Chapter 63

Azula stood at the baggage carrousel in Caldera City Airport, nervously waiting for her luggage to appear on the conveyor belt. The mounting anxiety made it hard for her to stand still, so she began to pace back and forth, trying to ease her frayed nerves. A part of her still couldn't quite believe that she was back in the Fire Nation, and it was the same part of Azula that kept screaming at her that what she was about to attempt was a seriously terrible idea. Still, while she was terrified about facing her father again, now that the moment had arrived, she tried to console herself with the thought that it would all be over soon, for better or worse.

The weeks leading up to her departure had been pure torture. Azula could see how worried and stressed everyone was about her plan, assuming the worst and fearing that they would never see her again. It wasn't a completely unfounded fear, Azula had to admit it. Azula had tried her best to keep her cool and downplay the events, and she had tried to appear unaffected, but she also knew that she hadn't been successful. Regardless of how hard she had tried to keep Katara, Yue and Ty Lee from worrying about her, all of her friends had utterly failed to remain calm. Yue was holding it together the best, although Azula had still caught her sobbing a few times, and she had broken down completely upon saying their farewells when she and Katara departed for Agna Qel'a.

Ty Lee had been relentless about trying to talk Azula into letting her come along to the Fire Nation. Considering that Ozai had already targeted Ty Lee and her family once, Azula was unwilling to entertain said suggestion, regardless of how prettily Ty Lee begged. Katara's reaction had been the hardest to endure, though. Her Water Tribe girl had been crying, begging her not to go to the Fire Nation. When Azula had remained adamant, Katara had slipped into a depressively fatalistic state where she would simply repeat in a dull and listless voice how she wouldn't see Azula again if she made the trip. It had all been mentally very exhausting for Azula. In a way, she was glad that all the preparations were behind her and she was now committed to the plan. There was no backing out now, especially since her father had most likely known a long time in advance that she would be arriving for the Fire Nation qualifying tournament for the next year's U21 finals.

Finally, Azula spotted her red suitcase on the conveyor belt. Having swiftly grabbed it, Azula was on her way, determined to leave the airport as quickly as possible. Every stare from the airport security guards made Azula twitchy. Back in the Fire Nation, she immediately assumed that everyone here was a potential agent of her father. And it wasn't an unreasonable suspicion, either. Her father would have made sure to learn the number of her flight. Azula was fairly sure that her movements would be tracked from the moment she arrived. This was why she had been reluctant to call Mai and involve her, fearing that she would endanger her old friend. Still, Ty Lee had been particularly adamant that if she wasn't allowed to come along, then Azula would at least have to ask Mai, because as far as Ty Lee was concerned, it was dangerous for Azula to be alone. Ty Lee had even threatened to ask Mai herself, circumventing Azula. That was when Azula had given in and agreed to call Mai. As a result, Mai was now supposed to be waiting for her in the hall of arrivals.

Azula let out a breath of relief after she had finally navigated the last security checkpoint, now following the signs towards exit. Every time she had been asked to show her passport, Azula had been gripped with fear, expecting some trap arranged by her father. It seemed as if she was safe, at least for now, as she emerged in the hall of arrivals, looking around and quickly noticing her old friend, looking relaxed and casual as she stood there waiting for Azula. Mai looked as classy as ever, wearing a stylish red pantsuit. She had abandoned her traditional ox horns hairstyle, now wearing her hair straight at shoulder length, with an elaborate metallic headband and matching thin glasses with a metallic frame on the tip of her nose. Mai noticed her a moment later, waving at Azula. Mai appeared quite taken aback when Azula walked up to her old friend and surprised her with a firm hug.

"Okay, uh-" Mai was clearly a little shocked, although she did end up returning the embrace. "It is good to see you, although I'll admit, I did not expect a hug."

"Sorry, it's just something I do now," Azula smiled at her old friend. "I guess living with Katara, Yue and Ty Lee has changed me a bit. It's impossible to avoid hugs with those three."

"Well, that sounds awful," Mai rolled her eyes.

"I used to think that, but honestly, I was wrong," Azula sighed. "But then again, I've been wrong about so many things."

