Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.

The Shadow of the Past

Chapter 6 - Secret Revealed

Story by Last Butterfly

Summary: Seven years passed since that tragic night in Zuko's life, and he and Katara had been together for more than a year now.
But after this peaceful time a shadow neared them from the past he tried so hard to forget... - Zutara, Zuko x Katara Modern AU

A day or so later, before the dawn could have broken the stillness of the night a cell phone rang tirelessly until its owner finally recognized the noise.

A low groan sounded from under the blankets and pillows before a tanned hand reached out for it. Half opened blue eyes peeked at it from under the covers, but as the name 'Teo' had been displayed on its screen, the teen almost dropped it in his haste to answer.

"Teo!" His widened gaze gained a pained expression as he had seen what the time was before he spoke again. "I hope you have good news for me…" There was a hint of disapproval in his voice, but with his usually joking tone it became less convenient. But soon – as Teo spoke – his lips parted as he listened to him, forgetting that just moments before he had been damned tired.

"W-wow…" It was all he finally managed to say. "This is just wow!" Then the other asked whether he wanted him to look for further news. "No, I guess this is more than I expected in the first place. Just… send it over, ok?" He tiredly rubbed his neck, trying to get the soreness away from his muscles. "Yeah, that's cool. Thanks Teo, I owe you one… Good night."

After the hacker hung up the phone, he only lowered the cell in his lap, staring at it while his thoughts whirled around over and over. Then he got up, switching his desktop on. He did not even sit down till he could open that very e-mail, clicking on the 'print' button before casually walking out of the room. If this was not enough for her to break up with dear Zuko then nothing was…

The paper slowly coming out of the printer showed an article from a newspaper, and even in the darkness the black letters were clearly visible against the white sheet…

--

Ozai Claims His Innocence

…worked late that night and when he finally got home, the house had been consumed by flames. There had been no sign about his wife and son. First he was convinced that he had lost them in the fire, only being thankful for that his youngest child had spent that week away at a camp…

'I felt as a part of me died with them, and when I was told that they are alive I could hardly hold back my tears…' He confessed, but soon he had to face the horrible news: his family accused him for the tragedy.

We all know that the judge convicted him after a month long hearing, but the case is still far from sold as the father of two refuses to accept the fabrications against him.

'It was incredible how the trials went on… I believed that the country I live in yearned for justice. But it was nothing like that. It had been more like a witch-hunt.'

There had been insufficient evidence about his case, some were even contradictory, but the judge had finally been convinced by the testimony of his son, who had been injured in the terrible accident.

When we asked the man about the boy, he answered with honest sadness in his voice. 'My poor Zuko… he had been obviously confused by what happened. Who wouldn't be? I am more than afraid though, as the experts made it clear that the fire started from the kitchen and probably not by itself… Just between us: I would not be surprised if he had something to do with it, and after he was encouraged against me, he connected the two things and tried to cover up for himself.'

He mentioned to us his brother and the rivalry between them as one of the main reasons why his wife and son suddenly veered round, but he did not give up his hope to one day gain his family back.

'All I want them to know is that I love them, and once justice will prevail, I'll do everything in my power to prove it myself…'

Unfortunately as we could not reach the other members of the family, we could only inform you about one side of the story.

We will probably never know what exactly happened the night of the fire. Was it caused by the head of the family who had proof about being at work, by a reckless teen or was it truly an accident? If the case had been solved then why did the family disappear? And now that there's going to be a new trial would they come to a new decision?

One thing is certain: we will surely hear about this case in the near future…

Ursa tossed in her bed, her eyes moving continuously beneath her closed eyelids. Her fingers clenched and unclenched upon the sheets restlessly and she let out small noises as she turned from left to right still in her dream…

--

Her head was throbbing, and a pang ran from the back of her skull at the moment she moved. As her eyes popped open, she realized that she was coughing too.

The air around her had been extremely hot and full of smoke. The light she thought came from the lamps had in truth belonged to flames, slowly circling the kitchen's walls. She heard someone shout her name as she tiredly sat up, but even breathing hurt in her chest in the motion.

She heard as a car's door was slammed in, before she heard a distant yell again, this time clearly hearing her and her son's name.

