Chapter 27 - Chapter 27: It's Complicated

There were not many positive things that could be said about getting injured. However, there was one: when you were finally able to reach a point of exhaustion that overcame your pain, you slept like a rock. With all the energy spent in the days before and the energy required of the body to begin the healing process, Xisheng slept exceptionally well the night of the battle that had seen him wounded. Even the tumultuous thoughts in his head after Ty Lee had kissed him had ultimately been overcome by exhaustion. He hadn't even dreamed of anything. Maybe sleeping on actual bedding for once had helped.

Or at least, he was fairly certain he hadn't dreamed, as he as slowly dragged back into the world of the waking the day after. When he hit that point of awareness that allowed one to realize they were waking up, the injured soldier couldn't recall any sort of dream. Besides, even before he opened his eyes, he was already focused on other things.

Surprisingly, his confusing situation with Ty Lee was not the first thing to surface when his mind started functioning again. Instead, it was the fact that the Overlord was in motion, made clearly evident by the faint rumbling of its treads throughout the vehicle, as well as the occasional bump. Acknowledging this fact actually surprised Xisheng greatly, as it could only mean that Mai was currently operating the vehicle while he slept. Of course, she had driven the Overlord before, but never without him present. This also meant she had gotten up presumably early to drive it in his stead.

People could say what they wanted about Mai, but she really did have a sweet side buried in there somewhere: unless Azula had just pestered her into doing this. One could never be sure.

Speaking of the Princess, Xisheng finally cracked his eyes open so he could tilt his head around and view his surroundings in an effort to locate her. She'd been the least injured out of everyone who had gotten hurt, but she had been injured nevertheless. More than concern though, Xisheng was expecting some sort of complaint about the fact that he was still sleeping. However, a quick perusal of the cabin revealed that the Crown Princess was not present within it. That could only mean that she was in the driver's cabin with Mai, though to what end, Xisheng could only guess.

The only person who was present in the cabin with him was Ty Lee, though she was seemingly still out cold. Not really a shocker: she'd lost a fair deal of blood the day prior and was probably exhausted. Xisheng was glad that she was resting, but more importantly, he was glad that she wasn't awake to talk to him. It was a rare day indeed when the soldier thought such a thing, but he couldn't help himself.

After all, wasn't the air between them growing more and more awkward? It seemed like, over the past few days, their relationship as friends had rapidly accelerated into something a lot more confusing. When they were stretching together, very flirtatious and suggestive things had been said. Then, Xisheng had seen her naked and she was alright with it. Then she'd expressed a desire to see him in such a light, and finally, she'd kissed him.

Even a complete idiot wouldn't be able to miss signals that were so numerous and so straightforward. Unless Ty Lee was the type of person to treat nearly any male this way, which Xisheng didn't believe for a moment, then it seemed like she was genuinely and thoroughly interested in a relationship that stepped into the romantic.

From a purely superficial point of view, Xisheng was perfectly alright with that. The brunette was a total knockout in the looks department, and she was very kind and considerate. She was apparently pretty perverse, and she could even fight, and what man wouldn't like all of that?

Objectively though, the situation was a bit more complicated than that. It wasn't just the dynamic between the two of them that would be affected if they did pursue a mutual relationship like that, since they were traveling in a group. Xisheng couldn't really see Mai being too bothered, other than being disgruntled about having to bear witness to any public displays of affection. But Azula, on the other hand...

They had quite literally just resolved an altercation that erupted from the way he spent time with Ty Lee. Granted, Xisheng was sure that the Princess had been irked from the perspective of an authority figure rather than a woman, and she had seemingly learned a few valuable lessons from that experience. That being said, Xisheng wasn't sure if immediately hooking up with her friend was a good idea.

After all, that almost made it seem like he had been waiting for an opportunity to justify it. Convince Azula that he was loyal to her and that, despite spending time with them, his relationship with her friends wouldn't impede on anything vital, and then immediately get together with one of said friends... despite whatever growth as a person Azula may have undergone due to their conflict, Xisheng didn't think that would go over particularly well.

Glancing at the sleeping, peaceful face of one of the girls in question, part of Xisheng wondered if it was really such a big deal. Theoretically, he should have been able to date someone if he wanted to, without it having much of a bearing on his duties or behavior in a professional sense. But at the same time, he knew that wasn't entirely true.

Xisheng was still a soldier and his ultimate loyalty was supposed to be to Azula, his charge. If he developed some sort of deep and meaningful romantic relationship with someone else in the group, what would happen if a situation arose in which he had to pick one or the other? What if both girls were faced with a lethal attack they couldn't escape, and he had to choose who to save? What if Ty Lee decided that she didn't want to do this anymore, and wanted him to go with her as opposed to staying with the person he was duty-bound to serve?

Theoretical situations these may have been, but Xisheng understood that the implications still mattered. If Azula thought the same way, he couldn't actually say that she would be unjustified in shutting down a romantic relationship between him and anyone else in the group. There were actually practical reasons to consider such relationships unacceptable.

Frankly, the soldier was amazed he even had to consider this situation. He would never have dreamed initially that he would even have a chance to initiate some sort of relationship with any woman so amazing as Ty Lee, least of all under these circumstances. That's what made it suck all the more that, lucky though he may have been, there were serious obstacles in the way.

Maybe it didn't have to be anything that deep? Maybe physical intimacy was all Ty Lee wanted out of it, and he wouldn't have to become deeply engrossed in the actual consequences of a meaningful and personal relationship?

While Xisheng acknowledged that such a thing would be less complicated, he couldn't honestly say he liked the thought. Maybe he was just naive and idealistic, but the idea of using a relationship for physical pleasure and nothing else bothered him. He considered that type of physical intimacy to be something special between people that really cared about each other, so he probably wouldn't be comfortable doing it with someone unless they were well and truly committed to each other.

Ultimately, there was nothing that Xisheng could conclusively discern while Ty Lee was asleep, since he would need her input to understand just what exactly the situation between them was. So he wasn't really accomplishing anything here dwelling on it. Painstakingly pushing himself off the padded floor, Xisheng was unable to contain some pained grunts even though he tried to keep all pressure off of his wounded arm. Sitting up, he was able to assess how bad said arm appeared to be.

It still wasn't particularly swollen, even though it was such an ugly mottled color. It certainly wasn't as engorged as one would have thought, presuming a bone had been seriously fractured. There was still a constant throbbing pain that was fairly excruciating, but that was to be expected a mere night after such a gruesome injury. It was far from the worst pain Xisheng had been through in his career, even if it was unpleasant. He would have to grin and bear it until the pain subsided, likely some days from now.

With that assessment made, Xisheng quietly got to his feet and approached the communication pipes that would allow him to speak to the occupants of the driver's cabin. Honestly, he could have just laid back down and attempted to go to sleep, but it was hard for him to do that, even while injured. Not that he had a problem with other members of the party doing work, but from the earliest days of military training, those in charge drilled into you how wasteful it was to just sit around. It was a hard habit to break.

Since the rudimentary communication system was two-way, Xisheng first leaned towards the pipes to determine if he could hear anything. Yeah, eavesdropping was kind of rude, but Xisheng couldn't deny that he was curious: admittedly, he hadn't seen much of Mai and Azula interacting with each other with no one else present. He couldn't help but wonder what their relationship was like without any external factors getting involved.

Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything being said through the pipes. Whether that was because they were talking quietly or that they just weren't talking at all as anybody's guess. With that little investigation concluded, the wounded soldier figured he should just go ahead and announce his presence. He tried to keep his voice down since he didn't want to bother Ty Lee, but he had to speak loud enough to be heard since the driver's cabin included the loud roar of the coal-burning engine.

"Princess? Mai? Anybody home up there?"

A response wasn't immediate, prompting him to wonder if he had been heard at all, but after a few moments Azula's slightly distorted voice came back through the pipes.

"Lieutenant, thank goodness..."

For a brief moment, Xisheng's heart was warmed by the thought that Azula had expressed such concern for him, but the feeling was quickly dashed when the young royal finished her sentence.

"I thought I'd have to put up with Mai myself for several hours longer. What do you say we switch places?"

