Chapter 21 The Recovery

I stayed in the Spirit World for a while over the next few days. Thankfully Korra and Asami allowed me to stay with them at Korras cabana. I was curious to see how Korra and Asami live their lives in the Spirit World anyway. Turns out the two of them sleep in the same bed, I'll let you guess what they do there together at night. They start the morning by talking about hunting or technology or pro bending, whatever is on their minds at that point really. Then they make breakfast where they alternate between who cooks and who sets the table. I've noticed a pattern when I've eaten with them. Korra's not very good at setting the table but she makes very delicious food, whereas Asami is great at setting the table but her food isn't very good. Maybe I'm just not a fan of the upper crust section of Republic City. Or maybe her father never taught her how to cook since she was a rich girl and probably had servants to fetch her meals. Not that I'm complaining, she was spoiled but sweet and that's the best kind of rich girl you can ask for.

After breakfast Korra usually takes me out of the house to see the Spirit World communities. As it turns out several of the people that I remember from Aang and Korra's adventures who died ended up here. King Bumi was still the same crazy old man that I remember him as, Zuko was still living peacefully after the events of the Red Lotus Invasion and then there was the time when I met Ty Lee who was just randomly wandering on her hands around the Wilds. She's as enjoyable to talk to as I always thought she would be.

"Hi Ty Lee."

"Hello!"

"How'd you get here?"

"I don't know! It's weird isn't it? Oh. Is that Avatar Korra?!"

"Yes Ty Lee this is my previous life Avatar Korra." Ty Lee was incredibly excited as she eyeballed Korra on all sides and started to get a bit sweaty while admiring her. "Umm... Ms Korra. I've always been a huge fan of yours and I've always been wondering... Are those biceps real?" Ty Lee grabbed Korra's biceps and started to squeeze them lovingly. Korra rolled her eyes as Ty Lee continued to examine her well built body. "They feel real. Wow you're so muscular and so beautiful at the same time!"

Korra looked like she didn't know how to react to these compliments but she eventually reacted in a similar fashion to her reaction to Grandma Yins comments about her muscles. "Uh... Thanks? You seem very flexible."

"Oh. Did I make it a bit obvious? I used to be in a circus so some of those tricks never left me."

After Korra takes me to meet the other spirits I usually head back over to Asami so she can show me some of the technology that she designed either by herself or with the help of her father Hiroshi when she was still a teenager. Most of it's pretty interesting stuff like a Satomobile that runs exclusively off of electricity, it probably would be invaluable for lightning benders. Whereas other gadgets of hers are rather questionable like the steel nutcracker or the liquid lipstick case. I suppose she uses the latter to keep her lips as gorgeously red as they are. After those activities we usually just hang out, play Pai Sho, exercise in Korras makeshift gym and watch some movers. But today Korra and Asami were planning on something different.

When I woke up today I smelled the air. Usually the smell of a scrumptious breakfast fills the air but no such smell was there for me to catch. I was a bit perplexed at that point so I walked over to Korra and Asamis bedroom to see if they were still sleeping. Turns out they weren't there. Though I saw a note for me on their bed. It said, "Good Morning Nami, We have something important to discuss. Please meet me and Asami at the gym and I'll tell you what you need to know. Please understand that were doing this for your own good, Korra."

I don't understand. Why are they going through all of this? I put the note in my pocket and I walked over to the gym right next to the Cabana. Korra was bench pressing a large set of weights as Asami acted as her spotter. Ahh. So this is how she regained her bulk once she became a permanent resident of the Spirit World.

"Impressive Korra. That's 350 pounds that you're lifting up."

Korra set down her weights and pulled herself up. "Not to be self absorbed but I've always been conscious about how my body looks. I was actually mistaken for a man a few times because of my muscular frame. I initially wanted to be thin and pretty like the other girls in the Southern Water Tribe but eventually Katara told me that the world needed strong women. So now I embrace who I am. Who cares if I get mistaken for a man?"

"Wow that's interesting. I'm pretty androgynous so most people think I'm a man too. I guess that's one thing we have in common. But why did you want me to see you two here?"

Asami walked over to me and explained the reasoning to me. "Nami. It's been five days since you entered the Spirit World after you barely got out of Shinbashi alive. Don't you think you should return to your physical body so you can see if you've recovered? I'm certain that our daughter Kirika and our son Takuma would have taken you back to the nearest Future Industries building for medical attention at this point."

Oh. I guess that makes sense but... My arm. It's not going to be easy fighting those who distrupt the balance with only one arm. "I would Asami but I'm nervous. I only feel like I have half of the strength that I normally have. I know Chiharu is still out there somewhere and if she faces me again when I'm not even close to one hundred percent then I might die. I can't die with her out there!"

Korra sensed my fear and she got down on her knees and put her muscular arm around my shoulders. "I understand Nami. I may have never dealt with the loss of one of my body parts but I know what it's like to fear that you aren't going to recover. When I was poisoned by Zaheer I didn't just feel defeated. I felt downright destroyed. I went from being a hero capable of saving millions to a scared girl who couldn't win a simple Earthbending match. But I eventually got back to my full strength and I was able to save Republic City from Kuvira. You can recover from this Nami. Just believe in yourself."

"Wow. That was a good speech Korra. Okay. I'll return to my physical body but if anything goes wrong I'm freeloading at your house again." I returned to my physical body and I initially couldn't open my eyes. There was an intense light that kept me from looking around. Once my eyes adjusted to the light I saw that I was in some kind of surgery room laying down on a table. I saw the faces of Takuma and Kirika again and they looked absolutely flabbergasted when I awoke. "Where am I?"

Kirika rubbed my forehead and spoke softly. "Back in the Material World. For a moment I thought you were never going to return to us young lady."

Takuma pulled out the syringe that I found while I escaped Chiharus compound. "Thanks for grabbing this Avatar. Turns out this syringe has hallucinogenic properties. It seems to be filled with the same materials as the serums that caused those Avatar imposters to believe they were the actual past Avatars."

I felt something strange on my left shoulder. Something metallic, something unnatural. "Kirika? Why does my left shoulder ache so much?"

"Well Nami once I saw that your arm was destroyed I realized that I needed to build a replacement one for you. I hope you find it satisfactory."

I looked to my left side and I saw the ugliest, most primitive and utterly worst thing attached to my shoulder. A metal arm that was coated with platinum! How am I supposed to bend with this contraption attached to me? I didn't cry, I didn't facepalm myself and I didn't get angry instead I screamed. It was a scream that was louder than any other scream I had ever made. A scream that lingered in the room for what seemed like hours.