Paperwork

"Gah!" Korra glared at the stack of paperwork on the table. "Why does saving the world have to come with so much paperwork?"

"Stop complaining." Azula poked Korra with her walking stick. The Avatar snorted. She didn't know why Azula had a walking stick. The old firebender certainly didn't need one. Knowing Azula, she'd probably just used it to impersonate a helpless old lady in order to infiltrate a secure area or something. "I know for a fact that I drilled you on the importance of proper paperwork."

Korra made a face and then did her best impression of Azula. "Organised paperwork is a sign of an organised mind. Messy paperwork is – ouch!" Korra grabbed at her hand. "Stop whacking me with that, damn it!"

Azula rolled her eyes and then tossed the walking stick aside. "Very well. But your paperwork would not look so menacing if you actually did it regularly instead of waiting for it to pile up."

"But it's so boring," Korra whined. She held up one sheet of paper. "Look at this! They want me to itemise the food and drink I bought on a mission for tax purposes. I mean… who cares?"

"The taxman always cares," Azula replied. She pulled up a chair and shoved Korra into another one. "But, since you look so pathetic, I suppose I could help you with your paperwork." She smiled thinly. "Besides, it's been a while since I committed tax fraud."

"You mean you don't cheat on your taxes all the time?"

"I don't cheat on my taxes. It would be like robbing my own family, or have you forgotten that the crown collects taxes in the Fire Nation, the crown being my family." Azula scoffed. "I really should ask Lin to let me audit this city's politicians. I imagine it would be quite fun watching them squirm before they get thrown in prison."

"Um… if you commit tax fraud for me, will I get thrown in prison?" Korra asked.

"Oh, relax. You won't get caught if I'm the one committing tax fraud for you." Azula skimmed over some of what Korra had already done. "Do you really eat this much when you're out on a mission?"

"Hey, I get hungry!" Korra folded her arms across her chest. "Being the Avatar requires a lot of food."

"Aang was never a big eater, and he was a vegetarian to boot." Azula chuckled softly. "You should have seen him during that one mission we had in…" she trailed off. "That was fun."

Korra pursed her lips. It had become clear to her over the years that despite the stories to the contrary, Azula and Aang had actually grown to be good friends over the years. "What mission?"

Azula's lips twitched. "We ended up getting stranded in the middle of the desert once. There were only two sources of sustenance available: lizards and cactus juice. I picked lizard. Aang, well, you can guess what he picked."

Korra's eyes widened. "He picked the cactus juice?"

"He did. It took me an hour to catch him after he went running off into the desert. Luckily, he ran right to an oasis. He always was lucky about that sort of thing." Azula shifted her attention back to the paperwork. "You should ask Asami to help you with these. She has accountants, but I know for a fact that she only uses them because of the sheer volume of paperwork she has. If she needed to, she could fill out all of her paperwork herself."

"Do you think I could…?"

"No." Azula scowled. "You can start using an accountant or assistant once you've learned how to do the paperwork yourself. If you don't learn, then there's no way for you to ensure that you aren't being lied to or cheated." She frowned. "Now, listen closely. I'm going to explain some of these forms to you in more detail."

"Uh, thanks." Korra paused. "Did you ever help Aang with his paperwork?"

"Of course. He was raised a monk. They weren't exactly big on paperwork, and Katara was raised in the Southern Water Tribe who hold a similarly dim view of paperwork." Azula laughed. "Thank Agni that Izumi takes after her mother since my brother was always hopeless with paperwork."

X X X

Asami stared at the stack of completed paperwork in awe. "Wow. You got all of that done today?"

"I had help," Korra replied before nodding at Azula who taking one last look at some of the forms. "She's a kick ass firebender, and she can do paperwork like nobody's business."

"Don't get used to this, Korra. Now that I know you can do it yourself, I expect you to do it." Azula got up. "I'll be going now. I have an appointment to keep."

"An appointment?" Asami asked.

"Yes, apparently Lin wants my opinion on Kuvira." Azula's lips curled. "It should be an interesting afternoon if everything I've heard about Kuvira is true."

Asami and Korra shared a look.

"Don't be too hard on her," Korra said softly. "I think… I think she's trying very hard to make up for what she did."

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" Azula gave a short bark of laughter. "Kuvira and I have a lot in common." She stepped past Asami. "Oh, and say hello to Kai for me. I wouldn't want that young man to forget the conversation we had about Jinora."

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I do not own Legend of Korra. I am not making any money off of this either.

I doubt that any amount of training will ever get Korra to like paperwork. Unfortunately, saving the world and being the Avatar probably does involve an inordinate amount of paper pushing.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.