A/N: The following is rated D for death.

Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 6 "Roar"

Summer, Year 8 in the reign of Fire-Lord Ozai

"Nephew we must talk," said Iroh quietly.

"About what, uncle?" Zuko was penning a short missive to Colonel Rai explaining that the enemy force was destroyed and that he would meet him at the gates of Shiro Yoritomo in a few weeks. The details of how that had been accomplished were something that could be left until he saw the man in person. Even attempting to write about what the barbarian earth peasants had done made Zuko's writing brush begin to smolder.

"We need to talk about… all of that," Iroh said, gesturing vaguely indicating the melted village and the growing field of graves his men were rapidly filling as the Sun sank behind the mountains to the west.

"What about that?" Zuko said, his voice betrayed not a hint of emotion. He felt cold inside. Like ice had slipped into his spine. We welcomed it as a change of pace from the utterly scorching fury that had seemed to take him over.

"Well… You see, there are things that you should-"

"I made a mistake," Zuko said calmly.

Iroh sighed in relief. "Oh, thank the Sun! I had thought..."

"I thought that peasants were people," Zuko continued just as calmly, "I will not make that mistake again."

Iroh's mouth dropped open "Nephew! That is entirely… you can't just…."

"Can't what uncle?" Zuko said his, voice hardening. "Can't see what is apparent, right in front of my face? I had thought of the peasants as a resource, something useful to be protected. Now I see more clearly. They are animals. Dangerous animals, without the ability to tell right from wrong, and will bite you when you least expect it."

"They are people Zuko! They were just frightened people looking for a way out!"

"They could have fled then! Taken their belongings and left, it's not as though we were hot on the trail!"

"You can't judge an entire group of people based on just his one instance, I taught you better than th-"

"DON'T PATRONIZE ME, UNCLE!" Zuko roared, leaping to his feet spilling his writing gear at his feet. "You knew what had happened even before I did! Before we even saw the bodies! Look me in the eye and tell me you have never seen this before!"

"Never… never on this scale." Iroh looked taken aback, unused to being on the defensive in an argument with his nephew. "Sometimes it happens to Ronin wandering after being defeated in battle but never…" He shook his head.

Zuko's eye grew wide. "Does it happen in the Fire-Nation?" his voice was almost a whisper.

Iroh's eyes widened as well matching his. "Zuko it hardly means that-"

"Honorless animals," Zuko snarled, fury boiling along his blood.

"And what about Ping then?" Iroh retorted.

A fair point.

"PING!" Zuko shouted.

"Yes, sir?" The boy entered quickly, face blank.

Zuko tossed him his quill sharpening knife from the floor. "Stab my uncle, Ping."

"Wha- WHAT?!" Ping caught the knife and looked at Zuko in horror.

"Stab my uncle, or I will burn you alive." Zuko punctuated the sentence by bending fire into his palm

"S-sir?" Ping stuttered, "y-you're not yourself sir."

"I am perfectly calm Ping. Do you, or do you not, have a duty to me, Ping?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Then, do it."

"No, sir."

"I beg your pardon?"

"NO SIR!" screamed Ping.

"Even though I'm going to burn you alive? Destroy you as utterly as I destroyed that village?"

"Yes sir," Ping said weeping.

"And why is THAT?!" asked Zuko his voice rising.

"DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR, SIR!" Ping screamed eyes shut tight, waiting for the end

Zuko turned to his uncle, the flame in his hand vanishing. "It would seem Ping is not a peasant uncle. You may go Ping. Leave the knife please."

Ping dropped the knife and fled the tent weeping.

"That was cruel nephew! And merely proved my point as well," Iroh said angrily.

"All that proved is that I, Prince Zuko, of the bloodline of Akodo can, after months of grueling effort, teach a single peasant, who owes me his life, the meaning of honor. I might be able to teach a hippo-cow to dance as well given the same time."

Iroh shook his head sadly. "You must trust me Zuko, life is not always so simple as you would like. People make unfortunate decisions, but you must not allow the actions of a few to forever color your perception of the world. The peasantry are no exception. Their lives are harsh, brutal sometimes, and can be very easily cut short. Frightened people make mistakes. We must do our best to keep them safe so they do not become frightened."

