This chapter came out a little later than I would have wanted but its just a day late from a week so its fine in my book. Though I can't promise these kinds of updates will become frequent since I'm quite frankly getting more and more tired from college.

But anyway like I promised before we will be getting back to Kazumi and Azula in this chapter , though I realized that I didn't have nearly enough material to work with than I thought so I added a nice little Zuko scene at the end to help make the chapter longer.

Big thanks to HammerTide for beta reading this chapter !

With that said , let's get into it !


Kazumi didn't get much sleep last night , not because of any nightmares or bad dreams that had woken her up in the middle of the night. It was more as a result of her internal self-doubt and berating herself for what she had done last night. Like how could she be so damn stupid for one...

She should have just done the right thing. She should have just tucked Azula into bed after she fell asleep and be done with it...but instead she gave into her impulses and gave Azula a kiss on the forehead...almost as if she were her own daughter.

It wasn't as if Kazumi was against being close to Azula , she had hugged and comforted the girl more times than she could count ever since she started living with her...and yet she can't help but feel she crossed a boundary that she never should have crossed with a girl she had taken into her care.

But Azula is no longer just a broken girl she had taken into her care ...was she ?

She can deny it as much as she wants...but deep down she knows that she has grown attached to the girl. Wants to protect her as if she were her own...and have the relationship she never really got the chance to have with her own daughter.

And Kazumi hates herself for it.

For even having the gall and the nerve to think of Azula as some kind of replacement daughter that was dropped into her lap from the heavens themselves ...pathetic.

Kazumi lays on her bed for a few moments before she decides to get up , no point lying on her bed in self loathing for much longer. She can already see the morning light start to shine through her window anyway so she might as well get started on breakfast.

After going through her usual morning routine, Kazumi stepped out into the hallway and headed for the kitchen. She decided to make a relatively simple breakfast , she just hopes that Azula gets out of bed and comes out for breakfast.

Though she wouldn't blame her considering what happened last night...

By the time , she finished making breakfast and set the table...still no sign of Azula.

Kazumi let out a sigh as she was about to get up from the table...when she saw the door to the dining room open and Azula walked right in.

" Azula " Kazumi said surprised at her sudden appearance " I was just about to get you..."

" Yeah...sorry I'm late but I took a little while longer than usual getting ready " Azula said as she sat down at the table.

" Well I already made breakfast for us " Kazumi said as Azula started eating but the younger girl did give a slight nod of appreciation.

Kazumi couldn't deny that she was surprised , she had thought that Azula had decided to sleep in from what she experienced last night...yet here she is already back and no longer in a bind about what had happened.

" So Azula..." Kazumi slowly began halfway through their meal " Are you ...feeling better now ? "

To her surprise , Azula's face turned to one of contemplation as if she couldn't quite figure out how to answer Kazumi's question.

It lasted for another minute before Azula opened her mouth to speak again " ...A little bit...I'm not jumping at the shadows anymore..." Azula spoke honestly " Though it would be a lie to say that I'm completely undisturbed by what I saw last night...it was just so ...disturbing seeing that vision of myself of who I used to be... like its a mocking reminder at the back of my head of what I've done..."

Kazumi gave the girl a sympathetic look and put her hand over Azula's own " But you have gotten better Azula..."

" I'm honestly not sure of that sometimes..." Azula admitted " Does it ever get any easier ? "

Kazumi hesitated for a moment, she wanted to say yes but...she thinks about her own state and wonders.

" ...It becomes more manageable with time " Kazumi said calmly.

" I suppose that's about as good as I'm going to get..." Azula let out a sigh " Forgetting about my hallucinations for a minute... I finally managed to awaken those spiritual powers you talked about "

The older woman felt smacked in the face with that reminder. She had completely forgotten how Azula had managed to perform a transversal to save herself last night on top of finally getting in touch with her spiritual power.

" Oh yes I almost forgot about that "Kazumi remembered the events of last night " I did notice how you managed to finally perform a transversal to get out of the water "

" That's the thing I still haven't figured out though...how did I even do it ? " Azula sounds more like she's asking herself than anyone else " I mean...I did feel myself growing stronger and closer to that feeling of spiritual power back in that cave...but when that damn hallucination started my concentration was broken and I fell into the water...I'm not sure how I was even able to do something like that "

Azula raised a good point. It was impressive that Azula was able to summon up her power in that moment...but how did she do that ?

