"It appears that those bounty hunters were more trackers than hunters, weren't they?"
"But of course. I did not expect simple idiots to hunt my prey for me. I simply needed them to move you as I wanted."
"Is that so? Then, what is the need for the army?"
"To make sure you did not receive a chance to run away. Now, I do believe that you owe me your head, yes?"
"No, because if I remember correctly, I won that battle."
"You ran. That does not mean you won," Azula responded as her smirk hasn't faltered, making Toji tilt his head while he stared at the dozens of Fire Nation soldiers lining the perimeter.
'Is escape possible? No, they've blocked off the various exits. Can I fight them all? Yes, but the footing is unstable and that could result in all of us falling into the ravine. Okay, can I do so without dying in the process?...Perhaps.'
"Well, then. What is your plan? I assume you've learned that I have faced worse numbers than this and have emerged victorious every time?"
"You. I want you."
"I vaguely remember telling you that I am not looking for a relationship right now."
"I do not care. You are the strongest that is also of the same age as I am. Therefore, it would be foolish of me not to have your child."
"How old you are?"
"Seventeen."
"Oof~ I'm a guy with only a few morals and one of my number one rules is no dating anyone under 18."
"How so?"
"Because I'm 19."
"And? If I'm old enough to kill, I'm old enough to have a child. Is that not true?"
"Is she usually this persistent?", Toji asked as he looked to Mai and Ty Lee, to which the former just let out a soft sigh as the latter giggled.
"Normally, no, but I think you hurt her ego."
"Enough! You shall come now peacefully or I shall force you," As she finished, the soldiers behind her stomped their feet in unison, a burst of flames forming a wall of fire for a brief moment.
"I don't really do peaceful and forcing me doesn't usually end poorly for everyone else. How about this? You pay me and I might consider your offer."
"You want me to pay you? What will I receive in exchange? Your hand or your loyalty?"
"Take your pick, sweetheart. Either way, I don't come cheap, especially when you're asking for something as insane as making a kid with you."
"Oh my spirits He's actually considering it, Azula", Ty Lee whispered excitedly beside her, but Mai felt a bit nervous as she saw the anger dancing behind the amused look in Azula's eyes.
"You're mocking me."
"I am, little girl. You see, where I come from, we have a little something called 'manners'," He began as he twirled the spear around him before stabbing it harshly into the stone, the sound making everyone flinch before Wormy ate itself.
"And manners is something I prize above everything. I spared you once with a spar and you took it personal by having hunters chase me around for an entire goddamn year," Everyone began to notice the shift in the atmosphere as Wormy's spherical form fell into Toji's hands, the young adult swallowing the marble before cracking his neck with his first step forward.
"Now, here I am, giving you a second chance to walk away and you decide to counter it with a threat. So, what I'm going to give you is a rare 'Toji Zenin approved' third chance, not only to you but to all of you. Relax your stances and move out of my way," His tone was soft and yet, the words echoed along the walls.
Azula wanted to respond, but it was the look in Toji's eyes that stopped her in her tracks, having seen those eyes in one other person throughout her life.
The cold, merciless look in her father's eyes when he sees something that annoys him.
"He doesn't look he's bluffing this time," Mai whispered softly, Ty Lee's smile faltering as Azula narrowed her eyes at him.
"You think that intimates me?"
"Princess, fear is not something I really care for because arrogance and pride always reduces it and causes people to do stupid shit. No, what I do is results and quite frankly!", His voice rippled as he vanished and punched through the chest of a firebender, the bender in question unable to even let out a gasp as Toji ripped his arm free with the heart still beating in his hands.
"That's the one I'm very good at. Now, these guys are just corpses waiting for their orders and you are the one that decides how many get to live to see another day and who will be joining their friend in the afterlife."
'I barely saw him move,' Azula had only seen a glimpse of him lunging in, but the speed at which he did it and the fact that she couldn't even hear his ste-!
An instinctive yelp escaped her lips as the sonic boom finally popped, everyone flinching and Toji capitalized on that as he pulled on Kuruk's spear and watched it sail towards his hand.
Instead of catching it, he dashed to the side and snapped the neck of another firebender with a kick, Kuruk's spear stabbing straight to the chest of a firebender before Toji gagged out Wormy and let it unfold.
"Split Soul Katana and then back!", He barked as he lunged in, Wormy spitting the blade into his grasp before eating on its own tail once again to shrink down.
