It was a short walk to Ursa's former home as Noriko. The modest home was as Azula recalled upon seeing it again. A single lantern burned in the middle of the family of two's dining room table flickered, allowing plain sight into the home where a heartbroken father ate with his teen daughter in melancholy silence. Zaheer wiggled in his mother's arms, his face scrunching cutely, though his wail was loud enough to awaken his long dead forefathers.
Kiyi glanced up from her bowl of kimodo chicken and white rice. Eyes wide, she looked to the window. She squinted at the feminine figure, slightly hidden from the setting sun.
"Azula?" She wondered in surprise. She started to rise to her feet when a firm hand grasped her elbow tightly.
"No, Kiyi, I don't think that's wise. That woman nearly destroyed this house last time she was here," warned her father in a low tone.
"She's my sister, Dad," snapped the young woman, rolling her eyes at his cowardice. "Something has to be wrong if she's here".
Gently removing her arm from his grasp, she added, "Don't worry. I've trained with the fire lord's handpicked masters for years. I think I can give the prodigy a run if she has cruel intentions".
Giving her worried father a confident smile, Kiyi hurried to the door, opening it to reveal the woman, who looked worse for the wear with dark circles under her eyes that either emerged from stress, crying, lack of sleep or all of the above.
"Milk," commanded Azula, coldly when the door opened.
Kiyi pouted. "Hi, Sis, come in," she grumbled, moving aside to allow her and the baby to enter through the doorway.
"Milk now, Kiyi," growled Azula, scoffing at a staring Ikem. "What are you looking at? See something you like?" She cooed. "I can pay generously, if you wish".
Ikem looked away shamefully as lust rolled through him. He could not help his attraction to the woman who held such a strong family resemblance to his late wife in her youth. He excused himself shamefully from the sisters, hurrying to the bedroom, locking his door behind him.
Kiyi sighed and opened the icebox to retrieve fresh, bottled milk leftover from her sweet nephew's stay. Azula snatched the bottle and gave it to the upset child.
"Shh, drink up, Sweetie," she whispered in a broken tone, her eyes soft as she gazed at the handsome baby boy with pure love.
"Where's Aang?" Asked her half-sister, making Azula turn away from her to hide her face.
Blinking back tears, she swallowed the pain from hearing the man's name. Get over it! He's done with you, Whore! She reminded herself. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject.
"I need money for a hotel in Republic City".
"Without Aang?" Asked Kiyi, obviously refusing to let the matter go. "What happened? Did you leave him, Azula?" She grilled the questions in a snappy tone.
He left me. Thought Azula.
Slamming the empty bottle on the dining table, Azula snapped back. "My business is my own! Can you shut your fucking mouth and give me the money? Agni, you peasants have no respect for royalty, these days!"
Kiyi's mouth dropped and Azula could feel her rising chi before she spoke. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" She cried out, fists lighting orange. "Peasant? Really? Oh, sorry, I wasn't born with a silver spoon stuck up my royal cheeks! I can't believe you walk in here, shame my father and insult me! ZuZu may be afraid of you, Princess, but you can kiss my peasant ass if you think I'm gonna wipe yours!"
Azula could not stop the shaky smirk that lifted at the corners of her lips. You are definitely my little sister. She thought in quiet humor.
"Little, Replacement Bitch," she shot back, instead, hoisting Zaheer over her shoulder to burp him.
"Pompous Slut," teased Kiyi, not noticing Azula's flinch at the insult.
"Ahem, well, let's start over, shall we?" Asked the princess, taking a seat on a pillow Ikem had occupied around the dining table.
Zaheer let out a loud burp. Kiyi chuckled and sat next to the mother and son. She was about to ask her sister again about her fiancée, but the inconsistent pulse of a vein in Azula's neck caught her attention, readily.
"You're pregnant," proclaimed Kiyi happily. "Azula! You're having another avatar baby!" She squealed with her hands covering her cheeks.
Rolling her eyes, Azula cradled her son against her pouting abdomen. "Yes, which is why we need to go to Republic City. Aang is waiting for us there and he took Appa," she lied, easily.
Kiyi's eyes narrowed and as Azula was thinking of a better lie, she said, "Ok…well, I'm not letting you go alone".
Azula's eyes bulged wide. "You're not going with me," she rejected immediately.
"It's boring here, plus Dad won't let me bring girls over," Kiyi groaned. Azula's raised eyebrow made her add, "I totally meant guys!" She chuckled out.
