I would like to take a moment to remind you all of Chapter 10, and Yue asking Suki out on a date. It's important to keep in mind in the context of this chapter.
Also, CW for violence, also known as frontier justice, Water Tribe style.
Chapter 25
Katara felt very anxious on the morning before the final round of matches, and that was despite having knocked herself out with a couple of Librium pills the previous evening. It wasn't just the stressful circumstances of finding herself in the championship lead before the final round, being the odds-on favorite to win. Katara had never been in this position before, not in the finals. The one time she had won the tournament, she had come from behind to steal it from Azula in the final round. And now she was freaking out about someone else doing the same to her.
And the worst part about it all was that Katara didn't really mind for that to happen, as long as it was Azula who took the title from her. Katara knew that if she wanted to one day become a professional Pai Sho player, she really needed to become more ruthless and less soft-hearted, but just knowing about the threat that was hanging over Azula's head made it very hard for Katara to remain unaffected. Yes, she had made a promise to Azula not to throw any of her games on purpose, and thus far she had upheld her promise. Katara was determined to do her best against Teo in the final round. But at the same time, she kept feeling that she wouldn't be too upset if she were to lose. And that just wasn't the right frame of mind of a champion.
Katara absolutely and utterly loathed Ozai Nakamura, despite having never met the man. She hated his guts for what he was clearly doing to Azula. Even his mere presence had transformed the other girl. Azula still came to see her in the evenings, and occasionally she went up to stay with Azula at the penthouse suite. And while they had been enjoying each other's company, things were so very different now that Ozai was in town. Katara could not persuade Azula to open up about the things that were clearly bothering her. Azula would just clam up and insist that she didn't want to discuss anything that had to do with her father or with her feelings. Katara still had fun interacting with Azula, simply talking with her about whatever, watching TV or listening to the latest musical hits. It was all just a little frustrating for Katara, because she was so determined to help Azula in some way, and being rejected from doing so felt hurtful. And yet, Katara hoped that their time spent together was still helpful to Azula in some way by boosting the other girl's spirits, and it seemed to be doing that. Azula was smiling a lot more in her company than she did around other people. It made Katara feel like they were truly starting to connect in a meaningful, enduring way.
The occasions on which Azula had joined Katara and her friends had felt magical to Katara, so much so that now that Azula could no longer join them, she almost felt that the experience of hanging out with her friends was slightly diminished. It was still the absolutely best thing in Katara's life by far, but she felt that it could have been so much better with Azula present. Just watching the awkward, socially inept and lonely rich girl thriving and opening up in the nurturing and welcoming company of her friends was simply heartwarming. Still, even without Azula, Katara and her friends had been having a whale of a time every afternoon of a game day. They were really pushing each other to become better players, and their results in this tournament reflected their rapid progress.
Katara had won all of her previous four games with the exception of a draw against Kori Morishita. She had made a pretty bad mistake early on and probably should have lost, but Kori hadn't managed to press home a rather big advantage. Katara had a score of 7.5 points out of 10, and was in the sole lead of the tournament. A victory over Teo Guyuk in the final round would bring her the coveted gold medal, but Katara privately suspected that it would not be all so easy. Her nerves were really acting up ahead of the deciding match day, and she was feeling more anxious than ever before in a tournament.
It didn't help that there was a gaggle of incredibly talented players, including her best friends, lined up behind Katara, all of them on 7 points. Azula had continued her strong play despite being clearly affected by her father's presence. After starting with three inexplicable losses, she had followed it up with seven straight wins and would be playing Toph in the final round.
Toph Beifong was one of the other players on 7 points. Her play in this tournament had been nothing short of remarkable, considering that she was only fourteen years of age and normally would not even be playing in this age bracket. However, her success had made her the darling of the Ba Sing Se public, and had ensured that the spectator stands were absolutely packed on this final match day, including a considerable presence of the press. Toph had actually been in the tournament lead for a few rounds, but a loss to Aang had pushed her behind Katara, but it hadn't knocked her out of contention completely.
