A Legend of Korra Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez (aka SMTsukishiro)

Summary:

A promising engineering student. A mysterious woman capable of controlling the four elements. When their paths crossed, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]

The Legend of Korra

The Schism

Chapter 17. The Long Way

"Asami, I think we have gone far enough. Let's take a rest," she said, stopping on her tracks which, in turn, kept Opal from taking another step as well. The injured girl had slowed down immensely, so much so that Korra volunteered in assisting the girl. "Some of Opal's wounds are opening again. I would like to fix her up."

Asami was surprised to hear the Avatar say something like that. After her earlier display, when an entire residential block was swallowed up, she had thought Korra had reverted to caring more about her mission than those around her.

The Prodigy turned to look at Opal. Sure enough, fresh blood was trickling down her side. She felt sorry for her friend, and looked apologetically at her, when she replied, "I'm sorry, Opal, but we don't have any medical supplies with us. We'll get you patched up as soon as we get to the nearest town or village."

"I'm...I'm okay," Opal forced a smile. She didn't want either of her companions to feel bad about her. "I can manage. Let's just keep going."

The Avatar frowned as she stood her ground. Are all humans really like this? So infuriatingly hard-headed? Do they really enjoy throwing themselves in danger, being in pain? What strange creatures...

They had been walking for a while, having made a good distance from the Dragon Flats Burroughs and to the outskirts of Republic City. Still, they hadn't gotten far enough to consider themselves safe from anyone willing to pursue them. They could still hear the loud sirens from within the city walls, warning them that things would soon get hectic. If they didn't hurry and leave before President Raiko issued a city-wide lockdown order, they would undoubtedly be caught.

"Korra," Opal tugged the loose cloth that hung around Korra's waist, seeing the worried expression that was on the Avatar's face. She gritted through the pain as she said, "I really am fine. It stings a bit, but I can manage."

"But..." Korra found herself arguing uselessly and being stopped before she could even form a coherent argument.

"Let's not make Asami even more frustrated with you than she already is, shall we?"

"Frustrated? With me?" she already had a feeling that was the case, but to be affirmed of it was another thing entirely. "Why? I have already made my case regarding those unfortunate humans that fell into the Catacombs. If anything, I had thought offering to help you would make her less angry with me."

Opal quirked an eyebrow, her lips curving into as much of a grin as her injuries would allow. "Aha! So, you're actually doing this for her rather than for me. I'm hurt, Avatar Korra—physically and emotionally hurt."

"That's not—! I didn't say that! Stop putting words into my mouth, human." Korra huffed, much too loudly that it garnered the attention of the Prodigy that had been leading their way.

Asami just turned enough to give Korra a stink-eye. Exasperation oozed from her in waves as she thought the Avatar was giving Opal a difficult time.

"Will you please stop fooling around, Avatar Korra," the raven-haired girl snapped. "If you are worried about Opal, the least you can do is try not to make this journey even more difficult than it already is."

Opal could feel Korra stiffen as the Avatar bristled at Asami's words, a low growl bubbled from the pit of her stomach and she returned the look the Prodigy was giving her with one of her own. Already the words—a perfect retort—was forming on Korra's lips. Opal, having been around her fair share of arguments such as these, knew full well whatever the Avatar was to say was going to be hurtful. And so before Korra could actually say those words aloud, the young Bei Fong historian butted-in.

"Avatar Korra wasn't fooling around, Asami." Opal said, accompanying her words with a meaningful look directed at the engineer. "I was. You don't have to be too hard on her."

A non-committal "Very well" was all Hiroshi Sato's daughter had to say before she faced forward and resumed walking, speaking in a way that reminded Opal that her friend really was the heir to the Sato Empire. It was something the Earth Kingdom native often forgot with how the other girl usually was.

Opal sighed heavily, irritating her left rib which she guessed was fractured. Likewise, Korra expelled a breath ridden with frustration.

"I want to put her in her place," the Avatar muttered darkly.

"No, you don't," Opal's words had in them a hidden meaning that warned Korra not to cross her as well. With a tone and a gaze that could rival Alignak's whenever she was reprimanding Korra—or trying to talk some sense into the Avatar, getting her to do something she would rather not—Opal added, "What you are going to do is have a proper talk with Asami, and fix...whatever it is that is going on between you. Honestly, I just got kidnapped and you two are already at each other's throats."

"Well, she started it..." Korra was acting like a child, and she knew it (though she was never going to admit it outright).

Opal raised an eyebrow. "Did she really?"

Silence was all Korra could give in reply to that loaded question.

Dawn had begun coating the sky with its pinkish and orange hues by the time Asami deemed it safe to stop and take a rest. They had long left the borders of the capital, and with it any semblance of civilization—save for old concrete roads that need repairing and the occasional passing automobiles.

After getting strange looks from the first couple of drivers and passengers making their way to and from Republic City, the trio had stepped away from the roads, sticking close to the seawall overlooking Yue Bay instead. Thus they had found themselves in the one of the coves close to the shore, revealed by the ocean's low tide—the only safe haven they could find at such proximity. It was not cozy, but it was enough.

Still, as long a trek as they might have taken, Korra and Asami still had not spoken to each other. Both were still holding a grudge against the other. Opal had to do her best to keep the situation from worsening, and to get her two companions to patch things up. She, after all, didn't think she could bear such an atmosphere for much longer.

"Well, we should be safe here for now. Hopefully anyone sent after us won't be able to find us here," Asami stated as soon as they made themselves comfortable—or as comfortable as they could possibly be, given the situation. She turned to Opal, "I wish we could patch you up soon, though, Opal. And maybe find something to eat." A sigh, followed by, "I really wish we had the time to prepare for this journey" ended her lamentation.

"I'm sorry," Opal apologized, not for the first time. She squirmed in search of a position that didn't feel like she was being injured anew. "I had really messed up our plans big time with getting kidnapped like that, didn't I?"

"It wasn't like you did it on purpose," Korra closed her eyes as she uttered those words, taking a deep, cleansing breath before opening them again. Looking at Asami, she said, "I don't know much about scavenging for food, but I can help with Opal's injuries." She paused, almost unsure of herself. "If you will let me."

How can I say no? Asami wanted to retort, but she held her tongue. If the Avatar really could ease her friend's pain, it would not do to antagonize her even more after all.

"If you think you can, then by all means..." the Prodigy sighed with a wave of her hand. She was, however, a bit skeptical of what Korra had planned, believing her choice of medicine to be of the herbal kind—or something equally old-fashioned.

Opal was thinking along the same line of thought as Asami. She was curious what kind of medical practice the Avatar knew—if it was something of a secret only practiced by the people of Nia Bayou or if it was something only taught to the Avatar.

And even though they were quite familiar with Korra's ability to bend the elements, they did not expect she would make use of it to heal Opal. It was, therefore, quite understandable that they were confused and surprised when she pulled the moisture from the air, the Mark of Water glowing on her skin, moving her hands and arms fluidly as she molded them into a ball no bigger than her fist.

The darker-skinned girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath from her nose, expelling the air from her mouth, before she opened her eyes and had the ball of water cover her entire right hand. She moved towards Opal—who, along with Asami, didn't realize they were both holding their breaths—and the water began to glow, illuminating the cove in a silvery-blue light.

Just when the Avatar's hand was mere inches away from the Historian's bruised skin, she stopped and frowned, eyes affixed on the other girl's ripped clothing.

"Perhaps," Korra surprised her two companions by speaking so suddenly. She looked Opal in the eye and said, "It would be best if you shed your clothing, Opal."

It was such an unexpected suggestion—one that neither Asami nor Opal understood the need for. As such, both humans quickly voiced out in a chorus their incredulous reactions. Likewise, both of their faces were flushed red—a reaction Korra did not expect in the slightest, and one that confused her.

"W-What?" Opal exclaimed.

At the same time, Asami rose to her feet to admonish the Avatar who was down on one knee beside Opal, "That's inappropriate, Korra!"

"Inappropriate? I don't understand..."

"You can't just ask someone to undress!"

"Again, I don't understand why you're upset with me, Asami. Or why both of you are looking at me like that." Korra really did look quite lost as she looked between Asami and Opal. She could find no fault in what she had asked the injured girl to do, and she told them that as well, adding, "How am I supposed to completely heal her of her injuries if I don't even know where those injuries are?" Then to Opal, "I'm not asking you to completely take all of your clothes off, just your shirt is enough—if that is where the brunt of your injuries are."

