Hey all!

I am so sorry for the long wait, but it's been a hectic last month. But now I'm more settled, and hoping to finish this story by the end of the summer.

This chapter was a bit difficult to write (as probably the next few will be as well), but I hope I do it justice.

Enjoy Chapter 12!

As her sobbing reduced to hiccups, Izumi became aware of the others in the room. A part of her knew it needed to be addressed, but all she wanted to do was stay in her father's arms and forget that everyone else existed.

But it would seem her father's injuries had other plans.

His body began to tremble harder, and it was clear that it wasn't just his emotions causing it. Izumi cautiously pulled herself from her father, startled when his arms fell away effortlessly. "Father…?"

"I'm okay," Zuko said through clenched teeth. He pressed the heel of his palm to his temple, his eyes clenched closed. "Just this… infuriating pain…"

Izumi's heart began to race as she watched her father curl in on himself and clutch his head. She quickly slid off the bed and allowed Katara to come in with her healing water. Thankfully, Zuko's body relaxed as Katara worked her hands around his temples, but it was a stark reminder for Izumi that her father was still recovering from very serious injuries.

The bone-deep relief from before was suddenly tainted with fearful apprehension.

"I'm okay, I'm okay…" Zuko said, his voice raspy from lack of use. He gently pushed Katara away, looking back at Izumi with an encouraging smile. However, Izumi found little comfort. She could see the anguish behind his eyes and exhaustion behind his smile, despite the fact that he had just woken up from a week long sleep. And when she thought about it, none of this was surprising. Her father had not only just woken up from a coma, but upon regaining consciousness, he had discovered that his uncle - the most important person in his life - was gone. It all had to be horribly overwhelming for him.

"Are you sure you don't want any valerian claw?" Katara asked.

"I just woke up; I don't need to be put back to sleep." Zuko took a deep breath as his glare flickered between Katara and Aang. "Now please leave me to speak with my daughter."

Aang looked surprised. "Zuko, are you sure? You just woke up and - "

"Aang," Katara hissed as she waddled around the bed and gently shoved his arm. "We're leaving," she said to Zuko. "We'll be right outside if you need anything."

After Katara had ushered her husband outside, Zuko relaxed back into his pillows with a deep sigh, staring at the ceiling. Izumi - now sitting in a chair at his bedside - shifted uncomfortably. For some unfathomable reason, anxiety was building up inside of her, threatening to suffocate her.

With another deep breath, her father sluggishly sat back up and turned to Izumi with his half-smile. His eyes searched her before he quietly asked, "You're really okay?"

Izumi smiled and let out a small laugh. More than anything, she wanted to say that she was absolutely fine. After all, now that he was awake, what more could she ask for? It was all she had wanted for this past week.

But the words stuck in her throat. Somehow... so much was still so wrong.

Her smile faded. "I'm… I'm as good as I can be."

He nodded and leaned forward to gently place his hand on Izumi's cheek. When he brushed his thumb over the cut on her lip, she realized he was scrutinizing her not-quite-healed bruises and scrapes.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

This caught her by surprise, causing her to frown. "You don't remember?"

He shook his head, his expression unreadable. "I remember… very little. Katara told me what she knows, but… it's not much."

Her father didn't remember. He wanted her to tell him what had happened. Which was the very last thing she wanted to do. In fact, the mere prospect froze her blood. She hadn't even thought about what happened, not explicitly. There were the facts. She knew the facts. But beyond the occasional involuntary flashback, she hadn't dared try to remember.

"Izumi… Izumi!"

Her father's face was suddenly right in front of hers, his eyebrows slanted in fear as his hands gripping her arms tightly. "Shh, it's okay… You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to!"

Izumi was shaking in his arms and her breathing was faster than normal. "I-I'm sorry…" she managed to stutter out. She didn't want to be causing her father more problems.

"Don't apologize," her father said, his voice calm and even. "There is absolutely no reason for you to be apologizing." There was a hint of moisture in his eyes, but he blinked it away. Stroking her hair, he leaned in to lightly touch his forehead to hers. "I can't imagine how hard this last week has been for you…"

There was something wrong about her father comforting her. She wasn't the one who got shot. She wasn't the one who just woke up from a coma. She wasn't the one who had lost the most important person in his life.

But at the same time, she was too weak to turn the comfort away. It grounded her, which - after a week of floating aimlessly - was something she desperately needed.

Izumi let out a small shaky sigh. "I'm just glad you're awake…"

Zuko nodded, staring at her intensely. But then he winced, mashing the heel of his palm to his temple. "Dammit," he cursed.

Panic rose up in Izumi once again. "Do you want me to get Katara?" she asked quickly.

He shook his head, then winced again, the movement clearly causing him more pain. "I'm okay… I j-just…" He leaned back into the bed. "... need to close my eyes…"

Izumi stood, quickly nodding. "I'll let you rest. I-I'll be in my room right next door..."

He simply nodded, his eyes scrunched closed.

