CW: Ozai and Zhao appear in this chapter, and they are absolutely gross, so expect racism, sexism and every other -ism in the book.

Chapter 90

Yue was in a very good mood prior to her penultimate round match against Pakku Karetak. She had managed to dispatch Aang in the previous round, while Pakku had dealt with one of the back-markers. Aang had put up a brave fight and it had been a grueling battle of wills until Yue had finally managed to overcome him late in the endgame. Yue had been pleased that Aang had put in his best effort as promised and she had no reason to suspect him of making things easy for her. This loss now put Aang out of the running for tournament win, as he had fallen too far behind, leaving the sole ticket into the finals to be decided between Yue and Pakku.

As Yue sat down to play Pakku in a game that was clearly going to decide the fate of the tournament, despite that they both had the final round game to play afterwards, Yue already knew that Pakku would be playing for a draw. They were both currently on seven points. Pakku had won their first encounter, and securing a draw now would mean that if they finished the tournament on equal points, Pakku would place above Yue. Pakku also was clearly feeling confident about winning his final round game against Aang, so his tactic of playing for a draw was perfectly sound. And while Yue often felt that going into a game with the mindset of not playing for a win was suicidal, Pakku clearly did not think so. He was a master of the defensive aspect of the game, perhaps the best in the world at it. He had more than fifty years of experience behind him. In the past, he had managed to hold Ozai Nakamura to draws at will. Why wouldn't he believe himself capable of securing a draw against some upstart, a talented one, but still just an upstart?

Even though the task ahead of her was monumental, Yue felt encouraged from seeing that she had guessed Pakku's intentions correctly as he was happy to cede initiative to her. This suited Yue perfectly, because all of her prep over previous days had been focused on this kind of a scenario, playing with initiative and attacking. Their first game earlier in the tournament had also revealed something important to Yue. Pakku had actually studied her style, and he had done so quite comprehensively. It felt very flattering that a grandmaster of Pakku's level viewed her as a legitimate threat. But it also meant that it would be very hard for her to surprise him, unless she came up with something new, a tactic she hadn't employed before.

Yue deliberately did not go on the attack too aggressively. She concentrated her tiles in the middle of the board and tried a few probing attacking maneuvers, all the time avoiding Pakku's attempts to exchange tiles and simplify the situation on the board. In short, Yue tried her best to create the impression that she was giving her maximum effort to attack, but failing to figure out a solid and reliable way to do so. Once Yue believed that Pakku had swallowed the bait, it was time to move on with the next stage of her plan.

Yue sent her tiles forward, striking Pakku in the center, a futile move considering the concentration of his defensive structure. Pakku rebuffed her attack easily. Yue tried to appear as worried and frustrated as possible about her sacrificed tiles, and she began to withdraw from her advanced position, appearing almost panicked. This was the crucial point in the game. Pakku was a player who favored an almost exclusively defensive style and he went on the attack only when he was completely convinced of success. If Pakku didn't use this moment to strike, then Yue knew that she would be in trouble, because she would have sacrificed her tiles for nothing.

Fortunately for Yue, Pakku blinked and took the bait. Yue's slightly disorganized looking retreat was too tempting of a target and Pakku instantly launched a blistering chase to capture Yue's retreating tiles. This was exactly what Yue had been counting on. She had never before executed this kind of feigned retreat and it was a tactic that was notoriously hard to pull off. However, when her tiles stopped their retreat, wheeled around and smashed into Pakku's advanced line, Yue knew that she had Pakku exactly where she wanted him.

Of course, Yue's position was still risky and her tiles were a little disorganized, but two factors played to her advantage. Pakku was not a great attacking player, and he failed to spot the strongest moves when he was out of his comfort zone. Secondly, the element of surprise was now on Yue's side, and Pakku looked unsettled, frowning into his goatee. The tiles he had sent on the attack had become detached from his main line and Yue smashed through them without much resistance. When she advanced on Pakku's far less tightly packed defensive line anew, she did so with not only renewed vigor, but also with material advantage. Despite all of Pakku's defensive skill, by the fortieth move his position had deteriorated to the point of being indefensible. When the tournament official approached them to reset their timing clocks, Pakku stopped him, instead announcing his surrender.

