Hello readers!
Yes, I have return with none other than Part II of Visitors!
It is going to be the last part to this specific title, since the next chapter will be called Winter Mends :D How exciting! Cause I'm super excited for that chapter!
Well, this chapter is pretty darn good too, or at least I believe that it is :)
In this part it'll tie in with the rest of the siblings like Sonam and Mika, since I already brought up mostly Rohan and Jinora in the last chapter. Kun is pretty much everywhere at this point lol mainly because I enjoy building up his storyline.
Sadly, Lin is not in this chapter :( but Tenzin is!
BUT they WILL BE in the next chapter! So please stay and continue reading this story :') it would be mean a lot to me!
Anyway, enough talk from me. Let me know your thoughts, opinion on this one in the REVIEWS. Thank you again! Enjoy!
I own nothing except the obvious characters that are NOT in ATLA and LOK.
Visitors Part II
If there was one thing Kun didn't find enjoyable, it would have to be saying goodbye to the people he saw everyday and had talked to and gotten close to in the past year. Most of all, he didn't like the idea of saying farewell to the one person he was truly able to call a dear friend – and that someone was Yumi.
She was an extraordinary person, professional, and vibrant whenever she'd let go of the weight of a Sergeant's duties even for a fraction of a second. Kun was going to remember her gentle smile that made it impossibly for him to ever forget, the laughs they shared, and the sparring, and the conversations… all of those memories would be for safekeeping for the earthbender.
It wasn't everyday that Kun fell for a girl like that.
But with Yumi, he did.
Waiting on the docks, watching the firebender give her thanks to the fleet and saying goodbyes for the time being. Kun was talking to his cousins while he saw Yumi saying farewell to Prince Iroh.
"What's been troubling you?" asked the Fire Prince.
Yumi turned her attention right back to her old friend, hoping he didn't catch her looking at the earthbender. "Nothing. I'm just feeling sentimental that the ship's janitor, Chow, wasn't here to say goodbye. That's all."
However, Prince Iroh did see Yumi glancing at Kun and he couldn't help but smile.
"I think this is has to do with more than Chow. Seems like someone has grown onto you," teased the Fire Prince. "We've been friends since we were little, Yumi, the least you could do is tell me the truth."
Yumi raised her hand to push back a loose hair behind her ear and then let out a deep breath. "Fine, it is about someone. I'm sure you already know who it is either way," replied the Sargent.
The Fire Prince then let out a low chuckle and said, "Why don't you go tell him how you feel?"
A sad smile seemed to have landed on Yumi's face as she thought about her dear friend's advice, but quickly realized that it would be rather problematic to confront her feelings after this long before she had to leave away. "It's too late… since I'll be leaving."
"I don't think it is too late," replied Prince Iroh encouragingly. "Go on."
Just when Yumi thought it couldn't be any more awkward between the tension of her and Kun, it rolled into a whole another of silence too. It was rather strange for them both to experience this type of silence between each other, because it has never happened before until this very moment. Something had changed these past two days since Yumi told Kun that she was be going to the Eastern fleet, it certainly made everything tilt to the side.
But was it for the best to leave in these terms than maybe in heartache? The firebender figured that either way there would always be heartache on her part. She truly grew a lot closer to the earthbender, and has thought of him everyday since they reacquainted last year. Kun made her feel lighter as a person, balancing her firm Sergeant platform with the earthbender's energetic characteristic and jubilance.
"Hi," greeted Kun first.
"Hey," relied Yumi softly. The firebender looked at Kun and couldn't help but let a gentle smile touch the corner of her face.
"I want to wish good luck in Ba Sing Sa, Yumi," said Kun raising a hand to rub the back of his head nervously. "You'll truly be missed… by me. Mostly me."
Yumi tried to keep her composure still, reminding herself that she couldn't just reach for the earthbender for an embrace. It wouldn't look professional in front all of these other Sergeants and Lieutenants on the dock. "And good luck to you in the South Pole," replied the firebender steadily. "Maybe someday we'll run into each other in the future."
"I hope so," said Kun with sincerity in his tone. Yumi pursed her lips, trying to hold back the tears from forming on her golden brown eyes. "Until then, we'll write each other."
But the firebender felt a single tear touch the brick of her eye, having her to quickly raise a hand up and wipe it off in seconds.
"Goodbye, Kun," said Yumi stretching out her other hand in front of him.
This time it was Kun's turn to purse his lips as he felt a small pang in his chest, then stretched his hand out to lock it with Yumi in a formal handshake. Except the earthbender couldn't resist from gently pulling the firebender in for an embrace.
