Asami sighed as she glanced around the room she was seated in. The walls were made of brick, but they were covered for the most part. Mirrors surrounded by light-bulbs ran the lengths of the wall in front of her as well as the wall behind her. Each mirror had a wooden chair positioned in front of it and at the moment only one of them was occupied as Asami sat alone in the dressing room, a bouquet of pink roses in front of her. Asami's attention drifted back to her mirror and the face looking back at her. It was hers though it certainly didn't feel like it with all the makeup she was currently wearing.
Primer all over her face, a sheer foundation, even more primer on her eyelids, contouring meant to emphasize her cheekbones. There was concealer below Asami's eyes and her lashes had mascara on them and as well was being curled to the side as well. A bit of liner had been added to even her lips then she had applied a dark red lipstick which in turn was covered in gloss. After finishing the work on her face she had spritzed it with a setting spray so that it would last through the night. She still wasn't done, however. Asami gathered a few strands of hair on the left side of her head in her fingers and began twisting them together into a braid. Once the braid was finished she let the end fall back down to hang by her shoulder blades as she started another braid on the right side. When Asami finished the second one she took both of them together and began wrapping them into a bun at the back of her head. She held it secure in one hand while the other fetched a long bejeweled pin and slid it into the mass of hair to keep the bun together.
Once she finished her hair Asami's gaze dipped lower in the mirror as she took a look at the outfit she was wearing. The dress was made of satin and completely white from top to bottom. Her shoulders were bare though its bust came up high enough that there wasn't any cleavage to be seen. The dress hugged her, though not unmodestly so, above her waist, but the rest of it was a different story. Starting at the waist the material flared outwards well past the width of her shoulders and it hung low enough to hide the satin shoes she was wearing. Lastly she was wearing a simple necklace made of silver chain-links and a pair of white gloves extending up past her elbows.
A knock on the door made Asami jump, startled, and she twisted in her seat to look towards the door. "Yes?" She asked, her voice sounding too loud for the almost empty room.
"May I come in, Asami?"
The voice was that of her father, Hiroshi Sato, the president of Future Industries. Asami gave the mirror another glance to double check her appearance before turning back towards the door. "Come in."
The door opened and her father stepped inside before closing it behind him. He was as dressed up as his daughter though his outfit stood at the opposite end of the color spectrum. The back of his black dress coat hung all the way to his knees. It was shorter in the front and hung open in the middle. His pants and shoes were black as well though there were two pieces that were white. A stiffly ironed dress shirt and the white bow-tie at the base of his neck. "
She watched in the mirror as he moved to stand behind her chair. "It's almost time, Asami. Are you ready?"
Asami turned her head to the side, unable to meet her father's gaze even if it was only a reflection, as she started to fidget with one of her gloves. "Do I really have to go through with this? This whole thing is so degrading."
Hiroshi wearily sighed as took his glasses off and began to wipe the lenses with a handkerchief from his front pocket. "I know you've never been comfortable with this, Asami. That's why I never pushed the matter on previous occasions, but I was always hoping that you would come around on the matter. I wasn't so lucky and unfortunately your absence has been noted each time and people have been talking."
"About what? That I didn't attend one of these ridiculous balls? The original point of these things is matchmaking and that doesn't really happen these days. I'd have better luck with people online then I would at this event anyways. Do you know what the people out there will see?" Asami waved her hand downwards at her dress. "All of this. They won't see my mind or who I actually am as a person."
"I understand and I actually agree with you as a matter of fact. I doubt you'd find someone you'd be interested in if you were actually looking." Hiroshi's voice remained soft but there was a firmness to it now. "However, this ball is still important for other reasons. The people attending tonight are some of the biggest movers and shakers in Republic City. Future Industries has done well so far, but some of the contracts we're in the running for depend on not offending anyone out there, which you will if you refuse to participate again. You might not like it, but you're almost twenty one years now and that means you're old enough to understand that sometimes you have to do things you don't enjoy."
Asami stared at the desk for several seconds before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Yes, father." She said dejectedly, resigning herself to the fact this was unavoidable before standing up and grabbing the bouquet off the table.
Hiroshi took his daughters hand and helped her stand from the chair. Before opening the door he paused and gave her a second glance. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion so remember to smile."
Asami scowled at him and a frown creased his face in response. Her shoulders sagged and she grudgingly feigned a small smile. Hiroshi waited a moment and the smile grew a little wider before he pushed on the door and stepped out into the hallway. A short walk later and the two of them arrived at their destination.
Several girls were already lined up along one of the walls. Each of them was holding a bouquet of pink roses and they all were wearing similar dresses to Asami's. Most telling, however, was the fact they were all noticeably younger than she was. Past them was a pair of open doors leading to a large ballroom filled with round tables covered in tablecloths. Asami let get of her fathers hand and moved to stand at the end of the line. Hiroshi gave her a nod then headed towards the girl next to Asami. The two of them began to speak though Asami didn't have the chance to listen in. At the same time a couple approached her. One was a serious looking man with a shaved head and a beard that narrowed to a fine point a few centimeters below his chin. At his side was a shorter woman with a plain and kindly looking face.
"Councilman Tenzin, Pema. I didn't think I'd see either of you here. How are you and your children doing?" Asami eagerly asked.
"They're doing well. Rohan's been easier to handle than his brother was."Tenzin stated, a bit of relief poking through his normally stoic exterior. "We weren't planning to come tonight, but Jinora's almost old enough for one of these events so Pema and I decided to see what all the fuss is about. It's good to see you, Asami. We'll save a seat for you and your father if you want." Pema gave Asami a smile and then they were moving down the line to greet the other debutantes.
Right behind them was an older man whose stout build was still defying the fact he was past his prime. The breast of his red officers jacket was covered in medals and his black hair shined in the light, giving a hint at how much pomade it had taken to tame it. "Commander Bumi? This is a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you tonight."
The commander shrugged dismissively. "I'm retired, but some of the bigwig generals asked me to be here so the military had someone representing them. I wasn't going to come then Tenzin told me there's a dinner and I'm not gonna say no to some free grub. If you'll excuse me that dinner isn't gonna eat itself."
After Bumi started heading down the line Asami turned her attention to the next person in line and her smile froze on her face when she saw who it was. "Look. At. You, Asami! Never thought I'd ever see you wearing one a dress like that! How do you even walk in that thing? I'd be tripping all over myself if I tried. Isn't that right, Zhu Li!?"
"Hello, Varrick." Asami said when the man paused to take a breather. It didn't seem like he had been told that this was a white tie event. Varrick was wearing a dark blue jacket with white fur running along the edge of its lapels and a garish pale blue tie. The person in front of him hadn't been wearing a tuxedo either except Bumi was a military officer who could get around the dress code by wearing a dress uniform. On second thought Varrick probably knew, but didn't care, and being the richest man in the world was enough to deter anyone from questioning his improper choice of attire. "What brings you here tonight? I'd never have guessed that you'd be interested in a debutante ball."
"Debutante ball? What in the world is that? Zhu Li, do the thing!"
"Sir, it means-"
"Never mind that right now! There's an election coming up and I gotta decide whose gonna win so I'm here to shake some hands and grease some wheels! Tell your father I said hi."
Asami blinked, more than once, as Varrick took off in the wrong direction. Zhu Li and Asami exchanged a confused glance before Zhu Li went after him. A moment later and Varrick was heading the correction direction this time as Zhu Li shepherded him towards the dinner tables. Asami couldn't help but notice he didn't talk to any of the other girls standing in line. She didn't have time to reflect on it further as another guest approached. It wasn't someone whose face she recognized, but that wasn't surprising since there were a few hundred invitees attending. Some of them would be people whose faces or names she recognized, but strangers being among them was an inevitably. The other side-effect was that greeting all of them would take a while.
Once all the guests were inside a small group of young men with an older woman at their head approached. The men were all dressed much like her father had been with the addition of white gloves of their own. "Excuse me, ladies." The woman said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Buttercup Raiko and I'm the organizer of this ball tonight. Thank you all for coming and if you don't mind I'll introduce your escorts tonight." She started at the head of the line eventually ending up in front of Asami. "Miss Sato, your escort tonight is Tahno here. Tahno, this is Miss Asami Sato."
Tahno was a pale skinned man with a narrow face and long black curls that had been slicked back. He held his arm out to her and Asami linked their elbows together. "So... Tahno, how did you end up being chosen as an escort for this ball?"
"I compete on the fencing team at Republic City University and I recently took first at an international competition in the under twenty age group. Guess someone decided I have talent because I got an invitation to this ball not long after." Tahno explained, a touch of cockiness now present in his voice.
"If I remember right there aren't degrees in fencing at RCU so what are you studying there?" Asami inquired as they entered the ballroom. Tables occupied most of the room, but there was a pathway running from one end of the room to the other. At the far end of the path was a rectangular area that had been kept mostly clear and past that was a stage that had been elevated several centimeters off the floor. A band was set up on the back portion of the stage and at the moment bows were being dragged back and forth across various kinds of strings.
"Music." Tahno said as he cast a glance towards the band. "I'm hoping to go pro as a fencer, but there's not a lot of money in the sport unless I relocated to the Fire Nation. There's enough jazz clubs in Republic City that could use a good trombonist so I have something to fall back on if fencing doesn't work out for me."
"That's very practical of you." Asami stated as they arrived at the table her father was seated at. She let go of Tahno's arm. "If you'll excuse me."
Asami didn't wait for a response as she took a seat next to her father and leaned in towards him so she could speak quietly. "I spoke to Varrick earlier. He said he's looking for someone to back in the upcoming elections."
Hiroshi was silent for a few moments and he took a drink of water before responding. "Varrick's going to back someone for a seat on the council... that kind of bankroll will be impossible to compete with. We'll have to keep an eye on him and see who he approaches tonight. Did you see anyone else tonight?"
"Buttercup Raiko organizes this event so we have to assume her husband is present. I spoke to Tenzin earlier, but he doesn't accept campaign contributions from businesses and he's popular with the masses so he'll hold onto his spot anyways. Tarrlok is here as well though I don't like some of his policies." Asami said before getting a drink of water.
"Maybe so, but he acts as a counterweight to Tenzin's more... radical ideas so we can't dismiss him just yet. We also can't outspend Varrick though we can outmaneuver him if we have more councilman on our side. I'll have to think about it before deciding what to do." Hiroshi added, almost as an afterthought before sitting up straight in his chair.
She was spared the need to reply as waiters were beginning to navigate their way between all the tables as they brought the food out. It didn't take long before there was a plate in front of her. Bloody looking filet mignon, mashed potatoes covered in brown gravy. It certainly smelled good though Asami eyed the food with more than a little wariness. White gloves and a white dress weren't exactly optimal for eating this kind of meal. Asami glanced from side to side before pulling her gloves off and hiding them beneath her seat. She then gingerly lifted her fork up and painstakingly stabbed a piece of the beef. The fact that she wasn't really hungry would help in avoiding a faux pas, but it didn't help any to pass the time. Tahno was seated to her right, but he had started talking to the pretty woman on his right side and the two of them looked completely engrossed in the conversation they were having. To her left Hiroshi was talking to a man she vaguely recognized. His last name was Keum though Asami couldn't remember much else about him other than the fact he ran a business of his own. She suppressed the urge to sigh and carefully took another bite as she began to count the seconds as they slowly drifted by.
There was still plenty of meat and potatoes left on her plate, but her glass was empty when the woman from earlier came around again. She tapped Tahno on the shoulder and waited until she had his attention before speaking to him and Asami. "It's time for the presentation. Please come with me."
Asami grabbed her gloves and pulled them back on before following Tahno and Buttercup towards the door they had entered the room through. They were the last ones to arrive, Asami dryly noted. All of the girls, as well as their escorts, were waiting there. Buttercup didn't waste any time shepherding all of them into a line like before except this time Asami was at the front. She held her arm out for Tahno to take while holding the bouquet in the other. By now it had become apparent what was going on to the rest of the attendees and people turning in their seats to watch them. Asami started to walk forward, the girls behind her, as she made her down the path and towards the stage, stopping in front of it.
When she came to a halt the band stopped the song they were in the middle of and the musicians started turning the pages in front of them. Overhead a speaker came to life and Buttercup's voice came out of it. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to thank all of you for coming and I hope you've been enjoying yourselves so far. It's time for the main event so let's get to it."
The band started playing once again and the notes to the United Republic's anthem began drifting through the room. Asami walked forward onto the stage, Tahno staying at her side as they turned around to face the crowd. She wasn't sure how many people were there, but there had to be at least two hundred, perhaps three of Republic City's most elite social circle and they were all looking at her.
