Baby Girl
DISCLAIMER (I forgot this tthe first time round) I DO NOT! OWN AVATAR. Cause if I did I'd be rich, but I'm as broke as they come. Though I do have the luck of the devil... ;-)
Prolouge
Zuko was seated staring at the black board as teacher after teacher came droned and left.
This was Nation High one of the most prestigious high schools in the country 80% of all students ended up in Ivy League schools, and of those 80% 97.5% ended up as multi millionaires if not multi billionaires.
The same was expected of Zuko as he was son to multi billionaire Ozai Fiire owner of the multi functional Fiire industries. They did everything from technology to entertainment even simple mundane day to day items- nothing was out of their reach and behind this large powerful empire lay one man- Ozai Fiire.
If you saw Ozai in the tabloids you would see a successful family man with a happy and beautiful wife, a beautiful and smart daughter who was the envy of all her peers and the handsome but very aloof son who was the star to take over the multibillion dollar company.
No one really saw what went on behind the scenes.
Ever since the death of Ozai's father Azulon he had been a changed man. He had secretly filed for divorce from his wife and had quietly forced her to leave.
Even since his moms sudden and secret departure Zuko had become withdrawn angry at the world, at his father but mostly at his weakness. He could have left is home to go look for his mother but he was still in love with the money and the luxury.
And it wasn't only Zuko who had changed. Ozai had become angrier and angrier ever since the death of his father and the departure of his wife, and his failure of a son had become the outlet for his anger.
It had begun with simple verbal abuse
"Fat" this simple word had forced him to strive for physical perfection, so he had stopped eating. He had became anorexic in hopes that his father would notice and stop the demeaning name calling. But instead of stopping it had only changed.
"Stupid" his father had told him when he had gotten an A. "Why can't you get an A*like your sister". So Zuko began doing extra tuition. He spent 2-4 hours a day revising without fail. A single A on his test signified failure. Coming less than first place signified failure. Being anything less than the best academically signified failure. He wasn't going to be anything less than academically excellent.
"Lazy" his father had called him. "Your sister takes tennis, soccer, basketball, hockey, is captain of the swim team, head of the debate club, does gymnastics and is the star candidate for going to the junior Olympics next year and all you can do is try not to fail- PATHETIC." Those scathing words drove Zuko to push himself further than his already weak body could allow. He started doing football, soccer, hockey, basketball, athletics, swimming and joined the community service group (that way he wasn't under Azula's thumb). But his dad didn't notice all he could say was "try your hardest not to embarrass me" before all his games, matches and tournaments, unaware to how weak his sons body was.
Then one night Ozai came home drunk from a staff party (and his own private party with his hot secretary) and found Zuko awake and in his room doing his daily revision.
Ozai glared at his son. "Still awake. You idiot! If you had any ounce of natural intelligence I wouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars a year to keep you from failing!"
Zuko winced. His father's insults should have just bounced off him- after all he was insulted by his father at least ten times a day- but they didn't, they hurt.
Ozai started circling around his son. Slowly. Like a vulture seizing up some potential prey. He calmly stroked his beard. "Perhaps I should find a way of making young work hard." He said with a small smile.
Zuko was frightened. His father never smiled at him but here he was grinning. He became worried.
"What do you mean fat-." Zuko asked quietly. But before he could finish one word he was dragged out of his child. His face met the floor with a resounding smack.
His father hissed "You know exactly what I mean."
With that he dragged his confused, hurt son down the stairs into a cellar Zuko didn't know existed. It looked like something out of a medieval torture dungeon.
Ozai dragged his son up some steps which Zuko realised was an altar. He chained his son to the cold stone pillar in the centre of the altar his back facing his father. He picked up a knife and ripped open the back of his sons shirt. He then picked up a whip.
"It's time you learnt respect son." And before Zuko knew it he was in excruciating pain. The pain came in one fast move and ripped a line of flesh off his back. He scram into the empty space.
"You WEAK, PATHETIC boy. Tainting the blood offering by screaming? You're a DISGRACE. I FEEL ASHEAMED TO CALL YOU MY SON. I CANT BELIEVE I SIRED YOU!" He yelled at his sons back with each word landing the whip on his sons writhing, hurting, bleeding body.
Before Zuko knew what happened he yelled out "I'M SORRY."
Ozai laughed cruelly before landing the whip again, and again, and again. Ten lashes later Zuko was close to being unconscious when his father stopped.
"That's your punishment." Ozai said before turning to leave. "If you ever embarrass me again, then you will be punished in the same way." Ozai laughed before he left the cellar, turning of the lights and leaving his son in the darkness, cold, alone and in a excruciating pain.
Zuko's last thought before he passed out was "I'm so sorry father."