The trip to the fire nation went without any problems. Ozai constantly looked to the sea, hoping to see land, the land of his parents finally.
While on the ship, Ty Lee has though him about the Chii blocking principles. "In order to fight against it, you need to know about it," said the old lady. Ozai was with his attention entirely on her.
It presses specific points of your energy that will stop the flow temporally. Depending on which point and how intense the pressure was, it's how effective it will be. A regular pressure point may only debilitate the flow of energy needed to do bending."
Ozai raised his hand enthusiastically as if he was at school. Ty Lee smiled and said, "yes? Mr Ozai."
"Does this also apply to my father's techniques?" asked the young boy.
"Good question. Yes, it does. Remember that this blocks the energy flow. It means that it works not only with the energy needed for bending but also with the energy you use to move. Obviously, these points will be in different zones of the body."
Ozai nodded, and Ty Lee continued. "Very well. For the first exercise, you will receive my attack, so you will need to try to feel your energy flow before the attack, and once I block the energy of...." Ty Lee started to wonder how she should attack Ozai.
"Let's go for your arm. Any objection?" asked the old lady, and Ozai only shook his head.
"Good. After the attack, you will need to try to feel your energy flow to pinpoint the block".
After that, Ozai sat on the floor in a lotus position and closed his eyes. He started to breathe, and he focused his mind on the movement of the air inside him.
Ty Lee could not help but smile after seeing the resemblance of Goku in the kid. She then chi-blocked Ozai's left arm.
In Ozai's mind, the sensation of something off felt right away. He tried to remove it with force, but he failed. Ozai tried again and again, and he was getting desperate. He started to use more and more energy.
Ty Lee watched as the kid was struggling with the chii blocking. She wanted to stop Ozai, but suddenly, Ozai shouted. Then she felt the aura around the kid changing.
Ozai got desperate and used all his power to remove the block in his arm. He screamed louder, not only to expel and use his energy, but for the pain, he got by forcing the energy to remove the block. The pain was too severe. It was unlike the pain from punches he had received. The pain was so intense that he fainted.
Ty Lee ran, stopped him from hitting his head on the floor, and carried him to his bed. She was surprised and horrified at what happened to Ozai.
She stayed at Ozai's side the whole time until he woke up. When he did, he tried to stand up but felt a small in his arm. Ty Lee smiled and asked him to lie down.
"What you did was very irresponsible. I told you only to feel the flow and the block and pinpoint", said the old lady. She looked sad, with her eyes crystallized by the small tears forming.
"I... I am sorry. I should have followed your instructions", said the young boy. He moved a little, and the pain in his arm was still very annoying, although not as strong as before.
Ty Lee cleared the tears from her face and smiled at Ozai, "don't move that much. It will hurt you for a while, but the pain will eventually go away".
Ozai nodded and asked, "I thought the block would move away if I tried to... I don't know... I use all my power, you could say."
The old woman only shook her head, "trying to remove the block by applying more energy is a horrible strategy. Imagine a river; if you block its path, the water will find its way to go through naturally. But if you force with more pressure, the block may leave, but the water may split and may not be able to go back to its original path."
Ozai frown and think for a moment, "does that mean I could have lost my arm completely?"
Ty Lee nodded, and Ozai took his left arm with his right. The old lady gave him a small smile and said, "I am sorry; I should have told you."
"No, it is my fault. You told me only to feel and pinpoint the block", said Ozai. He breathed out and looked at the ceiling.
"Your arm will go back to normal after a while when your energy starts to flow normally. Meanwhile, take a rest. We should be arriving in a couple of days", said Ty Lee with a smile while leaving. Ozai nodded and took a nap after that.
Two days passed, and to Ty Lee's surprise, Ozai recovered complete control of his left arm, and the pain was no more. It was the morning, and Ozai was still yawning, but he was fully awake when Ty Lee slammed the door open.
"What? What happened?" asked Ozai, but Ty Lee smiled and asked him to follow her.
Ozai walked behind her, and when she opened the door can walk to the ship's deck, Ozai saw it. A majestic statue, somehow rusty, of Azulon.
"Welcome to the Fire Nation!" said Ty Lee. Ozai's eyes lighted up, and he ran to the edge to see the view.
In the middle was a giant statue of Fire Lord Azulon, Ozai's great grandfather, and on each side were two Dragons in copper colour.
"Is that the Great Gates of Azulon?" asked the young boy enthusiastically.
