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| By Hiroakira Fengxian | Part of the Fushichō: Saga of the Five Gods continuity. |
| ""I'd just like to say that I couldn't have done this without each and every one of you... Of course I'm not a liar, so I'm not going to say any of that."" |
| — Hiroakira Fengxian |
Hiroakira Fengxian, birth name Kanto, often referred to by his nickname Hiro, is the main character of the fanfiction Fushichō: Saga of the Five Gods. Hiro is a young but immensely powerful Firebender, an experienced warrior, and is (surprisingly) an Airbender as well, the mystery behind which is an underlying theme of the story. As an orphan with no memory of his life before he was found half-dead on a beach at the age of 5, Hiro spent his early years in the Fire Nation Capital as the adopted son of the now-late Duke Yuan Fengxian, and became friends with both his schoolmate Prince Zuko, and Zuko's little sister Princess Azula, the girl who discovered him on the beach.
He is currently the captain of Fubai Dashi's 9th district Colonial Domestic Force Squad, a position he's held from ages 10–15, and is the youngest person outside of royalty to ever hold the title of captain in the Fire Nation Military. He is a seasoned (if unorthodox) fighter who has survived repeated brushes with death, both from enemy forces, criminals, and by the covert schemes of his current legal guardian, Fubai Dashi's Governor Tao Shui Wang.
Hiro lives for the thrill of battle, and he is known in the Fire Nation as the Little White Dragon, but to the rest of the world, he is known as the Devil of the West for the sheer amount of death and destruction (often unintentional) that he brings to any conflict he get involved in.
Although battle-hungry, sardonic, arrogant, and highly destructive, Hiro can be kind and easy-going, and deeply values the few real friends he has, even if he does tend to mock them relentlessly. That said, he's socially awkward, his apparent egotistical self-confidence being a mask for his insecurities and loneliness. He has tried unsuccessfully to adopt fellow orphan Haruka Rong Yan, although they still shared a close big brother-little sister relationship up until the late 110s A.G.
Appearance[]
By age 15, Hiro is slightly taller than Zuko despite being younger, lean, broad shouldered and powerfully built. Considered handsome by most standards, he is recognized easily by his twin messenger-hawk tail feather headpiece, long unruly ponytail, and the thin diagonal scars on either cheek. His eyes are a bit "rounder" than Fire Nation norm, and his eye color is also exotically unusual: a mix of jade and emerald green and silver-grey. His body is also covered in numerous battle scars, a result of both the frequent violence that plagues his life and his reckless disregard for his own safety. As Fubai Dushi's 9th District Captain, he wears a modified version of a Colonial Force Captain's uniform, with the torso, shoulder armor of a Domestic Force officer, open sleeves covering his arms, and a long red-orange haori jacket that resembles a kata-ginu. After becoming Azula's knight, she "insisted" that since he was representing her now, his wardrobe should reflect this. After much quarrel, a compromise was reached: his new uniform is something more akin to Royal Procession armor, although he still wears a haori jacket similar to his old one, and doesn't wear the helmet or face mask. The feathers on his Headpiece are now much longer, now trailing down to the small of Hiro's back.
After the War, Hiro takes to wearing more modern business attire, albeit with chainmail underlining.
Personality[]
Hiroakira is not your average Fire Nation officer; this quickly becomes apparent after a brief conversation with him. Hiro is smug and egomaniacal, quick to mock the flaws and shortcomings of others with rather elaborate insults and snark. Hiro considers himself smarter and more skilled than the people around him, and he's more than happy to let them know it. Despite his fearsome reputation, he's laid back, free-spirited, strong-willed, and although he is normally content to let others do what they want, he craves a challenging opponent. Unlike most of his countrymen, Hiro doesn't buy into the Fire Nation's propaganda (or anybody's propaganda for that matter), likely as a result of both his upbringing around the royal family (whom he saw first-hand were human and not semi-divine as the lower classes see them), and the disillusionment from living in Fubai Dashi (where "The Authorities" are attempting to kill him, and most of the citizenry are "lead-poisoned morons"). Likely as a result of his poor (actually rather hostile) relationship with his current legal guardian, Governor Tao Shui Wang, Hiro is rather lax in his duties as captain (lazy some would argue), often giving the majority of the work to his lieutenants Ayako and Yori. In fact, Hiro usually has to be nagged into doing anything productive or to take anything seriously, but will leap into action if something catches his interest, such as the possibility of a good fight. He will also compulsively leap to the defense of others if his PTSD is triggered.
Hiro is a skilled killer, and it makes him confident to the point of arrogance. His hardships have made him a somewhat jaded and very snarky egomaniac who gives others annoying nicknames and teases them mercilessly.
Hiro, having most of his opportunities for military advancement barred from him by Governor Tao's scheming, does his job almost exclusively for the thrill of battle, and loves few things more than a good fight, his mockery of others being a close second. Believing that fighting someone is the best way to truly learn about them, he enters battle with unabashed confidence and enthusiastic zeal, along with almost no concern for either his own life or the safety of those around him. Although he's a pitifully inexperienced large-scale strategist and his Firebending is considered unusual and sloppy, Hiro is a master fighter with his weapons and his fists, but will often refrain from firebending on weaker opponents in order to prolong the fight, or if he considers it's use overkill. Although somewhat bloodthirsty, Hiro has his own code of honor and ethics that are quite different from those of the Fire Nation, or anyone else for that matter. He tries not to involve civilians and bystanders if he can help it, he tries to keep fights somewhat fair and honest, he usually won't bother with a fight if the odds are stacked too heavily in his favor unless he really wants to humiliate someone, and thinks it to be cheap to attack an opponent that has given up or can't defend themselves. Hiro has been using his Firebending in battle less and less as time goes on, often egging weaker opponents to "make him use it". When in larger-scale battles, Hiro will often disregard orders and bend the rules to fight opponents he considers challenging, and most of his superiors consider him a loose cannon. Although he tends to shy away from fighting those whose hearts aren't into it, if he feels that said person would provide a serious challenge, than he'll relentlessly hound them until they oblige, such as the case of his unusual friend/fore relationship with Aang. Reckless and impulsive (something he hypocritically disdains in others), not only is he a hazard to ally and adversary alike, he also uses Agni Kai as a way to win arguments, and few of his peers will challenge him as a result. He is keenly aware of this and uses it to "win" disagreements more often than not.
Hiro is quite intelligent for his age, being an avid reader. In fact, aside from fighting, reading and landscaping are Hiro's favorite pastimes, and he keeps a nice collection of books in his room. Hiro has a logical mind and a natural understanding of physics and mechanics, and can figure out how a machine works though observation. This means that he is also Squad 9's spare mechanic, and helps maintain and repair the Squad's few decrepit tanks. He is also has surprisingly great calligraphy skills, and his handwriting is considered beautiful by many. However, he's not always the wisest teenager, and his impulsive need to act and show off lead him to incidents such as leaping out a third-story window to pursue a target without a plan on how he's going to land.
