Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

118. Chapter 118: Toph finds out 2

Her instinctive reaction was to deny it. Her second reaction was to set the smirking girl on fire. Her next reaction was to only threaten to set her on fire, and the last was to pinpoint what she knew, or how she'd discovered it: but none of it would work, she realized, not if she wanted to keep Toph's mouth shut. Yet something else just might serve her cause, if only to ascertain the gravity of whatever Toph might have discovered…

"Just what secret should we be hiding better, exactly?" Azula asked, her dangerous glare fixed upon the earthbender.

Toph snorted and Sokka looked at Azula uneasily: would that work? Playing dumb might not pay off if the earthbender had sensed them inside Azula's room last night, despite they didn't do anything particularly compromising.

But now he thought about it, they hadn't been half as intimate as they intended to be. Maybe that meant they could fend off Toph indeed. If they were lucky–…

"Well, the fact that you make out with your Dog in your room at night isn't something I'd expect you to want everyone to find out about," said Toph, sliding a hand through her hair. Azula gritted her teeth: Sokka's hopes to fend off Toph were gone as quickly as that.

"And how would anyone hear of such blasphemy, I wonder?" she asked, her fist clenched. "Are you planning on defaming me through whatever you think you witnessed, Dirt Worm? Because if that's the case…"

"Woah, woah, woah! No need for the threatening tone" said Toph, extending her arms, showing Azula her palms. "I'm not planning on telling anyone about it, I'm just saying…!"

"You have nothing to tell anyone," Azula growled, stepping towards her. "Not the slightest thing. And if you ever dared, I'd make your life such a living hell that…!"

"Azula, stop!" Sokka said, lunging forth and standing between them. Azula's enraged eyes turned to him now. "This sort of attitude isn't going to resolve anything, alright? We have to…!"

"You have to listen to me, maybe?" Toph said, with a grimace, but she went unheard this time as well as Azula retorted to Sokka.

"To what, pray tell?! This is the last straw, for crying out loud! Do you really want me to stand here and do nothing while she threatens us, blackmails us, ruins our lives just because she sees fit to do it?! Just because she's doing Iroh's bidding, knowingly or…?"

She fell silent suddenly, her anger freezing as it changed into dread. Sokka swallowed hard.

"Azula…"

"Iroh. Shit. Shit…" she said clenching her teeth and pressing a fist to her forehead. "Blast it all!"

She waved her hand away with that, an uncontrolled spark of blue following her movement as she paced the room angrily. Toph swallowed hard where she sat, as Sokka glanced at the earthbender with narrow eyes.

"You didn't say anything to him, did you?" he asked, his voice colder than Toph had ever heard it before. "Whatever you think you sensed, you didn't…"

"Hell, no! Obviously I haven't said anything to anyone, damn it! What's with you two, seriously?" she said, huffing and shaking her head. "Don't you think that, if I'd spilled the beans on anything, you'd already be dead or about to be? And the Jewel would be… well, if things are anything like how they were with the Earth Kingdom nobility, they'd have already checked to see just how badly her purity has been damaged. So, yeah, that would be happening right now, but it's not, so why do you guys think that is?"

Azula's boiling anger and frustrations seemed to reach a halt as she glared at Toph from the corner of her eyes. Yes, that was undeniably true. If Toph had told anyone she had caught them kissing furtively, Azula still would be checked thoroughly for any signs of impurity. Said signs would be easy to find indeed, seeing how she had been very much impure by noble standards for several months now. And as for Sokka… yes, he'd certainly be on his way to his deathbed, regardless of whether Toph was making up her claims or not. Any suspicion that their relationship had reached a physical level would lead her father to put an end to Sokka's life at haste, regardless of whether those rumors were true or false.

But so far, he had given no signs of knowing the true nature of her feelings for Sokka, or vice versa. He seemed fond of Sokka to a degree, and he would have certainly warned Azula not to do anything stupid if he suspected she harbored any form of desire for her gladiator. Her father remained oblivious to it all, and his top advisors did, too. Amongst those advisors was Iroh, despite Ozai himself wished his brother weren't part of his council: if Toph had talked, Iroh surely would have run to Ozai with the tale in a matter of seconds. Azula had no doubts that Iroh would jump at the chance of ruining Azula's image and reputation if said chance had presented itself, especially after their latest run-in.

So Toph hadn't talked. For some weird reason she had caught them in potentially incriminating circumstances, yet she would merely tell them about it instead of making the most of the situation…? Azula only had a single guess as for why that was the case:

"What do you want?" she asked, breathing out slowly. Toph bit her lip and looked at her uneasily.

"Nothing that harmful," she said, shrugging. "You know, I honestly didn't come here to be that much of a blackmailing asshole. I get what's going on, I really do. I know you guys are somehow crazy about each other, I've known for ages! It's not even new for me, I mean, didn't I catch you two in the same bed back in Ba Sing Se? What I sensed last night wasn't…"

"Wasn't worse than that, no" muttered Azula, clenching her fists.

"Well then, if I didn't run to Iroh with the tale back then, why would you think I'd do it now?" she asked.

Sokka sighed. She had a point, no doubt, but it didn't put his mind at ease either way. The sinking sensation in his gut wasn't going away any time soon, that was for certain, for last night's escapade, along with most nightly escapades, had been his idea. If only he had held back, if he hadn't snuck in last night just for a chance to spend more time with Azula than they could afford… he was a fool, no doubt. His great ideas clearly were more harmful than anything at this point.

"Why were you even there to begin with?" Sokka asked, frowning. "You had no reason to stand around Azula's room…"

"I just wanted to ask her about the Slate," Toph said, sighing. "I was about to turn back when I sensed you two were kissing, but then you started talking about the Slate anyways so I figured I'd listen in! But that was when you guys noticed me, and I had to scram…"

"And you followed me home somehow?" he asked. "You'd never been here before, is that how you found this place?"

Toph nodded and bit her lip.

"I thought I'd talk to you about it, tell you not to worry, but then I thought it'd be better if I faced you two together. So, since Spicy always comes here for training, from what I hear, I thought I'd come by to talk…"

"Talk?" said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "You said you had a request. And you said you didn't come here to be 'that much of a blackmailing asshole', which means you are here to be one, either way. What is this request of yours? Why are you making one at all, if you're so nice you wouldn't possibly spill the beans about us to anyone who'd listen?"

"Hey, I really won't tell anyone!" Toph growled. "You know I wouldn't! I know you don't want to trust me and all that, but… I don't want to hurt you. You helped me when I needed you the most, so I have no reason to betray you that way!"

Azula's glare softened slightly. She let her eyes drift towards Sokka, and he returned her stare with unease. It was clear they couldn't afford anyone else knowing of their secret: far too many people did as it was. Toph was by far the riskiest of them all, too, due to her closeness with Iroh: if it was hard to trust others, it was harder yet to trust her. But she certainly sounded earnest right now… did she mean to keep the secret for real? Would she manage to do it?

"Sorry if we're too harsh, Toph, but… simply put, this is something you were better off not knowing," said Sokka, squaring his jaw. "Really, though, what do you know, anyways? It's not like…"

"Like I sensed that she was changing in front of you and you didn't even bat an eyelash?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow. Both Azula and Sokka grimaced. "Yep. That's what I thought."

"This is brilliant. Just… brilliant," said Azula, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips as Sokka sighed.

"Yeah, I get it, I'm a risk for you guys, and one you'd rather nullify as soon as possible, and I know nobody thinks I'm trustworthy these days, but…" said Toph, her sightless eyes dropping as she spoke. "But I really won't talk. I promise…"

Azula frowned. She had never seen the earthbender as vulnerable as she was right now, and that was saying something. Even in their encounter right before Zuko left she hadn't looked quite as downcast as she did right now.

"What's that supposed to mean? Nobody thinks you're trustworthy?" Azula asked, folding her arms over her chest. Toph lowered her head. "Why's that?"

"Well… Iroh's not exactly happy with me these days. Can't say I'm surprised about it," she whispered. "He knows I had something to do with why Zuko left, even if he doesn't know for sure what I did. So, he's… distant. All he ever does these days is write letters to the Earth Kingdom and keep to himself. I don't know how to be around him anymore, and I think it's because… because he probably doesn't want me around either way. He's disappointed in me, and that's not surprising, but… but it's still upsetting, you know?"

"No doubt it is," said Azula, her frown deepening. "And yet you won't use this to regain his attention? This could be your golden chance to earn some sort of twisted forgiveness from him…"

"How, by ruining your life? By getting Sokka killed?" Toph asked. "I'd get his forgiveness and then spend the rest of my life not forgiving myself for destroying you both? Sounds like a riot, Jewel: I don't want to do that, not for his attention or for any other reason. Besides, he's so busy with his letters that even if I told him, he wouldn't listen. For all we know, you two could go on ahead and make out on his desk while he's working and he'd just tell you to bugger off and let him write…"

"Why, I certainly am not going to test out your theory, so I guess we'll never know if he'll react or not," said Azula as she paced again, shaking her head.

