Pro-bending Arena
After landing in the back of the Arena, both Naruto and Korra thanked Sozu for the ride. Sozu merely scoffed at them and parted for the island.
"Alright, there's this window at the back we can enter. Then we should step into a hall and then turn right. You ready?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm, that's funny," Korra said, placing her hands on her hips.
"What's funny?" Naruto asked, confused.
The Avatar then glared at her friend and performed the universal gesture of 'are you kidding me?', also known as lifting her right eyebrow. "I just think it's funny how you know this place so well even though you've supposedly never been to a Pro-bending match."
"Who said I've never gone to a Pro-bending match?"
"Huuuh, you said it yourself back at the Air Temple."
"I lied," Naruto said with a shrug, which surprised Korra a great deal.
"You did? I thought airbenders weren't supposed to lie."
"So what? Uncle Tenzin said Granny Lin looked 'radiant as usual' when we were at the city's Headquarters. That's what I call one big fat lie if you ask me. So how come he can get away with lying and not me?" Naruto asked with a grin.
Korra chuckled. "Can't argue with that."
"Of course, you can't. Now let's go." Naruto stated with his usual grin.
Both benders went through the window and started wandering around. Soon enough, they found themselves in what appeared to be the training room. Korra looked around with enthusiasm when they were suddenly interrupted.
"Hey, what are ye' doing in my gym?" an old man with long white hair and blue eyes asked, annoyed.
"Huuuh, I was just looking for a bathroom, and I got lost," Korra said, trying to save the situation.
The older man wasn't buying it. "Ohhh, I see. The old 'I had to pee' excuse. You know, I'm sick and tired of ye' kids sneaking around just so you could make out!" he said, causing both Naruto and Korra to blush, especially Korra, who immediately thought of that...
"There you are, guys. I've been looking everywhere for you two!" a boy around Korra's age said while stepping in. He had green eyes, light skin, and dark hair. He had this cheery and playful aura coming out of him. "It's alright, Toza; she's with me."
"Yeah, I'm with him," Korra said, following the game with a smile.
Naruto looked offended. "What about me?"
The boy looked at him and quickly added. "Oh yeah, he's also with me! So you see, we're together," he said, referring to him and Korra. Naruto noticed this and capitalized on it.
"Huuuum, I'm sorry, man, but I don't really swing that way," the Airbender said in the most awkward of tones he could perform.
At first, it seemed that he didn't get it, but after a minute, he became very nervous. "Wait... No... You got it all wrong... I didn't mean to imply...," he quickly tried to explain himself while Toza looked at him with disgust.
Finally, the older man surrendered. "Ah, I don't care what ye' are! I've got work to do!" he snapped while throwing a towel he had in his hands and walking away.
"Alright, guys, this way," the boy said while gesturing for Naruto and Korra to follow him.
While walking through the hall, Naruto looked over the guy that saved them. "Hey, thanks for the save back there."
"No problem. Sorry for the little misunderstanding we had. I kinda' meant to say-"
"Don't worry about it. I think I understand you. What's your name?" Naruto said dismissively.
"Bolin at your service," he proudly said while holding his hand for a friendly handshake. "What's your name, my fellow stranger?"
"Naruto. A pleasure to meet you, Bolin," Naruto replied while shaking Bolin's hand.
"I'm Korra. Nice to meet you too," Korra said. Bolin shook her hand as well.
Bolin led them to a room that had an amazing view of the Arena. You could see everything from there. "What do ya' think? Best seats in the house."
"Wow, this place is even more amazing than I imagined," Korra said in awe. Naruto had to agree with her on that one. From the looks of it, they were in Bolin's team locker room.
"Pssst. Hey Bolin. I told you to stop bringing crazy fangirls here before a match...," another guy said. This other guy had some resemblance to Bolin with a similar skin tone and hair color. However, his eyes were yellowish, and his hair was a little spikier, not to mention he had a 'quiet and broody' aura going around him. He looked over to Naruto. "... And fanboys as well, apparently."
Naruto got a little closer to him. "Fanboys? Easy there, broody, I don't even know what team you guys are," he said carelessly.
