Ayako looked at the radio contraption that was her living room. She had put blankets on the walls and the brown radio sat in the middle of the table. Wires connecting it to a microphone were a mixture of red, blue and white. It was kind of messy but it made sense. As she found out during her trial run it wasn't that hard to hack a radio signal, especially at night. It didn't take much, just a bit of creativeness with wires and trial runs and it could be done by anyone…everyone to be exact. But it cost money and not to mention it was illegal. But the city was dealing with more important issues. Much more important issues. The brown haired girl looked up at the clock. It was a minute till midnight. He'd be starting his broadcast in 5, 4, 3,…she sat in the chair with her usual cup of hot tea and notebook. 2…she turned on the radio to hear the usual musical sounds of the radio. One.

"Greeting fellow equalists." The radio echoed. Never a second late or early, but always at the strike of midnight. When the bells of the clock tower rang throughout the city did Amon's voice break the normality of everyday life. His broadcasts were clear, concise. He obviously had a better set up than she did, but it took most of her savings to make this one. The blankets were about the only cheap thing. The radio wasn't too expensive. What really drained her was the trial and error of getting on the radio. Ayako sipped her tea as she listened to Amon's great speech. The only thoughts in her head were 'bullshit'. No, she wasn't an equalist, and frankly she probably hated Amon more than she did that the landlord was obviously overcharging her for the apartment. No hate wasn't the right word either…or was it. Every night she listened to his broadcasts about how benders were evil. How they needed to 'wipe' then out for the sake of the god damn city. She gave a small laugh as she heated her tea with fire bending before taking a sip. Normally she'd be writing down what he was saying but Ayako was not in a good mood. It had not been a good day at all. She was getting less and less work, school was getting more intense and not to mention the landlord wouldn't stop harassing her. She closed her eyes for a moment. Today was always a bad day….every year it was a bad day.

"The avatar-" Her gold eyes snapped open and she it the button that started her transmission and suddenly the radio went into static. What? She broadcasted on the same station as Amon and at this moment she was damn happy about it. It was simple matter of overpowering the system. You see hacking in wouldn't create the static. Hacking in made the station 9.1 instead of 9.0. But if two people tried to get into 9.1 as she was doing right now. Boom, static. She wondered how long it would take him to realize what was going on. It was two minutes. Silence, then static again, the silence. She smiled and leaned into the microphone.

"This is Kimiko Takahashi and welcome to the 'The hour'. Well as you can tell, we're starting a bit early tonight. I do hope no one minds. It wasn't like I was interrupting anything important. Tonight we're going to talk about how benders are not evil and how the great and powerful 'Amon' is a coward who hides in the dark." She could almost hear the gasps of the city as she spoke. "But first, something has really been eating at me. His jabs at the avatar. I'm sorry, but when did we forget that Avatar Korra is still a kid. She's seventeen, last time I checked that was a kid. She hasn't been living here forever either. So why don't you actually stop attacking her and pick on someone your own damn size." She hissed. Oh yeah. She had a lot of anger.

She ended the broadcast early…well it still lasted an hour but starting early meant she ended early. She felt a bit better now. The entire broadcast was a rant about Amon but she made good points…at least that's what she thought. Her gaze shifted up to the ceiling and smiled. Kimiko Takahashi….a name she just pulled out of randomness. Someone's first name combined with such a common last name that it would be almost impossible to trace. The fact was Kimiko Takahashi doesn't exist. She did the research. No one in republic city had that name. Kimiko was a long time resident of Republic City. From a well to do family in the very well to do area of the city. A water bender.. At least that was the story she'd made up for Kimiko. All the public knew is that Kimiko was obviously a girl, and a water bender. There was never any thought to make Kimiko a non-bender. That….would be a lie to far. She gave a sigh leaning back before standing up and walking into the kitchen. The radio played a simple song. Her thoughts were on tomorrow. Whether it would be better to go the park or the main square. Bolin was often at the main square…she did like talking to him.

"Find her," the cold voice said over the radio. Then it went back to music…like nothing even happened.

