LOG: It be EPIC
I just get back and what do I do? I post a LOG! XD
No one can see, etc, etc.
[Who:] Zuko pyro_zuko , Katara bender_katara , Sayu yagamisayu , and NPC'd Zutara fangirls.
[Where:] A freakishly weird Chinese restaurant in Tokyo
[When:] Not too long after Zuko gets back from Epic Road Trip of Awesome. (Which we're still working on by the way.) So I'm going to say, sometime this weekend. (GASP! WE PREDICT THE FUTURE!)
[What:] Katara and Zuko have a variety of *interesting* conversations (some of them related to future plottings), Sayu's curious about Katara all the while nervous about her new job, and because they are together yet alone in public Zuko and Katara are MOBBED by rabid Zutara fangirls. 8D
[Why:] This was done on my laptop, on the airplane, during our flight home. Trisha and I were feeling bored and cracky. 8D It be fabulous.
Katara stared at the sign on the building. She suddenly realized why Zuko had chosen this particular one. She read the sign aloud in near disbelief. “Mushu Chang’s Kung Fu Action Chinese Restaurant…” She turned to Zuko. “How the hell does a restaurant have Kung Fu action?”
“…” Zuko just stood there for a moment, blinking. “I have no idea, but the name is funny. It’s like ‘Kung Fu Action Jesus’, only minus the ‘Jesus’ part…and they serve Chinese food. Maybe the waitresses are all Amazonian blackbelts or something.” He then timidly stepped inside.
Katara’s eyes narrowed. Why did he choose this place if he’s never been here before? She inwardly slapped herself for mentally asking a question with such an obvious answer. It’s Zuko. She followed him inside as she spoke. “Well, someone better get punched in the face with a woman clad in a leopard-print bikini or I’ll be sorely disappointed in such a misleading name.”
“Well, no bikinis yet…” Zuko frowned as the hostess took them to their table and handed them both menus. “Everyone looks fairly normal….Nothing ‘kung fu’ yet….Oh wait….” He flipped through the menu. “I think it’s the food.” He then went through some of the items. “Kung Pow chicken, Karate Beef With Added PUNCH, Super Kicked-Up Shrimp in Lobster Sauce…. Um….”
Katara blinked at the menu. She cautiously turned the page to even more action-packed menu items. “So…do they breed tiny people that, when ingested, proceed to kick and punch the hell out of your tongue?” She turned another page, tempted to burst out into laughter. “Was the person who came up with this restaurant on crack? Oh, look at this, ‘Tai Chi Green Tea’. I seriously don’t think they did their research on this one. It’s like they went ‘ooh, martial arts name. Write THAT in the menu.’” Her voice changed to a corny accent while she gave the thumbs up to further emphasize the cheesiness of the tone.
“It just gets even more better,” Zuko snickered as he thumbed through the last couple pages. “For the ‘special’ menu items they have a ‘Hotness’ scale. Apparently the ‘Dragon’s Fury Hard Kicked Flaming Barbecued Curry Chicken’ is the hottest item they have, a perfect ten…I think I’ll have to try it. Nothing I’ve eaten yet’s beaten the spice factor back at home.”
Katara just stared, silent a bit before responding. “You’re lying. You only want to get it because it’s the longest, most ridiculous name on the menu. The hotness is just a perk.” She looked back to her menu. “You should order it smothered in wasabi just to see if you’re man enough to handle it.” She groaned a bit. “Is there anything on this menu that doesn’t want to beat my mouth into oblivion?! I just want something with chicken in it. I don’t want it to kick, punch, karate chop, or maim my mouth in any way. God, this is stupid.”
“It’s like…These Japanese people think Chinese martial arts and culture is cool, so they’re trying to make their food sound badass… It’s like those dumb Americans who try to make up their own anime type stories and give their characters bizarre Asian-sounding names just to try to make a lick of sense.” There was a long pause as what he just said, a clear insult to both of them and the fandom they came from, blew right over him. “It’s very stupid. You can appreciate another culture without glorifying it or trying to emulate every bit of their essence. Like, I like the underground British rock-punk-movement and yeah, I’ve picked up some of their clothes, but you don’t see me talking with a British accent or trying to play electric guitar. I’m appreciative to a point.” Zuko sighed and casually glanced over the drink menu.
