Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Burning Fire. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I don't own Avatar, Nick, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko do.

Izumi turned to look at Kei, his face hidden by his armor. He knew the next phase of her plan which she trusted him enough with. Still? He didn't like that type of idea.

The small flotilla of Earth Kingdom ships below made the guards uneasy, even WITH the rest of the Fire Navy. There were quite a few scraps of work to do at the moment. Even with the Water Tribe soldiers here? There was a LOT of tension due to the presence of an army of soldiers on their shores.

"Are we sure the Fire Lord should be sent down without any major protection besides usual?" One of the guards stated before he paused.

"It was on his request; he had a team sent down with him," Kei stated in return as he did so. "There's not much I can do; you want to argue with him?" Kei questioned as he hummed, turning towards Kei as he did so.

"There's a lot of work inside the Fire Nation to be done after this," Izumi said before she rubbed at her arms. "Kei, do you remember the plan we discussed?" Izumi questioned as Kei nodded.

(2 hours ago)

Izumi closed her eyes as one of the servants paused to put a hairpin atop her head. Another one placed her ceremonial boots over her feet and made sure her makeup and armor were fitted perfectly.

"I still think we should have more reinforcements; they have hundreds of guys." Kei heard from one of his soldiers as he shook his head. "There's plenty of precautions we could take on to ensure there the security of the princess." Kei also heard as he paused to himself as the other guard pointed this out.

"It is the royal family who decides that, not us. You know that." Kei stated as he brushed off his armor and trend to them as he did so. "Ask the Fire Lord if you think he wants more security, my job is to protect the princess currently. I have to talk to her, keep the area closed off for now." Kei ordered which gained a nod as his friend turned and left.

He pivoted to Izumi, walking to the woman as he did so. Her servants looked to her as they bowed and turned to leave the room.

"There's a small chance we might cause an issue." Izumi heard as Kei walked up, crouching down to her level. "I'm doing this your way, but your dad is the one greeting them. I do hope he knows what he's doing with lighter security." Kei said as he sighed, turning around as he did so.

"My father wouldn't be choosing unless he knew something was ok," Izumi stated before she brushed off her gloved hands. "I do not know if he wishes for the avatar to make an appearance. I know he will be here. There will be plenty of details to fold into place when this is over with." Izumi stated before she slowly sat up.

She stumbled across the elaborate floor a few steps before she looked up to see that there was Kei, holding her so she didn't stumble and fall. He helped her up before looking over his shoulder as he did so.

"Easy, armor isn't exactly the easiest thing to be moving in," Kei stated to which he hummed. "There's plenty of time to practice, though… I'll show you when we aren't busy handling preventing another war," Kei added before clicking his fingers together as he said so.

There was plenty of work to be done when this is over. He was quite confident in how this worked, Izumi didn't often sweat over the details when he reminded her of it. there was a lot of paperwork he knew Kei was going to happen if he did? Then he could only imagine the amount of suffering that went on soon when she took office.

He shook his head, amused but eager to help her. It was his job when it came down to it. There was no doubt in his mind that this was without a doubt the stupidest thing that could be attempted. If one single detail went wrong? They'd be on the wrong side of a war that could encroach and consume the war once more. If it wasn't for them? Then it might be better to simply find a new path out of this war.

"The princess has something crazy planned, doesn't she?" Kei heard as he hummed. "Captain, you wouldn't exactly happen to know what her plan is, do you?" Kei heard as he hummed, turning on his heel to one of the soldiers.

"All I can tell you is this plan is a lot more elaborate than it had been before," Kei responded as he paused to think about the next move. "If it was so easy? Then I'd have told you what it was. Part of the plan is outside of my control, to begin with. There are plenty of factors her plans don't cover. I don't know what she fully planned to happen if I'm fully honest." Kei put in before he turned and looked around, unsure of what to say.

"I don't know what will happen next," Kei added as he crossed his arms. "All I do know is there's a plan set in motion; we just haven't played our part in it yet." Kei put in before he turned to think of the next move.

Her plan was slowly unwrapping itself. He needed to wait, see what came next and his part to play in it. There was far too much on the line for him to fail while he started to think about what happened to his friend at the end of the day.