"Beautifully played, young lady," Pakku told her, bowing his head and surprising Yue by being graceful in defeat. "If you were to advance to the finals, Miss Taqqiq, I could never claim it to be undeserved."

"Thank you, Master Pakku," Yue smiled as she curtsied in response. "Those words mean a lot coming from you."

"And those words were completely sincere," Pakku said. He then smirked slightly. "Of course, the tournament isn't over yet." They exchanged smiles, both of them being well aware that the tournament was as good as over. Yue was now a whole point ahead with one game to go, and she was set to face a much weaker opponent in the final round while Pakku would be facing off against Aang. They both knew that Yue had just secured a ticket to the finals, something that she couldn't quite comprehend yet, and the enormity of it all was making her feel very lightheaded. At her tender twenty-one years of age, a girl taking on a man's world in her first year as a professional player, she had secured her place among the six best Pai Sho players in the world. Come the end of August, she would be taking on Ozai Nakamura himself, with the remote possibility of becoming the world champion. The last woman to become the world Pai Sho champion was the legendary Kyoshi, more than century and a half ago. Yue's achievement was truly mind-blowing and it hadn't even begun to sink in.

And it went even further than this, because she would be joined in the finals by one of her beloved girlfriends. The only question that still remained unanswered was whether it would be Azula or Katara who joined her in this quest to become world champion.

Just as Azula had predicted, counting on surprises to happen had been futile. Even though she had won her two final games, including a hard-fought victory over Piandao, it hadn't been enough. Katara had drawn her game with Piandao and then won her final game. They had both finished with eight points out of ten, but the two games between them had been a draw and a win for Katara. This meant that Katara was placed first and Azula finished second. Katara was going through to the finals to face her father, while Azula was left sitting with her dashed hopes, having to wait at least two more long years for her next opportunity to make it through to the finals.

And Katara would be returning to the Fire Nation in late August to take part in the finals alongside Yue, the two Water Tribe girls taking on the world together, with Azula being forced to watch from the sidelines. Yue had played a beautiful tournament in Agna Qel'a. Even though Pakku had won his final game against Aang, Yue had settled for a comfortable draw with one of the weaker masters, a result that placed her ahead of Pakku. The Pai Sho world was stunned by the news of these two upstarts, who were also inexplicably girls to boot, having left token finalists of many occasions like Pakku, Piandao and Jeong-Jeong wondering what the hell had just happened to them.

It was hard for Azula not to feel bitter about having lost out. After they had come back to Mai's apartment to celebrate Katara's success, opening a bottle of expensive champagne together with Ty Lee, Azula had then withdrawn to the balcony, feeling the need to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She was grateful to Katara for recognizing her need to be alone and not to come after her, and for stopping Ty Lee from doing so either. Azula simply needed to compartmentalize everything that had happened before she was ready to move on.

Azula hated how this outcome made her on some level feel slightly resentful towards Katara, and that was a shitty and unpleasant feeling to have. Azula had simply wanted this so badly. And Katara seemed to understand that, so couldn't she have allowed Azula to have what she wanted? But no, Azula had told Katara on several occasions not to go easy on her. As much as it hurt right now, Azula knew that if Katara had allowed her to win, it would have tainted her victory and she wouldn't have been able to take any pride in it. She simply had to accept the fact that on this occasion, Katara had been just that tiny bit better and craftier than her, despite how much this admission stung. She didn't want to feel any anger or resentment towards Katara. What Katara had achieved was nothing short of phenomenal. Azula wanted to feel nothing but pride about her girlfriend's success. And Azula was proud, but this pride was also accompanied with other, more conflicting feelings which Azula hoped would fade quickly.

