Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Lesson 1: An Academic Lady never lets her emotions betray her
"Where were you?" Ty Lee asked her friend.
Mai had found them and, when she approached them, Ty Lee and Azula could see that she was obviously flustered and bothered by something.
"N-nowhere." Mai replied quickly and then noticed the circular desk.
"I asked for some directions and the teacher said that the circular desk is where new students enroll. Let's go." she insisted and took off. Azula and Ty Lee stared at each other for a moment, then followed their friend.
When they got to the desk, Mai spoke to the attendant who nodded and pulled out a small stack of papers.
"Please give me your and your parents' names, and your origins." She told the 3 girls.
"Tengtang Mai, 8; daughter of General Tengtang Jung and Xinhue Shan, from the providence of Aquilo." The attendant drew a line across a piece of paper.
"Princess Azula Ouritsu, 7; daughter of Fire Lord Ouritsu Ozai and the missing Fire Lady Kuma Ursa, from the city of Kaji." Azula used the old name for the Fire Nation capital instead of Sozunio Nova, named after Fire Lord Sozun, in the way she was taught to.
"Akuro Ty Lee, 8; daughter of Count Akuro Hakanai and Countess Onna Koori, from the County of Mei-xia." At Ty Lee's words, the attendant raised her head in embarrassment and sorry.
"I-I'm sorry, but when the Council of Academics first received your file, they said that you were a…" her voice trailed off as Ty Lee stared at her.
"A what, exactly?" Ty Lee asked, hurt.
She'd always felt neglected throughout her short life, 8 years, and now was this attendant telling her that she couldn't attend the academy?
"A boy." The attendant said finally, handing Ty Lee a list of all the admitted students' names.
Her name, instead of the characters 'Ty Lee', was written as 'Tai Li'; a common boy name.
"Oh." Ty Lee simply said when she noticed the mistake.
"We—we'll notify the board of their mistake and find you a reasonable place to stay for the time being." The attendant whispered something to another one and then turned her attention to Azula and Mai.
"We've been expecting you two." She said and handed them both a red-tinted bag filled with certain things.
"These are your 'welcome to the academy' baskets. They contain your uniforms and shoes for various classes, oil lamps and spare oil for lighting at night, snack rations, maps around the academy, your prepaid books and other supplies, candles, a few hair products and perfumes, and your passes that signify that you are students here. Use them well." The attendant said simply and then pulled out two different cards with various numbers on them.
"These are your dormitory passes; you two can go and meet your roommates now." The attendant said and, taking a last glance at Ty Lee, the two girls made off to their new rooms.
'Room 492.' Mai thought, looking at the number inscribed on the door.
This was the dorm number.
Twisting the doorknob and pushing it open, she found a seemingly small one-room with two sets of bunks in one corner of the room. One set of bunk beds was parallel to the northern wall while another was parallel to the eastern wall. The bunk beds were made of steel and were infused with the wall for extra safety measures.
Across from the window, there was a clear glass door leading to the balcony and just to the right of the window there was a large semi-circular desk for homework with lamps and candles on it for light.
A few feet away from the bunk beds, there were 4 chests pushed end to end for girls' personal belongings and Mai could see personal locks on 3 of them and the last one to the right was empty.
Diagonally across from the bunk beds there were shelves with baskets resting on them and they were crammed with text scrolls, books, school-issued clothing, personal belongings, makeup and other beauty products, and leisure items such as small toys and trinkets or paper dolls or paints.
"You must be the new student." A girl said to Mai from behind her.
Turning, Mai saw 3 other girls with her; all of them at least 6 years her senior.
"Room 492, right?" Mai asked and the lead girl nodded.
The three of them were dressed in black-and-white designed yukatas with a dark red sash and cloth shoes with leather soles on their feet.
"My name is Osanago Aneue and these are my friends Soso Jinai and Hinote Kokoro." The girl formally introduced and Mai inclined her head slightly to them as a sign of respect.
"Tengtang Mai." She introduced herself.
Jinai poked Kokoro on the side and whispered something to make Kokoro glance from Mai back to Jinai with an expression of amusement, pity, and slight shock.
"Weren't you the girl seen with Iroke earlier today?" Jinai asked and Mai looked down; so others had seen. Oh, her mother would be so ashamed...
"Maybe she does know." Kokoro whispered softly and Aneue shook her head.
"It's way too soon." She whispered back to them, and then turned to Mai again.
"Let's get you settled into your new room." She said with a smile and Mai nodded; feeling grateful towards her new older friend, if she could call Aneue that.
The three girls let Mai walk into the room first and helped her with her things; showing her the bottom bunk she would sleep in, finding some free baskets for her stuff, loading her clothes into her chest, telling her the schedule for first year students at the Royal Academy, and telling her the latest gossip.
