Play With Fire ~Zuko X Reader~

-11- Lessons to Learn

I got into the stance. I willed the energy to split. I gilded the energy out of my form and into the sky. When I opened my eyes, I saw the remnants of my lightning. It was whiter than my flame, nothing like the blue lightning the other's had produced.

"I thought so," my teacher placed his hand on my shoulder, "Your nature makes it easier to produce lighting, but harder to control it. If you have any anger when you try and create lightning, it won't work."

I bowed as Zuko yelled out in anger, "Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning it keeps exploding in my face... like everything always does."

I followed Iroh over to Zuko, "I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."

"What turmoil?"

I looked at him, He's joking right?

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

Zuko stood, "But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever."

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately."

Iroh looked at me, then back at his nephew, "I have another idea. I will teach you both a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself."

We sat on the ground as Iroh began to draw with a long stick, "Fire is the element of power," Based on my life, that's a really funny joke, "The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor! Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

"Why are you telling us these things?"

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places, as (Y/N) does. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole."

"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff."

I spoke, "It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful."

Iroh continued his lesson, "But it can make you more powerful, too. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders."

We stood and moved closer to the cliff, "Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning."

Zuko's eyes almost lit up with excitement, "You can teach me to redirect lightning?"

"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. Only in my case it is more like a vast ocean. From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion, to get a feel for the pathways' flow, like this," Zuko and I began to mimic the redirection movements, "Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?"