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A Spirit of Elements Chapter 15 (Inequality)
🕑 Added 2022-04-24 18:56:13 +0000 UTCNaruto
The blonde was walking around the Non-Bender area of the city, and it had been many years now that most of the non-benders lived in an old area of the republic city.
The house here were not as good-looking as the houses around the center or where the benders lived, and it was known that this was where the majority of the non-benders lived.
"Thank you for helping me," a voice suddenly said; Naruto glanced at the little kid in his arms; The blonde had seen the kid crying alone and calling out for his mother during the escape. At first, Naruto had wondered if he should just leave since it might not be safe if Amon or any of his subordinates found him, but in the end, he decided to help him; after all, he was wearing something that completely covered his face, especially his blonde hair that was quite noticeable.
"No problem, kiddo," Naruto replied, glancing around the neighborhood. People were walking around, and he noticed buckets around the courtyard of the houses, some filled with water, but most were empty.
"Hey, kid, why are there so many buckets outside?" Naruto glanced at the kid in his arms, who frowned slightly. His hair was dark, almost like a crow, his cheeks were somewhat sunk on his face, his fingernails were black with dirt underneath, and his clothes were torn in several places, not to mention a burn mark on his right shoulder.
The kid went quiet, his fingers holding the clothes around Naruto's chest tightly. "W-we don't have enough water. Therefore every time there's clouds in the sky, everyone put buckets outside in hopes that it-t..." the kid stopped before sobbing, his cries muffled.
Naruto felt sad, and he wasn't the only one; everyone in the neighborhood was wearing bad clothes, and no one here was showing any sign of good wealth or anything.
Soon Naruto arrived at a house; the kid told him where his home was; he stopped in front of the doorstep; he knocked but still held the kid in his arms.
Naruto heard footsteps coming before the door opened slightly, and a face peeked from the small opening. Brown eyes looked at Naruto; most of his face was covered except his blue eyes.
"What can I..." she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed who he was holding in his arms.
"Ziyo," she cried, opening the door, grabbing her kid from his arms, and pulling her son in a hug; the kid cried in her arms and kissed his cheek many times.
Naruto wondered if he should leave now; turning around, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for bringing my son to me; how can I Repay you?" she asked, wondering if there was a way to repay the debt, but Naruto quickly shook his head.
"It was nothing, miss..." "Miss Tanja" introduced herself; her son was now on his feet, standing near her.
"You own me nothing. I only just walked him to his house," Naruto replied, but the woman was having none of it.
"At least stay for tea; we make the best tea in the city," the woman offered, and her son nodded shortly, looking up at Naruto with amazement.
Naruto knew he was probably going to regret this. "Sigh... Very well, I Can stay for tea," Naruto said before walking inside, wondering just how much uncle Zuko loved tea.
Walking inside, the woman offered him a seat near a big table, but Naruto mainly was paying attention to the house; the walls were worn off, the bricks were visible; the woman walked inside a room with an empty bucket; Naruto noticed a bigger bucket filled to the middle with water.
"Miss, why are you not using tap water?" Naruto asked, confused, but the woman just let out a humorless chuckle.
"We don't have tap water in this part of the city unless you have a well in your house or buy water from the shops; there's no other water we can use." The woman explained with a cheerful tone, not wanting her kid to think she was sad.
Naruto decided to help her carry the bucket with water; she turned to her son.
"Ziyo, how about you go to your room to clean it, sweetheart," she asked; the kid reluctantly nodded, standing up as he walked outside the room.
The moment the door closed, Tanja started warming up the water for tea before turning to Naruto.
"How much sugar do you want?"
"Ahh, only one spoon," Naruto answered, feeling bad already. Silence took over as the woman was preparing the tea; the sound of the spoon mixing the tea with sugar was the only sound Naruto heard.
"Where did you find my son?" Tanja finally asked but already had an idea where he could have been.
Naruto was surprised that she didn't know where he had been. "Ahh, in the Equals gathering," Naruto answered. Tanja flinched slightly at what she heard.
"Of course, I'm sorry for bothering you, mister, I Told my son not to go there, but he didn't listen to me." She replied before turning around; she put the cup with tea close to Naruto while she sat down.
"You don't support them?" Naruto asked curiously; he wondered why, though?
"Is not that I don't support them, but forcefully taking the bending away is not the right way; that will only lead to us being divided from the benders and fear amongst both sides," she explained, looking down at her cup.
Tanja had long dark hair, reaching to her waist, her face was shaped like a heart, with big brown eyes.
Naruto wondered how the woman knew about Amon taking the bending away; it was only revealed last night; of course, there were people who knew before it was revealed!
