A/N
Hi! This is based on the original animated show and cannon comics. Live actions play no role in this story. Also know the bulk of this story takes place during the show but has been stretched to cover 2 years rather than just one year.
Thank you.
E/A/N
~~~
"Her chi is not blocked, Fire Prince Ozai," The fortune teller handed the small baby girl back to her mother as her father held her twin brother in his hands. "She is not a bender and will not ever be physically strong, though quite resilient." The seer woman took the small baby boy. "Now he will be a strong young man," She smiled.
"But is he a bender?" Prince Ozai asked, growing desperate at the thought that his second child would be a non-bender like his first born.
"Zuko is a fire bender. Kija is not. Its not uncommon for twins to be like this. One tends to develop faster than the other causing for certain abilities to be locked or unlocked."
"Kija..." Ozai looked away from the baby girl. "Kija Rei can not inherit the throne should it be given to me."
"Ozai! How dare you call her Kija Rei!" Ursa said angerly, "She is your daughter!"
"You will say Zuko is the first born," Ozai ordered. "There is no way that a non-bender is a decedent of mine."
#Disowned only days after birth...#
Young Kija Rei knocked on her mother's bedroom door.
Ursa sprang from her seat at her desk where she had been writing a letter. "Be right there!" Ursa opened the door to find her first born dragging her doll and rubbing her eyes.
"Mommy!" Kija Rei hugged her mother's legs. "I had a scary dream that you were gone and Zuzu had this scar on his eye and it was so scary!"
Ursa picked up her little girl. "It was only a nightmare, Kija. I've been right here." She carried Kija Rei to Zuko's room. "And see there? No scar on brother's face at all."
"I guess your right, Mommy. It was still scary..."
Ursa set her daughter down in her bed and pulled Kija's blanket over her, kissing her forehead. "Close your eyes, my love. When the good dreams come, hang onto them with all your might."
Kija Rei was quickly asleep again.
~~~
Azula, Zuko, and Kija Rei ran down the halls of the palace, Zuko holding a bun basket to his chest.
The three stopped in the court yard, giggling. After realizing they'd probably gotten away with it, the three calmed down.
"I can't believe you talked me into this!" Zuko said to Azula.
"I can," Azula said with a smile. "You're easy. Kija Rei is the one who's hard to convince!"
Kija rubbed her neck. "Let's just eat the buns and return to box so no one get in trouble..." She opened the woven basket top to reveal the desert buns.
The three had all taken a single bite from the buns when a man's voice boomed through the air. "Kids. Come here." Prince Ozai had caught them.
The three looked at each other before hurrying to kneel before the man.
"Whose idea was it to take the buns?"
The three quietly glanced at each other.
"Who's?!" Ozai yelled.
"I'm sorry, Father," Zuko said, about to take the fall as Azula obviously wasn't going to. "It was-"
"It was me, Father." Kija looked up. "It was my idea to take the buns. I'm sorry."
"Stand up," he ordered.
"Yes, sir." Kija stood with false confidence to face her father.
"Don't speak!" He snarled.
Kija lowered her head silently. She knew well that if Azula stood in her place, they'd be in no trouble. If it was Zuko, only he and Kija would be in trouble for talking Azula into getting into trouble. Because Kija was the one to stand, only she was going to be grounded. She'd become used to it as even small offenses formed the same punishment.
"You liar."
"No, I-" Kija's voice was cut off with the sound of skin hitting skin. It took the child only a second to realize Ozai had slapped her. Kija was so surprised she hardly heard Azula giggling beside her. He had never hit any of them before.
Ozai's eyes held a horrifying fire. "You speak out of turn and you lie to me? What makes you think you're allowed to speak?"
Kija didn't speak this time as she held back tears. Crying in front of Prince Ozai would only make it worse.
"Get out of my sight!" Ozai snarled, pushing the young girl away from himself.
Kija bowed and backed away before turning tail and running off. Kija hid in her and Zuko's shared bedroom. She couldn't understand why he would hit her. He'd never hit any of them before, just yelled and grounded them.
After a while, Zuko came in with some ice. "Hey..."
Kija looked up at him, a bruise already starting to form on her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Kija." Zuko sat on the bed beside Tu Cho as he offered the ice. "I didn't think we'd get in trouble like that."
Kija Rei nodded. "I'll be fine. I should have stopped you but Azula talked me into it."
