The sound of the bustling crowd ran in the firebender's ear, being as annoying as a bee buzzing around her head, as she laid on the dirty ground near the market. What time was it? By the sound of things, it could be noon. The market was always busy during such a time for people out on their lunch breaks or stay-at-home mothers out doing errands, but it did nothing for the sleepy girl that just wanted a few more minutes of sleep. Airi rolled over on to her side, snuggling up with the jacket she had been using as a pillow, burying her face in the fluff.

Wait just one second! Why was she sleeping on the ground instead of in her bed or even on the floor of her house? And if it was noon, that would have to mean she had either decided to take a nap after leaving the house or she was wandering around last night and never reached home. This was surely strange, even for her. Most of the time, she would wake up below ground, under the care of the homeless that had so much patience for her and her horrible memory, always helping her despite their own situations. Though she hadn't any help this time, she still thought it would be a good idea to visit them down there bearing gifts of food for the poor people.

Airi sat up, rubbing her head and snuggling tightly with the fluffy jacket that smelt like fresh baked bread and lavender that was much more comforting than the smell of asphalt and mud. If she was near the market, then home was a long ways away; it would be almost an hour's walk and she still felt weighted down by the lack of sleep and food in her stomach. She wouldn't be able to make a walk that long and far, and even if she did, it would take much longer than an hour to return. And what about her family? If she had been gone all night, they would be so worried! She began to obsessively worry about what would happen or what her family has thought, though she knew they wouldn't worry too much. This happened far too often for them to always stressing as to whether or not she was alright.

Her stomach let out a loud groan, paining her stomach like small needles, telling Airi that it was in desperate need of food. Without noticing it, she had reached into her shorts' pockets and pulled out a few yuans. If she was lucky enough, she could buy herself a decent lunch! Perhaps she could find a nice kabob or some candy or a noodle shop somewhere near here! With much effort, the brown haired girl pushed herself off the ground and headed towards the sweet smelling market, pulling on her jacket as she dragged her feet.

The carts seemed to be selling pretty well for today. Though it might be good for the venders, it wasn't always great for her seeing as they might sell all their stuff by the time she picked something out. However improbable that might sound, it has happened once or twice and she was not about to let it happen again! She made her way towards one cart at random and looked at their stuff.

Once again, a growl from her stomach came and a blush crept up to her cheeks. How embarrassing!

"Miss," the vender said. "If you're looking for a food cart, there's one that way." The vender pointed in the direction, a bored look on his face as he re-arranged his product.

The blossoms threw her into a world of bright colors and delightful smells as Asami lifted them to her nose and inhaled. These were lovely. With only a few blooms, she was sure that her father's entire chambers would be completely lit up. "I'll take these ones," Asami said to the vendor. "And... a bouquet of the blue ones right there, please." The vendor nodded and gathered up a bushel of the jovial blue flowers, then bound them with a thin ribbon. Asami reached into her pouch and withdrew the necessary yuans, then deposited them into the woman's outstretched hand before accepting her chosen flowers. "Thank you!" She gave the flower vendor a quick bow, then gently rearranged her delicate bundle in her arms as she strode off.

Having the flowers so close to her face diluted the rest of the scents floating throughout the market. The pleasant aroma made it impossible to erase the smile that had etched itself into Asami's face, and she lifted her chin slightly to look up at the sky. Pure, brilliant blue; it would be a nice day. Her chin lowered, allowing her to look forward once more as she continued through the market. She wasn't sure what else she would want to purchase - though she wouldn't be able to carry much on her scooter, she could always find a phone and call their driver to come and pick her up. The family vehicle would have plenty of room for whatever tickled her fancy. Asami's dark hair bounced playfully against her back as she walked. Her destination was still nonexistent, and that suited her just fine. She would just have to make sure she headed home sooner than planned, since she didn't want her flowers to wilt in the sun or be jostled around too much.

As she moved past one of the stalls, a man's voice caught her attention among all of the hubbub. Asami's green eyes shifted sideways. A girl was standing next to a vendor, her clothes slightly rumpled (not to mention dirty - had she slept outside or something?) and her face reddened. Asami wasn't sure what had happened prior, but the vendor's words gave her enough of an idea as to why the girl was so flushed. A knot of pity twisted at her gut. She couldn't be sure if the girl simply hadn't gone to eat something yet or if she was financially unable to, but either way, the image it presented was embarrassing. The least she could do was try and save her some face. "There you are!" Asami grinned brightly, approaching the girl like an old friend. "Sorry I took so long, I couldn't decide which ones to get." She gestured to the flowers in her arms and shrugged helplessly. "Are you ready to go get lunch?" She offered the vendor a polite smile before turning her attention back to the girl.

