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A Spirit of Elements Chapter 17 ("I AM A Monster")
🕑 Added 2022-05-11 19:04:52 +0000 UTCKorra
Since she knew herself, Naruto always had been there for her; even before she found out she was the Avatar, Naruto would always come to play with her, sometimes acting as if he could waterbend.
Everything changed when she found out that she was the Avatar; many people soon started acting differently towards her, except her masters, especially Katara; she never changed how she treated Korra; the same was for her family, and the same was for her childhood friend Naruto.
Every time the training ended, Naruto would be there to cheer her up with his jokes, and they would prank people together; sometimes, she missed the time when it was just two of them together playing in the snow. He was there when they found Naga.
Even when Naruto was still in the South Pole, when they were still children, her mother would sometimes tease her, calling Naruto her boyfriend; Korra would always deny it, but she would always get flustered, angry, and yell at her mother, who would just laugh at her reaction, while her father never found that joke funny, he would always have a smile on his face.
Of course, nothing stayed the same forever; after discovering that Naruto was an Airbender, everything changed, leaving the South Pole to live in Republic City with Master Tenzin. At the time, Korra had been both happy and angry.
Happy that Naruto could airbend, knowing there weren't exactly many air benders in the world. Naruto being a new Airbender, would bring happiness to his family, even more if he was just a waterbender.
Angry because Naruto spent most of the year in Republic City, away from her, while he would visit with Master Tenzin every now and then, still wasn't the same anymore.
When she reached 14 years old, it was her birthday; Naruto, of course, had arrived to celebrate her birthday, and Master Katara and her daughter would come too.
She could spend time with the people she held close to her heart.
But that year, when they were alone watching the stars, Naruto had asked if she wanted to go on a date; Korra, for a second, had been silent. Now, she herself didn't know why, but she laughed at him, thinking it was just his usual jokes, not believing that he was serious. The following morning, Naruto had left without saying goodbye; Korra had asked Kya and Katara if something had happened to Naruto. Kya grimaced while Katara kept her emotions in check.
Kya scowled at her but said nothing before walking away; Katara had been more smooth towards her, saying that Naruto needed to do something urgent in Republic City.
When Korra saw the dark-haired girl kiss Naruto at the party, she felt as if everything was crumbling around her; Naruto loved another woman while she was alone, seeing him with someone else. But she couldn't help but feel betrayed in a way, she wanted to say that he should have waited, but she quickly remembered that she had been the one to turn him down; she knew Naruto most likely thought she wasn't interested in him that way, therefore found comfort on another beautiful woman.
But still, despite everything, Naruto still tried to stop her from making her biggest mistake, wanting to tell her not to fight Amon, but instead of listening; Again, she decided not to listen to his words; instead, she went ahead and fought Amon all alone, losing in the process.
Which forced Naruto to put himself in harm's way; he was there to protect her, and he hadn't given up on her.
When the henchmen had tried to kill her, she had been sure that would be her end; she would die without ever telling Naruto how much she liked him, how much she... she...
Now, Korra looked at Naruto, whose eyes had turned red, the warmth he had in his blue eyes now was gone, and the feeling of looking at the ocean whenever she looked at his eyes was replaced by eyes full of anger and hatred.
Naruto, she tried to call him, to stop him before he did something he would regret, but her words were stuck in her throat; she couldn't utter a word. Was she scared? No, he would never hurt me.
Korra saw as Naruto's focus went to the group of people behind her, who were now frozen in fear; the speed he used to save the Avatar was only a blur to them; in one moment, his men had tried to kill the Avatar, the following second, his body was ripped in half, his blood flew everywhere, some even in Amon's mask who could hardly believe his own eyes.
He suddenly saw Naruto's eyes turn to them, making them flinch; a bloody grin spread across his face before speaking with a tone that came from Hell itself.
"Who's Next?"
Finally finding his voice, Amon shouted as loudly as possible.
"RETREAT," he ordered his men; he didn't want more of his men to die; he knew they couldn't win this fight, not if Naruto kept using that kind of speed against them.
The others were shocked for a few seconds before immediately trying to run away, but Naruto seemed to have other ideas, who moved forward at speed not seen before, showing up right in front of one of them; the man wasn't able to even understand what happened to him before, Naruto's red hand rushed forward increasing in size by the second, before being the size of a house.
