Chapter 110

On the eve of facing her father for the first time in the championship finals, Azula felt rather pleased with how the competition was unfolding. She was quite satisfied with her own level of play. Considering the length of the tournament, Azula didn't want to be playing her best Pai Sho early on and then struggle to maintain that level. She wanted to start a little below her best and then slowly build from there, coming into her best form. So far, she was following that intended trajectory, and it was also providing her with the necessary confidence and helped her maintain a healthy state of mind. The results were also about what she had wanted them to be as Azula found herself half a step behind her father in the tournament standings. She definitely did not want to be leading the tournament in these early stages because that would have put her in the spotlight and placed her under too much pressure.

If there was one concern that was bothering Azula, then it was the play of her father. Azula could see that he was far better prepared than two years ago, when facing Yue and Katara in the finals. Azula found it flattering that Ozai saw her and Zuko as legitimate threats, and he probably respected Piandao as well. Also, Ozai didn't have both Zhao Sakamoto and Long Feng to leech points from, because it was only Zhao this year. And while Azula didn't expect Aang to be of huge help against her father, Azula still hoped that the Air Nation boy would end up surprising Ozai. All in all, seeing Ozai once again play like a world champion was not ideal, but on the other hand, if Azula could defeat her father when he was at his best, she knew that it would provide extra satisfaction for her.

Azula was hoping that she would be able to do something that would knock Ozai off his stride. Ozai was probably preparing some kind of psychological warfare against her, aside what he already attempted on every match day, and Azula was eager to repay with the same. Unfortunately, the research regarding the arms deals between the Nakamura Industries and the Earth Kingdom shell companies and middle men had thus far failed to produce any results. Azula understood quite well why her former reporter colleagues at the Ba Sing Se Herald were unwilling to touch this subject, especially because the Dai Li were already watching them with increased scrutiny.

Still, Azula hadn't given up on this line of inquiry altogether, and she had some alternative schemes prepared in place. For that purpose, Azula had begged and pleaded with Toph and Teo to go and stay at the Beifong estate in Gaoling while Azula was playing at the championship finals. If Toph could lean on her father and get Lao Beifong to confess to something shady that Azula could then use against Ozai, that would definitely help to shake her father. So far, Toph hadn't managed to get anywhere, but Azula refused to give up. She still had a few aces left up her sleeve she hadn't played yet.

When it came to the other competitors in the tournament, there were no major surprises for Azula. Piandao was his usual steady self, just about keeping up pace with the leaders. Zhao was as usual proving useless in taking points from Ozai's competitors, so Azula was certain that her father was once again mad at his right-hand man. Azula had expected more from Zuko, however. She had hoped that her brother would be higher in the standings, where he would become the main target of Ozai's attention. It would have been just like during their childhood, when Zuko would be the target of Ozai's ire, while Azula did all she could to slip by under the radar. However, Zuko had fallen a little behind, even if in Azula's opinion he hadn't been playing badly at all, aside from the crushing defeat to Ozai in the previous round. The most surprising performer so far had been Aang. Azula had not expected him to stay with the leaders for so long, but he had managed to do just that for now.

Before sitting down for her match of the fifth round against her father, Azula as always made sure to remain close to Aang and Zuko at all times. Every time she had wandered off on her own, either Ozai or Zhao would magically appear at her side to utter some denigrating comments, give her those oily and insincere smiles or even worse, brush up against her without any reason to do so other than to just try and freak her out. Pathik's meditation techniques helped to resist and block out these attempts to unsettle her, but the experience was still deeply unpleasant.

Finally, the signal was given and the tournament officials started the timing clocks. Azula and her girls had spent the two previous days discussing her strategy for this game, but they hadn't been able to reach a consensus, which troubled Azula a little. She had been pushing for one of the more defensive openings, something with an increased chance to lead to a draw, reasoning that this early in the tournament she didn't want to go after Ozai too aggressively. She wanted to give her father a false sense of security. Katara and Yue hadn't been fond of this plan, arguing that Azula was trying to play contrary to her normal style and that it was not a recipe for success at this level. In the end, Azula had gotten her way, but she was well aware that her girlfriends remained skeptical about her plan.

