Being with Friends

Kota woke up to the sound of his phone ringing so he picked it up, "Kota Beifong," he said lazily.

"Koko? You sound tired," the voice of Asami was on the other end and she heard Kota yawn. "It's because I am," Kota said, "Besides do you know what time it is?"

"It's 10 in the morning," Asami said in a flat tone.

"Oh shit," Kota said, his eyes widened at what Asami had said and sighed at his idiocy. "So, what's up? How's it going?" Kota asked.

"I'm doing well, listen I was wondering if you are available for the rest of the day?" Asami asked, "Maybe we can see a Pro-bending match later tonight."

"Sure," Kota said, "It will be like old times."

He heard Asami giggle, "Sure, like old times."

He heard the line drop and put the phone down. He later sighed and looked at a photo of him and Asami together, they were both kids. It was around the first time they had met.

'Flashback'

Lin and Tenzin had sent Kota to a prestigious school in order for him to learn and also due to his wealthy status.

A four year old Kota was at recess and was lying on a bench watching the clouds float by when suddenly a shadow covered him.

Kota turned his head to see a girl with shoulder length black hair and green eyes.

"I'm just watching the clouds. Wanna join me?" Kota asked

The girl smiled, "Sure, I'm Asami, Asami Sato." She said as she sat down and held out her hand.

Kota smiled at her, "Kota, Kota Beifong." He said as he did the same and shook her hand.

'Flashback Ends'

Kota shook his head in amusement as he remembered that event as it would spark their friendship, he wore his signature outfit which consisted of his black shoes and pants with his top being a leather jacket with his plated long sleeve shirt underneath. He later went in his closet and decided to carry a backpack. He left his room to be confronted by the very pregnant Pema, he gave her a nervous grin as she stood there with a stern look on her face.

"Hey Pema," Kota laughed nervously as he said hi to his stepmother.

"Where are you going, young man?" Pema asked she later had hands on her hips and kept her gaze at him.

"Well, since you heard everything, I'm going to Republic City to see Asami," Kota said, truthfully.

Pema sighed and smiled at the young man, "Okay, just make sure you tell your father."

"Will do," before Kota walked away from her he looked at her, "do you need anything while I'm there?"

Pema shook her head, though she appreciated his consideration, "No thanks, honey just take care."

"You too," Kota said. He walked off and went by the gazebo to tell his father about leaving the Island. He arrived and saw his father and siblings there, but no Korra which made him raise a brow.

"Where's Korra?" Tenzin stood up as the younger kids left their brother and father to talk alone.

"Korra left meditation early," Tenzin later pinched the bridge of his nose, "Seriously I wish she is like you more."

"She was like me," Kota said, "So, I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to the city to hang out with Asami. She called me not too long ago."

"Well, you didn't have to let me know," Tenzin said, "Even before you left for the Military, you would always leave the island to see her."

"Pema suggested that I let you know, Dad," Kota said. He and Tenzin gave each other a hug and they went their separate ways. Kota later went to the cave and retrieved his flying bison, Shorty.

"Hey Shorty," Kota petted his bison, "Were gonna go see Asami today."

The bison let out a loud, rumbling, excited "MRAUGH!"

Kota chuckled and got on the bison's back and took the reins. "Shorty, yip-yip!" and a snap of the reins, the 19 year-old earthbender and his companion were soaring above the waters of Yue Bay.

After a few minutes of flying, Kota had arrived in front of the mansion's door and knocked at the door. When the door opened Asami was there and smiled at her childhood friend.

"Looks like you brought Shorty," Asami said, approaching the bison to pet it.

"Wow, not a hello from me?" Kota said in a fake pout. Asami looked at her head at Kota and smiled, "I would never skip you." She later opened the door more for Kota to come in, but before he did he went to Shorty and patted it's head.

"You can go home, buddy." Kota said, "I'll call for you tonight."

The bison nuzzled Kota's hand and flew away.

"Did you have anything planned?" Asami asked out of curiosity.