"Help" the man shouted in desperation as the giant hand grabbed his entire body, raising him; everyone froze in fear; the man felt his body burning; the temperature of the giant hand almost made his clothes catch on fire.
"Pleas..." he didn't finish as the hand crushed his body, the blood flew everywhere, and everyone heard the terrible Snap sound of broken bones.
His body was nothing, now looking like a bag of bones and blood, his head still sticking out of the giant red hand. Korra gasped, not wanting to believe what just happened.
"Everyone Leave Now," Amon ordered again; they needed to leave before everything went worse than it already was. Sadly several of Amon's men wanted to take revenge.
"Kill the Demon,"
"You Killed Anyk,"
People shouted, rushing towards Naruto, who smirked before moving towards one of them; the time seemed to have slowed down for everyone; for a moment, it was complete silence; Korra gasped seeing the person attacked by Naruto flying in the air, blood splattered all over the field, his body split in half, his body fell in the ground.
"Kill Him," The others shouted, rushing towards Naruto, who jumped up, bringing his giant red hands together before smashing one of them, creating a crater; the only thing left was what looked like a pool of blood with a crushed body.
Seeing that they weren't able to even see him, the three left still alive who tried to take revenge tried to run away.
"Please, Mercy," one cried as Naruto grabbed his lower body with one hand and the upper body with the other before using his strength to rip him slowly in half.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH," the man screamed as his stomach was forced open, the tissue and skin forcefully torn apart, his organs falling on the grass. The demon looked around for more prey, but they all had run away. Amon and his men had run away in fear.
"Naruto, Stop," Korra cried desperately towards him, who stopped in his tracks, his red eyes turned towards the girl calling him.
"Please, Naruto, stop. This is not You," Korra cried desperately, hugging him closely; Naruto was a sweet man; he would never intentionally hurt someone, ever.
Korra felt her skin screaming in pain for hugging Naruto covered in the red substance, but she ignored it, feeling him slowly relaxing.
"Please, come back to me," she pleaded as Naruto's eyes slowly turned blue again, the red cloak slowly disappearing as his features turned back to normal.
"K-Korra," Naruto muttered her name in confusion before his eyes closed, his body falling, but Korra grabbed him before he could fall. Looking closely at him, she noticed he was unconscious.
Crying, she held him close to her, knowing he would need her when he woke up.
"Korra," she heard, turning she saw Tenzin flying towards them, landing in front of them, noticing Naruto's unconscious body; he rushed forward before seeing the dead bodies.
His eyes widened at seeing what had happened; he quickly noticed the body ripped in half a few meters away from them.
Again, he thought, knowing this was Bad.
Kneeling, Korra opened her mouth to speak, but Tenzin stopped her.
"Naruto needs to rest," he said firmly; Tenzin and the others soon left the place with boats.
Tenzin gave a vague explanation to the police who had arrived, not giving away much of what had happened, but Korra soon found out that it wasn't just her; many people around Republic City had felt the malice feeling coming from Naruto.
Reminding them of what happened seven years ago, while many had forgotten, some still remembered the feeling of dread, the feeling of death everywhere. Korra heard from some of them saying that several windows around the city had shattered before falling down like rain, killing several unfortunate people who happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
Korra gave similar answers to the police before carrying Naruto inside. Lin soon arrived at the Air Temple; despite being in the middle of the night, she demanded from Tenzin to know what was happening.
Tenzin took a deep breath; the headache wasn't going away; Korra was currently staying in the same place as Naruto, waiting for him to wake up.
"Lin, come to my solar," Tenzin simply said; Lin didn't try to hide her surprised face before following Tenzin inside. Since he broke up with her, she had never been here before; the last time was almost twenty years ago.
Arriving there, Lin noticed how Tenzin was walking; she remembered he usually walked like that whenever he was worried sick. Stepping inside, Tenzin closed the door behind her before gesturing for her to sit down.
Pouring some tea, he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose; Lin kept a stoic face but was worried; despite being so many years, she still cared for the idiot.
"Naruto," Tenzin suddenly started, opening his eyes; he spread his hands across the table, his fingers holding the old wood of the table tightly, causing it to creak slightly.
