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Azula exhaled and opened the door of the shop. An young Earth Kingdom man with a frankly absurd mustache appeared after a few minutes. “Ms. Roku?”
Azula hesitated at the new name, but nodded and walked in. Haru spun the tablet around and showed her the design of a blue phoenix wings outstretched rising from smoking ashes. Azula looked closely at the ashes where the faintest outlines of scorched buildings and charred corpses could barely be seen unless one was staring closely at the image.
Haru nodded as she studied the ashes. “As requested, Ms. Roku, you shouldn’t be able to make out the specific details of the ashes from more than five feet away without blatantly staring or possessing superior eyesight.” Azula nodded, studying the design. She shucked her shirt, adjusted her bra, and laid down on the tattoo chair.
“Let’s get started.”
After several hours of prickling pain and her audiobook, she faintly heard voices in the lobby, but they were easy enough to tune out. Suddenly, there was a crash and a -was that a winged lemur- exploded into the room. Haru immediately lifted the tattoo gun and moved back allowing Azula room to stand upright. Suddenly a young man, bald with blue tattoos charged into the room, but froze at the sight of the shirtless Azula.
He stuttered briefly and snapped his eyes to meet her eyes directly. His eyes widened in his blushing face.
Agni, the one time I wouldn’t have minded a man not looking at my face, Azula thought, staring into the face of the boy she had killed.
“Azula?” Aang asked quietly.
She nodded briefly.
He smiled brightly, “It’s good to see you again! You’re looking good…” Azula lifted an eyebrow and he stuttered “I meant in general, not-“
Azula put her hand on her hip, “So you’re saying I don’t look good?”
Aang stuttered and Azula turned her back on him and slipped her shirt back on. Turning back, she shrugged, “No matter, it-“
Aang interrupted her, “No, you are quite beautiful, Azula.”
Her eyes widened briefly and she narrowed her eyes in suspicion and he blushed again. “Look, I’m not blind, ok, but even ignoring the somewhat awkward circumstances, you’re still quite pretty.”
Azula blinked in confusion, but just then an elderly man appeared behind Aang. “Making friends, Aang?” The man asked before recognition flashed in his eyes. “Ms. Sozin?”
“Not anymore, sir.”
“That’s right, Iroh had mentioned something. Are you about finished or just starting?”
“Just about finished, sir.”
“Please just call me Gyatso. Sir makes me feel old and we nomads don’t stand on ceremony.”
“Yes, s-“ Azula bit off the second syllable.
He smiled gently and whispered in Aang’s ear. Aang shook his head and Gysatso patted his back before looking at Azula. “Would you like to join us for lunch?”
“Me? You do realize that I…”
“Yes. I am well aware, Azula.” The man smiled and nudged Aang, “Catch that infernal lemur of yours, boy. Why in the whistling west wind did you not padlock his crate?”
Aang shrugged sheepishly. Gyatso tutted and started to walk off before turning around, “Lunch is on me, Azula. Please do an old nomad the honor of accepting my invitation.”
Azula hesitated before decisively nodding and brushed past Aang who hurried into the room already calling for Momo to come back.
Azula walked out of the restaurant with an odd feeling in her stomach. Both of them had said they forgave her. Gyatso had even taken her business card for her new consulting business she founded and promised to consider her for an upcoming project. As she waited for her Appa to arrive, she looked across the street and saw a green and gold dragon cradling a cup of tea. Her eyes narrowed and she looked back through the window to see Gyatso deep in conversation with Aang. He looked up past Aang’s bald head and winked at her before returning to the conversation. She looked across the street, looked down at her phone showing her ride would be arriving in two minutes, looked back across the street, sighed, and hit the button to cancel her Appa.
Iroh heard the bell sound its soft chime as the door swished open. Smiling, he turned to greet his first customer of the day and froze in shock. “Azula?”
She nodded, “Iroh.”
They stared at each other for a few minutes before Iroh slightly shook his head. “Where are my manners? Come in, come in. Do you still insist on drinking coffee?”
