Let me start this chapter off by saying I am so sorry for the unannounced hiatus I accidentally put this story on for months. School was a bitch to grind through, so that usually left me without energy or time to write for this story. I do fully intend to finish this story and bring it to a satisfying conclusion, but please bear with me when I say that updates will be essentially whenever I can at this point so potentially expect long waits in between chapters.
In other news, I see the damn email notification system isn't working right anymore so I hope you all managed to see this story update once again.
This chapter is the longest one I've ever written for this story, so I hope it makes up for the long wait.
With all that said, let's get this chapter started!
Azula had always found it interesting how in her element she felt in the heat of battle. Be it training or a serious fight against other enemies, she always felt powerful, in control and in her element. There was a certain grace to it that she enjoyed in fighting against skilled opponents, figuring out their weaknesses, how to exploit them and bring them to their knees. It was why she enjoyed sparring with Kazumi so much, the older spirit navigator being much more experienced than she was, always felt like she had something new to teach Azula. Of course, she would have preferred winning more than losing, but she respects Kazumi enough to know that she wasn't quite on her level yet. She just hopes she'll get there eventually. She never would have imagined it, but she has found peace-
" Another two on your left !" Kazumi called out to her and in the blink of an eye, Azula transversed to cut the two dark spirits that were attempting to run off from the battle.
Well, if you could consider killing dark spirits peaceful. It was a challenge in its own right, make no mistake but it wasn't quite the same as fighting against armed and skilled opponents. The dark spirits they were currently fighting looked like living shadows who could move just as quickly, which made attempting to pin them down a challenge.
But Azula loved a challenge.
The former princess transversed in front of the two fleeing spirits, blocking their escape and sending a slash at them which they easily dodged by moving back. Just as planned. Within less than a second, she transversed again behind the dark spirit who had moved back and delivered a killing slash that cut the shadow monster itself in half, as the two half's of its not separated body burned with white flame.
" SCREEEEEEEEEE!" The dark spirit let out an screech so loud that it could only be described as animalistic in nature before it completely disappeared in a puff of ash.
The other dark spirit attempted to go for a slash with its vicious claws- Azula smirked at the attempt as she easily moved back. Predictable.
Azula pointed at the ground the shadow hovered across, as a Bloodbriar erupted from the ground and wrapped its thick vines around the shadowy dark spirit. The dark spirit screeched and yelled in what could only be described as animalistic cries, before Azula slid the blade into its chest making it burn with spiritual energy before turning into nothing but dust for the soil.
She turned to Kazumi, watching as the woman cut down the last dark spirit with ease and grace. Azula let out a content breath at a job well done. They were called to this village on the reports that shadowy monsters had been reported being seen in the night. Villagers were scared out of their minds at the thought that there could be a potential monster straight out of the night prowling around their village.
" Are you alright Azula ?" Kazumi asked like she always did after every mission.
" I'm fine Kazumi, we got them all " Azula nodded.
" Our work is done here then" Kazumi said letting out a breath behind her mask as she sheathed her sword. " Let's head back to the village inn to rest and we'll head to the next one tomorrow "
Azula nodded in agreement, she could use some rest after the day they had.
Azula was starting to really get used to and even like being a Spirit Navigator. It was good work honestly and it kept her on her toes, it allowed her to exert her skills and talents in a much more healthy environment. Well, if one could call hunting deadly dark spirits healthy but still it acted as a good way to let out some steam. As much as she grew to love Kazumi's home and forest, she could never quite see herself as living the rest of her life stationary in one single patch of land. She had no idea how Kazumi managed all those years with nobody but Tira and Serenity for company. But it wasn't just the work she did that she enjoyed- she had also grown quite fond of her gifts.
It was honestly strange how quickly Azula's spiritual powers had grown to be apart of her, like a limb or reflex that she's had all her life. The powers and gifts themselves changing Azula's own body, her inner fire feeling...different, more calm perhaps and in peace. She wasn't quite sure whether that was also an effect of the spiritual powers Kazumi shared with her but it left much to her imagination. So strange.
As they walked back to the village, Azula glanced over at Kazumi who had been silent the whole way there. Way too quiet that it was a little off-putting to Azula. Her face was still covered by her mask so she couldn't read her expression, but from her body language and the way her eyes looked almost distracted. Azula could tell that there was something bothering Kazumi from her best guess.
" Is there something on your mind Kazumi ?" Azula stopped hesitating and simply popped the question.
Kazumi's head lifted slightly before turning to her in realization she had been spoken to " Huh ? Oh, sorry Azula I was lost in my own mind for a moment "
" What were you thinking about ?" Azula asked partially out of boredom and curiosity.
" Just those dark spirits we fought against just now, I can't stop thinking about them " Kazumi answer confused Azula. They defeated them without so much of a scratch, the dark spirits hadn't kidnapped anybody as far as they knew and were actually pretty weak. What would be so significant that would draw Kazumi's attention ?
" Why? They seemed like your standard shadow based dark spirit. They were fairly weak too " Azula questioned.
" Its not quite how strong they were that catches my attention...but how frequently we've been facing them recently Azula " Kazumi explained " This is the fourth dark spirit report we've received in the last few weeks. Dark Spirit activity being this high at this time of year is...unusual to say the least "
Azula thought about it for a moment and realized there was truth to what she said. They had been encountering dark spirits more often lately, she didn't think much of it at the time and simply assumed that this was the norm for the life of a Spirit Navigator.
