Alright, this is a Naruto/Legend of Korra story. Yes I know this chapter is basically a rehash of the beginnings flashback vision but I want it that way. Regardless, please enjoy.

Summary: He had been the first of many. He would teach them what he had known, what he had experienced, what he had seen. He would help them regain the teachings they had lost, and would help them prepare for a better future.

Avatar Naruto. Powerful Naruto. Naruto x Asami x Kuvira

-10000 Years Ago (give or take a eon)-

"Nobody steals from the Chou brothers!" shouted the smallest of said brothers as they chased the blonde troublemaker down the street, waving his pole-arm around. There were three of them and they could be easily told apart just by their height.

"Really?" he asked as he banked around a corner, "Because I just did." It had been a little difficult getting over the wall but after that, it was laughably easy to grab the food and stuff it into the bag. It also helped that the brothers didn't exactly focus on their exercise.

"You're dead, Naruto!" the biggest brother declared.

He saw the balcony in front of him and leapt up onto the rail. "Actually, I feel quite alive." Naruto responded as he leapt backwards into the air. That might've seemed crazy for a regular person but he knew what he was doing. There were lines of clothes being hung out to dry. He reached out, grabbed one, and used it to bounce up into a windowsill. He landed just in time to see the brothers come crashing down all the way to the ground. Glad for the easy cushioning down below, he leapt down and landed easily atop of them. He bounced to his feet and kept running. It didn't take them long to get up and follow him but he knew the city's streets like the back of his hand. He was only a street away from the gate to the outer city.

Once he was there, he could relax a little. The Chou's didn't like stepping outside of the inner city. He saw the entrance, a simple arch, and ran right through it. A flock of birds sat on the bridge beyond the arch but he sent them flying. "Hey, stop!" one of the brothers shouted.

"Yeah, right, like I'm gonna fall for that one again." he thought to himself as he leapt up onto the nearby roof. He kept running across the roofs, leaping down and up them as he went, along with some swinging around just to mix it up. He didn't hear them behind him, which proved his theory about them and the outer city. Once he knew he was safe, he started to slow down into a walk. He saw an open balcony nearby and dropped down to it. Letting his legs rest a bit, he sat down to open the bag.

But before he could even eat the bread roll in his hand, the Chou brothers landed on the same balcony. He froze for a second at the sight of them. He had been certain that they wouldn't come out of the inner city! "He-he-hey, fellas!" he said nervously. "You're just in time for lunch!" Naruto said before he threw the roll at the biggest Chou, hitting him right on the nose. While he was distracted by the pain, he leaped over him to get away, bag in hand.

But as his feet landed on the ground, a pole slammed into his legs, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get back up, he was surrounded. "I told you no one steals from us," the smallest brother said with a victorious smirk, kneeling down so he could look him in the eye.

Before he could even make a retort, the biggest brother grabbed hold of him and lifted him up into the air. All he could do was smile weakly at the big red bruise of a noise staring at him. But that got him thrown into the air over the city walls to the outskirts. The good news for him was that he landed somewhere soft so he didn't get hurt badly. The bad news was that the place happened to be one of the pens where they kept the animals, which was full of mud and muck.

By the time he was able to get out of the pen, wash off the muck, and head back to his house, the sun was setting on the city and the forest around it. His house was a rickety thing of a single leveled house, built around a tree. There wasn't a bed inside or anything that actually made it a home, just a table and some carpets, along with a cup and a jug that could hold tea. But still, it was his home.

When he stepped through the entrance, he saw a young man by the name of Jaya sitting nearby. "Did you steal from the Chou's again?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I got to nothing show for it except a few dirty rolls and a whole lot of bruises," Naruto complained whilst pulling out the few rolls he managed to pocket in his shirt. He handed one to Jaya and walked over to the back, where one of the blankets they had was draped to make a shadowed tent. He knelt down and offered the roll out. "Hey, Yao, I got some food for you." he said softly to the dark corner of the hut.

What looked like a tree trunk roughly carved into the shape of a hand reached out to take the roll. The arm and body the hand belonged to came into light, revealing an old man who looked to be half a tree, especially around his face. "Mm. Delicious!" he declared as he scarfed down the roll. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto sat down across from Jaya and was about to eat his roll when a couple of animals came into the house and looked up at him. "You guys are hungry too, huh?" he asked them. He didn't expect an answer from them, knowing full well that they couldn't speak. He tore his roll into tiny pieces and scattered it all over the floor. The animals all gladly converged on the crumbs, eating away happily.

"Naruto, you should eat," Jaya told him.

"They need it more than I do. Besides, I'm tired of eating scraps." He reached over to the nearby jug and cup, pouring some tea for himself. It was a weak tea that tasted more like water than anything else. "If only there was some way to get into the Chou's food cellar. We'd be eating like, well, like Chou's."

"If Chou the Elder catches you sneaking into his palace, you'll end up dead. Or worse, he'll banish you to the Spirit Wilds."

Those last two words got Yao's attention. "No, don't get banished. You don't want nothing to do with those spirits," he told the two youngsters. "They'll get inside ya, scramble up your mind, turn you into this, a monster!" He gestured at himself when he said that last word, practically screaming it out.

They both watched as the old man buried his face in his hands and turned away from them, back deeper into his shadowed spot. Jaya looked back at Naruto. "Don't do anything crazy, Naruto," he said cautiously. "You just gotta accept the world is the way it is. Some people have power. Some people don't. And you don't."

Naruto sipped at his tea and looked out the nearby window, back out at the city. "Not yet, anyway," he said as an idea came to him. It would be risky, but the reward would be worth it.

The leader of the huntsmen stood in one of the outer city's squares. He usually did this kind of asking before each hunt so he could get more volunteers and therefore have a better chance of actually getting food. "Are you strong? Are you fearless? Do you have what it takes to battle the spirits?" he asked the people in the square with his men behind him. "Then join the hunt." Even though he did this each dawn before each hunt, he never really expected to answer his call.

"Count me in," Naruto said as he came to a stop in front of the group, raising his hand to get their attention and then lowering it once he was sure he had it.

The head huntsman looked him up and down with a questioning look. What he saw didn't impress him, instead it made him laugh. "We're going to be out in the wilds for a week. You wouldn't last two seconds."

"I can handle myself," he told the man with a smug expression and folded arms. The former disappeared when he asked, "We all get fire, right?"

"Yeah, but do you know how to use it?"

"Well, not exactly, but I—"

"Ah, let him come," one of the huntsman's men said as he came around and put his arm around Naruto. "Not like we got any other volunteers lining up."

"All right," his leader decided. "Welcome to the hunt." the huntsman said while Naruto just smiled back at him.

The walk out of the city and to the edges of the Spirit Wilds was long enough that the sun had risen up into the sky and turned it blue in the process. But Naruto hadn't really paid attention to that. He was too excited that his plan was working. Also, this was the farthest he had been out of the city and its surrounding area.

The path they were walking on came to a sudden stop where the grass met rock but the hunters kept walking like it was nothing. Naruto followed them as they climbed up a ledge that faced the city, giving them a nice view of it. The lead huntsman took a horn from his belt and blew a long solemn note from it. It echoed in the air for a moment before vanishing away. But that was all that was needed.

The city began to shake. Then it rose, revealing it to be resting on the back of a giant animal, whose head they were looking at. "The lion turtle..." Naruto said in awed wonder, knowing full well what it was.

"Great guardian of our city, we are venturing into the Spirit Wilds to bring back food for our people. Please, grant us the power of fire." the huntsman asked, using his voice loudly and clearly.

"The power is yours to keep until your return." the lion turtle declared, raising its paw up to hold in front of them.

"You're first, kid," he told Naruto.

He stepped forward and the lion turtle placed the tips of its claws on his heart and head. "May the element of fire protect you against the spirits." it proclaimed.

Light glowed from the claws. He could feel power flowing through into him from those claws, filling him with power. When the light died and the claws pulled back, he could still feel that power. Wanting to test it out, he threw it out in front of him. The fire came roaring out, so quick and powerful he was caught off guard and stumbled back to the ground. He landed with a thump right next to the lead huntsman, who barely looked down at him. "Just make sure you aim at the spirits, not us, okay?" he said, walking past him.

"Sure thing," he replied, standing up and looking at his hand for a brief moment.

Soon the entire party had the power of fire from the lion turtle. With it, they turned and ventured into the Spirit Wilds. It didn't take long for them to be completely encompassed by the forest. This was different from the forest around the city. There they felt safe and protected. But here, that safety wasn't there. "Everyone, stay close." the lead huntsman told the party as they went down the rough path. "Spirits love to pick off stragglers."

"Uh, guys?" Naruto said from the back, both legs and voice trembling from fear. "I don't think I can do this."

The entire party stopped and looked at him when he said that. They weren't happy. "Now, quit your whining. We haven't even seen a spirit yet."

"I think I wanna go home."

He walked up to Naruto's face, placing his finger right at it. "I knew you were nothing but a sniveling coward. Go give your fire back to the lion turtle!" he ordered, shoving him back and turning away, "And don't ever show your face around me again!" he and his hunters walked deeper into the forest, leaving Naruto there.

Naruto turned away with a sad expression but once he was certain that they weren't looking back at him, "They fell for it." the blonde thought in triumph as he walked out of the Spirit Wilds. He had timed it so it was easy to get back to the lion turtle and back to the house.

Yao and Jaya were playing Pai Sho when he stepped through the entrance. "Naruto, you're back." Jaya said with some surprise, having expected him to stay in the Spirit Wilds for much longer than just a day.

"What goodies did you snatch for us this time?" Yao asked, rubbing his belly.

Naruto replied by extending his hand forward and bending the fire into his hand. The action surprised both of them, with Yao leaping back with a yelp of fear. It was only reasonable, since he was half tree and wood burns. "What did you do?!" Jaya asked Naruto, his voice quickly turning accusing. "You can't steal from the lion turtle!"

"Really?" Naruto asked, extinguishing the fire and putting on a satisfied smile, "Because I just did."

Night had fallen as Naruto, Jaya, and their compatriots walked to the Chou's palace. The road was unguarded since no one had dared to try to rebel against the Chou's. That is until now. But even as they walked, Jaya still had his doubts. "You know it's forbidden to bring the power of the element into the city," he told Naruto. "Please, go back to the lion turtle and return the fire."

But Naruto wouldn't have any of it, "Jaya, it's time to stop being so afraid of the Chou's and show them we have the power to change things." Seeing that they were close enough, he reached into the bag he held and took out the mask inside. He put it on, the mask almost making him look spirit-like. Everyone else followed his example with their own masks.

Once their identities were hidden beneath the masks, they continued their march up to the palace of the Chou's. Naruto stepped forward once they reached the gate and looked up. "Hey, Chou's!" he called out. "Open the gate, and let us in."

His voice was loud enough to get the attention of Chou the Elder, who stepped out onto his balcony to look down at them. "What are those filthy peasants doing here?" he demanded incredulously.

His sons stood behind him and heard the same thing he did. "Don't worry father. We'll take care of them." the biggest brother assured him before they all turned to leave.

When the gate and the Chou brothers stepped, Naruto felt a wave of satisfaction. Now that he had the power, he could easily beat the three of them without breaking a sweat. But before he could do that, he had to get the food. That was what they had come for. "Hand over all the food you're hoarding, and we won't give you any trouble." he demanded.

All three of the brothers laughed a high pitched laugh that was grating on the ears when it was just one. When there were three, the effect was tripled. "You're not getting past us." declared the biggest brother. "We have the weapons. You're powerless." He pointed said weapon at the man who spoke, emphasizing his point.

But all he did was fold his arms. "Powerless, huh?" he asked, openly mocking them. Identical scowls appeared on their faces. They lowered their pole-arms and started marching towards the group. But Naruto pulled back his arms and then threw them forward, throwing fire at them. The blast was strong enough to knock them all to the ground and to break the gate wide open. The way into the palace and the food was clear. "Follow me!" he ordered the group behind him. Together, they all ran into the palace.

They ran across the grounds to where the food was stored. Whenever the Chou's felt like giving out food, they always took it out of a little well-made shack up against the eastern wall, well insight of the gate. Naruto spotted it right away and broke down the door with his fire. "Grab as much food as you can." he ordered.

Everyone ran into the shack to grab food to haul home. "Maybe you're right," Jaya said, wearing a monkey mask, as he came up to his friend's side. "Maybe we do have the power to change things." he said happily to his friend.

The group started coming out of the shack with bags of food over their shoulders. It looked like the plan would work. They'd be able to get out of the palace with decent food for once. "Stop right there!" someone suddenly shouted out.

Both Naruto and Jaya looked at where the voice was coming from and saw the brothers coming at them with the palace guard. "Looks like the Chou's found backup." Jaya stated.

"Get everyone out of here," Naruto told him. "I'll hold them off." He leapt towards the enemy, scattering them with his fire. Surprised by the move, the guards broke away from their formation, making it easier for him. One of the guards came at him with a spear. He grabbed it and swung him around, sending him crashing into the nearest person, who just happened to be the biggest Chou brother. They crashed into the ground while he used his momentum to throw the spear away.

A sudden weight landed on his back and he stumbled. He tried getting the weight off of him but whoever it was held firm. The guards began to encircle him, waiting for him to fall down. He wouldn't give them that chance. He encircled himself first with the fire, protecting himself from everyone except the person on his back. With a heave, he threw that person onto the ground. But he felt his mask go with him.

The person landed on the ground with a thud, turning out to be the smallest Chou brother. "No, please!" he begged instantly, throwing his hands up into the air. "Have mercy!" He looked up at the man who would end his life and saw a familiar face holding fire in his hand. "Naruto?" he asked himself in shock.

Naruto stared down at the brother. It would've been easy to take his life right now. All he would have to do was bring his fist down. But was that what he came here to do? To kill someone? The answer was simple, no he wasn't. All he wanted was some actual food. He didn't want to become a murderer. He let the fire in his hand and around die away, becoming nothing. As soon it had, guards slammed into him, sending him to the ground.

They grabbed him by the arms and forced him back to his feet. The smallest brother was standing before him, his usual arrogant expression back on his face. "Even when you have the power, you're afraid to use it," he declared smugly.

After spending a couple days in the Chou's dungeon, Naruto was taken outside the city at dusk. At the ledge where the huntsman had sounded the horn, he stood in front of the Chou family whilst the lion turtle watched from behind. "Tell me who else was involved in the rebellion, and I might take mercy on you." Chou the Elder told him. Naruto knew that the elder man would do no such thing, his greed wouldn't let him take such a slight lying down, and they'd either be killed or banished, both were grim outlooks and he wouldn't let it come to that.

Naruto stared at them all in defiance. "I'm not telling you anything," he declared. He wasn't going to sell out his friends.

"Then, you've left me no choice. Naruto, you are hereby banished," he declared.

His shoulders slumped in defeat when he heard those words. To be banished was a death sentence. No one survived outside of the city. The smallest brother was happy about the proclamation. "Yeah!" he added to his father's order. "And give back the fire you stole." he sneered at the thief coldly.

The guards at his side grabbed his arms and started dragging him to the lion turtle, "No! Wait," he said, struggling against their grip. But they pushed him forward so he stood alone. He looked up at the animal that carried their city, hoping that the plea he had would be heard. "Great lion turtle, I am sorry for stealing the fire from you, and I accept my punishment. But please, I need to be able to protect myself in the wilds." he pleaded with the ancient creature.

"Never again may you return to this city." the lion turtle declared, making his hopes fall. But the lion turtle was not done. "But I will allow you to keep the power of the element."

His hopes rose again at that proclamation. He bowed his head in grateful respect. "Thank you." he said.

"Go." The lion turtle closed its eyes and lowered itself back into the ground, its head disappearing into the earth.

Naruto turned around and saw the looks of surprise on the guards' and the Chou's faces. He started to walk past them, feeling much braver than he had a moment before. As he passed the smallest brother, he whispered, "Coward."

"What did you say!?" the brother screamed, lifting his weapon.

"Leave, Naruto!" ordered Chou the Elder, "Now!" His guards grabbed the boy by the arms and pulled him away from the family, pushing him towards the Spirit Wilds. He took one last look at the city, his home since he had been born. His bravado disappeared and was replaced by sadness. He turned his back and walked into the Spirit Wilds.

Both Yao and Jaya watched him leave from the high branches of the tree they lived in. "Bet he doesn't last till morning," Yao told Jaya sadly.

Naruto had thought that the Spirit Wilds had been unnerving in the daylight but in the night, it was downright nerve-wrecking. He had lit a fire in his hand to give him light but that didn't help much. His eyes darted from side to side, seeing everything while his ears heard everything. His mind raced with thought that something was out there, waiting to come and get him. He heard something move behind him and instantly turned around.

"What was that?" he thought, looking for the danger. He saw it again in the form of a spirit coming towards him. He threw his fire at it, hoping that would be enough to destroy it. But the spirit broke apart and reformed into two smaller versions, flying away into the forest. He kept moving but it seemed like the spirits were following him everywhere he went. Any time they got close, he would throw fire but they always seemed to avoid it. "Where are they?" he asked as he turned in place, trying to find them.

When he took a step back, his foot landed on something squishy and yet resistant. "Hey, watch where you're stepping, human!" a tiny voice instantly complained.

He swung his fire around, trying to find where the voice was coming from but could see nothing. "Who said that?" he demanded.

"Down here!" He looked down and saw a spirit in the shape of a blue frog pulling itself out from under his sandal, "How'd you like it if I started walking all over you?" it asked in a annoyed tone of voice.

He breathed in relief at the sight of it, "You're just a little frog."

The frog pulled itself completely free and instantly grew to a size that towered over him, scaring him and making him lose his fire. "Who's little now?" it demanded with a much deeper voice.

He didn't see that coming...

The frog tried to stomp down on him with his foot, but Naruto stumbled out of the way, falling to the ground. He turned around and ran away, missing the frog's tongue in the process. He neared some plants before finally stopping, thinking that he was safe from harm. But then no sooner than he had stopped that one of the plants reached out and swallowed.

"Ah! I'm trapped! I'm trapped!" he screamed inside his head while fighting to get free. The only way he could get out was when he threw fire in the mouth, making it so hot that it had to spit him out with a burp. The burp woke up the other planets and so he ran. He ran hard and fast away from them, hoping that he wouldn't be chased by them. He already had to deal with spirits; he didn't want to have to deal with man-eating plants that could move too! He finally stopped to look back. No plants were following him, "Finally, safe." he thought in relief, falling down to the grass.

He laid there, trying to catch his breath. He was beginning to understand why being banished was a death sentence. This was his first night and he had already been attacked twice! It wasn't even the third hour of his banishment! "I need to find a safe place." he thought to himself. But before he could even do that, the grass beneath him sprouted vines and grabbed hold of him, dragging him down into it. He struggled against it, muffled screaming coming between the vines in his mouth as he was brought further down. But it wasn't until he used fire to burn the vines off that he got free. The grass stopped moving and he tore out of it, running for his life deeper into the forest.

When day came around, Naruto was still alive. He just hadn't slept the entire night and it showed in the rings under his eyes. He hadn't stopped moving the entire night, always looking out for whatever would come at him next. But that didn't mean everything was alright. He was tired and hungry. When he passed under a tree with large fruits hanging from the branches, his stomach growled at the sight of them. They were hanging right there, looking so fresh and tasty, "One couldn't hurt, right?" he asked himself. He reached out and plucked one off the branch. He held it in his hands for a moment, taking it all in, and then bit down for that first juicy taste he was hoping for.

But the fruit vanished in his hands. Instead there were hornets buzzing all around him and were all aiming at him. They buzzed around his head, trying to sting him. He started running around, trying to get them away. "Get off me! Get off me!" he screamed, swatting at them while trying to run. His efforts led him to running to the edge of a nearby cliff. It took him a second to realize that he actually ran over the edge before falling down it. The good news was that he lost the hornets on the way down. The bad news was that he got a couple of more scrapes and bruises each time he hit the cliff, which was more than just a few times.

When he finally landed at the bottom, he laid there against the cliff-face, "I wanna go home." he thought miserably. He had barely gotten through one night in the wilds. He was tired, he was hungry, and he was lonely. He missed everything there was about his old life. The house he lived in might've been in a tree, but he had a roof over his head. The food he had might've been scraps, but he was fed. He might've been at the bottom of the social order of the system, but he had friends. He missed them all now than he ever had.

The sound of gently-moving water filled his ears and he looked up. He saw an oasis just out of reach. Fruit-bearing trees hung around the pool that lay in the center. The water itself, around and in the oasis, looked cool and clean. The only way onto it was by a single stone bridge. But that wasn't a concern now. He found a place to eat and rest. He just had to get there.

