Chapter VII: Airbending Techniques

After finishing their meditation, Nathan and Roku returned to where they first met,

By the end of it, Nathan had come to like meditation and planned on continuing it in the physical world. The tranquility he experienced during his meditation was an eye-opener for him. He'd never been that calm in his entire life.

"You've learned the two foundational aspects of airbending. Can you tell me your understanding of airbending so far?"

Nathan nodded after a moment of thought. "As you said, airbending is the element of freedom. The key to airbending is flexibility, and being able to find and follow the path of least resistance." 

Roku nodded sagely. "Excellent. But do not forget about spirituality. Airbending is as much a spiritual art as it is a physical art, and the other elements are the same, though to a lesser extent." 

"Right."

"Now, we will begin your true airbending training with the basics. Bending can only be done when your chi's influence extends beyond your body and into the environment around you, to the point that the elements become an extension of your will. First, try sensing your chi. Although this step isn't necessary, I want to see how well-attuned you are to your own energy."

"Really? Well, here's the thing—the moment I woke up, I could already sense my chi. Even now, I can feel it's presence in my body."

Roku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You do? How intriguing. Hmm. This might actually work to your advantage." 

He paused, falling into contemplative silence before shaking his head.

"Nevermind that for now. Try bending a blast of air at me."

"Wait, really? You want me to hit you?"

"Yes. You already have an idea of how airbending is done since you've watched the show, and you've learned the two foundations of airbending. Use what you now know and extend your will to the air around you. At my level, I merely need a thought to do so. Let me demonstrate." 

In mere moments, a violent tornado surrounded Nathan and Roku, its form only visible due to the dust carried along with it. 

'Holy shit.' Nathan exclaimed in his mind as he watched Roku perform all this while standing completely still. Looking up, he could see how high the tornado reached. It seemed to reach the sky. 'He's bending with just his thoughts even when he's not in the Avatar state? And he doesn't even look like he's struggling.'

A moment later, the tornado vanished just as quickly as it appeared. Nathan stared at Roku with newfound respect and awe.

Roku gestured at Nathan to try. "Now, it is your turn to airbend. Do not worry about replicating my demonstration just yet. That was merely a showing of how one's chi can influence their environment at the highest level. To put it simply, it is bending using only your thoughts and will—psychic bending. With normal bending, martial arts and physical movement are ways to help guide and focus that influence, so concentrate on mastering that for now."

Nathan gulped with some anxiety. 'Okay, I can do this. Just make the air around me hit him.'

Nathan focused on his surroundings, the surrounding air, to be specific. He knew in his gut that he could airbend, and he followed that feeling.

Taking a boxer's stance, Nathan launched a quick jab towards Roku with the intent of only sending a small, harmless gust of wind. He visualised the wind flowing around him and turning it into a more condensed form.

What he got instead was a powerful blast that almost launched Roku off the cliff. Roku managed to save himself by locking his feet within the earth and diverting most of the air to go around him, yet it still ruffled his clothes and hair.

With a disheveled appearance, he looked at Nathan with surprise. 

'Ooh, I hope he's not pissed…' Nathan inwardly cringed.

"My bad, Roku! I messed up," Nathan apologized.

However, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He clenched and unclenched his hand with glee, recalling the sensation of his airbending and his brief connection with the air. A powerful surge of excitement coursed through him. 'I can actually airbend… So this is what it feels like!'

Roku straightened his clothes and hair. "... I'm alright. No need for an apology. Either your lack of control was severe, or your raw power surpassed my expectations. It could also be both, which is more likely."

"Will it be an issue?" 

"Perhaps. Here is an example. When Avatar Kyoshi first began earthbending, she excelled in bending that required vast amounts of raw power, such as moving large bodies of stone. However, the opposite was the case for techniques that required precision and control, such as manipulating small pebbles. In order to solve that issue, she used her fans as a conduit for her earthbending, and it allowed her to do what she couldn't normally do. I don't know if you'll face a similar problem. We'll have to see as you train."

Nathan retained most of his confidence, knowing that his accelerated learning aptitude will help him get through any skill related issues. The only question was how fast he'll learn and improve. "I don't think I'll face similar problems. I'm confident in my ability to learn and improve."

"Very well," Roku entered the standard airbending stance, the one he showed during the spinning gates training. "Now that you have a feel for airbending, I will now demonstrate basic airbending techniques, along with a sequence of combined katas you can use to practice them with. Copy my movements after each demonstration. We'll proceed to more advanced ones after you have mastered these first." He sent Nathan a challenging look. "With how quick you learn, it shouldn't take long."

