A Blazing Fist - Chapter 14.1 (Patreon)

"Things are progressing smoothly your highness, better I dare say," War Minister Qin stroked his beard pridefully as he boasted about their progress, "We are ahead of schedule, in perhaps a week at most at the rate things are going and we will be completely ready to advance upon Ba Sing Se."

Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes and set his stumpy little beard a blazing blue, 'Yes, yes, I already know this you buffoon.' she huffed internally. She'd already long since instructed the main engineer's working on the Drill to report progress directly to her each night since she'd arrived here, you know, the smart and pragmatic thing to do, instead of listening to some up jumped doddering old fool who literally knew nothing of the construction.

She wondered idly though, when did she reach the point where hearing of the greatness of their plans and being submissively kowtowed and kept informed by usually such proud and arrogant nobles, became so annoying to her?

Usually, she would not bother speaking to mere engineers, and let fools like Qin here report what she needed to know. Really, she'd just come to admire the idea of getting straight to the point with brutal efficiency, no dancing around the subject or topic.

'…Oh…' she blinked as she realised, and resisted the urge to sigh as a familiar, cocky, broadly built boy appeared in her head. Zan, of course.

Her fingers flexed in agitation and she found herself grinding her teeth for a moment before realising what she was doing and putting a stop to it.

Of course it was his fault. She'd been taken in by his own brutal efficiency in going about things, especially in the way he fought, there was no dancing around blows with him and wearing an opponent down, he just took his opponents attacks head on if it allowed him to get his own in, shrug off their own with a vitality and endurance that left her breathless at times and crushed his opposition.

"…Your highness?" Qin's confused voice broke her from her memories and Azula quickly composed herself.

"Yes, good work, keep it up." Azula tossed the mutt a bone and he outright preened at her 'praise'.

Disgusting. Where was his pride as a man? Puffing up like some Puma-Peacock over such small words from a girl a fraction of his age.

Still, he could be of some use she supposed, "Has there been any word on the…" she ran her tongue across her lips as she looked for a fitting word, "Traitors?" she ended up deciding on.

"Of Dragon Fist Zan?" Qin inquired.

Who else would she be inquiring about? Certainly not Zuzu and that fat old Iroh.

"Yes." Azula held back the urge to backhand him for his idiocy.

"I did receive a rather concerning report on the boy," Qin scowled. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a scroll, "I would have reported it sooner, but such a plebian is clearly unworthy of your personal attention your highness."

Her fingers flexed once more, blue embers glittering along her fingers, before Azula reigned in her anger, "Do not deign to decide what is and what isn't worthy of my time War Minister Qin," she snapped at him instead, snatching the scroll from his hands and pushing herself up out of the throne-like seat prepared for her in the viewing room at the front of the Drill, "Next time you do, I'll have you whipped till you cry like a little girl, understood?"

Qin's eyes went wide with horror, "Y-yes your highness!" he quickly dropped to his knees and prostrated himself before her, "This lowly one understands, he promises not to make the same mistake again and thanks you for your generosity.

The only reason she didn't spit to the side at his pathetic act right now, was because it was unseemly for a princess to do so.

"Don't think you are getting out of this without punishment though," Azula added scowling, "From now on, you are no longer allowed to refer to yourself as a man, am I understood?"

"Yes, this thing understands!" Qin nodded his head vigorously in agreement, despite the fact it was face down on the metal floor of the massive vehicle they were in.

There truly was nothing masculine about this wimp, was there?

"I'm returning to my quarters, make sure I am not disturbed." Azula ordered, and without waiting for the fool's reply, she tread over his prostrated body on the way to the exit of the room they were in and made her way through the Drill to her quarters.

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Once she closed and bolted the door behind her, Azula made her way over to the large, luxurious bed prepared for her and sat down atop it and immediately unrolled the scroll and began reading over it.

