Chapter 12
After a relaxing off-day, the U18 World Junior Championships resumed with the competitors refreshed and ready to do battle once again. Azula's first opponent after the break in play was Joo Dee, and much like in their previous games, Long Feng's daughter failed to last more than thirty moves against Azula's assault. With three wins out of four games, Azula had felt elated and perhaps a little overconfident when facing Yue Taqqiq in Round 5. Azula had never experienced any troubles in her past games with Yue, however, on this occasion, she found herself stymied and suffocated by the other Water Tribe girl, suffering an unexpected loss that knocked her way down in the rankings.
Azula felt a little frustrated ahead of her Round 6 match, both because of her performance in the previous round, but also because of who she was going to face, none other than Zirin Sakai. Zirin had tried to approach her at least on four different occasions already, presumably with yet more apologies for the events of last autumn. Azula had dismissed all of her previous attempts to apologize and she was determined not to forgive the older girl for her betrayal. Not to mention that Azula didn't need Zirin anymore. After all, she had made a new friend. Or at least, Azula hoped that Katara Enuaraq considered herself to be Azula's friend. Azula wasn't sure and she was much too nervous to ask.
Following Round 4, they had spent another afternoon in Katara's hotel room, going over their games and picking them apart, looking for ways to improve their selection of moves. Katara had won against Teo Guyuk in Round 4 and then against Ghashiun al-Alawi in the following round, so she had been in a jubilant mood when Azula had asked her to come over to her estate following Round 5. Azula had enjoyed herself a great deal, impressing Katara with the splendor of her estate. She could see that the Water Tribe girl had never been exposed to such wealth before. Of course, being poor and not having access to the best available education, meant that Katara was somewhat of a philistine and failed to be properly impressed by some of the valuable artwork that Ozai had gathered at the estate over the years. But at least Katara was a fan of The Twilight Zone and had loved all the crazy posters Azula had in her bedroom, so maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
Honestly, Katara was a rather interesting girl and quite unlike anyone Azula had interacted with in the past. She supposed that Ty Lee was a little bit like Katara, but there were some notable differences. Azula often got the feeling that Ty Lee was just nodding along to whatever she was saying, even when she had no clue what Azula was going on about, just agreeing with everything on principle. Katara tried to understand what Azula was saying, and if she didn't understand, then she asked, not caring whether Azula thought that she was stupid for asking or not. Azula could never remember an occasion where Katara would have just nodded along, pretending that she understood.
Of course, Katara could still get upset a little too quickly, which really was a big problem for most of the people Azula tried to talk to. But at least when Katara got upset, she never ended up screaming at her, unlike some other people. Katara was patient and tried to explain what was so upsetting about Azula's words, and why Azula shouldn't just blurt out whatever came to her mind just because she thought it was the truth. It seemed ridiculous to Azula, but at the same time, she found herself subconsciously starting to make an effort not to say things that she had discovered would make Katara annoyed with her. It was almost like when conversing with her father, but for different reasons. With Ozai, Azula had to be very careful with what she said because she wanted to avoid being punished. With Katara, she was careful with what she said because… well, she wanted Katara to keep spending time with her. It was as simple as that. Azula hadn't had a friend for almost two years. She thought she had made a friend in Zirin, but that had turned into a disaster. She wondered if Katara would disappoint and betray her as well, but so far, she hadn't noticed a single sign of deception from the Water Tribe girl.
Facing Zirin in Round 6, Azula used the same psychological trick that she had used back in autumn, arriving a couple of minutes late for the start of the game and denying Zirin the opportunity to try and exchange some words with her. As Azula sat down at the Pai Sho board, pointedly ignoring Zirin, she could see that she had already given away six minutes of her time. It didn't matter. She was utterly confident of being able to crush Zirin, exploiting the guilt that the other girl still felt for what she had done. Her assumptions proved to be correct quite quickly. Zirin just couldn't bring her A-game against Azula. Her position was hopeless by the early middle-game and on the twenty-ninth move Zirin accepted the inevitable and stopped the timing clock.
