"My hand hurts."

"Suck it up, Korra," Mako sighed but did not look up as his own hand automatically went through the motions of inking his name on a colored print of his face. By now seeing his own stoic face looking back at him had worn the discomfort into distaste, but the captain of the Fire Ferrets soldiered on.

He was down to the final stack of prints, maybe about seventy sheets left?

His hand trembled with repressed aches at the thought of reaching the end of this. This was not how he wanted to spend the day off, but…

"We could take a break now, and continue another day?" Hanh gently suggested, and to the guy's surprise - but not Mako's - that only made Korra shake her head with a grunt of denial.

"I'll finish mine today," she declared stubbornly.

The Fire Ferrets' interim turned full-time manager wisely kept silent and returned back to his own workstation to clear out the paperwork still present.

At least Korra's not childish enough to snap at him. It was the team's decision to settle the autographs in one day. Better to get the boring obligation done in one day to free up the others for training and other matters. Hanh had relayed and supported Xing's idea of breaking up the task into at least two days, to ease up on the strain, which further sealed the deal for the Fire Ferrets.

Korra flashed a scowl at hearing Xing's name, and instantly doubled down on finishing in one day, so that Xing's stupid homework wouldn't ruin more days than necessary. Or something like that.

Bolin was easily convinced, even right now he showed none of the weariness that weighed on Mako or Korra. Mako glanced at his brother and almost shuddered at the smile on his face as he eagerly sought to please the yet unrealized members of the team's official fanclub.

As for Mako himself, he simply wanted to get anything Future Industries related quickly done with, so as to not risk their contract. Like the fact that they were doing this in the comfort of their new personal workspace. Future Industries had generously furnished the brothers' new home, and the floor used as the team's gym also had a neat little office in one corner, complete with cushioned chairs and shiny new desks.

It'd be a lot neater if the stacks of autographed pictures weren't taking up some of the space, though.

Getting the photos taken was a grueling ordeal in and of itself, the stupid 'director' had too many crazy ideas about taking shots of them mid-leap and with very specific expressions. Mako was sure he snapped a muscle putting on a 'grimace of fiery resolve' or whatever the hell the loony director called it. And having to do that while spinning in the air? Or holding it while the camera's flash powder went off right in front of his face and blinded him?

If not for Korra's own outburst eventually cowing the man into more sensible scenes, Mako would've strangled the madman.

Mako shuddered as he laid eyes on the piles of team autographs. They had worked on those first, with Bolin making a game out of signing his name and then passing it to Korra, who then passed it to Mako. The innate competitiveness in the three of them, Korra and Mako especially, had doomed their wrists as they sought to race each other.

It was a very stupid mistake, and one that their manager failed to stop because he was still very respectful (maybe too respectful) of the Avatar and her abilities. But Hanh did offer bags of hot water that soothed some of the accumulating soreness, and he very diligently refilled water flasks and snack trays.

Korra didn't fully trust him (because of his ties to Xing) but she liked less the hassle of meeting more prospective managers Xing and Asami Sato might have selected for them. Mako and his brother found Hanh to be capable enough as well, so the guy became a full-time fixture in the office.

Despite being maybe a couple years older than Mako, Hanh was polite and sharp, more in the 'young and eager to please' way, instead of Xing's latent assassin vibe. He happily provided explanations to the obligations the Fire Ferrets had to meet for Future Industries, along with providing reasonable suggestions on how to achieve them, and he was transparent about the paperwork he was dealing with as manager of the Fire Ferrets.

Mako was surprised to learn that there were discounted laundry and tailoring services for pro-benders, or that the team could reserve choice arena seats for friends and family. Reserved parking, free tea service, affiliated healers… There were perks that he doubted even Toza, the arena's gym manager and former pro-bender captain, knew about. Such things were available, one just had to submit the right forms for them.

The phone rang to interrupt Mako's thoughts, and Hanh snapped it up as quickly as he always did. "This is the Fire Ferrets, how may I help you? Ah, Miss Asami."