It was simple, and to the point, a minor skirmish all things considered. Dragon Fist Zan had been sighted in New Ozai and had a brief fight with some of the soldiers there, who were soundly defeated by an overwhelming display of incredibly powerful fire bending, and then he proceeded to make one of their new war balloons disappear, and escaped the city alongside Ty Lee using the Flame Jet Propulsion technique, using it to fly straight up and over the massive walls of New Ozai.

Azula took a shuddering breath as she finished reading and placed the scroll on the bed beside her, "…The jet propulsion technique, that is a technique even I am struggling with." she sighed. The sheer amount of Chi the technique used up, combined with the strain it put on her body when used, had made for quite the trying technique to master.

Admittedly, he'd used the basic version of it to flee from her and Mai with Ty Lee, but she didn't know he was that advanced with it.

To think Zan had already mastered it to that degree. The only one she knew who could do such a thing, was her father, and perhaps, after what she'd seen of his real capabilities, her uncle. A dreadfully short list.

And the technique itself wasn't all that simple to begin with. Focusing on multiple continuous streams of flame, altering their direction and keeping an eye on where they were propelling you, while keeping it under control, was not at all an easy task.

Zan was clearly a master Firebender like herself, though that was a given considering their brief bout. And as he had shown multiple times, his body was incredibly powerful and durable.

"Tch." Azula clicked her tongue, hands falling into fists. As galling as it was to admit, Zan was her better, maybe not in pure technique, but in fighting ability nonetheless.

Especially because he hadn't at all shown what he was fully capable of. This disappearing nonsense they spoke of in the scroll, it was clearly some ability to store things, perhaps in the spirit world or some nonsense like that, it wasn't hard to deduce. And it answered a few questions, like where all the weapons in New Ozai's barracks had gone, and that one tundra tank that went missing, and Zan's mongoose lizard mount which had disappeared as well.

"On top of that, he seems to have some kind of foresight ability." the fire princess hummed to herself, eyes narrowing in thought. While it was something straight out a child's story, she already saw it in use and would not deny the reality of it like some weakling.

How it worked though, she did not know. He clearly had some grudge against her family to know so much about them and what happened on her fathers ascension to becoming Fire Lord and the death of her grandfather. But, he even knew more about the root of it than she did.

Her father…a cuckold? And that was where his hatred from Zuko stemmed from? But, from what Zan claimed, it was only a falsity her father believed, and Zuko was truly his son.

…She had no idea her father could be so foolish. There was only one person who could make her father believe Zuko was not of his loins, her mother. But how could he allow himself to believe as such? As foolish and as much of a disappointment her brother was, he was clearly leagues ahead of the common rabble, as expected of royal blood, and he was the spitting image of their father in his youth…well before father had melted half his face, but, still.

'So the only reason father truly favours me at all, is because mother has him convinced he's a pathetic cuckold, how unsightly.' Azula snorted. It was no wonder Zan had mocked her father so blatantly in front of her.

…How could her great, esteemed father, be so pathetic?

Well, at the very least, if Zan did not bare a grudge against her family, this apparent dragon spirit that possessed him and passed on these abilities to him did.

After all, if Zan truly did have a grudge against her and her family, he could have killed her, he had her at his mercy, but chose to let her live. And, it wasn't like Mai could ever stand up to Zan who could face her head on.

'For instance, let me tell you this. Despite what you may think, you are not a monster.'

His voice from that night drifted into her ears, and Azula shuddered, and felt her fingers tingle and go a bit numb.
Why did that sentence he said before parting ways with her keep resounding in her mind whenever she was alone? She wanted to hate him, beat him until he begged for mercy for humiliating her like he did.

…But when she remembered those words, her cheeks heated up, her heart thundered in her chest and her whole body felt warm, almost cozy even.

For so long, she had believed she was a monster. Her mother certainly thought so. But Zan, so certain of everything, so certain of himself and not afraid to speak his mind on anything, one who clearly saw no need of lying and boldly declared what he wanted to everyone and anyone, like a proud dragon, had said those words to her.

He knew she thought she was a monster, and was claiming otherwise. And laid the blame at her father's feet? It confused her.

