This has NOTHING to do with Avatar as we know it. Nobody has bending powers, but the hot, sizzling sexual tension between Katara and Zuko remains, I guarantee it! Basically, Katara is one of Japan's top clothing designers, until Azula buys the empty building space across the street and fills it with her own designs. But Katara (through her hatred for her rival) also seems to notice the hot and sexy man that seems to be with Azula every work day. When she finds out this gorgeous creature is Azula's brother, she avoids him like the plague. However, he feels the opposite about shunning away from Katara and pursues her to no end. Does he have other motives besides trying to bed her? Warnings: BLAH BLAH
"AAH! What is up with this mental block?" Katara slammed her fists on the table in her office. Breaking the tip of the pen with her actions, she chucked it across the room in the metal trash can. It clanged around before coming to a stop. She let out a frustrated sigh before kicking her chair out behind her and grabbing a fresh pen from her briefcase. Grabbing her chair and standing it upright she let out another sigh. Why couldn't she for the life of her design the new fall line? Sure, fall and summer are tough for her, but she always got by. She just wasn't inspired by using reds and oranges. When winter came her clothing was unmatched by anyone. Considering her favorite color was blue, she never had any problem incorporating it in her designs. Since green and purple are close to blue on the color wheel, it inspired her spring line as well. However, now she was in her "drought" period. When she just had no feeling to design, but her life (literally) depended on it. "Dammit!" she closed her sketch pad.
"Hey, you wanna keep it down in here? I've got customers out front!" Toph poked her head in. Since Katara had to spend a good majority of time to the actual design aspect of her job, she had to rely on her best friend to man the store out front. Toph's eyes twinkled with sympathy and anger. Ever since she got eye corrective surgery, she was a huge help around Katara's store, Wave.
"I'm so sorry Toph," Katara pushed a strand of hair off her face. "It's just…I'm trying to design my fall line, and I just can't seem to think of anything new and original."
"Yea, I'd like to say I care, but I got a line of customers out there trying to buy the last of your summer line."
"Want me to open up the other register?" she stood from her art desk with hope written all over her face. Toph just sighed before leaving, but the door was ajar which meant "Sure, why not?" in Toph-Talk. Katara quickly locked the door to her office before stepping between the curtain separating the back office and the busy store. She programmed herself into the cash drawer at the main desk next to Toph before taking an impatient customer.
"When is this store getting their back-to-school clothing in?" the woman dropped her desired blouses on the counter. 'Oh Shit!' Katara's mind screamed. She forgot to send in her designs to her contacts. There was no fabric, and no one to make her designs. 'Crap.'
"Before Labor Day," she answered shakily, because for all she knew, her cute back-to-school outfits wouldn't be made in time. The woman sighed, obviously not happy with Katara's answer.
"$94.27," Katara folded the clothes and gently laid them inside a blue and white bag. The woman handed her a credit card and she finished the payment. "Have a great day ma'am," she smiled.
"Yes, thank you, I will," and she bolted for the door. Katara watched her go thinking how if she knew Katara was the store owner/designer and not just a cashier she would have been a shit-load nicer to her. Katara shut down the computed register.
"That was fast," Toph was folding a set of tank tops.
"I forgot all about my back-to-school line. I have to stop by Ty Lee's and get the fabric samples," she grabbed her car keys from the locked box.
"Wow, you're lucky Ty Lee doesn't have too many other designers she works for, or you'd be more screwed than you already are."
"Yea, I really don't need the reminder," she grabbed her purse (the first of many new designs) and scurried toward the door. "Take care of the store!"
"I always do!"
Katara raced into Ty Lee's apartment building. She knocked on the door and waited for her chipper fabric specialist to answer. She didn't have to wait long, for Ty Lee swung the door open with a huge smile on her face.
"Miss Katara! I wasn't expecting your fall line to be done for a while now!"
"Yes, but it seems you and me both forgot about one little thing," she entered and pulled out a sketch of a dark blue skirt and funky layered top. It screamed only one thing.