"Well, unfortunately, uncle," Zuko said scornfully, indicating his ruined face, "I have little choice in the matter of whether or not I FRIGHTEN PEOPLE!"

They stood in tense silence for a minute, until the lieutenant poked her head in.

"Is… is everything alright sir? Ping… Ping seems to think he's done something wrong?"

Zuko sighed. "No lieutenant, Ping hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, he did very well. "

"Yes, sir."

That night Zuko dreamed of his mother.

Those were different days, he thought to himself, when I was young and foolish and thought that if I did what was right everything would turn out in the end.

His mother had used to hold him and Azula in her lap by the turtle-duck pond and have him read them stories from his picture books. Stories about noble samurai and heroic deeds. Glorious battles where no one died and everyone was saved. He would practice reading aloud over Azula's shoulder as she traced the pictures with her tiny fingers. All the while Ursa would hold them, humming softly. She had always had a smoky, slightly flowery scent about her and Zuko's dream was so vivid it felt like the smell was right there again, humming in his nose.

He awoke with a start and found the scent, so familiar, was still there. He rose, moving quietly so as to not wake his uncle, and left his tent following the scent as it led him to Rainesu's.

She sat, back to the doorway, singing softly, an incense burner with two sticks alight flanking a small statue of a Lion.

She's a Kitsu, Zuko thought, Just like mother. How had I forgotten?

The Kitsu family was the most pious of the noble families of the Fire-Nation. Legend held that their family's forebears had in fact been the Lion spirits from which the great Dojo got its name. Whether true or not a Kitsu always showed a great reverence for the spirits and the natural world, more so than any other family in the Fire-Nation.

Zuko quietly sat down, not wishing to disturb her at her prayers as she sang a lament for the fallen. The song rose and fell and danced along the edge of his memory.

Mother must have sung it before too?

The memory of the day the royal court had received news of his cousin Lu Ten's death sprang into his mind. Ursa had hummed it softly holding a Zuko and Azula close, rocking back and forth. Two weeks later she had vanished while he was away with his tutors and he'd never seen her again. His father had become the Fire-Lord and offered no explanation, and while Azula seemed to know something she refused to admit it. Between training for his gempukku, dealing with his grandfather's death and his own ascension to crown prince Zuko hadn't even given his mother's disappearance more than a passing thought.

What is wrong with me? he thought. Am I a monster? What kind of son doesn't look for his mother when she disappears? I must have, why don't I remember…

The song ended, the spell was broken.

Rainesu bowed to the statue and, with a start, noticed his presence.

"Sir?!" she gasped, whispering. "Did I wake you? I'm so very sorry I… I couldn't sleep, not with all those unsanctified dead over there."

"My… mother was a Kitsu," he said lamely.

"Yes. Lady Ursa was my second cousin once removed." She smiled gently. "The family was so proud when she married your honored father."

"Do… do you know what happened to her?" His voice sounded plaintive, childlike to his own ear.

Pathetic.

"She left. I don't know much about it, sir. I was away at officer school. I understand she sent a letter to the family head saying she had to leave the palace on personal business. The new Fire-Lord never pushed us on the matter, so the assumption was that she was about some business for him."

"I…" he gulped, making a snap decision, "I would like you to speak freely Rainesu. I… I would like your honest opinion of my actions today." He managed to force the words out, regretting them even as he spoke them.

She paused, gathering her thoughts, unconsciously smoothing her sleeping yukata in a way that would have made Zuko turn a violent shade of crimson under any normal circumstances.

"Your uncle worries for you Zuko," she began, his name sounded odd from her. "As you know my family is charged with the spiritual well-being of the Fire-Nation, with its very soul. One thing that has always been clear throughout history is that the line of Akodo has always been the heart and the source of the country's passion. The Will of the Nation. So to have your forefathers been known for their tempers. You of all people have seen the Fire-Lord's fury. Akodo himself was known to lose his mind with rage, burning whole countries in his wroth whenever his children were threatened. I believe that is what we saw here today. The rage of Akodo." She took a steadying breath.

