Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Azula Pov.
Envy. It was something I was bitterly familiar with. For most of my life, I'd been envious of Zuko, of the way he didn't have to earn anyone's affection.
Ursa loved him unconditionally and showered him with affection from the beginning. Father gave him countless opportunities to return to his side. Iroh accompanied him during his exile and acted as a second father even when Zuko scorned him. Mai chose him over me.
Zuko had taken my father's throne, taken what was rightfully mine. He had locked me away in an asylum, brought Ursa back with her new husband and daughter, and they had formed a happy family, while I was locked away like an animal.
And throughout, envy was never a problem. I wallowed in it, letting it fuel my anger, feeding my sharp tongue, my strength, my quirk, and my hatred—everything. I thrived on it.
But Envy, was the last thing I wanted to feel as I looked at Izumi.
I hated that feeling instantly. I hated myself at that moment, for the first time in my life. Izumi was important to me; I loved him, and at this point, I wasn't going to deny it.
He was an annoying, sadistic, chaotic, hyperactive jerk, and I could go on and on about many more things, but he was also kind, patient, loved to help and teach, and, best of all? He never looked down on me. That's how much of an idiot he was.
He never feared me; he mocks my threats. He never respected my heritage, and he mocks my title while we're having sex. He was never horrified by my past; he accepted me completely and totally almost instantly.
And that was saying something, if his Haki "visions" had shown him more than I'd told him verbally. He'd probably seen my worst, my ugliest, my most monstrous moments, and yet he was still happy to spend time with me, saying he loved me so sincerely that I had no choice but to believe him.
And not just Izumi; with him came the others —Taylor, Ruby, and Darkness. They became what Mai and Ty Lee once were… no, more than Mai and Ty Lee ever were to me. I could see it so clearly now.
Father taught me to rule through fear. Any relationship should begin with fear. And that was no different than the relationship with Mai and Ty Lee. I knew no other way, and for me, for the Azula of the past, the relationship with Mai and Ty Lee was real; it was completely genuine, even with the underlying fear. I trusted them with my life, trusted them more than I trusted Zuko.
I trusted them like sisters.
And yet they betrayed me.
And to my surprise, Taylor, Ruby, and Darkness filled that space so easily. I almost want to blame Izumi for it; it's always his fault.
There was a lot to be said for Zuko, Ursa, Iroh, and everyone else believing me incapable of love. They were terribly wrong.
I loved deeply, with such intensity, just like my fire. I had loved my father unconditionally, with such intensity that it was simply ridiculous that they didn't see it —or rather, didn't want to see it.
They wanted to portray me as a monster incapable of love, when I was anything but. I had loved Father to the point of death, I had risked my life many times for him, and how could I not do so when he was the only person who had ever truly loved me?
Did it matter if I was loved as a weapon? As an object to be used? Not at all, it was more love than Ursa had ever shown me in her life.
And not just Father, Zuko, and Ursa were also included at some point, because otherwise, would their words affect me so much even after all this time? I just didn't want to admit it, but... it didn't matter anymore.
My love for my father had diminished; there was no doubt about it. Did I love him? I'd admit it, but not like before. But the others? No, I didn't retain even a shred of love for any of them. The only one who was saved from that damnation was Kiyi.
Ursa can say, scream, and shout that she always loved me, that she always did, but what good are words when Father was the only one who showed it? The only demonstration of love I had seen in Ursa was directed towards Zuko?
Even after meeting Izumi, his mother, Iori showed me more maternal love in the few months I've known her than Ursa has in my entire life.
For Agni! Izumi had been kidnapped, he was in the hands of a villain in an unknown place, and Iori had hugged us first. She had seemed relieved that we were safe and completely healthy, instead of worrying about her only biological child.
She had first shown concern and relief for four girls dating her son—we were simply his girlfriends, nothing more—three of whom she hadn't even known for a full year. Therefore, she had no shame in calling her 'mother'.
So yes, I could love —to the horror of my biological 'family,' — and I loved Izumi; I loved him so much that feeling jealousy towards him for the first time felt horrible.
Seeing Izumi 'generate' fire and use it in a way I'd never seen before? Using his lightning so masterfully, even though he'd only just discovered his ability to generate lightning a few days ago?
Combining them in such a powerful way and killing thousands of monsters in a matter of moments? I wanted to make that technique my own; I wanted to be able to do what he did; I wanted to be the one who could accomplish that; I wanted to take it from Izumi.
And then the news that he was the grandson of a national rank hunter? Yes, it was a hard blow.
