Chapter 6: A school for flamethrowers and noble brats

Clockwork floated in his domain as he watched his young ward. His life in the Avatar's world would be interesting and the effect he would have on the Era of Aang would reshape destiny. But Clockwork had a feeling that he could find more opportunities for Danny to thrive in this new world of his.

The master of time smiled. He may have said that his hands were tied because of how much he had already interfered with the timeline, but that wasn't entirely true. He had a few moments where he could interfere without drawing the attention of the Observants.

Clockwork tapped one of the many screens and the image changed from Danny with Princess Azula to the Avatar and their favourite companion. It wasn't Avatar Aang and Katara who he saw on the screen. Instead, it was the Airbender who Preceded him

~00000~

Five Hundred and Fifteen Years in the Past (Year 21 Era of Yangchen)

This was Kavik's first time visiting the Fire Nation. Sure he had visited Chaisee's island but considering that it was a nightmare of an island with only two living inhabitants and a temple dedicated to turning men into monsters. Other than that this was his first time visiting the Fire Nation Propper. He was accompanying Yangchen to the Capital Island since she was responding to a request from Fire Lord Gonryu.

To put it simply there was another Spirit causing trouble and as the spiritual advisor of the World, Yangchen was called in to help deal with it. She had asked Kavik to accompany her. It had been 4 years since Kavik had signed on as Yangchen's permanent companion and three years since they had become husband and wife in everything but name so it made sense that he would accompany her on this task.

The first day of the investigation was the relaxing part. Fire Lord Gonryu had come to welcome them personally at the docks leading to the Capital City -these days Yangchen travelled by ship instead of by Bison- and he hosted a feast in honour of the honoured guests. The first day was reserved for pleasantries especially since the Fire Lord didn't want to rush to ask Yangchen for favours.

After the day of hospitality, Fire Lord Gonryu explained the situation and described the spirit that seemed to be causing problems. Yangchen, having dealt with similar situations, asked what had gone wrong but as expected the Fire Lord was tight-lipped about what the citizens of his nation had done wrong.

And so Yangchen and Kavik set out to find the rogue spirit. Clockwork watched them knowing he would only have a moment to act.

He watched as Yangchen and Kavik found the spirit. The spirit was a mighty storm spirit called Narukami. Narukami was a spirit who resided in the forests near the capital and he wasn't happy. Narukami had recently taught a small group of Fire Nation citizens, including the son of Fire Lord Gonryu how to wield the power of Lightning. In exchange for the lesson, he had been promised that the Fire Nationals would no longer hunt his sacred animals, Tigerhawks.

The hunting had continued and Narukami wasn't happy so he had been summoning storms to teach the Fire Nationals a lesson. Clockwork watched as Narukami explained his plight and his anger. He watched as Yangchen made promises that she couldn't keep. Clockwork of course knew that the next Avatar, Kuruk, would have to deal with the angry spirits that Yangchen hadn't been able to appease. But this spirit wouldn't be the problem of Avatar Kuruk.

Yangchen made her promises and Kavik promised that he would do his best to help as well and the two were on their way. The storm had been calmed for the time being and Clockwork made his move. He sealed the vengeful storm within a bubble of time. When the spirit returned he would see that his precious Tigerhawks were extinct.

Once the dead was done, Clockwork smiled.

"Everything is the way it's supposed to be." He said before he vanished. He didn't speak with Raava's champion today but there would be time for those chats later.

He had one more stop to make on his journey through the timeline. Although his interference wasn't required, he could stoke the flames to get the desired outcome.

Three Hundred and Ninety-five Years in the Past (Year 17 Era of Kyoshi)

Fear and hatred were powerful motivators and Chaejin, the oldest and illegitimate son of former Fire Lord Chaeryu, had plenty of hatred to spare. He hated his brother, the weak ruler who shouldn't have been the Fire Lord, and he hated Avatar Kyoshi, the woman who threatened the life of him and his mother.

But just as much as he hated them he also feared what would happen if he stepped out of line. Kyoshi had already proved the lines that she was willing to cross if he stepped out of line and although she was the reason he was still alive, she was still someone he feared and hated. After his brother's threats to destroy the Saowon clan, Chaejin started to fear incurring his wrath.

Despite his growing hatred, fear kept him in check. With nothing else to do, he stayed in his home while enduring the house arrest and hoping that the situation would become better one day. His hopes and prayers were answered when a spirit appeared before him. The spirit's form was unclear and all he could make out was the red eyes, the purple cloak and the odd staff that the spirit held.

"Chaejin of the Saowon Clan," the spirit said as he appeared before him. "Your clan has been disrespected by the Avatar and the Fire Lord and accused of crimes you didn't commit. But perhaps you deserved it.