The only person that Azula felt deserving to be the target of her ire was Azula herself. But even then, she had to admit that objectively she had played well throughout the tournament. Both she and Katara had handled Piandao and Jeong-Jeong with relative ease, despite the two grandmasters having for once done proper research and preparations to face them. It was just that one game which Azula had lost to Katara that she felt a little upset about. And it had been a beautiful game, too, but not because of the way she had played. In the years to come, Azula was sure that this game would be featured in many Pai Sho textbooks to illustrate a perfect pincer move. Azula couldn't help but feel rather miffed that this move had been executed on her. Even if it was her only loss in the entire tournament, it still stung quite a bit.

Azula knew that Katara had been worried that this more intense rivalry for the single ticket through to the finals could somehow come between them and impact their relationship. Azula had dismissed all of these concerns as ridiculous, and she still felt that way. However, Azula had seen the worried look on Katara's face when she had excused herself by saying that she needed some alone time on the balcony. And Azula had been sitting out on the balcony for a good half an hour now, watching the sun disappearing behind the rooftops as she quietly stewed on her conflicted feelings. Katara was probably becoming more and more worried about Azula's state of mind, and making Katara concerned was the one thing Azula didn't want to do. And it meant that Azula had to do the grownup thing and let go of her bitterness stemming from having failed to achieve her goal. Bringing her father down from his throne was important to Azula, but her relationship with Katara stood far above that in importance, and she was determined not to endanger it for anything.

Certain of what she had to do, Azula walked back inside the apartment, spotting Ty Lee alone in the living room, doing a bit of tidying up. "Ty Lee, where's Katara?" Azula asked quietly.

Ty Lee pointed to the doors of their bedroom. She frowned while looking at Azula. "I think Katara is afraid that you're upset with her," Ty Lee said.

"I'm not upset with her, Ty Lee," Azula sighed.

"Maybe you should tell her that," Ty Lee shrugged.

"I'm going to, don't worry," Azula attempted a smile. Ty Lee looked happier, giving her a nod of approval. "We'll see you tomorrow, Ty. Are you still adamant about waking up early to come to the airport with us?"

"Of course, I want to see you guys off properly," Ty Lee grinned at her.

"Thanks, Ty Lee," Azula smiled at her friend. She then walked up to the doors of the bedroom she shared with Katara, entering to find Katara sitting by the mirror, brushing her soft, long hair. Katara quickly dabbed at the corners of her eyes as Azula entered, however, and that small gesture served as a punch to Azula's gut. Azula quickly walked up to her girlfriend and sank down at her feet, wrapping her arms around Katara's shins and pressing her face against the other girl's knees, hot tears leaking from her eyes.

"Azula, why… why are you crying?" Katara asked in a hoarse voice that made it obvious that she had been crying herself.

"Because I made you cry," Azula sobbed in reply. "I should have never made you feel like I'm upset with you, because I really am not. I was being very selfish, only thinking about myself and what I wanted."

"You had very good reasons for wanting to win so badly," Katara replied. "I really hated taking the opportunity to face your father from you. This is the first time in my Pai Sho career when victory doesn't feel as sweet as it normally does."

"But it should feel sweeter than ever before, Katara, and it's not fair that it doesn't," Azula said, looking up at her girlfriend, her face stained with tears. "And I took that sweetness of victory away by my selfish tantrum. I haven't been a good girlfriend, Kat, and I'm so sorry about that."

"That's nonsense, Zula," Katara spoke softly, running her hands through Azula's hair. She tugged on Azula's shoulders, prompting her to rise. Katara also rose from the chair she had been sitting in and they both walked up to the bed. Katara lay on the bed and pulled Azula down with her, spooning her and peppering Azula's exposed neck with tiny, distracting kisses. "These small tensions are nothing compared to what we've overcome in the past, besides, you're not to be blamed for them. Remember, as soon as we saw the tournament draw, we both knew how upsetting this might become. And if your father was behind that, instead of it being just randomness of the draw, well… then it's him we have to blame."

"I suppose so," Azula sighed. "I still shouldn't have made you feel as if this is somehow more important to me than it is to you, because it's massive for you. You're going to play in the finals. Katara, you and Yue are both among the six best Pai Sho players in the world. That's incredible, and I should have focused on celebrating that right away instead of pining for my missed opportunity. And worse than everything else, I made you cry."

