Chapter 19: Preparing for the Worst

Following the delivery of Azula's ultimatum, the rest of the day was a bit surreal. Still requiring sustenance like any normal human being, Xisheng returned to the camp to eat even though he was still reeling. Azula was absent from it when he arrived, leaving only Mai and Ty Lee for company. Normally that would have been fine, but dinner was shrouded in a stifling silence. Whether this was because Azula had said something to them specifically or just because the atmosphere was tense, Xisheng had no idea.

Maybe it was actually his fault that they were so quiet, since his mind had been far away from any thoughts of conversation. He was so lost in thought that he barely managed to acknowledge that the stew Mai had cooked was extremely good. Unfortunately it completely slipped his mind to compliment her on it or thank her for cooking dinner, due to the dire nature of his thoughts. He didn't even notice when both girls left the campfire and left him to his own devices. Maybe they had said something to him, or maybe they hadn't. He couldn't remember.

He'd already gone through the motions of cleaning up, and now he sat alone, staring at the dwindling campfire. Night was falling, and he had an early morning the next day, but sleep was far from his mind. The only thing he could think about was the situation with Azula.

One might think that he felt ashamed or humiliated to be reprimanded by her, but this was not the case. Rather, Xisheng was angry. Downright insulted really. His dedication to improvement was pathetic? Where the hell did she get off making such a ridiculous claim? Was he not the only member of the Royal Guard that had the initiative to request training from her? Was he not the one who had fought his hardest against Iroh not once, but twice? Suddenly that was all irrelevant because he'd been flirting with Ty Lee for five seconds?

Azula had a penchant for talking down to people, even if it was usually subtle, but thus far she had treated Xisheng with respect, at least along the lines of him being a warrior and loyal soldier. He'd done nothing but serve faithfully and to the best of his abilities, and this was his reward?

And that was to say nothing about the way she had treated Ty Lee. She had put her life on hold to help Azula just because she had been asked to, out of a genuine desire to help a friend. She deserved much better than the way she had been treated today.

By now Xisheng had started pacing around the camp, his movements mostly automatic as he fumed about the injustice of it all. Frankly, this was the first aspect of Azula's character to come to light that truly irked the soldier. She was smart, dedicated, talented, passionate and apparently, fickle or even petty. Or maybe she was actually was more entitled and bratty than she had let on.

With a sigh of frustration, Xisheng stopped near a tree some ways from the Overlord, pausing to collect his thoughts. Angry as he was, he couldn't speculate on things he didn't understand. He had no clue why Azula had snapped in the way she had, and trying to guess was pointless. All that mattered right now was meeting her sudden expectations, unreasonable as they were.

Unfortunately, figuring out how to do that was much more difficult than trying to discern Azula's motives. Xisheng had fought the Crown Princess more than enough to acknowledge that he couldn't beat her in a straight fight. Hell, he was unsure if he could beat her even if he could ambush the girl at his discretion. She had almost every attribute a warrior needed in spades: she was fast, clever, strong, and creative. She always reacted optimally, always expended her effort in the most efficient way possible, always recovered perfectly in the rare instances she was caught off-guard. Ironically, her Firebending ability was the least important factor in what made her an amazing fighter.

The only thing Azula lacked was experience, but her other attributes compensated for that easily. Or at least, that was clearly the case since Xisheng's superior experience hadn't allowed him to beat her yet.

So what could he do in one week to change the status quo between them? That certainly wasn't enough time to train his body to reach new speeds. And even if he could get faster than he was now, chances were he would never be as fast as Azula. She was smaller than he was and just had less mass to move around. This also meant physical strength was useless, as the strongest punch was worthless if it couldn't hit the target. On top of that, he couldn't possibly improve his raw Firebending ability to a degree that would match her. Azula had been born with a Firebending potential that already placed her above the level most people could reach no matter how hard they trained. On top of that raw potential, she trained even harder than nearly anyone out there. That combination of ingrained potential and dedicated training placed her at a spot Xisheng knew he couldn't surpass conventionally. If you had an exceptional person and an average person that both trained the same amount, the exceptional person would always stay ahead. That was just life.

Having failed to discern any meaningful way to possibly defeat Azula in mortal combat, Xisheng felt his frustration mounting. On one hand he was angry at Azula for her unreasonable ultimatum, but on the other he was angry with himself for not finding a way prove her wrong. Despite being a generally calm and collected individual, Xisheng's anger flared to a level where release was necessary. In a spurt of frustration, the soldier punched the tree in front of him with all his might, a massive jet of flame preceding the strike.

His fist still pressed against the now burnt bark of the tree, Xisheng's heavy breathing didn't distract him from a curious revelation: his hand didn't hurt. He'd hardly been in enough control of his emotions to hold back, and he was certain he had punched the sturdy beast with a great deal of force. So obviously, his hand should have been in a great deal of pain, but it was only mildly uncomfortable.

Staring down at his hand and back to the tree he had punched, Xisheng questioned this outcome and decided that an experiment was in order. Taking his other hand, Xisheng punched the tree before him with all his might, without any Firebending at all. As one would expect, there was a solid impact of bone on wood, and he recoiled immediately as the nerves in his hands condemned his actions. So, the tree was indeed hard, and he still knew how to throw a punch. That meant the experiment had to continue.

Now using the hand he had struck out in frustration in (mostly since it didn't hurt like hell like his other hand), Xisheng included a Firebending blast as powerful as the one his moment of anger had created. Naturally the tree was scorched by the flame, but more importantly, the impact was way less powerful than the unaided punch from before.

Connecting several dots in his head, Xisheng smirked, despite having one hand throbbing in pain. He didn't know if what he had learned just now would be enough to give him the edge he needed, but this was the first time he felt like he might actually have a chance against Azula. All he had to do now was perfect the technique he had devised just now over the course of the next week.

---

Azula wasn't one to regret her actions, but in the days following her harsh words towards Xisheng and Ty Lee, even she had to admit that maybe she had handled the situation in a less than ideal manner. The atmosphere between the four members of the group had grown unbearably awkward, even to Azula, who reclined alone in the open car of the immobile Overlord. Her compatriots were all scattered about the area, the outskirts of the forest they had so recently exited.

Ty Lee had not spoken a word to her since that night. In fact, the past few days had been the quietest Azula could remember the girl being in her entire life. At first she had been kind of grateful for the silence, but that gratitude had worn thin rather quickly. Azula would readily admit that Ty Lee talked way too much for her liking, but that didn't mean she had to go to the opposite extreme and flat out ignore Azula entirely. Where'd she even get the gall to do that?

It was her own fault for being so sensitive, and more importantly, not remembering her place. The way Ty Lee had spoken to her that night was utterly unacceptable.

Even so, Azula admitted to some extent that she could have been a little less antagonistic.

Either way, Ty Lee hadn't gotten over her personal issue yet, and Mai was keeping a cautious distance from the situation, as best as Azula could tell. At any rate, Mai hadn't asked her specifically about what had happened or why, though Azula supposed she could have asked either Ty Lee or Xisheng. She had also grown very quiet over the past few days, reminding Azula of the way the girl used to be.

Perhaps that was because Xisheng was too busy to draw her out of her emotional fortress like he usually did. That was because the group's only male had spent the last few days doing a very limited number of things: he drove the Overlord during the day and disappeared into the surrounding area whenever they stopped for the night. Azula assumed the purpose of the latter was to train, and that seemed to be accurate considering the fact that he constantly returned late at night, utterly exhausted. What he was actually up to out there was a mystery, but Azula was pleased that he was taking her ultimatum seriously.

Mostly because she wasn't nearly as confident about the decision as she had outwardly expressed.

Looking back on the thought process that had led up to this whole situation, Azula couldn't help but feel she had been a tad irrational. Truth be told she had not been in any particularly foul mood that day: she'd been a little irritated to find Xisheng absent from her immediate vicinity when she had deemed it time to train, but other than that Azula had actually been in a rather good mood. She'd even given the soldier the benefit of the doubt, assuming he was using his time wisely.

Needless to say, stumbling into a conversation revolving around the praising of posteriors had not gone over well with the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation.

In the heat of the moment, Azula had made a series of judgments without putting too much thought into it, a true rarity for her. The notion of her most loyal soldier running off into the woods to try and flirt his way into a girl's pants had done more than irk Azula. In a practical regard, he very clearly should have been spending his free time training to improve his skills. After all, he had convinced Azula of all people to train him, the least he could have done was work to meet her standards when he had the time. Moreover, he should have been acutely aware of how much better he would have to get now that Toph was traveling with their enemy.

