Chapter 1

[Yu Akai]

He swung the rope in his hand, drawing circles in the air to his right.

Taking deep breaths in, he stared intently at his objective while the weight at the end of the rope whistled in its flight. He could do it, he knew, but still. He'd rather not mess up. That'd just be embarrassing. So, he took his time to prepare. There was no rush, at least at that moment.

He'd already failed at everything else. Swords, spears, daggers, even hammers and axes. Nothing seemed to work for him. All those weapons were stiff, slow, limited. Yu didn't like them. He could use them, but all of them felt wrong. The weights were always off, or the balance, or the shape.

Not with the rope though.

He'd picked the first one up as a joke, self-deprecatingly saying that he wanted to try everything. Except, it'd felt so right to twirl it around. And then he'd swung it at a distant target and he knew, there was no other weapon he'd rather use.

So, at that very moment, he was showing off.

In one swift motion, he stopped swinging the rope in circles, twisting his whole body so that it drew an arch behind him and then towards the dummy further ahead. The steel weight at the end of it was extended just a little further than the target, but that was on purpose. The wooden construct was, in an instant, wrapped and then smacked right in the "face" with a fist-sized metal ball.

Yu grinned widely at the loud crack of broken wood.

"How about that?" he asked, turning towards his friend off to the side while giving a practiced pull and twist on the rope to make it let go of the dummy. Another motion afterwards and the weight came flying back to him so he could catch it in his hand. "Am I great, or am I great?"

"That was certainly… something," Zuko answered, eyes still on the dummy while he stared, suitably impressed. Yu puffed his chest proudly. That was exactly the reaction he'd been wishing for.

"I've been practicing for a while," Yu commented, starting to absently twirl the rope around himself once more. A good amount of his time had been spent getting better with his weapon of choice, unorthodox as it was. He just felt more alive when he had it in his hands. In a way, it was how he imagined bending felt for those that could do it, from the accounts he'd heard through his life.

He'd have been more than happy to spend all his time on that, but alas, he had classes to attend to. He was the heir of one of the Fire Nation's most prominent Houses. He wouldn't be able to speak so casually with Zuko otherwise, that was for sure, let alone being friends with him.

"Think you can beat me with some rope?" Zuko asked, a smirk on his face that Yu returned in kind.

"Oh, you bet your spoiled ass I can."

"You are one to talk!"

When Zuko could bend and Yu couldn't even find a suitable weapon, fighting was always a stilted affair. Now though, he was more than confident that he could stand his ground. Maybe he couldn't bridge the gap just yet, but having a good weapon to work with would certainly make things interesting.

Before they could actually get to sparring, however, their attention was caught by a form stomping their way off to the side. On the gallery to the side of the open space they had been using as a "playground", as it were, appeared the shape of Zuko's little sister. Azula seemed far from happy, which had been a common sight for some time.

Yu wasn't sure why, but that's how it had been.

It honestly upset him a little. It was always a nice day when he got to visit his friend, after all. So, the mood would be kind of dampened if there was someone very obviously not having a good time. Pursing his lips he pondered what to do about that, because the Fire Nation's princess had decided to sit down and glare at them from off to the side, which kind of ruined things. Even Zuko seemed bothered, although he seemed more annoyed than anything.

Yu knew that way only laid a sibling quarrel.

"Princess Azula," he greeted formally, because he might be Zuko's friend, but that only afforded him informality with the boy himself, not anyone else in the Royal Family. "Would you care to join us?" he asked, that being the only idea he had to try and improve things.

"And why would I bother with Zuzu and you, Yuyu?" the girl asked, making his expression twitch. He hated that nickname, but it wasn't like he could speak out against it. His father might be very well regarded, almost as highly as the Fire Lord himself, but anyone going against the Royal Family was going to meet a grim fate regardless.

"I just thought I'd offer, Princess. If you'd rather not, then we'll understand," he replied calmly, because his mother always said that keeping your calm was all the victory you needed when someone was trying to anger you. Judging by the even more intense glare on the girl's face, he knew the advice had been good.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing?" the girl asked, eyes narrowed, probably looking for a way to poke at him again.

"We were going to spar," Zuko answered for him. "So you can go away now, Azula." Evidently, that was the wrong thing to say, since the girl grinned widely as she took in that information.

"We can do something else, if the Princess would prefer," Yu quickly added on that, but the damage was done, it seemed.

"That won't be necessary. I don't think I will, Zuzu," she said then, standing. "I'll spar with you, Yuyu. Since you seem so eager."

'This is bad,' he thought to himself. What'd they do to him if he hurt the princess? Would Zuko's word be enough to keep him out of punishment? Then again, with his weapon of choice… Maybe there was a way…

"We don't have time for you, Azula. Yu already doesn't get to visit much. Just go away and play with your friends, will you?" Zuko asked, but the girl had already made up her mind. Yu could see it, since she didn't so much as react to her brother's words.

