Author's Note: I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter!
Chapter 28: Not-so-Secret Tunnel
"Knock knock," Ty Lee chirped, opening Azula's bedroom door and stepping inside. "Time to wake up, sleepy – oh, you're awake!"
The princess was seated cross-legged on her bed, her hair disheveled and bags under her eyes. A random assortment of papers was piled on the mattress. "Of course I'm awake," she grumbled. "The sun has been up for over an hour."
"Azula, I brought you some – " Suki entered holding a tray of chai oolong teas. "… You don't look so good. Did you not sleep well?"
"Not really… could you put my tea down on the nightstand?"
"Of course." She set it down before taking a cup herself. "Is there anything you wanted to talk about?"
"Yeah! What are all these papers for?" Ty Lee asked inquisitively, taking the third cup of tea. "It looks like you're writing a novel."
"I'm planning Zuko's birthday party, but… I'm having a bit of trouble." Azula reached for her tea and took a quick sip, not bothered by the heat of the freshly poured liquid. "I'd invite you to sit with me, but…" Her eyes darted around the papers on her bed.
"That's okay, we'll just sit on the floor!" The acrobat sat before the firebender could object.
Suki followed suit. "What's the trouble? Is there anything we can do to help you?"
"It's just… it's hard to plan Zuko a killer birthday when I'm… annoyed at him. And I don't even know if it's reasonable to be annoyed at him for this."
The girls looked at each other for any possible information and then back at Azula.
"What did he do?" Ty Lee inquired.
"It's more like what he didn't do," the princess clarified. "It's just odd… Mother told me Sokka had stopped by the Palace looking for me, which the two of you and Kiyi also confirmed…"
They nodded.
"And you told him I was going to Makapu Village…"
"Yeah?" The girls waited for Azula to go on.
"Well I got a letter from Sokka the other day apologizing to me for everything that happened after Kori's wedding, that he wasn't upset with me anymore, and how he had been traveling around to find me because there's something urgent he needs to tell me – "
"Ooooooh!" the acrobat beamed, grinning ear to ear.
"So I can only assume, although I have no proof, that he went to Makapu Village and then to Ba Sing Se to search for me. But if that were true, he would have run into Zuko there, and… Zuko never said anything about meeting with Sokka."
"So you think Zuko's keeping it from you?" Suki questioned with skepticism.
"I…" Azula paused to think. "I do. It's just a hunch, but I feel like Sokka would have been resourceful enough to look for me there. The question is, why would Zuko hide this from me?"
"Maybe it wasn't intentional," Ty Lee suggested. "Maybe it just hasn't come up."
"Perhaps…" She took a slow sip of her tea.
"Before I forget…" Suki folded her legs behind her. "…your mother would like to know if you'll be joining her and Kiyi for breakfast."
The firebender raised an eyebrow. "What about Zuko?"
"He left early this morning saying he had an errand to run…"
"Hm." Azula shrugged, wondering where he could have possibly gone. "Tell Mother I'll be there."
"Zuko?" Mai answered her front door with an aggravated look on her face. "What are you doing here?"
"Is now a bad time?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Uhhh…" She stood before him in the doorway wearing nothing but a dark red satin robe. It wasn't particularly revealing, but it clung to her body in a way that did not leave much to the imagination.
"I just figured I'd catch you before you had to go to work."
"Yes, well I have to open up shop this morning, so I'm in a bit of a rush…"
Something about her mannerisms made Zuko suspicious she was lying, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "This will be quick… do you mind?"
She stared at him for a bit as she deliberated. "Fine." She moved away from the doorway to allow him in.
"Since you're in a hurry I'll make this brief." He took a deep breath. "When I was in Ba Sing Se, I ran into Sokka, who was there looking for Azula. It seemed like he had something important to tell her, but he had a family emergency and had to leave. So he told me to tell her he was looking for her, but after what he put her through, I'm not so sure I want to."
"Because of what he put her through or for your own selfish reasons?" she challenged.
"What?" He looked offended. "What 'selfish reasons'?"
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to that…"
He thought it strange she would take that back, considering how she was usually so keen on calling him out and putting him in his place.
"Look," she sighed. "I think it's something Azula would want to know, and you would be letting Sokka down if you didn't tell her, but…" Mai considered for a moment that if Azula were to catch him in a lie, there'd be a good chance of them ending their affair. "I don't think you're obliged to say anything. If you really think that's what's best for her…"
"I really don't – "
He was interrupted by a shirtless Ruon-Jian strolling lazily through the hallway. "Who's at the door – oh, hello Fire Lord Zuko." He gave the firebender a quick wave.
Zuko looked at Mai wide-eyed and then back at Ruon-Jian. "Uhhh, good morning."
"Good morning." He hugged Mai from behind and kissed the top of her head.
She blushed. "Zuko was just…"
"I was just leaving," he finished for her, turning to leave. "Have a good time at work."
"Wait one second."
He kept his back toward her but stopped walking away.
