A Spirit of Elements Chapter 6 (Republic City)

The following day the airbending family was up and ready to go. Tenzin and Pema were gathering their children, who were sad to leave the place. Both Ikki and Jinora were already sitting on Oogi with their mother, waiting for Tenzin to stop Meelo from trying to sit on Sozu's saddle.

On the other hand, Naruto was looking for Korra to say goodbye to her and remind her that he would visit her when he had the time. Unfortunately, he couldn't find her anywhere.

Seeing that he was unable to reach her, he walked towards grandma, who was waving her son's family goodbye, a sad expression on her face and a few tears running down her eyes.

"Grandma?" Naruto slowly said.

Katara sniffled a bit before turning her head. "Yes dear?" she asked.

"I was wondering if you could tell Korra I said goodbye to her. I can't find her and I have to go now. Just let her know I promise to visit her whenever I can." he said before looking down.

Aang's wife sighed before looking at Naruto, a sad smile placed on her mouth. "Sure, I'll let her know. That girl needs more people like you in her life. I don't think this is what my husband wanted for her."

"I agree. Living in the same place secluded from the world outside because of a destiny she didn't choose is not living at all." Naruto said as he walked away from her.

"Naruto", the blonde turned to see his mother walking towards him, Naruto smiled before approaching to her and giving her a hug, Kya smiled in return, hugging him back.

Kya's eyes welled at how much her son had grown, she still remembered the little baby crawling around, his word.

"Mother, you alright?" Naruto suddenly asked concerned looking at her eyes.

Kya pulled away slightly before wiping away her tears with her sleeve.

"I'm fine Naruto, it just," she struggled before looking at her son again, sometimes wondering if telling him the truth would be the right thing to do.

"You have grown my son, I just remembered when I first saw you, you were so little, and tiny," She spoke, making Naruto chuckled, rubbing his hair.

"Yeh, I remember when I first saw Ikki, wondering if I have really been that small," Naruto said causing both Kya and Katara to laugh.

Naruto looked at his eagle before turning to look at his mother. "I have to go, I will visit as soon as possible," the blonde promised kissing his mother's cheek and his grandmother's.

He then put on his gloves and placed his hood up. Sozu approached him and kneeled so he could ride him, not feeling very comfortable with all the snow of the place.

"All right Sozu, let's go." the young man said to his Raven Eagle, who started flying after a single jump. It wasn't long before the two of them were a small dot in the sky.

Katara sighed. "He is a lot like you Aang." she whispered.

"He is, sometimes, I wonder where Naruto came from, despite Bumi looking for her name, he never found information about a Red Head woman," Kya said, knowing that Bumi had literally looked in every nation, even Lord Zuko had looked over it, but there was never any information about her.

Kya visited the woman's grave every month, making sure to bring flowers, saying that her son was safe and happy.

Air Temple

Naruto, after having breakfast and doing his exhausting morning workout, took a shower and searched for Pema. His exercise routine consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, drink plenty of juice, speed training using weights, airbending exercises and continuous spars with imaginary opponents performing moves he created in his unique, yet to be named fighting style, among other activities. This particular workout allowed him to hardness his body as well as his airbending. Instead of relying on defense, he used his airbending in a lot more offensive way, incorporating kicks and punches of all kind.

"Hey, aunt Pema." Naruto greeted her as he made his way to the gardens.

"Yes sweetie?"

"I'm going to Republic City for a while. I have to buy more food for Sozu."

Pema looked at him with curiosity. "Didn't you buy him enough food for a month the last time you went?"

"Yeah, but apparently somebody left Sozu's bag of food open. Any ideas who might've been?" he asked with humor. It was more than obvious who was the author of the crime.

His aunt giggled. "Meelo just wants to fly with him for once. The other day I saw him wearing feathers all over his body. He said he wanted to fool Sozu by making him believe he was a baby Raven Eagle."

The Airbender sighed. "That boy is gonna get himself eaten one of these days. Anyways, I'm taking off. See ya' later auntie."

"Fly safe!"

