A LEAF IN THE WIND:
Korra was situated in the room across from mine, making it easy for us to go to each other's rooms and hang out. We had become quite close, and I had even shown her my favorite spots on the island. I would take my radio and climb to the top of the tower, looking out at the city as the animated voice resonated around me.
I usually listened to music, but when a song came on that I didn't like, I'd change to the pro-bending channel and listen to a match. At that point, I'd forget all about looking for music and listen to the rest of the match. They were thrilling and made me feel as if I were watching them, myself. Bending is a beautiful art, but there's only airbending on this island. What it would be like, to watch them bend in the arena…
"What do you say we go to the arena tonight— catch a few bending matches?" Korra said while flipping through the newspaper at breakfast. I stopped drinking my tea and looked up at Tenzin to see what he would say.
"That sport is a mockery of the noble tradition of bending." He said dismissively, sipping his tea.
"Come on, Tenzin! I've dreamed of seeing a pro-bending match since I was a kid and now I'm just a ferry-ride away. Plus, it would be a great way to learn some new techniques!"
"Korra, you are here to finish your training with Kazumi, not to waste your time on drivel. For the time being, you must stay on the island."
"Is that why you've got all these White Lotus sentries around, to keep me in line?"
"Yes. I believe you require a calm environment free of any distractions— Air Temple Island."
"Alright, you're the master"
After breakfast, Korra changed into Air Nomad clothes and went to talk with Tenzin before training. The kids and I went ahead to the gates, eagerly awaiting their arrival.
"Korra's going to airbend! Korra's going to airbend!" Ikki jumped up and down excitedly, clapping in glee.
"What the heck is that?" Korra said, looking at the gates standing still, the airbending symbol on each face.
"A tool that teaches the most fundamental aspect of airbending. Kazumi?"
"The goal is to weave your way through the gates without touching them, following the path of least resistance to the other side."
"Seems easy enough," Korra said and took a stab at the task.
"You have to do it while they're spinning," Jinora added, sending a gust of air at the gates and sending them spinning.
"The key is to be the leaf, flowing with the movements of the gates," I said, releasing a leaf from my palm into the gates.
"Kazumi, would you like to demonstrate?" Tenzin asked. I nodded and stepped forward. I breezed through them, moving in a spiral motion and avoiding the gates, following the path of the leaf until I passed through. I stood on the opposite end and waited for Korra. One by one, the panels stopped moving, for she was hitting every panel in her path.
"Be the leaf!" Meelo said, making strange weaving motions with his arms.
"Spiral movements, Korra!" I shouted, but decided it was best to move out of the way, for she was barreling straight toward me. She had smashed her face straight into a panel and stumbled out, spinning until she fell to the ground. That's not really what I had in mind…
That night, I was woken by the sound of Korra storming down the hall and slamming her door shut. I sighed and got up, knowing I couldn't get back to sleep easily and that she probably needs someone to calm her down.
"What's bothering you?" I asked her softly from the doorway.
"Tenzin won't let me listen to the pro-bending match! It's not fair!" she growled, looking like she might just exhale flames.
"Try living with him," I laughed, "come with me."
She followed me curiously as I led her to my bedroom window and climbed out. I climbed along the wall until I reached the roof, where I then gave myself a boost with my bending until I was at the tallest part. I had a radio sitting on the edge, tied with a bit of ribbon so it wouldn't fall.
"A little help?" Korra said, still stuck on the roof. I waved her up, a gust of air obediently lifting her to my level. She stuck her footing and positioned herself securely, making sure she wouldn't fall but still could have a view of Republic City's skyline. I turned the dial on the radio and the animated voice of the pro-bending channel appeared.
"I was worried you were a daddy's girl," Korra said with a grin.
"I rebel a little," I said, returning her grin.
"What do you say we go see a real pro-bending match tomorrow night?"
"I don't know, Korra. What if he finds out?"
"I'll make sure to keep complaining so he isn't suspicious. Besides, you know you're dying to go into the city"
She did have a point, and as long as we worked together, we could pull it off.
