"Sometimes I forget that the appearance of a spirit in the earthly world is usually a bad omen. Lately, we've only encountered relatively benevolent spirits that don't affect humans. Or, we've managed to prevent that from happening," said Petra, closely evaluating Rintaro. He was still paralyzed due to Suki's excellent martial arts skills.
"Like that hippopotamus-shaped spirit that sat on your body," Ty Lee replied mockingly, causing the Earthbender to roll her eyes. She remained silent, however. It was the best way to deal with her partner's desire to cause chaos.
"What we must do is purify him and return his mind to its proper state. His strange devotion to this Aunt Wu is a little creepy," said Azula in an annoyed tone. She herself knew the art of divination, but never trusted it because it was never accurate.
This was probably more the fault of the unknown spirit entrenched in the village. However, one always had to be cautious when it came to spirits because, even if you were confident you could defeat them, these beings had many more abilities than humans did.
That's why they never acted alone when dealing with them. Sure, Shisui had done it a few times, but it was always best to deal with these beings together because it made the job easier and safer.
"Well, how about we let Katara do it? It'll be good practice for her. Aang, you do the same with the other guy," Shisui suggested. Katara was excited because, although she had performed this type of purification before, it was the first time she had done so with complete confidence.
Aang simply nodded, but he was arguing with himself mentally. Which element should he use to purify Kaito? Water would be the most basic but also the most effective. After all, it was the preferred element for this type of task.
Earth, Air, and Fire were all capable of performing this duty. He had barely mastered the first element and was an expert in the second; the tattoos on his body were not for nothing.
However, when he saw Katara gently wave her arms and envelop Rintaro in a soft golden glow of two strands of water, expelling the dark spiritual energy from within him, he made his decision.
Thus, the Avatar began to use waterbending, slowly extracting water from the air's moisture. This was a technique he had not yet mastered, but he would use this opportunity to apply his knowledge.
Soon, two strips of water surrounded Kaito, distracting the villager as he watched the spectacle in which he was now embroiled. Soon, his body was also enveloped in a warm golden glow.
Dark spiritual energy surged from his body, melting away like paper in a flame. Kaito felt his body become lighter and his mind much clearer than before.
He didn't know, of course, that this was merely an illusion caused by the purification of his body. If he wanted to experience the effects fully, he would need to undergo a much more complex procedure. However, the person capable of performing it wasn't going to waste time on a stranger.
"How many inhabitants live in Makapu Village?" Zuko asked, wanting to know more about the situation, especially if others were like Rintaro. He didn't want to be suddenly surrounded by villagers outside his own.
"Huh? Oh, there are about 300 of us. Some people move to the city looking for opportunities, while others join the village looking to live in a calmer environment," Kaito replied, coming out of his stupor.
The prince of the Fire Nation nodded and turned around to look at an army officer from his country.
"Ten of you are to accompany us, armed. We are not looking to attack, only to contain any threats that may arise," Zuko ordered. Kaito flinched, briefly recalling the intense period of the war.
After all, although the Fire Nation had calmed down in recent years, except for its conflict with Ba Sing Se, the war's mark on the world's population could not be erased so easily.
"Do you think that's appropriate?" Sokka asked, feeling a bit uneasy about how things were turning out. However, it wasn't Zuko who answered him but the Sage, who gave him a stern look with his bright golden eyes.
"We must not be soft, careless, or unnecessarily confident. We are dealing with an entity that has probably spiritually contaminated an entire people. Our enemy is not the people, but the spirit that has taken root here." Shisui's response was unusually cold. Those who had known him for a long time could understand why he was behaving that way.
Shisui absolutely hated any entity that possessed humans or altered their consciousness. This hatred seemed to permeate his bones, remaining hidden and revealing itself only when such events occurred.
These beings brought back bad memories from one of his past lives! Although he was a new entity and being, one could say that Shisui was afraid that an event like that of his last life would happen again, albeit on a smaller scale.
Besides, Azula would undoubtedly go to the village. Not even the Sage dared try to dissuade his fiancée. Pregnancy did not stop her from acting, and in fact, it seemed to motivate her more to participate in this type of event.
Shisui did not personally want to stop her unless Azula's pregnancy was more advanced. However, he would have preferred to bring more soldiers to act as guards. A large deployment of Fire Nation personnel in the Earth Kingdom during a truce was a bad sign, even in a mountain village like Makapu Village.
"So, are we going to kick a spirit's ass?" Ty Lee asked, lightening the slightly tense atmosphere. Zuko, who was assessing the men he had ordered to prepare, nodded in response.
"Let's see how good that fortune teller is," the prince of the Fire Nation declared, looking at Mount Makapu in the distance. He felt a strange sensation in his heart as if he would soon be standing on top of that mountain.
His intuition was correct.
...
