where the past can't reach us // zuko x reader

Chapter Twenty - Nature vs Nurture

Zuko noticed it immediately.

"Uncle... You were unconscious," he said. "Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack."

"Somehow, that's not so surprising," Iroh groaned.

Zuko handed Iroh some tea. "I hope I made it the way you like it," he said.

Iroh took a sip. "Good. That was very... uh... bracing."

Zuko pretended not to notice how Iroh secretly threw the tea out behind his shoulder. There were more important things to think about now, anyway.

"So, Uncle, I've been thinking," he began. "It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say," he added – "she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her..."

"No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down. It's time to resume your training."

Zuko was glad Iroh understood and was willing to help. Now that he was officially enemies with his sister, he needed to be able to defend himself. And defend Uncle, he thought, but Uncle didn't need to know that much.

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Back at the canyon, the earthbending lesson continued, everyone examining Aang's rock that still hadn't moved an inch.

"I don't understand what went wrong," said Katara. "He did it exactly the way you and (y/n) did."

"Maybe there's another way..." suggested Aang. "What if I came at the boulder from another angle?"

"No. That's the problem. You've got to stop thinking like an airbender. There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickety-trick that's going to move that rock. You've got to face it head on. And when I say head on, I mean like this!" Toph jumped and destroyed the rock with her head.

"Whoa!" gasped Aang.

Toph went off to have a talk with Katara, and as they were gone, Aang stared down at the pieces of his shattered rock and tried once more to make them move. Meanwhile, (y/n) watched him in surprise. She still couldn't believe it. It had taken her weeks to make even the tiniest wave with waterbending, so how had she just...? Well, she'd think about that later, she decided, seeing Toph come back from her talk.

"All right, you two, see those rocks over there? Pick those up, one each – the bigger, the better!"

And so, the lesson started again: trying not to fall while carrying heavy rocks as pillars rose out of the ground, smashing rocks while blindfolded, juggling rocks while standing on wobbly stilts. It definitely wasn't by any definition easy, and by the time the next break came around, (y/n) was tired from all the physical strain, but as for the actual bending part... Well, these were only beginner exercises, she thought, but even so, she wasn't having any difficulty at all.

"(y/n), maybe you should go do your own thing while I catch Twinkle Toes here up to speed," Toph said as the lesson was about to begin once more. "I'll find you when he gets the hang of it."

(y/n) nodded, thanking Toph and going off to sit next to Katara. She would rest for a little longer, and then maybe... Maybe she'd do some waterbending practice. She didn't want to waste one of the rare days reserved for training, after all.

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"Lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression" explained Iroh. "It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind."