Chapter 13
"Look, Yue, this really is unacceptable," Azula sighed, shaking her head. She was resting on the hospital bed with a Pai Sho board splayed on her lap. Katara and Yue were at Azula's bedside, listening to their girlfriend berating them. "Just because I had this annoying little incident, it's no reason for you to be playing this poorly," Azula scolded, then turning to glare at Katara. "And you were supposed to keep her focused. She's looking anything but focused."
"How can you say something like that? I've been too worried whether you're going to live or die!" Yue exclaimed, bursting into tears.
"Oh, great going, Azula," Katara glared right back at her. "This is going to help so much in making Yue relax."
"Can you just please stop crying? Yue? Please?" Azula pleaded, immediately realizing that she had gone way too far. It wasn't as if she was completely deluded about the seriousness of her injury. She knew that she had been closer to death than ever before in her life, and if it hadn't been for Katara's quick thinking and professionalism, she likely would have died. And Azula knew that even now, five days later, on the final off day of the Pai Sho tournament, she wasn't completely in the clear yet. The open wound was really bothering her and it needed daily care, and the risk of peritonitis was still great, so she was being pumped full of drugs and monitored closely.
"I'm sorry," Yue said, having managed to stop sobbing. "I know that you want me to succeed, Zula, but you have to accept that this tournament has to be written off. I can't play under these conditions. You wouldn't have been able to do any better in my place."
Azula opened her mouth to contest that statement, but one look from Katara silenced her. Katara was ready to immediately call Azula out on her bullshit, and that made her pause. Yue was right, of course. If either of her wives had been shot, Azula would have fallen to pieces, she couldn't deny that. "Okay, fine," Azula sighed. "I just hate that you made such an amazing start to the tournament and now it'll be all for nothing."
"I can't care about that right now," Yue shook her head.
"Yes, the most important thing right now is your recovery, I'm sorry, but it's true," Katara nodded sternly.
"Why did you have to throw yourself in front of me like that?" Yue began to tear up again much to Azula's own growing distress. "If you had died, I would have never been able to forgive myself."
"Forgive yourself for what?" Azula blinked with incomprehension. "Besides, if Joo Dee had been aiming at me, I know one of you would have stupidly jumped in front of me the same way. I saw you move, Katara. You were just as ready to take a bullet for Yue, don't deny it."
"I was, but you were closer and got there first," Katara admitted. "And of course, I'd take a bullet for either of you. What else do you expect me to say?"
"Same here," Yue nodded, quickly dabbing at the corner of her eyes. "But can we not talk about something so upsetting anymore? I literally can't think about anything else now, including Pai Sho. I don't know why we even bother with this mock practice."
"Well, it keeps Azula occupied and distracted, at least," Katara smiled. "I know she's in pain. You're in pain, aren't you, love?"
"Not really," Azula lied. "The painkillers are quite effective." It wasn't at all true, and Azula was in pain most of the time. According to the doctors, it apparently was normal after such a dramatic injury, but knowing that brought little relief to Azula.
"You are so full of shit," Katara rolled her eyes. "I know you're no longer on tramadol, which means that you're in a lot of pain."
"Okay, fine, I feel some slight discomfort," Azula admitted reluctantly, trying to downplay her situation. "It's not a big deal. Yue, can we focus on your prep? You have Zhao tomorrow. I want you to-"
"I don't care!" Yue snapped angrily. "Can't you get it through your thick skull? I just don't care!" Silence settled upon the hospital room following Yue's outburst. "I'm sorry, Azula, I know you hate the very idea of Zhao defeating me, but I can't think about prep right now. If you don't want to give Zhao the satisfaction of winning the game tomorrow, then the only way to avoid that is for me to pull out of the tournament."
"I don't want you to do that either," Azula sighed. "Zuko's going to give you a draw in the final round, he already told me so. With that, you're still going to have a decent result, so please, just don't pull out. I guess we'll take care of Zhao another time, even if he's a complete asshole and I'm still certain that he put that Joo Dee bitch up to it."
"You're still convinced of that, hmm?" Katara hummed, looking skeptical. "Not that I don't think Zhao wouldn't do it. And you obviously know him a lot better than Yue or I do. But unless Joo Dee starts talking to the cops, there's no way Zhao will be linked to what happened."