"It is. Although, it has not been used as a gate since the war ended. The whole place has become a commercial port", said the old woman.
Ozai was still ecstatic about it. His smile never left. He was like that the entire time.
Ozai walked out of the ship with Ty Lee. The place was busy. Many merchants are screaming, trying to get the passersby's attention. People were buying different things from different merchants. People wearing red colours, although their clothing looked worn, Ozai ignored it.
There was a big avenue in the centre that seemed to take you directly to the volcano that was at the back.
Ty Lee woke Ozai from amazement and guided him to the Ty's residence.
While walking, Ozai started to realize small details. People seem not to trust anyone. They walk defensibly, like waiting to be attacked at any moment. The houses looked like they could fall at any moment. There were people on the side of the street begging for money, and there was a side with people using a small banner in their hands that said, "for hire".
It was heartbreaking for Ozai. He remembered the stories of his uncle TomTom; he always told him that the Fire Nation was a prosperous place, beautiful, and with a great sense of honour. Unfortunately, the excellent fire nation his mother told him about is no longer there.
After walking for a while, Ty Lee talked with a man and asked Ozai to ride a rickshaw. Ozai obeyed, Ty Lee sat next to him, and the man started pulling the rickshaw. The trip was fast, and they arrived at a big house.
When Ozai and Ty Lee entered, a bunch of kids ran and hugged her, and some other people around Ozai's parents' age were talking at the table. And there were a group of old ladies that looked like Ty Lee.
"Hi, everyone!" said Ty Lee.
"Auntie!" and "Ty Lee granny!"; it's what some of the people screamed. The place was full of energy.
.
A young man was followed by other young men younger than him while walking through the streets. He stopped walking and turned to see the men following him. "I will walk on my own for a while", said the man. He looked at the whole street with some disgust.
The men bowed to him and walked back. Unknown to him, one of the men made a small signal to somebody who continued to follow him. The person who dismissed him was Iroh, prince of the Fire Nation and son of Princess Izumi.
Due to his high importance, he was never alone. Many kidnapping attempts had happened since he was a kid; the number of attempts could only rival the killing attempt. Although unknown to him, in those many attempts, he was able to make friends with people living on the streets.
He recognizes the problem of his nation. But he has always been told that his nation has a debt to pay to the world, that they needed to pay that debt to protect the world, just like his grandfather Zuko did.
Iroh entered a small restaurant and went to the bathroom, only to get out dressing differently. He thought this would help him disguise himself from the public and his secret bodyguard.
.
The next day Ozai woke up in a bedroom that he shared with another two kids. And in the bed next to him were another three kids. Ozai tried to stand up without making noise, but the boy next to him woke up.
"Sorry, I did not want to wake you up", said Ozai in a low voice. The other kid yawned a little, "no problem. I wake up around this hour. We better hurry up", said the kid walking to the door.
Ozai looked at him, thinking about what he meant. Then someone shouted, "Breakfast is ready!" Suddenly all the kids jumped from the bed and ran to the dinner table. Ozai was surprised, and then he also started to run to the dinner table.
At breakfast, at one table, were all the kids. There were eight kids, with six boys and only two girls.
Ty Lee stood behind the table, "Yesterday was a little hectic, and I could not make the proper presentations." All the kids continued eating but now watching Ty Lee.
"Everybody! He is Ozai. Is the son of two of my best friends", said Ty Lee, and Ozai stood up abruptly and bowed respectfully to everyone. Some kids waved at him with their mouths full of food, and others only looked at him.
"And Ozai, this is our family. I am going to start from your right. Ahem, he is Gāng, Bó, Wén, she is Fang, and her twin Fen, he is Chao, and his twin Chéng, then is Wei, and Ai", said Ty Lee.
At the other table were the adults, and Ty Lee walked to them. "And the young women here are Hua, Xiu, and Yan, and their respective husbands, Fú, Zǐmò and Hàorán. And the fine ladies over there who had the virtue of looking like me are Lat, Lao, and Woo".
Ozai stood up again and bowed to them, and the adults nodded at him. Suddenly one of the younger kids asked, "Why does his name be the same as the bad Fire Lord?"
Ozai turned to see him with a questioning look, but then his mother, Yan, said, "Bó! Finish eating!"
The kid looked at his mother, and she only shook her head, and the kid continued eating. Ty Lee gave a weak smile to Ozai, who was confused.
