Chapter 99
Azula stood side by side with Sokka among the crowd of spectators, observing the post-tournament flower ceremony, celebrating the three prize winners with Bumi standing on the top spot of the podium and flashing his toothless grin at the gathered Pai Sho fans and news reporters. Zuko stood on the second step of the podium, looking deservedly pleased about his performance, having knocked Pakku Karetak down to the third spot. Pakku didn't look too happy about the outcome, because for many decades, the Agna Qel'a tournaments were almost like home runs for him, with nobody capable of challenging him on his turf. Lately, he was finding tournament victories much harder to come by.
Even though there were no prizes given out for finishing in the fourth place, Azula was not disappointed by her performance. She had held up fairly well mentally, and she had been competitive throughout the tournament despite still being far off from her best Pai Sho form. Her finish in the fourth place would also give a slight boost to her rating, which was always welcome. All in all, Azula felt fairly satisfied with this outcome, but even so she had already made her decision not to sign up for any tournaments in the near future. Azula wanted to first see how Yue and Katara would react to the therapy and if they would be able to resume practicing with her given enough time to recover. Azula was also determined to give an earnest try to master "Guru" Pathik's mental toughness training, and hopefully the results would be positive and allow Azula to regain her top shape. Zuko had all but agreed to take Azula to meet the "Guru" a week after their return to Ba Sing Se, and Azula couldn't wait to get started.
"Damn, I'm so proud of him, you know," Sokka sighed, sniffling a little as Zuko together with Pakku and Bumi were escorted away from the stage to be thrown at the mercy of the reporters during the press conference, which sadly was not even close to being the final boring post-tournament formality.
"I get that," Azula nodded. She did know what Sokka was talking about. She had experienced that same very intense feeling of pride every time Katara or Yue did well at their events. "Zuko really does deserve it," she added. While it rankled slightly, it was the truth. Zuko had made a better start to the current world championship cycle than Azula had. Heck, even Aang had made a better start than Azula. But it wasn't all that surprising, especially in the case of Zuko. Her brother had taken a year off to clear his mind from all distractions, and he had made his return with renewed vigor, while Azula was still struggling to shed the emotional fallout of the previous cycle, a fallout mostly resulting from her girlfriends being affected and even traumatized by the actions of her father… actions for which Azula was determined to make him suffer.
"I think you did really well, too," Sokka smiled at her.
"Like you'd know that," Azula snorted, lightly elbowing him in the ribs. "Thanks, though." She glanced around at the dispersing crowd, looking a little anxious. "So…" Azula began, fidgeting lightly.
"You want to rush to the asylum," Sokka saw through her with annoying ease. Azula nodded reluctantly. "Well, what's stopping you?" he asked. "Do you think Zuko will be angry if you don't stick around to congratulate him?"
Azula made a face. "No, I don't really think that, Zuko and I have seen way too much of each other over the past few weeks, he must be sick to the stomach at the mere sight of me," Azula attempted to deflect with an awful joke.
"Don't be dumb, he's enjoyed every moment of spending time with his sister and actually being on very good and friendly terms with you," Sokka sighed at her. "And don't you worry about leaving early. Zuko will completely understand that you want to be with Katara and Yue right now."
"Well alright, as long as you pass on congratulations from me," Azula said. It wasn't that she really wanted to stick around for hours to congratulate Zuko on his achievement. She was proud of her brother, but maybe not that proud. Azula's main reason for not wanting to upset Zuko was because she didn't want to give him a reason to back out of his promise to accompany her to the boot camp of "Guru" Pathik. "Also, I suspect that you two will be disgustingly gross when Zuko is finally released to rejoin us, and I'd rather not be present as the third-wheel for your disgusting grossness," Azula added.
"Oh yes, there will definitely be some gross face sucking," Sokka grinned at her. Azula winced at his words. "But I'll pass on your congratulations, don't worry."
Azula still hesitated, not leaving just yet. "I know that you two are leaving tomorrow while I'm staying for two extra days," she said. "So, I just wanted to know if you wanted to spend any more time with Katara."
"That's very thoughtful of you," Sokka appeared impressed with her for some reason. "But I've spent plenty of time with Kat during these two weeks. Zuko will want to celebrate his success, and I also know how much you want to be gross with your girlfriends, so… nah, I'll stick with Zuko. Besides, I already said farewells to Kat when I visited yesterday, she doesn't expect me today. But she definitely expects you."
