of betrayal
For some reason, his feet carry him to the teashop. A young girl is standing by the entrance.
"Do you have clearance?" one of the attendants asks her.
Zuko walks over, and, because he thinks he knows the girl, puts his arm around her, saying quickly, "She's with me." The girl-- it is Jin, just as he'd thought-- looks up at him in surprise as the attendants back away.
He swallows. "Would you like some tea?" he asks. "I'll pay."
To his surprise, the smile she gives him is genuine. "That would be lovely, Li."
"It's Zuko."
She looks down. "Of course. Zuko."
He watches her for a while, files away in his mind the way she folds her arms and twirls her hair and smiles. Somehow, she never stops smiling, not even at him.
"Don't you hate me?" he asks her after a while.
She blinks. "No. Why would I?"
He stares at her; doesn't she get it? "Because of me, Ba Sing Se is controlled by the Fire Nation."
She smiles. "I know. You love your country, don't you, Li? So do I. We aren't that different." The smile fades. "But Li-- Zuko. What happened to your uncle?"
---
of the past
They stop once for provisions before heading out. The large cities are off limits, being so heavily patrolled by the Fire Nation, but the small towns are often still sympathetic to the Avatar.
Zuko stops at the edge of the town. It's been rebuilt since he saw it last, but he recognizes it nonetheless.
He stands there, frozen to the spot. "I can't go in there," he points out, finally. "I'm Fire Nation."
Katara scowls. "You're just trying to make trouble, aren't you?" she says. But she follows him back, eyes trained on him, watching and wondering.
---
of your sins
Azula sends him out with the Dai Li every day. They stop at people's houses, people Azula has deemed dangerous. He follows her orders, questioning, imprisoning, torturing, killing. He feels nothing, although sometimes he wonders what he'd do if he came face-to-face with Song or Jin or Li.
He visits his uncle once. Iroh doesn't ask what he's been doing, only murmurs something about the Avatar and balance.
The next day, he dies.
He was sick, Azula explains. It was inevitable that he would succumb. Zuko sees the cruel smile on her face and has none of it.
That night, he leaves.
---
of your crimes
Zuko's first visit to the Earth Kingdom is not for diplomatic meetings, or peace treaties, or border laws. It's to find an ostrich-horse.
With some trepidation, he knocks on the door.
"Hello?"
"Hello." He's staring at the floor, he realizes, and looks up. "Is it Song?"
"Yes! And you're Li, aren't you? Or--" here she smiles ruefully-- "it's Zuko now, isn't it?"
"Yes." He swallows. "I... couldn't find your ostrich-horse, so I got another..."
She takes the lead he offers her, smiling. "Thank you."
"Aren't you surprised to see me?" he asks.
She shakes her head. "I knew you'd come back."