Hiro will never back down from a challenge, and will try to help a friend in genuine need, but only if he feels that they can't handle a problem alone. Hiro has a soft spot for children, and seems to relate to young children better than people his own age. Hiro has trouble socializing with most "normal" people due to his odd habits and his lack of focus in conversations (which often result in him going on long, snarky tangents), and is often lonely, thinking often about his friends back home. In spite of this, Hiro can be very perceptive at times, and can notice traits in people that others would miss. This shows itself most in his relationship with his "old buddy" Zuko, and often voices his confidence that the exiled prince will find the Avatar despite the fact that the whole endeavor is a fairly obvious snipe hunt, and whenever they meet he often encourages Zuko, often with plenty of what he considers good-natured teasing. Hiro has been ridiculed by others for his seemingly baseless faith in the exiled prince, but Hiro couldn't care less about the opinions of others, often retaliating with snarky mockery and insults of his own.
Although he usually won't interfere with other people's disputes, preferring to let them get themselves out of their own messes, there IS a notable exception: Due to his severe post-traumatic stress, resulting from an incident where several people he'd grown to care about were killed in an ambush meant for him (something he blames himself for), Hiro will compulsively aid people in serious trouble, particularly if the phrase "It's not your fault" is used. Hiro hates this compulsion, and his inability to ignore it. The same incident also led to another trigger: Should the subject of Fai-Ching, the squad member who sold out Hiro and his comrades and left them to die, comes up, Hiro will immediately enter a furious blood rage. This trigger persists even after he exacted bloody vengeance on Fai-Ching.
Due to his lack of fear and his ability to shrug (most) off insults, Hiroakira is incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to manipulate or control through intimidation, something which irritates the hell out of Azula, who prefers to control others through fear. He can however be manipulated into joining miscellaneous tasks if one knows what buttons to push: the aforementioned ambush that got his comrades killed. This has also affected his ability to form relationships, as he doesn't wish to invest in "weak" people who are likely to get killed. Azula has learned to leverage this by reminding Hiro that she isn't someone who'd be killed easily by the dangers in his life, while subtly insinuating that any other woman he may show interest in will end up dead.
Despite the fact that he sometimes goes out of his way to inconvenience and ridicule other people for entertainment, this is all a persona. Hiro is actually extremely self-conscious about himself and desperately wants people to like him, but doesn't know how to due to his lack of social skills. He originally was so self-conscious that he became shocked and upset whenever people called him an "asshole".
Being an orphan and raised mostly by the Fengxian Clan's servants and vassals, Hiro's greatest, most desperate desire is to one day have a real family of his own. As a result, he is sympathetic to fellow orphans, and is secretly jealous of his friends that do have relatives, despite their apparent family issues. People complaining about parents and family to him is a major irritation to him.
During the events of Book 2, He was recruited by Princess Azula to join in hunting Zuko, Iroh, and later Team Avatar. Azula recruited him for his sheer destructive potential, but quickly they began to bicker throughout the journey. Azula would've likely killed Hiro had she not been under orders from Ozai to refrain from doing so. Despite Hiro's mouthy insubordination, he and the princess actually fought very well together. By the events of Book 3, Hiro and Azula begin forming a romantic relationship, forming a powerful, if highly toxic and co-dependent, bond. A rough sport would emerge when the two compulsively entered into a marriage proposal that neither actually wanted at the time, leading to an elaborate and escalating series of stunts by both sides designed to scare the other side into calling off the marriage, as both were too stubborn and immature to be the first to admit it. To this end, Azula even adopted a mysterious amnesiac girl named Tia, and both she and Hiro would attempt to outdo the other in doting on the strange child, becoming genuinely fond of Tia in the process, even after it was revealed that the girl was a spirit in disguise. After the events of Sozin's Comet, Hiro came under the mistaken belief that Azula had been killed during her Agni Kai with Zuko. Due to nobody bothering to correct this belief for over a year and a half, Hiro became embittered towards Zuko.
After the War, Hiro's PTSD and emotional scars only grew, driving him to believe that he had to take a more active role in shaping and controlling the world around him if he was to ever to attempt having loved ones again. This led him to take political sides against Zuko and support the Colonists during the Harmony Restoration Movement, continuing to butt heads with the Fire Lord even after Zuko himself sided with the colonies. Hiro nearly got himself killed during the Battle of Yu Dao for his stubborn refusal to listen to the authority of others, as well as due to the machinations of poisonous forces pretending to be his allies.
During the Kemurekagi Crisis, evidence was leaked that seemed to link Hiroakira, who had just returned to the Fire Nation, to the New Ozai Society. In truth, Hiro had nothing to do with the plot to overthrow Zuko, but the accusations enraged him and helped further divide the Fengxians from the Crown. It was during this that Hiro discovered that Azula was still alive and possibly the ringleader for the whole plot, leaving him furious at Zuko for not telling him. Quite by chance, Hiro would run into Azula while she was making her escape from Hari Bulkan, much to her surprise. Hiro attempted to resume their relationship from where it left off, vowing to fight the rest of the world if that what it took to protect her, only for Azula to use his lowered defenses to electrocute him into unconsciousness (although it should be noted that she showed some hesitation in doing so). This betrayal sent Hiro into a depression, sending him on a search for answers.
In the years afterward, Hiro would involve himself heavily in the growth of the United Republic, viewing it as a pet project, a place he could build into a safe utopia for the people most important to him. He would be driven to become a ruthless businessman in his need for control of the nation's industry, very much treating his business dealings like a war. Under Hiroakira's leadership, the Fengxian Zaibatsu would gain monopolies over the nation's steel industry, it's railroads, and it's investment banking, through which he'd help many other industrialists get their start, such as a young Hiroshi Sato. He would also become vicious rivals with both Sparrowkeet Air and Cabbage Corp in the air travel industry.
As Hiro's knowledge of spiritual matters grew, the more he came view spirits in general as a dangerous, unreasonable, chaotic force not to be trusted; an ever-present and looming threat to his world. His encounters with the likes of spirits like General Old Iron and the continuous machinations of the malevolent fox spirit Sachiko have given him the firm belief that spirits are a dangerous threat to humankind, unworthy of veneration or worship. There are very few exceptions to his prejudice and mistrust of spirits, such as the Lightning Spirit Tia, whom he views as a daughter.
History[]
In Late Summer of 89 A.S.C., a mysterious typhoon hit Ember Island while Prince Ozai and his family were staying there. After weathering the storm, Ozai's daughter Azula found a half-dead boy washed up on the beach as well as a half-dead dragon. Accounts differ, but apparently the boy, who Azula named Hiroakira, was the one who finally killed the beast. When later interrogated, "Hiro" claimed to have no knowledge of who he was, where he was, who his parents were, or anything else about his prior life. Ozai, taking the boy under his "protective custody", brought him before Firelord Azulon. Details about what occurred during this time are sketchy, but Hiro was briefly examined by the Fire Sages, and Ozai attempted to adopt the boy, something Azulon outright refused: Only Azulon would decide who joined the family, and he was suspicious of Ozai's motives. Nevertheless, Hiro was given the unofficial title of "Little White Dragon", an homage to a famous dragon-hunter in Fire Nation history.
