YAY!!! I have over 100 reviews!!! So this chapter is dedicated to Kristoshi Warrior, who gave the 100th review! GO KRISTOSHI!! Anywho, sorry that this is a little late, I kinda got lazy after finishing the next chappy of Saving Kyoshi (WHICH SHOULD BE UP, BUT MY BETA IS REALLY SLOW!!!). For Christmas, I got a drawing tablet, which allows me to draw on the computer instead of having to scan in pcitures and stuff...I also got a bamboo plant named Take-tan and the game Professor Layton and the Curious Village (which took me 9.6 hours to complete, and thus did not hinder me one bit...). I got other stuff too, but those are the main stuff. The next chapter should be up soon, but I'm entering a contest on Youtube which deadline is soon, do I have to do that first. Then it is nonstop writing. seriously. I'm planning out all the next chapters, and only now am I realizing that this is almost over. maybe 20 chapters left. It kinda makes me sad. I've been with you guys for such a long time with this story, and it's probably going to be over this year...*sniff* oh well, it had to come eventually. I hope you like this chapter R&R

Ty Lee slumped out of her history class. Only the second day and she was already behind on her homework. Sensei Shiraishi had given her the lecture of a lifetime. She felt she had the right to show a slightly gloomy disposition because of this. And yet she had something hopeful to look forward to. Lunch was next, and afterwards their break. Then she would meet Asuka in the library.

"Don't feel too bad." Azula said as they walked down the hall, "I forget to do my homework all the time."

"Then why doesn't Sensei Shiraishi gripe on you?" Ty Lee asked.

"I don't know." The princess shrugged, "Maybe she likes me more than you." Ty Lee knew better and she knew that Azula knew better as well. Their teacher was afraid of punishing the royal student.

"She didn't give so much yesterday. Why didn't you finish it?" Mai asked.

"Well…I've never had to do homework before. I was a little overwhelmed." She rubbed the back of her neck as she explained, "But I should do better tonight."

"If you have any trouble, just ask me." The older girl replied. Ty Lee nodded in gratitude. They walked silently for a few moments, making their way to the cafeteria. They were taking a fairly steady pace, allowing many students to pass in front of them.

"Food better be good today." Azula growled, breaking the silence. Ty Lee giggled.

"Azula, does any food ever reach your standard?" She asked playfully.

"Maybe if I transferred all my personal chefs from home…" She placed her finger on her lips, as if she was considering it. Of course, knowing her she probably was really considering it.

The cafeteria loomed before them, and they entered. Ty Lee was greeted with the smell of roasting meat. Her stomach growled. She hoped it was turkey chicken. Oh, how she loved turkey chicken. The sweet, savory taste…

"Hey, Ty Lee, are you listening?" Azula waved her hand in front of the younger girl's face. Ty Lee blinked in surprise.

"Uh…no, sorry…" She blushed.

"Well, I said that I'm going to talk to the chef to see if we can have some servants bring out our food to our table. The line is atrocious today." With that comment, she pointed dramatically at the line of students waiting to get their food. Ty Lee frowned. She would love to surpass the line and get her food earlier, but it seemed wrong. She was about to voice her opinion on the matter when Azula walked past them to the door that led to the chef's kitchen.

Ty Lee sighed. Azula never considered being polite in any situation.

"We better sit down." Mai said. "No use of standing if the food's coming to us…" Ty Lee followed her lead and they took their seats at their table.

"Oh, Mai," Ty Lee exclaimed as she remembered, "I meant to ask you about something yesterday!"

"Okay…what?"

"Why…uh…why is Midori so mean?" She sunk a little in her seat as the words came out. Ty Lee didn't want Midori to hear her, even though the girl was two tables away.

"So she did do something to you." Mai said in realization. "She didn't hurt you, did she?" Her voice deepened into a growl.

"Oh, no she didn't do anything like that!" Ty Lee replied in a half-lie. The fact was that she didn't consider Midori squeezing her hand actually hurting her. Mai would have, though. She always looked for some kind of excuse.

"That's good," Mai leaned back a bit.

"She just kinda threatened me…I guess…she said that I should watch myself if I am with Azula. Did Azula do anything to her?"

"…Not exactly. It's a little complicated."

"So what happened?"

"Well…" Mai looked up to the ceiling as if she was retracing her steps to the exact moment, "Some of this is speculation, but before we got here it seems that Midori was the most popular kid in the academy. She also apparently was a fan of Azula's. When we first enrolled here, she seemed fine with Azula being higher than her. She actually tried to join her as a 'groupie'."

"Groupie?" Ty Lee had never heard the word before.

"That's exactly what she said. But Azula just ignored her. Finally, Midori couldn't take it any longer and asked why she couldn't be her…'groupie'…" Mai half-shuddered, "That word freaks me out…anyways, Azula's response was that she only had one more spot left, and it was already taken by you."

"…So…this is my fault…." She muttered.

"No, if anything it is both of their faults, so we should just let them fight it out themselves, okay?" Mai had a look in her eye that told Ty Lee she would enforce this suggestion she gave.

"Okay." Ty Lee nodded as she rose herself in her chair.

"Right here is where we sit." Azula pointed right in front of Ty Lee. Her brows furrowed. She hadn't seen Azula walk over here. But there she was, with three servants following her, all with plates in their hands. Steam was pouring off the dishes. Ty Lee's mouth watered.

The servants laid the plates in front of the girls as Azula sat down. They stood there solemnly for awhile until the princess waved her hand, dismissing them. Bowing, they walked back into the kitchen.