"I have no doubt in my mind that Akodo himself would have approved of what you have done here today… but that was millennia ago when the world was wild and savage. Things are better now." She smiled. "Your uncle's greatest fear is that you might allow your rage to destroy you, much as he believes it destroyed him."

"How would you know what my uncle-" Zuko began hotly.

"Because he told me," she interrupted him, voice still calm and smooth. "He asked me too…" her cheeks turned pink for some reason, "befriend you. Give you someone to talk to that was closer to your age. That was what our first practice session was supposed to be, an introduction." She blushed more deeply. "Until you noticed my…inadequacy."

"You still haven't answered the question Rainesu."

She began to weep. "It was the right thing to do highness, but… there were children in that village. I… I… DO NOT THINK THEY DESERVED THAT." Her words fell out in a rush.

Children? Sun's blood. I AM a monster.

Horrifyingly, she folded herself into a complete bow, forehead pressed to the ground. "I beg you, please highness, should the rage take you again, take your vengeance on me instead. I humbly offer my body and my life in the place of any child."

Zuko was puzzled for a brief moment "body and life?" that's an odd phrase...ing… oh… shit. His half face turned crimson in realization.

"I... I… Didn't…" he couldn't finish, not without breaking down into tears himself.

After a minute's battle for self-control he steadied himself, somehow. "You shame me. You are right, unequivocally right. Neither your life nor your…" he gulped, "body should be required for me to exercise self-control." He bowed deeply.

After a moment they both rose, Rainesu wiping dirt and tears from her face. "If I may ask one more thing. Freely, highness?"

He nodded, he was in no position to deny her anything at this point.

"I hope you will apologize to Ping." She gestured to the small lump of blankets in the corner, snoring softly.

Ash and bone, was he in here the whole time?

"He often comes here to cry whenever he feels he has failed you in some way. I got the distinct impression he thought you were going to abandon him tomorrow."

What in the Sun's name gave him that idea?

"It cannot an easy thing, to be an orphan in a strange land. You are all he has in the world."

How did I not know he's an orphan?

Zuko shook his head in consternation with himself. "Request granted lieutenant."

"Thank you, Captain."

Zuko rose to his feet and gathered the small bundle of a boy up, which roused him slightly.

"Sir?" he said, not at all awake.

"Hush boy, I'm taking you home so the lieutenant can get some sleep."

"Yessir," he slurred, falling back asleep.

Without the fear of ambush, the journey back to the coast went quickly.

Zuko had decided to apologize to Ping by giving him his original copy of LEADERSHIP. A gift which almost drove the boy to tears again.

"Typically, a samurai receives a copy after his gempukku, but given how slowly you read you had better get a head start," Zuko said fighting back a smile.

"G-gempukku sir?" Ping seemed genuinely confused.

"Ash, boy! What do you think you've been training for? So, you can protect my uncle's teapot?!" he yelled with mock rage.

Ping really did start crying then.

They spent most of the trip back talking about the book, Lt. Rainesu joining them as they went. Occasionally one of the three would ask a question or make a comment that no one had an answer for and all three heads would invariably turn to Iroh who, smiling benevolently like an ancient hound watching puppies, would give a response often more cryptic than helpful.

Zuko didn't dwell on the how close the three of them had become, it drew difficult parallels. Ping, perhaps because he was an orphan, definitely saw the Lieutenant as a maternal figure, Zuko could see that much once it had been pointed out to him. The reason he chose not to think about it was that his role in Ping's little surrogate family wasn't older brother. Which really only left him one role he could occupy. The very idea made his heart palpitate.

I will have self-control! I will not be a stupid hormonal child. I WILL have self-control.

Not that Rainesu made it easy.

"Sir?!" She gasped, horrified. "How is it you have so many scars?"

He had removed his shirt to practice bending on an evening and the lieutenant, showing her usual dedication, had arrived sometime later, practice sword in hand.

Zuko grimaced, an expression he had a natural advantage in. "I had thought everyone knew…" he rubbed his disfigured face

"That, yes sir. I meant all the other ones."

Other ones?

