AN: I realized how much I made Riku like my little brother. XD

Okay, so this chapter is going to have a bunch of flashbacks to Kei's life. Some of them may be sad, so it's just a warning. You will really get to know Kei's character in this chapter. :D I'm trying to mix both Korra and Mako's personalities into her.

Enjoy, guys. ^^

x.x.x

Riku's mother, Yuki, had the habit of wanting to get to know whoever her son would be working with, and since Kei were going to be his fire bending teacher, she wanted to learn more about the young fire bender. She had a list already made in her brain, going through and deciding on which ones were the best to ask his first trainer for her son's Avatar training.

Kei thought for a moment, thinking of the best place for her to begin… why not start from the very beginning? She had nothing to hide. She took a breath before beginning. "I was born in the Southern Water Tribe. I know it's a weird place considering I am a fire bender, but my mom and dad went back there after they found out they were expecting me. They ended up living in the south pole for almost two years, taking a long leave from Republic City."

Kei could actually remember her childhood very well, even the earlier parts of it, including some of her life as a new born and as a toddler. Compared to her parents, her childhood was on the good side, at least until she turned ten.

Her gaze went downward as she folded her hands in her lap. "My parents made sure my child hood wouldn't be like theirs, even though I didn't see them as much as I would have liked to, so I would stay at the air temple island in the bay while they were at their council sessions. My dad doted on me a lot, but I understand why now. He told me that when he was eight, he witnessed his parents be cut down by a fire bender, and he pretty much raised my uncle since they were just kids. He was over protective sometimes. I guess it was because he was worried about me, like any father was, but I think he was really worried about something happening to him and my mom… not wanting the same thing he went through to happen to me…" She paused, and like all the other time when she thought about her father, her hand went up to his scarf that he had given her. It was one of the few things she had left from her parents.

She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them and looking down at the wooden coffee table that sat between her and the two earth benders. This was her weaker side in its work. She quickly became sad when she would think about her parents, flashbacks of the better times before they had died would go through her mind, making her feel vulnerable to not have her parents around to help her. However, there was a good side to the memory of them. It made her more determined to help the newly found Avatar with his fire bending training, and she wanted to help him find his other teachers after wards.

The young fire bender sighed, before she continued on with her life story. She made a small smile appear on her face and she returned to a normal sitting position, looking back at Riku and Yuki. "I think I got enough of freedom as a kid, though I didn't really want to leave uncle's house after my dad left when I was fourteen. I must say, it was fun to watch over my cousin while my aunt and uncle went out. She was only five when I started living with them."

There was a mystery that lingered in Republic City after the loss of the last avatar and her husband, and that was how they died. She remembered her parent's last days too well for her liking. What was weird about their deaths was that they had died the same way, both of them catching a mysterious illness, and even though it took a few days to spread, it killed them off before any one was about to make a cure.

"How did your parents die… if you don't mind my asking." Yuki asked, sipping tea from her cup on the stand next to her side of the couch. By now, Riku had left the room, not wanting to her Kei's sad story.

Kei just shrugged. "All I know is that there was something that got my parents terribly sick. My mother got sick when I was ten, and it took her out in about a week… we even contacted Master Katara, who is the best healer in the world to try and save my mom, but not even she could save her." Again, she lightly gripped her father's scarf as she went on.

Flash back: 8 Years Ago

Korra was curled up on the couch in the living room. The heat was on and she was laying under a thick fleece blanket, still shivering as she went through endless cold chills. The twenty eight year old Avatar felt horrible. They had traveled back to the Southern Water tribe, arriving there that morning. They figured Korra's elderly water bending teacher, Katara, might be able to heal Korra out of this strange illness.

Her daughter, Kei, sat by her, a small flame formed in her hand in her attempt to make her mother more comfortable while her father retrieved the healer. She had never seen anyone this sick before and it had her worried for her mother. Korra's parents, Senna and Tonraq, were also trying to make their daughter better, Senna's motherly instincts returning the moment they got to the south pole.

Korra groaned in pain, turning over so that she was now lying on her back. Senna placed a cool towel on her daughter's head.

Kei turned to look over her shoulder, wondering how much longer it would take her father to return with Katara. They got back a couple of minutes later. Mako quickly walked over to his sick wife, gently moving her hair out of his face. Korra smiled lightly at her husband's presence, the sickness suddenly not seeming so bad.

The elderly Katara looked at Korra's mother. "Will you please get me some water, Senna?"

Senna nodded, quickly getting a bucket of water for the elderly healer to heal her daughter. Kei had gotten up from where she was sitting so that Mako would be able to sit by Korra. He gently stroked Korra's cheek, though his warm touch could not calm her shivering. Senna came back into the room, a bucket of water in her arms and she sat it next to the couch. Katara had pulled a chair from the kitchen next to the couch, ready to heal the sick Avatar.

