This was intended as the basis of an Avatar/Naruto crossover, but I had certain difficulties making the scenes gel, so here is the bunny ready to be adopted by anyone who knows what they are doing.
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Finding Redemption
Arrival
The one-time Fire Lord and Phoenix King struggled out through the hole, ignoring the many bruises and scrapes which adorned his body. Behind him, ignored by the escaped prisoner, the crystal-lined tunnel slowly darkened as the gems in the walls faded, followed soon after by the existence of the tunnel itself.
"At last!" Ozai exulted, raising his bloodied fists to the sky. "I have escaped and I will force the Avatar to return my powers to me before I reclaim my… my… where the hell am I?"
Ozai stared at the distant cliff which was adorned by a quartet of giant stone heads, a landmark that he knew was nowhere to be found in the Fire Nation, especially not close to the isolated prison from which he had escaped using an ancient tunnel that a rather paranoid previous Fire Lord had installed (and passed down instructions on how to access if required). The same Fire Lord had ensured that every single city, base, outpost and hidden storehouse also had hidden accessways, carefully created for him by the one Earthbender he could trust to not speak of it… his wife, the child of one of the Avatars.
Of course, after the completion of the tunnels and the birth of his heir (and a second son just in case), his wife mysteriously died and her journals were destroyed in an accidental fire.
Amusingly, the Fire Lord in question was killed in a real accident before he could re-marry, but no-one had cause to use the tunnels after that.
Until now.
Ozai turned to re-enter the tunnel and froze at the sight of the shallow cave behind him, a cave that was little more than a small depression in the side of the rocky hill. Lunging forwards, he scrabbled at the back of it, only getting cuts and bruises on his fingers for his troubles.
"…what?" He gasped. "How? Where!?"
Panting, he slumped to his knees, then his gaze travelled to a glowing stone embedded in the back of the cave. Reaching out, he touched it experimentally, then scrambled backwards as a glowing figure appeared.
"I do not know your name, but I know who you are." The translucent image of a woman clad in the formal robes of the Fire Lord's Consort stated. "I have seen the futures and should you return to the Fire Nations to reclaim your throne, should you try to capture the beloved of the Avatar and hold her hostage to restore your powers, you will bring death and destruction to the Nations, even beyond that which has been caused in the hundred years wars.
"I cannot see your path beyond today, but you will never return to the Fire Nation. But I am not without mercy. The Spirit Gems have brought you to the land of the Great Spirit Tree. Although you have none of your powers, you still have your mind, your knowledge and your health.
"Depart now and seek your future. Seek the sun and you shall live well.
"And check under the rock to your left."
The image wavered and vanished, leaving Ozai kneeling in front of the small cave, thin it collapsed with a dull rumble. For a long time, Ozai simply knelt, head bowed as he mourned the loss of his dreams of conquest, then he lifted his head.
"The rock to the left?"
Pulling himself to his feet, he turned and spotted a flat rock almost flush with the ground. Moving to it, he worked his fingers under one side and with an explosive heave, he raised the rock as if it was a trapdoor, revealing the buried chest underneath. Levering the rock slab over, he let it drop as he pulled open the chest, revealing folded clothes in bright orange and a bag of golden discs.
"Orange?" He grumbled as he lifted up the first item, then he shrugged. "Anything's better than these rags."
.
Ozai strode out of the forest and onto the road. Pausing only to re-adjust the bag on his back (which held two changes of clothing and his former prison rags which may prove useful), he turned towards the distant mountain face and strode forwards. Even as he walked, his eyes darted from side to side, scanning the trees for any possible threat. However, despite several shadows flickering through the treetops, the journey was uneventful until the road finally terminated at a large gate set into a high wall.
Ozai paused for a moment, his eyes drinking in the tall structure. The wall was straight, but the couple of watchout towers he could make out above the treeline indicated that while the section of wall he could see was straight, the wall as a whole was curved. The tall gate was made out of wood and Ozai mentally sneered at it, thinking about the times when as the Fire Prince, he personally burned down similar gates.
But his power was no longer his to command, thanks to that blasted arrow-headed brat.
