Sorry for keeping you guys waiting, admittedly I've been quite lazy these days. I'll definitely take the L on that. Sorry if the end does feel slightly rushed, I just wanted to get this out today. Anyway hope you guys enjoy!
A couple of days after their brush with the Shadow's hand. Hen, Chun, Wendy, and Carla were met with a celebratory welcome along with a feast. Of course Hen lapped up all of the attention, while Chun and Wendy were more modest with their achievements. Hen was even feeling so confident that he wanted to take on Aang in a fight. To which the Avatar predictably declined, but Toph gladly offered to take his place.
From then on, things had calmed down and they did their own things. Hen was often training with Gajeel, Elfman, Toph, or at worst, all three at the same time. At the end of each day, he always was battered and bruised but he kept saying he was used to taking the pain.
Chun on the other hand was learning all she could about fire magic, she was being taught by Macao. Her first choice was Natsu, but he said that the best way to get better was to fight and he was excited to fight her ever since he had heard of how she completely destroyed Morthutaka with her bending. Naturally, she didn't want to fight him, so she had been learning about fire magic and particularly how to best shield against it.
However, someone who wasn't in a good mood was Azula, she had been sour ever since she came back from her job.
Zuko and Mira were relieved to find out that both she and Erza were alright. But Azula continued going on solo jobs, straight after that. She was frustrated and kept her distance from everyone. But she could see Chun getting all the admiration for how strong she was, and she didn't even accept their compliments outright. Morthutaka was Azula's monster to kill and Chun took that away from her.
"That's all they do. They take, and take, and take until there is absolutely nothing left!" her toxic thoughts never left her head, and neither did Ursa's as well. "You are right, one of these days. I'll take back what I've lost!" she eyed Chun's gleeful expression while Natsu was rubbing her head. "And I'll start with her!"
Mid-morning the next day, about a week after the Shadow's Hand job. Mira was holding a letter as she stood at the bar. Hen slyly approached the bar, attempting to look cool in front of the bleached haired beauty.
"Sooo, Mira. How is it going?" he asked.
Mira, seemingly oblivious to Hen's intentions simply smiled at him. "I am doing alright thanks." She suddenly remembered something. "That reminds me, before I forget." She handed the letter she was holding to Hen. "A letter came in addressed to Chun, would you mind giving it to her?"
Hen gave a simple nod. "You can count on me, gorgeous." He pointed two finger guns at her, Mira let out a little giggle. He backed away and he backed up into Sokka. "Oops sorry, guy."
"You know she's waaaaay out of your league, right?" Sokka noted.
"Eh, won't stop me!" he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Though I train with her brother so going after her is probably not a good idea."
"Ya think?" Sokka said. "You should let me teach you my ways, I managed to get the best girl in the guild."
Hen folded his arms, he looked very skeptic. "Yeah sure, I highly doubt you were able to get Erza to like you."
Sokka doubled over. "W-wha… I'm talking about Suki!"
"The face paint girl? Isn't she like stronger than you?" Sokka groaned as he watched Hen leave. "But hey, I've got something to do, so we'll continue this later.
After their short exchange he met back at his table where he, Chun, Ty Lee, Lucy and Natsu were sitting. "I'm back and you've got mail!" he stretched his hand towards Chun.
"Oh really? I wonder who it's from? Maybe Kobu already found a guild."
"Who is he again?" Natsu asked.
Lucy groaned and Happy climbed off of Natsu's back and sat on the table. "He was the evil water bender, remember?"
"Oh yeah. I remember him, I think..."
"Could we get on with it?" Lucy asked. "Open it Chun."
She tore the letter open, and after unwrapping it, she found that it wasn't from Kobu, but it was from the Hunter's Tribe. "Um who are the 'Hunter's Tribe'?"
"I think they are a guild that only hunts monsters." Lucy said. "But lets see what it says."
Chun started to read the letter. " 'Dear Chun, you may not know us. But that is ok, we heard through the grapevine that a very strong mage with pink fire had managed to defeat Ravenbird. Or Morthutaka as some people call it. Anyway, that beast took some of our wizards from us. So on behalf of everyone of the Hunter's Tribe, we thank you for what you did. We are in your debt.'"
"Oh wow." Chun breathed. "I…I'm honored but I can't take all the credit."
"Why not?" Natsu asked, "I heard you were awesome!"
Chun blushed in response. "Thanks you guys."
"Wish I could have seen it." Ty Lee said.
Chun held the letter up, "I wish I could thank them in-"
She shrieked as a line of blue fire made a hole in the letter, and through the burning hole Azula was glaring at her.
"HEY!" Natsu angrily growled.
"Yeah, what's your problem this time!?" Ty Lee yelled.
Azula lowered her fingers. "This concerns none of you!" she pointed straight to Chun. "My quarrel is with her!"
Hen got out of his seat. "We we're her friends! You got a problem with her, you have a problem with us."
Chun looked straight to Azula. "No… I-I need to stand up for myself." After she told the others to back off, she took a step forward and gave a serious look to the Fire Lord. "What do you want, Azula?"
"You know what my problem is with you? You took away my prey! That black bird was my job and you destroyed it!"
"I didn't know about that, but even then. We still beat it as a team."
"That's not what that letter said. You're taking credit for what your Fire Lord was supposed to do. That is very punishable." Everyone in the guild was taking notice of this.
"Punishable? I never knew! I'm sor-"
"Shut your mouth! You've been punching above your weight since you joined up with this stupid guild and I will bring you back to reality!"
Chun stepped back in fear but she shook her head. "Look Azula, I don't want to cause trouble."
"You've earned that trouble! So you know what? I challenge you to an Agni Kai!" Most of the guild had no idea what she was talking about. All with a few exceptions. Iroh was about to say something but Zuko beat him to it.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! No one is battling to the death here!" he yelled getting in between them. "You've gone too far this time, Azula."
"If you want to get involved, that's fine Zuzu. I'll fight you too! Besides I wasn't planning to make it to the death, it would be incredibly wasteful to kill someone with so much talent, but lack of ambition."
"I'll do it!" everyone turned to Chun after she made her surprise decision. "I'll do it Azula… but only one condition."
Azula smirked. "Name it!"
"If I win, then you leave Fairy Tail!" she said, there were many that gasped at the stipulation that Chun made. "I'll be doing everyone in the guild a favor!"
Azula smirked. "How bold of you. But what would happen should I win?" Chun didn't think of what Azula would get should the tide favor her. But the Fire Lord was quick to come up with an idea of her own. "I know, if I win. You come with me back to the Fire Nation, and leave this stupid guild!. And your rock brained boyfriend stays."
Chun's eyes grew wide. Lucy immediately stood next to her. "Chun, please don't accept this, isn't worth it!"
She closed her eyes for a second before sending a glare Azula's way. "No, I'll still do it! I'm going to stand up for myself!"
Azula confidently giggled. "Fine, we fight in 2 days. Don't run away like I know you want to." she walked out from the guild. Once she left, Chun maintained her serious demeanor, but her hands were shivering.
"W-what did I just do?" She yelled within her thoughts.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO!?" Hen yelled while he paced around the fountain in the park. "You accepted this!?"
"I-I wasn't thinking at the time... but... I think I can beat her."
"I'm not saying you can't, but… you're going to get hurt..."
Chun had her hands on her hips. "Um... isn't getting hurt part of the job, Hen? You get hurt everyday with your training!"
"Ugh..." he scratched his head. He really wanted to stop her, but he knew it wouldn't be right if he did. She wanted to fight her demon head on, he didn't want to take that from her. "Ok, well is there anything I can do to help out?"