"Oh...I-I see," a nervous chuckle escaped the young Bei Fong's lips. "W-Well...that does make sense."

"You should have said so sooner. You can't expect us to quickly know the motivation behind your actions." Asami cleared her throat, a tinge of red still on her face as she felt embarrassed by her earlier outburst.

Of course that is what she meant. She chastised herself inwardly at the same time. Why would you think otherwise, Asami? Well, it's a good thing I wasn't alone in making that mistake.

With that cleared up, Korra looked expectantly at Opal. Averting her eyes—for even if it was for the sake of getting herself patched up, undressing in front of an audience was still pretty embarrassing!—the young Historian's face was as bright as a freshly picked tomato as she fumbled with the buttons of her shirt.

Once the shirt was out of the way, the Avatar nodded and inspected the exposed skin with such raptness of attention that caused Opal's face to redden still. She looked over at her oldest friend, as if begging her to say something for Korra to get it over and done with. The look was lost on Asami, however, for she had averted her eyes the moment Opal had begun to undress and Opal didn't know whether to be thankful or exasperated.

Finally, after what seemed like forever—though in actuality no more than half a minute had passed—Korra moved her hand to begin healing the injured human though her glowing-water-coated palm did not directly touch Opal's cuts and bruises. It was just the glowing water that did.

She flinched at the contact. The water was...well, it was wet, and cold, and it caused gooseflesh to rise and made her shiver. But then the water's light began to pulsate steadily, and soon warmth overtook the coldness and she felt the bruises and injuries heal one-by-one as Korra moved from one to the next, eyes never leaving whatever part of her she was healing and Opal found herself transfixed by the hands that guided the "magic water". Asami had also lost her earlier hesitation to look, and she watched, unabashed, at another unexpected display of the Avatar's power.

When all of Opal's wounds were finally healed—her cuts and bruises gone as though they had never been there in the first place—Korra guided the water away and released her hold of it before she slumped on the ground, exhausted but with a lazy grin on her face at her accomplishment.

"Wow...that was..." Opal was at a loss for words as she inspected herself. "There's not even a scar left!"

Asami, who had been sitting a bit farther from where Korra and Opal had been went to her friend's side and saw that it was, indeed, as Opal had claimed.

"How? How did you do that?" she had asked, even though a part of her already guessed what Korra's answer was going to be—which, probably, was going to be along the lines of: "I'm the Avatar". "That was just moisture, in the air, wasn't it?"

"It was, yes." Answered Korra, glad that Asami was willing to converse properly with her about that at least. "But if you draw them together, you can have enough water to heal even the worst of injuries. The way Alignak explained it to me once, she said that since water is the 'Element of Life' it has the necessary properties that allows for healing and the creation of Spirit Water."

"Spirit Water? Is that what the glowing water is called?" the Prodigy asked, fascinated.

A nod was Korra's reply as she came to realize something. "It would be a good idea to have some reserved for this journey, wouldn't it? In case something happens and I'm unable to help."

"Why? Are you planning on leaving us behind, Avatar Korra?" Asami asked, eyes drilling holes into the sapphire-eyed girl's skull. "Sneaking away without a word again?"

It wasn't just Korra who cringed at Asami's words, even Opal wanted to face-palm at them. Was the Avatar trying to grate on her friend's nerves even more?

"I didn't say that!" the outburst came, followed by Korra mumbling with her arms crossed, "Really, what is with humans putting words into my mouth? If Alignak hadn't asked of me what she did, I would have made you answer for your insolence..."

"Well, it does sound that way, even to me, Avatar Korra," admitted Opal. "Sorry. Besides, that's the only way anyone could take those words for."

Korra let herself fall back into the ground, lying there as she stared at the earthen ceiling. "That's not it at all. I was just thinking of a precaution should either of you get hurt and I am not around to help because something had happened to me. For instance, if I were to fall in battle."

Whatever ill feelings the brilliant young minds of Republic City had were thrown out the window by the unexpected words—the Avatar's admittance of the possibility of being defeated, something the Korra they had met before would have adamantly refused to even consider. For a moment, no one said a word. Both Asami and Opal merely looked at the Avatar, lying on her back with her arms as pillows, and then at each other.