"Your clan has been known for its arrogance and disrespect of the spirits," The spirit continued. "Perhaps you deserve your current fate."

"What fate is in store for the Saowon Clan?" Chaejin asked in fear as he backed away from the spirit.

"Ruin," The spirit responded. "But I do not agree with that fate. So if you wish to regain your honour you will do well to heed my warnings and do what I ask of you."

"Why should I do as you say?" Chaejin demanded. "I am the son of the Fire Lord and the heir to the greatest clan in the Fire Nation."

"So impertinent." the spirit responded. "I am the spirit of time. For me time moves forward, and backward and… oh what's the point you're just human. You'll never understand the complexities of time. Let me show you what lies beyond."

The spirit placed his staff on the head of Chaejin and the young man could only stare in awe as future and past events flew past his eyes. Although he would never share what he saw with anyone, his experience would change him and give him hope for a seemingly unattainable future.

~00000~

Three Years in the Past

It had been a month since he had been assigned as Azula's bodyguard and Danny was completely and utterly bored. Almost every day was the same, wake up before dawn, eat breakfast, reading and writing lessons with Xiaomei, find Azula in the palace, accompany her to her training, do nothing until she was done with her activities, escort her back to the palace, keep watch as she performed her duties, eat dinner repeat.

Danny had already started getting tired of the monotony. Today was at least a little bit interesting as Xiaomei had decided to teach him about a game she liked to play called Pai Sho before he had to make his way over to Azula but the game wasn't exactly what Danny would call stimulating.

"There are some people who believe this game was created by spirits," Xiaomei explained as she moved the White Lotus piece that she started with. "The game has been around for thousands of years. Some even believe that the game predates the Avatar but any information from such as time has been lost to history."

Xiaomei gave Danny a hopeful look as if hoping that he could confirm or deny this information. Danny could only shrug as his response.

"If you didn't play this game back at your home, what would you play?" Xiaomei asked.

"We had a few similar games," Danny responded. "Chess, checkers, shogi to name a few but I don't really know how to play those games."

Admittedly most of the games Danny played were of the video variety and considering the technological state of this world it was unlikely that he'd be able to describe them to Xiaomei. Although he did admittedly know the rules of chess so he could teach her and let her figure out the strategy elements.

Xiaomei didn't respond instantly. Instead, she observed the young man. In the past month, she had come to understand the sixteen-year-old and his moods. By the standards of their world and culture, he would be deemed an adult fit to go off and chart his own path in the world. Of course, not every sixteen-year-old took on this. For example, it was quite common for sixteen-year-olds in the Water Tribe to only leave their parent's homes only when they had been married and in the Earth Kingdom, sixteen-year-olds would be expected to stay home for at least a few years. But despite that, sixteen was traditionally treated as the age of adulthood worldwide. But the boy in front of her seemed to fully embrace his youth.

The bored expression on his face was all too similar to what one would find from the students in school. Of course, this wasn't referring to Fire Nation schools. Children there were always expected to attend with the honour befitting a Fire National, but children in the colonies had the same bored expression that Danny did. It made him look less like a man and more like a child.

"What's wrong Danny?" Xiaomei asked.

"I'm bored," Danny responded. "This job as the princess's retainer isn't fun."

"I don't think fun was what Fire Lord Ozai had in mind when he gave you the position," Xiaomei mused. "Perhaps you need a hobby."

"Is that why you're teaching me Pai Sho?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Xiaomei said with a smile as she moved a piece to the centre of the board.

The piece was a simple blue design with a white lotus design decorating it.

"I just wanted to introduce you to the game," Xiaomei said. "You won't believe the wisdom and knowledge contained within the game."

Her eyes glowed with a warmth and a whimsey as if she had just told an inside joke.

"But if you are worried about being bored then perhaps today will be a good day for you," Xiaomei said. "Today the schools reopen so you shall accompany Princess Azula to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls."

Danny pulled a face that made it clear that he wasn't overly excited about the prospect.

"School? That sounds worse. And would I even be allowed to enter since I am not a girl?" Danny asked.

"I don't know what schools were like in your home but here the schools are a bit more interesting," Xiaomei said. "I once attended the school. It has the highest calibre of education for the young women of the Fire Nation and teaches them traditional studies such as the sciences, philosophies and literature as well as military affairs."

"Military affairs?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Xiaomei added. "The noble daughters of the nation are taught military tactics, of the four nations as well as architecture and cultural practises in the case of them becoming generals.

"They also learn combat tactics to duel against benders of other elements, and tactics like infiltration, assassination and the like," Xiaomei concluded.

"What kind of school is this?" Danny muttered.

"And as the Retainer of the Princess, appointed by the Fire Lord, you will be permitted entry into the school," Xiaomei added.

