I do not own The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra. They belong to their respective owners.

Enjoy!

Zuko groaned as he woke up when he felt a thin line of sunlight sneak past the closed curtains. He naturally woke with the sun, but it was easier to sleep in if he didn't see the sun. One of the benefits of being connected to the other elements. A useful benefit that Zuko would have preferred to take advantage of, given how little sleep he got the last night.

But the damage was done, and it was clear that Zuko was not going to go back to sleep any time soon.

Lifting himself off the pillows, Zuko was assaulted by the color pink. The floors, the walls, and most of the pillows were all of the brightest red shade.

"Did Ty Lee live in here?" It did look like a room she would live in. The girl had been obsessed with pink.

Zuko walked out of the room and started to see the rest of the house. Now that the sun was out, he was able to make out a lot more details of the house. Such as the gold highlights that were scattered everywhere on everything. Every wall, piece of furniture, and the doors had some form of golden fire design branded onto it.

And the furnishing itself was all built for royalty, that much was certain. The tapestries were all made with the finest silks. The house had to be decades old, but the paint still looked fresh. And every piece of furniture looked like it cost enough to buy a small Earth Kingdom village. Zuko could spend his day exploring the entire house, trying to discover every secret there was to know.

Instead, Zuko decided to go out. He would go insane if he stayed here for too long.

Opening the front door, Zuko was greeted by the sight of a dragon sleeping with its back on the grass. It looked like Druk didn't have any trouble sleeping in.

"Druk, wake up. You need to hear this."

The red dragon lazily opened one eye to Zuko.

"I'm going to the city. I'm going to see what it has to offer. Maybe get some more information on those issues Kiyi told me about."

Zuko pulled a whistle from his pocket.

"I'll call you if something happens. Can I trust you to come quick?"

In response, Druk licked Zuko's face. Which was all the assurance he needed.

"I'll be back later," Zuko said as he wiped the saliva off of his face. "I'll bring you some meat."

Zuko heard a happy gurgle as he walked towards the gates of the mansion. Using airbending to jump over the gate, Zuko walked towards the edge of the small island's water. The city a few miles away.

"I seriously hope no one sees me."

Zuko waved his arms in a smooth motion to freeze a large chunk of water into ice. Jumping onto the ice block, Zuo directed towards the city.

It was time to see what Republic City had to offer.

Zuko was starting to wonder if staying at the home would have been a better idea. It would have been less intimidating. And less confusing.

Caldera was a massive city, but it was nothing like Republic City. The buildings were massive, reaching heights he didn't know buildings could reach. He felt that if he stood on one, he might be able to touch the sky without Druk.

There were other things as well. The roads were all paved, which used to be a luxury for the rich, but now was everywhere. There were war balloons, but they were green, and they didn't seem to be doing any war.

But the most confusing things in the city were these metal machines that were on the roads. People were sitting inside them like chariots, using them to move around. Without Ostrich-Horses, or any animal to pull them. They made no sense whatsoever.

"What?"

Zuko decided to stop trying to figure them out. He might get a headache if he thought about them too much.

Zuko decided to keep walking through the city. Maybe he would...

Zuko's eyes widened when he caught sight of one stand. A mask stand.

He honestly didn't expect there to be a stand for masks anymore. Everyone else was selling meat, fruits, and some weird metal things, but there was a mask stand. Curious Zuko started walking towards. The keeper instantly stood up when he saw someone actually approaching.

"Ah, a kid with taste. Not many of those these days. See anything you like?"

When Zuko saw the masks themselves, he was surprised at the varied quality. Some of them looked like something that kids would use to scare each other. Others looked like they would be used in theater production. But none of them particularly stood out to Zuko. At least, not for the purposes he had in mind.

"Having trouble choosing, are we? How about this. Would you like a custom mask for yourself?"

Zuko's brow raised. "You make custom masks?"

"I sure do! Make them all myself too. The price depends on much quality you want from it."

Zuko reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his gold coins. "What kind of mask can I get with this?"

The shopkeeper's eyes bulged. "Is that- real gold?"

"Of course it is. Why would I use it otherwise? Now what kind of mask can I get with this?"

"Wi- with that sort of currency, I might as well give you my life's work."

Zuko dropped the coin on the stand. "I'll take it."

As Zuko gave the shopkeeper the details, he saved one question for the end.

"How long would it take to make?"

"A mask like that? A week at least."

"I can wait. Take your time. I'd prefer a quality mask."

"And you'll get it," the man said as he pocketed the coin. As Zuko left, he could hear the man happily tell himself how much his family would benefit from the money.

