Chapter 62
Yue found it hard to cope during the first few days after discovering that horrible photo with the threatening message sent by Ozai. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept recalling the view of Ozai standing over the slain horses with a smoking shotgun in his hand. The monstrosity of that man overshadowed that of the Adjuks by a country mile. How could her father do business with someone like Ozai Nakamura? Yue had never felt happier to have washed her hands of the family fortune when it had been made with the help of men like Ozai.
Because of Ozai Nakamura, Yue once again found herself living in nearly constant fear, and she had hoped to have left that part of her life behind in Agna Qel'a. Of course, instead of fearing Han's fists, she was now worried about professional hitmen hired by Ozai, which was a far more severe threat. They were doing their best to stay safe without alerting Azula with suspicious behavior. Katara had told Sokka about the photo, and Sokka had insisted that they try to talk Azula into letting him move in with them, at least temporarily. Azula had decided to accompany Sokka and Katara to Cape Kuruk, despite the insistence of the siblings that someone with the last name of Nakamura, or clear affiliation with the Fire Nation, should probably stay away from the village following the deadly oil platform accident. Despite the warnings, Azula had been adamant about going with the Enuaraq siblings, and Katara had mentioned using it as an opportunity to bring up the idea of letting Sokka move in with them.
The thought of living under the same roof with Sokka would have probably felt a little awkward to Yue, if not for another curious recent development. Yue had become aware that Ty Lee was hitting on her pretty hard, and Yue would be lying if she claimed that she did not enjoy the attention. Yue found Ty Lee rather fascinating. Yue normally didn't go for girls who were gorgeous in that cutesy and slightly ditzy way, and she probably wouldn't have become attracted to Ty Lee if the Fire Nation girl didn't have a lot of darkness underneath all that cheerful, happy go lucky façade. Ty Lee had seen and dealt with things that Yue, Katara and Azula could never imagine. Yue and Azula had fallen on relatively hard times, but they hadn't ended up out on the street the way Ty Lee had, Iroh had reached out and supported them both. Ty Lee clearly did not enjoy talking about her painful past experiences, but Yue was determined to get her to open up. She had already successfully talked Ty Lee into sharing some of the stories, and while they had horrified Yue, they had also strengthened the pull she was feeling towards Ty Lee.
When Ty Lee had first moved in with them, she had been in a rather poor physical shape. She was thin in an unhealthy way, her skin had been pallid, and her grey-brown eyes had been listless. Yue was amazed at how quickly Ty Lee had rebounded, however. Ty Lee's physique was impressive indeed, and now that she had the opportunity to do so, she seemed to really enjoy working on her conditioning. Yue always felt tempted to do a little spying on Ty Lee when the latter was working out in the garden, pulling off some amazing acrobatic feats. As far as Yue was concerned, Ty Lee could have become an Olympic gymnast, if only Ozai Nakamura hadn't destroyed that dream. Whenever Yue thought that she could get away with it, she would observe Ty Lee through the kitchen window. At some point Ty Lee had noticed her, and soon after that the flirting had begun in earnest.
Yue loved the chase, and she had been prepared to finally give in, when Ozai's damaging letter had arrived. The sudden threat to their lives immediately put the brakes on all this flirting. Until now, they had all been freaking out about Azula's return to the Fire Nation, but now they had to worry about their very own lives. It just wasn't a good moment for romance to blossom, even if both she and Ty Lee seemed quite interested. However, with Katara and Azula going away for the entire week and leaving the estate for Yue and Ty Lee to oversee, it suddenly became harder to avoid addressing certain topics. Because they were both frightened by Ozai's threats, the pair spent a lot of time together, not wanting to be alone. Yue was having trouble sleeping even before Katara and Azula had gone away, simply because she was the only one on the ground floor, with the bedrooms of the other girls on the second floor. Suggesting a sleepover with either Katara or Azula would invoke the jealousy of the other party, and a sleepover with Ty Lee… well, that would probably lead to something amazing she wasn't necessarily ready for just yet.
She was really grateful for having Ty Lee at the estate, however. Yue could not imagine being alone at a time like this, she would probably die from fear. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with Ty Lee on a sofa and watching a particularly sappy soap opera felt comforting. Ty Lee was sitting in a lotus position with a bucket of caramel corn on her lap. Yue had never met a girl who could pack away sweets like Ty Lee could, but Ty Lee also worked out with serious intensity and burned a lot of calories. Another thing about Ty Lee that astonished Yue was how she could switch between such diametrically opposing emotions in a heartbeat. She was laughing about something silly one moment, and she was crying about something absurdly dramatic the next moment, all while popping the crunchy caramel corn into her mouth.
