She hadn't needed help in reaching Xin Long today, only some light assistance when climbing on the saddle, and she had been in high spirits for it. Yet now, as they hovered above the Grand Royal Dome, a much different expression had appeared on the Crown Princess's visage.
"There's bound to be record attendance today, huh…?" she mused, gazing at the crowded streets down below. While people weren't yet rushing desperately into the building – the fight wouldn't begin for another half hour, at least – large numbers of them had gathered outside the Dome's premises, eagerly awaiting the fight scheduled for that day.
"If it looks like there's too many people around for you to walk safely, Xin can just land on the roof and we'll go inside from above" Sokka suggested, with an easygoing grin "Might be easier this way, right?"
"Right" said Azula, biting her lip "Though it doesn't look all that crowded… well, not at the entrance anyway. And we're not headed to the stands, but to the Royal Balcony, so…"
Sokka blinked blankly, uncertain of what plagued Azula at the moment. She didn't glance back at him – not that she should have, despite she was slowly but surely regaining her neck's mobility by now, and Fei Rou had authorized her to start exercising her mended muscles –, but where she'd usually be unreadable due to her skill at hiding her emotions, the current situation appeared to suggest the exact opposite thing.
"Alright, so… I'm getting the vibe that you want to walk in as you normally would. Yet at the same time you're apprehensive about doing that" Sokka guessed. Azula grimaced and blushed lightly "Am I right about both things?"
"Maybe" she said "I just… I know my father's statement wasn't negative, and people were praying for my recovery and whatnot, but walking amongst everyone now makes me a little apprehensive. I want to, so they can know I'm fine… but at the same time I don't want to, out of fear that they might not be quite as grateful for what I did as my father wants them to be"
"Hmm…" Sokka bit his lip, lightly caressing Azula's hips as his fingers rested on either side of her body "Well, people will see Xin Long anyway… I think a few of them already have. If you want, we can land on the roof already and be done with it… if not, then we can land on the street, and if they act like assholes we can fly back up. And if they only start acting like assholes once we're off the saddle, I'll smack them while you climb on again and then we fly to the roof. And…"
"So every possible plan includes entering the Dome through the roof?" Azula smirked, finally amused again. Sokka chuckled behind her.
"It's the safest way to enter anyhow, especially while you're still recovering" he said "But if people decide to be nice instead of acting like assholes, I'll gladly escort you through them, keeping everyone at bay so they don't rush you with hugs and crying and gratitude over how you saved them all… see? There's one plan that doesn't include the roof entrance"
"Just the one, huh?" Azula whispered, biting her lip "Well… alright, then. Let's try and do that. And if anything goes wrong, the roof it is"
"Right" Sokka grinned, quickly leaning in to kiss her cheek before Xin Long descended on the street.
The closer they came to the ground, the easier it'd be for people to discern what was happening between them… so Sokka, against his better judgment, released Azula from his grip and clasped the saddle's tubes instead. Azula breathed out slowly, hoping to calm herself before the dragon landed, amidst the numerous people who appeared utterly flabbergasted about seeing the dragon in the Dome once again. It would be fine, it had to be fine… they were here to watch Toph and Combustion Man, after all, and even if she dropped by, there was no way they'd take her presence as something more important or noteworthy than the milestone battle that they'd witness within half an hour.
Yet while people scrambled out of the dragon's way in the street, they didn't merely ignore her – not that they often did, seeing as the capital's citizens usually relished in Xin Long's every appearance, for they practically revered him and made him aware of it whenever he appeared before them. The crowd's eager attention had been on them even before the dragon landed safely at the bottom of the steps that led inside the building, and it only surged further once Xin Long stood among them. Some people even dared to step closer to the Princess with bright, amazed and sometimes even tearful eyes.
"Okay, that's my cue for sure" Sokka swallowed hard, heaving himself off the saddle and landing in a small, still empty area just before Azula's admirers could fully swarm the dragon "Please, make room, I know you're excited, but…"
"It's the Princess! She's back!" exclaimed an old man.
"Oh, it is such bliss to see you safe and sound, Princess!" said a younger woman.
"I knew we had to come watch this fight today, Shou! I told you something good would come of it!" laughed one man, patting his friend on the back as he gestured at Azula.
The Princess smiled awkwardly on the saddle, gazing about herself cautiously while Sokka offered her his hand. She wasn't wearing her armor, or her hairpiece… yet no one failed to recognize her – granted, it would be hard to mistake her for anyone else when she arrived on the back of the only known dragon to mankind at the time. All eyes were on her, and as far as she could tell, there was no hostility on their faces. There was no resentment. There was only admiration, hope and faith. They had believed she would overcome the ailments she had faced, and even seeing her with her left arm in a sling didn't seem to deter most of them, despite a few gazed at her in worry, as though unwilling to believe that their beloved Princess could have sustained serious enough wounds to warrant a sling at all.
"You ready?" Sokka asked her, though his uncertainty was apparent. Azula offered him a weak smile before nodding and reaching out with her right hand, clasping his.
Sokka helped her dismount, refraining from touching her as much as he would have wanted to, if they had been in private. He smiled fondly at her once her feet were safe on the ground, and then he took to hissing at people to keep a proper distance from the Princess while walking her carefully through the steps of the Dome.
It was fortunate that most of them appeared to be reasonable, standing at least at arms' length, yet Sokka still had to call out a few, asking them to move out of the way or warning them against so much as thinking about touching the Princess he himself had touched mere moments ago. Oh, he suspected the ones he scolded for their impulsive moves to reach for Azula weren't going to be all that fond of him going forward… but he didn't care about preserving his popularity. All that mattered now was keeping Azula safe as they finally reached the last steps that led to the twin doors of the Grand Royal Dome.
Two staff members had been alerted by the fans that the Princess was approaching, it seemed, for they were ready to open the gates, offering Azula enthusiastic grins as Sokka continued to lead the way, doing his best to keep the Princess's admirers at bay. It was far more difficult once they were in the vestibule proper, though, where hundreds gathered, some in the betting line, others merely waiting for any chance to squeeze into the stands, gathered in a large cluster at the large arch that led there, just past the first staircase: many apparently had outright given up on witnessing the fight at all, choosing instead to wait in the vestibule and listen to the roars of the crowd in hopes to unravel what was happening through them.
And most of the members of that particular group suddenly shifted their attention from the impressive combat that would take place that day to the Princess and her gladiator, who kept guarding her, ensuring she could walk safely through a vestibule full of people who admired her in unrestrained amazement, or squealed happily at the sight of her, or whispered while smiling at each other…
"Okay… we're off to Shoji's desk, right?" Sokka asked, with an awkward grin, as they made their way through the vestibule "Stay close…"
"I am" Azula smiled weakly, unwilling to reach for Sokka's clothes to ensure she could retain her balance, despite she feared she might need to.
The large crowd was so puzzling she couldn't quite help but stare at it apprehensively, instead of walking amongst them with her head held high, as she usually would. So many smiling faces… and even a crying one, a middle-aged man had broken into tears excitedly over her presence, no less. Such an intense reaction for her. All those smiling faces, because of her. Until this moment she had several uncertainties regarding how she had handled her duties during her week as Fire Lord, but to be regarded by her people in this manner, to be gazed at with such admiration…
And then she was at the receiving end of a sudden, loud round of applause and excited cheering that floored her right away.