Mako wasn't the only one who perked up at that name, though Korra was far less enamored and more annoyed. For himself, the pro-bender captain only felt a flash of envy and fear, both directed to the heiress' scary assistant. It was clear Asami and Xing had a thing going on, and as pretty as she was, Mako didn't think that fighting for her attention would lead to anything good.

"Ah, yes… Of course. Of course, Miss Asami. Right. Thank you."

The Fire Ferrets waited until their manager hung up before taking a short break with the signing to pester him. "What's that about?" Mako quickly asked, before Korra could be snippy about it.

Hanh beamed a smile at them as he clapped his hands once with satisfaction. "Ah, the venue for the sponsorship announcement has been confirmed; the arena owners have agreed to allot some space for us to use."

"That's convenient," Korra remarked, and Mako nodded in agreement. Butakha wasn't one to lease the arena's space so easily, as evident with the various fees Mako and Bolin had to pay while living in the gym's attic. It was more impressive considering that the whole announcement thing was a big party, and Butakha really didn't like it when people tried to move things about within his arena. For years already he'd shot down various pro-benders' call to convert some of the unused rooms into extra gyms during off season, or expand the storage rooms to support the increasing number of pro-bending teams.

A lot of yuans must have been thrown Butakha's way to change his mind.

"Very convenient," Hanh echoed, his head bobbing up and down as well. "Since we're there, we could proceed with a quick showoff on the field after the Q&A with the reporters, if you all feel like it."

Bolin raised his hand along with a question. "Won't we have food and fans to meet?"

Their manager shrugged. "We can do those after. It shouldn't be too hard a workout."

"That's true…"

"We don't have to set it in stone yet," Hanh reassured them, "you can see how the session with the reporters go before deciding. I'll just make sure the staff are prepared for that eventuality."

"Cool, thanks, Hanh."

"Just doing my job," came the humble reply. "Oh, as it's an official event, you'll all be required to dress…appropriately." Hanh gave the brothers in particular a look, and offered a disarming smile before either Mako or Bolin could begin forming excuses. "Miss Asami has recommended a tailor to help with the occasion. I'll set you up…say the day after tomorrow? It'll be part of Future Industries' sponsorship budget, of course."

Mako blinked. "Uh…okay?"

Before Hanh could express his satisfaction, Korra spoke up with some sharpness in her voice. "What about me?"

Their manager was unphased as he gave a shallow bow. "Ah, your traditional South Pole dress would be sufficient, Avatar Korra. Xing has suggested that the reporters would be likely more…enamored with that look, to which I have to say I agree. You're the Avatar, not a mere Republic City damsel."

The annoyance that threatened to flare up on her face was quickly morphed into a mix of surprise and relief. "I…see."

Hanh then gave a polite cough as he swept a placating look across the room. "Also, Xing anticipates that the looser attire would be better for dealing with unwanted encounters."

"Xing's expecting trouble?"

The man's face scrunched up into a skeptical frown. "Mm… He thinks that some people in Republic City might find your presence, uh, overwhelming."

Korra gave a weird, flat look. "Oh."

"What's that mean?" Bolin innocently asked, to which the Avatar sighed before explaining.

"There's people who are…uh, they look up to the Avatar a bit too…much?"

"Fans, Bolin," Mako chimed in. "Korra's gonna draw some crazy fans, just like those girls that keep throwing themselves at you."

"Yeah, I guess you can call them that, though they tend to be older. Usually people who really liked Aang." Korra frowned for a moment. "I met a bunch of them in Wolf Cove. They're mostly alright, but…Xing…had to step in a couple of times."

"Oh! Oh…"

Mako didn't know which was more comical; his brother's naive jealousy flaring up at the thought of men throwing themselves at Korra, or Korra begrudgingly voicing her gratitude for having Xing around.