The third player on 7 points and with a chance to still take the title was none other than Yue Taqqiq. Once again, Yue had been flying under the radar throughout the entire tournament. She hadn't been flashy and she hadn't made waves. She had simply played a very solid game, cool as an ice cube, always remaining in touch with the leaders and then really closing the distance in the final rounds. She would be playing Aang in the final round. Aang himself was trailing a little further behind on 6 points, which was still a damn good showing for another fourteen year old, playing kids two and even three years older than himself.
Everything was set for another dramatic final round decider of the U18 World Championship, and Katara was determined to persevere in spite of her crippling anxiety.
Sokka was overjoyed to have front row seats for himself and his new friend on this final match day of the U18 finals. He could never have predicted the kind of crowd that had gathered in the stands in support of their new favorite, Toph Beifong. There was even a crowd gathered outside of the hotel, listening to the live radio coverage of the games and roaring in response to every move made by Toph, so loud that their cries could be heard in the hall inside. Sokka himself had some basic understanding of Pai Sho and its rules, having watched these tournaments for many years now. This, however, did not mean that he had the necessary insight to look at a complicated placement of tiles and determine which of the players actually had an advantage. This was where having a knowledgeable and otherwise awesome companion like Suki really paid off. Despite not considering herself a serious player, Suki had a very solid understanding of the game and she enjoyed explaining the intricacies of every ongoing game to Sokka.
They had been hanging out like this on every match day ever since meeting at the Jasmine Dragon more than a week ago. Suki was great company, especially when she toned down being flirty. Not that Sokka hated being flirted with by such a hot and smart girl, it just made him feel guilty. He didn't want to think about Suki as anything else than just a cool new friend, and he definitely didn't want to give Yue a reason to feel jealous. He had no intentions of cheating on Yue and he would have happily explained that his relationship with Suki was purely platonic, if not for the strange reaction from Yue when she had spotted him hanging out with Suki among the spectators. For some reason, Yue had paled considerably upon seeing Suki. Sokka thought that she had even appeared a little frightened. However, when Sokka had tried to speak to Yue about Suki, she had become incredibly evasive, brushing him off and making it clear that she wasn't interested in discussing that particular topic.
This final match day found Sokka struggling with conflicting loyalties. On one hand, his sister was in the lead and he really wanted Katara to clinch the title. However, should Katara stumble, Sokka was desperately hoping that it would be Yue who took advantage. This meant that Sokka was counting on Suki to constantly update him on three games at once, Katara playing Teo, Yue facing Aang and Toph fending off Azula. With the crowd roaring outside, this truly was a nerve-wracking situation that none of the players on the stage had previously faced. It was clear that the stronger nerves would prevail on this particular day, perhaps even trumping skill itself.
"What's going on now, Suki?" Sokka whined after another set of moves had been made in all three games capturing his attention. "I need you to tell me these things!"
Suki chuckled, probably at his nervousness. "All three games are still too close to call," she replied. "Although, I don't like the way your sister is playing today. She doesn't seem her usual self."
"No," Sokka sighed. "She has been stressed out since early morning. I couldn't find the rights words to help her relax."
"I'm sure you tried your best, Sokka," Suki smiled at him.
"Well, I really want Kat to succeed," Sokka said. "How are the other games looking?"
"Azula is trying to breach Toph's defenses, but the local heroine is standing firm," Suki commented. "Yue and Aang are trading some serious punches. It's all balancing on a knife's edge." Sokka let out a frustrated groan. Suki slipped her hand into Sokka's and squeezed it affectionately. "Sorry, I can't even imagine how stressful it must be, considering the personal investment."
"It really helps having someone nearby who can at least tell me what's going on," Sokka replied without looking at her, grateful for her hand in his. He then glanced at her with a quick smile. "And someone being supportive helps too."
"Oh… I'm sorry to say this, but Aang just tricked Yue into committing a mistake," Suki exclaimed much to Sokka's dismay. "There's no coming back from this one." Indeed, only a few moves later, Yue stopped the timing clock and shook hands with Aang.
"C'mon, sis, you've got to clinch it now," Sokka tried to cheer on Katara, but he didn't like the look on Suki's face when she overheard his words.
"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Sokka," Suki sighed. "She's under a lot of pressure now. I'm not sure she's going to squeak a win out of this one."