Kota shook his head, "I was wondering if you had anything planned other than the Pro-bending match we are gonna see." Just as Kota was thinking about a plan, he had an idea, "How about we go to the cafe you and I would always go to."

Asami smiled, "I'd like that. Just let me cancel my appointments for the rest of the day."

After Asami canceled her appointments, she and Kota walked into the house. They walked to the direction of the garage and Asami approached a green motorcycle. She grabbed two helmets and threw one of them to Koda.

"You're driving!" Asami said.

Kota sighed as he sat on the bike and turned on the engine. Asami didn't hesitate to sit behind him and wrap her arms around his torso as the two rode to the city.

'Later'

They were in the cafe and talking about some of their times together, they were giggling and laughing at some of the moments.

"That Miu girl, I didn't like her at all." Asami said, "Wanted you only for your body."

"Seriously?" Kota frowned, "Huh, I liked her."

"That's," she poked his cheek, "What she wanted you to think. She was going to dump you right after too. Show how much better she was then you or some stupid thing like that. I told her off, big time."

"You mean you punched her." Kota mused, remembering those panda eyes Miu was sporting.

"Damn right." Asami said with sass.

"Remember Tanaka?"

"Ooh, he was cute." Asami sighed out.

"Running a scam for your money," Kota told her with a smirk, "But Mom later busted him with some Triads. He was in debt with them, big time."

"That bastard!"

"Yep."

They continued to talk, just about old times, laughing their butts off as they sat together and hung out.

…

The two later went down along the city and arrived at the Pro-bending arena. Kota parked the motorcycle and the two got off, they took off their helmets and approached the box office. They purchased their ticket and went on their assigned seats which were next to each other. When they sat down, Asami sparked up a conversation.

"It takes me back," She said.

Kota looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean when I came to your Junior-bending games," she said.

Kota chuckled, remembering those times, "The announcer would always revere me as, 'the grandson of Avatar Aang, Kota Beifong!'" Asami giggled and nodded, agreeing to what her friend had said. Later a light was shining over and the two teams came up. The two teams were the Fire Ferrets and the other team was the Tigerdillos. Kota looked at the Fire Ferrets, remembering hearing about them on the radio with Korra. When he looked at them, but what he noticed was a familiar water tribe girl who was by the entrance house. His eyes widened and he shook his head in disappointment.

"Are you okay?" Kota looked and saw Asami who had a concerned look on her face. Kota smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

'With Korra'

When it came to Pro-bending, firebenders were in a unique situation. Unlike the earthbenders and waterbenders, who were naturally limited by the availability of their elements, firebenders were able to produce their own element from their own chi. As such, there were rules in place preventing firebenders from going too crazy with the amount of flames they produced. That meant that when it came down to it, it wasn't about how much power a firebender used but how he used it. If Mako were a more prideful person, he might consider himself to be a master of control and precision.

And right now, he'd have to be just to survive the round. The Fire Ferrets were in their third round against the Golden Temple Tigrillos, Mako was the only Ferret still in the ring, and he'd already been pushed back to Zone 3. Meanwhile, all 3 of the Tigerdillos were in his team's Zone 2, ready to force him over the edge and claim victory.

Mako would be the first to admit that he may have gotten a little ahead of himself in the first round. Mako taken a solid hit while performing a somewhat over-the-top backflip and he'd been forced back along with Bolin and Hasook, costing his team the first round. Luckily, he'd managed to find his stride and just barely managed to clinch a win in the second round.

However, the 3-on-1 mess he currently found himself in could be blamed entirely on his team's waterbender. Somehow, Hasook made the total rookie mistake of actually running into his own teammate. Hasook managed to tackle Bolin to the ground, leaving them open to an attack which sent them both over the edge. After being left to fend for himself, Mako was eventually pushed back to the very edge of the ring. One misstep and he'd be taking a dip, and any chance his team had at making it to the Championship would be gone for good.

"It's all up to Mako now!" the voice of Shiro Shinobi came in over the arena's loudspeakers, only making Mako's desperate situation all the more apparent.

