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 cross, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]
Author's Notes:
Surprisingly, you guys are getting this chapter ahead of my AO3 readers (since, for some strange reason, I'm having problems getting to the site). Anyways, this chapter comes at a tough time for me, since one of my dogs passed away. It's a good thing I have written this chapter beforehand, otherwise, I don't think I would've been able to finish this in time.
Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this slightly shorter, albeit packed chapter. Apologies for any mistake me and my beta may have been unable to correct (I'm not sure if there are any, but just in case...)
Allons-y~!
The Legend of Korra:
The Schism
Chapter 23. Augury and Fortuity
Kai had been adamant. He wanted the Avatar to return to Nia Bayou as soon as possible, citing many reasons; the foremost one being that no one knew Avatar Korra was not in her abode and was, instead, suspected of terrorism against the United Republic of Nations.
The Avatar's Steward had brought with him news of what was going on in Republic City, including the call for the people to help find and apprehend Korra. The young man had been beside himself when verifying what had truly happened at Republic City. Even when Asami and Opal—had assured the young steward that the charges against the Avatar was false, Kai found it hard to take their word for it. He viewed the two young women accompanying his mistress with distrust, even when Korra had assured him that they were the most trustworthy humans she had ever met (a sentiment Kai did not like much. How can they be even more trustworthy than me or anyone from Nia Bayou? He wondered). Even Naga had shown herself to trust the two humans, much to the young man's chagrin.
"Traitor," he had muttered to the Polar Bear Dog when she showed more favor in listening to Opal and Asami than him.
Despite how much Kai may have disliked having those two near his mistress, he could do nothing about it save to tolerate their presence…to some extent.
As he journeyed along with them (for there was no way he would let the Lady Avatar out of his sight again), Kai began to notice something strange about the person he served.
Avatar Korra was different. He could feel that she was not the same person as before. Though he was afraid to think it, Kai saw that the Avatar was showing more of her human side—something that she had seldom, if ever, showed before. He liked this version of Avatar Korra better, but doubted that the villagers of Nia Bayou, especially the Elders and Chieftain would feel the same way. Well, maybe Lady Senna, but she would have to be the only one other than Kai who would appreciate this Korra better. She even surprised him by eating and sleeping as though she was some mere mortal. When he questioned her about it, she merely responded with a shrug and a "I need to act like a human so as not to arouse any suspicion". It was a strange reason to give, especially since the likelihood that they would meet any more humans who would actually pay attention, while they were in the road, was slim. Even if they did, they wouldn't stay that long to notice that she wasn't eating or sleeping like a human.
The Avatar's behavior wasn't the only curiosity he had found during their journey. The companions she had surrounded herself with were as well. Opal Bei Fong was impressively knowledgeable about the things that he had thought no one should know about, so much so that Kai had asked her if she had any ancestors who were once denizens of the hidden village of Nia Bayou. The young historian had laughed at his question and told him that, as much as she wished that was the case, it wasn't.
"As far as I know the Bei Fong family hails from the Earth Kingdom." She had said. "And no one in the family shares my fascination to history, myths, and legends. All of them, save for my brother, Huan, are all in the military."
Then there was Asami Sato.
When Kai had first caught glimpse of her, he was stunned. She stood out in the midst of the wilderness, like something that should not have been there but was. If Opal was a diamond in a sea of coal, Asami was akin to a Red Beryl—something much rarer. He couldn't understand her being there. When he had question Avatar Korra about the girl's reason for accompanying her, the Avatar merely replied with, "Because she chose to". It wasn't much of an answer, but Kai couldn't tell the Lady Avatar that!
As if that wasn't enough, he had also witnessed the strangest of things with her and Naga.
It was no secret that the Avatar's pet did not take kindly to strangers. As a Polar Bear Dog, and as a creature that is supposed to be attuned to the Avatar (or so he had been told by the Elders and Chieftains, and by Avatar Korra herself), Naga had always been over-protective of Avatar Korra and was overtly territorial. Kai, as well as the other villagers, had, on occasion, even found themselves at odds with the beast. Children were never allowed to go near her, for fear of her temperamental nature and the fact that she could easily tear out a limb or two. He, himself, had to get Naga used to him and that took him ages. Apart from the Avatar, Naga had never—not once for as long as Kai could remember—showed any kind of affection to anybody.
And yet here was Asami Sato, a human. She had managed to attain what no one else in Nia Bayou could. The Polar Bear Dog had taken quite an affectionate interest in the raven-haired, young woman, acting less like a vicious polar predator and more like an overgrown, sweet puppy.
