Chapter 7 – picnics and renovations
The second day of renovations at The Northern Lights passed without Ozai Nakamura's presence at the restaurant. According to Azula, her father had decided to remain at the hospital and request second, third and thirty-third opinion from every available specialist on mild burns in Caldera City. Even though a couple of these specialists had suggested using skin grafts, the majority opinion was that it was not necessary and that Ozai's burns would heal normally over the course of the next few days. Azula claimed that the news had mostly soothed her father's temper, although she still remained jumpy and nervous every time when she texted her father or answered his calls from the hospital.
In Ozai's absence, Azula had to oversee both teaching the new menu and the ongoing renovations of the dining room and the exterior. Fortunately, mastering the appetizers and the desserts was far simpler than getting a handle on the new entrees, and so with a little bit of extra effort, Azula managed to stay on top of everything. Katara was both impressed and concerned about how hard Azula was trying, though. She seemed almost desperate not to miss any details, like she was terrified that Ozai would be disappointed if he found something to criticize when he returned to the restaurant.
Azula had also informed Katara and the rest of the staff that during the third day of the renovations, Ozai wanted them to stay away from the restaurant. Ozai planned to be back on the scene for the installation of the new kitchen equipment as well as putting on the final touches in the dining room. This meant that Katara and her friends got an unexpected day off and since it was Sunday, plans were quickly made to spend it together as a group.
The September weather in Caldera City was still perfectly summery and there had been a push from Katara and Yue to hit the beach. However, the others, mostly led by Sokka, had instead suggested a day at one of the local parks, with Yue and Katara getting outvoted.
Now, Katara and Yue were busy setting up blankets and laying out all the picnic supplies while keeping an eye out for Kya and making sure that she didn't eat too much of her Play-Doh. Katara always became very emotional around the adorable little girl and not just because she bore the name of her mother. Katara knew how much Yue struggled financially, but still, Kya's patch-covered clothes were always clean and tidy, and Yue tried to ensure that Kya had plenty of toys, even if most of them were used. It filled Katara with so much regret that she could not do more to help her friend other than to buy the occasional toy or a new dress.
Nearby, Jet, Suki, Aang and Toph were busy with a game of their own creation. It involved creating a large square in the grass that the participants were not allowed to leave or they would forfeit the game. At the start of the game, Toph would stand in the center of the square, wielding her white walking cane, while Suki, Jet and Aang tried to keep their distance from her while remaining as silent as possible. The point of the game was to avoid getting whacked by Toph's walking stick, and it was not an easy feat to achieve, because Toph's hearing was out of this world. At first, Katara had rather disapproved of this game because she felt that it was turning Toph's disability into entertainment. But Toph clearly enjoyed playing a game that allowed her to whack other people with a stick, and also, as she had rightfully pointed out herself, it wasn't like there were all that many games that she could actually partake in considering her disability.
This left only Sokka unaccounted for, and obviously, as always during their picnics, Katara's brother had assumed the grill duty. Right now, he had six prepared skewers of meat and vegetables ready to go, as soon as he was happy with the temperature of his charcoal grill being uniform and high enough.
"This is shaping up to be a wonderful day," Katara sighed happily as together with Yue they worked to quickly finish setting up everything necessary for the picnic. "Although, I must confess, I can't stop thinking about what we'll see when we return to the restaurant tomorrow."
"I know," Yue smiled at her. "I'm sure it's going to be wonderful. I'm especially happy for Suki and Sokka," she said, looking up to smile at Sokka nearby. The grilling station was close enough for Sokka to overhear everything and join in on the conversation, and between the three of them, they were also making sure that Kya didn't wander up too close to the grill. "They really deserve an upgrade of a new equipment," Yue added.
"Hopefully Ozai doesn't cheap out on us," Sokka nodded. "If we get what all the other restaurants receive during kitchen overhauls, we'll be set for success."
"I don't think Ozai will cheap out," Katara shook her head. "Like Azula told us, this is great advertising for all those equipment manufacturers. It makes sense that they would want to show off their best stuff." Katara's expression then clouded a little. "Speaking of Azula, I feel a little sad that she's stuck at the restaurant with her dad. That can't be fun when he's probably in a terrible mood. And it's not like there's much for her to do, anyway, the renovations are more Ozai Nakamura's specialty. I actually thought about inviting Azula to join us at the picnic… now I regret I didn't."
"Why didn't you?" Yue asked. She was grinning broadly for some reason.
"Well… I wasn't sure she'd want to join us," Katara sighed. "Also, I know how important it is for her to please her father. I thought that maybe being away from the restaurant would be too stressful for her."
"Well, hopefully not," Yue smiled. "Because I invited her to join us."