Sokka slowed to a halt, gazing about himself in surprise before glancing back at the amazed Princess. No, she definitely hadn't expected an ovation of any sort, not today or any day… and yet the people before them were cheering for her passionately, eagerly, delighted by what she had done for them, grateful for her work to keep their land and city safe. And as much as she might have intended to stay aloof as she ever was, her heart was inevitably moved by this gesture… by the implications of it, too.
Once, long ago, she had expected no one to consider her worthy of her father's favor. She had known she had to fight battles no one else did, that she had a long way to go if she ever hoped to convince his council that she deserved the role of Crown Princess, and even after earning it, she'd have to devote herself to proving she had earned it fair and square. That it was no hand-me-down, no gift-wrapped giveaway from a father who spoiled her rotten just because he could…
And she had fought indeed. She had gone the distance, time after time, expecting no acknowledgement, no approval, nothing but scowls and distrustful glares from her father's favored subjects, who might have coveted some of her glory for themselves, like Admiral Chan had, many years ago. So busy she had been, striving to prove herself… that it never occurred to her that, in the eyes of her people, she already had.
She couldn't bite back a smile, gazing around herself as she laughed lightly. This wasn't a scenario they had planned for, absolutely not. It felt like a strange culmination of so much work, so many years of protecting and standing by their partnership, strengthening it until they were the undeniable greatest combination in the League and outside it, too… and these people knew as much. Perhaps they personally preferred another gladiator, rather than the Blue Wolf. Perhaps they would bet against them the next time they joined a fight at all. But even that was no reason to hold them back from celebrating the Princess… and for that, she could only be grateful.
She demonstrated it by bowing, leaning her whole torso forward towards the public that appeared most anguished by the Princess's gesture: they were quick to fall to their knees, and the applause ceased for it, since they paid her absolute respect now. And even that brought the Princess to laugh in disbelief, turning quickly to find her partner, her faithful companion, was shining a heartfelt smile on her: his hands were together, as he had joined the clapping as well, and then he bowed with the rest of the group. Azula laughed, stepping towards him and reaching for his arm.
"Come on. This is the perfect chance to reach Shoji's counter" she smirked at him. Sokka laughed quietly as he rose again, gazing at the large group of people performing such a sincere reverence for their Crown Princess.
Despite she had said such words, Azula turned towards the crowd again, speaking loud and clearly the command that she had both enjoyed and grown weary of uttering constantly, in the last three years:
"Rise" she said, and the applause resumed shortly after enough people had returned to their full heights.
She didn't acknowledge the people with anything but smiles and very light nods, still unwilling to strain her neck with stronger movements, yet the joyful atmosphere in the Dome didn't decrease in the least for it. No one seemed to expect a grandiose speech, or any greater gestures of appreciation from their Princess: seeing her again, and knowing she was safe from deadly peril, was enough for her people to rejoice. That out of all scenarios she had pictured, the most wishful, idyllic one would be the one taking place, was rather difficult to believe for Azula as she followed Sokka all the way to a counter where a highly emotional young man sat, gazing at them with tearful eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Shoji exclaimed, almost sobbing as Azula and Sokka finally reached his desk "I mean, I knew you were recovering, Ty Lee and Haru told me so, but…! I didn't think we'd see you again for a few more months, at least!"
"I didn't think you would either, but alas… how could I possibly miss my favorite Dirt Worm's biggest fight to date?" Azula said, with a weak grin. Shoji gasped.
"Oh, yeah! I've asked if I can have someone replace me at the counter so I can watch their fight" Shoji grinned awkwardly "I really hope she makes it. I know it's not that easy, Combustion Man is such a dangerous enemy… but she's the first gladiator I feel really has a shot at beating him"
"Make sure to tell her that when she arrives" Sokka smiled "Or, uh, did you tell her already? Are they here by now?"
"Yeah, they're in a waiting room" Shoji nodded "It's such an important fight… neither side seems to have wanted to risk being late. Though it's still about twenty minutes before it starts, but anyway…! I really wanted to thank you both for your hard work to save us all, two weeks ago. Ty Lee and Haru explained what happened, somewhat, but then the Fire Lord's declaration just confirmed everything and… well, we're all in awe of the two of you! Though, uh, you weren't mentioned in the declaration, but I know you were part of it all, too…"
"Yeah, I'd rather it doesn't mention me, if anything" Sokka smiled awkwardly "My actions are, after all, in representation of my sponsor. If I did a good job at all, she should be the one credited for it"
"Oh, wow. Where's all the humility coming from, all of sudden?" Azula asked, amused. Shoji chuckled at their banter, though he stopped for a moment and blinked upon reflecting that the Princess's tone sounded strange… was she flirting with him? The gladiator's careless laugh suggested it didn't bother him if she was… "You used to be so proud, taking every achievement for yourself…"
"What? Hey, now! That's not true, we're a team! The best team there is, whether inside or outside an Arena" Sokka declared proudly. Azula laughed and turned to Shoji anew.
"Well, just out of sheer curiosity, can you tell us what position our so very extraordinary team is in, at the moment? I can't remember the last time I even looked at the Ranking…"
"Oh! Sure thing!" Shoji grinned, reaching through the large document he always kept close at hand. He didn't have to scroll far down anymore, stopping his finger seven spots short of the hundredth slot "There you are! The ninety-third gladiator, as we speak. Seventy-nine fights, sixty-nine victories… thirty-two-thousand, eight-hundred and twenty-two points!"
"That's… a lot of points" Sokka said, his eyes wide.
"And you guys gathered them faster than most people, too" Shoji chuckled "I know you aren't past the ninetieth spot yet, but don't worry. Regardless of points, you're the indisputable best non-bender in the League"
"As he should be" Azula smiled "And… how about Toph? Where's she at?"
"Ah, she did rise higher than you guys. She went overboard fighting earthbenders over the last months" Shoji grinned awkwardly as he scanned the ranking to confirm the information "To date, she's seventy-ninth and today marks her hundredth fight! Goodness, if she wins…"
"Her hundredth victory, against Combustion Man? Sounds ambitious enough for the likes of her, huh?" Sokka smiled.
"Your seventieth victory should be against someone as important as that, too" Azula teased him "But I guess we'll decide on what to do about that later, as long as I continue recovering successfully… anyway, Shoji, do you have the key for the Royal Balcony?"
"Oh, of course!" Shoji grinned, reaching through his cabinets before offering the item to Azula "I hope the fight's amazing. Have fun watching it! And again, thank you for everything you've done for all of us! Truly…!"
"It's quite alright, Shoji" Azula laughed nodding as she pocketed the key "Thank you as well. We'll see you after the fight, I suspect"
"Sure thing!" Shoji exclaimed, beaming as he watched the Princess and her gladiator walking away, side by side.
She had been smiling far more earnestly today than in any of her previous visits to the Dome, as far as Shoji could tell. He couldn't help but guess the events the Princess had been through had been nothing short of traumatic… but at the same time, he looked back on who she had been when he had first met her: she had been daunting, strategic, judgmental. She had been harsh with him on a few occasions, but as time passed, she seemed to lose the edge she'd been holding onto. She had always referred to her gladiator as his own person, acknowledging him as an equal, something that had utterly astonished Shoji from the very start… it had been the first glimpse into what a truly extraordinary woman she was. She had the power, the strength, and the drive to shape their very world… and as far as Shoji could tell, she truly ought to do so. Someone who could take an underdog such as the Blue Wolf and turn him into one of the three most feared gladiators in the entire League was, without a doubt, capable of feats of greatness that Shoji could hardly even conceive right now… but that he certainly looked forward to witnessing, just as he had relished in watching the growth of his favorite gladiator and sponsor across the years of their partnership.
