Hey all!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the support and feedback. It means more to me than you can know.

Enjoy Chapter 10!

It was a clear, spring day. The sun was high in the sky with only the occasional wisp of a cloud ever eclipsing it. A cool breeze from the western ocean blew through the trees, creating a soothing rustling in the background.

Izumi sat in front of the Pai Sho table, hand on her chin as she thought through her next move. "I think you have me cornered…"

"Nonsense," her grandfather said, sipping his tea. "You're just not thinking through all your possibilities."

She stared at each piece, working out every possible set of moves that could follow from that piece. Eventually, she closed her eyes with a growl of frustration. "I can't figure it out."

"Yes you can. You just need to approach it from a different angle."

Izumi sighed. "What different angle?" She looked back up.

Her grandfather was gone, replaced by a splatter of blood that reached across the Pai Sho table.

Izumi jumped away with a horrified gasp, her hand clutched to her chest above her pounding heart. She slowly stepped backwards, looking around the garden. "G-Grandfather…?" she said, her voice but a whimper. That wasn't his blood. It couldn't be.

Her back suddenly hit something, making her spin around. Her throat closed up at the sight of her father standing over her. His torso was soaked in dark red, but it was his expression that made Izumi's blood freeze. His lip was curled in disgust and his eyes were staring at her in hateful disapproval. When he opened his mouth to speak, a line of blood leaked down his chin.

"This is all your fault."

Izumi's eyes snapped open, her hand reflexively gripping the stone ground. For a moment, she couldn't even breathe, her eyes wide and fixed as they stared at the echo of her nightmare. It was beyond nauseating. While she had often seen such an expression on her father as he spoke to some of the more small-minded people in his court...

She had never seen it directed at her.

Curling in on herself, she pressed her hands to her chest, trying to calm her stuttered breathing and palpitating heart. I'm so sorry… she silently told the image of her father.

There was a familiar rumble, and Izumi looked up to see Druk's head mere inches from her own. She managed a half-hearted smile. "I'm okay…" she said quietly, resting a hand on his snout.

It had been three days since the attack. In those three days, Izumi had fallen into a tenuous pattern. In her every waking moment, she would stay by her father's side, either holding his held his hand, staring at his too-peaceful expression, watching the agonizingly slow rise and fall of his chest…

Kanan had quickly realized that convincing her to leave to eat or sleep was a futile task, so he always brought her meals to her. They were usually left untouched, but it was better than nothing. Kanan had also had a bed moved into the corner of her father's room. Now there were really only three reasons Izumi ever left.

The first was to relieve herself. Even though he was unconscious, Izumi still found the idea of doing her business in front of her father to be incredibly disrespectful, if not completely mortifying.

The second reason was to attend meetings with Aang, Kuei, and all the advisors. They were always filled with quarreling and petty politics, and seemed to be a complete waste of time. But while it pained Izumi to be away from her father, she was determined to fulfill her role as interim Fire Lord to the best of her ability. Her presence was essentially useless, but it still felt important for her to be there as a physical reminder that the Royal Family was still here and still strong.

The third and final reason was to avoid seeing the healers treating her father's wounds. The sight of the blood, the wet noises that were made as they re-cleaned the wound… it was too much for her. The sight - or even thought - of the healers messing with her fathers insides were overwhelming, so whenever the healers came, Izumi would go to the stables and lie beside Druk. Kanan would always stay outside the stables, partially to give her privacy, partially because Druk had become incredibly protective.

After waking up from his drug-induced slumber, Druk apparently had stormed the palace (or at least, the parts he could fit into), trying to find Zuko or Izumi. It took over a dozen staff members to calm him down. Now any time he saw Izumi, he would wrap his body around her and snarl at anyone who would come near.

Besides all of this, the only other notable change in Izumi's life was the sheer amount of sleep she was getting. The night after the attack, she slept for a full seventeen hours. The next day, she took a five hour nap in the afternoon, and slept for thirteen hours the following night. Even though she wasn't really doing anythings, he couldn't seem shake off this bone-deep exhaustion. In the last few days, she was spending three-quarters of the time asleep.

Which was why she wasn't surprised to be waking up on the floor of the stables, Druk's body completely encircling her.

Druk suddenly lifted his head and growled at someone outside. "Druk...?" Izumi questioned.

"Easy boy…" Kanan's voice said. "It's just me..."

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and patted a hand against the dragon's side. "It's okay…"

Druk uncurled his body so that Kanan could see Izumi, but he kept his head level with the guard, his teeth bared.

Kanan leaned slightly away, avoiding eye contact. "Princess, I thought I should let you know: Master Katara has just arrived in the Capital."

"Really?" Izumi scrambled to her feet. They hadn't been expecting Katara to arrive until the evening. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly sunset."

"... Oh." She rested a hand on Druk's neck. "Stay here. I'll be back later."