The more Zuko walked across the city, the more he realized just how much the world had changed in seventy years. He was seeing people of all the major nations walking alongside one another. There were cliques of people from similar backgrounds, Zuko could see that. But Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe people were all walking alongside one another peacefully.

A far cry from the time they would have killed each other on sight.

Unfortunately, peace was never all-encompassing.

Zuko remembered that when he saw an elderly shopkeeper being harassed by a group of Fire Nation men.

"Please go away. I don't have any money to give."

"That's not our problem old man."

"You set up the shop on triad territory. You should know that everyone pays up. You're no exception."

"I haven't had much business. Please, I need this money for my family."

"If you don't give us the yuans, we might just get it from them," one of the men sneered. The other two men joined with chuckles.

"No! Please. I'll give you the money. I just need time."

"No can do geezer. If you can't pay the money, maybe you can pay another way."

The man in the center, the one in a hat, created a fire dagger in his hand. The other two

It was times like this that Zuko hated how predictable he could be. He knew that getting involved was not a good idea. He didn't want attention on himself, which getting into a streetfight would guarantee. He also didn't want people to know he was an Avatar, which depending on how the fight would turn out, he might have to do.

But an old man was getting harassed and threatened with violence. Something Zuko took issue with.

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

The three gang members turned back to sneer at Zuko.

"This isn't your problem kid. Get out of here."

"If you're smart, you'll leave."

"I'm not going anywhere."

At that remark, all three men turned to face Zuko directly. In their eyes, all they saw was a dumb kid with a bad scar being stupid.

"Lat chance kid."

"Get out before we burn the other eye."

That comment was met with Zuko putting himself in a combat position. Both feet held steady as he outstretched his arms.

"Try it."

"That's it. Teach the kid a lesson."

The man in the hat stayed behind while the two goons charged forward. One of them sent a fire blast at Zuko as a first attack.

A blast that Zuko easily swatted away and returned. The other goon had to jump on the pavement to avoid being burned.

"Little rat!"

The remaining goon created fire daggers and tried to stab Zuko. But the former prince's reflexes were much faster, so the man was not able to get a single hit in.

"Ahh! Stay still!"

Zuko instead sent a jab into the man's abdomen. The temporary loss of breath caused the man to fall back a few steps. And Zuko took advantage of that by sending a cloud of fire to the ground, forcing the man to fall on his back.

"Idiots," the leader muttered. "It is so hard to find good help these days."

The hat man sent a stream of fire directly at Zuko. An impressive one.

But he had fought royal firebenders.

Zuko created a wall of fire that both blocked and absorbed the blast. Once the attack was dissipated, he responded with an attack of his own. Zuko started shooting a flurry of small fire blasts at the leader. None of them were very strong, but they weren't meant to be. They kept the man on his toes, as he was busy trying to keep himself from getting hit by any of them.

He was so busy that it made the next part of Zuko's plan so much easier. He swept his foot across the ground, sending a line of fire towards the man's legs. The man had to react quickly to keep his feet from getting burned.

He wasn't fast enough to stop the last shot of Fire that Zuko shot at him. One that hit him square in the chest and knocked him back. The fire itself didn't do much other than burn a bit of his shirt, but it got the job done. The fight was over.

"They're down. You actually won?"

The shopkeeper looked at the boy in astonishment. He honestly expected to have two people get beaten up on his block. Instead, it was three deserving people.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked the man.

"Oh, I am more than fine. Thank you so much, young man. Please, take whatever you like."

"No, no. I shouldn't. I-" Zuko stopped when he remembered something. "Actually, do you have any raw meat I could take?"

The storeowner was about to answer when a noise intruded.

*NEE-NORE* *NEE-NORE*

"It's the police," the shopkeeper panicked. "Come back later or another time. They'll arrest you if they find you here."

The shop owner quickly ran back inside, leaving a very confused and concerned Zuko outside. It was obvious that he was the one that had beat the three men. The police would want to question him and figure out who he is. He doubted that even Kiyi would be able to help him with that.

And if he got figured out already, on his first day, that would put a damper on a lot of the ideas he had. There was a reason he wanted to keep himself a secret. It would only help to...

"Pst! Kid, over here."

Zuko turned to see a man in a suit waving at him. He was signaling him to follow him into an alley.

On the one hand, going into an alley with a stranger was something that stupid kids would do. On the other hand, Zuko did not want to deal with law enforcement. He had bad experiences with them.

So he ran into the alley behind the fat stranger. The two of them kept running until they could no longer hear the sirens in the distance.

"Thanks."