"I've got two days to get ready... I can't use traditional fire bending to beat her." she said. Chun clenched her fists and looked to Hen. "Hen, I need you to fight me, without bending. Teach me all the brawling moves you've got!"
This forced a smile from Hen. "Heh, you know I like to fight. Alright, but I hope you're a fast learner cause you're going to need to learn a lot in two days."
Chun clenched her fists. "Everything depends on it; I'm not going to let her win."
Hen's fists tightened. "Well here I come!" He launched forward, aiming to punch her.
"EEEEK!" she leaped to her side to avoid the punch; however, Hen swung his left fist to her face, she didn't see it coming. He stopped his fist from connecting before shaking his head. "Well you've got a lot to learn."
While Chun was training with Hen. Azula was in a rocky field, a wide area perfect to train before her fight. She was throwing a couple of Fire jabs to rocks that were set up by her earlier. The rocks shattered on impact; she made a couple of fire whips by controlling the flames with her legs.
"Heh, that brat has no idea what she is dealing with. After I teach her a lesson, I will bolster the Fire Nation. Then one day, I will get my vengeance on Natsu!"
"But why?" her mind told her in Ursa's voice. "Why must you do this, Azula? Do you really want to go back to the Fire Nation, back to Ozai?"
"LEAVE ME ALONE! You don't know what I want!"
"But… do you?"
"Yes, I do!" she growled. "Just stop..." she looked down. "Just tell me! What do you want from me!?" the voice suddenly went quiet. "You're in my head when I don't want you to be. Then you disappear when I want answers from you!" Azula looked up, and the voice disappeared again. "ANSWER ME!" she screamed. She angrily generated lightning on her fingers, she shot a long shot of lightning while she screamed out loud with all her might.
After she let out the attack, she fell to her knees, clenched her fist and pounded the ground in anger. "I can't take it anymore!"
Unbeknownst to her, both Zuko and Aang were watching from behind a large boulder. "You're right, Zuko. Something is wrong with her." Aang said. "But what can we do?"
"Well, can you do something with your Avatar powers?" Zuko asked.
"Uh, I'm not sure it works that way. This is more of a mental problem than a spiritual one. She's seeing things that aren't there, I don't think I can fix that."
"I CAN HEAR YOU!" hot lightning struck the boulder they hid behind and it shattered to pieces. Both Aang and Zuko saw Azula panting to herself. "It's rude to talk behind someone's back!"
"Azula, you can't go on like this." Zuko said.
"Don't change the subject, you're all onto me, aren't you!?"
"Calm down, Azula." Aang said. "As hard as it is to believe, we don't want to fight you. Makarov gave you a place in Fairy Tail for a reason, so I'll believe it was for good intentions. But, you're not making him look good right now."
"Tch, why should I care about that old man?"
"Because, he gave you a place in Fairy Tail, and believe me. No one else in the guild – apart from Erza, would have wanted you anywhere near us."
"Does that include you, Avatar?"
"I don't write people off Azula, not unless they have done something completely despicable, and you haven't done that... yet. Makarov is giving you a chance, but he won't be so generous if you force his hand, and neither will I."
Azula scoffed at him. "Is that a threat?"
"I'm not threatening you. Not everyone is out to get you. But you've been given a second chance. I'm asking you not to waste it! Zuko didn't waste his second chance. You don't have to be vengeful and paranoid all the time."
She turned away from both of them, "Leave me, I-I have to think..."
Aang and Zuko looked to each other, and they nodded. "Fine," as they walked and left Azula, Zuko leaned into Aang's ear. "We will still keep an eye on her, right?" he whispered
"Definitely, Erza did ask us to after all." Aang replied.
As the sun was setting, sounds of fighting was heard. Chun was sprinting to Hen and tried to kick his head but he blocked and shot a fist into her stomach. Chun fell to her knees and held her mid-section. She saw Hen's hand stretching down to her. "You shouldn't open yourself up like that, unless you know that you will 100 percent land it."
She accepted his hand and was lifted up to her feet. "Ugh, I'm gonna feel that for a week."
"You gonna be alright? You duel is the day after tomorrow, you know..."
Chun stretched her back. "I'll be fine, but thanks for helping me out, it means a lot you know."
Hen flashed her a cheeky smile. "You know she's not taking you anywhere, not if I have anything to say about it!"
"I'm hoping it doesn't come down to that, but I know I can rely on you, Hen. But this is something I have to do for myself. I am trying to become a different person. The old me, would have hidden behind my, brother... or you. But not anymore! It's time I fought my own battles, and I'll start with Azula!"
"Someone sounds fired up." They saw Natsu and Happy approaching them.
"Natsu!" Chun's smile brightened. "W-what are you doing here."
He smiled. "I'm here to check on ya. I want you to kick Azula's butt!"
Chun giggled. "I'm working on it."
"You better beat her, I don't think I can stand her being in the guild for much longer!" Happy said.
She chuckled to herself. "Hehe, right..."
"What's the matter?" Natsu asked.
"Oh... hehe, n-nothing, nothing! There is just something I want to do, I'll see you guys later." Chun ran into Magnolia, leaving Hen, Natsu and Happy alone.
"Should we follow her?" Happy asked.
"I don't think so." Hen said. "She wants to become strong; I think we don't need to shadow her every move. I think she'll be ok."
"Haha, you're right!" Natsu said, slapping Hen's back.
As the night continued, Chun slowly walked through Magnolia. As she took in the sights, one thing was clear in her mind. "I don't want to leave." She didn't want to ever go back to the Fire Nation, and that only gave her more motivation to fight and beat Azula. As far as she was concerned, she was becoming a new person and starting a new life. "New life, huh. I'd love that..." she saw her reflection in a shop window and noticed her appearance. Everything about it only reminded her of the person she was, her previous hardships, fears and insecurities.
She started to hug herself as she started to remember all of the moments she was put down by those close to and above her. Too scared to fight back, too scared to say anything, being made to do whatever her elders told her to.
"No!" she pointed to her reflection. "You are not that person anymore! You are stronger now!" her hard glare softened as she still was slightly unsure of herself. "What do I do?"
"Careful, keep that up and you might go crazy like Azula." after hearing Mai's voice she turned and saw her and Ty Lee had approach her.
"Hey Chun, how is it going?" the acrobat asked with a sweet smile.
"Hehe, good. But... I'm still having my doubts…" she shamefully gazed to the ground.
"Well you can't have any." Mai sternly said. "When you're fighting Azula, you can't have any doubts. You've got to remained focused, because she's the craftiest person we've ever known. And with her mind the way it is, she could be more dangerous than ever."
Chun nervously scratched the back of her head. "Wow... so no pressure... right?"
"Stop it, Mai! You're scaring her!" Ty Lee said while giving her friend a glare. Mai responded by shrugging her shoulders. "Listen, I could see it in your eyes. You want to change, but not only do you have to change the inside, you've gotta change the outside too!"
Chun looked over he appearance again. "W-well it would be nice to wear something my parents didn't pick out for once."
"Then tomorrow, how about we give you a complete transformation!" Ty Lee yelled. "Mai and I will help every step of the way!"
"Hey I didn't-" she let out a sigh knowing she wouldn't escape from this predicament. "Whatever, I couldn't get out of this if I tried."
Chun gasped before she bowed to the two of them. "Thank you two so much."
"First thing…" Mai started. "You don't bow to us,, we're not in the Fire Nation, remember?"
She was embarrassed and looked to her side. "R-right... gotta remember that."
"Meet us at Lucy's place tomorrow morning! We'll be waiting."
