Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Legend of Korra or any other anime/manga that just so happens to find itself buried in this fanfic.
Chapter 1: First Contact-Part 1
At the Air Temple Island, a figure sat perched upon a tree branch staring at nothing in particular. The hot sun beamed on his form, the heat stifling and uncomfortable yet the figure remained in his position. The tree was the largest one on the island, being easily visible from all the different corners of the land; it stretched for many miles towards the sky, several branches spreading out magnificently towards the endless sky.
The figure was currently sitting cross-legged against the branch, fingertips connected to each other and a zen-like calm permeating his appearance. He was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of black pants that was neither tight enough to be uncomfortable nor loose enough to get in the way of a fight. He wore black arm-guards that covered his forearms and fingerless black gloves. His feet were bare, their usual appearance whenever he returned to the Island.
Long golden hair fluttered in the gentle breeze, strands of the sun gently swaying from side to side. It was of shoulder-length, spiking about all over the place with a certain exotic and feral appeal that Pema often complained about. Shoulder-length bangs framed the sides of his face, parting down from the center of his face. His lips were set in a thin line and his face suddenly tightened.
His ripped yet lean physique rippled as he moved, slowly rising to his feet. Grabbing the rising trunk of the tree for support, the man released a satisfied breath. "Sage Mode, perfected. About damn time, if you ask me…" Flexing his hands, the male cocked his head to the side.
'…'
His face twisted in annoyance. "I don't care if you're bored or not, stupid tree. Be grateful you were given a huge sentiency boost, otherwise you would've been nothing but a mindless and stupid beast unable to tell the difference between a rock and a ball." He finally opened his eyes, revealing them to be crimson blood-red eyes. Of course, these weren't the normal eyes you would expect to see on anyone; instead of rounded pupils, they had horizontal bar-like pupils and slits combined to look like a cross.
Wiping a line of sweat off his body, the male stretched himself. As the feeling returned to his body, he noticed a speck of white floating in the sky, drifting towards the caves whilst another sky bison headed towards the main temple building.
'…'
He grimaced. "Damn it. He's going already?" Grumbling lightly, he gave the tree a few pats with wry amusement. "Be a good boy and take care of the island for me, okay?" With a short hop, Naruto found himself descending through the air towards the temple floor. As he glided down towards the temple, he chuckled at a joke he suddenly remembered. Manipulating the wind to slow his descent, he soon found himself lazily drifting through the sky.
As he slowly made his way to the ground, black energy appeared around him in the form of flickering flames. The black flames coated his chest and the lower portion of his face yet he did not cry out in pain or make any sound. If anything, he looked nonchalant and laidback; he seemed almost like he did this all the time. The flames coagulated, shifting and morphing to create clothing; now wearing a red undershirt which had black markings on it and a black long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat with red lining draped over him and opened at his chest. Held together by three 'x' shaped marks, the coat flared out into a number of ragged coattails. A face mask obstructed the lower portion of his face from view. His eyes returned to slits and lost their orange colour, reverting to a crimson colour.
Landing on his feet, Naruto took one last glance at the tree before he left. Leaping towards the last place he had seen the sky bison heading, Naruto took off. In a few minutes, he was soaring towards the family bison, Oogi, who was being saddled by his father and siblings. Scowling at the sight of them, Naruto made sure to land suddenly in front of Tenzin.
As Tenzin turned round to place the box of snacks they were carrying into the saddle, he yelped in fright as he saw Naruto sitting on the saddle with a mischievous smile. Dropping the box, Naruto's hands shot out and snagged it before it could fall and smash against the ground. Taking a small step back and getting a hold of himself, despite his frantically beating heart, he leveled a glare upon his eldest child. "Naruto, how many times have I told you to stop sneaking up on me?"
Naruto leaned back to lie on Oogi, his earlier scowl resurfacing. "Come on, Dad. It's your fault you're so high-strung these days." He said, before shifting his gaze towards his siblings. "The little munchkins are coming with us…what happened to our deal?"
Tenzin sighed and rubbed his head. "Believe me, this wasn't what I had in mind either." He muttered. Removing his hand, he began to explain. "Well, Pema has been feeling so stressed out this past week so I suggested that she let me take Ikki, Meelo and Jinora with us to the Southern Water Tribe to meet with Korra and Mother."
Meelo, the youngest of the trio, stuck his tongue out at Naruto whilst Ikki blew a raspberry at him. Only Jinora didn't do anything; shuffling about on her feet, she had the expression of a doe: timid, sad and so unbearably cute that Naruto felt like a bastard at that moment.
Naruto's angry scowl softened and he averted his eyes to the side. His mother Pema was expecting a new child soon and he really didn't want anything bad happening to both her and the baby. Crossing his arms, he sighed once more before turning to face his father. "Who's gonna be keeping an eye on Mother while we're gone on this trip?" He questioned.
