Chapter Text
Part 2: Eleven Years Ago
They arrived at the Royal Fire Academy and the captain called out to a small teacher standing guard in the main courtyard during break time. Nanami recognised the man causing her body to stiffen and her face to wince, dreading what was going to happen.
Crap, that’s Toh!
“Excuse me, sir. We’ve found this student of yours, fighting in a park nearby.” He explained slowly, pointing at Nanami, who was looking down at her feet so as not to meet Toh’s eyes.
Toh’s face turned red in anger when he saw his problematic student being brought back by the Royal Army.
“You again!” He shouted, unable to contain his rage. “To the Headmaster’s office immediately!” He turned to the officer and said in a calmer voice, “This way, please.”
Everyone looked at Nanami. She was escorted by the army, the captain’s hand on her shoulder as if she was a prisoner. Shuu was surprised to see his little sister at school and when he saw her being brought by the army, a worried expression came over his face. Iroh experienced the same anxious feeling as he watched Nanami walking towards the main building with Toh and other men.
Miya, Saki and Hiroki were sitting at the fountain and the latter couldn’t help but facepalm when he saw his friend – who was supposed to be at home. Saki spotted someone she knew very well and ran to them, followed by Miya and Hiroki.
“Dad!” She called. “What are you doing here? What happened to my friend?”
“Saki!” The magistrate exclaimed. “Your friend? Are you telling me that this savage is your friend?” His face turned red just like Toh’s did earlier.
❁
Nanami was standing for the second time of her life in front of the intimidating Headmaster Kaito – and she felt that it wouldn’t be the last time. His hands were clasped in front of his face, his elbows resting on the desk. Everyone stood straight and the fact that he was the only one sitting made it look like he was a judge.
A heavy silence pervaded the office. Nanami was stuck between Toh and Oku, the captain of the Royal Army, her hands behind her back and waited nervously for someone to break the unbearable silence.
“To what do I owe the honour of the visit of a magistrate and the captain of the Royal Army?” Kaito asked, his deep voice resonating in the office. “As well as a Fire Sage?”
“This young girl here had caused some trouble in the park,” the captain explained.
“Hey! I didn’t do anything wrong! He’s the one who started the fight!” Nanami vehemently protested, pointing at Dao, Saki’s father.
Toh glared at her which made Nanami gulp and simmer down.
“A fight again, Miss Nanami?” Kaito asked her. “What happened?”
“This cheeky girl set fire to a tree in the park!” Dao chimed in and accused her.
“No, that’s not true! It was you!” Nanami argued back and added, looking at the Headmaster, “It couldn’t have been me. It was not my fire.”
“Of course it was you! Luckily, the Royal Army was nearby and they could put out the fire quickly! Else, the whole park would have burned because of your mistake!”
“So the fire was put out then?” Kaito asked, understanding what Nanami was implying earlier.
Toh also grasped the situation but stayed silent. Oku looked at the two teachers, sensing a change in their attitude.
“Yes, sir. The fire hadn’t spread much yet, so we were able to put it out relatively rapidly.”
He noticed that Kaito’s look was different from earlier. The headmaster was now more relaxed, and his presence was less intense.
“I understand. We’ll take care of our student, captain. Thank you and sorry for the trouble.”
“What? No! I demand a trial! This girl nearly killed me!” Dao snapped.
“Magistrate Dao, with all due respect, I suggest you abandon your accusations and train in firebending again. You could have your daughter teach you. She’s an excellent firebender!” Kaito said lightly, but his tone sounded nothing like a joke and was firm.
The magistrate's face broke down. He was offended and was not going to let a simple school headmaster speak to him in that tone.
“How dare you? I’ll bring that girl to court! She will be put in prison for her crime!” He shouted with all his might.
Oku looked at the others with a skeptical expression on his face. He knew something was wrong with this story, but he didn’t know what and his gaze turned to Nanami. She was now feeling calm and her eyes shone brightly, staring fiercely at the magistrate. This little girl had something that made her teachers believe in her.
“Magistrate Dao,” Kaito began, “I strongly advise you to give up on bringing my student to the court. You would be sure to lose the trial if you went.”
