Chapter 89
Katara hadn't expected herself to actually enjoy her time in the Fire Nation capital, but at the halfway mark of the qualifying tournament, she had to admit that Caldera City had its charms. The weather unfortunately wasn't one of them, and as the tournament took place during the very peak of the summer, the temperatures reached as high as 105F, which was definitely way out of Katara's comfort zone, while Azula and Ty Lee characterized the weather as slightly warmer than usual.
At least the hall in which the tournament was being held was well conditioned, but in order to avoid sweating buckets Katara still had to wear slightly more revealing clothing than she normally would have gone for. It had led to a rather annoying and embarrassing incident in one of the previous rounds, when one of the weaker players, some octogenarian from the Hing Wa Island had complained bitterly that Katara's outfit was inappropriately distracting. This was after Katara had mercilessly crushed him at the Pai Sho board. At least the tournament officials had dismissed the complaint out of hand, so it was nice to know that they weren't completely corrupt and in the pocket of Ozai Nakamura.
Katara had expected the spectators to be very hostile towards her and Azula. Katara was the only foreigner, taking on five Fire Nation players, so she didn't imagine that anyone would support her. And Azula was a Fire Nation exile living in the Earth Kingdom, which considering the state of diplomatic relations between the two superpowers did not exactly endear her to the Fire Nation crowds. Of course, Ozai had also encouraged for Azula's public image to be smeared at every opportunity, as a punishment for her defiance. With all of this in mind, Katara and Azula had both been very surprised to discover that there were fairly large groups of fans, mostly comprised of young men – but also quite a few young women – who were cheering for either Katara or Azula, and many who were cheering for them both.
Katara felt a little embarrassed when she realized that the cheering of the fans grew even louder if she was wearing a particularly short and airy summer frock. Indeed, their many sponsorship deals had by now turned them into household names not only for those aware of the Pai Sho world, but also to great many outside it, winning them plenty of admirers. For many decades, the world of Pai Sho had been utterly dominated by men. To now have not one or two, but even three young female prodigies challenging the established order was a fascinating story that captivated the minds and hearts of the general public, not just those of the Pai Sho enthusiasts. Katara and Azula both began to notice this from how hard it became to make public appearances without being recognized and approached, usually by their admirers begging for autographs.
The mainstream press was also starting to show its interest, peppering them with requests for interviews. Katara usually enjoyed talking with the journalists working for specialized Pai Sho publications, like Suki and her colleagues. What Katara and her girlfriends truly loathed were the annoying women's magazines. One of them had pressed Katara into giving them an interview back in Ba Sing Se. The interviewer had been this ignorant and completely out of touch old lady who had kept badgering Katara about what qualities she was looking for in a boyfriend, how she planned to balance her Pai Sho career with being a good and dutiful wife to her future husband, and trying to find out everything about Katara's dating history up to this point. Katara had failed to keep her temper and ended the interview, with Azula and Yue backing her to send the shocked sensation seeker packing.
Staying at Mai's apartment had been a wonderful idea, and Katara felt nothing but gratitude towards the older Fire Nation girl for allowing them to stay at her place. A private setting like this was certainly a lot more peaceful and relaxing than even the most comfortable penthouse suite of a hotel. Also, this allowed them to spend more time with Ty Lee, and Katara was happy to let Azula enjoy the relief of their second reunion. Of course, Katara enjoyed hanging out with Ty Lee just as much, despite the difficulties they had endured when Ty's relationship with Yue had started to fall apart. Ty Lee also did not react with bitter jealousy when Azula and Katara spent hours upon hours at the Pai Sho board, preparing deadly surprises for their upcoming opponents.
Azula, Katara and Ty Lee still went out regularly, whether it was a restaurant, a movie theater or a nightclub. Even if Azula and Katara were often recognized and approached in public by their admirers, they were yet to deal with anyone particularly creepy. Ty Lee had also benefitted from their stardom, because on a couple of occasions she had hooked up with guys coming to ask Azula and Katara for autographs. Katara reasoned that they had managed to strike a good balance between hard prep and entertainment, and the results spoke for themselves. They were tied for the tournament lead on four points, with Jeong-Jeong following on 3.5 and Piandao a little behind on 2.5. Azula was very proud of her impressive victory over Piandao, while Katara had managed a draw against the former world champion from Shu Jing. When Katara had faced Azula in the dreaded contest between them, they had called for a draw on the twenty-first move, having decided to save their strength. All the participants were scheduled to play each other twice, and both Katara and Azula had been happy to postpone the actual battle between them to their second and ultimately decisive meeting.
