Indecent Proposal

[Zuka]

”Well, this has been a eventful trip home”

Zuka thought to herself as she walked through the busy marketplace in the Firenation capital. She needed to get out of the house and away from her family and their unrelenting questions and comments about her.  Zuka supposed she deserved it for leaving like she had and being gone as long as she was but that didn't mean she wanted to hear it.  It was bad enough already that she had let Zula talk her into coming back here for their cousins promotion ceremony. 

Ikem was their Uncles eldest son and the eldest child out of all of the cousins and his promotion was a big deal for the heavily military influenced family. Ikem had a bright military career ahead of him and it wouldn’t be long before he climbed the ranks some more and that meant a lot to her Uncle and grandparents. Naturally, their mother wasn’t one to be outdone or left out and had insisted on taking care of the party preparations.  Something that no one dared try to argue with, everyone knew Feena was more than capable with the party planning and Zuka was sure their uncle was happy to be rid of that burden...even if his sister took things to the extreme.  

If this had been for anyone else then Zuka would have probably just sent a letter and gift of congratulations, but, since it was Ikem.. someone she had been close to in her youth she didn’t put up much of a fight when it came to Zulas attempt at guilt tripping her.

Though, part of her wish she had.

The girls had arrived a few days early to help their mother with the preparations and visit with the family.  While the rest of family had scolded, prodded and interrogated Feena seemed distant.  Zuka had been certain that their mother would be the worst of them all but the woman hardly seemed to care.   In fact, it was their grandparents that were the worst.  Maybe Feena didn't want the fight before the big party? 

Feena still fussed about everything being perfect but she had been too busy with running things to really harp on Zuka about things which was nice. Feena almost seemed distracted about something but Zuka wasn’t going to question her good fortune, it was nice to actually enjoy something for once without having to worry about if she was acting proper enough or not.

Of course, it didn’t take long to realize why Feena was so distracted.

The party had been beautiful and extravagant..something that bothered Zuka a little.  Even for Feena this was a bit over the top for what this was.  Sure, Ikem  deserved this and more but this seemed to go far beyond a simple military promotion/family gathering.  Their had also been a lot of members from the Fire Nation royal council as well as the Prince and Firelord herself.  Iroh wasn't that much of a surprise since he was a military man himself  and had more or less grown up with their family but his mother?  Firelord Izumi usually always politely declined invitations like this. 

Zuka wondered what kind of strings Feena had to pull to get Izumi here. 

Their mother was never one to miss a chance to show off and with all the predominant families and military powers in the Fire Nation gathered in one place Feena had the perfect opportunity to remind everyone of the Ou-Yongs influence.

Just how did she do that?

By announcing the engagement of her daughter to the Prince.

Zuka had been taking a drink when the announcement was made and she almost spit it out on a general she was standing by from the shock. Was Feena serious? Zuka immediately began canning the room for her sister and she saw Zula standing near Iroh and their mother.  She looked at her sister from across the room but Zula refused to make eye contact with her.    Had Zula known this whole time? Why didn’t she tell her before hand? Why keep it from her?  If she had told her on the way here then Zuka could have had time to properly congratulate her sister.  She was getting married!  To the Prince no less and that was quite the big deal.  Zuka wasn't even aware that Iroh and Zula were seeing each other, Zula never mentioned him much before. Why keep all this a secret? 

Unless….

Realization hit her like a bolt of lightning and whatever excitement she was feeling quickly disappeared.  It wouldn’t be below Feena to arrange a betrothal and spring it on Zula the last minute. It also wasn't below her to use a reason such as her nephews big promotion to steal his thunder and break the news because the whos whos of the Firenation was here. 

The more she thought about it the more the betrothal made sense and Zuka wanted to go pull Zula aside and question her about this but once the engagement was out everyone had flocked to the new couple.  That wasn't good, Zuka wanted to talk to her sister about this in private so she could get some actual answers, not just what everyone around them would want to hear. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. It wasn’t everyday that a royal engagement came around so naturally everyone was excited and Zuka was going to have to be patient.

Patience had never been a strong virtue in Zuka however and after waiting for about a hour she finally excused herself from the party and tried to wait for Zula to come back to her room later that night.  But either her sister was still busy with everyone or she was avoiding her because by the time Zuka finally went to bed Zula had still not returned.

The next morning Zuka knew she had to get out for a bit to clear her head and try to work through this first. 

