Zuko stood on the deck of the ship, alone. Earlier that day he had exploded at his crew, yelling and cursing at them; they had given him a wide berth the rest of the day. His uncle was in his cabin, doing whatever it was that he did when he was alone – Zuko neither knew nor cared. He was leaning on the railing, thinking idly about the reception he would receive when he returned home with the Avatar, when suddenly someone approached him from behind and grabbed his wrists before he could fight back.
Zuko tried heating his hands in an attempt to burn his captor, but realized with a start that he could not bend. The man holding his arms laughed cruelly.
"What have you done to me?" The Prince shouted.
"Not so powerful without your bending, are you?" It was a member of his crew – the largest member, if Zuko was recalling correctly, a man whose name he couldn't remember at the moment. He struggled futilely.
"What is the meaning of this? Let go of me at once!"
"I don't think so, my Prince. Myself and the rest of the crew have gotten awfully sick of your attitude as of late. We think you deserve to be punished."
"You're out of your mind! Let me go!" His captor simply laughed again. Zuko felt his rage beginning to grow, though he was also getting slightly nervous. He wasn't strong enough to fight back, had no weapons at his disposal. If the man were to be taken at his word, none of the other crew members would be willing to help him, even if he yelled out. His only hope was his uncle, though Zuko knew that Iroh was too far away to hear him if he shouted.
Before he could think of what to do, the man began to pull him towards the captain's quarters. When he refused to walk, his captor simply dragged him by his wrists until Zuko had no choice but to cooperate. Once they reached the quarters, they were greeted by the majority of the crew. Zuko wondered briefly how they had all managed to fit inside, but the thought swiftly disappeared as the man holding him walked over to a chair and sat down, pulling Zuko over his knee.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He demanded. His captors only response was to lower Zuko's pants; within seconds his demeanor changed from angry to fearful. Zuko was not sure exactly what this man had in mind, but he knew it was not going to be pretty. His crew was laughing and jeering, cheering the man on, encouraging him. Zuko briefly considered begging, but would not allow himself to stoop so low.
After several uncomfortable minutes, the man brought his hand down hard on Zuko's pale butt. The crew cheered, and the man responded by spanking Zuko in earnest. Slaps rained down in rapid succession, turning the Prince's pale flesh pink, then red. Zuko squirmed and groaned, but would not allow himself to cry. The stinging was nearly unbearable. He had been spanked in the past, but it had been several years since the last one; he had forgotten how the burn could sink down into the flesh, making it feel as though his entire butt was on fire.
After several minutes of non-stop smacks, the man paused for a moment. The crew booed, urging him to keep going. The man looked down at the boy across his lap and thought back to the barrage verbal abuse they had all suffered at his hands. Making his decision, he lifted his right knee, angling Zuko's rear end so that the flesh where butt met thigh was more exposed. Then he began spanking again, striking the sensitive sit spot with firm, quick swats. Several more minutes passed. Zuko couldn't take it any longer. Tears dripped onto the floor as his self control slipped. Seeing this, the man stopped. The rest of the crew, too, seemed to agree that Zuko had finally had enough.
Zuko's hands were finally released, and he was allowed to stand up and pull his pants back over his well-punished bottom. He practically ran from the room, trying hard to cover his face, refusing to look at the members of his crew. When he reached his room he locked the door and laid face-down on the bed. He allowed himself to cry in earnest, and did not exit again until the following day.
"It's not fair, Uncle Iroh! Something needs to be done!" Zuko was fuming. Iroh sat placidly, sipping a cup of jasmine tea. Zuko had been ranting all day about the 'injustices inflicted upon him by his crew' and frankly, Iroh was tired of hearing about it. Shen, the man who had inflicted the punishment, had told Iroh all about it himself. Personally, Iroh believed that Zuko had deserved it, and he was just about sick of listening to his nephew complain.
He loved Zuko with all of his heart, but the boy needed discipline. If anything, he felt guilty that he had allowed Zuko to terrorize his crew for so long without taking matters into his own hands. When he did not reply to his nephews continued rant, Zuko became even more furious and left in a huff. Iroh assumed he would get over it. That was not to be the case.
For the next several days, Zuko largely ignored his crew, though when he did talk to them he was just as cold and harsh as usual. The crew began to grumble amongst themselves. There was talk that perhaps Shen hadn't been harsh enough the first time, and they began to question when they could get their hands on the powerful herb that prevented bending – they had only gotten enough for one dose the first time, believing that would be enough. Iroh heard the talk, and did his best to calm and dissuade them. He promised he would take care of things. And so, resigned to his fate, Iroh went off to confront his nephew.
"We need to talk Prince Zuko." Iroh's tone was unusually solemn. Zuko turned immediately, concerned.
"Is something wrong, Uncle?"
"Yes. I'm afraid there is. Your crew is most displeased with you, Prince Zuko. There has been talk of meting out more punishment. The only question is when this punishment will occur." Zuko's eyes narrowed and darkened in anger. Iroh could practically feel the heat radiating off of him. But there was something else, too, buried deep. Fear. He sighed tiredly. "I agree with them, Nephew." Zuko's eyes flew open wide in shock.
"You've got to be kidding me." Iroh sighed again, then steeled himself.
"I'm afraid I'm not. Your behavior has gotten worse and worse as time has gone on. You are harsh to the crew, and nearly intolerable to be around at times. I love you, Zuko. You are like a son to me. And sometimes, sons need a firm hand from their father to guide them. I've been letting you down these past couple years, letting you get away with your behavior even though I knew you deserved to be punished. But I will not sit back any longer, and I will not let your discipline fall to someone else."
Zuko stood dead still, horrified. His uncle could not be serious. But as he looked into Iroh's eyes, he knew that he was.
"Come here, Prince Zuko." Zuko shook his head, unable to find his voice. Iroh's voice became firm. "Now." Zuko still did not move. With a sigh, Iroh walked forward and took his nephew's arm, guiding him forcefully towards the bed in the center of the room. He sat and dragged Zuko over his knees, lowering his nephew's pants and exposing his butt.
"Please, Uncle," Zuko begged, finally able to speak again. "Don't do this."
"I'm sorry." With that, Iroh began to spank Zuko. He did not attempt to go easy on him, instead making sure that each slap reminded Zuko of just how bad his behavior had been.
Zuko had thought the spanking from Shen was bad, but this one was much, much worse. He was squirming almost immediately, though all that served to do was cause Iroh to place his hand on Zuko's lower back and hold him in place. Smacks continued to rain down on his rapidly reddening bottom. Zuko cried as his uncle spanked him, unable to hold back his tears. He had angered his calm, gentle uncle to the point where Iroh was physically punishing him – Zuko didn't have to think about it much to realize that he had gone to far. Though he didn't want to admit it, he deserved the punishment.
Iroh had realized early on that he needed to make Zuko's spanking memorable, so that he never had to do it again. Therefore, he went harder on him than he normally would have. When Zuko's butt was bright red, Iroh shifted and moved his focus down to Zuko's sit spot and upper thighs. He continued to spank until they, too, were bright red and hot to the touch. By that point Zuko was sobbing openly, and Iroh finally ceased his assault upon Zuko's butt.
He rubbed his nephew's back while Zuko calmed himself. When he had finally stood and pulled his pants back up, Iroh took his face between his hands.
"Do not ever make me do that again. I know you are a good person at heart, Zuko; now it is up to you to make your actions reflect that good."
"I'm so sorry, Uncle."
