The Confrontation and After
It was dark from where she sat, from where she knew the shade would protect her from the sun. It was only 2 and half hours till the sun rose and they would be here for practice. Her view from the island was a quiet city. The air around her was fresh and inviting, Naga sleeping right beside her breathing ever so gently. Korra shifted her gaze to the statue of Aang that sat in the middle of the water. It lingered there for a while then she brought her hands out, extending her claws. She wasn’t Aang. She was a demon, and nothing could change that and if there was, the possibilities looked to be slim to none.
She was locked in a compound her whole life, from what she actually can remember. She doesn’t remember anything from before except for two things. So where was hope to even be found?
The atmosphere around her gave Korra the time to look back and reflect. To make the choice that’s right in front of her. The one she deemed the right one. A sorrowful expression grazed her face before she went back to looking out towards the city. Soon…soon they’ll be here.
Mako, Bolin and Asami were on the ferry to Air Temple Island. This was Asami’s first time ever coming to watch in on their practice and to bring the good news that her father would be sponsoring their team. She carried a duffle bag that was filled with each of their new uniforms and Asami would be excited if it wasn’t for what happened last night.
She wasn’t upset perse, just confused.
On the other hand, she could tell Mako was fuming in the inside. It made her worried for the guy and Bolin seemed to be his upbeat self, even at this hour. That put a smile to her face.
However, she couldn’t stop thinking about Korra ever since they had met on that fateful night. There was something about her that was magnetic, and she wanted to get to know her, even knowing that she’s a demon. The fact that the girl had outrightly said that she wouldn’t let that other demon lay a hand on her made Asami’s heart skip. There was so much care put into those words and Korra barely knew her too. The sentiment was so sincere and when she saw her again at the match, she was so happy to see her again. Hopefully this time when they arrived at the island, Mako wouldn’t blow up on Korra but from the way he’s tapping his foot and the scowl on his face, there wasn’t much hope.
Once the ferry docked, Bolin started skipping up the stairs with her and Mako following. The amount of joy this guy brought was infectious and she was glad for him at this moment.
Once they started getting closer to where the boys met Korra, she saw her. Korra was only wearing chest binds along with the blue pants Asami saw her wear the last couple of times, her arms were laid bare except for an armband on her right bicep, she was barefoot as well. Her hair was in her traditional three wolf tail style, two that framed her face and the third pulling the rest of her hair back. There was also a big white animal resting its head in Korra’s lap. She looked to be deep in thought but also sorrowful. It caused a pang in Asami’s chest to see her like that.
As they were in ear shot, Mako yelled, “KORRA! We need to talk!”
Korra could sense they were walking up and she even expected to be yelled at, especially by him but was surprised to see that Asami had come too. So loud, even in the morning? She turned her head, not getting up, quirking an eyebrow at Mako.
“Did you and your-your demon buddy kill lightning bolt zolt last night!” Bolin looked confused at Mako’s outburst and his statement. He looked towards Asami for some type of information but just saw her staring at Korra.
Ah was that his name? Why is it that cowards come up with these dumb names, he wasn’t even strong.
“I left Akaza with him after we left the crowd. He ripped an arm off and-“ Before she could continue, “YOU KILLED HIM?” Mako yelled, his face getting a bit red from the anger emanating from him. Korra decided to stand up for this, standing her ground, “are you going to let me finish?” she seethed at him. After a few moments of silence from Mako she continued, “you may find this distasteful, but I drank his blood. I left after I was done but Akaza most likely ate him. That’s what happens when he runs into cowards.” At this Mako practically snapped. He stepped forward angrily to Korra getting into her face, “YOU TWO KILLED A MAN AND BEAT THE OTHER TWO TO A PULP! AND WHAT WAS WITH YOU BENDING ALL THE ELEMENTS LAST NIGHT!”
Bolin’s eyes went wide, almost comical, when he heard that Korra bent all the elements. “woah…” he leaned towards Asami a bit, “Korra’s the avatar.” He was most surprised but upset at how Mako was treating Korra. Asami just nodded with Bolin but was filled with rage when Mako got up into Korra’s face. “Mako!! Stop!” She yelled but she saw Korra put her hand up.