"Amon and the others cornered Korra; he tried to take away her bending. Thankfully Naruto arrived, preventing him from doing anything to her," Tenzin started, before looking down, almost in guilt.
"One of them tried to kill Korra, but Naruto lost control; he killed several of Amon's men before I could arrive," Tenzin explained, still looking down.
Lin narrowed her eyes; if it were only that, it wouldn't be a big deal; while killing people wasn't something she would approve of, Naruto was still protecting himself and Korra, so it was self-defense. Still, she could tell he was hiding something, her mother had taught her and her sister how to detect lies, and right now, She knew he was hiding something from her.
"What was that feeling?" Lin asked/demanded, folding her arms close to her chest.
Tenzin sighed, knowing he couldn't hide it from her; even if he tried to hide it, she would find out one way or another.
Soon, he explained what happened to Naruto, and after the explanation, he told her what Avatar Aang had warned them about Naruto. Lin stood motionless; her face turned pale before letting out a growl.
"You're telling me you have kept someone as dangerous as him in the Republic City; he should be immediately Locked Awa..." SLAM
She was interrupted by Tenzin slamming his hands on the table, his face angrier than she had ever seen before.
"Naruto is Not Dangerous To Anyone. If it weren't For that Maniac trying To Kill Korra, Nothing Would Have Happened in the first Place," Tenzin shouted, losing his composure for the very first time since four years ago. Naruto was his nephew, his blood despite everything; he wouldn't let anyone ever say something like that to him.
He had known the boy since he was a baby; he knew Naruto was kind, and he had a big heart. What he wanted to do for the non-benders and people who needed help in general was proof enough.
She was left speechless; she had never seen Tenzin so angry before. Lin tried to say something, but Tenzin continued.
"You don't know him as long as I have; he might have something strange in him, but in no way, shape or form is he dangerous to Us," Tenzin finished with a firm tone looking down on Lin as he stood from his chair.
Lin sighed; she had never seen Tenzin like that; she thought of the boy for a moment, wondering what her mother would do in this situation; knowing her, she would most likely say that it wasn't his fault since, from everything, Tenzin told her, Naruto was not in control, before standing up and turning around, she walked over to the door, opening it, she turned around to face Tenzin.
"I'm not going to say anything, but it is only a matter of time before Amon spreads the information," Lin said gravely before walking outside, closing the door as she left.
Unknown to anyone, Asami was in her room but couldn't help but feel that something was wrong with Naruto; like most of the city, she had felt the malice feeling, reminding her of something that happened a long time ago, not being too handle it anymore; she stood up from her bed, wanting to call Naruto to check if he was alright when she heard a sound from the window of her room.
She wondered who could be at this hour when she saw none other but Sozu in front of her window; she rushed towards the window, knowing Naruto must be with him, but opening the window, she saw he was alone.
"Where's Naruto?" She quickly asked, her fear increasing. Sozu never came to her without Naruto; Sozu just held his head down before moving his head towards his saddle.
"Can you bring me to him?" She asked, and surprisingly Sozu nodded his head; Asami smiled before slowly walking outside through the window.
She hoped her parents wouldn't worry about her; mounting Sozu, she held the reins tightly before the eagle spread his wings.
Flying higher, she could smell the fresh air around her. She felt him flying higher; this was the first time she flew with Sozu without Naruto with her. Usually, he was not friendly with people who weren't Naruto.
Asami didn't care for that, Naruto needed her help, and she would be there for him, just like he always was for her.
Korra
Her hand going through his golden hair, his eyes closed, sleeping quietly. Korra looked at his face with concern; she wondered how he would react once he woke up; she knew he would blame himself for killing those people.
Her other hand holding his right hand tightly, she closed her eyes, tears falling; she knew it was her fault, all her fault; if only she had listened to Naruto, this wouldn't have happened.
Don't go there, Korra. You're Not Ready Yet
Korra's forehead touched Naruto's shoulder, her tears wetting his shirt.
Korra didn't know how long she stayed like that, praying that Naruto wouldn't blame himself before she heard footsteps coming closer to the room.
Korra heard the sound of someone talking on the other side of the door, She wondered if it was Pema or Tenzin, but when the door opened, it was someone she would never expect.
