Alright! So hope you all enjoy this new chapter, especially since it's a one-on-one Kainora alone time chapter. Anyways, onto the story!

Jinora paced back and forth and back and forth on the top of the hill. She had flown all over the town, had searched every alleyway, had interrogated every citizen, had tried to find his spiritual energy—but failed to find Kai. A sense of worry gnawed at her heart, the pain growing stronger and stronger with every minute she didn't see his handsome face, didn't hear his charming voice. Jinora rubbed her temples in stress, praying that Kai would return soon.

She turned towards the mountain that towered over the town, almost as if she was hoping it'd give her an answer to the question on her mind the most. Nothing came. Sighing, Jinora elected to meditate an what she hoped would be an auspicious attempt to ease her nerves. However, just as she sat down, she felt a cold hand grab her shoulder. She flung the hand off her along with an air-punch, but as she prepared to knock the assailant off the hill, she heard a familiar voice cry out.

"Jinora! It's me! Stop!"

"K—Kai?"

Jinora pulled the returnee off the edge of the hill and helped him sit up, demanding to know if he was okay. When she heard him respond lightheartedly, "Don't you know it takes more than that to get rid of me?" she felt the world lift off her shoulders and punched him jokingly. They struggled to see in the dark, but even in the pitch black Jinora could make out Kai's emerald green eyes and pearly white smile, and he could see her bright blue arrow and shining brown eyes. After a moment of staring at each other, they pulled each other into a tight hug.

Jinora ran her hand through his ruffled hair and down the shaven sides of his head; she ran pressed her face against his, feeling the curve of his broad and strong jaw. she savored the warmth of his body, glad to know he still had one. Meanwhile, Kai stroked her shoulders and felt a sense of guilt slowly creep over the enormous joy that he felt initially. He pulled away, and Jinora, sensing something was wrong, placed her hands over his.

"Jin, I'm sorry…For everything…"

"You don't need to apologize; you're already forgiven."

"But I can't forgive myself just yet. I screwed up big time, but don't worry. I'm gonna make it up to you, and I know just how."

"How?"

"Well, when I was gone, I, uh, kinda got kidnapped."

"What! Were you hurt? Did they try to brainwash you? Because that's what the Dai Li used to do in their secret layer beneath Lake Laogi and—"

"No, no, no! That's not what happened. I'm fine. They were bandits, criminals. I ended up in their layer and kinda hung with them for a couple days."

"You did what? Kai! Don't tell me you got involved with their shenanigans."

"I didn't, honest. I came back to make things better, not worse. Plus, I'd never do something like that to you."

Jinora smiled at his heartfelt confession, thankful that the night hid her blush.

"Anyways," Kai continued, "I was able to watch them for the past couple days, learn more about them. I think they're the ones that blew up the railroad that we saw flying in, the ones that's been terrorizing the town, and the ones that have something to do with Yung and Daw's disappearance."

"That's great! We've got to go back to my dad now and tell the others! Then we—"

"No! We can't! I have to go back, and they can't suspect anyone knows about this!"

"What? A—are you trying to protect them?"

"No, I'm not! I don't like what they're doing, but—"

"But what, Kai? Why would you possibly go back!"

"Because I know their leader!"

Jinora's jaw dropped in shock. She knew she was about to prod into Kai's troubled past, the one he had kept so, so incredibly guarded and smothered for all these years, but she had to.

"Alright, what's the story?" She asked.

Kai sighed, closed his eyes. Jinora sensed his disquietude and placed her hand on his cheek, trying to comfort him. Kai pressed her hand against his face and began to tell the story.

"Do you remember how we first met?" Kai asked.

"Yeah," Jinora replied, "you…were running from the police."

"Because I stole my adoptive family's life savings," Kai sighed remorsefully.

"Keep going," Jinora encouraged him.