Hiroakira was eventually adopted by Duke Yuan Fengxian, a retired military officer, arms merchant, and old friend of both Prince Ozai and Prince Iroh, as well the sole remaining heir to one of the wealthiest noble families in the Fire Nation. Still, Ozai would continue to keep a close eye on young Hiro, planning on using the boy as a pawn to gain power for himself. At the Princess's insistence, Hiro was often allowed to the Palace to visit her, and after a somewhat rocky start he became friends with Prince Zuko as well. Eventually the two enrolled in the Royal Fire Academy together, where Hiro made a name for himself in causing property damage during firebending classes and injury to other classmates due to his playful roughhousing and his inability to control his strength.
In 90 A.S.C., Yuan went to Shu Jing to conduct business, and decided to bring Hiro along. While there, they ran into an old acquaintance of Yuan's, the swordsmaster Piandao. Wanting to help his stepson learn restraint, Yuan requested Piandao to take Hiro as a student. Although the sword master refused the first several times, he eventually relented, and Hiro became Piandao's on-and-off student, alongside Prince Zuko. Hiro soon become one of the most skilled and gifted swordsmen that Piandao had trained, and developed a two-sword style of his own. The discipline he learned allowed Hiro to better excel at his martial classes back home, where he showed particular talent with the spear.
Hiro eventually developed skills for reading, writing, and landscaping. He became a regular around the Royal Palace, with much of the royal family becoming something of a surrogate family to him. Hiro and Zuko became as close as brothers, and the two both looked up to Zuko's cousin Lu Ten. But Hiro shared a particular bond with Azula. As far as Hiro can remember, Azula was the first person he ever met, and the one who'd given him his name. The princess considered Hiro as her find, giving her a sense or propriety over him, and was often jealous of the time he spent with her brother and others.
Prince Ozai attempted to form an alliance between himself and the Fengxian clan by arranging a marriage engagement between Hiroakira and Azula. Given the sheer wealth and influence over the nation's war industries, Ozai had hoped that this would give him de facto control over the Fire Nation despite Iroh being heir to the throne, possibly even increasing his own legitimacy in the line of succession. Fire Lord Azulon however suspected this ploy, and in attempt to avoid another power struggle like the Camellia-Peony War, he flatly rejected the proposal despite Ozai's objections. This would remain a sore spot for Ozai for many years afterwards.
Tragedy struck when Hiro was around 9. Yuan Fengxian, who had long been fighting a painful lung disease, finally died, leaving Hiro the sole heir to the Fengxian estate. At the age of 9, Hiro was still far too young to inherit this wealth, and by law was to live with a guardian until he came of age. Again, Prince Ozai tried to adopt the boy, and again Azulon refused, still suspicious of his son's so-called "charitable offer". The Firelord decreed that Hiro was to live with Yuan's closest blood relative, Governor Tao Shui Wang of Fubai Dushi, until he turned 16. Torn away from his friends and the only life he had ever known, Hiro was shipped off to the mainland.
Life In Hell[]
Hiroakira was not welcomed with open arms by his new guardian, and despite his noble title Hiro spent the first few weeks in Tao's household working like a common servant, often taking verbal and sometimes physical abuse with little provocation. After a while of this demeaning labor, Tao insisted that the boy learn to "serve the State", and had Hiro placed in the City's Colonial Force, under the brutal 9th District's captain, Bao Tai.
Bao Tai was a merciless bully, and was unnecessarily harsh on the new recruit. Hiro spent over two months in basic training, still keeping his upbeat demeanor, until a particular incident led him to challenge Bao Tai for the position of Captain. Bao, backed by the Governor, accepted the challenge. During the fight, Bao took an early lead and mercilessly battered the 9-year-old, but became overconfident as Hiro unleashed his enormous latent power, blasting a hole clear through Bao Tai's torso. Thus, at barely 10 years of age, Hiro became the youngest ranked officer in the Military.
Although Hiro had become captain of the 9th Division through legal means, both the other captains and the officers of his new squad were very reluctant at first to acknowledge a mere child as a worthy officer. Governor Tao, now absolutely terrified at what Hiro could do, sought more cunning means of dealing with the young upstart. Tao sought to limit Hiro's influence and power by passing a number of ordinances preventing Hiro from gaining a higher rank through Agni Kai. Tao also sought to strangle the 9th Division by reducing their funding down to a mere pittance. Hiro was able to alleviate his financial concerns by recruiting officers from the "outcast" members of society: capable people who were usually denied positions of authority due to ethnic background, people who were grateful to even find a job, those that were rejected by the Fire Nation for being "too soft", and sometimes oddballs, psychos, and outright weirdos that often found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Hiro also began to make deals with local smugglers and crime lords, where Squad 9 would look the other way on the more "soft" crimes being committed in exchange for graft money.
It was not long before men began to come trying to kill the young captain. Randomly, at any hour of the day and night they'd come, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups. None were successful, though the few that managed to escape with their lives often payed for their failure with gruesome injuries and copious amounts of blood. There was little question as to who was behind these hitmen, but there was little that Hiro or his allies could do to prove it. Hiro instead shrugged off the attempts on his life like they were no big deal, and decided to maintain a positive attitude. This optimism would soon be greatly tested during the infamous Rangyi Rebellion.
The Rangyi Rebellion and the Devil of the West[]
Hiro was often put on the frontline of the uprising as part of a Uriah Gambit; it was done on the understanding that he would be killed. Defying all expectations, the young man not only survived, but gained a reputation for leaving a trail of carnage in his wake, and viciously mocking survivors. Hiro became an infamous figure to the Rangyi partisans, the rumor mill turning him into a diabolical figure. During this time, he became close to a female subordinate several years older than himself named Mari, after which he began slowly opening up to others. Unfortunately, during an assassination ambush, one of the hired mercenaries of Hiro's group, a man named Gui, bailed on them in a fit of cowardice, leaving the group overwhelmed. Mari was killed in front of Hiro, who was too busy holding off multiple assailants to help her. Her last words to him were to not blame himself, which Hiro only partly heard. Hiro was traumatized by the incident, and became noticeably more jerkish and antisocial afterwards, yet occasionally would seem compelled to help others in hopeless situations, almost compulsively. The concept of leaving a friend to die became something of a trigger for Hiro afterwards, and he harbored a murderous grudge against Gui ever afterwards.
Blood Road and Afterward[]
Hiro's most infamous feat would come at the climax of the Rangyi Rebellion, when a sortie by Colonel Shinu and the Yuyan Archers was made on bad intelligence, ending in disaster and forcing a strategic retreat. Hiro and Squad 9 were assigned to protect a supply train sent to meet up with Shinu, but the group were forced to go via caravan when the train encountered a section of torn-up rails. Hiro and his group discovered an large intercepting force of Rangyi led by General Targutai planning to cut off Shinu's force at the river ford in Senlin Forest. Squad 9 was able to arrive ahead of the Rangyi and deliver the supplies to Shinu's men, who were exhausted and riddled with dysentery. Although having an opportunity to flee with his small force before they were surrounded, Hiro acted compulsively and chose to stand with Shinu and the Yuyan Archers.