Azula stepped in further, “Yes, I prefer coffee. Do you have some?”
Iroh grimaced slightly and Azula frowned. Iroh held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture, “It’s nothing personal, Azula, I just don’t understand how anyone can drink that when there is perfectly good tea available. There’s a small stash in the back office of your favorite roast, I’ll brew you a pot.”
Azula raised an eyebrow, “Dare I ask how old it is?”
Iroh shrugged, “I replace the bag at the beginning of every month on the off chance you’ll show up.”
Azula froze. “You… what?”
Iroh looked at her, “I wasn’t the best uncle to you growing up. I was too busy in the Earth Kingdom expanding Sozin Inc. when you were little and when I returned, you were already ten years old and…”
“I reminded you of Ozai.”
Iroh winced. “Yes.”
“I see.”
“My brother had many faults and I let my problems with him twist our relationship before we could truly give it a chance. Azula, I would humbly beg forgiveness for the way I treated you in the past. Also-“
The bell tinkled as it swung open. Iroh called out, “We’re closed!”
“Your hours say you’re open!” An older woman toddled up to the counter. “A pot of Jasmine tea and your pastry of the week special.”
Azula nodded at Iroh, “I see you’re busy.”
Iroh shook his head, “Please stay, I’ll be just a minute.” He looked right at the woman, “We’re closed. Have a good day, here is a coupon for a free tea the next time we’re open.”
He placed the coupon on the counter and the woman sniffed disdainfully. “No, you’re open now and you’ll serve me now. After all, the customer is always right and I’m your customer.”
Azula blinked at the blatant disrespect and Iroh’s gaze hardened. “The customer may always be right, but right now, I don’t have customers. It’s your choice whether I have a future customer or a trespasser.”
The lady huffed at Iroh who stared placidly at her. She strode out and Iroh followed her to the door, took down his hours of operation sign, and locked the door. Gesturing Azula towards the back, the two of them walked to Iroh’s office.
Sighing, Azula sunk into her office chair the next morning and booted up her computer. As her computer whined its way through the opening process, her building intercom buzzed. Frowning at it, she pushed the button. “Blue Fire Consulting; Azula speaking.”
“Hi, this is the Duke. You have a Mr. Aang here to see you. Should I send him up?”
“Yes.”
A few minutes later, Aang walked in with a beautiful bouquet of fire lilies. Azula stood up, “Get those out of here, right now.”
Aang looked puzzled at Azula’s reaction until she released a thunderous sneeze.
“Oh, monkeyfeathers, are you allergic?”
Azula sneezed twice more and Aang quickly retreated. Azula scowled after him, how dare he trigger her allergies.
He returned a few minutes later, sheepishly rubbing his neck. “Sorry, Azula. It didn’t occur to me that you might not want flowers.”
“Why would you bring me flowers anyway?”
“I was going to invite you out to dinner.”
Azula’s mouth dropped slightly. “Why?”
“Felt embarrassed about yesterday and I also wanted to get to know you better.”
Azula narrowed her eyes. “You liked what you saw, didn’t you?”
Aang blushed, “That’s not why I’m inviting you to dinner.”
“Really?” Azula drawled watching the red on Aang’s face climb past his arrow.
“You’re very smart, I was really impressed at your consulting business plan, and I’d like to get you know you better. The fact that you’re pretty is just a bonus.”
Azula stared at him while he fidgeted. Finally, she blew out her breath. “5:00 tomorrow. Gaoling Grill. Don’t be late.”
Aang beamed. “Flowers are out obviously, but can I pick you up some chocolates?”
“Mochi or a new taser, I’m not picky.”
Aang nodded, “See you tomorrow!”
“Boomerang Experimental Development, this is Teo.”
“Teo, my man! We still up for gliding this weekend?”
“Of course! Why’d you call the business line though, you normally just text.”
“Oh, I need to talk to Sokka about making a purchase.”
“Sure, I’ll connect you through.”
“Hello, Hello, this is Captain Boomerang himself! What’s up, Twink?”
“Seriously still on that, Seal Jerk?”
