Chapter 32

The Tournament

Katara sat rather uncomfortably trying her utmost to look enthusiastic about the tournament going on below her but it was just so darn hard to focus. She stole what was probably her hundredth glance at Zuko but his attention appeared to be on the competition, his hand, however, was tracing patters on her thigh that kept inching higher and then retreated. She wanted to scream from frustration. She was absolutely torn on what exactly she wanted to scream about on one hand she wanted him to stop teasing and touch her but on the other they were very much in public. The spectators below couldn't see his hand but she wasn't very good at keeping quiet so she'd probably give away what they were doing if he did go all the way. On top of that, there were a select few high ranking nobles and advisors sitting with them on the balcony that thought nothing of the gentles caresses but probably wouldn't enjoy the show. She gave another frustrated huff of a sigh and shot a glare at her husband. She really did need to talk to Suki about this.

- -

"Come on boys. Move those rocks. We gotta make this landslide look like earth bender work. Put y'ur back into it." Snider commanded.

He had managed to sneak up the side of a cliff near the field he'd been spying on earlier. His plan was to cause a landslide that would close up the mouth of the cave the fire benders kept their excess harvest in and to take out some of the town people. He'd blame it on the earth benders and his boys, already in the town, would rally some rebels to attack the earth benders and then they would sneak out and collect their reward. It was a pretty good plan if he did say so himself. The general would pay him big time for his plotting.

"Hurry up wit' them rocks. The Fire Lord's getting' too comfy on his throne." Snide shouted.

- -

"AND ANOTHER WIN FOR LORD KAILI!" Lo and Li's voices rang out over the stadium.

Haru lay on his back feeling dazed. His mind was trying to comprehend just how exactly he'd gotten his butt so thoroughly kicked.

"Hey are you all right?" Kaili asked with a smiling face.

"I have no idea." Haru said in wonderment.

"Oh, Kaili, you big bully, you better not have hurt him." Ty Lee ranted, rushing in from the stadium entrance.

"I wasn't trying to." Kaili blushed, helping Haru up.

"You're fighting style is amazing. I've never seen anything like it." Haru said honestly.

"Thanks, my family has protected the Fire Lady for years I would hate to disappoint them by failing in this tournament." Kaili grinned again.

"Well good luck, not that you need it." Haru replied, bowing to Kaili.

Kaili bowed back and then bowed to the crowd who whooped and cheered at his success. He then bowed to the balcony where the Fire Lord and Lady Hope sat. He was praised once more by Lo and Li and then he left the stadium.

- -

"Who is Kaili?" Katara asked, leaning close to the edge of the balcony to try to get a better look at the man who had yet to lose an event.

"He is a friend, we trained together when we were growing up. His family has always served as champion to the Fire Lady. I have high hopes for him but I will not simply appoint him, he must earn his place so that I am certain you have the best protection." Zuko explained.

"I don't really need much protection, Zuko."

"And when you are with child? I should hate to think of something happening to you and you not being able to defend yourself." He replied.

Katara bit her lip, she hadn't thought of that, but then again she hadn't been planning on pregnancy any time soon.

"Don't worry Katara, I've got it all figured out." Zuko said.

'And that's what scares me.' Katara thought with a sigh.

"I plan to test your champion myself. The final fight will be with me." Zuko informed her.

"Why can't I test him?" Katara asked.

Zuko just blinked at her. He hadn't thought of that. Of course, in the past Fire Lord's had always tested their lady's champion. Their wives weren't exactly chosen for their superior fighting skills but their beauty and fertility.

"I would like to test him myself." Katara said.

"Uh, Katara…" Zuko started.

"What? Are you going to say I can't because I'm a woman?" She asked sweetly. He snapped his mouth shut already knowing he'd lost this fight. "How will the fire nation learn to respect me as your equal if I don't show them what I'm capable of? I don't need you protecting me or fighting for me, I can do it myself and I want them to see that. I'm not some helpless little girl and I'd like to correct them if they're under that impression just because I've accepted that its tradition here to have a champion."

He let out a slow breath. She was asking something that simply wasn't done here but she was right. Their marriage was about change and how else could he show her that he wanted her to be happy and that he would give her ideas a chance than to let her go fight. He'd just have to slip out and make sure whoever she was fighting knew not to hurt her or he'd kill them.

"Alright, Katara, you can fight." He said.

