A/N: Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I also made some changes in chapters 32 and 34 since I forgot that Ozai and his family didn't live in the royal palace until he became a Fire Lord.
Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 35. A Proper Demonstration.
The next day – Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Weng's Residence.
For Huo, the day started as always. He woke up, prayed in front of Li Un's altar, ate breakfast, and did some light training while he waited for dinner. However, the boy was visiting Prince Zuko, and even during breakfast, Weng kept reminding Huo how to behave and what to say in order not to insult his father, Prince Ozai.
After dinner, Huo decided to prepare something since he didn't want to arrive empty-handed. Ty Lee and Mai were visiting Zuko's sister today, and he knew that the girls loved sweets, so he snuck into the kitchen and made some. He couldn't wait to see their faces once they'd seen him. They may even end up playing together.
When everything was ready, Huo clad himself, placed the sweets in a red-colored box, and he was good to go. The boy left the residence with Weng accompanying him, and they approached the palanquin. Even though he didn't know the way to the villa, the palanquin bearers did and were ready to take him there.
"Play nice and be on your best behavior," Weng reminded as Huo entered the palanquin and sat down with his legs crossed on the comfy pillow, holding a red-colored box in his hands.
"I will, father," the boy promised and allowed the bearers to lift the palanquin. Without wasting any time, the bearers began to move.
Ten minutes later – Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Ozai's Villa.
As he rode the palanquin, Huo began to think. Maybe it was due to Weng's constant warnings, but the boy was actually interested in meeting Zuko's father. Was he really that bad, or was Weng just describing him that way? So far, everyone from the royal family was nice. Not to mention, Huo also wanted to meet Zuko's sister, Azula. She was two years younger than him and, yet, considered a prodigy. Huo's mind was filled with many questions, and the boy didn't even realize that the bearers stooped and placed the palanquin on the ground. "We're here, young master," announced one of them.
"Hmmm? Oh!" Huo blinked and got up. When he left the palanquin, holding the box with the sweets, he spotted the top of a large structure with two protruding towers standing behind a wall with a guarded gate. Huo expected a fancy house, but from where he stood, it resembled a stronghold or a second, smaller palace. When he looked around, he realized that the palanquin bearers stopped on the Fire Nation Royal Square, and the so-called villa faced the rear gate of the wall, which surrounded the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
"Well, no sense standing around," the boy said to himself and exhaled after taking a deep breath. He casually approached the gate, taking a good look at the watchtowers located on each of the four corners of the wall. The guards, who stood at the gate, kept their eyes on him the moment they spotted his palanquin but didn't try to stop him. In fact, they opened the gate for the boy since they knew Prince Zuko had invited him. "Thank you," Huo said.
Once he went through the gate, the boy entered a courtyard with a flame-shaped fountain at the center. Beautiful trails of crystal-clear water sprayed from the tips of the flames into the large basin below. Servants tended to the greenery and made sure everything looked perfect. Neatly trimmed hedges with red and orange flowers were planted around the villa, which was bigger than the residence he lived in.
Huo wanted to explore, but it would be rude to make the young prince wait. The boy followed the stone-made pathway to the front door and knocked. After a few moments, a male servant opened it. "Ah, you must be the young master, Huo," the man said with a kind smile, bowing his head and gesturing Huo to come inside. "Please, come in."
Upon entering, Huo found himself in the foyer, which screamed splendor. Potted plants were located in the corners, and the floor was made from polished stone tiles and covered with an expensive rug, which featured the Fire Nation insignia. "This way, please," the servant beckoned after closing the door behind the boy. "The young prince is currently in the Royal Palace gardens with Fire Princess Ursa, but before you'll be escorted there, Prince Ozai has requested your presence."
Huo's orange-colored eyes widened. He was expecting that Prince Ozai would want to see him just like Weng told him he would, but he didn't expect it to happen right off the bat. Still, the boy complied and followed the servant. Not only because he had to but because he was curious to see what kind of a man he was.
Huo realized the villa was more spacious than the residence he lived in, but that didn't surprise him. Royals lived here, so it was obvious the place would be impressive and better than the home of a noble. Fancy artworks, expensive furniture, busy servants. So far, everything looked just like he imagined.
The boy was led to a stone-made, spiral staircase and guessed they entered one of the two towers. As they began to descend the staircase, the sounds of firebending caught Huo's attention, and soon, he and the servant entered a large room filled with training dummies aligned in rows. Unlike the three he had in the back garden, the training dummies in the room were clad in greenish, full-body armor, which resembled the ones worn by the Earth Kingdom soldiers.
