A/N: This is a really short chapter, but I wanted to move the story along a little to keep me motivated and to help get Ang/Ren the help he needs to solve his murder and bring the criminals to justice. I like the way that Koko's dad is so real and I imagine that that is how my dad would have been about having "boys" in my house even if it was to study. Detective Korra is absolutely one of my favorite characters to write! Let me know what you think and don't forget to comment, follow or favorite if you are so inclined. Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: One boy is already suspicious enough, but two? Two? I really need to go clean my gun..." -Ao Mori, Concerned Father and Dating Police.

Chapter 6: The Doing

Arendi tapped his fingers on his lap as he looked through one of the books he managed to take with him in his backpack. He was looking over the math assignment from Mrs. Jun who still liked to teach an occasional math class although she was the principal of Ba Sing Se High School now.

She said that it kept her sharp as a teacher. Others theorized that it kept her finding new ways to dream up punishments for evil-doers now that Long Feng's "re-education" program was discovered to be a sham and dangerous mind control tool. Arendi knew this was one class he wouldn't have the liberty to fail. Mrs. Jun never took failure as an excuse for failure. Arendi would just have to do his best and be successful.

Koko couldn't help but stare at her 'new' friend as he looked through his textbook. Although he was clearly water tribe and looked nothing like Ang, he tapped his fingers on his knee while he studied and tilted his head while nibbling on his bottom lip when he was thinking. That couldn't be a coincidence. She was surprised her father didn't mention it, although he would probably be careful about bringing up Ang around her Koko thought to herself.

Arendi felt someone looking at him and turned to see Koko staring at him.

"What?" he said softly as if he didn't know what she was trying to figure out. He knew Koko suspected that he was Ang reincarnated but he couldn't let her find out for sure just yet. Koko shook her head in embarrassment.

"Nothing... I, just...uh... w-would you like something to drink, Arendi? I think we have some Lychee-flavored Ramune in the kitchen. You could have that..." she suggested. Lychee-flavored Ramune was Ang's favorite guilty pleasure and it was hers too. Was this a test? He wondered.

Well, he didn't have to worry about it this time because he wouldn't pass. Arendi was dying inside (no pun intended) because he would have to realistically fake hating his favorite drink in life.

As Ang looked into his memories, he saw that Arendi was deathly allergic to lychees. He sighed sadly and shook his head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't-I'm actually allergic to lychees. Go figure, right? Do you have another flavor?" he asked. Before Koko could respond the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that must be Zuko...hang tight," she said as she passed his chair to open the front door. Koko wondered how it was possible to be both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Arendi lowered his head to keep from staring at her retreating figure.

As she opened the door, Zuko turned with an armful of books. He looked like a portable library. Arendi groaned to himself. He has a lot of catching up to do...

"Hey Koko, hey Arendi. Can I come in? These are like super heavy." he grunted while he adjusted his grip over the tall stack of literature, bending, and history tomes. Koko grabbed the top few from him and laughed as she invited him into the living room. Ao stepped out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was.

"Zuko! My daughter told me you were coming over too. Wow! That's a lot of books." he said while eyeing the young man and the other young man in the chair suspiciously. Koko shot her father a stern look and he quickly changed his tone.

"So, Arendi do you think you'll be able to handle all of those?" he said while pointing at the books in a sweeping gesture. It was a double question. He didn't think Arendi was the studying type and wondered if the boy would be able to handle months and months' worth of catch-up work. Arendi gave the older man a sheepish look. He never thought the road to recovery was going to be easy.

"I guess I don't have much choice since I lived. My mom reminded me that I got a second chance at this and I promised my parents I would at least try, you know?" Ao Mori was in shock. He tinged a slight pink realizing he had probably made the boy uncomfortable and he wasn't really showing much support with his suspicious looks and questioning.

"Well, it's good that you have a positive attitude about it. I-I could probably help you with your math if you ever need it." he mentioned as his way of offering an olive branch rather than a sword. Koko and Zuko gave one another a strange look. Was Mr. Mori giving Arendi a chance?

Zuko didn't know the back story about Arendi's previous encounters with their host but he could feel the tension and it was obvious that they weren't always on good terms. Koko hoped to deflect and change the subject.

"Daaad, Zuko, and I are here to help Arendi catch up; it will be good for all of us. I don't think he needs you confusing him with the "old way" of doing Algebra III. It would be awesome if you could help keep us supplied with snacks while we work if you don't mind. We're pretty famished and dinner's not for a while yet." she said in her sweetest daddy's girl voice. Ao Mori gave his daughter an incredulous look.

