"Eight teams have been eliminated and eight advance into the quarter-finals which get underway tonight. The rookies are about to take on the former and longest-reigning champs, the Boar-q-pines. Youth clashes against experience in a battle for the ages, or rather of the ages. The bell sounds, and Korra dodges and, ooh, slams right into her teammate! Down goes Mako and Bolin and Korra!"
"Round one goes to the Boar-q-pines!" called the ring announcer.
"You were supposed to defend while I attacked!" Mako seethed with a fiery glare.
Korra shrugged, sarcasm teeming on the edge of all her movements. "I had an opening so I took it!"
"What is up with you two?" Bolin asked harshly. He groaned as he realized that their inconvenient anger was rubbing off on him, and ripped his temple. "All right, whatever, just pull it together, guys." Mako and Korra huffed and moved back to their respective spots beside Bolin, fixing the Boar-q-pines with glares.
"The Fire Ferrets are looking to mount some offense here in round two. Bolin lets fly a flurry of attacks, he's a one-man bending battalion. The Ferrets are having a rough time finding their rhythm tonight, but thanks to Bolin, they narrowly notch round two. Not sure what's eating them, but this is not the same team who took out the Rabaroos," Shiro Shinobi bellowed as he leaned closer to the edge of his commentator's box to watch as they delved into round three.
"Round three is a tie! We go to a tie-breaker to decide the match."
The referee sauntered out into the middle of the arena while shifting a coin between each of his hands. He gave a glance to each of the teams and tossed the coin into the air and caught it in the same breath."The Fire Ferrets win the coin toss! Which element do you choose?"
"I got this," Mako muttered.
Bolin put his arm in front of his brother's chest with a stern look as he said, "I know you usually handle these, but frankly, your head's not in the game. I'm gonna take this one." He turned to the referee. "We choose earth."
A platform in the middle of the arena raised with Bolin and the Boar-q-pine earthbender, Chan, who both flowed into their earthbending stances. "Looks like the earthbenders will collide in the tie-breaker face-off. Bolin goes in for the grapple, Chan reverses. Bolin strikes from midair, knocking Chan to the edge of the circle. Another strike from Bolin and Chan is in the drink!" Shiro Shinobi cheered along with the rest of the crowd.
"The Future Industries Fire Ferrets win their quarterfinal match!" the ring announcer said while Bolin whooped at his achievement. Korra and Mako accidentally shared a look of relief at Bolin's success in the tie-breaker, but immediately turned away from each other angrily once they noticed.
"Oh, that was a close one folks! Youth trumps experience tonight," Shiro grinned as he leaned back into his chair at the aftermath of the eventful match.
A little after the match, Korra found her way out to a balcony that jutted off of the Pro-bending Arena. Her hands gripped her arms tightly as she mumbled things to herself in the darkness, Mako's steps sounding like nothing as they approached her.
"We need to talk." Korra jolted around at Mako's voice, not noticing that he was there. Mako tightened his scarf and sighed, "Look, sometimes you can be so infuriating. But I-"
"Save your breath. You've already made it clear how you feel about me," said groggily. She was so drained from the day.
"No, I haven't, and I'm trying to be fair to everyone involved, and I - ugh. What I'm trying to say is: as much as you drive me crazy, I also think you're pretty amazing," Mako confessed. He gave a short nod as he felt his chest feel a little lighter, happy with himself for getting through talking to the first person on his list that night.
"So...you do like me?" Korra questioned, stepping closer to Mako with a raised brow. She had felt a little off-put by the seeming mixed signals Mako was giving before today (those mixed signals not existing, but we can ignore that for the moment like her), but with Pema's advice in the forefront of her mind, she felt determination brim her thoughts.
"Yes, but I like Asami, too. Things are complicated, and I've been feeling really confused, and have decided to tell you guys-"
Korra didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, and admittedly she wasn't even listening to him at all before she interrupted him by placing her hands on the side of his face and pulling him close. Mako's eyes widened, his body going stiff before leaning into Korra as his eyes closed with hers. Korra pulled away, a light rose dusting her cheeks even as she slightly gasped at the person standing behind Mako. Her eyes fluttered down, not being able to hold the other person's gaze as Mako slowly backed up from Korra, still reeling from what he did. Noticing Korra becoming uncharacteristically quiet, he looked around for a moment and once he saw behind him his eyes began to water at his brother's crestfallen face. Bolin stood many paces away from them, but enough to clearly see Korra and Mako's kiss, the red hibiscus he had clutched so eagerly and happily in hand fading into the whipping wind as he dropped them and ran off with tears pouring down his face.
