Chapter 7
Aang went into his seventh-round game against Yue Taqqiq seriously struggling with motivation. He had already as good as kissed his chances of winning the tournament goodbye, but that wasn't the main reason why he was feeling rather demotivated. The whole arrangement he had going with Toph and Zuko was ever so slowly starting to get to him. At the time when they had agreed to help each other win world titles, it had seemed like a great idea, and Aang had been the first to benefit from the help of his friends. Indeed, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to win his title if Zuko and Toph hadn't pitched in more than two years ago. After that, he truly felt honor bound to repay his friends and help them enjoy the same success he had tasted.
And Aang had assumed that it would take the next two championship cycles, or four years, to get both Zuko and Toph on the Pai Sho throne. But then Zuko had inconceivably blown the safest of leads to Piandao, something that Aang was privately more than a little upset about, and suddenly the four years of helping had turned into six years at the very least. And now, with Yue making her comeback, there was a real possibility of her further muddling the waters. If Yue regained her old form, perhaps Toph and Zuko would have to wait even longer before they could claim the title, and all this time Aang would be honor bound to help them instead of shooting for his second title himself. It was a disheartening prospect for the future to say the least. On a few occasions, Aang had even contemplated the thought of retirement, but he knew that Toph and Zuko would never forgive him for abandoning them, and so Aang forced himself to remain on the tour. Unfortunately, forcing himself was not leading to impressive results.
At least by skipping the Winter Solstice party with his friends, Aang had given himself every opportunity to prepare well for his game against Yue. Even with his motivation lacking, he had gotten off to a strong start and dominated their game up to around the thirtieth move. But the further the game progressed, the harder it became for Aang to remain invested. By the fortieth move, Yue had managed to even out the situation on the board, and as another hour was added to their timing clocks, Aang already knew that he would have to fight hard to get at least a draw out of this encounter.
Some of the other games of the seventh round had already ended. Zuko had scored another easy win, further cementing his tournament lead. Toph had also won easily, managing to keep pace with Zuko. Haru had been embarrassingly forced into agreeing to a draw by Joo Dee. In a battle between the old Fire Nation greats, Piandao and Jeong-Jeong were locked into an almighty tussle, and in another game On Ji and Siku were trying to squeeze blood from the stone in a situation where an amicable draw surely appeared like the only logical outcome.
Glancing at where On Ji sat, immersed in her match against her Water Tribe peer, Aang knew that he was not helping his situation by distracting himself further. The young Fire Nation woman was on his mind more often than she should be, and it definitely didn't help matters. As far as Aang knew, On Ji wasn't currently involved with anyone. Shoji Nomura and Kei Lo were flings that were well in the past. Still, just thinking about romantic entanglements was risky, especially in his demotivated state. If he were to add other distractions on top of that, he might end up finishing below even Joo Dee Feng in the next tournament.
Also, his relationship status with Mai was still hanging in the air. It was hard to accept that their differences were irreconcilable, which was what Mai had essentially told him when they had spoken last. And it seemed as if Mai had actually meant that, if the rumors that Zuko had spilled regarding the Winter Solstice party were true. On some level, Aang didn't want to believe what he had heard. Sure, he had seen Mai kissing their female friends on dares or during some of the drunk party games, but it hadn't been anything serious. And yet, Zuko seemed to imply that she was getting pretty serious with Suki? It was blowing Aang's mind in a way he couldn't afford if he wanted to achieve anything at the Pai Sho board.
Predictably, the distractions eventually proved too much for Aang. He could tell that Yue still hadn't hit her top tournament form, but the scary potential to dominate her opposition was clearly there. Perhaps at his best, Aang would have capitalized on his strong start in their game and he would not have allowed Yue to even dream of a counter play. But once Yue had started to create some threats of her own, there was no stopping her. A little past the fiftieth move, Aang's orchid tile was trapped and removed from the board, and his position collapsed soon afterwards. With the other late games of the round coming to an end and the opponents agreeing to draws, Aang was forced to admit another defeat. More worryingly, he wasn't even that upset about it.
"Good game," Yue smiled politely, shaking his hand as soon as he had conceded.
"Perhaps, but not good enough to match you," Aang managed a smile in return. He was well aware that he hadn't played well at all, and Yue was simply being kind. "This should set you up well for Piandao tomorrow," Aang said.