Azula immediately got up to leave without shaking Zirin's hand, unwilling to give the other girl the opportunity to try and apologize yet again. However, much to Azula's annoyance, Zirin was very quick, reaching out to grab her hand and refusing to release it. Azula struggled for a moment, but with the other five games still going on nearby, she couldn't do much without risking creating unwanted attention and interrupting the other players. Two years her senior, Zirin was considerably stronger and shaking off her grip appeared all but impossible.
"Azula, please, all I'm asking is a minute of your time," Zirin spoke quietly. "Or else I'm going to scream and create some crazy drama that will embarrass us both."
"Ugh… fine then, as you wish," with no way out, Azula was forced to agree. They stepped aside, away from both the spectators and their fellow contestants, finding some privacy near the elevators. "You do realize that I am under no obligation to forgive you for what you did," Azula snarled as soon as they found themselves alone.
"I understand that, but I still hope that you will forgive me, if not now, then eventually," Zirin spoke. There seemed to be genuine sadness in her voice that Azula tried to convince herself of being fake. "But I also wanted to thank you, Azula."
"Thank me? What for?" Azula blinked.
"June's digits never healed properly and so she no longer has the necessary finger dexterity to continue in her old line of work," Zirin explained quickly. "But it's a blessing in disguise. I've long since begged her to find a safer way to make money. Because of this, she had no choice but to find a more honest way to make a living. It's hard going and we're not making as much as we were when she could still do the occasional you know what job, but at least this is honest living."
"Well, isn't that great. I'm so happy for you both," Azula rolled her eyes. She hadn't expected to be thanked by Zirin. This was a strange development. She hated to admit it, but it did take away some of the sting of Zirin's betrayal. "So, are we done here?" she asked, forcing herself to sound unsympathetic.
Zirin let out a heavy sigh. "Sure, I suppose I still deserve that," she conceded. "Azula, you have to know that I'm never going to stop apologizing. Not until you have forgiven me. So, if there is anything I can do to help you forgive me, please, tell me."
"Ugh, why is it so important to you whether I hate you or not?" Azula snapped irately. "Most of the people in this hall hate my guts, but do I care about that? No, I do not! Why can't you just be like that, too, instead of pestering me about this ridiculous apology?"
"Because I like you, Azula, don't you get it?" Zirin asked desperately. "I really, really like you!"
Despite herself, Azula found her cheeks burning slightly. She stole a peek at Zirin, angry at herself for how attractive she still found the other girl, with those intense dark eyes, the slightly upturned nose and the cute, freckled cheeks. "That just makes it worse that you would pull something like that on someone you claim to like," Azula quickly recovered to point out.
"I know," Zirin admitted. "And that's why I am so desperate for your forgiveness."
"If I promise to think about it, will you leave me alone for the rest of the tournament?" Azula sighed. Zirin nodded vehemently. "Fine, then here is my solemn promise to think about it," Azula said. "Now, are we finally done?"
"Of course, Azula… and thank you," Zirin smiled in relief before turning around and entering the elevator, leaving a frustrated Azula behind.
Left alone, Azula felt a little angry at herself. She hated how she still couldn't stop herself from being attracted to Zirin, despite what the other girl had done. Azula felt like she shouldn't forgive Zirin for her betrayal, but a part of her already knew that she would, and Azula ended up cursing what she thought was that weak part of her, the part that found Zirin so fetching and intriguing.
Unwilling to think any more about Zirin, Azula walked back to the main hall, casting a glance at how the other games were progressing. She was supposed to meet up with Katara after their games had ended, but Katara seemed to be locked in an almighty struggle with Ruon-Jian Ogawa, and it didn't look like their game would end anytime soon. Azula found herself slowly pacing around the hall, walking by the front row of the spectators, and with surprise noticing a very familiar face in the crowd. Their eyes met and suddenly Azula realized that someone she hadn't met in almost two years was making their way towards her.
