AN: Edited and reposted 1/16/2022.
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Comments and reviews are my lifeblood. Mostly. Enjoy.
Ch. 1
Rebirth
The baby stared blankly up at the dark ceiling as the sounds of the night filled the room softly. It sighed tiredly before shutting its eyes once more. This was its third life and there was no telling what universe the baby had ended up in this time, nor how long it would last before something killed her again. The only thing that helped improve her circumstances was the fact that her name usually remained close to her original, and her appearance remained almost the same from life to life. If it hadn't, there was no telling how she would be able to handle jumping from world to world and life to life as quickly as she had. She had died at 20 years old in her last life in the Naruto verse, during the great 4th shinobi war as one of the many foot soldiers that ended up being cannon fodder despite her vast skills. S class jonin she might have been, but god-like shinobi she was not.
Before that, she had been in the world of Marvel and had become rich enough to challenge Tony Stark's empire in the stock market as well as technology. In that life, she had lived to 35 before being killed in the chitari invasion of New York. In her original life, she had watched these shows and had grown up wishing to go on adventures, to get away from her mundane existence. Now, she partly wished things could just stop, just so she could stop losing the people she cared about. She wished she could forget, only she couldn't. It seemed she was always cursed to remember, never forget.
Moriko closed her baby eyes and drifted off to sleep with the sound of the ocean coming through her window.
Two years later
Moriko blinked in awe as her father smiled fondly at her little face, flames dancing over his palm. So, she had ended up in the Avatar universe? And she was Fire Nation? Very cool, she thought as she frowned reaching for her chi. It was almost like chakra, but the energy was harder to move without motion. She could see how many benders would fall prey to the thinking that they had to move their limbs to move their chi. With a scrunched brow, she reached for her father's fire, and he frowned as he felt her chi join his in the flame. His awe transformed to shock as she tried to mimic what he was doing.
He swiftly removed his chi from the flames, and it sputtered out as she struggled to keep the now tiny flame alive. It sputtered out completely and her childish body took hold of her as she began to cry at the feel of the little flame dying. Her father snapped out of his shock to swiftly pick her up and sooth her as he rubbed her little back comfortingly, murmuring sweet nothings to his daughter. She could tell her instinctive grasp of fire had startled him, but she had been startling her parents for the last couple years with her abnormally swift ability to learn. This was really no different from usual. To keep up her charade of being a baby, she made sure to get into trouble every now and then like normal children and to have temper tantrums. To be truthful, the temper tantrums were not something she had to fake; it was hard being a baby again and sometimes her frustration peaked far too easily in this young body.
While many things had changed from life to life, the one good thing that she could say for this life was some of her skills from the previous applied to this one as well, especially when it came to manipulating her chi. While this might have been the first time she had used flames, she had felt the thrum of her chi running through her body since she had been small.
In her previous life it had been very difficult to learn how to manipulate chakra despite the unusual sensation of something buzzing under her skin. In a lot of ways, chi moved like chakra, could be shaped like chakra, and could be manipulated into different forms in or outside of her body. She quieted down from her crying as her father hesitantly offered her his palm, fire alight on it once more. She sniffled quietly as she reached out to it once more with her chi, this time moving her hand out. She made it move a little as her chi danced in it. She still had too little to fuel the fire, but she could manipulate her chi in it though it was taking some getting used to. Her father didn't try to snuff it this time, understanding that she was curious and wasn't trying to fuel the fire, something she was too young for.
"It's pretty Papa," she murmured quietly to her father as he sighed moving the flame to a candle that he handed her as she continued to let her chi dance in it.
"I know sweetheart." He murmured with a small smile as she smiled up at him.
…
I listened carefully in the dark night knowing that it was probably past 2:00 AM at this point considering where I could feel the sun on the other side of the world. It had been weird to be born as a firebender and eventually becoming a tune to the sun's location at all times of the day or night. Figuring it was late enough, I slipped out of bed, and practiced sneaking through the house to where my father kept his firebending scrolls. They were on the 5th shelf of the bookcase, so it took a bit of climbing for me to reach them. I nearly startled when a fire suddenly lit behind me and my wide golden eyes met my father's similar ones, though his danced with amusement and slight annoyance.
