Chapter 11: Queen of Blades

Sen hadn't wasted much time returning to Gai Zhu to show off his new skill. After explaining how heat reading worked to Suda and Ada, Suda decided that he would be Sen's first target.

Suda sat patiently as Sen repeated the heat reading technique. As was expected, Suda had a lot of chi flowing through the Earth chakra. His Light chakra seemed intensely bright as well. Sen didn't have a lot to compare it to, but he had the feeling that Suda was exceptional in that regard. Overall, Suda didn't really have any major blocks in his chi flow, though it got a little sluggish around the Water chakra. Suda got very smug as soon as Sen informed him of that.

"Hey, those two fire nation agents are spying on us from the roof over there. Do them."

"We can hear you," Agent Zouf said.

"You're terrible spies," Suda said. Zouf didn't dignify that with a response. Sen reached out in their direction anyway. To his surprise, there were absolutely no problems in their chi flow. Everything was completely even.

"You guys really have your act together," Sen said.

"Yeah, who would have guessed that two adults with stable careers would be mentally healthy," Zouf shouted back sarcastically. "Luan even has a family. Wife and two kids, right Luan?"

"My pride and joy, Zouf."

"Yeah, you guys better do your thing before Luan Juniors birthday. Luan's going to get really upset if he misses the party, aren't you Luan?"

"I might have to kill someone, Zouf."

The trio immediately left the area. They decided to hang around the city park for a while. They were going to see one of Nura's games later, since Sen was finally in town while she was playing, but they had a few hours to kill until then. Suda bugged Sen to give Ada her turn with Sen's new trick.

"Ugh, don't," Ada groaned. "I'm all worked up from practice with Sorikami."

Sen had tried to take Sorikami's side now and then, since she was the one who had led them to Hayao, but that was the only good thing she'd done for them. Since arriving in Gai Zhu she'd been abrasive and difficult to deal with. Sen had stopped seeing her as an ally and now viewed her as more of a nuisance with benefits.

Sorikami had been pushing Ada harder and harder in their lessons. Now her rigid instructions stretched out of the practice duels and meditations and tried to govern every aspect of her behavior. Sorikami was telling her how to dress, how to speak, how to walk. Ada was trying to find the balance between Sorikami's strict lessons and her own desires, but the balance was becoming harder and harder to achieve. Every time Ada recommended compromise, Sorikami only pushed harder. The lessons were physically and mentally exhausting.

Sen couldn't help himself, though. He looked inside Ada's heart. A deep frown crossed his face.

"Suda, why don't you go find Nura, let her know I'll be coming to the game."

"Uh, sure," Suda said. He had the feeling something was wrong. "What about you, Ada?"

"No, Sorikami wants to train tonight. I shouldn't."

Suda shook his head, but it was Ada's call. He left to look for Nura. Sen turned his attention to Ada.

"I told you not to," Ada grumbled. She knew what was going on.

"Ada," Sen began.

"Just tell me what's wrong with me," Ada said. It was nothing new. Sorikami had done nothing but tell her she was wrong for months. She was used to it by now. Sen looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Ada."

That was not what Ada had been expecting to hear, to say the least. Sorikami had accustomed her to being criticized, not understood. Sen looked in Ada's heart and saw guilt and regret.

"I've been selfish," Sen mumbled. "I should have been thinking about you, but I acted like I was the only one hurt. Hanjo was your friend too."

Ada tried to stay stoic. Sen continued.

"Everyone I care about is here for me, but you...you left your home behind, your family. I'm so sorry, Ada. For not appreciating everything you've done for me. For not being there when you needed me."

Ada gave up on trying to be stoic and embraced Sen, pressing her face into his chest to hide her red eyes. Sen put his arm around her shoulders and nodded. It was difficult for him to consider things like home and family; he'd never had either. But for Ada, home and family had been everything, and she had left it all behind without even saying goodbye when Sen had asked her. He'd never properly appreciated what she'd sacrificed. Maybe he never really would, but he was much closer now.