Airi wasn't a big fan of awkward moments seeing as she usually didn't get why they were awkward or how to deal with them. With the vendor, she didn't know if she was supposed to apologize for going to the wrong stand or simply keep on walking. Her mouth was left open, her mind racing to think of something to say, like an apology or a thanks for directing her to a food cart. Strangely enough, a voice sounded behind her, drawing her attention to a pretty lady carrying sweet-smelling flowers that reminded her of the ones she recently bought for the bakery. The lady's presence was a mystery to the firebender, but she decided to play along with it.

"O-Oh, it's fine," she replied, trying to make her words not sound as confused as she was. Who was this lady? Had she met her before and forgot about her? If that was the case, she would just be getting herself into another awkward situation that was most likely going to have an awkward ending to it. The lady looked of high class, so if she remembered her, it was obvious she had made some kind of impression- an impression she couldn't remember for the life of her. Still, acting like she didn't know her would be horribly rude if she did really know her. But what if she actually didn't know the lady? Why would she be walking towards her in such a friendly and open way?

Lunch? That sounded great! But she didn't want to burden the lady. All the mysteries in her head swirled up like a storm, making her deduction process even slower than usual. "Sure!" she finally said after feeling her stomach beg for substance. Without another thought, she started to walk, hoping she looked like she knew what she was doing. Besides, like the vendor had said, the food carts were elsewhere, so walking somewhere was only expected! Right?

After a few more steps, the questions in her head became unbearable, yet all she managed to ask the pretty lady was, "Where are we going?"

The poor girl looked completely lost. Asami couldn't exactly blame her; she would probably react in a similar manner if a stranger came up to her behaving as though they were anything but. At least she went along with it, though the vendor appeared to have long-since lost interest in the two girls standing by his stall and was instead chatting up another would-be customer. The Future Industries heiress walked alongside the girl as she started off; where they were going was a mystery to Asami, and she had the distinct feeling that her new companion didn't really know either. That was perfectly fine with her. Her hunger had been satiated by the kabob she had purchased earlier, so wherever this girl wanted to go in order to get food was acceptable. So long as it wasn't some sort of grimy pub, of course, but she didn't strike Asami as the type.

Asami let out a quiet laugh when the girl finally seemed a bit more sorted out and posed one of what was likely many questions. Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Wherever you want. Lunch is on me," she replied casually. There were plenty of street vendors nearby, but there were also quite a few restaurants just outside of the market. Shopping tired a person out and many of Republic City's tourists weren't daring enough to brave a sample of the food vendor's bounty. "Sorry if I confused you," Asami smiled apologetically. "You seemed like you could use a cover. Or at least some directions." The girl had to be hungry, given how she had walked away so eagerly alongside a stranger promising a meal. The street food was delicious but it was no meal.

"I'm Asami," the dark-haired young woman introduced herself, shifting her bundle of flowers aside so she could offer a hand out to the other girl. It was only proper to give her name after assuredly confusing this girl to no end. She would have felt bad, but... well, she was buying her lunch, and her companion didn't appear to be terribly upset by the whole thing. If she was as hungry as Asami imagined she was, then it was no surprise why. What Asami was curious about was why the girl had been wandering the marketplace so hungry and puzzled-looking. Her clothing didn't appear to be in poor shape itself, though there were remnants of dirt that suggested it had either been on the ground recently or otherwise somewhere unclean. There was no stench of alcohol that came with someone who had drunkenly passed out in the street, so at least her earlier assumption that the girl was no inebriate appeared solid.

Airi listened to the lady's words intently, finally finding some kind of resolution. That had scared her so much, but at least it happened all because the lady wanted to help her, but a cover probably wouldn't have been necessary to the poor girl. She was embarrassed because her stomach had growled so loudly, not because of any weird attention she had attracted. Even if she had, the odd firebender probably wouldn't have even noticed it or found it to be weird at all. If she was the type to pay attention to people's body language or even cared what strangers thought of her, she wouldn't have such an airy and perky personality.

"Oh, thank goodness," she said, letting her relief show in her words. If she had forgotten about someone... well, there wouldn't be much she could do about it seeing it's something she'll have to live with, but she would be sorry! She would defiantly be very sorry! Hearing from the lady that she thought she might need directions, Airi began to laugh softly, scratching the back of her head. "Oh, no. I'm fine with directions. I was trying to remember what I had been doing and, uh, why I fell asleep on the streets. I don't do that a lot, to be honest, if I can help it," she explained, her words squished together so she could tell her as fast as possible.

She paused, not only to let the information sink in with the lady but also to take a breath. As for food (which she was really looking forward to), she took the time to look around for a sit down restaurant. A bowl of warm curry sounded great right about now, something spicy! "The curry place," she decided, walking in the direction of a shop she's seen a few times, though never entered. On the walk there, she decided it might be best to explain a few other things. Surely, she wasn't the only one confused?