"Who are you, and what have you done to the Azula I knew?" Mai smirked. Azula moved to reply, but Mai quickly raised a hand to stop her. "I don't know everything that has happened to you, Azula, but from what little I have been able to piece together from the papers, I know that it must have been something big and life changing, because you really look like a different kind of person after all these years."

"I'll tell you what really happened, but not here," Azula said, looking around cautiously. "In fact, let's just get out of here, shall we?"

"Fine by me, as far as I'm concerned, nobody sane enjoys hanging out at an airport," Mai snorted, leading Azula out of the hall of arrivals and towards the car park. Azula was quite impressed with Mai's car, a very rare model of red Bugatti cabriolet. Azula immediately knew that it would have cost a pretty penny. "This was a gift from my parents for my twentieth birthday," Mai explained as if sensing Azula's thoughts as they got into the car.

"It's quite amazing," Azula smiled, listening to the hum of the powerful engine as Mai slowly but steadily pulled out of the car park.

"So," Mai began as they were on their way towards Caldera City proper. "We haven't been in touch for how long? Three years?" Azula nodded at that, cautiously watching the side mirror of the car, looking for anything suspicious. "Agni, you're acting like you expect us to be followed," Mai pointed out.

"Knowing my father, we probably are," Azula replied. "Then again, if they've seen you picking me up, then they will also know where to find me." Azula had not wanted to stay at the hotel during this visit, because she was paranoid about Ozai having paid off some of the staff to spy on her. And even though she had multiple copies of all the evidence she was bringing to confront her father with, Azula didn't necessarily want Ozai to learn her hand ahead of time.

"Yes, your father really is a piece of work," Mai snorted. "Still, I'm not intimidated by him. My dad is an expert bootlicker in the good books of Ozai Nakamura, so I think I'm going to be just fine letting you stay with me for these two weeks," she added. Mai's parents were renting a fairly exclusive four room apartment in downtown Caldera for her, supporting their daughter as she was busy studying to become a fashion designer.

"I think so, too," Azula nodded hopefully. If at the conclusion of her talk with her father, Ozai would decide to have her killed, she hoped that at least it would be done without Mai getting caught in the crossfire.

"Seriously though, Azula," Mai said, keeping her eyes firmly on the road ahead. "I didn't want to say it on the phone, but… I'm really grateful for what you did for Ty Lee. When she called me for the first time after all these years, I just got… well, I got emotional, okay? It happens to me once in a blue moon," Mai said, sounding defensive.

"I'm just relieved that I got an opportunity to undo that injustice," Azula nodded. "Ty Lee deserves the world for what she's been through. And I know that she misses you a lot, Mai. Phone conversations just aren't enough. You should come visit us in Ba Sing Se."

"I think I should, yes," Mai agreed. "Maybe the next time I get a couple of weeks off." They continued for a while in silence. Azula gradually began to relax. It didn't seem as if they were being followed. "So, you and Ty Lee are living under the same roof now," Mai suddenly spoke up in a meaningful tone of voice. "You understand that I had to ask Ty Lee whether you have resumed your making out practice sessions from five years ago."

"Oh, shut up, Mai," Azula rolled her eyes. "I'm not bugging you about your dating life, am I?"

"Feel free to do so, I have nothing to hide," Mai shrugged. "Honestly, I'm purposefully single. Consider it a form of protest about my father's pushing how I should just settle down with someone respectable. My parents still hope that I'll end up with Ruon-Jian."

Azula felt a brief wave of nausea coursing through her at the idea of the guy who had attempted to drunk rape her now dating Mai. "Please, promise me not to go for either Chan or Ruon. Those two are complete assholes," Azula said earnestly.

"Yeah, I don't need your approval either, although on this occasion, we are in complete agreement," Mai shrugged. "I don't intend to hook up with either of those losers. Anyway, now that you know how barren my love life currently is, spill the beans on yourself and Ty Lee."

"Look, I love Ty, but there's no going back to our innocent and childish experimental phase, okay?" Azula groaned. "Besides, she's pretty sweet on someone else. I think it's starting to get quite serious."

"Oh, has she hooked up with one of those Water Tribe girls living with you?" Mai smirked. "Katara? Or that other girl?"

