[IC] Legend of Korra - For Lack of A Better Path (2)

[vancexentan]

Wu Xing a town where fortunes, promises, and lives are made and lost. The city being the airway stop towards Republic City and a major gambling hub has made the city prosperous in it's own right. It is the start of summer and the city is alive with the movement of the locals, rich, poor, middle class, or otherwise. It has been three months since the Equalist attack on Republic City and it's subsequent take over by Amon's forces and then their failure to hold the city after the unmasking of their leader and with his deception found out many abandoned their former leader's side and where he is now is unknown. The Equalists, for all intents and purposes, are fractured and or gone vanishing back into everyday life. Avatar Korra is hailed as a hero as is the majority of the Republic City Defense Force and the United Alliance's armies. Wu Xing has been a major stopping site for the military since then and have made an outpost at the police station sharing the space with the local law enforcement. The Metal Benders have relocated towards the Metal Bending Academy even though the force there is meager at best due to the Alliance's power being mainly in it's naval fleet. The force is only there to be in-betweens for the Police and the Military Officers. So far crime has been escalating as of late due to the feuding Red Cat Gators and the Blue Flame Triad over territory in the central part of the city causing police to try and crack down to little success due to Sai Lang's apparent ability to pick days when the police are busy with other matters. So far in the gang war The Blue Flames are winning not due to victories over the Cat Gators, in fact they've lost most of the fights, but because the territory lost by the Cat Gator's lack of offensive movements have allowed the Blue Flames to pick away at the Cat Gators slowly and thus eroding the territory between the two.

Today is also the first day of Pro-Bending Circuit ELITE's tournament with the Silver Shark Whales taking on the Grey Snake Badgers in the first fight then it's between the Orange Horned Eels against the local Team The Pink Horned Kangaroos. There are numerous other teams involved all competing in this tournament to be crowned Wu Xing's ELITE Pro Bendering Champions. The rules being the usual except instead of a single loss you can loss up to two times in order to get as much out of the tournament as possible. Those who lose are ejected from the tournament and entered into a loser's bracket. with a huge grand prize for them, which is also dwarfed by the winner and runner up's prize. The pick to win this year is hard as The Silver Shark Whales are known for their uncanny team work and brutal all around tactics while the Pink Horned Kangaroos are more than capable of sweeping a team in moments. however with the hometown advantage who knows what they are really going to try this year!

===

The crowd cheering and hollering was normal for the Silver Shark Whales at this point. Even the hollering they heard from their locker room didn't phase them anymore. They stood together, unified and strong, against the opposing enemy group the Kolau Komodo Rhinos whom had recently competed in Republic City. They were solid opponents....but Ren really didn't think much of them at all. Ren pulled on his uniform's last parts and breathed in deeply before going down and doing some push ups on the locker room floor. His uniform was as silver as a coin, and when he up looked at Lee's face he noticed the man was doing his usual workout, Lee had been in uniform for about three hours prior to this in order to get himself into his groove as he called. He hoped up and down on one leg as if he was preparing for a race. He moved his arms around in circles and his face, which Ren could finally look at, was stone cold as usual. Lee was the kind of jaded person who really couldn't give two damns if he could he was attacked by a sea serpent. He'd probably kill it and eat the thing before it could land a hand on him.

