Chapter 51

The following two rounds provided little challenge to Katara. Neither young Siku Ikuma, nor Ghashiun al-Alawi could live with the improvements Katara had made to her game over the past year. Living under the same roof with Azula and constantly sparring with her as well as with Uncle Iroh, had elevated Katara's game to a new level. Katara was also playing with newfound confidence, much of which was due to Azula constantly insisting that she had what it takes to win the title this year. The thought that Azula earnestly believed in her so strongly was incredibly empowering and inspiring.

But Katara's rivals were not about to wave the white flag at the mere sight of her. As predicted, both Zuko and Haru were off to strong starts as well, the two of them winning their three opening round matches. The strong play of Teo Guyuk was a surprise to many spectators, but not to Katara and Azula. The Earth Kingdom boy was half a point adrift of the three leaders, with Kori Morishita and Hahn Adjuk another half a point behind. To Katara's annoyance, Hahn seemed to be playing better than he did during the Water Tribe qualifiers. Also, she hadn't been able to pick out Yue anywhere in the crowd of spectators, and Katara couldn't help but feel worried about her old friend's absence. She really hoped that everything was alright with Yue.

Katara didn't feel particularly exhausted after the first three rounds of competition, but she still felt grateful when the first off day of the tournament arrived. She and Azula had made plans to spend the afternoon with Sokka and Suki, but before heading out to meet her brother and his girlfriend, Katara had agreed to spend a few hours in the morning on a little practice session with her fellow Water Tribe contestant Siku Ikuma. Katara had actually made the offer herself, having noticed that young Siku had appeared very downcast after suffering three defeats in a row. Siku was an obviously talented girl, someone who had started playing Pai Sho unusually late, only at the age of eleven, but she was catching up very fast. However, she was also very shy and introverted, and seemed to become deeply withdrawn when the results weren't going her way.

Wanting to help out her compatriot, Katara had approached Siku and offered her to practice together ahead of the next three rounds, a proposition that Siku had gratefully accepted. Katara was relieved that Azula hadn't become angry about her being foolishly generous towards her rivals. In fact, Azula had actually joined in their little practice session and offered some very helpful advice. When they had finished practicing around lunchtime, Siku had left looking a lot more upbeat and determined, and Katara had a feeling that her compatriot would soon score her first points of the tournament.

Having enjoyed a light lunch at the hotel's cafeteria, the two girls then got ready to head out, leaving the hotel and walking up to Sokka's refurbished Lincoln Capri waiting for them at the hotel's car park. Katara was rather surprised when she saw Sokka alone in the car, with no sign of Suki. As her brother got out of the car to greet them, she was about to ask him about Suki's absence, but Azula quickly cut Katara off with her own question.

"So, we agreed that you're going to let me drive, right?" Azula asked hopefully, her eagerness making Katara smile. After Sokka had put in so much time and money into reviving this old car, Katara didn't blame her brother for being cautious. However, Katara by now knew that Azula was an excellent driver (although maybe not the most patient instructor!) with top notch reflexes and Sokka really had no reason to worry about the Capri getting damaged.

"Sure," Sokka shrugged agreeably. "Like I said before, I'm all for letting you drive if it lets me enjoy a beer or two, and I really feel like getting a little smashed."

"Does it have anything to do with Suki not being here?" Katara asked, eyeing her brother for his reaction.

"Maybe," Sokka said. It looked like he wasn't going to elaborate, though, so Katara gave him a hard stare. "Look, it's probably nothing. She's always swamped with work during these tournaments. The editors back in Ba Sing Se expect constant updates from her. The Harmony Ring didn't send anyone else with her, no support staff, so she has to do everything by herself."

Katara wanted to interrogate her brother some more because she was convinced that he wasn't giving her the full story. However, Azula had already slipped into the driver's seat, looking impatient, so Katara quickly got into the passenger seat, leaving Sokka with no option but to get into the backseat. "So, where are we going?" Azula asked.