After a while, Ozai walked outside to the backyard, and Ty Lee was with him. Ty Lee asked him to train normally, so he started to warm up, and then a couple of twins arrived, Chao and Cheng walked close to him, and one of them said, "so, you practice any bending?"
Ozai shook his head, and the twins nodded, "great, neither do we" "the only two who can bend fire are", "Fang and Fen", "but they don't train that much", said the twins complementing each other. Then both asked, "would you mind if we train with you?"
Ozai shrugged and answered, "sure". The twins made a mischievous smile, which Ozai did not see. Ty Lee saw the whole interaction and only stood aside, watching everything.
"Let's begin" "First, who touches the ground with his shoulders loses", "and has to obey the winner for the day" "ready?" "GO!"
"Wait, is this a punish...", Ozai tried to ask something, but the two kids launched their attacks. For any ordinary kid, and even some adults, they could have been too fast. Unfortunately, they are still slower than anyone who trains in combat. Ozai only needed to step back, and with that, he avoided the attack altogether.
Ty Lee only snorted, but then she heard a smack, and when she turned, she saw her niece and mother of the twins, who faced palm.
The twins tried again; now, one was sending a punch from one side and the other a low kick, but again Ozai moved back and avoided the attack, making the twins hit each other.
Ty Lee shook her head with a smile, and then she heard some smacks, and then she saw the other nieces and their husbands facepalming.
"Hey! Look what you are doing" "That's what you should be doing!" shouted at each other the twins. Ozai was unsure what to do and said, "ah, guys". But the twins turned at him, "and you, start attacking!"
The twins attack simultaneously, but now they coordinate correctly. Ozai finally put a fighting stance. The first attacker went for the face, but Ozai used his wrist to deflect the punch and made him go over his head, but the movement made him spin, and he attacked with his other hand, but Ozai grabbed his wrist and then made a full circle with it, making him spin in the air, and then he fell back first. At that moment, Chao lost.
Then the other twin jumped with a kick, but Ozai again used his wrist to move it and then he got closer while his opponent was still spinning and pushing him. But instead of falling, he jumped and then turned again to Ozai.
At that moment, almost everybody was watching the match.
Ozai was in a fighting stance, amazed that the kids were this good. They were stronger than most of his opponents back in Tu Zin. Ozai smiled a little, but his opponent thought he was taunting him. And Ty Lee believed it was a smirk, and then her memories of Azula returned to her, making her smile.
Suddenly Chéng started to run, then jumped and started spinning in the air to finish with a downward kick aimed at Ozai's head. Ozai only stepped to the side and made a swapping kick, but Chéng backflipped to put some distance.
Ozai finally attacked when he went close with a slight jump and jab punch at Chéng head, but he evaded it and rolled to the back then, hooked the other arm of Ozai and made an arm drag, but Ozai made a flip in the air and landed with his feet.
Chéng jumped to stand up, but Ozai used that moment to run and jumped with a double frontal kick that landed in Chéng torso, making him fall with his back first, while Ozai used the push he made to him to backflip and land standing.
Ty Lee could not do anything but realize the similarities between Ozai and Azula's fighting styles. Even when he is not a firebender, her style is noticeable.
Chéng landed close to his twin Chao who was already sitting on the ground. They were going to say something, but suddenly a big ball of fire appeared and went directly to Ozai.
The girls were the last to arrive and only saw how Ozai kicked Chéng. Ozai jumped to the side and saw the twin girls with their fists pointing at him. "What are you doing to our brothers?!" said Fang and Fen simultaneously.
One of the twin girls, Fang, ran to him while Fen remained on the back. Fang produced a small fire that looked like knives and started to attack him. Ozai evaded the attack stepping back, but a fireball passed close to him.
Unlike the boys, the twin girls were fighting as a team.
Ozai looked at the other twin and then waited for the Fang's attack. She started to attack with her hands, using her fire knives. Ozai pushed her forearms to make her fail, but then she front kicked him with fire bending, which Ozai evaded when he kicked her feet to one side and kicked her in the stomach without putting a foot on the ground. She backflipped and landed next to her twin.
Both girls started firebending from their position, and Ozai was only evading everything. He jumped from side to side, then he began to run and jumped to the wall in the house and again to the tree immediately. Unfortunately for the Ty family, the girls were attacking without thinking.
When Ozai jumped into the tree, the girls also sent her fire attacks, and the tree quickly started to burn. The girls were still with their guards up. They were looking at the sides as they thought Ozai may have jumped to another place. But suddenly, Ozai jumped from the fire. Instead of kicking or punching them, he just slipped between them, stretched his arms close to their feet and made a half circle, making them fall.
