9: Spear, Sword and Fire.

"It will sound strange, but the spear is also the dragon among weapons, although it is ironic that it is the Water Tribe that uses them more than we of the Fire Nation, forgetting that, it means that the spear is a weapon of pure power. 

A spear is a perfect weapon for stabbing, thrusting, sweeping, and blocking, but as you may have noticed, it is particularly effective at the former. Spears are the best weapon for hunting large beasts and for forming phalanxes," Lu Ten instructed Shisui on how to use this spear. 

It was only the day after the impromptu celebration at the edge of the pond, but Shisui did not want to waste any time and wanted to learn his weapon of choice early on, for both cultural and personal reasons. 

Of all the weapons, swords and spears were his favorites, but in his particular situation, a spear would undoubtedly suit him best, so he finally chose it. 

Of course, he would learn about swords, hammers, and bows, but his main focus would be on the spear. So, under Lu Ten's guidance, he began to perform basic exercises with the weapon, though contrary to what one might think, it didn't lead directly to combat routines. 

"Do I really have to do this?" complained Shisui, who was holding a long wooden shaft with no metal tip, making it an incomplete spear. 

He was standing, simply holding the shaft while pointing it skyward. The training ground was an open one, and the morning sun was getting hotter and hotter, making Shisui a little uncomfortable. 

"You have to get used to the weight of the spear, that's why I told you it would be better to wait a few years until your body is stronger, but you refused, so you have to go through this process at your young age," Lu Ten replied with a teasing smile on his face, it was rare to see Shisui as nervous as he was now. 

"And why do I have to stand in the sun as well?" Zuko's voice was heard, he was standing next to Shisui with a thick-edged metal sword, standing in the sun like his friend.

"Because the sword needs it too, all weapons do. Did you think that training was just to use the weapon against a dummy and hit it wildly? No, everything has a process, if you get bored and don't want to go through it, you can leave," Lu Ten looked at his cousin and explained seriously, making Zuko nod. 

"Okay, after an hour I'll show you the basic routines and we'll practice them, in the meantime, I'll go warm up," Lu Ten turned away from them until he stopped a dozen meters away.

The young man brought his hands to the two swords sheathed at his waist and quickly drew them, making a whistling sound as he sliced through the air. The two boys and Azula, who were watching from under a nearby tree, turned their attention to Lu Ten.

The boy began to move, his steps smooth but measured, never out of proportion. His weapons danced softly as he waved them, and in a short time, he was doing what could be called a sword dance. 

Nimble, fierce, but most of all, beautiful. The children didn't quite understand what they saw, Shisui might be a reincarnated human, but he didn't live in a time where cold weapons were common and he only used them for entertainment.

But even though he understood that he could not defeat Lu Ten in single combat, the way the young man controlled his strength, his breathing, and his stance, even without swords, he would be a fierce fighting machine.

"Concentrate on your weapons," Lu Ten said when he noticed the attention of the two children, giving them a warning.

And so the children did, even though it was tedious. The two of them concentrated on the weight of the weapon they were holding, the way it swung when they got careless, and how they could grip it in a way that was much less cumbersome and tiring. 

Indirectly, they were developing a sense of balance for their weapons; it was only a vague notion, but they already knew how to wield it effectively without it swinging or shaking all the time. 

Azula, for her part, was doing her thing, meditating. Yesterday's defeat only fueled the fire inside her to get better and stronger. She didn't feel sad because yesterday outweighed any negative emotions she might feel. 

In particular, Ursa had talked to her about many things the night before, nothing too deep or extensive, but it allowed Azula to understand the full meaning of Azulon's words. 

'I'm going to marry Shisui, we'll hold hands and have children when we grow up,' Azula's thoughts gradually wandered to what she understood, but she soon tried to whiten her mind. 

Still, her cheeks were red and her mind kept going over everything that happened yesterday, getting more and more upset. Just when she thought her meditation was about to go to waste, she remembered something basic about Firebenders. 

