A/N: I know I said updates would be slower, but I had these two already written before school started, and I figured that I might as well get them up now, or else I'd never get to it. I still do mean it when I say updates will be slower from now on.

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Chapter Eight: The Kyoshi Guard

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Mako and Korra sat at a table set for three in Naruk's Noodlery. It was the afternoon after Councilman Ulza's assassination, and the two were having some much-needed lunch.

Both Korra and Mako had slept right through breakfast, since they had stayed up practically all night researching the Arbiter and the Order of the Storm. By the end of their four-hour study session, the whole group was so exhausted they could barely keep their eyes open.

Asami had walked back with her father, who was being escorted by two metal benders. Bolin and Mako had taken Mako's bike back to their place, and Korra took Naga to the air temple, where she had spent the night with Tenzin and his family. She had collapsed on the couch, only to wake up at twelve o' clock. By then, Tenzin had gone to meet with the council about the whole Arbiter situation, and Pema had taken the kids to the park for the day. But the old air bender had left a note behind telling her to head to Naruk's Seaweed Noodlery. Apparently it was there that she would meet up with the leader of the Kyoshi Guard, Mai Lee.

When she had arrived at the noodlery, she saw that Mako was waiting for her at one of the tables. Apparently he had gotten the same note, inviting both him and his brother to join them for lunch. Unfortunately, Bolin wasn't feeling well, so only Mako had shown up. Korra couldn't help but think that the earthbender was avoiding her after what had happened in the park, and she felt like he had every right to. But some time with Mako would be good for her. She thought it would help her clear her head. So there the two were, waiting on their last guest, Mai Lee of the Kyoshi warriors.

Mako began to drink his tea as the two waited for the leader of the Kyoshi to arrive. Korra had been pretty silent after what had happened between her and his brother, and Mako was silent simply because it was his nature. It was undoubtedly the most awkward date they had.

"Sooo," Mako said, trying to break the ice, "This is the first time I've ever been here before. I've heard good things from Bolin."

"Yeah, he and I like to hang out here all the time," she laughed nervously

Mako nodded. "I've noticed. You and Bo have been hanging out a lot lately."

Korra's eyes darted back and forth sporadically. Does he know? How did he find out? "Um, yeah! Bolin's one of my best friends, so, you know, we like to hang out here occasionally." Korra quickly tried to change the subject, "So have you met the woman that runs this place? She's really friendly!"

"No, I haven't. But isn't Naruk a bit of a strange name for a woman? Then again, it is a water tribe name, so I wouldn't know much about it."

"No, no, Naruk doesn't own this restaurant anymore. He gave ownership to his daughter." Which is strange, since Maya definitely isn't a water tribe name…

"Well maybe we'll meet her once Mai Lee arrives." Mako looked over his shoulder and checked the clock. "But she's running a bit late. Maybe you two will have a lot in common after all, huh?"

Korra pouted jokingly, "I already said I'm sorry! I didn't expect Asami to get so worked up about it."

Mako shrugged, "I didn't either, but I guess this whole situation is really worrying her. I mean it is pretty likely that the Arbiter will end up targeting either her or her father. Now that I think about it, her father would actually be the most likely target."

"That's what I don't understand!" Korra exclaimed loudly, turning a couple heads in the restaurant. She looked sheepishly at the other annoyed costumers and whispered, "sorry…" Once the whole restaurant had gone back to eating, she continued, "As I was saying, I don't understand why he's targeting council members. If he wants to take out those responsible for the deaths during the Equalist revolution, then wouldn't it make sense to target Hiroshi Soto above all? Not that I want him to kill Asami's dad, but it would make more sense."

"Korra, we're talking about a guy who runs around wearing a skull mask claiming to be an elite soldier from a dead order. Not much about him makes sense."

He's got me there.

"Hey, Avatar Korra, over here!" the two suddenly heard someone call

They turned their heads towards the entrance, where a girl, who was not much older than Korra, wearing a metal headdress, a heavily armored green kimono, and white face paint. The girl waved at them excitedly, and then cart wheeled over towards where Korra and Mako were sitting.