"True," Azula admitted. "But consider this. Joo Dee is a cowardly little bitch who's been too scared to move against me for six long years. And then, as soon as Zhao returns to the tour, Joo Dee suddenly finds the courage and the inspiration to pull shit like that. Coincidence? I think not."
"Actually, Azula has managed to convince me that Zhao probably has something to do with it," Yue said. "But I still won't be in any state to play tomorrow, I'm sorry."
"Don't think about that, love," Katara spoke softly. "And I also agree that Azula is probably onto something with her theory, but that doesn't help us in any way, not really. I think the best we can do is to put this tournament behind us as quickly as possible and simply focus on the next one on our schedule."
"That sounds good," Yue nodded gratefully.
"I suppose," Azula sighed. She couldn't really blame Yue for being unable to focus. She remembered a few occasions early in her junior career when she had been dealing with great emotional distress, and simply hadn't been able to play to any sort of acceptable level. Still, the idea of Yue having to write off such a promising start to a tournament felt very upsetting. It definitely made Azula feel very guilty, even if she knew that it was completely illogical, but because of her, their stay in the Fire Nation would be extended by at least two more weeks. Azula was not leaving the hospital until early May, and with the next tournament in Omashu in June, their preparation time would be greatly reduced. Azula supposed that as she got better and better, they would be able to have more focused practice sessions at the hospital, but it still hardly made for the ideal circumstances when Yue deserved so much better if they wanted her to succeed.
"I'll do better in Omashu, Azula," Yue said, trying her best to sound encouraging. "You know I will, even with less time for prep. Omashu is our city, remember?"
"How could I ever forget?" Azula actually had to smile despite her discomfort. Omashu was the place where many years ago they'd engaged in the threesome that had started it all. It was also the place where the three of them had shared the junior world championship gold medals, finishing in a tie for the first place. Since then, they had always played excellently in Omashu, and as a result, considered it a special and lucky place for themselves.
"And Azula, you really need to focus on your recovery first and foremost," Katara said. "I can solo prep Yue for a little stretch while you get back into shape."
"And you want to be back in good physical shape for Omashu, right?" Yue smiled, giving Azula a teasing little wink. "The memories of our first time together always inspire us, don't they?"
"True," Azula admitted. It would take a while before she could safely engage in more strenuous physical activities, but the promise of fun times in Omashu was a great motivation to work hard during her rehab. "Also, I'm going to have a sick scar. You're going to love it," she said.
"Whatever you say, Azula," Katara rolled her eyes. "I've seen way too many scars to find them sexy, sorry."
"Well, I'll probably find it sexy," Yue smiled. "I'm way easier to impress than Katara."
"That's good to know," Azula nodded. She then pointed at the Pai Sho board on her lap. "I think you might as well take it away, since we don't appear to be making any progress here."
"Sorry, Azula," Yue spoke guiltily as together with Katara they quickly put the Pai Sho board and tiles away.
"Stop apologizing already, I said I understand completely," Azula sighed. "And… I'm sorry I was harsh earlier. I just hate the idea that Zhao Sakamoto might win the tournament."
"Do you think he will?" Katara asked, looking upset at that possibility.
"I think Piandao will take it," Yue said. "Piandao has Toph and On Ji remaining. Toph has retained some of her composure, but not enough to deny Piandao, I don't see that happening. And he should be able to beat On Ji. So, I think Piandao will get the two wins he needs."
"He better," Azula said. "Because if Piandao fails to win both of his games, Zhao will overtake him. You've already resigned to losing to him tomorrow, and after that he has Hahn. So, that's two wins for Zhao."
"I can't believe I'll be cheering for Piandao tomorrow," Katara sighed. "But with Yue and the rest of our friends being so rattled by all of this, I guess there's nothing else for us to do."
"I suppose Toph could still surprise us," Azula said. Toph and Teo had come to visit a couple of times after the surgery, and Toph had appeared her stoic old self, but having looked at the notations of Toph's games, Azula could tell that she was also affected by the shooting. All of their friends were underperforming, with Yue and Zuko struggling more than the others, and Azula was having a tough time not feeling guilty about that.
"I sincerely doubt it," Yue replied, shaking her head. "But still, let's try to remain positive. Do any of you know if Zhao has signed up for Omashu?"
"He has, I heard it from one of the organizers," Azula said.
"Well, in that case, let's not stress about what Zhao does here in this tournament," Yue said, bravely trying to project confidence. "We'll focus extra hard on him for Omashu. That poor bastard won't know what hit him."