“It’s seal jerk-y thank you very much.”
“I could make the retort that Toph called me twinkletoes not twink, but that’s not much better.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“So what gives?”
“You got the taser/bolo thingamajig into production yet?”
“Yeah, I did! Sukes is field-testing them with her private security team right now, but we still have a few in house. What do you need it for? Thought you weren’t allowed to carry modern weapons?”
“It’s not for me.”
“Kinda figured. Who’s it for?”
“Well, there’s this girl… she likes tasers and I thought…”
“Baby Aang is on the prowl!”
“Keep talking like this and I’ll have Suki knock some sense into you.”
“Fine… Who’s the girl?”
“Eh, I’d rather not say yet… we’re not dating yet, it’s our first dinner.”
“And you’re buying her a taser?”
“Well, I get a fair amount from the Air nomad trust each month, plus my trust from the Ozai settlement and that’s before my salary from Avatar…”
“Fair point. Keep saving, you’ll be richer than Toph soon.”
“Ha! Yeah, right. Doubt that’s possible.”
“True. Anyway, you can have one. Swing by to pick it up.”
“Sokka, I can’t take it.”
“Sure, you can. See, you got this things called fingers that are attached to hands and, and, and, guess what, you can use them to pick up the taser and then use your feet to walk out so that your lips can lock with this mystery gir-“
“SOKKA! IT’S JUST DINNER!”
“Sure, Sure, Sure…”
“Let’s circle back to the taser. How much do I owe you?”
“0, zilch, zip, nothing.”
“Sokka….”
“Fine, name your price and then I’ll apply your discount.”
“You’re acting sus. What’s my discount?”
“Where I multiply your price by 0.”
“SOKKA!”
“What? It’s my business.”
“But you’re failing business 101 right now. I am a customer trying to give you money.”
“Aang, you gave me a very generous amount when I was getting started and you persuaded Gyatso to let us bid on one of Avatar’s contracts. That contract has kept us humming along and allowed us to sink even more into the R&D side of things. There’s no way I’m letting you pay for something you’ve arguably paid for many times over.”
“Sokka. At least let me pay something.”
“Fine, I’ll give you 90% off.”
“50%”
“85%”
“55%”
“80% off, final offer.”
“Fine. I still question your business sense.”
Sokka snorted, “Yeah, right. You wouldn’t have invested if you were confident in my plan, airhead.”
Aang stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry into the phone.
Sokka laughed. “I’ll have it ready for you.”
Azula entered the Jasmine Dragon briskly, concealing her nervousness beneath her business-like demeanor. Things were rapidly spinning out of her control. First she had had her meeting with Iroh, which admittedly had gone better than expected, but he persuaded her to meet with her mother and Aang had asked her out on a date. She shook her head slightly. One thing at a time. Iroh had several soundproof rooms for his business and had arranged for her and Ursa to meet in one of them. Sliding the door open, she froze as did Ursa with a cup of tea halfway to her mouth. Ursa set the cup and gestured towards the seat.
Azula settled in, “You’re here early, mother.”
Ursa smiled sadly, “You always insisted on arriving to all your events a half-hour early; I see that hasn’t changed.”
Azula lifted an eyebrow at her mother’s admission. “So let’s cut to the chase. Why did you want to meet here? Plan on returning what the courts robbed from me?”
Ursa tilted her head slightly. “Not quite. Do you remember how Sozin Inc was structured prior to Lu Ten’s death?”
Azula nodded. “Forty percent held by Azulon, 20 by Iroh, 20 by Ozai, 10 to Lu Ten, 5 & 5 in trust for Zuko and I.”
“I assume you still remember the governing structure now?”
Azula nodded tersely. The courts had granted 55% to Zuko, 25% to Iroh, and 20% to Ursa, leaving her in the cold. “Plan on righting your wrongs, mother?”
“I agree that the courts treated you unjustly Azula, but I did try to fight for you in court.”
Azula nodded, “You still lost.”
Ursa shrugged. “Dai Li courts, what do you expect? Anyway, Iroh and I have an offer for you.”