" You're right, I hadn't realized how much more frequently we've been dealing with dark spirits " Azula said as she thought about it " How active are dark spirits usually ?"
" It changes depending on the state of the world and time really. During wartime, it is practically a breeding ground for mortal made dark spirits. Grudges, strong negative emotions, hate...they all have a tendency to create plenty of dark spirits with unresolved business " Kazumi explained like a teacher to a student " But during peacetime like this, they shouldn't be appearing this frequently. At most we should only be encountering spirits every so often, but these are becoming more frequent. It should only really be around the time of the Winter Solstice that spirit activity rises, since that is when the barriers between the physical and spiritual world are thinnest. And allows for dark spirits to slip through the cracks of the world."
" What could be the cause of this surge in spirit activity ? " Azula questioned.
" I can't be sure, but whatever it is, I doubt its going away anytime soon "
Azula couldn't stop thinking about it, and she couldn't help but shake the feeling that there more at play here than they knew.
The next morning, they were refreshed after a night of rest and ready to set out. Tira happy with a fresh bag of feed in her belly for breakfast, more than prepared to get underway. Azula and Kazumi with their weapons and gear ready to hunt down the next set of dark spirits terrorizing the next town that was in the area. They left around early morning and set out for the next town that Kazumi's contact said had potential dark spirit activity going on.
Azula enjoyed feeling the breeze on her skin as she rode on the back of Tira, the sun's warmth bearing down on them as they moved at a decent pace so Tira wouldn't tire herself out too quickly. The town that they were heading to was a bit further than expected so they took regular breaks over the course of their trip so Tira could have a moment to rest. Back when she was still the princess and travelling across the Earth Kingdom in pursuit of the Avatar and her waste of space of a brother, she was afforded much better travel accommodations to this. But sitting on the side of the road with a fresh cup of tea that Kazumi brewed was enjoyable in its own way.
She's starting to like the simplicity of life when you no longer have to worry about royal duties and such.
It took a few hours before they reached the town with reported dark spirit activity going on. According to Kazumi's informant, the town had apparently been experiencing missing people, who disappeared without so much as a trace. Azula knew from the books she read that some dark spirits would occasionally kidnap people for their own ends. Be it to turn them into their own mindless slaves without a will of their own, some sick ritualistic purposes...or even just to eat them. Not because they actually required food to survive, some dark spirits just enjoyed the taste of human flesh. It was sickening to read that particular part.
As the town finally came into view, Azula could see that it was a decently sized area with many buildings and even a stone wall surrounding the perimeter of the town. It looked like a step-up from the village they had been too previously, that was comparatively much smaller in size and less populated to this town. Yet as they got closer to enter, Azula couldn't help but notice a strange atmosphere over the town. Not quite spiritual in nature to the presence of a dark spirit to be precise, but...something else. An instinct she had developed during her time as the princess to observe and assess.
After passing through the main gate into the town and Kazumi asking for directions from one of the civilians about where their local town leader is. Of course, attracting a few curious looks from the local, not mainly because they were the new arrivals into town but because their outfits looked out of the ordinary of what you would see from travelers. As they slowly rode Tira to the mayor's house, Azula was starting to notice some strange things about the town as they passed through the streets.
For one, many of the buildings they passed by looked run down or shuttered entirely. Which was certainly a surprise due to how large this town was, if it managed to get this big than it should have been able to generate a decent income and keep many of these buildings that looked like houses and stores in general operation. But it wasn't just the buildings though that caught Azula's attention, it was the people too.
She noticed there were a lot of the people out onto the streets which wouldn't be strange in of itself...but they had reached the village sometime in the early evening when the sun was starting to go down and people returned to their homes but these people didn't seem to be going anywhere. In fact, a grand majority of them possessed rundown and tired expressions, while others were flat out sitting or lying on the side of the street with their heads hanging low to the point where Azula wondered whether some of them were even breathing.
Are these people...homeless ?
Homelessness wasn't a major issue in the Fire Nation due to the war allowing the nation to grow prosperous with its growing war industry that employed a good part of the population and colonies in the Earth Kingdom that let them expand their empire. Thinking about it more, Azula expected the Fire Nation would face an economic downturn following the end of the war...but it surely wouldn't be this bad if it was being handled well ?
Then she remembered that Zuko was the Fire Lord and it made a lot more sense. She hadn't been keeping up with the politics of the nation, but she was willing to wager that Zuko's actions as Fire Lord likely had something to do with the number of homeless people she was seeing, it couldn't have gotten this bad unless he was completely blind to the issues in their nation or just flat out didn't care. She knew her brother was an idiotic, naive, fool but she didn't think him capable of screwing up this badly as Fire Lord but it seems she was giving him too much credit. She could only imagine how many more there were in other more densely populated towns than this one.
Her gaze lingered on the sight of a few kids sitting on the side of the street with their parents and she felt a sliver of anger drip into her heart. Perhaps out of some long-lost royal duty and loyalty to her country.
Zuko...what are you doing to our nation ?
Her thoughts were put on hold when she felt Tira come to a stop and she realized that they had arrived at what looked to be the mayor's house. From the outside, Azula could see that it was a modestly sized two storey building built out of stone and looked much better than some of the other buildings they had passed on the way here. Though from the current state of the town, that likely was not saying much.
Kazumi calmly walked up to the front door and gave a few audible knocks. A few moments later, Azula could hear the sounds of somebody moving inside and a voice calling out to them.