Buttercup's voice came through the speaker once again. "Introducing Asami Sato, daughter of Hiroshi Sato. At eighteen she graduated from Republic City Tech summa cum laude with a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Since then she's been working as the vice president of engineering at Future Industries. Asami also currently holds the rank of brown belt in Judo, but she's still single so don't let her brains and brawn scare you off boys!"
Asami removed her arm from Tahno's elbow, but she held onto his hand. For several painful seconds it seemed as though her legs wouldn't respond to what her brain was saying. The lights shining seemed too bright, she could hear a phone ringing from somewhere, the music continued to play, all those people sitting at the tables out there were looking at her. After what seemed like an eternity Asami's knees bent beneath her as she curtsied. After a brief pause Asami stood back up and she moved out of the way for the girl who had been standing behind her.
Buttercup continued speaking to the crowd, but Asami wasn't listening to what Butter was saying anymore. Instead the introduction that Buttercup had given her was looping through her brain over and over as a cold fury broiled in the depths of her stomach. Asami had provided Buttercup a list of things to say during her introduction, but the older woman had chosen to make a few additions of her own. The smile on her face never wavered though Asami's cheeks were beginning to ache and it was hard to resist grinding her teeth together. One by one the other girls were introduced, to the crowd at least since Asami wasn't listening, until there were none remaining.
Once all of the other debutantes had been introduced an equal number of men were making their way up towards the stage. Hiroshi was among them and he made a beeline straight towards Asami while the others were headed for their daughters. Asami handed her bouquet over to Tahno before letting her father take her hand. Once again the band stopped playing as Hiroshi and the other fathers brought the debutantes towards the empty space in front of the stage. Hiroshi put a hand on her waist and waited for the musicians to start playing before leading her in the first steps of a slow waltz. "I know you don't want to be here, but your mother would be proud if she could see you now."
"Don't do that. If I start thinking about mom then I'm going to cry and it'll ruin my makeup." Asami was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Why did you tell Buttercup I was single?"
For a moment Hiroshi looked like he was about to deny it then he shook his head, realizing there was no point. "Because I'm concerned about you. You turn twenty one tomorrow and you've never been in a relationship. I'm not sure if you've even gone on a single date for that matter."
"That's-" Asami's voice started to rise, but she quickly caught herself before it got too loud and she started speaking in a heated whisper. "I've never had the opportunity and you know it. I started attending RCT when I was thirteen and I was so much younger than everyone else there that romantic relationships were out of the question. I'll get to it when I'm ready and not before. Changing the subject, how long do I have to stay? The presentation is over."
"You'll have to dance with your escort, but after that you can leave. I'd suggest staying though. Having a good social network is an important part of business and rubbing shoulders at events like this is something you'll have to do when you succeed me as CEO of Future Industries."
"There'll be plenty of time for that later. Right now I have my hands full just running the engineering department. Besides you still have at least a decade left in you so me taking over won't happen for a long time." Asami pointed out. Hiroshi gave her a dubious look, but he didn't say anything and the rest of their dance passed without further comment.
Hiroshi stepped away and began heading off the dance floor and almost immediately Tahno was there to take her father's place, a sardonic grin on his face. "Judo, huh? Think I've heard of that. Some kind of martial art isn't it?"
"It's a grappling style from the Fire Nation." Asami said as the two of them started into the same waltz that she had been doing with her father. "It's mostly takedowns, but there are some submission holds as well."
"Oh right, I know what you're talking about now. Judo's that sport where people wear those ridiculous white pajamas and try to trip each other." The grin on his face widened and there was more than a little smugness in it now. "What would you do if someone came at you with a knife?"
In another time or place that question might have bothered Asami, but her time on the mats had taught her the answer a long time ago. "I'd run away. It doesn't matter how good a person is at unarmed combat if there's a knife involved." Tahno started to look even more smug and Asami hastened to add one last bit. "It also doesn't matter how good someone is with toy swords if there's a gun involved."
Tahno's face started to redden and for a moment it looked like he was choked with rage. "Toy swords? Fencing as a sport that dates back hundreds of years and we do not use toy swords."
Asami glanced to her left and right, but thankfully Tahno's voice hadn't risen and no one had taken note of their conversation thus far. "Aren't they, though? I'm not an expert on fencing, but I've seen a couple of matches and the blades and tip are all dull. Sounds like a toy to me."