Having a change of heart and realizing that there would be a greater chance of Zuko and Azula splitting if she knew Sokka was looking for her, she decided to change her tune. "I think you should tell your sister about Sokka. It's the right thing to do."
"Thanks, Mai." He took a few steps away from the door but hadn't distanced himself enough to not overhear Ruon-Jian say, "I thought you didn't have to work today."
"Hello, Zuzu," the princess purred as she entered his bedroom, closing the door behind her.
"Azula," he grinned. "Well, this is unexpected." He walked briskly over to her to give her a kiss.
She let him kiss her, thinking she'd be more likely to extract information from him if his defenses were down. Or at least, that's what she told herself. "Sorry to disappoint, but I actually came in here to talk."
"Oh… what about? My birthday plans? How are they coming along?"
"They're coming along just fine. I know you must be dying with anticipation."
"I guess." He watched his sister cross the room and sit down on his bed. "So… what did you want to talk about?"
"I was just curious to know if anything out of the ordinary happened after I left Ba Sing Se." She eyed him carefully.
"Ummm… nothing in particular comes to mind," he lied. "Oh, actually, now that I think about it, Uncle and I watched a man propose to his girlfriend right outside the Jasmine Dragon."
"And…?"
"She said yes. Naturally Uncle gave them tea on the house." He could tell Azula was uninterested in the story.
"Anything else?"
He could feel his heart beating in his throat. "Why do you ask?"
"I just really want to know why you failed to tell me about a run-in with a certain swordsman from the Southern Water Tribe." She continued to study his face.
His stomach dropped. "…He told you."
"No." She glared at him, her jaw clenching. "You did. Just now."
"Well what, am I obligated to tell you everything now?" he questioned defensively. "I didn't tell you that I had a gay dream about him either – am I expected to tell you everything about my personal life?"
Her brow furrowed. "Stop trying to disarm me!"
"Yes… disarm…" he thought, blinking a few times.
"Just tell my why you would hide something like that from me!"
"I was going to tell you, really! I don't know. I just… couldn't for some reason. I'm sorry. I should have told you. Please don't be mad." He sat on the bed next to her.
"Well, I am mad. You're so selfish sometimes, you know that?" She got up to leave.
"Azula, wait." He sighed dramatically. "You want to know why I didn't tell you? Maybe it's the same reason why you haven't given me an answer yet."
She paused in place.
"About my offer."
"I knew what you meant." She turned to him, her body tense with anger. "Trying to turn the tables on me so I look like the bad guy, hm?"
He stared into her yellow eyes, unsure how to answer.
"It seems you have learned a thing or two from me after all. I can respect that."
"That was a close one," he thought, sweating a bit. "I need an answer, Az."
"I know." She exhaled sharply through her nose. "And I need more time."
"No." His tone was cold. "You've had more than enough time."
"You're right." She walked back over to him and picked up his hand, holding it gently in hers. "Just… give me until the end of your birthday party, okay?"
"Okay." He stood up. "Can I give you a hug now, or are you still mad at me?"
"I'm still mad at you."
His face fell.
"But you may give me a hug anyway."
He hugged her tightly against him.
"And…" She smirked. "… tell me more about this dream of yours."
The party commenced in the ballroom. Without any music, dancing, or food besides light hors d'oeuvres, the ambiance was strange to say the least. Fortunately for the attendants, there was an open bar, although not as decadent as the one during the masquerade ball.
"Why did we have to dress up for this?" Mai groaned before taking a swig of her wine.
Ty Lee took a quick glance around the room. "And where is everybody?" The meager crowd looked even more sparse given the spaciousness of the ballroom.
"Yeah… I thought there'd be more people," Suki noted, her arm linked with Haru's.
"Who cares where everyone is – the real question is, where is all the food?!" Toph snarled, clearly irritated. "I can smell it, delicious, delicious food." She turned to the Fire siblings. "Why are you keeping it from us?!"
"All answers will be revealed in due time," Azula answered, smirking. "Besides, not all of our guests have yet arrived."
"Right!" Ty Lee turned back to Mai. "When's Ruon-Jian getting here?"
"He's not coming," she replied coolly. "He and Chan had to work."
"I see…"
Mai could sense her friend's distress. "You know I don't mind you invited Kei Lo as your date. I already told you that."
"I know, I just thought it would be easier if Ruon-Jian were here – "
"Aang! Katara!" Zuko shouted with excitement as the couple entered the ballroom. He walked over to greet them while Azula shadowed behind him.
"Flameo, my good hotman!" Aang cried before giving the Fire Lord a big, warm hug.
"What he means to say is, happy birthday, Zuko." Katara gave him a hug as well.
"It's nice to see you two," Azula smiled. "I'm glad you could make it." She wasn't sure if she should hug them, shake their hands, or bow respectfully.
The airbender made her choice easy by extending his arms for a hug. "We'd never miss Zuko's birthday!"
She hugged the Avatar, which was a bit awkward considering he had a large pear-shaped stringed instrument strapped around him. Then she turned to Katara. To her surprise, the waterbender hugged her too.
