Korra's gaping mouth turned into a wide grin, as she ran towards her firebending master "Yuze!"
Yuze chuckled as she shook her head then she walked to meet the Avatar halfway. Korra was about to hug the firebender when the said person suddenly sidestepped and brought her knee up to strike the Avatar in her gut. The Avatar groaned as she staggered back, she looked at her with wide eyes as she clutched her stomach, and then her eyes narrowed.
The corner of Yuze's lips turned upwards as she subtly positioned her one foot behind, "I thought we were already okay about your reflexes?"
Korra furrowed as she understood what her smirked and subtle moves meant and positioned herself.
"What's happening? Why did that lady suddenly attack Korra?" the young girl who's second to the oldest asked.
"Maybe she's a bad lady," the boy, names Meelo growled.
"I don't think so. Korra called her Sifu Yuze, so I think they knew each other," the oldest said.
"Dad who is she?" the middle questioned their father who was walking towards them.
"That lady, Ikki, is Yuze, the firebending master of Korra," Tenzin said as he got near his children while watching the two women observe each other.
"Why we don't know her?" the oldest, Jinora, asked.
The kids saw a flash of emotions to their father but it also disappeared immediately, "Let's just say she has so much fear and wounds that can't be easily healed. That she chooses to build a wall and not let anyone around get closer to her."
"What do you mean, dad?" Jinora asked her father. "What happened to her?"
Tenzin looked at her daughter and back to the firebender, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Jinora. It's not my story to tell."
"Will she be okay?" Jinora asked, her eyes shown empathy.
Tenzin smiled down at his daughter before he return his gaze at Yuze, "When the right time comes, she will. And I could see her gradually healing, so no need to be worried."
Jinora looked at him for a few seconds before she nodded and looked back at the two women.
The master and the former student looked at each other eyes, waiting for the others to make the first move. Then as the bird who was passing by chirped, the two launched to each other. Korra threw the first punch and Yuze leaned away to avoid getting hit and kicked in return which Korra deflected with her arm. Yuze ducked under Korra's high kick and threw a left hook which the former avoided when she leaned back. The two exchanged blows until Yuze landed a punch to Korra making the teenager stagger back but before the Avatar could recover the older woman jumped and gave Korra a roundhouse kick making the teenager throw back.
Yuze watched as the Avatar slowly got up while groaning, and then she laughed when she saw the dark expression on the teenager, "What's with that face?" she put her hands on her waist and leaned forward, "Did I stroke your ego of being avatar?"
Korra growled and stomped her feet making a pillar of earth rise from the ground and kicked a portion of it towards the firebending master.
Yuze leaned to the right to avoid the flying rock, "And now you're using bending? Why? I thought we have an unspoken rule whenever we spar under these circumstances?"
Korra ignored her and continued kicking the pillar which the firebender dodged easily, however, while the latter was busy avoiding flying rocks, the Avatar ran towards her and jumped with her feet in the air, and as she brought it down fire spurted from it. Fortunately, Yuze sensed the heat and she rolled to the ground to the left then she moved left and right to avoid getting hit by any fire that the avatar threw at her.
"Why are you not using your bending? I thought you were a prodigy!" Korra yelled as she shot out fire from her fist.
"Do I have to? I can beat you with nothing but my hands!" Yuze yelled back in the middle of flipping and leaping.
Korra screamed out of frustration making the firebending master amused. Then Korra pulled up all she had on her sleeves. She stomped her feet and a rock came flying. She kicked it, sending it to the firebender and she did it three times. Then she bent the water from the pond near her and turned it into multiple ice knives then she lunched it towards the firebender. Yuze avoided most of them but two. The master winced as she felt the pain and the blood dripping from her arm and leg. But she hasn't enough time to take a breath as Korra sends a fire which the latter avoids by ducking. Korra continues attacking Yuze with the three elements while the latter avoids them.
"Dad?" Meelo asked as they watched the two women fight from afar to avoid getting hit by any of Korra's attacks.
"Hmmm?" Tenzin hummed as his eyes were on the two, observing and studying them, particularly Yuze, to learn how the firebender taught the avatar so he could get an idea of how to deal with Korra.
"You said that that lady was Korra's firebending master?"
"Yes, she was," Tenzin answered as he looked down at his son, who was watching the two with a crumpled face.
"Then why does she only dodge and not attack? I understand if she does it on the other elements, but she also does it with fire, her very own element which she could deflect or make disappear," Meelo said, there was a hint of disappointment and frustration in his voice, "Are you sure she's a bender?"