At that moment, Mako wanted nothing more than to take Shiro's microphone and shove it straight—. Unfortunately, his angry rantings were cut short as he just barely avoided a rock disc that missed his head by mere inches.

One of the first things that Mako learned in Pro-bending was that it was easier to avoid an attack than trying to block it. Even though, initially, every instinct he had was screaming at him to stand his ground and use his firebending to try to reduce the damage of the blow, it quickly became clear that he would only end up burning through all of his energy at a much faster rate. Even if it left you open to taking the full force of the hit should you fail to move out of the way in time, dodging was the most efficient way of ensuring that you incurred the least amount of damage.

After 2 years and literally hundreds of hours of practice, Mako had overcome his initial hang-ups and now had better spatial awareness than most of the other Pros. And his skills were on full display right now.

"He's bobbing and weaving, he's weaving and bobbing, but he's not hitting back," Shiro commented. "If Mako's knocked out the Ferrets' fabulous season is over."

Mako growled to himself as the overly enthusiastic commentator felt the need to point out the obvious and put that much more pressure on the last Ferret standing. And he was definitely feeling the pressure as he was forced to avoid an all-out assault from all 3 elements. Given the close range of his opponents, Mako was still on the very edge of the ring with barely any room to move, and the water was waiting for him below. But he had a plan. Mako knew the Tigerdillos were one of the most aggressive teams in the league; they relied on overwhelming their opponents before they ever got the chance to hit back.

"He is dancing on the edge of the ring, surviving the three-on-one barrage," Shiro continued. "It seems his plan is to let the Tigerdillos punch themselves out."

Mako really wished someone would take that mic away from the tiny man in the booth as he deliberately pointed out Mako's plan for the whole world to hear. Luckily by now, Mako's plan had already begun to take effect as the Tigerdillos' strikes had become noticeably weaker.

Mako finally decided to launch his first attack, sending a fire blast at the Tigerdillo waterbender.

"And his plan is working!"

By now, like the other Tigerdillos, the waterbender was completely worn out, so his meager water defense was instantly evaporated upon contact with Mako's fire blast, sending him over 5 zones back and careening into the water below the platform.

"Hahn is in the pool, they've got nothing left in the tank, and Mako is on the offensive!" Shiro exclaimed.

Mako realized that they were in the endgame now. Neither he nor any of the Tigerdillos had the strength or energy to keep going. The winner of this match was going to be decided by the end of this round. The only chance Mako had now was to keep up his momentum and not give the Tigerdillos a chance to recover.

"It's two-on-one," Shiro announced. However, he quickly had to correct himself as Mako launched an incredibly powerful fire blast with an overhead kick, causing the Tigerdillos' firebender to bounce off one of the railing's posts and into the water. "Scratch that; it's one-on-one," Shiro rectified, "and it's an Earth and Fire slugfest!"

The last Tigerdillo seemed to have somewhat regained his footing as he was now exchanging quick and rapid strikes with Mako, blow-for-blow, as their attacks collided in mid-air. The resulting dust cloud obscured everyone's vision of the ring. Unfortunately for the Tigerdillo, this gave Mako the opportunity to land a solid hit on him, driving him back. However, unlike his teammates, the earthbender managed to stop himself just before he was pushed over the edge of the ring. He summoned an earth disc as he got ready to defend himself.

"There's so much smoke and dust from the firefight I can't even see where the Fire Ferret is," Shiro commented.

The earthbender knew that since he was pushed this far back, that meant Mako was now allowed to advance. In mere seconds, their situations had become completely reversed. Mako must have been able to move faster than he anticipated because, rather than trying to defend himself, the final Tigerdillo seemed unable to do anything other than look on in shock as Mako burst forth from the dust cloud, a fireball already summoned at the end of his fist. Mako sent one last powerful blast into his opponent's chest, knocking him over the edge, and claiming victory.

