Chapter 64

A week before Haru's announcement of the United Earth Kingdom, the palace of the Fire Lord wasn't having its brightest days.

The feats of Haru were known across the whole Earth Kingdom. As a result, the news speared to the mansion of the Fire Lord.

Her father had summoned her. Azula walked to the main hall, wondering what he might have for her.

She knew that their Fire Nation wasn't having its brightest days.

She had been following the news. Her banished older brother was still as a failure as she had seen him.

He had lost his honour. As he had found the Avatar, his only chance to regain his honour and home, he lost him.

Well, he isn't to blame. The Fire Nation army was scattered now. It weakened. That One Hundred man Haru had killed a considerable number of their armies.

As she was about to reach the door to her father's room, she could feel the intensity in the air.

She smiled.

Her father had been the only person who showed her love.

If he is angry, it means that something is bothering him. If he summoned her, it means she can get his satisfaction. He will feel proud of his little prodigy girl.

Smirking at the idea of the glory, Azula hide her emotion and entered the door. She was pretending to be clueless about what was happening.

"Father. You have summoned me." Azula bowed, showing her respect. It was a tradition.

Ozai was sitting cross-legged on his throne. Few candles were around him, creating a majestic aura. Azula, as the princess, took her seat, which was to his left.

"Yes, I have. And I do have a mission for you."

"Is there something bothering you, father?" Azula wondered. "Is it the avatar?"

Ozai flinched. With effort, Azula held her expression from morphing. It was her first time seeing her father flinch. Sure, these days weren't the brightest days for the Fire Nation.

"I wish it was only the Avatar." Ozai clenched his fists. The fire on the candles rose and reached the roof. It then calmed down.

Curious, she said. "Is there something new in the matter of the Prince of Omashu?" Azula asked.

Honestly, she wished her dad send her to the Earth Kingdom.

She had heard about Haru.

As a prodigy herself, her blood was boiling. She had learnt about him, and she wanted to challenge him. She wanted to prove that she is the best. No. She wanted to crush him under her foot. And then, she would rub salt on his wounds and tell him all kinds of insults.

"Prince of Omashu?" Ozai's eyelid twitched. He took a deep breath. "He is no longer a prince. He is the King of Ba Sing Se, too. The previous king wrote an official decree and declared him the Earth King. You know what this means?"

Thinking carefully about her father's question, Azula reached a conclusion. She knew what her father would be thinking.

Haru was the Prince of Omashu, so in the future, he will be the king. Given Bumi's age of 112 years, Haru becoming the king of Omashu was likely to happen at any moment.

Now that was the king of Ba Sing Se, Haru would unite the Earth Kingdom.

The war will push the other cities and nobles to see protection from him.

It will make them join his kingdom, soon to be an empire.

Haru would end up uniting the Earth Kingdom very soon.

They may kick their army in no time.

Azula took a deep breath and said. "The Earth Kingdom will become one."

"You are a smart girl," Ozai said. "Now, tell me. Who do you think is more of a threat, the Avatar or Haru?"

Azula put her chin on her hand and said. "In less than a year, Sozin's comet will come to us. The Avatar won't master all of the elements in a short time. And we will gain a huge power boost to take over the Earth Kingdom by then. However, if Haru continued to do what he is doing, then I'm afraid that there will be no soldiers in the Earth Kingdom to use by the time the comet comes by. In that case, we would have to cross the sea or have our armies waiting in the sea's direction by the time the comet comes by. However, when we will reach the Earth Kingdom and make our way, the power boost we have won't last for us to take over the whole Earth Kingdom. Haru, by then, would definitely give us a lethal strike.

"I don't know if it's true, but I heard that he can drop explosive meteors from the sky, bend the metal, and even turn the ground into Lava. If I didn't hear about the Last Airbender, I would have doubted that Haru is the Avatar.

"So, for your question father, as for who I consider more of a threat, I would say Haru. His ambition and power are more to consider than a vegan child."

Ozai looked at Azula with a small smirk, showing his satisfaction with how smart she is. He took a deep breath, stared forward, and said. "You see now how uniting the Earth Kingdom before the comet is ruining my plans."

"I see." Azula turned her face so that her father couldn't see her. She smirked. Her guess had been right. Her father is considering Haru the biggest threat. In that case, Azula would use her extreme methods to crush him.

It was good for prodigies like her to have dangerous rivals such as Haru, merciless and firm. She liked that. He was very much like her, and he seemed to be as old as her. Their similarities are what made them perfect rivals, she believed.

"Since you are a smart girl, you can guess why I've summoned you." Ozai stroked his beard.

"So you can send me to deal with him," Azula said, not showing her emotions. She didn't want her father to see that she is excited. Well, she wasn't worried at all that he would find out. Azula had always been a depressed girl, but no one could tell her feelings.

Her mother had been a pain in the ass. She had never shown her enough attention. She had seen her s a monster. Zuzu had been the one to get all of the love, while Azula had been the one to be seen as a monster. Even when she had displayed her talent, her mother said that she should do the house works. After all of that, she had vanished.

Azula had always acted as if nothing was bothering her. That's why she grew up to be a person that you can't tell what's in her mind.

"That's a smart girl," Ozai said. "Are you sure that you can deal with him?"

"Is he sure that he can deal with this?" Azula stood up. She took her stance, clenching her fist and pointing her index and middle at the roof.

*Thunder*

Lightning bolts unleashed from her fingers, creating a rumbling sound.

Ozai looked happy with that.

As the lightning unleashed, it hit the door, which was set on fire.

Haru would defiantly die with one bolt with these, that if she needed them in the first place.

A chuckle escaped her throat, before morphing into a crazy excited laugh.

When she turned to her father to see his expression, she found a proud warm smile.

He didn't view her as crazy, and he loved her.

That was all that she'd ever asked.

"That's my princess." He said. "You are born lucky, unlike lucky people to be born."

"Oh father, I'm so flattered, stop." Azula pretended to be shy from his praises and turned her face.

-x-X-x-

Nowadays.

Haru was standing at the edge of Ba Sing Se. He was on his floating board with Suki. They were going to his home village.

Since it existed on the western side of the Earth Kingdom and was linked to the sea, it was a perfect starting point.

Haru was going to make the Fire Lord give him authority.

Suddenly he froze. He turned his head to the west, and he wondered. 'I have been with 4 girls, but no one with daddy issue yet.'

He turned to Kyoshi, who was sitting on the edge of the earth board. He asked. "Kyoshi, do you know someone with a parent's issue?"

Kyoshi turned to Haru. She raised her eyebrow, seeming to think if Haru was meaning her. She said. "No. But I know someone with mommy issue."

"I wasn't asking about myself."

"Who said I was mentioning you." She smirked, seeming to hold her laugh.

Haru rolled his eyes when Suki laughed.

"I just had a feeling I will face someone like that in the future," Haru said.

"Just focus on eliminating your enemy." Kyoshi sighed. "Care about their issues later. You are here to heal the wounds that your enemy gave, not to give them therapy."