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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐄-𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅
##𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚃𝚆𝙾🏔
———— 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒,  𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑜
❛ ❛  ACTS OF WORTHINESS  ❜ ❜
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            This trip to the Earth Kingdom would be Akira's first time stepping foot out of the Fire Nation.  Her first time stepping foot onto foreign soil.  Her first time being around another scenery.  The first time she saw people of different nations up close.  This trip would be a lot of firsts,  Akira stated to herself as she bidded goodbye to her family,  kissing both of her parents on the cheeks and embracing her younger siblings while her older brother observed from afar.  Joji hasn't always been with goodbyes,  or his emotions in general.  It was something that pulled at his heartstrings and wanted to make him embrace his sister and never let go.  It wasn't something he was used to.  Some emotions weren't expressed in their family.

          "I promise,  she'll be back in no time," Avatar Korra spoke up as Akira pulled away from her last sibling,  Numi.  Numi had always been attached at Akira's hip since day one,  following her whenever she went.  The young girl looked up to her sister in many ways,  admiring the grace in her walk to the way she held herself whenever her mother would,  yet again,  remind her of being the black smudge on the family portrait.  She never understood why her mother shoved that kind of rhetoric down their throats when many people didn't think that way.  The whole situation unfolding at hand made tears gather at Numi's waterline,  gripping her sisters red pants while she buried her face into the top of Akira's hipbone.

          "Umi," Akira softly called out as she gently pulled her sister away from her body,  "It won't be that long.  I promise.  I'll be back before you can recite the alphabet,".  More tears began to gather in Numi's eyes as she began to recite the alphabet,  her voice coming out hoarse as she pushed down the lump forming within her throat.  Akira frowned at the sight,  wiping the stray tears that managed to escape.  The older sister kissed the younger forehead and stroked her cheek before straightening back up and stalked towards the green airship team Avatar and the others had arrived in.  Akira didn't look back because she knew if she did,  she wouldn't want to leave.  If she did,  she would want to comfort her youngest sister and go back to living her life that way it was before.  Before she discovered her airbending.  Before the Harmonic Convergence.  Before all of this.  She would want it to go back to normal but she knew that it would never would.  So,  she kept her eyes forward and head up as she walked into the airship and made her way to a secluded area.

              "Harder!"

               "Push!"

               "Swing your leg more,  Akira!"

             The continuous yells of her father made Akira want to punch her opponent into oblivion.  She hated how both of her parents made it known that they were always there to critique whatever thing Akira was doing wrong.  Always looking over her shoulder to find something to yell at her about.  Her parents had thrown her into the Royal Guard Academy when she was just five years old,  wanting her at least continue this family legacy of theirs.  Without having the skill to bend her home nations element,  Akira was not expected to have children of her own since there would be a high likelihood of any of her children being a nonbender.  So,  in order to compensate for her lack of bending,  they enrolled her in the Royal Guard Academy so she could continue that specific family legacy.  Botan and Midori had made sure that everything about their eldest daughter was exceptional, not wanting to further injure the family's ego. They had expected so much from Akira but never seemed pleased at the progress she made.

Distracting her opponent with a fake punch to the face, missing it entirely, Akira had managed to sweep her right leg underneath her opponents and knock them to the ground gasping for air. The girl straddled the strangers chest and brought her fist back, ready to strike until her father yelled out that it was enough. Akira grimaced as she stood up and bowed to her defeated opponent, her closed fist gently meeting with her flat opened one. Getting up from her position she quickly made her way towards her untouched water bottle, condensation dripping down from it. The teen had not once touched it since she entered the gym, not feeling like the work she had done today was enough for a water break. A break is not deserved until you prove that you deserve it, the words of her mother echoed throughout her head as she flicked the water bottle, making it wobble back and forth before settling sit. How much more do I need to prove?, Akira thought back as she sat down on the slightly warm wooden bench and placed her hands on the back of her neck.

"Hey," a voice piped up, drawing the teen girls attention towards them, "You did pretty well back there for, uh, y'know, a nonbender". Ah, there it was. The word nonbender. Akira could never escape from it, no matter how hard she tried. It always followed. Akira had nodded in acknowledgement towards the person in front of her, not bothering to look at who it was. Heat had began to radiate off of the raven haired girl as she began to boil over in anger. No matter how hard she tried, she will never be good just for a nonbender. Anything and everything she did seemed to be below all of the benders no matter what it was. You don't have enough fire within you, Kira, her mother's voice echoed throughout her head once again. The spirits had saw how little you deserved the gift of bending, leaving you with nothing but your idiotic wits you got from your Father. Those words had began to repeat itself again and again as Akira let out a scream of frustration and punched the wall next to her, leaving a dent in the wall and her with bloody and spilt knuckles.

No matter what you do, you'll never be worthy in the eyes of others.

                   A loud bang had erupted from across the room,  knocking Akira out of her thoughts.  The Avatar leaned up against the doorframe with a sly smirk on her face as she crossed her arms,  "You good there,  hothead?".  Warmth crept up Akira's shoulders towards her cheeks as she cringed at the new nickname Korra had given her.  The Southern Water Tribe girl kept yelling out hothead as she walked through the airship trying to find the airbender.  Even Bumi and Bolin joined in for a couple of shouts.  "Peachy" Akira replied as she crossed her legs over another and allowed her head to lean back and touch the cold metal of the wall.  A lot of things had been going through the Fire Nation girls head within the short amount of time the Avatar and her friends had visited and taken her on their airbender finding trip.  It was a lot for the teen to process.

              A chuckle left Korra's lips as she pushed herself off from the frame and stepped towards an angsty Akira.  "You remind me a lot of someone who I used to know," she started out as she sat in front of the raven haired girl,  "Well,  who I used to know in my past life.  His name should definitely ring a bell" Korra continued as the new airbender began to shift her focus onto the girl in front of her.  "His name is Zuko,  he was the Firelord before Izumi" she continued to state as Akira gave her a weird look.  Of course I knew that,  I've lived in the Fire Nation my whole life,  Akira argues within her head,  I should know who the previous and past Firelords there were.  "The whole angsty teenager look.  The whole defending your family's honor.  I know it when I see it.  You're going through an identity crisis," the Avatar finished with a grin on her face.  Akira rolled her eyes at Korra's antics and replies with,

               "Yeah,  well at least I'm not hunting you down and trying to kill you in order to figure it out,  Avatar,".

ASH SPEAKS!
this was kinda half assed
but i do hope you guys
did enjoy it :)