Chapter Two
"Azula? You took Azula in!? That crazy psychotic lightning spewing monster that tortured you for all those years!?" Sokka demanded. Ty Lee had gone from being a member of the Kyoshi Warriors to owning a large chain of Chi Blocking schools all across the Earth Kingdom, the United Republic of Nations and the Fire Nation.
Of course, most of her friends had free memberships in the school. The Kyoshi Warriors had learned a lot about Chi blocking, and about controlling the opponent through their chi paths, but they still had a lot to learn, and they all came for lessons at Ty Lee's school. Sokka was also a member. Mai was a member. Ty Lee noticed that it was almost exclusively non-benders who showed an interest in learning to block chi. But Aang was also a member, though he often wasn't able to come because of his Avatar duties.
Ty Lee blushed slightly, and nodded. "Well… Yes… I love Azula. She may have done terrible things. But everyone deserves another chance, right? She may have hurt me in the past. But I believe I should let her prove that she can change."
"Don't you think it's kind of dangerous to let the crazy lightning shooting Firebender try to prove that she's not crazy anymore?" Sokka asked. He had begun to take Chi Blocking lessons at Ty Lee's school. Most of his training consisted of flexibility and accuracy training at the moment. Ty Lee was personally working with him. Already, he was much better than he was when he first started.
However, that wasn't saying much. He was working on studying chi points on the human body. Mostly, he practiced on dummies right now with the chi points marked with dots. They weren't labeled, since he would have to memorize them someday. Why not first thing, right? Katara had been a bit skeptical about him learning Chi Blocking… Mostly because it had been such a thorn in her side.
However, she was coming over to Ty Lee's way of thinking. Just because a person couldn't bend, that was no reason for them to be helpless. If they couldn't bend, they should be able to stop the benders from bending and take them out of the equation completely. Ty Lee's method of fighting was brilliantly simple… And dangerous.
"I brought Azula with me… I didn't want to leave her home alone, so she's with me here in the back for now."
"I don't know if you remember that she tortured you for all those years… So I'll reiterate… She tortured you for two years!" Sokka protested. Suddenly, Azula was behind them.
"I see why Ty Lee was smitten with you. You are quite handsome, Sokka…" Azula said with a weak smile. Sokka gasped and turned around, pointing his boomerang at Azula.
"Relax, Sokka… She's hardly strong enough to run for very long. I don't think she could fight you. Put your boomerang down." Ty Lee said, looking expectantly at Sokka.
He sighed and put his boomerang down, storing it away in his belt. He still didn't trust Azula. But he left Azula and Ty Lee alone. Ty Lee turned to Azula and spoke.
"Hey, Azula. Zuko will be coming to visit the dojo later today. He's with a new girl… He and Mai… Broke up a while ago. He was disappointed.
"But he visited Ba Sing Se, and ran into this Earth Kingdom girl, and they started talking, and they got together. He said he went on a date with her once before… Jun… Jin… Jen… Some name like that…" Ty Lee said, scrunching her face trying to remember the girl's name. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"Zuzu and Mai broke up? They seemed so close. Mai betrayed me to protect him."
"Yeah… Well, I don't remember the exact reason… But… They were arguing a lot before they finally broke up. It was the best thing for them, really. Both their auras were looking terrible. Now, Zuko seems really happy. The girl does, too. What time is it, Sokka?"
"Um… About 1:00…" Sokka said. Ty Lee gasped. Zuko was going to be there, soon. It had been a week since Azula and Ty Lee first saw each other again, and Ty Lee had said that Zuko needed to meet someone. She hadn't been terribly specific. She only said that Zuko knew this person and that they were important.
"Hello… Ty Lee?" Zuko asked, walking in with Jin, who seemed to be fascinated by the school.
"This is your friend, Ty Lee's school? You said she teaches Chi Blocking here, right?" She asked.
"Yeah. Hey, Ty Lee!"
Suddenly, Ty Lee cartwheeled out and stood in front of Zuko.
"Hey, Zuko! Azula! Come on over!" Ty Lee shouted. Zuko tensed up, and Jin looked over at him with concern. Zuko adopted a firebending stance.
"Hi, Firelord Zuzu!" Azula said with a deceptive level of confidence, given how nervous she was. What was Zuko going to say, seeing her again after all these years?
"Azula? They told me that you were released from the center… Where did you go? That was months ago." Zuko said. Azula sighed.