"It's a knockout!" Shiro declared. "What a wing-dinger of a hat-trick, folks. Mako pulls off the upset of the season, winning the match for the Fire Ferrets!"

Korra was having the time of her life. Being able to actually watch a real Pro-bending match was so much more exciting than she imagined it would be, especially the final round. That rude firebender, Mako was his name apparently, was on the cusp of losing, with 3-against-1 odds against him. And yet, he still managed to completely turn things around and clinch a victory right out of the jaws of defeat. Korra and the rest of the spectators had all been on the edge of their seats up until the very end; well, almost all the spectators.

"Yes go Ferrets!" Korra cheered.

She then gained a look of clarity as the Fire Ferrets made their way across the catwalk back to the locker rooms. "Woohoo, yes! One more win and we're in the championship tournament," the Ferret's earthbender cheered as he moved to talk to Korra. "So, what'd you think? Bolin's got some moves, huh?" he asked in what he likely believed was a suave manner.

"You did more harm than good out there," Mako reprimanded. "You almost cost us the match, Hasook."

"We won didn't we?" Hasook asked in irritation as he took off his helmet.

"Barely!" Mako heatedly replied.

"Get off my case, pal," Hasook growled as he threw his helmet to the ground and stalked out the door.

"Useless," Mako sighed as he moved towards his own locker to take off his gear.

"You guys were incredible out there," Korra congratulated. "Especially you, Mr. Hat Trick."

"Oh you're still here?" Mako asked.

"Oh you're still a jerk," Korra shot back. "Anyway," she said, turning her attention back to the Fire Ferrets earthbender, "I've been immersed in bending my entire life, but I never learned how to move like that." She couldn't help but smile as she recalled what she had seen in the match. "It's like there's a whole new style here. Think you could show me a few tricks?" Korra asked with hope filling her eyes.

"Absolutely," he answered in excitement.

"Right now?" Mako asked in exacerbation. "Come on, Bolin."

"Just ignore him," the younger brother said as he waved his hand. "Yeah, I could show you the basics," he continued smugly. "I'm just not sure how my earthbending would translate to your waterbending, but we'll figure it out."

"Won't be a problem," Korra said casually as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm actually an earthbender."

Bolin paused as it took him a moment to process that information. "I'm sorry, no, no. I didn't mean to assume," he said awkwardly. "Cause I, ya know…I was just figuring with your Water Tribe get-up…that you are…a water tribe…gal."

"No, you're right I'm a waterbender," Korra confirmed, once again, as casually as she could, "and a firebender." She turned her gaze towards Mako who was still by his locker.

"Mmhmm," Bolin placed his hand under his chin as he mulled over this new information. "I'm very confused right now," he concluded.

"You're the Avatar," Mako said as he finally acknowledged Korra.

"Both are true," Korra said.

'With Kota'

The two friends walked out and they were talking about the game. "Did you see that fire bender from the Fire Ferrets?" Asami was gushing over him and Kota just chuckled, "Oh yeah I did."

The two laughed and smiled, "Thanks for this Kota."

"No thank you," Kota said, "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," Asami later hugged Kota and got on the motorcycle, before she left she looked at Kota who waved at her. She returned the wave and then drove off. When she left Kota later looked at the arena and climbed in the window and knew where the employee's only room was.

'With Korra'

"Alright, let's see what you got," Boling said. Korra was in a traditional earthbending stance as she shot two rock discs into a net across the gym.

"That was great, good power," he said, sounding somewhat impressed, "but in a real match you'd be a sitting turtle duck." Bolin then gestured to Korra's stance.

Korra frowned, wondering what he could be talking about.

"Not so upright and flat-footed," he continued. Bolin then brought his fists up, protecting his face, and bounced around on the tips of his feet. "Stay light on your toes, right up until the moment when you need to dig in and strike. Then…pop, pop." Bolin threw two quick punches, sending two earth discs flying. Unlike Korra's straight shots, Bolin's earth discs flew in curved arc before hitting the net at precisely the same time.