He nudged her arm gently with his snout with a low rumble before giving Kanan one last glare.

Izumi turned to Kanan. "Take me to her."

When they arrived at the courtyard, they saw the whole family: Aang standing to the side with Katara on her knees tightly hugging her children. "I missed you guys sooo much!" she said.

"We missed you too..." Bumi said.

What was a more surprising sight was Toph and Sokka standing off to the side. When he saw Izumi, Sokka gave a small smile. "Hey, kiddo. How are you holding up?"

"I'm… fine. What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to help in any way we can," Sokka said simply. "I couldn't believe it when I heard… I thought sure Iroh was going to live forever."

Izumi squirmed uncomfortably. Don't think about it. "Well… It's nice to see you again. I'm sure Father will… will be happy to see you guys as well..."

He placed a hand on Izumi's shoulder. "Really, Izumi. If there's anything we can do…"

She shrugged him off. "Thanks," she said lamely.

"Well I already know something I can do," Toph said. "I hear you might have some traitors in your midsts. I'm here to help."

Izumi frowned. "You want to help with the investigation?"

"Unless you happen to have an earthbender as good as I am - which I know you don't - I figured I could be useful in picking out the liars and uncovering the truth."

Izumi smiled. She had completely forgotten that Toph was about to detect lies via her earthbending. "Th-that would be fantastic," she said. "Thank you.

Toph shrugged. "It'll be good practice before I officially become chief of police." Then her voice lowered slightly. "Also... this means I get first swing at the people responsible for this."

It was at this point that Katara had stood back up. When Izumi turned to her, she saw that Katara's expression fell from the happiness at seeing her children to the sadness of their circumstances. It was a look Izumi was getting tired of seeing.

"Oh Izumi…" Her eyes were filled with concern as she walked forward and hugged Izumi tightly. "I am so sorry…"

Izumi stiffened in her arms. It felt wrong. Not in an emotional way... just a purely physical one.

Why was there a gigantic bulge pressing against her stomach?

"You're pregnant," Izumi stated, a bit dumbfounded.

Katara leaned back with a look of slight confusion. "Yes… You didn't know?"

Izumi's eyes flickered to Aang, who looked a little sheepish. "A-Aang had just said you weren't feeling well…"

There was a brief flash of anger in Katara's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. "Well, that's not important right now. Why don't you take me to your father."

A member of the Royal Guard escorted Toph to where all the interrogations were taking place while everyone else went to the safe house. Kanan, Sokka, and Aang carried everyone's luggage into the appropriate rooms while Izumi and Katara went straight to Zuko.

Once the door was closed behind them, Izumi stood next to her own bed in the corner. She was determined to stay in the room while Katara treated Zuko. Katara was the best healer in the world, and Izumi wanted to be there to get the immediate prognosis from her.

Her fists were clenched at her sides, causing small stabs of pain as she squeezed the healing cuts in her palm. But it was a good sort of pain. The kind of pain that relieved some of anxiety and fear that have been crushing her for the last three days. The kind of pain that kept her in the present. The kind of pain that kept her sane.

Her father had ceased bleeding after the first day, so the bandages weren't soaked in red as Katara peeled them back.

Good. No panicking yet.

"It looks infected…" Katara said. "Doesn't look too bad, though." She gently probed the edges of the wound.

Izumi quickly turned away. "The h-healers saw that and started to treat it with some honey…"

"Yes, I can see that."

Out of the corner of her eye, Izumi saw Katara pull water from a basin in the corner. The water glowed blue as she waved her hands over the wound and slowly pressed downward. Izumi focused on Katara's expression instead of her hands, carefully examining it for any telling signs.

After about five minutes of focused bending, Katara relaxed and pulled the water away. After applying a new poultice and bandage, she grabbed a nearby chair and sat down with a heavy sigh, a visible sheen of sweat on her brow. "It seems to be healing nicely," she noted. "The healers here did a good job. With a little added help from my bending, the wound should be mostly healed in a week or so."

At first, Izumi physically relaxed at the news, but Katara's persistent frown made her chest constrict painfully. "Well that's good…" Izumi said. "Right?"

Katara looked at Zuko's head, examining the small cut and bruise on his temple. "He took a blow to the head?"

Her father was rolled onto his side, his arm outstretched where he had released the deadly bolt. His breathing was labored and expression twisted in rage.

"What!?" The woman ran to him and thrashed his head with her contraption, knocking him out cold. "Just die!"

"Yes," Izumi choked out. "Th-the woman hit him with the… the… metal thing…"

Her hands wreathed in water again, Katara placed them on either side of Zuko's head, rotating them in small circles. "He must have suffered some internal damage. That would explain why he hasn't woken up yet."

Internal damage. The words echoed cruelly in Izumi's mind. "You mean… to his brain?"