" Give me a moment !" The male voice called out to them before they heard footsteps approach the door and it opened, showing a middle aged man, perhaps in his late 40's open the door" Liu, if this is about the town's budget you know I can't...who are you?" The mayor stopped short of his sentence as he saw the two oddly dressed people standing in front of his door.
" Good evening, are you the town's mayor ?" Kazumi politely asked.
" U-Um...yes, but who in the world are you two ?" The mayor asked, perplexed by their outfits and masks. His gaze turning to their swords " Are you mercenaries?"
Azula couldn't tell why but she felt a little offended that the mayor thought of them as mercenaries, though perhaps she couldn't really blame him on account of their weapons and armor. No ordinary travelers carries this much self defense.
" We are travelling spiritual women who help those in need " Kazumi explained rather vaguely " We hear that there have been strange disappearances happening in your town and we wish to help. May we please come inside to discuss the matter further?"
The mayor was silent for a moment as he stared at both of them for about a whole minute. The former princess guessed that he was observing them and making a judgment call on whether they were worth the risk of asking help from with his town's troubles. That was fair, she supposed. Not immediately trusting the first duo of heavily armed individuals you meet was a good rule of thumb, she didn't need Kazumi to teach her that.
" Come inside, we can talk more in my office " The mayor eventually nudged his head, inviting them into his home.
Kazumi gave an appreciative nod as they followed the mayor into his house and upstairs into his office where they could talk more about the town's situation. Based on the interior of the mayor's house, Azula could see that he clearly wasn't living anymore lavishly than the rest of his citizens, outside of some basic furniture and mats, the inside of the mayor's house was pretty modest by the standards a mayor of a town of this size could be living like. What Azula wondered was whether it was by choice or by necessity he was living frugally. Maybe both.
She shook off the thoughts as they entered the mayor's office and he took a seat behind his desk, with Azula and Kazumi taking seats opposite of him.
" So you said you can help find our people who have gone missing ?" The mayor cut straight to business, ignoring any sort of pleasantries, which was fine by Azula. She honestly preferred to get straight to the work. The mayor had a worried and tired expression on his face as he spoke " With everything that's been going on lately, the last thing I need on my hands is my people worrying themselves about going missing in the night and never being seen again "
" We are here to make sure that does not continue, I assure you " Kazumi spoke some comforting words to put him at ease.
Azula wasn't sure it helped much as the worried expression didn't quite settle on the mayor's face " I'll admit, I didn't plan on turning to some random travelers to solve my problems but at this point, I'm desperate and need solutions " The mayor's worried expression seemed to go deeper as he eyed the two of them " If you two are expecting payment for this, than sorry to say but my town can't afford it "
Can't afford it? That's strange.
Kazumi explained that while Spirit Navigators didn't demand payment for their services as part of tradition, it wasn't necessarily frowned upon in practice to accept it if offered. Especially if the patron was wealthy or looked as if they could afford it. In her short time time as a Spirit Navigator, they had occasionally accepted rewards given to them by town leaders and such when it was offered. It was always good to have some money on hand.
But what struck Azula as odd was the 'can't' part. She would have thought that a town of this size should be well-abled to pay even a meager sum for the services, not that they charged a specific rate for their services or even asked for it. A small village, she could understand how they wouldn't be able to offer a reward but for a town of this size, it was definitely strange for it to struggle financially.
She has an aching feeling that the number of homeless people she saw on the street and closed buildings had something to do with it.
" We do not need payment, but rather we need information " Kazumi reassured him, much to his surprise.
" Wait, really ?" The mayor almost couldn't believe his ears.
" Yes, we would rather you tell us how these disappearances began so we can help. When did the disappearances start exactly ?" Kazumi lead with some basic questions that might point the finger towards dark spirits.
" Two months ago, maybe more " The mayor shrugs " Its been hard to keep track of everybody with so many up and leaving recently, that it wasn't until a while ago that some people noticed a few were going missing "
" How many people have gone missing so far? Was there any sign of a pattern maybe to the disappearances, or any relations between the victims?" Kazumi pushed her questions.
" Around 15 people give or take. And no, there didn't seem to be anything relating the people who went missing, they all seemed kinda picked at random and there were all taken at different places " The mayor explained the situation as best he could " Some didn't come back home when they went out and their families got worried, while others were taken from their homes without so much as a peep. Everybody's shut in their doors terrified that they might be next "
" We'll need a complete list of everybody who has went missing along with where they live " Kazumi asked to get a full view of the situation, she always liked to be thorough.
" Got it " The mayor quickly wrote down on a piece of parchment and handed Kazumi the list " Anything else you two want to ask ? "
Kazumi shook her head, her questions at an end but Azula felt a few of her own. Not related to the mission, but rather the state of the town.
" Actually...excuse me for asking mayor, but might I ask why is your town in such a state? " Azula was a little hesitant because she was worried that she might of been crossing her boundaries. She glanced over at Kazumi who wasn't so much giving her a disapproving look, but closer to one of mild surprise and curiosity based on her eyes and how she didn't interject.
A look of anger and irritation crossed the face of the mayor as he spoke " Its because of that damn Fire Lord and his idiotic policies. His raise on taxes has made everything more expensive, food, clothing and just about everything else has become harder to get. People are moving to more affordable places and those who don't have anywhere to go are left on the street to starve " The mayor let out a humorless chuckle " You know, this town used to be thriving with business and people, but now thanks to the great Fire Lord Zuko, everything has been thrown out of form and the people are suffering "
Azula's expression twinged in anger behind her mask, so she was correct, this did have something to do with Zuko.