"Uh, right," Azula said, blushing slightly. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way then."
"Do you want me to drive you there?" Sokka asked. "Zuko will probably be busy for a while yet."
"I was thinking about getting a cab," Azula shrugged. "I mean… I wouldn't say no if you're offering. I could always use a mule for carrying my suitcases."
"It's so nice to be appreciated," Sokka sighed, then proceeding to make donkey noises at Azula.
"You are so ridiculous, I am getting a cab instead," Azula sighed, turning to leave.
"Oh, for crying out loud, princess, I'll stop with that," Sokka laughed, hurrying after her. Azula sighed again, but she was unable to hide a smile as Sokka caught up with her and they entered the elevator together, heading up to retrieve Azula's luggage. She had already meticulously prepared everything beforehand, so it was simply a matter of forcing Sokka to haul the two heavy suitcases towards the rented car while Azula stayed behind to sort the checkout at the reception. Less than thirty minutes later, she stood at the gate of the Crystal Castles Sanatorium next to her suitcases, having just hugged Sokka before watching him take off again, driving back towards the hotel.
Azula walked up to the gate and pressed the button to activate the microphone and announce herself to the gate guard. Soon enough she was admitted inside, hauling her suitcases up to the entrance into the asylum and then all the way up to Katara's room at the end of the west wing, probably the nicest room of the establishment, featuring a lovely look at the garden. For the amount of money they were paying for Katara's rehab, Azula was going to make damn sure that her precious girlfriend was given the best that money could buy.
Azula had been visiting the asylum with such regularity that the staff she came across didn't even bat an eyelid when they saw her dragging the heavy luggage all the way up to Katara's room. Azula remembered most of these people from her stay at the Crystal Castles Sanatorium more than four years ago. It made sense to Azula that employee turnaround would be minimal at an establishment catering to the needs of the upper class and the employee pay was probably way above the average. Azula was in particular pleased that Kya, the nurse she had somewhat befriended all those years ago, was still at the asylum, and it was Kya who now knocked on the doors of Katara's room before entering.
"Hi, Azula," the cheerful nurse grinned at her. Azula smiled back, not bothered by the familiar manner of the older woman. "In case you're wondering, the girls are taking another walk in the park, but they should be back shortly." Azula hadn't been particularly surprised about the absence of Katara and Yue. They were not tied down at the asylum and understandably didn't want to spend all day cooped up in their room. Besides, Azula had arrived earlier than she was expected, because Azula had at first thought that she would be hanging out with Zuko and Sokka after the tournament ending, before realizing that her presence was actually not required.
"It's alright, I'll wait," Azula said, perching down on the bed and tucking her legs underneath her.
"Are you hungry?" Kya asked with that encouraging and kind smile of hers. "I could go raid the kitchen and whip something up for you, like a grilled cheese sandwich."
Azula immediately felt her mouth starting to water. She hadn't eaten the whole day, not since grabbing a quick bite at the hotel, but that had been very early in the morning. With how much energy Azula generally expended during these tournaments, she was definitely not taking a good enough care of herself, and the fact that she felt not only starving but also rather lightheaded was a stark reminder of that. "I would appreciate that, thank you," Azula nodded. She felt like she could probably chomp down a couple of sandwiches, but she had been conditioned from a very young age to eat very little, because apparently that was the only behavior becoming of upper-class girls. Ozai would have never stood for Azula having an ounce of fat on her body, and unfortunately, she had discovered why.
"Would you also like to have some nice crispy bacon with it?" Kya teased. Azula nodded eagerly. She'd never ask for it herself, not wanting to be seen as a glutton, but if she was offered to indulge, Azula was only happy to accept. And she desperately needed to rebuild her strength. Katara and Yue would probably try their best to wear her out later in the evening, and Azula was already looking forward to that.
Kya returned some twenty minutes later, carrying a tray with a massive grilled cheese sandwich, bowl of crispy bacon bits and a mug of delicious chai latte, just what Azula needed to bring her energy levels back up. As Azula eagerly dug in, Kya didn't leave right away, hanging around to keep her company, and Azula didn't mind that at all. "Is your brother still playing Pai Sho?" Azula asked in-between hungry bites.
"Haha, I'm shocked that you would even remember!" Kya laughed. "Yes, he is. And he almost made it through to the U18 finals this year. It was really close, but hopefully next year it'll happen for him. He practices really hard."