But if she were honest with herself, Azula had to admit that practicality hadn't been the primary reason she had reacted the way she had. After all, Xisheng had claimed that he had actually been out there to train, and frankly Azula could see Ty Lee initiating a flirtatious conversation even if Xisheng was truly focused on practicing some skill to improve himself.

She'd actually just been upset about the nature of the conversation and the two people that were involved in it. Not for the first time, she found the idea of Ty Lee stealing her subordinate's attention away from her in such a manner infuriating. Xisheng had a massive list of better things to do, all of which included serving Azula in some manner or another.

Some part of Azula considered that maybe such a practical explanation was just a cover for something as petty as jealousy, but a much bigger part of her refused to believe that could possibly be the case. Xisheng was her soldier, only on this mission because of her good graces. Like a hired servant, the master would have every right to be upset if that servant was constantly catering to people other than them.

However, in hindsight Azula questioned her means of punishment for the transgression. Servant he may be, but Xisheng was a very valuable servant. In the heat of the moment Azula had threatened to get rid of him, but she didn't actually like the idea of doing so. For one, he drove the Overlord. Granted, he had apparently taught Mai how to do it, so it wasn't like the machine would be inoperable without him, but Azula could only imagine how much complaining she would have to endure if driving the Overlord every day became Mai's job.

Secondly, despite her accosting of his skill level, Xisheng had proved to be a valuable asset in combat. While they had yet to win against their foes in any engagement, he always pulled his weight and then some. And considering that the Avatar had Toph at his side now, losing Xisheng would be a major detriment to the group's capabilities.

But more than any of that, Azula appreciated having Xisheng at her side. He was loyal above all else and earnestly supported all of Azula's endeavors, and not just because duty and protocol demanded that he do so. Azula could tell that Xisheng was loyal to her, not to her title, and she greatly enjoyed that distinction.

Which was problematic. For all the credit Azula gave the man, she didn't think Xisheng was capable of besting her, even in a task as simple as landing one solid hit on her. After all, in all of the sparring matches the two of them had shared thus far, the soldier had never managed to do that. Azula would admit that he had come close once or twice, but in his failure to deliver in those instances, he erased his own opportunities. Azula had swiftly acclimated to the methods he had used to create those openings, and now they no longer worked on her.

So from Azula's standpoint, she had given Xisheng an impossible task, and his failure to complete that impossible task would result in his eviction from her presence. Granted, Azula could always go back on her word and allow him to stay regardless of the match's outcome, but that was something she wouldn't do. She was the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation. Unless overridden by her father, Azula's word was law. To rescind her own commands was tantamount to saying she couldn't be trusted as a leader.

Now if only she hadn't actually made such a foolish decision that she had no choice but to stick to.

Glancing out of the Overlord's open cabin, Azula interrupted her own musings to question everyone's presence, or lack thereof. She was well and truly alone, unable to see any of her comrades. What they were all doing was beyond her. Whether they were off doing their own thing or collaborating on something was a mystery.

The Princess briefly wondered if Xisheng and Ty Lee were up to the same antics that had started this whole situation, but she didn't think they would be foolish enough to do that. Moreover, the thought of it angered her, so she didn't dwell on it for long.

Instead, she turned her thoughts to a potential way to get out of the situation she had recklessly created. Maybe the transfer to a new command could be a temporary scare tactic.

---

As the week wore on, Ty Lee found herself in one of the worst moods she had experienced in several years. In fact, it was one of the few times in her life where she didn't feel inclined to talk to anyone, and instead chose to avoid them. One had to put Ty Lee in a truly irritable mood for her to forego regular human interaction, and that's why she reclined alone against a tree on the outskirts of the forest.

She had barely spoken to anyone else in the group since the brief confrontation with Azula a few days ago. Mai was hard to initiate conversation with at the best of times, never mind when neither of them really felt like talking, so that was the case there. Xisheng had been utterly enveloped in his work the past few days, for reasons Ty Lee could only guess at. She assumed that Azula had reprimanded him or worse, and he was perhaps trying to make up for his 'mistake,' that being the reprehensible crime of enjoying himself with Ty Lee, apparently.

Naturally, the acrobat hadn't spoken a word to Azula in all this time, and Azula had done the same in return. The air between them was tense, for a multitude of reasons that Ty Lee was mostly aware of and none too happy with.

