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Chapter 37

The Price of Victory

Toph stood in the center of the mat grinning triumphantly as her arm was raised in victory. The cheers of the crowd only fueled her confidence and pride. The thrilling rush of victory paired with the events at The Jasmine Dragon had her floating in a sea of adrenaline. The finals were next and she was undefeated so far. When she left the mat and approached the others, Qiang started his preparation speech.

"Good job, Toph," he began. "Okay, guys, we don't get any rest time before the finals so here's what we're gonna do: Start strong, end strong. Rou, Toph, you guys are the only ones on the team that haven't been beaten, so you're our beginning and end."

"I get to start," Toph declared.

"No, you get to rest," Qiang countered. "You get fifth seat."

"No way! We're tied up for the points lead in the tournament with these guys! If three of you guys win, then the tourney's over and I don't get to kick more butt!"

"I'm captain, and I have to decide what's best for the team," Qiang said calmly. "If two of us lose, then I know I can count on you to pull our butts out of the fire. Since I have the worse win/loss record out of all of us in this tournament, I'm going to be second seat. Aang, you'll be fourth. I don't think that Zuko's going to lose his match, but if that does happen it means you'll have to fight."

Qiang looked over at Aang. Next to Toph and Rou, he had the best record on the team, but Qiang did not want to rely on him too much. He was grateful that Aang was willing to help, but he was not actually a part of the club. Qiang would have felt guilty for relying on outside help that much.

"Everybody be careful out there," he continued. "The finals aren't just gonna be hard because we're facing the second best team. These guys have been observing and studying us all day. They're gonna know us inside and out, just like we've been doing to them. It's gonna be hard to find your openings."

"Are you done?" Toph asked. "You worry way too much. Between all of us, those bums ain't got a chance!"

Zuko and Aang voiced their eager agreement and Qiang just smiled. Count on Toph to know just what to say to get people motivated for a fight. He patted his brother's shoulder and sent him out onto the mat to face the first opponent in the final match of the competition.

"Go, Rou!" Ty Lee called from the stands behind the team. "Aw, he's so cute when he blushes!"

"You should stop teasing him, Ty Lee," Katara could be heard saying.

Toph placed both feet firmly on the ground. She had watched Rou in action six times already today, but she still had no idea what he was doing when he fought. She was not going to miss whatever it was he was doing this time. Just like all the other times, Rou was standing at ease facing his opponent. The first time she felt him doing that she was compelled to ask Qiang what he was doing leaving himself wide open like that. Qiang simply answered "he stands like that because he never has to defend." So far he was right, but Toph could not see why.

When the match started, it went just as quickly as all of the quiet twin's others. He dodged each oncoming attack as though his foe was moving in slow motion. Like he could see the attacks coming before his opponent even began them. After only a few moments into the dance, Toph felt Rou slip behind his enemy. His palm barely grazed the small of his opponent's back, but instantly Toph felt the young man's legs giving way beneath him. Once his knees began to shake, Rou struck the center of his back with an open palm, knocking him to the ground. Just like all of Rou's other opponents that day, this one could not get back up. After the officials checked up on the opposing fighter, they deemed him unfit to continue. For the seventh time, Rou achieved victory with ease before the end of the first minute.

"What is he doing to them?" Toph thought out loud. "Is it pressure points?"

"Nope, not pressure points," Ty Lee answered, bouncing her way down to the floor. "Something like that, but not quite."

"So what is it?"

"Dunno," she smiled. "But doesn't he look great when he's doing it?"

"It's gotta be nice being so single minded," Toph said, shaking her head.

As soon as Rou stepped off of the mat, Ty Lee threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Toph could barely keep from laughing when his pulse reached dangerous levels.

"Wh-wh-what was that for?" he stammered.

"Just a kiss for the winner," Ty Lee grinned before returning to her seat.

"Finally get a girlfriend, bro?" Qiang teased as he hopped onto the mat.

