Deflagro
Rated: M, just in case
Summary: Zuko is questioning an earth kingdom town about Katara's necklace. He takes things too far. Set between episodes 5 and 6 of season 1. Warning: character death.
As Zuko walked towards the small earth kingdom town, he held the watertribe girl's necklace close to him. He couldn't afford to loose this crucial piece of evidence. Someone in this impoverished town must have seen the girl. Even better, if he could find the people who had sheltered the avatar and his companions, they might know where his prey was headed.
It took many hours of questioning before Zuko finally struck gold. He had walked into the shop, assuming that it would be filled with more useless, moronic villagers. The teenager, Haru, and his mother had been anything but helpful to start.
"Have you seen anyone suspicious lately? Anyone dressed in unusual clothing. Perhaps with abnormal markings?"
"Yeah. You," replied Haru.
Zuko had fumed. Literally. But to his delight, the instant he had pulled out the girl's necklace, their eyes had widened. Zuko grinned.
"So you have seen this before. Maybe you've seen the girl wearing it?"
Haru's mother spoke up. "N-no, you've got it all wrong. I've never seen that necklace before."
"Have I? It seems to me that out of everyone in this miserable town, you two are the only ones who showed any recognition of this necklace. Logically that means you must have been the only ones to see it. You were sheltering the avatar and his friends." It wasn't a question. "Tell me where they have gone!"
"We're not telling you anything!" Haru shouted, stupidly.
"Haru!" the woman snapped. She turned to Zuko. "There is nothing to tell."
"Have it your way. Maybe you'll be more talkative when you no longer have a home to hide in." He turned to his companions. "Burn it to the ground."
Trusting his soldiers to carry out orders without needing him to watch, Zuko began to walk away. It was only when the screams started that he turned around.
"You idiots!" he shouted, "You didn't let them get out?"
"They didn't want to leave. We were only following your orders," said one of them nervously.
Screams filled the air.
"Out of my way!"
Zuko rushed past his men, kicking down the door to the smoldering house. He ran in, oblivious to the pieces of roof falling down around him. He needed to get those people out. He needed them for questioning. They were his only lead on the avatar. The screams stopped.
He found them crouched behind the counter. The mother had her arms flung around the boy, as though trying to protect him from the flames. They were both dead. With the door closed and the fire devouring all the available oxygen, there had been no hope for the pair. They had suffocated.
Zuko struggled to breathe. He couldn't believe it. He was the cause of this. He had had two innocent people killed. He fell to his knees.
Zuko was in shock. He didn't register as his soldiers dragged him out of the house. He didn't notice when they carried him back to the ship. All he could think about were those two bodies, huddled in their final embrace.