"You know how silly this show is, right?" Yue asked once the credits started to roll. She reached in and grabbed a handful of the caramel corn.
"Oh, it's very silly," Ty Lee nodded in agreement. "That's why I like it. I love silly things."
"I love how you are so unapologetic about it," Yue laughed. "Most people would be ashamed to admit liking-"
Whatever Yue was about to say went unsaid, as suddenly the lights around them went out and the estate plunged into eerie darkness. The two girls let out frightened screams before clinging tightly to one another, the bowl of caramel corn flying out of Ty Lee's lap.
"Oh no…" Ty Lee whispered, shivering with fear. "This is it. They've cut power to the estate."
"Are they… coming to kill us?" Yue breathed, holding on to Ty Lee for dear life.
"Yes, they must have cut the wires," Ty Lee whispered. "Or maybe they're already inside and messing with the fuse box."
"Let's… let's be quiet and maybe they'll go away," Yue suggested shakily. They sat there in deathly silence, listening for the tiniest of noises, but nothing could be heard from the direction of the utility room. Also, nobody seemed to be trying to pick the lock on the front door. "I can't hear anything. Do you think we might be safe?" Yue asked. Her panic attack was slowly starting to subside and she was becoming aware of just how tightly Ty Lee was pressed against her. Also, Ty Lee's hand was on her thigh, moving ever so slightly in a very interesting way.
"I think we should wait a while longer," Ty Lee whispered, her hot breath teasing the exposed skin of Yue's neck. Ty Lee didn't sound as frightened as before. "Yue?" Ty Lee spoke quietly. "I want you to know that if we're about to die, then… well, dying while holding you would be my preferred way to go."
Yue was desperately trying not to entertain the thought of possibly dying within the next few minutes. But if she were to die, then yes, she had to agree that being held like this by Ty Lee would probably make it less awful. "I'll second that, Ty Lee," she whispered back, turning to face the other girl, looking into Ty Lee's eyes, glowing with the kind of softness that made Yue's heart do somersaults, despite being in mortal danger. She opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to say anything as Ty Lee's hands slipped into her hair and gave a sharp tug, pulling Yue into a kiss. Ty Lee then leaned backwards on the sofa, pulling Yue on top of her as their lips remained locked.
Yue was trying to ignore just how absurd the situation was. They were about to get wasted by Ozai's assassin for hire, but all they could think of doing was to suck on each other's faces with remarkable vigor and intensity. Yue groaned into Ty Lee's mouth, shuddering in pleasure from the way Ty Lee's hands wandered all over her body, occasionally slipping under her sweater. Yue was trying her best to repay Ty Lee with the same level of attention, but even though she was desperate not to stop, Yue simply couldn't ignore the danger they were in.
"Are we really doing this when some hired goon is about to kill us?" Yue asked, reluctantly pulling away from Ty Lee's lips.
"Why shouldn't we?" Ty Lee whined, reaching out to kiss her again and again. "The thrill of danger makes it so much more intense, doesn't it?"
"I obviously agree, but that is beyond the point," Yue protested, trying her best not to be distracted by how Ty Lee's hands roamed under her sweater, but her protests met very limited success. "We're about to die, Ty Lee!" she hissed.
"Nope, we're not," Ty Lee grinned at her.
"W-what?" Yue blinked. "But you said-"
"Yeah, I really thought so, but then I noticed something else," Ty Lee seemed too amused for her own good. She gently urged Yue to look outside. The entire Upper Ring appeared to be sinking in darkness. "It's a major power cut to the entire district. Nobody's trying to break into the estate, cutie."
"And when were you going to tell me that?" Yue glared at the girl trapped under her.
"Hopefully after we've had amazingly passionate sex," Ty Lee winked at her.
"Spirits, you're terrible!" Yue exclaimed, trying to sound angry, but it was just so hard when Ty Lee held her like that while saying things that made Yue's head spin, and while Ty Lee's hands still kept exploring Yue's body in a way that set her on fire.
"I just don't feel like sleeping alone right now, and I suspect that I'm not the only one here," Ty Lee said, this time completely earnestly. "I'm just looking out for us both, don't you see?"
"I should be angry with you, Ty Lee," Yue glared, although she was aware that her stare lacked any sort of fire or conviction. She giggled, the look in her eyes softening. "But I just can't. You're too cute and you damned well know it."