"Ada, you know, if you really wanted to, you could go-"

"To the game," Ada interrupted suddenly. She let go of Sen, and suddenly seemed to be remarkably calm. Almost too calm, actually.

"No, Ada , I mean-"

"Sorikami will be mad, yeah," Ada interrupted. "But she'll live. I should spend a night with my friends."

Ada gave Sen a knowing smile, and he understood. That was the end of that discussion, and Ada led the way as they met up with Suda outside the gym. Suda was more than happy to see Ada would be joining them, and then they proceeded into the arena.

Nura's team took to the ring, with a thunderous round of applause. Suda seemed to be cheering the loudest. Ada had her suspicions that the two of them were more than just fellow sportsmen, but she didn't bother Suda about it.

Nura's team put up a good show in the game, but not quite good enough. While they put up a good fight, they ended up losing the game two to one, just barely losing the third round. It wasn't an embarrassing loss, but it was still a loss. Suda was understandably disappointed, but it had still been an entertaining game.

The two passed time outside the arena for about an hour while they waited for Nura to join them. Most of the crowds had dispersed by then, and Ada started checking over her shoulder for Sorikami. The old woman would not be happy that Ada had skipped practice. She was prepared for the verbal thrashing she would inevitably get, but she didn't want anyone else getting dragged into it. Even so, she had a sneaking suspicion that Suda would become involved anyway. Sorikami's distrust of the metalbender was bordering on paranoia nowadays.

Nura eventually arrived, her gear slung over her shoulder, looking a little despondent. Suda tried to congratulate her for doing her best, but Nura didn't put up with any of that. She cupped her hand over his mouth and turned to Ada and Sen.

"You feel like Hakajima's?"

"Works for me," Sen said. Ada agreed. She and Nura were acquainted well enough that she didn't mind spending time with the waterbender. It certainly helped that Nura was naturally friendly. She had only met Sen once before, but from the way she talked one would think they were childhood friends.

"Do I get a vote," Suda objected. He actually wanted to go to Hakajima's, but he also wanted to get Nura's hand away from his mouth.

"No," Nura said. She continued holding her hand over his mouth until Suda finally got sick of it and started walking immediately behind her, out of her reach. Nura laughed at him until they got to the restaurant.

As usual, Nura paid. She had a fairly profitable job and they had no job at all, so Nura was okay with always picking up the tab. Ada always made sure to order something cheap regardless.

"So this match didn't affect your chance of making the tournament, did it?"

Sen still didn't know much about the way this system worked. He knew that wins and losses decided whether you made it into the tournament at the end of the season, but he didn't know how.

"Nah, even if we lost every game for the rest of the season we'd make it in, at this point," Nura said. "But still, I'd rather win than lose."

"Wouldn't we all," Suda said.

"This is your fault, you know," Nura said. She elbowed Suda aggressively and turned to Ada. "This guy is a way better player than Goson, my teams earthbender. If he had subbed in like I asked him we could be winning."

"I keep telling you I can't," Suda said. Playing in such a popular league, especially this late in the season, would give him too much exposure. The fact that they'd stayed in Gai Zhu for nearly seven months was risky enough; Suda didn't need to attract extra attention.

"I get it, I get it," Nura said playfully. "But you'll be making it up to me tonight."

She gave Suda a wry smile that made the situation deeply uncomfortable. He looked to Ada and saw the look of confusion on her face. Suda grabbed Nura and pulled her away from the meal.

"What's that about," Sen asked, his mouth still full of food. He'd made sure not to order something spicy this time.

"You don't know?"

"No, I really don't," Sen said. He was still confused about what Nura and Suda were doing that Ada wouldn't like. Ada shook her head.

"I don't have time for this," She said. She slipped away, leaving Sen alone and confused again. He hated having unanswered questions. Sen shrugged and continued eating his dinner. Ada snuck out behind Suda and Nura, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I told you not to talk about that stuff in front of those guys," Suda scolded.

"Okay, yeah, I took that wink-wink nudge-nudge stuff a little too far," Nura admitted. "But why do you have to be so protective about them? She isn't that young."

