Chapter Text
Ba Sing Se Buzz
Age-old tensions between the Water Tribe and Fire Nation resurface as Azula and Katara fight it out in class
By Nanouk
I’m sure all our readers remember the two main characters from last semester’s many gossip columns spanning from social sciences to engineering faculties, Fire Nation favorite Azula and Water Tribe bleeding heart Katara. Unfortunately for our tired editors, the pair seem to have converged in the law school halls, according to sources close to the two.
On the very first day of classes it was revealed that they share the same criminal justice course. We are asking you all to keep Professor Jiang in your thoughts - she’s only a few years from retirement yet we fear this duo could be the end of her. Tensions rose as she posed a hypothetical situation to break the ice, debate beginning immediately as Katara went head to head with Fire Nation’s finest.
Professor Jiang asked students to come up with defenses for either side of a case of shoplifting, most choosing the easier side and defending the store for its harsh punishment of a man accused of stealing food. Katara, ever a social justice warrior, dug deeper to lay blame on the root causes of criminality, namely poverty. Azula took particular interest with this line of argument and was the only student brave enough to contend with Katara’s overwhelming passion.
Sources say the tension in the room was stifling, escalating over the course of the argument. Other students tried to contribute to the discussion but were quickly sidelined by the intense glares between our two favorite instigators.
‘I thought to myself: this can end one of two ways. Either they kiss or one of them storms out’, a classmate dutifully reports one hour after the incident. Unfortunately for our gossip-hungry readers, neither conceded the argument, instead resigning themselves to simmer quietly in their seats.
Criminal Justice students, we wish you the best of luck this semester seeing as no one paid attention to Professor Jiang’s usually stellar syllabus read-through. Don’t be afraid to swing by the BBSU Buzz offices after your next class - our readers are always hungry for gossip!
Katara fought her way through the hordes of freshmen and crying parents, lugging her single box of room decor and suitcase of clothes. Now that she was in her third year she’d discovered she no longer needed massive teddy bears or overly large quilts - she had packing down to an art.
Beside her, Suki groaned under the weight of an overfilled crate. ‘Remind me again why you decided to buy every kitchen utensil under the sun?’
So maybe packing was actually a science and she had no clue. ‘They all have their uses, don’t worry. We aren’t in dorms anymore, Suki, we need to provide for ourselves!’
That earned an eye roll from Suki, who jostled a teary-eyed freshman on her way through the campus. Once they emerged from the absolute chaos they dropped the boxes, resting for a moment before heading to their apartment.
Katara spotted a girl surrounded by boxes all alone on the side of the road. She’s pretty, dark hair pin straight down her back in a half-up, half down style. Katara finds her attractive, can read confidence in the tilt of her hips and determination in the set of her shoulders. She should be overwhelmed, but as she turns Katara sees that she’s scowling while talking on the phone.
‘Where are the movers, Le?’ she snarled down the phone, inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. Katara feels briefly horrified to have checked out someone with such a cruel manner.
Suki smirks beside her, clearly catching Katara in the act. ‘You remember Zuko, right?’ Katara nods, having become over acquainted with the firebender after an entire summer spent listening to Sokka pine over him. ‘That’s his sister, Azula. I can’t believe you haven’t met her, she’s doing law too.’
Katara gapes, dumbfounded that the woman now barking orders and threats to an unseen service worker is somehow related to the awkward and shy man she vaguely knows.
Then again, Sokka is completely gone on him so he might not be a completely reliable source.
Hours later the pair have unpacked the many boxes Katara had deemed absolutely necessary and they slump onto the lumpy couch they’d picked up at the local charity shop. Katara stretches, cat-like, when there’s a knock at the door.
Sokka pushes the door open, clearly disregarding anyone’s privacy in favor of snooping.
‘Happy housewarming!’ Aang cries from behind Sokka, beaming as he pulls Toph into their apartment. They exchange greetings, Sokka choosing to exaggeratedly hug Suki while Toph punches them on the arm.
‘It looks great!’ Toph says sarcastically.
‘Yeah, I love that couch, where’d you guys find it!’ Aang agrees, clearly missing Toph’s overused blind joke.
‘At a charity shop, that one in the lower ring? It was a total bitch to drag across campus, we passed the same crying freshman girl like four times before she said goodbye to her parents.’ Suki explains, kicking up her feet on their makeshift coffee table as they assembled on the couch and the carpeted floor.
‘We passed this really rude girl, Azula I think her name was?’ Katara said, more asking than stating.
‘She was yelling down the phone at some movers, surrounded by piles of boxes. It was so weird.’ Suki confirmed.
‘I’m sure she was just stressed, you guys obviously know how hard it is to move without any help’ Aang, always the optimist, added.
‘No, she’s like that’ Toph sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face. Suki and Katara raised their eyebrows at each other.
She obviously felt the incredulous stares thrown her way because she immediately became defensive. ‘What! We had a biology gen ed together last year, I made her do all the experiments since. Y’know’ Here she waved her hands in front of her eyes. ‘She was honestly kinda funny.’
‘Zuko doesn’t talk about her much’ there was an audible groan as everyone braced themselves for Sokka’s endless pining. ‘He says they’re starting to get closer now that they’re out of home. Have you guys seen his new hair yet? It’s half red now, it looks so cool…’
Katara and Suki made fake puking faces at each other across the room, but Toph didn’t have the same tact. ‘You’re gonna make me sick if you don’t stop,’ she said, gagging in Sokka’s direction.
The night passed quickly, Katara ordering pizza as the sky darkened. Once Sokka began pining again, however, she decided enough was enough.
‘Pack it up, Romeo. I’ve got class early tomorrow and I need to get my beauty sleep. Go back to your own rooms you heathens!’ Katara stands and makes a shooing motion, all but pushing them out of the room.
Suki looks up from her phone, clearly amused by Katara’s antics. ‘I’m really gonna have to deal with your pedantic ass all year’ she sighs, annoyance betrayed by the affection in her eyes. ‘I’ll keep it down out here, you go to sleep.’
Katara, refreshed after her shower and coffee, was early to her Criminal Justice class the next day. She was waiting outside the law building, tapping out a text to Suki, when she noticed she wasn’t the only one there.
The person’s shoes caught her eyes first, hulking as they were. They were some dark gothic monstrosity worn over fishnets. Katara looked up slowly, trying for cool as she observed her short blood red dress and the white turtleneck underneath. By the time she made it up their body, Azula was already smirking back at her. She seemed amused at some untold joke, happy to bask in Katara’s discomfort at being caught in the act. There was a dare in her eyes, as if Katara’s not-so-subtle gaze was a game somehow.
‘Good morning’ she drawled, smug as she seemed to expand into Katara’s attention. Katara had to take a deep breath to wash away the discomfort in her stomach.
‘I’m Katara’, she smiled, offering her hand for Azula to shake. Katara was surprised to find her hand hot like a brand.
‘Azula.’ she replied.
Just as Katara was starting to feel awkward in the silence Azula created, the TA arrived with the keys and they shuffled inside. She chose a seat near the front, pulling out her laptop as she settled.
The professor walked in a few minutes later, fussing with her laptop at the front of the class. The students shared a groan when the word ‘icebreaker’ blared across the screen, thinking they would be spared now that they were third years.
‘Good morning students! I’m Professor Jiang and together we’ll wade through the murky waters of the Ba Sing Se criminal justice system. Today we’ll be doing an icebreaker, but it won’t be like the boring freshman ones. You’ve all been studying law for at least two years and I’d like to see your debate skills.’ She clicked over to the next slide.
‘You have ten minutes to examine the details of the case on the board, after which you will present your defence of either side in front of the class. Good luck!’ Professor Jiang smiled like she knew exactly how much pain she was causing.
Fifteen minutes later, Katara found herself arguing loudly with none other than Azula.
‘How could you say that! Would you rather his children just starve?’ she asked loudly, shocked.
