A Flamboyant Firebender (OC Fanfic)

04 - A New Home

"Hello there General Iroh, thank you so much again for the offer!" Uzu greeted, Iroh gave a short laugh to Uzu's ethusiasm.

"It is no trouble, I personally believe that I will enjoy your company. But for now, how about you sit and enjoy a game of Paisho with a calming cup of Ginseng tea." Iroh gestured towards the table.

"Okay." Uzu said with a calm smile, adapting suprisingly easily to the calm atmosphere Iroh was trying to provide.

Iroh also walked over to the table with his favourite teapot and poured two cups of Ginseng tea. Sitting down at the table when he finished.

"The guest goes first." Iroh said with a smile, reaching his hand for a cup of tea. Uzu responded by placing their own white lotus tile at the center of the board.

Iroh raised an eyebrow at this, no matter how low the odds, he figured he should try something. 

Iroh places a Boat piece on the space closest to himself on the end of the board. Uzu follows suit, doing the exact same thing on her end with a knotweed tile.

Iroh follows by placing a rock tile on the very left end of the board, Uzu placing a wheel on her left. 

This process of placing tiles on opposite ends of the board repeated until all the pieces formed the shape of a lotus flower, a sign of membership into the order of the white lotus.

Iroh was shocked, How is someone so young in our order?

He decided to just ask, "Uzu, do you know what this represents?" Iroh asked.

Uzu just gave an innocent smile, "I know! It's to show that you are a part of that flamboyant flower club my dad joined," she answered.

Iroh was starting to worry about the dangers of an 8 year old knowing about the order until he remembered the line that was said whenever you show your membership. 

"The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets"

So, Iroh thought, if you interpret it the right way, it means that Uzu is already a member of the Order of the White Lotus simply by knowing its existence. 

As Iroh was thinking this, Uzu took a sip of Ginseng tea. Giving a small 'ooo' in delight of its taste.

"That's right," Iroh replied, "I am actually a master of the order, second only to the Grandmaster of the White Lotus." Iroh explained.

"Really?! Isn't the Order of the Flamboyant Lotus a club that exists in all 4 nations?" Uzu asked, Iroh chuckling at 'Flamboyant Lotus'.

"That is true." Iroh affirmed.

"Woah! So your one of the highest ranking members of a flamboyantly WORLDWIDE club?!" Uzu asked in awe. "That's...! So Flamboyant!" 

"Heh, you sure love flamboyancy huh?" Iroh noted in amusement, Uzu giving the biggest smile he'd ever seen.

"Yes! I love watching and doing new and exciting things! I wish I could go to Omashu, I heard they have massive slides that you can slide down." Uzu said in both disapointment and excitement, which Iroh didn't think possible.

"I too wish I could go to Omashu, I heard they had really good Cabages. Anyways, would you like to play another game of Paisho?" Iroh offers.

"You're on! I'll pursue flamboyant victory against you!" Uzu declared, taking her pieces back to right next to her to start the next game.

-.-.-.-

"How?!" Uzu yelled in shock. Iroh had beaten Uzu by 2 harmonies. (The goal of Paisho is to get a set number of groups of tiles in formations called harmonies). 

"You played very well Uzu, I had actually though I was going to lose halfway through the game." Iroh said in honesty. 

Uzu was deceptively good at playing Paisho, what seemed like random maneuvers to make big and 'flashy' harmonies were actually ploys to take Iroh's pieces away.

While taking the opponents pieces weren't the goal of the game, Uzu certainly made good use of it. Iroh had gone easy on Uzu initially thinking it unfair to go seriously against a child, but he quickly changed his mind.

Unfortunately for Uzu, Iroh's age and experience were simply too much for an 8 year old.

Uzu simply slumped her shoulders in defeat, as a strand of hair fell infront of her face.

Sensing Uzu's disapointment, Iroh offered some words of encouragement. "You are very talented at Paisho, I'm sure with enough practice you could beat me. Why I bet you could give my father a run for his money." Iroh said in amusement.

"You think I'm better than the current Flamboyant Lord?" Uzu asked in astonishment followed by a smile.

"Indeed, when I turned 10 years old, not even the Firelord could hope to best me in Paisho. Not to brag, but I haven't lost a game in 23 years." Iroh said in pride.

"But General Iroh, that is bragging." Uzu deadpanned.

"I suppose it is, hahaha!" Iroh said in amusement. Iroh then followed by showing a look of realization.

"Oh, I've recently decided to retire from my job as a military general. So there is no use calling me general." Iroh said.

"Oh, sorry, what should I call you then?" Uzu asked with a thoughtful expression, .

"You may just call me Iroh." Iroh said with a calm smile.

"Got it!" Uzu said with a smile.

-.-.-.-

That's it for now! I had to research the rules for Paisho for this chapter, so I hope I did well! I will probably get to the actual story at around chapter 10, so stay tuned for that! Anyways have a nice day! Ciao!