Chapter 3

Come the evening of the final day of the tournament, and it was time for the event that many among the competitors and their friends and family had been looking forward to for weeks: the official tournament afterparty. After a couple of weeks of stressful competition, nothing felt better than to let off some steam during a wild party. Of course, considering the age of the kids, most of them had someone older accompanying them, whether it was their parents, older siblings, or as in the case of Toph Beifong, a pair of towering bodyguards whom she had affectionately dubbed The Hippo and The Boulder. Despite their considerable size, the two men somehow managed to remain discreet, allowing Toph and her friends to forget about their constant watchful presence.

Sokka was supposed to be Katara's guardian, making sure that she wouldn't get into any trouble. However, it seemed that on this instance, Sokka was determined to cause trouble himself. It was not long after they had arrived at the student's club at the University of Yu Dao where the afterparty was being thrown, when Katara discovered that Sokka had smuggled in a couple of bottles of vodka with him. Now he was having a lot of fun offering his fellow partygoers to improve their fizzy drinks with a generous slosh of vodka, but fortunately most of the other kids were too sensible to accept the offer.

While Katara enjoyed the occasional party as much as the next girl, this was really one of those times when she wished having some extra cash to spend on a new outfit. Katara supposed that she could have used some of the prize money she had won, but… she couldn't bring herself to do something she considered inherently selfish. She wanted to bring the money back to her family. There were so many other ways to put these funds to better use. The autumn storms had damaged the roof of their modest two storied house, and it was still leaking in places despite their father's best attempts to fix it. Their old fridge that her parents had bought before Katara had even been born was slowly starting to suffer more and more malfunctions, often deciding to defrost on its own. It clearly required a replacement. How could Katara justify spending money on new and expensive clothes when there was such a dire need for the money she had just won?

And regardless of whether it was by now three of four years behind the latest fashion trends, Katara did love her silvery-blue bubble dress and the way it made her look, with its golden sash tightly squeezing her waistline. She had already been complimented on her looks several times this evening, mostly by girls who were wearing far more fashionable clothes, such as Yue, looking absolutely stunning in her platform shoes, bell-bottom jeans and the risqué white baby-doll blouse which showed off quite a bit of skin for a fourteen-year-old girl. Yue was also the only one who had allowed Sokka to improve her lemonade with vodka, making good use of the fact that her father Arnook Taqqiq trusted his daughter enough not to send a keeper with her to Yu Dao.

And if there was someone who appeared particularly enchanted by Katara's appearance, it was certainly young Aang Jetsun. Ever since the first chords of music had reverberated across the hall, he was there, in his pristine grey suit, gallantly asking Katara for a dance and looking intent not to allow her to sit down the entire evening. When Katara had excused herself more than half an hour later, insisting that her feet were starting to hurt, she wasn't even lying or searching for an excuse, she really did feel winded. A slightly disappointed Aang had then been forced to ask Toph to dance with him, having sensed that another girl desperate for his attentions was approaching him, a young Earth Kingdom hopeful by the name of Meng Li.

"You guys not dancing?" Katara asked, taking a breather sitting at the table with Sokka and Yue.

"We've been dancing a little bit, but there's no rush," Yue replied. "We have all night. Our train to Agna Qel'a leaves late in the afternoon."

"Exactly, that's why we can allow ourselves to… indulge," Sokka grinned, boldly flashing the bottle of vodka at his sister, not caring about being spotted by the nearby parental or guardian figures. Truth be told, nobody seemed to be watching the kids too closely. The few parents present had arranged a little party for themselves and alcohol seemed to be flowing freely at their table. They clearly didn't seem to care about playing their roles of guardians for the rest of the evening. "You should have some, sis," Sokka added, moving his hand with the bottle towards Katara's glass of fizzy drink.

"Don't be an idiot, Sokka," Katara quickly withdrew her glass, glaring at her brother. She didn't exactly want to explain the dangers of mixing Librium with alcohol to her brother. She hadn't experienced the effects herself, but the doctors had been severe with their warnings and Katara was the kind of girl who most of the time did as she was told.

"Just trying to help," Sokka withdrew the bottle and raised his hands apologetically. "You still look kinda stressed."

