Okay, after a hectic week of working in a warehouse, Black Friday included, I now present to you chapter three of Yin & Yang. But before we get to the good stuff, let me rectify a little mistake I made when I posted the previous chapter. If anyone was curious about Xiang's name, it is a reference to the Chinese word for Acorn; Xiang Zi. As for why I chose such a name, you will see later on as we deal with the Equalists. Until then, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Avatar: The Legend of Korra.
It had been just a few days following the announcement of the world's new Avatar. It was always being mentioned on every radio station at every airing. The only break Opal seemed to get from hearing about Avatar Korra was when her brothers would tune in on anything related to Pro-Bending. The whole reason for their coming to Republic City was to see Pro Bending matches; and plenty of them. At least, that was Wing and Wei's reason for coming. Opal had an ulterior motive. As she gazed out her window at the bustling city, the only daughter of the Metal Clan thought back when she first met one of its citizens.
Roughly ten years ago, when she was just a little girl living in the great, metal city of Zaofu, her family was visited by an old acquaintance of her mother and his family. At first, the little five-year-old Opal thought her family was being visited by the Avatar when she saw the bald monk with arrow tattoos. After hearing so many tales about her grandmother saving the world alongside the Avatar, it was almost like a dream; a dream that was swiftly shattered like a stained glass window when she was told the man was only the last Avatar's son. From that point, Opal paid little to no attention to the "old, bald guy" as she bluntly called him; a remark that earn a hilarious expression from Tenzin, and an uproar of laughter from her mother, and his wife.
From that point on, whenever Opal would try to get her mother to play with her, Suyin would keep saying, "Not now, sweetie. Mommy and her friend are discussing important grown-up stuff."
Whenever she would hear those two sentences, it only added to the little girl's foul mood. Every waking moment the old, bald guy and his way too young wife were in her home mad Opal mad. All she wanted to do was dance and play with her mom like they did before. She could have played with any of her four brothers, but none of them ever liked to play her games.
"Stupid shiny-headed, arrow-wearing, chrome-dome!" Opal pouted as she stomped around the meteorite garden by her estate. In a fit of rage, the young Beifong kicked a nearby pebble as hard as she could. Unbeknownst to her, it did not go flying into some random object, but hit someone nearby, instead.
"Ow!" the voice of a young boy cried out. Snapping out of her frustration, Opal followed the voice and saw a boy her age, standing next to one of her mother's meteorite podiums, rubbing the back of his head. "What'd you do that for?" he asked, irritably.
"Sorry! I thought I was alone out here." she cringed before jogging over to see if he was okay. When she got a better look at the boy, she noticed he was dressed similarly to the bald guy's wife; red, yellow and orange robes over his scrawny body. But the most bizarre part about him was that he had two different colored eyes. "Why are your eyes different colors?" she innocently asked.
"I dunno. Why are yours the same?" he shrugged, earning a shrug of her own as a reply. "I'm Xiang. Who are you?"
"I'm Opal. You kinda look like that old, bald guy with the arrow. Did you come with him?"
"Yep, that's my dad." Xiang replied, "He's busy talking to the lady in charge here, so I came out here to look around."
"That's my mom!" Opal pepped up.
"Cool! Do you know what they're talking about? My dad just said it was grown-up stuff."
"That's what my mom said, too. It's so annoying! I can handle grown-up talk!" she hotly defended.
"Meh, I hear my dad talk about grown-up stuff all the time. It's dumb and boring back home, so it's probably dumb and boring here, too." Xiang huffed. Hoping to change the subject, he turned his gaze up to the pedestal on his right. "So, what are these black-rock-things?"
"These are meteorites. They're rocks that fell from the sky and have lots of metal in them. My mommy likes to collect them and leave them out here." Opal cheerfully explained. "Does your dad collect anything?"
Taking a pondering pose, the young nomad gave his answer. "Well, he does like to go on treasure hunts to the old Air Temples. We just had one last month at the Eastern Air Temple."
Her eyes now lit with excitement, the young Beifong eagerly pressed her new friend for more details. "That's so cool! What did you find?"
"Heads up, sis!" a voice hollered, snapping Opal out of her trip down memory lane. Before she could react, the young beauty felt something bump against the back of her head, startling her in the process. Annoyed at the jolt, and the interruption of her daydream, Opal swiftly turned to glare at her younger brothers, Wing and Wei, and picked up their little toy.
While Opal only wanted to come to Republic City to see the sights, and hopefully find her childhood friend, her twin brothers came to conduct research. Unlike their father and eldest brother, the twins did not use their intellect for scientific reasons. Instead, they enjoyed competing against each other in martial arts, and sports. But after a while, they grew bored of their usual games and decided to create one of their own; a game for Metalbenders by Metalbenders called "Power Disk." The concept was simple; knock a metal disk into your opponent's goal by hitting and bouncing it off the game field's obstacles and walls. However, there was still a few bits and pieces that needed refinement, and the two brothers were lacking ideas. To fix this, they decided to come to Republic City, with their parents' permission, and study Pro Bending matches for inspiration. Originally, it was just meant to be the two of them, but since Opal was their only sister, and often had their parents wrapped around her fingers, she was able to tag along.
"Guys, how many times do I have to tell you? If you're gonna practice your stupid game, don't bring it into my room!" she lectured, shaking their foam practice disk at them. Since they were members of one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, families in the world, the three siblings were able to stay at the fanciest and most expensive hotel in all of Republic City; with their own suites.
"Well, sorry!" Wing teased, using his bending to take back the disk, thanks to the metal rings on both sides of its center. "Didn't mean to disrupt your daydreams."
"Let me guess; thinking about your old boyfriend with the funny eye?" Wei taunted.