Climbing the staircase didn't prove as easy as it had before: while the people seemed smart enough to clear the way so Azula could head upstairs, regardless of the many fans crowding the entrance that led to the stands, she couldn't walk at her usual pace, still tiring faster than she would have liked. She reached for Sokka's hand for support a few times, clasping his forearm upon each break before resuming the climb again: upon each stop he only whispered encouraging, reassuring words that she answered with a smile of her own.
"We'll have to be careful, now…" Azula said, almost breathless as they halted on the staircase, about three steps away from reaching the second floor, in which stood the entrance to the stands: the wild fans were definitely a danger for the Princess at the moment.
Sokka scowled before positioning himself protectively in front of Azula, and he climbed the stairs backwards, glancing constantly at the fans who attempted to push their way into the stands as violently as they could.
"Seems about right that Combustion Man's fans would be as wild and uncivilized as that, huh?" Sokka said. Azula snorted "What?"
"I've rubbed off on you a little too much" she decided, as they finally reached the second floor: Sokka was quick to direct her towards the next flight of stairs, shooting threatening glares at anyone who might approach his Princess "Calling others uncivilized…"
"Bothers you because it's your people and your culture…?" Sokka smirked teasingly. Azula laughed.
"Who said it bothers me?" she grinned "I'll agree with you, if anything. We, the Fire Nation, are utterly uncivilized"
"Oh, I'll have to track down a historian as soon as this fight is done. And not to record the fight's outcome, but to record that you ever said such words…"
"No historian would ever believe you if you told them so" Azula laughed, though her expression froze when someone bumped into Sokka.
He managed to retain his balance, without toppling over the Princess, before turning with a snarl towards the large man who had shoved him. For a moment, it seemed the man had every intention of getting into a fight with Sokka… until he realized, first of all, that the gladiator's muscles were far larger than his own. Next, he realized he wasn't moving towards the crowd but away from it, while shielding no one other than Princess Azula with his body.
"A-ah… excuse me!" he said. Sokka huffed.
"You're only excused because you hit me. Had you touched her, it would've been ultimate treason!" Sokka exclaimed dramatically. Azula rolled her eyes, laughing as the man in question froze in place "But it's alright, it's alright, the Fire Lord doesn't have to know you nearly tripped over his daughter…"
"I'm so very truly sorry! I apologize, Princess!" the man exclaimed. Azula and Sokka had walked away successfully by then, standing by the first steps of the staircase that led to the next floor.
"Don't mind my gladiator, he's just teasing you" Azula smiled at the man "Still, be more careful next time"
The man blinked a few times as his cheeks flushed upon being addressed by the Princess, more so at being addressed by her so kindly. Starstruck and confused, it took him another minute to remember he had only bumped into them at all because he was more than a little desperate for seats inside the Grand Royal Dome's stands.
By the time he finally remembered what he was supposed to be doing, Azula and Sokka had reached the landing of the next flight of the stairs: there were no wild, riled-up fans up here, for it was the floor where the sponsors' balcony was located, and at the opposite end of the building, the judges' balcony. If Shoji's knowledge was accurate, the sponsors for the upcoming fight likely weren't upstairs yet… and, as risky as he knew it might be, Sokka decided to take the opportunity to lighten Azula's load, now that it seemed no one should be within range to see them.
Azula raised an eyebrow upon sensing he had stepped closer to her… and she gasped when his arms wrapped carefully around her body, one underneath her knees, the other across her back. It was far from the first time he had carried her anywhere, and yet…
"Sokka! What are you…?! Are you mad?!" Azula chided him, urgently yet as quietly as she could.
Sokka snickered as he sped his way up the stairs. Azula clasped his shirt with her right hand, warily glancing at the third floor while dreading someone would spot them.
"Just gotta be quick, just gotta be quick…" Sokka recited as he reached the third floor, turning immediately for the stairs that led to the fourth level next.
Only when he reached the fourth floor's landing did Azula relax a little: no one was likely to be on the fourth floor, the least frequented one in the building. No matter how active she had been in the Gladiator League, the Royal Balcony remained as unused these days as it had been back when she hadn't even recruited Sokka yet.
"You… shouldn't have done that" Azula said, as Sokka moved more slowly now "What if you'd tripped over the steps while you were carrying me? I already have one useless arm, I don't need to lose the other one…"
"Nothing else is broken, Azula" Sokka smiled "I didn't drop you, just as you'd never drop me. That's how we roll"
Azula tried to stifle the smile that spread over her lips, but she failed. She pressed her head against his shoulder as Sokka finally reached the top of the fourth floor, setting Azula down carefully at last.
"I could tell it was a bit much for you after that first flight of stairs, love" Sokka whispered, wrapping an arm around her waist as he guided her to the Royal Balcony "I figured I'd give you a hand, since no one was looking"
"You could've given me some warning, at least" Azula smiled "It wasn't the worst of surprises, true, but still…"
"If I'd given you any warning you would've told me not to do it at all" Sokka smiled "You always complain so much when I carry you places…"
"Do I?" Azula smiled "And you believe me when I complain about it, really? Here I thought you were more perceptive than that"
"Oh, I am" Sokka smirked, kissing her temples as they finally reached the balcony's door "It's why I'm always willing to do it. For all your claims that you can walk on your own, and that you're not helpless, you always smile so much whenever I snatch you up in any way…"
"Damn. Such an obvious giveaway, too" Azula sighed, glancing at him with a mild pout as she raised the key towards the door.
Sokka chuckled and dared kiss her lips softly before she opened the door: Azula smiled into the gesture of affection, smooth and warm as it was, and she could only wish for more as soon as he pulled away. But it wasn't the time to continue their progress towards her recovery: Azula didn't stop smiling at Sokka as she finally slid the key into the lock and Sokka extended a hand gallantly, ushering her to enter the room first.
Neither of them was entirely used to the Royal Balcony, as regal and elegant as it might be. The cushioned seats would suit Azula quite well in these circumstances, despite the tension of the fight down below might not offer much room for relaxation. She stepped towards the nearest of them, flexing her knees carefully, and sighing in bliss once her strained legs were free to find hard-earned respite at last.
"Feeling better yet?" Sokka asked, approaching and rubbing her right shoulder gently, though only briefly: they were in plain view of the judges, even if their seats were a level below theirs.
"Somewhat, yes. I don't know how long the fight will last, but I might need to sit here for a while after it's done, too" Azula smiled sadly. Sokka nodded as he took his seat beside her.
"Once that's done we can always use the roof escape plan, too, if you don't want to go through all those masses again" Sokka suggested.
"It went far better than I expected it to, though" Azula smiled, glancing at him. Sokka chuckled and nodded "My health notwithstanding, but still…"
"Your people love you, you've seen it by now" Sokka grinned, reaching to caress her right hand with his left "And I, for one, think it's mightily deserved. No one is worthier of that kind of public acclaim than you are"
"Oh, utter nonsense" Azula smiled, closing her eyes as Sokka chuckled "You'll get that too once you step out into the Arena again. Everyone will be cheering for their favorite champion, the Blue Wolf…"
"Only because I represent their favorite royal, Crown Princess Azula, so it's you they're cheering for anyway" Sokka grinned goofily. Azula laughed, relaxing in her seat
"You're impossible" she said.