"She's the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors?" Korra whispered to Mako, staring at the cheerful girl in disbelief, "But she's so… so…."

"Happy," he finished, taking a calm sip of his tea.

Mai Lee took the empty seat and greeted them cheerfully, "Hiya! I'm Mai Lee, leader of the Kyoshi Guard! Or Warriors! Whatever you guys wanna call us!"

"Um, hi Mai Lee," Korra said awkwardly, becoming more and more nervous about the upcoming fight every second, "I'm Korra, and this is Mako."

Mako waved to her, causing Mai Lee to blush slightly. She smiled back at him innocently, and then said to Korra "Wow, avatar, you really know how to pick 'em"

ACH! This is the woman who's going to help us protect Yi Ming?!

Mako saw Korra's increasing distress, and decided to move the conversation forward before she had a nervous breakdown. "So, Mai Lee, how many Kyoshi guards did you bring with you?"

"Oh, there are three of us here!"

Mako almost spit out his tea. "Only three!"

Mai Lee nodded happily, completely unaware of Mako's impending aneurism, "Yep, just three! But three is all you need to take care of this clown. Don't worry, Avatar, with our help, this Arbiter guy won't stand a chance!"

"What makes you say that?" Korra asked, a bit surprised with the young woman's confidence.

"You said he's a fire bender, right?" Mai Lee asked rhetorically, "Well each Kyoshi warrior is trained in the art of chi blocking! He won't be able to use bending after we hit a couple pressure points."

"What about the swords? From what we've gathered, he's an expert fighter, even without his bending. Hell, for most of the time he's been at large, we didn't even know he could bend," Mako brought up, still a bit worried about the outcome of their next fight.

Mai Lee's smile didn't even falter, though, "Duh, he may be a good fighter, but so are we! And there are three of us, and one of him. Plus, we have the avatar on our side, so I'd say Mr. Arbiter practically has his ticket punched already!" The Kyoshi warrior leaned back in her chair confidently, "Don't worry, I'm sure that we'll have his arms as weak and ineffective as wet noodles before the fight even begins, speaking of noodles…"

The leader of the Kyoshi guards grinned eagerly as Maya approached their table, holding a platter with three bowls of seaweed noodles. She set down the platter and distributed lunch to each of them, and then tucked it away under her arm. "Mai Lee, it's good to see you again," she greeted

Korra didn't think Mai Lee's smile could get any wider, but she was quickly proven wrong the instant she heard Maya's voice. "MAYA!" Mai Lee jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around the poor woman, squeezing the air out of her "Oh, it's so good to see you too!"

"You two know each other?" Korra asked

Mai Lee nodded, finally releasing Maya. "Yep! Believe it or not, Maya used to live on Kyoshi with us! She was even part of the guard for a little while!"

Korra looked to Maya, who confirmed Mai Lee's story with a nod. "It's true. I'm actually quite the fighter!"

"But then you left us and went off to Republic City without warning," Mai Lee said, frowning playfully at Maya, "Why did you do that anyways? You scared us all half to death!"

"I'm sorry, but I found an new calling here."

"A noodle restaurant?"

Korra could have sworn Maya avoided their glance for a split second. "Yeah…" she responded weakly, "the noodle restaurant."

Mai Lee seemed content with her answer and gave Maya another quick hug. "Well, whatever makes you happy!"

"Ehem," Mako said, "It was nice meeting you and all, Maya, but we really need to be getting on with this meeting."

"Oh, that's right!" Mai Lee exclaimed, "Sorry Maya, we'll have to catch up later!"

"It's fine," Maya laughed, "I have to go pick something up for a friend in a bit anyways." The blonde woman gave a small, polite bow to Korra, and then walked back into the kitchen to take other orders.

Once Maya was out of sight, Korra asked Mai Lee, "Alright, so what's the plan?"

Much to Mako and Korra's distress, Mai Lee simply shrugged in response as she slurped up her drunk with a straw. She finished the peach juice with a satisfied sigh, and then said, "I assumed we would just stand around the old man and wait. When the Arbiter shows his face, we'll try and cripple him, and then you go all eye glowy avatar state on him."