"Damn it! How can both of my girls lose on the final day? It can't be!" Sokka groaned. Katara looked like she was trying her best, but it simply wasn't her day. When she finally accepted her surrender, Sokka thought that his sister actually looked relieved, almost like someone who had been put under torture for hours, just happy for it to end, one way or the other. "So, it's going to be either Toph or Azula who takes the title?" Sokka asked anxiously.
"Not necessarily," Suki shook her head. "If they draw, they will have as many points as Katara. And Katara has beaten them both, so in the case of a draw, your sister could still be the champion, Sokka."
"Yeah, but how likely is a draw between those two?" Sokka asked. "Especially when they know they're playing for the title?"
"It's really tight going. Azula is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Toph," Suki chuckled. "Damn, that little girl is resilient, though. She's like a rock, she is. I won't be surprised if she wears Azula down in the end."
"That's insane," Sokka shook his head. "Can you believe that Toph wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place?" Suki nodded, continuing to watch the game. Sokka did the same, paying more attention to the body language of the two girls than to the position of the tiles. As the game progressed, Sokka could not see any change whatsoever in Toph's posture. She still sat with her back as straight as the ironing board, head held high. Azula, on the other hand, looked to be suffering. She was shifting her body position all the time, reaching for her glass of water between every move. The Fire Nation girl was definitely tiring. Also, the growing volume of the crowd outside could only mean one thing. The scales were starting to tip in the underdog's favor. Toph was about to score a fantastic, almost unimaginable victory.
And then it was finally all over. Azula stopped the clock and shook hands with Toph, after which she slumped back into her chair, looking utterly exhausted. Toph climbed on top of her chair and did several fist pumps before starting to wave at the spectators. The crowd exploded in rapturous applause, the Earth Kingdom fans hugging, kissing each other on their cheeks and crying from happiness. As Toph continued to wave at the crowd, Sokka watched Katara walk up to Azula and exchange a few words before embracing her Fire Nation friend. Yue then joined them for a tender three way hug.
"Well, that was the craziest finale to a world championship I've ever seen," Suki shook her head in disbelief. "But at least your sister is coming home with a silver medal. That's nothing to sneeze at. And I think that it will be Azula Nakamura who ends up with the bronze."
"Yeah, I'm so proud of my sister," Sokka nodded. "And I'm proud of Yue, too. She's going to be really upset with herself. I should probably go and comfort her," he said, smiling at his companion. "Hey, Suki… thanks for hanging out with me during the games. It was a blast, really. I'd like for us to stay in touch, if you're interested. But only as friends, obviously," he added with a blush in his cheeks, offering her a piece of paper with a scribbled down phone number. "Call me anytime."
Suki refused to take the piece of paper, though. In fact, she looked kind of conflicted… almost guilty? "Sokka, you're a really awesome guy. However, I owe you a serious apology because I haven't been completely honest with you. But I did it only because I enjoyed hanging out with you, and I didn't want to ruin it," she sighed. "The truth is that I'm actually doing an internship with The Harmony Ring. It's one of the more popular Pai Sho magazines."
"What?" Sokka blinked. "You're a reporter? And you didn't tell me?" He felt angry heat hitting his cheeks. "I told you stuff about my sister and Yue that I would have never told a reporter! And now you're just going to use that for a juicy article?"
"No, I swear, I would have never used anything you told me, and I still won't," Suki insisted firmly. "I promise to send you a draft of my article to prove that I'm not lying to you, Sokka. Please, you must believe me."
"Ugh… I want to believe you. I guess I do," Sokka sighed. "I really wish you would have told me the truth to begin with, though."
"Would you have still wanted to hang out with me then?" Suki asked.
"Yes! I obviously would!" Sokka exclaimed.
Suki looked devastated at that. "Well, then I guess I went and royally fucked it all up," she sighed. "Go, Suki."
Sokka knew that he was letting her off too lightly for something that was a quite serious breach of trust. And yet he couldn't find it in himself to remain angry, mostly because he just couldn't stand the sight of a cute girl looking sad, everything about that felt plain wrong. "Ugh, just take my number," he pushed the piece of paper into Suki's hand. "And give me a call when your article is published. Maybe we can read it together over the phone," Sokka added, turning to leave.