Katara was relieved about getting along with Ty Lee. They had certainly been good friends back in Ba Sing Se, but the romantic complications with Yue had somewhat tainted their relationship. Ty Lee was now a year older and wiser, having witnessed some absolutely horrifying scenes during her time at the Fire Army hospital in Yu Dao. Katara had never been particularly thin-skinned and her work with the pathologist at the Lower Ring hospital had eradicated the final remnants of her squeamishness. But still, some of the stories that Ty Lee shared with them had made Katara wince. Azula, on the other hand, had appeared morbidly fascinated.
Ty Lee's service as a nurse also opened a new avenue of conversations for her and Katara. Despite having been forced into service without any previous knowledge or experience at providing medical care, Ty Lee had grown into her role. Not that she had much of a choice, she could either figure it out quickly or prove to be useless and find herself being sent to the frontlines to be ground into a thick red paste made from flesh and blood. And Ty Lee had actually grown to enjoy her role, despite the horrors she had faced. Now that she was back in Caldera, she was desperate to find a job as a nurse, but her lack of education was proving to be an issue. A year long experience as a military nurse did not seem to count for much. Getting an actual nursing degree would also be a challenge for Ty Lee, because she was technically a high school dropout. Katara had scowled at Azula's suggestion that a well priced bribe would likely open the doors of most colleges, but Katara had to admit that her girlfriend was probably correct yet again. Ty Lee seemed keen on giving this idea a try. Katara really hoped that Ty Lee would discover her true calling in the medical profession. They had never been able to connect properly because Ty Lee detested Pai Sho, but with Ty's sudden interest in nursing, Katara sensed that they now genuinely had something in common.
The next stage of the tournament would begin tomorrow, and Katara was scheduled to face Jeong-Jeong for the second time. He was sure to be highly motivated to take revenge for his opening round loss, so Katara wanted to be well prepared. Still, before joining Azula for their late afternoon prep session, there was something else on Katara's mind, and that was to call Yue in Agna Qel'a for a little chat. Katara and Azula were both missing their girlfriend terribly, and the phone conversations, while helpful, just weren't good enough. After everything they had been through together, it was clear to all three of them that they were at their best as a throuple, and while Katara and Azula were doing well at their tournament, they had both confessed to each other about experiencing a certain feeling of incompleteness.
With Azula and Ty Lee sitting out on the balcony and sipping their ice-cold sodas, Katara sat down by the phone to dial the number Yue had given them after she had moved out of the hotel. Katara had plenty of reservations about Yue staying with her father, but after Yue had told them about her encounter with Hahn, Katara and Azula had both agreed that Arnook's estate was a more preferable place of stay than the hotel. Yue seemed quite content with the decision she had made, letting Katara and Azula know that her father was being respectful and didn't intrude in her affairs, allowing Aang and Mai to visit and stay at the estate for as long as they wanted. Yue was still vehemently against coming out to her father about being in a relationship with two insanely hot lesbians, and on this occasion Katara could not bring herself to encourage honesty and openness, because in her opinion, Arnook Taqqiq had not earned it from his daughter.
"Yue, hi!" Katara exclaimed joyfully upon hearing her girlfriend's voice on the line. "I'm not calling too early, am I?" she asked worriedly.
"What?" Yue sounded confused. "Of course not, Azula woke me up like an hour ago," she then explained.
"She didn't even tell me she had called!" Katara grumbled. Admittedly, she had been napping for the past hour and a half, so perhaps irritation aimed at Azula was misplaced. "Sorry, I didn't mean for us to bombard you with calls, love. I desperately wanted to hear your voice, though."
"Oh, you're such a sweetheart, Kat. I long for you as well, of course," Yue spoke softly.
"I can't wait to hold you again, love, but still, we both have things to take care of first," Katara said, smiling broadly. "How are you holding up, Yue?" she asked.