Mako and Korra both suddenly found the floor very interesting, as their gazes dropped guiltily. Mai Lee looked at them in confusion. "What's wrong? Did I say something offensive?" she asked nervously

"No," Korra responded, "It's just that… it's just I…"

"Korra hasn't mastered the avatar state," Mako told her bluntly

"What?! But, but you're the avatar! That's what you do!" Mai Lee shouted, once again disturbing the restaurant's peace.

"Keep it down," Korra hissed, waving apologetically at all the perturbed costumers, "I know it's bad, but I thought that with you guys on our side, I wouldn't really need it."

"What are you talking about? Of course it's important!" Mai Lee snapped, suddenly a bit more on edge, "How are we supposed to take away his bending?"

The three thought for a bit, and then Mako suggested, "Well there is always blood bending."

Both Mai Lee and Korra stared at Mako in disbelief. "You're joking, right?" Mako looked completely serious, though. "No, I'm not blood bending," Korra told him, "If I blood bend, then I'm no better then Amon. I won't stoop to that level."

"The guy's been practically asking you to stop him," Mako countered, "Didn't you hear that announcement? He thinks you don't have what it takes to protect the nation, well I say we show him that you do."

"I'm not blood bending, and that's final."

Mako threw his hands up in fake submission and growled, "Well then you're going to have master the avatar state, because I don't see any other way around this. I don't see any other way to stop this man from hurting you." The short-tempered fire bender then stood up from his seat and stormed out of the restaurant.

"Mako, come back here!" Korra called, but he was already too far away. She sighed in frustration and turned to Mai Lee. "I'm sorry, Mako's a little on edge right now."

"No, it's alright, he has the right to be after all that's happened." Mai Lee stood from her seat and put down a couple of yuans for her meal. "You better make a decision quickly, though, Korra, because we're running out of time and councilmen." She then left out the same door Mako had, leaving Korra alone at the table.

Pain. Absolute pain. Searing awful terrible pain. Horrible, unbearable, mind numbing agony.

The Arbiter clenched his jaw as he pulled up his mask and fell to his hands and knees on the floor of his makeshift headquarters. With a violent cough, he threw up blood on the ground. The Arbiter stared at the mess under him, blood still dripping from his mouth. His past was catching up to him, and fast.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid," he scolded himself as he wiped the blood from his lips, "You got cocky, overconfident." He let out a deep cough and more blood splattered on the floor. "Should have done it yourself."

"Come on," he muttered as he tried to stand, his knees wobbling as he rose to his feet. "Don't give out on me yet." It felt as if his whole body was on fire, like the flesh was being slowly roasted off him. The Arbiter stumbled into the wall and had another violent coughing fit, spitting blood all over the sides of the dim room.

"Where is she," he asked himself, "she should have been here a while ago!"

Images began to flash before his eyes, the same visions he saw every time he tried to sleep: a small village, a raging fire, a mighty crash of thunder, and a skull with blood red eyes. The Arbiter's head began to throb, his vision slowly growing more and more hazy.

The Arbiter lost his footing again and fell into the table, knocking it over and sending all the papers he had laid out into the air. He choked up more blood as he began struggling to stand up, seeing black spots as he did. His head was burning and his bones felt as if they were deteriorating, splintering off into nothingness.

He clenched his fists angrily and slammed them on the stone floor. Blood continued to run from his lips, as well as from his nose. "No," the Arbiter snarled with determination through gritted teeth. He gathered all his strength and attempted to stand, over and over again, "I have NOT come this far… to die… now…"

Suddenly, he heard the click of the door unlocking, and a feeling of relief washed over him. Maya opened the door and walked in, holding a bag full of food and other necessities in one arm. She turned to lock the door behind her, not noticing her friend's condition.

"So I got you some more chocolate," she told him as she finished locking the door, "and some other things too."

"Maya…" the Arbiter rasped, quickly pulling his mask back down over his face, trying even harder now to stand up so that she wouldn't have to see him in such a state.

"What's wrong, you sound terr- AHH!" Maya dropped the bag and rushed over to the Arbiter as soon as she spotted him. "Spirits, what happened here?"

