Chapter 83
The start of the Ba Sing Se tournament was cause of great trepidation for Yue Taqqiq, considering that she was about to make her debut as a professional Pai Sho player, in a tournament with considerably stronger lineup than in Gaoling. She, Azula and Aang would be up against some of the most skilled players in the world, including Bumi Dhawan, Gyatso Jetsun and Long Feng. Bumi and Gyatso in particular were expected to leave the others behind to fight for the final spot on the podium. Yue thought that she had a good chance to beat Azula to it, although Long Feng was not someone to dismiss easily, especially after his relative failure in Gaoling. Aang could pose a potential threat as well, and Yue knew that he was extra motivated for this tournament, playing alongside and against his foster father.
The tournament would be not merely a test of skill, but also of endurance. With sixteen players taking part and playing each other in a round robin, the whole event would last slightly more than three weeks. Yue was very glad that the tournament was taking place in Ba Sing Se, their home base, which meant that they could spend the nights in their own comfortable bed, instead of staying at a hotel, and these familiar surroundings would hopefully ensure that they were always well rested. As per Azula's complicated calculations, finishing among the top six would give a beneficial boost to their ranking points, but obviously they were all eyeing that tempting spot on the pedestal.
Even though the Ba Sing Se crowd was firmly supportive of Long Feng – though Yue and her girlfriends seriously doubted whether it was genuine and not Dai Li encouraged – Yue, Azula and Aang also had a reasonably sized bunch of spectators cheering for them. They all had made friends in Ba Sing Se, and many of them were turning out almost daily to watch them play, even if not all of their supporters actually understood what was happening on the Pai Sho board.
Azula's entire family was among the spectators, Ursa, Iroh, as well as Zuko. Ursa could not attend every game because of her theatre commitments, but she was there in the stands whenever she could make it. Iroh was at the Royal Palace every day, not merely as a spectator, but also as a pundit, Suki having roped him in to do some broadcasting work together with her. Zuko and Sokka would be attending all the games during the first week, but after that they would be off to the Kyoshi Island for some well earned vacation. Kyoshi Island was probably the most liberal place on the face of the world when it came to tolerating gay relationships, so Zuko and Sokka were understandably looking forward to spending some time together without having to hide.
Mai was yet again visiting with them at the estate and attending the tournament to support mostly Aang, but also cheering for Yue and Azula. Mai had allowed Aang to introduce her to Gyatso which was a huge step and a pleasant surprise to all of their friends. Even Azula had stopped questioning Mai's true motives and admitted that things were becoming very serious by now. Azula had also discovered that Mai had actually showed up at the BSSU to question several of Aang's lecturers, and they had told Mai that Aang was something of a genius when it came to the world of electrical engineering. Mai was clearly banking on Aang's genius paying off in the long term, and as far as Yue was concerned, it was a very smart bet.
Toph and Teo also occasionally showed up at the tournament, though not quite as often as the others. Teo preferred to avoid public events as long as his appearance wasn't absolutely necessary, and Toph usually required Teo to explain to her what was going on in the Pai Sho games, because she couldn't see the demonstration boards all that well on the account of her near sightedness. They were also still a little exhausted from their Caldera City tournament, which had taken place during the height of summer and the poor ventilation had made it a miserable experience for all non Fire Nation natives. Toph and Teo had finished firmly in the middle of the pack, which had definitely set them back as far as their rating points were concerned. Aang had done much better, coming in fourth, just shy of the podium.
Following the official opening ceremony of the tournament and the introduction of the players, they were given a quarter of an hour to prepare before the actual matches of the first round began. As Yue tried to psych herself up for the upcoming contest, she found herself becoming more and more nervous. She would be facing Long Feng right off the bat, and with Azula facing a weaker opponent, one of the local masters, the three of them had spent almost two days to prepare Yue's strategy against the dark puppet master behind the Dai Li. And even if Yue felt very well prepared, the amount of work that both Azula and Katara had put in to prepare her was burdening Yue with additional responsibility. Yue was desperate not to let all this effort go to waste and she did not want to let her loves down.
As on cue, Azula walked up to her, probably having noticed that Yue looked very anxious. "Remember what we told you yesterday," Azula said. "All these fabled pros deep down are just fallible human beings. Don't let yourself be intimidated."
