Author notes: so with a crazy work schedule, i still am managing this pace. Thanks for your support, i wanted to post monday... but couldn' wait enjoy!

Cold.

Wind.

Ice.

She could feel them all.

The white snow blanketed the ground everywhere around her, slowly turning a dirty gray. The chunks of soot fell from above staining the ground. Fire flew through the sky, scorching the top of the southern village huts. A single young girl ran through the icy snow as she raced back home.

"Mom. Mom, where are you!?"

Katara weaved her way through the panicked villagers as they ran in all directions. The warriors ran passed her to engage the attackers while the others tried to find cover where they could. She however was trying to get back to her home to find who she was looking for.

"Mom! Mom!"

She saw her hut in sight, there was something else that sent a cold shiver up her body. Scorch marks on the blanket covering the entrance inside. Her heart racing, she rushed forward and pulled back the cover. She did find her mother, but she was not alone. She looked up into the cold eyes of a man standing over her.

"Mom..."

"MOM!"

Katara burst up from her bed, panting as her heart raced inside her chest. She gripped her forehead in fear as she tried to calm her nerves. Even though the memory she experienced was from so many years ago, it still managed to surface from time to time. She was just grateful that it stopped before it got any further. After a few moments her breathing finally began to slow, taking in deep inhales to relax her tense body.

"It's just a memory…" She whispered between breaths. "Just a dream." Her eyes glanced over to the new clock she received by her bed, seeing It was already after Eight.

She reached down and grimaced at the shirt she was wearing, now damp from the nightmare she endured. Mumbling to herself, she crawled out of bed and looked around her room. The once barren walls were now lined with different posters of the ocean and of mount Fuji. Her body slowly moved over to the mirror above her dresser as she stared at herself for sometime, her hand coming up to her mothers necklace that she wore. She ran her finger across the gem as her eyes looked up and down herself, seeing that pendant was the only thing she had on that even reminded her of her old life.

"How time has changed, huh…"

It had been just over two months since she had suddenly appeared in Japan. Two months since her life got flipped upside down. She had spent six months of her life battling across the world she knew, fighting off firebenders and creatures most only dreamed of. From the south pole to the north, from Ba Sing Se to the fire nation capital, the entire world she had gone across in that matter of time.

And now, she had spent what felt like just as much time in one place completely new to her. And in terms of action; the most she had was all in the first night of her arrival. Now, her days of fighting were over and replaced with one that she never expected.

Studying.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself. "I didn't ever think books would be my thing I'd be focused most on."

After changing her clothes, she walked out of her bedroom to the living room and looked around for her host. After a few moments she realized that Tensei was already gone, something she had become used to after a while. "Already to the office today." She whispered to herself and sat down on the couch.

She rubbed her forehead and sighed, reaching down and grabbing the remote next to her and flipping on the Television. Of all the things she had discovered over the last few months, this was perhaps the oddest and yet the coolest thing yet. Although her first time trying it out… let's just say it wasn't the best.

Tensei ran into the room as he heard her scream. "What's wrong!?"

Katara was huddled behind the couch as she hid from the TV. "What is going there!? Th-the monsters are eating people!"

Tensei looked up to the screen and sighed in relief. "Oh no, don't worry. It's just a movie. It's not real."

"What!? How, it is right there!"

"It's uhh… it is like a play they make for others to enjoy."

She peeked around the couch to look at the bright screen again before yelping and hiding back behind. "What kind of play is this!? It's horrible!"

"Come on, it's Jurassic park. That's like my favorite movie."

Katara frowned at herself thinking how ridiculous she must have looked to him that day. After several explanations, she began to understand that people watched things on here like how they went to plays to enjoy a story. Once she finally could enjoy it normally, she probably didn't leave the couch for three days burning through film after film. The shock and enjoyment she felt watching these new things kept her so invested she couldn't stop. After a few days though her head began to actually become numb from staring so long at the bright colors. Realizing she couldn't do that, she tried limiting herself to one or two films a day.

As she flipped the channels, she decided to skip a movie and see what was actually going on around the country. She was taught there were real stories, so the first two months it took multiple attempts to remember which channels showed just movies and which were real. She stopped when she came across the news reporting on a building burning in South Kyushu. Her body tensed up when she could see multiple people still stuck inside the upper floors unable to get out.

"As you can see, the fires have spread all throughout the lower floors of the office building, blocking off all exit routes." the news reporter yelled out over the sirens screeching passed her in the background. "If the fire department can't get the flames out fast enough, I don't know how long the people will last inside!"