"That, and it feels good to be out of the house for once. It's been a while…"
"Yes, I can imagine." The firebender put on her best sympathetic face. "How's your father doing?"
"Recovering, slowly but – "
"Where's Snoozles?" Toph demanded from the bar.
"Oh, he's not going to make it," Katara informed with regret. "I'm surprised you didn't hear. My father was severely injured in a horrible accident."
The rest of the party guests, who had already learned about the accident, lowered their heads.
"Am I the only one who doesn't know about this?" Toph asked angrily, not accustomed to being out of the loop. "What happened?!"
"Earthen Fire Industries happened," Aang cut in. "Your company."
"It's not my company," the blind earthbender protested. "I just have a partnership with them – and I've been distancing myself from them over the years!"
"Anyway," the waterbender continued, trying to steer the conversation back on track, "the company misjudged the safety of a certain oil drilling site, and it caused a building to collapse."
"Katara, I'm so sorry. I had no idea – "
"My father, of course, heroically stepped in to push some civilians out of the way to safety, but he suffered a spinal injury in the process."
"Katara has been doing everything she can to heal him," Aang beamed with pride. "She's barely left his side."
She smiled. "Yes, he's doing much better now, but he still needs some physical therapy to rebuild his strength. That's where Sokka comes in. He's been… surprisingly helpful."
Azula couldn't help but smile with admiration, although she desperately wished he had been able to attend the party.
"Hey… is everything okay?" Kei Lo asked as he arrived at the ballroom. "You guys look kinda glum."
"We'll catch you up later," Ty Lee responded, clearly happy to see him.
He walked up to the cheerful acrobat and gave her a pink long-stemmed rose.
Reminded of the first time they met, Mai was hit with a sharp pang of jealousy, though she remained stoic.
"It's beautiful, thank you!" Ty Lee threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"A lot has changed since we've been gone," Katara noted, happy for the new couple.
"Well, now that everyone's here," Azula announced, "I think it's time we move our party to the dining room. You can bring your cocktails – "
"Wait!" Aang interrupted with a silly grin. "Sorry Azula, but now that I have everyone's attention, there's something you guys have to hear."
"Oh no, Sweetie." Katara put her hand on her boyfriend's back. "I really don't think now is an appropriate – "
"Well now you have to tell us!" Toph insisted.
"Don't worry, Sweetie! They're gonna love it! Plus you know how much I've been practicing."
"I know," the waterbender conceded, hesitancy in her voice.
"Okay, well while Katara and I were making our way over here, we ran into some old friends of ours, some Earth Kingdom nomads, and they performed a song for us that, well, let's just say that I needed to learn it so badly, my buddy Chong gave me one of his spare pipas!" He pulled the stringed instrument around to his front.
"This'd better be good, Twinkle Toes."
His grin widened as he started to strum a simple chord on the pipa. To the same tune as Secret Tunnel, he began to sing, "Two lovers, one's the other's brother, a war made by their people, and no one can keep them apart. Deception always brings them together. Uh… there are some lines that are way too explicit to sing right now, but then it goes… Secret couple! Secret couple! Can't stop boning! Secret, secret, secret, secret couple!"
Katara let out a nervous laugh while everyone else stared at the Avatar with disbelief.
"That was the greatest song I've ever heard!" Toph sneered, holding her sides, hysterically laughing.
"This is what's spreading around the world?!" Zuko yelped, having lost all color in his face. "Someone should really just kill me now…"
Azula noticed everyone was looking at her to gauge her reaction. "What?" she shrugged. "I think it's kind of catchy."
"Are you crazy?!" the Fire Lord snapped at her, placing his hands on her shoulders and shaking her.
Everyone laughed.
"You think this is funny? I'll tell you something funny." Zuko faced his friends, grinning maliciously. "I bet you didn't know Azula was in an all-female a capella group in University!"
The princess's jaw dropped. "You – You'll pay…"
"You sing?" Toph taunted.
The Fire Lord crossed his arms smugly. "Not only does she sing, she has perfect pitch."
"I think that's really cool!" Aang cheered. "I'd love to hear you sing sometime."
"Th – Thanks, but I don't – I don't really," she stammered. "You want to hear something even funnier about Zuko? Did you know he had an erotic dream about – "
Zuko covered his sister's mouth with his hand, successfully stifling her words. "That's enough."
Everyone looked around the room, trying to figure out who it could possibly have featured.
He let her go when he felt it was safe.
"Well then… we should be getting on with our evening," Azula said, a tad unnerved as she addressed the guests. "Dinner will be served in the dining room. If you would all be so kind as to follow me…"
"Are these nametags?" Mai questioned derisively upon entering the candlelit dining room. "You assigned our seating?!"
"But… hold on a second… none of these nametags match anyone here," Aang observed, deeply confused. He peered over at Zuko to see if he knew anything, but the Fire Lord just shrugged.
"Actually, they do," Azula smirked. "For tonight, you will forgo the identity with which you arrived and assume a new persona."
The guests looked around the room, wondering if the princess had lost her mind. Again.