Chun gave a nod. "Yes, you got it!"
Azula was up early that next morning. Her training regimen started with her balancing her body on the ceiling of Fairy Hills, on her right hand. But once again she bombarded with the voices in her own head. She tried her best to block them out because talking to them wasn't going to make them go away. At least that was her theory.
"Azula?"
"I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU ALRIGHT!" she looked to the ground to realize that it was Erza talking to her from the ground. "Oh... it's you again..." she continued balancing as she spoke to Erza. "Do you want something? Because I am in the middle of something."
"Do you want to take a walk with me?"
"Why?"
"I just want us to talk, just the two of us, without anyone else around us."
Azula swung onto her feet before responding. "If it was anyone else, I would have warned them off. But right now, you're really the only one I can trust... and Zuko I guess..." she leaped down from the ceiling to the ground, using her fire to cushion her fall. "Alright, lead the way - 'Titania'."
Erza chuckled. "Of course - 'Fire Lord'."
Their playful banter got a chuckle out from Azula, but she quickly stopped herself before she could get lost in the moment. "What is wrong with me?"
"How much time do you have?Because I can name plenty of things." her younger-self said within her mind.
"Quiet you! I need to get all of you out of my head!"
...
They both walked by the outskirts of Magnolia, close to the forests. They followed a dirt path that was surrounded by grass. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"I… wanted to talk to you about Ursa."
Azula sighed. "This again… I don't know what else to tell you. Mother critiqued everything I did, always stood up for Zuko, and was scared of my power. Then she left… but I'm sure you know the story by now."
"I do, but I'm sure she didn't mean any ill-intent towards you. From what Zuko told me, she is a very kind-hearted woman. Its a shame she wasn't around to help raise the both of you."
"You're over selling her. Of course she would have a bleeding heart for the weak, hence why she liked Zuko over me." Azula replied with a scoff.
"Ursa - your mother. She must have greatly missed both you and Zuko. It must have caused her great pain to leave the both of you in the hands of scum like Ozai."
"Hey!" Azula angrily got in Erza's face. "Don't talk about my father that way!"
"You would still defend him after everything he has done?"
"Oh here we go with the moral compass speech again! Father did what he did to Zuko because he spoke when he wasn't supposed to. As far as I am concerned he got what he deserved. And as for burning the Earth Kingdom to the ground, that was my idea!"
"How can someone so young… be so callous and heartless?"
"If you haven't kept up, it runs in the family. I'm sure you know all about how big bad Sozin killed all the Airbenders. We've all done terrible things, but it is in the name of protecting the sanctity and power of the Fire Nation."
"That includes writing off your own family?!"
"As you can see we're not as tightly-knit as we should be. My mother hated me, Zuko was weak and father… didn't want me to rule by his side…" she said, lowering the tone of her voice as she brought up her final point.
"Azula, why can't you see that your mother wanted the best for you? She reprimanded you sure, but that is because she didn't want you to become as callous as your previous Fire Lords."
The Fire Lord looked down, protectively held her arms and chuckled to herself. "What do you want me to do Erza?" she looked at the scarlet mage and there were small red cracks in her eyes. "Should I admit that my father is a 'mean old man'?" she said in a mocking baby voice. "Or do you want me to apologize for everything that I've done and said?"
"No, none of those things. I want you to look inside yourself and tell me what you want. Forget about Ozai, forget about Zuko, forget about Ursa. Just focus on you. What does Azula want?"
"W-what do I want?" she repeated, she had her hand on the back of her head in frustration. "I-I…" she really looked to contemplate giving an honest answer to Erza, the problem was she didn't know what her answer was. She'd only look like more of a charity case if she told Erza: 'I don't know what I want.'. "I-I…" she turned away from Erza. "I have an Agni-Kai to prepare for, so if you don't mind…" she walked away but Erza didn't follow her. Azula already had a lot on her mind and Erza didn't want to add more stress onto her.
As for Chun, she did meet up at Lucy's place the next morning and was met with the sight of Lucy and Ty Lee waiting for her.
"Hey!" Ty Lee cheerily waved to her.
"Lucy, Ty Lee! Hey!" Chun greeted, but she noticed that there was one less person with them. "Where is Mai?"
"She is waiting inside." Lucy answered. "So I heard you want a makeover?"
"N-nothing drastic!" she held her hands up after feeling embarrassed. "I just don't want to look at myself and be reminded of the past."
"I think we should start with your hair." Ty Lee suggested. "A good hair style change might be a great place to start."
"Um, but its already short, not much you could do with it at this point."
Lucy winked at her. "That's where you're wrong." after following Lucy back into her apartment, they found Mai lying on Lucy's bed. The blonde then took out one of her gold keys and it shone in the light. "Gate of the Great Crab, I open thee! Cancer!"
One of Lucy's Zodiac spirits had appeared out of the magic circle Lucy conjured. Cancer appeared in his long blue dress shirt and black pants while sporting his olive tinted shades. He snipped his scissors as he held himself in a pose.
"Whoa, so cool!" Chun said, remembering Lucy's magic.
"The novelty wears off after a while." Mai dryly said as she sat up on Lucy's bed.
"Which one of you wants me to work my magic? -ebi"
"Um… what does 'ebi' mean?" Chun asked.
"He's saying shrimp at the end of his sentences." Lucy said while a sweatdrop fell from her face.
"Shrimp? But isn't he a crab?"
"Its a spirit, Chun. Nothing they do make a whole lot of sense." Mai said.
"Hehe, r-right… but it is me who wants a hairstyle change." Chun said getting Cancer's attention.
He then eyed Chun and the corner of his shades shone. "Consider it done. -ebi"
Chun was sitting on a chair in front of Lucy's mirror and Cancer got to work. He was snipping away at her hair, black locks of hair were falling to the ground as he cut away. He looked extremely focused as he worked on Chun's hair. The girl simply had her eyes closed hoping it wouldn't look too bad.
After one more snip of his scissors, he was satisfied and he stepped back. "All done. -ebi"
While Chun's eyes were closed and she heard gasping from behind her, mostly from Lucy and Ty Lee. "Oh, it's not bad is it?" she asked. She then slowly opened her eyes. "I knew my hair was too short to work wi-" She shared the girl's shock as when she eyed her hair, she almost didn't recognize herself.
Her once neat short hair was styled to be more spiky and choppier. She had more prominent bangs as the ones on her right side fell to below her chin while the bangs on her left fell to her cheek. Her white highlights were on the inner edges of her left bangs. One spike of her hair hung loose from the right side and sat near the middle of her forehead. Her hair got spikier near the bottom and the back. Another defining feature was the cowlick on top of her head that curved to her right.
"Is it to your liking? -ebi"
She gently pulled on the strands of hair and felt that it was her hair. "Like it? I love it!" she turned to Cancer and smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Cancer."
"Wow, I wouldn't have recognized you at first glance." Ty Lee said.
Mai lightly smiled while giving Chun a 'thumbs-up'. "Great job, Cancer!" Lucy complimented. She noticed Chun kept eyeing herself in the mirror. "You like it that much?"
"Of course, I look less like the girl I want to be stronger than. But… It's not enough." her tone turned serious. "I need some clothes to match."
Lucy and Ty Lee let out a collective squeal of delight. They both locked their hands and excitedly looked at each other. "We get to go clothes SHOPPING!"
A bead of sweat fell down the side of Chun's face and she moved towards Mai. "Uh Mai, should I be worried?"
"I would be if I were you." A grin then grew on her face. "Good thing I'm not you."
Suddenly her wrists were grabbed and both Ty Lee and Lucy dragged her out of the apartment. "HEEEEELP!" Chun comically screamed.
