Katara gets into trouble ... again.
CW: Language

Blue and the Healer - Part 3 - Chapter 3/4

Katara stepped out into the last bits of twilight, she had stayed longer than she intended but there was so much she couldn't bring herself to leave undone and so much she had wanted to learn. With Hisa's help, she had cared for about a quarter of the clinic's patients freeing up beds and supplies for other patients. The effort had worn her down more than she should have allowed but it was worth it.

If she headed straight for the monorail she would be back late, but not late enough to cause anyone worry. She might even have enough time for notes! Katara tapped her index finger to her chin, she just had to find her way back to said monorail. The city seemed different in the quickly falling darkness, very different. That was ok, she had started posting right outside the station and worked her way toward the clinic, she could just follow the trail of flyers back. Walking around to the back of the clinic she searched the walls of the winding passage for one of the hundreds of posters she'd pasted to the wall. Traveling further down she kept looking but found no trace of Appa's face, it was almost as if she hadn't passed through here at all.

Didn't she post one at the entrance, right before speaking to Jangmi and Hisa? She had been posting them every few paces, the entire wall should be covered but the long expanse stood empty before her. Maybe she made a wrong turn? Katara turned around and attempted to retrace her steps through the twists and turns back to the clinic. Where was the clinic? She hadn't walked this far had she? The idea of being lost at night in such an unfamiliar city made her uneasy. At home, she could look to the stars and used them as a guide back, but the bright lights of Ba Sing Se washed out too much of the night sky. She was lost.

Katara kept her head, her best bet was to find the nearest main street and ask for directions. Someone should be able to help her find her way back to the upper ring. Tugging on the strap of her bag, she pushed back the fatigue that tugged at her, chose a direction, and walked forward.

Nearly half an hour had passed before an alley spilled out onto an avenue, her feet hurt but she was glad to find the wash of lanterns and the sounds of a crowd. Examining the stretch of road, she found that many of the businesses had already closed, leaving only a few pubs open with patrons spilling out onto the street. She had hoped to try a shop or tea house but it was getting late and many places had closed for the night. The pub would have to do. Without many choices left she approached a group of four men, at the edge of the crowd.

"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the monorail station?"

"Who doesn't know how to get to the monorail?" a tall man wearing a brown, green stitched vest and a bowl cut turned to Katara. He looked her up and down, taking in her blue tunic, mocha skin, and cerulean eyes.

"Hey Phirun," the lanky man called over his shoulder.

"What, Trung?" an irritated voice that slurred around its edges called back.

"It looks like we have another one." the man named Trung now wore a nefarious grin.

Her earlier unease quickly morphed into alarm bells that rang in her ears.

Katara backed up a few steps her hand slipping to one of her water skins, "It's ok, thank you. I think I'll ask someone else."

"Where you going girlie?" a tall heavy-set man whose beard seemed to be missing in places came to stand next to Trung.

"Home, thank you." Katara turned around to leave only to run into two more men she hadn't seen flanking her. She turned back to face Trung and Phirun.

"Phirun, you're right, these outsiders are like termite-roaches. Everywhere you look more turn up." Trang snarled the alcohol on his breath carried in the closing space between her and the men. To make matters worse the small crowd behind Trung and Phirun were starting to take an interest in their little display.

"You know what happens to vermin, right Trung?" Phirun asked.

The two men behind her cackled. She felt the familiar feeling of her heart picking up speed and the lengthening of her breaths as adrenaline began to course through her veins.

"They get exterminated!" a voice from the lychee nut gallery drunkenly chuckled.

Trang laughed as Phirun leered at her, she needed to get out, now. Setting her jaw she stared down the two men letting her thumb discreetly push the cover off of her waterskin.

"Oooh, this one looks feisty boys, we might need a little help. Shards, we can even share." Trung called behind him with a wink.

Katara was outnumbered, even with two full waterskins, she couldn't take them all, letting her head fall she raised her hands in surrender.

"Girlie just because you give up doesn't mean we'll go any easier on you." Phirun snickered.

"Who said I was giving up?" Katara quipped before two thin streams of water shot up from her sleeves.

She wielded the ribbons of water like whips snapping them across Trung and Phirun's eyes. When they clutched their faces she turned and shot the streams at the feet of the men behind her, freezing them in place. Taking the slim window offered to her, Katara decided to cut and run tearing down the nearest alley.

"You backwater bitch! Get back here!" Phirun roared behind, "Split up and get her!"

Katara chanced a backward glance and caught sight of the heavyset giant of a man come to the entrance of the alley, he was starting to give chase. Her fatigued body groaned as she willed her muscles to push her further and faster while she desperately drew more water from her pouch. Ducking right she continued to race through the city's maze of alleys and side streets taking lefts and rights at random hoping to throw the men off of her trail but the thunder of their footsteps still followed her. She wouldn't be able to keep this up forever, she needed to get away. She took another series of swift turns before slamming into a wall of flesh, bouncing off she stumbled backward fighting to stay upright. The scent of ale hit her before she looked up and saw a man from the crowd grinning down at her.