"There'll be security guards employed, of course," Hanh confidently assured. "But I suppose it doesn't hurt to be cautious. Anyway, other than the tailors, there shouldn't be much else to take up your time."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Mako sighed with relief. "Good. I don't think I'll be feeling my arm after this is done."

"Oh…"

And the Fire Ferrets immediately tensed up.

"Do any of you have any dietary restrictions or preferences? We're finalizing the catering for the event."

The trio deflated with relief and shaking heads.

*****

"My head hurts."

"I guess it's time for a break then," Xing said with a smile.

Ren and Kai both groaned as they dropped their pencils and slumped back in their seats. As they blanked out, their mentor got up to pour them some tea.

The three of them were seated outside Asami's office, each with an impressive desk of their own that was frankly wholly unnecessary. Xing promised that the workspaces would be occupied with paperwork in the future, but for now only Xing's desk had a small stack of papers on it, while the three of them sat around Ren's desk for their studies, and Kai's served the important role of hosting the teaware.

"You've got too much free time serving with the Avatar," Ren complained as Xing offered her a bowl of tea.

"Not as much as you might think," he gently corrected. "But I'll admit that there's not much to do there in the White Lotus compound in the first place, so…"

Kai let out a pained groan. "I really hope we're gonna use what you're teaching us, Xing."

"I'll be sure to make sure you don't waste your time," he replied with a light smirk as he picked up Kai's worksheet. With the paper held up, Ren could make out the scribblings of weird patterns that she and Kai were learning to memorize and inscribe. It was a weird cipher that had each individual pattern attached to specific sounds. Instead of writing the character for ostrich horse, for example, you'd have to string up the correct patterns to match the pronunciation of ostrich horse.

It sounded simple enough when Xing had explained the basics of it, and Ren could appreciate how useful such a code might be out in the streets, or when used to writing down things whose characters were foreign to her (like 'armoire'). But she underestimated just how much of a pain it was to try and memorize and differentiate more than half a dozen different squigglies. It took two days before either of them could match in writing the sounds Xing made. And with how things were going so far, it looked like it'd take more than two days for them to grasp how to properly construct words and sentences.

So far, figuring out the right 'spelling' for the words was also hampered somewhat by how different people pronounced each word.

'Kai lan' or 'gai lan'?

'Mai' or 'Mae'?

'Avatar' or 'Avatuh'?

Most people in Republic City still carried their regional tics from their original homeland; someone raised with a Fire Nation tradition often spoke differently to someone from either of the Water Tribes, particularly in emphasizing parts of words. In the same manner, there was a distinction between them and the 'original' citizens of Republic City, whose families grew up along with the city.

For the time being, Xing decided to set the code to his own pronunciation of things, which wasn't too bad Ren supposed. He wasn't not undecipherable like some of the fishermen Gramps spoke with, or as harsh in intonation as a lot of the triads were. Or as flowery as Asami got when she wasn't conversing with her two young interns.

Still, Xing's code had its upsides, the funnest of which was the ability to string together the squigglies to spell out nonsense sounds. Ren and Kai had spent much of the day before trying to spell gibberish, just because they could. And then Xing taught them some really weird words like 'perkele', 'kurwa' and 'putang ina'. Ren was sure they were all swear words with how Xing was grinning as he spoke them aloud.

"You've both made good progress," Xing presently said, putting Kai's worksheet back down and then going for his own bowl of tea. "I think by next week we can start a simple written exchange."

"I can't wait," Ren sighed dryly.

Their conversation was interrupted by an audible juddering, followed by the ping-slam of elevator doors. Immediately Ren and Kai joined Xing in standing at attention before Asami and her father turned the corner, dressed in casual leathers, returning from their morning walk. Both Satos gave the trio warm smiles and nods as they approached, though Ren could tell that Hiroshi took a bit of effort to offer his greeting.

Not that it made him a bad man or anything, the industrialist was trying to be friendly to a couple of slum orphans and the guy who was making Asami smile a lot. He was trying to be nice instead of putting on a slimy mask, and Ren appreciated it for what it was.

