Chapter Text
Chapter 0
Run.
Run.
Just run.
Don't look back.
Just run straight forward and never look back.
She kept running, crossing the tall trees and the unfamiliar parts of the forest and keep her eyes straight ahead. The sound of her heart's heavy pounding and hard breathing fill her ears as she kept running to wherever direction her legs will take her.
She wanted to go back... She wanted to stay and help...
But she knew she can't.
She can't.
I promised.
She shook her head as she start to see the flashes when it happened, the voices that will surely haunt her for the rest of her life. But she can't let herself become weak because of this. She have to be strong. For herself, and for him.
She's been running away for at least 2 days. She kept going, take a rest and continue going until she reaches her supposed destination. Or, the more accurate word for this: found her supposed destination. The orange hue on the skies showed that she only have a couple of hours left before the night greets her.
Her instinct told her to go deeper into the forest and so off she goes. She decide to slow down for a bit to conserve her stamina and try to stable her heavy breathing. She wiped off the sweat from her forehead and remove the strand of her wet blonde hair that cover her green eyes. She continue walking while looking around, as well as keeping her ground up just in case it was one of the attackers,
Who are they? What do they want? Why now? Will he be okay?
The four questions that been lingering inside her head after the ambush. She want answers. She needed answers. She's sick of always been keep in the dark, hidden from the truth as if it was a game of hide and seek that was never finished. For years she's been trying to seek the truth.
Who is she? Why is she here in the first place? Where are her parents? What happened? Will she ever meet them again? Maybe her brother? She didn't know why she often have a thought about having a brother and she being a sister but even if she is, will she met him? When? Or how?
Not only had she had those questions about herself that linger in her mind, but the world itself. She knew the creator of the world she's born in is called The First Spinjitzu Master but the odd thing is, she somehow have a connection to him. She thought she was. It's as if he's been watching over her in silence and knew her... Somehow,
Not only that, a few months ago, way before all of this happen... she could've sworn just yesterday she was just a 10-year-old childish girl, suddenly got ill in the middle of training with her Sensei Elijah and in the next morning she woke up, seeing herself suddenly as a 16-year-old teenager,
She remember she had some sort of dream involving her and five little boys each wearing different colored clothes and wearing a hood that cover their heads but not their eyes, and they were facing some sort of dinosaur or monster. She can't remember the other details but she's sure she was talking to the one wearing green,
How crazy and weird is that? Logically it's not possible!
Her Sensei Elijah stated: it was destiny. Three words. Nothing more.
That's enough to agitate people who's been trying to find answers for the rest of their life.
Enough to agitate a girl that's been trying to find herself as well as survive since she was 2 years old.
Sure she had met really kind people that help her, an old man with a thick white beard and long white hair, another old man who was an inventor and take care of her with his son but unfortunately it didn't last long, just as she start to understand what the word 'family' means, he passed away due to illness.
His son, however, is nowhere to be found. She didn't even know if he remembered her. During her time there, she already consider him as her older brother and they were very close. Until they came and took everything.
That's when she met with a man in his mid-30s named Elijah who took her in and basically become her guardian. He said he was a sensei, a teacher of martial arts. He trained her and teach her basic ways to survive in the open and they bond during the time. Making them as family...
...Until 2 days ago.
Destiny, yes?
Is it her destiny to always have false expectation on having a family that always stick together? In this case, with her?
They say destiny is the one who decide someone's fate and it has been there way before time had a name. You can't deny it. It has already written. By who? No one knows. Even if they do know who, then who wrote the destiny of those who wrote the destiny?
The world is confusing... and picky as what she said,
"Whoever they are, they sure love picking favorites..." She sigh and look up, seeing the skies about to go dark but not just the skies, the clouds started to gather and their colors started to darken and accompanied by the sound of thunders,
"Oh yeah. They obviously love picking favorites"
She pick up her pace and keep looking around. She need to find shelter. Trees are everywhere but almost all of them that she passed by are unclimbable due to size factor and the branches aren't strong enough to hold the human body. As well as safety.
She didn't have her tools such as a rope or a match or a compass and they were back at her tent which no doubt that's where danger is and it's already too late anyway but thank the First Spinjitzu Master she still have her bow and arrows.