The healer used her water bending ability to lift water out of the bucket and moving some of it over the Avatar's body, trying to heal her of this strange illness. The group in the room watched in silence as Katara did her work. Korra only lay there, her blue eyes closed as she tried to relax, but the pain and agony in her body wouldn't subside, not even for a minute. After what seemed like an eternity, Katara stopped, a frown on her face.

The elder water bender slowly turned to look at the other people in the living room. "I'm sorry… but there is nothing I can do to save her..."

With Katara's words spoken, Mako felt his heart sink. He couldn't lose someone else that he cared about. He saw Senna and Tonraq, holding each other tightly, a few tears falling down Senna's cheeks and Tonraq looking on the verge of tears. Kei stood near by, hugging herself tightly, trying to hold back her own tears. She was so young, and she didn't want to lose her mother so soon.

The next day, Korra had fallen into a coma, and she passed away three days after that.

Present Time

This was the first time Kei had talked about the last time she had seen her mother alive. Just the memory of it had her on the verge of tears, and she still tried to hold them back. She pulled her legs back up to her chest, sighing before continuing on.

"My dad changed after my mother's death… He got even more protective of me, as if he wasn't enough already. He would be worried that something would happen to me when he went to his council meetings. He became too paranoid for my liking, but he didn't stop my fire bending training… I wouldn't let him stop, being too eager to learn the element. He told me how much I reminded him of my mom because of that. I was impatient like her, and somewhat rebellious, too… but that side left me after a while…"

Kei tensed at this part, reaching another difficult part in her life story. "When I was fourteen… it happened again. The same illness that took my mother away got my dad. It seemed like it was worse on him, yet it took him the same time it took my mother. We knew Katara wouldn't be able to save him, and the healers in Republic City would not able to either."

The young fire bender looked up, her golden eyes turning serious as she looked at Yuki. "That was when I made a promise. I made it a life goal for me to find the next Avatar and be his fire bending teacher."

Yuki smiled. "You are a very determined young lady, Kei. And I must agree that you are very much like your mother from what I have heard. You will be a wonderful fire bending teacher for Riku. And it seems like your mother agrees. I can think of no one better than you for this.

Kei remembered the fact about the past Avatar always helping to current Avatar. Avatar Roku had helped Aang. Avatar Aang had helped Korra, and now, Korra was helping Riku. She stood up, bowing respectfully to the earth bender in front of her. "Thank you." Her eyes drifted to the clock. It was getting late. "I need to be going now since it's starting to get late. My uncle, aunt and cousin are probably wondering where I am by now. It was nice to meet you."

Kei smiled, feeling her life goal getting closer and closer to being accomplished. She knew Riku would have to master his first element first, though. She could wait, though she was very eager to begin teaching the young Avatar fire bending.

o.o.o

Kei was eager, waiting for the day where the young Avatar would take his earth bending test. Almost as soon as she had gotten home, she told them that she had found the Avatar like she had promised her parents. Now she was on her way to Air Temple Island to tell the air bending family, or those who still lived there. The oldest, Jinora, had moved out by the time she was nineteen, now she was twenty eight. Ikki was only a few years younger than Jinora, now at age twenty six, with Meelo almost twenty two. The only ones left on the island were Tenzin, Pema and Rohan (now nineteen).

She mainly wanted to rub her discovering in the air bending master's face for doubting her. Tenzin had told her that she would not find the next Avatar, that he would come after her life time. Kei doubted what he had said since she was so young when Korra had died.

She took the ferry to the small island, being greeted by their sky bison, Oggi, and the family of flying lemurs that the air benders had on the island. It had been a while since she had last visited the island, three weeks at the least when she had told the air bending family about her wanting to find the next Avatar. She would have to be honest, though. She had not expected to find the next Avatar so quickly, and there was a small part of he that feared that she wouldn't find him.

The small island seemed empty for the time being, the family being nowhere in sight. Kei knew she could just return back to the large house she lived in with the rest of her family, but she just invited herself into the household, and it was easy considering they never locked their doors. She eventually found the three of them in the dining room

"Hello, air benders~" Kei said as she walked into the dining room and sat at the only free side of the table. "I have good news!"

Tenzin sighed. "Kei, it's late, shouldn't you be at home?"

Kei rolled her eyes. "It's only six, Tenzin. That's not late at all, and if it was late, I would be able to handle myself." She leaned over the table, snatching a butter rolled from a basket on the large table – air benders never turned down a guest.

Pema, Tenzin's wife, took note of the young fire bender's excitement, though it was obvious. Her reason for being excited must be because of something big. She normally didn't smile as much as she used to, not for the past four years. "What is this good news?"

Kei smiled. "I did it. I found the next Avatar."

x.x.x

AN: Sorry for the wait guys… I've been busy…. Actually… the past few days I have had writer's block so I was pretty much doing nothing but watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra and playing Left 4 Dead. Seriously, last night I had a dream combining the three of those… zombies and Avatar.

I finally told you guys how Mako and Korra died so young, but I'm not telling the whole thing. It'll be revealed later on.