Korra would be fine. She expected nothing less from Mako. “I didn’t kill him, I’ve never killed any humans and I was helping the storeowners from getting verbally assaulted or something worse from those gang members.” Korra said without skipping a beat but that only made the scowl on Mako’s face even deeper. “As the Avatar, I believe I did something right, but maybe I did get out of hand, but I don’t regret what I did.”
“So, you’re trying to say what you did was right! You know what-“ Mako was suddenly stopped. Korra had grabbed the collar of his shirt roughly and into a tight grip. She lifted him up from the ground and pulled him down harshly onto his knees, so he was now looking up at Korra. She brought her face a bit closer, “WERE YOU GOING TO SAY THAT I’M NOT HUMAN? OF COURSE I’M NOT, I’M A DEMON. I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN I WASN’T NORMAL AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE MEANT TO PROTECT THE AVATAR HATED ME AND ALWAYS SAID I WASN’T NORMAL NOR HUMAN.” Korra had enough, she was going to let Mako have it. Years of pent up anger from the white lotus and past masters, except for Katara and Tenzin, had finally boiled over. “WHEN YOU TOLD ME IF I WAS EVEN HUMAN, THAT CEMENTED IT FOR ME. I TRIED SO HARD TO HAVE A SENSE OF HUMANITY EVER SINCE HE TURNED ME BUT THAT WENT RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW. SO, YOU’RE RIGHT,” Korra had flashed her eyes which now showed her rank and brought her freehand up to Mako’s eyes extending her claws, “THIS ISN’T THE LOOK OF A HUMAN. US DEMONS HAVE TO CONSUME HUMANS TO LIVE AND SURVIVE AND I’VE SURVIVED LONG ENOUGH ON HUMAN FOOD THAT I DECIDED TO START DRINKING BLOOD BECAUSE IT WAS EASIER FOR ME. SO DON’T TRY TO TELL ME WHAT’S RIGHT AND WHAT’S WRONG BECAUSE DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW?” She was seething, all of her anger pouring out she didn’t notice the tears coming down her face.
“I’ve been ostracized from the people who swore to protect the Avatar. I had no friends growing up besides the demons who are ranked below me. I spent many days locked in a room because I can’t even go into the sun because you know what happens?” She let go of Mako and ripped her left arm off, it was slowly vanishing but was able to stop it before she threw it into the sun. Asami, Bolin and Mako watched as Korra threw her severed arm into the sunlight and saw it burning quickly till it disappeared. Korra flashed her sharp fangs in a toothy smug smile at Mako, “I would burn to a crisp” she popped out a new arm in no time after her demonstration, “Humans have done nothing but look down on me, ostracize me or put these expectations on me that I can’t meet. I have never been treated with respect and for so long I tolerated it, but I’ve had enough, I’m taking hold of the reigns on my life now. I don’t expect you to understand since no humans have ever seen me for who I was except for being a demon, just like you.” This time Korra felt the hot tears running down her face, “The easiest thing about forgetting it all is that I barely have memories of when I was a human, I have nothing of the past to hold onto, nothing to stop me.” She laughed loudly but it was a sorrowful laugh. “I could leave now and live my life as a demon, nobody would know then that the avatar is a demon and they would just wait until whenever I died for the next reincarnation.” Korra then fell down to her knees, Naga quickly to her side. She looked down to her hands, watching the tears land into her palm, “I would no longer be a disappointment because I couldn’t be like Aang…” She felt numb after letting everything out. As much as it felt good, it hurt.
Suddenly she felt someone wrap their arms around her. They weren’t Bolin’s nor Mako’s, these arms belonged to…Asami?
After hearing Korra’s words, Asami understood some things like not having friends because she herself had none and was often used because of her last name, and she wanted to understand Korra more. She wanted to be Korra’s friend, she wanted to be there for her. She never once thought of her as only a demon. The instinct to wrap her arms around the girl and comfort her felt natural to Asami. She felt the tears soak her shirt, but she let Korra cry.