"Mai? Is that really you?" Azula asked with disbelief, stepping closer to the barrier that separated the players from the spectators. The crowd appeared a little restless at Azula's approach, but fortunately the Pai Sho audience was generally very well behaved and intelligent, remaining respectful to the contestants who were still engaged in their ongoing games.
"It's really me, Azula," Mai replied, standing on the other side of the barrier. "I was hoping to somehow get your attention."
"What are you doing here, Mai?" Azula asked. "I didn't think you cared about Pai Sho. Did you come to see me play?"
"So typical of you to assume that," Mai chuckled sardonically. "No, I'm not interested in Pai Sho, and no, I didn't come to see you play. I came to watch my boyfriend play."
"You're dating one of the players?" Azula was genuinely surprised. "Please don't tell me it's Chan. It's Chan, isn't it…"
"It's not Chan," Mai snorted. "It's Ruon-Jian. He's way more fun, and besides, his family is loaded. It's a win-win for me."
"Right, good for you, Mai," Azula shrugged, glancing back at the stage and the large standing Pai Sho boards on which the games were being displayed for the audience. It seemed that Ruon-Jian was starting to slowly overpower Katara and the game would be coming to an end soon.
"But now that you have noticed me, we should definitely catch up, Azula," Mai suggested. "You have a day off tomorrow, right? Perhaps you would care to join me and Ruon for dinner? I'd ask you to bring someone for a double date, but I imagine that your father still doesn't allow you to see anyone."
"Shows how much you know," Azula snapped irately. She wasn't going to let Mai make fun or disrespect her like that. "I am so dating someone," she added without thinking, hating the idea of Mai thinking less of her.
"Well, isn't that wonderful?" Mai chuckled. It seemed like she didn't believe Azula, and Azula found it seriously annoying. "Well, how about you and your mystery date join me and Ruon for dinner tomorrow? 7pm at the hotel's restaurant?"
"Alright, we'll be there," Azula nodded, trying to project all the confidence she could muster, even as she was becoming aware that she really hadn't thought this through at all. "It was nice meeting you after so long, Mai."
"Same here, Azula," Mai managed a polite smile at her old friend. "We'll catch up properly tomorrow evening. Right now, I think Ruon might be done with his game. I should go and meet him by the exit."
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow evening, Mai," Azula nodded at the other girl, turning to walk away from the spectator stands. As she watched Ruon pressing home the decisive advantage against Katara, Azula began to wonder just what she had gotten herself into. Mai had always managed to get her into trouble this way. All she needed to do was to claim that there was something Azula couldn't do, and Azula would then go out of her way to ridiculous extents just to prove Mai wrong. It was probably because Mai was a year older, and even though Azula objectively held all the power in their relationship, on some level, Azula still sought validation from the older girl. It seemed as if that hadn't changed, and Azula just couldn't admit that she was stuck being single while Mai was busy with her dating life.
And now this lie had put Azula into a bit of a pickle, as she suddenly found herself needing a date for tomorrow evening. And it wasn't that she had many options to choose from. She knew that Zirin would have happily filled the role, but that would have forced Azula to forgive Zirin before she was ready to do so. Besides, Zirin had already departed and Azula wasn't going to chase around the slums of Caldera City looking for the older girl. No, Zirin wasn't really an option, but as Azula watched Ruon-Jian and Katara shake hands following their game, the slightly disappointed looking Water Tribe girl noticing Azula and starting to walk towards her, Azula suddenly became aware of another option, even though it made her so nervous and weak in the knees that she found herself barely able to stand.
"Well, that didn't work out the way I had hoped," Katara managed a smile despite her obvious disappointment about the loss. "Congrats on your victory, though, that was fast! Where do you want to hang out today, my room or your place?"
"Wouldyougooutwithmetomorrow?" the words came out so fast that Azula didn't manage to stop them in time. Only after she had blurted out the question, did she blush like mad and slapped a palm across her treacherous lips.
"Ah… haha… for a moment I thought I heard you ask if I would go out with you," Katara laughed awkwardly, her eyes wide with astonishment. Noticing that Azula had become completely petrified from embarrassment, Katara also froze, only from the realization that she hadn't misheard. "Wait… you actually meant that?" Katara's cerulean eyes had gone impossibly wide by now.
