Keeping this intro pretty brief:

Yes, this is a new idea.

Yes, I have other things I should work on.

No, I couldn't leave this idea alone.

And no, I won't stop making new things if the inspiration, drive, and impulse are strong enough. I have too many ideas that I can't just file them all. Sometimes they simply need to be made.

With that said, I hope y'all enjoy this new story.

Disclaimer: All rights reserved for the source material used in this story. This Fanfiction is a nonprofit creation made simply for entertainment purposes. I do not own anything.

Balance: A Maelstrom's Tale

Chapter One: Discovered

"You'd think I'd be used to this cold by now," muttered the voice of a young man as he put on his furred coat and fur-lined boots. He sighed as he tucked away a charm made from a White Lotus tile underneath his clothes and came out of his igloo home.

Exiting, he was greeted to a sight that he'd seen every morning for the past five years. The Southern Water Tribe preparing to face another day; a day where, yet again, they saw no sign of the return of their warriors who had left two years ago to help defend the Earth Kingdom. After so long without their fathers, brothers, or husbands, many of the Tribe had began fearing if the war had claimed their lives.

The eldest of the tribe thought that it was foolish for all the warriors to leave. Sure, there was strength in numbers; but shouldn't your own people come before another country? Especially when your people struggle enough to live their lives. The only reason the Southern Tribe hasn't been dragged into the war is because, in the eyes of the rest of the world, their frozen landscape isn't worth it.

It was this reason that he had lived with this Tribe for so long; the reason his mother brought them here so long ago. Sickness had claimed her life; an unfortunate consequence of the Fire Nation's Southern Raiders wiping out nearly all the Tribe's Waterbenders. To this day, he missed her dearly.

"Naruto," the eldest member of the Tribe – affectionately named Gran-Gran by her own request – called out to him. "We're running low on fish. Could you go get some today?"

"Sure thing," he replied, giving a small smile at the request before turning to get his fishing gear.

"Hold on," Gran-Gran stopped him, getting him to turn around.

Absently, she took a good look at the young man Naruto had become. He had spiked blood-red hair, a shade darker than his mother's more crimson locks. His eyes were dark blue, like the oceans, and he had whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks; which many of the female members of the Tribe found cute. He was dressed in clothes just like theirs, but he had asked for some whiter furs to be used to stitch a lotus symbol on the back.

All-in-all, he had grown from the child that had arrived with a redheaded woman desperate for a place to live; a woman who everyone could tell loved him more than life itself.

"Here," she offered, a hand-carved charm of a swirl in her hand. "Place this on her memorial for me…"

His small smile gained a somber undertone as Naruto took the charm gratefully. "I'll do that… Thanks, Gran-Gran."

She simply nodded and watched him go off. Normally, Sokka and Katara went fishing for the Tribe; but given how he didn't take any bait or hooks while Katara was distracted by practicing Waterbending, Gran-Gran felt that sending out Naruto was a good idea.

With his gear in hand, Naruto set it all in a spare canoe and paddled down the stream that had been kept open by the Tribe for months. With the climate they lived in, making access points to the ocean from their patch of solid ice and ground was a necessity. He gave solid strokes of the paddle, helping the floating vessel glide across the icy waters in search of more open areas; areas where he could have a better view of the fish beneath the waves.

As he paddled, his thoughts strayed to his family; both members lost, and members left behind. He didn't like going down this road of thinking, but it was hard to ignore such thoughts this day. It was the anniversary of Kushina's death, and Naruto felt his emotional defenses weaken whenever this time came around.

He took a quick look at his surroundings, locating a landmark he had placed the week before and changing his course. He had all day to catch some fish. They could wait.

It was time to visit her memorial.

"Leave it to a girl to screw things up," Sokka grumbled, referring to the loss of their canoe thanks to being caught in some faster currents and being crushed by some floating icebergs.

Katara, who had tried to guide Sokka through the sudden current, had a look of outrage at her brother's rant. It wasn't her fault this happened, nor was it her fault that he didn't listen to her when she tried to help.

"You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained…!" she started ranting, her arms moving in synch with her anger while she unconsciously used her Waterbending and sent water crashing into an iceberg behind her. "I'm embarrassed to be related to you!"

Sokka, at first ignoring her ranting like he usually did, turned to her and looked surprised when he saw the dangerously churning water behind his sister.

"Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you went off playing soldier!"

Her anger caused cracks in the iceberg to deepen while an understandably subdued Sokka tried to say, "Uh… Katara…?"

"I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you: Not. Pleasant!"

Even more cracks were formed as Sokka yelled out, "Katara, settle down!"

"No! That's it; I'm done helping you! From now on, you're on your own!"

