Chapter Text
Azula visited her brother as much as she could, without thinking of what her fath- no, what Ozai would think. She didn't care that Ozai may get angry and punish her, Azula just wanted to be with her older brother.
Ozai grew angrier with Azula as the days past and she didn't show up to lessons.
"Azula, what is the meaning of this?" Ozai shouted when she yet again refused to show up.
"I'm staying with Zuko, he needs me and I want to stay. You did this to him, why would you even care what I'm doing here with him?!" Azula started strong and quiet, but was at a shout by the end.
"You do not speak to be that way, unless you want to end up like that child," Ozai said pointing at Zuko while threatening moving closer to Azula.
She flinched back before seemingly steeling her nerves.
"Yeah, you gonna burn half my fucking face off? You gonna try to get rid of me because I said one thing you didn't like? Well try I fucking dare you," Azula yelled getting into a fighting stance, ready to goad Ozai to move outside the room if they needed to be.
"If you want to be with him so bad, then you can have what you want," Ozai said so suddenly that Azula shocked backwards, face still angry, but also confused.
"Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, you are now banished from the Fire Nation until and if you can return with the avatar! It starts in a week, be prepared. All you will have is a boat with a crew."
With that Ozai left the room. Azula crumpled to the floor. Zuzu's burn wouldn't even be healed fully. They would have to try to find the Avatar without hurting his eye more. Azula knew this was supposed to be a wild goose chase, but she couldn't just tell her brother that, she had to slowly tell the idea to him and then tell him in full.
And sure being banished doesn't take away your royalty, so Zuzu was still the Crown Prince, but not being able to return hurt Azula too. This was where most of her memory's resided, wether good or bad, with mother or fa- Ozai.
Azula was also sure that Ozai wouldn't give them a very good boat or crew.
With no doubt in her mind that Ozai had already been planning to get rid of Zuko, Azula went to pack some of his most important things, resolving to take some things she thought that she shouldn't and things that wouldn't be practical.
Moving to her own she also grabbed money. She didn't bring much of their cloths, as they wouldn't be good for life outside of the palace. She brought some knowing Zuzu liked the feel of some of the cloths and it helped calm him.
Azula snuck back to Zuko's room to see Iroh leaning in a chair watching Zuko.
When Azula opened the door Iroh stood before seeing Azula and sitting back down.
"I don't know if you've heard but me and Zuzu got banished, Father didn't like that I wanted to spend more time with Zuko, so I go with Zuzu," Azula explained, not caring how her uncle felt about it but knowing that if he tagged along, the support would be greatly appreciated.
"I heard about my nephew, but not of you, Azula."
"Yeah, well it happened today because I spoke back." Azula said with her eyes staring straight at Iroh.
He thought that perhaps she was thinking about how to twist this to her advantage, or how to take down Iroh as fast as possible.
In reality Azula was trying to convey her worry for Zuzu, and try not to seem weak in front of someone she didn't know if she could trust.
Zuko, the dumdum, would trust their uncle in a heartbeat if given the chance. Azula wouldn't, knowing where it could end her up.
However, Azula was never very good at expressing her emotions good enough. She knew this, and knew that Zuko could read her better than anyone else. Most others couldn't read her, so she didn't expect it from Iroh, and didn't get it either.
The week passed fast, and in a blur, with Zuko rarely waking up, not even for half an hour at a time when they had to leave. He didn't wake up when they moved him to the ship.
The ship was small, and old, but in relatively good shape. The crew on the other hand were obviously thrown together.
But, oh well, its isn't like she could do anything else about it. And she didn't regret coming with Zuko, or screaming at Ozai, either.
Azula looked out at the sea. It had been two weeks since the Banishment and she was waiting for her brother to wake up more than he did.
"I wish he would wake up, it's boring without him," Azula said, head resting on the back of her hand.
"Well, Azula, my nephew needs time to recover because of what happened with your Father," A voice replied.
Azula turned, knowing it was Iroh, but not wanting to have her back facing him.
"I am well aware of the damage he has sustained, and I am aware of how much energy it takes to heal ones self."
"Of course, I didn't mean to imply otherwise, just wondering when you two got so close," Iroh responded to the 11 year old.
"We have been since before mother... Left. But you have failed to notice I suppose. It's no matter of course, with Father around it made it hard to show outright affection for Zuko. Surely you understand, Uncle Iroh?" Azula mused, looking at her nails.
Iroh looked at the girl, feeling as if she only used uncle to mock him in a way. While she did, he didn't know that.
She only did it because Iroh never really refers to her as niece. Only as Princess, Azula, or both. It doesn't bother her much, but she is a bit peeved with the way Iroh shows his blatant favoritism, similar to Ozai.
It's much less abusive, and not used as a weapon, but Iroh sees Azula as someone like her so called Father. She knows this and dislikes it greatly. It wasn't her fault that Ozai preferred her, or that she was better than Zuzu.
Azula was fine with Zuko being Iroh's favorite, especially after Lu Ten died, even if it caused her heart to feel heavy. But with his dislike towards herself, Azula couldn't stand him. It was as if he thought her unable to be human.