"Back-to-school, of course! I always forget about that, even though I shouldn't. It's almost like a holiday for designers," she closed the door shut behind Katara. Ty Lee's apartment was a gorgeous size, after the remodeling. She knocked out the wall connecting the dining room and living room, making it a huge space for her example fabrics and work desk. "All right, lay them on me," she picked up her glasses and got ready to look at Katara's sketches. 5 Hours Later
"I'd rather just go with a nice jersey for this outfit," Katara held out the last sketch and was thoroughly exhausted.
"Yea, if you want to be plain about it. But I have this great material over here, in a plaid-,"
"TY LEE! No plaid. Just a solid color in jersey. I've been here for almost five hours now, and I really have to get back to the store. So," she flopped her arms by her side and watched her friend. Ty Lee studied the sketch before picking up a roll of olive green jersey.
"How would this work? And then we can run its complimentary colors as well," she smiled weakly at the frazzled designer.
"That's fine. Thank you, and I'm going to take you out to lunch this week," she grabbed her briefcase and made her way for the exit. "I trust you'll take care of the 'sweatshop," they joked about the name of the people that actually made the clothing. It was kind of mean, but it was an inside joke and therefore totally harmless.
"I can handle it, and let me know when and where for lunch," and with that, their meeting was over. Katara could now go back to her hell of designing fall fashion wear.
"I'm going to assume all went well at Ty Lee's?" Toph was pulling out clothes from the dressing room and putting them back.
"Yea, it went well. I feel like closing up early," she slumped in a chair behind the registers.
"No argument here," Toph was returning items in the front.
"I just feel drained, and I really have to try and design right now. Rush is over," she looked around the dead store.
"You going to use the office or go home and sketch?" Toph was hanging some dress pants up.
"Probably just go home. I have my shoes and sandals sketches there, and I need to finish at least eight more of those before taking them to Ty Lee," she slapped herself in the forehead. "Which I forgot to mention to her that I want to start a footwear collection. Gods, I feel moronic today."
"Then let's close up. You said it yourself, rush is over. All I have to do is quick call Song and tell her she doesn't need to come in."
"She a good worker?"
"One of the best, why?"
"I think I need to cut someone soon. I mean, you're here 90 of the time with me, and sometimes I just want to work the store, so why have someone else?"
"Well, don't cut Song, and you can't cut Suki, not until she gets back on her feet."
"Who does that leave us with?"
"Beebee and Haru, who just came out of the closet might I mention!"
"He STAYS! I can let go BeeBee…oh wait, manager, that's you're job!"
"Bitch…" Toph switched the sign from Open to Closed. "Let me go quick call Song, and then we can walk out," she hustled to the back room and grabbed the cordless phone from the lunch table. Katara went back into her office to grab her sketch book of the fall wear, when she emerged there was a loud banging outside.
"What the hell?" she half-jogged down the shiny marble flooring to the locked door. When she looked outside she saw a large machine knocking down the building space immediately across from Katara's store.
"I hate to break it to you boss, but I hear South Korea's top designer is moving her location right there," Toph was suddenly next to Katara leaning on the glass. Katara saw the workmen pulling the roof out through the entrance.
"Are they making it a two-level?" Katara's jaw dropped.
"Looks that way Kat," Toph looked away. "Let's go, you need to design anyway, right?" Katara nodded absentmindedly, and finally tore her eyes away from her new competition.
"So who is it?"
"Huh?"
"Who's South Korea's top designer that decided to move next door?"
"Oh, her name is Azula Agni," Toph opened the door and the two exited the store before locking it behind them. "She sells her clothes in America."
"WHAT?" Katara looked at Toph incredulously. Katara had been in the business for five years now, and she had no offers from any store in the United States. "How long has she been designing?"
"A little under ten years," they rounded the corner to the parking lot.
"Define a little?"
"When her store opens," Toph pulled out her keys and unlocked her green Toyota Camry.
"Oh my gosh! She's going to ruin me," Katara unlocked her blue Camry as well.
"Stop that talk! Her store isn't opening for almost a year, and who says she's going to be a hit right away? Certainly not me! You've been doing this for five years and have a staple in Japan fashion. Everyone in Tokyo knows about you. Come out with some fabulous fashion and I'll call Element. See if they can't feature you or something, okay? Nothing is going to happen to you and Wave." Katara let out a huge sigh at her friend's comforting words.