Naruto looked at the cup of tea with worry. Taking a small sip, it didn't taste like anything unusual; the opposite, it was a good tea.
"My son is at that age that he doesn't understand how the world works; you can't just forcefully have equality," Tanja said with small tears rolling down her face.
Naruto wasn't sure what to say; he had tried for a long time to make things better for non-benders, but all for naught.
"So, What is your name?"
"Ahhh, my name is J- Jaime," Naruto answered, slightly nervous; Tanja looked uncertain but didn't try to ask more; after all, if he didn't want her to know, then it wasn't her place to know.
Naruto drank the tea before standing up. He knew his family, especially Korra, would be worried for him; he thanked her for the tea before walking toward the door.
Before he could leave, however, he heard footsteps; Ziyo came running from his room, stopping in front of Naruto; he held out something for the blonde.
"I want you to have this," he said, holding an airplane made of paper in his hands.
"Thank You, Ziyo, it is very good," Naruto said, grabbing the airplane made of paper. The kid's eyes seemed to shine.
"You think so, mister? I love airplanes; my dream is one day to be a pilot," the kid said enthusiastically, a bright smile not leaving his face.
Naruto kneeled to his level, "If you work for it, I'm sure one day you will be up there flying like the other pilots," he said; Ziyo started jumping around in happiness.
Tanja quite liked the way the young man was talking with her son. "Thank you for everything," she said, holding her son close.
Naruto stood up, nodding his head before walking away.
"Thank you, mister Jaime," the kid said, waving his head.
The blonde waved back, only now noticing that the sun was rising. Dang, it, the others must be worried, he thought before deciding to walk a bit faster.
Air Temple
Tenzin had sent almost the entire white lotus to search for Naruto; he hadn't slept not even a minute. Despite how much Pema told him that he couldn't change anything, he still stood awake the entire night.
Korra wasn't in a better condition; at least ten times, she had tried to leave the temple only for Tenzin to block her way.
The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon, Korra had fallen asleep along with Jinora on the floor, Tenzin was barely keeping his eyes open when he heard a knock on the door.
Tenzin tried to stand up but the door opened before he could tell whoever was on the other side to come in; but his eyes widened at seeing no one else but Naruto walking in.
"Hey, uncle," he said nervously while rubbing his hair, knowing he was in big trouble.
Tenzin closed his eyes tightly before opening them again; Naruto stood there; he wasn't dreaming.
"N-Naruto," Tenzin said with uncertainty before engulfing his nephew in a tight hug.
"Thank god you're back home," Tenzin almost cried, but Naruto was turning blue.
"Go-good to see yo-you..." Tenzin seemed to notice before pulling away, much to Naruto's relief, who was trying to catch his breath.
Tenzin's face suddenly turned from concern and relief to anger in a second.
"WHERE WERE YOU ALL THIS TIME, YOUNG MAN?" Tenzin shouted at Naruto, who barely stood his ground from the strong wind.
The shouting caused both Korra and Jinora to wake up immediately; they looked around to see who had attacked them.
Jinora looked at her daddy in confusion while Korra was rubbing her eyes, trying to understand what was going on.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Jinora asked, concerned when they both heard the sound of someone moving; turning around, both of their eyes widened.
"NARUTO," both shouted before jumping at the blonde, who didn't have time to prepare before falling down with both Jinora and Korra on top of him.
"You're Back, you Idiot," Korra cried out on his shoulder. Jinora did the same on his other shoulder.
Naruto felt bad for worrying them, soon he stood up and explained everything that had happened last night, after the explonation was done, Tenzin nodded in understanding while Korra and Jinora had a different expression on their faces.
"Is that true, are their situation that much worse?" Korra asked, not sure if she wanted an answer, while she trusted Naruto with her life she didn't want to believe that the non-Benders situation was that much worse.
Naruto sighed before confirming it. Korra looked down in anger and sadness, in a way she could understand why they had started this movement. Later Tenzin said that he had some important duties in the council, but Naruto had already fallen asleep.
"It seems today we are not going to train Korra, Jinora how about you show Korra some of your moves until Naruto wakes up," Tenzin suggested before leaving the Air Temple.
Tomorrow
Korra's room
"...After I take your bending away, you will be nothing..."
"Aaaaaaaah!" Korra violently woke up. It happened again. The nightmares of Amon taking away her bending.
"Korra!" Naruto shouted while kicking the door of her room open. He heard the screams all the way from his room and feared for the worst. "Are you ok?"