But why did she still care? She wasn't the princess anymore and it wasn't her responsibility.
" Well...thank you for answering " Azula nodded in gratitude " We will inform you of any developments in the case "
With that, they both quietly left the house and entered back into the street. Azula still thinking about what the mayor had told her, Zuko had raised taxes, sure that wasn't unusual to happen from time to time. But the situation shouldn't have deteriorated to this extent if it was managed well or put towards effective policies and social programs, but she hasn't heard a peep of anything about that. So what was he using the money for?
" Azula...Azula !" Her name being called out and a hand shaking her shoulder repeatedly knocked her out of her stupor, as she realized Kazumi had been talking to her. And was now looking at her with a curious look in her eye " Did you hear what I said?"
" Sorry Kazumi, didn't hear you. What did you say ?"
" I was just saying we should do a sweep of where all the victims lived and where they were taken " Kazumi repeated and Azula felt ashamed that she wasn't listening." Why did you ask the mayor that question?"
Azula could tell that Kazumi wasn't necessarily disapproving of the question she asked to the mayor that was unrelated to the mission, but rather wondering why she asked it in the first place. She's wondering the same thing too. She's no longer the Princess of the Fire Nation, she is but a humble Spirit Navigator fighting against the monsters who hide in the dark. Why does she care about the state of the nation at this point when its no longer her responsibility?
" Call it idle curiosity I suppose...and wondering how a town like this got so bad " Azula answered vaguely. She's honestly not sure herself why she asked to begin with.
Kazumi gave her a look but didn't push the issue further " Alright then, we should find a place to leave Tira and then we can start investigating " Kazumi said as she gently pulled on Tira's reins.
Azula nodded and followed after her master...but as they walked, her gaze lingered on what looked to be a mother sitting on the side of the street with her two children.
She stared longer than she should have before she felt her legs move on their own towards the mother and her children. The three of them looking up at her with curiosity and wonder most likely because of her mask.
She quietly handed a small pouch of 30 coins to the mother, landing it delicately on her skirt and making the woman look up to her in surprise.
" Here, get you and your children something to eat " Azula said in a soft tone.
" T-Thank you...thank you so much !" The woman said to her.
Azula nodded and walked back to Kazumi without a word who had been watching the whole scene, and even with Kazumi's mask on she could tell that she was smiling underneath.
Night had fallen over the town as they spent the next few hours combing through the village, questioning people related to the victims and searching through houses for clues. And Azula was getting increasingly annoyed with each passing hour as they found fewer and fewer clues at each of the locations they went to within the town. It was the same story everytime, victim disappeared like a ghost into the night, nobody saw or heard anything. The victims were kidnapped at different points too, some off the street at night while others directly from their homes.
" Well, that was another dead-end " Azula said exasperated as they left the home of another family who had their daughter go missing.
" Not quite, we gleamed a bit from the victims that went missing from inside the town " Kazumi shook her head in disagreement.
" How? Everybody gave essentially the same information, nobody saw or heard anything of note " Azula raised an eyebrow in confusion.
" And that is exactly what struck me as odd " Kazumi calmly refuted " Most dark spirits aren't exactly known for their subtlety, unless it is one of the most powerful or higher dark spirits. There should have been some sighting or evidence of spirit activity going on in the places the victims disappeared from especially those in the town...but I couldn't sense anything. I have a feeling there's more going on here than we realize "
Azula thought about what Kazumi said and found herself agreeing with her mentor. Based off the dark spirits they have encountered so far, none of them possessed the intelligence to quietly kidnap multiple people in the dead of night. Even those who had successfully kidnapped innocents for their own twisted ends were all taken when they left their village or place of residence, but the grand majority of kidnapped victims here were taken inside the town. So that implies they are dealing with a very powerful dark spirit or something else. Neither bodes well for Azula.
" We should go check the last few places where the victims disappeared, if we don't find anything than we can call it a night for now " Kazumi said reasonably and Azula nodded in agreement. Honestly, she could go for a bit longer, after all these long nights with Kazumi, she thinks she's gotten used to sleeping during the day.
They left the town through the north gate onto the road that led away from the town. The road was dark and the further away they got from the town, the harder it was to see. The little light they got from the moon shining down on them was barely enough to light the way so Kazumi lit up a small white flame to keep them illuminated so they could at least see their surroundings as they walked. Azula honestly thought it looked beautiful, like a bright light shining in the darkness.
After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the approximate area the victim was last seen on. A cold breeze blowing through them that likely would
Kazumi stopped as she examined the scene " This was the last spot the victim was seen. She was apparently going to see some friends in a neighboring town but her husband got worried when she didn't come home " Kazumi turned to her " What do you think?"
Azula surveyed the area, there wasn't much information to go off of but if she had to take a guess, the woman was probably taken by surprise. This road isn't the main one that leads into the village and as such doesn't have many travelers passing through, so any who go through this road are easy pickings.
" Ambushed probably. This road seems pretty desolate and the perfect spot for an ambush, my guess is the dark spirit snatched her up when she was alone and isolated. This road is pretty barren of travelers " Azula made her observation.
" Yes...it is..." Kazumi spoke slowly all of a sudden as her body language changed and she unsheathed her sword.