"Either way, I'm not going to betray you two. I know we've had our clashes, but… but I still think of the two of you as my friends. As some of the only ones I have," said Toph, swallowing hard. "I don't want to lose you. So, I'm not going to blab, ever."

"If that's so, then what's with that request?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you're so unwilling to harm us…"

"I didn't think you'd believe I'd stay quiet for real," said Toph. "And see? It's clear you don't. So, I thought I could make a request, and once it's done you might actually believe I'll keep my mouth shut, eh?"

"Hard to say if I would," said Azula, her hands on her hips now. "What is it you want, then? Out with it already, Bandit."

"It's nothing that mind-boggling, Spicy," said Toph, smiling a little. "I just want to fight you."

Sokka and Azula frowned, their gazes flickering at each other again in their confusion.

"You mean… fight me in the Slate?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, we've thought it's a good idea but that depends on-…"

"What, you? No!" said Toph, grimacing. "I don't want to fight you, Dog. You were annoying enough the last time, with your stench bombs and chi-blocking… you're a pain in the ass, you know?"

"Heh, thanks. Nicest thing you've said about me," said Sokka, with a sarcastic grin. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"But if you don't mean him, then you mean…" she started, and Toph finished her sentence.

"You, Princess. You and you alone," said Toph, huffing. "I've always wanted to fight you! And we've never had a chance for it, so I thought there was no better time for it than now! But… of course, it's up to you if we do it or not. If you go for it, I won't have anything else to ask of either of you, so maybe you'll feel a little more compelled to trust me. At least, I hope so…"

"Uh… really?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "How does one thing correlate with the other…?"

"Yeah, well, maybe there's not much logic to it," said Toph, pouting. "But hey, at least that way she gets to vent all her frustrations by trying to kill me, right?"

"She wouldn't possibly…" said Sokka, but he froze upon noticing Azula was raising a curious eyebrow, a hand on her chin. "Azula?!"

"Well, honestly, I wouldn't mind having an outlet to my hardly contained rage right now," she said, with a shrug. "It could help me think more clearly afterwards."

"What the…? That's insane!" Sokka said, as Toph jumped to her feet, a blissful smile on her face.

"You really want to do it, then, Jewel?! Truly?!" she asked. Azula huffed.

"I've wanted to fight you too for some time, truth be told," she said. "At first, to take revenge for the beating you gave Sokka back in the day. Later, mostly out of curiosity. But right now, I just really want to beat you to a pulp."

"Heh, well, good luck doing that, because I'm not that easy to beat, I'll say," Toph declared, with a proud smirk. Azula scoffed.

"Right," she said, before turning to face Sokka's outraged disbelief. "What? You have any better ideas?"

"Anything's better than that!" he exclaimed. "You two might even destroy the city if you start fighting willy-nilly!"

"In case you don't realize it, the damage is already done, and there's no way to take it back: she knows about us, and we can't do anything about it," Azula told him, sounding slightly more level-headed than she had earlier. "So, unless you want to cut the Dirt Worm's tongue…"

"What?!" Toph exclaimed, horrified. Azula ignored her.

"… Or maybe kill her to ensure she won't tell anyone, what exactly do you propose we do to make sure she won't possibly expose our secret?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. At Sokka's silence she nodded. "That's right. There's nothing else to be done."

"Well… we'll have to stop taking risks, that much is clear," said Sokka, lowering his gaze. Azula sighed.

"Everything is a risk, Sokka. Even if we parted ways and planned to never meet again after this, the risks will still be there because of what we've already done."

"What I meant is I won't go to the Palace like that anymore," he said. "My days personifying Royal Guards are over for good after this."

"Huh, so that's how you did it… no wonder nobody thought it was out of place for you to be in the Palace so late at night," Toph reasoned, tapping her chin with a finger. Without any eyesight to rely on, she had sensed Sokka's presence the way she always did, failing to notice his uncharacteristic outfit.

"I'm afraid they should be over, yes," said Azula, sighing again. "But outside of that, what other course of action could we possibly take now? We can't do anything to ensure her permanent silence, so what choice do we have but to trust her blindly and hope my uncle is truly too self-involved to notice what's happening between us?"

"Well, I wouldn't say self-involved, but… he's never said he suspects anything about you two, not before Zuko left, nor afterwards," said Toph, shrugging. "He could have hidden it from me alright, but I think… I think he doesn't expect you to do anything so dangerous."

"Of course he doesn't. That's the only leverage we have," said Azula, sighing. "He must be certain that all I care about is getting the throne, and he believes I'd never indulge in any sorts of distractions…"

"That's what I am? A distraction?" said Sokka. Azula shrugged.

"In his eyes you would be," she said. "He doesn't expect me to form any bonds with people unless I have an underlying purpose for doing it and… well, he wouldn't be wrong to assume as much. All this began because I was using you, there's no point in lying about that."

"I was using you too, for that matter. It's not like you're the only person who does that sort of thing," said Sokka, looking at her skeptically.

"What's worse is he's just as bad as us," said Azula, with a curt grin. "He's just as capable of using people for his own… ends."

Azula had as good as forgotten that Toph was in the same place as them as she spoke. The earthbender wasn't pleased to hear those words, but not because she disagreed with Azula. Rather, she seemed sad.

"You think that's what he did with me?" she asked. "He just… wanted to use me?"

"Well, now…" said Sokka, swallowing hard. "We've just said it, didn't we? Our partnership started out because we were trying to use each other. We just wanted to gain certain things from our alliance, that was all there was to it. And that didn't stop us from becoming… well, friends, eventually."

"And then something a lot crazier than friends," said Toph, smiling weakly. "But I guess it is true. And I would be lying if I said I wasn't using him, too. Needing each other is a good way to start a partnership, isn't it?"

"Evidence suggests as much," said Azula, crossing her arms over her chest. Toph sighed.

"Well, whatever. It doesn't matter right now if Iroh just wants to use me or if he truly is my friend," she said. "We've got to fight, Spicy! You can blow off all the steam, and feel better about life after you've tried to set me on fire a couple of times…"

"And what if I do succeed at setting you on fire?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. "You won't run to Iroh to tell him all about Sokka and me because you're a sore loser, or would you?"

"Well, wow, that's some quality trash talk there," Toph said, smirking a little. "You really think it'd be that easy to beat me? Well, whatever. If you need to be put at ease, I promise I'll accept the outcome, no matter what it may be."

"Good. So shall I" said Azula, breathing out slowly. Yet, as much as she and Toph were of a mind when it came to this, the same wasn't true for Sokka just yet.

He still didn't appear comfortable with the situation, but she could see the resignation in his eyes. How was he supposed to stop two of the most ruthless benders he'd ever know from decking it out if they felt like it? Yet it didn't mean he had to like it, which he certainly didn't.

"I know this wasn't what we intended to do today, but…" said Azula. Sokka grimaced and shrugged.

"Eh. We were lucky that our plans have worked out relatively well lately, it couldn't last forever," he said, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. "At the very least, tell me you won't fight here. Explaining why you're fighting with her for no reason in the Capital could cause us more trouble than we can handle."

"That's perfectly fine, I'd say. As long as the Bandit is so eager to fight me that she'd agree to a little flight, we won't do it in the city," said Azula, looking at Toph with raised eyebrows. The excited semblance of the girl shifted quickly into unease.

"Uh… what? Flight? Wait a minute…" she muttered, as she made the connection most unwillingly. "Oh, no…"

"There's empty terrains in the mainland," Azula said. "There's a barren one right between two volcanoes. It's the best place for this battle, unless you'd rather forsake your request altogether?"

"I… eh," said Toph, sighing. "I'm not going to forsake anything. But just… make sure I won't fall off your dragon, okay?"

"That's up to you, naturally. One would think earthbenders would be masters at keeping their balance," said Azula, smirking as she glanced at Xin Long. The dragon hadn't left, worried about the troubles that plagued Azula: now he only waited for his rider's next move. "Shall we, then?"

Toph groaned as she made her way to Xin Long: Azula lagged behind, and so did Sokka. She sighed, approaching him and clasping his hands with hers.

"What's worrying you now?" she asked. He huffed.

"It'd be easier to answer what isn't," he said, looking at her with uncertainty. "I'm just not sure how many more things we'll have to give up until we're really safe. We've taken for granted that we're doing things right, but… what if it had been someone else and not Toph? What if it was your dad, Sideburns, or even an actual guard?"

"It wasn't," said Azula, sighing again. "And we should be grateful for that. In all fairness, nobody else has Toph's talents. The girl could be a master spy if only she could put up the proper act, I'd say. My father couldn't have sensed what we were doing inside my room, no matter what it was, because he doesn't have her abilities."

"But we still can't risk anyone else discovering this. It's been too many of them as it is," said Sokka. Azula nodded.

"You've said it, no more Palace incursions," she said. "I know you won't be at ease for a while, and I don't blame you. But beating ourselves up over our mistakes won't help, will it?"

"I guess not," he said, sighing. Azula caressed his hand with her thumb gently.