"I swore I'd never even think about my past, about them again…But it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Anyways, they were a small family, just the mom, dad, and a son my age. Obviously, they had money, and they were happy. They just wanted to spread to happiness to a child that didn't really know what it meant. Only, I backstabbed them—hard. And I didn't find out what happened to them those six months I was on the run and what's happened since.

"Those savings were their lifeline. A week after I stole them, the dad got into a bad accident. He was stuck in the bed for a while, and it was up to the mom to pay both the hospital bills and rent. She managed to get the hospital, but the rent, not so much. That gated community's real estate company was tough; they didn't take excuses. When she couldn't come up with the money to pay the rent—the life savings I stole—they got kicked them to the streets. They went from happy, well-off family to miserable, street beggars.

"Their son took it the worst. He, he changed. And I can't say for the better exactly. He was in a lot of pain, guilt—and anger. Two months later, some thugs suddenly came chasing after his parents; apparently, they worked for the dad for a while before getting fired, and they'd been holding a grudge against him since. The thugs said that it was because of his dad that they were living the miserable life they had. But they weren't satisfied with the fact the family was living like them; they wanted revenge. And that's what they got…They tried to kill the whole family…Only the son managed to escape.

"Now, the son, my adoptive-brother, is the leader of the gang we're dealing with, the leader behind all the bad things happening here…All because I stole their life savings…All because of me."

Jinora was silent, her mind still reeling. She knew Kai had a criminal past, but she'd never imagined how petty thievery could've caused something so bad. Moreover, she couldn't believe how remorseful he felt about it, how much he blamed himself. Whether it was completely his fault though, Jinora wasn't so sure of.

"I tried not to think about what could've happened. I told myself that the police returned the life savings, and everything worked out…I'm a terrible liar and person for that matter."

Jinora stared at the troubled teen. She could tell that he was too ashamed to look her in the eye. She could tell that tears were streaming down his eyes. She could tell he was carrying a weight heavier than anyone had (except for maybe Aang). Then, she tipped his chin up so that his eyes would meet hers. She flashed a smile at him, and he smiled back, relieved to know that her opinion of him hadn't changed, that she admired his courage to confess.

"So you see? I have to go back. I have to make things right. I get the feeling that there's more going on than just what we've seen, and I need time to get to the bottom of it. Plus, I don't know if we can take on his entire army of bandits in a fight. Me going back might be a better option." Kai stated.

"I know you do." Jinora replied with a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Kai asked light-heartedly.

"Nothing…It's just that, you sound like my grandpa Aang, at least from the stories I've heard of him." She replied.

It was then when they noticed that they were still holding hands and separated themselves awkwardly. Kai jumped up, declaring he needed to leave soon.

"I'm gonna try to talk to him. Maybe I can figure out what else is going on; maybe I can convince him to stop what he's doing; maybe we can avoid any unecessary fighting. But if I don't show up soon, get worried." Kai offered.

"Do what you need to, but try to stay safe," Jinora replied as she turned back to camp.

"Wait!" Kai shouted.

"Yeah?" Jinora asked as she stopped in her tracks.

"Thanks for everything. You're my best friend, and I'm really glad that you are." Kai confessed with a blush.

"You too," Jinora replied blushing as well, "but I have one last question before you go: what's his name?"

"Chou."

With that, Jinora nodded as Kai flew off into the night. They both felt their hearts tug the moment they separated. Eventually, Jinora headed back to camp as Kai disappeared beyond the hills.

What both of them didn't notice—was a small, blue spirit sitting at the base of the hills, watching Kai return to the town as well.

I hope that chapter was okay. Ik it seems weird Kai's going back to Chou (given his discovery in the last chapter), but the idea is that Kai still feels bad for what he did to Chou, and Kai still thinks it's his fault. I was also intending for this to kinda be a turning point in his character development/maturity, where he tries to solve a problem with his head instead of his fists (which was pretty typical of him). Anyways, didn't mean for that spheel to be so long...Just wanted to give insight into my thought process. Anyways, continue to review, and I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow!