Redemption!Azula
Title: Always Me (Pt 1)
Fandom: Avatar
Character/Pairing: Azula, Iroh
Rating: PG
Summary: Then again, Azula did not know what exactly went wrong with her.
Seven…eight…nine…ten! With that, young Zuko had finally finished counting, His eyes blazed with determination as he reopened them, and turned away from the tree. This time, Azula could not escape from him!
"Ready or not, here I come!" He announced. Not a step forward and already he heard rustling nearby. "Who's there?"
"It'll be embarrassing, Zuzu," his sister's familiar voice drifted into his ears. "If you lose, since we're girls and you're a boy."
"I will not lose!" Zuko roared defiantly and whirled around, stopping at where he guessed her to be. "Come out, Azula!"
"The point is for you to find us, dumb dumb," Azula giggled mockingly.
Irritated, Zuko stepped behind a bush, expecting to find his sister and then finally, it was his turn to laugh at her face.
"Gotcha-huh!?" Zuko stopped in his tracks, startled. Not even a trace of her shadow was left in her wake. How could it be…he swore she was here…
"I bet a future Fire Lord can do much better than that!" The familiar voice mocked again. Zuko instantly charged to his new destination, only to face the same disappointment, as Azula was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, the young Azula had to stifle her giggles, or else she would have made it too easy for her unsuspecting brother. After making sure that she had tricked him into thinking that he would win against her for once, she stealthily moved to a different location. The most convenient spot behind a tree was unfortunately already occupied by Ty Lee, but Azula could take care of that. She snuck behind her best friend, and pushed her aside.
"Hey!" Ty Lee squeaked, nearly losing her balance and stumbling forward. "I'm here first!"
"Well, now you're not," Azula corrected indignantly. "Go find another place."
Ty Lee was about to launch another protest, when Zuko found her ploy out.
"Azula, you cheated again!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I'm telling Mom!"
"Hey, Hide and Seek is boring," Mai interfered, choosing the right moment to appear from under the bridge. "Let's play something else."
For a moment, Azula dread Zuko ratting out on her again, and then mother would make them stop playing. Adults did not seem to get it, games were supposed to be fun, weren't they? Frankly speaking, the fire princess did not see much fun or point in the traditional way of finding a hiding person. It was a pity that her brother was such a wet blanket, but thank goodness her other best friend was so reliable.
"Good idea," Azula said decisively, clasping her hands together. "We are going to play Tag and Zuko, you're 'It'!"
*
She thought she had forgotten all about it, the games they used to play. Surprisingly, she remembered all of them, times when she cheated and times when she did not, times when mother break them up and times she did not, all the good and bad. She supposed that the sentimental him would find it too painful to retain those memories, especially the ones featuring their mother.
Big deal, so he hardly won in their childhood games.
Big deal, so mother sacrificed herself for honour, not unlike many Fire Nation citizens.
Big deal, so time and again she tried to kill him, so she would be the only child in father's eye.
Azula idly wondered why her brother needed to make such a big deal out of everything. Numb and awake on her bed in the ward she shared with other mental patients, she realized that life made many meaningless and fleeting deals. Nobody called her the 'Fire Princess' anymore, though she expected to be called so until she died. And certainly no one called her 'Fire Lord Azula'. In her early days at this dismal place she initially tried, to rectify these fools thoughts on who their real ruler was, but she found herself to be taken no more seriously than her inmates who insisted that they were the nobility of Ba Sing Sei or the Avatar's long-lost twin brother.
She thought she would forget all about it, like how she eventually forgot exactly where Ty Lee had punched her and the hateful words Mai Spewed, but she never did. Perhaps he was also doing the same, and giving him reasons to do so.
She heard about it, in the snippets of the low whispers exchanged between the nurses of the Fire Nation Mental Institution. The execution of Fire Lord Ozai, Fire Lord Zuko's own father.
"What!? But the old Fire Lord can't even bend anymore, is the new Fire Lord also a tyrant who doesn't care about his family too?"
"Nonsense! Have you become ungrateful of the new incentives he gave us? The best Fire Lord since my great-grandmother's generation!"
"Then why does he need to make sure his own father is dead? My son wants to watch the scene, and I made sure to tell my sister to lock him in when it happens."