"Well, tell him to keep at it," Azula nodded, continuing to stuff herself with the greasy treats. "And just let me know if you want anything signed."
Kya grinned at that. "Oh, you might regret offering that," she said. "I might be back with a bunch of stuff for you to sign tomorrow."
"It's the least I can do," Azula shrugged. "I owe my gratitude to everyone who's here and helping Katara. And I haven't forgotten how much you helped me when I was here as a patient. If you hadn't helped me hide when my father was about to order his goons to raid this place…"
"Hey, you don't have to think about that anymore," Kya shook her head, looking a little upset. "It's all in the past. You've done so well after leaving the asylum." Azula nodded at that, resuming her assault on the grilled cheese sandwich.
Kya stuck around for a while longer, waiting for Azula to be done eating as they exchanged more small talk. She then took the tray with dishes and turned to leave, stopping on the doorstep. "I can hear voices down the hallway," she smiled at Azula. "I think the girls are back from their walk."
Azula rose from the bed and quickly checked her appearance in the mirror just to make sure she had wiped all the grease stains from her chin. Satisfied with her looks, Azula turned to face the opening doors and saw Yue entering, followed by Katara. "She's here!" Yue exclaimed joyfully.
"Azula!" Katara cried excitedly, darting past Yue and tackling Azula onto the bed. Azula was almost crushed under the weight of an amorous Water Tribe girl on top of her, peppering her face with heated kisses.
"Damn it, Kat, leave something for me," Yue laughed, having closed the doors and then hurrying to join them on the bed. Katara eventually climbed off a rather breathless Azula, but she barely had any time to catch her breath before Yue was leaning in to take over from Katara and proceed to smooch Azula some more.
"Are you two quite done yet?" Azula asked once Yue had finally given her the chance to breathe again, vainly pretending that she wasn't thrilled about the greeting she had received.
"For now," Katara smiled at her. It was such a relief to see Katara smiling so much lately, and that by itself felt like the best sign of them all. Back in early November, before coming to the asylum, Katara had often appeared like a pale shadow of her former self, as if she had been drained from all passion and joy. "So, how did you do in the final round?" Katara asked eagerly.
"I won, of course," Azula replied smugly. The smugness was completely unearned, of course. Her record was decent - seven wins, three draws and three losses – but it was not exactly impressive.
"Fourth place, then?" Yue asked. Azula nodded. "Did Zuko secure the second?" Yue asked again.
"He did, with very little fuss," Azula said. She almost caught herself saying how annoying it was to have Zuko do better than her, but Azula remembered just in time that Yue and Katara would probably take it the wrong way, as if it was somehow their fault for not being there for Azula and helping her get back into her best Pai Sho form. "Well, the job is done, as usual. We don't have to talk about the tournament anymore," Azula said decisively. "Why don't you tell me how you've been doing?" she looked at Katara.
"We played for almost two hours straight this morning," Katara replied proudly. Her expression then fell a little. "But then I started to experience some physical symptoms and had to stop. But it was still progress."
"I suppose that's good," Azula said, trying to sound encouraging, even if deep down she was worried. Two hours was still so far off from where Katara needed to be. And she was very concerned about the symptoms Katara had confessed to having experienced. Heart palpitations did not sound good at all.
"It really is good, Zula, two weeks ago Katara couldn't even look at the board without experiencing flashbacks," Yue said, lightly poking her in the ribs. "Remember, no pressure of expectations, but we're on track for early March."
"That would be great," Azula nodded hopefully. Six weeks without her girlfriends felt maddening enough. Azula really didn't want to think about Katara's recovery possibly needing even more time.
"I really hope that I can do it," Katara said, looking a tiny bit tense and stressed. "Not only do I hate the idea of not seeing you for almost two months, I also hate that Yue is missing out on so much of her studies," Katara sighed.
"I'm keeping on top of things, Kat, you know that," Yue said, pointing at a stack of books on one of the nightstands. "There's no need for you to put pressure on yourself because of that. Remember, I have everything cleared up with the BSSU." Yue was in constant contact with her lecturers in Ba Sing Se, and she had leant the necessary textbooks from the library of one of Agna Qel'a colleges. This allowed her to keep on top of her studies remotely.
"I suppose so," Katara allowed herself a small smile. "At least my own studies are so customizable that I don't have to worry about missing out. I'll go back to my hospital whenever I'm able." Azula inwardly sighed in relief. She wanted Katara to follow her dream of one day becoming a surgeon, but she also really hated Katara working at that flea infested, shabby Lower Ring hospital. As far as Azula was concerned, Katara deserved better.