"Very well, actually," Yue sounded optimistic. "Aang and Mai are on their way over to the estate. We'll have a few hours of practice and then we'll go out for dinner before everything resumes again tomorrow."
"It's good that you're staying positive, Yue," Katara said softly. Yue wasn't in the tournament lead, unlike Katara and Azula. Yue had lost a very important game to Pakku, and she was currently trailing him, if only by half a point. Aang had done Yue a big favor by holding Pakku to a draw in their game. Just as in Caldera City, everything was still to play for in Agna Qel'a.
"Oh, I'm very positive, it was a close call with Pakku, after all," Yue said. "I'm not going to let him off the hook for the second time."
"I'm glad to hear it," Katara replied. "I no longer resent Pakku as I once did, but there's very little I wouldn't do to make sure that you prevailed against him."
Yue giggled at that. "Can you believe that Azula actually said something very similar? We were joking about how her trademark glare might come in very handy to intimidate Pakku."
"That it would," Katara chuckled. "And I could lend my glare to Azula's. Hmm, which one of us do you think has a fiercer glare?"
"Oh, that's a tough call. I mean, you can get really heated under the right circumstances. But… if I were to run into either of you in a dark alleyway, I'm sorry, but I'd probably be more terrified of Azula," Yue replied as they both shared a laugh. "Anyways, Azula has already updated me on your standings, not that I really needed the update. I follow the news religiously. Are you two doing well, no tensions? My biggest fear is that the two of you will start to fight because of this."
"I don't believe it will come to that," Katara shook her head. With how much Azula wanted to advance to the finals to face her father, Katara had some concerns of her own. For now, she had failed to spot a single sign of tensions between them, not even on the eve of their first game facing each other. In fact, the night before that match they had enjoyed some of their most amazing sex yet, so everything seemed to be going splendidly. "You know, I am tempted to let Azula have the win, she both wants it and deserves it so much. But if I let her just have it, she's going to lose so much respect for me because I didn't fight."
"No, Kat, you can't let her just have it without a fight, she would really hate that," Yue agreed. "Give it your best shot, Kat. I think that even if you win and deny her a spot in the finals, it's not going to change our relationship. She might be a bit mad in the direct aftermath, but she'll get over it, trust me."
"That's what I believe, too," Katara nodded.
"Have you seen any signs of Ozai interfering, or is everything quiet on that front?" Yue asked.
"There was an article criticizing my draw with Azula, and how it was unsportsmanlike and so on," Katara said, rolling her eyes. "Azula thinks that Ozai probably encouraged someone to write that, hoping to annoy us. Nobody really thought anything of it, though. I mean, it's really hypocritical when his toadies always throw their games against him in the finals, but nobody's allowed to criticize Zhao Sakamoto or Long Feng for that."
"Yes, it's ridiculous," Yue agreed. "Well, hopefully he's not going to try anything else."
"Azula doesn't think so," Katara replied. "Ozai is apparently too busy helping Zhao advance into the finals. Azula said that Zhao apparently needs his dainty little hands to be held."
Yue laughed at that. "We're going to take them down one day, I swear," she said. "Oh… I think Mai and Aang are here," Yue added a moment later. "I hate cutting this short, but I should probably run."
"Of course, love," Katara smiled. "Call us tomorrow after your match? We'll be at the apartment, running analysis."
"I'll do that," Yue said, sounding a little rushed. "Bye, love," she said before ending the call.
Katara still felt the warm smile on her face as she went out on the balcony to join Azula and Ty Lee. "How's Yue?" Azula asked, giving her a fond stare.
"Hah, nothing new to report about the hour since you called her," Katara winked at her other girlfriend. "Anyway, I've had my nap and I'm feeling refreshed after that chat with Yue. Time to do some prep, wouldn't you say?" Katara asked.
Azula gave her a firm nod, rising from her seat. "Let's go and make sure that you're ready to destroy Jeong-Jeong tomorrow," she spoke with determination.
"I feel like you probably have the better chance out of us two to make it through, Yue," Aang said with a serious look on his face as they sat down in one of the studies at her father's new manor. It was certainly far less impressive than the splendorous estate Yue had grown up in, but it was still a remarkable building with marble columns and murals appropriated from some nearby ruins of the Old Empire.
