The way to the capital.
It was ironic, as if I ran out to pump up and come back, but I don't plan to visit my parents. Only in May and my little nook.
Now, thinking about it after the fact, I can say that I could have waited until the seventh day and talked, instead of running like crazy. And I probably should apologize, but it's naive to think that she's been going there for three years now.
I thought about how to convey at least some message to her, but came up with absolutely nothing. The solution was right in front of us: give the notes to someone, and he would bring them to the meeting place. Yeah. But in practice, the Master and I had a question: who should we transfer to? I have absolutely no connections there that I could even minimally trust. The Master, due to his avoidance of publicity, has connections there, of course, but they are too high to make him run around with a note.
Shouldn't the general send a note and put it there? So yes, yes. I'll look for her later and probably apologize while running from the fire. These thoughts brought a smile to my face. I miss her terribly. We know each other so well that sometimes I literally predict what she would say, so her voice periodically pops up in my head.
"And this, of course, is not schizophrenia!" - oh, here it is again, as if I can directly hear the sarcastic voice of this petty ulcer.
Okay, of course, he doesn't pop up in his head on his own; it's easier to go straight to the hospital, right next to Azula's future cell, but sometimes it's fun to insert such comments to yourself. I got to the capital literally in a couple of days. This time, knowing the road and having much more strength, it turned out much faster. I didn't even have to take any long breaks. But in the capital itself, I was already walking with a calm, relaxed step, throwing the rapier over my shoulder, like a slightly fancy stick, and thinking about life.
I forgot about the idea of a second rapier over time - even one turned out to be not so easy to control, especially when the master began to fight seriously and even left a couple of scars on my body, which are now visible on my chest due to the widely open... jacket? What's it called? Why didn't I ask? Let there be a kimono, it's kind of like the top part of the whole arm-waving uniform.
Therefore, the idea of taking such a drink in each hand no longer occurred to me. And considering that I need a second hand for bending... in general, two rapiers - this was an absolutely stupid approach out of harm. Like I want it to look cool.
I didn't have much else with me, only a light bag in which I kept my diary with writing materials, an air scroll, the one for drawing things, a couple of my drawings, and money. Oh, and also the hatchet, now tucked into the belt, which is hidden by the kimono.
I had to walk along the main street and turn right in front of the castle to the headquarters. So, of course, I had to walk past my former house, which had not changed at all and looked exactly the same. I didn't pay much attention to him - just looked with peripheral vision - of course, it's unlikely that they would recognize me, but I didn't dare to risk it.
Nothing new.
But May and I's street surprised me... with its condition. There are traces of soot on the walls, two burnt stumps instead of a bench, and... apparently, the little one really didn't like the note. Eh, I'll be beaten.
I quickly scribbled another note, left it carefully pressed with a stone, and moved on. The capital did not change much during the time I was away. Somewhere, technological innovations were visible, but they were absolutely nothing. As I said, progress here has slightly stalled, and I'm sure that with just a little push, everything will take off so that in the next fifty years, there will be such rapid industrialization as in the twentieth century of my last world. Only there is no one to push yet. Unfortunately, I have only fragmentary knowledge and no investigative intelligence, so I would make a lousy pusher. Find a good mechanic and give him some ideas...
The headquarters was a heavily guarded and immense building. Every centimeter of which directly hinted that it had been polished more than once by poor soldiers.
"Stand, entry is prohibited," one of the two "well done guys with identical faces" stopped me, who positioned themselves in front of the entrance with strict orders not to allow entry."I'm going to General Lee," I said this phrase with the same pathetic-stony expression on my face. To be precise, everything looked like something out of a cheap movie."It was said that entry is prohibited," the watchman did not relent.
"I'm visiting General Li from Master Piandao," he made his expression even more stern, "and believe me: you want to let me through, otherwise I'll go in myself."— Do you have any documents? - They didn't show that the soldiers were scared. And I'm sure they were scared. I can be scary, right? Well... I hope so, at least.
After the question about the document, I even felt somewhat ashamed. In reality, there is one, and it should have been shown to me at the entrance. But I just forgot. Okay, screw him. The main thing is to pretend that this is how it should be.
Taking a piece of paper out of my bag and holding it out as if all this was extremely humiliating and, in general, why "should I," I was finally able to enter the territory. True, together with the guide, who, without stopping and not letting me look at the local training of fresh meat, took me straight to the general.
After the soldier opened the door and let me in ahead of him, he followed me in, reporting that so-and-so had arrived, showed me the letter and left after the command.
When looking at the office, only one word appeared in my head: government property. Solid, but such typical things around. Made with high quality and forever, but without unnecessary frills - what is needed for the army, and this can be said about any object around. Starting from the kettle, where the general is now tiredly heating up his water, ending with the frame with the Fire Lord.
The office of a typical hard worker who achieved his rank with sweat and blood. Here it's worth immediately clarifying that the difference between this General Lee and my uncle General is enormous. Maybe I've just never dived deep and there are postscripts like "major general", I don't know, but there are these "official" generals who plow like bees, and there are my uncles who also plow like bees, but not for the good of the country, but to sit higher and dangle your legs further.
- So Aki, huh? Master Piandao's disciple? - He looked at me with narrowed eyes, like a product on the market. And his eyes are seasoned; you can immediately see that the general is a seasoned veteran.
"Sort of," I answered, staring back with far from cow eyes and lounging on the government chair standing opposite his desk, throwing a letter from the master at him. I am not yet his subordinate to stand at attention from any words. Lee read the letter carefully and thoughtfully, periodically glancing at me.
"Yeah, I see," the general chuckled, indicating that he had gotten enough here.
But here it's not necessary - my arrogance is innate, and not passed on from a master. I didn't say this out loud, but I think my grin was revealing and conveyed everything I wanted to say. The man grimaced as if he had eaten a lemon, but nevertheless sat down in a more open position.
