CW: Implied attempt of sexual assault. Referenced violent use of a sharp and pointy object.

Chapter 36

Katara graduated her high school in the third week of June with flying colors. Her lowest score was 86 in physics, with the rest of the scores being above the mark of ninety. It was good enough to qualify for a modest state scholarship should she want to continue on the path of obtaining higher education – and Katara definitely wanted that. But most importantly, she had aced the final biology and chemistry exams, crucial for her future plans to pursue medical studies. Even though the application letters would be sent out only in early July, Katara had started working on her applications the next day after the graduation ball, letters to the leading medical colleges in Agna Qel'a and Ba Sing Se, as well as the BSSU itself. She was quietly confident that her grades were good enough to get her into the BSSU, which was what she really wanted, but it always helped to have a backup plan.

Just as before the U18 finals in the Fire Fountain City, Katara maintained close contact with Yue and Azula over the phone. Nothing much had changed in the lives of her two best friends, or at least so they claimed. Both Yue and Azula had also worked hard to graduate with excellent grades, even if neither of the two girls knew whether them pursuing higher education was in the plans devised for them by their controlling fathers. In the end, Azula's grades were very similar to Katara's with the exception that her sole sub-ninety grade was in geometry. Yue had a solid mix of high eighties and low nineties grades, a good enough average to also qualify for the state scholarship, not that she needed it. As far as their relationships went, Katara was as close with Azula as before, while her tryst with Yue as a result of that misunderstanding back during the tournament had made things a little awkward, and things just weren't as comfortable between them as before. In any case, Katara had made it perfectly clear what Yue had to do if she wanted them to be together, but so far Yue had not made any moves in this direction.

As far as Katara's own family was concerned, everyone was more or less doing well. Her grandmother Kanna was in excellent health, having turned seventy earlier in the year. She was still full of energy and well capable of taking care of herself, which was now starting to become a factor to consider with Katara soon moving out, Sokka also hatching plans of moving away from Cape Kuruk, and Hakoda still working long hours on the oil rig.

Katara's father had been present at her graduation, something that had made her very happy. He had been working extremely hard over the winter months, putting in extra shifts to investigate the potentially dangerous accident on the oil rig. Hakoda had told them that everything had been sorted and that there was no reason to worry about the oil rig being unsafe. Still, Katara could not stop feeling that her father wasn't being completely honest with the family. He often appeared stressed and tense, and sometimes she and Sokka would catch him speaking on the phone and ranting angrily to someone about the Nakamura Industries laissez faire attitude towards workplace safety. The good news was that their father had been recently given a substantial pay rise. Katara couldn't help but wonder if it had been done in order to persuade Hakoda against making the wrong kind of noises about the company policy.

Sokka had also accelerated his plans to leave Cape Kuruk, courtesy of some good fortune for the family. Their financial situation had improved not only because of Hakoda's pay rise. Sokka had saved up more than he had expected from working some extra hours at the saw mill. Katara's scholarship meant that some of her previously allocated college founds could now go back to Sokka. This meant that Sokka would be able to pursue his dreams sooner, without having to wait for Katara to become fully established and self-sufficient, and it all helped to make Katara feel less guilty about stealing her brother's future. And she really didn't want Sokka to spend more time at the saw mill. Just a couple of weeks ago, one of the workers had lost his thumb in a horrific accident involving the waste trimmer. Katara was always freaking out about something like that happening to Sokka.

As far as Sokka's plans, he was eyeing Agna Qel'a as his destination. One of the capital's community colleges offered respectable engineering courses that Sokka was very keen on. In order to support himself and allow him to rent an apartment, Sokka was also looking for a part time job, anything that would let him stay afloat. In short, both the Enuaraq siblings were quite hyped for their future which at this point in time looked brighter than ever before.