Finding the energy to stand up and walk was easy since he had the motivation in front of him. He quickly reached the stone bridge and started crossing it. But then a spirit, shaped like one of the aye-ayes he had seen the city's forest but standing up, appeared in front of him and shoved him away, hard. "You are not welcome in my oasis, human." it declared with folded arms.

Naruto got back to his feet slowly. "Please, help me." he begged. "I'm starving and I haven't slept all night." He just wanted to rest.

But the spirit didn't seem to be in the mood to budge, "Not my problem." it seemed to shrug.

He was tired, he was hungry, and above all, he was irritated. Food and drink was just outside his reach and he was being denied it, "Let me pass," he ordered, throwing fire at the feet of the spirit.

To his satisfaction, the spirit looked surprised at it. But then it turned into anger, "You dare use fire against me?" it demanded in outrage. It vanished from sight for a quick second before reappearing behind Naruto, "Now, be gone with you!" it said before it grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him into the nearby bush. Then it headed back to the oasis without a second thought.

He burst out of the bush, afraid that it would come alive. But it didn't and he was left on the path. He watched dejectedly as the aye-aye spirit left him there. The oasis was out now and he had hoped that wouldn't be so. He slumped his shoulders in defeat and walked away. But after a few seconds, he noticed that there was a virtual convoy of spirits passing by him. He backed into the bush, afraid that they might do something to him. But they walked passed him, heading straight for the oasis. Once they passed the aye-aye spirit, they would drink, eat, and bath in the oasis.

"Hmm, that might make this easier." he thought as he came up with an idea. It took a few moments but once he stepped out of the bush, he was clad head to toe in it.

He joined the convoy and walked across the bridge. The aye-aye spirit saw him right away, "And who might you be?" it asked him curiously.

He had an answer for it and made sure to make it sound dramatic enough to be a spirit, "I am Bushy, the Bush Spirit," he declared to the oasis guardian, "And I would like to enter your oasis." he told the aye-aye spirit.

The aye-aye spirit hummed to itself, "Very well." it said after a moment of puzzlement, "You may pass." Naruto thought he was fine as he passed the spirit. But then it started sniffing the air. "Wait a second." it declared, grabbing his head, "Something stinks." it said as it pulled off the mask and revealed Naruto to all of the spirits there, "I knew I smelled a human!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly at being caught, like he had whenever he was caught in the city. But the guards usually didn't grab him by the shoulders and toss him into the water. No, that would've been too considerate. His costume came apart in the water as he sat back up and hacked out what went down. When he could breathe again, he looked up at the spirits on the bridge. "Come on, let me in, just for a little while," he pleaded.

"No!" snapped the aye-aye spirit, "Go back to your lion turtle."

"Believe me, I'd love to go back home," he retorted as he stood back up. "But I can't. I was kicked out." the fact of that still hit him hard, just like the fact that he missed what he had left behind hit hard.

"That's too bad." one of the spirits surrounding the aye-aye spirit remarked.

"Poor human." said a second one. They actually sounded kinder than the aye-aye spirit.

Of course, it had something to say about the whole situation, "Don't pity him. He's just like every other human: ugly, destructive, and lacking any respect for nature." it said to its fellow spirits.

"Who are you calling ugly?" Naruto fired back, placing his hands on his hips.

All the spirits looked at the aye-aye for a reply. But he was too surprised at the retort to come up with one so quickly. So he settled for a grunt and placed his hands on his hips too, "If you can't go back to your city, then you should go live in another one." the first friendly spirit suggested.

That suggestion stopped him for a second and he stared at the spirit in disbelief, "What? There are other lion turtles?" he couldn't help but ask. He had thought there was only one and he had lived on it!

"'There are other lion turtles?'" mocked the aye-aye spirit before shouting at him again, "Of course there are, dozens of them! Boy, you humans are stupid."

Despite the fact that he had just been called stupid, a hope began to fill Naruto. If there were other lion turtles out there and they all had cities on their backs, he could find one. He could make a new life for himself, "So which way to the nearest lion turtle city?" he asked.

"Hmm, let me think." the aye-aye said, seemingly thinking it over, before replying with, "I think it's on the other side of none-of-your-business valley." he said before he proceeded to laugh loudly and looked at the other spirits for support but no one else was laughing with him.

Neither was Naruto. If anything, he was more irritated by it. He was trying to get out of their way so he could find another lion turtle but all they did was make light of it. Why did he even bother? "Real funny," he told the aye-aye spirit.,"You know what? I don't need your help. I'll find it myself." he said as he turned around and walked through the pond, intent on getting back on dry land away from them. But after a few steps, he suddenly fell deeper into the pond.

Naruto managed to pull himself out of the water and walk off into the forest with what remained of his dignity. He wasn't aware of when his clothes had dried, but he was more focused on the fact that he was still hungry and thirsty. Why didn't he get some water while he was still in the pond? Oh wait, he knew. He didn't want to look desperate in front of the spirits. Damn his pride!

He came upon a tree that had a bounty that was unusual but one he was glad to see. A cat deer was trapped in a net, trying to struggle free but failing. The sight of potential food motivated himself forward. He licked his lips and brought fire to his hands. But as he approached, the cat deer looked at him. It didn't hiss or snarl at him, warning him to stay away. It stared at him with a look of surrender. It looked at him knowing full well what he wanted and could do nothing to stop him.

It let out a pained whimper and Naruto stopped, losing the fire. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't be a murderer just so he could eat. But he couldn't just leave it hanging there. He walked up towards it and it growled in response.,"It's okay," he assured the animal, "I'm gonna get you out of there." he told it in a soothing voice.

He looked to the tree and started climbing it, reaching the branch that held the net's knot. But before he could even reach out to untie it, the hunting group from the city appeared on the other side of the path, coming up to the tree. "Finally, we caught something," the leader said. "Get it down."

They started moving towards the net, only to stop when Naruto stepped onto the branch and into sight, "Back off," he ordered the group.

"Naruto?" said the leader in surprise, coming to a stop, "What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

"I'm saving this animal." Naruto responded truthfully.

"That animal's our dinner. Now, get out of the way." a man snarled at him.

Heh, more like food for those fat ass Chou's who liked to lord the fact they ate so lavishly while others starved to death.

"No!" Naruto declared before leaping down, blasting down fire at them. They scattered from the blast and he was able to land safely. But he knew that he was outnumbered. So he did what he thought was best and ran into the forest. Some might've called that cowardly, but he was smart enough to know it was his only chance. He soon heard the hunters behind him and soon came the fire being thrown at him. "Don't look back at them, just keep moving," he told himself. If he looked back, he would slow down and they would catch up to him. He kept running, only to come to a stop when he noticed a familiar patch of grass in front of him, "Oh crap."

He looked back and saw that the hunters were catching up to him. He had to do something to escape from them. He looked up and saw vines hanging from the trees, just out of reach. Then he looked back and saw one of the hunters about to grab him. He jumped for one, grabbed hold of a vine, and used his momentum to swing to the other side. He landed on his feet and kept running.

From behind, he could hear the hunter crying out, "Ahh! He-help! Help!" before suddenly going silent and he knew that the grass had gotten him.

He slowed down a little to see if they were still coming after him. They were. "What now?" he asked himself, looking around again for something that could aid him. He saw some hornets-disguised-as-fruits hanging from a nearby tree. He grabbed hold of two and threw them at the hunters as they came into sight. Once they left his hands, he started running again.

One of the hunters started shouting, "Get 'em off! Get 'em off!" Then his voice faded away with a scream.

"There's only two left." Naruto thought to himself in ragged triumph as he kept running. The odds were better now but he still needed to beat them. As he tried to think up a way to do just that, the remaining hunters started throwing fire at him again. One throw landed right behind his feet and exploded, sending him flying through the air until he crashed into a tree branch and landed on the ground, dazed and unable to move.

The hunters caught up to him quickly after that. "Well, looks like you're all out of tricks, Naruto." the leader declared.

There was nothing Naruto could do except watch them bring fire to their hands. But it was here that the aye-aye spirit appeared from behind them and then leapt into the other huntsman, possessing him. His body started contorting and twisting itself about as it took control, "I. Really. Hate. Humans!" it declared loudly, the huntsman's body morphing into something that was half human and half spirit, like Yao was.

"No, no!" the lead huntsman screamed in fear as the spirit-possessed hunter took a few swings at him, turning away and fleeing from the scene, not once looking back.

The aye-aye spirit left the hunter, appearing behind him. After being dazed for a second or so, the hunter saw his hands, felt his face, and realized what he had become. So he ran away screaming, "I don't know what he's screaming about." the spirit remarked as it picked up Naruto, "He's better looking now." it said to himself as he walked away.

The aye-aye spirit took him back to the oasis. Whatever odd looks the others gave him, he ignored them as he put Naruto into the water and stepped away, letting the water do its thing. It began to glow and engulf Naruto with its glow. As he floated there, noticing the cat deer he had saved was right above him, and he noted that he didn't feel so tired or hurt any more, "I feel great." he proclaimed as the glow died away, "What's in this water?" he asked in curiosity.

"It has special healing properties." the aye-aye spirit told him as he sat up.

One of the spirits offered him a fruit, "Thanks," he said, taking it and taking a bite, "So what did you do to that hunter?" he asked the aye-aye spirit.

"Spirits are able to take over a human body for a short time. If I stayed in there any longer, I would've killed him, which I did consider." it added as an afterthought.

"Thanks for saving my neck. But why'd you do it?" he asked. This was the same spirit that was belligerent and hostile to him only a few hours earlier. The change was a little surprising.

"I saw you save the cat deer from those hunters." the spirit told him as the cat deer in question padded forward and rubbed its cheek against Naruto's. He patted the other cheek in return, "I've never seen such an act of selflessness from a human before." it admitted to the blonde.

"Told you I wasn't like the others." he told the spirit before standing back up on his own two feet.

"Guess I underestimated you, human."

One of the other spirits approached Naruto, a curious looking creature that looked like a tall misshapen plant with a kind face, "Are you off to find another lion turtle city?" it asked him.

"I was. But I think I've had enough of humans for a while." he had come to that conclusion whilst dealing with the hunters, only thinking hard about it now, "I've decided to stay here and learn the ways of the spirits."

"What a great idea."

"That'll be fun." said another spirit, who looked more vaguely like an animal but more see-through.

"Now, now, hold on. A human living with spirits?" asked the aye-aye rhetorically. "It's never been done."

"First time for everything, right?" asked Naruto.

It thought the idea over for a second, "Hmm, I guess we can try it. I've never had a human as a pet before. I think I'll call you 'Stinky.'" it said looking at Naruto.

"The name is Naruto," he corrected the spirit with an annoyed look.

"Stinky is more accurate." the Aye-Aye spirit said with a smirk.

And so he stayed there at the oasis, living amongst the spirits. It was a little tough, he could admit to that. They didn't see things the way he did and did things in their own time. The aye-aye spirit seemed to enjoy surprising him from out of nowhere, trying to get him to jump out of his skin, and usually while he was sleeping. He didn't try to hit it or anything, mostly because he couldn't. The spirit would leap away before it could get hit, laughing like it was his own personal joke. But still, Naruto found that he liked it there. When the hunters found the oasis and all the fruit just begging to be taken off of their branches, Naruto fought them off.

They kept coming back and he kept driving them away with minor injuries. It was only a month after he started staying at the oasis that one of them finally got a lucky shot through, hitting him good in the shoulder. Even though the hunters were driven away, he had to be carried back to the oasis to heal, "Aah, that stings." he groans as the water heals him. His eyes were closed and he relaxed into the pond.

"You're lucky that was the only place they hit Stinky." the aye-aye spirit said from behind him, "It was stupid to step in like that."

"I had it."

"You got yourself hurt, Stinky, really hurt this time." the aye-aye spirit remarked.

He frowned, "I got them away, didn't I? I know how to use fire to defend the oasis."

"You know how to use fire just as well as the other humans." it told Naruto.

"I know that." he responded with a sigh. If anything, he knew how to use it better than the huntsmen. How else would he have been able to drive them away again and again? They only had their fire sometimes; he had his every second of every day.

"He means to say that you wield it just as pathetically as they do." a deeper voice rumbled, oddly from above him.

He opened his eyes and saw a giant white dragon hovering in the air over the oasis. He stood up from the water but doing so quickly made him woozy and stumble a little. But he couldn't tear his gaze away from the dragon. "Um…hi?" he offered.

The dragon didn't return his greeting, only choosing to look down at him with disdain, "You wield your fire like it's some kind of club, just whacking it around senselessly, and without direction." it told him, "But if you learn properly, you'll find it much easier to use." it stated honestly.

"And, uh, are you going to teach me?" he asked, unsure if he should bow his head in respect or try and run. He knew the stories about dragons. Some said that they were dangerous monsters that would kill someone as soon as they laid eyes on them. Others said that they held vast treasures jealously. And some said that they were benevolent creatures that kept to themselves.

"Yes, but only because I owe him a favor." it said, looking down at the aye-aye spirit for a long moment. But then it turned its gaze to him, "Rest well. Your training will begin soon."

"Um, okay." He sat back down in the water, letting it cool and continued to heal his wound. But he couldn't help but wonder, "What exactly can the dragon teach me about using fire?"

As it turned out, the dragon could teach him a lot. He became a student and that went on for months which then turned into two years. With each lesson he took and learned, he found that the dragon was right. How he wielded fire was crude and graceless. But as he learned, he turned into something more flexible and graceful. He didn't just use the fire. It was more like it was a part of his body, bent to action by his mind. As practical lessons, he used the attacks by the huntsmen to help him. There he could see the difference between them and he could barely keep his laughter in. They were throwing their fire like it was some kind of projectile.

They could do so much more with it than and yet, they didn't. It was a simple matter of turning it against them and driving them off time and time again. The spirits were glad for his assistance. They started seeing him less of a curiosity and more like a friend. As the years passed, he got older. His spiky blonde hair got less spiky and was more prone to falling down over his head. He could have grown a beard if he wanted to but chose to settle for just a short and simple goatee. With each year that passed, the attacks got less and less until they finally stopped coming. And while Naruto was relieved that happened, he soon got bored.

He had finished his lessons with the dragon and he was beginning to have an itch to see the rest of the world. So he made his choice and began packing up a few supplies. The spirits didn't protest him for his wish but they were sad when he was ready to leave them. "You ready to go, Mula?" he asked the cat deer he had saved all those years ago when he had climbed onto her back. He had learned her name from one of the spirits who could communicate with animals.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" the aye-aye spirit asked him. Over the years, despite all the arguing and pranking with each other, the two of them had become good friends. Now it was sad to see him leave.

"Yes. It's time I see the rest of the world and find the other lion turtle cities." It was something that he had wanted to do when he first came to the Spirit Wilds but had put it aside to defend the oasis. Now, he was going to do it.

The spirit didn't argue with him or call him an idiotic human like he was prone to do when they argued. Instead, all it said was, "I'm proud to call you my friend, Stinky."

He chuckled at that old insulting nickname, having long stopped being annoyed by it, "Thank you for everything my friend. Goodbye, everyone." he told all the spirits there before urging Mula forward. She took off with barely any urging, racing over the bridge and into the wilds.

"We'll miss you." one of the spirits called after him.

He would miss them too.

Naruto and Mula had no particular destination in mind in their journey. They just chose to go where the path took them. When they were tired, Naruto would make camp and they would sleep. When they were hungry, they would eat. When they were thirsty, they would drink. This cycle kept them going through the world for two weeks now, yet they found no other lion turtles or humans.

When they came across a wide stream, they stopped to drink. While Mula dipped her head down to drink, Naruto filled up his sack with the stuff before taking a drink. "Ah, this is nice." he thought to himself. It was a nice sunny day and he was almost tempted to just lean back against a nearby tree and relax the day away.

The ground started shaking suddenly and spirits came running out of the nearby forest. Both Naruto and Mula watched them run in confusion. Spirits weren't known for running from anything, not any they knew. What was happening?

"The all-powerful spirits are battling!" cried one of the spirits

"They're gonna wipe out the entire valley!" shouted another in fright.

"All-powerful spirits?" asked Naruto silently. "What are they talking about?" he questioned as the ground continued to shake in the direction they were all running from. He leapt onto Mula's back and they went towards the shaking. After they came through the forest, Mula halted with a growl, not wanting to go another step further. Why, because there were two spirits locked in combat as they appeared to loom over them both. Two spirits, one blue-white and one red-black, were wrestling each other. They weren't shaped like any spirit he had seen before. The closest thing he could think of was a kind of squid.

After watching them, he saw that the white spirit was holding the black spirit down, preventing it from getting away. He leapt down to the ground and blasted a stream right between them. "Stop or you'll destroy everything!" he shouted once he had their attention.

"This doesn't concern you, human!" a stern woman's voice told him. Even though he saw no mouths on the spirits, he had the feeling that the voice came from the white spirit. The black spirit broke free of her grip and tried to run, but she grabbed it again and slammed into the ground.

"It does when the lives of spirits and animals are in danger."

"If you're a friend to spirits, then use your fire to help me break free." a man's voice pleaded with him. This time, he felt like the voice came from the black spirit.

"Don't involve the human. This is between us." the white spirit told him.

"Please, save me. She has tormented me for ten thousand years." he begged the blonde.

"Ten thousand years?" Naruto repeated in stunned awe.

In hindsight he should have just let them be and walked away.

He considered it for only a moment before bending his fire at the white spirit, "Let him go!" he ordered.

The fire didn't seem to do anything to the spirit, except make her irritated enough to swing one of her tentacles at him with enough force to send him flying into the nearby bush. Luckily, he landed on some of the soft bush and didn't get anything to hurt. He walked out and saw the two spirits were still fighting. They both looked similar, even the markings of the front looked to be the same. The only thing that separated them was their color. But even that seemed to get mixed up as they fought each other. They got tangled up only to get loose and then repeat the process over again. If the black spirit wanted to get free, he was having a hard time seeing how.

But then he noticed how when they stretched apart, only their tails were connected. If he struck them there, they would separate. He swung himself into an arc, bringing the fire down right at that breaking point. The fire struck the point they connected and an explosion erupted from the sight of it. It was just as bright as it was loud, forcing Naruto to cover his eyes but not his ears. He heard the white spirit scream in pain as the orb faded away and the black spirit flew out of her grasp.

"Thank you, human." the black spirit said to Naruto from atop a nearby mountain peak, "You have performed a great service for the spirits." Without another word, he flew away and disappeared behind the mountains.

"Do you realize what you've done?!" the white spirit demanded of him. She looked smaller than before.

"Yeah, I helped a spirit who was being bullied by you!" he retorted with righteousness in his voice, staring her down, which was a little weird since she didn't have eyes, and using that same righteousness to point his finger accusingly at her.

"You are gravely mistaken." she retorted, "I was keeping him under control." she told Naruto.

"And what gives you the right?" he asked angrily.

She turned her…head, he supposed, to look at him, "You don't even know who I am, do you?" she asked him softly.

"Should I?" Naruto asked the spirit.

"Yes. My name is Raava." it told him honestly. He had a look of slight confusion on his face at her proclamation but she kept going, "That spirit you freed is Vaatu. He is the force of darkness and chaos. I am the force of light and peace. Since the beginning of time, we have battled over the fate of this world. And for the past ten thousand years, I have kept darkness under control and the world in balance, until you came along."

With each word she spoke, he found himself realizing what she said had been the truth. He didn't know the names but he had heard the stories about light and darkness battling each other since the beginning of time. And he had just intervened in that very fight, thinking it was just two spirits fighting each other, "So, by freeing Vaatu, I let chaos into the world?" he asked.

"Precisely." Raava said sharply, "The human and spirit realms are headed toward annihilation, and it's all your fault." she told the blonde in a anger filled voice, though it wasn't entirely directed at him.

Naruto looked up at the spirit, wanting to explain himself. "I—"

"Do not give me excuses! The human and spirit realms are headed toward annihilation. And it's all your fault!" she told him again, like she was talking to a child who couldn't understand what she was saying, "This is why humans have no place interfering in the business of spirits."

"This world is home to all of us, and what happens here is everyone's business." he told her.

"Thanks to you, this world may cease to exist!" Raava snapped at him, "I only hope I can track down Vaatu before it's too late."

"Let me help you." he offered the spirit. If it was his fault for letting Vaatu get away, then he was responsible for making sure that he was contained again.

"I don't want or need your help. Don't interfere with me again, human!" she told Naruto before she flew up into the air and went after her dark counterpart, disappearing behind the mountains like he had done.