The girls were surprised and would jump back again, but their parents stopped them. The rest of the family started to clap to Ozai, who finally realized that everybody was watching. Even Chao and Chéng were clapping.
The girls stood up, and one asked, "what is this? Why are you clapping at him?" "yeah, he attacked Chao and Chéng!"
"We were training!" said the twin boys simultaneously. "Why did you not say so?" the girls questioned back, but their father said, "if he was attacking them, do you think we would be just standing there watching everything?"
Fang and Fen looked around, and they realized that the whole family was there, and they only said, "Oh". They turned to Ozai and bowed, saying, "I am sorry to attack you suddenly".
"There is no problem; it really helped me to train", said Ozai with a smile. The girls felt relieved, as they thought they would not receive any punishment because he did not care too much about the attack.
"Oh, that is good to hear", said Fang with a smile. "To compensate for this, you can come with us to the market. If you want, of course", said Fen.
"I would love to", said Ozai.
The girls were about to say something, but their parents stopped them. "Not so fast, ladies. Before that, you need to help repair all you burn", said her mother, then they saw the burn marks on the house walls, the burn marks in the grass, and then suddenly they remembered that the tree was still burning. The whole family looked at the girls frowning, except for Chao and Chén, who were laughing at them.
Ty Lee walked close to Ozai and took him inside the house. "That was a good fight. You have learned too much from your mother", said Ty Lee, and Ozai only smiled.
After the 'training' with the two pairs of twins, Ozai went to talk with Tai Lee's sisters. Unfortunately, they did not give him new information. It was a talk of the basics again. Ozai did not complain as he was paying attention to their words. He thought that they might give new information or their way of explaining things could provide more insight into the technique.
His parents, especially his father, thought this technique could help him; although he won't learn it, he should understand it.
The next day Ozai was again talking with Tai Lee. She told him one way to better understand the technique was by meditating.
"I see", said Ozai, a little down. He has tried that on multiple occasions but has yet to get the results he wanted.
"I know, I know. You probably already tried, as it's the logical path", said Tai Li with a smile. "But maybe that's where the problem is. You see, meditation varies from person to person. Your father and mother meditate in the most conventional way, but all of us are conventional, right?" said Tai Lee with a wink.
"Me, for example. I practice contortionism to meditate. It helped me to concentrate and feel where and how my energy flow through my body. You also need to find which is your way to meditate". Finished Ty Lee, and Ozai nodded.
Ozai passed the time thinking in a way to meditate. Suddenly Fang and Fen appeared in front of him. "Hey! What are you thinking of?" Said Fang.
"Oh, nothing," said Ozai.
"If that's so, would you mind helping us?" Fang asked.
"We were asked to go for some groceries. We could use some hands to carry the bags", said Fen.
"Sure", answered Ozai with a shrug.
.
Iroh ran and jumped over the wall of the palace to escape. A move not seen by the guards, but he did not notice that inside the palace, behind a window, over a small tower, Princess Izumi was pinching the bridge of her nose, and Fire Lord Zuko was smiling.
"Come on. He is young and needs to experience a little more of the every day of the nation", said the Fire Lord.
"He lacks discipline", said Izumi. "He is unable to leave without being noticed".
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in", said Zuko, and a guard appeared. "Fire Lord Zuko, Princess Izumi. It seems that prince Iroh has left the palace alone. We have sent a group of guards to search for him".
"Thank you for informing me. Please search for him, but I think he will be back before dinner, so don't work up", said Zuko with a smile.
The guard did not know what to say or do, but Izumi then said, "you may leave now." The guard bows and leave them alone.
"See. Not even five minutes, and we were notified", said Izumi. Zuko only chuckled. The Fire Lord and Princess Izumi already knew that he had been talking with people in the street. Especially with a group of petty thieves. They sumptuously steal food and money to give to some low-income families.
Iroh has always been discreet around this group of thieves, who he now calls friends. He usually takes some money and food from the kitchen before meeting with them.
He had helped them with the thieving a couple of times. It has never come to fight, as they leave if a fight broke down. The prince really thinks that they need to do something about the local economy, but without real political power, he is able to do something.
Iroh arrived at the meeting place, a small house that was half destroyed, and three other people were there. Two of them were around his age, and one younger, around 14 years old. The younger is typically the one that helps scout and lets them know if there is anyone to rob in the streets.