"It's fine if you want to just stand there, Yuyu," she said, clearly amused, before jumping into a firebending motion. Yu might not be a bender himself, but he'd seen enough people go through those stances to recognize one when he saw one. Reacting quickly, he dodged, narrowing his eyes, scanning the area… and forming a plan.

With a grin, he dodged again, trying to get himself in position to strike. Swinging his rope would be a bad idea, at least right off the bat. The only thing that'd accomplish was getting it burned to ashes. No, instead, he needed to be smarter about it.

"What's the matter, Yuyu? Scared of a little girl?"

"Azula, shut up and leave already!"

Yu ignored both siblings as he reached his destination, not before dodging a few more plumes of blue fire. Using yet another bout of flames to mask his actions, he threw one end of his rope over a tree branch that extended itself higher where he stood. Then before the princess could see what he'd done, he swung the other end at her, catching her foot with the weighted end.

"Is that all?" she mocked, looking at the piece of rope wrapped around her ankle. "Because I can bur-" Before she could finish that sentence and do as she was saying, however, Yu pulled on the other end. This caused her to be swung up in the air, hanging from the tree branch by her foot. "Let me down this instant!" she screeched, swinging wildly. Then she caught herself, very obviously going to burn the rope once more.

He stopped her, however, swinging his end of the rope at her and tying her arms to her torso.

"I think that's a win for me," he said as she twisted and turned upside down, a snarl on her face. She didn't say anything, simply glaring at him from where she was. To her credit, she didn't break and ask for him to let her down again. She didn't admit defeat either. It was actually kind of impressive. "That was fun," he added with a smile on his face, not even having to lie.

"Laugh all you want," she hissed at him, but he could see a slight shine in her eyes and a wobble of her lip. Now, that just wouldn't do.

"I'm not laughing, it really was fun. I haven't been able to enjoy a spar in a while," he said honestly, still smiling. "How about you join Zuko and I? Maybe you can play with us afterwards too," he offered, making her expression break into a surprised one.

"Do we have to?" Zuko asked, almost whining, but for once his sister didn't react to his words.

"I mean, I think it'd be more fun to have someone else around. We can only do so many things with just the two of us, right? And servants are no fun," Yu pointed out, making the other boy purse his lips. He wondered if he would have been the same way had he had any siblings. Alas, he would never know, since he was an only child. "At the end of the day, it depends on if the princess wants to anyway. So what say you, Princess Azula?"

He could almost see the protest at the tip of his friend's tongue and Yu certainly didn't feel like getting into an argument with him. If it came to it, he'd give up his plan and just do things normally. He'd much rather they not have their good mood ruined by a sulking princess though. He could do something about that, so why not do it?

"I think I'll grace you with my presence," the girl said, somehow managing to almost pull off prim and proper while still upside down. Almost. "I know how much of an idiot Zuzu is though so I reserve the right to leave if this proves… inadequate entertainment."

"Great!" Yu said, moving to let the girl down gently. "Sorry for tying you up like that, Princess," he added, trying not to make it sound like the afterthought it was. Maybe he should have started with that.

"You should be," she huffed, a plum of fire leaving her mouth as she did, like she was a pouting human-shaped dragon. "Are we continuing to spar?"

"Zuko and I still have to get our own spar out of the way, maybe we can take turns?" Yu suggested with a smile. Well, neither of the siblings was particularly happy at the moment, but maybe that would change after a bit. Call him optimistic, but Yu would rather at least have faith that he could have fun. Otherwise, that'd just mean a ruined day visiting who was more or less his only real friend. He'd rather try and salvage things.

"You beat me, no way Zuzu can beat you," Azula scoffed, making her brother glare her way.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Zuko hissed.

Yu could only look between them and wonder if maybe he was being too optimistic. Surely there was some way to make everyone have fun, right? Maybe he'd have to be less nice and more… manipulative was such a wrong sounding word. He'd have to look for a better word for it sometime later.

"Well, I'm sure you can give pointers if I do beat him," Yu commented, drawing a scandalized look from his friend and a smug look from Azula. "Then again, he has been consistently beating me so far," he added to sooth Zuko's pride. There was no need to point out that he'd just found a weapon that worked well for him.

Well, the balancing act was off to a good start, Yu decided when both siblings looked to be in a better mood.

Neither of the three children noticed the person that had witnessed their exchange from inside the residence.

[}-o-{]

[Xin Wu]

"I expected for them to send someone but… a kid?" his target said with a tired and resigned tone. His long and lustrous hair, a mix of black and white hair, marked him as someone who was past his prime already. The silky sleeping robes held tightly against him. If he was trying to make that knife on his fluffy belt a surprise, the guy was doing a poor job. "Where are my guards?"