"I was thinking we could hit this really cool pub that's run by the parents of my co-worker, this guy Nuktuk," Sokka replied. Azula made a face at the mention of a pub, but elected to voice no actual complaints. "'The Panda and the Raccoon' is a few miles outside the capital, but it's definitely worth the trip. You'll want to take a couple of right turns once we get out of the car park and then turn left as soon as we hit the A11."

"Got it," Azula nodded simply as she turned on the ignition. Her face lit up with a smile as the powerful V8 engine roared to life, and soon enough they were on their way. Azula was clearly fighting the urge to disrespect the speed limit, but so far she was succeeding in combating the temptation, which was a good thing because the conditions were rather challenging, fine, powdery snow falling and making visibility less than great.

"Sokka?" Katara asked, eager to resume the conversation once she had noticed that her brother had relaxed, reassured by Azula's confident handling of his beloved vehicle. "What's really going on with Suki? Did you have a falling out? Is she mad at you for something?"

Sokka let out a heavy sigh. "We didn't have a falling out as such," he grumbled. "But yes, I think she's a little angry at me." Katara turned to look at him, urging Sokka to go on. "I feel like she expected me to have moved to Ba Sing Se by now already. And I just think that it's a little unfair, because I had told her that it would take time for me to finish up everything here."

"If you have made that clear to her, then she's clearly being unreasonable," Azula said.

"Yeah, I think so too," Sokka looked grateful for the support. "She thinks I shouldn't have poured all this money into the car when I could have used it for the move to Ba Sing Se. But it's not just about the money, as I've told her many times before. I want to finish the courses I've started at the community college. They'll be over by the end of June, at which point I'll have enough money saved up again that I'll be able to make the move. She's just being impatient and is riding my ass hard about how she wants me there sooner."

"Obviously, I'm on your side, Sokka," Katara said. "But she probably feels lonely and misses you. I can't blame her for wanting to have more time with you."

"Yeah, I get that, but then it's just a little annoying that she comes to Agna Qel'a and is now kind of ghosting me a bit," Sokka sighed. "I guess she's trying to make a point, or something? Anyway, I don't think it's really cool."

"Yes, it sounds like she's trying to pressure you into moving," Katara nodded.

"I think she's simply being a bitch," Azula said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe it's time to move on."

"Azula!" Katara exclaimed, scowling at her friend. "How about applying a little more tact, please?"

"Don't worry, Kat, she does have a point," Sokka laughed. "I just don't have a great track record with girlfriends and that's a fact. Maybe it's the distance, but it didn't help with Yue and it's not helping with Suki. Damn, girls are complicated, right? I wish there was something else a guy could date."

"Uh, don't be ignorant, Sokka, you know perfectly well that plenty of guys date other guys and that should be considered totally normal by everyone," Katara sighed at her brother.

"Haha, no, I don't think that's for me," Sokka winked at her. He then chuckled to himself. "Although… damn, you should see that co-worker of mine, Nuktuk. That guy is so ripped, and so totally oblivious to all these cute girls throwing themselves at him."

"Do you think he might be gay?" Azula asked. "It sounds like a strong possibility to me, even if I don't know him."

"You know, it's really strange that I am only now starting to consider this possibility," Sokka said. "I think you might be onto something there, Azula. Still," he said, winking at his sister. "I'm happy you came out, Kat, but don't expect me to follow into your footsteps, because there's nothing for me to come out about. I'm just doomed to keep tragically falling for hard to please girls."

"Uh-huh," Katara rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sokka. Anyway, how far is this famous pub of yours?" she asked.

"We're about a mile away," Sokka replied. "Azula, get off the highway when you see a large signpost of an arctic panda and a snow raccoon."

"Are you being serious right now?" Azula asked.

"What, it doesn't sound classy enough for you?" Sokka chuckled. "I thought you worked as a waitress at a chain teahouse?"

