Chapter 37
As the final days of June approached, Katara felt like she was slowly losing her mind from worry. Azula had not called her for an entire week now, having dropped off the radar completely with no prior warning. The anxiety had rendered Katara almost non-functional a little over a week before the start of the annual Uncle Iroh's Pai Sho camp at his Serpent's Lake estate. Normally, she would have her bags already mostly packed, ready to go as soon as the day of departure came. Now, she had done no packing whatsoever, unable to do anything else but stare at the phone in the living room, desperately praying for a call. Katara could barely eat anything, unless popping Librium pills in her mouth like candy counted.
At one point, Katara had failed to endure this uncertainty any longer and so she had thrown caution to the wind, finding the publicly listed phone number of Azula's Caldera City estate and making a call. Some servant had picked up the phone, only to for some reason wrongly assume that she was a member of the press, looking for a scoop. They had even called her a heartless vulture, intent on preying upon the Nakamura family during these difficult times. Instead of helping, this had only further inflamed Katara's anxiety. Something had obviously happened to Azula, but she didn't know what it was, and being left in the dark was playing merry havoc with her nerves.
It wasn't until the following day that they finally learned more. It was around nine in the morning and Katara was still fruitlessly trying to eke out another hour of rest, having spent a largely sleepless night, when Sokka barged into her room without warning, waving the morning paper in his hand. "Kat, you need to read this!" he exclaimed and stepped further into the room, dodging the clothes she had haphazardly discarded on the floor. Sokka passed the paper over to her, pointing at the article she was supposed to read.
"Head of the Nakamura Industries and five times World Pai Sho Champion Ozai Nakamura injured in a domestic accident," Katara read the lengthy title of the article, starting to hyperventilate as soon as her brain had fully comprehended its meaning. "What that… spirits, what is going on?" she exclaimed.
"Just read the whole article before you freak out, sis," Sokka urged her.
"It's a bit too late for that," Katara muttered, trying to recompose herself and turn her full attention to the newspaper. By the time she was done with the article, she had come to notice that for its impressive length, the news report was very vague on the details. At least two thirds of it consisted of listing various accomplishments of Ozai Nakamura and the successes of his company. The rest of the article was full of speculation whether this injury would prevent Ozai from defending his world championship title in a little more than two month's time. There was no information on how serious Ozai's injuries were or how he had sustained them. Also, to Katara's greatest frustration, Azula's name was not even mentioned in the article. On one hand, this was reassuring, because it seemed to imply that Azula hadn't been hurt. But on the other hand, why wasn't Azula calling her? Was she that distraught over her father's health? Katara somehow doubted that. No, Azula must have been involved in that incident in some way, Katara was certain of it.
"So, what do you think?" Sokka asked once Katara had finished, setting the newspaper aside. "Really vague on the specifics, wouldn't you say?"
"No kidding," Katara sighed. "The Nakamura family asks for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time."
"I suspect it's because Ozai Nakamura doesn't want the truth of what really happened to come out," Sokka mused. "He must be trying to suppress the flow of information."
"Sure, I can see that happening, but how does Azula factor into that?" Katara wondered. "What's her role in all of this?"
"Well," Sokka began, lowering his eyes and appearing a little uncomfortable. "You're going to be angry at me for this, but I was only following Azula's request. Back in April… she asked me to get her a knife. She seemed pretty certain that she was going to need it to defend herself from Ozai."
Katara immediately jumped out of the bed, appearing borderline hysteric. "What the heck, Sokka? Why am I learning this only now?" she shouted.
"Uh, probably because neither Azula nor I wanted you to lose your mind over it, sis," Sokka sighed. "But since shit has obviously hit the fan, I'm telling you about it now."
"Spirits… oh no… what can I do now?" Katara suddenly felt utterly deflated, sinking back down onto the bed and starting to cry, frantically wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "What do you think happened, Sokka?" she somehow managed amidst the flood of tears.
"I have a theory," Sokka replied, speaking calmly and trying to keep Katara from freaking out again. "I suspect that her father tried to really hurt her, and Azula must have stabbed him with the knife I got her. That sort of incident would be incredibly damaging for Ozai if it came out, right?"
"Yes, I don't think that he could buy off the police and child protective services if a scandal like that broke out publicly," Katara agreed.
"Hence the vagueness in the papers," Sokka nodded. "If my theory is correct, then they will probably eventually come up with some lame cover story. Like, there was an intruder at the estate and Ozai Nakamura bravely stood up against the villain, suffering knife wounds, something ridiculous like that."
"Makes sense," Katara shrugged. "But Sokka, all I really care about is to know what has happened to Azula. What does your theory say about that?"
