18 Chapter XVIII: A day of teaching

"One of my favorite hobbies is calligraphy," Piandao said as he placed an ink tray and a brush on the table where Nathan sat in a kneeled position. A long sheet of paper was in the table's center, held down by two blocks of wood.

'This reminds me of that one episode where Sokka was taught by him,' Nathan idly thought while he picked up the brush. 'I wonder if he's also going to teach me how to wield a sword.'

"Calligraphy is one of many art forms I practice to keep my mind sharp and fluid. Perhaps, it may do the same for you," Piandao continued, adjusting Nathan's grip on the brush. "Just like in battle, you cannot take back the stroke of the brush or the stroke of the sword. You may not be a swordsman, but this philosophy can be applied to any martial art."

'Huh… That's almost one-to-one what he said to Sokka. Still, I'm glad I got my understanding and knowledge of the written language perfected. I wouldn't be able to write anything at all if I didn't.'

"You are getting distracted."

Nathan blinked and snapped out of his thoughts. "Right. Sorry about that." He stared at the brush in his hand. "So… do I just write whatever?"

"Yes," Piandao answered. "You can write anything you want. Calligraphy is an art just like any other. You can use it as a medium for self-expression or to simply… pass the time." He strode towards the open window with his sword in hand. A smile tugged at his lips. "Take your time, but don't take too long. The ink will dry up if you do."

Nathan thought long and hard about what would be his first ever piece of calligraphy and an idea came to him.

'I don't know if I can pull it off, but I'll try anyway.'

Taking a calming breath, he dipped the tip of the brush in ink. Slowly and steadily, he began to write with complete concentration. Nathan knew he couldn't mess this up, so he remained slow. And while his first few brushstrokes were slightly sloppy, he quickly got a feel for calligraphy and drastically improved the strokes of his brush before finishing his first character. After that, he imposed an image of a memory on the paper in the same way he would visualize an opponent when he shadowboxed and started painting.

For the next few minutes, the soft scraping of the brush against paper was the only sound in the room. Not a single word was uttered.

"I'm done."

Piandao wordlessly went behind him and begun inspecting his work. Nathan held his hands together nervously.

"…Have you done calligraphy before?" Piandao asked.

Nathan shook his head. "No. This is honestly my first time even holding a brush. Also, is including a painting fine? I just thought it would be a good addition, since I'm going to give this as a gift."

"Forgive me for saying this, but I have difficulty believing that this is the first time you've held a brush," he said, kneeling down and taking a closer look at Nathan's work. "This… is an exquisite piece of art I would expect from someone who has been practicing for a few months at least."

On the sheet of paper, Nathan wrote the phrase "There is nothing in the world deeper than a mother's love" in flowing calligraphy from right to left. His normal handwriting in English was cursive, so he just adapted that into each stroke. It resulted in flowing—and what he would personally describe as elegant—brushstrokes. However, towards the leftmost side of the image was the important part. It was a complete reproduction of something he witnessed two weeks ago.

-=-

Nathan walked towards the massive garden, tossing a feather duster from one hand to the other.

'Let's see… House cleaning? Check. Dinner preparations? Check. Training? Check. Daily reading? Checkity check. What else can I spend my time doing?'

As Nathan turned a corner, a peculiar sight made him pause.

Ursa, bathed in the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, slept soundly. Zuko lay sprawled on her right lap, his chest rising and falling with each slow breath. Azula, curled tightly on her other lap like a tame cat, mirrored her brother's peaceful slumber. Ursa's hand, light as a feather, rested on both their heads, a silent testament to her love for them.

Nathan watched the heartwarming scene, a soft smile gracing his lips.

"They look so peaceful..." he murmured.

Not wanting to disturb their peace or to intrude on their private family moment, he turned in the other direction.

'I guess I'll just spend the rest of my time meditating. It kinda feels like I'm becoming a cultivator with how much I do it every day.'

-=-

That memory had been embedded in his mind ever since, and he replicated it as closely as he could in his painting.

"You may have to add calligraphy and painting to your set of talents, Nathan. This truly is a splendid art piece. And you said you'll be giving this as a gift? Based on what you've made, I can only guess the recipient is Ursa."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded, feeling grateful and a bit guilty about lying to her when they first met. "Ursa has helped me. I just wanted to show my appreciation in another way aside from saying 'thank you'."

"Hmm," Piandao smiled. "In that case, this will make an excellent gift."

"I'll have to wait for it to dry up, though."

"While we wait for it to dry, would you like to go see Zuko's training?" Piandao suggested.

"Sure," he said as he stood up.

'Is this going where I think it's going?'

They shortly reached the garden, where Zuko was still practicing his sword stances. His grunts of effort accompanied each swing as beads of sweat poured down his face.

"What is your assessment of Zuko? As a student, I mean," Nathan asked as they stood by and watched.

"Hmm." Piandao took a moment to arrange his words. "Zuko is a hard-working and talented student. In fact, he's progressed far faster than most of the other students I've taught. The only issue is that his lack of self-confidence and drive overshadow those qualities quite a bit."

Nathan made a sound of agreement. "That's mostly similar to what I think."

"Mostly similar? What else would you add as his and his sister's martial arts teacher?"

