42: Impressions.

"That was..." Sokka couldn't find an adequate word to describe what he had just witnessed.

What had he just seen? It seemed to be more than that; even if he wasn't a bender, how could he not notice the display of pure power that Shisui and that strange old man were showing?

Sokka even saw something in Shisui's movements as he used his spear that inspired him, which explained the high level of skill shown in the fight. 

So Sokka looked at his younger sister, whose eyes lit up as she watched Shisui. Not because of romance or anything like that, but because of the wise man's mastery of waterbending. 

She had never thought the things Shisui did were possible; many things that looked complicated were simply a gesture for the Sage to show Katara how high a person in her element could go. 

The young woman felt that everything she had learnt didn't even scratch the surface of what Shisui was capable of, and if at any other time she would have felt jealous, this time she was eager to ask Shisui for advice. 

If another person's level is only slightly higher than yours, you might feel jealous, but if that person is far better than you, those negative feelings disappear, leaving only admiration and respect. 

She wasn't the only Waterbender to feel this way; the few who lived at the South Pole felt the same way. Before, they might have felt that Shisui was 'special' because of his enlightenment and the stories that had been told about him. 

But since the day before, Shisui's actions had separated him from the rest of the ordinary people, and now his fight with Lao Ge put him on a level that matched the stories told about him. 

"The word you want to find, son, is supernatural. This was a training of two people who are out of the ordinary." Hakoda patted his eldest son's shoulder as he looked at the battlefield in awe. 

Ruins of rock, lava, metal, ice, water, snow. A battlefield that might have been seen in the past, or in those fictional stories that spoke of legendary figures like the Avatar.

But there it was, a scenario that seemed to have been caused by hundreds of people, yet only two people were the cause of such a scenario. As a tribal leader, Hakoda's martial strength was great, but this was the first time he felt a lack of confidence in his abilities. 

How could he fight someone who could create replicas of natural disasters? Hakoda ran some simulations in his mind, and if he didn't use those drastic techniques to gain some advantage, he would be crushed by either Shisui or the old man he was fighting. 

Hence their fear: What if Shisui turned against them? The damage the man could cause was so great that he wouldn't know what the tribe would look like if a battle broke out in the middle of it. 

Hakoda buried some of the stupid ideas that had come into his head the night before. He glanced sideways at his daughter and realized that his 'idea' would have neither head nor tail. 

The best he could do now was simply to be as kind as possible to Shisui. As a pirate, he understood that someone with power deserved not only his respect but also his due attention. 

"I agree with you, Leader Hakoda." Zhao, who had heard Hakoda's answer to his son, did not fail to add his own words. 

Envy and jealousy consumed Zhao. Sometimes, when someone sees that another person is superior, they do not change their negative emotions into positive ones, but the former deepens much more. 

This time, Zhao saw Shisui's true power. This was not a fight limited by rules like the Agni Kai, nor was it Shisui's daily training, but a real fight, one in which the young man showed everything he had. 

In his mind, it was he who should have such power, for he had the training and experience, but try as he might, he could not even match Princess Azula's level of Blue Fire.

So Zhao's evil thoughts were boiling more than ever. Now, on this day, was the time he most wanted to destroy Shisui and everything he stood for. 

His crazy ideas about destroying the water element became more and more 'coherent' in his mind because only by taking Shisui out of the equation and removing what made him 'strong' could he stand out. 

To Zhao, Shisui was the moon that obscured the fireflies, so why not 'kill' the moon? A forced smile appeared on Zhao's face, intoxicated by the ideas and self-deceptions his mind had concocted. 

Watching Shisui fight Lao Ge made him realize that he could never reach a similar level. Worst of all, he had failed to take into account the Earthbender, who was proving to be perhaps even more powerful than Shisui.

His hatred for Shisui had erased some of his moral barriers and limitations, but the man was experienced. He quickly showed a 'surprised' expression at the fight, not realizing that several people had already noticed him, a rookie mistake made by not paying attention to his surroundings. 

"He can bend metal!" exclaimed Petra excitedly, wanting to run to the old man and ask for advice, but Toph stopped her by grabbing her arm. 

"Yes, he's my master. What are you going to do?" asked Toph with a bit of jealousy in her tone, but Petra was too excited to realize it. 

"I'm going to ask him to teach me, of course!" exclaimed Petra before she realized that Toph was strong enough to stop her, so she turned around and looked at Toph quizzically.

"Well... when you realize that we're from the Earth Kingdom? It wouldn't be right to teach you something like that," Toph said, expressing her disapproval of Petra's thoughts. 

"According to Shisui, learning has no limits, so if I learn how to bend metal, many of my scientific projects will advance by leaps and bounds," Petra explained, managing to wriggle out of Toph's grip, but the teenager was still sulking. 

"Then you have to show me something yourself!" Toph put one hand on her hip and pointed with the other at Petra, well, where she thought Petra was. 

Perhaps due to her inexperience in detecting seismic waves at the South Pole, Toph accidentally pointed at Zuko, who, upon realizing this, wanted to laugh but, knowing that the girl in front of him was handicapped, avoided doing so. 

