1 Prologue

A whole procession led by Princess Azula herself was boarding the ship. They moved quite slowly, even with dignity, because princesses must always display their status. This way, everyone around could see and take the time to appreciate witnessing Princess Azula in person.

Her clothes were without a single wrinkle, tailored directly to the girl's graceful figure, everything that could be polished shone, her hairstyle was impeccably done, and her haughty gaze from amber eyes on a beautiful aristocratic face. An image that would forever imprint itself in the memory of all who saw her.

She was boarding the ship where her assistant and closest companion in matters awaited. Her father, Fire Lord Ozai, sent her to the front with an important sabotage mission. To finish what her uncle had started.

To capture Ba Sing Se.

For many, this might sound impossible and even suicidal, but that's just the simple gray mass. Who, if not her, trained by the best teachers, a Master of blue flame, the future ruler, could handle this task?

Especially with such a valuable asset as this newly emerged Kira (note: "Kira" means "killer" in Japanese). A simple yet striking nickname.

His call sign, or as they culturally call it - nicknames for each other, originated primarily from pirates. At least, that's what the dossier claims, which reached the hands of the Fire Lord and then Princess Azula herself. From pirates, it spread among the soldiers, and there it stuck. And that's an indicator. Azula did not believe in various superstitions, but even in the dossier, it was noted that one had to be able to hold onto their nickname. Otherwise, everyone would choose something pompously cringe-worthy for themselves.

Also, the same dossier mentioned that Kira possesses blue flame - very similar to the princess's own, which intrigued the Fire Lord greatly. Along with the attached characteristics from school to his latest mission, the father considered this person worthy of accompanying Azula in such a challenging task.

And Azula did not object. She was also trained in strategic and tactical skills and understood well the daunting task ahead, so help from such a person would not be superfluous.

The dossier contained much more, and the princess read it all carefully, but she did not rush to conclusions without a personal meeting. Perhaps the spy network is experienced, but in such matters, it's better to see everything for oneself.

Unfortunately, there was no time for a proper preliminary assessment, and she had to decide right away whether to take him or not. And only if the decision was positive, then, on the way, to outline the goals and tasks more precisely.

And her first impression was... ambiguous. She was greeted on board by the ship's captain, not Kira himself, and although the meeting was worthy of Princess Azula, it already showed a certain attitude towards her.

Although it could also be due to the fact of the procession itself, after all, she would have gladly avoided this boring exchange, or rather, acceptance of courtesies.

"Please, Princess, Kira is on deck," said the captain with an unnaturally smile, bowing and gesturing with both hands in the direction, but then quickly corrected himself, "oh, I mean, mister..."

"I understand," Azula allowed herself to add a note of irritation to her voice, interrupting him.

The dossier didn't lie. "Kira" had firmly stuck to him, so much so that, apparently, they refer to him in no other way. However, again, if the dossier is to be believed, he was highly respected.

Or perhaps they feared him. Which, in the princess's mind, sounded synonymous.

The Fire Nation's ships were the pinnacle of engineering artistry, and therefore loading or boarding was conducted via a special gangway that opened from the side of the ship. This allowed for avoiding complicated systems for loading something into the ship's hold through the deck.

Thus, reaching Kira was still ahead. However, for Azula, this was not a problem. After barking orders at her entourage to start settling in on the ship, the young woman briskly walked to the deck, catching herself intrigued by this character and only now realizing her eagerness to see him in person.

And finally, when the last door opened, releasing Azula onto the deck, she saw Kira. He stood, gazing into the distance over the sea, leaning on the rail with his arms, not even noticing the princess.

Azula quickly scanned Kira's figure, comparing it to what was written in the dossier. Over the armor of the Fire Nation, he wore a simple dark blue cloak with a rather high collar. At this moment, it was slightly dramatically fluttering in the sea breeze, adding a bit of charm to the overall image. On his belt, on the left side, hung some mysterious sword, now slightly pushed back behind him. Even the dossier couldn't identify this weapon, merely describing it as thinner than a typical blade and clearly longer, with a bulky handle featuring a very strange guard that was not only extended more than usual but also formed protection for the wrist.

Azula knew many types of weapons. She had to learn them, if only to counter them and understand the combat potential of any unit. But even something remotely similar to Kira's sword, she had not seen. From her experience, Azula could tell that this weapon clearly emphasized speed and precision. It wasn't made to hack through armor, but it could easily strike at vulnerable spots.

Next were white gloves, which were now tucked into his belt, but according to agents, Kira wore them before battle. They were clearly not just decorations, but their purpose remained a mystery to everyone. Just as why Kira consistently snapped his fingers before summoning flame during combat.

"I said not to disturb me until the princess arrives," Kira threw over his shoulder, without turning around.

Azula was momentarily taken aback. How was she supposed to react to this?

"I AM already here," Azula emphasized, trying not to start throwing flames. Regardless of what was said about her, she had no intention of killing such a valuable asset over such a foolish mistake.

"Hm?" Kira uttered, detaching from the railing and turning to face her.

More precisely, his mask. The last distinctive feature of Kira was a rather intimidating mask, resembling a skull. He didn't wear it all the time, and he had received his nickname long before the mask, but nonetheless, this wonder-technology was highlighted in the dossier. It was not a decoration; it was a piece of technical equipment. Angular, with some unintelligible tubes, the mask had one eye socket as a full lens, and the other consisted of three smaller ones, which, moreover, sometimes rotated. With the hood drawn up, even Azula felt uneasy looking into Kira's face.