"A-Asami," Korra muttered under her breath; she wondered how she found out so soon. Did someone tell her?
Asami didn't acknowledge her presence; instead walked over to Naruto, holding his hand close to her; she leaned close and kissed his cheek, she felt her eyes welling up with tears, but she didn't want to cry. Naruto always loved it when she was smiling instead of crying.
Korra stayed quiet, not knowing what exactly to say; she wondered if she should just leave; after all, he most likely needed Asami more than her.
Letting go of his hand, she was about to stand up...
"He always talked about you, always said how you were strong and funny, most of the time," Asami suddenly spoke with a small chuckle at the end. "When he wakes up, he's going to need you as well," Asami said with a smile on her pretty face.
Korra was more than surprised by her words before nodding with a smile of her own.
Tomorrow
Opening his eyes, Naruto felt his eyes heavy, especially his arms, his head almost splitting open from the pain; the sun's light had just started peaking inside the room through the windows; Naruto could hardly tell the shapes inside his room before he felt someone breathing close to him.
Turning to his left, his eyes widened at seeing Asami, her head resting against his chest like always whenever they slept together; a smile erupted on his face before leaning closer, kissing her sweet red lips, knowing how much she enjoyed kissing her when she was still asleep, humming in approval, she held his body closer to her, a chuckle escaped his lips before he remembered...
Suddenly images flashed in front of his eyes; he could hardly tell what he was seeing, even his dreams were unsettling, but the only thing he remembered was Korra calling out his name in fear and desperation.
Naruto held his head in pain; it felt like it was splitting open. He kept quiet; he didn't wake up Asami.
Feeling the pain slowly fading, he turned around only to see Korra sleeping to his right. This confused Naruto even more; he tried to remember what happened last night, he remembered talking with Amon and denying his request to join him, but that was it. What happened last night? He asked himself; the headache wasn't helping his memory.
He didn't remember anything beyond that. He decided it was best to ask Uncle Tenzin; he knew his uncle was probably awake right now.
Slowly standing up, carefully to not wake them up, Naruto noticed he still had his clothes on before leaving the room.
Naruto soon reached the common room, only to find Uncle Tenzin there talking with Aunt Pema in hushed tones. The sound of the door opening made them stop talking and look, only to see Naruto standing at the doorstep.
"Naruto," Pema cried with happiness before hugging him tightly; the blonde was confused but still returned the hug gladly, soon followed by Uncle Tenzin, much to his surprise.
"What Happened?" Naruto asked, confused and a bit worried; his uncle glanced at Aunt Pema, who walked away, leaving them alone to discuss. Tenzin told Naruto to sit down. First, he poured some tea for himself and Naruto, knowing this discussion would come sooner or later. Taking a sip from his tea, Tenzin looked at his nephew carefully before addressing him.
"What do you remember, Naruto?"
Naruto cocked an eyebrow before answering; he explained what he remembered, which wasn't that much; at the end, Uncle Tenzin nodded before telling him what he didn't remember.
Tenzin didn't want to tell his nephew the truth; if he could, he would keep it secret just like last time, but this time, Amon and his men had seen it; Tenzin knew he couldn't keep it secret forever, so he figured would be better if Naruto finds out the truth from him rather than someone else.
"Well..." Tenzin told him everything, how Grandpa Aang had seen something strange in him when he was a baby, leaving out the fact that Kya wasn't his mother. Then Tenzin told him what Korra said that happened last night, but Tenzin kept quiet about what happened seven years ago; Naruto didn't need to know about that part.
In the end, Naruto's usually bright smile was reduced to shock, fear, and sadness, his face pale, almost like snow. Naruto instinctively touched his stomach, comprehending what his uncle had told him.
Naruto remembered the giant fox; since he had seen the giant Fox many years ago, Naruto had known that it wasn't exactly normal, but since nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He hadn't thought much of it, eventually completely forgetting that he even had it, but now, knowing he had lost control and had killed several people.
What if I killed Korra? Are they even safe around me?!
Naruto's mind was buzzing with questions, each one more terrifying than the other, his head looking down. He knew he was dangerous to everyone; what could he even do?
He felt his uncle's hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him, but Naruto barely reacted.