Nodding, Nathan accepted the challenge. He copied Roku's stance and began his airbending training with childish glee, the smile never leaving his face. Having no one breathing down his neck while he trained—making sure he wasn't slacking off for even one minute—was so damn refreshing.

Having years of experience with more practical and straightforward martial arts, the newer, more flamboyant forms Roku taught felt foreign to him. The forms consisted of what he recognized to be more practical versions of the Chinese martial arts he saw in movies. Even so, Nathan quickly and seamlessly became proficient at each one in a matter of seconds, allowing his progress to skyrocket with each passing minute.

He would first watch Roku's demonstration and visualize the movements in his mind numerous times before attempting. This would result in him being able to reproduce the exact movement, and with a little more practice, he could perform the technique with as much mastery and finesse as Roku.

Although he only practiced each set of movements two or three times, it had already felt like it was part of his muscle memory. He was completely engrossed in the training, and the dopamine hit he got every time he grasped a technique felt addicting.

The airbending portion of the techniques took more effort as it was more than just perfectly performing a set of movements, and was more of a mental exercise, but it didn't lag behind too much. In fact, he was getting the hang of it more and more the longer he practiced.

'The serum combined with the Motion Memory perk is completely broken,' Nathan concluded. 'I can do almost everything Roku does with just one look. To be frank, it feels like I'm cheating.'

He swept his leg in an arc after easily doing a front handspring. A wave of air shot towards Roku, but the man easily neutralised it with a wave of his own. 'But how can I complain when it's this good?'

His mind and body functioned at a wholly different level that was difficult to describe. Calling it amazing was a severe understatement. His body felt incredibly light despite him gaining height and muscle mass, making him unbelievably agile.

Coordinating complex movements had practically become effortless, and he was so flexible that his body didn't strain when he pulled off ridiculous maneuvers. He could even do splits without feeling like his balls were being pulled in two directions.

These factors, combined with his now astonishing sense of balance, emboldened him to start incorporating moves he was always afraid of doing before, like cool flips and some advanced breakdancing. They were things he had only dabbled in during his spare time, so he couldn't put a lot of practice into them before. 

It was almost laughable how easy they were to do now.

All things considered, he was having a great time training his bending, and he didn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

-=-

Slightly winded by the constant flipping, kicking, and airbending, Nathan took a seat on the ground, his hair sticking out of his head in different directions. After close to an hour of airbending, Roku finally found his progress satisfactory. 

Roku changed his standards for Nathan midway after seeing how quickly he was learning each technique and they ended up doing advanced techniques in the last ten minutes.

"Whew…" Nathan said as he sent a constant wind from his palm to his face, as if he held an invisible fan. He wasn't sweating, but the cool air felt nice. "You really sent me through the ringer. If I didn't have ridiculous stamina, I would've dropped dead in the first five minutes. How many techniques was that?"

"About 30 basic techniques and 10 advanced ones," Roku said, not a single hair out of place. "You should be proud. The progress you've made is astonishing for someone in your shoes. While what I've taught you differs from the Air Nomads' traditional style, you're technically already about a quarter of the way through their thirty-six tiers of airbending required to become a master, and you've only begun airbending forty-five minutes ago. I advise you to continue practicing airbending in the physical world in order to improve your application of it. Now that you've had an extensive dive into airbending, are you starting to understand it?"

"Yeah. It's actually pretty fun to do now that I know how to do it. Watch this," he said with excitement.

Roku watched with a raised eyebrow as Nathan began doing standard push ups, then one armed push ups, before finally pushing himself up solely using his breath enhanced with airbending. If he put more oomph into it, he could even completely push himself up to a standing position with one breath. He stopped after a short while and gave Roku a grin.

"It's… certainly a unique application of airbending," Roku commented, his lips twisting upwards in amusement.

"Right? It's pretty fun." Nathan returned to a seated position. "Also, I don't think I can do any airbending in the real world yet." 

"Oh? Why is that?" 

"I'm currently in the heart of the Fire Nation, inside Ozai's house. I literally got delivered to their doorstep by an extra-dimensional delivery man. No idea why I got sent there specifically, but it seems like I'll be stuck for a while. I'm not complaining, though. There might be a few good things I can do by being there. I'm also planning on hiding the fact that I'm capable of bending because I need to keep some of my cards hidden."