Upon opening her eyes again, she took in the scenery she had grown so used to: the large, fierce crowds roaring in acclaim of their favorite gladiators, the golden sand gleaming under the refracted brightness of the glass roof above the Arena, the metal grids still waiting to be raised to usher in the two fighters everyone was waiting to see. It was odd, Azula admitted to herself, that the Gladiator League could ever become anything comforting for anyone… and yet being able to sit here, beside Sokka, to witness today's major fight, felt like a miracle to be cherished right now. She had never expected her recovery to bring her back here so soon but she was grateful for it, nonetheless. She might not be able to cheer for Toph loudly as most her fans would – not that she would have if the situation were any better, for she still had some dignity and a reputation to protect –, but she would hope wholeheartedly for her victory all the same.
All preparations were in place: sponsors and gladiators would soon meet head-on, for a long-awaited rematch between two of the most powerful fighters within the ranking. The two waiting rooms saw the visits of staff members once it was time for the battle: Iroh released his breath and rose to his feet, rubbing his hands together as he stepped towards Toph, who hadn't taken her seat at all.
"Well… this is it, then" he said, smiling at his gladiator "Are you ready?"
"I figure?" Toph said, shrugging "I'm pretty sure I'm more ready than I've ever been"
"If so, then I can only wish you the very best of luck" Iroh said, reaching for Toph's shoulder to give it a light squeeze "We've come quite far as it is…"
"And we'll go farther yet. You know we will" Toph grinned. Iroh chuckled "We haven't come all this way just to fail when it matters most, right?"
"You, as far as I can tell, are well above failure, child" said Iroh "You're the most extraordinary earthbender I've known – and I've known quite a lot of them, too. Believe in yourself, know your strengths, your weaknesses, and rely on them all to attain victory. If someone can do that, it's you"
"Heh. I'll do my best, Iroh" Toph grinned, clasping his hand with hers "Though, before I go… I should say thanks, for all these years, Iroh. I know things got messy between us for a while, but… I never did want anyone else to be my sponsor"
"Ours is a one-of-a-kind bond, Toph" Iroh grinned, tightening his grip on her shoulder only to reel her in for an embrace.
The earthbender hesitated to return the hug at first, but she soon pressed her face to his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his torso. Despite the occasional complications in their relationship, or the many secrets they kept from each other, moments like this one seemed to chase away every doubt and uncertainty she could have had. The Race's results had suggested they weren't the greatest combination of gladiator and sponsor… but their bond had brought Toph far more strength than all her earthbending expertise had. As far as she could tell, there was no better sponsor for her than Iroh. She intended to win today for him, above all her old ambitions and wishes.
"Um… General Iroh, sir…?"
The staff member apparently had witnessed their whole exchange, which prompted both Iroh and Toph to chortle as they separated. Iroh grinned and guided Toph outside by keeping a hand on her shoulder, and he only let go once they reached the stairs: Toph wouldn't have trouble making her way to the standby room, for the staff members were already busy clearing a path in the stairs between the wild fans so she could pass through them.
"I'll be watching over you the whole time, Toph" Iroh grinned "Do your best"
"I will" Toph smiled back "I'll give you a fight to remember"
Iroh started the trek upstairs before Toph began her own to the standby room: that she held back briefly that allowed her to sense the heavy footsteps of a massive man, with one metal foot, approaching the stairs from the opposite direction. And with him, Admiral Zhao.
"Ah, Blind Bandit" Zhao called her, just as she stepped towards the stairs, keenly aware of her enemy's presence "Good luck today"
"Shouldn't you be trash-talking me?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow "You know, 'you're going down, blind brat', or 'my gladiator's going to blow you to smithereens', or…?"
"Why… that sounds rather uncivilized, doesn't it?" Zhao said, smiling a little as he made his way to the flight of stairs that went upwards.
Toph frowned, though she started her way down anyway. She heard people cheering for her, the many fans who, upon failing to secure seats within the Arena, had settled for watching her walk towards her stand-by room… while a man who towered over her followed with his unique set of heavy footsteps. Yet her mind was focused, well past the noise that would have both delighted and exasperated her, in any other circumstances: the Admiral couldn't possibly be innocent or naïve regarding the efforts needed to defeat a dangerous foe. Trash talk was but another typical factor in this business, whether between gladiators or between sponsors… dismissing it as uncivilized certainly was a move of condescendence, but it was coated with such confidence that a subtle seed of doubt had been planted in Toph's already muddled heart:
Combustion Man, silent and stoic, didn't need trash talk. This was only a routinely matter for him and his sponsor. They had no doubts that they would attain victory today.
Her fists tightened as she reached the basement's corridors, and she purposefully walked towards the right tunnel: she sensed Combustion Man choosing the opposite one. No matter how far away he walked, she could sense him, acutely aware of his presence at every moment. She gritted her teeth: whatever doubts and insecurities nestled inside her now, she refused to be downtrodden, to be dismissed, to amount to nothing but another number to add to Combustion Man's hefty victory streak and perfect record. She didn't doubt that one day she'd meet her match, and she might be overwhelmed and defeated in a battlefield… but she refused to believe that day had arrived yet. No, not yet…
They stopped at their respective grids at the same time. No matter the noise, no matter the loud heartbeats that drummed in her chest, Toph sensed him easily with her bending all the same. And she intended to continue doing so: this wasn't her first time crossing blows with the man. She knew what she had to do. She wouldn't waste a single opportunity. She couldn't lose today. She wouldn't lose today, not to him.
"Welcome all, to the most momentous fight of the Gladiator League so far!" the megaphone man began his usual narration, to stronger, chorused cheers from the stands "This challenge between two of our most notorious fighters will be one for the books! Today, a lifelong victory streak will be broken regardless of who's triumphant!"
The words once would have driven Toph's stubbornness into overdrive: she would have refused to accept losing her own victory streak… if only recent events hadn't already pushed her to feel like she already had lost it, somehow. It wasn't only the Race's results… but the outcome of the conflict from two weeks ago, too. She shuddered, closing her eyes, wishing she could still be as vain and innocent as she had been shortly before that experience…
The metal grid before her rose slowly by then. She frowned heavily, waiting for it to be fully up before striding out into the sand and sun, for all the public to see…
"The challenger is none other than the best earthbender in the League! Her prodigious skills with her element have even led her to discover further uses of her bending, such as metalbending! Will that be enough to take down the top-dog, the leader of the Ranking for as long as the League has existed?"
The opposite grid began rising as the man finished uttering that sentence. Even in the sand, Combustion Man's footsteps were heavy. It would be easy to track him down, of course it would be… which gave away that the overconfident behemoth believed his agility or lack thereof was irrelevant to his ability to win this contest. Seeing as he had gone undefeated so far, he might have had more basis to believe as much than Toph was willing to admit just yet.
"It's the clash of two forces like none other to be seen in the past! A fated encounter between the young woman who is no longer a mere upstart, and the man who has held the Gladiator League in his palm for over ten years! Today we witness history in the making, ladies and gentlemen! With a time limit of fifteen minutes, the battle between the Blind Bandit and Combustion Man will begin in three…!"
"TWO!" chorused the public, dwarfing the megaphone man's voice "ONE…!"
"START!" the man cried out, at the full strength of his lungs, so as to be heard above the noise in the ring.