“Are you two ready? Can I get you anything to drink? Maybe an appetizer?” A timid female voice came as their waitress approached them, holding her pad and pen. She was obviously new. The nametag pinned to her breast read “Sayu”. “I can give you a few more minutes if you wish.”
Katara smiled at her, inwardly thinking how adorable her timidness was. Why couldn’t she have had a sister like Sayu instead of…well….Sokka. “I’ll have the green tea and I’d like some calamari to start.”
“Whatever beer you have, I’m not too picky, and some of this ‘peppered cinnamon corn flakes’ business.” Zuko shrugged. It sounded appetizing to him?
“Awesome,” Sayu nodded and wrote it down in her book. “I’ll be back in a few to take your orders.” She then flounced off.
Katara blinked at him. “You ordered flaming cereal for an appetizer?” She looked back down to her menu. “Must everything you do revolve around fire? I mean, I’m from the water tribe…but I don’t go around everywhere going “What do you make that’s mostly water? I can’t get enough of it.’ You’re going to spontaneously combust in the middle of dinner and I’m only going to laugh…after the initial shock of you going up in flames of course. But at least I can make all the ‘flaming Zuko’ jokes I want and have them make a bit more sense.” She spoke her entire phrase without once looking up from her menu, completely serious all the while.
“I take it you’re of the group who found Orochimaru’s ‘Zuko is Gay He Will Suck Your Cock For Money’ personal ad he scratched on the side of my car hilarious.” Zuko frowned for a moment, his thumb flicking across the corner of the first page; he’d decided what he wanted a long while ago. “Thanks, Katara, really. And, while we’re on the subject of flavor preferences, I happen to know for a fact your favorite ice cream is Mint Chip, and you like the mint-flavored frappes at Starbucks, and the thought of gum and toothpaste being anything other than mint disturbs you. It’s nature winning over nurture with us.”
She blinked at him. “Mint…really has nothing to do with water. Peppermint is what you’re trying so desperately to refer to and I hate the stuff. The ‘flaming Zuko’ jokes I was referring to should be obvious. You’re from the Fire Nation and you use fire at every possible opportunity. The jokes write themselves.” She looked back to her menu before deciding on something and closing it. “What made the King of all that is Emo scratch something like that into your car?”
“So…” A smirk tugged at the corner of Zuko’s lips. “You should take no offense if I call you an Ice Queen or a cold-hearted bitch. You did live in the South Pole after all…” A pause; he shook his head and made an annoyed facial expression. “Sensei claimed I was cocking an attitude with him. So while I was taking care of something he thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to advertise how gay I am to the world. Clearly, the world needs to know that I like to suck dick. Clearly. As if having a girlfriend; and sleeping with said girlfriend wasn’t proof enough that I’m ‘So Totally Gay’.” His voice was dripping with both mildly amused and mildly annoyed sarcasm.
Katara smiled. “I never said you shouldn’t take offense to said ‘flaming jokes’. I just said I could make them with some merit. And you had to have pissed him off for him to do something like that. Ninja are naturally patient.” She laughed. “Leave it to the Almighty Zuko to push a ninja past his toleration point. Way to go. He also has to have something to him to have survived that. More points to him. At least I have the pleasure of knowing someone other than Mai can humble you, you egotistical bastard.”
“Gee thanks,” Zuko rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Really, I have no idea what set him off. Unless he was still peeved about ‘A Certain Incident Involving A Certain Substance We Shall Never Speak Of Again’. I don’t know. But, he’s like the only worthwhile adult I know at the moment, so I show him some form of respect. About as much as Uncle. I still kinda like Ginny’s parents but I highly doubt I’ll ever see them again.” His voice held a somber tone at mentioning that and for a brief moment he seemed a bit sad. “And yes, Mai can humble me. But that’s mostly because she’s not afraid to whip out her stilettos if she’s deemed I’ve gotten ‘out of line’.”
