Well…I had a I'm-an-idiot moment. Someone reminded me that the ruler of an Empire is an Emperor and the ruler of a Kingdom is a King…ha-ha...well, Minato's the Emperor of the Lightning Empire.
Also, someone told me that there's another story with a similar concept there. If there is, I apologize to the author! I didn't know so please don't kill me!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar the Last Airbender.
Normal talking: "Lightning"
Talking in head to someone/something: "Lightning"
Thoughts: Lightning
Powerful spirit talking/demonic talking: "Lightning"
Powerful Spirit thinking/demonic thinking: Lightning
"Alright, so you hold up the shop for me while I go and do my research." Jiraiya grinned at the twelve year old as he practically hopped away.
"What...? W-wait! ERO-SENSEI!" Naruto watched in disbelief as his perversely giggling sensei hop away. "Isn't he supposed to be teaching me? Perverted old toad."
"Tell me about it, kit. He doesn't seem very reliable."
Naruto flinched before sighing. "Warn me when you do that, Kyuubi. You scare me half to death every time."
The Great Spirit's echoing laugh rang through his ears as Naruto set up shop. "It wouldn't be nearly as fun then. We immortal beings always have to have something fun to do or we'll die of boredom."
"So, what do you want?"
"Can't a Spirit talk to his Chosen?"
"Not without a good reason."
"You're no fun kit."
"You try and have a half way around the world trip with a perverted old man who wants to stop every five minutes to peek in on woman, steals your money to be with woman, leaves you in the middle of nowhere for days, then comes back to start the cycle all over again only to vanish once more when you arrive at your destination."
"…I feel sorry for you."
"Yeah, well, when I tell Tsunade-baa-chan it'll make it all better."
Kyuubi snorted. He'd seen one of her beating through the boy's eyes. While it was funny it looked like it hurt and he never wanted to be on the receiving end of one of her punches. They shattered boulders with a flick for god's sake!
"Excuse me." A snobbish voice said.
Naruto looked up at an older man with a triangle beard hanging from his chin. "Can I help you sir?" he asked kindly.
"Why aren't you in school?"
The prince blinked at the accusing tone before reaching back into a bag and pulling out more foreign goods to sell. "I'm here with my teacher and family friend. We're from the Colonies." He said summarizing the backstory he and Jiraiya came up with when the old man wasn't chasing after woman.
"Where is he?"
Naruto sighed and rested his face into his hand looking exhausted. Truthfully, he was. He'd had it with the man's actions. "Please…don't ask."
The man raised a white eyebrow before thankfully leaving the subject. "You have a rather unusual hair color."
"It's from my father's side. He was found by my mother's family near a riverbed with no memories of his past. He was…adopted of sorts and married my mother later on."
"I see." He stated, not seeming to care very much while examining the booth and his eyebrows rose even higher. "I've never seen goods like this before."
Of course he hadn't, they were form the Lightning Empire. "My family doesn't exactly go for normal. Some are antiques that we just have no more need for and some, like this," he held up a finely print tapestry with a fiery roaring Kyuubi sewn onto it. "-Are made by my mother and sister after listening to legends. This is based on the Kyuubi."
"The Great Spirit that was banished from the Spirit World?" the man asked, sounding interested.
Nodding with a smile, Naruto laid it at the front of the stand. "Legends like these fascinate my mother and sister. They're a lot alike, you know."
The man seemed to ponder something for a while. "Do you possibly have anything on the Golden Phoenix of Sozen?"
The Golden Phoenix…it was said that it was either an angry Spirit or ghost. When Sozen went to invade the Air Nomads the Phoenix tried to stop him. After hours, the Phoenix vanished from the earth, presumably dead or returning to the Spirit World because it couldn't keep its from in this world any longer.
It's said that the Phoenix's feathers shone like pure gold and its blue eyes flashed like crystal. Its wings tipped with fire and stood taller than a man. It was a children's story, a legend, but it seemed to capture the interest of the people even in the Lightning Empire.
