You know, when I first took over this story from HammerTide, I never expected it to come this far. I legitimately thought we would have wrapped this story up in like 40 chapters or so, but that clearly isn't the case anymore. And this grown far past my expectations or the amount of commitment I originally thought I was going to put towards it and has resulted in me creating a much introspective plot than I previously imagined.
Not that I'm complaining in the slightest since I had actually been planning to write an Azula Redemption story myself and just so happily managed to stumble onto this one.
And on a more important note, we have FINALLY hit 100 reviews ! WOOO !
:)
I am extremely grateful to everybody who has stuck with me on this strange journey and hope that you will continue to do so !
Big thanks to HammerTide for beta reading this chapter and providing good feedback.
With that said, let's get it started !
Some more time had passed and Azula had been hard at work practicing her transversals and tetherings. Being able to teleport much greater distances than before and tether objects from much further away. She had yet to tether an actual person, which Kazumi said was the limit but she could tell that she was making some good progress.
And during that time, Azula had also acquired some more powers from Kazumi's Apprentice power. Two passives and one active, Kazumi said. She will never get over how Kazumi could instinctively be aware of exactly what kind of powers she received. Luckily it happened yesterday, in the middle of the day as opposed to during the middle of the night while she was still sleeping so that was something to be happy about.
" What powers did you say I now have again ? " Azula asked as they stepped outside for training.
" Vitality, Viper's Blood and Thorns " Kazumi repeated.
" What do those do ? " Azula asked with a raised eyebrow.
" Vitality works to help you last longer in fights and help you take hits better. It can also speed up the recovery of wounds you may receive " Kazumi explained " Viper's Blood grants resistance or flat out immunity to certain poisons "
" Poisons ? " Azula said.
" When you live in a forest like the Forgetful Valley, where an infection can kill just as easily as a knife or firebending , you're going to want an ability like that as it can save you a pinch " Kazumi said.
Azula couldn't deny that logic, she recalled when she first ran off into the Forgetful Forest, and knows that she would have likely died from an infection if she didn't get eaten by some wild animal first after collapsing, had Kazumi not found her that night. So having an ability like Viper's Blood certainly would be useful.
" Alright, what about Thorns then ? " Azula honestly wondered if it was an ability that let you sprout thorns out of your skin. That sounded unsettling.
Kazumi smirked " Oh nothing much...just this "
The older woman held out her glowing hand, at that moment several dark, dart like projectiles shot out of her hand and harmlessly into the lake, no doubt scaring the fish. The darts were the size of steak knives at least and they look like they could do some serious damage.
Azula watched in amazement as the last of the thorns flew into the lake.
" So Azula...would you like to learn how to shoot them ? " Kazumi said with a smile.
" Yes, please " Azula nodded vigorously.
Kazumi let out a soft chuckle " Alright, I don't think we need to work so much on your aim than we do figuring out just how to release and position yourself when you fire " Kazumi said " Have you ever fired a crossbow before Azula ? "
" No, afraid not " Azula hadn't much experience with weapon handling, before Kazumi came along and taught her the way of the sword.
" Well, this is kinda like that...sorta " Kazumi tried explaining " First Azula, you need to do is fix your stance and hold out your hand, make sure you're not pointing at something you don't want to fill up with thorns, because trust me when I say that if you aren't careful you could end up shooting your thorns all around and hitting people. Almost happened to me first time "
" Noted " Azula said as Kazumi helped her fix her stance.
" Plant your feet into the ground and hold your your hand, focus on channeling the spirit power to your hand and release it in the form of Thorns. Try to control the surge of spirit power to your hand so you don't fire off a random amount " Kazumi advised as she helped Azula " Try just firing 3 thorns first "
Azula nodded as she channelled the spirit power to her hand, taking a deep breath as she felt it build up-
And in the next instant, 3 Thorns shot out of her hand, the sudden feeling of something literally coming out of her hand surprised her so much on top of the fact that she was not ready for the sudden recoil of the thorns coming out of her hand that she almost ended up throwing her hand back-thankfully Kazumi was quick to the draw and grasped her hand to keep it steady.
" Whoa...thanks Kazumi "
" No problem Azula, just remember to steady your hand and prepare for the kickback from the shot " Kazumi advised.
Azula followed her advice, as they continued practicing for a little bit more so Azula could get the hang of Thorns. Mastering channeling her spiritual power was the hard part, after that actually using said spiritual abilities was the easy part and it only took Azula a few days at most to get used to a new ability.
And Azula could feel deep inside of her the power grow more and more with each passing day...it was kind of invigorating.
