"You handled the situation quite well, Shisui," Azula commented to her partner as he returned to the sled.
"Thanks, I noticed that the female was about to give birth, and since they are not wild animals, I did my best to avoid a bad outcome. A friend taught me that there are other ways to resolve things," Shisui replied, taking advantage of the situation to hug Azula around the waist and attach her to his body, making the princess blush.
"It seems that young people have a lot of energy," Hakoda said, raising an eyebrow.
"The vitality of youth is certainly enviable," Zhao added, smiling at the sight, though envy was gnawing at him inside.
Each time he realized that Shisui had the life he wanted. Seeing the reminder of what he had strived for but failed to achieve made his heart bleed. Fortunately, he was a person who knew how to control himself, so he didn't show any negative emotions on his face.
Only Zhao was unaware that two people near him were able to sense his internal mood swings. Shisui noticed the color of envy and jealousy in Zhao's aura, but instead of 'calming down,' Shisui took action.
He was quite a vindictive and spiteful person, even if he didn't show it. In that sense, he was like a hunter, patient, waiting for the right moment. His revenge never had to be physical, sometimes a simple 'ha-ha' was enough for him.
He didn't know if the jealousy in Zhao was due to his closeness to Azula, because even if they were spying on him, it wasn't as if Musu could get into his mind, but the clues were there.
Zhao was very jealous of Shisui if some of his outbursts in his solitude indicated anything, but Shisui wanted to add more fire to the matter. So Shisui took advantage of the situation and brought his face close to that of his fiancée, from whom he surprisingly stole a kiss, surprising everyone present.
"Shisui! Are there hotels at the South Pole?" Ty Lee asked Katara.
Although Ty Lee's tone seemed reproachful, her cheeky grin and the way she looked at her friends indicated that she was having a good time. On the other hand, the unsuspecting and innocent Katara looked at the snow and saw that it was indeed made of snow.
"Stop perverting my sister," Sokka, on the other hand, walked up to his sister and covered her eyes as if to protect her from something inappropriate, causing the girls to laugh at his action, adding to the embarrassment Katara felt.
"Boy, doesn't the South Pole have fun?" asked Petra jokingly, causing Sokka to look down at the snow and realize that it was indeed still snow.
"Shy boy," Mai added to the fire, making Zuko beside him unable to contain his laughter at the absurd situation manifesting before him.
"Shisui, let my sister breathe," Zuko added jokingly, making Shisui realize he had overdone it, but when he started to pull away, Azula's hand stopped him.
Azula hesitantly decided to simply return Shisui's kiss; she was a strong and bold woman, even if public displays of affection might embarrass her. However, if the situation arose as it did now, she would never refuse Shisui.
So when Shisui tried to end the kiss because of her older brother's comment, she bit her lower lip and stopped him with her hand, clinging to her fiancé's body.
This situation caused only a slight delay in the journey, but it was soon resumed.
"They seem impatient, don't they? The young ones need to control themselves or they will have children," Hakoda pointed out to his two sons who seemed to be fighting with each other, causing Azula to turn completely red and hide her face on Shisui's chest.
"I'm sorry, I won't bother you with these gestures anymore," Shisui apologized, although he still had Azula wrapped around his waist.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shisui noticed that the negative emotions in Zhao had grown even more, causing the sage to smile mischievously, an expression only those close to him could understand.
'Looks like Shisui hasn't changed too much,' Zuko thought, breathing a sigh of relief for some reason.
Sometimes, he felt a little bit of unfounded fear, because, over time, he had noticed that Shisui had become somewhat withdrawn and reclusive. Well, he had been like that as a child, but it was different as an adult.
But over time, Zuko noticed that even though Shisui was more mature, many of his gestures, mannerisms, and actions hadn't changed that much, and it was now that he understood that his childhood friend would always be the little cheating kid who tricked him by using Waterbending in the Turtleducks races.
Of course, he realized that Shisui was cheating! Because Zuko was always swapping the Turtleducks, thinking Shisui's were faster, he ended up losing.
It was when he started sword training that his mind became clearer and he became more aware of his surroundings, and he realized that Shisui was cheating, but he never said so.
Because he knew that Shisui also realized that he was changing the Turtleducks, that remained between them. Even as an adult, Shisui always cheated in games, even in 'Chess,' the strange game Shisui created.
How was it possible for a pawn to become the strongest piece out of nowhere, this was a meaningless rule for cheating! But Zuko glanced sideways at Zhao and noticed how friendly his expression was.
'For some reason, Shisui kissed Azula to provoke Zhao, could it be that this guy is after my sister?' thought Zuko, who might not be an expert at reading emotions, but knowing what he knew about Zhao, it was easy to come to that conclusion.
"Don't apologize, Sage Shisui. Young people are like that. I still remember the first time I kissed the mother of my children, her name is Kya. I..." Hakoda dodged a stream of water coming from behind his back and when he turned around, he saw the flushed face of his youngest daughter.
