"Are you sure you want to do this, Zuzu?" his sister asked him for the tenth time as they waited for Toph and June.

"Yes. And even if I wasn't, they're probably here already."

"We could just make something up. You invite your friends to the palace for the most ridiculous reasons anyway, so the earthbender won't be suspicious."

"Azula..." he warned.

"And we can just tell the bounty hunter we need her to chase another random criminal we haven't captured yet" she said, ignoring his warning "That's probably what she thinks she's here for."

"Azula, this is serious. I need to be sure that our people still believe in me, and that I won't let any harm come to them, despite everything our family has done before. That's the whole point of me being Fire Lord. I can't afford to have them thinking I'm being manipulated."

"You still don't get it, do you?" she looked disappointed and annoyed "I could literally turn into the kindest person in the whole world, and it wouldn't be enough. As long as I'm by your side instead of locked away in a prison cell or in an asylum, there will always be people who think everything I do is part of a plan to either kill you or turn you into nothing more than a figurehead while I hold all the actual power."

Zuko knew his sister had a point - truth be told, she always did - but he hated how easy it was for her to say people would never fully accept her. He knew some would never like her, and that a few others would always be waiting for an opportunity to get rid of her. But it wasn't like her to simply surrender to that fact. She should be fighting with all the confidence in the world, and not acting like she thought it could all be for nothing. She should be coming up with all kinds of plans, not just constantly reassuring him that it would all be okay eventually. She should be more... Azula.

But wasn't that the whole point of this treatment? To make her change her ways? To turn her into a better person? To help her become... someone else?

No, not someone else. Zuko thought. Just a new version of her. A kinder, happier one. She deserves this as much as I did.

"It doesn't matter what they think" his sister was about to speak up, but he didn't allow her to "I know what it looks like and I know what you're thinking. But you're wrong. I'm not doing this because I want to make sure everyone is glad you're still around. I just want to know who are the people opposing this the most, so I can prevent them from trying anything against us."

"So, tell me, Zuzu, when you find these people, what are going to do? Banish them? Take away their right to voice opinions that go against their Fire Lord's wishes? Imprison them? Kill them? We both know you don't have it in you."

"It won't get that far" Zuko promised her, and himself "I had to deal with furious crowds before, when I decided not to send you away. This isn't any different."

Azula looked like she wanted to disagree, but instead she gave him a warning "Just be careful with what exactly you ask those two to tell you after they finish their 'investigation'. You might not want some questions to be answered. Especially by two women as blunt as they are."

Before he could tell her to explain what she meant, they heard Toph's laughter becoming louder and louder outside the room.

"Last chance to change your mind, Zuzu" Azula said in that mocking tone that never failed to get on his nerves.

Zuko ignored her and opened the door.