"I had been wondering who had been getting into my scrolls," he said with an air of fond amusement. I poked out my bottom lip in annoyance as I pouted and easily let him pluck me off the shelf, wrapping tiny arms around his neck as he gave my bum a light affectionate swat before rubbing my back soothingly.
"Mama doesn't want me learning yet. I know you want to teach me, but you don't want to fight with her. I want to learn, but I don't want there to be fighting. Seemed like the best way to do things." I said somberly against his warm neck the gentle scruff of his beard rubbing against my shoulder as he turned his head towards me. He sighed, the sound affectionate exasperated and proud. I didn't know how it was possible to make all those things apparent with one sound, but my father seemed to have a knack for nonverbal communication.
"I can leave the scrolls on the second shelf. I don't want you climbing up that high by yourself in the middle of the night with no one to look after you. Also, I want you to do the katas cold. No fire unless supervised. In fact, you should barely be using flames as young as you are. As a toddler, you have very little chi and if you use it up then you could do great harm to yourself, maybe even kill yourself. Do you understand?" I pulled back from his neck my tiny hands on his collarbones as I gazed somberly into eyes that matched my own.
"Yes, Papa I understand. What age should I start throwing flames with the katas?" I asked. His eyes twinkled with amusement and pride as he stepped into my room moving to sit on my bed still holding me.
"Well, you are two years old now, and you will be turning 3 In six months. Will you be able to wait a year and a half until you are 4?" He asked as I thought about it. I hummed thoughtfully little fingers coming up to touch his face unthinkingly as I began to play with his beard. After a moment he chuckled and playfully caught my little hand in his mouth making me squeal at the sudden slobbery sensation as he pretended to chew on my hand. We laughed as I retracted my hand and wiped slobber all over half of his face the sounds quiet but no less cheerful in the dark. There have been few lives I had been blessed with such a good father, so I did my best not to take this wonderful man for granted.
"Yes, Papa, I will be able to respect your wishes for my safety." I giggled as he chuckled his voice rich and deep. He cheerfully tucked me into bed, before slyly whipping out a bending scroll and laying down next to me. He focused, eyes narrowing, and the candle on my bedside lit itself making me smile widely at my family's secret skill.
I had been very fortunate this life indeed.
Two years seven months
…
Moriko frowned as her father tried to show her once more.
"Watch," he said as he focused on the candle in front of him. She could feel his chi and focus on the wick of the candle increasing until there was a spark of light and the candle lit itself. She frowned thoughtfully at the candle that now didn't have his chi in the flames. She reached out with her chi and imagined drawing the energy of the fire into her own chi. She kept focusing as she felt a trickle of energy filling her, steadily increasing until suddenly the candle went out. She blinked in surprise that she had managed to drain the energy from the fire until it went out. Using the extra energy, she now had, she focused on the still warm wick of the candle, trying to focus all her fire based chi into one tiny point. Suddenly there was a spark and the candle sparked to life with flames. She shrieked in triumph and ran over to her father with excitement as he gawked at her and the flames.
"Oh, your mother's going to kill me," he breathed in horror as she continued celebrating her victory.
…
I grinned widely up at my father as he sighed tiredly.
"You know, you could have just asked to go to work with me kiddo, you didn't need to scare your mother like that," he chided gently in his dad voice as I grinned sheepishly up at him, my eyes dancing with mischief.
"But now, it will be her idea and she won't get on your case for taking a two-year-old to work Papa," I said cheekily as he sighed and rolled his eyes though I could see the hint of a smile on his lips.
…
"The home guard is not a place for a baby Pikeman Kazuto," growled my father's captain.
"But Sir-" he began to protest but I had already set the man's beard alight with more than a few sparks of flame. My father sighed as he swiftly put the captain's fires out as I giggled. The man was utterly speechless as he stared at me with wide eyes.
"How old is she?" he sputtered. My father grimaced.
"She turns three in three months," he said as I giggled mischievously, and the captain sputtered in alarm. Most children didn't throw sparks until 6-8 years old. The earliest recorded was four years old with Princess Azula.