"I am not really intimidated by them, I don't even particularly fear them," Yue replied. Azula gave her a curious stare. "I guess I just doubt myself and my own ability to bring my best game. I'm afraid of disappointing myself… and you and Katara," she sighed.
"I don't think that Katara and I could ever be disappointed in you even if you didn't win, if only because we know of your potential and how good you can be," Azula said. "But for what it's worth, I believe in you. I know you can beat Long Feng," she added, placing her hand on Yue's back and affectionately rubbing it.
"Thanks, Zula," Yue smiled at her girlfriend. She wondered if they could get away with a quick hug and whether Azula would not be mad at her for a public display, even if it was something that was natural between friends and majority of the public was aware of their friendship, but not of their true relationship. Yue decided to go for it. "I believe in you, too," she said, quickly embracing Azula. Her Fire Nation girlfriend didn't seem to mind, returning the embrace, but then it was time for them to part and take their places at the Pai Sho boards.
Long Feng offered her a rather arrogant greeting before their game began, one that filled Yue with even greater motivation to destroy him, not that she was lacking for motivation as it were. As the contest began, Yue felt rather tense and stressed, at first forgetting the strategies they had prepared and muddling through her opening moves without clear intent and purpose. As the match progressed, however, Yue began to feel more at ease. The prepared solutions were starting to come back to her and even though her initial stumbling out of the gate had given Long Feng the initiative, Yue was soon able to organize a counterattack.
As their game progressed with Yue gradually equalizing the situation on the board, she also began to realize something very important. Long Feng had never played her before and in his arrogance, he had clearly not prepared specifically for her. To bother researching the games of some twenty year old would have been beyond the dignity of the great Long Feng. Also, Yue was aware that she was considered the least talented out of their threesome, and perhaps she was the slightly weaker player, but this gave her the important edge of opponents always underestimating her. Long Feng had clearly fallen into this trap and Yue intended to use it to her advantage.
Because Long Feng clearly did not respect her as a powerful player in her own right, he became susceptible to feints and deception. It didn't take Yue long to lure him into believing that she was on the ropes and wasn't aware of the plans he was preparing to smash through her defenses. So it was to Long Feng's absolute dismay that instead of trying to defend her weakened center, Yue made the decision to simply abandon her central tiles to their fate and instead launched a coordinated counter attack, first on the left wing, then on the right. With Long Feng's tiles committed to their attack on Yue's center, he was left scrambling and unable to resist Yue's counterattack. Long Feng's tiles were quickly enveloped in a pincer move and routed, leaving him resigning the game on the thirty-eight move with a disgusted look on his face.
As Yue shook hands with the annoyed leader of the Dai Li, trying not to appear too smug, she was happy to hear a small section of the crowd cheering and chanting her name. Yue turned to bow to her supporters, noticing how the majority of the crowd had become completely silent, stunned by the comprehensive defeat of the capital's favorite son. Aware that the crowd's chanting was creating a distraction for the other players, including Azula, even though she was clearly winning her game, Yue decided to leave the stage, giving one final wave at her supporters. It seemed that her debut at the pro level was a smashing success, and if this was what victory at this level tasted like, then Yue couldn't wait to experience that taste again and again.
At the halfway mark of the tournament, Azula couldn't help but be rather satisfied when looking back at her performance thus far. The uncertainty of Ty Lee's fate still weighed heavily on her mind, although its effects were not as crippling as during the Gaoling tournament. During the scarce moments of her free time, Azula devoured all available news from Yu Dao, even if she knew that if the worst came to pass, the Earth Kingdom news sources were unlikely to report on specific Fire Nation casualties. At least the worst of the fighting seemed to have died down. The Earth Kingdom forces had dug in their occupied half of the city, while the Fire Army and the Freedom Fighters continued to hit them with well organized raids. The relative lack of intense fighting helped to ease Azula's nerves, even if she knew that this unofficial truce was only temporary until the Earth Kingdom rebuilt its forces, trained up the draftees and got ready for yet another push.