Moody didn't pay him attention. "Get them out of here," he said to Bolin.
"Aww, come on, Mako! Look, I kinda' promised them that they could stay here. But man, I've got a good feeling! There's something special about them, especially the girl," Bolin replied, whispering the last part about Korra. He then grabbed Korra and Naruto and placed them near his brother. "Korra, Naruto, I want you to meet my brother Mako."
Korra perked up. "Mako? Wow, I heard you play on the radio-"
"Come on, Bolin. We're up," Mako said while passing by them.
"Or I could meet him later," Korra finished looking down.
"Looks like your brother could use a punch," Naruto commented. "Seriously, what's his deal?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. My brother gets really... focused before a match," Bolin said, trying to save some of his brother's face. Mako had always been a little too broody for his taste. Still, he loved him, and Mako loved him back, and that was good enough for him in his book. "Anyways, it's our turn. Wish me luck, not that I need it," he said while putting on his helmet.
The Avatar giggled. "Good luck. Knock em' out!"
"Get them good, Bolin."
As they were watching the match, Korra was interested in the match but at the same time noticed that Naruto wasn't really paying attention; he looked to have his head somewhere else entirely.
She softly nudged his shoulder, gaining his attention; Naruto broke out of his thoughts before turning his head at Korra, raising an eyebrow in the process.
"What is it?" He asked, only now realizing that he had a bit of space out.
"Where are you? Any lights inside?" Korra teased while snapping her fingers in front of his face.
"I-I was just thinking about something; tomorrow morning, I can't really be around. I need to meet a friend," Naruto said, his eyes brightening up slightly, knowing his date with Asami tomorrow.
Korra quickly noticed the new tone used by Naruto; in her mind, he sounded excited, something she was quite taken back by.
"Who is this friend?" Korra wondered out loud; she wanted to know who this person was that could make Naruto so excited to meet?!
Before Naruto could say anything, the whole stadium started applauding; Korra's attention went to the field, seeing Bumi's team win.
After the match
The match was over, and Naruto simply had to acknowledge Bolin and Mako's bending skills. They both showed great coordination and reaction time along with accuracy, especially Mako, who was alone in the third and final round. Yet, he managed to defeat his opponents, keeping himself calm and steady. Yes, the bending brothers were certainly a fearsome duo to face in a Pro-bending match.
However, the waterbender of the team was nothing but dead-weight. Hasook's skills were below average at the very best, letting himself get caught easily by the other team and other stunts like that.
'Ok, he sucks,' Naruto thought after watching the game.
The Fire Ferrets entered the locker room, Bolin being the happiest of all. " Woo Hoo, yes! One more win, and we are in the championship tournament! So, what do you' think, Korra? Bolin's got some moves, huh?"
Korra was just as excited as the earthbender. "What did I think!? What did I think!? That was awesome!" she exclaimed while pulling Bolin over by his collar and pushing him back. She was just as pumped up as the day Tenzin allowed her to stay on the island. Naruto couldn't really blame her. After all, she just got her wish of seeing a Pro-bending match, and in one of the best spots the Arena had to offer. Not only that, she had the opportunity to meet an actual Pro-bending team. Naruto wasn't a big fan of the sport, but he could understand Korra's feelings.
Mako was another story. "You did more harm than good out there. You almost cost us the match," the firebender growled at Hasook.
"We won, didn't we?" was his only answer.
"Barely," both Naruto and Mako answered. Hasook then glared at Naruto.
"And who are you supposed to be?" He asked threateningly, spreading his arms and trying to look intimidating.
Naruto just scoffed at his poor excuse of a threat. "Not a fan of yours exactly. You should really step it up, or you're gonna' end up in the benches for the rest of the games."
"You think you can do better than me?" Hasook challenged Naruto, who simply did not take him seriously.
"I think a nonbender can do better than you," Naruto retorted, making Korra and Bolin laugh.
Hasook just growled at him and stormed off the locker room. "Useless," Mako muttered.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Korra spoke up. "You guys were incredible out there! Especially you, Mr. Hat-trick," she said, pointing at Mako, who ignored her again.