Azula recognized the tenseness in her shoulders and the way her eyes darted- she was looking for a threat. And that was when Azula remembered her own words, that this road was the perfect spot for an ambush.
She didn't hesitate either as she quickly took out her blade and got into defensive stance.
" Spirit Eyes. Now." Kazumi spoke in a tone that left no room for argument.
Azula blinked and activated the spiritual power, her sight now changed to being charged with spiritual power. Allowing her to see in darkness and even through walls, living beings appearing tinted in bluish white. Another one of Kazumi's gifts that she shared with her through her Apprentice power.
She wasn't sure how long they waited, each passing minute felt like an eternity and Azula paid close attention to the sounds coming from the forest that flanked them on both sides. The trees almost looking like monsters that were going to emerge from the ground to attack them at any moment. She couldn't hear any bugs, animals or even the slight breeze on her skin.
It was quiet, too quiet.
CRACK !
That sound of a twig being snapped on their right was immediately picked up, followed by the sounds of running coming towards them.
" Look out !" Kazumi's voice called out to her and she found herself transversing before she could properly think. A small objecting flying past her just inches away from her head.
She did a quick roll on the ground from the sudden transversal and got back up, seeing that what was thrown at her was...darts ?
The sounds of blades clashing against blades put her guard up as she saw Kazumi engaging against another opponent who was armed with a short sword. It seemed to be a man based on body type, but he was dressed in strange black robes and cloth that covered his face. The surprise enemy was delivering wild slashes that while quick were easy to predict for Kazumi to block with relative ease.
The sound of running alerted and she turned to see another enemy running right towards her !
Her body moved quicker than her mind for once, as she parried the attempted sword slash with her blade and sidestepped. This one was dressed in a similar manner to his partner. He tried to slash at her again and again but she easily dodged it with simple parries and a blocks, he was utilizing a short sword as well which gave her the advantage due to her sword's longer reach.
Azula was curious, he didn't seem particular skilled or deadly. Was he behind the disappearances ?
" Why won't you die !?" The man shouted at her as he tried slash at her with the finesse and skill of a total amateur.
Azula didn't bother giving a response as she easily transversed behind and gave him a hard kick in the back that sent him sprawling to the ground, which gave her the opportunity to help Kazumi. Focusing on the power, she tethered the man Kazumi was fighting, catching him off guard by the sudden force pulling him back allowing Kazumi to easily decapitate him.
The former princess couldn't help but grimace a little at the sight of the man's head rolling into the dirt.
" Thorns !" Kazumi suddenly sent a burst of thorns at Azula...which ended up hitting the target at her back. She turned to see the man she had kicked down had gotten back up and was about to go for a backstab, before Kazumi cut that short with her thorns. The big thorns imbedding themselves in his head and causing him to fall flat on back onto the dirt road.
Azula let out a breath of relief as she quickly surveyed the area with her Spirit Eyes to confirm that there were no more enemies around.
" Are you okay ?" Kazumi once they both had a moment to catch their breath.
" I'm fine, just a little surprised. Who were these men? They came out of nowhere " Azula said as she got a look at the bodies.
They weren't well-equipped in the same way professional soldiers were, and they were relatively unskilled with their blades. Common highway robbers trying to catch easy prey?
" Are they bandits?" Azula suggested.
" No, bandits would frequent busier roads and there would be more of them if that was the case, it also doesn't make sense for them to be watching this road because rarely anybody should out at this hour. No, these men were something else..." Kazumi knelled down and examined the bodies, gently moving them and searching for any evidence that could clue them in to who they were.
Azula noticed some kind of pendant around the man's neck that Kazumi grabbed and examined it carefully. The pendant itself was of some kind of strange symbol she had never seen before in her life.
Kazumi grasped the pendant in her hand, which Azula surmised meant that she recognized it. And whatever it meant, didn't make Kazumi happy to see it.
" Is something wrong ?"
Kazumi was silent for a moment before speaking to her again " These men were not bandits, they were cultists of a dark spirit " Kazumi spoke with an edge to her voice, showing her seriousness.
Azula was taken aback for a moment from the information, as her mind recalled what information she had on them.
Cultists. Followers of a powerful dark spirit or entity of some kind. While they were something of a rare occurrence to encounter in the field, it wasn't unlikely for an especially powerful dark spirit or even a spirit lord to amass a collection of followers from the mortal world. Drawing their ranks from all walks of life to carry out their master's dark will. Not like some of the weaker dark spirits who had to resort to mental manipulation to bend others to their will. The men they had just fought were doing so willingly in service of some kind of dark spirit.
The thought unnerved her a little of facing an upper dark spirit. Such beings were not to be trifled with or underestimated even for experienced Spirit Navigators. From the way she read it, only spirits of sufficient power were capable of attracting a following.
" Could we be facing an upper dark spirit? " Azula asked Kazumi gently, but received no response.
" No...this is no dark spirit...this is something else. Something much, much worse..." Kazumi shook her head " No dark spirit is to blame for this, these cultists are behind the disappearances, most likely as sacrifices to him." The older spirit navigator pointed a finger that led deeper into the woods, it was hard to see in the dark but Azula could faintly make out footprints in the ground." These men were likely scouts meant to keep an eye on the roads and to kidnap any easy targets, if we follow their footsteps we should be able to find out where they are keeping the hostages "
A sound plan. But Azula picked up on the fact that Kazumi hadn't answered her question, and the fact that her demeanor seemed to have changed suddenly after seeing that pendant.