"Okay, Aki, I convinced you," the general lowered the degree of command in his tone, "it's hard to believe until the very end that such a recluse took someone as a student, and he didn't run away in the first week." And what kind of crap is this?
"It was the master who wanted to run away from me after some time," I finally showed my teeth and sat down in a more decent position, "my weapon." Specially made for me.
"Hmm," the general said skeptically and laconically, "okay, I think Piandao explained to you what's what?" I give you the captain's rank, command, and permission to roam around wherever you want. Will you give me honest reports about what is happening?
"Yes, yes, I remember the agreement," I answered, "the reports will be honest and factual, because even the master and I heard rumors about what branch of hell was happening in different colonies."
At this, the man grimaced for a second, as if he had eaten a lemon. Well, yes, as I understand it, they put him in an extreme position in this situation, right in the center, and threw him over a pile of crap, then scooped it up as they wanted. So the man is trying, but spinning the drain.
"Now let's go, I'll demonstrate your command," the general stood up, slamming both palms on the table, "and at the same time let's see how well you learned from the master."
- Trust but check? — I raised one eyebrow in May's style, to which the man trembled slightly for some reason. Have you really met a dissatisfied May somewhere? - Let's go, let's look at your seasoned warriors.
"And here's a small problem," the man said cheerfully, letting me pass ahead from the office and then closing the door with a lock, "seasoned warriors were surrounded by a 'golden' inspector. So, excuse me, you were distributed on a residual basis. They literally just graduated. Well, why did your face suddenly become so gloomy? If you are as good as Piandao says, then along the way you will pull up the poor fellows, and you will have a terrible ban. Hmm, army!
Yeah, I have nothing to do, so pass on the master's secrets to other people. Although I'm not sure that these secrets exist, I still don't plan to teach these poor fellows anything big. And look, he's a cunning bug. And a queen like me - yes, I'm modest - for my command, and a team that I will pull up. If you think about it this way, isn't that a big deal, considering that this is not even the main service?
But we will not express this, nor will we teach the poor fellows. Spar with them? Easily. Physical exercise? Elementary. Something bigger? No. This is why we will dance.
Although, of course, now we'll see what they're like in battle, maybe everyone is an underrated genius.
The general took me to the combat area behind the headquarters, where the soldiers went to train from the barracks nearby. Everything was as it should be: a flat area, sand, and some mannequins, around which people in identical red uniforms with long sticks with decent-sized blades at the end were jumping.
It's worth asking the Master why he didn't even consider this as a weapon for me or not? I'll think about it later.
In any case, there were a couple of dozen people on the site now, and their... jumping around the mannequin, looking a little pathetic. No, maybe in their heads they were performing really, really cool feints, but with an experienced eye, I don't believe I'm saying this, it looks bad. Just bad.
- Fighters! — The general said in a loud voice, "R-a-a-a-a-aaaa!"
It was delightful to watch how the soldiers ran around like cockroaches in the kitchen when the lights were turned on, but literally after a couple of seconds they concentrated, lined up and more or less stood up as expected.
"So, meet Captain Aki," General Lee introduced me, I took a step forward and, putting my hand on the rapier that was already attached to my belt, smiled.
Oh, there are girls among the soldiers, because if the guys make such a cute, embarrassed "hee hee hee," then I won't go on the same ship with them. But as soon as you took a closer look at the uniform, it was true: there were about six girls in the line of poor fellows.
By the way, in my mind I'll still call them that – a squad of "poor fellows." Just as the general called them, so let them remain.
- What, another golden boy we need to protect? - said a guy who had clearly heard a lot of different things from the lips of his more experienced colleagues.
I only widened the smile, making it less favorable and more anticipatory.
"Now check whether he's a golden boy or not," the general also allowed himself to gloat, although he didn't show it, "come on, take your weapons and one at a time..."
"Let it be all at once," I interrupted, "I've already seen them... let it be a level, with these jerking around the mannequins." Let them take weapons or use magic, whoever can, and try to defeat me.
Oh, these looks from the "brave warriors" who look at me as if I were a "negligent child." By the way, almost all of them were older than me. School, then the army, and it turns out that they are about twenty, give or take. And here the net, apparently eighteen years old, climbs like this - ha, we hit him right now with one left hand.The general also seemed a little alarmed, glanced sideways at me for a second, twitched his mustache funnyly and gave the go-ahead.
"Here, hold the rapier," I handed it to the man, and said to a puzzled look, "What should I do with it against them?" I'll lunge out of habit, and instead of a block, the little man will end up without an arm. "I have a hatchet," I explained, taking out the hatchet and standing literally in the center of the poor fellows.
About five magicians and fifteen ordinary people. They stood up anyhow, put out their peaks and are apparently ready to skewer me.
General Lee gave a countdown, it's a pity he didn't add something in the style of the unforgettable master of only fairies, the situation really smacks of something like that.
Perhaps I even went too far with the hatchet. Their actions were simply slow for me, and I still couldn't figure out what to do with the ax in my right hand. One spear flies faster than the others, I hit the unsharpened part of the naginata with my hand - I finally remembered the name that the master had drilled into me - and then with my foot I hammer it into the ground on the same part and walk forward to the poor fellow holding the weapon. A blow to the stomach - he flies away. A poke with a spear flies from the side, I simply hit it to the side with my left hand - it's more customary, even if the master would give him a hit for it - and I intercept the shaft, pulling the "operator" towards me, with my knee in the stomach, minus one more.
It's usually more difficult with bandits; at least there they don't interfere with each other, but here they have to dodge hesitant pokes and fireballs and counterattack. All twenty people were gone, literally, in ten minutes, and I never used the hatchet. You can say he worked with one left hand.
Here, bitch, it's both funny and sad, what should I do with these? They should be immersed in a harsh world under controlled conditions. Before meeting with the landmen, let the pirates be slaughtered. I don't know whether they passed the "first blood" or not, but I'll look at them in light combat conditions, and then I'll think about it.
