Chapter 5

Azula was the best fighter in the world.

Okay, maybe not the best in the entire world. Not yet. But she was certainly the best fighter out of everyone her age. She was born to be a master, everybody knew it, and when she grew up she'd be the most powerful bender to have ever lived. Just as father had taught her, she was above all common people. Nobody was her equal.

Especially not her.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to our final round!" The announcer called, accompanied by polite applause from the audience. "To my left is a rising star, a born prodigy, through whom the blood of generations of powerful firelords flows strong. I give you… Azula!"

Enthusiastic applause broke out across the audience, and Azula allowed herself to preen slightly in their adulation. The strong did not concern themselves with the opinions of the weak, father had taught her that, but there was no harm in accepting praise when it was well deserved.

"And to my right is the underdog nobody saw coming, who's danced through all her competition thus far like a pixie. I give you… Tanya!"

To Azula's ears, the applause the blonde girl received was just as loud as her own, and a spike of rage jolted through her veins. Today was supposed to be her big day: the day she proved to everyone that she was the rising star of the future.

She had made a point in each and every round to demonstrate how superior she was in any and every way possible.

Yet this peasant girl, Tanya, seemed to have made it her mission to cast that superiority into doubt. Whatever record Azula set, Tanya was somehow able to perfectly match, as if making a statement that the two of them were equal.

Tanya was not her equal! She couldn't be! Nobody could equal her talent and pedigree, especially not some street urchin the fire sages picked up!

How the peasant had managed to cheat her way to the finals Azula did not know, but it stopped here! Father had instructed her not to fight too roughly, like they did during their private training sessions, but surely when he gave that instruction he hadn't been expecting this little upstart to act so impudently.

Yes, this round she would demonstrate her superior brutality, and crush this peasant so thoroughly that nobody would dare presume themselves to be her equal again.

The referee headed out of the ring, leaving the two of them with a few seconds to exchange words before the fight. Tanya bowed at the waist, demonstrating a surprisingly accurate knowledge of courtroom etiquette for a commoner.

"May the best woman win, Lady Azula."

The nerve of her! To imply that it was debatable who the best of the two of them was!

"Don't worry. I will." Azula shot back, settling into her fighting position. Tanya smiled back briefly and settled into a position of her own.

"Ready?" The referee called. "Set? Begin!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than Azula had pounced into action, firing a sharp bolt of fire directly at Tanya's knee. Cripple her first, steal away her movements, and then hound away at her with power and agility. Just as father had taught her.

Yet just as she moved, so too did Tanya. Blonde hair whipped around in a messy hurricane as she pivoted, drawing her knee out of harm's way while similarly building up momentum.

From the pivot she spun into a leaping roundhouse kick, sending a slash of fire back in retaliation that Azula had to roll to the side to avoid.

Rushing into closer quarters, Azula leapt up and brought a straight punch down towards Tanya's head. Again though Tanya was prepared for it, and raised both arms into a cross guard to block the blow, dispersing the weight of the punch across both arms.

As Azula's feet returned to solid ground Tanya struck, twisting one foot out like a snake to wrap around hers, and with a solid push sent her tripping backwards.

The sudden feeling of losing balance didn't stop Azula for more than a moment however, and with practised ease she embraced the change in momentum, falling into a backflip.

There was just the briefest second however, at the apex of her backflip, when Azula's eyes had been unable to follow Tanya. As she regained her footing from the flip Azula looked up, only to find that Tanya had not afforded her any chance to recover.

She barely caught the first fist Tanya threw her way in time, and was forced onto the defensive as Tanya launched into a flurry of quick, probing strikes designed to ferret out weaknesses in her guard. Still recovering from her unplanned acrobatics, Azula was forced to slowly but surely give away ground as Tanya's barrage pushed her backwards.

Rage boiled in Azula's stomach. This was not right! Why was she the one being forced to defend against this dirty peasant! Tanya was smaller than her, younger than her, lesser than her! She was an insect that ought to be squashed under heel!