Korra was slack-jawed as she tried to figure out how he did that. "Okay, let me try it again," she said, determined to duplicate Bolin's shot. Korra then brought her feet closer together and only bent her legs slightly. She gave a couple short, experimental hops from one foot to the other before planting her back foot, twisting her front, and throwing two strong punches. Two more earth discs flew across the gym in a similar manner to Bolin's.

Satisfied with her work, Korra put her hands on her hips and smiled at Bolin. Kota didn't know why, but seeing the way that Bolin was interacting with Korra and the way she smiled at him just really irritated him.

"Wow, nice adjustment!" Bolin exclaimed. "You're a natural at this."

"I know right."

The two teens looked and saw Kota who was sitting at the window sill. Korra gave the older teen a nervous grin, "Hey there Kota, didn't see you there."

Kota just sighed, "If you wanted to go, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know you wouldn't tell your dad," Korra said, "besides, where were you? I haven't seen you at all until now."

"I was out with a friend," Kota said. Kota later looked at the shorter earthbender. "Don't go giving up the traditional styles just yet, Korra," he advised. "The Pro-bending styles may seem better, but only in a very specific set of circumstances."

Bolin frowned as his lesson with Korra was interrupted. "What do you mean?" Korra asked, oblivious to Bolin's mood change.

"If you're ever in a situation where your element is scarce, then the Pro-bending style is a good fallback to have," Kota said. "But remember, the traditional styles were all developed and refined through thousands of years of war and battle."

Korra and Bolin were both silent as they pondered Kota's words before Bolin finally spoke up. "I don't really know about that," Bolin said skeptically. "I mean, the old styles are usually pretty slow and won't let you fire off successive attacks like this." He then settled back into his boxing stance and performed a series of quick kicks and punches, sending over half a dozen earth discs flying into the net at blistering speeds. Bolin then crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at his successful demonstration.

"Maybe not," Kota admitted, "but it doesn't need to when you can do this." Kota planted his right foot behind him before slamming his left foot down hard, bringing him into the traditional horse stance as he mirrored Korra's original form at the start of Bolin's lesson. Although his words were confident, his movements seemed slower and clunkier than they should be, almost like he wasn't used to using this style. Nevertheless, he continued.

Kota then pushed his right arm forward in an open-palm thrust. However, rather than launching one or two earth discs, he sent four whole stacks, more than four dozen discs in total, flying towards the net. Unlike the previous strikes which had harmlessly bounced into the net and then rolled to the ground, the multitude of earth discs was too much for the relatively weak net to handle. The connection points at the ceiling and floor snapped, causing the net and the large pile of rocks to continue on and impact the wall behind it with a near-deafening BANG.

Everyone in the gym, including Mako, jumped at the loud noise. Bolin and Korra were speechless.

Kota just scoffed and jumped out of the window and the three teens' eyes widened, but Kota came back up. They saw him standing on the saddle of his flying Bison, Shorty. "You kids have fun," Kota said. He sat on the Bison and whipped the reins, "Shorty, yip-yip."

He flew away, leaving the awestruck teenagers looking at him, even Mako was surprised. "Who was that?" Bolin asked. "Oh that's Kota Beifong," Korra said.

Bolin's eyes widened, "Kota, the Kota Beifong. As in the grandson of Avatar Aang Kota Beifong?"

Korra nodded, "Yes that's him."

"His grandma Toph is my hero!"

'At Air Temple Island'

Korra returned to the Island and saw Kota who was in his Southern Praying Mantis stance with his eyes closed.

He turned to his left and shot out three earth columns and then followed with making branches of earth sticking out of them.

He reversed the motion and made an earth line to his right at a tree and then levitated several small rocks and tried to compress them.

He then proceeds to firing the compressed rocks at another tree and ripped holes into it. He took a break and saw Korra there.

"Hey there," he said.

"Thanks," Korra said, "For not telling your Dad."

Kota put his hands in his pocket and walked away, "I didn't do anything. Besides what are you talking about? I didn't see you at the arena."