Naruto smiled at the man and reached into a box and pulled out a beautiful tapestry of the Golden Phoenix spreading its wings and standing tall. It looked real enough that it seemed it could just jump out at them.
Handing it to the interested man, the Prince watched him study it. "How much?"
He blinked. He didn't expect to sell anything this quickly. "One hundred."
The man nodded. "A fair price for something this exquisite. Tell your mother and sister their talent is unrivaled."
"Thank you sir." Of course he'd tell his mother, she really did make some of these, but not his sister…he didn't have a sister.
Reaching into his pocket, the man pulled out the exact amount and handed it to the boy. "I believe that covers it."
"Would you like me to wrap it?"
"No, this is fine. I'm the Headmaster of the school near here, please, visit whenever you like. Sitting around and waiting for a teacher is the opposite of what it's supposed to be."
Naruto sighed again. "Tell me about it."
"Good day."
Naruto bowed the Fire Nation way they do to their elders as he walked away.
"Well, he was quite…stiff."
"Oh, you're still there?"
"Of course kit."
"Well, leave. If you haven't noticed I have a job to do."
"Fine, I won't train you then."
"…Wait!"
"Yes?" the Great Spirit's voice sounded cocky and mocking.
"…What do you mean by training?"
"Well, since that pathetic excuse for a mortal isn't training you I thought I'd take the advantage. You're still lacking in the gravity department."
"I still don't understand why you chose me as your Chosen and not the Avatar."
The Spirit scoffed. "Please! He's just a human who was granted the ability to bend four elements; many Spirits don't even like him and only talk to him so he won't annoy them! You can bend two elements he can't: Lightning and Gravity, two very powerful forces of nature…though you only use Lightning…besides, he cheats in a way. He has his past selves to give him advice and power. It's a disgrace. Plus, you're fun to tease."
"Damn fuzzball!"
"Come on Zuko, we haven't got all day." Azula chided as she tapped her foot impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah." grumbled the prince as he headed towards them at a slow pace. His mother, Ursa, made him go along with the girls again. Mei he didn't mind. Tai Lee and Azula he did.
"I'm not happy about it either, Zuzu-"
"Don't call me that!"
"-but mother wished it." She sighed in a way that made him sound like a burden she had to carry. Despite popular belief, Azula really liked her mother and wished to get along with her more. But, for some reason, everything she did was 'wrong' in the woman's eyes. It was difficult to see her 'favor' Zuko. Sure, Ozai favored her, but she wished her mother would pay more attention to her.
"Come on, Azula. It's not that bad. I like hanging around Zuko!" Tai Lee said happily, light on her feet as always.
Azula smirked. "I know Mei doesn't mind it."
Zuko and Mei blushed. The prince started sputtering out denials while the girl mumbled a faint "Whatever" and brushed passed them.
Azula's smirk only broadened as she turned to follow the stomping off Mei. "Come on, we don't want you to get lost Zuzu."
Grumbling about horrid sisters, Zuko reluctantly followed while the girls dashed to catch up to Mei.
"Hey," Tai Lee began with a somewhat far-off look. "Did you see the tapestry the Headmaster hung up in the entryway this morning?"
"The one of the Golden Phoenix of Sozen?" Azula asked, getting a nod from the braided haired girl. "Yeah I saw it. Probably cost a fortune."
"A waste of money in my opinion." Mei said.
"Come on, it was beautiful! Wasn't it Zuko?"
The Prince shrugged. "I didn't really look at it."
"Of course you didn't." Azula mocked.
Glaring at his younger sister by one year, he grunted. "Even though I didn't get a good look at it, it seemed quite elegant and…beautiful."
Tai Lee smiled in triumph. "See! You should pay more attention, Mei. You miss a lot of things."
"Life's dull, so why should I?"
