Zuko
We had only sent the messengers to all the nations a couple of days ago so we would have to wait a while until everyone came trickling in. Usually Aang would fly my friends in and bring Hakoda too. The Earth King and President Xinche from Republic City would likely come in separately. This was going to be big.
I had spoken with my lawholders and the guards posted around the city to be vigilant. Sam had advised me on what to look for and I passed this onto them. We needed to educate people to know what we are up against. Because of all of this, Sam and I were working long hours. We were sitting in our office when the door opened and Izumi walked in.
"Mommy, Daddy when will you be done in here? I miss you. We never play anymore." That gave me a pang of guilt. We had been neglecting Izumi. I looked over at Sam who had the same guilty expression. We sat our documents down and focused on Izumi. She came over to me and I picked her up and set her on my lap. As a child I never was able to do this with my father. It would have been forbidden. I swore to myself that my relationship with my daughter wouldn't be like that.
"What are you and Mommy doing in here? Why are you in here so much?" Izumi asked. We obviously didn't want to go into detail. She was too young and innocent.
"We are working on something very important. But not more important than you. I'm sorry we haven't been around for you, Turtleduck." I said to her. Sam came around and knelt on the floor next to me. Izumi looked preoccupied. "Are you ok, hunny? Is something bothering you?"
"No." she said simply. It was obviously not true and clearly this was the reason she sought us out today.
"Come on Zoom. You know you can tell us anything." Sam said. Izumi looked at her hands as she fidgeted.
"It's nothing." she said. Again not true.
"Come now, Izumi. You now how we feel about lying." I chided gently.
"Well, it's school." she said.
"What about it?" I asked nervously. It has been going so well with no bullying. I hated it if it started up again.
"Some of the other kids. They make fun of me." she said.
"Why?" I asked. I hated hearing that Izumi was suffering in anyway. I then realized this was in complete contrast to my own upbringing. My father liked to see me suffer remembering my facial scar.
"Well…" she said and she blushed.
"Zoom, go on hunny. You know you can tell us anything." Sam repeated her words from earlier.
"Well…I'm not…I'm not a bender." She finally admitted. I knew this was going to happen. She would get bullied for being a non-bender.
"I see. What are the other kids saying to you?" I asked.
"They say that I am embasmen and you and Mommy will have to have nother kid cause a non-bender never be Fire Lord." I got angry at this. Though it was true, no Fire Lord in history had not been a bender, it wasn't a requirement. And if it were I would have changed that law. What bothered me most is that they told her that we are embarrassed of her.
"Do you think we are embarrassed of you?" Sam asked.
"Well…I didn't fink so. But then you stopped playing with me…" she concluded. Sam and I exchanged looks. We felt even more guilty for neglecting Izumi. She took our look as us being ashamed of her and she started to cry.
"No, Izumi. Let me make something clear to you. Your father and I love you very very much. We don't care you're a non-bender. That doesn't matter to us. What matters to us is that you are you. And that is what makes you special. And there is no law that says that the Fire Lord has to be a firebender. Nowhere. So what they are telling you is bunch of lies. Don't believe them, Zoom. You are your father's and my whole world." Sam said, stroking Izumi's face.
"They also said…" she started, afraid to continue.
"Remember, you can tell us anything." I echoed Sam's words from earlier. Izumi looked at me.
"They said that when you were little like me you weren't a bender either and that your Daddy hated you." My chest burned. I had hoped we would avoid discussions of my father until she was older.
"My father…was not a good father." I said. Izumi looked confused.
"How come?"
"Because, he was not a good person and he was mean." I explained.
"How could you have a mean daddy? YOU'RE not a mean daddy. You're a great daddy!" she proclaimed. I smiled.
"Well, I'm glad you think so, Turtleduck." I said tapping the tip of her nose with my finger which made her giggle.
"Did your daddy not love you?" she asked again. I looked at Sam who gave me a go-on gesture. We had talked about these questions before and we had agreed we wouldn't lie to her. But we wouldn't give her more detail than necessary.
"No, sweetie. My father did not love me." Izumi's eyes went wide and she recoiled from me a bit. I instantly felt a pain in my chest.
"Izumi? What's wrong?" I asked concerned. I looked at Sam and she shared my expression.