With all that in mind, Azula was pleasantly surprised that at the halfway point of the tournament, she found herself in shared second spot with Grandmaster Gyatso Jetsun. Azula had lost her game against Bumi Dhawan, to nobody's surprise, and it hadn't even been close. Azula hadn't been able to cope with some of Bumi's eccentricities, and he had managed to surprise her with his unorthodox playing style that was almost impossible to prepare for because it contained too much improvisation. Azula now had much better understanding of all those rants her father had gone on after having faced Bumi and having proved unable to pin down the slippery old weasel from Omashu. Azula felt very proud of her draw with Gyatso, however. She valued it even more than her victory against Long Feng in Gaoling. Since Gyatso was one of those few players her father actually considered a threat to his domination, this resulted truly flattered Azula.
Yue was also doing well, lagging half a point behind Azula. She had lost to Gyatso and tied two of her games, one of them with Aang. Yue was keeping pace with the leaders, and Azula was happy for her girlfriend. She couldn't wait to play Yue a few rounds later in the tournament. The outcome of that game would likely decide which one of them would maintain the chances of a tournament win, and which one of them would drop off the pace, losing touch with the podium. Aang had dropped a little further behind, as he had suffered a couple of losses and a draw against his foster father. Azula privately suspected that Gyatso had gone easy on the boy, but she wasn't going to complain about that. If Gyatso wanted to be sentimental and drop points, she was determined to benefit from it.
Azula had been surprised but grateful for all the support that she and Yue had received during the tournament. Long Feng wasn't performing well and some of the local spectators had decided to throw their support behind Azula and Yue, much to Long Feng's disgust. And they would always have their own little corner of loyal supporters including Azula's family and friends. Azula was in particular surprised about her mother's frequent appearances in the spectator stands at the Royal Palace. Azula knew that her mother was busy with her troupe staging a new play, so for Ursa to find the time to come and support her felt genuinely touching. Azula had felt so appreciative, that after her victory in the eighth round, she had invited Ursa to join them back at the estate, knowing that Katara and Yue would not mind.
With Aang and Mai having gone out, Aang probably doing prep with Toph and Teo at their place, or spending time with Gyatso, Azula and her girlfriends had the estate all to themselves. Katara was currently working to fix a simple wonton soup for them, while Yue was busy setting everything up for an afternoon of game analysis and prep for the next match day. In the meantime, Azula and Ursa were enjoying cups of hot chocolate on the terrace outside. Azula wasn't usually one for sweets, but during the tournaments she always ended up expending so much energy and losing weight that she had to make sure to keep her blood sugar levels way up.
"I know I have said it before, but you really don't need to be there for every round of play," Azula said, breaking the silence that both of them had failed to fill with small talk.
"But I love watching you play, honey," Ursa smiled at her. "I'm enjoying it even if I don't understand everything that's going on. Although, I am getting much better at making sense of what's happening on the Pai Sho board. Katara is a wonderful instructor."
"She really is," Azula nodded, smiling softly. It was really quite touching to see her girlfriend and her mother sitting side by side in the stands, looking like they were having a good time and were getting along very well.
"I'm just so proud of how well you've been doing. And I also admire the grace with which you have been conducting yourself," Ursa continued. "I feel a little sad that you can't play alongside Katara, however. She explained me the reasons why she has to skip the tournament, but I can sense that she would have preferred to be playing. And it would have been beautiful to see, you both are always so supportive of each other." Azula tried not to frown at that. As far as she was concerned, their supportiveness was largely a one way street, and Azula felt that she never did enough to support Katara, but it was nice that Ursa thought that she was doing well even if Azula doubted that it was true. "It is very touching to see that you have such a strong bond with Yue as well, and that you are supporting each other so well. I've rarely seen three girls getting along the way you do, with such genuine affection."
"I guess we are getting along quite well, yes," Azula replied, feeling her cheeks warming slightly. She wondered if it wasn't the time to just come out and tell her mother the truth before someone snitched or she simply walked in on either her or Katara smooching with Yue, or all three of them making out. And if that didn't happen, then someone was liable to just accidentally blurt out something about them. Azula vastly preferred to be the one to disclose the truth to her mother than Ursa learning about them in some other more embarrassing way.
It was almost three years since she had first come to Ba Sing Se, damaged and terrified, with nary a scrap to her name, completely reliant on her uncle's generosity. She had managed to make something of her life during these three years, and she had also established relationships with both Ursa and Zuko. She still couldn't really talk normally with Zuko, and she wasn't sure they would ever get over that hump, but at least they hadn't fought in over a year, and that felt like progress in itself. Azula was actually doing a lot better with Ursa. She was no longer afraid to tell her mother details about her private life, because she no longer suspected that Ursa would use this information to hurt her. She felt close enough to her mother again to stop addressing her as 'Ursa', feeling comfortable switching to 'mother'. She hadn't made the switch to 'mom' yet, though. But most importantly, there was now something like trust blossoming. Not a lot of trust, not yet, but it was slowly forming, and it meant that Azula was having an easier time opening up about her no longer that new relationship.
"I suppose you have earned the truth, mother," Azula said, sighing heavily. Ursa gave her a curious, but encouraging stare. "And I really hope that after what I am about to tell you, you will not embarrass me by saying that you already knew all about it. It was awkward enough already when you knew about me and Katara before I was ready to tell you."
"I'm sorry, honey, I never meant to embarrass you," Ursa smiled genuinely.
"Yes, well… anyway, since you bragged about how accepting you are, you shouldn't have any issues with what I'm about to tell you," Azula spoke quickly. "The truth is that Yue is our girlfriend. I mean, she's a girlfriend to both me and Katara. Like, the three of us are together."
"I understand, it's called a throuple," Ursa looked amused as she spoke.
"Agni, you knew already, didn't you?" Azula glared. "Why do you always embarrass me like this, Ursa? You really must hate me still."
"Azula, honey, you know that's not true," Ursa looked sad for a moment. It was enough to make Azula feel annoyingly guilty. "It's just that when you and Katara went around making subtle inquiries about three-way relationships during one of our troupe's backstage parties, I became a little suspicious. But I didn't want to pry until I knew that you were ready to talk about it."
"Ugh, fine, I guess," Azula sighed. "Well, now you know the truth and we can move onto something less embarrassing."
Ursa looked a bit concerned for some reason, however. "You seem very happy, Azula, so I'm glad that this is working out for all three of you," she said, a little cautiously. "I guess I have been worrying a little, though."
"Worrying about what?" Azula asked, feeling more curious than annoyed.
"As I understand, Katara and Yue have known each other much longer than they know you," Ursa explained. "I was afraid that you might be getting sidelined in this relationship between the three of you."
"You could not be more wrong, mother," Azula rolled her eyes. She truly could not remember a single time in their relationship where she would have felt unappreciated. Sometimes she felt almost over appreciated, and that made her feel like she was not doing as much for Yue and Katara as they were doing for her, but whenever she voiced those concerns, both of her girlfriends always immediately chided her for being much too hard on herself. "All you really need to know is that all my needs are met in this relationship," Azula added simply, unwilling to elaborate further and hoping that Ursa would ask no more questions.
"That is very true," Ursa nodded. "All my observations so far suggest that you have a rare harmony between the three of you. But then again, all three of you are very special, and not just because of your talent for Pai Sho."
"I couldn't imagine ever having something like this," Azula blurted out in a rare moment of honesty. "I still don't think that I deserve-" her words were interrupted by Katara arriving on the terrace, carrying two bowls of wanton soup for both her and Ursa.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" Katara asked. Ursa looked mildly frustrated, but Azula was intensely grateful towards her girlfriend for saving her from this embarrassing spillage of her feelings.
"Nope, we're just doing small talk," Azula lied quickly. "We should probably go and do our prep after we've eaten, right?" she looked up at Katara.
"We probably should get started, we have a lot to cover," Katara sighed, looking regretful. "I do hate intervening with you hanging out with your mom, though. Take another half an hour, why don't you?"
"Oh no, I would not want to be the cause for my daughter's insufficient preparations for her next game," Ursa shook her head. "Besides, I should head back before Ikem calls the police to search for me, anyway," she added with a chuckle.
"If you're certain," Katara said, still looking a little apologetic. Ursa laughed and shook her head. "Well, Azula, in that case, Yue and I will be waiting for you upstairs, but please, take your time," Katara said as she retreated back inside.
"She really is the sweetest young woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I have the feeling that Yue is much the same," Ursa said, giving Azula a tender look. "But I disagree with you, Azula. You do deserve them. You absolutely do."
Azula swallowed thickly. It was true that her moments of crippling self-doubt were becoming less and less common. She was starting to believe more and more that perhaps, just perhaps, she did deserve something good in her life, something pure and beautiful. That Ursa thought so too… well, it actually mattered. "Thanks, mom," she said softly.