Republic City

Naruto was walking near the shopping district he normally went for Sozu's food. He was wearing his typical outfit, a pair of black boots with black pants along with his favorite grey jacket that had its sleeves torn, revealing his defined arms at sight, much to the pleasure of every girl that saw him. He was also wearing bandages on his wrists. Overall, he looked like a firebender except for the color of his hair, eyes and skin.

As he made his way to the shop, he noticed a satomobile parking near a store that sold phonographs and things like that. Three men walked out of the vehicle and Naruto recognized them instantly.

Triple Threats members.

The young man growled. Ever since the Triads gangs became a problem in Republic City, dealing with them was one of the things he wanted the most. Of course, his training demanded him to stay put in the island and Tenzin absolutely disapproved the idea of Naruto involving himself with them. He knew the boy for 18 years now and was certain that he would jump at the chance of confronting them, which could easily involve the complete and utter destruction of an entire block if Naruto was angry.

That was another thing that Tenzin, to this very day, couldn't understand. Naruto was a very talented airbending master... in his own way. His mentality as an Airbender was almost the exact opposite of what it should be. It was a mix between a firebender and an earthbender, trying to make his way right into the obstacle rather than surrounding it.

Back to the present, Naruto made a decision. He had tried hard to ignore them and let the police officers take care of the problem, but they were not here. Before he could draw the attention of the gang members threatening the shopkeeper, a voice was heard from the other side of the street.

"Or else what, hoodlum?"

On the other side of the street, a young girl wearing blue traditional water tribe clothes was standing near them, hands on her hips and smirking confidently at the Triple Threats.

'Oh Korra.' Naruto thought while smiling.

The three stooges stared at her in confusion before laughing at her annoyingly loud. When the laughter died down, the guy that looked like the leader of the other two spoke up. "Look girly, since you're obviously fresh off the boat, let me explain to you a couple of things. You're in Triple Thread Triad territory and we're about to put you in the hospital." he said with a condescending voice.

Korra had an amused expression on her face. "You're the only ones who will need a hospital. And for your sake, I hope there's one nearby." she replied crackling her knuckles.

The leader's face quickly changed. "Who the hell you think you are!?" He was not going to let that little girl disrespect him like that!

"Why don't you find out?"

That was it.

The gang leader brought some water hidden out of his coat and threw it at her with the use of his waterbending. Korra immediately stopped the attack once it was at arm's length. Before her enemy could react, Korra threw the water back at him, splashing his face and turning the water into ice. The man lost his balance and started tripping over, just to receive a kick in the head by the same girl. The kick sent him falling headfirst into their own satomobile, smashing his head right into the front part of the vehicle. The blow was so hard the ice that was still covering his head was shattered, leaving him knocked out.

The other two thugs were astonished by how easily that girl defeated their boss. But before they could react, another figure took the spot. In a grey and black flash, the earthbender of the squad received a punch to his guts followed by a spinning kick to the jaw that threw him to the ground. When he tried to get up, a fast punch to his forehead left him out cold.

Korra was too busy handling the firebender, a skinny and pale looking guy who was craping his pants at the moment, to notice the stranger that fought the other guy.

After neutralizing him with little to no effort and smashing several stores in the process, she turned her back around to face the last guy of the gang. To her surprise, the big guy was lying unconscious on the ground. A boy was standing near him, and she deduced he was the one who took down the earthbender.

"Hey, thanks for the help with that. Not that I needed it, but still." Korra said.

"And you said I was the cocky one, Korra." the guy said, still not turning his back around.

The Avatar gasped. "Naruto! W-What are you doing here?"

Naruto smirked. "I think I could ask you the same thing. Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything, but aren't you supposed to be in the South Pole?"

Before she could reply, a metalbending squad came to the scene.

"Cool, metalbenders!" the native girl from the Southern Water Tribe said. It was her first time in the 'big city' and she had seen so much. She was somewhat disappointed with the place, however. Republic City was a lot less impressive than what she had originally expected. "I have a responsibility to Republic City as one of its leaders. The situation there is... very unstable right now." Tenzin's words echoed inside her head.

'I guess this is what Tenzin was talking about.' "Don't worry officers, we caught the bad guys for you."