"Welcome University graduates," she continued, "to our fifth-year reunion. It has been a while since last we met, even though we were once the closest of friends. Well… some of us anyway." She paused for dramatic effect. "Of course, it would be regretful if we did not take the time to acknowledge the absence of one of our brightest classmates, someone who was not fortunate enough to make it to graduation, due to his…" With a quick swipe of her hand, she blackened the candles, leaving the room in darkness. Then with her other hand, she formed a blue flame and held it beneath her chin, casting an eerie light on her face. "… untimely demise."
A few gasps shot out in the crowd as the guests picked up on what was happening. Even Mai was intrigued.
"Ty Lee, that's your cue!" Suki hissed.
"Oh, right!" The acrobat briefly fled into the hallway only to return a moment later with Sokka's messenger hawk.
Meanwhile, Azula relit the candles with another swipe of her hand.
"Which one is this?" Toph asked, keeping her voice low. "Hawky VIII, Hawky IX?"
"I've lost track," Katara whispered. "He's never been the best with animals."
The princess untied a note from the bird's leg. "It seems the spirit of our deceased friend has spoken to us from beyond the grave…" She tried to add a creepy tone to her voice but did a less-than-stellar job. "He writes…" She unfolded the note and straightened out the creases. "… 'If you are reading this letter, then I, Wang Fire,' – well that's creative, we haven't heard that name a thousand times – "
"He really only has one go-to alias," Aang commented.
"Yeah, I've heard that name more times than I'd like to remember," Suki muttered before looking up panicked at Haru, blushing. "Sorry!"
He just laughed it off.
Azula scrunched her face, thankful that Sokka had never used his alter-ego with her in the bedroom. "Anyway, he writes, 'If you are reading this letter, then I, Wang Fire, am not completely at rest. For you see… one of you is responsible for my death!'"
Another gasp was heard.
"'Find the culprit and avenge me. Yours 'til death do us part, Wang'. Hm, it seems he also included a crude illustration depicting his death." Like always, she was unimpressed with his artwork, which she showed around the room.
Zuko scratched his head. "Is… he wearing a dress?"
"No, I think that's just his tunic," Katara guessed, unsure.
"It looks great to me!" Toph jeered, causing everyone else to groan.
"So… he was pushed off a cliff?" Kei Lo cocked his head to the side and squinted at the paper. "Someone else is standing on the ledge."
"I can confirm that he did in fact fall to his death, and that this was neither an accident nor a suicide," the princess informed. "But he was not necessarily pushed. That is for you to figure out."
"Ooh!" Ty Lee squealed. "This sounds like fun!"
Azula smiled at her. "Now, what I want you all to do is sit down at the table by a nametag that calls to you. This will be your character for tonight."
The group, minus Toph who couldn't read the tags, began sauntering around the perimeter of the table, examining each name.
"Now, not knowing exactly who was going to show up tonight, I ended up writing five female roles and five male roles, but since there are only four males – "
"Shot!" Toph shouted.
"Okay then…" The princess was surprised at how quickly the earthbender had claimed the last male character. "In that case, I'll take the last remaining female role."
"You're going to have to tell me all the male names." Toph downed the rest of her sake. "Actually, I'll just take the last one."
Azula waited for everyone to sit down, helped Toph to her seat, and took the only empty chair. "You'll notice your nametags are folded on both ends. There is some hidden information about your character, which you may now reveal." As everyone eagerly unfolded their tags, she added, "The front and back say the same thing, so this is not information you need to keep secret."
The guests unfolded their nametags to find they were also assigned a University major, as well as bending or non-bending status.
"Alright! I'm a waterbender!" Kei Lo celebrated.
"I'm still a non-bender," Ty Lee smiled. "Non-bending power!"
"I'm a non-bender too!" Haru gave Ty Lee an air high-five from across the table.
"That's funny because I'm an earthbender," Suki grinned, looking at Haru who was seated to her right.
"I'm still a waterbender," Katara pompously announced. "Some things never change."
"Yes, some things were just meant to be. I'm still a firebender after all." Azula and Katara exchanged a smile.
"But I'm an earthbender!" Aang adopted a stronger demeanor. "I bet you would have never seen that coming."
Zuko turned to the Avatar. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm an airbender."
"I don't mind – I think that's great!"
Azula, seated between Ty Lee and Zuko, also directed her attention at Aang. "Yes, I hope it doesn't offend you, but there are two of each type of bender… including air."
"Another airbender…" He was quiet for a moment. "That's… beautiful. Thank you for including it! Who's the other one?"
"I am," Mai replied before sharing a special look with Zuko that no one else noticed.
"So by process of elimination, that makes me a firebender!" Toph leaned back in her seat. "This case is gonna be a piece of cake."
"Now, you'll notice the envelope in front of you." The princess picked hers up as an example. "The contents provide more detailed information about your character, as well as gossip you know about other characters. You can choose to keep this secret or divulge it in the night. Also, you are allowed to lie to protect yourself, however, you are not allowed to lie to protect someone else."
"Can we open them?!" Ty Lee asked with giddy impatience.