Blushing up a storm, while cutely stomping her foot, the twins' only sister instinctively denied this taunting claim. "He's not my boyfriend, and he was never my boyfriend! All Xiang ever was to me was a friend, nothing more." Even though they were in her suite, Opal had just about enough of her brothers, and decided to leave. But as she was storming out, her brothers caught her attention.
"You know, Wing?" Wei teasingly trailed, "I didn't hear our big sister say the guy would never be her boyfriend."
"I caught that as well, Wei." Wing smirked, knowing fully well their sister was blushing even more, despite her back to them. "Sounds to me like dearest Opal is hopeful that might happen while we're here in the big city."
With his own twin shooting a smirk identical to his own, both brothers looped arms and began to dance in a circle while playfully taunting their sister even further, through song. "Opal is hopeful! Opal is hopeful~!"
"Grr! Why couldn't Mom and Dad stop with just three kids?!" she screamed in frustration as she finally left. While the three Beifong siblings were busy "bonding" in their own special way, another tan-skinned girl was about to have a rough morning of her own.
For the first few days following Tenzin's decision to allow Korra to stay, nothing interesting happened on Air Temple Island. Rather than jumping right in to learning how to shoot blasts of air from her hands like she wanted, Korra was only exposed to the most basic of basics of Airbending: meditation and breathing. Despite how much she claimed to be happy to be on the island, the wild teen was already anxious to see more of Republic City. But Tenzin would not permit it. His belief was that Korra's best chance to learn Airbending was to stay on the island at all times.
When the morning that marked the beginning of her training finally came, Tenzin escorted the young Avatar to the training grounds. As they were walking, the both of them clad in Airbender clothing, they conversed with each other regarding her training.
"So, my mother informed me that you've never been able to Airbend before." the tattooed monk pointed out.
"Yeah, but I don't know why. The other elements came so easily to me. But every single time I've tried Airbending?" Korra rhetorically asked only to answer herself by blowing a raspberry. "Nothing."
"That's perfectly alright." Tenzin gently assured, fixing her sleeves as he did. "We just need to be patient. Often the element that's the most difficult for the Avatar to master is the one most opposite to that Avatar's personality. For Aang, it was Earthbending."
"Yeah, well, I'm about as opposite an Airbender as you can get." Korra remarked.
"Don't get discouraged. Every journey has its roadblocks; this is just the first on your way to becoming a fully-fledged Avatar." Tenzin coached. As they continued walking, Korra caught a glimpse of someone several yards to her left.
Once her eyes adjusted to the rising sunlight, she saw it was Xiang, meditating with his left arm unattached and resting by his side. From what she could tell, he was completely focused on his meditation, and did so with expertise. Just then, she noticed his body shift as he deeply inhaled the air around him. As he did, the roots of the woven branches began to rise up and latch themselves onto his shoulder. Once they were completely attached, Xiang tested its strength by leaping up with only the appendage as support; his legs completely split and over a foot off the ground. With a quick pivot, the Plantbender swung his legs around, back flipped, and landed perfectly on his feet before rewarding himself with a beverage.
"Incredible, isn't it? A whole new type of bending." Tenzin remarked, snapping Korra out of her trance.
"I'd never heard of Plantbending before. How many others are there?" she asked.
"None, as far as we know. Xiang may very well be the first, and only, Plantbender in the world. It's his own unique style he's been developing."
"You must be proud." she said with a smile.
"I am. I just wish he didn't have to depend on it as much as he does." Tenzin somberly replied, looking directly at his son's arm.
"What happened to him? I know he didn't have that back when we first met."
With his expression growing even sadder, with a splash of guilt added, Tenzin let out a deep sigh as he turned back to his pupil. "That is not my story to tell, Korra. If you wish to know, Xiang would be the one to ask; provided he has no issues in telling you. Come. Let us begin your lesson."
Once they left the main part of the temple, Tenzin led Korra up a flight of stairs to meet up with his three, younger children. When Korra looked behind the trio, she noticed a bizarre, ancient-looking circle of tall, wooden panels with Air Nomad markings. "Korra's gonna Airbend! Korra's gonna Airbend!" Ikki cheered while bouncing.
"What is that contraption?" she asked.
"A time-honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspect of Airbending. Jinora, would you like to explain this exercise?" Tenzin asked.
"The goal is to weave your way through the gates and make it to the other side without touching them." the little girl explained.
"Seems easy enough." Korra remarked before Ikki added to the explanation.
"Jinora forgot to say you have to make it through while the gates are spinning!" she chirped before her father blasted the gates. As all the panels rapidly spun about in various rotations, the senior Airbender let loose a single leave into the breeze as a demonstration.
"The key is to be like the leaf; flow with the movement of the gates. Jinora will demonstrate." he said. At first, Korra cringed, expecting the girl to be smacked around. But she was surprised and impressed when she saw Jinora gracefully pivot and rotate through the gates with ease. "Airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance, you must be able to switch direction at a moment's notice."
Needing no further words of instruction, Korra prepared herself for the task at hand. "Let's do this!" she said before, literally, charging into the gates. Instead of making it through like she expected and wanted, the young Avatar was knocked around and sent back to where she started, butt first. Now, more angry than determined, Korra repeated her previous action, but found herself getting knocked around for much longer.
"Don't force your way through!" Jinora hollered.
"Dance! Dance like the wind!" Ikki tried to explain.
"Be the leaf!" Meelo added, his arms imitating a smooth air flow. Unfortunately for Korra, none of these little tidbits either did not resonate with her, or did not reach her ears due to the wooden boards smacking her in the face and head. Finally, she was freed from her prison and landed face first on the ground in front of her teacher and his family.
"Gates: 2, Korra: 0!" Xiang joked as he joined the rest of them.
