Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Ren was glad to leave the capital city for the training grounds. The cutthroat politicking spilling out of the place was why she enlisted in the first place. She had to admit that the trip had been worth it though, and not just because of avenging her comrades. Seeing the resources allocated to the 11th Regiment was gratifying, and it was just as good to have all the prestige they’d fought and toiled for finally be put to use.

The Fire Lord was pleased enough to ensure priority allocation of all resources to the 11th, which extended to choice selection of recruits. It’d be a grueling couple of months of careful culling to raise the battalions and fully fill in the missing numbers of the 11th Regiment. It was already a pain back when they were campaigning to get the trickle of reinforcements up to standard, with the fires of battle often serving as the best method of forging the lost recruits into proper soldiers. Within the Fire Nation, where there were no Earth Kingdom partisans to scare the inexperienced and over-confident rookies straight?

Captain Ren was not looking forward to training up her officers and her rank and file.

She consoled herself that at least she would be free from Fire Nation politicking, unlike poor Xing. It was certain that the poor young colonel would have to constantly deal with nobles and bureaucrats while the 11th was rebuilt. Whether he liked it or not, Xing had to establish the same parody of a friendship that every other influential person had while he remained within the heart of the Fire Nation.

And with the fame and mystique attached to his name, the poor boy would likely have to deal with snakes and bootlickers by the cartload. Ren snickered as she imagined the number of dinner invitations Xing would be forced to attend. Hopefully Colonel Sho would be still around to look after his young peer. The venerable commander was the most level headed and reliable of Colonel Lidai’s close circle of friends. He’d make sure Xing didn’t get plied with wine or get ‘introduced’ to bright, pretty daughters.

Hopefully.

If it was Colonel Dao doing the minding, then Ren could only pray that Xing wouldn’t become a young father before the rebuilt 11th even have the chance to deploy.

Captain Ren sighed as she imagined all the trouble her young, brilliant adopted brother (screw what Kai thinks) would get dragged into. Shaking off the thoughts, the recently promoted captain got to work in her new office and summoned for her new lieutenants. She’d have a quick look at the new graduates before throwing them into the sparring circle for a few rounds and then seeing how they handled Xing’s wargame.

It’d be nice if at least one of them was a cute and well-mannered scion.

*****

“Lieutenant Koshi.”

Lieutenant. Koshi didn’t realize until now how much he missed that title before his name. He snapped a sharp salute to the smaller figure before him. “Colonel Xing.”

“Thank you for accepting this rank,” the boy said with a slight frown on his face. “I know you’re slated for captaincy, but considering the circumstances…”

Koshi bowed respectfully, fist in palm. “It is no bother, colonel. I am more than happy to serve once more as an honor guard.” He knew his limits; Leadership was not something Koshi aspired to anyway, and there was plenty of prestige still to be had as a colonel’s bodyguard. 

The colonel nodded gratefully. “Thank you. My life is in your hands, Lieutenant.”

“The honor is mine, colonel.” And it was true. Like everyone else, Koshi respected young Xing for all that he’d done for the 11th. The orphan had quickly been more than just a regimental mascot after being recovered from the ruined colony, and had fearlessly saved plenty of soldiers in the heat of battles, Koshi’s included. General Lidai’s adoption of his strategies and tactics against the Earth Kingdom marauders had significantly slowed the attrition suffered by the 11th and earned the regiment plenty of renown. 

Koshi gritted his teeth as he remembered his shameful inaction as the bastard Shiluo had Xing whipped for voicing his objection to the mistreatment of the prisoners. The spineless general probably could not stand the humiliation from having his delusional battle plans questioned and needed a reason to take it out on Xing. 

The captains and lieutenants had protested to no avail, but Koshi should’ve tried to stop them, like Ren did. He’d been already demoted, he had far less to lose than Ren. It was only Colonel Dao’s intervention that Xing still had some skin left on his shredded back.

“I will not fail you again.”

Xing’s head tilted to one side as he blinked in confusion. “You’re an exemplary warrior, Koshi. When have you failed me? I’m pretty sure there’s no bad blood between us?”

“I…” Koshi flushed as cowardice kept him from voicing his guilt. 

The colonel dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand. “We can worry about it later. For now though, I need you to rebuild the honor guard. Having only you and Yan would overwork the two of you to death.”

Koshi straightened, and then shamefully latched onto the new topic. “I understand, colonel.”

“I’ll leave the recruitment up to you?”

The lieutenant saluted again, more determined this time. “Yes, colonel. Are there any requirements you wish from them?” Since honor guards reflected the prestige of their charges, it was not uncommon for generals and colonels to be selective in certain traits. Like Colonel Yashen favoring warcleaver specialists, or Colonel Dao’s bodyguards consisting completely of men capable of flipping a log end-over-end at least two yards away.

“No, you’re free to pick who you deem fitting. Oh…” The boy paused for a second, and Koshi saw from the smirk that twitched at the edge of his lips that an unreasonable request was coming. “Don’t recruit anyone named Han just yet.”

Koshi couldn’t help himself. “Colonel?”

Xing shook his head, stifling a chuckle as he waved the question off. “It’s…a pet project, you can say.”

Remembering previous ‘projects’, Koshi wisely left it at that and left the colonel’s office to immediately start on his task. He’ll have to ask Yan and the captains for suggestions. No doubt it’ll be a problem of culling all the eager volunteers once the positions were made known. 