"Tell me more," Ty Lee grinned at her.
"I'll just show you instead," Yue chuckled before leaning into another kiss. Worrying about Ozai's hired guns coming after them would have to wait.
Azula had more reasons for accompanying Katara and Sokka to Cape Kuruk than simply being a supportive friend. As the car they had rented in Agna Qel'a brought them ever closer to the coastal village and they could now see the dangerously tilted oil platform for themselves, Azula knew that the Nakamura Industries had screwed up royally and perhaps there was an opportunity to exploit here. When they had departed Ba Sing Se the day before, the platform was tilted at an angle of thirty degrees, but now the tilt had reached at least a sixty degree angle and the whole platform was about to capsize. The oil tanker, Sozin's Comet, had limped to relative safety further out into the sea, where the capsizing platform would not damage it.
By now, the death toll had reached twenty-one, and three more workers were still missing. The government in Agna Qel'a had declared this a day of national sorrow and promised to launch a thorough inquiry of their own, publicly stating distrust in the investigation the Nakamura Industries had opened. Azula had to scowl at the posturing of the Water Tribe politicians. She knew that they were taking massive kickbacks from her father's company in exchange for permits that the Nakamura Industries received, allowing them to operate close to fifty oil platforms like this on the northern continental shelf. Whatever this government investigation found would end up being a mere slap on the wrist for her father. It wasn't the first oil rig accident in the last decade, and it wouldn't be the last. The Nakamura Industries would rather pay a few million in fines every now and then, than invest in actual safety upgrades across all of its oil rigs, which would cost billions. It would also save lives, but who cared about that when there were profits to be made?
Even though Hakoda Enuaraq had managed to escape certain death through fortunate circumstances, Katara and Sokka remained understandably upset about what had happened. Hakoda had been scheduled to return to the platform the following day. The accident could have just as easily happened on his shift, and they all knew it. They had spent the night at the airport hotel in Agna Qel'a, and the two siblings had stayed up almost the entire night, drinking hard liquor. Azula had tried to hang with them, but she had passed out sometime around three in the morning. Still, she was the only one sober and capable of driving the following morning, which was what she was currently doing, steering the cheap Rover and hoping that the dreadful roads to Cape Kuruk would not prove to be the final nail in the coffin of this much used and abused vehicle.
Aside from being worried about her father, Katara had lately made several mentions of how her brother was struggling with so much of his earnings getting swallowed by paying exorbitant rent for the dismal Lower Ring apartment he was staying at. Even someone as socially awkward as Azula eventually got the hint. She had been to Sokka's apartment a few times, and she agreed with Katara, the place was a depressing dive. So, she had agreed to let one of the two remaining rooms at the estate out to Sokka, on one condition.
Recently, in order to sell Iroh the idea of letting Ty Lee stay at the estate, Azula had introduced the rule that everyone living at the estate would set aside a part of their income, pooling their resources together. It wasn't rent as such, because Iroh still covered that as well as picking up electricity and gas bills, and the like. But they had let go of the cleaning lady and were now doing their own groceries. This money also went to some of the larger purchases they voted on as a group. Ty Lee was really pushing to get her gymnastics stuff with this money, and Azula couldn't see herself voting against that request when they next had a house meeting. If Sokka wanted to live at the estate, he would have to pay into the estate fund. Considering that it would be only one third of his rent for a much worse apartment, Sokka was clearly happy to do so.
Azula had some slightly ulterior motives for allowing Sokka to stay at the estate, and without these motives, she probably would not have gone along with Katara's suggestion, because Sokka's stay at the estate came with certain few annoyances. Sokka could get really obnoxious while teasing her and Katara about their mutual attraction. Considering that he was also Katara's brother, it just made things that little more awkward for both her and Katara. Besides, Sokka would now be sleeping in a room across the hallway from his sister. He would probably make some really dumb comments if he happened to catch her trying to slip into Katara's room unseen by the others.
Azula's ulterior motives had to do with the fact that lately Sokka had struck something of a friendship with Zuko. Azula had no idea what Zuko was playing at, but she was becoming worried. Azula reasoned that if she could keep an eye on Sokka, then perhaps she could learn more about her brother and his motives. It was true, Zuko was leaving her alone as of late, and when they did interact, they managed to largely remain civil. Still, Azula was suspicious about Zuko suddenly developing this close friendship with the brother of her girlfriend - well, her hopefully soon to be girlfriend. Agni, not being with Katara was becoming so unbearable that it often left her wanting to scream and punch the walls. November couldn't come soon enough. For better or worse, she would either succeed in freeing herself from Ozai's influence or… no, there could be no or about it. She had to succeed. There was only one outcome she was willing to accept.