Naruto and Mula watched as the white spirit departed without saying anything. What could they say to the spirit? "Let's get moving." Naruto finally told the cat deer. Together, they started to take the long way around the mountains. Raava might've refused his help, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try tracking Vaatu himself. They followed what Naruto thought where Vaatu went for a month but did not see either him or Raava. All spirits that they had met hadn't seen them either (and didn't want to see them by the sound of it). Yet, they persisted in following the two spirits. Naruto was so focused for making up for his mistake that trying to find the other lion turtles was put aside.

He was riding Mula through a bamboo forest path when they saw a tall tree with fruit shaking nearby. While this was normally nothing to be concerned about, they could feel no wind blowing. He urged her into the forest and she obeyed, their curiosity urging them on. They reached the tree and saw an amazing thing: men in robes were harvesting the tree. It was a tall tree and they weren't climbing it. No, they were using wind to ascend and pluck the tree.

"Do you see that, Mula?" Naruto said to his friend, "People. And they have some kind of wind power." he said in excitement. He urged Mula into the clearing with the other people, giddy with excitement. "More humans!" he said loudly as he looked at them all and they did the same. "I found you." he said happily though the men he found, five of them, reacted in a way that he wasn't expecting: they turned and ran away from him, "Wait! I'm friendly!" he tried to explain to them, but they wouldn't listen to his words.

With that Mula raced after them while they used their power to leap through the bushes and branches, vanishing from sight. When the two of them cleared the forest's end, they found themselves running full force to the edge of a cliff. Mula stopped in time to prevent her from going over the edge, but in doing so she sent Naruto flying off of her back. He was only airborne for a second or two before coming down on a tree jutting out of the cliff side, holding onto the bush with all he had. Then he started climbing back up to the cliff and to stability. As he put his arms on the ground, he took a moment to breathe. He heard footsteps before he saw one of the men coming running at him. For a panicked moment he thought that the man would run on his hands and send him falling into the abyss below.

But the man didn't do that. Instead, he leapt into the air and used the wind to guide his feet to the forest that was appearing out of the sky below the cliff. But as Naruto climbed back up and stood up, he turned around to get a better look and instantly knew better, "The legends are true. Another lion turtle city. And it's flying," he said in wonder as he watched the lion turtle just float there in the air. The men he saw in the forest stood before the lion turtle on its forearm whilst it touched their head and hearts, taking the power it had given back. "I have got to get over there." he told himself

He quickly figured out a way to get onto the lion turtle. It involved bending a young, and therefore flexible, tree back and then using it to send him flying. Mula helped him take the rope he had tied to the tree and run around a nearby boulder, pulling the tree back to what he thought was the right angle. He took the rope from the cat deer's mouth and tied a quick knot, securing it. "There, that should do it." he declared after testing the robe and finding it taunt. Once he was sure, he climbed up onto the tree, sitting right there at the top. "Okay, Mula. Wish me luck," he told his friend. With one quick swing of fire, the rope burnt apart, the tree snapped forward, and he was flying towards the lion turtle.

He could feel the wind pressing against his entire body. That, along with the feeling of falling through the sky, sent more than a shiver of excitement jolting up his body. He screamed in two parts excitement and three parts horror. But as gravity began to take control of him again and he fell down more than forward, he saw that he wasn't as close to the lion turtle as he wanted to be. His screaming turned more to panic as he passed under the lion turtle's shell. For a second, he thought that this was the way he was going to die. But he saw vines hanging off the lion turtle's shell and one was within reach. He grasped it with both hands, feeling the burn in them as he fell a couple more inches.

But then he stopped, only swaying in the air with the vine, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Once he climbed up the vine onto the lion turtle's back, he started walking around the city there. Well, city might've been an overstatement. This was nothing like the city he grew up in and around. This actually looked more like a village built in tandem around the forest. He saw no buildings made of stone, only of wood. The paths were straight and coordinated, only going where it felt natural. But what was most amazing was the fact that the people around him were different. They didn't wear clothes like he did, just the robes he saw the harvesters wore. But the men also had no hair on their heads, only a strange kind of blue tattoo that over the head that ended right above their brows. It also seemed to stretch across their arms too.

As he strolled, a spirit passed right in front. He flinched away in surprise but watched it float away. The inhabitants didn't seem to mind the spirits like his city would have. It was something different…something interesting. "Wow." he said as he took all of it in. Wanting to make introductions as quickly as possible, Naruto ran up to the nearest group of people, which were three men just sitting around. "Hi, how are you? I'm Naruto." he introduced himself to them. They didn't say anything in reply, choosing to just look at him. He felt awkward but kept talking. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but it's been a while since I've seen other humans." he explained.

"Where did you come from, stranger?" one of the men asked him, his voice kind but also curious.

Now that he could answer, "Another lion turtle city far away. For the past two years I've been living among the spirits and exploring the wilds." he told the man.

"Remarkable. Come. Sit with us." he offered as a spirit hopped onto his shoulder. "We would love to hear of your travels." he told him curiously.

But before Naruto could even take him up on that offer, the spirit started to shake in place before transforming into something darker. Before, it was green with soft edges and a curious look to its eyes behind its yellow beak. But now it was a dark red, its edges had grown sharper and where the beak had been was now a mouth. It leapt off the man's shoulder at Naruto, but he ducked to avoid it. It didn't seem to matter much to it, choosing to just run off somewhere.

"What is going on?" Naruto thought as he looked around. All the spirits in sight turned dark and were spreading chaos all over the village. People were running from them, shouting and screaming in panicked fear. Unfortunately, it didn't take him long to get an answer. It came in the form of a shadow falling over the village. When he turned to see what was casting the shadow, his eyes hardened. "Vaatu." he said in recognition.

The spirit of chaos looked down at him, "So, we meet again, human." it remarked like it was a surprising but also amusing thing.

The men he was just talking to him walked up behind him and saw Vaatu as well, "Why is the great spirit of the darkness here but not his other half?" one of them asked.

He couldn't help but wince a little at that question, "Uh, I'll explain later." he told them before jogging a little closer to Vaatu, "Leave these people in peace." he called out. "They've done nothing to harm you." he told Vaatu. What he got for an answer was a dark spirit flying so close to him that he was forced to duck and avoid it. The dark spirit went after a mother and her child. He drove it off with his fire but that got the attention of all the dark spirits. They converged upon him and he fought them off. They tried to surround him but he stopped them from doing that. They tried going after the villagers and he stopped them from doing that too. Eventually, they stopped attacking and looked up at Vaatu.

Naruto did the same. He saw that the dark spirit was rising up and ready to strike. He stood ready to defend himself but then a streak of white struck Vaatu, "Be gone!" Raava commanded her counterpart as they flew into the bushes. She came out and flew around Naruto and the villagers, driving away the dark spirits.

"How are you feeling since our split, Raava?" Vaatu asked as he flew calmly and almost serenely up into the air, "I've never been better. When Harmonic Convergence comes, I will destroy you forever." he told the light counterpart, and with that last word said, he flew away and so did the dark spirits.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief once the battle was done but all that got him was Raava's attention, "I told you not to interfere!" she snapped at him.

"I had to do something, Raava." he protested. "These people were in danger."

The villagers all gathered around them, "Great spirit of light, we thank you for your help." one of the men in the front said to her, "But how did you become split from Vaatu?"

"Ask him." she declared, somehow managing to look down at Naruto.

He could feel the eyes of everyone on him and turned to face them all, "It wasn't my fault. Vaatu tricked me into freeing him. I'd take it all back if I could." he swore to them.

"It's too late for that. Now that Vaatu is free, he is turning other spirits dark. The more spirits he turns, the stronger he becomes."

That was when he noticed something between the two of them. "He's getting bigger, and you're getting smaller." he said as he noticed already she was much smaller than she had been before, towering over him by barely three feet where before it had been much more when they had first met. Also, the details on her markings seemed diminished too.

"As darkness grows, light fades."

He couldn't look at her, but there was something he could do, "I'm sorry for endangering your village." he said to the villagers, "But I promise to set things right."

"How?" asked one of them.

The answer to that lay in going back to solid ground and speaking to the animal their village was resting on, "Great lion turtle, I ask that you grant me the power of air so that I can defeat Vaatu before it's too late!" Naruto pleaded.

The lion turtle looked at him with a look of serenity mixed in with some confusion, "You already carry the power of fire." it pointed out, "No human has ever held two elements at the same time."

"I'm not like other humans. I can learn to do it." He had to learn how to do it.

"Hmm, perhaps..." it remarked, considering his words, "But to do so, Raava must hold the power for you until you master it."

"Ancient one, why would I do that for a human?" asked the aforementioned spirit, "Especially one who's caused so much trouble?"

"Raava, please, I can't let the world fall into chaos because of my mistake." Naruto begged her, "Neither of us can defeat Vaatu alone, but together we have a chance." he pleaded with her again.

She was silent for a moment, considering his words, "You may be right..." she acknowledged, "Very well. I will help you to master the power of air." she told Naruto.

"Thank you. And in return I will help you restore balance to the world." Naruto promised her.

As Naruto, Mula, and Raava left the lion turtle and the village it carried behind, the human looked over at the spirit. "What's this harmonic thing Vaatu was talking about?" he asked her.

"Harmonic Convergence." she replied, "That is when Vaatu and I must battle for the fate of the world."

That sounded like something that was a big thing. Details were probably going to be needed, "How long do we have until then?"

"About a year in your time." she answered.

"Then we better start training." he said to the spirit of light before setting out. Their journey led them to a nearby volcano that was still leaking out magma. The skies were covered in dark clouds and the ground was littered in rivers of lava. Once they found a relatively safe spot, Naruto began practicing his Firebending one last time, just so he could remember the motions, "All right, I'm ready to try air. How's this gonna work?" he asked.

"The only way for me to give you the other element is to pass through your body and combine our energies." Raava explained from where she stood.

"Great," he said in reply. "So you've done this before." It was nice to know that he would be safe.

"No. This has never even been attempted. It is very dangerous." she told him as she was unsure of what would happen if this didn't work. At worst he would die, at best it was unknown.

He should've figured that he wouldn't be that lucky, but now wasn't the time to lose hope. In fact, now more than ever was the time to keep hope up. "That's what they said about living in the Spirit Wilds, and I survived that. I'm ready. Give me the air." he told Raava.

Raava raced up into the air before flying down right through Naruto's chest. The moment she entered and passed through him, it felt like nothing he had ever felt before. It was like all the good memories he had, the good times he had with his friends both human and spirit, the times he was successful in grabbing food, the moments where he defended the oasis, everything mixed into one glorious feeling that slammed home. But he also felt power; more power than he had ever felt commanding fire. It felt like he could take on the entire world and conquer it.

Then the moment passed and Raava was outside of him. He fell to his knees, letting his eyes close. Inside his body was a different power. Instead of the fire's warmth and raw energy, he felt peace and calmness. Eager to try out the new element, he took a stance and punched. The air came rushing out in a great gust before vanishing completely. "It feels completely different," he remarked. The fire had been strong and powerful. But this felt…fluffy. As he looked at his hands, feeling the power in them, a thought came to him, one that begged to be answered,"If you and Vaatu have the same fight every ten thousand years, why hasn't one of you destroyed the other?" he asked Raava.

"He cannot destroy light any more than I can destroy darkness." she explained as he continued to practice bending the air, "One cannot exist without the other. Even if I defeat Vaatu in this encounter, darkness will grow inside me until he emerges again. The same will hold true if Vaatu defeats me." she told him seriously.

"That doesn't sound so bad. Even if Vaatu wins, you'll come back," he pointed out to her.

"Yes, but you will probably not survive to see it." Raava said told him. There was the slightest edge of humor to her voice when she said that, "Vaatu will destroy the world as you know it. Darkness will cover the Earth for ten thousand years."

It sounded grim in any way he thought about it. And the more he thought about it, the more he came to believe that fire and air would not be enough, "If I'm gonna help you battle Vaatu, then I should visit more lion turtles."

"That might be the first good idea you had." she remarked with her usual cuttings.

He made a face at her.

When their journey began, they were alone. Naruto kept training with the air but soon found difficulty in doing so. It was different from the fire and acted differently. The stances he had learned from the dragon didn't work for the air at all, either being too strong or too weak at the wrong times. "Argh, this is frustrating." he groaned as he watched the plume of air vanish. The three of them were resting for the night atop a grassy hill. If he looked around, all he could see was just grass, grass, and a lot more grass.

"What's the problem?" Raava asked, curiosity overriding her usual attitude.

"What I've learned isn't working," he told her.

"Then learn something new." she told him. She made it sound like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

But that only irritated him, "Yes, like it would be so easy to find a spirit to teach me how to properly use air." he told his companion. A thought came to him when he said those words, something that made him change the flow of the conversation, "Why is there so much conflict between humans and spirits in the first place?"

She had an answer for that, "This physical world is where humans come from. Spirits come from another realm. At the north and south poles, the two realms intersect. Over time, more and more spirits have drifted into this world. Humans have been forced apart, settling on the lion turtles who protect them, and losing touch with each other."

"Most people think they live in the only human city in the world." he said to the spirit of light. That was what he had thought for the longest of times.

"Most humans think only of themselves, no matter how many others are around." she responded softly.

"But not all of us," he countered.

"…No, not all of you." she admitted, "And you might be thinking too highly of your problem. You might yet find an answer."

As it turned out, he did find an answer two days later when they came across bison flying through the air. How they flew got his attention and he followed them, copying their motions as best when he could whenever they had stopped. Raava didn't complain or argue the fact that they were wasting time doing this. In fact, she seemed a little impressed by what he was doing. That was how they spent the autumn, leaving only when Naruto was certain that he had a good grasp of what he was doing. Then they journeyed south, where Raava knew a lion turtle was resting beneath a deep lake.

The lion turtle in question carried a village of fishermen on its back and agreed to give Naruto the power of water when his case was pleaded. Then they spent the rest of the winter by the ocean side because Naruto was inspired by the pull and push of the waves. It was hard going, not only because there were no actual animals to mimic, but a pack of wolves kept trying to eat Mula. That was where he put what he was trying to learn to practical use. He soon put the ferocity of the wolves' attacks into practice of his own and fending them off became a lot easier. He also learned from them coordination, how to move from attacking to defending in a single motion.

When winter ended, they started traveling again. They found a lion turtle carrying a city much like Naruto's old home buried in the desert that held the power of earth. Receiving that power took a little longer because he actually had to give a good reason for wanting the power of the earth. Fortunately, he could and he received the power of the earth. As they journeyed out of the desert, a sudden sandstorm forced them to hide out in a cave. In that cave, they found badger-moles and Naruto was soon mimicking their movements and helping out in their tunnel digging too.

When spring ended and summer began again, they left the desert. Now that he knew all the elements and could bend them, Naruto wanted to refine the bending. He needed to make them better, stronger. So he trained in the woods, making the arts he learned better and better. Every time he was ready to change, Raava was there for him.

One afternoon, he was going over the revisions. He had already done fire and was finishing up water. When he was done, he stood still so Raava passed through him. After she swapped out water for earth, he got back to his feet, "When you pass through me, I feel an incredible rush of power." he said before bending up a large chunk of the earth out of the ground. He broke it in half and sent it flying, just like he wanted to. Seeing that he was done, Raava passed through him again, swapping out the earth for air. "I feel like I'm changing. The more we practice, the stronger I become," he remarked. Something caught the attention of his nose, making him smell the air. "Smells like smoke." he stated.

"Humans are nearby." Raava told him, landing down beside him. She had been getting smaller and smaller during the year they had been together. The way she was standing now, she barely reached his shoulder.

"Let's check it out." He hopped aboard Mula and all three of them went in search of the smoke and the humans. At the edge of the forest was a slope which they stopped at. It allowed them to see a small village down below and the forest burning beyond it. They stared, not at the village, but at the forest beyond. "What in the…?" What they saw needed more answering. They came down the slope and towards the village but they saw that it was empty. So they angled to go around and see what was burning. As it turned out, it was the villagers setting the trees on fire so they could pull them down and make lumber out of them.

One of the villagers saw Raava come flying in and reacted badly. "A spirit!" he shouted, throwing a fireball at her.

Naruto was close behind on Mula. When he saw the fireball, he leapt in front of Raava and knocked the spirit away with a small shield of air, "Easy there, fellas." he said loudly, keeping his hands where they could be seen, "We're friendly." he told them.

They all stared at him with hostile eyes and he looked at them too. They were lean but strong. Their clothes were becoming frayed and ragged. If they had come from a lion turtle city, it must've been some time since they had left. As they stared, someone walked forward, "I can't believe it, Naruto?" the man asked in surprise.

He might've put on some inches and muscles and grown a small goatee, but Naruto recognized his friend immediately, "Jaya!" he said joyously, meeting his friend in a brief hug, "What are you doing out here?" he asked in pure shock.

"You inspired us." Jaya explained with a small laugh as they stepped back from each other, "Once we heard that you survived out in the wilds, we decided to try it too." he told him.

That was good to hear. Nobody should have to live under the Chou's if they had to, "Where's Yao? Did he come with you?" he asked looking around for the old man.

The happy expression on his face died away, replaced by a mournful one, "Yes, but sadly he didn't make it. We…we lost a lot of good men along the way." he said while Naruto felt sad too. That old man had been a friend of theirs even before he was possessed by a spirit and raised them as his own when he didn't have any to call his. When Raava came to his side, Jaya took note of her. "So why were you protecting this spirit?"

"This is Raava. Don't worry. She's not like the dark spirits you've probably run into."

"Dark spirits?" he said, making the words sound like they didn't exist, "What's the difference? We throw fire at any spirit we see around here. Just like they attack any man." he declared.

"What?" Naruto asked with wide eyes. That wasn't the Jaya he had known.

"You have no idea what you're doing!" Raava told the villagers angrily, "You're only making things worse." she called out.

They all scowled at her, clearly not wanting to hear her words. Someone might've said something to her if another villager hadn't looked back and shouted, "The spirits are coming back!" where they all looked in the direction he had and saw the incoming tide of spirits.

"Let's wipe 'em out this time!" Jaya told the villagers, turning to face them all, "We'll burn down this whole forest if we have to!" he called. They all roared in agreement and ran towards the spirits, eager for the fight.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked his friend. "When did you become so violent?"

"You showed me we could change the world if we just stopped being so afraid. Now we're doing it," he replied before rushing off to join the other villagers.

Naruto just stared at his friend's retreating backside, "This isn't what I had in mind." he said as he had made friends with the spirits. Why couldn't they?

The villagers and the spirits met on a small field outside of the village. They didn't attack each other right away. Instead they stood a few yards away from each other, seizing them all up. Naruto started to run over to stop it before it began when he heard the aye-aye spirit shout out, "Get out of the forest, humans."

He came to a stop between the two groups. "Wait!" he shouted at them both while Raava landed by his side, "We can resolve this peacefully."

"Stinky?" the aye-aye spirit said in surprise which soon turned into happiness, "You came back." he said with a wide smile.

"It's good to see you again my friend." he said with a smile.

"You and Raava are just in time to help us clear these tree-killing fire-lovers out of here just like the old days."

"You are the one who's getting cleared out,!" Jaya spat out at the spirit.

"There's no need for violence!" Naruto said to them both, "I know there must be a way to work out a compromise." he said while above him, thunder rumbled in the distance. That was odd, considering there was barely a cloud in sight.

"You have a good heart, Stinky." the aye-aye spirit replied before growling out and pointing behind the blonde, "But these fire-tossers aren't like you."

"Spirits like him killed our friends!" Jaya told him. "I can't let them get away with that."

The thunder grew louder and closer. From out of nowhere, storm clouds converged and darkened the entire sky. Lightning flashed and struck the earth and for a moment, Naruto could've sworn he saw Vaatu looking down at them from the clouds, laughing at them. As they all heard the laughter, the spirits transformed into dark spirits. They stared at the villagers with utter hatred. "We are protectors of the forest." the aye-aye spirit proclaimed with a much deeper voice, "We won't let you burn it down."

"Oh no..." Naruto thought in horrified realization.

Raava realized what was happening just like he was, "It's Vaatu. He's growing stronger, using their anger to turn them to his side."

Jaya mustered up a flame and threw it at the dark spirits, which they avoided with ease, "Wipe them out!" the aye-aye spirit ordered.

They started towards the humans but Naruto pushed them back with Airbending. The humans saw that as their chance to throw fire at the spirits, but he deflected that. He kept moving between the two groups, trying to prevent them from fighting, "Stop, please!" he begged as he kept them away. Neither side wanted to quit the fight. If anything, being denied just urged them on. As he kept fending them all, Naruto could see no end in sight. He had to make it all stop somehow. "Raava, we need to combine our energies," he told her. "Maybe then we'll have enough power to stop this." he said as she flew towards him as he went still. She passed through his body but did not come out the other side.