Azula lifted an eyebrow and Ursa continued, “Legally, we can’t transfer you any control over Sozin Inc. to you, but we can transfer the profit to you. Iroh will be handing you 15% of the total and I’ll transfer 15% of the company total to you, you’ll be making 30% of Sozin Inc. board profit although we’ll maintain control of the shares so that way we’re in compliance with the court ruling.”
“You’ll…”
“Turn over a combined 30% of Sozin Inc. profits, but not the actual shares or control of the company although we’d be willing to listen to you and present your ideas if we believe them to be good ones.”
“30% is…”
“Quite a large sum, yes. Iroh is holding on to Lu Ten’s 10% since he’s funding calligraphy and forging scholarships with that and I’m keeping 5% in a trust for Kiyi.”
“That makes sense, but why are you both giving me so much? Neither of you are keeping any?”
“For Iroh, he feels the tea shop and his sizable investment portfolio is sufficient. Myself, I want nothing to do with Ozai’s blood money. Zuko is transforming the company, but for me, Ozai used his money to justify the abuse I suffered at his hands. I’ll keep a small amount to give Kiyi a good start in life later, but Ikem and I have a comfortable life now. I don’t know how your career will be with Ozai as a father and being legally barred from your family company, but this will give you financial freedom.”
“That’s an understatement. You’ll just hand me several hundred million dollars without question or complaint?”
Ursa shrugged. “Morally speaking, this is not my money. It should be yours and Ikem has a pretty profitable career directing films and TV shows.”
“Never heard of him.” Azula said flippantly before flinching.
“He uses Noren for his director credit.”
“Wait, you married the Noren? The one who directed The Tragedy of Kuruk?
Ursa grinned, “That’s one of the more popular ones, but I personally fell for the way he interpreted-“
“Love amongst the Dragons.” Azula stated. “Of course you would.”
Ursa smiled as the ice thawed slightly and they began to debate long into the afternoon. Azula’s watch vibrated an alert and she stood. “I must be off, mother. I have an appointment.”
Ursa narrowed her eyes, “You can fool nearly everyone, but me. You have an appointment after business hours?”
“Yes.”
“You’re hiding something.”
“So what if I am?”
Ursa shrugged, “It’s none of my business. I just hope you understand that I won’t judge you and want the best for you.”
Azula slowly nodded. “Fine, it’s not strictly an appointment, but a date.”
Ursa perked up, “Really? Is he nice? What’s his name? How did you meet?”
“Yes, he’s nice and I killed him the first time we met.”
Ursa blinked, “Gyatso’s boy? Aang? Well, have fun. You have my HAWK-Y number?”
Azula nodded.
“Text or call if you need anything.”
After making a quick stop by her house to put her “armor” on, Azula headed to the restaurant clad in a black dress and fresh make-up. Striding confidently in, she quickly spotted Aang and walked to his table. Aang spotted her and stood quickly, but just stared at her as she approached. She stood next to Aang. “Yes, I look good. Pick your jaw off the floor and please let me sit.”
Aang shook his head slightly. “Good doesn’t do it justice. You’re gorgeous.” Blushing furiously, he side-stepped and pulled Azula’s chair out for her.
She nodded approvingly, “A gentleman and handsome too.”
Aang smiled.
She leaned back, “So what’s the plan?”
Aang beamed, “Dinner first and then a surprise for you.”
She narrowed her eyes, “My last date’s version of a surprise ended with him bloody, twitching, and in jail. I’m not very big into surprises.”
Aang winced, “Well, I’m sorry that he set such a low bar for your expectations. Do you want me to tell you what I have planned?”
Azula studied him. “Is what I’m wearing fine for this surprise?”
Aang looked at her bare arms and pursed his lips. “Maybe? I’ll loan you a jacket if you get cold.”
Azula considered, “I’ll…trust you.”
Aang grinned, “Besides, we’ve already established that you can kill me.”