In the past, Azula had been a great many things; confident, capable, intelligent and talented among them. But as a close friend of the Princess at that age, Ty Lee saw all the other traits too; the vindictiveness, the entitlement, the selfishness and the cruelty. She had a front row seat to all of that during her childhood years with the Princess. For the most part, Ty Lee hadn't been subjected to too many of the bad things. However, the acrobat had no doubt in her mind that she had evaded most of Azula's ire as a child because she had been even more agreeable than she was now.

For all of Ty Lee's weaknesses in raw mental acuity, she had an equal strength in emotional intelligence. She read people very well, understood the things that pleased them and infuriated them. Even as a child, it had been obvious to Ty Lee that Azula was the type of person that hated to be outdone or outshined, regardless of the capacity.

Azula hated being inferior to other people, even in things she didn't personally care for. She had always been irritated whenever people noticed Ty Lee for her acrobatics, or even when she herself had challenged Mai to a game of precision and lost. She hated to lose in any field, and she only reacted to losing in two ways: she either trained in that field until the person who had bested her was utterly defeated, or she simply deemed the skill as a waste of time to have any talent in. Both of these made it very difficult to get along with her.

Even Mai and Ty Lee, or perhaps especially Mai and Ty Lee, were treated to this sort of behavior. Azula simply hadn't been able to accept that they had some skills they excelled in over her. But being unable to surpass them in those skills, she simply labeled them as inferior or pointless to have. Belittling was perhaps the nicest way to refer to it. It was just one way Azula had flaunted her superiority complex over both of them.

With the beginning of this particular adventure, Ty Lee had briefly convinced herself that Azula had grown out of some of those childish behaviors. Initially, it had seemed like she may have actually matured beyond them, but the most recent conversation between the two girls had proved otherwise.

Azula may have claimed that Ty Lee was her friend, but it didn't take a genius to see that she was still viewed as a subject above all else. The way Azula talked down to her, the expression of indignation on her face when Ty Lee dared defend herself against an accusation, it was all evidence enough of the true reality of the situation.

To say it stung was a massive understatement. Azula had acted as though Xisheng even speaking to her was a waste of time, and for what? Because she was jealous of his attention being on her?

That notion angered the brunette even more. Ty Lee knew that no matter how vehemently she denied it or nonchalantly she evaded it, Azula had some middling romantic attraction to Xisheng at the very least. However, Ty Lee also knew for a fact that Azula would never act on such things. She held her social standing in far too high of a regard to even consider that.

That made it all the more infuriating that Azula felt the need to obstruct any kind of meaningful relationship with him. Ty Lee knew for a fact that Azula wouldn't even consider him seriously, so why couldn't she just let Ty Lee do as she pleased with the relationship? It was none of Azula's business in the first place, but being the Crown Princess, she felt entitled to claim everything as under her jurisdiction. It was an aspect of their relationship Ty Lee hadn't missed.

Sighing, Ty Lee couldn't help but regret agreeing to all of this at this point, at least a little bit.

"Is now a bad time?"

Startled out of her own musings, Ty Lee was a little shocked to see Xisheng standing before her, looking a little worse for wear. He seemed so exhausted these past few days, for reasons Ty Lee could only guess at. Either way, it was clear he had been looking for her, though for how long was a mystery.

"Every time is a bad time apparently. Are you sure you should be doing this?"

Even as tired as he was, Xisheng's eyes still bore that light of expressiveness that always made him so engaging.

"I'm afraid you'll have to clarify on what exactly you mean."

"Talking to me. Or even looking in my general direction. Both seem to irritate her Highness."

Xisheng was certain he had never heard Ty Lee speak with such disdain for another person. Granted, she had every right to be irritable, but he couldn't help but feel that the tone of voice was almost alien coming from her mouth.

"I don't think she can grow irritated over something she isn't aware of."

"Oh yeah? And what will you do when she just outright orders you to ignore me?"

Xisheng couldn't help but feel that such a notion was a little far-fetched.

"Come now Ty Lee, I don't think that's really a likely possibility."

Further cementing the fact that she was not feeling herself, Ty Lee scoffed.

"If you really think Azula wouldn't do something like that, you're seriously underestimating her."

The Fire Nation soldier fell silent for a moment as he contemplated his response to such a statement. After all, the way he felt about the theoretical situation could be construed as disloyalty or even treason by some extremely radical individuals. Still, that reality didn't change his opinion, and he was still going to share it with Ty Lee.

"While I don't truly believe Azula would take it that far, even if she did I would not comply with such an order. You don't have to worry about something like that."