This was quickly turning into a disaster, as far as Azula was convinced. She needed to salvage this quickly. "I… I'll pay you. Whatever you want! I'll give you three hundred, no, five hundred!" Azula exclaimed, panicking and starting to hyperventilate. "This is really important!" she insisted.
"Hold on, Azula, I don't want your money," Katara replied calmly, getting the better of her surprise. Azula was definitely not getting the better of her panic attack. "Why don't you start at the beginning? Just tell me what prompted you to ask me to go out with you. Just… just calm down and take a deep breath, okay?"
Azula did as she was told, taking a deep, calming breath which helped to steady the thundering in her chest and temples. It helped that Katara had this very soothing tone of voice which helped greatly to set Azula at ease. "Right, so… there's this girl, Mai," Azula eventually began to explain. "I hadn't seen her in two years before running into her just now. She was boasting about having a new boyfriend and… well, she made a mention about how my father wouldn't allow me to date. At that point, I might have lied to her about dating someone."
"And you're currently not dating anyone," Katara sought to clarify.
"No… no, Mai is right, my father wouldn't stand for it," Azula admitted. "I just… I don't even know why I said it. I just couldn't stand Mai shoving it in my face, I guess."
"I suppose I can sympathize with that," Katara admitted. "So… you're asking me to be your fake date for tomorrow evening?"
"Y-yes," Azula stuttered. She didn't enjoy how desperate she must have been appearing to Katara. "Please, I really need your help, Katara," she added, throwing her pride aside for the moment.
Katara's expression softened at her words. "Alright… this is seriously weird and I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, but fine. I'll play along," the Water Tribe girl agreed, looking bemused. "It clearly means a lot to you."
"It really does," Azula nodded. "Thank you so much, Katara. I'll find a way to make it up to you, I promise." She really meant that. This was a question of honor for her. "Of course, we'll have to cancel our prep for the afternoon because your wardrobe needs complete overhaul if you're going to be my fake date. I can't be seen going on a date with someone who looks like she has stepped out of the fashion catalogue from the previous decade."
Katara looked a little angry at that comment. "Wow, Azula, you really know how to make a girl feel appreciated," she snapped.
"Hmm?" Azula frowned. She needed a moment to figure out why Katara was annoyed about that statement. Oh right, she probably couldn't afford better clothes because her family didn't have enough money. It seemed that poor people reacted badly when they were made aware of their poverty. Azula always struggled to understand how someone could be offended by the simple pointing out of objective facts. It felt like self-delusion and denial of the truth. But she also didn't want to upset or annoy Katara. She'd just have to make sure not to say anything that reminded Katara about the bottomless pit between their respective social circles. "All I wanted to say is that we should go out and do some shopping. I will cover all the expenses, obviously. How about we go check out some real top of the line stuff?"
Katara's eyes lit up at Azula's suggestion. Azula realized that this was probably something that Katara had been dreaming about, but never had the money and the opportunity to pursue. Azula was pleased when the Water Tribe girl smiled and nodded at her. "Alright, now you're making this arrangement a lot more appealing," Katara grinned at her. "Alright, Azula… let's go shopping!"
An hour or so later, Azula and Katara arrived at the staggeringly immense complex of the Caldera Central Mall. Seeing that Katara was caught gazing around in useless wide-eyed wonder, Azula grabbed the other girl's hand and dragged her along to the nearest elevator, the pair emerging on the third floor where most of Azula's favorite boutique stores were located. This was where Azula spent most of the vast amounts of cash she received from her father. She suspected that some of the boutiques actually existed only because of her patronage and the exorbitant sums of money she spent on her clothes.
"Wow… this is a place where I could disappear for days," Katara looked around, appearing suitably impressed.
"I often do exactly that," Azula smirked. "Well, not for days, but I do spend a lot of my time here. I'm something of a celebrated patron in most of these stores."
"Why am I not surprised?" Katara laughed. "So… what part of my wardrobe needs changing?" she asked.