Katara clenched her fists as she watched helplessly as the flames crept higher and higher, smoke beginning to block out the view of the struggling people from above. "They have to get the fire out soon, or the smoke will get to them first!" She yelled to herself as she scooted closer. She watched in frustration as the fire trucks began spraying their hoses at the inferno, but she got even more mad when she watched the water splashing uselessly off the collapsed metal beams blocking most of the access points to the building.

"They are wasting all of that water. They need to…" She huffed out when she clutched her knees. "If I were there I could control the water to flow inside of there."

Her eyes suddenly caught a blur shoot off through the frame behind the reporter, a gust of wind whipping by her and almost knocking her off balance. Katara watched intently as the newswoman caught herself and looked back up.

"Wait, it seems someone is… Look, there he is!"

Katara stared as the camera turned to see multiple people being yanked out of the building by what looked like tiny, red feathers. Each small item carried an individual by their clothes out from the inferno down towards the street. The feathers all rushed back out of frame, the camera following them until they came upon a young blonde man in a tan jacket and red wings. In his arms he also held two other people as his wings slowed his descent. The fifteen year old water bender could not help but be amazed as she listened to the reporter gasp in shock.

"Amazing! The number three hero Hawks came in just the knick of time to save everyone instantly! He got all the civilians out of harms way before there were any casualties!"

Watching the tv, Katara could hear the cheers of people as they all surrounded the young hero. She couldn't help but smile herself as the pro dropped the people down and greeted all the fans rushing up to him. "I haven't seen him much, but he has a pretty unique power." she whispered to herself. The sudden knock on the door caught her attention and made her turn around.

"Just a second." she yelled out as she made her way over and opened it up, raising her eyebrow to what was in front of her. "Uh, Iida, what are you wearing?"

Tenya Iida was standing there in a gray jacket and what appeared to be a pointy green hat with a white ball on the end. "Why this is a spring hat of course! It is February 21st, meaning winter is almost over and spring has come our way."

She smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Well you sure are excited for the change of seasons I see."

"It is such an important day…" Iida responded with his occasional air chop. "I am at odds how you have never heard of this from where you came from."

Katara sighed and forced a fake chuckle. "Yeah, we were an isolated village."

'yeah, close enough.' she mumbled internally.

"Well, I want to make sure that you enjoy your first holiday change like the way we all do!" Iida stood proud and pointed to his chest. "I shall take you to the spring parade this evening!"

Hearing that actually did make her excited. "A parade? Yeah that sounds pretty cool. What time is it at?"

"it starts at five, but I was curious if you wanted to join me at our families training facility to do some quirk training before."

Her ears lit up hearing him say that. "Your training facility? I've heard your brother mention it several times, but I've never seen it myself."

"Well perhaps he was waiting to show you after he knew you could be trusted there."

The sudden seriousness in his voice caught Katara's attention. She was about to question what he meant but figured it would be better to avoid it. "Yeah, maybe he has been busy, so he hasn't gotten to it yet."

"It is alright. Let us head out now. We can get food on the way."

"Okay, I have to say, burgers may be my favorite thing now."

Katara happily enjoyed her greasy meal as she walked down the road through the downtown of Tokyo, the early weekend morning still void of most people. Iida eyed her odd choice as he sipped is hot chocolate. "I still am shocked how you enjoy these kinds of meals so early in the morning. It is completely out of the norm."

"Hey, I never got to have things like this growing up, I'm going to enjoy it now." She chuckled before taking another bite. She looked up as a light morning mist fell on the two of them. While she wore a light blue jacket, she really enjoyed the cool weather. It wasn't snow, but anything that reminded her of her home was a welcoming feeling she would take as much as she could. Her mind began to think back of the village she came from before Iida interrupted her thoughts.

"So, have your lessons paid off now? I have seen great improvements with you over these months."

She sighed and lowered her food. "They have been good… but I feel like I need a break at the moment."

"What do you mean? These questions are imperative to your studies."

"I know but… how should I say this; Quite difficult."

He turned to her and chuckled. "They aren't that difficult."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Tenya furiously chopped the air as he lectured his struggling student. "Come on, Katara! The square root of four thousand five hundred and fifty is a clearly obvious answer!"

"I can barely multiply ten times ten! How am I supposed to get this!?"

"Don't be a quitter. This is not rocket science!"

She angrily reached up and grabbed her hair. "What the heck is a rocket!?"

"Oh do not be dramatic. That was in the beginning." He grinned as they turned right down the road.