"Hmm," Azula shrugged, kissing her son. "Well you should be happy. Enjoy your innocence for as long as you can".
"Like you?" Asked Kiyi, making Azula's temper flare. When they locked eyes, she realized Kiyi could not possibly know any details about her shameful past. Even her mother was kept in the dark until shortly before her untimely demise.
"Yes, like me," she answered to drop the subject. "Also, Ikem would kill himself in this house alone. You should care for him while he's still around".
Kiyi shrugged carelessly which baffled Azula. The man seemed to adore his family and with their mother's death not long ago, she would think the two would have grown closer with the tragedy.
Oh, well, not MY problem. She told herself.
"Is it possible to get a bath and a bed for the night?"
Kiyi nodded and took Zaheer in hand while Azula headed for the outdoor bath springs. Luckily, Hira'a was once part of Fire Nation lands before literally breaking away from the mainland. This led to the ground being made of volcanic earth and ripe for a scalding hot spring. Azula slowly sank into the water and sighed as the scalding liquid relaxed her muscles. She decided against staying in the bath for hours as she normally would, as her mind shifted to the active unborn within her slowly expanding womb.
"Congratulations, Azula," she murmured to no one. "Not even 25 with two children, fresh out of the nuthouse and a reputation for being the avatar's cunt. What a…prodigy".
A rustle of branches made her emerge from the spring instantly. "Who's there?" She asked, in her old general's tone. "Face me, Coward!"
Instead of Red Lotus or New Ozai rebels, Azula set her predatory eyes on the form of a half-naked teenaged girl around Kiyi's age.
"S-Sorry, Ma'am!" Stuttered the pretty Fire Nation girl, red-faced.
"Who are you?" Asked the princess, sternly.
The girl's eyes widened in fear. Azula knew the look of someone thinking of a lie.
"N-No one, Ma'am!" Squealed the teenager. At Azula's slit eyes, she hastily added. "Just a neighbor! Kiyi's my best friend from school".
Sensing there was truth, Azula turned her back and dropped back into the water. She could care less about Kiyi's dumb school pals. She seethed in growing anger as she scratched her irritating, scarred forearm passively. She had to find Aang quickly. He would not leave HER without consequence. She sank into the water further in her brooding.
#
"She's in Hira'a," announced Fire Lord Zuko with a letter in hand.
Katara looked up from her conversation with Ty Lee in the palace gardens. Ty Lee squealed like a schoolgirl.
"Really? How did you find out?" Asked the circus freak.
"My other sister, Kiyi. She sent this by messenger hawk last night," said the fire lord, waving the letter.
"Is Aang with her?" Asked Katara.
"I'm sure. She didn't mention him, strangely," said Zuko in a strange tone, that made Katara raise an eyebrow.
"Then, he's not".
Three sets of eyes looked to the woman silently brooding from the dark shadows of the gardens. Mai approached the group with her daughter and all of Katara's water tribe rug rats at her trail.
"What do you mean, Mai? Aang wouldn't leave Azula," said Ty Lee.
"No, but Azula leaves everyone she fucks…over, right?" Mai said, pointedly, not pausing for an answer from the red-faced acrobat. "Either way, she is dangerous along with the avatar. I'm sure Aang has realized this by now," she said, looking to Katara briefly before turning to Zuko. "I haven't forgotten her little warning against the new princess. Have you, Fire Lord?"
Katara clenched her teeth, not liking the woman's tone. Since their arrival back in the Fire Nation. Mai had invited herself into the palace without permission from her fiancée. The fire lord's good heart could not turn away his only child and accepted her mother's rude intrusion. The waterbender felt wary about the ordeal and asked Zuko to watch his back. She reminded the fire lord of Mai's father's ploy to overthrow him and questioned the woman's true motives for suddenly reappearing with the new heir in tow.
"Aang wouldn't allow Azula to harm Izumi, Mai," said Katara, confidently. "You're just paranoid".
Mai shrugged. "Well, don't let me be the downer. Seems you're all too eager to see the father of your children as I was to see mine".
"Ok," Zuko interjected, quickly. "Look, we need to keep my nephew safe at least. Azula and Aang can take care of themselves".
Ty Lee stood on her hands and did push-ups with her feet aimed towards the sky. "Mai and I could go to Hira'a," she offered without a tremble in her voice.