Despite the lopsided odds, a combination of terrain, recent weather, very good tactical planning, and a daring nighttime raid on the enemy camp that lured them across the freezing river before they were ready, the Battle of Senlin Forest, known as the Bloody Road for the narrow dirt path that ran through the center of the muddy rice fields, turned into a colossal bloodbath, with legions of Rangyi troops cut down by a rain of arrows while trying to slog through the deep mud. Hiro, in typical fashion, rode out to meet the enemy once they reached the Fire Nation lines, and losing himself in the melee he ended up carving a path all the way to General Targutai's position, whereupon he fought and slew the military and political driving force of the Rangyi Rebellion. A relief force from the Navy led by Captain Zhao cemented a Fire Nation victory, even if Zhao stole most of the credit. The battle also started a huge forest fire, forcing the Fire Nation to kill it's prisoners in order to evacuate the area in time. The surviving Rangyi would disperse, many joining with various Earth Kingdom provincial armies, bringing with them tales of a young firebender who fought like a devil out of hell. The stories spread far and wide, growing more exaggerated with every telling, until Hiroakira Fengxian was believed to be a legitimate man-eating devil with supernatural powers, conjured by Fire Nation sorcerers.
Not long after his recovery, Hiro made the acquaintance of Shan Li, a young Navy engineer on shore leave. Shan was also an odd soul who surprisingly was able to put up with Hiro's snark, and things might have gone further were it not for Hiro's emotional hangups and Shan's brief stay in the city.
Meeting the Avatar (Book One: Water)[]
An Old Flame and a Road Trip (Book Two: Earth)[]
Returning Home[]
Summer of Passion (Book Three: Fire)[]
Following the attempt on Hiro's life, he and Azula would grow closer, even going so far as to spend a night of intimacy together. Their relationship would be put to the test by what transpired afterwards: Hiro, in a moment of indecision and social ineptitude, proposed marriage to Azula, a decision he instantaneously regretted. Before he could play it off as a joke however, Azula, displaying equally poor social judgement, accepted, to both Hiro's and her own bafflement and regret. Before either of them could work up the courage to break it off, Ozai found out. Rather than object, he surprisingly supported the marriage entirely. Although he no longer needed it to gain power, Ozai view the engagement as a spiteful act of postmortem defiance against his father's denial of the marriage alliance years before. Both the kids now felt trapped, as neither felt like angering Ozai with their misgivings. The Fire Lord also announced to them a delicate War meeting with his council, and given the complex and cutthroat web of political intrigue of the Fire Nation royal court, Ozai had decided to send Hiro on "vacation" to Ember Island in order to get him out of Royal Caldera City, as his toxic jerkassery could result in a major disaster. Azula agreed, until she found out that she and Zuko were being sent along as well.
Hiro, the royals, and their friends made their way to Ember Island safely, despite Hiro's aquaphobia and seasickness. Azula would threaten several girls on the beach for showing interest in Hiro, while Hiro would for the most part try to ignore her as a way to avoid having to think about their engagement. During the party at Chan's Azula expresses her desire to be able to attract boys besides Hiro, who she often finds insufferable. She also expresses annoyance that he seems to be ignoring her. Hiro spends most of the party either feeling suffocated by the number of people, or else pissing people off with mockery and belittlement until he decides to leave. While taking a stroll along the sea cliff, he spies Chan and Azula kissing, feeling an intense pang of jealousy that he keeps to himself. During the campfire chat on the beach, when confronted with his jerkass behavior, Hiro reveals his severe identity issues, his PTSD from the companions he's lost, his lack of a family, and his difficulties making friends, which Azula interprets as Hiro afraid to put emotional investment in people too weak to survive his violent lifestyle, so he drives people away with arrogance and mean-spirited sarcasm as a cover for his issues.
After spending several days at the local arcade, Hiro discovers that his family owns a beach house up on a hill, and he and Azula decide to check it out. While admiring the view from the porch, Hiro attempts to air his misgivings about the engagement, only for Azula to flip out at him in a moment of panic and get clingy, blowing her chance at getting out of the engagement. Deciding to spend the night, Azula wakes up the next morning to find a strange little girl next to her in her bed. Interrogating the mysterious child, she claims that she doesn't remember how she got there or who she is aside from her name, Tia. She then asks if the teens are her parents. Azula, initially annoyed, decides to use the child in a power ploy against Hiro by claiming Tia is their daughter. Hiro is shocked and baffled at first, but he realizes Azula is attempting to scare him into admitting that he also doesn't want to get married because she doesn't want to admit it first. Stubborn and as determined to win at all costs as Azula, he decides to beat her at her own game, and "adopts" Tia as well. What follows is a power struggle of ridiculous proportions, the two teens attempting to outdo the other in acting like the loving parent in an effort to make the other "blink" first, ignoring Tia's uncanny intelligence and overly-formal speech patters. Hiro, having had more positive relations with children in the past, quickly takes the lead over Azula, who still ends up being charmed by Tia's cuteness, despite denying it to herself. Although it seems at one point the two start attempting to talk things out responsibly, the moment Hiro begins gloating Azula takes them straight to a nearby orphanage in an attempt to adopt even more children. Hiro counters by trying to adopt even more than Azula, the situation escalating way out of control much to the dismay of the woman running the orphanage.
Everything Begins Falling Apart (Boiling Rock to Sozin's Comet)[]
After the War[]
Harmony Restoration Movement[]
The Search[]
Post-War Business[]
Traitors, Spirits, Accusations, and Revelations[]
Imbalance in Cranefish Town[]
Gilded City on a Hill[]
Tyrant of Industry[]
The Expo; A New Shadow Rises[]
The Jiang Shi War[]
to be continued...
Abilities[]
Firebending[]
Despite his relatively young age, Hiroakira is considered by many who have seen him fight as one of the most powerful and destructive Firebenders in the world, casually able to create massive balls and jets of fire on par or superior to those of experienced masters, and can do so for long periods without tiring. When he really gets serious, he can conjure such huge amounts of fire that most average Firebenders would need Sozin's Comet to match him. Even as a child Hiro showed unbelievable power, and was rumored to have single-handedly killed a Dragon around the age of 4. In spite of this, Hiro actual skill level and control is rather low. His formal Firebending training, like much of the rest of his education, was put on indefinite hold after his stepfather's death and Hiro's subsequent shipment to Fubai Dushi. Since then, Hiro has mostly had to improvise or copy from others to improve his Firebending, and as a result he has developed a unique, wild, and unorthodox style that appears to have influences of a variety of martial arts, and even some Earthbending stances. Hiro's style utilizes broad attacks, wide arm movements, wide stances, and rapid long range power strikes, taking advantage of his size, his reach, his uncanny agility, and his superhuman strength and power to cover a large area to overpower opponents and pulverize any cover or defense. One of the most dangerous aspects of his fighting style is his huge tolerance for pain: since he has no fear of injury or death, he will charge right into the fray using attacks and moves that no sane person would even consider to get right into an opponent's face, making it extremely difficult for them to predict or counter him.