Xisheng heard some faint grumbling from Mai, though he couldn't quite tell what she had said. Since she was the target of Azula's barb, the soldier figured he'd take Mai's side in response.

"I'd be more than happy to relieve you of your station, Princess. If Mai doesn't mind, of course."

This time, the marksman in question spoke loud enough to be heard over the pipes. "I think anyone would be a step up in company at this point."

Xisheng was certain he could hear Azula make some sort of displeased sound herself, but there were no words as the Overlord gradually began to decelerate. For the life of him, Xisheng questioned how serious these jabs at each other really were: they sounded mostly sarcastic to him, but it was hard to tell when it came to Mai and Azula. They both had that quality that allowed them to say offensive things without really being obvious about whether or not it was in good spirit.

Glancing over his shoulder, Xisheng saw that Ty Lee had shifted a bit in her bed, but she had yet to actually awaken. They'd see if that remained true after the cabin's hydraulic doors were opened. Those things were pretty loud.

Being the heavy vehicle it was, it took about a minute for the Overlord to stop completely, at which point Xisheng pulled the switch to open the doors. As expected, the movement of heavy machinery and the expulsion of steam made for a pretty loud experience. Presumably, both Ty Lee and Xisheng himself had slept through it earlier in the day, but they'd probably been more exhausted at that point in time.

This time, his weary brunette companion wasn't able to ignore all the noise as the door opened, as she blearily raised her head from the bed to try and assess what was going on. She looked pretty groggy, a state that was accentuated by the way she rubbed her eyes.

"Ugh... Gohan, what's happening...?"

While he was still feeling a little awkward about the girl in question, Xisheng was able to push that down in favor of actual concern for her health. That was more important than anything else.

"Nothing's wrong, Ty Lee. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

Clearly tired, the acrobat laid back down on the bed, trying to make an assessment of her health now that she was aware of her physical feelings again. "A bit, but... it's not that bad. Was I asleep a long time?"

"Only about as long as me. I don't know how long it's been, I'm about to talk to Azula and Mai and find out."

Ty Lee made an effort to get back up again, though it was clearly something she didn't want to do. "O-oh, then I guess I should get up too..."

Seeing the moderate discomfort in her expression, Xisheng stopped her short. "Just lay down, Ty Lee. You need to rest."

It was clear by the look on her face that Ty Lee found this statement a little silly. "Shouldn't that be true for you too, Gohan?"

"Don't worry about me, I've been through this kind of thing before. Just focus on recovering, alright?"

The soldier didn't give her a chance to answer as he stepped out of the vehicle, something he did partially in hopes of extricating himself from the situation before Ty Lee thought to mention anything about last night. Not that he had any guarantee she would even bring it up so blatantly, but he didn't have any clue how to deal with it right now if she did, so it was best to just avoid the situation until he had a better grasp on it.

Stepping into the world outside, Xisheng quickly took stock of where they were, or at least what type of terrain they found themselves in. He had no idea how long they had been driving, after all. Things hadn't changed much though: they were still in a craggy area with a sparse array of trees, grass and shrubbery scattered about. Judging by the slightly arid weather, Xisheng would have assumed they weren't that far south of the Si Wong desert. They must have been heading East.

Considering that Mai and Azula were exiting the vehicle at about the same time he was, Xisheng didn't find himself alone for very long, though he was surprised to find the two of them bickering. Probably had something to do with the somewhat disparaging remarks they had made about each other when Xisheng had announced his presence. Azula was currently the one attacking.

"It's really not my fault you have such boring interests, Mai. I tried to be sociable, but you didn't want to talk about anything that was actually interesting."

A frown on her face, Mai wasted no time in offering a response. "Maybe if your idea of 'interesting' wasn't something that would terrify a murderer, there wouldn't have been a problem. Seriously, who wants to theorize on the effects of a lightning strike on a human body?"

"As if you've never wondered what your blades would do to a person if you aimed a little to the left."

If Mai had something in particular to say about that, she didn't get a chance to, because Xisheng took that moment to intervene. He didn't really get the feeling that the two of them were actually fighting so much as just sniping at one another, but he figured it would be best to cut the situation short regardless.

"Glad to see that the two of you are feeling up to this kind of behavior, at least."

Both girls turned their attention to Xisheng, which as what he had been aiming for: if he could direct their ire his way a little bit, maybe he could get them both off of each others' backs. Oddly enough though, neither of them seemed overly perturbed by his quip, instead expressing different sentiments: something Mai managed to do first.

"I'm just glad you're even up to standing after last night..."

Xisheng ignored the somewhat questionable imagery that phrasing brought to mind, though it wasn't like he had a chance to comment anyway, since Azula spoke before he could.

"Don't be too glad, Mai. It's quite possible that the Lieutenant is barely holding it together and a stiff breeze will incapacitate him."

This comment was taken more seriously by Mai than Xisheng would have assumed, considering the expression on her face. This time though, the soldier managed to fit a word in edgewise.

"I promise it's not as bad as all that."

The girl that had been driving all morning folded her arms and gave him a somewhat distrustful look. "Which is exactly what you would say if it really was as bad as all that, isn't it?"

Xisheng wondered where these two had gotten it into their heads that he was this type of person. But he didn't have to wonder long, since Azula so graciously explained the sentiment in response to Mai's rhetorical question.

"It certainly is. I believe you have expressed several times how death was the only thing that would stop you from doing your duty, correct? Doesn't that mean you'd push through any injury or amount of pain to do what you're supposed to do?"

For the first time today, Mai smirked a little, though it was at his expense. "Really? Only death? What a drama queen..."

Feeling a little slighted, Xisheng figured he could dispel these notions, though he liked to think they were roundabout ways of the girls expressing concern for him.

"Look, if I was really in that bad of shape, I would have had no problem staying in bed and letting you do all the work, Mai. The thing about the Army is that we're a lot bigger on gender equality than your average citizen, you know?"

The girl offered a huff of sorts to express her displeasure with that notion, but Azula found it amusing. "Alright then, I suppose we should take you at your word that you at least aren't needlessly pushing yourself a mere day into your recovery. If you made your situation worse, you'd be of less value to the team and the country, so don't do anything reckless."

Frankly, Xisheng was surprised to hear Azula advise a cautious recovery, rather than demanding he push through any pain to do his duty. He had to admit, the Princess really had grown a bit in the leadership department since he had first began serving under her. Of course, this was just a small thing and nothing major was at stake, so it was impossible to know if she would apply this wisdom on a bigger scale, and with people she had no personal investment in. One step at a time, he supposed.

As for Mai, she still didn't seem particularly convinced. "Fine, so you aren't dying or anything. But it's only been a single night of sleep for you, so it can't be all sunshine and rainbows, right?"

Tenderly touching his immobilized arm and suppressing a minor wince, Xisheng figured there was no point in lying. Sure, he didn't want his comrades to worry, but at the same time, it was important for the members of his team to know his true status. He didn't think they'd be getting into any fights anytime soon, but if something unforeseen came up, they would need to know what kind of performance could be expected of him.

"I won't lie: I'm in a fair deal of pain. I don't think this arm is going to be any good to me for at least a week, and even after that I'm sure I'll be far from fully recovered. Anything that can be done with one hand, I can handle, but this isn't the type of injury I'll be pushing past through sheer willpower unless we're talking life and death."

Mai seemed to ignore most of everything he said after the mention of being in pain. "Don't you have any medicine for that? Like the stuff you used on Ty Lee last night?"

The soldier shook his head. "Anything that would be potent enough to numb an injury like this isn't something a soldier would have in a field kit. It's fine, Mai. It hurts, but I'm not in complete agony or anything."

Even at this point, Mai didn't seem particularly convinced of his words. He couldn't help but wonder what was spurring this level of concern: maybe she felt a little guilty that she was the only one who hadn't been hurt at all last night?

Either way, Azula changed the topic of the conversation before it could go any further. "Well then, your condition seems acceptable for now, and I assume Ty Lee's is as well...?"

Acknowledging that this was an actual question, Xisheng answered. "She's exhausted, but fine."