Ty Lee stared at the meal in front of her. She wasn't completely sure what it was. There was definitely rice, but she wasn't sure what was on top of it. Some kind of meat, but it was completely engulfed in a thick sauce. It sure smelled good, but she still felt wary. She looked and saw her friends already eating.

In order to not be singles out, she put a bite into her mouth.

"What is this!?" She exclaimed in wonder.

"Uh…curry." Azula responded nonchalantly.

"It's delicious!" She then proceeded to consume the entire plate, way before the others had. They looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked, "You aren't usually this excited about…food."

"Sorry, I'm just a little anxious. I'm going to meet Asuka in the library today."

"Oh, you have a little study-buddy? How quaint." Ty Lee wasn't sure if Azula was being sarcastic or not. "Well, she's probably waiting for you, you scurry off now."

"Azula, lunch isn't even over yet." Mai noted.

"But Asuka practically eats lunch in the library. She'll be there now, I know it. You could surprise her by being early." There was a mischievous look in her eyes. That along with her tone made Ty Lee think she was trying to get rid of her. But at the same time, she wouldn't mind going early.

"Okay then, I will." She stood up with a smile and almost cartwheeled to the exit.

Once the younger girl was out of earshot, Azula closed in on Mai. There was a look of gravity on her face.

"Now that she's gone, I need to tell you something important. And Ty Lee must never, ever hear of it from you. It's for her own good. She'll find out on her own eventually. It's about…"

The halls were quiet. She should've known that; everyone was eating. She had never actually been to the library before, so she stopped in to Mrs. Cho's office to ask for directions. The director didn't seem amused. But she still told her what she needed, and Ty Lee got out of that room as quickly as she could.

Before she knew it, the doors to the library loomed before her. She didn't know what she hadn't noticed them before. They were far wider than any other door, except for the ones to the cafeteria. Slowly, she creaked one of them open, hopefully not making too much noise. She had heard that the library people didn't like that.

She crept inside, taking in all the sights. In front of her was what seemed to be everlasting shelves of scrolls. It overwhelmed her to the point of dizziness. She put a hand on the door to stable herself. It was exceptionally quiet, so she was glad that the door hadn't made a very large sound.

There didn't seem to be anyone there as she slowly maneuvered the many shelves. She would've called out to check, but she was afraid that she would get in trouble by whoever was there. Maybe it was some mean old lady who hit people with a stick. That would not be pleasant at all.

Ty Lee had almost given up all hope when the sounds of hushed whispers caught her ear. She tiptoed in the direction, not daring to make the floorboards creak. As she got closer, she could make out what was being said.

"…maybe during the Fire Days Festival. Everyone will be too concerned to notice."

"I don't know…the whole thing sounds risky to me."

"But is it right?"

"What?"

"You know what I mean, Asuka."

Ty Lee froze. She couldn't tell who was talking from the voices, since they were muffled, but she clearly heard the first voice say the name 'Asuka'. That meant one of the speakers was her. But who was the other?

Ty Lee realized that the conversation was taking place on the other side of the shelves adjacent to herself. She slipped over and laid her ear on the wood. No good, only made it more muffled. Next to her was a ladder that had wheels on the bottom to move from one side of the shelf to another. Carefully, she climbed up two rungs and found that there was a small hole in the back of one of the dividers of the shelf. Too small to look through, but good for listening through. She pressed her ear against it.

"I guess it is for the best."

Ty Lee suddenly felt the ladder begin to ease a little to the right. She held in a gasp, and tried to regain stability. It didn't work, and the ladder swung full speed to the other side of the shelf. She wasn't able to hold on, and she felt herself falling.

"Exactly. I didn't want it to come to this, but it has to be done. I will finally be able to-" The voice was interrupted by Ty Lee hitting the floor. She moaned a little and rubbed her arm. She didn't try to be quiet. It was quite apparent that they had heard.

A figure stepped around the shelf and Ty Lee found herself looking up at Lien. Her eyes flashed, and as quickly as she was there she was gone. She walked without missing a beat to the library doors and slammed them shut. Ty Lee felt like she had been slapped. But she knew it was her fault. She should've minded her own business and not have eavesdropped.

Asuka filled the place where Lien had been.

"Ty Lee? You're early. Are you hurt?" She helped the girl to her feet. Asuka seemed awfully cheery compared to the conversation Ty Lee had just heard and Lien's reaction.

"Is Lien okay? I'm sorry; I shouldn't have listened in on…" Ty Lee started to explain, which only gave her a confused look from Asuka.

"Lien? Why would you ask about her? She wasn't here, and we weren't talking about anything." She had a large fake smile plastered on her face. Ty Lee was bewildered. Lien was just there. She saw her! She heard the conversation! How could Asuka just deny what had happened?

"But-"

"Sh." Asuka put her finger to her mouth, "Stop talking nonsense and lets start the lesson."

She left Ty Lee standing there as she walked over to a neighboring table and began to set up some blank scrolls. Ty Lee sighed. Things were just getting stranger and stranger around here, and she didn't know if she wanted to find out why.

This whole thing is kinda rushed, so I apologize. But I had to fit a lot of info in at once, and I wanted to update soon, so there XD I kinda introduce two mysteries here. One will be revealed within 5 chapters. The other may take longer...I'd like to hear your opinions on it and your predictions. Shiraishi is a nod to Mink Shiraishi in the manga Cyber Idol Mink and Minoru Shiraishi (both the voice actor and th echaracter he plays in Lucky Star). She may actually come in later, but she is not a main character. I have a few more big things happening in the story, and a lot of it has to happen soon because in the time they are in , Zuko will have his Agni Kai with his father in a year, and some things need to happen before that...Also, The Fire Days Festival is from The Deserter. The next chapter is coming soon!