"They told me that your daddy hated you because you couldn't bend and that you hate me because I can't…can't…" she started to cry harder, hiccuping between sobs. I gathered her in my arms and held her tight. I soothed her and tried to calm her down. Once she did calmed down I spoke to her.
"Izumi, look at me." I said. She slowly looked at me and made contact with my eyes. Using my thumb, I wiped away her tears. "I will never…could never hate you, Izumi. I love you. You and your mother mean the world to me and nothing will ever be more important than you two. Especially, you, Izumi. My father was an mean man who enjoyed watching people be hurt. There is nothing you could do or say to make me hate you or want to hurt you. Ever. Do you understand, Turtleduck?" She nodded and gave a small smile.
"Do you think I will be able to bend when I get older, like you, Daddy?" I looked at Sam and she nodded.
"No, hunny. We tested you when you were a baby. You are not a bender." They had tested me too but I ended up being a bender. It was possible that she could be a bender one day. But I didn't want to put the false hope in her mind. Both Sam and I did not feel she would ever bend. And we didn't care.
Sam
Everyone was starting to arrive. Hakoda, Aang and the rest of our friends had arrived. Aang and Katara brought their children along. We hadn't seen them in so long. They hadn't seen Izumi since she was a baby so she didn't remember them. They came running over to Zuko and, like always, hugged him. Kya and Bumi hugged him around his waist and Tenzin hugged his leg. Zuko hugged them all back and knelt down to their level.
"I can't believe how BIG you all are! Bumi, you're 11 right?"
"Eleven and three quarters." Bumi explained proudly. I chuckled and so did Zuko. "Kya is 9 and Tenzin is 6." Bumi explained. I looked at Tenzin.
"You are about my daughter's age." I looked over at Izumi who was hiding behind Zuko, "Izumi, come over here please." She came over to me but she was shy, and was now hiding behind MY body. The kids all greeted her but she still remained behind me. Aang approached her and knelt down to greet her.
"Princess Izumi. My, you are getting so BIG! How old are you now? 34? 35?" Izumi giggled at that and held up six fingers. Aang counted her fingers. "…Four, Five…Six?! Wow! You are practically a lady!" Aang said. Izumi giggled again and came out from behind me - a little. Zuko smiled and knelt down to Izumi.
"Izumi, these are friends of your mommy and I. You're going to be a good hostess while they are here, right?" He asked her. She looked at him and nodded still not trusting of the new people. She was even leery of the children. Aang noticed and looked concerned. I explained.
"Izumi has been getting bullied a lot in school so she isn't too trusting of other children." Aang nodded in understanding.
"Hey kids." Aang called out to them. He gathered them around him and spoke to them collectively, "This is Princess Izumi. Her mom and dad tell me that people are mean to her in school. Can you guys show her what having good friends is really like?" They all smiled and shouted in agreement. Kya went running to Izumi.
"Izumi! I'm Kya! Want to play?" Izumi looked up at Zuko and he smiled, nodding to her, giving permission. Izumi smiled and ran away with Kya and the other children.
"Thanks, Aang. She really needed that." Zuko said to Aang, hugging him.
"Anytime Sifu Hotman! My kids love to meet other kids. Kya loves kids who are younger than her." Aang explained and Zuko glared at the nickname. Katara stepped up.
"She is going to be much like I was when she gets older." she said. I laughed.
"I hope not. I'll pray for your other kids." Zuko joked with Katara. She playfully punched his arm and he feigned pain.
"Fire Lord Zuko, it's good to see you again." Hakoda said, climbing down off Appa. Zuko approached him and bowed respectfully. Hakoda reached out and shook his hand. "Your daughter is beautiful."
"Thank you, Chief Hakoda. She is our world." Zuko said looking at me. He reached out his hand inviting me over. I wrapped my arm around his waist and he held me around my shoulders.
"Hey Buddy! How're ya doing?!" Sokka asked walking up to us. He pulled Zuko into a hug, much to Zuko's dismay. I was convinced Sokka knew that Zuko hated it and that was why he continuously did it. I giggled. Zuko shot me a look and I just grinned.
"Hey Sokka. Good. How are you?"