"Have you made any decisions about the next tournament, Zula?" Yue asked. "What's the plan for the future?"
"I was thinking about taking at least the next three months off from any serious tournaments, just to focus on getting back in my best shape," Azula said, electing not to mention that she wanted to wait for Yue and Katara to regain their passion for Pai Sho and be able to help her. She couldn't make her loves think that she was putting her career on pause because of them. They didn't need that sort of pressure. "Remember, we still have a year and four months in this cycle, and I only need four more tournaments to meet the criteria. We're not on a tight schedule like in the previous cycle when we jumped in late."
"That's true, I suppose," Yue nodded. "So, what are you going to do in Ba Sing Se if you're not playing?"
This was starting to become a slightly tricky path of questioning for Azula, because of her plans to attend the boot camp of "Guru" Pathik together with Zuko, and she was determined not to tell her loves about it until she had already done it. Azula had convinced herself that she had to do it and her mind was dead set on it. On top of everything that Ozai had already done, he had now gone and destroyed Katara and Yue's passion for the game all three of them had loved so much and which had brought them all together. Azula knew that she would do anything that was necessary to take revenge for her girls, for her poor horses and for herself.
"Well, I need to do a lot of writing for The Harmony Ring," Azula came back with a previously prepared story. She had always prided herself in being a very accomplished liar, but that skill of hers had slipped when she had fallen for Katara and then for Yue as well. Lying to her two loves was something she found extremely difficult and it required extra effort on her part. "I've taken some notes on the Agna Qel'a tournament, but honestly, I've been slacking with that diary format they wanted me to do, so I'm going to go really hard at it once I get back home."
"I look forward to reading your secret Pai Sho diaries," Katara winked at her. "And receiving daily calls from you, of course."
Azula winced inwardly. This was going be a potential problem she hadn't considered at first. Zuko had told her that Pathik lived in such isolation that he didn't even have a landline reaching to his remote dwelling at the edge of the desert. The closest village was twelve miles away and had a pay phone, but Azula could not seriously expect herself to make that journey every day, which was why another white lie was needed. "About that," she said. "The Harmony Ring also wants me to do something like a speed Pai Sho tour. You know, just going around the Earth Kingdom and taking part in all the speed game tournaments that are taking place. That would mean I'd be on the road for a couple of weeks, and I might be too busy to check in with you every day," Azula said, making sure she appeared appropriately regretful, which wasn't all that hard because she genuinely did regret having to do this.
"But you'll still call whenever you can, of course?" Katara asked, looking rather upset, which didn't do any favors to Azula's already considerable feelings of guilt.
"Of course, she will, Kat," thankfully Yue came to her rescue. "How about we instead focus on the two amazing days ahead that Azula gets to stay here with us?"
"That's true," Katara brightened up immediately. "Yue and I have already made plans for the next two days."
"Have you now?" Azula narrowed her eyes at Katara. "And what do these plans entail, pray tell?" she asked.
"Yue and I just checked out the channel that's snaking around the park," Katara spoke excitedly. "It's frozen over solid by now, which means only one thing… tomorrow morning we're going ice skating!"
Azula let out a groan. "But I don't know how to skate," she groused. Katara and Yue would probably make her look like a clumsy oaf, and Azula hated not being excellent at something.
"You'll pick it up right away, Azula, I promise," Yue nodded confidently. "You have such excellent balance."
"Exactly," Katara nodded in agreement. "You used to do a lot of fencing and hor-" she cut herself short, her eyes widening in horror. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright, Katara," Azula said, somehow managing not to start tearing up. "I used to do a lot of horse riding during my teens. You can say it, love."
"Okay," Katara smiled in relief. "Anyway, Yue and I would really love it if you joined us for some ice skating. We both think you're going to love it."
"Oh, fine," Azula sighed, giving in shamefully quickly. She really couldn't say no to either of these girls, they were both her greatest strength and greatest weakness at once.
"As for this evening, we really don't have anything else planned other than this," Katara smiled wickedly before leaning in and starting to kiss Azula with definite purpose to make her aroused. Yue's hands slipping under her sweater while she was being kissed by Katara made it almost impossible to keep a clear head and not surrender to the passions immediately.
"It's not even nine in the evening and I only just got here," Azula made one last token complaint when Katara released her lips from a kiss that had made them both breathless. "Shouldn't we just, I don't know, talk some more first?"
