I'm backkkkkkk. Yup it's been a little while but with Avatar becoming a bit more popular or atleast relevant lately I decided to try and idea I've been planning out with a few other writers for a little over a year now.
Story is primarily being written by me and The Final Shinobi, with Master Attlon doing touch-ups and editing.
Wanted to release this story for a while and The Final Shinobi has it on his AOO account and he insisted I publish it here so that's what I'm gonna do.
Check out the story and let me know what you think. Hoping this story will be big and possibly even get a TV Tropes Page and Fanart, guess we'll need to wait and see.
Prologue- The Reason for Why a Man Fights
A man was tossing and turning in a bed, sweat forming all over his body as his mind was gripped by a nightmare that plagued his sleep. Once again, the man found himself as a young boy on a charred, blood-soaked field. The air was saturated with heat as he could see the flames all around him.
The blaze burned hot and wild around him, keeping him in one place as he heard the screams. He could never forget those screams, nor the arid stench of charred flesh.
As the flames grew closer, pain shot throughout his body as he tried to scream. Yet as he struggled to escape the flames, they continued to encircle him, his eyes starting to burn from the heat. Yet, through the flames he could see several shadows of people just beyond the blaze.
Though he couldn't see them clearly, he swore they were looking at him and he could feel as if they were smiling at him, one with his hand open and another flame dancing harmlessly in his palm.
The sight of those flames and the feel of their malicious glee at his suffering caused a feeling of anger to bubble deep inside him. His face of pain and fear shifted to one of anger and hatred, as he slowly tried to reach out towards them, his left hand being consumed by the flames.
Yet, before he could do something, he heard a voice. It felt cruel… dark… and nasty. There was malice and sheer venom emanating from that voice. And then, all of a sudden, there was some sort of weird gentleness when the voice spoke again to him.
"Now is not the time…but it will come soon. Now, WAKE UP!"
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The man who was tossing and turning awoke with a jolt, covered in sweat. He took a deep breath as he realized it was morning from the light filtering into his room. Grabbing a towel from his nightstand, he wiped the sweat off his face and quickly worked to calm his breathing.
"Same nightmare again…wonder if it's a sign?" Slowly his eyes drifted to his left arm, completely covered from shoulder to finger in gray bandages, an unfortunate reminder of that day.
The young man sighed as he leaned back against the headboard of his bed, staring quietly out at the window towards the still darkened city just outside his modest home. Though he'd managed to regain his senses, his hand still tightened as a small flicker of his rage still remained.
For many years now those visions had haunted him, forcing him to relieve the day he'd lost everything, all he'd known and loved, all due to the cruelty of those who'd be blessed with great power.
Benders.
These people had been born with a great gift, one that allowed them to help shape the world in ways others could only dream. Yet, some, like the ones who'd destroyed his life, chose to abuse that power for their own purposes, many without facing any consequences.
However, it is in that, that his attackers made the mistake of letting him live.
There was a famous saying, "The sheep could not be safe as long as there was a wolf still lived."
Before he could ponder that thought further, a ringing sound echoed through the apartment, drawing his eyes to a small, candlestick style telephone, resting on his nightstand near his bed.
Quickly reaching over, he grabbed the phone and pulled the receiver up to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello Sir… I apologize for disturbing your sleep. But I have urgent news and I felt it important you be informed as soon as possible."
Blue eyes narrowed as the young man sat up. "It's no problem. Was awake already anyway."
"Are you still having nightmares Sir? I really think you should see a healer about that, perhaps they could…"
"We can worry about that later." The young man sighed while pinching his nose in annoyance. "Let's focus on the information for right now and worry about my sleep later. So tell me Lieutenant, what have you discovered?"
There was a brief silence, before the now identified Lieutenant spoke.
"Our spies have confirmed the Avatar is en route to Republic City. It's likely given Councilmen Tenzin's return, they are planning to conduct the Avatar's Airbending training here as opposed to the North Pole as originally believed."
The stranger narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He closed his eyes and thought about the news that he had just received.
Many years had passed since the death of Avatar Aang. Among the many to bear the title of Avatar, Aang was one with whom he had mixed feelings on to say the least. Yes, Aang had ultimately saved the world and ended the Hundred Years' War, but how many died because he'd chosen to flee from his responsibilities? True he was a child at the time and it was much to ask of him, yet even so how much suffering and destruction could've been avoided had he honored his responsibilities.