"Oh, you finally arrived", said one of the men with a smile. Iroh noted that the teen was shaking a little.
"What happened with Erden?" asked Iroh while pointing at the teen.
"Well, he will try to steal for the first time. Obviously, we gave him an easy target but still", one of the men answered back.
Iroh laughed a little and then got close to him, "Don't be nervous. If it helps, I can go with you."
"Really?" the young teen said, now without shaking.
"Sure. I will only step up if something happens", answered back Iroh
"Yeah. Make us proud", said the other man. Erden nodded and calmed down a little. "Ok, I am gonna do it."
The teen left the house, and Iroh was behind. Later Iroh puts some distance and followed the teen from afar.
His target was two girls that were accompanied by an older kid with fine clothes. Iroh got closer to see them, but with enough space to not be detected. He saw why they were their target. The way the older kid moved around showed that he was careless about money, and the clothes he wore showed that he wanted to show up his status. Then Iroh frowned when he saw a symbol in the clothes, the old symbol for the Fire royal family.
'He must be from a family that supports Azula and Goku's claim for the throne. I still don't know why Grandfather is adamant about recognizing them as threats', Iroh's mind trailed off, but he came back to his senses when he saw Erden making his move.
The older kid was with one girl looking at some fake jewellery. The older one seems to try to tell her that they are fake, and the vendor tries his hardest to convince them otherwise. Fortunately, that helped to can create a distraction while the other girl, the one that seemed to have the money, was buying some vegetables.
Erden stood next to the girl and grabbed a vegetable with one hand, but with the other hand, he put his hand in the bag where the purse was. Unfortunately, the girl was going to save a cabbage when Erden was about to take his hand out with the purse. The teen did not waste time and started to run.
"HEY! A THIEVE! A THIVE!" screamed Fen pointing at the teen that took her purse. At that moment, she did not think to use her fire bending, not because of the number of people around, which would have ended up injured, but because she was shocked about the whole situation. Ozai turned to see her and saw the teen running. He wanted to run at full speed, but with many people in the way, he could not, but still, give chase to the thieve.
Fang and Fen also run behind Ozai. Iroh only smirked and ran using a shortcut so he could help Erden to hide.
Ozai was getting desperate for the number of people, so he decided to jump, not caring about being impolite, and he used the shoulders or heads of the people to step on them and continue chasing.
The young thief saw the alley where his partner would be, but suddenly he felt a palm in his chest that threw him back with so much force that he landed back first with the wall. At the moment of the impact, he lost his air. A shadow appeared in front of him, and the kid that was with the girl now looked bigger.
Ozai stopped the thief and took the purse back. He heard the twins running and screaming at him. He walked to them, but before he could get close, an intense flame showed up in front of him.
Iroh was pissed. He had seen the older thieves failing a couple of times, but they had never been mistreated that harshly. Worst of all, the one that received that punishment was Erden, the youngest of the group. He turned to look at him and saw him coughing some blood.
This kid was powerful, and wearing that symbol meant that he was a future terrorist.
"Stay back!" screamed Ozai to the twins. Not only the twins but also the bystanders move out of the way.
Ozai has experience with firebenders. Especially his mother. The fire bending used against him was powerful, not as powerful as his mother's firebending, but better than everyone else.
Iroh lunch two fireballs with his punches, but his enemy disseminated them with two reverse spin kicks for each fireball. Iroh continued his attack and threw a stronger flame using both hands together.
Ozai ran towards his opponent and jumped above him, and tried to kick him. Iroh had followed the jump with his hand making the flames grow high to the sky, but when he saw him landing close to him, he broke the bending and put some distance.
"How slow", said Ozai, which only angrier his opponent.
Iroh frowned but tried to calm himself when he saw that Erden was attempting to stand up. He tried to control his breathing. Then he launched another two punches and a swapping kick, sending a fireball for the punches and a line of fire with his sweep kick.
Ozai jumped to the side and avoided the attack. But Iroh continued attacking with fireballs. Ozai continued avoiding them, and then a big flame appeared.
Iroh had enough and decided to attack with his breath of fire. A technique taught by his grandfather.
When the flames went down, Ozai was standing there, covering himself with a clay pot, but when he looked to his front, his enemy was no longer there. When he looked around, he saw the two thieves running through the alley. Ozai did not hesitate and trowed the pot, and it hit the younger thief. Ozai ran close, and then Iroh showed up again, protecting the young thieve. Suddenly a voice sounded, "What is happening here!?"