"Excellent. Then I see no reason why we shouldn't continue our journey."

This put a scowl on Mai's face in a heartbeat. "Uh, how about the fact that I need a damn break? It's been three hours since we stopped last, I'm not going to work this hard for the sake of punctuality or something."

For the briefest of moments, there was a flare of great anger on Azula's face, which raised no small amount of concern from Xisheng. She'd learned to be a bit more reasonable as a leader lately, but Xisheng got the feeling that Mai most often and most pointedly pushed the boundaries of what the Princess considered forgivable behavior with a member of the royal family.

And yet, the young girl ultimately reined in whatever wrath had peeked out and settled on folding her arms as she glared at her childhood friend. "If you must know, I would like to reach the outpost we are heading for swiftly, particularly due to the fact that they may possess supplies that would allow us to better treat our wounded. I'm so sorry that inconveniences you, Mai."

It was an odd day when Azula used the moral high ground to get the better of others, but surprisingly, it actually seemed to work quite well. Apathetic though she often appeared to be, Mai did actually look somewhat ashamed and guilty to have been caught complaining when Azula's reasoning had actually been for the benefit of their comrades.

Still, Xisheng found himself looking for a way to defuse the situation in favor of both sides. He got the feeling this had gone from somewhat playful disparaging to actual malcontent with each other, which definitely wasn't good considering that the two of them would probably be doing more of the group's overall work with both Ty Lee and Xisheng injured. Oddly enough, he couldn't recall them really snapping at each other like this before now: maybe they weren't used to being completely alone with each other for this long in one sitting.

"I truly appreciate your concern, Princess, but even at our fastest pace, the outpost is still several days of driving away. Any urgent medical problem would have to be addressed before we arrived regardless, and both Ty Lee and myself have already been stabilized. Reaching the outpost in three days won't benefit us anymore than reaching it in four."

Azula frankly didn't seem happy that Xisheng was taking such a stance, but ultimately, her ire was limited to a huff of annoyance. "If you say so. I suppose a break is acceptable, then. That said..."

She turned to Mai before continuing. "I hope it's clear that, due to the Lieutenant's condition, driving will likely fall to you consistently for the foreseeable future. Try not to complain too much."

With that, the Princess walked off towards the cabin that currently housed Ty Lee. It seemed she really was learning the value of visible concern for her friends. Heck, Xisheng hadn't even had to recommend that the Princess check on her. He considered that to be real and valuable progress.

On the other hand, this whole exchange left a considerable scowl on Mai's face, which prompted Xisheng to approach her. "If it's any consolation, I actually do think I could drive the Overlord with one hand. You won't have to do all the work."

This didn't elicit the happy response Xisheng had hoped for, as Mai still had her arms crossed and her face scrunched up. "That's not the issue."

"Uh-huh... I've never seen the two of you fight like that before."

"That happens when the two of us get stuck together for so long. Usually we have a mediator like you or Ty Lee around to interject before things get too venomous. Though I hate to admit that Azula had a point this time..."

Seeing that somewhat guilty expression return to her features, Xisheng figured that it fell to him to offer some condolence. "Come on Mai, there's no need for survivor's guilt when everyone is still alive. You remember that conversation we had about everyone's problems being serious for them? Just because we got hurt and you didn't doesn't mean that there aren't any things worth complaining about on your end."

All of this earned the slightest of smiles out of the girl, as well as a bemused shake of the head. "You're unbelievable. Here you are with a busted arm, telling me I have every right to complain about taking just one thing off of your shoulders. Do you ever get upset?"

"I'm not nearly brave enough to get upset with you of all people."

While this was said in jest, it did put a frown back on Mai's face. "Now hold on, just what is that supposed to mean? You can't possibly be implying that you're more scared of me than Azula."

Xisheng shrugged his shoulders just slightly. "I mean..."

"Good to know I'm so terrifying to you..."

Surprisingly, Mai did sound upset about the notion, which prompted Xisheng to clarify how much he was kidding. "C'mon Mai, I'm just talking about your skills. You personally are a bundle of joy, I swear. Although, if you wanted to make yourself a little less intimidating, I'd feel a tad safer if I shared those skills, you know?"

The girl next to him scoffed as she cocked an eyebrow at his suggestion. "What, now you want me to train you too? Don't you know how to just rest? I didn't take you for a masochist that would take on so much tedium of his own free will."

"Depends on whether or not you consider learning cool skills tedious, I guess. And having a good-looking teacher always helps too..."

Xisheng mumbled that last part, so Mai didn't hear him clearly, though she was able to tell he had said something a little questionable. "What was that, Gohan? Because it sounded like-"

"Like I said a good teacher helps. Unless you're saying you'd suck at it?"

With the query subtly deflected, Xisheng succeeded in turning Mai away from what he had initially said. In hindsight, he wasn't sure why he bothered saying things that he'd be too embarrassed to repeat a second time in the first place.

Either way, he'd managed to direct Mai's attention back to her teaching skills, or lack thereof. A look of seemingly genuine consternation dominated her face for a moment.

"I don't know Gohan, I'm already taking on your driving, do you really expect me to do you this favor too?"

Picking up on the fact that her consideration was mostly a jest, Xisheng followed suit with his own response. "Well, it would be most generous of you to simply do this out of the kindness of your heart, but if all else fails, I feel compelled to remind you that you owe me a favor."

By the look on her face, it was obvious that Mai didn't actually know what he was talking about off the top of her head. "And how do you figure that?"

"You don't remember a little mishap involving a giant rock and some harpoons that I took your blame for?"

"Ugh, right..."

With a cheeky smile, Xisheng confirmed his victory. "So then, Master Mai, where do we begin my tutelage?"

"You can start by never calling me that again. Come on, let's find somewhere that an amateur like you can't hurt anyone but yourself."

As Xisheng had stated, Azula did indeed find Ty Lee awake when she entered the cabin with their beds. That said, she was actually quiet and resting, which was not something one could often say about Ty Lee when she was awake.

Admittedly, it was the most passive state Azula had ever seen the acrobat in. Figuring it would be best to leave her since she was resting and there was hardly anything Azula needed from her anyway, the Princess was quick to turn on her heels, but she didn't make it out of the cabin before being identified. Ty Lee and that damn sixth sense of hers...

"Oh, Azula? Did you really come to check up on me...?"

Caught red-handed as it were, Azula contained a sigh. She remembered the last time she had to express normal human vulnerabilities with Ty Lee, and it hadn't exactly been a comfortable experience. Showing concern and empathy wasn't really something she was used to. In the not so distant past, she would have considered such things to be undeniable signs of weakness, things that would harm the image of fear that kept your subordinates in line.

But she was trying to test the waters with all of this trust and companionship stuff Xisheng had talked about, and admittedly, such behavior had resolved her last group conflict in a way that made everyone happy, so there was no reason to reject the strategy as of yet. That didn't really change how out of her element she was though.

Maybe it was just a matter of perspective. This wasn't an emotional thing, and it wasn't any type of vulnerability. She was the leader, so the morale of her subordinates was of import to her, and she was logically justified in checking on the status of those subordinates.

Having grabbed hold of that perspective and using it as a means of solace in the face of her unfamiliarity with this kind of thing, Azula ultimately managed to turn and face Ty Lee, and with no distinguishable discomfort at that.

"Try not to sound so surprised, Ty Lee. I'm a little insulted."

Not quite spry enough to chuckle right now, Azula's acrobatic friend nevertheless managed to smile at her. "Well, I didn't mean it like that. I just can't remember you ever being worried about someone, is all. Though I guess no one around you has ever gotten hurt before... new experiences, huh?"

Azula briefly acknowledged the time someone was hurt around her, namely Zuko, but she categorized that as a different scenario compared to this one. For one, Zuko's health had been out of her hands at that time. Two, he had brought it on himself by having the gall to be so cowardly after having the gumption to decry a general in the midst of a strategy meeting, which had reflected poorly on both their father and Iroh, not that she cared about the latter. Frankly, he'd gotten off easy. At least Ozai had oh so carefully limited Zuko's injury to a superficial scar. If anyone else had been fighting her brother in that Agni Kai, it would have gone a whole lot worse.

