Yuudai waited outside the training grounds for almost an hour before Zuko showed up. Normally, he would have been a little irritated at being made to wait so long, but his new title and his father's blessing had made it impossible for his emotional high to be brought down. Zuko looked less regal than normal, trading his royal uniform for a more subtle look, but he still carried an air of nobility with his stance and attitude. The prince shook his best friend's rough hand in greeting and settled next to him on the arena stairs.
"Hey Zuko, where's Azula?" Yuudai tried to ask as nonchalant as possible. Zuko's perceptiveness didn't miss the hitch in his friend's voice though.
"Don't worry big guy, she'll be here," he answered with a smirk, "so…when are you going to grow up and finally ask her out?"
"Spirits above, does everyone know?!" Yuudai practically yelped. He was confused as to when his personal life had become the focus of everyone's amusement.
"Please, as if the two of you have been subtle at all. Now answer the question!" Zuko pushed, enjoying his buddy's discomfort. Yuudai immediately turned the situation back on him though, using his own love life as ammunition.
"I'll make you a deal, your highness. I will pursue Azula when you finally remember what hangs between your legs and go after Mai!" Zuko blushed, much to Yuudai's satisfaction. Their friendly ribbing continued for a couple minutes until they finally saw a trio of young women making their way across the arena. Azula led the way, followed closely by her two closest confidants, Mai and Ty Lee. Zuko bashfully looked away from Mai with reddening cheeks, not unnoticed by the femme fatales. To his credit, Mai blushed herself, getting snickers from Ty Lee, but Yuudai was too engrossed by Azula to notice the exchange. She wore a glossy floor length black dress, accented with orange trim, which rose across her chest to her neck, where it wrapped around her throat and left her toned back, shoulders and arms exposed. The young warrior felt his pulse quicken; his heart was beating so hard he thought it would burst from his chest. He could've stared at her for hours, but his friends giggling made him realize just how awkward he was being, standing there like an idiot.
"I'm glad you like what you see, Yuudai," Azula quipped sweetly, obviously enjoying the effect she had on him, "but if we don't leave soon you'll grow roots." She teased him even more with a sexy wink.
"I-I apologize, princess. You just look breathtakingly beautiful tonight." Azula's pristine visage almost faltered at his compliment; he had never called her beautiful before!
"Duh, goofball! Of course she looks beautiful tonight, I helped her get dressed!" Ty Lee bragged, effectively shattering the moment. She forced the jealousy rising in her chest back down; somehow she'd get that doofus to look at her tonight the way he looked at Azula. The princess may have been her best friend, but all's fair in love and war. Once everyone finally felt relaxed and clear on the evening's agenda, they made their way outside the palace and into the Fire Nation capitol.
Mai and Ty Lee had never been put in the situation the three royals were in. Their entire lives, they had been able to explore the city, mingle with merchants and other citizens, and enjoy all the wonders the city offered. Zuko, Azula, and Yuudai felt as if this was an awakening of sorts. The food tasted better, the shopping was intoxicating, but the thing that fascinated them the most was the way the people interacted with one another. The hustle and bustle of the market blew their young minds; how could so much activity be going on at one time? Mai and Ty Lee spent the majority of their time laughing at their friends dumbfounded expressions, telling them how goofy they looked with their jaws on the floor.
After several hours of sampling all of the cities wonders, just before sunset, Ty Lee saw someone she knew, a handsome young man named Chan who happened to be the eldest son of the Fire Nations generals. She led him over to their group and informed her friends of a huge party he was throwing that night. Chan gave them all the details, never once taking his cocky eyes off Azula…every inch of Azula. This didn't go unnoticed by Yuudai or the princess. Yuudai could practically feel the blood begin to boil in his veins while Azula simply smiled mischievously. The arrogant young man gave them the address and time, casting one final wink at Azula before leaving them. Before he could stop himself, Yuudai actually felt a low growl escape his throat. Zuko nudged him hard while the girls giggled at the night's new development.
"Easy big guy. Just relax. This party is perfect, for the both of us. Just calm down and turn this to our advantage." Neither of them noticed two of the girls doing their own plotting in front of them. Azula hadn't seen this new development coming, but Yuudai's obvious jealousy gave her a brilliant idea. Ty Lee saw only his anger, and she planned to use that to her advantage tonight as well. She would make her move at the party, where the anger was certainly going to grow. Angry men never acted intelligently.