" Him? Who are you talking about ?" Azula pressed the issue that Kazumi seemed to be dodging.
Kazumi turned her head, not quite keen on sharing " I promise, I'll explain everything later but for now, we need to get to the hostages"
Azula wasn't quite satisfied with that answer but she saw Kazumi's point. The hostages took priority.
She'll be sure to press Kazumi about it later.
Following the footprints left behind by the dead cultists, they both proceeded deeper into the forest albeit with a more cautious outlook now that they know that they are fighting against human opponents rather than dark spirits. They moved at a slow and steady pace through the forest in case, the cultists had further lookouts than those two that attacked them than it would do no good to alert them, as they kept low to the ground like predators hunting for prey and with Kazumi using Spirit Eyes to scout for potential enemies. Thankfully, there were none so far.
After roughly half an hour of quiet walking and moving through the forest, Kazumi held up a hand that signaled for them to stop as they took cover behind some bushes. Peeking her eye out to get a better look, Azula could see a small clearing and what appeared to be a mine in the side of a mountain, directly where the footprints lead to.
So this is where the cultists have been taking the hostages. No lookouts either, should be safe to approach.
Azula turned to Kazumi for guidance " What should we do?"
" They don't know we're coming so we have the advantage. We locate the cultists, eliminate them and then rescue the hostages " Kazumi said quietly " We strike hard and fast before they even know what is happening. Let's go "
Azula shuffled uncomfortably a little at 'eliminate', she wasn't sure how to feel about that but now was hardly the time to bring it up.
The two transversed directly to the entrance of the mine, blades at the ready and using Spirit Eyes to confirm that there no cultists further ahead of them. They slowly entered the mine, watching where they stepped to avoid making any more noise as they headed deeper inside the decrepit mine. They were unable to light their way with a flame out of worry of giving away their position in the event that these cultists had patrols wandering about so they had to make due with Spirit Eyes to navigate their way through the mine, as the spiritual ability did grant them the benefit to see in the dark somewhat.
Fortunately the mine didn't seem to have many branching paths and when they did come up at a dead-end, they would simply redirect their path as they went deeper into the mountain mine.
Azula let out a breath as the very air of the mine felt stale and corrupted, her mask feeling oddly heavy as her eyes darted around every dark corner as if she was expecting a dark spirit to leap out and try to kill them. The mine clearly hadn't been used in years judging by the amount of cobwebs and dust that has settled in, much like these cultists in a way. It was unlike her to be so on edge...perhaps it was because she now knew that they were not fighting some shadowy dark spirit but instead actual humans. Its been quite some time since she had last fought against human opponents, not quite including Kazumi since those were always just spars. She just hopes she isn't out of practice.
Neither Kazumi or Azula spoke making the only sounds that could be heard in the dark mine was the faint sound of their own breaths, their subtle footsteps and the occasional small rock accidentally kicked by their foot. The mine was deathly quiet...
Until they heard the voices, followed by the chanting. It was easy to hear considering how dead quiet the mine was on account of the echo and the fact you could probably hear a pin drop if you paid attention. Azula exchanged a masked glance with Kazumi as they carefully proceeded to follow the sounds of chanting and voices coming from further ahead, blades at the ready as she mentally prepared herself for the very likely coming battle ahead. And as they got closer, Azula could start to see a few tinted bluish white figures appear through the walls.
Following the sounds of the voices led them to a door, the wood itself looked rotted and about to fall off at the hinges, but she paid no attention to that as she focused on the figures inside the room that was lit by torches. With her Spirit Eyes, Azula could see several men through the door in what looked to be some kind of large oval room, was this some kind of storage area for materials and equipment? It didn't matter now she supposed. She easily deduced that these men were the cultists they were searching for.
They were grouped around in a circle with most of them knelling in prayer? And she could see what looked to be a lone woman laid out on a stone slab, secured tightly by ropes as a cultists stood over her with a knife in hand.
" My brothers ! Tonight we send another to our lord! May he gift us with power in return for this offering!" The cult leader shouted at the top of his lungs " Hear me now my lord ! May the blood of the innocent satisfy you!"
Azula's grip on her blade tightened, they were going to sacrifice her. She turned to Kazumi who gently put a hand on her shoulder to quietly tell her to stay her blade. For now at least.
" 15 of them. They're gonna sacrifice the hostage in a few minutes if we don't stop them " Kazumi said with a serious tone " You secure the hostage, I'll handle the cultists. They're preoccupied so we can take them all out before they even know what hit them "
Azula nodded as she took a deep breath and she saw Kazumi fingertips crackle with lightning and she knew what was about to happen.
" On my count...3...2...1 !" Kazumi kicked the door open and transversed into the room, Azula following quickly behind her.
"WHAT THE-" The cultists shouted in surprise, taken off guard by their attack.
Kazumi shot a bolt of pure lightning that pierced straight through 3 cultists leaving their bodies a smoky black mess of charred flesh. She wasn't finished there, Kazumi transversed again bending a large gulf of fire that set 5 more cultists alight before they even knew what was going on. Kazumi was using blade, spiritual abilities and bending all in tandem to utterly obliterate the cultists.
" AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !" The cultists that were set on fire did not die immediately, some ran around trying to find some way to stop the fire as their screams ringed through the air and they rolled on the floor, before they fell to the floor dead. Azula tried not to focus on them as she transversed her way over to the captive woman.