I thought about all this while I was finishing the fight.
As they say, I didn't even break a sweat, haha.
After another five minutes, during which everyone woke up and put themselves in more or less order, moved away from the blows, straightened their clothes and lined up again almost in a line, their gaze changed and they looked at me with considerable respect. Even in the general's gaze, no, no, but something flashed through. He, being an outside observer with considerable experience, accurately caught that I never used the hatchet, and did not even use their weapons against the poor fellows themselves, he threw the current with his hands.
- And what can you say as a result? — The general asked, coughing.
"Everything is very, very bad," I summed up, "I didn't even use magic, let alone my weapon." Weakly, very weakly, but it will go creakingly," when I spoke about the detachment of poor fellows, I looked straight at their faces, which, from my words, were more upset than angry. In the end, it's already clear that it's as if the dick from the mountain is speaking... ironic, considering that I came from the mountain on which the Piandao estate is located.
— Have you heard your new captain? "March at a step to continue training," Lee gave the order in a loud commanding tone and, when the poor fellows had completely retreated, he clarified, "and now the truth."
- What's the truth? In general, they don't know how to do anything. It was as if the children were given sticks and told to beat the bush. They poke as necessary, the bandits from the road with their rusty under-weapons have a better chance of killing someone than they do. Benders are just something with something. I'm almost no Fire bender - I don't even know how to cause flames myself, but if I'm left with only my native bender, I'll definitely be able to protect myself, but they can't. In order to spit out a stream of fire, they need to make a whole huge movement, and okay, it would be some kind of stream of flame that would melt the stone, but no, it's just a stream of fire, I'm not sure whether it will cause any harm even if it just hits armor of an ordinary soldier. If everyone in the army is like this, then I'm afraid things are very bad for us," I told the general, as if on the spur of the moment, everything that had gathered in my head.
- Glory to Agni, not everyone is like that. These came from the colonies and the cadet corps there is still very... lax, like everything else on the continent. That's why I'm sending you, after all," the general chuckled, absolutely not arguing with the assessment and not even focusing on the bandits, even if it's not legal, but it's a good deed, "and do you have magic?" I thought that Piandao wouldn't accept anyone but the magician as a student.
"All the tests said that I'm not a magician," I easily said the half-truth, shrugging my shoulders, "and fire magic was discovered, especially slightly strange, already in the middle of training."
"And the weird thing is that you can't create a flame?" - the general guessed.
"Yeah," I answered simply, taking out a lighter that I bought in the capital - I wanted to find a typical square one, like a zippo from the past world, some scenes in my head with it appeared in time, but, as it turned out, there are no such ones, they produce copper ones rounded, which are filled with some kind of incomprehensible mud. But it burns and that's the main thing. Just a second, I lit the lighter and, literally in a split second, fanned the flame into a decent-sized blue ball.
"I want to retire," General Lee said when the ball dissipated, and I found that everyone around was looking at me like God knows who. "Do you know that only Princess Azula now has a blue flame?"
"Just think, the color of the flame," I waved it off, "my main argument in all battles is my rapier." With such a disabled approach to magic, I can only use the flame as an additional tool. No matter how hard I tried to create it, I could not. So, the skill of the princess is like... the water tribe in cancer. Okay, let's get down to business...
"This is the right approach, come on," General Lee said in his own way.
- As I understand it, they won't give me others? Give them at least some swords - I plan to have them and the little guys like pirates first get some non-critical bumps under my supervision for at least a month, maybe a couple, and then we'll go to the continent. But you can't wave these spears in the hold of a ship.
- We'll do it. We'll give these scoundrels swords, but you need to pick up a Fire Nation officer's uniform," the man nodded.
He treats me too well. I bet he sensed the prospect of growth if I walked under his wing, but he wants to appease me in every possible way, saying that here I am - almost a daddy for everyone here. Although the latter may not be excluded, it is unlikely to be in the spirit in which it is trying to be presented. Well, okay, mutually beneficial use without unnecessary kissing on the gums and vice versa - teeth-crushing etiquette - that's what we need. I think he, by and large, understands that I understand, but so far we're happy with everything.
-Fire Nation officer's uniform? - if they give me this red wretched thing that everyone around me wears with this ugly helmet, I'd better run away right away and go break the ice so that I can get the avatar as quickly as possible, let him finish off this world.
"Unfortunately, this is a requirement that I cannot violate in any way." A soldier must have a uniform... and a helmet. "No helmet is allowed to be worn by ranks above lieutenant colonel," the general made a regretful face.
- And... can I put something on over the uniform? — I decided to ask out of desperation. Isn't it really a good idea to give up over such a trifle?
"Well..." Lee thought, "not at all, but I think it's unlikely that there will be anyone on the continent who will say anything to the inspector himself." The main thing is to have a form. The helmet can also be slightly individualized, but it must be... rules.
In a typical Piandao gesture, I put both hands behind my back, tightly clasping one another and not allowing the emotions of anger and despair to manifest themselves anywhere else, I just closed my eyes.
Okay, I'll buy some kind of hiking raincoat over it, put it on - it will be better. Maybe it was worth using all the gold to buy yourself a boat, hire a crew and sail the ocean yourself? Okay, this is already fantasy; there are more problems with this approach than advantages. And there is one plus - clothes to choose from.
"Let's go to my office, we'll comply with all the formalities," he interrupted my thoughts after a pause, during which the general let me come to terms with what was happening.
"Let's pass," perhaps my voice sounded too doomed, so he gave the command to the quartermaster to issue me armor in a whisper. Not that it helped, I still heard it, but the deflection was counted.
As we walked to the office, the general glared and shushed everyone who approached him on various issues, clearly giving unconditional priority to me. It's nice when you are valued like that - it's unpleasant when you're just a resource.
By the time we had already entered the office, the quartermaster ran up there with... my uniform. I still can't come to terms with it.
