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A Spirit of Elements Chapter 8 (Freedom)
🕑 Added 2022-03-23 18:45:58 +0000 UTC"... And in the final round the Buzzer Wasps won with a decisive knockout," Korra said as she read the newspaper. They were currently having the traditional tea break inside the temple. She then turned to see Tenzin with an excited look on her face. "What do you say we go to the arena tonight, catch a few Pro-bending matches maybe?"
Tenzin looked offended. "That sport is a-"
"-Mockery of the noble tradition of bending?" Naruto cut him off as he sat next to Korra. He was currently wearing the same white tank top, but instead of the boxers he used to exhibit, he wore grey sweatpants, all covered by a red 'airbender-like' morning coat.
The councilman took a minute to look at his nephew's new sleeping attire. While it still wasn't exactly how a proper Airbender should look in the morning, it was an undeniable improvement over the boxers. Satisfied by both his nephew's clothes and answer, Tenzin nodded. "Indeed."
Naruto sighed as he shook his head. His uncle was so obvious at times.
"Oh come on Tenzin, I've been dreaming to see a Pro-bending match since I was a kid and now I'm just a ferry ride away," Korra pleaded as she pointed at the Arena across the lake.
Naruto stepped in. "You know, if air is supposed to be the element of freedom, why don't you give us some freedom and let us watch a match?" he asked in an attempt to convince him. In reality, he had sneaked from the island before to watch some of the matches that were being held, but he kept it a secret in order to avoid an unnecessary discussion with his uncle.
"You are not here to watch that drivel, you are here to dedicate yourself to the art of airbending. So for the time being, I want the you Korra to remain on the island," Tenzin argued back, not buying Naruto's excuse of an argument. Even though it did make a little sense.
"Is that why you're keeping the White Lotus sentries around to watch my every move?" Korra asked as she pointed to the White Lotus sentries that were present in the room. It reminded her of the South Pole Compound, all of the guards constantly watching over her day and night.
"Yes. In order to learn airbending I believe you require a calm and quiet environment free from any distractions," her airbending master lectured her hoping to end the argument before anything else could be said.
"That's exactly what she had back at the South Pole, uncle. How good did that work for her airbending?" Naruto asked.
"Her time in the South Pole was spent teaching her fire, earth and waterbending, not airbending. If it wasn't for our current situation I could have taught her there."
Before the argument could've continued, Korra sighed. "Alright, you're the master," she said in a defeated tone of voice before staring at the sight of Republic City.
Naruto didn't miss the look on her face. 'She's gonna go there anyway, isn't she?'
Air Temple training ground
Naruto was currently spending time with his cousins in the training ground. Even though Ikki and Meelo could prove to be quite the pieces of work, the two of them really were good-willed and occasionally made him laugh, so he would put up with them. Jinora was the calm and wise one out of the group, she being the only one able to actually satisfy some of the curiosity of Ikki, and that was no small feat however one saw it.
"Hey, Naruto," Jinora asked her cousin she was so fond of. Jinora had always considered Naruto part of the family, he could always lighten up the day.
"What's up Jin?" Naruto said to Jinora using the nickname he had come up for her a few years ago.
"What do you think of Korra?"
"What do I think of Korra? Well she's strong, funny, pretty, rebellious and kind of a tomboy. All in all, she's great. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," she shrugged. While looking at the ground, her hands behind her back, The blonde raised an eyebrow at her strange behaviour but before he could ask.
"Are you going to marry her?" asked a certain bun-haired girl.
"I don't know, Ikki. Do you think I should marry Korra?" Naruto asked with a teasing his younger cousin following the game.
Ikki's face instantly glowed in anticipation. "Yeah! That way we would always have Korra around and you two would have babies and I'll get to be a flower girl at the wedding and then Daddy would be a Granddaddy and Mommy would be a Grandmamma and Grandmamma Katara would be a Grangranmamma Katara and and and..," Ikki kept going on about how great everyone's lives would be if Naruto and Korra were married until she was finally out of breath.
Jinora started to get irritated with Ikki's talk, while Naruto was laughing at her antics.
"Hey look, it's Korra!" Meelo shouted. Jinora, Ikki and Naruto turned around to see Tenzin walking towards the training ground along with Korra, who was dressed like an Airbender for the occasion.
