Boing!

Azula dived on the floor just in time to save. The excited shrieks of her teammates were all she could hear. If they managed this save well, they'd break the close tie they'd been in for the entire third set of practice.

Semi finals were coming up. Everybody needed to be on their A game. The ball arched downwards. Every player ran for their spots. Someone lightly received the ball, tapped it over to the next person who slammed it over the net. Silly Pigtails' team met the serve with vigor. A feint set the ball back over onto Azula's team's side. They scrambled a little but the ball never touched the ground.

With a little less force this time, the ball was sent back to the other side. There was a wide gap in the team's defense that left the ball in the fate of the libero. Good thing that girl was on her A game. She dived and set it back over the net without any help. Groans filled the gym.

"C'mon!" Coach Kyoshi shouted. "Put some back into it girls! Don't you get tired of playing like rookies?"

Well, we are junior varsity, Azula snarked. She set her mind back to the game. She kept a low crouch, hunched back, and extended arms in anticipation. The ball was moving quick. From where she stood, it all looked like a game of human pinball.

A weak hit from Azula's setter sent the ball over the net again. But Silly Pigtails was having none of that. She rushed from her position on the boundary, almost knocking over a few players, and kicked the ball back over. The ball went impossibly high. It was merely a shadow suspended in the air among the fluorescent lights. Azula's team relaxed. The ball would probably end up being out of bounds.

But Azula knew better. Her eyes focused on the now plummeting ball. She'd led teams to victories hundreds of times. This would be no different. What started as a few cautious footsteps turned into a full blown sprint. Azula dived to the floor just in time to catch it. It bounced off her wrists, to one of her teammates, and then over the net.

Silly Pigtails hadn't recovered from her save in time. She hobbled on her left foot failing miserably to look fine. The other team members she'd caught in her whirlwind run were still a bit discombobulated. The ball ricocheted off one of the poor girls' heads and hit the floor with a dull thud.

The room went into uproarious cheers. Azula smirked from her spot on the floor. Too easy.

She gathered her bearings and stood to full height. She wasn't planning on joining the merriment - in fact she was sure they wouldn't invite her to - but color her shocked when a hand reached out to pull her into a huddle of girls screaming their heads off in glee.

Strange, she thought. Comradery and sisterhood were foreign concepts to her. She thought she knew what it was with Mai and Ty Lee, but this felt different. Her heart was soaring. She felt so warm.

Clapping hands cut through the noise. "Alright! Break it up!" Coach Kyoshi called out the faintest hint of a smile in her tone. "Everybody shake on it, then hit the locker room."

Two lines formed, each going in the opposite direction. With the phantom touch of a group hug still lingering, Azula went on shaking hands in a daze. She wouldn't have snapped out of it had it not been for the gruff voice that spoke to her.

"Yo!" Silly Pigtails yelled. Azula shook her head and stared ahead. Both girls were still shaking each other's hand. Thankfully, they were each each other's last, so they weren't holding up the line. Azula broke hold first.

"Yes?" she replied equally as loud. Silly Pigtails rolled her eyes. "I said 'good game'."

"Oh," Azula mouthed. "Likewise."

"You know," Silly Pigtails started. "You're not half bad when you're not shooting fire out of your ass."

"Well you know what they say - when you can walk the walk, you can talk the talk."

"Pretty cocky for a junior varsity player, aren't you?"

"Are you and I not in the same predicament?" Azula challenged.

Silly Pigtails sized her up, then laughed. She extended a hand towards Azula. "Kiyoko," she said. "I know you probably don't know my name."

"I do," Azula protested huffily, taking Kiyoko's hand in her own.

Kiyoko's eyes took on a mischievous glint. "Oh yeah? Who else's name do you know?"

Azula's mind went blank. A little sweat beaded on her forehead. What the fuck had she gotten herself into? Kiyoko chuckled good-naturedly at Azula's disposition. Azula's cheeks went pink. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Kiyoko said, gasping between laughs. "The rest of the team is planning to check out this new pizza place after the upcoming semifinal game. Maybe you can learn everyone's names there."

Padding seemed to cover her ears. The sounds of the gym muffled around her. Thump. Thump. Thump. Her hand went to sit on her chest. Was she having a heart attack? "I guess that would be nice," Azula stammered out.

Kiyoko smiled cheekily. "Guess I'll see you around then," she greeted with a mock salute.