"You did?!" Katara exclaimed, shocked by Yue's boldness. "What did she say?"
"She said that she'll try to make it," Yue said. "Which is, you know… not completely committed, but I'm still hoping that she shows up."
"That would be really awesome," Sokka nodded. "I bet she would show up to an informal picnic wearing one of her fancy business suits. Or maybe wearing stilettos and a miniskirt, sticking out like a sore thumb. That girl is amazing, but also so awkward."
"Who's awkward?" a very familiar voice suddenly spoke up nearby, making Katara, Yue and Sokka yell from surprise. The whole sudden chaos made Kya join in as she burst into tears.
"Azula!" Katara exclaimed happily. "You made it!" she said, looking over at their glamorous new friend. Even if Katara thought that Sokka's characterization of Azula as very awkward made a lot of sense, it seemed that Azula at least possessed the good sense to change her wardrobe before joining them. She was wearing sneakers, torn jeans, cute t-shirt with a maniacal looking cartoon bunny wielding a machete and a caption saying 'Rancid Vibes Only' and a baseball cap. This clearly implied that going out while remaining unrecognized was something that Azula was very used to doing. Katara was overcome with a powerful wave of curiosity about all the reasons why Azula would be so good at it.
"I'm also happy you came," Yue smiled, having picked up Kya and rocking her in order to stop the tears. "I wasn't sure you would," she said as the others were also now on their way to greet Azula.
"I said I would join you, so… here I am," Azula shrugged. She was holding something behind her back, a pink box that she now offered to Yue. It led to a rather awkward exchange because Yue was still holding Kya, and so she had to set her daughter back on the ground before she could accept the gift.
"Oh… wow!" Yue exclaimed. "Look at this, everyone!" she waved the box around. "It's Kya's first Barbie, yay!"
"Ugh, don't make such a fuss… I just didn't want to show up empty handed," Azula sighed. "And since I had no idea what three-year old's actually like, I had to consult my mother. Seems like her advice was actually sound, for once."
"Oh, it really was," Yue smiled. She passed the box over to Katara. "Could you please open it for Kya, Kat? I need to thank Azula properly," she said, surprising Azula with a sudden hug and a big smooch on the cheek. Katara had to laugh at the way Azula went dark crimson at that. Sometimes, Katara had to wonder about the way Azula was acting. She wasn't always giving very strong straight vibes, but then again, Katara had made some wrongful assumptions about people's sexuality in the past, and those lessons learned had made her more careful.
After a bit of a struggle, Katara finally managed to remove the doll from its packaging. "Here you go, Kya," she smiled, handing the doll over to the speechless Kya. The little girl immediately went away to a place where nothing else but her new doll existed.
Even the attempts of her own mother to get Kya's attention fell on deaf ears. Yue had to sit down next to her daughter and gently shake her shoulder for Kya to stop paying all of her attention to the Barbie doll. "Kya, aren't you going to thank the lovely lady who brought you the doll?" Yue asked, sounding a little exasperated.
"Thank you," Kya muttered, trying to get back to exploring her gift as soon as possible.
"You didn't even look at her, Kya!" Yue exclaimed reproachfully. She made Kya look up and straight at Azula. "Now say, thank you, Azula," Yue said.
"Thank you, Zula," Kya repeated quickly, grabbing the doll once again as Yue released her.
"Sorry about that," Yue apologized to Azula. "She's a terrible little rugrat, but I can assure you that she loves the gift."
"Well, I can see that," Azula smiled faintly as she watched Kya's antics with the doll. "My mother will be pleased to hear that her recommendation worked out. I should make a note that dolls make appropriate gifts for three-year old's," Azula said, retrieving her phone and quickly making an entry in her notes app.
"Hey, Azula!" Suki cried, together with the others having made their way over to the grill area. "What a lovely surprise to see you!" The others also greeted Azula with various degrees of enthusiasm, leaving their guest looking a little overwhelmed from her reception.
"Who won the game?" Katara asked.
"I don't know, but I know who lost," Aang sighed, rubbing his shins. "It's like Toph has a particular talent to overhear me when I'm moving about." Toph cackled at that.
"I'm pretty sure I got hit the least times," Jet said. He then leaned in towards Katara. "Any reward for the deserving winner?" he grinned, angling for a kiss.
"Sure," Katara giggled, but instead of giving Jet a kiss, she instead grabbed a pickle and stuffed it into Jet's mouth, much to the laughter of the others. Fortunately, Jet was a good sport about it, quickly devouring the pickle.
"What game is that?" Azula inquired, looking curious.
"We call it caning," Toph laughed.
