Chapter Text
“Ugh…” Azula narrows her eyes into slits, the world is so bright right now. She feels jostled and unstable - is she being carried? Who dares to hold royalty without permission? She flicks her hands to her assailant's neck and burns. Surprised, her assailant drops her. On the floor.
Her body is unusually sluggish and weak. Have they drugged her? Even her vision is off. Azula’s lip curls, “How dare you!” She narrows her eyes at the blob of black and yellow…is it that homeless man? With the god-awful name? Eraserhead? Dammit, she should never have trusted him, she scrambles to her feet. Why the hell is her body not listening properly? A princess must be graceful; elegant but dangerous, like a poisonous viper.
Eraserhead gives her a once over, and Azula narrows her eyes, is he looking for a weakness? “You fainted.” He says bluntly, tired eyes giving her a look…she doesn’t understand. It doesn’t sound like he’s looking down on her. He doesn’t look like…like that Ursa, always giving her those looks of pity. Her fists clench.
“As if. I would never so faint daintily.” Azula scoffs, throwing a lock of black hair over her shoulder. She has to gain the upper hand somehow. This man can remove her bending, albeit temporarily. Normally, she could just beat him up but her body isn’t listening to her; it’s sluggish and soft and useless.
“Fine. You passed out cold, like a rock. Happy?” Eraser crosses his arms, goggles on his head and eyes narrowed. Tch. He knows she knows she’s beat. “We’re going to the police station and you’re going to have to talk to a colleague of mine. You are a minor, so therefore you do have to listen to me.”
He’s kidding. Princess Azula, former Firelord, does not have to listen to some homeless nobody who’s playing hero with some creepy spirits power! She will follow him because she wants to, because it’s part of her plan. NOT because he wants her to.
“I don’t appreciate your disrespect. I’ll have you killed if it’s the last thing I do.” Azula scowls at him, “But for now, I suppose I can play along with your… hero-acting thing, Eraserhead.” Her lip curls slightly, a reminder of how lowly he truly is. It is an honour to be in Azula’s presence. Why doesn’t he understand that…?
Her fists clench behind her back. Why doesn’t he look at her with fear or respect or shame? Why is he acting like she’s just…just a child? Azula is not a child. Father always said she was mature for her age.
“I’ll stop playing hero when you stop acting like a spoiled princess,” Eraser states bluntly. “Follow me, we’re going to a police station. Hopefully, someone can come pick you up and you also need to explain what you were doing in that warehouse.” Without waiting for an answer, he walks off.
Azula bristles – the nerve of this man! She grits her teeth. Unfortunately, he’s still her best option. And…despite his blatant disrespect, it’s a nice change. Honestly, for the first time in her life, Azula feels normal. Throughout her entire life, she’d been treated as superior due to her royal blood and even in her family, she was a prodigy which meant intensive training almost every day. Of course, it was easy for her but nobody else had to do so much training back then…Zuko always got tired and then would get sick after training for too long.
Then Ursa would go comfort him.
Lucky.
She shakes her head, nails digging into her palms and follows the stupid homeless freak. Azula’s the lucky one. She was born lucky after all. Lucky. Father, and grandfather, favoured her. Only Ursa and Iroh didn’t – but that’s because they’re weak and soft. Azula and her father are the lucky, powerful and strong ones. Right?
Why doesn’t she feel lucky then?
Actually, why is this whole area so…odd? There are a lot of buildings that are tall and straight, Azula straightens her back. You can’t look uncertain, especially in foreign lands. But everything looks and smells wrong. You can’t even see the stars! Where on earth is she?
“Eraserhead. Where is this, exactly?” Azula asks when she catches up to the tall man.
The man in question eyes her in mild suspicion. “Musutafu, Japan.” He sighs, rubbing his nose bridge. “You look fifteen, surely you have a phone? You can just check your location on that.” Eraserhead looks exasperated. How much ruder can he get?
“Why would I need a phone? And for your information, I’m fourteen.” Azula scowls. At least she’s confirmed that she’s in a foreign area. The colonies? No, she would’ve known if there was such an advanced area there. The same goes for the Earth Kingdom. Her eyes narrow, there’s no way the Earth Kingdom could have this kind of area – they stockpiled nearly all resources in Ba Sing Se and the palace. Japan. Musutafu. The people look like they’re from the Fire Nation or the colonies…
And what’s a phone?