"Everything, obviously," Azula shrugged. Katara once again looked upset. Azula quickly tried to figure out what she had said wrong now. "Look, there is nothing wrong with your clothes as such, but I just want us to impress Mai, so we need something better. Hmm, although…" Azula stopped for a moment, regarding the Water Tribe girl. "I do love those sapphire stud earrings. You should keep wearing those."
For some reason, Katara blushed, appearing embarrassed. "The earrings are the only thing I haven't bought myself," she admitted. "They were a Solstice gift from Yue."
"That girl has good taste," Azula nodded in agreement.
"Maybe you should have asked her out instead of me, then," Katara snapped heatedly. "You probably would have gotten along better with another rich girl."
"Yes, I probably would," Azula agreed. "Do you think I should ask her? I thought that she was going out with your brother. Besides, we're already here, so why don't we just do some shopping?" Katara placed an open palm against her forehead, letting out a weary sigh. "Do you have a headache? I probably have some Tylenol on me," Azula said, about to start digging through her purse.
"I don't need Tylenol, I need you to stop saying so many dumb things or else this isn't going to work," Katara retorted. She sighed again. "Fine, let's just go and do some shopping. Where do you think we should start?"
Azula had started to worry about having said something wrong yet again, so she was only too happy to jump on Katara's invitation to get back to the business at hand. She pointed at the nearest store with soulless mannequins giving them dead stares from the display window. "Let's start there," Azula said.
As soon as they had entered the boutique, one of the shop assistants noticed Azula and excitedly ran towards her. "Miss Nakamura, what a pleasure to see you again!" the girl spoke, sounding eager to please. "Can I be assistance to you and your friend?"
"I may call on you later," Azula brushed the assistant aside. "We're going to browse for now." Azula wasn't going to let some shop assistant show off to Katara. No, if anyone was going to impress her new friend with their amazing sense of style and fashion, it was going to be Azula herself.
"Of course, Miss Nakamura, as you wish," the slightly disappointed assistant withdrew as Azula and Katara began to browse the isles stuffed with dresses.
"Just take whatever you like and we'll try out the whole lot of them," Azula told the other girl. After they had made the first pass through the isle, Azula was carrying eight different dresses with her, while Katara hadn't chosen a single one. "What's the matter? Selection of the most stylish designer dresses not good enough for you?" Azula glared at the Water Tribe girl.
"No, they're all very nice, it's just… they're either too colorful or too short," Katara replied, blushing lightly. "They just don't feel like me, you know?"
"Well, obviously. We don't want the dress to feel like you because you're unfashionable," Azula explained. Katara looked angry again. "Just try some of these on, alright? You might be pleasantly surprised," Azula said, quickly shoving the collection of dresses into Katara's arms and then pointing her towards the changing booth.
"You are such a tyrant," Katara complained, but she did step into the booth and Azula could soon hear the sounds of the other girl slipping out of her dress. Katara emerged shortly afterwards, wearing a bright green dress with colorful floral patterns. "You see what I mean? These colors don't fit me at all!"
"Alright, fine… I agree, this one doesn't suit you," Azula admitted reluctantly. "Despair not. I've been known to try close to seventy dresses before finding the one that's right for me. Try the next one!"
"Alright, slave driver," Katara sighed, stepping back into the changing booth. She emerged a minute later, wearing a colorful striped mini dress. Azula thought it looked perfectly acceptable, but Katara seemed uncomfortable for some reason. "I've never worn anything mini," Katara admitted, looking slightly embarrassed. "I just feel really weird wearing a short dress like that."
"But it's the latest fashion," Azula protested. "And you have the perfect legs to pull it off."
Katara's face turned an interesting shade of pink. "Stop that! You can't just say things like that!" she admonished Azula.
"But… it's the truth?" Azula blinked, taken aback. "Fine, I won't say the truth. You have horribly crooked, gangly legs with ugly, bulging veins."
"What? I so don't! How dare you?" Katara shouted at her.
"I thought you didn't want to hear the truth that you have really nice legs?" Azula wondered. Katara was such a strange girl of many contradictions.