After waking up she dressed in a pair of dark blue pants that stopped just below her knee and put a light open backed dress that tied around her neck. The dress was a lighter blue color that stopped at the knees with slits up the side to allow for easier movement and was nice and flowy to combat the Fire nation heat. When she was dressed Zuka slipped on a pair of flat shoes, pulled on the arm band she wore to cover the lightning scar on her arm and pulled her hair up into a lose bun on the top of her head. Since the dress was open in the back the arm band was useless considering the scar traveled up her arm and wrapped around to her back but,, Zuka wore the thing mostly out of habit, it had become part of her.

Once she was ready Zuka grabbed her bag and headed for the dining room to grab something small for breakfast and to her surprise she was alone. Usually her mother was up and eating around this time but she figured she must have a lot of planning to do and was quietly thankful that she didn’t have to take part in any of that. After eating a quick breakfast Zuka told one of the servants that she was going out to the market and would be back sometime later.

It was nice to be back out in something that reminded her of Republic City, it was so familiar and it let her forget about the night before. Zuka was enjoying the busy city sounds, the warmth of the sun and the warm sea breeze that would blow past every now and then. This was the Fire Nation she had missed the most, not the stuffy upperclass lifestyle but this. Their country was so rich in history and culture and while she got a small taste of it back in Republic City it was nice to be in the thick of it again.

Zuka wandered around the market for a few hours, visiting old haunts from her youth and finding new ones that had popped up during her time away and when the sun hit its mid day peak Zuka decided to grab something cold to drink and rest a bit.

Walking to Azulon park she found a drink stand and ordered a cold glass of leeche juice after paying for the drink she found a quiet, shady bench to sit on while she rested.  Quietly Zuka sat there and sipped from the paper cup, watching some kids run around playing tag or the birds nearby fight over some discarded bread someone had left.

Eventually though that watching them had lost its interest and Zuka closed her eyes and hung her head back a little with a content sigh. This was nice, it wasn’t often that she could enjoy solitude like this and she was almost dare she say it relaxed.

Of course, she should have known that her solitude wouldn’t last because wasn’t long before she heard someone clear their throat next to her. Zuka didn’t open her eyes however to see who it was, in fact she hoped that if she pretended like she didn’t hear them they would just walk away.

[Neva]

Masaru liked to think of himself as accomplished. Born a natural fighter, he’d mastered firebending after years of hard training. He’d received high marks in all of his schooling, and had been considered brilliant by all of his tutors. At twenty-seven years old, he’d ascended the military ranks of the Fire Nation faster than both of his older brothers, with impressive tactical, strategic, and physical skills to grant him promotion. That, coupled with the fact that he came from a strong, and attractive, family line, led him to believe he was one of the best nobles in the entire country.

So he was not surprised when Feena Ou-Yong came to him to arrange a marriage between her daughter and him.

Because of the many connections and functions that were held by noble families in the Fire Nation, everyone had at least heard of one another, if not met in person. While he had never been particularly close with the Ou-Yong children, Masaru had spent a decent amount of time with Zuka and Zula at their parent’s parties or other social events. It was high time that he did settle down and begin a family, and to keep it within the realm of nobility was not an opportunity he could pass up.

The Ou-Yongs were a prominent noble family, and had a long and successful military line. Based simply on their history, Zuka made an excellent candidate for his wife. Perhaps she was not a firebender, which he would have preferred, but she had mastered her element and other militaristic fighting styles. Not to mention she was a rather beautiful woman, and they would appear as a couple that would look well together.

There were many advantages to Feena’s proposal, and Masaru’s interest in the arrangement couldn’t be denied. And while he agreed that to the arrangement, it was conditional. He was not unaware of the rumors and whispers about Zuka. Since she’d been gone from the Fire Nation for such a long time, he had no idea the type of person she had become. When they were younger, he remembered that Zuka had never quite fit in with their crowd, and now that she’d been off to other parts of the world, he wasn’t sure what type of woman she had become.

He could tell that Feena worried about this from the look on her face when he brought up his concerns. She’d quickly tried to assure him that Zuka would be the perfect fit for a wife, and while he liked to think so, he wanted to see that for himself. Before he’d accept the arrangement fully, he wanted to have a personal take on Zuka. If afterwards he deemed her to be worthy to be his wife, he’d allow Feena to make the announcement.

They agreed to not let Zuka know of her impending, possible engagement. Masaru didn’t know how long he’d have to wait to meet Zuka, but as it turned out he wasn’t kept waiting long. The Ou-Yong sisters arrived only weeks later to celebrate their cousin’s military promotion, and for Zula’s surprising engagement to the Fire Prince. Masaru had the opportunity to attend the party, and watched Zuka from afar. From what he could see she was exactly as Feena had promised, but he couldn’t just leave it at that. If he was to get a clear picture of Zuka, he’d have to meet with her one-on-one.