As Jinai was helping Mai study a bit, Mai saw Kokoro and Aneue whispering. Kokoro, for some reason, looked worried and was speaking very rapidly and Aneue was speaking calmly in contrast to her friend's erratic tone.
Twice, she heard her name and Iroke's in the rapid dialect.
But what were they really talking about?
Kokoro seemed worried; maybe she knew more about Iroke.
But if Kokoro was concerned, why did Aneue seem so aloof? Maybe it was just something else altogether.
"So do you understand?" Jinai asked.
Mai turned and nodded quickly; in reality, she'd had no idea what Jinai had just said.
'I've seen hovels better than this one.' Azula's first thought as she entered her dormitory; room 274.
There was a door opposite of her position that led to the balcony, on the eastern side of the room four sets of drawers that were a foot taller than she was held various articles of clothing along with personal items and a large woven basket to hold dirty clothing.
At the Northeastern corner, there was a corner desk stacked neatly with books and also well stocked with lamps and candles, but there was a window on the Northern Wall that was lined up against the desk.
On the western side, there were 3 circular queen-sized beds; just like the one she slept on back in the palace. They were lined with the best silk sheets and finest stitched blankets that were bought and also had many large throw pillows.
Azula dropped her things in the doorway and jumped up onto the biggest bed; lying back on the pillows and rolling around; feeling the stitching and the soft white velvet on the blanket.
"I could get used to this." She said aloud and closed her eyes.
"Don't get too used to it, midget; you're paying for that entire blanket now that it's got your horrid stench all over it." A cruel voice rang out.
Opening her eyes, Azula turned and saw a girl, though incredibly good looking and slim, with narrowed eyes and thinned lips that were pressed into a smirk. She wore a burnt orange yukata and her hair hung about her face; shadowing her image and making her more frightful. At her sides were probably her followers.
"Do you know who I am?" Azula demanded them.
"The little new girl who's come to work for us?" the girl on the left asked in a mocking voice.
"Another spoiled and egotistical shrimp who we will have the most fun destroying?" tittered the other one.
"Who are you all?" Azula demanded; she would disown their families with one letter to her father.
"Kyouji Kiza." The lead girl introduced.
"Tsukegaru Amaeru." The girl on Kiza's right added.
"Mesuinu Hinagata." The final girl said.
Azula felt her blood freeze, yet boil at the same time.
The Kyouji, Tsukegaru, and Mesuinu families were very high-ranked and wealthy and their ties were essential because each of the families owned a mine of resources that was needed in the Fire Nation.
The Kyouji family held a large underground mine which was filled with precious metals and jewels that the Fire Nation needed for wealth, the Tsukegaru family had a largely held influence over certain areas of the Earth Kingdom, which resulted in some Earth Kingdom soldiers of conquered lands to rise up in arms with the Fire Nation, and the Mesuinu family…Azula wasn't quite sure, but she knew that her father had talked of that specific family very often; maybe they're blackmailing him or something.
"And you're the Fire Lord's bastard daughter; figures." Kiza said with a snort.
Azula narrowed her eyes; how dare she? She was a prodigy; the Fire Lord's true daughter! Unlike the weakling of her brother, Zuzu, but she still did need him to keep Mai in her inner circle considering that practically the only reason she hung around them was to see if she could catch a glimpse of her brother.
Amaeru gave a high-pitched gasp and whispered to Hinagata, who let out an amused shriek at what she'd said.
"She doesn't know; the stupid little kuwa doesn't know! Even though her father, uncle, and even brother all know and she's been too stupid to even see what was right in front of her!" Amaeru gasped through laughs.
"Maybe that was why she was sent to the Academy; to let her find out and then kill herself so it wouldn't be so much scandal for her family." Kiza mused crudely.
"As if there hasn't already been enough." Hinagata said with a snort.
It took all of Azula's strength to keep from screaming and crying like a child. No one had ever insulted her before and now that all this was being blown into her face, it hurt. Her stomach felt twisted and her throat was clogging up.
"What's the matter? You weren't mute a moment ago." Amaeru said in a feigned tone of concern; like she was talking to a baby.
"Whatever she is; a bastard, a mute, a little urchin sent into our rooms, she'll just have to find someplace else to go." Kiza declared and with great strength for such a thin girl, grabbed Azula by her upper arm and nearly threw her across the room.
Azula landed in a large pile of smelly laundry and the 3 girls laughed at the site.
"Good throw; has Akira-sensei been teaching you much more than just common self-defense?" Hinagata inquired.
Kiza flashed the two a toothy and white smile.
"It's hereditary; all in the arms." She said; pulling up her sleeve and lightly flexing her bicep muscle.
"That not very ladylike." Azula shot back.
