"Azula, are we there yet?" asked Ty Lee lazily as she leaned against one of the railings of the plane that allowed the crew to enjoy the scenery outside.
"No," Azula replied, tired of answering the same question over and over again, but knowing that Ty Lee would ask it again in a while.
"Why don't you go to sleep or something? So that the time goes by quickly for you," Azula told her, but Ty Lee just made several unintelligible noises lazily before blurting out something coherent.
"But I've slept too much already, Azula! I'm bored," Ty Lee fixed the hair the wind was blowing into her face before a rather interesting idea flashed through her eyes.
Boredom had somehow caused her mind to drift away from her need for entertainment. Ignoring the warning look Mai gave her, Ty Lee walked quite close to Azula before speaking again.
"Azula~ I see you're walking a little funny today, anything to tell?" asked Ty Lee in a low voice, but her three friends could hear her clearly.
Mai smacked her face in disbelief at what Ty Lee had said, even though her cheeks were slightly red from the hidden meaning of that question. Petra, on the other hand, reacted the worst, lowering her head as her shoulders shook, trying to hold back her laughter.
Azula glared fiercely at Ty Lee, though there was a blush on her cheeks, soon the princess' racing heartbeat returned to normal as a mischievous grin spread across her face.
"Oh yeah, Shisui and I fucked all night, you know? His dick is like this and like this..." Azula was quite explicit as she made gestures describing her boyfriend's dick, much to the surprise of the three girls present, but especially Ty Lee.
Azula was supposed to be coy and provide her with entertainment! Why did Azula's smile look like that of an evil spirit as she told him such things? Ty Lee felt that things were changing too fast and she couldn't adjust.
"Do you want more details or are you going to calm down?" Azula asked Ty Lee, seeing that her retaliation had worked, who quickly shook her head.
"No! I'm fine!" Finally understanding Azula's intentions, Ty Lee returned to silence as she lazily watched the white clouds pass by.
"So... how thick was it?" asked Petra suddenly, causing Azula to get a nervous twitch in her eye, while Ty Lee was the one holding back a laugh this time.
"Come on Azula, was it really necessary to do that all night?" this time it was Mai who added fuel to the fire from the side.
"It wasn't my fault this time," feeling Azula's reproachful look and seeing the princess' aura turn a rather embarrassing color, Ty Lee was quick to defend herself.
"Although... Was it so good that you didn't want to sleep?", Ty Lee asked emboldened, causing Azula to finally sigh in defeat before recounting in extreme detail her sexual experience with Shisui.
...
"So... You and my sister?" Zuko asked suddenly, making Shisui almost spit out the lemon cola he was drinking.
"Yes," Shisui answered after coughing a little, and the conversation ended right there.
The two boys didn't need to tell each other any deeper details or things, they just sat on the metal roof of the airship, each of them holding a fishing rod, whose hook fell into the white clouds.
"What do you think of the Avatar's companion's proposal?" asked Shisui, causing Zuko to shake his head for a moment before answering.
"A very elaborate plan, do we really have to do so many things just to fool that guy? Simple plans are better," although Zuko didn't specify who they wanted to fool, they both knew who it was.
Zhao.
The man's ideas and plans for the royal family's reception had already been made known to everyone thanks to Musu, who had deservedly earned itself several flying fish.
Though it seemed that the two young men had been unlucky in catching such an exotic animal, as their fishing rods had hardly reacted. That's why they had such tools in the sky, what else was it for if not fishing?
"Although I must admit that his idea has merit, a Waterbender challenging an Agni Kai? Clever," Shisui said, recognizing the value of Zhao's idea.
A normal waterbender would be pretty screwed in a situation like this, too bad he wasn't a normal waterbender. Shisui wiggled his fingers, lowering the temperature of the glass bottle he was holding.
"I doubt they'd let you use alcohol along with firebending moves, technically you'd be bending 'water' for others," Zuko pointed out, something everyone would think.
