Chapter 5
Aang had been reasonably happy with his level of play in the first three rounds of the tournament, even if the results did not quite reflect it. He felt quite confident that with a few more games under his belt, the results were sure to improve. He certainly hadn't expected to run into unexpected trouble in the fourth round against an opponent he hadn't really struggled with before, On Ji Takeda.
On Ji's professional career had needed a lot of time to take off. She had needed seven long years on the professional tour before she had scored her first podium of an important international tournament in the Fire Fountain City. As far as Aang could tell, she clearly wasn't taking home impressive prize money, so her family had to be wealthy enough to continue supporting her career choice. But it seemed that in her late twenties, On Ji was finally starting to seriously emerge as a threat.
And, as Aang sat across the Pai Sho board to On Ji Takeda, perhaps for the first time he noticed that On Ji had also truly come into her own as a confident and attractive young woman. Aang had never found facing beautiful women at the Pai Sho board particularly distracting, especially when he was still properly together with Mai. Things had changed since their separation, however, and Aang was starting to struggle with his loneliness. Maybe that was why it was becoming so much harder to ignore the occasional eye contact with On Ji's soulful brown orbs, to avoid noticing her lightly parted cherry red lips, or the way her tight blouse shifted when she slightly leaned forward to make yet another move.
Aang did not want to put everything about his poor play down to being distracted by his comely opponent, but to him it felt very obvious that it was the main reason why as his game with On Ji approached the fortieth move, he found himself in a highly unenviable position. He had almost run out of time, trying to stave off the defeat within forty moves, but now with an extra hour added to their timing clocks, Aang knew that he'd have to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat in order to escape defeat.
Fortunately for him, this round appeared to be shaping up as one full of surprises. Piandao looked set to lose his game to Haru, and Jeong-Jeong was in a hopeless position against Yue, proving Zuko and Toph's worst fears that Yue Taqqiq was back and that she meant business. Toph herself was struggling against Siku Ikuma, and their game looked set to end in a draw. Only Zuko had lived up to his reputation as the tournament favorite, destroying Joo Dee in thirty plus moves and having already departed from the hall.
In the end, Aang failed to escape the inevitable. Even if he had managed to extend the game to the seventieth move, On Ji never gave him a look back in. Their match was the last to end, a few minutes after Piandao had resigned his game to Haru. Despite being aware that On Ji's appearance was distracting him, he had never managed to shake off the effect, and he had paid for it. Of course, On Ji had played a very solid game on top of it, as well.
"Congratulations," Aang smiled, shaking On Ji's hand after the match. He had to mentally check himself not to hold on to her hand for longer than was polite. "That was a very well-played game."
"Thank you," On Ji smiled coyly. "I want to say the same, but I think you're too good of a player to realize that it would be an empty platitude. I'm afraid that I won't be able to claim that I beat you at your best."
"Don't sell yourself short," Aang smiled as they began to walk off the stage. "A win is a win in the standings, so enjoy this victory."
"I will, but not too much," On Ji laughed. "After all, there's a new round of play tomorrow."
"Good idea," Aang nodded. They were walking close enough that he could sense the scent of her perfume, a lovely and warm aroma of sandalwood, something that seemed to perfectly fit her personality. "There are always the off days for celebrating the memorable wins," he said as they passed through the press zone. Most of the journalists, including Suki, were still grilling both Piandao and Haru with their pressing questions, but a few representatives of the press still stopped him and On Ji. Fortunately, their questions were of the quick and painless variety and they were soon able to continue towards the exit, still walking side by side when they were suddenly ambushed by someone.
"Aang! There you are!" it was Azula, looking all sharp and businesslike, as usual. Aang blinked, unsure what Azula might want from him. For some confusing reason, she seemed to have stayed behind just to speak with him.
"Uh, yes?" Aang froze at the unexpected address. On Ji came to a halt next to him, looking just as surprised. "Was there something you wanted, Azula?" he asked.
"Yes, it's about our Winter Solstice party," Azula spoke firmly, completely ignoring On Ji next to Aang, as if she didn't even register on Azula's radar. "I am here to extend an invitation to you, but you should know that we are planning to invite Mai as well."
