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Once again, it's time for me to resume writing. This time will be all about Ruka. In case anyone's confused, the previous entries include some basic info on her and her family. This is just for fun.

"Just give me some dumplings. I'll be getting teriyaki steaks at Maya's kiosk after they're done."

"Sure thing, Miss Ruka. Here are your dumplings. You sure you don't want anything else?"

"Trust me, these will keep me full till I get to Maya's."

"Alright, Miss Ruka. You have a nice day now!"

"You too. And it's RUKA!"

I said my goodbye to the kiosk worker, holding the bag of dumplings close to m chest, and started heading to Maya's. It was a sunny day and Republic City was bustling with activity like usual. Growing up here, I knew the city quite well and usually had to give tours to new arrivals so they wouldn't get lost. For some reason, my gut felt like today would be a little different. I didn't think much of it until I got to Maya's. Smelling the scent of fresh teriyaki steaks, I took it in and started drooling at the deliciousness of it. There was nothing I loved more than eating some chicken dumplings with teriyaki steaks. I sat down at my spot and waited for Maya to notice that I was there. Once she turned around, she gave me a smile and started flipping the food over to make sure it was properly cooked.

"So what'll it be, Ruka? Same thing you always order?"

"You know it, Maya. Make it a large order this time. I'm feeling ravenous today."

"One large order of teriyaki steaks coming right up!"

She immediately grabbed a plate, put a large pile of steaks on it and handed it over to me as I paid her and pulled out my bag of dumplings. Right as I was about to put a dumpling into my mouth, a large animal poked it's head in and barked at the smell of the food. Maya started screaming for it to get it's mouth away from the food and was about to smack it with her fork when a girl popped in and pulled the animal away. Upon a closer look, I realized that the animal was a polar bear dog and that the girl was dressed in southern water tribe clothes. She looked just like most members of the Water nation, tan skin, turquoise eyes and light brown hair. The girl pet the dog on the head, calling it Naga, then turned to Maya.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry about that. It's just that we got here today and after walking around for some time, we were hungry and Naga picked up the scent of your food. I'd like one of everything please."

"Fine, miss, but that'll be 20 yuans."

"20 yuans? But I don't have any money..."

"No money, no food."

I grinned while looking down at the table, and observed the girl and Naga. My gut was right about today being different. Didn''t get to see many members of the Southern Water tribe too often around here. I put my chopsticks down and signaled to Maya.

"Maya, give 'em a break. They're new around here. Now, since you did give Maya quite a spook, you'd best make it up to her. Maya, like the girl said, one of everything please!"

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"Paying for your lunch."

"You don't have to do this..."

"Hey, I don't mind, and after that scare you gave Maya, I thought I'd cheer her up a bit."

Maya finished putting everything into a box and handed it over to me. She still looked annoyed at having such a large animal intrude into her kiosk, but I shrugged it off. I told the girl to follow me and we headed straight for the park. I found a seat for us to have lunch and gave her the box with her food. As soon as she opened it, she and the dog started eating as quickly as they could. I smiled and ate my own lunch slowly. The girl looked at me and talked with her mouth full while Naga scarfed down a steak.

"Thank you for buying us lunch", she said, swallowing, "We haven't had much luck in finding anyone willing to talk to us since we got here."

"Forget about it. I didn't mind doing what I did. So, since we haven't introduced ourselves, my name's Ruka."

"I'm Korra and that's Naga. She's my best friend."

"Naga, huh? Never thought I'd get to see a polar bear dog."

We kept talking about minor things until I heard a man's voice booming around the park. I sighed and realized that it was the same protester that would hang around during lunch hour and spout Equalist nonsense. I crossed my arms, but Korra stood up, got on Naga's back and started heading in the direction that the man was. I rolled my eyes, grabbed my bag and walked closely behind her. Just like I knew he would be, he was shouting at everyone that walked by him, saying that the time of the Revolution had come and that the end of the oppression of non-benders at the hands of benders was near an end. Korra stared at him and began talking to him.

"What? That's just nonsense! Bending is a natural part of the world and it helps to keep the balance between both worlds!"

"Bah, you're just saying that because you're a bender! You're the ones who are the oppressors!"

"Well, you're...you're oppressing yourselves!"

Korra got tired of arguing with the man and walked away. I followed her for a while until she noticed I was behind her. She got off Naga and nodded, looking confused. She started directly into my face and I could tell something was bothering her. I ran my hand through my hair, getting my bangs out of my face. I tied the bag of food to my belt and listened to the sound of footsteps.

"What's the matter, Korra? Did the protester get to you? Trust me, he's not worth your time."

"It's just that...Republic City is so different from what I thought it would be.", she said, getting back on Naga as we kept walking down a small street with a few stores.

"Well, it's changed over the years. It's not exactly the picture-perfect place people think it is."

As I said that, we noticed a commotion between three men and one of the store owners. I recognized the three men as members of one of the gangs of Republic City. They made their money extorting non-benders who had businesses by threats and these guys were no different. The store owner was begging to be let go since he didn't have enough money to pay them with and was offering to give them a record player instead. The man dressed in blue laughed, slapped the record player out of his hands and ordered the thug dressed in red to burn the store down. Korra intervened and told the trio to back off.

"Leave him alone! Why don't you guys pick on someone your own size?"

"Why, does the little girl want to play? Let's get her!"

The trio charged at her and just as I was about to step in to prevent it from getting worse, Korra started bending to defend herself. I was astonished as I watched her earthbend and firebend against them. I came to the conclusion that Korra was none other than the Avatar. I backed up into a wall, put my right hand over my face and started laughing while thinking to myself "You just had to buy the Avatar lunch, didn't you?" Korra beat the trio without much difficulty and as they were getting into the car to drive off, she ran after them, raising the ground to make the car crash right into some crates. Before she could finish the job, she was tied up and so was the trio. I sneaked away into the shadows, still watching closely, as the police showed up and put everyone into the back of a van. Metalbenders were the police force around here and they were a force to be reckoned with. I knew they'd bring me along with them if they saw me and I wasn't about to sacrifice my freedom for someone I just met, even if she was the Avatar. I headed back to my small apartment and dropped everything, taking in the events of the day. I groaned and picked up my sword, enjoying the sound of the crystal dragon attached to it. I examined it closely and hurled it at the wall, piercing it so deeply, my sword got stuck. I left it there and walked to the window, sitting on the edge and turning the radio on.

"Maybe tonight's probending match will cheer me up..."

I kept changing the channels until I heard what sounded like Korra's voice. I listened in as various reporters asked her questions about what she thought of Republic City and what she would do while she was there. Her voice had a hint of nervousness in it and I imagined what it must be liked to be hounded by reporters. My mind strayed into Memory Lane as I saw my mother in front of a piano, answering questions. She would always answer each and every one, no matter how mundane it was, and she did it with a smile. I punched the wall and almost fell. I was flexible enough to catch the edge and pull myself in before anything horrible happened.

"Come on, Ruka, pull yourself together...this is no time to be nostalgic."

I went up to where the sword was, pulled it out, and went back to the window. I looked at the night sky and took in the beautiful view of Republic City at night. I wouldn't trade that view for anything in the world, especially when it was a night with a full moon overhead. I kept staring until my eyes centered on one of the islands. It was the island where Tenzin and his family lived on. I thought about what he looked like. I had seen him a few times in my childhood and I was surprised that I remembered him quite well. I stopped reminiscing and got dressed into my night clothes, getting into bed after turning the lights out. For some reason, I kept thinking about Korra.

"What a strange day...the Avatar...This is definitely going to make my life a lot more interesting."