The look on Ty Lee's face made it clear that she had not expected such an answer. Not that Xisheng blamed her: he tended to present himself as a completely loyal individual, something that didn't pair well with the notion of disobeying orders. The brunette didn't take long to verbalize this line of reasoning.

"I, um, appreciate that, but it doesn't really sound like something you would normally say. Would you really disobey an order from Azula like that?"

"It goes without saying that I am loyal to Azula. The day I became a soldier was the day I swore to serve the Royal Family. Beyond that, I am loyal to her cause and her success. I respect her as a leader, teacher and warrior. But despite all of that, I do not think it her place to dictate what personal relationships I am allowed to have. I serve her, but it is by choice. I am not her slave."

Ty Lee found herself at a loss for words, mostly because she had not expected to hear any of this. To be honest, she had not accurately gauged this aspect of Xisheng's character. She had really thought he would do anything if Azula asked it of him: he had made it very clear that his duty as a soldier meant a great deal to him. To learn that his stance on this matter was more nuanced than unyielding loyalty surprised her.

More importantly, learning this information significantly improved Ty Lee's mood. Xisheng had just stated that he would forego an order from Azula if it meant forsaking their relationship. He valued Ty Lee's friendship to an extent where he would disobey the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation if he had to. Needless to say this revelation countered her foul mood pretty effectively.

"Wow... I'll be honest Xisheng, it makes me really happy to hear you say that. I was kind of worried you didn't value anything over your duty and all that."

"Soldiers that are blindly loyal to those they serve are of a much lower quality than those who serve with a meaningful conviction. Service to a higher authority does not mean obedience without exception."

Now feeling moderately better, Ty Lee rose from her reclined spot against the tree. It felt kind of awkward making Xisheng look down at her.

"All of that philosophy would probably be a bit too complicated for me, Gohan. What did you want to find me for?"

Glad to have put a close friend in better mood than she had been, Xisheng smiled, though his exhaustion kept it from being too wide. He had worked himself to the bone in all of his free time these past few days, striving to master the technique he aimed to best Azula with. Or at the very least, the technique he aimed to hit her with. He was certain he could manage that much at least, but defeating her, even with his new technique, was probably still a bit of a stretch.

And even though he had it in his arsenal now, Xisheng saw no reason not to increase his chances of success as much as possible. A lot was on the line here, after all.

"I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me the basics of the fighting style you use to disable your opponents. I might need it."

Even though her mood had been elevated somewhat by the prior nature of the conversation, Ty Lee frowned at this. She hadn't expected this particular subject to come up again so soon. It also felt a little strange for Xisheng to bring it up at this exact moment in time.

"W-well, do you really think so? I mean, without agility like mine, I don't think you'd get close enough to the Avatar to really use it, and even with his friends-"

Seeing that she had misunderstood the situation, Xisheng made to clarify his intent.

"Actually, I need it to fight Azula."

To say that this surprised Ty Lee was an understatement.

"Fight Azula? What's that supposed to mean?"

"She has challenged me to a duel in roughly three days' time. If I cannot land a single blow on her, she'll remove me from present company and leave me under the command of the next available unit. That's why-"

Ty Lee cut him off before he could continue, startling Xisheng somewhat. Granted, he had forgotten that neither she nor Mai were privy to this, so this reaction was pretty understandable.

"Hold on, that's what she had to say when you were alone?! Where does she get off making a decision like that all by herself?!"

"I imagine she gets off at the 'I'm the Crown Princess' part."

Not finding his comment particularly amusing, Ty Lee couldn't help but fume. This revelation just cemented the fact that Azula didn't think twice about flaunting her perceived superiority over either of her friends or their desires. With that thought fueling her irritation, Ty Lee swiftly buried her initial misgivings about teaching Xisheng anything about chi blocking.

"Well, we'll see how the Princess likes it when her arms won't listen to her and you knock her on her narcissistic butt!"

"That might be taking it a little too far-"

"You mean not far enough! Just wait Gohan, we'll show her a thing or two. First we just have to teach you the location of all the meridians in the human body..."

---

The rest of that evening was spent learning the aspects of chi blocking one had to understand prior to engaging in any practical application. It was during this experience that Xisheng came to fully appreciate Ty Lee's depth of knowledge on such an obscure subject. He would fairly admit that Ty Lee's overall level of intelligence was average at best, but she was truly well-versed in many unique fields of knowledge.

