To start, this chapter is shorter than the previous, and I believe it is the shortest chapter in this story, but I could not figure out a way to end it well unless I ended it here. And, as always, I'll address a few reviews.
One reviewer said that he hoped this wouldn't turn into a Harem, and as I've stated in the summary and in response to a few reviews, this
should be strictly Naruto x Korra x Kuvira. If that bothers you, feel free to not read. Asami is a maybe, that as I currently see it, will probably not happen.


"Republic City took your parents Naruto! The only way to avenge them is to take Republic City! It is a city full of corruption, of greed, of crime, of despair. We can fix all of that, together! I'll help you, and you'll help me! We'll help each other!" - ?

4 in the morning. The quietest time that Republic City ever exhibits. Even this city needs sleep, even though it barely gets it, seeing as the sun was already beginning to peak over the horizon and gleam onto the reflective towering buildings. From his dorm on Air Temple Island, Naruto slowly breathed, trying to remain calm.

His hands shook as they held the folder within his hands, a hefty thing it was, filled to the brim with reports and photos. Information. Sweat dribbled down the side of Naruto's temple, reaching his chin, where it held on for dear life before plunging onto his bed. Before he had only glimpsed at the contents of this folder, and had saved it for this moment. When everyone else was sleeping. When the memories in this folder could be contained. When even the sun wouldn't see.

Gulping, Naruto tentatively opened the folder. Greeting him was a photo of two people. One blonde with a sharp jawline, the other rose haired with a soft disposition. The boy felt his chest clench, as it had in the office. This time, it was worse. His sapphire eyes first trailed across their mirror image, to the hanging blonde bangs that gleamed golden in the flash of the photo, down to the navy purple, fur lined jacket, and reaching the similar pants, finding brown boots connected to dazzling and sparkling white snow.

Naruto flexed his jaw to stop his teeth from chattering, reaching forward slowly with an aura of reverence, before softly placing his hand across the image of his father. His index and middle finger ghosted across the canvas, perhaps leaving behind a trail of memorium, of grief. Naruto choked back a sob, strangling it in the back of his throat with his tongue. A tear launched from his left eye like a cannon, shooting across the sea of his cheek and reaching the folder.

The blonde man on the canvas smiled back at Naruto, even as the boy shook and pleaded with the spirits to teach him how to relieve himself of the flesh, even as the boy's immediate aura became icy, the air around him condensing into crystalline structures that floated all around his person.

Eventually, Naruto finished grieving for his father, his shaky frame releasing its ghosted hold onto the man's image, and moving to the woman that was hugging his side with an overbearing excitement in her expression. Naruto's lip quivered violently as his sapphire eyes trailed the heart-shape of her face, reaching the violet eyes that stared eternally happy towards the beholder. As their eyes met, one pair unmoving as a historical artifact, the other shaking violently as an earthquake raked the boys mind, his right hand seized upwards and grasped onto the whirlpool pendant draped across his chest.

She was captured while wearing similar apparel to the man beside her, though her purple seemed more regal. Belonging to the upper echelon. A status symbol. And, her bulging stomach was another symbol of a status. Pregnancy. Naruto's eyes lowered, his form suddenly stopping its shaking as he stared at her stomach. At that pathetic, wretched thing that would watch as these two, wonderful, oh so beautiful, oh so treasured, so valuable beings were slaughtered. Gutted. Ended. Naruto shook once more, the air around him further cooling, snow falling across his frame, though he did not take notice of the cold gathering at his exposed shoulders.

Naruto reached his right hand out after prying it terribly away from the warmth that was the pendant, and ghosted it quickly across the canvas of red, silky hair. Naruto did not feel the old, wrinkled paper beneath his hands. He felt that soft, velvety hair. As he breathed he smelt her, his mother. And he cried. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, his body shaking and twitching in pain, seeking to relieve itself. To get these feelings out. But Naruto restrained them, focused them. Sadness became anger. Anger became hatred. Hatred bled together with fear and fused into a sickening, toxic acid that burned throughout his veins, tore away at his muscles and made the water within him fire. Naruto growled, even as his tears leaked into his open, grit mouth, even as his tongue tasted both blood and salt. He growled, until blood leaked from his mouth and dripped onto the face of his mother.

Half an hour later, Naruto set aside the stained photo, propping it up on his bed to allow his parents to watch. To guide. They had always made him feel better. They had always helped him. And they would now. They would show him the way, show him how to feel better. Who… who to hurt. To pry. To kill. To slaughter. To maim, dismember, massacre, liquify, butcher. To… Gut.

Naruto glared at the folder in his hands. His frame once more experienced a cataclysmic earthquake, though this one was not generated out of grief or sadness, but rather anger. And it was directed at one photo. One simple mugshot was all they had. The man had been arrested. Charged guilty for 17 murders. He had taken credit for them. And even during the trial, during the mugshot, officers noted that he wore a gut wrenching, face-splitting, eerie smile upon his visage. Naruto's frame exploded into a shaking, twitching mess. His face was unrecognizable as his eyelids spazzed, his lips quaked, his nostrils flared, his teeth grit, his cheeks snarled. His heart thundered. But, it was at this moment, that Naruto experienced a revelation.