"Oh yes, the weight of expectations," Yue laughed uneasily. Aang had to remind himself that Yue was under a lot of pressure to make her return count. He hated how this arrangement with Toph and Zuko was forcing them to treat her more like a competitor and less like a friend, because Yue was a lovely person and didn't deserve to be excluded just because she had ambitions of her own and wanted to chase her own dreams.
"I think you can do it against Piandao," Aang smiled. His expression became a little more serious. "Listen, can I ask you something?" he asked. "It's about the party last night."
Yue blushed lightly, immediately looking a little uncomfortable. That by itself seemed like an answer to the question Aang wanted to ask. "What do you want to know?" Yue asked.
"I heard that something might have happened between Mai and Suki," Aang said. Yue hesitated, not looking eager to reply. "Look, I'm going to find out sooner or later. It's just that Mai and I are still married. I think I deserve to know."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure that you deserve to know just because you and Mai have not formally ended things," Yue frowned. "But it's true that you will probably find out sooner or later. Yes, Mai and Suki hooked up. That's all I can tell you, Aang. I don't think there was anything morally wrong for them to do that."
"No, I… I'm not saying that," Aang sighed. "I just wanted to know," he said, his eyes searching for On Ji in the hall, but she had already left, following her draw with Siku. "Thank you for telling me," Aang said, bowing his head as he quickly took his leave.
Yue felt more nervous ahead of her eight-round encounter than at any other point during the tournament. The reason for it was that she had been doing far better in the previous rounds than she had expected of herself, and now the weight of expectations was really starting to hit her, despite Azula and Katara doing everything they could to keep her relaxed. It was also Saturday, which meant that the crowds at the Royal Palace were larger than on a regular workday, and Yue had already spotted Mina and the other girls of her academy Pai Sho club in the stands, holding colorful banners and cheering for her.
While Zuko was leading the tournament on six points, with Toph half a point behind, Yue was sharing third place with the reigning world champion, Piandao, both of them on five points from seven games. They both still had a good shot at winning the tournament, and this upcoming game between them would likely eliminate one of them from the contention.
Together with Azula and Katara, they had prepared various contingencies on how to react depending on which opening Piandao would choose. They were of one mind that Piandao was likely to go for something extra aggressive against her, and when Piandao offered her the Gaipan Gambit, Yue was only too happy to accept because it had been one of the scenarios they had prepared in advance.
Piandao appeared very pleased when the early exchanges seemed to go according to his plan. He had sacrificed a few tiles, and had gained a lot of initiative and territory for it, but he could have never anticipated Azula's idea of a counter sacrifice of Yue's Lily tile, which if accepted, would give Yue a very strong counter play and undo a lot of Piandao's progress. As Yue had expected, Piandao refused to accept the sacrifice, which then led to a lengthy sequence of moves at the end of which Piandao found himself in retreat anyway, the only difference being that Yue got to keep her Lily tile after all. As the time limit for the first forty moves approached, Piandao found himself short on both time and ideas, and the Ba Sing Se crowd were in raptures, cheering her on, none more loudly so than her academy students.
With Yue gaining the advantage as the clock reset approached, she looked around to take stock of the other games. Aang and Zuko had already left the hall, having scored easy wins. This meant that Zuko was pulling away even further from the competition, and if Yue wanted to keep her hopes of winning the tournament alive then only a win over Piandao would do. Haru and On Ji were also close to scoring victories, but Toph had come a little unstuck against Jeong-Jeong. Once again, everything seemed to be playing into Zuko's hands, and with far less pressure on him than at the world championship finals, Yue was sure that he wasn't going to blow his chances this time around.
The play resumed shortly after a break at the mark of forty moves, and it seemed that the pause and a visit to the coffee vending machine had rejuvenated Piandao, because he roared back with renewed energy, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Yue, desperate to remind everyone that he was the reigning world champion. Yue was a little taken aback by some of Piandao's unorthodox attempts to even out the situation on the board, and as a result, she ended up making some moves that were less than optimal. In about ten or so moves, the world champion had equalized the situation on the board and was starting to menace her position once again.
When it came to describing Yue's playstyle, she was considered to be a bit of a chameleon in that she could adapt to either attacking or defensive mindset. Her ability to switch between these playstyles had been key in taking her one step from the very top in her brief pro career. Now, Yue was forced to call upon all of her defensive skill to parry Piandao's renewed blows while hoping that he would soon exhaust his newfound energy. Fortunately for Yue, she managed to force Piandao into exchanging some of his more active tiles, and as the situation on the board calmed down, Piandao was soon suing for peace. Even if the result didn't suit either of them, their tiles had been so depleted by this point that chasing a win would have been a fool's errand.
