Avatar: Chaos Water

"Explain to me again why I should go to school," Shisui might be the only person currently using such a cold tone when talking to Azulon, but the man had recently retired and was playing the role of a kind 'grandfather'.

"Brat, even with all your intellect and wisdom, there is something you should never let go of," the old man scolded as he tried to fish in a pond. It was a certain area of the castle gardens on a fine summer day, perfect for outdoor activities. 

"I know, socializing, but how damn lazy," six-year-old Shisui was performing a water-style kata, although if you looked closely, many of the gestures resembled the way Firebenders fought, including their complicated pirouettes.

"Blame yourself, it was your idea to improve the school, you have to attend it whether you want to or not," Azulon ignored the brat's complaints. 

"But if I want to learn, I can do it on my own," Shisui replied with a serious tone, although for a six-year-old, it was obvious that it was just a childish facade.

"Don't you want to improve the status of the other master types in the nation? This is your chance," Azulon's words cut through Shisui's attempt at a serious facade and revealed one of his true motives. 

"I guess there's nothing to hide from you, old man. What a bore," Shisui grumbled, pausing to watch as the former Firelord Azulon sat on a tree trunk like just another old man, holding a fishing rod. 

The serious and cold image I had of the old man was broken a year ago, it seemed as if the man had shed a heavy burden and let his true self out into the world. 

This somewhat eased the tension between Shisui and Azulon, especially since the latter, before retiring from his position, appointed him as his own 'grandson', without the right to the throne, but giving him a royal family status. 

There was outrage among the nobles and military, how could there not be? Until they were told that he had earned it for one simple reason: knowledge. The changes that began to be seen in the Fire Nation were largely due to him, including education reform. 

Did you know that the Fire Nation had very few educated people - many couldn't even write their names? Though Azulon had ideas to change that, everything was sped up by Shisui and his knowledge. 

They needed more people with brains instead of just muscles. Schools were no longer open only to nobles or military children; every citizen of the Fire Nation had the right to an education, even if they came from the colonies. 

But not just any education, a standard education! From age 6 to 14, everyone would learn languages, math, geography, history, art, wrestling, and culture. Only seven subjects, but they had the essence of everything that was necessary to learn at that time. 

A library was started where people could go and look for books or scrolls to learn, completely open to everyone. It was guarded by veteran soldiers to prevent the destruction of knowledge.

Speaking of knowledge, it began to be classified in a better way; now you didn't have to wait for someone who knew how to build something to pass their skills on to their apprentice, thus eliminating the risk of a certain technique becoming extinct because the possessor couldn't find someone to teach it to in their lifetime. 

Perhaps it was because the Fire Nation had a certain affinity for fire, but many people with talents related to blacksmithing and mechanics were discovered. A mechanical tank that used to take six months to build now takes a month, which explains the increased efficiency. 

Even terms like "Periodic Table of the Elements" began to be spoken, constant exploration of the world was encouraged, and even the first magazines with an informative tone appeared, making people who learned to read aware of the wonders that existed in this world. 

The reforms and changes had just begun and needed more years to settle down completely, but even the nobles realized the essential: if they did not want to die, support! 

After the "mysterious" deaths of a few detractors, everyone understood that the Fire Nation was on a fast track, and no one could stop the progress of its changes. 

"You know, dear grandson. I was once the lord of this nation, if I could not guess the thoughts of a brat like you, it would have been best to die at the hands of my son in the future," Azulon said with a smile on his face, though it was probably because he felt a fish taking the bait. 

"Leave me out of this," Shisui simply looked down at the pond and gestured, raising a bubble of water containing a good-sized fish, which he placed in a basket. 

"That's cheating!" remarked Azulon when he noticed that the fish Shisui caught was much bigger than his.

"Not my problem," Shisui muttered before he started pulling out big fish without stopping until he had a dozen of them in the basket. 

"You are too strange, Shisui. Have you been touched by Spirits?" asked Azulon suddenly, causing Shisui to give him a strange look.

The boy had a small twitch in his right eye, he couldn't understand why this man of regal bearing had turned into a chattering old man, but he knew he had to answer this question. Although he was joking, it was surely one of the old man's tests. 

A person touched by spirits was a person who could suddenly do or accomplish something that was thought to be impossible or difficult, it was usually a colloquial term used to be amazed by someone or to describe the beauty of a person. 

But in very special cases, some people might be in contact with a certain spiritual being who could help or advise them, thus enabling them to achieve feats that would be 'impossible' for others. 

"My knowledge I gain on my own, you've seen my laboratory, old man," Shisui replied, shaking his head for a moment before continuing. 

"If I didn't do it, someone else would, I just took the first step, and many minds will join me in exploring the nature of this world. For example, that New Ton-Ton guy who started investigating why things fall the way they do, so no, no spirits appeared to me out of nowhere, it's just human curiosity," Shisui's words made Azulon raise his eyebrows. 

To this day, the old man was still amazed at the way Shisui did or thought about things, and he wasn't the only one who had the idea that the boy might have had contact with spirits. 

His children had suggested that this was most likely, coupled with the boy's intelligence that allowed him to accomplish so much, and best of all, everything he did was traceable. There was a clear process of why A went to B, why a thing was a thing. 

Everything was reproducible, his logic was not just sophistry or stratagem, when you thought about it, it really turned out to be so simple. Like the time he simply demonstrated his idea that the world was probably round with a big stick. 

Even Azulon didn't believe him until he proved it! He tried some arguments and proofs himself, maybe it was all just wishful thinking, but Shisui knew how to navigate between every point he threw at him, even bringing up new evidence. 