"Ugh, please, I asked you not to call it that," Suki groaned, not being the only one with that reaction.
"What's wrong with the name?" Azula asked. "Do you have some kind of ethical concerns with caning as a form of corporal punishment?"
Suki burst into laughter. "That's not really the issue," she chuckled. "I just don't like the implication that Toph is caning us. You know, like the sex term?" Azula clearly was drawing a blank. Katara thought that her cluelessness was ridiculously adorable. "I guess you don't really practice BDSM with your boyfriend, then," Suki chuckled.
"Oh, that's what you meant," Azula tried to rally. "Yes, no, of course I'm all into that. Caning, yes, I'm like… the expert at it, that's me," she finished unconvincingly.
"Uh-huh," Sokka rolled his eyes. "How about you come and help me out with these skewers, expert?" Azula looked extremely relieved for the opportunity to retreat and get involved in an activity that she actually knew something about.
The others all took their places on the picnic blankets, with Katara, Yue and Suki sharing one of the blankets. Jet was forced to sit with Aang and Toph on another blanket, but he appeared in a good mood nonetheless. Katara wouldn't have accepted any sort of complaining from her boyfriend, anyway. He had already received plenty of attention from her the night before, so he had no room for whining.
"She is such a dork," Suki whispered, leaning in with Katara and Yue as they kept stealing glances at the grill where Azula and Sokka were working. "It's amazing!"
"I know, right?" Yue giggled, looking thrilled. "And she showed up! I almost didn't expect her to come! This is so cool!"
"Best picnic ever," Katara nodded in agreement as they kept watching and listening in on Azula and Sokka by the grill.
"Honestly, you're running this way more competently than your restaurant kitchen," Azula remarked, after she had examined the grill. "The temperature is perfect and uniform across the whole grill. The meat has been prepared adequately. I love the marinade, by the way."
"It's my dad's recipe," Sokka replied proudly. "I learned to grill from him. Back in the Water Tribes, we would normally have fresh game meat, but I think this marinade works with every kind of dark meat."
"I agree with you," Azula nodded with appreciation. She stuck her finger in the Tupperware marinating container and scooped up some of the juices, then licking her finger. "There's one distinct flavor in the marinade that escapes me right now… is it juniper berries?" she asked.
"Yes, correct," Sokka laughed. "Wow, you really are good. I'm impressed."
"Thank you," Azula smiled. "Anyway, I think those skewers are ready to go on the grill."
"Would you like to do the honors?" Sokka asked.
Azula shook her head. "No, the grill is all yours," she said. "But rest assured, I'll be yelling at you as soon as I spot you doing something wrong."
"I would expect nothing else," Sokka replied gallantly as he transferred the skewers onto the hot grill.
It didn't take more than a minute for Azula to give Sokka a stern rebuke. "Agni, you're at it again, aren't you?" she grumbled. "Why are you turning the skewers already? There's no reason for it! You're interrupting the-"
"The Maillard reaction!" Katara and the rest of their friends echoed like a chorus.
"Yes, uh, exactly," Azula stumbled a little, all flustered from the interruption. "Anyway, leave the meat alone for a while so that it becomes nicely brown and crispy."
"Is Sokka touching his meat again?" Toph commented. "He needs to stop doing that, especially in a public park with all the children running around."
"That joke wasn't funny when Jet made it, and it's since aged like milk on a hot window sill," Sokka rolled his eyes. "Anyway, remember that I made the offer for Azula to oversee the grill and she refused."
"Alright, fine, I'll take care of it," Azula sighed, lightly shoving Sokka aside. A few minutes later, Azula reached into the pocket of her ripped jeans and took out a digital thermometer that she used to take a quick reading of the still sizzling meat. "Internal temperature of 148F. These are more than ready to be eaten," Azula declared to the cheers of her audience.
"Hold it!" Suki yelled when some of their friends made an instant surge for the grill. "Those still need to rest, don't they, Azula?"
"Of course," Azula nodded approvingly. "It's meat, and cooked meat always needs to rest."
"Do you always carry a digital thermometer with you when you leave the house?" Katara asked, feeling curious. "Just on the random chance that you'll end up spontaneously cooking?"
"No, that would be too weird," Azula replied. "Yue mentioned that you have plans to grill during your picnic. I thought a thermometer might come in handy. Also, salmonellosis is highly unpleasant, so it makes sense to be cautious."
"I've never poisoned anyone but myself with my cooking, I swear," Sokka chuckled.
"I have concerns about this dubious endorsement of your skills," Azula rolled her eyes. "Anyway, these have rested enough, three minutes should be okay. Come and get them."