Still, Katara wasn't about to leave the nest without having cleared the air with her family, and for many years there had been that one lingering issue which she had feared to bring up with her father and grandmother, that of her sexual preferences. Determined to once and for all be honest with her family, it was during one evening late in June while the entire family was still gathered around the dinner table following a shared meal that Katara stood from her seat, a little red in the face as she looked at her loved ones.

"So, uh… there's something I need to tell you all, something I have to get off my chest," she began awkwardly. "Maybe it's something you've already suspected, seeing as how I've never brought home any boyfriends. But the thing is… I'm romantically interested in girls, not boys."

There was no immediate reaction to her words. Sokka was smirking in a way that implied that he had suspected it all along. Kanna and Hakoda looked surprised, perhaps even a little shocked, but at least they didn't appear angry. Still, when nobody had said anything for a good while, Katara began to grow more and more nervous. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?" she demanded.

"Well, I… don't know quite what to say, Katara," Hakoda replied, scratching his head. "I mean, if you're sure…"

"Yes, are you completely certain about the way you feel, Katara?" Gran-Gran asked. "Maybe you're just going through a certain phase. Young people have always wanted to experiment with something new before returning to what is-"

"To what is normal?" Katara frowned. "I was afraid you'd feel that way. But no, I don't think this is a phase. I've been feeling this way for more than four years. That's a bit too long to be just a phase."

"My goodness, you have known this about yourself for that long?" Kanna gasped. "And you didn't feel like you could tell us, Katara? We must have failed somewhere along the way to have lost your trust."

"It wasn't about not trusting you, Gran-Gran, I was just… I don't know, embarrassed," Katara sighed.

"Well, this is quite the surprise you have sprung on us, Katara," Hakoda told her. "But daughter, ultimately all I want is for you and Sokka to find happiness. That's the most important part. The details of how and where are less important."

"Thanks, dad," Katara smiled at her father.

"That said, when can we meet this girlfriend of yours?" Hakoda asked, looking expectant.

"Oh… umm, well, you see…" Katara stumbled, blushing heatedly. "I don't actually have a girlfriend. There's this girl I like, but we're not like… together."

"I'm pretty sure I have an idea who she's talking about," Sokka smirked slyly.

"Don't you dare, Sokka!" Katara glared at him, then making a throat-slashing gesture for good measure.

"Sokka, is there something we need to know about this girl?" Hakoda turned to his son.

"Oh, no… no, no, no," Sokka shook his head, laughing. "You might be my dad, but I still fear her a lot more," he said, pointing at Katara.

"And for a good reason," Katara added quietly.

"I agree with your father, Katara. As long as you're certain that this is what you want and that this is what will make you happy, then we should have no say in the matter," Kanna said. She then let out a reluctant sigh. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a little selfish here. I simply always imagined you one day becoming a wonderful and caring mother of many, Katara."

"Well," Katara began, blushing lightly. "There are ways to get there without me carrying a child, Gran-Gran. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm not even eighteen yet. Besides, Sokka will probably have children, if he manages to hold on to Suki."

"Yes, Sokka, all our hopes now rest on you," Gran-Gran smiled, reaching out to ruffle Sokka's hair.

Sokka immediately pulled away, frowning. "Hey, stop deflecting the attention onto me, Katara, you're the one getting grilled here," he shot back.

"No, I think I'm done being grilled," Katara blew her brother a kiss as she stepped away from the table. "Enjoy your time getting interrogated."

Ozai Nakamura sat at a desk in the office in his Caldera City estate. He was supposed to be drafting a letter of instructions to his inside men within the Fire Nation Chamber of Commerce, but his attention kept wavering, drawn to the framed picture on his desk, showing him with an arm around his daughter's shoulders, the U18 gold medal hanging around Azula's neck. Ozai's heart had swelled with love and pride for his daughter following her amazing performance in the Fire Fountain City. He knew that Azula had always possessed the potential to dominate her peers, but the previous years had been very spotty and it had caused him to review his treatment of his daughter.