"Needless to say, we want to try and keep this quiet sir and we can't do that if she's sent to preschool or day care for firebending children. My wife isn't a bender Sir, and even if the little one manages to set something on fire, there are plenty of benders here that can put it out," he said as way of explanation as I giggled and made grabby hands to be held by the captain. The captain blinked out of his shock before hesitantly accepting me into his arms. I began to play with his singed beard with impunity and my father shot me a warning look. I pouted before getting comfortable on the captain as the man tried to figure out what had just happened. Yes, you got set on fire and played by an almost three-year-old dude, sorry not sorry, thought Moriko mischievously.
…
Going to work with my father meant that I was around a lot of the Home Guard since he was in the local military on the home islands. I made goo-goo eyes at Pikeman Kuro and made grabby hands at him to pick me up. He smiled good naturedly and acquiesce to my request as he held me. I grinned as I gently pat his handsome face.
"You are soooooo handsome. Are you going to be my husband one day?" I asked with a grin as his booming laugh filled the cafeteria. My father's head snapped around knowing that I was usually the source of that laugh, and he made an exasperated face seeing me with my favorite person. I waved and he rolled his eyes before coming over to come get me.
"Papa, meet my future husband," I said seriously as the man's eyes danced with mischief. My father managed to choke on his spit and the Pikeman, and I started snickering at his plight as he tried to get his lungs to work again. Pikeman Shina came over and gave my father some juice to stop his coughs. My father shot her a thankful look before chugging the drink down as Pikeman Kuro and I fist bumped in victory. My dad shot us both a look before sighing.
"I guess you might as well sit with us at lunch today, Kuro. Lord only knows the moment I look away she'll be back," my dad grumbled as the taller man laughed happily.
"It's only because I'm so handsome," he said teasingly down to me. I turned to Shina and leaned over so I could stage whisper in her ear.
"That's what I want him to think. Don't tell him I told you this, but he's actually very sweet, but people pick on him for it which is why he's usually so grumpy. He knows that if anyone picks on him though I'll have an accident and their hair will end up on fire. Oops," I fake whispered, and the woman snorted in surprise before giggling.
"I think that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me," said Kuro with a fake sniffle as he pretended to wipe a tear away. My father blinked in surprise before snorting a laugh, his eyes dancing with understanding as my reason for attaching myself to the lone pikeman became clear. He knew I had a thing about bullies, and I tended to try and adopt strays to my parent's consternation.
"Well, welcome to the group Kuro. You might as well get used to it," my father said with a good-natured grin. The taller man blinked in surprise before a genuine smile slid over his handsome face.
…
I snuck through the quiet house, knowing it was probably 2 am again. Going through the back door, I snuck out the backyard before taking an alley into the woods. After ten minutes of hiking, I grinned widely as I reached the beach. There was a little hidden cove that was perfect for sneaking off to. I went to the rocky shelf of the small cliff by the beach and pulled out a carefully wrapped oil skin. Rolling it open revealed my secret set of throwing knives. There were some things I missed from my last life as a ninja and one was the use and practice of weapon arts. Here, they weren't prevalent with non-benders, a real shame.
I pulled up the large flat piece of wood I had found and started throwing my knives at it after I got it set up, working on my aim. I was already getting some of my skills back, but I had a long way to go.
...
Age 3 years, 4 months old
I frowned as I meditated in front of the beach fire. I focused on drawing my chi to my hands to strengthen them then worked on snapping the piece of wood I was holding. After a moment there was a large crack and I panted at the loss of the chi that I had had to expend to fuel the exertion. I closed my eyes and like a plant greedily absorbed energy from the sun. I spread my chi out to the sides to increase my ability to absorb the sun's energy. I also reached out to the bonfire that crackled merrily in front of me. My eyes stayed close as I continued my meditation and I began to flex my chi again, noting the amount of chi I had already managed to absorb from the sun and the fire. Then I began my katas from my old life. No need to lose another lifetime worth of skill, short life it had been.
From where I could feel the sun in the sky a couple of hours later, night would be falling soon. With my senses spread as far as they were in my most recent meditation, I could feel a little fire on the edge of my sense coming closer. I opened my eyes partly to see, but mostly still fixated on what I could feel in my mind. Soon my father came in sight, and I frowned, seeing he had no fire, and yet I could sense him. My eyebrows rose as I realized I was probably sensing his inner fire. Wow, I didn't know that that was a thing, I thought as he drew closer. His eyebrows rose when he realized I had already spotted him, and he smiled ruefully. He came to sit beside me at the fire.
