Attn: I do not own Zuko, Azula, Ozai, or any other character from this great show. That honor goes to Bryke and their owners at Viacom.

Agni Kai

"You've got to be kidding Zuzu. You can't seriously even be considering missing Dad's first Agni Kai as Fire Lord."

"Well, I…"

"And if that's not reason enough, I heard it's a duel to the death."

"But, wait. What?"

"Yeah, the guy's a traitor. Dad overheard him planning a coup. Instead of just executing him, Dad's giving him a chance to live. Over his dead body of course."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. And if I were you, I'd be a lot more excited."

"Why?"

"Think about it dumb-dumb. It's an Agni Kai to the death. If somehow the worthless traitor gets lucky and Dad loses, you're next in line for Fire Lord. Were it me, I'd be rooting for the other guy, secretly of course, but in your case I'd make extra sure no one found out, Dad's already agreed to kill you once, I doubt he'd have any problem actually doing it this time. Oh, I know. He could challenge you to an Agni Kai, make you 'fight for your honor.'"

"Not funny Azula, Dad would never duel one of us."

"Believe what you want. Now come on, it's about to start. I don't want to miss any of the action. I bet Dad wins in under a minute."

Azula was right. The condemned guard was able to throw one fiery punch before the Fire Lord swept his feet from under him and was in position to deliver the final blow. Staring up at the Fire Lord, the guard's only though was of his off-hand comment that had started all this.

. . .

"Yeah, I served under General Iroh during the siege of Ba Sing Se. He was a great leader. Wasn't he the heir-apparent? Shouldn't he have become Fire Lord?"

A/N: So, I've been looking forward to getting my copy of the prequel manga 'Zuko's Story', which was released yesterday, and I started day-dreaming at work. This is the end product. Please review, constructive criticism is always welcome.

I would set this flashback to 6 months to a year after the events seen in the "Zuko Alone" flashbacks, maybe sooner as Azula is still teasing Zuko about Ozai killing him.

As was the case with Ashes of the Phoenix I really enjoyed channeling Azula, except this time I got to channel both her and Zuko as kids.

Also: R.I.P. Nameless Guard, fallen victim to Ozai's megalomania and my own laziness.