"I-I Am a Monster," Naruto whispered, feeling tears streaming down his face; he didn't know what else to say; he was dangerous to the people he loved. To his Family.
"No," Tenzin shouted immediately, forcing his nephew to look up to him.
"You're my nephew, you are an Air Bender, you're my family, don't think for one moment that you are a monster," Tenzin said firmly and truthfully, Not wanting Naruto to feel like that ever.
Naruto wanted to deny what his uncle said; he killed people, he...
"He's right, Naruto," turning around, he saw Asami slowly approaching with Korra behind; his cousins were standing at the door with Pema, looking at him but not with anger or fear. He wondered how he hadn't heard them.
They were all looking at him with the same look they always did. Love.
"A-Asami, but I," "Shhhh," She interrupted him, giving him a quick kiss.
Kneeling on his level, she held his face with her soft hands, wanting the blue eyes she loved so much to look at her. Her green eyes were like grass on the fields, looking back at him with love.
"You once told me that you would always be there for me," she said with love, her face smiling.
"This time, I will be there for you, Naruto. I'm telling you, you're no Monster; that couldn't be further away from the truth. You saved my life and my mother's life; you helped non-benders and benders; you give money to people that need it. If you're a monster, then I don't care. I love you, and I will always be by your side," She declared before hugging her favorite blonde; Naruto reluctantly hugged her back before being joined by the children, especially Meelo, who threw himself at his back.
"You're my big brother Naruto. I will beat everyone who hurts my big bro," he declared with a fist in the air, much to the amusement of everyone.
Korra laughed, smiling that Naruto was slowly returning to his usual self, but she and everyone else knew right now he was only acting; it would take time to convince him that he was no danger to anyone.
Soon the hug ended before Naruto stood up, walking towards Korra, who blushed slightly, rubbing her hair nervously.
"How do you feel, Korra? After last night!" Naruto asked carefully, not wanting to upset her.
"You... You came back for me." Korra stuttered.
"Yeah, I did. Did he hurt you or anything?"
"N-No... But, why?"
The Airbender looked at her questionably. "What do you mean by why?"
"W-Why did you came for m-me? You... You were really m-mad at me, and I-I thought you... you hated me." she said as her voice was starting to break.
Naruto took a deep breath. "Yes, I was mad at you, and I still am. But right now, all I care about is that you're safe," he said with finality.
Korra stared at Naruto for a moment before starting to cry. She hugged Naruto as hard as she could, and he returned the embrace just as hard. Naruto placed one hand on her back and another on the back of her head. "I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry," she said between hiccups. "You were right. I am scared. I have been scared ever since the night of the rally. I... I was so terrified of him. I felt... I felt so helpless."
"Hey, don't worry. It's ok to be scared. But you have nothing to fear right now. You're with me. You're safe."
"It's... It's just that I've never felt like this before. I... I don't know what to do." Korra said while sobbing.
Naruto pulled her apart a little so she could see his face. "We'll figure it out together. The only thing you need to know right now is that I'm here with you, and I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."
After saying those words, Naruto planted a soft kiss on Korra's forehead before going back to hug her. He didn't know exactly why he did that; it just seemed like the right thing to do. Apparently, the kiss worked as Korra decreased her tremble and whimpering. She needed this. To know that Naruto was there just for her. After what she just went through, the only thing she wanted was to feel safe to feel protected.
And Naruto was the only one who made her feel that way.
Days Later
A few days have passed since Korra met with Amon. At first, Korra was still a little shocked about the whole 'almost getting her bending taken away from her deal, but now she talked about it with Tenzin, Pema, and Naruto, especially Naruto. She realized that admitting she was scared was the first step to take in order to overcome her fears. Now she felt a lot more relieved than before.
Despite being almost a week, no words were spread around the city that Naruto was the one to spread the malice feeling all over the Republic City; Naruto wondered what Amon was playing at.
Korra decided to take a break from the task force. Instead, she returned to the Fire-Ferrets and started practicing for the tournament. Naruto thought that was a great idea, thinking that some time away from work would release some tension, and he was right. Korra's mood had vastly improved since she started Pro-bending again. Her confidence was up, and she was finally returning to her old self. Naruto told Mako and Bolin not to talk to Korra about Amon or the Equalists unless it was completely necessary.