Azula shuddered briefly as her wildly galloping imagination supplied her with a mental image of Katara and Ty Lee in a romantic situation, and she was suddenly hit with a massive wave of self-inflicted jealousy. She shook her head, cursing her own vivid imagination. "Ty Lee seems quite serious about Yue, yes," she said simply.

"She was that girl with the weird but pretty white hair, right?" Mai asked. Azula nodded at her. "Ty has good taste, which is weird considering that she used to be into you," Mai smirked. Azula glared at her old friend, playfully punching her in the shoulder. "Anyway, that leaves you and Katara…"

"Oh, for the love of… we are not having this discussion, Mai!" Azula groaned.

"Alright, I want you to tell me with a straight face that there's nothing between you and Katara," Mai laughed. Azula was left fuming, no words leaving her mouth. "Thought so," Mai smiled smugly. "Anyway, I didn't really need you to confirm it, Azula. I was just yanking your chain, bestie. While Ty Lee was keeping mum about Yue, she has been telling me all about how you and Katara are all over each other, playing a game of extreme denial. Seriously, Azula, aren't you afraid that when you finally get together, you might cause a tsunami or something with the release of so much pent up sexual energy?"

"Mai," Azula spoke in what she hoped was a dangerous tone of voice, glowering at her friend. "If I didn't need your help, I would strangle you right here and right now."

"Well, it's a good thing that you need my help then," Mai replied. "Honestly, I think you should rename your Ba Sing Se estate into something like the International House of Lesbians."

Azula had to laugh despite desperately trying to pretend that she was angry. "Well, I think that Katara's brother might object to that," Azula grinned.

"Oh, he's living with you as well?" Mai wondered. "Hmm, Ty Lee failed to mention that. I think I remember him from that one after-party in Caldera. What was his name again?"

"His name is Sokka, and he's pretty okay for a guy," Azula replied.

"I seem to remember that he was really cute," Mai mused. "Does he still sport that ridiculous wolf tail hairstyle?"

"Oh, he most certainly does," Azula said. Her lips twitched, forming a wicked smirk. "Also, I believe that he's currently single."

"Is he now?" Mai remarked, sounding curious. "You know, maybe I should visit Ba Sing Se sooner rather than later. I can just imagine my father's face if I told him that I was dating a Water Tribe boy. That alone would be worth it. Maybe then my father would back off about how I should become an honest woman by tying the knot with someone rich and boring."

"At least he's not forcing you into an arranged marriage," Azula shrugged.

"Is that what Ozai tried to do with you?" Mai sounded angry now.

"To begin with," Azula nodded. "But it got even worse. I'll tell you the important bits once we get to the apartment. Also, Yue's father forced her to marry that Hahn guy, you remember him from the Caldera after-party."

"Oh yes, he was one obnoxious kid," Mai sighed. "I've only met Yue once, but I'm feeling sorry for her already."

"Yeah, turned out that Hahn was a violent abuser and soon after the wedding, he started beating her," Azula said. "We got her out though, Katara, Sokka and I. Oh, and I suppose Zuko helped too."

"Hmm, your brother helped? That's interesting. And I'm glad that you were able to help Yue," Mai nodded approvingly. "Anyway, here we are," she said, turning off the street and into a driveway, leading into the yard of a luxury apartment complex. "Home, sweet home," Mai smiled as they got out of the car and retrieved Azula's luggage before heading inside.

Once Azula had dragged her luggage past the threshold and kicked off her stilettos, the first thing she wanted to do was to immediately call her father and arrange for a meeting. The longer the matter remained unresolved, the more it would weigh on her, fraying her nerves and affecting her performance at the Pai Sho board. While Azula was confident about easy qualification for the finals, she remembered the Ba Sing Se tournament. She knew that if she was mentally compromised in a very bad way, she could lose to even much weaker opponents, and she didn't want to compromise her chances of qualification. As much as she was terrified by the idea of merely hearing her father's voice after all this time, Azula knew that delaying her plan would only end up causing more damage.

As Azula stared at the phone in Mai's living room, urging herself to go ahead and dial the Caldera estate of the Nakamura family, Azula felt her resolve starting to melt. She felt overcome by a wave of sickening nausea, just from imagining hearing her father's voice. Mai was busying herself with something behind her, and when she came up to Azula, she was carrying a tumbler of amber colored liquid, passing it over to Azula. "I think you need a shot of the best whiskey I have," Mai gave her a nod. "It's good for courage."