"Oh. I got these," he indicated the star-shaped puckered skin, "from wooden splinters from exploding trees. This one," he pointed to his abdomen, "is from a scimitar. I got them at the end of the siege of Doromuri." Now that they were healed he was proud of those scars, they were badges of honor and duty fulfilled.

She had moved closer and lightly put a hand on another at scar at his chest.

"And this one?"

"Oh yes, Azula stabbed me."

"Her highness stabbed you?!" She looked stunned.

He laughed. "Oh yes, you think I have a temper? Azula makes me look like a placid otter-cow. I can't recall what I did that time, probably broke a toy she favored. She got ahold of father's penknife somehow." He shrugged smiling fondly. "I have a couple of others from her…"

"These?" She indicated a set of gashes on the left side of his ribcage

He frowned, where did I… "oh, no, those are from a wolf-bat. One of my tutors believed a student should best wild animals before being taught to fight as a person."

"B-before your gempukku?" Her mouth dropped open.

"Well yes, obviously. I mean I could bend so…" he scratched his head chuckling but embarrassed. "I got the first two but the third one…"

"Please tell me you are joking?"

"These are nothing. You should see the ones on the backs of my legs! If I didn't run fast enough I'd get switched, took me awhile to get the speed they wanted."

"You… you think this is normal, don't you?" Rainesu said stunned.

"Normal? I suppose so. I mean…" he looked embarrassed to be bringing it up. "I know you didn't…." he waved his hand vaguely, trying to indicate that she never got hit.

"That's not what I meant!" she cried her face heating as well. "Zuko- I mean SIR- there are retired veterans who don't have this many scars!"

He blinked. "Well, obviously they learned faster than I did. I... don't always pick things up the first time"

Real tactful way of saying you're an idiot, idiot.

"Sir, I've never seen a samurai who had half, no a quarter, of these wounds before he'd passed his gempukku, and certainly not purposeful ones," she cried.

That's stupid, how else are we supposed to learn to deal with pain? He thought, astounded. Better NOT tell her about the spot on my leg where they had me practice battlefield stitching.

"You don't treat Ping like that, do you?" she said, eyes begging him to deny it.

"Well of course not. He's… well he's Ping, isn't he? It's not as though he could become Fire-Lord one day."

"You think that makes it ok?"

"I'm an Akodo." He shrugged, nonplussed. "We have to be better."

Her eyes grew moist.

How dare she pity me, his father's voice hissed. His eye narrowed.

"I do not require your pity Lieutenant," Zuko said in echo, his voice going hard.

"Yes sir, my apologies, sir," she said, stepped away and bowed, her eyes still full of pity. "If you will excuse me, sir." She walked away.

He stared after her. What does she know about anything? She's not an Akodo.

His mind tried to conjure the image of her as a young girl going through the tests and lessons he had. He found it difficult to even imagine watching.

And that is why fate made her a Kitsu and not an Akodo. Can you imagine if she was AZULA'S sister? She'd have been eaten alive! We CANNOT be weak, the Nation depends on our strength. He'd learned that lesson even before he'd begun really training. Strength was everything.

"Sir, is everything alright?" Ping said, startling Zuko from his thoughts.

"Yes, everything is fine. Did you finish your overhead cuts?"

"Yes, sir!" Ping chirped happily, showing Zuko the blisters on his hands.

"Have the Lieutenant look those over before you go to bed. You are well on your way to proper sword calluses, but we don't want them getting infected," Zuko said, idly ruffling the boy's hair.

Ping beamed.

Summer, Year 8 in the reign of Fire-Lord Ozai

They reached Shiro Yoritomo.

The fortress actually lay on an island a short way off the coast. The cliffs where the siege camp was located and the castle itself were high above the crashing waves of Chameleon Bay and there had been a large stone bridge that had connected the fortress to the mainland. Had being the operative word.

"At least they're cut off sir. With our navy, besieging an island should be child's play" Zuko said to Colonel Rai after concluding his formal report.

"One would think highness," Rai said glaring at a selection of maps, "And yet the Garrison forces have managed to assault this camp half a dozen times since we've gotten here. Somehow they seem to be able to cross the gap with impunity."

Zuko grimaced. "What precisely is the Navy doing out there? Fishing?"