Oku was impatiently waiting for the bearded man to explain things. However, he seemed to find it quite amusing to toy with the magistrate’s anger and kept on beating around the bush.
“How could I lose?” Dao snickered, annoyed by Kaito’s overconfidence.
“Actually, magistrate, my student here is a little special. Maybe you noticed it when you fought with her, but her firebending is quite unusual.”
Oku fidgeted, holding his breath and waiting for Kaito to quickly spill the beans about the little girl’s firebending. Next to him, Magistrate Dao was feeling nervous, droplets of sweat running down his temples. He was enraged by Kaito’s arrogant behaviour.
“What do you mean?” Dao asked, trying to recall his fight with Nanami to understand what Kaito was talking about.
He suddenly remembered that the young firebender didn’t get burned by his fireballs and her eyes shone weirdly. He realised that the friend his daughter was talking about at home that had a special fire was the little girl he had fought.
He turned his head to face Nanami. She was staring at him wildly with her bright golden eyes, sparkling like flames, as if she was looking at a prey. The confident look in her eyes made him shudder and he moved away from her a little.
“My student’s fire can’t be put out by water. So, if the fire from the tree had been put out by water, then it means it was not hers.” Kaito explained haughtily, knowing by looking at Dao that he had heard about Nanami from Saki. “Let’s not make a big deal out of this little fight, shall we?”
Kaito flashed a fake smile to the magistrate, showing a contemptuous satisfaction. Dao was fuming as he was being ridiculed by this simple citizen. He couldn’t stand Kaito’s disdain anymore and stormed out of the office as quickly as lightning.
Oku stood there in a daze, unable to process what he had just heard. A fire that couldn’t be put out by water? How could that exist? That was impossible! He couldn’t believe that! What was this crazy old man saying? That girl didn’t seem out of the ordinary! How could she possess any kind of special ability? That was absurd! But then why didn’t the magistrate answer back? Many questions invaded his mind and just made him more confused.
He cleared his throat to remind his presence and said with a shaking voice, “Is it true? What you’ve just said?”
“I never lie, captain. Everything I’ve said is true.”
“This girl is dangerous. A fire that can’t be controlled is a threat to the nation.”
Nanami jolted at the word “dangerous”. This man also thought she was a monster and she looked down, a feeling of dejection taking hold of her.
“There’s no fire that can’t be controlled, captain. If control was the only thing that made fire dangerous, then we wouldn’t have had the One Hundred Year War.” Kaito declared calmly.
Nanami raised her head, listening carefully to what the Headmaster was saying, hope shining in her eyes.
“What is truly dangerous and a threat for the nation, is what the firebender decides to do with their fire. I believe that Nanami here doesn’t mean any harm and only needs someone to guide her. That is why she joined our academy. Our professors fully dedicate themselves to their students.”
Nanami opened her eyes wide. The Headmaster believed in her.
“Then, what can I do for you, High Sage?” Kaito then addressed Jii.
“I heard a lot of interesting things just now.” Jii replied. “Anyway, I was actually watching the fight from the temple, which is actually quite close to the park, and I saw something really unusual.”
He walked over to Nanami and knelt down on one knee to face her.
“Those bright golden eyes shone for a few seconds,” he said, staring at her. “I thought I might have been hallucinating, but then an apprentice came and told me that the eyes of Avatar Roku’s statue had shone around the same time as hers.”
High Sage Jii had a soft voice. He was speaking really quietly and calmly, which made his tone really mysterious.
“Young lady, how old are you?”
Nanami didn’t understand what all of this was really about. All that mattered to her was that she didn’t want to get punished again and avoid her mother’s terrible scolding that awaited her if she caused more trouble. Who cares about my age?
“Eleven.” She replied in an uninterested voice, which reminded her of Hiroki’s.
“Right, eleven years old,” High Sage Jii stood, a satisfied look on his face and turned to the headmaster. “This same phenomenon happened eleven years ago.”
No one replied and they all stayed silent. After a few minutes looking at each other, Kaito finally spoke to the young girl, without any malice in his voice contrary to what his words might suggest.
“You truly are a troublesome firebender, Nanami.”