Yui and Katara started getting upset about my frequent travels, so I had to admit my fault and spend more ti with them. After all, they'll soon beco full-fledged waterbenders. Their journey to mastery is sothing they'll have to achieve on their own. Of course, I'll keep helping them, but once they demonstrate their skills, they'll be seen as almost adults—strength is valued more than age here.
"Alright, let's do one more round today and call it quits," I said with a smirk, watching the exhausted girls. "Want to speed up your training? There's no turning back now. I can see you've gotten too relaxed without ."
A chorus of indignant protests was my answer. Such teamwork—if only you could coordinate like that during sparring with . "Looks like I've figured out how to motivate you," I thought, shaking my head. They always fall for it.
"I was talking to Master Pakku recently. He was bragging about his student, saying she'll catch up to him in skill soon. She'll probably beco the first female waterbending master," I said, feigning sadness, watching the girls' eyes light up with determination.
*"What?! Only one of us can beco the First?!"* No words were needed to understand what they were thinking.
"Then what are you waiting for? Attack!" I clapped, jerking my head back to dodge the ice needles flying at . My favorite move is gaining popularity among benders, and these little princesses are no exception.
While one kept under a constant barrage of attacks, the other gathered chi for sothing else. Hmm, so they're preparing a fog technique—sothing new. Usually, they prefer direct assaults. Sotis their fighting style reminds of firebenders.
As soon as the fog appeared, new silhouettes erged. If I were an ordinary waterbender, the ice decoys disguised as people might have fooled . But I'll let them continue for now—let's see what they've co up with. Battles rarely go as expected, so I'll add a bit of chaos.
After creating my own ice clones and manipulating them, I sent them toward the girls while stepping back. Monts later, Katara's confused head appeared where I'd been, planning to attack from behind after crawling across the icy floor. Original—I definitely didn't teach them that.
"Ah, who do we have here!" I said, trapping her in ice. "You almost got . Don't pout, or I'll tighten it," I teased, flicking Katara's nose. Lately, they don't want affection from or their parents, claiming they're grown-ups and don't like it anymore. But their faces betray their true emotions—the opposite of what they say.
anwhile, my clones were rcilessly destroyed, but they served their purpose, buying ti. With the girls, I use just a bit more of my power, pushing them to overco their limits each ti. Fighting an overwhelmingly strong opponent wouldn't be fun—sotis it's okay, but not constantly.
Yui held out for another two minutes under my relentless barrage of waterbending techniques. A good result—last ti, she couldn't even fight back. This ti, she managed to counterattack occasionally.
"You tried hard. There are so mistakes, but we'll address them later. Who wants to ride the penguin-otters today?" I asked the cheered-up girls, who seed to have found a second wind. Honestly, even I enjoy playing with these funny creatures, who'd sell their souls for a fish.
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I only recently discovered that our palace has an open balcony with a stunning view of the city. It's beco my favorite spot to spend ti with Kaya, especially with hot tea and a warm blanket.
"Shizuka? Is that her na?" Kaya said, as if tasting the na. "Are you serious about her?"
"Yes, she's great. I'm sure you'll beco friends," I replied, intertwining my fingers with hers. "Let the girls and Sokka grow up a bit more, and then I'll take you all to Kyoshi Island."
"You're starting to worry ..." Kaya said thoughtfully. "First , now Shizuka—both of us are older than you, and both already have children. That's not very normal, you know?" She turned to with a concerned expression.
"Huh?" I didn't understand.
"You should see your face right now," Kaya burst out laughing. "Wait, wait, let catch my breath," she gasped.
"You seed so calm and serious at first," I shook my head at her antics.
"I was corrupted by soone close to my heart," she said, settling her soft bottom on my lap. "And I love it," she murmured near my neck, slipping her warm hands under my clothes. "Every woman deserves happiness, and I hope you'll give it to us."
"Absolutely," I replied, kissing her forehead and closing my eyes.
Kaya has moderate talent in waterbending but continues to improve, knowing how dangerous the outside world can be. While the girls prefer mastering new techniques quickly for fun, Kaya impresses with her ticulousness, perfecting each move to her ideal.