The city square was full of people. It was a Saturday and was to be expected, but there were more than she was expecting. That meant more money hopefully. Her outfit resembled a traditional fire nation outfit from the old days. She had a gold armband around her left arm and was carrying a brown bag. The bag did not match the beauty of the outfit at all. She scanned the area for a good place to set up till she spotted a very familiar red ferret doing a flip. A smile crept onto her lips before she walked over. Last night…needless to say she didn't sleep well. Seeing Bolin and Pabu was just what she needed.

"You're getting better at it Pabu" she said with a smile after he completed a flip. The ferret made a noise before running onto her shoulder and rubbing his face into hers. Ayako smiled and rubbed behind his ears.

"He's missed you." Bolin said with a grin on his face.

"Not his fault that you've been busy with the pro-bending. Besides, I haven't been coming to the city center for a while. Last week it seemed like everyone was at the park." Ayako said smiling at Pabu. Her smile faded slightly.

"How've you been…."

"I'm fine." She glared at him. He had that stupid smile on his face. Fine. He wasn't fine. She hadn't spoken to him since the news broke about how he was….how his bending was almost taken away.

"Bolin-"

"Really I am. I'm better than you think I am." Just like that he shrugged off her glare. "I don't see Sena-"

"He was ripping me off so we went our separate ways." She said standing as she put her bag down and stood beside Bolin and started to stretch. "Let's just say his 50/50 was more like 30/70."

Bolin looked at the ground. He felt bad. Ayako struggled for rent as much as he and Mako did. Her dancing did get more money though. Ayako looked down at him. Damn. She shouldn't have mentioned anything.

"Uh…hey! Do you want to combine acts today? We can get lunch afterwards. I'd rather dance to live music than the radio anyway. " She said slowly. Ok, she liked Bolin! But he never showed interest in her like that at all. Friend-zoned by the ultimate ladies man. She opened her bag and pulled out a drum. "Come on, it'll be fun. Just don't stare at my ass like Sena did." She said tossing him the drum. He caught it no problem.

"I think I can manage that." He said with a smile as he started to play the drum. Ayako couldn't help but smile. She created fire in each hand…and began to dance with the fire. As a crowd began to gather and put money in her bag she looked over to Bolin and smiled. . This was nice. It was normal. And it was fun.

"I told you I'd pay." She said with a smile as they sat down at an outdoor café. It wasn't super fancy or anything, but she still wanted to pay. Bolin gave her a slight frown but sat down. They had split the cash 50/50 and yet she still wanted to pay. She watched as kids ran down the street playing tag. She could remember when it was her, Mako and Bolin doing that. Of course there were a bit older when they did that. Pro bending was something she was never interested in. She had the skills she had no doubt about it but it just wasn't what she was interested in. She wasn't interested in putting on a show. That's all it was to her…as show. She supported Bolin and Mako. But that wasn't her path…no bending was beautiful; it wasn't a mean for violence...it was art.

"I listened to your broadcast." He said quietly. Her gold eyes met his for a second. Worry. He was worried. Damnit, she didn't think he'd be listening. Why?

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it. You need to stop."

"You need to stop listening to his broadcasts." His expression didn't change.

"Aya, it's dangerous."

"Don't you think I know that!" she whispered harshly. He was still glaring at her. She gave a sigh and leaned back in the chair. "I know the risks, that's obviously why I don't use my actual name. No one knows but you. Has Mako even figured it out yet?"

"He doesn't listen."

"And neither should you. Especially to his broadcasts! Bolin…"

"I told you I'm fine."

"Well obviously you're not!" Ayako mumbled. "…just stop listening to him alright? He's wrong….about everything. You know that's why I do them. Someone has to speak out against him. Not the corrupt government or Korra but someone normal. I know the danger but someone has to do it." She paused until she saw an understanding appear across his face. "Besides, she's a water bender and doesn't exist. They won't find me."

"Can you be sure about that?"

"Yes" No. No she wasn't but she didn't need to tell him that or herself. She needed to block out the words 'find her' Amon spoke on the radio. He was just trying to spook her. She just had to keep telling herself that. Amon didn't care. She's been doing this for weeks and he never responded to her broadcasts. Ever. Yet that voice…it seemed to follow her. It was so cold…nothing like his speeches that gave warmth. He was scaring her. That's all he was doing….right?