Shoji arrived at the Arena early in the morning, as ever. Almost all the other staff members were there already, and a few of them greeted him back after his cheerful hello. The young man walked towards his counter, and he made sure to check that everything was set for his duties of the day.
After looking over the ranking to keep tabs on its latest changes, a co-worker arrived to deliver the challenges that had arrived overnight. It was well known that the Grand Royal Dome was the best Gladiator Arena there was, and thus people from all over the world would seek to fight the Capital's local gladiators. Shoji was delivered these challenges every day, and he would make sure to notify the sponsors about every new challenge that had arrived for them.
"Let's see…" said Shoji, looking through the stack of challenging forms he had been delivered as the gatekeepers opened the Arena's doors to the public. "Two for Storm's Edge, one for the Duke of Fire, another for the Blinding Sun… hey, Phoenix Flames is the challenger! How about that…"
Shoji finished looking through the challenges and yawned, watching the people enter the Arena and head directly towards the betting counter. It still amazed Shoji that people would be so quick to place their bets every morning. The gladiator business was only what it was thanks to those people, though: their compulsive betting indirectly was what paid Shoji's salary.
As the morning went by, sponsors and gladiators began arriving to attend their fights of the day. The gladiators hardly ever spoke, they would only stand beside their sponsors and wait for the regular procedure to be over. Shoji would be as friendly to the sponsors as possible, but it wasn't easy to be nice to people who treated him as though he were as insignificant to them as the slaves they sponsored. Their demeaning behavior had always bothered Shoji, especially considering he was a trueborn Fire Nation citizen like all of them…
After a particularly annoying sponsor walked away from the counter at long last, Shoji sighed and looked around himself, his eyes nestling on the small calendar he kept on his station. According to his scribbles on it, today was cleaning day. Shoji sighed and prepared himself mentally before beginning with the task of removing waste material and old files of gladiators who had retired from the league, or who had been killed in action. Shoji gulped as he removed the file of Combustion Man's latest kill, but he frowned when he picked up another of the files he was supposed to move into the storage today.
Never had he imagined he would have to put Kyoshi's Heir's file away, let alone for reasons unknown. She had been in the League even longer than Shoji had been working in his counter, and she had always seemed to be one of those gladiators who would always occupy a privileged spot in the ranking, yet not high enough to be one of the top dogs. Still, her retirement had absolutely nothing to do with her prowess in the Arena. She had even killed her last opponent, for crying out loud! So why was she dropping out? Why had they received a notice to let them know she was resigning from the League?
The question would always linger… but maybe he could find the answers. Maybe he could do some research, ask a few questions here and there… Prince Zuko was bound to come back to ask if he had found anything about Kyoshi's Heir's disappearance, wasn't he? He couldn't disappoint him by giving him no answers this time around.
He made up his mind to look up whatever information he could just as the Arena's doors opened again. Shoji's gaze flickered towards them and he found himself beaming when he saw who the new arrivals were.
"Princess!" he exclaimed happily, once Azula reached the counter. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you! Are you feeling better now?"
"I am, else I wouldn't be here," said Azula, sighing and looking at Shoji with slight irritation. The boy's eyes glistened while looking at her… but not just at her. He was looking at Sokka with amazement as well.
And it wasn't just Shoji who did that, either. Azula had tried to ignore the way people had looked at them and muttered under their breaths as they walked through the Arena's vestibule. Sokka had attempted to do the same… yet he had failed at pretending to be calm. He couldn't keep from shooting wary glances everywhere, wondering if people were looking at Azula, or if they were actually staring at him.
"That is a big relief," said Shoji, beaming. "Because for you to get sick, after everything that happened…"
"Ah…" said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "Since you know about that, I take it my father already issued out the statement over what happened with the White Lotus, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did," said Shoji, smiling at both of them. "You're both the heroes of the Fire Nation!"
Azula didn't seem displeased at all to hear the boy exclaim that, although she was rather surprised Sokka had been given the merits he deserved. Whereas Sokka…
"What? Hero of the Fire Nation?" Sokka repeated, grimacing. "Is that why everyone's looking at us like that?"
"Indeed it is," said Shoji, smiling. "The statement came out yesterday in the afternoon, and once everyone read it, they were impressed! Nobody thought a gladiator would be capable of such things!"
"Yeah, not even the gladiator did," said Sokka, gulping. If he had known he would be heralded as the Fire Nation's hero… no, who was he kidding? If he had known so, he still would have done everything he did that night. It didn't matter what these people thought of him: he hadn't done what he had to gain anyone's approval or disfavor. "Still, it's weird I'm even getting mentioned in that thing. I thought your dad would just give you all the credit, Azula, or even take it for himself…"
"My father is a man of honor," Azula muttered, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Sokka. "He's not the kind of leader who steals his subordinates' triumphs."
