By the time Korra woke sunlight was streaming through the blinds covering the window of Asami's bedroom. She murmured a bit but there was no conviction to her complaint about the bands of light falling across her face. Truth be told she was feeling as rested and full of energy as she had in a long while. The last time Korra had felt this good in the morning had been several long years ago in the days before she had left the South Pole for Republic City. "Morning sleepyhead." Asami's voice drifted in from somewhere nearby.

Korra sat up to see the source of her contentedness this morning sitting down on the edge of the bed, two steaming mugs in hand. Asami held one of the cups out to Korra. "Got some jasmine tea from the cook downstairs, figured it'd help you wake up."

Korra gratefully took the mug in both hands taking a little sip to test the temperature before downing some more of the hot liquid. "So about last night... where do we stand now Asami?"

Asami took the opportunity to drink from her own cup before answering the question. "That's up to you Korra. I meant it when I said that whatever we do is your choice. If you're having second thoughts about this then I understand. We did rush into things awfully fast last night. If I did something that bothered you then I apologize."

The Avatar shook her head vehemently. "No no no no. The only thing that really bothered me was that you stopped when you were... touching me... down there." Korra's eyes flicked down towards her hips then back to Asami's face.

Asami gave a small smile in response but one that was full of promise. "Don't worry Korra. We'll be doing more of that but not until we get back to my house." Korra felt a warm tingle of electricity running down her spine at the guarantee she had been given but one that wasn't unwelcome after the brief touches from last night. "Anyways, you got a letter Korra." Asami pulled an envelope sealed with wax out of her back pocket. "Who is Luzon?"

It took Korra more than a few seconds to remember who that name belonged to. Everything from the previous day was a blur already. Well everything from before that first kiss that was. "Luzon... he's the head of some firebending school here. He asked me to teach a seminar while I was here and I said yes."

She grabbed the letter from Asami and cracked the seal open to read the message inside. "He scheduled the seminar for this afternoon? Kinda short notice but I already said I'd do it. So what are you doing today Asami? Feel like watching me kick a bunch of Fire Nation butt?"

"I won't lie, that does sound kinda fun." Asami admitted. "But I already paid for a second day of lessons at the Academy for Girls and they don't give refunds. But I'll see you tonight okay? We can have dinner together if you want."

Korra gave a rueful smile. "Okay, I'll see you then." After Asami was gone Korra forced herself to get out from between the sheets and head to the bathroom for a shower. Asami must have let the chef know that Korra was awake because there was a bowl of apple slices and ash bananas on the living room table. Next to it was a plate of buns drizzled in honey along with a large glass of water. The clock in this room read that it an hour before noon and Korra had plenty of time to kill until she needed to get a cab for the seminar. Luzon had included an address but it meant nothing to her so she would need to leave earlier to make sure she arrived at the time the firebending instructor had specified for her.

After finishing her food she started to take the plates back to the kitchen but the chef came flying out in a fit of dismay that the Avatar was trying to clean up after herself. Korra tried to argue with him but the man refused to budge and eventually she threw her hands up in the air and gave up. It was still early but without anything else to do she decided to just head over to Luzon's academy. One short phone call brought a cab to the villa and she was dropped off a few minutes later.

The academy couldn't have stood out more from all of the graceful and elaborately constructed buildings present everywhere else in the capital city. Those other buildings soared upwards as they reached up towards the sky and cast shadows as intricate looking as themselves upon everything below. This thing was just squat ugly looking slabs of concrete thrown together to form a square without any kind of decorations or even anything resembling a window on the outside. There was a hole in the shape of a door cut into the front leading into a hallway heading off to the right. Korra followed it along until it opened up into a large open area in what must be the middle of the building.

Men and women ranging in age from young children to those in their twilight years stood facing each other in two lines reaching from one wall to the other and she could see Luzon standing behind one as he observed their firebending. Red and yellow bursts of flame flew back and forth as the students practiced their form under his critical eye. Most of the flames were blocked but a scant few slipped past the lines to add to the legion of burn marks that had accrued over the years or perhaps decades on these walls. As Korra watched from the sidelines, it quickly became apparent that all of them were practicing the same form and that they were taking turns to throw their attack. It was vaguely hypnotic to watch them drill their techniques in a way. Assuming the proper stance, thrusting your fist outwards to send a ball of fire at your opponent who would block it and continue the cycle by attacking in turn. Her own training had been done differently but this form was quite similar to the one Korra had learned when she had been trying to master firebending back at the compound in the South Pole. But her presence couldn't go unnoticed forever and one of the students came to a sudden stop mid attack as she noticed Korra leaning against the side of the entryway as she watched them. The firebending student raised her arm and waved. "Master Luzon, she's here!"

Luzon looked away from his students to confirm that the Avatar really was there before he clapped his hands once. "Class dismissed, remember the seminar is today. Michi, go find Ifuago and send him to make sure everything has been taken care of." The woman who had spotted Korra bowed to Luzon and hurried off as the other students left en masse leaving just her and the academy's head instructor in the room. Luzon leaned heavily on his case as he made his way over to where she was standing and held fist to chest as he bowed to her. "Allow me to welcome you to the Iba Academy Avatar Korra. I apologize for not greeting you sooner but I wasn't expecting you to arrive until this afternoon."

Now that he was up close, the lines on his face were evident along with how much he was relying on the cane to support his weight. Luzon had seemed to be an older man last night but she had underestimated his age by at least a couple of decades if not more. Korra shrugged her shoulders. "I know but I thought I'd show up early and take the time to decide what I'm going to teach at this seminar. It's such short notice that I haven't had any time to figure anything out. Do you have anything in mind? This was your idea and all."

"As a matter of fact I do Avatar Korra. I would like your seminar to be about metalbending."

She tilted her head to the side, her mouth opening in disbelief. "Metalbending. I don't understand, what would you get out of me talking about metalbending? It's not your element."

The instructor started to answer her before closing his mouth and considering her in silence. Eventually he pointed with his cane at another one of the doorways in the room. "Come with me to my office, I have something to show you."

He may have called it an office but it was really more of a showcase for the Iba Academy. Trophies of various sizes and shapes sat behind panes of glass on three of the room's four walls. The fourth wall held framed photographs and drawings of people she didn't recognize except for the one in the very center. A woman with black hair and clouded eyes dressed in a suit made of metal. Korra blinked several times in surprise before turning to the instructor. "That's Toph. Why do you have a picture of Toph Beifong in your office?"

Luzon edged his way behind his desk as he gratefully sat down on the chair there. "I have a photo of Toph here because she was the greatest bender I have ever encountered. All of Avatar Aang's companions achieved great renown but Toph had the greatest limitation and her contribution to bending will last beyond anything the rest of them accomplished."

A piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Korra and she couldn't help but view the old man in front of her in a different light now. "The greatest bender that you ever encountered? But the only times Toph was ever in the Fire Nation were... You were on the other side during the Hundred Year War."

He grimaced, but whether it was at the memory of his past or the newly arrived dislike in Korra's voice she couldn't say. "I was a very different person when I was young. A fresh new promising young officer in the Fire Nation army ready to take part in what I thought was an invasion of the Earth Kingdom. I'm sure you know the story Avatar Korra. A fleet of airships that was destroyed by Suki, Sokka and Toph while Ozai and Avatar Aang fought at Wulong Forest. That day changed the lives of everyone in the world, including my own. I had the power of Sozin's Comet within me and it didn't matter in the slightest. A young girl who couldn't see defeated me in seconds using an ability I didn't know existed. Ever since then I have hoped for a chance to study it and perhaps learn how to fight those who control metal but the years have passed me by and I never had the opportunity but now my students do."

"Why would you care so much about learning how to fight metalbenders?" asked Korra. "There aren't exactly a lot of metalbenders in the Fire Nation these days and you've been at peace with Republic City and the Earth Kingdom for decades."

"For the challenge of it. I may be a firebender but I am also a warrior, at least in spirit these days. Toph invented something new. Something both powerful and hard to fight against which makes learning how to do so all the more worthwhile because it is so difficult."

Korra shook her head as she acceded to his request. "Well... I can bend metal but I've never taught any kind of class like this before so try not to expect too much from this."

Luzon pushed himself out of his chair and back onto his feet. "Fortunately for us I have a great deal of experience as a teacher and we still have a few hours until the seminar begins. Shall we?" He gestured towards the doorway where the practice floor waited for them. What Korra had said earlier was true, that she hadn't had time to plan a lesson but between the two of them, mostly from Luzon's suggestions, they were able to hash something out before the seminar's appointed time drew near.

Half an hour before the appointed time, one of Luzon's students joined them on the floor. Korra wasn't short by any means but the top of her head fell short of this man's shoulders and his muscles were sharply defined even through the shirt he wore. The student, who Luzon introduced as Ifuago looked down at her with a smirk reminiscent of the cockiness Machi had exhibited. "So this is the great Avatar Korra? I thought you'd be taller."

Korra's back stiffened in indignation at the barbed comment but Luzon reacted faster than she did as his cane whipped up off the ground to land against Ifuago's back with a resounding crack that echoed off the walls. "You forget yourself Ifuago! You may be my prize pupil but that doesn't give you the right to insult our honored guest so. Apologize."

If the blow had hurt Ifuago gave no sign as he knelt on the floor and bowed towards Korra. "Forgive my foolishness Avatar Korra. I let my excitement over this seminar get the better of me today."

She folded her arms and sighed as she considered the kowtowing firebender. "Fine. But try to think before you speak next time."

Ifuago dipped his head once more and Luzon gently pulled her a short distance away and spoke in a low voice as he implored her. "Try not to hold this against him Avatar Korra. He recently took first place in a very prestigious firebending competition and I fear it has gone to his head. But we need to be going now if we're going to be on time for the seminar."

Korra glanced around the empty room for a second. "You're not holding it here? This was the address you gave me in that letter."

Luzon shook his head. "That was my plan but I grossly underestimated how many people would be attending and it was relocated to a place that has enough room for everyone. If you'll come with us to the car then we'll be on our way."

The place in question was a wide open plaza flanked on three sides by ascending rows of benches for viewers to sit upon. There was a large square billboard painted white standing on two posts and she could see some sort of camera setup in the far corner opposite it. And the seats were far from empty, at first glance Korra guessed that around two to three hundred people were already in the seats with more still arriving every minute. She turned towards Luzon "How are there so many people here? I just agreed to do this last night, it hasn't even been twenty four hours yet."

She got a slight grin in response from the elderly instructor. "News of your arrival yesterday took the city by storm Avatar Korra. Everyone heard that you were here within the hour and I contacted the other academies as soon as I could last night. Word about this spread very quickly. Many of the people here now aren't even benders, they're just people wanting to see the show."

A smile that couldn't have felt more fake plastered itself across Korra's face as the realization of what she had walked into set in. It had been a spur of the moment decision to teach a firebending seminar but now she was about to help a group of firebenders learn how to better combat metalbending today. However the oddest thing of all was that a significant portion of her audience weren't even benders in the first place. But it was too late to back out now and Luzon was handing her a clip-on microphone to attach to her shirt. Luzon looked at his pocket watch and gestured to Ifuago who approached Korra with a stack of thin shining steel bars of varying shapes and sizes. "If you don't mind Avatar Korra, Ifuago has volunteered to be your partner for the demonstration. Ordinarily I would ask you to do sparring sessions after the seminar but there are so many people here that it's simply not feasible. But now it's time to begin so please excuse me Avatar Korra." He bowed to her and walked away to sit on one of the front rows nearby.

As she took the metal bars and began to head for the middle of the plaza, a larger than life image of Korra appeared on the blank billboard she had noticed before. It zoomed out for a moment until Ifuago was in the shot and then continued to track them as they walked. She unceremoniously dropped the pieces of metal to the ground and reached up to her collar turn the mic on so that everyone could hear her over the plaza's speakers "Normally at an event like this I'd introduce myself but I have the feeling that all of you already know who I am." Korra waited for a few seconds as the attendees stopped speaking to each other and she could feel the eyes of everyone fixed upon her as she continued. "Master Luzon of the Iba Academy made a request of me today that I've agreed to. My original intention for this seminar was to discuss firebending and how I've used it in the course of my duties as Avatar. Instead we're going to discuss metalbending and the best ways of countering it."

Korra extended one hand toward the pile of metal near her and several pieces of it floated into the air and slowly began orbiting in a wide circle around her torso. She gestured towards Ifuago who bent his knees and extended his hands in front of him. Without warning Korra stamped one foot onto the ground and the dirt beneath his feet lurched up and to one side sending him sprawling onto his back. "The first thing to know when dealing with metalbenders is that they were earthbenders before they learned to bend metal. Everything you know about fighting an earthbender is still relevant. If Ifuago hadn't been so busy watching these pieces of metal then he could have avoided my attack just now."

Her partner in this little exercise clambered back to his feet and taken up the same stance as before but there was a rigidity to his muscles that had been missing the first time. Korra curled the fingers on one hand into a fist and the largest metal pieces flew up and came together to form a crude metal suit covering her torso "This is a bad example but metalbenders commonly wear suits of armor or include metal as part of their outfit. This serves two purposes for them. The first is that it helps to protect them from enemy attacks much like any kind of armor should. The second is that it provides them a readily available source of metal if they need it. Kuvira, for example, wore strips of metal on her arms, wrists and shoulders that she would use in combat. But before we get to fighting styles, there's one more thing to keep in mind, namely the area around you. Metalbenders can't bend platinum but they can use any other kind of metal. Iron, steel, copper, tin, bronze, – you name it and they can use it. It doesn't matter where the metal is or where it comes from, if it's there then they can use it. Cars, statues, buildings, power lines, the metal rods in concrete, metal weapons, the buttons on your clothing or even something as small as a zipper could be used against you."

She took a moment to pause in her monologue both to let her words sink in and to see if there was any kind of response from the crowd. Korra wasn't really sure what she was expecting, not cheers to be sure but something. Anything other than this near total silence and people occasionally turning to whisper to each other with mouth hidden behind one hand. After a moment she kept herself from shaking her head and started to move on. "So there's a couple of common things that metalbenders do when they attack. The first is projectiles. It's kinda like dealing with icicles or rocks but there's one major difference in that the projectile can't be turned into vapor or broken. And if you dodge it there's nothing stopping the metalbender from just using it to attack you from behind. Another thing that's less common but can still happen is a metalbender creating a makeshift knife or sword and using that to fight in close quarters. But above all else, the most important thing is this."

Korra turned back towards Ifuago and began flinging the strips of metal at him. He gamely dodged the first three and deflected the fourth but the fifth snapped shut around his ankle. Seconds later and he was hanging upside down in the air and facing away from Korra, helpless to do anything to save himself. Korra pointed at Ifuago as she turned to face each of the stands in turn as she spoke. "The most important thing to remember when dealing with metalbenders is this. The first thing they'll attempt to do is to ensnare you however they can. And when that happens you'd better hope you're a metalbender yourself or the battle is over. Once you're trapped they have total control over whatever they hit. If it's an arm or a leg then you won't be able to use it anymore and that spells defeat. And this isn't something I've seen myself but I've been told Kuvira was fond of going for the head and using metal as a blindfold on people she fought against."

The Avatar waved her hand towards her so-called 'victim' and he floated back down towards the ground and the metal trapping his leg came loose. Korra turned towards the side of the plaza that Luzon had seated himself "That covers some of the more basic concepts of metalbending but I'm going to show these concepts in action before we move onto more advanced techniques."

Once again, Ifuago readied himself to fight but his face was red and his eyes glittered strangely in the sunlight. Korra started to put her hands up but Ifuago leapt on the offensive before they had finished making their way to chest level. Luzon had said his student had just won a major competition but the speed and power of his attacks still took her by surprise. Front kicks, quick jabs, wild overhands and spinning kicks to send out scorching arcs of golden blazes at the Avatar. Korra retreated a step or two at a time from each attack drawing ever closer to the crowd as Ifuago pushed her back.

Firebenders behind her began to leap forward to the front of the stands but only to dissipate the bursts of flame that flew past their target. Korra came to a stop within arms reach of the spectators and she could hear shrieks behind her from people scrambling out of the way as the barrage of attacks kept on coming, heedless of any potential collateral damage they might cause. Ifuago paused for half a second to smirk at her and Korra had the opening she had been waiting for. A rock the size of a car's tire shot up into the air in front of Korra before darting towards Ifuago who immediately moved to shatter it with one brawny fist. As he did so, three bands of metal hidden behind it flew through the fragments and latched onto their targets. Seconds later he was pinned down to the ground with some new jewelry on his outstretched wrists and his eyes were covered by a strip of steel keeping him from seeing anything.

Korra took a deep breath feeling a rush of relief that he had made a mistake in choosing to try and gloat over what had seemed like victory. If Ifuago had kept up the attack then she would have been forced to cheat and use an element that wasn't earth or metal in order to protect the crowd behind her. Luzon certainly hadn't exaggerated the strength of his student, if anything he had sold him short. She turned back to the crowd which was slowly beginning to settle itself back down after that not so little fight. "So that was a bit more intense than what I was expecting but if you were looking to see what a fire vs metal fight looks like then you just got it." She flicked her fingers towards Ifuago to release the binds holding him down. Korra started to pull the metal outfit she had improvised off when there was a gasp from the crowd. She turned her head over her shoulder to see what was going on and the world fell silent as time seemingly slowed to a crawl.

A coruscating cluster of blinding bluish-white forks were arcing out from the fingertips of the firebender she had just beaten and released. As the lightning slammed into her, every hair on Korra's body stood at attention and there was a sweet yet simultaneously acrid tang to the air. She staggered backwards and fell to one knee as the electricity covered her in snakes of light that writhed with wild abandon. The Avatar pointed one arm upwards and the silence was rent by the thunderous beat of an unseen drum as she sent the lightning back to its home in the blue sky above them.

By the time Korra pushed herself back up onto a pair of unsteady legs the crowd had already taken matters into their own hands. Ifuago had been forced down onto his knees and his arms were forcibly held out to the sides by a pair of men each as big as their prisoner. In front of them was her dinner partner from last night holding a sword in hand and his voice was carrying across the plaza without need of a microphone. "You have shamed yourself, your House and the entire Fire Nation by what you have done today. As Crown Prince I sentence you to death for attempting to murder the Avatar." He pointed the blade's curved end at Ifuago and placed the heel of his other hand on the pommel.

"Stop!"

The man condemned to die, his would-be executioner and everyone in the crowd stopped what they were doing to look at Korra. "You aren't killing him for this. Punishing yes but I won't let you execute him." She turned back towards the crowd. "If there's one thing I want you to learn today it's how to accept defeat. It doesn't matter how powerful or skilled you are, there's always someone who will be able to beat you. If you can't handle defeat then you are a warrior in name only."

Iroh hesitated before shoving his sword back into it's sheath and he bowed to her. "As you command Avatar Korra." The prince looked back to Ifuago. "You are without honor. I strip you of your name and rank." He pointedly turned his back and walked away. And the crowd followed suit as they started to leave the plaza in complete silence, everyone going out of their way to not look at the now nameless firebender kneeling in the dirt.