Katsu really didn't want to make that proclamation, but he could tell Siku wouldn't leave him alone otherwise. Who knows what kind of response he'd get out of the girl either, whether she'd buy into it or completely call him crazy; plenty of people had made the claim of being Avatar over the years, he even knew some of those people, so it wasn't anything new. As he had pretty much expected she began laughing at him pretty soon thereafter, obviously not buying into what he'd said. Hey, if she didn't believe him then that was fine, he didn't much care. Or he wouldn't have if she didn't start taking jabs at him, feeling himself growing defensive over what she was saying. Closing his eyes his eyebrow twitched in irritation, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose before staring back at the Water Bender. If he said anything he'd likely still be doubted, so he'd have to show her.

"I don't exactly... Know many styles," Katsu admitted, his face blushing a bit as he folded his arms with a huff, "It's not all fun and games, you know! And it's not exactly a cushy life that I left either. Everyone thinks the White Lotus dotes on the Avatar, but they were hardly even nice to me. It's just a job to them, I'm just some brat they were supposed to train, they didn't want anything to do with me really. So why would I want to hang around for that when I can be out here, doing what I want to do? Here I actually have people I like being around, and I do things that I enjoy doing. So yeah, I escaped and came here to Republic City, why is that so hard to believe? You have no problem with the fact that I'm leader of a gang at such a young age, but have you ever stopped to wonder how that happened? How I was able to do something like that?" It was because of his training that he'd risen through the ranks, and why people didn't mess with him even now. When you could knock down the leader of a gang at 14 years of age people learned pretty quick not to mess with you; much as Katsu was opposed to violence he could fight, and when he did he did it damn well, as the White Lotus members earlier could attest.

Hmph, him, bad at lying? Well okay, maybe he was, but then he wasn't lying here. It wasn't his fault that Siku refused to accept the truth, whether out of disbelief or denial. He had laid himself out for her to see and whether she bought into it or not wasn't his concern, he'd sleep just fine if she never believed him. Actually it was best she didn't, then maybe things would get back to normal and he could get working again. Just as she had begun to question him again a man's voice echoed in the tunnels, drawing both Katsu's and Siku's focus down to the opposite end. Wonderful, all of this fricken chatting had let those morons catch up, now he had to work on getting away. Cussing under his breath he debated on turning to run, though glanced at Siku preparing to fight and let out a low groan. Damn it, he couldn't just bail on her and leave her to fend for herself, not against three White Lotus. 

Their first concern was the slab of rock barreling towards them, taking up most of the walkway in the sewer. When it got close enough to them Katsu jumped into the air, placing his hands on the top and using the stone itself to vault himself over, easily avoiding getting pancaked as it went past and slammed into the walls. A small flurry of fire blasts came their way next, which he answered in turn with a flurry of his own; flames smashed into flames, the hissing of fire filling the otherwise silent tunnel as they engulfed one another and burst into a flash of embers before ultimately vanishing from view. Right, so now there was just the water bender, right? Oh great, it was a water bender, why did it have to be another water bender? Looking across at the man, Katsu frowned and readied fire to attack, having to rethink his strategy when the shards came flying at him and Siku. With not a lot of room to move he instinctively crouched down, grabbing the ground after driving his hands through it and pulling up a slab, easily blocking the ice as it shattered against the stone. Pushing it back down then he kicked the ground, driving up a pillar across the way and catching the man in the chin, knocking him out easily. 

Looking to the remaining two men, the young thief engulfed both of his hands with flame, leaving Siku to wade in the sewage as he began to run at them. Ducking under a few blasts of fire he increased the flame on his right hand, driving forward a straight jab and releasing some energy to blast through another slab of rock, sending shard scattering all over the place. When he had gotten into striking distance he again ducked under a swinging fist, driving his own hand into the man's gut and letting loose fire, blasting him back and into the water some few yards away. Lifting the same arm at a ninety degree angle he caught a roundhouse kick with his forearm, immediately grabbing the man's leg and with a grunt of effort pulling him off balance, swinging him around and sending him flying across the waterway onto the opposite side. Slamming his foot against the ground again he used stone to bind each of his limbs, leaving him pinned for now.

What a mess this was turning into, he should have been long gone by now. Siku had really soiled his escape plan, and now he probably had to come up with something else. Glancing back over at the Water Bender he smiled tightly, moving to rejoin her and give her some help. "If you wanted to go swimming so badly you could have gone in the ocean, you know," Katsu teased, grabbing her arms and helping her out of the water, "So, Miss Snooty Pants, can I go or are you going to interrogate me more?" There was an uncanny feeling of being watched, something the thief hadn't noticed in the middle of his fighting. Frowning in confusion he turned around and expected to see more White Lotus, surprised when instead he saw Asha and Hiresh further down the tunnel. Oh great... It was a regular party down here now!