A/N: My apologies for being a bit late with the update today. It's the second day of Chinese New Year (also known as the Lunar New Year), so I've been busy eating and traveling and visiting people and whatnot. And yes, I am of Chinese heritage - which is another reason I adore the world of Avatar so much, what with the East Asian influences.

Thank you to Sharpe, Alex Nymph, Guest, MasterKriebel, Black Dragon Master, Tertius711, AsahixMe, Raider, devilfiredog18, CrazyPhenom, and Aquamirra for reviewing! I'm afraid I can't claim full credit for the idea of a social season for nobles to intermingle - it's a trope that's present in other works (I think it may have some historical basis as well) that I decided to apply to the Fire Nation. But it works, doesn't it? :D

47. Two worlds, one family

They arrive on Shuhon Island eight days after leaving Caldera.

Iroh had made it clear to Izumi (who was quite pleased about this initiative) that this tour is not meant to encompass the entirety of the Fire Nation, merely certain key locations (such as the home cities of major noble clans, and villages where they want to ask about a Naoki). Fire Fountain City, being the administrative centre of Shuhon Island and the ancestral home of Clan Keohso, would have been on the list even if there were no Naokis here.

As it stands, however, there were no less than three appropriately-aged Naokis recorded in Fire Fountain City in 135 AG — more than in any other location — so, statistically speaking, the odds are higher that one of them was his mother. But he suppresses the urge to be overly optimistic — he's already been through the disappointment of dashed hopes in their previous stops.

Their little group — consisting of himself, Iroh, Korra, Bolin, Asami, and a small selection of royal guards — had started their venture by flying out to some of the outermost settlements and then following the string of volcanic islands west back to the Fire Nation mainland. The plan is to return to Caldera after their stay on Shuhon, and then perhaps head out to some other villages on the mainland.

"Lady Natsumi is the current head of Clan Keohso, and therefore the Governor of Shuhon," Iroh informs them as the airship lands in the expansive courtyard of said Lady's palatial residence in the western sector of the island. "She's graciously agreed to host us while we're here."

He may be caught up in the hopes of finding his mother's family here, but he isn't too occupied to remember the connection.

"Natsumi is also Sulanna's mother, isn't she?" he comments casually.

Iroh looks a little flustered. "Er…yes — yes, she is. I wasn't sure you'd remember that."

"Mako's a detective, Iroh," Asami reminds him with amusement. "It's his job to remember details."

Iroh coughs and drops the subject. He and Korra exchange a smirk.

He hasn't yet pried the history out from Iroh, but he knows full well that the prince and Sulanna had spent that entire night at Garnet talking. He's beginning to suspect Iroh may have finally found someone to court, and privately wonders whether Iroh deliberately placed Fire Fountain City last on the island-hopping itinerary because it would give Sulanna time to return from her trip to Caldera.

Sure enough, it's Sulanna who is waiting to greet them as they disembark from the airship. Her manner and presence, however, are distinctly different from that of the playful urban lady they met in Garnet.

"Prince Iroh," she says formally as she dips into a deep bow, every inch the respectable noblewoman — and he is reminded that as frisky as Sulanna is, she also belongs to a powerful aristocratic family with a long and distinguished history, and no doubt knows how to fulfil the part.

Iroh, too, plays the role expected of him, bowing courteously. "Lady Sulanna."

"Welcome to Shuhon," Sulanna continues in the same formal tone. "Clan Keohso is honoured to welcome Your Highness to our lands."

In the modern, liberal atmosphere of Garnet, it was easy to overlook the class difference between him and Sulanna — indeed, between him and Iroh — but here, on the patrician estate of the foremost family of Clan Keohso, the meeting between Crown Prince and the next head of the clan is resonant with age-old tradition and social etiquette from a world wholly alien to him. He suddenly feels out of place in his comparatively plain coat and red scarf, and tries to unobtrusively hang back even as Sulanna greets the rest of their party (starting with Avatar Korra).

Sulanna flicks her gaze towards him and winks, and he glimpses the fun-loving spirit beneath the proper noble lady. It puts him at ease momentarily, but then Sulanna leads them into the mansion and the sheer opulence of it renders him speechless.

"Wow," Bolin breathes as they walk past carved pillars, high ceilings, and bejewelled tapestries.