Katara couldn't help but chuckle at his determination to teach her everything. Sure she was never the best (granted she never went to a day of school in her life) but even she was surprised how quickly she picked it up. Although she knew there was so much more to figure out than what she already had learned.

As they neared the facility, Iida continued on with his questions. "So how was your test from last night? Did you finish it?"

She forced out a fake chuckle and rubbed her head. "Well I actually didn't take it yet. I wasn't feeling the best last night."

Iida took another sip and looked forward. "Another late night training session?"

Katara froze in her steps at his answer. "Wait… when did…"

"I was up last night as well. Couldn't sleep." Iida glanced over to her and watched her shocked reaction. "Do you do that often?"

On the spot now, Katara slowly nodded. "Yeah… I do it every few days. I didn't want to be rude to your family by using their pool as a training spot, but I just wanted to continue practicing with my quirk."

"It is not rude at all. If you simply asked they would happily let you do that." he sighed and dropped his empty cup into a nearby trash can. "It's like you don't want to be honest with us."

Now this time Katara definitely noticed the undertone he slipped into his statement there, causing her to glare his direction. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean like from where you really come from."

His question sent a cold chill up Katara's spine when he said that. Her feet froze in place as sweat started to drip down her forehead. "wh-what do you mean?"

Iida sighed and stopped walking as well. "I do not want to pry into your personal life, but I find it strange you have not told the truth about where you come from." he turned and looked her in the eye. "I tried asking Tensei, but he said that your situation was… complicated."

Katara shifted in her spot, unsure what to say as he questioned her. "How… how did you find out?"

"Well… mother and father have not questioned anything, but I had a strange feeling after some of our study sessions. You say you don't have cars, but you recognize tanks. You say you don't have technology like we do, and yet you know what trains are. Even people who don't follow heroes know who All might is, and yet you didn't even recognize his name when I mentioned him one day."

"But I told you that my village is-

"I trust my brother if he chose to let you come here. And I can tell you are a very genuine person." Iida's brow softened as he spoke to her. "I have truly come to call you a friend of mine over the last few months. And I feel terrible for putting you on the spot."

'So why the hell are you?' Katara grumbled internally.

"But…" Iida stood up straight and marched over to her. "As someone who lives with my family, I would feel much more comfortable if we were honest with each other."

Now that she felt like she was cornered, Katara felt her nerves tensing up again. Other than the occasional question about how her culture was different, Tensei never pushed her to reveal more of her past. He always told her he would wait until she was ready. There were many things that even he didn't know, including some of the different abilities her bending could be used for. At this point however, was keeping everything a secret even worth it anymore?

Seeing her turmoil over discussing this situation, Iida realized he may have been pushing too much. "I'm sorry. If there are things that you experienced at home as to why you came here, I shouldn't have tried to make you-

"My mother was killed when I was little."

Iida's heart skipped a beat when he heard that, but before he could respond, she continued.

"My village had been raided for years, and when I was a little girl they came again. It happened so fast, and after I ran to my father for help it was too late." Katara reached down and showed him the necklace she wore. "This is the last thing I have of her. That's why I keep this close, so that I will never forget her."

While he knew she wasn't telling the full story, Iida had no idea that she had dealt with something to this extent. He immediately regretted asking her now. "I-I am deeply sorry for making you bring this up! I shall not make you have to-

"It's alright. It's not your fault..." Katara reached up and grabbed his shoulder. "… you were concerned about who I was and I was not being forward with you. It's not something I really enjoy talking about, that's why."

Iida let out a small breath and smiled. "Well I should be the one apologizing still. If you weren't ready to talk I should respect your privacy. I shall wait until you are ready to talk about it."

As he turned and continued on the sidewalk, Katara still felt guilty that she hadn't told the whole truth to her new hosts. Tensei knew she wasn't from this world, but she still hadn't told him some of the things that she had experienced during the war. And if she was stuck here, should she, or would it just make it more confusing?

She shook her head and followed him down the road, throwing her wrapper away in a nearby trash can. The two walked in silence for a few minutes, not knowing what to say after the somewhat awkward moment. They didn't have to worry about breaking the silence however, for something else would do that for them.

BOOM!

The windows to their right suddenly burst out as four men jumped through the glass. Both katara and Iida fell back in shock as the group of thugs ran down the road carrying bags of cash.

"Let's go boys before some pros show up!" one of the guys in the back yelled as he chased after the others.

Katara felt her anger rise as she watched the group run off. "Criminal trash. Let's stop them!" before she could move however, Iida's arm blocked her path. "What are you doing!?"

"Katara, you can't just engage them! You are not allowed to use your quirks on others!" He exclaimed. "We shall alert the authorities!''