Azula winced at Sokka's words. "Ugh, fair point. I'll remember you throwing that in my face, though," she glared a little. "But at least you're letting me drive, so I guess I'll forgive and forget."

A quarter of an hour later, Katara, Sokka and Azula were sitting at a table in one of the strangest pubs Katara had ever visited. 'The Panda and the Raccoon' was decorated with props from the set of one of the first TV series ever shot, a thirty year old adventure comedy. Katara found the props quite amusing, although there was something a little off about the animal costumes, especially when it came to the massive arctic panda. Something about its expression felt really creepy to Katara. Clearly, the expression had been intended to come off as friendly, and even cuddly, but Katara couldn't help but feel that the panda's slightly crossed eyes gave it a scary and demented look. It was an expression that seemed to say 'I'm going to hug you so hard that your eyes will pop out of their sockets, and then I'm going to drink your blood'.

Waiting for their meal, Sokka had ordered a couple of beers, while Katara went for a bottle of Chardonnay. Katara was happy to allow Azula enjoy a small glass, provided that she also drank plenty of water, while Katara poured herself a large glass. She definitely intended to take things easy, however. Tomorrow was a new match day, and she couldn't afford to indulge. Kori Morishita was one of those tricky players who could be awful one day, but brilliant and dangerous the next day, and you could never be quite sure which one of the Kori's you were going to get. That was why Katara wasn't going to take any chances with her next round opponent.

"So, maybe I shouldn't be asking you this," Sokka eventually spoke up after they had been sitting in silence for a while, examining the weird pub décor in bemused fascination. "But I hope that whole business with Bato hasn't created a distraction. I was really struggling, wondering whether to tell you at all, so I hope I didn't make the wrong decision and that it's not going to become a problem."

Katara sighed inwardly at her brother's words. Of course, what had happened to Bato was absolutely horrific, but it was because of reasons that Sokka wasn't even aware of. Now that Sokka kept bringing it up, Katara was starting to feel guilty about her decision to keep what she and Azula had discovered in Puffin Creek to themselves. And after keeping the secret of her feelings for Yue from Sokka for so long, Katara had decided that she was going to be more honest with her brother. Maybe it was time to come clean about what they had learned before the guilt began to cause problems for her. Besides, Sokka was a big boy. Katara was sure that he could handle the truth better than he could handle being kept out of the loop.

"I'm honestly not dealing with it very well, Sokka, even if my results don't suggest that," Katara admitted. "But it's more than just about Bato's death. There's… something linked to it that you don't know about, Sokka, and I'm sorry about having kept it from you until now."

Sokka immediately looked alarmed and tense. "Okay, what are you talking about now, Kat?" he asked, sounding nervous.

"Katara, don't," Azula turned towards her. She looked really worried and disapproving.

"I'm sorry, Azula, but I just can't keep this from my brother," Katara gave her an apologetic puppy stare. Azula tried to withstand it, attempting to glare, but it was to no avail. The Fire Nation girl let out a resigned sigh and shook her head, giving up on her attempts to discourage Katara. "Sokka, when Azula and I visited Cape Kuruk last winter, we found something that shocked me to my very core. You see, many years ago, Azula's paternal grandfather had bought property in Puffin Creek."

"Really?" Sokka's eyes widened. "I never knew about that."

"It was news to me as well when Azula told me about it," Katara replied. "Anyway, the important part is that Ozai Nakamura had also visited the estate occasionally, which is why Azula wanted to go there and investigate it, and I went with her. We entered the estate… not exactly through legal means-"

"Well, Azulon Nakamura is my grandfather, so I think I had every right to be there," Azula shrugged.

"That's not really the issue here, Azula," Katara said quickly. She turned back to face her brother again. "We found something in that estate, Sokka. There was an old, abandoned car there, hidden underneath a tarp. It was a red Pontiac, and it looked to have been involved in an accident. Like… maybe the driver had hit something, or someone."