Before everything that happened, she and Elijah were supposed to be on a journey. Elijah didn't tell her exactly where and why, but she remembered he mention something about a monastery deep in the forest and that he "wanted to meet an old friend" and have something really important to discuss,
"But that won't happen anytime soon... or... ever" She mutters and let out a deep sigh,
Rustle, rustle
She stopped on her track and search the source of the sound, immediately raising her guard. She's not hearing things, is she?
Rustle, rustle
Nope. There's definitely something on the bushes beside her.
She quickly pull her bow from her back and an arrow from the quiver and draw it to the bushes. The bush rustle even more and her heart beats faster,
She waited and waited, until...
A fluffy red-furred creature came out.
"A... A fox..." she sigh in relief and relaxed her posture. She kneeled and eyed the fluffy creature. Its brown eyes looking back at green ones,
"Weird... I thought foxes don't belong in this woods..." she thought out loud, still eyeing the red fox curiously. The fox then slowly made its way to her and sniff her with its snout,
"Sorry, I don't have any food, bud. As you can see I'm lost here as well... Unless you can point me to somewhere for me to take shelter for the night, that'll be great" the fox just sit there and look at her. As if she can understand what the fox saying, she sigh,
"I'm supposed to find a monastery here, somewhere in the forest..." She stop herself from continuing and stand up, messing her hair with her free hand,
"I'm starting to lose my mind... I've been lost in an area I had no idea about for 2 days, trying to find a monastery that is located in who knows where, I just ran out of my food supply and now I'm casually talking to a fox that isn't supposed to be here and ask if it knows the direction that I'm looking for. Awesome! What else gonna happen?"
A thunder roars and droplets of water started to come down. Faster and heavier each second. It's raining.
She looked up to the skies, wearing a look on her face. She really wanted to curse out to whoever was up there but know that it was just pointless so she just groan in defeat. She heard a chirp and look back at where the fox supposed to be but it was nowhere to be found,
She heard the same chirp on her right and saw the same fox looking at her and walks away. She tilts her head in confusion, still staring at the fox, until the fox stop its track and look back at her. It chirps again and tilt its head towards the direction it was heading as if it was telling her to follow it,
She wasn't sure what to do, heck she is beyond confused as to why this happening to her. She was in the middle of a forest, stuck in the middle of the rain with a random red fox that came out of nowhere and now that fox want to lead her to only it and the First Spinjitzu Master would know,
"I'm officially losing my mind..." she shakes her head and made up her decision. She put back the arrow to its quiver and place the bow on her back, proceeding to follow the fox.
Noticing that she will come along, the fox pick up its pace with her following behind.
Oh, how she hope she made the right decision...
She keeps following the fox, the sound of the showered rain hitting the ground and the trees, as well as the blustery wind, fills her ears. Not to mention the rumbling thunder. The sound of her combat boots squelched through the puddled ground,
"It would be great if someone can control the weather... or just one of the elements" She look towards the still running fox in front of her,
"Where are you going? Where are you taking me?"
The weather starting to get worse and she's trying to make her way through it. She almost can't see her surroundings anymore. She looked around only to see it fills with fogs because of the cold temperature,
She look forward only to gasp when she can't see the fox anymore,
Crap.
This is really bad...
She didn't stop but keep going, shielding part of her face with her arm from the rainfall. Her clothes are really soaked wet and she started to feel the temperature from her body went down every minute,
Suddenly a bright white flash appeared, followed with a booming sound of a thunder caused her heart to stop for a second and made her trip something and fall to the ground with a loud thud. She grunted and slowly open her eyes only to be greeted with blurred vision and ringing sound and rapid heartbeats,
She tried to move and get up but a sharp pain on her right leg prevents her from doing it. Her head is throbbing and her body is shaking. She's freezing and it's like she can't feel anything anymore. She felt tired,
"Oh..." she mutters, trying her best to stay conscious but don't you just hate it when your body did the complete opposite thing you want to do?
She cough and heard a muffled and fade sound,
Was it talking? Shouting? She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to sleep damn it,
She start to see black spots surrounding her vision as she saw two blurred figures approaching her and they're... glowing?
No, it was a light. A flashlight?
Well damn that flashlight is bright enough to get through this storm,
"A hot chocolate would be good right now..."
And then all she see is black.
She heard voices.
Little voices.
High pitch, annoying, little voices.
"For the love of the First Spinjitzu Master, quiet down or I'll feed you to the serpentines..."
The voices didn't stop, however they started giggling,
"Do birds giggles?"
