Chapter 3

It did not take long after the start of the tournament for an opportunity to gather information to present itself. Zuko, Azula's elder brother, was competing in the seven-to-eight year old age bracket, which had been scheduled to take place near the beginning.

Though Zuko was two years older than Azula he'd discovered his bending abilities at the age of six, and as such had been training for roughly the same amount of time as his sister. This presented a perfect opportunity for Tanya to get an estimation of how Azula would fight.

After all, if the siblings had been training for the same length of time under the same tutors then it stood to reason that their styles must share many similarities. From her seat at High Sage Ignis' side Tanya watched the older children battle it out one by one in the ring below, her eyes firmly fixed on the royal boy whenever he made an appearance.

Zuko was… distinctly average, if she was honest. It was clear he'd put a great deal of effort into his training, but he'd simply not trained long enough yet for that effort to start paying off.

If he kept that mindset up until his teenage years he'd probably blossom into a formidable fighter, but his entire age block was dominated by those who were bigger, more talented or more vicious.

As a result Zuko pushed his way up to about the middle range of the rankings before being knocked out by a bulky boy who hadn't been afraid to dish out a few unsporting hits when the opportunity presented itself.

Tanya had at least been able to learn a few things by analysing his style.

Zuko used highly aggressive movements and focused on pressuring opponents with a strong offensive, as most firebending styles liked to do, but was more focused on speed and precision than raw power like the standard military styles were.

His basic movesets involved some rather complex acrobatics for a beginner that Zuko unsurprisingly struggled with, and the wider, sweeping jets of flame that soldiers used in groups to engage multiple enemies at once were replaced with focused, narrow blasts designed to cripple a foe while conserving energy.

It was the style of a duelist: one who was expected to fight battles alone rather than side-by-side with a comrade, and one that Tanya could not help but think didn't quite suit the young royal. Her gut instincts told her that he'd be much more effective with a style suited to teamwork.

Still she'd got the information she'd wanted. It was probable that Azula had been trained in a similar style, and now that she knew some of its common movesets Tanya could plan moves of her own to counterbalance them. Next she needed information on Azula's mindset, and there was only one place around here that she was going to get that.

"High Sage, my match will be starting soon. With your permission I'd like to go and meditate somewhere peaceful in preparation."

Ignis gave a distracted grunt of approval, eyes never leaving the fights below, and so Tanya hopped off her seat and strode through the spectators' stands, heading in the direction of the contestant's lounge. Wherever she walked people's eyes followed her, and a trail of whispers lingered in her wake.

Tanya's body in this world was nearly identical to the one she'd had in her second life: small and delicate looking even for her age, with golden blonde hair that framed her face in messy curls.

Black hair seemed to dominate the gene pool in this nation, so her unusual hair colour never failed to draw attention. Many would have doubted she was of fire nation lineage at all were it not for her eyes.

Unlike the blue they'd normally been in her second life, Tanya's eyes in this world were the same yellow-gold they'd used to turn when she was invoking magical formulas. This eye colour was a rare but distinguished trait unique to the fire nation, possessed only by a handful of families other than the royal family themselves.

The contestant's lounge was only a short walk away: a simple room of lockers and benches, not unlike the changing rooms at swimming pools. It led directly out into the arena, and was wide and spacious enough for the competing children and their family members to prepare themselves in relative privacy.

With the seven-to-eight fights well underway, the only people in the lounge right now were those who'd been eliminated and had yet to leave, including…

"Father is going to be angry with me, isn't he?"

Prince Zuko was the very picture of a miserable child. Hunched forward, shoulders slumped, and with his hands over his face to cover eyes that were no doubt speckled with tears.

By his side a woman with beautiful straight black hair and a golden headdress denoting her as a princess rubbed his back soothingly.

Princess Ursa. Tanya opened a locker close enough to overhear their conversation without arousing suspicion and set about pretending to get ready.

"Oh sweetheart," Ursa replied in a consoling tone, "that's not true."

"Azula wouldn't have lost."

"And you are not Azula. You're both special in your own ways."

"Well I don't want to be special in my way! I want to be a great firebender too!" Zuko's voice pitched up in the beginnings of a tantrum. "Azula isn't afraid! Azula doesn't hesitate! It comes so easily to her! Why am I the only one who struggles?"

"Oh Zuko." Ursa wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him into a gentle hug. "Everyone struggles sometimes. We all feel like there's something that's impossible for us. But I promise you that it's just an illusion. With time and dedication you're sure to become a master one day, and you'll be all the greater for having struggled to get there.

But do you know what's even more important?" She kissed Zuko lightly on the head. "That you keep your kind heart. That, more than anything, will lead you to a happy life my son."

"But father didn't come here to see a kind heart."

That one sentence froze the conversation so awkwardly that even Tanya couldn't help but wince. That was more information that she'd bargained for.

It seemed that all was not as well as it appeared within the royal family. Still courtroom drama aside, Tanya could at least infer useful intel from the conversation.

By the sound of it Azula was quickly developing the right mindset for an efficient warrior: fearless, decisive, and merciless when necessary. No doubt a result of Prince Ozai's high expectations. It was a shame Zuko didn't seem to thrive in such an environment like his sister did.

After a drawn out silence Ursa stood and held her hand out to Zuko. "Come. Let's go back to our seats before Azula's match starts."

Zuko shook his head glumly. "You go. I want to stay here for a while."

Ursa frowned, but soon accepted it with a soft sigh. "Very well. But come up soon okay."

"I will."

With graceful steps befitting of royalty Ursa departed, leaving Zuko alone to his sulking. Tanya took a moment to consider her next move. On the one hand she'd obtained the information she needed, and admitting to eavesdropping would not do her reputation any favours. Yet on the other hand she had an opportunity here to introduce herself to a member of the royal family.

A few words of encouragement here could snag her a connection with a future important figure in high society. And as it so happened she'd heard quite a few inspirational sounding quotes during her first life.

Oh why not? It wasn't like a few words could do any harm.