"Thanks," Azula nodded, accepting the glass. She took a sip, wincing at the sharp smoky sensation burning the back of her throat. It felt pleasantly smooth as it went down the hatch, though. By the time Azula had emptied the tumbler, she felt that the crippling fear and anxiety had backed off a little. She needed to make the most of this moment before it passed again. "Alright, let's do it," she said, almost managing to sound confident as she picked up the phone and dialed the number from memory. Her call was answered moments later by one of the estate servants. "This is Azula Nakamura," she said, her voice remaining steady. "Please put me through to my father."

There was a moment of shocked silence on the other end of the line. The woman answering the phone clearly had not expected to hear Azula's voice. "Of… of course, miss Azula," the servant eventually recovered to say. "I will put you through to your father's office right now." Azula didn't respond to that, taking a deep breath and trying to steady herself for what was to come.

"Yes? Who is it?" Azula felt a powerful shudder running through her at the impatient sounding voice of her father. "Speak up, I am a busy man!"

"It's me," Azula said, hating how unsteady she sounded. Trying to project some kind of strength or confidence with her father just seemed impossible. It was as if Ozai was surrounded by some kind of a demoralizing aura.

"Azula, my sweet daughter, how lovely to hear your voice again!" her father's voice was practically dripping with poisoned honey. "My precious child, I have missed you so much. You have come back to play in the qualifiers, haven't you? I hoped you would get in touch with me."

"Yes, we need to talk," Azula said simply. As always, she seemed to lose all of her eloquence when speaking with her father.

"Of course, honey," Ozai spoke sweetly. "Come home, and we'll talk all you want, my darling. The estate is yours to use, obviously. Everything here is just as you left it, sweetheart."

Including the stains of your blood all over my bedroom? Azula thought morbidly. "I'll have to politely decline that offer," she forced herself to say. The idea of staying at the estate, even worse, in the room where it all had happened, it was making her absolutely queasy. "But I was hoping that we could have dinner together," she said.

"That sounds lovely, Azula." She could see her father grinning as he spoke. "I know just the place I'd love to take you to. You'll love both the food and the setting. It's a secluded country club where privacy is highly respected. I can send a car for you tomorrow evening."

"I don't intend to go to any place that's secluded with you," Azula raised her voice a little. She was terrified, but she was also getting angry because Ozai was saying all sorts of things as if to purposefully trigger her. "Let's meet at the restaurant of Hotel Royal tomorrow evening at seven o'clock."

"Unacceptable. You know perfectly well that the restaurant of Hotel Royal is of too low class for people like us, Azula," Ozai sounded displeased at her talking back.

"I think we'll manage for one evening," Azula replied. "I can assure you that you really want to know what I have to say."

"You have piqued my curiosity, honey," Ozai told her. He sounded deep in thought, probably wondering what she might have meant. "I'm afraid I can't make tomorrow evening, however."

Azula frowned at that comment. Earlier, Ozai was happy to meet her tomorrow evening if it was on his terms, but now he was suddenly busy. Her father was clearly playing for time, probably to prepare himself for their meeting by trying to find out what she was planning. Azula knew that she could not give Ozai the time to prepare. "It's either tomorrow evening, or you can learn what I had to say to you from the newspaper articles the day after," she said.

"Hmm, if I didn't know that you were incredibly intelligent, Azula, I would almost think that you just did something as incredibly foolish as to threaten me," Ozai replied, sounding unimpressed. "Very well, my pretty little rebel, have it your way, we'll meet tomorrow evening. I can't wait to see the display of defiance you think you have prepared. Just know that sooner or later you will come crawling back to me, begging on your knees-"

"Seven o'clock tomorrow evening, and no tricks," Azula cut in sharply, interrupting Ozai. "Be there, or I'll make sure that you regret it," she added, disconnecting the call and then slamming the handset back in place with force, almost breaking it. Mai sighed disapprovingly behind her back.

"Well, that sounded worse than any of the phone calls I have with Ukano," Mai remarked.

Yeah, probably because he hasn't tried to rape you, Azula thought to herself. "No kidding," she said. "You still have some of that whiskey?" she asked.