The woman was gagged and each of her limbs were restrained with rope, allowing for no movement at all. She and the hostage locked eyes for a moment, and the hostage screamed in surprise, fear present in her eyes. It was then that Azula realized the woman was likely afraid of her mask, it didn't exactly inspire friendliness.
" Stay calm, we're here to help " Azula gave a short answer and hoped that was enough to make the woman trust her. She began by pulling off the gag and-
" BEHIND YOU!" The hostage shouted just as she removed the gag and that gave Azula enough time to turn and block a sword slash that would have decapitated her.
" Die you damn trespasser !" The person who had just tried to attack her, his skill was slightly better than the duo who attacked them on the road earlier which wasn't saying much. The two clashed blades for mere seconds before Azula easily redirected his blade and slammed the hilt of her sword into his face, knocking him back with a strong kick to the stomach that sent him crashing into the wall.
" On your right !" The sound of the hostage scream once again alerted her.
As she turned in time to see a cultist disappear from halfway across the room to see him appear right in front of her!
She barely had time to bring up her blade to defend against the attempted stab at her side, the two locked blades contesting for dominance to knock the other off balance.
" You cannot stop us ! Our lord will take this world and-UGH!" The cultist was cut off when a green force overtook him and suddenly pulled into the air. Azula turned to see Kazumi tethering him over the air, as she had summoned Bloodbriars to handle the few remaining cultists for now. In one single movement she transversed into the air and slashed the cultist's head off in one swing. It was graceful in an almost terrifying way how she was able to eliminate them all with such efficiency.
The cultists numbers were going down one by one with only four remaining, including the cult leader.
Wait a minute, where was the cult leader-
Azula couldn't even finish her thought as she felt a powerful force push her across the room and into the wall. Her back hitting the wall and her armor taking the brunt of the impact but still feeling the pain from the sudden push.
" NO !" Kazumi shouted at her in shock.
" Ugh...I'm fine !" Azula called out as she got her bearings back up and tried to find the source of what pushed her back so far, and saw Kazumi crossing blades with the cult leader who she could have swore wasn't standing there before.
" You whores will make fine offerings to our lord and- AH !" The cult leader didn't get to finish his words as Kazumi immediately attempted to burn him alive with her white flame, but disappeared in a puff of shadows before the flames could make contact. Kazumi didn't just have the cult leader to deal with, the three remaining cultists were attacking in tandem in an attempt to overwhelm her but Kazumi easily deflected and transversed around all their attempt to stab her.
Did the leader transverse? No, he would have reappeared somewhere else already if that was the case...
It was than that Azula realized what had happened and used Spirit Eyes to see a hidden figure getting ready to stab Kazumi in the back.
" Thorns!" Azula sent out a swarm of thorns that hit the leader square in the shoulder and leg, sending him down to one knee and making him reveal himself from the invisibility.
" AAAH !" The cult leader shouted in pain and his moment of weakness was seen by Kazumi. Who did not waste the opportunity she needed to engulf the leader in a plume of white flames, sending him spiraling on the ground screaming in agony before dying.
" N-NO ! You will pay for the death of our leader witch !" The last three remaining cultists jumped Kazumi in an attempt to take her down, but they were no match for Kazumi who was picking them off
But while Kazumi was busy dealing with the three remaining cultists, Azula noticed a figure sneak back to the altar and was now holding a knife above the head of the hostage. The cultist she had knocked down earlier! How could she have forgotten about him!? He must have recovered!
" The ritual...the ritual must be complete !" The cultist struggled to speak as he stood high above the stone slab that held the would be sacrifice.
" N-N-No please ! Don't do this !" The hostage begged but her cries fell on deaf ears as the cultist raised the knife...
And time seemed to slow down as Azula saw what was about to happen. The hostage was going to die if she didn't do anything. Kazumi was still busy dealing with the remaining cultists to intervene...and Azula knew she had to act.
She transversed before she fully thought, blade in hand...
And with one quick thrust of her blade, she stabbed it straight into the chest of the cultist. The knife dropped from his hand and clattering to the ground.
Both Azula and the cultist locked eyes for a second, as the mask covering his face fell off and Azula could see in shock of the cultist she had just stabbed. He was young, much younger than she would have expected, maybe just a few years older than herself. Blood dripped from his mouth as he looked at the blade, which Azula pulled out without thinking and he took a step back...before falling onto the ground.
Azula froze for a minute as she realized what she had just done, looking at the blade in her hand, slick with the blood of the dead. Somebody she had killed.
Her survival instincts told her she could process the shock later, but now she had to make sure they were safe. She turned her head to see Kazumi finish off the last cultist, which led Azula to quickly cut the ropes of the hostage, letting them sit up free.
" A-Are you alright?" Azula asked kindly.
" I-I'm fine " The hostage nodded, and by this point Azula knew that that were safe...and the shock sunk back in.
Her gaze turning back to the still cultist- the boy she had just stabbed mere moments ago.
She had just killed for the first time.
She dropped her blade in shock as she stared at the body of the young man she had just killed. A person not much older than her really.
No...no ! He can't be dead ! I just stabbed him in the chest, that should be survivable! The Avatar survived a much more grievous wound sustained by me than that.
She tried telling herself that over and over...but walking over to the body, she could easily tell he wasn't breathing. That he stopped breathing mere moments ago when her blade literally pierced his heart. There was no point denying it, he was dead.