If he knew Izumi as well as he knew himself? Then there was a small chance that the woman was entirely focused on this affair. The princess was someone that played her cards to her chest at the moment. It still made him think of the next move the woman would make.

"Zumi? I'm starting to think your plans are insane when it came down to it." Kei stated before he started to shake his head. "Why does it not surprise me? These plans are something that I help her handle carrying out and even I don't understand what they do." Kei added to himself while he shook his head.

He placed a hand on his temples as he waited for the woman to call on him once more. If it was anything like the other times? She'd be doing something insane and hair-brained which often made him both amused and concerned that she'd be hurt or worse.

(With Izumi)

Izumi looked down at the warriors who were slowly marching the ramps. There were more than a dozen, it seemed more like an invading army that could crash down like a tidal wave. Why did they bring so many? Were they that insecure that they considered the need for a force such a necessity? It made her worry about what happened if they attacked. The Fire Nation military was just as ready for the attack if it did indeed come.

Still? Izumi prayed that the desire left them and the rest of the soldiers here. The damage would unleash on the people around them? It wasn't worth it, there would be countless deaths, including the civilians.

"Fire Lord Zuko." Izumi heard from one of the soldiers as she raised an eyebrow. "We seek a word with you, there are numerous details we must discuss." Izumi also heard as she cleared her throat.

"My father is at the royal palace at the moment," Izumi responded while she raised an eyebrow. "He sent me to greet you and welcome you to our shores," Izumi added while she cleared her throat.

One of the soldiers who started towards her crossed her arms behind her back. She was well aware of this soldier being several feet taller than her. It didn't bother her as much as the warrior seemed to think it did.

She was silent while her guards stood ready to defend the princess if needed. Izumi was also aware of the fact that Kei awaited her word at the time, something that bothered her at the time.

"The princess of the Fire Nation herself greets us?" One of the soldiers stated to which there was a nod. "Why do you greet us on behalf of your father? That isn't your concern, girl." The soldier stated to himself before he rolled his eyes and he shook his head.

The entire land was interested in what came next. He didn't feel like asking how it happened or what to do next at the time. He didn't want to know what happened if she had more insane choices hidden in her sleeve. It was rather weird when he considered it but to him?

This was Izumi. She had insane plans and a smart person learned to adapt to them. Kai knew more than enough to consider the idea insane and throw it to the side as if it was simply stupid. She was a cunning princess from what little he knew of her and it was rather nice to work for someone who knew what they had planned for the world.

Still? He was also aware Izumi hadn't dealt with a possible war on their shores and this reeked of a bad idea. He trusted in her judgment more than anything grand simply wanted to make sure this didn't go off the rails. All of it had to be dealt with.

There was also the fact that a war had occurred before then in one of their colonies and almost spiraled into full-blown war. If it happened here? There would be almost entirely irreversible damage to their lands which didn't benefit anyone. If they were smart? They'd bury the hatchet while there was still one left to bury at the moment.

He said nothing and awaited her command at the moment so he could handle it. There were too many problems at the moment for him and he needed to handle something that hadn't been as bad as this. Kai trusted her despite the fact he had dozens of reasons to be aware of this at the time.

She had been in this type of problem before and yet she had 10000 soldiers who protected her. It had been something that scared him when it came down to it. He had plenty of soldiers around her when it happened at the time and now, she was with so little protection that if someone wanted to end her life? They'd be capable of sniffing it out left and right.

Still? He had plenty of reasons to do when it comes down to it. He had plenty to do as of now. He needed to do more than simply end the enemy. He needed to find what happened as of now and if they planned to fall apart.

He had a lot to handle as of now. It came with being close to the princess and trusting her even though he was in the water.

There was plenty to do and she was the one in the hot water. He was to end this before he sighed and simply waited for the rest of the problems to be handled. It was simple as that.

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be longer. I want to plan the next chapter. The next chapter will be 900-6500 words at the moment. The next chapter will be delayed at the moment and will hopefully be a lot longer at the moment. Until the next chapter, Lighting Wolf out!