There was even a non-zero chance that he’d have to make sure Ren and Kai don’t find a way to demote themselves just for a chance to be closer to their little brother.

*****

“Ah, Colonel Xing.”

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The boy in question bowed deeply and offered a sharp salute as he stopped about ten paces away. “Princess Azula.” He dropped the salute and straightened up, but his gaze was lowered, as was right for his station. 

Azula regarded the teen colonel in silence for a moment, frowning as she tried to decipher the interesting image he presented to her. The colonel was dressed in a freshly pressed set of civilian’s clothes, that of a well-to-do (but not wealthy) lowborn. Despite his age he looked far more battle hardened than some of the graying commanders that advised her father. He was tense and alert despite the blank gaze he offered, but not afraid or nervous. 

Interesting indeed.

Finally, the princess let out a lopsided grin. “It’s good to see you’ve answered my summons so promptly, colonel.”

Xing gave a curt nod, not rude, but not too respectful either. “It would be disrespectful of me to do otherwise, princess.”

He masked his annoyance well, but it showed nonetheless. Yet his answer was faultless. Intriguing. Time to stoke the flames then.

Azula fought off the urge to grin. “Let me be frank, colonel. I’ve summoned you because I am puzzled. You see, a few nights ago, Duke Cho was found horribly dead in his estate…” 

Xing twitched oh so faintly at the mention of the duke’s name. Practically impossible to notice if one didn’t look for it.

“...and while many are claiming it to be the work of angered spirits, I’ve heard whispers telling me otherwise.” The girl tapped at her lips thoughtfully with one finger, carefully pacing her words. “You see, I’ve been told that it’s not the spirits who were angered, but several officers from a regiment that Duke Cho had offended. Something to do with securing his brother a general’s commission for that particular regiment?”

Xing was almost utterly unmoving - there were slightly more noticeable twitches on his fingers, and the very slight shift of his feet as if he was ready to pounce. His gaze was still directed to the air in front of him, but the sharp anger - not panic - that exuded from him was palpable. Azula allowed herself to smirk a bit. “Well, colonel? Do you have any thoughts on that matter?”

“As you are frank, princess, please allow me to do so as well.”

Azula gave a gracious nod of her head, and she fought the urge to reel back as Xing’s gaze rose to meet hers. His disgust - caged as it was - was intense. “I would like to know the point of what your highness is getting at.”

Still respectful, if just barely. Despite his poor manners Azula was getting genuinely impressed with Xing, especially when compared to her weakling brother.

“Relax, colonel. I am not here to threaten or punish you.” 

More credit to him, he did not relax at all. 

“In fact, I wish to applaud your actions.” Still tense. “You uprooted a weakness within my father’s kingdom, and thanks to your message the spineless nobles will know better than to weaken our forces with their corruption. Your punishment of Duke Cho’s failure will remain a secret, as much as I would like to publicly reward you for that service.”

The anger in the colonel subsided into simmering embers, and he managed a stiff nod before lowering his gaze once more. “I am…grateful for your praise, princess.”

“It’s no matter,” Azula replied breezily, waving a hand with equal casualness. “It’s good to see that there are loyal and competent leaders serving the Fire Nation. Such talent should not be wasted on courtly intrigues, am I right?”

Colonel Xing did not reply, so she arched an eyebrow as she continued. “You know, by now I’m sure most men would be simpering out of gratitude or bursting with outrage. Yet you’re still standing there, all quiet and angry.”

“I apologize for disappointing your expectations, princess,” he said, the words forced through gritted teeth. 

“Oh, you’re far from a disappointment, Xing. May I call you Xing?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I find your control and achievements to be impressive indeed. Impressive enough that I might offer you my official support.”

This finally got Xing to raise an eyebrow. “‘Might’, princess?”

Azula grinned again. “I will first need to confirm for myself that you are truly as competent as they say. You will not mind a brief spar, would you?”

Xing seemed to pause in thought, before he let out a resigned sigh. “I would have to admit that I will be a poor choice of a sparring partner, your highness.”

“Oh?” That was actually surprising. Azula folded her arms in front of her as she regarded him curiously. She’d expected the boy to be more than happy to vent some of his outrage. 

The colonel bowed again, this time to feign apology. “I am just an orphan unofficially adopted by the regiment that now I have the honor of leading. The 11th were always diligent in their duties that my firebending training is limited to the most…pragmatic uses. I learned mostly from combat against the Earth Kingdom armies. My bending will undoubtedly be unsightly and…unsafe for formal sparring.”

“Is that so?” Now it was Azula’s turn to quirk up an eyebrow. Unsafe firebending? She definitely wanted to see that. “Then it is fortunate that I am competent enough for both of us, Xing,” she proclaimed confidently, and then moved past him towards the door. 

“Come, we shall use the private training grounds.” Azula grinned to herself as she felt Xing’s annoyance radiate for a moment before he reluctantly followed along.

Unsafe firebending? Would it be worse compared to Zuko’s weak bending? Azula would find out, and she would no doubt prove her superiority to this promising officer.

The princess frowned as she considered that she might have to come up with a suitably gracious speech. Can’t have the young colonel too upset with her if she wanted him to work for her.

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