"Alright, just this once."
/
I sighed and pulled my shoes on, the moonlight shining through my window. I know I should be worried, but at the moment I just felt excited and on edge from the thrill of sneaking out. I slid my door carefully and peeked to make sure the coast was clear before hopping over to Korra's room. She was spying out her window at the guards to see when we had an opening.
"Now," she whispered and leapt through the window. I followed closely behind, landing softly in the middle of the courtyard. We took a running leap off the edge of the cliff and dove into the water. Once under, I used my bending to maintain a pocket of air while Korra propelled us toward the Pro-Bending Arena.
When we were close to the edge of the building, Korra propelled up toward a window with a spout of water. I had never been lifted up by waterbending before so I felt a bit unsteady and reached desperately for the windowpane to ground me. We climbed inside and I dried us off before we began to search the rooms of the building. Before long, I spotted someone down the hall.
"Why hello," the boy said, somehow skipping ten feet closer to me. He had black hair with a superman curl, big green eyes, and wore red, white, and gold. "The name's Bolin, but you can call me whatever you want."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Kazumi," I smiled at the interesting boy. I wonder if he's a bender?
"So, Kazumi, what brings you here to my humble arena?"
"I came to see the tournament with Korr—" I turned to look at her but discovered she had disappeared.
"Oh, you came here with someone?" he said a bit sadly.
"Oh no!" I said and back down the hall. I'm dead. I'm more than dead— I'm buried.
I skidded to a halt when I passed a room with two people in it, one of which I recognized as Korra. She seemed to be getting into trouble with an old man. We got caught. Game over.
"Korra! There you are!" I shouted, running up to her.
"Oh, there's two of yeh?" the old man growled unhappily.
"It's all right, Toza, they're with me!" Bolin said, approaching us.
"Yeah, we're with him," Korra said with a smile.
"You see, we're together—" Bolin said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"Well, not together together— more like friends," I explained.
"Oh— I didn't mean to imply—" Bolin's arm recoiled from my shoulder.
"Oh, you implied it," I said softly enough so that only we could hear.
"Bah— I don't care— Just get out of here!" the old man threw his arms in the air with defeat before going back to doing whatever it was he was doing.
"Right this way, ladies," Bolin bowed, gesturing toward the door.
"Thanks, Bolin," I said as I passed him.
"Seriously, thanks," Korra emphasized as we left the room.
"I was worried for a minute when you said you came with someone— I thought for a minute you had a boyfriend," Bolin joked.
"Nope, there's not really anyone on Air Temple Island I'd want to date. Just my family and a bunch of adults"
"Wait a minute— are you an airbender?"
"Yeah," I looked over at him to see that his jaw had dropped.
"No way! That is so cool! Can you show me your airbending sometime?"
"Yeah, sometime," I said quietly, realizing that coming back to the city was unlikely.
"So, what do you think?" Bolin asked as he led us into a room overlooking the arena. "Best seats in the house, right?"
"Whoa," I said in awe, leaning over the edge to take in the entire stadium.
"This is amazing!" Korra looked around the stadium with a goofy grin on her face.
"The name's Bolin, by the way"
"Korra"
"Psst— Bolin," a boy in the corner called him over. I noticed he wore the same clothes except he had a red sash around his waist while Bolin had green. Wait a minute…
"I told you to stop bringing your crazy fangirls up here. Get them out," the boy said.
"Come on, Mako! They're really cool, and Kazumi over there's an airbender. An airbender!" he whispered excitedly. I wonder if they knew I could hear everything they were saying. "Hey! Kazumi, Korra, I want you two to meet my brother, Mako."
"Mako? You mean… you two are Fire Ferrets!" Korra exclaimed.
"And we're not crazy fangirls," I crossed my arms, "We didn't even know who you were until now." I had to add that last bit because Korra looked a bit like a crazy fangirl at the moment.
"Come on, Bolin, we're up," Mako said, completely ignoring us.