Katara nodded absentmindedly, her focus on Zuko. "I don't sense any bleeding, which is good. No large chi-blockages or leaks either. Good. This is is all good…" she said, more to herself than to Izumi.

"When will he wake up?" Izumi asked tentatively.

Katara let out a deep sigh. "It's hard to say. I'll have a better idea once I've been treating him for a couple of days." When she turned and looked at Izumi, suddenly smiled brightly. "But don't worry. Your father is going to be fine. I'd be surprised if he wasn't awake by next week!"

The fake cheer grated on Izumi's nerves, making her want to claw her own skin off. "You just said you have no idea when he'll wake up," she pointed out.

"Well… yes, but that doesn't mean you should give up hope! Zuko is the most stubborn man I've ever met. He'll be up and around before you know it."

Izumi's inner flame flared up inside of her, and she was suddenly imagining herself boiling Katara's face off. "You're either treating me like a child, or like I'm an imbecile," Izumi growled out. "Either way, I'd appreciate if you'd cease."

"What?" Katara quickly shook her head. "I'm not doing that at all! I think you're misunderstanding me…"

"I'm not misunderstanding you," she stated. "You're lying to me to make me feel better. I'd rather you didn't."

"Izumi!" Katara chided. "I am not lying to you."

"So you're telling me that you actually believe that Father will wake up in a week?" Izumi asked skeptically. "Look me in the eye and tell me that he's is going to be okay!"

Katara frowned slightly, looking slightly bewildered by Izumi's behaviour. But then she schooled her expression and nodded. "I promise, he's going to be fine."

Rather than calming Izumi down, the confident statement only served to fuel this dark feeling that was slowly rising up in her body. Her hands shaking, Izumi shook her head with a sardonic smile. "You're still lying." She went to her father's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you need to treat Father anymore right now?"

"No… But Izumi, I think you're…"

"Then get out."

"Izumi, just wait…"

"I said GET OUT!"

At first, Izumi thought Katara would try to speak again, try to continue lying to her. But to her relief, Katara gave a small nod and began to leave. When she opened the door, she paused and said, "I'll be right across the hall if you need anything. I'll check over Zuko again tomorrow morning." Then she was gone. the door closed behind her.

Izumi physically relaxed, leaning heavily against the bed. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. You're okay, you're okay… Rubbing her arms, she slowly sat down, forcing herself to breathe slowly.

Her father had internal damage. That was why he hadn't woken up yet. His brain was damaged.

Damaged by that woman.

Damaged because he had tried to protect her.

Her eyes burned and she felt thin lines of liquid fall down her face, but she refused to acknowledge them. With a deep breath, she grabbed her father's hand.

She stared at his too peaceful expression.

She watched the rise and fall of his chest.

And she let her mind go blank.

With every day that passed, the more apprehensive everyone became about the twentieth anniversary. It had been two days after Katara's arrival, and Zuko showed no sign of waking up. While all of his physical wounds were continuing to heal, he seemed trapped in this coma. Katara worked on him several times a day, and while she seemed hopeful, Izumi couldn't help but feel more and more wretched with every passing hour.

At first, Aang had suggest that they postpone the United Republic's commencement until Zuko was fully recovered. However, almost everyone - including Izumi - had immediately rejected this idea.

"The commencement was scheduled for this anniversary for a reason," Izumi had said. "It's an important symbolic gesture that shows just how far all the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom people have come since the end of the war."

Aang had sighed. "I'm inclined to agree with you, but I don't see what good that will do us if Zuko isn't there."

"I'm acting Fire Lord. As long as the current leader is at the ceremony, the symbolism will remain intact."

"I suppose…" he had said reluctantly.

It was at this point that Izumi began to realize that the adults around had their doubts about her serving as interim Fire Lord. For the most part, this was only evident in the small things: Aang saying she should skip the meetings and rest, Katara telling her not to worry so much about handling Fire Nation administration, and Lang Hui making snide remarks about Izumi being a child.

Izumi tried to ignore it all. She tried to maintain her hold on this unstable pattern she had carved out for herself. There wasn't any reason for everyone to be so worried about her. It wasn't as if she were negotiating the partition of land or organizing the potential exodus of people from the Fire Nation. Really, she was little more than a figurehead, which she was more than capable of handling.

However, the fifth day after the attack was when everything began to fall apart.

With only a week remaining before the twentieth anniversary, they had begun to do some rehearsals. Aang worked on the speeches with Kuei while Sokka coached Izumi.

"They may seem overly-formalized and dull…" Sokka was saying, "... but you really need to stick with the speech we give you. At an event like this, every word is going to be scrutinized and pulled apart by the public."

Izumi sighed, realizing he was referring to her early public appearance. "I understand that. It's just that after the attack…" She paused, trying to remember what her motivations had been during her public appearance. Finally, she shook her head. "I won't screw this up," she promised.

