Chapter 7: Tales at the Academy
Zuko
Zuko was close to losing his mind.
The academy was a repurposed fortress standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, with the closest sign of civilization being an hour trip downhill towards the village of Shu Jing. It didn't help that the place was barely built to handle the stupid sun shining all day.
This meant he was essentially stuck in this massive stone heat trap filled with stuck up nobles who either tried to suck up to him, or made fun of him for his firebending.
And the worst part, that water idiot Kaze seemed to be having the time of his life, walking through the halls with his annoying attitude like nothing could go wrong. He also seemed to hover over him, as if Azula put him up to annoy him every chance he got.
He also managed to get popular among the other students for some unholy reason.
"You know Zuko, maybe if you actually tried smiling for once you'd be able to make some friends." He heard Kaze say as he made to walked up to him.
"I don't need friends." He snarls at him. "What I need is to get stronger so I can become worthy of being the crown prince of the Fire Nation."
"Okay sure, I get that but…" Kaze puts a pensive face. "Maybe the reason your firebending still sucks is because you keep insisting on keeping up your tragic recluse act."
"What would you know?!" Zuko's temper is rising, but Kaze doesn't react to it.
"Well…" Kaze looks around to check if they were alone. "When I waterbend, I let my mind focus on things that calm me down, you know. My family, my friends, the ocean breeze from the capital, the sound of the ships coming in and out…"
"I really couldn't care less." Zuko picks up the pace, trying to lose him.
Kaze laughs at his attitude. "What I'm saying is maybe… you need a change of perspective. You're so angry all the time, perhaps your inner fire requires a different source from you."
Zuko considers his words. He really thought coming to the academy would be what he needed to finally improve his bending… But this past year he's pretty sure he's gotten worse.
"What are you saying I should do?" He grumbles, reluctant to take advice from Kaze.
"Well, try something else. Clear your mind, actually talk to others, stop scowling during classes. I mean, I'm pretty sure that girl Fang was trying to be friendly with you the other day, and you just brushed her off." Kaze says, then his eyes light up with an idea.
"Maybe take up a weapon!" He says like it's the greatest idea he's had. "They say there's a legendary sword master by the village, maybe focusing on a different type of combat will help clear your head."
"I'm a firebender!" Zuko says offended. "I don't need to learn how to swing some stupid sword!"
"Well, you never know you know." Kaze once again ignores his outburst.
"Plus, I'm not saying that you should dedicate your life to the blade or anything… Just take some time to focus on something else for a while."
Kaze then grins teasingly.
"And Azula told me that Mai has been learning how to fight using knives recently… Maybe the sword could help impress her you know."
Zuko's face turns bright red at his words. He's about to respond angrily at Kaze until his words start sinking in.
After a couple minutes of not saying anything, Zuko then comes up with a decision.
"Fine… I'll give it a try…" He finally grumbles out.
The trip towards the master's home took way more effort than he bargained for. Especially with the sun beating down on him as he climbed up the hill.
Once he arrived at the door, he was promptly turned away by some old guy saying that Master Piandao doesn't take students anymore.
Not willing to give up after all this effort to get there, Zuko knocked again.
No response.
He knocks again.
And once again, no response.
He tries one more time, now considering blasting the door down with fire.
And this time, that old guy lets in him with a resigned sigh.
He led him through the surprisingly nice-looking manor, many swords among other things displaying on the walls. He particularly finds a pair of broadswords lined up to be interesting.
When he finally met the master, he was surprised find an older looking guy painting on a canvas with calming aura.
He didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this.
"So, what is the crown prince of the Fire Nation doing in my home, if I may ask?" He hears the master say to him, as the other old guy left the room.
"I-I…" He stammers, realizing he hadn't planned what he'd actually say beforehand.
He takes a deep breath.
"I want to be trained in the ways of the sword. And I heard you were amongst the best the Fire Nation has ever witnessed."
Piandao looks at him critically. "Aren't you a firebender. Why would you want to take up a weapon like the sword?"
Zuko face strains at the mention of his bending. "I… I'm not a good firebender. It's been five years since my inner fire lit up for the first time and…" He tightens his fists on his sides. "And until now, it has never been more than a dying ember..."
He then takes another breath, and calms his emotions.
"A… friend." Is he a friend?
"Well, an acquaintance of mine suggested that taking up another way of combat would help clear my mind and change my perspective on things and…" Zuko bows towards the sword master.
"And I believe that working towards mastering the blade could prove to help me truly find who I really am!"
Piandao looks at him expressionless for what felt like an eternity.
Zuko fidgets in place, taking his silent scrutinizing almost suffocating.
And then, the master speaks up.
"While I don't really know what really seems to be stunting your bending, I can sense how sincere you are in your plead."