Hiro also uses firebending to aid in movement, shooting jets of flame behind him to increase his running speed or jumping ability, or for rapid course correction.
Whereas the Firebending of the Fire Nation Military is based on Northern Shaolin, and the Firebending of the Sun Warriors is based on Dragon Style Kung Fu, Hiro's Firebending (and subsequently his Airbending) is based on Southern Shaolin Eagle Claw, most evident in that he tends hold his hands in a clawed "talon" position when fighting.
Hiro's recklessness and loose cannon attitude tends to result in massive casualties and property damage in any battle he gets involved in, and is rumored to have personally killed and/or injured thousands, both Earth Kingdom soldiers and those Fire Nation troops unlucky enough to get caught in the way. Considered more of a weapon of mass destruction than a person, Hiro's Firebending has been described as "the cannon, not the sword".
White Fire[]
Hiroakira's signature ability and the one that earned him the title "Little White Dragon" at age 5 is his unique ability to produce flames of white-hot intensity. The first use of Firebending he can remember, he managed to overpower and decapitate a dragon with white fire, although he claims he didn't even realize what he was doing at the time, and it was years before he figured out how to conjure white flames again. Actually the result of both Firebending and Airbending, it requires a great deal of concentration, skill, a colossal amount of chi, and copious amounts of available fresh air. As blindingly bright as the sun and with temperatures in the thousands of degrees F., White Fire is hot enough to begin liquefying rock and iron within a minute, and a direct blast will vaporize any organic matter in seconds. Momentary contact, even just a casual brushing, is more than enough to cause severe 2nd and even 3rd degree burns. Just by proximity white fire is dangerous, as the superheated air will cause any nearby substances with a low combustion point (i.e. dry leaves, paper, oils, etc.) to start smoldering or burst into flames due to flashover, and people standing up to two meters away will have light 1st degree burns, similar to a light sunburn. Any water that comes in contact with the fire will undergo high-temperature electrolysis, causing an explosion from the resulting hydrogen and oxygen. Airbending is needed not only to provide the necessary amount of air that the fire consumes and help contain it (partly visible as a corkscrew air stream spiraling along around the flame jet), but also to keep the temperature around Hiro's hands down as much as possible. Even then, Hiro runs the risk of burning the very skin off his hands with extensive use, which is why he owns several pairs of leather gloves exclusively for this reason. Just looking at white fire's brilliant light is not recommended, since the light is of the same intensity of the sun (or a welding torch). Those directly viewing it without protection will be temporarily blinded and might suffer short-term to long-term eye damage. The technique requires a huge amount of chi to use and control, causing great fatigue to Hiro with every use; although it's speculated that much of this chi is wasted do his lack of focus and discipline. He can only use it is short bursts, and continued use will leave him both very winded and with temporary vision impairment. Unlike most of his other Firebending, which he freely uses with his weapons, Hiro's white fire is stand-alone Firebending only, since the heat of the blaze will damage even the tempered metal of his katanas and his pike's headpiece, and will quickly melt the protective resin coating his pike's shaft and allow the wood to catch fire. Due to the required concentration he needs to maintain it and the powerful recoil of the blast, Hiro can only use white flames while standing still and using both hands, leaving him open to attack from behind. Because it only has a range of 15 ft. and is concentrated, Hiro cannot cover a large area with it, and due to the blinding intensity he has trouble aiming at moving targets. This ability has only been used a handful of times, both because of the physical dangers of simply using it, and because Hiro has encountered very few opponents powerful enough to warrant its use. For those unlucky souls that do, a bright flash like the rising sun is pretty much the last thing they'll ever see in this world.
As a result of his immense power and his desire to prolong battles, Hiro has used his Firebending less and less in battle as time goes on, opting to rely on his weapon and hand-to-hand skills until an opponent proves powerful enough to warrant the use of Firebending. As a result, Hiro hasn't used white Firebending since the Rangyi Rebellion ended.
Airbending[]
Although he nor anyone else consciously realized it until his first duel against Aang, Hiro has been Airbending for as long as he's been Firebending, and is in fact one of the reasons that his Firebending is so much more powerful than most others. Hiro instinctively triggers his Airbending ability in conjunction with his Firebending, directing air into any flames he conjures like a bellows in a forge, resulting in much bigger and hotter flames than normal. This is also how he produces White Fire.
Hiro's Airbending also manifests in his uncanny speed and agility, wherein he instinctively decreases air resistance around him and uses wind currents to run, jump, and maneuver with what appears to be superhuman ability. It is also why he is able to swing such heavy weapons like his Huá Ji halberd with such considerable accuracy.
Hiro's attempts at unarmed Airbending resemble a combination of traditional Airbending he's copied from watching and fighting Aang, and the real-life martial arts of Drunken Fist and Snake Style Kung Fu, which seem to reflect Hiro's wild and aggressive nature.
It is currently a mystery as to why or how Hiroakira can Firebend and Airbend, but it may relate to his "little sister" Haruka's ability to Firebend and Earthbend.
Despite only just realizing his latent Airbending talents, Hiroakira has already mastered one or two Airbending attacks, and since he was never taught a thing by the Air Nomads, they are quite deadly.
In his adult years, he received partial training from Avatar Aang, after they had somewhat mended fences. This was mostly out of Aang's desire to pass on the art of Airbending. Hiro's conflicting views put him at odds with Air Nomad pacifism and philosophy, leading to a schism. Hiro would go on to found his own style of airbending: Immortal Phoenix Style, after the characters of his family name. It is far more belligerent than Air Nomad style, incorporating elements from Hiro's Eastern Phoenix Firebending style, as well as several pragmatic non-bending martial arts styles, both bare-handed and weapons. It's accompanying philosophy is that of survivalism. Viewing the overindulgence in pacifism of the Air Nomads as their undoing, and nearly leading to the eradication of airbending from the world, Immortal Phoenix teaches to only use pacifism as long as it's practical; one should never hesitate to use any means at their disposal to protect oneself or the people and thing they value, even bloodshed. Anything to preserve oneself and their knowledge. The idea is to do whatever it takes to survive another possible genocide attempt. "Follow my tenants, and no matter how vigorous the attempt to destroy us, we will endure and rise from the ashes."
Rising Phoenix style does not place value on universal, unconditional pacifism like Air Nomad style; thus, there is no prohibition of consuming meat. Materialism is permitted and even encouraged, so long as attachment to worldly goods does not compromise one's survival. Stockpiling treasure to guard against resource scarcity is encouraged, because it promotes one's survival; refusing to abandon a heavy treasure chest in the path of an oncoming disaster is suicidal and stupid.
