A Fighter's Heart (An Avatar Fic)

A Hero

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 allowed 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 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 new ‘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 girl’s 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 everyone 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.