"I'm here!" She tried to shout, but her voice had been hoarsely and probably not strong enough. She covered her mouth with her hand to avoid breathing in more from the smoke then whirled in her place as another cough gained her attention from somewhere behind her. Her eyes rounded as she saw her son lying on the floor just a few meters away from her. In the meantime someone shouted her name again after breaking his way through the front-door.

She half scooted, half climbed her way to his still form, while he only coughed once again but did not move from his position on his right side with his back turned towards her, not even when she called out his name. When she tried again, her heart froze as the boy let out a pained whimper. She reached out to his shoulder, slowly turning him on his back…

Iroh came to a sudden halt just before the kitchen's door as the fire closed his way, but at least he was finally able to catch sight of his sister-in-law, kneeling on the floor, and beside her… His golden eyes went wide just a moment before she screamed her son's name. In a blink of an eye he had been through the flames, appearing beside her, urging her to move while scooping up Zuko's body.

And then came the part which only happened in her nightmares. But in every single one of them: when they both turned around to leave the flaming house… there stood the man who caused all of these. The evil smile slowly appeared on Ozai's face while he stood there in the doorway. Then his cold, amber eyes bore into hers, as the fire rose higher around them…

--

She jerked awake startled, and she could feel fresh tears upon her cheeks. For a second she looked around worriedly whether she had been in the same place like in her dream, but she saw her room without any smoke or flame. The dawn only started to enlighten her room through the windows.

Ursa lifted her hands before her, just as she usually did after this nightmare, to see them slightly shaking once again. She wiped her eyes before letting them through her raven hair, having a side-glance at the alarm on the bed-side table. It hadn't even been half past five.

She let out a shaky breath before slipping out of the bed and getting on her night-robe. She silently left her room, doing the only thing she knew would calm her down: calling the only person who she can talk to about it.

"Iroh?" When the low voice of the tea-maker answered on the phone, she slowly felt as her eyes turn teary again. "I am so sorry for calling you like this again…" She spoke, sniffing once. "Yes… and that's why I… I just had to…" Her gaze moved to the side. "I can't take this anymore…!" She sobbed, trying to pull herself together while covering her mouth with a hand. "All these things just keep coming back to my mind…" She paused, letting him speak as he tried to calm her down, reminding her how Ozai had to stay where he was, or else his freedom would be on the line again.

But she soon spoke out, finally saying out what she had been the most afraid of. "I know that but I am terrified, Iroh! What if he is truly coming back?" Her voice trailed away, and her last sentence had not been more than a mere whisper. "What if he's already here…?"

The dining area had been full of life as hundreds of teenagers chatted about their weekends to each other, in the meantime hurriedly eating to finish before their following classes.

On the other hand Zuko remained silent, poking on the remainder of his lunch – apparently this meant more than half of the original meal – while his thoughts ran back and forth the same way for two days now.

Zuko, may I ask you about your father?

It's been so long since the last time he had thought about him. Well, not exactly, because when he looked in the mirror he remembered that part of him which he did not want to know, much less see and feel the consequences of…

He clenched his jaw as two of his fingers stroke the left side of his face, feeling the difference between his mark and the unmarred flesh. In a twisted way, this scar helped him to go forward in many cases. He wanted to believe that he had faced the worst already.

…to talk about your secrets you are still afraid of…

Was he truly afraid of his past? He shifted in his place and his eyebrows furrowed at the thought. There had only been one other person who told this to him: his uncle. Uncle Iroh who always saw through him, whatever the case had been. Of course it had to do something with Azula again. Zuko himself wanted her to know nothing about that night; he confessed to the old man that it was still better if she was angry with him sometimes than to shock her with the full truth. It had happened a long time ago, and no one needed to hear things like that if it was avoidable. And indeed it was…

But that day had especially been hard. She truly said painful things, especially aiming at their uncle and the loss of his own family. And when there were only the two of them, his rational intentions seemed rather pitiful against his words, even to his own ears. But he did not back away from them, because he always stood his ground once he made up his mind. That day Iroh yelled about him being like a child who was simply running away to avoid being hurt. The fact that he did not involve Katara in the truth did not help either.

After that the man only mentioned this topic to him one other time. But his opinion had not changed since.

