The streetlights shined brightly the city. It had never looked like the night in here. Korra had been wandered around the city the whole day. She felt like all of her anger had been washed away to the water. Now she only felt sad and exhausted.
Suddenly, she heard a scream on the following route. For a second, Korra was hesitant to check it, considering the last time she was sent to jail and Tenzin had to pick her up. She didn’t want to see him after the morning. But she was the avatar, and it was her duty to protect the people who need her.
She let out a sigh and ran to the sound of it, only to realise it was from someone she knew.
“Mako? What happened?” Korra gasped.
Mako was sitting in the middle of the street, pressing one of his hand. A motorbike was lying next to him. There was another woman. She took off her helmet and tried to get him to stand up.
“I crashed into him.” The woman was the one who answered her.
“No. No. It was my fault. I shouldn’t run out the road without looking.” Mako said, twitching by the pain on his hand.
“Yes, you shouldn’t,” Korra remembered how close she was to crash into a car the first time she arrived in the city. Motobike was smaller but it didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.
“Your hand looks pretty bad. Let me take you to the hospital.” The woman suggested.
“I’m fine. I must go now. The game will start soon.” Mako said before biting his lip and gripping his injured hand harder.
“I don’t think you’re going to win any scores with that hand.” Korra looked worried.
“I know. Bolin will not be happy about this.” Mako looked defeated. Then his eyes lit up again and he turned to Korra.
“Bolin told me you’re a Firebender.”
“Yes…” Sort of. She thought.
“Can you play for me tonight?”
“But I don’t know how to play!”
“Oh, now I have to play AND WIN too?” Korra snorted. “I’ll do it. For Bolin. But don’t blame me if it’s going downhills.”
“To be honest, I have never had my hopes up.”
“You play for Mako?” Bolin gave her a look.
She stood inside the ring, feeling the heavy of the helmet on her head and the howling of the crowds in her ears. In the back seat, Naga barked loudly to cheer them. Korra wondered how Mako was doing in the hospital.
The referee blew the whistle and the game officially started.
Korra quickly threw a flamethrower toward the Waterbender opponent. He was immediately shot out of the ring. She sent a second flame to the Earthbender. But before it could hit her, Tenga’s waterbending collided with her fire and turned it into smoke.
“What the heck are you doing?!” Tenga yelled at her.
“I should be the one to say that! You’re getting in my way!”
“Guys! Don’t fight! We’re in the game-“ Bolin was interrupted by the opponent fireball and nearly fell out of the ring.
Korra tried to help Bolin but immediately hit by a rock and slid back to the outer ring. She felt the heat and was able to roll over just in time to dodge a fireball.
Getting back on her feet, she sent another fireball toward the Earthbender, but the Firebender opponent had kept an eye on her and quickly sprang forward to distinguish the fire before reaching his friend.
“Dammit.”
The Earthbender shot triple coins toward them. As they dodged, she was launching another set of coins but much faster. She had to take her down quickly. Korra leapt forward but was startled by the whistle.
“Strike one!” The referee warned.
Korra looked down and saw she had crossed the line. This game was more annoying than she thought. She was not a fan of all the rules.
“That Earthbender is tough,” Tenga said, who barely escaped the fate of falling out the ring.
“I would have knocked her out it wasn’t for you!”
“That would be my lines!”
“Guys! Guys! We can’t win if you two keep fighting! We have to do this together!”
“I doubt that.” Korra snorted.
“It’s called teamwork! You do one part, and I do one part.” Bolin said, “Come on! I have an idea. Let’s see if it works!”
Korra and Tenga glared at each other, but they let Bolin explained his plan.
“That might actually work.” Tenga said.
Korra leapt forward and shot fire again, more careful about the line this time. The Firebender opponent redirected her fire while protecting him and his teammate. Korra shot more rapidly than ever and forced the Firebender to keep up with her speed.
And then she stopped.
The Firebender swung his hand to redirect the fire, but nothing was coming at him. Before he realised it, Bolin sent an earth coin and thrust him to the edge of the ring, and Tenga quickly finished him with his waterbending.
“Fire Ferret win!” The referee announced.
“We did it!” Bolin jumped up and down in excitement.
“Wow. I can’t believe we did it.” Korra blinked. She turned to Tenga, “You’re very good at aiming.”
Korra was surprised by his apology, “I suppose you don’t.”
“Yeah… maybe you’re right.”
The stars were bright today, and there was a little snow. She had to admit that she started to miss the cold of her homeland.
Tenzin was standing in front of the Air bending gates, watching the air acolytes replaced the damaged gates with the new ones. She wasn’t sure how did he was able to find the replacement, but she didn’t find the courage to ask. Korra tried to search for any signs of anger, but his face betrayed nothing.
“Tenzin…” Korra felt the words stuck on her throat.
“How is the game?” Tenzin said in a calm voice. He kept his gaze on the Airbending gates.
“We… uh… we won. My friends will go to the final.”
Tenzin nodded but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I…”
Tenzin turned to meet her gaze then back to the gates. She realised he was staring at the Airbending symbol engraved in the gates.
“I’m sorry too.” He spoke.
“For what?”
“I shouldn’t stop you from hanging out with your friends.”
Korra stared at her feet.
“And I shouldn’t have to push you doing Airbending. I was the one who needs to be patient.”
“You’re just doing your best to teach me.”
“I was scared, Korra.” Tenzin said, “I was scared that I couldn’t teach you. I couldn’t pass on what my dad had entrusted to me.”
“Were you afraid I wouldn’t be able to airbend?”
“No. I’m afraid that I’m a failure.”
It was strange to hear the words from her sifu. Her previous Firebending master wasn't the type of person who liked to talk about her personal feelings.
They stood there, watching the air acolytes plucked out the last burnt gate. She listened to the leave rustle above her head, the creaking sound when a wind flew past the wooden gates, the chirping lemurs climbing above the trees. It wasn’t complete silence.
“Well, we will be two failures then,” Korra said. Tenzin raised an eyebrow at her.
“So let it be. I’m tired of being afraid. I mean I'm still scared. I don’t know how or when I can Airbend, but I don’t want to sit in one place and hope that the best will come. I want to do something to change it, but I cannot do this alone." Korra said, remembering the game she had at Pro-bending.
"If we work together, I don’t know, maybe we can both get what we want. Maybe I’ll master a new element and you’ll pass on your father's legacy. I kinda know your teaching style now, so, this is like a first step, right?”
“And I know your learning style. I better come up with something more fast-paced, but perhaps you’re right.” Tenzin chuckled. She remembered she had never seen him smile before.
“Like a stick and a branch!” Korra said.
“A what?”
“Isn't there a phrase about teamwork? Something about breaking a stick and more sticks.”
Tenzin blinked, “Do you mean ‘sticks in a bundle are unbreakable’?”
“Ah yeah. Something like that…”
“Well, if you put it that way, ‘a stick and a branch’ that is.” Tenzin said.
“So, we’re even?” Korra asked.
“Who told you that?”
“But… we both apologised… I thought…”
“Let’s try one more time.” Tenzin pointed at the brand new gates.
Korra gave him a doubtful look.
“Who knows? Maybe it’s different this time.” Tenzin said.
Korra walked to the Airbending gates. She moved around, turning, and spinning as she dodged before getting knocked down by the last one.
“Or maybe we can try again tomorrow.”
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