"I told mom what happened and she's angry with Father. She says it was just buns that were meant for us anyway."
Kija Rei looked at her brother with the ice against her face. "Zuzu, let's not listen to Azula anymore."
"Agreed." Zuko smiled.
#Learning of powers still untold...#
Zuko, Kija Rei, and their mother sat feeding a turtle duck family at a pond in the royal garden.
Zuko looked at the bread in this hand. "Hey Mom, want to see how Azula feeds turtle ducks?"
Kija Rei shook her head. "Don't do it Zuzu. The mommy turtle duck will be mad."
Not heading the warning of his sister, Zuko threw the rest of his loaf of bread into the water and hit one of the baby turtle ducks.
Ursa was shocked. "Zuko! Why would you do that?"
"He's okay..." Kija Rei said to herself.
The baby turtle duck surfaced again only a second later and the mother turtle duck charged forth, biting Zuko's ankle hard.
"Ow! Ow ow! Ouch!" Zuko pouted as the twins' mother gently threw the turtle duck back into the water. "Stupid turtle duck. Why did she do that?"
"Zuko. That's what moms are like." Ursa put her arm around Zuko and Kija Rei. "If you mess with their babies," she playfully bit behind Zuko's ear, "they're gonna bite you back!" The two laughed but Kija Rei continued to stare at the pond.
"Mommy," Kija Rei looked up at her mom, "don't make me play with Azula today..."
Confused, Ursa agreed that she could stay with her for that day.
#A power that grows...#
Kija Rei and Ursa walked towards the playing children, a parchment in Ursa's hand and a towel in Kija's. The young girl had been carrying the towel most of the day, though even she was starting to doubt that it would be needed for anything.
Zuko stomped towards them, dripping wet. "Girls are crazy!"
Kija Rei handed him the towel. "I had a feeling I might need this. I'm sorry you got all wet, Zuzu."
"It's okay, Kija." Zuko dried his hair before wrapping the towel over his shoulders. "It's not like you can see the future. Azula is just predictable."
"Yeah." Kija Rei smiled.
It was soon that they had gathered around their mother so she could read them the letter from Uncle Iroh.
"If the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you all may see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first!" They all laughed and Ursa continued. "Until then, enjoy these gifts." Three servants dressed in white came in and Zuko ran to meet them. "For Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the Outer Wall. Note the inscription and the superior craftsmanship."
Zuko picked up the dagger admiringly, unsheathed it and read the inscription. "Never give up without a fight."
Ursa smiled as a green dream catcher was handed to Kija Rei. "A dream catcher for Kija Rei. The people of Ba Sing Se believe if you hang over your bed then no bad dreams can get through."
Kija doubted it would actually help but it was worth a shot. The nightmares of being alone in a strange place had become more frequent.
A doll was offered to Azula.
"And for Azula, a new friend." Ursa continued. "She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls."
Azula picked up her doll by the head with disgust, making sounds and sticking out her tongue. "If Uncle doesn't make it back from war, then Dad will be next in line for Fire Lord, wouldn't he?"
Ursa was appalled. "Azula, we don't speak that way. It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a picture of health."
Zuko glared at Azula. "How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten wanted Dad to die?"
Kija Rei began to shake her head as though trying to shake the very thought out. Lu Ten could never think like that.
"I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than His Royal Tea-Loving Kookiness." Azula set the doll's head on fire.
Days later Kija Rei sat watching Zuko play with his dagger. He faked his death, dramatically falling to the floor with a groan.
Azula sat cross-legged on the opposite end of the room from Kija Rei. "You waste all your time playing with knives. You're not even good!"
Zuko turned to her. "Put an apple on your head and we'll find out how good I am!"
Kija Rei closed her eyes for a second then opened them. "I think Uncle's coming home."
Zuko looked at Kija. "Does that mean ... we won the War?"
Azula rolled her eyes. "No, it means Uncle's a quitter and a loser."
Zuko stomped his foot. "What are you talking about? Uncle's not a quitter!"
Azula put her hands on her hips. "Oh yes he is! He found out his son died and he just fell apart! A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground, not lose the battle and come home crying."
Zuko stood up. "How do you know what he should do? He's probably just sad his only kid is gone. Forever."
Kija Rei jumped up, a sudden fear filling her body. "Father either did something or is about to."