"No," Sokka stared at her hard. He looked to be shaking a little. "You're not saying…"

"Azula and I did some crunching of the dates, and everything seems to fit," Katara sighed. "We both think it's the car that… you know," she suddenly began to tear up, quickly taking a large swig of the Chardonnay. "Mom," she finished with a whisper.

"Fucking hell," Sokka breathed out, looking enraged. "Your fucking father doing a hit and run on our mom?" he turned on Azula. The Fire Nation girl winced before nodding. "Is there any crime that monster isn't guilty of? Spirits, I really want to hurt him so bad right now."

"Get in line," Azula shrugged.

"Yeah, no fucking kidding," Sokka growled. He then looked at his sister, Katara barely holding it together. "Also, what the hell, Kat? You were just going to sit on this? Don't you think that your family deserves to know what really happened to mom?"

"Hey, back off, Sokka," Azula jumped in, seeing that Katara was on the verge of tears. "I convinced her not to tell anyone, alright? You want to be angry with someone, well, tear into me then."

"And why would you insist that Katara doesn't tell us the truth?" Sokka asked. He sounded more curious than angry, however.

"Because I don't want anyone in Katara's family ending up like Bato, dumbass," Azula sighed at him.

"What… what are you talking about?" Sokka gasped.

"Azula is right, Sokka," Katara said. She had managed to get her raging emotions under some semblance of control by now. The wine was definitely helping. "Azula told me not to tell anyone about what we had found, but I just couldn't leave things like that, so I went and told Bato about it. And now he's dead, Sokka. Bato is dead likely because of what I told him."

"You can't know that, Kat," Sokka argued. He did look quite disturbed, however. "Tell my sister it's not her fault," he looked at Azula.

"It's the fault of whoever ordered the hit, and it's more than likely my father," Azula replied. "But I did try to tell Katara how dangerous this knowledge is, which is why I'm not happy that you're now in the loop. I don't think Katara should feel guilty, however. We don't know what your policeman friend did to attract my father's attention. His demise was quite likely his own fault. Maybe he was digging into the case too ham-fistedly. Maybe he thought he could use this information to blackmail my father with."

"Bato would never do that!" Sokka exclaimed. Katara nodded along with him.

"Yes, Katara already yelled at me for saying that," Azula scowled. "But I think you underestimate the lure of riches. My father would probably be willing to pay millions for this problem to go away. Your friend could have afforded to retire to Kyoshi Island to live out his days surrounded by wealth and in comfort. It's a powerful allure."

"I still think that's unlikely," Sokka said. "Anyway, we can't leave it like that. What should we do now?"

"Are you kidding me?" Azula blinked. "Do you still have any doubts about how much danger you're in? You must forget about all of this, both you and Katara."

"We can't just forget about the death of our mother, Azula," Katara shook her head. Sokka nodded in agreement.

"I haven't been able to convince her," Azula sighed, glancing at Katara. "I thought maybe you could. I mean, you don't want anything bad to happen to your sister, do you?" she looked at Sokka. "Have you considered that Bato might have said something that could lead back to Katara?"

Sokka paled at that. "Yeah, I hadn't thought of that," he admitted. "Obviously, I don't want to put Katara into harm's way. But I also know that we can't just drop this," he sighed, looking at Azula. "What do you suggest? I take it that you have some sort of a plan."

"Yes, I have a plan, which is why I suggest that you leave it all to me," Azula said. She sounded both determined and confident. "I'll take care of my father, once the time is right."

"What does that mean?" Katara asked nervously.

"I have to collect as much dirt on him as I can, and then I'm going to hit him with all of it at once," Azula replied. "I'm the only one who can feel safe doing that. He wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone, but he would not kill me, I know that now."

"I am incredibly not okay with the idea of you ever facing your father again, Azula," Katara said, managing to sound calmer than she felt. Inside, she was shaking like a leaf, terrified about what facing Ozai could do to Azula.

