Izumi and Nolan were sitting in a meeting with their father and various Fire Nation represenatives. Zuko had been going around the table, calling on each person to speak so that everyone had the chance to offer their input. This was the established decorum for the meeting. Izumi however, had just interrupted Zuko, who was responding to one of the buisness representatives. Upon her interrupting, the represenative decided to address Izumi regarding the matter.
"Princess Izumi, I would think you wouldn't be disrespectful, speaking out of turn by interrupting your father, the Fire Lord like that. Especially not after what his father did to him after he spoke out of turn when he was about your age. Or would you also liked to be challenged to an Agni Kai for lack of respect?"
Izumi paused, "Wh-whatare you talking about?" She asked, confused. She looked over to her dad whose face looked frozen, or like a dear caught in the headlights.
The representative also froze for a moment, appearing to be having second thoughts about what he just said. He looked to Zuko, who at the least, did not look happy.
Zuko interviened, "My scar, Izumi, he is talking about my scar." Zuko said with frusturatuon and a hint of anger in his voice. Though she wasn't sure if the anger was at her or the represenative or both.
"What?" Izumi asked quietly and in shock. Her dad had never told her the story of how he got his scar. She asked when she was little, and he said that he would tell her when she was older. He also said that it wasn't pleasant story and he didn't want to talk about it.
"Alright let's take a short recess, if everyone would please leave the room, except my daughter."
"Dad, can I stay too?" Nolan asked quickly, from Zuko's left, as everyone else began getting up to leave.
"Oh, yes of course. Actually you probably should stay here, so I can explain this to you too."
As everyone else exited the room, Izumi sat frozen where she had been sitting at her father's right hand side. Once everyone had cleared the room, Zuko got off the throne and went to stand in front of her. He was standing on the ground, in comparison to Izumi who was sitting on the platform still. This made them a bit more at eye level. Nolan came over to the right side of the platform and sat down, letting his legs dangle off the edge. He sat slightly off centered from his dad, so as to not block Izumi from view.
"Dad what is he talking about? Is Ozai burning you in an Agni Kai how you got your scar?" Izumi asked
Zuko sighed "Yes it is. My father, Ozai, wasn't a good person. You both already know that," Zuko said, looking from Izumi to Nolan. "And do you remember the story of my banishment, of me speaking out against the military plan, and how my father challenged me to Agni Kai and I refused to fight him?"
"Yeah," Izumi responded. Nolan nodded his head.
"Well the full story is that, when I spoke out against the military plan, I also spoke out of turn. My father got very angry about this, as it was disrespectful and when he challenged me to fight in the Agni Kai, I thought I was going to fight the general whom I had spoken out against. But, since it was my my father's meeting, it was him that I had disrespected, therefore it was him who I was going to have to fight. I didn't know this until the day of the Agni Kai though, and not until I was about to fight and turned to face my oppotent. When I turned around and saw my father, that's when I refused to fight him. I pleaded with him for forgivness, but he didn't accept my apology. He burned my face and then banished me for refusing to fight, claiming that my refusing to fight was shameful."
"Whoah," Nolan said. "I thought it was bad enough that he bansihed you for refusing to fight him but that's how you got your scar too? And I thought he challenged you to Agni Kai because he was unhappy that you spoke out against the military plan and he didn't like people disagreeing with him or was power hungry or whatever, not because you spoke out of turn."
"Well it was likely because of both, Nolan, but yes, the reason he gave was because I spoke out of turn or rather because I "disrespected" him. Like I said, my father wasn't a good person."
"So do I have to fight you because I spoke out of turn?" Izumi asked from where she was sitting.
"No. Absolutley not. What my father did was wrong. I'm not challenging my little girl to an Agni Kai match because she intterupted me. And I would never harm you to teach you a lesson. I wouldn't do that to either of you." Zuko said, shifting his eyes from Izumi to Nolan. "Come here he said," looking back to Izumi and holding his arms out to hug her. Izumi got up from where she was, hopping off of the platform and onto the ground where her father was standing. She wrapped her arms around his torso in a hug and he enclosed his arms tightly around her.
"I love you, Izumi."
"I love you to. I'm sorry I intrerupted you."
