A Legend of Korra Fanfic
by Sakura Martinez (aka SMTsukishiro)

Author's Note:

Aaand we're back with another chapter. This one is a bit shorter than the chapters you guys have been used to, but it is (hopefully) as good as the others.

Anyways, I'm not going to keep you all from reading...so...

Allons-y~!

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]

The Legend of Korra:

The Schism

Chapter 29. Jinora

"Please tell me you haven't been staring at the clock all day, Korra," was Asami's greeting when she returned, well past sunset, having had her fill of looking around town.

Korra straightened from her position, taking her eyes off the clock and her chin off the heel of her palm, to look at the other young woman.

"You're back!" She stated the obvious, with a little more bit of pep than was necessary. Clearing her throat, Korra added, "And, no. I just woke up a while ago. I thought doing a little bit of meditation would help, but…this clock, it's annoying. I couldn't concentrate enough with it ticking so loudly."

"You complained about the noise of the city but you managed to meditate regardless," Asami found it confounding. "This is just one clock, Korra. It isn't even ticking that loudly."

"Maybe for you it isn't," the darker-skinned girl grumbled. "But try staying in this room for hours, hearing nothing but that accursed ticking and I doubt you'd be able to dismiss the sound so easily."

Asami conceded the fact, though she probably would not have noticed the clock's ticking—even the clock itself—had she been in Korra's place.

"Why didn't you leave, then? Nobody asked you to stay cooped up here, Korra." Asami asked as she sat on her bed and let her poor feet have some rest. As enjoyable as going out with Opal was, it always ended with her having sore feet. "You could have gone out to sightsee."

"I was…thinking of doing just that, but…" The Avatar turned her attention back to the wall clock. "I didn't want to worry any of you. I thought if I just left the room and either you or Opal returned, that you would think I have gone off on my own again." She looked at Asami and smirked, "I believe I have learned my lesson in leaving without saying a word. Having my face slapped once is enough for me."

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing!" Asami couldn't believe Korra would bring that up again. She had thought they had forgotten all about that; had let bygones be bygones…even if it was spoken out of jest. "And you could have left a note."

"A…note?" Sapphire eyes looked inquisitively at the human who let out a contented sigh.

"Yes, a note." Asami laid herself on the bed, at that point, and closed her eyes. "You could have just written us a note that you're stepping out and left it on the table."

"I can do that?" The question was coated in perplexity, as though leaving a note was unheard of.

"Yes?" Asami responded, ending p with an answer that sounded more like a question. It didn't occur to her that Korra would be oblivious to the whole concept.

The Avatar groaned, face-palming. "You mean to tell me, I could have left this room at any time without making any of you worried or angry just by leaving a piece of paper?" She fell back on the bed. "You humans have a lot of strange and confusing customs, but this one…ugh…"

"You're not kidding, are you?" Asami asked just to be certain, turning her head to face Korra. "You really stayed in here all day? What did you even eat for lunch?"

Korra's stomach grumbled fiercely in reply, and in that quiet room, it sounded very furious indeed. It was almost as fervent as the blush that had exploded on the Avatar's face.

Asami sighed. "Really, Korra…" She shook her head, finding no other words to say. She couldn't very well fault the Avatar for not knowing she could have just left a note to go and get food for herself. "What would you have done if I—or any of us, for that matter—had returned later?"

"I would have—as Opal would say—'sucked it up' and waited here." Korra admitted, looking deep in thought. In a voice Asami could barely hear, she added, "Strange that I would…and that that is the first answer that came to mind. Though I would consider looking around for you and the others…no matter how disastrous as that may end up being."

The young inventor giggled as she pulled herself back up. "I can almost imagine you demanding all the villagers to come to your aid in searching for us." She shook her head and, with an effort, stood up. "Well, let's go then."

"Go?" Korra asked as her stomach grumbled once more. She cursed the embarrassing noises it was making, and wondered—not for the first time—why it was so loud.

In response, Asami asked, with an elegant eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face, "Don't tell me you would rather starve yourself even more, Lady Avatar. Come on, we have to go before the shops close."

