Sorry about the slightly longer wait on this Chapter guys, I had more than a few things happen in the last week and a bit that has kept me from getting this last filler chapter out of the way.
That's right; the next chapter I post up will be the start of Book 1, finally.
Firstly I'd like to apologise right now to those who may be upset with the size of this chapter, but I really just wanted to get the filer out of the way so I could get into the meat of the story. In the end I decided to cut Naruto's full meeting with the Grand Lotus, it just didn't seem necessary to the plot so that shortened the Chapter by close enough to 800 words.
Secondly, I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to write up a Review for this story, it really keep me going when I know that there are plenty of people who are really enjoying this story. That being said, I have noticed a strong number of similarities in a number of the reviews, relating mostly to the pairing. Quite a number of people would really like me to pair Asami along with Naruto/Korra.
I'm going to say now that whilst I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, I'm not sure if it will happen despite popular request. I only say this because I don't know if I'd feel comfortable writing it, I myself find it very hard to read most fics that feature multi-pairings, don't even get me started on Harems, uggh. I'm not saying that it 100% won't happen but I am saying please don't be upset if it doesn't.
Now, with all that out of the way, please enjoy the last of the filler Chapters.
A small AN will be posted at the bottom regarding this chapter, please give it a read.
Whilst the uncomfortable feeling of being deprived of sight was not one Naruto enjoyed, it was one he was willing to put up with if only for a short while.
From what he could tell there were at least three other men, along with the old man accompanying him. He wasn't quite sure where he was.
He had been led from the bar with the black bag over his head, completely unaware of where the White Lotus members were taking him. He had heard the sound of metal on metal before he was hoisted up into something and down onto a rather uncomfortable metal seat.
Steel doors closed behind him and whatever machine he found himself in rumbled to life with a great shaking roar before it rumbled off into parts unknown.
He had been at least an hour into his silent journey before someone began asking Naruto questions. He immediately recognised the voice as the old man he had confronted in the bar.
"Who sent you to us?" he asked simply. "Who taught you the old ways of the White Lotus?"
Naruto was unsure of how he should answer. Iroh had made it very clear that only the Grand Lotus should know of his continued existence. He would have to fabricate some sort of lie.
"I come from a small village in the Fire Nation," he began, "I used to help out this old man with his fishing business, he was getting to old to do all of the heavy lifting himself and I needed the money. One day a group of roaming bandits made their way into town, demanding any money or resources the people had.
We were too small a village to have any sort of guard or garrison, we'd never had any trouble in the past you see. A few years earlier a group of soldier made their way through the town, they saw that I was a Firebender and the captain didn't think it was right to just let me be without any sort of training. After they left I began to train myself, building on what the soldiers had taught me.
So when I saw all of those bandits just taking whatever they wanted from those weaker than them I just couldn't stand it. I managed to scare them off and afterwards the old man said that he admired how brave I had been, that he had something to show me.
He eventually told me how he used to be a member of the White Lotus, back in the days before Avatar Aang, and that I had displayed the courage and selflessness required of the order. At the time I didn't think much of it, just some old man recounting his glory days, but he kept teaching me more and more of what you guy's represented and I knew I had to join.
The day he died, the old man said that I should seek out someone called the Grand Lotus; he said he was pretty much your leader. I figured that the Grand Lotus would be wherever the Avatar was being trained but no one I asked had any idea where that was. I knew that the new Avatar was a Waterbender so I came here first hoping to meet someone from the White Lotus and well, I found you." said Naruto, finishing his lie.
The old man was silent for a moment, seemingly considering the young man's words.
"That was very astute of you; the Grand Lotus is indeed assisting in the training of Avatar Korra. You may have travelled a long way but it was not in vain." he said finally.
"Korra? So that's the Avatar's name?" asked Naruto excitedly. Ever since Iroh had explained to him just what the Avatar was Naruto had been dying to meet them.
"Yes, she is currently attempting to master Firebending but I believe it will be more than a few months before she has anything in the way of mastery over the element." answered the old man.