In the center of the room stood a topless man in his late thirties, who was clearly in the middle of training. He was tall lean, but muscular with light skin. He had long, black, back-length hair with a top knot and a long, thin goatee. Huo noticed he didn't wear a headpiece, but he assumed it was because he was in the middle of training.
The man wore black-colored shoes with black-red shin coverings. A crimson-red sash with a gold Fire Nation insignia was wrapped around his waist. On his legs, he wore a pair of black pants.
"Excuse me, Prince Ozai," the servant bowed his head. "Young master, Huo, has arrived."
Ozai turned his head around with a slight frown, but his expression somewhat softened when he looked at the boy. "Good, now leave us," he ordered, and the servant complied, bowing and leaving the room. The prince bent over to grab a towel from the floor and wiped the sweat from his face. He then wrapped the towel around his shoulders and approached Huo, who took a knee.
"Rise, boy," Ozai instructed with a slight smile. "Let me take a look at you."
Huo complied, and Ozai eyed him up and down with dark gold eyes. He noticed the scar, the orange-colored eyes, and, of course, the tattoo on his forehead. Even though the man didn't seem hostile, Huo felt a distinctive menacing air around him.
"I heard many things about you," the prince stated, lifting his black eyebrows. "The boy who bends blue flames, can generate lightning, and is able to combustionbend. Everyone talks about you. Nobles, officers, even my son. Rumors about you even reached my father, Fire Lord Azulon."
Huo couldn't help it, but he felt proud after hearing those words and smiled slightly.
"However," Ozai continued. "Rumors are spread from person to person and can change slightly each time they are told. As a result, they can become exaggerated and altered over time. That being said, I ask that you demonstrate your firebending so I can see it for myself and decide if the rumors are true or false."
"As you wish, Prince Ozai," Huo nodded and placed the red-colored box on the floor. Even though the man asked, the demanding tone was clearly palpable. Huo took off his shoes and his red shirt, folding it on the floor, wanting to do it properly. He then moved to the center of the room and rolled his shoulders.
"Don't hold back," Ozai said, taking a few steps back. "Destroy each training dummy if you have to."
Huo closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. After opening his eyes, the boy began to firebend, conjuring blue-colored flames from his fists and feet. High kicks, flame sweeps, fire jabs. All attacks hit the dummies, set them on fire, and knocked them over.
Ozai immediately noticed that Huo's basics were perfect, and soon after, the boy began to use more advanced techniques like fire whips, condensed balls of fire, and flames in the form of whirling disks. He charged his attacks and even began to firebend out of his mouth. Of course, Huo knew many more advanced forms and techniques of which Ozai, nor any other firebender, did not have the first idea about, but he didn't show them for obvious reasons.
When Huo began to generate lightning, Ozai squinted his eyes and stroked his goatee. With a loud thunder, the boy extended his index and middle finger, firing a lightning bolt, which destroyed a training dummy, ripping it to pieces. Wanting to end the demonstration with a big attack, Huo inhaled and leaned his head forward, sending a combustion beam toward the dummies.
The one that got hit was blown to pieces, while the shockwave hurled the ones close to it were blown away. The stone-made floor cracked, and the room shook from the impact. Huo was sure that the servants felt that. He exhaled and turned to face Prince Ozai.
"Well done," the man nodded with a sinister smirk. Huo suspected that he'd be angry at him for being better than Zuko or even say that it wasn't impressive at all, but the prince seemed genuinely pleased by his demonstration. "The rumors were telling the truth after all, but I wonder. Your Agni Kai with the son of General Donjin didn't end quickly, correct?"
"Correct," Huo confirmed.
"You clearly could've ended the fight with one attack," Ozai pointed out and narrowed his eyes. "Why didn't you?"
"Because I wanted him to suffer," Huo replied truthfully, recalling what Genjei did to Ty Lee. "I could've end it quickly but humiliating him was my goal and, if I can be honest, I felt great satisfaction seeing him crying on his knees and with fear in his eyes."
The prince smirked, satisfied with the answer. "As you should," he replied. "That will be all... for now. One of the servants will escort you out."
"Thank you," Huo bowed his head while Ozai simply returned to his training. The boy put his clothes back on and grabbed the box with sweets. However, before he left the room, he took one last glance at the prince. He wanted to see his firebending forms but didn't want to anger him and simply left. Huo had to admit it was an interesting experience.
Ten minutes later – Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Royal Palace Gardens.
The Royal Palace gardens neighboured the area with the villa and consisted of a huge lake in the center with different species of animals, such as turtle ducks. A notable fountain was located in the garden, and a gazebo was placed right next to the lake. The garden had a large variety of flora, with lots of trees and lush grass surrounding it. It was a place where the royal family could spend their free time for leisure, recreation, and relaxation.