Kiyoko ran off to go mingle with the rest of the team in the locker room. Azula finished up practice on autopilot. She gathered her things and shuffled out of the building. Uncaring of her father's negligence that day, instead of waiting for a car that probably would've never come, she walked all the way home with a bounce in her step.

….

Cordiality and decorum were actually necessary to move forward in life. Chan found himself cursing and silently thanking his parents for being right. You needed allies in this world and you didn't make them by being an asshat. Well…not all the time at least.

He was always an amicable boy. For it, he had never been denied anything he asked for. From the one percenters who mooched off their parents' wealth to throw extravagant parties to the freaks and geeks who spent their school days just trying to blend into the crowd, Chan had friends in all kinds of places.

Today, a girl he'd become familiar with after a brief conversation in Algebra 1 was aiding him. This was her elective period where she worked in the front office as an office aide. How she'd snagged the position he didn't know. This was an elective usually only given to seniors. He figured if she was able to acquire a deal as desirable as such, she must have connections he could weasel his way into.

She'd just gone off to find the stuff he asked for when the chiming bell rang at the entrance. An unsightly grin rose to his face. Mai recoiled. "It's good to see you Mai."

"I can't imagine why," she replied in that dry manner she was known for. Her eyes snapped to the figure emerging from a back room and heading towards Chan. Being the gentleman he was, he decided to introduce the two. "Mai, this is-"

"NingNing," she interrupted. On cue, NingNing's eyes narrowed at the goth girl's. "We know each other very well."

Chan took the paper NingNing slid to him over the counter. The two girls were still engaging in an intense staredown. He cleared his throat. "Well, I thought you should know that she'd be helping me further the plans I discussed with you the other day."

"I'm sure whatever she's doing is nothing short of illegal," Mai said without breaking eye contact. "Breach of privacy is a serious offense. Daddy can only keep you out of trouble for so long."

"I hate prissy bitches like you. So high and mighty that you think you're invincible. After Azula, you're next."

Alarm bells went off in Mai's head. Chan watched the way her facial features settled into a panic. "That's Azula's file?" she said pointing at the paper with a trembling finger. Chan, none the wiser, only smiled and nodded his head. Panic surged through her body in streams. "What are you planning to do?"

"Don't worry," he reassured. "Nothing too heinous. I just needed her father's phone number. Got something important to tell him."

"You really don't know what you're getting yourself into." Mai stood before him pale as a ghost. The little coloring she did have left her face in droves. Chan dismissed NingNing with a small wave. This didn't stop the girl from glowering at Mai before stomping off towards somewhere in the back office.

Chan stuffed his hands into his pockets. He leaned against the counter and slid closer to Mai whispering. "Getting cold feet?"

"Don't! You make it sound like I'm in your stupid plan."

"Wouldn't you be just as culpable for what happens to Azula as me? You gave me the key."

"That's a pile of horse shit and you know it."

"Listen," Chan reasoned, now holding her hand delicately. She tried slapping it away, but his grip only tightened. "When I asked Ty Lee for the same information, she went tight as a clam. But you," he chuckled in between pauses. "You gave everything up with me hardly even prompting you. How could you not be culpable?"

"But-" Mai choked on her words. Her mouth opened and shut to no avail. There was nothing she could say to counter that truth.

"Be honest. You want to see Azula knocked down a peg. Some humility could do her some good. But you couldn't muster up the courage to do it yourself, so you told me." Chan patted her shoulder with a sinister smile. Mai met his eyes with worry lines etched into her features.

"I know what I did was fucked up. I can also admit that I'm a bit of a coward. But I'm warning you. Do NOT call her father. Ozai is a very scary man with a lot of power. Even if he gets mad at Azula, he'll find out about you and you won't be any better off than her by the end of it," Mai rushed to explain.

Too bad her plea fell on deaf ears.

Chan straightened. He seemed to pontificate on what she said for a moment before that devious smile made a reappearance. He patted her shoulder again politely before exiting. "I guess I'll take my chances."

….

Iroh liked to think that he was an all around reasonable man. His time serving in the war had proved that. Sure those on the opposing end would say that his tactics were cruel or barbaric, but if they'd just surrendered then none of it would've happened. He was only cruel when provoked and boy did Ozai do a lot of that.

