The GAang had just landed in the clearing for the night and everyone was working on getting camp set up for the night. Katara, Sokaka, Aang, and Toph all seemed particularly egger to camp set up as fast possible remembering the night that Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee restlessly chased them resulting in them being up for 24 hours straight. Suki went to go collect firewood while the rest of the GAang set up their tents for the night. Zuko observed that once again they were one tent short and assumed that Suki would once again be "visiting" Sokaka's tent but didn't say anything unaware of how much Aang and Toph knew about the facts of life. Additionally the Fire Prince didn't want to cause a rift between the Water Tribe siblings and if he was being perfectly honest with himself he didn't want to know or think about the details of their relationship. Zuko was thankfully driven out of his musings by the return of Suki with the firewood, as it was his turn to light the fire that night. Zuko stood about a good five feet away from the fire pit not wishing to get burned from the kickback of lighting the fire. Once that task was finished he must have subconsciously touched his scar for Toph asked "Why are you always touching your left eye?"
"Huh," Zuko asked removing his hand, "Oh uh I have a scar there."
"What does it look like? How big is it? How long have you had it? How'd you get it?" asked Toph in rapid session curious to know about something she couldn't see with her feet.
"Toph that's rude," Katara scolded.
"No, no Katara it's fine I completely understand why she's asking the questions she is particularly the first two," Zuko said trying to placate the motherly water bender, "Well Toph my scar looks like a large red blotch around my eye that covers up about half my face, heck it goes into my hairline! Honestly it's kinda disfiguring, you're lucky you don't have to see it."
"Uh how did you get it?" Toph asked more nervous and if she was being perfectly honest with her self a little sacred based on Zuko's description of his scar.
"Okay so no one knows this story besides Uncle and myself not even anyone else here in camp know how I got my scar,"
"Hey everyone Zuko's going to tell a story," Toph yelled across the camp so everyone could hear.
"Tooopph," Sokaka moaned, "Suki and I were just going to uh talk in my tent."
"Soaka, it sounds like whatever Zuko's going to tell us is important," Suki said while smacking her boyfriend on the back of the head for his rudeness.
"Okay, okay I'm sorry Zuko. I'll sit down and shut up now."
"Thank you Soaka, well here goes nothing," Zuko said taking a deep calming breath as the rest of the GAang sat around the fire so they could all hear Zuko's story better.
"Well, it all started a little over three years ago when there was a big important war meeting and I wanted to go because I wanted to learn about how to run the country and one of the ways to do that was to go to war meetings. While on my way in I ran into Uncle who told me not to go. I told him off and then he told me that if I had to go in I must not speck out of turn. I promised him I wouldn't and we went into the war room," Zuko said taking another calming breath, " For a little while everything was going great but like everything else in my life wasn't destined to last, unfortunately."
"What happened?" Aang asked interrupting but unknowingly giving Zuko time to collect himself.
"Well one of the generals had a terrible plan that I spoke out against," Zuko replied calming himself once again.
"What exactly was this general's plan, Zuko?" asked Suki.
"He, he planed to send new recruits to the front lines to divert attention way from the real fighters."
"Huh, that's awful," gasped Sokaka surprising everyone.
"So you challenged this general, then what happened?" Toph prompted.
"Well my father said that due to my act of disrespect there was only one way to solve it. An Agni Kai or a fire duel," Zuko whispered while also taking calming breaths. "I looked the old general in the eye and told him I was unafraid." Zuko was really having a hard time controlling his emotions now and he knew he was going to start crying before he was finished. "Well when I went to the arena to face the general and fight nobally I turned around only to see it was father I was to face and" Zuko was cut off by Katara rushing into hug him before he had even finished his story.
"What why are you hugging me?' Zuko asked so genuinely confused by the younger girl's sudden show of affection.
"I'm hugging you because you shouldn't have had to gone through that Zuko"
"But I didn't even get to finished it," Zuko said even more confused then before.
"Bud, you didn't have to," said Sokaka while weeping lightly.
"It honestly doesn't take a geniuses to figure out what happened next said Toph
" Even Sokaka managed to figure it out with out much prompting."
"Thanks Toph I really appreciate that…Hey! Why do you feel the need to do that?"
"I don't know it's fun I guess," Toph shrugged.
"After the Agni Kai what happened?" Aang asked trying to discreetly wipe his tears.
"Honestly it's all a blur. I feel like one minute I was in the ring with my father and the next thing I know Uncle, a small crew made up of people who owed Uncle various favors for one thing or another, and myself were being placed on a boat were I was to live my life until I captured you, Aang."
"Really?"
"Yeah my father said that I couldn't return home until I captured the Avatar, Only then would he restore my honor and my place as Crown Prince and go home."
"That explains why you wanted to capture me, you just wanted your father's love and to go home." Aang reasoned.
"Yeah but didn't you hear what I just said. It was all my fault! If I'd just listened to Uncle and gone into the war room none of this would have happened! Once again I messed up because I didn't listen to him!" Zuko shouted then he broke down crying.
"Zuko are you okay?" Katara asked Zuko.
"No I'm not okay, I messed so big this time how is ever going to forgive me. If I can't find him or what if I find him but he doesn't forgive me? He's the only family I have left." Zuko sobbed out barely able to speak.
"I'm positive that if you find your Uncle he will forgive you." Toph said matter of fictively.
"Really?" asked Zuko sounding uncertainly hopeful through his tears.
"Yep" said Toph.
"Zuko, he's not your only family anymore" Katara stated firmly.
"What you mean?"
"Well like I told Aang when he found the body of his old mentor/father figure Monk Gyatso, we're you family now, Aang, Sokaka, Toph, Suki, me, all of us care about you Zuko."
"You really mean it?"
"Of course she does," said Sokaka "Trust me she doesn't give out this stuff lightly"
"I'm sorry by the way," said Katara.
"For what?"
"For how I treated you especially right after you and Aang returned from visiting the dragons"
"It's okay you didn't know"
"It still doesn't excuse the way I acted. I mean I know understand why you were so willing to be our prisoner when we refused your friendship."
"It's okay really. Things turned out all right in the end.
"So you forgive me for being an ass to you before?"
"Of course I do." Zuko said hugging Katara first this time.
"I guess your whole desire to go home was the reason you betrayed us in the crystal catacombs," piped up Aang.
"Yeah but once I got home. I realized how much I had changed and more importantly I realized how much Uncle was truly my father, you know.'
"Yeah," said Toph.
"Of course," said Suki.
"So now you all know how I got my scar." Zuko said sighing a huge sigh of relief, "And none of you guys are judging me?"
"No not all, but it does make me want to march right up to the capital city and take my space sword and cut off his head," said Sokaka suddenly serious.
"For real?" asked Zuko.
"Of course. Besides all the vile stuff he's done to the world he deserves to pay for what he did to you, Zuko."
"Thanks, it means so much to me."
"No problem" Sokaka said.
He then went to garb Zuko's hand fowled by Katara grapping Zuko's other hand, Suki grab Sokaka's other hand, and Aang grab Katara's other hand as the fire died.