"Are you all right?" He snapped his head up at the sudden question, but as Katara was looking at him with a worried frown he let a small smile appear on his face.

"Yeah, it's just…" His words lingered in the air as he hesitated for a moment, remembering his words from the last time. My father. He's… not a good man… His smile was about to fade as he returned his gaze to the plate before him, pushing it away with his thoughts altogether. Or at least that's what he tried. "I'm just not hungry I guess." He said, but she peeked at it then back at him with a raised brow.

"Are you sure?" She asked, and recognizing how he avoided her gaze again. "You seem a bit… distant today." To that he only crossed his arms, frowning ahead of himself.

Oh, he's doing that again… She heaved a small sigh at his reaction. There had been one thing true about Zuko: whenever he was bothered by something, he did not involve her as long as he could. Only when he already struggled more than necessary on his own did he actually talk about it.

"Zuko," She said putting a hand on his arm, but he remained like that. A small smile crossed her features before becoming serious again. She had seen this sulky expression so many times upon his face when she got know of her… she did not tell him, but she found it rather cute. Most of the time he acted so grown up that it was hard to believe how young he had been. But it gave away how he had been a child once too. A rather stubborn, grumpy one…

She bet that was the reason why Gran-Gran loved to pinch his cheek.

When Katara giggled beside him, he side glanced at her, but she only leaned to him, saying softly. "Stop sulking, or you'll stay that way."

He only grunted before getting to his feet.

"Where are you going?" As he did not answer, she grabbed her bag too, catching up with him as he was leaving the hall. "Zuko, wait up!" He faintly heard her voice as she came after him on the corridor, her knitted brows showing how she started to get pissed.

--

"Why didn't you tell her?" Iroh's voice echoed in his expressions did not change even though he could hear how his heart beat louder in his ears. "What more does she have to do to prove she loves you? Do you think she would not understand? You know that's not true…"

"I don't want her to know!"

"Why not?" Every time his uncle's wise voice could calm him down. Except about this…

"I just…" His breath came out shakily. "I just want to forget…"

"It would help if you talked about it, because you can't always keep things to yourself. You have to close this down."

"No," He said on a throaty voice before finally meeting his eyes. "What's done is done. It's behind me. And I don't want her to…"

"To what?" The old man asked as he looked downwards.

"When we met I have been ok, I don't want her to know how… pathetic I was." As his voice became lower, it hurt Iroh more to realize how his fifteen years were simply not enough for a memory like this.

"Zuko," His uncle sighed while he only stood there with lowered head. Only after being embraced in his bear-like hug did his tears leave his eyes… "It's going to be ok. I'll make sure it does…"

--

"Zuko," Katara repeated his name for the third time, yet he did not even slow down. "Stop this!" She finally said louder, catching his arm, pulling him towards her.

His gaze met hers, but when she looked into them she could not find relief. He did not say a word but his eyes could have told tales itself… something tormented him, and he still remained silent.

Her anger was gone as quick as it came. "Please…" She started, lifting a hand to the side of his face, but even then he looked away. "I know something is wrong, you can't hide it." He let out a deeper breath as she spoke again. "Do you think that it does not hurt seeing you like this?"

"Katara…" He sighed but she did not let him turn away.

"Is it something my dad said?" She asked hurriedly but he shook his head. "Or GranPakku? If so then you can tell me, you know how he is…"

"No, it has nothing to do with them!" He said sharply finally standing her gaze, but her expressions only made him regret his out-burst. "It's… about me, ok?"

After a moment of silence, she was the one to ask. "Why don't you tell me then?"

He let a hand trough his hair in exasperation. "That's the whole problem… telling you." He murmured making her raise an eyebrow.

She took a step back, her hand reaching to her necklace out of reflex. "What do you mean by that?"

The tension remained in the air as she tried to understand the look in the golden orbs, before he hung his head. "There are things…" Zuko finally spoke, his voice became throaty as he formed the words. "That I did not tell you." She swallowed, stepping closer to him. Eventually she was filled with worry as he went on. "Things, which I'm not proud of,"

Her mind crossed several thoughts, slowly forming fear while hearing the guilt in his voice that maybe - just once - she was jealous with a good reason? Was that what he tried to say? Did he cheat on her?