Toph did not bother paying attention to Qiang's match. The likelihood of him winning was scarcely above zero. Sure the first match went one sided, but that was because Rou was the one doing the fighting. After watching this team perform over the course of the day, Toph already knew that Qiang was out of his league no matter which of them he went up against. It was not that she thought Qiang had no skills, but that he had no experience by comparison. Most of their opponents today had more than just a few years on their team. While Rou was more or less a martial arts prodigy and she, Zuko, and Aang had all been studying pretty much since they could walk, Qiang had only been studying for about six years. Toph figured that rather than lose time worrying over a battle that she already knew the outcome of, she should probably help her other teammate mentally prepare.

"Hey, Hot Head, I gotta talk to you."

"What's up?" Zuko asked. She grabbed him by the sleeve of his gi and pulled him away from the group.

"You need to loosen up over here," she said as she punched his left shoulder.

"What're you talking about?"

Toph pulled her fist back and swung at the left side of Zuko's face. He immediately caught her fist, but did not react fast enough to stop her other strike that followed after. She stopped her free fist inches from the right side of his face.

"You're so concerned with your left side that your defense is sucking on your right," she said. "There's no way those other guys haven't noticed that. You and me both know that those guys have been overly aggressive all day, so they're gonna take advantage of anything they think is a weak spot."

"Any suggestions?"

"I just told you, Hot Head. Loosen up."

A collective groan erupted from the crowd. A quick scan of the mat area showed her that Qiang was down and probably not getting up. Zuko took a sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth when he looked over at his captain.

"That looks like it must've hurt," he said.

"He went down as fast as Rou went up," Toph added. "Looks like it's your turn already."

Zuko stretched his limbs quickly as Rou aided his brother in leaving the mat. Qiang apologized more times than Toph cared to listen to once Rou sat him down at the side of the mat. Katara came down from the stands and started looking him over, checking for any signs of lingering injuries or a possible concussion. Toph blocked them out while she watched Zuko take his place on the mat across from his opponent. He was calm and steady as his stance widened into the familiar Shaolin style when the official began the match.

Toph had watched Zuko fight for four years now. When she had first met him, she remember thinking to herself that he was angry and uncontrolled. He reminded her of a wildfire, spreading to and destroying everything it could touch until eventually there was nothing left. Of course with nothing to burn, the fire died out soon after as well. Watching his fighting style now, she realized just how much it had changed. All of his energy was more focused, more precise than it had been when they had first met. Now, rather than an uncontrollable wildfire, he was more like an intense flame, burning through his obstacles in a straight line. To put it simply, he had matured. Whether or not he won, this was a great chance to display how much he had grown.

Toph watched approvingly as Zuko fought on. The two men on the mat were fairly evenly matched, playing off of each other with all of the skill of well seasoned practitioners. One mistake was all it was going take for the other to capitalize. Zuko had to make sure he was not the first to make that mistake. Sadly, even now patience was not one of Zuko's strong points. Three minutes into the match, Zuko risked a fierce, swiping kick leaving his back completely exposed when he missed. A kick flew to the side of Zuko's head, but he managed to duck beneath it. Planting his hands solidly on the ground, Zuko threw himself into a swift spiral motion, lashing out at his opponent's support foot and kicked it out from under him. Without any wasted energy or movement, Zuko regained his footing and planted his fist in his opponent's chest, earning him victory.

Great, Toph thought to herself. Now if Twinkle Toes wins, I won't get a chance to fight.

Zuko was met with many congratulations and applause from his teammates and the crowd. Toph did her best to ignore it while the next opponent stepped onto the mat. She knew what Qiang had decided was what she was supposed to follow, but she did not like the idea of Aang fighting this particular foe.

What was his name again? she thought. Gashwin.

This Gashwin guy had been extremely violent all day. He was taller than Aang and on more than one occasion today had shown his remarkable strength. From the beginning of his matches to the end, Gashwin put himself on the offensive. None of his opponents had even had time to breath, let alone fight him back. He had shown such a violent nature that two of his opponents actually backed out of their matches with him, giving him victory by default.

"Looks like it's my turn. Just relax, Toph, you won't be getting one," he teased.