Hana's long dark hair was spun up in a bun as she came in from finishing up putting on her uniform. She had about as much modesty as a carnivorous beast eating something in front of a squeamish person. In other words next to none at all. That didn't stop her from being an all around great person and the soul of their team, if she didn't have any then they would be called the stone statues instead, and she had the most amount of fans out of all of them often going to sign autographs and paper interviews. Ren knew his friends well and despite their flaws they would go out there and they would make a statement tonight. They were going to bring down the house. "Alright guys let's beat'em till they run home crying to whatever hole they came from." Hana Ji shouted with passion as she grabbed Ren and hauled him off the floor and grabbed Lee's hand and shoved them together into a circle, "We're in the opening and we're the first show Hana there's no need to act like we're in the finals." Lee said as per on cue because Hana usually did this and Lee would keep complaining to her that this was not especially helping him keep focus. "Yeah yeah yeah I heard it for the fifty billionth time you hard headed spider monkey." Hana said in jest as she grabbed Ren and pushed her face against his, "Alright Ren you ready big guy huh? Huh? Huh!?" She said in Ren's face as he looked at her with the same cold expression he usually gave her, "I'll get my job done just don't trip me with that water." Ren said as she pushed him back and grinned, "Damn right I won't! I am going to kick some BUTT!" She said with a fist pump in the air as Lee grabbed her helmet from the shelf nearby and shoved it down on top of her head. "Yeah we got it....I'm. going. to. go. out. there. and. wreck. them.." Lee stated calmly with slow words as if to punctuate though he didn't especially feel excited he was still going to go out there on the top of his game. "Alright no need to talk like that I'm crazy not slow like a elephant snail. Now let's go!.....What side are we on again?" Hana asked as Lee groaned, "Blue." Lee complied as she pushed past the two of them and out into the hallway. "Ready partner?" Lee asked simply and calmly as Ren cracked his fingers and moved past him towards the door himself, "I always am ready. The day I'm not ready is when I'm too old to move my fingers." Ren answered as the two entered the hallway and walked towards the arena.

===

"...And introducing the team in the blue corner representing the town of Hong Lu City in the Fire Nation The Silver Shark Whales!" The announcer called out as the bridge extended towards the middle of the ring to the sound of both boo's and cheers as Hana Ji, who head the three of them despite Lee being the designated 'leader' of the group, waved her hands back and forth to all of the fans equally. The crowd was wild as the announcer called them each by their nicknames then their real names, which were their gimmick, as the group entered the blue zone and got into their designated positions. The announcer however still had words to say before the ref called for the fight to start. "...And we welcome you all to the first half of the ELITE Pro Bending Circuit of Wu Xing! This city is glad to have all of you here and the turn out is amazing I must say! The competitors are ready to go hard and give their all in this tournament to make sure that you all have the best possible matches you can get! You won't get these in Republic City! Now make some NOISE for the teams!" The crowd went wild with applause and noise and all various amounts of noise that just served to tick off both Lee and annoy Ren to some extent or another. Neither of them enjoyed loud noises but had gotten use to it because it was in their job description quite frankly. Ren tapped the floor and eyed off against his opponent whom eyed him back and the announcer called on it as the opposing team's Earth Bender pointed from his eyes to Ren's. "OH it looks like there is some tension between the teams from the START! Ken Ushia is calling out Ren Lau! But the Komodo Rhinos are intense they are STRONG and they are ready to go! BUT~ there is a reason they call Lee Shang The Boar-Q-Pine! Can they survive getting gored by his hard hitting fire attacks! And the hard strikes of Ren plus the lovely Hana Ji's swift movements make for one hell of a fight do they understand who they're calling out!? LET'S FIND OUT!" The announcer called as the ref whistled and the benders were given the usual rule set that was usually given and then sent back to their corners before the match was started.

[Hero]

"Hurry, hurry, the match is starting!"

After a moment's muse of how exactly she got dragged into this, Xia sighed in defeat, though she was technically already defeated as she was dragged through the seats. She was used to staying at home and listening to the pro-bending matches on the radio, so getting to see one in person was a real treat--especially the all exclusive back-stage passes she had gotten, courtesy of pulling a few strings and doing a few favors. Thing is, those things usually come in pairs, and against her better judgment, she decided to bring someone instead of just giving it away like she had planned.

If only she had thought twice before bringing her mother.

"Xia! Stop dragging your feet!" Li Mei barked, yanking the girl into her seat. "Look how close we are! You can practically smell the tension!"

Xia's mother, Li Mei, was also a fan of the sport. Thing is, she's one of those crazy fans that screams and hollers at the players like they'd actually listen to what she said. While Xia appreciated her mother's enthusiasm, it was quite tiring. Shifting in her seat to get comfortable, she did notice that her mother was right; they were front seats to the show, any closer and they'd probably get caught in the action. She got somewhat excited once the announcements began, bouncing in her seat as she watched the players come in.

