of whether or not you're ready."

"So, our objective is to win?" I asked.

"Not exactly. This is just an assessment of your skills. There will be no winner or loser."

I nodded and peeked at Zuko whose eyes flicked to mine when he felt my gaze on him. "Let's get started, then."

"Ladies first," he said with a wave of his hand and a bow.

I resisted the urge to curtsy and walked into the center of the room, sword in hand.

"Good luck," Zuko said with a self-satisfied grin as we stood across from each other. "You're going to need it."

"Don't toot your horn yet, Your Majesty."

Makoto and I both qualified and were given our first assignments before leaving the training center. We would be guarding the Fire Lord, along with four others, on a two-week mission to the recently conquered Earth Kingdom colonies to address a growing problem or civil disturbances. The citizens were hesitant to follow their new Fire Nation regents and we were moving in to enforce some stability. Apparently, instances like this one were common and a short visit from their new Fire Lord seemed to do the trick.

I stopped walking down the palace wing to pause at the open window that overlooked the courtyard. Unconsciously, I drifted over to the ledge, letting the warm afternoon sunlight touch my arms and face, completely soaking it in.

Zuko had been an excellent swordsman, something I hadn't anticipated. I'd imagined him being spoiled and pampered his entire life, doted on as the beloved prince of the Fire Nation, but his swordsmanship said otherwise. It was exhilarating and frightening all at the same time. I'd been able to perform the techniques as they were instructed, but for the first time, I'd felt that I wasn't just sparring at practice with someone. It felt real, like I was getting a taste of what it would really be like when someone didn't pull their sword back at the last minute. His moves were practiced and perfected. Each one was precisely executed, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd fine-tuned these moves for a reason.

"It's odd," a familiar voice said from behind me. "You aren't glaring at someone or something."

I spun around to face the Fire Lord, my eyes automatically narrowing.

"Ah, I spoke too soon. You know, you might ruin your pretty face if you're always scowling like that."

I rolled my eyes, pretending that my heart didn't thump so hard I thought it would burst right through my chest just because he subconsciously called me pretty.

"I only scowl at you, you know," I said as I faced the courtyard again. A few baby turtle ducks bobbed below the surface of a small pond while their mother sat in the shade of a nearby tree.

"I thought that might stop since I saved you from being sexually harassed the other day."

"I didn't need you to save me. I was doing fine on my own, thank you very much." I pushed away from the ledge and started to make my way down the corridor. I hated owing him, hated feeling like I was in his debt.

"You were doing fine?" his voice started rising from behind me. "If I'd been one second late, he would have had your clothes in tatters around you on the floor!"

I spun around to face him again, temper flaring. I didn't get it. The simplest of sentences from Zuko's mouth could have me in a rage within a few seconds.

"Do you want me to thank you? I already did that! Do you want me to grovel on the floor in front of you? I didn't need your help! What more could you possibly want from me?" By the time I was done, I was yelling at him. All expression in his eyes went completely dead and I realized I might have been a bit too rash.

"I don't want anything from you."

I felt like I'd been slapped in the face.

What the-? What was his problem! I didn't get it! I huffed and turned to make my way down the wing again, and barreled straight into a chest covered in were golden ropes and medals adorning his uniform, and suddenly I felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, sir," I mumbled and took a step back.

He looked down at me, golden eyes blazing, nose tilted up in the air as if he thought himself too good to even be standing in my presence. He took a closer look at me and let out a small chuckle, the hardness in his eyes turning to amusement. Then he looked over my head at Zuko and bowed his head.

"Your Majesty," he said, the corners of his lips tugging into what looked like a sneer. There was no respect in his tone, only contempt. It surprised me how blatantly disrespectful he was being. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your conversation."

"Admiral Zhao," Zuko greeted him with tight lips. I got the distinct impression that these two were acting civil toward each other under pretenses. "What are you doing here?"

"Things went well in the South Pole, so we were able to return early."

I stifled a gasp.

"Went well?"

"The last water bender was apprehended and killed. The Southern Water Tribe no longer poses as a threat to us." Admiral Zhao's eyes slipped to me, and his mouth pulled into a sly smile. Did he know?

No, he couldn't know. It's impossible.

But he was lying; I'm still alive. I got away, so we still have a chance.

"Are you going to introduce me to this charming young lady with the blue eyes, Fire Lord Zuko?" Sarcasm dripped off each word.

Zuko looked like he wanted to do anything but that.

"This is my distant cousin, Admiral Zhao. Zhao, this is one of the newest Task Force members, Katara."

"Miss Katara, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've already heard so many things about you." His eyes flicked from me, to Zuko, then back to me again. I had to swallow back bile that had risen in my throat. "I hope we'll be able to talk again in the near future, but I'm afraid I have to leave you now."

He bowed to us, then casually walked around me and stopped next to Zuko to whisper something in his ear. Zuko immediately went rigid at his words, his golden eyes blazing, but he didn't strike at Zhao like I thought he would.

Then, Zhao left and we were left alone once again. I thought Zuko would continue our argument from where we were interrupted, so I prepared myself for a fight. But surprising me again, he didn't. Instead, his voice sounded worn out and it seemed like he'd aged ten years in the last five minutes.

"Stay away from him, please, Katara."

"What?"

"He's been trying to usurp me since the day I was crowned Fire Lord."

"Why? Aren't you the rightful heir to the throne?"

He sighed. "It's difficult to explain." Zuko's voice seemed far away as he brought a hand up to his scar. And there it was again: the curiosity. I wanted to ask him where it came from? Why did he have that scar? It was scaring me how much I was interested in him. Each time I spoke with him, I found myself craving more information, wanting more from him. "Just don't let him get close to you. He'll use anyone and anything against me."

You shouldn't be doing this, I told myself. You shouldn't be getting this involved with your enemy.

But I couldn't help it.

I reached out to him, feeling my fingertips brush against the back of his hand that was covering his scar, completely reveling the sensation of how warm his skin was. I let my fingers graze the back of his hand, over the small burns and calluses, memorizing their designs with my touch.

His eyes snapped up to meet mine and suddenly I remembered where I was, and what I was doing. I gasped and stepped back, spluttering apologies, all the while his face was molded into a mask of surprise, one hand frozen in place near his scar.

And then I bolted down the wing, not even stopping to greet the maids or admire the beautiful tapestries like I usually did. No, I ran out of there as if my life depended on it, without looking back once.

A/N: Okay! I hope you liked it. I know it's been a long time since the last update, and I did promise that I would try to speed up the updates, but stuff happened in RL and I wasn't able to update the story as fast as I wanted to. So bear with me please. The next few chapters are definitely going to be good ones. They're the chapters I'd planned on basing the entire story around so they're sure to be suspenseful and Zutara packed!

But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought, PM me, leave a review, whatever you'd like!

Have a nice weekend, and if there isn't an update by next sunday, Happy Easter!