Taking a deep breath, Ozai resumed his trek, walking up to the gates and through them.
"Hey!"
Biting down a sarcastic retort that would only have served to get him into trouble, Ozai turned to see an open-fronted shed with two men sat in it.
"Yes?"
"Name, affiliation and purpose, please." One of the men stated and Ozai mentally marked them as little more than border guards.
Not worth much on their own, but more often than not backed up by a large military.
"Ozai, exile from a distant land, seeking a new life." He replied, then paused. "Formerly an expert with the use of fire, but an… incident removed my direct skills with it. I can probably teach, if you have any firebenders here."
"Any whatbenders?" The one on the left asked and Ozai paused.
"My apologies." He managed to say despite the urge to snarl at their ignorance. "Where I am from, those who use and control Fire as their element are called Firebenders."
"And they only use one element?" The second guardsman asked curiously. "Most of our shinobi can use basic techniques with all the elements, although you do have to have an elemental alignment for the more powerful techniques."
Ozai blinked. If the warriors here were all like the damned Avatar, then even if he had retained his power, he would have been unable to fight his way to the…
His ruminations cut off abruptly as a new person simply appeared in a swirl of leaves.
"How?" He gasped in shock, pointing at the masked arrival.
"Your people don't have Shunshin then, right?"
Ozai felt his insides congeal. He had no powers and they were obviously far beyond his former level anyway.
He had no choice.
If he was to live, he needed to find… a job.
But what?
His gaze moved to the odd dagger that one of the guards was using to pick under his nails.
"May I?" He asked and the guard shrugged before flipping the dagger so he held it by the blade, offering the handle with the odd ring-pommel to him.
"Interesting." He mused as he took the weapon. "I have never seen a blade like this, but the balance is fairly good for throwing… the ring suggests it could be used in conjunction with a cord, possibly in a whip-like manner. The edges are straight, but it offers little protection for the fingers, so one would have to be very careful using it to block a sword or other bladed weapon… the angle of the blade edges suggests that it's primarily a piercing weapon, although it can be used for slashing. All in all, a servicable weapon, although I would give it a polish, this area here looks like it is developing a rust spot."
Ozai handed the blade back handle-first as the two guards stared at him.
"You know weapons?"
Ozai nodded, remembering his own ceremonial dagger, forged under the gaze of Master Piandao in his newly-built castle.
"I have experience with blacksmithing." He allowed. "My father insisted that should I use a weapon, I had to learn how to make it and repair it if needed."
"Interesting." The newcomer commented. "We may be able to help you after all."
.
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Meeting Naruto
The ringing of metal attracted Naruto's attention and he scampered across the busy street for a closer look, ignoring the scowls that were sent his way.
The source of the noise was a blacksmiths shop, open at the front to show the owner, wearing thick trousers and a leather apron, carefully hammering what looked like a sword. On the walls behind the Blacksmith, the walls bore hooks from which Kunai, swords, daggers, shuriken and many other weapons hung.
The blacksmith lifted the blade, looking at it critically, then lowered it into a trough of water, causing a cloud of steam to rise, then he looked up at Naruto's fascinated expression.
"…and you are?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" Naruto declared, stepping up to the shop, but not quite stepping inside.
"Future Hokage, hmmm?" The man mused, giving Naruto a look like Naruto had never seen before. "Well, Uzumaki Naruto, I am Ozai, son of Azulon, blacksmith and weapons expert."
"Cool!" Naruto breathed in awe. "Are you a ninja?"
"I am not." Ozai said quellingly and Naruto sagged. "Why does this surprise you?"
"I was hoping to find someone I could learn from." Naruto sighed. "The Academy's boring, it's all writing and I can't… put up with it?"
"You cannot read, or not very well." Ozai deduced and Naruto winced, then set his face into a determined expression. Ozai blinked, then put down his hammer and moved round the anvil.
"Interesting." He mused, reaching down to take Naruto's chin in his hand, tilting Naruto's head for a better look before letting go and briefly stepping outside his shop. For a long moment, he looked at something that Naruto couldn't see, then he turned back to face Naruto.
