He sat in complete silence as he fed the turtle ducks in the ponds with some crumbs he had found in the kitchen. It was quite bizarre when he first lay his eyes upon these creatures. Of course, this was simply the tip of the iceberg when he found out that most if not all animals in this world were a combination of two different species.

Perhaps, he shouldn't focus too much on that part…

He threw some bread crumbs at the turtle ducks and they greedily gobbled it up.

One of the things he found in here is that most of the population could bend one of the four elements at their will.

Water, Earth, and Fire.

But of course, he didn't inherit this ability due to his nature, he was a sword through and through. Nothing will ever change it… even if he was reincarnated to this world as the sole prince of the Fire Nation.

He still remembered it as if it was yesterday when he first laid eyes on his mother. Ursa was her name and his father being Ozai, the second son of the current Fire Lord. His mother was a gentle and reserved woman in nature and he enjoyed being in her company. His father on the other hand… was ambitious on his own, participating in the war meetings that his grandfather, Azulon, hold to capture the remaining bastion of Earth Kingdom.

Then there is his younger sister.

He didn't take his past life name, of course, his mother named him Zuko and for Shirou Emiya, he didn't mind it.

"Zuzu!"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the shouts of his sister. Her golden irises have a hint of mischief among them. With a smile that can dazzle ordinary folks and while he found it endearing, her attitude is somewhat erratic. It reminded him of the many enemies he had encountered in his past life.

Those who only wanted the world to burn.

"You don't have to shout it near my ears, Azula," he remarked as he stood up, gazing at his nine-year-old sister. He shook that thought away, his sister can still be changed but on how to do it, he doesn't know yet.

"I did call you once, you should have heard me by then, " she sharply replied and noticed that her good for nothing brother fed the turtle ducks again. "Is that all you're doing? Feeding them?"

"My lessons are done for the day and no one feeds them aside from the servants. So, I just did it myself."

The young princess narrowed her eyes while her brother continued. She found him a bit of an oddity, going on his way of helping others inside the castle. That's what servants and soldiers do! They do your bidding since your royalty as well! She didn't confront him about such trivial things as she thought that Zuko enjoyed the company of peasants.

"Whatever, Mother call for us. Uncle Iroh sent us some gifts."

She went ahead of him and he follows suit to their mother's room. There, they found Ursa reading possibly the letter that their uncle sent them.

"I brought him, can we open the gifts now?" Azula impatiently asked.

"Let's check what your uncle has to say in the letter first, alright?" Ursa chided her and she only pouted. She is a bit curious as to what is happening in the front lines with her Uncle Iroh and her cousin, Lu Ten since they've been gone for almost a year and a half.

Both children leaned into their mother's shoulder as they read the letter.

'How are you all doing today? I do hope that by the time this letter arrives I'm still breathing!' his uncle has a way for words, he must say. 'After months of besieging the outer walls of Ba Sing Se, we finally did it. We manage to breach the outer walls, only the inner one's are remaining and by my estimate, I may have to stay here for another year.'

"They certainly got their work cut out for them," Zuko said.

"It sure is, Ba Sing Se is one of the last bastion's of the Earth Kingdom," Azula noted. "Once Ba Sing Se falls into Uncle Iroh's hands, the war will end for our favor even more. Nothing will stand in the Fire Nation's way not even those pesky waterbenders on the Northern Water Tribe."

A manic grin formed in her features at the thought of it. Both mother and son looked at each other with worried looks in their faces. Ursa knew that something was off with her daughter's behavior ever since her husband, Ozai, began to favor the girl more. Due to her son's inability to bend, the man alienated his own son and he spent most of his time with Azula. She doesn't know what kind of values he's instilling into the poor girl but she will find out one way or another.

'As a gift to my nephew, this ornamental pearl dagger was given to me by one Earth Kingdom general who surrendered to Lu Ten,' his mother gave to him the sheathed dagger. He took a close look into the blade itself, pouring his od to see what history lay upon it.

"What's mine?" she giddily asked.

'For my niece, this doll that I bought, she wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls.'

Her mother gave the doll to her… and she hated it. She wasn't even fond of these anyway as she grabbed the doll's head, incinerating it to ashes. How come her brother had a dagger and she got a stupid doll!? Her uncle is way too mellowed for his own good, unlike her father who was ambitious and had the capacity of being an efficient ruler.

"Now that I think of it, if Uncle Iroh won't be making it out of the war, Father will inherit the throne, correct?"

"We don't speak of that way, young lady," Ursa admonished. "It will be terrible if he and Lu Ten didn't come back."