"Bolin!" Mako called, but it was too late. Bolin was gone, and Korra and Mako were left there alone with what had happened. Korra bit her lip, her stomach curling a bit as she realized that she didn't make her feelings clear with Bolin after he mentioned dates.
Korra reached out for Mako with a quivering hand, Mako pushing it away, albeit gently, as he continued to back away slowly. "I had not planned on kissing you at any point. I just wanted to talk, talk to all of you guys, and then this...I have a girlfriend, and I shouldn't have kissed you back, and we shouldn't have kissed period." Korra stood on the balcony in silence as Mako gave her no time to respond before he ran off after Bolin. Her hands dropped to her side and clung tightly onto the fabric of her pants, her body turning away from the sight of the forgotten hibiscus petals still floating off into the bay below the balcony.
"Well played, Korra."
---------------
With stark eyebags lining his face, Mako hauled himself into Narook's Seaweed Noodlery while rubbing his face. "Morning, Narook. My brother here?" Narook gestured to the side of the restaurant and Mako murmured a quiet 'thanks' as he made his way over to his brother. "Come on. Wake up. I'm taking you home, bro," he yawned.
"Don't call me that. You're not my brother, you're a brother betrayer!" he sobs. "The only one I can trust anymore is Pabu! Pabu loves me." Mako gave an unamused look over at Pabu who was laying in a bowl, passed out obviously due to the sheer amount that they consumed out of sadness.
"You're a mess, and we've got the biggest match of our lives tonight. Let's go."
"Who cares about that right now. I'm not going anywhere with you, you traitor," Bolin slurred as he angrily pointed at Mako.
Mako sighed and softened his tone from the abrasiveness he was about to use on his brother. "I am sorry, Bolin. I didn't mean to kiss Korra and sure as spirits never intended to hurt you, but I did. And I was going to talk to you after my talk with Asami after my talk with Korra which obviously didn't go according to plan, and I messed up. So please, can you at least get up and accept-"
"No, I don't accept your apology," Bolin began with a sneeze.
Mako backed up to avoid the spray of Bolin's sneeze and started linking Bolin's limbs between his arms once Bolin was done with his sneeze fit. "I wasn't going to say apology, I was going to say help-"
"You knew about how I felt! And yet..." Bolin trailed off into another sneeze and Mako grimaced at the smell of garlic that wafted from the table. Spirits, Bolin. Always wanting to eat the things you're allergic to.
"You can yell at me all you like in the comfort of your top of the line mattress and the medicine you need because you ate garlic. Of all things in a noodle shop to eat." Mako shook his head and once he hauled Bolin onto his already low shoulders from lack of sleep, he cautiously extended out his arm so Pabu could easily climb onto him. He ushered the noodle shop owner over to take the money for Bolin's meal out of his pocket, and afterward he made his way back to their home.
Hours later, once Mako had successfully prevented Bolin's allergy from becoming as worse as it did when he was eleven and they had to periodically steal medicine from behind the pharmacy so Bolin wouldn't feel his puffiness and rash, the Fire Ferrets had their next match and it was awkward. Very Awkward. With more than mild hostile undertones.
"You can't find two teams more evenly matched in age, zie, and strength than the Fire Ferrets and the Buzzard wasps. Believe me, I've looked! This should be a pulse-pounding semifinal folks! And there the bell goes! The Buzzard Wasps open with a flawlessly executed combo making all three Fire Ferrets take an early visit to zone two while Mako is knocked all the way back into zone three! The Fire Ferrets have been struggling to stay alive since the opening bell, all three players are totally out of sync tonight.
Bolin suddenly got struck in the stomach with an earth disk, his body stumbling to the side of the ring where he removed his helmet and threw up over the side of the ring. "Ooh, that had got to sting, and Bolin is losing his noodles, literally." Korra turned around to watch Bolin with pitiful eyes as he hunched over the side of the ring, her eyes rolling as Shiro immediately segued into paid promotions. "Which reminds me, this match is brought to you by our sponsor, Flameo Instant Noodles! The Noodliest noodles in the United Republic.
