A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Too much school work…

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, I would be bragging right now.

Chapter Thirteen: Enter Kaijin and Gongen

What have I done?

Prince Zuko lay on his bed and stared, unblinking, up at the ceiling.

I kissed that girl. The peasant from the Water Tribe. My bait for the Avatar. I kissed her. What have I begun?

000

Katara had been so stunned by the prince's kiss that she couldn't speak when they finally pulled away. Her mind was reeling and she wanted to question Zuko, but couldn't seem to find her voice. He just stared down at her with a penetrating look that would have kept Katara silent even if she could talk.

He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity weighing silently his decision. He liked her, so he kissed her. But, what consequences would this have? She believed herself to be a daughter of fire, but she wasn't. On Zuko's ship, the charade was fairly easy to keep going, but what would happen once the Avatar and her brother arrived? Katara subconsciously ignored all the signs that she wasn't who Zuko was telling her she was. She had gone through something traumatic and wanted to have an identity.

She just happened to develop feelings for a certain prince in the course of this.

Finally, Zuko took Katara by the arm and said, "You should go back to your room and get some rest." He led her away, making sure he never make eye contact with Katara. He walked as quickly as he dared, knowing Katara couldn't move too fast. When they arrived at Katara's door, he opened it for her and motioned for her to go inside.

"Get some rest," he managed to say, "You wounds still aren't fully healed. You almost fell."

Katara stood in her doorway and looked at him quizzically. What was he doing? Zuko looked up and met her eyes for a fraction of a second, but then looked away and said, "I'll see you at dinner" and stalked away.

Katara stood dumfounded in her doorway. "What was that all about?"

000

"What happened sir?" asked the lieutenant, "...Sir?"

Iroh sat at his low table as he lifted a tea cup to his mouth with a shaking hand. He seemed to be staring intensely at the table.

"General Iroh?" the lieutenant asked a little louder.

Iroh looked up at him, startled. "Huh? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing Sir… I was just wondering why you're shaking so badly. Is everything okay?"

Iroh looked around the room nervously for a moment. They were in the top portion of the ship with the captain. He was too busy to notice what the general and lieutenant were talking about. Iroh looked as if he was considering whether or not to say something to Ji, but then decided to.

He motioned for Lieutenant Ji to move closer. "I told the captain to make the boat lurch like you suggested. Zuko caught Katara and he kissed her."

Ji's eyebrows shot up and a huge grin appeared on his face. "What a Romeo," he muttered, shaking his head. He noticed Iroh's expression. "Is that all? Why do you look so shaken, sir?"

"I...I..," stuttered Iroh, "I never meant for anything else to happen!"

"Sir?"

"I saw Zuko lead Katara away! And in the direction of her room!" he shouted and put his head in his hands. "I should have known better! Zuko is always so stressed and tense, and with Katara on board, he was bound to-"

"What!" Ji shouted as he took a startled step backward. "Y-You don't mean he's…"

Iroh nodded gravely. "I'm afraid so."

"We have to do something!" declared the lieutenant as he paced the room.

"What are we going to do? Just barge in on them..?" asked Iroh.

"What else can we do? We can't let this go on!"

000

Katara sat in front of her mirror, brushing her long, dark hair and thinking about Zuko. She glanced in the mirror and then put the brush down, sighing. She gingerly brought her fingers to her lips, remembering what had taken place. Before, she had been wondering why Prince Zuko behaved the way he did after he kissed her. But, now she realized he was embarrassed. A small smile crossed Katara's face at the thought of this. He never handled emotional situations very well. Kissing her had been a huge deal for him, she knew. He needed to be left alone.

The sweet kiss they shared had been quite a big deal for her too. She had thought about Zuko as more than a friend a couple of times before. She couldn't deny that, even with his scar, she thought he was handsome. Through her training, they forced an unspoken bond that she held dear to her. But, the fire prince was never one to get emotional. That was why she was so shocked when he kissed her.

What will this mean for us now…? Katara was silently wondering just as her bedroom door burst open.

000

Zuko shot upright as he heard a sharp scream come from Katara's room. He jumped up and ran down the hallways until he found her room.

He stopped short at the scene that was unfolding before him.

Lieutenant Ji was holding Katara's door open and looking purposely down at the floor and shouting, while Iroh stood behind him, closing his eyes.

"All right, you two! Cut it out right now!" shouted the lieutenant. "Just, get dressed and get out!" He was blushing furiously.

Katara was sitting in front of her mirror, looking incredulously at the two men.

"What is going on?" Prince Zuko demanded.

Iroh and Ji's heads whipped around to see a furious Zuko glaring at them.

"Zuko!" Iroh exclaimed.

"B-But… What are you doing here…?" Ji stammered. He looked into Katara's room to see her sitting down and looking at him as if he had grown an extra head.

"Would you mind telling me what you are doing?" she demanded. "Why are you screaming?" She stood up and walked over to her door. "And you too, Iroh. What has gotten into you all?"