She frowned, "Really?"

"Yes, really, why wouldn't you be allowed to fight?" He asked.

That had seemed a tad too easy but Katara wasn't going to fight it. Instead she leaned over grinning and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. He smiled at her brightly and then returned his attention to the stadium below.

- -

"Good luck Sokka." Suki grinned, kissing her fiancé.

"I don't need luck, I've got mad skills." Sokka smiled confidently.

Suki rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the double doors and into the arena.

Sokka took a good look at his opponent. He was a lanky guy around his age. He had a cocky grin and a confident stance. In his hands were a pair of broad swords.

"Hey wait a minute, broad swords?" Sokka cried.

"What were you expecting?" The boy called to him.

"Um…fire balls, fire whips, fire…something." Sokka listed.

"We're not all benders here." The young man smirked. "Doesn't slow me down though. My name's Jeung."

Sokka was slightly disappointed to not be fighting a fire bender but also rather impressed that a non-bender of the fire nation had been so bold as to join the competition.

"Sokka."

"I know, you're brother of the Lady Hope. Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're related to royalty."

"Ready!" Lo called.

Sokka opened his mouth to retort to Jeung's last comment but was drowned out by Li's voice.

"Fight!" Li finished.

Sokka barely had a second to think as the Jeung sprung at him with his broad swords. He brought his boomerang down to block the blow aimed at his stomach and dodged to the side to avoid being hit by the other sword angled at his head. Jeung spun around slashing his foot out tripping Sokka who proceeded to roll out of the way as an elbow came down at him.

'Kami, he's fast.' Sokka thought doing more evading than fighting. Scrambling backward Sokka managed to put enough space between them that he could hurl his boomerang at Jeung. The other boy had to duck low to avoid being knocked out but his eyes widened at how close the hit had come.

"Yeah! Boomerang!" Sokka rejoiced, catching it and rushing forward drawing a sword from his side. His downward stoke was blocked by the X formation of Jeung's blades. Sokka gasped, as he was suddenly flying backward after a foot connected with his chest. 'How did he even think of that?'

Winding back again he used to distance to throw his boomerang again, this time nicking Jeung on the side of the head, knocking him over.

'Yes!' Sokka rushed over capturing his opponents hands. "Do you yield?"

"Of course not, fool." Jeung laughed jerking his head back and head butting Sokka in the face. Sokka was so surprised by the flexibility and quick thinking of his opponent that he fell backwards from the impact.

He was back to evading and was suddenly glad he wasn't fighting a bender if the non-benders were this scary.

- -

Hakoda was trying not to laugh watching his son run around in circles avoiding attack after attack. He knew that eventually he'd come up with a plan, provided he didn't run out of oxygen first.

- -

"Are you sure we should both fight? What if I use up all your energy during my match? Then what happens to you?" Azula asked Aang.

"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead but you should fight that's what started all of this. Go have some fun." Aang encouraged.

"Well thanks." Azula said, not sure how she should be acting right now. She awkwardly offered him a hand to shake and he stared at her oddly before accepting it as one of her attempts to be a "normal" nice person. When he grasped her hand a jolt of energy raced up both their arms. Blood thundered in her ears and she wasn't sure if the sound was her own or his.

He felt as though his energy had doubled, as if he could do anything. His blood was pounding in his head and heat was coursing through every fiber of his being, wrapping him in a blanket of security and peace.

She felt a cool peacefulness settle inside her, like a summer breeze, and her mind wandered to a happy place. As quickly as the peace had come, it dissipated when he released her hand and was now staring down at his own.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know…I just felt like I did when I used to live with the monks at the air temple. I was really carefree, really…"

"Happy?" Azula finished.

"Yeah."

They stared at each other both pondering what all these new experiences meant. Strange and new as it was the desire to explore it further was lurking in the back of both their minds. Aang opened his mouth to say something but then shook it off. He didn't want to think about it being around Azula was not supposed to be a good thing. Withdrawing, he closed his mind to her and retreated to find somewhere to meditate before his match.

Azula watched him go, confused. His emotions had been such a rushed blur she could hardly keep up considering she was caught up in her own whirlwind of confusion. Her attention moved to the doorway through which Sokka had just come wheezing through. She cocked her head to hear Lo and Li proclaiming him the winner of his match but he looked like he'd been run over by a cabbage cart. Shaking her head at his weakness she proceeded into the arena. Her match was next.