It wasn't long after the start of their game, that Azula began to see the reasoning of her girlfriends. With her playing more passively than usual, it had simply allowed her father to seize the initiative and dominate the events on the board. Ozai was now forcing Azula to play a more defensive game and that simply wasn't her style. She was still holding on quite well past the thirtieth move, but then as she ran into troubles with the time limit, Azula committed an unforced error and gave Ozai a crucial advantage. Having limped to the fortieth move and seen another hour added to their timing clocks, Azula knew that the writing was on the wall for her.

Still, Azula did not intend to make it easy for Ozai, continuing to play even if her position was more or less untenable. Azula knew that wasting her father's time and making him work for it would frustrate Ozai to no end, and she was proven right when Ozai's glare, which was already constantly directed at her, seemed to intensify tenfold. Azula dragged the affair out until the sixtieth move, but having spotted that she could not prevent Ozai from forming the harmony ring in four moves, Azula finally accepted the inevitable defeat.

"That was pathetic," Ozai sneered at her, taking Azula's hand and refusing to release it. "Didn't I hear you saying that this was supposed to be your year? Well, let me tell you, I saw no evidence of that today."

"I guess I'll have to be content with winning three games against you instead of four," Azula sneered right back, trying to remove her hand, but Ozai still didn't relent.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ozai glared at her. "The only way you'll ever become the world champion, Azula, is by returning home to me and by submitting yourself to me… for Pai Sho training, and in every other way," he added with a salacious grin, finally releasing Azula's hand and walking off, clearly thinking that he had delivered a nasty blow. Azula definitely found the whole exchange creepy and disturbing, but she had mentally prepared herself for it. She wasn't going to let this affect her. So far, Ozai was failing to get through to her in any meaningful way.

Once Ozai had departed, Azula decided to stick around near the stage for a while longer, unwilling to be anywhere near her father in the press zone. Zuko had already defeated Zhao some time ago, but the game between Aang and Piandao was still ongoing. Much to Azula's surprise, Aang was holding his own as the contest entered the endgame. Once Azula had become convinced that the game was destined to end in a draw, she turned to leave hoping to slip by the reporters unnoticed, but of course, she could never be quite that lucky. Azula was detained for at least ten minutes, being subjected to stupid questions such as whether Ozai had already built too big of a lead and whether he could be stopped this year. Azula didn't even attempt to dignify these questions with responses. Of course, Ozai would be stopped this year and Azula would make sure of it.

Having met up with her girlfriends outside the theater house, the three of them made their way to a nearby food stall. Normally, Azula would never be caught getting her meal from a shabby looking food stall, but she remembered some of these Ember Island vendors from her childhood. The freshly cooked seafood, made with the daily catch from the local fishermen was to die for and rivaled the quality of any of the local restaurants, not to mention that they could sit outside on a little terrace by the pier, overlooking the beautifully calm waters surrounding the harbor. Azula hungrily devoured her fish cake and was considering ordering another one to properly replenish her spent energy reserves, an important aspect to consider during a lengthy tournament of six weeks.

It was only after Azula had finally sated her hunger when she realized that neither Katara nor Yue had said a word about her performance against Ozai. "Alright, so I'll admit, my plan to play defensively was stupid," Azula said, sighing as she shook her head. She felt a little embarrassed and deep down actually wished that her girlfriends would chew her out like she deserved it, but they seemed intent on being their understanding and sympathetic selves. "I should have just listened to what you tried to tell me," Azula continued. "Seriously, if you have any 'I told you so' comments you want to make, please do go right ahead, they would be well earned."

"Do we really strike you as the types who would want to rub it in, Azula?" Katara asked, narrowing eyes at her.

"Exactly, don't be silly, Azula," Yue frowned at her. "I had my concerns about your strategy, but I still think it was worth a try. Besides, it might now put Ozai in a false sense of security like you wanted. I can see him making that mistake now that he has built a tournament lead and won against both you and Zuko."