"Coming right up," Mai nodded. "So, I don't know exactly what you're planning on doing, Azula, but are you sure that it's a good idea?"

"I can either live the rest of my life in constant fear, or I can do something about it by confronting my father. I know which option I'm choosing," Azula said, accepting the refilled tumbler from Mai. "There's a chance that my father will try to kidnap me, or perhaps even have me killed, but by meeting in a public place like the hotel restaurant, hopefully I can decrease those risks," she mused.

"Whoa, okay," Mai said, looking a little disturbed by Azula's words. "Maybe now would be a good time for you to tell me what exactly happened between you and your father, because I'm starting to get some seriously bad vibes here."

"That's a fair request, considering that against my better judgment I have kind of dragged you into this whole mess," Azula admitted. "Although, honestly, Ty Lee deserves most of the blame for that, she was insistent that I ask you for help."

"I'm glad she did, because it sounds like you could use the support," Mai said. "Anyway, back to you and your father?"

"Alright, I'll tell you everything, Mai," Azula sighed. She then pointed at her once again empty tumbler. "I might need more whiskey to get through that story, though."

Katara and Yue's return to Agna Qel'a did not promise to be a fun and relaxing trip and it was definitely not off to a good start. Even though Yue needed to relax in order to play well enough to qualify for the finals, it was clear that she would struggle to do that when their close friend was putting herself into an extraordinary amount of danger back in the Fire Nation. Yue was the favorite to qualify, but because of Katara already in the finals as the defending champion, there was only one berth up for grabs for all the Water Tribe hopefuls. And even if Yue was the best player among the participants, Siku Ikuma was an emerging talent and the two Waska sisters, Nutha and Niyok, were also capable of springing a surprise. Yue would need to be on top of her game to qualify, and under such mental pressure, it would be no easy task.

Of course, Katara was even more out of sorts because of Azula's decision to face her father with this dangerous plan of hers. On some days, Katara felt like she was absolutely losing it. Her new meds helped, but only a little and she had felt the urge to reach for Librium yet again, only to discover that her secret stash had vanished. As it turned out, one day during her afternoon lectures, Yue and Ty Lee had gone through her personal belongings, collecting each and every pill Katara had hoarded, and then they had washed her Librium supply down the drain. Katara had ended up shouting at the pair for the invasion of her privacy, but Yue had stood up to her and defended her actions, calling Katara out for being stupid and irresponsible. When Azula had heard about Katara having a secret Librium stash, she had taken Yue's side. That had hurt, but it had also forced Katara to reexamine her actions and eventually with heavy heart concede that Yue and Ty Lee had done her a big favor. She had ended up apologizing to her friends and they had all made up shortly afterwards.

Resting on the hotel bed and watching Yue speaking on the phone as she sat at the nearby desk, Katara had to admit that neither of them was in a healthy frame of mind for Pai Sho, and yet, Katara was determined to do everything she could to make sure that Yue reached the finals. Without her family fortune, Yue could no longer hope to secure a wild card for herself in case she failed to qualify directly. And speaking of family, it was yet another aspect why Yue was so stressed about returning to Agna Qel'a. Yue fully expected that Arnook would at some point try and make contact with her, and she had stated that she definitely was not interested in a reunion. Hahn would probably also make an appearance at the tournament at some point. Even though his pro career had crashed and burned straight out of the starting gate, for some reason he was still very popular in the Pai Sho circles. He had the wealth, the looks, if sadly not the personality, but there was always a flock of groupies following Hahn around, Katara recalled that from as far as four or five years ago.

"Is everything fine back home?" Katara asked after Yue finally got off the phone with Ty Lee.

"Yes, I think so," Yue replied with a shrug. "Ty is just being a bit petulant."

"What's she petulant about?" Katara wondered. She had observed Ty Lee and Yue growing closer over the past few weeks. And lately, as a very light sleeper, Azula had caught Yue sneaking into Ty Lee's room during the night on more than one occasion, so things were definitely heating up. Katara was happy for the two girls. Ty Lee didn't seem the type of girl that Yue would normally go for although Katara admitted that she was possibly being a little unfair. Katara was getting along well enough with Ty Lee, but they hadn't bonded fully yet. Katara was sure that it was just a matter of time, though.

