As the team was ready to return to the temple, Azula finally returned. None of the boys seem relieved. “Excuse me, Princess, but what in your right mind told you to just run away to save yourself?!”
Azula clicked her tongue, “I didn’t want to interrupt your action scene but I needed to investigate”, she held up a Kappa’s decapitated head.
“Woah…” Gamma breathed in surprise. “You went to kill one of them?”
“How the hell did you manage to decapitate it? I know you didn’t bring any weapons with you”, Kamen questioned in suspicion.
“I was carrying a dagger, the enchanted ones that shrink to fit in the warriors' pockets”.
“…You had access to the enchanted weaponry closet?” Rean asked as he stared at Azula. She was beginning to doubt whether he had an actual face, or the hoodie was purposely designed to conceal his head in complete darkness.
“You think that mere Yokai’s head will win you any favors? It doesn’t change the fact that you ditched us”, Kaman growled in a matter-of-fact tone.
“On the contrary, it will, because this Kappa that I am holding is their alpha”.
All three boys were staring at her in silent shock until Kamen burst into laughter. “You expect us to believe that a useless weakling like you, had slain an apex supernatural creature?” He laughed.
Then a senior rank shinobi appeared in a cloud of smoke. “Team 7, it is time for you to return to the temple”.
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The whole plane ride was silent, Rean was muttering something in an unfamiliar language, Gamma was munching on a small chocolate stick (Azula assumed he had it on him the entire time) and Kamen gazed at her silently. She didn’t have to see his actual face to know that he was glaring.
“See something you like?” She smirked. The team might have been going back to be scolded, but that didn’t matter to her.
After the trip back, their sensei had a look of unclear emotions. “You should have worked together to take down the yokai unless you have any valid reason to have failed”.
“I do”, Azula spoke and handed the middle-aged man the head of a Kappa. He hummed with satisfaction as he observed it in his hand.
“How exactly did you decapitate this?”
“It was difficult but the trick is to empty all the water from its head bowl. Once it was empty I could use this dagger to slit hard enough to decapitate sufficiently”.
“And how did you know that?”
“I was curious so I listened to that curiosity”.
Sensei narrowed his eyes at the girl to examine any sign of lies, Azula was fortunately skilled in deception. She even fooled her teachers every time back to the Fire Nation. The sensei just shrugged. “Very well, you have all been assigned on cleaning duty. After that you will head back to your chambers”.
Gamma furrowed his eyebrows, “That’s our punishment—"
“Shush!” Rean silences the green giant.
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Later that night, Azula was in her chambers. She wasn’t the type to meditate, but she had to if she planned to succeed. Legs crossed, fists pressed against each other, eyes closed for concentration, she whispered a spell in Japanese kanji.
The sound of magic was all around her, she kept her eyes closed, patiently waiting for his voice. Only by the sound of crickets did he speak.
“Welcome back Azula”.
“How did you know my name?” She asked skeptically as she stood up and viewed the forest cave she appeared in. Aragami looked ahead with a smirk.
“I have connections, from my fellow Yokai”. Aragami boasted, and Azula rolled her eyes. He had a lot of allies, she needed to how large his ally-friend group was. It would make it easier to choose a side.
“Where is the fox?” She asked.
“Oh, I didn’t bring the fox”.
“You didn’t—you were planning to kidnap me”, Azula spoke with disbelief. Aragami’s blank white eyes curved to signal that he was smiling.
“Do you seriously think I’d go back on our plan?” Aragami pointed at a lake. “I am going to train you—”
“Okay I’m returning to The Hand Chambers”, Azula interrupted, but Aragami stood in her way. “So you can handle the fox’s powers”.
“I am already in training, and I do not see how your poor methods will help”.
“I apologize for the rough start, so, I will use a new method”
The ninja pulled out a board game. It wasn’t Paiso, but it was black and white with marble-like small objects. “Chess!”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“Chess is perfect for those who excel in strategy. I thought your brain needed the exercise to prepare for the battle”.
The princess scoffed but then Aragami deadpanned, “Do you want the fox’s power or not?”
“Very well, but I want to know the rules”.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
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Earlier in the Day
Azula was separated from her team and met the shadow ninja who had successfully lured her away. She was about to walk away when Aragami told her something interesting.
“I can give you powers”.
“…Go on…”
“There is a fox spirit from your world that came into this world with you. Fortunately, it is here in Japan”. Aragami explained. “Sadly I cannot give it to you now. There isn’t enough time. But, I can tell you that all the dimensional victims are being trained to kill off Yokai”
A plan quickly came into Azula’s mind. She can leave with Aragami or…know as much about the hand, then when she has the powers of the spirit fox she could usurp the Hand elders. An army as well as taking over the island.
“I accept, but I know I am in a more convenient position than you. I could learn their next move and stop them”, It wasn’t a complete lie, as long as he agreed then she could plan the usurp carefully.
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“And that’s all you need to know about the game”.
“I will pick…black”
Aragami hummed, “You want me to go first…”, He shrugged. He moved his center pawn forward. Azula moved her left-end pawn forward. “So, in your strategy, you have no interest in the lower rank individuals?”
“They only benefit if I know how powerful the high ranks are”, Azula answered as Aragami moved his left-end pawn.
“I see, so the level of power the high ranks have determines the low ranks' power”.
“Not necessarily, the low ranks could be just as powerful. But the high ranks could be weaker, that doesn’t mean the low ranks should know that fact”, Azula moved her next pawn.