"Sorry about my brother, there. He gets like that before a match. Anyway, wish me luck! Not that I need it," he waved before running to catch up with Mako.
"Good luck, Bolin!" I called out as I waved.
"Knock 'em out!" Korra shouted.
We watched eagerly as the announcer introduced the Fire Ferrets. Bolin put a hand to his ear to encourage the cheering while Mako and Hasook waved. They took a fighting stance as their opponents stepped into the ring.
"And they're off! The two teams spend no time blasting each other out of zone one!"
I watched as Bolin ducked under a fire blast, leaving an opening for Mako to shot back. Bolin kicked a disk at his opponent, which was blocked as he retaliated with a couple of blasts. This is so exciting.
"Hasook is the first to take a hit! Mako shows off his trademark "cool under fire" style!"
Everything was going great until the Fire Ferrets got knocked back to zone two. I clutched the railing, my eyes locked in anticipation. Mako jumped and spun on an axis, making for a hard target to hit. Unfortunately, when he landed an earth disk hit him in the chest and he landed himself in zone two. I started bouncing in place, too anxious to stay still.
I was practically bouncing off the walls when Hasook fell out of the ring, leaving Bolin and Mako sliding back into zone three.
"Can the bending brothers hold their ground until next round?"
They managed to stay in the game for the round, but the points went to the Golden Temple Tigerdillos. What a mouthful… Fire Ferrets just rolls off the tongue.
"Zumi!" Korra called, "calm down."
Oops… I had been bouncing off the walls. Well, I had been bouncing with my bending and it was getting more out of control because I hadn't noticed and tension was running high. I lowered myself to the ground and walked back to Korra's side just as the bell rang for the new round.
I frowned as the Fire Ferrets were almost immediately in the second zone while the Tigerdillos advanced into the Fire Ferret's territory. They seemed to make a nice comeback, knocking back each of them and taking the second round for the win.
It was the third and final round, now, and Hasook took a hit. He stumbled back into Bolin and, while they were trying to gather themselves, were both knocked out of the ring by earth disks. I braced myself as Mako took on all three of his opponents.
"It's all up to Mako, now! He's bobbing and weaving— weaving and bobbing— but he's not hitting back! If Mako gets knocked out, it's over for the Fire— what's that? He's got a plan and it's working!" I watched as Mako, standing at the edge of the ring, managed to knock out the waterbender. He started to really take the offensive and knocked out the firebender. For a minute, I lost sight of him from all of the smoke and dust, but then there he was, knocking out the earthbender with a fireball.
"Mako's won the third round, making the Fire Ferrets the winners of the match!"
"Woohoo, yeah!" Bolin cheered as he jumped into the locker room. "One more win and we're in the championship! So what do ya think, Kazumi?"
"What do I think? I think that was amazing!" I said, still bouncing as I jumped into a hug. "That was so cool! I can't believe I never came here before!"
Suddenly, Mako and Hasook entered, not looking nearly as happy as they should be.
"You almost cost us the match, Hasook!" Mako said, taking off his helmet.
"We won, didn't we?"
"Only because I pulled it together!"
"Whatever— get off my case!" he said, throwing his helmet to the side as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
"You guys were incredible!" Korra said, impressed. "Especially you, Mr. Hat Trick!"
"Oh, you're still here?" he said coldly.
"Oh, you're still a jerk?" she retorted. Bolin and I joined in with a chorus of ooh's. "Anyway," she turned away from Mako, "I've been immersed in bending my whole life, but I've never seen a style like yours, before. Think you could show me a few tricks?"
"Ab-so-lutely, but I have one condition"
"What?" Korra asked, clearly willing to do anything.
"You have to bring Kazumi, here," Bolin grinned.
"I'm sure we can work it out, right?" she said, looking at me with pleading eyes.
"Alright," I agreed. I didn't want to make a habit of sneaking out, but this was a great opportunity for Korra to practice bending and to see some, myself.