After thinking it over for a minute , Kazumi gave her opinion " It could be possible that your spiritual powers acted in response to the life or death situation you were in and your subconscious worked in tandem with them to save your life " Kazumi explained " Its not uncommon for some spiritual powers to end up acting depending on the emotion of the user "

" The emotions of the user huh ? " Azula mused out loud.

The younger girl became quiet for a minute as if pondering all the information she had just been given before she turned back to Kazumi once again.

" So are we going to continue this afternoon or what ? " Azula asked.

Kazumi raised an eyebrow " What do you mean by that Azula ? "

" I mean can we continue with my spiritual training later ? " Azula asked once again " I've already awaken my spiritual powers...it would be a waste to squander this time to hone them while I still have a connection to it "

Kazumi was mildly taken off guard by this , she hadn't expected Azula to be wanting to get right back into training after what had happened last night.

" Are you sure Azula ? After what happened last night-"

" I know what I saw and I know it isn't real...so I definitely want to get back into training..."Azula admitted with a sure look on her face " And also because I don't want to go back into that sorry state of wallowing in my room for a day or two pondering what I saw...training helps take my mind off of it so can we just ...get back into it please ? "

To say that Kazumi was both surprised and proud would be an understatement.

Azula really was growing stronger and healing by the day...she's doing much better than Kazumi did.

" Alright Azula , we shall continue your training later this afternoon "Kazumi said with a gentle smile.

" Thank you..." Azula nodded , a small smile on her face too.

It was a relatively peaceful and enjoyable morning all the same.


By the time afternoon had rolled around , it was warm and sunny outside. A small blessing from Agni no doubt and it provided the perfect opportunity to start up on their training. Azula felt the warmth of the sun on her skin putting her at ease.

" Alright Azula... I want you to channel that spiritual energy within you once again " Kazumi instructed " And I want you to manifest it and hold it like you would with your bending "

Azula nodded and took a deep breath...

As she reached deep within herself ...and could practically feel the power growing inside of her.

She felt herself grasp it...and bring it out of her.

When she opened her eyes again...she felt an odd burning sensation...

And she looked down at her left hand to see it smoking and glowing with energy.

" Excellent ! You've finally managed to do it Azula " Kazumi said with a proud smile on her face.

Azula was over the sun about this. She had finally managed to get the channeling part down...something she had thought she would never get right was now shown smoking her left hand.

Yes ! At long last I've managed to do it !

Azula thought with a happy smile on her face.

" Now moving on Azula , I shall finally be able to teach you how to perform a transversal or a Blink if you prefer " Kazumi explained as Azula paid attention " You managed to perform it once but that was more out of reaction to the life or death situation you were "

" Yeah...I wasn't exactly focusing when I did that " Azula admitted. She still could not deny that she felt weird when she did that.

" Now one common misconception you may end up making in regards to how transversals work...is that you must not focus on the destination with your eyes. That is folly and will only limit the potential of the power " Kazumi explained in detail.

Azula nodded her head at that. She had only really been focusing on blinking to whatever seemed to be the direction of up when she was drowning in that stream.

" Instead you must visualize where you wish to be standing...and it will be so " Kazumi said " You know the area around the house well...focus the power on taking you somewhere else... close your eyes and bend the power to your will..."

Azula took a deep breath...as she felt herself channeling the power within her.

She was glad that she had grown accustomed to the small patch of land that surrounded Kazumi's home. She could practically walk around with her eyes close if that was the case.

She felt herself focusing the power to where she wished to be standing...which was just a few feet to her right and she could feel the power building up inside of her.

As if it was a raging fire that was screaming to be released.

With a single breath...

Azula once again felt that strange wind that does not exist in the world.

And when she opened her eyes again she saw that she was no longer standing where she was...but rather where she wished to be standing.

" Good job Azula ! You managed to get transversals working " Kazumi congratulated with a smile.

" Yeah...I did..." Azula said as she felt a sudden odd feeling in her stomach " Oh agni..."

She hadn't realized it before...but she felt sick to her stomach from that single transversal.

Kazumi was quick to help Azula sit down and lay her head down in her lap to help her.

" Yeah...that always happen on your first transversal. Trust me when I say that you get used to it " Kazumi said comfortingly as she stroked Azula's head and hair comfortingly.