It took all the gear in her head to process what she just heard. The voices didn't belong to birds. It belong to kids.
That's weird, she didn't remember have any other kids with her... In fact, she never seen any other kids before,
"Why is it dark? Am I dead? I'm not dead, am I?"
...
"Oh wait, my eyes are still closed"
She flutters her eyes open but immediately flinch and close them as a bright light greets her. She tried to move but her head started to ache and the same pain from her right leg made her groan. The voices from before stopped and a collection of gasp was heard,
She then heard hurried footsteps that goes farther away and thought that those 'kids' have already left her alone which she's really thankful for it. She never knew how to deal with kids or other people on that matter,
She was practically raised in the middle of the woods for Pete's sake. There's no other logical reason for other people, bringing their kids to live there since there's already an advanced city far located in the north as well as several towns and villages,
That's pretty much can be a good excuse to have weak verbal skills...
She tried opening her eyes again and slowly adjust to the light around her. The first thing she noticed is that she didn't see the blue skies first, but a ceiling instead.
She's indoor. It looks like a bedroom and the sunlight is bright enough to lit the entire room,
She moves her head to look around her surroundings and she would say that it's pretty empty yet comfortable for a small room. Aside from the floor mattress she's laying and a nightstand on her left with a reading lamp and several things on it.
Despite the crying needs of her body to lay down, she stubbornly decide to slowly sit up which in result causing the throbbing pain from her head to come back, making her moan and rub her aching head,
"Where am I? What is this place?" she look down and notice she's not wearing her own clothes. She's wearing someone else's clothes. It's a white short-sleeved qipao shirt. She remember wearing this when she first met Elijah...
But it's still someone else's clothes and she's kind of freaking out about it,
She frantically looked around the room for her own clothes but it wasn't there and the only thing she got is that her headache is getting worse.
No one knows what she was thinking at this point.
She flinches and hold her head again with one arm, rubbing it once more in hopes it will ease up the ache,
It didn't work.
She sigh. But with the position she was in right now, she could finally see the entirety of the room,
The floors are made out of hardwood and the walls are painted russet, a dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge for the bottom part, and for the upper part it has a lighter color and it fills with motifs of some sort. It also has a plain tan-colored horizontal line on the center that works as a 'separation' between half walls. For aesthetic purposes.
On her right is the door entrance and it is made out of the traditional sliding wall panels. A fusuma, a wooden frame covered with paper or cloth on both sides,
She also see two scroll paintings hanging on the wall. The first one is horizontally hanged right above the nightstand and it has a painting of a flying crane with butterflies surrounding it with cherry blossom trees on the side with their pallets 'flying'. The background showed the blue sky and the green hills with a river,
The second painting hanging on the far side of the room and it's a bit bigger and hanged vertically. It's a lot simple than the last one, it only had a painting of a bonsai tree, and the symbol '平和', which she hopefully remember, it means: Peace, hugely written on the right side of the scroll. It also had other writings below it but she could not read it yet,
She didn't even notice that someone else has entered the room,
"I see you have finally awake"
She jumped and yelp at the sound and in instinct, she raised her hands in a fighting position. She eyed the person who just entered the room warily. She was sweating and her breathing is heavy. She didn't realize that she already back up a little,
And her leg somehow didn't hurt-
"Agh-!"
Nevermind.
The person chuckles and smiles warmly, "Easy there, young one. You sprained your leg on your way here and had quite a fever. You've been out in the storm for a while until two of our scouts found you laid unconscious,"
She looked at the person, a woman. Possibly around her 40s to 50s. She wears glasses and had long grey hair that was braided. She wore a long-sleeved creamy-colored shirt and dark green wide pants. She apparently is holding a tray in her hands,
"It's been three days since you've arrived here. We start to worry that something far worse had happened" she said as she slowly made her way and carefully put the tray on the floor beside the mattress as she sat down in seiza. On the tray was a teapot and two cups,
She grabs the handle of the teapot and pours it into the cup. The rising steam from the cup indicates that the tea is still hot. She pick up the teacup and hold it to her with a smile,
"Here, drink this, it will make you feel better"
Already lowering her hands, she hesitantly took the cup, slightly nodded at her as a thank you, and look at her curiously... There's something more about her that she cannot place yet. She now notice the old woman had light green eyes and had a few wrinkles here and there,
She felt some sort of weird tugging feeling and it became even stronger the longer she look at her.