"It doesn't matter, Zula," Katara whispered in her ear. "I overreacted as well. I blew your reaction way out of proportion. We're good now, aren't we? I think we're good." Azula remained silent. She felt that Katara was letting her off too easy once again after she had been so self-absorbed, thinking only about how this meant so much to her. "Zula, I imagine that seeing me and Yue play in the finals might be very hard for you," Katara spoke softly. "When it's time for us to go to the Fire Fountain City, perhaps it would be for the best if you remained in Ba Sing Se."

Azula swirled around to face Katara with a determined but also affronted look on her face. "You don't want me there?" Azula asked, feeling hurt to the point of a sharp physical ache in her chest.

"Azula, I will always want you with me," Katara said, looking a little taken aback. "I'm just suggesting what I think might be best for you. I hate the idea of you being hurt and upset. But I think I might have made a wrong assumption. You would clearly find being told to stay at home far more upsetting, even if it wasn't meant as casting you aside."

"You're damn right that I won't be cast aside, Katara," Azula insisted firmly. "I'll be with you and Yue every step of the way in the Fire Fountain City. I'm going to support both of you all the way through the finals, and I'll make damn sure that you are as well prepared as possible. You will not find a more dedicated coach, sparring partner and support staff in one person than me, because if I can't face and defeat my father myself, trust me that I'm going to do everything in my power that either you or Yue succeed where I failed. I'm 100% behind giving you both the best possible chance to become the world champion."

Katara was tearing up as she pulled Azula close, kissing her on the lips with burning and desperate necessity. "Your passion makes me literally melt, Zula," she whispered between heated kisses. "Spirits, I love you so much." Katara rolled on her back, pulling Azula on top of her. "And I need you to make love to me now, Azula Nakamura," Katara hissed with burning need.

That was one order Azula was more than happy to comply with.

"You're disappointed," Zhao Sakamoto remarked, dragging a puff from his cigarette, looking at his boss, Ozai Nakamura, leaning against the railing of the balcony, swirling his whiskey tumbler before downing its contents. "You actually wanted her to make it through to the finals, didn't you?" Zhao asked.

"Obviously," Ozai scowled, as if annoyed for having to explain the obvious. "Facing my sweet little Azula in the finals would have been so enjoyable. Four games, four opportunities for touching moments of bonding between a father and his beloved daughter," he added with a smirk.

"I guess that's why you didn't interfere with the tournament in Caldera," Zhao reasoned.

Ozai nodded. "Yes, I thought that if I left her alone, she might actually make it through on her own merit, but apparently she's as much of a failure as my worthless son," he snorted. "Fine, that's unfair to Azula, she could never be quite as pathetic as Zuko, but ever since she has flown the coop, Azula has been a constant source of embarrassment for me. All those sponsorship deals, they're so vulgar. I would have never allowed my daughter to expose herself like that on magazine covers."

"You'd be happy for Azula to expose herself for you, though," Zhao pointed out with a wicked grin.

Ozai laughed hungrily. "Still sore about the way our little arrangement fell through?" he smirked at his underling.

"Can you blame me?" Zhao shrugged. "We both know that Azula is one of a kind. Of course, I would have liked to get my hands on her. And I did, once, only for you to beat me senseless."

"In my opinion, everyone benefits from the occasional beating or two," Ozai shrugged.

"Well, after she pulled all those tricks on you, at least you acknowledged that she had entrapped me back then on Ember Island," Zhao said. "But yes, maybe you should have done something to unsettle that other girl if you really wanted Azula to make it through to face you in the finals."

"Eh, crushing one of Azula's little Ba Sing Se friends will feel satisfying enough," Ozai snorted. "This Katara girl is quite the doll, and I'm saying that as someone who usually finds Water Tribe women a little dull."

"And her other friend making it through in Agna Qel'a as well, that's actually quite remarkable," Zhao said. "Agna Qel'a has always been like a fortress for that old fart Pakku. Beating him on his home turf, that's no small feat."