"If anything else, Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten deserves to have a bit of peace after this," Zuko added and his sister deliberately ignored him.

"Father would be a much better Fire Lord than that tea-loving relative of ours." she left the room and the woman gave out a long sigh, thinking of how cruel her daughter's words were.

"That sister of mine is such a handful, don't you think, mother?"

"…Your right, still, she is my daughter and nothing will ever change that fact. I may be to blame as well for what she became right now." Ursa looked downtrodden at the state of her daughter. He, on the other hand, cannot blame her for thinking that she failed as a mother.

He would have considered Azula as a lucky child to have her parents still around. He never got the chance to know his biological parents back in his world. Illyasviel lost both of her parents and was raised to hate Kiritsugu and him for supposedly stealing him away from her.

Whether he can change his sister for the better, he doesn't know. Nonetheless, he will try reaching out to her, even if it will take days, months or years for he knows one thing.

Azula is not a monster or at least not one yet.

-0-

One of the things that Shirou didn't like living in this palace among the plethora of other… was dinner. Not because he cannot cook his own meals though when he attempted to do so, the cooks will immediately shush him away. He knew that his royalty now but still, he wanted to do it just to check if he still got it.

Minor details aside, he didn't like it because of the presence of his 'father', Ozai.

Secondborn to his grandfather, Azulon, his father was impatient, stubborn and ambitious. While Ozai never held any important position within the military ranks, Azulon had him around. They never really see eye to eye by the time he found out he cannot firebend. He considered him a shame and had plans to have him removed from the palace. It was only with the Fire Sages and Ursa's help that he didn't meet such fate.

Perhaps that's the only good thing he can say that his father did to him.

"So, how was your training today, Azula?" the man started and his sister happily informed him of her firebending lessons.

"Well, this foolish teacher of mine tried to teach me that my hands were too wide in one of my forms," she huffed but it turned into a smirk. "I told him that you can conjure bigger flames by doing so but he insisted that it was not."

"What did you do?" their mother asked and Shirou continued with his meal, albeit only listening to the conversation.

"When he left, I burned his pants to prove my point."

There was no hint of sorry as if she was happy of what she had done. Poor guy, he was only doing his job and what he got was nothing short of disrespect by his own student.

"There's no excuse for what you did, Azula. He is still your teacher and you should give him the respect like you do with others." Ursa berated and her husband cut her off.

"Her teacher sounded almost like a fool. It looks like we have to replace him with someone who has a better grasp of her talent," the man stated as he took another bite of his meal. He glanced at the boy that sat next to Azula, this talentless spawn of his that shared the table with them.

"How about you?"

"Mostly read books and swordplay practice," the prince replied. "Same as usual though I did find it interesting when I rummaged through the scroll and books of our nation."

His father raised his brows as he resumed. "We don't have any records of our nation before our great grandfather, Sozin. What happened to those?"

The Fire Lord prince didn't say anything about the question. As far as he know, his grandfather burned all books and scrolls before his time. They were indoctrinated with the knowledge they needed already and he couldn't care less what they are about.

"Why do you want to know about them? Why waste time reading?" he glared at his son though he dismissed it.

"Just figure that by learning from the past, we get to learn about them and possibly avoid them in the future. Do you not agree, father?" Ozai snorted at Shirou's words and the family dinner was concluded with no words of exchange.

After paying his compliments to the cook who flatly refused to have him in the kitchen, he immediately went to his room.

His lavish room was located just near the palace gardens just beside his sister's as well. With only a lamp illuminating the place, he opened one of the drawers and took out the journal. By the time he learned how to write (again), he kept record of anything he had done and any events as well. Even if they may be insignificant.

As he writes down his thoughts, his mind drifted to other things, mainly to his magecraft. He had learned that while he can still do mundane projections, like swords and stuff. High-grade ones like Balmung and Caladbolg are a bit hard to come by and if he did, he cannot maintain them long enough.

He actually has yet to set up a workshop and he was a bit cautious to build one inside. With the flurry of guards scouting 24/7, it'll be a risk for him. Maybe the Fire Sages can help him find a suitable spot?

"Time to rest, I guess…" he closed the doors in his room, tucked into his sleepwear and slip into his bed. "I'm still not used to this."

He let fatigue take over his body as he drifts into sleep.

The congregation which he came in was full of people for they wish to hear the words of the 'holy maiden'. He patiently waits on the rooftops, until she comes in then crash and finish her once and for all. Just like usual, security is tight but just one shot in her head will be enough.