Waterbenders could bend many things besides pure water, so Zhao would probably have considered those points. But Shisui just drank from his drink before chuckling.
"I don't plan to use waterbending I don't plan to use any element, I won't even try to cheat," Shisui's golden eyes seemed to glow at that moment, and a strange 'impulse' surged from his body.
Accustomed to this kind of metaphysical sensation, Zuko released his own 'impulse' to protect himself, while everyone in the airship felt as if something extremely sharp was pointing directly at their hearts intending to pierce them.
"That's Shisui, isn't it?" said Mai suddenly, who was the first to notice the strange sensation enveloping the entire airship.
"He's angry," Ty Lee replied, sticking out her tongue.
Her ability to see people's auras made her quite sensitive to other people's emotions, allowing her to sense the anger hidden beneath what Shisui called 'impulse'.
"Haven't you noticed that Shisui rarely gets angry? And when he does... someone suffers quite a bit," Petra recalled certain times during the war when Shisui did get angry.
Let's just say that the residents of Ba Sing Se found out the next day that the water was now up to their knees, right after a huge tsunami-like wave crashed into their walls.
It was then that Shisui saw how some generals tried to use refugees as disposable elements in the war, something that greatly touched the morale of the Sage who showed his strength in this way.
Of course, it was a planned situation. Shisui first took the bend of several wells and underground rivers before unleashing such an attack on a full moon night, but from that time on, the lives of those poor people who only wanted to find a better place were respected.
It also gave way to the legend of a certain group of Earthbenders who watched over the welfare of those affected by the war. No one wanted to anger a walking natural disaster like Shisui again.
Less so when the Dai Li themselves seemed to accept this fact by handing over the heads of those who had ordered such tactics within days. In that sense, it was more than obvious that the war between the two sides was more like a giant tug-of-war than an actual battle.
"It's been a long time since I fought with my fists and feet, you know? And I want to break that bastard's nose," Shisui muttered as specks of chi emerged from his body and flew around like fireflies.
"What are you going to do about the burn?" asked Zuko, curious to see how Shisui would resolve this key point.
The motes of chi around Shisui began to vibrate quite a bit, causing Zuko's eyes to narrow as a piece of knowledge entered his mind and an idea grew at that moment.
"Damn monster," the lord said, but Shisui ignored him before he pulled out his fishing rod and pulled a large flying fish out of the sea of clouds.
"Thanks for the compliment," Shisui smiled before boasting about the size of what he had just caught, almost regretting that it wouldn't taste very good unless it was marinated for days, so it would be cheap for Musu.
Because at this point, the plane was already landing.
...
"Remember to keep quiet and behave well. You are not just visitors, you know. These are royalty and other nobility. Even though there is no bloodline in the great army of the Fire Nation, the achievements of these people deserve respect.
Even the half-breed Petra, though she is an Earthbender, do you know what she has done for our nation? They say she has a great project underway that will change the world.
Not to mention Sage Shisui, haven't you heard of his exploits? He may be a waterbender, but he deserves our full respect. This teaches us that no matter where you come from, if you have courage for our nation, you will reach great heights.
I don't want any sailor rudeness in front of the two princes. If you stub your little toe, I want you to sing praises to Agni rather than shout obscenities.
They will be attentive to any request you make, as long as it is not against morality. What do they want, a glass of water? You will get it for them and even add a pinch of lemon to protect them from scurvy.
I want the best from you, and who knows? You might even join their entourage if you do things right. This is the airship that's bringing them here, I want those who will bring them in the carts to choose the best roads in the harbor.
Show them the best of the best, okay? Go ahead," Zhao said to a crowd of hundreds of Fire Nation sailors, many of them with emblems on their bodies indicating which element they could use.
Surprisingly, there were a few Earthbenders and Waterbenders among the crowd, who got quite excited when Zhao spoke of both Petra and Shisui, the role models for every non-Firebender in the Fire Nation.