"Don't be ridiculous, Aang, we both have equally good chances of making it through," Yue chided the young man. "You're going to give it your best tomorrow, and the most deserving of us will win," she said, not feeling at all happy about Aang's suggestion to let her prevail in the game between them, scheduled for tomorrow.
"I suppose," Aang sighed. "I'm just worried that if I were to beat you, Pakku would then simply pull away from us both," he said. Yue had to admit that Aang was making a good point there. Pakku had slipped up in the previous round and had drawn his game against a weaker opponent, while Yue and Aang had won their matches. Yue was now tied with Pakku on six points, with Aang on five. If Aang won against Yue, he would join her on six points, but Pakku was sure to pull further ahead on seven. Still, this was no reason to start throwing games. They both had to play Pakku for the second time. It was all still in their own hands.
"That's a valid concern, Aang, but it just wouldn't feel right to make that sort of arrangement. I believe that sooner or later these decisions come back to bite you in the ass," Yue replied. "Also, I don't think that Mai would appreciate seeing you do this for me."
Aang winced at that comment. "Yeah, you're definitely right about that," he laughed awkwardly. "You know, she actually said that she would normally be really tempted to hurt any girl who spends so much time alone with her boyfriend, so you should count your lucky stars for being in bed with Katara and Azula."
Yue blinked, then starting to laugh. "Aang, your girlfriend is charmingly violent," she grinned. "Can I ask you something personal?" she asked. Aang gave her a quick nod. "What exactly draws you to her? You seem so different in almost every way."
Aang thought about her question for a while. "You know, I haven't really thought about it," he confessed. "I don't know, but I like the challenge of making her smile and laugh. She's capable of it, you know," he winked at Yue. "And when she does smile or laugh, she's… really beautiful, you know? Also, you know how she appears so disinterested in everything except fashion? Well, I like to discover all sorts of new things and then get her interested in them. Sometimes I even succeed. I actually got her to read a book about the different spiritual teachings of the Air Nation gurus, and she didn't dismiss it out of hand. I've seen her re-reading that book now and then."
"Aw, that is so sweet," Yue gushed happily. "It seems like you're actually connecting in a genuine way. I'm really happy for you two."
"Thanks, Yue," Aang beamed at her.
"By the way, do you know what Mai is talking about with my father?" Yue asked. She had walked in on Mai and Arnook speaking rather animatedly a few days ago.
"Your father didn't tell you?" Aang wondered.
"I'm not exactly on the best speaking terms with my father," Yue winced.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Aang looked sad. "Anyway, he owns a chain of retail stores throughout the Water Tribes, right? He looked at some of Mai's fashion designs and became interested in them. It all ended with your dad offering Mai to design a line of summer clothing to be sold exclusively at his stores."
"I can't believe he would do that!" Yue exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "That is so amazing for Mai! I… I guess I should thank my father for that."
"Yeah, Mai is really excited about her first big opportunity," Aang smiled broadly. "Well… you know, as excited as she can get," he added with a brief chortle.
"I'm so happy to hear it," Yue couldn't stop smiling either. "And I'm so glad that my decision to stay with my father turned out so well. I really wasn't sure about taking him up on his offer."
"See, everything is working out well," Aang nodded. "You'll see that one of us will end up squeezing past Pakku, and because of what you did for Mai, I kind of hope that it will be you, Yue. I'll put in my best effort, I promise, but still. And I hope that either Katara or Azula will join you in the finals."
"That would be pretty amazing," Yue nodded. The situation in Caldera City still wasn't clear. Katara had drawn her game with Jeong-Jeong, while Azula had won her game against the old grandmaster, pulling into the tournament lead with six points. Katara was half a point behind and then came Piandao with 4.5 points and Jeong-Jeong struggling to keep the pace on four points. It seemed that the single ticket to the finals would be decided in an epic contest between Azula and Katara in the next round.
"Who do you think will win tomorrow?" Aang asked excitedly.
"I have no idea, and my heart is breaking, trying to decide," Yue confessed. "I think it will come down to whoever wants it more, and I feel like Azula wants it a bit more, and Katara on some level wants Azula to have it, so I think it will be Azula."
"That's what I think too," Aang nodded. "I would feel really sorry for Katara, though. I think that from the Gaang, she has been the best player overall in this cycle. She deserves to go through just as much as Azula does."