"Are you coming, then?" she asked. "Xin probably can carry the three of us… it was my uncle who was a bit too much back in Ba Sing Se."

"How could I not go?" said Sokka, with a weak grin. "I don't think I can trust the two of you to fight without tearing the world apart if you're left to your own devices."

"Well, if you do know that, please keep in mind to stay at a fair distance. Don't get caught in the crossfire… or the crossrocks, either way," she said, shrugging as she pulled him towards the garden. Despite his worries, Sokka couldn't help but snort at her pun.

"I'll try not to. And you try not to get hurt or to hurt her too badly," he said. Azula shrugged innocently.

"I can certainly pull off the former, the latter is debatable," she said, smirking as they stopped before Xin Long. Toph had yet to climb on the saddle, an uneasy grimace on her face. "Well? Are we doing this or not, Bandit?"

"Yeah, yeah, we are…" said Toph, gulping and climbing right behind Azula. "It'll be worth the ride, I hope…"

Sokka followed her on the saddle, watching with amusement through the trip as the earthbender clutched at the railings on the saddle anxiously. Xin Long flew easily, and he wasn't doing any of his reckless loops in midair, but he didn't need to act out for the young woman to be as tense as she was.

It took them around half an hour of flight to reach the place Azula had referred to. They had soared over towns and villages, a few small cities too. At a certain point Sokka thought he recognized one of the villages, and his heart sank as he wondered if it was Hui Yi. He closed his eyes and forced himself to stop thinking about it: there were certain wounds that would never be fully healed.

The terrain Azula had proposed for the combat was completely barren, devoid of any fauna or vegetation. It seemed not a single plant had grown back after several volcanic eruptions had taken place. Xin Long touched down between the two volcanoes and Azula climbed off to assess the grounds in question. Toph followed her, dropping on the warm ground and lying down across it, a smile on her face.

"It's solid ground, again…" she said, beaming. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"It certainly sounds like you were well out of your comfort zone just now, weren't you, Dirt Worm?" she asked. Toph snickered before bolting to her feet.

"That's the idea! You know, you're probably the most challenging opponent I could possibly have. I want to be out of my comfort zone! All those weaklings in the Gladiator League are just boring these days…"

"So that's why you wanted to do this so suddenly, is it?" Azula asked, as Toph climbed down the valley between the two volcanoes with a spring in her step.

"Eh, I've always wanted to do it! I just had an excuse to ask for it, at last!" she replied, beaming.

Azula shook her head as she watched her go, turning her gaze towards Sokka now. Him and Xin Long both seemed uncertain about the situation and they looked at her apprehensively as she stretched her fingers carefully.

"Stay out of reach, the two of you. In fact, stay on Xin's saddle, Sokka. If anything gets out of control, he can fly you both to safety," she said. Sokka, who had only just climbed off, looked at her in chagrin.

"Woah… just how crazy do you expect this fight to get?" he asked. "Azula…"

"I'm not holding back, Sokka. I don't think I'll have to," said Azula, with a mild smirk. "But I certainly won't have you or Xin Long hurt, so please stay out of reach."

"Azula… if she proves not to be up to the challenge, please ease up," he said, swallowing hard. "I know we've had our clashes with her, but…"

"She's our friend, yes. At the very least, she has behaved as one so far," she admitted. "So no, I won't kill her, Sokka. I'd think you'd know as much by now."

"I just don't want you to go overboard," said Sokka, scratching the back of his head. "Or her, for that matter. But while we don't know for sure if she's the best earthbender in the world, I'm pretty sure you are the best firebender, so…"

"Hey, I am the best earthbender in the world!" Toph bellowed from afar. Sokka's eyebrow twitched.

"Could you stop eavesdropping on everyone else's conversations for once, Toph?!" he shouted. Her response was the careless wave of a hand in his direction.

"Just kiss her good luck already and let us get going, can you?!" she replied. Sokka pursed his lips, wishing he wouldn't blush at Toph's words. He wasn't the only one with a red face after that, though. Azula rolled her eyes and looked at him skeptically.

"You're not going to do that, are you?" she said. Sokka huffed.

"I would if this weren't awkward enough as it is," he muttered, shaking his head. "Just… be careful. If anything happens, I'm jumping in and pushing you two apart, consequences be damned."

"You'll do what, now?" said Azula, as Sokka pouted. "You'll be facing my wrath like never before if you do, Sokka."

"I don't care," he said, pouting still. "Your safety matters more to me than my own."

Azula huffed and shook her head, pushing Sokka towards Xin Long. The dragon looked at them with uncertainty as Azula pressed Sokka against Xin's saddle.

"Do as I say, and stop being ridiculous. I have this under control," she said. Sokka sighed.

"Fine, fine," he said, climbing on the saddle again. "Good luck, Azula. I…"

"You're going to obey my every command, yes, you will," Azula cut him off, having known exactly what he was going to say. She definitely didn't want Toph to hear Sokka saying those three words right now.

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing…" he said, shaking his head but smiling a little as Xin Long took off, ferrying Sokka towards the very cusp of one of the volcanoes.

The view allowed them to watch as Azula moved towards Toph's ground level. The earthbender smiled brightly when the Princess reached her, and she continued to stretch while Azula watched her warily.

"I can barely believe we're doing this, you know?" said Toph, excitedly. "I've always wondered which one of us is stronger."

"Why, I've never really had a doubt I am, but I suppose you're not familiar with the feeling of being second-best to anyone," said Azula, smirking. "But you'll learn it for sure today, as you'll see very soon…"

"You're really cocky, you know?" said Toph, laughing. "Never met anyone who's more full of herself than I am! But that's alright, I always make the most of it when people underestimate me."

"Oh, no, Bandit. I've estimated you just as I had to," said Azula, smirking as she took up a bending stance. Toph didn't hesitate before striking her own. "And I know I'm perfectly entitled to believe myself the stronger of the two of us."

Toph would have responded again, but she sensed Azula was about to make her move. She was familiar with firebending stances, having learned about them after facing so many firebenders in the ring, but she immediately realized Azula's way of fighting was vastly different from that of everyone else she'd fought to date. The blast of fire she sent Toph's way was the testimony of it, for it was larger, hotter and more dangerous than anything she had defended against so far.

The earthbender pulled up a shield, but it wasn't as effective as they often were, even though she was bending her preferred solid earth instead of sand. The power of the Princess's fire was truly unprecedented, capable of shattering through Toph's firm defenses with a single blow…

Toph knew she had to rebuild her defenses, fast. A thicker wall of earth met the next of Azula's attacks and Toph struck out her hands, hoping to shift the earth underneath the Princess's very feet… without expecting to discover that Azula wasn't standing where she had been anymore. She couldn't sense Azula anywhere, yet she could hear the swishing sound of fire…

The Princess knew her advantages well: Toph was a powerful earthbender, but with her condition she had weak spots that could be exploited, such as attacks launched at her from midair. Azula had boosted herself upwards just after Toph executed her improved defense, and she had spun forward to cast a flaming kick, right over the earthbender's shield. Toph extended the shield right away, as soon as she guessed at what Azula meant to do.

The shield Toph bent over her head shattered easily, and forced her to rush out running before the second wave of flames could reach her. Azula made sure to use her momentum to shoot a few more fire punches after her opponent, but Toph somehow could hear the fire even if she couldn't feel just where Azula was. She wove more defensive walls against every fire blast, and Azula had no choice but to smirk approvingly as she finally landed again, one leg flexed, the other stretched out, her hands in position to help her keep her balance. Her eyes remained firmly set on where the earthbender was lurking underneath a half-torn rock, breathing heavily.

"Regretting this request yet, Dirt Worm?" Azula asked, standing upright and raising an eyebrow as she waited for her to react. Naturally, Toph responded with a bark of laughter. Azula smirked: Toph wasn't going to back down, clearly, and that was the way she hoped it would be.

"You're insane!" Toph said, tearing down the earth walls around her and beaming. "This is the best fight ever and it's only just started!"

"I hoped you'd say that," said Azula, smirking again.

It was Toph who attacked now, though, creating a potent and fast stream of earth, comprised by small but consequent blocks of earth that shifted towards Azula. But she couldn't catch her. The Princess leapt, landing briefly on one of the blocks and boosting herself upwards again. Toph cringed and formed an arch of earth right above herself to counter the potent kick of fire Azula conjured. But when the shield was gone, Azula found Toph was gone from sight.

"Underground?" she guessed immediately, smirking. Well, that made perfect sense. If she would take advantage of her ability to be airborne, Toph would do the exact opposite.

But that only prompted Azula to use both her hands and boost herself upwards with a more potent burst of fire than before. She looked down, watchful for any sign of the earthbender's hiding place…

Azula carried on hovering above ground, angling her body so she could fly with further ease. She made circular rounds, to ensure her fire wouldn't block her eyesight and prevent her from seeing the small earthbender if she finally came out of hiding.

It became clear that she wouldn't do that until Azula touched the ground again, though. Azula snorted: what would Toph's plan be, she wondered? What did she mean to do once Azula was forced to land? Sink her underground too? That was quite possibly Toph's intent, yes, but Azula wasn't going to let that happen so easily.