Sokka looked uncertain. "I don't know for sure," he shrugged. "I imagine that Ozai would want to keep her somewhere safe and isolated for now, until he has recovered and… well, I have no idea what he would do, but I doubt it's anything nice."
Katara almost jumped again, looking frantic. "Are you saying that Azula could be held somewhere against her will?" she exclaimed. "We need to help her!"
"Umm, I understand that, sis, but how exactly do you envision it happening?" Sokka sighed. "Do you want us to go to the Fire Nation and storm every single property of Ozai Nakamura until we find her?"
"Yes! That sounds like a great plan to me!" Katara nodded frantically, looking like she really meant it.
"Seriously, Katara, we need more information," Sokka shook his head. "We can do nothing while we're flying blind. Ozai has like a dozen estates. And he might have some secret compounds that he could use to spirit Azula away from the eyes of the public."
"That utter and complete asshole!" Katara let out a completely uncharacteristic curse that stunned even her brother, but she was too livid to care.
"Okay, I am in complete agreement with you on that, even if it's not very helpful," Sokka spoke calmly. "What we really need is more information. Do you perhaps know someone in the Fire Nation who would be willing to help and could find out more for us?"
"Do I know someone in the Fire Nation? Well, there's that friend of Azula's, Mai, but I doubt she would be able to find out more," Katara shook her head. Then she thought of something, suddenly snapping her fingers. "I've got it!" she exclaimed. Sokka gave her a curious stare. "Uncle Iroh once told me that he still had some eyes and ears in the Nakamura household that he was using to spy on his brother and to check up on Azula. Iroh might know more!"
"That's wonderful!" Sokka smiled at her. "You're going to see Iroh in little more than a week. Hopefully you can learn more then."
"Do you want me to be like this for more than a week?" Katara blinked, shaking her head. "Are you kidding me, Sokka? I can't take all of this anxiety for that long. I have Uncle Iroh's contact information in my phone book," she said, pushing Sokka away from where he was sitting at her desk, fishing out the little black book from one of the drawers. "There we go," Katara said, having tracked down the two phone numbers, one of Iroh's Ba Sing Se home and the other for his Serpent's Lake estate. "I'm going to call him right away!" she exclaimed with determination, walking downstairs in her pajamas, not bothering with getting dressed.
Katara first tried to call Iroh's Ba Sing Se address, but an elderly servant lady informed her that Master Nakamura was currently at his Serpent's Lake estate, preparing it for the upcoming Pai Sho summer camp. Katara then wasted no time in dialing the number of the Serpent's Lake estate, hoping that Iroh would hear the phone ringing in his study. It took Katara eight tries and more than an hour until her call was finally answered by the familiar voice of Iroh Nakamura.
"Iroh Nakamura, what can I do for you?" the old grandmaster asked.
"Good morning, Uncle Iroh, this is Katara Enuaraq," Katara stated breathlessly.
"Ah, Katara! It's so lovely to hear your voice!" Uncle Iroh replied joyfully. "Are you looking forward to the camp, my dear?"
"No! I mean… yes! I don't know…" Katara became frantic again, overcome by anxiety. She quickly tried to get a grip on her emotions. Azula needed her to remain calm and logical. She wouldn't be able to help her friend if she became hysterical all the time. "Uncle Iroh, I am calling because I just read something very upsetting in the newspaper."
"Ah," was all Iroh said, clearly aware of what she was referring to. "Yes, I have read the news as well."
"Uncle Iroh, you know that I have befriended your niece. Azula and I used to talk on the phone at length every day," Katara spoke imploringly. "But about a week ago, she suddenly stopped calling me. I've been beside myself with worry about her. I was wondering if you would know more than what was said in the papers. The article I read didn't even mention Azula!"
"Yes, I understand your concern, Katara," Iroh replied. "You have to understand that I learned about these developments only very recently myself."
"But you said that you have a way to find out more about what's going on in the Fire Nation," Katara insisted, perhaps more forcefully than what would be considered polite, but she was incredibly stressed to the point of breaking. "Something about having your eyes and ears there…"
"Mhm. You obviously have the memory of a Pai Sho player," Iroh remarked, sounding a tiny bit amused. "Katara, you must understand that this is very sensitive and private information that you are trying to acquire. It has the potential to place you in harm's way, and I don't think I have the right to endanger you."
"Uncle Iroh, Azula was constantly reminding me that our very friendship was putting me into potential danger," Katara continued to insist. "I made the choice to remain her friend because I saw how much she needed it. And if she is in some kind of trouble, she might need a friend more than ever. Please… please, help me, Uncle Iroh."