"Oh? And what do you know about being a lady?" Amaeru asked with a flip of her hair; exposing her white neck
. "That a lady is supposed to be modest." Azula said calmly.
The three burst out laughing.
"Conservative? Don't make me laugh; being modest will give you nothing. Men like women who are free and have that wild side to them. Chastity is such an overrated issue." Kiza said between howls of fitful snickering.
"And besides; only the lowest of the low women are called whores and sneered at. But I doubt a child like you would know the difference." Hinagata said 'child' in a high-pitched and sarcastic voice just to torment her some more.
"Find yourself a nice place on that floor; until we graduate, that's your sleeping area." Amaeru told her and the three girls sat on the middle bed and started talking to each other as if they hadn't done anything besides just come into their rooms and start to gossip.
"Hey, Mai!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she opened the door to her temporary suite.
Mai decided to get her mind off of what Kokoro and Aneue were talking about by visiting Ty Lee in her temporary suite. After a few lost turns and then finally asking for some directions from another teacher, she located Ty Lee's room and knocked on the door.
"How are you?" she replied politely to her perky friend and Ty Lee opened the door to let her in.
Mai stepped out of her school-issued slippers and walked into the room.
First of all, it was a little bigger than her dorm room and Ty Lee had it all to herself. The same candle-and-mirror chandelier hung overhead and there were lots of candles, oil lamps, and other things stacked around the room. There was a desk, a set of drawers that held a vanity table on top of it, and a large bed that looked very comfortable and inviting. To Ty Lee's left, there was a door that led to one of the ball-and-pole structures that led up to the observatory at the top. There was another door on Ty Lee's right and it led to her own bathroom!
All other girls had to exit the halls at night and walk a distance to use the bathroom, lucky her.
Looking more inside, Mai saw that there were some gift wrappings.
"Sorry about the mess; when I came in, there were lots of these presents for some reason." Ty Lee explained sheepishly, and then pushed a small tray filled with treats towards Mai.
"Would you like some? They were here when I came in." she said to her best friend.
Azula was too mean for her tastes, but there was something about her that kept them close and the same went for Mai.
Mai took a small slice of nectarine drizzled lightly with chocolate and took a bite. Surprisingly, it melted in her mouth.
"Who sent you all of these things?" Mai suddenly asked; looking around the room.
Ty Lee flopped on her bed and hugged a pillow to her chest.
"I honestly don't know; no one in the academy would tell me either." Ty Lee simply replied.
Mai shrugged, and then sat down with her on the bed.
"So who are your new roommates?" Ty Lee asked.
"They're really nice, but they were saying something about—." Mai suddenly checked herself; the last thing she wanted was for Ty Lee to find out about Iroke and what REALLY happened during the first moments of their interaction.
"Eh?" her friend asked.
"—I bet it's just gossip. They were helping me get organized and then they started teaching me a bit of my lessons in advance." Mai finished.
"Lucky. I would like to meet them sometime." Ty Lee sighed, and then flopped onto her back again.
Suddenly, the door was nearly pulled off of its hinges and Azula stomped through. She looked around the room and her scowl deepened.
"Switch rooms with me." she demanded the instant she and Ty Lee were close enough.
"I'm sorry, Azula—." Ty Lee began.
"You're sorry, nothing! My new roommates are bitches! They were treating me like I was their inferior pet!" she cursed. She had heard that word, bitch, many times during her eavedropping sessions on nobility, but neither she nor her friends actually knew what the word meant.
"Azula, it's not ladylike to swear in the presence of a female. Or for a female to swear at all." Mai put in. They knew from bribing a girl of lower nobility to say that word in front of her mother that the word wasn't 'ladylike'.
"What's 'ladylike' to anyone, sheep-eyes?" Azula spat; knowing too well that she'd insulted Mai.
"Just because your roommates are bad doesn't mean you have to take it out on us!" Mai fired back.
"Guys, let's not fight…" Ty Lee said uneasily.
"You don't have roommates at all and YOU have roommates who are nice! Yes, I overheard your conversations about your roommates, Mai, so shut the fuck up!" Azula was using unfamiliar words again.
The older girls sighed.
Despite what others believed, Mai and Ty Lee were actually a year older than Azula. Well, nearly a year. Mai was born on the twenty-ninth day of the fourth month and Ty Lee was born on the eighteenth day of ninth month while Azula was born on the third day of the seventh month the year after them.
"They cannot be so bad." Mai insisted with a shrug; her roommates were nice to her as her first impression of them.
"Go to my dormitory and find out EXACTLY how bad they are! D'you know what they called me? They called me a bastard child!" Azula shrieked. Despite their youth, the girls did understan the meaning and connotations of a 'bastard child'.
Mai and Ty Lee glanced at each other; both had heard the story many times and, despite it all, it still could have been the truth.