"I'll do that, Sokka," Suki called after him. "And thanks!"
Waiting backstage for the victory ceremony Katara did not feel as crushed as she had expected herself to feel about her failure to secure the title which had been as good as hers. Of course, the way it had happened had been disappointing, but she was already taking 'Guru' Pathik's lessons to heart by starting to think about the ways in which she could learn from this defeat. Obviously, she hadn't handled the mental pressure well enough to win, and in the future she would have to find better ways to cope with it than taking extra doses of Librium. And it wasn't as if the second place was not an amazing achievement in itself. She had simply expected a little better from herself.
Toph was understandably over the moon about her victory, and everyone including Katara agreed that she deserved only the highest accolades for her performance. Aged fourteen, with the hopes of the entire Earth Kingdom resting on her back, she had remained as cool as a cucumber in the face of immense mental pressure. And now she was hyperactively skipping around the backstage, whooping, hollering and shadowboxing some imaginary opponents. Katara merely smiled at her younger friend's antics, even though her attention was mostly focused on the third person backstage with them, Azula Nakamura.
Katara had expected Azula to be just as upset and angry as she had been when losing the title to Katara on the final match day two years ago. However, Azula had simply sat down, appearing serene if still a little exhausted, calmly waiting to receive the bronze medal at the victory ceremony. It all felt a little odd to Katara, but then again, Azula had been withdrawn and subdued ever since her father had came to Ba Sing Se. It was almost as if Azula didn't care about how much trouble she was in with Ozai, acting as if she had already resigned herself to the inevitable punishment.
Aware that their remaining time together might be limited, Katara decided to sit down next to Azula to exchange a few words, even if her friend didn't appear to be in a talkative mood. "How much trouble are you in with your father?" Katara asked straight, deciding not to mince words.
Azula looked up at her. There was exhaustion in her amber eyes. "I don't know yet," she shrugged. "I imagine that there might be some repercussions."
Katara had a strong suspicion that Azula was downplaying the seriousness of her situation, but there was no time to argue about that now. "He's going to whisk you away right after the ceremony?" she asked. Azula nodded tiredly. "I'm guessing the after-party is off limits this year?"
Azula let out a short bark of laughter. "Obviously," she snorted. "Sorry. I know we had a good time at the after-party last year. I would have liked to come."
"You don't have to be sorry. In fact, I'm sorry that you are not allowed to attend. It's just not right-" a rant was brewing deep inside of Katara, and she only just about managed to suppress it. "Azula, can you promise me something?" she asked in her most serious voice.
"I can't promise anything until I know what you're going to ask of me," Azula replied, completely reasonably.
"I can't stand the thought of being out of touch with you for an entire year," Katara sighed. She noticed Toph making exaggerated kissy faces at them nearby. Katara firmly decided to ignore Toph. "Please, I want you to promise me that this time you're actually going to call me. Whenever you can, but please, just call me."
Azula looked at her, holding Katara's gaze. There was a touch of rare emotion in her amber eyes. She looked overwhelmed. "You're right. The thought of not speaking with you for an entire year feels unacceptable," Azula said. "I promise to call you as soon as I can."
"So, is this where you two start making out?" Toph needed to know. "Just warn me in advance so that I can cover my eyes, you rampant lesbians."
"It's not like that at all, Toph!" Katara protested, giving the grinning girl an angry stare.
"Just ignore her, she's clearly baiting us," Azula shrugged. Katara blinked, almost having to check herself whether she was dreaming or not. Azula was reacting more sensibly than she was? What was this, the Twilight Zone?
Before any more words could be exchanged, however, one of the tournament officials showed up to invite them back onto the stage. The podium had been assembled, and the organizing committee was standing by with their medals and flower bouquets prepared. Katara and Toph were both delighted to see Iroh Nakamura together with the tournament organizers. It seemed that Uncle Iroh was about to take part in the victory ceremony, which earned happy smiles from Toph and Katara, and a frustrated groan from Azula.