"Unfortunately, you will already leave the office as an officer and must be in uniform and shoulder straps," said General Lee, saying, put it on right now.
Well, what can I do: I took off the clothes I loved from the master, began to gradually pull on the uniform, while at the same time Lee taught me some of the details of wearing it. Five minutes later I had my clothes on and they even brought in a full-length mirror so I could look at myself.
To be honest, I expected the worst. The uniform fit me very well, the thoughtfulness of various aspects was felt, and the overall comfort was excellent. It seems to me, as an airbender, I still prefer loosely hanging rags so that the wind touches the body as much as possible, but I need to get rid of this.
In fact, from another point of view, the uniform looked very good. If I smile, then I look exactly like some kind of golden child who has put on some shoulder straps, the aristocratic features of my face seem to hint at this, but as soon as I throw away all my emotions like a breeze, my face takes on other, harsh colors, which are just for some "boyar" signs of mug were emphasized. I would avoid this myself.
In general, when necessary, the shape gives a golden tint, and when necessary, it adds severity. This is very good. Very.
- Okay, maybe a cup of tea and some Pai Sho? — I sat down, already in uniform, in the place in front of the general. At the same time, we'll see whether he's in the White Lotus or not.
"Hmm," said the general, looking at my transformations in front of the mirror, "Piandao knows how to choose students." You know, Aki, between us, I knew a person who, just like you, can change in seconds. Under his command, I rose from lieutenant to colonel, despite my not very high background, and many times I saw how sometimes he can be a kind man who loves tea and plays board games, just like you, and sometimes such a fighter, from whom he himself wants to hide, despite the fact that he seems to be on the same side of the barricades.
- Hmm, what was his name? — I raised my eyebrows. Piandao did not explain at all who my "colleagues" were - he said from his experience that he collected information by playing Pai Sho. So the information was indeed very interesting.
"Prince Iroh," Lee chuckled, "of course, they'll prepare tea for us now, but I'll refuse the pai sho." I don't really like this game.
Is Prince Iroh a member of the White Lotus? No, well, maybe he just loves pai sho, of course, but such coincidences don't happen. Or maybe he is also a hidden airbender? And Azula has blue flames because she combines fire and air competently, huh?
***
I was given a ship.
It's not really for me - I'm the captain of my land gang, and in general I'm supposed to be called an inspector. That's why, of course, the ship was not allocated to me and the crew, who don't know how to do anything, poor fellows. But a team with a ship, which, like a taxi, will take us wherever we need to go - yes. This was highlighted. This is almost standard practice here, because is it necessary to deliver individual units somehow? So they highlight this "service".
They didn't skimp on me, they provided me with a very decent vessel. And the cargo can be taken decently, and my team and crew will be able to carry it, and there is a place for training, and even a couple of catapults, sorry Agni, are also available.
And in terms of combat power, pirates would rather run from such a thing than try to rob it. A huge black and red iron vessel, with weapons on board and with powerful strong walls in the part protruding above the deck, which I don't know what they call it. There are large pipes sticking out of it, which are now emitting only a light smoke, as they warm up, apparently. The ship operates like most others here - with steam. True, I'm sure that most of it is still coal-based - the magicians are tired of putting each such vessel into action on their own.
All this was commanded by a man about forty years old, who had a non-standard name for these places - Uli. Captain Uli. Returning, again, to ranks: I can give orders to Uli himself, but not to his team. Like a vassal of my vassal and so on.
It's clear why this was done, so that the smart ones don't try to tell us how to move the boat, but I'm not complaining. I don't plan to go into a place where I know nothing... okay, correction: I don't plan to go into a place where I know nothing and bad things can happen because of my actions.
And now we are loading on board, with all the clothes - my poor fellows were given swords, which they see for the first time in their lives - oh, why should I do this - and now they are carrying supplies onto the ship. I wasn't too lazy and went to a local store to buy a raincoat over my uniform. Just a heavy travel raincoat, why not. As it should be with a belt and even a hood, so as soon as I literally wrap myself up, put this wonderful device from the world of clothing on my head and walk wherever you want. In the raincoat I looked even more respectable: my already wide shoulders became even wider, and in general I didn't add much to my solidity. Well, at least without going overboard, and my figure didn't become too massive. Yes, solid, but there was still a sense of flexibility and even some elegance.
Well, to my untrained eye in the mirror.
The next point was to talk to our captain Uli, because I really need to chase my poor souls about pirates, let's call it that. And despite the fact that I set the course, the task "go, let's look for pirates" falls under the article "Fuck you, what nonsense." And even if I order, he will be obliged to do just that, but it is better to somehow come to an agreement than to have confrontations or thoughts about my madness for an empty reason.
He was in the control room, or whatever it's called, without a helmet, which was lying somewhere on the table. He smoked his pipe with an important air and looked at the cards, thinking about something clearly of his own. The man was about forty years old and he clearly did not come from an aristocratic family - I don't believe that I'm separately noting this now, but it really can help with a preliminary assessment.
This concludes my great analysis.
"Captain Uli," I nodded, quickly folding my hands in a traditional gesture.
- Um, what? — the captain looked up from the cards, turning his gaze to me, then grabbing his helmet and putting it on himself, however, as if it had never happened, he continued, "Apparently you are Inspector Aki?"
Um, yes, I never deigned to tell anyone my full name. Let it be Aki, not Akimaru, I like it better. Even if it sounds less official, as for me, but without this, who will ever cut horseradish, because it is not decent.
"Yes, it is," I answered, taking off my helmet myself. As I understand it, only beginners loved to carry these steel pans and were proud of it. Those who had already been in the army for at least a year tried to remove them as quickly as possible, and those who had been serving for the good of their homeland for a good dozen years... hated him.
Most likely, the captain keeps him in the control room, just in case the higher ranks arrive, because otherwise he can calmly walk around with his head open - who the hell will report on him from his team.