Azula thought about Yue's words for a while before a smile started to spread on her lips. Despite everything that had gone wrong in the Fire Fountain City, Yue had managed to paint a picture of the future that Azula was very much looking forward to.
Without Azula at her side, Katara was glad for Suki's invitation to watch the matches of the tenth round from the press box. With Mai having departed for Caldera City the previous day, it seemed that Suki was quite eager for company. Zuko had also joined them, since he didn't have an opponent to play with on the account of Joo Dee having been arrested. The atmosphere in the press box was not a happy one, however, as they were now all stuck there watching their friends struggling, having to play in these challenging conditions.
"I can't wait for the tournament to end so that I can unload on the organizers for not canceling the event," Suki said, sounding angry as she looked down at the display boards in the hall, taking notes all the time.
"It's disrespectful bullshit," Zuko nodded, not mincing words. "Azula has done a lot to root out our father's corruption and help the game grow. She deserves better than this. Their reasoning that she's not an active player is so stupid."
"Well, what happened with Azula is not having any effect on the local favorites," Katara shrugged. "Without the shooting taking its toll on our entire group of friends, I doubt Piandao and Zhao would be leading the tournament, so there are probably some partisan considerations at work as well," she said, aware that what she was suggesting sounded very cynical, but then again, some of Azula's cynicism had clearly rubbed off on her over the years.
"Yes, I was planning to hint at that when criticizing the organizers," Suki nodded.
"Don't hold back," Zuko said, his jaw set firmly as he stared hard at the display boards. The events were progressing as they had predicted. With barely twenty moves in the books, Yue was already facing problems against Zhao, while Toph was a flower tile down against Piandao. Aang was having a slightly better time of it, for now managing to hold off Siku Ikuma, but the very fact that he was not dominating that game was telling. Elsewhere, On Ji was kicking Hahn's ass, while the game between Haru and Jeong-Jeong hung in balance.
Even though Yue and Toph were both struggling mightily, at least they did not suffer the shame of being the first to lose their games. That dubious honor went to Hahn, after he had made one error too many against the increasingly impressive On Ji Takeda who scored yet another win to pull even on points with Yue.
As the games progressed past the thirtieth move, Toph was now a couple of flower tiles down against Piandao, with things looking dire. Yue hadn't lost any crucial tiles yet, but Zhao had gained some serious positional advantage and had boxed Yue into a very narrow corner. Aang's tactic of simplifying his game with Siku seemed to be working and their game appeared destined to end in a draw. Elsewhere, Haru had made a catastrophic oversight of leaving his Orchid way too exposed and Jeong-Jeong had easily trapped Haru's most important tile. A very red faced Haru had immediately resigned and was now in the process of quickly leaving the hall.
"I can't believe that Haru was your equal at junior level, Zuko," Suki snorted, shaking her head. "He actually had your number on regular basis."
"I don't remember that," Zuko muttered irately.
"I'm sure you don't," Katara laughed, rolling her eyes. When she had won the world junior title back in Agna Qel'a, she had been greatly aided by Haru's victory over Zuko. "But yes, from all of our peers, Haru is the only one who's career seems to be trending downwards. Do you have an explanation for that, Suki?"
"I sure do," Suki nodded. "He was making a lot of progress while Kori was still on the tour and they were traveling and practicing together. After Kori quit to focus on Yu Dao politics, Haru has been more or less all by himself. And you really need to surround yourself with a team if you want to achieve anything at the pro level."
"True, I suppose," Katara nodded. "But there are some other top players on the tour who don't have a team. I don't see why Haru couldn't approach one of them with an offer to team up."
"Hard to imagine anyone gaining a lot from teaming up with Haru," Zuko snorted dismissively as they continued to watch the remaining games as they progressed towards their inevitable conclusion. Yue against Zhao and Aang against Siku were set to continue past the time limit for forty moves, while down three flower tiles, Toph had decided against continuing and resigned her game against Piandao.
"Well, that was predictably dire," Suki sighed. "I'm glad that our editor in chief agreed not to publish the game notations in the magazine out of respect for all the affected players. It just wouldn't be in any way representative of their talent."
"That is a good idea," Zuko nodded. "But at least Toph will still have something to show from this tournament. She and Aang will draw their game tomorrow, and I think that should be enough for the podium."
