An Ugly Beginning

“Stop!”

They turn around at her demand, surprised as her companions.

“Katara, what are you doing?” Sokka hisses under his breath.

She does not acknowledge she hears, but faces the two Fire Nation fugitives determinedly.  “Zuko – I challenge you to a bending duel.”  The words are her gauntlet, flung at his feet.

If Iroh is surprised, he conceals it well – Zuko does not (and neither do Aang and Sokka, for that matter).  Toph merely does not care either way.

“No, Katara, you don’t have to!” Aang tells her anxiously.

“You need someone to teach you firebending!” Katara points out, “And as much as I hate to admit it, they’re the only firebenders around here who can!  Unless you think we can find Jeong-Jeong again.”

Aang cannot find fault in this argument.  Sokka can, but one Look from Katara is enough to hold him back.

For now.

“You’ve met Master Jeong-Jeong?” Iroh inquires, impressed.

“We have,” Katara affirms, “And he’s taught Aang a few things, but not enough.”

“Prince Zuko...”  Iroh turns to his nephew.

Zuko clenches his teeth, glaring at the impudent Water Tribe peasant.  “I’ll accept your challenge,” he says lowly, “But only because you owe me a rematch.”

“That’s not good enough,” she retorts, folding her arms across her chest, “The stakes have to be higher.  If I win, you and your uncle teach Aang firebending.”

“And if I win?” he asks, unconsciously adopting the same posture.

Katara is at a loss – she has nothing to offer in return.

“Would not winning, in and of itself, be enough?” Iroh suggests off-handedly.  “It is the fairest match imaginable between Fire and Water, seeing as the sun is setting, and a new moon is on the rise.”

They all blink and stare at the old man, who smiles serenely in return.

Zuko wonders just what it is that his uncle is up to, but cannot deny that winning against this upstart girl will be quite satisfying.

Not that she has anything else to offer, other than the shame of her downfall.

“Very well – I accept defeating you as compensation enough for this waste of my time.”

Katara resists the urge to punch him dead in the face only by reminding herself, ‘This is for Aang, do this for Aang.  Wiping that smug grin off his face will be a bonus!’

“Let’s do this.”

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The battle begins on even ground – the setting sun and the ascendant new moon favor neither.  Because Zuko can summon fire at will, Katara is allowed the aid of a small stream.  Only the will to win can decide the outcome.

Zuko knows not to underestimate his enemy.  After all, the girl improved nearly exponentially in the few months between that incident over the waterbending scroll and their battles at the North Pole.  Raw talent shaped by dedication and training are a deadly combination.

He must not see her as herself, a young girl with dark skin and blue eyes and a travel-worn Water Tribe costume.  Instead, she is Water: his antithesis, his opposite, the yang to his yin.


Katara knows her enemy has many advantages over her: age, experience, training.  He frightened her for many months, and even after their run-in at the North Pole, she knows that he still does, if only for what he represents.  He is a formidable opponent, and, no matter what Aang wants to believe, dangerous.

She sees him not as himself, a boy with a scarred face and gold eyes and road-stained Earth Kingdom clothes.  Instead, he is Fire: the other extreme, her opposite, the yin to her yang.

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“Hah!”

Zuko attacks first, sending a fireball at her center, rushing after it to close the distance; she deflects it with a shield of ice, turns it to liquid, blasting him in the face and sending him off balance.

Aang has faith in Katara: she is his first teacher in this new and dangerous time, his first friend, his comfort and strength.  ‘She will win,’ he tells himself.

Zuko comes in, low and fast, sweeping flame up into her face as a diversion, seeking to break her root.  Katara slips past him, the first inkling of a plan forming in her mind – she summons globules of water, turning them to ice, launching them at him.

He avoids them easily.

Sokka believes in his little sister: he has seen her grow from a toddling tag-along to a strong (even head-strong) waterbending warrior.  She has overcome so many obstacles to become the master she is, and one day, she might not even need him.  But Sokka can sense that day has not arrived.  ‘I’m here, Katara, I believe in you!’ he tells her.

Katara is on the defensive, depending on her smaller size and lower center of gravity to foil Zuko’s more head-on attacks.  Zuko knows he can win a battle of endurance, if it comes down to it; but for now, he must not lose his focus.  He sends arcs of fire at her, from his hands and feet, seeking to envelope her.

Toph is certain the Sugar Queen will win: she hates to admit it, but Katara has guts, and she is certainly not the type to back down, especially over something that involves Twinkle Toes (Toph wonders if she is jealous).  ‘You can do it, Sugar Queen,’ Toph silently cheers.

Katara’s strategy has almost come to fruition, but Zuko has her on the run – it takes everything in her to deflect his attacks.  She has seeded the area with globes of ice; all she needs is one single opening.  Zuko senses she is tiring, and closes in with greater fury and speed.

Iroh knows his nephew will lose: he has nothing for which he is fighting for, nothing more than his own personal pride, while the Water girl is fighting for the Avatar, her brother, her people, the world.  Zuko is lost and uncertain, wavering on his path and tortured by his past; the girl willingly risks herself out of love for those around her, with hope in the future, and faith in the Avatar.  ‘Oh Zuko, can you not yet see the path before you?’ Iroh asks his beloved nephew.

Zuko rushes in, heedless, wanting victory over all else, to defeat this girl, this enemy, who signifies all that stands in his way.  She leans back, seeking to avoid his reach, but all he has to do is send her reeling with one final blow.

His foot rolls over an unseen ball of ice, and the battle is over.

Seeing her chance, Katara instantly drops all pretense of defense, leaving herself completely open as she rears up, turning the many icy orbs into thin lances of water, crisscrossing the intimate field of battle in a net of crystal that ensnares them both.  Lunging forward, she bends a skein of it into a single sharp dagger that can easily slice through his exposed throat.

She does not notice that Zuko has grabbed her other arm by the wrist, or that his other hand is poised at her center, about to deliver a searing deathblow.

“ENOUGH!!”  Powerful hands tear the combatants apart, before the killing strikes fall.  Katara is flung into her brother’s steady arms, while Zuko is left standing, staring at his raging uncle in shock.

“Enough!” Iroh repeats, smoke actually curling from his nostrils, “I understand that both of you have something to prove, but tearing each other apart like this solves nothing!”

Zuko recovers first.  “Uncle, why did you do that?!  I was about to win!”

“You were about to die!” his uncle retorts in a bellow that deafens like thunder, shaking Zuko by the scruff of his clothing, “She would have killed you, and you would have killed her!”

“I wasn’t… I-I wouldn’t…” Katara stutters, the adrenaline let-down of combat cut short sending her limbs atremble.  She feels cold, so utterly cold.

“You would have,” Aang tells her quietly, “I saw it.  I would have stopped you, too, but Iroh got to you both first.”

Sokka frowns at Aang, angered that he should accuse his sister of something so foul; he curbs his tongue, and holds his sister close, whispering calming words to soothe her shivering.

“Avatar,” Iroh addresses Aang gravely, “If you would have me, and my nephew, I would be honored to be your teacher in the art of Firebending.”

Aang hesitates, his eyes darting to Zuko, who stands frozen in place, his face ashen, and then to Katara, who looks at him pleadingly.  “I humbly accept, Iroh of the Fire Nation,” Aang says with equal gravity, bowing.

Iroh nods, and only then does he release Zuko.

“Well, now, isn’t this nice – we’re all going to be one big happy family,” Toph notes humorlessly in the awkward silence.

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All right, so it ain't the best start to fluffy-lovey-doveyness, but heck, they gotta start somewhere, right?  If this is how it turns out in the series, I will be so happy. (and kinda creeped out)