Tai Lee opened her mouth to say more but her eyes were drawn to something else. She squealed causing the other's to look at her. "Hottie alert!" she cried, pointing towards a newer stand.
Serving a customer, a boy around twelve, Zuko's age, was serving a customer who was admiring beautiful tapestries, rugs, and antiques. He had spiky blond hair, a very rare hair color nowadays, eyes as blue as the azure sky, tan skin outlined with thin muscles built for speed, and cute whisker-like scars on each cheek. Azula had to admit, he was a sight to see.
Before anyone could stop her, Tai Lee bounced over to the booth where the customer just finished paying for a pot. She cartwheeled over and landed in front of the boy, understandably startling him.
"Hi! I'm Tai Lee!"
He eyed her strangely as Azula slapped her forehead and Mei sighed. "…Naruto."
"Naruto! That means maelstrom, right?"
He looked startled for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, you're the first to get it right. Everyone else assumes my parents named me after a fishcake."
She giggled at that and looked towards her friends. "What are you doing over there? Come over here!" she demanded before turning back to Naruto.
"Sorry about her." Azula apologized.
"Hey!"
"It's ok. I find it refreshing that someone actually got the meaning of my name right." He said.
"I haven't seen you around here before." Zuko pointed out. He's only ever seen someone with blond hair once, and that was a woman, a prisoner. He'd have remembered someone like this.
"I just arrived this morning with my family friend and teacher. He left me to deal with the stand while he went out to do," he scowled. "Research."
"Research?"
"You don't want to know. I'm embarrassed many times to know the man."
"Oh! They haven't introduced themselves yet, right?" Tai Lee bounced. "The gloomy one over there is Mei, and these two are Zuko and Azula."
Azula and Zuko sighed, waiting for the sputtering and bowing. But, to their surprise, the boy simply blinked.
"Zuko and Azula as in Prince Zuko and Princess Azula?" when he got nods, he simply smiled. "Nice to meet you…what?" he asked at their startled faces.
To Azula, it was both surprising and a nice change. This guy wasn't afraid of her and it made her feel…good?
"It's just…you're not afraid." Zuko spoke, having also been used to the sputtering and frightened expressions when people found out their identities.
Naruto looked confused at this. "Afraid? Do you want me to be afraid?" his voice also held pure confusion.
Azula shook her head immediately. "No, it's just…"
"Different." Zuko said, finishing the sentence she left hanging.
Raising an eyebrow, the blond shrugged.
"Did you perhaps sell to a white bearded man?" Mei spoke up while examining the tapestries.
It was the first time she spoke, surprising Naruto slightly. "Can you be more specific? I've sold to quite a few white bearded men today."
"He's a headmaster."
"Yes, I did. He was my first customer. He was asking why I wasn't in school before he asked if I had a tapestry of the Golden Phoenix of Sozen to sell."
"Wow! It was quite beautiful! Did you make it?" Tai Lee asked.
Chuckling, Naruto shook his head. "No. That one was made by my mom. My sister and she have a…fetish of sorts for making tapestries based off of legends."
"Do you have anything of the Bijuu?" Azula asked. Her teachers seemed to go into legends today at the Headmaster's request. It seemed like Naruto had a slight impact on him. They learned a little about the Bijuu, the banished Great Spirits, and it interested her.
Naruto looked at her surprised. "Not many people know of that legend. But, yeah." He reached below the stand. "Any specifics or one with all nine of them?"
"How about all nine?"
Rising from below, Naruto laid out a large tapestry with the roaring Bijuu on it. The four marveled at it for minutes before Azula locked eyes with the boy. "I'll buy it."
"Really?" Zuko said.
"You do know it's mother and father's anniversary today, right?"
"Father doesn't care about that."
"Yes, but mother makes him be present." Azula countered. "How much?"
"Two hundred."
Nodding, she quickly pulled out the amount. Naruto was surprised for a moment that she would carry that much around before accepting it and wrapping the tapestry up and handing her a thin book.
