I cannot believe how long I took with this. Sorry guys. Anyway, I want to focus on developing Korra and Naruto's friendship before going on to canon events. I do plan on it being a pairing, but it won't happen for a long while. Hope you guys this new chapter!

"Normal speak"

Normal thought

"Biju/Spirit talk"

Biju/Spirit thought

Disclaimer: Still applies

Chapter 3: Forming Bond

"Well," Naruto started, "Here we are!"

As Korra entered Naruto's apartment she tried her best to not grimace at the sight.

Throughout the kitchen, there was trash and ramen cups on the floor. Cloths were laid out over the sink and counter. Dirty dishes were inside the sink. Korra didn't even want to think about what the rest of the apartment looked like.

I never thought I'd be so thankful for the White Lotus's annoying lessons on being tidy. She thought.

Naruto saw how Korra looked at everything and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I guess I should say sorry about the mess," he apologized, "I usually never get visitors so I haven't really bothered."

Korra saw the lonely look on Naruto's face and nodded in understanding.

"Still," she started as she continued to look around, "I can't see how anyone can live like this. Don't you have any guardian to help make this place more…well, livable?"

Naruto squinted his eyes and pouted, "Well, it's not my fault nobody tells me these things. I'm pretty much on my own here."

Korra looked at him with shock. She started to assume he was an orphan based on what those bullying jerks said, but she would have thought that he had someone to take care of him.

"What!?" she questioned, "You mean you live in an apartment all by yourself with no one to look after you?"

"Well, yeah. I mean…" Naruto looked off to the side, "Old Man Hokage comes to see how I'm doing from time to time, but that's pretty much it. I used to live in an orphanage, but the lousy caretaker kicked me out when I was five without the Old Man knowing. Once he found out, he fired the caretaker and got me this apartment to live in."

Korra couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Hold on a sec. You were kicked out!? Why?"

Naruto looked down at the ground, "I dunno," he said quietly, "It's been that way for as long as I can remember. All of the grownups would always just glare at me and whisper things about me. Most people won't let me into their stores and parents would tell their kids that I'm some monster and to stay away from me. What frustrates me is that I never know why everyone is so mean to me!"

"I can't believe that," Korra said lost for words, "That's not fair."

Seeing Naruto's darkened mood, she decided to do something about it.

"You know what?" Korra started, "How about I help you clean up this place a little bit?"

Naruto quickly looked up at her, "Really?" he asked amazed.

"Sure," Korra replied, "You obviously need someone to teach you how to take care of yourself more. Why not start with cleaner living space?"

Naruto was astonished for a minute before his face brightened up with a smile.

"Alright! Let's get to work!" he cheered.

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen was busy as always; doing paperwork for hours on end. He nearly chuckled as he thought of the latest development.

Little Naruto becoming friends with the Avatar. Who would've thought. He thought in amusement.

As if reading his thoughts, a voice carried into the room.

"You're playing a very dangerous game Hiruzen," it said.

Said Hokage sighed as the figure with the voice made its way inside the room. The figure was a man the same age as Hiruzen. He was wearing grey and black robes, had black hair, and an x-shaped scar on his chin. He was also walking limp with a cane to support him and his right arm and right eye were covered.

"And what exactly led you to that thought, Danzo?" Hiruzen reasoned, "Would it be Naruto having a friend for the first time?"

"Do not think that I am not already aware of what the young girl is," Danzo replied sternly, "There's no telling how dangerous it can be to have the Avatar near the Nine-Tails jinchuriki."

Lord Third narrowed his eyes, "We don't know that for sure, and we shouldn't by swallowed by worry that much thanks to the Fourth Hokage's seal. I don't expect you take matters in your own hands, do I?" Hiruzen said with a dangerous look on his face.

If Danzo was intimidated, he did a great job of not showing it, "Of course not," he replied, "The last thing the Hidden Leaf needs after the Nine-Tails attack is an incident with the Bending Countries."

Danzo turned around to leave, "Just to give a fair warning, Hiruzen. Be mindful of the risks being placed with the Avatar being here, even if she is not fully realized."

The Third Hokage sighed tiredly. Despite his and Danzo's history as friends, that man never really saw eye-to-eye with his ideals for the village. Though Hiruzen valued Danzo's input on some matters, he was starting to become weary of him.

I may have to keep a close eye on the two children. Perhaps our own wood-style user will be helpful. He thought.

Hokage Monument

After two hours in Naruto's apartment, he and Korra made to way to the top of the Hokage Monument. They spent one hour cleaning up what they could in the apartment and another one with Korra teaching Naruto where to put stuff away. She couldn't believe Naruto was living like this with no one to teach him better.