Yue merely laughed at Azula's token protestations, her hands starting to tug on the hem of Azula's sweater, pushing it upwards, while Katara had already undone the top two buttons on Azula's jeans. "I think we're way past talking, love. We're ready to move on to the main course," Yue whispered before leaning in for her turn to smother Azula with a kiss full of blazing passion.
Several hours later Azula felt not only thoroughly satisfied and exhausted, but also intensely grateful to nurse Kya for feeding her before she had engaged in such exertions. Without the hastily devoured meal, Azula doubted that she would have had the energy to last the distance and match the intensity and passion of her girlfriends. But now, with the clock just about to strike midnight, the three of them were cuddling in the bed that was actually meant to be a very large single, could fit two people comfortably, but was a very tight squeeze for the three of them. Not that they minded to be packed like sardines, of course, but on the first few nights there had been some unfortunate accidents with one of them getting squeezed right out of the bed and ending up in a heap on the floor. To solve that problem, they had pushed the bed right up against one of the walls, which had proved helpful.
And even though Azula was visiting during the coldest spell of the winter, Yue and Katara always made sure to turn off the central heating in their room, because according to her Water Tribe girlfriends, sharing a bed with Azula was almost like being propped up against a furnace, she was generating so much body heat. Azula had shot back, accusing her girlfriends of being cold blooded lizard people, even if it was the opposite of what Azula actually thought, knowing that Katara and Yue could match her passion and intensity inch for inch. Azula was mostly just amused by the whole thing, and it wasn't as if Yue and Katara were ever going to let her freeze.
At some point, as they were still breathing slightly heavier than normally, not feeling any need to talk and instead just cuddling close as they came down from their shared high, Ran jumped on the bed and made his way over to settle in comfortably on Katara's chest, looking very pleased himself as he began to purr contently. "Aw, look at the cute kitty cat," Katara crooned, reaching out and tiredly scratching the happy feline behind the ears.
Yue turned to Katara with a wicked gleam in her blue eyes. "I think he's more of a titty cat right now," she giggled.
Azula let out a pained groan. "Agni, that was Sokka levels of bad, Yue," she glared at the other girl. "You should feel terrible about yourself."
"It was very bad, I agree," Katara nodded carefully, trying her hardest not to move around too much and dislodge the kitty. "It's so weird that Shaw does the same thing that Ran always did, climbing in the bed to sit on my chest."
Azula burst into laughter at that comment, unable to contain herself any longer and causing Katara, Yue and 'Shaw' to give her curious stares. "You want to elaborate on that, love?" Yue asked teasingly.
"Uh, okay…" Azula managed, knowing that she was in trouble now. "You see, Katara, when you said that you wanted to bring Shaw to Agna Qel'a, I became a little worried. I know that these long flights are quite traumatic to animals, I read about that in some nature mag. And I didn't want Shaw to be exposed to that too when Ran had already sort of gotten used to it a little, so… I might have switched the collars on the cats?"
Katara gave her a wide-eyed stare. "What… you mean this is… Ran?" she asked in confusion.
Azula nodded shyly. "To be honest, I don't know if it's Ran or Shaw anymore because I've swapped their collars so many times over the years," she admitted. "All I can say is that this is the same cat you took to Agna Qel'a in November."
"I should be angry for-" Katara began, stopping when Yue broke into laughter of her own, unable to stop, starting to wheeze and turning as red as a tomato. "What's so funny about it, Yue? I don't appreciate being messed with like that!"
"No, Kat… it's… it's not about that," Yue somehow managed to get a hold of herself. "Azula, you're going to hate me for this, but… but this actually isn't the same kitty who came with Katara back in November. You see… I was also concerned about the other kitty having to suffer the long journey, so… I also swapped their collars in secret!"
Azula stared at Yue for a long time as the comprehension finally set in. "You mean…" Azula gasped. "You… we… double swapped the collars?" she groaned.
It was Katara who began to laugh like crazy the first, Yue and Azula joining her immediately after. Soon, all three of them were shaking with laughter, unable to stop as tears poured down their cheeks. With Katara shaking so much, Ran (or maybe Shaw) made his escape to sit at the foot of the bed, giving his three clearly mad owners a deeply reproachful and judgmental stare.