"Yet I'm not his subordinate… I'm a common slave," said Sokka, frowning. "Why did he give me any credit at all?"
"Why would you want him not to?" Azula asked, looking at Sokka in confusion. "Would you rather I had been declared the savior of the Fire Nation so that you could complain about how I took all the glory unfairly?"
"No, no, that's not at all what I…!"
"Then you don't want the Fire Nation to be grateful to you, is that it?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows again.
"Y-you… I don't need any credit, okay?!" Sokka snapped, looking at her in irritation. "I didn't do the things I did so that anyone would thank me!"
Shoji kept looking back and forth from one to the other, utterly confused. All the sponsors and gladiators he had seen today had been so distant… the slaves would simply bow their heads and remain silent, the sponsors would even behave aggressively towards the gladiators.
And these two couldn't possibly be more different from that. There they were, arguing and glaring at each other, as though they were good friends instead of sponsor and slave. Could they be good friends and still work together like this, though? Shoji couldn't help but wonder… the relationship between them had always struck him as odd, but after reading the official statement, in which the Princess and her fighter had been acknowledged as the ones who had found and seized the terrorists that had attacked the Fire Nation, their relationship seemed stranger still…
"Ah, well, then, maybe we shouldn't thank you at all and just resort to treating you like normal people treat slaves," said Azula, rolling her eyes and shrugging.
"Ha, yeah right," said Sokka, smirking. "You've tried that before, Princess. You don't know how to treat me like a slave."
"It's more like you don't know how to behave as one," Azula grunted, before realizing they had resorted to bickering thoughtlessly before the kid on the counter. "Uh… never mind this, Shoji. We came by to have a look at this fool's place in the ranking, and also to check whatever challenges we might still have available."
"Oh, sure," said Shoji, smiling and hoping the Princess and the gladiator would refrain from arguing again.
Sokka and Azula waited patiently and silently while Shoji browsed over the Ranking quickly. It didn't take too long for the boy to find The Blue Wolf amongst the many names, given how well acquainted he was with the list of gladiators. After a brief moment, he spotted what he was looking for and smiled as he read the list aloud.
"You are, officially, in the 273rd spot!" Shoji said, smiling. "And you have collected a grand total of three-thousand, one-hundred and thirty-six points!"
"What?!" Sokka said, amazed. He had already breached through three thousand points?! He hadn't seen that coming.
"Are you sure about this?" Azula asked. She didn't recall at all what his previous position had been, let alone how many points he had before his fight against The Rock. The stressful situation she had lived had brought her to forget, if only temporarily, about how important Sokka's position in the Ranking was for her.
"Of course!" said Shoji, chuckling. "You have every right to be surprised, though. Not every gladiator manages to earn over three thousand points with only sixteen victories under his belt… those with sixteen triumphs usually are lucky if they've got a thousand!"
Sokka looked at Azula enthusiastically as he digested the information. He could see she approved as well; it seemed as though Sokka's progress had exceeded her expectations.
"And… may I inquire as to where the Blind Bandit is?" Azula asked, at which Sokka cringed.
"C-can't we just enjoy our great accomplishment and forget about her for a while…?" Sokka asked.
Azula hardly ever failed to ask about the earthbender's position, and for good reason: if they ever left her behind in the ranking, Sokka wouldn't be forced to fight against her on another opportunity. Yet if she remained ahead of them, a fight would be unavoidable if they were aiming for the top… and after the previous pummeling Sokka had received at Toph's hands, Azula would much rather keep him as far from the blind girl as possible.
"Uh, the Blind Bandit…" said Shoji, and to Azula's chagrin, his finger moved upwards through the list as he sought her name. Then she was still above Sokka. Curse it… "She's the 258th at the moment. She's got about five hundred points over the Blue Wolf."
"Five hundred…" Azula repeated, frowning. "Closing that distance shouldn't prove so hard now we're this high. What challenges do we have, Shoji? Do we still have anything pending from someone in the higher levels of the ranking?"
There it was… there was that which made the Blue Wolf and the Princess so different from everyone else. She had asked about what challenges 'they' had, not the challenges 'she' had. And for all Shoji could remember, the Princess had always referred to herself and Sokka in plural, whereas most the other sponsors only spoke individually. They took their gladiator's triumphs and great accomplishments as their own, yet their failures they blamed completely on the fighter. But that wasn't the case with Princess Azula… no, she spoke of her and Sokka as a team. Because that was what they were.
Shoji smiled upon his realization as he looked through Azula's challenges as requested. Yet, as he looked from the messages to the Ranking, in order to check the positions of the challengers, he discovered the Princess wouldn't be pleased with what he would tell her…
"I'm sorry, but… all your current challengers are beneath the Blue Wolf in the ranking," Shoji said, gulping. "None are above him… you have The Notorious Stingray, though. That could prove to be a decent match."