Korra was up in a hurry. Though she was hungry and the thought of food excited her, she couldn't help herself from asking, "Are you certain? You look tired already. I couldn't impose—"

"You're not imposing if I had offered," Asami was reassuring, as was the smile she gave the young Avatar. "And, well, I can rest after we get food into your system. Besides, who knows what will happen if we head off later to search for that child of yours and you are too weak for it?"

Korra laughed, though it was a short one as there was another round of protestations from her stomach. She smiled sheepishly again. "Point well taken." Then with a gesture of her hand, added, "Please, lead on, Miss Sato."

As Asami already knew the twists and turns of Taku, they were able to arrive at—what the raven-haired prodigy believed was best suited to satiate the Avatar's hunger—the Little Tiger's Diner. It was a large, rectangular, two-story restaurant sitting right by the steps leading to the stronghold.

The dim-lit dinner had a mixture of Fire and Earth Nation motif. Hanging on its walls were framed scrolls and Fire Nation paintings made with elegant brushstrokes. Atop the mahogany tables were Earth Nation vases with various flowers in them, sitting beside small, glass balls with lit candles inside. Waitpersons—wearing white, long-sleeved dress shirts underneath dark-green vests, dark-green slacks, and black, leather shoes—moved from one table to another, ensuring their patrons were well-served.

Raava's human incarnation followed her companion as she snaked her way to the vacant table near the back of the diner, her eyes quickly getting used to the lighting. Before Asami and herself could take a seat, a maître'd was already at their side, menu at hand, ready to take their order (and his proximity the Avatar was not comfortable with)—which Korra let Asami decide. The waiter took note of everything Asami ordered—things Korra had never heard of before, and could barely even pronounce. So she just watched her companion converse with the other human.

After Asami had placed their order, and the maître'd lef, the Avatar said, "This is not at all like that place we first shared a meal together, back at Republic City."

"Well, this is a restaurant." Asami pointed out, though the word was lost to the Avatar who wondered what the distinction was. For her, it was just 'some place to get something to eat', just like that quaint noodle shop. "Opal and I ate here for lunch."

"Speaking of the other human, where is she?" Korra realized then that she had not seen the Historian. "I thought the two of you were together."

The Prodigy placed her chin in her hand, leaning closer to the table, and replied. "We were, up until a few hours ago. Opal went to the museum again to start her research."

"Research?"

"She wants to uncover the truth about this world," Asami explained, brows slightly furrowing. "You and Kai—as well as your own version of the events that transpired during the war—has gotten my friend to choose that path."

"I do not know if you're blaming me or thanking me for that…" Korra crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"I don't know yet, either." Asami admitted. She had a faraway look in her eyes that made Korra wonder what she was thinking about. But before she could ask, Asami had shook her head and segued into a different topic. "Barring the fact that you're hungry, how are you feeling, Korra?"

"Anxious to finally meet the child and worried about what that would entail." It was another honest answer from the Avatar; an answer that had much more than Asami thought the other girl would share. "And also…conflicted. Which is saying that I'm feeling pretty much the same way as when we first started our search for her. These…emotions. They seem to have gotten themselves stuck with me, it seems."

Korra paused for a few seconds, watching Asami closely. The Prodigy saw the hesitancy in the Avatar's sapphire eyes. Curious, she waited for Korra to speak what was on her mind—which took quite longer than she would have expected from the darker-skinned girl who had always been blunt.

When Korra did finally let out what was bothering her, it came out as a question Asami never thought she would take time to ask.

"I do not know if it is acceptable of me to ask, but…is everything okay with you, Asami?" Korra looked intently at her, examining as one would a subject in a Petri dish.

"W-What brought this on, Korra?"

"I remember you making light of me not taking notice of these things before. I do not want you to feel like I still don't." Korra's voice sounded small amidst the happy-go-lucky chatter around them. It was difficult for her to admit the things she found herself telling Asami. And yet, the ease with which she could was contradicting. "I am…not used to fraternizing with humans. But I do not wish to always find myself hiding behind that excuse. So I have been trying, and…well, you look troubled and you didn't seem to be before you and Opal left."