"I agree, it's not some kind of a tragedy worth chiding you about, Azula," Katara shrugged. "This might still work out to our advantage. You were trying to fly under the radar, right?"

"I guess," Azula admitted, frowning. "This just felt a bit too much like almost throwing a game to my father. But you're right, maybe if I really turn up the heat against him the next time we play, I just might be able to catch him by surprise."

"We'll prepare something spicy, I'm sure," Katara grinned wickedly. "Yue and I had a bit of a chat while we waited for you, and I think you might like some of our ideas. But that's for later. The remainder of the day is all about rest and relaxation, and tomorrow we're prepping for Zhao again."

"And I think we can keep that practice session very light," Yue smiled. "I'm not saying that we should underestimate Zhao, but I don't think we're going to discover anything new about his game by this point. Your standard approaches tend to be more than enough for that sleazebag."

Azula nodded, confidence starting to return to her at the words of her girlfriends, Katara and Yue so full of belief in her abilities. "I think the both of you are right, and I should listen to you more," Azula nodded, smiling at her Water Tribe loves. Indeed, what had she been thinking, after having been so desperate for both Yue and Katara to accompany her, but then deciding to dismiss their very valid advice? "And I definitely agree that when it comes to preparing for Zhao, the best course of action is to get plenty of rest and relaxation. It's not like he's capable of surprising me with anything new," Azula finished with a confident smile.

The first rotation of the championship finals had finished, and Azula was roughly where she wanted to be at this point, trailing the leaders slightly. Soon, time would come to take the gloves off and Azula felt more than ready to unleash all of her firepower upon her unsuspecting fellow competitors.


Ozai Nakamura stretched, spilling a few droplets of whiskey from the tumbler as he stood on the upper floor balcony of his Ember Island beach house. "You know, Zhao, you should probably count yourself lucky that I've been doing so well," he turned towards his sour faced companion, standing with him on the balcony. "Still, how can you have only half a point from five games, my friend? I expect you to do better from now on. I need you to do more than just take a measly half a point from Piandao." Zhao opened his mouth to reply, at which point Ozai gave him a pointed stare. "And don't even think of pointing out that I did even worse by losing to Piandao. Say a word about that and risk losing your teeth."

"I wasn't going to say anything, Ozai. You said it," Zhao added smugly.

"Whatever," Ozai glared. "Anyway, I'm starting to wonder what I was even concerned about before the tournament. So far, both of my children have proved unfit of their last name. Did you see the way Azula played against me today? It was pathetic. She was playing scared, and I didn't even have to do anything. I haven't even had to put the fright in either her or Zuko, and they're already falling apart. I'm thinking I went out and hired those thugs for nothing, I might have no use for them after all."

"Don't be so hasty, Ozai," Zhao warned him. "You might have a need for them yet, who knows."

"Color me skeptical," Ozai laughed. "Anyway, I've had enough talking about Pai Sho. My evening entertainment should be arriving soon." Zhao looked quite excited, prompting Ozai to laugh even harder. "I said my entertainment, not yours, Zhao. You haven't been playing well enough to partake, so instead of whoring, I suggest you lock yourself in your room and devote yourself to Pai Sho practice. Maybe I'll let you have a bit of fun if you can prevent Azula from winning against you in the next round."

Zhao looked angry. "I really don't deserve such a treatment, Ozai," he dared to argue.

"Oh, you most certainly do," Ozai smirked. "But I'm a magnanimous man, and I'm prepared to let you off the hook. I'm in a good mood tonight, and not just because of my daughter's embarrassing failure to stand up to me."

"Does it have anything to do with that phone call to Ba Sing Se a little earlier?" Zhao asked perceptively.

"Indeed," Ozai nodded. "Long Feng is making sure that Lao and his Beifong Arms will have a massive order for us shortly. I think this will let us clear out most of our warehouses, my friend. Major Earth Kingdom assault is planned in a few days, one that will leave both sides sorely depleted."

"Sounds like good news, indeed," Zhao said. His expression clouded, if only for a moment. "Do you intend to just do this perpetually, Ozai?" he then asked.

