"Good evening, On Ji. How was school today?" On Ji sat at the dinner table and stared at her komodo chicken blankly. Where to begin? She always had to be careful not to reveal anything that would raise red flags for her parents, or they would crack down on her hard. It had happened before. She took a lady-like sip of her water and pondered her next words. Her parents always expected reasonably thorough answers to all questions. "This morning I got all but one question right on my history quiz. I continued learning frontal kicks in gym. And we finally finished the Azure Dragon Symphony in music class."
Her father nodded approvingly. "Good, good. And what of young Hide, how are the two of you doing?" On Ji tried not to openly lie to her parents about anything, but this was the topic she always found most difficult to be honest about. "We had a conversation after class and came to a deeper understanding of each other's expectations in our relationship." On Ji's mother's lips curled slightly upward. It was the closest she ever came to a smile. "Wonderful. Communication is very important for your future as a model citizen and model housewife, On Ji. It's a blessing that you are learning these skills now before you have the chance to pick of bad habits in your social interactions."
On Ji refrained from commenting. Hide was the one who had 'bad habits' in his social interactions. On Ji never complained about being slapped, or enduring Hide's restriction of her social life to other girls only. There was no point. Her parents would likely approve. They adored Hide, and whenever he came over for dinner he was always sickeningly charming and complimentary, as he was to all authority. Only his peers got to see his temper and cruelty. And today, his dark side was set off by Kuzon, the boy with the headband, and On Ji's sheer inability not to go and talk to him. She'd made the decision not to tell anyone about what she thought of Kuzon, and the few words she'd shared with him. Kuzon was her little secret. And that, more than anything, allowed On Ji to gracefully maintain her façade of perfectly obedient daughter for her emotionally absent parents for the rest of the night.
The next morning at school, all of the thirteen year olds eagerly congregated for history class first period with Ms. Kwan. Normally, no one in their right mind would look forward to this class, but everyone was eager to see if Kuzon would stand up and argue with Ms. Kwan again. After reciting the Fire Nation oath, which Kuzon mouthed this time so as not to get the class in trouble again, Ms. Kwan asked the class to take out pieces of parchment and quills.
"Today, we are going to take a break from our regular curriculum to address a topic the Imperial Education Commission wishes all students to become informed about. In light of all the misinformation currently being spread about the recent capture of the Earth Kingdom capital and the death of the Avatar at the hands of newly redeemed Prince Zuko (at these words Kuzon's head shot up and displayed a look of shock and disbelief), the Commission feels that it is in the students' best interest to learn some basic facts about the Avatar so as to quell some of the more ridiculous rumors regarding his involvement in the war. First, I would like to assess your current knowledge regarding the latest Avatar. With your quill, draw a picture as you imagine him to appear that accurately reflects your understanding. Be warned; any student who does not take this assignment seriously will receive ten whacks with the paddle. We will have a class discussion in ten minutes. Proceed."
As most of the students hesitated, lost in thought, or made some feeble light strokes, Kuzon drew away furiously, apparently envisioning a particular design from the get go. The minutes passed quietly, with only the scratching of quills filling the room. Shoji drew a tall, shadowy figure with lightening striking in the background who seemed to emanate power. On Ji sketched a faceless fighter blasting two Fire Nation Soldiers with flames. All of the drawings depicted an all powerful figure, someone to be feared and fought, as they all had been taught consciously or not by listening to their parents and those around them. All of the drawings that is, except for one.
Ms. Kwan went around to each desk, and examined each picture. Most, she did not comment on. A few, she critiqued for messiness or lack of detail. But when she stopped by Kuzon's desk, she actually gasped. Kuzon's sketch, despite being in black ink only, seemed to jump right off the page. A skinny young boy with an arrow on his forehead and hands was elevated off of the ground in an orb of what was clearly air, with dust flying in all directions. His eyes and tattoos were completely shaded, and his face was contorted with rage and pain as tears streamed down his cheeks. But the most remarkable part of the image was the young woman whose arms were wrapped around his torso and whose eyes were closed in an expression of determination and love.
Everything about Kuzon's interpretation defied all of the teaching conventions Ms. Kwan had been about to indoctrinate into her pupils regarding the Avatar. She struggled to find words. "Kuzon… what is this?" Kuzon responded dutifully, as if he had no idea why she was so flustered. "This is my drawing of the Avatar that accurately reflects my understanding, mam." Ms. Kwan narrowed her eyes. "And just what is that understanding?"
Kuzon's face took on a serious look. "Despite having the burden of keeping balance throughout the world, the Avatar was at heart a human being just like any other, and in his case a carefree 12 year old boy who lost his innocence and his entire people long before he was ever ready to face his destiny as the world's savior. In moments of extreme negative emotions such as rage, grief, and fear, he lost the ability to control his own powers and entered the Avatar State, during which his past lives flooded their energy through his body and he performed incredible and destructive feats of bending that he would never be able to achieve in any other circumstance. In these moments, only the love and support of his allies could ease his burdens and return him to any resemblance of normality. The Avatar's true power came not from his ability to bend, but the strength of his heart and of his mind."
Stunned silence greeted Kuzon's words. Ms. Kwan spluttered uncharacteristically. "Who… who taught you those things?" Kuzon merely looked back at her, saying nothing more. Ms. Kwan finally regained her composure. "Human being… emotion… love… that is all absolute nonsense and I never want to hear you speak of it again. We are talking about the greatest enemy of the Fire Nation, one who is now dead. Tread carefully, Kuzon. One more deliberate falsehood like that and you will be sent to the Headmaster for likely expulsion. Do I make myself clear? Now, on to the facts. Most of you characterized the violent nature of the Avatar quite well. In the Siege of the North several months ago, he ruthlessly destroyed hundreds of naval ships in the form of a monstrous tidal wave…"
As Ms. Kwan hit the stride of her lecture, she failed to notice that the focus of her students was worse than it had ever been. Most of them were still staring at Kuzon, the only one actively listening to the lecture, and the hard frown that dominated his features announcing quite plainly that he did not agree with a single word she said.
A/N: Thank you everyone for sticking with this and I hope you are enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing this tale. The next update will not be for several days, as I am going away and will not have access to a computer. Note: This is when the story is going to start to peel away from canon just a bit. Kuzon is going to say and do a great deal more over the next few days in the narrative than he did in the episode- obviously, there needs to be enough fuel to inspire change in the wake of his departure. Stay tuned!