‘I would rather his children come into state custody should he be unable to care for them. What if he was simply trying to resell the food at a higher price?’ the dark-haired girl in front of her asked, calm and poised.
‘But that wasn’t the question. There are far too many orphans in the Earth Kingdom as it is, why not allow the man to feed his children?’ Katara tried to read anything behind the carefully constructed mask of indifference to no avail: Azula was just as heartless as she’d heard.
‘You seem to forget, Katara, we aren’t studying social work. I intend to graduate with a law degree, not whatever scrap of paper you’ll use to become a social justice champion.’ Azula smirked, basking in her classmate’s attention and shock.
‘I feel sorry for whoever you end up representing, I hope you don’t treat them the way you're treating this man.’ Katara sneered.
‘That’s rich! I’m sure your clients will appreciate how much of a busybody you are, you Water tri-’
‘Let’s bring it back to the topic now. You all raised some great points today!’ Professor Jiang interrupted them, opening a new document on the screen behind them. ‘Now, if you turn to page 3 of your syllabus there’s a list of all your assignments…’
Katara was the first out the door when class was dismissed, already furiously typing a message to Suki. She seethed all the way through her next classes, and had worked herself into a blinding rage by the time she got to the gym.
‘Hey Toph’ she mumbled, trying not to let her anger bleed into her words.
‘What’s gotten your panties in a twist, sugar queen?’ Toph asked, perched on the edge of the bench as Katara stretched.
‘That Azula girl is in my Criminal Law class and we had a huge fight today. It was so embarrassing, the professor just sat there and watched me lose it. It was like she was completely incapable of compassion, Azula I mean, she just wouldn’t hear any of my points at all. I know we’re studying law but surely it’s healthy to show a little kindness!’ Katara let it all out as she wrapped her wrists carefully in the Southern Water Tribe fashion.
Toph hummed absently, clearly bored by the conversation as she cleaned between her toes.
‘I just can’t believe someone could be so heartless! It was like talking to a brick wall. A rude, emotionless brick wall.’ Satisfied with her clothing, she stood up straight again.
‘I honestly didn’t mind Azula that much last year,’ Toph said, obviously feeling brave. ‘Maybe it’s because we have a similar background but I don’t think she’s as bad as you think.’
‘Well, you never had to debate her’ Katara said, pulling on her boots.
Toph rolls her eyes as they walk into the gym. There’s a small group of people assembled inside, the instructor already talking at the head of the room. Katara and Toph hurry over and join them.
‘You’ll be split into groups depending on your element. I’ll take the water benders, Ann will take Earth and Juno will take fire. Okay, let’s move!’
‘See you soon’ Katara whispered to Toph, suddenly nervous. Toph nods before walking towards the rest of the earthbenders.
‘Katara! It’s so good to see you here.’ Katara grinds her teeth before turning a false smile to Han.
‘Hey, Han. It’s good to see you too.’ She tries to affect care but can’t seem to muster it after the day she’s had.
‘So, you’re trying your luck at probending, huh? I’ll tell you, it’s hard to make the A-team. I’ve been trying for the past two years and I’ve never quite gotten there. I think this year might be my year though, now that Arlo has left.’ He chatters on, some absolute drivel about how he’s Tui’s gift to waterbending. Katara smiles and nods, settling into her stance as the instructor runs through some basic forms.
It isn’t lost on her that she’s the only female waterbender there - being one of a precious few southerners at the university, she had expected it. What she hadn’t expected was that all these men - overgrown boys really - could hardly bend at all.
She tried to match their skill (or lack thereof) during the forms, but she knew if she actually wanted to get in she’d have to try harder in the sparring round.
‘Don’t worry Katara, I’ll go easy on y-’ Katara catches Han off guard, whipping him before he has a chance to get his bearings. They circle each other a moment.
She goes a bit bigger, bends his water whip back at him and striking his shoulder. He pauses, clearly recalculating her strength.