"Where did that confidence bordering on cockiness and arrogance go?" though the tone was light, the words with substance (though Korra would never admit to being arrogant, because she wasn't—at least, in her perspective), Asami was worried. "I thought no one could defeat the Almighty Avatar? Especially now that you at least have your bending back."

Said Avatar graced Asami with a sad smile, though her eyes were at anywhere but the humans she was with. "That's true...but, well, we never really know, do we?"

As she spoke, Korra couldn't help but remember the masked man she had fought with. The leader of some group with a vested interest in her. I never did learned that man's name. But whoever he is, he is dangerous. He said something about a benefactor who seem to know about me a great deal too...I have to be careful.

Whilst the Avatar's mind churned with those thoughts fueled by worry, Asami and Opal watched her curiously. They watched the frown on Korra's brow deepen with each passing second, her eyes far too focused upward but the gaze itself was faraway; watched as her lips form a thin line, her jaw set. Whatever the chocolate-skinned girl was thinking, it was deep and troubling—and that, in turn, made the two of them anxious. After all, something that made Korra so lost in thought could not be a good thing.

Curious about what was going on in the supposed-mythological being's mind, Opal wanted to ask what her worries were, if only to get a better feel of the Avatar as part of her studies. She, after all, wanted to be able to write about "the one who is the bridge between worlds"—as what the old tomes had described the Avatar to be.

She wanted to. But she didn't. Instead, she nudged Asami—whom she honestly felt would get more out of Korra, even when the two had been at odds with each other for hours—giving her a meaningful look. The glare the Prodigy gave her friend was something she hoped would dissuade the other girl, but to no avail. Opal merely rolled her eyes. No words were actually needed between the two to express themselves.

After a while of having a silent back and forth, Asami gave in, hissing, "You don't even know if she'll open up about that to me. For all we know it's a private matter!"

"That's why you'll ask, dummy," By that point, Asami's eyes were mere slits with the way she was eyeing the Historian. She did not appreciate being called a 'dummy'. "She's answered all your questions without much fuss thus far, haven't she?"

"Yes, but she doesn't have a reason to answer this one," Yet, even as Asami said that, she was already rehearsing, in her mind, how to best proceed with that conversation with Korra.

Opal's reply was gently shoving her friend towards the Avatar, which was the time when Korra noticed their strange behavior. With a grunt, she pushed herself in a sitting position and looked curiously at them.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

In which Opal quickly answered with, "Asami wants to ask you something, Avatar Korra!" and then before Asami could give her a good wallop, she hightailed out of the cove, a wide grin plastered on her face as she said in retreat, "I'll give you two some time to talk while I forage for food."

"H-Hey, Opal, wait—!"

"Opal!"

Left alone, there was a moment of silence before Korra asked, "Will she be alright?"

"I hope so. I wouldn't want to go through another rescue mission any time soon...or ever, for that matter." sighed Asami. "I don't think she'd go very far, though. And if she really did mean to search for food, that will be all the better."

The Avatar mulled over those words for a while, before she shrugged. Eyeing the taller girl curiously, she then asked, "So, what is it that you want to ask me?"

"It's..." Asami stopped. She didn't know why she was reluctant in asking the question, but nonetheless she was. Still, Opal would not let her get away that easily if she didn't ask. And so she pushed through her hesitation. "It has something to do with what you just said...about being defeated in battle. Opal and I feel as though there is something you're not telling us..."

"There's a lot of things I'm keeping private, Asami," Korra sounded weary, but the twinkle in her eyes told the brilliant, young mind that she wasn't exactly telling her off.

"Korra..."

The Avatar heaved another sigh before plopping back to the ground. She let the silence linger for a couple more seconds which prompted the raven-haired young woman to say, "Look, I know you don't trust us that much to warrant an explanation to your actions—or lack thereof. And I understand that you don't have to explain yourself to us either. But Opal and I have deigned to help you, Korra. The least you could do is tell us what we've gotten ourselves into. And if you intend to leave us behind again, then at least have the decency to tell us instead of taking us for fools."

There. She finally said it. And just as she predicted, the creases on the other girl's forehead deepened, her jaw setting once more as the smile vanished completely from her face.

Here it comes, Asami braced herself. We might as well get this over and done with.