~00000~

The Royal Fire Academy for Girls was more interesting than Danny had expected. After the quiet morning with Xiaomei, he met up with Azula and escorted her to her school. It was while he was on this route that he met one of Azula's friends. He had already met Ty Lee over the past month. He liked her, bubbly energy. But Mai was this cold and seemingly dangerous girl who played with knives and had a lot of goth energy. Sam would have liked her.

Mai had been on vacation to Ember Island with her family which was why Danny hadn't met her yet but now that the academic year was starting back up again, Mai had returned. Coming from a country that typically had holidays during the summer period, Danny was beyond surprised to learn that the school year picked back up during the middle of Summer when the nation was at its hottest. But that was irrelevant at the current moment. What was relevant was that wow this school was crazy.

He thought Casper High was bad, this school hit the ground running. The students were instructed to do a full physical so that their educators could determine if they had been keeping up with their training.

The first few hours of the day were spent with sparing matches between the students while their instructors watched and critiqued from the sidelines. Many of the students were decent fighters with their bending at acceptable levels, and then there was Azula and her two friends.

Mai and Ty Lee weren't the only non-benders in the school but they were easily the most dangerous. Watching them, Danny had come to learn the term, Positive Jing. Warriors of the Fire Nation had a very aggressive style of combat where striking first was highly recommended and favoured. The girls were a lot like Valerie or Ember with a fighting style similar to their "punch first, ask questions later" mentality.

When the spar began, Mai threw her throwing knives at her target, a noble girl from one of the southwestern islands. The girl didn't have a moment to retaliate before she was pinned to a wall by her clothes and Mai's knives. To Danny's surprise, the girl was also bleeding on her cheek and a small amount of her hair had been cut. Not enough to cause dishonour but enough to send a message. Because of that, not only did Danny learn that Mai was allowed to use real sharp knives in this sparring but most of the girls were encouraged to fight with killer intent. Yikes.

Ty Lee's spar was a blink-and-you-miss-it battle. Her speed allowed her to quickly immobilize her sparring partner with quick jabs that left her unable to move her body. What was more impressive was that she fought against a bender, but the girl Ty Lee faced hadn't been able to send a single fireball before she was eating dirt.

Compared to the other students, the two of them were in a league of their own and Danny couldn't help but notice the smug smirk on Azula's face as she watched her two friends. But their skills still paled in comparison to Azula's strength.

Her sparring partner was clearly afraid to face off against Azula. The noble girl she faced was a child of one of the ministers and came from the Capital. When she faced off against Azula, she seemed to quake in her boots but was encouraged by another girl in the class. The Minister's daughter wasn't a small thing either. She was slightly taller than Azula and looked like she had more muscle than the princess, but her eyes were nothing if not frightened. And once the fight began, Danny could see why.

Azula didn't just outclass the minister's daughter. She outshone her in every single way. Danny had seen her training of course, but he hadn't seen what a monster Azula was when engaged in combat with someone else. She made an art form of attacking aggressively while maintaining her grace and elegance.

Danny watched as she effortlessly produced her signature blue flames. The princess had been practising constantly to get her flames consistent, and he watched as she employed similar acrobatic grace to Ty Lee while maintaining a level of aggression that none of the noble girls could achieve. Azula ended the fight quickly leaving the Minister's daughter with a few injuries. It was nothing that wouldn't be healed in time but the fact that the girl had to be taken to the infirmary was probably not a good sign.

"You shouldn't have even tried," Azula said with pride as the girl was taken away.

Danny couldn't help but feel disgusted by what he had seen. Every single one of his hero instincts screamed at him to get in and help but he'd never seen an actual spar in this world so he wasn't sure what to expect. It didn't help that the combat instructor, a one-armed former general and bear of a man sang Azula's praises for her battle.

Almost everyone did. Danny of course didn't. And another girl didn't. Instead, the girl rolled her eyes at the attention that Azula got and eagerly awaited her turn to spar against an opponent. The girl was Saiijin, the heir of the Soawon Clan and she seemed determined to show up Azula as much as possible. She didn't possess the same blue fire that Azula had, but what she lacked in colour she more than made up with her style of combat.

Saiijin made use of a unique style of fire bending where she used her flames to produce daggers and whips of flame. Using her style she fought more like a melee fighter than an actual bender, preferring close-quarters combat instead of ranged. In a way, she was like a marriage of Ty Lee and Azula. But her ability to bend also meant that she could easily deflect attacks from her opponent who liked to use range.

Saiijin moved quickly to dispatch her opponent and knock her to the ground. And with a flaming dagger to her throat, Saiijin was declared the winner. And once the fight was over the seriousness that had overcome the girl faded and she smiled sweetly before offering her hand to her opponent.

"That was a good fight," She said as her opponent took her hand and the audience erupted in cheer for her techniques.

