His first day training with Joki and Kawa didn't yield anything except for him not needing a shower afterwards. Much like Mitsuki, Joki Izumi is strict, demanding and a harsh instructor though his wife Kawa is much more light handed when it comes to training. For five hours he stood at the crescent shaped lake around the academy, attempting to go through the motions that Joki and Kawa demonstrated but each time was met with failure. It was almost as if the water was ignoring him, he didn't even manage to disturb the already choppy water more than it already was. Each time he got frustrated and showed the first hint of firebending, Joki dunked him into the lake to extinguish that rebellious hot headed nature that is written in the DNA of firebenders. By the end of it he was cold, wet and partially contemplating shooting lightning at his new bending master. Obviously not Kawa considering her pregnancy, but he did at least want to drive the message home to Joki that he was not happy.

That was four days ago, and now Izuku finds himself seated in the library of the large cruise ship that the northern watertribe had arranged for the students at his bending academy to charter on. Across from him, Momo is calmly reading through one of her many novels, taking pauses every few moments to sip her tea or gaze up at him. Kaminari and Bakugou are trying to annoy Todoroki to the point he freezes the entire ship but the son of Endeavor has far too much patience for those two block heads as he'd put it. Once losing interest in bugging Shouto, Katsuki decides it's a good idea to go and bug Deku as a means to entertain himself. While the northern watertribe had offered to charter them all the way from firenation waters to northern Alaska in the United Earth Kingdom States, they had made it abundantly clear that the ship was not fireproof and had asked that they refrain from bending at all costs.

"How could that book be so interesting? It's had you with your nose shoved into it for the past three days Deku?" Katsuki asks, and Izuku knows his friend well enough that it's better to just appease him or be annoyed until he gives in. "Is it a new manga or something? Hentai maybe?"

"Have you no manners? Don't talk about that filth with a lady present." Momo chastises.

"I don't see a lady anywhere." Katsuki says dickishly, causing Momo to glare at him with the hatred of a dying star. "Relax, princess, I'm only joking. Don't burn a hole in my pretty face just because you can't tell when I'm joking."

"You and pretty in the same sentence? I've seen cowpigs that are more handsome than you." Kaminari says, causing Izuku and Momo to snicker slightly at the insult. Katsuki now adopts the same glare that Momo had just given him.

"I'm reading through Avatar Roku's journals. I have the journals of the entire previous cycle of avatars, Roku's, Aang's Korra's and Genji's. The firesages believe that if I read them it would help me with my own journey as Avatar." Izuku responds, "I'm right here if you wanna follow along for a bit but don't breathe on me while you read over my shoulder. It's gross." He continues, before pointing to the spot where he is reading in the journal.

After Izuku discovered that he was well and truly the avatar, the fire sages on New Roku had visited him at his dorm at the royal academy. The head sage and two of his attendants spoke with Izuku about what it means to be the avatar and what his journey would bring about. Each avatar has known love, tragedy, suffering, triumph and battled with the spirit world. In addition to all this knowledge, the head sage has brought a copy of journals of the previous avatars that would one day go on to help the next. Seeing as he is the continuation of the eternal cycle, he opts to read his predecessor's journal first. The previous Avatar of Fire spent nearly 30 years mastering the elements, and the parts of his journals Izuku spends most of his time reading are about his times at the north pole.

"Water is a strange element, it's the giver of life and the catalyst for change. It's patient, but stubborn; though not nearly as stubborn as the earth itself, but when water has made up its mind there is nothing that can stand in its wake." Roku's words whisper off the page. "Today starts the beginning of my journey learning the element that is the antithesis of my own. From what I have learned from Avatar Kyoshi's writings, each avatar struggles with the element opposite to their nature. Since I'm a firebender, it only makes sense that water would extinguish my rate of progress."

"Seems kind of boring." Katsuki comments which earns him a flick on the eye tattoo on his forehead from the avatar. "Ouch."

"Don't say anything rude about my predecessors." Izuku scolds before adjusting himself in his seat. "Go bug Chan or Setsuna, she's probably bored. I have a lot of stuff to read Kacchan."