He places a hand on Zuko's shoulder, signaling to raise his head.
"Very well, Prince Zuko. I shall train you in the ways of the sword."
Zuko's eyes light up in joy, as he bows once more.
"Thank you, Master Piandao! I won't disappoint you!"
Azula
Two years have passed since that fateful week where one boy managed to shift the course of her life.
To say that it has been difficult moving about the Capital, investigating her mom's disappearance, honing her blue flames with the capital's pitiful firebenders, and having to keep up appearances by going to the Royal Academy for girls, would have been a mayor understatement.
Regardless, Azula was making decent progress. She had recently managed to find the records of her grandfather's death by snipping around her father's office. Apparently, before passing away in his sleep he had not presented any possible symptoms of any illness or condition. If anything, he was indicated by the royal physicians to be the pinnacle of health, poised to live decades more. So him dying so suddenly and unexpectedly from a supposed heart attack seemed fishy at best. Obviously, the real cause of death still remained at large.
She still hadn't made much progress on her other front. She has tried to find out her mother's whereabouts by looking into her past. Unfortunately, it seemed her father took into account that particular loose end by completely removing any record and file about her. As far as the Fire Nation was concerned anymore, the palace was never home to any 'Lady Ursa'. Even most of the servants that her mother had favored managed to randomly disappear shortly after her father was made Fire Lord.
In a way, everything she's found out has helped settle the fact that her father was responsible for the disaster two years ago.
She can only hope she can make more headway into a plan before Kaze comes back…
Speaking of Kaze, she has been sharing a monthly correspondence with him. They talked about anything the happened to learn that could prove useful to their goals. But they also liked to discuss more regular topics. She found it really amusing that Zuko went from ostracizing himself from his classmates to suddenly gaining decent popularity after demonstrating skill with the sword. Apparently, Kaze took pity on his misery and gave him advice to seek something to clear his mind.
Most surprising of all, Zuko had somehow managed to climb towards the top of the academy's firebenders, coming on top on many of its in house tournaments.
'Well, not like he has any hope of catching up to me' She thought, content that her brother's constant bad mood could settle down a bit.
Although right now, Azula found herself in the middle of an important mission.
Kaze's last letter had interestingly included two separate messages.
Could you maybe deliver this letter to my mom. They haven't answered any of the ones I've sent so I'm worried that any letter not sent to the palace is being intercepted somewhere along its path.
Don't worry, it's pretty easy to get to if you follow the drainage pipes right by the southern walls of the palace.
The message had said.
And so, during a visit to Mai's home, she waited for the best moment to sneak out.
"I'm not to sure about this Azula… What if we get caught?" Said Ty Lee, as the three girls walked on one of the pipes walkaways.
"Yeah… this place stinks." Mai said annoyed while pinching her nose.
"Will you two stop complaining." Azula said while rolling her eyes. "This is hardly any worse than those secret tunnels we used to sneak into years ago."
"Kaze is counting on us to deliver this message, and I'm going to make sure his family gets it." Her voice is commanding and determined.
"Ugh, it's always about him with you…" Mai's tone struck a nerve in Azula.
"What are you saying?" Azula narrows her eyes at her friend.
"What I'm saying is that maybe you could not drag us into whatever business you have with your boyfriend."
Azula's face glows a bright red at her words.
"H-H-He's not my boyfriend!"
"Really? But you DO like him, right?" Ty Lee perked up at Azula's reaction.
"Enough! You two are going to shut up about that topic, or else!" Azula scream echoed throughout the large solid walls of the pipe.
Despite the threat, Ty Lee couldn't help but giggle.
"Well, I don't mind, to be honest." She adds. "Kaze is our friend after all. I'm sure his family is sick with worry from not hearing from him for two years you know."
"Ugh… Whatever." Mai rolls her eyes at her two friends.
When they arrived at the rundown building that was the orphanage, Azula's heart hammered with nervousness.
Kaze had told her that his mom was most likely where he inherited most of his personality from, but she still was worried about scaring other people with her attitude. She's been trying to mellow down on her arrogance and temper ever since he had left to the Academy, but she still found herself going back into her usual temper and aggressiveness.
She knocks on the door.
The one who opens is not who she expected.
It was a younger looking girl, with messy brown hair and large dark blue eyes. Kaze said her name was Yiyi
"Can I help you?"
Azula coughs to compose herself. "Kaze told us to deliver this letter." She takes out an envelope from one of her cloak's inner pockets.
"Wait… Kaze?" She takes the envelope.
"But why would you…" She starts, and then realization hits her.
"Oh! You must be Princess Azula then!" She excitedly takes Azula's hands on her own, making the princess freeze at the contact. "Kaze said so many great things about you!"