Two guards finally showed up on each side the other side of the alley. Ozai smirked as he thought that the guards would put these thieves under arrest.
He was wrong.
Ozai was trying to understand why the guards decided that he was the culprit. It did not make sense. He stopped the thieves; Fang and Fen backed him up, and the bystanders also said that he stopped the thieves that had been stealing the market, and still, he was the one in a cell.
The twins told him that they were going to speak with their family. Meanwhile, he was waiting, sitting there in a cell that smelled like somebody had puked.
The first to show up at the guard post where Ozai was held prisoner was Izumi. She went there as she was told that her son had been attacked. She proceeded to enter the captain's office and sat in his chair while the captain stood to her right.
When she arrived, all the guards bowed to her, and even her own son did it. Erden was not there, as Iroh had told him to leave because he could deal with the guards. He had done that on other occasions. When the other thieves asked about it, he always said that he was good at sneaking out. But this was the first time that Iroh's mother had come for him personally.
"Head ups", said Izumi. Everybody stood straight. "Tell me what happened", said the Princess sternly.
The post's captain nodded and proceeded to answer, "we heard a commotion. When our guards arrived, they found prince Iroh being chased. We also found out that Prince Iroh was defending an innocent bystander caught in the middle of the fight".
"Is that true?" asked Izumi looking at Iroh.
"Yes mother", answered the prince, not looking at her.
"Who found him?" asked the Princess, and two guards raised their hands. They were not the guards that worked in the mansion, and when she realized that, she frowned.
"Iroh. I want you to tell me what exactly happened", demanded Izumi.
Iroh stood straight and looked at her. "I left the mansion to see some friends quickly. On my way back, I was attacked. The aggressor did not care about the people around him and injured an innocent boy. I fight him for a moment until the guards show up. He was wearing the old symbol for the Fire royal family. He is one of those terrorists."
Izumi listened with attention to his son's words. He may have been with thieves, but she could not rule out the possibility that he was genuinely targeted by one of the extremists or radicals of the nation. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Those are a bunch of lies!" a loud girl's voice sounded. "Yea, the whole market saw what really happened", another similar loud voice said.
Everybody turned to see the person who was screaming and at the door of the office stood two identical twin girls, and behind was an older woman.
All the guards frowned, and Iroh looked angrier. The only that looked calm was Izumi, who recognized the older woman.
"Who let you get inside? Guards take them..."
"Shut up!" screamed the Princess and stopped the captain. "Little girls, do you know what really happened?" asked the Princess, and both nodded.
"Yes. We were buying groceries when somebody tried to steal my purse," said Fen.
"Ozai went after him and took it back, but then HE attacked him with his firebending", said Fang while pointing at Iroh.
"When the guards showed up, the whole market told them who was the thieves, but they still took Ozai prisoner," said Fang.
Izumi frowned and looked at the guards, who flinched when they felt her gaze.
"Princess Izumi. Those brats are just making the story to help the kid. They should be working with them. We should arrest them and the old woman behind them," said the captain.
"Are you trying to imply that a hero from the war, a known Kiyoshi, and most importantly, my aunt Ty Lee is trying to kill my son?" asked Izumi calmly but dangerously. The eyes of Iroh and all the guards and the captain opened wide.
Ty Lee only smiled at the scene, as Izumi looked just like Mai at that moment.
"It has been a while, Izumi", said Ty Lee.
Izumi stood up and went to hug her aunt, "if you had come back, you should have told me. I would have gone to visit you right away."
"It's being kind of... hectic," said Ty Lee with a smile. To Izumi, it did not matter how much had passed, her aunt Ty Lee always looked young, and when she smiled, she was even younger.
Izumi turned to the office again. "Guards!" screamed, and even the twins flinched.
"You are going to escort him", said Izumi while pointing at Iroh, "back home and wait for me. If I return and I don't see you there, there will be consequences", declared the Princess.
The guards saluted her, and Iroh just clenched his teeth but followed his mother's wishes.
Izumi stopped two of the guards. "The two of you were the ones that were in the scene. You will go back and bring the real thief. NOW!"
The two guards saluted her and ran away to search for the young thief.
"Captain! Go and bring the prisoner. An apology should be given immediately", demanded the Princess. The captain looked for the kids and ran.
The Princess sighed and then turned to Ty Lee. "I apologize for all of this", said Izumi while bowing down.