"You see, uh, Asami -oh, I'm Airi, by the way!- I have a bit of a memory problem. Like, I have troubles remembering small things like what I was doing, people's names, where I was going and so on," she said with a troubled laugh. It was always weird explaining this sort of thing to people. Most people saw her as mentally challenged, but that was not it at all. She learned things quite fine, she would just forget it if she only learned it once. "So when you came up to me, acting like you knew me, I was really surprised. I hope that makes sense."

Finally at the doors of the restaurant, Airi skipped in taking a seat like a child, sitting on her legs, though she was twenty years old. She really never was the kind to act her age.

Her guess that Airi had been lying on the street was confirmed by the girl's words. Asami was just grateful to hear that this was not a regular thing. Nobody should have to spend their nights on the cold ground. If that had been the case, she would have had to offer Airi more than just a lunch. It was dreadful how many people in this city were without a regular home to go to. Asami was well aware of just how blessed she and her father were; never in her life had she known what it was like to go hungry, nor had she ever endured a cold night. It was unfortunate that Airi had spent even one night out on the street, though. She seemed so lost; no in the physical sense, as she had already assured Asami that her directional abilities were not in question, but rather that she didn't appear to be completely certain of what was going on around her.

At the very least, Airi seemed to know what she wanted to eat for lunch. Her selection sounded wonderful. "Curry it is, then," Asami agreed, shifting directions slightly to head toward the restaurant. It had been a while since she had been there - the restaurants she frequented were generally a touch more high class - but she was never one to pass up a plate of aigake. Her attention shifted between watching where she was going (and taking care that nobody bumped into her bundles of flowers) and looking at Airi as she explained the situation further. It was a small wonder then that she had looked so lost, especially when Asami had originally approached her.

"It's lovely to meet you, Airi," Asami said earnestly. "And I'm so sorry again for putting you in that position, I shouldn't have surprised you like that." She felt guilty for causing the other girl so much confusion, but she was relieved that she didn't seem to mind too terribly. Besides, now they each had company for lunch. She pressed her free hand to the door of the restaurant and pushed it open far enough for the two young women to enter. The spicy smell of curry hit Asami's nose immediately, and the warmth of the restaurant wrapped around her like a thick blanket. The other patrons were sitting and chatting merrily nearby, save for a lone young man slurping at the bowl of curry and rice situated between himself and an open book. Asami followed Airi to an open table took her own seat, her posture straight and her legs crossed neatly. "Have you ever eaten here before?" she asked, her green eyes settling on her companion as she waited for their menus.

Airi giggled when Asami apologized once more. "It's fine!" she chimed, happy for the simple fact she was getting a free meal despite having a few coins in her pocket. Not only that, but it was curry she was going to get! "If anything, it's my fault. I'm supposed to write down what I'm doing and carry that paper with me," she told her as someone came by, dropping off two menus on the table before swiftly walking off to help the other people, more specifically to a group that was calling his attention.

She picked up the menu eagerly, scanning through the list of curries and other varieties of food, like rice and sake. "Aw," the firebender said, seeing that they did not have her favorite curry, one that she had when she was much younger: red curry with beef and onions. The sadness didn't last for long; she was hungry, so everything sounded good, but one in particular, at the top of the page was a green curry with chicken and mixed vegetables, though she wouldn't reveal her order until the man came back. They were having a nice conversation! It would be a pity to side track it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I forgot you at some point after this," she said awkwardly, itching the back of her neck. "Actually, you look like a very high up miss. What are you doing out here? Well... wherever here is," she asked, quizzically, not aware of personal boundaries with questions. She was like a child, more so than she realized; no wonder her brother was always so angst-y around her. It was either that or him being mad that she -the child, though older- had bending and he did not.

The man finally came back, apologizing for having left so abruptly and asked what their order was going to be. "I'll have the green curry with chicken and veggies and a bowl of rice," she said. "Oh! And green tea, please." Her mouth began to water at the thought of curry and tea. The man waited for Asami's order before leaving, greeting a few other people as he passed them.

"Oh! No, I haven't eaten here before. I've had curry before, just never here! My parents run a bakery, so going out for meals is a treat. I'm used to stuffing leftovers in a bun for lunches," she tells her, hoping she didn't sound like she was poor. Buying her lunch was all she needed! But her lunches were an odd comfort food, something from her childhood that just always seemed to brighten up the day. "Have you?"

A sympathetic smile was directed at Airi as she described her usual method of keeping track of her actions and destinations. "That must be difficult," Asami commented. She couldn't imagine having to carry something around with her all of the time just to remember what she was doing, or else wind up sleeping on the street somewhere. "You seem to handle it really well, though." For someone who found herself lost and confused so early, Airi had an admirably cheerful and pleasant attitude. She was a bubbly girl - almost childlike in her mannerisms, but sweet. Asami had already decided that she liked her. There were too many people in the world who dwelled on minor roadblocks, and here Airi was dealing with a condition that could severely interfere with her day-to-day life and she was all sunshine. It was a refreshing thing to see.