"But no matter how hard I tried, I just can't…"

"Katara!" The voice of her brother startled her as he suddenly appeared at the other end of the corridor. His appearance silencing the scarred teen completely, his eyes following the water tribe boy with a frown who answered in kind.

As he stood next to them, he got something out from is backpack before returning his stare on the other teen. "It is over." Zuko's glare turned into a confusion as he lifted a piece of paper in his hand. "I know now what your 'little secret' is…" Golden eyes slowly turned to the paper…

"Sokka, what are you talking about…?" She started before he spoke, not looking away from her boyfriend.

"What am I talking about? Well, well…" Sokka let a smirk come to his lips. In most cases he wouldn't enjoy this situation that much, but face it: he hated scar-face from the beginning. "What can I possibly know of, Zuko?" The parchment opened slightly in his hand, allowing the other to have a peek at the words, only catching one, but that one clearly: the name Ozai.

His good eye had been wide open as he stared in awe…

"That's enough of stupid lies," The girl said with the most disapproving look towards her brother she could manage. "Stop being such a prick…!"

"Do you want to know why he haven't seen his father for years?" He rushed on, as if he did not even hear her.

Zuko's brain panicked, his inner voice yelling at him for doing something, but all he managed to force out of himself was a low plead. "Sokka, don't…"

"Because 'daddy' was in jail the whole time!" Katara let out a small gasp, looking from one to the other.

"Zuko…" She whispered, but the scarred boy only closed his eyes with shame.

"Oh yeah, and what is even better: he got him in there!" The tan boy said, and the other snapped his head up at once, eyes opened. It was no secret how Ozai got behind the bars… but the tone the Water Tribe boy used sounded as accusing as it could be.

When not a sound left his sister and she was only shaking her head persistently, Sokka lifted the paper before her. "Oh, if you don't believe me then you'll believe this!" Her eyebrows furrowed as she took it in her hands, her eyes running on the printed lines.

"This… this cannot be…" Her voice came out shakily, while Zuko's eyebrows moved closer. Something was wrong... He tried to step closer but Sokka lifted his arm, stopping him. His eyes were icy as he stared at him.

"Just ask him," He spoke, as the scarred other looked at his sister from where he stood. "He is not going to deny it." Her gaze slowly moved up to his guilty golden ones, tears dwelling up in her eyes.

"Tell me…" Katara's voice is low as she is still holding the parchment. "Tell me this isn't true."

Zuko's expressions filled with shame again. He lowered his head, not looking her in the eye. "I'm sorry… I can't." Her heart sunk as he spoke. "It is true…"

Sokka scoffed, crossing his arms before his chest. "I told ya'!"

Her tears silently flowed down her cheeks, making his heart break. "I…" He started slowly, sorrow in his eyes. "I was afraid… if I told you, you would never start with someone like me, much less stay with me…" Her lower lip trembled, but she did not break their eye-contact before her brother snapped again.

"Of course she wouldn't have! Who in their right mind would want the son of a prisoner," He especially emphasized the last word. "Who is by the way pyromaniac?"

Zuko's jaw dropped before he let out his rage. "What the hell are you talking about?!" He shouted in the other's smug face, but he did not even flinch.

"It was you who caused that fire, wasn't it?" Sokka accused him with disgust, but this stunned the scarred teen so much that for a moment he could not even find his voice. "And when things turned against you, you let him take the blame…"

"You don't know what you are talking about." The scarred one spoke, but his eyes moved back to the girl standing near. "Katara, this is not how it went on! You know me, you know I would never…!"

Her blue eyes met his, but the look in them silenced him completely. Her tears stopped but her inner pain was written on her face. "Do I, Zuko?"

His lips parted then closed as even her brother looked back at her with a starting frown.

She placed a hand before her mouth and took in a shaky breath before letting it drop beside her. "I'm not mad at you for not telling me…" In just the corner of her eyes new tears wanted to form, while she went on. "Whatever the truth is, but I am mad because you thought…" Even Sokka's feeling of triumph started to fade as she sniffed. "T-that if you told me I'd break up with you!"