“If I was in that position, I would sneak in and be done with the high ranks”.
“That wouldn’t be wise, you would have to know their weaknesses before acting”.
“Know what you are up against so it would be easier to determine the outcome”.
“The outcome is the most important part of the battle. No room for feelings”.
“And what about the chance an innocent person gets hurt?”
Azula had already taken most of Aragami’s pieces. “Just casualties of war”, Aragami frowned at her answer. As Azula cornered his king, the ninja chuckled.
“Checkmate. You are a fast learner, okay pick an item”.
Azula saw five items in place, a staff, a dagger, a paintbrush, a tin can, and a fishing rod. “What are you planning old man?”
“Just follow along, you will catch on. And I’m not old, I am only five hundred years old”.
Azula frowned, “You have every right to be called an old man”. She looked at the items and picked the staff. Aragami is an immortal being, he probably knew Japan like the back of his hand.
“Okay, come and attack me”. Aragami had his arms wide open, offering a simple strike. Azula knew that position was a trap so she went for the legs. The shadow man backflipped away from the incoming threat. “Impressive thinking. Other people would go for the trap without thinking. Try again”.
Azula’s attempts only resulted in swift dodges. Aragami took made a ‘tsk’ sound. “Observe your target, the root—Oouf!”
Azula managed to sweep him off his feet, literally. Aragami chuckled as he stood back up, “Your offense is good. Let us see how well you are in practice combat”.
Without warning, Aragami attempted to strike, Azula blocked and then tried to strike him but he was far too experienced with the staff. “I see the problem. It is wise to observe your opponent’s movements, but the element of surprise is just as effective. Breaking their root isn’t always physical for example; I know you are a princess from a world of people who can manipulate natural elements”
Azula was taken back by that fact and Aragami managed to knock the staff off her grip. She scoffed in disbelief. “I already learned that back in my world”, she said with her arms folded.
“I am sure you have, just with the wrong intentions. Instead of being intimidating, try making the target like you”.
“You don’t mean…”
“Be nice and friendly. Same intentions but through love”.
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The next day as Team Seven was on cleaning duty, Azula noticed Kamen was about to step on a slippery soap bar. She pushed him forward. Kamen grabbed her by the collar. “Are you trying to start something with me, Princess?”
“You were about to slip on the soap. I was trying to prevent the accident from happening”.
The armored man pushed the girl away, “Likely story”.
Later that night
As Azula played chess with Aragami, he kept probing her. “So, did you try being nice to your group?”
“Of course I did, they even treated me as an equal after that”, she lied nonchalantly. Aragami hummed unconvinced, Azula wondered if she was losing her skill at lying. She stood up in shock that the ninja had beaten her this time.
“Don’t be upset. This is just a friendly game”.
“…That is the point of this?! Why do I need to do this? I am starting to doubt you even have this fox!”
Aragami just sighed. “You need to calm down. Pick an item”.
Azula noticed that there were four items, and the staff was gone. She picked the dagger. “So part of this game is that whichever of these items I choose will not be an option in the next lesson?”
Aragami nodded. “Since you chose the dagger, we will try target practice”. He pointed at dart targets, some were plain blue circles, and others were actual target designs. “Threats are not always obvious. They are subtle if they want to steal from you. Sometimes, the individuals who you are certain are your enemies, might have been allies the entire time”.
Azula rolled her eyes and shot her dagger at the properly designed target. She did aim but this method wasn’t her expertise. If she were Mai, she would have hit perfectly. Aragami clicked his tongue and wagged his finger. “Wrong target, that results in…”
Eggs were thrown at the girl. Azula never needed her to bend back more than at this moment.
The next day, Gamma kept asking why Azula smelt funky. She kept washing herself thoroughly.
The next training session was painting. Aragami had a whiteboard and paintbrushes. “Painting is one of the best ways to express yourself. Similar to writing in a diary. Start with painting your pain”.
“Are you trying to get me to confess about myself?”
“No”.
As the two were done painting, Aragami sighed proudly at his artwork, hands on his hips. “Okay, now we reveal our work to each other”. He revealed his work which was Azula in a red combat assassin outfit. Azula revealed her art which was the mountains somewhere in the area. “I didn’t know you were a skilled artist, one day you might be a famous one. Make people forget about Mona Lisa”. He quipped but cleared his throat after seeing Azula being baffled. “Right…I assume there is no Leonardo Da Vinci in your home world…”.
The Next Day
Azula was drawing in a notebook after training, and that was when she heard Shinobi Shaw. She followed him silently. As she peeked from the door she heard him on a phone call.
“You had one job, to get that fox. Now you are telling me that Aragami has it?!” There was a groaned sigh. “Do you realize Shadow Empress will have my head on a pike if she finds out? She’ll come to me and—”
There was an alarm that sounded. Everyone was escorted out of their rooms. Azula ran out with everyone else until she saw the temple being attacked by a…she didn’t know what it was exactly.
She sneaked out to a different exit. “Azula”, Aragami called. “You have to come with me, I didn’t expect this to happen”.
“Why is a Yokai attacking the temple?” She asked. “I don’t know, but it isn’t safe to be here if a Yokai is bold enough to attack. You need to leave”.
Leaving seemed wise and safe. She needed the fox’s power to overthrow The Hand. Then again, if she leaves it would be betrayal. And she would struggle to re-enter.
Before she could answer, Kamen came down the stairs. “You! What are you doing here?” Azula had a plan.
“I need your help”.