The cheers for Saiijin were just as loud as they had been for Azula. And just like before, not everyone cheered. Azula remained silent as did Mai and Ty Lee. Ty Lee seemed too afraid to cheer while Mai just seemed indifferent. Danny had a feeling that Azula's silence was a result of pride. As he observed the students he noticed Saiijin turn slightly towards Azula and for the briefest moment her carefree and kind smile turned into a smug smirk before she returned to the praise of the students around her.

"Oh… it's like that." Danny muttered to himself as he shook his head.

School was the same no matter where you were.

~00000~

"So what was that all about?" Danny asked.

After the sparring matches had concluded the girls were allowed to take a lunch break to recuperate before their theoretical classes began for the day.

Danny leaned back on a tree with his hands behind his neck while Azula, Mai and Ty Lee relaxed nearby.

"What was what about peasant?" Azula asked.

"I have a name you know." Danny retorted as he threw a snowball which Azula masterfully dodged. "I was talking about that Saiijin girl. Doesn't seem like she likes you."

"She's the heir of the Saowon Clan," Azula explained. "Theirs is a treacherous and tiresome group."

"What makes them treacherous?" Dannu asked.

"Do you really know absolutely nothing about our History?" Azula demanded.

"Did you forget the fact that I'm not from this world?" Danny deadpanned.

"The fact that we speak the same language is enough to make me believe that there must have been some communication between your town and our world," Azula responded.

"What do you mean by 'not from this world?" Mai asked as she tore interest away from her knives to look at Azula's retainer.

"I grew up in the Spirit World," Danny responded. "My city, Amity Park was one of the many that remained in the Spirit World when that Wan guy closed the portals between the Spirit World and the physical world. Anyway, what happened with the Saowon Clan?"

"We were disgraced when Fire Lord Zoryu placed his half-brother and my ancestor Cheajin under house arrest because of his alleged treason," Saiijin said as she entered the conversation with a sweet smile. "After a confession from the False Avatar Yun, our clan had been implicated in crimes against the Fire Lord and in exchange for Yun's life and with the help of Avatar Kyoshi, our Clan was allowed to live."

Saiijin approached Danny before she bowed before him.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Fenton. I have heard so much about you. My name is Saiijin." Saiijin said before she stood and looked him in the eye.

Danny was floored by the absolute audacity of this girl but he also respected her confidence.

"Hi," Danny said

Saiijin was pleased before she turned back to Azula, Mai and Ty Lee.

"Hello Princess Azula. I trust you had a good Summer Break?" Saiijin said sweetly. "Hi Mai, Hi Ty Lee."

"You know it's rude to greet a servant before you greet their master," Azula said.

"I'm not a servant," Danny responded immediately. "I'm here because I chose to be."

He was ignored by Azula. The princess had gotten really good at ignoring him this past month.

"Your retainer was asking a question. I hope I didn't offend you by answering it for you, Your Highness." Saiijin said.

Danny couldn't help but be reminded of Paulina when Saiijin spoke. Or at least Paulina before the war. She was a popular rich girl who spoke through false smiles while trying to demean others. Although he couldn't equate Azula to Sam, even though they both had similar voices and a group of two friends consisting of a goth girl and a very flirty friend…

Wait, was Azula closer in similarity to him instead of Sam? That was concerning.

Before the two girls could continue their altercation Danny felt a weird sensation well up within his chest. It almost felt like his ghost sense but it wasn't quite it. The sensation left as soon as it came and then it began to rain. The rain was nothing more than a light drizzle but it was weird considering the sun had been shining all day without a single cloud in the sky. Now a few rain clouds had randomly gathered in the sky.

Danny considered going to investigate but he decided against it. He was technically a bodyguard and retainer so going off on a solo mission probably wasn't a good idea. Instead, he conjured a few ice umbrellas for the girls to use to keep themselves dry in the rain. His sudden display of ice powers caught both Mai and Saiijin by surprise but they accepted the umbrellas regardless.

CyberActors15: And that's another chapter completed. This chapter is the start of the first minor arc in the story and I hope you guys enjoy it. Also yes another OC added who bears blood ties to everyone's favourite (not really) clan, the Saowon Clan. Just in case you don't know them, They were introduced in the Shadow of Kyoshi Novel. Did I introduce her specifically to act against Azula? Absolutely? What effect will this have on the story? You'll have to wait and find out. Also, her name is supposed to be pronounced Sigh-Jjin, just in case anyone is curious. Next chapter will be released on the 17th of March. If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a review also check out my Linktree (linktr dot ee /CyberActors15) for more of my story content. If you didn't like it, feel free to leave a review and tell me why. Feedback is always appreciated, and Criticism only makes me a better writer. Until next time, peace!