Zuko shifted in his place to get closer to her, but before he could say anything her fists clenched by her side. "And if that is true, then you do not know me…"

It suddenly became difficult to breathe. "Katara, please…"

"I just…" She shook her head as a bitter smile appeared on her face. "I need some time to think things through," She said, looking in his eyes. "I am sorry, but right now I don't want to see you." When her tears left her eyes, Zuko's gaze dropped towards the ground. The piece of paper fell out from her hand in the meantime, landing on the ground before his feet.

As she started to turn away Sokka moved towards her, trying to comfort her. "Sis…" But she slapped his hand away from her shoulder before glaring at him too.

"I especially don't want to see you!" She cried out, taking him aback. Her mouth opened to say something else, but she rather closed it, then hurried away…

Zuko finally reached down for the printed article, reading the words with deepening breaths. He thought there was nothing which could turn this situation worse.

He was wrong.

…"My poor Zuko, he had obviously been confused about what had happened… just between you and me: I would not be surprised if he had caused it then tried to cover up for himself…"

His fingers gripped the paper so that it started to crumple in his hand… it did not need much to be torn apart.

"It was you who caused that fire, wasn't it?!"

He felt as a vein on his temple twitched as his hands turned the parchment into a paper-ball, while glaring a whole in the other's neck. Sokka only turned at the noise.

"Don't believe that it was the only copy of that…" He said with a slight humor, but when he let his lips curl upwards, it was the worst move he could have done.

Because in the next moment, his shirt was grabbed in two fists and he found himself slammed against the wall. He groaned before answering Zuko's sneer with his own. "Just go on, I know that's what you wished for anyway!"

"Shut UP!" The other yelled, and his back and the back of his neck hit the wall again. For a moment they remained like that, while he breathed in gasps. "Do you want to know what happened back then?" He growled through gritted teeth. "Is THAT what you need to f*cking leave me alone?!" He shouted, his grip strengthening on the other's clothes. "Answer me!"

"Yes!" Sokka snapped before his hold weakened, but he did not let go of him.

Zuko could never talk about this before… he was even sent to psychologists, but even there he only sat without saying a word. Probably his anger was the only thing which could break the long silence…

"Imagine that one day, you wake up, hearing noises from somewhere your house…" Zuko's stare remained dark as the words finally left him. His words were hurried, but his throat gave him an odd feeling that it was going to stop him if he was not quick enough. "Imagine that your parents argue… imagine that your father is drunk and is in rage… and then imagine that it is not the first time…"

His breathing became more uneven while the other's expressions slowly fade.

"Imagine that he does not care, even when your mother is pleading on her knees…" His eyes and throat both started burning, unwanted tears appearing in the way of his sight. "And when you want to stop him he shoves her, and in the next moment she's on the ground… unmoving…"

The Water Tribe boy could only watch him, taking shallow breaths himself. Gods…

"And you rush against him like an idiot with the only baseball bat which he gave you…" He moved away from Sokka, letting the asshole stand on his own while his gaze moved to the ground. "You cannot expect that he will hit you with the first thing coming in his hand…" His voice became low, but his tears stop when his hand moves to the scar around his eye, while blue eyes turn round with full realization. "That pot started whistling even before I appeared…"

Golden met blue with one last look before he went on. "How did the fire start? How the hell could I know…?" He shook his head, not letting out a laugh even though his mind told him that it would be the best. "I only woke up on the way to the hospital…" Sokka stood there, leaning against the wall with the guiltiest look he had ever seen on him, but did not say a word. He probably pitied him… but guess what? He no longer cared. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts when the half of your face…" He did not finish the sentence himself. The other did not say anything. And he did not have anything left to say either…

"I hope now you are satisfied." Zuko said on a cold voice. Then he turned and walked away, leaving Sokka standing there alone.

The Water Tribe boy slowly slumped into a sitting position beside the wall. He only stared ahead of himself before holding his forehead with his hands. He had done many idiotic things in his life… he was famous about them. But this time, he probably beat not only his own record, but just gained the title of the 'Biggest Asshole on Earth'.

God damn it…

That day when Sokka even appeared in the same room as her, Katara stood up and left without a word. Whenever he tried to speak she disappeared, and when he tried saying something to her through her room's door, she turned the stereo on so loud that it became impossible.