"It's alright. But you don't ever have to worry about me hurting you, ok?" Zuko said. "You could have started yelling at me and I wouldn't have challenged you to Agni Kai. Not that you should do that. I'm just saying that you don't have to worry about me doing to you what my father did to me." Zuko looked over to where his son was, "Same goes for you. I wouldn't hurt you either, Nolan. Come here," he said gently, motioning for Nolan to join the hug. Once Nolan had hopped down off the platform, Zuko wrapped his arms around both his children.
"I love you both very much." He kissed the top of each of their heads.
"You're a good dad," Nolan said, looking up at his father. "I didn't realize how blessed I was to have a dad like you. I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused you in my life."
"Oh, Nolan," Zuko sighed, "Thank you, but regardless of the trouble you've caused, you're a great son. There are kids who cause their parents much more trouble than you have ever caused me. That's true for you to, missy," he said, looking down at Izumi. "You're a great daughter. If you intterrupting me is the worst I have to deal with, then I've got it pretty easy. However, we do need to talk about that real quick." Zuko said, pulling out of the hug. Izumi and Nolan both hopped up on to the throne platform, sitting in front of Zuko, who was still standing.
"When somone, weather it be me or someone else, sets up an established decorum for a meeting, to not follow that decorum is disrespectful towards them, as it indicates that your don't respect them, their wishes, or their authority. As well, decorum is a way to maintain order at a meeting. If decorum isn't followed or if people interrupt each other constantly, then the risk is ran of chaos ensuing or of things not getting done that need to be. That's why I set up decorum the way I did for the begining of the meeting, to make sure everyone had the chance to state their oppinion. And that's why throughout meetings, you need to wait your turn to be called upon."
"I didn't think of it that way, of following decorum or not interrupting being important to maintaining order at a meeting. And I didn't mean you any disrespect. I'm sorry." Izumi said.
"It's ok," Zuko replied. "Now we do need to get back to the meeting but we can talk about this more later if you want, ok?"
"Ok."
Later on, after the meeting, Zuko walked into the living room to find Izumi sitting on one of the couches. He had just turned in for the evening, Izumi had been home (or rather back in the living quarters of the palace) for a while.
"Hey, Dad" Izumi said to Zuko as he walked in.
"Hey Sweetie," he replied cheerfully.
"Can I talk to you?" Izumi asked.
"Of course." Zuko replied, approaching his daughter.
Izumi stood up and hugged him. "Thank you," she said, "for being a great dad."
"Izumi," he sighed quietly hugging her back, "you're welcome. No father should do to their children what my dad did to me."
"It's not just that," Izumi said, pulling slightly out of the hug her and her father were in. "There are dads who hit their kids. The dad of a girl in one of my classes got arrested last week for beating her and her mom. And I know a boy whose dad makes him kneel on uncooked rice when he gets in trouble."
"Izumi," Zuko pulled his daughter back into a hug, sqeezung her tightly, "I would never do those things to you or your brother. Besides, I'm more intrested in teaching you when possible, than I am punishing you."
Izumi smiled and looked up at her dad, "I think you've done a pretty good job at that." She then rested her head on his chest. "I just got scared when that represenative said that Ozai gave you that scar in an Agni Kai match, after talking out of turn. I got worried that maybe an Agni Kai challenge was just the punishment for speaking out of turn or being disrespectful towards the Fire Lord during meetings."
"It's not, at least not any more. And even if it was, in matters where you're concerned, I'm your father first."
Izumi looked back up at Zuko and then squeezed him tightly. Zuko reciprocated.
"I don't want you to be scared of me, Izumi. That's why I didn't tell you about my scar when you were younger. I didn't want you to be scared that I might do something like that to you. That's why I didn't tell you about my banishment until you were a bit older either."
"I'm not scared of you, Dad. I mean in the meeting I got scared that I may have to fight you in Agni Kai, but that went away after you talked to Nolan and I."
"Good. Because no matter what you do, I'm not going to challenge you to Agni Kai and I'm not going to burn your face to teach you a lesson."
Izumi stood still for a moment, and then pulled slightly out of their hug and leaned up, planting a kiss on her father's scar.
Zuko starred at his daughter for a moment, and then grabbed her face and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you to."
"Come on. It's probably almost time for dinner." Zuko said, motioning towards the kitchen. He began to walk out of the living room and Izumi followed.