"Dad! No one wants to know what you did with Mom when you were young!" Katara pointed out to her father, and while that would be considered disrespectful anywhere, people at the South Pole were more open about such things.
"Katara, I'm just sharing some of my personal experiences with Sage Shisui - you don't always get the chance to chat with a Sage about life! Right, Vice Admiral Zhao?" Hakoda, who with his experience had noticed Zhao's stiffness, patted the man on the shoulder, snapping him out of his stupor.
"Talking with Sage Shisui is quite beneficial, and taking the opportunity to tell him a little about our lives is unique. If you ask me, all young people always do some strange things, but that is youth.
I remember when I was young, the ladies of the Fire Nation were less daring. An action like Sage Shisui and Princess Azula would be the talk of the town for weeks.
And now? No problem, what I complain about is the music..." Zhao started to talk about modern music, a point he could quickly identify with Hakoda.
"Yes! Where are the drums and flutes? Now they use strange instruments and the lyrics are not so romantic anymore. They no longer talk about giving your partner the moon, now they just talk about buying the latest cosmetics from the Earth Kingdom," Hakoda complained, and for a moment, Zhao and he seemed to connect.
Then the two middle-aged men began to have a bout of nostalgia, causing the group of young people present to fall silent, communicating only through gestures.
No one wanted to interrupt two 'old men' talking about the good old days because every young person knew the consequences of doing so and receiving criticism for their current tastes.
But in such a cordial atmosphere, some of the tension and conspiracy that hung in the air seemed to disappear, making the trip more enjoyable.
...
"Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe! We have expanded quite a bit after the conflict subsided. The comforts and relations with the Earth Kingdom have made our lives a little more comfortable on this icy side of the world," Hakoda held out his hands to show the nearby tribe.
There was a large wall of ice separating the tribe from the rest of the world. But except for this construction, the interior of the tribe did not seem to have changed much. As they passed through the ice gate, they could see the igloos, tents, and yurts.
One thing that stood out was that it was very common to see metal tripods belching smoke and heat. Noticing the visitors' stares, Sokka stepped forward and pointed to the nearest tripod.
"They are torches. They provide us with light in the twilight. The way they are made allows the light to shine quite brightly," Sokka explained, catching Shisui's eyes as he approached one of them.
"Petra, look, it's made of that strange metal the Beifong tried to sell us for a high price," Shisui said, making Petra come closer to look at it with interest.
"Oh, but it's useless for us, isn't it? Being surrounded by Firebenders. It's a metal that only glows brightly in flames, it has no other special properties," although Petra's words might seem derogatory, her attention was fixed on this construction.
"But for the others, it's a good investment," Shisui said with a sigh.
If there was one group that knew how to use fire to illuminate their surroundings, it was the Firebenders. From the use of animal and plant mixtures to the use of 'burning wood'. For the same reason, this particular metal was just a curiosity to the Fire Nation, nothing more.
"But... the Southern Water Tribe is very beautiful, even if it looks simple," Ty Lee said, admiring the surroundings in front of her.
Hundreds of meters away from the entrance to the ice wall, there was a marketplace that was quite crowded with local people, as well as people in obvious Earth Kingdom clothing and the Northern Water Tribe, whose clothing was different from that of the South Pole.
Many people noticed them when they arrived, but since they did not appear to be threatening, the people went on with their activities, although some of the people in the Northern Water Tribe clothing looked at Shisui strangely before continuing on their way.
News of Sage Shisui's visit to a waterbender-controlled area would likely spread quickly. Even though Shisui was 'famous' in the world, there was something that ordinary people did not know: what tribe was Shisui from?
No one knew if his mother was from the South Pole tribe or the North Pole tribe; in fact, there was even a competition between the two tribes to claim the 'origin' of Sage Shisui's ancestors.
However, this did not stop Shisui from enjoying the surroundings of the Southern Water Tribe, for even though it was cold, the smiling faces and cheerfulness that Shisui noticed with his special vision made the atmosphere quite warm.
"The Southern Water Tribe looks good, Leader Hakoda," Zhao said, 'appreciating' the environment before him, although there was a deep disdain in his heart.
To him, the people of the South Pole were nothing but savages, rebels, and pirates; if the waterbenders had a 'halfway civilized' territory in his criteria, it was the North Pole, because even though the North Pole was a large block of ice, the nearby islands were an advantage that the South Pole did not have.
"Hehe, wait till you taste our food and drink, come on, Kya must be waiting," Hakoda said, pulling the group in a certain direction.
"Do they have that strange drink from the North Pole? Who would have thought that they would use their scarce green islands to create something so... over the top," Zhao said with some strangeness in his tone.
"Oh, of course they would! One drink and your body will be completely warmed up without the need for a coat," Hakoda said, pointing to a stall in the market that sold that particular drink.
"Today we will have a feast where we will eat and drink until we see triple," Hakoda smiled expectantly.
For those from the South Pole knew how to celebrate!
------------
AN: I need sleep, help. Read my original novel. Read my Dragon Ball Fanfic. Read something good like 'Lord Of The Mysteries'.