Aang hesitated before answering. He noticed that On Ji had also snapped out of her surprised state, giving him a quick stare before walking away, blush covering her cheeks for some reason. "I would certainly like to attend, but I think it might be a little too awkward with Mai there," Aang said eventually.
"Really?" Azula appeared surprised. "I spoke with her, and she didn't seem to care whether you came or not."
"Yeah," Aang said, a little bitterly. "Don't you think that's kind of a problem in itself?" Azula faced him with a blank stare. "That she has no emotional reaction whether I'm there or not, Azula."
"Oh," Azula finally seemed to get it. "Yes, I suppose I can see what you mean. I think most of our friends will be disappointed by your absence, but it's your call."
"Indeed, it is," Aang nodded, sighing inwardly. He had never missed one of the Winter Solstice parties at the International House of Lesbians, but it seemed like this year he would be passing on the fun. "I hope that everyone will understand," Aang added.
"I imagine they will," Azula replied. "But you know what I can't understand? That crappy performance against On Ji just now. What happened? Are you sure your world championship title is real?"
"I don't have a simple and easy answer for you, Azula," Aang said. Azula was probably the last person he would admit to that he was feeling starved for company and had been distracted by an admittedly extremely pretty face. And well, more than just face, if Aang was being perfectly honest with himself. "This is why I probably shouldn't attend the party and spend more time on improving my game," Aang added.
"I guess that's true," Azula shrugged. "And you better figure things out quickly, before the competition leaves you in the dust," she said, turning to depart and leaving Aang standing there, deep in thought.
"So," Smellerbee spoke excitedly, waving around the large hall, its floor covered with thick dust from all the renovation work currently taking place. "As you can see, we've been hard at work," she sounded proud, showing Jet around the place that was supposed to become the meeting ground for the Yu Dao war veterans as well as the most popular pub in the capital. Longshot, Pipsqueak and the Duke were standing nearby, all of them wearing their workwear and hardhats, ready to get back to work.
"I do see that," Jet nodded, looking around. "I mean, there's still a lot to be done, but I can see the potential."
"Well, I should hope so," Bee snorted. "Getting the loan was a tougher fight than any of the battles we fought during the actual war, so we better make it work."
"Oh, it'll work, especially now that I'm here to help," Jet spoke confidently, chewing on a stem of grass. Jet knew that he was never going to quit smoking completely, but he was trying to limit himself by making sure that a pack stretched for two days instead of just one. Chewing on something provided at least some distraction.
"We didn't want you here because we needed a hero to ride in on a white horse and rescue us," Duke pointed out, Pipsqueak and Longshot nodding approvingly. "If you're in, you're in as an equal. We're no longer at war, we're not a Freedom Fighter cell and you're not our leader. Now we're just old comrades, and friends for life. At least I hope that's what we are."
"You're damn right," Jet nodded at the youngest of their bunch. He seemed to be the least affected by the war, at least outwardly. Longshot seemed more withdrawn than Jet remembered him. Perhaps he was struggling mentally, in which case his disability was likely proving to be an obstacle in him getting the help he needed. But he seemed to have perked up following Jet's arrival in Yu Dao, and he wasn't the only one to appear happier. Every time Jet shook hands with Pipsqueak, he received a sober reminder of the big man's missing fingers, and when it came to Bee, it appeared that her and Jet's limps were so similar, that they were essentially limping in sync. The marks of war were still there, plain as day, binding them all together.
"Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to get a spare set of overalls and a hardhat, and you can join us for some hard labor tomorrow," Smellerbee laughed, elbowing Jet in the side.
"I'm sure there's some way I can start helping now without having to wait for tomorrow," Jet said. "How about you show me the plans for the place? Like a drawing? I mean, we're not flying by the seat of our pants here, are we?"
"We are, a bit," Bee admitted. "Maybe coming up with a plan can be your task for the day, and then the rest of us can offer our input. I mean, out of us five, you probably have the most experience with pubs, am I right?"
"Well, yes, but going to a pub to pick up a gorgeous lady and knowing how to actually run a pub are two very different things, Bee," Jet snorted. "But, no reason to get desperate, I'm sure we can figure it out easily enough."
"That's what I thought as well," Bee nodded. "But we want to make it a really authentic place for the old vets, a place where we can gather and remember the harrowing experiences that we all went through," she said, with Longshot, Pipsqueak and the Duke nodding in agreement.