"Such handsome young benders, oh if only I was younger." Li Mei sighed dreamily, taking out her fan and waving it around. "Honestly, Xia, you need to get yourself one of these handsome young men, that way we can have seats like these all the time."

Xia shook her head, but she couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, sure, I will marry someone just for some pro-bending tickets, not out of love or anything, right, Mother?" She raised an eyebrow. "Surely Granmama and Granpapa would approve."

"With seats like these, I'm sure they would." Li Mei nodded seriously, her brow creasing a bit. "You know, I'm sure I recognize some of the players. Surely I can find out their martial status and parentage. Hmm, maybe I can ask Old Man Tao..."

At that moment, the playful banter turned into one of horror. She wasn't serious, was she? Xia gave her mother an alarmed look, and Li Mei nodded in her direction. "M-Mother...you are joking...right?" She half-asked, half-pleaded, searching even for the slightest bit of a sentiment of joking in her mother's much too serious face.

Li Mei looked at Xia, and for a split second she felt the color drain out of her face. She then rolled her eyes, waving her fan at Xia. "Relax, my child, I was only half-serious." She chuckled, lazily eyeing the arena. "Although I am pretty sure I recognize them. If Ren Lau is related to who I think he is--I believe someone who guarded the King--I'm sure I can figure out there rest of them."

Defeated once more, Xia sighed and leaned back in her seat. Her mother always took things too far, and while she claimed she was kidding, she was more then certain once they got home she'd go straight to Old Man Tao and start finding things out. At best, she'd find every piece of information on them (which, considering their reputation wasn't that surprising), at worst Xia would find herself walking down the aisle with a complete stranger waiting for her at the other end. She groaned, covering her face, though threw her a mother a look that said "If you even think about it I will never speak you you again" and made sure she noticed.

Li Mei laughed once again, this time pinching her daughter's cheek. "Now, now, my dearest and only child, rest easy, I was only teasing." She cooed, earning her another glare. "No man in this kingdom is good enough for my baby Xia-Wia anyway~"

"Mother...please...stop..."

[Hillan]

The Five metal wires reached down over the office, as five people dressed in gray gear with crimson accents were slowly repelling down the building, taking their time moving down. The one in charge signalled with his right hand for them to stop, they were at the right floor. The night gave them the cover they needed for their attack. Their targets were the cell in the local gang that had grown quite the rep around the city as “The Earthshakers”.

The commander of the force motioned with his hand for the guys up on the roof to lower down the two water-canons. The two weapons, looking similar to a rocket launcher, were pressed against the walls that they were hanging from. The Commander signaled, one, two, three, and on three everyone jumped backwards, and the water canons were fired, blowing holes in the wall and splashing the room with water. The Commander swung back towards the building, using his electric glove on the canon to transfer the electricity through the water, into the thugs inside the building.

As the commandos swung back to the wall, they broke through, causing mass confusion for the benders that were dazed from the water and electricity they had been hit with. The Commander, Soru, walked past two guys that his soldiers took down, he headed for the leader of this cell of the gang. Tashi Hano was his name, and he was dangerous man, and a powerful earthbender. He got a visual on Tashi, as another bender jumped at him, a knee came towards Soru's face, he dodged by leaning backwards, fire following the knee, and soon a fist came down with a fireball ahead of it, Soru did a cartwheel backwards, jumping two meters into the air, he came above his assailant, and with one punch he smashed the man's collarbone and shoulder, sending him to the ground holding his arm and crying in pain.

Soru landed gracefully, rolling on the ground and then back up onto his feet, as he dashed towards Tashi, whom was currently fighting one of Soru's men. “Carter, back off.” Soru said, as Carter, a firebender, pulled away from the target with a flaming-punch. As Tashi brushed the flame off, he was met by Soru jumping into the air, delivering a punch to his face, breaking his nose. Tashi stumbled backwards, holding his nose “You little shit!” He shouted, Soru dashing at him, Tashi punched, Soru rolled with the punch, and rolled over Tashi's arm, landing behind him, sweeping his leg, Soru was taken off guard by Tashi moving the floor under them, sending a slab of ground into Soru's face, making the young Commander stumble backwards.