Perhaps, if Aang chose to take his duties seriously, maybe his family would still be alive and he'd have more to remember them by than faint memories and the name they gave him. Then again, this was simply a case of "what-if". One person, no matter how powerful, did not have the power to save the world. Even the Avatar, as powerful as they were, was still just one person and not a god, no matter what so many others believed.
Regardless, the man steeled his emotions and calmed his heart. There was no point in thinking about the past Avatar; he was long dead. The focus was now on this new Avatar.
"Do we know who this new Avatar is? Any pictures? Are they male or female?"
"Unfortunately we do not. The White Lotus have done well in concealing as much information on the Avatar as possible. All we know is of course, that said individual would be from the Water Tribe."
The sound of gritting teeth echoed in the room, as the man felt his anger rise.
That information was all but useless, as everyone knew from day one that the next Avatar would be from the Water Tribe as dictated by the Avatar Cycle. He'd hoped that they could at least learn the Avatar's name or gender.
"Sir, what would you have us do? We have more than enough spies at the docks and can make a list of any and all incoming new arrivals to the City. Finding this Avatar and confronting them should be…"
"No."
"Sir?"
The young leader sighed again as he leaned back further, eyes staring at the ceiling for a moment before drifting back to his arm. "For now, we'll simply sit back and do nothing."
"Are you sure?" The Lieutenant asked, concerned. "What about the Avatar…"
"I understand your concerns. However, there is no need to stir the Buzzard wasp's nest. The police already have a negative opinion of our organization, attacking the Avatar unprovoked wouldn't really do us any favors, to say nothing of ruining our public image."
With another breath he slowly got out of his bed and stretched out, still holding the receiver to his ear.
"We will proceed with our mission. And we will discover the identity of this new Avatar and keep an eye on him or her, but at a safe distance. Until the Avatar choses to become a threat to our group, we'll treat them as any other citizen of Republic City. Who knows, perhaps we may even be able to sway the Avatar to understand our cause."
On the other end, the Lieutenant momentarily felt compelled to question his leader's sanity. Swaying the Avatar, it did sound too good to be true. Then again, his leader had accomplished some interesting things himself. Still though…
"And if the Avatar is indeed a threat?"
The leader's eyes drifted towards the far wall of his room, where a closet door was open, and inside, a white mask with golden markings and a single large red circle on the forehead hung from a rack.
"Then….I'll deal with the Avatar myself. I won't risk you or the others fighting against them. For now, leave worrying about the Avatar to me."
There was another moment of silence on the line before the Lieutenant spoke.
"I understand Sir. I'll leave you be for now and if I hear anything more, I will let you know."
That seemed to bring a smile to the leader's face. "Good to hear. Also, Liu, we talked about the whole Sir thing. I appreciate it, but we're equals and friends in this."
A chuckle was heard on the other line, and he could practically feel the Lieutenant smiling. "Right, how could I forget. Well, good night, Si...I mean Naruto, and I will contact you soon."
"Night Liu." The now named Naruto said with a smile as he hung up the phone and returned it to his nightstand. Yet his smile slowly dropped as his eyes once again drifted to the window, as he approached, looking outside at the ocean several blocks away and the statue of Avatar Aang at the entrance to Republic City, where his successor would soon be entering.
"Always knew I'd have to meet the Avatar at some point and looks like that time has finally come. Wonder what kind of person they'll be."
He chuckled with a hint of an edge as his bandaged hand tightened again, a burning sensation slowly creeping up his arm as he glared out into the distance.
"But, no matter who the Avatar is…." As he continued to glare, a faint red glow started to emit from his eyes.
"I won't let them stand in my way."
XXXXXX
So yeah, that's the prologue. Sorry it's short but wanted to set things up a bit slowly in the first chapter before moving into the story proper.
Still just to put one major thing to bed right now, this is not gonna be a harem story. It's strictly a Naruto x Korra story, so please don't ask for him to be paired with anyone else.
Otherwise I don't plan to reveal much else as what would be the fun in that. You'll just have to keep reading and see if you can figure out all the twists.