"He's right, Katara," Yue nodded perceptively, looking at her with those ocean-blue eyes that always threatened to drown Katara in their depths. "What's getting you down, girl?"

"Oh, nothing… Aang's just being a bit much," Katara sighed. "I really don't want to be mean, he's very sweet, but… you know."

"You just need to find someone else to dance with so that Aang gets left with Toph or Meng," Sokka advised her.

"I don't exactly see many other options out there, Sokka," Katara grumbled at her brother. "In case you hadn't noticed, the girls at this party outnumber the boys two to one." Of course, Katara would have preferred to dance with a girl, a very particular girl who was sitting within an arm's reach of her. But such things just weren't supposed to be spoken aloud. Nobody could know that about her.

"Let's go over the possibilities, shall we?" Yue smiled teasingly as she looked across the hall. "Shoji and On Ji are dating, so he's out, I guess. Kori has a steady boyfriend, good luck prying him away from her. Kei Lo would have been an option, but it seems that Joo Dee has seized him already. You could probably lure him away if you wanted… Joo Dee has nothing on you, girl," Yue winked at her, making Katara blush.

"Goodness, no, I'm not even going to try, Joo Dee is one scary girl," Katara shuddered. "I can't handle it when she gives me one of those uncomfortably long stares with those weird eyes of hers… yikes!"

"I know," Yue chuckled. "Well, Teo Guyuk would have been a great choice, but…"

"Yeah, it's really unfair for something like that to happen to such a nice boy," Katara sighed, looking over at the paraplegic Earth Nation boy, bound to his wheelchair. At least he seemed to be happy and having a great time, surrounded by Aang, Toph and Meng. Unfortunately, when Katara looked their way, Aang caught her gaze and seemed to interpret it as an invitation to dance, and he began to walk towards their table.

"Oh damn… am I desperate enough to ask my own brother to dance with me?" Katara asked, looking at Sokka.

"Forget about it, I'm not dancing with you, Kat," Sokka shrugged, not looking too sympathetic about her plight. "Not when I have a hot piece of girlfriend like this one," he added with a chuckle, pulling Yue closer for a kiss, but she turned away at the last moment, leaving him to kiss her cheek.

"You really can be an insensitive pig at times, Sokka," Yue admonished her hapless looking boyfriend. "Your sister has just won a major tournament. You shouldn't refuse her anything, especially not tonight. This is supposed to be Katara's big night."

"Well… sorry, but I'm still not dancing with my sister," Sokka insisted. "That's just sad."

"In that case, I guess it falls on me to rescue your sister," Yue decided boldly, getting up to her feet and reaching out with her hand towards Katara. "Come on, Kat. Let's hit the dance floor and leave these boys to stew. Let's show how we don't need them to have a great time."

Katara could scarcely believe her ears, but she didn't need to be told twice. Quick as lightning, she rose to accept Yue's hand and full of giggles the two of them walked right by the confused and slightly stunned looking Aang. The Air Nation boy looked after them wide-eyed, as if not understanding what had just happened.

"Thanks, Yue," Katara breathed out gratefully as they joined the few other couples on the dance floor, starting to twist to the incredibly catchy tune of 'Fun Fun Fun' by The Ember Island Boys.

"Come on, sing with me!" Yue cried out as they enthusiastically shook their hips to the melody. "A lotta guys try to catch her, but she leads them on a wild goose chase now! And she'll have fun fun fun 'til her daddy takes the T-bird away!" they both sang from the top of their lungs, nearly collapsing in fits of giggles when the music finally stopped playing. It resumed almost without a pause, this time with 'Twist and Shout' by The Buggles and Yue pulled Katara into an even wilder dance, both girls laughing like mad.

Back at the table, Sokka was nursing his drink, not feeling particularly happy about having been left alone with Aang. While Katara liked the young Air Nation boy, Sokka wasn't Aang's greatest fan. Sokka found the kid just a bit too clingy for his liking. "Can't believe we've both been dumped by our girlfriends, eh, Sokka?" Aang asked, grinning at him.

Sokka frowned. Aang's cheerfulness was rubbing him the wrong way. "You sure Katara's your girlfriend?" he asked. "I don't know if she thinks that."