The two of them didn't care if there were eyes on them from the rest of everyone else, all it mattered was this moment for them to spare. Their arms wrapped around one another as the earthbender rested his temple on hers before whispering softly into the Sergeant's ear.
"Goodbye, Yumi."
"So, looks like you and Yumi had gotten real close?" inquired Prince Iroh.
Both men stood next to one another as they both saw the second ship depart from their own. The ship that was taking off was the one Yumi was on, and Kun continued to feel like small pang strike his chest once more as he watched her go.
The earthbender finally replied to the Fire Prince after a few moments of silence. "I know you think something is up between us." Kun averted his eyes to look over at his fellow crewmate only briefly. "After all, you and her have been family friends since kids."
"She shares with me most personal things, but certainly not all of them," said Iroh. The prince looked at the earthbender as well and spoke the truth for how Yumi did feel for Kun. "She really seemed to like you more than you know."
"I think I may have an idea of what that feels like. I liked her too," said Kun finally admitting his feelings to someone. "But we have these commitments to our own duties, and that is what needs to be focused right now."
"This isn't the end. I'm sure both of you will find each other again in the near future." The Fire Prince placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave him one last smile. "Have a safe trip to the South Pole."
"Thank you, Iroh," replied Kun. "It's time I see my family again."
Prince Iroh bid his farewell to his fellow friend before walking off to aboard his own ship, the course heading for his island home. He was due to visit his own family too, since they were expecting him this evening.
"Look out!" yelled a guard.
Shrieks and shouts were heard when three White Lotus guards quickly squirmed to try to find a safe cover, while yet another blast of hard-hitting air came right towards them.
"I'd say this time was a lot better than the first," commented the avatar.
Korra settled her hands on her hips and tried her best to muster up a convincing smile to the airbendering master standing next to her.
"You're getting there," replied Sonam. "But next time, let's be cautious of the guards' safety." However, the airbender wasn't too convinced since he saw just how little progress they've made with Korra's understanding of airbending. Not to mention the fact that she would go into the avatar state whenever she pleased. Sonam knew that she needed to appreciate such a powerful ability as the avatar state like his grandfather did.
Korra pouted then and retrieved her arms to cross them in front of her instead. "We've been at this for hours, Sonam." Truthfully, the airbendering master did feel a bit bad that he was overworking Korra these past few months of airbending training. But he had no choice since his father was occupied with the council, and now getting his resignation to process as well. After the Amon situation, it was best to dismiss the council and finally elect a president for Republic City. However, Tenzin was still considered a representative of the Air Nation and World leader at that. Soon it won't be long before Sonam is passed on to hold the title as well.
"Tell me all about Pema! How are things going with your relationship with her? Oh! And Mako said he was fine with going on a double date," said Korra with suddenly big smile plastered on her face.
Sonam soon feels himself blushing red slightly at the thought of his lovely girlfriend, Pema. She was truly a gentle and kind person inside and out, nothing could ever inhabit the same characteristics as hers and that's what Sonam loved so dearly much. But he couldn't just go into detail to Korra about that.
"Uh, we are great," settled the airbender. "She is really incredible."
In reality, Sonam couldn't be happier with Pema. They've been together for about a year now, and Sonam certainly believed that she is the one for him. No girl has ever caught his eye like she did, or his heart for that matter. It wasn't until recently that the airbender had the idea of marriage cross his mind once in awhile. He knew him and Pema were still young, but the love between them was pure and beautiful and real that it left Sonam thinking how much he would enjoy building a life with her and want to spend every waking day with her too.
Korra sensed Sonam was lost in deep thought, and trying to get the airbender to share more details would probably lead to no luck either way.
"So how's your training going with Tenzin?" asked the avatar, changing the subject.
Sonam stirred out of his deep thinking and regained his attention over to the waterbender. But the question she asked also led him to think about the training lessons his father has been doing with him for the past few weeks.
"Not as bad I expected it to be," responded the airbender truthfully. "Don't get me wrong, it is a huge responsibility…"
"Really? You're telling me about responsibilities?" chuckled Korra lightly.
A smile appeared on Sonam's face too before he said, "You're right. I must've forgotten for a moment."
"Is this what you want? To be a world leader?" inquired the waterbender.
The airbender nodded slightly. "It's my duty."
"But is it something you want to do?" reiterated Korra to him.
