And we are finally back with another chapter . You know I'm actually kinda impressed with myself by how quickly I've been churning out these chapters since I will admit that most of the chapters after 5 were pretty much just improvisation . In hindsight when I picked this up story , I probably should have waited a bit before I reposted it , maybe get some essence of an idea of what's going to happen instead of more or less just winging it .
Rest assured though , I have figured out some essence of a plan for this story or at the very least a general idea of where I'm taking the story at this point . Which like I said , more or less just focuses on Azula healing from her pain with help from Kazumi . Of course , there will be some very expectant road bumps along the way which make come sooner than you may think .
I can't guarantee I'm not gonna screw the pooch with this story , since I'm a freaking oaf when it comes to writing stories and are more less just injects whatever fun idea comes to mind when it comes to writing a story like this . Though I will promise it will be entertaining if nothing else .
Now with that said , let's get this chapter started .
What was the most prominent duty the Fire Lord had ?
If you had asked Zuko over a year ago , he would have said that it was spreading war , chaos and being an asshole to your own family . But after spending a year as Fire Lord, he knows better now that the most prominent duty of the Fire Lord ...
Was paperwork . And dozens of meetings .
Zuko let out a sigh as he looked over yet another letter from his adviser that concerns the economy of the Fire Nation . Since the Fire Nation had been heavily reliant on the war for its economy , an economic downturn was inevitable with Zuko being forced to shutter most of the Fire Nation's military industries as a good show of faith to the other nations that the Fire Nation was committed to ending the war . Needless to say that this decision did not go over too well with his advisors and ministers but that was his decision .
And now he also has to worry about job employment in the Fire Nation , the potential rise in poverty and making sure there's enough food to go around ...
There was more than enough for Zuko to be concerned about .
Zuko leaned back in his chair as he sets the remaining paper onto his desk , he almost wonders if Father had to deal with these same issues , constantly worrying about the nation and its survival . Is this what it truly means to be Fire Lord ?
Zuko wasn't sure , but he didn't want to spend too much time thinking about his father or even empathizing with the man for that matter . Zuko was surprised when he saw the door to his office open and his mother walked in . Which made him feel relief since he wasn't sure he could deal with another of his advisors for the day without wanting to face palm .
" Good afternoon mother , did you need something ? " Zuko greets his mother as she stepped inside his office .
" Oh its nothing I ... just wanted to talk to you for a while " Ursa speaks a calm tone but the slight nervousness doesn't go over his head " If that's okay , I wouldn't want to bother you while you work "
" Oh no , its fine . Anything to get away from these damn papers for a minute " Zuko gives a small smile which seems to comfort his mother a little , who smiles a little as well .
Zuko goes to sit with his mother on the couch and he noticed that his mother was rubbing her hand over each other . He had noticed her doing this when she first came back to the palace and he already knew the reason why . He can't imagine coming back to the palace where she was once forced to live with his father was a pleasant memory to bring back to life .
" Mother ... is something wrong ? " Zuko slowly asks , careful not to push his mother too hard .
" Its nothing Zuko I um ..." Ursa seems to consider her words for a brief moment before speaking " I went go speak to Ozai ... yesterday..."
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A minute passed because that was how long it took for Zuko to fully comprehend what his mother had said .
She ... went go see father ? Alone ?
Zuko is already subconsciously thinking of every single execution method in existence to kill his Father for what he may have said to hurt his mother . Zuko knew all too well that Father's words can cut and burn just as deeply as his bending did . And he knew that just because he had lost his bending , didn't mean his venomous words couldn't hurt .
" You ... went to go see him ? " Zuko says slowly , still coming down from the surprise of his mother's confession " Why ? "
" ... I'm sorry Zuko . I know I shouldn't have but ..." Ursa struggles to explain but takes a deep breath " I knew that I would have to face him sooner or later ... and when I did I was woefully unprepared for what he said "
" What did he say to you mother ? " Zuko asks calmly .
Ursa didn't respond right away but rather she went silent for a brief moment.
" Am I bad mother Zuko ? " Ursa quietly asked , but Zuko heard it clearly .
" No ! Of course you're not a bad mother !" Zuko says almost immediately .
Zuko realizes that he may have shouted with a bit more force than necessary and calms down , gently grabbing his mother's hand " Why would you think something like that ? "
" ...Ozai . He said something's that ..." Ursa couldn't finish before she went quiet again .
" Ozai says a lot of hurtful things , most of which are untrue . You are not a bad mother " Zuko says with firmness " You were the one who always looked out for me and Azula , right ? You were always careful and you tried your best for us "
No Zuko , that's not true at all . I always looked out for you . I was careful around you and I did my best for you . But not for Azula . It was never for Azula at any point in time .