"Guess I get first go." the man snarled at her, behind her, came the howls of more men, she had no choice, she would have to fight. Ignoring the burning in her limbs she drew every drop of water she could sense toward her and dropped into her first bending stance.

…

The Blue Spirit was rarely interested in drunks. They were loud, attracted too much attention, and proved to be lousy opponents. Normally he would purposely disregard them, but tonight the chaos that unfolded below him was too much to ignore. From his perch he saw over ten men scattered through the alleys, running in every direction. Curious, he chose a group and followed their zig-zagging path from above. He didn't have to wait long to find what all the fuss was about. One drunk ran into two more and they called out to each other.

"Did anyone find that water tribe savage?" one man hollered.

Zuko felt his stomach drop.

That's impossible

"Yea, Eun said Liu and Niran have her cornered a few streets north of here. She's a water bender and putting up one hell of a fight."

No.

It couldn't be her.

Why would she be in Ba Sing Se?

Why was she out here?

What if she's alone?

Why should he care?

"It's more fun that way." one man chortled before smacking the first on the back, "Get up there Fai, between you and Niran, you should have no problem. She can't take on two earth benders."

His hand balled in fists out of anger or frustration he wasn't sure, at this point, it all felt the same.

You promised.

Drawing his Dao swords Zuko clenched his jaw gritting his teeth.

Agni how could one person cause so much trouble?

He wondered for a sliver of a moment before leaping off the roof. Aiming for the one they called Fai, Zuko let his weight drop onto earthbender's shoulders, the green-clad man crumpled beneath his feet. Taking advantage of the drunk's momentary shock, he bent his knees and pushed off of Fai's back, feeling the satisfying crack of his ribs under his boots as he somersaulted into the air.

Fai's yelp of pain jolted the pair of drunks into action, the first swung for his head with a form so sloppy, Zuko barely had to dodge. With his gloved fingers wrapped around the bing of his sword, he punched the first man in the temple and watched him go down

"Guahhhhh!"

The sound dragged Zuko's attention across the alley to the last drunk trying to bum rush him. Raising his blade, Zuko waited for the right moment before he brought the metal-capped bingtou of his Dao down on the man's head. The last man fell unconscious before he even hit the ground.

He surveyed the mess around him but more yelling and whooping in distance urged him to move. He had to get to her before the rest of them overwhelmed her. Sheathing his swords he pulled himself up on a low truss and began moving north, following the sounds of the men calling to each other. The tightly packed buildings of the lower ring made for easy movement across the city but hindered his ability to see much past the streets he ran along. He kept aiming for higher perches hoping to get some idea of where she was. The strategy finally paid off when he caught sight of a chunk of cobblestone being tossed into the air. It came to a momentary halt, only to be slammed back down by a glimmering tendril of water.

"Found you." Zuko muttered to himself before taking off in the direction of the fight.

Lanterns, streets, and buildings all blurred past him as he raced across rooftops, his chest growing tighter with each step closer he took. She was still fighting, that was a good thing. He had stood opposite to the full force of her power more than once, she was fierce and wouldn't go down easily he assured himself, he would make it to her in time.

Zuko reached the edge of a small square and the scene laid out before him, superseded his best expectations. He felt the fear growing in his stomach ease when he finally laid eyes on her. She stood in the center of the square face to face with an earthbender he assumed to be Niran. Niran was flanked by two other men with kukri. Katara was using water whips to catch all of Niran's attacks and fling them back while keeping the two armed men at bay with needles of ice. Something was wrong. Why was she only defending? Two armed men and a single earthbender, who, compared to her blind companion, was throwing mere pebbles. Looking closer, he saw it. Her breathing was labored, her frame was crumbling and her flowing forms had lost the crisp edge he had come to be familiar with. She was worn out and wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. To make matters worse, two more of the drunks had stumbled across the clash. He was honor-bound, had no choice, he had to help her.

At least what he told himself as he stepped off the ledge.

…

Every cell in her body screamed, her muscles burned and her head pounded from the exertion. She was nearly out, no she was scraping the bottom of her reserves just trying to keep these three at bay. She had taken out the first, freezing him to a gate before the two with knives showed up and gave chase. Stumbling into the square she thanked La for rain barrels, it was only half full but it was enough to turn the tides and she'd held the advantage right up until that earthbender showed up.

She had sparred with Toph more times than she could count and this guy was nowhere near the Blind Bandit's level. Any other day disabling the three would be easier than cracking lychee nuts but she was so tired. Catching the volley of stone was became harder each time and the men with knives were becoming bolder, inching their way toward her and knocking away the barrage of needles with the metal of their blades. Katara needed to get away, right now. It would take more than two-thirds of her water but she could freeze the two men in place, but that meant facing the earthbender with the reduced volume. Catching his volleys would be harder and require more energy but if she could focus solely on him she stood a better chance of knocking him down and getting away.