"Oh, you're still here?" Mako didn't even bother to meet her gaze.
"Oh, you're still a jerk?" Korra retorted, having been fed up with the firebender's attitude towards her. Why was he so cold and unfriendly? He was like Naruto in a way, in terms of acting cool. But in the social department, Naruto was leagues above him.
"Anyway, I've been immersed in bending my entire life, but I've never learned how to move like that. It's like there's a whole new style here. Think you can show me a few tricks?"
"Absolutely!" was Bolin's immediate answer.
"Right now? Come on, Bolin," his brother said.
But Bolin wasn't about to pass up the opportunity of spending some more time with Korra. "Just ignore him. Yeah, I can show you the basics. I'm just not sure how my earthbending will translate to your waterbending, but we will figure it out."
Korra smiled smugly. "Won't be a problem. I'm actually an earthbender."
At this point, Naruto already knew what Korra was planning. He just wanted to see the brother's reactions.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to assume. I was just figuring... with your water tribe get-up... that you were a water tribe... gal," Bolin said, half confused.
"Nope, you're right. I'm a waterbender and a firebender."
"What about Airbender? Ohhhhh, that's right, I forgot," Naruto added up. Korra just glared daggers at him with a small but noticeable killing intent coming out of her.
Bolin rubbed his chin. "Hmmmmmm, I'm very confused right now," he admitted.
"You're the Avatar... and I'm an idiot," Mako said in his place.
"Both are true," Korra commented, glad to get a little payback from his behavior before.
'Okay, I'm surprised; not exactly the reaction I expected. Oh well, how about Bolin?' Naruto thought as he now looked over to Mako's brother. Bolin's face was priceless. He just kept stuttering, 'she's the Avatar!' with both his mouth and eyes wide open.
Training room
"So, you're friends with the Avatar," Mako commented to Naruto. Both men were sitting on a bench watching Bolin explain some modern earthbending moves to Korra, which, unsurprisingly for Naruto, she picked them with ease.
"Yeah, we live together at the Air Temple," Naruto replied.
"Aren't you the assistance of Tenzin?" Mako suddenly asked; he and his brother had seen heard about Naruto.
The blonde was quite famous around the City; he even helped the police sometimes, well, sometimes, was one of a few who supported the nonbenders. But Mako wondered where this Equalist Group came from; Naruto was high in power and supported the nonbenders?!
"How is your project about the nonbenders?" Mako asked, still looking at Bolin but giving Naruto a side glance, wanting to know how the Air Bender would react; surprisingly, Naruto gave out a sad sigh.
"Not good; still need to get the most votes," Naruto replied, knowing the project wasn't going how he had wished.
Mako nodded in understanding. He then looked at Korra, who was unleashing an earthbending combo with two discs that were thrown into the net. "Not bad."
Korra glared at him. "What does it takes to impress this guy?"
"What? I said not bad," Mako defended himself.
"Don't sweat it, Korra," Naruto started to say. "I believe our friend Mako here is the kind of man that doesn't talk more than necessary."
The firebender closed his eyes and smirked. "Good to know somebody understands me. Anyways, I'm turning in. You kids have fun. A pleasure to meet you, Avatar Korra, Naruto."
"Kid?! Yeah, a real pleasure," Korra muttered.
"See you around, Mako," Naruto decided to say goodbye on his own behalf as well as Korra's.
"See you upstairs, bro," Mako said as he took off. 'Huh, I don't know what I can make out of that Korra chick, but at least Naruto seems decent enough.'
"Upstairs? You guys live here?" Korra asked, actually surprised.
"Yup, in the attic. It's nothing fancy, but we have some great views. So back to bending, why don't you throw that combo one more time?" Bolin answered, trying not to make it look bad.
Back at the Air Temple
"So, did you have a good time, Korra?" Naruto asked, wanting to know how Korra's first night out had gone in her eyes.
"Let's see. I rode a giant Raven Eagle, saw my first Pro-bending match, met the Fire Ferrets team members, and learned some new moves. All in all, I had an amazing time," Korra said with a big smile on her face. She didn't expect things to turn out the way they did, but she was grateful for it. She got to know Bolin and Mako, too, though so far, only the earthbender proved to be friendly.