"Thank you for the game, grandmaster," Yue bowed her head as they exchanged handshakes following the game. "I'm afraid that this puts us both out of the contention," she sighed. With Zuko on seven points, Toph was now trailing on six, with Yue and Piandao a further half a point behind and just four more games to play.
"Oh, don't be so sure, my dear," Piandao gave her a cheeky smile. "Zuko's schedule is challenging, to say the least. And it wouldn't be the first time I rob that boy at the finish line."
"That's certainly true," Yue smiled. She wasn't sure she wanted that scenario to repeat itself, though. This was the first big tournament of the new qualifying cycle, and Yue had not set any expectations for herself to win or even finish on the podium. She merely wanted to play well and announce herself as a serious contender, which judging by the reaction of the crowd she had already accomplished. The spectators were cheering for her loud and proud, none more so than her precious academy girls, impressed with how she had given the world champion a run for his money. That in itself was the proof Yue had needed that she could contend for the title at the end of the cycle. Azula and Katara had been right to encourage her. She could do it and she believed that more than ever.
By the time Yue was finally done with the reporters and caught up with her wives waiting for her outside, she felt rather exhausted. The game against Aang had been a little taxing, but this back and forth boxing match with Piandao had left her happy, but reeling. She was delighted to accept comforting hugs from her wives and then getting pulled into the back seat of the Jaguar, with Katara holding her tightly as Azula took the wheel to bring them home safely.
"That was very impressive," Azula said during the short drive. "It's unfortunate that it took so long. Almost five in the afternoon, and we have some intense preparations to make for tomorrow."
"I think Yue might need a nap," Katara said softly, continuing to hold Yue and likely sensing her exhaustion.
"There's no nap on our schedule," Azula reminded Katara. "You can check for yourself if you don't believe me."
"There may be no nap on our schedule, but I might plant my face on the Pai Sho board and pass out during practice unless I can get at least a couple of hours of sleep, Zula," Yue yawned.
"Damn," Azula cursed. "That bad, is it?" Yue nodded reluctantly. This was something they clearly hadn't anticipated. The physical endurance for a long Pai Sho tournament was something that Yue didn't seem to possess just yet. With three consequent days of play, the third day was proving exceedingly tough.
"I think we really have no choice here, Azula," Katara said softly. "Even if we're giving Toph a big advantage ahead of tomorrow's game. If Yue doesn't get enough rest, it's going to end badly."
"Agreed," Azula nodded. "You did really well today, love. You've earned some rest."
Yue couldn't help but to grin broadly before yawning again and settling in more comfortably into the crook of Katara's shoulder. "Thanks, both of you," she murmured sleepily. "Besides, Toph also had an exhausting game today. With any luck, tomorrow she'll be just as tired."
Toph Beifong was struggling to ward off a growing sense of frustration as she entered her game of the ninth round against Yue Taqqiq. That frustration had nothing to do with her current opponent, however. She hadn't loved the way Yue had just decided to stage a comeback out of the blue, without telling everyone. Toph thought that was not a great move, but she was also over it.
Over the years, Yue Taqqiq had always been her bitch, and Toph had enjoyed a very solid record against her Water Tribe friend. Toph had won the majority of their games at junior level and she'd also done well against her friend during Yue's short pro career. So, on a clearly professional level, Toph was not at all afraid of Yue. In fact, she actually welcomed the challenge. She was striving to become the Pai Sho world champion. That involved beating the best. If Yue thought that she was the best, then Toph would disabuse Yue of her foolish notions at the Pai Sho board.
Zuko certainly took Yue's return to competition a little more personally, which was probably due to Azula's withdrawn promise to coach him. Toph could understand that, but at the same time, she, Aang and Zuko practiced as a group and had done so for many years. Why the heck would Zuko suddenly need Azula for anyway? Was she and Aang not good enough and they couldn't push one another to the next level, necessary to win the world championship? That was clearly bullshit, because Aang had already won the title with them both as his sparring partners, and some minimal input from Gyatso. But just as Toph had extra input from her husband, himself a very good former player, Zuko always enjoyed some extra advice from Iroh Nakamura. So, Toph had no idea what Zuko was whining about, especially when his past record against Yue was also very good. And he had already crushed her in this tournament. In Toph's opinion, Zuko ought to whine less about Yue's comeback and focus more on his own performance instead.