Azula just let out a groan of discomfort as she hoped that she really did get used to this odd feeling of teleporting.

Kazumi chuckled a little as she continued to pat and play with Azula's hair.


Zuko looked out the window of his office in contemplation...as he could practically feel the weight of everything on his shoulders now as he looks out at the Fire Nation.

Could you imagine Zuko if the people had a choice to choose between their beloved princess and the disgraced prince ? Do you think anybody would side with you ? Support your rule ? It wouldn't even be a contest. That's what you call democracy...

As he thought about his father's words...as if they are mocking reminder of how badly he's screwing his nation up.

Maybe he never should have challenged Azula to that damn Agni Kai...maybe he should have just backed off the Throne and let his uncle take the reins of the nation , Agni knows he would do a better job than he is right now. Even if he knows how unfair that is to uncle , after all the pain he's had to suffer through and live with due to the Fire Nation...maybe he should have just asked

He knows that he's inexperienced...that he's not as knowledgeable about politics or as cunning as Azula to deal with all these problems.

Azula should have been Fire Lord instead of you.

A mocking voice in his head speaks that sounds just like Ozai.

I know.

He admits somberly. Knowing how truthful those stinging words really are if his time as Fire Lord is any indication of how good his ability really is.

His self-loathing session was interrupted when he saw Mai open the door to his office and enter.

" Mai...what can I do for you ? " Zuko said turning to his girlfriend.

" I just wanted to let you know that the doctors said that Ikem will make a full recovery , he just still needs a few days of bedrest " Mai informed as she observed his face " ...And I also came in to interrupt whatever it is you're brooding about "

" What makes you think I'm brooding about anything ? " Zuko raised an eyebrow.

" ...Zuko I've known you long enough to know what your broody face is like " Mai said dryly as she walked over to him " So...talk to me. What's got you brooding now ? "

Zuko didn't say anything as Mai stood by him.

" Is it about what happened to Ikem ? " Mai guessed.

" No...its not about Ikem its just..." Zuko let out a sigh , he was never good at talking about his emotions "I just..."

" Mai...am I a bad Fire Lord ? "

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Mai needed a second to fully comprehend what Zuko had just said.

" Why would you think something like that Zuko ? " Mai said.

"...I've been talking to my father...and he's been telling me all but to my face about how shit of a job I've been doing as Fire Lord and as much as I hate to admit it...its got me thinking whether he's right "

Mai wants to hug Zuko and tell him not to listen to whatever poisonous crap Ozai is spewing into his ear...

But seeing the state of the nation and how bad things are getting...she's not sure what to say.

Mai was many things but she was not a liar. She was not the kind to mince her words or try to put things delicately. She was blunt first and foremost.

She had no problems telling it to Azula back at Boiling Rock.

How ironic that she's faltering now with Zuko ...for what can she actually say that would not be empty placation ?

" Sometimes I feel like Azula should have been Fire Lord instead of us "

Zuko's confession feels like the slap in the face Mai needed to get out of indecisiveness.

" No Zuko, she definitely should not have been Fire Lord " Mai says firmly.

" If Azula was Fire Lord than maybe we wouldn't be dealing with poverty and famine right now..."

" If Azula was still Fire Lord she would have kept the war going until there was no square inch of the world that wasn't under the Fire Nation's control, trust me when I say that you are the better option in that regard..." Mai let out a sigh" Look I'm not gonna say that you've been a perfect Fire Lord...but at least you're trying if nothing else "

Zuko doesn't reply to that even as Mai takes his hand in comfort.

People can tell him that he's trying his best...but deep down he knows that his best isn't good enough now.


Honestly with how hard of a time Zuko's been having in this story I'm feeling just as bad for him as I am for Azula.

Though personally this is something I feel that Zuko needs to go through because one of the many things that I HATE in the comics was despite the fact that Zuko a traitor to his nation and essentially a usurper , he suffered no pushback from the nobility or Fire Nation common people and was suddenly a great ruler who everybody accepted as their Fire Lord.

Like I said before that this story isn't just about Azula getting better...but people like Zuko do growing and maturing into better people.

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the scenes with Kazumi and Azula. I really wanted to show Azula finally getting a hang on her spiritual powers at long last after her going through the struggle of trying to attain them...

But rest assured that it is not all smooth sailing from here on out. For both Azula and Zuko.

With that ominous note left , I will see you all in the next one.

Angel Out.