"Even if I have discarded things once before, because it wasn't my taste, I'm always willing to give it another try again, when some time has passed." I usually give things a second try myself. Though food is the exception for me. I am an extremely picky eater. For one thing, I hate cheese and anything with it. I've tried it multiple times and it still makes me feel sick. But with music, shows, and books (music especially) I am very easy to please. There aren't many songs and shows that I don't like. "As much as your own point of view changes with time, you also get a new view on old things and it holds up a chance to see new aspects in them" Hell yes! This is why I love going back to my childhood favorite shows *CoughWinxCough*.

"Every time I manage a smooth running sentence, in my opinion, every time I recognize at least a part of these aspects I feel happy like a little child. And the fact, that I've dared to write stories and reviews is such a huge victory for myself on so many levels." I feel like these two things alone just mean so much. Sometimes you gotta be happy for the small achievements because they set the path to the bigger ones like writing stories. And you're welcome.

"A good chapter again. Kataras life is changing as well. On the one hand many things are going in a positive direction for her [...] and that confidence suits her well." That party was a turning point for all of them. There aren't going to be any characters left who haven't changed if I do things right. Confidence is something I have been waiting to bring back to Katara. We'll be seeing some more of her canon fierceness. "I also think teaming up with Azula will bring positive aspects for both, beside the fact, that Suki is still holding a grudge against her." They would be quite a duo. They have already helped each other indirectly (and rather directly in Katara's case). Azula could be a lot of help when putting a conscious effort into being so. And yeah, Suki and Azula are both rather stubborn, so they may or ay not butt heads.

"Sexual offence and serious bodily injury are major crimes, so in my opinion he has to spend some time in jail." That option is on the table but I'm still going to be looking into how the law usually handles cases like this in real life and work from there.

"But Katara is still struggling with the terrible psychological effects of this crime. Haunted by nightmares and the fear, that some of Jets former (or still actual) friend might fit in his role." Yes, she is a strong person, but an incident like that doesn't just magically go away. She still has to deal with it a little."A crime like this is a life changer and not a good one. A lot of time and hard work will be necessary to get things in line again, for both girls." Exactly. I know a survivor or two myself and they have both said something of that nature. Unfortunately some effects kind of just stick around, I'd go into specifics but it isn't my story to share. It's just one of those things that takes time and support to heal. And like you said, it can happen to anyone. "You're doing a good job with this sensible subject." Thanks, some of these themes are tricky to work with, because there's always a chance that you could accidentally portray something the wrong way. I'm trying to avoid doing that. A respectful take is my aim rather than something done for shock value or to be edgy.

It was both thrilling and startling to hold the ball in her hands again. Exhilarating and pleasantly daunting, a challenge of sorts. Azula had forgotten how much she enjoyed a challenge. She supposed that getting things back in order was a challenge in and of itself, she had never backed away from a challenge so she would take both of them on. If things went her way she'd have two successes born from one action.

She tossed the ball from one hand to the other, waiting for the rest of her team to assemble in the gym. It would seem that she had even beaten her coach. She was beginning to see why the team was as unskilled as they claimed, they couldn't even make it to practice on time. For a brief moment, she considered that she had come to the wrong place, she was, afterall, in a new school-she could see the possibility of Xi River having a second gymnasium. But it couldn't be so, Azula had made sure that she had all of the directions and details clear.

She was in the right place.

They were late.

She took the time to readjust her kneepads and elbow pads to her liking. She had gone out and bought them the other day so she would have something to match her new uniform; of course, she had yet to receive the uniform itself.

The squeak of sneakers on polished maple wood let her know that the rest of her team, or at least a few of them had finally made it. Zirin and Chinami come to join her. Soon Ryoko was there as well.

"Hey, Azula." Chinami greeted.

"So have you changed your mind yet?" Ryoko asked.

"In the hour between sixth period and now?" Azula asked. "No."

"You're still on about that, Ryo?" Zirin asked.

"Of course we are." Ikue replied. "I think that we need a splash of bright red in this group. Or maybe electric blue."

"Pink?" Ryoko put in.

Azula rolled her eyes. "Why don't we just dye my hair all three? Hell, let's throw in purple."

Ryoko's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea!"

Apparently, Ikue was feeling extra ambitious, "we can add some green too."

"I don't think she's gonna let cha touch her hair." Shoko put in.