He claimed she was incapable of loving someone, implying she wasn't fit to be his partner like Ty Lee of all people, because her father had brainwashed her? Manipulated her into thinking a specific way?

That didn't make sense, nobody could manipulate her, she was far too intelligent. And even then, what was wrong with her thinking the way she did? It was clearly right considering she was more or less at the highest position and the most powerful besides her father of the most powerful nation in the world.

…But then, hadn't Zan easily bested her? Hadn't he even laughed at her when she resorted to lightning generation, completely confident in his ability to deal with the most powerful form of fire bending?

And hadn't he claimed, that soon, he would be the most powerful being this world had ever seen? More powerful even than the Avatar's of old and not like the half trained bald twit running around currently?

'I need more information!' Azula rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Zan, he seemed to know so much, he had basically all the cards, and she had none.

How frustrating. Was this what Zuko always felt like back in the palace when he was ignorant to utterly everything going on and lost on how to proceed?

…She actually felt a little pity for dear Zuzu now.

And while she was here puzzling over everything and every interaction she'd had with Zan, trying to solve the puzzle he presented to her, he was probably off right now, mounting Ty Lee like a beast in heat and fucking her like the little slut she was.

"I do not understand his tastes." Azula huffed, pushing herself up off of her bed and divesting herself of her armour, tunic, underwear and all.

Once fully nude, the young princess stood in front of her mirror and admired herself. Was it those cow tits of Ty Lee's she wondered? Her eyes dipped to her chest.

It wasn't like she was lacking in the chest department herself, while not having a pair of udders like her former traitorous friend, Azula's own breasts were quite above average in size, more than a handful and topped with rosy nipples.

Her hips were wide, and full, her stomach toned, and her rear, while a bit smaller than Ty Lee's was still quite voluptuous itself, but toned, liker her stomach, and her legs were full, lean and luscious.

Azula would say a lot about her mother, but she would never deny her mother was a beautiful woman, only the best for her father after all, a prince of the fire nation at the time of their wedding. And she was even more beautiful still due to the royal blood in her veins, she was a direct upgrade on her mother.

"Perhaps he's not attracted to me specifically?" she wondered, for a moment, before dismissing that. She'd caught him admiring her backside a few times here and there.

Was it just then that Ty Lee bared more of her body to draw him in then? As it was, he could only admire her backside when she bad to bend over, every time she was around him, she was dressed in her armour and full battle gear after all.

No, it couldn't be that either. Zan, as flirtatious as he was with Ty Lee, it wasn't like he was some muscle headed buffoon that only thought of women, what he revealed to her, and the conversations they had while journeying together presented him as quite the intelligent and well planning one.

Grating as it was to admit, she knew the reason why he left. It was her pride getting the better of her at the same time his did. That was one of the reasons she was so drawn to him after all, he was a proud man, and when she took her anger out on him during her lack of sleep during the hunt for the Avatar and her envy upon seeing him and Ty Lee all up in each others personal space constantly, she'd rankled his own pride.

'If I hadn't done that, he would probably still be here right now, with me.' Azula sighed, shoulders slumping.

How aggravating. Her own pride had led to this situation, well that and her own tastes. As nice as Zan was to look at, she probably wouldn't be half as interested in him if he weren't so ferocious and prideful himself, it was like looking at the closest thing to an equal she would ever have, but one that couldn't quite measure up because he was a peasant in the end.

One that even a softer side that had come out here and there, and especially when he said those words to her. A side that was being reserved for Ty Lee now.

A pit formed in her stomach at the thought. Ty Lee truly was smarter than Azula gave her credit for, going for the main prize as she had. Now, even if she did get a hold of Zan again, which was unlikely unless she hunted him herself after getting stronger, she would be playing second fiddle to Ty Lee of all people.

"…And now I know how Zuzu felt when father favoured me over him, heh." Azula gave a rueful chuckle.

It was so amusing it made her want to cry.

…No, amusement wasn't quite like that…..

She sniffled a bit as her eyes prickled. This wasn't amusing at all.