The group of friends eventually made their way to the address given to them by Chan. The girls, mainly Ty Lee, were positively giddy at the prospect of their first party, Zuko was plotting as to how he could use tonight to court Mai, and Yuudai was simply angry. This was supposed to be a great day, his day, a day they all enjoyed each other's company, the day he finally confronted Azula. Now they were going to some stupid house party this arrogant little shit was throwing at his daddy's house to seem cool. Even worse still, Azula seemed excited to go! His "great day" was rapidly becoming a nightmare. Still, he refused to let Chan get the upper hand on him; this little prick had no idea just what was he was dealing with. As the group arrived at the front door, they were greeted by a different young man with just as much ego.
"You guys must be the ones Chan was talking about. Ladies, my name is Rian Jian," the young man boasted before turning his attention strictly to Mai, "and who might you be, gorgeous?" he inquired flirtatiously, drawing giggles from the girls and a growl of his own from Zuko. Yuudai nudged him back to reality, snidely remarking, "Not so easy when it's your girl is it?"
"Shut up," the hot-headed prince snapped, making his first life-changing decision right then and there. No way was this little bastard flirting with her. He smirked and turned back to Yuudai. Looks like their deal would come to pass faster than either intended.
Over the course of the night, alcohol flowed freely and the party started to get really wild. Zuko and Mai both seemed to be enjoying the liquid libation, much to their friend's delight when Zuko boldly took her by the hand and led her away. As they passed the rest of their friends, Zuko made eye contact with Yuudai, who paled at the implications of this turn of events. Zuko's unspoken message was clear: "Your turn." Yuudai couldn't deny being happy for his friend, but now it was up to him to fulfill his end of their bargain, and that scared the hell out of him. He made his way to the bar, seeking some liquid courage, before he was suddenly tackled by a VERY drunk Ty Lee.
"Kiss me, Yuudai!" she squealed, trying, in vain, to pull his heavily muscled neck down to her level. He gently pried her off of him and set her back down on the ground.
"Ty Lee, you're really drunk. You need to go to bed."
"Only if you're coming with me, sexy," she slurred, shaking her hips and trying to crawl back onto him. The big man wasn't in the mood to deal with a sober Ty Lee at the moment, and Ty Lee drunk and horny was infinitely worse.
"I'm sure someone here would love to keep you company tonight, Ty, but I have to find Azula right now." At Azula's name, Ty Lee's entire demeanor changed. She went from trying to get in his pants to simply enraged.
"Why is it always about her?! Why am I not good enough for you?! I've been trying to get your attention all night long, but you've been too busy with your head up her ass to even notice! Too bad you didn't notice her sneak off with Chan a minute ago, huh jackass?!" With that, she reached up and slapped Yuudai as hard as her petite body would let her, which turned out to be pretty damn hard. The blow stunned him for a second, more out of shock than pain; she'd actually hit him. He looked at her with pain in his eyes, heartbroken for the younger gymnast. Thankfully, her action seemed to sober her up, and she immediately burst into tears.
"Oh gods, I'm so sorry Yuudai! I shouldn't have done that! I didn't mean-"
"TY!" Yuudai interjected, "We can talk about this tomorrow when you have a clearer head, but right now, I need you to tell me where they went!" Ty Lee stared at him blankly, trying to process how calm he was. He truly was desperate to find Azula.
"H-he said he w-wanted to show h-her the grounds," she stammered through tears, "H-he hasn't been drinking so it was easier to trust him." Yuudai wrapped her in his massive arms in thanks and tore out of the room towards the back exit. As he came to the back door, he ran straight into Rian Jian, who conveniently stood right in the doorway.
"Whoa, whoa, where ya headed big man? The party's in there," the fool tried to play cool, even having the audacity to try and steer Yuudai. Furious enough already, he simply picked Rian Jian up by his shirt and physically tossed him out of the way like a rag doll. Obstacle one out of his way, Yuudai ran into the gardens, trying to catch up to the woman he loved. Seeing them in the distance, he ducked his massive frame out of sight, waiting patiently for his moment to intervene. Once within earshot, he waited behind a tree, listening intently.
"I must say Chan, these gardens are stunning. Your parents have done excellent work." Yuudai shivered when he heard Azula's intoxicating voice. Even here, in this insane situation, she had the power to turn him to jelly.
"Thanks, they do OK I guess," Chan answered in what he probably considered a "cool" tone, though to Yuudai he sounded like an out of place child, "It's nowhere near as beautiful as you though."
Patience, Yuudai told himself, biting back a snarl and calming himself down, no use hurting the little man before he'd earned it. Every predator knew the perfect moment to strike; he just had to wait for his
"Please, Chan, flattery will get you nowhere. My heart belongs to another. The only reason I even agreed to come out here was to stop your incessant pestering." That's my girl, Yuudai smiled inwardly. No way had she fallen for this fool's charade. Surprisingly, Chan laughed her comment off and continued.