Even though the doting and spoiling of Azula over the past half a year had produced an amazing result, Ozai still didn't think that it would have had such an effect if he hadn't been very strict and harsh with her earlier. The beatings had served their purpose perfectly. They had made Azula so docile and grateful now that he was showering her with kindness and affection. Indeed, she had truly warmed up to him after he had kicked out Zhao. Ozai still couldn't quite believe the mistake he had nearly made by entrusting Azula to Zhao. He had thought the arrangement between the two of them had been quite clear, but when he had caught Zhao pawing at his daughter, Ozai had immediately realized that Zhao would never respect their arrangement. So, there was no other choice left for Ozai than to send Zhao packing.

Until he had gotten rid of Zhao, Azula had manifested worrying signs of rebellion, and he had struggled to beat these tendencies out of her by applying violence. Lately, however, Azula had cut down on any backtalk and disobedience. It made Ozai wonder if perhaps it would be safe for him to take his displays of affection to the next level without Azula getting freaked out by it. But perhaps he needed to lay down some more ground work first. He could get her another car, or perhaps a new horse. He knew that Azula would be very grateful for it. But then again, these gestures seemed small in comparison to what he really wanted from her. Perhaps he could buy her an estate of her own? But no, he didn't want Azula moving out. What about a yacht? Yes, that seemed like a great idea. He was going to buy Azula a yacht.

The sudden sound of the office phone ringing distracted Ozai. Angry about his daydream being interrupted, the head of the Nakamura Industries picked up the handset. "Yes, what is it?" he barked angrily.

"Is this a bad time, my friend?" he immediately recognized the voice on the phone.

"Long Feng. What do you want?" Ozai snapped irately.

"Merely to share something you might find of interest, Ozai," Long Feng replied, not daring to take offense at Ozai's tone.

"I'm listening," Ozai spoke curtly.

"I had a talk with my daughter yesterday after discovering the true extent of her frankly shameful grades at school," Long Feng began to explain. "So, I began to admonish Joo Dee while holding your daughter up as an example. I told her that she should strive to be more like Azula, and do you know what she replied to me, Ozai? She said, and I quote: "Do you also want me to be a lesbian, like Azula?""

"Your daughter must be spinning some filthy lie, Long Feng. My Azula is not some disgusting degenerate," Ozai snapped irately. "Does your daughter have any proof for what she's saying?"

"She was quite specific, Ozai," Long Feng said. "Joo Dee said that she had seen Azula kissing both Arnook's daughter and that other Water Tribe girl during the after-party of the U18 finals." Ozai remained silent at that, too angry to say anything, his face burning with rage. "Are you still there, my friend? Well, I just thought that you might want to know. I hope I have not overstepped," Long Feng spoke worriedly.

"No. Thank you, Long Feng," Ozai finally replied in a stony voice. "I will remember your service to me," he added before putting the handset down again.

And so, Ozai was yet again left to reconsider his attitude towards his daughter. Spoiling Azula and showering her with gifts had appeared to be working, but then she had gone right back to her old tricks of disgustingly kissing other girls. It made Ozai's blood boil with anger. He couldn't let this stand. Azula had to understand that this sort of behavior would not be tolerated. He had handed her a severe beating after catching her with the Watanabe girl almost four years ago, but that lesson apparently hadn't sunk in. Perhaps… perhaps extreme measures were required. Perhaps the lesson would stick if he were to combine a beating with something else… something that would forever convince Azula that she was her father's property in every sense of the word.

Even though the coming out talk with her family had gone ever reasonably well, Katara was painfully aware that every one of her family members would end up trying to coax more details from her in private. She simply hoped that these conversations could wait until the morning as she was feeling emotionally quite drained from the experience. Laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling, unable to focus on the book she had been trying to read, however, Katara heard a slight creak as the doors to her room parted and Sokka's head poked in.

"You're not sleeping yet?" he asked, rather unnecessary.

