"Apprentice Kuzon, you may stand."
The boy, no older than 15 stood up slowly, raising his eyes to meet that of the Fire Lord's, who sat high abover the training yard.
Despite their distances, Zuko's voice was still loud and powerful. "Today is the test you have selected to prove you are worthy to become a firebending master."
Kuzon kept his eyes even. He need not look around to see who occupied this field, he had specified it. 25 yards to his left were two waterbenders, the same distance behind him were 2 firebenders, to his left two earthbenders, and directly in front of him, below the viewing podium which seate the Fire Lord, his family and multiple dignitaries, was the Avatar, instructed to strictly use airbending.
"Begin."
Kuzon imediatly allowed his red cape to fall, and he fell into a wide defensive stance.
He pivoted to face the firebenders, expecting them to strike first. Niether moved, both locked into the same defensive stance he was in.
Pivoting again he glanced at the earthbenders only to see that they were also in a defensive stance, each levitating two boulders.
Another pivot reavealed that the Avatar was simply hovering on an air scooter, smiling.
And yet another reavealed that the water benders each had 2 water whips pulled from the moat which sorrounded the arena.
Beside Zuko, a younger woman adorned in fine fire nation clothes leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. "They're taking advantage, they know he will get frustrated and make a costly-"
Beside her, a man with blue eyes and a long pony tail adorned in a simple blue coat grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "He'll be fine. "
Kuzpn continued pivoting, facing each pair for no more than a second before turning to the next, certain they'd attack.
When none did, he growled, blue fire emmiting from his nostrils. With a wild cry, he flipped into the air and twisted, landing on his head and spinning, sending spirling rings of fire in every direction.
With that his opponents bolted into action. The firebenders simply dissapated yhe heat wave around them, the earthbenders blocked the fire with triangluar tents and sent these tents screaming toward the boy, while the water benders leaped over the torrent and sped at the boy on ice.
Everything happened in slow motion for Kuzon. Using fire, he propelled into the air to avoid the earth and these in turn struck one of the waterbenders.
Kuzon dodged several ice spikes sent his way from the second water-tribesman and punched towards the ground, sending a horizontal tornado of blue fire towards her. This engulfed her and a second later she emerged from the smoke, rolling on the ground., unconsious with several burn marks aligning her body.
Kuzon quickly turned to block numerous balls of fire from the advancing firebenders, dissapating them expertly with circular blocks.
With a menacing grin he punched the air faster than humanly possible and sent many more blue fire balls back, and turned to face the wave of earth sent his way.
Everyone watching leaned forward in anticipation. 1 firebender and 1 water bender were already down, Kuzon was leaping towards a wave of eath twice as tall as him, and the avatar was still sitting on his ball of air, observing.
With a wild cry, Kuzon ran up the wave of rock and leaped off it, flying towards the two earthbenders with tremendous momentum.
He folded his arms and quickly unfolded them, charging up lightning in two fingers on each hand.
He shot each earthbender for only a split second, but the raw power behind this lightning was enough to knock them both out for the forseeable future.
Kuzon landed with a roll and stopped his momentum by blasting behind him with fire. He grinned when he saw that the rock wave had gone further then the earthbenders had intended, for the second time, and had knocked back the second waterbender, who had just gotten to his feet, effectively elimenating him from the fight.
Kuzon wheeled to face the second fire bender, who was running at him with set determination. With a roar, the man sent a large blast of fire that would have engulfed and unbalanced any normal firebender.
Kuzon simply swiped his hand through the torrent at the right time, cutting it in half so it missed him completely. With a grin he leaped forward and clpped his hands an inch off the ground, sending a larger, hotter ball of blue fire at his opponent. The man made an attempt to dodge but was caught in the ball, and he fell back some ten feet as the fire dissapted.
With a wild roar kuzon punched both fists back, launching himself into the sky. He stopped this blast with just enough momentum to make him land a foot from the man and brought a large torrent of fire from his fist to engulf the firebender, head to toe.
When the smoke cleared, the man had been blasted back several more feet and was clearly out for the count.
While medical personal ran out to retrieve him as they had done with all the others, Kuzon grinned. He had won! He had-
He gasped as realization and more adrenaline took him over. The Avatar!
He wheeled arpund to face where the avatar had been floating for the duration of the fight but was knocked back by a tornado of air.
Twisting in the air, he regained his footing. The avatar landed a few feet from him, and Kuzon growled and through a punch with a jet of fire. Aang dodged this at the last minute and flew over him, Kuzon's hair brushing against The Avatar's bald head.
Aang landed and Kuzon regained his balance and threw a kick at the man, only to be evaided in a similair manner.
This continued for a few more blows before Kuzon grew frustraed and slammed his fists together, an orb of fire emitting from him in all directions.
Aang, knowing he was restricted from performing the simple firebending move to block this, insted had to send a small blade of air to cut through the expaninng blue orb.
Kuzon used this moment to punch rapidly at aang, and despite the avatar's best efforts, he was knocked back several feet.
Aang propped himself up on his elbows and found himself staring at the fist of Kuzon, who was breathing heavily, red in the face.
The Avatar grinned and held his hands up. "I surrender. You have bested me."
Kuzon lowered his fist slowly. As the adrenaline subsided and his vision and perception of time returned to normal, he felt a surge of rage. He was letting him win! The boy's eys flashed and he turned in a huff, bowed to the firelord, and stomped away, taking his leave out of an iron door below the viewing podium.
Kuzon put a new tunic on in a huff, nearly ripping it with the fury with which he shoved it on. Standing up from the bench he didnt bother picking up after himself; the palace servants would take care of that once they cleaned this changing room. He turned to the door only to find himself facing his mother.
Azula was inspecting her long nails, one eyebrow raised. "That was very stupid. You should be ashamed."
Kuzon clenched his fists in fury, blue jets of fire roaring forth and licking the ground before dissapearing. "The monk let me win."
"He did not. You clearly bested him."
"He could have easily tripped me or blasted me back! He hadn't even been burned yet, but he gave up! He gave it to me!"
Azula looked up from her nails with sudden anger and locked her golden eyes with the stark blue of her son. "What would have been the point of that if you would have kept unbalancing him, and eventually took him down like the others. He knew fighting firther would have been futile."
Kuzon looked at the floor in shame, knowing he had looked like a child in his victory. He internally cringed when he realized his first moments of bieng a master firebender had been spent stomping away like a baby.
This only added fuel to his fire and he yelled in rage and kicked the bench he had been sitting on in half with a blade of fire. "He robbed me of my satisfation!"
Azula hissed and stepped forward with powerful strides, reaching her son and slapping him accross the face.
Kuzon fell back, taken by surprise. Rubbing his face as his mother looked down upon him, he glared. "When you next see the avatar you will apologize. I too think he is a weak, spineless fool but you made a fool of yourself in front of many important people. You made a fool out of me and your father, and all of the Royal family!"
Kuzon held his mothers glare as he stood up. Azula sighed, knowing that her son was not easily quelled when he thought he had been wronged. "You did magnifisently. You were already better than most firebending masters as an aprentice."
His eyes softened and he rubbed his hand through his hair, sighing. "Yeah, i know." He allowed a grin to settle on him as his mother hugged him tightly, an affectione she gave him only rarely.