With another thought, Kuruk's spear tore through the chest of the fighter it was in and towards Toji, who ducked low before kicking the spear at a firebender while cutting through another.
Soon, the fighter was a blur, ducking in between the firebenders and forcing them to fight him hand to hand lest they hurt their fellow benders.
He on the other hand didn't have that problem as his spear pierced through anything in its path while the Split Soul Katana made quick work of the ones that tried to close in on him.
Sliding in between two firebenders, he kicked them in the jaw and watched the spear sail overhead, stabbing both of them through the head before he hopped to his feet.
Danger blared at him from the side and he leaned out of the way of a punch, but he narrowed his eyes when he saw Ty Lee smiling before she hopped back.
'A clenched fist with the first knuckle of the index finger extended outwards to focus all the energy through it like a needle. Huh, I've heard of that fighting style before, but it's surprising to see it being used by something in this world,' He thought as he flourished his katana, watching as Ty Lee leapt out of the way with a twirl.
As she did, Mai threw a trio of stiletto daggers, but Toji easily parried them away. However, that was the opening as he could feel heat approaching from behind, ducking into a split and dodging the arc of blue flames going overhead.
"Right, forgot about those," Toji murmured as he rolled to his feet, raising an eyebrow as Mai kicked up his spear to Ty Lee only for their eyes to widen as he called it back to his free hand with a smirk.
"R-Right, Azula, we are not prepared for this kind of fight," Ty Lee spoke with a grimace as they stared at the bodies bleeding out, Toji not saying anything as he turned to look at Azula while ignoring the few firebenders gathering around her.
"We are prepared! Just keep him busy!", Azula hissed and the few firebenders that were left stepped forward and punched in unison, but Toji spun and dashed towards cover.
Lazily tapping the spear against the ground, he hummed and counted down before he reached five and hopped out of his cover. As he did, the flames died down and he threw his spear through the chest of a firebender, pulling both the spear and the fighter's corpse towards him.
Using the fighter as a shield, he charged in before throwing the corpse at one of the five that were left, dodging Mai's dagger throw and kicking it into the neck of a fighter while stabbing the Soul Split Katana into the chest of another.
The three that were left looked panicked as they turned and ran, but a wave of brilliant blue flames washed over their forms and burned them to a crisp.
"Cowards, the lot of them!", Azula hissed as she walked forward, Ty Lee and Mai glancing at each other when Toji stabbed the spear into the stone and swung his katana from side to side.
"Now, it's just the three of you. You two going to try and convince the Princess that this is stupid?", He asked, but was not surprised when they simply glanced at Azula nervously before looking at the glare she aimed at him.
"Guess not. In any case, I think that's about everyone other than you three so that should be enough of a warning," He murmured before he rushed to the edge, surprising the three as Toji leapt up while throwing the spear down as hard as it could.
Looking back, he smirked at the sight of Azula charging after him as he called the spear back, winking at her as he spun out of the way of the spear's path.
"Until we meet again~!", He exclaimed as he grabbed onto the spear and let it carry him further upwards, stabbing the spear into the side of the cliff before looking up to see that he was close to the edge.
'Well, time to get out of here as fast as I can.'
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'That was a fun fight,' Toji thought as he hid in a cave on one of the many mountains near the Western Air Temple, keeping quiet and without a campfire given that he had heard Fire Nation soldiers searching the surrounding area for the past day.
A soft sigh came from his lips as he leaned back against the wall, Wormy resting on his lap while Kuruk's spear laid against the wall on his right side.
He had expected Azula to come looking for him herself, but he thought that she would take her time by letting a few years pass. Apparently, he had underestimated just how arrogant and prideful she was.
"Seventeen years old and already barking about conquest and kids? Just what kind of fucked-up guy is that Ozai to make her think like that?", Toji murmured and chuckled softly as Wormy rumbled softly.
"Yeah, she's dangerous and crazier than Toph, something I did not expect to be possible. Still, those two that were with her seem to be two that she relies on unconsciously to keep herself stable," he muttered, his hand reaching out to grab onto the spear as he heard voices closing in before relaxing as they passed.
Looks like he was not going to get any sleep tonight, so he might as well plan his next move.
'I have everything that I was looking for: Kyoshi's fans, Kuruk's spear, Szeto's ring and Yangchen's staff. I wish I could have gotten Roku's, but Szeto's is fine.