Huo left the villa with the same servant, who took him to see Ozai. Once the boy spotted Zuko in the distance, who sat under a tree with his mother, Ursa, he thanked the servant and continued on his own.
Zuko noticed his friend and smiled. "Huo!" the young prince called out and waved to him. Ursa smiled, hearing the excitement in her son's voice. "Go and play with your friend, sweetie," she said.
The young prince got up and ran up to Huo, who smiled as well. Despite their difference in social status, both boys greeted each other with a Fire Nation gesture.
"Did you have trouble finding us?" Zuko asked, scratching the back of his head. "I never asked if you know the way to the Royal Palace gardens."
"To be fair, it would be hard without one of your servants, who showed me the way," Huo replied but quickly added. "However, now I know and will be able to get here on my own next time. You should show me your home someday, though. I had a short tour, but it's enormous, so I wasn't able to see even the half."
"A tour?" Zuko inquired, squinting his golden eyes.
"Your dad wanted to see me, so before the servant showed me the way to the gardens, he took me to see him," Huo explained.
Zuko's eyes widened. "What did he want?" he asked without hiding his curiosity.
"He asked for a demonstration of my firebending skills," Huo answered. "I destroyed almost all his training dummies, but he was impressed."
Zuko was speechless and somewhat jealous, if he could be honest. His eyes shifted to the box which Huo held and pointed at it. "What's that?" he asked.
"Oh, I didn't want to arrive empty-handed on my first visit so, I decided to prepare some sweets," Huo opened the box, revealing nine mochis covered in chocolate.
"You made them yourself?" Zuko asked, surprised. "I didn't know you knew how."
"Yeah, I know a thing or two about making simple meals," Huo replied. "You have to learn such skills if you don't want to die of starvation in a dangerous world."
"Huh... a fair point," Zuko agreed.
"I know that Mai and Ty Lee like mochis, but what about your sister?" Huo asked.
"Oh, she loves sweets, especially mochis," Zuko confirmed.
"Cool, let's go see them," Huo suggested. "I really want to meet that sister of yours. I'm curious to see if she really is as talented as you say."
While Zuko wasn't too keen on playing with his sister, he agreed to his friend's request.
As the two boys walked through the gardens and were engaged in small talk, Huo spotted Mai, Ty Lee, and a third girl, who had to be Azula. Zuko's sister and Ty Lee were doing handstands right next to a medium-sized pond with an arched wooden bridge while Mai simply sat on the grass and watched them with little interest. Apparently, they were having some sort of competition, and Huo could see that Zuko's sister was struggling. He knew Ty Lee could easily walk on her hands, so a simple handstand was nothing for her.
Just like he expected, Azula lost her balance and fell over on her back, but she quickly got back up and shoved Ty Lee while the girl was still doing a handstand. The princess needed to be better at everything and hated being bested. Ty Lee tried to keep her balance but fell into the shallow pond.
"Aahh! Hey!" Ty Lee complained while Azula laughed mischievously. Zuko shook his head while Huo narrowed his orange-colored eyes, not liking what he just witnessed. Even though Ty Lee wasn't hurt and her clothes would dry quickly since it was a warm, sunny day, it could've ended badly if she'd fallen on her neck.
The girl's clothes were soaked, and she got out of the pond with a pout. Her expression changed to a more cheerful one, though, when she spotted the boys. "Huo!" she exclaimed and waved to her friend. Azula and Mai turned their heads toward Zuko and Huo. Mai smiled slightly and stood up, especially after noticing Zuko, whereas Azula's eyes narrowed curiously upon spotting Huo.
The princess didn't need to ask who he was since Ty Lee constantly talked about Huo. Especially after the Agni Kai, which ended with his decisive victory. Huo this, Huo that. Even her brother couldn't stop talking about him when he returned home after visiting the boy at his residence.
When the boys approached them, Ty Lee hugged Huo, forgetting that she was soaked. "Oh! Sorry!" she apologized with an embarrassed smile as she pulled away.
"It's okay," Huo reassured and looked at Azula, who approached him with her arms crossed. He took a good look at the girl and noticed that she had dark gold eyes like her father and light skin like her mother.
The young princess was clad in similar clothes to Mai but with more crimson and vibrant colors. Her black hair was tied into a top knot, held by a small red-colored flame-shaped headpiece, and two hair tendrils rested on the sides of her face.
"So... you're Huo," Azula stated, examining the boy closely like her father.
"And you're Azula," Huo replied. "I'm guessing the girls spoke about me."