"You two should get back to your dorms; dinner is approaching and there is a special uniform for that." Ty Lee suggested and watched as Mai left with a shrug and Azula glared back around the room once before grudgingly leaving as well.
At dinner, Mai had saved a seat for Ty Lee at the table where she, Aneue, Kokoro, and Jinai were sitting.
Since there were only 15 girls to a table and their table was filled with 10 other girls from other dorms, Azula had to find a seat somewhere else.
All of the tables were filled up except for the ones sat in by disabled girls, girls who were supposed to have diseases, girls who were total losers beyond repair, and girls who were so aloof save for themselves and each other that others didn't even bother to sit with them; but it was not as if those girls would allow the other girls to sit with them anyway.
"There's plenty of room over here." Hinagata's voice rang out sweetly and Azula turned.
There were 14 other girls already sitting in a seat and one left. Kiza smiled sweetly, she was on the left of the seat, and Hinagata was on the right.
It was either sit with them or the girl who was rumored to have snuck to the boys' academy one night during a rest day, and Azula swallowed her pride and sat in the last chair of that table.
"I wonder what it is tonight." Amaeru said.
"Probably more seafood." Kiza answered with a disgusted sigh.
Girls came out from the kitchens, each carrying a covered dish in each of their hands, and began to place the plates in front of the students.
When the students lifted the trays away, on the dish was a small bowl of soft white rice, a little dish of luo-buo, a kind of flavor additive made by slicing radishes into French-fry like strips and then soaking them in a jar with a bunch of other vegetables and spices for a certain time, noodle-sliced vegetables put on one side of the main dish, and a portioned slice of fried and seasoned smoked salmon.
At the center of each table were 15 metal-fashioned goblets and a pitcher holding cool drinking water; it was inadmissible for a woman to drink spirits unless invited to or required to.
Ty Lee and Mai began to lightly take food to their mouths, having filled up on sweets and fruits earlier, while Azula wanted to stab her piece of salmon over and over and over again because it reminded her of the girls she was now forced to sit with; orange and covered with little pieces of whatever those spices and things were.
With restraint, she cut a piece off of the edge of her salmon and was about to pop it into her mouth when she noticed the other girls at her table staring at her.
"You're eating the salmon?" one asked.
"We just leave it for the other girls; it's too disgusting for girls like us to eat anyway." Another one said; putting a huge emphasis on the word 'us'.
Azula stared for a moment and then pushed the dish away from her.
Kiza and her little posse looked at the younger girl.
"Does she honestly think she can win our approvals that way?" Hinagata asked with a smirk.
"She can die trying; the air in our rooms would be much cleaner then." Kiza said; shrugging and flicking a strand of her hair over her shoulder.
After dinner, small cakes filled and decorated with fruits were served and Azula tried not to shove the whole cake down her throat, but she was honestly starving; she'd eaten nothing except for a bit of jou, or rice stewed in water, but that was in the early morning before she'd arrived at the academy.
She looked at the other table to see Mai and Ty Lee playing a game with their cakes with the other girls of the table.
It wasn't fair; how come those two had always gotten everything?
Azula was royalty and she should've had everything and Mai and Ty Lee should have envied her; not the other way around.
"Konbanwa, girls." A voice rang out from the end of the hall.
There stood a sturdy yet very young-looking woman. She was dressed in a black robe pulled low, resting on the tip of her shoulder, which was decorated with designs of purple and red flowers twining with white stems. She also wore a under shirt sans the fabric on her sleeves and shoulders and it was pulled tightly across her chest. She wore no makeup, as far as Mai and Ty Lee could see, and her hair hung down with a small topknot at the tip of her skull.
The one thing all 3 girls noticed was that of her chest; voluptuous didn't even begin to describe it and with the fabric of her under shirt pulled tightly across her breasts, it was probably tied in the back, it pushed them upwards and they stuck out even more.
Politely, all of the academy girls stood up and bowed.
"Konbanwa, Kyonyuu-sama." They replied in tandem.
Mai and Ty Lee went along with it and Azula just didn't bow at all. Kyonyuu-sama noticed it and turned to her.
"Little one; are you new here?" she asked the short 7 year old girl.
Azula could barely even see the older woman's face; those boobs!
"I do not need to bow to you; I am Princess Azula." Azula snapped back.
Kyonyuu didn't even flinch. "
Here, all of the students are treated as equal. Off to your rooms, girls." Kyonyuu said to everyone and the girls began to file out the door to their dormitories.
"One thing you must know." Azula turned to see Kyonyuu whispering to her.
"If you want to actually live till your graduation; sources, skills and alliances are the only things you need. And trust me; I have much more than you than you think. You do not want to make me an enemy." She finished, then smiled, showing off her perfect white teeth, and left Azula in the empty room.
R'n'R, please.