The School of Ba Sing Se (Zukka Highschool Au)

Chapter 19

AN: oh hey lol i haven't updated this in 4 months sorry uh- enjoy this!!

<Zuko>

I was picked last to perform.

Killua was first. His routine was amazing. When He was done, he left the ice and ran to a group of people. There was a young girl with long black hair; a boy about Killua's age with dark brown hair who was wearing the ugliest green jacket I'd ever seen; and two men. One of the men was tall with dark brown hair and tiny glasses, and the other was short with blonde hair that went down to his shoulders.

Second was Yurio. His routine was even better than Killua's, in my opinion. When he was done, he walked off the ice and met up with an older man who wore a flat beret on his head. Seeing Yurio with this man was the first time I'd ever seen him actually smile.

Langa was next. He finished his routine and skated out of the rink.

"Langa!" I patted him on his shoulder.

He jumped a little, as if I startled him. "Oh! Uh, Zuko, right?"

"Yeah," I said, "you did a great job out there, man!"

"Oh, thanks," he replied. "Uh, good luck out there." Langa walked away, mumbling something about a "Ricky".

"UP NEXT," the loudspeakers blared, "ZUKO!"

Coach Piandao patted me on the shoulder in encouragement. I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the ice.

The music began to play, and I was in my own world. The music I had chosen I interpreted as two complete opposites coming together to make something beautiful.

The music starts off smooth and flowy, and then all of a sudden, it jumps to loud and hard. Towards the end, however, the two parts blend perfectly together, and it sounds beautiful.

I like to think of it as fire and ice. Two extremely harsh elements that are vastly different and can easily harm you, but when you put them together, it creates something that helps you live. Water.

When I finished my routine, I skated off the ice and looked up into the stands. I saw Sokka cheering for me. Seeing him there made me smile, but then I looked next to him.

Next to Sokka was Uncle Iroh, smiling widely and clapping. Next to him, though, was my sister, Azula.

When I saw her, I immediately broke down into tears. Not because I didn't want her to be there. She was my sister and was living with me now, of course I wanted her there! I was crying because she was cheering for me.

She was cheering.

For me.

Never once had she cheered for me. She had always cared about our father's opinion first. If he didn't like what I did, Azula didn't like it either. And father never liked anything I did.

But now, there was no father around.

There was no higher being for Azula to impress.

She could finally be herself, and from what I understood, this was the start of it.

Before I realized, the loudspeakers had gotten to announcing the winners.

Yurio came in second, which shocked me. I thought his performance was the best. Who could've beaten him?

"AND IN FIRST PLACE," the loudspeakers announced, "ZUKO!"

The crowd cheered but I couldn't hear it. All I saw was Azula up in the stands giving me a standing ovation, a proud smile plastered on her face.