'Are all peasants this brazen when meeting someone.' She thinks while remembering her meeting with Kaze.
"Come inside! I'm sure Miss Umi would love to meet you three!" She practically drags Azula inside, Ty Lee and Mai trailing behind her.
Once inside, the three girls are led towards a small kitchen area with a large worn-down table in the middle.
"Oh! What an adorable little place!" Ty Lee gushes at the many flowers and old-fashioned decorations around the place. To her, it looked more than a home than her own massive manor she shared with her sisters and parents.
"Oh, thanks… We all worked hard to make it as nice as we could." Said Yiyi shyly.
It is then that another voice catches the girls attention from the doorway to the kitchen.
"Oh? Who are your friends Yiyi?"
It was a raven-haired tall woman, with large amber eyes and an incredibly kind smile on her face.
The resemblance made it obvious who she was.
"This is Princess Azula! Kaze's friend who helped him before he left!" Yiyi introduced her with excitement.
"And I'm Ty Lee." Ty Lee then goes towards Mai, who was standing in a corner trying to stay out of sight. "And this is Mai! We're Azula's friends!"
"Oh wow! I'm so happy to finally meet you." The older woman walks towards Azula, before giving her a warm hug. Azula gets flashbacks of a certain day by a pond two years ago.
"Thank you so much for taking care of my son. It means the world to me he found someone like you in his life."
Azula's mind goes blank. She still isn't used to such open display of gratitude towards her.
"Um…" She tries to come up with a response. "I-It was nothing, really… He has helped me a lot more than I could ever repay…" Her cheeks get red in shyness. Ty Lee and Mai can't help the amused looks on their faces at their friend's rare show of timidness.
Umi smiles at her words. "Anyway! What brings you three here?" She looks at the three guests after she lets Azula go.
"They brought a letter from Kaze!" Said Yiyi, showing her the envelope.
"He's been writing to you guys for the past two years but…" Azula lowers her gaze. "But it seems they're not letting him keep contact with anyone outside the palace."
"And you three risked bringing it all by yourselves?" Umi's eyes widen at how far these girls would go to help her son.
"Well, Kaze is our friend!" Exclaimed Ty Lee cheerfully. "We would do anything to help him out! Right, Mai?" She looks at her gloomy friend.
"I guess…" She looks ready to leave, but there's the smallest upturn to her lips that only her two friends managed to catch.
Umi feels her heart glow at their words, who would've thought her little boy could find friends like them.
But the moment is interrupted by 8 pairs of feet running from the backdoor back inside.
"Hey, is it dinner time already?" A small one asks, Azula reckons its Milo due to his brown and green eyes that Kaze had described to her before.
"Oh! That's right!" Umi moves towards the kitchen, pulling out what she needed for dinner.
"Would you three stay to eat with us?" She asked, a sparkle to her eyes very reminiscent of Kaze.
"Um… we were supposed to-" Azula is cut off by one of her friends.
"We would love to stay!" Ty Lee shouts excitedly. "Right, Azula?"
She thinks for a moment, nervousness crawling back into her heart. She then sees the kind face that tends break all of her barriers and takes a deep breath.
"Very well… If you wouldn't mind."
"Of course, we don't" Umi responds cheerfully, making Azula's nerves disappear completely.
As they move to sit by the table, one tiny girl with brown eyes and a missing tooth approaches Mai, who was still standing by a corner.
"What?" Mai stares at the girl.
"Why do you look so scary?" Mai face shifts into a offended scowl.
Azula and Ty Lee share a laugh at this.
Kaze
Kaze's time in the academy has been eye opening.
It's been three years since arriving here, and he is sure he's learned more about the world than he thought possible.
Many of the kids, while initially coming off as arrogant and pretentious, quickly became very acceptant of him. Although this is probably due to being personally enrolled by the Fire Lord.
Even then, what he expected to be hell hole filled with stuck up noble children, turned out to become part of his fonder memories.
That's not to say it was easy. He did fairly well on most subjects, although one in particular got on his nerves really quick.
History of the fire nation was nothing than a propaganda a filled collection of lies and half-truths. They loved painting all the horrible things the Fire Nation has done as duties ordained by the spirits and whatever nonsense they could come up with. They also loved talking about other nations as if they were lower than humans. He's honestly felted hard pressed not to jump at the teacher every other day.
The rest of the classes were fine. They went over war tactics, combat training, different types of battalions along with their advantages and disadvantages. Being an academy meant for future generals and officers, they went over many leadership courses and practiced by commanding small groups of soldiers in mock battles. They also learned about the layout of the Fire Nation and the battlefields around the world. Knowing the type of ground and weather you deal with vital for a successful campaign.