"No, while we have taken measures to limit the risk of exposure, the dangers are still considerable," Ozai replied. "This should be the final deal we make. After that we can let the conflict fizzle out and allow the politicians to split whatever is left of the pie." Zhao nodded thoughtfully at that. "What, are you having some humanitarian concerns all of a sudden?" Ozai narrowed eyes at his right-hand man.

"I think it's a little late for those concerns, even if I should have them," Zhao laughed bitterly. "But tell me honestly, Ozai. Have you never looked at the casualty counts from Yu Dao while thinking that you could have stopped it all?"

Ozai shrugged, taking another swig of the whiskey. "Why would a lion concern itself with the ants?" he quipped. "Anyway, if you have decided to develop a conscience-"

"Don't worry about that, Ozai," Zhao shook his head, laughing. "Whatever conscience I might have had is now buried in my bank account under all the money I've made from this war."

Ozai's laughter increased at that. "Well said, my friend," Ozai Nakamura said as he raised his glass to Zhao. "Well said, indeed."


Round 6 results:

Ozai Nakamura 1 - Aang Jetsun 0

Zuko Nakamura 0 – Piandao Mori 1

Azula Nakamura 0.5 – Zhao Sakamoto 0.5

Standings after Round 6:

1. Ozai Nakamura – 5

2. Piandao Mori – 4

3. Azula Nakamura – 3

4.-5. Zuko Nakamura, Aang Jetsun – 2.5

6. Zhao Sakamoto – 1

Round 7 results:

Ozai Nakamura 1 - Zhao Sakamoto 0

Zuko Nakamura 0.5 – Aang Jetsun 0.5

Azula Nakamura 0 – Piandao Mori 1

Standings after Round 7:

1. Ozai Nakamura – 6

2. Piandao Mori - 5

3.-5. Azula Nakamura, Zuko Nakamura, Aang Jetsun – 3

6. Zhao Sakamoto – 1


As the tournament progressed, Zuko was becoming more and more concerned when he looked at the tournament standings, not at all liking what he saw. The final game of the eight round had concluded mere minutes ago, with Zuko prevailing against his sister in a tightly contested affair that could have gone either way. Much to Zuko's disgust, their father had quite handily prevailed against Piandao, while Aang had disposed of Zhao. Zuko felt almost physical revulsion when he looked at the leaderboard only to see Ozai two points clear of his nearest pursuer, Piandao. Zuko was three whole points behind, and there was now a veritable abyss in the shape of a four-point gap between Azula and Ozai.

Zuko was rather astonished about his own lack of positive results, because he felt as if he was playing reasonably well, and mentally he felt in a good shape, and yet something seemed to be missing from his game. He could see that Azula was facing the same issues, also playing quite well but having little to show for it. Zuko wasn't really sure how he had managed to win their game just now. He'd been on the ropes for the most of their encounter, but Azula had lacked the decisiveness to finish him off, which was even more confounding because Azula was renowned for her killer instinct.

Zuko had been developing some theories about why he and Azula were underperforming. As they made their way towards the press zone, neither of them all that willing to face the reporters, Zuko reached out and touched his sister's shoulder to stop her. "Listen, Azula, I've been thinking-" he began, but Azula looked disinterested in whatever he was going to say, immediately turning away.

"Save it, Zuko, I really don't need a pep talk from you of all people," Azula ground out. Zuko could sense that his sister was very angry, most likely with herself. Usually in such situations, he would be the lightning rod for her anger, but perhaps it was indicative of their improved relationship that Azula was merely tiredly dismissing him.

"I wasn't going for a pep talk, Azula," Zuko sighed. "I believe I know why we've both been underperforming, and I thought you might be interested to hear my thoughts."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not underperforming. This is all a part of my plan to start slowly," Azula shot back, still fuming. What she was saying was completely ridiculous, of course. Zuko believed that Azula's game plan had indeed been to fly under the radar during the early days of the tournament, but mere three points from eight possible was not just a slow and tactical start, it was a complete disaster. Azula had started the finals much worse than she had intended, it was clear to everyone.

