Chapter 76
Together with her friends and fellow Pai Sho competitors, Azula arrived on Kyoshi Island a day before start of the tournament, as was the customary practice. They had spoken at length about their living arrangements on the island, and Azula had been able to persuade the other girls to pass on their paid for cheap hotel rooms and instead use the estate fund to rent a large seaside cottage for the two weeks of tournament. As soon as Azula had laid her eyes on the cottage, she knew that they had made a wise investment for the place was absolutely splendorous and in an ideal location, practically on the beach and half a mile from the local exposition center where the tournament was being held. The cottage had four bedrooms, but Azula and Katara were obviously sharing, and so were Yue and Ty Lee, which left two bedrooms unused.
Aang had decided to stick with his hotel room, stating that since he wasn't contributing enough to the estate fund just yet, he didn't want to take advantage of the others. Azula, Katara and Yue had discussed the matter before offering Aang to stay with them anyway, but he had still declined, somewhat surprisingly. Katara reasoned that perhaps Aang wanted to stay closer to Toph and Teo. Toph had rented a posh apartment for herself and Teo which was even closer to the expo center, so that it would be easier for Teo to get around.
Ty Lee's presence had not been planned to begin with, but as the start of the tournament neared, she had begun to push more and more to be included. Yue had tried to warn her girlfriend that this wasn't some kind of a pure pleasure trip, the amount of practice and match analysis they did every day was considerable, and Ty Lee was someone who got bored very quickly. Unfortunately, Ty Lee had taken Yue's attempts to talk her out of coming along completely the wrong way. After the two of them had come close to breaking up during the winter holiday, Azula had been certain that the two girls had patched up their differences. Azula had been taken by surprise when Katara had told her that Yue and Ty Lee were arguing again. Apparently, Ty Lee still hadn't forgotten Azula's stupid off-handed comment about the threesome, and the biggest reason why Ty Lee had decided to tag along was that she wanted to prevent a repeat of the Omashu celebrations. Yue felt really upset that Ty Lee would not trust her word that nothing of the sort would happen without Ty's permission, and Azula thought that Yue had all the reasons to feel upset. After all, Yue had handled the matter responsibly and had asked Ty Lee beforehand. Azula hated to assign blame to Ty Lee for anything, but she couldn't help but feel that this entire situation was manufactured in large part by Ty Lee's sudden jealousy.
Having flown into Kyoshi around the midday, by afternoon the four of them had already settled into their temporary home base and were lounging on the terrace adjacent to the cottage, idly studying their tournament schedule. They were all in their bathing suits, trying to make good use of the warm afternoon sun. Azula, Katara and Yue sat around the table, sipping on their sodas, while Ty Lee had climbed into the hammock at the end of the terrace and settled in all comfortably like.
"Would you say it's a stronger lineup this year?" Yue asked, looking up at the other two.
"It's hard to say," Azula said. "Kori, Chan, Ruon-Jian and Ghashiun are out, and Aang, Meng, Shoji and Hing are in. So… if we disregard the trash, then it's basically Kori for Aang. It's a close call, but I'd say Aang is a little better so this year's lineup is stronger."
"It's just crazy that Kori can't be here this year," Katara sighed. "I could have never imagined that someone might miss out on a Pai Sho tournament with the reason for it being a war."
Indeed, the tensions around Yu Dao were continuing to escalate, much to everyone's dismay. After a lot of stalling, the Dai Li ran government in Ba Sing Se had finally authorized military operations to push the Fire Nation paratroopers and independence seeking Freedom Fighters out of the city. There had been serious scuffles in the suburbs and the Earth Kingdom military had successfully reclaimed about one fourth of the city, but Azula wasn't sure how anyone could treat it as a success, considering that the cost of victory had been prohibitively high. The Earth Kingdom troops were far less well trained than their Fire Nation counterparts and success was achieved only by throwing greater numbers at the enemy. The casualty count among the Earth Kingdom soldiers was uncomfortably high and together with the mounting count of civilian deaths, the Dai Li ran government was taking a lot of heat and there were growing calls for their puppet Prime Minister Kuei to resign.
Azula herself had penned several editorials for the Ba Sing Se Herald, but they had been published under the name of the senior reporter she had been attached to. Under the circumstances, having a Fire Nation citizen publicly criticizing the Earth Kingdom government when their two nations were engaged in a direct confrontation would have been very dangerous and might have led to Azula's extradition back to the Fire Nation. Azula was relieved that this war was hugely unpopular with the population of Ba Sing Se, and so the Fire Nation citizens currently living in the Earth Kingdom were yet to see any increased hostility towards them.
However, the situation was still precarious and there were signs of it potentially becoming worse. The Dai Li were desperate to push their narrative regarding the events in Yu Dao, and it meant that the more critical newspapers began to face certain restrictions and had their access to important information suddenly cut off, while the Daily Prophet and other propaganda mouthpieces continued to build support for this wasteful conflict. Protests and peace rallies were by now a very common occurrence throughout the Earth Kingdom, mostly in the provinces, while in the capital the Dai Li still just about managed to maintain order.
"I still can't imagine Kori as some kind of a devoted revolutionary," Yue said, shaking her head. "I knew that she had strong political leanings towards independence, but still… it's a bit crazy to think about."
"I know exactly what you mean," Katara nodded. "She's our exact age. Nobody that young should get dragged into military conflicts."
"I don't know how much you want to believe the official story," Azula shrugged. According to the reports that Dai Li had leaked to the press, Kori Morishita had been arrested when the Earth Kingdom forces had stormed the safe house of a Freedom Fighter cell. "Maybe she really was there with the guerillas, I don't know, but it seems a little odd. She was supposedly under house arrest, so how did she get out? I wonder if she might have been snatched for different reasons."
"Like what?" Katara sounded perplexed. "I thought Mayor Morishita was an Earth Kingdom loyalist. Why would the Earth Kingdom forces take his daughter unless she really was involved with the Freedom Fighters?"
"Oh, my dear Katara, now you have opened the lid of Pandora's Box full of conspiracy theories," Azula laughed. "Do you want to hear my favorite one?"
"Dying to hear it, honestly," Yue nodded, looking intrigued.
"I suspect that Mayor Morishita was starting to think about switching sides," Azula explained. "Don't ask me why, it could be a number of things. Perhaps he was becoming horrified by the crazy casualty count in the wake of the Earth Kingdom offensive. Perhaps Kori persuaded her father to see things her way, maybe it was the combination of the two. But I like the explanation of the mayor coming onboard with the pro-independence movement."
"And you think that the Dai Li grabbed his daughter to keep him loyal?" Katara gasped. "That's so underhanded."
"I think it makes a lot of sense," Yue nodded. "Azula, you might be onto something there."
"I definitely think so," Azula replied, feeling smug. "Remember, who's behind the Dai Li? It's none other than Long Feng. I know how that scumbag operates, and this is definitely something he would do."
"Ugh," Katara grimaced. "I hope Kori gets out of that mess in one piece. She's a bit of a wild spirit, but I can't help but liking her. The tournament just won't feel the same without her, she's almost always there competing with us."
"I know what you mean," Azula nodded. "But I wouldn't worry about her too much, she's too important for something to happen to her. In a way, she's actually safer while being held by the Dai Li."
"Politics are so depressing," Ty Lee commented from the hammock. "I prefer that you talk about Pai Sho instead of politics, and I don't understand a single thing about Pai Sho."
"That's not a bad point, Ty," Yue chuckled. "We should probably focus more on the tournament than discussing the Yu Dao debacle."
"That's probably true," Katara nodded. "You know, I'm really glad that we won't have to cross paths with Chan and Ruon-Jian any longer," she said, giving Azula a worried side glance. Azula showed no reaction to the comment, although privately she agreed with Katara. After what had happened four years ago in Ba Sing Se, Azula had loathed spending even the briefest moment of her time near those two degenerates. Still, despite what they had attempted, her father's transgressions towards her overshadowed everything else. All of Azula's anger and hatred was directed solely towards Ozai, and there was very little anger left behind for Chan and Ruon.
"I doubt we're going to run into them on the pro tour," Yue added.
"No, I heard that they won't even attempt to join the pro tour, they have enough awareness to realize that they stand no chance of being successful," Azula smirked. "Nor does Ghashiun, so I doubt we'll see them again at the tournaments." Ruon-Jian and Chan both came from wealthy old money families of the Fire Nation and they were guaranteed cushy positions somewhere in the corporate structure of their family businesses. As for Ghashiun, nobody really knew that much about him. Some sources claimed that his family had ties to a wealthy oil baron of Central Earth Kingdom, while others stated that his family was almost semi nomadic traders. It was hard to know whom to believe, but Azula found it all rather irrelevant.
"Well, we're definitely taking the pro tour by a storm," Yue grinned. "It would be great to leave the juniors with a bang, though."
"I don't know how we could possibly create a bigger bang than last year," Azula said. It was only when Yue gave her a wide-eyed stare that Azula realized that what she had said could be construed as a double entendre. Azula quickly glanced over at Ty Lee in the hammock, noticing that her old friend was frowning at them, clearly not happy about her choice of words. "Anyway, uh… I like my schedule just fine," Azula continued awkwardly. "Starting off with my usual victim Joo Dee, it's always a delight to crush that bitch."
"I doubt we'll have many problems tomorrow, what do you think, Kat?" Yue smiled at the other Water Tribe girl.
"Not really," Katara replied. She was due to play Hing Ishikawa, while Yue faced Meng Li. Azula was certain that they would all score easy wins tomorrow. "But there's a real blockbuster in the first round already, did you notice? Aang is going up against Toph… what an unfortunate draw to have that in the first round."
"Unfortunate for the one who loses," Azula snorted. "But yes, it should be an excellent spectacle."
"So, if all of you have easy games tomorrow, why don't we go out tonight and have some fun?" Ty Lee asked eagerly. "I can see a tiki bar across the street from here."
"Ugh, I'd rather be caught dead than in a tiki bar," Azula frowned. "Those places are so incredibly gaudy."
"What?" Ty Lee laughed. "Come on, it's just a bit of fun. Who doesn't like a rum cocktail served in a coconut shell? What's the harm in that?"
"Yeah, I don't particularly enjoy someone's cultural heritage being turned into a binging tradition for rich, entitled tourists," Katara echoed, agreeing with Azula.
"Babe, I am so not ganging up on you over the whole tiki bar thing, but can I just remind you what we talked about before leaving?" Yue looked over at her girlfriend. "I said that there will be no drinking before a match day, at least definitely no hard booze like rum. We'll go out and have some fun on the eve before the off day."
"Seriously? I thought you were pulling my leg," Ty Lee looked disappointed.
"Why would I do that?" Yue asked, looking confused. Azula suddenly became a little uncomfortable, sensing trouble and wondering if she should try to create a distraction, but nothing came to her mind.
"I don't know," Ty Lee shrugged. "You always have so many stories about these tournaments, so I figured you must be having more fun than you let on."
"That doesn't explain why I would not be truthful about that," Yue frowned. Her expression then darkened. "Wait, did you think that I was lying to you on purpose in order to discourage you from coming along?" she then asked.
"Well, you sure didn't seem particularly excited about me coming along," Ty Lee shot back.
Azula and Katara exchanged worried stares. "I'm sure we can ease up on the practice and arrange for some more activities to include Ty," Katara tried to intervene.
"No, we're not changing our prep for the sake of someone who's going to accuse me of lying," Yue sounded really ticked off all of a sudden. "I made it perfectly clear what this would be like, and I thought that you were mature enough to take my words at face value. Either deal with it or… or don't, it's your choice."
"Ugh, fine," Ty Lee said, pouting. "I'm sorry," she managed a reluctant apology. "I shouldn't have said that and I'll try to do better." Ty Lee then paused, looking thoughtful. "Listen, I know you have to practice and everything, but do you mind if I go down to the beach on my own?"