And such a report still needs to be paid attention to by some crazy person. It's only in real life that senior management can slap you in the face.
"Hmm," the captain looked at me thoughtfully, "what will be the orders?"
"No, I came to talk," I answered, sitting down on one of the free chairs.
"Well, let's talk," the captain himself sat down in the place from which he had jumped up earlier.
Grated roll. One might say that the words were not objectionable, but the tone directly showed how he felt about all this. Apparently he considers him just another big guy. It looks like I'll have to fight this stamp for a long time.
"Here's the thing, they gave me twenty usel... completely green soldiers for my team," I can imagine how this sounds from a guy of eighteen years old, "they don't know how to do anything, they've never been anywhere, and in general they're in the mood for heroic deeds and an excursion." So I wanted to ask if we could take a short detour and swim in pirate waters for a couple of months?
- Ask? — Uli injected a little too much irony into his voice.
"Yes," I nodded, without taking my eyes off the cracks in the helmet mask, which he still hadn't taken off, "by the way, you can remove the saucepan, I won't have anything against it."
After waiting for the captain to take off his helmet, still exuding sarcasm with his entire appearance, he examined me. Not visually, but as if trying to understand what kind of fruit I am and how they eat me.
"So, by and large, I can give orders," I shrugged, "but somehow I don't want to." I'm sure you'll find a place that would be nice for you to stop by on the way.
The captain, looking carefully into my eyes, puffed on his pipe, thought and said:
- Inspector, so yes? The face seems to be the most standard, but the behavior is different.
Got it, quiz, tell me about yourself so I can trust you.
"Of course, I'm here for connections, but for other reasons," I smiled lightly, "General Lee needed a normal inspector who would do his job, at least without forgetting."
"Hmm," he puffed on his pipe again, "my son got married and settled on his wife's native island." On Kyoshi Island, maybe you heard? I would like to stop there on the way and visit.
Yeah, I understand why he's looking at me like that. The earth is not clear cut. It seems that by order of Sozin himself it is considered absolutely neutral, but at the same time many could perceive such a moment ambiguously. But I'm good, let's go.
- So, I think the hook will be even longer? - I smiled.
"It turns out this way," the captain smiled slyly in response, "weather conditions, underwater currents, I considered it safer." Hmm, can this matter be noted?
"Only if it's nominal," I nodded slightly, I didn't feel like drinking at all, not pleasant memories immediately pop up, but I don't want to give up either, "I need to keep an eye on my newly-minted squad so that they don't forget anything."
"That's also true," Uli clapped his hands, stood up and went to some safe, took out a bottle of something obviously decent and two glasses, into which he quickly poured equal amounts.
He took the appetizer straight from the table, local sausages, obviously not very suitable for elite swill, but we, tea, are not at the reception, that's fine for me, and even more so for the captain, I think.2— Do you happen to play Pai Sho? - I decided to clarify, otherwise you never know.
"Um, not my game," the sea wolf shook his head, "maybe cards?"
"Well," I sighed, "we can play cards." Can you play poker?
Yes, there is almost classic poker here, as well as classic cards. Of course, they are stylized, and instead of a joker there is a Lord, but this does not change the essence of the matter.
A deck of cards was found right in the same captain's table - I wonder if there is anything relevant there at all - a decent poker one, and from there he took out chips. We have not yet decided to play for money, so we will play purely nominally for chips.
"I know how, how can I not," the captain chuckled, deftly tossing the chips between the fingers of one hand.
***
Poor fellows - I drank a little more than I originally planned, so I was in a good mood, but they were able to ruin it. I don't know how you can lose a box of food in the process, but I had to yell at everyone I could, including the quartermaster, because the box of food is very important in our plan.
The general, of course, allocated a quadruple reserve, but Uli and I thought so, and with cunning, but for our entire long journey - it's not enough, even if you burst. In the process, you will have to stand somewhere and negotiate with the locals somehow, well at least the general allocated gold for expenses, and I myself have money - that bag from the master is still almost full. And here they also screwed up a box from scratch somewhere, there are no other words. I would like to leave it as it is, let them not eat it for a couple of days, and see how they run in next time.
But, thank Agni, we found it, although maybe the pale quartermaster gave it away from his reserve, but in the end we were not deprived, all that was left was to dive in and set sail. There weren't any particular problems - we weren't going on a trip, there were no mourners, there were no tearful farewells, like the other visitors, so we went straight to our cabins - by the way, I was given a separate one, while my squad had barracks, separated by gender, of course - and set sail. I still need to somehow carefully educate my people about pirates, otherwise they are already dreaming of a comfortable inspection and a couple of heroic victories.
Why did they give me such green ones? Not so much in skills, God bless them, but in views. You still have to go through the entire stressful period, watch them so that they don't do anything out of grief. There won't be any special incidents, these are not children of the twenty-first century, but the first murder is the first murder.
I'll have to buy more alcohol. The currency is international, and in any case it will be useful, well, it will definitely not be superfluous. Of course, I believe that the flight medic has rubbing alcohol, but it's clearly not enough for any psychological help, let's put it that way.
And you need to keep an eye on them more closely so that all sorts of fuss does not start here - knowing these poor fellows, everything may not end well. Starting from pregnancy, ending with some drama out of nowhere.
Okay, let's figure it out, not the worst introductory ones - you can spin normally.
***
As expected, my squad of poor fellows with swords fared poorly. They waved them as needed and wherever needed, clearly trying to repeat some tricks they saw out of the corner of their eye. I didn't fully understand what to do in such a situation, so for the first few days, while I was thinking, they suffered from physical training.
Push-ups, squats and whatever else I could think of. Of course, I didn't divide them by gender, because it doesn't matter.
I even went to the captain for advice - of course, even though he tries to act like a sea wolf, he still served as an ordinary ordinary soldier. He said to put them in pairs: let one practice a simple blow, and the other a simple block, and so on for a long time and tediously, sometimes changing the blow itself and the block.