"Getting here a little earlier would've been nice." Naruto muttered. "Still, we stopped the thugs blackmailing the shop's owner. That's the most important thing right now." Korra nodded in agreement.

"Arrest them." the metalbending leader ordered to his squad. Without much delay, three metalbenders shot their cables and captured the gang members. Two of them were way too injured to put up a fight and the other one was still knocked out. When the criminals were dealt with, the same officer pointed at Naruto and Korra. "Arrest them too."

"What!?" both of them shouted. "But why? We just stopped the bad guys for you! They were smashing up an old man's shop!" Korra shouted in her defense.

"From the looks of it you smashed a lot more than that." the officer said while pointing at the street. A few other stores were smashed apart, product of Korra's less than subtle way of dealing with the gang members. "Plus, it's illegal to apply justice with your own hands."

"Maybe so, but that wouldn't have happened if you guys actually were here to apply justice like you are supposed to do." Naruto argued back.

"You can explain yourself all you like, back at the Headquarters." he responded while gesturing to one of his subordinates.

Later

"Let's see. Multiple counts of destruction of city property, evading arrest and acts of violence towards the city's law enforcers. You two are in deep, deep trouble." the woman said to Naruto and Korra, who were brought to the interrogation room after being apprehended. She had grey hair and green eyes and was wearing the standard metalbending armor. Naruto would recognise her face from a mile away. Korra, on the other hand, wasn't as calm as her companion.

"But some thugs were threatening a helpless shopkeeper and we had to-"

"Can it! What you should have done was to call the police force and stay out of the way, not starting a ground war in the middle of my city." the frowny woman said, interrupting Korra from explaining themselves.

"I know, but I just couldn't sit there and do nothing. See, I'm the Avatar." Korra explained, looking sheepishly at the end, praying to the Spirits the Avatar card worked. Oh, how wrong she was.

"Oh, I'm well aware of who you are. And your little Avatar title might impress some people, but not me." she said condescendingly. The woman now turned to see Naruto, who was sitting right next to Korra. "What's your excuse, brat?"

"How about you treat me a little nicer for starters. I don't like you insulting me over nothing, granny Lin." Naruto responded. That woman rubbed him the wrong way. If she expected him to respect her after openly calling him a brat, she was in for a big surprise.

Korra almost laughed and wanted to ask how he knew her.

The lady's face expression turned into a murderous one. "What did you just call me, kid!? I am Chief Beifong and you will address me as such Naruto!" The nerve of Naruto sometimes annoyed her, he knew sometimes how to act but sometimes he knew how to push the right buttons, besides she wasn't even that old.

"Wait a minute." Korra realized. "Beifong? Lin Beifong? You're Toph's daughter!" she exclaimed.

Lin shrugged. "What of it?"

"But if you're Toph's daughter, then why are you treating us like criminals? Avatar Aang and your mother were friends. They saved the world together."

"That's ancient history and it's got diddly squat with the mess you two have gotten yourself into. None of you can just walk in here and go vigilante like you own the place."

Naruto smirked. This was going to be fun. "In that case Granny, may I know why your so called law enforcers are never around whenever a crime is being committed? Every time I walk through the streets of Republic City, the triads are always taking advantage of the less fortunate. Maybe this wouldn't have happened if you actually had this city under control."

"Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?" Lin asked with a dangerous tone.

The young man just shrugged. "Not at all, Granny. I'm just pointing out how much you suck at it, now I understand why Aunt Suyin said that Republic City sucks." 'Once again, totally worth it.'

"Who's Suyin?" Korra asked, looking at them, but neither Naruto nor Lin was paying her any attention.

Before Lin could metalbend the crap out of Naruto, a small panel in the wall slid open, revealing the face of a police officer. "Chief Beifong, I am sorry to interrupt your interrogation but Councilman Tenzin has arrived and wishes to have a word with you."

Lin was fighting with herself. She knew she had to deal with Tenzin, but the urge to smack the loud-mouthed brat to death was very hard to control. In the end, she just sighed and indicated her subordinate to let the councilman in. The police officer nodded and opened the door, revealing a certain Airbender that looked stressed out of his mind.