"Good for her," Katara said, struggling to swallow her bitterness. In her opinion, Yue deserved a place on the podium more than anyone, because for the first six rounds of the tournament she had absolutely dominated the event. But now, playing while completely distraught, she was getting overtaken by everyone. "By the way, thank you for agreeing not to play hard tomorrow, Zuko," Katara added. "I hope you know that Yue appreciates the gesture."
"It's the only decision that makes sense," Zuko shrugged. "Besides, if we played hard, there's no reason to believe that I would prevail. I've been absolutely awful after Azula was shot. At least Yue is putting up a real fight today."
"Sadly, it's not going to be enough," Katara sighed, watching Zhao finally converting his positional advantage into a material one, finally breaching Yue's defenses and forcing her to resign. "Ugh, can I just say one more time for the record that I hate Zhao?"
"He's certainly insufferable," Zuko nodded in agreement. "You know that we hadn't planned to sign up for Omashu, but after we found out that Zhao will be there, Toph and I spoke with the organizers and they made sure to sign us up as well."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Katara managed, having been taken by complete surprise. She had been talking with Azula about the importance of arranging a slightly easier tournament for Yue so that she stood a better chance of winning it, merely for the purpose of further building her growing confidence. Now, with Toph and Zuko being in Omashu, that tournament suddenly became a much harder challenge to win.
"Yes, it'll feel good to take Zhao down a peg or two," Zuko said, having completely missed Katara's less than enthusiastic reaction. Suki hadn't missed it, of course, shooting Katara a quick glance that was part sympathetic and part amused. "Anyway, Yue should be on her way. Shall we go catch up with her?" Zuko asked, referring to their plan to head to the hospital together to spend more time entertaining Azula.
"Aang is not coming today?" Katara asked. "Or Toph, for that matter?"
"I think they mean to visit tomorrow, after the tournament is over," Zuko replied. "Oh, and what about you, Suki? I guess you still have to do your recap of the round for The Harmony Ring?"
"Yes, but I'll come over to the hospital after I'm done with that," Suki promised. "I need the company."
"Of course, I completely understand," Katara said softly. "I'm sorry that Mai's visit was made a lot less happy because of what happened with Azula."
"Well, it couldn't be helped," Suki shrugged. "I was still happy to see her, of course. And she'll be back in Ba Sing Se in a couple of weeks, so it's not a huge deal."
"You two make for a strange couple," Zuko said, shaking his head. "I can't remember who told me that you were dating, but I remember dismissing that idea out of hand."
"Whoa, thanks a lot, Zuko," Suki glared at him. "Although, I suppose it was completely unexpected and unplanned for us both."
"Sometimes that's the best way for a relationship to start," Katara smiled encouragingly.
Suki suddenly appeared very hesitant. "We haven't really put any labels on it. We're simply of one mind that for now we're having fun together," she said. "And I'm alright with that, I think. I feel like maybe trying to define it would also ruin the fun, if that makes sense."
"I'm not so sure about that," Katara shrugged. "But I can understand being hesitant given that you both were in long term relationships not so long ago."
"Exactly, and we've also swapped teams, which kind of makes it even more confusing, especially for Mai," Suki nodded. "And technically, Mai is still in a relationship. She's not wearing the ring, so it doesn't bother me," Suki said, then catching Katara's skeptical stare and hesitating. "Okay, maybe it does bother me a little bit. Mai says that she has no intentions of getting back with Aang, so why hasn't she taken any steps whatsoever to get a divorce?"
"I wouldn't worry about that too much, Suki," Zuko said.
"Why do you say that?" Suki asked.
"Because I have a feeling that the matter of divorce will be resolved soon," Zuko replied mysteriously. Both Katara and Suki faced him with demanding stares. "Well, there's a reason why Aang won't be in Omashu, and that's because he'll be playing in a smaller tournament in Caldera. He got that idea from someone who also won't be in Omashu."
"On Ji," Katara realized immediately. "Looks like things are starting to move in the right direction," she said, smiling at how relieved Suki looked at the news. Katara didn't believe for a second that Suki had any reason to feel threatened by Aang, but she also couldn't blame her friend for being a little nervous.
"Well, about time," Suki said, not bothering to hide her relief. "Anyway, by now Yue is probably already waiting for you. Aang is about to draw his game, so I'm going to start on my article and then I'll see you at the hospital?"