Not sharing his son's amusement on the matter, Tenzin let out another sigh as he rubbed his hand down his face. "We've got a long way to go."
For the rest of the day, Tenzin instructed Korra on other Airbending movements and philosophies. Naturally, Korra was not completely focused on those teachings, and often thought back to the gates and how she could conquer them. When the evening and sun had fallen, Korra found herself alone, outside, as she tried to air blast away a newspaper with Lin's picture.
"Airbend." she said to herself, performing the motions as she did. Not even a breeze was caused as a result. "What is wrong with me?! Airbend!" she snarled, still unsuccessful. In a brief fit of anger, the Avatar set the newspaper on fire before stomping in circles. As she did, Xiang's voice filled her ears.
"I think that would be classified more as Firebending than Airbending." he gently teased as he joined her. "You know no one expects you to master this in a day, right, Korra?"
"I do, I really do. But this is just so frustrating!" she groaned as collapsed to the ground and laid out to look at the stars. "I've always been able to bend water, earth and fire, but never air. What kind of Avatar can't master all the elements?"
"Giving up, already? When you're not even a week into your training?" he asked, laying down beside her on her right.
"You don't understand. I've been trying to learn for years!" Korra groaned, curling away with her back to him. "When I was learning how to Waterbend from Katara, I found some old scrolls Aang made for future Airbenders to study from. I followed every step, every breathing pattern, every facial expression on those scrolls and nothing ever happened. I thought the only thing missing was an actual Airbending Master to teach me, and then I'd get it. But now…"
"Now you feel like there's something wrong with you, and it's becoming obvious to those you don't wanna disappoint." Xiang finished, having raised himself up to look over her huddled form. At that moment, Xiang did not see the headstrong Avatar he saw earlier. Instead, he saw a part of Korra she clearly kept hidden; a proud, young woman who hated failing and the shame she felt when she did. "Korra, Dad's not gonna belittle or criticize you for every little mistake or short coming. He's not those White Lotus guys who only spoke up to tell you what you were doing wrong. He's not an evaluator, or a judge dishing out points; he's your teacher. It's okay to fail in front of your teachers, because they're the ones who will be there to help you and continue on your path. Just try and have a little patience with yourself."
"I think you're going to find out pretty quickly that patience and Airbending aren't really my strong suits." Korra remarked, finally peeking over her shoulder.
In response, Xiang merely shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, then it's a good thing Dad's already bald; he won't have to worry about you causing him any hair-loss."
Hearing the Water Tribe girl snicker at the joke made Xiang know at least some of what he said helped her. That being said, he soon noticed her glancing down at his wooden hand, teetering on the edge of asking him about it. But before she could, he must have noticed and decided to avoid the topic for the time being. "Come on. Dinner's about ready, and it's a bad idea to be late. If you think my dad is a stickler for rules, wait until you see my mom get mad over one of us being late to a meal."
Following the traditional, vegetarian meal of the Air Nation, something Korra was still adjusting to, the Avatar decided to wander about the temple grounds for some fresh air. While she did this, the young Plantbender and his siblings helped clear the table; a gesture Xiang and Jinora specifically did to keep their mother from doing too much work. They may not have been as bad as their father, but even they had their moments.
"So, Korra's having a bit of trouble, huh?" he asked, wanting to hear his sister's opinion.
"Looks that way." Jinora shrugged while they were washing dishes. "I'm claiming to be perfect, but I certainly didn't get knocked around by the gates that much on my first try; not even Meelo did."
"Heh, I know, right? I'm not even an Airbender, and I still managed to keep myself from falling on my butt when I did those drills." Xiang snickered, earning a giggle in response. "You know, while Dad may be Korra's teacher right now, there's going to come a day when you'll have to run your own students through those things. Think there might be a different way you'd teach it?"
"Well, for starters, I'd definitely consider telling my students not to charge into the heavy, spinning gates like that." she joked.
"Good advice." he nodded along. "Okay, I think that's all the dishes. Ready to start air-drying?"
"Ready!" Jinora chirped before noticing a stray bowl under the table. "Ugh! Looks like Ikki skipped out on her sea prunes; again."
"Don't worry, I got it." Xiang appeased as he extended his left arm to scoop up the bowl and drop it into the water. "Sometimes I wonder why Mom keeps making this stuff. I get we're ¼ Water Tribe, but I'm convinced Dad is the only one who really likes this stuff. What do you think, Jin?" he asked only to see his little sister with a downcast expression. Knowing fully well the reason behind this, the young Plantbender put aside the dishes and took a knee in front of her. "Jin, I know it bothers you sometimes, but it's alright. I'm okay." he gently assured.
"I know you are, but…" she weakly trailed, trying to avoid eye-contact.
"It happened a long time ago. I've made my peace with it, why can't you? I mean, it happened when you were just a baby, so it's not like you've really known me with both arms." he tried to reason with an awkward smile, only to still see his little sister upset.
"…Why did that have to happen to you?" she practically whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"I don't know, Jin. Not yet, at least. But you wanna know what I do know?" he asked before tilting up her chin so she could see his smile. "I didn't die that day. I survived, and I've been able to remain your goofy, big brother ever since. And besides, I didn't exactly hear you complaining all those times I used my hand to sneak us all those almond and lychee nut cookies Mom kept on the top shelf. Did I?" he asked as he playfully pinched her side, a spot he knew was ticklish.
"That's not fair!" Jinora pouted.
