mai and Izumi had their own special connection. While Izumi was growing up, I imagine zuko was always traveling (he did t try to be more present in Izumi’s childhood tho) and Izumi was often with mai.
Izumi would hang out with her mother after her classes and they would either sit in Mai’s office as she finished paperwork with Izumi on her lap or playing with something or they would be in the garden playing with the turtle ducks.
Izumi always held her mother in a very high position, when she was a child, she would stay with mai while got dressed for the day and watched as her mother put her hair into her hairstyles and often got mai to put her hair into the same
Izumi even cut her bangs by herself to look like mai, it turned out horrible but mai fixed it while Izumi sobbed. Even when Izumi grew up and outgrew her childish nature, mai was a person she held close to her heart
she was devastated after Mai’s death, falling into a slump as she struggled to move on, but moved on and chose to let her mother rest but still held their visits to the turtleduck families and the stories her mother told her as she held her close was a special place in Izumi’s heart