"Dinner? Since when were they staying for dinner and when were you planning to tell me little chicken?" he scoffed. Koko giggled.

"I just did Daddy...duh." Ao cut his daughter a dirty look and grumbled on his way to the kitchen. He mumbled about not cooking and definitely ordering pizza and wings for her impromptu dinner and study party. He wondered not too discretely about when they started having all these boys in the house. Zuko, Arendi, and Koko chuckled softly at her father's antics.

"Now that that's settled, how about we get to work?" she suggested.

Korra decided to go take a walk down "the strip", a narrow road leading to the Gamut to see if any of Arendi's friends would be around. She had heard from her cousin Onip that Arendi was on a study date with a girl from school. Korra smiled when she heard it was Koko. She wasn't entirely sure how the Universe linked those two up but she knew that someone like Koko would be perfect for helping her little cousin turn his life around.

She just hoped their new friendship wasn't temporary because Ren really needed someone like her instead of that crazy girl who broke his heart and had his best friend's baby. Honestly, Koko needed a friend too. Although Ang's death was probably still too fresh and new, having something to do other than sulking and depressing wasn't a bad thing.

As she came closer to the wall, she saw a crowd of young men standing around bantering and smoking cigarettes which for their sake she hoped wasn't weed which was still illegal in Ba Sing Se proper. The crowd began catcalling as she approached until one of them recognized Korra as the new Chief of Police for Ba Sing Se.

"Hey, cop lady! What brings you out to our lovely hang-out spot this fine evening? Shouldn't you be somewhere capturing bad guys?" he said with a tinge of sarcasm. Korra smirked at the young man Aron.

"What makes you so sure that's not what I'm doing now?" she asked simply. The young men surrounding Aron turned away and scratched the backs of their heads. They knew that now was not the moment to be antagonizing one of their own. Aron put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Yo, we're just hanging out. That's not a crime, is it?" he asked to deflect the conversation. If she started asking questions he may as well confess now. Their dealings haven't been the most stellar in the past and he didn't want to give the woman a reason to suspect anything about him and his involvement in the Gamut. Korra gave Aron a genuine smile.

"No, hanging out isn't a crime, underage smoking and loitering in The Strip are. This location is off limits because of the structural dangers, but I'm willing to overlook it today..." she said with a hint of suggestion. Aron huffed with his tongue in his cheek. She wanted something.

"How can I help you, Detective Jiang?" he smirked. He used her formal name. She was at work so being casual was not on the table today. Korra was placid and patient. She knew Aron wasn't ready to spill his guts about his activities, but any information she could find on helping the young men who were getting killed on the Gamut would help.

"What happened the day Arendi got hurt?" she began. Aron looked confused for a moment and said,

"Well, I started the day with a good breakfast. My gran made blueberry pancakes and leopard-seal sausages which were just *chefs kiss*." Korra raised her eyebrows, nodded, and rattled her handcuffs slightly. Aron stopped himself and chuckled nervously. Korra had plenty of reasons to arrest him and all his friends already. He had to give her something good that wouldn't implicate him in attempted murder.

"It was cold. Really cold. We usually don't run on super cold days because you get stiff and can make mistakes. The stakes were double or nothing that day. Ren wanted money for his car, you know." Aron wiped his hand down his face and sighed as if he had regrets.

"Ren almost made it, too. He was like a man on fire on the course. When he reached for a rope on the wall it snapped. He's lucky he got hung up on another rope or he'd be real dead right now." he said with a twitch of his jaw.

"Huh" was all Korra said and nodded in understanding.

"Last question," she added. "Did anyone else run the Gamut that day?" Aron truly looked confused at that question. Why would that be important? He thought to himself. Not thinking that it would be a problem he answered.

"Nah, Ren was the only one to run that day," he said. Korra gave a simple,

"Thanks, Aron." and walked away. Aron stared after her. What was she getting at? How much did she already know? He would have to steer clear of his distant cousin until things blew over. If Korra knew of his part to play in the deaths of so many people, she'd put him under the jail not just in it. She couldn't find out anything. He has a family to take care of now...

Korra sat in her car and threw her head back on the seat. The pattern was starting to emerge and it wasn't good. Every last person who died on the Gamut ran alone and ran on a cold or wet day. It would be easy to disguise damaged ropes if they were wet.

Now it was time for her to have a conversation with her cousin Ren. She spoke to his parents already but there wasn't much they could tell her about his accident aside from what the doctors reported. Ren was truly a lucky one. He wasn't supposed to survive his fall that day. He was supposed to be murdered.