During this Sayu returned with their drinks and appetizers and waited for them to finish so she could find a break to take their order. “Are you both ready?” She smiled.
Katara nodded, placing her order. She turned back to Zuko and smiled. He was starting to show a side of him that he kept closed off to so many, but for good reason. She took a bite of her calamari while idly stirring her tea as she waited for Zuko to order.
After she jotted down both Katara’s and then Zuko’s order, Sayu nodded, still smiling and being very sweet and polite, and dashed off. Something about that dark-skinned girl seemed awfully familiar to her. Wasn’t she one of her older brother’s friends?
“Is your fried squid-thing delicious?” Zuko asked casually after he ordered and poked at the ghetto fire-flakes.
She smiled. “Delightfully delicious.” She took another bite as she watched Sayu bounce away. Something seemed extremely familiar about her.
“Is there something wrong with your tea, Miss Delightfully Delicious Mocha-tara?” Zuko smirked as he noticed that she’d taken to prodding her tea and playing with it only a way a Waterbender could.
She sighed, making a swirling mini-tower with her tea. “It cooled way too fast. Cold green tea isn’t really that great.”
“Here,” he said flatly, snapping his fingers. A small flame came out, danced around her cup for a few seconds until the liquid steamed, and then went out. “That should do it.”
Suddenly, a group of girls who’d been sitting and giggling a few tables away approached the two. They’d been watching them both curiously and when both of them showed examples of their bending, the girls nodded some form of confirmation. “Excuse me,” one of them said. “You’re both Zuko and Katara…from Avatar, right?”
“Shit,” Zuko coughed, shaking his head.
Katara blinked at the strange girls. “I don’t recall ever meeting you.” She turned to Zuko. “How do they know our names?” Katara hadn’t really grasped the ‘fandom’ aspect of her existence. It didn’t really make much sense, so she never really tried to comprehend it entirely. She knew that her fandom was called “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, but that was the extent on her knowledge of it. She lived it; she really had neither need nor desire to watch it.
“Fangirls,” Zuko whispered across the table to her. “They watch the ‘cartoon’ thing we come from.” He straightened up a bit. “Yeah, what of it?”
“See I told you they were real!” One of the girls, a shorter one, hissed. “Look! Look guys! They’re on a date! Zutara forever! They’re made to be!” Another piped up. “Yes!” They all cheered and giggled. The one who approached them first spoke up again. “Well…we were wondering…now that you two are going out….”
“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!” Zuko snapped almost immediately, slamming his fist on the table, glowering. If there was anything he hated more than fangirls, it was the Zutara fangirls. He could never fathom why people always assumed that just because a man and a woman were friendly with each other they were instantly going out and going to get married and make babies. Hell, to even get to this state the two of them had to work through a lot of problems and rebuild broken bridges. It wasn’t all mush and sparkles like the fangirls dreamed it was.
Katara spoke in a softer tone, quite a bit less agitated. “We’re not dating. We never will, really. We’re both in our own, separate relationships and we’re quite happy.”
“Oh,” all of the fangirls’ faces fell and they looked incredibly sad, yet still somewhat hopeful. “Well…um…would you both sign this?” One of the fangirls held out a mini-poster of a red-and-blue yin/yang symbol with Zuko and Katara’s faces drawn in it.
“Hell no,” Zuko shook his head in disgust. “I’m not fueling anymore of your pointless ‘shipping’ fodder.”
Katara rolled her eyes at Zuko. “You don’t have to beat their dreams into a bloody pulp, Zuko. They’re called ‘fans’ and not ‘absolutely true canon writers’ for a reason.” She took the poster and provided pen, autographing her side of the yin-yang. ‘Dreams are dreams for a reason. Keep the fandom alive. ~Katara’ She smiled, pulling out one of her one-use cameras she had for sight seeing. It was unused, so she didn’t mind giving it away. She handed it to Zuko before joining the fangirls a moment. “Now take a picture so they aren’t completely heartbroken because you have a frozen rock in place of your heart.”