After a brief spell of chaos around the grill, everyone ended up back sitting on the blankets again. Katara had grabbed a skewer for herself, but since she didn't feel confident about being able to eat it all by herself, she began to look around for someone to share with. Jet had grabbed an entire skewer for himself, and so had Sokka, neither of them looking like sharing was on their minds. Yue was already happily sharing with Suki. Aang had his own grilled vegetable skewer that he looked very happy with. Toph was the only one who didn't push the meat and veggies off the skewer and onto a paper plate. Instead, she was eating right off the skewer like a wild animal, with fat and juices dripping all over her cheeks. If Katara hadn't seen Toph doing this before without any issues, she would have been terrified about her younger friend cutting herself, but Katara had accepted many years ago that Toph didn't need her babying.
It was only then that Katara realized that Azula was not eating, standing a little aside from the others and simply smiling serenely as she watched Katara and her friends feasting. "Azula, why aren't you eating?" Katara asked.
"Thank you, but I'm just not hungry," Azula spoke quickly.
"Not even a few pieces?" Katara teased. Azula looked uncertain now. "I need someone to share with, there's no way I can finish all of this by myself. And you deserve to enjoy the food since you cooked it," Katara tried again. Azula looked even more tempted. Katara patted the empty spot on the blanket next to her. "Come here and sit down with us," she said, trying a slightly sterner approach. Much to her surprise, it actually worked. Azula walked up to her and sat down, a little timidly and taking almost exaggerated care. Katara quickly transferred some of her food onto another paper plate and handed it over to Azula.
"It's really good, Azula," Yue said. "I guess my commitment to pescatarian lifestyle will get pushed aside for one more day."
"I would have been happy to grill some fish for you," Azula replied, smiling at Yue. "By the way, Yue?" Azula asked a moment later. "Didn't you say that you were meeting Kiyi today?"
"Yes, I gave her my address and she promised to stop by later in the afternoon," Yue nodded.
"I was just thinking that I could text her now. I'm sure she'd be happy to join us," Azula suggested. "I doubt she has any serious plans for the day, anyway. She's a fourteen-year-old, it's not like she has some kind of social life that needs to be respected."
"Umm, right," Yue replied. "Well, if you think that it's a good idea then sure, text her." Azula looked pleased as she pulled out her phone and fired off a quick text.
"You mentioned your father disapproving of you seeing your mother and your half-sister," Katara remarked. "Did you suggest this because you wanted to see Kiyi? When is the last time you've actually seen her face to face?"
"I think it was back in spring," Azula replied. "April, so it's been a while."
"Five months?" Katara gasped. "That's awful. I know Sokka is such a dork, but still, that year when he went off to start the college while I was still stuck in high school was the worst year of my life."
"It would be nice to see Kiyi more often," Azula admitted. "But I don't know if we could have the kind of relationship that you have with Sokka. I probably wouldn't know how to. Seeing your sibling every day and even working side by side with them? Zuko and I would be trying to stab each other with chef's knives fifteen minutes later. Maybe it would be easier with Kiyi because I could lean into the age difference and just order her around. Anyway," Azula said, glancing at her phone again. "She's on her way. She actually lives only a few blocks from this park, so you'll get to meet my annoying kid sister in a few minutes."
After some ten minutes of speculating about how alike Azula and her half-sister would look, their peaceful little picnic was crashed by a crazy biker, slamming on the brakes before hitting the blanket Jet, Aang and Toph sat upon. The biker then jumped off their bike and ran right up to Azula, tackling her into a hug.
"Azula!" the teenage girl shouted. "I hate you so much," she exclaimed, continuing to hug Azula.
"Why do you hate me, Kiyi?" Azula asked, looking crushed.
"I don't really hate you," Kiyi sobbed, refusing to let go. "But I hate that you haven't found a way to see me and mom since April. I'm holding that against you, at least until you bribe me to drop it."
"I'll think of something," Azula said, finally managing to get Kiyi to stop hugging her. As the two sisters separated, Katara and the others finally had the opportunity to get a better look at Azula's half-sister. In many ways, Kiyi looked a lot like Azula, and Katara imagined that the similarities would have been even more striking when compared with the fourteen-year-old Azula. Kiyi had a slightly rounder face and wider cheekbones, and she was wearing her hair a few inches shorter than Azula. She seemed to be very smiley and happy-go-lucky, unlike her older sister who often acted twitchy, nervous and looked to be riddled with fascinating anxieties.
"So, these are your new friends?" Kiyi finally looked around to face the others. "They look cool, if old. Except that one," she pointed at Yue's daughter, looking at the new arrival with her mouth flapping wide open and the Barbie doll having fallen from her hands. "You must be Kya, right?" Kiyi grinned. "I think we'll get on really well. I mean, even our names are kind of similar. I'm Kiyi, by the way."