Some part of Azula was aware that most people would frown on her callous attitude towards the travails of her brother, but a much bigger part of her didn't care. It wasn't like they had enjoyed a particularly close relationship. Sure, she probably had something to do with that, but it was definitely a mutual distaste. She was hardly going to liken Zuko's position at the time to the one she found her allies in now. For one, she could admit, albeit begrudgingly, that she did care about said allies beyond their practical use to her. Secondly, she was directly responsible for their state of injury. If they were just mere tools in her eyes, that wouldn't have bothered her any, but she was trying to weigh the value of using less extreme methods of leadership, and she couldn't deny that, even beyond the argument of fear versus trust, she didn't view her current company as pure subordinates.

She couldn't help but wonder if her father would label these doubts and emotional misgivings as weakness.

"This is an experience I would rather not get used to. There are so many downsides to the people around you getting hurt: usefulness in battle, usage of supplies, efficiency in operation..."

Ty Lee interjected with a raised eyebrow. "Concern for your friends' health...?"

"Yes, well... seems like I've been forced to broaden the scope of my emotions quite a lot recently. Can't say I really like it."

Immensely pleased to hear Azula admit to feeling actual concern, Ty Lee smiled just a bit. "It's not all bad, Azula. Feeling worried about people is natural."

Folding her arms, Azula expressed her disagreement on that front. "I hardly see any benefit to feeling anxious. It does nothing for the people you're worried for and just makes you feel vulnerable. Sounds all bad to me."

"It does do something for the people you're worried about, Azula. It lets them know you care about what happens to them. That does all sorts of good things. Well, I guess all I can say is that it makes me happy, but I bet Gohan would be able to say something about how helpful it is for leadership and all that."

With a bemused look on her face, Azula glanced back into the world outside the cabin. Neither Xisheng nor Mai could be seen from where she was standing.

"Oh, I bet... Xisheng seems to have a somewhat irritating penchant to tie personal growth into everything he possibly can. Sometimes it grates on my nerves, but... hm, how do I put this...?"

From her spot on the bed, Ty Lee accurately pinpointed exactly what Azula was trying to put into words. She always had a pretty solid understanding of how people were feeling, so maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise.

"It's nice to know that someone really believes in you, isn't it?"

There was a brief expression of surprise that crossed Azula's face when Ty Lee said this, almost like she had not actually known that her friend's sentiments were the answer she was trying to formulate. Was that really it? Surely it wasn't something so simple as being believed in, right? It wasn't like that was even a new thing for her: her father believed she was capable of great things.

Or did he simply expect great things of her? Was there a difference in expecting something of someone and believing they were capable of more? Azula didn't really have the time to ponder that right now, and she wasn't sure she had the wisdom or knowledge to conclusively answer it anyway. Ultimately, she simply acknowledged that Ty Lee was right: it was pretty nice.

"Yes... yes, I suppose it is."

As for Ty Lee herself, she did not miss the pleased tone of her voice or the slightest of seemingly genuine smiles from Azula as she said that, prompting a number of tumultuous thoughts of her own. But she didn't have time to dwell on them, because Azula was swiftly breezing past that topic to focus back on why she had come in here.

"Anyway, I was thinking, once we get to the outpost, you should consider getting some sort of armor like myself. A breastplate like mine would have protected you against the injury you suffered."

While she was certainly still worried about the thoughts that were on her mind after their most recent exchange, Ty Lee stored such thoughts away for later. She needed time to process them anyway, and that wasn't going to happen while she was having a conversation with someone. Besides, this wasn't an entirely uninteresting line of thought from Azula. Ty Lee would be lying if she denied the fact that she'd thought about the notion of wearing armor.

"I guess you're right, but... you know my skillset. Won't armor have an impact on my agility? And the weight might be a problem..."

Azula cocked an eyebrow at her friend, surprised that she had put any thought into this at all. Of course, she was also making several silly assumptions, but that kind of made sense: most people didn't actually have any experience wearing armor, so few people knew how it really felt to wear any.

"It's not as much of an issue as you think. You've seen me move, and while I may not quite compare to your agility, I think it's fair to say that my mobility is quite impressive. Well-made armor does very little to restrict your movement, and it doesn't weigh terribly much either. I don't think your performance would suffer much at all, and you would be much safer."

Ty Lee seemed a little surprised to hear this, but truth be told, there were actually other things that she considered an obstacle. Two big things, in fact. Unfortunately, she didn't really have the gumption to outright say what those things were, so she started off by beating around the bush.

"Well, that might be true, but... will there really be any armor at this outpost just lying around that can, uh... accommodate me?"

There was a slightly confused expression on Azula's face, showing that she didn't really get what Ty Lee was talking about. "You may be a little thinner than the average soldier, but there's plenty of women in our military, so there will probably be something that can fit even on your shoulders at the outpost."

Seeing that Azula was clearly not getting her drift, Ty Lee blushed a little as she raised her hands up to her chest. "No Azula, I mean like... here. Like, there might be armor for girls there, but it would probably be too tight, don't you think? I mean, if I tried to wear your armor-"

Feeling a vein bulge on her forehead as Ty Lee so blatantly made this statement, Azula restrained herself from outwardly expressing that irritation as best she could. After all, reacting to that would mean that she was insecure about it, and that surely was not the case. Her voice still came out sounding a little testy though, despite her relatively reasonable words.

"I... suppose that does make you a less common body type for armor. Maybe you could wear some bracers or something..."

"Oh, that's a good idea!"

"Or subdue those monstrosities, why don't you..."

With that last comment muttered irritably, Ty Lee didn't hear it properly. "Hm, what was that?"

"Nothing. Just get some rest, why don't you?"

Ty Lee smiled at Azula's discomfort with general friendliness, but on the inside, she was still trying to put some of her own feelings into words, at least for her own thoughts. She wasn't going to share them with Azula of course, even though the Princess was the source. Ironically, she felt that there was probably only one other person to potentially talk about this with, even though he was one of the major players in the whole fiasco.

But all things considered, that was probably going to have to wait, so Ty Lee decided that the best thing to do was keep it under wraps and appease Azula. Besides, she was still quite tired, so it wasn't like she was against the idea of taking it easy. Even her most recent worries probably wouldn't be enough to keep her from sleeping again.

Was Xisheng this exhausted? He had said he was fine, but in Ty Lee's opinion, his injury had been worse, so shouldn't he have been even more tired than she was? She couldn't help but feel that he was pushing himself unnecessarily. Surely, he was having a bad time right now...

"Just so you know, I'm not taking any blame if you cut yourself during all of this. The whole thing was your idea to start with."

Mai and Xisheng had trekked a somewhat considerable distance from the Overlord, going so far as to be out of sight of the machine. Apparently, Mai's reasoning for this was simply to avoid any serious accidents, which Xisheng found somewhat unnecessary. Sure, he understood that throwing blades around was very dangerous, but was there really any chance of him lobbing one completely behind him and hitting somebody when he was aiming forward?

Well, he had never actually thrown a bladed weapon at anyone before, so maybe it was possible to be that bad.

Either way, he figured it would be best to try and allay Mai's concerns. "Well, it may not be my primary skillset, but I did have to learn a few things about bladed weapons in training. I promise I at least know how to treat it seriously and keep the pointy end away from myself and others."

His impromptu teacher didn't seem particularly enthused by his statement. "So, the absolute bare minimum of common sense, huh? That doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

Seeing the frown on her face, Xisheng copied her expression. "Really Mai, I know I said you owed me a favor, but if you aren't comfortable with this, I won't force you. They're your skills to share, not mine to demand."

Getting the feeling that her partner was getting the wrong idea about her misgivings, Mai tried to clarify a bit. "Look, it's not that I'm necessarily against the idea of sharing, it's just that... well, the last time I tried that, it didn't go particularly well, and do you really need to get hurt again in your current state?"

For the life of him, Xisheng was most focused on the fact that she had apparently done this before. "Gotta say, I'm surprised you took a shot at teaching someone else how to do this. When was that?"