Tashi got back on his feet, and took his earthbending stance. Soru smiled, as he pulled out the kukri from his waist, and charged at Tashi, ducking under a rock, jumping over a slab, he came in close to Tashi, and quickly slashed Tashi's leg, a shallow wound, not enough to hurt him seriously, He then kicked Tashi in the chest, as he lunged behind him, a punch to his kidney made the bigger male hunch over in pain, Soru sliced him in the arm, then in the other leg, Tashi sent a slab into Soru's chest, he dodged a wave of water coming at him from one of Tashi's men, and then he went back in on Tashi.

Soru was disarmed by a rock, but that didn't stop him. Soru punched Tashi in the gut, then kneed him in the chin, and ended his combo with a side-ways palm-punch, making Tashi smash his head into the wall to the side.

Soru held Tashi up by the throat against the wall, despite the fact that Tashi had 65 Kg and 50 CM on Soru, the bigger male didn't seem to strain the soldier at all. “W-What are you... Equalists?” Tashi groaned out, as Soru scoffed. “We look like amateurs to you? We're united forces, bitch.” Soru told Tashi, before punching his lights out.

***

The same man whom just an hour ago had kicked ass was now sitting in a bar, drinking scotch with his friends, trading stories and jokes. “..So then I said.. 'Thank you mam, but I prefer Platypusfox!' Bwahaha!” One of the soldiers shouted, following with the other soldiers laughing with him, the story being damn funny. The man whom was a Rear admiral in the United Forces's navy, came and approached Soru's table. “Commander Deshuga, I understand the raid went well?”

“You betcha, it did. We whooped their ass, no problem.” Soru smiled, the rear admiral raising an eyebrow, as he then looked behind Soru, making the Commander turn his eyes away from the admiral, only for the admiral to karate-chop him in the side, making the Commander fall over. “The hell man?!” Soru shouted. “Please. That was a sad excuse for a punch. You're injured. Admit injury in your report next time. You're impressive, Commander Deshuga, but you're not General Buumi.” The higher-ups told Soru, as he left the bar, throwing some coin to the barman, to pay for the soldiers drinks.

Soru pushed himself up from the ground “Damn prick..” He cursed under his breath.

[TheHumbleMagnificent]

The fishermen were out in full-force today. The main river that snaked through Wu Xing was the calmest it has ever been, allowing for schools of all types of fish to swim through it. Some had even sold their Pro-bending tickets just to partake in the prospect of a bountiful catch. Those people opted for the audio experience, which was not in short supply, what with handheld radios littering every fishing spot. While listening to it on the radio paled in comparison to the real thing, it was better than nothing. To the gambling bunch, which was a big majority of the fishing community, all that mattered was when the radio man’s voice announced the winner.

“I’m betting my son’s tuition on the Pink Horned Kangaroos!” Lady Tsao said.

“I refinanced my shack to go parlay on Orange Horned Eels and the Grey Snake Badgers to reach the finals!” Liu Bei chimed in.

“You’re nuts old man!” Lady Tsao scoffed as she moved her fishing pole around impatiently. She had only casted her line five minutes ago and was already getting frustrated. “Those two teams won’t even get out of the first round!”

“You know nothing, Tsao!” Liu Bei was the more patient fisher between the two, but at least Lady Tsao’s line had an actual lure on it. Liu Bei’s bait consisted of a paper looped around the hook that read: Free Fish Food! “The Pink Horned Kangaroos are a slippery team to bet on! Unpredictable! The Grey Snake Badgers are proven contenders from Republic City and the Orange Horned Eels are vastly underrated!”

“You’re an idiot, Liu!” Lady Tsao was shouting now, flecks of spit showering the old man’s already shiny forehead. “Don’t come begging for a place to stay when the loan sharks repo everything you have!!!”