"Of course, whatever you want, I know a lot of things. And as an apprentice of this old man, do you also know how to bend metal?" asked Petra with interest, making Toph laugh with an arrogant look on her face. 

"Of course I know! I couldn't learn lava-bending, but metal-bending became very easy for me. according to my master, I was born for it." To demonstrate, Toph made several Earthbending moves and pulled a metal sword created by Lao Geo towards her. 

Soon, she had the weapon in her hand, and with a few movements of her fingers, the object became liquid metal and lost its shape. According to her wishes, the metal created arrowheads, stars, and a strange logo.

Petra was excited to see such a display, so she moved even closer, trying to see the secret of such a feat, but apart from noticing the malleability of the metal, she couldn't learn much. 

"Looks like Petra finally found what she was looking for so hard," Ty Lee said, looking at her partner's excited face. 

"Are you jealous of the attention she's giving to that girl?" asked Mai, wanting to know about the gossip. 

About the fight? What did she and her friends say? They had seen Shisui's displays of power many times before, and they knew that it was a level that could be reached through hard work.

With Shisui being someone who shared many of their ideas and achievements, they were well on their way to achieving similar power themselves, especially Zuko, so the only thing impressive about this confrontation was the power displayed by Lao Ge. 

"Hmm? No, why, isn't it good that she's making new friends?" asked Ty Lee while tilting her head, then Mai understood. 

Why should Ty Lee be jealous? She would probably attract even more people into their relationship if given the chance; that's how open and happy her friend was. So Mai, not finding the gossip she wanted, turned to her friend. 

"Looks like Shisui is still strong," Zuko said suddenly, attracting the attention of his friends. Zuko's eyes glowing brightly with the desire to fight, and as if noticing this, Shisui, in the distance, looked at his friend and noticed the prince's intentions. 

A smile appeared on Shisui's face before he assumed a fighting pose. From the water droplets that reappeared behind his body, one of them provided him with water to create another ice spear. 

Seeing this invitation, Zuko took off the belt that contained his sword scabbard, for this would be a similar fight to the one before, and for the same reason, real weapons were out of the question. 

That was why Shisui did not use his spear, which was quite heavy and would be useful in a fight. Now, Zuko approached his friend step by step, gradually releasing his momentum. 

"Looks like your friend and brother are going to fight." Ty Lee approached Azula, hugging her tightly as she watched Zuko's impulse cause the temperature to rise. 

"Uh-huh," Azula glanced sideways at Ty Lee, watching as her friend blinked quite a bit, making puppy dog eyes. 

"Who do you think will win? Our crown prince or our wise know-it-all?" asked Ty Lee, causing Azula to watch as the two men stood facing each other, only a few feet apart. 

"On the one hand, supporting my brother is what I should be doing as his younger sister and princess, but on the other hand, I can't stand the thought of the person I love losing, so it's 50/50," Azula said, making Ty Lee's emotions disappear. 

"You're so boring, Azula~," Ty Lee said with a tone full of disappointment before approaching Katara and surprisingly hugging her. 

"After seeing Shisui's power, do you think he'll win? You know what they say, water beats fire," Ty Lee asked Katara, who felt strange being hugged by a 'stranger' but soon got used to it. 

"I don't know; I haven't seen the lord fight, but seeing what Shisui is capable of and knowing the elemental advantage, I think he has a better chance of winning," Katara replied, but Kuzon, who was at her side, couldn't help but add his two cents. 

"In itself, fire can defeat water if used well, so if the lord is skilled enough, he might have a chance," Kuzon said, drawing looks from the people around him.

Though many were skeptical about the words of this unknown young man, the action Zuko took at that moment made them see that chance. For in imitation of the Sage, the Prince created two swords of fire in his hand. 

The weapons had a solid appearance, and indeed, the flames Zuko created could take on a hard consistency, something he had trained in since childhood. So, it was easy for him to form and hold two flaming swords.

"Shisui, how long has it been since we fought?" asked Zuko suddenly, making Shisui think for a moment before answering.

"Come to think of it, since we joined the army," Shisui replied, making Zuko nod. 

"I never understood why you let Azula take so much advantage of you when you were fighting. That time you unnecessarily stole a kiss from her," Zuko said, looking at Shisui questioningly, causing Shisui to blush a little. 

"I just wanted to teach her a little, but I couldn't estimate Azula's strength and improvement due to my experience. That was the only way I could find to distract her. Azula has always been very stubborn and focused," Shisui replied to a long-standing doubt.

His words made Azula blush as she remembered that strange moment. She had asked him a similar question in the past, but Shisui's answer then had been very different from the one he had given now; perhaps this time was just one of the reasons. 

Personally, though, Azula still prefers the answer Shisui gave her: 'I wanted to win, and I won you.'

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AN: Yesterday I didn't upload a chapter, I'm sick, I have a sore throat, hahaha... but I'll upload it today and tomorrow you'll have the next one.

And yes, I wanna write more fights, muahahahaa!