Her understanding of the human body was truly impressive: she had instructed Xisheng on all sorts of aspects he hadn't even known existed, things about chi paths and pressure points and beyond. It was weird: in a way she knew the physical mechanics of bending better than most benders did.

Of course, the lesson had included her poking him in various spots to disable his limbs, which hadn't been a particularly pleasant experience. It being his first time on the receiving end of such treatment, Xisheng wasn't sure what he had expected, but the feeling of having slept on your arm for several hours only to wake up and find it a useless unfeeling stump wasn't quite it.

When one really thought about it, the whole thing was a little unsettling. Ty Lee was the nicest, sweetest person in the world, but she had the knowledge to take one's very ability to control their own body. It didn't seem like a skill befitting so kind a person.

But it was a skill with great potential. Xisheng had no doubt that learning it would be beneficial to any cause that he set his sights on, even if he wasn't able to learn the technique to a level where it would be useful by the time he fought Azula. Then again, the chi blocking was just an extra weapon, not the main trump card. Xisheng had no doubts regarding his chances against Azula if she were coming at him seriously. She was undeniably better than him as a fighter, and by a pretty wide margin. There was no possibility of him raising his skill level to match hers in a mere week. It was a little shameful to admit, but the only chance he had was to catch her so off guard that he could create an opportunity for a decisive strike. The more brand new techniques he had in the coming fight, the more chances he had to do that, even if his experience with those techniques was limited.

That was why Xisheng was tackling Ty Lee's rushed lessons with even more gusto than he would have under normal circumstances. He had always been interested in learning the art, but now doing so would help him achieve something he greatly desired. There were many reasons Xisheng wanted to succeed against Azula. Naturally, he was dedicated to the mission of stopping the Avatar from maintaining the stagnation of the old world, and the best way to contribute to that cause was at Azula's side. He was also quite keen on staying with the group because he was attached to the people within it. His current position was a once in a lifetime scenario, and he had no desire to return to regular military life so soon.

A part of him, very large by his own admittance, wanted to defend his pride: Azula's dismissal of his abilities as a warrior greatly irritated him. Xisheng knew he wasn't as good as her, but he also knew he was very skilled, and had been of great use to the party thus far. Finally, Xisheng was extremely determined to prove a point: that the way he spent his time, and the people he spent them with, was not wasteful. That he could take the time to relax and form friendships and not only maintain his skills, but grow from those friendships. He didn't appreciate how Azula had dismissed his relationship with Ty Lee, and nothing would disprove her notion regarding the worth of that relationship like using Ty Lee's chi blocking to help secure a win.

But it had still been a crash course. With only one day left before the duel with Azula, Xisheng reclined against the Overlord, practicing what knowledge Ty Lee had managed to impart on him on none other than himself. It was a bit odd paralyzing his own limbs, and not a very pleasant experience, but for a skill such as this, practical experience was the most useful and no one else was available. Ty Lee was currently tending to the Mongoose Lizards, and he was certain that he couldn't talk Mai into letting him practice on her. Besides, he wasn't very keen on the idea of paralyzing the others several times just for practice.

That didn't make it any less awkward to be splayed out against the rockbreaker of the Overlord though, with his left arm and both legs resting at useless, weird angles that he couldn't fix short of lifting and moving them with his free arm. He couldn't help but wonder if the same thing could be done to one's neck, but he wasn't too eager to try that out on himself.

"What on earth are you doing?"

Lamenting his bad luck in being caught at such a time, Xisheng figured that maybe he should have done this further away from base camp. He was sure to be the subject of some scorn, especially considering who was asking.

"The better question is, what are you doing, Mai? A leisurely stroll around the vehicle is unlike you."

Looking down on him from the higher elevation that was standing, Mai cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Is it? I can't find things to counter my boredom if I don't move around some of the time. Besides, we haven't really talked in awhile."

The implication that Mai had been specifically looking for him was not lost on Xisheng in the slightest. Needless to say, he was greatly pleased by that implication: it wasn't far in the past when he had to seek Mai out himself if he wanted to interact with her at all.

Besides, she was right in saying that hadn't spoken at any decent length in nearly a week. Not that Xisheng had been avoiding anyone or anything, but whenever he was not driving the Overlord, he was almost always off training by himself, at least over the course of this last week.

"Those are both fair points."

"Asking what you're doing is a fair point too. Why are you sitting like that? Looks uncomfortable."