"Argh!" Katara exclaimed and stomped right back into the changing booth.
After Katara had tried on about a dozen of different dresses and dismissed them all, Azula began to understand the problem. Katara was very conservative when it came to fashion choices, and the latest fashion trends were so daring that they were putting her right off. Azula would have to be clever about finding something that Katara would accept. Perhaps the trick lay in choosing the right colors. Katara didn't seem to like the brighter colors, and Azula had to admit that Katara was right about that. The brighter colors were clashing with her creamy chocolate skin. Pastel colors were far more suited to Katara's appearance and character.
Having told Katara to wait in the changing booth, Azula called the shop assistant over and briefly explained the issue. Less than a minute later, Azula handed Katara another dress to try on and then waited with bated breath for Katara to emerge. When Katara did so, Azula knew that they had a winner. Katara was probably going to kick up a fuss about how short the mini dress was, but the color scheme was just right, a swirling pattern of baby blue, peach and lavender stripes.
"What do you think?" Azula turned to the shop assistant.
"I think the young lady looks absolutely ravishing," the shop assistant nodded with conviction.
Katara blushed at the praise, nervously tugging on the hem of the dress. "I do like it, I just wish that it wasn't so short," she sighed.
"Tell her," Azula nodded at the assistant.
"Umm, this would actually be considered a slightly conservative dress, young lady," the shop assistant told Katara. "You are really pulling it off, though. It would be a crime to allow you to walk out of the store without this dress."
"Alright, fine… you've talked me into it," Katara admitted. Azula could not help but feel that her reluctance was very much faked.
"Excellent, we'll take it," Azula turned to the assistant. She then suddenly thought of something. "Wait a moment…" she said before dashing off and returning moments later with a pair of blue gloves and a matching purse, passing them over to Katara. The other girl put the gloves on, tucking the purse under her arm. It was a perfect match. "Yes, that's very good."
"Shall I just forward the bill the usual way?" the shop assistant asked.
"Of course," Azula nodded. Katara seemed to be so entranced by her appearance that she had forgotten to complain, posing in front of the mirror. That was a good sign, but Azula now needed the other girl to move. "Earth to Katara? Want to take the dress off so we can proceed?"
"Oh… oh, of course! Sorry!" a blushing Katara disappeared back into the changing booth, reemerging moments later wearing her plain old blue dress. The shop assistant quickly wrapped up their purchases. Azula gave them the number of Katara's hotel room for the delivery of the purchases and then they were on their way to the nearby shoe store.
Once there, Azula immediately began to browse the vast collection of beautiful stilettos, disappointed when Katara gave her a disapproving shake of the head. "Azula, I have never worn anything with a heel," Katara said. "If I tried one of these stilettos, I would fall and break my neck. Hmm… maybe that is your evil plot to get rid of a Pai Sho rival?"
"That seems like a very unreliable way to get rid of someone. I'd probably use poison," Azula replied. Katara stared at her for a while before bursting into laugher as if Azula had said something funny. "Anyway, you don't know how to walk on heels? What's wrong with you? How can you be so awkward?"
"Awkward? I'm not awkward! I'm from the far north," Katara retorted. "I'd like to see you walking the streets of Cape Kuruk with your stilettos. Heels are completely impractical in the north. It shouldn't be surprising that I have no experience wearing shoes like this."
"Alright," Azula considered this new piece of information. "That makes sense, but it doesn't solve our problem. You can't wear your Mary Jane's with this new dress. It would be a fashion disaster."
"I'm sure that we can find some perfectly fine shoes without a heel that go well with the dress," Katara insisted, walking off and leaving Azula to glance wistfully at the stiletto display.
After a while, Azula reluctantly moved on, starting to browse through the collection of cute kitten heels, when suddenly a pair of shoes attracted her immediate attention. They were baby blue kittens with a very moderate heel, but what had caught Azula's eye was the beautiful sapphires the shoes were embellished with. They had a very similar pattern to Katara's earrings. Azula immediately decided that she was making Katara wear these shoes.