- -

Toph was pumping her fists in the air rallying the crowd for her match when a shuddering stutter of cheer causing her to turn and give her attention to the approaching footsteps. Behind her stood Azula, heartbeat calm as ever with her hands clasped together, Azula gave a respectful dip of her head to Toph and Toph returned it with an appropriate bow.

"THE PRINCESS AZULA AND LADY TOPH!" Lo and Li cried. A hesitant cheer went up now as people eyed Azula suspiciously.

Even now, Azula's ever present calm was creeping Toph out but the younger girl was determined not to show it. She cracked her knuckles, which sparked more cheering from the spectators, and set her stance.

"Ready!" Li called.

A malicious grin spread across Azula's face as she summoned her strength. She couldn't help the smile as the familiar feeling of superiority spread through her. The guards and medics standing in the arena to jump in at a moment's notice exchanged hesitant and fearful looks at the look on their princess' face.

"FIGHT!" Lo called.

Being blind was rarely a disadvantage for Toph but with Azula it always seemed to feel that way. She was just to calm and so very light on her feet on top of that she was so fast that Toph always had to try to premeditate her every move.

Lo had barely finished the word when Azula's two fingers had already cut a jagged path into the air and then swooped back down. She had flattened her hand into an open faced palm and thrust a burst of fierce blue flame at the earth bender.

Toph jerked her hands up above her head, raising a wall of earth to absorb the super heated blast. She punched at the wall and shattered it into individual boulders that flew at Azula from every direction.

Azula's body was on fire, she hadn't felt this alive for some time now. The thundering of her own heart in her ears was almost deafening. She dodged Toph's attacks with ease, dropping low and swiping a kick at the younger girl sending a blast of flame at her.

Toph created a shield that caught the brunt of the attack but a stray bit of flame singed the tips of her hair.

"HEY!" Toph yelled. At the familiar smell of burning psychotic laughter was ripped from Azula's throat. Her mind was so focused on her target that she almost missed the wheezing breaths in the back of her head.

'Calm down, Azula, before you hurt her.' She faltered at the sound of Aang's voice in her head. The hesitation was enough that Toph managed to hit her with a flying boulder sending the princess skidding backwards.

Growling in frustration, Azula tried to push Aang out of her head as she regained her feet and hurled a fresh wave of blue flames at Toph. Toph only just managed to put up a barrier but the forces of the blast burst her earth wall into pieces. Azula came at her with rapid attacks that Toph dodged and blocked, blind eyes widening at the intensifying heat.

"Um…Azula." Toph whispered. "We're not actually trying to hurt each other you know?"

"Make them stop calling me weak. They mustn't think I'm weak." Azula snapped, breathing harshly.

"Who's calling you weak?" Toph asked, suddenly picking up on the note of insanity in Azula's voice. Her heartbeat was less steady and erratic flutter kept trembling through at intervals.

'You're not weak Azula. No one is making fun of you.' Aang's voice came again.

"Yes they are! I can hear it!" Azula shouted.

Toph's unseeing eyes were staring at the princess, a bewildered expression etched across her face. What the heck was going on?

'No, it's all in your head. Stop listening to the voices in your head. Stop listening to you father.'

Toph's hands were raised prepared to defend herself against the suddenly very still princess. Azula was just standing there seemingly in the midst of self conflict.

Everyone around the stadium craned their necks to try to get a better look at what was going on. The princess looked torn, her lower lip trembling and her eyes wide. Zuko stood, prepared to leap over the balcony's edge and be at his sister's side at once. 'What's wrong with her?'

Katara was standing at his side, a hand resting on his forearm. The whole of the stadium was dead quiet.

Toph wasn't quite sure what to do. Everything had stopped. It she'd been able to see she would have chanced a look around to try to determine just what to do but that really wasn't an option. Instead, she summoned a small mound of earth to her and delivered a swift blow to the side of Azula's head knocking the girl unconscious to keep her from coming out of her stupor and doing something dangerous.

There was a pause as everyone stared at the unconscious girl in the ring. Her face looked open and vulnerable but at the same time she looked for the first time, at peace.

Their eyes snapped back up to the balcony and Lo and Li called out Toph as the winner. The eyes of the nobles honorable enough to sit with the Fire Lord and Lady were now on the doorway which the Fire Lord had just run through casting aside anyone in his way to get to his sister.