"How's it going?" he asked as I hummed in thought, debating what I should show him. I stood, eyes sliding closed as I let my chi tap into the fuel of the fire. In my previous life, I had learned to draw energy from the environment as part of the Sage arts, so I had some experience. I drew flames off of it into my hands, then began fueling what was in my hands with the power of the bonfire, making the flames in my hands climb as the bonfire's energy was being drawn away. I could feel my father's chi tap into both flames to feel what was happening and I was close enough to feel his sharp intake of breath.
"You didn't know we could do that," I noted with a childish pout at him as he frowned at me in thought.
"You are an unusual child," he muttered to himself as I grinned, noting that he was starting to mimic my chi flow within the flames. The one in my hands continued to grow and the campfire died. Without warning, I drew my chi and a good portion of the fire's flames into myself. My father made a started sound as he withdrew his chi. I punched over the water releasing the excess energy I had absorbed and there was a gout of flames far greater than the chi I had available. I made sure not to use any of my personal energy. I punched a small flame into the wood and a full fire was going soon once more. I jerked my chin at the flames and after a moment my father complied. After twenty minutes he had managed to absorb the power of the bonfire. He then punched over the ocean and was nearly sent flying back by the force of his fire blast. At the end he fell over gobsmacked as he stared at the ocean in surprise.
"I think this should be something we train in secret," I said as he looked at me clearly dazed.
"In case you or I ever need to fight an Agni Kai, I want this to remain ours," I said as he blinked out of his shock. He sputtered in alarm.
"You're just a little girl, who would challenge you to an Agni Kai?" he sputtered as I frowned.
"Other little girls," I said pointedly before looking back over the waters with a frown. The sunset was truly a sight to behold. I finally turned to see him staring at me with a concerned expression. My face crumpled as I ran into his arms.
"You know it's going to be a matter of time before one of our relatives catches wind of me. Mom's not being careful enough and when I get sponsorship, I'm going to be sent off to the Royal fire academy for girls. You know it's going to happen Papa; we are in the capital and great aunt Mura will be coming to see you and mom soon. You know she won't give us a choice as to whether I got to school with the nobles. Nobles don't like being shown up by common folk, and I don't know how to protect us, I will only be able to hide so much," I whimpered before starting to cry where I clung to his neck. Curse this tiny body and its enormous emotions. He sighed tiredly as he rubbed my back.
"I'll talk with your mother," he said I sniffled.
…
I moved slowly letting the energies around me begin to part in positive and negative changes. A crackling of electricity started in the air as I began to let the energies slowly come back together bit by bit until the lightning fizzled out of existence. I flopped down onto the beach with a huff, feeling worn out. I was building my sea of chi like I had built my chakra in a past life, but the going was slow. I didn't have enough for lightning yet but in a couple of months, I should build enough to start doing my katas with fire.
...
"Thanks again for this you two," my father said with a relieved smile as he passed me over to Kuro and my bag over to Shina.
"No worries, Kazuto, we'll look after her," said Kuro as Shina smiled worriedly. I waved goodbye to my father as he left, heading back home. I squeezed Kuro's neck and he squeezed me back comfortingly.
"Well, want to work on your firebending forms kiddo? Your phoenix form has been getting pretty good," he said as he shut the door.
A week later
I peaked around the garden fence before scampering gleefully into the backyard. I had just gotten a messenger hawk with a note from my father saying that my great aunt and her noble friend, Master Piandao was gone and that I could return home. As much as I wanted to meet someone from the show, I was a bit afraid of what would happen if I met the swordmaster.
"Oi!" called Kuro behind me as I skidded to a stop. I giggled as I ran back before taking off back into the yard. I wasn't even looking as I rounded the fence and gave an oof of surprise when I bounced off someone's legs. I hit the ground hard and blinked up at the face of Master Piandao's face for a second before bursting into tears letting my panic fuel them. Kuro had snatched me up in an instant.
"S-sorry sir, she just wanted to come visit her friend who lives here, w-well come back later when she's feeling better," he stuttered. My cries had already brought my mother though who, as much as I loved her, didn't have much sense.