After that, Naruto brought Korra to the Hokage Monument since it was one his favorite places in the village to go. It consisted of the four faces of the four Hokage who the village so far.

Once they reached the top, Korra couldn't help but marvel at sights from above.

"Wow," she said, amazed, "You can see the whole village from up here."

"Yep," Naruto replied, "I love coming up here a lot. It helps when I want to be by myself or just want to prepare for watching over the village like a Hokage would."

"You're really confident about that aren't you?" Korra smirked.

"Of course!" Naruto yelled proudly, "Like I said, I'm gonna surpass all other Hokage before me and have the respect of everyone in the village!"

Korra giggled at Naruto's enthusiasm before she gained a thoughtful look.

"You know," she started, "I've been wondering why there's a Third Hokage when there are four faces on the monument."

"Oh yeah," Naruto replied, "You see that head with the spikey hair?"

Korra looked toward said stone head, "Mmhm," she replied.

"That was the Fourth Hokage. They say he was legend and the greatest ninja of his time," Naruto said as looked the stone face with determination, "When the monster fox with nine tails attacked the village six years ago, he sacrificed himself to kill it and died a hero."

"Wow," Korra managed to say.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, "He's the one I wanna surpass the most and be seen as a hero by everyone."

Korra spent a few moments staring at Naruto admiring his determination until she noticed his necklace dangling out of his pocket.

"So, do you always keep that with you?" she said putting at the necklace.

Naruto noticed what she was talking about and replied, "Oh, yeah. Old Man Third gave it to saying that it belonged to my mom. He still won't tell me about my parents so this is the closest thing I have to know that I had a family."

Korra noticed the depressed look in his eyes and winced.

"I'm sorry," she said looking away, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's alright," he responded with a smile, "I've gotten used to after a while."

Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened with excitement, "Oh! Hey Korra, there's another reason I like being here. Come on, I'll show ya! It's really cool."

He took off running in another direction.

"Hey!" Korra yelled hurrying after him, "Wait up!"

They soon reached a wooden door on the ground and Naruto opened it up.

"Come on," he said as he went inside. Korra soon followed after him.

They ended up inside of a dark cave of some sort and Korra noticed that there were holes in one side of the wall with light shining through. She soon realized that they were inside the Hokage Monument.

Naruto giggled with glee, "I always thought that this place made a cool hiding spot. It's already great for spooking out tourists or anyone who wanders in here by making spooky voices."

Korra laughed at that thought, "That does sound fun," she said but then struggled to look around in the dark, "But it's so dark in here."

She then proceeded to bend fire on her palm to see better.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed, "You can use fire jutsu too? And without handsigns?"

"It's not jutsu or whatever you call it!" Korra retorted, "It's called bending. What I'm doing right now is firebending."

"Eh? I don't get it," Naruto said, confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Korra asked in a shocked manner, "Don't tell me you never heard of it!"

"Look, I may not be the sharpest kunai in a pouch, but I'm pretty sure I'd know what this 'bending' is if I heard of it!" Naruto retorted with a pout as if offended.

Korra then thought about it carefully. Wait a minute. This is a completely different continent. Master Katara must have been here before if she's friends with the Hokage, but I guess not a lot of people here know about bending.

Korra sighed, "Alright," she started, "I guess I have to explain a lot about."

She proceeded to tell Naruto about the Four Bending Nations, the art of bending, and the role of the Avatar.

"Whoa," Naruto said amazed, "so does that make you, like, the strongest bender or something?"

"Well, it means that as the Avatar, I have the ability to control all four of the elements. Right now, I'm able to control three." Korra responded.

She then demonstrated this as she shot fire out of her fist, caused rocks to float from the ground, and bent water from the air.

"That's totally awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah," Korra replied as she started to frown, "but the problem is I'm not able to airbend. It's probably because I haven't unlocked the 'spiritual side of bending' or whatever that is."

"Spiritual side?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, they say that the Avatar is also supposed to be the bridge between the material world and the spirit world. I'm also supposed to be able to contact my past lives who Avatars before me."

"Why would you want to contact dead people?" Naruto said shivering, "That's creepy!"

"Why do say that? Are you scared?" Korra responded teasingly.

"N-no!" Naruto stammered then turned away while crossing his arms, "I just find it weird and stupid is all."

Korra laughed to this. She couldn't wait to tease him about it in the future.

"Anyway," Korra continued, "I'll have bending teachers to help me, but I have to be kept at that dumb compound back home."

"What's so bad about it?" Naruto asked, curious.

Korra sighed, "I guess it's just that the Order of the White Lotus keeps watching my every move and I'm not allowed to leave very much. It's just a place with walls and rules. Trust me you'd hate it too."