"Sorry Tenzin. We got a little side-tracked on our way to see you." Korra said sheepishly.

Tenzin said nothing as he glared at them. Letting out a sigh, he turned to face Lin with the most charming smile he could do. "Lin, you are looking radiant as usual." he started to say.

Hearing what his uncle just said, Naruto had no other option but to bit his lower lip hard enough to feel blood in order to suppress his laughter.

"Cut the garbage, Tenzin. Why are the Avatar and her boyfriend here in Republic City? I thought you were supposed to be moving down to the South Pole to train her." Upon hearing the word boyfriend, both Naruto and Korra reacted. Naruto simply smiled, amused by the whole thing while Korra blushed significantly.

The thought of having Naruto as a boyfriend sure sounded tempting, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Korra didn't know if the blonde looked at her that way. With his looks, he probably had every girl in Republic City drooling and throwing themselves at him.

The voice of Tenzin brought her back to the real world. "My relocation has been delayed. The Avatar on the other hand will be heading back to the South Pole immediately, where she will STAY PUT." Tenzin said.

"But-"

"If you would be so kind as to drop the charges against Korra and my nephew, I will take full responsibility for today's regrettable events and cover all the damages."

"Tell your brat nephew that next time I won't be so generous" she said with a frown.

"I thought I said you should stop calling me brat yo-" Naruto started until Tenzin cut him off.

"I will tell him that, this won't happen again,"

After a few seconds, Lin sighed and unlocked both of the teen's handcuffs. "Just get them out of my city." She really didn't have time for this. Her current investigations demanded all of her attention, and while the idea of smacking the little punk tempted her, she decided to wait for him to do another of these stunts in order to claim vengeance. Maybe he got away with it once, but by the Spirits, he wouldn't get away with it twice.

Tenzin visibly relaxed as he spoke to Lin. "Always a pleasure, Lin. Korra, Naruto, let's go." he said as he gestured the Avatar and his nephew. As Korra was leaving, Chief Beifong gave her an 'I'm watching you' glare along with a hand gesture, which Korra didn't hesitate to return. Naruto mouthed 'Granny' before closing the door.

And so, the three of them exited the room, leaving a very angry and frustrated Chief of Police behind.

Outside the interrogation room

"Tenzin, please don't send me back home." Korra pleaded the aged airbender.

"You blatantly disobeyed my wishes and the orders of the White Lotus." Tenzin responded.

"But Katara agreed with me that I should come! She said my destiny is in Republic City."

"She's right, you know. Before I returned to the Air Temple during our little visit I had a talk with her. When I asked her about how she felt about Korra's current situation, she said and I'm quoting right now: 'I don't think this is what my husband wanted for her.' Therefore, she agreed that Korra should leave the South Pole. You can ask her if you want." 'AHA! We got you mamma's boy!'

The face of Tenzin turned red instantly. "Don't bring my mother into this!" he shouted.

"Calm down, Uncle"

"Calm? I'M COMPLETELY CALM!," Tenzin yelled out, Naruto was grinning at his uncle's face while Korra was wondering where the calm Tenzin went.

Korra ignored Tenzin's outburst. "Look, I can't wait any longer to finish my training. Being cooped up and hiding away from the world isn't helping me become a better Avatar. I saw a lot of the city today and it's totally out of whack. I understand now why Republic City needs you, but it needs me too."

Before Tenzin could argue back, a voice was heard on the other side of the room.

"Is this you Polar Bear Dog, miss?"

Air Temple Docks

Naruto watched as a ship waited for Korra in the docks. He really hated seeing her go back to her so-called home, which was filled with moody White Lotus old geezers that kept her in captivity. Before she left, Naruto decided to say some parting words, if only just to make her feel a little better, very much like the other night at the South Pole.

Approaching the girl, Naruto spoke up. "Hey there."

Korra looked up and saw the Airbender in front of her with a sad smile. "Hey Naruto."

"Listen, just because you're going back doesn't mean you won't see me around. I promised I would visit you from time to time, and I intend to keep my word."

The young Avatar looked him with surprise. "You really mean it?" she asked.