"But… we've been dancing all evening, and she seemed to be enjoying herself. Did she say something about not being into me?" Aang asked anxiously. His face had fallen considerably, and it suddenly made Sokka feel really bad. Katara definitely would not appreciate him upsetting Aang. Besides, setting the kid straight was her job, not his.

"No, no…" Sokka said hastily, trying to backtrack. "It's just a feeling I sometimes get, Aang. Girls Katara's age are usually into older guys, so… I'm just trying to warn you, I guess."

"Oh! Well, thank you for your concern, Sokka, but I honestly think you're wrong," Aang replied enthusiastically. "Besides, you'll find that I'm really persistent," he added, looking at Katara and Yue having a whale of a time on the dance floor. "If Katara wants me to be more mature, I guess I'll just become more mature." Sokka sighed at the other boy's determined words. He didn't envy Katara at that moment. Aang seemed like someone who would be difficult to let down gently.

Meanwhile, on the dance floor, Katara and Yue were showing no intentions to stop. "You can't hurry love, no, you just have to wait!" they both sang excitedly along with The Supremes. "She said love don't come easy, it's a game of give and take!" All Katara could think of was how amazing Yue's arm felt around her waist as they spun each other around in circles to the popular tune.

When the next song began, however, Katara immediately recognized the 'Unchained Melody', coming to a halt. "I think this is where we should stop," she reluctantly told Yue. "This is the sort of song you should dance to with your boyfriend."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kat," Yue grinned at her, wicked and irrepressible. She stepped up closer to Katara, taking her hand and wrapping her other arm around Katara's waist, pulling the other girl close. "Now, put your hand around my shoulders and just slow-dance with me. Sokka's been annoying me all evening. Let him just roast in envy for a bit, it'll do him a world of good."

"If… if you're sure…" Katara managed, even if she knew that she was fighting a losing battle, eventually doing as she was told. With her hand around Yue's shoulders, their faces now came very close together, and Katara became painfully aware of just how thin Yue's baby-doll blouse actually was. The proximity of the other girl's body was driving Katara absolutely wild. I've hungered, hungered for your touch. The lyrics of the song described her feelings perfectly.

"Can I just tell you how pretty you are tonight, Kat?" Yue leaned even closer, whispering in her ear. "I love the dress, by the way. It fits you perfectly."

"Th-thanks," Katara stammered at the compliment. "You always look good, Yue…"

"Flatterer," Yue chuckled, sounding pleased. "Seriously, though… I'm already jealous of the guy who will eventually get to be with you. Like… he better appreciate how awesome you are."

I don't want some guy. I want you. The words hovered at the tip of Katara's tongue. If she had allowed Sokka to add vodka to her drink earlier, maybe she would have felt brave enough to say them. Now, she instead swallowed the words, never to voice them. Yue loved her brother and she was the sweetest girl Katara knew. Yue was just trying to make Katara feel good. "Thanks, Yue… you're the most amazing friend I could ever hope for," Katara exclaimed heatedly. With so many overwhelming and conflicting emotions tearing at her, she was having a hard time stopping herself from crying. One part of her hoped for the song to never end, while the other part wanted it to end sooner because it was tearing her heart apart.

Eventually, the song did end, and the two girls parted. Still, before heading back to rejoin Aang and Sokka at the table, Yue pulled Katara into a firm hug before releasing her, and only then did the two girls returned to sit down again.

"Babe, if you had danced like that with some guy, right now I'd be jealously punching his lights out," Sokka said, possessively pulling Yue closer once she had sat down at his side. "Good thing it was just my sister."

Katara laughed awkwardly, picking up her drink and taking a generous swig. All this exercise was making her very thirsty. Unfortunately, when the liquid entered her mouth, the cherry lemonade tasted nothing like it ought to taste, instead leaving a burning sensation in Katara's mouth. She instantly spat out her drink, turning to glare at Sokka. "I can't believe it!" she hissed at her brother. "You are such an asshole!"

"What did you do?" Yue turned towards her boyfriend. "Don't tell me you put that vile vodka in Katara's drink."

