6: Steam Power!

"Wouldn't it be nice to wait until we're adults and we can both decide our path?" Shisui asked somewhat hopefully, but when he saw Azulon's fox-like grin that he had achieved his goal, he understood that he was pretty much screwed.

"Sometimes, things don't go our way, you have to get used to it," Azulon kindly advised, although the smile on his face showed that he was more happy about the boy's snub than about the future engagement. 

"Father, why?" asked Ozai with some tact, even though he had already achieved one of the things he wanted most in life, he still treated Azulon with some respect. 

It was only now, in the position of Fire Lord, that he could understand all the effort his father had put in over the decades to preserve the Fire Nation, and even to achieve progress that had never been seen in the past. 

It could be said that the Fire Nation was entering what some began to call the "Second Golden Age," a time almost as good as the country had experienced during the time of Avatar Szeto centuries before.

He even found that he didn't have as many obstacles as he'd expected from the generals, who were no longer going crazy in the war; perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he'd gone to the front to fight for a few months, and the lessening of the war conflict meant that many soldiers saw their family after a while. 

"Don't you think they are suitable? Besides, the boy took the purity from the princess, there's no choice," Azulon started, pretending to wipe away his tears, much to the dismay of Ozai, Iroh, and Shisui. 

None of the three believed him, but Zuko did, who jumped at Shisui and tried to hit him, only to end up dodging a rather powerful kick from the waterbender, who was in a fight-ready stance. 

"Why did you kiss my sister?" asked Zuko angrily, and when Iroh tried to interrupt, Ozai and Azulon stopped him with a gesture. 

The two wanted to see how this 'genius' really got along with an ordinary boy like Zuko. Yes, Ozai did not doubt that whatever talent his firstborn should have had been 'absorbed' by his younger sister, but unlike the canon, he no longer looked down on the boy. 

'I want to see what my father sees in you,' Ozai thought, desperate to find out the meaning of his father's words. 

It was a trick to win,' Shisui replied with a shake of his shoulders. 

Zuko, annoyed by such a careless gesture, tried to attack again, but was blocked by Shisui's raised leg, who turned his body and kicked Zuko in the chest.

The lord took several steps backward, reducing the force of the blow with each step. He was no genius, Zuko knew that better than anyone, but he trained hard, very hard every day. 

He even started to read those boring books and scrolls, even if he had to meditate on their contents for a long time until he understood them, he never stopped. He didn't know why he was angry, but when he saw his sister lying helplessly on the ground because of a cheap and dishonest tactic, he became furious. 

"You have no honor," Zuko said in his rage before he realized that his words were too drastic, but his mistake of speaking without thinking had already been made. 

"I... apologize," Zuko's turbulent emotions subsided as he apologized, but the cold look in Shisui's eyes told him that things were not going to be that simple. 

"Don't apologize, I don't have it, at least I don't have the honor you think we all should have, Prince Zuko," Shisui's words were simple, but they made the little Zuko feel a strange pressure in his chest.

"Shouldn't we stop this?" asked Iroh, who didn't want to see the children ruin their good relationship any longer. 

"No, let them work out their problems between friends," Azulon replied, sincerely hoping that Shisui would teach his grandson a good lesson. 

The words of an old man might not penetrate the mind of a child so much as an equal companion, and that was Shisui to Zuko. That was why he did not bother to interrupt, for in his mind, the unusual maturity in Shisui could guide the young prince.

'If it weren't for those sages who confirmed that you were not the Avatar when you were ignorant, I would have thought that you had inherited other lives, Shisui,' Azulon thought as he narrowed his eyes slightly and stroked his white beard. 

It was obvious that he would have such doubts, for if the Avatar of the Air Nomads somehow died without them knowing, the next Avatar would be born among the Waterbenders. 

The intelligence, the wisdom of a child could be attributed to genius, but Shisui's maturity was something unusual that could alarm anyone. But with the relics of some past Avatars provided by the Fire Temple sages, and a few tricks, it was ruled out that Shisui was the one. 

There was the idea that the Avatar was an old monster from the last century who had been training all this time, or perhaps he was wandering in the spirit world since there were records of Avatar Kuruk, all provided by Avatar Roku. 

Who would think that the Avatar was in a cryogenic sleep like a certain Super Soldier? And that he wasn't even an adult, but that subject would come up years later in the future. 

"You see, Zuko, honor has many meanings and approaches, as well as its uses, both good and bad. I am not His Majesty Ozai to instruct you in the intricacies of honor, but I will remind you of one thing. 

I have my honor, and Azula has hers. Fighting like a true warrior and taking every opportunity is something Azula deserves because I respect her honor. Do you think she wouldn't use the same tactics if she could? No, she already does, she's already awake," Shisui pointed at the supposedly unconscious Azula, who opened her eyes and sulked. 

"How did you notice?" the girl asked before sitting down on the floor and shaking her hair, maybe a bender's physique was really good because she only had a big bump on her head, nothing serious. 

"Your breathing changed when your grandfather said we were getting married," Shisui's words made the girl's face blush as she started to play with her hair. 

"Back to the subject, Zuko, I understand that you attach great importance to honor, but don't let it shackle you, and for the love of the spirits, think before you speak, you'll save yourself trouble" Shisui turned his attention back to Zuko, who had an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Zuzu sometimes says nonsense without thinking, that's why Mai doesn't talk to you," Azula added, hitting Zuko's little heart, who already knew what mistakes he had made, and so he walked towards Shisui.