There was no time to waste, no hesitation anymore: Toph immediately crafted a massive barrier that she launched at Combustion Man in a split second. The barrier only rushed around half the distance between the two fighters before it exploded, the sound near deafening. Toph grinded her teeth as she raised her hands, making the move she had actually intended on making all along: crafting a pillar underneath Combustion Man's right leg.
Combustion Man sensed the movement underneath him only an instant before his body was jolted violently by the sudden force of the pillar that attempted to throw off his balance by launching only one of his feet upwards: the rock seemed to encase his metal prosthetic, as though to keep him in place…
Another explosion, just as Toph was about to rush up the pillar: she only had a split second to craft an earthen shield that failed to protect her from the worst of the shockwave as Combustion Man broke off her trap by shattering the earth she had bent against him. Curses, she had hoped that strategy would pay off: throwing off his balance, getting rid of his leg's metal prosthetic, would have been ideal. Doing away with the hand would help vastly too, but throwing off his balance, altogether…
But that would only be helpful if Combustion Man were a normal bender, Toph realized: he didn't need to strike up stances of any sort to conjure his special brand of firebending. Shaking his stance, breaking his balance… it would work for a very small window of time before he destroyed the problem or tossed her away.
Sneaking up close to him wasn't going to prove easy this time, not when Combustion Man was, in all likelihood, well aware of what her intentions would be as consequence of having fought her directly back in Gladiator Brawl. Crippling him from his prosthetics, which served as secondary weapons, was the best course of action, and Toph was sure she wasn't the first person to think that. Had anyone even succeeded at disabling them…?
The memory of the Brawl had been pulsating quietly in her mind until one strong sensation returned to her: the sensation of that steel hand dropping on the sand, when a certain gladiator with an insanely sharp blade had achieved what, in all likelihood, no one else had until that moment.
No, no, it wasn't the time to think about that. She wasn't Sokka, and as far as she could tell, that didn't make her any lesser than him.
She had already chi-blocked this behemoth once before, and she had endured his quite literally explosive reaction to it. If she intended to do the same thing this time, she couldn't risk losing her cover the way she did that time…
So perhaps the best way to chi-block him would be by standing behind him once he reacted. In the time it'd take him to turn around towards her, he wouldn't be able to blow her up before she caught him altogether.
That had to be a good strategy, Toph decided: with the sand aiding her progress, she dashed across the ring, tossing earthen waves at Combustion Man only for him to swat them away carelessly with his right, steel hand. Toph continued to race near him, yet she wasn't fast enough to deter him from attacking: he turned his head quickly towards her, following her with his gaze. The sand was difficult to read, but Toph sensed his movement… and she leapt back just before an explosion tossed her away with its backlash once more.
She snarled as she landed again, digging a hand into the ground in the hopes of crafting a trap, of any sorts, to keep Combustion Man occupied before she could strike at him. There had to be something she could do to hinder him…
A wild idea rose in her head as she finally settled on what to do: a sinkhole spread suddenly right under Combustion Man's feet, and once he had sunk to his waist, Toph launched a rock at his head: busy as he was seeking a way to dig himself out of the sinkhole, he didn't foresee the rock's approach until it wrapped around him, with unexpected flexibility. That was as good a chance as any she'd get, right?
Excitement rushed inside her as Toph conjured another rock, one close to Combustion Man, and aimed it towards his neck… just as he reached for the rock that had wrapped around his head: he tore it off fiercely with his clawed metal hand, before turning his glare towards the earthbender once more.
And as astute as her strategy had been, there was nothing to do at that point but shield or evade, and while Toph attempted to do both things in quick succession, neither one panned out: this time there was no escape from the shockwave that launched her all the way to the edge of the ring. She crashed above one of the metal spikes by inches – fortunately, it had been twisted downwards during some other fight, serving almost as a sled of some sort on her way down to the sand again. Yet the blow of her back against the wall wasn't the kind of injuries that someone could shrug off easily: her shoulders ached, and even pushing herself upright anew seemed to take more strength than she knew how to muster right away. The whole world was shaky, strange, her perception was thrown off… and that was bad. It would already be a big problem on any given fight, but it was all the worse when facing an enemy who could blow her up if she wasn't paying attention.
Fortunately for Toph, it seemed Combustion Man was far more preoccupied at the time with digging himself out of the sinkhole: he reached for the nearest piece of furniture and heaved his weight with little trouble by using his natural, muscular left hand, regardless of having been sunken down to his waist. With his metal hand serving to support himself on more stable sand, he would be out of Toph's trap in no time.
"This is… hell, is there no way of stopping that guy?" Sokka asked, glaring down at the sand in disbelief.
"The fight's barely beginning" Azula assessed, though she wasn't reassured by how the combat had unfolded so far, either "She might find a solution still. She's a resourceful one…"
"I know, I know…" Sokka whispered "I just… I really don't like Combustion Man. I feel like he doesn't give a single crap about whoever he kills and whoever he doesn't…"
"He doesn't" Azula confirmed, biting her lip "He was, after all, an assassin before being a gladiator. I doubt Zhao ordered him to kill Toph… but if he decides that's the only way to defeat her, he might try to do so anyway. So I… am just hoping Toph is far too skilled to let him get away with that"
"She must be" Sokka nodded, biting his lip. Other earthbenders had fought Combustion Man in the past and survived: there was no way the very best of them wouldn't be able to do it too.
Toph snarled as she pushed herself up, relying on the nearby spike to do so. Yet as soon as her fingers dug into the metal, pushing it further down by sheer bending instinct, a new idea came to mind: maybe she couldn't reach Combustion Man and bend his limbs directly… but maybe she could use metalbending against him anyway.
Freeing himself from the uncomfortable trap with one final heave, Combustion Man turned towards Toph, determined to shoot her with yet another of his blasts… only to find that a large, sharp projectile was flying at him, and it wasn't a rock this time.
He barely had a chance to get out of the way. It had taken him time to grow accustomed to running and jumping with his steel prosthetic, but he had mastered the strength and skill needed for it ages ago. He might not be the nimblest of gladiators, but Combustion Man, when pressed, was no slouch: if this little girl intended to make him fight at his best, then he'd give her his best.
He leveled another explosion towards Toph, who hardly had enough time to reach for another spike on the wall and launch it at him: this stunt of hers was sure to cost her many points in the Ranking, but any number of lost points were worth it, if they happened to be the expense needed for defeating Combustion Man. The next spike, however, found itself losing its target when a well-timed explosion blasted it off its trajectory. Toph had enough time to fashion herself a metal shield with a new spike, and then she drew another to toss it at Combustion Man… but even that appeared insufficient: the behemoth drew in a sharp breath, his whole body tightened, and he released a powerful blast of flames in Toph's direction.
She had never fought an enemy like him before. She could hear those sound waves, so loud they'd silence the cries of the fierce public, regardless of which gladiator they supported. She had warning that an attack was coming even before the sound waves could be sensed… but even then, the warning was a matter of mere instants, upon hearing Combustion Man taking a deep breath that he seemed to release with his explosions. Toph wasn't sure why he needed to take that breath at all, as his bending didn't appear to be connected to katas, as was the case with every other firebender she had faced so far. Why would he breathe like that if his attacks came from his mind, somehow?
