Sukuna The Last Sorcerer 14 (Patreon)

The throne room felt different when you were the one being praised. Or, when the person next to you was being praised, anyway.

Weeks after going battlefield to battlefield across colonies, hunting down deserters and making examples out of people who thought running away was a good idea, Ryo stood three steps behind Azula. Close enough to hear every word leaving Ozai's mouth but far enough back that he might as well have been a very handsome piece of furniture for all the attention he was getting.

He watched the Fire Lord heap praise on his daughter, golden words stacking up higher and higher. Political theater. Ryo wasn't totally sure what that phrase meant, heard it once or twice back... somewhere, but he was pretty sure this was the best seat in the house to watch some grade-A political theater right now.

Wish it was less boring. Ryo gave a silent sniff, nose wrinkling at the air thick with incense and the heat from those huge flames on either side of Azula’s dad’s raised throne.

Platform-thingy… whatever it is.

It was the kind of heat probably meant to feel powerful, majestic. 

To Ryo, it just felt stuffy. 

"Reports from the Earth Kingdom colonies speak of your efficiency, Azula." Ozai's voice came out both warm and fake, as if the man was reading off a script he'd written himself. "Nine separate bandit groups eliminated. Order restored as local governors sing your praises. Truly, my daughter, you continue to exceed expectations."

Azula stood perfect, hands clasped behind her back as she accepted praise with measured humility. Princess school, lesson one.

Ryo fought the urge to roll his eyes so hard he'd see his own brain as Azula answered back, "I serve the Fire Nation's glory, Father. Nothing more."

Those same eyes slid over to where a bunch of old guys in fancy red-and-gold robes sitting at the far end of one wall were murmuring to each other, nodding along; not one of them looking his way.

Ryo was pretty sure he could've been invisible for all they cared.

"Maturity beyond your years is clear in your command of battle, my daughter." Ryo didn’t need to  see the man's face past all those shadows, but he could tell Ozai was smug. Smug as a bug in a rug. "Perhaps it is time to consider expanding your responsibilities. Leadership of your caliber should not be wasted."

Leadership of your caliber.

Those red ees rolled again. After that first battle, he'd been in the thick of it doing most of the actual work; Azula having him rip and tear and scare his way through lines of bandits. Not that he really minded the fighting, not even close, but acting like Azula was the one to do it all solo was...

He was honestly rolling his eyes a bit too much, but… whatever.

One of the ministers stepped forward slowly with a scroll held out in his hands, some old guy with a white beard so perfectly groomed it looked fake. "If I may, Fire Lord…”The shadow on the platform turned to his left. “Speak, Minister Yagai.”Yagai nodded slowly as he unrolled the scroll. “Reports from Princess Azula's campaign show remarkable efficiency, with minimal Fire Nation losses."

Minimal Fire Nation losses.

Ryo almost laughed out loud. Makes sense. The soldiers had mostly just cleaned up whoever was left breathing after he was done blasting and punching everyone that tried to fight him head-on.

“Truly, the crown princess has proven herself in every endeavor.”

Ryo blinked slowly as Azula's shoulders tensed at her dad’s last few words, a small movement but something he couldn’t miss standing right behind her.

No matter how uncomfortable she felt, Azula didn’t bother to say anything as the praise kept going for another ten minutes; ten minutes that felt closer to ten years. Military efficiency this, tactical brilliance that, the Fire Nation's glorious future and expansion, all of it heaped right on top of Azula’s shoulders while Ryo stood there, a piece of expensive luggage someone forgot to unpack.

Then Azula did something that made every single person go dead silent.

She reached back without turning, her hand finding his — huh? — bare skin on skin as she pulled him forward. Oh.

The silence in the room was louder than anything else. What are you doing, princess?

"Lord Father," Azula bowed her head low. "As much as I appreciate the praise, I must correct a misconception. This success was far from mine alone."