"What's this?"
"It's just a bonus that comes with each Bijuu tapestry or item. It's just a short telling of their legend, nothing much."
"Can I buy this?" Tai Lee asked, thrusting a necklace into Naruto's face. It was made up of sapphires and emeralds, made especially to fit tightly around a woman's neck.
"Sure," he said, pushing it out of his face. "Same amount as the tapestry."
Reaching into her pocket, Naruto was once again surprised that they carried around that much money with them wherever they go. School for normal kids just let out, so do they bring that amount to school?
"Thank you." Naruto said as he accepted the money.
"We got to go." Zuko said.
"Why?"
"Your parent's anniversary." Mei spoke calmly.
"Oh, that's right! Come on, Zuzu-"
"Don't call me that!"
"-Mei, Tai Lee, see you tomorrow."
The two girls nodded. "Bye, bye, Foxy!" Tai Lee waved as she ran down the street.
"…Foxy?" Naruto muttered.
"There you are!" Ursa exclaimed as she saw her children finally arrive in the dining room. Ozai barely acknowledged the two as they entered. He only peeked towards Azula to acknowledge her existence and completely ignored Zuko. "Where were you?"
"Oh, just out among the town." Azula said.
"Yeah, she and Tai Lee were flirting with boys." Zuko muttered, getting a glare from Azula and a surprised look from Ursa. Azula never showed any interest in boys and if she did they always let her down or got near her because of her crown. Ozai merely opened his ears to the sound around him, curious at who could catch the attention of the Princess.
"Flirting?" Ursa said. "Azula is this true?"
Sighing, the girl shrugged. "In a way…"
"Azula."
"Fine, I kind of was. He wasn't scared of me, he was so hot, and he was kind." A blush formed on her cheeks.
Zuko's eyes widened at the fact that she actually admitted it. Ozai directed his attention towards his family as Ursa's jaw dropped slightly at the fact that the boy wasn't scared of her before her lips twitched up. "Tell me about him."
Azula looked confused at her mother's sudden interest in her, but smiled inwardly at it. "He had golden hair, sky blue eyes, and the cutest whisker-like scars on his cheeks. I think he's from the colonies and is traveling here with a family friend who's also his teacher while selling goods some of which his mother and sister made." She pulled out the wrapped present. "And I got one for you two." She handed it to her mother.
"Who's his teacher?" Ozai suddenly asked, finding himself curious about this blond haired youth.
"We didn't meet him." Zuko spoke up.
"He said he was doing 'research' and told us not to ask what it was saying he was embarrassed to even know the man."
Ursa blushed interpreting what the boy meant and was sure to make sure more guards were placed around female bathhouses. "W-what's the boy's name?"
"Naruto."
"Fishcake?"
Zuko chuckled and Azula shook her head. "He said it means maelstrom. Tai Lee got it right and he showered her with praise."
Ursa giggled at that before opening the present and gasping, her eyes widening before she smiled. She knelt down and gave each of her children a kiss on the forehead and walked over to Ozai and handed him the tapestry. He, too, widened his eyes at the delicate and realistic picture.
"Well, his mother is a wonderful crafter." Ursa said as Ozai handed it back to her.
"Have it put in our room." He said and she nodded before he looked back at his children. "Buy more later, I quite like the design."
His two children seemed surprised but nodded before wandering off.
"Hey Naruto!" came the slurred and drunk voice of Jiraiya as he waddled in with a red face and half-lidded eyes. "How was the-"
Naruto slammed his foot into the man's face sending him sailing down the street. "Damn drunken toad, leaving me to do all the work while he flirts and peeks in on woman."
"Hit him again."
"When he crawls back I will."
Rage: Well, there you go! I don't know the money name for Avatar the Last Airbender so that's why i was just going like one hundred and stuff. If anybody knows then please tell me! Anyways, review please, no flames!