"And how many points would that fight provide?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Eh… about one hundred and forty," said Shoji, grimacing now.
"Perhaps it would be a good fight, yet I'm looking for a way to make more points as quickly as possible," Azula grunted. "I'm not going to have Sokka wear himself out fighting someone who won't give him a boost in the ranking."
"Uh… how about The Last Dragon? He's only a few spots below the Blue Wolf… or maybe The Steel Hurricane?"
"No, thank you," said Azula, frowning. "If they're beneath Sokka, I refuse."
"But you had him fight the Crimson Wonder and he was below him…" muttered Shoji nervously, fearing Azula might get enraged if he displeased her by voicing his opinion.
"That kid, huh?" said Sokka, grimacing. That wasn't a fight he liked to remember…
"That was simply to give him a break after battling earthbenders non-stop for quite some time. But if we're going to give chase to that bandit, we'll have to do much better than that."
"Huh, but we're not soldiers or anything… We shouldn't have any business chasing bandits," said Sokka, chuckling at his dumb joke. Naturally, the stupid remark only earned himself a disbelieving glare from his sponsor.
"You know what I mean, idiot," Azula said, and even though Sokka could have taken offense by the insult, he could only smile goofily at her. "And we might not be soldiers, but we have given chase to actual bandits before. Need I remind you of it?"
"Oh, no. I remember pretty well," said Sokka, gulping now. He wasn't all that fond of the memories of the crazy chase they had given the Rough Rhinos, and all the catastrophes that had come with it…
"So? There's nothing more? I'll have to start issuing out my own challenges again?" Azula asked. "It's been quite a while since I last had to do that, but if we're to earn a decent amount of points…"
"Well… maybe you don't have to do that just yet," said Shoji, rubbing his chin as an idea came to his mind, "If what you want is to earn lots of points as quickly as possible… then maybe there's a solution for you, an even better one than challenging other fighters."
"And what might that be?" Azula asked, surprised.
"I think I spoke to you two about Gladiator Events before, didn't I?" said Shoji, smiling now.
"Ah… you did, once," said Azula, recalling the occasion.
"You said something about a Pairs Tournament, right? And something else about…" Sokka said, frowning as he tried to recall the information the boy had given them.
"About a Scavenger Hunt!" said Shoji enthusiastically. "The Scavenger Hunt will happen a week from now. The deadline for signing up to participate in it is tomorrow, so if you want to join…"
"Wait, wait, wait…" said Azula, lifting a hand. "You told us a little about this event back then, but…"
"If you need me to refresh your memory, I'm more than happy to do so," said Shoji, smiling. "The Scavenger Hunt takes place in The Ring of Ash, over at Fire Fountain City. And the event is comprised by having the gladiators fetch ten objects that have been scattered through the city. They initially gather in the Arena, and all of them take off at the same time, scouting through the city to find what they're looking for."
"And every gladiator gathers as many objects as possible… right?" Azula asked, remembering what Shoji had said before.
"Indeed, though that's easier said than done," said Shoji, smiling uncomfortably. "It's a pretty tough competition. There are ten objects, each worth two hundred points. If your gladiator were to return to the Arena while carrying all ten objects, he would take two thousand points."
"And we would surpass the Blind Bandit in a heartbeat," said Azula, smiling with malice. "Back then I had refused to join this event, but now it sounds rather appealing…"
"How many gladiators join this event, more or less?" Sokka asked, frowning. "Because it sounds like getting all ten objects might be a fool's errand…"
"Uh… it might be," said Shoji, smiling and shrugging. "I don't think anyone has done it before."
"No matter. There's always a first time for everything," said Azula, proudly. "Just imagine the scandal you'd make in the Gladiator League if you were the first gladiator to ever take the ten objects…"
"You seem rather confident…" said Sokka, gulping. Maybe it was because of how effectively he'd fought against the White Lotus guys, but it seemed Azula suddenly believed he couldn't lose. For some reason, he couldn't share her conviction.
"Well… maybe you're right," said Shoji, smiling shyly at Azula. "I mean, the Blue Wolf is rather strong… he might be able to pull it off, who knows?"
"Why do you seem so doubtful, Shoji?" Azula asked, frowning. "Is there something you haven't told us yet?"
"Uh, well…" said Shoji, gulping. "It's not information I should disclose freely to sponsors…"
"No, it's information you should disclose freely to a Princess unless you'd rather face her wrath," said Azula, with a very ironic smile that made Shoji feel as though the blood in his veins had frozen cold.
"A-ah, w-well… t-there's a chance you two might… well, the gladiator… He might be able to win," said Shoji, biting his lip. "But the issue is that, well… I probably shouldn't tell sponsors about who else is participating in events, it should be confidential, but… well, it's the two of you, so I guess I probably could…"
"Ah, curse it, just say it!" Azula snapped, freaking the young man out.