"Everything has been solved, so there is no need for that," said Ty Lee.
"Yeah. It should be the thief and his accomplice", said Fen.
"Yea. And the guards too. If they hadn't shown up, Ozai would have beaten them", said Fang.
Izumi smiled and nodded at them. She then turned to see Ty Lee, "Is he Azula's...?"
Ty Lee nodded, and Izumi's eyes opened wide for a moment. Then the captain arrived with Ozai.
"He is here, princess", said the Capitan. Izumi nodded and looked at the kid. He looked taller than she expected. He had spiky hair, just like the information about Goku, but he also had yellow eyes, as all the royal family has.
"I heard that you were wrongly accused of a crime. We apologize for the problem", said Izumi with a little bow. The Capitan looked desperate, "please, princess, it was our fault, not yours."
The captain turned to the kids and bowed down deeply, "in the name of the guards of this post, let me apologize for everything!"
"The-the-there is no problem. Ple-please, don't bow down. It was nothing. It's already resolved, right?" said Ozai. He had never liked when people bowed down to him, and he really felt particular pressure when he heard that the woman in front was the Princess and the crown princess by default, which meant that they were family.
Ty Lee and the twins chuckled a little when they saw Ozai's reaction. In that regard, he was not like any of his parents. Azula wouldn't be satisfied with just an apology and would have to demand something in exchange, and Goku would not care at all.
The older woman smiled and took Ozai's shoulder. "It's getting late, so it's better for us to leave."
"Aunt Lee, before that. For how long are you staying? I wish to visit you", asked Izumi with a smile.
"I may be leaving in a couple of days. I just arrived here for a different view. This kid right here needs to learn something that their parents asked me to teach him", said Ty Lee.
"I see", said the Princess, a little sad. Ty Lee smiled at her and continued. "Once it is finished, I will be coming back, so may in a month."
The crown princess smiled and nodded, "I will be waiting for your message to can visit you".
Ty Lee smiled and left with the kids. Izumi could hear one of the twins saying, "I didn't know that she was the chief of the police. I will make sure to ask her to do something about the guards next time she visits our home".
The crown princess chuckled and turned back to the Capitan, "I hope to have an update about the thieves in the next twenty-four hours. Am I Clear?"
"Ye-yes, your highness," said the captain shaking.
"Good. Now bring me some paper", demanded the Princess while sitting again on the desk. The captain took the paper from a box, and Izumi grabbed the pen and ink that were already on the desk. She started to write something, which only took her a few minutes to complete. Once she was satisfied, she signed it, rolled it and took it with her.
Once the crown princess left the guard post, two guards came to her side. She kept walking where a palanquin was waiting. Before going in, she called for one of the guards, "send this to General Gambol". The guard bowed and took the paper, and started to run to the nearest hawk message post.
Izumi entered the palanquin and let a big sigh escape from her. She was disappointed in her son.
It took her a few minutes to arrive. When she did it, she walked to the main hall where Iroh was sitting on a chair, and the guards that went with him were standing next to a painting. When she entered the hall, the two guards bowed down again. "You can leave and help search the thieves", said Izumi, and the guards bowed down again and left the palace.
Iroh stood from the chair and was going to walk up the stairs, but he was stopped by his mother. "Iroh! To my study, NOW!" screamed Izumi, and her son only let a desperate moan but walked down and went to the study room.
Once inside, Iroh left himself fell on a sofa. Izumi walked and sat across from him. A butler entered with three cups of jasmine tea. Princess Izumi was offered one, which she took, and the same tea was provided to Iroh. The door opened, and Fire Lord Zuko entered, and the butler gave him the last cup of jasmine. When he took the cup, he looked at his daughter and recognized the face on her, then he turned to the butler, "Thank you. You may leave but leave the pot with the tea here, please". The butler obeyed and left the room.
Zuko sipped his tea and spoke first, "I hope you don't mind that I am here and that I requested the tea. I heard you screaming and believed that you needed it".
Izumi sighed and sipped her tea. She calmed down a little, and that calm let her know that her decision was correct.
"Iroh, I need you to tell me what is wrong?" asked Izumi calmly. Zuko heard her and remembered his wife Mai, and a shiver ran through his spine.
Iroh could not feel the situation he was in and only answered, "I am sorry about all of this. It won't happen again".
"Iroh. You are 28 years old. But you act like a teenager," Izumi said with the same tone as before.