"Bah, let him see some heads roll! A perfect example for immoral vermin of the nation! My dear, surely you don't believe that a person's wickedness can be removed with their bending? Ha, if that's the case, we could just rip off all the arms of many patients here now!"
Azula had to admit, the nurse was right. Though she could produce no more fire, the only reason she was useless was because they prevented her from moving a hair here. She closed her eyes, considering to spend the last ounce of her efforts to join father at his death, before drifting to another dark and dreamless sleep.
*
Mother was gone, and father was going soon. She was sure that the next one was her, practically a corpse or not.
"There, Zuzu, you can be happy now! Just you, uncle, and your little world of love!"
She attempted to draft her final words, but she had no flame to fuel her rage.
Out in the hallway, the clock chimed at five in the afternoon, and she was woken up for her daily dose of medicine. As she opened her eyes groggily, the previously gossiping nurses propped her up into a sitting position. Another nurse walked into the room, carrying a tray with a bowl of dark green concoction on it. Azula was unsure what the foul medicine consisted of, but she was certain that it was slowly retarding her muscles, blocking her from bending and basically functioning as a human being.
That particular day, something different occurred. Uncle Iroh was with the nurse, and he sat at Azula's bedside, taking the bowl from the nurse and thanking her softly. He carefully used the spoon provided to attempt to feed his niece, but Azula did not swallow, and let the liquid dribble down her chin in an unsightly fashion.
"It'll take some time for her," The nurse whispered to him. "She needs more coaxing than the usual patient."
Iroh nodded, and placed the bowl back on the tray. However, he did not leave, having another purpose in mind rather than just a quick visitation.
"He was the Fire Lord, but he was also my brother, and of course, your father," Iroh started. "I have tried to remind Zuko."
Azula could only stare at him blankly.
"What are you talking about? I have no father now."
"Just so you know," Iroh continued. "Even if you cannot hear me, we will be waiting…until the day you can rejoin the family again."
He finished with a gentle pat on her arm, and Azula could not remember another time when her uncle had touched her affectionately. He always did those things to Zuko; uncle once jokingly said that at least her brother did not bite.
Iroh turned around and left, missing a whistle of air escaping from Azula's dry, cracked lips.
"Another day, uncle. Another day."
Fandom: Avatar
Character/Pairing: Azula, Iroh
Rating: PG
Summary: Then again, Azula did not know what exactly went wrong with her.
Seven…eight…nine…ten! With that, young Zuko had finally finished counting, His eyes blazed with determination as he reopened them, and turned away from the tree. This time, Azula could not escape from him!
"Ready or not, here I come!" He announced. Not a step forward and already he heard rustling nearby. "Who's there?"
"It'll be embarrassing, Zuzu," his sister's familiar voice drifted into his ears. "If you lose, since we're girls and you're a boy."
"I will not lose!" Zuko roared defiantly and whirled around, stopping at where he guessed her to be. "Come out, Azula!"
"The point is for you to find us, dumb dumb," Azula giggled mockingly.
Irritated, Zuko stepped behind a bush, expecting to find his sister and then finally, it was his turn to laugh at her face.
"Gotcha-huh!?" Zuko stopped in his tracks, startled. Not even a trace of her shadow was left in her wake. How could it be…he swore she was here…
"I bet a future Fire Lord can do much better than that!" The familiar voice mocked again. Zuko instantly charged to his new destination, only to face the same disappointment, as Azula was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, the young Azula had to stifle her giggles, or else she would have made it too easy for her unsuspecting brother. After making sure that she had tricked him into thinking that he would win against her for once, she stealthily moved to a different location. The most convenient spot behind a tree was unfortunately already occupied by Ty Lee, but Azula could take care of that. She snuck behind her best friend, and pushed her aside.
"Hey!" Ty Lee squeaked, nearly losing her balance and stumbling forward. "I'm here first!"
"Well, now you're not," Azula corrected indignantly. "Go find another place."
Ty Lee was about to launch another protest, when Zuko found her ploy out.
"Azula, you cheated again!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I'm telling Mom!"
"Hey, Hide and Seek is boring," Mai interfered, choosing the right moment to appear from under the bridge. "Let's play something else."
For a moment, Azula dread Zuko ratting out on her again, and then mother would make them stop playing. Adults did not seem to get it, games were supposed to be fun, weren't they? Frankly speaking, the fire princess did not see much fun or point in the traditional way of finding a hiding person. It was a pity that her brother was such a wet blanket, but thank goodness her other best friend was so reliable.