"Well, Azu-" Iroh began.
At that moment Zuko stumbled onto the deck looking around frantically.
"Lala, where's Azu-" He paused catching his breath, his voice raspy from disuse, and possibly damage. He turned and spotted her.
"Zula, why did you come?" Zuko rasped, not believing that his father would do something to Azula.
"Zuzu, I'm banished as well. Father saw it fitting to send siblings together for this," Azula said, knowing Zuko would deny that Ozai was in the major wrong.
"But, he- you- you're a master at firebending, you didn't disrespect him."
"I did when I refused to train and to stay with you instead," Azula said walking to her brother.
"But-"
Before he could finish the medic ran through the door.
"Prince Zuko-" a pant "-you need to rest-" another "-and not move around so much."
Zuko looked back at Azula, seeing the worry she tried not to disguise as much as usual. She nodded and waved her hand at the medic.
"Do as they say, dumdum. If you get hurt more we will never get anywhere, and it will be boring."
Zuko nodded at his younger sister and moved to follow the medic. He stumbled, before Azula grabbed his shoulder and righted him.
"Thanks, Zula."
"Sure, Zuzu."
Bringing him back to the medic was uneventful. After setting him down Azula looked at Zuko. His head was shaved besides the phoenix tail, as is customary after one has dishonored themselves. Azula wishes she could tell Zuko that it wasn't his fault, that Osai isn't a good parent.
But she couldn't without Zuko denying anything of the sort, or possibly even hating Azula. She couldn't tell him that their conditions to get unbanished weren't the same.
For her, all she had to do was leave Zuko and sink his ship. Zuko had to do the impossible and hunt the avatar, whoever they are.
The avatar hasn't been seen in 100 years. It is rumored that the air avatar died with Sozin's attack, but then the water or earth or even fire avatar would come forward to end the war. If that was in defence of or against the fire nation is up to the person truly.
Azula often wondered why people who oppose the fire nation would wait for an avatar. It wasn't like they couldn't possibly take down the fire nation if they worked together, and if the water tribes allowed women to fight. She means, look at her.
But Azula supposes this is better, if no one tried to. Sure her father was a bad person, but the war wasn't wrong. It started because of the air nation being violent. That's what it said in all the books she found. They couldn't all be wrong could they.
Turns out they could. It was a month later and they had gone to the Western air temple. As they looked through the rooms they found nothing, until they did.
They opened the door and the light smell of burnt fabric hit their noses. Looking inside the saw skeleton after skeleton. Azula saw it for what it was, A Massacre.
Zuko didn't, he saw the evidence that their nation did what they had to. To win.
They continued with Azula feeling more uneasy about this. They opened a room and they saw the cribs first.
It was obviously a nursery, but more so was the scorch marks on the walls and floor, the burnt wood, and most importantly the little skeletons, only possible to be owned by a baby.
Zuko looked shell shocked and threw up. Azula eyes teared up, as she stood there with even more proof that the fire nation wasn't all good. Or even at all.
Azula was suddenly very glad she and Zuko snuck up here before Iroh could. He would've hid the bones, and other things to 'protect' them from seeing this.
She looked at the rooms closely after that and saw no signs of fight from the air benders, and only struggle to get away, to protect the younger ones.
The more Azula and Zuko saw the angrier, yet sadder, they got.
Both thinking how could their nation do this, and still preach about being the best one.
Parents, or even just adults maybe even some older children, (children!), carrying the youngest towards the stables in an attempt to get away.
They followed the trail to the stables themselves, seeing multiple peoples bones intertwined with the bigger animals.
"How... How could they do this? How could we accept this? Do you think they know Zula?" Zuko asked his voice getting strong in the middle but shaky and soft in the end.
"There's no way they didn't. Some of the books date to 90 years ago. That's when people would know if the air people were actually violent without cause. They've been lying to us. To all of us! The whole fire nation can't know! It's propaganda!! WE HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THIS! IT'S OUR DUTY TO PROTECT THEM!!" Azula shouted.
Unbeknownst to her, her eyes glowed an eerie blue while the winds around her swirled, her fire warming the place.
Zuko watched with wide eyes following his little sister.
"Zula, calm down, you're gonna hurt the place," Zuko ran at his sister, the longer she was like this the higher the chance something bad could happen.
He got to her and grabbed her arms, to which made her more aware of her surroundings. Azula slowly calmed down and her eyes faded to the normal color.
Once she had gained her awareness back Azula felt bad for almost hurting the place further.
"Um, Zula, what the fuck what that?"
Oh right Zuko was still there.
"I dunno, airbending?"
"Yea, and Last I Checked you were a Firebender."
"Things change," Azula said with a shrug, too tired to even comprehend what actually happened.
"M'tired now, lets go back down, before I get angry at this horrible things again."
"Okay," Zuko said, defeated at this point, resolving to talk about it when his sister was more aware of anything.
They walked back down the cliff, Zuko making sure Azula was on the side with a wall. Once Zuko brought her to her room, and set her down on her bed.
"M'night Zu."
"Night Zula," Zuko whispered.