"T-the Blind Bandit is participating in the Scavenger Hunt as well!" Shoji said quickly, hoping she wouldn't be enraged upon this new bit of information.
"Wha-…?" said Sokka, aghast. Well, that was that. If Toph was going to be in this, then he definitely wasn't going to get himself those two thousand points…
Azula was startled by the revelation for a moment, but her brow contracted as she pondered the situation. If the Blind Bandit was taking part in the Hunt, she'd be a big threat to Sokka. And yet…
"Azula?" Sokka asked, afraid she might have grown angry now given her sudden silence. But she didn't reply to him. She looked at Shoji with determination before saying:
"Sign us up for it."
"A-Azula?!" Sokka squeaked, aghast. "W-what do you mean, sign us up?! If she's going to be in it…!"
"Then all the more reason for us to join as well" said Azula, looking at him before turning towards Shoji again. "The event is in a week, then? In Fire Fountain City?"
"Ah… yes," said Shoji, surprised by her accepting the challenge so determinedly. "Then… you're joining the Hunt…?"
"I just said I would, didn't I?" Azula retorted. "Is there anything else I need to do in order to formalize our participation in the event?"
"Uh… no, I'll write up your form myself, Princess," said Shoji.
"Then I suppose that will be all for now, Shoji. We'll likely see you again once that matter is over with."
"Of course. I-I'll be here, as always! G-good luck at the Hunt!" said Shoji, smiling nervously at them. Even if Azula wasn't behaving in a hostile manner right now, her previous snapping at him still scared him.
Sokka didn't realize Azula had turned around to leave while he gaped at Shoji's counter, trying to digest that he would be facing off against the Blind Bandit again.
"Uh… she already left," Shoji said, making Sokka jump.
"Huh? Oh… oh!" said Sokka, running after Azula, who was already by the Dome's gates. "Hey! Wait up!"
"You're saying I should wait for you? You should stop being such a slowpoke, rather," Azula declared, rolling her eyes as she passed by the gates, with Sokka trailing right behind her.
"Azula, what the hell got into you?! How am I supposed to…? Why did you accept joining when you knew Toph would be in that event as well?!" Sokka asked, aghast.
"Why shouldn't I have?" said Azula, raising an eyebrow as they walked down the steps that led to the streets together. The gazes of most the citizens fell on them as they walked, yet this time they failed to notice they were being stared at.
"What the…?!" Sokka asked. "Maybe because she'll kill me?! Didn't you say you weren't going to make me fight needlessly against gladiators that might tear me apart? Well, in case you've forgotten, she already did that to me once and she's going to do it again if we go to that Hunt!"
"In case you hadn't thought of it, that's not going to happen," said Azula, stopping in the middle of their walk to look sternly at him. "Think about it logically, Sokka. There will be heaps of gladiators participating in this event, and the purpose of the Hunt isn't to see who the last man standing will be. No, the point of this event is fetching those items and bringing them back to the Arena. Why should the Bandit resort to beating you to a pulp when that's not what's at stake here?"
"Because she's crazy?" said Sokka, grimacing. "Azula, if only to screw with us, she'll do it. You know she's not to be underestimated just as well as I do."
"I'm not underestimating her," Azula stated. "If anything, I'm trying to estimate her properly with this event. You won't be fighting directly against her this time, but you still will be able to see if you're any match against her as you are. You have improved greatly since you first fought against her, so there's a chance you won't be as helpless this time as you used to be."
"B-but…" Sokka muttered, grimacing.
"Need more convincing, do you?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes. "I did say maybe you could take all the ten objects by yourself, but now I doubt you'll be able to, if she's going to join as well. And now I ask you, what would we do if she were the one who managed to take all ten objects? She'd shoot off through the ranking and she'd be out of reach in no time! But if you join, and you take your own share of objects, you'll take those points for yourself, and in doing so, you'd make sure she doesn't get two thousand points. What potential problem do you find in this situation, Sokka? Why shouldn't we have joined the Hunt?"
"Because…"
"You'll have to get rid of your fear for that girl one day," Azula advised him, making Sokka grimace as they resumed their walk. "I get she terrifies you because of what she did to you, but you've become much stronger, and we'll probably have to fight her again at some point anyways. If you go against her while being scared, you're sure to lose."
"But… don't you think I should keep becoming stronger and stronger until I can finally beat her?" Sokka asked. "I mean… there are plenty of other gladiators out there who…"
"Who might join the Hunt as well. I think the Bandit will have more than enough gladiators to concern herself with aside from you. So long as you keep some safe distance between you two while gathering the objects, you'll survive this event, I believe."
"It's still a bit terrifying… and a bit strange," said Sokka, frowning. "A hunt through the entire city? Rampaging gladiators running around town, wrecking streets, houses and whatnot, all to find what they're looking for? Isn't that going to be a hazard for the city?"
