The Hunt Part 1

Pov Kai:

I was excited to see Azula again after four months, not to mention that my responsibilities as General would be diluted for a while, I needed a vacation. 

As my obvious choice, Huzo will become my successor and command my army when I get married. As he has always been by my side, none of my subordinates will question his future leadership. Huzo's power has grown enough to become strong enough to defeat Fong, but in my opinion, it is far from King Bumi's power.

It's been about four years since I conquered Omashu. That old king was a formidable opponent, but nothing I couldn't handle. To be honest, Bumi didn't have the same ruthlessness as Fong, so it was much easier for me to win our duel.

Omashu was now ruled by Ukano, Mai's father, a man with great political ambitions. If I remember correctly, Mai now had a younger brother called Tom-Tom, who was 6 or 7 years old.

I returned to Omashu every three months to see how the town was developing. Unfortunately, the soldiers abused their power over the citizens during the first 9 months, but with Azula's help, we managed to convince Ozai to minimize the oppression of the people of Omashu.

It wasn't easy to convince the stubborn Ozai, but with a lot of effort I managed to negotiate a change in the colonization rules.

The people of Omashu will inevitably try to rebel, so all we had to do was prove to them why they should join the Fire Nation instead of defying it. 

We encouraged and invested in Omashu's recovery, improving the city's health system and economy. Over time, the weaker part of the population slowly began to accept the Fire Nation's leadership.

The main factor that stood in the way during the first 9 months was Ukano. This man had many dangerous desires. I didn't eliminate him out of respect for Mai, but I made it clear to him that he couldn't disobey my orders.

Ukano didn't know it, but 50% of Omashu's guards are under my command. It's obvious that Mai knows about the existence of my spies and, as you might expect, she didn't care, as long as she could leave the city whenever she wanted, she would continue to ignore the issues around her.

My army has grown considerably in recent years and now numbers over 6,000 soldiers, 5,000 of whom are Fire Dominators, 800 Earth Dominators and 200 Water Dominators. A military force strong enough to destroy entire cities if necessary.

My fame in the earth kingdom spread to the northern tribe and, to make things easier, the bounty on my head was higher than Ozai's, no less than 60 million. So it wasn't surprising that a mercenary would try to capture me from time to time.

As for Azula, I can say that she has finally overcome Ozai's powers. What's interesting is that when she defeated the Fire Lord in a duel, their father-daughter relationship improved considerably. It's probably because of his respect for Azula's strength that Ozai became less rigid in his family relationships. 

Speaking of family, I learned that Zuko and Iroh have traveled to all the temples or shrines of the Air Nomads. The exiled prince continues on an even more unbridled quest to recover his lost honor.

To me, it's nothing more than desperation to regain his status as a prince, so that he can have the chance to become the Fire Lord after Ozai.

- Why are you here? - Jeph asked, approaching with an exhausted look on his face. 

- You don't seem to have slept well. - I commented, noticing Jefh's behavior. 

- It's practically 4am, the sun hasn't even risen yet and it's unbearably cold outside. - Jefh tucked his hands under his armpits to protect himself from the cold. - If you stay here, you could get sick.

I give a wry smile and release a wave of warmth around me, protecting Jefh from the icy sea winds.

- I envy this element, I wish I'd been lucky enough to master fire. - Jefh comments in frustration.

- Don't think about it, bending air is not inferior to any element. 

- You're just saying that because you're the strongest Fire Master. - Jeph vented his anger.

- Jeph, how many times have I told you not to underestimate your own potential? - I turned to look into Jeph's eyes. - The limits of your power or what you strive for is up to you! - I grabbed his shoulder to comfort him. 

- But... I'm not that good. - He lowered his head in frustration. - Air is the least resistant element of all, the weakest offensively.

- And the most agile! - I commented humorously. - Just because you can't do great destructive feats doesn't mean you can't excel in other aspects, it just takes a little creativity to change the world.

With just one step, I let Jeph's head rest on my chest, thanks to the height difference. I stroke his black hair, which was styled in a similar way to mine.

- Lately, I've noticed that you're more anxious. 

Jeph stayed silent, showing no reaction, so that Kai could see.

- Listen, didn't we promise to talk to each other if there was a problem? - I said, waiting for Jeph to tell me what the problem was.

- I heard that if I married the princess, we'd see a lot less of each other. - Jeph whispered.

- You're afraid I'll move away, aren't you? 

Jeph remained silent, confirming Kai's suspicion and making him smile slightly.

- Hahahah, you're still the same child you were when I found you in the forest. - I scoffed.

- I'm not a child! - Jefh broke the hug, looking embarrassed.

I pulled Jefh into my arms, making him stutter with confusion for a few seconds.

- You're my son. I don't care if we're not blood or not, I'll always support you in whatever decision you make. - I held his shoulders and forced him to look at me.

- I've done nothing to earn your respect, I didn't even defeat you in our last duel. I know you well enough to know that you took me lightly. 

- Jeph, you make me proud in more ways than you know. 

The young Airbender looked at his father's figure without understanding his words, wondering if they were true. 