Speaking of Pro-bending, Naruto was currently watching the Fire-Ferrets practice. He was still annoyed by the fact that he had to wake up early in the morning, but he decided not to speak his mind for now.
"It's been great having you in so many back-to-back practices, Korra," Mako commented as he took off his helmet and wiped the sweat out of his forehead.
"It feels good to be back," Korra said, taking off her helmet as well. "Although, Tarrlok isn't too happy about my absence."
"Don't mind him, Korra. You already stated that you need a break. You managed to do a lot of work with him when you were in the task force, so he can't complain." Naruto said as he made his way to the team.
"Yeah, that's right! You joined the Fire-Ferrets before you joined this task force." Bolin added.
Mako then called his teammates and Naruto for some 'team-time.' When everyone gathered, a most strange thing happened. Bolin looked at Korra and gave her a disturbing and supposedly charming smile. Korra looked Bolin back awkwardly, then turned to see Naruto while giving him an equally disturbing and supposedly flirty smile. Naruto looked at her awkwardly but smiled anyways before turning to Mako with a 'what's going on?' look, one that both shared.
Shrugging off the weirdness of the situation, Mako spoke up. "Alright, guys, this night is our tournament's first match. I know that we haven't been a team for long, but the Fire-Ferrets have never been this good. Are we ready?"
"We're ready!" Bolin and Mako shouted.
"You guys better be," Naruto added. He and the Fire-Ferrets laughed.
"Excuse me, guys." a female voice said. Everyone turned around to see Asami smiling while holding a pair of new uniforms. "You'll need this."
Naruto walked over to her before kissing her.
"Hey, sweetie," Asami said, kissing him back.
"Sweetie!" Korra murmured the word.
The uniforms were given to Mako, Bolin, and Korra. "These uniforms look great!"
"You look great, champ," Naruto responded to Mako before turning to Asami as he held her close. Korra looked at Asami and felt jealous.
"Ok, guys, I'll see you in the match tonight. Asami and I have a lunch date," he said as he grabbed his girlfriend's hand and exited the room, leaving Bolin, Korra, and Mako alone.
"Goodbye guys, have a good time. You know, we'll see ya' when we see ya.'" Bolin said to his friend. He then saw Korra grabbing her training bag and thought that this was an excellent opportunity to make a move. "Sooooo, Korra. There they go, here we are, all alone in the gym..."
But Korra wasn't listening. Instead, she decided to leave.
"I need to Do something; see you Later," she said almost in a hurry before leaving. Bolin looked confused and a little hurt; Mako knew what was happening with his brother.
Mako and Bolin's apartment
Bolin was currently trying to bathe Pabu. But at this point, Bolin was the one getting water all over his body more than his friend. Meanwhile, Mako was cooking dinner. When Bolin was done cleaning his pet, he turned around to see his brother.
"Sooo Mako, what do you think of Korra in a girlfriend sort of way?" he asked Mako, trying to sound casual about his crush.
"I think she's great. I mean, she's cool, a great athlete, a good Avatar, and a good friend. Why?"
"Ohhh, nothing, just wondering," Bolin said dismissingly.
Mako stopped cooking and stared at his little brother. "You're not thinking about asking her on a date, are you?" he asked with a frown.
"So what if I am? What's wrong with me being with Korra?" Bolin asked back.
The big brother sighed. "I think it's just a bad idea to date a teammate, especially during the tournament. Keep your head out of the clouds and your priorities straight, ok?" Mako said in an attempt to convince his brother to give up on his idea. He then recalled something he had noticed over the days. "Anyways, I think Korra has a thing going on for Naruto."
The earthbender looked at his big brother in disbelief. "Huh? What do you mean she has a thing going on for Naruto?"
"Exactly that. Sorry to break it up to you, but I think Korra likes Naruto." Mako responded. Being unsupportive when needed was one of the hardest parts of the big brother job, but he had to do it. Maybe if things were different, he might have encouraged Bolin to follow his heart and go for it. Unfortunately, things were not different, and he preferred to avoid his brother's heart breaking right now before it could get any worse.