"Obviously not," Katara sighed. "Come right in and let's just get this over with."

"Heh," Sokka chuckled at her despondent reaction, entering the room and sitting down on the chair at Katara's writing desk. "We don't usually get evenings this exciting in our household. Thank you for arranging one, I guess."

"Anytime," Katara rolled her eyes. "Judging from your reaction, you weren't really shocked."

"Nah, I kind of suspected it," Sokka said. He reached out and placed something on her chest, something that looked like a photograph. Katara picked it up and immediately blushed at what she saw. She was completely passed out on the bed in Azula's penthouse suite, lying on her back with her mouth wide open and a bit of drool running down her chin. Azula had an arm around her waist and her head in the crook of Katara's shoulder. Yue was spooning the Fire Nation girl, her legs wrapped around Azula's. "Suki said that you were just being drunk, but I wasn't sure whether to believe her, and it seems that I have been proven right."

"If this is your only bit of evidence then it's a little shoddy and unconvincing," Katara snorted. She set the photo aside, out of Sokka's reach, not intent on returning it. "By the way, Sokka, it was really irresponsible to take this picture. If it were to fall into the hands of Ozai Nakamura, he'd do terrible things to Azula. If you have any more copies of it, get rid of them, please. And get rid of the film, too."

"Oh… Suki has the film," Sokka said. "I'll ask her to destroy it. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your girlfriend, would we?"

Katara froze on the bed. "What did you say?" she asked slowly.

"Are you going to deny it?" Sokka smirked. "Now that I really think about it, you and Azula have been making these weird eyes at each other from way back when you only just started to hang out together."

Katara pulled herself up on the bed and turned to face Sokka. Then she began to laugh, much to Sokka's surprise. Sokka thought that she was in love with Azula? That was ridic-… well, it wasn't really ridiculous, she supposed. Azula was kind of amazing, but more than wanting to be with her, Katara just wanted to protect her and keep her safe. And what was that about Azula making eyes at her? Sometimes Katara did feel as if Azula harbored some kind of feelings for her, but she had reasoned that Azula was just desperate to have a friend, and she still believed that explanation. Still, she supposed that Sokka's assumption wasn't actually as outlandish as her first reaction would indicate it. Perhaps to a casual observer, the fondness and affection with which she acted around Azula could lead said observer to assume that she was in love Azula. But even if that explanation made sense, it just wasn't true.

And the problem with the truth was that it carried with it the potential to be quite upsetting to Sokka. Still… Katara couldn't let her brother leave this conversation while believing a lie. She had to come clean, once and for all. "Umm, Sokka," Katara said, taking a deep breath. "The girl I mentioned liking isn't Azula."

"What?" Sokka blinked. "You're shitting me! Who else could it be? Surely it's not Toph!"

"Damn it, Sokka! It's Yue! It has always been Yue!" Katara exclaimed irately. Sokka immediately fell silent, a shocked expression on his face. "I'm sorry, but it's true. I know it makes everything feel really awkward, but there it is."

"Fuck," was all Sokka could manage. "And just for how long have you fancied her?"

"There is no way for me to answer this question without coming off seriously sad and pathetic," Katara sighed.

"Just tell me," Sokka growled at her.

"Pretty much since you two began to date," Katara muttered, lowering her eyes with shame.

"What the fuck! All that time you've been salivating after my girlfriend?" Sokka even raised his voice at her. "Well, ex-girlfriend, but you know what I meant!"

"Salivating?" Katara glared back at him. "Oh, come on! I obviously kept things under control if you didn't notice anything for years."

"Ugh… I guess," Sokka conceded. "But can't you see why I would be just a tiny bit upset and freaking out about this revelation?"

"No kidding," Katara sighed. "This is the real reason why I didn't come out until now, Sokka. And obviously, I couldn't tell this to dad and Gran-Gran. I would have come off as a seriously sad and pathetic weirdo."

