Chapter Text
I slowly walk around the table, perhaps a little too quietly, because she doesn’t seem to notice me. It looks like all she has for lunch is a flask of hot coffee, which she’s sipping on whilst studying her notes, oblivious to her surroundings. I have second thoughts, and look back at our table only to see everyone grinning and sticking their thumbs up. Damn them. I’m just being friendly, they don’t get it at all.
I take a deep breath, and gently set my tray down on the table. That’s when she finally glances up at me, and that’s when I feel like I’m drowning in her dazzling green gaze, for just one second.
“Oh, hello… can I help you?” she asks, brushing a strand of black, silky hair past her ear.
“I was wondering if I could sit here. I mean, if you want. Because you’re new. And lonely. I mean not lonely, cos there’d be no way for me to know that, but definitely sat alone, so yeah,” I realise I’m blabbering, and she’s looking at me with a mixture of amusement and confusion, and I forget whatever else I was going to say because she’s actually incredibly beautiful, and I’m an idiot, and I shouldn’t even be here.
“That’s very sweet. I’m not good company though, just so you know,” she says, holding out a hand, “I’m Asami, and you’re Korra, I presume?” she smiles as I accept her hand and lightly shake it.
“Wait, how did you-“ I begin to ask, whilst taking my seat.
“The teacher stated your name, and your friend – Bolin. But that aside, who doesn’t know the Avatar studies here? Your picture is always in the papers back home.” she actually sounds excited at the last part.
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I groan, taking a bite from my half-finished sandwich, and feeling a lot more relaxed now that we’re talking.
“You don’t like the attention?” she asks, and looks genuinely surprised.
“It’s just… sometimes I want to be like everyone else. Normal powers. Normal responsibilities, or as normal as they can get for benders, anyway,” I say, sighing and slumping my shoulders.
“That makes sense. I have quite a bit of extra nonsense to deal with too, being a Sato and all,” she shakes her head and sips at her flask again.
“Oh, you’re Yasuko Sato’s daughter?” I ask. I know all about her, the CEO of Satotech - the biggest tech company in the world. They develop practically every computer component you can think of, in fact even my laptop is a Satotech.
“Yes. You don’t seem surprised?” she asks, with an eyebrow raised.
“Jinora, uh, one of my friends back there, said you were a… um…” damn, me and my big mouth. Asami looks at me expectantly, and I sigh, “she said you were a rich bigshot from the city. Sato is an uncommon name, so I made an educated guess.”
“Oh, so the mighty avatar is educated as well as powerful?” Asami says, chuckling.
“Don’t tease me, I get enough of that from my so-called friends.”
“I’ll try not to,” Asami says, smirking to herself whilst running a finger over a line in her notes.
“Wow, you wrote a lot,” I say, glancing down and seeing she’s a few pages into the book.
“Yes, I don’t like to miss things,” she explains, “I’ve always believed attention to detail is very important.”
“Makes sense.” I say, at which she nods, and returns to her studies, flicking yet another page over. “So, how come you’ve come to the academy? Did a scout find you?”
I refer to the bender-scouts, teams that scour the world searching for those with the rare ability to bend one element to their will – fire, earth, wind or water. I’m different. I can manipulate all of them, and if I could just figure the avatar state out, I’d be able to use all four at the same time.
“Kind of.” Asami says, bluntly. I wait for an elaboration, but there isn’t one, so I chew on my food in silence whilst she continues to read.
“What bending do you have, anyway?” I finally ask, after finishing the last mouthful of my sandwich.
Asami closes her notebook with a soft thud and looks up at me with what I think is a playful smile, though for some reason it scares me a little, “Do you ask all the girls this many questions, or am I of special interest?”
“I – uh…” I scratch at the back of my neck, nervously.
“Well, I suppose the avatar gets her pick of boyfriends… or girlfriends, right?” She asks, and I’m really not sure what to say since I’ve never had more than one partner nor ever considered being the avatar gives me an advantage in that department. “Just so you know, I didn’t come here looking for romance. Are we clear?” Asami continues, with a very stoic expression.
I grunt in frustration and wave to my so-called friends further down the room, “I was just being nice, okay? They put me up to this.”
“I appreciate the gesture, and I’m definitely interested in becoming friends,” Asami says, her expression softening.
“And for what it’s worth I’ve had one boyfriend and it didn’t work out, thank you very much,” I say, pouting.
Asami chuckles, “Sorry, its just that I get it a lot. I mean… Unwanted attention.”
“Well, that’s not why I’m here. I’m not even into girls that way,” I say, and she looks perplexed for a moment, “but I can be your bodyguard against creeps, if you like,” I continue, noisily slurping the rest of my cola.
“Protected by the avatar? I’m not sure even my mother could afford such a service,” Asami says, gasping sarcastically.
“Just Korra is fine,” I grumble.
“Actually, I think I’ll call you Guns,” she smirks, resting her cheek upon one hand and pointing the other towards my biceps. I glance down to see that they’re half-tensed, because I’m leaning forwards onto my forearms. I always did love wearing sleeveless vests; today’s is a dark blue number, which complements my bonze skin rather well, if I do say so myself.
“Oh really? Then your name is Hair.” I say, puffing my chest out indignantly.
“Well, I’m told it’s one of my best features,” Asami chuckles.
“Yeah, it’s alright, I suppose.” I mutter. I could grow my hair that long too if I wanted to, so it’s nothing special.
“Well, see you in the next class, Guns.” Asami says, standing to her feet, finishing her flask of its contents, and packing away her notebook.
“Laters, Hair.” I laugh, standing to my feet and clearing away my tray, which I almost drop when she flicks a long length of that non-special hair over her shoulder, her ivory neck exposed for the briefest moment.