Her knees felt weak and caused her to fall to the floor, the smell of charred flesh and blood hit her all at once, and she felt the feeling of bile rise up in her throat. She quickly took off her mask and unloaded the contents of her stomach onto her stomach as tears threatened to spill from the whirlwind of emotions she felt from having killed for the first time.
" Azula...Azula !" She heard Kazumi call and she looked up through tear stricken eyes to see her knelling down next to her with worry in her eyes, mask off as well.
Without hesitation, she felt herself pulled into Kazumi's embrace and she latched on to the older woman for comfort as she let out a few tears into her shoulder.
Kazumi looked from Azula's dropped sword to the dead cultist nearby, and easily deduced what had happened feeling sympathy strike her heart. She held her girl closer than she did before, understanding what she was feeling.
" Kazumi I...oh spirits, what did I do?" Azula sputtered between the tears.
" Sssshhh...its okay, its okay..." Kazumi whispered to try and comfort her girl.
After a few moments, Azula's breathing slowed and she felt Kazumi slowly pull away from her and look into her eyes, wiping away the tears with her fingers gently.
" Are you okay Azula?" Kazumi asked kindly.
No, maybe, I don't know...
"...Can we please just go?" Azula said in a quiet voice, almost pleading.
Kazumi nodded, turning to the hostage who she had freed from the stone slab earlier " Do you know where the other hostages are?"
" Y-Yes, it was dark but I think I can show you where they are " The woman nodded, still shaken up from her experience.
" Alright, we'll get the hostages out and then we're going back home" Kazumi gently said as she slipped her mask back on " Just hang in there, Azula"
Yes, home...
Before they left Azula glance over at the mural on the wall, it was a stylized painting depicting some kind of shadowy figure with tentacles and shadow beasts all around them...and she couldn't tell why but it gave her a grim feeling in the pit of her stomach that was already unsettled from what she just did.
She did not give it another look, as she felt a strong chill up her spine and the feeling that the mural itself was staring back at her.
They quickly located the remaining hostages with the help of the woman they saved...apparently, the cult had sacrificed a few of them already. If they had come a bit later more would have died.
They quietly escorted the hostages back to the town before departing without a word to the lord, though Kazumi did leave a message for one of the hostages to give to the lord about what had happened at the mine.
As they left the town behind and headed back home, Azula held on to Kazumi's back in comfort as she heard her mother's words.
Monster...
Sooooo a lot of things happened in this chapter. Azula seeing the effects Zuko's stelar leadership of the Fire Nation has had on her people and Azula killing for the first time in her life.
I hope I managed to write Azula's reaction to killing for the first time realistic for someone her age and not make it inconsistent with her character. Sure, Azula has seen Kazumi brutally kill people before in the past but there's a lot of separation between watching somebody kill a person and actually doing it with your own two hands. Yes, you can cite Aang as an example of people Azula 'killed' but he was literally about to go nuclear on their asses so there's a certain level of need deniability there and he DID get better unlike Cultist Boy here who Azula killed with her own blade. And I would like to point out that Azula 'killing' Aang happened before she went through a crapton of stuff( The Comet and Asylum), so her reaction to doing such actions has obviously changed a little.
Next chapter will be focusing on Azula dealing with the aftermath of her first kill and Kazumi comforting her. So hope you all are ready for some more mother-daughter bonding session !
Also apologies if the ending and fight seemed a bit rushed, but I didn't want to drag it out longer than necessary since this chapter is already long as is.
Now let's answer some guest reviews shall we?
To muitotempoporsudades:
Thank you so much for reading my story ! I'm glad you like it so far. Sorry if the grammar is a bit wonky at times, I do try to correct mistakes where I find them on a second read but I don't get them all. Since HammerTide officially left beta reading the story a while back, I've been open to people becoming the new beta reader for MMF but so far, no luck.
I'm glad you enjoyed Azula's first spirit hunt/night as a Spirit Navigator. I'm happy that I was able to nail the tragedy and horror of the case where instead of it just being a stereotypical dark spirit hunt, it is instead a lingering spirit of a girl who was raped by a group of men and driven to suicide thereafter. Azula is definitely sensitive to people writing her off as crazy which I will admit stems from some of my personal feelings seeping into the characters but I think its realistic since Azula does care what people think about her and wouldn't be too happy about them making that assumption.
Azula is definitely going to see Zuko and Ursa again...how well that goes, I'll leave that to your imagination for now.
:P
To Lord 770:
Sorry but this chapter isn't the one where Ozai starts attacking the White Lotus...yet.
Zuko's reign is definitely in a very bad spot right now, this chapter actually showed some of the consequences of his actions where the amount of homeless people have increased and people have lost their homes due to his actions as Fire Lord. So by this point, there are a lot of people in power and commoners who want Zuko gone, not even because they back Ozai but because Zuko quite frankly sucks at this.
Good theories on who's going to die in the White Lotus first ! I can't give spoilers but I will say that next chapter is the one where we will be getting some more Ozai focus. So stay tuned for that !
To thebestoftherest:
Its good Mai is starting to get her act together, whether its too little too late, remains to be seen.
Like I said before, Zuko's rule is in a delicate state. I have considered adding in some characters like Malina from the North and South comics, but nothing concrete yet so I can't confirm. The SWT is definitely one place Zuko could flee too when things inevitably start getting hairy, how safe it will be remains to be seen since the SWT doesn't really have any strong defenses.
With all that said, I will see you all in the next one !
Angel Out.