"Seems like it, geezer," he said between bites of food. His target's food, that is, getting here was hard and worked up his appetite, after all. It wasn't like the old man would need to eat anymore. So better not to waste it, right? "As for your guards, well some of them are still around, I think. Didn't bother to check. Whoever is left might need to hire a few new ones though."

"Who sent you?" the target asked as he approached Xin cautiously. Good, he hated chasing after targets. It always made things just far messier.

"I dunno, never asked," Xin said, shoving a piece of Iguana-Turkey in his mouth. "Paid quite the coin though. So they must really want you dead, geezer. Sucks to be you."

"I don't know, young man. Being me has its benefits, being the governor of one of the colonies for our glorious Fire Nation has its perks, you see? Money and power are among them. Now, I don't know how much they offered you, but I am sure we can make a deal. Double their pay should suffice. Triple, if you so happen to remember who sent you here," the old man inquired.

"Hah! Good one, I love it when you guys know how to talk business." Man, the food here was good. He had learned to cook his own stuff with whatever he found in between missions, sure, but nothing tasted better than food that belonged to someone else. "As much as I would love to, though, I can't take that deal. Would look bad on my resume, you see? Honest workers like myself need to keep track of those kinds of things, you get me?"

The old man sighed, only the slight tenseness of his hand giving away the facade. Xin had to admit, the geezer had danced a few times, it seemed. Not the first time the guy was a target, that was for sure.

"I guess, that's it for negotiations then," the target said, walking towards the small wine cellar on the wall behind Xin. "Do you mind if I pour myself a last glass before you do what you have to do? I would rather not see my late wife sober, if I can help it."

"Sure sure, go ahead," he said, waving the hand that wasn't occupied opening the roasted Iguana-Turkey. 'Now which one to pick?' he thought to himself. The old man just nodded his head in thanks and walked past him and towards the cellar. The man closed the rather large kitchen towards the cellar with heavy but measured steps. Meanwhile, Xin finished rummaging through his food, already making his decision.

It was only after he had left the young assassin's field of vision that the man struck. His hand moved like a snake to his belt, before lashing out like a whip to Xin's nape in one swift and easy movement.

'Trained, it seems? A soldier, perhaps? Oh well, I think this one will do.' With one smooth motion, Xin let himself fall along with the chair backwards, his body arching in an almost impossible feat of contortionism, dodging the knife, as his leg shot up. One hand supported him as his body twisted itself around the swinging arm of the target. Elbow and wrist caught between his legs as Xin twisted his core. A satisfying crack and pained yelp made him grin. He moved his center of mass towards the table, the old man not having a chance but to follow as his broken arm still remained trapped between Xin's legs.

The old man fell face-first onto the surface of the table, food and drinks scattering under the heavy shock. Xin's body twisted back into place, his legs dragging him to sit right on top of the broken arm. Meanwhile, one of his hands shot forward towards the target's nape, making the man scream.

The room suddenly descended into silence.

Shrugging his shoulders, Xin walked towards his bag at a corner of the room. Now that the job was done, it was time to get himself a little bonus for a job well done. It wasn't like the client would even care. It was pretty much part of the contract. With the bag in hand, he went in the direction the old man had come from. If he was lucky, he would find some money he could loot.

Right before crossing the extravagant arch that acted as the dining room entrance, he looked back at his previous target.

"Sorry, geezer, nothing personal. Just business, you see?" Xin said then, leaving the dead man alone stuck to the table by a rib of an Iguana-Turkey going through his neck and all the way to the other side of the table.

[}-o-{]

'I guess I should have seen this one coming,' Xin thought to himself. He tensed his arms a little bit, feeling the cuffs and chains around his body tighten slightly and the guards around him tense slightly. No real way out of this one, it seemed. Not without getting skewered by swords or burnt alive at least.

"Xin Wu, from the Fire colonies in the Earth Kingdom, thirteen years old, orphaned," the stuffy old judge in front of him said. The man was so old his voice came out as an annoying wheeze through that long white beard he was sporting. Liver spots, wrinkles, and warts marred his whole face, giving the old judge an appearance that made Xin think the man would keel over and die at any moment.

"That's me," he responded, already tired of the whole thing. The chains were itchy after all. He had known that the whole payment was going to be a bust. The number of times a client had coughed up Xin's payment quietly and willingly could be counted on one hand. It was routine to just kill everyone at the trap except the client and leave after getting the gold. It wouldn't do to kill the rich people because that was bad for business.

"You are being accused of the charges of felony, arson, and murder of the esteemed patriarch of the noble house of Chen. Do you pledge yourself guilty of such a crime?" the judge asked. But it was clear that it wasn't a question, the whole thing had already been decided before this circus even started.

"Shouldn't I have a lawyer for this or-?"