"I'm not going to do that anytime soon, Katara. I know that I'm not ready to even look at him, alright? I am not that stupid," Azula scoffed. "But I'll have to face him eventually. Or do you want me to live under his shadow for the rest of my life?"

"Of course, I don't want that!" Katara exclaimed heatedly. "I just can't stand the thought of him doing something that hurts you yet again. I know that he will probably try something to bring you back, and I just… I don't want that to happen, okay?"

"I understand," Azula said. Her expression had softened considerably by now. "We don't have to discuss it now. I'm miles away from being ready to face my father, so we don't need to talk about something that upsets you so much. Especially during an important tournament, when we need to keep you relaxed."

"You're right, of course," Katara replied, smiling gratefully at Azula. With the corner of her eye, she noticed Sokka eyeing them both curiously and the look on his face made Katara blush slightly. "Anyway! Uh, Sokka… I just wanted to ask you to at least keep this from dad and Gran-Gran. Do you think it's okay if we don't endanger them with this information?"

"I would say that they deserve to know, but… I get where you're coming from, Kat," Sokka nodded. "Fine, my lips will stay sealed," he added, then waving to one of the waitresses to order another beer. "Anyway, since we're being totally honest with one another here, there's something that I haven't told you, sis," Sokka added, having taken a sip and wiped off his beer moustache.

"How angry am I going to be on a scale of one to ten?" Katara asked warily.

"Probably closer to ten than to one," Sokka gulped. "With that said, I was sworn to secrecy by someone else, so this isn't something that I'm meant to be telling you. Still, I think it was a seriously unreasonable request and it's just an overall stupid idea to honor something like that."

"Is this something that you two should discuss in private?" Azula asked. She did not look completely comfortable with being a part of this conversation.

"Honestly, I've kind of started to think of you as a part of the family, so I'm fine with you hearing it," Sokka shrugged at her.

"I can't believe I'm actually not outraged by that statement," Azula rolled her eyes. "How the mighty have fallen."

"Anyway, theatrics aside, what did you want to tell me, Sokka?" Katara insisted impatiently.

"It's… about Yue," Sokka sighed, Katara's eyes widening in surprise at his words. Azula, on the other hand, immediately appeared tense. "I've had a couple of run-ins with her over the past few months. She asked me not to mention any of this to you, because she doesn't want you to worry about her."

"That's a ridiculous thing to say because I've already been worrying about her!" Katara exclaimed angrily. "How is she doing?"

Sokka appeared deeply uncomfortable. Before he could reply, however, Azula stood up from the table. "I need to use the restroom," she said in a stony voice, walking away.

"Sokka?" Katara spoke insistently when her brother seemed distracted by Azula's departure. "What's going on with Yue?"

"Her arranged marriage with Hahn is a complete disaster, of course," Sokka sighed. "Every moment of her existence is filled with regret about making such a stupid choice."

Even though Katara's feelings for Yue had slightly changed and became less intense over time, hearing this still caused a stab of pain shooting through Katara's chest. "Spirits, I tried to tell her that she was making a mistake, I really did," she said, just about managing to stifle a sob. "How bad is it?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's really bad," Sokka frowned. "If I ever catch that Hahn guy somewhere without witnesses, he's going to wish he'd never touched a hair on Yue's head. But yeah, he's being really nasty towards her. He's jealous that she's the better Pai Sho player. Every time Yue makes him feel like he's inferior to her, he gets angry. And now and then, he also becomes violent."

Katara's eyes widened at Sokka's words. "Is he beating her?" she gasped, feeling horrified.

"It has happened a few times as far as I know," Sokka said. "She sought me out after one of those beatings, just looking for a place to lay low and feel safe for a while. I tried to convince her to go to the police, but she didn't want to hear about it. I don't know what Yue is thinking, but for some reason she is trying to convince herself that she can make this work. She clearly can't. Her father is too weak and won't defend her, and it's only emboldening Hahn to treat her worse and worse."

