"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie Titanic: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.
Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper
Chapter Two
177 AG
"I can see Republic City already, you know," Skoochy remarked, making a big show of shielding out over the railing with one hand shielding his eyes. It'd already been a day since they departed and Skoochy still hadn't gotten tired of that joke. "What're you going to do once we dock, Kai?"
Kai shrugged, because he honestly didn't have a clue. There was nowhere for him to go in Republic City, no family to stay with, no friends to freeload off, not even a park bench to sleep on. When the ship actually docked there, he was going to have to rely on the Spirits for guidance on what he would do. He'd always dreamed of going across the world someday, but he had never planned to be setting off for the biggest adventure of his life with only ten yuans in his pocket, a gold wristwatch and the clothes on his back.
Spirits, he and Skoochy were majorly screwed.
"No clue, man. I'd always kind of hoped that I'd know what to do once I was there, you know?" He turned around, leaning on the railing, and continued. "What happened yesterday was really, well, sudden. Nothing's really sunk in yet." Then, to be polite, he asked, "D'you know what you're going to do, Skooch?"
"Are you kidding me? Of course I know what I'm gonna do. I'm going to be rich, make money in the stock market, marry a hot broad and be a hotshot businessman," Skoochy said, chuckling. "Nah, to be honest, I have no clue. I'll be on Raava's good graces until I'm able to think of something."
Kai laughed, playfully shoving his friend in the shoulder. "Thinking? Since when does the great Skoochy Nakamura think?"
Skoochy flipped him the bird. "Fuck off, Wen. You know what, I'm going to go get lunch. Want me to save you a place?"
"Yeah, yeah, go on." Kai turned back towards the railing, looking out at the sparkling ocean and the darkening sky as Skoochy jogged away to the third class dining room. It was nice and quiet out here, and he needed a few minutes to think without his friend's constant sarcastic drone in his ear. First chance I've been alone in a while, he thought, and my first chance to just rest and breathe all day. He rubbed his face and bent down to rest his head against the metal railing, just deciding to enjoy the peace while he could. In five days, when the ship docked, it'd be chaos all over again. Spirits knows I need at least a little stability in my life.
He knew that the Titanic was going to slow down again to drop anchor at Gaoling soon. The crew had already rushed past him and Skoochy to prepare the ship for its docking, which would probably be in less than half an hour. It'd be their last stop before officially setting out on their maiden voyage.
Kai scratched the back of his neck, took one last inhale of the salty sea air, and headed inside, hoping that Skoochy had saved him a seat in the third class dining room—and that there'd be enough food to go around.
Jinora stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, allowing Penga to put the finishing touches on her appearance. Her dress for the evening was a dark emerald color that had been fitted around her waist to accentuate her slim figure. Mother had chosen it when they were packing, because she knew that LingShi's favorite color was emerald—and partially because the image that Jinora needed to obtain of being his docile wife-to-be needed to be kept.
She swept a lock of her long chocolate brown hair behind her ear, wondering when she got married if she'd be allowed to cut it. Her hair already extended to the small of her back, and it was getting extremely tedious to style it in a certain pattern every day. Shorter hair was much more stylish nowadays, but Jinora knew that her mother would rather swim naked in the ocean than allow her eldest daughter to show herself modeling a second-class hairdo.
Mother stood in the doorway to the bedroom, fiddling with her wedding ring. "Penga, you may go," she said suddenly. "I'd like a few moments alone with my daughter, if I may."
Spirits, if that isn't foreboding I don't know what is. The last time Mother had spent a few moments alone with her had been when she'd informed Jinora that the paperwork deciding her engagement to LingShi Zhang had been filed. Penga, not one to argue, quickly curtsied and left the room.
Mother raked her eyes over Jinora's appearance, giving her a thorough once-over that left a pit in her stomach unlike any other. "You remember what you were taught, don't you?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Wonderful." Mother gave her a small smile and signaled for Jinora to follow her out the door. Once they were in the hallway, they joined the influx of finely-dressed people heading toward the elevators, which would take them up to D deck, where their dining hall was.
On their way to their table, where LingShi and the others were waiting, Mother waved to a few men and women that Jinora vaguely recognized from other social functions—mainly those who'd once done business with her father's company, the Ayre Corporation.