The next day he decided to pay a visit to the Ou-Yong household. He was certain that everyone else would be occupied with Zula’s own wedding announcement and plans, and perhaps he could steal Zuka away for some time. He dressed to impress: wearing the finest clothes that best fit the weather, and made sure that his appearance was flawless: freshly shaved, not a single unruly hair sticking up. He had to show Zuka exactly what she’d be getting, even if she was unaware that she’d be getting him at all.

However when he arrived to the household and asked for her, the servants were quick to inform him that the young lady had gone out to the market for the day. He frowned at that, not wanting to have to hunt Zuka down, but as he thought about it he supposed this was the better turn of events. It would seem more suspicious of him to arrive uncalled when they had never been particularly close. At least this way, he could pretend as though they had only run into each other.

Masaru hurried to the market, hoping to spy Zuka and approach her. This was a harder task than he had hoped, and searching for her proved to be more difficult. It wasn’t until he ran into a few of his friends and asked if they’d seen her pass through that they directed him towards Azulon Park, where they claimed they’d seen her heading. Eager not to lose the trail, Masaru picked up his pace until he came to the park, and then set about looking for her.

Soon enough he found her lounging in the afternoon sun. Masaru smiled to himself at the sight. She was quite a pretty one, and he wouldn’t mind having her hanging on his arm at military events. Smoothing out his clothes he walked over, stopping next to her and clearing his throat, as not to startle her. However, she did not move an inch or acknowledge him.

Well, he wasn’t about to be deterred by that. Whether he was interrupting her relaxation or not, he had set out to find her and he would not be discouraged. He waited a moment and then cleared his throat again, this time a little louder, and then said, “It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen you in this park. As I remember it, you were much more energetic at the time.”

[Zuka]

When the throat clearer did not go away and instead got louder Zuka tilted her head back to its normal resting place and opened her eyes and turned to look at who just had to interrupt her time alone. The glare of the sun made her vision blurry but she could see that it was a man and after bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun she got a better look at him.

“It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen you in this park. As I remember it, you were much more energetic at the time.”

Well, apparently he knew who she was but Zuka seemed to be at a loss here. She searched through her list of friends to try to figure out who this man was but so far she was coming up blank. Perhaps he was a former classmate that she had forgotten about…it had been many years and it wasn’t like she could be expected to remember everyone.

”I’m sorry…do I know you?” Zuka really wasn’t in the mood to try to pretend that she remembered him and the faster she could talk to him the sooner she could go back to what she had been doing.

[Neva]

He'd hoped that she would remember him, but considering the last time they'd seen each other they had been young teenagers, it didn't surprise him that she saw him as an unfamiliar face. No matter, he would just have to jog her memory and they could move past this. An awkward reunion didn't make for a very promising conversation after all. And the sooner he got to know just what he was dealing with, the sooner he could secure the engagement and all would be well. 

"I apologize, Lady Ou-Yong. I shouldn't have assumed you'd remember me so simply." Masaru stepped more to the side to help block the sun from her eyes, and then gave a small bow. Old school, perhaps, but he found that ladies found the gesture endearing. "My name is Masaru Chuusei."

He straightened up, looking at her with a small smile. "I believe the last time we interacted, you sent a group of ill-behaved boys home drenched after soaking them with the full force of a fountain. I am proud to say I was not one of those who fell subject to your bending."

[Zuka]

As he introduced himself and bowed Zuka rose a brow slightly but it was covered by her hand thankfully. Ah yes, the prim and proper training of a noble. It was hard to miss, people that didn’t grow up in the life and got their training later tried too hard in her opinion. Those people wanted to impress and they went out of their way to do so and it showed. This man however had the air of a natural born noble and that came with a certain…well, the polite way to put it would be a ‘certain air’ about them.

Masaru Chuusei.

That name rung a bell. Masaru Chuusei. Masaru Chuusei. Masaru Chuusei.

Zuka repeated the name over and over in her mind as she tried to put the name and face together until it suddenly hit her. ”Oh, I’m sorry. Its been so long I didn’t recognize you” To be fair Zuka had never spent much time with him in the past, it was really only at her mothers parties as their circle of friends in school never really crossed. Now that she knew who he was however Zuka took a better look at him. He had grown up that was for sure. Handsome, if not arrogant but then again, who here in this country wasn’t? ”How have you been?” She supposed she should make some kind of small talk.

[Neva]

He waved away her concerns politely, not dwelling on them. Masaru was not so foolish as to get offended because someone did not recognize him. There were many nobles, and within those nobles were their own groups. To each other they were nothing more than distant memories, and to be fair she had only come to his attention again because of the marital possibility. A possibility, he might add, that he wouldn't mind becoming a reality so far. 