Hokkan’s face contorted angrily at the two. “Would you both shut up!!! YOU’RE SCARING AWAY ALL OF THE FISH!!!” His voice was louder than both Lady Tsao and Liu Bei’s combined, loud enough to overpower the radio broadcast echoed about, and loud enough to make all the schools of fish in the vicinity to scatter away. “Okay, I’ve had enough…”

Hokkan swatted his fishing pole aside then brought himself into an all too familiar waterbending stance. He outstretched his hand and felt the vast water particles branching out to everything they touched. When he felt he had a definitive grasp of the surrounding area, he brought up his other hand, shoveling out loads of fish that squirmed inside water bubbles.

Lady Tsao’s mouth dropped to the floor as Liu Bei immediately tried snatching the nearest fish that floated in suspension above him. With as much grace as intended, Hokkan parted one section for himself, then directed the rest, until they hovered above the two fishermen. “Here, I’ve caught way too much for just one person!” As he lowered his hands, the fish rained down on both Lady Tsao and Liu Bei, who were immediately in contest to grab as much fish as they could before nearby fishermen swooped in like Lion Vultures. Hokkan made a toothy grin and gave a thumbs up. “Enjoy!”

[Javier]

Akihiro had not been this happy in a long time, he was going to a pro-bending match! Ever since he was a kid, he had wanted to be in a pro-bending match, but given his financial situation at the time he never got the opportunity. He had left his house early, eager to get good seats. When he finally arrived, he saw that there were a lot of people sat there, but the match hadn't started yet, with a sigh of relief, he quickly made his way to the very front row and sat down, waiting for the match to begin. "If only I could be there, too bad you can't play pro-bending solo." he said to himself, sighing, waiting for the match to start.

Akihiro wasn't the type of person to enjoy other people's company, so naturally he went alone. As he sat there, he heard all of the people screaming for the match to start which was enough to make him already lose his temper, and he would probably stay that way for the duration of the night. The only thing keeping him there was his love for pro-bending. As the announcement began, he turned to look at the arena, anxious to see the match begin. "Finally the match will begin, I was starting to get bored." he said with a small smile forming on his face.

Akihiro was watching attentively as the announcer began to speak and the players began to come out and take their positions. To his surprise, Akihiro actually stood up and began to cheer along with the other fans. He sat back down and waited for the match to begin, looking anxiously at the players, waiting for them to begin. Akihiro looked at both teams, excited to see the match, he wanted The Silver Shark Whales to win because he knew that they have a very solid lineup.

"Come on, just start the match!" yelled Akihiro, slightly surprised at his sudden outburst.

As the announcer kept talking, Akihiro looked around hoping he'd find something to distract him from the anxiousness he was feeling from being in a pro-bending match. Pro-bending was the only thing that ever made Akihiro get involved with society, he couldn't help it, he was too excited to finally go to a pro-bending match and see it in person. The announcer continued to talk, making Akihiro get very impatient.

"What's taking so long, just start the match!" he shouted rather angrily at the time it was taking for the match to begin.

The announcer suddenly left the playing field and the referee signaled for the match to begin. "Finally, some action." said Akihiro to himself, looking attentively at the players.

[vancexentan]

As the match started it went off the hings from practically the start as the reds immediately set out on trying to trip up Lee knowing he was one of the league's best hitters with his powerful fire blasts with the earth bending keeping Ren from helping Lee. However the Earth Bender, a boy by the name of Shin Len, was blocked as Hana once more saved Ren using a water strike to smash the earth block away from Ren. Ren returned the favor by sending an earthen block right towards the legs of the water bender on their side of the court, a woman, by the name of Zhen Zi, and took out her shoulder as Lee rolled to the left in a cart wheel where he landed promptly and then jumped and kicked forward with his legs almost sending him back a zone as the fire balls impact with the new earth blocks. Shen Len had just picked up. "So far it seems the Red Komodo Rhinos are getting pummeled by these former champions! Lee is showing off his signature acrobatics and power! He may not be all that flashy folks but when it comes to blunt power there's a reason he's is a part of the boar family!" The announcer proclaimed much to the boos of some of the crowd. Ren didn't care his mind was on the game as he sent block after block towards the water bender who was being pummeled mercilessly by the earthen blocks used by the pro bending companies.