"Y-Yeah I'm ok. Just a stupid nightmare, that's all." Korra replied trying to sound confident. She also took a good look at Naruto, who was wearing nothing but long shorts that covered his knees.
Naruto decided that this was the perfect opportunity to discuss Korra's fears. "That stupid nightmare was about Amon, am I right?" he said after taking a seat next to Korra.
Korra looked at Naruto in shock and gasped. 'How does he know?'
The airbender elaborated. "You know, there is nothing wrong with being scared. All you have to-"
"I am not scared! What makes you think that!?" she snapped. After realizing what she just did, Korra started to feel guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you."
"Don't worry. But you do realize you just confirmed to me that Amon has you messed up, right?"
The Avatar didn't know how to respond to that, so she just turned her head and refused to see Naruto. She would never admit to Naruto that Amon had her worried. Not even to herself.
Naruto sighed and stood up. "Look, all I'm telling you is that, whenever you're ready to talk about it, I'm here for you. Just think about it ok?"
"Listen Naruto, I appreciate that you're trying to help me, but there's simply nothing to talk about." Korra responded as she looked at Naruto once more.
"If you say so. Good night, Korra." Naruto said.
"Good night, Naruto."
Before leaving the room, Naruto turned around and smirked at Korra. "I have an idea. How about we snuggle like the last time? That might help you sleep."
Oh yes. Even in a situation like this, Naruto couldn't resist the urge to tease her.
Korra looked dangerously angry. But before she could unleash her fury at Naruto, he was already gone. The Avatar huffed out of frustration and tried to sleep again. She really wanted to smack Naruto hard for saying what he just said.
Even if the idea of having Naruto's arms around her was quite tempting.
Air Temple at night
Like usual, Naruto spent his day exercising. However, no matter how hard he trained, he couldn't focus. All that was in his head was Korra. It was obvious that she was scared of Amon, he could tell just by looking at her eyes. But she was so stubborn that it was impossible for him to help her. People could do stupid things when they were scared, and that was exactly what Naruto feared for Korra.
The other thing that was in his head was Amon. He witnessed his power first hand and was impressed. Also, the amount of followers he had was growing every day, not to mention he also had a private army of experienced chi-blockers at his disposal. More than ever now, Naruto had to make sure his bending technique stayed a mystery to the ones whose intentions weren't clear.
'I don't know what Amon is planning, but he better stay the hell away from Korra.' Naruto thought as he made his way to dinner.
As the Air Nomad tradition dictated, Tenzin said his prayers. "We are thankful for this delicious food, for happiness, for compassion and-"
"I'm not interrupting, am I?" a man said as he walked inside the room. Said man seemed to be a native of a water tribe judging by his clothes and physical appearance.
"This is my home, Tarrlok. We are about to eat dinner." Tenzin said, frowning at the man.
"Good, because I am absolutely famished. Airbenders never turn away a hungry guest, am I right?" Tarrlok asked, already knowing the answer.
Tenzin spoke up. "I suppose you can stay." Pema gave her husband a dirty look, folding her arms in clear disapproval. Tenzin shrugged as if saying 'what do you expect me to do?'
"Ahh, Naruto is good to see you again," Tarrlok said with a fake smile that was noticed by Tenzin and Naruto who bowed respectfully despite not liking the man.
"Good to see you too councilman Tarrlok," Naruto greeted him back with a much more pleasant tone, Korra wondered if Naruto was really happy or just was good at acting.
The councilmen then turned and made his way to Korra. "Ahhh, you must be the famous Avatar Korra. It is truly an honor. I am councilman Tarrlok, representative of the Northern Water Tribe."
Korra stood up. "Nice to meet you." she said as they both bowed before sitting.
As soon as Tarrlok sited, Ikki approached him. "Why do you have three ponytails? And how come you smell like a lady? You're weird."
Tarrlok's eye twitched. "Well aren't you... precocious.". Naruto grabbed Ikki's hand before pulling her away from him, it didn't help anybody to antagonise him.
Tarrlok then faced Korra. "So, I have been reading all about you in the papers. Infiltrating Amon's rally? Now that took some real initiative."
'What is this guy up to?' Naruto thought with a frown. He didn't trust that man at all.
"Oh, thanks. I think you're the first authority figure in this city that is happy I'm here." Korra responded.
"Republic City is much better off now that you're here." Tarrlok continued.
Thankfully for Naruto, his uncle spoke up their doubts for the two of them. "Enough with the flattering, Tarrlok. What do you want from Korra?"
"Patience Tenzin, I'm getting to that. As you may have heard, I am assembling a task force that will strike at the heart of the revolution. And I want you to join me."
"Really?" Korra asked in surprise.
