"I've already told them I'm fine!" an elderly voice could be heard from the palace corridors, with a rather annoyed tone, but unable to hide the weariness in it.
"Don't be stubborn, father, you can't get up," in Azulon's room, Iroh tried to gently push his elderly father to the bed, but Azulon insisted on sitting up.
"Iroh, has the old man neglected the punishments he gave you when you were young? Leave me alone, I can eat by myself, I can still walk!" Azulon, much older than before, tried to push away his eldest son's insistent hands, but despite his words, his condition was quite weak.
It was impressive that he could still scream as much as he did now, but that only made Iroh's eyes cloud over even more, because he didn't need to be a doctor to know that his father's current condition was quite precarious.
Unlike a few years ago, not only was Azulon's hair much thinner, but his body seemed to have dried out even more. Moreover, to an experienced Firebender like Iroh, Azulon's 'flame' was more like a small flame that resisted the cold winds.
"Father, don't insist, save your energy for when..." Ozai could not finish his words, but the message was clear.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Despite his current state, Azulon's golden eyes still shone brightly. The former Fire Lord glanced at his youngest son, his successor, before laying his body back down on his bed.
"I still have fuel, I can still burn," Azulon joked, cracking a smile, but his chapped lips and dark circles under his eyes were in stark contrast to his current optimism.
"We know, Father, we know," Iroh replied, also smiling, though his eyes still showed his inner emotions, he was quite saddened by his father's current state.
"Will my grandchildren come to visit me?" asked Azulon suddenly, as if he had finally accepted that he was already on his last legs.
"Yes, in fact, they should have disembarked within the hour," Ozai said, mentally calculating the time of his children's arrival.
"Y... is he willing to see me?" asked Azulon again, and although he didn't specify who he was talking about, it was quite clear to the two men present whom he was asking about.
"Yes, Shisui is a rather nice and grateful boy. How could he not want to see you?" Iroh's words only made Azulon shake his head before he stared at the ceiling of his room.
"You don't know him as well as I do, Iroh. Shisui... even though his name could be interpreted as stagnant water, he's a guy with stormy emotions. He's also a mean guy." Maybe it was because of his current state, but many memories came to Azulon's mind at that moment.
Shisui was a rather strange guy when you looked at him from afar, but when you got to know him, he was quite simple. He could find joy in many silly things, and he was a person who held grudges for small things, even if he never said so.
Azulon still remembers when he forced Shisui to go to school so that he would be more social and more connected to the Fire Nation; just having him in the royal family wasn't enough, the boy needed to grow more, become more connected to the nation, so he practically forced him to go to school, knowing that Shisui didn't need to study at all.
How did Shisui get his revenge? The memory of that made Azulon smile, since Shisui practically managed to become one of the unofficial teachers of the school.
What normal student would want to interact with a classmate who looked like a teacher? Still, the boy managed to make friends in the class, which was a success for Azulon to some extent, but not as much as he would have liked.
He couldn't complain either, it wasn't like Shisui had done anything wrong he had even helped the teachers to improve their teaching, could one say that everyone had won? But Azulon knew that he had lost; Shisui was 'taking revenge' on him for forcing him to go to school.
In the midst of all this, what was Shisui doing? He looked at the coast, which was getting closer and closer, and a feeling of urgency grew in his heart. He was almost there, but he didn't want to wait any longer, so he jumped into the sea in front of many people.
Shisui's feet touched the water, and a wave rose behind him, pushing him forward. Riding the wave, his figure left a vague white line as he raced towards the nearest shore.
Normally, the Fire Nation Navy would try to stop him, but they all knew who he was; how could they not? Besides, Shisui was dressed as usual in his black clothes with gold accents, so it was quite obvious to notice.
Shisui felt several glances fall on him, some of them even malicious, but his mind was not alert to them at the moment; he would deal with the possible tricks of his enemies another time.
Shisui wasn't the only one who felt the desire to see Azulon as soon as they got close enough to the shore; both Zuko and Azula used Firebending to escape, so the three of them crossed the rest of the ocean and reached the shore without needing a boat.
When Shisui arrived at the harbor, he didn't bother to look around, but went straight to the receiving equipment that had been prepared for him and his group. Several fairly new metal carts were waiting for them.
The members of the reception team inevitably took a step back when they saw Shisui. You didn't have to be a powerful or experienced person to feel the pressure that Shisui exuded at that moment.
His serious face, a look he rarely showed, startled these people who were used to dealing with noble and important figures. Shisui ignored them and approached the carriage closest to him.
"Drive to the royal palace," Shisui ordered the driver, who had just gotten out of the car, unprepared for Shisui's sudden arrival.
"Mr. Shisui, protocol..." a person from the reception group tried to speak to Shisui, but turned to look at him coldly.
The man felt as if he had fallen into ice water, his body shivering constantly, and the words he wanted to say were stifled. He just stepped back and lowered his head without saying anything else.
Normally, Shisui was not rude to people, especially to people who were doing their job like those around him, but the rush he felt at the moment made him throw his manners and calm attitude to the wind.
A short time later, Zuko and Azula joined him. No words had to be spoken between them; communication between them was done by simple looks and gestures.