"I just have a few more rules to cover," Azula went on. "Since we'll get nowhere with everyone talking all at once, this will be turn-based. You have the choice of questioning another student or by flipping over an information card from the pile in the center of the table – these cards have more details regarding the scene of the crime, the deceased, and everyone in this room, and will become public knowledge if flipped. If your character is questioned, you have to answer. And as I said, you may lie. However, you may not make up facts. The last thing to note is that all of us are suspect. Any one of us can be the murderer or murderess. Any questions?"
Toph picked up her envelope. "You're gonna have to tell me what's in here, Zappy."
"I will pull you aside and tell you what you need to know while everyone else reads theirs. Any other questions?"
"How will we decide who we think is guilty?" Mai inquired.
"Ah yes, I should have explained that. There will be two rounds, meaning that everyone will have two turns. Use them wisely. After everyone has gone twice, you will vote for one person you'd like to convict. The person who gets the most votes will be forced to reveal the truth. But since I already know who the murderer is, I will refrain from voting."
"Alright let's just get to this," Toph groaned. "I'm hungry."
Servants filed in to bring the guests their dinner as the group digested the information inside their respective envelopes. Some had obvious tells, while others were able to maintain their poker faces. After a few minutes, everyone reconvened, ready to solve the case of Wang Fire's murder.
"From here on out, we will refer to each other by our character name – "
"I hate my character," Zuko cut in. "Is it too late to switch?"
"What do you think, Dum-Dum?" Azula rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll get us started." She stood from her seat. "Hello, everyone. It's hard to believe five years have passed since we graduated. I probably look quite different all dressed up compared to my studious days as an engineering student, so just in case you've forgotten my name, it's Hai Lee. And I'd like to question…" She turned abruptly to Suki. "… Jenn!"
"Me?" Suki asked, placing her hand on her chest and acting innocent.
"As a fellow engineering student, I happened to see you scribbling notes in your lab notebook one day in class. You hated Wang Fire and even wrote down that you wished he were dead. Isn't that true?"
She teasingly glared at Azula. "It's true that I hated him, and maybe even at one point, I wished for terrible things to happen to him. You don't know what it was like, constantly being bullied by him for no good reason! But I was just letting off steam. I did not kill him."
"Likely story," the princess replied, taking her seat.
"Ooh! Okay it's my turn." Ty Lee paused to think for a moment before flipping over an information card. "It seems Wang Fire was also an engineering student. Interesting."
"I'm also going to flip a card," Aang proclaimed. "We need more information." He took a card and read it out loud. "When the body was examined, Wang Fire appeared to have a large burn mark on his left arm."
"Ooooooooh," the group chorused, looking at the firebenders, Toph and Azula.
"I don't know what to do!" Katara thought for a moment before reaching for a card. But she set it back down before flipping it. "Actually…" She stood up. "I think I'm going to question… Kine!" She stared menacingly at Kei Lo, who was seated directly across from her.
"Watch yourself," he playfully warned.
"Kine," she smirked, "during our fourth year, you confided something in me. You told me you were suspicious your girlfriend at the time, Misa…" Katara took a quick glance at Ty Lee. "… was sleeping with Wang Fire behind your back."
Everyone gasped.
"What's your question?" Kei Lo asked with snark.
"Can you confirm that this interaction did indeed happen?"
"I can." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "But why do you think I would have confided in you of all people?!"
"No counter-questioning," Azula butted in.
"I rest my case," Kei Lo grinned arrogantly.
Katara sat back down, ending her turn and beginning Kei Lo's.
He stood up. "I'm going to make this quick and dirty. I wasn't just suspicious of Misa, I know she was fooling around with someone else." He scowled diagonally across the table at his date, Ty Lee. "Misa, I found the undergarments of another man in your dorm room. In the moment, I hid them, but now I'd like to know, what do you have to say about that, huh?!"
The acrobat smiled innocently. "Oh Kine, don't be silly. You know how laundry would always get so mixed up in the dorms. It could have belonged to anyone."
Kei Lo sat back down and grunted, making sure to give Ty Lee a friendly wink after his in-character outburst.
"Okay then, I guess it's my turn." Suki stood from the table. "I have some information regarding a certain history major." She looked over at Toph. "Jurota, your parents put a lot of pressure on you in University. It must not have been easy following in your older brother's footsteps when he became valedictorian years before. So… how did it feel being salutatorian… that is, up until Wang Fire passed away and you graduated first in your class?"
"Oooooh!" the group chanted.
"Let me tell you," Toph callously answered. "It felt pretty great. I worked so much harder than Wang, I deserved to end up on top. But that doesn't mean I offed the guy. Besides, whether I was first or second in my class, I had nothing to lose."
"Well your attitude isn't suspicious at all," Suki murmured, sitting back down. She turned to her right to face Haru. "Your turn."
He laughed. "I have quite the dirt on someone here, but… I think for now, I'm going to flip an information card." He reached into the center and grabbed one from the pile. "The scene of the crime took place on a cliff which provided a scenic overlook of the entire campus. The ledge was made completely of stone and could have easily been manipulated by even the most novice earthbender."
