A/N: Hey guys! I noticed that we're coming up to nearly a year since I first posted this story, so thought to post an early anniversary chapter so to speak. If any of you have followed me before, you'd know that it would take me years to finish a story, so to have written and posted nearly 40 chapters in a year is pretty awesome for me. A lot of that is down to all your support, so thank you! This is a shortish chapter, but I hope you like it anyway.
2 days later:
Zuko's POV:
I can't help it. Every police siren I hear rushing down our street has me jumping in fear that Aang already told someone. I mean, why shouldn't he? My dad took everything from him. His parents, his home, Gyatso and it has nearly destroyed all his current friendships. But strangely, he hasn't. And for that I can't help but be impressed by the boy. And grateful. Yet, as I stand before my father right now as he shouts in my face, it's ridiculously tempting to relieve Aang from his promise.
"I told you to shred those papers! Do you want anyone to find out the goings-on of our company?" Ozai growls. Funny he says 'ours' when I don't have any say in what happens there. I shake my head at him. "The why didn't you do it?!" He demands. My lips part, but no words come out. "Answer me!" He spits. My eyelid twitches slightly.
"I forgot." I mutter and flinch when he narrows his eyes in a scathing glare.
"You think that's a good excuse?! You're worse than an animal; at least an animal would do what I told it to do." My father voices with disgust before spitting in my face. I blink rapidly to hold off the dumb tears that burn the backs of my eyes. "Don't let me ask you again." He orders, kicking me as he passes by.
I wait until I hear the door to outside being slammed shut before dropping my head. Wetness rolls down my cheeks and I swipe at them roughly in anger. 'Worst father ever.' I hiss to myself in an attempt to stop the heavy sadness from crushing me. It usually works, but not today. My mind unhelpfully reminds me of Aang's words:
"You obviously don't know what a model father looks like."
That's a lie obviously because I saw how my uncle Iroh treated his son Lu Ten. I know what a good father looks like. Heck, what a great one looks like. But it's not like I get to choose. He's the worst father, but he's mine. That doesn't mean my heart doesn't physically ache when I see a kind father with his kids in the streets. That pain is still very much there.
"You going to stand there sulking all day or are we going to go?" A cold feminine voice cuts through my thoughts and I snap my head up to find Azula leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. 'Probably heard the whole thing.' I think bitterly.
"Go?" I echo back instead.
"Father just left for his annual trip to his other branch for the day. We're free to do whatever." My sister reminds impatiently. I blink at her.
"And you want to do something with me?" I voice back sceptically. The girl shrugs.
"I was going to call Ty Lee actually, but you look too much of a mess to be alone, so I suppose I could just postpone my meet-up with her." Azula explains nonchalantly, but I just stare at her. When I don't reply, she scrunches up her nose. "Or not. You could go see that airbender instead, what was his name again? Aang?" My sister suggests, her tone sarcastic.
"But you never want to do things together." I say, my brain finally catching up to my mouth.
"I don't want anything. I'm only offering because you look so pitiful, but if you're not interested, that's fine by me." Azula explains blandly. I want to question her further, but I know that she'll just clam up if I do, so I just shake my head.
"No, I...er that sounds good. What do you want to do?" I fumble as I grab my car keys.
"We don't need a car." She states simply as she unlocks the front door. I frown at her, but follow anyway. As we walk down the pavement, awkward silence persists and it reminds me that we really haven't spent any extended periods of time with each other, outside car rides to uni. Usually, she's always so busy with father while I'm so busy doing the opposite.
"So, how did you do in that test?" I ask randomly. The girl flickers her eyes briefly towards me before looking ahead.
"That test was 2 weeks ago." She voices bluntly, making me cringe.
"Oh. Right." I mumble, my attempt at making conversation being knocked right off its feet. I feel her gaze on me once more.
"100%." She supplies suddenly, as if it weren't anything new. And I suppose it isn't.
"Well done." I mumble, but the praise makes the firebending prodigy narrow her eyes.
"Don't patronise me Zuko." Azula demands. I roll my eyes at her.
"It's called praise. Maybe you'd know about it if you didn't spend so much time with father." I shoot back, eliciting a snort from my sister.
"Still barking up the jealousy tree Zuzu." She expresses smugly, as if it makes her feel better.
"Why would I be jealous with you spending time with a monster?" I fire out, making the girl pause slightly, but she picks up her stride a second later.
"Maybe because you don't have anyone else." Azula provides simply. My feet come to an abrupt halt at those words. It's several seconds before my sister also stops as she puts a hand on her hip. "Oh, stop taking everything so personally." The girl barks in irritation. I clench my jaws and continue walking. I don't say another word after that, despite the number of glances my sister throws at me. A sigh penetrates the air. "I suppose you have that airbender though." She says after a long pause. I glare at her.
"I don't." I retort. I watch as she raises one perfectly plucked eyebrow.