Tenzin grimaced. "Your Godmother."
Naruto blinked. "Interesting." He stated, the dry tone speaking volumes to Tenzin. Leaving his pregnant wife in the company of his ex-lover was something Tenzin thought to be the lesser of two evils; he could have taken her with them, but they were only going to be staying there for a few days and he didn't want to agitate her when she was so close to the expected time. Still, even Naruto was sounding worried about what would happen during their leave.
"Alright…sorry for getting angry without reason." He apologized. Turning to the three children behind Tenzin, his face shifted into a deadpan expression. "And for you guys, I'm just sorry that Jinora has to deal with the other two on a daily basis."
Of course this prompted Ikki and Meelo to get annoyed, judging by the puffed out cheeks they had and the pouts on their faces. Before they could yell out their anger, Tenzin patted them on their heads and shook his head at them. "No fighting kids. That includes you as well, Naruto." The blond just huffed before vaulting over to the side and began to silently help out with the packing, missing the grateful smile Tenzin sent him.
Stealing a glance towards the Air Temple, Tenzin grabbed a box and began to aid his children. As the last item was securely strapped on, Tenzin climbed aboard the sky bison with ease. Meelo, having never flown on Oogi before, was staring about his elevated position with interest whilst Jinora and Ikki climbed onto the saddle. As Oogi stood up from his spot, Jinora noticed that Naruto hadn't climbed in with them.
Turning to him, she called out, "Naruto, aren't you coming with us?" Her eyes widened as he eye-smiled at her, sending her heart jogging whilst heat spread to her face.
"Don't worry about me; I'll be right behind you!" He called back. Taking a moment to nod to Naruto, Tenzin made the 'yip yip' signal that Oogo needed to take off. As the sky bison flapped its tail and rose into the sky, Naruto began to float as well. Hanging in the air, Naruto took off after his family in a burst of speed, easily catching up to the quick bison despite the early lead.
As they sped towards the Southern Water Tribe, Meelo and Ikki gaping at him in awe, Naruto turned his eyes towards the tree. Closing his eyes for a moment, he sent one final request towards his companion. 'Take care of my family, Shinju (God Tree)…'
-Southern Water Tribe, Three Days Later-
At the border of the Southern Water Tribe, two people stood near the Gate Entrance. One was elderly, standing shorter than her companion and keeping a steadfast eye towards the skies in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her youngest son and his family. Despite her elderly age, she had a curious youthfulness in her blue eyes.
Her companion was none other than Avatar Korra herself. She had changed greatly throughout the years; no longer was she the short, pudgy little girl who had amazed the White Lotus so long ago. She wore her own version of water tribe clothing, which was more 'revealing' than most, and had matured into quite the pretty young woman. She was pacing around the elder Master, her body filled with nervous excitement at the thought of who would soon be arriving.
Tenzin, the Last Airbender and Representative of the Air Nation on the United Republic Council. Her future Airbending Master.
Letting out a sound of frustration, Korra spun wildly towards her companion. "Master Katara, when do you thing Tenzin will arrive? The day is almost over and he said he'd be here today!" She threw her arms about, waving them wildly.
Katara chuckled at the young Avatar's distress. She could understand why Korra was so eager to begin her Airbending training; despite being the Avatar, she had only shown an aptitude for the physical aspect of bending and even so, had never managed to airbend in her short life. Korra wanted to prove she was a capable Avatar, not only to the world, but to herself as well. However, she was too headstrong and could be quite reckless at times. "Be patient, Korra. I'm sure Tenzin and the others will be here soon." She said.
Korra huffed in annoyance but eventually settled into a comfortable seating position within the snow. Deciding to make the most of it, she began to bend the snow into various shapes; a flying bison, her pet polar bear-dog Naga, miniature figurines of her parents and even a small scale model of the Southern Water Tribe. As she continued to work on her bending, she missed the nostalgic smile Katara flashed towards her.
As usual, not even ten minutes after she spoke, Katara's sharp ears heard the familiar bellow of a sky bison. Glancing back towards Korra, Katara chuckled at the suddenly excited young woman. Swiveling her head towards the skies, a large dot appeared in the distance and Katara smiled broadly. With a natural grace that was surprising for its size, Oogi maneuvered through the sky in a dipping spiral towards the earth.
As the bison descended, Katara heard the excited voice of her youngest granddaughter chattering away. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? It feels like we're there- I know this, this is very familiar! Are we here yet? Are we here yet? Oooh! Please tell me we're here!"