Everyone quickly looked at Aang and Suki, the two earthbenders, with distrust.
"Alright, alright, it's my turn," Toph spat, standing up. "I can't read the damn cards, so I'm going to question someone while I still remember what Zap – I mean – Hai Lee, told me." She turned to Haru, who was sitting to her left. "Beru, our wonderful stoner friend, isn't it true that you held a huge grudge against Wang after he tattled on you for smoking earth herb in the dorm?"
"Well yeah!" Haru indignantly answered. "Of course I was angry – I was suspended for an entire semester! But fortunately, I was able to finish my degree in political science in three-and-a-half years. So all in all, everything worked out."
Toph took her seat and nudged Mai in the ribcage. "You're up, whatever your name is."
"It's Ruri," Mai replied, standing up. "As Wang Fire's closest confidant, I was privy to many of his secrets." She smirked, facing diagonally across the table at Aang. "Ganon, isn't it true that Wang Fire, your own roommate, blackmailed you… for being gay?"
"Whoaaaaa," the crowd chimed.
"All I have to say is this," Aang responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "If you had known about the blackmailing, you could have done something to stop it."
"Ohhh, you just got shot down!" Toph cried out.
"Guess it's my turn," Zuko grumbled, standing up reluctantly. He looked over at Katara who was seated on the opposite end of the table from him. "As everyone knows, Kagura was Wang Fire's long-term girlfriend. But, I have to ask, when Kine told you he suspected Misa and Wang were sleeping together, didn't that raise some suspicions? Or maybe… you were already suspicious!"
Katara smiled sweetly. "It's true that I had suspicions of my own, but that's all they were – suspicions. I had no proof, unlike some people in this room." She stole a glance at Kei Lo. "And believe me, as an anthropology major, if there had been dirt to dig up, I would have been the one to do it.
"Liar!" Zuko blurted, suddenly getting into character. He took his seat as his sister began her second and final turn.
Azula flipped over an information card and cleared her throat. "Eye witness reports from the other students place Misa at the scene of the crime moments before Wang Fire's death."
"Murderer!" Kei Lo shouted, staring at Ty Lee.
"I – I can explain that!" the acrobat stammered, getting red in the face.
"Sorry, you'll have to wait to be questioned again," Azula dismissed. "It's your turn, by the way."
"Fine." A spiteful grin spread across her cheeks as she stood from the table. "If you want to play it that way, Hai Lee, isn't it true that you and Wang Fire were competing for the same engineering job post-graduation? How convenient that he died right before the ceremony…"
Azula smirked. "Yes, this is true, but that job was as good as mine, no matter how much he tried to sabotage me. Besides, I could have easily found another job."
Ty Lee took her seat, seemingly not satisfied with the answer.
Aang hesitantly stood up. "Before I question someone, can I say something on Wang's defense?"
"Sure, go ahead, Ganon," Azula answered.
"Great. Well, besides sharing a room, Wang and I also shared a chemistry class together in our last year, and I believe that burn mark on his arm was actually from an accident he had, rather than from a firebender. He never really got the hang of the lab equipment."
"Well, would you look at that!" Toph cried out with triumph.
"As for my question," Aang continued, "I really hate to do this to my good friend and ex-lover, Sachiko, but…"
Everyone looked over at Zuko and realized why he hated his character so much.
"… he was being blackmailed too over our relationship. But… he was more angry about it than I was because I was ready to come out. He was the one who wanted to keep our relationship a secret. So I guess my question is, Sachiko, did you kill him so the blackmail would stop and our secret relationship could remain a secret?"
Zuko blushed. "Honestly, I was fed up. It was an awful thing for him to do to us. And I would have done just about anything to stop him. But killing him was not one of those things." He surreptitiously reached under the table for Azula's hand, feeling a bit insecure in his sexuality, especially after he had told her about his sex dream about Sokka.
The princess interlaced her fingers with his, giving his hand a definitive squeeze to let him know he was doing a good job with his character.
As Aang sat back down, Katara stretched across the table for a card. She read, "On the day of the murder, it had been raining. Not enough to keep people indoors, but enough to dampen the ground. Hm."
"Will someone please hand me a card too?" Kei Lo asked. After Ty Lee passed him one, he read its contents out loud. "Jurota's parents promised to buy him a house if he graduated first in his class."
"Ohhhhh," everyone chanted, their attention at Toph.
"Okay, so I had something to lose," she admitted nonchalantly.
Suki followed Kei Lo and grabbed an information card. "These are too interesting. Let's see…" She flipped it over. "Ooh, this one's about Beru." She glanced to her right at Haru. "Although he was allowed to walk with us during graduation, Beru did not actually graduate officially until the following semester. It seems his drug-related suspension set him back after all."
Haru shrugged. "What difference does one semester really make?"
"Save it for the justice system!" Suki yelled, laughing.
Haru stood up. "Alright, here we go." He grinned, turning to face Mai. "Ruri, you weren't just Wang Fire's closest confidant, you were his stalker! I saw you numerous times stalking him in his dorm. Admit it, you were hopelessly in love with him, weren't you?!"