"Now back to the game. Korra is knocked into zone three, the Buzzard Wasps fly deeper into Ferret territory, and Mako plunges into the pool! Can the Fire Ferrets even hold on? The Wasps have the Ferrets backed up to the edge now...and the Ferrets are bailed out by the bell. They had better pull themselves together for round two, otherwise, they can kiss the finals goodbye."
The bell for the second round rang, and Mako got knocked back a zone, a fire blast he was reeling up accidentally hitting Bolin in the back and knocking him to the ground instead of the other team. "Hey! Watch it!" Bolin cried as he turned to Mako. In a spur of opportunity, the Buzzard Wasp's waterbender knocked Bolin off of the edge with a blast to his back and a confident smirk.
"The Wasps take advantage of Mako's unforced error and Bolin is in the pool! Ooh, and a blatant hold by the Avatar as she gets too carried away with her waterbending!"
The referee blows his whistle. "Unnecessary roughness! Move back one zone!"
"I'll unnecessarily rough you up!" Korra yelled, blasting the referee as she headed back on the ring. With a dripping face and drenched clothes, the referee grimly held up a yellow fan.
"And the Avatar is slapped with the yellow fan. The Ferrets are their own worst enemy right now. It's just sad to watch. With the Buzzard Wasps leading two rounds to zilch, the Ferrets' only hope of winning is with a knockout."
"Well, I guess there's always next year," Mako said, glumly.
"Come on! We still have a chance, even if it is a slim one!" Korra encouraged, trying her best to stay positive.
"The way we're playing, we don't even deserve to be in the finals," Bolin sighed in defeat.
"Look, if we don't pull it together and work as a team, we'll never forgive ourselves," Korra smiled. Or, at least tried to.
"Let's just get this over with."
Bolin agreed with his brother. "The sooner, the better." The three grimly headed back to the starting line just as the bell dinged, jumping into the match with whatever they had left for round three.
"Bolin's knocked into zone two, followed quickly by his brother. And Bolin takes an earth zinger to the shoulder, and it looks like a clean hit!"
"Oww," Bolin wines while gripping his shoulder.
"Bolin!" his brother fretted. He began walking towards Bolin, forgetting about the game, and getting knocked off the edge with a fire kick in the process.
"Mako's in the drink and out of the match. Bolin keeps playing with one good arm, and I gotta hand it to him, this kid's got grit! But how long can he keep it up? Apparently, not very long as an earth and water combo sends him flying. The Ferrets' dream of making it to the finals now rests in the Avatar's hands. But with three on one, I don't like her odds." Korra snarled to herself at Shiro's unhelpful commentary and continued to dodge the many bending attacks fired at her in an attempt to stay in the ring for her team.
Bolin, on the other hand, was painfully pulling himself out of the pool in spite of the shrill pains being sent up his arm with every movement. He looked up and saw Mako kneeling above him with an outstretched hand. Taking it, Bolin struggles to push himself up along with Mako's extra help.
"Are you okay? How's your shoulder?" Mako worried.
"Ahh, it's messed up pretty bad, but I think I'll be alright. It can't be worse than the garlic coma I could've went into," Bolin shrugs.
"Very true. And hey, I'm sorry for hurting you. I'll make it up to you and we'll be alright," Mako assured.
"Yeah, I hope so," Bolin muttered dejectedly.
"Girls," Mako breathed.
"No, not girls. Girl. Singular," Bolin countered. "You need to figure this out because under no circumstance is whatever is happening fair to Asami."
"Or Korra."
"I guess...if we're getting technical. Perhaps second priority to your girlfriend for the moment," Bolin suggested, giving mako a dry pat on his shoulders.
"Yeah, you're right," Mako sighed before jerking his head up at Shiro Shinobi's incredibly loud voice.
"What an unbelievable effort here by Korra! She's dodging every element the Wasps throw at her! Knocking each of them into a line, the Avatar finally gains some ground, but with only ten seconds remaining it might be too little too late!" Korra dodged a few more attacks in such a way to line the Buzzard Wasps up one in front of the other. She angled herself and hit them all with a single blast of water, flinging them off of the ring like dominos. "It's the big Kibosh! What a knockout!" Shiro bellowed.