"Korra's gonna' airbend! Korra's gonna' airbend!" Ikki squealed in delight while jumping up and down.
As soon as Korra saw the airbending tool that was going to be used, she frowned. "What is that contraption?" she asked.
"A time honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspects of airbending," Tenzin explained. He then looked at his oldest daughter. "Jinora, would you like to explain this exercise?"
She nodded. "The goal is to weave your way through the gates and to make it to the other side without touching them," Jinora explained.
"Seems easy enough," Korra confidently declared
Hearing her naive answer, Naruto laughed. "Looks like somebody forgot to say that you have to do it while the gates are spinning."
Tenzin then took a step forward and released an air blast to the gates, which started to spin around at great speed. He then sent a leaf towards the gates, which weaved its way through the gates, not being touched once. "The key is to be the leaf. Flow with the movements of the gates. Jinora will demonstrate."
Jinora prepared for a minute before effortlessly making her way through the gates.
As she was doing the exercise, Tenzin elaborated. "Airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance you must be able to switch directions at a moment's notice," he said.
Jinora finished the exercise and sent a gust of air towards the doors so Korra could start her training.
Korra looked uncertain for half a second before growing a confident smirk. "Let's do this!" Korra shouted. But when she started running towards the gates, Naruto immediately knew things were not going to end well.
'Judging by her foot stance and speed I'd say she's not trying to weave her way around, she's just trying to go there as fast as she can hoping she won't get touched. Normally I'd laugh but it seems a little cruel right now.' "Hey uncle, I think I'm going to go now," Naruto said.
Tenzin looked at him questionably. "I thought you wanted to see Korra train?"
"I do want to see her train. I do not want to see her get beaten into a pulp," Naruto said as he started walking to the temple. He didn't even walk three steps before both airbenders heard sounds of Korra being smashed constantly by the gates. "By the way, I'll ask one of the White Lotus guards to bring a medical kit over here."
Looking at Korra, Tenzin now understood his reasons. "Thank you, Naruto."
Air Temple at night
"Airbend," Korra exclaimed as she attempted to throw an air blast using a picture of Chief Beifong from the newspaper.
Seeing how her airbending attempts were fruitless, Korra grew frustrated. "What's wrong with me? Airbend!" she said as she tried another time. Needless to say, she got the same results.
'Screw it,' she thought angrily while burning the picture of Lin with her firebending. Korra had been trying to airbend for the last half hour and not a single time she felt like she was getting close to actually doing something that resembled airbending. Why was it so hard when all the other elements came to her so easily? When she was five-years-oldyears old she was already capable of bending water, fire and earth. Yet for the past twelve years she had been training, her airbending had yet to manifest itself. She thought that at least she would learn something once she moved to the Air Temple, but everything was as useless as ever. Was it some kind of joke from Aang or one of the previous Avatars?
"Maybe I'm just not cut out to be an airbender, huh Naga?" Korra asked her Polar Bear Dog who was keeping her company. Before she could continue to take her frustration on another innocent newspaper, Korra heard a voice nearby.
"Yo," she turned around to see Naruto holding a glass of lychee juice.
"Oh, hey Naruto. Didn't see you there," Korra greeted her friend. Naruto instantly knew she was frustrated because of her training results earlier. If you can say they were results, that is.
"Come on, it's just day one. Don't let it get to you," Naruto said, trying to comfort her.
"I know, but it's just so frustrating. I thought that by moving here I would actually learn something, but so far the only thing I've achieved has been getting knocked down by those stupid doors."
"Do you know how much it took me to actually get around those doors?" Naruto asked.
"What, three days?" Korra asked back, still in a bad mood.
"Actually, it took me three weeks. So yeah, I do know how frustrating it can be," the young Airbender said.
"Ok, but how does that helps me?" Korra asked confused.
"Easy! If it took me, the greatest airbender to ever live, three weeks to finally get that exercise down, why would you feel bad if you didn't get it in your first day?"
Korra chuckled a bit. Naruto seemed to have the ability to improve her mood in just a few minutes of talking. Even if he was a little cocky sometimes, Korra was glad to have him around. It made her wonder if this was how it felt to be a normal teenager. Suddenly, she started to laugh out of nowhere.
"Hm, what's so funny?" Naruto asked a little weirded out for the sudden change.