"It's not about age," Suda said. He sounded very troubled. "I mean, you've got a little sister. What would you think if I started talking about that kind of stuff right in front of her? How would you feel?"

Nura paused for a moment. Ada slouched against the wall she was hiding behind. Her suspicions about Suda's behavior faded from her mind. She'd never realized that Suda thought of them that way. They were friends, sure, but family? There was still a massive scar on Suda's shoulder from their first meeting. She'd been away from her family for a long time, but she knew they'd never left any scars on her.

She suddenly didn't feel like looking Suda in the eye. She wandered away from her hiding place and into the dark streets of Gai Zhu. She stood before a very large house, an opulent manor belonging to some wealthy businesswoman. She noticed a familiar shadow fall on her path. Someone had been following her.

"Are you done hiding yet?"

Sorikami towered over her reluctant protégé. Ada thought she had prepared herself for this inevitable confrontation, but she hadn't. She didn't want to talk to Sorikami at all. Maybe ever again.

"Suda can only provide so many excuses," Sorikami chastised. Ada was confused. Why was she trying to make this about Suda? Of course she had her paranoia, but Ada had thought she could put that aside for one moment just to scold her.

"You and Sen work tirelessly to improve yourself, and he gallivants with tramps. How long are you going to try and hide what he really is?"

Ada clenched her teeth. She had been unprepared to defend herself, but she was willing and able to fight for Suda. A matter that had been very confusing to her only moments ago suddenly became very clear.

"He's family," Ada retaliated.

Suda had been the one there to support Sen and Ada at their worst. He'd been through the same loss, but instead of retreating into his own despair as they had, he had tried his best to help them. Suda, a thousand times more than Sorikami, had been the one there to help Ada when she had needed it.

"He is a bandit," Sorikami said. "He's to be kept at arm's length at best, not embraced."

"Why are you so afraid of him," Ada demanded. "What is it that makes you so terrified?"

"You haven't earned-"

"Shut up!"

Sorikami was taken aback by Ada's sudden outburst. Ada took a few steps towards her and pointed an accusing finger.

"I don't need to 'earn' any justification for the way you insult my friends," Ada shouted. "Tell me why you're such a coward or get out of my life!"

Sorikami's eyes narrowed at her student. Her tone was disrespectful, but perhaps giving her the truth she wanted would finally make her understand.

"Rahm."

Ada was braver than most, but even so a spark of fear spread through her. Sorikami saw that, and approved. Fear was the appropriate response.

"Rahm was like Suda. He was a metalbender, a former criminal, but when the Seventh Kingdom Uprising began he supposedly reformed, even became a General in the United Coalition. For a while I and many others served with him, loved him, worshipped him. And you know how this story ends, girl."

There were few people who didn't know. Rahm had been one of the greatest metalbenders in history. During his military career, he had cut a bloody swathe through the heart of the enemy, personally defeating all of their generals, even a combustion bender named Gohrman. But when the Seventh Kingdom surrendered, and the war came to a halt, Rahm didn't. He pursued the enemy still, cutting them down just as brutally as he had during the war. Eventually, as the Seventh Kingdom vanished entirely, so did Rahm. Some say he still hunted them, cutting a bloody one-man crusade through the shadows.

In a way, Ada could understand Sorikami's fear. The last days of Rahm's war had been marked with massacres of innocent people. But that didn't excuse the way she was treating Ada, and especially not Suda. Ada snorted derisively.

"You're so terrified of that one person you're letting him define your whole life, the way you treat everyone around you. Do you even know where Rahm is? Do you even know if he's still alive? Why are you still so afraid of him?"

"That is not the point," Sorikami said. Ada could see from her body language that the name of the General had affected Sorikami deeply. Her shoulders were tense, and her hand constantly flitted in the direction of her sword. "Rahm was a monster hiding in a man's skin. Anyone could be like him."

"No," Ada said. "Rahm is Rahm. Suda is Suda. They are nothing alike."

"You've never even seen Rahm."

"And you've never seen Suda," Ada spat back. "You look at him and all you see is someone else's shadow. You're a fool, blinded by your fear."