"Great! Where is this little girl I've been hearing about?" Sokka's eyes scanned the courtyard until they fell on Izumi. "Mind if I go say 'hi'?" Sokka asked.
"No, of course not. She may be shy though." I said. This didn't seem to phase Sokka. He trotted off to see her.
Finally, Toph walked up and punched Zuko hard on the arm.
"Ow! Easy Toph!" Zuko said, rubbing his arm.
"Oh don't tell me your time in the palace has made you soft! Want me to toughen you up?" she said, punching her fist into her other hand. Zuko laughed.
"Good to see you too, Toph." then she walked up to me. Even though she was blind, it still amazed me how well she could see.
"Hello, Sam. You really need to toughen up Fire Lord Fiery Pants over here." Toph said jabbing her thumb over her shoulder at Zuko to which he scowled. "Oh lighten up, Sparky. I'm only teasing." then she regained a professional demeanor, "President Xinche will be arriving in a few days. He wanted me to come here too since I'm an ambassador of Republic City." She had tried the whole law enforcement thing but she was too free spirited for such restrictions.
After our greetings, we all gathered in the Turtleduck Garden. I sat next to Zuko and leaned into him. Izumi and the children were getting on quite well when Izumi came over to us and crawled into Zuko's lap. She loved both of us but she was a Daddy's Girl through and through. I laid my head on Zuko's shoulder.
"What's up, Turtleduck?" Zuko asked.
"Nothing, Daddy. I just wanted to sit with you." she said. "s' that ok?" she asked eyeing everyone surrounding us.
"Of course, my darling." Zuko said pushing her sweat dampened hair off of her forehead. The children came running up to her and she recoiled into her father.
"Don't you want to play anymore?" Kya asked disappointed. Izumi shook her head. "Aw! Why not?!" Kya asked impatiently. Izumi turned her head into Zuko's chest and hugged herself closer to him.
"Kya, did something happen?" Katara asked.
"No, Mommy! We were playing and me and Tenzin started showing Izumi our bending. Then she got upset and ran over here." Katara looked at us.
"Ah. Izumi, you don't want to play anymore?" Zuko asked her.
"No." she said simply.
"Why not?" Zuko pressed.
"Because, I can't…" she said, her voice catching in her throat. Zuko and I understood. I leaned over and whispered to Katara.
"It's a sensitive subject but Izumi cannot bend." Katara then understood.
"Guys, why don't you play without using your bending?" Katara suggested.
"Why would we do that? It's more fun bending!" they said.
"When you're not a bender it's not." Bumi mumbled. I had forgotten he wasn't a bender. Izumi turned her head away from her father and looked at Bumi.
"You're not a bender?" Izumi asked.
"Nah. I sometimes wish I was, but I am not able to bend anything. Except the rules." Bumi said eliciting a glare from his mother.
"Me either." Izumi admitted. I was proud of her. This was the first time she spoke it out loud to anyone but us.
"Really? I haven't met too many non-benders." Bumi said.
"Me either. The benders at my school make fun of me." she said.
"Ah, they're just jealous because they won't ever be NORMAL." Bumi said pointed at Kya and Tenzin. Izumi giggled.
"Don't worry, you will make friends. Sounds like the kids in your school are jerks." Bumi said.
"Bumi! What did we talk about using words like that?" Aang scolded him.
"Sorry, Dad." Bumi said.
"Sounds like the kids in your school are…mean." Bumi finished. I chuckled at this. He obviously couldn't think of a better word that would match 'jerks.'
"Yeah, they are. The worst one is Chang." Zuko and I perked up at the name. She hadn't mentioned Chang in ages.
"You know what I say to kids who pick on me about being a non-bender? 'I'm rubber, you're glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you." Bumi said. Izumi laughed at this. "You sure you don't want to play?" Bumi asked Izumi. She stood up and looked up at Zuko.
"You won't hurt my feelings, Turtleduck. Go on and play." he said, helping her to her feet and patting her tush. Izumi smiled and ran off with Bumi.
"I appreciate Bumi talking to her like that. She needs a good friend." I said.
"Yeah, Bumi is a good kid. He really does care about people. He's a good listener and is very empathetic." Katara said.
"I can tell." I said as I looked over and watched Izumi play with Bumi. It warmed my heart to see her finally playing with another child.
