"I have a game coming up soon."

"...I should hope that the results come out as something that you can be proud of."

"Yes, well…I just wanted to know if you would be able to come."

"When is it?"

"This coming Thursday."

"I can't. I've got a meeting. I'll send Lo and Li to pick you up after the game."

"Thank you, father. You're so generous."

Ozai did not miss the tinge of sarcasm as he buttoned the last button of his shirt. He sent her a sharp glare that had Azula bowing deeply in forgiveness.

Ozai exited the room, the soft clopping of his dress shoes the only indication that he had ever been there. Azula lifted from her bow and sighed heavily. There were a few seconds where her expression could be likened to melancholy. Ursa watched awkwardly from her seat in the living room chair.

Zuko was upstairs getting some materials he needed for one of his projects. Ursa was only waiting for him to finish his search before jetting off. She hadn't expected for Azula to stumble in, tired and a little worse for wear.

Ursa found herself uncomfortable at the stray hairs hanging from her daughter's usually perfect ponytail. Something was so not right about this house - not that it ever was. It was the reason she'd left for godsake. Well…among other reasons.

As Azula toed off her shoes and placed them neatly on a mat at the front door, Ursa couldn't fight the curiosity that filled her. "Did you walk home?"

Azula'a head shot up at that. It was as if she was shocked that someone had even bothered to speak to her. She fidgeted with her shoes a bit more before straightening up, her posture that of a proper princess'. "Yes," she replied, her tone clipped.

Ursa winced. She guessed she should've been expecting that. None of their conversations had ever been very pleasant, in turn making them not very long either. But Ursa did want to break whatever this tension was between them.

"Why didn't you call for Lo and Li to come pick you up?" the woman asks, careful of the inflections in her voice.

Azula doesn't answer. Her lips harden into a thin, straight line. Her eyes look a little pensive, on the cusp of something that Ursa would never be able to understand. Ursa watches her daughter's mouth move slightly as she makes the effort to say something back to her - snarky most likely, but a reply at all is a win.

But Zuko comes rushing down the hall, the heavy plodding of his feet breaking whatever ambiance had taken over this moment between the two.

As Zuko rushes over to his mother for a hug, Ursa catches out of the corner of her eye the way Azula's shoulders sink low, the low-turned slant of her eyes, and the sigh that escapes her lips. She watches Azula disappear to the depths of this large, empty house unable to produce any sound from her mouth.

….

The first volleyball match comes faster than she'd expected. Azula sits on a bench in a hall near a bathroom that reeks of body odor. She tries to settle her stomach before she vomits all over the floor. She's enduring this putrid odor because she has a mission to complete. Operation: Get Chan's Good Luck Charm.

She didn't want to make Ruon Jian suspicious of her because no matter what she told herself, she just always felt bad involving him in her schemes. Was she going soft? She sure hoped not or else this plan wouldn't go well.

It only took a few more minutes before the boys volleyball team came out of the locker room for their first match. They didn't notice her from across the hall where she meticulously sat hidden away. Getting nauseous off of shit fumes might have actually been worth it.

As the last scraggler came running out of the locker room, Azula made her descent. The hall was practically empty now and she kept looking out for the few that lingered. When the coast was clear, she burst into the room ready to ravage the whole place.

Clothes and equipment were thrown everywhere haphazardly. Half eaten energy bars sat strewn about across the benches, their crumbs littering the seats. Lockers were wedged half open with god knows what sticky substance leaked from them. It was quite disgusting. Azula could only hope that they'd come back to clean all this before they got back on the bus.

Sorting through the gym bags proved to be a little tougher than she'd imagined. She'd forgotten that every player received identical bags and aside from their own unique senses of grossness, the boy's volleyball team wasn't big on personalizing their equipment.

Azula recoiled at some of the things she'd seen. She'd rummaged through bags with shit-stained underwear, moldy food, broken deodorant sticks, and god knows how many other ghastly things. How could they live like this?

By the time she'd finally gotten to Chan's bag, she felt extremely ridiculous. As she thumbed the sweaty towel lying under his extra pair of shorts, she thought of how much weirder she'd end up looking for taking this out of his bag than he would for stealing it from Kiyoko. Azula sighed and rose from her spot on the floor. Maybe there'd be another time for her revenge.

….

The day had ended on a high note. Both the boys and girls volleyball team had won their respective matches (even if the boys team had barely managed to do so). There were shouts and chants of merriments of all kinds on the way to the buses.

Azula didn't join in. The win was nice, but she hardly felt she'd really earned it. She was standing in the back saving her teammates lazy serves for chrissakes!

