Zuko was loosing. He didn't understand how he could lose to this idiotic Earth Kingdom soldier who was nothing more than a bully. He was lying on his back on the ground, pain racing through his body.
"Get up," he heard the little boy whisper. The little boy, Lee, for some reason Zuko needed to protect him. He didn't understand why, but he wanted to save that boy. So Zuko did the only thing he could do – he decided to firebend.
He stood up, whipping the flames around him. He threw the soldier back.
"Who are you?" the soldier asked.
"I am Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation." He proclaimed. Gasps ran through the crowd. Suddenly, an old man piped up.
"I know who you are," he said in a gravely voice. "You're not a prince, you're an outcast! You're own father burned you and exiled you." Zuko felt a pang of complete desolation. The man was right. But he steeled himself against the sting of the old man's words. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard before.
He walked over and took his knife from the incapacitated soldier. He began to walk towards Lee. He wanted the boy to have it, for some inexplicable reason. The boy's mother stepped in front of him.
"Not a step closer," she commanded. For some reason, her courage reminded him of his own mother. And of what his mother had told him once; that mothers always protect their young. He could see the woman was trembling a little, but she held her ground. He respected her for that. But he wished she could understand. He didn't want to hurt them.
He laid the knife down a few feet away.
"Here, I want you to have this," he said to Lee.
"No!" cried the boy. "I hate you!" It was the boy's words that stung Zuko the most. Zuko had protected him, saved him, helped him. And still the boy didn't trust him. He should have expected it though. No one trusted him.
So Zuko picked up his things and left the dusty little town. His heart heavy to the point of breaking. The people lined the road, watching him leave. Their eyes bored into him, he could feel their hatred. Why did they hate him? For once in his life, he had only been kind to them.
But, deep down, Zuko was not surprised. He had been a fool. No one would ever trust him. No one would ever be his friend. No one would ever love him. He was an outcast. From the moment he was born he'd been an outcast.
He'd been a failure his whole life. Azula had always outshone him in firebending, in statesmanship. He'd dishonored himself in his fathers eyes. He'd been banished from his home. And he could achieve the one thing that would redeem him. He'd failed to capture the Avatar. But it wasn't like he could simply start over. The whole world hated him.
He was an outcast from his family, from his country, from the whole world. He pulled his hat low over his eyes, hoping his anguish didn't read on his face.
He had come to an utterly painful conclusion: He was, and always would be, an outcast.
A/N: Zuko needs a hug! This is kind of a companion story to "Tainted Hero" which explores Lee's perspective on these events. I was going to put them together but they weren't 100 compatible, so that's why they're separate. And I personally think this one is much better and more well-written. Please review!