But all this power and for what ? It almost seemed...wasteful to just not do anything particularly useful with this power.
And that made Azula think about what she could do with this power.
" Alright, I think that's enough for today " Kazumi said as she sat down on the grass " Let's take a short break for now "
Azula didn't say anything as she sat down beside the older woman, simply thinking of how she was going to say this.
" Kazumi...can I ask you a question ? "
" Anytime Azula "
"...How does one...become a Spirit Navigator ? "Azula asked.
Kazumi looked at Azula surprised, raising an eyebrow " Why do you ask ?"
" Call me partially curious..." Azula said " Does one need to get accepted by the Mother of Faces to officially become a Spirit Navigator or-"
" Actually one doesn't really need approval from the Mother of Faces to 'officially' become a Spirit Navigator " Kazumi explained " The Mother of Faces may be my family's long time patron, but she has never sanctioned or directly commanded us to fight malicious and lost spirits. In fact, when the original Spirit Navigators were first starting out, they didn't have access to any spiritual powers at all and had to resort to using sealing techniques and such "
" Oh, well that's interesting " Azula had honestly thought that the Mother of Faces was the unofficial boss of Kazumi as a Spirit Navigator, she had completely forgotten that Kazumi was well...the last Spirit Navigator.
" Putting that aside for a moment Azula..." Kazumi moved closer a bit " What's the real reason you ask ? " Kazumi could make a good guess as to the reason but she wants to hear it from Azula herself.
Azula let out a sigh, already knowing its pointless to try and lie to Kazumi.
" I was just thinking that I might...want to become one "Azula admitted.
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A moment of silence passed them as Kazumi's eyes widened in surprise at that.
" Azula, why would you want to become a Spirit Navigator ?"
" Its just that...well, it just feels like kind of a waste you know ? " Azula questioned " We have all these powers, skills and abilities but we don't do anything meaningful with them...don't you ever feel like that Kazumi ? "
Kazumi thought about it and she already knew the answer- she had felt like that before. How she essentially abandoned her duty as a Spirit Navigator. How she spent years moping around the house like a coward until Azula came along and brought some hope into her life again.
It would be a lie to say that she didn't somewhat miss her work as a Spirit Navigator- to make a difference and help guide spirits to peace or oblivion.
"...Yes, I've felt like that " Kazumi nodded.
" Didn't you say a while back that you wanted to restart the Spirit Navigators in your own way again ?" Azula recalled back " Well...you already have been giving me the full Spirit Navigator training course, so why not do it then ?"
Kazumi gave Azula a hard look " Being a Spirit Navigator isn't a game Azula. It isn't about slicing through malicious spirits and banishing them with amazing spirit powers...it is dangerous and life threatening work and one mistake could cost you your life...or something much more precious to you "
Kazumi knew that from experience, how her moment of weakness had costed the life of her precious baby...
Azula saw the saddened look on Kazumi's face and dropped the subject, she already had a feeling for what Kazumi was talking about.
" I understand...still these powers are pretty useful " Azula shrugged as she looked at her hand.
" You know Azula...its actually against our code to form the Apprentice bond with anyone outside of our family, its considered a complete disgrace and flat out heresy to do so. A complete breach of our rules " Kazumi said with a light hearted smile.
" Oh, so I'm worth it enough for you to break your sacred rules ?" Azula said with a smirk.
Kazumi's face turned serious as she looked out at the lake in front of them.
" I would fight every demon in hell to save you Azula..." Kazumi said, completely serious.
Azula looked shocked before her face settled on staring at the lake in front of her, she leaned in too resting her head on Kazumi's shoulder.
" Just think about it at least..." Azula said.
" I will " Kazumi said, but she already knew that she was.
Kazumi took a deep breath as she sat down on her bed, it had been about an hour after dinner had been finished and she had no intention or feeling of going to sleep just yet. She thought about earlier today, on how Azula said she might want to become a Spirit Navigator...
Isn't that what you've wanted all this time Kazumi ?
No...I never wanted Azula to join the Spirit Navigators.
Don't kid yourself. Sure, maybe that wasn't your intention when you first found her, but we both know that you've been grooming her for a while to join the Spirit Navigators.
Shut up.
You now have the Apprentice you need to restart the Spirit Navigators, you can do it anytime you want, and now you even have the daughter you've always wanted-
SILENCE.
Kazumi took a deep breath to calm the voice in her head, she couldn't get worked up tonight. She has work to do.
She found out that a certain tracker she told to leave came back to the Forest. Alone.
That simply won't do, now will it ?
