Fire Ferrets

Not even the bombastic clamor of an effusive crowd, like the bubbles of a good soda, or the din generated between the clash of elements that made one's hair stand on end, distracted me from the mental debate going on in my mind as my butt rested on the bleachers of the pro-bending arena.

My eyes were closed, my elbow resting in the palm of my left hand while my right hand held my chin.

Running through my head were the words of Hui, who was the one who paid the most attention to the technical aspects of the various teams. Of course, he always ended up saying that Mako, of the Fire Ferrets, was the best, but what was important were the comments he made about the other teams.

"Mmm, those are a trio of slow old men but with good technique; however, they are already closer to retirement than anything else. Actually, despite the greater experience, Mako is more enlightened than the three of them."

"Ah, those have great teamwork, seriously, like they're connected! However, when one gets knocked down, it's game over. They can take down Hasook and Bolin together, and Mako would have no problem winning; you've seen it yourself."

"Those are fucking cheaters! Damn, you made me remember last year's tournament final.... They had the fucking referee bought off! They're not even good, the only good thing they have is the money from the asshole sponsor! If the match is fair, you can be sure that Mako would win".

And so he went on with the other teams with a chance of qualifying for the tournament up to that point.

I was quite curious about the heated fanaticism on the part of the boys towards Mako, so I asked him. The idea I had before I asked him turned out to be correct. Apparently, Mako was someone like me, sure, I was better looking, cooler and more graceful, but we shared an origin.

Basically, Mako was a kid like them and me, from the slums and who didn't enjoy luxuries but had a great talent with pro-bending, a talent that cut across classes. In fact, they seemed to share an age, though their looks differed greatly.

There was also a short mention of the team's earthbender, Bolin, who happened to be his brother, but according to Hui, was a very ridiculous guy, no one to look up to, just for a good laugh.

All the questions I asked had a why, and that was to decide on a team to sponsor, a team that I could stick my brand's cartoon logo on its back and put my name before the team's.

If I could sponsor a bodybuilding tournament, why not a pro-bending team? Although this time it wouldn't be totally selfless charity, it would be business.

I finance your expenses and you advertise for me, simple.

Now all that was left was to choose which of the teams that would qualify for the tournament to sponsor. Some of them already had a sponsor, so the list was getting shorter.

Being in the heat of the moment, I thought of the Fire Ferrets because of Mako's great performance to rescue the situation at the last moment, but thinking with a cool head and after asking Hui, Hasook had been very irregular for several matches.

It all depended on the match that followed now.

Then the lights went out, the pro-bending arena went dark, and the audience fell silent.

-Screech!

From the center of the hexagonal ring, a guy with one arm raised and the other resting on his hip, appeared. A light shone on him from above as he held the microphone to his mouth.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The light beamed in the direction in which the man pointed. Soon, the audience stopped holding back their voices.

"Here are the Platypus Bears!"

The crowd erupted, and the presenter pointed his finger again.

"And on the other side, the Fire Ferrets!"

It was only then, when Mako was adjusting his gloves, Bolin was raising his arms high in the air and a third member was adjusting her helmet, that Nobuo, Hui and Saburo shouted. However, their shrieks died down quickly because they noticed the same thing I did.

"What about that girl... Hui, who is that girl?"

Nobuo looked at Hui, who had leaned so far forward that he had to lean against the edges surrounding the bleachers. He seemed to be looking at her from head to toe.

"I... I really have no idea."

Nobuo didn't seem happy with the answer and so he looked at Saburo.

"Do you know something, Saburo?"

Saburo immediately shook his head.

"If Hui doesn't know, I know even less!"

Somehow, I seemed to be the only one who felt a certain familiarity with this stranger. I sharpened my eyes and observed her body.

Her figure, stature, despite the baggy clothes, and her ponytail sticking out of her helmet were clearly those of a girl, a girl I had seen before.

Then, a light bulb lit up in my head and, as my mind flashed back, I put my index finger and thumb to my mouth, I whistled.

"Korra!"

She first looked back and forth to the bleacher area where I stood and then saw me waving my hand in the air. When I noticed her eyes on me, I clenched my hand into a fist in encouragement.

"Wait, you know her?"

My lips curved as Korra returned my greeting animatedly until Mako seemingly scolded her, that made me laugh.

"Of course, she's the Avatar."

However, before being bombarded by questions and when both teams were in position, the referee announced the start of the eagerly awaited bout.

It soon became apparent that Korra was inexperienced at this when, the instant the bell rang, she kicked the guy in front of her out of one of the sides with a waterbending kick.

"B-but what the hell is she doing?!"