"I told you she wouldn't find it funny, Sokka," Aang shook his head disapprovingly.

"Well, you could have warned me too, you know!" Katara turned on Aang, the Air Nation boy cringing. "Ugh, boys… you're always so childish."

"I'm forced to agree with Katara, here," Yue nodded in agreement.

Any further arguing was interrupted by Toph returning to the table, followed by Kori Morishita and her boyfriend. "Hey, guys," the local Yu Dao girl spoke, smiling at them. "Toph says that you have a way to make your drinks more interesting… care to share?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure thing," Sokka grinned, whipping out the bottle of vodka and pouring generously in the glasses of Kori and her boyfriend. "Come back for a refill if you want more later. I'm stuck here with some lame squares who look down on fun times. Well, with the exception of Yue, obviously."

"Cheers… Sokka, right?" Kori smiled at Katara's brother. She lingered at the table, despite her boyfriend looking eager to move on. "So… Azula Nakamura didn't show. I figured she wouldn't dare, not after that humiliation you inflicted on her," the girl from Yu Dao grinned at Katara.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that's the reason why she's not here," Katara replied. "Remember, she won last year and didn't attend the after-party either. Maybe she just doesn't like to party."

"I think it's more that her daddy doesn't want his baby girl hanging out with the wrong crowd, which we obviously are in the eyes of Ozai Nakamura," Yue scoffed. "When you think yourself so far above the rest, you don't even stop to think how disrespectful her absence comes off to the rest of us."

"I've heard a thing or two about this Ozai Nakamura guy from chatty hotel staff," Sokka added. "Some of them were waggling their tongues about how he gets quite physical with her. If you know what I mean…"

"I'm not sure I do," Katara frowned at her brother. "Do you think he would have given her some kind of a punishment for losing a single game in two years? That's crazy!"

"Well, if the rumors can be trusted then it's not just some mild punishment, it's a downright violent beating," Sokka gulped uncomfortably. "But the rumors probably aren't true. The hotel staff probably make up this stuff out of boredom."

"I hope not," Toph said. "That bitch deserves everything she gets and more. She really gets on my nerves." Kori nodded at that, seemingly agreeing with every word.

"Wait, are you serious?" Katara blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Nobody deserves to be severely beaten up by their own parent! That's messed up!"

"Nah, I stand by what I said," Toph shrugged. "There's a good reason why we all hate Azula Nakamura. Let her daddy teach his girl a lesson, I say."

"You can't mean that! What would you do if your own parents-…" Katara began, but then cut herself off, realizing that arguing with Toph would not be a fruitful endeavor. She was only twelve and simply wasn't emotionally mature to realize why this situation was totally messed up. Besides, she probably felt a little jealous towards Katara regarding Aang, and would be determined to continue arguing just for the sake of disagreeing with Katara. "Eh, never mind. I still think that if Ozai Nakamura is beating his daughter, that's just sick. If it's true, I hope someone does something to stop it."

"I agree that it's sick and twisted, Kat, but I don't know what could be done to stop him," Yue replied, giving her a sympathetic stare. "There aren't many people around who Ozai Nakamura doesn't have in his pocket. I've heard that even the Fire Nation courts are stacked with his pals."

"Ugh, that just makes my blood boil. I wish you hadn't told us about these rumors, Sokka," Katara sighed at her brother. "Now I won't be able to stop thinking about it and wondering if maybe Azula is the way she is because of how Ozai treats her."

"Or maybe she was just born bad," Sokka shrugged. He didn't seem particularly torn up by the whole thing. The only ones appearing sympathetic were Yue and Aang.

"Kat, I agree that it's awful if that is happening to her, but there's nothing we can do about it," Yue reminded her. "So, try not to think about it. Remember, it's your big night, so cheer up and celebrate!"

"Speaking of which, back to the dance floor we go," Sokka said, rising to his feet and pulling Yue up with him.

"Shall we, Katara?" Aang looked at her hopefully, offering Katara his hand.

"I'm sorry, Aang, but I'm really not in the mood after hearing something like that," Katara sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, Katara might not be in the mood for dancing, but I certainly am, so come on Twinkletoes," Toph interjected, grabbing Aang by the lapels of his grey suit and dragging him off, her straightforward approach making Katara smile.

