Chapter 1 - Seto
She had said it many times before and she would say it many times after but…
Mornings. Are. Evil.
Avatar Korra sat on the back of her polar beardog Naga, and struggled to keep her focus while yawning and stretching several times as the two made their way to the Pro-bending Arena.
The city was alive with the sounds of satomobiles, citizens, and various shopkeepers who were trying to get the citizens to stop in and buy some product or another. Teenagers could be seen crowded around radio's on the steps of their houses, while children were playing various sports or flaunting bending techniques they had learned from their parents. Only a small few members of the police force were to be found on the streets reflecting the sense of peace that had befallen the city. The air was only slightly cold from the fall climate and skies revealed bright, clear skies with white clouds. All in all, it was a pretty good day.
But even so Korra hated it.
It wasn't the day itself she hated, but rather she had been awoken so early in the day…although it technically wasn't even morning at all, it was the afternoon. But Tarrlok had been working her to the bone recently in his effort to "purge the Equalist threat" and thus hadn't had much time to catch up on her sleep. She honestly wasn't sure why she was still doing that anymore. The only reason she had done it in the first place was to prove that she wasn't afraid of the Equalist leader Amon. Although, that didn't end well either…
She shook her head, clearing her mind of such thoughts and instead chose to focus on the reason she had been woken up so early in the first place. Her friend Mako had called her up and told her to meet him and his brother Bolin at the Arena because….
Err..wait. Why did he want to meet at the Arena again?, Korra thought to herself. She had still been half asleep when he called her so she only vaguely remembered any of the details. She could only recall her name, Mako's name, Bolin's name, and the phrase "-et at the Arena." Mako could have been telling her NOT to meet at the Arena, or that they were planning to EAT the Arena for all she knew.
Korra laughed a bit at the thought of Mako and Bolin chewing at stone columns while their pet Fire Ferret, Pabu ate away on some pebble it had found.
Korra was suddenly taken out of her thoughts when Naga stopped rather suddenly. A car had come speeding across the corner honking its horn angrily at them. Naga started barking while Korra shouted "IT WAS OUR TURN TO CROSS JERKBAG, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS!"
Korra scowled at the direction the car had sped off in. She really enjoyed the city life (it was certainly better than living in compound at the South Pole) but sometimes she wished she could go back to the quite life where cars couldn't run her over, where the threat of Equalists didn't constantly hang over her head, or where she wouldn't have to worry about stupid firebending boys who wouldn't notice how much she liked them…
Korra squashed those thoughts and tugged on Naga's reins a bit, keeping the polar beardog from chasing down the car, and directed her towards the stadium which was now in sight.
The elegant yellow building stood as magnificent as ever. When she had first arrived at the city, Korra had thought it had been a place or place of living for some noble or important figure head. The truth had been far more interesting to her, a place where benders and non-benders would gather to see competitions of skill and power.
Korra noticed that there were a lot of people entering the Arena was there a game today?
Oh crap! Is that why Mako called me here? Are we supposed to be playing a match today? Korra thought with slight panic. She absolutely wasn't prepared for this. It wouldn't have been that hard to just put on her equipment and get in the ring, but she still would have liked it if she could have more time to prepare.
…not that she could do anything about it now.
With a sigh the Avatar got off of her companion and had Naga wait for her outside. Naga made a sign halfway between a growl and a moan.
"I know you don't like it but they won't let you inside." Korra said apologetically while she scratched Naga behind the ear. Korra turned from her polar beardog and made her way into the building.
—
Inside the building a teenage waterbender stood in the showers, preparing for the pro-bending match which he was to participate in. He had navy blue eyes that were closed in an almost meditative state, black wolf-cut hair that was slicked to his head from the heated water that poured from the shower head above him, and his powerful yet lean build was covered in the tan skin so often associated with members of the Water Tribe.
He breathed in and out steadily, as he braced himself against the slick tiles on the wall. He was preforming a "ritual" of sorts, one he preformed to "rinse himself of distractions" and "cool himself off".
The teen raised his head, allowing the water to pour onto his face and slowly travel down his neck to his toned abs.
It felt good, the feel of his natural element on is bare body. It made his muscles relax and his mind clear, an absolute must if he wanted to be fighting at 110%.
His lips turned up into a slight smirk, as he thought of the approaching match. Fighting and bending was always something he excelled at. Of course most things came to him easily, he had been able to leave the private school his father made him attend at the age of 16. But fighting especially. In fact not three days sooner had he gotten out of the aforementioned school had he been approached by a member of the famous Croccodilesharks, a team sponsored by Cabbage Corp, and offered a place on the team. He was all too eager to accept the opportunity to do something he could enjoy all the while giving him a legitimate escape from his terrible home life.
The teen growled to himself, banishing the thoughts of his home from his mind and once again focused on the sensation of water sliding down his body.
"Seto?"
The teen turned toward the sound of his own name. Standing at its source was one of his teammates, Maya.