Tenzin followed. "What?"
Shit, Naruto thought.
The Northern Water Tribe councilman explained himself. "I need someone who will help me attack Amon directly. Someone who is fearless in the face of danger. And that someone... is you." he said, finishing his overdramatic performance.
Korra looked unsure, and she really was. Even if the idea of bringing the Equalists down was tempting, thinking about confronting Amon directly was unsettling. Before the rally she would've probably said yes, but now...
"Join your task force? Sorry, I can't."
Her answer surprised not only Tarrlok and Tenzin, but Naruto as well. He silently released a breath he didn't know he was holding, thanking the Spirits that Korra still had some common sense in her.
"I... must admit that I'm... rather surprised. I thought you would jump at the chance to help me lead the charge against Amon." Tarrlok said.
"Me too." Tenzin muttered.
Me three, Naruto thought.
"I came to Republic City to finish my Avatar training with Tenzin. Right now, I'll just focus on that." the Avatar explained calmly. Naruto didn't buy it. He was sure it had something to do with her nightmares with Amon and what she saw at the rally. But the most important thing was that she refused to join Tarrlok, which both Naruto and Tenzin thought it was a smart choice.
However, Tarrlok was not one to give up so easily. "That's why this opportunity is perfect. You would get 'on-the-job' experience while performing your Avatar duty for Republic City."
"Korra gave you her answer. It's time for you to go." Tenzin said with finality.
Tarrlok smiled in resignation and stood up. "Very well. But I'm not giving up on you just yet. You'll be hearing from me soon. It has been a pleasure, Avatar Korra." he said with a bow. Then his eyes met Naruto's gaze. "Councilman Naruto,"
"Councilman." Naruto responded to his 'goodbyes' with a nod.
As Tarrlok left the room, Ikki decided to say her goodbyes as well. "Bye-bye ponytail man!"
Next morning
Naruto finished feeding Sozu and was wandering around the temple. He was thinking about how to get Korra to talk about her fears. But how? She would just say that she wasn't scared of anything or anyone. If he kept pressing her, Korra would get angry at him and storm off, making it even harder for Naruto to help her. He thought about talking with Tenzin first, but he would probably tell him to stay close to her and keep him informed of her mood. Pema would be a good person to talk about it, but he feared Korra would become furious with him should she ever find out.
'Guess I'm on my own in this one.' Naruto thought. He spotted Korra sitting on some stairs outside the temple along with Naga. She appeared to be in deep thought.
'Here goes nothing.' "Hey Korra."
Korra looked up. "Hey there." she responded without much energy.
The Airbender took a seat next to her. "You know, I've noticed that you haven't been yourself lately. Something bothering you?"
"Nah, I'm just a little stressed right now. You don't have to worry about me." Korra responded.
"But I do worry about you. What is it that's stressing you?"
"It's just the whole airbending thing and now Tarrlok wants me to join his task force, it's a little too much right now." Korra said with a sigh.
Naruto nodded. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, that's about it."
"You sure? Is there nothing else that could be-"
"Look Naruto, just drop it." Korra cut him off rudely.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"Just drop it, ok? I don't want to talk about it. Can you please just stop?" Korra asked pleadingly.
"... Fine. I just don't like seeing you like that. I care about you." Naruto said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
Korra gave him a small smile. "Thanks."
"Hello there," the voice of Bolin was heard. True enough, Bolin was approaching them with his hands behind his back along with Pabu on his shoulders.
Naruto smiled. "Bolin, you're a bold one."
"Hey Bolin." Korra greeted as she rubbed Naga's belly.
"Missed you at practice this week." Bolin said as he made his way to his friends.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Korra responded.
Bolin shrugged. "Nah, it's alright. We're probably out of the tournament anyway. Unless some money miraculously drops from the sky by tomorrow." he said as his tone changed from dismissing to slightly annoyed.
The Airbender raised an eyebrow. "So Pabu's circus tricks didn't work? I thought you said people would pay good money to see it. Maybe Pabu is not as amazing as you said he was." he said teasingly.
The earthbender looked slightly offended. "That's not Pabu's fault! People just don't recognize greatness when they see it!" he exclaimed. His Fire Ferret mascot started growling at Naruto. "Don't mind him, Pabu. Naruto doesn't know what he's talking about." Bolin said calming his pet. "Anyways, the reason I came by was to give you this. Tada!" he said as he revealed what he was hiding behind his back. A rose with a wrapped up cupcake.
"Wow, thanks." Korra said as he took them. "But what's this for?"
"Ah, I can't remember now. Oh yeah, now I remember! You saved me from Amon!" Bolin exclaimed.