"Now that is something you don't see every day," Avatar Korra had said when she saw Naga happily trotting alongside Asami. She chuckled—chuckled! (The Avatar never did that before, Kai had observed)—and added, "And here I thought my animal companion missed me."
"Your animal companion?"Asami had asked, having heard what Korra had said. "You mean this giant dog?"
"Naga is a Polar Bear Dog," the Avatar corrected even before her steward could. "She is the only one I allow to live within the walls of my abode. She helps me fulfill my Avatar duties from time to time."
"So, she's like Kai?" Opal asked, tone light and teasing that the young man could not find it in him to be offended.
The joke, however, was lost on Korra as she shook her head and frowned. "No, not like Kai. Kai is my steward. Naga is Naga. Anyway, it is really surprising to see her being as close to anyone beside myself. Usually, she's not that tame around strangers. She either disregards them completely, or tends to act violent around them. You must really have a way with animals, Asami."
"No, I don't. I never even owned a pet in my entire life. Not even a fish. That was why I had you and Opal work on the animal pen while we were staying with the nuns."
At those words, Kai's jaw dropped. He questioned what the Prodigy meant and from there the conversation shifted to all the chores the Avatar had to do—or tried to, at least—during their stopover at the monastery. The more the Avatar's Steward listened to the tale, the more he found himself at awe with how these two, ordinary humans managed to get the Avatar to do chores.
At the end of it all, Kai found Asami to be dangerous. He saw her as someone who could take his responsibilities away from him. He viewed her as a rival and swore that he would not lose his position to her. Taking care of the Avatar was his job.
As such, he made it his mandate to beat her in providing whatever it was the Lady Avatar needed. He also never failed to give a comment or two on whatever it was the young woman did, questioning whatever decision she would make on behalf of everyone. He wasn't, after all, going to make it easy for her to take his job away from him.
Asami did not know which problem to tackle first: the Polar Bear Dog who didn't seem to want to stop keeping close to her, or the Avatar's Steward who seemed to have some sort of vendetta against her. Really, she didn't know what kind of mess she had found herself in this time, but she was certain she was in one. Not that it should come as a surprise, she was with the Avatar, after all.
But, really, what are the gods trying to pull? She wondered at her luck, and with how fate appeared to be enjoying itself at her expense. Are they trying to make me regret my decision for going with Korra?
She had, of course, gone to Opal the first chance she got (which was when Korra finally decided to ride Naga and had her steward take care of her Ostrich Horse)—letting her Ostrich Horse canter beside the other girl's, hoping her friend would at least have some sort of idea on how to solve either of the two. She really didn't care which one. Alas, Opal was unable to ease her burden. She was as confused as anyone as to why the Avatar's Polar Bear Dog didn't want to leave the Prodigy's side. As for her difficulty with Kai…
"Are you sure you're not just reading too much into things, Asami?" Opal had asked. And then, as if the insinuation was not enough, she added, "You kind of do that sometimes. Remember what happened with that girl from your Advanced Mechanics class?"
"Okay admit that was a misunderstanding—"
Opal just had to interject, "'Misunderstanding'? Now that's an understatement, if I ever heard one. It was a disaster, Asami, and you know it."
Asami didn't appreciate the interruption and gave the Historian a disdainful look. "—this time it is different. I am telling you: Kai doesn't seem to like me that much. It's like he's just barely tolerating my presence."
"I don't see it," Opal said, shrugging apologetically at her friend. "He talks to me the same way he does to you."
Asami huffed, puffing her cheeks into a pout. How can Opal not see it? She wondered. Kai was in my face the whole time we were discussing about where to camp for the night. She chanced a glance at the young man who had taken to riding beside the Avatar. Both of them seemed to be in a heated, yet hushed, discussion.
"It's not that big of a deal is it?" Opal asked, surprising her when she had thought the conversation regarding Kai was over. "I mean, if it's bothering you that much, then maybe you should speak with Korra about him."
"No," Asami shook her head. Avatar Korra already had quite a lot in her plate, Asami didn't wish to add anything more—especially something that she might—as Opal had—view as silly. "I can manage. I just don't know why he's acting that way towards me. And I want to know so that we can fix whatever it is we have between us. I don't want it to get in the way of what he have to do."
The young Bei Fong hummed in response to the Prodigy's answer. Asami could only hope that Opal was thinking what she had said over; that she would see that the Avatar's Steward was acting strange around her.
The journey, despite whatever was going on between Asami and Kai, had been an uneventful one. No bandits tried to rob them again; none of Tarrlok's—or the mysterious, masked man's—men came after them still. The journey that would have taken them weeks, ended up only taking four days to make.
