Welcome to my new Legend of Korra story, inspired by Toph's "Blind Bandit" storyline. Avatar Korra and Triad Member!Mako. Without further ado, enjoy.
Summary: After disappearing from the eye of the public for years, the Avatar finds herself incognito in the Underground Fighting Pits, unbeknownst to the Republic City leaders and the enemies lurking around. AU. Makorra.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the World of Avatar.
Rating: T will possible include curse words, non graphic violent and sex scenes.
Clandestine
adj. Kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit.
AVATAR BACK IN REPUBLIC CITY?
A deep scowl displayed on his fair complexion after reading the headline on the newspaper. He re-read the article a few more times, trying to pick up on the pointless information that these reporters seemed to call 'Breaking News'. There was nothing he could find even remotely useful in the passage. It was all suppositions, speculations, theories and whatnot. Nothing he actually care about.
Why would he care about a girl, now woman, who had disappeared years ago without leaving a trace? Granted, she was not just any woman. So what? He thought annoyed. She had never done anything for him, and he doubted an immature, half-baked Avatar could have done much for the city anyway. Everyone else seemed to be losing their minds over the whereabouts of the deity. Obviously, there were mixed feelings when it came to her. She was loved by millions, but also, not even disliked, despised by many.
The Triads in the United Republic were definitely not fans.
Her head had a price on every gang he could possibly think of, no wonder the girl vanished into thin air. Everyone in her shoes would have done the same. But then again, she was not just anyone. No one had expected the hot-headed, impulsive girl, who had challenged Amon to a duel, to just… leave. No justifications nor warnings. Puff.
And the whole city had such high expectations of her, criminals included. The Firebender could not pinpoint the reason why. It perplexed him. She was not the first Avatar and most likely not the last one either. People needed to stop acting as if the world revolved around her. The world didn't need her one bit. She had allegedly stopped a revolution, according to the words on the numerous newspapers. That was impressive, yes. But the tabloids were full of words like heroic and fearless and of the like. Spirits, it's not like she had done it by herself. Was that at all necessary? As if the girl could get any more arrogant than she already seemed.
Avatar Aang had ended the Hundred Year War when he was only 12 years old. He mastered the elements in a year and defeated the Fire Lord respectively. Furthermore, the kid had suffered, losing his entire culture in an incredibly violent way that no boy of that age could ever process. And for reasons he would most likely fail to comprehend. Now, that deserved the admiration it had rightfully earned. It did not matter how many years passed, his story would live on forever, to inspire and guide the new generations.
The current Avatar, however, Korra, he recalled her name vaguely, inspired nothing within him. What could she ever know about agony, when her whole life she was pampered and taken care of by the Order of the White Lotus? She understood nothing about the hardships of life. She would never understand what it was like to wake up and have no food nor shelter, to freeze during cold winters due to the lack of warm clothing, to have the people she loved snatched away from her. She was inexperienced when it came to the streets, to what real pain was. She was the Avatar, after all, why wouldn't she be? Surrounded by glorified bodyguards as a child and probably still.
Coward.
The main door of his modestly sized apartment flung open, revealing a masculine silhouette with green eyes. The man moved towards the couch in the living room, not too far away from his brother, letting his body weight sink against the cushions.
Releasing a content sigh, the younger brother laced his fingers behind his head to support himself.
"Bo," addressed the Firebender with a raised eyebrow due to the other's excessive relaxation. Even if his brother was rarely ever in a bad mood, the cheerful smile on his face and the slightly creepy look he was giving him was making Mako uneasy to no end, "Is there something on your mind?"
"Oh, nothing," he dismissed quickly with a wave of his hand, the grin never leaving his mouth.
His brows furrowed ever so slightly, "Alright."
The Earthbender ignored his brother's indifference by asking excitedly, "Have you heard the news?"
"What news?" he answered, flipping the pages of the newspaper in his hands, his attention lingering on the Sports Section focused on Pro-Bending.
"You're joking, right?" standing up from his comfortable position, the emerald-eye man ran to his brother, abruptly taking the paper from him. "This!" he exclaimed, the eagerness in his voice almost tangible.
He pointed a specific headline, which Mako had been reading before the younger man had barged in. The picture on the article was not clear enough for anyone to make out the person in it, but the interesting part of it was the amount of Republic City police officers, who seemed to be surrounding something, or better yet, someone.
"It seems like she's finally back," the Earthbender concluded, locking eyes with his brother expectantly, awaiting his answer.
With a shrug of his shoulders, the older man said, "It could be anyone. Why do you care so much anyways?"
"Everyone back in the headquarters is talking about it. The other Triads are going crazy over it too, apparently," Bolin said, shifting his gaze to the ground sheepishly. The Firebender knew the reason behind his excitement though. His baby brother had always been the kind of person to believe the best in everyone. He was a child at heart; despite being 21 years old, his eyes still brightened when he spoke of his heroes. Names such as Toph Beifong, Zuko, and Katara ignited a sparkle in him. And honestly, it was adorable. But the fact that his brother had so much hope in this Korra was beyond him. As members of the Triple Threat Triad, any kind of affection towards this person would be severely punished.
But he still did not have the heart to break his little bubble, in which he thought the Avatar was the answer to all evils in this world. As if.
The green-eyed man chuckled under his breath, "Stop brooding so much, Jeez," he nagged the other, "Anyhow, are you ready to make some money tonight?"
His black eyebrows shot up, intrigued, "How?"