"What? That I know you enjoyed my arm when it got us treats, or that I know where you're ticklish at?" he asked, sticking his real fingers at her neck, causing her to squeal and catch his fingers in the crook of her neck. With the tension in his little sister now gone, Xiang pulled her in for a much needed hug. "I know it can be hard seeing me like this, Jinora. You've got a big heart, and I count myself lucky every day knowing you've got a part of it for me. But this is who I am; a one-armed Plantbender with mismatched eyes and a wardrobe of nothing but black and white. It's like the monks used to say: we cannot concern ourselves with what was, or what could have been; instead, we must act on what is. And that, little sister, is that I have a branch for an arm, and I can use it for all kinds of crazy shenanigans. Case in point." he said as he extended his fingers to reach into a nearby cookie jar and retrieve a pair of treats for them. Just as Jinora was about to grab one for herself, Xiang stopped her. "Ah-ah-ah. Pay up."
Giving her big brother a knowing smirk, the little Airbender relented and gave Xiang a big hug as he lifted her up from his kneeling position. "Thanks, big brother."
"Anytime, little sister. Anytime." he soothed while rubbing her back. After finally cleaning all the dishes, Xiang took a nice, relaxing soak in the tub once his stump was thoroughly cleaned. Once he got out and was fully dressed, he ran into his father in one of the outside halls.
"Xiang, have you seen Korra anywhere?" Tenzin asked.
"Nope, I just got out of the bath. Why? What's up?"
"I have some breathing exercises I want her to try before going to sleep tonight, but I can't find her." he replied before noticing a source of static and noise coming from around the corner. "What in the world is that racket?"
"Sounds like a Pro Bending match." Xiang speculated, earning an accusatory look from his father in return.
"And how exactly would you know what one of those sounds like?" he asked
"I, uh, I sometimes hear bits of them whenever Mom's trying to tune in for her programs." the young Plantbender lied. Since he often went out into the city, and since Pro Bending was such a popular sport in Republic City, the teen had, on more than one occasion, overheard entire matches from start to finish.
"Uh-huh." Tenzin flatly replied, having known his son long enough to tell whenever he is lying.
"Um, we-well, you know what? Let's head over there and take a look for Korra. You know how much that girl likes Pro Bending. Let's take a look, shall we?" Xiang stuttered before slipping away from his father's skunk-bear eye.
When the pair arrived, they found a trio of White Lotus sentries huddled around a radio while listening intensely to the climactic ending of the match. At first, there was no sign of Korra. But when Tenzin heard the shifting of tiles on the roof of the gazebo, he put the pieces together and, literally, pulled the plug on the match.
"Korra, come down here, please." he ordered.
"You shut it off at the best part, Tenzin!" the Avatar complained after jumping down.
"I thought I made myself clear. I don't want you listening to these ridiculous matches."
"But it's their radio. And, technically, you said I couldn't watch a match. You didn't say anything about watching one." she countered.
"You-you know what I meant!" Tenzin hissed, "Anyway, this is the last I wanna hear about this. No more talk about Pro Bending. Now…go to bed!" he ordered, tugging at his cloak as he let loose a frustrated breeze while storming off.
"Geez, what is it with your dad and Pro Bending?" Korra hotly asked.
"Gee, I don't know. It's not like he was ever unable to play it with his friends growing up. Or that it's the only bending sport in the world that doesn't exclude the element he bends. Honestly, it really is a wonder why my dad has such disdain for it." Xiang dryly replied, his voice oozing with sarcasm.
"Oh, right." Korra koala-sheepishly cringed.
"Yeah. It's not easy be part of a culture that's still borderline extinct while growing up. Anyway, we're all going to be meditating together at sunrise tomorrow. Unless you wanna get lectured again, feel free to join us." Xiang offered as he headed towards his room.
The following morning, dressed in her Airbender clothes, the Avatar joined the family of nomads for a nice, quiet, peaceful morning meditation. Although, Korra was the only one having difficulty in actually meditating, and keeping still.
"I think I'm doing it wrong." she said, breaking the serene silence.
"There's nothing to do. Just let you mind and spirt be free, for air is the element of freedom." Tenzin explained only to earn laughter from his student. "What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry. But you're telling me that air is freedom, the very element you're trying to teach me, and yet I'm not allowed off this island or even allowed to listen to the radio. That's-that's just very funny." Korra chuckled.
"Korra, please. This is all essential to your training. Meditation allows Airbenders to let go of their earthly concerns and helps them on their path to enlightenment. Look at Meelo; he's able to meditate peacefully." Tenzin explained while gesturing to his youngest.
Though upon closer inspection, Korra was able to see drool and a snot bubble emit from the youngest Airbender; and could hear light snoring, as well. "Actually, Tenzin, I think he's asleep." she corrected.
"What?!" Tenzin asked before sighing in relent given the boy's age and stage in his training. "Well, at least he's got the relaxing part down."
"Whatever. None of this Airbending stuff makes any sense to me, anyway."
"I know you're frustrated, but these teachings will sink in over time, and help you in more ways than one. When the time comes for you to use your Airbending, either physically or spiritually, they'll just click."
With a deep sigh, Korra decided to trust in her master's words and tried again. This lasted for about two seconds before the Avatar lost patience and decided to give up. "Yeah, it's not sinking in yet. I'm gonna go get a glass of lychee juice." she said while walking away.
"Korra, get back here; the meditation's not over yet." Tenzin snapped.
"Daddy, can I have a glass of lychee juice, too?" Ikki asked, putting on her best cute face as she did.
"No." Tenzin flatly denied.
Pouting for a brief moment, Ikki got another idea to get what she wanted. "Big brother?" she asked, her voice becoming as adorably cute as she could make it.
"Dad said no, Ikki. Deal with it." Xiang dryly replied, not even opening his eyes; not even when his brother collapsed onto the floor as he slept.