Makapu Village was a small village. Smaller than Nia Bayou. It was a quaint little settlement that sat overlooking the ocean, surrounded on both sides by dense population of trees, and with Mount Makapu at its rear. The houses were a collection of wood and cement buildings, identical-looking with those closest to the shorelines built atop wooden planks and crisscrossing platforms.
There was a sort of lazy and easy-going vibe among the villagers who gave them welcoming smiles as they entered the village. As they passed by, people would nod at them and say, "How do you do?" or "Welcome to Makapu" without nary a thought of whether the group would respond or not (and none of them could respond, thrown back as they were with the people's hospitality).
The streets were not just littered with townspeople, merchants (traveling or otherwise) and their kiosks, but of travelers as well who had come to the small village in hopes of catching a cheap ferry ride.
As strange as the whole thing was for the Avatar, who had never been welcomed anywhere with such friendly smiles and greetings, she had to push the awe and wonder she felt away and had to remind herself that she was not a tourist; she had come to the village with a purpose, and not just to catch that same cheap ferry to the Northern Water Tribe (even though the sign they had passed by said there was one scheduled to leave soon).
Though she had wanted to start their search for whomever the Light Spirit had spoken of—this person who could commune with the spirits as she could—Korra heeded the advice given to her by both Asami and Kai (the latter who, for some reason, found the need to raise his voice over Asami's) and they first rented a room at the lodging house.
The rooms were not spacious, the bed was not as comfortable as any of them would have liked. But after spending days on the road, none could complain. As soon as they got settled in, they allowed themselves another few moments of rest to eat and drink and get themselves sated.
Their late lunch was a silent one. Everyone was tired, their whole bodies heavy. Even Korra, try as she might to hide it, was weary from their travels as well.
"Lady Avatar," Kai broke the silence once he had finished his bowl of soup, the fried dough in his hand momentarily forgotten. He wore a frown on his face, his voice taking a serious not. It was enough to rouse the Avatar's attention. "Perhaps it is time for you to tell us why we're here and why we are not taking the first trip back to the Water Tribes."
Asami and Opal exchanged a look. That was something they did not know either. All Korra had told them was that she needed to go to Makapu, needed to find someone there saying that it was something even a Light Spirit believed was of great importance. The "who" and the "why" was never something they had discussed.
"I think now is a good time as any to tell us, Korra," Asami said.
Hearing the familiarity by which the young woman had called his mistress, Kai was quick to say, "That's Avatar Korra to you." He then muttered, "Do these people really not know how to properly address the Lady Avatar?"
Asami frowned, and so did Korra.
Before the Prodigy could come up with a retort, Korra beat her to it, saying, "It's fine, Kai. I have given Asami permission to call me by my name. I am not at all offended by it."
"Wh-What?" he couldn't believe it. "B-But—!"
The Avatar gave Kai a stern look, which was enough to get the young man to clamp his mouth shut. Likewise, Asami looked at Opal as if to say 'See? Didn't I tell you?', to which the other girl merely rolled her eyes. That, for Opal, was still not proof enough. Kai would've made a fuss about it even if she was the one who had spoken.
With a sigh, Korra decided to share with them what she had been told.
"There is someone here, someone…special," that got everyone's attention, especially Kai's. To hear the Avatar say that adjective to describe someone was rare.
"Special? How so?" Opal asked. She was beyond intrigued.
"Very." Korra replied. "At least, I was told that. The Light Spirit I spoke with told me of a human who could converse with the spirits here."
There was a moment of stunned silence. None could believe they had actually heard what the Avatar said correctly.
"What?" Opal and Kai asked in unison. Though Kai had something more to say with, "That's impossible! Only the Avatar could do something like that!"
The way their discussion was going, and how loud their voices had become, it was fortunate that there were no other patrons currently in the lodging house's restaurant to overhear them.
"I thought so as well. Believe me, I told the Light Spirit that but," she shook her head. "Apparently, there are a lot of things in this world that I do not know." She said those words with a mixture of anger and irritation.
"So, who is this person?" Asami asked worried about what the answer might be.
Another shrug from the Avatar. "That…I was not told."
"Korra…" it was the young Inventor's turn to heave a sigh, disregarding the icy look the Avatar's Steward was giving her. "You do realize how hard it is to search for a person, especially someone like that, without much of a hint—a description—of what they look like."
"I know that, but the Light Spirit wasn't forthwith with its answers. All it could tell me was that whoever it was, was a child—a little girl. Someone from the nomadic tribe, the Air Nomads. I didn't get anything apart from that, but I figured, since this person can communicate with the spirits just like I can, I could just have one of the spirits send them a message to meet with me."