A bitter pill I had to swallow, a bitter pill I had to throw down deep inside me and burn until it disappeared. I knew I was stupid.
I knew that if I asked, Izumi would teach me everything I needed to reach that level. I knew Izumi had simply forgotten to mention his fire generation because he was that kind of idiot.
He would also dismiss being Ryuma's grandson as unimportant; for Izumi, blood relationship and inheritance hardly mattered. He preferred to judge everyone else by their actions, not by who their parents or grandparents were.
Also, I remember him saying that he simply didn't tell us he was Ryuma's grandson because it was more fun. I'm sure he didn't plan for it to be revealed this way, but most of Izumi's schemes never ended the way he planned them.
He was an idiot, but I loved that idiot.
So it felt horrible to feel envy, but I was able to shake it off immediately. But even feeling that for a few seconds was disgusting; I felt disgusted with myself.
But I wasn't so mentally weak that I could let that get me down, no... I'd suffered mental breakdowns, panic attacks, and hallucinations; my mind had been against me for years, my feelings had been on edge for a long time, and I always did the same thing.
Keep going, screaming, fighting, and setting everything on fire.
And now it would not be different.
I gripped Nichirin's sword tightly and slashed at another High Orc, leaving an arc of blue fire behind me. I stared at my sword for a few seconds; it needed a name. The sword needed a name.
Izumi's Nichirin sword was completely black, with the characters "Slay " on its hilt. It turned crimson under high pressure or when heated.
So far, my blue fire hadn't even deformed the blade; the sword continued to absorb and heat up to red-hot without any problem. But most importantly… it was a gift from Izumi.
Izumi had never given it a name, so it was time to do so. And there was a perfect name. A name that slipped out of my mouth before I even thought about it.
"Amaterasu."
Goddess of the sun. Principal deity of the Japanese pantheon; the country's supreme deity. Oh... that was pretentious and arrogant, but I was the damn princess Azula, daughter of Ozai, granddaughter of Azulon. Arrogance was part of who I am.
If Izumi's sword could be named after the King of Hell, mine could be named after the goddess of the Sun, whether they accepted it or not.
I'd thought about Agni, the god of fire in Hindu mythology. He had become a bastardized sun god in the Fire Nation after several generations of cultural mixing and regime changes. Hardly anyone in the Fire Nation honored Agni anymore, and I would have liked to name it after him, but… but it didn't fit.
The sword is a gift from Izumi; it is a katana of Japanese origin and needed a Japanese name.
And it seems my sword liked its new name. It was the first time I felt it was completely mine — not like Izumi's sword, not like Izumi's gift —now it was mine, completely mine. Amaterasu was mine.
And Amaterasu loved it. It wrapped itself in my flames like a second layer, and my fire grew hotter. I smiled broadly as I moved through the High Orcs. I could smell the burning flesh of slain monsters, but I didn't stop.
And I wouldn't stop there.
My lightning generation was challenging to handle. I could handle its intensity and voltage before generating it. But once I released it from my body, it acted on its own. It was different from the fire part of my Quirk, where I had greater control.
I'd learned the moves, Izumi had insisted, I'd practiced them, but I'd never used them in a fight, but still... I made a move. I channeled my lightning internally. It was a little more complicated to do without any movement to channel it, so it took me a few moments longer than it should have to generate it, and then I guided it towards the sword with both hands.
Fifth Form: Heat Lightning. I approached the High Orc and cut it upward. I could see the lightning coming out of my sword as I attacked; I tried to control its direction, but it ended up deviating.
I clicked my tongue. I looked at Taylor's bugs and ran toward my next target.
"Don't force it!" My eyes widened slightly upon hearing Izumi's words. I turned my head and watched him fly past me with a huge grin. "Lightning! Don't force it, don't try to control it! You are a guide for the lightning —just move, and the lightning will go on its own!"
I almost laughed; of course, he'd show up to teach me a lesson. Still, I smiled broadly as I focused on my next move. I re-formed the lightning bolts inside me.
Second Form: Rice Spirit, I launched several lightning-infused attacks in succession, but half were deflected to the ground. I grimaced. I generated the lightning again, but this time I tried to use my fire at the same time.
I failed miserably. Izumi laughed beside me, and I glared at him.
"Tell me, do you want to dance?" Izumi asked with a crazy smile. I looked at him in disbelief.
"Dance? In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a crisis." I pointed out all the destruction around us, and Izumi just burst out laughing.