This left Mai in the room with Cancer and he snipped his scissors. "Would you like a snip? -ebi."
"No thanks, I'm good." Mai said.
Azula arrived back at the guild, hopefully to find another job that could keep her busy. If she stuck around to train, no doubt Erza or someone else would want to bother her. She made a bee-line straight for the request board, ignoring all the other looks that Fairy Tail mages were giving her.
"Are you just going to let them stare at you like that?" Young-Azula yelled in her mind.
This caused Azula to stop walking. "Paint a picture why don't you, it will last longer!" she nearly tripped to the ground. She looked down to realize she nearly tripped over Happy. "The cat?" she angrily breathed. She lifted Happy by the head and he was introduced to her comically furious face. "I believe you owe me an apology… furball."
Happy was sweating profusely. "AAHHH! I'M SORRY!" he panicked. "Please don't hurt me!"
"I won't hurt you, if you apologize properly! I am royalty for Agni's sake." Happy tried to nod as Azula held his head.
"Y-yes… I'm sorry… F-Fire Lord Azula…" Happy cried.
Azula's face softened. "That's more like it. Finally some respect arou-" A fiery fist had sent her flying across the guild, while causing her to drop Happy at the same time.
"Natsu!" Happy gleefully cheered.
"You ain't Fire Lord of nothin' you snake!" Natsu angrily said.
Azula got up and held her left cheek which had a mark on it. "Apparently… you're too dumb to understand what a double negative is."
"I'll 'Double Negative' your face!"
"That doesn't make sense you salmon-haired clod!"
"You know what does make sense, me kicking your ass, again!"
Azula had electricity dance around her hands. "Is that so." she pointed to the doors of the guild. "WAIT! Is that a dragon?" she said with an obvious, fake gasp, yet it was enough for Natsu to believe.
"Huh!? WHERE!?" a bolt of lightning had struck Natsu in the chest after he turned, expecting to see said dragon.
"Natsu!" Gray yelled with concern. "That's it!" he had ice shards surrounding him as a pale blue seal appeared beneath his feet. "I'm going to put you in your place, you brat!"
"Do your worst peasant!"
But before Gray could do anything, he was swatted back by Natsu. "Back off Gray, Azula is mine!"
As per usual they butted their heads together. "You already fought her, flame brain!" Gray yelled.
"SO?!" while they were distracted by their own quarrel. Azula drop kicked the pair of them in their faces.
"I figured guys would fight over me but… this isn't what I had in mind." Azula quipped as she stood over the top of them.
"Shut up!" both Natsu and Gray said struggling to get her feet off their faces.
Azula was suddenly thrown by a large whip of water. "Who would be insane enough to fight over you?!" Katara said as she had been revealed to have used the water whips on Azula.
"You'd be surprised. Given I hold so much power in the Fire Nation, any man would be lucky to have me."
Most of the girls had annoyed looks on their faces. Katara's eyebrows flattened as she gave Azula a tired look. "Wow, you're just full of it aren't you?"
Azula then made blue fire whips fall from her closed hands. "Do your worst, its good practise before my Agni-Kai tomorrow."
Suki sat at the bar while Mira happily gave her a drink. "Mira… be honest with me. Do you really think Azula has it in her to change?"
"I believe, everyone has the capability to change" Mira answered. "Perhaps the Master and Erza see something that the rest of us don't. But you saw Zuko change, right?"
"I guess, but Zuko is more stable… Azula on the other hand…"
Azula and Katara's elemental whips clashed again as they were closer to each other. "When this is all over, you will be bowing to me."
"You and what army? We took care of them all remember!?" Katara retorted.
Suki shook her head after gesturing to the two. "See what I mean? But its starting to feel… less and less weird having Azula around now. And she hasn't tried to kill us in our sleep yet, maybe she is changing… but its very obvious that she is fighting against it."
Both Katara and Azula were speeding towards each other, and right before they could almost literally clash heads -
"ENOUGH!" Makarov appeared out of nowhere, in between the two girls. The guild master had instantly stopped their attacks as both girls crashed head first into two large bright yellow seals appearing at his sides. After they were knocked down he took on a calm demeanor. "Azula you shouldn't be picking fights with everyone, even if they provoke you." Makarov said before turning to Katara. "Katara, you should be more welcoming to new members, even if they have wronged you."
"But-"
"But-"
Both girls tried to argue, but Makarov's eyes were glowing yellow as he turned back to them.
They both turned white and easily complied with Makarov's wishes. "Yes…" Makarov then walked to the front door probably to sort out some business elsewhere
"I'll be watching you…" Katara whispered while still glaring at Azula.
"You better hope I lose my Agni-Kai tomorrow."
"Believe me, I'm counting on it."
Lucy and Ty Lee were having a lot of fun shopping with Chun, though this wasn't the case for the girl they were shopping for. She was dressed up in a myriad of outfits, pretty much wearing everything that Lucy and Ty Lee picked out.
The first outfit was a red dress with a short skirt along with heeled boots. "Um… I can barely move in these! GAH!" she lost her balance and fell to ground.
"Hmm, you're right." Ty Lee said, "Not really suited for fighting."
"Next!" Lucy said.
…
She was then dressed in a dark red belly shirt with tight black shorts, there was a red loincloth that was near to the ground in length. She had white bandages on her wrists and on her feet. Her short hair was tied in a spiky ponytail.
"Now how about this?" Lucy asked, after picking out the outfit. "Perfect for fighting."
"Hmm." Ty Lee thought hard about the outfit.
"Well it's definitely better than the last one!" Chun said, but after taking a few steps she tripped over her loincloth and like with the heeled outfit, she fell to the ground. "That's going to be a problem…" she said as the ground muffled her voice.
Ty Lee crossed her wrists in an 'X' "Next!" Lucy pouted in response.
…
The next outfit had Chun dressed in a maid's outfit, this had both Lucy and Ty Lee gushing over her. "You're joking right?"
"But you're sooo cute!" Lucy said.
"I could own you as my doll forever!" Ty Lee gushed as she lifted Chun off her feet to hug her.
"NEXT!" the smaller girl screamed.
…
Chun was then dressed in an outfit that consisted of her chest being covered in bandages, with white baggy pants covering her legs. She had an open black vest and a white scarf covering her neck.
"You look like… Natsu…" Both girls noticed.
"So?" Chun asked, not seeing a problem.
"Next!" Lucy and Ty Lee said, A large bead of sweat formed to the side of her face.
…
Lucy and Ty Lee continued looking for any combination of outfits that would fit Chun. "Who knew she'd be so hard to shop for?" Ty Lee said, "But this is fun right?"
"Yes, I feel like a kid again!" Lucy beamed as she picked up a bunny outfit. "You think she will like this?"
"Only one way to find out. Chun!" she yelled out for her but she completely disappeared. "Huh, I think we lost her."
"What?"
…
Chun ran out of the store in her old outfit and hid near an alleyway. She saw both Lucy and Ty Lee walking out of the store. "Chun, where did you go?" Lucy called.
"We found an outfit for you!" Ty Lee said.
As they walked through the sidewalk, she ran into Mai who was on the other side for the walkway. "So, how did it go?"
"Um… their fashion tastes were a little too much for me."
"Yeah, I can see that happening."
"So um… maybe you could help?"
Mai gave it some thought. "Maybe getting something from the same place I found my outfits would work better for you."
"Ok, lead the way."
…
After walking for a couple minutes in uncomfortable silence, they entered the store and the bell that the door hit, signaled their arrival. "Ah welcome!" they saw an old man with a stubby beard, was bald and wore green rimmed goggles over his eyes. The lenses of the goggles looked like they could zoom with precise measurements.