Tahno glared at her for several seconds before irritably shaking his head. "Gotta say I was planning to take you out for dinner sometime, but now I see why you're single. Here's a bit of advice since you need it. Insulting someone's passion isn't a good way to attract guys."
Asami rolled her eyes. "So you're saying that it's wrong for me to make fun of fencing, but it's okay for you to put down Judo? That's hypocritical of you."
"Whatever." Tahno muttered before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Look, we can bicker all night, but that's not why I'm here. I figured being an escort at this event would help me get laid and when I saw you I thought I had hit the jackpot. Then you opened your mouth and started talking. Are you going to keep annoying me or can you get out of the way?"
Asami shook her head in disbelief as the song came to an end and she quickly pulled her hands away from Tahno. "Don't worry about it."
As she started to make her way off the dance floor Asami slowed down and came to a halt. Several members of the people in the crowd were beginning to rise, but others were still in their seats, watching her and the other debutantes. She put a hand over her mouth and exaggerated a shrug of the shoulders as if heaving something up before hurrying towards the exit. A few heads turned as she passed by, but no one made any effort to stop her.
When she got back to the dressing room it was empty. Asami shut the door behind her and locked it before heading towards the chair she had been sitting in earlier. Stashed underneath the counter was a large leather handbag. She pulled it out and set it on the counter before rummaging around until she found a small round container. Asami took it with her to one of two sinks at the very back of the room and she unscrewed the lid after yanking her gloves off. Inside was a beige cream that she dipped her fingers into before rubbing it on her cheeks then over the rest of her face. Once she was finished Asami turned one of the faucets and began splashing the warm water onto her face. After all the makeup had been rinsed down the sink Asami went back to her handbag and pulled out another item. A pair of scissors. She grabbed at the fabric near her shoulders and positioned it between the scissor blades before squeezing the handles together. Once she had made several cuts in the fabric Asami grabbed two handfuls of fabric and one of her hands yanked upwards while the other pulled down. The weakened fabric resisted for a moment before coming apart with a ripping sound. The tear now ran down to her waist, brought to a halt by the mass of fabric surrounding her legs.
Asami grabbed the fabric again and shoved it downwards, not willing to wear the ruined garment any longer. Once she was free she kicked off her satin shoes. She balefully stared down at the pile for a moment longer before lifting her gaze to look at herself in the mirror. Now that the dress was gone the only things she was wearing was a pair of blue briefs that had been discolored in spots and a white bra roughly the same shade as that accursed dress. Asami's thick black hair hung halfway down to her shoulder blades, her pale skin shone in the light coming out of all those bulbs and her sharp cheekbones only served to further emphasize her green eyes.
After a moment she shook her head before going to her handbag a third time and pulling out the clothes she had been wearing before arriving at this place. Blue jeans, sneakers, and a plain black tee shirt didn't exactly meet this event's dress code, but Asami wasn't going to stay any longer. She stuffed her ruined dress, shoes and the gloves into the bag along with her jar of makeup remover before heading for the door.
There wasn't anyone outside in the hall aside from a couple of waiters whose attention was split between talking to each other and peering into the auditorium. One of them glanced in her direction as she came out, but paid her no more mind than that. Asami adjusted the strap of her handbag as she started heading for the front door.
Her car was waiting out there in the parking lot, but Asami didn't head in that direction. Instead she headed along the front of the building until she got to the alleyway between it and its neighbor. Asami walked down it until she got to the first of the several dumpsters that she could see. She reached into her bag and yanked the destroyed dress out before raising the dumpster lid and tossing said garment into it. The shoes and gloves quickly followed then Asami was heading for her car.
Asami's hand paused before turning the keys in the ignition as she stared at the steering wheel. This night had gone as she had expected it would, but with one surprise. Tahno had wanted to sleep with her. The idea of sex with him turned her stomach, but someone had shown a measure of interest, even if it was only in her body and that meant others could do the same. Maybe her father was right after all, Asami decided. If she kept putting this aspect of her life off then it was only going to get harder as she got older. She turned the keys and shifted her car into reverse as she began making her way out of the parking lot. Now that her mind was made up she had to figure out the best way to go about this. That meant research. A lot of it.