"I have never taken you or Opal for fools," Korra began, speaking so softly and so slowly that it was more frightening than if she had shouted those words aloud. "Well, I did. Back when I first met both of you. I thought you would be the same as the other humans I had encountered."

"Trust is...well, you've proven yourselves. That you are trust-worthy individuals, more than I—and the Four Elemental Spirits—could say about most of your kind. Besides, I have told you quite a bit about myself and my people, and that's not something that should be taken lightly, Asami..."

"Then why did you run off on your own without so much as a word of warning?" There was a hint of...something Korra couldn't place the emotion of behind what Asami had asked. "Why did you decide to take action on your own—blowing up the underground tunnels, disregarding the consequences of your actions—when we already told you we were going to help?"

"Wait," Korra's eyes were wide and she bolted right back up. "that is the crux of this whole cold-shoulder-thing you've been giving me? I thought you hated me for not being able to help all those humans swallowed up by the earth!"

The Prodigy mirrored the expression on Avatar Korra's face then. "Hate you? I didn't hate you for that. Slightly disappointed, yes, and maybe annoyed and a bit angry..."

Korra did not fail to notice Asami not correcting her comment regarding the taller girl's treatment. Still, she would take what she could get with the human, if only for keeping her word to Alignak.

"Well, that's good. I'm glad I didn't try to use Vayu's gift on you then. That would have changed your mind about hating me." the Avatar laughed, though she had the decency to look sheepish about what she had just admitted. "It would have also made my keeping of Alignak's promise that much harder, and before you ask, that's something I cannot tell you."

"Fair enough," Asami nodded, finally getting tired of standing whilst talking with the Avatar. She gently took a seat beside Korra. "Then how about starting with what you can tell me about what happened...what prompted you to leave without a word like that?"

Feeling as though she owed it to the human, and herself as well, Avatar Korra began to tell her side of the story—from the dream that was a vision and her failed attempt at saying farewell (as Asami had guessed was what Korra was trying to say when they were interrupted back at that large room), to her battle with the masked man who knew of her identity and had wanted to claim the Spirit Bastille for his own. She concluded her tale with her bungled attempt at destroying the nefarious machine with one of the humans' invention (much to Asami's chagrin, Korra was not able to tell her what that invention was, except that "it looked humanoid with a clawed hand, had a lot of levers, pedals, and buttons, and can shoot those metallic projectile-things"—which was not much to go on).

"I don't really know what happened next," Korra said, when she got to the end of her tale. "All I know was that man kicked me out of that thing, I hit the wall hard, and then I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was having one final conversation with the Four Elemental Spirits, and then you were there, waking me up."

"So you didn't purposefully tried to blow the entire underground tunnels up?"

Korra quirked one of her eyebrows as she asked in return, "Do I look like I would know how to do that without Suzaku's aid? If I was the cause of the explosion, I did not do it on purpose. Perhaps that thing I commandeered managed to do what I hoped it would and destroyed the Spirit Bastille. Perhaps that man and those humans with him planted those...bomb-things you've spoken of beforehand. Whatever the case, I don't really know who caused the explosion."

Asami reflected on what Korra had shared as they were lulled into another moment of silence, though it was now one without tension in it. Deep in thought, it was now Korra who watched her and later said, "Now it's your turn to share what you've got rattling in that head of yours, Miss Sato."

The Prodigy let that question sit for a while with the Avatar looked expectantly at her. When she had collected her thoughts, Asami then shared them with Korra.

"I'm curious about those machines you spoke of," Asami said, which earned her a snort from Korra and the Avatar mumbling "Of course you are". The emerald-eyed girl chose to ignore the playful jab. "But I am more worried about this 'benefactor' than the masked man you fought. It seems, whoever that person is, is the one who is truly after you, Korra. Is it possible whomever shared that knowledge about you is from Nia Bayou?"

The way Korra's face darkened, told Asami that it was not something the Avatar had considered. Nor was it something she welcomed thinking about.

"I find that hard to believe. Why would my people have a grudge against me, so much so that they would break their own rules in sharing information about me?" Korra asked. It was not a question she thought Asami would have an answer to, and sure enough her companion merely sat quietly and pondered the answers to those questions along with her. "In any case, I suppose I can just add that to the things to ask the elders and chieftain." A sigh, followed by, "I really am not looking forward to that."