"Jinora," said Mother, gesturing to two older women standing side by side to one another, "you remember Lin and Suyin Beifong, do you not?"
The Beifong family was one of the richest ones in the Four Nations, especially so because it had two matriarchs: Lin, who was in charge of the Republic City company (where they made guns and other things for the police departments), and Suyin, who was being groomed to take over the company in Zaofu, the family estate. Their mother, Toph Beifong, had been well-acquainted with Jinora's late paternal grandfather, Aang (the founder of the Ayre Corporation), and had gone away on a sabbatical long before Jinora was born. No one had seen Toph since.
The two sisters, though, were almost as far apart in age as Jinora and Rohan were, not to mention in personality. Where Lin was sharp angled, scarred (no one was quite brave enough to work out how Lin had gotten them) and rough-voiced, Suyin was kind, caring, and comfortable to be around. Even their outfits were different—Lin wore gray, Suyin wore bright colors that stood out in the room full of dark suits and pastel-colored dresses.
"Hello, Lin, Suyin." Jinora curtsied. "A pleasure to see you both again."
Lin grimaced at her (the closest that she would get to a smile), whereas Suyin beamed at Jinora like they hadn't seen each other in years. "Hello, Jinora, Pema," she greeted. "May I congratulate you on your engagement, Jinora? LingShi is such a wonderful man—we spoke to each other earlier."
"Thank you," Mother responded. "You'll be coming to the wedding, won't you?"
From what Jinora knew, her mother liked Suyin—even considered her a close friend, which was admirable in a society as high-functioning as theirs—but Pema did not like Lin at all. Jinora thought that the hatred had begun when the information had been revealed that Tenzin, Jinora's father, had had a brief affair with Lin during the early aspects of his and Pema's marriage.
"Yes, we were planning on it. It's coming up soon, isn't it?"
After a few more minutes of forced conversation, Mother and Jinora moved away from the Beifong sisters and started heading toward their own table. They found it easily, seeing as the six foot tall Ransik hovering above LingShi like an overprotective mother was hard to miss. They were seated with prominent figures, some that Jinora knew and many she didn't.
The Sato family, for example, sat with them. Hiroshi owned the Future Industries company, and his daughter, Asami, was married to a doctor in the United Forces, whose name was Bolin (he was a light-hearted, easygoing man that Jinora had had a crush on back when she was younger). The Sato's and the Gyatso's had been on friendly terms for as long as Jinora could remember, so she greeted Hiroshi, Asami and Bolin with a genuine smile.
There was a young, tan-skinned woman at their table named Korra Lieng, who wore an enormous feathered hat that didn't seem to mix well with the light blue dress that she wore. Korra, although she was related to the chieftain and princess of the Northern Water Tribe, hadn't been considered rich enough for a first class ticket until recently, when her husband, Mako (Bolin's older brother), had struck gold somewhere out west. Even so, Mother would snort derisively in Korra's presence and refer to her and Mako as "new money".
LingShi pulled out her seat for her, patting her on the hip as she sat down. Jinora stiffened and crossed her arms, refusing to say anything. Korra and Mako were across from her. Suyin and Lin sat down the table next to Asami, Bolin and Hiroshi. Mother sat on the other side of LingShi. Ransik stood at the far end, examining the proceedings with the same tense expression he always wore.
Well, this should be interesting, Jinora thought, taking a small forkful of her sea prune stew and raising it to her mouth, reveling in the familiar taste. The White Star Line certainly knew how to cook cuisine from all Four Nations.
"You know," Korra commented, "I've always wondered why they call ships 'she' instead of 'it'." She smirked. "Just another example of men setting the rules their way, I suppose."
Amidst the polite laughter, their waiter arrived to take their orders. While Asami asked for vegetable dumplings, Jinora fought the urge to light a cigarette. The women weren't allowed to smoke, but they did in secret. Asami had let Jinora borrow cigarettes many a time—in such a high-functioning society, they needed to take a moment to relax and take a smoke once in a while. Jinora had been doing it since she was thirteen.