" You are a good mother ... you were always one to me and Azula " Zuko says finally but that does little to make Ursa feel better .
But that's just your own perspective isn't it ? If only you could see or remember the stark differences in how I treated you and Azula ... the same way that your father did . Could you really say the same ?
Ursa thought in her mind but didn't say them out loud . She didn't have the heart or courage to say them to Zuko .
" Do you think Azula is safe ... Zuko ?" Ursa muttered .
" ... I hope she is . I still haven't heard back from the tracker group I sent so maybe they've found something ..." Zuko said hopefully , but there was a hint of doubt to it .
" Do you think we'll ever see her again ? " Ursa quietly asks .
" I know we will mother ..." Zuko says comfortingly .
Ursa knew it too . Because it was just like Ozai said ... she will come for them eventually .
And Ursa doesn't know what to do then ...
Azula was no stranger to doing tasks that didn't also made sense to her by Father ...
But Kazumi was really pushing it right now .
" Why are we doing this ? " Azula asked in her calmest tone possible to Kazumi who was seated beside her
" We are ... just not in the way you expected " Kazumi give a small smile in return opening her eyes .
" I thought we were going to be practicing more swordsmanship ? " Azula questioned " How does sitting in front of a lake while closing our eyes suppose to help with swordsmanship ? "
" I guess you never learned meditation before have you ? " Kazumi said with a smile " Meditation can help clear the mind and you would be surprised by the applications that can have in battle . Whether with a sword in hand or your own bending . You need a clear mind in order to properly do battle and it can do wonders for your breathing ..."
Azula didn't have a rebuttal for that . She knew exactly how true that was , that you need to have clear mind in order to win . She had more than plenty of time to think and realize that the reason she had lost the Agni Kai to Zuko and then to that damn waterbender was because her mind had been tainted and plagued with thoughts and ghosts of her mother haunting her at every turn . It had made both her and her moves sloppy , weak , unfocused and quite frankly pathetic to her .
So maybe this meditation thing wasn't such a bad idea after all .
" Where did you even learn this ? " Azula asks , not being able to quite get back into the meditating mood .
" Well , my mother taught it to me and her mother before that ..." Kazumi explains " I was told once by my grandmother that the founder of our family , the first spirit navigator had learned the practice of meditation from the Air Nomads and had since incorporated it into the family " Kazumi said with a reminiscent smile " She found it to be a pretty relaxing experience and it helps us control our breathing when we bend after some time "
" I'm surprised you could learn anything from those peace loving freaks " Azula rolled her eyes . Though she won't deny that most of her distaste for the Air Nomads came from the Avatar being a persistent thorn in her side back then .
" You would be pleasantly surprised what you could learn from another nation's bending Azula " Kazumi countered gently .
Azula did not attempt to refute that . She knew what Kazumi said was true . She had experienced it first hand when Zuko managed to redirect her lightning during their Agni Kai , a technique he most likely learned from uncle who learned it from observing waterbenders in action . And yet again when Kazumi redirected her lightning ...
Perhaps there was something to be learned from the other nations , if only for her own benefit .
" Okay , how do we do this again ? " Azula asked .
" First it is important to get into a relaxing spot , it helps keep you calm " Kazumi goes through the steps again " Second part is to close your eyes and just clear your mind ... focus only on what's around you ..."
Azula took a deep breath and closed here eyes . She focused only on her own breathing and could just barely hear Kazumi's own .
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" Yeah , this just isn't working for me " Azula said before leaning back onto the grass . Its not like this meditation was going to unlock some innate secret power within her that she never knew about until now . She already knew exactly how to control her breathing with precision and accuracy , she had spent years honing her firebending skills to do that much .
Kazumi giggled at her " Well , my mother did say that meditation wasn't for everyone " Kazumi stood up and grabbed a wooden practice sword " Since meditation isn't to your liking ...perhaps some swordsmanship is more to your pacing ? "
Azula smirked a little as Kazumi threw the practice sword at her which she caught .
" Now you're speaking my language Kazumi ..." Azula felt a bit more at ease with swordsmanship than she did with meditation ironically .
" Glad to hear it " Kazumi smiled at her , while Azula took stance " Now let's practice those swings and stances I taught you , okay ? "
Azula had no objections to that .
Swordsmanship was easily more relaxing to Azula than meditation was .
Sorry this chapter was so short and was mostly just very pointless filler , but I couldn't cram any important stuff into here without breaking the pacing up . Rest assured that the next chapter there will be some very important stuff happening , which will lead to some even more important events that will be happening later in the story .
Also in regards to this chapter ... let's all be honest here for a minute , none of us can realistically see Azula the type to get into stuff like meditation and would be much more into learning swordsmanship than anything remotely peaceful .
:P
But anyway , that's for all for this chapter . See you all in the next one .
Angel Out .