The style has a pessimistic view of Spirits and the Spirit World in general, owing to Hiroakira's frequent run-ins with malevolent, and often apathetic spirits. The style teaches that spirits are beings with mindsets alien to humans; coexistence between humans and spirits is little more than wishful thinking. Spirits are unreliable, unpredictable, place unrealistic and often unreasonable demands on humanity, and are unwilling to be held accountable for their actions. They are more than willing to attack the innocent as well as the guilty when angered, are not bound by any earthly laws, and look down upon humanity with disdain. As they cannot die or experience suffering the way humans do, the two groups will never be able to empathize with one another, with humanity held at a permanent disadvantage. One should never make the mistake of believing that they have the best interests of humans at heart. While care should be taken not to provoke Spirits to wrath, they are also unworthy of trust or reverence.
The revelation that Hiro is the earthly vessel of the Phoenix, the Sun Spirit, leaves him shaken, but he remains firm in his beliefs that humans should not be subjects to the Spirit World.
Ghost Thresher
One of Hiroakira's signature attacks, he had been using the Ghost Thresher in battle since he was 11, and nobody knew it was actually Airbending until Aang recognized it as such. A more powerful version of the Air Swipe and the Air Blade, Hiro conjures a focused, crescent-moon shaped slicing air current that can either deflect and blow away huge objects, or cut right through them. Hiro conjures it mostly with either with his sasumata or his swords, using the narrow profile to create a more focused and precise air movement. Since Hiro is not restrained by the Air Nomad's nonviolent teachings, he has used this ability to far more devastating effect than Aang, showing enough power to slice stone, timber, and thin iron with relative ease and has the range to clear-cut up to two and a half acres of dense bamboo forest in a single stroke. Hundreds of Earth Kingdom soldiers have been killed by this attack, as well as dozens of Fire Nation troops unlucky enough to be standing in the line of fire. Hiro has also caused much property damage with this, having been shown to cleave a two-story building in half. Due to the facts that nobody had witnessed Airbending in nearly a century and the fact that Hiro was known primarily as a Firebender, no one realized that Hiro's Ghost Thresher was really Airbending, not even Hiro himself, who thought it was a "pure manifestation of Chi" that he'd once read about in a wuxia novel.
Although Hiro is now eager to explore the limits of his Airbending potential, he has trouble finding a teacher since Aang, the only surviving Air Nomad, has considerable reservations about instructing Hiro, which is understandable since Hiro has tried to fight him to the death in most of their encounters.
Weapons[]
Almost in stark contrast to his rather unrefined bending abilities, Hiroakira is a weapons master forged from both his frequent battles and the almost weekly attempts on his life by hitmen and assassins. Although his skill with most weapons is great, Hiro's greatest talents lie in the sword and the pike.
Twin Swords[]
Being a former student of Piandao, the greatest swordsman and sword smith in recorded Fire Nation history, Hiroakira is by no means a slouch with a sword in his hand, but he becomes more of a real terror with swords in both hands. Piandao taught Hiro to "discover your own path", and Hiro eventually developed a two-sword style unique to him. Hiro lacked the poise, precision and grace to properly adopt Piandao's style, which utilizes fluid, snakelike stabbing motions, so he leaned more toward wide and lightning-fast slashing and cutting motions that took advantage of his strength, and he took to using curved swords like the katana. Unfortunately this left him with a lower defense, so Hiro began using two swords to compensate, alternating between attack and defense. Hiro instinctively felt more comfortable with two swords than one, and continued to develop it. His current twin sword style uses two katanas, one in each hand, allowing him to fight multiple opponents surrounding him, or quickly overpower and slash apart a single foe in a duel with a barrage of strikes. Using a sword in both hands may increase defense, but it requires greater concentration, coordination, and spatial awareness than normal. Additionally, each sword has less power than otherwise gripping one sword with both hands, although Hiro's immense physical strength still allows him to hack through solid rock one-handed. While still students of Piandao, Hiro showed off his two-sword style to his friend Zuko, who in an attempt to copy him, developed his own dual broadsword style. However, Hiroakira has proven to be the better swordsman, having had to use his swords in far more life-or-death than his royal buddy ever has, giving the young aristocrat a great deal more practical experience. Hiro manages to keep a more calm and level head than Zuko in battle, and due to his greater physical strength Hiro can wield much heavier sword types. Like Zuko, Hiro will sometimes use his swords in conjunction with his Firebending, significantly increasing his threat level, though he tends to resort to this only when facing whom he considers a worthy foe. Hiro will usually switch to his swords only if his sasumata is lost, broken, or otherwise rendered unusable or unsuitable. If unable to use his two katanas, Hiro will opt for the nodachi, which he can wield one-handed with enough force to easily cleave through a Fire Nation battleship hull. Although a very competent fencer with the straight sword, Hiro nonetheless lacks the finesse a swordsman of Piandao's skill possesses.
Sasumata[]
Although he is highly proficient with the sword and the bow, the one skill that is as much his signature as his destructive firebending powers is his skill with pole weapons. Although having considerable skill with the staff, spear, and halberd, his favored weapon is a two-pronged pike known as a sasumata, and in wielding it he is almost considered a prodigy. During his first few battles as Captain, Hiro found that the standard-issue Fire Nation Infantry Spear usually broke under the stresses he put on it, so after breaking about a dozen or so he began looking for a sturdier replacement. After using a number of different polearms, Hiro decided to commission a custom pike based on a cross between an ancient heirloom he'd once seen in the Royal Palace, and a standard firefighting tool. The sasumata has a bladed U-shaped tempered steel head that ended in two double-pointed prongs with a gap in the middle about the width of a man's torso. The head is attached to a waxwood shaft about 1.5 times the diameter of standard spears and reinforced with steel bindings which ended in a large blunt counterweight. Although a very heavy weapon, the young warrior has no trouble wielding it like a pro. Naming it Huá Ji (Earth-cutting Pronged Lance), it became his signature weapon, and he carried it with him almost everywhere he went. It gained the nickname "Bloodfork" as Hiro slashed and burned his way through battle after battle, and the more superstitious folk began to attribute all sorts of evil and fantastic powers to it in later years.
Hiro prefers using the pike as his primary weapon, since it complements his natural strength and reach, and he finds more versatility with it than any other weapon. Such is his skill and ability with pole weapons that he is known as an unparalleled fighter for his age group. His strength allows him to pierce and cleave through heavy plate armor like paper, shatter boulders like glass, and cut open tanks and steel ship plating like tin cans. Next to his Firebending, Hiro also causes the most collateral damage with Huá Ji, having hacked apart multiple buildings in his more unchecked fights. Like all his weapons, Hiro projects flames along his weapon, and he often uses his signature Ghost Thresher attack in conjunction with his pike. Hiro does, on occasion, uses the unsharpened gap in the center like a forklift, catching an opponent under the arms, lifting them up, and flinging them like a projectile, and he is also skilled at pinning fleeing suspects this way. Ironically enough, it can also serve as a firefighting tool (often on building fires that he causes), helping to disassemble burning buildings, raise rescue ladders, and help pull people out of second-story windows.
