Continuation

This chapter is a flashback centered on Toph. I hope this explains the whole 'how does Toph know about Zuko's scar' thing.

Toph sat back in the grassy area at the edge of the temple and sighed with something like contentment. She recalled the conversation she had had with Katara in this same spot a few days earlier.

Flashback

Toph was sitting alone in the grassy area, feeling the vibrations of Aang practicing firebending with Zuko and Sokka practicing with his odd sword while Teo, the Duke, and Haru explored the temple.

She could feel Katara coming towards her with a slow, easy walk. "Toph," she called to her friend.

"Hey, Sugar Queen," she answered in a blasé tone, "what's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to take a break and you looked like you had something on your mind. Anything you wanna talk about?" Katara asked, glancing at her blind friend.

"I was wondering about something I 'saw'." Toph sounded truly interested in what she had 'seen' and Katara was intrigued.

"What was it Toph?"

"Something about…Zuko," Toph felt the waterbender's heartbeat quicken, "I 'saw' something on his face that I didn't know what to make of. I've sensed it every time I've seen him. It's like a…dead place." Katara giggled suddenly and Toph wondered if the girl had finally cracked.

"Zuko has a scar. On the whole left side of his face. That's what you saw." Her giggles turned into full blown laughter.

"What is so funny?" asked Toph; for once she was totally confused.

"I don't really know. I guess it just seems like that's the first thing I ever noticed about him and you're just now noticing it."

"Is it that bad? How'd he get it?" Toph had always tried to hide how young she was but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She didn't even realize how young she had sounded at that moment. Katara giggled a bit more.

"It's a burn and no, I don't know how he got it. I've wondered myself." Katara said, almost in a whisper.

"Well, why don't you ask him?" Katara turned her eyes towards where Zuko and Aang were training. "I feel sorry for you, Sugar Queen. I can 'see' Zuko's six pack whenever he breathes, but you have to wait until he takes his shirt off." Katara blushed fiercely.

"I did ask him." She seemed reluctant to go on.

"And?" Toph prodded.

"And he wouldn't tell me. I felt really foolish for even asking him. Like he would ever tell me something like that."

"But he did tell you and us about his mom and I know that really upset him."

"Yeah, I guess, but that just seems so…personal. I don't know, but I'm not going to try and ask him again. If he wants me to know, he'll tell me." The two benders sat in quiet recollection and thought for a few minutes before the younger of the two spoke.

"So, to sum it all up, Zuko has a big burn scar on the left side of his face and you're too afraid to ask him how he got it and Zuko has a six pack…and is very sweaty and standing behind you." Toph pointed to just over Katara's head. Katara turned, looked up at Zuko's sweaty and shirtless form, turned and blushed till her face was the color of a tomato-banana. Zuko looked down on her; apparently, he hadn't heard anything the girls had said about him. Katara couldn't stop blushing and Toph couldn't stop laughing. Zuko, needless to say, was confused. Katara wouldn't look at him and hurried off to the kitchen.

Toph was still laughing when Zuko asked, "What were you guys talking about?"

End of Flashback

Toph sighed at the memory. Since then, she too, had become very curious about the origin of Zuko's scar. For all her master earthbending, all she could tell was that there was a large piece of dead skin on the side of Zuko's face. Katara had seemed very interested in the scar herself, but Toph wasn't sure Sweetness had it in her to get such a personal secret out of a very impersonal prince.

I don't know how you guys are gonna like this one. I thought Toph was extremely out of character. I want to see what you guys think, so please tell me what I did wrong. I wanted this flashback to explain a few things and I think it did that, but I don't think I did it well. As always, leave a review.

-Phantom