"The Fighting Pits, of course!"
"I'm not interested."
The Earthbender pouted, tugging at his brother's jacket, "Come on, Mako!" his voice reaching an annoying volume of whining, "The bets will be so high tonight!"
He sighed in defeat, as if he could ever refuse anything Bolin asked.
"Besides, I've heard there are some very interesting fighters this year."
The arena was completely full. A needle would not have been able to fit in the underground pits. Hundreds of bodies moving around, trying to find seats were they could best watch the fights during the night. He could hear some people complaining, saying that they wanted to be able to distinguish the sound of bones breaking.
Although he wanted to be indifferent about it, he could not help but feel the excitement of the arena creep up his veins, taking him back to his short career as a pro-bender. There was something about the field that made everyone turn a little more savage. The air itself was dense, weighted by the anxiety of the crowd. The ring reminded him of the Pro-Bending arena, it seemed to be suspended in the air, but it was completely made out of earth, no metal whatsoever. Water surrounded the terrain for the Waterbenders to use, he noted. The only difference between this and the Pro-bending arena was the cage that covered it, forming a dome of some sort.
He grew slightly worried, and even though he would not admit it, he was excited too. The cage was there in order to protect the audience from harm, meaning things would get aggressive. Interesting.
"Are there any rules?" he wondered out loud, his brother sipping from his drink next to him turned to face him.
"Yep," answered the emerald-eyed man, his lips popping the letter at the end, "Remember the rules in Pro-Bending?" the other replied with a nod, "Well, this is exactly the opposite. In fact, if there is no blood, they will probably get kicked out."
Damn, he thought. He would have been lying if he said that he was not extremely curious about who the participants would be. Since there were no rules, he pondered what kind of bold people would dare to enter that ring. Women and men were both allowed in combat, regardless of size, age and social status, he had been informed. It was an illegal fighting pit for a reason, located deep in the city undergrounds, where no police would ever end up out of nowhere.
On one of the best seats of the house, the closest possible to the ring, sat Lightning Bolt Zolt with members of the Triple Thread Triad around him. Now that Mako paid attention more closely, he realized that the pit was crowded with gang members. Red Moonsons, Agni Kais, Terras, and of course, the already mentioned. The only place the foes would ever come together in peace would be here, to watch others beat each other grotesquely to the point of mutilation.
The leader of the Triple Threads leaned his head down in acknowledgement, which Mako immediately after returned with a similar bow. He was not high up in the gang food chain, nevertheless, he was an esteemed member since he joined at a very young age, Zolt himself taking him under his tutelage, as he was a Firebender as well.
"It's starting!" his brother chanted eagerly next to him.
In the middle of the arena, appeared the ring announcer, holding a microphone in his hands, "Introducing–" his hand signaled to one end of the field, with the dome hovering above them, waiting to trap the fighters in, "In this corner, from the Earth Kingdom, Gaoling, three times winner of the Earth Rumble Tournament–"
A massive man jumped in, the ground splitting below him as his hands smashed against it. His lower arms were covered by olive bindings, and while he remained shirtless, showing his defined pectorals, he wore traditional earthbending bottoms. His calves were also bound with green, his black haired tied on a bun.
"The Boulder!"
The stadium exploded with roars, cheering the known underground fighter. Bolin not too far behind. His brother, on the other hand, stared at the mountain made man with interest.
The ring announcer flipped his wrist to the other side of the not yet covered dome, "And on this corner, from Ba Sing Se, one of the rookies of this year, also known as–"
Part of the audience died in silence when the opponent appeared in the ring, kicking the ground, which caused the Boulder to stumble slightly, but noticeably. It was a girl, not much younger than the Firebender. Her short, chocolate curls barely reached her shoulder, and she was dressed in dark green pants and a light green top. Around her waist, an olive colored belt was tied. Her arms were, too, covered in bindings. In theory, she looked like the typical Earthbender.
But those eyes...
Even from the distance, the turquoise was only accentuated by the spotlights. Mako had been captivated, if not bewitched, by the shade of blue. She was indeed a beauty.
But she looked tiny compared to the other fighter. In spite of her muscular figure, it was nothing compared to her adversary. However, size did not mean strength. And he could tell that speed would come in handy for the girl.
"Knockout!"
His eyebrows quirked up at the word and hoped he got to see why she was awarded with that nickname. People cheered for her, but there were others who laughed mockingly. He did not blame them though, because anyone would have by taking in the sight in the middle of the arena. The Boulder versus some rooky girl.
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young girl," he said in distress, referring to himself in third person.
The short-haired woman chuckled arrogantly, "You better not feel conflicted about calling an ambulance after I'm done with you." The public gasped at her audacity, throwing their fists in the air and shouting for the apparently strong girl.
Mako laughed as well.
As the dome began to lower, and the fighters took their stances, a man wearing a uniform neared the brothers' row.
"Bets?" he asked, holding a notepad in his hands.
While the rest of the row handed countless amounts of money for the boulder, including his brother, the Firebender pointed at the girl that had caught his eye.
"Her."
A/N: This was mostly an experiment. I definitely want to continue with this one, that being said, I hope there is some feedback. A few notes:
1. This would be Post Book 1, but the exact timeline will be explained later on. However, Korra never met Mako and Bolin. The brothers are still with the Triads.
2. I am planning on using characters such as The Boulder from ATLA.
Let me know what you thought of this, and if you believe I should continue or not. Reviews are always appreciated.
Thank you for reading.