My mouth feels dry as I return to the others. Weird. Hopefully I’m not getting a cold or anything.
“How did it go?” Opal asks before anyone else can, and I roll my eyes.
“Fine, she’ll probably end up being yet another friend I have to deal with.”
“A close friend,” Jinora purrs, trying to stifle a giggle behind her hand, albeit unsuccessfully.
Thankfully, the school bell rings, interrupting any more bullshit that would have otherwise sprung forth. Seriously, why do they even think I’m into girls?
“Next on the list, Mr. Rosenberg!” Bolin booms, dramatically, whilst hooking his arm with mine and marching alongside me. Mako sticks his hands deeply into his pockets and skulks at the other side, whilst Opal and Jinora head to their next class, waving goodbye. Kai’s apparently not feeling well today, so he’s sleeping off some kind of man-flu in his dorm.
--
Classroom six. A yellow door. A bald, grey-bearded teacher, sporting the same tattoos as Jinora. I quietly groan as we walk in and greet the old air-bender. I wish I could feel even remotely excited about this lesson, but truth be told the only classes I enjoy are the field trips, where we go out in the wild and actually do stuff, kill bad guys, make a difference.
“Please be seated. Today we will resume our studies on the advantages of meditation. Korra, this will benefit you the most, so I hope that you pay attention.”
Great. I’m singled out again, and half the class is staring at me again, including Asami, though she at least looks sympathetic. Yes, meditation would help me reach the avatar state, if I could actually manage to find my so called inner-self and not find sleep instead.
Sadly, today is no different. I’m woken up by a red-faced teacher, with drool hanging out of my mouth and a few giggles from around the room. “Sorry…” I sigh, looking down at my entwined fingers and feeling ashamed. Maybe my body is just over-tired. Maybe I should ease up on the gym a bit, but sometimes even three hours a day doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
“Might I suggest earlier nights, Miss Waters?” the teacher says, and he’s probably right. Tonight, I’ll hit the gym for just two hours, have a bath, and turn in at around ten.
The bell rings, indicating the end of today’s lessons, and it’s time for everyone to head back to their dorms, extra studies in the library, sports, or whatever they want, really. The school is very open-minded when it comes to extracurricular activities.
“See you at the gym later?” Bolin asks on the way out.
“Sure, same bat-time, same bat-channel,” I chuckle. Inside joke, since he’s a massive old-school batman fan.
Once the classroom has emptied, Mr. Rosenberg pulls a chair up opposite me. “Did you want to try a private lesson again? I have time tomorrow night.” He asks, and his voice is gentler now. Sure, the guy can have his occasional little temper tantrums, but he’s good at heart, and I like him. I trust him.
“I don’t know…”
“Korra, we’ve been through this. You mustn’t be afraid of failure, for it is a part of growth.”
“I know… but I’m so tired. I’m supposed to be this all powerful being, and all I can do is fall asleep, I mean come on!” I huff, folding my arms and looking away from his concerned, chalk-blue eyes.
His hand clasps over my forearm and he smiles, “you mustn’t give up, I think you just need to learn to believe in yourself. You managed to master air-bending, right?”
“I suppose.” I agree, with a heavy sigh. Air was by far the toughest thing for me to learn, as the element itself is in direct contrast to my temperament. Water was easy, since I’m from the water-tribe, and came out of the womb with the stuff practically swirling around my head. Fire – perfect fit for my ego, every bit as natural to me as water. Earth, pretty simple. It’s all about projecting strength, which I have in buckets. But air? Air is elegance, air is grace. Air is everything that I’m not, and yet I managed to learn it, eventually.
“So, tomorrow night, after school?”
“Yeah, sure. Can’t hurt to try again,” I say, smiling back at him, and grabbing my satchel. I wave good-bye as I leave the room, and have to take a double-take when I see Asami waiting outside the room, leant against the wall, arms folded and nose-deep in her notes.
“Sato?” I ask.
“I thought it was Hair?” she replies, peering over her book.
“Meh, I can use more than one name, can’t I?”
“I suppose so, Waters,” she chuckles.
“Wait, I never told you tha-“
“You’re the avatar, ergo famous, remember? Not to mention your Dad is Chief Tonraq Waters, married to Senna Waters, leaders of the south.”
“You’ve been doing your homework. Are you spying on me?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips and squinting at her.
“Don’t get your hopes up. It’s all common knowledge, just like the stuff surrounding my family.”
“Actually, I don’t know that much about the Satos,” I murmur, “besides, why’re you here?”
“New girl, remember? Since you’re the only one who’s spoken to me, you’re stuck with me.”
“Oh riiiight, and I just thought you wanted to see these babies again,” I grin, flexing a bicep. I’m sure I see her eyebrow at least twitch a little, but other than that, she seems nonplussed. I’m disappointed.
“As delightful as those ‘babies’ are, I was hoping you could show me around. Also, I’m parched – are there any coffee shops on campus?”
“Two, actually. This place is huge - come on!” I say, running on the spot in front of her.
“I’m not jogging.” She states, walking alongside me and clutching her book to her chest.
“You’ll get fat.”
“Doubtful.”
“Do you even hit the gym?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. Asami’s wearing a loose black jacket over her arms, otherwise I’d know the answer without having to ask. She also has a silver chain with what looks like a gear symbol on the end, it’s dangling just above her cleavage, and her pale breasts are nestled tidily inside a crimson-red vest. I scratch the back of my neck, and sharply face forward.
“If by ‘hit’ it you mean use it, then yes. I practise MMA, too.”
“Oh? Interestiiiing. Fight me!” I say, with a huge grin.
“Perhaps, but not now. I want that coffee.”
I laugh, and lead her the rest of the way. I suppose having another new friend could be fun, after all.