'Next Morning'

The Gates that were smacking her around only angered Korra. That was the last straw. Between the physical abuse of her training and the mental stress she was suffering from, Korra's had enough. She knew there was no way that she was going to be able to navigate her way out without getting hit from every angle, and she'd already used up all her patience to even attempt to try. Korra beyond angry right now, and she just wanted to get out of the Gates so she could sort out her feelings. She summoned a fireball in her hand and growled in frustration as she prepared to launch a devastating fire blast to clear herself a path out of the annoying contraption.

However, before she even got the chance, her furious "RRG-ghaa-AAH!" turned into a near-panicked "AAHHH!" as the ground beneath her feet shifted, and she was flung into the air, clear of the spinning gates. Luckily for Korra, metal cables wrapped themselves around her torso and began to lower her gently to the ground before she even had the chance to worry about her landing.

Korra looked down as she regained her bearings. As she'd suspected, it was Kota who had managed to catch her. And judging from the large, circular column of rock jutting out from the middle of the Gates, he was also likely the one who had sent her airborne in the first place.

"Kota, what do you think you're doing summoning stone pillars in the middle of our training?" Tenzin reprimanded. "You could have seriously damaged a precious airbending teaching tool!"

Kota unwrapped the cables from around Korra as he set her down. "Oh please, those old planks have been slapping around rookie airbenders for over 2000 years," Kota said as he waved his father's concerns off. "If running into a rock is really enough to break them, then maybe it's time to look into getting them replaced," he suggested, knowing full well how much his 'suggestion' would irritate the old traditionalist.

"Anyway," Kota continued, completely ignoring his father's red-faced fuming, "it's about lunchtime, and I'm getting kinda hungry. And technically, I'm always supposed to monitor Korra whenever she eats, so she's coming with me." He then began making his way towards the dining hall, not bothering to look back.

Korra wasn't sure what she should do, but she did know that she was completely fed up with her airbending training for the day. With nothing else to do, she followed along behind Kota. "So…" she trailed off. Korra knew she wanted to talk with Kota, after all it was just the two of them now, but she wasn't sure of the best way to go about it or what they should even talk about.

"I've been doing this long enough and been in enough battles to recognize the heart rate and breathing of someone who's getting ready to attack." He paused for a moment to let his statement sink in before resuming. "I wasn't kidding when I said that the Gates were over 2000 years old. They're incredibly durable; which is the reason why they're one of the few remaining artifacts that managed to survive the Fire Nation's genocide against the Air Nomads. Still, they're not indestructible," Kota informed her.

"I know that it's frustrating," he continued. "Trust me, I've been nailed in the face by those stupid, old planks more times than I can even remember. Though, that could just be from the concussions that they gave me," Kota jokes; a small, fond smile graced his lips. "Still, they're one of the last surviving remnants of my ancestors' culture. It would be a great tragedy if something were to ever happen to them," he finished as he leveled his gaze towards an ever more guilty-looking Korra.

After having several minutes to cool off, and after hearing Kota explain the gates' personal significance to him, Korra was feeling incredibly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry," she abruptly said, bowing low in Kota's direction.

"It's alright," Kota said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Nothing actually happened."

Korra looked up and saw that he was actually smiling at her. Kota was probably proud that she chose to apologize, rather than lie and deny everything.

"Now, I wasn't kidding when I said that I was hungry," Kota said. "I'm thinking of a lychee-nut muffin with some jasmine tea," he mused as he made his way towards the dining hall.

Korra watched as Kota turned his back on her and walked away. There he went again, proving just how different that the two of them were. When Korra had lost her temper and threatened to destroy a precious piece of his heritage, Kota didn't lash out at her and demand to know why she was acting so childish. Instead, he'd prevented her from making a terrible mistake while making it seem like he was being the selfish one, all just so Korra could save face. Afterwards, he calmly explained his feelings and immediately forgave Korra without a second thought after she'd apologized.