"I like my hair the way it is." Azula muttered as their coach stepped into the gym. She was a tall and chiseled woman with chalky brown hair and deep brown eyes. Having only heard it one, Azula tried to recall her name. Ruka, she believed. Truth be told, she had put more focus into discussion matters of her joining the team than investing it in remembering names. It was a pain enough to confess that after this week she'd have therapy sessions every Tuesday and Thursday. Missing two days of five was an agitating prospect. She supposed it would be for the best that way as her body recovered and adjusted to the spike in activity again. Still, she was going to have to get used to playing for leisure rather than competition.

Ruka looked to Azula first, "your uniform should be in by the end of the week."

Azula nodded.

With that out of the way, Ruka addressed the entirety of the team. "Alright, ladies, we'll start with a warm up-laps around the gym for five minutes and then a couple of stretches-after that you'll get into pairs and practice our spikes and sets." She paused. "From there we will have a mock game. I expect the five of you to leave our new member with a good impression." She gave Zirin a pointed stare. She spoke to Azula more quietly. "If you need a break, let me know. I don't want to overwork you so soon after your hospital visit."

The woman meant well, but Azula found herself rather vexed by the coddling. "I'll be fine."

Ruka nodded. "I don't doubt that. I've seen you play when we versed Wan High last year."

And now there were expectations.

Ruka punched a few buttons on her stopwatch. "Five minutes begins now."

The first minute or so went over rather well, she had a few laps on the rest of her team-which was nothing out of the ordinary for her-but she was growing winded quickly. She held her pace well into the second minute, but doing so was taking its toll. This should have been easy for her. The last time she had done something like this, she could hold her pace for a good ten minutes before becoming only slightly short of breath.

It would seem that she would have to start slower. Yet she didn't know how much slower, she found herself completely unaware of her own limits.

How had she become so out of tune with herself?

Resentfully, she slowed her own pace. And then slowed it more still, feeling almost dizzy. She had taken herself from first to the last to finish.

"You don't have to run so fast, during the warm up." Shoko noted.

Shoko didn't realize that what Azula was doing had been her version of a warm up at one point.

"Besides, we're not the track team." Zirin laughed.

It took a very meticulous effort to remind herself that it was an innocent remark. That Zirin wasn't trying to provoke her. It set in that, perhaps, physical activity wasn't the only thing she'd have to get reacquainted with. The concept of light-hearted jokes seemed so foreign.

Azula worked through the stretches trying not to think about how strenuous they were juxtaposed against the ease at which they use to come. She tried with even more effort to ignore the way her tummy looked when she bent over. She hoped with just as much vigor that the rest of the team ignored it too. She wondered if this was a good idea after all. She was better off getting back in the swing of things in privet.

She couldn't help but compare herself to Zirin who was as toned as she used to be. Or to Ikue who was ridiculously tall and every bit as slender. Their stomach didn't stick out the way hers did. She found it hard all over again, to imagine why they wanted her on the team. She was certainly going to mar their aesthetic.

They worked through a final stretch, one that seemed to drag, and then they broke into pairs. Ikue and Ryoko had ran straight for each other, Azula had no doubts that they would. The remaining three looked amid each other.

"Who wants to work with Azula?" Zirin asked.

"I will!" Chinami volunteered.

How generous, Azula thought to herself. She supposed that someone had to take one for the team.

"I wanted to work with her." Shoko mumbled.

"See, I was just asking, to be nice." Zirin noted. She hooked her arm around Azula's.

"Oh wow. Okay, Zirin." Shoko grumbled.

Zirin gave a bursting laugh and then turned to Azula. "I like practicing on that side of the gym." She lead her to a spot near the right corner. "I've been practicing in this exact spot for three years now!"

"Congratulations?" Azula muttered.

"Do you want me to grab the ball?" She looked to the ball cage.

"I have one." Azula moved to her duffle bag where she had tucked her ball away. She took it out once again. She took a moment to appreciate the metallic blue material. It was a custom make and she thought that it was a shame that she hadn't got to use it until now.

"Ooo, fancy." Zirin snatched it from her hands. She sputtered an apology and handed it back. "Sorry, coach told me I need to remember to ask first. Can I see your volleyball."

She was going to be hitting it around anyways so Azula handed it over.

"Ikue! Ryoko! Less talking, more spiking!" Ruka barked.

"Oh, shit!" Zirin hissed, quickly spiking it over to Azula. Her reflexes were as sharp as they ever were, but her body couldn't keep up with them. She managed to return the hit with a bump but managed to pull something in her leg in the process. She winced but powered through it, returning a second spike.