Her presence also somehow made her even more relaxed. And secure. As if she had known her before and that she could trust her,
But that's impossible and pretty much didn't make any sense. She just met this woman and she still didn't know where she is. The woman however seemed to notice her troubled thoughts,
"It is alright, you are safe here. You are currently in my husband's monastery,"
Hearing the word monastery made her eyes lit up,
"Monastery?" her voice is really raspy and barely audible and her throat felt really sore. She tried to hold in a cough but failed as she soon starting to have a coughing fit. The woman in front of her had to step in and pat her back, as well as to hold her hand and the cup to steady it so it wouldn't fall or spilled any of the tea,
"You haven't talk or drink for days now, it is very unwise to suddenly force your throat like that," the woman said in a stern yet caring and almost motherly tone. She finally stopped her coughing fit and squeaked an apology and the woman just shook her head,
"Drink first," the woman instructed and so she did what she was told. The tea feels really light and freshening in her throat when she quickly but carefully down the tea. The woman looked at her with a satisfied grin,
"Thank you" she thanked the woman which the woman replied with a nod and a smile. There was a short pause before the teenager broke the silence,
"I'm... sorry... but where are my clothes?" she asks,
"Your clothes are inside the drawers, as well as your items," the woman pointed to the nightstand behind her. She nodded but soon feel that something is missing and it soon clicked,
"What about my-" before she can finish her sentence, the woman beat her to it,
"I am sorry but we cannot let any weapons inside this monastery. My husband took an oath of peace after the great battle and he had taking this very seriously,"
"No weapons?? But that bow is my most precious thing and the only thing that reminds me of Sensei... it's his legacy... they can't take them away!" she opened her mouth, wanted to protest, but before she could utter a word, the woman raises her hand to stop her first,
"I have a feeling that you have a strong connection for the certain weapon but do not worry, I told the two scouts that took you here to take them to the forest and hid them. Your weapons and its equipment are safe, I assure you," she calmly stated but then lean forward and whispered,
"Though I am hoping you would not bring them here or simply mention it. My husband has yet to find out about you coming here with a weapon in your possession. He would be very upset if he found out about this,"
She cocked her head to the side but nodded nonetheless. There was a slight pause,
"How are you feeling right now?" the woman asked,
"Um... better, I guess? My head is still a bit aching tho..."
the woman nodded slowly, "How about your leg?"
"Still sore and hurts when I move it, unfortunately,"
the woman sigh, "You need to rest and musn't walk yet. I will give you another tea to fasten the healing process after you had your food,"
"A tea that can fasten the healing process?" she tilts her head in confusion and curious, "I... never heard those kinds of tea before"
"It is because it was never a common tea. It is only available at a special kind of place" the woman explained then continued,
"The food should be ready shortly and while you eat, I can go preparing the tea. I can tell that you are really hungry," as in a matter of fact, her stomach started to grumble, making her blush,
"I... sorry... um... thank you..." she shyly thanks the woman, her face is still red in embarrassment. The woman chuckled,
"It is alright, you are a guest here and by the looks of your condition, you may stay here as long as you need"
How can she get this kind of hospitality while they didn't know each other? She just woke up from her three days of sleep and now this woman came in and treat her as if she had known her for years.
She's a stranger! She thought you can't trust a stranger you just met, yet the woman in front of her looked like she had trusted her even though she hasn't fully and properly introduce herself.
Was she wrong about that? Probably. She may also have a couple of experiences with the same kind of situation but she often been told that you cannot trust a stranger that you just met. But to be careful with them.
She stares down, there was a quite awkward silence. For her. She bit her lower lip,
"Um, that time, you were saying that... I'm at your husband's monastery?" she asked, the woman nodded her head,
"Yes, he goes by the name of Sensei Garmadon. And my name is Misako. It is a pleasure to meet you" 'Misako' slightly nod her head. She gulps, not really knowing what to respond to that so she just nodded her head too,
"Uh... yeah. Pleasure to... meet you too...?" she fake coughed to try cover herself,
"Curse these weak verbal skills"
"Would you mind telling me your name?" Misako asked gently and politely. She slowly nodded and mutter her name while looking down,
"... Korra..." it was quiet but audible enough for Misako to hear. Her face dropped a little just for a second but she quickly covered it with a smile,
"It is nice to meet you, Korra"