As they looked through their menus, Airi's question earned her a small laugh from Asami. Sometimes she forgot how... out of place she could look in certain parts of town. She knew she wasn't as entitled as many other young women of her socioeconomic standing (or at least she hoped she wasn't), but she did have her indulgences and her appearance was one of them. Makeup was typically uncommon among women of lower classes, as were her clothes, which were generally some of the newer styles to be unleashed upon the market. While Asami didn't like to think that she was necessarily vain, her appearance was important to her and it was something that she put some effort into. She shrugged. "I like to come and take a look at everything in the market once in a while," she explained. "There are always neat things there." Her family's wealth might separate her from the rest of the city in certain aspects, but that didn't mean she had to physically do so as well.

The server returned, and his apology was waved away as Asami shook her head, assuring him that it was perfectly understandable. It was lunch time, after all, and the restaurant was busy. "I'll take an order of aigake, please," Asami said. "And green tea for me as well." She smiled at and thanked the server as she handed him her menu, then returned her attention to Airi once he had hurried away. The revelation that the girl's parents owned a bakery brought a grin to Asami's face. "Wow, that sounds delicious," she exclaimed, suddenly feeling hungrier despite the kabob still resting in her stomach. Even if they were leftovers, baked breads and other treats were always wonderful; as a child, one of her family's cooks used to sneak her extra baked goods whenever there were leftovers from whatever social gathering was taking place at the Sato mansion.

When Airi posed another question, Asami's dark hair shook slightly as she gave a brief nod. "Not in a while," she answered, trying to recall the last time she had eaten at the restaurant. "It has to have been a few years, at least."

"I do?" Airi replied, tilting her head to the side slightly, rather confused. She didn't really see how loosing herself in the streets and not even returning how for a good night's sleep was handling it well. "Thank you!" she decided to say after a while, simply because it had meant to be a compliment, right? "Oh, yeah. I guess it is difficult. I mean, I've dealt with it for quite some time, so it's nothing new to me, she commented, swinging her legs to and fro under the table, her hair giving a slight bounce each time her legs came back. Her eyes, once more, began to wander around, slowly forgetting that portion of the conversation until Asami began to speak again, Airi's mind now only paying attention to that.

"Cool!" the firebender exclaimed. Yeah! Every place in town had it's own varity of stuff that they sold whether it was food or trinkets or clothes! Oh yeah, and flowers, she thought to herself as she looked at the pretty bundles of flowers next to Asami. "Yeah! this one time, I found this one cart that had these really cool necklaces. I mean, I didn't have any money, but it was still really cool looking!" Unless Airi was sent out on an errand that wasn't prepaid she didn't carry around a lot of money. She would be just too easy of a target to steal from. Oh, now she got why Asami was offering her lunch. Everything she did wouldn't help the fact that she was well off but seemed to make her look rather poor.

"Thanks! It usually is, depending on dinner the previous night. Meat is really yummy with a bun. Fruit, too! You should come over some time, I could make you one!" Airi chimed, happily. The happy girl wasn't with many friends because of her memory problem, making it hard for some people to deal with her. The prospect of having someone over was exciting. Of course, she wouldn't force anyone to do anything they didn't want to, or feel like she was pressuring them, but something once in a while was always really nice. "What do you usually have for food, like lunches and stuff?" she asked, leaning forward with big, bright yellow eyes.

"Oh~ That's interesting. So it's kind of noglistic, I guess?" Airi asked, smiling as she thought of things that made her feel noglistic as well: making bread with her mom, going to the park with her dad and riding on his shoulders, classrooms and snuggling up in bed in winter with a big cup of hot tea.

Asami nodded. "Sure. You have a great attitude," she explained. "I think a lot of people would either just feel sorry for themselves, or get frustrated and stop trying to keep doing what they're doing." It had to be very troublesome to simply forget what one was trying to do, and she wouldn't be surprised if someone in Airi's condition just gave up attempting to go around on their own. Instead, she seemed to have found ways that (usually) worked for her. Asami preferred to see people putting effort into resolving an issue rather than simply throwing their hands in the air. The willingness to find a solution said a lot about a person's character.

At the mention of the necklaces, Asami tried to recall whether or not she had ever seen such a thing in the market. She was always interested in finding new jewelry to add to her collection, particularly intricate and beautiful pieces. Again, she had her indulgences. It would be fun to be able to look through whatever necklaces were for sale. "Really? It would have been neat to see them," Asami lamented. Even if she hadn't seen the necklaces, there were still many things in the market that always seemed to attract her attention. The scarves and gloves, for example; she was almost tempted to run back and purchase a few just in case the booth went the way of the necklace vendor and stopped showing up in the market one day. Silently, she reminded herself that that was unlikely to happen so quickly. She had just been in the market last week and the scarf vendor hadn't been present, which meant that the booth was likely a new one. It would survive for a while, especially with such lovely goods.