Her true calling, however, is healing. She's surpassed most other students in this area, even though she started training much later. Healing requires not just basic water control but also exceptional manipulation of chi. She admitted to sensing sothing like chi as a child and even had so success with it. When a virus spread in the Southern Water Tribe, she recovered faster than others because she played with what she called "strange things" across her body—likely energy channels she used to strengthen her health.
Her progress in healing boosted her self-esteem, which had dipped due to feelings of inadequacy compared to my talent. I hadn't noticed this at first, mistaking her intense training for a desire for greater power. Now, we often sit and share our thoughts, desires, and fears. Thanks to these heart-to-heart talks, Kaya no longer pushes herself too hard.
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We don't often get to gather around the sa table. Arnuk has an irregular work schedule, though his office is in the sa building, just at the other end of the wing. Jun now manages an entire departnt in the Healing Halls, handling all the paperwork for new students. I often stay late at the training grounds, asking servants to bring food there.
So, it's especially nice to have dinner together, sharing news and showing off new techniques.
"Yuki, I've got a whole list of families who want you as their son-in-law," Arnuk began, either unaware of the sharp glares from the won at the table or pretending not to notice. "I've chosen the most worthy candidates for you," he said. Kaya, sitting beside , tightened her grip on my hand under the table. "Co to my office after dinner, and we'll discuss it. You know how much this will elevate your status," he continued, but was interrupted before finishing.
"No! Let Yuki find his own love!" Yui, Katara, Kaya, and Jun chid in unison, stunning Arnuk, who only now noticed the tense atmosphere.
"Uh, there are so very decent young ladies..." he tried again, but was cut off.
"Stop it, Arnuk!" the voices weren't raised, but the temperature in the room seed to drop. Even I felt a chill...
"Heh-heh, I was just suggesting! Just suggesting!" Arnuk forced a laugh. "Of course, my son is a dragon among waterbenders. He'll choose a worthy wife himself," he carefully continued. Close one, Arnuk. So people forget past lessons too quickly. We all know who truly runs this family—right, Jun?
As Gran-Gran once told , my mother ca from an ordinary fishing family but was always a spirited girl who didn't hesitate to go against the grain. Until recently, the gap between ordinary people and benders was much wider, and for a talented but unconnected waterbender to rise was impossible. But she managed it—through hard work and wit, she caught the eye of a young Arnuk, who was completely smitten. For her, he even went against his father, who had other plans. Even my stern grandfather was impressed by her.
All the reforms before my birth were her doing. Though not on the council, she eased life for the common people, knowing their struggles firsthand. The old fogies only recently realized how cleverly she operated—dropping hints, inviting the wives of respected waterbenders for tea, casually bringing up topics. A local Olenna Tyrell! Calling her the power behind the throne doesn't quite fit—Arnuk was aware of her maneuvers but silently approved, seeing their benefits. Even now, this fox disguised as my father, feigning foolishness, was testing the waters. Jun and Arnuk are a match—two manipulators who've found each other.
"And what about Yui? Before you know it..." Arnuk trailed off under my sudden glare. "Yui will decide her own path, yes, poor Arnuk is so mistreated," Jun complained, though I'm sure my actions didn't bother him. But a conversation about how I learned that technique is definitely coming. Given my travels, he already suspects the world isn't all rainbows and friendship.
Dinner was interesting. Arnuk's acting deserves an Oscar—I still have a long way to go to match his skill. Mom's better at amorous matters; she noticed Kaya's reaction, so an interesting conversation awaits soon. Now I rember why I disliked family dinners—they're how my parents learn everything about us.
There was so insider info too. The healers developed edible seaweed that grows beyond the wild. The first samples are ready; we just need to wait for them to grow, and we can stop worrying about this valuable resource. Parents' pride is their children's achievents—Jun "secretly" shared who proposed the idea and now proudly boasts about her son to her friends.
That's good. I'll visit them next week—extra knowledge is always useful. Then, I'll think about developing plants and trees that don't need light. If we create greenhouses under the ice where there's soil, we can diversify our people's diet. Especially since there are plenty of idle benders who can be tasked with creating and maintaining these greenhouses. Building an ice platform connected to the wall and simply lowering or raising it for cargo transport is within the capability of even a simple waterbender.
What's on the agenda this month? Master the archery techniques of the Yu Yan Archers, try gathering water from the air, revisit earth and firebending techniques—especially focusing on lava and lightning.
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