She sneered hearing that from him. "So I'm supposed to just let them get away? Why do I need permission to do what is right!?"

"I know this is frustrating, but you will be in trouble if-

"HELP! PLEASE STOP!"

They both froze to the ear piercing scream and turned to see a woman exit the robbed store. The distraught woman was crying and running after the fleeing criminals. "Please don't hurt him!"

"Him?" Katara's heart began beating faster as she turned back to the criminals, and felt her blood run cold when the leader turned around. "No…"

The head of the group had a small child in his arms, keeping his crab clawed hands on the boys trembling body. He looked around to all the bystanders showing off his prize. "Any of you heroes around here try and come near us, the kid gets it!"

As the criminals took off down the road again, Katara couldn't stand there anymore. Her anger was passed control and she tried to run but was held back. "Iida, let me go!"

"Katara, you can't! If you get close they may hurt the child, so you need to let the pros come and-

"No!" She glared up to him and grabbed his wrist, "I am not standing by when someone needs help!"

She shoved him out of the way and sprinted down the road after the four villains. Even with her friend calling to her, she shut him out and focused forward. "I am not going to be a bystander!"

As the gang rounded a corner ahead, Katara began gathering the heavy moisture in the air and forming several small balls of water around her. When she had a decent amount built up, she launched to forward and latched onto the feet of the straggling thief.

"What the- what is thi-

His voice was cut off by a stream of water engulfing his head and throwing him into the nearby wall. Seeing him knocked out, Katara gathered the water back up and rounded the corner after the others leading to a small alleyway. She ran down and saw the remaining three sprinting down the dirty road. "Hey, Let him go!"

The group stopped and turned to the voice behind. When they saw their pursuer, the smaller one burst out laughing. "Well isn't this cute, a little wanna be hero!"

"Yeah, she looks really dangerous, doesn't she?" The other laughed as his hand suddenly morphed into a small knife.

Katara looked between the two of them, her eyes meeting the scared child's. "It's okay. You'll be okay. I promise."

The young boy nodded slowly, but gasped when the clawed hand reached across his neck. Katara clenched her teeth and stepped forward. "You are sick using a kid as a hostage!"

"Well you should have stayed back like a good little girl…" The man sneered at her, eyeing the water floating around her. "You got my cousin back there, so I won't be set with just giving this boy up."

The other two criminals suddenly noticed they were down a man, there smiles replaced with confusion. "Wait, this kid took out Oji?"

"Yes she did… and she will pay for that."

His claws tightened, eliciting a gasp from the child. Katara raised her hand in fear he could tighten. "Stop! You don't need to do this!"

"Oh I don't? I warned you people not to interfere, and you had to stick your nose in my bus- AGH!"

A sudden ice spike pierced his arm just above his claws, faltering his grip and the boy dropping to the ground. Katara waved her arms around and formed several more behind her body. "Get out of here, run!"

"You stupid bitch!" The angered man ripped the ice spike out of his arm. "I'm going to shove this ice up your ass when I'm through with you!"

"You will regret trying hurt that kid! I'll make sure-

a white blur rushed passed Katara's body fast enough to almost pull her off the ground. She gasped as she dropped her water to balance herself from falling over. She could hear sudden yelps and a mixture of thuds and crashes from the front, then everything went silent. She opened her eyes again to see what caused the sudden gust, but then felt her heart catch in her throat. "It- it's you!"

Standing there was Tensei in his Ingenium costume, his body above the three criminals all unconscious on the ground now. Smoke trailed out of the exhaust pipes from his arms, sizzling against the moist air. To top off the image, the young boy was cradled in his arms, clutching onto the armored hero and smiling.

Katara had to admit she was in amazement. She felt she could have taken on the gang herself, but to see how he took them out in a mere instant was beyond impressive. Now she could see why Tenya looked up to him so much.

"Wow, that was amazing." Katara said as she watched him lower the boy to the ground. She smiled and walked towards him as he reached up to remove his helmet. "You took them out so fast. I don't know if I could have…" Her words fell silent when she saw the face underneath.

One of pure anger.

"Katara… you get back to the house. Now."

The furious tone in his voice caught Katara completely off guard. She stepped back as he stomped towards her. "what? I just help stop those guys. If I didn't slow them down they could have-

"You have no right to get involved in anything like this!" He yelled at her. "Now get back home. NOW!"

The waterbender was frozen in shock and fright as his voice reached a tempo she hadn't heard from him before. "But… I had to…"

He walked back and grabbed the boy by his hand and pulled him through the alleyway passed her. He huffed passed her and shot her a sharp glare. "I'll be there soon to talk."