"I'm not dumb Zuzu. I've seen you hang around him a few times now." Azula reveals. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach.
"But you haven't told father." I state slowly. She shrugs.
"I tell him things when I feel like it." She responds easily. I furrow my eyebrows.
"So, you don't feel like it?" I echo back in disbelief. Her eyes flicker to me.
"Not yet, I don't." My sister replies with steady eyes. I bite the inside of my cheek, becoming unsettled by her words. She must've caught the expression on my face as she exhales, as if talking to me were some chore. "You don't have to think the worst of me all the time Zuzu. I can play the angel too." Azula mutters. I stare at her for a good minute before the ability of speech returns to me.
"Since when do you ever want to play the angel?" I quip back. That perfect mask on her face slips slightly. I gawk because that rarely happens. She catches the look and immediately scowls.
"Back off Zuko. You don't know anything about me." Azula orders bitterly and it makes me feel guilty, because maybe I've got her all wrong. Maybe. My eyes soften slightly.
"You don't always have to be like him." I voice quietly. The girl stiffens and I know I've lost my chance.
"Forget it. You're obviously so intent on believing that I am him, so why should I break your little illusion of such?" Azula sneers. I scowl at her.
"Aren't you? You told me to stand up for myself and it gave me this scar. You've bullied me my whole life, taunted me and lied to me. How is that any different from what he does?" I spit back, refusing to call that monster my father for the first time. The girl scrunches up her nose at me.
"I never told you to stand up against father during his meeting in his own office in front of his council. That was all your genius idea. Besides, I told you - that scar stops other people from..." I cut across before she can finish.
"From what? Talking to me? Make them fear me? Maybe that's what you'd want, but I didn't!" I fire back. Her amber eyes gaze at me before she shakes her head.
"You should've thought about that before you opened your mouth." My sister says nonchalantly. I feel my eyelid twitching.
"And this is why you'll never be the angel because you don't care!" I quip acidly. To my surprise, she clenches her hands so tightly that her knuckles go white. Fire erupts from her fists. It's a surprise because Azula never loses her cool. Never. I step back cautiously as she glares at me.
"This is your problem; you think I'm a monster. Just like she did." Azula spits. I blink, shocked that she's the one that's mentioning mother first. Usually, it's me.
"Prove to me otherwise." I say, my tone coming out more of a plea than I intended it to. The flames vanish around her hands.
"I didn't tell father that you've been snooping around his office or that you're friends with an airbender. What more proof do you need?" My sister reminds with a pointed nose. I look at her dubiously.
"Knowing you, you're holding onto that information until just the right time to blackmail me or something." I say with a shrug of my shoulders. I watch as her eyelid twitches slightly.
"If I wanted to prove you wrong, how would I go about it?" She questions bluntly. I stare at her, not expecting that. "Chop chop, Zuzu, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Azula drawls blandly. My mind races, but my dumb mouth chooses something for me.
"Apologise to Katara for nearly burning her face." I cringe at the dumb request and nearly slap my forehead. 'But in all fairness, Azula never apologises. If she miraculously does, then she's...genuine?' I shiver. 'That's a word I never thought I'd associate with her.' Her lips part slightly as she gazes at me.
"Oh, don't tell me you've fallen for that watertribe peasant. I know your future prospects have been limited by that scar of yours, but I don't think you have to stoop that low." My sister expresses with a wave of her hand. I gawk at her, feeling aghast at the very idea.
"What?! No! That's not...aurgh! I'm choosing that because you never apologise!" I express, much louder than I would've liked as I feel heat crawling up my neck in mortification at her assumption. Her eyes scan me up and down before shrugging.
"Challenge accepted." Azula says simply. I raise my eyebrow at her.
"Really?" I echo.
"Sure why not? The shock on her face would be fun to watch." My sister voices with a smirk. I furrow my eyebrows.
"That's not the pur..." I start, but the girl waves her hand again.
"I know that. Now, have you ever heard of the Avatar?" The prodigy questions, changing the topic. I stare at her blankly.
"The what?" I echo, making the girl roll her eyes.
"Father really wasted his money on sending you to a private school. Did you not pay any attention to Government Conspiracy classes?" Azula expresses dryly. I glare at her.
"I thought those classes were pointless to start with. Why would they even teach kids that? It's not even taught in public schools." I fire back, prompting the girl to massage her forehead.
"Because some highly intellectual people are interested in it, like father and I." My sister quips. I press my lips tightly together. "Anyway, the Avatar is a person that is able to bend all four elements." She continues, jogging something in my memory.
"The identity of such a person is only known to certain government officials and their role is to maintain peace? That's just a ridiculous fairy-tale." I interrupt with a snort. Azula's eyes narrow.
"Nice to know that you did learn something after all. And there's been multiple reports of sightings. I was eavesdropping into one of father's conversations. He believes the Avatar does exist and he's been searching for them for years." The prodigy explains. I frown.