For the remainder of the day, the four siblings followed their father's spiritual training to the letter; while Korra struggled at every turn. When it came time for the physical portion of the training, the three youngest Airbenders excelled in their tasks while their brother did his own drills, and while Korra continued to fail. It was almost a routine by this point; Tenzin would instruct them, the siblings would succeed, Korra would fail, Korra would pout and/or sulk, Pema would call all for dinner, and everyone would turn in afterwards. This happened every day since Korra began her training, and nothing had changed. The only different moment Xiang noticed was on that night, Korra decided to sneak out and head directly to the Pro Bending stadium. Given that she had nowhere else to go, or anyone else to teach her Airbending, he knew she would be back; and also surmised she was mostly running off out of boredom. Holding on to his sense of optimism, the Plantbender hoped having a night of recreation would do the Avatar some good and help in her training tomorrow. But when he saw the Southern Water Tribe girl getting knocked around by the gates again, he was reminded there was such a thing as foolish optimism.
"Patience, Korra. Relax and flow like the wind." Tenzin instructed as she continued to be battered.
"Go with the flow, Avatar!" Xiang hollered through his cupped hands.
"Um, Daddy?" Jinora anxiously interjected, having noticed Korra's expression change from frustrated to enraged. "I think Korra's had enough."
"She'll be fine, dear. She just needs to flow in the breeze." Tenzin waved off. "Remember to stay loose and-" But whatever remaining advice Tenzin had for his student never escaped his lips. For at that moment, Korra unleashed a multitude of fire blasts in a scorching temper tantrum; destroying, or at least burning, all of the gates in the process. Needless to say, the others looked at her in shocked, and appalled in Tenzin's case, expressions while she huffed and puffed. "You just destroyed a two-thousand-year-old historical artifact, hand crafted by the monks themselves. What-what is wrong with you, Korra?!" Tenzin shouted.
"There's nothing wrong with me! Okay?!" she hotly retorted, "I've been practicing, just like you taught me. But it isn't sinking in, or clicking, or whatever, okay?"
"Korra, this isn't something you can force after just a few days of training. It takes years to fully master Airbending; or any bending for that matter. If you would just listen, and-"
"I have been listening!" she shouted, "But you wanna know what I think? I think the reason I haven't learned Airbending yet is because I have a lousy, terrible excuse for a teacher like you!" she ranted before storming off in a huff. Then, to add further insult to injury, Meelo, who did not fully understand what was going on, made his own comment thinking it was some kind of harmless game.
"Yeah, you're terrible and lousy at teaching, Daddy!" he said before imitating Korra's fit by kicking the scorched debris. Feeling those accusations were true, Tenzin hung his head in shame while his daughters gave him tiny, comforting hugs around his long legs. Xiang, on the other hand, bended his fingers to catch Meelo and bring him into his arms.
"Not the best things to say or do right now, buddy." he gently informed while holding his little brother. For the remainder of the day, Tenzin and Korra kept as much distance between themselves as possible while training. For Tenzin, he kept to himself as he meditated and let loose his frustrations through Airbending drills. For Korra, she simply vented by unleashing the three elements she could bend at inanimate targets until she got bored and left for the stadium. Before long, once the sun had begun to set over the island, Pema called her family to gather for dinner.
"Okay, everyone ready?" she warmly asked with a smile, completely unaware of the tension in the air. "Wait. Where's Korra?" Instead of a verbal response, the soon-to-be mother of five received cringed looks from her three eldest, one frustrated expression from her husband, and a bored face from her youngest since Meelo still did not understand what had happened. "Oh, dear. What happened now?"
"The Avatar had a little temper tantrum and Firebended the crap out of the spinning gates this morning." Xiang replied.
"Xiang, no foul language at the table." Pema lightly scolded with a look. "So, I guess things aren't getting any easier, huh?"
"Honestly, Pema, I don't know what to do with that girl. I've been her master for less than a week, and I'm already at my wits end with her!" Tenzin exclaimed in frustration.
Ever the calming presence in her husband's life, Pema gently placed her hands on his shoulders to calm him down. "Dear, right now, the best thing you can do for Korra is to give here some space. Give yourselves some time to cool down, then look for solutions. Okay?"
Unable to stay tense with his beloved wife soothing him, Tenzin slumped in submission and accepted her advice. But, in a brief moment of fear, Tenzin seized right back up as he practically begged his children with the following request. "You all must promise me your teenage years will not be like this."
Dryly looking up from her book, Jinora gave her father her most honest, and blunt, answer. "I will make no such promises." she said while Ikki nodded beside her.
"Uh, I think I've got a pretty good handle on my frustrations, as it is, Dad. But…I also make no such promises." Xiang added as he turned his fingers into chopsticks and broke them off.
"Don't use your fingers for chopsticks, Xiang." Pema groaned, obviously having already told her son this several times before. "Anyway, could one of you go to Korra's room and tell her she can find her dinner in the kitchen whenever she wants to eat?"
"Okay, but she's not in her room." Xiang nonchalantly shrugged as they all began to make their plates.
"What? What do you mean?" Tenzin asked.
"Well, I saw Korra head out for a swim towards the Pro Bending stadium about an hour ago." he replied.
"Don't you think that's something I ought to know?!" his father shrieked.
"I didn't see anything wrong about it. She came back last night after sneaking out to go over there. It's not like she has anywhere else to stay in the city." the Plantbender shrugged just as he was about to take a bite out of a ball-sized veggie bun. But before he could, it was sucked out of his hand by his father's Airbending. When Xiang saw both his parents wearing dry, scolding expressions, he knew they did not share his sentiments on the matter.
"Go get her this instant." Tenzin lowly demanded.
"But…food." Xiang pouted as his father's face scrunched even further. "Okay. I'll go get her." he sighed as he rose from his floor mat. Once he was outside on the beach facing the stadium, Xiang began running towards the water before jumping into the air and using his bending. While he was leaping, he extended and expanded his entire arm to form a make-shift gondola boat and proceeded to make an overly long oar to push/paddle himself across the water. Despite the fact he was alone, the calico bender decided to humorously sing to himself to pass the time.
