32 Chapter 8. Kyoshi Island. Part 4.

Here's a chapter for the power stones

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"Prince Zuko," I greeted him first, simply folding my hands in a traditional gesture, "I think we need to talk."

"Hm, Kira, then," the exiled prince said arrogantly, sitting on what one might call a small sofa, though it was more of a bench, in a house, his leg thrown over the other and arms crossed. And oh, that under-the-brow glance – check.

With his whole demeanor, he displayed discontent and readiness to challenge everyone to an Agni Kai to the death right then and there, to prove that he was the proud prince and everyone else mere servants.

He was just sitting in one of the houses, which had been surrounded by guards to prevent any incidents. Frankly, I was sure the guard was unnecessary - he wouldn't run away from us, not in this situation and with nowhere to run on an island. And it wasn't the right time for guerrilla tactics, again. After all, what could I realistically do to him personally? At most, I could hang a soldier or two, and even then, there would be questions about who I am. That would be if he were guilty, whereas here, he might as well be the victim. And god forbid I don't handle this correctly.

If I were in a similar situation, nobody would do anything to me - thanks to my master, I have some political weight, not strong, but not easily dismissed either. But my unfortunate companions might end up under the guillotine.

So, I had to find a way to untangle this mess, ensuring no one was unjustly blamed while also restoring justice. And maybe even find a slight advantage for myself, who knows what desires motivate me? Though the bugs in my head, I think, know.

"You can just call me Aki," I said with a slight smile, grabbing one of the chairs and placing it backward in front of Zuko, leaning on it with my arms on the backrest, "So, Prince, you must have known about the agreement with this island. The question is, what the hell?"

"Am I supposed to care about some old rattles between elders?!" Zuko exclaimed, even jumping up a bit, oh how temperamental, but as a firebender with his history, maybe that's to be expected, "I almost captured the Avatar! If not for you and your band, he would already be in my grasp! What do you think my father will say when he finds out what you interfered with?!"

"Hm," until then, I thought he was exiled due to some intrigues, but maybe he's just a fool, right? "A treaty between the previous Avatar and the Fire Lord is not just some rattle; it's a very important document," I leaned in closer to him, "If you didn't study enough in your childhood, let me tell you an interesting fact: past Avatars, through the shell of the new one, can return for a short time while retaining all their power. And do you want a two-hundred-year-old Avatar Kyoshi to show up on our islands in her righteous wrath and quickly flatten the capital?"

Heh, of course, that's unlikely to happen in real life, as all records say past Avatars can appear in reality for only tens of seconds, sometimes minutes, but no longer. But Zuko doesn't necessarily need to know that, right? Let him read up, watch, and think about it. It will do him good.

"Not to mention our honor," I hit right on the sore spot with that word; Zuko's face twitched as if I had slapped him, and the grimace he made was priceless. Well, let him think; maybe it'll bring some sense into his head, "of which there will be nothing left if the blame falls entirely on you. I can't give you a fair trial, of course, but I think the realization that you've greatly shamed the honor of the entire Fire Nation will be punishment enough for you."

"In front of whom? A bunch of islanders?" Zuko snorted.

"First and foremost, in front of yourself."

With those words, I stood up and without saying goodbye, left. Yes, until he started talking nonsense, I thought about discussing the matter and reaching an agreement, but then I decided it would cost me more to try to solve anything with him.

After my words, Zuko was left staring deeply at one spot, lost in thought. It's important to remember he isn't very old. And I managed to sprinkle salt on his wound regarding honor quite well. Let him think it over; maybe his pumpkin will come up with something useful.

I hope the Kyoshi Warriors prove to be more reasonable. Because their leader's exclamations from yesterday are still fresh in my memory, and it seems first I'll have to prove that I'm not there to slaughter and abuse them before anything else can be resolved.

Though, on the other hand, the local elder, who is quite aware that a good tenth of Kyoshi Island's residents are citizens of the Fire Nation, including some former military, went to talk to them.

But that elder is a fool. Needs to be replaced. He's lucky I'm so kind; if it were some captain from the front thinking to stop by a neutral island to relax, bathe, and socialize, he'd have hung all those girls. Not right away, of course; they'd have made use of them first.