Correcting the Fire Lord in front of his court. Ryo didn’t exactly know all the manners that went into court stuff, but he was pretty sure that was a biiiiig no-no.

"Continue." The word left Ozai calm and level, which was somehow way more threatening than yelling would've been.

"Lord Ryo was instrumental in our victories." Ryo winced as Azula squeezed his hand at the beginning of that sentence, immediately wishing he was invisible again, "His strength proved most decisive in multiple engagements and without his contributions, the campaign would have taken much longer and cost significantly more lives."

In the long stretchy silence, Ryo could practically hear the mental gears grinding in the heads of everyone else in the room as they tried to figure out what the hell was happening. 

The tall flames around the Fire Lord dimmed, shadows easing up enough for Ryo to spot those gold eyes on him. The full and entirely undivided attention of the Fire Lord hit him, a magnifying glass of ego and bullshit.

Without flinching, Ryo just stared right back, eyes looking right at the man he could finally see after a whole two months. 

"Lord Ryo." The Fire Lord’s breath came out slow, the flames rising again at his sides. "The Fire Nation notes your great service."

Not praise, definitely not praise; more like a nod from the Big Bad himself.

But it was still the Big Bad, and with the Fire Lord saying that much, Ryo could already feel the way the room changed around him. Oh, good. Everyone suddenly seemed to remember that he even existed, almost as if they were finally allowed to look at him.

"Just doin' my job, Fire Lord." It was hard not to wink at the man as he said the words, as much as he wanted to. Azula was already putting her neck out for him, and he wasn’t really a dick like that. "Serving the glory of the Fire Nation."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Finally, after too long, the court session fianlly ended and Ryo was set free.

Well, set free was saying a lot. 

Azula got disappeared somewhere and he got escorted back to his room by the two guards he'd mentally nicknamed Bert and Ernie.

He spent the time staring out the window at perfectly manicured palace grounds, trying not to think about the look in Ozai's eyes when Azula had pulled him forward.

It hadn't just been surprise.

There'd been rage there, hidden sure, but there was no doubt that the man was absolutely boiling mad. He had the cold absolute kind of rage that came from having your authority challenged, even slightly.

It was almost like Sukuna’s rage, but kinda… pathetic… a little bit, at least.

She's playing a dangerous game.

His finger traced patterns on the window, following cracks in the glass he was pretty sure weren't there before.

And I'm the main fucking game piece.

The girl has spine. Sukuna's voice drifted through his head, amused in that way that usually meant trouble. I begin to see why she interests you.

She doesn't. He didn’t even think before he said it, because letting Sukuna think he was right about anything was... nah. She's just…

What?

Dangerous. Intelligent. Ruthlessly ambitious. The voice practically purred, way too pleased with itself. All qualities I valued in my most trusted servants.

Your servants usually ended up dead, Ryo frowned, flashes of memory that weren't his bleeding through; all betrayal and blood and bones stacked high enough to build thrones on.

Only the weak ones.

Great. That's reassuring.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Late that night, with the moon high in the sky and almost bright enough to hurt, Azula appeared at his door.

The princess didn’t knock, of course.Expecting Azula to do anything like that was just insane. Although having her standing at his door at night was kinda more insane, now that he thought about it.

Either way, there she was, looking... off. Not physically, her clothes were still perfect, hair still in that complicated knot thing without a strand loose, but her eyes had a hollow brittle thing going on. "Walk with me."

Not a question. Of course not.

Ryo bit down the urge to roll his eyes as he got up, bare feet hitting cold floor. Here we go.

They ended up in one of the palace gardens, the one full of blood-red flowers that probably had some fancy name he didn't care about and stone statues of dead Fire Lords who all looked constipated. Seriously, every single one. 

Did they all die on the toilet or something? The moon was full overhead, turning everything silver and making the shadows go weird.

"So, you survived." Ryo settled onto a bench next to a fountain; a dragon spitting water instead of fire. The stone was cold enough under him to make him want to stand back up. "Figured your dad might've grounded you for good this time."