"Come on, Bolin," Mako said, annoyed.
"Ignore him," Bolin said quietly, just for us, before speaking louder, "Yeah, I could show you the basics, but I'm not sure how well it would transfer to waterbending"
"Won't be a problem," Korra said smugly, "I'm actually an earthbender."
"Oh— I didn't mean to assume—" Bolin started to get a bit frazzled, "— I just thought, you know, with your Water Tribe getup, that you're a Water Tribe… gal."
"No, you were right. She is a waterbender," I said.
"—and a firebender," she added casually.
"I see," Bolin said, stroking his invisible beard, clearly confused.
"You're the avatar," Mako said, "and I'm an idiot."
"Yes and yes," Korra said mockingly, enjoying him admitting he was wrong.
Bolin's jaw dropped once again. He slid over next to his brother and spoke with a hand shielding his mouth, "the Avatar!"
We left the locker room so they could change out of their armor.
"Glad we snuck out, now?" Korra said, looking over at me.
"You bet!" I grinned.
"Are you ladies ready? Because I am!" Bolin said, marching out of the locker room in a white beater and casual pants.
"This— is— so— awesome!" I said between bounces as we moved down the hall to the training room.
"You can stop bouncing, now, Kazumi," Korra said with a laugh.
"I'm bouncing— because— I'm excited— and I get— hyper— at this— hour. I'll probably—randomly fall asleep— soon!"
When we got to the training room, Bolin and Korra worked on shooting some earth discs into a net. I stood behind them near Mako, my bounces gradually becoming less energetic.
"Stay light on your toes until you're ready to strike," Bolin said, bouncing on his feet and shooting into the net. Korra matched his movements and shot discs straight into the net.
"Who's the Twinkle-toes, now?" I grinned. She shot a look back at me, but I could tell she was having fun.
I yawned and slid against the wall by Mako.
"Cheer up, you won the match," I said, trying to get him to lighten up.
"Don't tell me what to do," he snapped. I frowned, no need to be so grumpy. "I'm going to call it a night. See you upstairs, bro," he said and walked off. I stuck my tongue out at him as he walked away.
"Wait— you guys live here?" Korra asked.
"Yeah, we live upstairs in the attic. Nothing fancy, but it's got a nice view!" Bolin said.
"Korra," I yawned, "we should leave; it's getting late."
"But we're just getting started! And we haven't even gotten to airbending, yet," Bolin pouted.
"Don't worry, Bolin. We'll be back," Korra assured him.
"Promise?" he asked as Korra and I moved to leave.
"Promise," I smiled, "and you can see some airbending if you follow us to the window."
"The window?" he asked, confused. I walked into the hall and found the closest window.
"After you, Korra," I said, letting her jump out first. The water below graciously caught her and she waited for me to join her. I leapt out and cushioned my landing with some light airbending. Before we went underwater, I glanced back up at the window high above us to see Bolin's jaw hanging open in awe for the third time that night.
/
I changed into my training clothes and met everyone for a breakfast of porridge and fruit. I noticed Korra was looking at me and I smiled knowingly at her, sharing a mutual enjoyment of knowing we had pulled off last night at the arena.
Today, we were taking another spin at the spinning panels. Korra took a deep calming breath, which raised my hope in her success, but then she sprinted straight into the panels and was once again knocked around like a pinball.
"Patience!" Tenzin said, but it was too late. Korra had become so impatient that she had burst into a violent firebending tantrum. My jaw dropped as she burnt nearly all of the panels and broke the others, finally leaving her huffing over the ruins.
"That… that was a two thousand year old historical treasure!" Tenzin exploded before regaining composure. "What is wrong with you?"
"I've been practicing just like you taught me, but it just isn't sinking in, okay?" Korra exclaimed, gesturing wildly.
"Korra, this isn't something you can force. If you'd listen to me, for once—"
"I have been! You're— you're just a bad teacher!"
I watched sadly as Korra stormed off in a rage.