Asami was quiet—as anyone who had gotten to know the Avatar would be upon hearing such things. Her silence gave Korra cause to worry that she may have overstepped her bound. Or had made the emerald-eyed human upset.

"I apologize if it is not something you wish to speak about, and I understand." Korra quickly added. "Perhaps it is something that I will not understand, but should you need my assistance, I will not hesitate to give it as you have given yours."

"Thank you. But it's not that." Raven locks swayed as Asami shook her head. "I was just taken aback by what you said and the fact that you even noticed. It makes me wonder if Opal has too."

"Does this have something to do with what you said before? About Opal?" Again, Asami wondered if she had been obvious, or if Korra was more perceptive than she gave her credit for.

"Something like that," the Prodigy admitted. It was then Korra's turn to wait as Asami found herself impressed that Korra could turn the discussion right back around to what she had hoped to steer clear from. "What Opal wants to do is dangerous and she doesn't even really know where to begin apart from getting you and Kai to tell her more of the history as you and the people of Nia Bayou know it. But as troubled as I am of the path she wants to take, I am concerned about my own. What would I be doing after all this is done?"

Like how Korra felt about being honest with her feelings to Asami, the Prodigy also felt the same to the Avatar. It was why she kept on speaking the things only she, herself, knew about. "All my life, I've worked hard to be admitted into the Great Republic University. I had set my sights on graduating there, with honors and by my own merit, and getting to work in the Garage. I had been so close in achieving that, but then this whole thing with the Spirit Bastille and Councilman Tarrlok happened." She looked at Korra and added, "I'm not blaming you for that. It just occurred to me that all the plans I had unraveled and I now find myself at a loss on what my future would be; what path awaits me at the end of this all."

"I really am sorry for what had happened and what you had to leave behind in order to help me." Korra reached out and touched the other girl's hand. It was the first time, Asami noted, that Korra was the first to initiate physical contact. "But you know—" she gave Asami a small yet confident smile. "You should not worry too much about that. I have faith you will come to find—if not build—a new path for yourself."

Asami was unable to react, to say anything—not even a word of thanks to Korra—for, at that moment, the maître'd returned with their food and Asami lost the Avatar (who had, as soon as the food was set, dug in) to them.

The Witching Hour had come, and Kai was jumpy. As hard as he tried to hide it, he was certain everyone could see past his false bravado. It was unsightly, he knew. He was a guy, after all. He was meant to be braver than the girls he was with.

They had set their plan—or, what there was of it (which really wasn't much)—to motion. The Lady Avatar had done her thing: summoning spirits to her aide. And though they did come to her summons, the glittering, multi-colored balls of light that enveloped Avatar Korra were not as plentiful as he remembered them being. Even Asami had noticed, though her observation—which she stated for Opal's benefit—was uttered in a whisper, probably as to not worry Korra any further.

The young Nia Bayou native wondered about the state of the Spirit World. If these are all the spirits who could answer to Lady Korra's call, then the Spirit World must be in much sorrier state than we thought.

But apart from the status of the realm of the spirits, Kai had one more thing in mind; the thing that had taken up most of his afternoon investigating and preparing, just in case.

Even with the help of the spirits to guide them, the group's progress was slow. Though nothing and no one forbade them from exploring the stronghold as it was open to the public twenty-four-seven, they still had to steer clear from the guards and other museum visitors. They didn't want them to come across the strange sight that was Korra.

The entire museum was, as they had suspected earlier that day, eerier at night. The masks that were displayed, as well as the statues, looked much more sinister. The lighting didn't help improve things either.

"I think they're doing this on purpose." At one point, Kai had heard Opal say. "There is no other explanation other than trying to scare visitors with how they set this place up."

No one argued with the aspiring historian.

The trail Avatar Korra was following led them curiously around Pohuai Stronghold's many rooms. If they didn't know any better, they could have sworn there was a theme—some kind of story—to the route they were following as well. But Kai, as well as the others, dismissed that thought almost instantly.