It was immediately obvious that Mai wasn't terribly keen on going into detail on that front. "A long time ago. But... well, don't let it go to your head, but you're probably a bit more competent than he was at the time, being like, twelve or something."

Xisheng got the feeling that he knew who Mai was referring to, but before he could go any further with the topic, the girl drew one of her curved black knives from the confines of her sleeve.

"OK, listen. First of all, this is one of my favorite knives, so if you throw it off into the woods and we can't find it, you'll be sorry."

Feeling that she was not exactly kidding, Xisheng tried to find an alternative training approach. "In that case, shouldn't we use a knife that isn't your favorite...?"

"The only other weapons I have on me are arrows and razor discs. Neither of those is fitting for an amateur, and arrows use launchers anyway."

The wounded soldier cocked an eyebrow at her. "Wait, like, you have all of that on you right now? Why?"

Mai folded her arms, finding this question to be silly, apparently. "Because, we live in a world where people like you are technically armed all the time, with scary things like fire blasts and flying boulders. Do you even realize how hard it is for a non-bender to really feel safe when you stop and think about how much more power so many other people have?"

Even though they had come out here to practice something, Xisheng found himself getting distracted by this tangent from Mai. For one, it was truly interesting to think about. Two, he had never expected the notion to put be raised by Mai, of all people.

"You're absolutely right... I've never really thought about what that must be like. But do you actually feel unsafe like that? Like, all the time?"

The teacher who had yet to teach him anything scoffed. "What? No. Prior to this whole misadventure, I've only ever been threatened by benders one time, and that was just a few days before we met in Omashu. I'm not really the type to seriously worry about every potential threat that's out there either. But like I said, when a huge part of the world's population is technically armed all the time, it's only practical to do the same, in my opinion."

Getting that explanation, Xisheng smiled. "I should have known. I'd find it hard to believe that you're scared of anything."

"I'm scared of some things. Just nothing that I would tell anyone or make obvious."

Knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to convince Mai to share such things out of the blue, he focused in on something else she had said earlier. "By the way, arrow launchers? Where did you get those? Did you build them?"

This question earned an incredulous look from the girl. "Do I strike you as someone who has fun by building things? I'm a nobleman's daughter, finding people to make stuff that I want isn't that hard. Now, are you going to keep interrogating me or do you actually want to learn something practical out here?"

Xisheng decided against admitting that he greatly enjoyed interrogating Mai, though he honestly enjoyed doing that with anyone he was close to. He liked learning about people, because it was an adventure in and of itself. For instance, he never would have imagined that Mai had the types of thoughts and feelings she did when he had first met her. The same was true of Ty Lee and even Azula. And everything you learned about someone else deepened the value of your bond with them.

But Mai had a point: the two of them were actually quite prone to getting lost in some tangential conversation that was separate from their original goals. Xisheng considered that a good thing, a sign of two people having very compatible personalities, but it was often an obstacle to getting anything done. That being the case, he figured he could tone it back and focus on what they had actually come out here to do.

"Alright, alright, practicality it is. At least I still have the use of my dominant arm for this..."

Mai twirled the knife in her hand so that she was holding the dangerous edge and holding out the safer handle for Xisheng to grab. "There's no way I would have agreed to this if you only had your off hand, so yeah, that's a good thing. I'm honestly surprised you aren't ambidextrous..."

Xisheng gingerly grabbed the proffered weapon, well aware that a razor sharp edge needed very little to cut someone. Maybe that was why Mai wore those gloves all the time?

"Well, I can't have it all. Maybe one day, if I practice this kind of thing with my left hand..."

"Remind me to be nowhere near you when you're doing that."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Ignoring that, Mai focused on how she was going to explain the nuances of her skill to an amateur like Xisheng. Throwing weapons was second-nature to her. She didn't really have to think about the technical aspects of doing it, even though she obviously knew those technical aspects by heart. All of that being the case, it was kind of hard to put it all into words, and especially words that an amateur could derive some knowledge from. Not to mention that the last time she had done this, a certain someone had almost cut his thumb off.

Coming to these conclusions, the whole situation kind of irritated her. Teaching seemed like such a hassle, and what good did it even do her, the teacher? She didn't get anything out of it. It was a wonder that someone like Azula had ever agreed to teaching, honestly.

Thinking about that particular bit of knowledge, Mai realized that both Azula and Ty Lee were teaching Gohan unique things, making her the odd one out. That put the situation in a bit of a different light. Not that she cared from some weird competitive standpoint: she didn't have anything to prove to either of them. But for some reason, the notion of her two friends having designated time with Gohan all to themselves made her kind of jealous. This wasn't the first time she'd felt such a way either, which made it particularly irritating since she couldn't determine a reason as to why she was experiencing something she'd usually label as irrational and stupid.

Well, she had considered a couple of possible explanations for such feelings, but Mai had dismissed most of them as being ridiculous.

"Uh, Mai? Is everything alright? Seriously, if you don't want me using this knife, just say so."

Realizing that she had likely been quiet a little longer than was normal, and that she had been staring at the knife in her partner's hand, Mai hid any flustered feeling at being caught in such a state behind one of her usual masks as she directed her gaze back to Gohan's face. That handsome face, which was always looking at her so attentively, always listening to what she had to say, always validating every odd thought and feeling that she had, always making her feel like she was important... and all while having those damned gorgeous eyes.

Suddenly feeling a lot of heat rising to her cheeks that even she didn't think she could control, Mai turned towards the tree in the distance that they were going to use for target practice and tried to focus on why they had actually come out here.

"N-no, it's fine. I'll probably be able to see it even if you do miss. Now listen, the easiest way to throw for a beginner is to place the blade between their thumb and their index finger. One day, you might be able to throw it straight directly at a target, but for now, you'll want to throw it in an arc so the blade flips, which will make it easier to actually hit the target with the part you're supposed to. That all makes sense right?"

Mai watched as Xisheng locked eyes on the target and smiled eagerly. "Yeah, that all makes sense."

Taking in that smile and everything else she had acknowledged in the last minute or so, Mai couldn't help but reevaluate the possible explanation she had considered as the root of her jealousy.

Maybe it wasn't that ridiculous at all.

While Ty Lee had initially listened to Azula's advice and attempted to rest more, there had eventually come a point when she had been too bored to consider doing that. Even injured as she was, the acrobat hadn't been so deprived of energy that she could just sleep in bed all day. She wasn't sure if her natural energy could be depleted that severely under any circumstances.

Of course, she'd been a little worried about Azula getting onto her for getting out of bed, but upon doing just that around the time dusk fell, Ty Lee had been unable to find her friend anywhere. If she had to guess, the brunette would have assumed Azula was off training somewhere. The Princess hadn't possessed a lot of time to do that lately.

Similarly, Ty Lee hadn't seen Gohan nor Mai around the Overlord when she got out either. Normally, being alone would have upset her, but right now, she actually didn't mind. As she sat in a small patch of grass next to the Fire Nation transport and focused mostly on leg stretches since they caused her no pain, Ty Lee was glad to be alone so she could sit and think without interruption. If Gohan were around, he almost definitely would have picked up on her odd demeanor, and he definitely would have asked her if she was alright. She really liked that about him.

But seeing as how he was the problem at the moment, it might have been a little difficult to talk about. Well, maybe it wasn't accurate to say that he was the problem, so much so that the problem revolved around him.

That she really liked Xisheng was not a great mystery to her at this point. In fact, she'd known that for quite some time now. Last night's kiss was actually a bit misleading: sure, she hadn't been lying with all of that talk of gratitude, but in reality, she had just been frustrated as hell.

The flirting, showing off at the river, blatantly discussing scandalous things, the kiss... really, she was just trying to find ways around obstacles she herself had erected without actually getting past the barrier.

The fact that her problem was self-imposed was salt in the wound. Humble though she was, Ty Lee had no delusions about her status as a very attractive girl. She'd been subjected to dozens of attempts from men of all stripes to woo her during her tenure in the circus, so much so that it had become a sort of running gag among her peers. There had literally been betting pools on how many men (and women, occasionally) would try and convince her to go on dates after a performance.