Emotions and feelings were fuel for the fire within, and by adding up the energy within and the breath, a firebender could create flames. Why meditate, trying to calm herself, when memory-laden thoughts might be a better way to deepen her power?

Unbeknownst to her, Azula had discovered another aspect of meditation, "introspection," perhaps the most useful part for fire and earthbenders due to the nature of this section.

While stillness and tranquility were useful for Waterbenders and Airbenders, emotions, feelings, and memories were best for Firebenders and Earthbenders.

Meditation, except for some local mystical aspects of this universe, was not really something very complicated or mysterious. Anyone could meditate, regardless of age or status. 

Guided by her breath, Azula found herself immersed in a mental torrent that she slowly came to control, but the progress was obvious. She did not know it, but this exercise would give her power and mental health in the future that her canonical version would never have. 

She was gradually taking control of her emotions and the process of feeding that fire within her. One would think it was metaphorical, but within every Firebender was a flame of a spiritual nature, and as the hours passed in her meditation, a small spark of that flame was turning blue. 

Of course, Azula was not experienced enough to look inward and explore her body like some Chi masters, but when she opened her eyes, the sun was at the height of the day.

She felt particularly comfortable, but she thought it was because the midday sun was not just talking when it was said that this star slightly empowered firebenders. 

Then Azula saw her older brother and her fiancé training hard. Zuko was performing the basic sword movements with a rather serious expression, and even though his movements were not standard, the improvement in them was visible. 

Zuko put all his energy and concentration into his weapon, accepting Lu Ten's corrections with ease and evaluating his every action with exaggerated attention.

Azula thought for a moment that she saw the image of a mighty warrior in her brother, but she took it as a passing thought, how could Zuzu be a mighty warrior? 

'Stronger, Better, Stronger, Better, Stronger, Better, Stronger, Better, Stronger' were the two words Zuko repeated to himself with every action, like a mantra he used to hypnotize himself. 

Lu Ten looked at his cousin with an unusual gleam in his eyes and recognized something in Zuko, a sign. If spears were dragons, then swords were kings. Usually, these meanings were mystical or metaphorical, but Lu Ten was a war veteran at 17. 

How could he not see that his cousin Zuko was somehow in a state of self-suggestion? Lu Ten then realized that in the royal family, one could not be born without 'talent', as some rumored.

Yes, Azula was a firebending genius, Shisui was a timeless research genius, and Lu Ten was a fighting genius, but Zuko didn't stand out much. His intelligence was average, his firebending was average, but with the sword...

With the sword, Zuko was a genius. It was as if he was born to wield that particular weapon. He would probably be 'average' with other weapons, and only with a good sword in his hand could his potential be unleashed.

Lu Ten noted this in his mind and thought he should talk to his father, maybe he could say something to his uncle Ozai to allow the boy to learn from the best swordsman in the Fire Nation, Piandao. 

He figured it would be easy; he had seen his father play Pai Sho with the man who, in Lu Ten's eyes, was undoubtedly the best swordsman in the world. Piandao's mere presence felt 'sharp' as if the wind following him was full of blades.

The young man then turned his attention to Shisui, who practiced in a completely different way than Zuko. With each movement, he would pause and close his eyes for a few seconds before resuming his training. 

At first, Lu Ten did not understand why, until he noticed that the wooden pole was covered with something strange, and when he looked closer, it was small specks of white light, Chi. 

Shisui had tried to integrate his energy into the weapon, and the resistance he felt bothered him greatly. He wanted to train his Chi control while performing the basic movements of a spear, but when he realized that it wouldn't work, he decided for another way. 

I can't imbue an object with Chi, but I thought the weapon would be different. The spear movements didn't help, so let's try the next best option,' Shisui thought before controlling his Chi so that it came out of his palms in specks of light. 

They were fickle and some of them even fell apart on the outside, but the ones he could control properly clung to the weapon. This made the boy smile as he concentrated on practicing. 

'The spear is a dragon, water is the element of oriental dragons, what if I explore this mystical side?' Shisui wondered as he slowly integrated the repetitive movements of a spear into his muscle memory.