"Ah." Understanding dawned on Roku's visage. "That would certainly be an issue. Very well. Until you can begin airbending in the real world, sparring with me and practicing in your mental world will have to suffice. However, you must also try fighting other benders in the physical world." 

"Can't I just fight you all the time?" 

Roku shook his head. "I am your teacher, so I am obliged to teach you everything I know, but that won't make you a true master. Only through battling different opponents and applying your bending in a variety of circumstances will you truly become a master of the elements. Learning from other masters may help you as well, because, as you already know, you don't have access to the mental world every day."

"Well, you got a point there. I can't really argue with that," Nathan said, scratching the back of his head. "Come to think of it, I always did improve the most when I fought all kinds of opponents. Being in tournaments where everyone had different habits and fighting styles also helped a lot. What do we do now?"

"Nothing. I'm afraid you've run out of time," Roku said, pointing at his body. "We'll have to continue your training at your next opportunity."

"Huh?" Looking down, surprise was written on Nathan's face as he witnessed his body gradually fading away. "Wait, I thought it said I have one to six hours of practice!"

"The amount of allotted time depends on if you've solved problems or engaged in conflicts in the physical world. I'm afraid you'll have to fulfill those conditions if you want to have longer sessions."

"Oh, come on! This isn't fair!" Nathan said, raising his almost non-existent arms in frustration before eventually accepting his fate. He sighed in resignation. There was nothing he could do about it. "Alright... I'll see you next time, Avatar Roku." He muttered to himself, "Damn it, I wanted to learn firebending next…"

Roku bowed. "Till next time, student Nathan."

He then raised his head and gestured to his stomach with an expectant smile. "Remember, power in firebending comes from your breath. Harness the energy from your breath before letting it extend past your limbs. That is firebending. I look forward to our next training session, Nathan."

Nathan's brows rose in surprise before he blinked, immediately finding himself in his room again, sitting in the same position as before. 

'Man, this sucks. I thought it was gonna be way longer than an hour and thirty minutes.' He laid down on his back, staring at the painted ceiling. 'But what Roku said about firebending… Maybe I can try it right now.'

Pushing himself up, he sat with his legs criss-crossed and began breathing according to what he learned in the mental world.

'Inhale. Exhale.'

While he breathed, he raised his arms to his chest as if he was cupping water in his hands. The energy from his breath was going nowhere, but he could feel the heat building up inside him. Slowly—as if tensing a muscle he never had before—he drew the heat from his stomach up to his chest, then to his arms, before finally pushing it into the middle of his cupped hands.

'It worked! I can't wait to thank Roku the next time I see him!'

The fire was weak, but it was there, hovering just above his palms. Its light illuminated the room with an orange hue. It was only then that Nathan realised the firebender guarding his door might notice the glow from outside and he put it out immediately.

Staring at the door, he waited for a few seconds before sighing in relief. He laid on the bed, looking forward to his next training session in the mental world.

Raising his hand towards the ceiling, he grinned as a small push sent a small lick of fire from his palm. With another push, it was a gust of wind towards his face.

"Now it's just waterbending and earthbending left… Fuck yeah. I've at least learned how to airbend and firebend. That's not bad. Not bad at all. Still, I should probably go to sleep. I can't practice my bending while that guard is outside," he said, satisfied with his progress.

As he properly set himself on the bed, Nathan's eyes were drawn to the moon and its lustrous beauty.

A small part of him still refused to believe that everything that had occurred in the past few hours was real. It was too good to be true, to be frank. But he hoped from the bottom of his heart that when he woke up, he would still be laying in the same bed.

"If this actually is a dream, I never want to wake up from it..." 

With those pleading words said, Nathan closed his eyes, and he fell asleep moments later.

-=-

Within a room of the Fire Nation Royal Palace, the second prince of the Fire Nation, Prince Ozai, sat at his desk. On it was a stack of neatly organised scrolls.

As his eyes scanned the contents of an important document from one of his political associates, a knock from the door caught his attention.

Ozai rolled the scroll he was reading and placed it back before clasping his hands together on the desk.

"You may enter," Ozai answered with authority.

The doors opened, and an Imperial Firebender walked in, bowing immediately after taking a few steps inside.

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of important business?"

"My apologies for disturbing you, Prince Ozai, but I come with a report of a disturbance that had occurred at your family's residence."

Ozai's eyebrow raised slightly. "A disturbance? Go on."