It wasn't until a good while later that Azula realized just why her mother had looked so happy about hearing those words.
As the final round of the Ba Sing Se Open arrived, Katara found herself utterly spent after three weeks of nonstop exhausting busywork. This was the same work that Azula had done for her a few years ago in Agna Qel'a and Yue had done for them both the previous month in Gaoling. It was Katara's duty to make sure that her best girls were always prepared both mentally and tactically, and so Katara had to not only commit to immense amount of research of Pai Sho theory, but also always remain mindful of Azula and Yue's emotional needs. It was quite the task, but Katara found true happiness in being useful and needed by her two loves. And when the tournament was progressing so well for both Azula and Yue, well, that just made her work feel all the more worthwhile.
Katara wasn't surprised that many of the leading grandmasters of the world had entire support teams accompanying them, doing the work that Katara handled all by herself. Azula had told them about Ozai having a team of almost a dozen people, including a personal chef, a masseuse and several pretty young girls to entertain him for the purposes of reducing stress, a revelation that had made Yue and Katara both feel rather sick. Long Feng, Zhao Sakamoto and Pakku Karetak also were known to employ several people on their teams, mostly professional coaches and experts in Pai Sho theory, someone to do prep with. Bumi and Gyatso were exceptions among the elite, always flying solo, Bumi because he was so eccentric that nobody could really handle his brand of crazy for too long, and Gyatso was simply not wealthy enough to afford the services of a team. Katara was so relieved about having established their own support system which basically allowed them to compete like equals with these grandmasters and their larger financial backing.
Bumi Dhawan had secured the tournament victory before the final round. He had played yet another stellar event and he had won all of his games except for a rather shocking and inexplicable defeat to Gyatso. Azula and Yue were tied for the second place heading into the final round, with Gyatso half a point behind them. Katara's loves had been playing very well down this final stretch. Neither of the two girls had experienced the bitterness of a defeat since the early days of the tournament. They had both drawn a few of their games, including a fiery contest among themselves. Both Azula and Yue hoped to finish on the podium, and one of them definitely would, but Katara knew full well that Gyatso was in a prime position to pip one of her girls at the finish line. Gyatso was playing one of the back-markers in the final round, while Azula went up against Long Feng and Yue faced the daunting challenge of trying to survive Bumi.
Since Azula felt quite confident about being able to handle Long Feng once again, they had spent the previous evening focusing on perfecting Yue's strategy against Bumi. Azula had suggested that they try something that at face value seemed illogical, but after Katara and Yue had heard Azula out, they had become enamored with the plan. Azula claimed that trying to live with Bumi while playing conventional Pai Sho was a fool's errand, so she had suggested that instead of trying to futilely predict what Bumi would do next, Yue should largely ignore Bumi's wild schemes and instead create a chaotic and messy counterattack of her own. The strategy was basically all about out-crazying the crazy, and Katara was incredibly anxious to see how Yue would put it into practice, desperately hoping that the plan would work.
Katara was a bundle of nerves as the final round began, relieved that Ursa was there with her. Katara might have had some lingering resentment towards Ursa that remained present even after all these years, but by this point it had been watered down so much that Katara did not mind Ursa taking her hand and holding it, Ursa sensing just how nervous Katara was, and Katara wholly appreciated the gesture.
As the matches of the final round unfolded, Katara immediately noticed that this time Long Feng had prepared much better when it came to facing Azula. It was clear that he was determined to avoid the embarrassment of Gaoling. Azula found herself on the back foot during the early exchanges of their encounter, struggling to wrestle back initiative from the revenge thirsting Long Feng. Yue's initial exchanges with Bumi were inconclusive. Bumi seemed to be a little taken aback when Yue failed to react with confusion to him trying to complicate the situation on the board. Instead, Yue focused on creating complications of her own. Katara knew that this was not a tactic that came naturally to Yue, she was more of a methodical player, but she still hoped that her girlfriend would put up a strong showing. Elsewhere, Aang looked to have the upper hand against one of the weaker masters, but next to Katara, Mai was not looking too cheerful because she was all too aware that even a victory wouldn't let Aang climb a spot in the standings if Azula didn't win against Long Feng.