He heard the pleas of her followers the moment she stepped into the altar. Her face was covered by her veil, hiding her beauty. Her body does not convey holiness as well, more like, temptation to others but not for him. He gripped his gun and with a loud crash, he came down in front of her and the guards.

One, two shots and both guards went down.

He aimed both guns in the face of the veiled maiden and the shot echoed throughout the cathedral.

Shirou's eyes shot awake, feeling the trickle of sweat in his cheeks.

'That damn dream again!' he clutched his head as anger took hold of him. 'I was so close to forgetting it!'

It was one of those memories that he wished to be erased from him completely. However, even in this new life of his, it still haunted him.

'Maybe a tea will help me calm down.' the prince covered himself with his cloak, opening the doors of his room when he noticed something beneath the shadows.

Just near the pond was his sister, Azula, with his pearl dagger on hand. She swings it on thin air though a bit clumsy in her movements since it's her first time using one. He saw it as an opportunity to teach her some self-defense… and get a jump on her as well.

He stealthily made his way and behind the tree, he can hear the girl's grunts.

"You're doing it wrong, sister," he whispered and the princess nearly jumped by surprise. "It's bedtime now, why are you up late, young lady?"

"Stop doing that," she hid the dagger behind her immediately as her heart raced because of what he did. "I just borrowed your dagger, that's all."

"…And you did so without my permission. That tantamount to stealing."

"Look, we're siblings, alright? We're supposed to share things and stuff from time to time. If you want it so bad, here," she handed it over to him though he didn't claim it. "What are you waiting for?"

"Do you want it?" he questioned and his sister kept silent until she mumbled something under her breath.

"…Yes, " he leaned in ever closer.

"What? I can't hear it properly, can you speak louder, dear sis?"

"Yes, I want it!" she shouted and she immediately covered her mouth, surely that would have alerted the guards. She got dragged by her brother and lead her to his room where he closed the door.

Both kids hid under the windows as they heard the footsteps of the guards. One of them peeked through the windows to check on the prince. After that, they went on their way to go look for the trespasser.

"That was close…" Shirou said and Azula got up.

"Yeah, imagine how enraged our parents would be if we got caught."

"You got that right, well, you better retire for the night." his sister double-check the corridors and she paused for a bit, gripping the dagger he gave.

"Thank you for this."

It was a bit surreal to hear a genuine and appreciative tone from his sister. Normally, she would say some remark about her more deserving of such trinket. She grew up mostly under Ozai's watch while both he and Ursa still see her, they don't have any idea of the lessons she's taking. Whatever's the case, it looks like he can still develop a harmonious relationship with her.

"You're welcome, sis," he flashed a smile at the girl and unbeknownst to him, a slightly pink dusted her cheeks. She ran to her room and shut the door. "Good night, Azula."

-0-

Shirou's usual round for the day starts with him, exercising and practicing with falchions by himself. He never really had anyone that can practice with aside from a few soldiers who spar with him. After that, he will make his way to the library where he will spend most of the day studying the other nations.

Though from what he learned is nothing but propaganda on how great their nation was and that they must share it with others. There's also the existence of the master of the four elements called the Avatar and that the last one, Roku, stood in their way. According to the textbooks, the Avatar caused an eruption to lure former Fire Lord Sozin and kill him. This effort failed and Roku was killed in the process.

The scrolls also mentioned the 'Air Nomad Army', stating that Sozin defended their homeland against them. He has some doubts about this though since there was no evidence of it in the records.

Then, there's the existence of the so-called Avatar.

It's been almost a hundred years since Roku's death and according to the cycle of the Avatar's reincarnation, the next one should have been an Air Nomad. And as far as he was concern, their existence was regarded as nothing more than a myth.

"An entire culture wiped out… how awful," he mumbled as he idly walked the corridors after his trip from the library. It was unforgivable for his part, he understood the defense part if it was true but to slate them off the map? It was drastic even to him.

He wondered what Azula is doing right now?

It's time for a little visit to her training quarters.

-0-

Doing firebending practices was the only time the princess felt alive. Every jab, kick and sweep conjured flames that brought brilliance to the slightly darkened room. It excited her, knowing she can do such and use it to her own advantage. She was surprisingly good at it too.

She suspected that there's more to her firebending than meets the eye. She wasn't a fool by chance, she feel it whenever she summoned fire, burning ever brighter and intense everytime.

She swept her leg back, striking forward to generate a whip of flames - a move that she constantly uses.

Except for this time her flames were blue.