After scratching my turnip, I agreed, and for the first week of our trip that's what they did, making serious faces. It turned out that out of twenty poor fellows, four were of a higher rank and, like, could command the rest. Without hesitation, I assigned four people to each of them, let them hold responsibility for them to me.
Then I'll gradually single out one person, appoint him as a deputy, and charge him with everything that doesn't require my personal participation. So as not to get too bogged down in these work matters and simply give commands to one responsible person, and ask him if anything happens.
Afterwards, I decided to diversify all this action with something a little more fun and added sparring with me, be it their spear or sword - they seemed to understand how to swing both minimally. And I played the role of at least some kind of enemy, though not with a rapier, otherwise I didn't have enough to blunt it, placing different blocks, but taking one of the swords.
My task was simple - I blocked their attacks and obviously and slowly counterattacked so that the poor fellow had time to block or react somehow. Of course, in theory, they should have just let them spar, but, damn, let's be honest - they'll hurt themselves and that's it. They haven't grown up yet.
There were no surprises, geniuses too, complete mediocrities too, probably because it simply couldn't be worse. But after another week, there was some result. I even put the more or less successful ones to fight with each other: there were no surprises, they rattled pieces of iron normally. And I thought too late that perhaps I should have taken wooden swords. But we are all strong in hindsight.
At the same time, I tried to instill at least some correct view of the sword, apparently allowing too much... Pianda's interpretations, so over time, even through the cracks of the helmets, one could see an inspired look. And also, too often, the rest of the crew gathered to watch and listen to my training, and sat with such a spiritual look, as if I was not dripping philosophical nonsense into their ears to add a little brain or at least principles, but I was revealing the ultimate truth.
hould we teach them a little about the principle that they should look like a machine gun attached to a gun, without any extra shine? But no, life will teach you. I can't do that myself.
Looking at all this, I realized that the plan - to board the first ship - was bad. I decided to first show the master class and that pirates are nothing. And it was painfully scary to talk about pirates. About overly romanticized pirates, as kind-hearted people, almost like Robin Hoods.
Maybe there are good pirates in the vast ocean, but somehow I had too much to do with all sorts of garbage, during my training with the master, during my outings, to understand that it's all bullshit. Good bandits, as well as princesses who fall in love after being saved by a knight, only exist in fairy tales.
To my surprise, the unexpected came out - they tried to flirt with me. There were quite a few girls on our boat, my poor ones alone - as many as eight, and there were also plenty of locals. Of course, not everything in a row, but a couple came up and tried to somehow start a dialogue.
Maybe I'm just amusing myself with thoughts - you know, it's not easy for me either: I could only talk normally with the captain, but even then, he's about forty, I'm eighteen. We found topics for dialogue interesting, but nothing more. And the captain of the ship we were sailing on was busy; tea was not at the hotel.
Oh yeah, by the way, about "we're sailing." I unsuccessfully disguised it from the crew, but how I was rinsed for the first week. In fact, this is the main reason why I decided to start training with me later. Previously, I was stupidly unable to.
By the second it became easier, but now I don't like ships. And period. As is swimming. So let's add it to my list of things I don't like. This list is not very long yet: helmet, swimming and arranged marriages.
In any case, I decided to join the team at least a little and during another "secret" drinking session in the barracks, which no one "noticed", despite the laughter that makes fish swim, and the fumes in the morning, I went there. I wouldn't mind having a drink either.
"And I'm telling you, he is the spirit of the sword, not a person, don't look at his age," one of my poor fellows was telling something intensely, waving a half-empty bowl of sake. His cheeks were slightly red and his eyes were clearly crazy, but with such expression he praised me, he even blushed - have you seen how quickly he can move? No, did you see it? Have you seen it?
"Yes, we understand, Katsu, just sit down," one girl laughed, smiling sweetly, "I heard that he is a student of Piandao, and not some kind of sword spirit." He's too... alive for a spirit. "I saw where his gaze periodically falls," the girl finished, blushing slightly.
Well, what can I say? The uniform is, of course, loose, but many often wear only basic elements, and many dress in sportier clothes for training. That's why girls often have their backsides in something tight, more or less. Sometimes, yes, my gaze falls, so to speak, but solely for the purpose of observation! Suddenly it does something wrong.
"But it seems to me that this is just a disguise," the guy muttered dissatisfied, nevertheless sitting down.
"I think, over time, we will understand whether this is a disguise or not - now we need to give our all to remain under his command," said a guy with a slightly plump physique, as far as possible in the army, "you understand why we are here?"
"Oh," he sighed pointedly, "he's an inspector." Usually some children of important parents end up in this place, who need to place their son somewhere so that after he receives awards and does not risk his life too much. And around him there is often a guard of soldiers. But in our case, it's exactly the opposite - he doesn't think he needs us, we gave him the required number of soldiers purely for show, so...
"The conclusions are good," I said, deciding to interrupt this match, "but not entirely correct."
Everyone jumped up as if stung and stared at me with eyes full of fear. One of the four "commanders" stepped forward
- Uh-uh, captain, we're just... we're just...
"You're drinking," I suggested, smiling slightly, although they say I often have manic smiles when artificially induced and, judging by the still slightly pale faces, this is true, and not for the first time. Your cackle is heard by the whole ship, by the way.
"We... we..." - no one knew what to say in this situation, only the one who came out slightly tried to start, but couldn't come up with anything else.
"Stop panicking," I grinned as if in a kind way, "I didn't come to interrupt, everyone needs to rest sometimes." I just decided to join in, drinking elite sake with the captain, of course, it's cool, but I don't think anyone will mind if I sit here with you?
"Of course, of course," they immediately assured me, they parted ways, sat me down, poured a bowl of sake and continued to stand and look at me.
"Sit down," everyone sat down.
Yes, the vertical of power here is cruel, so they sit and tremble like rabbits in front of a boa constrictor. And even though there is a charter, everyone has their own rules, especially people like me, who can get away with a lot, so I can even theoretically throw it overboard.
