A/N: AURGHHH I'm not updating anywhere near as frequently as I was hoping. I've been working the last 8 days straight and everything hurts. Managed to get a few more lovely burns too which is always fun in the scorching heat. I get the feeling I'm not gonna have another chance like this until I'm back to uni in Sept – I REALLY hope that's not the case. But if I'm not back in a couple weeks then expect that sadly. Short chapter but it does give some interesting pieces of the puzzle I think. Hope you enjoy and thank you all for sticking with me despite my random updating – you guys are totally awesome!
Thursday evening:
Zuko's POV:
I keep my arms behind my head while the rest of my body is sprawled on my bed as I stare at the ceiling, my mind racing with everything that's happened in the past week. That airbender, Azula not ratting me out for once, finding out that my father was involved in the murder of some nurse. 'Ok the last one I don't actually know, but how else do I take that snatched conversation last night? Couple that with his prior words from last week:
'Do we have to take out everyone around him?!'
It does point towards some shady business which at this point shouldn't be a surprise. I've seen my Dad do some pretty bad stuff, burning half my face off for a start. But orchestrating a murder? It feels a bit too cold, even for him and yet, maybe not as far-fetched as I initially believed. I roll over to my side anxiously. 'Has he done this before?' I wonder worriedly.
"Zuko! Can you do something useful for once in your life and tidy my office!" The sudden bellow has me jumping to my feet in a heartbeat as I hop down the stairs before the man can start shouting at me for taking my time. Once I hit the last step, I spot Ozai adorned in a suit and tie. "I'm going out for a little bit. This place better be spotless when I get back." The man orders before slamming the door on his way out before I can even get one word edgeways.
I scowl at where he once stood and enter the messy office, the place looking like a hurricane hit and then some. My fingers twitch in barely concealed anger, the urge to hit or throw something becomes overwhelming. My left leg shoots out to kick a nearby chair and I watch with some satisfaction as it tumbles to the ground with a loud bang.
"Stop throwing a childish fit and get on with it!" Azula hollers from her room upstairs and with a grumble, I bend down and start stacking the pile of unorganised papers in one corner.
I glance around, looking for an empty shelf to dump these papers in, but come up empty-handed. With a sigh, I go over to the very back. 'Probably can get rid of the really old papers or at least shove them all in one pile.' I think to myself as I reach for a tacky folder that looks like it could be a decade old.
When I open it, 3 swirl-like symbols aligned in a triangle stare back at me. I frown, 'Isn't that the air nomad symbol?' I ask myself. 'Why would he have this? Dad hates airbenders. Hates the other nations full stop.' I pull away the first paper to be met with a small pocket size photo of a young boy. His head is bald and plain, not adorning the usual tattoos associated with mastery level. Or so I've read in books. His grin is so wide as his grey orbs sparkle with mirth. I furrow my eyebrows and stare at the photo, for some reason it feels...familiar? 'Why do I feel like I've met this person?'
My eyes drop further down the page, the name has been crossed out in a thick black sharpie, making it impossible to read. But below are details of the child's history: parents killed in a house fire, moved to an orphanage, the orphanage was also burnt down a few years later with the boy being the sole survivor, moved again but to an unknown location. The words 'unknown location' have been underlined twice with red and suddenly a creeping sensation wedges itself into my gut.
"Did...did he do this?" I whisper aloud as I flick the page to a sheet detailing the names of all the council members of the neighbouring town. Bumi Omashu, Kuei Ba-Sing-Se, Sho and the list goes on. At the very bottom is a Hakoda Aqua, a black circle marked by his name. I flicker through the rest of the pages, mostly filled with maps of the town and the neighbouring towns. It's only when I reach the last page does a chill run through me.
Find the boy. Blackmail him and the council members. Get the stock.
The writing is scrawled in very small letters, nearly illegible for anyone else, but having grown up with my father's writing, it's not that hard to work out to the trained eye.
"What are you doing?" The icy feminine voice forces a rock into the pit of my stomach as I drop the file and all its contents to the ground.
"Jeez Azula! Don't do that." I growl as I quickly bend down to tidy the papers and shove them back into its file.
"You know you're not meant to be reading father's papers. You'd be busted into next year for it." My sister drawls as she crosses her arms. My features darken as I glance up at her.
"So what? You're going to tell on me?" I jeer, yet inside I'm quaking. 'If Azula spills, the good side of my face won't exist anymore.' I think anxiously as I watch the girl tapping her chin deviously.
"Perhaps not now." She voices with a smirk. I furrow my eyebrows at her and get to my feet.
"What? But you've never held back on telling Dad anything before and now you're letting me off the hook twice, why?!" I demand and watch as the girl steps further into the office.
"Perhaps I want to use it as blackmail for later. Or perhaps because I want to see what dangerous road you're walking on." Azula purrs and I shiver, hating that she's become a carbon-copy of our father. I turn my back on her.
"You know you could always ask." I mutter.
"And I know that you'll never tell me." My sister reminds as if she accepted that fact long ago. I scrunch my nose up.
"Well, maybe if you were actually on my side, I would tell you stuff." I utter while bending down to tidy the other sprawled papers on the floor. To my surprise, Azula crouches down beside me and starts shuffling the papers into a pile.
"This is just how things are Zuzu." The girl voices, somehow the old nickname just makes the conversation more sour.
"It doesn't have to be." I retort. The girl remains silent for several moments as she sorts the papers according to dates with ease.
"You still didn't answer my question about what you were doing." She finally says. I shrug my shoulders and don't answer. After 5 minutes of silence, I open my mouth.
"Do you think Dad...hurts people?" I question quietly, causing the girl to pause aw she flickers her eyes to me, those amber irises scrutinise me for a moment.