Sure, there was a bit of disdain in Zhao's words, but no one minded too much if what he was saying was true. Many of these masters were, in fact, half-breeds from many parts of the colonies who had joined the navy or the military in search of accomplishment.
What does an Earthbender do on a ship? They are good machinists, and the way Earthbenders used gunpowder made them valuable assets in sea battles, so their existence made sense.
Two wagons picked up the group of royalty. Surprisingly, but not surprisingly, Lee-Lee took over the coordination of everything from Azula, since she was the princess's secretary.
"This place is beautiful," Ty Lee said, looking at the beautiful streets in the harbor, even the market that was in one of them, decorated with red lanterns that were already lit as night was falling.
"It's full of life, even merchants from the Northern Water Tribe are here, bringing the best seafood, especially something they call 'Black Pearls', a rather expensive food among the nobles of the Fire Nation," the driver of the carriage Ty Lee was riding in pointed out, causing the girl to touch her stomach as she felt hungry.
"Is there really going to be a feast?" asked Ty Lee, her golden eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yes, Miss. Vice Admiral Zhao has gone to a lot of trouble for tonight," the driver praised rather enthusiastically.
"Can you tell the Vice Admiral that I need to go over the food to be served? Just for safety's sake," Lee-Lee said suddenly, much to the consternation of the driver, who nodded a few seconds later.
"I will, ma'am," the driver replied respectfully before remaining silent and driving off.
In this car were only Mai, Petra, Ty Lee, and Lee-Lee, while in the other car were Azula, Zuko, and Shisui. They had their conversations.
"Special fireworks?" Azula asked with particular interest, making the driver a little nervous and slow to articulate his answer.
"Yes, Your Highness!" the excessive show of respect made Azula smile before she waved her hand carelessly.
"You don't have to be so exaggerated, just call me Princess Azula," Azula told the nervous driver, who seemed to be sweating quite a bit.
"Yes, Your Highness! I mean... Yes, Princess Azula," this situation made the royals present laugh at the strange situation.
"Let's see the fireworks then," Zuko said with a subtext that only her sister and Shisui understood, making them smile in complicity.
"Yes... let's see the fireworks," Shisui said with a smile on his face, although only his friends and enemies would know the reason why the driver felt a chill when he saw that smile through the mirror.
Shisui was going to cause a ruckus!
...
The group boarded the main ship of the fleet, which was docked in this port. It was quite large and decorated for the occasion. Many Fire Nation sailors were on both sides, allowing the group to pass through the middle.
Shisui looked sideways at the equipment of these people, he could see the latest model of musket in their hands with a touch of curiosity, he had not expected to see this weapon here.
"Have you noticed our men's new weapons? It was a pain to convince the technicians," a middle-aged man with golden eyes approached the group and caught their attention.
"Vice Admiral Zhao, looks like you ingratiated yourself with those explosion-loving guys!" replied Zuko, taking the lead of the group and assuming his role as heir.
"No haha! I had to trade a piece of meteoric metal my men got their hands on a while back," Zhao said with a knowing smile on his lips.
One had to admit that Zhao had charisma and knew how to handle himself. He quickly managed to ingratiate himself with the entire group and even facilitated the inspection of Lee-Lee, who gave a thumbs up when she found nothing that the guests didn't like.
"Now that everything has been inspected, why don't we start the banquet?" said Zhao, before giving way to the most important part of this reception.
A banquet!
Hundreds of dishes were laid out before them, delicacies from every culture so far. Shisui even found the 'Black Pearls', or caviar so to speak.
Although he was amused to find a large pizza among the dishes, was it worthy of being here? Judging by the hungry looks of the important sailors present at this banquet beside them and Zhao, it seemed so.
Shisui also saw the aforementioned Cao-Cao and instinctively activated his gift when he saw something that made him frown for a moment. Why was Cao-Cao surrounded by a similar aura that corrupted the spirits?
It seemed that Shisui couldn't take his future battle against this young man lightly, because things could easily go wrong. And even though he disliked the guy, he would do his best to help.
After giving him a good beating, of course.