Channel the anger! Make it your strength!

Father's teaching flashed through her mind, and with a fierce roar Azula stomped her foot against the ground, putting her anger into an explosive blast of flames.

To her own shock however the flames that emerged were not her regular red colour. They were sharper, hotter, and a rich blue.

Tanya seemed just as surprised if the way her eyes widened was any indication, and skipped backwards to put some distance between them while she assessed this new threat.

But Azula was quick enough not to let this opportunity slip by. She lunged forward, harnessing her anger again, and with both hands unleashed a straight blast of blue flames.

Tanya quickly spun her arms to form a flaming barrier, but when the blue flames collided against it Azula was satisfied to see Tanya step backwards, a look of concern growing on her face. Yes! She has overpowering her!

Most would have surrendered their reason when gripped in the throes of rage, but royalty was above such things. Azula's anger only sharpened her already impressive mind, and rather than maintain her powerful but ultimately stamina-draining attack she switched tactics.

As she cut off her stream of fire Azula's arms separated, two fingers on each hand pointing out like knives, and from each hand a thinner stream of blue flames, about as thick as a ribbon, unfurled. She whipped her arms around in serpentine movements, causing the fire whips to soar outward towards Tanya and strike at her from a multitude of angles, like a nest of snakes hissing and biting at an intruder.

Tanya seemed to realise the futility of blocking such an attack, and was forced to begin ducking and weaving through the frenzy of strikes.

Dimly Azula could hear the approving roar of the crowd in the background, yet for the first time she found that she didn't care. The vengeful satisfaction of knowing that the tables had turned and that she was now the one forcing Tanya on the defensive was sweeter than freshly picked grapes.

This was right! This was how it was meant to be! She had control of the fight now, and the street urchin was dancing to her commands; as was rightfully so!

Azula redoubled her vigour, and the speed of the fire whips increased. One struck a glancing blow against Tanya's cheek, leaving a scorch mark. It was only then, with her attention drawn to Tanya's face, that Azula finally noticed the expression the blonde was wearing.

She'd been expecting a look of discomfort, perhaps even fear. Instead what she found was a maniac smile that stretched unnaturally across the little girl's face like a snarling hyena-wolf, highlighting wide eyes that seemed to shine with malevolent glee in the light of the blue flames.

Tanya flipped backwards to vault over an incoming strike, and Azula smirked as she noticed the odd angle Tanya was falling at.

At last the peasant had made a mistake! From that angle she'd never be able to land on her feet, and once she hit the floor Azula would pummel her with a barrage of her strongest attacks. Her whips circled around Tanya's falling form, ready to strike.

But then, in a blast of flames, Tanya was moving in mid air.

Technically speaking the technique for using firebending for flight was a basic one. All you had to do was unleash your inner fire in a quick, intense burst over a short distance rather than let it roll further away from you, and the thrust generated would propel your own body in the opposite direction of the flames.

A number of basic katas used the technique to enhance the momentum of a strong punch or kick, or in brief bursts to change the direction of acrobatic movements mid air.

But to actually use the technique to achieve sustained flight was a different game altogether. Humans were not born to fly, and required many years of practice and experience in order to gain an instinctive grasp of how much thrust and fire was needed to not just defy gravity, but control their flight smoothly.

Yet if humans weren't born to fly, whichever spirit watched over Tanya's birth hadn't gotten the memo. With graceful arcs and spins Tanya flitted through the air with the ease of someone who'd been flying for a lifetime, dodging the tendrils of blue fire with so much less effort now that she had a whole new dimension of movement to play with.

An awed silence fell over the crowd, and for a moment Azula forgot her rage and found that she shared their sentiment. With her small physique, golden hair and the nimble ease with which she flew, Tanya did for a moment seem like some otherworldly spirit; like a pixie from a children's fairy tale.

Tanya saw her opportunity, and dove forward through a gap in the whips to engage Azula in close quarters once again.