Sokka gritted his teeth, clutching at Xin Long's reins impatiently. The dragon seemed to be just as nervous as he was, shifting underneath him occasionally and groaning whenever Azula attacked Toph. So far, the Princess had the upper hand in the fight, indisputably, but this wasn't a regular fight. There were no real rules to control what they were doing, and that was a lot more frightening than it should be, Sokka reasoned.

When he saw Azula dropping altitude his eyes widened, and his grip on Xin Long's reins was so strong the leather started to hurt his palms. What was she doing, taunting Toph? If so, was that a wise idea?

She was lowering herself to the ground, still releasing a barrage of fire through her limbs, but it grew weaker as she slowed down. She stared down at the earth with amusement, placing her foot delicately just to sense the earth crumbling right beneath it immediately. She bolted upwards, but an unexpected burst of earth caught her by the ankle, threatening to drag her down if she didn't fight back effectively. Oh, but she planned to.

She was nowhere near the expertise level that her father had for this sort of thing, but she stopped bending for a brief moment only to overcharge a small fire blast and shoot it right towards the earth that was trying to claim her body. The explosion was so strong it sent her flying off. She heard Sokka's voice screaming her name, and she grimaced as she realized they were switching roles today: for once it wouldn't be her suffering on the sidelines while he battled against insanely dangerous enemies… yet right now the insanely dangerous fighter seemed to be Azula, and not her rival.

She tried to slow her landing with fire, but it didn't prevent her from rolling on the ground after the impact of the explosion. She breathed out slowly as she pushed herself up, swatting dirt and cinders off her armor as she glanced at the site of the explosion. She couldn't see Toph anywhere. Was she there at all? Or had she…?

The thought that her explosion might have delivered more damage to the young earthbender than intended worried Azula to an unexpected degree. She couldn't have hurt her, or worse, killed her, could she?

She swallowed hard, her throat dry as she returned to the fighting area they'd chosen. Toph had to survive, there was no way she would be finished with just–…

She couldn't finish formulating that thought before sinking waist-deep into an unexpected area of quicksand she had stepped into. Her concerns disappeared right away. This was how she wanted to play, was it? She remembered just what Toph had done to Sokka after sinking him into quicksand the first time, and she refused to let the same thing happen to her.

Taking off into the air through her bending propulsion wasn't quite as easy this time, for Toph started solidifying the earth just as Azula tried to release herself from the sand trap. The solid earth failed to hold Azula back, though: she shot out of the trap at full speed soon enough, catapulting herself into the air. She frowned as she stopped bending, studying the fighting area carefully. Toph could easily stay underground for the rest of the fight if she felt like it, no matter how cowardly that might be. What was the best way to get her out of her hiding spot? How could she force Toph's hand…?

She propelled herself again, all the way to the volcano opposite to where Sokka and Xin Long were resting. She nodded and waved at them, yet she was too far to hear whatever Sokka replied. She could sense Xin Long's relief that she was safe, but also his unease by this strange fight she'd gotten herself into. That mole-like girl had strange powers, powers that could shape the ground underneath her and even create mazes of tunnels if she pleased, just as the ones Xin Long had been living in until Azula found him…

The thought made Azula smirk. Yes, that was the answer. Toph could create those tunnels indeed, but if she meant to catch Azula, she'd be forced to make her move while the Princess waited next to a volcano, full of lava that, Azula believed, Toph couldn't possibly bend to her advantage.

"That's how she's going to smoke her out, huh?" Sokka asked, gulping as he read Azula's actions. Well, that wasn't the worst idea Azula could have had, but it would become a fight of patience at this rate. If Toph refused to leave her safety within her element and Azula retained the high ground, neither would make another move until something changed.

Azula huffed, shaking her head. Toph wasn't stupid or reckless enough to follow her up here, it was clear. So, what now? Taunting her again would only mean falling into more of her traps. The earthbender wasn't going to get out of where she was unless she had a good reason to do it. And what sort of reason could there be for her to do it?

Azula sighed and stood upright again. Whatever. She had to get Toph out of there, that was all there was to it. This wasn't the sort of fight she'd expected to hold with her, but if that was what the Bandit had chosen, Azula would respond with the necessary force.

She breathed deeply before moving her arms circularly. She saw Sokka and Xin Long recoiling from the corner of her eyes, but they didn't faze her concentration as she shot the charged bolt right to the ground, where she suspected Toph would be hiding. The thunder roared powerfully, and there was a crevice left after the electricity hit the ground too powerfully, but it wasn't enough. Or at least, that area of the grounds might have been too solid. Surely there were weaker ones not too far from there…

More lightning blasts followed, each and every one striking the area where she had last seen Toph. At this point, some portions of the earth were crumbling to reveal large gaps in the ground, no doubt the tunnels Toph had created to hide from Azula. Yet the earthbender remained nowhere to be seen. Azula smirked. She had a pretty good idea where Toph would attack from next…

She spun in a circle and kicked the massive boulder Toph had shot at her from all the way at the other side of the volcano. Indeed, when she had realized Azula meant to tear down the unstable parts of her tunnels, Toph had no choice but to flee. She had a perfect chance to strike while Azula was busy with her lightning, if the Princess failed to see the attack coming… but she had seen it coming, again. There was very little that her current rival wouldn't be prepared for, Toph realized.

"Stopped hiding at last, Bandit?" Azula asked. Toph snorted.

"You were the one who started hiding in the first place, Spicy!" she replied, covering her sensitive nose with her forearm – the smell of sulfur made her cringe. Azula laughed.

"And you're the one who thought challenging a firebender who can fly to an all-out bending battle was a good idea," said Azula. "So do tell, what did you expect me to do other than what I did?"

"Uh… lose, I guess?" said Toph, with a smirk before launching another rock at Azula.

The Princess dodged the projectile and slid down the volcano with ease. Toph came hurtling behind her soon enough, tossing rocks at Azula left and right, delighted for the chance to take a more aggressive approach to the fight. Yet the Princess was just as elusive, if not more so, as her gladiator. Still, Toph wasn't known for lacking resourcefulness.

She bent a small ditch of earth just where Azula was sliding towards. The Princess jumped to avoid it, but fell right into a new one that Toph tore up brief moments later. Her foot was caught in it, and she fell over, but to Toph's utter disbelief, Azula's arms moved circularly again and a potent and terrifying lightning blast was shot straight over Toph's head seconds later. The pressure of the earth surrounding Azula's ankle disappeared when Toph had to cover from the lightning, and it gave Azula a chance to push herself up with her hands and carry on heading downhill with further ease now.

Her hair was a mess after all these mishaps, that was for certain. She scoffed as she ran her hand through it, finding soot and dirt in it. She'd need a visit to the royal spa as soon as she returned home…

She landed again by the base of the volcano, and Toph showed up brief moments later, sweat coursing down her face as her chest heaved. Azula's defiance hadn't receded in the least, and she took up a new stance as Toph stopped before her.

"Lightning should be off the table…" she said, wiping the underside of her nose with her wristband. Azula smirked.

"Here I thought we were going all out. Must I hold back for your sake, then? A pity…" she said. Toph snickered.

"Not a chance. You're giving it your all, Spicy," she said, lifting her fists. "And so will I!"

Azula had always noticed Toph's bending style was widely different from that of other earthbenders. Not only was she faster than them, but she seemed to command the earth in a way nobody else did: she pulled forth large blocks of earth by only moving her hands in calculated, firm movements, her feet planted fully on the ground. She was efficient, that was for sure. But so was Azula.

Every rock was met with deft fire punches that destroyed them in midair, creating a cloud of dust around them that obstructed Azula's eyesight, hindering her chances to predict what Toph was going to do next. She clenched her teeth, knowing the visual interference would only affect her: Toph carried on bending, her moves faster with every new rock she launched at Azula…

The Princess had no choice but to respond through a technique she didn't quite enjoy using. It would be taxing, but it had to be done if she wanted to stop being on the defensive right now.

Toph frowned when she sensed heat exuding from where Azula stood. The way the Princess had woven her arms around herself could only mean she was performing a different attack than before, but the power of it was different from everything she'd done so far…

Sokka gasped when he saw the full shield of blue fire Azula had crafted around herself. Toph's rocks rebounded against it, as though it were made of something solid rather than flames…

"Condensed fire," Sokka whispered. It was the exact same technique the Millennium Dragon had used against him. He hadn't known Azula could use it as well, but then again, he wasn't too surprised by this discovery: there were no limits to Azula's firebending talents.

Toph cringed as the heat grew stronger: it was getting closer. She had to get out of range before that accursed solid fire reached her. She catapulted herself away from Azula with her bending, which allowed the Princess to drop her perfect fire shield as she searched the nearby grounds to find the spot where her enemy had landed. Her breathing was heavier than before: condensing flames certainly took a toll on anyone, but it had been the best way to deal with Toph's barrage of rocks. Nevertheless, Azula still had it in her to keep fighting. This wasn't going to faze her.