"Thanks Toph. I'll see you tomorrow huh?"
"Of course you will!" and Toph entered her car before whizzing off. Katara sat in hers for a few minutes. Would she be ruined? Could this be the end of her five year reign? She started the ignition and pulled out of the lot. Casting a glance at the workmen to her left, she put on her blinker and made a right, heading in the opposite direction.
10 Hours Later
Katara's house phone started ringing loudly, abruptly waking her from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes, glancing at the clock radio. Four a.m. She grabbed the phone and didn't bother with a proper greeting. "WHAT?" she half-screamed, half-yawned.
"I'm on the internet," came the voice of her older brother.
"Good for you, come on over and I'll give you a cookie."
"Yea, that sounds good, but I have more."
"I'm waiting with baited breath," she yawned again and saw the minute change.
"South Korea's greatest designer is moving in next to you."
"Actually it's across the street, Sokka."
"Not the point. I found out about it around two that she's coming to Japan."
"Do you sleep at night?"
"No…I researched her and found out a lot of information about her. She's good Kat. I've seen some of her clothing. She's had shows in America and South Africa. She's been featured in Elle South Africa roughly six times."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I know that lately you've had trouble designing, and I want you to turn it around before her store opens. You need to go more global if you want to survive."
"Did Toph hire you as my agent or something?"
"No, but,"
"No buts Sokka. It's four in the morning, and I really don't feel like listening to you tell me that I either have to ship up, or ship out. All I really want to do right now is sleep, and stop talking to you."
"Katara,"
"Call Suki, she's a mess without you," and with that, she pushed the 'off' button on her cordless phone before placing it back on the charger. She pushed back down on her soft mattress, pulling the comforter up to her chest. She couldn't sleep now. DAMN SOKKA! Feeling restless she kicked off the cover and sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She was more worried than before. Her idiotic brother saw her doom in the face of Azula Agni. However, this is the same brother that had a woman who loved him with all her life and screwed it up, literally. Katara got up and walked to her kitchen, grabbing a glass for water. Her cat hopped up on the counter next to the sink. "Good morning, Jet," she stroked him under the chin. He purred at her and swiftly gave her a lick with his sandpaper tongue. This caused her to smile before looking around her empty apartment. It was beautifully decorated, and anyone who knew Katara knew this was her dream home. But for Katara, it was only her dream home by outside appearance. She had no one to live with; no one to love. Her job consumed her every waking minute. The store during the day, and designing at night; she couldn't even sleep without having an interruption, so it seemed. Sure, it was great to have Jet, as he purred at her ankles. But she needed more than that. She needed a man. She needed security. She needed to have somebody tell her this Azula woman would not be then end of her career, whether he believed it or not. She walked on the carpeted flooring in the living room and stared out the French doors leading on the balcony. She could see her store from here, which made it a spectacular view. However, she could also see Azula's future shop, which made her close the curtains. She returned to her bedroom, Jet following closely behind. Setting the glass on the side table, she pulled the plush comforter back over her body. Grabbing the extra pillow she hugged it close to her, wishing for a miracle.
A/N: Element is Japan's most respected fashion magazine, kind of like Elle in America. Also, BeeBee is Smellerbee; see why Katara has no problem firing her? Sorry to all who love Haru, but yes, I decided to make him gay. No, he's not extremely flamboyant, and he will be in some chapters later, no major role though. Sokka cheated on Suki with Yue, and is currently single. Suki was a mess so Katara offered her a job at Wave which is why Toph told her she cannot even think to fire Suki. Toph is not blind, she had eye surgery and can see (obviously) if she can handle money and drive a car. I don't know about Japan's weather, but we're just going to assume that it is similar to what we could expect. Cold in winter, windy in spring, hot in the summer, and whatever fall is; sorry if that offends anybody. Jet is Katara's man at this point, so I hope that pleases some Jetara fans…I'm sorry, that was mean. This will be Zutara, so I don't want anyone thinking Katara's going to live with the cat forever.
If there are any other questions, leave them in reviews and I'll answer them in the next chapter, but I think I got everything covered here. Next chapter, you meet Zuko and Azula and what they are all about.