"Chun, this is Matteo. He is the one who fashioned my new outfit."
"Ah, I remember you. You came in here with that other little youngster, a lot more cheery than you." Mai only folded her arms. "So what brings you here?"
"She needs a new outfit, oh and it needs to pretty durable like mine, and any chance you can make it fireproof?" Matteo nodded and looked down to Chun.
"Stretch your arms out, dear."
"M-me? Uh… why?" she hesitantly asked.
The old man let out a hearty chuckle. "So I can take your measurements, it be pointless to make something that is too big or small for ya."
"Oh, got it!"
A few measurements with his tape measure later, he managed to have the size of Chun's clothing down. "Heh heh, alright young-un, come with me. I'll fashion you great looking outfit, of course you get final say."
"Oh, ok!" he followed her to the back of the store where they would both work on the outfit.
…
Nearly two hours later. Mai sat on one of the waiting chair and was tossing one of her blades with a bored expression on her face. The front door of the store opened and Lucy with Ty Lee entered the store. "Mai, thank goodness, have you see Chun? She suddenly went missing!" Lucy said with a panicked expression.
"Don't worry, she's here. I took her to this place because the two of you were treating her like your own personal doll."
"Hey! That wasn't very nice!" Ty Lee said. "We were making progress."
"Um… hey." they all saw Chun standing in front of the old man after they both exited from the back. Her new outfit was definitely a change from her old one.
She wore a Chinese styled, purplish-white, short sleeved top with gold trims on the sleeves, the left sleeve was cut so her bright purple Fairy Tail marking could be seen. The top also covered her neck which had gold trims on the edges, there was an opening on the back that was shaped like an upside-down triangle and exposed her shoulder blades. A bright purple fabric covered her stomach and it tied into a small, neat bow at the back. Her bottoms were covered by black baggy pants that formed a gradient from dark purple to black going down below her knees which was where the pants stopped, there were small beads or green, purple and blue that were tied to the left side of her pants with string. Her hands, going from her wrists to most her forearms were covered in black combat tape. From where her feet began to where to below her knees was also covered in the same black tape.
"So what do you think?" Matteo asked. "As per your request, the outfit can handle fire attacks, and the black tape around her wrists and feet are well protected from fire."
Ty Lee and Lucy had their mouths open agape. "Oh no, it looks bad on me, right?" Chun nervously asked.
"Look in the mirror." Lucy said with a smile.
Chun had yet to see how it actually looked on her and when she saw her reflection, she had gasped to herself. She almost looked like a new person when she eyed her reflection, the combination of her new hair style and clothing complimented each other. "Wow… I… I really like it."
"And so do we!" Ty Lee said. "You look awesome, much better than those old Fire Nation clothes."
Mai got up to her feet. "Alright, Matteo, how much do I owe you?"
Chun looked up at Mai. "What, no! I can pay for it myself. You three have already done so much for me."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Mai said. "I'll be happy to pay for it."
"You don't look very happy…"
"I don't smile a lot, if you can't tell."
"That's true!" Ty Lee said.
After paying for the outfit, they left the store and as Lucy and Ty Lee took the lead, Mai had tapped Chun on the shoulder. "Hey, for what it's worth. I'm rooting for you to kick Azula's butt tomorrow." as she said this, she gave Chun a small, but genuine smile.
"I will!" Chun said with new found confidence. "I won't let your gift go to waste!"
"Ugh, don't be so dramatic."
"What are you two talking about?" Ty Lee asked as she approached them.
"Chun is being dramatic as usual." Mai said. "Well since you're strong now, I suppose you can walk Lucy back to her place."
Chun nodded. "Right, I will. Thanks again you two."
Mai kept her small smile. "Don't mention it." she gave Chun a single wave while Ty Lee waved both her arms as they left.
"BYEEE CHUN!"
It was just Lucy and Chun and they both headed to her place. "Hey, Lucy?"
"Yep? What's up?"
"I-I just wanted to properly thank you. Ever since that tower… you didn't give up on me… even when we were enemies. You still reached out." she then blushed and slightly looked away. "You even noticed me during the Fantasia Festival…"
"Come here." Lucy extended her arms for a hug, Chun ran into Lucy's arms and they closed around her. "You're like the little sister I never had! I'll always keep you safe!"
"Thank you so much…" They both let go of each other. "Well, I have to go find Hen, hopefully get some last minute training in."
"I'll be cheering for you!"
Chun closed her eyes and gave Lucy a toothy smile. "I know you will."
The day was coming to an end as the sun hung on the edge of the horizon. Azula was training by herself, she had taken off the armor that she usually wore. She was performing techniques with her firebending. Throwing short but powerful jabs of fire, she then made two thin disks of fire and threw them to two long rock protrusions, they were cut clean in half by the fire disks.
"Hah, perfect. That twerp won't know what hit her."Young-Azula said with a satisfied tone as her red, ghastly form stood in front of her.
"Hey, could you and your other ghost friend not interrupt me during my Agni-Kai. I'll need all the concentration I can muster."
"With our skills, we should put her away in no time at all. Plus, she lacks the killer instinct. She'll hold back, then we can score an easy win against that wannabe."
Azula chuckled to herself. "Heh, I like that. And once I beat her, I will mould her into the brilliant Firebending master she was destined to be."
"Imagine it, Azula. You as the sole Fire Lord, with her as your lead general. The Fire Nation will be led into a whole new era of greatness. Both over our world and this one!"
"You're not so bad to talk to."
"Why would I be? We are the same person after all!"
"The same person…" she muttered, Azula then looked at her gold Fairy Tail marking on her right hand.
"HEY, STOP! I know where those thoughts are going! You're letting those peasants get into your head again. Don't forget, you have a legacy to build. Fairy Tail will do nothing but get in the way!"
"Oh course I know that! But still, after all I did, why would that master see fit to let me join? Heck I came close to killing the Avatar, and still."
"Old people tend to grow more naive in their old age, just look at Uncle, he was once the feared Dragon of the West, now all he does is sip on tea and play board games! He let his heart weaken him! It's honestly pathetic. Think with your head Azula, not your heart, remember that!"
"Yes! How could I have been so foolish? This mark means nothing to me!"
"Stop!" Azula saw the blue ghostly apparition of Ursa standing behind her.
"Oh great, this dope!" Young-Azula mocked.
"Azula, is this really what you want to be remembered for? Those kind people are giving you a second chance. Are you really just going to disappoint them like that?"
Azula turned to her and tried to put on a serious face. "I have no serious desire to change, my destiny is to lead the Fire Nation. What do you think all this effort was for?!"
"But there is better waiting for you… if you would just swallow your pride-"
"PRIDE IS ALL I HAVE LEFT!" Azula yelled. "I already lost badly to Natsu, I am clearly not the feared person I used to be. All I have is my pride, without that…" she looked down with a sad expression. "What do I have left…?"
"Erza wants to help you, Zuko wants to help you, and even the Avatar hopes you will change. You may think you are alone Azula, but you aren't. There are people out there that care for you, even more than Ozai. Be honest with yourself, do you really want to fight for that man? Do you really want to become like him?!"
Azula fell to her knees and held her head. "I don't know anymore…!"
"Azula, you have a chance to be free. To live for yourself, and not for Ozai. Your wishes should come first, not the wishes of him. What do you want Azula?"
Young-Azula appeared next to Ursa. "Yeah, tell us already!?"
"What do you want!?"