The invitation caused Asami's face to light up. Airi really was a sweet girl. Should she desire it, company was never too difficult to acquire, but Asami often preferred the company of more... normal people to that of those more in line with her social class. She didn't like to be rude, even in thought, but some of the girls her age from other wealthy families could be a bit dull. It would be very welcome to be able to spend more time with a cheerful girl like Airi. "That would be amazing, I'd love to," Asami said excitedly. Her attention was momentarily drawn away when the man returned with a teapot and two empty cups, then moved on to another table. Asami's features shifted into a look of consideration at Airi's question while she poured one cup mostly full of tea, handed it to the girl she sat across from, and then poured her own - of course without spilling a drop. "I guess it depends on what I'm feeling like," she decided. She was not ashamed of her wealth, nor did she attempt to blatantly flaunt it, and thus describing how their personal chefs prepared whatever she craved was purposefully absent from her explanation.

One shoulder was lifted as Asami shrugged noncommittally. Her hands gingerly lifted her tea up and she gently blew across the liquid's surface before she answered. "Maybe a little," she decided. "I can't say I have a super personal attachment to this place, even if the food is amazing." This was never a restaurant that she and her family had ever frequented, but rather would stop at once in a while for the sake of convenience.

People did that kind of thing? That's crazy! People shouldn't just sit down and give up. What was there to do if one just gave up at every hurdle life threw at them? Besides, this was a problem she has had since she was young; it wasn't hard for her to accept it and try to get around it. "It's not too hard on me. Probably, it's more of a problem to the people I'm around," she admitted awkwardly, playing with a strand of her hair with her fingers. Because she forgot, she might not get the flour for her mom. It wasn't something that directly impacted her but it sure made a difference to her mom and the ability to sell bread and make the money to support the family.

"Even if you don't, everyone here in the city has a way of making a living. There's an endless supply of things you can buy, trade or make. Well, I wouldn't call it endless, but the fact it's do diverse here makes it an amazing market place. Also, some people mix -ya' know?- so some things are culturally blended," Airi said, pointing her finger up, like she was telling Asami something very intellectual. Of course, what she said wasn't and she guessed Asami lived here as well so it was kind of a pointless thing to say. It was like someone saying the earth was made of dirt! Republic City was meant to be a place of diversity and acceptance, or something along those lines. She couldn't quite recall what her school teacher had always said about her home city.

Oh goody, she thought to herself as the tea appeared. She was rather thirsty and tea sounded like the best thing right now. After waiting patiently for the teapot, Airi reached for it to pour herself her own cup, filling it to the brim. Unlike some people that enjoyed to drink it slowly, the firebender began to drink, almost impervious to the heat of the water. In all fairness, she was someone who worked around flames constantly, whether it was her's or the oven's. Once that cup was empty, she poured herself one more, though not as intent to see the bottom of the cup as quickly as she could.

Her yellow eyes somehow managed to sparkle when her mind registered that Asami had accepted her invitation. "Great! Uh, I live in the apartment above my family's bakery, the 'Hitomi Bread and Goods' store on... uh," she began to tell her, but only to realize she didn't remember what road she lived on. She could figure out her way home from any point in the city, but labeling those places was always a mystery to her. "How about I show it to you after? We have lovely bread; you could try some," Airi suggested, hoping that would pull them away from the fact she couldn't remember her own address.

"I must... seem really weird, don't I?" she commented with a sigh. She had that effect on people; some would make excuses to leave. It was odd to seem childlike at such an age, but she couldn't help being optimistic or happy for the simple things in life.

Her cup of tea, once cool enough for consumption, was brought to her lips before Asami took a delicate sip. The tea here was delicious; not the best she had ever tasted, though still quite pleasing. She set the cup down and considered what Airi had said. She could imagine that it would be difficult for those who were around her. Constantly worrying if she would find her way home that night had to be emotionally trying. "I guess that's what family's for, isn't it?" she mused. "I don't think there's anyone who's always easy to be around, but if someone matters to us, we make it work." Though Asami adored her father, she was at the stage in her life where her independence and desire for such was increasing, and at times it put a strain on their relationship. That being said, at the end of the day she was all her father had and vice versa. Family was more important than anything. Asami couldn't imagine anything that could cause any kind of permanent rift between herself and her father.

Her own family was originally from the Fire Nation, so she was much more familiar with that culture than others, but it was always intriguing to see examples of creativity from those more closely tied to either her ancestors' homeland or the other nations of the world. Those always seemed to be the people who adhered to tradition far more so than those whose families had lived in Republic City for several generations, and while she was more interested in innovation and the new inventions that were being developed seemingly on a daily basis, she was still fascinated by the creations that echoed a world she had never known. Asami nodded and quietly sipped at her tea once again. "It really is neat to see," she grinned. "I love seeing all of the things that people come up with. Some of them are just incredible." Her own family was evidence that anybody with an idea could make something instrumental to society. Asami was always eager to see either what her father or another entrepreneur had devised lately. Every new invention could be the next to change the world.