"That's an understatement," Azula replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't believe I have ever heard one name being repeated so many times."
Huo smirked while Ty Lee asked joyfully. "You came to play with us?"
"That's the plan, and I brought some sweets for everyone," the boy answered, reaching for the box he held under his armpit. He opened it, showing girls the mochis.
Azula perked up, seeing the rice cakes, and was the first one to reach out, but before she could grab one, Huo closed the box. "Apologize to Ty Lee for that shove first," the boy said. "Then, you can have a mochi."
From the moment Azula shoved Ty Lee into the pond, Huo pondered what to do since, unlike Genjei, she was royalty. Weng would probably want Huo to do nothing to be on good terms with her father, but Huo simply couldn't act like nothing happened. Princess or not, Huo wouldn't allow anyone to hurt his friends. Azula needed to apologize for what she did, whether she liked it or not.
"What?" Azula was taken aback by that request. "Why should I?"
"Because you could've seriously hurt her by doing that," Huo pointed out with a frown. "Shoving someone while they're doing a handstand is dangerous and mean."
"So what?" Azula replied without any remorse. "Ty Lee is wet but fine."
Now, it was Huo who was taken aback by Azula's response. He realized that the girl showed little to no concern for the well-being of others. Zuko mentioned that she made fun of him, and he expected something of the sort, but this was something he didn't expect. The boy didn't understand how could someone like this be a friend of Mai and Ty Lee.
"It's okay, Huo," Ty Lee said, trying to defuse the situation, but the boy shook his head. "No, it's not!" Huo raised his voice, not taking his eyes off the princess. "Just because you bested her, it doesn't give her any right to do that!"
Azula frowned at the boy, and the two stared each other down. Ty Lee looked worriedly at the two, sensing the tension in the air. Zuko and Mai were silent, feeling that even a single word would start a vicious fight between the two firebenders.
Suddenly, everyone heard the voice of Princess Ursa. "What's going on?" the woman asked, approaching the group and noticing the apparent hostility between Azula and Huo.
"Ty Lee was doing a handstand, and Azula shoved her into the pond," Huo said straight up. "I told her to apologize because it was dangerous, but she doesn't seem to care or understand."
Azula bristled upon hearing that. Ursa noticed Ty Lee's wet clothes and glared sternly at her daughter. "Azula! Apologize to your friend!" she said with a commanding tone.
"But it was just-" Azula tried to devise an excuse, but her mother didn't want to hear it. "Young lady, apologize, or you're grounded!" Ursa said decisively. "I won't say it again!"
Azula clenched her fists and scowled. Huo thought she'd attack him just then, but the young princess closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then opened them and looked at Ty Lee. "I'm sorry," she said with a straight face, and Ty Lee nodded with a kind smile. Although the words left her mouth, Huo had a hunch the apology wasn't sincere. Still, she did what she was told, and her mother's expression softened. If she was convinced that her daughter was honest, Huo could do nothing.
"Good, now play nice," the woman said, directing her words to everyone, but she kept her eyes on Azula. The rest of the kids nodded, and when Princess Ursa left, Huo inhaled and exhaled through his nose.
"Now, how about we all sit down and have a nice time," he suggested and looked at Zuko. "Do you know any relaxing spots around here?"
"Emmm... sure," Zuko nodded and beckoned Huo and the girls to follow him. Ty Lee and Mai did just that, leaving Huo and Azula behind. They knew it was better to not bother Azula for a while.
When Huo turned his back to Azula and attempted to follow the three, the princess discreetly conjured an orange-colored flame in her hand. She wanted to teach Huo a lesson, but before she could do anything, the boy conjured a blue-colored fire blade from his free hand.
Azula's eyes widened as Huo turned his head over his shoulder and glared at her. "Go ahead," he said with a smirk. "Try me."
The young princess stood there for a second, perplexed by how the boy knew she created a flame in her hand without even looking. After regaining her composure, Azula closed her fist and extinguished the flame.
"Wise choice, now come on and stop fooling around," Huo stated, extinguishing his fire blade, and began to follow the three. If he could be honest, he didn't expect the meeting with Azula to go that way. If anything, he thought the encounter with Prince Ozai would be bad instead. He only hoped that his firebending demonstration would have more value than angering his daughter.
Azula didn't move at first, but she begrudgingly followed the others, wanting to eat the mochi. Her dark gold eyes were fixated on Huo's back. If she'd have a blacklist, Huo's name would surely be at the top right now. Even though she didn't see his Agni Kai, Zuko mentioned that Huo could generate lightning and blow things up with his mind, so a firebending duel was out of the question. She didn't know how yet, but Azula would show Huo his place.
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