Alone in the living room for thirty minutes, Katara sat cross armed on the couch. Her thumbs rubbed against her forearms in anxiousness to what was coming her way. She huffed out in a mix of fear and frustration to Tensei coming off on her.

"I did the right thing, though…" She muttered as she shifted uncomfortably. "...I had to do something."

The door coming into the guest home suddenly burst open causing her a startle. Her eyes met with an angered Tensei coming in and slamming the door behind him. He walked over to the counter and dropped his helmet on the top, resting his hands next to it. For what felt like several minutes, he kept his back towards her, staring at the wall behind the sink. Katara could see him taking deep breaths to calm his temper, but how much it was working was the real question.

Before she could say anything, he was the one to break the silence. "I wrote in the report that I engaged the group on my own. I left you out of it."

"Iida, please listen to me…" Katara stood up and walked towards him, "...before you say anything, I need you to understand-

"Understand what?" Tensei clenched his fists as he stared forward. "Tenya called me. Luckily I was still nearby when I answered, or I wouldn't have got there in time."

"I am grateful for helping me, I am." Katara stopped by his side and placed her hand next to his. "I had it under control. I wasn't going to let them hurt-

"And what right did you have to do that?" He turned and stood over her, his harsh stare beaming down. "What would have happened if that kid got hurt, or worse? How do you think that would have turned out for you?"

"I wasn't going to let that happen. I had that situation under control."

"And why did you get involved in that situation?" He stepped closer and held his finger in the air. "The one rule I told you that you cannot forget. You cannot use your quirk on others if you do not have the authority to do it."

Hearing that made Katara's blood boil, the stern girl glaring back at him now. "So I was supposed to wait for someone else to come and stop them? I was there so I did what was right."

"What you think was right is not what was to be done. There are laws that forbid people from doing things like that. The chief made that very clear when he put you in my service. And he warned you not to step out of line. Both of us can be in real trouble if you are caught doing that."

"And that means I can't help him? That kid needed someone to save him, so I got involved!" Katara stepped forward, standing face to face with the pro hero. "I know what was said, but I couldn't just sit there."

"What you wanted to do and what you can't do are different things. You can't do that and then-

"No! I won't sit by anymore when others need my help!" Katara held her ground, her own anger spilling out. "This whole time here I've been told follow the rules, but I will help those who need it. So show me how to."

Tensei was about to counter what she said, but the last sentence caught his attention. "What do you mean 'show me'?"

Katara took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "I will help people, so I need you to show me how to be a hero."

The two of them stared each other down for the next minute, neither knowing who was going to break first. Katara's stern glare looked into Tensei's eyes intently, trying to see what he was thinking. Her hard look changed however when she heard him start chuckling. "What's so funny?"

Tensei's mouth slowly formed into a smile as he leaned back from her. "Now that is what I've been waiting to here."

"Huh?" Katara was perplexed by his sudden change in demeanor, watching him turn and head into his office. "Did you just get into a weird work mood?"

Not responding, Tensei shuffled through the pages on his desk before he came to the one he was looking for. Smiling, he walked back over and held the sheet out for her. "I sent this in back when you first came here, but would only give final confirmation to them once you made the choice yourself."

Confused, Katara grabbed the page from him and glanced over it… before almost dropping it in utter shock. "This… this is… UA High Application for…" She looked back up to him, feeling her heart racing inside her chest. "Katara."

Smiling at her, Tensei crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby table. "I knew eventually you would want to do this. I could tell by your heart. I also know you probably will jump into more situations down the line, so you may as well get the training you will need."

She sat silent as she looked back to the paper, her eyes catching something she didn't notice before. "My name is… Kairi Katara?" she looked at him in confusion, but he simply smiled at her.

"It would be odd if you didn't have more than just Katara, so I made that your family name since everyone will call you that anyway. And you should get used to that first name as well…" He put his hands on his hips and stood back. "The entrance exam is next week."

Author notes: Phew! this one was hard to write for some reason. Glad I am finally done with her set up to this world.

And the reason I chose the first name... Kairi stands for "sea" so its a perfect name for her to take.

And to answer a few things from comments ive recieved, ill say this.

1. other avatar characters wont show up here. this is Katara's journey and story

2. I'll be honest and say the romance portion wont even start till quite later and wont be center of the story... for now. for what i have planned... it will be worth it. trust me ;)

3. pairing is already decided and may shock you how it happens. you'll see.

Next week, the entrance exams!