The young woman smiled sympathetically when Airi trailed off, quickly understanding that the other girl had evidently forgotten where it was, specifically, that she lived. Hopefully she would be able to find her home on foot, even if the details appeared to be a bit fuzzy. This seemed like more than a minor memory problem to her. Forgetting what she was doing, where she was going, where she lived... those were all crucial things for a person to recall in order to properly function. Asami could see how Airi's condition would be difficult on those around her, but at the same time, her bubbly personality had to help. It was difficult to not smile around someone who was so upbeat. Optimism was contagious. "Sure! That would be really nice," she agreed. It wasn't as though she had anything pressing to do after. Going to see Airi's family bakery sounded wonderful. When the other girl sighed a question, Asami shook her head. "I don't think you're weird," she said honestly. "A little different, yeah, but that isn't a bad thing at all. Being the same as everyone else would be boring."

Airi couldn't help but find the sound of the dark haired girl's voice rather soothing to listen to. It almost had her thinking that the woman would never tell a lie. Besides Asami didn't seem like the type of person to lie. If anything, she seemed like the type that was very open and giving instead of secretive and sly! She couldn't even help but notice that she gave off an air of security and assurance. For the girl that never picked up on anything, this was something special! "I guess s-so!" she stuttered, never having thought of it like that! She just guessed if you loved someone (like family), you would try your best for them instead of them having to always take care of you, though the love would always be unconditional.

"Yeah! You know, like, uh... marketing!" she said, having momentarily forgotten what she was about to say. "If everyone sold the same thing for the same price, no one person would have better luck than the other, or something like that. So people lower prices, make things fancier and whatnot. Then, depending on demand, one person will rise above the rest," Airi said going off on a bit of a business rant. The firebender hoped to inherit the business, despite her memory problem. She was the one who took interest in the bread-making business and was the first born. Hopefully her parents wouldn't go by tradition and give it to her brother as he was the only male offspring. At the moment, that was all her future had for her, but she didn't mind! Even if it didn't work out, she'd make her own bread business!

Airi grinned from ear to ear when seeing Asami's smile. It was obvious the nice lady misunderstood, though that also meant that she picked up on the fact she couldn't remember what street she lived on. "I can find my place; don't worry. I just have troubles remembering details. Though, if you blindfolded me, spun me around and dropped me off in a random corner of the city, I could find my way home," she said confidently, not only trying to reassure the kind girl but to show that she wasn't hopeless. Airi did have a few good strengths in her!

Asami didn't think she was weird! What a relief! "Thank you," the firebender said happily, the grin on her face growing a bit (if that was even possible). But being the same as other people would be boring? Again, that thought had never accrued to her, though it was nice to know that she could make someone's day interesting and/or fun. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a movement coming in their direction and she whipped her head to the side expectantly to see what it was. The food, she thought to herself, unsure whether to think of it as breakfast, brunch or lunch. Maybe she should ask for the time. Instantly, she began to eat, though reminding herself of her manners. She knew she might have seemed a bit... unruly.

After her first taste of food for the day, she looked back at Asami with her yellow eyes. "Are you a bender?" she asked randomly. To her, the kind lady seemed like she would be a bender of some kind. To show, in return (in hopes of a response), Airi put down her utensils and snapped her fingers, a small flame coming out from her extended index finger. Not to be discriminative, but she looked like she was of Fire Nation descent. It would be so cool to have a firebending friend!

Edit// ooc// haha, I had the burst of muse I've been expecting! wooooooo!

Her smile couldn't be withheld as Asami listened to what her lunch companion had to say. What Airi was describing was basic business, but it was more than a lot of people understood. Many thought that the key to success was simply having a good idea, and while that was a crucial aspect, coming up with a new idea was worthless if a person didn't know how to properly market it. The Satomobile was her father's greatest invention not because it was so novel, but because he had known how to make it available to the public. Assembly lines kept the process simple and efficient, which meant that the vehicles could be sold at a more affordable price and on a larger scale. Thanks to this, they essentially sold themselves. "You have a bit of a mind for business, don't you?" she asked, her lips still curled upward. It made sense, if her family owned a bakery. Airi might be a bit absent-minded but she didn't seem stupid. Asami would bet that the other woman had picked up as much from her parents as she had from her own father.

Another sip of tea was taken, draining the small cup. Asami poured herself another cup as Airi assured her that she was capable of finding her way home. "That's impressive; this isn't exactly a small city," she remarked. Truth be told, even she wasn't sure that she could say the same. The Sato mansion wasn't exactly hidden, and Asami certainly knew her way back and forth between her home and the heart of the city, but there were some boroughs she didn't know nearly as well. Their food arrived soon after she spoke, and the smell was nearly intoxicating. Aigake by nature was not the most beautiful of all dishes, but the aroma lifting from her plate was more than enough to make up for its appearance. Asami took a small, experimental bite, and the heat of the curry instantly warmed her belly. It was delicious; spicy, but not overly so, and filled with flavor. Airi had chosen well.