- You and I are alike, we both lost our mothers at a young age. I'm happy every day to see you overcome your own limitations and grow away from the war. - I looked up at the sky and I could still see the stars. - I've killed many good and bad people in my life, I haven't kept my promises and many have lost their lives because they trusted me. - I turned my eyes to my son. - One of the few promises I was able to keep was his safety, and I don't intend to fail on that promise.

Jeph smiled with relief, feeling protected and confident with a father figure so willing to trust and believe in his potential.

- Thanks, Dad. 

- Now that we've sorted out our drama, do you want to go fishing? - I asked with a defiant smile.

- It must be freezing in the water. - commented Jeph, worried.

- Don't worry, we'll catch some small fish.

That morning, we accidentally caught a sea monster and, due to the damage to the ship, we arrived in the royal capital three days late. 

Because of my military and "royal" position, I rode in a palanquin to the palace. I was annoyed that my status obliged me to use this means of transportation instead of simply walking.

Jeph walked slowly beside me, admiring the city as if he were an innocent child again. People who saw me quickly bowed in respect, but they were confused by my son's attitude, and it was amusing, if nothing else, to see their incredulous reactions to Jeph's ignorance.

- I have to admit, this place is fantastic! - said Jeph, full of curiosity.

- Later I'll take you to some restaurants I know, you'll love the food. 

- I'm not going to lie, I'm already getting hungry.

My bored expression replaced by a serious one, I quickly turned my face to the crowd, feeling my instincts warning me of a killer instinct.

My eyes focused on the roof of a house, at least 40 meters away from my position. An archer in a strange mask, looking like some kind of demon, was pointing his gun in my direction.

Still on the palanquin, I assumed my combat position and, without warning, activated My Fire propulsion and fired in the assassin's direction, destroying my vehicle in the process.

The surprised archer fired the arrow, which quickly sliced through the air until it was caught by one of Kai's hands, which flew towards him.

With no chance to fire another arrow or run away, Kai launched a stream of condensed blue fire at his target, burning him badly and throwing him headfirst to the ground from a height of three stories.

All this happened in less than five seconds, and most of the people and soldiers still didn't understand what had just happened.

- WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! - I shouted from the rooftop where I had just landed. - GET THE CIVILIANS OUT OF THE STREET...

While warning my troops, I dodged another arrow at the last second, managing to cut a few strands of my hair.

My eyes focused on another archer across the street, three hours from my position. 

- You can't escape me! - I whispered, letting my power flow over my feet, allowing me to fly temporarily.

I had to be careful, I couldn't use all my power in the city, so I had to be extremely precise to avoid collateral damage.

- Dad... - Jeph whispered as he saw Kai running across the rooftops of the city. - YOU HEARD YOUR GENERAL, GET THE CIVILIANS OFF THE STREETS! 

Jeph created a vortex of air around him to propel him quickly to the rooftops. When he landed, two arrows flew towards him, but by pure reflex, he created a bubble of air around him, deflecting the arrows.

The two archers at a considerable distance prepared to fire at the Airbender again, but their bodies were struck repeatedly by lightning, burning their organs internally.

Kai had both arms outstretched, with small lightning bolts encircling his fingers, while another archer, at his feet, was being slowly charred.

- The pain will stop when I tell you who sent you! - I threatened, letting my eyes shine brightly.

- I... won't! AAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed the archer as he was burned to the bone.

- You idiot! - I whispered, watching as Jeph skillfully captured three archers. - These men are professionals, the way they move around the rooftops suggests that they know the terrain well and have been planning this attack for some time. 

This attack makes no sense, I feel like I'm in a trap. I quickly run to Jefh, who has used his element to keep the prisoners immobile in a sphere of air.

- There don't seem to be any other enemies than these. - commented Jefh, concentrating on his warp.

- WE WON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING! - shouted one of the prisoners.

- Jefh, keep them that way! - I approached with my flames covering my hand.

I lowered the intensity of my flames to normal temperature and used the air current to slowly heat up the "cage", exposing them to a high temperature and slowly suffocating them.

- Who sent you? - I asked seriously, gradually increasing the intensity of my flames over the sphere of air. 

The most accurate description of what was happening to the three prisoners was that they were being cooked in a frying pan. Their skin was slowly taking on a reddish color because of the burning, not to mention the pain in their skin that could still increase.

- Better talk before he decides to turn blue. - commented Jefh, scaring the prisoners.

- We've been ordered to kill General Kai... AAAHHHHHHHHHH! 

I quickly incinerated their bodies over the blue flames, dissipating the airflow and causing parts of their armor and bones to fall off.

 - Why did you do that! He confessed! - shouted Jeph.

- These men are nothing but pawns. - I say analytically. - I'm not the real target! 

- I don't understand your reasoning. 

- If this were a trap to kill me, the city of should would already be in flames. 

- So who is the real target? - Jeph asked, looking around cautiously. 

- Azula.

Kai's eyes flashed aggressively, emanating the purest violence a dragon can transmit. He turned his face towards the palace.

- Can you keep up with me? 

- Lead the way! - Jeph said seriously.

Next chapter: The Hunt Part 2