Colonel Rai smiled bitterly. "In a way that's what the enemy may be doing. Blueprints from when we controlled the fortress indicate that there is, or was, a lower dock on the north side for smaller fishing craft." He indicated the place on a map.

"Was?" Zuko prompted.

"Yes. It seems to have disappeared. The navy assures us they're watching it like hawks but so far they've seen nothing. I believe that Lord Yoritomo unseals the dock at night and, using black painted fishing skiffs, sails to the cliff edge where his men bend stairways up to raid our camp and continue to forage for supplies." He slammed his fist on the table angrily. "In essence, they're not under siege at all. Our only option is to wait for more warships to encircle the island and make the net strong enough to hold them."

"Then why are we still here?" Zuko snarled, now also glaring at the maps. "We're nothing but a target."

"Despite the situation, my orders have not changed highness. I will assess the fortress for the oncoming siege, I only pray the rest of navy does not take their time in getting here."

"An interesting conundrum isn't it?" Iroh said later after Zuko had told him the situation.

"As interesting as a spear through the neck," Zuko grumbled, as he took his uncle's proffered tea.

"It strikes me as odd though," Iroh continued. "I've never seen an earthbender close off a whole port before, and believe me I have given them cause to do it."

"It's 'cause of the tides Akodo-sensei," Ping said idly.

Zuko stared at the boy. He was laying on his stomach, pen in his mouth, re-reading one of Ty Lee's letters. He often did that. Zuko believed he had developed a crush on the girl just from reading her handwriting.

"What did you say Ping?"

"It's the tides, sir. If the water isn't stabilized and you open the gates it'll swamp the boat. It's why they flood drydocks really slowly when they launch a ship."

"How slowly?"

"It can take a whole day for a big boat sir, a whole dock… that might take a while."

"So, how would you close off a dock then, if it were you, Ping?" Iroh asked, grinning savagely.

Ping put down the letter his eyes unfocused for a moment. "Well you'd need holes, always open to the bay and below the waterline, I would think. That way the water can come in and out as she wants. It would make the waves look weird though, probably be pretty easy to find once you knew what you were looking for..." He blinked. "Uh… my lord," he finished lamely.

"Rainesu! Get in here!"

"I don't understand sir. I thought I was supposed to run the messages?" Ping asked concernedly.

"The lieutenant can manage just fine," Zuko said. Not to mention that it will spare the Colonel's feelings if it comes from her as opposed to an 11-year-old. "You, however, have a new technique to learn, and though you will have plenty of time to learn it if this siege takes as long as I believe it will, there is no time to begin like the present!"

"Yes, sir!" Ping was excited as always.

"The skill I will begin to teach you requires quickness of mind and excellent visualization skills, which I believe you have just shown you have. I will warn you however, that I myself do not favor this style and you will be forced to find another teacher or master it on your own."

Ping looked stunned, as though he couldn't believe that there was a thing Zuko didn't know.

Zuko sighed. This boy is terrible for my ego.

They arrived at the training ground and Zuko began to explain Iaijutsu.

Iaijutsu was the art of the one strike. Draw, strike, resheathe. All in one, fluid, deadly and above all fast maneuver. Zuko had been trained in the technique but he hadn't been lying when he said he wasn't a master. He wasn't even good at it if he was honest with himself. Quickness was not his forte. However, he happened to know that Sgt Rin was very good at it. He would give the Sgt a nudge in the boy's direction later, though it was important that Ping ask the Sgt to tutor him, not the other way around.

Steeling himself, knowing that Ping wouldn't know the difference anyway, Zuko threw an apple into the air. Timing it less than perfectly, he drew his sword, nicked the apple, slicing off a chunk, and returning the blade to its sheath, reminding himself to clean the blade thoroughly later.

Ping was wide-eyed in amazement. "That was AMAZING sir!"

Zuko rolled his eye, definitely not good for my ego.

"That, Ping, was mediocre at best. As I said I myself am not even close to an expert in this technique. I can only give you enough guidance to get you started. But, I want you to keep Iaijutsu in mind always from this point, it will serve you well in the future."