"Moriko!" she cried before starting to rush forward towards me, only to realize her slip too late. I could see my great aunt's stern expression behind her and my tears and crying picked up, knowing we had been found out.
…
"I wish to speak with the child alone," said Master Piandao, silencing the haranguing my great aunt was giving my parents as they argued over what right my great aunt had to come butting into our lives. I looked up from where I was sandwiched between my parents. They look at one another and my great aunt huffed angrily before snatching my arm and yanking me out from between them. I shrieked at her rough grip and the pain in my wrist, and she screamed in pain, snatching back her burnt arm.
"Don't touch my daughter," my father snarled, already on his feet as my mother snatched me from her grip and had retreated behind my father. My great aunt was sputtering in shock as she tried to figure out who had burned her, me, or my father. Master Piandao seemed thoughtful as he observed us. After a moment he turned to my great aunt.
"You are not helping matters Mura. Perhaps it is best if you left." He said turning to her. She sputtered in outrage.
"What?! They are a lesser branch of MY noble family! I have every right-"
"If you hadn't noticed, you are frightening their child and I would say the father is this close to challenging you to an Agni Kai if only to ensure you're no longer alive to trouble them further. You brought me here due to rumors, Mura and the parents are feeling threatened enough to send their child off to those that would look after her while we are here. While I was able to trick the child's caretakers into revealing her, there is no telling what they would do next if they continued to feel threatened," said Piandao as my great aunt and father continued to glare at one another.
"Maybe that's not a bad idea," the older woman sneered. My father snarled angrily.
"If you ever hurt my father, I'll end you," I said quietly as I glared at my great aunt. She hissed angrily as she stocked forward, trying to cow me with her greater height as my father growled angrily.
"You wait till I get my hands on you! I'll make sure you show proper respect!" she hissed. At the point between rage and serenity, I could feel the energies start to part of their own accord, the hairs on my arms and neck already standing up. There seemed to be a buzzing and crackling sound as I continued to glare into her eyes. To my surprise, a large warm hand came to rest on my small shoulder, and I looked up in surprise to find Master Piandao smiling down at me.
"I have made my decision. This family is now under my protection Mura. They will be added to my family registry by the end of the day. It's best you leave. And know, if you speak of anything that has happened here, the island of Shu Jing will declare war on your Clan." He said, tone calm but steely. She sputtered furiously, fire leaping to her hands.
"They are my Clan! You have no right-!"
"To steal lesser Clan members as you called them? Are they perhaps high up enough on the tree to warrant protection by your clan? No? Then they are mine." He said as Mura snarled.
"Just leave us alone! You've been upsetting mother and the baby," I said with a deep frown as my parents look at me with confusion.
"What baby?" my mother asked flabbergasted. I didn't take my eyes off Mura, but I put my hand on my mother's stomach where I could feel the tiny spark of life and fire that all people held. Because I had reached my senses out to sense the baby, I could sense the moment great aunt Mura's chi started gearing up, her furious eyes locked on where my hand rested over the new baby to come.
I could see the rage behind the calculation in her eyes. She had heard the rumors about me, about my prodigious intelligence and the innate sense of the nature of fire bending. The possibility that my mother might have another child just like me, meant that Great Aunt Mura might be losing a powerful branch of her bloodline to another Clan. If Master Piandao managed to get us on his family registry, we would be safe from her, but as members of her Clan, she would have the right to strike us down, under the right circumstances. As long as she claimed the right circumstances, she could kill us before we were on his registry.
I barely had a moment to leap forwards and firmly root my form on the coffee table as she began generating lightning. I had practiced General Iroh's lightning redirection kata many times just as a precaution so despite the surprise of learning that my great aunt was one of the few talented enough to generate lightning, I was well prepared.
A moment later she had shot it at my mother, and I caught it, guided the energy from my arm into my sea of chi before shooting her with it point-blank, her expression of shock the last thing I remember seeing on her face. I breathed hard, steam rising off of me in a few places before I sank to my knees on the table shivering from the feel of so much energy running through me just recently.
"Open the windows, the gas released from lightning is poisonous," I gasped before starting to cough. A moment later, Master Piandao and my father were opening windows and my mother snatched me up into her arms as we moved to stand beside one. She was shivering as she kissed my hair and I tried to pat her comfortingly.
