Author's Note:

Yes, I am on this series something fierce. Mako is hard to write for, however. I tried not to write this with a ship in mind—it's too easy—but there is a little bit of Makorra if you squint hard enough. With goggles that have prescription lenses.

Characters belong to Mike, Bryan and Nickelodeon.

Things did not get off to a good start today. But then again, when do they ever.

Thanks to Bolin emptying out our prior stash of food, I had used my meager earnings to get us some more and take out a loan again from Butakha. And he proceeded to demolish that as well.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever get ahead at this rate.

Pro-bending practice came immediately after breakfast, with Bolin grumbling that he was still hungry. Then Korra showed up, albeit a little later than usual and suddenly Bolin forgot all about food.

She rubbed sleep from her eyes and yawned rather dramatically. I would have been amused at her discomfort had I not been annoyed that she was late to practice. I said as much while she was greeting my little brother and she shot me an anguished glare that promised retribution.

Thanks to that remark, her throws were more forceful than ever in my direction as opposed to Bolin's. I guess it was her way of getting back at me, but I ignored her taunts. I had greater concerns, mostly with how we were going to come up with the money for the next tournament. I don't ever remember it being that high before. If I was careless enough to bet money, I was almost positive that Butakha raised the price just because we have the Avatar on our team. Bolin had promised to help me out at the power plant but he's not used to working like I am; I don't think he's cut out for it. Still, help is help.

We broke for lunch, which Korra (much to my surprise) provided. To Bolin, food was food no matter where it came from, but I couldn't help being suspicious; after all, nothing is ever free. Well, maybe for her previously thanks to her 'Avatar' status, but the real world works a bit differently. I know that better than anyone.

I left for a few minutes to relieve myself and when I returned, Bolin was there by himself. Inquiring after her, he divulged that she ventured out to the arena.

"And...I kinda have a date with a girl named Huā this afternoon that I don't want to cancel...is it ok if I go work at the plant tomorrow instead?"

I came close to refusing but I couldn't do it. Someone has to be the adult in our relationship; someone has to look out for him. For us. I know that he has to grow up sooner or later, but I still see him as that little doe-eyed chubby boy that was more gentle than he was mean and always quick to befriend rather than be standoffish or carry a grudge. Remaining family aside, I can't help but want to protect him from the world or even the occasional girl that may break his heart. That means doing anything and everything to keep him safe.

I sighed to indicate he could leave and reserved my disappointment and resignation to a face palm once I was out of his sight.

That left only our other teammate.

By the time I got to the arena she was already in the ring. I hadn't crossed into her line of sight yet so I had enough time to observe that she was just leaning against the ropes, rubbing her wrists and staring seemingly at nothing. My initial relief at the arena not being destroyed was slowly replaced by a tiny twinge of concern. Was she sick? Maybe the cooks on Air Temple Island weren't as good as she'd bragged.

It took half a minute to get to the upper platform where she was and I was greeted with a face-full of water for my effort.

"Hey!" I shouted in time with her exclamation. While I unsuccessfully tried to dry my face with my shirt (and to temper my anger to annoyance), she continued. "Warn me next time; I could have used firebending just now...!"

It's still hard for me to believe that this girl is the reincarnation of Tenzin's father. From what I know of him—the city is his father's legacy after all—Tenzin himself is rather low-key and patient to a fault...things I've noticed don't sit well with Korra at all.

I should sit in on some of their training sessions sometime. I'd like to see how he deals with this.

Grumbling that it be best if I just never check on her again, I removed my shirt and heated the air surrounding me sufficiently enough to dry it out. She'd turned away (I assume) out of respect but there was a flush to her skin that I was at a loss to interpret.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked, her eyes wide and set in a hesitant expression. "Promise you won't get mad."

I gave a slight nod.

"Have you ever wished for benders to go away because of, y'know...what happened to your parents?"

So that's what was bothering her. Amon. The Equalist leader with his demonstrated ability to block chi in a bender for good. Actual chi-blockers themselves seemed about as dangerous as elephant rats in context. Bolin said nothing about the incident that night but Korra had clearly been troubled more than she initially let on. Not that it sat well with me either.

I searched her face. There was an innocence behind those eyes almost similar to that of Bolin's, that I dreaded adding any fuel to her own fears. That's when it hit me; my responsibilities paled against the full scope of hers. I was responsible for taking care of my brother. She would be responsible for keeping the world in balance, not unlike my own task but on a greater scale.

I shook my head no in response. And I meant it. I blamed the person but never their abilities, and I told her so. To do that would be to deny myself, something I've known how to do nearly my entire life. And her, as if she never existed.

Korra did smile at that but there was a flicker of gravity across that confident facade that I was used to seeing. I suggested sparring in the remaining amount of time I had left—no bending allowed—and she eagerly agreed before tossing something indiscernible in my direction.

"I figured you'd want that back," she quipped before squaring off on me, "if you plan on beating me."

An involuntary grin spread across my face as I returned my scarf to its rightful place. That was the Korra I knew.

We went through the motions. Even though she valiantly tried to hide it under a mask of concentration, I knew she was still bothered by what we witnessed, and possibly, by things yet to come. And for all that her naiveté annoyed the hell out of me, I was beset with the realization that I wanted to protect that and maybe her too.

Like Bolin, she's the only family I have now. And I would do anything to keep her safe.

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