"H-hi," Kya stumbled, looking a little taken aback by this stranger who had stormed their peaceful picnic. "Ki-yi," Kya tried to repeat the name of the stranger, smiling shyly as Kiyi gave her excited thumbs up. "Hi, Kiyi!" she repeated, a lot more confidently.
"It's nice to see you two establishing a connection," Yue jumped in, smiling as she extended her arm towards Kiyi. "Hey, I'm Kya's mom. But feel free to call me Yue. I definitely prefer that to Kya's mom or Miss Taqqiq."
"Works for me," Kiyi nodded. "So, it's just Kya who needs babysitting? You don't have any other kids?"
"Just how old do you think I am?" Yue laughed. "No, it's just Kya."
"Well, that shouldn't be hard at all, she looks very chill," Kiyi grinned. "Assuming we can come to an agreement," she added a bit more seriously. Katara was immediately made aware of yet more similarities with her older sister. It seemed like Kiyi had an overall healthier and more fun based approach to life, but she could also flip a switch to become Azula-like serious on a dime.
"Yes, why don't we take a little walk?" Yue suggested. "I can tell you all about my requirements of a babysitter and what I'm able to pay you, and then you'll tell me if that's acceptable to you. Deal?"
"Deal," Kiyi nodded, looking all businesslike. "Anyway, Azula, could you fix me with some grub while I'm talking bidness with Yue here? I just got out of the bed forty minutes ago and I hadn't been fed yet because mom is working today. Thank you!"
"What an annoying brat," Azula sighed fondly as Yue and Kiyi walked off, talking animatedly. Katara had a feeling that the pair would have little trouble coming to an agreement. Meanwhile, Azula got up from the blanket and walked up to the grill. She picked up another Tupperware container with marinated meat from the cooler bag and set to work on making a couple of skewers for her baby sister.
"I think the grill might need some topping up," Suki said, having checked the temperature of the weakly glowing coals. "Yeah, this is no longer hot enough, we need to get it started anew," she said, carefully adding a new layer of coals and then blowing softly to ignite them.
"Do you need help from the grill-master?" Sokka asked, burping as he lay on his back, looking lazy and perfectly content not to move.
"I think I can handle this," Suki chuckled.
"That's great," Sokka nodded. "Be a doll and make me another skewer, though? I'm still hungry." Jet, Toph and Aang immediately voiced their own requests for extra skewers, only for Azula to meet their demands with a fierce scowl.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, I'm only making the two for my sister," Azula scoffed. "You want more, you come and make your own, it's so easy a child could do it."
"Perhaps it's best if Kya doesn't attempt it, though," Katara laughed. She was busy looking after Kya as the girl had resumed playing with her new doll.
"You'll make one for your starving boyfriend, won't you, Suki?" Sokka whined.
"And Aang will make one for me," Toph announced. "Because I'm disabled."
"Nice try pulling that card," Aang laughed. "You know I'm not going to touch meat, right?"
"It's alright, Toph, I'll make an extra skewer for you," Suki said. "And for my lousy good for nothing boyfriend, I guess," she added with an exaggerated sigh.
A while later, as the new skewers were happily sizzling on the grill under the watchful protection of Suki and Azula, Katara picked Kya up in her arms and walked over to the pair, curious about something Azula's sister had said earlier. "Azula, I noticed that your sister said your mom was working today," Katara said. "It made me curious about what she's doing, because not that many businesses are open on Sundays."
"That's a complicated story," Azula replied. "She actually works for my uncle."
"At the Jasmine Dragon bakery?" Suki asked. Azula nodded. "That's a pretty cool place to work at. You know, I actually worked there one summer when I was like… sixteen? It was very chill." Azula looked like she didn't exactly approve of how chill the place was.
"I still find it a little strange because my mother hadn't worked a single day of her life by the time that she turned thirty-three," Azula said. "She definitely owes a lot to my uncle. I don't see how she would have been able to walk away from my father if Iroh hadn't assured her that he'd always have a job lined up for her. I have to imagine that she was the worst employee ever to begin with. But I also have to give her some credit. She swept the floors of the Jasmine Dragon for three long years while trying to learn the ins and outs of the kitchen. And by now, she's a fairly accomplished pastry chef."
"Wait, wait, wait," Katara gasped. "Are you saying that the desserts we are buying in from the Jasmine Dragon could actually be made by your mother?"
"They very well could be, yes," Azula nodded. "Of course, she's just one of like seven or eight pastry chefs on staff, so I couldn't say with any degree of certainty."