Before long, they arrived at the stronghold's airship docks, at the top of the pagoda tower, where quite a few airships were parked, most of them looking worse for wear and in need of maintenance. Various sizes of boxes, crates, and container drums could also be seen dotting the area. Several oil lamps lit their surroundings, making it easier for the couple of people—most of them the airships' crews—milling about. A couple of people turned their heads when the Avatar and her companions reached the top landing of the metallic staircase that led to the docking platforms, though it was only for a short moment before they directed their attention elsewhere.

Up close, Korra looked even more amazed of the airships. Despite Opal explaining it to her earlier that day, she couldn't help but wonder at this particular piece of human ingenuity. She remembered Opal's explanation, of course. It was simply hard to believe that the humans could build something that would allow them to touch the skies without the aid of Vayu.

It wasn't just Korra who was impressed, though. Even Kai was as well. For even if he knew about them, the young, messy-haired steward had never actually seen one up close nor rode in one.

"I'm guessing Nia Bayou doesn't have any similar aerial transportation, judging from how awestruck you two are right now." Opal commented as she watched Korra and Kai, both having stars in their eyes as they looked at the airship with child-like wonder.

"We don't. Airships garner too much attention, and it would do Nia Bayou no good. We are a hidden village, after all." Kai replied. "That's why I have always wanted to see one up close and to one day ride one. Besides, Lady Korra has no need for an airship. She could just fly wherever she wanted."

"We were supposed to make use of one." Korra remembered.

"What?" Kai quickly pulled his gaze away from the airship and towards his mistress. His mind quickly jumped to a disturbing assumption. "Please tell me the three of you didn't plan to steal one."

"Of course not," scoffed Korra." We were, as I recall, supposed to borrow one from Asami's father."

The Avatar's Steward then gave Asami a curious look. "Your father has an airship? Your family must be pretty well off, Asami."

Opal snorted at those words, "That's an under—"

Before she could get more than those words out, the Prodigy quickly—and subtlety—nudged her, giving her a warning look that the Historian understood the underlying meaning of but not the reasoning behind.

"Asami's father is a merchant, it seems." Korra, oblivious to what was going on between the other two, said. She had not taken her eyes off the docked airships since laying eyes on them. "At least, that was how I understood it from what she and Opal had told me." It was only after saying those words did the Aatar look away from the aerial vehicles and looked at the young Sato to ask, "Or was my understanding wrong, Asami?"

"N-No," Asami replied. Technically, Korra wasn't wrong. Her father was a merchant…sort of. "My father does make money selling things, so I suppose you can call him that."

A thoughtful expression passed Kai's face—one that worried Asami that he would put two and two together and realize who she was. Unlike Korra, the young man wasn't clueless about the things outside their borders and it wouldn't surprise her if he had heard of Future Industries.

And so, before he could figure out that she was Hiroshi Sato's daughter, Asami steered them back to the task at hand, saying, "Anyways, we can all marvel the airships and talk about my father later. We still have that girl to find and we've already wasted time standing around here talking."

Opal stared intently at Asami, confused. She didn't know why her friend was keeping her relation with Future Industries and Hiroshi a secret, downplaying both as a mere small business and a merchant. She wanted to ask her friend at that moment, but saw the folly in doing so. Asami, she knew, wouldn't be keeping her status a secret if there was not a good reason for it, after all.

So instead of questioning her, Opal chose to question Korra instead. "So, Avatar Korra, where is this little girl? I'm guessing whatever trail we're following ends here, unless of course your spirit friends are telling us to board the airship and take off somewhere."

The mention of boarding and flying in an airship caused Kai to straighten up, getting his hopes up that perhaps this was the day that he would finally know what it felt like to fly amongst the clouds.

That hope was short-lived, however, ending when Korra replied, "No. She's here. Somewhere close by."

All four sets of eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign of a child. It was Kai who first spotted her, sitting atop one of the crates, with her back turned towards them, on the adjacent platform.

"There!" he pointed out a person, wearing a dark-maroon-colored, hooded cloak that hid her features. She held in one hand an oddly-shaped, wooden staff. Seeing her getup made the young steward suspicious of her.

It took a full second before any of them made a move towards the other docking platform. When they did, they did so hurriedly for fear that the child might leave and this whole goose-chase would start anew.

