LEGEND OF KORRA DOJINSHI SCRIPT
Journey through the Spirit World
By FirstEdition
CHAPTER 7
LATER ON
Above, the golden glow of the portal is buzzing, sending a light mist of golden sparks high into the air. Twinkling like stars before fading away.
Underneath, by a softly babbling stream, lay Korra and Asami. Asami snuggled against Korra's chest, listening to the sound of heart. Korra is smiling, just holding her, relived and happy.
"Let'see... I think... honestly I think it was back when we went to the Misty Palms..." says Korra, grinning.
"Really? That early?!" blinks Asami, glancing up at her.
"Well... I mean... like... I realized I liked you, like... as a best friend? But... like... I dunno... the feeling really never stopped growing."
Asami nods.
"I guess it was really when everything was said and done with Kuvira. I finally had a chance to sit down... Like... I..." Korra giggles, "I was sure I liked you at Verrick and Zhu Li's wedding."
Asami giggles back.
"You see... I was kind of the same way. Like, I always thought you were pretty amazing. Even... you know... back when you and I first met and... things were kind of shaky...?"
"You mean with Mako?" Korra interjects.
Asami nods.
"But... you just... you've changed so much Korra. Gotten stronger and... more capable than I ever thought was possible."
Asami sighs.
"I just didn't realize that I... liked you until we'd been out here a few days then..." she giggles again, "then I just... couldn't stop thinking about you... catching little glances at you."
Korra grins.
"Oooh... is that what it was?"
Asami looks up at her, blushing.
"Just... I thought that, like... I dunno..." Korra laughs, "I wasn't sure why you kept on looking at me when we camped. I thought you were THINKING things about me..." She squeezes Asami. "I guess you were."
Asami blushes more. She leans up... and gently kisses Korra's chin.
Korra smiles at her. She strokes Asami's hair. Asami looks up at her, cute and demure. Korra holds her.
"I love being held..." she sighs.
Moments pass.
After a while, there's movement nearby. Both women turn and see Natsu, who has propped herself up on one arm. She's awake. But... how long has she been awake?
Natsu glances at the two. Asami pulls away and Korra backs off, both feeling self-conscious.
Natsu furrows her brows as if bothered. "What? Don't mind me..." She gestures at them, calmly, "resume... cuddling and... talking."
Korra and Asami look at each other, feeling VERY embarrassed.
"You were listening?!" blurts out Asami.
"You know, it's rude to butt in on other people's conversations," Korra huffs.
Natsu grunts as she sits up.
"Nnghh... yeah, but... I was like... ten feet away. Where you put me."
She groans and looks around.
"Where's my pack?" she asks, looking tired.
Korra glances over by the top of the bank.
"Up there, but..." she trails off as Natsu grimaces, getting to her feet.
"You're not seriously about to leave, are you?"
Natsu gets to her bag. She kneels down, wincing as she does. "Nnngh... I need to... be after Rynari." She glances over her shoulder at Korra and Asami. "Besides... you two look like you could use some privacy."
Korra and Asami look at each other, feeling a little slapped in the face with someone commenting already about their relationship.
Asami leans away, but Korra gets up and walks over to Natsu.
"Seriously, you need to rest. You're not going to get far after Rynari like that..."
Natsu's eyes close. She heaves a deep pained sigh.
"I failed... the sooner I get... moving again," she says, pushing herself to her feet, "th-the sooner I ca—"
She loses her strength as is about to fall as Korra catches her.
"Okay, yeah..." says Korra. "Let's just set you back down."
Korra begins to lead Natsu back towards the blanket, but she resists her. "Look, I've already caused you two enough inconvenience."
Natsu glances over at Asami, who is just watching her for now.
"I'm sorry I lost my temper before."
Asami nods at her and offers her a tiny smile.
"Please," says Natsu to Korra, "I'll just get my bag a—"
Korra grunts and LIFTS Natsu off the ground.
"Shut it. I KNOW you're type. Always running off to save the world..." she says, moving back over to her blanket and setting Natsu down on it.
"Just like me," Korra says, grinning at her.
Natsu looks at her, but can't hold the look for long. She feels weak, anddoesn't like feeling weak.
"Fine..." she makes herself say.
Korra looks over at Asami, but Asami is already coming over. They both kneel by Natsu who tiredly looks up at them.
"What...?"
Korra and Asami look to one another.
"Go. Go on. Run off and... finish your... whatever you were talking about..." says Natsu, curling over on her side.
Korra and Asami look to one another, frowning.
"Nobody's leaving, okay?" says Korra.
Natsu lets out a soft groan.
"You're definitely one of those types... off to save everyone..." says Natsu.
"Well... I AM the Avatar," says Korra.
"I know who you are."
"Oh..."
"I feel like we should help you," says Korra who looks at Asami.
Asami looks conflicted. She's rather Natsu move on. This whole business is getting... complicated. The strange events that had been happening were starting to feel like an encumbrance on this blossoming relationship with Korra. But... she sighs, feeling that Korra's probably right.
"I guess we should..." says Asami.
"We really don't know that much about what's going on. With you or Rynari or... those weird creepy eyes or... the strange things going on here with the spirits," says Korra. "Before... you made it sound like you did."
Natsu rolls over and looks at the two of them, focusing quickly on Asami. She then heaves a sigh. "Alright, so... I guess I should tell you the story. I guess... after losing it like I did, I owe you that much..."
NATSU'S STORY
"My given name is Natsu Kitamura, and I'm a firebender from Shu Jing, in the Fire Nation."
"Around three years ago, not long after Harmonic Convergence, I was living there a City Guard, when I met a girl in a back-street. She was fighting some boys over some stolen scraps. I was amazed at her strength and her resolve. Just a girl dressed in rags... but her eyes shone with such spirit. She had nothing but her cunning and determination. She was so strong. She had these... incredible big green eyes... It was Rynari."