"Of course, Suki," Katara replied, nodding at Zuko. "Shall we?" she asked as they took their leave, with Katara feeling increasingly relieved that only the final round of this nightmare tournament remained.
On the final day of the tournament, Yue Taqqiq wanted to be anywhere else but playing Pai Sho in front of a large Fire Nation crowd. She was so done with this stupid tournament, having to get up every morning, make herself perfectly presentable and then try to play even if both her heart and her mind was elsewhere. All she wanted to do every morning after Azula had been shot was to get up, grab a quick breakfast and hurry to the hospital to be with her poor wife. But no, she had to continue with this dog and pony show that the tournament had devolved into after the incident and subsequent arrest of Joo Dee. Katara and everyone in their group of friends were of one mind that the tournament should have been canceled and the results annulled, but unfortunately, the organizers lacked the spine to do the right thing, and even if Yue had seriously considered withdrawing, she was going to honor Azula's wishes and finish the tournament, even if doing so felt sick and repulsive.
Yue knew that Katara in particular was concerned that pushing her to play when she was so distraught could sour her on Pai Sho in general, and for a moment Yue had been worried about that herself. However, the distressing incident had very little to do with Pai Sho itself, so Yue soon dismissed these fears. Even more importantly, it would all be over very soon. Her final round match was against Zuko, and Azula's brother didn't seem very interested in Pai Sho either. Just like Yue, Zuko looked like he wanted to be done with this charade as quickly as possible.
Which was exactly why after making only a token ten or so moves, Zuko made the offer of peace and Yue was more than happy to accept it. A mere handshake at the end of something so emotionally exhausting did not feel enough, and so despite the slight tensions of rivalry introduced to their relationship following Yue's return to the world of Pai Sho, Yue still allowed Zuko to embrace her. It seemed like the majority of the Fire Fountain City spectators were aware of what was going on and reacted by getting up to their feet and applauding. A few moments later, Toph and Aang also ended their game in the same amicable agreement, and the four friends left the stage together.
Even though Yue was tempted to leave for the hospital right away, it was the final round of the tournament and with the winner yet to be decided, she was just curios enough to stick around and watch the remaining matches. Besides, it seemed as if Toph had somehow managed to do enough to secure the third place, so she would have to take part in the usual circus the winners were put through after the tournament had finished.
Everything came down to Zhao's match with Hahn and Piandao's contest with On Ji. If Zhao were to win his game, then Piandao also needed to win in order to stay ahead. Any other result in Piandao's game would give Zhao the tournament win. Nobody among the group of four was too surprised when Hahn accepted defeat well before the fortieth move, as usual providing nothing but disappointment. Furthermore, Piandao was really struggling with On Ji, who was proving to be a far pluckier and more resilient player than her early career had implied.
"For crying out loud, can't she just lose already?" Toph groaned, watching On Ji force Piandao into another exchange of flower tiles, advantageous for her.
"Yes, if Zhao wins the tournament, I'm going to… I don't know, I'm going to punch a wall," Zuko growled. "On Ji better lose this game!"
"I really hope so, too," Yue nodded, only then noticing that Aang was staying quiet during this little exchange. "But I guess not all of us wish for On Ji to lose," she added, watching Aang blush lightly.
"Oh, come on, Twinkletoes, are you really that whipped already that you're going to cheer for On Ji, when that means also cheering for Zhao?" Toph groaned.
"I'm sorry, but I want to be supportive of On Ji," Aang replied defensively.
"That's ridiculous. You haven't even done," Toph said, making a particularly vulgar gesture with her fingers. "With her, you know. "
"It's not always about that, Toph," Aang groaned.
"Yeah, sure," Toph laughed. "You keep telling the asexual girl that it's not always about sex. You're so smart, Twinkletoes."
"Ugh, whatever," Aang sighed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore," he said, stepping aside to stand a little apart from the rest of the group.
"Aren't you being a little harsh, Toph?" Yue asked, feeling concerned.
"Pfft, as if," Toph scowled. "Aang is just being ridiculous and he'll realize it later. Anyway," Toph said, pointing towards the display boards. "All of Aang's wishful thinking won't save On Ji if she's going to make blunders like that," she said, referring to a bad move On Ji had just made with her Chrysanthemum tile. "I can barely see the tiles on that board, but even then I can tell that move sucked."