"But why?" I ask, confused, eliciting a heavy exhale from the girl.
"Must I teach you everything? The Avatar has the ability to stop father's plans of taking over the surrounding regions. So, he needs to capture him." Azula stresses. I shake my head, still not getting it.
"And you're telling me this because...?" My question elicits a frustrated growl from the girl.
"Because if we find him then maybe father would give you the respect you so badly want." My sister spells out. My jaw slackens slightly, before I shake my head.
"Why would you tell me that? You could take all the glory for yourself." I ask, my voice laced with suspicion. A glint of something crosses her eyes.
"I'm a generous person, I don't mind sharing the credit." Azula answers smoothly, so smoothly that if you didn't know her you wouldn't suspect any evil plotting. My eyes narrow at her.
"We both know you're lying." I grit out. My sister shrugs.
"You are foolishly stubborn. If you look for something, you'll find it. Besides, taking down the Avatar isn't an easy feat, even for me. So, what do you say? It could be a...sibling bonding mission I suppose." The firebender explains as she taps a finger to her chin. My heart lurches in nostalgia. 'We haven't done anything together since...Mum was still around.' I swallow.
"If this will make father finally love me. Then sure, let's catch an Avatar." I agree as a fire is ignited within me. A purpose. A mission to finally prove I'm not worthless or useless. 'Maybe this will show father that I'm someone to be proud of, especially when he failed at finding the Avatar. And even better, if we find this Avatar, maybe father will abandon his search for Aang. No one gets hurt. Except the Avatar. A small price to pay. Perhaps, I could even convince Aang to drop the whole justice thing too.'
I nod my head to myself, the knot in my chest finally eases for the first time since I told the airbender my dark secret.
"So how do we find him?" I ask as confidence bursts inside me. Azula smirks and I can only imagine this isn't going to be good.
"I've read about a hidden library that has potential information about the Avatar and how to find them. The thing is, it can only be unlocked by the presence of 4 good hearted benders. One from each nation." I gape at her explanation.
"How are we going to find that? Airbenders are rare enough as it is, it will...oh. Dang it Azula, this is the real reason why you didn't tell father." I voice in irritation as a smug expression settles on her face.
"Well done Zuzu, maybe there's hope for you yet. Take the Airbender and that self-righteous waterbender. Her brother hangs out with an earthbender, so convince her to join you too." My sister lists off with each finger. I furrow my eyebrows.
"But who will be the firebender?" I ask, until she gives me a pointed look. My jaw drops. "Me?! You want me to hang out with someone who hates me?! And I'm not good hearted! I..." I ramble until the prodigy silences me with a look.
"You hate bullying. You're honest and you care about businesses going bankrupt by father, it's why you got that scar to start with. Even now, you're trying to make father happy, what can be more good-hearted than that? Besides, if you're friends with the Airbender and he's friends with the watertribe peasant, he'll act as your go-between. Simple." Azula explains as if she had this all sorted out a while ago.
I stare at her. 'Sometimes it scares me how well she plans and figures things out.' Other times it induces a burning jealousy inside me, making me wish I had an ounce of what she has, because maybe my father would actually notice me as a someone. On rare occasions like today, it stuns me.
"Remind me how do you know all these things?" I finally say, prompting a pleased smirk from the girl.
"Because I do." Azula utters with a devious glint in her eyes. A silent declaration that she'd never tell me her secrets.
"Right and what's the name of the library?" I ask. Azula directs her intense eyes to me.
"Wan Shi Tong."
A/N: Sooooo I couldn't help but add more plot into the story and you all know how much I'm trying to create as many parallels to the show as I can, so I thought this would be a cool one, especially since those episodes are well-loved ones in the fandom. Ofc I'm going to add my own spin on them, but I'll take some ideas from the show. If any of you noticed, I used that parallel from the show when Azula enlists Zuko's help to conquer Ba Sing Se. I thought it would be cool to delve into their relationship a bit more, esp since I haven't touched on it for a little while. The very beginning of the chapter is actually based from one of my own experiences, so I hope it hits as much as I was hoping it would and that it highlights how complicated Zuko's relationship with his dad is.
Anyway, next chapter is pretty long you'll be happy to hear! It's in Katara's POV. At this rate I'm kind of running out of back-up chapters, only have two complete ones left at the moment, I've kind of stalled at chpt 42 (no, it's not bc I've lost any drive for it), I've just got caught up writing a Black Widow fic and I'm having too much fun with it to stop – seriously has anyone watched that film? It's amazing and I can't recommend it enough! Anyway, guess I want to apologise in advance bc after those two chapters are posted, the wait for a new chapter might be a lot longer than usual. Hopefully I can try and multi-task and write for both, but my bus rides aren't as long as they used to be. But hey we've still got two chapters ready to be posted in a week or two, so let's focus on that ;) Keep well everyone!
6/11/21