So, these will be my relatively short, unrelated submissions for Azula Week 2018. Sorry for being late to get on the train, I've had other stuff to do and little time to get this together. Hope you guys enjoy it :).
Childhood
Contrary to popular belief, Azula's childhood wasn't as messed up as most people would assume it was. Some of her best moments actually came from her childhood, before everything in her family became so complicated and messed up. There was a time when she didn't hate Ursa, when she wasn't wrapped around Ozai's finger like she grew up to be and there was a time when she and Zuko actually got along, like normal siblings should.
Before Azula found out that she was a firebender, she spent most of her time with Zuko running around the palace while causing as much mischief as they could together. The pair were actually quite inseparable in their early years and Azula even looked up to her older brother to some degree. Of course, that was something Ozai didn't approve of but at that point in her life Azula didn't care what her father thought.
At the age o four and six respectively, Azula and Zuko were as close as you could be as siblings. Sure, they argued a lot and blamed each other for petty things but that was just what brothers and sisters did. On one day in particular, the pair of siblings were running around the palace gardens as they chased each other around, laughing as they did so.
"Gotcha!" Zuko yelled as he picked Azula up, with her laughing at the top of her lungs.
"Down, Zuzu, down!" she screamed, not liking being picked up by her older brother as she used the nickname she had always used on him, since she never really could pronounce his name properly.
"Alright," Zuko conceded as he lowered his sister to the ground, although she was still laughing as she did so. "What do you want to do now, Az?"
"Show me the trick again!" Azula excitedly exclaimed.
Having only recently discovered his firebending a few months ago, Zuko had been the star focus around the palace. Although it had taken him somewhat longer to discover his firebending, it was still a remarkable achievement. Since his discovery, Zuko had been training to improve his bending which was something that Azula had become fascinated with.
"Alright, just step back a bit. I don't want to hurt you," Zuko said.
Doing just that, Azula eagerly stepped back as Zuko nervously took his position and readied his movements. Even though he was just performing in front of his sister, Zuko still didn't want to mess up. Once he was ready, Zuko punched his fist out forward, eliciting a small blast of firebending while Azula clapped happily as she watched on.
"Yay! I loved it!" Azula cheered.
Zuko smiled, "Thanks, Az."
"That's so cool, Zuzu. I want to be just like you," Azula proclaimed.
"Really?" Zuko asked, shocked.
Azula nodded, "Yes! You're cool, Zuzu! I want to be cool too."
"Well, you're cool too, Az," Zuko replied.
While Zuko knew his sister looked up to him, it was still surprising for him to hear that she wanted to be just like him. If his father heard her say that, he would probably consider her to reach for higher ambitions. Despite Zuko being only six-years-old, he knew that his father didn't think highly of him, which hurt him on the inside. So it was good to see that his sister admired him to some degree. At least his mother and sister supported him, unlike his father.
"Let's go in now!" Azula yelled as she dragged Zuko towards the palace. Although Azula was only four, she still had a firm grip against her brother and was easily able to drag him around to wherever she wanted.
Eventually, the pair of siblings found themselves in the painting room where all of the portraits were painted. It wasn't used that much, so it gave them the perfect place to run around to their hearts content.
"Zuzu, teach me how to do the punch thingy!" Azula exclaimed.
"Okay, Az," Zuko replied as he stood in front of his sister. "All you have to do is breathe in the air around you and punch it forward. That should make fire."
Listening to her brothers instructions, Azula did just that as she tried to mimic his movements from earlier, only she didn't quite get the same results. Instead of a blast of fire, she only got a blast of smoke which was all she had been getting since she tried firebending.
"It didn't work," Azula pouted.
"I'm sure you'll get it eventually, Az. I only just did it a few months ago," Zuko reasoned.
"But I want to do it now," Azula complained. "I want to shoot fire like you and daddy so I can be like you."
"I'm sure you'll get there eventually, Az," Zuko promised.
"It's not fair. I just want to –" Azula started before she suddenly halted her sentence and jerked upward.
"What is it?" Zuko asked.
"I just want –" Azula tried saying before she jerked upwards again.
"Are you alright, Az?" Zuko questioned nervously.
"No, I'm –" Azula began before she once again jerked upwards. Only this time, she let out a powerful sneeze as she did so.
Zuko stared at his sister in awe after she sneezed, since that was no ordinary sneeze. Because what came out of her nose along with that sneeze was fire, which was unlike anything that Zuko had seen before.
"Azula, you just sneezed firebending!" Zuko exclaimed.
"Was I not supposed to?" Azula asked fearfully.
"Well, no, but it was still amazing!" Zuko cheered.
"Uh-oh," Azula stated.
"What?" Zuko queried.
"I also did that," Azula replied as she pointed forward, her brother following her hand and his eyes widening as he saw one of the nearby curtains on fire.
"Father's not going to like that," Zuko muttered.
Speaking of the devil, they were suddenly joined by Ozai as he came storming into the room with Ursa hot on his heels. His gaze initially landed on his two children before noticing the curtain that had been caught on fire.
"Where have you two been? Your mother and I have been looking all over for you! And what is the meaning of this, Prince Zuko?" Ozai demanded as he gestured to the curtain that was on fire.
"It wasn't me, father!" Zuko defended himself.
"Oh, right. I'm sure that the curtain just magically caught on fire while you two were in the room," Ozai commented sarcastically.
"It wasn't Zuzu, daddy. It was me," Azula butted in, instantly grabbing her father's attention.
"What did you just say?" Ozai asked.
"I did it, not Zuzu," Azula repeated.
Ozai turned to his son, "Zuko, is this true?"
Zuko nodded, "It is! She started jerking upwards before she sneezed and did that with it!"
"My daughter, do you know what this means?" Ozai questioned as he knelt down to Azula's level.
"That I'm in trouble?" Azula wondered.
"Of course not. You are by no means in trouble. You are someone with a gift. You are a firebender, my dear," Ozai proclaimed.
Azula grinned, "Really? I am?"
"Yes, you are. I am so proud of you, Azula," Ozai praised her and Zuko couldn't help but notice how his father spoke with pride in his voice that he never used on him.
"How can this be at such a young age?" Ursa inquired, since Zuko hadn't shown these abilities at Azula's age.
"Because Azula is the firebender we've been waiting for, my dear. I knew she had that spark in her eyes from the moment she was born, unlike Zuko who had no spark whatsoever. Under my teachings, I will make sure that she is the greatest firebender there ever was," Ozai answered.
"So I can be like you and Zuzu?" Azula cheered.
Ozai chuckled, "So you can be like me. If I have anything to do with it, you will be nothing like your brother. Come with me now, I must teach you some breathing techniques."
Glancing back at her brother as Ozai lead her out the room, Azula couldn't help but notice the sad look on his face. Azula didn't understand what he had to be sad about, since this was great for them. Now that they were both firebenders, they could practice together for as long as they want. But the best feeling of all was seeing that look of pride on her fathers face, since it was something that she had never seen before. Azula didn't know how she'd do it, but she'd do whatever it took to make sure that her father kept that look on his face.
So, there's the first one up and I hoped you guys liked it. In my own personal headcannon, I'd like to think that things between Azula and Zuko weren't always as tense as the way we saw them which is a common trend in my writing. I'll have the next one done in a few hours so stay tuned for that.