"STOP IT!" Azula yelled as tears were lining her cheeks. "You really want to know what I want!?" she angrily asked. "I don't want to be alone with just you two anymore…"
While Azula had her episode, a certain crimson haired wizard had watched her, a small smile formed on her face while she was hidden behind a boulder.
At the same time, Chun and Hen were engaged in battle. Hen was tossing balls of lava to simulate fire. Chun was doing a good job of avoiding them, as she ran closer to Hen.
The Earthbender smirked. "Heh, alright, come at me!" Chun went for a punch but Hen easily blocked it by grabbing her fist. "Not close enough."
"This close enough." she kicked him in the shin, forcing him to let go of Chun's fist. She then turned fast and landed a spinning back-fist on Hen's face, sending him back, slightly dazed. She then conjured a thick flame whip with her foot, it was targeted to land on top of him. The Earthbender made a dome that blocked the fire.
"Wow, you almost got me there." he said from inside the dome but he was shocked when it was suddenly blown open with a tremendous purple explosion. Out of the hole he saw Chun with a sparking orb of purple fire the size of a marble.
"You were saying." she tossed it towards Hen, to which he quickly made a rock pillar to block it. The resulting explosion had sent him back slightly. When the dust cleared he could hear electricity being generated and when it cleared he could see electricity seamlessly dancing around her arms. She pointed both her two fingered finger-guns to Hen which released the lightning to Hen.
"YIPE!" he erected a massive earth pillar to defend himself but it only blew apart the pillar which sent him back sliding.
"Oh my gosh!" Chun said with a panicked tone. She ran right next to Hen, knelt down to him and held up his head. "Oh no… please don't be…"
Hen had his eyes closed and he playfully stuck out his tongue. "Hehe, you got me!" he said while keeping one eye close, giving her the impression that he winked at her.
Chun's expression was only one of annoyance. "Don't do that…" she haphazardly dropped his head to the ground.
"Ow!" they both got back up and Hen was laughing. "But your firebending's gotten stronger lately." he said. "Since we actually joined Fairy Tail, funnily enough."
The young firebender eyed her hands. "Whoa… normally I wouldn't have believed you but right now, I definitely can. Hen, can I tell you something?"
"I'm not gonna say no." he said while smirking.
"The day I discovered my firebending, I was so excited, so was my family. Then one day they turned bright purple, my brother and I were even happier. But my parents, they were happy for sure, but they had to go and tell the Royal Family about it."
"Why would they need to know…"
"You see Hen, its very rare to have someone using flames that aren't orange in colour. Its believed that fire of different colour belong only to very powerful firebenders. That's why Azula's is blue. Our flames are normally hotter than regular fire. It was because of this that my whole life was then dedicated to perfecting my craft, apparently my parents gained power within the Fire Nation since they were the parents of a 'firebending prodigy'. They got seats at the royal table so to speak, so long as I would be an asset to the Fire Nation."
"Oh man, that's awful."
"But I had my brother, he was always there for me and always made sure we had our fun moments." she then clenched her right fist. "Then they used him as a bargaining chip, all so I would dedicate my time to them…"
"Chun…"
"I'm angry at them for sure…" she then let out a sigh. "But I won't let that anger drive me… that's only what they would want." she playfully scratched her head. "What was my point? Right, maybe my flames are stronger because… well I have something I'm actually happy with fighting for, for once. That's my freedom, and well the freedom of my brother. Maybe that's why my flames are stronger."
"Well whatever it is, I'm liking the 'new you'." Hen complimented. "And your new look isn't too bad either!"
"Heh, thanks. But… about Azula…"
"What about her? You're going to pound her into the ground!"
Chun had a confident smile on her face. "Yeah you bet!" they both hi-fived each other before leaving their training ground together.
The next day, the location for the Agni-Kai was selected. It would be at dry, rocky landscape, far away from any on-lookers and no one from Magnolia would be in danger.
Strangely enough, there were wooden stands that were made for the occasion. And there was big sign that read. 'Fairy Tail's First Ever Agni-Kai!'
Everyone from the guild was piling into the seats. "Agni-Kai's usually have an audience but this isn't what I had in mind!" Azula said in seething anger. Mira and Erza stood beside her.
"HEY!" they heard Cana's voice and she had her own stand as she was taking bets. "Place your bets, who's the best Firebender of Fairy Tail?!"
"Excuse me!?" Azula marched over to the stand where she faced a confident Cana. "You're making a wager out of this!? This is an Agni-Kai, not a mindless spectacle for you peasants to bet on!"
Happy was sat on the stand and held up a fish. "Can I bet my fish?"
"Oh if father saw this…" Azula groaned and Erza was patting her back. She saw Mai and Ty Lee in the betting line as well. "Ty Lee, Mai? You too?"
"Think of it as… me making some money at your expense. I'm betting on you to lose." Mai replied.
"Y-yeah! Same here!" Ty Lee said.
Toph was at the front of the line and she put a huge amount of coins on Cana's counter. "Now put it all on Sparky Junior." she said referring to Chun.
"You're betting on Chun?" Sokka asked. "Even after knowing how strong Azula is?!"
"Call it a gut feeling."
"Well my head is smarter than your gut." he turned to Cana. "As much as hate to see her win, I'm betting on Azula."
"Same here." Gajeel said stepping to them. "Even though the royal pain lost to flame breath, I don't see her losing to that tiny girl. She's even tinier than that Levy girl, gihi."
Levy angrily puffed her cheeks after hearing that comment, she stood next to Lucy who was patting her back.
Azula then smirked. "Fine, I'll take this bet, just to show that I'm serious." she took out the Fire Lord's headdress that would normally go on the topknot of the reigning Fire Lord. "I'll bet this! If I lose to that whelp, then I don't deserve the title of Fire Lord!"
Cana's eyes grew as she took a look at the object. "No take-backs Azula. If you lose, it's gone."
"A whole lot is riding on me winning this, so yes I'd say its a risk I am willing to take. Besides a lot of you will be very disappointed when I bring down that brat."
As everyone was taking their seats, and making their bets. Chun and Hen arrived at the location. "Wow Fairy Tail sure likes to put on a show." Hen commented.
"Heh, that's for sure." Chun said with a chuckle.
"Well, I heard that Cana is betting on who would win, and you know who my lucky fighter is." Hen said.
Chun rolled her eyes. "Wow, then you'll be really sad when I beat Azula then?" she sarcastically said. "Also, you're betting on me, you don't see anything wrong with that? What if I take a dive?"
"Please don't, otherwise I'd have to fight Azula off from taking you. But I know it won't come down to that. You've got this!"
They both bumped their wrists. "I know, but if you're betting. Then I get half!"
"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "Ugh, why is this 'new you' so sassy? Fine… but don't worry. This win is basically on a silver platter."
Chun nodded and Hen left her alone. "Right, Chun you've got this. It won't be easy… but standing up for yourself never is."
The large circular ring had concrete edges and the spectator stands circled around it. Azula stood in the middle of it and she could see the floating Lacrima cameras recording it. "Ugh, I suppose my victory must be recorded in this world's history." She noticed Chun walking onto the opposite side of the ring with a serious look on her face. "Is that… is that even the same person. She looks so different…" she shook her head. "No, focus. She is still the same scared brat underneath."
"Azula…" Chun firmly said with little emotion.
"That's Fire Lord Azula to you, and what's with those ridiculous clothes. You look like you belong in a circus with that get up. I suppose we'll have to find appropriate clothing for you when we return to the Fire Nation."
"Azula… we don't have to do this." Chun said. "We can still talk about this."
