Azula prayed silently before digging into her breakfast. As always, she woke up well before anyone else and started her day before more people could wake up and annoy her. At least that was the plan. She was spreading raspberry jelly onto her slice of toast only to drop it as the doors to the dining hall banged open, startling her. "Azula," shouted Yang. Azula growled before turning to the blonde boxer.

"This better be good if you've woken up this early to bother me," she said.

"It is! Today's Ruby's birthday and I need your help planning a surprise for her!"

"Her birthday?"

"Yep!"

"Spirits. Why are you bothering me about something so trivial?"

"Oh, come on! She turns fifteen today! It only happens once! Come on, I'll let you pick the cake!"

"Leave me alone."

"Not until you agree to help me!" Azula glared at the older girl.

"I'm not going to rid of you until I agree, am I?"

"Nope!" Azula sighed.

"If it'll get you to leave me alone, fine. Allow me to finish my breakfast and…"

"No time!" Azula exclaimed as Yang grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the hall. They walked into town and Azula grumbled beside the blonde as she looked around.

"Why is this so important?"

"Ruby's mom died a few days before her nineth birthday. Since then, she's put on a smile to hide her pain on her birthday. She and Summer were close. When she died, it was just me and Dad. Ruby never wanted us to worry, so she just kept on smiling. Me and Dad caught on soon enough and I decided to surprise her on her birthday. I managed to get ahold of our Uncle Qrow, and we brought her to a place Summer was going to take her. We wanted to make sure she had a good day. Since then, I've been making sure that she smiles on her birthday. I don't want to see Ruby looking as sad as she did when Summer died." Azula glanced at Yang as the girl started to get quiet. "But, anyways. Let's change the subject! So, when's your birthday, Azula?!" Azula stared at her for a second before stopping to think. "Oh come on, you need to think about it?"

Azula thought about this world compared to her own and thought about what she'd learned in the last three months. 'According to one of the books I found, this world follows the same number of days as my own regarding days in a year. Considering when I arrived…' she thought before blinking in surprise. "Eight days from now."

"Wait, so you're just a week younger than Ruby?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, just surprising. Guess we should make it a double party then!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"My birthday is not something to celebrate."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's just a day. Same as any other day." Azula kept walking alongside Yang. "There's nothing special about it." Yang turned to her.

"Why do you think that way?"

"I have my reasons. Where are we going?"

"Right. We're going to a party shop in town. It sells everything we need to throw you two a party."

"Don't include me in this!"

"Aw, come on!" Azula struggled to get out of her grip as the older girl threw her arm around her neck. "You only turn 15 once! And I only have enough money for one party."

"I don't care! And if you include me in this I will find the deepest pit in the world and throw you down it!"

"Can't do that if you can't even break out of this, can you?" Azula growled and held up a flame in her palm before holding it in front of Yang's face.

"Let me go or your bangs get singed!"

"Hey, don't threaten my hair!"

"You two seem to be having fun," said a voice in front of them. Azula looked ahead and spotted Coco and Velvet with their teammates Fox and Yatsuhashi at a shop. "Sup, bitches," asked Coco. Azula pushed Yang away from her before addressing Team CFVY.

"Coco," she said.

"Hey guys," said Yang.

"What are you two doing here," asked Coco. "On a date?"

"Nope. We're planning a birthday party for Ruby and Azula."

"Only for Ruby," said Azula. "Don't listen to her."

"Your birthday is coming up," asked Velvet.

"In seven days," said Yang.

"Don't you want to celebrate, Azula?" The firebender glanced at her before crossing her arms.

"I don't celebrate my birthday. It's not worth celebrating."

"Why do you think that?"

"Does it matter?" Azula turned to Yang. "Can we get going?"

"Uh, sure," said Yang. "See you guys later!" She waved at CFVY before the two of them started walking away. "Why is your birthday something you avoid?"

"It's none of your business, Xiao Long."

"You know you have to open up to us eventually. We're friends after all." Azula stopped in her tracks and turned to Yang.

"Let me make one thing absolutely clear. I am not friends with anyone here. I have no need for friends. All friends are good for is stabbing you in the back when you should have their absolute loyalty!"

"Is that truly what you think, Azula," came the now familiar voice of Ursa. "They've welcomed you and treated you as a friend should. Don't you see them as friends as well?"

"Shut up." Azula gripped her head.

"I didn't say anything," said Yang, worriedly.