"I really don't mind, Ty Lee," Yue replied, her voice still cool. Azula didn't feel as if Yue had accepted the apology, and she couldn't truly blame her. As Azula's eyes met Katara's and she saw the concern in her girlfriend's expression, Azula knew that the relationship troubles between Yue and Ty Lee were nowhere close to being over. She only hoped that these issues would not become a distraction that would spoil their final outing at the junior level.
The matches of the first round all went according to the script. Katara, Yue and Azula all won their games easily, and so did Teo. The four of them then remained standing at the sidelines and spending the next three quarters of an hour watching a monumental battle of wills between Aang and Toph. Aang had the edge through the early exchanges, but then Toph had come back with a strong middle game, and going into the endgame Toph was carrying a seemingly decisive advantage.
"Teo, do you think Toph will bring it home now?" Katara asked, looking down at the young Earth Kingdom man in the wheelchair. Given how young they both were, Toph in particular, it was just a little odd to think of them as a married couple, even if it was an unfair prejudice because Yue had been married off at an even younger age. And certainly, while the union between Toph and Teo felt a little unconventional, Katara could clearly see that the two of them shared genuine affection and had plenty in common. Even though Toph considered all of them to be her friends, she wasn't a very outgoing person, just like Teo. Perhaps it was no wonder that they had found comfort in each other.
"It should be doable," Teo nodded, looking up at her. He really was one of the nicest guys Katara had ever come across. Teo possessed both kindness and an excellent sense of humor, two qualities that came in highly useful when it came to handling Toph's acerbic bluntness.
"Oh, spirits," Yue exclaimed suddenly after Toph had made her next move. "Did she forget that Aang hasn't played his Boat tile yet?"
"She must have," Azula nodded. It was very unusual for anyone to hang on to their Boat tile until the endgame, but still, Toph had just made a very bad mistake.
"Ugh, Toph, what were you thinking?" Teo groaned. The combination that Toph had planned to unleash suddenly backfired when Aang played his Boat tile which moved his Lily to a more advantageous position. It wasn't a decisive mistake and Toph could have recovered from it, but everyone could see right away that Toph was angry with herself for having made such an embarrassing oversight. Anger was the worst emotion to bring to the Pai Sho board and Toph discovered that in barely a half dozen moves as her position quickly went from bad to worse, leaving her with no other option but to resign.
As Toph and Aang walked over to them, Katara could see that Aang was inwardly beaming with joy and struggling really hard not to let it show and further annoy Toph. The girl from Gaoling was fuming, however, still a little red in the face. "I don't want to hear a single comment about it," were the first words Toph exclaimed, aimed at them all. "We do not speak of this game ever again, or else I'll start cracking skulls."
"Ooh, scary," Azula rolled her eyes. Toph glared at her. "Your middle game was excellent, Toph," Azula said quickly. Katara tried to hold back a giggle and failed. Toph being able to intimidate even Azula was kind of cute.
"We all know that you're a fighter, Toph," Yue tried supportively. "You'll come back stronger from this, I'm sure."
"Exactly, woe betides whoever I'm playing in the next round," Toph said, squinting at the tournament schedule on the large display board nearby. "Kei Lo, you are going down, bitch!" she exclaimed. As on cue, the Fire Nation boy walked past them at that very moment, accompanied by his friends Shoji and On Ji. Poor Kei Lo cringed from fear when he overheard Toph's pronouncement of his inevitable doom.
"Good job scaring that poor kid, Toph," Teo laughed. "He'll probably resign before you even start playing tomorrow." Toph grinned at that comment.
"Seriously, that was a really lucky escape for me, it's not like I had prepared some kind of a trap with that Boat tile," Aang said. "You just never gave me an opportunity to play it during the middle game, and after that I guess we both forgot about it."
"Save it, Twinkletoes, just savor your victory because you won't get another one against me for a very long time," Toph retorted.
"Congratulations, that was a very impressive victory," a rather familiar voice spoke suddenly as someone came up to their group and embraced Aang, kissing him on the cheek.