"There are probably other rules that Shoji neglected explaining to us, rules that keep crazy earthbenders like the Bandit from tearing the entire island apart," said Azula. "I doubt the organizers are so thoughtless regarding these events, they have to know what they're doing."
"I hope so…" said Sokka, gulping. "So… we're off to train now, then?"
"It's the best thing we can do at the moment, I believe," said Azula. "And it's been quite a while since Wolf's Bane and I last tore you apart…"
"A while? Um, excuse me, Princess, but I don't believe that has ever happened before," said Sokka, his unease being replaced quickly by cockiness.
"Why, much as I said earlier… there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" Azula asked, smirking at Sokka in the most challenging way she could muster.
"Heh, we'll see about that," said Sokka, returning the smile. Well, just as she had wanted it, it seemed that things would go back to normal after all.
Iroh sighed heavily, looking at the closed door with a frown on his face. It had been too long now… Zuko hadn't locked himself in his room in this manner ever since they had returned home. He had become outgoing, even, though Iroh had no idea where Zuko went on every trip he took outside the Palace. He hadn't needed to know, though. Zuko had been in a better mood than usual the past weeks, so he had thought worrying about him was needless… until he had locked himself up again a few days ago.
"Again on his doorstep, Iroh? What's the point?" asked the familiar voice of his gladiator, approaching him while snacking on sizzling crisps.
"I'm worried about Zuko, nothing more than that. He hasn't come out of his room in quite a while," said Iroh, lowering his gaze. "I call him and it is as though he didn't hear me…"
"You sure he's in there?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you're talking to an empty room. Maybe he ran away from home and you have no idea."
"I doubt that," said Iroh, smiling weakly. "Zuko wouldn't do something so reckless…"
"You sure have a weird concept of your nephew," said Toph, making Iroh look at her in surprise.
"What do you mean by…?" but the girl ignored him.
"LITTLE PRINCESS! GET OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW OR ELSE I'LL GET IN THERE TO KICK YOU OUT OF IT MYSELF!" Toph shouted so loudly that Iroh stumbled away from her, covering his ears.
No answer still. Toph rubbed her chin and stepped on the marble a little more strongly than needed, producing an earthbending move that made the marble right under Zuko's bed shake quite violently. That ought to irritate him enough to pull him out of bed…
"Princess Zuzu…?" Toph repeated, knocking on the door hoping to get an answer now.
The only thing she got was a loud bump on the door. Zuko clearly had flung something at it, probably a pillow, in order to send Toph away.
"Ah, well, then he's in there alright," said Toph, smiling. She could have easily checked if Zuko was within the room through her earthbending, but she would never pass out on a chance to annoy the Prince. "You've got nothing to worry about, Iroh!"
"You believe so, yet…" said Iroh, lowering his gaze. "It isn't like Zuko to shut me out for so long. This behavior means something must have happened to him, and it isn't as though whatever bothers him were my fault! I haven't done anything that could displease him so much since…"
"Hey… hey," said Toph, crossing her arms over her chest and turning towards Iroh with a frown on her face. "You don't have to freak out like this over a brat's temper tantrum or whatever it is that he's throwing right now. If something happened to him, it's his business, not yours."
"You don't understand, Toph," said Iroh, sighing. "My nephew…"
"You see him like the son you lost," said Toph. "And I get that well enough. To you, Zuko is like a son. And to him, you're like a father. His actual father doesn't even look him in the face, so you're pretty much all he's got. Did I miss out on anything?"
Iroh looked at Toph with a grimace and placed his hands on his hips.
"After knowing all that, can you blame me for…?"
"For worrying? No, I'm not blaming you for that," said Toph. "What I'm blaming you for is for pestering him when he clearly wants to be alone."
"But…"
"But what?" Toph asked, frowning. "You think you've got to help him out with whatever problems he's got at the moment? You think he needs your constant guidance and advice to make it through life? Well, you're wrong. What that guy wants is to be alone for a while. If he needs you, he'll come to you."
"But he is so proud," said Iroh, sighing again. "He would never admit he needs me, and he would try to sort out everything by himself when he needs someone to assist him and show him the right path…"
"That might be the case, Iroh," said Toph. "And yeah, he's even more stubborn than I am, which is saying a lot. But I had parents who would always try to protect me and show me the right way to do everything, who thought I couldn't handle anything by myself, and I got sick of them. I decided to prove them that I can do whatever I want if I just mean to. And look at where I am now! So, when it comes to Zuko… just leave him be. When he's ready to talk to you, he will. And if he never is, then maybe it's because he's trying to figure things out on his own, and maybe you should give him a chance to do that. You might be surprised by how well that can work out."