At that, Asami couldn't help but laugh softly. It was quite funny to think that a being of such great power, revered by her own people, would have stage fright of any kind. Especially when the said being had a tendency to being infuriatingly cocky.

Korra pouted knowing Asami was laughing at her, though her expression visibly changed when she remembered one other thing that needed to be dealt with.

Looking at the porcelain-skinned girl, she mustered her very best poker face which got the other girl to stop laughing and made her quite worried by the look she was being given.

"W-What is it?" the intensity at which she was being looked at caused Asami to lean backwards, wondering what on earth had gotten into the Avatar. "K-Korra?"

Still, Korra kept advancing until her face was mere inches away and Asami could not move away any longer lest she completely fell on her back.

"There's something I have been meaning to tell you, Asami Sato," Korra said, voice barely above a whisper.

"W-What?" Asami couldn't help mimicking the volume of the Avatar's voice. She wondered why she was speaking that way, even as her mind began to blank out on her.

Korra inhaled. Asami closed her eyes. She heard, rather than felt the Avatar move. And then she felt a painful, stinging sensation on her forehead. Opening her eyes, she saw Korra retract the fingers she had flicked her forehead with.

A grin was on the brown-skinned girl's face, eyes dancing with mischief and mirth. "I don't appreciate being slapped on the face, Miss Sato."

Avatar Korra's laugh echoed as it bounced around the cove's walls, all the while Asami's face darkened one shade of red after the other, embarrassed at how Korra had managed to get her worked up like that.

Opal couldn't help smiling at her handiwork as she eavesdropped on the conversation, waiting outside the mouth of the cave with an armful of supplies she had bought from a passing caravan. She didn't know what, exactly, Avatar Korra and Asami had been talking about prior to overhearing Asami mention the possibility of a Nia Bayou citizen wanting to harm the Avatar, but whatever that conversation had been about had paved way for them to make up. It was a good thing too, she didn't know how much longer she could have taken the tension being with the two overpoweringly stubborn personalities.

The History, Literature and Arts Major knew, though, that they still had a long journey ahead of them and she was certain the two would clash with each other again. Heck, she knew she might end up at odds with either—maybe even both of them—as well. Asami and her might have been friends but they too still ended up arguing from time to time. But as always, Opal believed such arguments served to build-up and strengthen friendship...that is, as long as they are handled properly. And she had every intention to not mess up her friendship with Asami, as well as to build a strong friendship with the Avatar.

She counted to ten, tried to wipe the grin from her face—even though she knew that Asami would be able to tell that she had been eavesdropping (though she will ever refuse that was what she had been doing. It wasn't eavesdropping after all, it was researching), before clearing her throat and announcing her return in a loud booming voice.

He wanted to complain but couldn't. He was given a responsibility, after all—a job he had sworn his life to fulfill, and one that people would fight over he was sure. And he never shirked from his duty. Well, almost never.

Still, as much of an honor it was to be given such a responsibility, he wished his charge wasn't so...difficult! He wished she would just take time to inform him where she planned to go, if only to make his job easier.

But alas, that was not the case. The simple request of the Chieftain and the Elders to have an audience with his Lady had turned into the Chieftain's wife covering for him and his Lady while he searched for her whereabouts. And it was not an easy task to accomplish.

"We really need to speak to the Lady Avatar about this, don't we girl?" he asked, patting his companion—a large, furry dog with white coat, that was able to carry him and his belongings in her back. "Well, she'll probably just wave us off like she always does, but still...getting even Lady Senna involved..." he shook his head. "I don't want to get her in trouble."

The large dog merely gave a sniff as she continued walking through the icy landscape, their destination: the Southern Water Tribe's port.

The young man chuckled. Naga was a good outlet for his thoughts, even if the Avatar's Polar Bear Dog did not give him an answer back. As good a companion the Avatar's pet was, he had a feeling his journey was going to be a long one.

Post Chapter Notes:

And that, my friends, is the end of the first arc of the story. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter, it is another favorite of mine.

Anyways, what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Please do tell and I'll see you all in the next update. Until then, dream on; fly on!

(And, yes. The final scene is an introduction to a new character (new in a sense that he hasn't appeared in the story, until now).