“I had a heart, she just ripped it out, wrung it, stomped on it, tossed it in a blender and set it to puree,” Zuko grumbled, fidgeting with the camera. “Whatever,” he muttered instead of the usual ‘Smile’ or ‘Say Cheese’ and snapped the photo. Frowning, he then tossed it to one of the fangirls. “Now let us sit and eat in peace, please.”
Giggling, one of the fangirls quickly snapped a picture of Zuko frowning before dashing away. The rest of them just kind of stood there, dazed because they were wondering who this ‘she’ was Zuko was muttering about.
Katara laughed as the stealth picture was taken, hugging the fangirl who took it. She then took one of their rolls, throwing it at him. She aimed and hit his forehead. “Let it go, Zuko. Ginny is in the past now. You have Mai now. She has Light. You both have SEPARATE lives. I know you can’t let her go completely, but for gods sake, live a little. If you continue to act like this, the world will maim you for being such a pansy.”
The rest of the fangirls kind of gaped like fishes for a few more moments before trotting off. One of them whispered about posting the pictures all over Avatar Spirit, Distant Horizons, and LiveJournal that evening.
Zuko caught the roll when it fell from his head. “I know, I know, it’s just the whole thing still really pisses me the hell off. I fucking had her and then bam! Now she’s getting fucking married to fucking dickface, and she’s barely even twenty, and you know, I really can’t see this marriage going anywhere. I look forward to the day I can look that ass square in the face and be like “I told you so”. She didn’t change for me, and so far shows no signs of changing for anyone else either. I’m kind of glad it’s over. At least Mai’s more trustworthy…albeit I haven’t seen or heard from her in ages, this’ll have to be remedied soon.”
As Sayu was delivering their food she overheard them talking about Light and stopped short. Aha! They did know her brother! Wait until she told Light she served some of his friends! On her first day no less! Smiling cheekily, she set their plates on the table and went back to take another couple’s order.
Katara sighed. “You sound like you’re seeking revenge. It’s not healthy, you know. I know you really didn’t do anything to her, but you’re not exactly perfect either. I mean….you tried to kill Light for something that was really a mutual thing. You were quick to blame him for everything and didn’t bother looking at the picture as a whole. You’re still not looking at it as a whole. I mean, I care about all three of you. But you’re better off where you are now. This was probably all fate just trying to get you with Mai anyways. Frankly, I saw it coming. You two are the most ‘soulmates’ as it gets.”
“I just know there’s something wrong with him. There’s no way he’s perfect either.” Zuko’s voice lowered. “I bet he hides out at night and kills people for fun. I bet he runs some sort of secret brothel where he kills prostitutes. I bet he keeps a book too, of all their names and how he killed them. No one can be that intellectual without being criminally insane.” Frowning, Zuko sighed. “I wish I could see Mai more…”.
“Uh…huh,” Katara rolled her eyes. She was used to his hair-brained theories by now. “Yeah, Zuko, keep thinking that.” When the subject changed to Mai, she brightened. “Why don’t you go back and see her then? You’ve been away from home for months. She’s not as good as moving about the way we are.”
“I have been away from home for a while…” Zuko pondered, glancing down into his beer. “Guess I’ve got nothing to lose by going back for a bit.”
“Your sister isn’t going to be a problem,” Katara said firmly. “Trust me. Just go back, make nice with Azula for a little while. Just so you can spend time with Mai.”
“Mm,” he nodded. “Yeah…I’ll go back for a bit…”
“Think of it this way,” Katara pointed out. “You’ve spent all this time hanging around my place or ‘training’ with Orochimaru…” She put her fingers in air-quotes when she said “training”. “It’s about time you went back and faced the music. Like I’m one to talk, I haven’t been there in months, but still. Right now, that is your home. I’ve settled here. You’re still hopping about like a headless roach. It’s not healthy.”
Zuko nodded again. “I see what you mean…Yeah. To hell with my sister. I think it’s about time I got back on my feet.”
She smirked. “Good boy. I’ve taught you well.”