Someday Zuko would have to tell him exactly how important it would be for him. Iaijutsu was also known as "Duelist Style" because it was the most regarded formal non-bending style of dueling. No matter what Dojo Zuko got Ping into there would be people who took issue with him, either because of his heritage or his association with Zuko. Blood would have to be shed for Ping to survive. He had already spoken with his uncle and Rainesu about it and the three of them had decided that the Kitsu should be the one to sponsor his entry and Iroh would pull strings if he needed too. Zuko should remain out of it, hopefully, to avoid drawing his father's ire on poor Ping.

"So... if I'm going to be cutting fruit, sir… doesthatmeanIgetaSWORD?!" the last came out in a massive rush.

"No Ping you do not get a sword, but a boken is a weapon too. For now, we will only practice sheathing and unsheathing, and once you have managed that to my satisfaction… We will see if a sword can be found for you," Zuko said smirking.

It wasn't a crime for the boy to use a katana, though some would take offense. An adult would be present and watching anytime he handled the blade, and it had been no different when Zuko was a boy. Wearing a wakizashi on the other hand… THAT is what you wore when you were a samurai. To wear one, claiming to be a samurai without having passed through gempukku was a capital offense in every nation on earth. Conversely, a wakizashi was also an indicator that you were armed, even if you never intended to draw it. All samurai benders at least wore a wakizashi, to warn people that they were armed. Not even Azula, who thought of swords as "big primitive knives" would be caught dead without her wakizashi.

The only benders who didn't wear one were the Ronin. The honorless, masterless samurai.

Ping drew and sheathed the boken from the sash at his waist, quickly growing bored with the task but unwilling to stop and disappoint Zuko. After a minute or two, just to avoid boredom he told himself, Zuko stood next to Ping, far enough away so that their swings wouldn't come close and practiced with him. The sun began to set as they drew and sheathed their weapons together, unconsciously beginning to move in sync.

Blade out. Blade in. Breath in. Breath out. They moved in harmony.

Until the alarm gong sounded.

The camp was chaos.

"Damn it. Ping, go get my armor!"

"It's at the quartermaster sir!" Ping said and took off running without having to be told.

"Status report!" Zuko bellowed, striding back towards his company's area of the camp.

"They're inside the camp this time sir!" Rainesu shouted, appearing at his side, fully armored.

Because of COURSE she's got her armor on immediately. Dammit! Of all the times to send my armor to the quartermaster.

"Well let's see about getting them out of the camp!"

It turned out the Colonel had been partially wrong, the Earth-Kingdom samurai hadn't been carving steps into the cliff face. They'd been tunneling through the cliffs themselves and this time had emerged somewhere near the middle of the siege camp.

Zuko started issuing orders, plans for assembly to ensure all his men were accounted for and defensive preparations and Lt Rainesu smoothly passed orders along to the sergeants as they went.

Surprisingly they were only attacked twice, once by a great monkey-bull of a man who made the mistake of going for Zuko, the unarmored man, only to find a red bar of fire protruding from his chest before he even had a chance to realize what an error that was.

The second time Rainesu finally had her first kill. She defeated a Mantis spearman, and screamed in triumph at the night sky, looking stunning as always as she did it. It might have been more impressive had the man not already had an arrow in his leg, but Zuko decided that now was not the time to quibble.

A runner found them an hour later after the initial attack, putting out a fire the raiders had set. With a gesture and a wave from Zuko the flames turned red and slowly subsided.

"Emergency staff meeting sir!" the boy shouted.

They reached the meeting point only to discover to their horror that Colonel Rai and several captains had been killed, and the executive officer had yet to be found.

The raid subsided as the remaining officers discussed options.

"Surely we break the siege? This position is untenable!"

"There's a word for that. We call that cowardice!"

"Don't be asinine! We counter-attack!"

"Yes, with your secret force of earth and waterbenders you've yet to tell us about?"

This is getting us nowhere, Zuko thought angrily and departed, ordering Rainesu to stay and see if anything of relevance was decided. LEADERSHIP would have answers he decided and if not maybe he could coax a hint out of his uncle.

Iroh was in his tent, staring at his tea set. He rose when he saw Zuko enter.

