Six-alarm blaze. Definitely six alarms.

He turns the volume up just a little louder.

"Mako's in the drink and out of the match. And Bolin keeps playing with one good arm! I gotta hand it to him, this kid's got grit! But how long can he keep it up?"

He hears a splash through the speaker.

"Apparently, not very long. The Ferrets' dream of making it to the finals now rests in the Avatar's hands. But with three on one, I don't like her odds."

Bending noises.

"What an unbelievable effort here by Korra! She's dodging every element the Wasps throw at her! The Avatar finally gains some ground, but with only ten seconds remaining, it might be too little too late!"

He hears a large water whip, three yells of surprise, and a huge splash.

"It's the big kibosh! What a knockout! It didn't seem possible, folks, but the Fire Ferrets are headed to the finals!"

He smiles and turns off the radio.

About a half-hour later there is a knock from outside. He stands up from his desk and walks over to the door; upon opening it, he finds an Equalist guard standing at attention with a bucket of popcorn and a large bag of fire flakes tucked under their right arm.

"The Avatar sends her greetings, sir," says the muffled voice from behind the mask.

"Oh? And what exactly did she say?"

"I'm afraid that's best discussed in private."

"Then by all means, come in," he replies silkily, giving a mock bow as the soldier enters. He closes the door behind him.

The Equalist removes her mask to reveal the grinning face of Avatar Korra. "Okay, I'll admit it: it's fun sneaking around your base in your uniforms. But I'm still gonna wear my stuff here too. It'll keep me alert, remind me how incredibly stupid this whole thing is." She tugs at her jacket just below the neck. "Besides, this thing's a little tight across the chest."

"Might I suggest knocking someone out and stealing their clothing to replace your supposedly defective uniform?"

"Hmm…someone like you, perhaps?" she asks slyly. She reaches up to his face and pulls the mask away, putting it on her own face instead. "Do you think I could make a convincing Amon?"

"I think you make a convincing teenage girl: petulant, possessive-"

"Pretty."

"Very much so."

"Wish I could say the same for you." She jerks her head to the side, and he knows she's poking fun at his scar.

If only she knew the truth, he chuckles silently. "It matters not."

Korra still smiles, but the conversation turns to more serious matters. "So the Fire Ferrets won their semifinal match today. We're in the championship match."

"I caught the very end of your fight on the radio. You have my congratulations. Truly."

She looks away with embarrassment. "That's…sweet of you."

"I just hope you are capable of defeating the Wolfbats. It would be heartening to see a team of such arrogance and privilege fall at the hands of those whom they consider less able than themselves."

Korra's face contorts into a comically grotesque expression. "I swear I'm gonna beat that Tahno guy's face in! All his talk about 'real pro bending' and 'private lessons.' As if I don't know what 'private lessons' really means."

"I assure you, Avatar, you don't need any lessons in that subject."

She blushes and punches him in the shoulder. "Stop it, you dirty old man. I didn't come here for sex and I really don't need you setting me off." She goes over to the table and puts the foodstuffs down. "I figured that since you probably weren't coming to the match, being 'rah, bending is evil, rah!' and all, I'd bring you goodies, we'd stuff our faces, I give you the blow-by-blow and show you just what you're missing. We could even listen to the news - I'm sure they're gonna do some sort of tournament retrospective something or the other."

He wisely decides not to make any crude jokes about "blow-by-blow" (besides, he does not really care that particular sexual activity).

He spends the next two hours devouring her food and listening to various things: Korra's comical reenactments of tournament highlights, her rants about living with a bunch of monks, the Republic Times radio bulletin, and the evening jazz roundup.

At one point, Korra shoves one handful too many of fire flakes into her mouth; her eyes water and she tries frantically waving air in her mouth. Eventually, she runs for the kitchen sink, and he laughs as she runs the cool water over her singed tongue.

"For someone who's practically a firebender, you appear to have a rather poor tolerance for spicy things."

"Shutuuuup," she whines from underneath a torrent of water.

Korra has been resting her head against his shoulder for a while when she abruptly sits up and stretches her arms out.

"I'd better get going," she says reluctantly. "Tenzin's probably ready to send out a search party. I told Bolin and Mako that I wanted to go celebrate solo, and they thankfully didn't question or argue with me." She pauses, as if she's unsure she wants to reveal what she's about to say. "We've had some…personal issues of late. But they're resolved now, hopefully for good."

"May I ask-"

"No. You can't," she answers, pursing her lips.

*knock knock knock*

"Fun fact: being an Avatar gives you an acute sense of timing."

"Liar."

"Learned from a master," she says, giving him a playful yet dark look. She dons her mask and heads for the door. She puts her hand on the latch, stops, and looks back. "You know, as stupid as this is going to sound, I was wondering…I mean, you probably shouldn't, being the leader of a massive anti-bending movement and whatnot but…I mean, just for the full effect; the radio doesn't really do it justice-"

He knows what she's trying to ask, but he wants to hear her say it.

"Avatar…are you suggesting that I-"

*knock knock knock*

The moment is lost.

"Never mind: dumb idea." She gives him a little wave. "Night."

He watches as Lieu eyes the retreating Avatar, though his second-in-command can't discern who is under the mask.

"…company, sir?" asks Lieu pointedly.

"Perhaps. Would you take offense?"

Lieu's posture stiffens. "Not at all sir. What's past is past. I'm just – curious."

"You needn't worry. I've made the boundaries perfectly clear this time. She won't be a distraction."

I hope.

"Has the payment been delivered?" he continues.

"2500 yuan was discreetly delivered to each referee as instructed. The Wolfbats should receive preferential treatment during the championship match."

"Excellent. Public opinion doesn't make an attack on the Avatar prudent – yet – but breaking a bully like Tahno and his two companions should soften a good deal of the fallout from destroying the stadium." He retrieves some papers from his desk and hands them to Lieu. "Those requisition approvals you asked for. Oh, and double check that the popcorn vendors have all the appropriate paperwork. I'd hate for months of planning to be upended by unforeseen health and safety inspections."

"Yes sir," chuckles Lieu, who takes the documents and leaves.

Alone again.

He sits down at his desk, leans back in the chair, and glances at the half-eaten bag of fire flakes lying on the table where he and Korra had left it.

He thinks of the building where it was sold, and all the institutions, physical, spiritual and mental, that said building has perpetuated in order to subjugate nonbenders.

Let it all burn.

Three days later he makes his threat on the championship match.

Then, when game night arrives, he attacks the stadium.

Author's notes: Shiro Shinobi's dialogue is lifted straight from the show and is therefore not mine.

This chapter was just a haiku when I first posted it, but I later decided to rewrite for two reasons: one, because I wrote the haiku out of laziness and in hindsight that just seems lame; two, because I think it makes a less jarring/sudden transition from the original collection of one-shots to the fully plotted fic it eventually became.

From this chapter forward there is still plenty of food, sex and snark, but it's full steam ahead for the actual plot of this story.