If there was one thing Korra figured out, it was after witnessing a year of Sonam's hidden emotions to everything that happened around him (especially when Sonam had no reaction to Korra's schoolgirl crush on him when they were younger). It wasn't that he had no reaction; it was more like the airbender didn't know what to say or do for that matter since he only saw the avatar as a mere close friend to him and his family. It was no big deal for Korra since she had gotten over it within after a few months or so, and eventually finds it comical now that she looks back at it.
But anyway, she's noticed the way Sonam would look almost tired before going to meet Tenzin for their training lessons. Tired in a sense where the young airbender didn't seem to eager to engage into the lessons, usually Sonam enjoyed training with Korra on airbending and mastering the avatar state.
Korra didn't know whether Sonam seemed to feel most desired to take on the title as representative, but she could only hope that he would be willing to open up about the subject with her at the least.
Sonam stayed silent for a moment, looking at Korra before turning his eyes away as he took a deep breath to ease himself. What the airbender thought about always haunted him for many years since he was a young boy. Probably since he first started airbending.
After Tenzin, Sonam had been the next airbender of a new generation to be brought into this world. The airbender was honored, praised, and blessed by his family and everyone else once he and Kun were born. His grandmother, Katara, informed to his mother Lin that she was carrying twins and that one would inhabit the element of air. It excited Tenzin and Aang with overfilling joy to know that another airbender will be brought into the world.
And since then, Sonam has taken much of the duties as a hardworking airbender who tried for most of his youth and adolescent years to exceed excessively. He had to study just as hard, meditate just as much, and master just as long as Tenzin did when he was young. Especially after his grandfather's death, Sonam carried pressure of being the firstborn airbender from Tenzin and Lin.
It wasn't that Tenzin didn't focus on Rohan and Jinora's duties, but the airbendering master wanted Sonam to be the perfectly set example for the other two to follow. It seemed most fitted to do so, except it brought a lot of burden for Sonam to carry on his shoulders too; one that he's had to endure silently for most of his life.
"Sonam? You okay?" asked Korra as she walked next to the airbender and put a hand on his shoulder. The airbender awoken from his deep and troubling thoughts once more and focused his eyes at the avatar.
"Yes, I was…" Sonam tried to find the right words to say without causing any trouble or openings for discussions on this issue. "Forgive me, Korra. I seem to keep losing myself in deep thought today."
"Seems like you also wouldn't dare to share either of them," replied Korra. "Don't take this the wrong way, Sonam, but you should talk it out to someone. Something is picking at you, and I can see that you are trying to shut it away."
Sonam knew that the avatar was right. He wanted to let everything all out, the burden, issues, and the weight on shoulders. Everything had to be said for it to be out in the open. Except the airbender quickly panicked, mainly because he thought what his father would think.
"I'm not so sure…"
Suddenly a voice appeared in that moment.
"Evening, you two," greeted Tenzin. The older airbendering was making his way over to his son and the avatar onto the training platform. "How are the airbending lessons coming along?"
"Super great!" exclaimed Korra with a wide spread and a thumbs up.
"Really?" inquired Tenzin with a raised brow. "Lu and a few other guards informed me with the exact same response."
Korra detected Tenzin's derision in the way of his tone and realized she was lying and that he knew she was. The avatar nervously laughed then rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm still trying to get the hang of the avatar state." Maybe a change in subject would be best, which was something Korra thought of herself to be very good at.
Tenzin nodded his head and said, "Mastering the avatar state isn't an easy task to do. It takes time, practice, and patience."
"Don't worry, Tenzin. I got this all under control," responded the avatar with a wave of her hand.
"I have no doubt," replied the older airbender. Sonam saw his father then turned to him and address to the younger airbender now. "A word, son?"
Of course, Sonam immediately responded with a respectful nod before bowing to the avatar then following behind Tenzin when the two airbenders began walking off.
It was a tranquil walk along the side of the island, as the sun was weighing down from its highest peak in the sky. The cool gust of air brought in a sense of refreshment against the sun's heat wave from all afternoon. Sonam kept his shoulders up and straight, he always carried himself with an uplifting chin and leveled shoulders. There was never a time where he could let himself be out of line in any form, mainly because the airbender had grown up that way from following after his father.
Tenzin looked with his peripheral version over to his son before saying, "Your mother and I just got word that a recent attack occurred on the Southern waters two nights ago."
The older airbender wanted to inform his son the current predicament that had been circulating, especially since Sonam has been off the grid with worldly events after making the decision to stay in Republic City to help Korra with her training.
"An attack?" inquired Sonam. This time the young airbender loosened his stance a bit when he reacted to the news of this.
Tenzin nodded his head to confirm, and then proceeded to explain further.