"I will never let someone hurt you mother, you are safe," I said as she looked down at me looking lost.
"How did you do that? I didn't think it was possible to redirect lightning," she breathed as I frowned.
"Dad and I have been meditating a lot on the beach. We've been experimenting a lot with chi flow," I said with a sheepish smile. She rolled her eyes but smiled.
"I suppose you are going to want me to ease up on you then because it came in handy?" my mother tease as I smiled cheekily.
"How did you know?!" I said with fake surprise and the two of us smiled at each other shakily. I noticed my father checking my great aunt from across the room. He looked up to Master Piandao and shook his head before shutting her eyes. She was dead.
Master Piandao caught my eye over my mother's shoulder, and I began to regard him seriously.
"Well Master Piandao, will you still take us under your wing?" I asked bluntly as my father sputtered. The master just grinned grimly, despite the fact that an almost-four-year-old had just killed someone.
"If you wish it," he said with an incline of his head, and I nodded. Looked like he was made of stern stuff.
"It would be our honor to accept, Master," I said as I did the sign of the flame from my mother's arms to the best of my ability. He chuckled before coming forth hands out in a silent request to hold me. I reached for him, and my mother hesitantly passed me over to where he could hold me. We regarded each other for a minute, the master's eyes alight with interest while mine sparked with intelligence beyond my years.
"How would you feel about an apprenticeship with me little one?" he asked as I hummed thoughtfully.
"Will I be able to complete part of it here in the Caldera? Or will I need to travel with you to Shu Jing?" I asked looking over my shoulder to my parents.
"We can do part of it here, but I have another young swordsman under my tutelage, and it might be best to get you both out of the capitol for a while. Your family is of course welcome to come. I'm sure I could get your father stationed at Shu Jing for the duration of your training and there would be appropriate accommodations for you and your parents," he said. After a moment I hugged his neck.
"Thank you. They will be much safer away from the capitol and the den of rat viper noble relatives that live here," I whispered. He nodded in understanding, patting my back comfortingly and I sighed eyes sliding closed with exhaustion. This little body didn't handle getting into mischief very well. I could feel the rumble of his voice from where I rested against his chest a big warm hand coming up to rest on my back.
…
The local military came knocking on the door not too soon after my great aunt's lightning bolt had boomed through the neighborhood. Knowing how dangerous it would be if people found out a tiny child could redirect lightning, something that previously had no way to block, they said that my great aunt Mura had been trying to teach me lightning since she had heard of my fast ability to learn and had lost control of it. The local military police looked uncertain when looking at the body before we were all brought in for questioning.
When questioned the officers looked skeptical as they regarded me, questioning why she would be trying to teach such a small child something so dangerous.
"Great Aunt Mura heard about me. I started throwing sparks when I turned three, I'm almost four now," I lied, knowing that telling them that I threw sparks at much earlier would make them question my story further since it was almost unheard of for children to throw them so young.
"I'm also learning the Phoenix kata and stuff. She wanted Master Piandao to take me on, even though I'm too little. She said something about sponsoring me to go to the royal academy, because her clan isn't high enough to have me sponsored but I don't want to go, I want to stay home with mommy. She tried to get me to do the kata's but I wouldn't do them. She started to show me how to do the lightning kata, and said it was a special one that only the high nobles knew, and that if I did the kata I could go to school with the noble kids.
"She knows I'm smart so she decided to try and teach me how to do lighting to impress him so he would take me on. She got mad while trying to show me, then boom! It was scary," said to the officer, trying to show that I was mature for my age to help the story be more credible. He frowned thoughtfully before slowly looking at me.
"That seems like a tall tale kid," he said slowly. I frowned confused.
"How so?" I asked and he frowned down at me.
"Little kids can't generate lightning." He said as I frowned in confusion.
"She didn't get me far enough through the lesson to generate lightning, but I can generate seed lightning," I said, feel a little frustrated.
"If you showed me how to do it properly, I could probably do it," I said grumpily as the man's eyebrows went towards his hairline.