That was, however, a weakness she could exploit: if she managed to stop him from taking a breath somehow, he would, perhaps, lack the power to generate the massive explosions she had been tormented by so far. Instead of focusing so much on what else to do, maybe it was more a matter of how to time her actions, instead…
She raised her makeshift shield upon hearing his sharp intake of breath once more: the explosion didn't set off that close to Toph, and yet the effect reached her, in the form of the slowly heating shield. Toph snarled, only guessing now that this might have been a bad idea in the end… But she still waited one more moment, and then she heard him breathe…
She launched the shield towards Combustion Man, but it didn't reach him on time: it was blasted away by the explosion, and she dodged to the side in case the detonation affected her too. She had to react faster. She needed to read his breaths, each of them, there was no point in only waiting for the one he took just before attempting to blow her up…
He took one soft breath just before the sharp intake: Toph launched herself to the side, avoiding the explosion yet again. That was it, then. That was when she had to strike, with the lead-up to the full breath… Combustion Man's breathing was mostly even right until he seemed to take impulse before launching an attack. That was it. That was her chance. She focused on his regular, rhythmic breathing as she raced further, and then…
Toph kicked, and a strong stream of sand rose from the ground, right in front of Combustion Man: it broke his focus and it struck him in the stomach: he wore no armor, yet that blow hadn't been strong enough to leave him breathless. Oh, but Toph had a few ideas on how to achieve that…
Again, she rushed towards the wall, but this time it seemed Combustion Man predicted what she'd try to do: he was faster this time, taking his two breaths too quickly for Toph to fight back effectively against the upcoming explosion. She broke her race and used her bending to launch herself away just before Combustion Man's newest outburst nearly leveled the wall she had been closed to. The audience screamed, those within the area of the explosion seemed terrified, those who weren't only gazed at the large hole on the wall in wonderment… and Toph reached the other end of the ring, yanking off another spike that she fashioned into a much smaller shield.
Combustion Man shot a new explosive blast towards her, and Toph raced away from it. She was sure she wouldn't be able to dodge forever, but she needed to do so for now: she had the chance to make a move again, mid-sprint, so she kicked and, in the process, slapped a stream of sand straight into Combustion Man's face just before he could take his stronger breath. Furious, he had shot another explosive blast towards her, yet the slippery earthbender managed to run past the natural trajectory of the explosion…
She was close enough now. Just another moment…
He hadn't taken her for granted, but he certainly hadn't expected the earthbending girl to be such a hassle either. Her movements were predictable only at times, and the unpredictable ones could be, to Combustion Man's utter surprise, actually dangerous. He suspected she had wanted to use that new shield to fend off the explosions… and yet it was so small, a mere disk, where she could have crafted something that occupied a far larger area than that…
It was no shield: she meant to throw it. She would use it as a projectile, just as she had used the last one.
He drew a soft breath, and Toph, without losing a beat, screamed and launched her disk as powerfully as she could manage…
Only to find Combustion Man had jumped out of the way, without gathering the power needed for his explosive bending this time around.
Instead, he gathered it in full mid-jump, and he launched one more explosion, mercilessly, straight towards Toph as she was caught in the momentum of her own motions.
"Oh, shit…!" Sokka gasped, clasping the edge of the balcony as soon as he understood Combustion Man's intent: Azula covered her mouth with her free hand at first… and then she buried her whole face in it, once the explosion was set off right where the earthbender had been moments before.
The whole crowd fell silent: not even Combustion Man's staunchest supporters could seem to utter a sound. The fire and smoke receded slowly, and Sokka gasped when there was nothing but shifted, scorched sand where Toph had stood before: there was no sign of the earthbender. There was no way he had incinerated her so fast she was completely gone, he wasn't stupid enough to believe that… and as it turned out, neither was Combustion Man.
Azula frowned upon hearing another explosion, and then another: upon finally daring look again, she found Combustion Man was casting off his explosions violently throughout the ring, shaking the sand, and the whole building, with each of them. The excited crowd now seemed terrified, aware that Combustion Man would stop at nothing to find his foe…
"She's… underground?" Azula finally dared ask. Sokka shrugged, gritting his teeth.
"I hope so. She'd better be" he whispered, running a hand over his hair "But if she is…"
"He's going to catch her eventually" Azula said, shaking her head: another blast, and sand shot off in all directions, and not by Toph's bending "And if he does, he's going to…"
"Set her on fire or worse? I know, but… maybe she has a plan. A better one, this time…?" Sokka mumbled.
And yet it wasn't as though Toph's plans so far had been all that bad. Truthfully, she had done well, perhaps better than Sokka remembered from any of her previous performances. She was reading her enemy beyond her earthbending skills, predicting his movements, interpreting each inflection, each likely tactic he'd rely on. The problem was, however, that Combustion Man was doing the same thing: the explosive firebender was most unwilling to let the earthbender defeat him, and no matter how strong or smart a plan might be, he had likely seen through it long before it could be enacted.
How on earth could someone ever defeat him? Could it even be done? If Toph was struggling this badly when she was in her best shape, could Sokka ever hope to measure up to that behemoth? It was but a secondary concern right now, Sokka knew so, and yet it crossed his mind nonetheless: he couldn't hide the way Toph did. He couldn't craft shields from the ground or shift the spikes in the walls for such a purpose. How did anyone fight that guy? He had hoped, so far, that perhaps the rest of the gladiators Combustion Man had faced wouldn't be on the same level as Toph was… but was Toph on the same level as Combustion Man? Could she ever hope to be?
Combustion Man continued to shoot attacks seemingly at random, searching for Toph underneath the sand. Her absence so far suggested she was hiding someplace beyond Combustion Man's reach… or, perhaps, she was hiding someplace Combustion Man wouldn't shoot at, unless he wanted to risk losing his footing.
A hand shot up through the sand and clasped his metal foot. Combustion Man hesitated, only for a second, before his prosthetic was bent out of shape violently: he attempted to kick at his enemy at first, but Toph remained mostly submerged, and while her hand was squashed against the sand, she didn't stop clasping his foot, pulling at it, tearing it from the man's stump as harshly as she could…
Until Combustion Man used his left leg to jump: in the process, he left behind his prosthetic in Toph's hold.
And then he turned around in midair and shot a violent blast straight to the spot he had been standing on before.
The explosion was too close to his body for comfort, but it didn't reach him: it might have hurt his right leg if only he'd still had a full limb, but he had lost it long ago, and he had made do without it since then… only, now that he lacked his prosthetic, his landing proved much more difficult to stick, and he wound up rolling on the ground before pushing himself to a crouching position, glaring at the smoking spot where he had launched his last attack.
She had succeeded at taking one of his prosthetics, there was no point in denying that. Yet that was as far as her ambitions to defeat him would go.
The explosion had tossed aside a lot of sand, and it had left the small earthbender at its very bottom, trembling violently, no longer holding the twisted prosthetic she had managed to steal for herself. The sand had shielded her from the worst of the burns, and yet the impact of the explosion had stunned her. She couldn't hear, she couldn't feel anything… at least, anything other than the pain that clung to her strained body. Had she broken any bones? Were her wounds superficial, and yet sharply painful? She had managed to deal damage to Combustion Man, just as much damage as Sokka had in Gladiator Brawl, so surely that had to count for something…
She reached for the prosthetic again, willfully ignoring how hot it was after that explosion: she pushed it with one hand, shifting it, changing its form…
Whatever he tried to do next, she'd be ready to deliver the final blow.
Combustion Man scowled when Toph's countdown was interrupted: she wasn't unconscious yet. He crawled slowly towards the crater he had left in the ring, only to spot that girl right there, just where he had glimpsed her… yet her hand was moving. It was shifting.