"She'll take the ginger-infused pea tendril and hibiscus-root salad," LingShi said. If there was one thing that she was thankful for, it was that LingShi remembered that her family were all vegetarians. It'd probably been one of the first things that he'd learned about her. "And I'll have the deep-fried pickled radishes."
"Of course, sir."
"Are you alright, dear?" LingShi inquired, placing his hand on hers. "You're looking a bit pale."
Jinora exhaled, her stomach suddenly dropping to her knees. She barely staved off the urge to throw up. "I'm fine. I...I just need some air." Standing up quickly, she ignored LingShi's question of whether or not she wanted him to accompany him and tore out of the dining hall.
Kai's knuckles were smeared with black, and a smudge of charcoal inhabited on his cheek, but he didn't care. He was too absorbed in observing an older man and a three year old girl standing on the lower rung of the rail, both of them watching the seagulls soar across the cloud-covered sky, and as he watched, he drew. He sat on a bench across from them, his knees pulled up to his chest as he sketched using a charcoal pencil, making sure strokes on the parchment. It was all second nature to him by now, drawing. He'd been doing it since he was old enough to pick up a pencil.
Next to him, Skoochy gave a grunt of appreciation. "Nice picture, man," he said.
Kai nodded. If there was one thing that Kai prided himself on, it was his art. His sketchbook, which rested on his knees, was his most treasured possession, worth more than a million yuans. Back in the Earth Kingdom, he'd done portraits on the streets for a couple of yuans—even some nude pictures of some particularly nice-looking Fire Nation girls. He showed them to Skoochy once, and his friend had praised him as a deity. "Yeah, I could add a little more to it, but…" he shrugged. "Who knows, maybe I'll sell it to them."
"Speaking of selling your art, you think you can sell me that picture of those Fire Nation girls sometime?" Skoochy asked deviously, looking like a wounded owl-cat as Kai punched him in the arm. "Relax, man, I'm kidding. I ain't one to part you with your drawings. Hey, I'm joking around!"
"Fire Nation girls aren't exactly something to joke about, men," drawled someone from behind, and Kai and Skoochy whirled around to see a greasy-haired man dressed in torn trousers and a black shirt. "Name's Tahno," the man introduced. "Tahno Han. And trust me, those Fire Nation girls...they have a nice, flexible gams. I speak from experience."
"Name's Kai Wen," Kai said, then nodded towards the man next to him. "My friend, Skoochy Nakamura. And thanks for the daily sex tip, brother. Appreciate it."
Tahno snorted derisively, flipping his bangs out of his face. "Oh, I like you. You're pretty feisty, Mr. Wen—you've gotta be if you draw pictures of Fire Nation girls in the nude."
Kai rolled his eyes, prepared to say something along the same vein as Tahno had when any words he had drained out of him. At the aft railing of B deck promenade stood a girl in a beautiful green dress. She looked ethereal, almost like an angel, and he could feel his mouth slowly dropping open in awe.
Forget the Fire Nation girls—who in the hell is that?
Their eyes connected, his green on her brown ones, and his stomach twisted. Then he saw a man that looked around twenty-five or so come up behind the girl and grab her arm. The girl let him take her arm (even if she looked less than pleased about it) and they walked away, both looking unhappy and conferring in quiet voices.
Kai couldn't help but stare after her, wondering who the man was and why he was considered special enough to touch the girl. He wouldn't have considered the Spirits themselves worthy enough.
As if from a long distance away, Kai heard Tahno give a sarcastic laugh. "I'd let that train of thought derail if I were you, buddy boy," the older man commented. "You'd sooner have Tue and La fly out of your ass than get any closer to the likes of her."
Kai shrugged, wondering why he felt so exhausted all of a sudden...and wondering why the girl's haunted brown eyes had struck such a chord deep within him.
I'd just like to thank GraciaSpirit, LordTomyh, goingGrimdark, and words-with-dragons for their favorites, GraciaSpirit, LordTomyh, SilentCreScriptor, goingGrimdark, relena soulheart, and words-with-dragons for their follows, and my three anonymous users, goingGrimdark and words-with-dragons for their reviews. Seeing that the most iconic Kainora writer in the fandom had reviewed my story really made my day. :)
Thanks for reading, guys, and don't forget to review! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. :)