"Well you're boring too, c'mon sparky let's go terrorize the buffet line." Katsuki declares as he storms off grabbing Kaminari by the collar as he does so.

"He's very encourageable." Momo says as she reaches over and pours more tea into her cup, she drops a sugar cube into it then stirs it in with a partially created tea spoon that she disintegrates after use.

"Yeah, but he's a good friend. Do you want to read this with me?" Izuku asks, causing the crown princess to arch an eyebrow at the question. "What?"

"How do you expect us to do that? Have me sit in your lap then just tell you when i'm done with the page?" She asks, studying Izuku's reaction closely as he responds. "Might be a little difficult since I am taller than you."

"I... didn't think that part through." Momo lifts her tea cup to her mouth to hide the Azula-esk smirk that's present on her lips. "I was just gonna read it out loud." Momo eyes the blushing expression on the Avatar's face before closing her book and standing from her chair. She brings her teapot and cup over to the table beside Izuku before plopping herself down on his lap.

"I am related to Avatar Roku, give or take several generations, but I'd never pass up the opportunity to read the thoughts and experiences of my ancestor. I wouldn't mind you reading a bit to me." She says as she situates herself in his lap.

"Unlike most of the locals here in the north, Grandmaster Taqukaq was not a fan of me at our first meeting, especially due to my inability to bend water currently. My friend Sozin told me that waterbenders were supposed to be laid back, go with the flow type of people but that seems very far from the truth with him. It seems that I am going to have to be the one that has to adapt to this life more than they will to me." Izuku outwardly cringes reading what Roku had written down so long ago.

"Here I thought earthbenders were stubborn." Momo comments on hearing Izuku's words. "Then again, so are firebenders."

"Let's skip ahead a little bit, he seems to talk about how poorly the training goes for nearly a hundred pages." Izuku says as he skims through the journal for a few moments. "Today I had a major breakthrough with my waterbending abilities. During a training session with Taqukaq, there was an accident with a hunting party patrolling the icebergs for the turtle seals, one of the boats crashed against the ice and ended up sinking. Seeing as we were the closest to the incident when it happened, Taqukaq and I immediately took to the boats to act as a rescue party while some of the other students rushed to prepare the healing huts for hypothermia victims. When we got to the wreckage three of the hunters were clutching wood from the boat and one was treading water before sinking. Without thinking I dove into the water after him, plunging dozens of feet down to the icy depths. By the time I got to him, he had already lost consciousness and I wasn't a strong swimmer at the time but my body moved on its own to rescue the poor boy. I managed to wrap a hand under his arm and around his chest then started swimming back upwards to the surface when I too started to run shy of breath, then something changed and each movement of my hand caused gallons of water to flow around me with ease. In three strokes I made it to the surface, and was yanked into my master's boat like a limp fish."

"He figured out waterbending trying to save someone? That's interesting, I thought it would be simpler than that." Momo comments again.

"Taqukaq believes that I discovered how to bend my third element due to deciding to change the fate of the boy. Water is the element of change and by changing his fate, I met the aspect of the new element I wish to learn. Tomorrow starts the training I've wasted three months doing nothing with according to my ever demanding master. Such is the life I was born into, such is the life I never chose."

"Doesn't seem like Avatar Roku wanted to be the avatar." Momo says, taking note that the excerpt ends there. "Did you want to be the avatar?" She asks, shifting her attention from the page to him.

"It wasn't something I wished for daily, I knew I was born on Avatar day but Kacchan had said to not get my hopes up about it when we were little since there's a lot of people who have that day as a birthday. Once I found out that I'm the avatar I was ecstatic but I didn't know how much work I was getting myself into. Though, it's kind of the same with my dream of being a hero, the difference is I'm the avatar and I'm destined by birth to be the strongest but I have to train to get to that point." Momo nods, hearing his words tilting her head into his shoulder.

"Don't forget that you're mine as well." Momo says, feeling content as he tightens his embrace around her. "I wouldn't settle for anyone less than the avatar himself. No one else is worthy of being betrothed to the princess. One day every villain in the firenation, no the world, will fear the Avatar and his wife."

"Momo?"

"Yes?"

"You're Azula is showing."

"I know."

The cold winds coming off of the permafrost over the northern watertribe chills the firebenders to the bone as the ship makes it to port. Standing on the deck of the large ship, Izuku stands beside Momo in their maroon red parkas looking out at the frigid city before them. Anchorage Alaska, also known as the capital of the northern watertribe, for six months out of the year the sun doesn't set. Izuku notices as Momo breathes out a couple puffs of blue fire in order to warm herself up and stave off the cold as the dock hands wheel the gangway staircases to the deck of the massive cruise ship. The moment it latches into place an entourage of watertribe warriors and officials rush up the gangway and to the deck in order to make a passage for a regal and dignified looking man. The older gentleman has streaks of gray in his mostly black hair, a long mustache and chin beard that drapes over the front of his parka. He is flanked by the war paint wearing warriors acting as not only an escort but a personal guard for the chief.

"Welcome Avatar Midoriya Izuku, Princess Yaoyorozu and the members of the esteemed Royal Firebending Academy. Welcome to Anchorage." The chief greets as he makes it to the top of the gangway, he bows respectfully to Izuku and Momo and then the class itself. "I am chief Poanras, and it is my pleasure to welcome you all to our country."

"Thank you for the greeting, Chief Poanras." Hisashi says with a bow, "We're honored that you would have us, we look forward to the festival and festivities." He says with a curt bow to the mustachioed chieftain. "For those of us that haven't been to the northern watertribe, what can you tell us about your lovely city?"

"Certainly, Nearly two hundred years ago the capital of the northern watertribe relocated out of the arctic circle and to Anchorage, the original capital is still looked after and guarded by the shamans and spiritual leaders. They protect the spirit oasis and only a select few people know of the original capital's location now. The decision my forefathers have made to relocate the capital was done solely to protect the spirit oasis after the siege of the north from Admiral Zhao during the hundred years war in Avatar Aang's era. Plus it helps that Anchorage is much warmer than the original city Agna Qel'a, which means we get much more visitors and tourists coming to our country." Chief Poanras explains as he guides the first year class down the gangway and towards the city proper. "Your stay will be in Alyeska, it's a rather lavish resort here in Anchorage that has wonderful views of the landscape, heated pools and any other amenities you may want. It's also a short distance from the Yue Memorial Academy, tonight there will be a performance by Master Viku's waterbenders and a feast to welcome you to Anchorage."

Anchorage itself is a massive metropolitan city almost as big as the capital city of the Firenatio, Tokyo. Though much like Tokyo and the firenation itself, Anchorage is on volcanic soil and surrounded by volcanoes. While the city itself is massive, the buildings aren't nearly as tall as Tokyo or Republic city for that matter. Instead they are shorter and wider, topping out at a maximum of 15 stories. The reason for this is the landscape itself sitting on a tectonic plate responsible for constant earthquakes and volcanic activity, something that the firebenders are quite used to considering they live in their own volcanic island. After being led to a series of limousines, the firebender students are brought to the Alyeska resort so that they can decompress from the voyage. As they arrive at the resort, they're greeted by groups of locals and some of the students of the Yue academy waiting to greet the avatar and the princess of the firenation. The reception was almost like a celebrity red carpet event with dozens and dozens of people taking pictures of the avatar and the princess together but one person in particular caught Izuku's attention.

Standing aside all the paparazzi is a man about Izuku's age with short brownish black hair with sharp accusatory bluish gray eyes. He doesn't have a camera, nor even a phone in his hands or any sort of positive expression on his face. Instead his expression is analytical, focused and almost sinister as he stares at the group as they head into the hotel. Of all the people around, he is the only one who has a sword at his hip, though it's slightly concealed by the dark blue cloak over his parka. His arms are folded and partially covered with armor with a series of rings over his fingers. Izuku can sense that there's something off about the man, maybe that the other man's eyes are reddened in the sclera or the expression on his face is giving Izuku an unnerved feeling when looking at the other man. Before Izuku walks through the door, the other man's eyes shift to look directly at him and for a split second Izuku can see an evil smirk on the man's face before he turns and vanishes into the crowd.