"Let's not overestimate these little upstarts, Zhao. They're only twenty-one years old. When put under serious pressure and facing real men, they're going to crack," Ozai said confidently. "Trust me, my friend. We're going to have a lot of fun toying with these two Water whores."

"I'm sure you're right, my friend," Zhao nodded. "Destroying them would probably hit Azula hard, too. They're all good friends, aren't they?"

Ozai's expression clouded, becoming angry and even disgusted. "According to Long Feng's eyes and ears in Ba Sing Se, they're more than just friends," Ozai growled. "That's what irritates me the most. I knew of Azula's proclivities towards such degeneracy when I caught her with the Watanabe girl, and while she was under my care, I could at least control her interactions with her peers. I should have broken her as soon as she turned sixteen. After that she would have no further inclination towards eating pussy. That lost opportunity just sickens me, Zhao."

Zhao nodded silently. If he thought that a man contemplating sexual abuse of his own daughter while ranting about her homosexuality was the height of hypocrisy, then he certainly wasn't going to say anything to Ozai's face. He knew he had no room to speak. He had been having covetous thoughts of Azula when she had been as young as fourteen. He had flirted with her, complimenting Azula on her looks even at that age, whenever Ozai wasn't within the earshot and Zhao thought he could get away with it.

"Well, at least with these two children in the finals, you won't have any trouble cruising to another title, Ozai," Zhao said then. "It's going to be a breeze now that Long Feng has made it through as well."

"He had no right not to make it through," Ozai rolled his eyes. "I brought that ticket into the finals to him on a silver platter. Home walls in Ba Sing Se, pathetic opposition, and he still dared to struggle and cut it close. Sometimes I really have to wonder about Long Feng."

"Well, he has a lot on his plate with the Yu Dao situation," Zhao pointed out.

"Yes, about that," Ozai nodded. "I plan to have words with him when Long Feng arrives here for the finals. That idiot had no right to wrap up the conflict so quickly. We have warehouses full of supplies that need to be moved, and we can't do that if there's no war in Yu Dao."

"I'm sure Long Feng will be amenable to perhaps opening up another front," Zhao suggested. "You know that he only ended the conflict so decisively because he was facing a lot of pressure internally."

"I know, and I don't care," Ozai shrugged. "We have goods to move and money to make. I don't give a shit about Long Feng's struggles with internal politics. I can make a deal with the guy who replaces Long Feng."

"Long Feng could squeal, though," Zhao said worriedly.

"I think if the head of secret police goes down, then they go down permanently with no opportunities to squeal," Ozai smirked. "But we'll see. Maybe he'll see the wisdom of keeping the flames of military conflict alight. I refuse to believe that he has become tired of raking in mountains of cash."

"Long Feng will never get tired of making more money," Zhao laughed. "Anyway, do you agree that you have the title as good as wrapped up again?" he asked.

"Who's going to stop me?" Ozai replied haughtily. "Gyatso is the only serious challenger, and he's getting on in years. I wouldn't worry about him."

"You're not worried even though he prevailed against Bumi in Omashu?" Zhao sounded a little concerned. "That is no mean feat, Ozai."

"That's why I have you and Long Feng in the finals with me, to slow Gyatso down and soften him up," Ozai smirked. "It's in the bag, Zhao."

"Those two girls are pretty talented, though," Zhao admitted reluctantly. "I must admit, I've struggled with them before, although I had been shirking on prep."

"Well, there's your problem, Zhao," Ozai said confidently as he lit up another cigarette. "Let me tell you, Zhao, the only thing those Water whores are good for is getting fucked in the ass. And I intend to do exactly that, either figuratively at the Pai Sho board, or quite literally if it strikes my fancy…"

Zuko lay on the sofa with his head in Sokka's lap, his boyfriend occasionally running his fingers through his hair in a highly distracting manner. It was yet another quiet but peaceful evening at their Ba Sing Se apartment. Zuko had spent the morning at the Jasmine Dragon offices, going through some legalese regarding the opening of a Jasmine Dragon franchise in Agna Qel'a, but he had come home early to get in a few hours of solid Pai Sho practice before Sokka returned from his new R&D job at the Cadillac factory offices.