Declaring that everyone should get a feel for working with Azula, Ruka had them go through a full rotation before proceeding with the mock game. By the end of it she was already feeling sore and sluggish.

Zirin tossed her a water bottle. "Don't push yourself so hard." She said softly. "We want you to have fun here."

Azula took a rather greedy sip from the water bottle. "I'm not pushing myself."

"And our team is going to state this year." Zirin rolled her eyes. "Seriously, take it easy, I'd feel awful if you got hurt again."

"I'm not going to hold the team back." Azula refuted.

"Well of course not." And with more volume she added, "It's Ryo's job to hold the team back!" Her lopsided grin was stolen by a ball thumping her on the head. "Ow!"

"Holding the team back is a team effort." Ryoko insisted.

"Well you're the MVP!" Zirin insisted.

"And you're the runner up."

"See," Zirin put a hand at the corner of her mouth and muttered into Azula's ear, "you're going to have a lot of competition as far as holding us back goes."

As comforting as the prospect was, Azula almost felt bad. She wondered what dipped their confidence so low. At least they were good humored about it, unlike her.

.oOo.

Zuko turned the chip over in his hand, admiring the glinting blue. He was feeling better than he had in a long time. And better still, knowing that he'd be getting a second chip-red, like one of the ones Hahn showed him-very soon. As soon as he had the month milestone chip in his hands, they would switch him to outpatient. It was a possibility that both rattled him and thrilled him in equal part. He would be free. But also free to find his way back to heroine.

"You ready for some exciting and wholesome group therapy?" Hahn asked.

"I'm bursting with joy." Zuko grumbled.

"You better be, because we have to walk all the way to the other end of the building this time around."

"You mean the psych ward?" Zuko asked. "Why that way?" Perhaps he had no room to talk being as he considered himself to be a bit of a basket case but the thought of passing through the section of the facility that housed the more sever of the disorders chilled him. He felt like an asshole for thinking it too.

"Pipe broke in our regular room." Hahn informed. "Bit of flooding going on. Ya know, the usual mishaps. A change of scenery might be nice, ya know?"

He guessed that he wouldn't mind a little kink in the routine. He still wasn't particularly looking forward to this session. From the sound of it, today they were going to be discussing what had led the to drugs or alcohol in the first place. Zuko's desire to talk about Ozai was about as real as a flying bison.

Hahn led him down a series of hallways. Even after being in the institution for a little over a month, he still couldn't get use to the staff personnel who consistently monitored the halls. Their watchful eyes kept him in line.

They came to the second floor lobby where many halls conjoined and went their separate ways. This was where the elevator was, they'd be taking it a floor up to where most therapy sessions were held. For the elevators, this area had the most traffic, he scanned the crowd for any familiar faces from his last group session. He picked out a boy named Rin and a girl named Emi. He didn't know them well enough to approach them. He didn't know anyone there enough to make a greeting.

He caught sight of someone walking his way.

He couldn't imagine why, so he assumed she was simply walking in his general direction.

"Still a little disorienting, huh?" Hahn asked.

"A little." Zuko admitted, he had always been an introvert but these days he seemed to be sinking further into it. He only really talked to Hahn anymore.

"You're not dead, after all."

He jumped.

"And you're as easy to scare as ever." Though it was some hoarser than her remembered, he recognized that silky voice. He couldn't believe that he hadn't recognized her face. But then, it had been so long since he'd seen it.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko sputtered.

"I have therapy too, dum-dum." She settled a hand on her hip. "Mother sends her regards."

"Y-you've talked to mom? What are you in therapy for." He didn't know which he was more curious about. He was going to be late. It didn't matter, the group could wait. So long as Hahn stuck around, he wouldn't get in too much trouble.

"It's a long story, Zu-Zu. After you made your depart, CPS got involved, I'm living with her now."

He knew it was a lie. He was of age, what he did was no concern of the CPS. He knew that she and their father weren't exactly on good terms. But, then, he didn't really expect her to disclose anything about that situation. He had a good feeling that her new living situation and whatever was going on with she and Ozai went hand in hand with the reason for her therapy.

"Are you going to be living with her or staying with Iroh when you get cleared?"

"I. I was going to live with Iroh...but…" He paused. "I can see mom again?"

"That's what I said." Azula rolled her eyes.

She sounded more like herself than she did before he ran away.

"She's worried about you."

"Were you?" He asked. She had to have been, otherwise she wouldn't have called Iroh.