The only one who should have been concerned about Yue's return was Aang, because historically he had never done well against their Water Tribe friend. But Aang was also not competing for the title, due to the agreement between them. Whether Yue returned to the competition or not, it shouldn't have bothered Aang one bit. But he had also not complained about Yue's return, at least not as much as Zuko, so Toph was willing to give Aang a pass on this matter.
Just as Toph had expected, her game with Yue followed a predictable pattern. Yue's problem had always been that she was a bit of a jack of all trades, but neither her attacking nor defensive play was at the level of defensive specialists like Toph, or offensively minded players like Zuko. A lot of Pai Sho experts considered Yue's versatility a great strength of hers, but Toph disagreed with their opinion. Sure, that made it easy for Yue to deal with most players, but she just didn't have that extra gear to switch on against players like her and Zuko. So, as their game began, Toph simply turtled down and waited for Yue to come at her, feeling supremely confident that Yue wouldn't be able to breach her defenses.
And Yue did try her best to go on the attack, at least for a good while, but at around the fiftieth move, Toph realized something. Yue was physically exhausted. Even with Toph's extreme near-sightedness, she could see some telltale signs in her opponent's face. As soon as Toph realized that Yue was not on top of her game, she immediately sprang into action herself. Toph's style was to go for the jugular only when she was certain that she could make her moves stick. And on this occasion, she had correctly sensed blood in the water. Yue's position collapsed faster than Toph had anticipated, and within a dozen of moves, it was all over.
"What was that?" Toph asked, not mincing any words as she shook Yue's hand. "You fell over like a house of cards."
"Sorry about not putting up much of a fight," Yue sighed. "After Aang and Piandao, I just didn't have anything left in the tank for you."
"Well, you better get into shape then," Toph shrugged. "Especially if you're serious about the finals. It's twenty exhausting rounds, and you're already staggering after nine? That's not a good sign."
"Agreed, but there are way more rest days during the finals," Yue astutely pointed out. Also, she wasn't denying being serious about the finals. It seemed as if Zuko's idea to discourage her early wasn't panning out after all, despite Zuko, and now Toph as well, having delivered crushing defeats upon their Water Tribe friend.
"Well, I guess we'll see how your amazing comeback works out," Toph said. Yue merely looked at her, not saying a word. She seemed to be determined not to rise to Toph's light baiting and to not give anything away. "Anyway, tell me how the other games went this round?" Toph asked as they began to walk away from the stage. Because of her poor eyesight, she struggled to see the large display boards. Toph also wasn't one of the players who liked to get up during a game and wander around the tables, observing the other matches.
"I guess from the games that matter, Haru beat Jeong-Jeong," Yue said, her words surprising Toph. "Piandao also won his game. Zuko and Aang agreed on a draw. Very early," Yue added, sounding a little bitter. Toph knew that it was only a matter of time before Yue caught on to their little agreement, which would probably make her feel upset and left out. But Toph didn't think that Yue had any room to complain. Surely, during their pro years, Yue, Katara and Azula had made similar arrangements themselves.
"It's important to preserve some strength for the final rounds," Toph said, her thoughts already on these final rounds. Basic math told her that with two rounds of play remaining, she was now placed second, only half a point behind Zuko. More importantly, she was scheduled to play Zuko in the final round. Their arrangement stipulated that they were supposed to agree on a draw, but Toph wondered what would happen if they entered this final round tied on points. Would Zuko be satisfied by sharing the tournament win with her?
Privately, Toph hoped that in such a scenario she could persuade Zuko to set their arrangement aside and agree to play hard for the tournament win, and she hoped that she would be able to score a crucial win. Sure, Zuko was a good friend, but he was also competition for the world title. If she could further amplify Zuko's phobia of choking in the final round… well, who was to say that it wouldn't come in handy for the future?
Following the conclusion of play of the tenth round, Suki Arya sat in the corner of the large press box she had made her own, trying to quickly compose a passable summary of all the major events of the previous round for the loyal readers of The Harmony Ring. Unfortunately for Suki, even if usually these recap articles came very easy for her, she felt particularly distracted on the day when she was in a hurry to finish up quickly.
The call she had received early this morning had come as a surprise. She hadn't expected to hear from Mai again, not until the next event held by their friends. Suki didn't think that Mai even had her number, so she must have asked around for it. Mai had actually played it very cool, claiming that the call was simply to invite Suki for a presentation of her new spring collection, an invitation that was being extended to most of their friends. Suki had a feeling that it was about a little bit more than that, though. In a sudden surge of boldness, she had asked Mai to join her for dinner later tonight, and Mai had actually agreed. That was the reason why Suki felt so scatterbrained and rushing to quickly finish her article so that it could hit the presses ahead of the crucial final round of play tomorrow.