"Yes… yes, that's obviously important," Jet said, unable to stop himself from frowning. "But we need to be smart about it."
"Smart about it how?" Bee asked.
"I mean, a pub is also a place where you go to have a good time, right? Not a place you go to get depressed," Jet explained. "If we end up displaying pictures showing the horrors of war, people strung up by their own intestines or some of the mine victims, that might be historically accurate, but it will also be a turn off for many. I think we should be selective about realism."
"Hmm, I don't know about that," Duke didn't look impressed, and some of the others were also frowning. "It doesn't seem right, somehow. Maybe we shouldn't be making light of the truth of what happened."
"I'm not saying we do that," Jet said. "But maybe we don't have to be so in your face with the grimmest truth about the war? I mean, this is supposed to be a pub first and not a museum, right? And I think it would be a shame if we created an atmosphere that turned away anyone who wasn't an old vet."
"You just want the pub to attract some hot babes for you to flirt with," Bee laughed.
"Well, that too," Jet grinned, making finger guns at Smellerbee. In truth, he hadn't actually been thinking about that at all. That last conversation with Suki was still playing on his mind over and over again. 'I'm not waiting on you to come back for the second time.' 'I hope you don't.' Those had been their final words, and for now, they marked the end of their relationship. Jet still found it difficult to move on, however. It would have helped if Suki had been angry and cursed him out or if she had thrown a vase at him. But instead, she had just cried silently, and that had hurt way more than any cutting words she could have said. But their paths had been diverging for a while already, and Jet was still certain of that no matter how much the breakup had hurt. Maybe he really did need a mindless hookup to stop feeling depressed about Suki.
"Anyway, jokes aside, I think Jet is making a good point," Bee said, turning to face the rest of their group. "We don't want this to be known as a place where miserable and depressed whiners moan all day about how life is terrible. We want to have our experiences of the war as something that bind us, but we don't want them to drag us down and stop us from having fun. Is that what you had in mind, Jet?"
"Yes, you explained it a lot better than I ever could," Jet grinned. Much to his relief, Longshot, Pipsqueak and the Duke were all smiling, looking like they were coming around to supporting the idea. "Also, we'll need a catchy name for our pub, something that will really draw people in," Jet added.
"Longshot had a pretty good idea," Duke said. "What was it? War Vet Watering Hole?" Longshot nodded at that.
Jet snorted. "It's pretty good, I'll give you that, but it's not inclusive enough," he said. "How about… hmm, how about…" he spat out the stem of grass he'd been chewing on, suddenly being struck by an idea. "How about The Last Straw?" Jet grinned.
Smellerbee blinked, at first looking unsure, but then starting to chuckle. The others seemed to be liking the idea as well. "Alright, I'm down with that," Bee grinned, affectionately punching his shoulder. "See, you guys?" she laughed, looking at the others. "I told you that getting this jerk onboard would pay off!"
In many ways, Yue could almost not believe how well she was doing in her return to tournament play. After her unexpected victory over Jeong-Jeong in the fourth round, she had followed that success up with another win over a lesser-known local master from Ba Sing Se. With five rounds in the books, Yue found herself in the unexpected situation of sharing the tournament lead with Zuko, both of them on four points. All the other favorites were following very closely, and Yue was yet to face some of the toughest opposition, so privately, Yue didn't expect herself to hold on to the tournament lead, despite how much Azula and Katara continued to insist that she could actually go and win her first tournament after a break of eight years.
The sixth round had drawn a rather large crowd in attendance, as well as an increased attention from the press, which didn't surprise Yue, because she was facing Zuko in a battle between the two current leaders. Yue knew that she was in for a very tough fight because Zuko had been playing very well after his slight stumble in the first round. Certainly, Zuko's style of play held no surprises to Yue, but dealing with players who favored very aggressive style had always been Yue's slight weakness. It was why Azula had always found her a relatively easy prey, and Zuko's style of play was quite similar to that of his sister's.
Since the start of the tournament, Yue and Zuko had not spoken extensively, other than greetings and a few token pleasantries. It was what Yue had expected, but at the same time, it rankled a little bit when she saw Zuko often conferring with Toph and Aang about something, the three of them standing all by themselves and making her feel a little excluded. Still, as the match between her and Zuko was about to begin, Zuko had been perfectly polite, warmly shaking her hand and wishing her the best of luck, sounding very much sincere.