Azula recovered from the surprise first. "Mai!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at her old friend. "What the hell, Mai?"
"Whatever do you mean, Azula?" Mai released the very flustered looking Aang before giving Azula an innocent stare.
"You know perfectly well what I mean!" Azula said aloud, sounding annoyed. "We spoke only last week and you made no mention of coming to Kyoshi Island!"
"Only because I know how much you love surprises," Mai blew Azula a kiss.
"Well, know that I hate you for not telling me, bitch," Azula grumbled, even as she walked up to Mai and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, and I'm still mad at you, by the way," she added, but the smile betrayed her true feelings.
"Oh my gosh, I just realized something," Yue exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Aang. "This is why you're staying at the hotel and not at the cottage with us!"
Aang blushed even harder. "Maybe…" he managed.
"I don't like how all my friends are being so secretive about their crushes," Katara announced.
"Oh, tough luck, Sugar Queen, it's not like you didn't try to be sneaky with Azula," Toph laughed at her. Katara frowned at her younger friend, but she was forced to admit that Toph had a point. Still, seeing Aang with this girl who was three years older than him was throwing Katara off in a big way. She knew that Aang and Mai had hit it off during the winter holidays, but Katara had thought that Mai had simply been seeking a distraction and they had been just fooling around. Katara hadn't heard anything about them staying in touch since then, and yet, here was Mai, acting almost like a steady girlfriend to Aang.
And that by itself seemed weird to Katara, because she just didn't see what Aang and Mai could possibly have in common. The only reason that Mai had given for being interested in Aang was that she thought that having an Air Nation boyfriend would be suitably shocking to her parents, but that wasn't really a basis for a relationship, was it? Then again, Katara supposed that sometimes it was simply a little harder to see what drew two people towards each other. She could see the chemistry with Toph and Teo, as well as with Sokka and Zuko, although as if to prove her point, Azula still couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea of Zuko being in a relationship with anyone, especially with someone as funny and kind-hearted as Sokka. Also, Zuko probably felt the same way about her and Azula, thinking his sister incapable of managing a functional relationship. Perspective was a funny thing and Katara was discovering that more and more every day.
However, when it came to Yue and Ty Lee, Katara was now starting to fear that her initial assumptions would soon be proven correct. When Yue and Ty Lee had first gotten together more than a year ago, Katara had felt a little surprised because she had thought that Ty Lee wasn't the kind of girl that Yue would normally go for. Then, over the coming months, Katara had started to come around, feeling that perhaps she had underestimated Ty Lee and the two were forging what seemed like a deeper bond. But apparently, they had failed to truly connect on a deeper emotional level, or at least that was the impression Katara had formed from the few details Yue had let slip. Katara was now worried that her Water Tribe friend was forcing herself to maintain a relationship where neither of the pair were as happy as they deserved to be.
"By the way, where's Ty?" Mai asked, interrupting Katara's trail of thoughts. "I was told that she would be coming as well."
"She finds watching Pai Sho incredibly dull," Yue replied. "She's staying back at the cottage."
"Also, we shouldn't be standing around here like a bunch of witless fools," Azula said. "Let's all head back to the cottage. We can do our prep for tomorrow, and Mai, you can hang out with Ty Lee so that she doesn't start complaining about being bored again."
"Uh, I don't know about that, we kind of had our own plans already," Toph spoke up. "Besides, I find that doing prep in a group of six people often gets a bit too confusing and it just doesn't work for me. I was going to suggest that we split up into two smaller groups. Aang, you can come with me and Teo, and you bitches can get back to your cottage," Toph told them dismissively, in a way that would feel insulting if one didn't know what Toph was like.
"Are you coming with us, Mai?" Azula asked hopefully.
"Sorry, not just now, Azula," Mai shook her head. The look she then gave Aang was almost uncharacteristically soft. "I'll try to stop by the cottage later in the evening. I have a duty to stop Ty from dying of boredom, don't I?"