Shin let out a sigh as he wrote in his journal, which he had started writing to keep track of how his day went and the search was going- which is to say absolutely nothing of use happened and he had nothing. It was but another day of pointless searching around, getting attacked by pissed off animals and plants, trying his best to find a will to continue living( His wife ) and wondering if its too soon to retire from the Yuyan Archers just yet.
No new clues, no new tracks to follow, no new leads to follow up on.
It was official, he had hit a brick wall.
It was good at least, that he had been allowed to spent his nights at the inn in Hira'a, as opposed to camping in the forest directly. He had paid upfront that would allow him to essentially live there for as long as he needed. Agni knows that literally everything in that forest is trying to kill him, all the time. And it gave him a good opportunity to relax after a long day.
Along with the fact that he's positive that he can never spend a night at that forest again.
While he would never admit it...he was scared of encountering that Fire Lady again.
It was honestly ridiculous, Shin had survived a Hundred Year War, pissed off animals twice his size, carnivorous plants that tried to bite his leg off...but a fucking Spirit is what makes him almost piss his pants. Its fucking insane-
Shin jumped as he heard a noise come from...somewhere, he almost reached for his sword when he heard it.
But no matter where he looked, he couldn't find anything...just himself, the shadows and whatever the hell lurked within them.
Shin was starting to wonder if all this time in the forest was starting to drive him crazy.
Deciding there was no point worrying about, he decides to go to sleep, despite knowing her probably won't get much rest.
He didn't want to admit it...but this Forest was getting to him.
She had approached the village of Hira'a under the cover of night- deciding to fly in to avoid detection. Doing her best to keep the flames of her wings low to avoid someone spotting them on her approach.
She flies down onto the roof of the inn at Hira'a, she had trailed that tracker back to his hole days ago, making sure to find out where he laid his head before making her move.
She then uses Spirit Eyes- an ability that allows her to both see spirits that may be invisible, but also see through walls. She quickly which room the man was staying in and honed in on the room, which was fortunately by a window.
She observed the man for a few minutes, write in his journal, his jumping at the shadows, before finally turning in for the night.
The former Spirit Navigator didn't waste anytime, focusing the power-
And in the next instant, she was in his room, looking down at his sleeping form.
Kazumi wonders how easy it would be to kill this man and get rid of his body ? Probably very easy...
But would that truly be protecting Azula ? If this man dies, then its more than likely that they will send more men and after that, it would become increasingly hard to set up all of their deaths as accidents.
She decides to read his journal and a quick read through told her that this man wasn't even close to finding her home.
She will have to be content with simply keeping watch over this man for now...
And if need be, start planning how to get rid of him.
Kazumi very quietly and quickly exited the room and made her way back to the house, content with how her mission went.
Aang let out a breath as she leaned up against Appa for comfort. Toph had already fallen fast asleep, and he chose to stay awake for a bit longer to keep the fire going.
They had been travelling for a few weeks to get to the South Pole, though they had been delayed and setback more than once on account of Toph's shenanigans and Aang wanting to help some travellers wherever they went. So they weren't progressing to the South Pole as quickly as Aang would have wanted, but progress was progress in his book.
He looked up at the stars and thought about how beautiful they looked.
He wondered how many other incarnations of himself has looked up at those same stars and thought the same thing ?
It was a fascinating thought to have honestly.
Aang also took that time to gauge how much time they have left before they reach the South Pole.
While he definitely was no Katara or Sokka when it came to keeping to a schedule, he could tell that they were still a week tops from the South Pole.
He really wanted to just pick up Katara and Sokka so they could go help Zuko, but it is what it is.
Aang felt a sense of hope in his heart though.
He was almost there.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, even though nothing of real importance happened here. Azula's gaining more and more power, and becoming increasingly restless as a result which has caused her to start thinking about becoming a Spirit Navigator. Which has been something I've been meaning to have happen in this story for a while now.
And of course, Kazumi being conflicted over how she feels about it and whether or not to make Azula being a Spirit Navigator like of her last line, the "pretend daughter" thing is really starting to get to her. Its something that will be brought up again in the next chapter.
Shin's once again being monitored by Kazumi and Aang has almost reached the South Pole to pick up Katara and Sokka.
Now let's answer some reviews shall we ?
To Lord 770 :
I'm glad you liked the chapter that HammerTide wrote, I always love the scenes he writes.
:)
Azula definitely sees Kazumi as her mother figure now, but as to her admitting it...that is another matter altogether.
To SmarmySmirk :
Thank you ! I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far and hope you will continue to.
With that said, I will see you all in the next one.
Angel Out.