"I'm not worried about you 'screwing up'. I'm just giving you some pointers. Aang, Zuko, and I all had to learn these things the hard way. You're lucky that you don't have too."

Lucky. Not exactly the word she would use to describe herself at the moment. "I had no idea this was all so… complicated."

"What do you mean?"

Her fingers nervously tapped the top of her thigh. "Well, I knew that the politics involved with the negotiations, the Fire Nation's relationship with the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, maintaining control of all the Fire Nation provinces... is all incredibly complicated. At least, I knew this intellectually. But now that I have to personally deal with all of this - even if just on the periphery - it just all seems so incomprehensible."

At the other end of the table, Izumi heard Kuei loudly sigh. "That's reassuring…" he said sarcastically.

Sokka sat up and glared at him. "I don't recall you being all that competent as a leader when you finally started actually governing."

"I wasn't a fifteen year old child when I finally started governing," Kuei responded. "That's why I had the Grand Secretariat."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Yes, and that worked out soooo well."

"My father was only seventeen when he became Fire Lord," Izumi pointed out.

"Yes, well anyone would have been better than Ozia," Kuei said. "And frankly, Zuko had been much more mature than his own age."

Why did everyone insist on treating her like a child? Her father had been seventeen during Sozin's Comet. Aang had only been thirteen. Was it so hard to believe that a she was able to handle these responsibilities? "Well frankly, it doesn't matter what you think. For all intents and purposes, I am acting Fire Lord. I will serve as such in accordance to Fire Nation law."

Kuei didn't look happy, but didn't seem to have a counterargument.

"Besides…" Izumi continued. "I'm going to be Fire Lord some day. I might as well starting learning now, don't you think?"

Kuei shook his head. "This is a waste of time. When Fire Lord Zuko wakes up - "

Izumi slammed her fist on the table. "And what if he doesn't wake up?!" She hit her chest with the palm of her hand. "What if this is what you have for a Fire Lord from now on?!"

The stark silence that followed was deafening. The combination of shock and forlorn on everyone's faces sent a wave of disquiet through her. It was another moment before she realized what she had just said.

What if her father never woke up?

There was a sense of disembodiment as Izumi turned and quickly left. If any of the others said anything, she couldn't hear it over the harsh roaring in her ears. There wasn't anything that could penetrate the sudden fog she had lost herself in. Not even Kanan.

Somehow, Izumi had made her way back to the safe house. Sending a quick stream of fire into a hidden hole in the wall, she entered and went into her father's room, closing the door behind her.

Once she was there, the fog suddenly lifted and she became keenly aware of her heavy breathing and trembling body as she leaned against the cold metal door. For a moment, she didn't move, almost afraid of what she might see. But then she slowly turned her head to look at her father, who was in the exact position he had been for the last week.

"I'm not like you," Izumi said quietly.

She waited a moment, as if waiting for a response. Of course, none came.

"Kuei is right: you're a much better Fire Lord than I'll ever be." She began to pace the room, her arms wrapped around her chest. "You helped end the war. You realized that the Harmony Restoration Movement was hurting families and stopped it. You came up with the idea for the United Republic, a place where people of all nations could feel welcomed. And you did all of this in the first ten years of your reign. You did this in addition to finding your mother, mourning the death of your wife, and raising me…"

Izumi stopped and looked at her father's face. "You had one of the crappiest childhoods imaginable, and you still grew up to do great things. I've been privileged and spoiled, and I can't even manage to keep my head straight…" Her trembling increased and her eyes began to burn with fresh tears. "I can't do this," she admitted quietly. "I can't be a good Fire Lord. I can't be an adequate Fire Lord."

She stood at the foot of her father's bed and faced him fully. "You have to wake up," she said, her voice breaking. "You h-have to get up and d-do your job… because I'm just screwing everything up." She gripped the footboard so tightly her knuckles turned white. "You have to wake up," she said again. "Do you hear me? You have to wake up!"

There was no response. There was only the slow rise and fall of his chest.

Izumi squeezed her eyes closed, shaking her head vigorously. "I-I can't d-do this without you…!" she sobbed. "You can't le-leave me alone like this! I'm not like you! I'm not strong like you! If I were like you, Grandfather would still be alive and you wouldn't be laying in this hospital bed!"

She collapsed to her knees, her hands still gripping the footboard as if it would save her from drowning. "This is all my f-fault…" she whispered to herself. "This is all my fault..."

Vision almost completely obscured with tears, she looked back up at her father. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice strained with grief. "I d-don't care if you blame me or even h-hate me… I'll do anything. Just please get up," she begged. "Please…"

Izumi waited in vain hope for some sort of response. A word. A whisper. A moan. But all she was met with was silence.

Which... really... was the most agonizing thing she had ever heard.

Criticisms of all kinds welcome as always.