Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar material/characters, if I did then Zutara would be canon already

Author's Note: Hey guys! I am sooo excited, this is my first fic, like ever! Completely new, fresh meat! So please please review, it's what makes an author like me want to post! I've been wanting to make a story for a while, so I decided to start small. This is going to be about 3 or 4 chapters long. No more than that, and takes place after the Southern Raiders and before The Ember Island Players - right after the GAang arrives at the vacation home.

Alrighty, this story has been on my mind for a while. I was thinking that Ozai already mentally abuses Zuko, so it wouldn't make sense for him to not physically abuse him as well. In this story, Ozai would burn Zuko on his chest and back (where they could be covered in public). The Gaang notices these burns (along with the obvious one on his face), and put the pieces together. They then try to get Zuko to tell them about what his father did to him.

Sorry about the long author's note… anyway! Enjoy and please review!

xXx

The avatar and the banished prince were standing in a courtyard, both covered in sweat and trying to deal with the heat coming down in waves from the setting sun above them. "Alright, now I want you to roar like a Tigerdillo," Zuko demanded.

Aang straightened up and inhaled, before he let loose an enormous shout accompanied with a hot stream of fire erupting from his mouth and fists. When he was done he looked nervously at his Sifu Hotman, who nodded in approval. Aang brightened immediately ‒ a nod from Zuko was like punch from Toph.

"Good, I'll show you one more move before we can get some dinner. This one will be harder." Zuko took a towel and wiped his brow, then peeled his shirt off. It was a hot day, the typical Ember Island weather. There was no wind and it was very humid, which made the atmosphere seem hotter than it really was. It was actually cooler than it was in the afternoon, which was why they waited to start their lesson in the evening.

Wiping the sweat off his face, Aang did a double-take when he glanced at Zuko's chest. It was covered in burn marks, and although they were not as bad as the one on his face, they were still noticeable. Aang never saw Zuko with his shirt off before, so he didn't know that his new friend's chest was covered in scars. He wondered how Zuko got them, just as he constantly wondered how his Sifu got the scar on his face.

"What…" Aang started, but quickly closed his mouth when he saw the wary look in Zuko's eyes, his Sifu did not want to talk about any of his scars. Zuko raised an eyebrow at his student's unfinished question.

"'What' what?" He asked.

Aang swallowed nervously. "Ummm… What move did you want to show me?" He noted that after he asked his improvised question, Zuko exhaled slowly, like he was holding his breath.

"It's called the Phoenix Dive, it's one of the advanced sets that my Uncle taught me. But don't worry," he added, as Aang groaned. "It's not as hard as it looks. You just have to get the movements right, I'll do it first and then we can do it together."

Moving towards the center of the courtyard they were practicing in, Zuko took a deep breath. Suddenly, he rushed forward and jumped, performing a perfect somersault in midair. On his way back to the ground; he kicked with his right foot, and a giant plume of fire flew across the courtyard before smashing into a column, which crumbled to the ground. Zuko landed in a crouched position, ready to continue fighting. He stood up and looked at Aang.

"Since you're an airbender, this one should be relatively easy for you to do. Normal firebenders have to spend weeks perfecting the jump and building up the muscles to get high enough. You could combine your airbending with this move so you could get higher than any other firebender could." Walking back, Zuko motioned Aang towards the center. "Try it now."

Aang smiled. This move looked like fun! Reaching the center of the courtyard, he ran and leapt 20 feet into the air and completed three somersaults before releasing a jet of fire from both of his feet. He landed lightly on the ground and gave a bow.

Zuko sighed before looking at the very pleased avatar. "Well done, but the bow was unnecessary."

Aang grinned sheepishly. "Thanks, Sifu Hotman."

Zuko frowned. "I thought I told you not to call me that." Aang continued to grin. Zuko sighed again. "Okay, that's enough for today. I'm going to wash up before dinner." Turning, Zuko headed for the bathhouse, taking his shirt with him. Aang's smile vanished when he saw that there were more burns on Zuko's back. They looked like whip marks.

xXx

Katara passed a bowl of rice to a hungry and whiny Sokka, who quickly started to devour his food in a very animalistic fashion. "Sokka," she exclaimed exasperatedly. "Are you going to breathe in between those bites?"

Sokka continued to inhale his food, that is until Suki flicked his head with her fingers. Choking, Sokka turned to the Kyoshi warrior and glared. Katara laughed and spooned herself some dinner, before settling down with the rest of the gang.

She glanced around. Toph was sprawled on the ground, idly playing with her meteor rock that Sokka had gifted to her. Zuko was quietly eating his food, but this didn't concern Katara ‒ he was always this taciturn. Suki was currently having a stare-down with Sokka. Katara frowned when she looked at Aang. He would alternate between picking at his food and glancing at Zuko when the firebender wasn't looking. He looked concerned. What was he worried about?

"Aang, what's wrong?" Katara asked. She had to, she hated it when Aang was anything but his happy self. And when he wasn't, she would always be there to make him feel better, just like she did with Sokka.

Aang looked up, startled. Everybody else looked at the nervous avatar, too. "Umm.. nothing." Aang fiddled with his chopsticks. "Why do you ask?" He added quickly. Katara frowned. He was lying. Why won't he tell her? Maybe it was something she could ask him in private. The rest of the gang looked disbelievingly at Aang.

"You look stressed," she replied. The airbender sighed.

"Oh come on, Twinkletoes," Toph scoffed. "I can tell you're lying. Is it Katara's cooking?"

Aang laughed nervously. "Nothing's wrong, I don't know what you're talking about. Thanks for the rice, Katara." Aang stood and shuffled towards the exit. "I'm going to bed, goodnight." And he backed quickly out of the room.

"What's with him?" Sokka asked the silent group. Katara stood up and quickly left the room, following the distressed avatar. She overheard her brother as she left: "What's with her?"

xXx

Aang passed his bedroom, but didn't enter. He needed some air. Slipping through the enormous front door, he headed towards the beach. He frowned. Aang didn't know why he was so worked up about Zuko's scars. He just didn't understand, he wanted to know so badly how his Sifu got them. They didn't look accidental. There is no way that they were from training ‒ the scars were too consistent, too similar to be accidents.

Reaching the shore, Aang sat down in the sand and stared at the horizon. He knew where his thoughts were headed, but he didn't want to accept them. It was so wrong, but it was the only plausible answer he could think of. Somebody purposely did this to Zuko, probably the same person who gave him the scar on his face. But who, and most importantly, why?

Aang jumped suddenly when he heard footsteps approaching. "Aang?" A timid voice sounded behind him. He relaxed. It was Katara, just the person he needed to figure this out. She was always there for him, she always cared, and that was why he loved her so much.

Katara sat down beside him and stared determinedly into his face. "Aang," she said in a caring but stern voice. "I know that something is wrong. Please, tell me, I could help you." He looked into her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that seemed like two endless wells of kindness and compassion. He sighed.

"How do you always know when I need to talk to someone," he asked, in an exasperated and admiring voice. She smiled, but stared expectantly at him. "Oh alright, I'll spill," he relented. "It's Zuko, he's got these scars…. besides the one on his face," he added quickly when Katara opened her mouth. "You should see them Katara, they cover his chest, burn marks all over. His back is worse. And I was thinking… that maybe they aren't accidental… that maybe…" He stopped, he couldn't say it outloud, because then it could be real.

"You mean you think someone did that to him…" Katara asked slowly, her eyes widening. Aang nodded sadly. She stared at the sand, and they sat in silence for a while. It was a heavy, melancholy silence, and it weighed down on them like a heavy blanket. "But…" Katara started, looking at him uncertainly. "Who would-" She stopped, gazing at him with those cerulean eyes. She looked sickened, horrified.

"What?" Aang asked warily. She didn't answer, but continued to stare at him. "Katara," he prompted. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"Well… Zuko told me that his mom disappeared when he was very little, so it was just him living with Azula and Ozai. And you know how cruel Ozai is…" She bit her lip.

"Where are you going with this?" Aang asked her, confused.

"Aang, what if it was Ozai?" Katara said it quickly, like it would be easier to comprehend if she said it faster. "We all know how much Zuko hates him. And I can't imagine Azula doing something like that to him, she's two years younger, so she would have been very little in the time that their mother disappeared and when he was banished. So that leaves... Ozai."

Aang felt sick to his stomach. Oh spirits ‒ his own father? Monk Gyatso was like a father to him ‒ but he could never imagine him hurting anybody, and certainly not Aang. He hoped that they were wrong, he hoped that maybe Zuko got all his scars from training. But deep down Aang knew that Katara's thoughts were right, even if Zuko never gave them any evidence to confirm their suspicions. He looked up at his waterbender Sifu. "Should we talk to him?"

Katara traced a finger through the sand, creating the symbol of the water tribes. "Not tonight… we should ask him tomorrow. Maybe if we talk to the others we can figure out a way to get him to tell us. Aang, he isn't used to people caring about him. Maybe if we show him that we're his new family then he'll tell us."

Aang nodded, and added the Air Nomad symbol to Katara's sand-canvas. He proceeded to draw the Earth Kingdom symbol while Katara made the Fire Nation's. Together, they stood up and walked back towards the beach house, each occupied with their own thoughts.

Back on the shore; the rising tides advanced and retreated again, leaving the sand-canvas blank.

xXx

A/N: This is not a new update, this was just me fixing some stuff that my readers pointed out! (*waves at all of you who sent critiques*) Enjoy the next chapter!