The Girl and the Fire Lord

10 The Argument - Kaori's POV

"Good morning Chiasa!" I said, walking up to check in. She was grinning and had her eyebrows raised.

"I heard you took my advice." 

"I did."

"And? How was the date? Anzu said she saw you in the garden."

"It was nice."

"That's all? Who did you go with?"

"One of the guards that was recently stationed on my hallway - his name's Yasuo."

"Ah, yes I've checked him in. He's handsome!" She said, tapping my shoulder and laughing. "Did the date end last night or this morning?"

"Chiasa! You know I haven't..." I felt my cheeks get hot.

"I know dear, I know, I'm teasing. I'm glad you went out and had a good time. You need that. You spend so much time in the garden!" 

"I know. It was nice, thank you for encouraging me to go out." I said, and she handed me my red ticket for the day. She winked, and I smiled back at her. I liked Chiasa a lot, but she was definitely a gossip. I didn't really like the idea of information about the date being spread around to the staff. When I got into the grand hall, I sat at the usual table. Strangely enough, Hana was there, but Hiromi was not. 

"Morning cutie!" Hana said, grinning even brighter than she typically did. 

"Do you know where Hiromi is?" I asked, and she bit her lip. 

"That's actually kind a weird story... um, I don't know if she'd want me to tell you this, but she's gonna ditch Naoko." Hana's forehead wrinkled. Hiromi was so into Naoko, and she had been for a long time. It felt weird that she'd drop him. 

"Did something happen between them?" 

"Not that I know of, but she came home last night." Hana leaned closer to me and spoke in a whisper. "She walked in pretty late, but she didn't spend the night like usual. And she packed a bag, so I know she was planning to." Hana looked distraught, which was worrying me. 

"Do you think he did something-" 

"Shh! She's walking over here." Hana said, leaning back and pulling her menu in front of her face.

"Morning, girls." Hiromi said, smirking and sweeping a strand of jet black hair out of her face. "Sorry I'm late, I was in the garden for so long and I needed to go back to the room and freshen up for a little bit before breakfast." 

Hana and I exchanged a quick glance. I wasn't quite brave enough to ask, but thankfully, Hana was.

"Freshen up? Did you and Naoko see each other this morning?"

"No. I'm going to break things off with him later today." She said. There was no sadness in her tone. She seemed almost... happy. 

Taiyo came over to take our orders and he and Hana looked absolutely struck by each other. When he walked away, she filled us in on all of the details from their date. She wasn't one to kiss on the first date, so he must've really been something special. 

"I'm so happy for you, Hana. You deserve this." I said, placing my hand on top of hers. 

"You really do. You've had men falling at your feet for years. I'm happy to see you've found someone you genuinely like too." Hiromi added. Hana was one of the kindest and friendliest people I had ever met, and it was nice to see her as happy as she made everyone else. 

"So are you and Taiyo going to go out again? He seems lovely." I asked.

"And if he's not, let me know and I'll fight him for you." Hiromi said, and we laughed. 

"Oh, Hiromi, Firelord Zuko has been working long hours and I heard from Yasuo that he's pretty swamped right now. I seriously doubt he's going to be walking early in the morning, so I'm happy to go back to my usual morning walks again. I miss the little turtleduck pond and the fresh dew on my flowers." Hiromi stopped laughing. 

"Yeah, it's no problem, I don't mind."

"Seriously, I'm so grateful for everything you did for me, but I really do miss my walks."

"I like them too. It's become a nice part of my daily routine." She smiled, but her eyes seemed disconnected. "I'll probably just keep walking early. My sleep routine has gotten adjusted to it anyhow." The way she was looking at me made me uncomfortable. 

"Um, okay. I can just come with you on the walks then. It would be a nice way to hang out in the morning and since you've been busy at work recently, I'd love to get an extra hour or so to spend with you." Her eyes looked almost cold. If I hadn't known better, I would have said she was angry with me. Hana's concerned glance in my direction told me she was getting the same feeling.

"I don't want to upset you in any way, but I'd honestly rather walk alone in the mornings. I'm sure the turtleducks won't be able to tell the difference between food in the morning or food at lunch time-"

"Actually-"

"-and you get to see the garden all day. I love spending time with you, don't get me wrong, but I'm kind of introverted and I like time alone. You get it..." She finished, and my muscles tensed. Ever since I started working in the palace garden my morning walks had been one of the highlights of my day. The turtleducks most certainly did notice if you didn't feed them until lunchtime, and by then they were so hungry they would fight over the food you gave them. The morning dew was always dry by the time I got to work and the scent of the morning mist was long gone. I felt my jaw clench, and I thought about firing back at her, but I decided to say nothing. She couldn't stop me from going into the garden in the morning, and she wouldn't. Despite what she'd said, I was upset, and I would be starting my morning walks again the very next morning.