Her last movement was her most agitated and it formed a huge wave which, when it impacted the iceberg, sent several fissures snaking their way up the iceberg. One of the fissures reached the top of the iceberg, splitting it completely in half and sending out a large wave that pushed away the small flat of ice that the siblings were situated on.

On instinct, Sokka brought Katara down and held her close as they were forced to brace the wave. When it settled, he let her go and declared, "You've gone from weird to freakish, Katara."

"You mean…I did that?" she gasped out, shocked at what she had done.

"Yep," was his sarcastic reply. "Congratulations…"

They were cut off from speaking any further when a bright glow and bubbling water was seen beneath the waves in front of them. From the depths, a massive chunk of the broken iceberg surfaced and settled itself atop the ocean; the centermost part of it showing the silhouettes of a large creature over a person seated in an almost meditative position. Without warning, a glow came from the person in the form of an arrow n their forehead and their eyes opening; revealing pure glowing lights that encompassed all of their eyes.

"He's alive!" Katara exclaimed, grabbing her brother's club and jumping over to the iceberg.

"Katara, no! Get back here! We don't know what that thing is!" her brother called out, rushing after her and catching up just as she started using his club to try breaking the ice.

After many desperate swings, she finally succeeded in making a crack, releasing all of the built-up air pressure and destroying the icy prison surrounding the unknown boy and his beast. When it broke apart, a massive pillar of light erupted into the sky; breaking away the clouds and lighting up like a massive beacon for anyone to see.

Including a Fire Nation ship that happened to be cutting through the ice-riddled waters.

Meanwhile, Naruto was seen kneeling before a stone that had his mother's name carved into it. Underneath her name were two carvings of different insignias: the elegant waves of the Water Tribes, and the swirling flames of the Fire Nation. Leaning against the memorial stone were some charms that had been carved by himself, Gran-Gran, and Katara.

His was of a lotus like the one on the back of his clothes, Gran-Gran's was of the swirl she had given him earlier, and Katara was of a snowflake she had finished about a year ago.

"I miss you," he whispered out. "I'm lost, mom… I don't know what to do; who to become. Am I still a son of the Fire Nation, or am I a child of the Water Tribe? I need a sign…"

As if she had answered him from beyond death, his shadow elongated dramatically over her memorial, and Naruto turned around to see the massive pillar of light that had erected from miles away. He was filled with awe at the sight, almost sensing the power behind the radiant pillar along with the silent promise of hope that it seemed to give to the world.

Turning back to the memorial, Naruto placed his hand on it with a sad smile. "I love you…" he whispered before he rushed over to his canoe and started rowing towards the direction of the light.

Hopefully, he would find his answer when he discovered the source of it.

After hours of searching for the source, Naruto decided to think on the sign when he got back to the Tribe. He still needed to gather fish per Gran-Gran's request, and he didn't want anyone in the Tribe to go hungry.

So, another couple of hours was spent dropping his line and reeling in the scaled sources of nutrition. It was a good day for it, with many fish eagerly biting and unknowingly sealing their doom to become dinner. His stomach growled at the thought of it.

Looking up, he saw that it was starting to get late and he needed to get back faster than a paddle would allow. Biting his lip, he made a decision and secured everything down with rope and spare line before he took a standing position on his canoe. Taking a breath, he centered himself and moved his arms in a smooth, circular motion that had the water form a wave behind him and push the canoe forward; moving it at impressive speed as he kept up the momentum with continuous, calm motions of his arms.

Waterbending for Naruto was both an enjoyment and a curse in his life. It was a joy to do, connecting him with his ancestry on his mother's side, but it had cursed him and his mother into running away from their previous home; away from his family and friends into a life of hiding.

For Naruto once lived in the Fire Nation, unaware of his gift until he was almost a teenager and only sharing that secret with his mother (who told him to never use it) and his closest friend (who he shared everything with). It was because he didn't listen to Kushina that he was discovered by soldiers as a Waterbender and forced to flee.

His gift had cursed them both with losing the life they had.

So, he scarcely performed the art of the Water Tribes; only using it when he believed it was necessary and practicing it when he was sure nobody else was around. Even Katara, who believed she was the only Waterbender in the South Pole, was unaware of his ability.

Back to his return trip, Naruto kept bending the waves to his will until he was sure he was close to home. Settling the water back to calmer waves, he gathered his paddle and steered himself back to camp; unaware that the Tribe had a guest that was currently sleeping for the night.

He had a Tribe to feed.

Later that evening, when most of the Tribe had gone to bed for the night, Naruto was seen sitting in front of a firepit and keeping the flame alive with another dried stick.

"Hey," a familiar voice greeted him, making him look up from the fire and see Katara standing there. "We missed you today…"

He nodded once, silently offering her a seat. "Yeah, Gran-Gran asked me to get some fish today. I also visited mom."

Katara was silent for a moment, staring into the fire with a somber expression. "I miss her too…" she told him. "She was there for Sokka and I when we were at a low point…"

"Yeah… Mom was awesome, and Kya was one of the first to welcome us here… I never thanked her for that…"

Katara turned to him, watching as his gaze was focused solely on the fire that he was trying to keep alive. "…Where did you two come from?"

He was quiet for a while, poking away at the fire and keeping it warm. "…It doesn't matter," he muttered. "I can't go back… Not anymore…"

His almost dead tone filled her with pity, wondering why he felt that way and how she could help him. Ever since Naruto and his mother joined the Tribe, they had done all they could to help contribute and earn the acceptance of the others. While subdued at times, Naruto was a kind young man who helped look after the younger children and sometimes assisted Katara with her chores.

He even helped her with her Waterbending, despite not showing her any real moves. He helped her find stances that were comfortable for her and helped her collect herself so that she could be more focused whenever she tried to Waterbend.

She could easily call him family at this point, and seeing someone from her family acting so depressed and defeated hurt her. So, scooting over to the redhead, she hugged him on his side in hopes of offering him some comfort and support. Looking up at him, she was relieved to see a faint smile of gratitude on his face. No words were needed, and the two separated into a more hopeful silence; thoughts of loss pushed aside for the night.

"Well," Naruto began the following morning, having witnessed Katara introducing an Airbender named Aang to the Tribe, "you two had an exciting day yesterday, eh?"

Sokka, who was sharpening his boomerang, scoffed at his words. "Yeah, that's one word for it."

"I thought the Airbenders were extinct?" Naruto continued, watching Aang interact with the younger children and entertain them with his Bending.

"That's what I thought too. I still think he could be signaling the Fire Navy with that crazy light beam from yesterday…"

"I doubt he means to signal them," Naruto calmly retorted, "but I won't deny that they could've seen it and may investigate. I'll let the older members know while you try and fortify any walls we have."

"Sounds like a plan," the warrior-to-be agreed, sounding relieved that someone else was as concerned as he was.

While initially distrustful of Naruto when they were younger – associating his red hair with that of the Fire Nation – the two young men had formed a strong, brotherly bond over the years. They trained together and with the older warriors before the left for the Earth Kingdom, both of them staying physically fit and ready for any would-be attack.

The two were also worried about the well-being of their Tribe. While Sokka believed that training and becoming a warrior was what needed to be done, Naruto felt that simply doing tasks that helped maintain their lives was necessary; from helping make more homes and hunting for food to searching for supplies and fortifying their barriers. Despite their different stances, they both respected the other's dedication to their home and people.

"Where'd Katara go?" Naruto asked, cutting Sokka from his thoughts.

Looking around, he saw that Aang was also gone. "Probably with Arrowhead," he muttered, sounding annoyed at the notion.

"Katara has a good head on her shoulders, Sokka. I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"Still…"

"Look, it's not like there's anything out here that they can get into, right? And even if you count that stranded Fire Navy ship, Katara knows better. So, relax. Let her show him around and make him feel welcome. He may be the last of his kind, after all."

Sighing, Sokka conceded to the redhead and decided to go check the wall.

Neither of them knew that, while Katara did know better, it wouldn't change what was about to happen.

Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was looking through a telescope at the Fire Navy flare that went off from a stranded and abandoned warship, dropping the scope as he spied to figured leaping high into the air from the top of the ship and landing safely onto the icy ground surrounding it.

"The last Airbender," he mused aloud. "Quite agile for his old age…" Turning away from the telescope, Zuko ordered, "Wake my uncle! Tell him that I found the Avatar." He turned back to the telescope, moving it towards the direction the two figures were heading toward and spotting a village. "As well as his hiding place."

Meanwhile, Iroh wasn't sleeping in his quarters. Instead he was staring at an ink portrait of his lost family; the family his son, Lu Ten, had before it was all taken away from Iroh. He knew it was wrong to hope, but a small part of his heart hoped to see his missing daughter-in-law and his grandson.

Hearing one of his nephew's soldiers call out that the Avatar and his location had been found, Iroh stood up and exited his quarters. Whether he saw them or not, he still had a personal duty to look after his banished nephew; because no one else would.

Naruto sighed as he saw the village, at Sokka's insistence, kick Aang out of their village. While he agreed that the flare wouldn't have gone off if the Airbender and Katara hadn't gone into that abandoned ship, he also suspected that it was an accident. It's not like either of them knew where the most common of signal-based traps were on a Fire Navy ship.

