Avatar: The Red Dragon

Chapter 12: The Explosion - Part 1

Aang, Zuko, a young man and a flying bison disembarked at the harbor of Capital Island on a morning in the early summer. The air was hot but not yet uncomfortably stuffy. They had come to meet a young girl from the Royal Fire Academy who was rumored to possess a special firebending power. They thought about it on their way to the Fire Nation, but none of them had ever heard of that kind of ability before. A palanquin was waiting for them upon their arrival to get them to the Royal Palace. But they preferred to fly on Aang's bison, Appa. Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko were seated on the back of Appa, while the young man sat on the bison's head.

"It's been such a long time since I last came here," Aang said, looking down at the city.

"It's the same for me too, actually," Zuko replied, laughing. "It's supposed to be my home though. Let's rest at the palace for now, we'll go to the academy in the afternoon."

In the meantime, Nanami was listening to Toh's lesson about the Water Tribes. Water was the opposite element of fire. Most of the waterbending moves were flexible and fluid, as if water was running through the bender's body; the complete opposite of firebending moves, which were sharp and powerful. It had been two days since they received the message from Fire Lord Zuko. Nanami looked at the Royal Palace through the window.

They shouldn't be far away and could be arriving anytime soon.

After lunchtime, Nanami and her friends walked to a corner of the main courtyard, where a Pai Sho table was installed. They often came to play, except for Miya who did not know how to play it. Today, it was Saki against Nanami. The rich, young lady never won a single game against her friend, even though she had been taught to play Pai Sho by one of the best teachers since a young age. This time again, it did not look good for her. Nanami pushed her into a corner and the game was about to end on her victory again.

"And... My win!" Nanami declared after moving her tile one last time.

"Again?" Saki dejectedly said. "How can you be so good at this game? I've never won against you! Neither did Hiroki!"

"Well, I've been playing with my Grandpa since like, forever?" Nanami replied laughing. "You two play strictly by the book. That's your weakness! You're only using conventional and predictable strategies. My Grandpa Nobuo always tells me to be bold and use unexpected moves, so your opponent would be destabilized."

The four friends were still talking when a large silhouette overshadowed the Pai Sho table. They looked up to see the Headmaster standing in front of them. They immediately stopped chatting and all of them stiffened while Kaito was standing there, with an intimidating aura around him. He looked down at the uneasy young students with an intense gaze. There was a long moment of silence where time seemed to stand still. All other students present in the main courtyard also stopped talking when the Headmaster walked in. Iroh, who was also there, looked at Nanami and her friends.

Nanami, he thought, worried about her.

"Nanami," Kaito called her with his deep voice. "Come with me." He then turned his head to the other three. "You three prepare for your firebending lessons. They begin soon."

He walked away and Nanami followed him. As she was heading towards the main building, her gaze passed over Iroh. The young prince timidly waved at her while smiling.

Iroh, she thought and smiled back at him before entering the building. After Kaito and Nanami disappeared from view, life resumed in the courtyard.

Avatar Aang, Fire Lord Zuko and the young man were waiting in Kaito's office. Nanami entered the room after the Headmaster. Fire Lord Zuko was a man around his sixties, with his characteristic scar on his left eye.

So he's Iroh's grandfather then.

Avatar Aang was about as tall as Fire Lord Zuko and looked a little younger. He had a shaved head with a blue arrow on it and a brown beard.

Must be Avatar Aang, he seems nice.

The third man was a young man, with a shaved head like Avatar Aang. He also had the airbending master tattoos.

Who's that? He's also got the tattoo. Is he Avatar Aang's son?

Aang walked over to the young girl who was scanning the three visitors with her golden eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Nanami. I'm Aang. This is Fire Lord Zuko, and this is my youngest son, Tenzin," he introduced himself and the two others. His voice was calm and soothing.

Nanami bowed, without replying. She was feeling nervous.

"We're here because we received a message from your teacher saying you had an unusual firebending technique."

Nanami looked into the Avatar's eyes and nodded. She was not feeling well and the stress was starting to overwhelm her. She felt her heart beating fast and her temperature rising, just like the other night. She began to breathe hard and quickly, as she felt the pressure bearing down on her.

Aang tried to calm the little girl but it seemed she could not hear him. Her eyes started to shine and glow, reflecting the sunlight that came from the window in the office. Her skin also seemed to be gleaming. The Avatar looked closer: curved shining golden lines were drawing on her arms, following her blood vessels. The light in her eyes was getting brighter, like cats' eyes in the dark.

Nanami was still breathing heavily; she could not calm down.

Why is it happening to me? I'm supposed to be able to control my inner energy now!

Avatar Aang tried to grab her hand to calm her down but when he touched her, her skin was so hot that he almost burned himself. He quickly pulled his hand back. Zuko, Tenzin and Kaito looked baffled by this unbelievable phenomenon. They could not move as they were so stunned.

When she saw she had hurt Avatar Aang, Nanami's panic only grew. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode. Unable to contain her fear anymore, Nanami's energy burst out and created an enormous explosion. The blast was so powerful that it swept through Kaito's office, blowing out the entire third floor of the main building.

Windows shattered into small pieces. The desk went flying, as well as all the books on the shelves. Paper swirled in all directions, making a mess in the room. A loud sound echoed throughout the school and a big cloud of smoke enveloped the room. The other four benders had to protect themselves so as not be blasted out of the room. Fortunately, the walls did not break and the structure was still standing, protecting them from a collapsing roof.

Dust particles and the smell of burnt paper curled around the benders. The thick fog of smoke made them cough and prevented them from seeing clearly. When it faded away, Aang glimpsed Nanami's silhouette. She was in the center of a fireball that formed a shield around her. Exhausted by using all of her energy, the young girl fainted and fell unconscious on the floor, causing the fireball to disappear.

"Nanami!"

Aang ran to her side and tried to wake her up by calling her name, but the mysterious little firebender could not hear him anymore...

A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

Nanami finally met Aang and Zuko, but poor little Nanami got too overwhelmed and she is now unconscious :(

Credit for picture: GFYCAT - Yamamoto Genryuusai