Chapter Text
Hiroshi Sato didn't want to go to the Southern Water Tribe.
He wanted to visit some of his connections in The Fire Nation and he was seizing at every chance to change Asami's mind.
Asami Sato was Hiroshi's only child, the young CEO of Future Industries, she was a worthy successor. Asami was kind, smart, and Republic City's best engineer. She was tall and had a pale gorgeous face with raven black hair and jade colored eyes.
Mr. Sato was sitting on the edge of his chair at the table, bent over passing over the Pro Bending section of the _Republic City Journal_.
"Now look here, Asami," he said, "see here, read this," and he stood with one hand on his robust belly and the other rattling the newspaper at his slightly graying hair.
"Here there seems to be a lunatic that calls themselves The Avatar and is loose from prison and is said to be running around in the Southern Water Tribe. You must read this here what it says she did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal loose like that. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did."
Asami didn't look up from reading as Hiroshi strolled across the room and faced Asami's god mother Pema, a woman in red and yellow robe, whose face was thin and innocent, was sitting on the sofa, feeding her recently birthed son Rohan, a small bundle of joy with soft brown hair and light gold eyes just like his mother.
"The children have been to Southern Water Tribe before," Mr. Sato sighed.
He continued, "We all ought to go somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to the Fire Nation."
The children's mother didn't seem to hear him but the nine-year-old boy, Meelo, a lean child with a big head a little hair, said, "If you don't want to go to The South, why dontcha stay at home?"
He and his sister, Ikki, were coloring on the floor.
"He wouldn't stay at home to be president for a day," Asami chuckled.
"Yes and what would you do if this, "Avatar", caught you?" Hiroshi asked sarcastically.
"I'd smack his face," Meelo said.
"He wouldn't stay at home for a million yauns," Ikki said.
"My dad doesn't need it anyways", Asami smiled.
"Yeah because you guys are like rich right", Ikki's face lit up.
"Yes, but we don't need any money handed to us since us Sato's like to work for it, Right Dad?" Asami beamed.
"Yes that is true Asami." Hiroshi chuckled.
"Anyways…" Pema interrupted. "Hiroshi and Asami are tagging along since they are the ones paying for the trip children. We need to go visit your grandmother Katara, and Asami has some business to attend in the south so we decided to spend a few days getting things done and then go sightseeing and enjoy all that the south has to offer."
The next morning Hiroshi was the first one in his favorite red and black sato-mobile, ready to go. He was waiting for Asami, Pema, and her children. Pema’s husband Tenzin a master air bender and their air bending daughter Jinora unfortunately, to Hiroshi’s delight, could not come along for the trip.
He liked Pema and her other children Ikki, Rohan, and Meelo since they were all non-benders like him.
He had a big basket with his cat Miyuki hidden within. He couldn’t exactly just go on a business trip/vacation for a week without her. After all her mother had belonged to his late wife Yasuko, who was killed by a firebender, a member of the Agni Kai Triad during a break in when Asami was only a child.
Hiroshi did not hide his unease around benders and was known for making a comment or two. Most people benders and non-benders would dismiss it. After all the man had lost his wife and it was hard to blame him for his distrust.
Asami knew all about this of course, though she did not agree with her father’s view of benders, she would not call him out on it. She loved her father. After her mother passed he made a point to spend more time with his daughter.
He enrolled her into self-defense classes for her own protection and was completely supportive of anything Asami would take an interest in.
He sat in the front passenger seat to be closer to his daughter who was driving. Yes, Asami loved to drive, she would feel completely at peace on the Future Industries Sato-mobile Test Track.
It took them about twenty minutes or so to reach the outskirts of the city.
The old man settled himself comfortably, removing his white cotton gloves and putting them up in his grey coat’s inner pocket before cautioning Asami about the speed limit.
He pointed out interesting details of the scenery: Stone Mountain; the blue granite that in some places came up to both sides of the highway; the trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled.
The children were reading comic magazines and their mother had gone back to sleep.
“Were are we going”, Meelo rubbed his eyes
"We’re going to our airship factory outside republic city flying to the south would be so much faster" Hiroshi chuckled.
Meelo smiled then laid his head back as globs of snot began to form huge bubbles coming in and out of his nose.
“Asami”, her father beckoned for her attention.
“Yes dad?” she questioned.
“So what business do you have exactly going on in the south?” He asked with one raised eyebrow.
Asami glanced to her father and sighed.
“I have business to discuss with Tonraq the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.”