"That's good to know. Now, remember, we start our training after two days after Tenzin's lessons. It will be hard but also worth it. Ready to take on my lessons?"
"Definitely," Korra responded, confident. She wasn't sure what to expect from Naruto's training aside from being tough, but if it was a training that would help her out on her airbending, which involved sparring and no meditation, Korra would be more than happy to accept it.
Naruto was satisfied with her response. "Alright. Oh, before I forget, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
"And that would be?" Korra asked with curiosity.
"Smile."
...
"Huh? What do you mean by smile?" the Avatar asked in confusion.
Naruto, instead of his characteristic smirk, gave her a warm grin. "Smile, Korra. You should smile more often. It really looks good on you."
Despite not understanding why he would tell her that, Korra giggled with a pink blush on her cheeks. "You-You really mean it?" she asked as she looked into the ground, too nervous to match glances with Naruto.
"Yeah, I do.," Naruto said, matching his grin with a wink from his right eye.
Korra experienced a funny feeling inside her stomach. She was never the kind of girl that would freak over her body; she thought she was average, maybe above average, looking at her best. Not that she cared much about that, considering she never had someone to compare herself back at the South Pole. But for some reason, Naruto did praise her looks, and she was not going to deny that she felt like leaping in joy when he told her she was pretty.
"Alright, I'll try to smile more often," Korra said softly with a small smile, still a little flustered.
"That's all I can hope for. Good night Korra," Naruto said as he made his way to his room.
"Yeah, good night," Korra said back while opening her room door. She was confused as to why Naruto would say that to her but decided to ponder about it tomorrow. For now, she had Naruto's words in her head. They made her feel good, and that was enough for her right now.
Tomorrow
Tenzin was going into the main chamber on Air Temple Island when he saw Pema reading in her chair.
"Have you seen Naruto, Pema?" Tenzin inquires.
Pema simply said, "He went out."
"Already?" Tenzin inquires, surprised; then he remembered that he must have met with Asami.
Sometimes Tenzin thanked the gods or whoever that Naruto couldn't remember that night seven years ago.
To everyone else in the city, a large fire had erupted on Air Temple; some even called it the Night of The Red Moon since the "fire" had been so enormous that the moon had changed color and looked Red.
Tenzin felt a slight shiver just thinking about that night.
"Come on, Tenzin, that youngster usually goes to his favorite restaurant for lunch whenever she returns to the city. That's not a problem." Pema remarked, knowing how much Naruto had looked forward to Asami's return, but the thought of a black-haired girl made her think of Korra, the Avatar girl, who clearly had more than friend feelings for Naruto.
Pema hoped she could help somehow when suddenly the door opened; both turned around only to see Korra walking in without knocking.
"Master Tenzin, do you know where Naruto is?" Korra asked; she had searched the whole island but hadn't found her blonde friend.
"He's in the city Korra; he will meet his... friend," Pema answered instead of Tenzin, who looked surprised but didn't bother with it.
"Oohh, right," Korra suddenly said, only now remembering that he told her last night that he would meet his friend.
Korra wondered why couldn't Naruto invite her; it wouldn't be much of a problem?!
Before she could further go deeper into the rabbit hole on Why? And Who?!
"He will return soon, but until then, it is time to start training," Tenzin said happily, earning a growl from Korra, who suddenly cursed Naruto for leaving her here alone.
Restaurant
Naruto was seated and eating a bowl of noodles at a shop called Elemental Noodles, but he wasn't alone. Asami Sato is a beautiful woman with long dark hair, red lipstick, beautiful green eyes, a scratch mark right above her right eyebrow.
"I never get tired of coming here," Asami stated while slurping some noodles.
"It's not one of those posh, high-end restaurants you frequent with your father, but we always have a good time," Naruto remarked.
"So, how long do you think you'll be in town for this?" Asami inquires.
"Probably a significant amount of time. Uncle Tenzin needs my assistance once again to aid him with his job." Naruto remarked.
