•• 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 •• (The Legend of Korra/Mako fanfic)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

Nike ended up spending the night at Lady Yin's home. By the time she was done talking to her friends and their family, the last monorail had already left.

'I will need to stop at my house before we can go to the Upper Ring,' the firebender informed Mako and Bolin as they headed to the station. 'It's not far from the Middle Ring station.'

'No problem,' Bolin smiled.

The three benders left the monorail at the Middle Ring station and followed Nike to her house. She was living in a simple and modest apartment. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was better than her home in Republic City. Nothing inside it would denounce its occupant as a firebender. Nothing inside it was red; everything was green or brown, just like the home of any person living in the Earth Kingdom.

'Make yourselves comfortable,' Nike smiled as she invited her guests inside the living room which also served as a dining room. 'If you want some tea, there's a few mixtures in the upper cupboard of the kitchen.'

The two brothers sat down on the humble sofa and waited for Nike. She had gone to her room to change clothes and get a small bag. When she was back in the living room, she was wearing clean clothes in tones of dark green.

Then, she approached a big tall cabinet in front of the sofa. Inside it was her pro-bender uniform and the clothes she would usually wear in Republic City. She put both her uniform and her clothes inside the bag and got ready to go.

The group went back to the station.

'Good morning, Nira,' the ticket master greeted the lady and checked Mako and Bolin's passports and tickets.

Nike returned the official's smile and got inside the monorail along with her friends.

'They already know you...' Mako noted.

'I catch this rail almost every day,' Nike explained. 'Are you staying at the Queen's palace?'

'No. We are staying at a house nearby,' the firebender said.

She followed her two friends as they walked the streets of the Upper Ring. On their way to the house where Team Avatar was staying, they crossed paths with some of the clients Nike often served in the tea shop.

'Hello, Nira!' an old man smiled.

'Oh, Mister Cheng! How is your wife doing?' Nike replied.

'She's feeling much better! The doctor said she will be fully recovered in a week!'

'That's good news! Have a nice day, Mister Cheng!' Nike waved to the man and the group continued their walk.

'You know a lot of people around here,' Mako noticed as he remembered she had already talked to the ticket master and some ladies too.

'Most people in the Upper Ring go to Jasmine Dragon in the afternoon,' she said. 'I work the late shifts, so I end up serving all of them.'

It was clear Nike loved her new life and Mako felt bad to take her away from it. He should have been more careful when exposing her the other night, but he was so shocked to see her there that he couldn't think straight.

'I am sorry for involving you in this,' he apologized again while Bolin stayed a few steps further.

'I was already involved. I simply chose to look the other way,' she said with a small smile. 'I had already noticed that there had been some kidnappings, but I was too focused on myself to care about them. You made me open my eyes.'

Mako smiled softly at the young lady. He still felt bad for exposing Nike, but, at least, she was not angry at him or his brother.

Finally, the three benders entered the street where their house was located. Bolin started running towards the house's yard with Nike and Mako following behind.