A/N: Keep in mind that all the plot ideas for this story were started before the Korra announcement so it is AU. The show was fucking awesome, though.
Chapter Four: Post-War Tensions
"Never thought I'd like raw fish, but this… sushi did you call it, is not bad." Zheng helped himself to another serving of one of the Fire Nation's prized delicacies.
"Most foreigners are weirded out at first," said Setsuko. "But we can't end our day without here."
Tuktu nodded in agreement. "Wonder if Ozai's missing thi – ow!" Setsuko kicked him under the table.
"We finally got Zheng smiling, let's not get him started on work now," she deadpanned. The prosecutor took a sip of his sake and gave a short laugh.
"When I was in the Army, both Ozai and Nguyen's names were spoken as if the very syllables themselves symbolized the Fire Nation's ruthlessness. Even more than the Dragon of the West himself, 'cause we knew General Iroh would never harm civilians. When we got the news of the Xu Qiang Massacre, you can imagine the blow it was to our morale hearing Earth Kingdom citizens speak of it. 'A million killed', 'Young girls taken as sex slaves', 'millions homeless', 'pillaging', 'historic buildings and monuments destroyed', 'Xu Qiang has been part of our history and culture for thousands of years'." He took another drink of his sake. "Now look what happened to these faces of the evil, merciless Fire Nation. They're now prisoners and I, a simple magistrate from a coastal city has the duty to convict not just Ozai and Nguyen, but the whole inner circle of Ozai's regime."
"Hey," piped up Setsuko raising a palm, "we have that duty." She gestured to herself, Tuktu, and Zheng.
"Bringing further shame to our Nation?" said angry voice from the table next to theirs. Three men sat there, one of them narrowing his eyes at the prosecution team. "Is that what you call duty?"
"Shame?" Zheng snapped back, slamming his mug on the table. "Shame that we're giving the men responsible for all but devastating the entire world and the most despicable acts of evil to ever be committed in the history of humankind the fair trial that they denied their victims? Shame that some may very well walk free?"
"How dare you talk to me, you Earth Kingdom filth?" The other two men tried to calm their friend down and he rounded on them. "No! These people have the audacity to sully our land with their footsteps and call us criminals as if we were petty bandits!"
Setsuko spoke evenly, but her golden eyes were blazing with fury. "If you actually still supported the war after Xu Qiang, let alone after and Ozai was more than willing to annihilate the entire Earth Kingdom population, then you're the one who sullies this Nation and you deserve nothing but shame."
"Hear, hear!" said Tuktu. The angry customer was soon on his feet knocking his table over. With a growl, he launched a jet of flame from his fist, narrowly missing Zheng who ducked just in time. Panic overtook the restaurant as the other patrons, including the man's friends made to flee.
Before he could strike again, the prosecutor hardened his stance and spread out his arms, causing the Firebender to quickly sink into the ground until only his head and neck were visible. Then Zheng opened one fist and lowered it slightly to harden the ground around his attacker.
The first thing any Earthbender learned in the Army was that Firebenders were quick and offensive so one had to make it that they are caught off guard. The angry customer wriggled his head furiously. "Release me at once!"
Zheng looked down at him in disgust. "Are you gonna be nice?" The man drew in a deep breath.
"Yes." Without another word, Zheng stomped his foot on the ground, launching the man out and into another table.
"What the fuck is going on here?" an angry voice demanded. The prosecution team and the beaten customer turned to a lanky man in black work robes flanked by two policemen with their swords drawn. The civilian, obviously the owner, surveyed the overturned tables and spilled food.
"These foreigners," snapped the customer, "and this traitorous bitch," he pointed to Setsuko, "have the audacity to sully our sacred land with their footsteps and then call us criminals!"
"That man attacked my customers," said the owner angrily, "and caused this mess!"
The police advanced on the man. "Alright, pal, I think a night downtown will help you cool off some." The policemen cuffed the man and escorted him firmly from the premises. Zheng turned to the owner.
"We'll help you clean up," he said apologetically. The owner nodded in gratitude.
The War Room, a vast chamber in the Fire Nation palace adjacent to the Firelord's office, was renamed the Cabinet Room and had undergone a few modifications since Zuko took the throne. The Firelord no longer sat behind a wall of flame, but at the head of a raised table with his Ministers. "I think, my Lord, before anything else, we must decide what to do about the Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Republic," announced the Foreign Minister. Zuko knew this would be a major issue to deal with as soon as he took the throne. "Our citizens have been living there for the better part of the century, it's not like we can forcibly evacuate them."
The Firelord turned to her. "It's still occupied land," he replied. "The other Nations don't recognize the Earth Colonies as Fire Nation territory. Minister Takenuma, any suggestions about our armed forces?" the Minister of Defense and Security (or what used to be the War Minister) looked at his monarch and spoke.
"What I suggest is that we maintain a strong military force at the ready, my Lord, but we do away with the draft. Our armed forces should be all volunteer. I have the orders to release all conscripts from service ready, it just needs Your Lordship's signature."
"Very well, Minister Takenuma, you may send the orders to my office after the meeting." Zuko sat up straighter and cleared his throat. "Now, the main reason I called this meeting is to take the true first step into restoring the glory of our Nation." The Ministers gazed at him perplexed. "In order to do that, we must show the world that we are a progressive country not just in technological innovations, but in ideas and politics. Therefore, I decree that we write a Constitution guaranteeing our citizens rights and preventing anyone in government, including myself, from taking too much power. The very structure of our government needs to change."
"How, my Lord?" demanded the Minister of the Interior.
"First of all, I'd like to make this a government of, by, and for the people. I wish to form a legislative body, which we will call the Diet. This will consist of two houses: The first is the House of Peers, which will be ceremonial and consist of nobility. These seats are hereditary. The second will be the House of Commons, which will consist of commoners elected by the people and have the real legislative authority. The House of Commons will be made up of several political parties and the leader of the party to win the most seats in a general election will be the Prime Minister for seven years. Once everything is said and done, I will be transferring most of my political power to the Prime Minister. I and every future Firelord would only have the power to approve or veto bills from the Diet, appoint or dismiss Ministers, declare war with the Diet's approval, appoint the Justices of the Supreme Court, and dismiss a Prime Minister if a no-confidence vote is reached. The rest of my duties would be purely ceremonial."
The other men sat there silently for a few long moments until the Treasury Minister responded, "My Lord, these are wonderful ideas but they'll take years to implement." As if Zuko needed to know this. What he did not tell the Ministers yet is that he had spoken with members of the Order of the White Lotus and they helped him with these ideas.
"Years we have. What we don't have is the Constitution detailing the powers of every branch of this future government or the rights and duties of our people. I've been speaking with members of the Order of the White Lotus and they've agreed to help us in our transition to representative democracy and constitutional monarchy."
"The White Lotus, my Lord?" the Foreign Minister replied. "Isn't that General Iroh's group? The one that liberated Ba Sing Se?"
"Yes."
"Then I trust them. If it's a group of people as enlightened as General Iroh, then it can only do us good."
"Surely we can take some steps now, sir?" inquired the Education and Information Minister.
Zuko replied, "We'll introduce elections from the local to archipelago level. Local Mayors, Prefects, and Archipelago Governors will also be elected positions. What you can do in the Education and Information Ministry is to revamp the curriculum. No more emphasis on history. Our history books need to be rewritten anyway; the current ones are all Sozinist propaganda and I want them to be factual and unbiased. I want emphasis placed on mathematics, sciences, language, factual history, and the arts. These are skills kids will need in the future. As for the information sector, our news media should never be the mouthpiece of the government. Freedom of the press is going to be a Constitutional right."
"I'll get right on it, sir."
"Another thing: though the Constitution will guarantee the right to free speech, expression, press, religion, and assembly, the only thing we will outlaw in any of those categories is public displays of loyalty to the Old Regime and any vestiges of Sozinism."
"My Lord," piped up the Minister of Industry. "Doesn't it seem a bit like a double standard if we allow other forms of political and ideological extremism to be lawfully expressed but have an exception for Sozinism?"
It took all of Zuko's strength not to lose his temper. What kind of idiotic question was that? "Was any other ideology responsible for a hundred years of war and suffering, Ishikawa?" the Firelord demanded in a hard voice. "Was any other ideology responsible for the destruction of an entire Nation?"
The Minister sighed. "No, my Lord."
"Then we're all agreed on this?" The Cabinet members muttered and nodded in acknowledgement. "We'll begin writing the Constitution after my wedding and honeymoon. The Order members will aid us in the details."
"I find it amazing," commented Takenuma, shaking his head, "simply amazing, that Mrs. Han can take the time to plan such a grand wedding with a little child at home and her husband on trial facing a very long prison sentence. I swear, that woman's priorities are… sorry, my Lord."
"It's okay, Minister," Zuko responded. "She insisted on taking charge of everything. Doesn't want her friends to see her losing face. Even Mai agrees with you. We'll let her have her way, otherwise we'll never hear the end of it."
"But on a happier note," said the Minister of Justice whose ministry would soon be completely separated from the Judiciary, "the wedding itself. I propose we make this day a State affair. Let the whole country join in on the celebration." This earned a laugh from the Firelord.
"Making my wedding a national holiday, a reasonable excuse not to work… yeah, why not?" The cabinet members shared a laugh until finally Zuko announced, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned. This Constitution will be a major change in the governing of the Fire Nation, but I'm confident that it'll bring positive results." The Firelord rose from his seat and the others followed suit.
"Minister Takenuma, Minister Iwamatsu," said Zuko and they turned to face him.
"My Lord?" the replied together.
"Come with me to my study and we'll discuss what we can do about the Colonies and the conscripts."
A turn for the worse… that was the only was Jian Han could describe his life since Ozai had assigned him to Omashu as its governor. It had all begun with the "pentapox" disaster, forcing him to drive out the entire population from the city. In all that madness, his two-year-old son had wandered off and to this day, Jian did not know how Tom-Tom was able to get out of the palace, down the mountain, and follow the crowd without suffering any harm. If anything, when the Avatar brought him back, he just looked like he had been worn out from a very long day of fun. At the time of his absence, Jian thought it was a kidnap, forcing him to negotiate a deal with the Resistance to release King Bumi for the safe return of his son. However, Azula, who despite her young age had all the cruelty and callousness of her father, had foiled the deal. She had been more than willing to let potential harm come to a child in order to keep a valuable prisoner.
A few months later, during a solar eclipse, King Bumi had escaped his metal casket of a prison and single handedly managed to take the city back from the Fire Nation. This forced Jian, his wife, and son to retreat and take refuge with the nearest Fire Nation military unit. His daughter, Mai had left with Princess Azula and Ty Lee to capture the Avatar and the then banished Prince Zuko and General Iroh. Jian thought that he and his family would face execution for the loss of Omashu, but was relieved to learn that Ozai had lost the war on the Day of the Comet.
Upon disembarking the ship in the Agnishima Navy Yard, Jian was met by the military police who presented him with an arrest warrant. Now here he was, charged with forcibly evacuating the citizens of an entire city, the illegal occupation of said city, and potentially facing twenty years in prison. However, he still had some pride left. He would not say that he was guilty, potential incarceration be damned! Jian believed he acted according to his duties as Governor and he had never harmed a single citizen of Omashu. He made that it clear that he was not guilty at the arraignment and he would not back down from his stance.
The one thing that made him sad was that either way, he would miss his daughter's wedding. His beautiful little Mai would be married to Firelord Zuko in a little over a month. His first child was getting married and he would not even be there to escort her down the aisle and give her away to the Firelord. He would not even get to see her in her wedding gown. No, he would be stuck here in this dungeon while his wife would march down the aisle with Mai, give her away to be married, and make a speech for her at the reception. It wasn't worth it to even ask Professor Tanaka to speak to the judges. There was no way they would let him out for the wedding even under guard; he was too well connected. Either way, Jian would fight, no matter what the prosecutor had to throw at him.
A strong hand squeezing his shoulder brought Jian out of his reverie. Wincing, he looked to his left, meeting the manic gaze of Thanh An Nguyen. Currently, he was wearing a grin that told the former Minister that he was about to receive a threat.
"Hello, Minister Han," said the former Grand General in a mock-friendly tone. "You haven't been talking to us much, have you?"
"I have nothing to say," Jian responded coolly.
Nguyen's demeanor faded in an instant. "Well, just so you know, Han, Yi doesn't know anything and neither do any of us. We play our cards right, we might get off and take this Nation back. Once we do, all traitors will be punished." The two men held gazes for a few brief moments before the Grand General took his leave. Jian immediately grabbed his empty rice bowl and hurled it to the floor in rage before storming from the mess hall back to his cell.
A/N: Next chapter I'm debating about whether to have the royal wedding or just go on to the trial.