"Done yet?!" she called out to Toph, as the girl landed around four-hundred feet away from her.

The earthbender's response was to lift her hands and create a massive crack under Azula's feet. The Princess's eyes widened as she lost her footing, but she outstretched her fists and hovered with her fire again before taking more damage than she could risk. She glared at Toph, who was busy creating and launching spikes of earth into the air. Her accuracy wasn't the best, but it was good enough to force Azula to dodge with difficulty as the spikes soared dangerously close to her. Well, it seemed Toph was upping the game for good by now. Any missteps would be one too many for Azula at this rate: she had to fight to her very best if she meant to defeat the Blind Bandit.

She spun in midair, casting a powerful fire kick towards Toph's spikes. Destroying a set of them wasn't enough for Toph to let down her barrage of attacks, but she knew to craft a powerful defense just in case. Azula clenched her jaw as she regarded the sturdy spiky shield Toph had set up around herself. She clearly sought to be as invulnerable as she could be, forcing Azula to bide her time and wait patiently until she could strike at the earthbender… but Azula wasn't one to play her enemy's game.

Again, Azula took a page out of her father's book, crafting a charged attack with one hand as she dropped altitude, only holding herself airborne with the fire pouring out of her other hand. She cast the attack straight at the spiked shield, and the explosion was strong enough to send them both soaring away, tumbling down on the ground.

Toph got back on her feet soon enough, though, stretching her hands out and waving her fingers carefully as she wove stream atop stream of earth where she felt Azula was. The Princess punched one, kicked the next, crafted a pinwheel of fire to rid herself of the third one, but it wasn't enough. A glance at Toph revealed she had a bloody nose, along with a couple of bruises, and she didn't seem inclined towards being merciful at the moment. She was going all out, hands and legs commanding the earth in the way only a true master could.

And Azula had to commend her for that, despite she was having trouble evading her attacks. She cringed and shot herself upwards, but one of the streams caught her leg and another struck her in the chin just as she turned to break the first one. She heard Sokka crying out her name again and she grimaced, wishing she had finished the fight a little faster than this. Making Sokka worry hadn't been part of the plan…

She let herself fall, no longer resisting gravity. She had a good guess as for what Toph was planning, and she simply closed her eyes, breathed deeply and sunk directly into the quicksand that awaited below her.

"Ha!" Toph exclaimed, a wild smile on her face as she wiped her nose with her forearm.

Azula had sunk all in, a fact that was both worrisome and a matter of pride for the earthbender. Was she alright? Had she given up the fight, maybe? Well, if she had then there was nothing more to do than for Toph to proclaim her victory…

But this couldn't possibly be that simple, and indeed, a wave of heat started to radiate from the sand. Toph gulped, noticing Azula was burning the earth most powerfully… and suddenly she had shot out into the sky again, at such speed and with such power that Toph was forced to craft a ball of earth to protect herself from the pouring flames fueling Azula's flight.

The Princess filled her lungs with air again. She lowered her gaze to see the earth shield, knowing just what to do with it. Toph couldn't know where she was, not after the latest flight Azula had resorted to. There were too many flames scattered all over the mountainside, and Toph had shielded herself fully for good reason: she had no idea where the next attack would come from.

Azula launched herself downwards, spinning in the air to charge an attack at her feet. When she turned around and blasted it out towards the shield it was a barrage of fire so powerful that Toph's shield melted into lava where the fire touched it. Azula wasn't surprised to find the earthbender crawling away from it through the portion of rocks that hadn't been melted, the only area she could still bend.

"You're insane!" Toph shouted. Azula laughed as she landed, using her propelling fire to ease her descent.

"Oh, now, here I thought you were having fun," Azula said, brushing her loosening hair with a hand.

"Sure I'm having a blast, but you're still insane!" said Toph, with a bark of laughter. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"If that's the case… maybe you are, too," she said, with a smirk. Toph huffed, resting with her hands on her knees.

"This is the craziest fight I've ever been in. You're way too strong, Spicy," she said, chuckling.

"What's that, are you ready to give up yet?" Azula asked. Toph huffed.

"Not a chance, Jewel," she said, breathing out slowly. "You'll have to drag my corpse home before I ever give up, you hear me?"

"Huh, you'd certainly complain a lot less about a dragon flight if you were a corpse…" Azula reasoned. Toph snorted and cackled.

"Not happening today, Spicy. Not today," she said, stretching down her arms.

Azula watched with a confused frown as rocks started to climb over Toph's body as though by their free will. They set themselves around her, though, in a thick protective film of earth… Azula scoffed, looking at Toph in disbelief as the girl basically shifted into a golem, only leaving a small space within her earth armor's helmet so she could breathe.

"What the hell is that…?" Sokka asked, his eyes wide, his jaw dropping. Xin Long restlessly groaned underneath him, as though replying to his question somehow.

"Alright, so you've literally become the earth now, Dirt Worm?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Toph snickered. "Well, then… might as well follow your lead, huh?"

Twin streams of fire shot out around Azula's arms, shifting into whips that she slammed down on Toph's armor, but the earthbender managed to keep the rocks firmly fit around her body while bending other rocks in Azula's direction. The massive chunks of earth she was tossing Azula's way were dangerous, or would be if they had hit her, but the Princess dodged them or shattered them systematically, while always turning to strike the armored earthbender whenever she had a chance. This had to be Toph's best trick yet, one she likely had rehearsed plenty of times so she could still bend while being properly protected. A charged attack at this proximity would damage them both, and it could hurt Toph much more badly than Azula intended. So how to shatter that rocky armor off her opponent's body?

Well, there was no easy way to do this, clearly. But Azula hadn't come as far as she had in life by choosing the easy way out of everything. Efficiency was the key to success, not simplicity.

With her fists coated in fire, she lunged forward and struck Toph with a powerful punch to the chest. The rocks cracked, some of them even crumbled, but Toph managed to hold most of her armor to herself while recovering from the blow. She clenched her teeth and bent a tower of earth from under Azula's feet, but the Princess jumped sideways and avoided being launched into the air by her foe. Another tower, and Azula slid around it to punch Toph's rock helmet now.

As much as the earth armor was protecting her, there were disadvantages to it: Toph was taking worse wounds than she had anticipated whenever the rocks shattered against her skin. Fact was, she hadn't expected Azula to take this approach to fighting. Was this the hand-to-hand combat she had talked about teaching her with Sokka's help? If so, she certainly could use learning it. But right now, she could use a plan to get Azula off her hair. At this rate, Toph would be finished.

A hard stomp on the ground created another fissure in the earth beneath them, and Azula jolted upwards, still able to boost herself with fire despite her body was growing weaker, sweat spilling down her brow. Toph sank into the fissure, though, letting the earth claim her briefly before shooting out again, launched into the air with her bending after having thickened and strengthened the armor around her body. Azula grimaced, twirling in the air to change her flying direction. Toph ended up soaring through the flames Azula left in her wake, and she tossed an array of thin but deadly spikes in the direction she suspected Azula had moved towards.

Again, the Princess was forced to change her flight's direction to evade her foe's attack: her arms were trembling as she struggled to remain airborne. As much as she had built a lot of stamina through Sokka's training, she hadn't faced a fight like this ever before. Flying with fire already took a lot more efforts than many bending techniques did: doing it frequently was impossible to sustain, especially when she had resorted to condensed flames through the fight, too. And maybe Toph had realized as much, since she would know bending was no effortless task.

Azula almost crash-landed on the mountainside of the volcano. She turned around and weaved another spherical shield of flames around herself, both to ease her crash and to defend from the rocks that Toph had sent chasing after her. She held up the shield of condensed fire for a moment too long, doing so until the threat of Toph's spikes was over for good measure. As soon Toph's earth had shattered against her fire, Azula took down the flames only to wave her arms circularly and shoot a blast of lightning in Toph's direction.

The armored earthbender was shaken by the electric charge, yet it caught the earth attached to Toph and flowed right back into the ground, without delivering nearly as much damage as it could have. Toph huffed and launched herself forward, cutting some of the distance between them as she reached the bottom of the volcano, right below where Azula was breathing heavily, staring at her from above.

"Didn't work out so well, eh? Your lightning!" Toph cried out. Azula snorted.

"Worked well enough. Your armor's crumbling, Bandit," the Princess replied.

To Toph's chagrin, Azula was right: whether because of some side effect of the electric charge, or simply because the earthbender had loosened her command of the rocks around her body, they were dropping around her. Her near-invulnerable defense was gone now.

Toph was covered in dirt from head to toes, something she rather enjoyed, but she was sporting more bruises and cuts than she had received from any other fights up to date. Her chest was heaving too, and it became apparent that the two of them were rather tired as it was. The relentless sun above had weakened, and the sky was tinged with an orange glow: the fight had dragged on far too long, and the two of them were rightfully exhausted.

"You can save us up the bother… and just give up already," said Azula, at which Toph snorted.

"Maybe you're the one who ought to do that, Spicy," she said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. The dry blood that clung to it, and to her upper lip, was slightly uncomfortable.

