Chapter 64

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Watched by a few dozen spectators that had followed us, Azula and I got ready for our battle in the training yard the fire princess herself had selected.

"Tell me," began Azula, "Is this what they call… stupid male pride?"

With a low chuckle, I quickly devised several possible answers for that. Before deciding I might as well annoy her. "Who knows?" I shrugged, with my arms crossed, "Besides it's only stupid if you lose,"

"Well, I hope you don't disappoint," Azula smirked, getting into position.

I smiled at her and said nothing. Disappoint? If someone was about to be disappointed it was me, though I suppose she also will be disappointed, she couldn't touch me.

"Very well, I shall indulge you," I smiled as I uncrossed my arms, getting into my own position, drawing from my sword lessons, with legs parted slightly for better support, "The same goes for you, please do not disappoint," I added, with an inviting look, telling her to attack first with just a glance. Azula noticed, and with a smile of disbelief, she attacked.

The torrent of blue fire coming at me was deadly but boringly predictable, and copying her motions, I parried the attack easily with one hand and attacked with the other, my power far from being at its best, I was after refraining from using Vaatu and his emotions to fuel my fire.

Azula dodged the attack jumping out of the way towards me, closing the distance between us, showing just how agile and fast she was. She then grabbed my hand before I could move out of the way and tried to burn my face, but with a smile, I grabbed her fist, stopping the attack before it even began, diffusing it with my own fire bending.

"Not bad, but too risky? Wouldnt you agree?" I smiled, throwing her into the air with a single hand.

Azula chuckled in mild amusement as she maneuvered graciously to the ground. Without saying anything, she lunged at me, each kick and punch followed by a deadly torrent of blue fire, but I simply smiled, slipping away without much difficulty. Keeping my eyes on her as to avoid receiving any damage, "So, is this all?" I inquired, kicking the little princess a few meters back.

"No," Azula replied, with a glare, summoning her favorite technique, the lightning.

"How interesting..." I commented with awe, studying the motions she was showing, learning every little detail I could.

Copying her motions and remembering what I had read and watched about this deadly technique, I closed my mind and separated my chi while copying her motions, and easy enough; I had generated my first lighting; this was so shocking Azula herself lost composure for a second, but soon recover shooting her lighting that clashed with mine.

I took the blinding explosion as a chance to close our distance and delivering a punch to her stomach with enough strength to make her double over, spitting a bit of blood. She gasped in disbelief for a short time.

"I must thank you for teaching me how to use that technique; one thing was readying about it… but to see it in motion, it helped me put all the pieces together," I smiled at her, kneeling down to see her eye to eye.

Azula growled, "Now, I will show you what I am capable of!"

"I sure hope it's a thousand times better," I smiled deep down; it pleased me that she was going to start taking this seriously; otherwise, this battle was nothing more than me beating her.

I continued to study her base and forms, copying her techniques and adapting them to my own style as I battle her; what I had yet to achieve was creating blue flames, I had so far achieved purplish flames that were quite hot, but no as hot as the flames Azula herself was using.

"Well, Princess, not that this hasn't been entertaining but, I have things to do," I smiled; I had for one been humoring her for a good half an hour, I wanted to do something else; I had, after all, learned more than enough from this little duel, with a sigh I dash at her, dodging her attack, once I was in front of her, I created a curtain of smoke, and jumped behind her, while she tried to figure out where I was, and then proceeded to hit in the back of her neck, with a strong chop, knocking her out cold.

"He won…" Mai commented in disbelief.

"O. M. G." Ty Lee giggled, running towards me, while I kept my guard up; I had no idea what she was going to try, "Are you single?" as soon as that question left her mouth, I heard a beep on my head, like the one people, use to hear on the nineties while trying to connect to the internet.

"I am…" I replied, wondering if she was trying to ask me out or something, not that I was against it; Ty Lee was one of the seven fire nation girls I would without doubt smash; the other six were her sisters, jokes aside, I would not say no if the chance happened to be available, then again she could be trying to set me up with Azula, and I rather be single.

"Good! Would you like to go out on a date with a very pretty girl?" Ty Lee giggled; oh, thank goodness she isn't trying to set me up with the Arkham case.

"I would be delighted," I smiled at her.

"Yeih! I'll be in contact soon!" Ty Lee smiled, running back to Mai, who was repeating over and over again, the fact that I had won as if said fact was impossible.

"Well, I'm off," I waved at them, leaving an unconscious Azula, a very happy Ty Lee, and a very confused and broken Mai behind.

From this battle, I had learned a lot, one that in terms of technique, Azula was leagues above me, for now. But in raw power, experience, talent, speed, and endurance, I was superior to her. Being the sole reason I stomped her on this duel without much problem.