Smiling brighter than ever, Katara made her way towards the landed bison. As she drifted closer, she watched with amusement as her youngest grandson bit and gnawed at his father's bald head. "Yes, Ikki. As I have been telling you for the last fifteen minutes, we are finally here." Tenzin tiredly confirmed.
With a whoop of excitement, the two girls bounced off the saddle and miniature whirlwinds shaped like a circle whizzed into existence under their feet. Quickly crossing their legs and landing on the ball of wind, the two girls used the infamous 'Air Scooter' to slide down the sky bison's large tail whilst their father simply hopped off Oogi's head.
Walking towards Katara, Tenzin's weary eyes seemed to brighten a bit. "Hello Mother. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you," he greeted, raising his right arm in salutations. Jinora and Ikki appeared by his side and grabbed both of his limbs whilst Meelo abandoned his attempt to eat Tenzin and settled for pulling his ears back and forth. Suppressing his wince as best as he could, the brief shine in his eyes disappeared and were replaced by a desperate light as he turned to face his mother. "Please, help me."
Laughing at her son, Katara reached forwards and gently picked Meelo off his father's back. This made him struggle about in her grip, trying to escape her grip. "No, no, no. Don't want to end up hurt, do we?" She chastised, the nostalgic smile threatening to break through once again. Oh, it was almost like Bumi had become a child again for her to pamper!
Tenzin had no energy left in him to look amused; ridding Oogi for three whole days as well as entertaining his children the entire time had left him severely drained. Speakin of his children…
"Naruto! Come on down!" He called to the sky, earning looks from everyone. As they also looked to the sky, Katara's smile widened once again whilst Korra gaped in amazement at the sight she was seeing.
Standing in the air like it was solid ground, Naruto resembled a King or God at that moment. Slowly descending to the snowy ground, Naruto's eyes lazily roved over the group, briefly focusing on the current Avatar standing beside his adopted grandmother. Landing with nary a sound, he bowed deeply towards Katara. "Nice to meet you again, Grandmother. I hope our tardiness wasn't so much of a problem to you."
Katara waved his concerns away. "It's been so long since you visited us, my boy. Kya misses you terribly." She hugged him fiercely, savoring each moment she had with her favorite grandchild. He rolled his eyes but leaned into her embrace, hugging her just as tight.
Korra slowly stepped forwards, catching the attention of Tenzin as well as Naruto. The latter was watching her from the corners of his eyes, disinterest showing through his canine eyes. As she and Tenzin began to talk, he reverted his attention back to Katara, who was gazing at him with knowing eyes.
"She's not what you expected, is she?" She prodded, turning to watch Korra animatedly retelling her Fire Bending Test to Tenzin.
Naruto crossed his arms. "She certainly doesn't really seem like someone who's supposed to be the defender of the world," He wryly noted. "Then again, I just met her so I can't say something like that without getting to know her a bit." He said, earning a nod from Katara. 'Still, I was expecting something…more.' He mused.
Tenzin noticed Korra's eyes drifting towards Naruto and picked up the silent question. Gesturing towards Naruto, he began to introduce him to the curious girl. "Korra, I'd like you to meet my eldest son, Naruto Uzumaki. He will be my teaching assistant and your sparring partner throughout the course."
Extending her hand towards the handsome blond, which he shook firmly, Korra smiled though her eyes still held some curiousity. "Thank you so much for helping me with my training. I can't wait to get started!"
Shooting a look towards his father, Naruto deadpanned at the guilty expression on his face. 'Great, just great…' He hadn't told her about their plans, huh? He mentally groaned.
It was going to be one long night…
A/N: Alright, this seems like a good place to stop. This chapter is short because it is a set-up to the next one, which will deal with the rest of episode 1 as well as episode 2…and also because I have a headache that seriously feels like a bomb went off in my head. That, unfortunately, will not be posted as quickly as this one. Sorry.
Anyways, more will be revealed as the story progresses, though Korra will learn a lot about Naruto in the next chapter regarding his status in society. Just so we are clear, the Shinju isn't the Juubi; I didn't like how the final form of the Juubi turned out to be a supposedly badass tree, so I'll be tweaking its history with Naruto a lot.
There is indeed a wedge between Naruto and Tenzin's kids; to be specific, between Naruto and the younger two. I believe that Naruto, who has grown up and is more of a quiet kind of guy, would hardly like spending much time with loud kids. Jinora is sort of the only one of them he likes and that's only because he had a hand in her upbringing. He doesn't hate them-they just piss him off, especially when he wants his distance and they keep throwing themselves at him.
Someone asked me to add Eska to the harem…I'm not sure I will. I mean, she seems awesome, but I just don't see Naruto entering that kind of relationship at all.
Once again, there is an age plot-hole…which I WILL resolve, damnit. Read and review.
MaelstromBankai.