Iroh let out a heavy sigh. "I believe that you are right in thinking that Azula might need a friend right now," he said in agreement. "But I still do not feel comfortable involving a minor. Hmm, but perhaps…"
"What are you thinking, Uncle Iroh?" Katara asked impatiently.
"Katara, I obviously began to make inquiries as soon as I learned that my brother was in a hospital," Iroh replied. "However, I am yet to hear back from my contact. The time difference between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation means that I will not hear back from them until the evening."
"Would it be alright for me to call you in the evening, Uncle Iroh?" Katara asked.
"I really shouldn't allow you to get involved in this, Katara. Your father would most likely be mad at me for even discussing this with you," Iroh sighed. Katara let out a sigh of relief. She usually was not happy when Hakoda was out on the oil rig, but this was that one time when she was glad that her father wasn't around in case Iroh wanted to speak with him. "But… I understand that you and Azula have forged a bond, one that is important for both of you. And since I am very grateful that you have been there for my niece, supporting her during a difficult period in her life, I promise to share any information that comes my way with you."
"Thank you, Uncle Iroh," Katara said. Even if she hadn't learned anything new about Azula, the very thought that Iroh was on their side gave her strength. "I will speak with you soon."
"Take care, Katara," Iroh said, then disconnecting the call.
Katara somehow managed to survive until the evening, when she breathlessly made another call to Uncle Iroh's Serpent's Lake estate, this time her call getting answered immediately. "Good evening, Katara," Uncle Iroh greeted her, but even though he tried to sound calm and steady, Katara couldn't help but feel that Azula's uncle sounded rather shaken. "I expected your call."
"Good evening, Uncle Iroh," Katara greeted him in return. "Have you learned anything new?"
There was a pause before Iroh answered. "I have, but… what I have learned is not for the faint of heart," the old grandmaster replied. "I am sorry, but things are too serious for me to allow you to become involved, Katara."
"Did you learn that Azula was the one responsible for stabbing her father?" Katara decided to go for the last desperate gamble.
"That's right, but… how did you know?" Iroh asked in a shaky voice.
"I knew what she was facing and I knew what she was prepared to do," Katara lied.
"This is not something any seventeen year old girl should be facing," Iroh sighed. "I'm sorry, Katara, but I find all of this incredibly upsetting."
"Only someone sick and heartless would not find it upsetting," Katara said stonily. "Please, Uncle Iroh. I must know what has happened to Azula. Where is she? Is she safe? Was your contact able to get you this information?"
"Yes, they were successful," Iroh confirmed. "I can tell you that Azula is safe and in good hands."
"That does not reassure me, unless you give me more details, Uncle Iroh," Katara frowned at the old man's reluctance to share, even if she understood where he was coming from. "Does her father still have access to her? That's the most important thing."
"Ozai must have been greatly concerned about Azula's mental state, because he has for once in his life made the right decision regarding her," Iroh eventually continued. "He has placed Azula in a private mental asylum. I think he wants to make completely sure that she won't attack him again."
"Alright, that sounds… better than I had expected, but since she's a minor, he would probably still be able to remove her from the asylum and keep abusing her, correct?" Katara wanted to make sure.
Iroh did not respond for a while, busy thinking. "I can find no fault in your logic, Katara, despite how uncomfortable this scenario might be," he conceded with a sigh. "But I don't see how we can stop that from happening."
"Well, if we knew in which asylum she was, we could reach out and try to convince the staff that Azula needs to remain with them, and that they should not hand Azula back over to her father," Katara insisted. "But she's probably in some Fire Nation facility, and the people there wouldn't listen to either of us."
"Actually…" Iroh spoke up, for some reason sounding less downcast. "Katara, you have given me an idea, and maybe even a little bit of hope, despite me still thinking that to involve you in this affair is highly irresponsible. But… and I can't believe I'm saying this, but perhaps you might actually be able to help, Katara."
"I'm willing to do almost anything to keep Azula safe, I want you to know that, Uncle Iroh," Katara insisted.
"That's what I was afraid you would say," Iroh sighed. "But I feel like I won't be able to dissuade you, Katara. Well, since you are so determined to help, then you should know that Ozai has not placed Azula in a Fire Nation facility. No, he clearly wanted to get his daughter further away from the prying eyes of the few remaining independent and objective Fire Nation news media. So, he has placed Azula in a highly respected and recognized mental asylum in Agna Qel'a. It's called the Crystal Castles Sanatorium."
"I… know of it," Katara gasped. Hakoda had tried to arrange an appointment for Katara with the asylum, but their rates had been insane, so they had been forced to stick with the state-funded mental health providers. "Azula is in Agna Qel'a? She's been so close to me for days and I didn't know about it?" She almost wanted to cry from hearing the news.
"Yes, she's been there for four days already," Iroh confirmed. "Now, I would be happy to reach out to the asylum's staff and talk with them, but I fear that I might actually damage our cause to help Azula. If they were to inform Ozai that his brother has been snooping about, Ozai might pull Azula out of there immediately. However, the asylum staff might not know of your connection with Azula. If you could somehow make contact with her…"
"Yes, I don't know how I'm going to accomplish this, but I'm definitely going to try," Katara spoke with determination. "There are no busses to Agna Qel'a on Friday, but I'm definitely taking the earliest one on Saturday. I'll try to find out as much as I can, that's a promise."
"Thank you, Katara," Iroh sounded grateful. "But please, I want you to be extremely careful. It is possible that Ozai has sent his own people along to keep an eye on Azula. If they begin to suspect anything, you might be in grave danger."
"I'm still determined to try," Katara insisted. "Thank you so much for not withholding the truth from me, Uncle Iroh. I will be sure to call you Saturday evening and tell you everything I have learned."
"Very well, Katara. Godspeed and the best of luck," Iroh said before terminating the call.
The months following the U18 finals in the Fire Fountain City had been hard on Yue. The stress of graduating the high school with exemplary scores had been hard to endure, although sometimes Yue wasn't sure why she even bothered, since she couldn't be sure whether education would even play any role in her future. Trying to maintain her friendship with Katara also took a toll on her. Things just hadn't been the same since April, not that Yue could blame Katara for remaining a little distant. Katara wanted for them to be together, but only under the condition that their relationship would be out there, in the open. And with Yue unable to make the decision that Katara wanted, it was no wonder that Katara was keeping her at an arm's length because she simply did not wish to get hurt.
But the memories of what had happened back in April were slowly grinding down Yue's resistance to the idea of giving up on her inheritance. That one night they had shared a bed in Yue's hotel room was constantly on her mind. It wasn't that it had been the fairytale level of amazing, no, their affair had been awkward and a little embarrassing, but there had been an air of innocent sweetness surrounding it, a feeling that Yue found irresistibly tempting. She couldn't deny that she really wanted Katara, more than she could ever remember wanting anything. And as she began to feel Katara slowly withdrawing and slipping away, it only made Yue want the other girl more and more.
The time that her father insisted she spent on getting to know Hahn better also contributed to Yue slowly starting to change her mind. All the benefits of spending time with Hahn had been lost when a disgusted Pakku Karetak gave up on tutoring Hahn, breaking off their partnership and then publicly denouncing Hahn as the laziest, most arrogant and conceited student he had ever had the displeasure to work with. With the dissolution of this partnership, Yue had lost access to grandmaster Pakku and his vast knowledge of Pai Sho.
Back in May, Yue's father had informed her that he had signed a letter of intent with the Adjuk family, outlining all the legal matters that would take effect upon her marriage to Hahn. Afterwards, Yue had started to pick up signs showing another side of Hahn that he had thus far kept hidden, having made sure to appear sweet and charming. Feeling confident that their marriage was imminent and a mere formality, Hahn had become much bolder with her, often shocking and disgusting her with obscene vulgarities, such as describing in detail certain parts of their future married life as he imagined it. Yue had complained about it to her father, but she would have had better chances at squeezing water from stone than moving Arnook Taqqiq. He had just smiled at her and told Yue that she was overreacting to something that was probably just innocent 'locker room talk'.
All this and many other concerns were on Yue's mind on a Friday evening in late June as she sat down to make a phone call to the Enuaraq household in Cape Kuruk. Katara's grandmother answered the call, then wandering off to find Katara. Even from their warm and sincere greetings, Yue could tell that Katara sounded deeply anxious, and Yue didn't have to guess the reason for that. The entire week before Katara had been freaking out about Azula having stopped calling her, and now there had been this worrying article in the newspaper about Ozai Nakamura getting injured. It was no wonder that Katara was losing it, but as compassionate as Yue wanted to be for her friend, it didn't escape her notice how much things happening to Azula were affecting Katara. All of a sudden, Yue's jealousy was starting to rear its ugly head.
"Kat, it sounds to me as if you have read a certain article in the papers," Yue began their conversation.
"Yes, I totally freaked out when Sokka showed me the newspaper," Katara replied, still sounding a little nervous.
"What do you think is going on with the Nakamuras?" Yue asked.