"Oh, Zuzu…"
"Stop calling me that!" Zuko snapped. Jin giggled at this. Azula looked over at Jin.
"Oh, you must be Zuko's new girlfriend… You are pretty… I see why Zuko likes you so much. At least you seem friendlier than Mai."
"Zuko… Is this the sister you told me about!? You joker! You told me she was a monster… She's really nice! And so beautiful…"
"Um… Yeah… A joke… She was actually in charge of the invasion of Ba Sing Se. She orchestrated all of it, then suggested that father burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground."
Jin laughed again at Zuko's joke. It wasn't supposed to be a joke.
"What? What did I say?" Zuko asked obliviously. Azula laughed as well.
"I don't know. Everything about that was hilarious at the time. But not anymore."
"O-oh… So, Azula… When did you and Ty Lee meet up again?" Zuko asked, trying to be polite to her.
"Well… About a week ago. She was in my house when I got home that night… And, she told me she had been homeless for a while… So, I said she could stay. I still need to work on her nails. Look at them. She's picked them so they're not as bad, but they need serious work.
"She was nervous about going back to the royal palace… She didn't…"
"What? Why? I would've let her come back! Uncle always taught me to give everyone another chance. Are you feeling better, Azula?" Zuko asked. Azula actually laughed.
"Yes… I'm doing much better. Ty Lee… I noticed the cameras in your apartment. Do you still have the picture of what I looked like when I first came in? I always get a laugh out of them…" Azula said, seeming very different now.
"Yeah. Here you go, Zuko… Enjoy…" Ty Lee said, handing the pictures to Zuko, who looked at the pictures, shocked by how haggard Azula looked. She was emaciated, her hair was tangled and filled with dirt, twigs and other debris. Zuko would have laughed if she hadn't looked so frightening.
"I see… Do you want to come back to the royal palace? You're welcome there, you know? Jin has just gotten pregnant, so don't stress her out too much. But you can come back if you promise not to shoot lightning at her."
"I can't… I'm living with Ty Lee, now… We're lovers… Again…"
"Really?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow. After the way she treated you before?" Zuko whispered to Ty Lee. Ty Lee nodded modestly.
"Yes, well… Give everyone another chance and all that. Besides, she's changed. She's amazing at night…" Ty Lee gasped happily.
Zuko sighed. He hadn't really needed to hear that.
"Azula… I'm happy to see you again… You're looking better than you did when I last saw you." Zuko said quietly. Azula snorted.
"No I don't. I'm still really underweight, I'm weak, I can barely shoot sparks, much less lightning… Something about me makes it hard to create fire now. I can't determine what it is." Azula said. Zuko smiled.
"You're not able to fuel your firebending with rage anymore. It was the same for me. I went to seek out the original source of Firebending. I'm sure that Uncle can help you with it, if you'll let him."
"I-I can't talk to Uncle. He would never help me."
"You really give Uncle way too little credit. I'm sure he would be glad to help you if you showed that you really wanted help. Uncle always said that those most lost to the darkness are the ones most deserving of help… But only if they want it. I'll take you to his tea shop in Ba Sing Se. He's always got people in there, but I'm sure he can make time for his own niece."
"I-I… I can't… I attacked Uncle that time… In that desert town, I could have killed him! He'll never accept me." Azula said, tears filling her eyes. Jin smiled gently and hugged Azula tightly.
"Azula… You shouldn't worry so much. Your hair will start going gray and limp… You don't want that, do you? You have such beautiful hair…" Jin said cheerfully. Azula sighed. The only women in her life who were ever this kind to her were Ty Lee and now, Jin. Ty Lee was her lover. So what ulterior motive did Jin have to care what happened to her?
"Get off of me! What are you aiming for!?" Azula demanded. Jin looked genuinely confused.
"A-aiming for? Only to make you feel better. You're Zuko's sister. You're family to him, so you're family to me."
"Yeah, well…" Azula said, retreating slightly from Jin, suspicious of her intentions.
"I'm sorry… Did I offend you, Azula?" Jin asked sheepishly. Azula shook her head irritably.
"No. Zuzu's girlfriends just have a tendency to betray me… Why should I trust you any more than I trusted Mai?"
"Azula… One time. One girlfriend of mine 'betrayed you'. That's not a 'tendency'." Zuko sighed. Azula snorted.
"Yeah, well… All the women in my life have betrayed me. Mom… Mai… Ty Lee… Why should this bitch be any different?"