"We were just friends," she responded coolly. "Good friends. Sure, maybe I thought one day we'd be more than that, but I certainly wasn't stalking him. Who could believe anything you say anyway, you were always high!"
"Again, no counter-questioning," Azula cut in. "Jurota, it's your turn."
Toph stood up while Haru sat back down. "Misa, I can feel your excitement from the other side of the table," she sneered at Ty Lee. "You're probably dying for me to question you."
"Yes!" she confirmed enthusiastically.
"Well, that's too damn bad." Toph sat back down. "Someone read me a card."
Ty Lee audibly growled.
Haru flipped over a card and read it on Toph's behalf. "Excellent! This one's about Jenn!" He turned to his left to face Suki. "Jenn didn't just jot down she wanted Wang dead in her lab notebook. She had actually rigged the explosion in chemistry to hurt him. Blueprints were found on some discarded pages."
"Sounds guilty to me!" Katara shouted.
"I'd say so," Aang agreed.
"I – I," Suki started.
Mai stood from her seat, very much into the game. "I really want to question two people, but…" She stared directly at Ty Lee. "Misa, how can you explain being placed at the scene of the crime?"
"Finally! Thank you!" Ty Lee sighed. "Okay, so I was sleeping with Wang Fire."
"I knew it!" Kei Lo called out.
"But I was breaking up with him that day on the cliff," she continued. "Quite frankly, I had grown bored with him. And we were graduating so soon. It was time to call things off."
Katara opened her mouth as if to speak but decided to hold her tongue.
"Well, I really don't believe you, but okay," Mai scoffed, sitting back down.
Zuko twisted his face as he deliberated his next action. "On one hand, I'm curious to see what the next card says, but on the other, I'd like to question Jenn."
Suki gave him a look that said, "I dare you."
"Okay, Jenn, what other kinds of death traps had you outlined in your lab notebook, hm?" Zuko inquired with an accusatory tone.
"I'll admit, I did want to hurt him," Suki confessed. "But that chemistry accident was just to serve as a little scare. I didn't mean for it to seriously harm him. I felt really bad about it afterward."
"Sure you did, killer." Zuko took his seat.
"So… that ends both rounds," Azula informed the group. "Let's take a few minutes to deliberate and have our vote."
"Can we deliberate out loud?" Mai asked.
"Mmhmm."
"Well, it seems to me the firebenders are pretty safe," Zuko commented. "Since the burn mark was from the chemistry accident Jenn had set up."
"Or was it?" Suki snapped.
"Really any bender is fair game," Haru speculated. "An earthbender could have manipulated the stone ledge, an airbender could have sent him flying off, a waterbender could have made the ground slick – "
"A non-bender could have easily pushed him off!" Kei Lo added with urgency.
"I think it's too obvious for it to be Jenn, Misa, Beru, or Jurota," Zuko noted, looking at Suki, Ty Lee, Haru, and Toph, respectively. "Their names were called out on the cards."
"Who knows what was in the rest of the cards though," Katara commented.
"I'll let you know, the cards were shuffled at random, but there was extra dirt on all of us in there," Azula asserted.
Aang pensively tilted his head to the side. "So it really could be any of us."
Everyone sighed.
"Then it's just a matter of finding out who the best liar is," Mai said, slowly turning her head toward Azula.
"Don't look at me!" The princess grinned. "Okay, everyone take a moment and think about who you find the most guilty. Then we'll have our vote."
"So, originally I was just going to have everyone point all at once at the person they'd like to convict, but now I'm thinking it would be more fun for everyone to explain their choice." Azula took a sip of her freshly poured wine. "Please do not change your vote. Honor system. Who wants to start us off?"
"Maybe the birthday boy should go first," Aang suggested.
"Yeah, sure, I'll go." Zuko turned to his right to his sister. "I think it was you, Hai Lee. I could tell you were lying when you said the engineering job was yours. I think Wang Fire had already been offered the job, and killing him was the only way to ensure it would go to you instead."
"Interesting accusation," Azula smiled, crossing her legs.
"Well, I think it was Sachiko," Ty Lee announced, trying to stare Zuko down. "He said he would have done just about anything to have the blackmail stop so he could keep his lover boy a secret."
Aang winked at the Fire Lord.
Zuko groaned and rolled his eyes.
"I think he was lying about not killing Wang." Ty Lee folded her arms, appearing self-satisfied with her own conclusion.
"Well, you're wrong," Zuko jeered.
"Yes, you're wrong, because it was – " Aang accusatorily pointed at Toph. "Jurota!"
"You're barking up the wrong tree, Twinkle – I mean, Ganon!"
"We caught you in a blatant lie. Your parents promised you a house if you became valedictorian. Coming in second wouldn't have been good enough."
"Whatever." Toph waved her hand dismissively.
"Well you know who else we caught in a lie?" Katara turned to face Haru. "Beru, who claimed to have finished his degree in three-and-a-half years but really had extra work to do after we all graduated. I'm sure he resented missing an entire semester, enough to seek revenge!"