"Oh come on, you're not that, Kat," Sokka's voice softened as he sensed that she was becoming genuinely upset. "It must have been really hard to keep this to yourself for so long, even if I assume that Yue and Azula probably both knew the truth about you." Katara nodded slowly. "Well, at least they are on your side," Sokka said. "So, you like Yue, then. Does she know?"

Katara snorted. "She knows, alright," she said.

"And what does she think about it all?" Sokka continued. This was a seriously uncomfortable line of questioning for Katara, but she could make no other choice than to simply continue answering honestly.

"She likes me right back the same way, Sokka," Katara replied earnestly.

"Are you being serious? And how long has she been feeling this way?" Sokka glared, getting angry again. "Were you two carrying on behind my back?"

"What? No!" Katara exclaimed. "I mean… ugh, there was a kiss like two years ago at the summer camp, but it was a heat of the moment thing, and we both agreed that it was wrong and we both swore that it could never happen again. And it didn't happen again, I swear!"

"I always thought you were better than that, Katara," Sokka looked beyond disappointed with her.

"Like you expect me to believe that you never kissed Suki while you were still technically with Yue?" Katara shot back at him. It was a wild stab in the dark, honestly, but Sokka's reaction was telling.

"That only happened once and it was an innocent kiss on the cheek!" he replied defensively, then letting out a sigh. "Okay, fine… I guess I'll try not to hold that against you. Alright, so you and Yue both like each other. That's going to take time getting used to. But won't you just face the same problem than what I would have faced with Yue? Which presumably was the reason why she broke up with me?"

"You mean that she won't walk away from her father and her inheritance just to be with me?" Katara laughed bitterly. "Yeah, she's not ready to do that. It's kind of why we don't have an actual relationship. I don't want to hide in the shadows for her."

"I can understand that," Sokka nodded. "That said, if Yue had walked away from her father for you, when she wouldn't do that for me, I would be seriously upset," he added.

"Understandable," Katara agreed. "I don't expect her to do that for me either, even if I wish for nothing more than that."

Sokka let out a weary sigh. "Shame we can't choose the people we fall for, right? Maybe you should have gone for Azula instead," he added with a wink.

"Haha, right, and if she would have walked away from her father for me, Ozai Nakamura would now be sending tire iron wielding goons after me," Katara laughed bitterly. "Anyway, more than anything else, I just want to get Yue and Azula out of their messed up circumstances. That's far more important to me than, you know, being with anyone."

"I actually believe you about that," Sokka sighed. "Anyway, wow, this conversation didn't at all go the way I expected it to go." Katara laughed weakly at that. "But I'll try not to be upset at you, sis, I just want you to know that. I don't want to hold a grudge about something that's in the past and something I've moved on from. Just… just try not to fall in love with my current girlfriend, okay?" he added with a chuckle.

"Hah, don't worry," Katara laughed. "Suki is lovely, but she's not my type."

"Yeah, your type seems to be unattainable rich girl with a truckload of emotional baggage," Sokka smirked. "Anyway, hang in there, Kat. Things won't always remain gloomy, I'm sure."

"You think so?" Katara gave him a desperate look. "I'd like to think so, too."

"I know so," Sokka replied, trying to sound mysterious. "I read it in your horoscope earlier. Something deeply distressing is going to happen soon, but after that, things will start to look up. Madame Wu said it, so it must be true."

"Clearly," Katara giggled as Sokka turned to leave. "Who are we to argue with the great Madame Wu?"

"Goddamn it, Lee, can you remember such a downpour in June?" a corpulent Caldera City cop asked his colleague in the passenger seat of the police car, stuffing a raspberry cream donut down his gullet.

"You mean as bad as this one?" Lee replied, having swallowed half of the donut. "Nah, I can't remember. It's getting dangerous to drive. You might want to slow down, Lee," he added.

"Maybe I should just stop for a while altogether," the other Lee said. "And have a few of those donuts before you've inhaled them all."