"That doesn't sound like a safe plan, Avatar Korra," Kai said. "You don't even know if this person is trustworthy enough."
"The Light Spirit seems to think so," the Avatar countered. She then crossed her arms and cockily added, "Besides, do you think there is anyone here who could be a match against me, especially a child? I have the Four Elemental Spirits to back me up should things go sour."
It was amazing how well Korra could lie to the person who, supposedly, should know her best. Still, Asami could see something in the darker-skinned girl's eyes. Asami and Opal both knew they had to keep the truth from Kai. They both could also sense that the Avatar didn't really want to lie. She simply had no choice about it. If Kai learned about what had happened, that the Elemental Spirits were no longer with Korra, he might inform the Elders and Chieftains of Nia Bayou. Korra did not want that happening.
"I suppose that's true, but I cannot let you face this person by yourself, Avatar Korra." Kai relented. "As your steward, it is my responsibility to ensure your safety as well as your comfort."
"Yes, well, I don't think I will be needing you to do any of that now, Kai." Korra said, which caused the young steward to make sputtering noises. Korra raised a hand to shush him and added, "We are not in Nia Bayou. The people we will meet from here on out would know nothing about me. If you continue to act as you have been, it will only draw attention to us. And that is not something I would appreciate right now."
Korra's words of wisdom made Asami and Opal smirk. Both thinking the same thing: Too bad she couldn't follow that same advice.
The rest of their meal was dotted with conversations between Opal and Kai, the former asking about life in Nia Bayou and the latter giving in and sharing those information with her. When their late lunch was done, Korra informed them that she was going to go on ahead and meditate. The others nodded and shared their plans of resting in their rooms.
As they all made their way into their separate rooms (an arrangement Kai did not favor, stating that he should be near the Avatar at all times), Korra grabbed hold of Asami's wrist to hold her back. The action surprised the young Sato, but the look of displeasure that was on the Avatar's face surprised her even more.
"Korra, is there something wrong?" Asami asked, thinking that there was and it was something Korra's Steward would not be able to help with.
The crease on Korra's forehead only deepened at Asami's concern to which she asked back, "Why do you always assume that there is something wrong whenever I call for your attention? Can I not simply have something to say?"
"Well…no." came the reply. "But you have to admit, you never actually come up to me to just talk."
Korra opened her mouth to argue, but immediately closed it again. She couldn't dispute what the Prodigy had just said, barring their conversation that time when she first experienced and had her hunger sated and when she apologized and explained herself to Asami, Korra never had simply called on the human just to have a casual talk.
"Right…" the Avatar admitted, albeit sheepishly.
Though she was generally patient, Asami was tired and wanted to rest. And so, she prodded Korra to hurry along, asking her, "So, what is it then?"
Korra blinked, momentarily having forgotten why she had kept Asami from going to her room. After a couple of seconds she remembered and said, "Oh, right. I just wanted to apologize for my steward's behavior towards you. I don't understand why he is acting that way…"
Asami couldn't help but be relieved. So I wasn't just being paranoid about it as Opal had suggested. She was glad she wasn't the only one who noticed.
"I hope you don't take anything he says to heart. If it makes you feel any better, I will ask him to treat you with the respect and…kindness that you deserve." The Avatar finished. She looked ashamed as though the fault was hers.
The Prodigy was pleasantly surprised, and touched, by the Avatar's words laced with compassion and concern. She smiled gently at the other girl and said, "Thank you. I was bothered that Opal seemed not to notice and I've been juggling with the thought that perhaps I was—as she had said—being unreasonable. It wouldn't be a first, and it wouldn't be a surprise either."
"Well, you aren't. Kai is the one being unreasonable." Korra huffed. "If it happens again, just tell me. I'll have your back."
And that was all the Avatar was willing to say before she gave Asami a curt nod and walked off. The brilliant, young engineer stood there for a moment longer, dumbfounded. Avatar Korra, up until that point, had never showed any signs that she thought of Asami as anything more than a companion. Those words the sapphire-eyed girl had uttered, however, told her that, perhaps, Korra had started seeing her as a friend.
That gave Asami Sato a reason to smile.
Avatar Korra was pleased with herself. She had done good in addressing Asami's concern—or so she believed—and swore that, as soon as she was done asking for the spirits' help, she was going to speak with Kai and have him stop harassing the raven-haired human.
With that thought, the Avatar positioned herself on the ground, knuckles pressed together, and closed her eyes in meditation.
