AN: Yeah, I probably shouldn't do this, but the idea popped into my head and I couldn't get it out. So if this screws up progress on Never the Last, my loyal readers, then blame the plot bunnies. Not me. And before those loyal readers ask, no, this does not tie in to NtL. It's sort of an AU of NtL following exact show canon. Some of the concepts I was too lazy to go through again, so if anything confuses you, go read Never the Last. Chances are it'll be explained there.

Disclaimer
Kina: Do I have to do this?
Me: Yes, you have to. It's your first official duty as the new Avatar.
Kina: Well I don't want to.
Me: You have to. I own you.
Kina: No you don't. You don't own Avatar or its characters. We all belong to Mike and Bryan.
Me: Actually, no, you do in fact belong to me, as do most of the characters in this fic. But thank you for giving the Disclaimer.
Kina: … damn.

Avatar Kina

The Southern Water Tribe

Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.

My mother used to tell me stories about the Great War. About how Fire Lord Sozin left Avatar Roku to die, and then eradicated the Air Nomads to keep the new Avatar from surfacing. The hundred years where the Fire Nation dominated the remaining two nations, the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. How she and her brother, my Uncle Sokka, discovered the new Avatar, Aang. About their travels together, to the North Pole, to Ba Sing Se, and then all around the Fire Nation. The failed Day of Black Sun invasion. Her almost-vengeance on the man who killed her mother. And the day Prince Zuko, an addition to their team, took the throne from his father and sister. How Avatar Aang ended the tyranny of Fire Lord Ozai, by removing his ability to bend. When she fell in love with Aang. And when they fell out of love with each other. The rise of a number of Air Nomads from hiding amongst the three remaining nations, and the day they reformed into the Air Republic. Aang's new love in one of those Airbenders, an old friend of his named On Ji.

Almost fourteen years ago, my mother came to the Southern Water Tribe, two months pregnant and with no idea who the father was, a story for another day. She stayed in the Tribe with my Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki for seven full months, until the day I was born. That was the same year the Avatar died, too. No one's sure how it happened, but somehow during one of the many prejudiced-induced city wide bar fights that were wont to occur on Freedom Day, the anniversary of Ozai's fall and the end of the War, a shard of a glass bottle ended up planted in the back of his skull. Rather sad. And the funny thing is, I was born on Freedom Day.

My name is Kina, and this is my story.

A long stream of water followed my hands as I moved it back and forth, formed straight from the snow beneath my feet. I manipulated it quickly with subtle movements from my fingers, causing it to wiggle as it trailed in front of me. With a flick of the wrist, I sent it swirling behind my body, and with an arching motion over my head. I then extended my arm straight forward, sending the still hovering water straight forward in a whip. This was an adaptation of one of my mother's favorite techniques, the single water whip.

A cold white backdrop surrounded me, the arctic tundra of the North Pole. About a mile away from me, the buildings of the Southern Water Tribe capital could be seen, although just barely, the glistening white snow they were made of blending in almost perfectly with the ground. I never liked practicing there. Not only was it never cold enough, thanks to the heating system, but there were also too many people. Now don't get me wrong, I like people, and warmth, but for some reason I've always practiced better out in the tundra, or that one time my mother took me to see my Aunt Toph (close enough to be an aunt anyway) in the Earth Kingdom, when I also did better in the warmth. The city just isn't the right temperature. And people get in the way. I can't even stand to practice with my mother around, always correcting my form and giving me advice I don't need. She's the one who always tells me bending is an art as much as a way of fighting, so she should know better than to tell people how to do art.

Not that it mattered to me anyway. I had already been declared a master at thirteen, and had no reason to stay in the city and learn. Of course, Mom disagreed.

"Let's see…" I said under my breath. "I'm on the brink of perfecting the overhead whip, so she should be arriving in three, two, one…"

"Kina!" Yep, right on schedule. I turned around to see my mother, Master Katara of the Water Tribes, walking briskly through the snow. She had stopped running when I became a master, but hey, she's my mom. It's her job to worry. "How many times do I have to say it, stay in the city! You could freeze to death out here." I inwardly chuckled. I would have to be slow if I didn't know that by now, she'd said it to me often enough. By my last count, thirty seven times. If you don't think that's enough, then consider the fact that my mother is very patient. Most of the time she just comes and fetches me with an annoyed look on her face.

"Yes Mom." I grinned at her, and she sighed.