"From the first moment I saw her I KNEW I had feelings for her. I can't really explain it. I just... knew."
"I invited her home. She was skittish at first, nervous like this was some kind of scam. Slowly... she realized that... I just wanted to give her a good home. That I wanted to love her. And when she finally did realize it, she gave me her love in return."
"It was... difficult... but in a fun kind of way. We'd argue, fight. Talk through it. Make up. Laugh. Have fun. She... could be a real handful. A real lazy punk sometimes..."
"Really...?" blurt Asami and Korra.
"She was really sweet to us..." says Asami.
"Well that's because I evened her out! Ever since our relationship she... kind of saves her sassiness for me. It's kind of our thing. She's a lot more comfortable with who she is now than she was. It's a positive impact I know I've had on her, and I'm VERY thankful that I was the one to be there for her."
"We both just... fell so heads-over-heels in love... you two will find out soon."
"Hey!" says Asami.
"Yeah..." grumbles Korra. "Less commentary on us."
Natsu chuckles.
"Anyways so... we got married. It wasn't a big ceremony. Something like that – a marriage between two women – is unheard of in Shu Jing. But... we convinced a priest to help us exchange our vows. I wanted... I want to be with Rynari forever. I can't... imagine having to go on without her. I won't."
"But... one day... six months ago now, she just... vanished."
"I'd come home from the office. I was now Captain of the Guard. I got home and... there was nobody. I looked around. No-one. I went to the bedroom... and... the bed was only large enough for one person. It... it wasn't the same bed. I looked in the closet and all her clothes were gone. I checked the garden that she'd started and... all... I found was a dried patch of dirt. Not even tilled. No soil. No leaves. Nothing..."
"People were surprised when I started asking about where she'd gone. NOBODY even REMEMBERED her. I thought I was going crazy. That I was losing my mind... until... I looked down on my hand. And saw the wedding band."
"That's... awful..." says Asami.
"I just... I KNEW she was out there. Somewhere. I didn't care where she was, or how long it would take. I burned my house to the ground. It wasn't my house without Rynari. Without Rynari's presence. I vowed I would only return to rebuild it when my wife was with me once again."
"And... before was the first time you'd seen her since..." says Asami. She sighs. "Oh, Natsu, I'm so sorry... We... honestly, just some weird things were going on around Rynari. And... when Korra and I saw her in the light of the portal, she was see-through, just like a spirit!"
"DON'T call Rynari a spirit... She's my wife. Even... I... I don't care WHAT she is. She's my wife... and I love her."
"Still..." says Korra cautiously. "You... you have to admit that... I mean, her whole disappearance was strange. And... I mean... was there ever anything else... you know, strange... before that?"
Natsu sighs deeply.
"Yes... In the beginning of our relationship it was especially tough. I'd come home... and there she would be, lounging about waiting for dinner, listening to the radio, and... just... SEEING her there... would give me the creeps. It's like... the shadows were wrong... things were wrong..."
"I'd have these dreams... where I was bathed in blackness... only to have the void open a thousand tiny eyes, all staring at me. Sometimes I'd wake up... and they'd STILL BE THERE... And Rynari's past? Her parents? Well, I... looked into it once. Trying to find out about her parents. What happened to them. What happened to her... I became Captain of the Guard, so... you know, detective work isn't something I'm bad at, but..."
"I looked into it once," she repeats.
"I fought for my sanity many nights, just... pretending that the shadows weren't moving. That the eyes weren't there... but... when Rynari and I touched... when we spoke... the way she... understood me and how I am... it made me not care. I'd suffer that for the rest of my life as long as I got to spend it with Rynari."
"But then... they stopped happening as much. It became less and less and... when... when we married it never happened since."
Natsu sighs.
"I had a choice... to either accept Rynari as she was... complete with her flaws and... 'weirdness', as you put it, or to walk away from her. I made my choice. I don't care if that makes me seem crazy to you, but... I love her."
BY THE STREAM
Asami and Korra look to one another. Maybe they don't understand Natsu's motives, but they can BOTH understand how, sometimes... liking somebody can... seem crazy to other people.
Despite the chilling stories of Rynari's strangeness, neither can fault Natsu for choosing to stand by the woman... or... spirit... that she loves.
"I think..." says Korra, "we understand."
Natsu barely nods. "Mmmh. I'm glad."
She glances over at the two. Then clenches her eyes shut, forcing herself to speak.
"Look, I'm... not the type to ask for help. But... I... I need help. I... I've been looking for Rynari for six months. I looked in all four Kingdoms. And... then I came out here, two months ago. Looking for her."
"The two of you... you both FOUND her. And... look, I'm not good at asking for help but... I... want to ask you, both of you... if... you'd please help me find Rynari."
"I know you don't... owe me anything b-but..."
"Hey, relax..." says Korra, putting her arms on Natsu and laying her back down.
"I'm the save the world type, remember?" she grins.
"Of course I'll help. What about you, Asami?" asks Korra. "You willing to put our vacation on hold until we find Rynari?"
Asami smiles at Korra, though there's a touch of bittersweetness to it. The desire that they could just... continue their vacation together...
"Korra, I'll go anywhere as long as it's with you."
Natsu leans back, resting, closing her eyes.
"You two are cute... Thank you..."
Natsu's eyes begin to water.
"...thank you... N-now... leave me here for a bit. Go... go on. I just... want to be alone for a while..." she says, turning onto her side, away from the two.
Korra puts her hand on Natsu's arm.
"We'll be back. I promise we'll help you find Rynari."
She turns and smiles at Asami. She takes Asami's hand and they rise. The two walk upstream.
Natsu curls up, and cries.