After taking a second bite of her lunch, Asami let out a small laugh at Airi's sudden change of conversation. In this day, most were not as forward with such a question. It was such a simple one, but it ran such a risk of inspiring great controversy. Many non-benders harbored animosity for those who controlled the elements, and most benders reacted to that anger defensively. It was all silly, as far as she was concerned. Benders had a gift that should be embraced, and those who didn't share such abilities should push themselves to achieve their own greatness instead of lamenting their supposed inability. Asami shook her head. "No, I'm not," she answered casually. She was about to ask the same of Airi, but the exposed flame quickly provided the answer. "Cool!" the heiress grinned. "I've always thought that bending was impressive, but I don't know many benders." The majority of her father's employees were non-benders like the Satos; most benders that she was around on a regular basis were those who taught her self-defense. "Do you ever catch any pro-bending matches?"

It just made the firebenders day to see people around her smiling. She almost took it as a 'sign' that the said people were happy because of her, like she had made a positive impact on their day. "Thank you. Yeah. I'm the eldest in my family and I've helped out around the shop so I've grown up with it," she said, her words dripping with joy from talking about herself. Not that she was vain, Airi just liked to be recognized for her strengths seeing as her weaknesses were so prominent. "My mom actually started it up herself, the shops that is. My dad used to be a construction worker until they married," informed the brown-haired girl. Most people would think it to be the woman that married into the business. Not in this case! Her mom was a strong woman to overcome the odds of it all.

Airi almost blushed a deep red when Asami called her skill for navigating the large city impressive. She decided not to tell the kind girl that the reason she knew it so well was that she had adapted to do so. When she continuously got lost when she was younger, her internal sense of navigation heightened. Yeah, it took years to get to this point, but seeing as she was twenty years of age she didn't see it as such a huge accomplishment. Once again she thanked her meal-buyer for the compliment, though a bit more bashful than the last. "I haven't been outside of the city before so I wouldn't really know how easy it is to get around in a small city,"she modestly replied, scratching the back of her head, her pinky finger momentarily getting caught in a tanglement of her hair.

A shocked look replaced her big smile when Asami began to laugh. Had she done something wrong? Was that a bad conversation to bring up? A lot of people resented firebenders (not just nonbenders, but some benders as well) that more harm than good came from fire. One wouldn't often read how someone was killed by a waterbender or that an earthbender robbed a store. It was always the firebenders that got the bad publicity.

Upon hearing that her newfound friend was not a bender, her hopes dropped a bit but not entirely. Just because she was a nonbender didn't mean they still couldn't be friends or anything. However the topic of probending perked her right back up. "Actually, I participate in the matches! Well, sometimes. I'm an alternate for the Raven Eagles, though Anya -the firebender I substitute for-hast been feeling too good lately." Perhaps she said too much or told her information that was unnaessisary, but it didn't seem to cross Airi's mind to recover from it. She took another mouthful of her curry when a thought popped up in her head. "Are you a fan of the sport?"she said after swallowing the warm food.

Asami had to wonder, not for the first time, what life was like for someone like Airi. They lived in the same city, yet completely different worlds. She understood her father's business but it wasn't as though she had grown up having a great impact on it - nor was she impacted by it apart from enjoying the wealth it provided. Even then, watching her father's inventions be created or test-driving them on the track was immensely different from actually putting in the sweat herself. She had helped in her father's factories before, but mostly only when she felt like driving a forklift around. It wasn't the same as having to do so out of necessity. Asami's brows lifted slightly as she took another bite of her lunch. "Your mom sounds like a smart woman," she observed. Airi had to be at least her age, if not a bit older. To start up and run a business for as long as that - and raise a family simultaneously - was no easy feat. "How many siblings do you have?"

The mention of smaller cities forced Asami to think back on everywhere she had visited. Her family's affluence meant that vacations were far from unheard of; most often, they would visit the beaches of Ember Island or take a trip to Ba Sing Se. Her excursions to smaller villages were rare, though sometimes necessary when on the road to their actual destination. "I think it's a little harder to get around a small city," Asami decided. "It's less intimidating, sure, but most big cities are organized pretty well. There's not really any grid system you can just follow." Most of Republic City wasn't too hard to get around once it had been traveled a few times. It was designed to be fairly simple to follow once a person was familiarized with it.