"Of course he does. That's what businessmen do." She answers casually and I know she's referring to father's underhanded tactics of forcing people into bankruptcy and all the other business methods he uses.
"No, I mean...physically. Does he hurt people physically?" I ask quietly. Azula stares at me long and hard before continuing her paper filing.
"Of course he wouldn't." She utters and I nearly sigh in relief, until she continues. "It's more likely he would hire someone to hurt people." My sister states a matter-of-factly and my heart suddenly grips at the information. "Why the sudden interest anyway?"
"N-Nothing." I stutter and turn my attention back to the papers.
"You're a terrible liar Zuzu." Azula expresses in a bored tone. I hunch my shoulders and continue shuffling papers when all of a sudden the girl snatches the old folder that I was trying to hide behind me.
"Hey!" I call out, trying to grab it back, but she simply dodges out of my reach and starts skimming through the papers.
"So that's why you're asking. Why does it even bother you? It's just some random airbender." Azula utters, her eyes narrowing slightly when she spots the picture. "In fact he almost looks like your airbender friend." She adds under her breath. I widen my eyes and again try to snatch the folder back, but fail.
"He's not my friend! Plus there's no way that's him, he's too upbeat to have gone through all that." I point out as my sister shrugs.
"People are good at hiding things." She reminds lightly. I open my mouth, ready to argue when the jingle of keys echo from the front door. I freeze and stare at the still messy office. Azula jumps to her feet with a smirk. "Good luck." She voices, dropping the folder back onto its original shelf before dancing out of the backdoor just as our father enters the room. I gulp when I meet his fiery glare.
"You haven't even touched it!" He shouts as he picks up a wodge of papers that are tied together in an elastic band and throws it at me just as I raise my arms to protect my face. "Useless. Absolutely useless." He growls as he comes over to stand over me.
I watch as he reaches down to take his shoe off and I'm already grimacing in anticipation of what he's going to do. It's five hard hits later when he finally pushes me roughly out of the office.
"Next time do what I ask you to." He spits out before slamming the door behind him. I hunch my shoulders and stalk back upstairs, passing my sister's already closed door. I scrunch my nose slightly before making my way back to my room.
My eyes flicker over my desk and immediately I spot the small photo of that boy. 'Azula.' I growl silently, knowing I'd definitely be in for it if our father notices the missing picture. And yet as I stare at the photo, I can't help but un-see what Azula said.
Picking up the picture, I scan it a bit more closely and Aang's features definitely does stare back at me. 'But maybe all airbenders look the same? I mean, I've never seen another airbender before so it can't be that much of a stretch, right?' A pit grows in my stomach as I take a seat on my bed.
"Oh shoot." I mutter when I realise that if Aang really is the boy in this picture, then my father is looking for him. And they've already crossed paths. I slap my forehead. 'I'm such a...' My thoughts trail off as I glance once more at the pictured boy. 'I could be wrong. This could all be a terrible coincidence.' I try to convince myself, but even I've caught wisps of conversation around campus about the kid's supposed genius. 'I mean you only need to look at him to know he doesn't belong here. He's 16 for crying out loud!'
The swirling in my gut intensifies. 'Why else would my father have a photo of a random kid? He wants to use him for his talent. Just like he uses everyone around him.' I place the photo beside me and rest my chin on top of my clasped hands. 'Aang didn't show any emotion when he saw Ozai. Does that mean he doesn't know who had a hand in the murder of his parents and the destruction of the orphanage?'
The question shoves a whole load of nausea down my throat as I rise to my feet to pace. 'What do I do? Pretend I know nothing? Find out if he really is that boy? Would he even talk about something so traumatic? If I tell, what happens to Dad? I might have very strong opinions about him, but he's still my father. Could I really see him go to jail? I'm not even in a position to take over the company. And if I can't, then it will be ripped away, given to some other snobbish bad guy. And for a company this powerful, that isn't good.'
I run a hand through my messy black hair and for once I wish I had someone to turn to. I used to have uncle Iroh, but ever since he lost his son he's been on a self-discovery trip and I haven't seen him since. 'And it's not like I have any real friends.'
I chew my lip, for the first time wishing for something that I've repeatedly pushed out of my mind. I pluck my phone out of my pocket and click on contacts. Scrolling down to the bottom, I find Y mechanics. The kid insisted I take his number in case the car broke down again. I saved it under Y mechanics instead of his name, because I knew if father ever took my phone it would be the first name that pops up.
Now, my finger hovers over the name. I press it and click edit, changing the name to something random like Lee. Unquestionable and most importantly unable to be found. 'At least that protects Aang's identity the next time Dad wants to snoop on my phone.'
I sigh when I click save, the boy's offer returning to the forefront of my mind.
"How can I get advice from someone who I need advice about?" I grumble and flop onto my bed. 'Stealth is Azula's department not mine.' I turn my head to stare outside my window. Hoping an idea would pop into mind. 'I guess the first step is to find out moreabout him.' I groan internally, knowing that small talk has never been my forte, 'but I'm going to have to try.'
A/N: Dun Dun Dun! I'm making Aang go through a lot aren't I? Sorry! XD More on that later – got a flashback for it which I think you guys will like (or get depressed over heh), but that's in chapter 31 (I think), so will have to wait a little while I'm afraid. Hope you enjoyed it, even if it was short. Next chapter is a good one imo, so I pray I'll find some time to post it sooner rather than later. Anyway hope everyone is doing well in this heat – legit haven't been able to sleep, I want the rain back lol. Get my results next week, so I'm praying I've passed. Well, I'll stop rambling and see you all next time!
20/7/21