She couldn't do squat to help the fire bender who took a hard hit to the belly by Hana and was subsequently smacked hard in the face by a blast of water sending him backwards. Shen finally managed to get a shot past Ren whom was sending rock after rock at the enemy team in fast paced motion. He needed to hit them with sturdy shots. One power shot was good but if you missed that was a different story. Ren preferred to use multiple blocks because he had a better chance of hitting them if he sent them in a volley one after the other. Regardless the rock smacked Lee in the shoulder but the brick of a man shrugged it off despite being momentarily stunned and pushed back into the next zone and sent a fearsome fireball towards the Earth Bender who blocked it only to get staggered back and momentarily stunned as Ren sent three disks flying. One hit the fire bender in the belly just like Hana did knocking him back hard into the next zone back. The second smacked into the Earth Bender stunned by Lee and went back flying into the next zone. "Weaklings how the hell are they in elite!?" Lee growled as Hana took the defensive approach she usually did and blocked for Lee as he sent a fire blast at the water bender forcing her to jump up in the air only to get hit by a rock by Ren. "And that is how the cookie crumbles or in this case how to take down a group of Komodo Rhinos!" The horn sounded as the green light pops up and Lee advances back into their zone as Hana Ji and Ren go into the next line.

"Alright my boy Ren! Let's beat'em till they're as red as they're signature animal!" Hana whispered to Ren whom nodded and signaled Lee to go on the defensive for them this round. Hana and Ren formed far a part to let Lee do his thing. "You're going down you overgrown fish!" Zhen shouted at them, "Oh I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over the sound of my bro's rock smashing into your gut!" Hana countered as the match continued as they immediately went for Hana who was almost immediately knocked back due to all three focusing on her as Lee decided to go on the offensive seeing an opening. Hana was tripped up despite her quick movements due to the water bender Zhen getting her with a shot of water. Ren however capitalized on this by taking out the fire bender by using three rock coins at once two of which hit him one with a glancing blow the other was coupled by Lee's fire black immediately after sending the fire bender tumbling out of the ring into the water below. "Son of a gun!" Shen cursed as he send a rock towards Ren who nonchalantly dodged it and sent another barrage at Ren as he was now being focused on because Zhen pushed Hana back into their zone. However due to his ability to quickly bend rocks due to his considerable training Ren held his ground stoutly as he blocked with his rocks instead of attacking. Hana however had gotten a bit frustrated because Lee decided to push hard on the next opponent standing dangerously close to the line as he and Hana sent another barrage of water and fire towards the enemy team whom was to disorganized by the crowd and the loss of their friend to even make a real attempt at team work as Ren came dangerously close to being forced back into the next ring Hana and Lee simultaneously managed to send the end zone where Ren capitalized by knocking them both into the water with a lucky shot with one rock that hit both of their legs as they got up. "And the first round goes to the Silver Shark Whales! Two more rounds left but by a massive offensive barrage with insane team work they take the first round by knock out! And lucky for them because the three minutes were just about up! With a three-zero on the knockout board and it going one-zero on the scoreboard it seems the sharks will find their prey on LAND this time ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer proclaimed as Ren went back to his side and waited for his team to do so, "We went hard but we can't blow it all next round or get reckless. Go hard but be careful they'll want vengeance." Lee commented as Ren nodded, "Don't worry fire-for-brains we got this!" Hana commented as she took her positon and waited for their opponents to get back to the stage.