Her slight frame already covered in the emerald green gear their team wore, with only her helmet absent Her back was turned from him, but Seto could easily imagine her freckled face red from embaressement and her deep green eyes steadily focused forward.
One hand reached up to play with her black shoulder length hair. "Uh…its almost time to head out there. You should…y'know…get dressed and whatnot."
Seto turned to the girl, not particularly concerned that she'd try and sneak a peek at him since her embaressment seemed to be taking care of that.
"Why isn't Wei the one telling me this? I mean this IS the guys shower room." Seto asked raising an eyebrow at her, forgetting that she couldn't see the gesture.
"Ah, well y'know…he's busy pacing and planning. You know how he tends to get before a serious match."
Seto's mind drifted to the Captain of the Croccodilesharks and the earthbender of the team. Wei was something of a pro-bending nut, his family having played the sport since it was founded. If you asked him Wei could tell you pretty much anything related to pro-bending, who the best players were, what the rule book said front to back, anything.
"I didn't realize this match was supposed to be serious. These guys are supposed to be pushovers right?" Seto asked as he turned the shower off and began to use his waterbending to dry himself off by removing the moisture from his body.
Maya laughed. "Yeah I had assumed so too. Honestly I couldn't tell you the name of the team we're going up against."
Seto joined her laughter. "Me neither."
Seto walked over to his gear and began putting on his underwear, followed by the white underclothes. Maya took a peek at him making sure it was safe to look at him full on. He had pulled on his pants, but he had yet to put his shirt on, leaving his top half exposed.
If you hadn't seen a well built Water Tribe boy without a shirt then Maya would say you're very much missing out. "Yum." Maya said under her breath, turning her face toward him so she could fully appreciate the view.
"Hm?" Seto said turning his head toward her as he pulled his shirt on. "You say something?"
Maya blushed furiously, and looked in the other direction, thankfully managing to avoid getting caught ogling him. "Oh uh, I just said you should probably hurry up." Maya said in in an uneven tone.
Seto gave her a puzzled look but decided to drop the subject.
The two stood in silence until Seto put on the rest of his gear.
"Alright, im ready." he said.
Maya nodded, still not trusting herself to speak.
They walked down the halls making their way to the playing field. Just as they turned the corner the team's earthbender, Wei appeared out of nowhere and knocked down Maya in his haste to retreave his teamates. Seto reached out and grabbed her arm preventing her from completely hitting the ground. Maya blushed again and stuttered a thank you.
Wei was a tall 21 year old, making him two years older than his teammates. He had shaggy brown hair, and he had the same color of eyes that Maya did, which sometimes earning them the question "Are you two related?". They weren't of course. Besides their eyes the two didn't really have anything in common.
"Where were you two? The game is about to start!" Wei said completely unfazed by the impact of Maya's body.
"What the heck dude?! You almost knock me over and thats the first thing you say?!" Maya said, little streams of fire shooting from her nostrils. "Don't I get an apology?!"
Wei blushed. "Oh…well uh…sorry?"
"Too late now, jerk." Maya said.
Wei looked at Seto pleadingly. Seto smiled apologetically and raised his hands in front of him. Sorry man, there's nothing I can do. She'd tear into me too if I say anything.
Wei cleared his throat. "W-well. We should get onto the field don't you think?"
"Is that really all you can think about? Pro-bending?" Maya scoffed. Truthfully Seto agreed with her in a way. He thought that Wei took pro-bending too seriously sometimes, but he couldn't help but think that Maya was being a little hard on him.
"L-look, I said I was sorry! What do you want me to do?" Wei pleaded with her.
Maya got a mischievous glint in her eyes, one that only Seto managed to pick up on. "Next time the three of us go out to eat you have to pay for my food. Got it?" she said with a light growl.
Wei nodded eagerly, happy to clear the air with his team's firebender.
Seto couldn't help but smirk slightly at the poor earthbender. Maya really got him here, not only did she play to his emotions, but considering how soon they'd be playing Wei couldn't risk Maya being unfocused.Clever little sneak. Seto thought to himself.
With that out of the way, the Croccodilesharks made their way toward the field Maya picking up her helmet off of a bench and fitting it on her head.
As soon as they came into view, the already loud Arena began to flare up with the sound of cheering. Seto was pleased to see that a lot of the people present were wearing emerald green clothes and various were sporting various signs to support him and the Croccodilesharks.
Maya waved to the crowd as she smiled, Wei walked at an even pace, holding his head up rather high and looking very much like he had a broomstick taped to his spine. And Seto?
Seto grinned, his white teeth flashing like a wolf's. His heart was already pounding with anticipation No matter how good either team was, how out classed one might be to the other, Seto always, ALWAYS, enjoyed the thrill of a pro-bending match. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He cracked his neck. He settled into a stance and thought:
Its showtime.
A/N: So here it is the first chapter of Blood! The first thing I'd like to say is thanks to UngratefulDead for allowing me to use his character (Maya) in my story. In the next chapter we'll see the Crocodilesharks's pro-bending match and see what that has to do with the Fire Ferrets.