And if she could command the attention of the old, the young, the meek and the freaks just by existing, Ty Lee felt that it was safe to say that she was a conventionally attractive woman that could be considered very desirable.

All of this was to say that, if all bets were off, Ty Lee was very certain that she could convince Xisheng to enter a romantic relationship with her. He had made it pretty obvious that he liked her personality and he definitely liked her physically, so there was no question on that.

What actually was the problem then? Ty Lee's own self-imposed restrictions. She had already considered the ramifications of dating the group's sole male in regards to the dynamic between them all, but it had mostly been theoretical. Maybe Azula would be upset, maybe Mai would care, maybe it would cause some sort of rift in the group.

But that uncertainty had been washed away today, in that brief moment Xisheng had come up in the conversation between her and Azula. It was only a moment, but in that moment, Ty Lee had received irrefutable evidence of the situation she had feared. In that moment, Azula's aura had shifted to unmistakable shades of happiness and contentedness. And that was to say nothing about the rarely if ever seen genuine smile, or the almost gentle tone of her voice: two things that almost never happened in regards to Azula. Ty Lee frankly couldn't remember any time in their experience together when the Princess had sounded, looked, or acted that way when talking about another person.

There was no actual question now: whether or not she knew it herself, Azula cared for Xisheng way more than a mere soldier. More than a pawn or even a comrade. She cared enough for there to definitely be a problem if Ty Lee actually pursued Xisheng romantically, she was sure of it.

The girl sighed as she almost forgot she was injured and tried to stretch an arm. Thankfully, a sharp sting in her chest stopped that short. With that being a bust, and already being done with most leg stretches that could be accomplished in her state, Ty Lee had little choice but to look up at the slowly darkening sky as she further contemplated her issue.

A not altogether small part of her said that it wasn't really her problem. What, she couldn't pursue a relationship she was interested in because someone might be unhappy with that? First of all, Ty Lee knew damn good and well that she had liked Xisheng this way long before anyone else had. Two, if Azula or anyone else wasn't going to act on their feelings, what made her obligated to hold back on her own? And three, Xisheng was more than capable of picking his own relationships, and it would hardly be her fault if Ty Lee was his pick.

These thoughts occurred to her pretty regularly, but unfortunately, Ty Lee was a good person. God dammit, she was a painfully good person. Even though she had every right to act on her own feelings, knowing that she could get in the way of her friends' happiness always stopped her short.

Well, it stopped her from going all the way, at the least. Even prior to today, she'd often forsaken her self-imposed restraint just because her situation was so frustrating. Toeing the line with Xisheng made it a little easier to not cross it entirely, ironically. She felt like an addict who swore to avoid something, but she always allowed herself just a little bit to keep the cravings at bay. Not exactly healthy, but it was the best she could do. She was the self-destructive type of good person too, unfortunately. She was disciplined in many things, but keeping her emotions in check wasn't exactly one of them.

Unfortunately, her lack of discipline on that front was almost certain to cause some problems now. If she was trying to avoid the trouble that would come with pursuing a relationship with Xisheng, it probably would have been prudent to avoid teasing him in the nude and kissing him in the dead of night. There was no way someone as intuitive as him could miss what those types of signs meant, and because he wasn't the kind to sit on issues that affected himself or others, he would certainly ask Ty Lee about all of this at some point. And then what was she going to do?

Before the acrobat could dwell on exactly how she would handle that theoretical future situation, Ty Lee's thoughts were interrupted by the realization that said situation might be upon her earlier than expected. Or more accurately, she could hear the approaching voices of some of her friends. It sounded like Xisheng and Mai were returning from wherever they had gone, with their voices getting clearer as they got closer to her. It sounded like they were coming from the other side of the Overlord.

"...yeah, everyone thinks war is serious all the time, but no one ever acknowledges the times some poor sod has to rush from the outhouse to the bunker with his pants down because the enemy started a bombardment while he was taking care of business."

Ty Lee didn't think she had hearing any more exceptional than a normal human being, but she could have sworn she heard Mai giggle. Well, maybe it was more of a snicker or a subdued chuckle, but as far as her typically reserved friend was concerned, that was practically the same thing. Oh yeah, things were even more complicated than she thought.

"Then you must have plenty of humiliating stories about yourself to share, right, Gohan?"

"Nonsense, my entire military career was the height of decorum and heroism, I swear. Well, other than the cabbage incident-"

Before their dialogue could continue any further, Mai and Xisheng rounded the corner of the vehicle, allowing Ty Lee to lay eyes on them: particularly the relaxed smile and committed focus of her friend's gaze on her male conversation partner.

'More complicated' might have actually been an understatement.

Naturally, Xisheng spotted Ty Lee sitting in the grass outside of the Overlord quite quickly, which prompted him to cut his sentence short and focus on her instead.

"Ty Lee, are you feeling well enough to do that? Stretching might be a bad idea when you have a healing injury..."

Even though she was troubled at this exact moment, Ty Lee couldn't help but smile a little bit. His first thought as always for others, something that she also liked immensely about him. In fact, he could have stood to be a little more selfish in some scenarios.

"I'm fine Gohan, I'm just stretching my legs. I know I should be resting but I can't stand sitting around in bed all day. Neither can you, apparently."

With a sheepish smile, the soldier nodded. "Yeah, I guess I've got no room to talk. Well, it's your body, so as long you feel that everything is alright, don't let me tell you otherwise."

Mai, on the other hand, folded her arms as she said her piece. "Well I think you're both being too reckless too soon. I can't believe how hard it is to convince either of you to take it easy even when you're hurt. Boundless energy sounds tiresome."

Xisheng gave her a somewhat smug look. "But Mai, if I had stayed in bed today, we wouldn't have enjoyed such an enlightening conversation or great company. And besides, who knows how much longer Azula would have forced you to drive if I hadn't interrupted?"

Ty Lee noticed the slightest of flustered looks from Mai, but ultimately it was hidden behind a mask of faux disgruntlement. "Fair enough. Where is the taskmaster anyway? Kind of surprised she's not here to chew our heads off for being gone so long..."

The two of them both directed their gazes to Ty Lee, since she would be the one to know where Azula was, presumably. Ultimately though, the brunette merely shrugged, albeit gingerly.

"I don't know. She insisted I sleep a little longer after checking on me, and she wasn't here when I woke up a little while ago. I figure she's off training or something."

Mai's expression grew a little more sour at this. "Wish she'd show me that kind of consideration..."

When neither of her friends had anything comforting to say in regards to that, the marksman merely sighed. "Alright, I'm going back inside to do some maintenance on my knives. Who knows what kind of edge damage your amateur technique caused..."

Xisheng spoke after her even though Mai was already walking for the cabin. "Hey, I think not cutting myself is more than impressive enough for my first day, we can worry about edge damage or whatever later."

Mai made some airy gesture with her hand that probably equated to dismissal, before disappearing into the main cabin of the Overlord. Naturally, this left Ty Lee and Xisheng effectively alone, with the prior commenting on his recent activities.

"So now you're learning from Mai too? You sure move from interest to interest pretty fast. You've only had one day of practice with me!"

"I'm just the type of person to try and learn as many useful things as I can, that's all. Besides, I have every intention of continuing my training with you, if you'll still have me. Though I guess that might be kind of hard to do with both the teacher and the student injured..."

"Y-yeah, I suppose so..."

Immediately after this exchange, the air became tense. That made it abundantly clear that Xisheng was just as aware of the awkward situation between them as Ty Lee was, which was bad for the latter. It meant she couldn't just delay the conversation they no doubt needed to have, unless she was willing to tolerate this awkward air between them for an undisclosed amount of time, which she really wasn't. That was why she figured she would just get it over with.

"Um, Gohan... do you think we could go somewhere and, er, talk?"

Admittedly, there was a look on Xisheng's face that said he wasn't quite prepared for this conversation, but that didn't stop him from nodding his agreement.

"Yeah, I think we should. Do you need help standing up?"

"N-no, I'm not that hurt. Is it alright if we just walk?"