"A boy went to Ba Sing Se, because he missed the scenery~
The silly dances and the awkward songs
But wait a minute!
Something's wrong!
Cause now it's…hey-oh, I'm here already." Xiang deadpanned just as he was about to fully burst into song. Instead of coming up to the main entrance, which was still swarming with fans, the Plantbender snuck in through the back, much like the Avatar did the previous night. Once he made it to the bleachers, he quickly realized that finding Korra was like finding a needle in a hay stack. Since Tenzin was so adamant about his family having nothing to do with Pro Bending, Xiang had never been inside the stadium before. Therefore, he had no idea just how many people could be crammed into the building. That being said, he felt like an idiot for not having thought of that; especially considering he knew just how popular the sport was better than his father. But rather than panic, or just stand there mentally berating himself, Xiang did the only productive thing he could think of: ask around if anyone had seen Korra.
"You haven't seen a muscular Water Tribe girl with a ponytail around here, have you?" he randomly asked a passing stranger.
"Nope. Sorry." the man replied shaking his head before walking to his seat.
Trying his luck again, Xiang grabbed the attention of a middle aged couple carrying snacks and drinks. "Excuse me, have either of you seen a tall, teenage Water Tribe girl in a blue tank top around here?"
"Oh, another one of your little strumpets, I take it?" the wife hotly accused as she glared at her husband. "First I catch you with that Fire Nation girl and her brother, and now you're with some floosy from the Water Tribe?!" she screeched before dumping their drinks onto her baffled husband's head.
"Darling, wait! Those were my chiropractors!" the man hollered as he chased off after her, passing his own snack into Xiang's hands.
"Maybe Dad has the right idea in not letting us come to these things." Xiang muttered as he began to eat his free fire flakes. "Korra!" he shouted from the crowd. "Korra! Korra, if you can hear me, I just wanted to say your Airbending stinks and so do your Kyoshi sized boots!" he shouted, hoping a double-whammy insult would gain her attention and allow him to find her; either by hearing her shouts, or dodging her attacks.
"Will the young man in black and white in section A-3 please cease any further disruptions? Thank you." an announcer rhetorically asked over the stadium's speaker from his booth. Flanking the announcer's booth were the reserved boxes for those who could afford the best seats in the house; specifically the three Beifong siblings, in this case.
Wing and Wei had spent the day following her around as she went shopping, as per their agreement to their parents to make sure she stayed safe. Since Opal was the only non-bender in the family, a factor that contributed to her sheltered upbringing, their mother wanted the twins to stay near her and protect Opal in public at all times. Given the amount of gangs and crimes in Republic City, this also meant she was not allowed to stay at the hotel while her brothers were out watching Pro Bending. That being said, Opal had no interest in the sport, and was lazily lounging in her cushioned chair while her brothers eagerly watched and cheered the final round of the current match.
"Whoo! What a knock out!" Wing shouted as the final bender was blasted out of the ring.
"Go, Eel-Hounds!" Wei cheered.
"Yeah. Go, Eel-Hounds. Knock 'em dead." Opal sarcastically cheered, not even bothering to look at the ring.
"Alright, up next is the Platypus-Bears vs the Fire Ferrets. I can't wait to see how those rookies pull off another crazy win." Wing said in excitement, bouncing in his seat as he did.
"You know, it's basically gonna be the exact same thing you just watched, right?" Opal asked, earning sour looks from her younger brothers.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Opal. Every team has their own kind of pizazz that makes this game so awesome!" Wing retorted in wonder.
"Ah, what does she know? She's not even a bender; she can't see the beauty of something epic like this." Wei brushed off.
Blowing a raspberry in response, the Beifong daughter took a sip from her cup of lychee juice and turned to crowd watching through her opera glasses. For the most part, it was the only way for her to pass the time; that and making up funny stories about the lives of the people that caught her attention. As she was scoping the bleachers, she finally laid her eyes on the one person she had hope to see during her trip; and it caused her to do a spit-take right onto her brother's face.
Had it not been for Xiang's mismatched eyes, Opal probably never would have recognized him. Between his change of fashion style, his chiseled physique, and his edgy-looking hair, it was hard to believe was once that little boy she met all those years ago in Zaofu. It may have been because she excited to see him after so long, or because she was a hormonal teenager, but Opal found herself instantly attracted to her childhood friend.
"Gah! What the hell, Opal?!" Wing shouted as he tried to wipe off his sister's backwash. But instead of answering, Opal dashed out of the booth and hurried down the stairs to catch Xiang. "What's gotten into her?"
"I dunno. Must be those fire gummies she ate." Wei shrugged. "Forget about it, the next match is starting. Oh, look, the Fire Ferrets have a different Waterbender."
"Come on, Korra! Come here, girl!" Xiang called out, slapping his legs like she had done to her own polar bear-dog. By this point, he was both frustrated and desperate enough to think this tactic would work.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Our next match is between the Platypus-Bears of Mapaku Village and the Fire Ferrets of our very own Republic City." the announcer suddenly informed, gaining everyone else's attention. "And it looks like our hometown boys have ferreted out a last minute replacement Waterbender. Let's see if she's another diamond in the rough, like the brother from the school of hard knocks."
"Please not Korra. Please not Korra. Please not Korra. Please not Korra. Please…" Xiang cringed before finally looking down at the ring and spotted a very familiar ponytail poking out of the red headgear. "Damn!" he cursed.