Still, the smile didn't linger on Katara's lips for too long. Despite rather disliking Azula Nakamura on a personal level, knowing that she was a potential victim of child abuse, really put a damper on Katara's festive mood in the wake of her amazing victory.

The following morning, a slightly sleepy Katara arrived in the hotel's lobby and proceeded straight to the receptionist's desk for a check-out. Seeing that someone else was ahead of her, going through the formalities with the receptionist, Katara politely stood aside and waited. She tried not to stare, but there was something odd about this person who was currently checking out, obviously a younger woman, but wearing an out of fashion long coat typically worn by older women. She also wore a thick scarf wrapped around her head and… shades? Why was this woman wearing shades indoors, and on an overcast day?

"That will be all, Miss Nakamura. I hope you had a pleasant stay at our hotel," the receptionist spoke, her words startling Katara. That was Azula? Why was she all wrapped up like some old crone instead of being dressed as the always impeccable and trendy herself? Was she still feeling humiliated by her loss and this was some sort of a disguise? That would have been ridiculous.

Azula muttered something incomprehensible in response to the receptionist and then turned to walk away, right past Katara without even acknowledging the Water Tribe girl. Katara, on her part, just stood there, shocked to see that Azula was walking with a very severe limp. Having overcome her initial shock, Katara ran right after Azula, catching up with the other girl.

"Hey… is everything alright?" Katara asked, feeling concerned. Obviously, Azula loathed her, especially after that humiliating loss, but Katara wasn't the kind of person to just ignore someone who was suffering and Azula seemed to be in a bad way.

Unfortunately, Azula didn't seem to be in the mood for receiving her sympathy. "Mind your own business and crawl back to whatever icy hole you emerged from," Azula snarled at her, not bothering to stop.

"Come on, you're obviously hurt," Katara wouldn't relent. "What happened?"

"I slipped in the shower, alright? Now get out of my way!" Azula exclaimed angrily, physically shoving Katara backwards. The Water Tribe girl just about managed to retain her balance, but the pause gave Azula the opportunity to leave the lobby and exit the hotel. Katara watched with growing unease as the hobbling girl climbed into a black Imperial Crown limo, a square-jawed brute of a man holding the car doors open for Azula. Within moments, she was gone, leaving Katara standing there, wringing her hands in distress.

Feeling helpless and dejected, Katara walked back to the receptionist's desk. The girl behind the desk also seemed to be quite upset by what she had witnessed. "Any parent who does that to their child should roast in hell," the receptionist quietly muttered under her breath before turning to address Katara. "Ah, Miss Enuaraq, time to check out? We were delighted to host this year's champion in our hotel!"

"Thanks… yes, time to check out and go home," Katara replied with a nod. She continued to stare at the receptionist, a girl of about twenty years of age. She really looked very uncomfortable about what she had just witnessed. "I know it's not my business, miss, but if you know what happened to Azula Nakamura, you should report it."

The girl turned to stare at Katara as if the Water Tribe girl had lost her mind. Then she let out a shrill, distressed sounding laugh. "I hate that man and what he's obviously doing to his daughter, but even if I happened to know something, I would surely know to keep my mouth shut," the receptionist spoke in hushed tones. "Bad things happen to those who talk too much about Ozai Nakamura. Just read up about that divorce case between him and his wife, Miss Enuaraq. Most witnesses decided not to show up to testify."

"But we're not in the Fire Nation," Katara argued. "Yu Dao is a part of the Earth Kingdom. Surely he has no power here."

"Oh, you would be surprised," the receptionist rolled her eyes. "Mayor Morishita has many common business interests with Ozai Nakamura. And the police chief of Yu Dao is the brother-in-law of Mayor Morishita. Now put the two and two together."

Katara frowned, realizing what the receptionist had meant. "But… it's just not right," she declared helplessly.

"That's the real world for you," the receptionist gave her a look full of sympathy and compassion. "I'm afraid that you will often find it a cold and uncaring place, Miss Enuaraq."

Next chapter: Let's check in with Azula and her summer.