"A lazy stoner plotting revenge? Please." Haru shook his head.
"You guys, it was clearly Jenn." Kei Lo nudged his head toward the girl to his right.
"Was not!" Suki denied.
"Jenn, the poor engineering student who had been bullied and tormented by Wang, the girl who fantasized about hurting him, the girl who had one failed attempt at murdering him in chemistry class. It couldn't be more obvious."
"You're right, it couldn't be more obvious." Suki narrowed her eyes. "It couldn't be more obvious that the murderess is Misa!"
Ty Lee gasped dramatically.
"We know you were at the scene of the crime, but I think you lied about breaking up with Wang. What if he were the one breaking up with you? You'd be so angry, a pretty girl like you being rejected like that, you may have been crazy enough to give him a little shove."
The acrobat's cheeks flushed. "I know what it looks like, but it wasn't me!"
"You're not acting very convincing," Haru laughed. "But going by the honor system, I will keep to my original theory and point fingers at Ganon."
"I'd never hurt a fly!" Aang cried.
"As Wang Fire's roommate, you got to see firsthand how terrible of a person he could be. I bet you were sick of it. If the blackmail hadn't been enough on its own, his mistreatment of others could have certainly sent you into a murderous craze."
"You're all wrong," Toph mocked. "Can Mai – Ruri go first? I have a theory that will shock you all."
"I'm fine with that." Mai smirked haughtily, looking at the opposite end of the table at Katara. "It was Kagura!"
Katara's mouth fell open.
"It makes no sense that Kine's suspicion about Misa sleeping with Wang, Kagura's boyfriend, wouldn't send an anthropology major into a full-on investigation. I'm willing to bet she did some detective work on her own and didn't like the result. But what really stood out to me was the rainy-day clue. It would have made the perfect cover for a waterbender to attack. The ground and the corpse would have been wet anyway."
"No fair, no fair, no fair!" Toph bellowed. "That's what I was gonna say!"
"Then you should have gone before me like you were supposed to," Mai taunted.
"Well, that's the end of the vote." Azula smiled at Katara. "Kagura, since you have the most votes, would you like to reveal what really happened?"
Katara blushed, slowly standing from her seat. "Okay, fine. It was me!"
Everyone gasped, besides Toph and Mai who seemed pretty self-assured.
The waterbender slammed her hands down on the table. "It's true. I had done my own investigation, but truth be told, Wang and Misa had covered their tracks pretty well. It wasn't until I followed Misa to the cliff that I was completely certain. I watched them kiss on that scenic ledge – it made me sick. Sick enough that I froze the ledge. But then, as Jenn astutely speculated, he broke up with her!"
Suki threw her hands into the air. "I called it!"
Haru gave her a high-five.
"Heartbroken, she walked away from him, away from the frozen area to safety, and minutes later, he fell to his death. But, here's the real kicker." Katara paused. "I wanted Misa, that little homewrecker, to be the one to fall!"
Ty Lee covered her mouth with her hands.
"Well, there you have it everyone." Azula looked around the room at all her friends. "What did you all think?!"
"Well done." Suki stood up and started clapping.
Soon, everyone else joined in on the applause.
"Thank you, thank you," the princess acknowledged.
"I'd just like to say, I knew that Katara was the murderer since the beginning," Toph grinned. "I could feel her heart pounding through her chest."
Katara shot her a dirty. "That's not fair!"
"I actually knew it was you too, Sweetie." Aang put his arm around her. "I can always tell when you're lying."
"But… you didn't even vote for me…"
He smiled sweetly at her. "I could never convict you of anything."
"Awww, Sweetie!" She gave him a kiss on the lips.
"Mai, I must say, your intuition was spot on," Zuko noted with admiration. "As usual."
She blushed faintly. "Thank you."
Azula did not fail to notice the interaction, although her face did not show her discomfort. "Now that the case is closed, I'm sure everyone will be pleased to know dessert, and more cocktails of course, will now be served in the ballroom."
As everyone filed out, chatting amongst themselves with the fresh high of the game, Zuko took Azula's hand and pulled her aside. "Az," he whispered, looking fondly into her eyes. "I can't believe you did all this for me. I know I didn't like my character at first, but… this was really fun. Thank you."
"Happy birthday, brother," she smiled before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I… I actually have one more thing for you."
"Oh, really?" He gave her a naughty grin.
"Really." Her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Tonight, I'm going to…"
Desire pooled in his lower belly. "…Yeah?"
"I'm finally going to let you read the book."
Author's Notes:
(1) I know I said Zuko would get to read the book in this chapter, but I grossly underestimated how long the murder mystery dinner would be, so I decided to move it to the next chapter. Sorry!
(2) What did you think of the modified Secret Tunnel song? I had planned that from the very beginning – it's in my original outline! :D
(3) I'm going to take another short break from this story to participate in the Azula Ship Challenge! I will be writing a short Jetzula story for the challenge, so if you're interested, please keep an eye out for it. Check Tumblr for more information.