Other[]
Since Hiro doesn't always have access to his usual weapons, he has learned to improvise on many occasions, either using some other available weapon, or even whatever object is within reach. Hiro in one instance managed to repel a would-be assassin by stabbing him through the eye with the handle of a calligraphy brush, and another instance where he beat his attacker's brains in with a large wok pan. Hiro has also proven himself to be a pretty good shot with both a bow and crossbow.
Other Skills[]
Superior Physical Ability[]
Even if you strip him of his weapons and his bending, Hiro is still a very dangerous person. Stronger and faster than a full grown man even as a young boy, at age 15 he has the strength to tip a Fire Nation tank on its side, punch through solid rock, and pull a man's arms right out of their sockets. His skills and strength with his halberd make it so he often fights with one hand free, displayed by his ability to fight back his opponent's attacks with a single arm. Hirō has shown to be deceptively fast and agile for his size and build. Thanks to his tremendous raw power, Hirō 's leg strength allows him to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between him and the opponent, even in full heavy armor, and can keep pace with a komodo rhino at full speed.
Hiro's endurance is astounding: he never seems to tire even after hours of fighting. He is also incredibly resistant to damage, seemingly able to shrug off injuries severe and painful enough to incapacitate most people, once having fought for three hours with several arrows embedded in him. The only pain that seems to really bother him is when someone pulls on his "antenna" hairs. Thankfully for Hiro, few know of this, and even fewer have actually exploited it, namely Haruka and Hiro's lieutenant Ayako, the latter mostly as a way to get him to do his job. Princess Azula is also aware of this weakness, and used to pull on Hiro's "antennas" whenever he got her angry.
Fighting Skills[]
Hiro believes that traditional martial arts and Firebending was a little too rigid to be completely effective in the chaotic environment he experienced during the Rangyi Rebellion. To create something he considered more practical for warfare, duels, and fending off assassination attempts, he began experimenting with what he had studied until then, what he saw from others on and off the battlefield, as well as his own innovations he gleened from extensive reading. He began to develop his own Airbending moves once he discovered his talent for it, and has incorporated it with his unique Firebending and weapons techniques to create a one-of-a-kind and difficult to predict style.
Despite his seeming disregard for strategy in his fights and his seeming lack of forethought during battle, Hirō is a very insightful young man, regularly showing more understanding than one would expect. When he actually calms down and takes a fight seriously, he can be a surprisingly keen analyst and tactician. He is very adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses in his opponents' techniques, and knows how to exploit his surroundings if the situation calls for it. His lack of fear of physical injury also allows him to rush opponents in attacks that seem suicidal, giving him a chaotic, unpredictable edge over most of his adversaries. However, his tactical ability is compromised by his desire for sport and to indulge in mindless, adrenaline-fueled violence, which serves as a coping mechanism for his hard and stressful life.
In a genuine emergency, Hiro isn't afraid to resort to combat pragmatism, attacking the soft targets on an opponent's body (eye gouging, nose breaking, punches to the throat, etc.) or resorting to biting.
Economics[]
In the years after the War, Hiro began to dabble in entrepreneurship, using his vast wealth to invest in a number of different industries. Particularly focusing on the new United Republic, Hiro spent a great deal on developing the young nation's infrastructure, particularly in its capital of Republic City. Having lost their exclusive Royal Charter, Hiro restructured the Fengxian Zaibatsu and Fengxian Heavy Industries in order to be efficient enough to compete against the scores of new rivals, from oil barons from the Northern Water Tribe to a joint mining venture between Fire Nation businessmen and Earth Kingdom nobility, to a little upstart company founded by a former cabbage merchant.
Hiro saw a golden opportunity in the developing Cranefish Town, and fought for months with the Business Counsel for the right to do business there. The Counsel, comprised of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe rivals, along with Fire Nation entrepreneurs seeking their own fortunes out from under the Fengxian Zaibatsu, were wary of the Fire Nation juggernaut, and feared being crushed by Fengxian's enormous advantages if he were allowed to compete freely in their territory. It eventually took an insurrection by the benders on the counsel for Hiro to get the edge he needed; by aiding the Avatar in suppressing the coup, he gained enough favor to swing the vote in his favor, allowing Fengxian Heavy Industries to operate in Cranefish Town. When the town was renamed Republic City, and became the capitol of the new nation, Hiro relocated the company's HQ to the burgeoning metropolis.
Fengxian worked hard to gain an edge on the competition, first by using control of key rail bridges into Republic City to weaken several rival railroad companies enough to stage a series of hostile takeovers, a move Hiro pioneered and perfected in the coming years. Hiro's stubbornness and urge to win at all costs drove him to become possibly the biggest industrial powerhouse of the new age. Hiro's penchant for mockery also invited vicious rivalry, and his verbal antagonism led many of his early business rivals to make fatal mistakes against him in anger. Hiro made enormous profits in freight transport, steel production, real estate trading, and oil refining, reinvesting his profits into research and innovation. New processes were tested to better refine steel in mass quantities; waste products from kerosene manufacture were tested for alternate applications, creating a host of new products ranging from paraffin wax, to cosmetic products, to chewing gum. Hiro took to business competition like he did war, more than willing to risk everything to get ahead. Within 15 years of the end of the War, Hiroakira Fengxian was the wealthiest man on earth, wielding power on par or greater than minor kings. Having to live in poverty in his early teens taught Fengxian to keep careful track of his money, and to get as much possible use of every resource he could get his hands on. His time as Captain in the Colonial Force taught him the value of recruiting individuals who have talents and strengths he lacked, leading him to search out and hire skilled, talented, and competent people to work for him.
Hiro also seemed to have an almost supernatural luck when making investments: Hiro had a habit of throwing money at whatever investments he personally liked, even if they didn't seem like the wisest decisions at the time. While around half amounted to nothing, the other half of his "wacky business ventures" turned into major sources of income as time rolled by. An uninhabited stretch of beach eventually became a prime spot for a luxury resort. A marshland he intended to turn into a small fishing resort turned out to be sitting on a deposit of ultra-high grade anthracite coal. A purchased stretch of an barren lava field turned out to contain a deposit of naturally-formed coke. One of the biggest gambles that paid off unexpectedly was a large area of the Si Wong Desert, which Hiro had hoped to either mine for salt or turn into a personal racetrack. Underneath the rock and sand however sat one of the largest reservoirs of sweet light crude oil ever found, all on land sold to Fengxian by the Earth King on the assumption that it was worthless desert.
Relationships[]
(see main article Hiro's Relationships)
Trivia[]
- The Messenger Hawk feathers in his headpiece aren't just for decoration. They cover up two long wiry white hairs that grow out of Hiro's head. Similar to a cat's whiskers, the are highly sensitive to air currents, and react to even the slightest movement, even when Hiro is asleep. So the feathers are both a way to conceal them and to help deaden the constant stimulation. The feathers are also easily detachable, so in case somebody attempts to exploit his only weak spot, they'd pull off the feather instead of the hair.
- Hiro gained the idea for the feathers after seeing the headdress of the 8th Division's Lt. Shikoba.