"Oh that. It was no big deal." Korra said dismissingly.
"No big deal, are you serious? I was totally freaking out when he was coming at me with his creepy mask all 'I'm gonna take away your bending forever'. I mean, that was scary stuff. I still can't sleep well." Bolin exclaimed.
Naruto cringed. 'Damn it, Bolin.' he thought. Korra paled slightly at the earthbender's words. Naruto saw that and slowly grabbed Korra's hand in an attempt to calm her. Korra didn't reject his hand, but didn't grasp it either. Her hand was numb. Deciding to stop Bolin from messing Korra any further, Naruto spoke up. "Hey Bolin, did you know I also took part on your rescue? I was practically the search party captain."
"Of course I know! And for that you will also be rewarded... when I figure out with what." Bolin said sheepishly.
"So Korra gets a rose AND a cupcake and I get nothing?" Naruto asked with a fake pout. Of course, Bolin couldn't tell.
"Hummmm... Oh, I got it!" the earthbender exclaimed. He was about to give Naruto a reward so special it was almost out of this world. He grabbed Pabu and placed it on Naruto's lap. "My dear Naruto, as a reward for saving me from the evil hands of the Equalists, I shall let you befriend Pabu!"
Needless to say, Naruto sweatdropped. "Ooooooookay?" That wasn't exactly what he would call a 'proper reward' per say, but he didn't want Bolin to feel sad, so he made the best of the unexpected turn of events. "So, little guy. What do you say? Wanna be friends?" Naruto asked the Fire Ferret as he gently scratched the back of Pabu's head. Pabu enjoyed the treat and climbed up Naruto's shoulder so he could lick his right cheek. The Airbender laughed. "Looks like he does."
"Delivery for Avatar Korra." an unknown old lady said. She had a basket full of goodies with her which she placed on the ground next to Korra. "Tarrlok sends his compliments and urges you to reconsider his offer."
"Tell him I haven't changed my mind." Korra responded rather annoyed. The old lady bowed and took off.
Bolin placed his fingers in his chin. "Who's this Tarrlok guy?" he asked before changing his facial expression to an angrier one. "Is he bothering you? Huh? Cuz' I could have a word with him. Let him know a thing or two and what not."
"The feelings' mutual Bolin, believe me." Naruto said with a frown. Tarrlok was beginning to bother him more than before. Especially since Korra was the one he was dealing with.
Korra chuckled. "No, it's not like that. He's just some old guy who works with Tenzin in the council."
"Oh good, good, that sounds better. I like that better." Bolin said. He wasn't so sure about having a word with him now.
Later that day, Mako arrived, finally deciding to accept Naruto's help, they both left shortly after, neither Korra nor Bolin could understand who this mysterious "friend" was.
5 days later, Air Temple at night
It was official. Tarrlok was pushing it BIG TIME. Ever since Korra refused to join him, the councilman basically bombarded her with gifts, which grew more extravagant as they continued to come. He even gave her a Satomobile, which was rather pointless seeing that they lived in an island. But the thing was that he kept trying to get her to join his task force and Naruto was getting angrier at him.
"Avatar Korra, I have something for you."
Naruto turned around and saw the same old lady that brought Tarrlok's gifts. Before Naruto could face her, Korra jumped down from her sitting spot. "It doesn't matter how many gifts Tarrlok sends, I'm not joining his task force!" she shouted before kicking her away.
"It's not a gift, it's an invitation." the woman quickly said as she held a letter.
"To what?" Korra questioned.
"Tarrlok is throwing a gala in your honor. All of Republic City's movers and shakers will be there. The councilman humbly request your attendance." she explained.
Korra looked thoughtful for a minute. "Tell Tarrlok that I'll go... as long as I can bring somebody." she finished as her eyes subtly glanced at Naruto. The woman nodded and left.
"Soooo, who's the lucky guy you're going with?" Naruto asked amused.
"Well, I know I haven't exactly asked, but-"
"Alright, I'll go with you." Naruto interrupted her.
"R-Really?" Korra asked in disbelief.
Naruto smiled gently. "Sure. I'd like to hang out with you without having to train or run from Equalists. So yeah, count me in."
For the first time since the rally, Korra felt genuinely happy. Naruto always seemed pleased to spent time with her, so long as it wasn't early in the morning. She was nervous about the gala, but with him at her side, things always felt easier to deal with. It wasn't a date or anything, it was more like a friend accompanying another friend, but it still felt nice. Besides, now she could always brag about how she was going to a high-class party with the most good-looking boy in Republic City.
Little did Korra know that soon her world would turn Upside Down.