"Hey! Apologize to her, now!"
"Yes, oh great Fire Lord Zuzu…" Azula sneered, turning her back and walking back to the back of the dojo.
"Listen, I'm sorry about my sister… She… Just got out of the hospital, and she's well enough to be out, but… I don't think she's back to… No, she was never normal… I don't think she's completely well yet."
"Hospital? Was she sick?" Jin asked, looking at Azula. She did seem slightly off. Certainly she was eccentric. But so was Zuko. That was one of the things she liked about him. His eccentricity was endearing to her.
"Well, she needed some rest and relaxation, really. Dad expected way too much of her, and she finally snapped mentally. I think Uncle could really help her. But she's not willing to see him again. We never got along well, but I'm worried about her."
"Of course you are. She's your sister. So, she and Ty Lee… They're…?"
"Oh, yeah… Long story about that. That isn't my story to tell, though. If they want to tell you, they can."
"Okay… No problem. Ooh, I've always wanted to come to Republic City. Maybe the Avatar is here… You and the Avatar are friends, right?"
"Yes… I trained him in Firebending. Sokka, is Aang in the city at the moment?"
"I think he said something about being in Omashu… King Bumi wanted to see him. Sorry, Jin… I promise I'll introduce you two someday. He's planning on coming to the Fire Nation with Katara after Omashu."
"So, tell me, Ty Lee… This school… It teaches non-benders how to defeat benders. Wouldn't that be dangerous in the hands of criminals? I mean, in Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li were the keepers of the peace, and they were all Earthbenders. That meant that they had to be able to bend to overpower riots and other such disturbances."
"Well… Why don't you look at it from the opposite perspective, Jin… I appreciate that benders who are members of law enforcement need to be able to bend. But what about benders who abuse their powers to harm non-benders. Benders have a distinct advantage in battle. Their element allows them to fight from a distance and use physical force to suppress any resistance.
"A Chi Blocker uses superior agility, speed and acrobatics to close the distance with a bender and disable them. Chi Blocking doesn't take bending away permanently. The person recovers within a day. Chi Blocking is already being taken up by several police forces around the world in order to combat Benders who would abuse their power.
"Furthermore, a police force could learn Chi Blocking, and use it to overpower just about anyone. Chi Blocking isn't just useful against benders. It can be used to paralyze someone, knock someone unconscious, block bending, cause pain. It all depends on where you hit them. Several police officers have come to my schools, asking that I teach them Chi Blocking."
"That makes sense. But aren't there other ways to overpower a Bender without taking away their main manner of combat?"
"Of course. My friend, Mai is highly skilled with projectiles, mainly shuriken and other small weapons that can fit in a pocket or on a belt. She's used those to fight benders. She wins most fights against benders. Maybe you could join our school.
"I would never encourage my students to initiate violence against someone. But I do teach them that they should always be able to defend themselves."
"Oh, no… I'm not much of a fighter…" Jin said with a laugh. Ty Lee shrugged. That doesn't matter. You don't need to hit hard. Just fast. Well, think about it."
"Okay… Thank you." Jin said, taking Zuko's hand and walking out of the school.
"Wait! Zuko!" Azula yelled. Zuko stopped and looked at Azula.
"C-could I maybe come with you? I want to apologize to Mai as well."
"I guess so. We're stopping by in Ba Sing Se first to see Uncle. I haven't gotten the chance to introduce him to Jin yet."
"What? I met your uncle? Remember when I first asked you out? Your uncle and you were working in the tea shop. He's a very funny man."
"Well… I haven't introduced you to him as my fiancée yet."
"I-I'm not… Your…"
"Jin…" Zuko said, kneeling down in front of her and opening a box with a green diamond ring in it. He wanted to get a ring for her that would match her eye color. It was traditional in the Fire Nation to use a fire diamond, one that was bright red. But this one seemed to suit Jin better.
"Will you marry me?" Zuko asked. Jin was struck dumb for a moment. She gasped, her mouth hanging open.
"Y-yes… Of course I'll marry you…" Jin whispered. Ty Lee sighed happily. Azula wrinkled her nose.
"Zuzu always was too sentimental for his own good." She said. Even though she said that, she was smiling. She was secretly happy that Zuko was happy.
"Let's go see my uncle. He'll be delighted to see you. Would you like to come with us still, Azula?" Zuko asked.
"Only if you promise you won't get all lovey dovey on the trip."
"Okay…" Zuko said with a laugh.