Azula didn't bite at the sarcasm, her eyes locked on the moon instead of him. When she finally spoke, though, her voice came out softer than he'd ever heard it; all those sharp edges filed down to something almost... tired?

"The court is in fracture…” Azula took a breath as Ryo turned to look at her, the princess still staring up into the sky. “It has been since the banishment of my brother. Factions further consolidating and forming anew, houses choosing sides for conflicts yet to even start." The princess turned to look at him, jaw flexing tight. "Most especially, with the traditionalists aligning with the aging Fire Sages... my father's grip on this nation is far from absolute."

Ryo blinked at her. "I mean, from my end, it looks pretty damn absolute, though. The way all these guys kiss his ass, you'd think he personally invented fire."

Her lips quirked up a little, once again there and gone, but as real as her other rare smiles. "A pretense, my Lord Avatar. Theater. You see the Fire Lord on his throne and assume he built the stage." 

Her head shook once. "He didn't, of course. Our family just seized it from the many hands grasping at it."

The princess grunted, a sound that wasn’t exactly as dignified as he was used to from her. "You must understand, our dynasty as it stands as an absolute authority is a thing rather… recent. An invention of the last few centuries, no earlier than Fire Lord Zoryu." She narrowed her eyes, staring off into the darkness of the garden as she started pacing back and forth, feet clic-clic-clicking on the stone path. "Before that, the Fire Lord was spiritual leader; little more than figurehead for the Fire Sages. And before that, the Fire Islands were just warring clans ruled by families with lineages going back thousands of years." 

The princess took in a breath and released it in a huff. "They knelt, of course, when my ancestor demanded it of them. But they didn't forget."

Oh. Ryo's eyebrows went up, brain already putting the pieces together. Oh shit.

"So your rule..."

"Is far less stable than it appears, yes." Azula turned to face him, nearly a full frown on the princess’s face. "Those ministers you saw in court, the aged ones in red-and-gold. Those are the 'Old Guard’, loyal to the idea of the Fire Nation. To traditions that guarantee their own inherited power." 

Her fingers flexed, tight fists forming. "My father's actions threaten that directly. Banishing Zuko, the firstborn, the legitimate heir by every tradition..." 

She let that hang, the princess closing her eyes for a moment even as a growl spilled out of her lips to cap off the words. "My father’s action was a masterstroke on several levels. He established that his judgment outweighs both law and custom, making clear to the nobility that their bloodright isn't sacred; something to be revoked at a whim."

Those golden eyes slid shut as the princess crossed her arms. “Something that I didn’t realize till much later.”

Okay, so this situation is bad for power, Ryo frowned, one hand rubbing his chin. Because power is all about the rules people agree too and her dad broke the rules.

“The situation with the Sages is a matter even more complicated,” Ryo blinked at her as she just kept going. “My father treats the old men as relics, advisors to be tolerated, a further weakening of their power as is customary since the time of my ancestor Zoryu the Reformer. There were always conservatives and zealots among them, but your appearance has only forced a grander schism in their ranks.”

Wait, wh- “What did I even do?” Ryo’s lips turned down in a scowl, more confused than anything else.

“More than you think, yet less than you might believe,” the princess shook her head again, “Both groups of sages see you as the fulfillment of prophecy, just of different outcomes. And even they’re nothing against the New Power of the Fire Nation,” Azula kept going, voice still in lecture mode. How long is this gonna take? "The generals, admirals, industrialists. The 'New Power' who earned positions through conquest and ruthlessness. They value strength above all." 

She went from serious to smug in literally a second, a smile spreading across her face; too big to be one of her real ones. "Which is why they value me, of course. And not simply as their princess.”“And me?”

Azula raised an eyebrow. “To them, spirit or legend, you may be, but none of that matters to men of their nature. You’re more a strategic asset to be aimed at the enemy."

Asset. The word made his jaw go tight. "And you don't think that?" 

