Chapter 25: Never Date A Teammate
When I got back to the Island, Tenzin met me at the docks.
"Is Korra alright?" He asked, his voice concerned. I shook my head.
"Guy problems," I offered vaguely.
He frowned. Typical father. "The firebender?"
I found myself chuckling. "And the earthbender. It's a bit of a mess right now."
His eyes softened. "Are you alright?"
"Me?" I forced out a laugh. "I'm fine, Tenzin. Peachy." He gave me a knowing look but let the subject drop as he walked me towards my room.
"So I heard that they won?"
"Barely. Their personal problems are making them a mess in the ring. Honestly, Tenzin," I stopped outside my room and turned to him. "If they don't get their acts together, they can kiss the championship goodbye."
He frowned, looking sideways in thought. "Perhaps you should play a role?"
I scoffed. "Me? No thank you. I'm not playing counselor for them. They need to figure it out themselves..." I stepped into my room, grumbling, "Trust me."
I bid Tenzin goodnight before sliding shut my door.
I tried to sleep that night, but the full moon kept calling to me, peaking my energy and making me hypersensitive to the ocean that was only across a courtyard from me. Finally giving up on the pursuit of rest, I crawled out of bed and padded barefoot outside.
I was somewhat shocked to see Korra in her night clothes, baggy gray pants and a white top, perched on a rock. Her hair was still in its usual ties, though it looked a bit tousled.
"Korra?" I spoke softly. She jumped slightly, turning to look at me. I frowned as I saw tears spilling slowly out of the sides of her eyes. I moved forward, wrapping my arms around her. "It's alright, Korra," I whispered. Even if I completely disapprove of what you did, I'm not going to tell you that...
"I messed up," She cried into my shoulder.
"Maybe... but it'll get better."
"So you think I messed up too?" She pulled back to stare at me with her bright blue orbs.
I pursed my lips. "You did kiss a guy who is in a relationship... I'm not saying you've doomed the world here, Korra. I'm just saying that, you need to fix this." My hands rubbed her arms reassuringly.
She sniffed, rubbing her nose. "I know...but how?"
"That's something you need to figure out, Korra. It's called a learning process." I grinned at her, which she returned half-heartedly.
"Thanks... I don't really want to face them tomorrow."
"You have to, girl. You can't leave them out to dry in this match. They need you."
She sighed, knowing I was right. Still, I knew she was calmer than she was before, since her heart rate had dropped back to normal.
"What are you doing up anyways?" She asked me. I gestured silently to the moon. "Right...I forget sometimes."
I nodded, understanding. I used to forget I was a bender sometimes, too.
"Well," I groaned out as I stood again, dusting off my hands. "Since neither of us are really going to sleep tonight, care to spar?" I reached out my hand which she took gratefully. "Bending or non-bending today?"
She smiled at me. "Bending."
Korra napped throughout the day, since she hadn't slept the whole night and had a match that evening. I, on the other hand, was used to not sleeping much, and wasn't really bothered. So instead, I stayed with Pema, helping her around the house and watching the kids.
I was even able to 'train' with the airbender kids, weaving in and out of the spinning contraption. Of course, when Tenzin wasn't looking, I would spar with the kids too, even though airbenders were never supposed to look for a fight.
Oh well.
As the match drew nearer, Korra grew more nervous. The ferry ride over was mostly silent, the time spent with Korra brooding as I looked out over the water. I followed the young Avatar into the arena, staying back as she opened the door to the team room. Her face fell, and I watched as she slipped in without a word.
I waited a few moments before entering after her, and I felt like I was punched with the tension in the room. Bolin sat completely geared up, hunched over on the bench. Mako moved out of Korra's way silently as she dressed. I stepped to the corner of the room, not wanting to break the silence.
When the bell chimed to call them out, they each moved quietly to their places, riding the conveyer out without looking to the crowd. I gripped at the railing while my teeth teased my lip. They were playing the Buzzard Wasps, who the announcer explained as the most evenly matched team in the areas of age, experience, and raw talent to the Ferrets.
The bell rang out, and I immediately knew that the Buzzard Wasps were on their game. Executing a quick combo, my friends were knocked back a zone in a few moments. I cringed as Mako took a hard hit, tumbling him back into zone three. The team continued to practically limp their way through the semifinal match.
"Bolin!" I shouted as the earthbender took a disk to the stomach, making him empty the contents of his stomach over the side of the ring. In the next few seconds, Korra took a disk to the abdomen as well, lifting her back into zone three, where she landed deftly on her feet. The Buzzard Wasps advanced as I chewed at my nails. Mako took the plunge off of the ring, and I cringed thinking about how Bolin had just thrown up into that water.
The bell chimed twice, making the Buzzard Wasps recede, smug looks plastered on their faces. As Mako returned to our level on the elevator, I was able to lean near him over the railing.
"Whip them into shape, Mako," I scolded. "You guys need to connect out there!"
He gave me a look with a nod, but I knew he was still out of it. I sighed, dragging my hand down my face as the teams took their positions again. Just as I had seen, Mako took a hit, throwing him backwards. He blindly lashed out, nailing Bolin with a ball of fire.
"Hey! Watch it!" Bolin growled at his brother.
"Bo-" I started to call, only to be cut off as Bolin was flung off of the ring in one hit. My attention was torn away from the falling earthbender as Korra wrapped a water whip around her opponent's leg, and bended water out of her zone to more or less abuse said opponent. The whistle blew from the referee, followed by a foul. Korra lashed out in anger, shooting water at the ref as well, leading to a yellow fan. I smacked my forehead. This is ridiculous.