"You sure your dad didn't just loose his patience and off your great aunt kid?" he asked, sounding annoyed with my insistence on my story. I scowled furiously and began to part the energies around me. A buzzing filled the air as small crackles of electricity began to crackle around me.
"Get someone in here that can teach me to do it properly without blowing themselves up and I'll show you lightning!" I hissed angrily as he backed up rapidly looking alarmed.
…
I took a sip of my tea before grimacing. To my surprise I heard a chuckle and I looked to find a man with a husky build and high ranking armor in the doorway. My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out who he was. However, before I could he spoke up distracting me.
"Is the tea not to your satisfaction little one?" he asked. I looked down at the cup in my hand before offering it to him to taste. His eyes lit with delight at my unspoken request, and he took a sip. I giggled at the series of emotions that flashed across his face at the bitter flavor. His amber eyes flashed to my light gold ones, and he grinned ruefully.
"This is terrible. Let's get you some real tea," he said as I giggled again.
"What kind?" I asked and I saw something like pleasure flash across his face.
"What kind would you like?" he asked as I frowned thoughtfully.
"I'm too little for Matcha, ginger is good when you feel sick, but I don't feel sick, I like chia in fall time but it's not fall, green is good but a bit too every day. I don't think we have any other teas at home," I said as he grinned pleased. For some reason I had the feeling I should know him because of tea. It had been so long though since my first life, I could barely remember the storyline of the Avatar universe and its characters.
"How about we get a pot of jasmine and ginseng?" he asked. I grinned broadly.
"Can I have a little honey in my tea?" I whispered to him, and he smiled, eyes sparkling with amusement and fondness.
"Of course. We might also get some cake," he said conspiratorially as I grinned. I spent a good fifteen minutes chatting away at the man. For some reason I knew I felt safe around him, he gave off such an air of calm and peace around him and I loved it.
"Have you started working with flames yet little one?" he asked, and I hesitated, eyes uncertain as I looked up at him. He seemed to sense the immediate change in my demeanor, and I looked around nervously before scampering to where he sat. He leaned over so I could whisper in his ear.
"Momma and Papa are afraid the nobles are going to get mad at them if I'm better than their kids in school who are older, so I'm not supposed to show anyone. I had to tell the guards about it though because they thought it was weird that great aunt Mura would show a kid to do lightning," I whispered. His eyes had gone wide, and he seemed deep in thought before finally looking down to meet my scared eyes.
"I don't understand," he said as I grimaced. I quickly explained to him why my great aunt had brought Piandao to meet me. I also explained to him that they suspected it was my father who had struck her lightning. It would make more sense than a little kid learning how to do it. I had argued that I could learn it, and also suggested that someone try to teach my father so they could prove he couldn't make it.
"I don't know how to do lightning yet, but I can learn if that's what it takes to prove it's not his fault," I said anxiously as he seemed to go back into his thoughts. After a moment he smiled kindly.
"What did your aunt show you before her accident?" he asked as I fretted eyes going closed. I started clumsily doing the form to the best of my ability without trying to generate lightning. He nodded looking intrigued.
"Perhaps let's go out to the courtyard so that I can teach you," he said as I nodded. Soon we were in the courtyard.
"Let's practice fire bending first then we can go into the lightning forms next," he said calmly as I grinned, relieved that he was actually taking me seriously despite my young age.
2 hours later
I finished my leaping kick with a small whip of flames before flipping into the last stance of the kata my unnamed instructor had taught me. For now, I was just to call him Sifu. He clapped in delight, and I cheered before running over for a hug, too excited to do otherwise. He chuckled as he patted my head.
"Very good little one!" He said with a grin as I grinned back. I knew he was testing my learning ability. He had had me show him all the katas I knew before he began to teach me a new set to see how swiftly I could learn it.
"Thank you! What's next Sifu!" I cheered as he grinned.
"Perhaps a break then we can work on lightning?" he said. I happily agreed, running over to get my tea. I made an unhappy sound when it burned my tongue and unthinkingly, I pulled the excess heat through my chi, absorbing most of it to help replenish my chi, the excess released into the air before snatching up my cup to gulp my tea down. I was so thirsty! At the end, I smirked up at his shocked face.
"Wow! This tea is really good!" I cheered as he blinked out of his surprise to smile back.