"Ah, you mean the big one you and your friends brought along tonight? What would you think if I told you he was in a back room of my house now, rutting your little friend Ty Lee while you're out here with me?" And there it was, his moment.
"I figured you had something to do with that," the big man announced, making his presence officially known to the pair. Azula's eyes immediately met his and she calmly sauntered to his side, a sexy smile on her face. Yuudai reciprocated, but his eyes never left a surprised Chan's. As Azula came to a stop alongside him, Yuudai subconsciously moved himself between her and Chan. This was between him and this interloper.
"How did you get past Rian Jian?" Chan asked, annoyance thick in his tone at his plan being ruined.
"Simple," Yuudai barked, growing angrier with each passing second, "when he tried to stop me, I threw him aside like the trash he is. You, though, you I am going to take my time with."
Again, Chan surprised them both by laughing before drawing a pair of twin daggers and pointing them at Yuudai threateningly.
"Please, you moron, I'm the best fighter in this district and you have no weapons. What exactly are you going to do?" Yuudai stiffened and instinctually felt the familiar fire rising in his body, the heat spreading across his system, begging to be released. Only Azula's hands on his arm stopped him, bringing him back to reality.
"Don't, Yuudai, he isn't worth it."
"Yea, fool, listen to your harlot. Save yourself the embarrassment," Chan snapped, thinking himself the victor. Before he took his next breath, Yuudai was on him. He threw one punch with all his might, finding a sick satisfaction in feeling Chan's nose break under his power. Before the boy, for that's all he really was once the curtain came down on his act, could fall, Yuudai had him in the air by his throat.
"Apologize," He ordered, his tone laced with venom.
"Fuck you," Chan managed to get out past Yuudai's rapidly closing hand around his throat. Yuudai's eyes flashed and his empty hand immediately lit up with fire, breaking Azulon's rule for the first time in his life. Chan's eyes widened with fear as Yuudai addressed him a second time.
"Apologize, or burn. Your choice."
"I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, please don't hurt me!" the fool begged, his trousers soaked in his fear. Yuudai, satisfied, dropped him to the ground, leaving him a coughing, sputtering mess.
"We were never here," the warrior calmly told Chan, "My friends and I never came to your party. Do you understand? If you say otherwise, I will return. Am I clear?"
Chan nodded, willing to do anything to appease this angry giant before him. Yuudai turned away from the defeated fool and was met by Azula, who had a strange look in her eyes he didn't recognize. At first, he thought she would be furious for breaking their Grandfather's orders, but there wasn't anger or disappointment in her face, no this was…desire. She slowly walked towards him, taking his hand in hers before leaning up and doing what she'd wanted to for years: She kissed him on the lips with every ounce of passion she could muster.
As soon as their lips made contact, Yuudai felt as if he would explode. Every ounce of stress, anger, fear, and any other negative emotion he could think of disappeared in an instant. Before he could stop himself, he felt his massive arms go around her and pull her into his body, reveling in her touch. They could have stayed there for an eternity, but he had to tell her what he'd wanted to say for eight years. He gently pushed her away, just enough for their eyes to meet.
"I love you!" he blurted out, before his fear came back and held his tongue. Azula smiled wide and nuzzled into his chest, reveling in his body heat.
"I love you too," she almost whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. But hear her he did, and his entire world seemed to be complete. This truly was the greatest day ever.
The rest of the evening flew by for the couple, completely at ease and uncaring of anything else that could have happened. They reentered the party hand in hand, just in time to see Mai and Zuko exit one of the rooms, their clothes a mess and Mai's hair disheveled, a look that could only mean there were two happy couples tonight. Azula cackled at their obvious hook up while Yuudai scooped up a passed out Ty Lee to take her home. He refused to blame his friend for tonight's transgressions; she was young, impulsive, and had certainly been manipulated into tonight's behavior. They would settle their problems tomorrow; tonight they would go home and enjoy what had come to pass.
After getting Ty Lee safely home, the two happy couples gradually made their way back to the palace. Mai and Zuko had both come down off their post-coital high and were content the walk hand in hand through the streets, while Azula found herself nestled against Yuudai's massive frame, his arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders. No words were said, though none were needed; they all radiated joy. Joy, it seemed, that would be short lived.
Upon arriving at the city gates, they were met by a weeping Iroh. Yuudai dropped his arm from Azula's shoulders and sprinted frantically towards his father, his companions hot on his heels. As soon as they reached the weeping man, Iroh collapsed into his son's arms, unable to hold himself up any longer.
"Father, what's wrong? What's happened?" Yuudai pleaded, never seeing his father in this state before.
"The Fire Lord…your grandfather…he is dead."
