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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 33524 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, any historical figures or events, or easily recognizable persons, places or things. I make no profit from this work of fanfiction

Chapter List
- 259
- 260
- 261
Chapter 257
When Katara did finally did wake the sun close to setting and she was alone in the bed. She sat up quickly with a single thought in her mind - Zuko - remembering how he had fallen last time. She raced around the privacy screen and came face to chest with one of the Zhaos.
“Slow down. He’s fine. There was another skirmish so we were sent to check on the two of you since the others couldn’t come. Zuko is over there with my brother. He’s feeding him. I drew the short straw so I’ll be the one taking him to the bathroom. You just cover up and relax,” he said waving his hand at Katara to shoo her away.
Katara nodded and quickly made her way to the restroom. That was the real reason she had woken up. After washing her hands and face Katara walked back into the bedroom.
Zhao 1 patted Zuko on the head, “Whoa man you are one lucky dog. I don’t even like that stuff but hers is really pretty.”
Katara looked down. She was wearing a nightgown but it had gotten sweaty as they slept so it stuck to her in several places. A blanket had been tossed over her by the time she remembered Zhao 2 had said to cover up. Zhao 1 was still teasing Zuko about what he’d seen but the prince made no effort to harm him.
All he said was, “Stop, don’t make me laugh. It hurts” as the jokes became more pornographic.
Katara’s grip on the blanket tightened as she wrapped her arms around her torso to shield herself from further inspection. Zhao 2 saw the action and realized she mostly likely did not know why Zuko was laughing. “Hey asshole, Zuko’s fun to embarrass but you’re making Lady Katara uncomfortable.”
“Yeah I’d make her uncomfortable all right,” Zhao 1 retorted while suggestively wagging his eyebrows.
“Clod, shut up! I don’t see why you keep going on about it when you swear Zuko’s monster would be greatest thing on the planet if it was attached to a man from the Earth Kingdom,” Zhao 2 said effectively ending the laughter.
“What did you say?” the now angry twin asked his brother.
“You heard me, Ashpot. Look at her. She’s practically in tears because she doesn’t know what the hell you two are laughing about. She’s in Fire Nation custody not some pretty girl we met on the streets. No offense Zuke, but it’s not like her looks have done her any favors. If she were ugly she’d have been left for dead in the forest where Azula shot down the bison. She could have healed herself and be freezing her toes off at the South Pole if Koh had not been so kind to her.”
“Lady Katara don’t be upset. If he were a true threat to your virtue he would not have said those things and Zuko would not be laughing. We can’t stay very long. If you get dressed there is time for one of us to escort you to take care of the townspeople’s water. Many of them have asked that a holding tank be built next to their homes to hold it until you can retrieve it. We’ve done the same thing at the barracks. I know you don’t hear it much but some of them are calling you an angel. They feel what you have done to conserve the water is truly a blessing.”
Katara nodded. Zhao 2’s eyes had never left hers. Even when she was overexposed his eyes never ventured beneath her shoulders. She got dressed and Zuko apologized to her. He was still laughing. She would have been offended if they had not explained Amayu had taken herbs to Fan and asked that a heavy sweet bread be made with it.
Katara smelled the cannabis when Zuko offered her a piece of it. She took a tiny bite knowing he would become unhappy otherwise then announced she was going to collect the water. Zhao 1 washed the utensils he had used to feed Zuko then followed her. He seemed nervous but didn’t say anything the entire time she collected the hotel’s water or that from the barracks.
He remained silent until they reached the carpenter’s house. Min-Sik’s mother was outside with Ming, her son and a child she had never seen. The older woman screamed when the children came running up to them. Katara smiled when the little boy showed her the bug he had caught.
“I was going to give it to Kagome but you can have it.” The insect flew away when Gau-Ruk extended his hand to give it to her.
“My bug!” Gau Ruk screamed before he ran off to chase it. Kagome remained behind. She stared up at them in awe.
Zhao 1 smiled and lowered his arms offering to pick her up. She reached for him and giggled when he lifted her high in the air and spun around before settling her against his chest.
“Put my child down!” Min-Sik yelled waving his scythe at him. He had heard his mother screaming and came rushing over from their family garden.
Zhao 1 set the smiling girl down, “I meant no harm. I have a little sister that I haven’t seen for months. Your daughter reminded me of her. I promise I would never do anything to hurt a child or allow one to be hurt in my presence. There are many of us who feel the same way in regards to children. We don’t look kindly upon those who hurt them.”
Kagome ran to her father and held out her hand to show him a large bug, “It was in his hair but Gau Ruk ran that way looking for it.”
Zhao 1 who had been calm until that moment began running, screaming and slapping wildly at his head, “That was in my hair. Get it out. Get out it!”
Min-sik’s sides were hurting by the time he was able to suppress his laughter long enough to grab the distraught teen, “It is out. It was out before you began flailing like a madman. If it had friends you have certainly frightened them away. Now calm down and show some decorum. It is unfitting to display such foolishness in front of women.”
Zhao 1’s eyes blinked a few times and his cheeks started to redden. Everyone thought it was from embarrassment but in the brief time she’d known him Katara knew he wasn’t easily embarrassed. She placed her hand on his forearm and called his name, “Jianguo?”
“Oh… I… we should get back,” he said quietly.
Katara finished her self-appointed chores and was surprised when Zhao 1 stopped her at the edge of town where a third garden was being planted. He sat on the ground, picked up a handful of dirt and just held it. When he let it slip through his fingers he picked up another. A quarter hour had passed by the time Katara sat down next to him. She didn’t say anything but watched the reverent way he lifted the dirt.