Korra wondered if Kota would ever be able to see her as anything other than an immature girl trying to cover up her insecurities with false bravado. Would she always just be someone who he needed to protect, even from herself?

'A Few Hours Later'

The sun had just set on Air Temple Island. It was getting later in the fall, so the temperatures were getting lower and lower each night. Tenzin and his family were wearing their heavier, long-sleeved garbs as a way to stay warm before they would eventually be forced to use their gas heaters later in the season. Ikki and Meelo were fidgeting around in their seats as they waited for the food to arrive. Jinora meanwhile was reading from a small red-covered book. He and his children were sitting around the dinner table as his wife brought them their meals. Well…at least most of his children were.

"Okay, everyone here?" Pema asked, looking around as she brought in a tray with bowls of soup and a large plate of salad. "Wait, where're Korra and Kota?" she asked in mild annoyance.

"Kota is out with Asami. Honestly, Pema, I'm at my wits end with that girl!" Tenzin groaned as he put an elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand. "I don't know how to get through to her," he brought his fist down on the table in frustration.

"Oh honey," Pema reassured her husband, rubbing his shoulder with her free hand. "As for Korra, she may be the Avatar, but she's still a girl. The best thing you can do right now is just give her some space," she sagely advised.

Tenzin smiled warmly at his wife's comforting words. He then turned his determined gaze to his children sitting across the table. "You must promise me that your teenage years won't be like this," he intoned.

Ikki and Meelo merely looked on in confusion as they failed to properly understand what the adults were talking about. Jinora, however, merely looked over the top edge of her text and boredly stated, "I will make no such promises," before turning her attention back to her reading.

Tenzin could feel his right eye twitching in irritation. Whether she realized it or not, Jinora had just parroted the same dismissive one-liner that her older brother had used just moments after arriving on the island. Tenzin feared that Kota's disrespectful nature was already starting to influence his innocent, younger siblings' behaviors.

Pema sighed as she took her seat at the table.

'With Kota and Asami'

The two were in formal attire as they sat together at Kwong's, eating dinner together as they used to before he left for the United Forces.

"I missed this," Asami said.

Kota chuckled, "I know right? We would always go here every month, we would also see Tanho and his crew. He would catcall you all the time."

Asami giggled at the memory, "Yeah and I would always have to hold your arm and he would think we were dating."

"We did at one point," Kota said with a smile.

Asami smiled and nodded at what Kota mentioned, "We did, though I never knew what made us move one."

"Maybe it's due to the fact that we decided to stay as best friends," Kota said.

Asami giggled again, "Perhaps…"

"So, have you tried finding anyone yet?" Kota asked.

"No," Asami said, "I haven't. What about you?"

"Same here," Kota said.

"What about Korra?" Asami said, "You live with her and your dad is training her, right?"

Kota shook his head and waved his hand, "No, she isn't my type really. She's too stubborn and brash."

"Reminds me of someone," Asami said with a raised eyebrow to Kota. He gave her an unamused look, "She's too much to handle," he said.

"Oh and your brother and sister are not?" Asami asked.

"Ikki and Meelo are just kids, Korra is a raging hormonal teenager," he said with annoyance.

Asami giggled as the two kept talking after dinner.

…

Tenzin was looking out to the statue of Aang as he was thinking about Korra joining the Fire Ferrets and the way she moved until a voice called out for him.

"Thought I'd see you here."

Tenzin looked back and saw Kota who had a sleeping Jinora in his arms. She was loosely hugging his neck and snuggled into his shoulder.

"You just came back," Tenzin asked.

Kota nodded and looked at the statue of his grandfather.

"Do you think he is proud of what I had accomplished?" Kota asked.

"Of course," Tenzin said, "You have surpassed your grandmother's and grandfather's seismic sense, you're the first platinumbender, and you have been away with Bumi trying to maintain balance."

Kota smiled and nodded, "Thanks…"

"Well, I have to carry this one back to her room," Kota said, showing the sleeping Jinora in his arms, "see you tomorrow Dad."

"Good night, son."