"Zuko…"

Zuko moved to his bed grabbing LEADERSHIP where he had left it. "Yes Uncle?" he said distractedly turning to a chapter involving sieges.

"Zuko… you should sit down."

"Sit down? Uncle, there's too much to do! The Colonel is dead! Killed in the raid and nobody knows what to do. I don't suppose you…" he had finally looked up and seen how pale his uncle was. "What happened? Are you wounded?"

"It's Ping, Zuko."

"Dammit, what did he do? Drop my armor in the ocean? By the Sun I'll have him doing overhead swings until his flaming hands bleed."

"He's gone, Zuko."

"What in the ash are you talking about? Gone? Gone where?"

"He is DEAD Zuko"

"That… that's not funny Uncle," Zuko shook his head at the ludicrous idea. "Who would attack an unarmed boy…"

He had his boken in his belt.

"He… he most likely never felt a thing Zuko," Iroh said, his voice taking on a pleading tone. "You must not do anything rash nephew. Ping wouldn't want you to…"

Zuko walked out, dropping his book on the floor.

Why didn't you get your own damn armor? He raged at himself venomously. Couldn't be bothered, could you?

He broke into a run.

I told him! Never wear a weapon in battle or he'd be cut down!

People called his name, saluted him, stumbled out of his way as his run broke into a blind sprint.

Maybe it's a mistake? Some other boy…

He reached the quartermaster, the fighting had been heavy here, the sinkhole the enemy had emerged from was less than one hundred yards away. Sgt Rin was there, his arm in a sling, a nasty gash over his eye.

"Sir? Everything all…"

Zuko ignored him, looking for...

My armor.

The body was still clutching it desperately, Ping's boken still in his belt.

"Oh, Ash," Sgt Rin said, going pale.

"Go get the men. Tell them to build a pyre." Zuko's voice sounded calm at least.

A/N: Congrats on reaching the end. Hope you enjoyed it. Well, not that last bit obviously…

And now, for your meta pleasure, some author notes!

Hypocrisy: You may have noticed Zuko engaging in a some (reads a boatload) of hypocrisy in this chapter. How can he feel guilty about what he did in the war room when it is "death before dishonor?" Well to my mind that hypocrisy is the entire crux of Zuko's inner conflict and a major contributor to his bursts of rage. Zuko, whether in canon or in this work, is a giant mess of complexes and contradictory impulses between what he has been taught by his tutors and taught by practical experience, namely in the form of an Agni Kai.

Child abuse: Zuko, most assuredly, is the victim of child abuse. NO person in the modern world should think otherwise. I think that, even in Zuko's world, the training he went through would be considered too extreme. Rainesu and Zuko most likely occupy opposite ends of the spectrum as far as severity of training went, you could expect normal Fire-Nation kids to be somewhere in the middle. Still a bit harsh by real-world standards but… no facing down wild dogs as a pre-teen. The issue I have with Cannon Zuko is that he seems to somehow know that what has happened to him is wrong. This Zuko has no idea. He has no real grounds for comparison, his only other data point is Azula who would be treated differently because she was a prodigy and genius. The practical upshot of this is that we have a Zuko who is conflicted but immensely tough. Zuko never gives up. He is basically the frigging terminator. That being said hopefully nobody thinks I am condoning child abuse here. Child abuse bad.

The death of Ping: Sigh. Damnit I am really sorry about that. It had to get done for story reasons. Can you see Zuko trying to capture the Avatar with a morality pet, who would have been by then the around the same age? Ping had to go. I am sorry to see him go, but it had to be done. This whole prequel to the main story was about informing us as to Zuko's character. Akodo Zuko is a grim, heavily scared (inside and outside) man trying to return to some version of normalcy. That being said, Ping's death was one of the hardest bits I had to write in this whole thing. I hope that came across.

Like the story? Hate it? Have no feelings either way? Feel free to comment, pm or otherwise tell me about it!

NEXT WEEK on a very special "Avatar: The Last Dragon"...

Iroh drinks tea! Zuko does the thing with angst and violence!

TUNE IN. Same Zuko time, Same Zuko channel!

Original post date: 27 May 2018