"So… are we all okay with this?" Jet asked, leaning against a partly collapsed wall of what had once been a splendorous three-story house in downtown Yu Dao. He was looking at a screaming man, pleading as he was being dragged down the street by a patrol of Fire Army troopers, accompanied by a Freedom Fighter from one of their few surviving sister cells.
"Snitches get stitches," Bee shrugged, standing next to him, her posture radiating anxiety. "It is what it is."
Longshot gave her a heavily set frown, looking disapproving, while Pipsqueak merely shrugged. Neither of them was about to contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way, unlike the Duke, the younger boy speaking up, looking quite upset. "You think all of them are guilty of what they're being accused of?" he snapped irately. "What about the due process?"
"This is war," Smellerbee snapped right back. "There's no time for all this due process shit. You know perfectly well what these people did. Many of our brothers and sisters died because of them."
"Not denying that," Jet nodded. During the months of Earth Kingdom's complete occupation, before the Fire Army had reinvaded Yu Dao, the Freedom Fighters had suffered terribly. The Dai Li had put out very tempting bounties on the surviving Freedom Fighters, encouraging the beleaguered, suffering citizens of Yu Dao, the few that for some reason hadn't fled the city, to snitch on the remaining rebels. Like Bee said, many of their sisters and brothers had been nabbed by the Dai Li, never to be seen again, and their fate was surely a grim and depressing one. It was no wonder that as soon as the Fire Army had regained ground in Yu Dao, the surviving Freedom Fighters crawled out of their hidden safe houses where they had been laying low and began seeking retribution on the informants of the Dai Li. The streets were running red with civilian blood, and as much as Jet disliked selling out good people for scraps of money and food, he could also understand desperate people doing whatever it took to survive.
"Me neither, but we've all heard the stories. How many of those killed were actually guilty of what they had been accused of?" the Duke didn't relent. Bee was also looking uncomfortable by now. Like the Duke said, they had all heard the stories. One tale in particular had stuck with Jet. It was the story of a local man who had coveted a married woman living next doors to him. He had accused the woman's husband of being a collaborator, guilty of snitching on the Freedom Fighters and the husband had been executed by a firing squad. This story served as a painful reminder that there would always be plenty of opportunists, willing to spin even such dramatic and desperate circumstances to their advantage.
"Can't make an omelet," Bee muttered under her breath. Jet could tell that she was having genuine trouble defending her harsher position. The brief burst of gunfire nearby as the man they had just seen getting dragged away was executed with no questions asked made all of them wince, including Smellerbee.
"You think they'll really dare to touch the mayor?" the Duke asked a while later. Mayor Morishita had been caught trying to evacuate from his splendorous mansion, fleeing with his Dai Li puppet masters. The Fire Nation military had been delighted to have acquired such a high-profile prisoner, but the Freedom Fighter leadership was calling for the mayor's head. After all, he had at one point been supportive of the rebel cause, only to make a U-turn later and state publicly that Yu Dao and its surrounding territories should always remain a part of the Earth Kingdom.
"Wouldn't mind seeing that fat piggy hang," Bee shrugged. "I'll admit, all the civilian deaths are starting to bug me, but the mayor… ugh, he's always been a corrupt asshole through and through. Let him swing." Pipsqueak and Longshot nodded at that.
"You're probably not wrong about him being a corrupt asshole and an untrustworthy weathervane," Jet spat out the stem of grass he had been chewing on. "Not sure killing him would be smart, though. His daughter is out there, drumming up support for the rebellion and doing a good job of it. Hanging her father might cost us Kori's support," Jet argued.
"Wow, spoken like a true politician," Bee glared at him. "Who gives a shit about that prissy little bitch and her feelings?"
"Maybe we should," the Duke said. "I know we occasionally get recruits who have decided to join because they had listened to her speeches, so… she's useful." Bee grumbled at that, unable to argue the point.
"Well, I think it is moot arguing about it anyway, because the Fire Army generals aren't going to hand the mayor over no matter how much some of our cell leaders scream and demand it," Jet shrugged, hating how he had to take the side of the Fire Nation in this matter. Then again, he pretty much hated everything about this war by now.
The Earth Kingdom was currently nursing a bloody nose, but everyone in Yu Dao knew that the slow juggernaut that was the Dai Li run military would not sit on its ass forever. Sooner or later, the Earth Kingdom counterattack would come, and the vicious cycle that seemed to have no end would begin again.
Next chapter: Azula and Zuko visit "Guru" Pathik, Toph and Teo visit the Beifong estate in Gaoling, and Yue continues to help Katara.