Kaze felt surprised at how quickly he picked up on most things. His only weakness so far, according to his professors, was being too kind on the battlefield, always hesitating to put others in danger, even his own soldiers.
Although Kaze didn't really see the problem, as long as he himself could take care of the problem with his own power.
There were two other things that really held him back during these few years. The first one was Zuko.
Making sure he didn't get himself too injured on the mock battles and training meant having to keep constant watch of his antics. At the beginning he always felt the need to prove himself, getting into more trouble most of the time than he could handle. Although after he managed to convince him to take up the sword, his attitude changed for the better. They sparred together, often ate along other friends and ultimately, he could say they actually became friends.
Kaze goes through these memories with a sad look on his face. Zuko was ordered back to the capital last year. Apparently, the Fire Lord wanted to maintain an image of unity in the royal family after General Iroh's failures in Ba Sing Se.
Azula often talked about him in her letters. He was initially too much plagued by guilt and pain for his son's death, but slowly managed to come around. She apparently was often invited for tea, as Azula considered him one of the only people in the palace she could trust.
The worst news came a bit after Zuko arrived back to the capital.
It seemed he talked back to one of the generals during a war meeting and…
And his own father permanently burned the left side of his face, before banishing in a wild-goose chase for an Avatar that hasn't been seen for a hundred years.
Kaze could barely contain his fury when first read Azula's letter. He couldn't bare having abandoned Azula in a place with a monster like her father. He could barely wait for his graduation next year, so that he could be back in her side.
But for now, he must power through.
He is currently on his way to the academy's infirmary, where he met his favorite member of the staff.
Dr. Haneul was incredibly kind the first time he arrived with an injury. He was taken on a stretcher after a nasty to his leg during a practice match. He jumped in front one of his soldiers who was about to be hit from behind.
She managed to quickly identify the injury using an unusual bout of firebending, before properly immobilizing it. She then treated it once again with a technique she called 'Fire healing', where she channeled her own fire to locate a person's different chi spots and lead more energy into the affected area, allowing for faster healing. Although he would later use his own healing secretly that night.
He then theorized that if he managed to learn more about how the body worked, and the different types of injuries and ailments one could get, his waterbending could reach new heights once more.
Entering the infirmary, he is quickly greeted by Dr. Haneul's kind yet sharp face. It was similar to Lady Ursa's, in that she could quickly go from incredibly nice to incredibly scary on command.
"Oh? Back for another lesson, are we?" She asks, face brightening by his entrance.
"You know, it is rare for a student here to aspire to learn about healing others…"
"Well, I've always admired people who dedicate their lives to helping others, and… It is my dream to become one after all." Kaze responds proudly.
"I never expected a kind boy like you to appear at this academy. Everyone often raves about becoming the next great General of the Fire Nation, and how they'll conquer Ba Sing Se." She smiles warmly at Kaze.
"I'm glad there's also people like you in the world, who think of others before they think of themselves."
Kaze grins widely, once again happy of meeting more people in the Fire Nation with more kindness in their hearts than anything.
"Although so many of the things I'm teaching you only really help if you're a firebender like myself… Or a waterbender I suppose." She says pensively. "Why do you insist on learning so much about chi paths and manipulation?"
Kaze laughs nervously. "W-Well- You know…" He then thinks of Azula, and how limitless her abilities are when it comes to her firebending.
"I have a friend, back home, who I'm sure with enough practice could be able to give even you a run for their money."
Dr. Haneul raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? I would love to meet whoever this person is." She smiles then, noticing Kaze's fond smile at mentioning his friend.
Kaze chuckles. "She can be difficult at first but once you get to know her… Well, you'll realize how special she really is."
"Hmm… Well, I hope you can introduce me one day. If someone like you holds her to such high regard, then she must be quite the person."
"Yeah, she's the best." Kaze responds simply, thinking of the bright golden orbs he admires so much.
The rest of the year passes by quickly.
His classes have started to go over their final steps to ensure every student is ready to join and lead in the army.
Kaze somehow managed to reach top of his class, exceling on the last combat exercises that have taken place.
Most non bender students took the spear or the sword as their choice for weapon, but Kaze decided to pick up hand to hand combat. He reasoned that he could apply everything he learned about chi paths to his advantage if he ever finds himself without his element.
He made a lot of friends, although he did his best to maintain his distance. He knew that once him and Azula started their fight against the Fire Lord, he would be forced to fight the same people he studied with.
Everything was ready. He was ready. Now the only thing that remained, was going back to the capital.
Azula was also making great progress on her part. Her previous letter detailing everything she could learn from the sudden reappearance of the Avatar, as well as the failed siege on the Northern Water Tribe.
She's close to forming a plan.
And Kaze was going to make sure they succeed.