"You'll get no argument from me," Yue sighed. "But the reality is stark and there's sadly only one ticket to the finals available…"
Azula entered her decisive game against Katara surging with confidence. Certainly, considering the importance of the encounter, their usual morning pre-game routine had felt weighed down by the heaviness of responsibility. There had been very little in the way of light banter as both girls had tried their best to get into a competitive mindset. This was easier said than done, however, considering the depth of love and affection both girls held for each other. It was hard to see Katara as merely another opponent at the Pai Sho board, and it was clear to Azula that her girlfriend was having the same difficulties focusing herself.
Azula was leading the tournament, but her lead over Katara was very slim, merely half a point. It did crucially mean that she was under less pressure to win their encounter when compared to Katara. They both had two games remaining after facing each other. Both Katara and Azula had to play Piandao, and there were no guarantees when facing the wily veteran. They also had to deal with some of the back-markers, but those games were expected to be mere formalities. In any case, their confrontation would by no means be the conclusive moment of the tournament, but psychologically it certainly could be seen as key to the overall victory. Whoever won their game would gain a massive advantage, not just by moving ahead in the standings, but in the shape of a morale boost that the victory would provide.
Of course, while Azula didn't necessarily have to win their game, she had learned all about the perils of playing for a draw with Katara. She had been painfully trounced by her girlfriend several times earlier in their careers when Azula had allowed herself to become complacent. Azula wasn't going to let that happen to her again, but of course, Katara was her equal in every way including her talent for Pai Sho, so she did not necessarily need Azula's complacency in order to prevail.
If Azula didn't already know that Katara was struggling with the Fire Nation heat, then she might have assumed that Katara had chosen her outfit for their match day with the idea to distract her, something that Katara had already been unfairly accused of before. Katara's red halter crop top with a floral pattern and tight denim shorts were a killer choice. Blue might have been Katara's favorite color, but Azula had always thought that her girlfriend looked particularly stunning while wearing red. Azula had at first wanted to go with her red pantsuit, but seeing what Katara had decided to wear Azula knew that she had to step up her game. She had settled on the lowest cut blouse she could find, together with a fetching red flared miniskirt. Katara's eyes had followed her out of their shared bedroom, so Azula knew that she had made a good choice, and the spectator reaction to them both had been immeasurably flattering.
Azula didn't really think that any such mind games would work, though. She and Katara knew each other far too well by this point to be affected by nonsense like a bit of revealing clothing. The only way this wouldn't be decided by pure skill and ability was if either of them allowed the entire occasion to get to them, and Azula was determined not to let that happen, despite how much rested on this game for her.
The game unfolded following a slow and calm pattern. It was almost like that one time in Omashu when Katara had managed to bluff Azula into thinking that she was playing for a draw. Azula wasn't going to be fooled by that again. She knew that Katara couldn't be playing for a draw… unless Katara had decided that she wasn't going to contest this and it was just her way to give Azula what she wanted by allowing her to progress to the finals. When it came to letting Azula win, Katara had never offered as much in words, but she had hinted at being willing to consider it, only for Azula to shut the idea down at the very core. But maybe Katara was still trying to give Azula the draw that benefitted her, without being obvious about it. In any case, Katara's lack of aggression was starting to confuse Azula, just because it didn't seem to make any sense, unless Katara was indeed handing the draw to her.
Then again, maybe this was what Katara had been trying to achieve, to confuse Azula. And she was doing a good job at it, despite Azula's internal resolution not to be fooled by Katara's tricks again. Azula figured that it was safe to assume that Katara was planning something, and she decided to plan her own strategy based on this assumption. The best way forward was not to be passive and wait until Katara could execute her plan. Azula decided to be aggressive and go for it.
The trouble with Azula's plan was that Katara's position did not appear to have any weaknesses to it. Perhaps the tile structure was slightly weaker on the left, and so Azula began to subtly focus her attentions there, making a few threatening moves to test the waters. Katara quickly reorganized her lines, transferring some of her central tiles to the left flank in order to bolster her defenses at the point of attack. However, Azula immediately spotted that this move left Katara's center exposed.