Azula was called to take the podium first, climbing on the lowest step to receive her bronze medal. Iroh walked up to her and placed the bronze medal around her neck, smiling as they exchanged words, Katara being close enough to be able to overhear them over the muted applause from the crowd. "My heartfelt congratulations, niece," Iroh told Azula. "The way you recovered from a poor start to the tournament was truly awe inspiring. I hope your father appreciates this achievement for what it is. He'd be a fool not to see this as a great success."
"Whatever, uncle," Azula shrugged in response. "You know that for me it has always been victory or nothing."
Iroh looked a little saddened at that as he stepped back to pick up the silver medal and then place it around Katara's neck once she had taken her place on the podium. She received considerably louder cheer from the audience when compared to Azula. The Fire Nation was not exactly well liked in the heart of the Earth Kingdom. The Cold War between the two superpowers was intensifying with every month of every passing year.
"Congratulations, Katara," Uncle Iroh told her with a warm smile. "I know you must feel a little disappointed right now, but your time will come. I am certain of it."
"Thank you, Uncle Iroh," Katara returned the smile warmly. "I will use this experience as a learning opportunity."
"I know you will," Iroh nodded at her, then walking away to pick up the gold medal and hang it around Toph's neck. If he had planned to exchange words with Toph as well, then that plan had to be abandoned instantly, for the crowd erupted in such loud cheers that it made conversation impossible. Instead, Iroh simply placed the gold medal around Toph's neck, appearing surprised when the young girl then decided to give him a hug. The crowd continued to cheer excitedly as Katara and Azula were then urged to climb onto the top spot of the podium alongside Toph so that their photos could be taken by all the press photographers.
Fortunately, Toph was soon whisked away for her press conference, leaving Katara and Azula behind. Still, in plain view of the large audience, and with Azula's father most likely being somewhere in the crowd, there was no way for them to share another moment of privacy. It was time to part for another year, and they both looked equally depressed by that thought, sharing one final exchange of somber stares before parting ways, Katara soon catching up with Sokka, Yue and Aang, while Azula disappeared in the crowd.
It was hard for Katara not to feel down at the conclusion of the tournament. She wasn't sure if she would ever get another chance like this to claim the coveted gold medal. And if she wasn't meant to take the title herself, she would have preferred that Azula took it, if only to avoid the brutal punishment by her father. However, none of this changed the fact that Toph had earned her victory and Katara wasn't going to begrudge her younger friend this amazing success. Come the evening, they would make sure to properly toast Toph's triumph in the tournament's after-party, even if Katara's heart wasn't truly in it anymore.
With Azula being absent at the tournament's after-party and Toph's victory having been toasted, Katara had only one reason to remain at the event, and that was to exact payback on a pair of revolting Fire Nation assholes. While she had promised Azula not to speak about what had happened on that particular evening, in the context of the promise what they both had meant was to not disclose the truth to the authorities. Katara would have been happy to follow Azula's wishes to the letter, but she didn't think that she could handle both Ruon-Jian and Chan all by herself, so she had told Yue and Sokka, while keeping it from Aang and Toph, not wanting to upset their younger friends.
To say that Sokka and Yue had been outraged would be an understatement. They had both immediately jumped aboard of Katara's idea to make Chan and Ruon suffer for what they had clearly intended to carry out with Azula. Between the three of them, they had hatched a plan. The after-party was being held in a fancy downtown nightclub, rented for the night exclusively for the contestants and those accompanying them. There was a car park right next to the club, and several trees on a patch of greenery behind the car park. With all the contestants still being minors, most of them had taken a cab to the nightclub, so the car park stood almost empty and eerily silent, the perfect place for their plan to teach the Fire Nation assholes a well deserved lesson.
It didn't take very long for both Ruon-Jian and Chan to have become quite inebriated and they were soon back to their old tricks, pestering the girls who appeared to be single for the evening, like Kori or On Ji. Katara and Toph were technically also single, but the two braggarts probably considered Toph too young to be an interesting target, and Katara made sure to always stay close with her group of friends, and so they hadn't dared to approach her yet. That would hopefully change once Katara and Yue put their plan into motion, the first part of which was to get Chan and Ruon to approach them.