"To be honest, she is very short on time," Zuko said. "But even if survives to the time limit, she's going to struggle afterwards."
On Ji did end up surviving to the fortieth move, but by then her position had deteriorated so badly that even with the added extra hour for the next forty moves, she couldn't find a way out of her predicament. On Ji tried for a little bit, but she soon gave up, resigning the game, which meant that Piandao rose from his seat as the tournament winner, accepting the cheers and applause of the Fire Fountain City crowd. Watching Zhao fail to win in his return to competition warmed Yue's heart slightly, and it seemed that the Fire Nation supporters had been clearly favoring Piandao. Zhao's association with Ozai was hardly forgotten, and Yue doubted that he would be received warmly at any place on the globe. Still, the fact that Zhao had come back with a second-place finish grated on Yue. She'd scored a couple of third places after her comeback, which meant that Zhao had unexpectedly outdone her.
"I have a feeling that this will be one of those tournaments that I'll choose to discard for my season ranking," Zuko said, scowling as he watched the tournament officials updating the final standings. Piandao had won the tournament, half a point ahead of Zhao, with Toph finishing third. Yue was pleasantly surprised to see that she had somehow managed to hold on to the fourth place, largely because her start to the tournament had been so impressively strong. Despite how unpleasant the experience had proved she was still walking away with something. Zuko and Aang ended up sharing fifth place with On Ji Takeda, which was definitely a subpar result for the pair.
"I suppose it's not a total loss for me and Toph," Yue nodded. "I guess we should let you go, Toph. I think those tournament officials are starting to look for you."
"Of course, they are," Toph groaned. "Anyway, I'll try to wrap everything up quickly and then Teo and I will join you at the hospital. I don't want to miss the opportunity to rub it in Azula's face that I beat her girl again."
"How lovely of you, Toph," Yue sighed, rolling her eyes. Yue was normally very used to Toph's occasional mean-spirited bluntness, but sometimes, when she was emotionally compromised like now, Yue found it harder to deal with. Fortunately, Toph soon walked away before she had provoked Yue into snapping at her. Seeing Toph leave, Aang walked up to her and Zuko again.
"Why does she have to be like that?" Aang sighed aloud.
"I don't know, Aang. Why is the grass green, why is the sky blue, why is Toph being Toph?" Zuko replied impatiently. "You've been friends for almost twenty years, way longer than you've been friends with me. You probably should know better than anyone why Toph is the way she is."
"I just thought-" Aang began, but cut himself short when a slightly upset looking On Ji walked past them, still smarting from her loss to Piandao. "Well, I'll see you later, guys," Aang said quickly, hurrying after On Ji.
"He really is being quite ridiculous about that girl," Yue laughed, shaking her head. "But you were a little harsh with him."
"Ugh, I just didn't want to talk smack about Toph behind her back," Zuko sighed. "Whatever. Let's find Katara and get to the hospital."
"That sounds like a good idea," Yue nodded as they turned to leave.
"You know, I'm still wondering about postponing my flight in two days," Zuko said quietly. "I feel like I shouldn't leave when Azula is not completely out of the woods yet."
"But she's as good as out of the woods. And you're here for two more days, and by then there should be no more risks," Yue replied encouragingly. Having Katara as a wife came in so handy to reassure her about these situations. Katara didn't simply brush Yue off with optimistic claims that Azula would be just fine. Katara explained all the steps in Azula's recovery, she was completely open about all the risks involved and about everything that was being done to minimize these risks. While Yue still worried a little that there even were risks a week after the incident, knowing that Azula was being closely monitored was a huge relief.
"I suppose," Zuko conceded. "But you and Katara are still going to stay for two more weeks. I feel like I should stay longer as well."
"We'll stay as long as it's necessary, two, three weeks, or more," Yue replied. "That's not a problem for us, but Sokka and Kya are waiting for you, and they miss you a great deal. You can't make Kya wait that long. It wouldn't be right."
"I guess that's true," Zuko eventually conceded. "But Azula better call me if not every day, then at least every other day."
"I'll make sure she does, Zuko," Yue smiled.
"Thanks, Yue," Zuko smiled at her. "You're a good friend."
Yue's smile broadened at Zuko's words. She really hoped that Zuko would still feel that way once this crisis was over and their rivalry at the Pai Sho board resumed and potentially became even more heated.