Azula nearly spit her wine out in surprise at the cavalier manner that Aang joked about it. As dinner continued, Azula found herself relaxing more and more as they traded barbs and quick-witted banter back and forth.
As dessert was brought out, Aang reached down and pulled out a small box. Azula lifted her eyebrow at him, “What’s this?”
“A small gift for going out with me tonight and more importantly, an apology for the flowers.”
She snorted, “That was a disaster.” She opened it, revealing the custom red and gold bola-zer. “What is this?”
“Boomerang Corp. newest invention, the bola-zer. Can fire either a bola wrap or a taser so you either drop somebody with the electricity or gift wrap them for the police. Plus, it has a 15 sec camera on it when you fire either one to help in court.”
“And you’re just giving this to me?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What are you expecting in return?”
Aang beamed, “More dates? Personally, I think dinner went really well and I’d love to keep going out with you. No pressure if you’re not, though. It’s yours to keep regardless.”
As they headed to the parking lot, Azula waved Aang ahead and stopped to the side of the door, holding her new bola-zer. The door opened and a woman in a dark green business suit stepped out. Azula pivoted and pressed the taser into her side. “Who are you and why were you watching us?”
“My name is Suki, CEO of Kyoshi Security LLC. I was contracted to keep an eye on Aang and report back.”
Aang walked back. “Suki, what are you doing here?”
“Spying on us.” Azula answered shortly. “Does Gyatso seriously not trust me?”
Aang opened his mouth, but Suki beat him to it. “That’s not my client.”
Azula glared at Suki, “Who is your client?”
Suki pressed her lips together and met Azula’s eyes with a steady gaze. Aang snapped his fingers, “Wait, did Sokka put you up to this?”
Suki’s eyes flashed briefly while Azula’s glare intensified and snarled, “Why would he do this?”
Suki shrugged, “Fine, Sokka asked me to check out your date. He had done some sleuthing to see if he could deduce who you could be dating and found Haru’s tattoo posts about a client’s new tattoo named A.R. and the winged lemur causing chaos. He spotted the last name Roku on an order slip in the background and cross-checked with the public access records and found your name change. He’s just a tiny bit paranoid about his friends’ safety and asked me to be present, just in case Aang didn’t recognize you and this was some elaborate revenge plot.”
“What are you going to tell him?” Aang asked.
“That you clearly recognized her, knew who she is, and are still choosing to date her anyway. Also, I intend to thank him for an absolutely wonderful meal and the bottle of expensive wine in addition to my corporate surveillance rates which makes this a very productive evening for me.”
“Who else are you going to tell about this?” Azula asked.
“Hm? Nobody. This is your business and now that I’ve established that Aang is not the target of some elaborate revenge plot, Sokka and I will keep it quiet until you two are ready to talk about your relationship.”
Aang facepalmed, “Suki, it was just dinner.”
She winked at Aang, “Sure, it was. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to your evening. Pleasure meeting you, Miss Roku. If you’re looking for work, I’d be happy to discuss a position with you in my private security firm, Kyoshi Security.”
Azula took Suki’s card and offered her business card in return, “Thank you. Currently, I run Blue Fire Consulting so let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
Suki nodded to both of them. “Enjoy your evening.”
Suki strolled away while Aang and Azula walked out to the parking lot together. Aang gestured at his car, a beat-up van with travel stickers. Azula snorted as she mentally compared it to her top-end satomobile that she had been allowed to keep. Aang grinned, “Hey, it doesn’t look like much, but she’s got it where it counts.”
“Is there where you tell me that hunk of junk can make the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs?” Azula asked, smirking.
“Kandoshii! Star Wars nerd.” Aang beamed at her.
Azula flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Didn’t peg me for one?”
Aang shrugged, “I try not to judge people one way or another.”
They both nodded and Aang gestured at his car. “Should be pretty easy to follow.”
Azula took a deep breath, “You’re not going to offer to give me a ride?”
Aang stammered, “Um…your own- leave on your- I don’t want you feeling trapped- I know you prize appearance…”
Azula hushed him with a finger on his lips. “Are you going to be a gentleman and get the door for me?”