"Damn it," Katara sighed. "She's probably too proud to ask us for help. And she doesn't want to admit that she made a mistake when she decided not to listen to me and instead go along with her father's plans. Yue, what are you doing, girl? I wish we could get her out of this situation."

"I tried my best to convince her, Kat," Sokka shrugged. "Maybe if you joined me in trying to persuade her, but first we'd have to find her, and I wouldn't know where to look for her."

"Ugh," Katara made a face. "I was afraid of something like this. I thought there was something off with Hahn acting so smug and Yue never being around at the tournaments. Sokka, if she comes to you again, please, try your best to convince her to seek help. And try to get her to call me. Maybe I can talk some sense into her."

"I'll do that, Kat," Sokka nodded. "Although," he glanced towards the doors to the ladies' restroom. "Azula doesn't seem very keen on you reconnecting with Yue."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked. "Azula and Yue are good friends. I'm pretty sure that Azula wouldn't want Yue to suffer."

"Not quite what I meant," Sokka smirked. "Well, it kind of leans into what I was going to ask you, anyway. What's going on with you two?"

Katara felt her cheeks becoming embarrassingly hot and pink. "I've no idea what you mean, Sokka," she tried, completely unconvincingly.

"Come on, sis," Sokka rolled his eyes. "You've been living together under the same roof for several months, just the two of you, all alone in a big mansion. That seems kind of… couple-y, you know?" he winked at her.

"By the spirits, no! There's nothing like that going on, I can assure you," Katara firmly shook her head.

"Yeah, but you wish something like that was going on, don't you?" Sokka looked amused at her attempts of denial. Katara just glared at him. "Come on, I've seen the way you guys look at each other, how you talk to each other. And the way Azula just ran off after you started to show so much concern for Yue."

"She just had to visit the restroom, you dolt," Katara sighed.

"You're not being serious, Kat. I mean, she was totally jealous," Sokka chuckled.

"You think so?" Katara asked. She then realized that she had sounded hopeful, and that made her blush anew. "Anyway, I'm sure you're mistaken," she added hastily.

"Look, just stop it, alright? You're pretty much digging the hole deeper with every word that comes out of your mouth," Sokka's ridiculous grin couldn't have been any wider than it currently was. "I just want to know why you guys aren't like dating or already seriously together. You're so painfully into each other."

Katara groaned. "Spirits, I hate being so stupidly obvious!" she exclaimed. "But to answer your question truthfully, after everything that Azula went through last year with Ozai, the asylum and the therapy, I just… I don't know. I don't want to rush into something. I know it doesn't look that way, but she's more fragile than she appears. I don't want to hurt her. Besides, I'm not fully convinced that she feels the same way as I do."

"Seriously, you don't have to worry about that. I've caught her literally devouring you with her eyes, it's so gross," Sokka laughed. "Also, be careful about how long you wait for her to be ready. I'd hate to see you let an opportunity to be happy slip by you, sis. I know that you really wanted to have something with Yue. Don't deny yourself this when you don't have to, Katara."

"I… I'll keep that in mind, Sokka," Katara managed. Honestly, what Sokka had just told her was quite eye opening and far more insightful than she would have expected from her brother. It seemed that she would have to do some more soul searching and reexamining of her priorities very soon. Still, right now, this discussion would have to be tabled because she saw Azula emerging from the restroom and walking towards them before sitting down at their table.

"So, are you two done discussing Yue?" Azula asked, trying desperately to sound neutral.

"Oh, we were done with that a while ago," Katara replied, deciding to downplay her interest in Yue's fate. If Azula was indeed feeling jealous, Katara wanted to do her best to reassure the other girl.

"What were you talking about so excitedly then?" Azula inquired.

Katara frowned as she noticed Sokka waggling his eyebrows at her. "Oh, I was just telling my brother what a massive dork he really is," she added, sighing as she rolled her eyes at Sokka.

Next chapter: The tournament progresses and Katara continues her strong play, even if her emotional turmoil is starting to show more and more.