The power he always felt when she passed through came back and stayed. Energy began to leak out from and coalesce around his body into a white aura. Just as the two sides were about to attack each other, he leapt into the air and held himself there. He bent water, earth, and fire into three rings around him, ready to use. "Enough!" he shouted down at the two groups. "You need to stop fighting now, before you destroy each other!" he called out to them all.

The power he had was massive, so much so that it began affecting the spirits making them pause and shudder. They started turning back to their original selves with the aye-aye spirit one of the first, "Stinky, w-what happened?" it asked as it looked to him.

"He's controlling all four elements," Jaya said in an awed voice as he too looked up at his friend.

But while Naruto was trying to make sure that they didn't fight, the power inside his body was beginning to grow out of his control. He concentrated, gritting his teeth, and tried to keep it in. But it was too powerful. Pain began to dance on and in his body, "Naruto, I have to leave your body, or I'll destroy you." Raava said to him. She knew the danger of her possessing him. It was why she had never done it to a human before.

He knew the risk too but wouldn't budge on it. "No. It's working. If you leave, the fighting will start again." he told her. He would not let that happen. He could make them stop fighting. They could make peace between each other, but they had to stop fighting first. He just had to hold on for a little bit longer so the rest of the spirits could turn back. He tried to hold on but the pain that had been attacking him all over his body came together in one giant feeling that hit him all together at once. He let out a brief gasp of pain before blacking out. The elements he was bending vanished, making him start to fall to the ground, and Raava was cast out of his body. "Naruto!" she cried out, flying down and grabbing hold of him.

She carried him away while the humans and the spirits, now back to their dark selves again, finally clashed.

"Urg…what happened?" Naruto asked as he slowly came back to consciousness. He felt grass beneath him. He opened his eyes and saw Mula nearby, standing beneath trees. "Why am I in the forest?" he asked. He had been at the village. The mere thought of what could've happened there made him stand up and look over the nearby slope. He saw the battleground was empty, but the fact that a battle happened was plain to see. "We have to go back!" he declared aloud, already going for the slope.

Vaatu suddenly appeared at the slope, stopping him in his tracks, "Don't bother." the spirit told him, "Your human friends have already been annihilated."

He heard those words and his heart clenched, "No!" he called out.

"Enjoy your final days. See you at the end of the world!" Vaatu laughed as he flew away, somehow managing to make it mocking as he went.

Naruto watched him and then turned his attention to finding Raava, having noticed that she was nowhere in sight. He started looking for her and found the spirit of light behind a rock. She had grown so small that she could hide behind it perfectly, "I'm not the only one it took its toll on..." he realized in shock as he listened to her shiver and moan in pain. "Raava…" he said in horror.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." she told him weakly as he picked her up and held her in his arms. She looked so tiny and fragile there. She was too small to travel by herself. As Mula came over to his side, he reached out, opened his traveling pack, and pulled out a teapot that he had picked up on his travels. He slid her in and cradled it in the nook of his arm. Then he climbed atop Mula and urged her on. They left the village and the forest behind.

When she had regained enough of her strength to speak, Raava told them where they had to go. They had to go south. It was a journey that took many days, so much so that they turned into weeks and then into months, summer turning to autumn. During the journey, they saw much evidence of Vaatu's growing power. Dark spirits were becoming more and more abundant and growing so bold that they were beginning to look at the lion turtles to attack. Naruto tried to help but more often than the lion turtles were able to take care of themselves.

The further they went south, the colder the air became. The land became emptier and the wind was sharper, forcing Naruto to wear a scarf around his neck and over his head. They were three weeks into traveling across the barren tundra when Naruto saw a blue beam of light shooting up into the sky from out a small forest. Raava spoke then, "We're almost there." she whispered out. She paused for a moment, "I was wrong about you, Naruto. I had no idea that humans were capable of such nobility and courage. I'm sorry that we do not have much more time together." she said apologetically.

"Let's not give up before the battle's even begun. Who knows what will happen?" he replied with a smile as he looked ahead. "After all, this is my first Harmonic Convergence." he said trying to make some humor.

As Mula cleared the tree line, they got a clear view of the portal. It was coming straight out of the ground, "This is the southern portal to the Spirit World." Raava declared, "Here, Vaatu and I will do battle once again, at the place where the two worlds meet." Whatever it was and wherever it went, there was a serene-like quality to it. Naruto felt at peace just by being near it. Mula must've felt the same way because she did not shy away from it. She walked towards it calmly. Passing through the portal didn't feel odd like Naruto thought it might've been. In fact, it felt like just passing through a sheet of water.

But once they passed through and came out the other side, Naruto could tell that they weren't in his world anymore. The first thing he saw was the giant tree off in the distance but still closer than the red portal he saw directly opposite. The area around the portals and the tree could've been similar to the barren land in the Mortal World but this had been rougher, rockier. There were little streams all around them and the sky was dark and foreboding. There seemed to be a path to the rocks and streams, something that almost seemed to flow in a particular direction.

A shadow appeared from the other portal and grew thicker and bigger with each passing second. It didn't take long for Vaatu to emerge from the portal and he loomed over the three of them, "Are you ready for our final battle, Raava?" he asked with a boasting tone in his voice, "Thanks to our friend separating us, I think this time I may be rid of you once and for all."

Naruto got down from Mula and walked towards the dark spirit, "Before you get to her, you'll have to go through me," he declared with a challenging look.

The dark spirit found that to be little more than amusing and he wasn't above showing it with a chuckle, "No human can stand against me." he told Naruto.

Naruto could admit that Vaatu was different from the last time he had seen him. He was much bigger than before, the markings on his body much defined, and he seemed to have a lot more tentacles than before. But Naruto wasn't going to back down. He hadn't before now and he wasn't going to stop. He had made a promise and he was going to keep it. "Haven't you heard the legends?" he asked Vaatu. "I'm not a regular human anymore." he said with a grin lining his cheeks.

He threw a barrage of fire at the dark spirit, who only flew into the air to avoid them. He kept up the barrage, trying to hit Vaatu. But he managed to avoid them all with a grace that was enviable. He landed in between Naruto and Mula, spooking the cat deer away, and swatted the human away from the portal. While he was airborne, the spirit followed him and loomed over him when he landed, "I lived ten thousand lifetimes before the first of your kind crawled out of the mud!" he shouted. His markings started glowing with a purple energy. He arched back and lunged forward, firing a beam of the same colored energy.

The beam carved through the ground as it reached Naruto. But either Vaatu did not have a good aim or he wanted to draw out the fight because only the edge of the bean hit the human before disappearing. But even the edge of the beam was enough to send him flying again, "It was I who broke through the divide that separated the plane of spirits from the material world!" Vaatu declared as he flew lazily around him and then firing the beam again. He followed Naruto, clearly enjoying what he was doing, "To hate me is to give me breath. To fight me is to give me strength. Now prepare to face oblivion!"

Naruto got up just in time to see the beam coming towards him. He used his fire to push him into the air and away. The beam tried to follow but he was able to avoid it. He couldn't stay in the air for long, landing in a roll and trying to come back up to his feet. But the pain his body had sent him back down to his knees. It had been only a couple of minutes since the fight had started and he was already this beaten. He knew why. He was going up against a spirit that was ancient with only one element. He thought he could do it by himself but he had been wrong, so wrong. There was only one way to make this fight at least somewhat even. "Raava!" he called out to Vaatu's opposite, and his friend. "The only way to win is together." he told her.

She heard his plea and flew out of the teapot. Before Vaatu could do anything to stop her, she entered his body. The power he had felt months before came back and that same energy surrounded his body. Vaatu flew at him, trying to crush him with a tentacle. But he leapt onto a cloud he made and flew away. The tentacles gave chase, smacking down on the ground trying to hit him. But he had learned enough from the bison to know how to move away quickly. His opponent kept missing him and he kept putting ground between them. One of the tentacles did hit his cloud and he flew into the air as it dissipated.

Naruto twisted in midair and bent a strong blast of fire at Vaatu, pushing him back. Naruto tried to land on his feet but the momentum knocked him down and sent him rolling. His world became a blurry mess for a moment, but then it cleared and he found his feet beneath him again. He pushed deep and used the earth to send him flying right at Vaatu. Naruto started twisting himself to put some spin into his next attack. He tried to kick out a stream of fire but got a tentacle in his chest before he could get it fully out. He fell back to the ground, forming a cloud underneath his feet to keep himself going. He reached out to a nearby stream and bent the water at Vaatu. He hit the spirit a couple of times but it didn't seem to do anything.

"I need something with power to it." Naruto thought to himself. He looked down briefly at the ground and knew where to find it. He bent out three giant boulders and carried them into the air. He passed Vaatu and swung around, throwing the boulders at him. But he glided past them like they didn't matter. Naruto realized his mistake. The earth might've been strong but it was slow. He would need something else to work. He tried thinking up a new tactic as Vaatu came at him, tentacles swinging. He flew past but got hit by one of them. His cloud fell apart and he fell to the ground. But he quickly bent a new one and flew away from the spirit, bending fire at him all the way.

But it was only a few seconds before the pain hit him hard again. He lost control of the cloud and fell to his hands and knees. His body was telling him that he couldn't keep doing this, that the power was too much. It wasn't the only one, "I have to leave you. If I stay any longer, you will die!" Raava insisted.

He knew that. His body was only alive through the pain. All he wanted was for it to end. But he couldn't let it be like that, "It doesn't matter. If you leave me now, Vaatu will destroy everything. We have to finish this together!" he said wiping a trickle of blood from his chin. He hopped back up onto his feet, bending a cloud under it to carry him. He charged straight at Vaatu, who did the same. When the dark spirit fired another beam of energy, he bent the air beneath him to send him flying high in the sky. He flew over the spirit and bent a stream of fire at its back. He landed but the pain drove him to his hands and knees again, "I have to move!" he said, forcing himself to stand up again.

As he did, Vaatu struck, grabbing hold of him with a tentacle. First he was dragged across the ground, feeling it scrape hard against his back. Then he was flung into the air and felt the energy beam slam into him. It felt like getting hit with a hammer, pierced by a sword and a spear, electrocuted, buried alive, drowned, set aflame, and losing his air all in one great anguishing moment. When the moment ended, he fell to the ground and it was all only when he stopped that he realized that he was up against the southern portal. He tried to get up but Vaatu flew over to him and shot a tentacle at him, holding him down, "The Harmonic Convergence is about to begin. The era of Raava is over!" the dark spirit boasted. Naruto tried to get up, to fight back, but the pain made him too weak against the tentacle.

All he could do was lay there.

Above them, the portals bent forward, meeting each other over the tree. As soon as the ends met, their colors turned to the same shining gold. Lightning and thunder boomed from the connected portals, making them a virtual rod of a storm. But it wasn't just that. The very air thrummed with energy from the entirety of the universe. Naruto could feel it pressing down on him like a wet sponge trying to cool him off. As Vaatu turned to look at the connecting portals, he glowed purple. His power grew to immeasurable levels unlike anything Naruto had sensed before their fight. The dark spirit was taking in the energy around them and making itself stronger. But as his power grew, so did Raava's own.

Naruto's body glowed blue with her markings on his chest, lifting the pain away, "Naruto, do you trust me?" she asked him.

"You know I do," he replied. After the year they had spent together, how could he not trust her?

"Place your hand on the portal." she urged him.

"What will happen if I do?"

"Something new, something…different, will arise." she answered, sounding unsure, "Even I do not know what will happen. But it will give you the power to defeat Vaatu."

"How?" he asked.

"I just know." Her markings and the blue glow left, giving him back to the pain.

It sounded strange, but what could he do? Vaatu had him. It would take a moment for the spirit to crush him now, if he felt like it. But all it would take for him to touch the portal was a moment too. Fighting the pain, he lifted his right hand, reached back, and touched the southern portal. For a moment, it felt like he was just touching water. But then the portal hummed to his touch and the blue glow came back, washing over him like water, relieving his pain as it moved. When it reached Vaatu's tentacle, he pulled it away with a grunt of surprise, looking back to see what was happening. But it was too late; Naruto was completely engulfed in the blue glow.

The cosmic energy he had taken traveled down deep into his soul, he could feel it. His body started telling him that something else was happening to him.

"Raava..." he tried to ask, unsure of what was happening. It felt like the power he had when they merged, but too much of it. It felt like he was full to burst and he just might do that.

"Do not fight it Naruto!" she told him as she let the flow of the energy carry her deep into his soul.

He did as he was told. He did not fight it. He let it happen. The cosmic energy carried Raava into his soul. There it was altered so she could be a part of it. When that happened, when she became a part of him, his eyes glowed white.

In that one moment, something changed in him.

In that one moment, he saw farther than he could've ever seen before.

In that one moment, he could see the universe.

And he saw that it was beautifully glorious.

But to look at the whole of the universe was too much for one person. He forced himself to look away from it all, falling down to his hands and knees. The work was not done. The cosmic energy was building inside of him, changing everything that he was and had been before. It became overwhelming, coming to a boiling. He couldn't hold it in. So he lurched upwards, threw his head back, and screamed as the energy came out in a great explosion of light.

At the sight of the light, Vaatu was forced to fly away lest he get caught in it all. It was only when it began to fade that he dared to look back. He saw Naruto standing back onto his feet, his body still glowing blue and his eyes a bright white. But he looked past that. He looked deeper and he saw the truth. "No! This cannot be!" he cried out in horror of what stood before him .

Naruto did not say anything back. He was feeling everything with new eyes and new knowledge. He was different now. Not quite human, not quite spirit, but something in between. But what did that mean, "We are bonded forever." Raava declared. Yes, yes they were. Naruto could feel her being a part of him. And he could feel what they had to do.

As the blue glow faded, Naruto attacked Vaatu with a renewed strength. But he did not strike with just one element. How could he? What he knew now by instinct eclipsed what he had learned for a year and even before that, making it all seem laughable. No, there was a better way to fight and he knew how to do it. Better yet, he knew how to end it.

He struck with a barrage of water, fire, and earth, using them with better ease then he ever would have thought he had. Vaatu tried to dodge like he had before but these attacks came in faster and stronger than anything Naruto had previously thrown at him, catching him every single time. As the last giant boulder got him in the middle, it stunned him for a second.

But a second was all Naruto needed to encase him in an orb of air. Then he surrounded the orb with a ring of fire, air, water, and earth each, furthering tightening his control over it all. He guided the orb towards the tree and the large gap it had in its trunk. Once there, all it took was one last push of air to send the orb into the tree, where it became engulfed in a great light that spread out across the edges of the area before disappearing.

Vaatu was now encased in an orb of energy inside the tree, unable to move even to break free, "This is your prison now," Naruto declared as he felt his new power recede back into his soul, losing the glow in his eyes, "And I will close the portal so no human will ever be able to physically enter the Spirit World and release you." he declared to Vaatu.

"Do you think that this will hold me?!" Vaatu demanded.

"Yes, I do." Naruto said as he turned his back on the spirit and walked towards the northern portal. Mula came to his side and he hopped aboard without even thinking about it and only dismounted once at the northern portal. He reached out his hand, placing it on the beam, and used what he suddenly understood to bend the energy into itself, sealing the portal close. That was one portal closed. Now he had to close the other one. But before he could do that, there was something else he had to do.

"What!?" was what all the spirits shouted down at him after he told them what he wanted them to do. They all began to jabber at him, voices mixing together to create a noise that just buzzed inside of his ear.

"Why would we leave?" one spirit, which looked like it was a mixture of tree and monkey, demanded.

"You must." Naruto told him.

"I doubt that. We have made our homes here. We shouldn't leave." Other spirits started agreeing with it. They seemed to band together beneath its leadership.

He faced the spirit down from where he stood in the midst of them all. He had called all the spirits together in the Mortal World and created an immense cave in the depth of the earth to hold them all. Now they were there and they had to listen. "And what will you do when the humans come?"

"No human would dare leave the lion turtles!" one of the spirits, looking like a great glob of water, shouted with an echoing voice, "They're too scared!"

"And if they do, we'll drive them back!" shouted a spirit that was ironically a stone shaped with a human face on it.

"And what if they keep coming back?" he asked them all, "What if they keep coming back in force and keep attacking you all? It'll just mean more senseless fighting for both sides." he explained.

The aye-aye spirit, who had been quiet this entire time, finally spoke, "And you want us to leave this world, Stinky?" it asked.

He nodded, "Yes. The spirits must stop fighting with humans and return to their home in the Spirit World. I will teach men to respect the spirits so that balance will be maintained." he said in a saddened tone. He looked at them all and declared, "I will be the bridge between our two worlds." The spirits would have argued long and hard about what he had said, and they did. But he kept repeating that they had to go back to the Spirit World to maintain the balance and that he would help the maintaining. They might've scoffed if they couldn't sense that he was different now, someone who was both mortal and spirit at the same time.

The aye-aye spirit took little convincing before siding with him.

That seemed to be the one thing he needed. After that, the spirits agreed more or less to go back to the Spirit World and stay there. It ended up being a mass migration of spirits marching towards the southern portal, entering its light and disappearing from his world. The last spirit to leave was the aye-aye spirit, who turned to Naruto and bowed like a master greeting a student. Naruto returned the gesture, "Goodbye, old friend." he bid farewell to the best of friends he could have had.

"Goodbye…Stinky..." the aye-aye spirit said with a smile before stepping through the portal. Once it was through, his friend closed the portal forever.

A week later, he found himself standing before the lion turtle he had first lived on. He had been called to it when he had been passing through the forest he had been first banished to. But now, the lion turtle stood before a cliff facing the sea and everyone that had still been living on its back stood on that cliff. Chou the Elder stepped forward to speak. "Great lion turtle, what is the reason that you have called us all here?" he asked the great creature.

The lion turtle didn't answer him. Instead, its eyes found Naruto, who had been standing adjacent to the whole group, "Come forward." it rumbled.

All eyes fell to the blonde. The Chou brothers looked at him with their usual expressions of arrogant disdain. Once those looks would've made him want to punch them or steal food right from under their noses. But those days had long since passed. Now when he looked at them, he didn't feel towards them, good or bad, "Great lion turtle." the biggest brother spoke. "Naruto is an exile from the city. You yourself said—" he was stopped when the lion turtle interrupted him, "He will come forward." the lion turtle spoke firmly and this time, there was no arguing.

Naruto stepped forward, walking past the Chou's without even bothering to give them a look, and stood before the lion turtle, "I am here." he announced himself.

"You have changed." the lion turtle noted. He didn't say anything in reply, thinking it would be redundant, "Do you know why you are here?" it asked him.

"I felt you call out to me." he answered truthfully. It was a weird thing to say but that was the only explanation he could think of. He had been passing by and heard the lion turtle one night, telling him to come.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You should hear our words ourselves, as the maker of this new era."

Those words were confusing and he was compelled to ask, "Words?"

The lion turtle nodded its head slowly, "The world is entering a new age. Our time protecting mankind is over. We will no longer give humans the power of the elements." it declared, its words washing over them all. As they all stood and watched, it vanished beneath the sea.

Naruto watched until he saw the shadow vanish beneath the water. He clasped his hands in prayer. "Safe travels," he offered the lion turtle.

"What do we do now?" someone asked.

"I don't know," another replied.

Naruto turned around, looking around at them all. They all had looks of panic and shock, unsure of what to do next. He had that exact same look when he had been banished from the city all those years ago. They would need someone to guide them to a new life. But it couldn't be him. There were more lion turtles out there and they would be dropping their humans off. He couldn't show favoritism, "We have to find shelter now." an old familiar voice declared. Naruto took one look and saw that it was the leader of the huntsman, just with a few more grey hairs, "We take to the forests and make our homes there." he said. Everyone there began nodding in agreement, thinking that it was a good plan.

Everyone except for the Chou's, that is.

Now that there was a plan suggested, Naruto felt compelled to say something. "Jaya's village is only a two day journey from here." he told the huntsman, "I can lead you all to them. I'm sure that they will welcome you all." he offered.

The huntsman nodded in acknowledgement, "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto then looked at the others who now had no home at all, "If you are all ready, we can start the journey."

"Wait!" shouted Chou the Elder, making them all stop. He looked insulted while his sons looked surprised. "What are you all doing?!" he demanded angrily.

"We're finding shelter." the lead huntsman said to him.

"No, you're not! You are under my authority and you will do as I say! That has always been the way, or have you forgotten that fact?!" he asked with an arrogant sneer on his face, "Now, our first order of business is for you all to build a house for me and my family, then we will—" he stopped when he saw everyone was gathering around the huntsman.

