redemption , azula

Prologue

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

       Hanzo eyes snapped open as he heard a loud boom. Part of him hoped that it was Aang, but it had been weeks since he last saw his fellow monk.

He was starting to believe that he got captured by the fire nation.

The twelve-year-old heard scrambling outside his door. Hanzo quickly sat up straight, his gut churning. He didn't know what was happening, but all he knew was that something was wrong. Something was very very wrong.

Hanzo slowly creaked the door open. He watched as the older monks grabbed their staff and rushed to the centre of the temple. He pushed the door open.

"Monk Gyatso?" The boy rubbed his eyes. He was still sleepy, but he couldn't sleep now. Not when something was wrong.

The older man's eyes softened. Gyatso couldn't help but feel bad. He and the other monks should have planned for an attack as soon as the avatar disappeared. Now his pupils were in danger.

"Hanzo," the wise man started. "I need you to do something for me."

Hanzo looked at him, confused. "What is it, Monk Gyatso?"

Gyatso looked away, dreading what he was about to say next. "It is not safe here anymore. Take the others and get out of here. Keep them safe."

He refused to leave them behind. The boy protested. "If were in trouble, I can fight! I know I haven't gotten my tattoos yet but-"

"That is an order, Hanzo." He kneeled down, facing his pupil eye to eye. "I'm counting on you."

Hanzo looked away. He was only twelve, what could he do? He looked back at his master's eyes and nodded. If Aang could be the avatar at twelve, then he could escape with his friends.

A loud bang erupted the temple once again. Gyatso clenched his jaw, hating the fact that he had to leave but it was the only way to protect his people.

"Go," the monk commanded. He left quickly with tears in his eyes, knowing that this would be his last battle.

Hanzo moved quickly, waking up the others in their shared rooms. The others were in the West wing, so he did his best to get the ones where he was, in the East wing.

"What's happening?" A little bender boy asked as Hanzo encouraged them to pack their things quickly.

Hanzo frowned. He was conflicted. The boy knew it wasn't a good idea to tell them now, but they deserved to know. He sighed. "I'll tell you guys after, okay?"

The group of twenty kids made their way to the canal where the sky bison were. They could only leave with so many without getting noticed. Hanzo knew what he had to do, but he knew that it would hurt.

"We have to take the big ones and leave the babies behind." The airbender looked away, frowning at the group looking at him curiously. "That means five to a bison."

"What?" Another boy asked. "But-"

"I know." He clenched his fist. Hanzo couldn't believe that this was happening. "But we might die if we don't."

The boy looked at Hanzo before nodding and tending to the others. The other kids gasped as he confessed to what was happening. Some started to cry while others kissed their long life companions goodbye. They were about to lose their home.

They all complied silently, but they knew that this was what they had to do.

Hanzo hopped on his sky bison, Aibo. He looked over to find some others doing the same. Tightening Aibo's saddle, he jumped on. He looked behind him, finding some of the others have already sat down.

"Ready to go?" He asked, receiving a nod from the others. With a heavy heart, he knew it was time. "Aibo, yip-yip."

The furry six-legged creature flew out of the temple, followed by another three. Hanzo looked back behind him, trying his best to put on a tough face for the others. He watched as his home was being burned down, knowing that he chose to run away instead of fight.

He flew above the clouds, knowing that the fire nation wouldn't notice them there.

They sat there quietly, not knowing how to process everything that happened. After a few minutes of silence, another boy spoke.

"Where are we going?"

"Kiyoshi's island." Hanzo knew there was one place where the fire nation wouldn't search for them. "We'll get clothes there. After that, we head for the fire nation."

𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑯𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑳𝑽𝑬 𝒀𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑺 𝑳𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑹

        Hanzo shook his head at his granddaughter. She had mastered the art of airbending, but it was impossible to mark her as he had never learned or had gotten marked himself.

"Look, Jiji!" The fourteen year old said, manipulating the air around her. It looked as if she was making the plates float.

Maybe Hanzo was too old to look after kids. He was just glad that Nobu and his daughter, Yua stopped at one. "Miku, I told you to stop that. You know what could happen if someone sees."

The young airbender pouted. She stopped, complying to her grandfather. It sucked to be made fun for being a non-bender when she was. Miku knew it could end up with her dead, but at least she was thought of as cool.

Hanzo sat down, relieved that his granddaughter was safer now. He calmly drank his tea as he listened to the nervous tapping of Miku's foot.

"Oh, I forgot to say that Azula's picking me up. We're training at the palace. It hand to hand combat only." Miku closed her eyes, waiting for her grandfather's reaction.

He was right. Hanzo was too old to deal with kids. Great spirits, when was his daughter coming back? "Does your mother know?"

Miku nodded with a smile on her face. "I told her before she went to the market."

The old airbender shook his head. He couldn't believe that his own daughter would let Miku see someone that's related to the Fire Lords. He sighed. "Alright. Just know, no-"

"-No air bending, even if you're in danger." The grey-eyed girl smiled before giving her grandpa a hug. "You're the best, Jiji."

She ran off to her room, a trail of dust flying behind her. Miku needed to get ready for Azula.

Hanzo looked at the tea inside his cup. One of these days, Miku was going to get all of them in trouble.