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He discarded the mask long ago, but now it seems he has no choice.
He hears the rumours, of course. Of the veiled vigilante running around Caldera City. He hears the rumours from the servants, palace guard, palanquin bearers. That she visits houses of the sick and orphaned. That she comes to the Fire Nation soldiers recently come home from the war, but cannot find work because of their injuries both physical and mental. That she whispers through households 'This isn't right,' about the ridiculous prices of food, medicine, and healing services.
Now he is hearing of her at court. Several noblemen requested an audience to discuss the new city 'menace'. She is a disturbance, they say. They were so busy the past moon alone, hearing complaints from their subjects. Because that is your job. She is not from here, they say. She mustn't be, otherwise she won't be vainly desecrating the Painted Lady, a revered Fire Nation spirit. She should be captured and executed, they say.
"No execution," Zuko finally says. He was quiet the entire time until then. "If what you're saying is true and the people listen to her, they will revolt when she's executed. And if any of you try to dispatch an assassin, the people will eventually know too. We'll have a bigger problem in our hands then. I will take care of this."
Later that night he sneaks out of the palace and into the shopping district. Steals a mask similar to the one he threw away in Lake Lao Gai. Like the Painted Lady, the Blue Spirit is also a popular Fire Nation spirit. A mask of his is sold all year round, but it is not the spirit festivals yet so it is easy to nick from any store.
Zuko waits some hours on the rooftops before he spots the veiled vigilante. They are both out in the open and the full moon shone bright tonight, so when he begins his pursuit she immediately knows. The chase is long but he never loses sight of her. When he corners her at the edge of the houses she drops to the alley. He follows and now the chase is longer.
"If she thinks I'll give up easily, she's wrong," he mutters, thinking back to the years chasing the Avatar.
At last he catches up with her in the area around the noble residences. She must be unfamiliar. He approaches her calmly, "I only want to know who you are, and how I can help you and the people you help." He sees her visibly pause, but her head is still down and covered from his view by her straw hat.
When he is near enough she strikes quickly. Right where it matters. He feels where his chi stops flowing. He panicks. Does she know I'm a firebender? She strikes several more times. He limps to his knees. How can I be so stupid.
As more scolding thoughts fill his head, she ties him up to a post. She removes his mask, but she doesn't seem taken aback when she sees the identifying scar on his face. "Who are you?" he mumbles.
She looks at him squarely. Amongst the white paint and red markings, he sees blue eyes. The noblemen were right, she's not Fire Nation. "Katara?"
"Hi, Katara here." She smiles sheepishly.
"Katara, what are you doing here? The noblemen want you dead." Now that seems to surprise her.
"What do you mean?"
"You helping out in the city is making them feel how truly inadequate they are as leaders..." he trailed off.
"And by extension, you?" she said. "I'm sorry, Zuko. We were all due to visit you. I came earlier, came along with my Dad. I think you met with him last month?"
That had been a month ago. She was here all that time? "Why didn't I hear about you? Why didn't you come to me sooner?"
"I... I got caught up down here. We were on a ship with Fire Nation soldiers coming home to the Caldera. I helped with the ship healers and strung along until I worked in the villages. So many of them are wary of benders, even firebenders. I disguise myself as the spirit, so that I can heal the worse off with my bloodbending..."
He freezes at the mention of bloodbending, recalling their search for her mother's murderer. She sees this and quickly explains, "Gran Gran isn't a bender but when I told her about my bloodbending, she helped me through learning how I can help with it! I'm sorry I caused you trouble, Zuko."
"Then can you stop this now? We can set you up at the hospital and you can go around in an official capacity. Would you like that?"
She looks at him with wide eyes, unbelieving. "I thought you wouldn't want bloodbending anywhere near your people… I'm sorry I assumed so. Your plan is great, Zuko! Thank you!" Her smile is wide, unlike the small forgiving smile she gave him at the end of their 'field trip'. Quite unlike it, but still expected of Katara.
Also expected of her, yet he isn't quite ready, is her kissing him on the cheek. He knows from living with them at the Western Air Temple that she is a tad generous with her kisses. Good morning kisses to the cheek, forehead kisses at night, to at least someone once a day in their little found family.
"Thank you, Zuko," she says again, so quietly and kindly. He thinks that he rarely saw this side of her of the time knowing her. The first time he really saw it was beneath Ba Sing Se, when they told each other about how the Fire Nation hurt them both and she offered to heal his scar. The rest of his immediate memories of her are fierce in battle, when she was barely learning from stolen scrolls and then when she has already learned from a master waterbender and then when he betrayed them in the Crystal Catacombs and then when she made the weather be her revenge and then when she was there to finish the Agni Kai he fought with his sister. When he looks between them though, more of her kindness arises to the surface of his mind. Her mercy towards Yon Rha, her forgiveness to him, her gentle hands and bending water over his lightning wound, a manifestation of the sure death Azula intended for her.
He wants to kiss her then but he only breaks the silence, if there ever was. He doesn't know if she said anything else when he was deep in thought. "No, thank you, Katara."
Now she does something unexpected, and honestly, something he is quite ready for. She leans in again to kiss him. It is a brush of her lips against his at first but he responds immediately and preses in. She is surprised by his response, he can tell, and she shies away.
He smirks at her. "Now can you please untie me?"