Korra felt so warm in these arms that she didn’t want to let go. She held onto Asami like her life depended on her. She felt a pulse radiating from the mark on her back. Raava trying to talk to her again. Avatar Korra, I want you to put your trust into these three. I want to help guide you on this journey, if you let me. But just know, you make the choices.
Trust? It would take a while to trust these three Raava but I will take your guidance however, since I make the choices…I choose to follow Muzan even while trying to maintain balance in this world. With him, I’m allowed to be free. Freedom, freedom is what Korra wanted after being trapped her whole life.
Suddenly she felt another body being pressed onto her and arms wrapping around her and Asami. Bolin hugged them tight, more warmth emanating from him. Korra felt in a sense accepted. Bolin had never treated her badly nor had Asami. Perhaps Raava was right, she was the one who saw the light in people.
“we want to be your friend Korra” Bolin whispered, enough for the three of them to hear. Asami chimed in afterwards, “We are your friends Korra, we will stick by you no matter what.” She smiled at Korra whose head was still buried into her shoulder. She felt Korra smile into her shoulder and that made Asami’s heart beat fast.
Mako had suddenly felt terrible. He didn’t deserve to treat Korra the way he did and from what he could understand from Korra’s life, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. Him and Bolin grew up on the streets after their parents died and they were ostracized from society because they were poor, and he did what he had to do so they could survive. So even though their stories were different, Mako understood.
Still on his knees, he looked to the 3 and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m sorry Korra. I’m sorry for being just like the rest but I want to be your friend, if you let me.”
Korra stiffened at the sound of his voice, almost expecting more anger but got an apology and when she lifted her head off Asami’s shoulder and looked at him, he had been looking at her the whole time while he apologized, unlike the first time. She got up and out of the hug, walking towards to Mako, offering her hand to help the guy up. He gladly accepted the help and he smiled at her, although sheepishly, Korra was happy to say that this was an apology she accepted, “We are friends Mako.” At that, Bolin dragged Asami over to her and Mako and embraced them in a group hug lifting them all up. Laughs spilt out of everyone’s mouths, Bolin yelling with excitement. Korra was happy, she felt so happy in this moment.
After Bolin let everybody down, “We should call ourselves team Avatar! Being the Avatar’s buddies and all!” Bolin offered a wide smile to the group which was infectious. “Yeah…” Korra started, “I think we should.” Although she still despised humans, I think these three will prove to be different from the rest, just like you said Raava.
After all was said and done, practice went on smoothly and Asami broke the news at the end that her father would be sponsoring their team as the Future Industries Fire Ferrets. Mako was already aware of the news but Bolin and Korra did not. Bolin was super excited to compete in the tournament and so was Korra. Asami had handed out their new uniforms to them and Korra was surprised at how fast it happened.
Once the boys had left, she noticed that Asami stayed back. Korra had sat by Naga as she watched Asami say goodbye to Mako and Bolin but also noticed that Asami had acted a bit more reserved towards him when he tried to give her a kiss on the cheek. That little action made Korra a bit happy.
Asami had started walking towards her and she noticed her heart started to beat faster as she watched her walk over. Asami was so beautiful and her green eyes gave Korra a sense of peace when she looked into them. Oh no am I blushing?? Indeed, she was blushing. Korra quickly looked away trying to focus on something else.
Asami sat down next to Korra. “Hey.” She looked at Korra waiting for a response. Korra turned her head to face Asami, hoping the blush had died down, “Hey.” She gave Asami a lopsided smile, “how come you didn’t leave with them?” Asami pondered the question for a moment, she wanted to be alone with Korra before having to head back to Future Industries, “I just wanted to apologize for Mako.” Korra quirked an eyebrow, she wanted to apologize for how he acted? She started waving her hands in front of her, “Asami you have nothing to apologize for! I got used to it growing up.”