"By all means, you're in worse shape than I am," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. Toph snorted.

"You're way more worn out than me! So, for that matter, you're the one who should give in!"

Azula couldn't help but laugh at that, and Toph joined her with her own laughter, the two of them struggling to keep their footing and strength while not lowering their guards in the slightest.

"Either way, we can't hold this forever," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. Toph sighed.

"Guess not, eh?" she said. "Well, get down here then. Let's settle this, without you flying or me going underground, okay? Whoever lands the stronger blow next takes it all…"

"I suppose that should be better than fighting until we pass out," said Azula. Toph snickered.

The Princess boosted herself with fire again as she made her way to Toph's level. She landed and immediately took up a bending stance, as firm as she could allow herself to be. She was worn out, but she was sure she was in better shape than Toph, even now. At the very least she hadn't sustained any noteworthy injuries…

"Your boys are getting all fussy up there, you know?" said Toph, smirking. Azula's gaze flickered towards where Xin Long and Sokka waited, staring down at them anxiously.

"Seems like it," she said, with a weak smile. "I suppose it was about time he learned what I feel like when he's fighting."

"So, wait, you're saying you're the underdog with next to no chances for victory?" Toph asked, chuckling. "Because I thought that's what would make you anxious when watching him fight…"

"You certainly misunderstand, Dirt Worm," said Azula, breathing out slowly through her mouth. "One would think that after all the damage you've taken, you'd know better than to think I'm the underdog…"

Toph swallowed hard, but she smiled regardless. She lifted her hands and strengthened her stance.

"Fight's not over until it's over, Jewel," she said. "Let's see who's really the underdog around here, shall we?"

Azula breathed deeply again and stared as Toph stood firmly in place. With this, the fight would be over. She couldn't risk failing right now, not after all she'd already accomplished. She breathed again, allowing the air to rinse her lungs, to fill her with power. Toph's stance remained unchanged: it would be up to Azula to attack, clearly.

And so, she did.

As soon as her feet left the ground, Toph conjured another of her earth streams, the strongest one yet. But instead of launching herself into the air for good, Azula had kept her word and commanded her blue fire to rise in a stream of potent fire of her own, launched through her feet.

The two powerful bending blasts crashed together in a cloud of smoke and dust, making it impossible for Sokka and Xin Long to see what was happening. But the two girls didn't wait around for the smoke and dust to clear away: Toph crafted a powerful, large glove of earth around her hand and launched herself towards Azula with help of her earthbending. The Princess heard the sound, hardly making out Toph's outline through the cloud surrounding them, but she lifted a fist covered in condensed fire regardless…

The two fists collided in another explosion, and all visibility was blurred completely. The chaotic mountainsides finally settled into calm and serenity, with no more fire or earthbending to disturb its usual peace…

But a loud cry tore through the silence as a dragon dashed downhill as quickly as possible.

"Azula! AZULA!" Sokka shouted, clutching Xin Long's reins desperately as they tore through the cloud of dust and smoke…

They found both girls lying on the ground, clutching their hands and groaning in pain. Sokka jumped off the saddle, rushing up to the Princess while waving away the smoke and dust with difficulty.

"Azula!" he cried out. She coughed and smiled weakly, almost apologetically.

"I… won," she said. Toph scoffed next to her.

"You WHAT?!" she cried out, before cringing. "Y-you burned me alright, but you didn't win!"

"I… I hit you way more often than you hit me. A sprained wrist doesn't… doesn't change that," said Azula, clasping her hand against her chest. Sokka looked at her in worry, reaching to touch her injury.

"Azula… is it really a sprain? It could be worse than that, let me have a look…" he said. Toph groaned.

"Yeah, I'm fine too, thanks for asking, Dog," she snorted, sitting up and flinching. The skin on her forearm was bright red.

"Should've brought your own dog if you wanted someone to worry about you…" said Azula, with a malicious smirk as Sokka helped her sit up. Toph actually laughed.

"Not the worst idea, but I don't really have one…" she said, breathing slowly. Her wound was raw and painful, enough that she couldn't be as snarky as she liked.

"This could be worse than a sprain, but I can't be sure," Sokka muttered, biting his lip as he examined Azula's wrist carefully. "We should head back right away. Song should have a look at you…"

"She won't be home for hours," said Azula, sighing. "I'd have more luck with the Palace physicians… well, we both would, but then we'd have to explain what happened…"

"I can start tending to you both even if Song's not there," said Sokka, swallowing hard. "So, come on. Let's get out of here."

"Alright, alright…" said Azula, as he helped her to her feet.

Sokka helped Azula climb Xin Long, and afterwards did the same for Toph. Xin glanced at Azula worriedly, and she patted his head with her uninjured hand.

"I'm fine, Xin… I'm fine," she said. The dragon genuinely whimpered as he twisted his head around to press his nose to her forehead.

The flight was faster than before, since Xin Long was eager to bring Azula to safety and ensure her full recovery. The Princess, on the other hand, was a little more relaxed than she thought she'd be despite how badly her wrist ached. Hadn't Toph been seating between them, she would have gladly relaxed against Sokka's body and drifted into a short nap right then and there. Oddly enough, Toph's unexpected request for a fight had indeed been more helpful than Azula had thought it could be: sure, the earthbender knew about their relationship, but after the most intense fight she'd had in a very long time, Azula somehow felt better about life than she had for days.

Upon arriving at the empty house, Sokka rushed to get Song's medicine kit while Azula and Toph sat on the couch, still arguing over who had won and who had lost. The non-bender could only roll his eyes over their debate as he sat on the small table before the couch to take care of their injuries. He applied the healing ointment for burns that Song often used on him on Toph's wound, for at least he knew how to treat it. Azula's sprain worried him the most, if it was a sprain at all.

"I mean, you punched a solid rock," Sokka said, as he held her wrist again in his hands, while Toph relaxed on her side of the couch. "It's not easy to assess the damage you took…"

"Well, the bone isn't protruding through my skin, so it's not that much worse, likely," said Azula, sighing. "It's not that bad, Sokka, honestly…"

"You might need splints or something… though I guess the bone doesn't seem to be broken or out of place," he said, after carefully touching her bruising wrist. "Damn, I'm no good at this…"

"I'll heal itself in due time," said Azula. "Leave it be…"

"At the very least I should bandage it," he said, reaching for bandages in the medicine kit "Not the first time I do that for your hand, huh?"

"Weird how I always end up with injured hands, all things considered," Azula whispered. "I wonder if I'll ever hurt another part of my body, eh…?"

"I hope you never do, personally," said Sokka, an eyebrow twitching. "Your fight just now was completely unnecessary, in case you forgot, and now you're even injured…"

"Ah, but it did help me feel better about things, somehow," said Azula, with a slow smirk. "Beating an earthbender to a pulp can do that to you…"

"You did not!" Toph retorted, as Azula laughed under her breath. "I broke your wrist, I won!"

"You didn't break anything, Bandit. Quit being ridiculous," said Azula, relaxing against the backrest of the couch while Sokka bandaged her injured wrist.

"Well, I sure broke him either way," said Toph, smirking. Sokka glared at her. "Seems like no matter which one of you I fight, the one who ends up freaking out and in worse shape is always you, eh, Dog?"

"Way to thank me for tending to your wound, you know?" he said, shaking his head. "Really, so ungrateful…"

"So rude, too," said Azula, glancing at Toph. "But that's just what she's always been like, isn't that right?"

"Yep!" said Toph, proudly. Sokka sighed and shook his head, but he smiled a little.

"Well, whatever. At least I hope we've put your urges to beat each other up in the past after this," he said, looking at them both meaningfully. "Or have we?"

"I suppose, for a brief time," said Azula, shrugging. "For all I know, we might just end up beating each other up again in a couple of weeks…"

"Hehe, that'd be fun," said Toph, beaming. Sokka sighed.

"You two are unstoppable, aren't you?" he asked. Toph snickered.

"So are you, in the sense that you can't seem to stop worrying," said Azula, smiling at him. "Relax, Sokka. It's over now."

"I would stop if you two wouldn't give me so many reasons to worry," he said, pouting. Azula laughed softly.

"You're hopeless," she said. Sokka smiled a little, despite his concerns.

"So are you, Princess," he said. His thumb stroked her bandaged wrist gently. "Because, honestly, how is anything better than it was before you two fought like that?"

"It's fairly simple, Sokka," said Azula. "Now she knows for sure that I can blow her head up with lightning whenever I please, so she won't reveal us anytime soon…"

"Ha! I'd encase you in solid rock long before you could even start waving your arms around…!"

"Like you'd have a chance to do that if I'm airborne…"

"This is how all conversations will go between you two from now on, isn't it?" Sokka asked, with a small smile. Azula shrugged and Toph laughed.