It came with the territory of being the eldest child. You had to excel and set the best precedent for the ones that came up after you. That proved to be no problem for Iroh. He excelled at excelling. Any challenge sent his way was met with triumph whether it be grades, sports, sexual conquests, or war exploits.

This draft had existed longer than Ozai or Iroh had been alive. A pointless war their grandfathers had passed down to them and that they were certain their children would inherit. It was in the background of their entire lives. Iroh handled it just like he did everything else: with a finesse and fortitude that trumped his naive age.

He quickly began to soar through the ranks. Captain, general, chief advisor, but always comrade. He was personable in a way that Ozai wasn't. It had helped him get so far. But Ozai couldn't see that. He never would.

Their rivalry started as children. It shouldn't have been any more than a normal older and younger brother relationship, but Azulon was a cruel father. There were things he expected of his children that Ozai wasn't always quick enough to understand. Iroh remembered the sneers, the shame, and the defeat shown in his baby brother's face when Azulon would once again be disappointed. It drove the boy mad.

But Ozai was no normal little boy. He was so devious, so sinister, so uncaring of the well being of others. A real psychopath. Other parents around the neighborhood would round up their children when he came around. Those kids would end up with welts, cuts, bruises, and all kinds of wounds that came as a result of Ozai's sadistic games.

"I only wanted to see how far I could go," he'd always say so sweetly. Azulon would frown as he spoke to him. "Until what?"

"Until they'd beg for mercy."

Ozai would be thrashed quite violently. It'd deter him from his actions for a while, but not forever. In the meantime, he'd take his anger out on birds, bugs, cats, dogs, etc. Rotting carcasses would be left around the premises with handwritten notes describing the poor creature's last moments. It unsettled Iroh so much that he kept his distance.

But chickens would come home to roost when it came time for Ozai to enlist. All that tough guy shit came crumbling down when faced with real evil. Cooverups scrambled to say he'd been brutalized by enemy forces, but Iroh knew that it had been some sort of hazing ritual. If Ozai hadn't been such an asshole lone wolf, he might've been spared a bit of trauma.

His injuries were so severe. Broken nose, ribs, clavicle, and tibia. Internal bleeding that almost left him brain dead, several knocked out teeth, and a punctured eye. Thick coats of blood lay crusted under his fingernails. He must've tried so hard to fight back.

Fool, Iroh thought. His brother never knew when it was time to back down.

Either way, the situation had broken him so much that his service time was cut short due to months of recovery. He made the decision to reenlist after healing, but his name had been so sullied that nothing he accomplished would ever overshadow his humiliation.

No one ever spoke of the grisly details. Azulon's opinion of him remained rather low. Any suggestion Ozai made, contribution he may have added, or breakthrough he had was quickly shot down by Azulon's barbed tongue. Humiliation was the greatest blow for a Fujiwara. Ozai had garnered plenty of it.

He bit his tongue and remained obedient to his father for so long. Every man had their breaking point.

In the meantime, Iroh shacked up with a woman who adored him and gave birth to his first and only child. She never really recovered from the number pregnancy did on her body. Before Lu Ten's tenth birthday, her body finally gave out. Iroh didn't think he'd ever find someone that loved him the way she did again.

A few years passed and there were murmurs of his younger brother in the process of courtship. When Iroh heard that Azulon would be passing down his business to his youngest son, he knew there was something nefarious afoot. He knew that his father was getting older, but he'd always been strong. Hell, he'd stood toe to toe with Ozai numerous times during his son's adolescence and knocked him around like a rag doll. But now, looking at the once mighty man sitting in a wheelchair with his body looking so frail, he knew there could only be one reason: Ozai.

Azulon warned against Iroh getting involved. Ozai had gone his whole life without power, prestige, nor half of the accolades of his family members and he'd do anything to latch onto what he had. Clearly Ozai had finally beaten their father. Nearly fatal too with all the medications he had to take. Iroh was no fool. He knew not to poke the bear, so he acquainted himself with his sister-in-law and nephew.

Ursa took to him quite well. Invited his company even. She may have never voiced it but her eyes screamed out for help. Iroh could make no such promises, so he hoped she would be grateful for just his company.

When Zuko wasn't hiding under his mother's robes or sucking his thumb anxiously, he was quite an amiable boy. He'd inherited his mother's smile and ran about with cheer that showed no resemblance to his patrilineal side. Lu Ten didn't complain of his company either. He imagined the boy saw him as the sibling he never had.