Making her choice she bent her knees, dropping deep into her stance and casting out. She pulled in every drop of water into snaking streams that curled up her forearms. Something was amiss. The two men with knives had stopped advancing, actually, they had completely dropped their defenses. Even the earthbender had fallen out of his sturdy forms. They were no longer looking at her, but past her, grins plastered on their faces.

"Eun, Rai, nice of you to show up!" the earthbender called.

"We couldn't let you have all the fun Niran. Hope you don't mind." a voice chuckled behind her.

Katara spun around and what she found made her blood run cold, two more men had entered the square. She was outnumbered, out of steam, and out of options, there would be no winning this fight. Thinking quickly she decided that she would disable the earthbender first and face the last four until she could get away and hide or until …

Shaking her head, she turned around pushing and pulling the water that wound around her arms. Taking a breath she worked on targeting the one called Niran but a thud directly behind her sounded her alarm, shattering her focus.

How did they get so close so fast?

With nearly no space between them to bend, she would have to go for a direct hit. Spiraling around, she swung her fist just like Sokka had taught her, turning on the ball of her foot she followed through generating power with the full rotation of her hips. Except, it never landed. A hand wrapped around her fist bringing all of her force to a dead stop bringing her face to face with a wicked azure grin. The eerie face before her chilled her to the bone.

The hand wrapped around her fist squeezed and yanked her forward drawing her past the blue-faced demon and behind it? She stumbled and righted herself in time to hear the ringing of metal cut through the night, the creature that stood between her and the trio of men had drawn a pair of swords.

The blue-faced demon looked over its shoulder, turning empty black eyes on her.

"Run."

Doing as she was told, Katara scrambled out of the square not waiting to see what happened next. The roar of men and the clash of blades erupted behind her but she didn't dare look back. Moving as fast as her spent muscles would take her, she ran down alley after alley, making turns at random. Behind her she could hear more footfalls, chancing a glance over her shoulder she spotted the two men Niran had called Eun and Rai. They had abandoned the earthbender and knife-wielding men to the mercy of the demon and somehow picked up two more of their friends.

What did they want with her?

How did they keep tracking her?

Why was there a blue-faced demon roaming the streets of Ba Sing Se?

Those questions would have to remain unanswered. Right now she had to keep moving, it seemed no matter how many twists and turns she took they kept spotting her. There was no reprieve and she was so drained her mind was starting to play tricks on her. Katara could have sworn she saw a shadow following her from overhead. Pushing the hallucination from her mind she tried to put as much distance between her, those men and whatever that creature was. That was the plan, right up until the wind was knocked out of her.

Something had clenched her forearm with a bruising force and yanked her back so quickly it nearly gave her whiplash. She was pulled back into the darkness of another anonymous alley. A gloved hand clamped down on her mouth and back hit something warm and solid. She fought against the iron grip trying to get a look at who had captured her. What she found wasn't a who, but a what. Katara stilled at the sight of the blue grin that stared down at her. It pressed a finger to its mouth begging her silence.

In the dim light of the lanterns, she realized the azure face with its black empty eyes did not belong to a demon but a mask. Against her, she could feel the thundering of a heart and the rise and fall of breath quickened by exertion; the creature she had imagined was a person. She had to make a choice. Disable the masked man with her last water skin and run, or stay with this armed and unknown person. A person who put themselves between her and harm, who had told her to run and was now hiding her. It wasn't much of a decision, she would rather take her chances with the masked man than continue to face the mob of drunken men.

Katara nodded and the hand clamped over her mouth released.

"Who are you?" she immediately demanded.

The masked man shook his head silently and brought a finger back to the mouth of the mask. She started to protest but was interrupted by the yelling of men and approaching footfalls. This man, this Blue Spirit moved them deeper into the alley under the cover shadow. Facing his back to the alley he pulled her so her back was against his chest. His arms slipped around her waist and across her chest with a familiarity she didn't expect. He enveloped her in his larger frame, hiding her from sight and using the black of his clothes to disguise them in darkness. Once the men moved past the alley and they no longer ran the risk of being discovered, he unwound himself from her and crept to the dimly lit opening.

Katara followed close behind stopping when he held up a hand, she watched him do a visual sweep of the street, finding it clear his raised hand curled into a fist. The gesture struck her as strange. During their stay at the outpost, she had seen Earth Kingdom soldiers use it in their training. Maybe he was part of the military? But why would a soldier be out in the night, under a mask? She wouldn't get to ponder those questions, the masked man in question waved her forward toward the lane. Once she was beside him he did one last check before they moved. Deeming it safe, he turned to her and jerked his masked head toward the street.

"Come on, we need to move." the words that emanated from behind the mask came in a rasping tone that made her freeze.

She knew that voice.

Oops, does she figure it out? Or is Zuko about to get very lucky?

I will be taking a break after part 4 is posted, I have two other fics that have been distracting me from The Spaces Between and I need to get them on paper before resuming work on this fic - one is Zutara, the other is ... complicated. I'm hoping those two will cover the break in Spaces but only time will tell.

Let me know what you think or just that you're enjoying it in a review. I read them all, I promise.