Eraserhead’s eyes widen in slight surprise. What now, Azula forces her lips into a neutral but arrogant expression. “Fourteen? The makeup makes you look older.” He comments. “And it’s pretty common for even young children to have a phone these days. In case of an emergency…you must be pretty sheltered.”
“Excuse me?” Azula curls her lip in distaste.”I’m getting rather sick of your blatant disrespect. I am the Fire Nations princess. I may not be your country's royalty, but I am still Royalty. I expect to be treated with respect, even if I’m ‘just' fourteen.”
“Are…you serious? Kid, all royalty either died out or retired. So stop playing games.” He frowns and there it is, there’s that look of pity Ursa always had on her face and now it’s on Eraserheads. “...I admit I’ve been rude. Sorry kid, it’s been a long night. I was on a lead which you…burned.” He finishes dryly. Azula vaguely recalls the warehouse that she burnt up.
Azula gives him a scoff before they continue to walk – to the police station. Is he seriously going to try to arrest her? No…he wants her to go there so they can find her parents and have her talk to someone. Why? That makes no sense. Her body is still weak, from both the agni kai and…her small, slight and tiny mental breakdown. It wasn’t even a mental breakdown.
She stretches her arms as they walk; it’s better to be prepared and ready to attack instead of weak and blubbering like a fish. Her lips curve into a small smirk – Zuko would know a thing or two about that, wouldn’t he? He’s always been so weak and pathetic despite being older than her.
Would he be the Firelord now? Surely Father beat the Avatar. Right? There’s no way he lost to a child. Even if that child is the avatar…right?
“Is the avatar still around, Eraser?” Azula glances at him. “He’s dead, or better, captured, right?” She presses on, ignoring the flash of confusion on the man's face. It would be better if the Avatar was captured, preferably in the royal palace so it’s impossible for him to escape. Killing the Avatar would result in a new avatar being born.
When she had been studying and finding books on the Avatar, she noticed the order - Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Which meant they’d have to kill and more importantly, find two more Avatars. It would be full of unnecessary risks. Father would have realised that.
“...I brushed off the idea of you being high due to how sober you look and behaved, but now I'm questioning that. Avatar? Is that some kind of actor or celebrity? Some weird criminal? Listen, kid-”
“Azula.”
“-Azula, I’ve never heard of the Fire Nation, Fire Lord or princess or the Avatar. I’m genuinely concerned for your mental state, right now. I need you to be honest with me and tell me if you’re high or drunk. Now.” Eraser stopped walking, crossing his arms on his chest and looking at Azula in that way. She feels like she’s a child again, being scolded for messing up her kata. Except she doesn’t feel scared.
Wait.
He doesn’t know anything! Azula doesn’t understand. How can someone never have heard of any of that? And she’s not high or drunk!
“I told you to stop being so disrespectful. I am not high nor am I drunk. If anything, you look like a drug addict.” Azula scoffed at him, glaring at him with irritation. “You must be incredibly stupid if you’ve never heard of that. I should be the one concerned for your mental health.”
She should’ve known better than to trust this old man. He’s clearly an idiot.
Eraserhead looks tired. Well, he always looks tired but he looks like he’s tired of her. Azula hates how that makes her feel upset. He reminds her of her father.
“Fine,” He sighs, “Let’s just go to the police station. My colleague will ask you some questions and you’ll have to answer them. Come on. It’s just across the road now, kid- Azula.”
She hates it when he calls her ‘kid’ but…some part of her doesn’t mind. Whatever. Surely someone with an actual job will have basic knowledge of the Avatar and the Fire Nation. Eraserhead is a homeless man dressed up as a hero, Azula reminds herself, it’s no wonder he doesn’t know anything. It’s not her problem if he’s useless and she does not have to bother with him at all.
Azula takes a breath in, and out. She can’t afford to lose her cool. The worst case scenario is if the Phoenix King has been killed by the Avatar and if Zuko has taken her position of Fire Lord. It’s fine. Azula is smart and strong; she can fix this. Even if Ozai is dead.