"And what better time than now?!" Izumi asked happily with a crazy smile.
"Maybe when you're not getting beaten up." I mocked as I pointed to where his original was struggling.
"I'm not getting beaten up." Izumi said indignantly, "We both watched Izumi's fight against AFO, just in time to see Izumi get hit by a backhand from AFO, sending him away." I would have been worried if he hadn't suddenly stood up and if his original cheeks hadn't been blushing.
I looked at the clone with a shit-eating grin.
"I'm not getting beaten up!" Nue-Izumi squealed, blushing. I chuckled. Nue-Izumi rolled his eyes, dropped the weapon he was holding, and walked over to me.
He didn't even give me the chance when his right hand grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to his body. I could feel how his body stuck to mine without leaving any distance between us. His left hand moved towards my right hand holding the sword; Nue-Izumi grabbed half of the hilt tightly.
"Let's dance!" Izumi said happily. I looked at him like he was crazy, but he just smiled at me. "You provide the fire, I'll provide the thunder?" Izumi asked happily as he let violet lightning shoot out from Amaterasu. My eyes sparkled slightly.
"Can't you do it yourself? I saw you can generate fire." I asked mockingly. He shrugged.
"Not really, at least not as a clone. I need to use aura and ridiculous amounts of willpower." Nue-Izumi said honestly, and I shook my head.
"You're crazy." I said with a wide smile as I let my firebending escape from my right hand and cover Amaterasu, causing her blade to turn crimson instantly.
"Maybe! But you too! " Nue-Izumi said, I burst out laughing, because I did. This was really stupid and a bad idea, but why not do it? "Alright, I'll be leading this dance! You've seen me dance and fight hundreds of times! I trust you! " Izumi said with a big smile.
"Okay, try not to kill us." I said happily. Izumi smiled widely.
"Very well, hold the sword tightly and-"
"Amaterasu." I interrupted suddenly. Izumi looked at me curiously, and I just stared at the sword. "It's called Amaterasu." The sword seemed to purr with happiness somehow. Izumi's eyes sparkled, and he smiled widely.
"Very well then, let's do this." Izumi said with determination. "Light up this dark world, Amaterasu." Izumi said with such confidence. The sword seemed to respond to its name, and I could feel its presence grow.
Oh, it was nothing compared to the feeling that Enma or Shusui could leave when Izumi and Taylor fought, but something had awakened in Amaterasu, and I could only smile widely.
When Amaterasu sealed herself within the celestial cave, the land was plunged into total darkness. It was only when she emerged from the cave that the world was illuminated once more. Izumi knew her mythology. And my sword loved it.
My blue fire covered Amaterasu with incredible intensity before Izumi's violet lightning covered it at the same time.
" God of Fire Thunder." Izumi muttered before taking a deep breath. My body was thoroughly pressed against his, so I could feel every movement he made, so I immediately imitated him.
I didn't even need to look at him to know what he would do. We both took a step forward and disappeared at great speed. Amaterasu left a trail of fire and thunder wherever we moved, and we finally reached the first group of monsters.
Three High Orcs were attacking a group of heroes who were almost at their last strength. Izumi and I moved in unison, as one person, completely synchronized. We didn't even need an adjustment period; it felt almost natural to move in this awkward position.
Our bodies were stuck together; the only way to see forward was to have our heads turned to one side. If we wanted to move forward, we also had to move sideways —it was simply ridiculous, uncomfortable as hell.
But it worked, Izumi was the one leading and I followed, our speed was higher than what I was used to, what I could reach on my own, the force behind our blow was enormous, to the point that Amaterasu wrapped in fire and lightning seemed to evaporate and destroy everything in its path, even before the blade touched the monster's body.
So we didn't stop; we kept moving forward, leaving a trail behind us, like an oriental dragon, like the dragon I had seen Izumi make himself, and I smiled widely.
We were so in sync that we didn't have to talk, we didn't have to see each other, we didn't have to send signals; our bodies worked like a single, perfectly oiled machine. We moved quickly across the battlefield, even before Taylor could mark the next objective.
We had killed number thirty when Izumi stopped slightly.
"Ruby found the dungeon boss." Izumi said simply before turning our bodies in the right direction.
"Then let's go." I said with a huge smile, I was completely sweaty, the effort I was making was completely exhausting my aura, and taking my body to its limit.
But I've never felt more satisfied.
Author's Note: I love to rant about Azula and give her character growth, and you guys are the unlucky ones who have to suffer through it.
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.