One could imagine their relief when, upon running and climbing to the other platform, they saw the girl had not moved from where she sat.

"You've finally come, Avatar Korra." The girl spoke, just when Korra and her companions were wondering what to say to make sure that this was the person they were looking for. "You came, just like I knew you would."

"Are you the one the Light Spirit spoke of?" Korra asked, just to be certain.

The hooded girl nodded. It was enough of a confirmation for Kai—who had been wanting to speak his mind, unfiltered—to this little girl who had caused them so much trouble.

"You troublesome, little girl!" Kai didn't bother to lower his voice as he stood between the Lady Avatar and the child. Pointing an accusatory finger at her, he went on to say, "You have caused enough problems for Lady Korra! This game ends now! You are going to tell us everything that you know!"

The girl moved her head slightly, tilting it up to look at the young man, though she kept herself seated. The movement allowed Korra and the Krew to see her face from the nose down. There was a pause, a few seconds, when no one moved as each was waiting for the other to act. No one said a word either. Just when the young, hotheaded steward was about to shout some more, the little girl pushed herself off the crate, jumping and landing on her feet.

When she stood upright, everyone—save for Korra—gasped.

"What the—" Kai took a step back. "You…" He turned towards the Avatar and asked, "Lady Korra, what's going on? You said we're meeting a child, a little girl!" Again, Kai pointed at the person standing not too far from them, though he kept his gaze at Korra. "She's not a little girl at all!"

"I wouldn't call her a 'child', either." Opal added, noting that Kai and the girl was as tall as the other.

"Those were not my words," Korra replied, calmly. Her eyes were locked on to the hooded girl. "I just shared what the Light Spirit had told me." Addressing the girl, she said, "You, human who can commune with the spirits, I have a lot of things that need asking."

"I'm certain that you do, Lady Korra." The girl replied. "And there is much to tell you. All of you." She paused once more to pull up the hood that was covering her face.

The first thing they all noticed was her half-shaven hair. The second was the sky-blue arrow that was painted on her forehead, the tail of which reached back and under her hair. The third was her hazel-colored eyes.

"That tattoo…" Opal eyes went wide when she saw the arrow on the girl's head and noticed that her hands had them too. "You're one of the Air Nomads!"

The girl turned to look at Opal, a soft smile played on her lips. "As expected of Opal Bei Fong. There are not a lot of people who would take one look at these markings and immediately conclude that I am one of the nomads. Not all of us have them, after all."

"No. Only those worthy are said to carry the mark. The texts I've read said a trial must be passed to attain them." The Historian found herself explaining and expounding before she caught herself and shook her head. Now was not the time for that. "Wait a minute. How do you know who I am? And what do you mean 'as expected'?"

"You're not the only one I know of," the girl said. She then looked at Asami, that soft smile still on her lips as she said. "Asami Sato, the most promising student of the Great Republic University. Brilliant and innovative as her father; patient and kind as her mother." Then to Kai, "Kai Irngninga Nia Bayou, chosen steward for the Avatar. Adopted by the Southern Water Tribe Chieftain. Loud-mouthed and a trouble-maker in the hidden village, but extremely loyal to the Lady Avatar."

"How did you—?" Asami and Kai were unable to finish what they were about to ask as Korra spoke up.

"Impressive. To have the spirits gather that information for you…" and Korra was truly impressed. She could feel no malice from the child, her gut telling her that the spirits must have done so of their own volition. And that spark in her eyes…there's no mistaking it… "Tell me, human, what is your name?"

"My name?" She didn't realize she hadn't shared it with them. "My apologies. I got carried away. My name is Jinora and my family is the last of the Air Nomads."

Post Author's Notes:

And that, as they say, is that.

Once again, I would like to thank you all for sticking by this fanfic despite how wacky the updating has been. I want to express my gratitude to those who reviewed and added this story (and myself) to their alerts listings on this first-ever fanfic I have in this fandom. You guys are awesome!

We're about this close to starting the new arc of the story. I hope you all are as excited about it as I am. :D
Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter. I hope you guys have as awesome a week as possible!

Until then, dream on; fly on!