- Why did you freeze? — he raised one eyebrow and turned his gaze to the one who spoke, "let me continue your conclusion." By and large, it is correct, but there are tasks that I cannot cope with alone. Not combat ones, of course, but there are some. And this is where I need you. Therefore, do not relax too much from his words, I will send you on various assignments and on combat missions. But if you look at it from a different angle, the work we have to do is not dusty. Search the colonies and draw conclusions, send reports. Problems can only arise if they try to force us into silence, and that is why we have been heading down the wrong path for weeks now. First, let's earn a name for ourselves, at least some, and cut all the pirates we see into small pieces. And then it will be possible to go ashore. Here's the plan.
"But captain, we don't have enough supplies!" - said one of the soldiers, - there is only a week left at most.
"We'll agree at the ports," I shrugged, "not a big problem." An inspector has many different rights. Including getting supplies for yourself. Okay, as I understand it, a casual conversation will not work, so let me tell you something? Do you want to hear how I, together with my friend, killed a huge wolf, back in childhood?
Agreement and joy poured out from different sides because, it seemed, they were not planning to beat them after all.
- Well, if you want, then let's have a drink first!
Well, they listened to my story favorably and maybe even someone concluded that I was not from a simple family, but you can see it from my Ryazan face, so it's kind of a secret. Then, after another story of mine, stories from the army and other incidents started pouring in - in general, they just drank a lot.
I could say that I had a rest in my soul - I was still looking at my rank, but rest is rest. I won't upset them because they still have to train tomorrow.
Everyone fell asleep in all directions, and even I didn't go far, falling asleep somewhere on a bag. And I'm wearing some kind of soldier's uniform. Nothing like that, she just climbed up drunk and lay down, but what about me?
In general, in the morning, out of habit, I woke up earlier than the others and, carefully pushing my body off, went to dress properly, get myself in order and return to wake everyone up with a completely emotionless face, typical for me.
- LET'S GET UP! - I know how to shout, what is there cannot be taken away. Most likely it has something to do with the fact that I'm an airbender, but who knows.
"Capita-an, please don't yell," muttered the most playful person from last night, "maybe we'll skip training today, huh?"
"I don't understand," he walked up to this guy and leaned over, yelling right in his ear, "GET UP!" What you and I drank yesterday means absolutely nothing. If in twenty minutes you are not on deck in full uniform, you can forget about alcohol altogether! If you don't know how to drink, no problem. I'll rot in training!
Half an hour later, everyone stood on the deck, slightly staggering, bodies whose breath could have ignited a flame steeper than their light. I'm sure they swore at me thoroughly, but there was nothing to do. You can say for their sake, now I myself, staggering, try to pretend that I feel good and that I am ready for anything.
***
- Aki, a pirate ship is at one hundred and twenty degrees, what are we doing? - Uli's voice rang out as I once again watched my poor fellows work.
As they say, you can endlessly look at three things...
Several more days of my voyage passed and finally we arrived at a hot spot for pirates - where merchant ships sail. And I can say that I was already thirsty for battle and was looking at the horizon myself, and here was such a gift.
"Let's catch up, old man, let's catch up and come so close that I can jump," I gave, one might say, a command.
Uli cheerfully yelled something into the wheelhouse and our ship took a new speed towards a wooden sailing boat, one might say, compared to our colossus. The pirates apparently saw this and ran quickly, setting their sails and starting to sail away from us, but to no avail.
Literally five minutes and we are walking almost level.
"So, listen to my command," I shouted loudly, picking up the sheath with the rapier and pulling it out as I walked, "look and listen to how pathetic these pirates are."
And with these words I jumped from the height of our ship to them. It's time to start cleaning the sea of all garbage, isn't it?
Finally, the entire squad was able to see their captain in action. In fact, he himself forced them to watch, but all the free people on the ship came to evaluate the inspector with their own eyes. During their still short journey together, all sorts of rumors were circulating about him. And here is living confirmation.
Even Captain Uli came out, although in addition to "gazing", he also kept an eye on the rest of the fighters here, as well as on ensuring that Aki left a couple alive. Prisons need workers, after all.
For the first few seconds, Aki stood motionless, lowering his rapier down and slightly to the side, his eyes darting from one pirate to another in order to remember how many there were, who was where, what weapons, and so on. This was a precaution - the captain's skills would have been enough even without evaluation, but he had already underestimated the enemy once, for which he paid. He will not make such a mistake a second time.
From behind, it looked like something incredibly cool, especially for the impressionable green fighters, because in the pose in which their captain froze, one could read both complete relaxation and absolute bestial readiness to jump.
And then he rushed forward, without exchanging words with the scum. And if both the soldiers and the pirates themselves were seen running in a straight line to the nearest pirate, then everything began to blur.
The captain's movements were so fast for the untrained eyes of ordinary warriors that often they saw just an image when the rapier or Aki himself was already in another place.
For Akimaru, this was a familiar speed - how many times had they fought with the master like this, and his eyes could quite keep up with his body, because, as it turned out, his training in drawing was far from in vain.
The pirates didn't even have time to come to their senses before they were hacked to death in one way or another: Aki literally fluttered across the battlefield, never stopping anywhere for more than a second, and behind the tip of the blade, with which he ripped open the throats of the bandits, as if there was a slight trace left - a thread following from the the first pirate, who was just starting to get it, to the last one, whose skin on his back was currently peeling away from the rapier.
As if in a practiced dance, Akimaru killed or knocked out almost all the pirates in a few minutes, which was not even enough for some to realize what was happening. But that's why they are trash. Drunk, mostly sick, who were used to robbing almost defenseless merchant ships, but even against trained soldiers they would have been losers, let alone Akimaru.
The captain stopped his deadly dance already standing in front of the entrance to the hold. He knew that there were still pirates there, and maybe even prisoners, but beauty was no longer needed there; in the end, he showed his squad the insignificance of the pirates.