"What are you all doing?" his middle son asked them all.

"We're not obeying you anymore." the huntsman declared.

Chou the Elder grew red at this declaration. His body trembled. "Have you forgotten who I am!?" he shouted, spit flying out of his mouth. "I am your lord! You are nothing but peasants!" raged the fat elder.

"You are the lord, on the lion turtle." the huntsman sneered in response as he cast a disregarding look at the fat man and his equally fat sons, who thought themselves great warriors because they wielded weapons, "But we're not on the lion turtle, not anymore. You're not the lord of anything now. You're just a fat little man who thinks only himself." he said before he turned his back on the Chou's along with the rest of the people. Chou the Elder and his sons were left standing there on the cliff, watching their former people walk away.

They wouldn't survive a hour in the spirit wilds with some of the traps Jaya's people made, not that anyone cared really.

-Many years later-

Naruto did as he promised and led them to Jaya's village. To his immense relief, he found that Vaatu had lied that day. The villagers were still alive. Naruto stood by and watched as the newcomers were welcomed with open arms and he thought that his role would be simple enough.

But he turned out to be wrong.

Just like his former home, the lion turtles all over this side of the planet were dropping their humans off and leaving them. People were confused and scared, fearing that spirits would come and kill them all. Naruto traveled all over, convincing them that the spirits went back to their own world and they were safe. He even became a teacher, helping refine those who had the elements into proper Bending forms.

But even as he tried to soothe them and teach them, the fear and confusion were still there. When they could not take it out on the spirits, they began fighting each other. People were going to war over differences in ideals, positions, or just to grab more land. No matter how many fights he stopped, another one seemed to be brewing and a second was ready to erupt.

The years passed. The fights continued to erupt. He kept forcing them to stop. He continued to teach that peace was the only way to live in the new world. But with each passing year, the fights grew into wars. Wars that he couldn't stop before it was too late and he could only minimize the damage. Friends died or turned against his beliefs. Jaya had been the first and most painful, becoming a vicious warlord that was set on conquering new lands. When they finally fought, Naruto struck him down with tears in his eyes and buried him with the respect their past friendship asked for.

But even as the years passed, he kept going. He kept teaching and kept stopping people from fighting. He started to be given names by the people he stopped and taught.

Teacher.

Stranger.

Wanderer.

Intruder.

Peacemaker.

Bridge to the Spirits.

Avatar of Raava.

As he got older, they seemed to use that last one more and more, until the other names fell by the wayside. Even the full name itself faded away until only the first part stayed true. The years continued to pass. The faces kept changing around him until everyone he had first known were long gone. Even Mula, his ever-faithful companion, had passed on. But he still kept fighting to bring peace between people, even as nations, tribes, and kingdoms were forged and fought. More often than he would have liked, he found himself on one side of the fight instead of being neutral. And it was after 500 years of doing what he had promised that it finally came to an end.

He sat on the ground at the edge of the now quiet battlefield, resting his back against an entrenched stone ring. His armor, for he wore armor now (he had to), was a mixture of old and recent, the most ancient being the shoulder-plate he had taken off Jaya. He only had to look up or off to the left to see the results of the battlefield. He only had to listen to hear the sound of things burning or the distant moaning of survivors. He only had to sniff to smell the fire and the smoke and the smell of death. He wasn't sure if it had been a wound given in the battle or if it was just his age finally catching up to him (he was older than 500 years after all) but he could feel the end coming.

And he knew that for all he had done in that time, it wasn't enough. His hair was a silky white from age and his goatee was shaved off, but if he still had one it would have been the same color as his hair had been, "I'm sorry, Raava," he said to his one constant companion, "I failed to bring peace. Even with Vaatu locked away, darkness still surrounds humanity. There wasn't enough time." he said weakly. If he could, he would've chuckled at the irony of his own words.

"Don't worry." Raava whispered to him as things began to darken, "We will be together for all of your lifetimes. And we will never give up."

Those words were a comfort to him. As he breathed his last, their combined spirit left through his mouth and dissipated into the air. He closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was a small baby crying, and he smiled as the darkness engulfed his vision.

He could finally rest now.

If only he knew that his journey was just beginning.

"Hold on Miss Senna I can see the head now" a woman said in front of a screaming woman who had a vice grip on her husband's hand.

"AAAHHH FUCK YOU TONRAQ NEXT TIME WE HAVE CHILDREN YOUR CARRYING THE LITTLE BASTARD FOR NINE FUCKING MONTHS OH FUCK!" she roared in agony as her husband was frothing at the mouth unable to say anything because her other hand was gripping his balls through his clothes getting a pop as well as a whimper from the man.

He thought in excruciating pain, 'Well there goes the left one' gasping for breath he said weakly, "I-It's okay sweetie just a little more-" he said to his wife.

Cutting him off she said gripping tighter, "FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU DID THIS TOO ME AND IF I WEREN'T IN SUCH EXCRUCIATING PAIN I'D SHOVE A ICE POLE THE SIZE OF AVATAR AANG'S STATUE UP YOUR ASS AND LEAVE YOU THERE FOR ALL OF THE WORLD TO SEE!" she roared in pain.

"Alright Senna just give me one more good strong push" the nurse said guiding the woman while silently sympathizing with the agonizing husband since this isn't the first or will it be the last time she'll hear threats like that towards the husband especially from the mouths of earth bending women, Toph Beifong was probably one of the worst she had seen.

"AAAHHH!" she cried when a second softer cry was heard as the nurse clipped the umbilical cord handing the bundle to her after she collapsed on the bed

"Congratulations Senna, Tonraq, it's a beautiful baby boy" she said showing the sleeping boy with whisker marks and black hair on his head.

"Look at him he's so beautiful isn't he Tonraq?" Senna said getting a nod from her husband brushing a hand through his own hair.

Tonraq kneeled next to his panting and exhausted wife, "You did well my love." he told her as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Senna gave a weak smile "So what shall we name him?" she asked her husband.

Tonraq looked at his son, his newborn son, his own flesh and blood with a smile, "I can see a lot of mischief in his eyes, but I can also see a lot of compassion and a will to protect those close to him. I can sense that his chi reserves are immense. He will definitely break a lot of girl's hearts. How about we name him Naruto?" he asked his wife.

Senna looked at her son and smiled "Maelstrom huh? It suits him perfectly." Senna said smiling, " It looks like we both got what we wanted after all. We finally have a family." Senna said happily.

Tonraq nodded his head "Yeah, I guess we do." he said with a smile on his face.

And thus, the world's first Avatar was brought back to stop a ancient calamity, the world would be changed forever in the coming years.

So yes, I have replaced Korra with Naruto. Love it or hate it, that's what we got here. No this story is not connected to Winds of Change (Just throwing that out there for reference people) so please feel free to wait on the next update coming soon. Remember LIKE/FAVORITE/FOLLOW and do add lengthy COMMENT/REVIEW that shows you were here and I will see you guys later.

Hello everyone, back with another chapter (And sorry to say it won't be as long as the first chapter but most likely a little under or possibly over half the length of it) so please enjoy

Full Pairing: (Naruto (19) x Asami (19) x Jinora (17) x Kuvira (20) x Tamaki (18) x Bisca (17)), (Mako (21) x Korra (18)), (Bolin (19) x Opal (18))

It had been four years since Naruto had come into the world. What surprised the parents of the young boy the most was Naruto's abilities. He had revealed he had the ability to bend the Air, Earth and Fire. He was a natural born waterbender so that didn't shock the boys parents any when he showed he could waterbend, but the other three elements were definitely a shock to them. However, that wasn't the only thing he had shown. He had shown extreme control over his bending. He could fight the best waterbending masters at the age of four (soon to be five) with the strength of a hundred masters and win almost effortlessly.

He had literally bent the earth so much they had to move the family to a different location (as well as most of the tribe) from the damage. It wasn't the first time it happened either. They had never allowed him to bend fire in or around the home, but that didn't mean he didn't do it when he was upset about something, and a four year old firebender was just trouble in itself. The good news about Naruto and his airbending was that it helped remove a lot of dirt out of the home, courtesy of his mother when she was feeling nice enough to remove a punishment of him acting out. Needless to say, trouble was only brewing.

One night a old man came to the door, one Naruto recognized instantly as he entered, "Grandpa!" the little boy cried out happily as he latched onto the mans leg.

"Oof, easy their kiddo, one of these days you're gonna knock a leg off someone doing that." the elderly man said with a kindred smile.

Tanraq walked into the room with a surprised look, "Lord Sokka, this is a surprise, we would have made extra food if you had come by." he offered his father in law.

"I'm only stopping by to inform you of a hunt I'm going on. Aguila is getting up in age and he is unable to travel like he used to so I'll be leaving him here with Senna and Naruto. I was wondering if you would come on this hunt with me since my old friend can't hunt like when he was a pup." Sokka offered.

"Sure, we'd be glad to look after Aguila!" Naruto said happily. As long as he could remember (which wasn't that long) Aguila had been a part of the family and was always around whenever his grandpa Sokka visited them. Oh the little bender knew of his status as the Avatar, his parents had explained it as best they could to a toddler who liked playing with very dangerous elements, but if he could choose a animal companion, he would choose Aguila each time. He utterly adored the large wolf his grandfather had raised from a pup. Rumor had it that the dog was as old as his dad and mom, but rumor has it that it was also a rumor.

Sokka smiled as he looked down at the young boy, "I know that sport, but it's up to mommy and daddy if that happens." he said ruffling his locks of dark hair.

Senna rolled her eyes at her father, "Dad, we would be happy to look after Aguila." she told her father.

"That's great." Sokka said as he opened the door and gave a sharp whistle before he moved out of the way to let the large wolf that stood shoulder height with Sokka and Tonraq enter the house, "We'll only be gone a couple days." Sokka said as Aguila slowly walked over to the rug near the fireplace and gently laid down, "I'll see you soon my old friend." he said patting the large wolf on his back and received a huff in response.

"Well, let's get going." Naruto's father said walking back into the room with a couple of spears.

"Yeah, let's get some food shall we?" Sokka said taking a spear, "Still think I should teach you a couple things for that one comment about me being old?" Sokka asked as he and his father walked out the door.

"Oh come on it was a long-" the rest of the conversation was muffled as the door closed.

Naruto turned around and walked over to Aguila and sat on the ground next to the aged animal, "Don't worry Aguila, I'll always be there for you." he said to the wolf.

-1 month later-

Naruto was outside when he knew he wasn't supposed to be. However, he also had a very good reason to be. Aguila had somehow left the house in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, and Naruto being Naruto, wanted to find him and bring him home. He adored the large wolf with all his being, to see or hear that the animal had left was heartbreaking to the young child. So here he was, in the middle of the tundra, lost, alone and freezing cold. He shivered from the cold and tried to wrap his coat around him a bit tighter, "Aguila!" he called out hoping the wolf would heed his call, "Please come back!" he called out.

However, he didn't receive a howl or bark from the wolf and continued to trudge along. Eventually though, the young boy knew he would have to find shelter and looked for a relatively warm spot, only to find nothing. However a small growl drew his attention and hr began to walk towards the sound, "Aguila?" he asked loudly as he trudged towards the sound. However, what he found wasn't the wolf that he was so fond of, but something else entirely. It was a Snow-Leopard Caribou. He could tell because the animal was white with spots and had the hooves, though it only had small lumps on its head to signify it was going to grow horns in the future.

"Hello there, are you lost?" he asked it and got a growl in response, "It's ok, I won't hurt you." he said reaching into his coat to pull out some beef jerky, it was Aguila's favorite snack so it shouldn't hurt to share it, "Here, are you hungry?" he asked as he held out the little piece of dried meat. The animal sniffed his hand a bit before it gently took the food offered and nibbled away, "See, there's nothing bad going on here." Naruto said as he pat the cat's head gently while it purred away happily. However, he was once again reminded of his problem of being out in the freezing cold. With no other option, he bent the water up and around them to make a igloo to shelter them from the cold.

"I'll protect you, it's going to be just fine." he said as the snow leopard caribou cub purred happily at the now warmer condition, "I wish we had some fire to help us warm up, it wouldn't be so cold." Naruto said cuddling the little animal, "Wait, we do have fire!" he called out. Holding his hands out he willed flame into existence only to just as quickly put them out as the flames went almost out of control, "I guess fire isn't supposed to be such a resort." Naruto told the little animal. In the end, they laid down together and shared their body heat to stave off the cold air.

XxX

"Senna, I found something!" Tonraq's voice carried out across the snow.

"What is it?" the southern chief's wife asked as she came trudging through the cold ground.

"An igloo, I think he might be inside." Tonraq said as he began to pull the water away. When the Igloo was no more they looked in was the snoring form of Naruto who was cuddling up to what was obviously a young Snow-leopard Caribou cub.

Senna could only smile, "He looks so peaceful." she whispered out as she walked up to her son and picked him up, ignoring his whimpers for the animal. Tonraq smiled as he walked over to the apparently new addition to the family and gently lifted it up off the ground where it began to purr once more as it was embraced in a warm grasp, a much larger warm grasp.

"Let's go home, we'll have to inform your dad about what happened to Aguila." he said softly as they began to make their way home. And not only that, but it was time to reach out and contact the White Lotus and inform them of the news. They couldn't hide it for much longer and he would soon be making his own destiny.

Several weeks later Naruto was sitting in his room while his parents wanted to talk to some important people. He had been told that special visitors would be coming but not what for. A knock on the front door gained Tonraq's attention. Opening the door the chief steps outside and smiles at the guests, "The White Lotus honors us with its presence." he said with a polite tone. With a bow he opens the door and usher's them inside from the cold.

Of course when the chief opened the door he saw his wife cleaning up yet another mess made by his son practicing his bending abilities. Seriously that boy was so young and had already managed to teach himself how to bend all four of the elements. He was sure that even Avatar's from the beginning of the cycle would be proud by these achievements. Seeing the guests outside Senna gave a polite bow to them, "Welcome to our home, I hope that what we show you pleases you." she says.

One of the elderly men clear his throat, "Lady Senna, while we thank you for the hospitality this is hardly the first time we have been told both in the northern tribe and the southern that some family has sired the Avatar. So explain to us how you are so sure that your son is the one?" he questioned the young mother seriously.

Senna smiled and looked down the hall, "Naruto could you come here for a second, we have guests that want to see you." she called for her son. However instead of the pitter patter of children's feet, the group of men had to take a step back as one of the walls burst out and flew past them. The group of men felt their eyes widen in surprise at the sudden movement and they all turn to face the direction the piece of rock came from. They then saw the young boy dressed in the water tribe's normal sleep wear step through the hole he made. He was a bit pudgy, as all children were at a young age, but they could see he was also very healthy.

Naruto pointed at the older man, "I am the Avatar. You got to deal with it!" he exclaimed as he jumped up and caused some rocks to rise up. With a quick heel spin he blasted the floating rocks at the group before they scattered around them. Next he brought both his hands behind his back and brought them to the front and clapped them getting a small burst of flames to erupt from the small movement which sent a gout of blue fire crashing near their feet where they stepped back a bit. Next he begun to wave his hands around and the spilled water from his mother's vase begun to move. Several twists and turns later the water formed a large tendril of water. A loud clap and once more a blast of wind was hurled in their faces.

The men looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They had indeed found what they were searching for. The leader looked to the smiling parent's, who were quite obvious to used to cleaning up messes made by the child, and bowed, "We thank you for the time. You shall hear from us soon." the man said as they soon quickly left afterwards. The Avatar had been found once again.

Naruto looked at hi father in curiosity, "You mean you're from the north?" he asked curiously as his father nodded.

"It's a complicated ordeal, but yes I am from the northern tribe." he told his now twelve year old son.

"Well how'd you end up down here? I mean I know of uncle Unalaq and my cousins Desna and Eska, but this is the first I'm hearing of you being from the north. Did something happen for you to end up down here?" he asked.

"It's not something I like to talk about." Tonraq told his son.

"Please, it'll help me understand as to why and maybe this information can help me in the future." Naruto told his father.

Tonraq gave a heavy sigh, "I left the North Pole because…I was banished." he told his son.

Naruto didn't say anything at first because he knew what banishment meant for a Tribesman. It was one of the most terrible punishments that could be passed down onto them, "You were banished from the North? Why?" he asked his father.

"Because I almost destroyed the entire tribe," he answered his son. He took a deep breath and began to tell his tale, "Fifteen years ago, I was a general in the Northern Water Tribe, sworn to protect my people. One day while out on training detail, your uncle Unalaq came to me and told me that that the city was being attacked by barbarians. But while their attack had been sudden, we were close enough to stop them. I drove them out of the city and deep into the frozen tundra." he explained to his son, "We tracked them deep into an ancient forest. Many believed this forest was the home to spirits, and the barbarians retreated there because they thought we wouldn't attack them on such hallow grounds. They thought wrong. We captured the barbarians, but in the process, we destroyed the forest. I didn't realize the consequences of what I had done. By destroying the forest, I unknowingly let loose angry spirits. They threatened to destroy everything, the entire city."

"Didn't you do anything about it?" Naruto asked him.

"I tired, but I failed." his father answered him as a look of grudging respect came over his features, "Unalaq was able to guide the spirits back to the forest. But by then, the damage had been done." The look disappeared and he stared out the cave again. "For being the cause of so much devastation, my father banished me from the Northern Water Tribe in shame. That's when I came to the South and started a new life." he explained.

"I see, thank you for explaining this to me." Naruto said to his father.

"I'm actually glad to have been able to tell you about it and you listen to me without going off about my younger days." Tonraq said to him with a kind smile.

"It was in the past, you made a mistake and tried to fix it, what more can be done is in the future." Naruto said as his friend he had found all those years ago in the snow came trotting into the room. He was much bigger now and would soon need to start staying outside, "But something doesn't make sense." he added on causing his father to look at him curiously.

"What is it?" he asked his son.

"How did uncle know where the barbarians would run to, and how was he able to ensure the spirits returned to the realm they came from? I mean, only a spirit can ensure that others remain calm, but the barbarians should never have known about such a ancient forest up north unless they were told about it." Naruto said.

Tonraq shrugged, "A question for another day I suppose. Come on, it's time for you to go to sleep." he said ushering his son to his room.

However, what his son had said would sit with him for several years, and it would all come to the front when certain events came into play.

-Seven Years later-

The years passed by again and Naruto had grown into a fine young man. He had passed the masters to ensure he had had adequate control of three out of four elements. Earth, Fire, and Water. He was only waiting for Tenzin to come by and test him to see if that was the case. They had had several spars now, and even the only true master Airbender was astounded by the young mans prowess in using his abilities. Currently Naruto was taking a test to show the White Lotus that he had successfully managed to learn how to properly bend Fire (Something he was much better at than most of the fire benders in their ranks). He was wearing a fireproof uniform and was standing in front of a Master.

A blast of golden flames raced towards the young man and Naruto simply punched the flames to destroy them as he released a blast of blue fire at his opponent.

The man bent the flames away and hurled another orb of flame at the man. Naruto slid under the strike and spun around on his heel while releasing a minor wave of flames at the man. As he did so the mans partner released a double blast of flames at him causing Naruto to cover himself from the blast. However when the strike had moved back Naruto inhaled deeply and gathered his chi. With this he then gave a roar and released the flames he gathered from his jaws and created a large scale fireball that raced towards the two bender's. As this happened several elder's, including the ones who had reported their finding about Naruto, watched on calmly.

A elderly woman with a southern water tribe outfit smile as she watched the young man fight, "He sure has gotten strong over the years. I can see he is using some of Tenzin's lesson's to fend off some of the strikes aimed at him." she said. This was Katara, wife of Avatar Aang, the previous Avatar.

"Indeed, he has shown remarkable prowess in his fighting styles." a master agreed.

Another man nodded in agreement, "I agree. Young Naruto has improved and has shown he is ready to move on with his training. When this is over we will have Tenzin begin training the boy." he said. The two bender's on the mat bent the large fireball away, but this was what Naruto wanted. With a clap Naruto drew his hands back, superheating his chi to an enormous degree, and blasted his hands forwards while releasing a wave of bright blue flames hot enough they were nearly white. The two men stood no chance and were blasted back into a couple of poles as Naruto stopped bending the flames at them.

Naruto took a deep breath and let it out, "Thank you for the spar gentlemen." he said calmly. With that he turned around and walked away from the two men and over to the elder's. He had grown up to be a well mannered young man. At the age of nineteen he was nearly six foot eight and had muscles on his body that shown how ripped and dedicated to training he was. He walked up to the elder's and gave a bow, "Was my performance satisfactory to you grand master's?" he questioned the old men. Oh he already knew the answer to that, but he had to ask just to be safe.