"They want to get to know you, Azula. Just let them in," said Ursa.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," she shouted.

"Azula," asked Yang. She placed a hand on the Firebender's shoulder and Azula lashed out, shooting a jet of flame past her. Azula breathed heavily before dropping her stance and backing away.

"Don't touch me." Azula steadied her breathing and sat on the curb of the street, head in her hands. Yang looked at her worriedly.

"A-are you ok?"

"Just leave me alone. Go plan your sisters party yourself. Leave me out of it." Azula refused to look at the blonde and kept her eyes focused on an ant beside her boot. Yang cast a worried glance at the girl before walking away. Azula waited a few paces before growling and crushing the ant under her boot.

"What is wrong with you," asked a gruff voice above her. Azula looked up and spotted Zane Ro'Meave looking at her from the balcony of a café.

"None of your business." Zane stared her down for a moment.

"Come up here. You look like you could use some tea." Azula glared as Zane disappeared from sight at the sound of finality in his voice. She stood up and glanced where Yang had walked off to and spotted a blonde silhouette walking away several yards down the street. "Are you coming or what?" Azula cast a glare back in his direction before stepping inside the café. She noticed it was a themed café and its interior reminded her of the Fire Nation. Over the counter with the register were a number of kanji she could recognize.

"'Family. Honor. Redemption.' How are kanji here?"

"Agni. Over here." Azula turned to a set of stairs and followed after Zane, taking note of the attire he was wearing, no doubt the uniform of this place. Zane poured some tea into a porcelain cup for Azula as she sat down and glanced at her. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"

"As I said before, it's none of your business."

"You shooting fire at one of our classmates, hell one of your teammates, is concerning. As a loyal knight, it's my duty to report this to our headmaster."

"You will do no such thing, Ro'Meave."

"And why shouldn't I? What I saw back there was clear signs of a mental break. If you are unfit to lead a team…"

"Stay out of this!" Nearby candles flared as her anger caused the flames to rise. "This does not concern you!"

"I think it does if we're going to be forced onto the same team!" Azula looked at him before settling back in her seat.

"And what makes you think that?"

"The moment I missed orientation; the writing was on the wall. All of the teams had been formed and only one had two leaders as a result. Once Ozpin pointed that out to me, I knew you and I would be forced onto the same team next semester." Azula grinned inwardly at her fortune. Seems she wouldn't have to coerce him to join her team after all. "But let me make this clear right now, Azula. I won't follow someone unstable. Either get your mind in working order or leave Beacon."

"It that a threat, Zane?"

"No. More of a promise. If I see you're unfit to lead, I will report this to Ozpin. Because it means you're a threat to me, the other students and to yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Azula finally sipped her tea and stared at it before making a face. "This is not tea! It's just hot leaf juice!"

"That's all tea is."

"Tea making is an art! If you're going to be my butler…"

"Butler?!"

"I'll have to instruct you in how to properly make tea!" Azula glared at the cup. "Passing this off as tea. The owner should be ashamed!" Azula poured out the rest of her cup to the street below, ignoring the comment of someone who was drenched in the process. "If that is all, Ro'Meave, I need to see a smith about my weapons and armor." Azula stood up and walked away, leaving Zane grumbling. As Azula left, Zane sat down as a man walked from behind a curtain by the stairs.

"She is aggravating. Why am I being made a butler?"

"You'll have to forgive my niece," said an old man with a long grey beard. "She can be rather stubborn when she sets her mind to something."

"Was it really necessary to hide yourself from her, Sensei?" The man nodded as he sat in Azula's former seat.

"Unfortunately, yes. Azula must start a slow and deliberate effort to change. And until the time is right, she can't know that the Spirits sent me here to help guide her to her destiny as I did her brother in our old world."

"How would she react if she learned about you?"

"Angrier than a viper hornet at the thought that the Spirits didn't trust her like they said so. Azula doesn't take kindly to being deceived. If she is to embrace her new destiny, it has to be on her own. Otherwise, we'll be dealing with a very angry, and crazy Azula. She's headstrong and stubborn. She won't listen to the spirits if she feels they don't trust her." He poured some tea and took a sip before spitting it out. "But at least she knows good tea." Zane sighed as he wiped himself dry.

"I'll try again…" Zane took the pot and walked into the kitchen as his sensei smiled before glancing at the figure of Azula walking away from the café.

The former Fire Princess walked to the blacksmith and spotted the same man once again asleep at the counter. "Miss Jelavic," she called out.