"The rights for a lawyer had been forfeited by you the moment you decided to attack a noble family at their own home!" the man thundered, eliciting gasps and mutters from the peanut gallery who were probably here because there was nothing interesting at the theater that night.

"And what evidence do you have of this?" Xin inquired. 'I mean, I did it. But I am not gonna admit to that, obviously,' he thought inside his head.

"Multiple anonymous witnesses have claimed to have seen you enter and leave the man's home during the time of death. Naturally, to protect their identities, you are not allowed to know of their identities and the nature of any other evidence found at the scene of the crime. The Fire Nation protects their citizens from barbarians like you!" the man exclaimed. "Moreover, we know that you also collude with the enemies of our nation. Taking jobs of your… despicable nature from them too. We found evidence of a deal between an Earth garrison and yourself to eliminate the honorable noble who was responsible for overseeing these lands against those barbarians!"

'Right, I guess it also has nothing to do with your son just happening to be the next in line to inherit this dumpster,' Xin thought, rolling his eyes at the whole patriotism spiel. For them, this was just business, and entertainment. He was just the sacrificial lamb-dog to keep their hands and appearances clean.

Different from what he had told the Chen geezer, he did investigate who his client was. Big sis would get really fucking mad at him if he didn't, after all.

He even expected the raid, what he didn't expect was for the dick to bring a full garrison of soldiers with him. Xin had gotten used to people underestimating him because of his young age and only bringing a few soldiers or bodyguards at most. It seemed that his reputation as a mercenary had grown enough to merit drastic measures.

'Heh, nice. Big Sis would be proud.' Even chained and beaten up as he was, all he could feel was a sense of accomplishment in himself. It took a lot of work to get this kind of reputation in his line of work, after all.

Besides, it wasn't like he was going to be executed or anything. For all the patriotic speech that the judge whose name he had forgotten was feeding to the masses, the man knew full well that killing a perfect tool like him would just be a waste. While it was preferable to not get arrested in the first place, this was also just part of the job. He would just be kept there until the next noble with the need of someone who could do their dirty work for them appeared and freed him from prison. They'd cite more national spiel about their nation or whatever when it happened too, Xin knew.

Granted, this was his first time going to prison. But both Big Sis June and some of the other mercenaries had told him that it was how it usually went. Spirits, Big Sis had just gotten her freedom back two months ago. According to her sentence, she had gained life imprisonment, but got freed in less than four months, because some guy with pockets as big as his belly had a job for her.

Law and order only apply to the masses.

They were more like suggestions for the upper caste of the Fire Nation.

"-For those crimes and the evidence presented, I have no other choice but to sentence you to life in prison!" the judge declared, smacking his tiny hammer against the podium. He had sort of zoned out there. The crowd went wild with murmurs and exclamations. Some of them claimed he was just a kid, others cursed his name and whatever horrible fate they wanted for him.

The judge's son, who just happened to be part of the jury along with his friends and allies, clapped at the sentence, his eyes looking smugly at him in victory.

Xin just winked at him to piss him off. He succeeded. Though it had earned him a harsh hit with a baton from his escorts while he was dragged out. Geez, one couldn't even joke a bit anymore. Weren't they celebrating? Why the bad mood?

Besides, it wasn't like he hated the judge or his kid. It was fair play. Xin wanted his payment, but they didn't want to pay. They fought and he lost. That was all there was to it. It was how the world worked. The winner took it all, and the loser couldn't complain.

He would still charge slightly less if there happened to be a job to eliminate their family though. It was only right to return favors, right? So he guessed it applied here too.

As such, Xin was sentenced to life in prison at a no-name penal institution close to the southern colonies of the Earth continent.

Just another step in the mercenary life for him he supposed. To listen to his seniors talk, he would get out two months later for another job and be sentenced to prison the next year too after a botched mission. The words and faces changed, but as long as this world continued, the images always repeated themselves in a cycle of corruption and death.

No matter what, balance would maintain itself.

It always did.

Now it was his turn to be part of the cycle.

[} Chapter End {]

Adrian: … Well, you know how it goes by now, right, guys? Poor impulse control, lots of plot bunnies. Bad combination. All that with a sprinkle of Arc's fault. The usual, really.

Arc:... I distinctly remember you pestering me that you wanted to make an avatar story…

Adrian: And you should have stopped me, not let me start yet another project. So, it's clearly your fault.

Arc: Sigh, Either way. This is going to be a rather odd story born from the idea of drawing a parallel between the two royal brothers. What would happen if, just as Azula had Mai and Ty Lee, Zuko had his own entourage to accompany him?

Random Arc Question: Were you given the chance to be a bender, what element would you choose?

Arc: I personally like water bending, it is just too versatile in so many ways, both in and outside of combat.

Adrian: I mean, I wanna say fire, because it's just that much cooler… but I think I'd go for earth. Plenty of stuff to do and it's pretty cool too.

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