"I think we can all swing by the cottage later, can't we? What about you, Mr. and Mrs. Beifong?" Aang looked at Toph and Teo. Katara found it curious that Teo had taken Toph's last name after the marriage. That was definitely unusual, but perhaps it made sense because the last name of Beifong certainly carried more gravitas than the Guyuk family name. It was also curious that they hadn't informed anyone about the name change because all the tournament information still listed Teo's last name as Guyuk.
"Sure, we can do that," Toph said, but only after she had received a nod from Teo. Katara was once again fascinated by how people were adjusting their behavior once they were in a relationship. She was so used to Toph making decisions without ever consulting anyone else, or taking their wants and needs into consideration, but she seemed to be very attentive to Teo's wishes.
"Excellent, I'm sure we'll have a lovely evening hanging out together," Katara smiled. "Just remember, no hard booze before a match day. We can have a couple of bottles of wine, but nothing beyond that," she added for Mai's benefit, earning herself an emphatic sigh from the tawny-eyed girl.
"Kat, you're in danger of being referred to as the Fun Police again," Yue commented once the two groups had parted their ways and the three of them were on their way back to the cottage.
"I just said that for Mai's benefit," Katara frowned. "Those among us who don't play Pai Sho don't quite seem to understand that we can't simply go wild before a match day. We know that Ty Lee has a problem accepting that. The last thing we need is her teaming up with Mai and becoming all pushy about it."
"That could still happen," Azula nodded warningly.
"I'm sure that we'll be able to resist their temptations," Yue giggled. She then gave Azula a scrutinizing stare. "So, Azula… you really have no idea what's going on with Mai and Aang?"
"Did it look like I was faking my surprise?" Azula shrugged. "Come on, Yue, I thought you knew me well enough by now to know when I'm faking-" Katara and Yue both burst into an embarrassed fit of giggles at that comment, making Azula turn beet red. "What are you, twelve?" Azula berated them. "I didn't mean it sexually, you dumbasses."
"We're sorry, Zula," Katara grinned at her girlfriend.
"Yes, we know that you're never faking in the bedroom," Yue added naughtily.
"Oh, shut up, you know what I meant!" Azula growled. "I honestly have no idea what Mai is up to with Aang, and that's the truth."
"We should find out," Katara decided. "What would be the best way to do that, Azula? You're our expert on Mai."
"Well, she does loosen up after a few drinks," Azula shrugged. "But for that we have to wait until the off-day."
"Excellent!" Katara rubbed her hands, looking excited. "I can't wait to do some meddling in the love lives of our friends!"
Yue yawned tiredly, settling more comfortably in the crook of Ty Lee's shoulder. Her girlfriend had just dozed off following an evening of some intense drinking followed by even more intense session of bedroom activities. It was the evening of the third match day and tomorrow they had a day off, which meant that they were for once allowed to indulge and Ty Lee had taken full advantage of that. Yue couldn't deny that it had felt great to let off some steam and she had really needed it after she had lost her third round match to Aang.
Aang's play was the biggest surprise of the tournament thus far. After beating Toph in the first round, he had followed it up with a victory over Teo, and now he had beaten Yue as well. The only others with three wins were Azula and Katara, while Yue had fallen behind as a result of this loss, and looking forward, she was not feeling very confident about her chances of repeating the success of Omashu. She felt mildly annoyed by how Aang's Pai Sho non-playing girlfriend seemed to have inspired him to reach a new level in his game, while Yue felt as if Ty Lee's presence and their niggling relationship issues were becoming a difficult to ignore distraction for her. She wasn't blaming Ty Lee for her loss to Aang because that would have been unfair. Yue knew that she hadn't played well. But she hadn't played well largely because her misunderstandings with Ty Lee were weighing heavily on her mind.
Even though Mai didn't play Pai Sho herself, she had dated Pai Sho players before. She seemed to understand the importance it had in the lives of those who had truly invested themselves in perfecting their skill. Ty Lee had a different attitude towards Pai Sho, treating it at best as a hobby that people were expected to grow out of when they became older. Lately, she had become even more dismissive towards it. Yue figured that Ty Lee was becoming jealous of the bond that she had with Azula and Katara, a bond in which their common interest in Pai Sho played a big role.
