Chapter IX: Test Run

'Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Now it makes sense why that Imperial Firebender was keeping such a close eye on me.''

Wearing an intricate set of maroon robes lined with golden threads, the future Fire Lord entered the room with a commanding presence and strode with an air of regal discipline. He glanced at Nathan dismissively before looking towards Ursa. 

"Ozai…!" Ursa gasped as she stood. "Why are you here? I thought you were still busy with matters at the royal palace."

"Why wouldn't I come?" Ozai asked, raising an eyebrow. "I received a report of an incident occurring in my own home. Something along the lines of a 'meteorite' crashing into our garden and making a commotion among the guards I assigned here." 

The man aimed his look at Nathan. "Now I know it wasn't a simple meteorite. Tell me, my dear–How should one handle the matter of an intruder inside their own home?"

"This young man is not an intruder. He's our guest." Ursa stood between him and Nathan. "He has lost some of his memories and needs help with remembering them. He can't even remember his own family or how he got here."

"Treating a commoner as a guest? How preposterous." Ozai said, turning towards Nathan. "You there. Tell me your name."

"My name is Nathan Anderson, Prince Ozai." Nathan answered politely, copying the salute Azula and Zuko showed before while maintaining his calm. 

"And from which nation do you hail from?" Ozai continued asking.

"I… can't recall, Prince Ozai."

"Do you truly not remember how you arrived here in such a way, just as my dear wife said?"

"Yes."

Ozai's piercing eyes scanned him for any signs of deception. Having found none, he looked towards Ursa.

"He cannot remain here a second longer. I will not have a commoner stay in my home as a guest," Ozai sternly commanded, giving Nathan a glare of disdain.

Clenching his jaw, it took quite a bit of willpower for Nathan to stay silent. While he was used to his dad giving him that look, having Ozai do it just ticked him off.

"No. I've offered him a position to work for our family," Ursa answered somewhat rebelliously, causing Nathan to give her some side-eye.

'Is this what she meant by "reasoning" with him? I don't think it's working.'

Amused, Ozai gave a smile of contempt. "Work for our family? We have more than enough servants."

"Although he was willing to, he won't be working as a servant. I proposed for Nathan to be Zuko and Azula's martial arts teacher."

Ozai's smile dropped. "Martial arts teacher? Oh, I see. He's a non-bender." He chuckled. "While the thought of this boy teaching our children is amusing, I refuse. He's nothing but a commoner, and I doubt he's skilled enough to teach them. I'm incredibly disappointed in you, Ursa. I thought you would have more sense. What would our nation's people think if they knew our children were being taught by a nameless boy who does not even look like he has come of age?"

'I've had enough of this piece of shit and the way he talks to Ursa.'

"Then let me prove my skill, Prince Ozai," Nathan confidently said as he stood up to his full height. He was only a few centimeters shorter than Ozai. "I challenge your guards to a three on one bout. There will be no holding back from either side and they can even use their firebending against me. On top of that, how about adding a wager?"

Ozai's eyes slightly widened at his tall stature before narrowing into a glare. "Your insolence knows no bounds. You dare to wager with me?"

From the corner of his eye, Nathan noticed Ursa looking between him and Ozai with worry.

"Why not?" Nathan asked with a cocky grin. "If I win, I don't just get to be your children's martial arts teacher, but you will also let me stay here for free without any restrictions, in addition to paying me three times as much as normal. If I lose… I'll obediently serve the royal family until my dying breath."

Ursa and even two of the guards gasped at his ridiculous wager. On the other hand, Ozai seemed intrigued and amused at the same time. 

"An interesting proposition… Very well. If your desire is to serve our family until your dying breath, who am I to refuse you? Now, do you wish to start this fight today, or would you like to prepare yourself and postpone it to tomorrow? I doubt the results will change, but I'm feeling generous."

"We can start today. But I'd prefer it if we didn't fight in this room," Nathan answered. 

He was betting on his powers and perks to give him the leg-up in this fight, and he wanted to see how different fighting was now that he basically had the same serum that gave Captain America and Captain Carter from 'What if' their powers. 

"Then the bout will happen inside the royal palace training room at noon." Ozai walked to the door, but paused midway. He looked over his shoulder, giving Nathan a threatening look. "I assume you know the consequences that will occur if you choose to retreat from this?" 

Nathan nodded, and Ozai left the room with a last remark. 

"Don't fail to entertain me."

As soon as the door closed, Ursa and Nathan simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

'Ozai is one scary motherfucker in person.'

"So… that was your husband, huh? He's an intense guy." Nathan dryly commented.