"Might be. Don't be such a killjoy, Dog…" she said, waving a hand carelessly. Sokka smiled and shook his head. "And I know you guys don't trust me yet, but that's okay. I know I won't betray you guys, so maybe you'll see that too eventually…"

"It's probably not a matter of trust," said Sokka. "At least, not just about that. Thing is that, if you keep quiet, and we ever go down…"

"Then you'll drag me down with you?" Toph asked. Azula shook her head.

"You'd stay safe if nobody discovers you knew, I suppose," she said. "But it's still a risk if someone realizes you were aware of it and kept quiet. You would have been better off being able to deny all knowledge believably than lying about it, but since you know about us now, that's not possible anymore."

"I guess… but still, it won't come to that," said Toph, shrugging. "You said you're going to be less reckless, and even if you kept being reckless, I doubt you'd be in that much trouble. I mean, how long have you been up to this? How many times has he snuck into your room and I only noticed now, eh?"

"A few, I suppose," said Azula, nodding. Toph smiled.

"Nobody else in that Palace is like me, and you kept me in the dark for who knows how long… though I'll say I did always know you'd end up like this. I was onto you two ages ago, hehe…"

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," said Sokka, with a dry grin. Azula sighed.

"And you're sure Iroh never suspected anything? He seriously said nothing about us?" she asked. Toph shook her head.

"Not a thing. If he ever thought you two were too close or whatever, he never told me," she said. Azula frowned.

"We can't assume he doesn't suspect it, though," she said. "We'll have to make sure he can't confirm any such potential suspicions…"

"How are you expecting to explain Toph's state, though?" Sokka asked, frowning. Azula raised an eyebrow. "She's never been banged up like this before…"

"Lying is a fine art, but the most important part of it is knowing when to lie and when not to," said Azula. "Toph has wanted to fight me for ages, all she needs to do is claim I finally relented. She can even say it was a rare display of kindness on my part by helping her start training for the Slate…"

"I guess he wouldn't think that's so weird," said Toph, nodding. "He knows I like you guys, so if he asks at all, all I have to do is avoid mentioning what I know about your relationship. As you said, Dog, there's not much correlation between both things, is there? I can say I dropped by to see Spicy last night, and you agreed to fight with me at those volcanoes, so I'd start getting used to the environment of the Slate!"

"That's a thought," said Azula. "A good way to lie about this is by not giving it any importance. Try to feel as though it's an afterthought, something you can forget just as easily as you'd forget what your breakfast was four days ago."

"Heh, I actually forgot that already," said Toph, snickering. "I get you, I get you. The less I think about it, the less likely I am to give anything away. Also, I did catch you two in bed ages ago and never told Iroh about it, so if that never came up, why would this?"

"True… say, why didn't you assume we were already together by then?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You were telling the truth when you told me you hadn't gotten too far with her," said Toph, smiling. Azula's gaze flickered towards Sokka, who blushed. "I could tell that whatever was going on back then was just… unstable or uncertain, either way, it wasn't what it was yesterday. It's still obvious you can't wait to tear each other's clothes off, like always, but now it just feels different, you know? Like you're way more relaxed and less desperate about it…"

"You can stop elaborating, Bandit," said Azula, her eyebrow twitching. Toph giggled. "It's bad enough that you figured us out, it's only worse if you say that sort of stuff."

"No need to worry, Spicy, as I said, I want no murky details," she said, waving a hand carelessly. "Whatever insane stuff you get up to with each other would likely make me sick. So save it."

"Save it? I wasn't going to say a single word about it, to begin with," said Azula. Toph chuckled. "But I'll admit I'm relieved you don't want to hear it, for starters."

"In any case, I'm sure you remember I owed you big time for Ba Sing Se, so this is clearly how I repay you both," said Toph, stretching. "I'd have no right to call myself your friend if I didn't keep my silence. Especially when it feels like you're the only friends I have left, to boot…"

"You mean because of how Iroh's been acting?" Sokka asked, frowning. "Is it really that bad?"

"Heh… I don't know, honestly," said Toph, sighing. "Thing is… you two have been fighting ever since you first laid eyes on each other, haven't you?"

Azula's eyes met Sokka's, and they smiled weakly in agreement. The lack of a negative response told Toph all she needed to know, despite not having witnessed the non-verbal exchange between them.

"Thought so," said Toph. The pair beside her laughed softly. "I used to think that made your partnership way more unstable than mine with Iroh… but I guess I was wrong."

"What do you mean?" Azula asked. Toph sighed.

"I just… don't really know how to be around him anymore," she said, biting her lip. "Whether he blames me fully or not, he's shut away from me. And I'm not that surprised, but it still hurts and… and I still don't know how to approach him. I mean, the Gladiator League was never something he took half as seriously as I did, so I'm just wondering if it even matters at all to him anymore. He was ready to leave me behind and run off with Zuko, so… so I guess the Gladiator League really is an afterthought for him. And I may have ruined our friendship because of what I said to Zuko, but by now I'm wondering… if we were really friends at all. What if it's true, what you said earlier? What if all along he just wanted to use me?"

Azula frowned, squaring her jaw. Again, she glanced at Sokka, who looked as troubled as she was.

"I can't speak for my Uncle, Toph, but… I'd think you can't have the partnership you two had if there's nothing solid in the bond between the people involved," said Azula. "As much as it may not be a perfect relationship, you trusted him with your life and your secrets. And he… well, he cared enough about you to fight the Dai Li back then, didn't he?"

"Maybe, but so much has changed since then," Toph muttered. "We'd never had a single fight back then, we always seemed to agree on everything, until now. It could be that whatever we used to be, we're not that anymore. Whatever his goal was by sponsoring me, it doesn't seem to matter to him by now. And while you two are always working together to overcome your new challenges, and you manage to make it through all your arguments somehow, he… well, he hardly spoke to me about the Slate yesterday. He just told me we'd discuss it later, and the next thing I knew he'd already turned in for the night. So…"

"Might be he doesn't know how to handle it yet," said Sokka, frowning. "The Slate is pretty complicated, mind you… he might want to think of a strategy for your fight there."

"Shouldn't we figure out that sort of strategy together, though?" said Toph. "If he just talked to me… if he really cared, we could be ready to face my first real challenge as a gladiator in no time. I have six months to prepare for it, and it sounds like a lot, but I'll be fighting in a lava and metal pit, won't I? It's going to be insane, and I… I need all his support. I need to learn new fighting styles, I need to know who we'll be fighting, too… but I'm not sure he takes it as seriously as I do. And… and that's unfair, you know? I mean… we used to understand each other so well before this, but now he's like a stranger even though I know him as well as I do. It's stuff like this why… why people think you two make a better sponsor and gladiator combination than we do."

"You mean because Azula and I have the same goals?" Sokka asked. Toph shook her head.

"You two have learned to understand each other somehow. You started out badly, but you've always been on the rise. Me and Iroh, though… we had it easy all along because I was as good as unbeatable, and he could sponsor me without making any efforts. But now I'll face the first serious challenge of my gladiator career, and I just keep thinking he's going to ditch me at any given moment. He might think that wasting his time with the Gladiator League is what drove Zuko away from him…"

"If my uncle can't accept my brother's decisions for what they are, he certainly needs to open his eyes to reality," said Azula. "Zuko always kept waiting for everyone to tell him what to do because whenever he decided anything by himself, it wouldn't pay off. At long damn last he's being independent and trying to find his own path, but since it's not the one Iroh wanted him to find, my uncle can't accept it. He just tells himself Zuko was manipulated by me, or my father, or anyone who had something to gain from his absence. I don't think he'll have any cause to blame the Gladiator League for it."

"But either way, if Iroh can't hold his own and carry on sponsoring you as he should, then you'd deserve a better sponsor, Toph," said Sokka, crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe Iroh did join the League without knowing what he was getting into."

"Oh, I'm sure he knew," said Azula, sighing. "But he refused to take it seriously. Still… if he messes up now, and refuses to help you train for the Slate, let us know. Regardless of who you choose as your opponent, the arena is practically another enemy to train against. You have to prepare to fight in those circumstances."

"Sounds scary," said Toph, with a weak smile. "But… thanks, guys. I was pretty surprised you'd be talking about me yesterday, too. I know I shouldn't have eavesdropped, it's a pretty bad habit, I guess… but I didn't expect you two to be worried about how I'd fare in the Slate. Whether Iroh wants to ditch me or not, I'm glad I have you two."

"And you always will," said Sokka, with a grin.

"Well, so long as you manage to keep your mouth shut, of course," said Azula, with a smirk of her own. Toph smiled.

"I'll do my best, I promise," she said, just as the front door swung open.

Song blinked in confusion once she caught sight of the three people in the living room. Not only was it strange to see the Princess injured, but it was stranger yet to see her covered in filth… the girl beside her was in worse shape yet, and the weirdest part was that Sokka was the only one who seemed to be completely unharmed. That was a first.

"Uh… what happened here?" she asked. Sokka smiled awkwardly.

"Well… it's a long story," he said. Song only smiled back.

She inspected Sokka's work on the two girls' injuries, and she confirmed Azula's suspicions that her bone wasn't broken at all – which naturally made her sneer at Sokka, who blushed and retorted he had been worried about her. In due time, both Azula and Toph should make full recoveries from their wounds. By then, dusk was already falling on the Capital and it was time for the two benders to return to the Palace.