We win. You lose. :|
No one can see, etc, etc.
[Who:] Zuko pyro_zuko , Katara bender_katara , Sayu yagamisayu , and NPC'd Zutara fangirls.
[Where:] A freakishly weird Chinese restaurant in Tokyo
[When:] Not too long after Zuko gets back from Epic Road Trip of Awesome. (Which we're still working on by the way.) So I'm going to say, sometime this weekend. (GASP! WE PREDICT THE FUTURE!)
[What:] Katara and Zuko have a variety of *interesting* conversations (some of them related to future plottings), Sayu's curious about Katara all the while nervous about her new job, and because they are together yet alone in public Zuko and Katara are MOBBED by rabid Zutara fangirls. 8D
[Why:] This was done on my laptop, on the airplane, during our flight home. Trisha and I were feeling bored and cracky. 8D It be fabulous.
Katara stared at the sign on the building. She suddenly realized why Zuko had chosen this particular one. She read the sign aloud in near disbelief. “Mushu Chang’s Kung Fu Action Chinese Restaurant…” She turned to Zuko. “How the hell does a restaurant have Kung Fu action?”
“…” Zuko just stood there for a moment, blinking. “I have no idea, but the name is funny. It’s like ‘Kung Fu Action Jesus’, only minus the ‘Jesus’ part…and they serve Chinese food. Maybe the waitresses are all Amazonian blackbelts or something.” He then timidly stepped inside.
Katara’s eyes narrowed. Why did he choose this place if he’s never been here before? She inwardly slapped herself for mentally asking a question with such an obvious answer. It’s Zuko. She followed him inside as she spoke. “Well, someone better get punched in the face with a woman clad in a leopard-print bikini or I’ll be sorely disappointed in such a misleading name.”
“Well, no bikinis yet…” Zuko frowned as the hostess took them to their table and handed them both menus. “Everyone looks fairly normal….Nothing ‘kung fu’ yet….Oh wait….” He flipped through the menu. “I think it’s the food.” He then went through some of the items. “Kung Pow chicken, Karate Beef With Added PUNCH, Super Kicked-Up Shrimp in Lobster Sauce…. Um….”
Katara blinked at the menu. She cautiously turned the page to even more action-packed menu items. “So…do they breed tiny people that, when ingested, proceed to kick and punch the hell out of your tongue?” She turned another page, tempted to burst out into laughter. “Was the person who came up with this restaurant on crack? Oh, look at this, ‘Tai Chi Green Tea’. I seriously don’t think they did their research on this one. It’s like they went ‘ooh, martial arts name. Write THAT in the menu.’” Her voice changed to a corny accent while she gave the thumbs up to further emphasize the cheesiness of the tone.
“It just gets even more better,” Zuko snickered as he thumbed through the last couple pages. “For the ‘special’ menu items they have a ‘Hotness’ scale. Apparently the ‘Dragon’s Fury Hard Kicked Flaming Barbecued Curry Chicken’ is the hottest item they have, a perfect ten…I think I’ll have to try it. Nothing I’ve eaten yet’s beaten the spice factor back at home.”
Katara just stared, silent a bit before responding. “You’re lying. You only want to get it because it’s the longest, most ridiculous name on the menu. The hotness is just a perk.” She looked back to her menu. “You should order it smothered in wasabi just to see if you’re man enough to handle it.” She groaned a bit. “Is there anything on this menu that doesn’t want to beat my mouth into oblivion?! I just want something with chicken in it. I don’t want it to kick, punch, karate chop, or maim my mouth in any way. God, this is stupid.”
“It’s like…These Japanese people think Chinese martial arts and culture is cool, so they’re trying to make their food sound badass… It’s like those dumb Americans who try to make up their own anime type stories and give their characters bizarre Asian-sounding names just to try to make a lick of sense.” There was a long pause as what he just said, a clear insult to both of them and the fandom they came from, blew right over him. “It’s very stupid. You can appreciate another culture without glorifying it or trying to emulate every bit of their essence. Like, I like the underground British rock-punk-movement and yeah, I’ve picked up some of their clothes, but you don’t see me talking with a British accent or trying to play electric guitar. I’m appreciative to a point.” Zuko sighed and casually glanced over the drink menu.