"So it's almost like a prison, huh?" Naruto summed up with a frown.

"Yeah," Korra smiled sadly, "What I really want to do is travel the world like the Avatars before me did. Especially like Katara's adventures with Avatar Aang when he was mastering the elements to defeat the Fire Lord. As long as I'm at that compound, though, I feel like nobody really trusts me to be the Avatar."

Naruto looked at Korra with sadness. He could somewhat relate to that. Despite his dream to be a great shinobi, nobody in the village seemed to think he could amount to that. Heck, no one thought he could amount to anything.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Katara was already inside listening to their talk. She frowned when she heard Korra talk about her life in the compound. Katara didn't really like the idea of keeping her in one place to master the elements. She could understand the paranoia and desire to keep her safe, but she didn't think it was best for Korra's upbringing. She needed to see the world, and not be hidden away from it.

"Alright then," both Katara and Korra were brought out of their thoughts as Naruto spoke, "If that's the case, then you just show them how strong you really are. Just keep working at until you become the best they've ever seen! Believe it!"

Korra was lost for words, "You really think I could?"

"C'mon, you took out bunch of bullies like it was nothing. I'm sure you can handle that Avatar stuff," Naruto said smiling, "Besides, you're hearing this from the future Hokage!"

Korra couldn't help but laugh, "You definitely talk big, but thanks," she said with a sincere smile.

"Don't mention it," Naruto smiled back.

Katara smiled warmly at the scene. You certainly are their son. She thought, as she finally decided to make her appearance.

"You know," she started, "you kids shouldn't be playing around in the dark."

"AAUUGH!" said children screamed in fright.

Korra then recognized the voice, "Hey, Master Katara. What brings you here?" she said nervously.

"Well, the Hokage was kind enough to tell me where I might be able to find you two," Katara replied, still smiling.

Korra rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment and chuckled nervously, "I guess you found me now," she said before gaining a sad look, "Do I have to go back now?"

Katara's smile became more reassuring, "Actually, I was hoping you would introduce me to your new friend."

Korra looked shocked before she began to smile brightly. She grabbed Naruto's arm and brought her closer to Katara.

"I'd like you to meet my friend, Naruto Uzumaki," she introduced, "Naruto, this is my waterbending teacher, Katara."

"Wow, she sure is old," Naruto said without thinking.

Korra grabbed the collar of Naruto's shirt and started to shake him, "Hey! You show some respect!" she shouted, "She's the best waterbending master there is and she even thought the previous Avatar before me, you got that!?"

"Ok, ok quit shaking me already!" Naruto complained before Korra finally stopped.

Katara laughed at the display, "It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto. You seem to be a very nice friend," she said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

Naruto pouted at this while Korra giggled. Just then, both of their stomachs started to growl.

"Well," Katara said, chuckling, "I guess we can't continue this talk on empty stomachs. Let's go find something to eat."

"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but can we go to Ichiraku Ramen?" Naruto asked, getting excited, "They serve the best ramen around!"

"Ichiraku? I think may have heard of it," Katara wondered.

"Well, we can't keep standing around here. Let's go!" Naruto yelled before running off.

"He has a lot of energy doesn't he?" Katara mused.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Korra moaned as she took her master's hand and followed after the hyperactive blonde.

Ichiraku Ramen stand

"This place sure seems small," Korra thought out loud.

The place didn't seem like much to her. It just seemed like small building with several seats with two chefs behind the stand.

"Hey, watch what you say! They serve the best food in the world, believe it!" Naruto shot back with a glare.

He then brought out his money pouch and counted how much he had. Turns out it wasn't much.

"Heh," he said, embarrassed, "I guess I can only order one and a half bowls of ramen."

Katara laughed, "Don't worry about it, Naruto. I'll pay for everybody this time."

Naruto widened his eyes, "Really, Water-Granny?"

"Naruto! Don't call her that!" Korra chastised.

"It's fine, Korra," Katara assured before going in to order.

Naruto ordered pork ramen while Katara ordered miso ramen for herself and Korra. Naruto sat next to Korra and taught her how to prepare to eat ramen.

"…then you bring your hands together like this," he said with Korra following his example, "Then you say, 'Thank for the food!'"

After that, they began to dig in.

"Wow, you were right. This is good." Korra said.

"Of course I am. You'd think I'd lie about good food?" Naruto questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Maybe," Korra responded with a teasing smile.

Katara continued to watch the display between the two. She was happy that the girl finally had a friend to be normal around for a change. Though she was glad that Korra fully accepted her role as the Avatar, she needed learn to be a part of the world not just as the Avatar, but as a person.