As soon as the match began, the gloves came off immediately. Yue had hoped that because she hadn't been actively playing for so long, Zuko would not have had the opportunity to re-familiarize himself with her style, but it quickly became clear that Zuko had studied all of her games from the current tournament. Perhaps it had been naïve to hope that Zuko wouldn't have done his homework, but still, Zuko's level of preparedness seemed almost unusual for him. Zuko burst right out of the gate all guns blazing, coming at Yue with everything he had in one of the most aggressive openings that Yue had never enjoyed defending against.
With great effort, Yue somehow managed to stifle Zuko's first attempt to wipe her tiles right off the board. It took Yue twenty moves to stabilize her position, and unless Zuko tried something crazy, within a few more moves Yue would be able to start thinking about a counterattack. Unfortunately, she was never going to get that opportunity, because Zuko apparently did have something crazy up his sleeve. A few perfectly timed tile sacrifices blew up Yue's right flank, and as she struggled to plug the gap, Zuko struck with surgical precision across her first line of defenses, carving through her tiles like knife through soft butter, leaving her center naked and exposed. There wasn't much that Yue could do in response to all these deadly threats, and she also didn't want to disrespect Zuko by needlessly dragging out the inevitable, surrendering on the thirty-sixth move.
"Very impressive," Yue smiled as they shook hands following the match. "You played a near perfect game."
"Please," Zuko shook his head. "That was far from my best. I intend to be in an even better shape for the finals."
Yue didn't need to think twice about the implications of Zuko's words. It seemed as if he was trying to intimidate her, telling her that she should expect to be crushed even more convincingly if she persisted with this ill-conceived return to professional Pai Sho. And certainly, this crushing defeat had dampened Yue's spirits… at least until the moment when she made a stunning realization. Why would Zuko go to such lengths to prepare so diligently and try to discourage her from persisting with her return to Pai Sho? There was only one possible answer to that question. Zuko, and probably Toph and Aang as well, were very concerned about her return. Perhaps they even feared her. And that alone gave Yue a massive boost of confidence despite the terrible spanking that she had just endured.
"Well, in any case, I was impressed," Yue smiled at Zuko. "I will be very surprised if you don't go and win this tournament, Zuko."
"Thank you," Zuko smiled back at her, looking a little surprised, probably having expected her to be upset with him. "And just to make sure, I'm still welcome to attend your party tonight, yes?"
"But of course," Yue replied, nodding and smiling. "In fact, we all would be very upset if you didn't show. We'll make sure to toast you being the sole leader of the tournament."
"You don't need to do that," Zuko said, looking a little uncomfortable. "Anyway, I'll see you all in the evening," he said, turning to walk off stage. Yue was about to follow him, but first she used a moment to quickly glance at the large display boards to see how the other games of the sixth round were unfolding.
Yue felt comforted to know that at least she hadn't been the first to get trounced in this round of play and a few games had finished even before she had surrendered to Zuko. Piandao had already crushed his opposition and Toph had disposed of Joo Dee with equal ease. Two games looked like they could stretch past the limit of forty moves. On Ji Takeda was proving to be something of a thorn in the side of the tournament favorites and was holding her own against Haru Tamang. Jeong-Jeong was giving Aang a very hard time. As far as Yue was concerned, Aang was a shadow of his former self in this tournament, and she couldn't remember when he had last truly impressed her with his play. Ever since winning the title of the world champion, he had lost a lot of his motivation, and the past few years had been very lean for him. Yue didn't believe that it was just his relationship issues with Mai that were eating away at Aang, she was certain that there was something else. Of course, now that they were in direct competition, Aang wasn't likely to tell Yue just what was bothering him, even if she were to ask.
But Aang was at least theoretically in direct competition with Zuko and Toph as well, so watching the three of them occasionally huddle together before a new round of play simply did not sit well with Yue. Perhaps she should have handled the announcement of her return better, but still, she wasn't sure if it merited such response by making her feel left out.