She was glad this day was over. She was tired of seeing Coach Kyoshi's smug face as everything worked to her greatest desire. Some were leaving to do some post-match mischief while others boarded the bus. Azula was of the latter ilk. She mounted the bus, tossed her headphones on, and looked out the window for the duration of the ride.

….

The bus arrived back at school in no time. Everyone grabbed their overhead luggage off the bus, triple checked every seat and aisle just to be sure nothing was left behind, and hopped off the bus. The driver made haste to leave and zoomed off leaving all its former attendants coughing in the dust it created from its wheels.

Azula brushed it off and walked through the parking lot praying that someone had remembered to pick her up. It was well past 7 and already dark. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a scene already transpiring as she walked up.

Silly Pigtails - or Kiyoko - was furious as she shook something she held in her hand at a boy Azula couldn't make out. Azula stayed back a moment, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment despite the crowd gathered around them.

The boy was desperately trying to explain something dire to Silly Pigtails, but the girl wasn't having it. Azula snickered to herself as she watched the girl wind up her hand to slap the boy silly across the face. He cradled his cheek as he shouted apologies to her walking off. The crowd fell into childish "ooh's" before collapsing into ridiculous fits of laughter.

When the boy finally turned to all the jeering students, Azula recognized him as Chan. She had to admit she felt almost a little bad for him. Almost. The smirk donning her face told another story. Unfortunately, its reader had to be Chan who at just that moment caught her expression. She watched the way a frown set deep into his features before he stormed off. That would definitely turn into a problem later, but for now, Azula would relish in the joy of his embarrassment.

As she turned to walk away, she bumped into none other than Ruon Jian. "Oof- Oh hey Azula!" he exclaimed, a lopsided grin in place.

Azula couldn't fight the warmth that lightened up her heart. "Hello Ruon Jian. I thought you'd careened off earlier for a rendez-vous with your buddies, but I can see that something came up," Azula snarked as she gestured to the dissipating crowd.

Ruon Jian took it all in good stride and chuckled along. "Oh yeah, somehow Kiyoko found out about how he got her towel. No one knows the story for sure, but I'm betting my money that Nam Ju ratted him out. He likes her too, y'know."

Azula smiled up at him, then flicked her eyes down, head heavy with shame. Ruon Jian, noticing the shift in atmosphere, moved to wrap an arm around Azula's shoulder. He rubbed her arms for a moment, the only comforting gesture Azula had known in ages.

"What's wro-"

"I was going to use what you told me about Chan against him," Azula admitted guiltily.

Ruon Jian's soothing circular motions stopped, but his warm body never moved from hers.

"I snuck into the boys' locker room today fully prepared to expose his little secret."

Ruon Jian considers her words for a moment. She watches his eyes trace over the stars in deep thought as his fingers drum lightly against her shoulder blades. He finally meets her gaze again and smiles.

"But you didn't," he counters.

Azula's mouth drops open, stunned. "But I thought about it. Fully planned to carry out the act and-"

"And you didn't do it," Ruon Jian interjected, toothy grin still in place.

Azula can't take the depth of sincerity and kindness in his eyes. She turns away and brushes his body off of hers. She wraps her arms around herself, fighting the slight chill of the coming breeze or soothing herself of the guilt, no one could tell.

"I'm not a good person Ruon Jian," she admits, not even fully understanding why she's making this admission. She feels silly, vulnerable, and completely naked. She turns to face him again, eyes gleaning with hopelessness.

"I always lie. I'm sneaky, I'm manipulative, and I just don't know how to-"

"Azula," Ruon Jian says softly as he places his hands on her shoulders. She doesn't dare to look up at him. "I hardly think pulling a prank calls for all this."

"But I could do the same to you. Eventually, I always do. I don't know how not to be like…like this!" she exclaimed as she made wild gesticulations towards herself.

Ruon Jian's laugh brings her out of her pity party. Her brow arches, obviously not amused by his reaction. He brings her closer to tuck her under his arm again.

"I knew there was something deep down in you. I just had to wait to see it," he remarked in wonder.

Azula shifted uncomfortably under his touch. He sighed as he looked out somewhere past the parking lot.

"No one can be completely good all the time. Besides, we're young. We can change into anything we want to be. I hardly think you should be hard on yourself for a harmless prank you didn't even commit to. Everybody on the team knew about Chan's lucky towel. I'm surprised Kiyoko didn't hear about it earlier."

Ruon Jian ruffled through the pockets of his sweatpants. He pulled out his keys and threw them in the air a few times, catching them at different angles.

"And for what it's worth Azula, I don't think you're a bad person," he said as he looked into her eyes sincerely. "You're way too hard on yourself."