“But you shouldn’t be used to it,” She then reached for Korra’s hand and held it gently, a blush appearing on both girls’ cheeks, “I want to be there for you and be your friend. I want to get to know you, Korra.” A gentle and kind smile appeared on her face and Korra was trying to get words out her mouth but then settled on gently squeezing the other girls hand and returning the smile, “Thank you, Asami.” I wish to be more than a that but being able to be your friend makes me happy.
And that is how within the past 2 weeks and half the two girls got closer. Korra had learned a couple days later from the confrontation that Asami had stopped dating Mako and at first, he was awkward around them all, but it eventually started to return to somewhat of normalcy. Korra was ecstatic at the news but she couldn’t get her hopes up in pursuing the girl, but she could dream. She did try to push this crush of hers to the back of her mind but every time she saw Asami it was pushed to the front of her mind. Thoughts of the girl even consumed her when she wasn’t even around. Korra had even accidentally spilled her thoughts to Daki by accident when she would visit her. She called her a fool for liking a human but insisted on meeting the girl which Korra said no to. Who knows what she would do? Embarrass her? Make Asami jealous? Okay if she got jealous, a girl can dream. Nothing good would come from that knowing how Daki’s personality is and no she would not take them all to the red light district either.
In the time that has passed though, she has felt a tiny light inside her that has started to flicker. Everything was so dark for so long until the mark appeared and Raava started to communicate with her. Getting to connect to her spiritual side was still a task but sometimes she would get glimpses of that same memory she saw but it never goes past what she sees. It frustrates her to no end that she can’t go further, there has to be a trigger or something.
She still hadn’t heard from Susamaru and Yahaba so she confirmed them to be dead. Korra didn’t think Muzan would have done it so she must have found Tamayo and killed them both somehow. It was plausible and the two of them were weak, especially Susamaru with these crazy ideas drilled into her head.
Tamayo didn’t seem to be dangerous looking from her past lives memory while talking to Aang, so what did this woman have up her sleeve? She was in the city but hiding well enough to not leave much of a trace. Korra did on certain nights, when she wasn’t hanging out with the krew, as Bolin coined them, looking for Tamayo. Did she live a normal life? Amongst humans? She knew how she looked but she never spotted her amongst crowds in her searches. She even grabbed Gyutaro for help once but to no luck. This woman was good.
She walked around the island with Naga in tow. Air bending practice had ended, and she bid the kids a good night after dinner. There were barely any stars out as usual, but the city was bright and booming. Thoughts of Asami coming to her mind and wondering what she could be doing right now. Probably drawing up blueprints for new Satomobiles and still at the office. Korra learned she worked at Future Industries and would become CEO once her dad stepped down. Asami was so passionate about her work and her ideas it made Korra smile even if she didn’t understand. Their relationship had gotten stronger, even with the boys too. Mako really staying true to his word and Bolin being bright and joyful as ever. I hope this feeling last.
After pondering outside for a while, Korra decided to retire to her room till morning practice. She would try to meditate in hopes to connect to her past lives again. Maybe it had to do something with the mark?
Korra sat criss-cross on her bed, eyes closed and put her fists together. Focus, focus on the mark, breathe, be free. She was relaxed and calm, breathing through her nose and out. She felt it pulse, but it felt stronger this time.
The scene was appearing before her eyes but this time it was different. It was in a different place and she could see medical supplies in the room. Aang was talking to Tamayo again but it seemed like she was explaining something to him, and his eyes perked up in interest. Then someone else entered the room but his face was blurred, though what she could tell is that he was pale with dull green hair that faded to black ends. Korra still couldn’t hear any words or make out a full sentence. All she could do was watch.
Then the memory started fading out and she opened her eyes. She noticed that the mark had spread out into her arms like vines. So focusing on the mark helps jog my past lives memory, huh? Raava you could have said something or was I supposed to figure that out by myself? No response. Korra gritted her teeth in annoyance. However, she got some information than the last time. Tamayo seemed like she was a doctor. If that was the case maybe Korra would try her luck at the hospital. The sooner she found her, the sooner she’d get to asking some questions that needed answering before bringing her head to Muzan. Maybe instead of asking the other upper ranks, she’ll ask the krew for their help.