"Ohhh nothing, I was just trying to imagine how much of an 'awesome airbender' you must have felt when you were getting your butt kicked by the boards," she teased.
Naruto looked slightly offended. "Whatever," he muttered, looking a little embarrassed. The memories of those doors beating the crap out of him were still fresh in his mind. Oh how much he wanted to punish the insolence of those darned doors back there.
Korra was happy for finally getting back at Naruto for the other night. Teasing him had proved to be quite the stress-relief method. It might have been a little selfish, but she just didn't care right now.
A certain voice coming out of a radio drew their attention. A couple of White Lotus sentries were hearing the Pro-bending matches of the night at their guard posts.
"So Korra, what'd you say we go hear the matches on the radio?" Naruto asked even though he already knew the answer.
"Sure, but I don't think the sentries will like us sneaking around and listening to the radio with them," Korra said a little worried. She remembered all the times the White Lotus members scolded her for staying awake past her bed time. Of course, she ignored them all of those times.
Naruto smirked at her. "Maybe, but they don't have to find out now, do they?"
"No, I guess not," Korra replied with a mischievous smile of her own.
"In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go," Naruto said while the two of them made their way to the rooftops of the cabin where the sentries were housed.
Once they reached the rooftop, they started to hear the sport's commentator bringing the hype into the crowd. Few Minutes later and Korra was completely hooked. Her excited face reminded Naruto of a little girl whose parents allowed her to play any game she wanted at the amusement park. He tried to make some small-talk along the game but was hushed rather quickly by Korra, who didn't want anything distracting her from the radio.
And just when things were coming to an end, the radio was unplugged.
"Naruto, Korra, come down here please," the stern voice of Tenzin was heard.
Both of them jumped off the roof and met the old airbender's gaze. Korra was the first to start. "You shut it off at the best part!" she whined.
Tenzin ignored her complaint and started one of his infamous lectures. "I thought I made myself clear. I don't want either of you listening to any of this distracting nonsense."
"But it was their radio! And technically you said we couldn't watch one, you never said anything about listening to one," Korra argued.
"Ohhh, she got you good there uncle," Naruto said, adding his two yuans to the conversation.
"You... You know what I meant! Anyways shouldn't you two be in bed by now?" Tenzin weakly argued back before turning around and leaving the teens on their own.
Morning in the Air Temple
Naruto, after repeatedly punching a wooden practice dummy in order to improve his speed and reflexes, decided it was time for a break and went to meditate in his favorite spot. It was a big rock that had enough space at the top for Naruto to comfortably sit and face the sunlight. He was wearing his training gear, a white tank top and beige large shorts with bandages in his feet and forearms. He took his shirt off because of the sweat that was going down his torso.
'Okay, let's see how meditation goes,' was Naruto's last thought before closing his eyes and going in that limbo mind state where airbenders went before going into the Spiritual World. Apparently airbenders were very spiritual fellows and meditation was like a second nature to them. While he was no meditation master by any means, Naruto was able to relax, stay still and let the time pass by. As a matter of fact, a couple of times, Naruto had meditated for so long in the morning he didn't finish until dark.
And as far as his airbending went, that was the second proudest memory Tenzin had from his nephew.
Unknown to him, Korra was passing by near the stone. She just got out from yet another useless airbending lesson, this time on meditation.
"Stupid meditation," Korra muttered. Sitting still and wait for stuff to happen just wasn't Korra's style. It never was.
As she kept going on with her airbending rant, she suddenly saw a man sitting on top of a rock with his legs crossed and his hands placed on his knees. At first Korra thought it was just another monk of the Air Temple, but the idea was soon discarded. Why?
Reason number 1: He had long hair, unlike all the rest of the monks.
Reason number 2: He was shirtless.
Reason number 3: He had one heck of a body to show.
'Wait a minute. Is that... Naruto?' Korra thought in disbelief. He looked so calm and concentrated with his eyes closed he didn't seem to have picked up her presence.
With her curiosity getting the better of her, Korra carefully approached her friend. She realized his body slightly glowed while facing the sunlight. In other words, he was sweating. Now the Avatar already had a general idea of how Naruto's body looked. She remembered when she hugged him goodbye a few nights ago before Tenzin said she could stay at the temple and learn airbending, feeling his hard body against her. Not to mention, when she finally saw him using that torn jacket of his, she did catch a glimpse of his bare arms, which showed to be lean and muscular in their own right.