"You're not going to let me give you potentially useful advice then?" Zuko asked incredulously. Before the tournament, Zuko, Azula and Aang had made an agreement to coordinate their strategy as long as it served to undermine Ozai. Even if Azula might have been out of the running for the title, Zuko still needed her to shape up and start taking points from Ozai, and thus increasing Zuko's own chances of taking the crown of the world champion.

"Okay, fine," Azula finally relented and gave him an impatient stare. "What is this amazing advice, Zuko?"

"Have you been using Pathik's methods during the tournament?" Zuko asked her.

Azula frowned at the question. "Well, obviously," she replied. "We learned them so that we could use them in the finals, don't you remember, dumdum?"

"I know, but I'm starting to think that maybe we're actually crippling ourselves by using his methods," Zuko said.

"I'll need you to explain that," Azula demanded.

"I mean, we're both offensively minded players, right?" Zuko asked. Azula nodded at him. "I've looked at some of your previous games, Zula, and your play is technically sound, but I don't see the usual flair, passion and emotion, everything that distinguishes you from being just a good player and makes you great."

Azula blushed lightly at the compliment. "Alright, thank you for the flattery, Zuzu, but what's your point?" she asked.

"I think that if you're leaning too hard into detaching yourself emotionally as Pathik taught us, then maybe it's taking too much flair and passion out of your game," Zuko suggested.

"But it's supposed to help us," Azula argued. "It helped Pathik dominate the Pai Sho world for like a decade, didn't it?"

"Yes, but have you studied some of Pathik's old games?" he asked, earning himself a quick nod. "He's a very different player from both of us, isn't he? His style is completely unorthodox, almost a bit like Bumi, so I'm thinking that maybe Pathik's methods work for Pathik, but don't necessarily work for any other player."

"But-" Azula wanted to protest, but then her eyes widened in realization at what he was trying to tell her. "Agni, but that… that would be horrible!" she gasped. "That would mean we tortured ourselves for two weeks over something that doesn't even work! I almost lost Katara and Yue over my stupid decision not to tell them that I was going to undergo this training! And now you're telling me that maybe we shouldn't have done it and that it was completely pointless?" Azula was almost shouting by now, looking deeply upset and Zuko could understand her perfectly well.

"Look, I'm not saying it's completely useless," Zuko replied, trying to remain calm and patient. "I think it's good to have something like that as a backup when our father starts to play his mind games. But going forward, I've decided not to lean into it as much as I've done so far, and I recommend that you do the same."

Azula leaned in against the nearby wall, looking distraught. "Damn it, I really hate to admit this, but you may be right, Zuko," she said, burying her face in her palms. "Agni, why did I ever think that this was a good idea?" Azula groaned.

"Look, we're both still young, Azula. This wasn't the first stupid decision we've made and it won't be the last," Zuko tried to smile encouragingly at her. "You're going up against Aang in the next round. You're not going to be intimidated by Aang, right? Seems like the perfect opportunity to see how well you can do without falling back on Pathik's techniques to clear your mind."

"Hmm," Azula appeared thoughtful, considering his words. "Yes, I think I will do that. If you're right about this, Zuko, I will owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Don't be a ridiculous," Zuko snorted at her. "I know we've not been raised like that, but siblings ought to be looking out for each other. I'd like us to act like that with each other."

"You mean like Sokka and Katara," Azula pointed out. Zuko nodded, smiling at her. "I don't disagree with you. And I feel like we've been moving in that direction already." They stood in silence for a brief while, Zuko reveling in this rare moment of sibling closeness. "Your next game is against Ozai, though," Azula said a moment later. "Do you feel comfortable tossing Pathik's lessons aside for that?"

"I want to try," Zuko nodded earnestly. "Besides, I feel like at this point we need to find something that would knock our father off his stride, because nothing we've tried has worked thus far."

"I agree," Azula said. "Also, if you were to fail horribly against Ozai in two days' time, it would help me decide on what to do when I face him after that."