Azula did not feel particularly happy following the conclusion of play of the sixth round. It wasn't just that she was upset about Zuko defeating Yue. It was more about how Zuko had defeated her beloved wife. It felt almost like Zuko had tried to send a message that Yue's return to competition was a terrible idea that she would come to regret, and Azula had hoped that by now Zuko would have gotten over his bullshit hurt feelings about Azula not coaching him. Azula almost wanted to cancel Zuko's invite to their Winter Solstice party later in the evening, but she had a feeling that neither Katara nor Yue would be receptive to that idea. And after she had gotten over some of her immediate anger, Azula had to admit that it probably would have been too petty of a move even for her.
At least by the time Yue caught up with them, she didn't appear overly upset about her crushing loss. They'd sat down for a quick round of espressos at one of the palace cafeterias before returning home and finishing their preparations for the party. While at the café, they had been joined by Suki, their journalist friend done with all the postgame interviews for the day.
"Are you looking forward to the party tonight, Suki?" Yue asked, following a round of heartfelt greetings.
"Well, of course, since I was promised that there would be all the booze I could hope to drink," Suki grinned. Azula hoped that her changed attitude meant that she was finally getting over Jet. And sure, Jet was a ruggedly handsome guy who knew how to have fun, but Azula still didn't see how any man was worth spending more than a couple of weeks moping over.
"I know this is probably a very busy time for you, so we really appreciate you taking the time off to hang out with us," Katara smiled.
"Hey, I like to keep busy, but I also like to hang out with you, guys," Suki replied. "And this is not the world championship final levels kind of busy. I have a couple of days to edit all the material and finish the articles. Besides, I've finally learned how to delegate some of the more mundane tasks. So, don't worry, I can definitely afford to party hard tonight. I can even afford getting a hangover."
"Unfortunately, we can't promise any exciting single and available party guests that could make the party even more fun," Yue winked, making Suki blush slightly.
"Ahem," Azula cleared her throat. "Kiyi is single. But she is also totally off limits to everyone at the party," she added, giving Suki a meaningful stare.
Suki burst into laughter. "Don't worry, Azula, I don't plan to make any moves on your cute little stepsister."
"Kiyi is not cute!" Azula fumed.
"Well, that's an awful thing to say about your own stepsister," Katara winked at her.
"Shut up, you know what I meant," Azula glared, but it just seemed to make all the others even more amused. "Anyway, what do you think about the tournament so far, Suki?" Azula asked in a desperate attempt to change the topic.
"I don't know about you, but I'm excited," Suki replied. "I think your girl here has been doing better than anyone dared to expect," she smiled, patting Yue's shoulder. "I don't think this defeat to Zuko really says as much as Zuko himself might think."
"I felt a little discouraged immediately after the game, but I'm over it," Yue nodded. "Now I just want to get back in there and work even harder to succeed."
"I was hoping that by this silly attempt of trying to teach you a lesson, Zuko would have totally miscalculated," Azula said. "I'm glad that Kat and I won't have to try and rebuild your confidence from the ground up."
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Yue smiled. "I already can't wait to face Aang following the day off. I bet he'll try to do the same to me as Zuko."
"Yes, the two of them together with Toph appear to be conspiring to knock you out of the running," Katara remarked, frowning. "I don't like that. And since Aang has decided not to come to the party, he'll probably be spending the whole day tomorrow preparing for your game."
"Well, I don't want to appear overconfident when I really have no reason to act that way, but Aang is probably the opponent I fear the least," Yue shrugged. "Also, he's been playing very poorly in this tournament."
"Yes, do you know what's up with that, Suki?" Azula asked. "The way he blew that game to On Ji in particular was just embarrassing."
"Hmm," Suki hummed, looking around a little shiftily. "Okay, you didn't hear it from me, and also, this is just a rumor, but… I have heard that Aang, Zuko and Toph have some kind of a deal that they made many years ago. I think it happened soon after you retired, Azula."
"What sort of a deal?" Azula's ears perked up immediately. Could dear Zuzu be in on something illicit? But no, Aang would never sign up for anything like that, he was just too much of a goody-goody.
"Well, as far as I understand it, they have an agreement to help each other win the world championship, and if one of them wins it, then they won't go for a repeat until the other two have claimed the title as well," Suki explained.
"Oh, whoa," Katara gasped. "That's… I did not expect that sort of a deal."