But seeing him shirtless was a completely different story.
All questions aside, Naruto was certainly fit. Marked abs, lean chest and well-chiselled arms were among the things that stood out the most. The fact that his body was sweating all over didn't make him any less attractive, by the way. Unable to restrain herself, Korra approached Naruto as stealthy as she could to get a better look at him. Not because she had any lustful thoughts inside her head, don't be silly. She was merely interested in seeing the so-called eye-candy of Republic City in all of his glory. Korra didn't realized it at the moment, but she had a sight in front of her that was fantasied by quite a lot of girls, who would probably fume in jealousy if they ever found out that Korra was seeing the body of Councilman Tenzin's nephew.
Little did Korra know, Naruto was already aware of her presence. Again, because he was still learning how to get into that 'completely detached from the outer world state of mind', he could still feel the people around him if they were close enough. And Korra was close enough alright. Resisting the urge to smile, he stayed still for a couple of seconds just too quickly open his eyes and look at Korra with a smirk. "Can I help you with something, Korra?"
"N-Na-Naruto! What the heck, you scared me!" Korra practically shouted out of shock. The whole thing was so unexpected for her that she started stuttering.
"Well, I'm sorry, but you distracted me from my meditation. Can I ask why where you stalking me?"
"I was not stalking you!" Korra roared with a blush so red it was almost surreal. "I... I was just..."
"Admiring the view. Amazing, isn't it?" Naruto teased with a wink. Feeling like she was close to blackout from embarrassment, Korra started walking away. Deciding that he had teased her enough, Naruto spoke up. "Don't worry Korra, I'm just messing with you. So how did the meditation go?"
Calming herself, she responded. "I think I'm even worse at meditating. Seriously, it's like the Spirits don't want me to learn airbending at all."
Realizing that this was no time for jokes, Naruto put his shirt back on and jumped down from the rock. "Something you're not telling me?" he asked concerned.
Korra let out a sigh. "It's just that... What if I can't learn how to airbend? I'd be literally the worst Avatar ever," she said sadly.
Naruto approached the Avatar with words of encouragement. He wasn't just good at fighting and showing off, he also had a way with words. "Korra, don't get all sad just because you're not airbending right away. You WILL learn, and I'll be right there with you when you do," Naruto said reassuringly while making a pause to grab her hand warmly. "You say you're not sure if you have what it takes to be the Avatar? Well I say you have all what it takes to be the best Avatar the world has ever seen. That and more."
Hearing the words that came out of his mouth, Korra was again stunned by Naruto. It shocked her how much faith he had in her. Ever since she found out she was the Avatar, she felt like it was her destiny to become one whether she like it or not. Personally, she thought it was awesome, but at the same time, she had to deal with all the pressure that was on her shoulders and the high standards placed on her by the White Lotus. They expected her to follow their teachings and do their training drills without hesitation, never asking her how she felt about it. She was the Avatar, but she was also a human being, and human beings had the right to feel moments of doubt. Yet those moments of doubt were always ignored by her teachers except for Katara, and Naruto.
And now, Naruto always listened to what she had to say and put all of his trust in her. It really touched her and she couldn't help but feel reassured by him.
"You really think so?" Korra asked hopefully.
"Not only do I think so, I know so," Naruto responded sincerely.
Korra felt so much better by hearing his words, she just stood there holding his hand before grasping it firmly and smiled at him. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Not a problem," Naruto reassured.
Both teens stared at each other, both smiling softly. Time seemed to slow down for them. That was until Naruto snapped out of it. "Actually, now that we are here, I want to make you a proposal, Korra."
"Sure, what is it?"
"From what I have seen from your airbending lessons with my uncle, you are not exactly getting any results. But it's not your fault. If anything, the fault relays on Tenzin himself. He started teaching you right away like you were born an air nomad like the kids. I know this because I used to have the same problems you have. That's when I started training by myself to discover how to bend air my way."
Naruto continued. "Also, you have been kept in captivity almost all of your life. I don't know if you have heard this before, but air is supposed to be the element of freedom. Trying to learn about the element of freedom when you have never been truly free is as incorrect as it is stupid."