While the other spectators were silent from confusion and Nobuo was gesticulating angrily, Korra was running around spinning in place to celebrate her successful takedown, as if she were a child.

This girl sure has power!

Clearly, what she had done was wrong according to the rules of pro-bending and in the eyes of those who only saw what was in front of them, but that was not my case.

Instead of being infected by the bewilderment that traveled in the arena, I felt a spark in my chest.

Discipline and following the rules was something that could be acquired with will and a good guide to go along with her, it depended a lot on the person, but even the wildest of people could manage to moderate themselves with effort, I was an example.

Mickey, my coach, had fought hard with me so that I would use my head together with my talent, that both would work together. What can I say, I hadn't done badly at all just following my instinct to punch and resist the blows while saying provocative things to the opponent.

But, of course, as Mickey used to tell me ad nauseam: "Lorenzo, my son, don't be a mediocre piece of shit, for God's sake, use your head! If you want to be somebody in boxing, you have to use your whole arsenal," he used to hold my head and shake it to hear whether or not there was something in there.

What good times those were.

So, the point was that discipline was something that could be achieved over time, but natural talent was not. You were either born with the facility or you weren't, and there was no doubt that the Avatar was born with it.

I had barely seen her doing a kick and throwing one overboard, but that alone was enough to know.

I folded my arms and my expression slackened in sympathy as I watched the referee cruelly ruin her joy, penalizing her with having to retreat to the second line of the three in her area.

Once there, the game resumed and not long after the other whistle and short offensive exchanges between elements, Korra fouled again by crossing the line she was supposed to be confined to while trying to attack. The harsh penalty was forfeiting the first round.

The crowd again did not understand what was going on, and the boys again believed i had lied to them. However, it was clear what was going on, Korra was unfamiliar with the style of combat used here.

It was something I had noticed from the first time I witnessed combat in Ba Sing Se, the lack of direct movements when it came to fighting. There were stances to follow that were taught in bending schools, stances that, in fact, I never learned.

So, the Platypus Bears did not waste this disadvantage, and in the second round, while their waterbender cornered Mako and Bolin against the ring ropes, the two remaining members mercilessly attacked Korra.

Disks of rock smashed into her and then fire followed to give her no time to respond. Korra simply found herself trapped, surely her arms were already starting to itch from the pain and that led her to suddenly but expectedly use earthbending with the discs on her side of the field to protect herself.

The audience erupted in murmurs and whispers.

"W-what the hell was that...?"

"Lorenzo wasn't lying...?"

"So it is the Avatar!"

Then, I felt someone touch me on the arm, it was Liu.

"She's the girl we ran into, isn't she?"

"Exactly, she is Avatar Korra and she will be mine."

There were several meanings to the last thing I said, and it seemed Liu settled on one when an "Oh" came out of his mouth.

When the referee deliberated that Korra could continue as long as she used only waterbending, the bout, which had so far been slow, finally continued.

The tables were not turned, however, as Korra was once again pummeled until she was pushed into the last area and fell downward.

-Splash!

And no matter how much Mako tried to repeat the feat of the last encounter with fists and fire kicks and dodging; he only managed to stall for time until both he and his brother Bolin were cornered on the last line and thus losing the second round.

Nobuo clutched his head as if he had a sudden headache, Hui took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as if something had gotten into his eyes, and Saburo covered his eyes with his red scarf.

"Hey, guys, what did I tell you? Wait and see until the end."

The third round soon began, however, between the previous round and this one, there was not much difference.

Mako and Bolin were again pushed against the ropes by constant torrents of water, and Korra being cornered by the fire and earth benders until she was pushed to the edge of the ring, staggering so as not to fall again.

Everything seemed to indicate an easy and final defeat for the Fire Ferrets, good luck next year, but at no point did my lips curl downward or my eyes stray from Korra.

One should never declare victory before its time, but much less take defeat for granted, and Korra didn't seem to be the type to do such a thing.

Against all odds, after regaining her balance and adopting a new posture, Korra seemed to be enlightened by God as she evaded the attacks of three different benders with some new spiral movements, spinning on her own axis and making the incoming attacks lose in mid-air.

On the other side, Mako and Bolin did not waste the mistake their rivals had made by ignoring them to take out the Avatar at once. The two finally attacked by sending fireballs and rock disks while Korra continued to distract them.

The Platypus Bears took the projectiles full force, falling back and losing ground in the ring. They tried to fight back, but their arms seemed to be getting heavy and their feet were no longer responding.

The crowd and the boys began to roar like lions at the sudden change, I couldn't stay behind and cheered at the top of my lungs when Korra joined the onslaught.

Then, one by one the members of the Platypus Bears were taken out of the ring.

-Splash!

-Splash!

-Splash!