Mai gestured vaguely at Xisheng's admittedly awkward bodily position, what with three limbs being spread-eagled across the ground.

"This is nothing out of the ordinary. Just the results of some chi-blocking."

To his credit, Mai seemed relatively shocked by the implication of this statement, even if her assumption was mistaken.

"Wow, you really said something dumb enough to piss off Ty Lee that much? I didn't think you were capable of that..."

"Don't be ridiculous, that's not it. I chi-blocked myself, thank you very much."

Needless to say, this earned a cocked eyebrow at his expense.

"You've done this to yourself, and I'm the one being ridiculous? When did Ty Lee even teach you this? And why? She seemed pretty evasive about it before."

"She started teaching about two or three days ago. The notion of a high stakes duel with Azula seems to have changed her mind on the subject."

Mai crossed her arms as she received information that had eluded her prior to now.

"A high stakes duel with Azula? What's that all about?"

"Suffice to say Azula was displeased with how I was spending my time one day. If I win I assume all will be forgiven."

"And what if you lose?"

With nothing really available to him other than shrugging, Xisheng did just that.

"Then I will be relieved of my position in this group and promptly handed over to the next available battalion."

Mai's eyes narrowed dangerously at this, a sure sign that she didn't like what she heard at all. It had been awhile since Xisheng had seen her so displeased about something, though he was actually kind of touched that it was on his behalf: assuming that was the case, that is.

"What could you have possibly been doing to get an ultimatum that ridiculous?"

"I was having Ty Lee teach me a thing or two about her acrobatics. I mean, it seemed like something pretty useful to have in the coming battles... I can't imagine why the scenario upset Azula so much."

Mai scowled, far more familiar with Azula's intricacies than Gohan was. Even knowing nothing about the situation other than what the soldier had revealed so far, she could hazard a pretty reasonable guess as to what the Princess' problem had been.

"I don't suppose this private time with Ty Lee involved her flirting with you?"

Thinking back to the conversation the two of them had been having when all hell had broken loose, Xisheng's face took on a crimson hue to match his uniform.

"Ah, well... surely something so petty isn't the cause of all this. Never mind the audacious assumption that such a thing would bother Azula of all people... if that is the sole cause of her irritation it must be her misplaced assumption that I wasn't using my time to further our cause."

Mai barely contained an exasperated sigh, shocked by Gohan's naivete. He was usually so sharp and observant, it was hard to imagine him being this oblivious. Some small part of her was mildly miffed to learn that some flirting had indeed been taking place between him and Ty Lee, but the irritation was quickly dispelled. For one, she wasn't sure why it would matter to her in any capacity. Two, that was just how Ty Lee was. It probably didn't mean anything.

As for the situation with Azula though, Mai knew that the young Princess was indeed petty enough to act this rashly on mere jealousy. And it was jealousy. There was a time in the old days at the Academy that they had a joint class with the boys' branch of the institution. Azula had taken some minor interest in a boy during that class: truly nothing more than a mild curiosity at best. Even so, she had swiftly terrorized all of the girls that had revealed any sort of attraction to that boy, until they all shifted their affections elsewhere. By the end of it all, Azula lost interest in him within the week, revealing just how far she would go over things even she herself barely cared about.

Azula was a ridiculously jealous person: you couldn't convince her to lend you so much as a quill, for no other reason than the fact that it was her quill. She wouldn't share anything with anyone, even if she had no practical use for that thing or didn't value it in the slightest.

Alright, maybe that was an exaggeration, but Mai knew it held true for things like attention. If Azula was present and you afforded someone else more attention than her, she didn't like it one bit. That was why Mai knew the cause for this whole debacle was as petty as she had postulated, even if Gohan thought otherwise. That's also why the whole thing irritated her so much, so she cut straight to the point.

"How likely do you think winning this duel is?"

The tone of Mai's voice made it perfectly clear that she thought the chance was nil, or at least absurdly low. Xisheng would have been wounded by her lack of confidence, if only he didn't agree with her.

"Well, I don't have to truly defeat her. If I land just one clean blow, she'll concede the victory to me. Her own words."

Mildly relieved to hear that the situation wasn't quite as dire as she had been lead to believe, Mai still wasn't overly pleased by it.

"And how confident are you about managing that?"

Despite the gravity of the overarching situation, Xisheng couldn't help but smile a little bit. Maybe he was just projecting, but it really sounded like Mai was unhappy with the idea of him being absent. The notion made him more than a little pleased.