She yelped in surprise and she nearly lost her balance, fortunately, she immediately regained her footing. Her mind raced at what happened and she was aware of the instructors who dropped off their things from what she had done.

Had she done something wrong?

"That's pretty cool, what you did there." she heard Zuko's voice from the entrance.

"I always knew that I had it in me!" she began to do more moves, conjuring another whip of blue flames.

"Indeed," Ozai with his ever imposing presence came from the other side of the room. "Only a select few can do what you're doing, daughter. I'll be personally overseeing your training from now on."

Pride swelled up to her as she had done something that made her special. While she never saw her father conjure blue flames such as her, it's a testament to her uniqueness. If she showed this to her mother, will she be happy as she was?

As she revered in her own thoughts, the Fire Lord prince glanced at his son. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking up on her, father." came his immediate reply.

"Shouldn't you be studying right now?"

"My studies are done for the day. I simply have enough time to unwind and…" Zuko was cut off by his father.

"If that's the case, show me how well you are with your training," Ozai gave her daughter a look of approval and the girl smirked.

"Hope you don't get burned, Zuzu!" teased his sister and he grabbed a wooden polearm, twirling it around. He nodded and put the polearm around his shoulders.

"Ready when you are, Azula," he announced and readied himself.

She stepped forward, unleashing a jet of fire which was like an explosion on its own. Massive, hot, and strangely wild at the edges, it seemed to fill the entire area between them. Zuko couldn't have avoided it if he wanted too.

So he stood his ground, instead.

He took a deep steady breath as he swung the polearm out to the side to divert Azula's fire. He twisted his weapon, forcing the flames around, behind and forward again - now his own - back towards the girl. His sister backed a step in surprise and he saw her defense stance; strong and blocky with fists extended from his middle. The fire rolled off and around the girl's shoulders into nothingness.

Azula was on the offensive again, this time kicking and punching in bright flashes, sending thin powerful bolts like arrows. He countered it by redirecting her flames with his polearm. There was a second's lull as she gathered her strength, and Zuko took it, running forward to meet his sister head-on.

Azula immediately regained momentum. One spin and a powerful kick and she shot out a sharp blade of fire, aimed right for her brother's chest.

He sucked in deep breath and brought his polearm up, whirling the flames around him. His moves saved his life but seemed almost to reach in and pull all the breath from his lungs. The force from Azula's next blast knocked the boy flat back onto the ground.

A smile formed in Ozai's face by the actions of his daughter. The girl saw the opportunity to strike and her eyes gleamed in anticipation of putting her brother down.

'Time to get serious!'

Zuko rolled onto his feet, his quick reflexes allowing him to duck under a flaming fist. He saw an opening and took it and he had slipped behind her, palm directly on the center of her spine. He was still winded from his last effort, gasping for air – all breath control gone – still, he began to go on the offense of his own. He delivered multitude of attacks at her and it didn't help that she got disoriented by the palm attack he had done.

She slowly retreats, dodging Zuko's polearm and she lost her balance. Her brother closed the distance faster than she anticipated and she fell down on her back. She involuntarily closed her eyes, waiting for the strike to happen.

*thud!*

Azula opened her eyes and saw the polearm right beside her face and Zuko stood over her. Their instructors who stood and watched the spectator from above who's grin earlier turned into a scowl. The nine-year-old girl saw her father left the room and her heart raced slightly.

"Don't worry about him," the boy said, offering his hand and she slapped it away.

"You don't get it, do you? Father expects you to be merciless even in training and what you did is a sign of weakness."

"This is for training only, why would I hurt you?"

Azula got up and left him on his own crevices with the instructors following suit. He let out a sigh and put back the polearm to the walls. He was sure that he had pissed her off and to be defeated right in front of Ozai nonetheless. The girl had a streak of competitiveness within her and the attempts of provocation didn't rub him off.

She will definitely ask for a rematch at a later time…

Azula grumbled away from the room and a scowl formed on her features. She thought that this day would be for her with her discovery of the blue flames. She thought that she can show how powerful she was and yet Zuko just defeated her. To add insult to it, her father was present in there as well!

"Stupid, Zuzu…" she muttered.

As humiliating as it is, perhaps, she should not have underestimated her brother as well. It does make sense that Zuko would try to be the best in other areas to compensate for his lack of firebending skills. She grabbed the knife that her brother gave and unsheathed it.

Surely, there will be a time that she may not be able to do firebending though the idea itself was pretty ludicrous. If that ever comes, she gonna have to adapt just like Zuko did.

She might as well drink some tea to calm herself down.

"Great… I'm becoming like Uncle Iroh…"