Iroh looked at Toph in utter amazement. She was right about the things she was saying, surely… especially considering that she spoke out of experience. In his constant concern for Zuko's welfare, he might have driven his nephew away by mistake. Maybe Toph was right: maybe he ought to leave Zuko alone for the time being, no matter how worried he was over him. If he was fortunate, Zuko would be able to find his way out of his predicament all on his own.
"In any case, you still won't be able to do anything about Zuko for a while," said Toph. "We're taking off to Fire Fountain City tomorrow, aren't we?"
"Yes," said Iroh, smiling at her. "Hopefully he will be feeling better by the time we're back… or, at the very least, he will feel like talking about what troubles him. In the meantime, are you ready for the Hunt?"
"Ready? I can't wait for it!" Toph exclaimed, enthusiastically. "This is just the kind of crazy stuff I signed on for when I decided to become a gladiator."
Iroh chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, and Toph gave him a broad grin. This was something Iroh liked about the girl: that she could go from being dead serious in one moment to being carefree on the next. And strangely enough, whatever he lacked in wisdom, she made up for it without fail. For some reason, it seemed to Iroh that he had really found the gladiator that suited him most.
"Well, then, perhaps we ought to make a toast to your triumph in the Scavenger Hunt. How would you like that?" asked Iroh, leading her down the hallway.
"A toast? You mean, with actual alcohol?"
"What? Of course not, Toph! With tea!"
"… You can toast with tea?"
"Why not?"
They walked off the hallway, chattering noisily, just as Zuko opened the door to glance at them. He had stepped out of bed in order to recover the pillow he had flung at the door, and he had caught most of their conversation. He was rather surprised to hear Toph had earnestly advised Iroh to give Zuko some space for the prince's own good, and not just because he wasn't worth the trouble. Yet his uncle was that worried about him… could he tell the man about what had happened? Would he understand what Kyoshi's Heir's disappearance meant to him…?
Well, he had some time to make up his mind about it, if his uncle would truly be taking off in a trip. The only thing he knew for certain so far was that, even if he were to tell Iroh about this, he wouldn't do so while the earthbender was around. He appreciated her advice to his uncle, yet it didn't mean he considered her a friend because of it. Chances were Iroh would understand what Zuko was going through… but Toph would simply laugh at him, there was no questioning it.
Still, should he open up to his uncle about this? Was it really a good idea to do so? Could Iroh help him see matters a little more clearly than he currently did?
Instead of taking her palanquin to the port, as Azula usually did, she had decided to fly down to it on the back of her dragon. It was a far more efficient way to travel, and flying on a dragon had much more grandeur than traveling by palanquin. Still, part of the magnificence she boasted by being the Princess who rode a dragon was diminished because there was a Water Tribe slave sitting right behind her, clutching at the support bars of the saddle while looking down on the city one last time before they descended on the bay.
Only three days separated them from the Scavenger Hunt now. The trip to the island wasn't bound to take them too long, but to keep her plans a secret from her uncle for as long as possible, Azula had delayed their trip intentionally until she was certain Iroh had taken off already. She didn't want him to know that they would take part in the Hunt… not until it was unavoidable, at least. If the Bandit knew Sokka would be participating, she was bound to plan beforehand to knock him out and render him helpless…
"Is it weird that I always find I missed this ship whenever we climb aboard?" Sokka said, smiling as he jumped off Xin Long's saddle and onto the deck of the ship.
"It really is weird you're so happy about it, yes. Considering, well… everything," said Azula, lowering her gaze in hopes Sokka wouldn't understand what she was referring to. She simply patted Xin Long's neck, letting him know she would ride again with him once the ship was safely on its way to Fire Fountain City.
"Oh, well, yeah, it's the ship that took me from home," said Sokka, slightly bothered by the memory. "But… I take it it's also the one that will bring me back to it when the time comes."
Something seemed to snap in Azula's head at those words. Sokka had simply stated a fact… it was true, when she took him back to the South Pole it would be with this ship… and she had promised to take him back, so long as he fulfilled his part of the deal.
But why was it that she suddenly didn't want him to fulfill it? She gripped Xin Long's reins tightly, only realizing now that their days as partners were numbered. She didn't know how many they had left… all she knew was that, at some point, she had stopped wanting to rid herself of him only to wish she could keep him beside her, always. And that was a very ridiculous thing to wish for. Nevertheless, thinking that one day she would be carrying him to the South Pole again on this very ship sent a pang of loneliness through her chest…
"Still, even though I had a very lousy first trip on it, the next ones weren't that bad," Sokka said, smiling at her and only realizing now that she seemed bothered by something. "Uh… Azula?"