Unfortunately, the harsh truth of life. Though it depends on the level of insanity: on some fronts, it's a real meat grinder, while on others, at most, there are occasional small local skirmishes. The person I described above came from the first type of front. The second type would likely be much more lenient, considering age, ignorance, and so on.

So, the question for the elderly is, why the hell is their "army" not aware of the underlying politics? That's something I'll discuss with the elder later. A good thorough discussion because this just can't be. Oh no, no.

Legally speaking, it shouldn't matter: it's their state, they can do what they want, but in reality, it's very bad to act like this. Otherwise, we might start thinking they're gathering an army for attack, not defense, and then all agreements will be in tears and contracts burning in blue flames. Literally, in blue.

"Warriors," politeness is everything, hence the bow and greeting.

"Did you come to make us say what you want?" the leader among them disdainfully threw out. Well, what can I say? Minds are boiling over. But I don't plan to force them – I plan to negotiate.

"Let's try explaining one more time," I sighed, sitting down on a chair opposite them, "girls, you essentially attacked a representative of the Fire Nation first, and not just anyone, but the prince. If in half an hour I declare you criminals and execute you, not even your village elder would object. Because, damn it, I would be within my rights. I don't know what education you've received, but in our common history, the moment of the treaty between Avatar Kyoshi and the Fire Lord was clearly described. You don't mess with us, we don't mess with you. Did you know about it?"

Silence was a very good answer to my question. How could they know? Hearing it for the first time, I'm sure. But they looked at me as if, of course, they knew and what childish babble are you spouting?

God, they are still such children.

"Of course, you didn't know. Now, calm your fantasies, and let's sit down together and think about what to do," I suggested, toning down the arrogance a bit, "I don't want to execute or punish anyone today, so we can just apologize to each other, roughly speaking, shake hands, promise not to do it again, and go our separate ways."

"We're not at fault, we were just defending our island!" the leader among them said, also toning down the arrogance a bit.

I just sighed heavily and, taking a chair, sat down again. The girls were standing, and by sitting, I visually reduced the threat. It works against anyone because whether it's a person or an animal, most information is received visually. And even though we understand that size doesn't change with squatting, the brainstem whispers that the smaller what we see, the less dangerous it is. It's very hard to get rid of. Very.

So, the girls relaxed a bit, even adopting less tense poses.

"You know, if you were truly just defending your island, I wouldn't have said a word," I began to convey my thought, "but you were also defending the Avatar. The Avatar is public enemy number one to the Fire Nation, and he only has an indirect relation to that treaty. By defending him, you showed aggression, do you see my point?"

"The Avatar is the guardian of peace and balance..." one of the girls protested, apparently burning with righteous fire.

"He's just a person, in case you hadn't noticed. The Avatar is just a person with far greater potential in bending than others, and has a good connection with spirits," I interrupted, "his actions don't guarantee justice. His actions are still dictated by his worldview, and what worldview can a young monk and two children, who've barely left their homes beyond the North Pole for the first time, have? They inherently can't be close to reality."

I paused for a moment, allowing them to digest my speech but not letting them focus and start arguing.

"But that's still okay because you were the ones who struck first. You attacked Prince Zuko's subordinates..."

"What were we supposed to do, tolerate how they behaved?!" the leader among them protested, "wait until they kill someone?"

"And that's the crux of the situation I need to resolve," I clicked my tongue, "both sides screwed up. So, in the square, I'll give an ethical speech, tell everyone how foolish they've been, you shake hands and go about your business, understand?"

"Suki," the leader unexpectedly said, "my name is Suki."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Aki," I responded immediately, "and what brought that on?"

"You're... not like the Kira we were told about," Suki hesitated, "you command some respect. Unlike the rest of the Fire Nation warriors," she finished more softly.

"And how many have you met?" I chuckled, " be surprised, but the number of maniacs and psychos in an army doesn't depend on the nation but on how many people are in that army altogether."

"We've interacted with many different people, and they said..."

"That's just it, rumors are rumors," I shrugged, "and they can never be trusted," I began to wrap up the dialogue, "okay, I hope everything goes according to plan. See you at the appointed time, so to speak. Ha."

Hi, now for every 200 power stones there will be a chapter.

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