"Yes! She did it!" Bolin exclaimed with as big of hops as he could muster.
"Yes! Yeah!" Mako cheered as well.
"It didn't seem possible, folks, but the Fire Ferrets are headed to the finals!"
"Ha, ha!" Bolin laughs, coughing a bit as Mako tightly hugs him. "Shoulder! Shoulder!"
"Sorry," Mako sheepishly grinned.
"That was pretty much the coolest thing I have ever seen," Bolin congratulated as Korra walked up to them. They had made their way into the locker room after being knocked off of the ring, and Korra had now joined them in the aftermath of her heroic sole win.
"Thanks for not giving up on us. We never would have made it this far without you. We owe you. Big Time," Mako thanked with a genuine smile. Korra couldn't help herself and let a wide smile break out onto her face. She did quite amazing out there, after all.
"You're welcome. And I know things are confusing right now, but I hope we can still be friends."
"Definitely."
Deeply inhaling, Tahno entered the locker room with the rest of his team with a look of disgust prancing around his face. "Ooh, oof. You boys smell something in here? Wait, I know what that is. Yeah, that's the scent of losers."
"I hope we see you in the finals. Then we'll know who the losers really are." Korra crossed her arms with a sharp glare and a look of heavy disdain.
"Yeah, I'm peeing my pants over here," Tahno smirked sarcastically as he strutted away.
"And now, the defending champs. The White Falls Wolfbats!" Korra growled at them as they passed, her expression only easing up once they fully left the locker room. In their absence, Asami rushed into the locker room and ran to Mako, throwing her arms around his neck while pressing a light kiss to his nose.
"Great job!" she told him with another quick kiss. She then turned over to Bolin and Korra while pulling Mako over to them. "What a comeback, Korra. I've never seen a hat trick like that."
"Thanks, but if it hadn't been for you and your father, we wouldn't have had the chance to play. So thank you."
"Yeah, really, tha-"
Bolin interrupted his brother. "Hi, if everyone's done with the little 'thank you' party...need some medical attention over here." He pointed over at his shoulder, and Korra hastily rushed over to his side with a blob of water following her.
"Ooh, let me help!"
"Owww! Gah! Don't hurt me even more!" Bolin whined.
"Relax, I'm a healer! I learned from Katara, the best there is," she assured as the area around Bolin's shoulder began to glow blue.
Feeling the pain from his shoulder chip away, Bolin calmly exhaled, "Oh, that's the stuff."
"Bolin, I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. I should've been more clear with mine, and I didn't mean to let things get so out of hand," Korra admitted.
"Ahh, I'll be okay eventually. But we had fun together, didn't we?" He grinned while trying to look back at her without interrupting her work.
"I had a great time, honestly! You are one of a kind, Bolin," Korra laughed, catching Bolin's hard-at-work eyes as he continued to try to look back at her.
"Please, go on. I enjoy praise," he joked as he raised his brows with every word.
The two were about to fall into laughs but were caught off-guard by the ring announcer's voice. "Your winners, the Wolfbats!"
"What? How is it over already?" Korra questioned incredulously.
Almost as if he heard her question, Shiro Shinobi answered, "With a brutal round one knockout, the defending champs secure their spot in the finals. The Mo Ce Mongoose Lizards are being helped out of the pool by medics so I hope the Ferrets know a good doctor 'cause they're gonna need one!" Shiro cringed, having to quickly turn off his microphone and look away from the poor benders. Spirits, he hated looking at injuries. Quite ironic since he was a commentator on a sport that frequently had injuries. Shiro gave the arena a last satisfied look before turning away from it, bidding his friends in the commentator's booth goodbye. So, as the Fire Ferrets gaped at each other in the wake of the unexpected threat that the Wolfbats would pose, Shiro was going to, with the help of Mrs. Singhan from upstairs, take advantage of the sponsorship of Flameo Instant Noodles. The Noodliest noodles in the United Republic (this message, though, not sponsored).
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A short read, but fun. Lots of communication and relationship troubles, but at least Shiro Shinobi is having a grand ole time with Mrs. Singhan. I hope you guys are doing well! I will not be well and will be doing part of an AP U.S. History test at 3 am because I hate school so that's fun. Please stay safe and happy February!
-JinxingGinny