While Suki didn't feel ready for a serious new relationship, and she was highly confident that Mai felt the exactly same way, she also couldn't deny that the night they'd spent together had been very fun. Sure, they'd both been very drunk, and Suki couldn't exactly remember all the details of what they had gotten up to, but she remembered enough, and it seemed that so did Mai. The night had been surprising in many ways. Suki had unfairly assumed that because of Mai's occasional aloofness, it also applied to the way she behaved in a bedroom setting, so Mai actually being a very passionate lover had surprised her. Even if Mai had not outright admitted it, Suki had been able to tell that it was Mai's first serious time with another woman, and the thought of being someone's first had been such an extra turn on for Suki. And she'd enjoyed teasing Mai about supposedly being straight. 'Maybe I'm starting to acquire a taste for you, Arya.' Mai's reply still sent pleasant shivers throughout Suki's body whenever she recalled Mai saying those words in her thick, velvety voice.
Suki was definitely interested in more, whatever that meant. And why wouldn't she be interested? Was the fact that Mai was still technically married to Aang supposed to stop her? They had been living separately for months now. Besides, throughout the tournament, Aang had been making eyes at On Ji, and she wasn't the only one to notice. As far as Suki was considered, Mai was fair game, and so was she.
Still, with the dinner date two hours away, Suki had to seriously hurry with finishing her recap of the penultimate round. It had been a very exciting round of play and it had set up a mouthwatering finale for Pai Sho fans to salivate about. Piandao had held Zuko to a draw, while Toph had overpowered one of the weaker Ba Sing Se masters. They were now tied for the tournament lead on eight points and with Toph and Zuko facing each other in the final round, the public interest was sure to skyrocket. Suki had her own questions about this final round contest, something that she could not write about in The Harmony Ring, and it had to do with the arrangement between Zuko, Toph and Aang. If Zuko and Toph both held up their part of the deal, then the final round game would end in a draw and they would be sharing the victor's spoils. But would they actually dare to so brazenly arrange a draw and risk angering the fans eager for a real battle between their favorites? Suki was very curious as to how this final contest would shape up tomorrow.
Suki was truly impressed by Yue's level of play in her first tournament back from retirement. Sure, she had been crushed by both Toph and Zuko, but she had bounced back in the latest round by making Haru Tamang look like a rank amateur. Suki valued her friendship with the throuple greatly, and as soon as she had heard of Yue's surprising decision to make a comeback, Suki had been hoping that her dear friend would do well on her return. The truth was that both The Harmony Ring and the Pai Sho tour needed someone like Yue. Because of Azula's efforts in particular, there was now a greater gender equality at the sharp end of the competition, and more and more talented female players were on the rise. Toph was the best of the lot, and she had her own section of passionate fans, but because of her acerbic public persona, Toph didn't really move copies of magazines or was a hit with the sponsors, while other leading female players like On Ji Takeda and Siku Ikuma didn't have any major wins to their name, at least not yet. Yue had the talent and the personality to draw more and more spectators to the tour. Suki definitely had some selfish reasons for wanting to see Yue succeed.
Having finished singing Yue's praises for her beautiful defeat of Haru, Suki decided not to spend too much time on the less important matches of the previous round, instead settling on a quick summary. Suki was seriously considering adding a brief critical note about Aang's performance, losing yet more points in a draw with Siku. This was shaping up to be an absolute disaster of a tournament for Aang, and Suki was starting to wonder whether the Pai Sho pundits who claimed that Aang was guaranteed a place in the finals, were now starting to reevaluate their predictions.
Having decided to wrap up her quick summary with some vaguely snarky commentary about Aang's play, Suki finally leaned back in her chair and stretched, feeling her joints crack from having been sitting too long without moving. Suki knew that she still had to hurry. She had to quickly deliver her article back to The Harmony Ring offices, and after that, she had to prepare for her dinner date with Aang's wife.
"So, we're in agreement then," Zuko said as he and Toph sat down to play their final round game, having just shaken their hands ahead of the match. "We play each other hard. The best player wins and there are no hard feelings afterwards."
"Wouldn't want it any other way," Toph shrugged, already focusing on the game ahead. "Arranged draw in the final round would be an insult to everyone. Instead of making us both winners, it would make us both major losers."
"True," Zuko nodded. "Anyway, best of luck, Toph."