"Ozai is a… difficult man to be with." Ursa nodded in agreement before sitting down. "About the wager you made–are you sure about this, Nathan? The Imperial Soldiers are incredibly skilled firebenders. There's a reason why they are assigned to guard the royal family. And while I have no doubt that your skill as a martial artist is great… Realistically, fighting and defeating all three of them at once is nearly impossible."

"Is there a forest or a tree nearby that I can use as a training dummy? Preferably somewhere people won't be able to see me."

Ursa blinked in confusion at his sudden question. "There is. Wait, are you planning on training before the fight? Wouldn't it be better to save your energy?"

Nathan's lips curled up as he looked down and clenched his hand. "I want to test something out."

-=-

Sitting next to her mother, Eight-year-old Azula blinked in confusion.

"Mom, what is he doing?" her brother asked. She wanted to know the answer as well. What she was currently seeing seemed incredibly stupid.

When she and her brother had gotten home from their respective academies, their mother was seemingly nowhere to be found. After asking one of their mother's personal servants, they were told that their mother and the strange guest from last night went to the small forest behind the house. Their interest piqued, they followed the servant's directions, only to find Nathan single-mindedly punching and kicking a dead tree for seemingly no reason.

"He's training for a fight," her mother answered, seated on the grass and watching Nathan worriedly.

"Who is he fighting?" Azula asked.

"He'll be fighting three of your father's Imperial Soldiers all at once."

"Does that mean father's here?" She and her brother assumed he was here immediately and looked around in excitement. "Where is he?" 

"He has already left for the royal palace. Nathan's fight will be happening in one of its training rooms."

They slumped in disappointment. "Oh…"

"I'll be watching Nathan's fight later. You can join me if you want to." 

Their mother stroked Zuko's head affectionately, and Azula refused to acknowledge the pain in her chest when her mother didn't do the same with her.

"Really?! Awesome!" Zuko said with a stupid grin. 

Azula pulled her knees to her chest as she looked back at Nathan training. "Why is he going to fight father's soldiers?" she asked in an attempt to distract herself.

"He made a wager with your father. If he wins the fight, he'll become your martial arts teacher and will be able to stay in our home. But if he loses, he'll serve our family until his death."

"What? But that's completely unfair," Zuko said.

"Incredibly foolish is more like it," Azula muttered. "Besides, we don't need a martial arts teacher. Our firebending classes are more than enough."

Firebending was the most sacred and most powerful of the bending schools. And ever since she first began her training, her skill had been improving at an astounding rate–or at least, that was what her tutors and father said. She was a prodigy, unlike her stupid brother, who had only shown talent two years after her.

"Mom, Azula! Look at what he's doing to the tree!" Zuko exclaimed, bringing Azula out of her thoughts. 

What she saw burned itself into her mind. 

If before, Nathan was just monotonously punching and kicking the dead tree like a broken machine, he now moved with the ferocity and ruthlessness of a tigerdillo. He also fought in a way she had never seen before. He kept his hands near his face as he unleashed a torrent of swift punches at the tree, each one sounding as if he had struck it with a heavy sledgehammer, visibly breaking the tree's bark. Between each punch, he'd sometimes weave left or right, take a step back, or roll his shoulders, and reposition around the tree with impressive finesse. Furthermore, every punch was accompanied by an audible grunt or a sharp exhale of air, emphasising each strike.

The tree shook again and again while Nathan's punches only seemed to be getting faster as time went on. For what seemed like an hour, they watched Nathan fight the tree as if it was a real opponent.

Eventually, Nathan slowed down and stopped. But just as Azula thought he was going to take a break, he changed his form and began kicking the tree in a variety of ways. And this time, Azula and her family could feel the shockwaves of his kicks' impacts, and each one was even more powerful than the punches he demonstrated just minutes before.

'How is he not getting tired?' Azula wondered.

"M-Mom?" Zuko timidly asked, clutching onto their mother's sleeve. "Will he really be our martial arts teacher if he wins?"

"Yes… Yes, he will," her mother said. Azula noted a small hint of fear in her voice as well.

"Can we get a different one? Please?"

Azula didn't blame either of them. Not at all. She also felt afraid of Nathan's power and skill. However, she knew that both were clearly the result of years of consistent training and hard work. 

'He said he was thirteen, right? He's only five years older than me, but I doubt any of my instructors could defeat him in hand-to-hand combat.'

With that thought in mind, Azula reached only one conclusion. Nathan was a prodigy, just like her. He wasn't a firebender or a bender of any sort, but the power and skill he was demonstrating inspired awe and disbelief.

Despite her preconceived notions of how firebending was the superior art, she could see Nathan likely winning against her father's Imperial Soldiers, and she looked forward to seeing if she was right.

-=-