===
Note:

Ren and Lee's aggressive styles are boarder line 'unnecessary roughness' as the two of them send barrages on the enemy. Lee's blast are rather fast and powerful, however they don't exceed the one second rule and thus only when he concentrates or is extremely determined to hit something can he really give a power shot like he did against the earth bender Shen when he stunned him. If Lee missed he would have been wide open to an attack had his team not been there for him. Lee is a power style bender by preference and the barrages he sends are numerous only because he uses both his hands and his feet meaning he can be unbalance if an enemy bender manage to hit his feet when he's in the middle of a kick. However Lee is also hard to get to go down because of his tough physique and will power making him a devastating fire bender.

Also as mentioned Lee's acrobatics are merely basic in nature. He can jump and rolls with ease due to the nature of his training and his experience in many a training bout. However he can't do twirls on the spot and most of his abilities are just to augment his bending style. He is no parkour artist.

Ren's style is to hit them hard with as many blocks as he can while in pro-bending. However while this means he's harder to dodge that means he is not sending them with any particularly devastating force unlike the powerful Lee Shang. Ren's rocks hit hard but are neither particularly fast or powerful meaning they can be blocked if cornered as demonstrated when he was nearly pushed back in the last round. He succeeds most when people are helping him and in singular situations he is known to be a bit easier to take out due the nature of his attacks.

[Empath]

Like most other places, life within the town of Wu Xing passed by in a hurry. People going to and from the different paths in their lives, barely noticing what happens around them – and especially not what occurs above the streets of Wu Xing.
A cloaked figure jumped from roof to roof, following a path only she knew as she made her way towards her target location: a building that looks like most other buildings in the town, yet it holds great treasures hidden away within its walls.
While it was still daylight it was fairly easy for Kanna to reach her destination without being noticed through a mixture of the aforementioned human trait, luck and skill. As her feet touched the tiled roof of the building that had been her aim all along, it became immediately apparent that this building would be a problematic case: All around the premise a handful of guards kept watch over what happened – and after a closer examination of the windows on the upper floors Karra noticed that the whole place was most likely stuffed full of various security measures.

Kanna cursed silently for herself, usually she could get into most buildings without much hassle, but for some reason this specific building put up more of a fight than most other buildings. For some reason the intel she had received hadn't said anything about the estate being protected by a security system that could rival that of one of Ba Sing Se's banks.

“You should have demanded more money for this job...” she grumbled silently to no one but the wind and herself, while she tried to figure out a better way into the premise other than the secured windows. It didn't take long for her to figure out that the easiest way in was through the metal back door that was watched by a mean looking guard.

As Kanna jumped down unto the pavement below her, landing a few feet away from the now rather shocked guard.

"Hi, " she spoke energetically with a grin on her face, making sure that while she stood only a few feet away from the guard in front of her, her cloak god any of beer facial features. "I was looking for the bathroom...?" she spoke in a teasing tone, slowly moving closer to the guard.

However, before she could continue the guard had recovered from his shock and cut her off. "Hey!" he spoke sternly, "you cannot be here! Get out no-"

By now Kanna had gotten close enough: she launched forward and before the guard could react she had landed a series of precise hits, resulting in the guard collapsing before his brain had even been able to comprehend what had just occurred.

"phew," Khanna said, cracking her neck, "they really should get some better guards for places like this..." she muttered. And with that she pushed open the door that lead into the building.
What greeted her behind the cool metal door was a small resting area for the workers - and luckily for Kanna it was empty. Without eating any time she pushed on, silently entering a hallway that turned both left and right, taking its visitors through a journey in the soft light of the wall-mounted lamps. It didn’t take her long to navigate the interior of the building, her intel seemed to have been accurate in this regard, and before she knew it she found herself in front of a door that led into the chamber where the most valued artifacts were stored. To her own amazement the room didn’t appear to be guarded nor be secured by any form of security, instead a single locked door kept unwanted visitors out. Of course that didn’t stop Kanna: she fished a set of tools from her pouch and got started on unlocking the door. It didn’t take long and she now found herself inside the vault that had been her target all along. Its walls was kept in a plain grey colored stone with the usual Earth kingdom-inspired green decorations. However Kanna only noted these details briefly, her main focus was on scanning the room for possible threats - of which she found none. Instead she found what she had been tasted to retrieve: A box made out of dark wood with intriguing gold markings carved into it. As she opened the lid she saw what she been paid to retrieve: a golden knife with shining gems inside the handle and an ancient language edged into its golden blade placed firmly upon a red silk pillow
Not really caring about the deeper details of her target, Kanna quickly closed the lid and hid it within the shadows of her cloak before she turned around and began her trip back to her hideout.