The general and lieutenant exchanged worried glances.

"Well?" demanded the prince. "What are you two doing, barging into Katara's room and screaming at her?"

"Oh, Zuko!" Iroh exclaimed. "I saw you lead Katara away after you kissed her and it looked like you were taking her to her bedroom, and I just thought that-"

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted, turning a deep shade of crimson. Except, not from anger, but embarrassment. "No! Of course not! I was simply helping Katara walk back to her room to rest!"

Katara stood silently blushing. So that's what this was all about. She thought. It was highly embarrassing, but she couldn't but be amused by the situation.

The men continued to yell back and forth at each other until Katara was fed up.

"Well, you shouldn't have been spying-"

"Alright," said Katara forcefully, "That's enough. Obviously, there was a huge misunderstanding. Nothing happened. Let's just forget about this whole mess, shall we?" Katara turned to each of them. "And don't come into my room without knocking."

000

"Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked as he peeked into Zuko's room.

"What is it?" asked Prince Zuko, clearly annoyed. He was still angry that his uncle had been the one who set the stage for his kiss with Katara.

"We received word from a station in Maruyama saying the Avatar is headed this way. General Kasuke said they should be here within five hours." Iroh paused and looked the prince steadily in the eyes. "What are you going to do?"

Zuko stood. "Finally… It certainly took those fools long enough. What do you mean what am I going to do? I'm going to capture the Avatar."

Iroh sighed. "I meant, what are you going to do with Katara? Still going to try and use her to lure the Avatar to you?"

Zuko looked away and said quietly, "I think it would be best to keep her out of sight completely."

Iroh moved so Zuko was facing him. "And what about after you capture the Avatar? What will become of the girl?"

"I don't know Uncle!" Zuko shouted. "Things have changed! I was going to capture the Avatar and deliver the girl and her brother along with him so there was no chance of them trying to rescue him. But, now…" Zuko's voice trailed off.

The prince swung his arm out, creating an arc of fire. He had been trying to find a solution to this very dilemma ever since he kissed her. Up until now, they had been able to pretend everything was okay. But, now reality was finally crashing down. The reality that Katara was a daughter of water and Zuko was a son of fire.

"This is your decision, Prince Zuko. You started this mess. Now, you have to deal with the consequences. Only now it's worse because your bait is the woman you love."

000

"Take Appa down easy, Aang. We don't want them to see us."

Cloaked by the inky darkness of night, the Avatar brought Appa down so he hovered about ten feet from Prince Zuko's ship. "We'll be back soon, boy. Make sure you listen for the whistle, okay?" Aang whispered as quietly as he could to Appa.

With the aid of Aang's air bending, the two boys made it safely aboard the Fire Nation ship. Now we just need to wait for a couple of guards to come along… thought Aang.

Then, they heard footsteps. "Get behind those crates over there," Aang told Sokka. Sokka did as he was told and watched Aang from behind the crates as he swiftly knocked out the two guards. Sokka would have liked to get in on the action, but he knew how much was riding on their plan.

Silently, Sokka and Aang removed the guard's armor and Sokka bound their hands and feet and put gags in their mouths. Now fully clothed in Fire Nation uniforms, they set out to find Katara.

000

Is that Katara's voice? Aang wondered. He heard a faint whispering coming from inside on of the rooms. He looked around for Sokka, but he had gone off in another direction to cover more ground. The door was slightly ajar, but Aang did not want to be seen peeking in, even if he was dressed in a Fire Nation uniform, that was far too big for him. He didn't want to draw attention to himself.

Quietly, the young air bender leaned close to the door to try and eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Don't worry about earlier... I found it kind of funny, actually," said Katara from inside the room.

What's she talking about? Thought Aang.

He heard a masculine sigh. "I think they should just mind their own business," the voice replied haughtily.

Is that Zuko's voice!

"That's true... But you uncle didn't make you. You did it on your own." There was a pause.

What is going on? Aang wondered angrily.

"Hm. Yes. Yes, I did." And then silence. It was deafening silence to the Avatar. He felt as if the entire world hung in the balance. Then, he heard small noises coming from inside. Instantly, his heart jumped at the thought of Zuko hurting Katara. Silently, he risked a glance into the room.

He couldn't see properly in the over-sized Fire Nation helmet, so he adjusted it so he could see.

Then he let out a tiny gasp.

What the young Avatar saw was Zuko with his arms around the beautiful water bender kissing her very thoroughly. His brain refused to process what he was seeing, which was his friend and the woman he loved, kissing the fire prince back. It wasn't possible. It simply wasn't possible. The only logical explanation was exactly what Aang had feared most. Zuko was taking advantage of Katara.

He turned away quickly, his heart racing. What to do? Should he act now and risk exposing his and Sokka's identity? Or wait and let him have his way with Katara? To Aang, the choice was clear.

In a swift motion, the young Avatar sent the door crashing open, startling the two teen benders.

A fiery fury burned in Aang's intense gray eyes. "Get away from her," he snarled.