"Thank you, kid. You just solved one of my problems."

"Excuse me?"

"Follow me, kid. I'll show you what I mean. I have an opportunity open for you."

Zuko, not being afraid and not having anything else to do, decided to just go along with this. He was curious.

The two of them walked for a couple of minutes. It was a little awkward for Zuko as neither of them was saying anything. Normally, silence would be Zuko's preferred level of noise. But right now, in a new city, a new era, and with a completely, stranger, right after a fight, Zuko was already slightly on edge.

"So? Do you have a name?"

"Name's Butakha. Owner of the entire Pro-Bending sport."

Zuko frowned. "Pro bending?"

"You a country boy? That would explain why you haven't heard of it."

"I'm from Hira'a," Zuko partially lied. He had vacationed there with his mother before, but it wasn't his home. "It's a small village in the Fire Nation. We... don't get a lot of news."

"Yeah, that explains why you looked lost. Village boy lost in the big city. Makes sense. Here we are."

Butakha had led Zuko towards building in the middle of the city. It looked like the sort of place meant for training. And when they went inside, Zuko realized how accurate the observation was. There was a lot of equipment meant for exercise use.

"Tell me, kid, you found a job yet?"

"Um, no. I just got here last night. I haven't really been looking for work yet. I was just looking around the city."

"Well, it seems that today is a lucky day for both of us," Butahka said with a smile. "How would you like to be a pro-bender?"

"You haven't even told me what that is," Zuko pointed out.

"Right, right. Take a look at that poster over there."

Butakha pointed at a poster on the wall. Zuko looked it over, admiring the artistry. It depicted two teams of three people. Each of them throwing three of the four elements of each other.

"Pro-bending is bending used for sport. You give on a show in front of a crowd, and the more of a show you give, the more money I give you. How does that sound to you, country boy?"

Zuko had conflicting feelings about the idea. On the one hand, fighting in front of an arena sounded more like something that Toph would like. Zuko wasn't a hog-monkey, and he didn't want to be treated like one.

On the other hand, getting Republic City currency would be a good idea. Fire Nation gold might be valuable, but he would draw attention if he used it to pay for everything. And maybe being a pro-bender (whatever that really meant) might open up some opportunities.

"I guess I can try it out."

"That's good. I just have one question then. How good are you with teams?"

Zuko frowned. "I'm not into teams right now."

Surprisingly, Butakha smiled. "That's what I was hoping to hear. Pro-Bending is a team sport, but I have been having fans ask for solo fights. And you might just be the best person to help me try out this new strategy."

Zuko's brow raised. "I saw your fight out there kid. You've got skill. With a bit of learning, you could be a great pro-bender. Think you're interested."

"I already said I could try it out."

Butakha's smile was toothy now. "Meet me here tomorrow kid. We'll see what your fire can do."

Zuko memorized the address on the way out. He also made sure to go back to that grocery store from earlier. It seemed like today would be a good day. Mostly.

Zuko waited until night time to head back home. Less chance of someone seeing him.

Riding another block of ice back to the island, Zuko jumped over the gate again, this time with groceries in his hand.

"You alright Druk?"

The dragon was nowhere to be seen for a moment. That was until he descended from the sky, his wings unfurling.

"Went flying huh?" Zuko said as he reached inside the bag. "Here you go."

Zuko tossed a piece of meat. One that Druk happily ate.

"I will see you tomorrow, buddy."

Zuko walked inside the house, a ball of flame in his hand for light. He managed to find the kitchen, where he left the food and groceries he had bought. He had considered eating, but he was a little tired. He had been walking all day, and the fight, while not hard at all, still took some energy from him.

"Where's the bedroom?"

It took Zuko a few minutes to find the master bedroom. It was the master bedroom, with a king-sized red bed with a massive gold bedboard.

Zuko jumped into the bed and went to sleep. He would have an interesting day tomorrow.

This was pretty fun to write, I'll admit. The fish-out-of-water perspective that Zuko has here is something I haven't had much experience writing, and it was nice to try out.

Also, Solo Pro-Bending is something I just came up with. I had trouble imagining Zuko as part of a team. I couldn't picture him with the Fire Ferrets, and I didn't want to spend time just coming up with a team I would abandon later. So having Zuko fight solo seemed like the best option to me.

Also, Pro-Bending is a good way for Zuko to meet and interact with the Krew. He has good reason to know Mako and Bolin, and I have plans for Asami. Like I said before, I am leaning towards Zuko x Asami being the pairing for this story. So they will probably meet fairly soon.

I'm looking forward to their meeting. And the explanations later on.

Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.

Bye!