"If you say so," Azula muttered, sliding off the saddle as well and walking past Sokka, determined to ignore the look he was giving her. He wouldn't get her to explain what bothered her, especially when she was the one who kept struggling to keep their relationship as it was. If he ever knew she didn't want to take him back to his Tribe…
It was undeniable that her life had become far more interesting with him in it. She didn't know what she would do once their deal had been settled. Hopefully her father would give her other missions to accomplish, perhaps he would even declare her his official heir at long last. She'd have a busy schedule, she believed… but the thought of it seemed rather boring if she considered he wouldn't be around to throw his foolish remarks at her, to irritate her beyond belief, to retort to everything she said…
Sokka was left on the deck, watching her enter the ship's tower. He looked at Xin Long, who seemed to glare at him accusingly.
"Hey, I have no idea what that was about!" Sokka exclaimed. "The only one here with an exclusive access to her mind is you, so stop looking at me like that!"
And despite his worries, Sokka found himself smiling as the ship began moving at long last. Maybe he feared the outcome of the event… but it cheered him to think of how much everything had changed since the last time he had sailed from this port. Hopefully, Azula and him would return home just as proudly as they had when they had returned from their trip into the Earth Kingdom…
"Curious… he must have changed it at some point during the past ten years," Iroh said, gazing up at the statue in the center of the city.
"Changed what?" Toph asked, her eyes closed and her arms folded over her chest as her toes dug into the ground below her.
"The statue," said Iroh. "This city was built around a statue of Fire Lord Azulon, my father. It wasn't a statue that would blast fire this way, mind you, yet it was quite a nice statue."
"If the statue didn't blast fire before, then why is this place called Fire Fountain City?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It wasn't," said Iroh. "Back when I was younger, it was called North Chung-Ling. I had heard of the name change, but I did not know the new name was as literal as it is… and I also didn't know my brother had turned my father's statue into one of himself."
"Well, I guess kudos are in order to the Fire Lord for changing the name and statue," said Toph, shrugging.
"I wonder if he intends to change every remembrance of Azulon into his own figure…" said Iroh, frowning slightly. "Perhaps the Gates of Azulon will turn into the Gates of Ozai… though I rather doubt he'll change his daughter's name into one similar to his own. That would be ridiculous."
"Isn't it already ridiculous to turn his father's statues into his own?" Toph asked.
"Well, Ozai is… a complicated man, to say the least," said Iroh.
"Hmm… as complicated as his daughter, you'd say?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Why, Azula is complicated as well, though I believe it is in a very different manner. Why do you ask?" Iroh said.
"Well… because she's right there, scolding her fool," said Toph, pointing in the direction of a post office. "You've got a good chance to ask her if she'll accept to change her name to Ozaia or whatever it is you think the Fire Lord would switch it to."
"My, my…" said Iroh, watching curiously as Azula seemed to lose her temper at her gladiator.
"Why the hell would I want to buy you a messenger hawk?!" Azula asked, exasperated.
"But just look at them!" Sokka whined, pointing at the creatures. "I deserve something nice! You have a dragon, so it's my turn to get a cool animal companion that can fly!"
"You'd need a flock of hawks if you expect them to lift you up into the sky…" Azula muttered, crossing her arms and looking through the city…
… And she froze when she realized who was watching her from Ozai's statue. Ah, brilliant. Just what she had been trying to avoid. Why had she accepted Sokka's stupid request to go sight-seeing? Now Iroh had found them, and it would take him no time to understand what her presence in the city meant…
To her chagrin, her uncle waved at her enthusiastically and approached, with Toph treading right behind him. And Sokka still spoke to the hawks in the office, using a squeaky voice to talk to them.
"Now, now, who wants to be my pretty little hawk? I'll be great company, I swear!"
When Azula didn't retort that he was flat-out lying about being good company, Sokka realized there was something bothering her. He looked at Azula inquisitively before realizing her attention had been stolen by something else… which happened to be nothing other than her uncle and the Blind Bandit.
"I don't think those hawks would like to go with you," Toph said, smirking. "You're the blue dog, after all, and dogs do enjoy the taste of chicken…"
Curiously, the animals became restless after what she said. Sokka jumped back and stared at them in worry before shooting a glare at the earthbender.
"Look at what you did! Now none of them will come with me!"
Toph simply laughed at his reaction while Iroh smiled kindly at Azula. The Princess regarded her uncle with the same caution and distaste she always reserved when dealing with him.
"Well, well, quite a surprise running into you here, Azula," said Iroh, beaming at his niece.
Azula gritted her teeth, not knowing how exactly to respond… well, what was the point of trying to lie over her presence here? There could only be one reason why she would have come to Fire Fountain City just when Iroh had, and her uncle clearly knew it…
"I can't say the same, truth to be told," said Azula, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh? Then you already knew I would be here? Ah, are you here for the Scavenger Hunt, then?" Iroh asked, still smiling.
"It should be obvious by now," Azula retorted, while Sokka gulped next to her. He knew she hadn't wanted for Iroh and Toph to know they were taking part in the event until they were already there, and he could bet that Azula would blame him for this blow to her plans…
"You should have told me you would be participating!" Iroh said cheerfully. "We could have all come in my ship together!"
"In your… ship?" Azula repeated, with derision. "That's a boat, Uncle, not a ship"
"Ah, when you get to be my age, small and cozy is always nicer than large and fancy," said Iroh, beaming. "If only you had come with us you would have enjoyed the best tea the Fire Nation has to offer!"
"And by that, he pretty much means ALL the tea the Fire Nation has to offer," said Toph, smiling a little. "We only got to Fire Fountain City today because he insisted on stopping at every single island he could to check the tea specialty of the area…"
"You're not serious…" said Azula, looking at Iroh in disbelief first and later at Toph with pity. "I'd be astonished to know you didn't grow sick of tea after that."
"Oh, not really," said Toph, shrugging. "It was fun, even if it was a bit too much tea. It does get a little annoying when you've had so much of it that you have to go to the bathroom every hour just because of drinking too much of it…"
"You can never have too much tea!" Iroh declared, looking slightly indignant. "Sick of tea… it's like being sick of breathing!"
"And have you had Fire Fountain City's tea yet?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Nope, but we'll be on it in a minute," said Toph, digging her toes on the ground again. "There's a shop two streets away."
"How can she…?" Sokka asked, in utter disbelief.
"Ah, then we'll be off to the teashop… unless you'd like to join us?" Iroh asked.
"No, thank you," Azula said, with the most unpleasant smile she could give Iroh.
"Your loss," said Iroh, shrugging. "Tea is very good for your health."
"Tea stains your teeth," Azula retorted.
"Ah, as you wish," said Iroh, giving up at last. "Good luck on tomorrow's Hunt! I'm certain we'll see you there."
"Got to say it's nice to know there'll be a friendly face amongst all the gladiators at the event," said Toph.
"Friendly face?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to be a friendly face considering our history?"
"Well… let's just say you're not the only gladiator between the ranks of two hundred and four hundred that I've beaten to a pulp," said Toph, snickering. "And you definitely ended up in real good shape compared to others I dealt with…"
Sokka stared at her in disbelief, at which the blind girl just beamed.
"See you tomorrow!" Iroh said, and together with his gladiator, they departed towards the tea shop.
Azula and Sokka watched them until they vanished from sight, and as soon as they were gone Azula presented Sokka with one of her trademark murderous glares. Sokka gulped and looked at her nervously.
"So… I guess I'm not getting a hawk, huh?"
"I hope you're proud of yourself," Azula grunted. "Now you're really doomed. She's going to crush you as soon as she gets a chance."
"Well… if the friendly face comment is real, and she's got so many enemies, then maybe you're not so right about that," said Sokka, thoughtful. "Because if she's got lots of people who want to crush her, maybe they'll join forces to take her out together, and I won't have to worry about her at all."
"Your wishful thinking is just adorable," said Azula, as sarcastically as possible. Nonetheless, the idea of Azula saying that about anything of him was adorable made Sokka blush a little.
"I… manly men aren't adorable," he muttered, looking away from her and frowning. "Don't say that sort of stuff!"
"Well, in all honesty, you're not a manly man and you aren't adorable either," Azula declared, now smirking as she earned herself a glare from him.
"In any case… even if Toph is bound to go out to get me, I could get out of her reach. If there are plenty of gladiators involved in this event, she won't have it so easy to find me."
"I guess not," said Azula, frowning. "But I also suspect she won't be the only threat you'll have to worry about. She might be the worst threat indeed… but you can't drop your guard. There are two thousand points on the line, Sokka, and I'm quite sure we're not the only ones who want to earn them."
"True enough," said Sokka, sighing. "Well, we'll see if we can get those two thousand points tomorrow…"
"Indeed. Maybe the situation won't be as hopeless as we feared," Azula muttered. "It's just bound to be a matter of skill, agility, quick-thinking and luck…"
"Just that? You sure you're not forgetting anything?" Sokka asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. Azula rolled her eyes and looked at him sternly.
"Just make sure not to take this event for granted, will you? Don't let her win, and try to win yourself."
"Gotcha," said Sokka, sighing.
Clearly, Azula was passionate about this. Clearly, she refused to lose against her uncle, even when he wasn't the only rival they'd have on the Scavenger Hunt. Nevertheless, Sokka understood her concerns. And he understood he had to prove himself to be at the same level as Toph, if possible, if he was to ever defeat her or rise higher than her in the ranking. Azula needed him to succeed, and he would do his best to fulfill her expectations. He had been on a pretty good roll with her lately, and he didn't mean to break it now…
"But say," Sokka muttered, as they resumed their walk through the city. "If I were to win this thing, would you get me a messenger hawk?"
Azula only answered with an exasperated sigh.