"I've been well," he answered. "The Fire Nation has served me with plenty of opportunities in recent times. I'd say things have been going rather smoothly."

He put his hands casually behind his back, a posture that he'd learned in his early years to present himself. "And you? I've heard that you've been travelling, seeing the world beyond the Fire Nation. How do you like it?"

[Zuka]

”That’s good to hear” of course he would be doing well.

Zuka gave a polite smile when he mentioned her traveling. She had been doing this tap dance around the subject the whole time here and she knew exactly what to say to pacify the noble people of the Fire Nation. ’It suits me’ that was the easiest way she could put it, not to mention the safest. ”It’s a big world outside the Fire Nation and I’m glad I got to experience it.”

She hated making small talk with people she hardly knew, it was always awkward and uncomfortable. Even more so when it was someone from her past. ”So…wow, look at you, amazing what a few years can do.” Ok, that sounded kind of bad but she really wanted to just go back to what she had been doing so the faster this was done the better off she would be.

[Neva]

"I'm sure it does," he answered. Ah, so she was well cultured then. It was not a quality that he'd ever found necessary in looking for a future wife, but it was a perk nonetheless. He could deal with adventurous--so long as she knew the Fire Nation was her home, and their country came first. Of course, he was curious as to just what she'd done and seen, and the questions that he wanted to ask were important. He couldn't rush head first into them, however. 

At her comment he chuckled lightly. So she could appreciate what growing up had done to him. Compliments weren't something Masaru would pass up or shake off. And my, was she beginning to flirt with him? This would be easier than he suspected if that were the case. "I like to think I've improved, though I wasn't all that bad at the start. The years have been good to you as well."

Zuka had always been a pretty girl, but she'd definitely blossomed as an adult. A compliment never hurt to give, since he was skilled in receiving them. He expected to get a blush out of her, at the least. Perhaps, if he would be invoking that, he should get them moving. It might be easier to get her to open up that way, and he would need her to do so. He gestured to the rest of the park  with a small sweep of his arm. "If you aren't occupied, would you care to take a walk?"

[Zuka]

Dammit.

At his compliment Zuka gave a small smile but it was gone just as quick as it came. She hadn’t been wrong though, even if her remark might have been misplaced. He was handsome in the traditional sense. Proud, prim and proper with not a hair or thread out of place and a misplaced sense of entitlement and arrogance. Exactly what she had worked so hard not to become.

His question about wanting to go and walk around Zuka looked out to the park before back to him, having to revert back to her noble training to remind herself to keep her manners about her and not to disappoint. As much as she wanted to decline Zuka knew that if word got back to her mother that it would be a fight and now that Zula was engaged to Iroh there was even more pressure on them to behave. Zuka hated it but as long as she was here she would play along…at least slightly, for Zulas sake. Her sister had enough to worry about and deal with right now.

Um, sure.” Zuka said, drinking the rest of her drink before standing and walking to a trash bin to get rid of her cup.

[Neva]

Quite agreeable, he liked that. It didn't take much convincing to get her to follow, and that was always a good sign. Masaru waited for Zuka to throw away her trash, and then extended an arm in the direction he wished to go. Then he led her on the path, which looped around the park in a large circle. Eventually they'd make their way back, but by then he hoped to have a clear idea of her and what his decision would be. 

He began walking, letting a comfortable quietness settle over them for a minute or so. Then, once he'd taken in the scenery and let her mind wander a bit, he reeled the conversation back in. It was time to start asking some questions. "Are you enjoying your time back home? It's been very eventful for your family recently. Quite a few special occasions happening at once."

[Zuka]

Zuka looked toward the direction he had picked and saw that it was the long way around the park. Great. It seemed that if she ever wanted to get some kind of peace and quiet on her own she would have to go hide away in some small Earth Kingdom village, it would be the only place no one would know her.

With a sigh Zuka started walking, keeping a slow, polite pace so she didn’t walk too far ahead of him.

The first half of the walk was in silence. Awkward silence. If they were just going to walk next to each other like this without speaking then Zuka could have stayed happily on her bench. After walking a bit more with nothing said between them she had half a mind to excuse herself and turn around when finally Masaru broke the silence.

Was she enjoying her time here? Not really, no. It was nice to visit her homeland but Zuka had been ready to return to Republic City just a few short hours after they landed. The longer she stayed here the more she realized that there truly was nothing left for her here. ”Eventful is one way to put it.” Zuka struggled a moment to find the right word but nothing else came. Eventful was an understatement but probably the most appropriate given her current company. ”It has been nice to visit but I will be happy when I am back home.” Republic City that is.