When she left, Izumi leaned back against the closed door, taking a deep breath. She had entered the room and the greatest feeling of relief and happiness had overcome her. But upon leaving, she felt drained and anxious. She had thought that once her father had woken up, everything would be alright. Of course, that had been incredibly naive on her part. If she had been thinking properly, she would have easily seen that her father would need more time to recover fully.

Suddenly, a wretched sound came from the other side of the door, making Izumi's eyes widen and her body stiffen in barely contained horror.

It was the sound of her father. Sobbing. Bitter, painful sobs that wracked Izumi to her core.

Izumi slowly and stiffly walked back to her room, her body and her mind suddenly numb. At first she wanted to collapse on her bed, but after shutting her bedroom door, she walked past it and straight to the far corner. Driven by a deep need to hide, she tucked her body between the dresser and the wall, her legs curled up to her chest. Staring into space, her mind was completely empty except for the echo of her father's cries.

Her grandfather - the man who had basically raised her father and changed his life - was dead. Killed because Izumi couldn't defend herself. She hadn't even checked on her grandfather after he had gotten shot. What if she had gone to him first? Tended to his wound before her father's? Maybe they would have both lived.

What had she been thinking?

Nothing was okay.

Her father was awake, but her grandfather was still dead.

It was her fault.

She did this to her grandfather.

She did this to her father.

Resting her head on her knees, Izumi begged the earth to swallow her whole. Because at this point, everyone would be better off without her.

Her father spent the remainder of the day sleeping, so Izumi saw no reason to leave her room. And the only time anyone entered her room was when Kanan burst in. Turns out, he was furious that she had slipped out without his protection. But after a short impassioned rant, Kanan had calmed and resumed his duties in his normal, calm manner.

When Izumi finally went to bed, she found very little rest. Most of the night was spent staring at the ceiling. The sleep she did get was interrupted by inexplicable panic attacks.

The next morning, her father's condition seemed to have improved. He was less crippled by pain, his headaches having decreased in intensity.

Pleased to see that he was doing better, Zuko asked Aang to tell him everything that had happened. Izumi sat on the corner of her bed as Aang slowly recounted what Zuko had missed.

First, Aang explained Toph's findings, including everything they knew about Yinzo. To Izumi's relief, he didn't mention her confrontation.

Zuko's anger was palpable, his hands twisted in his bedsheets. "He's been serving in the palace since before Izumi was born… How could he do this to us?"

Aang looked uncomfortable, having no response to Zuko's question. "Apparently he's been planning this from the beginning."

"... He had patience," Zuko said bitterly. "I'll give him that much."

"But he's under arrest now and awaiting justice," Aang assured him. "Which should probably wait until after the commencement."

Zuko nodded. "I agree. It shouldn't be overshadowed by a trail." Then he looked at Aang with a slight frown. "What does the public know?"

"The basics. Nothing about Yinzo, but they know about the attack, about… about Iroh… and they knew that you were injured, though not how seriously. Izumi addressed the nation almost right after, so there wasn't - "

"Wait. What?" Zuko glanced at Izumi disbelieving before shooting a glare back to Aang. "What do you mean Izumi addressed the nation?"

Aang's eyes widened, looking genuinely confused. "Of course she did. We wanted to set the public straight before rumours started."

"So you forced Izumi to stand in front of a crowd and recount what had happened that day!?"

"Aang didn't force me!" Izumi piped up. "He asked. And I agreed with his reasoning."

"That's besides the point," her father said, still glaring at Aang. "What in Agni's name were you thinking?"

"I was just trying to do what was best! There is so much tension between all the nations, I didn't want anything to spin out of control!"

"So you used my daughter?!"

"Stop it!" Izumi screamed, standing with her fists clenched at her sides. "Stop talking about me like I'm not even here! I decided to make that address to the nation! Aang did not force or use me!"

Her father looked taken aback. "Izumi…"

"And stop treating me like a child! I can handle something as simple as making a stupid speech!"

Zuko tried to sit up straighter, but he ended up back against his pillows with a wince. "This isn't a question about your abilities... You shouldn't have had to do something like that!"

"Well… I did!" she shouted, her chest aflame. Her heart and lungs were constricting painfully, making it feel as though they were about to explode. "The Fire Nation had to know that we were still strong! That not even some maniacal fanatics could tear us down!"

"Izumi, I know you're upset. I understand that - "

"You understand? You don't understand anything! How could you? You weren't here! Grandfather was dead, you were dying, and I was all alone!"

Her father's mouth opened and closed, searching for something to say. He had a pained look in his eyes and was visibly shaken. "Izumi, listen…"

Izumi shook her head. She couldn't do this. She couldn't breathe. This room was suffocating her, pressing in on her and threatening to grind her body into the ground.

So she ran.

Something she's been doing a lot lately.

As she ran out of the safe house, Izumi was barely aware that Kanan was following her. In an attempt to get away, his insistent presence was almost maddening. However, she paid very little heed to him as she continued to run.

It wasn't until she reached the stables that she stopped, collapsing by Druk's side. She was panting hard from the sudden exertion, leaning heavily against Druk's hard scales. As she slowly caught her breath, Druk curled his body around her with a soft rumble.