"Well, after Azula blew her off, she really wanted to come with me. She became really upset when I said that I needed your Pai Sho expertise instead." Yue sighed. "And no, before you even ask, she's not jealous towards you, Kat… or at least I don't think so. But I feel like she's trying to get back at me a bit by trying to make me jealous."

"That's a little bitchy, honestly," Katara frowned.

"Yes, although I can kind of understand her," Yue sighed. "She got rejected twice in a row, so she was probably feeling really down, and I guess I didn't do a good enough job at reassuring her. So now she's getting back at me by low-key flirting with Sokka."

"Are you serious?" Katara exclaimed.

Yue nodded quickly. "She knows I'm a bit sensitive about that. Remember how when Sokka moved in with us, Ty Lee's first words upon seeing him was 'hey, that guy has a cute butt'?"

"She sometimes blurts out stuff without thinking, yes," Katara rolled her eyes.

"I know, and I got mad about that, so I guess she knows that I'm a bit insecure when it comes to her and Sokka," Yue sighed. "I don't think she would cheat, though, and I especially don't think that Sokka would sign up for cheating on me. But when we return to Ba Sing Se, I'm going to sit down with Ty and tell her that I don't need this sort of drama."

"I'm a little worried about you two, I'll be honest," Katara confessed. She really wanted Yue to be happy. Heck, she wanted Ty Lee to be happy as well. She just wasn't sure she saw them together as a functional couple. "I sometimes don't think Ty Lee has the emotional maturity to make it work."

Yue looked a little conflicted at her words. "I can understand why you would think so, Kat. Ty Lee can sometimes seem a bit ditzy and childish when she blurts out something silly that's on the tip of her tongue," Yue said. "But honestly… she's more than that. I've seen her showing capacity for some pretty unique insights that I would never consider myself. Because of the hardships Ty has endured, she sees people in a different light than we do, Kat. There's a deeply sensitive and hurt young woman underneath that childish façade that still sometimes wants to lash out in immature ways."

"Oh," Katara managed, suddenly feeling guilty. "Now I feel like I have completely misjudged her. I promise to do better and be more supportive to you both. I guess I have been feeling extra protective towards you in particular, but I shouldn't feel like I have to protect you from Ty Lee. She's one of us now, after all."

"Don't worry, Kat, you've been great, as always," Yue smiled at her, sitting down next to her on the bed. They had agreed to hang out in Yue's room, and Katara predicted that her own room would see very little use. Now that the romantic tension between them no longer felt so powerful, they felt comfortable doing a permanent sleepover because they both were certain that nothing inappropriate would occur.

"Has she made any progress in contacting her family?" Katara asked. This was a little project that Ty Lee was working on when she wasn't busy at the teahouse. Ty Lee was trying to track down her family, the Watanabes having moved so many times since Ty Lee had tossed herself out on the street, that it seemed almost impossible to find them. With Yue's help, however, Ty Lee was starting to make some headway.

"Yes, Ty Lee just got a lead that her parents might be working as farmhands southwest of Ba Sing Se," Yue replied. "They were last seen a few months ago in a remote village just outside the outer walls. We'll probably have to drive down there ourselves after I get back to Ba Sing Se. There's only so much research one can do on the phone."

"True enough," Katara admitted. "Did you ask Ty Lee whether she has called Mai yet?"

"She hasn't called, no," Yue replied, smiling at her friend. "Kat, you can just call yourself. I can see that it's killing you."

"No, Azula would have only just arrived, I don't want to appear desperate and panicking," Katara argued.

"But you are desperate and panicking," Yue pointed out.

"Well, yes… but I don't want Azula to know that," Katara sighed. "I mean, she probably knows that, but I don't want to remind her of it. She has so much on her plate to worry about already. She doesn't need the distraction of thinking about how I'm losing my mind here."

Yue leaned in and embraced her tightly. "You poor dear," she cooed softly. "It's going to be alright, Kat. Azula knows what she's doing." Katara turned her head to give Yue an incredulous stare. Yue coughed lightly. Indeed, it was foolish to pretend that either of them felt particularly confident about Azula's plan.

Next chapter: It's time for the big showdown as Azula finally confronts her father.