Aunt Wu, as she was known in Makapu Village, stood in the center of the village, where villagers usually gathered to hear news from the chief or celebrate festivals.
In fact, they were celebrating! A crowd gathered around her. Excitement was written on their faces as they watched her shake a handful of flower coins several times before spilling them on the ground.
She observed the coins being distributed, gently touching her left wrist with three fingers of her right hand. Her lips moved as if she were silently counting. Soon, her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands loudly.
"Oh! A good omen! I have discerned something very good for you, Nobara. Your son will be born healthy and grow up to be a strong man! I see the shadow of the Badgermoles in him. He will surely inherit the gift of Earthbending, just like his father," Aunt Wu declared to the young, pregnant woman, who blushed with excitement.
"My sweet baby! That's the best news I've heard all day!" But what about Itadori? Why hasn't he come back yet after being gone so long? The war in Ba Sing Se is over!" Although excited, the woman asked her question with great anguish. She really wanted to know the whereabouts of her son's father. She wanted to know what had happened to her husband, who had not yet returned.
"That's easy to find out, dear. Only this time, it won't be free," Aunt Wu replied with a big smile. Because of her thick makeup and blackened teeth, she appeared strange to anyone who saw her up close. However, the inhabitants of this village were accustomed to her appearance.
They had grown accustomed to the fortune teller's eccentricities. After all, she was quite effective in her predictions. The good ones were like blessings, and the bad ones were like divine punishments, although fortunately, there were very few of those.
"What do you mean? Weren't they free before?" Nobara asked, somewhat surprised by the sudden change in how fortune-telling worked. However, she didn't refuse; she wanted to know why things were different now.
Upon hearing Aunt Wu's words, many people sighed with relief because they felt guilty about the fortune teller's free service, which worried them. Unlike Kaito, however, they were not cautious; they wanted to repay the woman in some way.
"A great danger is approaching this village. To give you a prediction capable of counteracting such a cataclysm, I must pay a price. So I must begin to gather what I need," Aunt Wu replied in a low voice, almost a whisper. Surprisingly, her words could be heard in the minds of every villager present. They did not find this strange, but rather, they could accept anything from this old woman.
Without realizing it, the fortune teller's shadow twisted in such a way that it appeared to smile. This seemed improbable, as shadows are merely silhouettes without distinguishable features.
A strange fluctuation spread from Aunt Wu's body, permeating the villagers. Their eyes turned black before returning to normal. The woman brought her withered hand to Nobara's belly and patted it gently.
"Your child has a valuable destiny for these lands. He won't be the most prominent figure of an era, like the Sage Shisui. Nor will his presence be as important to the world as the Avatar's. However, he will be extremely beneficial to this village and its surroundings."
Would you like to know about her father? Would you like her story to begin with her saving Makapu Village from impending danger? Are you willing to give me what I need so that I can pay the price for the blessing I will bestow upon you?" Aunt Wu's voice sounded affectionate and motherly. But she stared into Nobara's eyes, where a trace of struggle appeared before being completely obscured by dark spiritual energy.
"Just say 'yes,' dear, and everything will happen as I said." This time, Aunt Wu's voice sounded different to Nobara. It was so familiar, just like the man she had been crying for all this time while waiting for his return.
"I..." Just as Nobara was about to finish that sentence, Aunt Wu's smile exceeded what a normal person could manage, a golden lightning bolt streaked across the sky and struck the fortune teller directly.
"Okay, I think the last time I got this angry, someone died of dehydration," a cold voice echoed across the square. Three hundred pairs of eyes stared sinisterly in unison at the speaker.
"Vaatu! I smell your scent here! Come out!" The same voice was covered in a golden glow that soon dissipated. Shisui was revealed. He was covered in water vapor that emitted light. With a wave of his hand, the light spread throughout the area.
The steam was warm, and the sage had imbued it with purifying properties that spread to anyone who came into contact with the light. These properties removed the dark energy from their bodies.
"Ah, my favorite Waterbender. It seems your tricks have grown, Sage Shisui," said the Ancestral Spirit, whose voice came from Aunt Wu. She stood up, revealing her bloodstained mouth and missing teeth.
Shisui had punched her the moment he arrived. Since entering the village with Kaito and Rintaro, the group had noticed how quiet it was. There were no signs of people in their homes or in the few shops.
As they approached the center of the village, the dark spiritual energy grew stronger. Fearing something, Shisui left the group, propelling himself forward and using steam to speed up.
As expected, his skin was scalded, and the muscles in his legs were affected. The knuckles with which he had struck Aunt Wu were bruised. However, he quickly healed himself with the mist he had gathered before purifying everyone present.
"This time, I did nothing wrong, Sage Shisui," Vaatu said through the old woman. He laughed and pointed to an old man in the crowd.