Sorikami's face had been locked into an expression of slight disapproval for months, but that perpetual frown now broke into a full scowl. Ada had crossed the line. Whatever happened next, it was certain that the two were done as master and apprentice. Ada didn't care in the slightest.

"I'm not going to be like you," Ada said. She was telling herself as much as Sorikami. "I'm going to get better. I'm going to be a master. But I'm going to do it my way."

"And what has 'your way' gotten you? You've stabbed that boy you're so fond of because of 'your way'. You let the Avatar get poisoned. His best friend is dead, because of 'your way'. Your way is failure, your way is pain, your way is wrong. Come back to the beach. We'll see if I can't put an end to 'your way'."

"Just because I was wrong before doesn't mean I'll be wrong every time," Ada said.

She had made mistakes, and people had gotten hurt, but that didn't mean she was on the wrong course. Sorikami had spent all these months trying to destroy Ada, all because of a few mistakes, but Ada was done letting her try.

Ada turned her back on Sorikami, facing back towards her friends. She couldn't resist one last jab. After all, she loved conflict.

"For the record," she said arrogantly. "Trusting you was one mistake."

Ada would have been more than happy to keep Sorikami behind her, never seeing the crotchety old fool again, but she had to pause. She could hear the quiet scrape of metal against metal, the signature sound of a sword being drawn.

"You will go nowhere," Sorikami stated.

Ada turned around again. Sure enough, Sorikami had drawn her sword, pointing it blade-first at Ada. Ada put a hand on the hilt of one of her own swords.

"Are you really going to do this?"

"I won't allow you to use my techniques to aid and abet a criminal," Sorikami said.

"I didn't intend to," Ada replied. "Your techniques are useless. Trash. Piandao would be ashamed of you. You don't deserve to sleep on the dirt beneath his feet, much less live in his castle."

In the future, Ada would slightly regret being so insulting, but she was caught up in the moment and feeling especially hateful towards her former master. It was intensely satisfying to see the distressed look on Sorikami's face as Ada insulted the style she'd built her life around.

"Now put your sword away," Ada commanded.

Ada presuming to order Sorikami around was the last straw. She had seen this kind of arrogance before in the worst examples of swordsmen. It would be easy enough to teach Ada the cost of such pride. Sorikami lunged forward.

With a flash of light and the sound of clashing metal, Ada drew one of her blades and swept Sorikami's thrusting strike to the side. Sorikami hadn't expected such speed from Ada. In all their practices together, she had been sluggish in her defense.

As Sorikami had expected, Ada wasted no time making a retaliatory strike, but the sheer ferocity of the strike did surprise her. Sorikami blocked the blow, but she felt the impact send a shockwave up her arm. She looked briefly at Ada's face. The girl's mouth was twisted into a wide, toothy, grin, almost predatory in the way she bared her teeth.

It occurred to Sorikami that she was fighting the Ada she had been trying to destroy all this time. Every lesson she had taught the girl was meant to separate her from her emotions, but now she had embraced them completely. For her fighting was not a matter of discipline or skill, it was only victory or defeat, power and power alone.

All this time she had been seeing the specter of Rahm in Suda. Now she saw clearly that Ada was the real danger. A cold chill ran through her blood.

Ada could see the fear in Sorikami's eyes and she ignored it. Sorikami would see the face of Rahm in anything that threatened her. Her judgment was permanently warped by her fear and regret. Ada knew she and Suda were nothing like the old ghost that haunted Sorikami's mind.

Sorikami launched a new round of attacks on Ada. While her behavior was ruled by her frightened emotions, her swordsmanship was as rigid and disciplined as ever. Her moves were stiff and lifeless, just as they had been in practice. Ada, on the other hand, was like a brand new warrior. Every move she made was alien to Sorikami, while Ada recognized all of her opponents techniques.

This contrast of the familiar and unfamiliar was the only advantage Ada actually had in the fight. While the younger swordswoman was more aggressive and powerful in her assault, Sorikami still had Ada outmatched in terms of sheer experience and skill. The old woman's reputation was not entirely undeserved. As Sorikami familiarized herself with Ada's brutal offensive style, the balance of power began to shift again in Sorikami's favor.