They nodded their heads, "Yes it is young man. To think that at such a young age you were more of a loud-moth brat, and looking at you now we see a man who is fit for any challenge the world throws at him. Congratulations young Avatar, you are ready to begin learning Airbending under the eyes of Tenzin." the Grand Master stated with a bow which Naruto returned.

Upon the men leaving he looked to Katara and jumped in the air, "Yes, finally. I say it's about time I moved on with my final element." he said happily.

Katara gave a chuckle, "Oh dear it seems that all the calm rationality and discipline ran right out of the door." the elderly said with a laugh coming from the old woman's throat.

Naruto took a deep breath and released it with a sigh of content, "Thank you, Aunt Katara for believing in me." he said to the old woman.

Katara raised a brow, "Oh, and to what do I deserve thanks for?" she questioned.

Naruto smiled back, "I know it was you who told them to let me pass, so I thank you." he said simply.

Katara waved it off, "No thanks I am good. Besides they would have done it regardless, Now why don't you run along and go have some fun on your own." she told the boy with a smile. Naruto said nothing else and stood up and rushed off to the stables.

Naruto laughed as he entered the small cave, "Yuki, come on girl, it's time to celebrate. I passed the Firebending portion of the training." he called out to his friend since childhood. A snort and blast of warm air blew across the young Avatar's face before a golden eye opened up in front of him, "Oh don't be like that girl, we're finished with the hard part. Now all we have to do is wait on Tenzin and leave." he said to his companion.

Yuki huffed before she stood up and walked out of her pen to reveal the beautiful creature she had become. Yuki is characterized by a relatively stocky build, thick white fur, and short ears which minimize heat loss and make Yuki well-suited for living in the tundras of the South Pole. Throughout Yuki's whole entire body, her coat is dotted by semi-large black open rosettes, while her face is covered by smaller black spots. In addition, she has a short muzzle and a domed forehead, allowing Yuki to adequately breathe the thin, cold air characteristic of polar regions. Yuki also has two large brown antlers and wide feet bearing crescent-shaped, cloven hooves that aid her travel in deep snow. Like other of her kind, Yuki has a short, blunt tail. Yuki also has sharpened canines and a dental formula consistent with that of other obligate carnivores.

Originally he had wanted to call her Mula, but for some reason he never did as it seemed like it would be a insult of some sorts, so instead he decided to name her after the snow where he found her in. Walking up to her, he laughed as she gently nuzzled his body with her large head showing he wanted to be loved on which he was quick to start doing for her, "You sure are excited lately, what's gotten into you?" he asked her curiously as he walked her out of the stable and climbed into the saddle fashioned for Yuki, "I think a small ride wouldn't hurt, come on girl." he said lightly popping her reigns getting her to trot to the gate.

As they neared it the guard demanded where he was going (Of course) before he responded that he would be taking a afternoon stroll with Yuki and watched as the gates open. Rising through them, Naruto enjoyed the freedom of the open land before him. He was only able to ride for about four hours and do his own thing before he had no choice but to return to the compound. He had definitely tried to take longer, but the last time it happened it hadn't ended well for him and hs training had been so much harder for a month, so he decided to use what time he had wisely and enjoy himself.

He wasn't able to make any friends due to his status as 'The Avatar' and everyone was always trying to kiss ass and get in his good graces or try and have him do things he wasn't stupid enough to try as he had seen and heard a lot of things. The only constant he had was that he was with his mother and father as well as Yuki. Oh sure Katara was there when he needed advice on using waterbending to help heal a wound he normally wouldn't get, but even then she could only give up so much knowledge. His grandfather had perished when he was twelve and thus he no longer had a teacher in the ways of tactics and he could no longer enjoy his bad jokes or witty remarks.

Hell, he wasn't even able to speak with his past lives as he wasn't even able to enter the Avatar State yet. Yes, he had full control over his four elemental training but he wasn't ready for it yet. Something in his body was telling him to be patient and accept the fact he hadn't entered it yet. Upon returning to the compound he was told by Katara that they had to wait outside as Tenzin was coming in, which didn't really bother him. It was dusk as Naruto stood outside the gate of the compound awaiting for his new instructor. He then heard the telltale sound of a air bison and turned with a smile as he watched the flying animal descend to the ground.

As the bison flew lower he couldn't help but chuckle as he heard Ikki rattle her father's ear's off with her constant barrage of, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? This looks familiar so we must be there!" which caused Naruto's smile to grow larger.

He heard Tenzin give a huff ,"Yes Ikki, how many times in the past fifteen minutes since we have arrived have I told you that yes we have finally arrived?" the man questioned his daughter as the sky bison landed. Naruto nearly lost it when he saw Meelo chewing on his father's head (Technically Tenzin was his second cousin or something like that, but who really cares), but he kept it in. He watched as Tenzin's children Ikki (age 12) and Jinora (age 17) jumped off of the Air Bison's backs with happy exclamation's while Tenzin simply climbed down with Meelo still clinging to him.

Tenzin smiled when he saw his mother standing there waiting for him, "Oh hello mother. You don't know how happy I am to see you." he said before leaning down and whispering "Please help me, I am about to lose my mind." causing his mother to laugh.

Katara smiled and took Meelo from his father which the boy did not like, "Unhand me strange woman!" he exclaimed as he wailed about trying to escape his grandmother.

Tenzin looked to his son, "That's your grandmother Meelo." he said to the child causing him to stop his thrashing.

Meelo hopped out of her hands and hid behind his father for a second before he blew a raspberry at Katara before running off to play. Katara didn't mind and gave a smile, "It warms my heart to see you all." she told her family happily.

Jinora gave her grandmother a hug as well as a greeting before she stepped back "Gran-Gran I was reading about one of your adventures the other day, and I wanted to ask, what happened to Zuko's mother?" she asked.

Katara went to answer but Ikki suddenly jumped in front of the elderly woman and begun to rant off her ears causing Naruto to chuckle as he watched the child. It was also at this time he noticed a extremely pregnant woman begin to make her way off the bison. Walking over calmly he smiled as he offered a hand to the woman, "Here Pema, let me help you." he said to her politely.

Pema smiled, "While I thank you for the help I want you to remember that I'm just pregnant, not disabled Naruto. Sheesh you're almost as bad as Tenzin is." she said with a smile.

Katara walked over and placed her hand on the pregnant woman's belly, "The baby sure is strong. I see a future bender coming again." she said with a smile on her face.

Pema gave a blank expression "Is it really to hard to ask for a normal baby. One that's not blowing air in my face every five seconds. I just want a regular, non-bender child like me." she said in exasperation.

It was also at this time Meelo called out to his mother. Knowing what the child intended before hand Naruto spoke up, "Meelo if you even think about it, I'm gonna freeze you in place until I feel satisfied or until I'm told to let you go." he said to the young boy causing the boy to blow the snow off his body where it didn't cover his mother and his father's disciple in snow.

Pema gave a sigh, "Were Tenzin and his siblings as bad as Meelo was?" she asked the woman.

Katara gave a laugh, "Bumi and Kya were, but Tenzin was always so serious." she responded to the pregnant woman.

Tenzin cleared his throat, "Naruto my boy I heard the news. I'm proud of how far you have come. You have indeed become quite the strong Avatar Naruto." he said to the young man.

Naruto gave a bow to the Airbender, "Thank you Master.I am ready to begin my spiritual training." he said. He had already passed all four elements, but he still lacked any spiritual training. It was his hope that he could learn how to commune with the spirits and finally unlock the Avatar State. If he could do that, then he could officially begin working as the Avatar to maintain the peace his past life Aang had striven to make and keep together, though he was ready to do it regardless if he could enter the Avatar State or not.

"Naruto!" Meelo's voice called out to him.

"What brat?" he asked the young boy.

"I learned a new move!" he stated with enthusiasm as he grinned widely, "Let me show you really quick!" he said excitedly.

Turning to the boy, Naruto watched as Meelo squatted down and seemed to focus intently…before the sound of a certain bodily function was heard as he blasted off towards his Grandmother rather quickly, "Jinora..." he stated as he caught sight of the young woman just now having made her way relatively calmly over to him, "Please tell me that Meelo didn't do what I just think he did." Naruto said as he winced at the smell, already knowing the answer.

"Be happy that you weren't around when he first figured it out." the teen muttered softly before catching his eye, "Mom and dad had to talk to him a lot to get him to stop calling it Fartbending." she told him.

"Of course they did." Naruto said to himself, "Anyways..." he continued as he leaned down to bring her closer to eye-level once he noticed Ikki had also hovered over to Katara and the others. Fully standing, she came up to about chin height on him, "How's my favorite Airbender been lately?" he asked her with a smile.

"I-I've been well, mostly spending time studying old Airbending scrolls, you know, the usual things dad has us do." the young Airbender responded with a slight flush visible on her cheeks.

"While playing catch up is all very well and good, Naruto, I'm afraid that there is some bad news." Tenzin told the young man.

Naruto raised a brow, "Oh, uh what is it? If you have to delay my training for a couple weeks then I completely understand. I mean you can leave some books for me to study and I will do so if that is the case. If there is something worse then allow me to come help you at Air Temple Island. I can stay at the temple and train there while helping Pema watch the kids." he offered Tenzin.

The older man shook his head "Naruto I'm afraid that isn't possible. People in Republic City are divided now more than ever before. People who bend are starting to be scandalized while those who don't strike out whenever they can. Soon a all out war is going to break out." he told the young man.

Naruto felt his eyes widen, "Then let me come. If your father and Lord Zuko founded Republic City then it is my duty to ensure that no blood is spilled between those who bend and those who don't. Aang was my predecessor and it is my duty as his legacy to ensure that the people live to see a better tomorrow." he told Tenzin honestly.

Tenzin sighed once more, "I'm sorry Naruto, but the situation is to dangerous for you. While I am proud that you are capable of using all four of the elements I am sorry to tell you I am only visiting for the night. Once things in Republic city settle down, then your training as the Avatar begins. Until then you are staying here in the compound to master some books that I managed to bring from my father's library." he told the teenager.

The next day Naruto watched on the back of his snow leopard caribou as the Sky Bison with the Airbending family flew away. Yuki stood behind him (well she was laying down but regardless) as his parents and great aunt stood in front of him, "So, you still plan on going... don't you?" his mother questioned.

Naruto looked to his mother, "If I had any other choice I would stay here, but you know that isn't possible." he told her, "But with the way things are going in Republic City I have no choice but to follow Tenzin. I leave at sundown to ensure they have a good lead on me." he said to her as Tonraq gently embraced his wife, "Ma, Pa... I'm gonna miss the both of you." he said to his parents.

Tonraq smiled and stepped forward, "I am proud to call you my son Naruto. No go on out there and have an adventure." he said to his son as he gave him his blessing.

Senna smiled at her only child, "Stay safe and don't cause trouble. Oh and if you meet a girl and stay with her, treat her right ok." she said as Naruto smiled at her and nodded his head. With their farewells said Naruto jumped onto the saddle of his friend and rushed off. He had no choice but to tunnel his way out (though he made sure he was a long distance away before he came up out of the ground before rushing to the port and sneaking on board a ship making its way to republic city.

XxX

As the ship sailed through the sea and the night, its captain and crew unaware of what was in the cargo hold. They were sailing from the South Pole to Republic City, the capital of the United Republic of Nations. It was an easy job and the ship was a part of a company that sailed the trade route between the two countries. So no one bothered to check the cargo hold for stowaways. This made it easy for said stowaway and his Snow Leopard Caribou to hide. Naruto knew that he should try and sleep but was just too excited to do that. He had just left the compound where he had grown up and trained in since he was five and going out to a new place.

However, having been told that his spiritual teacher was not in fact moving in like he was told, he had decided to make his way to him instead and stay secluded on Air Temple Island and he was so excited that his stomach was filled with butterflies at the thought of what he was doing, "Calm down, calm down," he told himself as he leaned against Yuki's fur, "Republic City won't get to you any faster if you stay this excited." he told himself.

It had taken him some time of course, but he finally fell asleep. However, it had felt like he had just closed them when he heard noises coming from outside of the ship. Sitting up he rubbed the grogginess from his eyes and when he recognized the sounds; and his energy came back in an instant. "Yuki, we're here!" he told his always faithful companion as he leapt up from where he was sitting but hid behind a stack of boxes so he wouldn't be caught right away. As the nearby loading door opened, the light from outside blinded him for a moment, causing him to raise up his hand to block it. But once it didn't hurt so much, he turned and went back to Yuki, "Come on, girl, let's bounce." he said, urging the large animal to get up.

Once Yuki was up and Naruto mounted her, they practically flew out of the ship, "Thanks for the ride guys!" Naruto shouted at the workers as he rode pass them, surprising most of them and causing a few to fall on their rears.

As Yuki and her rider rode out of the docks, the snow leopard caribou began to slow down. Naruto began to look at the city and was amazed by she had seen, "Wow, look at this place," he said in awe. He looked up at the nearby bridge and saw how clogged it was, "I've never seen so many Satomobiles!" he exclaimed, as what he was seeing was nothing like he had ever seen before in his life. He turned his eyes away from the bridge and out over the water as his eyes locked onto the small island out in the bay or rather, onto the statue that placed on the small island out in the bay. It was a statue of his predecessor, Aang. He held a staff with the symbol of Airbending on its tip and had a serene expression on his face as he looked at the city he had helped create.

Of course the waterbender knew about Aang. Having been his successor to being the Avatar, he had been curious about him and read everything and anything he could get his hands on about him (it also helped that his Waterbending master was Katara, Aang's wife who was also his great aunt). He was a legend that helped end the Hundred Year War by defeating Fire Lord Ozai in single combat and helped create the United Republic of Nations. Truth be told, he felt awed and intimidated at the sight of his predecessor and it felt like that he was watching him closely.

He turned his gaze away from the statue and looked at the larger island to the left of it, "Air Temple Island, dead ahead." he said as he recognized it instantly, "You ready for a little swim, girl?" he asked Yuki. walk down the street smelling the air as he did so, however in a surprising turn of events the Snow Leopard Caribou begun to walk down the street smelling the air as she did so, "Whoa girl. We need to get to the island, not hunt." he said trying to steer the feline back around. However Yuki ignored her friends order and continued to walk down the street. Upon arriving at a tent Yuki stopped as a delicious smell entered Naruto's nose.

"Ok I take that back. Meal first then Air Temple Island. Let me see if I have enough to feed us girl." he said as he dug around in his wallet (he had asked if he could have an allowance so he could support himself for future endeavors and was glad to have one). He nodded to himself when he found that he did indeed have enough to feed his hungry snow leopard caribou. Walking into the tent, with Yuki sticking her head in, Naruto sat at the bar, "Excuse me I would like to place a order." Naruto called out gaining the chef's attention.

Walking over the man leaned against the counter, "What can I get ya?" he asked his new customer.

Naruto smiled, "One of everything. I'll pay up front for it all." he said to the man as he laid down a couple of golden coins.

The chef looked at them with wide eyes, "Ok, you sure you don't want four of everything. I mean with this type of payment I could make that amount for you." he said to the Avatar.

Naruto almost jumped in surprise but managed to keep the shock in, "Y-Yeah sure." he said accepting the offer. After waiting for nearly fifteen minutes the chef and a young woman walked out carrying several bags with his purchases.

Setting them down the chef smiled, "Well, here you go. Four of everything just like you paid for. Thanks for the business and please come again anytime you like good sir." he said with a bow.

Naruto returned it and looked to his hungry companion. Placing half of the containers in front of Yuki (who was quite the pig when she wanted to be) they watched as the snow leopard quickly licked the small plates clean before she looked to Naruto who smiled as he finished loading his remaining bags of food onto her saddle, "Alright girl I hoped you enjoyed the meal, but now it's time to get going." he said as he walked out of the tent with his friend happily following behind him. So with that they begun to wander aimlessly around trying to find their way back to the docks, without success. Naruto eventually stopped and asked for directions and was told to head straight down the road.

With a thanks to the old woman he begun to make his way to Air Temple Island. It was also at this time that a Satomobile begun rolling down the road. He was urged by the woman to flee while he could before she closed her shop. Naruto looked to the thugs as they climbed out of the car and walked over to him, "Nice snow leopard caribou ya got there. How bout you let us take it off your hands, I'm sure we'd make a great deal for the beast." he said to the young man.

Naruto narrowed his eyes "Seriously, you're going to go with that line "Give me what I want now, or else I'm going to hurt you" like really, that is so old school it makes me wanna barf." he said to the thug.

The thug snorted, "Listen kid, I don't think you got my message. I am telling you, hand the animal over to us now, or else I will kill you and leave your cold corpse in a alley somewhere." he demanded from Naruto.

This man was more like a pouty bratty child who was so spoiled he cried when he didn't get what he wanted.

Naruto gave a growl and drew his hands behind his back quickly before thrusting them forward as he released a inferno of searing hot blue flames at the man who shouted in surprise as he was blasted back. The Firebender blasted some flames at the young Avatar, but Naruto simply forced molecules of Water to form into a large wall of water where the flames turned to steam, and then water as Naruto made it disappear. With a grunt Naruto thrust his foot out and sent a large glob of water at the hocked man's face and turned it to ice. With a kick to the face Naruto quickly dispatched him and turned to the now fleeing Satomobile.

"You're not getting away from me!" he yelled out to the remaining man who tried to steal his friend from him. Reaching out quickly he 'grasped' the Metallic machine and pulled causing it to screech to a halt and throw a man out of the front window. With a stomp Naruto brought up some Earth and had it wrap around the man and trap him. People who had seen the spectacle were wide eyed at what they had witnessed. A young man coming out of nowhere was Bending Earth, Fire, and Water with ease. Only one person in the world was able to do that. Suddenly the sound of sirens gained his attention causing him to wince, "I think we're in the Polar Bear Dog House now." he said to himself. This sucked icicles.

Suddenly a loudspeaker activated, "This is the police, stay where you are." a voice ordered as several Metal Bender's jumped out of the Airship.

Naruto raised his hands in the air, "Great, this is not what I had in mind, I should have just ran for it. Would Tenzin actually applaud me for that though?" Naruto asked himself.

One of the officer's landed in front of Naruto, "You there, freeze in the name of the law." he ordered the young Avatar.

Naruto gave a huff, "I did the moment you told me the first time when you arrived officer." he responded. He then pointed to the unconscious thugs, "Oh and just so you know I caught the criminals you should have caught to begin with. Just be glad I didn't cause collateral damage to the place." he said to the cop. With a snap of his fingers the cop pointed to the three thugs and had them restrained as they woke up. He then pointed at Naruto and the young Avatar soon found himself restrained, not that he put up a fight to begin with. Several more cops arrived and began to restrain Yuki.

With that done they managed to successfully wrap Yuki up with their metal wires. The cop that had restrained Naruto looked at him, "Thanks for not resisting arrest. Now if you would be as so kind as to come with us, we need to ask you some questions at HQ." he said to Naruto who responded to him by saying 'Lead the way.' and followed behind him.

Naruto was now in a interrogation room awaiting to be questioned, and he wasn't the most patient person right now, "Seriously what is the big deal those thugs were threatening to take my friend, and I did what any normal bender would of done and stopped them. Like seriously is that any reason to arrest a man?" Naruto complained rather loudly so that he might be heard outside of the interrogation room.

As if in response the door to the room opened revealing a woman with dark, if not slightly graying, shoulder length hair in a metalbending uniform that was darker in color than the average officer with golden accents, "Let's see, we have several counts for public brawling, public fighting, and even disturbing the peace." the woman read the list of charges off the files on a clipboard before she slammed it onto the table between herself and the teen, "While not as bad as many would put it, you still broke the law kid, and I hate it when people just go about ruining the day. Especially when it is mine." The woman stated agitated.

Naruto nodded his head in slight agreement, "But still if you think about, protecting one's own property is still nothing to squawk about. Like they say, possession is nine-tenths of the law." he responded to her.

The woman seemed to grow more annoyed at the young bender before she slammed her hand on the table to get his attention focused back on her "That's enough of that. You just don't seem to realize just how much trouble you are in at the moment." The woman said angrily looking at teen in front of her.

Snapping back to the situation at hand Naruto began to argue his case. "Listen lady, this has all been a huge misunderstanding." he said before he corrected himself, "Well mostly a misunderstanding." he stated, "I couldn't just ignore someone threatening to kill me just so he could sell my friend to some high grade pen." he claimed before he played the Avatar card. According to Katara when Aang revealed that he was the Avatar to people it would either get them out of trouble or at least some leeway, "You see I'm the Avatar." he revealed in what he hoped was a dramatic enough fashion for the biggest impact.