"Great, I can't wait to meet her." said Naruto. "Maybe I can give her a few pointers; I am the best Firebender in the world after all." he said confidently, puffing his chest out as he crossed his arms over his chest, though to be honest he wasn't sure how stupid the gesture looked with a bag over his head.
Naruto heard the old man laugh warmly.
"I'm sure you are my boy. You might just get the chance, we're almost there." he said and Naruto could feel someone reach for the bag over his head.
"Close your eyes kid," he heard a man's voice say. "It's pretty bright." he said, giving Naruto a moment before pulling off the bag. The man had been right; it was incredibly bright without the bag. Naruto quickly regained his vision and he saw why.
For as far as he could see was a great expanse of white, the snow drifts seeming to never end. The sun was high in the sky and its fierce light reflected off of the icy ground. Naruto at his immediate surrounding and noticed that he was inside what he assumed was some form of snow transport.
The cramped back cabin housed himself along with the old man as well as another White Lotus member how wore what looked more like armour than the robes the old man sported. The other two men he had felt were seated in the front cabin of the machine.
Naruto looked out of the front window and saw their obvious destination. A large wall, seemingly made entirely of ice, sprouted from the endless expanse of snow. The only noticeable feature of the wall itself was the intricately carved gatehouse that was rapidly getting larger in his vision.
"This is our Training Outpost," said the old man. "We have been training Avatar Korra here since we discovered her as a child." The gates now loomed over them, opening slowly on old hinges. Naruto was impressed with what he saw inside the compound.
A large sparring arena dominated the centre of the compound with a sizable viewing platform affording teachers the chance to watch their students fight up close. There were few buildings within the compound, numbering far less than ten. A single structure caught Naruto's eye.
It wasn't grandly designed and it certainly wasn't large but it was homely. The building itself sat in a secluded corner of the compound, far out of the way of usual attention. It seemed that it was to be their destination, the Snow-Rider bringing them ever closer.
Before long they were parked in front of the small house and the old man was ushering Naruto from the vehicle. He pointed towards the front door which lay atop a small set of worn wooden stairs.
"The Grand Lotus is inside, he will meet with your but please see this for what it is, a great honour, there are very few outside the Order who have ever met the Grand Lotus. Treat him with respect and he will do the same to you." he explained simply and Naruto nodded.
After triple checking that he did in fact still have Iroh's letter with him, Naruto made his way up the creaking stairs carefully and knocked on the door gingerly as if afraid too much force would cause the entire structure to tumble. An aged voice was his only reply.
"Enter." it said. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, opened the door and entered a new world.
Naruto's meeting with the Grand Lotus had been brief, if a little chaotic. Naruto had not said a word to being with, he had simply dropped Iroh's letter before the rather polite elderly man that sat before him and waited.
He had expected his story to be ridiculed and mocked but the Grand Lotus had remained fairly calm as he read the letter. Afterwards he had asked Naruto a series of rapid and pointed questions.
Thankfully Iroh had neglected to mention that Naruto had come from an entirely different world, a small mercy he was grateful for as he had decided early on that it was best to never tell anyone of his true place of origin.
In little under ten minutes Naruto was out the door and on his way to what he had been informed would be his new accommodations, a small wooden hut that jutted out from the glacial drift that served as the rear wall of the compound.
It was far more than he needed, Naruto intended to spend the majority of his time training and honing his skills, though the small but soft bed and shower were welcome.
Naruto and Iroh had both decided that it would be better if no one knew of his ability to Dual-Bend until he found an Airbending Master to teach him, though that hadn't stopped him training his mastery of wind in secret.
The White Lotus sentry that escorted him to his lodgings had informed him that a uniform would be brought to him in the morning; his duties were to being the very next day. Though the knowledge that his 'vacation' time had come to an abrupt end, Naruto was more excited than ever.
The Grand Lotus had quickly decided upon his position within the Order. Due to his age and what Iroh had labelled as 'likeableness', Naruto would act as Avatar Korra's personal guard and training partner.
Apparently the girl had been complaining of late as to the lack of younger company and from what Naruto could tell, the Grand Lotus was happy to finally shut her up.
Naruto had been itching to meet the Avatar, now he would get to train with her, Firebending training to boot. Though he was certain that he was far above the average when it came to Firebending, Iroh had quickly taught him that there was always something more to learn.