Tenzin's nephew grinned at her. "Yeah, I really do. What kind of friend would I be if I let you all alone in that snowy hell?"

Korra smiled at Naruto, she felt her heart beating in her throat, beating faster for him. He didn't saw her just as the Avatar, but as Korra, the hotheaded girl from the Southern Water Tribe. Not only that, but he also promised to visit her when he had the time, and now she really believed him.

Overwhelmed by her emotions, Korra walked right into Naruto and gave him a bone-crushing hug. Naruto was a little surprised by her actions but quickly returned the embrace. "Thank you." she whispered into his ear.

"No problem." Naruto responded. They kept hugging each other for a minute before Korra realized she was hugging Naruto a little too hard. She couldn't help but notice that Naruto's torso was very hard, yet also soft. She quickly ended the hug and stared at her friend.

"Sorry about that." Korra said while rubbing the back of her head, a small blush coming out of her cheeks. Naruto, in return, gave her his signature smirk along with his infamous wink, the ones that made him so popular around Republic City's gossipy girls. The Avatar could only feel her cheeks slowly heating up upon seeing his gesture.

Korra looked at his blue eyes, she found herself mesmerised by them, her eyes found his lips, they looked so kissable, she felt funny, the blonde felt her hot breath on his face, her eyes half closed as her face leaned closer to his.

"Korra," Jinora suddenly shouted, making her break from her thoughts about Naruto. God damn Jinora, Again!

Suddenly, the three children of Tenzin and Pema landed right in front of them using their gliders.

"Korra!" they all shouted in excitement.

"Are you going to move to the Air Temple?" Ikki asked with excitement.

"No. I'm sorry Ikki, but I have to go home now." Korra said with sadness as she knelt down and placed her hands on both Ikki and Jinora's shoulders. The three airbenders 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaawed' in unison.

Naruto approached the airbending trio. "Hey guys, glad to see you too. It's nice to see you care for your beloved old cousin for a change." he said pretending to be hurt.

"Naruto!" The three kids shouted. Meelo ruan towards him and clenched to his leg, not letting it go.

"How's it going, squirt?" Naruto asked his cousin.

"Hey I'm not a squirt, I'm a full grown man!" Meelo shouted in anger.

Naruto just shrugged. "Sure thing, squirt."

"Are you gonna let me ride Sozu now?"

"Maybe I would've let you if you hadn't let his food bag open. Now I have to buy a new one."

"Aaaaaaaw stinky." Meelo pouted.

Now it was time for Jinora to step in. "Naruto, why were you and Korra hugging?"

Before either of them could answer, Ikki opened her question-cannon mouth. "Are you dating Korra? Are you her boyfriend? Did you two kissed? Are you getting married?"

The young Airbender saw this coming a mile away. The same thing could not be said about Korra, if the steam coming out of her tomato-red face was anything to go by.

Before any explanation could be said, Tenzin spoke up. "Wait." he said gaining the attention of everyone. "I have done my best to guide Republic City towards the dream my father had for it. But you are right. It has fallen out of balance since he has passed. I thought I should put off your training in order to uphold his legacy, but you are his legacy. You may stay and train airbending here with me, for Republic City needs its Avatar once again." he finished while placing a hand on Korra's shoulder, which made her gasp.

Unable to resist the urge, Korra shouted. "Yes! Thank you, you're the best!" She then proceeded to hug Meelo, Jinora and Ikki, who were also cheering out of joy.

"What about me? Don't I get a second hug?" Naruto asked.

Korra ignored his plead as she continued to hug the kids. Naruto then turned to face his uncle and gave him a look that clearly said 'Thanks softie.', which went with a crap-eating grin.

Tenzin send him a glare back. 'Shut yer' mouth Naruto.'

As they were making their way back to the Air Temple, Naruto was thinking about everything that had happened since the day of their visit to the South Pole. He had no idea what the future would bring him, but one thing was certain. There was this sensation he couldn't get out of his head, and he didn't mind.

'I have a feeling that things are about to get a lot more fun.' he thought with a smile.

"Indeed, let's see how that spirit will do"

Shit? You again!