Ty Lee demonstrated her capability with ease as she got to her feet, with Xisheng gesturing an invitation to walk beside him back the way he and Mai had come from. Awkward as she felt, the acrobat accepted that invitation, acknowledging that this may have been the first time she was actually uncomfortable with Xisheng, though not because he had done anything wrong.

The fact that the situation was so awkward meant neither of them started talking right away, even as they got further from the Overlord. But that was actually kind of nice. It gave Ty Lee a chance to put her thoughts in order.

She had already considered the situation a mess when she was just taking Azula into account. But now she had to factor Mai in as well, which was not something Ty Lee had been counting on. She'd hardly expected Mai of all people to catch feelings, for a myriad array of reasons. She didn't really seem to be the type to swoon, she hardly seemed to enjoy getting to know new people, and Mai had always been the type to make some comment along the lines of 'gross' or 'ugh' whenever the topic of romance came up.

Which had always seemed a little hypocritical, considering the certainly more than platonic fondness she had held for Zuko back in the day. That too threw Ty Lee for a loop. Mai had been utterly miserable for almost an entire year after Zuko was banished, constantly pining after him or fretting over him or just lamenting his absence. Even when that kind of behavior died down, it really seemed more like Mai had just grown tired of expressing those feelings, rather than ceasing to have them. She found even complaining tedious when it would have no impact on anything, and it had become pretty obvious at some point that the chances of never seeing Zuko again were not all that insignificant.

Which, in hindsight, meant that Ty Lee probably should have considered the current scenario from the start. She didn't doubt that Mai had been very serious about Zuko: she had even expressed an interest in seeing him again when they had first reunited at Omashu. But three years and some change was a long time to maintain strong feelings for someone, especially when those feelings were mostly just a crush, albeit a potent one, that you had when you were a kid. Ty Lee felt that it was a likely possibility that Mai and Zuko could rekindle that flame if they actually met again, but to say that said flame was burning hot in the interim between that theoretical reunion and their parting was probably a stretch.

Mai hadn't seen or heard from Zuko in more than three years, and knowing her, she probably hadn't made any new connections with other guys between the day of Zuko's banishment and the day they had all reunited at Omashu. Ty Lee really hadn't expected that to change when they all met again, but apparently there was something about Xisheng that Mai considered worth her attention.

Well, Ty Lee knew what that 'something' was. He was kind, attentive, intelligent, reliable, strong and handsome. A girl would have to be completely crazy to not at least consider him. Ty Lee just honestly hadn't believed Mai would actually care about any of that. She'd half expected her to obstinately stick to her old feelings for Zuko.

Suffice to say, she hadn't seen it coming, but Mai and Xisheng had somehow hit it off splendidly. Maybe years of mounting frustration had finally exploded or something. Maybe she had rationally determined that pursuing an unlikely hope of seeing her old flame again wasn't worth ignoring all other good opportunities. One way or another, Ty Lee had to admit that maybe she just didn't know her friends nearly as well as she had thought she did.

"I think this is the longest silence there has ever been between the two of us."

Startled from her convoluted musings by Xisheng's voice, Ty Lee quickly acknowledged that they had been walking for some time in complete silence. Who knew what her companion thought was going through her head in all that time.

"Uh, yeah... it is really weird, because it's not like we're mad at each other or anything... w-wait, you aren't mad at me, right...?"

While her concern was completely legitimate from her own point of view, Xisheng apparently thought otherwise, since he actually chuckled to himself at the mere thought of it.

"Frankly, I don't know what you could possibly do for me to ever be angry with you. It's honestly hard to even fathom you doing anything to a friend that they'd be justified in getting angry about."

Ty Lee was obviously glad to hear that Xisheng had such a high opinion of her, but it was a bit bittersweet, since her whole dilemma was about potentially angering her friends for her own desires. Even humble as she was, Ty Lee knew she was much nicer and more forgiving than most, but she didn't think she was incapable of slighting other people by any stretch.

"W-well, that's good to hear. But, um... if we're not mad at each other than it shouldn't be this hard to talk, right? Shouldn't it be easy to be honest with each other?"

Xisheng's expression grew thoughtful for a moment after she said that, but ultimately it evened out into a more resolute look. "Yeah, I suppose it should be. So, uh... Ty Lee, how serious are you about me?"

His brunette companion was clearly caught off-guard by how suddenly that had come up, even though she had just mentioned being honest with each other. She still hadn't expected him to ask outright like that five seconds later, which was a big problem because she didn't know how she wanted to answer.

Obviously, the most truthful answer to his question was 'extremely serious.' Ty Lee had been subjected to a lot of male personalities in her life even at her young age, so she knew for certain that Xisheng was not the type of guy you had a chance to be with very often. Not that she was pursuing him from some selfish standpoint of 'bag the best man I can like some sort of trophy,' but objectively, a guy as good as him was a rare breed, and a girl who wanted to find the best partner that she could to be happy with wouldn't want to just write him off.

But at the same time, Ty Lee viewed this reality as a reason she shouldn't act. Based on personal experience, she knew that she would probably have no shortage of suitors in her lifetime, so as far as probabilities were concerned, there was a pretty good chance she would meet someone great like Xisheng again. But Mai and Azula on the other hand...

Hell, Mai had seemingly not made a single new friend in three years when she was left to her own devices. She hadn't even really made friends herself when she was a kid: Ty Lee and Azula had kind of just dragged the girl into their friend group. If they hadn't been so aggressive about it, it was actually pretty likely that Mai would have spent her whole childhood mostly alone, and if her exact same friends hadn't come to get her from Omashu, it didn't seem like that much of a stretch to assume that Mai would spend most of her adult life alone too. She just wasn't the proactive type, as far as padding out her social circles was concerned.

And Azula... well, frankly Ty Lee was amazed that Azula had encountered a good man that wasn't completely put off or terrified by her, who actually wanted to support her without any sort of coercion or threats. What were the chances of that happening again? Ty Lee had always figured that Azula would be a solitary woman her whole life, either because she viewed love as a weakness or because no half-decent man would ever consider her as a partner. At best, she imagined an arranged marriage that lacked even an inkling of actual fondness.

All of this way to say that, mathematically, Ty Lee considered holding back on her own feelings as not as much of a loss compared to Mai and Azula missing a shot with someone who was actually worthwhile for them. With the way those two were, they were lucky to even get a normal chance at romantic happiness, and if it slipped away this time they might just never have that happiness at all. Ty Lee was an outgoing, sociable person who existed in a space that attracted a lot of attention. She was likely to have many chances to meet an ideal partner in her life.

Naturally, a pretty big part of her said that none of that was her problem. Her friends were their own people and finding love and happiness was completely their responsibility. Ty Lee wasn't obligated to sacrifice her own desires to facilitate mere chances for them to find happiness, because it wasn't like her holding off on Xisheng was guaranteed to lead to anything between him and anyone else. It seemed stupid to squander her own opportunity just to give her friends a chance they might not even want, or just might not take advantage of.

And yet, that was what she found herself doing. She was just that type of self-destructive good person, the type that would willingly choose to suffer just to try and make other people happy. The only time in her life she had actually chosen herself over anyone else was when she ran away from home to join the circus, and that was only after she had been pushed to the absolute limit of frustration and misery with her home situation. And even after doing that, she had been miserable for months anyway, constantly ridden with guilt over her decision to do something selfish at the expense of everyone else around her.

The worst part was that she knew it was self-destructive and objectively kind of stupid. That made it even more frustrating that she said what she did, all while trying to inject some degree of brevity and lightheartedness into her voice.

"Well, I... don't know if I would call it serious, Gohan. You're just so cute when you're teased, I can't really help myself. But it doesn't really mean anything, y'know?"

Frankly, Ty Lee wasn't sure what she was going to do if Xisheng was hurt by her saying that. She didn't know if she could handle being the reason for causing him pain, disappointment and embarrassment. And yet, nothing about his aura or his expression changed to indicate such feelings. Actually, he just cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Lying isn't really a good look on you, Ty Lee. You're not every good at it."