Yue couldn't help feeling a little frustrated with Ty Lee's attitude because for the first few months of their relationship nothing had indicated that this would become a problem. But then the Omashu incident had happened, and after that, Ty Lee had become much more sensitive about Yue's bond with the two other girls. And Yue could understand why this was hard for Ty Lee, because she did spend a lot of time with Azula and Katara, honing their skills at the Pai Sho board. Even away from the board, they would often have their conversations that made Ty Lee feel excluded, like she was completely cut off from such a big part of the lives of the three other girls. Yue had read a lot of interviews with professional players in Pai Sho magazines where they spoke about the difficulties and challenges in maintaining a relationship with someone who did not play Pai Sho themselves. Lately, Yue was starting to feel as if she and Ty Lee were failing to overcome these challenges.
And it was a damn shame, because Yue genuinely cared about Ty Lee and found her physically highly attractive. Besides, Ty Lee was far more unrestrained in the bedroom than any of Yue's previous sexual partners. Yue had learned quite a lot of new things about herself, her desires and her preferences, during the course of their relationship. And this wasn't a slight on Yue's previous partners, with the exception of Hahn. Yue still felt sickened every time she failed to resist memories of having been intimate with that horrible sleazebag. Ty Lee was simply more adventurous and more eager to experiment than anyone else Yue had been with, and it could be a lot of fun under the right circumstances.
It was also one of the main reasons why Yue was reluctant to let go of their relationship. She had tried her best to balance and scale back her Pai Sho practice to spend more time with Ty Lee, but Azula and Katara had intervened, insisting that she was neglecting her training and Yue had been unable to deny that obvious truth. Yue had tried a lot of things to forge a closer emotional bond with Ty Lee, but nothing seemed to work. It was proving very hard to find things they had in common. Yue had thought that helping Ty Lee find her missing sisters and reconnect with her family would help, but then she had decided to step aside and let Katara bond with Ty Lee instead, which had worked out very well, but Yue was now regretting her decision to pass on that opportunity. Yue had still held Ty Lee when she had cried about Ty Liu's death, or when Ty Lum was injured and in the hospital. She had shared Ty Lee's joy about reconnecting with Ty Woo and she had listened to Ty Lee's judgmental rants about Ty Lat's creepy and unhealthy relationship with an older man.
Still, Yue felt as if it all wasn't quite enough. When something heavy weighed on her mind, Yue usually sought out Katara or Azula, because whenever she had tried to share something poignant with Ty Lee, she usually ended up getting misunderstood and becoming frustrated because of it. The physical side of her relationship with Ty Lee was amazing, but Yue simply wished that they also had the kind of emotional bond like she had with Katara and Azula, and that didn't seem possible.
Of course, the Omashu encounter had also forged a physical bond between Yue, Azula and Katara. While she still remembered that night with great fondness, privately she acknowledged the problems it had created and Yue wished that she would have had the better sense to turn the offer down, but the temptation had simply been too great. That night had made Yue aware of just how well both her emotional and physical needs could be taken care of by the two other girls. It made her relationship with Ty Lee feel a little barren, regardless of how fun the physical side of it was. And that in turn was making Yue feel rotten, like she was being a bad girlfriend.
Yue still remembered how she had almost completely destroyed her friendships with Azula and Katara a few years ago. She often found herself thinking that she still had to make up for her mistakes, even though she had tried to be as selfless as possible when it came to Azula and Katara. She didn't want to make new mistakes and be a bad girlfriend to Ty Lee, because Ty Lee was a sweet and kind person with the heart of gold, someone who had been through many terrible experiences. Ty Lee deserved a better effort on Yue's part. She simply needed to try harder to make this work.
"I swear, I'm not giving up on us," Yue whispered as she looked up at her sleeping girlfriend, reaching upwards to gently kiss her on the cheek. "We're going to figure it out. I'll make sure of that."
Next chapter: the tournament goes on, but certain tensions also continue to persist. Who will manage their personal drama best and claim victory?