"Good idea," Azula said decisively, clasping her hands together. "We are going to play Tag and Zuko, you're 'It'!"
*
She thought she had forgotten all about it, the games they used to play. Surprisingly, she remembered all of them, times when she cheated and times when she did not, times when mother break them up and times she did not, all the good and bad. She supposed that the sentimental him would find it too painful to retain those memories, especially the ones featuring their mother.
Big deal, so he hardly won in their childhood games.
Big deal, so mother sacrificed herself for honour, not unlike many Fire Nation citizens.
Big deal, so time and again she tried to kill him, so she would be the only child in father's eye.
Azula idly wondered why her brother needed to make such a big deal out of everything. Numb and awake on her bed in the ward she shared with other mental patients, she realized that life made many meaningless and fleeting deals. Nobody called her the 'Fire Princess' anymore, though she expected to be called so until she died. And certainly no one called her 'Fire Lord Azula'. In her early days at this dismal place she initially tried, to rectify these fools thoughts on who their real ruler was, but she found herself to be taken no more seriously than her inmates who insisted that they were the nobility of Ba Sing Sei or the Avatar's long-lost twin brother.
She thought she would forget all about it, like how she eventually forgot exactly where Ty Lee had punched her and the hateful words Mai Spewed, but she never did. Perhaps he was also doing the same, and giving him reasons to do so.
She heard about it, in the snippets of the low whispers exchanged between the nurses of the Fire Nation Mental Institution. The execution of Fire Lord Ozai, Fire Lord Zuko's own father.
"What!? But the old Fire Lord can't even bend anymore, is the new Fire Lord also a tyrant who doesn't care about his family too?"
"Nonsense! Have you become ungrateful of the new incentives he gave us? The best Fire Lord since my great-grandmother's generation!"
"Then why does he need to make sure his own father is dead? My son wants to watch the scene, and I made sure to tell my sister to lock him in when it happens."
"Bah, let him see some heads roll! A perfect example for immoral vermin of the nation! My dear, surely you don't believe that a person's wickedness can be removed with their bending? Ha, if that's the case, we could just rip off all the arms of many patients here now!"
Azula had to admit, the nurse was right. Though she could produce no more fire, the only reason she was useless was because they prevented her from moving a hair here. She closed her eyes, considering to spend the last ounce of her efforts to join father at his death, before drifting to another dark and dreamless sleep.
*
Mother was gone, and father was going soon. She was sure that the next one was her, practically a corpse or not.
"There, Zuzu, you can be happy now! Just you, uncle, and your little world of love!"
She attempted to draft her final words, but she had no flame to fuel her rage.
Out in the hallway, the clock chimed at five in the afternoon, and she was woken up for her daily dose of medicine. As she opened her eyes groggily, the previously gossiping nurses propped her up into a sitting position. Another nurse walked into the room, carrying a tray with a bowl of dark green concoction on it. Azula was unsure what the foul medicine consisted of, but she was certain that it was slowly retarding her muscles, blocking her from bending and basically functioning as a human being.
That particular day, something different occurred. Uncle Iroh was with the nurse, and he sat at Azula's bedside, taking the bowl from the nurse and thanking her softly. He carefully used the spoon provided to attempt to feed his niece, but Azula did not swallow, and let the liquid dribble down her chin in an unsightly fashion.
"It'll take some time for her," The nurse whispered to him. "She needs more coaxing than the usual patient."
Iroh nodded, and placed the bowl back on the tray. However, he did not leave, having another purpose in mind rather than just a quick visitation.
"He was the Fire Lord, but he was also my brother, and of course, your father," Iroh started. "I have tried to remind Zuko."
Azula could only stare at him blankly.
"What are you talking about? I have no father now."
"Just so you know," Iroh continued. "Even if you cannot hear me, we will be waiting…until the day you can rejoin the family again."
He finished with a gentle pat on her arm, and Azula could not remember another time when her uncle had touched her affectionately. He always did those things to Zuko; uncle once jokingly said that at least her brother did not bite.
Iroh turned around and left, missing a whistle of air escaping from Azula's dry, cracked lips.
"Another day, uncle. Another day."