"I suppose that's fair," Zuko laughed. It wasn't at all surprising that Azula would find a slightly selfish angle to look at the situation, but Zuko couldn't really blame her for that. Observing your competitors and learning what worked and what didn't was a crucial part of formulating one's strategy, and Azula had always been highly adept at this approach.

"I really hope that this works, Zuko," Azula sighed, suddenly looking worried and uncertain. "Our father is threatening to leave the rest of us in the dust, and we need to start cutting into his lead."

"I agree," Zuko nodded. "Hopefully, I'll be able to make a dent into his lead come the next round."

"And I'll try the same the round after that," Azula said. "Also, I have a few other plans in motion that might derail our father's smooth passage towards the title."

"What other plans?" Zuko asked guardedly.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, Zuzu," Azula smirked, assuming that annoyingly enigmatic look of hers. "If everything works out the way I hope it will, I'm sure you will be overjoyed watching the fallout from my schemes." With that, Azula turned on her heel and proceeded down the hallway, leaving Zuko to rush after her. Of course, Azula would have her own ongoing schemes, he should have known that. At the same time, as Zuko hurried to catch up with his sister, he found himself hoping that Azula truly knew what she was doing.


Excerpt from an article in The Harmony Ring, written by senior correspondent Suki Arya:

The main question ahead of Round 9 was whether defending Ozai Nakamura would be able to maintain his strong play, further distancing himself from his challengers and strengthening his claim on an unprecedented seventh world championship title. Considering the struggles Zuko Nakamura had faced throughout the tournament so far, most experts felt that the Round 9 contest between father and son would be another one-sided affair and an easy victory for Ozai Nakamura.

What happened at the Pai Sho board, however, left many of said experts red-faced from embarrassment, as Zuko Nakamura played a near perfect game from start to finish, delivering Ozai Nakamura his fastest defeat in almost ten years, forcing the defending champion to submit on the embarrassingly early thirty-first move. Aggressive and attacking from the opening, Zuko Nakamura did not give the world champion a single chance of counter-play, scoring a convincing win and resurrecting his own championship hopes as he now moved two points behind Ozai Nakamura.

In the other games of Round 9, a revitalized looking Azula Nakamura also played a beautiful game from start to finish, handsomely defeating Aang Jetsun in thirty-six crisp moves, reminding some of our experts that Azula Nakamura at her best can truly be a force to reckon with. There was an unequivocal consensus that this was Ms. Nakamura's best game of the tournament, but only the next several rounds will answer the burgeoning question of whether this was merely a flash in the pan or a permanent change of form.

Lastly, former world champion Piandao Mori continued his strong play by defeating Zhao Sakamoto. In the eyes of most experts, Mr. Mori remains the likeliest candidate to take advantage should Ozai Nakamura suffer some unexplainable setback and sudden loss of form. However, despite the convincing defeat suffered by the defending champion in this latest round, our experts are still in agreement that he remains an overwhelming favorite to defend his title.

The next round is viewed by many as the last chance saloon for two of the candidates, Azula Nakamura and Aang Jetsun. With Ms. Nakamura facing the defending champion and Mr. Jetsun facing Piandao Mori, neither of them can afford a defeat that would plunge them so far back in the standings that our experts would consider the gap insurmountable. Piandao Mori and Zuko Nakamura currently appear to be the two most realistic challengers to the defending champion, but with a victory in the next round, Azula Nakamura and Aang Jetsun could give themselves a realistic chance of keeping their dreams alive.

Will these two young upstarts prove capable of enduring the pressure, and will they manage to prevail against their far more experienced opponents? Read all about it in two days' time, in the next issue of… The Harmony Ring!

Round 9 results:

Ozai Nakamura 0 - Zuko Nakamura 1

Zhao Sakamoto 0 – Piandao Mori 1

Azula Nakamura 1 – Aang Jetsun 0

Standings after Round 9:

1. Ozai Nakamura – 7

2. Piandao Mori – 6

3. Zuko Nakamura – 5

4.-5. Azula Nakamura, Aang Jetsun – 4

6. Zhao Sakamoto – 1


Next chapter: Azula faces her father for the second time in a do or die type of scenario and we also celebrate Yue's twenty-fourth birthday.