"To put it simply, Zuko is… a people pleaser of sorts. And after a few weeks of training him, I'm confident that the one thing that improves his drive the most is the thought of making his father proud. Prince Ozai sometimes visits our training sessions, and whenever he does, Zuko somehow always seems to get a second wind." He crossed his arms, slightly frowning. "Unfortunately, it never lasts. When Ozai leaves, that vigor of Zuko's leaves with him."

"An interesting assessment…" Piandao replied, holding his chin as he contemplated to himself. "Prince Ozai only ever came by during our first training session, so I thought nothing of it when I noticed a dip in Zuko's motivation in the past. Thank you for telling me about this, Nathan." Piandao stepped forward. "Zuko, you may take a break. The hour has finished."

"What?!" Zuko spun in surprise and blinked when he saw them. He slowly lowered his wooden blades. "Oh. Uh, since when did you two get here?"

"Since five minutes ago," Nathan said, smiling. "I'm impressed. It seems you were so focused that you didn't notice us at all. You should be doing that during our training sessions too, but you keep getting distracted."

Not replying, Zuko chuckled sheepishly at his words and turned to Piandao. "Please let me train for a bit more. I need more practice."

"We made a deal, Zuko. I will not concede on this. You may begin your demonstration anytime within the next ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Zuko asked in despair.

Nathan narrowed his eyes in thought and beckoned Zuko over.

"W-What is it, Nathan?" he said, fidgeting with the handles of his swords and getting closer to him.

Crouching down to his height, Nathan looked him in the eye.

"Zuko, you can do this," Nathan encouragingly said. "My advice? Don't think about what's gonna happen. You get too bunched up when you think about what could happen. I do that sometimes too, and every time, I mess something up."

Zuko gulped nervously, but nodded to Nathan's words.

"Do this instead," he intoned. "Stay calm and focus on the present. The weight of the swords, the placement of your feet, the movements of your arms. Nothing else should be on your mind."

"But what if—"

"Apapap." Nathan clenched his fist in the air, stopping Zuko. "That's what I'm taking about. Don't overthink. Zuko, if you really can't calm down, try doing some meditation. It's helped me manage my emotions better ever since I first made it part of my routine."

"Meditating?" Zuko asked, confused. "Like the thing you and Azula keep doing every day?"

"Yes. That kind of meditating. Here, I'll show you. Do what I do. But place your swords on the ground first."

Zuko followed his instructions, placing his wooden blades on the ground and copying Nathan's sitting position.

"Close your eyes and take deep, controlled breaths," Nathan instructed, and Zuko complied. "That's it. Focus only on your breaths. Don't think about anything else."

"I… I think it's working."

"Sshh… Just focus on meditating."

"O—"

"Ssh."

"…"

On the side, Piandao watched with a smile of amusement and a look of curiosity, and five minutes quietly passed in this manner before Piandao signalled Nathan to stop.

"Zuko, you may stop now."

Opening his eyes, Zuko took a moment to breathe before looking down at his hands.

"I'm so calm compared to before. I can't believe it worked." He gave Nathan a salute. "Thank you, Nathan."

"Happy to help. Now, are you ready to do your demonstration?"

"Yes…" Zuko calmly nodded. "I'm ready."

"I'm pleased to hear that," Piandao said. "Take your swords, enter the first stance, and you may begin."

"Yes, master."

Before Zuko left, Nathan held his shoulder and gave him a look of encouragement. "Remember what I said. Focus on the present."

With measured steps, Zuko crossed the flagstone floor. Gripping his wooden blades, he assumed a starting stance, raising them in a smooth arc. The blades became extensions of his will, every movement precise and controlled.

A deep focus settled on Zuko's face. He launched into a kata, a whirlwind of strikes and parries. The wooden blades sang through the air, each motion sharp and efficient.

'So this is what he meant in that one episode when he said to think of the dual broadswords as two halves of a whole.'

It didn't take long for Zuko to go through the stances. And with one last swing of his wooden swords, the dance ended, leaving him slightly out of breath and sweating.

Piandao and Nathan applauded soon after in unison.

"Well done, Zuko! Well done!" Piandao proudly said. "You've come far since your first lesson from me. The fact that you have succeeded in completing the set of stances to near perfection shows the result of your hard work and dedication. In accordance with our deal, I will personally forge for you a set of dual swords for your thirteenth birthday."

"I… I did it?" Zuko said, blinking in disbelief.

Nodding, Nathan wore the same smile as Piandao. "You did it, Zuko."

Collapsing onto the ground, Zuko chuckled and grinned in satisfaction.

"That was amazing. It was like I could only think of the stances and nothing else."

Nathan knew Zuko must have entered the flow state. A state of mind where a person was completely focused on one task or activity, which drastically improves their performance and efficiency in the task manifold. He himself had entered the flow state a few times before, and it contributed to some of his tournament victories in the past. The most difficult part was entering the state in the first place because a certain balance between your skill level in the task and the difficulty of the challenge needed to be struck.

"Now, would you like me to teach you, Nathan?"

Owlishly blinking in surprise, Nathan pointed at himself. "Me?"

"No one else in this garden is named Nathan," Piandao said blandly.

"A-Are you sure?"

Nathan had hoped for it, but he didn't think Piandao would actually teach him.

"Young man, if you make me ask any more, I might just change my—"

"I accept!"

A hint of a smile played on Piandao's lips. "Then let us begin your training."