"Well, I'll have to make it a point to pop by and say hello as frequently as I can," Asami remarked.
"Don't worry. I'll stop by your mansion on my way home." Naruto remarked.
"As you know, Naruto, my father has a major business conference coming up in a few days," Asami remarked, her hand resting on top of his. "He'll be gone for practically three days,"
"What about your mother? I wouldn't like it if she catches us again?" Naruto asked, the memory clear as day on his head, despite being three years now.
Asami's father had been away, leaving Asami and her mother in the mansion that night. Naruto had a sleepover, taking the guest's room.
During the night, Asami had sneaked inside his room; they were just starting to heat things up when Lady Yasuko walked inside without knocking; thankfully, their clothes were still on, but still, Naruto had felt quite embarrassed for a long time.
Asami rolled her eyes at the reminder sometimes Naruto just likes to joke about it, despite being years.
That night, her mother had stated that she already knew of their "secret" relationship despite being obvious according to her, while her father hadn't guessed anything until Asami herself straight up told him that she was dating Naruto.
That day Asami had seen her father's facial expression change in a way she had never seen before; instead of being happy, he had narrowed his eyes before murmuring something under his breath.
Asami hadn't known why and her father had refused to elaborate on it.
"You know now that Korra has arrived, you should probably officially meet," Naruto suddenly stated.
Asami thought about it; for a long time, she had been quite jealous of the Avatar girl. Thankfully, she confessed that night, with Naruto sharing her feelings.
Naruto was blasting wind around the trees, trying to take the shape of a blade, knowing his uncle would never approve of this; he always did this during the night.
The wind blew as he concentrated more, moving his hands in a slashing direction slowly, his hand straight; Naruto twirled before moving his hand with a much greater speed, causing a huge wind to cut through the tree, cutting down the whole tree, not just a scratch in the surface.
Naruto jumped in joy; he finally did, his hands in the air before a voice cut through the air like a knife.
"Congratulations, Naruto," He suddenly turned around to see Asami clapping for him with a beautiful smile.
The moon's light was really brightening up her face, especially her green eyes, like grass that Naruto always found himself drawn to.
"Asami? What are you doing here?!" Naruto quickly asked.
"Well, Pema invited me, in case you forgot, here for like twenty minutes, and you're not as quiet as you think," Asami said with a teasing tone before walking closer to Naruto.
She immediately noticed his blue eyes that she always to look at. Sometimes Naruto would even like to make fun of her for that, but just harmless joking.
"You're not goi," "Of course not, the same as your other secret," Asami said with a wink causing Naruto to blush in embarrassment.
Turning to look at Asami again, he noticed she was closer to him, only two feet away.
Her eyes were fixated on him, but so were his. "You will leave tomorrow for the South pole to meet the Avatar," Asami said, her voice losing the usual passion at the end.
"Yeh, I'm happy to meet Korra again," Naruto replied; he was excited to meet his whole family.
"Naruto, I-I would like to give you something before you go," Asami said; she had planned tomorrow morning, or perhaps tomorrow afternoon, or tomorrow evening?!!
Before Naruto could ask if she felt sick or anything, Asami grabbed his face, slamming her lips on his; Naruto was shocked by her action before immediately returning the kiss, much to Asami's delight.
Pulling away, Asami wanted to apologize; she knew immediately she had crossed a line...
"I actually wanted to do this first,"
That night, Naruto and Asami had kissed two more times before going to bed.
"You're right; I'm actually quite interested to meet your childhood friend," Asami started putting her hand on his.
Naruto quite liked the warmth of her hand; her smooth skin was always felt good to touch.
"We should probably..." Naruto tried but was interrupted by Asami grabbing his collar, sharing a passionate kiss; her tongue engulfed his mouth, always liking to show dominance when she could before Naruto would take charge and ravish her.
Pulling away, a string of saliva connecting them, grabbing his hand, both standing up, Asami leaned forward to his ear, her hot breath sending shivers on his skin.
Completely ignoring the glares from some of the women in the restaurant who would always look at him.
"How about we go to our little hotel, I heard they brought new beds," Asami whispered seductively.
Warning: Lemon Next Chapter