The sun had gotten noticeably lower when he finally did speak, “I hate seeing that man. He looks so much like Harusuke it hurts to look at him. Zhao killed him. He knew how much I loved him and he murdered him right in front me. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep at his house. His parents were gone and I had just gotten back from the Fire Nation. We hadn’t seen in other in so very long. The bastard broke in and set him on fire while he was still on top of me.
“I couldn’t put the flames out. I tried. I tried so hard but I couldn’t put them out. Every time I got close to doing so he’d make Haru reignite. I realized he was playing with me. My efforts weren’t making a difference; he was toying with us and prolonging his pain. I held him hoping to die with him but I wasn’t touched by the flames. I can still hear his screams, see his face and feel him dying in my arms. That man looks so much like my Haru it hurts,” Zhao 1 sobbed and he leaned forward and buried his fingers in the dirt.
Katara hugged him and let him cry against her chest. When he finally grew quiet she whispered, “I lost my Haru too.”
He shook his face and pulled away from her, “No you didn’t. He’s still alive. We never caught them. Those people who were burned were criminals scheduled to be executed. Your Haru is still alive. He still has a chance to be with you. My Haru is dead. I can still see his face among the ashes. The bastard made sure the fire stayed below his neck. He was in such agony Katara. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to see him suffer. I tried to run but he made me watch.”
“And then he… he… I didn’t even get to cherish the memory of feeling Harusuke inside me. I saw his face. He was screaming for me and begging him to stop. My beloved died watching the man I called father rape me,” Zhao 1 wailed breaking down again.
Katara held him. Her hands began to glow as the dew formed on them. She had not known he was in so much pain or had suffered so much. He always seemed to be happy and cheerful. All the Fire Nation ever did was hurt but she did not know it was capable for people to inflict so much misery on their own children.

Katara wasn’t sure how much had passed when Zuko, Zhao 2 and Mu found them. Zuko was riding Korhi while the other two walked beside her. It appeared to take all of his strength just to remain upright.
“You should be resting,” Katara admonished quietly so she wouldn’t wake Zhao 1.
“I was worried. You were taking too long to come back. A lot of people hate Zhao for getting so many killed at the North Pole. I was worried the two of you had been targeted for revenge,” he replied.
Zhao 2 had no concerns about waking him or the dead for that matter. He began yelling, “What in Koh’s name is wrong with you? I had to pretend to be both of us on the duty roster. You’re lucky Bong Cha likes playing senile and that girl in the 58^th thinks you’re cute otherwise both of our asses would have been busted.”
Zhao 1 looked up at his brother and whispered, “I told her about Harusuke. Min-Sik talked to me. He has a daughter. She wanted me to pick her up so she could get a bug out of my hair. Haru and I were going to take Jingfei and Mommy and run away together. She’s the same size Jingfei was when he died. She was going to be our little girl. I miss him. I miss him so much. Why couldn’t he have just let me die with him?”
Katara wrapped her arms back around him even though he was also being hugged by his brother.
Mu waited until Zhao 1 had stopped crying to place a hand on 2’s shoulder, “We can’t stay here. A patrol will be coming by soon. Zuko’s condition will raise too many questions.”’
Mu frowned, “People saw him leave with Katara. They can’t see them going back into to town together. What if they think he dishonored her?”
Zuko reached into his bag, “Here give him this. It’s happy bread. Katara can ride back with me on Korhi. All of you eat some and pretend to be drunk and then come back to our room. He’ll be safe there.”
Katara looked down at the sniffling boy resting between her and his brother. The dew still glowed where they were touching. “Jianguo are you hurt? The water between us is glowing. It only does that when it come in contact with injuries. Do you want me to help you?”
He shook his head, “No, the pain makes it feel better.”
“What? What do you mean the pain makes it feel better? What have you been doing?” Zhao 2 demanded.
“The ashes remind me of Harusuke.”
Katara forced Zhao 2’s hand away when he tried to grab his brother. She opened her shirt and lifted her bra so the skin beneath her breast showed. “My mother was burned in front of me. I saw the fireball hitting her chest. I needed to know how much pain she felt. The physical pain goes away. It leaves scars, in time those will fade but what’s beneath doesn’t stop hurting.”
“Harusuke loves you, Jianguo. It hurts him to see you are hurting knowing he is the reason. Isn’t that what the fortune teller and sages told you? Granny Nima even said she could see a second aura shielding yours,” Mu said quietly.
“I know Haru is with me. This is my way of being with him,” he replied quietly. “I see him whenever I look at a flame. Min-Sik looks so much like him that it feels like I’m losing him all over again.”
Zhao 1 pulled away from Katara and leaned more heavily on his twin. “Tell me everything you remember about him.”
Katara stood up as Zhao 2 snorted, “That jerk was a pain in the ass for one, but not like he was in yours.”
Zhao 1 laughed, “It wasn’t painful, not after the first few times. You should try it; you’ll forget all about women.”
“Is that how he seduced you?”
“Nah I seduced him. He said I was still kid but I convinced him. He’d be 22 now and old enough to marry. I’d be old enough we could in the land we both despised but we were going to wait until my 22nd birthday to ask Earth Sages to perform the ceremony. We would have been together 6 years four months and six days had Father not killed him four years ago. I’m six weeks and 4 days older than he was when he was murdered.”
Mu helped Katara onto Korhi. As she took the reins to turn the animal she could have sworn the dirt in Zhao 1’s hand hardened to form a ring on his third finger.
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- 261
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Borealis: A Zutara Story