"Thanks, but I hope you have a terrible game," Toph smirked, then frowning when one of the tournament officials stopped at their table to admonish her for speaking after the timing clocks had already been activated and the matches of the final round had begun.
Zuko relished the challenge ahead of him. He hated the way many in the world of Pai Sho were starting to think of him as the perennial choker, even if over the past five years he had won almost a dozen of important tournaments. He had simply never won the one that mattered the most, the world championship finals, not yet. That didn't make him a choker, did it? In any case, in this final round match against Toph, Zuko saw an opportunity to silence his critics after his last round collapse in the finals. An excellent performance against Toph in the final round here would be the exact right start he needed for this new qualifying cycle of the world championship.
There were no secrets between the two sparring partners of many years as the game between them began. Zuko immediately went on the offense and Toph once again countered with her tactic where she built seemingly impenetrable walls and allowed her opposition to exhaust themselves. Having had an easy opponent in the previous round was playing to Toph's advantage and she certainly was the more rested from the two of them. Zuko had really struggled with Piandao in the tenth round, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Eleven round tournaments at this point were a breeze for Zuko, at least physically. With everything on the line, Zuko wasn't going to let slight exhaustion stop him.
The key against Toph was to remain patient and not to go for opportunities that simply weren't there. Zuko had learned this lesson the hard way, suffering much frustration in the past. Of course, knowing how to play against Toph and executing the plan were two different things, but Zuko felt focused like never before. Pre-game phone conversations with Sokka and Kya, and also with Uncle Iroh, had helped Zuko center himself. Now, he was chipping away at Toph's position with methodical slowness that seemed to frustrate Toph more than it frustrated him.
As their game went on and on, the other contests around them were coming to a close, one after another. Yue didn't even need forty moves to dispose of On Ji, despite On Ji enjoying one of her best tournaments. Zuko felt a little frustrated that his and Toph's heavy defeats of Yue had not dampened Yue's spirit in the slightest. Yue had bounced back stronger from every defeat, no doubt aided by the excellent coaching of Azula and Katara. It really did seem as if Yue was here to stay for the entire championship cycle, and she would not be discouraged to return to her retirement. It wasn't the outcome that Zuko had hoped for, but on the other hand, he had won against Yue very easily. If Yue ended up qualifying for the finals, perhaps it wasn't such a big deal. He'd just crush her in the finals, again and again.
Zuko's patience was starting to pay off at around the sixtieth move, as more and more gaps appeared in Toph's defenses. At this point, only one other game was still continuing, and it came to an end before Zuko had managed to overwhelm Toph. Aang had finally regained shades of his best form to hold Piandao to a fighting draw, but even so, Aang's tournament placing was pathetic. For a former world champion to finish eight out of twelve, behind even players like On Ji Takeda was just embarrassing. Zuko felt a wave of annoyance at his old friend. They really needed Aang to shape up and be of more help, the way Zuko had been of huge help the year when Aang had won his title. If Aang played as poorly as this, he wasn't even going to qualify for the finals, and he couldn't help Zuko and Toph if he didn't make the tournament. Also, Piandao's draw meant that he would end up sharing third place with Yue. Yue was going to finish in the medals in her return tournament. She was definitely not going anywhere after such success.
Still, Zuko knew what happened when he focused too much on things outside of his influence and not enough on his own game. He usually ended up losing, but that wasn't going to happen today. With the spectators becoming restless as their game entered its fifth hour, Zuko still kept his patient chipping away at Toph's defenses, and Toph finally admitted her inevitable defeat on the ninety-eight move. The first tournament of the new qualifying cycle belonged to Zuko.
"I hate you," Toph glared as they shook hands after the game. "But I guess you did play a good game. Enjoy your success while it lasts, asshole."
"Love you too, Toph," Zuko grinned. Knowing Toph, this was as flattering a compliment as he was going to get from her. "I'll be looking forward to your revenge."
"Oh, it's coming," Toph laughed, the mood between them instantly lifted. This was something that Zuko really loved about Toph, and wished he could learn from her. While Toph was very committed to winning, she never dwelled on a loss. She just shook herself off and moved on. "Guess it's time to face the press, huh?" Toph asked then.
"Yes, let's go and deal with the boring stuff," Zuko sighed. The next few hours would be full of boring formalities, but Zuko was already looking forward to what awaited him in the evening. Sokka and Kya were flying in from Agna Qel'a, and Zuko could not wait to celebrate his success with his boyfriend and their wonderful daughter.