"I helped him learn of his daughter's fate in Ba Sing Se." She married a nobleman, which surprised even me. Sometimes luck accumulates over generations. Who am I to argue with that? I am not Kirin!" Vaatu replied, now using Aunt Wu's voice. She sounded normal except that she was still conscious after being punched by Shisui.
"I warned them about the storm that hit the area six months ago. I helped the butcher find a pig that could smell truffles, which sold well in the nearby town!" Aunt Wu then began to recount all the favors she had done for the people of Makapu Village, such as fortune-telling.
Finally, she pointed to the volcano, causing Shisui's eyes to widen slightly before returning to normal. Then, the fortune-teller displayed a pitiful expression, as if hurt by the sage's distrust.
"I also wanted to bless them so that Mount Makapu wouldn't erupt so devastatingly that it would cast a shadow over half the Earth Kingdom!" Aunt Wu declared, plunging the place into deep silence.
Zuko, Azula, and the others had arrived at the center of the village long before and heard all this. They joined the villagers in looking at the volcano in fear as they could see a column of smoke mixed with ash rising from it.
"You've ruined everything, Shisui!" Wise Shisui! Lackey of the Fire Nation! Deserter of your people! Punisher! You just want to see these people suffer because they don't belong to the cursed nation that has brought pain and misfortune to this continent!" the old woman shouted. She slowly pointed at Nobara, who, like the rest, was terrified by everything that was happening.
"Do you know the name of Nobara's husband, the father of the child she's carrying? Itadori. He was an Earthbender who was forcibly recruited by the Dai Li to defend Ba Sing Se in the final moments of the war between the Fire Nation and the walled city."
Aunt Wu's words started badly, very badly. Now, all attention fell on the Sage, who had remained silent throughout this situation.
"A novice earthbender with a big heart! How could you survive the carnage of that constant siege conflict from adolescence to adulthood, Sage Shisui?" the fortune teller asked, wiping tears from her eyes as if what she was about to say was too painful.
"He couldn't do it, wise Shisui. He was crushed by your incredible feat of drawing the underground rivers of the battlefield, the springs, and even the water in the atmosphere, which you used as your murderous tool." That answer pierced the hearts of all who heard it, but Aunt Wu did not stop.
"A tsunami born on land! It crushed and drowned that man and hundreds of others like him. Did you know that Itadori was celebrating because he found out his wife was pregnant? He had planned to use his salary to buy gifts for her and their unborn child. The fortune teller pointed back at the volcano with a mocking smile.
"Can you replicate that feat and stop the full power of nature from unleashing its wrath upon the world? "Not even Gaia would dare stand in the way of this, Sage Shisui," declared Aunt Wu. She saw Shisui's body tremble slightly. In his eyes, however, there was no trace of unwillingness, only terrifying determination.
"The thing is, Vaatu, I didn't kill anyone with that attack. I made sure that wouldn't happen," Shisui declared before looking at Nobara. Ever since she heard about her husband's death at the Sage's hands, she had glared at him with hatred.
"But I know the Dai Li are not innocent. They probably hold your husband and many more people hostage, fearful of war and of not having soldiers, fearful of me," said the sage before turning his gaze to Nobara's belly and sketching a warm smile contrary to the gloomy atmosphere.
"How about we name that child Megumi? I feel like it would suit him quite well. Besides, I want to give you some advice."
Shisui looked up and stared directly at the volcano that seemed about to erupt.
"Never believe a fortune teller. Destiny can only guide us, never dictate our path. Vaatu!" Shisui shouted, walking straight toward Aunt Wu. Instead of hitting her, however, he walked past her after gently patting her shoulder.
"I'm not sure what you wanted to achieve, but I won't be the one dealing with you this time. I have an inexperienced friend, but he could use some practice dealing with whatever you've set up here." Shisui spoke to the Ancient Spirit as if he were a lifelong friend before looking specifically at Zuko and Azula.
"Avatar Roku and Sozin once worked together to prevent a volcano from causing damage. That day, Roku died, and Sozin changed greatly. This time, you descendants of those two great figures are facing a volcano again, but there is no Avatar to help you; only a Sage is with you.
Will you help me show Vaatu how capable we humans are?" Shisui asked, making Zuko laugh as he approached, wrapping his arm around the Sage's neck in a gesture of utmost confidence.
"Brother, as a child, I wanted to do something like this, but I never thought I would have the opportunity," said the prince before looking at his sister, who had approached and taken Shisui's arm.
"Ah, I can't help but remember what you taught me about the effect of oxygen on fire, Shisui. It looks like we have a new target in Ba Sing Se. We can't delay any longer," Azula added, making Shisui burst out laughing with his friends.
"Let the world witness how three humans fight against nature with the determination to win!" Shisui declared, announcing the start of the operation.
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AN: I got good grades this semester! Wooooo!!!!