"Absolutely not." She frowned. He didn't believe that either.

He was worried about her. He didn't realize it until then, but he was so worried for her with the state he had last seen her in. Quiet and quite visibly unsure of herself. Despite her posture and her high held head, he could see it in her eyes that something was wrong. They were missing their usual spark and he was almost certain that she still wasn't comfortable with herself. Not entirely.

"Enjoy rehab, Zu-Zu."

He watched her head for the elevator.

"Oh!" He called.

He didn't think that she heard him, but she came to a stop and peered over her shoulder.

"Thank you. For calling uncle."

She waved it off.

"Really, I think that you might have saved my life."

"Good to know." The elevator doors opened.

"We going inside too?" Hahn asked.

"We'll wait for the next one." He didn't want to draw out some sort of awkward silence.

"Really, I think that you might have saved my life." Hahn mocked as the entered the second elevator. "I didn't realize you were so sappy."

"Shut up, Hahn." Zuko jabbed him.

Hahn pulled the door open and motioned him inside. It looked like he was the youngest of the group again. "You're late." The session leader noted.

"He ran into his sister." Hahn vouched. "It's been a while since they've seen each other."

The man sighed, "let's get into it then. Ki, would you like to start us off?"

Zuko tried not to nod off as listened to various addiction origin stories. Ones that ranged from crippling depression to a friend hooking them up back in high school and still not being able to climb out of it. One story in particular stood out to him, "having children took its toll." The woman spoke. "I had the first one, thought I could handle a second…" She trailed off. "Drugs took the edge off of the crying and fussing. I wanted to be a good mom, I really did. But I've failed as a parent."

"You couldn't have failed worse than my father." Zuko didn't mean to cut her off, he hadn't even realized that he'd spoken out loud.

"I take it you'd like to share share next?" The therapist commented.

"Not particularly."

"Well you interrupted Mrs. Wansabi's story so I assumed that you had something to say."

"It's fine, I was done talking." Mrs. Wansabi smiled.

"No matter, we still need another person to share and we didn't here from Mr. Kasai last time."

Zuko gritted his teeth. This therapist was agitating, he was going to have to talk to someone about seeing someone else, before this man made him snap. "You want my story?! Fine! I have an abusive sorry ass excuse for a father. He beat me regularly and heroine took the pain away. It's not that special." He turned to Mrs. Wansabi. "At least you're here and trying. That's more than my father can say. You feel bad and you haven't even hurt your kids yet. My father...I think he enjoys hurting me." He couldn't help but think of Azula too and that more somber look in her eyes. "Hurting us."

"So you ran away." Hahn finished for him.

"It was the best thing I could have done for myself."

"You're lucky that you ended up here and not in a drug ring." The therapist put in, unhelpfully. "That kind of impulsive…"

Zuko cut him off. "I could have ended up here, like I did. Or I could have ended up dead. Which still would have been better than living with him."

The room fell quiet.

He hoped that he hadn't landed himself an extended stay.

.oOo.

Yue beckoned Azula to sit. "Water?" With a nod from Azula, she filled up a small glass. "How has school been treating you?"

But Azula wanted to start with something different. "I ran into my brother today."

"On the way here?"

"Ursa-my mother told me he was in the rehab sector here."

Yue took a sip for herself. "Was this encounter a good thing?"

Azula shrugged. "It was an encounter." She paused. "He told me that I saved him."

"Did you?" Yue asked.

She shrugged again. "Maybe in a manner of speaking. I just called uncle for him." Yue continued to stare so she added, "he ran away."

"Your father?"

"I know. It's hard to believe that anyone would run away from such a compassionate man."

Yue chuckled. At least someone shared her sense of humor, that joke hadn't gone so well with her mother who used it as an opportunity for more hugging and tears. The kind of affection that still made Azula squeamish.

"It was probably nice to hear. That you were able to help your brother."

Azula considered. "It's a start." It had made her feel like, perhaps, she wasn't as dreadful of a person as she initially assumed.

"A start?"

"He left on bad terms." She wasn't entirely certain of this. "Rather, we had some unfinished matters."

Yue nodded. "Do you want to talk about those?"

"Perhaps another time." It was a subject so layered, that it may have take many sessions to cover. Truth be told, this time, she wanted to talk about her other problems. It was easier to talk to someone she didn't know very well. Someone who she wouldn't have to see every day.

"Would you like to tell me how you're adjusting to school?" Yue asked. "Have you found any new friends."

"A few." Azula replied. "My new volleyball team and Nagako-she quit the team."