The woman snorted at the young man "Oh I am well aware of who you are. And your Avatar title might impress some people." the woman said, before she ruined his hope of being released, "But not me." She stated firmly.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh a little disappointed that his gamble failed completely before steeling himself. "Alright, fine." he said, "Then I want to talk to whoever's in charge." he demanded.

The woman finally took the seat across from the teen, a quick glare directed at Naruto causing the teen to stop chuckling, before she spoke, "You're talking to her." She revealed. Well shit, that just made this get out of jail free card a bogus, "I'm Chief Beifong." she then told him.

Naruto felt his eyes widen in surprise as he made a connection now that the dark haired woman identified who she was, "Beifong, Lin Beifong?" he questioned for clarification's sake and getting a nod in turn, "You're Toph's daughter, holy shit!" he pointed out in shock.

"What of it?" Lin returned gruffly looking at the Water Tribe man scrutinizing wondering where he was going with that tidbit of information.

Naruto was a little put off by Lin's apathetic response. "Why are you treating me like a criminal? My predecessor and your mother were friends. They saved the world together." he nearly shouted in anger.

Lin let out an annoyed sigh "And what you're talking about is ancient history and it's got diddle squat to do with the mess you're in right now. You can't just waltz in here and dole out some form of self induced justice like you own the place!" Lin finished.

A slot in the far side of the wall opened up revealing a police officer drawing the attention of the occupants of the room. "Chief." The man addressed. "Councilman Tenzin is here." He informed her.

Lin let out a tired sigh at the news. "Let him in." She instructed as calmly as she could as she stood from the table to face the door behind her.

The door slowly slid open revealing Tenzin in all his glory. As the man walked into the room he attempted to appear composed but anyone who knew the man could tell he was disgruntled and barely keeping up appearances.

"Tenzin..." Naruto bean with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry... I got a little side tracked on my way to see you." he apologized attempting to make light of the situation.

Despite his annoyance Tenzin stifled it to the best of his abilities as he took a deep breath and greeted Lin pleasantly. "Lin, you are looking radiant as usual." He complimented the woman.

"Cut the garbage, Tenzin." Lin retorted with a snarl, nearly, towards the airbender, "Why is the Avatar in Republic City? I thought you were supposed to be moving down to the South Pole to train him?" She questioned the man before stern look shifted into a glare.

Tenzin brushed off Lin's rebuttal to his comment simply enough having dealt with it for a number of years now, but he was brought up short at her final question and the accusation it carried leaving him spluttering for an explanation. "Uh, yes, well." Tenzin sputtered a bit. "I received an urgent summons from the council that pulled me away." He tried to explain but Lin was obviously not satisfied by it. Tenzin coughed into his hand in order to regain his composure and press ahead.

"As to the other matter my relocation has been temporarily delayed." Tenzin stated seriously his mind briefly flashing to all the problems currently facing Republic City before continuing. "The Avatar, on the other hand, will be heading back to the South Pole immediately, where he will stay put." He finished directing the last bit of his declaration specifically towards Naruto.

"Tenzin-" he tried to protest but a look from stopped him before he could get a word in edgewise.

"If..." Tenzin began cutting the young man, secretly old, off. "You would be so kind as to drop the charges against Naruto, I will take full responsibility for today's regrettable events, and cover all the damages." Tenzin promised.

For a few seconds Lin looked at the young Bender as if weighing her options but after a few more seconds of deliberation before letting out a breath and unlocking his handcuffs with a flippant wave of her hand, "Fine." Lin relented. I'll let him go, but get him out of my city and keep a closer eye on him." she all but ordered Tenzin firmly.

Tenzin took that chance to beat a hasty retreat. "Always a pleasure, Lin." He said somewhat hurriedly turning around walking out. "Let's go Naruto." he ordered and Naruto followed after Tenzin first briefly turning around.

"See you later." Naruto said bidding his farewell to the women giving her a two fingered salute before exiting. As he was leaving she made eye contact with the Avatar, Lin gestured that she would be keeping her eyes on him, which Naruto returned.

"Tenzin, I'm sorry that I had to shock you this way, but come on I only came here to stay on the island and not get involved in the world, don't send me back." Naruto pleaded as the two of them stood in the reception room of the police pound (whose other occupants were a little old lady and a large platypus-bear... don't ask). waiting for Yuki to be brought out to them, "I only came to learn how to connect with my spiritual side." he begged the master of air.

"You blatantly disobeyed my wishes and the orders of the White Lotus," he reminded the young man sternly.

"Katara agreed with me that I should come! She said that my destiny is in Republic City."

"Don't bring my mother into this!" he said, the top of his head going red as he tried not to shout.

"Tenzin, your head's gone red," the Avatar remarked from where he leaned against the wall, earning him a scowl from the Airbending master. Naruto gave a huff, "Look Tenzin, I'm nineteen years old, and I'll be turning twenty in several months, I can't be cooped up in the south forever, and if me leaving the compound helps me connect with my spiritual side then by the spirits that's what I'm gonna do." Naruto said honestly.

Tenzin struggled with coming up with an argument with his words, but was tongue tied. The sound of a door opening allowed him to stop thinking about it and look to see a police officer standing before them with Yuki on the leash, "Is this your Snow Leopard Caribou, sir?" he asked Naruto.

His hair was already a complete and utter mess, but Yuki just made it worse by licking it upwards with her large rough tongue.

Republic City Docks

Naruto sighed as he started to head towards the White Lotus members so he could return the South Pole. However before he made it far, three air gliders landed next to Naruto and Tenzin's three children ran to the young Avatar.

"Naruto!" they each shouted in excitement.

"Are you coming to live with us on the island?" asked Ikki excitedly.

"Are we gonna play games together?" Meelo asked him

"Are we going to learn proper meditation together like when we were younger?" Jinora asked him with hope in her eyes.

Naruto knelt down and placed a hand on Ikki's shoulders, "No, I'm sorry Ikki, I have to go home now." he said sadly.

"Aw." Said Ikki with a saddened face. Naruto silently returned it and pat the girl on the head before he walked to the ship ready to take him home.

He turned to Jinora, "And sorry to say, but your dad is a stick in the mud and doesn't wanna help right now." he said pointing to the bald man.

"Wait." Tenzin said as he stepped forward, "I have done my best to guide Republic City towards the dream my father had for it. But you are right. It has fallen out of balance since he has passed. I thought I should put off your training in order to uphold his legacy, but it is as you said back in the southern tribe, you are his legacy." Tenzin said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You may stay and train airbending here with me. Republic City needs its Avatar once again." He finished

"Yes! Thank you! You're the best!" Naruto cheered happily. The young kids (Ikki and Meelo) cheered also and he hugged them all together. Naruto let them down and looked up to Tenzin and grinned, "You are such a big softly." he said with a cheesy grin.

"Be quiet Naruto." Tenzin said plainly.

The next day at Republic City Town Hall

Naruto stood on the podium as he started his speech. He cleared his throat, "Hello, I'm Naruto, your new Avatar." he announced to the populace. The crowd cheered.

"Does this mean you're moving into Republic City?" asked a reporter

"Were you trying to send a message to the triads yesterday?" asked a different reporter

"Will you be fighting crime or the anti-bending revolution or both?" asked a third reporter

"Will you be working with Chief Beifong and the police?" asked a different reporter

"Um, yes, I am defiantly here to stay, but as of right now I don't have any plans set up. No I was not trying to send a message to the gangs of Republic City as that was a personal ordeal which I will not get into. As of right now I have no plans on fighting the anti-bending revolution or crime as I am still trying to settle in as of this moment. I have no clue of I will be working with Chief Beifong or not as I haven't been told anything." Naruto answered each question calmly, "All I know is Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the center of peace and balance in the world and…I believe we can make his dream a reality." Naruto said sincerely, "I look forward to serving you. I'm so happy to be here! Thank you Republic City!" he said cheerfully as he threw his hands in the air.

"Alright, that's all the questions the Avatar can answer for today." Tenzin said as he rushed the young man off the stage.

And I guess that makes this a wrap. Please LIKE/FOLLOW/FAVORITE to show this story some love for me and don't forget to leave a COMMENT/REVIEW to let me know you read the second update.

Chapter three is out finally, please enjoy

"And in the final round the buzzerwasps won with a decisive knockout." Naruto said excitedly as he read the paper, "What do you say we go to the arena tonight and catch a few pro-bending matches?" he asked excitedly. As far as he knew such sports were a very big thing, and he grew to love them. With the creation of Pro-Bending he was all for it since he liked the concept of quick decisive strikes.

"That sport is a mockery of the noble tradition of bending." Tenzin argued with the teenager.

"Come on Tenzin, I've been dreaming to see a pro-bending match since I was a kid and now I'm just a ferry ride away." Naruto whined as he pointed at the arena across the water showing that the arena was literally across the way.

"Naruto, you're not here to watch that drivel. You're here to finish your Avatar training. So for the time being I want you to remain on the island." Tenzin said to the young avatar.

"Is that why your keeping the White Lotus sentries around to watch my every move?" he asked as he pointed to the dozen or so sentries guarding the dining hall.

Tenzin nodded his head, "Yes, in order to learn airbending, I believe you require a calm and quiet environment free from any distractions." Tenzin lectured the boy.

Naruto couldn't help but cross his arms with a pout, "Alright, you're the master." Naruto grumbled reluctantly.

-Air Temple training ground-

"So so, what do you think of Republic City Naruto huh huh huh?" Ikki asked excitedly as they waited for Tenzin to show up.

Naruto hummed as he threw Meelo into the air and the young Airbender landed on his shoulders with airbending, "Well, it definitely is different than I thought it would be. To be honest I expected something less different than what I imagined it t be, but all in all, it's pretty cool." Naruto said to the young Airbender.

Ikki grinned brightly, "Does that mean you're going to move here and live with us forever?" she asked quickly.

"Ikki calm down." Jinora said to her sister, "Don't mind her Naruto, she's weird like that." Jinora said with a smile.

"Yes, yes she is. But in a good way." Naruto smiling at the two.

They saw Tenzin entering the training ground.

"Naruto's gonna airbend, Naruto's gonna airbend!" Ikki said excitedly while jumping up and down.

"So, what is this contraption?" Naruto asked as he looked at the large training device.

"A time honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspects of airbending. Jinora would you like to explain this exercise?" Tenzin asked his oldest child.

"The goal is to weave your way through the gates and to make to the other side without touching them." Jinora said as she gave a textbook answer.

"Seems easy enough." Naruto said calmly.

"Jinora forgot to say that you have to make it through while the gates are spinning." Ikki added towards the Avatar.

Tenzin stepped forward and released an air blast and the gates started to spin. Tenzin picked up a leaf, "The key is to be like the leaf." He said as he sent the leaf through the device, "Flow with the movements of the gates. Jinora will demonstrate." Tenzin finished. The teenager easily wove through the gates with easy as Tenzin added commentary, "As you already know Naruto, airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance you must be able to switch directions at a moment's notice." he lectured the Avatar.

"Well yea, I know that. I've been bending the element since as long as I can remember." he told Tenzin.

"But do you know how to fight like a airbender?" Jinora asked him as she came back around.

"Ok, fair point." Naruto conceded.

"Well, a airbender you may be, but a master you are not." Tenzin said.

Jinora then sent an air blast to get the gates to rotate again, "Let's do this!" Naruto said with determination as he cracked his neck and knuckles. With that he quickly made his way up the steps and begun to use his past life's experience as a hardened warrior to bob and weave his way through the gates. Tenzin smiled as he watched Naruto make quick and logical turns that easily saw him pass through the gates.

Upon exiting Tenzin smiled with acknowledgement and even clapped a couple times, "Very good. It seems that you are indeed worthy of the training set up for you later on as a airbender." he told Naruto who grinned.

"I know, tell me more about how awesome I am." he said buffing his nails on his clothes.

-Later that night-

Naruto was sitting on the roof of the Sentry tower with a smile on his face. He was sitting calmly thinking about how well the day had went so far and sighed in contentment as he lay on his back. The Avatar then heard the radio chatter in the distance talking about pro-bending. Naturally he decided to listen in and sat back up once again. He didn't even make a sound as he listened to the radio as he imagined the fight going on. And just as it was getting to the best part…the radio was unplugged, nearly making Naruto cry out to the heavens in agony before a familiar voice spoke, "Naruto, come down here please." Tenzin said holding the radio cable.

Naruto just gave a sigh slide off the roof and landed on a soft pile of earth and walked in to the building, "You shut it off at the best part!" he complained to his teacher.

"I thought I made myself clear. I don't want you listening to this distracting nonsense." Tenzin said with authority.

"But it's their radio." he said as she pointed to the White Lotus guards who looked sheepish, "And technically you said I couldn't watch a match. You didn't say anything about listening to one." he argued back towards Tenzin.

"You…you know what I meant. Anyway should you be in bed Naruto?" He asked as he used his airbending to flip his cape.

-The next day-

Naruto was in his Southern Praying Mantis stance with his eyes closed. He turned to his left and shot out three earth columns and then followed with making branches of earth sticking out of them. He reversed the motion and made an earth line to his right at a tree and then levitated several small rocks and tried to compress them. He then proceeds to firing the compressed rocks at another tree and ripped holes into it. "Damn, still to slow in compressing." He muttered as he wiped his brow with a towel. He had been practicing for three hours straight.

"Wow that was cool." said the voice of Jinora.

He turned to see the young airbending teen, sipping what seemed to be a glass of lychee juice.

"Hey Jinora, how are you doing?" he asked while wiping himself off.

"Nothing really. Waiting around sucks." the teenager said plainly.

"It is, but that is why we learn patience." he countered as he fixed the terrain of his training area with earthbending.

"You sound like dad. So what are you doing?" she asked him curiously.

"Eh, just practicing something I came up with a while back. I'm trying to compress large rocks quicker." he said as he finished repairing the ground.

Jinora finished her drink and looked at him curiously, "Why?" she asked him.

Naruto grinned, "Watch." He said as he brought up a medium size rock, compressed it in about five seconds and punched it sending the fragments of the rock forward and pelting into a tree.

"Whoa." she said in awe.

"I call it a scatter shot. I created it so I could strike anybody who tried to attack me head on." He said as he once more repaired the ground to the way it was originally.

"That does seem useful." Jinora admitted.

"Yep and that's why I want to get the timing down quicker." he told her with a huff.

"Well I'm going to head off to relax with mom. See ya in the afternoon Naruto. And try not to work to hard!" she told him as she walked off, a bit of a extra sway to her steps causing him to watch her hips as she left.

"She is just so cruel." he told himself.

XxX

"Man time flies." Naruto muttered as he headed towards the meditation area.

It was around fifteen minutes after he arrived that Tenzin did. The older Airbender smiled towards his student, "Ah, I am glad to see that you made it on time Naruto. Now let us begin the meditation." he said as he sat down and placed his hands on his lap.

Naruto cleared his throat, "Do you mind if I do it differently?" he questioned causing Tenzin to open his eyes.

Cocking his head to the side curiously he asked, "What do you mean?" asking for Naruto to elaborate.

Instead of speaking Naruto began to earthbending where soon a large spike of earth rose out of the ground where it was soon fifteen feet off the ground. Stomping a flat piece of earth flew up where he caught it. Looking to his master he spoke, "If Airbending is the element of freedom and balance, then one should try to achieve both at the same time. I always heard tales of people who meditated this way back before the Hundred Year War and decided that I wanted to try achieve my own peace and freedom like they did." he explained. That and he was having a feeling of something telling him that he had to do this.

Tenzin gave a shrug at the idea, "If that is what you wish then by all means go ahead." he said to the young man.

Naruto grinned and jumped up where he placed the exact center of the earthen plate on top of the spike and sat down. Tenzin watched in silent awe as Naruto kept his balance and didn't fall like he initially thought he would. Closing his eyes Naruto begun to meditate, and soon the world turned white around him and swallowed him as it led him to a different world.

-Spirit World-

He looked around and saw a barren land. The only sign of life he could find was the singular tree that stood as tall as the sky itself. However, there was a sense of darkness around it. He allowed his spirit form to walk over to the tree and saw that inside the large hole of the tree was some form of spirit, "What the hell?" he asked himself.

"Ah~ Raava my old friend, it seems you have finally decided to grace me with your presence after all these years, I'm feeling quite touched. And you brought your little human friend along with you as well, though he seems to look better without the golden hair I'll admit." the spirit said.

"Raava, who's Raava? Better yet, who are you?" Naruto demanded.

"I am the only thing that this world needs to worry about in the upcoming months." the spirit chuckled, "As for you other question, who, or what in this case, do you think allows you to be the only one of your kind. The master of the four elements, the incredible force that allows you to bend the elements at such a level it makes all other's envious. Why don't you just ask her yourself when you wake up from your little trance." the spirit seemed the sneer at him.

"If you are some type of spirit there must be a reason you got locked up the way you are, and whoever did it did it in a way to ensure that no person or spirit could free you." Naruto said in observation.

"Hmph, very perceptive. You were about the same age you are now when you first imprisoned me. Your very essence smells exactly like the first incarnation of the Avatar spirit. If I had to guess, Raava had a hand in pulling your spirit forward and placed it inside that body you inhabit. But make no mistake, I will be free, and I will fulfill my promise to you from ten thousand years ago when you first defeated me and destroy you, Raava, and the material plane." it told Naruto in a growl.

"Are you the reason spirits haven't been seen that often if not at all?" Naruto asked him.

"Partially, but the main reason is because you locked me away and sealed both the northern and southern spirit portals. If you were to open them, then the spirits could return to the matrieal plane and be seen much like a human would be. However, seeing as you closed it that hasn't happened in roughly ten thousand years so it all depends if you're man enough to do it."

"Just who are you anyways? You seem to know me on a personal level, if only to an extent, but yet here I am clueless about who you are. So, what's your name?" Naruto asked.

"My name, is Vaatu. Remember it well human for when I rip Raava out of your body and destroy her in front of your eyes." the now named Vaatu said.

"I think I've heard enough." Naruto said turning around to walk away.

"Oh but you haven't even heard the best part about how I'm going to do it yet." Vaatu seemed to say in almost what seemed to be a whine.

Naruto sighed as he stopped. Despite something in him telling him to ignore Vaatu and leave he decided to hear the spirit out, "Well, go ahead, I'm all ears." Naruto seemed to huff.

"I have a friend in the material plane. We've had some communications now and then, but he seems extremely interested in becoming like you, but with me as the energy needed to be the one to destroy you forever, Raava." Vaatu seemed to sneer.

Naruto shrugged, "Let him come, we can settle the fight when it comes, but until then, you're still stuck here at the end of the day." he said before walking away. He didn't leave the spirit world however as he simply walked towards some type of blue sphere that glowed dimly in the light provided by the spirit world, "Is this a spirit portal that Vaatu was talking about?" he asked himself as he went to touch it, only for a feminine voice to call out to him.

"Don't touch that portal!" the surprising voice called which made him to jump and pulled his hand back from the orb.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"I did, the one named Raava." Raava's voice told him.

"Why should I not touch the portal?" Naruto asked, not entirely sure as to why he was readily listening to the spirit.

"Because, if you open that portal, then you risk freeing Vaatu. If he has somebody talking to him in the material world, then that must mean they are working on a way to free him together, and you are the only person in the world that can provide such an opening for them to enact their plan of destroying the both of us." Raava told him honestly.

"Vaatu mentioned something about you pulling my essence out of something and putting it in this body, what did he mean by that?" he asked.

"You are the First Avatar brought back to ensure that the Harmonic Convergence keeps Vaatu trapped. I brought you back not only to keep your promise, but to make sure that Vaatu remains entrapped in the Tree of Time where you put him." Raava told him honestly.

"But if the Spirits have been seperated for all these years, wouldn't it make sense to allow them back into the material world?" Naruto asked as he reached his hand out.

"It would make many people happy, but the Harmonic Convergence is literally in four months. We cannot risk opening the spirit portal's without risking freeing the literal embodiment of chaos and destruction." Raava told him.

"I think I have a plan in mind for such a occasion." Naruto said to himself.

"Oh yea, what would that be?" Raava asked him.

"You'll see." he said.

"You risk a lot by doing this, rethink your actions Naruto." Raava warned him.

Naruto ignored her as he reached his hand out so he could have it placed on the portal where his eyes began to glow brightly with white and the whole of the spirit world seemed to hum with energy. Was this the power of the Avatar State? Had he achieved it? He reached out with one finger and touch the portal, a ring of energy escaping from his touch. In that single second, he heard a single bell chime and it coursed through his entire body. The area around him darkened but the portal burned brighter than ever. The ice that surrounded the portal in the south pole cracked with loud crashing cracks sounding like thunder before a gigantic beam of light burst out of the portal and shattered it. Naruto felt himself be flung off to the side, slightly hurt but safe.