Needless to say, this caught Ty Lee by surprise. "Eh, what-"

"Listen, I don't proclaim to be psychic, but I do think I'm pretty good at reading people. And from the day we met, it was obvious that you don't bother to hide how you're feeling, or maybe you just can't. You smile when you're happy, you frown when you're upset, you laugh when things are funny and blush when you're embarrassed. Both Azula and Mai can usually hide how they're feeling when they want to, but not you. I guess that's to say that you're not a very good actor, but it's nice. No one has to wonder if you're hiding something behind a false expression, because you never are."

While Ty Lee was aware that this was all being said as praise by Xisheng, she had to admit, she felt a little offended that she was being made to sound so simple.

"Well, shows what you know! I can hide things! I'm hiding things right now and you don't know what they are!"

Xisheng smiled, seemingly finding her reaction a little amusing. "I know you can hide what you're thinking, but what you're feeling? Ty Lee, you didn't even manage to hide how you felt about what I just said. And if you were really so good at concealing your emotions, why was it so painfully obvious that something was bothering you tonight about things between us? If teasing me was just some sort of game for you that you had no emotional investment in, why do you always get so flustered in those moments? I don't always know why you feel a certain way, but I think it's safe to say that I know how you're feeling most of the time. Or am I wrong about that?"

Ty Lee sighed in defeat. She should have known better than to assume she could honestly pull a move like that on Xisheng of all people. Even your average person who barely knew her could easily tell how Ty Lee was feeling in most cases, never mind someone observant and emotionally intelligent who actually spent time with her. He was right about the fact that Ty Lee had almost no ability to hide how she felt most of the time.

"N-no, no... you're not wrong. Guess I should have known that trying to mislead you wasn't going to work. I'm sorry I even said something that might have been potentially hurtful."

As always, Xisheng didn't seem to mind at all. Heck, sometimes he gave Ty Lee a run for her money in the forgiveness department. "That's alright. Knowing you, there's some altruistic motive behind it. Can't say I have any idea what that motive might be though. If saying you weren't serious was misleading, that means you are, right...? But why wouldn't you want to admit to that?"

Caught with her feelings laid bare whether she wanted them to be or not, Ty Lee struggled to find an answer. Damn, maybe it would have actually been easier to talk to someone who could easily be lied to. When she didn't want to outright tell the truth and didn't have much of a chance of lying successfully, that left her in a tough spot.

"Well, I... I do really like you a lot, Xisheng. But, there's... reasons I don't want to take it anywhere."

Her vague explanation put a concerned frown on Xisheng's face. He'd half expected to be flustered during this conversation: Ty Lee had just quite openly admitted to liking him, after all. But seeing that she was struggling with something that was making her uneasy, he found that of far more import.

"Ty Lee, if there's some sort of personal issue in play, I promise it would never affect how I view you. You don't have to be embarrassed about anything."

More than anything, Ty Lee was just curious as to what he was assuming as possibilities. "Personal issues? Like what?"

Having not expected to be called out on that specifically, Xisheng now did find himself a little flustered. "Ah, well, you know... things that might make you feel less... desirable as a partner, I guess...?"

"Such as...?"

"I-I mean, you know, things like... maybe you've had a serious physical relationship with someone before now, or you can't like, have kids or something... o-or, maybe you killed a man! I don't know, I've heard a lot of crazy concerns from female soldiers in the Army when this kind of thing inevitably comes up when people are drunk... n-not that I'm saying you seem particularly predisposed to those issues, or anything!"

Honestly amused at how worried he got about possibly insulting her even in such a roundabout way, Ty Lee couldn't help but giggle at Xisheng's expense.

"Sometimes you think about things a little too hard, Gohan. It's nothing like that. And besides, wouldn't it be normal for a soldier to have killed someone...?"

Glad that she wasn't offended by anything his words may have insinuated, Gohan cleared his throat as he calmed down a bit. "Well, I meant more of killing a man in a way that was probably illegal and outside of the military... but if it's nothing like that, then...?"

Ty Lee briefly considered just being honest, and telling Xisheng that her issue was with the possible impact of a relationship between them on the group as a whole and on her friends' futures in particular. But for several reasons, she didn't think that was a good idea. For one, it made some pretty broad assumptions about Azula and Mai's feelings and what they wanted, and putting ideas into Xisheng's head that might not be entirely accurate could cause a lot of trouble for him. Two, it would really put him into an unfair spot to say 'hey, three different girls you're close to might have feelings for you, find a way to handle all the ramifications of that problem.' Especially since it was possible that things might not even play out like that.

But if she wasn't going to say that, then what was she going to say? It was already pretty clear that she couldn't lie to him convincingly. What other options were there? Although... if Ty Lee's penchant for being a good person who would accept undesirable things for the benefit of others held her at bay so often, maybe it would work on Xisheng too. After all, he also struck her as the type of person that wouldn't want to cause problems for his friends, even if it meant he had to do something he didn't quite like.

"Gohan, I know this is something you probably don't want to hear, but I... can't tell you, right now. I really do like you a lot, but I just... don't want to take that a step further right now, which I know is kind of hypocritical of me to say since I'm the one usually flirting with you... I-I can stop that, if you want. I mean, I know how unfair it probably seems from your position for me to flirt so strongly with you, only to say that I don't want to actually commit to anything serious... p-please don't be mad at me..."

For his part, Xisheng was mostly just lost. Well, not lost on what Ty Lee was saying, but confused as to why this was her answer. She was obviously quite conflicted on saying all of this, which meant she was being honest about liking him, and that there was something serious somewhere that she considered a valid obstacle to doing anything with those feelings. Unfortunately, the possibilities were immense in number.

Was she just lacking confidence? Was she not sure what kind of longevity her feelings would actually have? Did she fear that there was no point in pursuing a relationship because he might die on the battlefield, or because they would be forcibly separated at some point? Or maybe she liked him as a person but couldn't get over the fact that he was a soldier? He knew that bothered her.

Point was, there were way too many possible reasons for Ty Lee to say what she was saying right now, and Xisheng couldn't possibly hope to know which of those possibilities was the right answer. He supposed he could get angry with Ty Lee for 'taunting' him so to speak, only to hold back on anything meaningful, but he wasn't going to do that. Xisheng still firmly believed that Ty Lee wasn't the type to be malicious or selfish. He couldn't possibly imagine that her reason for all of this was a bad one that deserved to be condemned.

"I'm not mad at you, Ty Lee. I'm sure you have a good reason, and I'm sure you have a good reason for not telling me what that reason is. I don't think you have any ill intent and I certainly don't think you're trying to play games with me."

The look of relief on Ty Lee's face was unmistakable, though there was still a great deal of worry there as well. "T-then, we can still be friends, right? I know it'll probably be a little weird for you considering what you know, but... it's not going to get in the way of us being friends and spending time together, is it?"

Donning a reassuring smile, Xisheng tried to placate her fears. "I could hardly say that I'm not mad at you if I proceeded to treat you like that, could I? I mean, I guess it will be a little odd, all things considered, but I don't think it should get in the way of us being friends. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather maintain our friendship if it's within my power to do so. You'd have to be the one to call it off."

Finally smiling in a way far more reminiscent of her usual happy self, Ty Lee let him know how she felt about that. "Well, all of this other stuff notwithstanding, I don't think I would ever do that. Friends as good as you don't come around too often, you know."

While the whole situation was just as complicated as before, if not more so, Xisheng was honestly just content to see Ty Lee genuinely smile without a hint of worry or anxiety. He hadn't expected to come out of this conversation with more questions and uncertainties than he had before it, but he was alright with this outcome for now. The most important thing was that there was nothing threatening the good relationship they already had, and whatever obstacle was in the way of taking that relationship further was no fault of his own.

Now he just needed to determine if maintaining the status quo was actually a good or a bad thing, in regards to both their situation and his own personal desires. Unfortunately, that answer would probably require a bit more time and soul-searching to find. Containing a sigh since Ty Lee might misconstrue it as exasperation, the soldier wondered how they had gotten here.

He never thought that Ty Lee of all people would hold the title of most perplexing and complicated member of the group. Azula had been the reigning champ for so long.