Azula picked up the shoes and checked the price tag which was listed at twelve hundred yuan. Katara had earlier dismissed some of the dresses because they were supposedly too expensive at five hundred yuan. Azula solved the problem by quickly ripping off the price tag while nobody was looking, then bringing the shoes over to Katara.
"Hey, look what I found," Azula said, holding the pair of shoes out for Katara to see.
Katara's eyes widened instantly as she gaped at the lovely pair of kitten heels. "Wow, those are precious!" she gushed. "And the heel isn't even so bad!" Katara then hesitated. "They must be worth a fortune. I assume those gemstones aren't fake."
"Katara, you want these shoes. Just think of how amazingly well they will go with your new dress," Azula spoke firmly, refusing to hear any arguments.
"I don't know… there's a nice pair of pointy flats for only a hundred and fifty yuan," Katara mused stubbornly.
"Sure, you can have those, but I am getting you these kitten heels regardless," Azula insisted. Katara wearing these shoes was happening no matter what.
Katara let out a frustrated, defeated sigh. Azula couldn't quite understand the reaction. She obviously wanted the expensive shoes. Did she feel guilty about accepting them? This was pocket change to Azula. "Alright, fine… you win, I'll take the shoes," Katara eventually agreed much to Azula's delight.
"Great," Azula nodded. Within a minute, the shoes were in a wrapped box tucked under Katara's arm and Azula was instructing the shop assistant to forward the bill to the estate, as per usual.
"I guess we are done?" Katara asked once they were back outside the shoe store, sitting down on a nearby bench.
"Yes, I think you're all set now," Azula nodded. She suddenly felt a little hesitant, not sure what to say next. It was now well in the afternoon and she hadn't eaten a bite since the early morning. There was a splendorous meal waiting on her back at the estate, but the idea of spending more time with Katara also had its appeal. "Do you still want to go over the games today?" she decided to ask.
"I would, but…" Katara began, looking a little apologetic. "Since I agreed to do this fake date with you, I'll have to come up with some excuse to ditch Sokka and Yue tomorrow. We had already agreed to spend time together tomorrow, but perhaps we'll do that this evening instead. That means I'll have to do all the prep tomorrow morning."
"That makes sense," Azula nodded, managing to hide her slight disappointment. "So, about tomorrow…"
"Yes, I was wondering how exactly it's all going to work," Katara nodded.
"How about I come to your hotel room at… let's say four in the afternoon," Azula suggested. "I'll help you with your hair and makeup." Katara raised an eyebrow at that, but Azula ignored the reaction. "Then we can go to the hotel's restaurant together. I think it would be better if we arrived there together, no?"
"I think that's a good idea," Katara agreed.
"And of course, we need to agree about setting boundaries that we are both comfortable with," Azula continued.
"…boundaries?" Katara blinked.
"Well, yes," Azula nodded. "We're supposedly dating, right? That means we should act towards each other with a level of… affection?"
"Oh," Katara blushed slightly. "How do you mean that, exactly?"
"Well, I think we should at least hold hands," Azula said, also feeling her cheeks becoming warm. "As for kissing-"
"I am not kissing you!" Katara exclaimed.
"Well, obviously we are not doing that. I was just going to say that we don't take it as far as kissing," Azula nodded. She was quite annoyed at the vehemence with which Katara had reacted. Not that she wanted to kiss Katara, obviously not, but it still hurt her pride. Azula simply would have felt better about herself if she knew that Katara was a little into her.
"Oh. Okay, that makes more sense," Katara giggled. "This is all so twisted, isn't it? For some reason it's making me all excited."
Azula smiled despite herself. "I'm not surprised," she spoke confidently. "Even a fake date with me is obviously an amazing way to spend your time."
Katara gave her a searching stare and then began to laugh even harder. "Sure, Azula… whatever you say!"
Azula shook her head, but the smile never left her lips either. Katara Enuaraq was a very strange girl. But somehow, she also seemed like a nice friend worth having.
Next chapter: Azula and Katara go on their fake date.