As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Korra kicked things off with an illegal move, resulting in a penalty. While the crowd booed at her, as she was arguing with the ref, Xiang quickly surmised his friend had absolutely no concept of the rules of the sport she claimed to love so much. "Oh, come on, Korra; even I knew you couldn't do that!" From that point, things only became worse as Korra committed several more fouls, and eventually Earthbended out of defensive instinct; an act that did not go unnoticed by anyone watching. "Yep. Dad's gonna kill me for this." Xiang groaned as he dragged his hand down his face.
Out of the corner of his eye, the Plantbender noticed an entrance leading to the base of the pool beneath the ring. Based on the way Korra was playing, he figure it was only a matter of time before she fell in, and when she did, that was when he could get her. Much to his surprise, Xiang found it remotely easy to make his way down to that entrance. His only problem, though, was the tall, overly muscular bouncer guarding the door while listening to the match.
"Alright. All of my training has prepared me for this moment." Xiang whispered to himself before approaching the bouncer. "Hey." he said only to be ignored. "Hey! HEY!"
"What?!" the bouncer shouted when he finally noticed Xiang.
"The boss says you're fired!" he lied.
"What?! Well, I'll give him his!" the lump of muscles snarled, taking the bait as he stormed off.
"Moron." Xiang muttered with a roll of his eyes. Sure enough, as he passed through the door, he watched Korra get knocked out of the ring and into the water. When she pulled herself onto the platform, she sheepishly looked up at the pissed off glare of the young nomad.
"Oh, heh-heh. Hey, Xiang. I thought your dad didn't let you guys come to these matches?" she awkwardly asked.
"You're right. He doesn't. Just like he didn't want you coming here either, and that's why I've been wondering around asking everybody and their mother where the hell you were. Look, I get you wanna explore the city, but running away and joining a Pro Bending team was way over the line, Korra. Go get changed, we're leaving."
"No." she refused. "I'm a little busy at the moment."
Reaching a similar point of frustration as his father, Xiang seized in anger as he turned back to face her. "I've kept my mouth shut on your behavior lately because it was none of my business. But frankly, after today, I don't care anymore. So, I'm going to give you an ultimatum; either coming back to the island with me willingly, or I bring you back by force."
"Oh, you think you can?" Korra challenged.
"I don't have much reason to worry. It's not like you can blast me away with Airbending, and your display of Waterbending up there doesn't have me concerned, either." he retorted. "You're coming back to the temple, one way or another, to complete your training."
"Why? So I can sit around and meditate about how terrible I am at Airbending?" she rhetorically asked. "You know, I think there's a reason I haven't been able to learn it; because maybe I don't need Airbending!"
"Oh, really? You struggle with one thing in your life, and all of a sudden, you decide you're too good for it?" Xiang hotly asked. "The Avatar needs to learn and master all four elements, Korra. No matter how hard one of them might be to learn. You don't have a say in the matter."
"Yes, I do! This is what I need to learn, Xiang; modern styles of fighting."
"Oh, for the love of-being the Avatar is not all about fighting, Korra. There's a spiritual aspect of it you have to uphold in order to maintain balance in the world. And unlike the other three elements, Airbending is the only one geared toward spiritual matters over combat. Oh, and by the way, this not fighting! This is a recreational sport that barely even incorporates the basics of bending!" Xiang frantically retorted. "You're only saying this because it's easier for you than Airbending, and now you're throwing a hissy fit and quitting over not breezing past it."
"Whatever. I have a match to finish. Go back to the island, Xiang." Korra dismissed.
"Yeah, more like lose!" Xiang bitterly remarked as she ascended on the nearby lift. "Maybe you should have them knock you in for another bath, 'cause you still stink!"
Having enough of the older teen's attitude, Xiang stormed off in a huff of his own. After making it back upstairs and heading straight towards the exit, the young nomad took one last glance to see his friend on the verge of being knocked over. But just before she could, he saw her dodge in a similar, gliding motion like that of his sister's. From that point, Korra was turning the tide in her favor against her attackers. "Well, how about that?" he asked himself. In a matter of seconds, the Avatar was able to take the heat off her teammates and helped them take the win.
"Knock out! In a crazy turn of events, our greenhorn of a Pro Bender Avatar turned this one-sided match right back against the Platypus-Bears, giving the Fire Ferrets another stunning victory!" the announcer enthusiastically recited over the speakers and roar of the crowd.
Since that match was the last for the evening, Xiang waited outside the stadium for Korra and her teammates. Eventually, the proud Avatar came strolling out with a pair of young men around her age. One was clearly the eldest of the three, and look as Fire Nation native as a person could with a cool, composed demeanor. The other teenager was a slightly shorter, but definitely buffer, fun-loving type that shared features with the other, but also features from an Earth Kingdom native. With a proverbial olive branch in tow, Xiang approached the trio.
"While that was the roughest start of a match I've ever seen, you did pretty good in the end, Korra. Guess those gates came in handy after all, huh?" he teased.
Rubbing her head in a sheepish manner, showing their previous argument was water under the bridge, Korra laughed in agreement. "Yeah, I guess they did."
"I'm sorry, who is this?" the Earthbender interjected. "Is he your…?"
Immediately reacting to the hinted question, both teens instantly dismissed the accusation. "What? Us? Oh, no; definitely not!" Korra denied.
"No, no, no." Xiang waved off.
"Absolutely. Not ever."
"No way. No. Ew." Xiang added.
"Ew? What do you mean, ew?" Korra asked, slightly offended.
"What do you mean what do you mean? You're the reincarnation of my grandfather!" he defended.
"Fair enough." she dryly nodded. "Guys, this is Xiang; Avatar Aang's grandson from Air Temple Island. Xiang, this is Mako and his brother Bolin of the Fire Ferrets."
"Hey." Mako aloofly greeted.
"How's it going?" Bolin asked, a tad more cheerfully.