"I'm only taking you up on your offer to ride your dragon again because I'm seriously that tired, Spicy," said Toph, walking with difficulty to the porch. Xin Long awaited there, eyeing them with less anxiety and uncertainty than before.

Azula made to follow, but she stopped by the threshold that led outside and glanced at Sokka. He moved towards her, swallowing hard, and Toph snorted when she realized Azula hadn't joined her in the garden.

"Don't worry, it's fine if you want to have your lovey-dovey kiss goodnight or whatever it is you weirdos do! I can wait out here all night if I must!" she said. Azula rolled her eyes.

"The sarcasm is well appreciated, but I'm afraid it's getting ignored," she said. Toph chuckled. "Lay off. I'll be there in a moment."

"Are they always like this, eh?" Toph asked Xin Long. The dragon huffed and waved his head up and down enthusiastically. She laughed. "I feel bad for you, really. Putting up with them all the time…"

Sokka was the one who rolled his eyes now as he supported himself on the threshold with his forearm. He focused on Azula afterwards, though, all thoughts of Xin Long and Toph slipping his mind.

"Sorry about today," Azula said, sighing. "It's not the way I expected things to go, but…"

"Could have been worse, could have been better," Sokka said, smiling and shrugging. "At the very least it seems we've handled yet another hazard to our relationship, huh?"

"I do hope it's the last one, but I won't hold my breath," said Azula, swallowing hard. "I suppose it was a wake-up call, so we'd better start being truly cautious."

"Yeah. We can do that," said Sokka, with a gentle smile. He lifted a hand to caress her cheek. "We know I won't bother you at the Palace anymore, so that's one less risk to worry about…"

"I guess… though I'd be lying if I said I won't miss it," said Azula, with a sad smile. "I know just how reckless it is, but…"

"We can adapt to the situation," said Sokka, leaning close, his forehead against hers. "And we will. This isn't the end, or anywhere near the end: we can handle this. As she said, if it took her like… what, five months to catch us? Then clearly we're not doing our job that badly, are we?"

"That's one way to look at it, but we can't get complacent," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "Nobody else must find us by now. We just need to resist the temptation to be utterly ridiculous in dangerous circumstances, right?"

"Right," said Sokka, laughing. "I know it's not going to be easy…"

"Especially not for you," Azula pointed out. He only laughed harder.

"Indeed," he agreed, hugging her close. "But we'll get through this. We always do, don't we?"

"Yeah. Against all odds, and sense, and logic…" she said, with a smirk. "Somehow, we always overcome everything that gets in our way. Who knew we could be this persistent, huh?"

"We really are," said Sokka, kissing the top of her head. "And I can't say I'd want us to be any less persistent, Princess. I'm quite happy as we are."

"So am I," Azula said, pulling away only slightly so she could kiss him.

It was remarkable that the simple touch between their lips was enough to make everything better. The pain on her wrist seemed to disappear, and all her worries were dispelled if only briefly. For him as well, all thoughts of being discovered dissolved in thin air. He had missed the feel of her lips on his, even though they hadn't gone that long without kissing. But spending an entire day around her and not having any chances to do this certainly felt like a waste: fortunately, they were making amends for it now, as she leaned into his body to kiss him deeply.

"It's going to take forever, isn't it, dragon?" Toph asked, sighing dramatically.

Xin Long laughed, informing Azula through their bond that her friend was growing impatient. Azula groaned.

"You've got to go," said Sokka, smiling a little as they parted. "Will you come over tomorrow, or…?"

"I have to see the Head Sage at some point," Azula said, sighing. "I can't say I'm looking forward to it, but…"

"But you have to do it, Crown Princess," said Sokka, his smile growing sadder. "Got it. I hope that goes well…"

"So do I," said Azula. "As soon as that's done, I'll come here right away. I promise."

"Hooray," Sokka said, with a playful laugh before hugging her again. "Don't rush it for me, though. You can leave me waiting if you must. Can't make me your top priority or it'll look weird, remember?"

"But I don't want to leave you waiting," said Azula, burying her face in his shoulder before sighing one last time. "Oh, well. I'll try to deal with it quickly enough. I'll see you tomorrow for sure."

"I love you," said Sokka, still hugging her close. Azula's cheeks flushed and she patted his cheek.

"Yes, yes you do. Very well, then, good night," she said, pulling away. Sokka blinked blankly, left standing where he was with his arms spread and his face contorted in a confused grimace.

"What the heck…?" he said, having expected the usual answer from Azula, but when he heard Toph snort and laugh he realized why the Princess hadn't given it, to begin with.

"You're brutal, Spicy! You left your poor Dog hanging like that, that's not very nice," she teased Azula, who merely flicked Toph's forehead.

"Sure thing you don't want to eavesdrop on others anymore, huh?" she said, through gritted teeth. "Bad habit my ass, you love doing it."

"Bad habits die hard!" said Toph, chuckling as Xin lowered his body to let them climb on him.

Azula glanced back at Sokka, who was smiling again but looking at her with a crooked eyebrow. An apologetic smile from the Princess softened the gladiator's expression, and she nodded in his direction just before Xin Long took off.

Sokka watched them leave, and he remained where he stood even after they were gone. He heard Song's footsteps approaching and he grinned weakly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He sighed.

"I'd like to say I am…" he said. "But I'm feeling slightly desperate right now. Say… how good are the chances for me to impersonate a Fire Nation highborn nobleman so I can marry her?"

"Uh… pretty bad, actually," said Song, grimacing. Sokka snorted and smiled weakly.

"Thought so," he said. "Had to ask either way…"

"You want to marry her, then?" Song asked, with a tender smile. "You're way too crazy about her, aren't you?"

"Beyond my control, I guess," said Sokka, smiling too. "All I want is to be with her without fearing we'll step face-first into a trap at every corner we take. But I did fall for the one woman who could never have a normal relationship with a guy like me, didn't I?"

Song sighed and shrugged, dropping her hand. Sokka smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry, shouldn't vent to you like that. I know I shouldn't be such miserable company…" he said. Song smiled again.

"You just need food, is all," she said. Sokka's eyes widened with interest.

"Actually… that's a pretty good idea," he conceded. Song laughed and ushered him to follow her into the kitchen. Maybe having food in his stomach would help him push aside his frustrations for the time being…

---

Toph and Azula parted ways when the Princess headed to the royal spa, hoping to clean up thoroughly. Clearly, the earthbender wouldn't follow her lead: she only washed her face, cleaning up the trickle of blood that had leaked down her face, and she figured she would go to bed… but she bit her lip and thought it might be best to check on Iroh first. She always did that, no matter how strained their relationship was: if she was going to pretend nothing had changed whatsoever, she had to act as she always would. If Iroh asked about her appearance, she could easily tell him the half-truths she had already concocted earlier at Sokka's house…

She hesitated before his room, thinking this might be too risky, but she dreaded it would be riskier yet to break her routine. She took a deep breath, shook her head and pushed the door to Iroh's room open, smiling instinctively as she stepped forward into the room.

"Hey, Iroh. Sorry I didn't stop by earlier… did you make tea?" she asked, walking towards the teapot at the center of the room. She touched it, finding it was cold. Lifting it revealed it was empty. She grimaced. "I guess not, eh? Were you waiting for me, or…?"

She had sensed the old man by a desk he kept in his room, but she didn't detail him until she got no responses from him. Even nowadays he would tell her he needed quiet if she barged in too noisily, or at least greet her back if just out of force of habit. What was with his hunched over position, and the way he was trembling…?

"Iroh?" Toph asked, frowning. Well, there was no way he had followed her or something of the sort… he couldn't possibly have discovered what she was up to, could he?

She jumped as he slammed a fist on the table. This wasn't good, whatever it was. She couldn't waver, though. She couldn't hesitate. If he had any suspicion about Sokka and Azula, or if he was feeling betrayed because she had run off with them for one day…

"He's missing."

Toph froze. No… this didn't have anything to do with her, or Azula or Sokka. There was only one thing on Iroh's mind these days, or rather, one person…

"Y-you mean… Zuko?" she asked. Iroh snarled and slammed his fist on the table again.

"He's gone!" he shouted. "There's been no sign of him for weeks! Zuko is…! Zuko is…"

Toph grimaced and stepped closer upon hearing the unequivocal sound of sobs. Uncertain of how to proceed now, uncertain of what this meant for her on the long run, she knelt beside Iroh and placed a hand on his. He asked no questions about how filthy she was, or the injury on her forearm. All he did was sob in rage, his hands balled into fists, his eyes closed as tears spilled down his face.

Wherever Zuko was, Toph hoped he would send word one way or another, and not just for Iroh's sake. Right now, her sponsor was sad and broken, and she meant to be there for him while his misery consumed him… but what came next? What would he do once he was done sulking? Would he abandon everything and run off to find Zuko… or would he take his anger on those he held responsible for Zuko's departure?