His heart did not thunder out of fear.

It thundered out of anger.


Tenzin awoke in a cold sweat, his breathing heavy and burdened. He looked around his room frantically, sighing in relief when he found a peacefully sleeping Pema at his side. For a few minutes, Tenzin tried in vain to relieve himself of this foreboding feeling. It was as if the spirits themselves were pressing against his chest, willing him to move. To act. But, he could not for the live of him figure out what they were wishing him to do.

Unable to sleep, Tenzin resigned himself to his fate and got out of bed, careful to not rouse Pema from her sleep, knowing the pregnant woman needed it more than he did. Sighing in unease, Tenzin strode out of his room, using a crafty exercise of airbending to remove his sleeping attire and ghost his regular attire into his hand from across the room.

After putting it on and readying himself for the day, Tenzin strode about the dimly lit Air Temple Island, seeking out each area of the Island and inspecting it, searching for a sign from the spirits. For guidance. Tenzin found none. Desperately, he sought the dormitories with a keen sense of anxiety. If it was an issue with Korra… Tenzin's pace increased substantially.

But alas, even the female dorms proved to have everything in order. Confused, Tenzin paced quickly around the entrance to the female dorms, until a sudden thought revealed itself to Tenzin, and he nearly slapped himself on the forehead. That boy, Naruto. He had seemed troubled since Tenzin had met him, and, it was painfully obvious as to what troubled the boy. His parents. Tenzin had seen the bodies, he had been informed of what occured. And he had seen those eyes. Tenzin shuddered as he neared the boy's dorm, currently housing only one person.

Those eyes should not have belonged to a 5 year old child. Those eyes should not have belonged to any human being, whether cruel and vicious or heroic and kind. Tenzin beat himself up over that detail. How had he not extended his hand of support towards the boy? He was an Airbender! That was what they did! Tenzin was furious with himself, though his thoughts were quickly swept away as a cold breeze swept through the boy's dormitory as he entered it, causing him to shiver slightly. Was the dorm always this cold?

Striding forward, Tenzin looked at each room, unsure of which the boy had taken up residence in. Until, Tenzin found it. And his brow rose considerably, because, snow had slightly accumulated outside of the door, as if it were pouring out of the small gaps between the door and the frame. Fervently, Tenzin fell to his knees and tentatively placed his index and middle fingers into the small pile, and his eyes widened slightly.

This snow was unbelievably fine. He could feel the soft crystals of each individual flake. They did not clump together, as snow usually did, but instead they maintained an individuality, a fate separate from the mass. And Tenzin once more was angry with himself, because he knew this snow. He had seen it before. And it made sense, causing Tenzin more grief over his own ignorance. Of course the boy would be capable of this silky snow.

Quickly, Tenzin opened the room, and breathed a sigh of relief. The boy was asleep, peacefully in his bed. A strand of the boy's hair draped up and down in the wind from his breathing, and his body slowly mirrored the action. A sudden gust of warm, or rather, room temperature air hit Tenzin, and he smiled despite himself. Perhaps that foreboding feeling was merely akin to waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

As Tenzin walked away, relieved and calmed, he seemed to forget that thin, fine, silky snow that crunched quietly under the door as he closed it. And, as Tenzin closed the main entry to the dorms, he missed the way a cold breeze swept across his frame, carrying with it the scent of velvet red hair and strands of gold, mixed with an unholy toxin and grief.


Korra groaned loudly, her face squinched and crinkled as she stretched in the warm morning sun that beamed upon her frame, adorning, once more, the traditional clothing of airbending students. She smiled contentedly when her morning stretching finished, and turned around to spot a rapidly approaching Kuvira, though this time the girl was adorning a more soldier-like outfit, complete with the segmented metal pauldrons and collar that a soldier would be expected to wear, as well as the tighter fitting and more professional looking cloth underneath.

"Morning Korra, did you sleep well?" Kuvira greeted, hoping to try and ease some of the tension between them. Korra looked at her strangely, before shrugging and turning to fully look at her.

"I slept well enough, what about you?" Korra's question was a welcome surprise to Kuvira, who was happy that the girl seemed to just accept Kuvira's presence, at least for the moment.

"Yes, I did. It was a little strange, sleeping in the Monk dormitories, but they aren't too terribly different from the typical barracks of Zaofu." Kuvira offered, trying to engage in casual conversation while the pair waited for Tenzin's arrival. Korra nodded, understanding her words, though she looked past Kuvira, trying to spot either Tenzin or Naruto, though she frowned slightly when she didn't see either of them.

"Ah man, how long is it going to take those two?" Korra groaned in annoyance, slumping onto a railing and staring in irritation at the shoes adorning her feet. Kuvira chuckled, and joined Korra on the railing, though she chose to look at the sky instead of the ground, having focused on Earth all of her life.