"Shisui, I apologize for my rudeness earlier," Zuko bowed respectfully as he came to understand something very important. 

Maybe honor was not as rigid and complicated as those books made it seem, but something more flexible. And if he took the time to think things through, maybe he wouldn't have so many problems or embarrassing situations like this. 

Fearing the reaction of his father or grandfather, young Zuko looked up at the three adults present, perhaps expecting them to scold him, but instead, each of them gave him a different gesture. 

Iroh gave him a relieved smile, Azulon nodded, and Ozai just looked at him before giving him a small smile. Zuko didn't know what he had done, he didn't understand the meaning of those expressions until many years later in the future when he remembered this particular moment, but he was relieved because he wasn't scolded. 

"It's good that you read and learn, Zuko, but sometimes things are not as written, sometimes it depends on the situation. And in a fight, even traps are valid if you haven't set a limit for them," Shisui said before making waterbender gestures and attracting a ball of that element.

"Don't resist," Shisui said, splitting the ball in half and bringing it close to the bodies of the two children, Azula's on her head and Zuko's on his chest. 

The areas touched by the water began to emit a warm bluish glow, Shisui doing his best to maintain his concentration as he healed the wounds on his companions' bodies.

The mental strain caused his forehead to fill with sweat, costing him dearly, adding to his previous exhaustion from the fight with Azula, he could barely stand when he felt a pair of small hands on his back. 

Azula and Zuko approached him, holding him up to prevent him from falling. Azula looked at her older brother a little angrily but decided that the boy had had enough, so she moved a little closer to Shisui, invading his personal space. 

"Hey Shisui, was that healing?" the girl asked knowingly, and Shisui just nodded as he wiped the sweat from his brow. 

Shisui didn't pay much attention to Azula's strange behavior, just chalking it up to the children's curiosity and excitement after a fight, so he began to speak, oblivious to the subtle glances of the three adults present. 

"Water can heal wounds when activated with chi, but it uses a lot of energy and is a bit tedious to learn," Shisui complained, but the excitement in his blue eyes only increased. 

"Water is truly wonderful, you know? It is life, without it, every animal would die, including humans. It is death, its absence its use to harm others is undeniable. 

It is destruction, floods, or tsunamis that are proof of that, but it is abundance, our rice fields depend on water, and our crops on irrigation or rain. 

It is peace, it is easy to think about, but it is turbulent, the currents of the rivers are an example. It is food, the mills that use the power of the turbulence of those rivers allow us to have flour for bread. 

It's... power, especially when it's steam," Shisui then felt the need to demonstrate it in front of everyone, so he started using water control through gestures. 

Steam power had been used in the Fire Nation for a long time, there was a reason why their ships could easily reach the far poles of this world to wage war. 

But they noticed the difference, among Shisui's movements, there were not only those of a Waterbender but also those of a Firebender! As if what he had been able to refine in his previous battle was useful for this moment, Shisui drew a ball of water around him, which turned into a watery whip, and then bubbles appeared in it.

"Boiling water! He boiled the water, he didn't just draw it from a hot spring. Was it through the movements of a firebender?" Iroh asked in amazement, but that excitement would only increase with Shisui's next actions and spread to the others.

The boiling water turned into a white mist that covered both Zuko and Azula, but instead of burning them, the steam felt especially warm. The moisture on their clothes disappeared, as Shisui's control of the healing was not good, and he ended up soaking the children earlier. 

"Don't tell me that if he learns Earthbender moves, his ice will become harder, that would be dangerous," Ozai said, feeling that Shisui was still the same little monster, even if he sometimes acted like a child.

The worst thing is that this child will be his son-in-law in the future. While thinking about this, Ozai noticed the way his daughter looked at Shisui and how she almost jumped at him, feeling that he had lost something. 

'Luckily, the brat doesn't seem to notice,' Ozai thought relieved. 

"That would be a good experiment. By the way, Iroh, didn't you invent a lightning-deflecting technique inspired by the Waterbenders?" asked Azulon, who already had new plans in mind, such as learning more about the other types of Elemental Masters. 

"Yes, my technique is inspired by their movements and the way they manipulate water. When I saw Shisui, I guess it was more than obvious that something could be accomplished if a waterbender learned from us. 

I wonder what other things will come from drawing inspiration from other elements. Fire with consistency? Hot gas? I can't help but imagine," Iroh said excitedly, perhaps he could ask for some extra guidance when he played Pai Sho with his friends. 

"Great! You dried our clothes, is that what you're going to use the steam for?" asked Zuko, who was back to his usual enthusiastic state. 

"That's the least of it, we can finally cook steamed fish," Shisui replied wearily, right now he was terribly hungry and the idea of many different dishes came to his mind. 

But he was also happy, he hadn't expected that a simple fight with Azula would lead to something he had been trying to achieve. Steam was a very interesting form of water, it could be cold or hot, turn into rain, snow, or hail, or just burn everything. 

Not only burning but exploding and pushing were also good uses. Although he had only used this ability as an express dryer for the first time, and even its future use for ironing clothes was already on his mind, the possibilities of this particular state of water were promising. 

"Steamed fish?" Shisui's momentary joke caught the attention of everyone present, who took a look at the basket of fish the boy had obtained.

Shisui knew that he would go to sleep very tired today, but he would leave that to his future self. Now he was hungry!