“Are you two ready? Can I get you anything to drink? Maybe an appetizer?” A timid female voice came as their waitress approached them, holding her pad and pen. She was obviously new. The nametag pinned to her breast read “Sayu”. “I can give you a few more minutes if you wish.”
Katara smiled at her, inwardly thinking how adorable her timidness was. Why couldn’t she have had a sister like Sayu instead of…well….Sokka. “I’ll have the green tea and I’d like some calamari to start.”
“Whatever beer you have, I’m not too picky, and some of this ‘peppered cinnamon corn flakes’ business.” Zuko shrugged. It sounded appetizing to him?
“Awesome,” Sayu nodded and wrote it down in her book. “I’ll be back in a few to take your orders.” She then flounced off.
Katara blinked at him. “You ordered flaming cereal for an appetizer?” She looked back down to her menu. “Must everything you do revolve around fire? I mean, I’m from the water tribe…but I don’t go around everywhere going “What do you make that’s mostly water? I can’t get enough of it.’ You’re going to spontaneously combust in the middle of dinner and I’m only going to laugh…after the initial shock of you going up in flames of course. But at least I can make all the ‘flaming Zuko’ jokes I want and have them make a bit more sense.” She spoke her entire phrase without once looking up from her menu, completely serious all the while.
“I take it you’re of the group who found Orochimaru’s ‘Zuko is Gay He Will Suck Your Cock For Money’ personal ad he scratched on the side of my car hilarious.” Zuko frowned for a moment, his thumb flicking across the corner of the first page; he’d decided what he wanted a long while ago. “Thanks, Katara, really. And, while we’re on the subject of flavor preferences, I happen to know for a fact your favorite ice cream is Mint Chip, and you like the mint-flavored frappes at Starbucks, and the thought of gum and toothpaste being anything other than mint disturbs you. It’s nature winning over nurture with us.”
She blinked at him. “Mint…really has nothing to do with water. Peppermint is what you’re trying so desperately to refer to and I hate the stuff. The ‘flaming Zuko’ jokes I was referring to should be obvious. You’re from the Fire Nation and you use fire at every possible opportunity. The jokes write themselves.” She looked back to her menu before deciding on something and closing it. “What made the King of all that is Emo scratch something like that into your car?”
“So…” A smirk tugged at the corner of Zuko’s lips. “You should take no offense if I call you an Ice Queen or a cold-hearted bitch. You did live in the South Pole after all…” A pause; he shook his head and made an annoyed facial expression. “Sensei claimed I was cocking an attitude with him. So while I was taking care of something he thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to advertise how gay I am to the world. Clearly, the world needs to know that I like to suck dick. Clearly. As if having a girlfriend; and sleeping with said girlfriend wasn’t proof enough that I’m ‘So Totally Gay’.” His voice was dripping with both mildly amused and mildly annoyed sarcasm.
Katara smiled. “I never said you shouldn’t take offense to said ‘flaming jokes’. I just said I could make them with some merit. And you had to have pissed him off for him to do something like that. Ninja are naturally patient.” She laughed. “Leave it to the Almighty Zuko to push a ninja past his toleration point. Way to go. He also has to have something to him to have survived that. More points to him. At least I have the pleasure of knowing someone other than Mai can humble you, you egotistical bastard.”
“Gee thanks,” Zuko rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Really, I have no idea what set him off. Unless he was still peeved about ‘A Certain Incident Involving A Certain Substance We Shall Never Speak Of Again’. I don’t know. But, he’s like the only worthwhile adult I know at the moment, so I show him some form of respect. About as much as Uncle. I still kinda like Ginny’s parents but I highly doubt I’ll ever see them again.” His voice held a somber tone at mentioning that and for a brief moment he seemed a bit sad. “And yes, Mai can humble me. But that’s mostly because she’s not afraid to whip out her stilettos if she’s deemed I’ve gotten ‘out of line’.”