It was transforming his prosthetic into a metal hammer.
He wasted no time: his sharp breath intake convinced Toph to kick at where he crouched, and he lost balance. His newest explosion was shot off upwards, hitting the solid columns of the building, and even shattering the glass roof of the dome: Toph quickly shielded herself with a coating of sand, whereas Combustion Man only managed to protect his body from the falling crystals by shrinking in his frame, using his metal hand to protect his face and torso. Even then, a few of the crystals sank in his skin, and he cursed loudly for it: his deep, dour voice seemed as potent and terrifying as his explosions, and it became clearer yet that Toph, whether intentionally or not, had pushed Combustion Man further than any other gladiator before her. The wounds he had taken now could be considered his own doing, but she didn't intend to stop inflicting damage yet, if she could help it.
She struggled to stand up: a trickle of blood over her face revealed that, in one of many impacts, she had taken a headwound. She snarled and shook her head; finding her bearings wasn't easy, but she had to try anyways.
She tried to launch herself out of the crater, but she was so groggy she could barely keep her footing on the sand stream she tried to conjure: it fell apart halfway through, and she stumbled where she was. No, no, no, she had to keep going. She was the first one to push Combustion Man this far. He had caused injuries to himself, she had to keep going, to keep pushing, to…
A hand clasped her neck and launched her through the ring: with her senses as muddled as they were, she hadn't even noticed Combustion Man had reached her.
She was flung into what was left of a pile of wooden furniture, taking harsh new wounds to her back and legs as she rolled on the sand. So much pain, slowly bursting through her body after that terrible impact: even if he had released her neck quickly, she almost felt as though Combustion Man's fingers were still clawing at her. She coughed, struggling to push herself to her feet again… but her body wouldn't respond anymore. Why wouldn't it respond? Why couldn't she set out to finish the fight the proper way? She was so close, so much closer than everyone else had been…
She had left her makeshift hammer behind. She only realized that now, only understanding then that Combustion Man's course of action was meant to part her from her newly acquired weapon. Oh, well… so be it.
She pulled herself up, stumbling as she started on her way to the wall again. She'd do it, she'd make a new hammer while she had a chance, she could do it with any of those spikes…
A sharp intake of breath.
Toph merely had an instant to wave a hand around herself, conjuring a lesser wall than she had intended: it wasn't enough to protect her from the violent explosion that caught her next.
Her body slammed into the wall, again mere inches from the nearest spike. And yet she couldn't pull up and reach for it. No… she had to, she couldn't falter now, not when the stakes were so high… this couldn't be it. This couldn't be the fight she would fall in. Her awareness of the likelihood that one day she wouldn't be strong enough to beat some enemy hadn't dimmed, not in the least… but she didn't want it to be that very day. She hadn't meant to lose, not now, not in a damn gladiator fight…
She clenched her teeth, struggling to so much as raise a hand, to reach for the metal spike beside her.
And then she heard that sharp intake of breath once again.
"The time is up!"
The words didn't quite register in Toph's mind… not until Combustion Man released that breath and no explosion accompanied it. A mild cheer ran through the stands, though it was so gentle it would seem as though there were only a hundred people, at best, in the stands, rather than the thousands who had made it incredibly difficult to walk to the stand-by room… no matter how they might have loved violence, that day's fight had been too much, even for them.
Toph breathed out slowly, trying to calm down, but the more she tried to ignore her body's frequent stings and unnatural pulsations, the more they made themselves known. She wasn't ready to endure this kind of pain, she knew as much: so many flawless victories, so few struggles, had left her ill-equipped for handling less than favorable results in her fights, on just about every level possible. She gritted her teeth, hanging her head weakly, waiting for a verdict that she knew wouldn't favor her.
No, there was no way taking Combustion Man's prosthetic leg, and having pushed him into making mistakes as serious as breaking the ceiling's glass, would be enough to award her the victory.
She didn't need to wait to hear it. She only nestled where she did, eyes closed, still drawing in those steady, slow breaths, knowing the staff members would rush in to help them both sooner than later. Once the verdict was announced, and it wouldn't be long before it was…
"After much deliberation…!" And there it was. Much deliberation, he'd said? What bullshit. It hadn't taken them over a minute… "The judges have decided to award today's victory to…"
"Combustion Man" Toph mouthed, mere instants before the judge in charge finally spoke into the megaphone:
"Combustion Man!"
The wild firebender's fans rejoiced for the news… yet it seemed even they were bothered by the manner in which their champion had attained victory this time. He had taken more wounds than ever before, and he had even put the audience itself at risk many times with his uncontrolled explosions. Some of the nobles who only relished in violence as long as it wasn't directed towards them would be likely to protest against the way the fight had unfolded, demanding compensation for whatever discomfort they had experienced in the safety of the stands, whether they supported Toph or Combustion Man himself…
The staff members rushed towards the gladiators, though they hesitated before reaching for Combustion Man to help him walk. Not only was he quite heavy, but they'd never had to touch him before. He was likely too large altogether for the only stretchers they had available, and Combustion Man had scoffed at the mere notion of climbing onto any of them: instead, he had grasped the shoulder of the nearest staff member and pushed him towards the metal grid that led to the standby room. Two more staff members rushed in to support him too, for the first guy had nearly faltered when the large gladiator had attempted to use him as a human crutch.
Three others made their way to Toph, offering her a stretcher, and as humiliating as it might have seemed to her, merely a month back, she accepted their offer without complaint this time, wincing as she climbed atop it. Just how many wounds had she taken? Just how bad was her shape? She could feel the blood that trickled down her face – also down her nose, at some point in the many impacts it seemed she had taken enough damage to break her nasal blood vessels.
It was no triumphant fight, no grand event to celebrate, whether for herself or for her foe. Never before had he been so close to defeat… to losing the winning streak he had cultivated for years. This was but a warning sign for Combustion Man, a wake-up call: either he sharpened up further, or his next fight might not be as successful as they always were.
Would it be Toph who defeated him, if they crossed blows anew? Would she get a rematch, and strike down the first person to ever defeat her?
The first person to ever defeat her… it wasn't entirely true, she knew: Azula and Sokka had defeated her in the Race just as well. And this, somehow, didn't feel quite as unsettling as that had. Maybe because she had learned a thing or two from her many mistakes after that chaotic Race… maybe because she had changed a lot after the events at the factory. She had been defeated, though. That wasn't up for contest. Her perfect streak… after defending it for years, it had come to an end.
And while pain permeated her body, as the staff members rushed her to a waiting room to see to her wounds, she realized that pain stopped short before reaching her heart: she was still alive. She still had a chance to fight again. She could rise anew, and confront Combustion Man someday, when the time was right, when she was ready. She would learn from today's mistakes, she would do better next time…
For, as much as she had spent years believing otherwise, losing once hadn't been, despite it all, the end of the world for her. She didn't feel like a failure for it, even if some corners of her mind seemed to declare that she was. She didn't think she had performed poorly, no matter if she hadn't attained victory. Was this how he often felt…? Was this what Sokka had clung to for all those years, the certainty that he could do better if he tried again? If so… it wasn't such an awful feeling. Not really.
An unexpected smile tugged weakly at the corners of her lips once she was safely carried into the stand-by room, as understanding finally dawned on her very soul: there might have been much more value to losing than she had ever wanted to believe there was.
"I… I am sorry, General" Zhao spoke awkwardly, casting wary glances at the short, stout man that sat beside him in the sponsors' balcony. He was more than used to being the winning sponsor… but not quite so used to it when his rival was none other than the Fire Lord's brother.
Iroh's head was hung, his shoulders squared. He had torn his eyes from the fight more times than ever before, called for his gladiator under his breath, tears had even surged in his eyes upon glimpsing her broken form in that crater, and later against the wall… he couldn't believe it yet. None of it made any sense. Toph was so strong, she had gone so far, delivered far more damage to Combustion Man than any other fighter had… and yet she had taken much more damage than him. How severe had it been? He barely wanted to know. He had put her up to this, fool that he was, willfully expecting that his trust and faith in his gladiator would be enough to bring her overwhelming victory… and this was what she had attained instead. Wounds, pain, and a blemish over her pristine gladiator record that she would never be able to shake off. Would she ever forgive him for setting her on this path? All be it for his foolish, pointless attempts to assert their superiority above Azula… yes, he had trusted they would defeat Combustion Man, but that even if they failed to do so, Toph would have already defeated the Blue Wolf beforehand. That even if she couldn't win against the strongest of gladiators, she'd have one more triumph, one last kick against the Blue Wolf and his sponsor's aspirations to overcome the walls that encased them in place with all their ambitions…
And now, instead, they faced the wholly opposite situation. Instead, those two were safe and sound, while Toph was broken and defeated by a man who had only taken superficial wounds, and who would merely have to waste money to buy a new prosthetic leg. The only loser in this situation was Toph, and by extension, Iroh himself… he should have just waited. He should have just waited for Azula to be ready. This fight's outcome wouldn't have hurt so badly, no matter when it had happened, if only he had. By wanting to support Toph, by wanting to encourage her to fight onwards to forget the anguish of the events from two weeks ago, by wanting to help her prove herself, for her very dreams' sake… he had failed to protect her at all. She was, in all likelihood, broken and miserable right now…
He heard Zhao rising from his seat quietly, without further words. Iroh grunted to gain his attention briefly: the Admiral glanced down at the miserable General, only for Iroh to hand him the money he owed him for the fight. Zhao was tempted briefly to reject it… but metal prosthetics didn't quite come cheap, let alone did suitable ones to replace Combustion Man's leg. He clasped the bag and Iroh rose to his feet, leaving the balcony quietly, mournfully…
"She survived, at least… it's better than many others could say for themselves" Zhao mumbled to himself, but he shook his head and made his way to the balcony's exit too, knowing he was better off keeping his thoughts to himself.
Yet he nearly bumped into Iroh when he left the balcony: the Dragon of the West had frozen cold just before reaching the stairs… his eyes set on two people standing in the landing between the next floor and theirs. Zhao was astonished to see them there, too: was Azula truly in good enough condition to walk without aid? She wasn't clinging to her gladiator, but to the stairs' handrail. And they both stared right back at Iroh… who, despite Zhao couldn't see his face right now, seemed to be livid over their very presence in the building.
"Uncle…" Azula managed to say… but her word only caused Iroh to scoff and storm towards the stairs. A spark of fire had danced in the air where he had released his breath, product of his angry reaction mere instants ago.
Azula closed her eyes and sighed, raising her hand to her forehead. Sokka, regardless of Zhao's presence, reached for her uninjured shoulder reassuringly.
"Azula…"
"Just what we needed. The bastard's going to think now that we… that we told Toph to challenge Combustion Man as some sort of trick against her" Azula said, releasing a deep breath.
"He wouldn't have to think something like that…" Sokka said, but Azula huffed.
"The reason he didn't challenge us is because I was supposedly not in any condition to come here yet, remember?" Azula said "And yet I happened to drop by as a mere spectator rather than a sponsor today. Not to mention… since when is Iroh not that eager to believe the very worst thing he can of me, huh?"
Her words gave Sokka pause… as did the awareness of being watched by Zhao: he flinched and pulled away from Azula, grimacing at the puzzled Admiral.
"Uh… congratulations. On your gladiator's victory" Sokka said. Azula, despite herself, couldn't quite echo the sentiment, no matter if she knew it would be the courteous thing to do.
"Thank you" Zhao said, nodding, though his eyes shifted towards Azula "Are you truly in any condition to visit the Dome, Princess? The last I knew, you were recovering, but…"
"We decided to test the waters by coming today. I've made substantial improvements over the last few days" Azula whispered. She had no intentions of explaining how those improvements had come about, but that she could stand where she did, and hold conversations, certainly had to speak lengths of how much she had recovered so far.
"I see" Zhao acknowledged, nodding in her direction "I'm relieved you're feeling better, then. May you continue to improve in the coming days, Princess"
"Thank you" Azula sighed, before nudging Sokka lightly to follow her down the stairs. Regardless of knowing Zhao watched them, Sokka spread an arm around Azula, without touching her, just in case she lost her balance at any point in time.
"Hopefully you'll be out of that sling quite soon" Zhao said. Azula huffed.
"Wouldn't I love that. I can handle myself well with my right hand, but…" she said, glancing down at her still recovering arm.
That being said, what discomforted her most was the wound over her shoulder, even now. Her doses of painkiller medicine were decreasing consistently now that she was improving so quickly… but the muscles over her shoulder weren't completely recovered yet. She had to make conscious efforts to move her neck as little as possible, and even then it was easy to forget about it on occasions… which always resulted in an unbearable burst of pain that shot all the way to her head whenever she tugged at the muscles when she wasn't supposed to.
Still, she wasn't about to rant to Zhao about her uncomfortable, slow recovery… not when one of her closest friends was ailed by her own set of painful wounds, merely one more floor below them. She continued onwards, followed by both Sokka and Zhao, and while her progress was slow, she still managed to continue without taking any breaks… and upon reaching the corridor that gave way to the stands, and the many waiting rooms, Azula froze in place while Sokka stepped before her: again, it was as good as a stampede, most people rushing towards the betting counter, and others running about the corridor, surely hoping to catch a glimpse of the wounded gladiators. While there was a fair amount of noise, there was something foreboding in the air too… as though everyone was aware that the fight between Toph and Combustion Man had taken a turn so dangerous they were still shaken by it, profoundly.
"Come on… I think she's this way" Sokka said, guiding Azula again while shielding her with his body as best he could. Azula followed quietly and, amidst so much noise and people, she took for granted that Zhao would have taken off to find his own gladiator too, for she no longer heard his footsteps behind them.
A small crowd had been gathered around one waiting room, easily identified as Toph's personal fan club, going by their green-and-yellow apparel, as well as the masks they wore, made in the likeness of bandit masks. Yet instead of merely being concerned about their hero's state, they appeared to be rather apprehensive, too… until they started to walk away, one by one, until only one man lingered by the door. A silver-haired man, with hands tightened into fists, who had the authority and command to send away anyone he didn't want near his gladiator at the moment.
The fans walked past Azula and Sokka without acknowledging them, no doubt disappointed that they couldn't offer Toph proper support and encouragement when she'd need it most. By the time the corridor was as good as empty, Sokka turned to Azula and shook his head. The Princess sighed, but she wasn't surprised that he would decide against checking on their friend. Not when Iroh was, without a doubt, in the worst possible mood… let alone when he might even blame them for Toph's defeat today.
They walked away too, reluctantly, knowing the outcome of that fight would bring about unwanted consequences… not knowing, despite such awareness, just how steep those consequences would turn out to be in the days to come.