"So, Korra, what's it like to be the Avatar?" Kuvira couldn't stop herself, her curiosity was seething when she woke up. She wanted to know what Korra felt about her status, and to see if the girl was really as sheltered from life as she seemed. Korra grinned happily, and stared at Kuvira with a deep ego that, while not harmful to anyone at the moment, was prominently there.

"It's great! Being able to bend all of the elements is amazing! But, well, I just love bending so I might be a little biased hehe," Korra's face flushed slightly as she scratched at her cheek, "But if I were to be honest the worst thing about being the Avatar is how everyone treats me like I'm a child they need to protect. It's so annoying! I can handle myself just fine!" Korra defiantly shouted out, striking a pose and pointing angrily at the sky as she finished, though Kuvira began to laugh lightly.

"What're you laughing at!?" Korra demanded, forcing her finger into Kuvira's face, who only smirked.

"Your shoe's untied, but it seems you can handle that yourself, right?" Kuvira joked, and chuckled once more as Korra fumed and hastily tied her shoe, before bouncing up again and glaring comically at the soldier.

"My point still stands! I can handle whatever anyone throws at me!" Korra exclaimed passionately, and Kuvira couldn't stop her brow from rising, a curious look overcoming her amused smirk.

"Oh really? Alright, I'll throw a few hypotheticals at you, ok?" Kuvira offered, not giving Korra time to answer as she looked at the sky.

"So, first one's the easiest example I've got right now. What're you planning on doing about the Equalists?" Her question threw Korra for a loop, who stared at her with a quizzical expression.

"The Equalists? What do you mean? What're the Equalists?" Korra asked, looking to Kuvira for an answer, who merely looked at her and frowned, frustrated that Korra really was sheltered from the world. To not know what the Equalists are… damn.

"You really don't know do you? Geez. Well, the Equalists are a group of non-benders that are banding together to protest the supposed assumed upper-status of Benders, and are trying their hardest to knock benders across the world down a peg. How they're planning on doing that I have no clue. That man we met last night, you know the one that tried to say we were striding around town looking for non-benders to push around? Perfect example. He had it written all over him." Kuvira explained, and peeked away from the clouds to watch as Korra seemed utterly confused, as if she couldn't comprehend something. And she couldn't.

"But, but how can people not like bending! It's so awesome! And, and cool! The world benefits so much from bending! I mean, look at Republic City, isn't the majority of the electricity used to run the city generated from lightning benders?" Korra questioned, receiving a confirmation nod from Kuvira, look sighed.

"I'm sure it is specifically those benefits that are upsetting the group. They are merely a group of people searching for their place in the world, and if they aren't benders, where are they to go? But, well, the real issue of the Equalists is their leader, Amon, if what I hear is correct. He's a damn brilliant public speaker. I listened to a tape of one of his speeches when it managed to make its way all the way to Zaofu, and, damn, I was nearly turned over to an Equalist myself. Combine a man like that with a group of lost souls looking for guidance and you've got yourself a mixture just waiting to bubble over into conflict." Kuvira explained, staring at Korra, trying to judge the girl's reaction.

"So, Avatar Korra, how do you plan to deal with the Equalists? You can't force them to like benders, and using force against them will only increase the tensions and potentially cause a civil war right here in Republic City. And I'm sure you can't exactly convince them, as the last person they will listen to is you. So, are you prepared to deal with the Equalists?" Kuvira's question lingered in the air, and Korra seemed genuinely stumped, and her aura seemed as if she had a grand revelation, though the moment was spoiled by Tenzin's entrance into the scene.

"Morning Korra, Kuvira." Tenzin nodded respectfully, receiving a nod from Kuvira and a distracted wave from Korra, who was still trying to ponder Kuvira's question.

"Well, let's get started Korra. Today we'll be-" "Where's Naruto?" Kuvira interrupted, looking around the training area for the blonde, but not seeing his form. Korra shot up at the mention of the boy, and looked around as well, frowning when she didn't see him.

"Yeah… where is he? He's usually up and at em before me, and if he isn't I usually wake him… Well, I didn't wake him this morning, so maybe he's still sleeping?" Korra offered, though her eyes lit up as she saw an approaching frame, golden hued hair beaming in the sun in greeting, the boy entering the area slowly, as if he was walking through sludge.

"Morning, uhlh, hey guys." Naruto mumbled as he approached, lazily waving at the group before dragging his hands across his face, shaking it slowly as if he was still trying to wake up. Kuvira smiled and waved, as did Korra, while Tenzin bowed slightly in greeting.

"Alright well, let's get started." And so, a cycle started. A routine, if you will. Each and every day, Korra would try to train her airbending, Kuvira would guard the group, though she would leave usually halfway through the day to go and practice for the upcoming dance recital, and Naruto would sit quietly, either leaning up against a railing, sitting on a bench, or crossing his legs on the ground. And each and every day, Naruto would show up late, walking through the same mental sludge. But, Korra and Kuvira began to notice slight changes. A darkening around the boy's eyes, a dulling of the sapphire in his eyes, and even a dimming of the golden hue that was his hair. It seemed to them, that the boy wasn't getting enough sleep, if he was at all. And that worried them, deep down.