A dish best served cold

The funeral had been huge, the coronation momentous. Kozar had stood alongside his older siblings, dressed in pure white and brilliant gold. The emotion poured out by the crowd for the dead King made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The roar that greeted his Father's crowning sent shivers down his spine. Things would never be the same again.

He didn't understand why Iroh had not become Fire Lord. After all, he was the eldest Son of Azulon, surely it was his right of birth? It had occurred to Kozar that he was now second in line for the throne. He didn't know how to feel, in fact, he felt nothing at all.

At one point, two days before the funeral, he had packed a small bag with essentials ready to leave. He didn't like the idea of sticking around without his Mother to protect him. It took him a while to realise he was ridiculous, he had nowhere to go. Could things really be that bad?

Yes, they could. Azula had taken their Mother's disappearance into her stride, it seemed to license her to get away with anything. Their Father was never around, too busy with his duties to keep her under any sort of control, and the maids were scared of her.

One day a few weeks after the funeral, Zuko was sitting alone by the pond. He had done this a lot, hours every day at the spot he and their Mother had fed the Turtleducks. As he gazed at the inscription on the blade of the knife Uncle Iroh had gifted him, he didn't notice Azula sneak up from behind. She snatched the knife away and ran towards the other end of their enormous garden. Kozar, who had been watching on, felt a surge of rage at his Sister's behaviour, a chance for revenge after all that had gone on.

He dropped the basket of bread he had been carrying and sprinted after his Sister. She turned and increased her pace, but Kozar was coming into his own by now. It seemed obvious to most that Azula was the more naturally talented bender, but it was equally clear that Kozar was the better athlete at this young age. He reeled her in like a fish at the end of a line and tackled her to the floor.

"Give it back." He demanded

"Ok ok it's only a stupid toy." Said Azula as she stood up, rubbing the dirt off her face. She held out the knife for him, but as he tried to grab it she snatched it away and punched forward a burst of flames with her free hand. Kozar stepped to the side and glared at her.

"Ready for a rematch?" He was not as good or as experienced as her, but he figured that he had one advantage. She was not used to fighting people who stood up to her, even the older ones she had sparred against had backed down with ease. She sneered and punched again before bringing her left foot round at Kozar's waist height.

He blocked both, dissipating their power around him, but the effort staggered him and she leapt forward to finish it quickly. As she punched forward at his head he shimmied to the right and grabbed her arm as the flames passed harmlessly by. He used her momentum to pull her to the ground and finally launched his own punch of fire. She managed to roll out of the way but as she stood up she was shaken.

She continued her attack, but was more wary now, treating him with respect. That was a first thought Kozar with some satisfaction, before proceeding to block the next two blows. As she twisted in mid air for another kick he jumped forward and shoulder barged her, knocking her off balance. She stumbled backwards and glanced around for help.

"Dad's not coming," Taunted Kozar before moving forward with two punches of his own. She blocked these, but was looking uneasy. Her trademark control was gone. He stepped closer and easily ducked a wild punch at his head, but as he got close she punched him in the stomach. Sensing triumph, Azula lunged forwards and grabbed the back of Kozar's head, holding up a flame in her other hand to his neck.

"Looks like I win Af-" she was cut off as her legs were swept away from underneath her, she bit the dirt for the third time in a matter of minutes. Kozar glared at her, went to pick the knife up and walked away.

"Wait till Dad hears about this," She called "Then you'll be sorry." Kozar turned and smiled;

"Are you really going to tell Dad that you actually lost?" He laughed, before walking over to Zuko and handing the knife back. For the first time in weeks, the Brothers shared a smile.

A/N Not a particularly interesting Chapter, but I wanted to test out how well I write fight scenes. I also thought it was important to indicate how much Kozar has grown in ability and confidence as he has grown up.