Now, I could head back to Gaoling and get Iron and that sweet paycheck again...but at the same time, I did say that I was going to be gone for about six years and it's only been three years,' Toji thought with a smirk as he grasped the spear, looking out the cave to stare at the rain pouring down.
After all, he still had a lot to learn about the weapons so why not use this time, then?
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"You sure this is a good spot?"
"The Misty Palms Inn is always a good place if you wish to find information," A middle-aged man dressed in noble Earth Nation clothing with a thin moustache and long beard spoke with a smile, his hair done up in a bun as his companion scoffed.
"Fine. Let's just get this information so we can leave," The black-haired man beside him spoke with a frown, his grey eyes scanning the room warily before he noticed the two figures in the corner of his right eye.
"To the right and front," He whispered, the other man looking over before his eyes widened slightly as he saw the rogue prince and former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation sitting at one of the tables near the back of the bar.
"Xin Fu, as regrettable as it is, we do not have time. Lord Beifong has given us an order-"
"Which I will follow, Yu. That doesn't mean that I can't hunt a few bounties here and there along the way," Xin Fu spoke with a smirk as he went to walk over before narrowing his eyes when the man he was playing Pai Sho with the Dragon of The West standing up and pointing at him.
"You think you can just come in and steal my bounty?!"
"Bounty?", One of the hunters whispered, Yu letting out a frustrated sigh as all of the hunters stood up with looks of greed.
"Now, do you understand why I told you to wait?"
"It's not as if they will make a difference," Xin Fu spoke as he threw the first punch, launching a rock bullet that smashed into a hunter's chest and sent them through a table.
Yu just sighed as the group charged, knowing that their targets were going to slip away while he and Xin Fu were busy fighting off the hunters.
They were many, but none were skilled enough to face two experts on Earthbending as Xin Fu smashed the last one into the ground, standing up and dusting off his fist while Yu shook his head.
"Our targets are gone and we do not have any information on where she is."
"Ask the barte-Who is that?", Xin Fu asked with a frown, staring at the only figure that hadn't attacked them as the person was far too busy eating a fruit salad while humming a song with his eyes closed.
The young man didn't look up as he spooned another piece of melon into his mouth even as Xin Fu loomed over him with a frown.
"You deaf or stupid? Who the hell are you?"
"That depends. Who's asking?"
"You're real cheeky for a brat I'm about to tear to shreds."
"Oh really? I'd like to see you try."
"Xin Fu, step back," Yu cut in, to which Xin Fu turned to glare at him only to be surprised at the tense expression on the man's face.
"What do you mean 'step back'? What the hell would I step back for?"
"Because he knows me. Hey, Yu. You still scamming people by calling yourself a 'master earthbender'?"
"I have to make a living in some way. It is good to see you, Toji," Yu spoke with a thin smile and a bow, which Toji returned with his own nod while Xin Fu's eyes widened as he heard the name.
"As in Toji Fushiguro? The Monster of Beifong?"
"The very same. Did Lord Beifong ask of you to help?"
"No, I was just coming here to take a break before I head back to Gaoling."
"Well, then if it's to retrieve your beast, you will be disappointed."
"If something happened to Iron, I'm eradicating Gaoling from the map," Toji spoke calmly even as he ate a piece of apple, Xin Fu feeling a bit anxious as Yu gave a nervous chuckle.
"No need for that. Iron is still alive, but neither him nor Lady Toph are in Gaoling. W have been tasked by Lord Beifong to retrieve both given that they were kidnapped 'supposedly' by the Avatar."
"The Avatar's actually alive?", Toji asked with a raised eyebrow and Yu nodded, the man humming as he looked at his bowl before nodding with a grin.
"Nah, they left with him. Anyway, let's go. I'm going to get my komodo rhino back."
"Um, well, we are the only ones being paid to retrie-", Yu blinked as a cold sensation flushed over his skin, looking down only to blink at the spear stabbed through his chest.
"Yeah, not anymore. Thanks for the info!"
"Anytime Toji!", The bartender spoke with a smirk as Toji pulled his spear free, glancing at Xin Fu's headless body lying on the floor before whistling as he began walking towards the exit.
His next stop: The Si Wong Desert.
A/N: And we end it here~! I was going to not write a chapter and just rest for the day, but then I saw the trailer for JJK Season 3 and that just made me want to write a chapter.
That and I was bored.
Anyway, we're now in the canon timeline and we're about to mess things up.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!