"Well, it's not bad for him to keep his young spirit", Zuko said, but Izumi only looked at him, and even his father flinched.
"I said I was sorry." Reply again, Iroh.
The crown princess sighed and spoke calmly, "this is my fault for being too lenient with you. Your lack of discipline is worrying some."
The Princess sipped her tea and continued, "for that reason, you will be going to report to General Gambol tomorrow."
"WHAT?!" screamed Iroh. "You inscribed me to the military?"
Zuko tried to calm down his grandson, and once he sat again, Izumi continued, "I will be having regular reports of your behaviour."
Iroh was speechless by what her mother had just told him. Zuko tried to intervene, "Come on, Izumi. Don't you think you are being too harsh on him?"
"Harsh?" asked Izumi with a raised eyebrow. "Just a couple of hours, he was thieving. Stealing in the market. Then when he was captured, he blamed an innocent kid for terrorism and for an attempt of murder."
She paused and looked at both men, "a kid. He knows what would happen to that kid if he accused him of attempting to murder the royal family." Izumi frowned and looked directly at his son, "this is not punishment. It's a correctional education."
"If it were a punishment, I would have taken you under arrest for treason against your own people. You have been stealing from our citizens. A Fire Prince thieving." Izumi said, shooking her head.
"I was doing it to can-"
"It does not matter why you were doing it! What matter is that you were doing it", Izumi cut Iroh.
"Izumi, I think we should let him explain himself", said Zuko.
The crown princess looked at the fire lord, "Father, you and mother teach me the importance of certain values. I will always be thankful for that". Zuko smiled as he thought that his daughter had calmed down.
Unfortunately for him, Izumi continued, "BUT. I am still the one responsible for his education as a mother".
"You can't make me go to the army. I am an adult!" said Iroh angered as he felt like a little child.
"Correct. Although your actions don't reflect them, biologically, you are one. But you also need to know that if you fail me in this, I will remove you from the succession line." Said Izumi ending her tea.
"You can't do that! Only the Fire Lord can do it," said Iroh while turning to his grandfather.
Zuko sighed, "although you are correct. Right now, most of my duties are being taken care of by your mother because I have already made up my mind to pass the crown to her in the next years".
"But if you do that, who's going to be the next in line?" asked Iroh, angry.
Izumi was disappointed. The lack of discipline made him deviate from the main point instead of trying to do what was needed to be for that not to happen.
"You met him already", said Izumi. "The next one in line would be the kid you tried to incriminate today".
Iroh got furious. He took his cup and put it on the table without breaking it and stormed out of the room.
Zuko saw his grandson leaving. He wanted to go and calm him, but his curiosity won over him. He turned to his daughter and asked, "this kid you are talking about, who is?"
"Azula's descendant. The report from the police said he was 11. Probably her grandson", answered Izumi to his father. She knew that he had a being searching for Azula and Goku. Zuko smiled, and a tear of joy ran down his cheek.
The butler entered and took the three empty cups.
.
When Ozai came back with Ty Lee and the twins, the whole family received him. They hugged him and thanked him for protecting Fang and Fen. Especially the twins Chao and Chéng, who called him his honorary twin.
That night the Ty family made a feast. At that moment, they realized that Ozai might not be a normal kid. The way he was eating and the amount of food he ate was so much that they could not believe that it was an eleven-year-old kid.
Once the dinner was over, Ty Lee took Ozai to the backyard to speak with him. "I have been speaking with my sisters about your training. We ended up thinking that it would be better if you learn about the flow of the energy in a more... what is the word... spherical? No, lyrical...No... It's got a "cal" sound at the end."
Ozai thought for a moment and offered, "theoretical?"
"Yes! Theoretical!" said Ty Lee while smiling. "And to can do it, we will need to travel to the north pole."
The kid frown at the randomness of it, "why?"
"Because the north pole has the best healing teachers. Even when the best healer may be in the south pole", said the old woman.
"And when are we going to leave?"
"Tomorrow. There is a ship that will be leaving in the afternoon. If we don't take it, we will need to wait for a week or more for the next ship".
Ozai nodded but looked at the floor.
"Don't tell me you already love my family?" asked Ty Lee teasingly. Ozai only smiled at her. The old woman drew a mischievous smile and said, "you know. You can always marry Fang or Fen and stay and live with us".
Ozai turned red, and Ty Lee laughed. The laugh echoed a little in the backyard with a burned tree that still stood tall.