"Mister Hiroshi, Miss Asami," the trio greeted as one, and Ren and Kai almost synced with Xing's bow.

While Asami rolled her eyes and huffed softly, her father chuckled and waved them to rise. "Please, Asami doesn't want you to be so formal around her, and so do I."

"As you say, sir."

Hiroshi gave another chuckle as he nodded approvingly at Xing. "I suppose I'll settle with that." Then his gaze shifted to Ren and Kai. "How're you two faring? Everything alright?"

"Yes sir!" Kai quickly replied with his chest puffed out. "We're grateful for the opportunity, sir."

"No need to lay it on so thickly," Asami sighed, but as Ren fidgeted, Xing smoothly spoke for them.

"They're grateful for the chance given them, and like me, they prefer to err on the side of politeness when dealing with benefactors in…higher circles."

This time Hiroshi Sato broke out into a hearty laugh, causing everyone to look at him with mild confusion.

"Ah, I get it," he said with a warmer, more genuine smile now. "Can't afford to accidentally be rude to the rich folks, eh?" Before anyone could reply, he grinned. "Hey, I know how that feels. Why, when I was your age, I was a mere shoe shiner, and all I had to my name was an idea: the Satomobile. Then I was fortunate enough to find someone who believed in me, and my work ethic…"

Ren was drawn in along with Kai, as Hiroshi loosened up considerably and spoke to them as if they were conversing over a bowl of noodles in the market square.

"Dad, stop showing off," Asami gently admonished.

The Satos entered Asami's office shortly after that, leaving her assistant and the two interns to their own devices again.

"Well, their meeting might take a short while," Xing said with a grin. "So… Notes?"

Immediately Ren adopted a more serious, analytical tone and expression. "Both of them did not look too tired."

"But Mister Hiroshi had some mud stains on his boots, while Asami had either mud or grease on her pants," Kai seamlessly continued.

"Which suggests…?"

"They had a walk…across a puddle?"

Xing shrugged. "Perhaps, but that's not relevant for us."

Ren thought for a second before she offered her answer. "They hadn't changed when they came in…" Xing nodded at that, which then encouraged her to think hard for another second or so.

"So…they went for a walk, and then came straight back here instead of changing?" Kai annoyingly cut in.

"Correct. And the relevant part to us would be…?"

It took another couple of seconds before the two interns shared stumped looks with each other, and then Xing completed the puzzle for them.

"More than likely, Mister Hiroshi and Miss Asami went for a long walk without going back to their home to change and recuperate. That means their lack of exertion is not due to a relaxing bath, which means that their appetites might not be as large than if they took a jog or a run, and then went for a bath."

"What if they had stopped to eat before they came in?" Kai asked, again beating Ren to it.

"Then Asami would've told us to get our own lunch just now."

"Oh, right."

"So for us, as her assistants…"

"We should…not call for a heavy lunch?" Ren speculated, and thankfully earned a nod from Xing.

"Exactly. And while Asami might ask us to get extra food for our sake, it'd be rude to overindulge in her generosity. So we can roughly estimate what's a good portion for them and us. But before we can place an order, we must first know what they'd like to eat. So, I'll leave that to…Kai to ask them?"

"What? Right now?"

Xing's smile became a teasing smirk. "What do you think?"

Kai paused for a thoughtful moment, glancing at the closed office doors and then to the clock by their desks, before he responded. "It's still early… Asami prefers to eat closer to noon, but I don't know Mister Hiroshi's preference… So I should wait until it's closer to noon?"

"Yup. Mister Hiroshi seems as tolerant as Asami of us, so he shouldn't be too put off if we're unprepared if he wants to eat early."

"Cool," both interns said as one.

"Which gives us some more time to pick up where we left off," Xing added without missing a beat, and both Ren and Kai groaned at the reminder of their writing lessons. "Come, finish your tea and then we'll try spelling out names."