"That's what I said to Tenzin! He thinks that anything non-airbending related is a distraction," Korra said.
The young Airbender agreed. "Yeah, you will have to forgive my uncle. He can get a little carried away when it comes to teaching airbending. However, it's time I get to the point," Naruto said making a pause. "I wanted to ask you if you'd like me to teach you airbending."
"But, but isn't Tenzin supposed to be my teacher?" Korra asked confused. Sure, Naruto was a Master Airbender, since he had his tattoos and all, but still she always thought an old Airbender master would be better, not that she thought Naruto wasn't good enough, but now failing her lessons with Tenzin, she started wanting to have Naruto teaching her.
"Yes, but honestly I don't think he's teaching you the right way. Like I said before, a lot of my bending was self-taught to suit me better. I have a hunch that my style of airbending is gonna fit you a lot more than Tenzin's," Naruto explained. "However, that doesn't mean you'll stop attending uncle's classes. He is your teacher, after all."
Korra was a little hesitant. On one side, the idea of learning airbending with Naruto was certainly tempting. She already had seen his skills firsthand on their spar a couple of days ago and she was not disappointed with what she saw. On the other hand, she wasn't so sure about failing twice in airbending. What if she didn't progress any with Naruto either?
Sensing her hesitation, Naruto smirked. "Did I tell you that we will include regular spars and that I'll actually teach you my martial arts? I just hope that they can compare themselves against uncle Tenzin's meditation classes."
"I'M IN!" Korra shouted excitedly. Even if she couldn't learn airbending, there was no way she was going to let the opportunity to spar with Naruto and learn how to move the way he does slip away.
Naruto grinned. "Good to know. We start tomorrow," he said as he suddenly became serious. "You must know that I take my training very serious and I expect you to do the same. Understood?"
The Avatar nodded. Naruto's facial expressions softened once more and started grinning again. "Awesome. Now go get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow."
"Sure thing. So, see you in the morning?"
"Well duh, obviously," Naruto said in a mocking tone.
"Oh, right," Korra said sheepishly. They both waved themselves goodbye, looking forward for tomorrow to start their new master-apprentice relationship.
Air Temple at night
Korra was currently hiding in a room near the temple's entrance, peeping through the window. There were a couple of White Lotus sentries doing their usual guard job. When the guard closer to her started to walk away, she quickly jumped through the window and started running towards the cliff.
Once she was close enough to jump, Korra heard a voice near her.
"Nice night for a swim, huh?"
Korra 'eeped' and started looking for the one who caught her. She looked everywhere but no one showed up.
"Down here, Korra," the voice said.
The Southern Water Tribe girl looked down just to see Naruto in his usual clothes lying on the grass. Instead of looking concerned or angry, he just looked relaxed, almost expecting her.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Korra asked worried.
"Oh nothing, just staring at the stars in the sky while preventing you from doing something stupid," Naruto replied calmly as ever.
"What? I wasn't going to do something stupid!"
"Yes, you were. You were going to a Pro-bending match... without me," he finished offended.
Korra was baffled. "Wait, is that it? You're not gonna tell me to stay on the island?"
"Korra, what did I said about the element of freedom?" Naruto said in a lecture kind of voice.
"That it was useless to try to learn about it if I had never been truly free before," Korra responded. At first she was a little confused but she quickly became excited. "Does that mean that you are going to let me go?" she asked with eyes full of hope.
"First thing, don't ask me for permission. You are seventeen years-old and you have the right to make some decisions of your own. Now, do you want to go?"
"Yep."
"Would you be hurting anybody by going?"
"Nope."
"Is it against the law to go to a Pro-bending match?"
"Nope."
"Is it morally incorrect to go to see a Pro-bending match?"
"Nope."
"Would you go on a date with me?"
"Nop... I-I mean yes! I mean... Huhhhh..," Korra said, realizing it was a trick question.
Naruto chuckled. "Aaaaawww, you look so cute when you're stuttering," he said teasingly. Before she could give him a well-deserved (in her opinion) smack in his arm, he interrupted her. "Anyways, I think it's about time I introduce you to my friend."
That stopped Korra dead on her tracks. "Who are you talking about? There's no one else in on this island."
Naruto just smirked. "Really now?"
...