When Airi revealed herself to be a pro-bender, the heiress's green eyes widened. "No way!" Asami exclaimed. "I can't believe I didn't recognize you." The Raven Eagles weren't necessarily her favorite team, but she had still attended quite a few of their matches. She had missed the last one, unfortunately, though according to the radio they hadn't been triumphant anyway. Maybe that was why she hadn't recognized Airi as a pro-bender; she might have only seen the matches when Anya was playing instead. Asami was much more familiar with the main players versus the alternates, save for her favorite teams. Was she a fan? She smiled sheepishly and sipped at her tea. That was an easy question. Asami wasn't ashamed of her fascination with the sport. It had the beauty and grace of bending combined with ferocity of a vicious competition, all amplified by the adrenaline-inducing fervor of the crowd. Listening to it on the radio was nice, but actually being there and watching was something else entirely. There were just things that didn't carry through the radio. "Oh yeah. Big time," she admitted. "I don't think I saw the last match, though. You played, right?"

Yeah, her mom was a smart woman! She had originally run the whole thing by herself, the cooking, the numbers and so on. Nowadays, her dad was the one that spent most of the time in the kitchen while her mom crunched the numbers, always putting profits into their savings for later or in case of emergencies. "I have one brother, a few years than myself. Despite the fact both my parents are benders, he's a non-bender." Maybe she was wrong g in wanting to inherit the shop seeing as she had a bit of an advantage. Then again, her brother never really showed all that much interest in cooking bread day after day. Airi, besides being the errand girl, know and loved to cook bread, but decided to give cooking a rest until she could fully manage her memory problems.

Airi simply nodded when Asami commented on...uh, grids and towns, taking a big mouthful of the curry. This food was great! She should get some groceries on the way back and try to make a curry or a stew. She could even ask her brother for help. Out of all her family members, he was the one that worried the most. Hanging out with him to make dinner was the least she could do after staying the night on the street.

Her face began to blush at her new friend's reaction to telling her she was a probender. But recognizing her? She doubted anyone could really be recognized in those uniforms and at such a distance from the crowd. The only thing she could think would identify her was her hair, the two dramatic layers and the lower layer braided. Even now her hair was in a pony tail and really messy from sleeping outside, so even that wasn't much of an identification. "Like I said, I'm an alternate. The last match was the first match I actually participated in. And we lost; I didn't think anyone would ever recognize me,"she said with a light laugh. If someone actually did recognize her, she doubted she would be more pleased than creeped out.

"I wasn't really prepared for the fight, though. When I was asked to join the team, I thought Anya was strong and fit enough that I was just there just in case. Something happened though and I was sent in. I was pretty shocked,"she admitted, smiling awkwardly. Somewhere in her head, she though she was the reason they had lost, being just as unresponsive in the second round as Anya was in the first, even if she had managed a punch or two.

Two children and a business. Asami couldn't see how a person could do that without having three arms. At least it sounded like the ideal situation to be busy with - in fact, she almost envied Airi's mother. She was in the exact position that Asami hoped to be in one day: running her own company with her family. Future Industries was of course much more expansive than a bakery, and thus there was typically fewer ways for family to be involved, but she had always found a way to help her father out one way or another. Despite being a massive corporation, Future Industries had always had something of a family feel, at least to her. Asami's goal was to continue that one day. She never wanted her family's company to be just another cold shell of a business. It had had too much blood, sweat, and tears put into it for that to happen.

Something else that Airi said caught Asami's attention: her brother. She wondered what it would be like to be a non-bender in a family of benders. No one in her family was a bender - at least not in recent generations, though it was possible that she had some distant relation who was a bender. Still, it had to be very different. Perhaps that was part of the reason that the whole Equalist movement was gaining so much ground. It had to be difficult to be the lone non-bender out of a group. Was that what led to such a feeling of inferiority? Of injustice? It was disheartening to see so many people undervalue themselves just because they couldn't bend. Asami hoped that Airi's brother wasn't like that. Being a non-bender meant that they lacked strength in one area, but that certainly didn't mean they weren't just as strong, if not stronger, in others. "That's kind of rare, isn't it?" Asami asked, quirking a brow. "I always thought that most benders usually have kids who can bend, too." She knew genetics had something to do with a person's ability to bend, but it wasn't the sole factor. Bending was a complicated subject steeped in mysticism and spirituality, and she doubted they would ever fully understand everything there was to know about it.

Not that all aspects of bending was complicated. Pro-bending was one example of that. While there was a great deal of technique involved, it wasn't as though it was some ancient form of bending. It was just about knocking the opponent out of the ring. It wasn't any less lively, of course, and while Asami had respect for the roots of the bending arts, she was certainly more interested in its more modern form. If the last match was the only one that Airi had played in, it was no wonder she hadn't recognized the other girl as one of the pro-benders. Asami grinned before she took a bite of her meal. "I bet it was exciting to get to play, though," she assumed once she had finished chewing. Win or lose, she could only imagine what a thrilling experience that had to be. Sitting in the crowd was exhilarating enough. "I hope Anya feels better, even if it's neat that you get to take her place for a little while." What an incredible thing to be able to do.