Katara advances, sending a jet of water at his chest. She gets closer, dodging his attacks and collecting his water to bend back at his shoulders. He topples over, mouth in a perfect ‘o’. She steps back and walks to her corner, waiting for the next challenger.
She beats the rest of the boys easily, almost one-handed. Her chi barely protests after a summer back down south and she finds herself wondering why she hadn’t considered probending in the last two years.
In the next round, benders test their skills against the other elements. Katara easily beats an earthbender, cutting through the stone rings used specifically for probending easily. She gets called out by the instructors a few times for using continuous streams of water, but it’s pretty clear that she’s the strongest water bender there.
Before long she’s fighting Toph, fearing for her actual life. Toph is brutal, laughing maniacally as Katara nervously dodges her grandiose attacks. Before long, however, Katara regains her bearings.
‘What’s wrong, sugar queen? Scared of a little dirt?’ Toph taunts, and Katara decides to go all in. She launches a barrage of watery punches, testing out the probending style. Toph grins back harder, glad for the challenge.
The two weave in and out of attacks, advancing and retreating. Toph has the upper hand for a split second when she cuffs Katara with stone manacles, but is cut off by the instructor.
‘Hey! You can’t bend the disks out of shape!’ Ann shouts, effectively drawing all eyes to the fight.
Toph looks sheepish for a moment, a strange expression on her usually sly face. Katara exploits this to send a burst of water at her, dousing her head. Toph shakes it off like a dog before sending a disk straight to Katara’s head. She ducks, only just missing it, and Toph is called out again.
The instructors decide Toph is having too much fun breaking the rules with Katara and turn her attention to another waterbender. Katara spars with a firebender, testing the waters with a scrawny looking girl before going for the big guns.
It’s clear that her skills come out on top each time. On her last rotation through the room, she heads to the group of fire benders, scoping out a partner. The instructor notices this and pulls her towards an empty mat, disappearing in search of a partner before Katara can ask what’s going on.
A few seconds later, Azula steps onto the mat. She her eyes scan up Katara’s body leisurely, putting her on edge.
‘Back for round two?’ Azula taunts, pulling flame into her hand easily.
‘I’d watch it, Azula. I’ve beaten every other firebender in this gym and I’m sure I’ll beat you too.’ Katara tugs on the remnants of her Chi, suddenly flaring back to life.
‘Alright, ladies, get on with it’ the trainer calls, on the edge of her seat.
Katara charges forward, aiming sharp jets of water at Azula’s head. Azula dodges, creating an arc of fire with her responding kick.
Katara jumps back, flyaway hairs singed by the move. Azula smirks.
‘Is that right, Water Tribe?’ Azula remarks, provoking Katara to shoot water directly into her leering mouth. She growls, shooting jet after jet of fire at Katara. Katara dodges these and moves in closer, purposely wetting Azula’s infuriatingly perfect hair with a spurt of water.
Azula pauses for a moment, blinking through the water. Katara seizes the opportunity to hit her on the shoulders, sending her flying backwards. Katara jumps atop her and from there it devolves into a wrestling match.
Katara grabs at the offending hair, Azula clawing at her arms and bucking her hips to flip them over. By the time the instructors intervene, Katara’s got a mouthful of Azula’s shoulder and Azula’s claws are digging into Katara’s scalp.
‘Hey! Enough of that!’ Ann scolds, Juno helping her pull the two apart.
Azula stands first, clinging to the last vestiges of her dignity. Katara has no such qualms and stalks off the mat.
‘If any of you go snitching to that stupid paper, I’ll have your heads.’ Azula snarls to the gathered crowd of gleeful spectators. ‘Hand me that, now.’ She holds her hand out for someone’s phone, deleting the videos by incinerating the thing.
Katara walks over to Toph, more than pissed.
‘See! She’s such a bitch. I don’t know how I’ll survive an entire semester with her’ She sulks, walking with Toph back to the changerooms.
‘Yeah… especially since we’re on the A-team together’ Toph replies, gesturing at the newly posted team lists.
Katara was fucked.