Azula sensed her opportunity. She kept the attack on the left flank going, but as she kept throwing more and more tiles into the attack, she did so in a way that allowed her to quickly switch them to strike at Katara's center. When four or five moves later Azula launched her real attack in the center, Katara's weakened tile structure broke quickly. Azula's plan was working. Her tiles quickly flooded the center of the board and pushed Katara's tiles way back to the edges of the board, overwhelming and swallowing many in the process. It was only a matter of time now before she would turn around and gobble up the flanks as well.
Except that Katara's flanks actually stood very solid and looked rather impenetrable. And now that Azula really thought about it, it was a little odd how Katara's center had crumbled so quickly. Also, her invading tiles were a bit of a chaotic herd, having gobbled up the easy prey on offer in this smash and grab invasion. Sure, she had secured a huge material advantage, but with dawning horror Azula began to realize that most of her tiles were now caught in a classic pincer move. And the worst of it all was that Azula felt as if she had actually created this pincer herself, instead of Katara having planned it from the start. Now, the only option left for her was to try and evacuate her tiles before the trap snapped shut.
And maybe she would have been successful while executing such a maneuver against a less skilled player, but this was Katara Enuaraq, holder of multiple world junior titles and a fellow prodigy at the Pai Sho board. Katara wasn't going to let this kind of opportunity slip by her. The pincer snapped shut while Azula was still hastily withdrawing, and many of her tiles were massacred during this rapid evacuation. She eventually managed to complete her withdrawal, reorganizing her tiles in the best order she could possibly manage, but taking stock of the situation Azula realized that she was a couple of tiles short and in a near untenable position. Her only saving grace would be if Katara was struggling for the allotted time to make her moves, but they both had almost half an hour left, which was more than enough for Katara to slowly squeeze the life out of her.
In the end, Azula didn't even make it to the fortieth move, by which the timing clocks would have been reset and extra time added for the next forty moves. Perhaps she could have prolonged her suffering for a few dozen moves, but that seemed like a waste of time as well as being disrespectful towards Katara. So, Azula instead stopped the timing clock and shook Katara's hand, trying her best to swallow her disappointment, refusing to show it. Beaming, Katara bowed to the crowd and received quite the cheer from the adolescent male spectators in particular. Azula also decided to wave to the crowd, a little petulantly, receiving just as much excited cheering, which at least made her feel slightly better.
Together, the two girls stepped a little aside to watch the game between Piandao and Jeong-Jeong, the outcome of which would likely prove important. It seemed that Piandao was losing, which was slightly surprising. "Was that always your plan?" Azula eventually couldn't stand watching in silence and asked her girlfriend. "Or did I just defeat myself?"
"It wasn't always my plan, but when you hit my flank, I realized that I might be able to lure you in by weakening the center," Katara admitted.
"And I fell for it like a total idiot," Azula grumbled. "I'm always so good at spotting everyone's traps, with the exception of yours."
"I'm flattered," Katara smiled at her in a way that made it hard for Azula to remain angry, either at herself or at Katara. "Maybe I'm just your kryptonite, love."
"Maybe you are," Azula gave a weak laugh. "Anyway, I think Piandao is toast. Shall we get out of here?"
"Sure," Katara nodded, giving her one of those patented soft looks that also held a tinge of concern. "Let's go and do something you want, shall we? Just pick anything, your choice."
"Tempting," Azula managed a smile. "I'll have to think about it for a bit." Of course, Katara's first thought would be to try and cheer her up. Azula's first instinct was to deny that she needed cheering up, but… she actually really did need it. And she knew that trying to convince Katara otherwise was a doomed effort.
"Anyway, I hope you're not too down on yourself, love," Katara said as they headed for the exit. "The tournament is not over, you know that, right? We both still have to face Piandao. Even if he's had a bad tournament, he's still going to be really dangerous, so I could easily lose to him."
"I'm not going to hope for your loss, Kat," Azula replied earnestly.
"That's sweet, but I'm just saying that anything could still happen," Katara smiled at her.
"I suppose you're right," Azula said as they got into their rented red Corvette and prepared to leave. Despite Katara's attempts to cheer her up, deep down Azula couldn't stop feeling as if she had blown her big opportunity.
Next chapter: conclusion of the qualifying tournaments. Who's going to make it through, Katara or Azula? And will Yue prevail against Pakku and Aang?