However, Bolin was not one to be discouraged so easily. "Korra and Naruto? Mako, that's nonsense! I mean, what does Naruto has that I don't?"
"Bro, do you really want me to tell you?"
"Yes."
"Let's see. He's said to be the most handsome guy in Republic City; he's on his way to become a councilman; he has known Korra longer than either of us, they live together in the Air Temple, and he is her airbending teacher."
"You're kidding! Naruto is an Airbender?"
Mako nodded. "Yeah, he told me when you got kidnapped, and we were looking for you. I can tell they spend a lot of time with each other, so who knows what else they might have been doing."
Bolin heard everything Mako said. It made sense, but that was not enough for him. "So what? Korra and I are perfect for each other. She's strong; I'm strong. She's fun. I'm fun. She's pretty. I'm gorgeous!" he said with conviction. "You know what? I don't care what you think. I'm going to ask her out."
The firebender sighed again. "I just don't want to see you heartbroken, Bro."
"Yeah yeah, don't worry about it. You know what I'm talking about, Pabu. I'm talking about real love." Bolin said while holding his Fire Ferret close to his body. Pabu could only squeak at his owner's antics.
Air Temple
Korra and the airbending kids were in the Air Temple, filling the feeders of the lemurs. Jinora, hoping to figure out Korra's feelings towards her cousin, started talking. "So Korra, how are things going with you and Naruto?"
"Yes, tell us all about the magical romance!" Ikki shouted in excitement.
The question was so out of nowhere Korra had trouble answering. "Wh-What are you guys talking about? There's n-nothing going on between Naruto and me; besides, he is with that rich girl, Asami," she stated.
In reality, Korra had wanted to confess to Naruto for days now, but she wasn't sure how to do it, not to mention that he was with Asami. What can she do??
"Then why does your face gets so red when you see him shirtless?" Jinora asked innocently, despite secretly knowing the reason.
"Th-That's not true!" Korra blurted out. As if on cue, she started blushing.
"Hey, look, Korra's face is getting red again!" Ikki shouted.
"What? No, besides, he's all into that prissy, beautiful, elegant, rich girl...but let's just pretend for a second I am interested in him. What would I do?" Korra asks with interest, leaning closer to Jinora.
"Ooh. I just read a historical saga where the heroine fell in love with the enemy general's son, who's supposed to marry the princess. You should do what she did." Jinora said eagerly.
"Tell me," Korra said, interested.
"She rode a dragon into battle and burned down the entire country. Then she jumped into a volcano. It was so romantic." Jinora said, causing Korra to cringe.
"Uh, I'm not so sure about that one," Korra said.
"No! No! No!" Ikki said, moving in. "The best way to win a boy's heart is to brew a love potion of rainbows and sunsets that makes true lovers sprout wings and fly into a magical castle in the sky, where they get married and eat clouds with spoons and use stars as ice cubes in their moonlight punch. Forever and ever and ever!" Ikki said excitedly.
"The volcano is starting to make more sense to me now," Korra said, causing Pema to giggle, surprising them. "Oh, hey, Pema. Uh, how long were you standing there?"
"Long enough. Korra, what's going on? Is this about Naruto?" Pema asks.
"That obvious, huh?" Korra asks, rubbing her head.
"Only for those with eyes, Korra," Pema said.
Sighing, Korra looks at her. "I know I refused him, but...I really liked him, and now he's with someone else."
"Korra, the problem is you didn't make a move was because you thought Naruto was always going to be there. Life isn't like that. Trust me, I know." Pema said, surprising her.
"You do?" Korra asks.
"Years ago, I was in the exact same situation with Tenzin," Pema admits getting their attention.
"Daddy was in love with someone else before you?" Ikki asks.
"That's right," Pema confirmed with a nod.
"So, what did you do?" Korra asks.
"Well, for the longest time, I did nothing. I was so shy and scared of rejection, but watching my soul mate spend his life with the wrong woman became too painful. So I hung my chin out there, and I confessed my love to Tenzin. And the rest is history." Pema smiles.
"Wow." Korra, Ikki, and Jinora sigh.
Hearing this, Korra smiles, getting an idea.
Naruto
While Korra talked with Pema, Naruto was meditating alone at the edge of the Air Temple. He wanted to meet that fox again and get some answers.