"I don't know, Ty," the fire lord said, shaking his head. "She may not respond to you".
Ty Lee paused mid-push. "Oh, she will definitely respond," she said with a hint of seduction.
Mai rolled her eyes, though the comment flew over water girl and Zuko's heads. "What Ty means is that Azula may need back up with her lost bending".
The statement caught Zuko by surprise. "She's lost her bending?" He repeated, baffled.
"Who knows? Maybe Aang fucked it out of her," Mai sneered, waving him away. "Anyway, when she tried before, it was like…" She looked to her best friend as they both proclaimed.
"POOF!"
Katara felt a ripple of jealousy. It was no secret that she adored her royal fiancée, but Aang had been an unexpected thrill in bed. The reminder that he was probably ravishing the Fire Nation princess into fits of screams beneath him was an image that sparked envious ice in her bones. She turned to her children to keep the adults from noticing her hot cheeks.
"Come on kids, let's get a snack. Fire flakes?"
Mai caught the red of the girl's flushed cheeks before she could turn away, however. Good, she's still into him. She noted with a smirk.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Mai? I can have the royal procession accompany you, just in case".
"No thanks, I don't need any new bed mates and Ty Lee exclusively sleeps with bending prodigies". Zuko raised an eyebrow. "We'll be fine, Fire Lord. Just grant us an airship with a small crew to steer. We can handle the rest".
Unexpectedly, the fire lord took her hand. She looked at the bond before meeting his deformed, though gorgeous face. Her heart nearly spilled from her breast as her breathing increased. What was I thinking giving you up? She cursed herself.
"Be careful, Mai," said Zuko, quietly. "For Izumi". And me. Mai heard him add in her mind.
Ty Lee looked between the two ex-lovers before flipping upright. "Um, I'm going to pack my…um…stuff. A girl can't have too many provisions, right, Mai? Ya' know, provisions she owns? Her own provisions? Not someone else's? Or those that she gave away".
Mai caught the hint, though she waved her friend off. Ty Lee breathed out dramatically before hurrying to find Katara to stop the madness arising.
"I hope you are happy, Zuko," said Mai softly, removing her hand from his. She was unsure if she really meant it.
Zuko ran his fingers through his lengthy hair. His beard had grown lengthier also and Mai had to turn away from the only beautiful man that her heart bled for. He wasn't hers anymore. That blue-eyed, bending terrorist had him enthralled now.
"I am, Mai, but I have to admit that it is good to see you again".
Mai nodded. "Enjoy your evening, Your Highness," she said, leaving him watching her back as she left for the guest room.
It did not come as a surprise when she heard the door to the guest room's knob twist quietly and the fire lord's burned face slowly appear to check if she was asleep. Mai looked at him from her novel without emotion. Placing the novel on a nearby nightstand, she peeled back her crimson bed sheets to welcome him with her nakedness.
#
"It must be nice to have the world love you," Aang recognized Kei Lo's bitter voice speak though his head was covered with a dark hood with a small hole for his nostrils to take in air.
He could feel the bump of the graveled roads beneath his feet. He grunted in response, thinking of a way to blast open whatever mobilizing vehicle he was in with air from his nose.
"You know since Zuko took the throne from his father, the nation's been in a constant upheaval," continued the man obviously very close to him. "It is ripe, breeding grounds for an all-out revolt. I mean, first he's taking up with a whore from the Southern Water Tribe, then the Crowned Princess whore's around with the woman's air nomad, ex-husband," Aang seethed as Kei Lo chuckled. "At the rate, they're going, The New Ozai Society could overtake the palace by just sitting on the throne. No fighting needed".
Aang shifted in the uncomfortably tight, metal bounds around his wrists. "You idiots still call yourselves, The New Ozai Society? Don't you know where he is?" He hissed.
"They do, I hear," answered Kei Lo readily. "The people blame you for the fire lord's death, you know?"
"Good," said Aang, immediately, silently content with being deemed Ozai's murderer. A large part of him wished the rumor was fact.
"Hmm, can't be good for your reputation, hmm, Avatar?" taunted Kei Lo. "Plus, your face hasn't been seen much since you took up with the war lord that took Ba Sing Se".
Aang reeled at his notion. "What? Azula has paid for her crimes. She was freed by the courts," he spoke.
"Sure, she paid royally…right," grumbled Kei Lo.
Aang heard the sound of feet, leaving rapidly.