The beam of light shot upwards into the sky, piercing through the clouds of the Everstorm that prevented anyone from nearing the portal as it rose up. The clouds themselves faded away once pierced, leaving nothing but clear and starry night skies of the southern pole. Everyone for a thousand miles could see it go higher and higher into the sky. When it reached its zenith, it stopped. From there, it split into many streams of light, glowing green against the dark and making everything seem to come alight. Naruto felt himself being flung out of the spiritual plane and back into his body where he fell back with a gasp and off his perch where he crashed to the ground with a crash.

Tenzin shook himself out of his meditation upon hearing the crash and saw that Naruto had fallen off his... spot. He was quick to get up and was followed by Jinora as they rushed over to him, "Naruto, are you alright?" he asked the young man.

"I did it. I entered the Spirit World old man." he grunted out.

Tenzin perked up, "Really, what was it like?" he asked curiously, with a hint of excitement.

"You won't believe me if I told you." he told the old man, "There was this... spirit that had been imprisoned there by the first Avatar, but it was also due to this that the spirits haven't been seen that often by mankind. The first Avatar closed two spirit portals and trapped it there, and I just opened one." he said.

"So you risk freeing this dark spirit through the actions of opening one of these portal's!" Tenzin yelled out.

"I have a plan for that, don't worry Tenzin." Naruto said grinning.

-Later that night-

He couldn't help but feel as if something were calling him. With that Naruto opened a window of where he was staying watching as a White Lotus sentry passed by. Despite Tenzin's insistence of him not letting himself be distracted by the sport Naruto had already decided that he wasn't going to miss her first pro-bending match for anything in the world. Jumping out of the window Naruto landed silently on the ground before making a break for it. Without the least bit hesitance, the young Avatar jumped off a cliff and into the bay, using his Waterbending to bend some water into a funnel to catch him.

Once he was underwater Naruto then proceeded to swim towards the pro-bending arena. Naruto eventually emerged from under the water next to pro-bending arena. A smile graced his wet face when he noticed that a window had been left open far above him. Using his Waterbending Naruto quickly propelled himself up and through the window, landing lightly on the other side, before waterbending the water off of himself in a twirl.

With the escape from the island complete, he begun to explore his surroundings. The first room that he came across was a large spacious room. The room seemed to by gym with training equipment scattered about along with some earth disks and nets. Naruto couldn't help it and smiled as he took it all in, imaging using some of the equipment himself as he prepared for a match. Naruto continued to look around with a smile on his face as he turned his head in every which way as he took it all in.

While it wasn't likely, Naruto thought that the trouble that he could get into if his teacher found out about his escape was definitely well worth it in exchange for the happiness he felt right now. "Hey!" A voice from behind them shouted, startling the teen' and causing him to turn around. "What are you- Oh it's you." The man, an older gentleman with white hair pulled back into a ponytail and large sideburns, started rather forcefully near the beginning only to deflate near the end once he spotted Naruto. The man wore earthbender clothing with a towel around his neck and arms bandaged.

"Uh," Naruto started. "I-I uh was just-" he began to give their excuse only to be caught off by the man.

"Save it." The man stated. "I have heard it all, no excuses will stop me from doing my job." The man said as he walked up to Naruto, ready to escort him out.

However, before he could do that- "There you are!" A young woman, with shoulder length black hair braided up in a ponytail style, green eyes, and dressed in pro-bending equipment, said rushing towards the teen her gaze fixed on Naruto. "It's all right Toza he's-" she began to say but Toza stopped her.

"Yeah whatever kid." Toza said grumpily. "He's your responsibility. I've got work to do." the elderly man said walking away using his earthbending to lift and throw a dumbbell around the room.

"Phew, that was a close one." she muttered quietly to herself, but quickly recovered from it, "Anyway if you'll come right this way, Sir, I'll give you the grand tour." the young woman promised. The teen lead Naruto into the locker room that that revealed the playing field an entire side of the wall missing to reveal the field and offer a great view.

"What do you think? Best seats in the house huh?" The teen asked, mostly interested in Naruto's response.

Naruto looks out in awe walking to the very edge of the locker room and resting his hands on the handrail, "Whoa! Unbelievable! This place is even more amazing than I imagined." Naruto said distracted as he looked around. Behind the three of them another couple of people entered the locker room dressed in the same red pro-bending uniform as the black-haired teen.

"Name's Bisca by the way." the young woman said introduced to herself.

"Naruto." Naruto replies absently as he was much too busy looking around so he didn't have his focus completely on the young beauty, with slightly larger breasts than Pema. God he wished Tenzin would leave so he could suckle on those heavenly fruits.

"Bisca what are you doing?" a voice called from off to the side where one of the people who walked in called the young Bisca's name trying to get her attention.

Bisca made her way towards the person unbothered, sparing Naruto a quick glance, "Yeah?" she asked.

"I told you," the teen with long black hair and orange colored eyes, size DD breasts, said as she pulled her close, "You have to stop bringing in your crazy fans in here before the matches. Get. Him. Outta here." she instructed firmly, briefly eyeing Naruto, as she finished putting on the last of her gear.

"Ah, come on Maki." Bisca complained to the woman, "Alright, look, I kinda promised that he could stay." she started off before perking up, "Besides I don't think that he's taken, you know in the couple of minutes I've known him I could tell, he's single." Bisca said rather excitedly at the end and then quickly recovering,"Come on, I've got a good feeling, there's something special about him. I just know it." she reasoned trying to get the now named Maki to change her mind.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked walking over to the pair calmly.

"Not at all." Bisca replied urging Naruto closer before turning back to Maki. "Everything will be fine if he's with me, right?" she asked Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm with her." Naruto agreed suddenly worried that they might get thrown out and she'd end up missing the match.

"So, you see, we're together." Bisca told Maki eagerly.

Naruto looked at Bisca out of the corner of his eye a slightly guarded expression on his face, "Well not together, together." he refuted charily, "More like, friends." he explained definitively.

Bisca immediately backtracked mortified with red cheeks and trying to ease the situation, "Right, friends." she agreed hastily, "No, no, I didn't mean to imply." she said trying to defend herself.

"Oh, you implied it." Naruto accused the young woman.

"Anyway." Bisca continued trying to maintain some sense of poise, "I want you both to meet my older sister, Tamaki, though I just call her Maki for short." she said introducing her sister to the man.

Naruto's previous accusing expression suddenly changed as Maki's name registered in his mind. "Tamaki?" he repeated sounding impressed. "Wow, I heard you play on the radio." he said holding out his hand for her to shake.

Tamaki's response was to completely brushed Naruto off without saying a word to him. "Come on, Bisca, we're up." she told her sister putting on her helmet.

"Or I could meet her later." Naruto muttered withdrawing his hand.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Bisca apologized. "My Sister just gets real... focused before the match." she did her best to explain but it came out sounding like a very obvious lie in Naruto's ears, "Okay, I've gotta go." she then said hastily rushing to catch up with her sister and their other teammate, "Wish me luck. Not that I'll need it." she called back confidently.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Bisca's confidence. "Good luck." Naruto said.

For the next several minutes Naruto watched the match between the Fire Ferrets, the team that Tamaki and Bisca were a part of, and the Golden Temple Tigerdillos. At the beginning the match seemed to be very one-sided and not in favor of the Fire Ferrets, as they seemed to lose ground quickly to their opponents. At one point of the match Naruto was pulling at his hair nearly tearing it out as he watched Bisca and the last member of the Fire Ferrets, a waterbender name Hasook, get knocked over the edge of the ring and into the water below.

Despite the odds being against her Tamaki managed to keep cool dodging all three of her opponents strikes. Eventually the Tigerdillos grew tired as evident as their strikes started to slow down providing Maki the opportunity to retaliate. Tamaki first sent a quick blast of fire at the waterbender of the opposing team knocking him out with that single hit. Following that she let loose a barrage of fire attacks at her two opponents which eventually resulted in the firebender Tigerdillo being blasted out of the ring. Finally, it came down to just Tamaki and the earthbender Tigerdillo the two trading blows that resulted in a cloud of dust being thrown up because of the earth disks that were destroyed by her fire blasts.

Through the dust Tamaki got in a hit that sent earthbender all the way to edge of his side of the ring. The earthbender barely recovered and managed to raise an earth disk when Tamaki was already on him hitting him with a single fire blast that knocked him over the edge. The crowd erupted into cheers at the victory of the Fire Ferrets, Tamaki even taking a moment to appreciate the cheers she was receiving. Naruto got swept up in the excitement of the Fire Ferrets victory as they embraced each other in their exhilaration. Soon enough Bisca rejoined him in the locker room whooping in excitement.

"Woo-hoo, yes!" she shouted loudly, "One more win and we're in the championship tournament." she stated before catching her breath and calming down, "So, what'd you think Naruto?" The earthbender asked coolly as she took off his helmet. "Bisca's got some moves, huh?" she asked him.

Naruto took her by the shoulders and started to shake Bisca a little roughly, "What did I think? What did I think?!" he asked rhetorically, "That was amazing!" the Avatar declared before shoving the black-haired youth, his strength causing her stagger back a few steps. Naruto quickly stepped forward and caught the earthbender before she ended up walking back all the way across the room, "You guys were awesome!" Naruto said happily slapping Bisca on the back and causing her to stagger forward.

"Yeah, awesome." Bisca muttered a little dumbfounded at the strength the older bender possessed. Before anything else could be said the duo heard the tail end of an argument that was happening between Tamaki and Hasook as they drew closer from the arena. Tamaki was glaring at her teammate but the waterbender was hardly paying any attention to her as he tried to ignore Maki as best he could.

"You did more harm than good out there." Tamaki told her teammate angrily, "You almost cost us the match." she said heatedly.

"We won, didn't we?" Hasook retorted finally getting tired of her pestering.

"Barely." Tamaki replied shortly.

Hasook glared at the young beauty "Get off my case, bitch." The waterbender said with a growl as he threw his helmet to the floor before walking off.

"Useless." Maki muttered glaring at her retreating teammate, but instead of chasing after him the firebender decided to take off the last of her equipment.

Having seen the entire confrontation Naruto walked up to Maki with a small encouraging smile on his face as he tried to lift his spirits, "You guys were incredible out there. Especially you, Mrs. Hat Trick." he complimented him good naturedly.

"Oh, you're still here?" Tamaki said disinterestedly as she didn't even bother to look up at Naruto.

Naruto of course frowned at Maki's attitude, "Oh, you're still a brat?" he returned before he returned his attention back to Bisca, "Anyways." Naruto began as he perked up a bit, "I've been immersed in bending my entire life but I never learned how to move like that. It's like there's a whole new style here. Think you could show me a few tricks?" he asked hopefully. He really would like to incorporate some of that into his already powerful Bending abilities

Bisca responded instantly more than happy for any excuse that allowed her to spend more time with Naruto, "Absolutely." she stated.

Hearing her sister's response Tamaki couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh, "Right now? Come on Bisca." she huffed.

"Just ignore her." Bisca told Naruto waving her sister off.

"Gladly." Naruto replied with a foxy grin.

Bisca almost found herself laughing at Naruto's response, but the look directed at her from Tamaki stifled said laughter, "Yeah," she began once she was sure she wouldn't start laughing, "I could show you the basics. I'm just not sure how my earthbending would translate to your waterbending. But we'll figure it out." she promised thoughtfully. This would be a good challenge for her.

"Won't be a problem, I'm actually an Earthbender." Naruto responded to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume. Its that, since just figuring with your water tribe getup that you were a water tribe guy." Bisca said confused.

"No your right, I'm a Waterbender and a Firebender as well as a Airbender." Naruto said happily.

"Hmm, I'm very confused right now." Bisca said honestly, her face saying it all.

Tamaki gave a deep sigh, "You're the Avatar and I'm an idiot." the other girl said.

"You know something, both are surprisingly true." Naruto said with a nod. After the attitude, he had been getting from Tamaki since they met Naruto was happy to get even smallest of shots in at her expense.

Bisca's face changed from one exaggerated expression to another as her gaze shifted between her sister and Naruto repeatedly, "No… way." she said before turning to look at her sister, "The Avatar!" she whispered loudly whilst shielding her gaze from Naruto and pointing her finger at the person in question.

The quartet moved to the gym where Bisca showed Naruto the basics of the style she used during her pro-bending matches. Naruto had to adjust his own style a bit, but he proved how talented he was at bending when he quickly picked up what Bisca was showing him, "Alright nice job Naruto." she praised wiping away a bead of sweat from her brow, "You're a natural at this." she praised him, "At this rate we could make you a real pro-bender in no time." she added in thought as she looked at him with a wide grin.

"You think?" Naruto asked hopefully, the smile he wore stretching wider when Bisca nodded her head in confirmation.

"Not bad." Tamaki added in offhandedly.

Naruto deflated a bit at her compliment, "What's it' take to impress this chick?" he muttered.

Tamaki put her hands in the air, "What I said not bad." she said in defense. Naruto smirked before he rolled his eyes before shaking his head exasperatedly. Tamaki gave a sigh, "You know what, it's getting late. I think I'm gonna turn in. You kids have fun." she told them as she began to walk away, pausing just long enough to look back at Naruto, "Nice to meet you Avatar Naruto." she said with some sincerity in her voice.

"Yeah, been a real pleasure." Naruto said in response.

Tamaki ignored the sarcasm in the mans voice as she addressed her sister one last time before she left the room. "See you upstairs sis." she said tiredly

"Upstairs? You guys live here?" Naruto asked curiously once he registered what Maki had said.

"Yup. In the attic. Though our elder brothers Mako and Bolin work at a power factory and construction respectively. They should be in sometime tomorrow if you wanna meet them. They sometimes take over for us when we have a match. It's good training and helps keep us in shape." Bisca replied. "The room we have is nothing fancy, but we have some great views." she told him before shaking the subject, "So, back to bending, why don't we throw that combo one more time?" the busty earthbender suggested to Naruto with a smile.

XxX

Later that night Naruto had returned to Air Temple Island after finishing his impromptu training session with Bisca. The young Avatar was being careful as he made his way home not wanting to be caught by the White Lotus sentries, or worse by Tenzin himself. The next night Naruto managed to sneak his way into the pro-bending arena once more. Walking into the locker room he expected his new friends to either be excited and eager or tense and nervous. What he didn't expect was to see Tamaki and Bisca in sullen moods, "I didn't miss your match, did I?" Naruto asked as he walked up to the siblings, "You guys look like you lost already." he pointed out.

"We might as well have." Bisca replied depressingly.

"What happened?" Naruto asked them.

"Hasook's a no-good no-show!" Maki growled out angrily.

"Well what about your brother's?" Naruto asked.

"Can't have them enter. It's strictly Earth, Water, and Firebending. That, and they aren't here." Bisca said sullenly.

The referee stuck his head into the locker room and addressed the members of the Fire Ferrets. "You have two minutes to come out ready to play or you're disqualified." He informed them before waiting somewhat impatiently for their response.

"Well, there goes our shot at the tournament... and the winnings." Tamaki muttered resignedly.

"Can't you ask one of those guys to fill in?" Naruto suggested pointing toward a couple of players who were in the process of taking off their equipment.

Bisca had to shoot his suggestion down, "Nah, the rules say you can only compete on one team." she informed him.

"Well then what about me?" Naruto proposed to the siblings, "I do have to admit that I'm a top-notch waterbender, if I do say so myself." he told them optimistically.

Bisca looked at Naruto skeptically "But, you're the Avatar." she pointed out obviously, "Isn't that cheating?" she asked Naruto.

Naruto just smiled reassuringly, "It isn't cheating if I only do Waterbending." he claimed.

Tamaki thought it over for a second before outright refusing, "No way." she decided, "I'd rather forfeit than look like a fool out there." The firebender told him.

The smile that Naruto wore turned into a frown as he glared lightly at Maki, "Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence." he muttered.

"Times up. You in or out?" The referee asked them.

"We're in." Naruto answered quickly.

"We are?" Tamaki said confused.

"Yes!" Bisca agreed while pumping her fists.

Maki switched her gaze between Naruto and Bisca as they made their way to the lockers so that Naruto could suit up, "Hey, I didn't agree to this." she argued.

"No, you did." Naruto replied with a fox like grin, "Just now." he said with a laugh a bit before addressing Tamaki "You can thank me later." he told her.

"This guy is crazy." Maki muttered to herself.

Naruto glanced back at the young beauty, having heard her muttering, before returning his attention back to Bisca who was explaining how to put the suit on, "I think it's more like headstrong and determined." Naruto argued looking back at Tamaki with a smile, "But crazy works." he said with a grin as he finished putting the suit on as he was told. Upon exiting Naruto found himself grinning as he waved to the crowd. Unfortunately, the bell had no sooner finished ringing before Naruto performed a foul by sending the opposing waterbender over the side of the ring. Things didn't improve from there for the Fire Ferrets as Naruto performed another foul by stepping over the line sending him into the third zone of the ring in just the first few minutes of the game.

It all came to a head when the members of the opposing team, The Platypus Bears, started to target Naruto able to stay free from the attacks, it was only a matter of time before they got to him. After suffering under a barrage of water and fire attacks Naruto let out a growl before earthbending a couple of earth disks to act as a shield for him to block the attacks; much to the shock of everyone in the arena.

Naruto cringed when the broadcaster announced his status as the Avatar over the radio, 'Maybe Tenzin didn't hear it.' he mentally reasoned with himself, 'I mean what are the odds that the old man would choose tonight to listen to a pro-bending match?' Naruto questioned. A few minutes later Naruto wondered if he jinxed himself when he spotted his teacher waiting for him after he had fell into the drink. They of course got into a argument that since air symbolized freedom he need to have certain freedoms, Pro-Bending being one of them. As Tenzin walked away Naruto called out to him, "You're not going to stay and watch the rest of the match?" Naruto asked his teacher, meeting his gaze with the man as the master airbender was leaving.

"No, I won't." Tenzin said turning to face his protege with a displeased look on his face, "Before you got off on a technicality, but now you are flagrantly disobeying my orders. You were supposed to commit yourself to training, but ended up in this folly but after tonight I will make sure you don't leave the island ever again." he told him sternly. He would do well in making sure that promise was kept when this farce of a match was said and done.

Naruto frowned at his mentor, "That's exactly why I should be here." Naruto told him, "How am I ever going to master airbending if I feel the constant restrictions with nothing to focus on, I need something that can help me unwind, besides having the sentinels throwing fireballs at me." he said.

Tenzin almost smiled at Naruto last remark, "And you think this drivel will help?" Tenzin questioned him.

Naruto looked back towards the playing field with a smile spreading wide across his face, "Definitely." Naruto answered.

Naruto jumped and landed back on the pad and the fight was on once again, but this time it was gave a snort, but then heard a different announcement causing him to turn back around. Tenzin was a bit stunned to see Naruto easily rotating around the attacks aimed for him just like an airbender would, "How about that." he muttered in profound wonder. Tenzin continued to watch the opposing team run out of gas and the Fire Ferrets capitalized on this and won the match. "WOO-HOO!" Tenzin cheered, then clear his throat and promptly left.

-Later at Air Temple Island-

Tenzin stood in front of Naruto with a smile on his face "I am sorry for what I said earlier. It seems that Pro-Bending was more of use to you then keeping you cooped up then I originally thought. I will allow you to continue to play the sport if you dedicate just a bit more to your teachings, although you don't really need to since you learn so fast as it is." Tenzin said.

Naruto gave a bow, "I will, Master." he said to the older man.

Tenzin smiled at the young waterbender avatar, "By the way, you were really good out there. You moved just like an Airbender!" he told Naruto who perked up at his words.

"Wait…you stayed and watched?" Naruto asked him.

"I did." Tenzin told him, though he wasn't going to tell him about cheering when he had won in the match.

They smiled warmly at one another, glad that the hostile feelings they were having were now gone, "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early!" Naruto told him as he started jogging away, "And, by the way, I kinda permanently joined the Fire Ferrets and we're playing the memorial tournament in a couple of weeks!" he told Tenzin.

I think that's a good place to stop on this chapter. I'm gonna post one last chapter before getting to work on some of my other stories I have neglected these past few weeks and think up some other stories that might have potential. Anyways that's all for this chapter please leave me a LIKE/FOLLOW/FAVORITE as it let's me know you support the story and love it and don't forget to COMMENT/REVIEW to let me know that you were here reading this update.