"A ship was wrecked by an unexplained assailant. None of us know what is it that is attacking these ships yet, or their motive for doing so." Sonam looked over at his father then began to think about his brother, whether Kun was going to safe on the waters.
But Tenzin's voice caught his attention, going on with more information. "Since Kun, Naoki, and Haruki will be joining us at the Glaciers Spirit Festival, I think it is best for you to be aware of the situation and assist them in any way possible."
"Absolutely," replied Sonam. There was no way the young airbender would ever find a reason to refrain himself from helping those in need. And altogether, he wanted to get to the bottom of this. Only several questions were now surfacing in his mind, and wondering whom this attacker could be, or if there were multiple ones?
"I don't want to worry Korra right now about this either since I want her to focus on her training," explained Tenzin.
Sonam agreed to his father's wishes, hoping that it was the right thing to do since Korra should at least be aware of the situation too. But the young airbendering master couldn't speak out of line to Tenzin, not ever. And nor could he ever find the strength to do so.
He was his father's son. A mirror reflection of his father from head to toe, body and mind. It was as if Sonam was like Tenzin's own personal shadow from since he was a boy. It wasn't hard to distinguish between the two since they were a lot alike; just like his mother Lin and sister Mika.
For many years Sonam accepted the shadow he was living under, it was something he couldn't escape out of. Even when he did join the United Forces with Kun, Sonam couldn't hide away forever when he was away because once he'd return, there was nowhere else to run from destiny.
There is no reason for him to do so anyway, because Sonam wanted to make his father proud as an airbender; he wanted to make his grandfather, Avatar Aang, proud as well.
"Is there something on your mind, son?"
Sonam suddenly realized that he and his father had stopped walking now, and to see that Tenzin was turned to him with a puzzled expression on his face.
"No," replied Sonam after a moment. "Everything is fine."
"Okay," responded Tenzin with a nod. They continued to walk again, along the path through the Northerner courtyard of the island. "And about your lessons thus far… I believe you are doing extraordinary, Sonam. You know you've always been a model student. However, I need you to be show more passion during the training."
Sonam suddenly felt guilty when he heard his father speaking, mainly because it was true that Sonam hasn't been fully engaged in the lessons.
"I know how dedicated you are to this, but it isn't the same if there is no equal amount of passion."
"I understand," said Sonam.
Tenzin averted his eyes then looked to his son, and his shoulder stumped for a brief moment when he noticed the way the young airbender seemed out of place.
"Listen, son. I want you to be one hundred percent certain that this is the kind of responsible you want to take on. From the very beginning this is exactly what you've been working hard for, to be a spiritual leader, to carry on the traditions, and embody our people's culture. It is what I have hoped to successfully teach you and your siblings. I will soon pass this title on for you to continue leading the Air Nation, no matter how small it may be."
"There is no doubt in my mind," said the young airbender. "Because I am certainly all in and committed to this."
A gentle smile reaches Tenzin's face as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I am grateful to have you do this, Sonam."
The young airbender returned his father's smile with a gentle smile of his own, and reached up to place his hand over his. This is why destiny had always reached him in the end.
"She's coming!" shrieked a voice.
Suddenly a door swung open that sent papers flying up into the air, and the sound of teeth clattering came from the background. There entered the second in command, Officer Mika into the main headquarters of the station where cops, detectives, investigators, and others were working hard to close cases and then catch the bad guys all over again.
The young officer's metal armor made shingling noises as she strut her way across the room to reach a specific police desk.
Mako's eyes were glued to the paperwork he'd been working on, writing every detail from today's event. But the newly cop immediately rose to his feet once he saw Officer Mika stopped right in front of his desk, then he saluted her respectfully.
Unfortunately, Mika crossed her arms in front of her in almost in an irritated matter and looked at the younger cop with a hint of a stoic expression.
"Evening, Officer Mika," saluted Mako. "I report to you my progress on the paperwork and it is just about almost complete, ma'am."
But the female officer just lifted an eyebrow, her stance nearly unchangeable from Mako's response.
Mika finally proceeded to speak and said, "First, I'd like to thank you for your help this morning, Mako." In that moment, Mako had unthinkably tried to slowly raise his hand up to ask a question during the officer's talking. "Second, –I'm not taking any questions so please– the next time you decide to take Metalbending police property out on the streets without any form of permission, do not return it damaged."
Mako lowers his hand right back down and waved it through to smooth the back of his head instead. He attempted to innocently smile at the officer, but knew that the sweat following down the side of his face was too obvious to show his fear now.
"Sorry," replied Mako. "But hey, at least I caught our guy!"