"You're a bit too late for that!" Lee laughed, showing the donut box to his colleague, the other Lee. The box was empty.

"Motherfucker!" the other Lee cursed angrily. "How the hell did you manage to eat all that?"

"I was hungry," Lee shrugged. "All I've had to eat recently were a couple of pizzas before heading out on patrol."

"That was a fucking hour ago, you maniac," the other Lee groaned.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist, Lee, let's just stop at the next Wang Fire's Spicy Chicken joint and feed you," Lee said in a conciliatory tone.

"Ugh, that would be great, but there are no fast food joints in this fucking elite neighborhood," the other Lee sighed. "Pretentious rich assholes. How can anyone not enjoy delicious hot and spicy chicken with some waffles and maple syrup?"

"Beats me," Lee shrugged. "But hey, at least we get the easy patrol tonight, right? Always been a make-work job, this. Nothing ever happens in this suburb full of crusty rich elites."

"Damn straight-… oh fuck!" the other Lee suddenly shouted as he barely managed to spot the shape crossing the road just ahead of the police vehicle, barely visible in the heavy downpour. "What the hell?!"

"Who's that and why are they walking down the middle of the road in a pouring rain?" Lee asked, setting the empty donut box aside and brushing the crumbs and bits of glazing off from his uniform.

"I don't fucking know?" the other Lee peered through the rain. The shape looked too small to belong to a grown adult, and seemed to be wearing white. "Oh shit, don't tell me we'll have to get out of the car in this rain and, I don't know, do our job?"

Lee shuddered at the thought. "Well, I suppose we can't let this psycho wander around and get hit by a car," he sighed. "Alright, let's pull over and take care of this."

"Here we go," the other Lee nodded, pulling over to the side of the road and quickly getting out. Cursing the heavy rain, the two cops ran towards the figure in white garment, stumbling along the side of the road. Much to the surprise of the two intrepid Lee's, they came across a young girl wearing nothing but her white nightgown, completely drenched in the rain. Alarmingly, her white nightgown was stained with what looked like large spots of blood. In her right hand, she was holding a sharp looking knife, prompting Lee to immediately pull a gun on her.

"Hold it, miss! Drop the knife, now!" Lee screamed, pointing the gun at the confused looking girl. She raised her arms, but she didn't let go of the knife. "Drop the knife or I'll shoot!" Lee shouted. The girl blinked at him. She seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Wait, hold the fuck on," the other Lee barked at his colleague. "I just realized where we are, you idiot. The big mansion over there," he pointed towards the large fence on the right. "It belongs to Ozai Nakamura. And that there looks an awful lot like…"

"Well, bugger me sideways!" Lee exclaimed. He lowered his weapon. "Is that Ozai's daughter? What the fuck happened to her?"

"I don't know, but we need to handle this delicately, like a box of freshly baked donuts," the other Lee said. "We're in way above our pay grade here." He started to move closer to the confused looking girl. "Miss Nakamura? Miss Nakamura, can you understand me?" She appeared to be reacting to him speaking her name, giving him a small nod. "I need you to drop the knife you're holding." The girl obeyed, lowering her arms and allowing the knife to fall to the ground.

Lee quickly ran up to her. "Miss Nakamura, you shouldn't be out in such weather. Come, let's get you into the car where it's safe and dry," he took her firmly by the hand and between the two of them they took the girl to the police vehicle and helped her climb into the back seat.

The other Lee climbed in with her. "Miss Nakamura, can you tell us what happened to you? Why are you wandering outside in such a state?" he asked, keeping his voice low and calming.

The girl turned to look at him, still appearing rather shell-shocked. "I… I think…" she began to speak unsteadily. "I think I may have just killed my father."

Next chapter: Is Ozai dead? Oh, we should be so lucky. But, if you are wondering if this is where Azula makes a break with her father… why yes, yes, it just might be.