"There's nothing illegal about that," Azula admitted, feeling a little let down.
"Yes, but I think it actually explains why Aang has been playing so poorly, at least for his ability, ever since winning the title," Yue remarked. "It must be really hard for Aang to motivate himself when he knows that he's not supposed to actually fight for the title for the next two cycles at least? That's like four years of commitment just to help your friends win. I'm not surprised he occasionally looks a little disillusioned."
"Of course!" Azula snapped her fingers, finally realizing something. "That's why they're so against you coming back, Yue! They rightfully fear that if you were to take the title, they would have to honor their shitty deal for two extra years!"
"That explains so much," Katara muttered.
"It really does," Yue nodded. "Funnily enough, knowing that there's a deal like that just makes me even more motivated. We never had an arrangement like that between the three of us, and we even share the same bed."
"Exactly," Azula said, blushing at Yue's candidness, especially when she noticed Suki's smirking. "Anyway, we should probably get going. Suki, I know we said around eight, but feel free to show up whenever," she added, trying to herd her Water Tribe darlings out of the cafeteria.
"I'll be there," Suki nodded, smiling as she watched them leave.
"We should probably hurry," Azula said as they quickly made their way to the parking lot. "There's still quite a lot to arrange for the party."
"Are you sure you're heading the right way, though?" Katara asked, frowning. "I'm pretty sure we parked on the left side of the lot."
"Don't be ridiculous, Kat," Azula snorted as they made their way past rows and rows of cars. "I never forget where I park the car," she said confidently, before coming to a sudden halt moments later. "On second thought-" she began to speak.
"Watch out!" Katara suddenly shouted, with Yue watching her wide-eyed, as if frozen in panic.
Azula somehow managed to step out of the way of an onrushing car, barely avoiding becoming a wet stain on the pavement. Still, the string of her purse was caught in the side mirror of the passing car. Azula failed to let go of the purse right away, and she was thrown to the ground and dragged painfully for several yards before she finally let go. The contents of her purse flew everywhere as she rolled around on the ground and came to a painful halt, blacking out for a while.
When Azula next opened her eyes, Katara was already by her side, checking her for injuries, with Yue standing over, wringing her hands and sobbing. "Yue, please, go get Azula's purse and collect everything that spilled out," Katara said sternly, sounding a little annoyed and distracted by Yue understandably freaking out.
"What was that all about?" Azula asked, rearing her head once Katara was done with her examination.
"No idea, but that was a lucky escape," Katara admitted. "A few bruises is all I can find, so you should be fine to get up now," she said, rising and pulling Azula up with her. Azula felt a little sore, but other than that it seemed as if she had escaped any major injuries. Her fake fur coat was permanently ruined, however.
"I really hate these reckless drivers," Yue said angrily, coming up to them and embracing Azula tightly. "A parking lot is no place for speeding. My heart almost leapt out of my mouth back there." She handed the damaged purse back to Azula. "I think I managed to find everything… or almost everything, I hope."
"Thanks, both of you," Azula nodded gratefully, aware that this freak incident could have ended a lot worse for her. "But let's not think about this anymore. Let's just go home. After well, we have a party to prepare for."
Joo Dee was breathing hard, still gripping the wheel of her father's old Pontiac as she pulled over into a dark side alley to calm her frayed nerves. She'd come so close to splattering the brains of Azula Nakamura all over the parking lot of the Royal Palace, but somehow that bitch had managed to dodge at the last moment.
Azula was probably going to be a lot more careful now, so perhaps Joo Dee would have to reevaluate her whole hit and run plan. Maybe it was time to try something else instead. It was possible that Azula wouldn't even see this as a genuine attempt on her life, but instead look at it as a freak accident, but still, Joo Dee wanted to be careful. She didn't know Azula well on a personal level, but Azula's book portrayed her as a devious and sometimes even paranoid schemer. It was probably best for Joo Dee to wait for a few months before trying again.
The one bright spot of the failed plan was that at least it was safe for Joo Dee to keep the car, with the hope that it might come in handy in the future. She had intended to sink the car to the bottom of Lake Laogai, but since it wasn't covered in Azula's blood, there was no incentive to do so. Still, Joo Dee was even more determined that the day when Azula's blood would be spilled was nearing.