This was started before Book 2 even began to air. So excuse the numerous inconsistencies from Canon, aside from the obvious Jinoochy shipping. Embrace that part. That part is good.
First time writing a fanfic ever, so bear with me. D:
So one day I came across an unfamiliar word in the Avatar fandom. This word was 'Jinoochy'. Curious as to what it was, I punched that word into Google and was immediately greeted with a few fan arts. I'm pleased to say that I liked the idea very much and I approve of this ship. To the extent that I could label them as my Legend of Korra OTP, because I don't really feel it with all the other LoK ships.
The idea of this story comes from episode 2 of The Legend of Korra when Tenzin tells his children "You must promise me that your teenage years won't be like this", in reference to being unable to control Korra, to which Jinora openly responds "I will make no such promises". This gave me the idea that perhaps Jinora potentially has a rebellious side to her hidden behind the books and her quiet personality.
So the idea of the story is, what if Jinora secretly left Air Temple Island to explore Republic City on her own where, somewhere along the line, she meets Skoochy and they befriend each other?
Well, here goes. Hope you enjoy!
Jinora sat at the edge of her bed, book in hand, she read quietly as the sun began to set over the horizon. Closing the book having reached the end of the chapter, she clutched the book to her chest as she fell back onto her bed, letting out a bored sigh.
Boredom was a constant enemy of hers. Aside from her siblings, there were no other children on Air Temple Island. She let out another sigh when she realised she didn't have many friends. Sure, there was Korra, but she was of a different age group and she was always training with Tenzin or was out with Asami, Bolin and Mako.
Especially Mako.
Yet another sigh escaped her lips. She didn't know any boys her own age. Having read countless books about romance, she was curious to know what being in love really felt like.
Sitting up, she shook that thought from her head. She was too young, and her father would be most displeased if she had an interest in a boy at this age. Well, at any age really.
Placing the book aside, she stood up from her bed and gazed out her room window. She looked in awe at the sight before her. The skyline of Republic City began to light up with artificial light as the orange sky grew darker while the sun shone the last of its rays as it sank below the horizon.
Leaning onto the window sill, burying her cheek in her palm, she sighed again. She had rarely left Air Temple Island. She wanted to explore the world. Heck, she wanted to be able to explore Republic City itself.
She glanced to her right, at her glider which was standing against the wall next to her window. Maybe she could go in secret. Toph Beifong ran away from home when she was 12 to contribute to the war effort. What was stopping her from merely exploring the city on her own? It's not like she would be in much danger or anything. She was able to fight off the Equalists when they attacked Air Temple Island. And she would stay away from shady areas anyway.
Jinora shook her head and discouraged herself. What if her father found out? She'd receive the punishment of a lifetime. He'd probably allocate some of the Order of the White Lotus members to watch over her around the clock.
She brought up her other hand to bury her other cheek in its palm as she continued to gaze at the city before her. She remained like that for a several minutes, occasionally glancing at the glider beside her.
It was tempting. Tenzin has a long day at the council and retired early, Pema was preoccupied with Rohan while Ikki and Meelo somehow wore themselves out and went to bed early. There was no one who would be looking for her under normal circumstances.
It's not like anyone would need to know, she thought to herself.
She walked to her room door. Sliding it open a bit to poke her head out, she checked to see if anyone was coming. Satisfied by the emptiness of the hallway, she closed the door behind her as she walked back over to the window.
Gazing upon the city she thought about it one last time. No one would suspect a thing. She was always sensible and responsible. No one would think she would do such a thing.
Smirking to herself, she came to a decision. She would sneak out to explore Republic City. She grabbed a small, brown satchel bag and placed her book in it in case she found a nice spot to continue where she left off. Grabbing her glider, she climbed onto her window sill before looking back into her room one last time.
This is the craziest thing I've ever done, she thought to herself, but smiling nonetheless.
And with that, hoping that nobody would see her, she leapt from her room window, extended the wings of her glider and flew off across the large body of water beneath her.
An hour of journeying through Republic City found Jinora at Central City Station. She looked up in amazement at Zuko's statue. The orange glow of the flame producing from the statue's right hand was almost hypnotic.
Resting her feet after an hour of walking around the city, she unshouldered her bag as she took a seat on the ground by the statue. She gazed at her orange tinted surroundings, fidgeting with the glider which she still held in her hands.
She let out a sigh as she buried her cheek in her hand. She was having a lot of fun, but it would have been more fun if there was someone to explore the city with her. She shook the thought from her head.