He also hopped that he would finally be able to start work on his own Firebending form. After his encounter with Ran and Shaw, Naruto had been inspired, wanting to merge what Iroh had taught him with the Dragon Dance as well as some of the moves Gai and Lee had taught him back in the Ninja World.
He was more than confident that the finished form would be brutal, graceful and beautiful, all at the same time.
Sighing, Naruto moved to lie down on his new bed, knowing that such thoughts would more than likely have to be postponed for some time. His new duties to the White Lotus would have to come first.
Despite the extreme temperatures outside, his hut was rather warm and he was more than a little glad for it, Naruto Uzumaki was not a fan of cold weather.
Sleep came quickly for him, his mind wearing itself out with raging thought of what the new day might bring.
Naruto woke early in the morning, well before sunrise. He was immensely grateful to have an actual bed under him; his lodgings inside the cargo ship had been less than ideal. Despite the early hour a standard White Lotus uniform rested on a hook just inside his door, when it had been delivered Naruto couldn't say.
After a very quick meal of rather tasty porridge and honey he decided on an early morning training session. Donning only the pants and boots of his new uniform before grabbing a thin shirt, Naruto braced himself and threw open the door, a gust of chilling wind his immediate companion.
Pushing through the cold Naruto made his way to the centre of the compound towards the training ground he had spotted the day before. He was no stranger to training in extreme or dangerous conditions but it had been month's since he had experienced cold such as this.
He saw more than a few sentries give him a strange glance before they went on their way. Before long he had reached his destination. Taking his shirt off slowly, careful to keep his body moving slowly so as to avoid any adverse effects from the cold, he sat in a cross-legged position in the centre of the open area.
Naruto began his breathing exercises, designed to help him regulate body temperature, they would enable him to perform the rigours of physical training despite the cold without the dangers of cold based injuries.
Naruto knew that the style that he planned to create would require many weeks or even months of strenuous exercise to give him both the flexibility and bodily strength he would require.
The sun was beginning to rise over the compounds gate when Naruto finally finished the second stage of his exercises, stretching. He quickly found that his regular breathing techniques were far more effective than they had ever been and he could only guess that it was a result of his 'training' with Ran and Shaw.
He also found that the techniques taught to him by the Toad Sages of Mt. Myoboku were also very effective for warm-up exercises.
When he felt his body was ready he began to flow through the opening movements of his basic Firebending form, finding solace in the basics. He knew that the formation of an entirely new form wouldn't be someone that would happen overnight, he would have to work day-in-day-out.
Naruto smiled as he felt the heat within his own body surging through him, ready to be given form. Though he had felt the same way countless times in the last six months, it never ceased to amaze him.
"Bending is awesome." he thought with a smile on his face.
As far as Korra was concerned, today was just any other day, boring and for the most part, uneventful. Her daily routine rarely ever changed.
She would get up and dressed, feed Naga and then for the rest of the day the White Lotus would effectively baby-sit the Avatar in training, spoon-feeding her new bending knowledge in hope of 'keeping her safe'.
Despite this, Korra would be the first to admit that her training could be fun at times. Especially when they would pit her against some of the newer White Lotus members, the feeling of utterly destroying them with her obvious skill was one she didn't think she would ever get used to.
She had only begun he Firebending training a little over nine months ago, having finally convinced the old coots that oversaw her training that she had effectively mastered both Waterbending and Earthbending.
She knew that her trainers usually preferred her to arrive at least close to the allotted time so she was forced to leave Naga in her den sooner than she would have liked. It was then that she noticed something was different.
Usually she could spot two or three sentries along her usual route to the training ground, today though they were nowhere in sight. Up ahead she could make out the shapes of people running in the direction of the training ground.
Knowing something was definitely happening, she too broke into a run to see what the commotion was about, eager for something to bring even a little bit of surprise to her somewhat dull life.
She was not disappointed.
There was a considerable crowd at the training ground, each person jockeying for position at the front. Though she couldn't make out the source, Korra could easily say what she could see was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her relatively short life.