Aang sprang forward and wrenched at the door before realizing it was locking. Grinning sheepishly, he unlocked the car, opened the door, and Azula slid gracefully into the passenger seat. Aang winked at her through the closed window, took two steps back, and vaulted over the van, handstanding briefly on the roof to reverse and stick the landing by the driver’s door. As he opened the door, Azula lightly applauded and Aang bowed deeply.
They had been driving for some time and then the still waters of Kyoshi Bay appeared. Azula watched as Aang drove to a private dock and parked. He handed her a concealable life vest and explained how it would deploy if submerged in water, how to secure it, or put the safety on if she wanted to jump in without it triggering.
Azula raised an eyebrow and gestured to their dress clothes. Aang just laughed and held his arm to escort her down the dock. He pointed out the catamaran wind-surfer at the dock, “Isn’t she a beautiful boat? The Elephant-Koi is our new class of ship being produced through a joint Avatar-Boomerang project.”
Azula nodded impressed while Aang readied the boat for launch and laughed as it launched, the sail catching the cool night breezing and propelling them into the bay. She walked along the edge balancing with wind in her hair and waves casting glinting droplets in her face.
After fifteen minutes bouncing across the waves, Aang lowered the sail and drifted them into a small inlet tucked behind a curtain of hanging vines. Azula stood in the bow, ducking as the bow parted the vines to reveal a softly glowing pool. The glow on the water floated serenely, disturbed only by the turtle-ducks paddling soft lines and patterns beneath the green starlit canopy.
The two sat for hours, talking about nothing in particular while their toes kicked the water softly. Aang finally stood and pointed to shore where a family of skittish deer-cats were lapping at the water’s edge. Azula stood behind him and wrapped her arms around Aang’s chest and rested her chin on his shoulder. He smiled as her hands wandered slowly across his chest and tensed slightly as they headed south, resting on his thighs before she suddenly took a half-step back. Aang turned in confusion before her right hand settled on his sternum. She lifted her left hand, fanned the wallet and phone out, and smirked. Aang muttered, “Oh, monkey-fea-“
Azula pushed and he pitched ungracefully off in the water. She set his wallet and cell next to her purse in a locker in the helm and stepped to the railing. Smoothing her dress, she smiled wickedly and jumped in, close enough for her splash to hit him in the face. She floated under the water for a second before her life vest inflated, popping her up and splashing Aang again. Aang pulled her close and brushed her wet hair aside as she slid her arms around him. Their lips met as the water and stars gleamed around them, a peaceful moment undisturbed until a curious turtleduck paddled up and quacked at them.
The next morning, Azula knocked on Aang’s door.
Gyatso opened it with some surprise, “Azula, you’re up early.”
She shrugged, “I got a few hours of sleep.”
“Well, come in. Aang is still asleep.”
“I figured. I wanted your opinion.”
“Hm?”
She slid a thin book out of her bag. “Does that symbol match the word?”
Pulling out some spectacles, Gysatso studied the symbol. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Good.” She pulled out her phone and ordered an Appa. “Thank you, sir.”
“You didn’t bring your car?”
“Still at the restaurant. It’ll be fine, the restaurant isn’t open and I’m heading there now.”
“I could drive you.”
“The Appa will be here in five minutes, it’s no trouble.”
Gyatso nodded and Azula stood still by the window.
Her phone dinged as her Appa arrived. She hesitated, “Sir…”
“Gyatso, please.”
She nodded tersely, “Aang is…” she waved trying to describe him and Gyatso nodded. Azula continued, “I nearly took him from you. I did kill him. Still, you offered me forgiveness.”
Gyatso nodded. “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. You were molded by Ozai and while under his influence, did some very awful things, but once you flew the nest… you’ve turned into quite a remarkable woman.”
Azula smiled and opened the door.
Gyatso waited until the door was nearly shut, “And the possibility of grandchildren never hurts either.” He smiled as the sound of Azula tripping off his porch and a few curses blistering the air disturbed the quiet of the neighborhood.