During this Sayu returned with their drinks and appetizers and waited for them to finish so she could find a break to take their order. “Are you both ready?” She smiled.
Katara nodded, placing her order. She turned back to Zuko and smiled. He was starting to show a side of him that he kept closed off to so many, but for good reason. She took a bite of her calamari while idly stirring her tea as she waited for Zuko to order.
After she jotted down both Katara’s and then Zuko’s order, Sayu nodded, still smiling and being very sweet and polite, and dashed off. Something about that dark-skinned girl seemed awfully familiar to her. Wasn’t she one of her older brother’s friends?
“Is your fried squid-thing delicious?” Zuko asked casually after he ordered and poked at the ghetto fire-flakes.
She smiled. “Delightfully delicious.” She took another bite as she watched Sayu bounce away. Something seemed extremely familiar about her.
“Is there something wrong with your tea, Miss Delightfully Delicious Mocha-tara?” Zuko smirked as he noticed that she’d taken to prodding her tea and playing with it only a way a Waterbender could.
She sighed, making a swirling mini-tower with her tea. “It cooled way too fast. Cold green tea isn’t really that great.”
“Here,” he said flatly, snapping his fingers. A small flame came out, danced around her cup for a few seconds until the liquid steamed, and then went out. “That should do it.”
Suddenly, a group of girls who’d been sitting and giggling a few tables away approached the two. They’d been watching them both curiously and when both of them showed examples of their bending, the girls nodded some form of confirmation. “Excuse me,” one of them said. “You’re both Zuko and Katara…from Avatar, right?”
“Shit,” Zuko coughed, shaking his head.
Katara blinked at the strange girls. “I don’t recall ever meeting you.” She turned to Zuko. “How do they know our names?” Katara hadn’t really grasped the ‘fandom’ aspect of her existence. It didn’t really make much sense, so she never really tried to comprehend it entirely. She knew that her fandom was called “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, but that was the extent on her knowledge of it. She lived it; she really had neither need nor desire to watch it.
“Fangirls,” Zuko whispered across the table to her. “They watch the ‘cartoon’ thing we come from.” He straightened up a bit. “Yeah, what of it?”
“See I told you they were real!” One of the girls, a shorter one, hissed. “Look! Look guys! They’re on a date! Zutara forever! They’re made to be!” Another piped up. “Yes!” They all cheered and giggled. The one who approached them first spoke up again. “Well…we were wondering…now that you two are going out….”
“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!” Zuko snapped almost immediately, slamming his fist on the table, glowering. If there was anything he hated more than fangirls, it was the Zutara fangirls. He could never fathom why people always assumed that just because a man and a woman were friendly with each other they were instantly going out and going to get married and make babies. Hell, to even get to this state the two of them had to work through a lot of problems and rebuild broken bridges. It wasn’t all mush and sparkles like the fangirls dreamed it was.
Katara spoke in a softer tone, quite a bit less agitated. “We’re not dating. We never will, really. We’re both in our own, separate relationships and we’re quite happy.”
“Oh,” all of the fangirls’ faces fell and they looked incredibly sad, yet still somewhat hopeful. “Well…um…would you both sign this?” One of the fangirls held out a mini-poster of a red-and-blue yin/yang symbol with Zuko and Katara’s faces drawn in it.
“Hell no,” Zuko shook his head in disgust. “I’m not fueling anymore of your pointless ‘shipping’ fodder.”
Katara rolled her eyes at Zuko. “You don’t have to beat their dreams into a bloody pulp, Zuko. They’re called ‘fans’ and not ‘absolutely true canon writers’ for a reason.” She took the poster and provided pen, autographing her side of the yin-yang. ‘Dreams are dreams for a reason. Keep the fandom alive. ~Katara’ She smiled, pulling out one of her one-use cameras she had for sight seeing. It was unused, so she didn’t mind giving it away. She handed it to Zuko before joining the fangirls a moment. “Now take a picture so they aren’t completely heartbroken because you have a frozen rock in place of your heart.”