They had grown up together and spent most of their lives together, so unspoken communication between them was the norm rather than a rarity. So the three of them got into a car under the nervous eyes of many people.
The poor driver was sweating and even felt that the atmosphere was too hot and stifling, even for him, a person living in the Fire Nation. But his professionalism allowed him to drive steadily toward the royal palace, even though he was speeding.
"I know you want to see Grandfather, Shisui, but you're too scared, things aren't that serious yet," Zuko whispered to Shisui, causing him to lower his eyes.
"You don't understand, Zuko, I can help him live longer, so I want to get there as soon as possible," Shisui replied, making Zuko hesitate for a moment before looking at his younger sister.
Understanding Zuko's look, Azula put her arm around Shisui's neck, holding him close. This seemed to take some of the edge off Shisui's bad mood, but the young man didn't seem to want to talk anymore during the ride.
The chauffeur did his job well, so they arrived at the royal palace rather quickly. The guards allowed the vehicle to enter when they saw the crown prince, the princess, and the sage, so they didn't put up much of a barrier.
If they could not enter so easily because of their status, who could? Soon, the three young men were in the room where Azulon was resting. Beside him were Iroh and Ozai as before, but there was also Ursa with his youngest daughter, Kiyi.
Kiyi was a teenager at the moment, but she did not care about that and ran happily to her siblings, whom she had not seen for a long time. She hugged Zuko and Azula tightly.
"Ah, Kiyi, you're bigger and heavier, I can't carry you anymore," Zuko complained quietly, causing Kiyi to teasingly bite his shoulder.
"You look like you've worked out a lot, Kiki," Azula noticed the marks of exercise and practice on her younger sister, especially in the faint muscle lines that were forming on the girl's body.
"I want to be strong like you," Kiyi said, looking excitedly at Azula, who was gently stroking her younger sister's hair.
Kiyi then jumped on Shisui and hugged him so tightly that Shisui had to try to separate her from his body, but since he was unable to do so, he just gave in, even though so many years had passed and Kiyi seemed to be very fond of him.
"Humans have to breathe, Kiki," Shisui could only try to convince the young princess, but Kiyi just laughed and clung to Shisui even more, like a koala.
"Child, you can only have one of my granddaughters..." the old voice of Azulon interrupted the warm moment, causing Shisui to look down at the bed where the old man lay, feeling sad.
His gift had already been activated for this moment. Since he entered the room, he could sense the decay in Azulon's aura; not only that, with his current knowledge of the concept of life, he could sense that Azulon had very little time left to live.
Understanding that it was time for seriousness, Kiyi finally separated from Shisui. Then the Sage approached Azulon. No one minded that he did not greet Ozai; they understood that in this moment, they should not adhere to strict protocol.
"Old man, why didn't you tell me that you've been sick for years?" Shisui asked Azulon with a hint of reproach in his tone, but Azulon just shook his head before answering.
"And distract you? To worry you? If I had told you that, you wouldn't even have reached enlightenment," Azulon replied emphatically, causing Shisui's eyes to narrow.
"That means you've been sick for more than two years," Shisui's statement made Azulon purse his lips, but he didn't answer, just stared straight into Shisui's eyes.
"I can help you heal and live longer..." Shisui said to him after realizing that Azulon was being stubborn again, but he never expected Azulon's old hand to hit him in the face, although due to his current state of health, it was more of a gentle touch without force than a slap.
"You brat! I don't need your help to live anymore... life has to come to an end, and I would rather say goodbye now that my family is reunited." Azulon's answer made Shisui clench his fists tightly.
He didn't understand why the old man was so stubborn and refused his help, but then Azulon's hand rested gently on his head, stroking his hair, which had grown quite long by this time.
"Shisui... there are so many things I have not been able to do, even though I have lived so long. So many things that I didn't do, that I didn't say, but also so many things that I regretted in the end," Azulon's tone became soft at this moment, giving Shisui a bad sign.
"Among these things, there is one thing I regret... letting you grow up without the love of your father and mother. But at the same time, I don't regret taking their lives because it allowed me to see you grow up, it allowed me to see a better future for this nation, for my family, and also, it was worth it because now you are here" Azulon's words were very raw, but extremely sincere.
"If you want to take it out on me, take revenge like the mean boy you sometimes are, I have no problem with that... but I want to tell you that I love you like a son, and that I hope that in the end you will not suffer my dead, only that you will forgive me for the mistakes I made," at this point, Azulon's voice seemed to slowly fade away.
Shisui looked at Azulon for several long seconds without saying a word to him, before he smiled.
"One of my children will be named Azulon, technically I'll be your father, that's my revenge" Shisui's words were terribly rude in another situation, but this time they made Azulon smile.
"This boy won't be as handsome as me." Azulon's voice was completely muffled at this moment, his eyes took a last look at the people in the room before the darkness consumed everything in front of him.
Azulon, son of Sozin, father of the Dragon of the West and Fire Lord Ozai, former Fire Lord, godfather of one Enlightened Sage, grandfather of three prodigious grandchildren, initiator of great reforms in the Fire Nation, died peacefully surrounded by all his loved ones.
His spirit now shines with Agni.