Ada drew her second sword. Hopefully this would give her a new advantage. She struck from different angles, hoping to force Sorikami to block one blade while the other found its mark. Sorikami was surprisingly agile for her age, and this tactic didn't achieve anything. It at least forced her to be on the defensive more often, which kept her from attacking.

Ada wondered how far Sorikami would take this duel. Ada was willing to fight, but she didn't know if she would really hurt Sorikami. She hated her former master, but she wasn't really an enemy. It would be pointless to wound her.

As if in answer, Sorikami's longsword swept past Ada's arm, far too close for comfort. Sorikami was clearly not holding back. Ada returned the favor. One of her blades managed to graze Sorikami's arm, cleaving the fabric from her sleeve, but not harming the person beneath. It didn't hurt, but it sent a fearful chill down Sorikami's spine.

The duel in the street had started to attract attention. Even late at night, the streets of Gai Zhu were active, and bystanders had gathered to watch the duel. A tall woman with a basket over her shoulder paused in the middle of the street. Ada kept the battle away from the circle of onlookers, lest Sorikami's carelessness lead to injury. The dueled in the middle of a street, all the while being watched by mysterious strangers.

With a forceful thrust and a sweeping twist of her wrist, Sorikami managed to catch one of Ada's blades at the wrong angle and forcefully disarmed her. Ada ignored the inconvenience and focused on her one sword. Without her second blade, her options for offense were sorely limited, and she was put on the defensive. Sorikami's strikes were rigid and easily predictable, but Ada's reflexes were still barely capable of deflecting each blow. Ada began to doubt whether she could win this.

She banished the doubt from her mind and hardened her resolve. She had a chance, if she could only seize it. Ada had been so cautious about Sorikami's superior skill and experience that she was letting the old bat set the pace. Ada was being passive, not active, in her fighting. That had to change.

Blocking one final blow, Ada lunged forward like a predator on the hunt, closing the gap between herself and Sorikami. Sorikami was forced backwards, and Ada pressed her brief advantage. She turned her blade on Sorikami's gut and activated the electric jolts that made her swords unique. Electricity coursed through the fabric and into Sorikami, racking the old swordswoman with pain.

But Sorikami, for all her personal failings, was still an old soldier. Pain meant less to her. She retained her focus through the electric shock, and brought the pommel of her longsword down on Ada's head, knocking her to the ground. Ada had no time to collect herself before Sorikami struck her again with the flat of the blade, knocking her further down, to her knees.

"You see what real skill achieves," Sorikami said haughtily. "Your berserker rage and your electrical toys are no match for art."

Ada grunted breathlessly once. She had lost today, that was not up for debate. Sorikami took her remaining blade and kicked it far away, disarming Ada permanently. She was arrogant. Ada had lost this battle, but there would be others. She would get better, and one day she would surpass Sorikami. That, Ada believed with all her heat.

"Battle isn't an art. You win or you lose," Ada said.

Sorikami suddenly had a look of furious hatred in her eyes. Ada was surprised to see such intensity from her.

"You talk like him."

Driven suddenly by hatred and fear, Sorikami tightened her grip on her sword and lunged forward. Ada held her arms in front of her face, and she was shocked to feel the edge of Sorikami's blade sink into her left forearm. She recoiled quickly from the pain, leaving herself unable to retaliate as Sorikami raised her blade high above her head and brought it down.

Sorikami's blade halted in midair. It was not any sense of mercy or restraint that stopped the blade, simply the fact that she could no longer move it forward. Sorikami froze in a brief moment of terror, leaving her wide open for what came next.

Once, during Sorikami's career in the Seventh Kingdom Uprisings, an enemy metalbender had dropped an entire truck on her. That experience was the only thing comparable to the feeling of getting punched in the face by Suda. The full weight of the metalbenders massive frame was focused on a few inches of Sorikami's chin. The titanic blow dislocated her jaw and sent a shock through her body that caused her to black out completely.