As she rocket down from above she cartwheeled, turning the flames at her feet from short jet bursts into an arrowhead shape, and drop-kicked Azula from above. Tanya was far from heavy, but the full force of gravity behind her shattered through Azula's guard and knocked her a considerable distance backwards.

While stumbling to regain her footing, Azula became aware of just how heavily she was breathing, and how damp her forehead had become with sweat.

Was she… losing? No, no that couldn't be possible! Could it? For the first time in her lift Azula felt an uncomfortable dread trickle down her spine as it dawned on her that she was probably going to be defeated. This dirty little peasant girl, who flew like a pixie and grinned like a demon, was going to beat her before the eyes of the entire nation!

Tanya had not pressed her attack when Azula was thrown back, instead opting to reform her own stance and catch her breath as well.

She was breathing heavily and sweating as well, betraying the fact that for all her skill she too only had the stamina of a child, yet unlike Azula she didn't look like she'd lost her confidence. In fact if her feral smile was anything to go by she'd only become more excited.

Neither of them had the stamina to draw this fight out for much longer, so whoever scored the next good hit would be the winner. Azula forced her breathing to steady, quashing down her feelings of unease and focusing on that same rage she'd felt before.

As much as she despised Tanya, she was forced to concede that she'd have to give up on her original goal of winning brutally if she wanted to win at all. If they were so closely matched in strength, skill and agility, then the only thing Azula had left to rely on was cunning.

With a flick of her wrist Azula launched a quick, sharp bolt of blue flames directly at Tanya's face: a move not designed to do damage, but to draw her attention. Unfortunately it seemed that Tanya had the same idea, firing a similarly sized bolt of red flames at Azula. The two fireballs collided in the air between them, exploding like a firework of blue and red that obscured both of their visions.

Azula darted forwards. Tanya wouldn't let this chance slip by either, and would be readying an attack of her own on the other side of the flames. As the sparks began to clear, Azula dropped down and slid on her knees, just in time to avoid the spinning wheel of fire that twirled out at her and passed narrowly above her head.

As Tanya finally came into view again Azula couldn't help but grin at the look of surprise on her face, and whipped her legs out into a sliding kick that knocked Tanya's feet out from under her.

Tanya went down, leaving both girls on the floor, and Azula wasted no time seizing her advantage. Like a coiling snake her legs wrapped around Tanya from behind, and with her arms she caught Tanya's neck in a choke hold. Tanya struggled and bucked, but Azula stubbornly refused to relinquish her grasp.

Fire erupted from Tanya's feet again, propelling them across the floor of the arena like a rocket. The blonde girl thrashed around wildly, trying to break the hold, but with a desperate strength she hadn't known she possessed Azula held on. Just a little longer! Just a few more seconds and she would win! Then father wouldn't be disappointed in her!

Slam!

The impact whacked into her back like a sledgehammer with such force that Azula's hold crumpled apart. Tanya's jets had never been intended to help her break free of Azula's grip! They'd been to slam them both into the walls around the edge of the arena! Azula struggled to get back to her feet, but the breath had been completely knocked out of her! She'd never felt this exhausted before!

Tanya was still on the ground too, arms unsteadily raised to protect her throat. She rolled onto her stomach, bracing herself to stand once more, and a fresh spike of panic shot through Azula's chest. She tried to shoot a ball of fire, but with her breathing disrupted she couldn't summon so much as a flicker.

All she could do was watch in horror as Tanya brought one foot forward and began pushing herself up to stand.

Only for her knees to buckle.

As Tanya's face planted itself into the dirt once more, the referee took that as his cue to run up and stand between them. "Both contestants are unable to stand! The match is over!" He declared. Quickly he examined them both, then turned back to the audience. "The result is a tie!"

The audience broke out into a cacophony of applause, many even standing and whistling their approval. And who could blame them: that had probably been the most intense fight between five year olds in fire nation history. Yet despite the cheers all Azula cared about was the cold lump of dread settling in her stomach.

She hadn't won. And now she had to answer to father.

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Hey guys if I get 10 reviews by the next two days I'm going to release another four chapters.