"Be careful, Twinkle Toes," she said. "I don't like this guy."

"Don't worry so much or you'll turn into your dad," he laughed. Toph punched him in the arm and he just laughed again. "I've got this covered. But just in case, how about one right here for luck?"

Toph smiled as she felt Aang lean towards her, pointing to his cheek. She leaned in as well before giving him a love tap with her fist. Aang rubbed his now sore cheek with a grin.

"I can even promise a few more if you win," Toph said.

"I'm starting to think you love fighting more than me," Aang smiled as he headed for his match.

Toph sat down once more with a huff. She did not like this Gashwin guy; she did not like the fact that Aang was going to fight him; and she did not like the fact that she was not going to get a match. Some final this turned out to be. She was confident that Aang had everything under control though. He had been in peak form all day, switching back and forth from Ba Gua and Tai Chi kept his opponents guessing and he even used both styles in one match. It was a shock, however, when he did not take either of these fighting stances. Toph was both surprised and a little proud when she felt her boyfriend's vibrations come into clear view as he rooted himself to the ground beneath him and took a Hung Gar fighting stance.

Wonder how long he's been using that, she smiled to herself. She blushed slightly when she realized how closely he must have been watching her for him to be confident enough to use her fighting style. It was a solid plan though. Gashwin was going to try and overpower Aang with an unrelenting assault. If Aang could put up a strong defense and hold his ground, Gashwin would run out of steam before him.

After a polite bow, the match was on its way. Toph was the first one to notice that anything was different. Gashwin began as ferocious as usual, but after only a few strikes he backed off. At first Toph had thought that this was due to Aang using a different fighting style than the man had expected. Gashwin circled Aang as though he were stalking prey. Every so often he would make a quick flurry of attacks that Aang would defend against with ease, but then Gashwin would step back again and continue to circle.

Something was wrong. Gashwin had drastically changed his fighting style. To those around her it seemed as though he was just looking for holes in Aang's defense, but Toph knew differently. By the time Gashwin had made his second trip around Aang, there had already been three times that he could have put Aang to the mat. Why was he holding back all of a sudden? What was he waiting for? What was he planning? Aang was still firmly rooted in place, which was a good thing, but Toph was becoming more worried. Aang had to have realized that something was wrong too. The question was what was he going to do about it?

The answer came in the form of Aang taking the offensive. He plowed forward with incredible speed matched only by the solidity of his strikes. There was more power in his attacks than Toph had ever felt from him before, but Gashwin was still not acting himself. It was not until Toph felt Aang's foot leave the mat that she realized what it was that Gashwin had been waiting for.

"Aang, don't!"

Too late. Gashwin caught Aang's right leg by the ankle with his left hand, holding his leg firmly in place. Without mercy or even attempting to mask the blow, Gashwin rammed his right fist into Aang's leg just above the knee. Toph could feel the impact from where she was and she cringed. Aang screamed out in pain and fell to the mat as the official pushed Gashwin away. Gashwin was disqualified for the illegal blow and Aang was named the victor. Their team had won, but at what price?

Before the medical team could reach him, Toph was by Aang's side. She had never heard such pain in his voice. He could not even form words. One of the medics pulled her aside telling her to give him room to work as Aang's anguish began to flow into her. How much damage had been done? Was he going to be okay?

"It's going to be okay, Toph," Katara's voice was telling her.

Though her friend was now standing right by her side, her voice sounded as though it were miles away. The only thing that penetrated Toph's senses was Aang being lifted from the mat and placed onto a stretcher. Guilt was riddling her mind. She had told Aang that she hoped this would happen and she had never even apologized for it. Through all the sounds and vibrations, through all of her friends trying to comfort her and tell her things would be alright, a familiar voice reached Toph's ears that shook her to the core.

"Thanks a lot, cousin Gashwin. I owe you one."

A/N: Who was it that was thanking Gashwin? What's gonna happen to Aang? What's Toph gonna do about it? Maybe you'll get answers out of Kasamari if you give him reviews! Also, major Avatar points for those of you who can tell Kasamari who Gashwin is.