"Interesting." He repeated. "You have determination in your eyes… I wonder…"
"Huh? Wonder what?" Naruto asked in befuddlement. "What?"
"It is said that the greatest legacy of a teacher is that he is surpassed by his student." Ozai said, his eyes staring at something only he could see. "Master Piandao told me a day would come when I would understand why he taught… Now I stand in his place, I begin to see."
Naruto shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it."
"I do not expect you to." Ozai said quietly. "But I do."
For a moment, he stood silently, then he clapped his hands, making Naruto jump. "So! Your weapons, show me."
Naruto moved to the workbench that Ozai indicated and emptied his Kunai pouch. Ozai stared at the weapons, then looked at Naruto.
"I can see that the first lesson is going to be how to care for your weapons." He sighed. "Naruto, I will teach you what I know of war and combat, but in exchange, you will work for me when you are not being taught either by myself or the Academy. You will have many tasks and they will help to build your muscles into something that a warrior should have."
Naruto grinned, looking up at the blacksmith. "I'll be the best helper you've ever had! Believe it!"
For the first time in the three years since his arrival, Ozai smiled.
"I don't know why," he said to the nine-year-old boy who bore an incredible resemblence to the fourth head on the mountain, "but I do believe it."
.
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A Day At Work
"Bellows." Ozai ordered and Naruto quickly moved to position, grabbing the handle and starting to pump air into the forge to heat it up again. Ozai glanced at him, noting that he was (finally!) pumping the handle correctly, using one hand to anchor himself and the other to pull the lever.
As the metal in the crucible heated up, Ozai watched it critically, then raised his hand in a signal for Naruto to stop.
"Kunai mold."
Naruto seemed to vanish, only to reappear a few seconds later with the special ceramic mold that Ozai had managed to create, a mold that allowed him to cast a dozen kunai at once. Grabbing a pair of tongs, he lifted the crucible out of the forge and turned, nodding in approval as Naruto carefully ensured that he was nowhere near the moving vessel and its molten contents.
Holding it steady, Ozai carefully filled each section of the mold carefully, then returned the remaining molten steel to the forge.
"Hook it up."
Naruto slid the mold across the worktop to the pipe in the corner and pushed the mold into place. A quick turn of the tap sent cold water flowing through the special channels in the mold, taking the heat away fast enough to reduce the risk of crystallisation.
"Last load for today." Ozai commented. "Tidy up and we can get some training in."
Naruto vanished out the back to begin tidying up and Ozai sighed as someone coughed behind him.
"May I help you?" He asked as he turned towards the customer who had ignored the "Closed" sign, only to pause as he found himself looking at a man he had briefly met only once before. "Lord Hokage?"
"I thought I'd pop by and see how you were getting on." Hiruzen said with a slight smile. "And to thank you."
Ozai blinked. "I do not understand."
"Since getting a job with you, Naruto's grades at the Academy have risen." Hiruzen stated. "You helped him with that."
"I saw the potential in him." Ozai said defensively. "It seemed a shame to let it go to waste."
"Indeed." Hiruzen agreed. "So, what are you teaching him now?"
"You call it Kenjutsu." Ozai replied. "His limbs are slightly short in relation to his body, so the extra length of the blade will give him an advantage."
"And you are teaching him how to use the air to help him." Hiruzen prompted. "I believe you said your main experience was with fire?"
"My family once pursued a war against those who used the other elements." Ozai admitted. "Have you heard the saying Know your enemy and know yourself and you shall win a thousand battles? My family made a deep study of the other paths. My older brother studied the ways of Water in order to increase his own control of Fire. As I believed I would encounter a certain enemy, which I did, I studied the ways of Air… although I still lost."
"You seem to be teaching him ways of using it that I've never seen before." Hiruzen remarked. "My son would be interested in what you have to teach, as am I."
"I… it would be an honor." Ozai managed, his mind awhirl with ideas on how to use the favors he would accumulate from teaching others, then his thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry.
"Jiji!"
"Hello, Naruto." Hiruzen chuckled as the young boy glomped him. "It's good to see you… you've really been building muscle, haven't you?"