Great gouts of exotic fire burst into existence at rapid intervals, the vibrancy of the colours shocking some who saw them. Striking reds, bright yellows, vibrant greens, deep blues and beautiful purples and countless other colours Korra had never seen before all coalesced together to form one brilliant source of flame.
She knew that she had to see just who it was that was controlling the flames so she rather ungracefully began to shove he way to the front, earning more than a few angry glances that immediately withered as people noticed who it was that was bumping them around.
It only took her a moment to make it to the front and she was more than a little surprised by what she saw.
In the centre of the training ground was a teenager who looked no older than herself. She could make out his strange bright blonde hair as he flew through a series of intricate movements that Korra had never seen before.
He was neglecting to use his hands almost entirely, instead using them to support himself as he spun his legs rapidly, bolts of rainbow fire blasting outwards from his feet with ferocious speed. He followed his spin with an overhead flip, bringing his right leg around for a complete revolution before landing upright.
His movements came to an abrupt halt after one final move. His upper body pivoted sideways, completely independent of his legs which he brought up moments later for a diagonal rotation with his right leg extended.
When his foot came into contact with the ground it began to slide and for a horrible moment Korra thought the boy had misplaced himself and was about to fall. Nothing bad came of it however, as his foot slid across the smooth floor of the training ground a wave of rainbow flame blossomed from his heel and spread across the ground.
He came to a resting position with his body almost hugged the ground, his left leg was supporting his weight under him whilst his right was outstretched completely, his right hand extended in a fist resting just above the corresponding foot.
It was then that the applause erupted around Korra, the level of noise entirely out of place in the White Lotus compound. Instead of joining in, Korra found herself bounding across the open ground towards the teen.
Only now did she noticed that he was in fact completely stripped from the waist up, sweat beading on his toned chest as his body tried to come down from its recent high. Despite herself, Korra found herself blushing slightly and trying her best to avert her gaze as well as regain her composure.
He seemed to hear her approach, looking up and meeting her eyes. They were the bluest eyes she had ever seen, her gaze was also drawn momentarily to the strange marks the he sported on each check, almost like whiskers.
"That was totally amazing!" she shouted, still somewhat in awe of what she had seen only moments before. "You've gotta' teach me how to do that Rainbow Fire trick." she said.
The boy only scratched the back on his head in embarrassment, a huge grin on his face.
"Sorry about that," he chuckled, "I guess I got a little carried away there. I didn't mean to cause such a fuss, I only wanted to get a little training in before everyone woke up." he said cheerfully.
"Oh and the whole Rainbow Fire thing," he added as an afterthought, "it's not something I can teach, as far as I know I'm the only one who can do it. Something unique about my Chi, at least that's what the White Lotus say." he explained.
To say Korra was disappointed was an understatement; she couldn't imagine how cool she would look throwing around Rainbow Fire.
"Damn," she said, voicing her opinion, "that would have been so cool to learn. Never mind that now though, what are you doing here if you don't mind me asking. The White Lotus doesn't really let a lot of people my age around here, they say it would just distract me from my Avatar training." she said as she crossed her arms and pouted slightly.
Korra could see a flash of recognition pass through the boy's eyes momentarily.
"You're Korra?" he asked, receiving a small nod, "Awesome, I've been looking forward to meet you for a while now." he said. Korra watched as he extended his fist out towards her, a smile on his face the whole time.
"The name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I'll be your training partner from now on."
Korra quickly matched his smile with one of her own and smacked her own fist into his. It seemed today wasn't entirely uneventful after all. Finally it seemed she'd have some decent company to hang around with.
Neither noticed the aged woman standing in the shaded area of the training ground, a motherly smile adorning her face.
AN: That chapter length will be back up to 6-8K for the next chapter, don't worry this small chapter is not a new trend for me. Also in regards to Naruto's new style that he is trying to create, I fear my descriptions won't paint a very clear picture of it, please just Google "Tricking" or go on Youtube, that is what I envision for Naruto. I'm better with Story than I am with Fight-Scenes.
Thanks for reading, if you're hitting the Follow or Favourite button for the first time it'd mean a lot if you could also take the time to write up a review as well.
Cheers,
~Raptor