She arrived at the plane that separated the human and spirit realms which had been muted even further since she had last been there. It was alarming how drastically it had transformed itself into a grayscale landscape. There was a pang in her chest at the sight of the once-beautiful scenery. A voice, insistent and nagging, kept blaming her; telling her this was the consequence of the Elemental Spirits' disappearance. It gave her a glaring realization that time was running out. And so, with urgency she urged the Light Spirit she had met before to appear before her again and to aid her. The Light Spirit was her best bet, and it seemed to know a lot about the person she wanted to find.
As it was before, it took a while for the Light Spirit to hear her summons and for it to appear. By the time that it did, the Avatar could feel a throbbing pain at the back of her eyes—a sensation she had never felt before whilst in meditation and never while she was in that realm of existence. That place, after all, like the Spirit World. Pain was not meant to exist there.
"Korra!" the Light Spirit greeted happily, unaware of the discomfort the Avatar was feeling. "I am glad to see you again…though I hoped it would be under a much better circumstance than this."
"What is happening here? I don't understand why everything has gotten even gloomier than last time." Korra asked, her eyes once again sweeping the entirety of the space she was in. "I mean, I do understand that the Elemental Spirits have something to do with this but, the rate of which this is going is just…surprising."
The Light Spirit nodded its stubby head, "Our world is deteriorating faster than expected. A lot of my kin are getting restless. If nothing is done soon, I'm afraid things will only worsen for my world and yours."
Korra sighed. Time was truly not on her side.
"I wish I know what the Four want me to do," the Avatar was so at ease conversing with the Light Spirit that she let that slip from her mouth. Shaking her head, and in order not to have to deal with the spirit questioning her about it, Korra veered their discussion to her reason for contacting the Light Spirit to begin with. "I am now in the Village of Makapu. Can you tell that little girl—the one you said could communicate with you and the others of your kind—to meet with me? I would like to speak with her."
"You're already in Makapu? That's great! But…" the Light Spirit trailed off.
Tentatively, as though she would rather not hear what it had to say, Korra urged it to continue, "But, what?"
"The person you are looking for is no longer there. You've just missed her. Although, she asked me to pass a message to you." It replied.
The wolf-tailed girl groaned. Asami and the others would not be pleased that they had hurried to the village only to have the person they were looking for gone.
"Korra?" the Light Spirit wasn't going to give the message unless Korra was ready to listen and it was sure it had the girl's undivided attention.
Face-palming herself in frustration, and letting her hands lingering on and covering her face, the Avatar waved for the spirit to continue with an exasperated question: "What's the message?"
The Light Spirit stood, swaying, as it recited, from memory, what the human girl had asked of it to deliver. "She said: 'I am sorry I could not wait for you, Avatar Korra. My family—as our custom dictates—do not linger in one place for long. Although our meeting bears great significance, in the grand scheme of things, I cannot ask my family to break that tradition. It is much too important for us and our culture.'"
The Light Spirit paused long enough for Korra to question if an apology was all the child had left, to which the spirit shook it's head saying there was more.
"'The Spirit World has gone restless, your time is short. Though you are needed back in your homeland, the need for you is even greater elsewhere. My family will be heading to Harbor Town on our way back to the Southern Air Temple. I shall meet you there.'" The Light Spirit took a deep breath after relaying such a long message. But then it cocked its head to the side, then its beady eyes widened as it added, "I almost forgot, she also told me that you should leave Makapu after three days. She said that something will happen there within those three days that will require your urgent attention."
"Did she say what it was?" Korra really didn't relish the thought of staying if there was a chance that she could miss the little girl once again.
The spirit shook its head in reply. "No. But she did say that you shouldn't worry. She said she is certain that you two will meet if you leave after three days. She also advices that you take the route to the Pohuai Stronghold. She said there was a shortcut to Harbor Town from there which will make the journey easier for you and your companions."
The Avatar rolled her eyes and with a tone oozing of sarcasm, asked, "Does she have any other requests?"
The sarcasm was lost on the Light Spirit, however, who simply shook its head with such fervor that Korra was worried the twin leaves on its head would fall off.
Sighing, the human incarnation of Raava thanked the Light Spirit for its aid, though not without commenting how she hoped this whole thing with the little girl would not turn out to be a long game of cat and mouse; a wild goose chase.
Just before she severed her connection with the in-between realm, the Light Spirit ran up to Korra and tugged at her. It gave her a look—one that, if Korra didn't know any better, was pleading—as it made its request.
"Please hurry, Korra." The Light Spirit said. "Please save our world."
Post Chapter Notes:
And there you have it, Chapter 23. I hope you all liked it. Thoughts on the chapter (and story thus far) is very much appreciated as always.
Expect the next chapter in a week's time (probably Tuesday again).
Until then, dream on; fly on!