"I'm never going to get you to learn this lesson, am I?" She asked, shaking her head slightly, though I knew from the smile on her face that it was from amusement. I took the moment to really appreciate her then. Even as she got older, my mother was still beautiful. At thirty-four years old, she was still a knockout, as Aunt Suki and the idiot boys in my old Waterbending class put it (I had water whipped the latter into oblivion for that). Large blue eyes that reflected the seas themselves, chocolate brown hair down to her waist with just the right amount of curl, and a stunning body. I happened to look a lot like her (a younger version anyway), except that my hair is much straighter and my eyes are brown. Uncle Sokka once told me that a mix of eye colors often lead to brown eyes.

"No Mom." If you haven't figured it out yet, this is our thing.

"Ugh." She groaned. "You know, one of these days I'm going to come out here and find you frozen in a block of ice. Now come on, it's time for dinner." She started walking back towards the city, chuckling slightly.

"Whatever you say Mom." I followed, laughing just a bit louder.

An hour later, I relaxed on my ice bed, allowing the cold to sink into my back and let me relax. I don't know why, but the cold has always had a soothing effect on me. And I don't mean winter on Kyoshi Island cold, I mean North Pole beyond the Spirit Oasis cold. Apparently, my mother had lied to me (and Uncle Sokka, who was thoroughly more depressed about it) about dinner, as she didn't start it until we got back. The adults were all talking politics as the sea prunes were stewing and the seal jerky was fried (my Uncle was chief of the tribe after Grandfather retired), and though some of it was interesting, most of it was exceedingly dull (what did I care about the return of the Fire Nation colonies to the Earth Kingdom or Kyoshi Island's move to secede from the Earth Kingdom and be annexed into the Southern Tribe?). So, I asked to be excused, and then retired to my room. Hence why I was now on my bed, trying desperately to stay awake even though I knew very well that a nap would do me and my chi wonders after my long practice session. I failed, and drifted off into a light doze.

Whispers resounded all around, indecipherable, unrecognizable, echoing across invisible walls, the darkness slowly brightening to show a valley with an orange sky, mountains surrounding it and more mountains off in the distance. The sky had a few clouds dotting it, but it was apparent that they weren't natural. They were all set at different heights in the sky, floating in random directions, not pushed by the strong breeze from behind me. I closed my eyes, allowing the cool breeze to refresh me, as I could no longer feel the ice cold beneath me. I took a deep breath, almost expecting something to happen. The voices still resounded, but there was one in particular that was growing stronger. It seemed almost familiar to me, even though I was sure I had never heard it before. I tried to focus on the voice, but even as I did, I felt whatever was holding me in that place draw back, weakening and unable to hold me in place. But I did catch one thing as I was pulled back: "Avatar".

My eyes flew open to the sound of loud tapping on the wall next to my window. They followed the sound to its source, not that they needed to. No one ever called at the window except one person.

"Hey Kina!" Came the sound of Azula's voice. Azula happened to be my best friend, and one of the few people my age in the Southern Tribe who could match me in sparring. I half sighed half smiled and swung my legs off of the bed, standing up and walking to the windows. Now, since I live in the South Pole, where it's all cold all the time and everything is made of ice, we couldn't have glass windows like the rest of the world (well, the rich world anyway). They'd tried when they first turned it from a little hamlet on the ice into a big city, but every time the glass always cracked. So, instead we had windows made from, get this, ice. Absolutely pure ice, that is, wrought of all it's impurities through Waterbending. It was actually much more effective for homes with waterbenders in them, because they could be opened and closed easily, and any waterbender could have them, but they were also easy to break and non-benders didn't have any at all. They were also still expensive as purifying water is a difficult process that often requires as much as three days to complete.

However, because of both my mother's school and my Aunt's (she taught non-benders how to fight), both of which were quite expensive to get in to but extremely sought after by parents and children alike, we were incredibly loaded. Uncle Sokka never liked it because being the Chief doesn't pay much of anything, but he always kept his mouth shut. Still, it was well worked on, so I gently pulled the window open with a subtle twitch of my fingers as I walked, stopping just as it fully opened. Now smiling fully, I looked Azula straight in the eye and gave a playful "What?" even though I already had a feeling.