// Later that day.

The bar that Kanna stepped into wasn’t a upper-class place, solely aimed for the rich and the famous. Instead it was a cozy place, designed in darker materials and a bar in the middle surrounded by tables and chairs. It was a that invited a variety of individuals, all with different backgrounds: workers, police and soldiers. Interestingly it was also a popular place for those with a… more ‘questionable’ background. It was one of these characters that Kanna was supposed to meet.

“You know,” she said when she walked towards the person she was meeting, “why is it that you insisted on meeting at a bar where there are bound to be not only officers, but also soldiers from the United Forces?”

“What? I thought you would be happy to be able to see some ol’ pals from the ‘Forces” her employer spoke. ‘He’ was a middle-aged man, his hair-line was clearly on retreat, but he still had a deep brown color to his hair. His muscular body didn’t appear middle-aged either: standing at roughly 6 feet tall with clearly visible muscles that was, however, well hidden underneath layers of various clothing - that today consisted of a long dark-brown leather jacket.

“Not when dealing with the infamous ‘Xing the Ruthless’” - a nickname he had gotten after publically torturing one of his enemies - Kanna spoke, “sorry but you are the sort of company I would rather not run into any law enforcement with…”

“Aww… That’s cold” Xing said in a tone that was clearly meant to sound hurt, “and here I pay you so handsomely!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Kanna said, “although I should have demanded more money from you for this job - that building had the security of a bank!”

Xing grinned, “but nothing you couldn’t handle - now show me”.

Annoyed Kanna slid the box she had stolen across the table, replacing the box that had occupied her hand with a glass of liquor instead. “Here you go - all shiny and ready for you” - and as she took a sip of the liquid the man across from her opened the box to check its content. The satisfied look on his face revealed that he was indeed very pleased with her accomplishment and after having put the box away he raised his glass as well. “Here’s to a successful job - well done Kanna, next round is on me” he grinned.

“You bet it is!” she joked, but before she could continue a voice interrupted her.

“Commander Deshuga, I understand the raid went well?”

Kanna sat up straight in her chair, her ears alarmed. Didn’t she know someone like that from her time in the ‘Forces? She seemed to remember the name from somewhere, but she couldn’t quite remember where - and what a great timing: here she was, sitting across the table from a criminal that she was sharing a drink with for a successful robbery that she had performed.
Great, she thought annoyed, just my luck…

“Something wrong?” Xing asked, having noticed her change in posture, “perhaps you know someone from that group?” he tilted his head towards the group of soldiers - somehow having connected the dots, either by sheer luck or by skill.

“Maybe…” Kanna spoke, this time a little quieter, pulling her hood over her head in order to hide her unusually white hair. “Let’s just say I might have heard about one of them before…”
But before Xing could inquire further into the details of the situation he was interrupted by the sudden static of the radio.

"...And we welcome you all to the first half of the ELITE Pro Bending Circuit of Wu Xing! This city is glad to have all of you here and the turn out is amazing I must say! The competitors are ready to go hard and give their all in this tournament to make sure that you all have the best possible matches you can get! You won't get these in Republic City! Now make some NOISE for the teams!"

“Oh look at that, is it already time for the match to start?” Kanna spoke after the energetic voice of the announcer from the radio had stopped, “I had completely forgotten that it was now” she continued, her focus now completely on the voice that echoed from the radio.

“You’re interested in the pro wrestling tournament?” Xing said rather surprised, “I didn’t think you were that fond, nor interested, in benders?”

Kanna grinned sheepishly, winking at him before she spoke: “well you know, nothing brings me more pleasure than benders beating eachother up out of free-will!”