"Damn, is it already eleven o'clock, huh?" Kira groaned in a tone that was oddly casual for his intimidating appearance, "Please forgive me, Princess Azula, welcome aboard. It is an honor to welcome you...," he continued, his voice devoid of any emotion and it was clear the speech was prepared in advance.

"Memorized it, did you?" Azula asked sarcastically, slightly tilting her head to the shoulder.

"...yes," Kira immediately relaxed, visually as if slightly straightening his shoulders, "I categorically fail at interacting with high-ranking officials, so the captain prepared the speech at my request."

"What, they didn't teach you how to properly speak to a princess in your childhood, Kira?" the princess continued, pointedly emphasizing the address.

"They did. But my master dug up and threw away all the seeds of knowledge on that front," Kira said, clearly smiling behind the mask.

"Hmm," yes, she had read about this Master and understood what her new subordinate meant, as well as that she shouldn't expect any servility. Nor respect, before she had proven herself in some way.

Despite her outwardly calm demeanor, inside, flames of anger raged at these thoughts. She, Princess Azula, had to prove something to someone?

But fiery thoughts were firmly held back by a wall of cold logic. Such individuals were not uncommon among strong personalities. It was her father who was the Fire Lord now, not her. Her personal achievements were limited to an early mastery of fire, which, by the way, Kira officially did not have.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" Kira asked in a tone as if he was inquiring about the weather from a friend, noting the slightly prolonged pause in their dialogue.

"Perhaps you could at least observe the minimal rules of decency and remove your mask before royalty?" Azula asked, almost hissing but maintaining an icy facade. He was irritating her more with each passing minute.

"Oh, right," the renowned warrior, with a tally of hundreds personally slain, awkwardly said. First, he removed his hood, revealing hair typical of the Fire Nation aristocracy. However, the hairstyle was unconventional. No haircut, just hair tied back in a small ponytail. The mask was removed with a swift, clearly well-practiced motion, following the hood, revealing a rather charismatic young face.

Azula didn't see anything particularly new, the face was quite characteristic of the Fire Nation aristocracy with all the expected descriptions: pronounced cheekbones, a neat nose, and other typical features. This couldn't surprise her; after all, she had grown up surrounded by similar faces

His eyes stood out a bit. Instead of the standard black eyes common among many of the Fire Nation, his were brown. It wasn't immediately noticeable, but under Azula's attentive gaze, even the smaller details did not escape notice.

For example, there was the strange-looking small axe under his cloak. It was difficult to notice, but it flashed for just a few seconds during Kira's movement, and that was enough.

She couldn't get a good look at it, given the brief time, but she could see that it wasn't a standard military axe and that it was clearly handmade.

"Well, do you like it?" Kira smirked with what the princess considered a foolish grin.

"It'll do for an escort," Azula dismissed easily, at least outwardly. Inside, flames of irritation and anger burned. And she would take it out on him, oh, how she would.

Though for her purposes, he fit the bill. It would be much worse if he were obsequious and pompous. She had met such men even among seasoned warriors, who in her presence would turn one sensible sentence into a flurry of unnecessary compliments. Either they wanted to impress or to appear in a good light for a promotion, but they were impossible to deal with. Conversely, the princess had encountered pampered sons pushed into various positions who, at best, could manage a lukewarm flame before running behind the backs of real soldiers. Yet, they acted like true battle-hardened officers, embellishing their feats so much that it seemed sending three of such to Ba Sing Se would have the city conquered in a month.

Of course, these were extremes, often mixed in various proportions, but it all came down to them trying to present themselves in the best light to the princess.

Maybe even with some fantastical schemes about marriage. After all, she was of marrying age, and many aristocratic girls were already picking out suitable husbands. And the fools probably thought Azula was looking too. Naive. She found it all uninteresting. How could one seriously consider HER, Princess Azula, in the same sentence with marriage, pregnancy, child?

Her goal was to become the best and conquer the world, not indulge in the frivolities like other aristocratic girls. In this matter, Azula viewed commoners more favorably, where such gender roles had long since vanished, and men and women served in the army on equal footing.

"Do you know the purpose of our expedition?" the princess focused her narrowed gaze, looking directly into the eyes of her subordinate.

"M-m-m, well, we're taking Ba Sing Se?" Kira shrugged, "and maybe the Avatar if we can?"

"Hm," was all Azula replied. While the suggestion of a secondary objective was logical, she expected to hear what he was told, not conjectures, as befits a soldier, "and you, of course, have ideas on how to accomplish this?"

"No, not really," the soldier shrugged again.

"Repeating," flashed through Azula's mind, "Either he's nervous, or it's just a habitual gesture for him."

"We'll come up with something along the way. Personally, I only know that the city-fortress is surrounded by big walls. But we're not titans to try and breach them outright, are we? So, we'll form a plan on how to infiltrate it. Maybe we'll start a revolution - there are always oppressed classes, or maybe we'll just quietly eliminate the king and say it was always so. We'll see."

"Go and give the order to set sail," Azula said, shifting her gaze to the sea, "and then come back here. We'll see what you're made of in a direct confrontation."

"As you command, Princess," Kira smiled, saluting in jest, and headed straight to the captain's cabin, immediately losing all emotion on his face.

"What an... interesting specimen," Azula thought, watching Kira go, "I should keep an eye on him. I don't like his flippant attitude towards everything happening. And how easily he talks about revolution. And what are these titans?"