"What beautiful lights," a little girl suddenly spoke next to Shisui, who had already noticed the presence of a stranger in their vicinity. 

A pair of girls who did not fit into the sporty atmosphere of the place, the one who had spoken had long brown hair and brown eyes and looked at Shisui with a smile on her lips.

The other was too somber for an infant, she looked calmly at everything around her, and Shisui even caught hints that she was superficially focusing on her vital points, only stopping when their eyes, both golden pairs, met for a moment. 

"Azula! I didn't know Shisui could make such beautiful lights," the smiling girl approached the princess lying under the tree. 

"This is new, by the way," Azula replied as she shook her shoulders. 

"Too flashy," Mai said coldly, it wasn't very common to see a girl acting like that, but that was how she was and people had already gotten used to her way of being. 

"Do you think he can teach me? The color of Shisui's aura when he does that is also very pretty, very white," Ty Lee's words made Shisui grimace slightly while Azula looked at her friend with a pout. 

"Oh? Azula, she's jealous!" shouted Ty Lee when she saw the changing aura of her princess friend, and without thinking she blurted out what came to her mind. 

"Don't worry, friend, I'll steal those books from my mother and help you defeat Shisui," Ty Lee said with an expression that a normal child should not say at her young age, expressing her desire to help her friend. 

"Ty Lee, you shouldn't read things from adults," although Lu Ten didn't know what the hell those books contained, it was probably not something a minor should know.

"Why is your aura a color of shame, Lu Ten, it's just a book! Besides..." For everyone's salvation, Mai put her hand on Ty Lee's mouth, although she had to remove it quickly and wipe it with the tree.

"You licked me," although her tone was neutral, the annoyance was more than obvious in Mai's words. 

"Why do you always interrupt me when I'm talking about other people's auras? I don't interrupt you when your aura turns pink at the sight of Zuko..." This time it was Azula who covered Ty Lee's mouth and stared at her, waiting to see if the girl would dare to lick her hand. 

"Thank you, Azula," Mai thanked her with a small smile on her face, even if it was only fleeting. 

Zuko, who had stopped his training because of the noise, noticed this little gesture on Mai's face, and from that day on he never forgot it, although he didn't know why at the time, he discovered it in the future during an afternoon of meditation.

"By the way, what are you doing here?" asked Shisui, trying to change the topic of conversation to something easier.

"Ty Lee wanted to visit, she was jealous that you and Zuko will start school soon and wanted to see your backpacks," Mai replied, causing Ty Lee to nod quickly like a chick pecking at her food. 

"Yeah! How jealous, I want to go to school too, but waiting two years is boring," Ty Lee said after freeing herself from Azula's clutches.

"It's not as fun as you think," Shisui said annoyed, still complaining that he had to go, but there was no other way. 

"But we'll make new friends, Shisui," Zuko replied after wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, for some reason he didn't want Mai to see his sweaty face.

"Doesn't take the boredom out of it," Shisui simply walked over to the tree where the girls manipulated the sweat from his body to throw it to the side and then leaned back in the shade. 

"Shisui, will you teach me how to create these bright lights?" asked Ty Lee, bringing her face very close to Shisui's in an invasive way. 

"If you give me space, yes," knowing that the girl would insist on it for a long time, Shisui decided to comply, it wasn't very complicated anyway. 

A short time later, everyone was resting on a blanket under the tree, brought by one of those handy palace servants. By the way, a certain jasmine tea fan, who wanted to talk to Shisui, joined the group and watched as the aforementioned boy started one of his usual chats. 

'Knowing that he's probably a reincarnated sage, his words take on a different meaning,' Iroh thought before he was shocked to hear Shisui speak. 

"Let's talk about Chi and its nature, or what I have discovered with my tests," Shisui's words made Iroh thank the spirits, he wouldn't have missed this for the world. 

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AN: Fuck, we have 3.4k collections and we are at this +80 in Weekly Power Status, I didn't expect this situation at any point. So I want to thank you all for your support.

By the way, a bit of spam, if you want to read something original, read my novel 'Steam and Heart', it's on my profile!