At that moment, Ursa appeared in the doorway. "Your father has requested an audience with Fire Lord Azulon. Best clothes, hurry up!"
Zuko looked at Kija Rei before running past Ursa quickly to get ready, while Azula walked rather slowly. Kija Rei shied away as her sister passed.
Azula took no notice. In a bored tone she said, "Fire Lord Azulon ... can't you just call him 'Grandfather'? He's not exactly the powerful Fire Lord he used to be. Someone will probably end up taking his place soon."
Ursa grew angry. "Young lady! Not another word!" Azula ran past her mother and left. "What is wrong with that child?"
Kija Rei took her mother's hand and they walked to her room.
It wasn't long before they were all seated in the Fire Lord's chamber, a large room with many columns and a wall of fire in front of the Fire Lord's throne. Ozai, Ursa, Kija Rei, Zuko, and Azula all sat on the floor some distance back from Fire Lord Azulon.
Ozai smiled. "And how was it Great-Grandfather Sozin managed to win the Battle of Han Tui?"
Kija Rei knew better than to try to answer the question as a question from Prince Ozai was never directed at her. She'd had to learn that the hard way.
Zuko was confused. "Great-Grandfather won... because... um..."
Azula awnsered quickly. "Because even though his army was outnumbered, he cleverly calculated his advantages. The enemy was downwind and there was a drought. Their defenses burned to a crisp in minutes."
Ozai smiled. "Correct, my dear. Now, would you show Grandfather the new moves you demonstrated to me?" Azula stood up and moved forward. She began with some circular motions, warming herself up, and firebent. Ozai smiled wide. Azula did many fairly complicated moves with ease, and Zuko watched her in amazement. She finished off her routine with a jump and a powerful fire blast toward the throne, before landing on her feet gracefully.
Ozai clapped lightly. "She's a true prodigy! Just like her grandfather for whom she's named."
Azula sat back down and looked at Zuko out of the corner of her eye. "You'll never catch up."
Zuko stood up angrily. "I'd like to demonstrate what I've been learning."
Ozai frowned at this news. Zuko started off well, doing the same circular motions as Azula. He managed to produce a small fire blast, which did not impress Fire Lord Azulon. When he tried to create another one, he fell. He got back up, panting heavily, and tried again, only to fall harder. Ursa got up worriedly and approached Zuko to comfort him.
Zuko put his face in his hands. "I failed."
Ursa hugged her boy. "No. I loved watching you. That's who you are, Zuko. Someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard."
Fire Lord Azulon waved it off. "Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pomp? Just tell me what you want. Everyone else, go!"
Ursa, Zuko, Kija Rei, and Azula start walking out of the throne room; however, Azula pulled Zuko off to the side just before they exited.
#A power that scares...#
Kija Rei left with her mother but went straight to her room. She packed a small bag and slipped it under the edge of the bed.
Kira Rei was already in her pj's when Zuko knocked on the door. "Kija? Can I come in?"
"Yes, Zuzu."
Zuko entered the room, also in sleep wear, and sat on her bed. "Dad asked for the throne and Fire Lord Azulon got very angry."
"I know..." Kija Rei frowned. "Don't listen to what Azula says. She doesn't really know what she is saying. You will be fine in the end."
"You? What happened to we?"
"I think that 'we' ends tonight, Zuzu." She hugged her brother. "I don't know why but I just feel like we won't see each other for a really really long time."
Zuko hugged her back. "Nothing bad is going to happen."
"Just in case, Zuko. I love you so much, brother." She snuggled her face into his shirt.
"This is really scaring you isn't it?" Zuko hugged her tighter. "Mom will keep us safe. Remember? She's the mother turtle duck."
That night, Kija Rei grabbed her bag just before her mother came into her room with their traveling cloaks.
Fire Lord Azulon was pronounced dead the next morning leaving the throne to Prince Ozai.
It was not long before Zuko was scarred and banished.
But that is not the story we will tell... you already know that story.
We will tell the fire nations greatest secret, the story of Kija Rei.
Kija Rei ran away with her mother to keep away from the terror of Fire Lord Ozai.
Ursa soon met the Mother of Faces and forgot her past.
Kija Rei left that day knowing it would be the day her mother forgot her.
Kija Rei joined the Kyoshi Warriors.
She changed her name to Tu Cho.
What happened next?
What will the future hold?
Let's ask Tu Cho herself.