"Korra, focus!" I yelled, but I knew she wasn't hearing me. The round ended with another win from the Buzzard Wasps.
"Come on, guys. You can do this," I whispered to myself. They need a knockout, Kanni. The probability of that outcome based on how they are playing- Excuse me, are you the spirit of mathematics and statistics? No, you're the moon spirit. Stick to lunar goodness and stuff.
I saw the brothers' defeated stances, but felt some hope at Korra's determined expressions. I knew she was trying to motivate them into getting their butts moving. It didn't seem to work though, as the team took their places with hunched shoulders.
With the bell, both Mako and Bolin were knocked back a zone. I clamped my hands over my eyes in frustration.
"AAAHH!" I heard a familiar voice cry.
"Oh! And Bolin takes a zinger to the shoulder!" The announcer's voice proclaimed.
My eyes snapped open to see him crouching in a corner, clutching his shoulder. Mako turned sideways to help his brother, only to be knocked into the water. Bolin stood, a grimace on his face, as he continued to bend with one arm. Korra moved to help him, but his ankles were soon taken out by a disk, followed by a hard punch of water while in midair. He followed his brother into the drain.
I looked to Korra, silently praying that she would be able to do this. I watched as she danced between the various attacks, slowly loosing ground. I glanced down to see Mako helping Bolin out of the water. They climbed onto the elevator, their voices drifting upwards towards me.
"Are we... gonna be okay?" Bolin asked quietly.
Mako had his arms crossed, and I could practically hear his brooding face. "Of course we are. We're brothers. We'll get through this mess." He paused for a moment, before softly adding, "I'm sorry."
"Me too," Bolin responded earnestly. "Girls..."
"Seriously."
I hid my chuckle as they reached my level. Their faces were plastered with shock at seeing Korra twirling around in the ring, leaving everything she had. I watched as she landed a blow, throwing one of them into zone three.
I felt a grin tug at my lips.
"What?" Mako asked.
"She's going to do it."
"What? How? I mean, don't get me wrong, she's and incredible bender, but she barely has any time left." Bolin's voice was defeated.
I moved to them, pointing out what Korra was doing. "Just look! She's lining them up! One hit and they're gone." My voice was smug, because I knew Korra could and would do it.
In the next second, just as I had predicted, Korra crouched in a spin, unleashing a single blast of water that propelled through all three Buzzard Wasps, sending them careening into the water.
"KNOCKOUT!"
The stadium erupted, the boys and I cheering from out end.
"OW! Shoulder! Shoulder!" Bolin cried as Mako uttered an apology and returned him to the ground from his bear hug. Korra entered our room, a smile on her face.
"That was pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen," Bolin praised.
"Hey, thanks for not giving up on us. We never would have made it this far without you," Mako admitted, his voice gentle. "I owe you. Big time."
"You're welcome," Korra responded with an even voice. "So... I know things are confusing right now, but I hope we can still be friends."
"Definitely."
I jumped as I felt three figures enter the room. I looked up, seeing three cocky grins and black uniforms. The Wolf Bats.
"Boy, smell something in here? Wait... I know what that it," The waterbender with oily black hair exclaimed to the room. Tahno. "That's the scent of losers." He looked towards the Ferrets with a smirk.
"I hope we see you in the finals," Korra growled. "Then we'll see who the losers really are."
"Yeah, I'm peeing my pants over here," The waterbender responded as he walked to the conveyer. He flipped his hair, giving me a wink, which I returned with a scowl. As they entered the arena to play their own match, Asami ran in to hug Mako.
"Great job!" She exclaimed. "What a comeback Korra! I've never seen a hat-trick like that."
I saw Korra give a genuine smile. "Thanks. But, if it hadn't been for you and your father, we would never have had the chance to play. So thank you." I felt my lips turn up at her behavior.
Becoming wiser already,
"Um, if you're all done with the little thank you party, I need some medical attention over here," Bolin called from his place on the bench.
I gasped at the angry red mark on his shoulder as I moved forward to help. Korra stopped me, however, going to Bolin herself.
"Here, let me help." She placed her hands on his shoulder, making him yell.
"Haven't you hurt me enough woman?!"
Korra chuckled. "Relax. I'm a healer! I learned from Katara, the best there is." She pulled water out of a nearby bucket, putting it on his shoulder.
"No no no...ooooo," Bolin pulled out of his flinch, sighing. "That's the stuff."
Korra sat on the bench facing Bolin as she continued healing his shoulder. "Bolin, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand..."
Bolin smiled, "Ah, I'll be alright. But we had fun together, didn't we?"
"I had a great time, honestly. You, are one of a kind, Bolin."
"Please, go on. I enjoy praise," Bolin's voice was back to its usual light and teasing nature, making me giggle.
"YOU"RE WINNERS: THE WOLF BATS!"
I turned. "What?"
"How is it over already?" Korra exclaimed. The group raced to the railing where I stood, joining me in watching the poor opponents of the Wolf Bats being carried away on stretchers.
"What the hell?" I mumbled.
I looked down at the Wolf Bats as they walked around the ring, waving to their fans. Tahno looked up to me, flipping his hair out of his eyes. His mouth spread into a smirk, followed by a wink and a bow.
Oh boy...