Sulanna hears. "Ostentatious, isn't it?" she says, dropping the ceremony for a moment. "My grandparents had…shall we say, antiquated ideas of status and worth — and they had a point to prove with the decorations." She meets Iroh's eyes and something passes between them that he can't figure out, but which kicks his detective instincts into gear.

What did they talk about that night in Garnet?

Presently, they reach an airy indoor garden full of fragrant blossoms. Through the glass walls, he catches a glimpse of the elegantly-dressed Lady Natsumi, though the foliage blocks most of her face. Iroh straightens, and Sulanna reclaims her stately decorum to escort them in to where her mother waits to receive them.

The shock stops him dead in his tracks; next to him, Bolin makes a strangled noise.

"My lady mother," Sulanna announces, "I am pleased to present His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Iroh; Avatar Korra; Miss Asami Sato of Future Industries; and Mako and Bolin of Republic City."

"Your Highness." Lady Natsumi greets Iroh much the way Sulanna did, except her bow is shallower than her daughter's. Similarly, Iroh's bow to Natsumi is deeper than the one he'd bestowed upon Sulanna, reflecting Natsumi's higher station.

He belatedly remembers to bow as well; but as he bends, he shoots a frantic look at Bolin — who is still so dumbstruck, Asami has to nudge him forcefully into his bow.

Lady Natsumi is almost a mirror image of their mother.

He immediately recalls that one of the possible Naokis in Fire Fountain City hailed from Clan Keohso. On the basis of looks alone, he'd say he's found his mother's family.

Mom was nobility?!

Mind whirling, he snaps his gaze towards Iroh, who has struck up a polite conversation with the head of Clan Keohso. However, Natsumi's amber eyes — his mother's eyes — seem to be flickering towards him.

"Iroh, forgive my presumption," Natsumi speaks up — her manner much more relaxed now that the social formalities are concluded — "but I'd very much like to meet your friend from Republic City. Mako, was it?" she addresses him directly.

"Uh — yes, Your Grace."

Natsumi smiles slightly. "The welcome ceremony is over. You needn't use my title when we are not in a formal setting."

He nods in acknowledgment, aware of Bolin almost vibrating with anticipation beside him. He gestures towards the earthbender. "This is my brother, Bolin."

"Pleased to meet you, Bolin." Something unfathomable sparks in Natsumi's expression as she turns back to him. "That's a fine scarf, Mako," she compliments. "It looks very similar to a design we have here in Fire Fountain City. Where did you get it?"

Thrown by this, he nevertheless responds, "It was a gift. From someone very dear to me." He glances at Korra, who smiles encouragingly at him.

Natsumi notices their exchange, and seems to deflate a little. "I see."

She looks so much like his mother it aches. He racks his brain to think of a way to ask that won't be incredibly awkward and comes up blank. How do I ask?

Iroh comes to his rescue. "Natsumi, Mako has something to ask you," he explains — though the look on his face indicates he already knows the answer. "We apologise in advance if it sounds strange."

Natsumi's eyebrow lifts with rekindled interest. "Oh?"

He swallows and takes comfort from Bolin's supportive nod. "Natsumi," he begins hesitantly, testing her name, "our mother was from the Fire Nation, and we've been trying to find her family. We're not sure where she's from, so we looked in the census, and we found that someone with her name was a member of your clan." Heart pounding, he asks, "Do you — by any chance — know a woman named Naoki?"

Surprise, hope, satisfaction, and sorrow chase each other across Natsumi's face. She smiles, but it is tinged with remorse. "Naoki is my sister."

Which makes Natsumi his aunt, and Sulanna his cousin. Which makes him — him, an erstwhile street orphan and modest detective sergeant — a member of the distinguished Clan Keohso, ancient Fire Nation nobility.

What. The fuck.

A/N: With the song for this chapter (the classic 'Two Worlds' by Phil Collins) I was going for a 'two worlds collide' kind of vibe — i.e. the regular people world (Mako's world) and the traditional aristocracy Iroh's from. The focus on Sulanna's behaviour in this chapter compared to the previous one was meant to highlight how Mako feels out of place in this setting, but then finds out that his lineage in fact comes from it.

Speaking of which, what do you think of that reveal? :DD The full story will be expanded upon next week, but I welcome your theories in the meantime!