The village of Cape Kuruk was well and truly in mourning as they slowly drove through it. The streets looked empty and deserted, even more so than usual. Every house they drove past had the Water Tribe flag at half mast, with black mourning ribbons attached. The short drive through the village until they reached the Enuaraq family home left them all utterly depressed. The only one not depressed, probably because she was too happy and dumb to care, was the family St. Bernard, Naga, rushing out of the doghouse to greet them with happy and excited barking. Sokka merely scratched Naga behind the ears and then entered the house, while Katara remained behind to indulge Naga's affections a little longer, kneeling before the excited St. Bernard and getting her face properly washed by the massive pink tongue.
Azula stayed with Katara, kneeling next to her when Katara didn't move even after Naga had run off again. Azula quickly glanced around to make sure that nobody was looking and then leaned in and kissed Katara on the cheek, ignoring how Katara stank of wet dog. She then put her arms around the other girl and hugged her tightly. "I'm here for you, Kat," she said as softly as she could manage. "You always tell me that, don't you? I feel like now it's my turn to tell it to you."
"Thanks, Zula," Katara smiled, turning to face her. Their faces were very close together and for a moment, Azula was worried that Katara would kiss her. Azula cursed herself for wanting that more than anything else in the world. Then Katara pulled away and rose, dragging Azula up with her. "Let's go inside. I need to see my dad," she said, looking overcome with sadness again.
Inside the house, Azula and Katara came up to Sokka speaking to Gran-Gran in the living room. As Katara threw herself in the embrace of her grandmother, Sokka looked over to Azula. "Dad is sleeping upstairs," he said by the way of explanation. "He got back from the rescue operation only a few hours ago. They had to call off the rescue, there's a storm coming. But the chance to find anyone alive was slim to none anyway."
Azula nodded at Sokka, then turning around when she heard the sound of someone walking down the stairs. Hakoda entered the living room moments later, looking like a man who hadn't slept a wink for at least three days. There were massive bags under his eyes and his cheeks looked sunken. There was definitely a man who had seen something absolutely horrific and who had stared in the face of death… probably when fishing the bodies of his co-workers out of the sea where they had been floating, burnt and washed off the platform.
"Dad!" Katara exclaimed, sounding distressed at her father's appearance. Azula could understand her perfectly. "You haven't been taking care of yourself at all, but it changes now!" she threw herself into Hakoda's embrace, starting to cry. Sokka walked over to them as they enjoyed a comforting group hug. Azula looked on, a lump forming in her throat. She almost started to cry when Kanna walked up to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
After Katara and Sokka had reluctantly let go of their father, Hakoda came over to Azula and hugged her as well. Azula had expected herself to freak out a little. The idea of physical contact with male authority figures just scared her so much, after what her father had attempted. But from her previous visit to Cape Kuruk, Azula had come to realize that Hakoda was a genuinely good and caring human being, and she saw the reflection of it daily in his children. When Hakoda embraced her, Azula was relieved to feel none of the discomfort she had feared. It was a genuinely touching moment that left her feeling full of warmth.
"Dad, do you know what actually happened with the platform?" Sokka asked once they had all sat down in the kitchen. "Did the tanker really ram the platform? That would be crazy irresponsible! Maybe the captain was drunk?"
"I don't think that the tanker is to blame, at least not from what I observed out there," Hakoda replied. "One of the legs of the platform had developed a fatigue crack that was slowly becoming larger. I reported it and they decided to fix it with a bracing. I thought it was ridiculous and I refused to sign off on it, but they pressed the safety inspectors of the two other shifts to sign, so problem solved, right? I think the platform itself had tilted by one or two degrees, because of this fatigue crack. The incoming tanker couldn't have known about this tilt. Even if they did everything right, they would have clipped the platform and that would have been enough. I'm sure that the inquiry will establish this as the cause of accident."
Azula frowned at Hakoda's confident words. She was pretty certain that the investigation would establish whatever it would be told to establish, which didn't necessarily have anything to do with the truth. "Do you think they could try and pin something on you, dad?" Sokka asked worriedly.