"I don't have to speculate about it, I actually know what happened," Katara replied, surprising Yue. "I called Uncle Iroh, hoping that he would know more. His Fire Nation contact did some snooping and learned a lot of interesting information. Yue, you can keep a secret, right?"
"Of course," Yue replied without thinking. "I'll do anything for you, Kat."
"Thanks," she could tell that Katara was smiling at the other end of the line and knowing that made Yue's heart soar. "Yue, Ozai has placed Azula in a mental asylum for the time being. But not in some Fire Nation establishment as you might think. No, she's actually in Agna Qel'a, a place called the Crystal Castles Sanatorium."
"Whoa… that's crazy!" Yue exclaimed. "I've never heard about the place and wouldn't know where to find it, though."
"Don't worry, I do," Katara replied, a little mysteriously.
"Wait a moment… Kat, what are you intending to do?" Yue asked, starting to grow worried. "You wouldn't try anything crazy, would you?"
"I don't know. I guess I could get arrested for trying to enter the asylum," Katara laughed awkwardly. "But hopefully it won't come to that. I'm going to try my best to bluff my way in, somehow."
Yue felt both astonished and frightened at once. Katara was willing to risk a great deal in order just to see Azula. It wasn't calming Yue's jealousy down any. "Kat, please be careful," Yue said, aware that she sounded very nervous. "With the camp starting next weekend, we definitely don't want you to get yourself arrested for breaking and entering."
Katara remained silent for longer than seemed necessary. "Umm, I don't know how to say this, but… Yue, right now I'm not sure that I'll be attending the camp, what with everything that's going on with Azula," she said, sounding a little distraught herself.
"But… what do you mean?" Yue gasped. Her head was starting to spin a little. It was fortunate that she was already sitting, because her legs suddenly felt very weak and unsupportive. "We've already made plans and everything," she managed. Truth be told, it was mostly her who had made plans. Yue had intended to use the summer Pai Sho camp to fully make sure of her feelings towards Katara, and now it seemed that Katara might not even be attending, all because she was determined to take care of Azula? This was sending Yue's plans into complete disarray.
"Yes, I'm sorry, but I just can't say for sure until I know more about Azula's situation in the asylum," Katara sighed. "I want to be there with you, Toph, Aang and the others, of course. Maybe I can join you all later on. I might know more by tomorrow evening."
Yue immediately latched onto that final sentence Katara had uttered. "You're coming to Agna Qel'a tomorrow?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm taking the early bus," Katara replied. "I'll try to scope out the asylum and see if there's some way for me to get inside. I know, I know, it's all a big gamble, but I have to try something. I have Uncle Iroh's approval to try, too. We both agree that we need to make sure that Azula isn't just shipped back to her father so that he can continue to abuse her."
"That's obviously very important," Yue agreed earnestly, even if her immediate focus right now was not on helping Azula. She did feel sorry for the Fire Nation girl and she wanted to help her too, but feeling genuine compassion had become much harder ever since she had started to view Azula as a genuine threat in this battle for Katara's affections. "Katara?" she asked, a bold idea suddenly popping into her mind.
"Yes, what is it?" Katara asked.
"Can we meet tomorrow after you're done at the asylum?" Yue asked.
"Sure, I would love that," Katara sounded happy about the idea. "Where and at what time would you like to meet?"
"Let's go for that little café that serves your favorite sticky chocolate cake," Yue decided quickly. "What time do you think you can make? Should we go for four or five in the afternoon?"
"Well, my bus back to Cape Kuruk is at seven in the evening, so let's make it at five in the afternoon, shall we?" Katara said.
"Sounds perfect," Yue replied. "I think you're going to be very pleased with what I have to tell you, Kat," she added.
Indeed, this one conversation alone had shaken Yue so much that she had finally made the decision she had been waffling on for many months, if not years. Lately, Yue had made so many utterly baffling decisions that she felt deeply embarrassed when thinking back about all of her mistakes, however, she remained confident that she could still recover from this. But the talk with Katara had convinced her that she could no longer wait indecisively. No, she needed to act before Katara had decided that she actually preferred Azula to her.
So, tomorrow Yue was going to tell Katara that which Katara had been desperate to hear for so long. Yue was finally ready to make the decision to walk away from her father and face poverty together with Katara. Whatever challenges her riches to rags future would bring, it suddenly no longer frightened Yue as much as it had done before. She was absolutely confident that with Katara by her side, they could overcome every challenge life threw at them, and in the end, wasn't that all that mattered?
Next chapter: Katara does her very best to infiltrate the Crystal Castles Sanatorium without getting arrested.
(*) Also, for those of you interested, Uncle Iroh's Fire Nation contact is a certain young Nakamura household guard by the name of Ming. :)