For this to work, Sokka had discreetly disappeared, setting up an ambush outside, by the car park. Yue and Katara then went to sit by the bar, sipping their non-alcoholic cocktails, making sure to giggle insipidly and throw the occasional glance at Ruon and Chan. The bait was too tantalizing not to take and the pair of Fire Nation delinquents instantly made a beeline for the bar to chat them up. "Ladies, we noticed you were looking lonely over here," Ruon began, struggling not to slur his speech. "Care for some company?"
"What a silly question, of course they would care for our company," Chan chuckled, standing much closer to Katara than she really cared for. "How about a dance, baby?"
"I don't think so," Katara shook her head, then remembering to smile. "This lame Earth Kingdom music is getting us both down. We were thinking of slipping outside for a bit."
"But you can come along if you want," Yue added, managing to sound sultry. How she could act so convincingly without throwing up in her mouth, Katara had no idea. "I mean… we might need protection," Yue winked at Ruon.
"Well, you've come to the right guys, that's for sure," Ruon laughed drunkenly. "Although…" he leaned in closer to Yue. "I'm going to let you in on a secret. It's a lot more fun without protection."
"Haha, preach it, brother," Chan exclaimed, fist-bumping his good buddy. Katara exchanged disbelieving stares with Yue. The sleaziness of these two jerks was almost comical. "By the way… Yue, right? Didn't you have that useless boyfriend of yours hanging around?" Chan looked carefully around the place.
"We had an argument, so… I don't think I currently have a boyfriend," Yue lied smoothly. "In fact, I might be looking for a little payback."
"Sounds perfect," Ruon-Jian chuckled, glancing at Katara. "What about you, Katara? I didn't think you liked me and Chan all that much?"
"I'm just being a good wingwoman for my bestie," Katara shrugged in reply.
"Yeah, we're like each other's wingwomen," Yue giggled. "Now, are you coming with us for a walk or not?" It was a question that really didn't need to be asked. There was no way these two assholes would be able to resist two highly attractive and apparently willing Water Tribe beauties.
Less than a couple of minutes later, they were hanging out by the empty and quiet car park, Yue and Katara giggling as they ran off towards the patch of greenery, acting as if they expected the guys to chase after them. And chase they did. Not long after, Ruon had Yue pressed against a tree trunk, trying to kiss her, while Chan had his arms around Katara's waist, trying to pull her tightly against him. Katara put her arms against Chan's chest, trying to fight off his unwelcome drunk affections, praying that Sokka would spring the trap soon.
Fortunately, Sokka wasn't about to let them down, tapping on Chan's shoulder from behind. As Chan turned his head to look behind him, a sharp elbow exploded in his face, knocking him to the ground. At the same time, seeing that the action had kicked off, Yue rammed her right knee between Ruon's legs, smashing his family jewels. Ruon grunted and doubled over in pain. Sokka grabbed him by his hair and smashed Ruon's face in with his knee, breaking Ruon's nose. Within seconds, the two bastards were on the ground, groaning in pain.
Chan was the first to make the mistake of trying to get up and come at Sokka. The Water Tribe boy avoided the drunken swing aimed at his head, and stunned Chan with a clean uppercut to his jaw. With Chan staggering, Katara felt a surge of boldness and she stepped up to kick him right in the nuts, just like Yue had done to Ruon. Chan bent over from the pain, at which point Yue clonked him on the back of the head, hard, knocking him prone to the ground and this time Chan decided against trying to get up. Ruon-Jian apparently hadn't learned his lesson and was slowly propping himself up on his elbows, but Sokka unleashed a savage kick at his midsection. Ruon rolled over with a pained groan and lay still, clutching his ribs.
Satisfied, the threesome then returned to the nightclub. The nagging worry that this richly justified payback might come back to haunt them was bothering Katara a little bit, but she also knew that Chan and Ruon-Jian would never dare to go to the police, especially not Earth Kingdom police, considering what they had tried to do to Azula. Still, Katara, Yue and Sokka decided that it would be for the best to not take any additional risks and further tempt fate. It was time to collect Aang and Toph before getting the hell out of the nightclub and say their farewells to Ba Sing Se in the morning.
Next chapter: Let's see if Azula keeps her promise about staying in touch with Katara.