By the time the momentary shock wore off, she quickly realized she was no longer on the ground. Suda had gripped her by the torso and, with a loud bellow of anger, tossed her bodily away from the wounded Ada. Sorikami's limp body slammed against a wall and crumpled to the ground.

Suda was briefly tempted to follow Sorikami, to keep punishing her for daring to hurt Ada, but he abandoned thoughts of revenge when he saw Ada bleeding. He picked her up and started carrying her toward the hospital. Sen, who was just a few steps behind, was now deeply confused. Suda was running towards the hospital far too fast to explain the situation, carrying Ada with him.

"That was very impressive," Ada said quietly. Despite the horrible pain in her arm, she had greatly enjoyed watching Sorikami crumble under a single punch and then be tossed aside like a ragdoll. The sight of her flying limply through the air would be a memory Ada treasured for a long time.

"I should've been there sooner," Suda said. "I'm sorry, I should've stopped her-"

"I'm okay, Suda," Ada assured him. It hurt, badly, but she could feel that the wound was not very deep. "Nothing worse than what I did to you."

Ada smiled weakly. Suda started walking faster. Her silence was not exactly reassuring him. His mind was racing with thoughts of her safety, despite Ada's insistence she was fine.

"I'm sorry," She mumbled. She pressed her face against his shoulder. She could just barely feel the massive scar underneath his shirt. "I never apologized for hurting you."

"It's alright, everything's fine," Suda said. It was almost funny how much he was panicking. Ada could feel his arms trembling as he carried her. "I'm fine, and you're going to be fine too."

"Yeah, I will."

Far behind them, in a far more ignominious position, Sorikami finally collected herself and started the process of getting off the ground. Her entire body ached, and she could feel a stabbing pain in her jawbone. She reoriented herself and observed her surroundings.

The Gai Zhu police had finally arrived on the scene, much too late. They were being held at bay by Agent Luan, who was using his Royal Family credentials to keep them from asking any questions, while Agent Zouf and Sen stared Sorikami down. Sorikami held up her hand, looking for assistance in getting off the ground, and Agent Zouf quite decidedly did not help her.

"What the hell happened to you, Sorikami? Why would you do that?"

Sorikami tried to explain why Ada and Suda were dangerous, but her dislocated jaw made it painful to even try to speak. She ignored the agents lecture and retrieved her sword from the ground.

"You stabbed a child," Zouf chastised. "If we didn't risk compromising Sen's security, I would be letting these police arrest you!"

Sorikami rolled her eyes. Anyone who didn't see that Ada was the real villain here was not worth her time. Zouf regretted not getting involved earlier. They had been too preoccupied guarding Sen to notice that Ada had been in battle just a few streets away. If Suda hadn't stepped in when he had, Sorikami would have dealt a mortal blow. It was hard to understand why Sorikami would suddenly be so filled with hatred for a child; Sen had never imagined that Sorikami would take it that far.

"Get out of here," Sen commanded. Sorikami ignored him. She could care less about the Avatar. He was as caught up in Suda's treachery as the rest of them. They were all being deceived.

Sen could feel a coldness from Sorikami that eclipsed anything he'd seen before. Her Earth chakra, the chakra of fear, wasn't just blocked, it was almost inverted, draining chi from her. She was so absolutely terrified that it drained the life out of her. Whatever she was scared of, it completely ruled her life. Sen didn't need a coward like that on his side.

Sorikami collected her blade, put her sword into its scabbard and stormed off into the night, her head filled with thoughts of an old friend and a new enemy. Sen was happy to see her go, and hoped they'd never see each other again. Now that she was gotten rid of, it was time to see about following Suda to the hospital. He didn't know Gai Zhu's layout very well, so he tried asking directions. A significant crowd had gathered, so it wouldn't be hard to find someone who knew.

As he interrogated his first target, the conversation came to an abrupt halt as the civilians eyes darted upwards. Sen felt a hand fall on his shoulder. A hand wrapped in cloth.

"What have you done," Miyani asked.