"Back here," called the smith. "Logan! Get off your lazy ass and greet the customer." Logan shot up in his seat.

"Welcome to Custom Phalanx. Quality arms, armor, yada, yada."

"One less yada," said Azula. "I feel so special." Hilda walked out and smacked Logan upside the head.

"Stop messing up the slogan," she said.

"Stop putting me at the front counter," he muttered.

"If you think I'm allowing you anywhere near the equipment, you're wrong!" She turned to her and smiled. "Welcome back, Miss Agni. Here for your gear?"

"I am. I hope it's worth the Lien I spent for them."

"I hope so. Otherwise I'll need to follow my slogan and give you your money back."

"Maybe we should keep that out of the slogan," muttered Logan as he went back to napping. Azula tripped up the chair, sending him to the ground. "Hey!"

"You work for the woman. She is your boss. She deserves your respect." Azula ignited one of her palms. "Got it?" Logan muttered and sat in the chair properly.

"For that I'll give you a discount on your next purchase," said Hilda. "Come on back!" Azula followed Hilda and noticed that there was a pile of scrap in the corner that wasn't there before. "Those were the first few attempts at your equipment. Didn't feel quite right until this last one." Hilda removed a piece of cloth from its position blocking a table and revealed Azula's new armor first.

Rather than the traditional Fire Nation armor she had been revived with, this armor was slimmer and framed for her figure perfectly. The pauldrons weren't as wide or protruding as her previous armor had been and were framed more closely around her slim shoulders as the chest plate was shaped to comfortably fit her bust without the need of using chest wrappings. Her greaves and boots were given the same treatment and didn't seem as bulky as the old pairs. Hilda had even gone so far as to make the greaves longer and covering all of her legs as the chest plate went to her waist rather than just her upper body. The black tunic that accompanied the old armor was gone, instead showing off the design of the armor itself. Instead of the loose-fitting pants, a pair of form fitting pants were given for Azula to wear to protect her skin from rubbing against the greaves. Hilda had done away with the red cloth and gold etching of the clothes and armor respectively, opting for a dark blue color for the shirt and pants and giving the armor a silver trimming with intricate flame designs rather than the old gold. Azula's old belt had been replaced as well with a silver one to match the armor, the flame sigil in the buckle now colored white with a blue outline. The gauntlets extended up to her elbows and were colored the same as the armor with fingerless gloves for her hands.

Azula examined the armor with a keen eye and placed her hand on it. "No metal," she asked.

"Metal's fine and dandy if you're going off against normal people with swords and axes. Against people with Semblances, bullets, and whatever Grimm you may face, it's brittle and can easily conduct heat and electricity. Instead, I made the armor out of special material. Modern ballistic weave. Lighter than metal and tough enough to handle a full power swipe from an Alpha Ursa as well as high caliber weapons like rifles similar to Ruby's. Though try not to take too many hits. The armor can withstand constant small caliber hits, but the larger bullets and constant strikes will wear it down. Same with Ursa claws. I suggest you keep moving and try and win quickly."

"How I prefer doing things. When you say lighter…"

"I mean by a good 60 pounds. Your old armor weighed about 90+ pounds with the cuirass weighing the most. Now it only weighs 36 pounds and offers more protection from the more advanced weapons outside of your village. For comfort while wearing it, Arachno silk. Not only is it smoother than normal spider silk, it's tougher as well."

"And my weapons?"

"Those were trickier. The larger one was simple. Retractable staff, extendable blade, child's play. The smaller ones, however, took a little more finesse." Hilda moved a second curtain and showed another table this one housing her weapons. The first was a naginata. A large staff with a wide blade 7 inches long. The staff was colored black and had a dark blue flag close to the blade. Beside the naginata was a couple of fans. Azula had thought back to the Kyoshi Warriors and their signature fans as she told Hilda what she wanted done. The two war fans were made of silver and its tipped were sharpened blades. The material was the same as her new leggings and colored white with blue flames decorating the bottom. Azula took the fans and gave them a flick, extending them to their full width and examined them before going through a basic kata of the Kyoshi Warrior forms she learned after finding a scroll in one of their belongings before going to Ba Sing Se. "That's an unusual form."

