Ozai was really a very loving and caring father devoted to his two children especially after the disappearance of the love of his life. One day while lovingly teaching his little boy fire bending on a father-son bonding trip Ozai accidentally let a spark of fire brush Zuko's cheek. Zuko, being completely spoiled rotten by his royal father goes ballistic over the small spark hitting his cheek. Ozai feels guilty and tries to apologize to the boy: "Zuko, my son, I'm so sorry it was an accident, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Zuko ignores his father's apology and storms off on a spoiled tirade blaming his father for "ruining his life". Zuko is so annoyed with his father's "negiligence" to watch where he was bending that Zuko believes his father doesn't care about him at all; otherwise he'd be more careful. Zuko burns the side of his face where the spark hit on purpose, scourging half his face off in a deranged rage to make his father look like a monster. Zuko then runs around crying to everyone saying what his father "did" to him. Ozai is hurt and taken aback by what his son done to his handsome, young face that resembled so much of his beloved wife whom had vanished and left him to grieve.
"Zuko, my son, what have you done to your face! Your mother would've..." Ozai began
"You did this to me, father!" Zuko lied, trying to convince himself.
"Zuko!" A hurt Ozai exclaims, "I would never do such a thing to my own flesh and blood!"
"You hate me, you only love Azula!" The spoiled rotten prince cried.
"I love you both equally," Ozai says trying to calm the boy.
"I'm running away, you don't care about me, I'm telling Uncle what you did, now you can just have Azula and Uncle will have me, he lost his son anyway!" Zuko cried in a snit.
"Zuko! My brother would never believe such a thing, leave him be, he is mourning the loss of Lu Ten, bless my nephew's heart...I don't know how I'd be if anything...ever happened to you, Zuko...ever since your mother..I've been so watchful of you and Azula, my precious children..." Ozai sobbed over his wife, nephew, and for sympathy for his elder brother.
"He'll come with me, you'll see, Grandpa will let me!" Zuko storms off telling everyone how his father did this to him. Zuko in reality has gone insane over his mom's disappearence and the death of his grandfather. Iroh is too emotionally strained by the death of his son to think logically and only listens to Zuko accusing his brother of hurting his son so. Aking his brother how he could do such a thing to his son and that Iroh would give anything to have his back, and this is how Ozai treats his? The two run away together and the distressed Fire Lord Ozai alongside his beloved and concerned daughter send troops to scour the globe for his brother and son lost in emotional stress. The lie is spread about Zuko's banishment throughout the globe, Ozai has no will to continue the war with his brother and son gone. Azula goes mentally insane from missing her brother, uncle and mother and how her father has become despondent. They all lead the rest of their tragic lives in woe, all because Prince Zuko was a little too spoiled.

-Thanks to my friend, _ismybestfriend, for the idea/inspiration to write this fic-