”So…” Zuka began, trying to keep conversation going and wanted to at least seem like she wanted to be here ”what have you been up to these past few years?” As they continued their walk Zuka felt her arm band slowly begin to bunch up as it started sliding down her arm. Absently bringing a hand up she readjusted it back to where it belonged. It was starting to get hot and the arm band uncomfortable but she didn't want to remove it just yet.

[Neva]

At her mention of going back home he raised an eyebrow. When he thought of home, he thought of the Fire Nation and their own Capitol City. Masaru had expected the same of her, even if she did travel. What he took from her comment is that she saw somewhere else as her home, and that troubled him. Nobility were known for their strong roots in their home country. Why would she want to be anywhere else than in a nation as great as theirs?

That was troublesome, but anyone could be coaxed into coming back to their real home. Perhaps her travelling had just gone to her head. She just needed to be reminded of where she came from, and what was expected of her. Too caught up in the outside world, he surmised. Zuka could be grounded if given the time. 

At the mention of what he'd been up to, he smiled. "Well, I've been in the military, working my way through the ranks. I've been making progress and ascending at what I like to consider a steady pace. Of course, there have been obstacles..."

He began to ramble, unknowingly, about his current career. He knew it probably sounded like bragging, but he was accomplished and she ought to know that he'd been making a name for himself. In his experience, if you weren't doing something to improve the family name, then you weren't doing your job. And Masaru liked to think he'd been doing quite well in keeping the family name accomplished. 

As he talked he caught Zuka adjusting her arm band, and saw a glimpse of something underneath of it. What was she hiding under there? A tattoo of sorts? Maybe it was a trick of his eyes or the sunlight, but he swore he saw something. It began to distract him as he wondered, and he quickly cleared his throat and finished with, "And that's mainly all that's happened so far."

He paused a moment and then asked, "What interesting places have your travels taken you? I'm sure you've seen many different things in your absence. Where are you currently living if not here?"

[Zuka]

Masaru seemed to almost light up at her question and Zuka half listened as he started to explain. Military, huh? Shocker. She supposed she shouldn’t be too harsh about that, growing up with such strict upbringings and having the importance of family and loyalty pounded into your mind from a young age there were truly only a few options for noble children. The most important of them: Politics or military. What little interest she might have had in listening to him quickly went away as Masaru began to ramble on about his accomplishments. Zukas mind began to wander to more interesting things but she made sure she nodded here and there to make it at least seem like she had been listening.

While she fiddled with her band he seemed to trail off slightly but she could have imagined that since she had only been half listening. Finally however, after that seemed like hours he finished and turned the questions back on her. Masaru seemed a lot more interested in learning about her than she was about him.

Asking about her travels was something she supposed she could answer. Zuka had been all over the world a few times over, had experienced things that most people never would and for that she was proud. Even more so after talking with her companion as Zuka realized just what her life could have been had she not left.

”I’ve traveled all over. Spent a few years in the Earth Kingdom, traveling around the smaller villages and spending some time in Ba Sing Se and Omashu. I’ve been to the Northern Water Tribe to visit family and spent time there but I finally settled in Republic City and have been there for the past few years.”

[Neva]

"Impressive," Masaru replied as he listened to her list all the places she had visited. Zuka had not exaggerated when she said that travelling suited her. It seemed like she had covered many places in the world, admittedly far more than his career had ever taken him. She was well versed in the affairs of the world, and that could be why she seemed so uninterested in the Fire Nation. He didn't know how he felt about that, but if they married, he could redirect her with some effort. Perhaps she'd just been gone too long and too involved in seeing the world that she'd forgotten how glorious their country was.  "I'm sure you've been exposed to many different people. It must have been a unique learning experience."

While he found the places she'd visited to be interesting, her place of residence concerned him. Here in the Fire Nation, news had of course traveled about the chaos that continued to take place there. In Masaru's opinion, the city was a mess of trouble. It was no place for a lady of Zuka's standing to live, even in its nicest districts. He glanced at her curiously. "That's an...unexpected city to choose. What made you decide to live there?"

[Zuka]

At his remark about the city Zuka side glanced at him and rose a brow. ”My father” Sotas position as the Northern tribe ambassador had never been a secret nor his love of the city ”I would go with him when he would travel so I could train in the city, his love for it passed to me.” Zuka looked back forward ’Of all the placed I’ve seen it is my favorite, so many different types of people in one place. People with different ideas and cultures. “ She knew what her family thought of the city, as far as they were concerned it was a failed experiment ”it is a beautiful place, and I’m glad to call it home. I’ve made quite a life for myself there.”