"Of course not," Hakoda shrugged. "I have kept copies of all the safety reports I have submitted over the years. Besides, I didn't sign off on the bracing fix. I have done everything that has been asked of me to the best of my ability, and my conscience is clean." Again, Azula found herself frowning. She knew that the Nakamura Industries were not above forging signatures when it suited them. For some reason, Hakoda was operating on the mistaken assumption that these investigations would be handled fairly, and Azula knew that it was not the case. Still, she had to admit, it was smart of Hakoda to have kept copies of his reports. This was giving her an idea.
"How bad is the spill?" Katara asked.
"As bad as you can probably imagine," Hakoda sighed. "The entire village is out on the coast, trying to clean what we can, but we're really up against it. More and more oil keeps getting washed ashore."
"So that's why the village felt so empty when we drove through it," Katara realized. "Anyway, I know what we're doing for the rest of this week," she said, giving Azula a hopeful glance.
Azula managed a supportive smile in return, even if inwardly she was sighing. She remembered watching some news reports many years ago of environmentalists, cleaning up the shore after an oil spill. She had found it terribly amusing, laughing at the immense waste of time when considering how little was achieved. She thought it silly how some people took up on these impossible and daunting, doomed causes. And yet, here she was, facing an entire week of cleaning rocks from a disgusting, slick coating of oil, already knowing that she would find it impossible to say no to Katara. Her Water Tribe girl could inspire her to undertake even the most foolish of crusades.
"Dad, you should probably take the rest of the day easy," Sokka said then. "Go upstairs and try to get some sleep, okay? We'll be here for the entire week. We can talk more once you've rested."
"Fine, fine, I'll try to get some sleep," Hakoda chuckled amiably, raising his arms when Katara also turned to admonish him for not taking care of himself. "I'll see you later, kids," he said, walking out of the kitchen and heading back upstairs.
Azula was desperate to follow Hakoda, but she knew that she had to wait for a more opportune moment to slip out, so as not to face questions which she didn't necessarily want to answer. Fortunately, Katara and Sokka soon were busily chatting away with their grandmother, so when Azula quietly excused herself, nobody paid her too much attention. She quickly ran up the stairs and knocked on the doors to Hakoda's room, hoping that he hadn't already fallen asleep. Katara's father opened the doors shortly after, looking a little surprised to see her standing there. It seemed as if he hadn't even tried to lie down just yet.
"Is something wrong, Azula?" he asked her.
"I apologize for disturbing your rest, but I must urgently speak to you in private, sir," Azula spoke swiftly, still worried that Katara might catch wind of her trying to intrude on Hakoda's rest. She knew that Katara would chew her out for not letting her father get the sleep he needed, but this was important.
"Come right in," Hakoda welcomed her inside. His room was very simple, slightly larger than Katara's room, but with the same basic layout. Hakoda sat down at his desk, gesturing for Azula to sit on the edge of the bed. "You seem anxious. Can I help you in any way?" Hakoda asked.
"No, I-" Azula began, swallowing heavily. She found herself too nervous to speak, deciding to take a moment to compose herself. "There's something I need to tell you, and I didn't want to do so in front of Katara and Sokka. I apologize if this seems disrespectful. I want to assure you that I feel only the deepest respect for you, sir."
"Why are you addressing me like I'm the Prime Minister of some small country?" Hakoda smiled at her. "I consider you like an extended family, Azula. Just speak with me normally."
Azula let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Coming from anyone else, she would probably feel being mocked right now, but since it came from Hakoda, she simply felt relieved. "I'll, uh… I'll try," she smiled nervously. "You probably realize that because of my family name, I have some knowledge about the way my father runs his business. Oil rig accidents happen quite regularly, at least once every few years. I have an idea how they're usually dealt with and who gets the blame. It's always the local safety inspectors who end up getting thrown under the bus."
"I appreciate the warning, Azula, but they will find it very hard to pin anything on me," Hakoda replied. He did look a tad more concerned, though.
"I don't think you realize just how cutthroat the men working for my father can be," Azula sighed. "I know that forging signatures is a common practice, and so is physical coercion. I'm afraid that you can have all the evidence on your side, but when faced with dirty corporate tactics and an army of lawyers… I hate to say it, but you can't win. And if you do try to fight them, well… bad things can happen."
Hakoda looked deeply concerned by now. "I would like to dismiss what you're saying as hearsay and nothing but wild rumors, but… you are the daughter of Ozai Nakamura. If you don't know what the man is like, then who else would?" Hakoda said. He nervously tapped his fingers against the surface of his writing desk. "So, you're saying that all the copies of my reports I've made would make no difference?" he asked then. "Is there nothing I can do to stop my name from being dragged through mud? What would you advise me to do, Azula?"