She couldn’t have done a better job of pretending like she didn’t hear him, straight up ignoring what he had to say as she kept talking. "For years, these factions have been in cold war, held in check by my father's will alone, but now…”"Now, you're caught in the middle,” Ryo answered for her, nodding again as he filled in the missing pieces.

"I am the middle." She corrected him, voice almost as harsh as he heard her use with her soldiers. "What I did today wasn't about giving you credit. I showed every faction that while they maneuver for past or present, I'm the one controlling the future. And doing so likely made myself primary target for them all."

Ryo stared at her.

Wait.

He'd thought... it had been something impulsive? A way to stick it to her dad, maybe? Or even just her being nice to him?

But it was a move. A whole-ass play in a game he didn't even know was happening.

Fuck.

"And you just told me all this... why?" Suspicion coiled tight in his gut, that familiar something's wrong feeling.

"Because a weapon is useless if it doesn't understand the battlefield. And unlike my father, I don't believe in keeping my assets in the dark."

Asset. Weapon. The words kept piling up, each one worse than the last. Sure, he wanted power, but what was the point of getting it if people just kept treating him like more of an object. Maybe I gotta get so strong they can’t chat shit.

Silence stretched out between them before her face shifted, something darker moving behind those eyes. "There's something else. My father summoned me privately after court." 

Oh great. "What'd he want now?"

"To inform me of recent... developments." She looked away, eyes once again on the moon. "It seems that despite my brother’s banishment, royal blood is still useful for something."

Ryo's head tilted, confusion replacing the cold. What?

"The Avatar. The last airbender. He's returned." Azula frowned, her voice shifting into this mocking formal tone. "And according to my father, my wayward brother was the first to find him and hunts him still."

Red eyes blinked… once, twice. Wait, the Avatar… 

Ryo had done his reading on that guy while in the palace’s library, trying to figure out what the big deal was with being the Avatar in the first place. Some old dude who can bend all the elements, right? Being honest, Ryo didn't really get why that was supposed to be especially scary, honestly. Just gang up on him with four people and you’re good.

"So what?" He shrugged, arms crossing over his bare chest. "I mean, that's a big deal for you guys, I guess. But what's that got to do with me?"

"The Sages are convinced the timing isn't coincidence. Your awakening after ten thousand years, and his, after a hundred." Azula paused, letting that sit. "The Avatar is spiritual balance to worldly power. If you are truly what the legends claim..."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Flying high was something Aang couldn’t deny he loved almost more than anything, the night air cold and clean against his face. Appa's fur was warm under him, the sky-bison’s steady breathing that meant everything was okay, everyone was safe, everyw-

“Aang?”

The last airbender turned around as a hand dropped on his shoulder, the twelve-year old automatically smiling as he stared up at Katara. The Southern Water Tribe girl stood there, her hair loopies blowing in the wind. Pretty. 

"Hey." His smile widened, a little brighter as he pushed more into it. "Still awake?"

Katara didn’t answer the question as she sat down and settled up next to him, close enough that her shoulder almost touched his. "Aang... are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine." The words came out too fast, too bright. Smooth. His fingers twisted in Appa's fur, the coarse hair rough under his palms.

"I'm not so sure about that." Her voice went soft, careful with her words like she was struggling to get them out as bad as he was. "You've been strange since the solstice.."

The smile wanted to slip. Don't let it. He tried to hold it, tried to keep his voice up where it belonged. "I'm jus…”“Just what?”

Aang let out a breath, watching it fog in the night air. Tell her. She should know.

"There's something else Roku said."

Katara shifted even closer, blue eyes blinking at him. "What? What did Avatar Roku say?"

Aang’s throat went tight, the young airbender unsure how to even get it out when it went deeper than what he could explain, the feelings Roku had left with him more than what his past life had to actually say. Either way, monks used to say bad news should be delivered like a feather; gentle, careful. 

Finally, he decided to just say what little he could.

"...something's wrong with the Spirit World."