This is a lot better than being stuck on that island, she told herself.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone rush past. Turning her head to follow the motion, she saw a young boy, no older than her, running with a bag. She looked to her side where she placed her bag. Her eyes widened when she realised her bag no longer there. Her eyes shot back to the boy with the bag, her bag.
"Hey!" she shouted as she sprung to her feet, "That's my bag!"
The boy turned around briefly to find an angry Jinora giving chase. Jinora swung her glider, sending a strong gust of wind his way in an attempt to trip him up. The boy was hit by the gust, but only lost his balance before quickly recovering. Without hesitating, he turned and darted across the busy road. Jinora went to cross the road too in her pursuit.
She suddenly stopped when her ears were blasted by a loud horn. She turned and was blinded by a pair of lights. She let out a scream when she realised the lights were those of a Satomobile. Her first instinct was to leap back onto the safety of the walkway, but her usually featherweight feet felt like heavy stone weights as she was frozen in fear. She shut her eyes as she screamed louder.
The air was knocked out of her lungs as she was knocked to the side, but not by the Satomobile. She felt herself twist through the air before landing on something soft, but rigid. She heard her glider clattering on the ground somewhere ahead of her.
Checking to see what she had landed on, she opened her eyes. She found herself staring into a pair of brown eyes. She felt her cheeks heat up when she found she was staring at the face of a boy, not much older than she. She then let out an embarrassed yelp as she rose to her feet with a small gust of wind when she realised she was practically lying on top of him.
The boy rose to his feet, snickering at her obvious embarrassment. Straightening his green vest over his tattered brown shirt, he placed his hands on his hips and leaned toward Jinora's direction, a mocking expression on his face.
"Don't you know you're supposed to look before you cross roads?" he teased.
Jinora snapped a pointing finger toward where she last saw the other boy, "But that boy took my—"
"—Bag, yeah, yeah," he interrupted, raising a silencing finger, "but I still would have thought that the smart Jinora would've had the common sense to look before crossing."
"What?" she gasped in surprise, "How do you know who I am?"
The boy stood up straight, shifting the hat on his head as he took a step forward, "Please, with that Air Nomad get up and your airbending, you stick out like a sore thumb."
Jinora widened her eyes as she comprehended what he said.
"And besides," he continued, "you don't look eight years old. You're obviously Councilman Tenzin's eldest daughter, Jinora."
The boy put on a smug expression as he grabbed the front of his vest. Jinora felt her heartbeat quicken. How could she not realise it was obvious who she was? Had anyone who knew her father seen her? What if someone tells him she's been wondering around Republic City?
The boy snickered at the worried look on her face, "I'm guessing by the look on your face, you're here without daddy's permission."
"Be quiet!" she snapped at him as she crossed her arms, giving him a stern look.
He chuckled as he walked around her, bending over to pick her glider off the ground.
"Hey, give that back!" she shouted as she rushed over to him and snatched it out of his hands.
He raised his hands, "Hey, it's useless to me anyway."
She gave him a stern glare, but he simply smiled back at her. Jinora's facial expression changed as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. The boy gave a small 'heh' at her sudden change of expression.
"So," the boy said, breaking the silence between them, "what's the councilman's daughter doing all alone in Republic City?"
"I-I was… exploring the city," she replied hesitantly.
The boy chuckled, "I always heard of you as nothing but a quiet bookworm."
Jinora opened her mouth to retort his bookworm comment, but closed her mouth again, unable to deny it.
"I must say," he mused, stroking his chin, "this is quite unexpected. Maybe you should go home before you get in trouble."
Jinora clutched her glider behind her back, eyeing the ground guiltily as though she had been caught red handed at the scene of a crime.
"I…" she spoke almost inaudibly, "I don't want to go home."
He gave Jinora a confused look, "What?"
"I don't want to go home," she raised her voice, bring her hands in front of her, still looking down at her feet.
The boy stared blankly at her for a moment, before he started to laugh. Jinora looked up and scowled at his reaction.
Jinora's eyes flashed wide open and her cheeks burned up when suddenly the boy's laughter died down as he grabbed her hand.
"Well then," he said to her as he started running, pulling her along with him, "everybody knows you need a guide the first time you explore Republic City. I'll be your guide for tonight. Oh, and that kid who stole your bag, he's Xing. We'll find him and get your stuff back later.
"Wait!" Jinora cried, "Who are you?"
The boy stopped running suddenly. Jinora bumped into him and they almost fell to the ground. She looked up to his face and was welcomed with a warm smile.
"Call me Skoochy."
That's all I wrote so far. I was aiming for a longer first chapter, but it seemed fitting to conclude the chapter there. A bit short, I know, but I'll aim for more lengthy chapters in future.
Hope you liked it! Reviews are most welcome.