When Hakoda came home he could realize it quickly that something was wrong. He asked her either way if she wanted to come and do the shopping with him. She said yes halfway his sentence already. And when Sokka suddenly volunteered to come too he was only more convinced about this…

To avoid her brother, Katara brought her iPod too, making Sokka gave up and all the while he looked like a beaten dog.

Their father simply solved the problem of them not standing each other by cutting in half the shopping list, sending them on different ways. It was for the best…

--

Brown, wavy hair… blue eyes… tanned skin…

He walked casually to the refrigerators and the milk products. His hair was in a ponytail, reaching below his shoulder blades, that way not falling in the way of his sight.

The girl was listening to some sappy, melancholic music louder than necessary while making her way through the shelves.

His gaze trailed lower upon her form then back, inwardly smirking as he reached the small chain around her ankle. He lifted up the first thing from one of the cool shelves before adding to the list. Long legs…

How did someone like her end up beside that brat?

When someone stepped to the same shelves beside him, his eyes moved to what was in his hand before slowly putting it back.

Hakoda picked up a box of milk, putting it in the basket on his arm. He was about to move away when his gaze fell on the hesitating man beside him. His golden eyes were searching the shelves for something, and his starting frown offered that he was obviously troubled. So he rather stopped. "Hey,"

The man looked at him slightly surprised, then he went on so that he did not get him wrong. "Are you looking for something? Maybe I can help…"

"No… not exactly." A smile appeared on the man's face as he looked at the shelves then back. "But thanks anyway."

Hakoda made a nod before picking up another box of milk, placing it beside the other. He then lightly cleared his throat turning back to the other. "Excuse me for asking, but…" The man turned towards him completely, his face emotionless while his gold eyes seemed to be darker. It was understandable… no one liked being bothered in a supermarket by a stranger.

He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small amount of air but asked with an apologetic smile anyway. "Haven't we met before? You seem somehow familiar to me…"

The edge of his lips curled upwards. "Probably not, I'm new around here."

"Oh," Hakoda nodded before picking up something else, placing it in the basket again. "It is always hard to get used to a new place. Did you move here, or…?"

"I'm just passing through…" He said, lifting something from the shelf himself, then putting it back. His lips formed a full smile with an unnoticeable twitch before turning back towards him. "Visiting family, that is all."

"I see…" The blue eyed man spoke, before placing back one of the things on the shelf. "Well then," He said with a smile, holding out his hand. "It was nice talking to you."

"I thought the same." The other smirked, but shook his hand. They exchanged one last glance before he turned away, but then he peeked back just above his right shoulder waving once. "Take care…"

The water tribe man stood there with a small frown as he watched how he walked away, leaving the same way where Katara came back to her father. The man did not even look her way while her eyes trailed to him then back, but something just made Hakoda feeling uneasy.

Take care…

Just looking at the right side of his face…

The next moment the loud music coming from one half of Katara's iPod headset made him snap out of his thoughts. "Hi dad," She chirped, placing the heaviest stuff from her basket to his while crooning the tune herself.

"Katara," He hesitated before peeking at the form of the disappearing man, before asking. "Call me crazy, but don't you think that man looked a bit like Zuko?"

For a moment her hand stopped in mid-move, but then she let out a scoff, slamming the next thing in his basket. "Not at all, and don't start that again…"

"Start what?" He let the faintest of smiles come to his lips before she pouted.

"Oh you know what! When I confessed to you that my boyfriend was Fire Nation, you've asked about everyone if it was him, or his relative." She crossed her arms above her now light basket as her father scratched his chin in thought.

"Really?"

Katara rolled her eyes at his joking tone. Sometimes he had been just like Sokka, kidding or just making her mad. She was fed up with it.

Hakoda smiled before putting an arm around her shoulder, blowing a kiss on top of her head. "All right. I'll leave you alone, I promise…" They started walking like that for a minute. Only then did he add with a half-smirk. "But your music is way too loud."

"Dad!"

A/N: Mwuhaha X3 sorry for the long delay, but my exams were bitchy...

So what do you think about:

- the article

- Ursa's dream

- Zuko's thoughts

- Sokka? XD

- and... Ozai meeting Hakoda?

If you are curious about what will happen next, leave me a review!

~Thank you all for your time and have a nice day~