“I had a heart, she just ripped it out, wrung it, stomped on it, tossed it in a blender and set it to puree,” Zuko grumbled, fidgeting with the camera. “Whatever,” he muttered instead of the usual ‘Smile’ or ‘Say Cheese’ and snapped the photo. Frowning, he then tossed it to one of the fangirls. “Now let us sit and eat in peace, please.”
Giggling, one of the fangirls quickly snapped a picture of Zuko frowning before dashing away. The rest of them just kind of stood there, dazed because they were wondering who this ‘she’ was Zuko was muttering about.
Katara laughed as the stealth picture was taken, hugging the fangirl who took it. She then took one of their rolls, throwing it at him. She aimed and hit his forehead. “Let it go, Zuko. Ginny is in the past now. You have Mai now. She has Light. You both have SEPARATE lives. I know you can’t let her go completely, but for gods sake, live a little. If you continue to act like this, the world will maim you for being such a pansy.”
The rest of the fangirls kind of gaped like fishes for a few more moments before trotting off. One of them whispered about posting the pictures all over Avatar Spirit, Distant Horizons, and LiveJournal that evening.
Zuko caught the roll when it fell from his head. “I know, I know, it’s just the whole thing still really pisses me the hell off. I fucking had her and then bam! Now she’s getting fucking married to fucking dickface, and she’s barely even twenty, and you know, I really can’t see this marriage going anywhere. I look forward to the day I can look that ass square in the face and be like “I told you so”. She didn’t change for me, and so far shows no signs of changing for anyone else either. I’m kind of glad it’s over. At least Mai’s more trustworthy…albeit I haven’t seen or heard from her in ages, this’ll have to be remedied soon.”
As Sayu was delivering their food she overheard them talking about Light and stopped short. Aha! They did know her brother! Wait until she told Light she served some of his friends! On her first day no less! Smiling cheekily, she set their plates on the table and went back to take another couple’s order.
Katara sighed. “You sound like you’re seeking revenge. It’s not healthy, you know. I know you really didn’t do anything to her, but you’re not exactly perfect either. I mean….you tried to kill Light for something that was really a mutual thing. You were quick to blame him for everything and didn’t bother looking at the picture as a whole. You’re still not looking at it as a whole. I mean, I care about all three of you. But you’re better off where you are now. This was probably all fate just trying to get you with Mai anyways. Frankly, I saw it coming. You two are the most ‘soulmates’ as it gets.”
“I just know there’s something wrong with him. There’s no way he’s perfect either.” Zuko’s voice lowered. “I bet he hides out at night and kills people for fun. I bet he runs some sort of secret brothel where he kills prostitutes. I bet he keeps a book too, of all their names and how he killed them. No one can be that intellectual without being criminally insane.” Frowning, Zuko sighed. “I wish I could see Mai more…”.
“Uh…huh,” Katara rolled her eyes. She was used to his hair-brained theories by now. “Yeah, Zuko, keep thinking that.” When the subject changed to Mai, she brightened. “Why don’t you go back and see her then? You’ve been away from home for months. She’s not as good as moving about the way we are.”
“I have been away from home for a while…” Zuko pondered, glancing down into his beer. “Guess I’ve got nothing to lose by going back for a bit.”
“Your sister isn’t going to be a problem,” Katara said firmly. “Trust me. Just go back, make nice with Azula for a little while. Just so you can spend time with Mai.”
“Mm,” he nodded. “Yeah…I’ll go back for a bit…”
“Think of it this way,” Katara pointed out. “You’ve spent all this time hanging around my place or ‘training’ with Orochimaru…” She put her fingers in air-quotes when she said “training”. “It’s about time you went back and faced the music. Like I’m one to talk, I haven’t been there in months, but still. Right now, that is your home. I’ve settled here. You’re still hopping about like a headless roach. It’s not healthy.”
Zuko nodded again. “I see what you mean…Yeah. To hell with my sister. I think it’s about time I got back on my feet.”
She smirked. “Good boy. I’ve taught you well.”
We win. You lose. :|