The Arbiter pointed weakly towards the brown bag and wheezed, "The…pills…"

Maya immediately recognized what he was talking about and rushed over to the bag, searching for the strange bottle he had requested earlier. "I'm so sorry," she told him as she frantically tore through the bag, almost on the verge of crying, "If I had known you needed them so badly, I would have-" she stopped when she found the small bottle of medicine. The Arbiter watched as Maya quickly uncapped it and dumped two pills onto her hand. She quickly rushed over to the Arbiter's side, swearing under her breath as she did. With a trembling hand, Maya cupped his face, gently lifting it up his mask so only his scarred mouth was revealed.

"Here you go," she said tenderly, feeding him both pills. The Arbiter swallowed down both pills dry, then shuddered with relief.

After about ten minutes, he was able to stand again and was no longer coughing up blood. The Arbiter seemed completely fine, unlike Maya, who was completely and utterly terrified. "What the hell was that?!" she yelled at him, "Why didn't you tell me you've been throwing up blood!"

"Just an occupational hazard," the Arbiter answered as he struggled to het to his feet.

Maya slapped him across the face as soon as he could stand and snapped, "Don't you dare joke with me! You would have died if I hadn't come soon!"

The Arbiter simply straightened his mask calmly, acting as if nothing had happened. "But you did, and that's all that matters."

"Arbiter" Maya pleaded in a concerned tone of voice, "What is happening with you? Why were you coughing up blood?"

The Arbiter sighed. He figured that she would find out sooner or later, so this talk should have been expected. Eventually, he would have told her, when the time was right. He just wished that he didn't have to explain it to her now. "I have a bit of a condition, as you might call it. Remember when I first met you, I said that I had returned from the grave to finish my mission." Maya nodded, and the Arbiter continued, "Well it didn't take me long to realize that resurrection has certain side effects, side effects that, if ignored, will end up making your second life rather short. The medicine you got me helps keep those nasty side effects at bay."

"Have you been keeping yourself alive with these?"

The Arbiter nodded. Maya began to tear up as the realization of the Arbiter's inevitably short lifespan hit her. "Come on kitten," he put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "You didn't think I'd be here forever, did you? Unless I can find some sort of miracle cure, I won't be able to fight it off for more then a year."

"You're... going to-"

The Arbiter cut her off, "Don't worry your pretty head about me. I'll be fine for now, and after this is all over we can look for something to ease my condition."

Maya snarled angrily, suddenly filled with a feeling of betrayal and rage, "You think I can just walk off what I saw! I just saw you cough up blood, Arbiter! How can I not be worried?"

"Kitten-"

"No, don't you dare kitten me!" Maya threw the plastic bottle of pills at him. "Why wouldn't you tell me this? You think you can just keep something like that a secret? I know you like to be all mysterious, but you almost died because of me!"

"Maya, you aren't the one who did this to me," the Arbiter told her, cupping Maya's cheek reassuringly, "This happened to me a long time ago. If I had died, it would have been no one's fault but my own."

"Please, tell me what happened," Maya took his hand into hers and looked the Arbiter straight in his demonic eyes. She couldn't read his expression. As usual, his black and red eyes stayed cold and focused, devoid of anything human. They betrayed nothing about him, no past, no thoughts, no feelings, nothing. Just a second ago, he was barely able to stand; coughing and throwing up blood everywhere. But now he was acting as if nothing had ever happened.

The Arbiter looked away guiltily after spotting the distress in Maya's expression. "Maybe some other time," he told her, trying to get his lovely assistant to drop the subject, "But for now, do you have the other supplies I asked for?"

Maya sighed in disappointment and went back over to the bag she dropped. "Yeah, I got everything you asked for." She stooped over and picked up all the things she had flung to the side while looking for the Arbiter's pills, while he went back to where his table once stood and sat in his chair, waiting for the pills to take their full effect. As he watched her clean up the mess she had made while searching for his pills, The Arbiter felt a twang of guilt. He knew he couldn't just leave Maya with nothing, especially after all she had done for him.

At that moment, he made decision to tell her something that he swore he wouldn't tell anyone. "Ronin."

"What?"

"Ronin," he coughed out again, "That is, or was, my name. Ronin."

Maya smiled. His name, at least it was something.

Tenzin, Korra, Mai Lee, councilman Yi Ming, and councilman Nanuq all sat around the round table in the private meeting room of the City Hall. Being head of the council, Tenzin believed it was his duty to call together what remained of the council to discuss the Arbiter issue in greater detail.

Korra didn't quite understand why she had to sit through another meeting, since she had already met with Mai Lee at Naruk's Noodlery that very morning. But she understood the council's concern, since they were the ones being targeted. Korra also understood that some sort of plan had to be put into motion. The Arbiter would be coming for Yi Ming's head tonight, and they all had to be ready.

The earth kingdom councilman seemed more relaxed then she had expected. He was propping his feet up on the table and munching idly and without a care in the world. The loud munching seemed to be annoying the other council members, but Korra found it somewhat soothing to know someone was confident that they could stop the Arbiter. But the other two council members were already annoyed by Mai Lee's tardiness, and Yi Ming's inability to take anything seriously only further perturbed them.

After five straight minutes of loud munching, Nanuq finally snapped. "Will you PLEASE stop eating rock candy and focus?! This is YOUR neck on the line, you stupid bafoon!" He shouted, slamming his fists on the table.

Yi Ming stopped crunching for a second, staring incredulously at him, and then went right back to loudly eating. Nanuq growled angrily, his fists tighteneing and his knuckles white. Tenzin merely groaned and shook his head at the relaxed councilman. "While I don't agree with Councilman Nanuq's tone, I do believe you should be taking this a little more seriously, Yi Ming," he told the earth kingdom councilor in an annoyed tone of voice.

Korra was actually surprised when she saw Yi Ming swollow the rock candy in his mouth, and place the rest down on the table. He then cleared his throat and said, "I have complete faith in my earth bending abilities. I'm not as helpless as poor Ulva," He laughed crazily, "Plus, I have the avatar and the kyoshi warriors on my side! If that isn't garunteed protection, I don't know what is!"

Korra thought it was nice to see someone had faith in her, but councilor Nanuq obviously didn't agree. "If you think that you are safe just because the child is watching you, you're an even bigger fool then I thought!" he shouted, "The avatar watched over Ulva and look what happened!"

Well, it's nice to see you hold me in such high regard, Korra thought, somewhat slumping back into her seet. Tenzin noticed Korra's distress and decided to step in. Tenzin noticed Korra's distress and decided to step in. "Nanuq, what do you believe we should do, then? If you have an idea as to how we can stop the Arbiter, please don't hesitate to speak up."

"In fact, I do have an idea," Nanuq stood from his seat and slammed his hands against the table again, dramatically. "Allow me to take charge of finding the Arbiter. We will get nowhere staying on the defense! I will mobilize the police force and we will actively hunt this scum down."

Even though Korra didn't like councilman Nanuq, he brought up a good point. The best defense was a good offense. If they keep the Arbiter on the run, he may not be able to target any more people. As Korra looked around the room, she saw that the other two council members seemed to be in agreement with Nanuq.

All of a sudden, the door burst open and in cartwheeled Mai Lee, along with two other girls walking behind her. Following the Kyoshi guards was Chief Beifong, who wore a sling around her left arm and had her forhead wrapped. Mai Lee quickly jumped into her seat and apologized fervishly, "I am so sorry that I'm late! You haven't finished the meeting already, have you? Is it over! Did the Arbiter already come?!"

"Mai Lee!" Tenzin barked, shutting the bubbly warrior up. He took a deep breath and then assured her that she was not late, and that their meeting had just begun. Mai Lee sighed with relief when she heard this, even though she had two aggravated councilmembers glaring at her. Tenzin then turned to Lin and asked, "Chief Beifong? I didn't know they had let you out of the hospital so early."

"They didn't," Lin snarled, obviously still infuriated with what happened at Ulva's manor, "But I wasn't going to sit by while the man who killed fifteen of my officers run free any longer."

"Well you are just in time, Chief," Nanuq told her, motioning to an empty seat next to him, "We were just discussing how we should take the fight to the Arbiter, organize a man hunt to track him down and bring him to justice."

Lin Beifong rubbed her temples thoughtfully with her only good hand, considering Nanuq's suggestion. She then told them, "That would be impossible, councilman Nanuq. To hunt down one man in all of Republic City would take time that we don't have, and resources we can't afford. I can't pull that many police off their posts to search for the Arbiter."

"But we were able to track down Amon, and he was just one man," Korra said hopefully. "Hell, even Mako, Bolin, and I found him on our own."

"Amon had a huge group of followers, which made him fairly easy to track," Lin said to Korra, "He wasn't exactly a subtle man, with all his equalist rallies and public appearances. But the Arbiter is just one man, and as far as we know, he's working alone. He doesn't have any known associates we can interrogate, nor do we have any idea where his hideout could be."

Lin was right, and everyone knew it. Tracking down one man in such a large city would be like trying to find a specific grain of sand on Ember Island. It simply couldn't be done. If the man had no one that they could link to him, then they had no hope of finding him.

"Right now, it makes no difference. We are meeting here for one reason, and that is the protection of councilman Yi Ming," Tenzin announced, shifting the meeting's focus back on track.

Lin nodded in agreement, "Exactly, and for that, the Kyoshi guards and I have come up with the perfect plan."

Korra leaned foreward in her seat, eagerly waiting to hear Lin's plan. "We will send out several vehicles, each of them identical to the other. In one of them, we will place Yi Ming. The others will be empty, but still guarded by a number of policemen. One of the decoys will be watched over by avatar Korra, another will be watched by the Kyoshi warriors. The vehicle containing Yi Ming will be guarded by a group of the force's finest, along with the two brothers that Korra is friends with." Lin explained, showing the different drawn routes on a Republic City map.

"This is a good plan, Lin. I commend you for it," Tenzin commented. Yi Ming gave the police chief a bashful thumbs up, while Nanuq stayed silent and reserved. Korra was excited about the plan, herself. It was perfect! The Arbiter would never know which sotomobile holds Yi Ming. It could push things in their favor. But then, she remembered what she had heard from Asami last night.

"With those eyes, he is able to see the spirit of every living being, making him a formidable hunter."

Korra's eyes widened with the realization. The plan won't work! The Arbiter would be able to see if the car had Yi Ming in it with a single glance. She quickly stood to her feet and blurted out, "We can't!"

Everyone stared at her as if she had gone insane, causing Korra to shrink a little bit back into her seat. "I mean, we can't," she repeated, this time in a quieter voice, "The Arbiter will know exactly where Yi Ming is. It would take him no time at all to find the councilman."

"How?" Tenzin asked, "Lin's plan seems quite flawless. But if you really object to her idea, please explain."

Korra nodded and began to make clear the flaw in Lin Beifong's idea. "I'm sure you all know that the Arbiter has a strange eye coloration, right?"

The entire room nodded, it would be impossible for them to forget those black and red eyes, even if they had only seen the picture. Korra continued, "Well I did some research last night and found something that may present a problem. His eyes, they allow him to see the soul of every living person."

For a couple seconds, the whole room was silent. Everyone was now completely sure Korra had gone insane. The young avatar kept her composure, though, to show that she was being dead serious, and that her claim wasn't so outlandish.

Finally, chief Beifong broke the silence. "See people's souls?" she said back to Korra, each word dripping with skepticism.

"Yes," Korra confirmed, "Believe me, I was just as shocked. But upon further thought, I realized that it made perfect sense. Think about it, how else would he be able to aim and bend lightning directly towards the police blimp without knowing where it was? It could have been a locky shot, but it's also possible that he was able to see the people in it, and aim accordingly."

The avatar felt a little depressed when she saw everyone was so shocked that she could actually present reasoning to back up her point. "Wow, that's scary," Mai Lee said in a hushed voice.

"That's fine," Lin spat, crumpling up the map with all the routes she had drawn out, "But I still think we should keep him moving. Fortifying the manor obviously didn't work last time, and I think that Yi Ming will be harder to get to if he's in an armored vehicle and moving down every major street."

"So you intend to koop me up in a sotomobile when I could be helping the avatar take this bastard out!" Yi Ming shouted. Korra had seen this coming, and so had everyone else. Yi Ming was a proud earth bender, and would refuse to stay on the sidelines even if his life depended on it.

"Councilman Yi Ming, please restrain yourself," Tenzin calmly told the fired up earth bender, "While we have no doubt in your ability to defend yourself, this city needs you safe as possible. The council simply cannot risk loosing another member."

"So we sit around and cower behind our soldiers while the Arbiter takes us out! I will not hide behind Republic City's finest while they fight my battles!"

"Yi Mi-"

"NO! I am no coward Tenzin. What will you do when this man comes for you and your family? Will you just hide your face, or will you stand up and fight like a man!"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned their attention to Korra, who was standing up from her seat, knuckles clenched and breathing heavily. She was fine with Yi Ming trying to protect his honor, but bringing Tenzin's wife and children into this madness was simply unaccpetable. "Stop thinking about your precious dignity for a minute and consider the people!" she shouted, pointing accusingly at the now shrinking earth councilor. "They need you to be alive and well to govern the city, and that won't happen if you're killed by the Arbiter! And believe me, if you try and stand up against him, you will be killed. Now you can attack the Arbiter head on as proud as ever and get killed, or you can get in the stupid truck and STAY PUT!"

Once again, Korra's behavior at the meeting had shocked everyone. No one had expected such a passionate and brutal outburst from the avatar. But something about the thought of Tenzin and his family being in danger had caused her to snap. Tenzin was just as much family as her own mother and father, and just the thought of someone she loved being killed by the masked psychopath was too much to bear.

"Maybe you should take a deep breath, Korra," Mai Lee suggested, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder. Korra took her advice and let out a drawn breath as she sank back into her seat.

Tenzin gave Korra a look of concern, asking her with his eyes if she was alright. She merely nodded back, even though she felt as if she was about to burst. All this time, Korra had forgotten that Tenzin could very well be the Arbiter's next target. If he killed Tenzin, she didn't know what she would do.

"Councilman," Lin addressed Yi Ming with a voice, as cold as ice, "You will stay put inside the armored vehicle. You will allow us to protect you from the Arbiter. And under no circumstances will you put your life or the lives of others at risk by trying to be a hero."

Yi Ming bowed his head submissively at the chief of police's demands. Korra sighed a bit with relief, it was nice to know that at least someone could keep the man in line. "Korra," Lin said, turning her gaze to the young avatar, "You will be riding along side the truck with your two friends. The Kyoshi guards will all be split up, each in a different car with officers of my choosing."

"Got it," Korra affirmed, giving Lin a curt nod.

"If all goes well, we'll have this bastard in shackles by tomorrow," Lin said. She then turned around and left the room without another word.

After the door slammed shut behind her, Mai Lee giggled, "Wow, her aura is REALLY strong!" Korra simply rolled her eyes at the Kyoshi master's remark. Mai Lee is an interesting girl…

Tenzin was the next to leave, announcing that his wife would murder him if he wasn't at home for dinner. After the airbender exited, all that was left was Korra, Mai Lee, and Nanuq, who was glaring at the avatar from across the table.

His judging eyes made Korra's sking crawl in the worst kind of way. What is this guy's problem? He's been like this during the whole meeting! Why does he look at me with such suspicion? Korra thought. She decided that she wasn't going to let the councilman push her around, so she glared right back at him. The tension between the two was tangible, so thick one could cut through it with a knife. Mai Lee watched helplessly as the two stared each other down, as if they were sizing each other up for a fight. "You know, glaring like that is bad for your skin," she whimpered helplessly, trying to stop the two. But she was ignored.

"Is something troubling you councilman?" Korra sneered

"Let's just say that I'm concerned with the direction your influence is taking this city."

Then, just as he had done when he was first elected, Nanuq stood from his seat and walked out of the room, leaving Korra to ponder what he had meant. Mai Lee jumped out of her chair and cartwheeled over to Korra, who was staring at the door Nanuq had left through.

"He's not very nice…"

"No, Mai Lee, no he's not."

.

A/N: Just so you all know, Ronin means Samurai without a master. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!