"Tessenjutsu was practiced in my village," Azula lied. "It's an old art, one developed more for ceremonial purposes. It was later adapted for combat and I learned what I could out of curiosity." Azula folded the fans and aimed one at a mannequin. "I had them designed as they are to ensure I could effectively use my fighting style while having an easily concealed weapon at hand when not using my naginata." She turned fully to Hilda. "And the extra thing?"

"No idea why you'd want that, but I put it in as asked."

"This is why." Azula unfolded a fan and threw it, allowing it to spin and cut the mannequin as it passed. She focused a small amount of lightning through her fingers. The fan circled back and Azula caught it without fail before closing it. "Upon coming to Vale, I learned a lot about modern technology. One of the key things I found fascinating were magnets. Along with fire I can also conjure lightning from my fingertips."

"So you have magnets at the base of your fans as a midrange attack and recall system."

"That is correct."

"I never would have thought of that."

"Nor would anyone else without my abilities."

"Unless you're Pyrrha Nikos, of course."

"Why Pyrrha?"

"She tries to hide it, but her Semblance is obvious. She has control over magnetic polarity. I watched one of her tournaments and she tries hiding it, but there's a slight bending of the metal most people don't notice. But my Semblance is what helps me notice things like that and why my smith work is as good as it is. Magnifying sight. It allows me to see the smallest imperfections in my work and others. Pyrrha uses her Semblance to gently push her opponents' weapons off course just slightly enough that they don't notice. But I can."

"Interesting. So she could easily do the same thing as I planned."

"And a lot more. If she wanted, she could send someone flying with a gesture and get an automatic ring out by repelling their armor or weapons."

"Which would lead some people to adopt your methods in crafting if only to counter that. Which leads me to ask why you haven't capitalized on that knowledge."

"I'm not trying to ruin the girl's life. It's not worth the increasing profit it might bring my store, especially if more people start trying to copy me. Then I lose money."

"Hmm. A smart decision then." Azula handed Hilda her card. "As agreed, the rest of the money as per our agreement."

"Let me charge you then." Hilda walked up a set of stairs as Azula set the war fans down. She ran her hand over the armor and nodded as she examined it once more, a ghost of a smile crossing her face as she spotted a replica of her normal headpiece. Instead of gold, it was a blue flame made of metal with a rainbow shine to it. "Azula! I think you have a problem!" Azula turned to the stairs before walking up them and to Hilda's location. "Did you make any major purchases recently?"

"No, why?"

"Then I think your account has been hacked."

"Hacked? What does that mean?"

"It means someone has gotten into the digital files of your account and stolen your money." Azula scowled at the screen in front of her and saw the words 'transaction canceled fraudulent charges detected'.

"How can I find this person and make them pay?"

"Bring it up to the police and let them handle it."

"And how long would that take?"

"It could take a long time if they can't find them right away." Azula growled and shot a fireball into Hilda's smelter. She breathed deeply before turning to her.

"Can you hold onto the equipment until I have the funds."

"You've already put a down payment on them. Just keep them."

"Just take them? Just like that?"

"Of course I expect the money to be paid in month to month increments to pay it off. But I'm not about to keep these from you. A Huntress without her weapons and armor is as good as dead."

"Thank you, I suppose."

"No need for thanks. Just keep your payments coming until the armor and weapons are paid off and come to me for any improvements and modifications you may need." Azula nodded before taking the armor into a fitting room and getting it on. She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile at how she looked. She went back to the table and hooked the war fans to her belt while retracting the blade of her naginata and the pole and inserting it in a slot on her belt at the back. Hilda smiled at her. "See you soon, Azula."

"Hopefully not too soon." Azula started walking out of the shop and pushed Logan's feet down again. "Logan." The lazy man flipped her off before rubbing his head as Hilda smacked him upside the head again.

She wandered back to the main street and looked around before hearing her scroll beep. She noticed a new message and opened it. [Pleasure to meet you, Princess Azula]: she read. Azula looked around before looking up at a camera trained on her. Her scroll beeped again, and she looked at the message. [We'll meet in person soon. I can guarantee it. L.] Azula was then sent a video feed of the very camera she was looking at looking right at her and a secret camera in Ozpins office showing her telling Ozpin who she was. Azula scowled at the camera once more before walking away.

In a messy apartment in Vale a girl with pixie cut hair dyed vibrant pink chuckled to herself. "Oh, messing with her is almost as fun as planting a virus into Atlas' servers. See you soon, Azula." She smiled to herself before spinning around in her chair laughing joyously as her program kept a careful track of Azula's movements.