"Well, it still blows my mind," Katara said, watching Azula flip the skewers, revealing a beautifully crunchy looking crust. "Can I just say that your family situation is weirdly fascinating?"
"I'll agree to that," Suki chuckled, giving Katara a sly wink, almost as if to say that perhaps the family situation was not the only thing that was fascinating about Azula.
The day of revealing the restaurant renovations was finally upon them. Sokka thought that it was quite ridiculous how even though he lived above the restaurant and had already spied on some of the renovations that had been done, he and Suki still had to go along with the whole theatrical performance of being completely surprised. A limo had picked them up outside the restaurant slightly past nine in the morning, with the rest of their friends and Azula already inside. They had then been driven around the block for a while, while Azula made sure that everyone was wearing a blindfold. The most ridiculous part of this charade was that Toph was also instructed to wear a blindfold, because Ozai had told Azula that he didn't plan to waste a single second of the show's runtime to explain that an inconsequential employee of the restaurant was legally blind.
Eventually, the limo rolled into the restaurant's car park and they were all once again herded outside to stand there until Ozai walked out of the restaurant to address them. "Welcome, welcome," Ozai spoke, sounding excited. The cameras were rolling, so Sokka wasn't surprised that Azula's father had decided to rein in his temper during the scenes where he wanted to appear at his most generous. "Are you ready to see your new restaurant?" Ozai asked, receiving excited cheers in response, as instructed by Azula. "Remove your blindfolds and take a look," Ozai ordered.
Sokka did as he was told, unable to stop a completely earnest gasp at what he saw. He didn't think there was anything wrong with the old sign, but the new one was a clear improvement. Sokka had no idea where Ozai had managed to find a graffiti artist on such a short notice, especially one so talented. The artist had painted a large part of the exterior wall in the soft colors of a beautiful aurora borealis. The large white letters of the restaurant's name stood out very effectively in contrast with the graffiti.
"That is… wow, that is amazing!" Suki gasped, and she was hardly the only one with such a reaction.
"It really is beautiful," Katara agreed, looking delighted. "Aww, but I miss our little seal of approval. It's too bad we couldn't keep it," Katara then sighed, looking sad.
"Yeah, that's a shame," Yue agreed, giving Azula a quick glance. "I guess your father was completely against keeping the seal."
"I'm sorry, I tried, but father didn't even want to hear about it," Azula said, looking very apologetic. "It's like he has some kind of personal enmity towards seals," Azula added quietly, using the opportunity to talk openly since Ozai had already entered the restaurant ahead of them.
"Think nothing of it," Sokka replied. "This is great." Inside, Sokka felt his gut clenching with guilt and sadness. The loss of the old sign was hitting him way harder than he was willing to show. It had been something that he and his dad had created together from the scratch. Aside from cooking and hunting, another one of Hakoda's passions was woodworking, and Sokka had obviously gotten into it as well. They'd made the sign when Sokka was sixteen, and the memory of them working together, especially on that silly little seal, was a treasured one. But he had promised not to resist changes, so… there was nothing else to do but to grit his teeth and soldier on.
"Come on in and check out your new dining room," Ozai ordered. "Isn't this amazing?" he asked, waving his arms around and expecting their tacit approval.
As everyone gasped and cheered at the changes made to the dining room, Sokka expressed the bare minimum of excitement that was expected of him while he tried to figure out what had actually been done to the dining room. It didn't seem like the renovations had been particularly extensive, but with Ozai already investing heavily into the kitchen, Sokka didn't feel like he had any right to complain. The new light fixtures looked very nice. The walls had been repainted, sticking with the light color theme of white, blue and silver, but toning it way down. Sokka was the most impressed with the new hardwood floor that still smelled pleasantly of pinewood. As someone who was not a stranger to renovations, Sokka recognized quality work when he saw it, and he also knew that the floor would have cost several thousand to get it done. There had been several other changes, including new furniture, and Ozai was now bragging about how it had given him the opportunity to increase the number of tables in the restaurant.
"Are you happy with the changes?" Ozai asked, clearly expecting more praise. "You look happy."
"We're extremely happy, Chef Nakamura," Katara gasped. "I especially love all the paintings and photos of Cape Kuruk." It was only when Katara said it, that Sokka realized that he had completely missed the detail his sister was pointing out. Indeed, the walls of the restaurant were lined by various paintings and artistic photos of their hometown, making Sokka instantly experience a heavy hit of nostalgia. "They are all so beautiful, they take me right back to my childhood and make me feel like I'm back home," Katara gushed. Sokka could not agree more with his sister. "How did you know that we're from Cape Kuruk?" Katara asked. "I don't think we ever talked about that."
"You're asking the wrong person about that," Ozai snorted. "That part of the renovations was left to Azula. She came up with the idea."
"But how?" Katara asked, turning towards Azula. "We've been talking a lot, but I don't remember telling you about Cape Kuruk." Azula blushed at the comment, failing to reply while looking like she was desperately searching for an answer.
"My daughter has this hobby of stalking people on social media," Ozai said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure she probably looked up one of those things that young people use these days such as Facebook."
"I'm just happy you like the changes," Azula said quickly, looking embarrassed and very eager to move on, especially when Katara kept giving her very curious stares. Sokka found it hard not to laugh at the exchange. Azula was such an awkward walking disaster at times, and Sokka couldn't quite figure out the reason why. At a distance, Azula seemed so worldly, but closer up, she often betrayed herself as someone very sheltered, at least regarding some things.
"And finally, let us proceed into the kitchen, because I have some even more exciting things to show you," Ozai ordered, herding them towards the kitchen and what was definitely the most exciting part of the tour for Sokka. "I have been convinced by the passion of the staff and your determination to succeed," Ozai continued. "But there's a big problem here that if not addressed would prevent this restaurant from becoming a success. This is why I present you with a brand-new Vulcan commercial kitchen equipment."
As everyone gasped at the impressive looking brand-new kitchen equipment, Sokka found himself tearing up a little. He still remembered his father installing the old ovens. It was one of Sokka's earliest memories of the kitchens. The ovens had served them well for almost twenty years, but there was no denying that the time to say farewell to the old equipment was well overdue. Sokka didn't even recognize what all of this new equipment was for, but just imagining himself and Suki creating delicious entrees on these beauties was enough to make him feel very emotional, and one look at his girlfriend told him that Suki was feeling the same way.
"What we have here is a six-ring burner with a phenomenal convection oven," Ozai continued his presentation that obviously also served as advertisement for one of the show's main sponsors. "Next, we have a Vulcan versatile chef's station that is perfect for kitchens with limited space like this one. It will allow you to perform multiple cooking techniques on the same station, absolutely amazing! And lastly, a must for every well-equipped kitchen, a state-of-the-art Vulcan fryer. This is everything that a modern kitchen needs to be successful."
"This is amazing!" Suki exclaimed happily. "And look at how much space it has opened up in our kitchen! We can finally turn around without the risk of knocking something over!"
"Yes, this new equipment is way more ergonomic when compared with the old ovens," Sokka was forced to admit. "Thank you so much, Chef Nakamura," he added, still making sure to stick to the back of the group and keep plenty of space between himself and Ozai. Ozai may be acting polite in front of the cameras, but Sokka was still concerned about getting shoved into a fryer after the filming had stopped.
"Yes, this is more than what we could have hoped for. More than what we deserve, really," Katara exclaimed, sniffling and dabbing at her eyes. Sokka understood his sister only too well. It was hard not to become overwhelmed by the generosity they were receiving. Sokka was starting to feel increasingly guilty about burning Ozai's hand, even if by most accounts, he was very much the opposite of a nice man. However, it was hard to dislike someone who might have very well saved the family business from going belly up.
"With this new equipment, you will never have to microwave your food ever again," Ozai continued. "In fact, if I ever catch you microwaving something in this kitchen when I come back in a few months, I'm going to be really pissed off, you know that, right?" Everyone nodded fearfully at that. "And speaking of the microwaves-"
"Oh no," Toph sighed mournfully. "I knew he had something horrible planned for my poor babies."
"I want you all to follow me outside, around the back," Ozai stated, leading his daughter and the procession of restaurant employees out through the back door and into the cul-de-sac of the back alley.
"What the hell is going on here?" Sokka gasped upon the sight that awaited them in the back alley. There was a large makeshift barrier in front of them and some twenty yards ahead of it, a dozen of microwaves had been stacked in a large pile.
"What's going on?" Toph asked worriedly. "Talk to me, someone."
"It looks like your microwaves have been lined up for execution, Toph," Jet commented aptly.
"You are right on the money there, Jeb!" Ozai commented. Sokka absolutely loved the way Ozai kept calling Jet and how much it annoyed his sister's boyfriend. Sokka definitely intended to use Jeb as Jet's nickname after Ozai had departed. "Today, we are executing the final bad practices at this restaurant, and we're doing it in a spectacular and explosive way!"
"What does he mean by explosive?" Toph cried.
"I mean exactly that, explosive!" Ozai laughed maniacally. "Everyone, get behind that barrier and keep your heads low! I'm not joking! Kitchen Nightmares Limited is not responsible for any injuries you suffer during the filming of the show, remember, you all signed the waivers!"
"I think we better do as Chef Nakamura says," Yue spoke worriedly, quickly running to hide behind the barrier and dragging a distraught and reluctant Toph with her.
"Everyone in position! We're looking good to go!" Ozai shouted as they all covered behind the makeshift barricade. The camera crew had hunkered down at the exit of the back alley while keeping the film rolling. "Fuck it, I almost forgot something," Ozai then snapped his fingers, hurrying to add something to the funeral pyre made of microwaves.
"Oh no!" Yue cried, leaning out to peer over the edge of the barrier. "It's the seal of approval!"
"No! You can't destroy the seal!" Katara cried in a distraught voice. In a temporary bout of insanity, both Katara and Yue stepped out from behind the barricade, ready to run and try to save the seal. Sokka was so stunned that he failed to stop them in time, and it was up to Azula to quickly tackle the crazed pair and pull them back behind the barricade.
"Are all Water Tribe girls this insanely suicidal?" Azula growled, looking even paler than usual, most likely from fear. "My father is about to light up the explosives, you crazy fools!" Sokka peered from behind the barricade to see that Azula was not joking. Ozai was standing next to the pile of microwaves with a stick of dynamite in his hand. He quickly lit it, tossed the dynamite on top of the unfortunate seal of approval and then legged to hide behind the barricade.
"Can someone tell me what's hap-" Toph began when suddenly the blast went off, deafening them all. There was the sound of glass breaking somewhere nearby and a chorus of car alarms erupted from the restaurant's car park. "What in the ever-loving fuck was that?" Toph cried.
"That was the sound of a dozen microwaves failing to survive a meeting with a stick of dynamite," Jet commented. "Damn, that was amazing! Totally a viral moment there, Chef Nakamura."
"I should hope so, Jeb, I should hope so," Ozai nodded. Sokka finally dared to rise and take a look around. The cul-de-sac was slightly on fire and littered with parts of broken microwaves, making the scene appear slightly post-apocalyptic. "And that, as they say, is that," Ozai said proudly, rubbing his hands.
"I'm sure this viral moment will be worth all the legal trouble that it will bring over the next few years," Azula muttered under her breath, a comment that clearly was not meant for her father to overhear.
"Alright, gather around, everyone," Ozai ordered a moment later. By now, Sokka was starting to relax slightly. Perhaps the revenge for burning Ozai's hand wasn't coming, after all. Surely, Ozai was going to take the high road over the whole incident. "As you know, Azula and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon, but we still have plenty of things to do before that. This evening we will be relaunching the restaurant with a dinner service to make us all proud."
"We are all ready to do our best, Chef Nakamura," Katara said with determination. "With all the tools that have been given to us, we have no right to fail." Sokka agreed with the sentiment expressed by his sister, but he did not share her confidence, not yet. He only had a few hours to figure out how the new equipment worked before the most important dinner service of his life. It was immediately putting a lot of pressure on Sokka.
"You're right about that, Katara, but there's something else we need to do before the dinner service," Ozai said. "We need to create a buzz around the restaurant. Fortunately, I have been reminded that there is no shortage of beautiful and determined young ladies working at this restaurant, and I know that you three," he pointed at Katara, Yue and Suki. "Are willing to do everything it takes for The Northern Lights to succeed. This is why I have made the arrangements to throw a bikini car wash in order to advertise the restaurant. Azula will be in charge of helping you get ready."
"I… I had no idea you were planning this, father," Azula looked stunned. Sokka immediately had to wonder where the idea had come from. Jet looked very pleased with himself, so Sokka immediately had to guess that his sister's boyfriend was to blame. "Are you sure this is a good idea in the current political climate, father? There might be backlash," Azula tried to argue.
"What? Nonsense. Everyone loves a bikini car wash," Ozai laughed. "Also, I'm not asking the blind girl to join in, am I? See, I'm being progressive."
"Uh, not sexualizing someone with a disability is an insanely low bar, father," Azula continued to argue, much to Sokka's surprise. He wasn't a fan of Ozai's plan, not by a longshot, but with everything that Ozai had just given them, and with Sokka having burned the man's hand, Sokka didn't dare to speak up. It was still strange that Azula was pushing back this much. For some reason, she seemed very against this particular idea, whether it came from Ozai or Jet.
"I've had enough of your impertinence, Azula," Ozai growled at his daughter. "All of your arguing has given me another brilliant idea. You are going to join the girls of The Northern Lights in this bikini car wash. Now, I'll hear no more arguments – the four of you, go and get ready. You have forty-five minutes before the limo picks you up again. And you better look like the centerfold girls that you are!" Ozai shouted after the retreating foursome. "The future of the restaurant depends on this sexy bikini car wash!"