"I still can't believe that my little sister has an actual opportunity to become a world champion in Pai Sho," Sokka said, shaking his head in disbelief. Zuko had been on the phone with Azula earlier, his sister calling from Caldera City before boarding her plane to return to Ba Sing Se. "And one of her girlfriends, too. I shouldn't forget about Yue, it's a remarkable achievement for her as well."

"It really is," Zuko agreed readily. "They both completely deserve it, too."

"What about Azula?" Sokka asked. "She must be really disappointed about missing out, no?"

Zuko shrugged. "You know Azula. If she was disappointed, there's no way she was going to tell me that," he chuckled wryly. "She didn't sound disappointed, though. Even if I'm sure that she's at least a little upset." Zuko paused for a while, simply enjoying the feel of Sokka's fingers running through his hair. "Sokka, please don't tell this to Azula, but I'm actually kind of glad that she didn't make it through."

"What? Why would you-" Sokka asked, the movement of his hand coming to a halt. "Is it because of what happened in the Fire Fountain City tournament?"

"Yes, exactly," Zuko replied. Obviously, Azula hadn't told anything about that disaster to Zuko. However, Katara had told Sokka about Azula having an episode right before facing Ozai, and Sokka had then told Zuko. "And I want to make it crystal clear that I think my sister is capable of beating our father, and so am I. But I think that if she was to face him so soon, Ozai would find a way to break her. And I really don't want that to happen. Not now, when we have finally found a way to get along." Getting along was the best way Zuko could characterize their relationship at this point. Azula still didn't want to discuss anything about their respective personal lives, and she was adamant about not revisiting the past. But as long as they were no longer fighting, Zuko was going to take whatever he could get.

"I hear you," Sokka nodded in agreement. "But it makes me worry about Katara and Yue. I mean, sure, Ozai doesn't have any kind of personal enmity towards them, but he knows that they're Azula's friends. He might even know about their three-way relationship. Could he try to mess with my sister and Yue?" Sokka asked. Zuko didn't reply straight away, feeling torn on giving Sokka the truth. "Zuko?" Sokka asked again.

"I'll be honest, he'll probably try to play mind games with them both, yes," Zuko sighed. "My father is an irredeemable asshole of epic proportions, I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

"I don't want Kat and Yue to get hurt," Sokka looked worried now. "Is there anything we can do?" he asked.

"There might be ways to help them," Zuko nodded. "Azula and I know all about the methods that our father uses to mentally break people. We can try and prepare Yue and Katara for that. If they know what to expect, it's possible that they will have an easier time resisting his mind games."

"That sounds really useful, actually," Sokka appeared a little more relieved. "Once the girls all get back to Ba Sing Se, how about we all sit down together and have a talk about it. I'm even prepared to ask for some time off from work to go with them to the Fire Nation and offer my support during the finals."

"Don't be silly, Sokka, you can't ask for time off, you only just started at your new job," Zuko softly chided his boyfriend. "Azula said that she's going to accompany her girls to the finals and look out for them. And if there's one thing I can say about my sister, it's that she is fiercely loyal. In the past, her loyalty erroneously extended only to Ozai, but she has broken those bonds, and now she has that fierce loyalty towards Katara and Yue, and I think that's a very good thing. As for your other idea, of course, I'll share all the experience I have."

"Even though it won't be easy for you to remember it, I'm sure," Sokka said gently, now running his palm across Zuko's chest. "I really appreciate it on Katara's behalf."

"You do?" Zuko arched his eyebrow at him.

"I do," Sokka nodded earnestly.

"How much do you appreciate it, Sokka?" Zuko asked.

"No idea," Sokka grinned. "But here, let me show you," he said, leaning downwards to kiss his boyfriend.

Next chapter: Here we finally are, after 90 chapters the stage is set for an actual world championship. Katara and Yue are going up against Ozai, his two goons and the single good guy Gyatso. How will all of this pan out?