"Oh Spirits this is gonna be soooooo cool!" Korra shouted while jumping in delight, excitement, joy, happiness, you name it, when she found out that the friend Naruto was talking about was none other than Sozu, the gigantic Raven Eagle. Not only that, Naruto said that if Sozu liked her, the Raven Eagle will let her ride him as long as Naruto was with her.
"Shhhhhhh, keep it quiet. Sozu despises anything that is being loud near him, especially in his nap time," Naruto said to her while they were making their way to Sozu's bird nest. Said 'bird nest' was basically a normal nest made out of the branches from the trees of the forest. The only thing is that this particular nest was on the ground and its diameter was 10 feet across.
Sozu was sleeping soundly in his nest. The sounds of footsteps, however, awoke him up. He recognized his master's presence right away but the other one was a mystery. Eyes wide open; he looked at Naruto before glaring animalistically at Korra.
"Hey boy, had a good sleep?" Naruto asked his mascot. Sozu just kept glaring at the Avatar, though he was getting calmer by seeing how his master was showing no signs of mistrust towards the girl.
"Alright Korra, come here slowly." Korra obeyed his orders as carefully as she could. This could be her only chance to make the giant Raven Eagle bird like her and she didn't feel like screwing it up. Naruto then grabbed her hand and slowly placed it on Sozu's head. The giant bird seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he walked back abruptly and went to sleep.
"Huh, it seems that he likes you," Naruto commented.
"He does? Doesn't look like it," Korra said in disbelief.
Naruto laughed. "Believe me, if he didn't like you he would be trying to bite your hand right now. He's not the friendliest animal around, but he's the coolest one ever. Isn't that right, buddy? Yes you are. Oh yes you are," he said while talking in a baby tone which made Korra giggle. "Okay Sozu, we're going to the Pro-bending with Korra. You can sleep latter. What do you say?"
Sozu responded with a small high pitch squeak and a glare.
"Oh come on, don't make me look bad in front of Korra. If you let us ride you I promise I'll buy the food from the store you like so much. Please?" Naruto pleaded. Sozu was silent for a moment, then he stood up while squeaking his animal version of 'fine, just hurry up you brat and let me go back to sleep.'
"That's my boy!" Naruto shouted while patting Sozu's back.
"Naruto, did you just talked with Sozu?" Korra asked not believing the whole thing. Sure, she did the same with Naga, but it wasn't like she could understand her barks or anything. Naruto acted like he could actually hold a conversation with Sozu.
"Yeah. Ever since I founded him on the island years ago, we sorta' learned how to talk with each other. And let me tell you, he can be quite a bit of a jerk at times."
Sozu heard that last comment and went to bite his owner's hand.
"Ouch! What? It's true!" Naruto said glaring at Sozu, who merely squeaked saying 'serves you right, you little punk.'
"WHAT WAS THAT YOU OVERSIZED CHICKEN?!"
Korra had never laughed so hard for so long before.
After ten minutes of arguing and calling names to each other back and forth, Naruto and Sozu stopped the fight for the time being and promised each other that they would continue tomorrow. Naruto then prepared his saddle. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I only have one saddle to ride Sozu. And since he barely knows you, he won't let you sit in front. My advice for you would be to hold on tightly."
"Wait a minute, what do you mean by hol-" Korra started to say before Sozu started to propel himself up into the air and flew at medium speed towards the Arena.
Korra's instincts were to immediately hold onto Naruto as hard as she could. When things calmed down, Naruto looked back at her and grinned. "Hey Korra, if you keep having your eyes closed you're gonna miss the show."
Following his advice, Korra opened her eyes. They were flying around so carelessly around like it was no big deal. Seeing Republic City from above was incredible for Korra. She was feeling a new sensation, like she could do anything. All of her worries, including airbending and meditation, were gone. It was intoxicating to say the least. Below her, the city looked like a sea of Stars, beautiful.
"This is awesome Naruto. I just feel so..."
"Free?" Naruto guessed. He had the same feeling when he was with Sozu in the air.
"... Yeah, free," Korra finished with a smile. She was unaware she was still holding Naruto tightly, but she was too blown away from the experience to even realize. Naruto also noticed this and considered teasing her, but he decided not to. He would be the first to say he enjoyed to have Korra hugging him.