- Aki, rapier! - Captain Uli shouted loudly, throwing the sheath to Akimaru. Even a master shouldn't have used such a long weapon in a confined space, and this is what Uli tried to convey with his short message. Therefore, having cleaned the blade on the trousers of one of the nearest corpses, he, with a well-practiced action, put the sheath on himself, and in one graceful movement thrust the rapier there.
None of the crew, or even Aki himself, could have known that at that moment the words of the captain of the Fire Nation ship reached the fading consciousness of one of the wounded pirates. The truth is slightly distorted.
"...Kira..."
"So... what was it?" the thought flashed in the bandit's head before passing out. He will be able to escape later, when he is handed over to the local authorities, and he will tell the story about "Kira" to everyone he sees.
***
Well, I clearly made an impression, and I even warmed up quite well myself. All that remained was to finish cleaning the ship, which I went to do, taking my hatchet out from under my cloak.
In the narrow corridors of small pirate ships, where it's not even possible to stand up to your full height, a hatchet was just the thing. In total, there were a dozen more sick or drunken pirates in the hold. I didn't even kill most of them, I left them alive.
We have quite decent casemates on the ship, where we'll put them, and then hand them over to the nearest port. What else can you do with them?
In general, leaving their bodies lying around, I myself climbed onto my ship - now it's time for the poor fellows to tie everyone up and escort them.
Of course, I was greeted like a hero, no more, no less. My pants were full of delight, honestly, but looking at the stain on the deck, someone, even looking at all this from afar, couldn't contain his stomach.
- So, listen to my command: the living into the hold, the dead overboard, collect everything valuable and also into the hold. Lower the sails, put up a white rag instead of a flag," I said loudly, "do it!"
Phew, now it's their turn. As soon as they went down to the pirate ship, most of them started vomiting - intestines and various entrails were present there in decent quantities, so the young and inexperienced immediately ran to turn their stomachs overboard. And then a routine began that I did not follow. Convoying, and so on and so forth.
Everything turned out quite well with the ports - everyone was happy to receive us. They also replenished supplies with a smile from ear to ear and even asked for almost nothing.
Which was very successful, we found where to put the prisoners, where to replenish supplies and a lot of other things. What is good?
True, the first reports on the coastal cities have already left - my poor fellows quite successfully sat in bars, listened to the complaints of the locals about life and brought me quite a lot of different rumors, which I personally checked later. So far, nothing particularly serious has happened: he loves bribes, he turns a blind eye to the brothel, and so on. Of course, I point out such sins in the report, and then I solve them myself. I'm giving you a chance to come to your senses, so to speak, in the end it's really not serious.
By the way, I discovered a new pleasure - tea. Well, more precisely, you need to drink while traveling - otherwise the salt literally settles in your mouth, creating an unpleasant aftertaste, and the drinks here are either water, tea, or alcohol, which is unacceptable. Too often. This did not make me a strong fan of this drink, but now I could often be found drinking tea and looking into the distance.
It's just that at the same time I was chasing magic, one might say meditating, moving air back and forth in my head and body. From a small breeze to a huge tornado. It worked out well, but I don't know where beyond this very tornado. And for now this is the only possible option to become even stronger, but I'm still not exactly a good magician. Honey, as I said, rather. Although maybe I'm too hard on myself. With the help of fire I can burn meters in front of me in a second, and with the wind I can destroy almost any obstacles... yes, maybe I really am too hard on myself. Against standard soldiers, I'm pretty tough. But if you take someone from the "elite" sector, like Azula... well, I very much doubt that with pure magic I will be able to give her at least an equal fight.
In any case, for the next few months, by and large, we were literally doing the same thing. We see a pirate ship, we catch up and board it. Although, when we completely fell under the dominance of pirates, I already worked like a fire magician, burning their wooden vessels to hell with one click of a lighter.
My reputation on the ship was higher than heaven - it seems they threw me somewhere on a pedestal with the Lord of Fire and they are not going to throw me off at all, listening to any of my phrases as a revelation from above. That didn't stop them from fucking around as soon as I turned my back. What kind of people?
So, burning was really not that difficult, only all the valuables and captives, if any, went with the ship. Which was simply unacceptable.
Therefore, more often than not, we simply boarded the ships as a whole detachment, where I was more involved in insuring my poor fellows, thanks to which, thank God, we did not suffer any losses. Perhaps injuries of varying severity, but nothing too serious.
But, I must say, the "poor guy's" squad grew at an accelerated pace. Against all twenty, I already had to give my all, although still without any magic to defeat them. And this is an indicator. There's nothing to say about all sorts of trash - they chopped and slashed just like that, except that the first raid didn't go very well.
I had to gather everyone in the cabin to seal them off and hammer home the philosophy. Something from the category of "Garbage is garbage," but it barely helped. I had to pour food for everyone, look after everyone, and so on.
But then, one day, when I already understood that it was time to sail to my destination, Uli reminded me of my favor and the fact that I needed to stop by Kyoshi Island.
Well, it's necessary - that means it's necessary. The command has been given, we are sailing.
Kyoshi Island is generally a curious phenomenon. Quite a decent piece of land, which avatar Kyoshi personally chopped off and continued to live there. Even the avatar had an agreement with the Fire Lord, or rather an oath from the Fire Lord that they would not be the first to touch this island. And since then, even during the war, the island, de facto wholly owned by the people of the Earth, de jure is a separate island.
Although there are many people from different tribes, the general color scheme is green, close to the typical earthen one. All visiting traders are from the tribe of the earth, all the ships that sail are from the people of the earth; one might say, despite its non-neutrality, this island definitely has nothing to do with the fire people.
Except very rarely, because peaceful people from the Fire Nation are still present there. Okay, well, let's see all this with our own eyes when we arrive. But it seems to me that we won't run into problems there.