"Meelo!" Tenzin chided, "And yes, she is a bender."
"Then why she's not bending?" Meelo tilted his head.
"From what I know," Tenzin looked at the firebender who leaped in the air to avoid the two rock flying to her, "This is how Yuze tell Korra that even if she's the Avatar and the most powerful in the world doesn't mean she's invincible and underestimate the non-benders."
The kids turned to the firebender master with curiosity, but there was also excitement there. They can't wait to know who and what person Yuze is.
Korra thrust her arm out with her fist facing her firebending master and punched it, making two swirling fires erupt from it, a move she learned from her teacher.
Yuze was about to leap out when she couldn't move her feet. She looked down and saw that her feet were encased with rock. She looked up and saw that it would hit her just in a matter of milliseconds. She had no choice but to use her bending if she didn't want to have a burn mark. She lifted both of her arms, then she brought down one of her arms while she lifted the other one. The fire that Korra shot came upward.
Before the avatar could even attack again, Yuze gathered the energy around her and shot the rock that restraining her feet with precise control, just enough for her to escape and not get hurt.
"Oh, so she is a firebender," Meelo commented, his siblings shot a blank expression at him but he just shrugged it off.
Yuze rolled to the ground to avoid the projectile rocks then she lifted her foot and brought it down, producing a blue fire. Korra lifted her arm to make a rock wall as a cover.
"Wait, blue fire?" Ikki questioned as she rubbed her eyes and blinked again, "I thought only the royal family could produce that kind of fire?"
"That's incorrect. Yes, the royal family has more tendency to have the ability to produce blue fire, but that doesn't mean people who have no royal blood in them are not capable of doing it. Though rare, it's possible for normal citizens to have this ability," Tenzin explained.
'Though I wouldn't say Yuze is normal, 'cause she's far from it,' Tenzin thought.
"I wonder who trained her," Jinora said. "Cause having ability like that needed a master who's capable to teach her how to control it."
"Actually, Lord Zuko and Fire Lord Izumi trained her themselves," Tenzin said, making the three airbenders' heads whipped towards him.
"Really?!" the three kids asked with wide eyes. Tenzin chuckled at his children's reaction and he nodded.
The airbending kids turned their heads again to the firebending master in awe.
Korra punched the rock wall making the debris fly away, Yuze bent her back to avoid getting hit, and at the same, she took a deep breath, and when she straightened herself once again she opened her mouth and blue fire came out from it.
"Woah!" the airbender kids exclaimed, and while this was not the first time Tenzin had witnessed her fire breathing, it still amazed and fascinated him.
Korra lifted her arm and spread it out to split the flame in half. Then Yuze dashed toward the Avatar. She dodged Korra's punches and blocked her kick, and when the teenager thrust her arm to punch her. Yuze leaned to the side and grabbed the Avatar's arm and in a matter of seconds they were already on the ground, Korra's arm locked between Yuze's thighs.
"Say it, Avatar," Yuze demanded.
"Argh! No!" Korra yelled, wiggling her body in the hope of freeing herself from her former teacher's grasp.
Yuze pulled Korra's arm making the teenager to screamed, "Okay! Okay! I give up!"
Yuze had a satisfied look on her face as she let Korra go. Korra bent her back producing a cracking sound as she groaned at loud.
"Once again, for the 123rd time, I won," Yuze smirked, "It's really great to beat the Avatar multiple times."
But Korra gave her own smirk, "But I think the time when I'll beat you is coming near."
Yuze raised an eyebrow, "Why is that?"
Korra is now smiling smugly, "Because I made you use your bending for the first time."
Yuze huffed, "Of course, I would because you used bending."
"Still."
Yuze glared at her former student, but Korra could tell that it had no heat behind them. That's when a woman came out with a hand on her bulging stomach.
"Oh, what's the White Empress doing here?"
Tenzin froze while Korra gasped as they heard what the newcomer called the firebender. The two simultaneously looked at the firebender who was not moving and just standing still. Her shoulders look tense.
"Mom!" the airbending kids greeted their mother.
"Pema!" Tenzin chided as he kept glancing at the young woman.
Pema looked at her husband, feigning innocence, "What?"
Yuze's hands formed into fists as she looked at the newcomer from her shoulder, her face was devoid of any emotions and eyes looked so cold.
"Didn't I tell you never to call me that?"