But Azulon didn't want to admit that he liked the boy and cared about him. Shisui was very bright, but that was his problem, he screamed too much! He didn't seem to mind holding back, and he could even argue with those so-called sages at the Fire Temple.

But Shisui was still a child, and Azulon feared that he would grow up badly. Yes, in a way, he was taking advantage of the boy and made no secret of his intention to use him as a tool for the good of the country, because he was the Fire Lord first and foremost. 

An isolated Shisui was not something he was interested in, and while the argument of making him a tool might not be as valid anymore due to his discovery that Shisui had much more value than a mere enforcer, he wanted the boy to have shackles and bonds. 

It may not make him love the land, but the school will give him friends, human contact, and even puppy love, all to bind him to the Fire Nation! Even .... Azulon looked at the little black-haired girl running in the distance, right behind her brother. 

'Perhaps I should prepare for the future and prevent some foolish noble from getting inappropriate ideas,' Azulon thought, already organizing the way he would orchestrate the final point of his plan. 

Shisui was a national treasure and should belong to the Fire Nation! More specifically, to the royal family.

"Shisui! I brought you your backpack," Azula handed a small black bag to Shisui, who took it, feeling its weight. 

"Mom helped us organize it, you have your notebooks, scrolls, inkstone, and brushes. I want to go to school already!" Zuko showed off his red and gold backpack, excited that he would be going to school soon. 

"Wow, you bought all this stuff? Azula, age 4, looked at the basket of fish on the floor. 

"Yes, do you want some?" offered Shisui, putting his backpack aside. 

"Good! I want to try raw fish with that spicy green sauce again," Zuko licked his lips at the thought of the dish called sushi, he didn't know where his friend got so many strange ideas, but some of them were delicious!

"Shisui, I want to train with you," Azula interrupted her brother's reverie with her dueling statement. 

"Huh?" Shisui looked into Azula's eyes, the girl looked quite determined and even seemed to have some athletic clothes, it seemed she had this idea in her head for a long time.

"Gee, fight her, Shisui, I want to see how the princess grows up," Azulon suggested, who seemed to be more focused on watching the fun than anything else. 

"Well, I have no problem with you, just give me a moment," Shisui didn't want to refuse, because even if he was a reincarnated person, this life and his previous life had nothing to do with each other. 

It might be serious for a 6-year-old, but it was all a facade, he was just a brat who wanted to have fun! He had long wanted to fight and wreak havoc like any unruly child, but he needed to be more aware of his actions. 

Now that the adult present had given him the reins to go wild, how could he not create the perfect scenario? With an innocent smile on his face, Shisui slowly began to stretch. 

"Why are you doing that?" asked Zuko, but only received a pat on the head from Azula. 

"Silly Zuzu, he's stretching to avoid cramps," Azula began to stretch as well, ignoring her brother's pout. 

"I'm not silly," the boy muttered, standing next to his grandfather.

"You're not, Zuko, but sometimes you need to think a little more about your words, don't just talk for the sake of talking. If you have questions, you can ask them at the end and in private," Azulon advised as he stroked his grandson's head. 

Unlike Azula, who seemed to have a natural talent for many things, Zuko was relatively normal, at least an ordinary child. Surrounded by a genius full of ideas and knowledge like Shisui, or a sister who seemed to adapt easily to everything, poor Zuko's life was perhaps the most strained after Shisui's. 

"Grandpa, can I be as good as them?" Zuko asked his grandfather in a low voice, and Azulon just took a deep breath. 

"Yes. Remember Zuko, they are ravenous, explosive flames, but you are the little fire that slowly spreads through the forest and in time will cause a great forest fire. Keep up the pace, one day you'll catch up to them and you won't even notice," Azulon's words were a bit complicated for Zuko's childish mind.

But he understood one thing: He was not the fool his sister made him out to be! Zuko seemed to regain the joy that only a child can have as he watched his sister and Shisui walk a few meters away to avoid accidents. 

"Okay, I'll be the referee, I'll tell them when to start and when to stop, okay?" spoke Azulon loudly, receiving nods from two children. 

"Who do you think will win?" asked Iroh to his brother Ozai, both of whom had approached and stumbled upon the scene that was about to take place. 

"As much as it pains me to admit it, Azula isn't ready to take on the little monster," Ozai said with some reluctance in his voice. 

That was the nickname he had for Shisui, whom he didn't know how to deal with, and he even had the idea of killing him, but he was too useful to have! Especially for the herb-based potions he began to brew. 

One of them really benefited him and his wife, a lot of dark thoughts had disappeared from his mind, besides, Ursa seemed to be smiling more and more, it probably had a lot to do with the fact that he could release all his energy with his partner in bed. 

If you want to calm the mind of a potential maniacal ego conspirator like Ozai, fuck him! At least Ursa could attest to that. 

"He's an interesting boy," Iroh said with a smile, he had benefited from the rich teas Shisui made, and the temperature control was perfect. 

"Okay, start!" Azulon's voice started the confrontation of two children, two future monsters. 

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AN: Okay, the first fight in this fanfic. Is obvius that Shisui and Azula will be couple, I will try to write something good about them, but the main focus of the fanfic is adventure, action and worldbuilding. Avatar is a great story and you can find and do a lot of interest things! Remember, this is obviusly an AU. 

And, if you want more, you can read my original novel, it's in my profile, along with two other fanfics, one from Reincarnation Paradise and one from Dragon Ball.

By the way, Merry Christmas!