…
Prince Iroh moved slowly as Piandao smoothly joined him, the two making their way towards the palace.
"So, what did you gather old friend?" asked the sword's master as the old general slowly looked up still deep in thought.
"I'm glad you sent for me. That child is more of a prodigy than Princess Azula, maybe more of a prodigy than young Prince Zuko when it comes to learning, and she is a year younger than the Princess, and three younger than the young Prince. The aunt was trying to get you to sponsor the girl to the royal academy but the family was afraid of what would happen if their child showed up the royal family and was trying to hide her. The aunt didn't mess up her form when generating the cold fire, she was hit with it point-blank, but the father isn't able to generate anything and the bolts the child could generate were too small to be lethal. And yet she was killed by lightning. If I didn't know any better…" he trailed off as Piandao grinned. Iroh shot him an annoyed look.
"If you didn't know better, what?" asked the sword's master as Iroh regarded him suspiciously.
"I would suspect that the child has experimented enough with chi flow to be able to redirect lightning," he mused quietly as Piandao grinned.
"Indeed, she did. The aunt did not take too kindly to knowing that the family would be getting out from under her talons and decided to attack a pregnant woman, the girl's mother. The child, Moriko, realized what was happening faster than her father and myself. She jumped on the coffee table to be tall enough to properly catch the bolt and redirect it back," he said as the general's eyes went wide with shock, awe, and fury.
"Mura attacked a pregnant civilian?" he hissed as Piandao grimaced, looking away.
"I can see why the parent decided to keep the child from her. Old harpy! You could tell why she never married, a truly unpleasant and greedy individual," he muttered as the prince frowned.
"Did you already get the charges dismissed," he asked as Piandao nodded.
"Indeed. I plan to take the girl on as an apprentice alongside your smart little nephew," he said as Iroh grinned in surprised pleasure.
"Ah yes! I'm sure our young prince Zuko will appreciate someone smart enough to keep up with him as a playmate," said the general with a smile as Piandao shook his head with a grin.
"They are either going to get along swimmingly or be at each other's throats," he said with a chuckle as the general shook his head with a grin.
"I'm sure they will be fine."
…
Ch. 2 preview
I shrieked bloody murder as I pulled the boy's hair. He howled and pulled mine back and we tumbled to the ground screaming.
"You take that back!" I shrieked as I tried to grind his face into the dirt. He yelled and tried to kick me off as I howled in rage. I was plucked off of him and continued to shriek bloody murder as he glared up at me angrily.
"Well, you are a midget! And that lady is fat!" he yelled, and I shrieked in fury.
"She's pregnant, not fat! And don't talk to my mother like that unless you'd like to eat dirt again, Ponytail boy!" I howled as my mystery Sifu sighed and pulled the boy off the ground before dusting him off. Master Piandao coughed to hide a laugh as I snarled from where I hung suspended by the back of my clothing in his grip.
"May I introduce my nephew Zuko," said Sifu and I blinked as I tried to place the name. Oh no way. As in Prince Zuko of the Fire nation, soon to be scarred angsty teenager? One of the Best redemption Arcs in TV? For some reason, the boy looked a little amused as I stared at him clearly thinking hard. He looked like a smug little shithead. If I could remember anything from the show, he could be a bit stuck up at times, calling people peasants and such. I suddenly snapped my fingers in recognition of a wonderful idea. I was such a genius.
"You're that kid that pooped himself in class a few grades above me!" I gasped, lying through my teeth.
AN: This is strictly for my own enjoyment, but if you like my wacky plot, let me know.
As for why the adults aren't thinking ill of Moriko for killing that lady, kids are very basic creatures. Honestly, they don't learn their full morals until they get older and are taught what is and isn't acceptable. They maybe see her as a genius bender but in a lot of ways she comes across as a child. It's not entirely an act either, little kids are a mix of energy, growing pains, hormones that spike and ebb with their growth etc. She would be experiencing these natural changes in her body, helping encourage childlike behaviors.
It is also a basic instinct to protect your loved ones, and the adults might also assume she doesn't understand the concept of death very well being as young as she is. Honestly, this isn't made to be realistic, it's just a word dump for me that's supposed to be a little funny here and there haha. It might get a bit cracky every now and then, so you have been warned.