"Aside from my stomach eating itself because I had to come here instead of eating my dinner, great." Xiang bluntly replied with a semi-forced smile before turning to Korra. "Seriously, can we please go now? All I've had since lunch was some cheapy fire flakes, and those things aren't filling."
"Alright." Korra chuckled. But before they could say their goodbyes to the two brothers, Xiang picked up on the sound of running before catching Opal in the corner of his eye. Catching her breath as she came to a stop, the other three benders looked at her with curiosity.
"Finally! I thought I was never gonna catch up with you." she panted while wearing a happy smile. "It's so good to see you, Xiang."
"Um, Xiang?" Korra awkwardly asked.
"I honestly thought I would have to go to Air Temple Island to see you again, but then I thought, 'oh, wait, would that be too awkward or weird after so long?' But then I realized I was overthinking everything, and now I'm rambling over it all and now my brothers are probably going to kill me for running off." Opal sheepishly laughed after straightening herself out.
"Okay," Xiang nodded along.
"But anyway, I never thought I'd find you here, of all places. I know it's been awhile, but I never would have guessed you liked Pro Bending." she said, unintentionally looking cute as she was talking to her childhood friend; and slightly blushing as she got a better look at him up close.
"…I'm sorry. But who are you?" he bluntly asked in confusion. For a moment, Opal was still caught in her blushing daze before everything around her seemed to comically shatter, along with her happy expression. "Are we…acquainted with each other, somehow?" he asked.
At that moment, any happiness Opal felt towards seeing Xiang was replaced with frustrated anger; an emotion she openly displayed as growled at Xiang, pushed him down, and snarled through her gritting teeth as she stormed off. Naturally, Xiang was more than a little confused at this interaction, and looked to the trio with a baffled look while jerking his thumb at Opal. In response, all three of them merely shrugged with clueless expressions.
Finally being able to part ways with the bending brothers, Xiang and Korra were able to return home. Even though they had managed to patch things up, there was still one other Air Nomad Korra needed to settle things with. They managed to find Tenzin overseeing the final repairs to the gates. Based on his calm demeanor, it was safe to assume he was ready to patch things up with Korra, too.
"I'm really sorry, Tenzin." Korra said, getting straight to the point. "For everything I said and did. I was really frustrated with myself, and I took it out on you; and, well, the gates, obviously."
"I owe you an apology too, Korra." Tenzin admitted. "I was trying to teach you patience, and I lost mine, instead."
"So, no hard feelings?" she asked in hope.
"Of course not." Tenzin smiled in response. "By the way, you were really good out there tonight. It sounded like you moved just like an Airbender."
"Wait, how do you know that? You listened to my match?" Korra asked.
"It was rather difficult to turn the radio off after hearing the announcer inform the whole city the Avatar was participating in Pro Bending." he retorted with a smirk. "Though, it seems to have been the perfect teaching method for you."
Smiling back with respect and thanks, Korra bowed to her teacher which he responded in kind. "I'll see you tomorrow for Airbending practice. Bright and early. Oh, and on a side note, I kind of permanently joined the Fire Ferrets, and we're playing the tournament next month."
"…Of course you are." Tenzin sighed.
"Okay, so now that everything a-okay between everyone, I'm gonna finally eat my dinner before I start chewing my arm off." Xiang bluntly informed.
"You already were chewing your arm off on the ride over here." Korra smirked as she joined him on his way to the kitchen.
"Not true. I just happen to keep shoots of bamboo tucked in the center in case of emergency; that was an emergency." he replied, causing Korra to laugh at his idea of an emergency.
On the other side of the bay, just a little ways past the docks in the city, Opal was gazing out her window at Air Temple Island with a slightly sad look on her face. Even though her reunion with Xiang did not go how she would have preferred, she at least knew her friend was still in the city. Therefore, she still had a chance at rekindling their friendship; and maybe develop it into something more. "I'm not giving up on you, Xiang. I'll never give up." she promised from the bottom of her heart.
So, what did you think? I know I didn't include much Plantbending, but you'll be seeing more of it as the Krew fights against the Equalists. Now, on a smaller note, here's a deeper look at some smaller details.
Regarding Xiang's hair, I'm still on the fence between going with one of two different styles. Right now, it's the "Medium Edgy" hairstyle from the MMORPG PSO2. And no, his appearance is not based on any avatar of mine. The other option is the "Kabuki Short" hairstyle from the same game. If anyone is interested in him with long hair tied in an anime-like ponytail, I would not be opposed to changing it for the next book, or later on in this story. Or just picture him with a different style if that's what you want. It probably doesn't matter. Anyway, on to the characters.
While I have yet to explain the cause of Xiang's missing arm, it will be revealed in the next chapter. Be warned, it is not a pleasant story, as Jinora indicated. Speaking of which, I hope you guys liked that interaction, because I'm making Xiang the lovable big brother to all his siblings and will give them plenty of fluffy moments for you to either enjoy or get cavities from how sweet they are.
As for Opal, she's going to be a bit OC in this story. While I like her gentle, sweet personality, I can see her having a tough side; even more than what we saw in Book 4. Nothing over the top, but enough to show that you'd never wanna mess with her.
One last thing, I still don't know who I'm going to pair Korra with. It's either Bolin or Mako; no Asami. If it's Bolin, Mako and Asami will live happily ever after and Korra will get a loveable goofball to love and adore her. If it's Mako, I have an idea on who to pair Asami with; a potential future, male, member of Korra's Team Avatar who's going to be introduced in the next book. Whichever pairing you guys want, let me know via review on here or AO3; I don't trust this site's outdated system for the polls, and I don't always get alerts from here on my emails.
Like and follow if you enjoyed, and please, please, please leave a review! See ya!