- The headpiece Hiro wears is reserved for the current head of the Fengxian Duchy, and was previously worn by Yuan Fengxian}. Hiro has a forward topknot to wear the headpiece over. He's also drilled two holes to put his "antenna hairs" through.
- Hiro's favorite foods include meat dishes (he'll cook and eat anything that moves), anything spicy or crispy, brick chili, and sweets. He likes spicy foods but dislikes wasabi as being "too bland, like spicy wax". Although he'll try anything once, Hiro dislikes seafood, claims to get painful cramps from eating green vegetables, and he absolutely cannot stand the taste of alcohol.
- Hiro has shown a talent for amateur cooking, and shows creativity in "doctoring" food with whatever ingredients he has available, especially brick chili.
- Although a decent swimmer, Hiro hates getting wet and is very uneasy about traveling over open water, likely stemming from the typhoon that landed him on the beach. He also claims to greatly dislike the feeling of being dripping wet.
- Hiro allegedly sucks at goldfish scooping. According to one story, his stubborn refusal to call it quits allegedly made one carnival vendor a fortune overnight. Hiro is also frequently attacked by fish and other aquatic life though often in a slapstick manner. Hiro is also a very poor Pai Sho player, and he claims to have never won a game in his life.
- Hiro has a remarkable tolerance for pain, which is good since anesthetics have almost no effect on him. He has also shown a remarkably high tolerance for alcohol, despite his disdain for the stuff.
- After living in Fubai Dushi and being exposed to some of its more eccentric residents, Hiro is almost completely desensitized to the sleeze, foul language, and personality defects of others. Nothing shocks him anymore.
- Despite being the heir of very wealthy nobility, Hiro is often comically broke due to both the inheritance laws keeping him from accessing his family's fortune, and the utter lack of concern shown by his guardian Tao Shi Wang, who refuses to give Hiro an allowance and often cuts more of the 9th Division's funds from the city's budget.
- Hiro is the second bender revealed so far who can wield two elements, the first being Haruka. Both have also displayed greater-than-average strength.
- It is estimated that Hiro was born during the Year of the Dragon.
- Hiro gets along much better with children than adults and teenagers, and his fondest wish is to start a family one day.
- Hiroakia's bending style is mainly based on Southern Eagle Claw, his fighting style incorporates elements of Xingyiquan, Bajiquan, Tai Kwan Do, and Mi Zhong Quan.
- Hiroakira has an alternate universe genderflipped counterpart named Sadako Fengxian. Sadako's eccentricity and bloodlust are even greater than Hiro's, and she has less respect for the personal space of others. However, she is far less hostile and malicious than Hiro, her mockery of others more like playful teasing. Rendered infertile from injuries sustained during the events of Sozin's Comet, she harbors a desperate longing to be a mother and a deep affection for children, eventually becoming Avatar Korra's firebending teacher.
Quotes[]
- "Oh, I am so gonna burn this place to the ground."
- "Come on, lets get out of here guys, I think I've got internal bleeding."
- "Ready to roast!"
- "Whoo-Hoo! Road Trip! I'll drive!" (moments before Hiro's disastrous attempt at driving Azula's tank train)
- (on Zhao) "Between you and me, that guy's kind of a dick. On the plus side he's pretty easy to screw with."
- "Don't worry gals! Explosions fix everything!"
- "You guys were all adequate meat shields, and no one can take that away from you."
- "And the awkward meter goes up yet another notch!"
- Hiro: "Oh, and we are out of time! Please enjoy this consolation prize from the "Hiro Is Always Right Foundation"!" Azula: "By the Ancestors you're insufferable!"
- "Remember to keep shooting for the stars: It'll make it more fun when I kick you back into the dirt."
- "If you fall over seven times, then you'll just have to get up eight times. If you get knocked down eight times and you still haven't killed the other guy, you really need to rethink your strategy."
- I guess I should thank you though. You made me realize that by being nice and letting people in... they'll just die."
- "I'm honest enough already, so why would I need to drink?"
- "On the plus side, you don't need to wonder where your god is! 'Cause he's right here! And I'm all out of mercy!"
- "I love it when there's somebody worth facing on the other side!"
- "Oh look! Steppappy Tao got me another hitman for me to play with!"
- "♫ Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun, Kill my enemies! ♫"
- "Here at the "Hiro is Always Right Foundation", we may now always be able to save people from their own stupidity, but with your donation, I will always be there to call them on it." (cartoon image of Hiro pointing and laughing at a smoking corpse)
- "You know what I find funny in a sad sort of way? Seeing my family logo on crates of stuff I can't afford to buy."
- (When faced with Azula's aggressive invite to dinner) "Yeah! Okay! That sounds lovely! (Why does it feel like I'm being mugged?!)"
- (Regarding Azula's new bodyguard in the Capitol) "Yeah, c'mon Princess, it's not his fault his face looks like an ape got caught in a grease fire."
- "Well how would you like me to mock you then? I take requests."
- "IS NO ONE LISTENING?! That's the problem nowadays, isn't it? Everyone's given up caring! No wonder you're being driven from your homes!"
- "See, the mistake you're making Zuko, is thinking that these people are still your subjects. They are not your subjects, nor the Earth King's, nor anyone else's except themselves. They owe loyalty to no one but themselves and their loved ones! They belong nowhere but here, on the ground broken and tilled by their forefathers! And you had better believe I'd water that ground with every drop of your blood before I'd ever raise my sword against them."
- "You know, if you insist on calling me "Ash-Maker" instead of being civil, I might have to give you a lesson in swordsmanship."
- "Well, violence has solved most of my problems..."
- "These are my people, not the Fire Nation! And stop calling them colonists! They're a free people! They are who they choose to be! And I'll fight to the death to protect their right to choose!"
- "I always thought you were a good mother, Lady Ursa. Not like I ever had much to go on, myself... but I always thought you were pretty great. If I was even half as good at being a boyfriend as you are at being a mom, maybe I..."
- "...That's... the second time I... took a shot for her...... broke my heart again...too..."
- "Close the bridge. They want I war, I give 'em a war! We're gonna watch them bleed."
- Azula: "See, was that so hard? You friggin' drama queen." Hiro: "You stuck a knife in my face! I'd say that's an adequate amount of drama!" Azula: "Oh please, it's not like it's the first time I did that." Hiro: "That doesn't make it better!"
- "Tia huh? That's a cute name! So Tia, remember anything else? Friends? Address? Street corner we can dump you on?"
- "Feelings? Nah, got rid of those. Went cold turkey-duck!"
- "That's your big plan, huh? Make me feel feelings again only to cut me down? That cuts deep, kid. But I respect that."
- Ty Lee: (laughing dryly) "Wow Hiro, you're such an asshole." Hiro: "See? Now THAT sounds more like me." Ty Lee: (sighs) "I can't believe I wanted to sleep with you!" Hiro: "Heh, yeah. Bet you feel pret-ty stupid... What, WHAT?! WHEN WAS THAT ON THE TABLE?!"
- "Okay, fine. But don't forget: I gave you an out."
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