The date with Asami had been quite pleasant, Jin had to admit.
Oh, they definitely tried to mug them, more than once, but when your feet are trapped in the ground up to your knees, other priorities arise. Like yelling for help to free yourself and actually attracting the police patrolling nearby—precisely to prevent you from doing your mischief—and having to explain how you ended up that way.
Jin could have blocked them from a distance before they got close.
But instead, he let them get close enough for Asami to witness him putting them "in the ground" (an Earthbending joke) and managed to make her laugh after the fourth would-be attacker, who was panicking like a child.
Classic bullies who fear someone who can stand up to them.
Asami felt no sympathy for those people; a good scare and a few days in jail might even do them some good.
In short, the date could be considered a success, as Asami made it clear she was looking forward to the next one, though she added with a mischievous glint that this time, Jin would have to take the initiative.
Jin gladly accepted Asami's challenge.
But today was a new day, and tonight he had dinner with Pema, her family, and the Avatar.
As for the entire White Lotus staff? Just background noise.
…
"Hey, Ikki," Korra called after finishing another session with little result, her only achievements being a few new bruises on her skin. "Do you know why Mom's been so busy in the kitchen?" She asked, catching her breath and trying to calm the anger boiling in her chest.
Damn revolving doors!
For being so old, they were still pretty sturdy.
Korra hadn't been in Republic City very long, but she knew enough about Tenzin's wife from her visits to realize that today Pema seemed especially motivated to prepare dinner.
The Air Nomads' vegetarian dishes weren't usually very complicated—the most elaborate being fruit and cream pies (a recipe from Monk Gyatso himself, according to Tenzin)—but today Pema was motivated enough to make it feel, for a moment, like a New Year's feast.
Korra checked the calendar secretly, just in case. It wasn't.
"Today we have a guest!" Ikki seized the opportunity to talk, rattling off everything she knew at high speed while jumping and clapping. "Mom and Jinora went to buy fabric for the baby. They got caught up in a robbery. But a man saved them! Then he was invited to dinner as thanks. He couldn't come yesterday, but today he can! I wonder if there will be pudding for dessert? Although Mom says I shouldn't eat too much sugar—"
"Wait, Pema is okay?!" Korra forgot about her anger over the Air Nomad artifact as she processed the information.
She had gone straight to bed after the Pro Control match and had eaten breakfast early to go to the library, so she wasn't aware of what had happened.
"Of course, how else would she be cooking now?" Ikki looked at her as if she'd asked an obvious question.
That look hit Korra like a slap—self-inflicted!
"Ah, right, makes sense," Korra said, not even sure why she had asked the question—probably the sixth or seventh bump on her head from those damn doors. "So, who's the hero of the day?"
"No idea," Ikki shrugged, looking around and then whispering to Korra with a smile. "But from how Jinora talks about him, he must be really handsome!"
The Avatar rolled her eyes at the comment from the young Airbender. The day Tenzin's daughters hit adolescence, that man was in for it.
"Ikki, focus," Korra tapped her on the forehead with a finger. "Any useful information? Come on, give me a hand—I don't want to disappoint Pema."
She was already trying to fit in as the Avatar, but her arrival in the city hadn't gone exactly as she had imagined. Yes, forgetting to bring money had been a rookie mistake, but…
How could they try to arrest someone just for roasting fish?!
She hadn't even used a fire pit—she had made a torch with her own hand to cook it. There was no risk of fire!
Then there was her encounter with the vagrant (with a very nice bush), which had been even stranger, but in a way, it had given her the warmest welcome before… being arrested.
But it left her with a mystery: Who was Jin Beifong?
She knew about Toph Beifong but didn't know she had an older brother.
She casually asked some members of the White Lotus on the island, and judging by the way they exchanged glances, they seemed to know who she meant—but they said nothing.
Only after sneaking off to watch the Pro Control match and asking a few people along the way did she realize that what she didn't know was basic knowledge in any children's school.
That annoyed her. As the Avatar, she was supposed to have received a proper education from the White Lotus—so how could she not know about the older brother of someone as famous as Toph Beifong?
Determined to fit in and not seem ignorant in front of potential new friends, that morning she told Tenzin she would go to the city's public library to research a few things on her own.
She wasn't going to complain about reading a little, right?
It helped with spirituality, self-discovery, and all that stuff.
What she hadn't expected was Tenzin looking at her as if a second head had sprouted after hearing her plan.
Come on, that was an overreaction!
Maybe he wasn't a huge fan of written study, but she could learn when she put her mind to it—especially on topics that interested her and weren't boring.
Except… Airbending, apparently.
Maybe Tenzin wasn't as good a teacher as he seemed?
It couldn't be her fault; that was for sure.
But it didn't end there. When she asked the librarian for references on Jin Beifong, she pointed to the history section with a puzzled expression.
Good news: the book wasn't too thick and even had illustrations, so she stayed interested enough to read it all before lunchtime.
"Did one person really achieve all that and was only a few years older than me?" she thought, slightly dazed, returning the book to its place.
Bad news: comparing herself to someone so capable was… frustrating.
But in a way, she couldn't help but admire him; after all, he was the one who invented Pro Control!
She loved that sport!
"Mom just said not to be rude when we see him for the first time," Ikki said, pointing out that her mother had directed her gaze toward Korra and Meelo when she said it, as if hinting at something.
Nah, it was probably just her imagination.
"At least do we have a name?" Korra pressed.
The last thing she wanted was to mess up when meeting Pema and Jinora's hero by saying something inappropriate.
Ikki shrugged once again.
"Alright," Korra ran a hand through her hair. "I guess I should take a shower and change—I stink from sweat, and Tenzin can say what he wants, but these training clothes don't fit me."
"Yeah, you do stink a bit."
"Thanks for confirming, Ikki," Korra replied with deadpan eyes.
"You're welcome!" the little girl said, smiling happily to help.