"Yeah, you're a bad teacher, Daddy!" Meelo pointed up at Tenzin before running around, kicking things. Instead of chasing Meelo like I usually would, I hugged my dad because right now we were both hurting from Korra's insult.
Since there was no sense in staying on training grounds without Korra, I went inside to help Pema with dinner. She cooked the rice while I chopped vegetables on the counter.
"How was training?"
"It… it ended prematurely," I said, focusing at the task at hand.
"I'm sorry to hear that, sweetie. Hopefully dinner will help— a full stomach makes everyone smile!"
I smiled, remembering how grumpy I got that one time I missed breakfast. I never made that mistake again.
"Okay!" Pema said, serving the last of the meals, "Where's Korra?"
"Honestly, I'm at my wit's end with that girl. Promise me you won't be like that when you're a teenager, Jinora," Tenzin said.
"I will make no such promises," she said emotionlessly and took a sip of her tea. Tenzin chose to blissfully ignore the implications of her response and turned to me.
"I'm so glad you're not as troublesome as her— I don't even want to imagine what it would be like if I had two rebellious teenagers— isn't that right, Kazumi?" Tenzin said over his steaming bowl of rice.
"I'll go get Korra," I said, excusing myself to retrieve her. I bit my lip as I left to avoid dropping my poker face. When I reached Korra's door, I stepped inside and shut it behind me. "He knows!" I whispered harshly.
"Knows what?"
"That we've been going into Republic City behind his back!"
"If he knew he would have yelled at us by now," Korra said, aloof as she stared out the window at the city," you're probably just overreacting"
"You mean like you did earlier?" I retorted. "Sorry," I said quickly, worried she'd firebend again, but burn the house this time.
"No, I'm sorry I snapped earlier. I'm just frustrated— I can't airbend at all. I can barely meditate!"
"It's going to be difficult, because air is opposite of your personality. Aang struggled with firebending and wasn't able to for months after his first attempt."
"Yeah, well I'm probably past that point now. I'm a failure as an avatar"
"You're going to be a great avatar, Korra," I said softly, joining her on the side of her bed. "You just need to be patient and keep practicing."
"Well, right now I need a break."
"You mean a pro-bending match."
She finally smiled.
"Yes, that's exactly what I need."
/
"We aren't late, are we?" I asked as Korra and I ran into the locker room.
"Whoa— you guys look like you just lost," Korra said, halting before them.
"We might as well have," Bolin frowned.
"Hasook's a no-show," Mako snarled.
"Two minutes or the Fire Ferrets forfit!" the announcer… announced.
"Well there goes our shot at the tournament"
"No way— you guys have a top-notch waterbender at your disposal!" I grinned.
"Oh yeah?" Mako raised a brow, in no mood for fun.
"Yeah— me," Korra said, directing at herself with her thumb.
"But you're the avatar… isn't that cheating?"
"If she only waterbends, it's not," I said, hoping that I was right. I don't see why it should be cheating.
"No way, I'd rather forfit," Mako said.
"Gee, thanks for believing in me," Korra said sassily before turning to the closet to get a uniform.
"Hey! I didn't agree to this!" Mako objected.
"You can thank me, later," she smirked.
"This girl is crazy"
"Hey! Eyes on me— the girl's got to change!" I said, moving to the side opposite of Korra, making sure they kept their eyes on me.
"So… how about some airbending while we wait?" Bolin suggested.
"Good idea, Bolin!" I said and hopped on an air scooter, balancing on the swirling ball of air to keep me off of the ground. "This move is called the air scooter. Avatar Aang invented it when he was a kid— before he was stuck in an iceberg for a century. Because of this invention, he was given master status and received his arrow tattoos, becoming the youngest airbending master in history."
"Wow, you sure do know a lot about this stuff," Bolin said.
"What do you expect, she's an airbender," Mako said, "she knows more about airbending than all of us combined."
"Co—rrect!"
I hopped off of my air scooter and raised it up until it was hovering above my hand. I tossed it back and forth like I would a ball.