"Hmph." Azula humphed. "Well, I was hoping you'd want to come watch me beat some sense into Shino, but since you obviously have much better things to do with your time, I guess you're not interested." She tried to stick her chin out in fake hurt, but in the end she couldn't keep up the façade and burst out laughing. I joined her, wondering what the hell her mother was thinking. There wasn't an evil bone in this girl's body, unlike her insane namesake. They barely even looked alike. I had seen a portrait of Princess Azula before, as a young girl, and her features were sharp and precise, her eyes a dangerously glinting gold, and her hair as black as her heart. My Azula, however, had much softer features reminiscent of her mother's but with just the slightest differences, and light brown hair that also mimicked her mother. The only thing that was the same about them was the golden eyes, but hers had a much kinder feeling to them, not as if they were looking straight into your soul (ironically enough, though, she actually could, having inherited the ability to read auras). But, as we'd been told countless times by Ty Lee, my friend was named for her own best friend, not the evil monster who she became years later. I paused in my laughter long enough to respond.

"Of course I'm interested. It's about time someone taught him a lesson. I was actually going to do it myself, but since you're so ready and willing, be my guest." I said even as I hopped out of the window, closing it behind me. Shino, the guy we were talking about, happened to be the town bully. He always thought he was the big man on campus, just because he was Aunt Suki's top student. He thought it automatically made him the best of the best, completely ignoring the fact that both I and Azula, a freaking self taught firebender, outclassed him in every way.

We found him lounging on the stairs in front of the school, staring cockily at people who passed in front as if daring them to challenge him. Of course, no one would. After all, he was the one of the best warriors in the city. Yeah, one of, not the. And now it was time to make him learn that. As soon as we came into his line of view, he broke out into a grin.

"Kina, how lovely to see you again. Have you reconsidered either of my offers? Because whether you want to go out with me or fight me, I'd be glad to either way." I shuddered inwardly the moment he mentioned the word "date". Yeah, as if dumbass.

"Save it jerk." I growled at him. "I'm just here to watch you get a little bit more humble." He quirked an eyebrow at me.

"And if you're not going to do it, then who is?" He asked, a little puzzled. "It can't be the hothead over there, she's not even trained. Let me guess, your idiot cousin is going to tr-" He didn't get to finish that question though, because at about that second a fireball flashed through the air, striking the ground in front of Shino hard. The heat melted the stairs a little bit as he stood though, turning the step he was on into water and causing him to slip and fall painfully to the ground. Azula ran quickly to stand over Shino and pointed her fist directly at him.

"I'm sorry, it couldn't be me? Because yeah, it is." She hissed. Yeah, she might not have been evil like her namesake, but she certainly had the temper of a firebender.

"And who's calling me an idiot now?" Came another familiar voice. All three of us, as well as some bystanders who had stopped to appreciate Shino's inevitable fall from grace, turned our heads to see the new arrival. Standing there, a satchel slung over one shoulder and his sword strapped to the other, no doubt on his way home with some vital ingredient for dinner that we absolutely couldn't live without, was my fourteen year old cousin, Kinto. The spitting image of his father, only with his hair hanging shoulder length around his head in a way that had been called "gorgeous", "hot", and "delicious" by various girls around town (these, similarly to the boys who had commented on my mom, were all sent into the canals). Tall and lanky with the gait of a swordsman, he was the local "extremely hot single guy that every girl has to crush on" type of guy, something he could never let me live down. "Well Shino, if you really think that way, then I'm sure you won't mind making it a three way duel. After all, how hard could it be to beat an idiot." Now Shino was visibly worried. Bending, he could handle. Shino had a tendency to look down on benders for relying on the elements instead of proper fighting. But Kinto, having been trained by Uncle Sokka, one of the greatest swordsmen alive, wasn't such easy pickings. Then again, Shino was an idiot.

"Sure. Why not?" He forced his cocky grin to come back. Yep, we were all going to be late for dinner.

When the War had ended and the Fire Nation had redeemed itself in the eyes of most of the world, many of the different aspects of cultures between the Four Nations integrated within each other. The Fire Nation's use of steam power and mastery of metallurgy, for instance, had merged with Ba Sing Se's train systems to create new and powerful trains for long distance, run with steam. We had these in the Water Tribes too, connecting various smaller cities to the Capitals and run by waterbenders. But one of the most significant was the Fire Nation's formal fire duel, the Agni Kai. Before, matters of honor between benders in the Earth Kingdom had been settled with money, while in the Water Tribes they went unresolved, allowing grudges to slowly fester. Now, however, all three other nations, Air Republic included, had integrated the idea of dueling in the name of honor into their cultures. In the Tribes, we called it a Yue Kai, named for the moon spirit similarly to how Agni Kai's were named for the sun spirit. While the Earth and Air versions of duel each had their own rules and styles to them, ours was as simple as the original: Warrior A challenges Warrior B to a Yue Kai, and Warrior B accepts (and if they don't, they are eternally disgraced). They then enter a dueling ring, or if none was available, just out in some open space. They then fight to incapacitation or surrender. The loser must concede the matter to the winner, unless the Chief or some other official declared it an unfair victory. The only rule about fighting is that you were not to kill. Killing in a Yue Kai was grounds for immediate exile to the tundra, where death awaited anyone out after dark. Anything short of death was permitted though. After all, the mark of a great leader is the number of scars he has.