"You know," Katara heard the chef speak, "You actually seem familiar, but I can't place it."

Katara recognized the man and smiled, "Well it at has been a long time. I can still remember when you were a young man when you first opened your ramen shop, Teuchi and your Ayame has really grown up."

Teuchi widened his eyes, "Katara! Wow, this is a surprise. What brings you back here?"

"I came for a short visit. Of course it's more for a certain someone," Katara explained as she looked toward Korra, who was busy chatting with Naruto and the chef's daughter, Ayame.

"So, your name's Korra, huh?" Ayame said to Korra, "Are you really good friends with Naruto?"

Korra finished slurping her noodles, "Well, he is a pretty funny kid. We just met today."

"Oh, so he brought you to lunch already," Ayame said, astonished before turning to Naruto, "Finally got yourself a little girlfriend?" she asked in a teasing manner.

Naruto choked on his ramen for a good minute before finally swallowing it.

"Ayame!" he yelled, red-faced in embarrassment.

"Relax, I was only teasing," said girl chuckled while Korra was busy laughing at Naruto.

Said blonde crossed his arms with a huff, "It's not funny," he grumbled.

"So, this little girl is the next Avatar, huh?" Teuchi whispered to Katara.

She nodded, while Teuchi sighed.

"In that case, you have my condolences about your husband," he said sincerely.

"I do miss him dearly," Katara responded with a sad smile, "but I somehow find it refreshing that I can teach a new generation."

"WE FINALLY FOUND YOU!"

The three customers turned around to see several White Lotus sentries with the leading one looking especially ticked off.

"Are these those White Lotus guys you talked about?" Naruto asked Korra, "They sure do have funny-looking hats, almost like cone-heads."

Korra full-blown laughed, while the leading sentry's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Enough," he said, "I think we spent enough time in the village for now. It's time to go back to the South Pole."

"Do I have to?" Korra moaned.

The leading sentry answered with a glare.

"Fine," the young Avatar relented.

"Well, it's been great to see you again, Teuchi," Katara spoke as they started to leave.

"It's great to see you again too," the man responded, "Come see us again when you have time."

"I'd like that," Katara said back.

Naruto could only stare as his new friend was leaving with her master and White Lotus members.

Village Gates

"Thank you for coming to see us off, Hiruzen," Katara said to the Hokage.

"Of course," he happily replied, "I hope to see you again soon. You as well, little one."

Korra didn't seem happy at being called little, but bowed in respect nonetheless.

"Korra!"

Said Avatar looked on to see Naruto running toward her.

He finally stopped in front of her to catch his breath, "So…you're leaving now?" he asked.

"Yeah. I have to go home to continue training there." Korra replied, annoyed at the thought of it.

"Oh, I see," Naruto said in a sad tone and looked down.

Korra frowned, "But don't worry, I'll come back to see you. Right Master Katara?" she asked hopefully.

Her master smiled, "I don't see a problem with that," she replied as she looked to the leading sentry.

The man sighed, "Fine."

"You really mean that?" Naruto asked.

"Sure," Korra replied, "Pinky promise."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Pinky promise," Korra said as she held up her fist with her pinky sticking out, "You hold out your pinky and link it with mine."

"Oh. Like this?" Naruto asked as he followed Korra's example.

The girl nodded and interlocked her pinky with his, "That way, you'll know for sure that I'll come back again."

Naruto smiled brightly, "Alright, then it's a promise," he said "And I promise to get stronger when you come back."

Korra smiled back, "Same here."

When they finally let go, Korra and the others went on their way with their same secret escort.

While riding back Katara talked to her pupil, "So, how did you like your stay at the village?" she asked.

"I enjoyed it. I can't wait to visit him again," Korra replied happily.

Katara smiled.

With Lord Third and Naruto

"Do you think she'll come back soon?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen smiled in response, "I'm sure she meant it, Naruto," he said, "After all, we plan on having her visit from time to time, though not too frequently."

Naruto nodded, "I can't wait to see what Avatar she turns out to be," he said, smiling.

"That reminds me. Naruto, about Korra's identity as the Avatar and the art of bending. Do you mind keeping that between us?"

"Huh? Why?" Naruto asked, confused.

"You never know who might try to come after her because of her status. It's best that less people know to keep her safe. Please, promise you'll keep it a secret." The Hokage pleaded.

Naruto pondered, "Well, she doesn't seem helpless, but I want to keep my friend safe. Alright Old Man, I promise!" he said with confidence.

"Good," Hiruzen smiled.

They both looked in the distance as the White Lotus continued to leave with the Avatar, looking forward their return.

Hope you guys enjoyed. Please review!