"Princess?"

Izumi didn't tell him to go away, partially because she hadn't caught her breath yet, and partially because she knew he would disobey. After the incident with Yinzo, she knew that virtually nothing would keep Kanan from her side.

"I'm fine," she said between breaths, both acknowledging his presence and confirming that she was, in fact, okay.

Kanan didn't respond, but Izumi could here him stepping back against the stable wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. For a moment, Izumi contemplated how dirty such an action would make Kanan's uniform.

There was a content silence in the stables. Druk had positioned his head so it rest on his body next to where Izumi sat, letting out the occasional moan of content as she absentmindedly stroked his snout or scratched his mane. Izumi tried to think about what had just happened, pull the event apart and dissect its insides. But she couldn't get her mind past the fact that she had just screamed at her father.

What in Agni's name was wrong with her? Her father had been through enough. The last thing he needed was his daughter shouting angrily at him, practically accusing him of abandonment.

It wasn't his fault he had been in a coma. If anything, it was her fault for allowing herself to be used as leverage. She was the reason her grandfather was dead, she was the reason her father had been shot and beaten… Her father had protected her from being raped, and this is how she thanks him?

She was a worthless fighter and a horrible daughter.

Izumi curled into herself, digging her fingernails into her arms. They broke the skin, and she reveled in the fresh pain. Somehow, it felt more real than anything else in her miserable life right now.

"I know it's not really my place…" Kanan said, "... but I'm going to speak freely for a moment."

Izumi frowned, the edge of desperation to his voice making her rapt. What could he possibly want to speak about?

"You've always been strong-willed. If you were ever having any problems, you would take them in stride, never asking for help, or make it appear as if you were struggling. And I don't think I've ever heard you complain."

There was a long pause, so long that Izumi would have thought he was done if his tone hadn't indicated otherwise.

"You can't do this by yourself."

It was a like a stab to the gut. Izumi's body stiffened and her nails dug deeper.

"... And that's okay. We weren't meant to deal with this world all alone. I could quote any number of cliched sayings about how working as a team is better than working alone, and I know you could quote many more from all of that reading you've done in your fifteen - almost sixteen - years. Well, they're cliched for a reason."

Izumi's initial reaction was anger. What exactly was she supposed to do? It's not like anyone else could somehow magically make her not stupidly crazy.

She didn't need help. She just needed to learn to control herself.

"I think… that you think you're somehow sparing your father. That by pretending to be okay, that will make it easier on him." Another pause. "But you're a terrible liar. Anyone can see that. You're not okay. Not by a long shot."

"Stop talking," Izumi said curtly.

Kanan ignored her. "And you're not going to be okay unless you talk to someone. Anyone. You can't just pretend that everything that's happened isn't affecting you."

"I said, stop talking!"

"No!" Kanan shouted. "You need to use that big brain and practical nature of yours and stop hiding!"

"I'm not hiding!" Izumi jumped to her feet, Druk pulling his head back in surprise. Now that she was standing, she could barely see Kanan standing on the other side of Druk's body. "And how dare you insinuate that I'm lying!"

"You are lying! And you don't realize it, but you're only hurting yourself and your father!"

"You think I don't know that!? I know I'm only causing my father more trouble! That's why it's important for me not to bother him unnecessarily!"

"You wouldn't be bothering him! He would want to know!"

Izumi emphatically shook her head, grasping her hair as she tried to keep her thoughts straight. What had just happened? Why was she here? Why were they having this conversation? She yanked at her hair, panicking as it all spiraled out of control. "Why are you doing this to me!?"

Kanan's arms were suddenly around her, and Izumi froze in shock. Glancing to the side, she realized that Druk had somehow moved his massive body without her realizing, allowing Kanan to easily embrace her. Betrayal struck Izumi in the chest; she couldn't believe that Druk had allowed Kanan to come near her, especially when she was so upset and lost.

Druk brought his muzzle up to Izumi's shoulder, sniffing it affectionately. And for a moment, Izumi thought she saw concern in his eyes.

"I've been looking over you for since you were five years old," Kanan whispered. "I know it's presumptuous of me… but I think of you as a daughter. I would do anything for you. And you have no idea how painful it is for me to see you suffering like this."

Her body shaking in Kanan's arms, tears silently fell down Izumi's face. Kanan's arms felt as if they were covered in broken glass, stabbing and slicing her skin open. It was painful. All of it was just agonizing.

"You need to talk to someone," Kanan said softly, but firmly. "It doesn't have to be me. Or your father. You can talk to Master Katara or Avatar Aang… or even Druk. But you cannot keep this all on the inside. It's going to rip you apart… and I can't watch that happen."

Talk to someone? Talk about what? The attack? Everyone already knew about the attack. What would be the point in talking about it?

But a part of Izumi told her to stop. Deep down, she knew exactly what Kanan wanted her to do.

And for the first time in over a week… she felt some semblance of control.

"I'll try…" she rasped out. "I promise, I'll try."

Kanan gave her a comforting squeeze. "Thank you."

Criticisms of all kinds welcome as always.