"Ooh! Me! Pass it to me!" Bolin waved his hands and jumped up and down. I tossed it over to him, but it just dissipated when it hit him.
"Oh, sorry… it works better with two airbenders," I apologized ruefully.
"Last call, Fire Ferrets!"
"Come on you guys!" Korra said as if she had been waiting for them.
"Looks like the Fire Feerets found a last minute replacement waterbender! I wonder if she's a diamond in the rough like the bending brothers?"
They took stance— the whistle blew— Korra knocked a guy out of the ring— Korra got a penalty— Korra moved back a zone—
"And we're back in the game! Looks like the replacement doesn't know the ropes"
The bell sounded again and they ensued battle. This time, the opponents focused on Korra and really tried to knock her out, seeing her as the weakest link. I gritted my teeth as they sent blast after blast of fire, water, and earth at her. She conjured up a shield, but was under such distress that it was all she could do to block. Soon, it wasn't enough, and she used two earth coins to protect herself.
"Wait a minute—did that waterbender just EARTHBEND? Hold on folks, we're waiting for the referee's word, but… I think this girl could be… the Avatar!"
Ah, poodlemonkeys.
"The Avatar may continue as long as she solely bends water!"
I exhaled a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. The Fire Ferrets continued, but Korra was still taking hits she couldn't handle. It wasn't long until she was knocked out of the ring and smacked right into the water. I slumped against the railing, disappointed in her performance. There really is a completely different style, here.
I watched as she climbed out of the water to face… Tenzin! Well, that's it for me.
They gestured wildly as they argued, I sunk down, hiding behind the railing as he looked up. Korra went to the lift and continued in the next round. This time, however, she dodged all of the blows sent her way, using the same spiral movements I had taught her.
"Knockout!" I stretched over the railing with anticipation, grinning as the Fire Ferrets won, thanks to Korra's comeback.
"And the Fire Ferrets nabbed a spot in the championships, folks!" I thrust my fist into the air, my entire body spinning with joy. As I slowly lowered to the ground, I spotted Tenzin jumping for joy as well. The uncharacteristically excited expression on his face made me grin even more.
After thoroughly soaking up the applause, the three of them burst through the locker room door, looking happier than ever— even Mako looked jovial.
"Woohoo!" I said, running straight between Bolin and Korra, high-fiving them both simultaneously. "What a comeback! And Korra! You were amazing!"
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. I didn't learn to move like that on my own," she thanked. I smiled warmly and gave her a hug.
"You know, I kicked butt out there, too," Bolin pouted.
"You were great, too, Bolin"
"Oh, psh, that? That was nothing!" Bolin said, stretching his arms casually.
"And Mako," I said, "your title of Mr. Hat Trick may have just been stolen by Mrs. Hat Trick over there."
"Hey!" Korra said, catching the Mrs.
"Miss Hat Trick— whatever," I rolled my eyes. They are so touchy. "Anyway, you were great," I said, realizing I hadn't directly complemented him yet.
"Thanks, Kazumi," Mako said, "and you have your surprising moments, too."
When we got back, Tenzin was waiting for us.
"I'm really sorry about what I said, Tenzin. I was just angry with myself and took it out on you"
"I owe you an apology too, I keep trying to teach you patience when I failed to be patient myself. And Probending turned out to be a great tool for you, Korra! You moved just like an airbender!"
"I couldn't have done it without Kazumi," Korra added with a smile.
"I'm sorry for going behind your back, Dad," I apologized.
"I know you wouldn't have snuck out if you didn't think it was the right thing to do"
"So… are we okay?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes, we're okay," he said before I hugged him, Korra joining in.
"Great! So I'll see you tomorrow morning for airbending training? Oh, and I kind of permanently joined the Fire Ferrets and will be in the championship tournament in a couple of weeks!" Korra said, running off. I looked up at Tenzin to see a look of unpleasant surprise.
"Well, it's getting late. Goodnight!" I said and sprinted after her.