Azula threw off her armor. "No! This isn't the time for talking! This will be a true duel between two Firebending prodigies! The future of the Fire Nation could rest on the outcome of this battle."
"You're being dramatic, Azula! I don't want to be a prodigy! I just want to be me. I've never had true freedom in the Fire Nation. So that's what I am fighting for, my freedom, and the freedom of others just like me."
"Freedom? Really? Think about it Chun. We can scrap this farce of an Fairy Tail Agni-Kai and you can come with me. Under my wing, you will be a general in no time."
Chun's lips were quivering in rising anger. "YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT!" she yelled as bright purple flames formed in her mouth. "I don't want to be in the military or anything like that! If my Firebending is a gift? Then I will use it to help people, not to destroy and conquer! We should be using our gifts to make the world a better place, not to terrorize people."
"Oh shut up! You heroic rhetoric is making me sick!"
Chun let out a sigh. "Fine, I suppose I'll have to finish what Natsu started… and beat some common sense into you!" she roared.
"Tch, so that explains the new attitude! Then I will beat some respect into you! You forget you are speaking to your Fire Lord!"
Zuko had walked in between the two girls. "Ok, here are the rules, the fight goes on until one of you can't fight anymore, or until one of you gives up. And above all this isn't a fight to the death, Azula." Zuko said glancing at his younger sister.
"I know, I know. Get on with it, Zuzu."
"Are you both ready?" they both wordlessly nodded at the same time. "Then, begin!"
Zuko quickly left the ring. They both got into their stances and slowly circled the ring while not taking their eyes off their opponent.
"Waiting patiently, not bad brat, I suppose you would make a good general." Azula said.
"You compliments mean little to me, oh and no thanks… I am fine right where I am, fighting with my real family."
"Tch, you forget your roots, child! Well, hurry up. You make the first move."
Chun threw herself forward with her bright purple fire falling from her hand. As she got close, Azula threw a wall of fire in front of the younger girl. Her momentum was stunted and Azula kicked a fireball through the wall of flames which made contact with Chun, throwing her back. "Is that your best!?"
After getting to her feet, she saw bright blue comet flames falling down to her. Chun had managed to block them by swinging her arms, letting out bright purple arcs to block them. She watched Azula speeding to her and she aimed her hands to the ground and fired streams of her fire to the ground to send her flying up into the air.
Azula chuckled as she quickly aimed two fingers up into the air and shot a sharp stream of fire to Chun. While she managed to block by using her own flames, she was sent to the ground again. But before she could get up Azula had cartwheeled and this sent a fast wave of fire to Chun. It was too late to dodge so she crossed her wrists and she was thrown back by the fire.
"Hmph! I thought you were serious. I suppose I'll just have to mould you into shape after I take you back home."
While Chun was struggling to her feet, Azula fired heavy fire jabs at Chun. She used a circular motion with her own fire to try to block the attacks but she was still taking damage.
One more blast of fire sent Chun onto her back.
"This could be bad." Mai said while Ty Lee, Lucy, Happy and Aang sat by them. "Chun hasn't gotten in any offense so far, and Azula is not giving her room."
"What's happening? I thought she would beat Azula hands down." Ty Lee said.
"I'm scared…" Happy said.
"Its because she's scared." Aang said. "Sure she can have a new look and try to change, but if she's always been scared of Azula, then it will be hard for her to get over it."
Chun was on one knee and stared at Azula who was coming towards her. She eyed her left hand which was shaking. "But why!? I thought I had changed, I was so ready for this! Why!?"
"What's the matter, you look like you're going to cry. Well suck it up, I won't tolerate weakness from my subjects!" Azula had made a sharp buzzsaw of blue fire and threw it at Chun. She watched it get closer and closer.
"NO!" she screamed in her mind. "I'm still scared of her… but… if I let that stop me…" she remembered the encouragement that Fairy Tail gave her. The hope that they had rekindled in her, and it was those same people that were watching her. She made purple blades of fire above her wrists and flung them forward. The blades cut through Azula's fire buzzsaw and both flames fizzled each other out.
"I'll admit it. I am still afraid of you. But do you know what scares me more? Having my happiness ripped away from me! And that's what you're trying to do right now!"
"Talk is cheap, as far as I see it. You're the one losing, and I'll be sure to put you in you place. But trust me, you will be happier back home. I can give you anything you want."
"I already have everything I could want. And like I said, I might still be scared of you… I'm not even so sure if I can beat you. But I'm not going to go down without a fight!" she saw Azula firing heavy fire jabs again, but this time she responded by firing fireballs of her own to block. All the while, she was closing the distance between the two. She then front flipped and made an explosion of light purple flames which had forced Azula to step back.
She was open and a stream of purple fire sped to her. Azula then swiped her arm upwards to push the flames away, but she saw Chun running towards her. Azula narrowly ducked under a spin kick, she then palmed Chun in stomach.
Chun was winded and wasn't prepared to block a sharp flame. She held her arms up to block the attack and she was thrown and slid on her back.
"Stay down!" Azula sternly said. "Just accept that I am superior to you!"
The younger girl slowly stood up, she gave a Azula a glare. "I won't give up."
"I suppose then I'll drag you back home in a stretcher!" she Azula flung a huge stream of fire. Chun did the same with her fire and both flames had collided, evening each other out. They both stopped their attacks, Azula once again Chun saw coming towards her, so Azula flung a horizontal arc to her. Chun rolled underneath, but she saw a sharp, blue, vertical arc of fire that was grinding the dirt towards her. So she swung her arms and made fire blades that cut through them.
She was taking breaths and stepped back. Before long she heard someone else calling out to her. "HEY!" she saw Natsu on his feet in the stands. "Quit holding back! Don't be afraid of hurting her, she ain't afraid of hurting you!"
Azula smirked. "That's right, girl. Stop holding back, unless you've hit the peak of your capabilities."
Lightning was sparking around Chun's hands. She circled her arms while the lightning spread to her arms. She had a furious look on her face and fired the lightning forward. As Azula was going to avoid it, the lightning hit the ground in front of her, forcing dust into the air.
The dust quickly cleared and Azula heard Chun footsteps closing in. But she was closer than expected and she felt a hot fist to her face. She rolled back, rubbed her cheek and saw Chun's flames burn on her right hand. The flames faded and the black tape that covered her arm wasn't burning. Chun was glaring right at Azula, her pupils had shrunk and she made a curtain of fire speed to Azula.
The Fire Lord leaped out of the way but wasn't allowed to recover for long because Chun had fire whips on her hands and swung them to Azula. The Fire Lord had had made blue walls of fire at her sides to block the whips. Chun took a deep breath, spun around and threw her fists forward, firing a charged stream of fire at Azula.
Deciding against blocking it, Azula threw her arms back and used her jet propulsion flames from her fists to assist her in dodging the attack while her feet fired flames as well. She turned quickly and shot towards Chun before sliding on her feet, sending a rush of blue fire towards the younger firebender. Chun made a curtain of flames towards Azula's attack.
Both rapid flames crashed into each other, making a cloud of dust. Once it cleared up, Azula had lightning dancing around her fingers while Chun had a compressed, sparking ball of purple fire that she made with both her hands.
They both released their attacks and the lightning and flame orb actually discharged a sudden expansion of energy. The sudden release had shot Azula and Chun far away from each other. All they could hear was a high pitched ringing in their ears.
Azula held her ears and let out an irritated scream. "This is so frustrating!"
Chun stood up and she looked at her arms. Her eyes were back to normal and she looked at Azula who slowly got up to her feet too.
"Heh, that was impressive. You're definitely worthy of being a general. You may even be worth of standing by my side when I rule." she then saw Chun unwrapping the tape from her arms. "What are you doing?"