"Honestly? Don't fight them. I've heard the stories of men who tried to fight, and they were either never heard from again, or they were… broken in other ways," Azula said reluctantly. "There are many ways they could get to you, despicable, underhanded ways. They will not hesitate to target Katara and Sokka to get what they want."
"Spirits!" Hakoda exclaimed, rising to his feet and starting to nervously pace around the room. "All these years of hard, back breaking work, and only now do I realize that I have been working for the Empire of Evil? Is nothing sacred to your father and his lackeys?"
What could be sacred to a man who tried to rape his own daughter? Azula thought to herself, but she obviously didn't say it aloud. "Not really," she shrugged. "And while I don't recommend that you fight against my father, it doesn't mean that there's nothing we can do. In two months, I will be heading to the Fire Nation to play Pai Sho, but also to confront my father. I believe that I can convince him to make sure that your name is cleared of any manufactured wrongdoing."
"That seems very dangerous, Azula," Hakoda looked worried. "Why would your father listen to you?"
"Because I know things that could if not bury him, then at least seriously damage his reputation and cause irreparable damage to his business," Azula replied.
"It sounds like you are planning to blackmail your own father," Hakoda frowned.
"He's a bully," Azula shrugged. "He understands only one language. I still think I can help. Will you let me?"
"You are too young to be doing something like that, Azula. It doesn't feel right for me to ask something so dangerous of you," Hakoda sighed. "I admire your bravery, though."
"I'm going to do it anyway, mostly for myself," Azula insisted. "I think that you have something that would give me more ammunition against my father. We can actually help each other. You can help me secure my freedom from Ozai, and I can clear your name from any manufactured accusations."
"What do you mean by more ammunition?" Hakoda wondered. He then realized what she had meant. "Oh, you mean the copies of my reports! I trust you, Azula, but… I am not comfortable parting with them."
"You won't have to," Azula quickly reassured him. "I have brought my camera with me. All I need is for you to let me make photocopies of the reports."
"Of course, we can do that," Hakoda nodded. He shook his head, appearing somewhat astonished. "Well… this isn't what I expected when you came to talk to me, I'll be honest. I can't believe that I'm pinning my hopes on the bravest nineteen year old girl I've ever met. Who would have thought that?"
"You are too kind," Azula blushed. "Besides, Katara is even braver than I am. Although I suppose she's not nineteen yet. We'll celebrate her birthday while scrubbing seagulls clean from spilled oil…"
Hakoda smirked at that. He then turned serious again. "There's something I wanted to ask you, Azula, and it concerns Katara," he said. "When Katara came out to us last year, it took us slightly by surprise, and for a while I wondered who the mysterious girl that had charmed my daughter was. Let's just say that after your visit last December, I wasn't wondering anymore." Azula felt her face burning red hot at Hakoda's words. "How are things with you two?" he asked earnestly.
"Umm," Azula was caught rather speechless. "My father casts a very dark and powerful shadow. I want it removed first before… before I allow anything to happen between me and Katara."
"Okay, I can respect that," Hakoda said, frowning slightly. "But I hope that you are not shutting Katara out, Azula. I know that she would do almost anything to help you."
"I know," Azula lowered her eyes. "She's so honest and pure, and too good for me, really. I know I don't deserve her."
"I disagree with that, Azula, and clearly, Katara does as well. I haven't seen her caring so strongly about anyone, trust me," Hakoda spoke gently. "You deserve my daughter, Azula. I'm really rooting so much for you two."
Azula could hardly believe what she was hearing. To hear that she deserved something beautiful to happen to her was… not something she was used to. Her father had never spoken to her this way. When Ursa tried to say something similar to her, Azula would always look for some hidden meaning, convinced that the words had been laced with poison. She had come some way with Iroh, but she still didn't always believe him. But when Hakoda said something like this to her, Azula couldn't find any reason not to believe him. And being told that she was good and brave and deserved nice things… it was all too much for her. Much to her dismay, Azula broke down in tears.
When Hakoda sat down next to her to offer his embrace, Azula was surprised to find that she did not feel any shame or embarrassment for her display of emotions. She felt only acceptance that this was fine, and while it felt strange, it also felt beautiful, so she chose to believe that it was indeed fine. Azula knew then that she would fight her father for this family just as hard as she would fight for herself.
Next chapter: It's finally time for Azula to head to the Fire Nation and confront Ozai. Meanwhile, Katara accompanies Yue to Agna Qel'a to help her qualify for the U21 finals.