Much to the great relief of Katara and Mai, Azula had weathered the initial storm and was now starting to push back against Long Feng. It was often the case that if a player made a very strong initial push but failed to capitalize on it, then they would later have very little to give when the eventual counter-play came and landed a punch. It was starting to look as if that was happening in Azula's game right now, because as soon as Azula started to push Long Feng's tiles back, he became visibly unsettled, getting up from his seat and pacing around, occasionally wiping perspiration away from his brow. Azula had him on the back foot now, and their little corner of supporters was starting to get more and more excited, especially now that Aang had won his game. The weird and unorthodox tactic they had chosen to use against Bumi was also paying off for Yue. At this point they were simply confusing each other with their strategies and not making much headway. When Bumi offered Yue a draw after they had reached their fortieth moves, Yue seemed happy to accept. It was a great validation of their strategy, and only the second time in the whole tournament when Bumi had lost points, but Katara was still a bit surprised that Yue would settle for a draw. Gyatso had won his game and Azula now looked set to win against Long Feng, and those results would push Yue off the podium. Katara resolved to ask Yue about her decision once her girlfriend had made her way back to rejoin them.
Roughly twenty minutes later, Azula finally managed to achieve the crucial breakthrough. Long Feng's position crumbled and he was forced to surrender, glaring at the sections of the crowd that dared to applaud Azula. Katara and her group decided to ignore Long Feng's saltiness, giving Azula a standing ovation as both Aang and Yue walked up to congratulate Azula, Yue giving her girlfriend a tight hug that bordered on being almost too passionate for mere friendship. Fortunately, Azula had then been quickly whisked away for all the boring formalities including a press conference, photo shoots and so on, all of it likely to take hours.
Yue and Aang eventually made their way back to the group where they were swamped by their friends and loved ones, congratulating them on their performance. Katara felt a bit envious of Mai being able to freely kiss Aang and not having to worry about the reaction of the others, because Katara wanted to do the same with Yue – and with Azula once she got her hands on her other girlfriend – but she was forced to resort to just a hug, and no matter how tight, it just wasn't quite what Katara wanted to share with Yue right now. With Azula finishing second and Yue coming in fourth ahead of Aang, this was another brilliant result for the Gaang, and Katara was thrilled about their shared achievement.
As spectators slowly began to file out of the Royal Palace, Katara and their group of friends were finally able to enjoy a bit more privacy as they continued to wait for Azula to be done with all the boring formalities, like making nice with the tournament sponsors. At some point, Katara was finally able to pull Yue a little aside, away from the prying eyes and ears of the others. "I'm so happy for the way you played in your first tournament, Yue," Katara told her girlfriend. "But I have a feeling that you could have tried to get more out of that final game."
Yue frowned, then shaking her head. "I guess I could have put it all on the line and go for broke, but honestly, I was just so tired mentally. That tactic was just so not my game, you know?" she sighed. "I was afraid of making a stupid mistake and losing, and if I had kept playing, I probably would have done that. And at that point, not losing to Bumi Dhawan felt like an incredible achievement by itself. Are you mad at me for not risking it all?"
"No, not really, I was just curious about your reasoning," Katara replied honestly. "I don't know what I would have done in your place, Yue. Maybe I'll find out one day."
"Oh, I suspect you will," Yue smiled at her. "I admit, being on the podium next to Azula would have been awesome, but I'm happy about my placing regardless. We'll definitely have a reason to celebrate tonight."
"That sounds good. And we never properly celebrated my Gaoling victory, so I think we should go all out with the festivities," Katara nodded eagerly.
"That's the plan," Yue nodded. "Azula mentioned something about a weekend of drinking and debauchery just before school resumes again."
"Uh-oh, what sort of debauchery are we talking about here?" Katara laughed. She wasn't really concerned, though. She knew that her loves were aware of her boundaries and wouldn't disrespect them.
"Ah, you know…" Yue looked evasive. "Azula and I had a talk about how much you deserve a special reward for everything you've done for us during the tournament. So, all I'm going to say is that you should get ready for a very enjoyable surprise, Kat."
"Mhm," Katara licked her lips in anticipation. She quickly glanced around, making sure that nobody was paying them any attention, and then quickly leaning in to kiss Yue on the lips. "I already can't wait for what you and Azula have in store for me," she confessed with a smile on her lips.
Next chapter: It's October, and our girls are back in Omashu - the birthplace of our throuple - for another tournament. And we have the whole Vietnam War, I mean, the Yu Dao conflict to keep abreast of.