But that all began to change when Azula came into the picture. She was a pleasantly normal child before her father took a liking to her. Iroh's mind always brought up the same memories to light. Of all the times he could've intervened, could've stopped Azula from becoming what she had. But Azulon's voice rang in his ear time and time again to let things be, to be self-preserving, to allow Ozai to fill his own head with delusions of grandeur.

But that changed as he noticed the escalating abuse of all kinds that Ursa underwent. Lu Ten would often sleep beside Iroh at night and recount the horror stories Zuko had relayed to him earlier in the day. He never seemed to recollect of Azula exposing any of her hardships. Iroh chalked it up to Ozai's blatant favoritism.

Of course nothing should befall his princess. The one who would restore his honor once the draft opened up to women. He thought nothing of the atrocities she might have faced. Azula was in no imminent danger as far as he was concerned.

Iroh knew that he'd been too delayed in his actions the day Ursa disappeared without a trace. He stormed his younger brother's office and demanded answers. Ozai was all too eager to answer. "She left them," he replied breezily. "I gave her a way out and she hardly hesitated to jump at my offer."

"You did something to her!" Iroh shouted. "She wouldn't just abandon them. Not even that psychotic brat you love so much would've been left behind! What did you do?"

"She's abandoned ship. You're free to look for her if you insist upon it."

So he did. For two long years he expended every connection he had to find Ursa. He had thought her a hard woman to find, but he realized that Ozai had been paying people off to lead him on false trails.

"Let it be," Ozai cooed. "Take a break. You deserve it."

"Give me Zuko. I'm sure you'll have your hands full with Azula. Just let the boy have a chance with me," Iroh pleaded. "Running a business will distract you from raising your children anyway."

"Oh, you're still on about that. Be mature. Congratulate your dear younger brother for once."

"You bullied father into granting you MY inheritance."

"Just as he had his time bullying me," Ozai parried. "When I was so mercilessly throttled by father, I don't remember you ever jumping to my defense. Hell, I remember you egging on the old bastard."

"Psychopaths aren't deserving of my sympathy."

"Neither are little girls apparently."

"She is your reflection. For that my sympathies do not extend far. Just bring me Zuko or I'll have to resort to the press about your elder abuse."

Ozai chuckled menacingly. He brushed his hair behind his ear, pinky raised the whole time. "Interesting that you try to blackmail me with so many skeletons in your closet. Father is no longer here to cover up your shit and trust that that responsibility won't transfer to me. That unauthorized battalion you unleashed on Ba SIng Se that resulted in a death toll of 2,000 - most of its victims women and children - your connections with the Dai Li and their base Lake Laogai, or even the comfort women - I mean the Joo Dees that you've wrangled up as war trophies and went on to marry.

War crimes some would call them. Dare I say that you're a bastard of the same level you accuse me. Tell you what. I'll make you the same offer I made Ursa. Focus on raising your boy. He looks neglected."

Jaw tense and fists balled, Iroh left with the offer as promised by Ozai. Begrudgingly, he set about his days raising Lu Ten making sure to dodge any questions of his cousin's absence. Lu Ten didn't make it easy. He had really loved both Zuko and Azula. To be parted so abruptly without reason would weather on the heart of any poor soul. But Iroh wasn't at will to say anything.

The call from Ursa had shocked him. He expected to go his whole life never knowing if she was dead or alive. She sounded anxious, worried so deeply about something that it made her words quiver. He heard the sharp inhale when he revealed he hadn't been in contact with her children either.

Disappointment loomed over their conversation. They were both being thrown to the wolves.

Lu Ten was thrilled at the news. It was the first time he'd gotten a straight answer about his cousins in years. He was a grown man now. His time in the army hadn't dulled his good-natured quality at all. It only seemed to make him more curious, more wary, and better at questioning.

He never asked anything directly anymore. He only watched and gathered intel as his eye grew more suspicious. Iroh could tell it was starting to turn to him.

What was Ozai's plan? Why were they being reunited so suddenly? Why was Aunt Ursa remarried with a new child? What could the reason be behind separating them? How was his father implicated in all of this?

Scorn grew where curiosity once was. Iroh could tell this son's ire would soon be aimed only at him. As Iroh sat in his reclining chair sipping on a warm cup of tea, on the patio stood his son and nephew speaking in hushed whispers. He wondered what his brother's game was and what playing would result in.