Yue smiled. "I'm happy to hear that you decided to join after all!" The woman sound very genuinely thrilled. It instilled some sort of pride within Azula. "Did you have practice already?"

"The first one was yesterday."

"How did it go?"

At this Azula's face fell.

Yue's own expression darkened. "What happened?"

Azula tightened her grip on the glass. "I couldn't…" She paused. "I knew that I wasn't going to be as good as before, I've been out of practice for so long…" She trailed off. "I didn't think I would perform that poorly."

"Did someone say that you weren't doing good?"

"Yes." Azula mumbled. "I did."

"I'm sure you performed better than you think."

"You were not there." Azula held her ground. "You wouldn't say that if you had been."

"Azula, you've put a lot of strain on your body in starving it. This has nothing to do with your skill set. You made it sound like you were a natural. So let things happen naturally. Treat it right and your body will recover and you will most likely find that you haven't set yourself as far back as you think."

It sounded so good aloud. But Azula wasn't sure if she believed that. Even so it didn't alleviate the sting she was feeling in that moment. Nor would it lift the burden that came with noticing just how much her figure had changed. Before joining the team, she hadn't considered how much the stretches would annunciate that. "You don't understand."

"I would like to. What were you thinking about?"

She didn't want to say it out loud. It was embarrassing enough in her own headspace. Yet she wanted to say something. She kept quiet.

"Would you like to come back to this subject later?"

Azula almost took her up on her offer. She held her silence until she found a less degrading way to say what was bothering her. "I almost did it again..."

"Did what?

She set her cup aside and brought her fingers to her mouth.

"What stopped you?"

"I don't like losing." She replied. "Not to anyone else. Not to myself."

"What made you want to throw up?"

Another uncomfortable question. She had dug herself into it. "I don't look the same." She gripped the edge of her chair. "I got to see myself from many new angles yesterday..." She would let Yue fill in the blanks. "I don't look like the rest of the team." Save for Shoko, but somehow she always managed to gloss over that.

Yue nodded seeming to think things over. "You're going to have to stop comparing yourself to other people. You are you. They are them."

"I don't look how I used to." She was being difficult, but not cunningly so.

"That's fair." Yue muttered, leaving Azula quietly flabbergasted that she would agree. "You're going to have to be patient. I promise you, that you will get there again. Remember when I told you that you are a pretty girl?"

"Yes. So?"

"I'd like to say it again. There isn't one single way to define beauty. How can there be when there are so many different body types out there?"

Azula swallowed.

"If I may be up front?"

Azula waved her on.

"I think you are putting way too much focus on yourself. Your team, they aren't paying as much attention to you as you think."

"Are you sure? We've only had one practice together and Zirin already has a habit of reminding me not to push myself."

"They aren't paying attention to you for the reason you think. You are putting a lot of focus on your weight. Your friend seems to be focusing on making sure you don't hurt yourself. She isn't thinking about your weight, she is thinking about your well being."

Azula considered.

"I'd like you to try something else for me." Yue spoke again. "I don't usually say this, but, try to think of how others see you instead of how you see yourself. From the sound of it, they are happy to have you on their team. Do you really think that your weight matters?"

She wanted to say yes, but Yue had left her ample time to think and she was struggling to find one concrete example to back that.

"There are more profound aspects of yourself. I've seen you only two times now and I can tell that you are strong, determined, and persistent. If you really want to think about the physical, you have beautiful eyes and nice hair." She paused. "If you want to make this process easier for yourself, you're going to have to break the habit of valuing yourself based on a number. One that isn't even that high, all things considered."

Azula chewed the inside of her cheek, determined not to shed even one tear. Yet, that was exactly what she had needed to hear. A solid confirmation that she may have been exaggerating what she saw in the mirror. "I'll, try."

Yue smiled. "Speaking of trying, have you been sticking to the meal plan?"

"I have."

"You're doing yourself a very big favor." Yue said. "It's refreshing to have a patient willing to cooperate."

"I want things to go back to how they were. Your plan is the only one I have right now." And besides, she had already stated that she would go through with it. Surrender wasn't a flattering action.

"They will. Sooner than you think."

Sooner still seemed so painfully long. At least now she was actually doing something. At least being on the team was a way to feel her progress as it happened. And yet, progress seemed so hard to acquire.

"It isn't going to happen over night." Yue noted.

But it would happen. Azula decided so.

Her mind was made up.

And when it was, it couldn't be wavered.