"It's fireproof tape, but its not fair for me to use it in this fight."
"Are you underestimating me!?" Azula angrily asked.
"That's not my intention, but I want to fight you on as an even field as possible."
Azula kicked a flame to Chun but it was blocked as Chun made it explode in a circle of fire. Chun slowly walked forward and she was blocking flames that Azula was throwing at her.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?" Azula heard young-Azula in her head again, she was distracted enough that she was hit by a leaping, fiery kick that came off of Azula's chest. She rolled back and when she stood up, she watched Chun swing a pressurised fire arc with her arm. The attack had hit Azula which sent her back rolling. "Stop holding back and just finish her! You cannot allow yourself to lose to her!"
Chun was rushing to Azula who was still down. "SHUT UP!" flames shot out from her mouth and Chun was caught by this and blocked it with her arms. Chun stepped back and she saw small lines of fire on her arms and she quickly put them out.
"OUCH!" Chun screamed. The flames died down and there were lines of burn marks on her arms that looked like scratches. She glared at the The Fire Lord who was on her feet. "I blame myself for that…" she saw Azula charging up her lightning. "Uh oh!"
"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"
The lightning discharged from Azula's fingers and it was speeding to Chun. She panicked, held her arms up and the force from the lightning stuck her arms and she was thrown hard onto her back.
"CHUN!" Hen worriedly yelled. She lay on her back, there were large burn marks on her arms. He got extremely worried when she didn't move. "I'll kill her! I'LL KILL HER!" Hen yelled as he got up off his seat.
"Wait!" Lucy yelled.
Chun's wrists were clenching and they all could see Chun sitting up, she let out a single cough. Her arms felt like they were on fire. "It didn't pass through my heart? T-That really hurt." tears were falling from her face. The pain that she took was unlike anything she experienced before. She got back up, wiped her tears and tried to stand up tall.
"She got back up!" Happy yelled with glee.
"But… can she even fight?" Suki asked, looking on with concern.
"STAY DOWN!" Azula yelled. "Look at yourself! You're not in shape to fight!"
Chun shook her head. "I-I don't c-care… Because going back to the f-fire nation hurts more than this!" she cried. "I-I can't lose…! I won't be caged up again!"
Azula charged her lightning again. "Enough! You brought this on yourself. I won't lose to a whelp like YOU!" she charged another bolt of lightning. Chun generated her own lightning and fired it and their electrical bursts had crashed into each other which made large flashes that blinded the both of them, temporarily. "Ugh, just stop it!"
The darkness didn't stop Chun, she followed Azula's voice and made flames that rest on top of her forearm and she swung her arm to connect with Azula's face.
Both their eyes opened, Azula was still stumbling and Chun had lightning dancing around her arms. Her pupils shrunk again as she focused right on the Fire Lord. She let out a war cry before she fired, her eyes suddenly returned to normal as she realized what she was about to do. The lightning was speeding to Azula, but it only hit the ground beside her.
The shock-wave floored her, she was surprised that she wasn't struck down by her. Chun on the other end was letting out short breaths. As the adrenaline wore off, she quickly set her mind right. She was so close to letting her anger take control of her.
After realizing this, Chun walked to Azula who was down on her knees, she extended her right hand to the Fire Lord.
"What is this!?" Azula venomously asked.
"Azula… why are we doing this?"
Azula growled in response and got up to her feet. "Because you need to know your place! Take that hand back and fight me!"
"No… I'm not going to fight you anymore. What does completing this fight accomplish? If you win, I can guarantee that Fairy Tail won't let me go anywhere. And if I win, there are some people that will want to give you a chance, and I doubt the master will let you leave just like that while taking me with."
"Are you saying that this entire fight was meaningless!?" Azula yelled.
"It doesn't have to be… I transformed myself to prepare for this fight, but I realized… I still have a long way to go. We're both in the same guild now, maybe we could at least try working together."
"Work together? I am your Fire Lord, you work for me!"
Chun took her hand back. "Look, I'm done fighting you. I'd prefer us to work together and help each other. It's not my place to say whether or not you belong in the guild, if the Master thinks you should be a part of it, then I'll accept it." Azula only glared at her. "I'm not saying we have to be friends, but we're in the same guild. Can we at least… tolerate each other?"
"You're trying to talk your way out of this like a coward! You're afraid to fight me, aren't you!?"
A sigh escaped Chun's lips. "Yes, I won't deny that I am afraid of you, but I can't avoid you forever. I'd rather help than hurt you. That's just who I am I guess." Azula looked away in disgust. "I didn't like this fight, it… brought back feelings of anger I'd rather keep bottled up. So, I'm genuinely sorry for taking your mark like that. I'll give you the reward money as compensation."
"Just forget it!" Azula spat. "It's useless beating down someone whose heart isn't in it. It would be like slaughtering a pet, or beating Zuko." she ended with a smirk. "I hate to say it, but you are talented, and it is going to waste with these… people…"
Chun giggled. "Well it was one of those people that beat your butt to a pulp. And it's my talent so I get to choose what I do with it." she turned to her side but still kept her attention on Azula. "I don't believe you're evil, despite what everyone else says. I felt so bad for how much trouble I put Fairy Tail through, and I still got a second chance. You also got that chance, and the Master and Erza aren't fools." she fully turned her back to Azula.
The Fire Lord didn't attack her and only looked at her hand, but what Chun said to her only turned her back to her own problem. "That girl has it figured out… She knows what she wants… and yet I… I can't say that I do…" after staring at her Fairy Tail guild mark for what must be the umpteenth time she then asked herself. "Is this what you want, Azula?"
Since there was no definite winner of their Agni-Kai, neither Azula nor Chun were going to leave. Of course since no one bet on a draw, the betting pot had to be returned, much to Cana's chagrin. The current Fire Lord was staring at the Fairy Tail building.
"Heh, are neither of you going to bother me…? This would be the perfect time." she sang within her mind.
"Azula?" she turned to face Erza with a surprised face as if she was expecting to see someone else. "Are you all right?"
"I can't say that I am… but… I… appreciate your company." Azula said. "I still think you are all annoying, but I suppose some company is better than no company."
"So does that mean-?"
"If you… or anyone else want to come with me on my jobs, then I won't stop you. As long as you don't get in my way and as long as that person isn't Natsu! And don't think I'm happy about being part of your little guild either, you all still irritate me. But I suppose you're ok, and Mirajane is tolerable if you ignore that creepy smile of hers."
Erza smiled at her. "Whatever you say. I am going to get some cake, do you want to come with me?"
"You do know ingesting as much sugar as you do is bad for your health. But I suppose if you are offering, then it would be rude of me to decline."
"Shall we then?" Azula followed after Erza, she slowed her pace just to be sure that she wasn't being stalked by those ghosts that haunted her. "Are you coming?" Azula regained her focus before she followed after Erza.
"Yes I am coming, don't rush me."
Watching the exchange was both Zuko and Aang. "You think she is coming around?" Aang asked.
"I'm not sure." Zuko said. "Azula is difficult to read most of the time, but I'd say Erza is the best person that Azula can be with right now. But I think its best is she and Natsu should keep their distance for now."
Aang chuckled to himself. "I couldn't agree with you more."
Sorry for making you guys wait, I haven't been too good at updating recently this month.
Also Max from the reviews: Yes you can translate it into Russian, just message me in a PM so we can iron out the details. (You need to create an account to send a PM, that way we don't have a conversation in the reviews.)
Anyways hope you all are doing good, and I'll see you in the next update.