Mika placed a hand right over her temple and sighed. "You did a great job. However, my mother made it very clear to you the other day that you aren't an official detective."
Mako tried to justify himself and exclaimed, "But I caught the…"
Except Mika beat him to the punch, as usual.
"Please, understand that you can't go off investigating a case on your own," said the metalbender.
The firebender then hung his shoulder as he lowered his head down. "Fine."
There was a small piece of guilt the young officer felt inside after giving Mako the end of the boot.
She tried to lighten the firebender's crestfallen mood and said, "And another thing, you still have much work to do on making better catch phrases."
Once Mako was prepared to argue against that comment, he looked up to see a small smile on the officer's face as he figured out that she was teasing him now.
"That last one was pretty good!" said Mako before Mika stepped off and headed back towards the exit.
As soon as Mika reached into her office, she noticed a familiar figure standing just outside the office door. And at first it was difficult to tell whether the person she thought it was had been the right one since their back frame was facing in front of her. But once she walked close enough, the figure turned around and that's when the young metalbender knew she was right on who the waiting man had been, and a smile spread across her face.
"Hey, Taro. I didn't expect to see you until dinner?" said Mika. She looked around the empty hallway before reaching on her tiptoes to plant a quick peck on her boyfriend's cheek.
Taro understood Mika's professionalism at work and never displayed affection at the station unless his lovely girlfriend initiated it.
"Yes, which is why I wanted to surprise you," replied Taro as he lifted his glasses from slipping to the bridge of his nose. "Since we've both been busy lately, I thought maybe we could spend some time together?"
Mika titled her head to the side and swooned at how thoughtful her boyfriend always is, especially when both of them were busy with their demanding jobs. "That's sweet of you, but I…"
"You have to get back to work, I understand. How about just for an hour?" inquired Taro with a hopeful expression on his soft features and sparkling green eyes looking at her.
"Okay. Where do you want to go?" said Mika giving in to his hopefulness, not wanting to put a damper to it.
The couple decided to take their usual stroll through the park, and Mika making sure to let everyone at the station know that she was going for her lunch break. Both of them enjoyed their breaks from work to spend the time with one another, it always meant that they couldn't be kept apart no matter how high demanding their jobs were. During this time they were able to catch up on the events that happen within their daily lives. After five years of relationship, Mika tried her very best to incorporate Taro into her life as much as possible even through her everyday risk to being a police officer.
"I'll be heading to the South Pole with my family in a few days."
Taro couldn't help the surprised expression spreading across his face. "At long last, you are actually going to take a vacation? Well, if I didn't see this day coming…"
The metalbender couldn't help but giggle as she playfully shoves Taro's upper arm. "I know I tend to work a lot, but my father is practically giving us no other choice since Rohan and Jinora will be over there."
"They've been away for a while," said Taro.
Mika nodded her head as she thought about her brother and sister. "Yeah, I've missed them both." Before Jinora's departure, Rohan made the decision to go with their youngest sister to the first stop, which was the Southern Air Temple. He had wanted to return there after visiting Republic City and having to have dealt with the whole Amon situation. Jinora had also only stayed at the Southern Air Temple for a few weeks before heading off to her next stop in her travels. Mika read the letter that Rohan sent to her, saying how proud he was of Jinora for being independent as she began travelling the world on her own. It touched the metalbender to hear about it, knowing that their littlest sister was now a grown young lady.
"Why don't you come with me?" asked Mika.
Taro once again pushed the frame of his glasses to the upper bridge of his nose before looking at his lovely girlfriend. He immediately couldn't help but look crestfallen, giving her a sad smile. "You know I would love to join you on any trip more than anything else. But my editor has been requesting me to turn in a polished article on President Reiko's campaign success leading him to take office as the first elected president."
"How's that coming along?" asked the metalbender. She wasn't upset that Taro couldn't come along, well maybe a little. But at least she saw how sincere he looked when he said he would wish more than anything to go. One particular thing Mika has always loved about Taro was that he was a great writer, who knew how to say all the right kind of things, especially to her mostly.
"Fairly dreary on some parts. But its coming along quite nicely, if I do say so myself. The man definitely organized a well put campaign throughout those past few months," said Taro. "Even had quite a number of extensive donors too. Actually there was one donor in particular who contributed at a higher amount than the rest."
"Really?" inquired Mika curiously. "Do you know who it was?"
Taro nodded his head and replied, "It took some digging up, but yes, I do know. This high-end donor's name was Varrik from the Southern Water Tribe."
Another foreshadowing to the LOK storyline from Book 2 (;
Until next chapter!