Now the warriors in question stood facing each other in the arena behind the school where most Yue Kais in the Capital happened, with the exception of Azula, who, true to her Fire Nation heritage, was on one knee and facing away from them until the battle began. The judge, who's entire job was to sit in the arena waiting for someone to come in with a dispute to fight out and declare when a fighter was unable to continue, grabbed the horn from the side of his chair and blew it, signalling the beginning. Quick as a rabbit-deer, Azula spun around and took a stance, blasting a fireball with her fist at the pair of shuriken Shino had pulled from his pocket and thrown in her direction while her back was turned. Not that she didn't expect it of course, the boy had no honor. Growling at the fact that he had just been thwarted, Shino drew a slim Kyoshi style katana from the sheath on his side and held it above his shoulder, dashing nimbly on the ice towards the offending Firebender. He was stopped, however, by Kinto's obsidian black sword, a gift from his father after he became an official master swordsman. The meteorite sword crashed into the silver one, sending it straight to the ground before Shino was even halfway to his target. The two clashed for a second, steel in their eyes as well as their swords, until Azula ran in with a fist full of fire, striking at Shino who was forced to pull his sword away and backstep... only to have a small cut open up in his side from Kinto's speedy slice flying just above Azula's fist. He grimaced and grabbed it with his free hand, backpedalling from the conflict to catch his breath. Kinto was about to follow, but he was stopped by a closeline blazing punch to the gut from Azula. He took two steps back, winded both from surprise and from the blow, and took a deep breath. He stared at Azula.

"What was that for?" He asked, clearly trying to keep his voice down. She grinned devilishly.

"Well, you did say it was a three way duel, remember?" She replied with a sickly sweet tone. He just shook his head,

"Whatever you say 'Zula." And with that he smirked and stabbed at Azula's side, clearly hoping to take her out early. The Firebender sidestepped it, and spun on her heel, launching a fireball at Shino, who was quickly applying a handful of snow to his wound in order to get back into the fray. He ducked under the fireball and started charging forward again, which served Azula's purpose: to bring attention away from the blush forming on her face at Kinto's use of her nickname. Everyone except me.

Shino jumped at Azula, ready to retaliate for her attack, but once again instead of flesh his sword met metal. Kinto had guarded Azula again, and was once again locked with his rival. Azula, thinking quickly, took advantage of Kinto's distraction and punched a ball of flame straight at his head. The swordsman seemed to be expecting that though, and ducked under the flames, stepping back and completely clear of them, which left the fireball's flight path intercepted by nothing but an idiot. As it struck the right side of Shino's face, he shouted with pain and shock, tripping and falling backwards with his hand covering it. His shouts then turned to scream, and the shock left entirely for pain, even though I knew he was being melodramatic. I had taken one of 'Zula's fireballs before, they were barely strong enough to cause a first degree burn. His face would sting for a few days, the skin would be red and peel off, but it didn't hurt badly enough to be writhing like he was. It would barely even scar. Still, he seemed content to give one of the signals of surrender (screaming like a baby), and the judge signalled a pair of Healers to come out with a stretcher and haul him off of the field. Kinto and Azula stopped only long enough for the Healers to get off the field before turning their attentions back on each other. They each took stances, Azula a basic Firebending stance, Kinto a traditional Earth Kingdom stance with his body perfectly straight and his sword in one hand, pointed straight at the ground. Then, as if perfectly in sync, Azula moved forward to unleash a torrent of flame (I recognized the motion) while Kinto prepared an upward stab to the abdomen.

"Kinto!" "Kina!" "Azula!" Came three simultaneous cries, and we all stopped what we were doing to turn to these cries. Coming into the arena now were Aunt Suki, Uncle Sokka, and my own mother, along with Ty Lee. Oh boy.

Alright, are you satisfied now plot bunnies? -plot bunnies nod- Eh, alright. Read and Review.