"Forgive me if I'm being too presumptuous, but is it just me or does it sound like you would be upset about my departure?"

A sort of displeased frown crossed Mai's face, but Xisheng could tell it wasn't the kind of frown that signaled true malcontent. More like displeasure that she had been accurately read. At any rate, her gaze shifted evasively to the side for a moment, which was practically tantamount to a blush of embarrassment to the best of Xisheng's perception of her.

"I'm just sick of people being forcibly removed from my life, is all. I prefer to choose who leaves my company myself, thank you very much."

While Xisheng did derive some pleasure from the implication of her statement, he was too troubled by the vibe he was getting from the girl standing above him. He'd clearly brought up something she held little fondness for.

"Sorry, Mai. That's really not something to make light of."

Her mood mildly bettered by Gohan's consideration, Mai almost managed a smile. It kind of got halfway there at any rate.

"No, it isn't. And I'm assuming you aren't fond of the idea either. So answer the question: can you do it?"

Xisheng wasn't the type of person to employ false bravado for its own sake. He would never give an absolute yes when asked whether or not something could be achieved: that was akin to stating the future, and he knew he couldn't do that. No matter how qualified someone was, the chance of succeeding at a formidable task was never one hundred percent. This was not to say he had no confidence. He was simply realistically aware of the situation.

"I know the task is within my capabilities. I don't think it will be easy, but it's far from impossible."

Glad to hear that he had some confidence regarding all this crap, the tension in Mai's body lightened ever so slightly. Now that it had been brought to her attention, she really wasn't happy with the idea of Gohan leaving. It was hard for anyone to be intriguing enough to actually warrant her attention these days. Honestly Gohan was the first person she had bothered forming a personal relationship with in what was probably five years or more. She would be especially irate with Azula if the Princess' petty jealously problems cost her that relationship.

In fact, she'd probably call it quits on the mission and head home, even if it meant finding a tedious means of doing so. After all, they weren't going after Zuko, so Mai had little hope of seeing him again during all of this. And while she was begrudgingly glad to have the gang back together again, Mai didn't think that was worth traipsing about the whole damn world, constantly risking life and limb fighting some bending god and his sidekicks. Omashu was boring, and even without Gohan the current venture would be more entertaining, but the danger involved wasn't worth the tradeoff.

Only now that she was really thinking about it did the raven haired beauty realize how much her enjoyment of this whole ordeal was thanks to the man before her. Something about that notion was kind of flustering.

"When is this duel anyway?"

"Tomorrow."

"That soon huh... do you really have time to be lying around like this? I mean, I guess it's practice of a sort, but wouldn't it make more sense to train your bending?"

Honestly, Xisheng found it a little odd that Mai even thought this was the case. In his opinion it was obvious that taking on Azula with Firebending was next to impossible, at least as he was now. Then again, maybe from the perspective of a nonbender like Mai, the difference between him and Azula wasn't as readily apparent.

"With only a week of time to train, there's no possible way for me to elevate my level of bending ability to that of Azula's. My real chance at victory lies in methods she has little to no experience in. Trust me, my time is better spent with this, awkward though it may seem."

Mai crossed her arms, a dismayed look returning to her face. She actually seemed quite worried about all of this.

"If that's the case, I guess I should leave you alone for the day. You need the best chance of winning you can get..."

"I'll lament your absence for the day, but you are right about that."

With a stern gaze on him, Mai gave her parting words.

"Gohan, you'd better win."

That was all the young woman had to say before making her exit, leaving Xisheng feeling a little more pressured than he had before. Granted, the pressure had already been immense, but he'd mostly been considering his own stakes in the outcome of the fight. He hadn't really given as much thought to how his absence would make the others feel, probably because he was still underestimating his own value.

Xisheng was a humble person by nature, and while he didn't put himself down, he also wasn't the kind of person to give himself undue credit. He found it hard to really consider himself as important and wanted by those around him. That said, there was no way he could really do that any longer. Both Ty Lee and Mai had made it pretty clear that they valued his presence and their relationship to him. He had thought Azula felt a similar way, but that had been called into question for obvious reasons.

Either way, while it was even more pressure on him to succeed, Xisheng also felt even more motivated to do so. The undeniable revelation that the relationships he valued were held in equal regard by the girls he had them with gave him even more determination to come out on top. He respected Azula in many ways: but tomorrow he was going to make doubly sure she took a serious blow at his hands.