But he didn't say anything. It wasn't his place since he wasn't a leader of the Tribe, nor did he have any sort of authority. He didn't want it; not when they would look to him if the Fire Nation came.

And they would come. There wasn't a Navy Captain worth their salt that would ignore a flare; even from one in a desolate place in the South Pole.

He saw Sokka rallying his warriors – a group of young boys not even in their teenage years – and ordering them to prepare for the arrival of the Fire Nation. Sokka then went into his tent to ready himself, prompting Naruto to go to his igloo and grab his own weapons.

Coming back out, the redhead had a pair of iron rods strapped to his back. Each rod was perfectly blunted on one end while the other ends had connections forged into them, allowing the two rods to link together to form an iron staff. This was one of the few things he brought with him from the Fire Nation; but there was more to these weapons than just blunt tools.

With weapons ready, Naruto helped Katara usher the elderly and the children towards the rearmost homes, keeping them away from the makeshift wall that blocked the village from the ocean. It wasn't long after that everyone heard the sound of ice breaking and the rumbling of something incredibly dense and heavy getting closer to them.

To Sokka's left, he saw his personally made watchtower crumble apart, which made him groan out, "Oh, man…"

"Sokka, move!" Naruto called out as he caught the shadow of a ship breaking through the icy mist.

Unfortunately, his cry came a bit too late as the ship crashed against the wall and sent Sokka sliding down with its momentum. The bow of the ship then let out some steam, dropping forward and forming a ramp that buried into the ice. From the ship walking down the ramp, a young man in Fire Nation armor with a prominent burn scar on his left eye could be seen flanked by some Firebenders in standard armor; skull-like masks and all.

Naruto's eyes widened considerably at the sight of the young man, recognizing him instantly, regardless of the scar he was sure wasn't there when he fled the Fire Nation with his mother. Putting his hood up, he covered his red hair and circled around behind the igloos; his hope being to flank the three Firebenders without being noticed.

Peeking out from behind one of them, he winced when he saw Zuko, almost casually, counter an attack from Sokka and kick him into the snow. Seeing that his friend was relatively unharmed, he kept moving silently as he heard Zuko speak.

"Where are you hiding him?" the banished Prince interrogated with subdued anger. When nobody answered, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Kanna, holding her by her parka as he had the elderly woman face the rest of the Tribe. "He'd be about this age, Master of all Elements?" he continued, his anger more audible in his voice.

When there was still no answer, he roughly pushed Kanna back towards the Tribe and decided intimidation was necessary. He made a wave of fire the flickered dangerously before them before fading, causing many to recoil in fear at the sight.

"I know you're hiding him!"

At this point, Sokka attempted another attack; but he was once again foiled and disarmed of his club. Pushed back, the young warrior was forced to roll away from a blast of fire, throwing his trusty boomerang post-roll and nearly hitting the Prince. Zuko growled at this, warily watching the weapon fly out of sight while a young boy tossed Sokka a whale-tooth spear.

"Show no fear!" the boy declared as Sokka caught the weapon and once again charged.

But Zuko easily broke the weapon with his armored forearms, pulled the remains of it out of Sokka's hands, jabbed his forehead thrice with the bony end of it, and then broke the rest into smaller pieces as Sokka was knocked back onto his ass, rubbing where he was jabbed.

When he looked back up, he fought a smirk at the telltale sign of his boomerang's return trip, and that smirk revealed itself when Zuko was struck in the back of his helmeted head and left momentarily dazed.

As he recomposed himself and glared at Sokka, he heard blunted strikes echo from something made of metal and turned just in time to see a hooded member of the Tribe knock out both of his Firebenders in a surprise attack from behind. A look of surprise was seen on his face, but surprise morphed into silent shock when he heard the cheer from his first opponent.

"Nice one, Naruto!" Sokka exclaimed, not seeing Naruto flinch in fear at the revelation of his identity.

Zuko stared wide-eyed at his hooded adversary, no defensive stance taken as the two regarded one another. "Naruto…?" he repeated in disbelief, confusing the Water Tribe at the familiarity in the Prince's voice.

With a defeated sigh, the young man in question pulled back his hood and revealed his face to Zuko, a look of shame being expressed. "Zuko," he returned somberly.

Katara, remembering their conversation from last night, connected the dots and realized that the place Naruto came from, the place he said he would never be able to return to, was in fact the Fire Nation; the very nation responsible for starting the hundred-year-long war.

Sokka must've realized this as well, for she saw a look of betrayal on his face as he ignored the look of almost grief on Naruto's.

Zuko's head was bowed now, his helmet shadowing his molten eyes as he stood across from his old friend. "All this time… You've been living in this wasteland…"

"Mom wanted us to hide where we'd be least likely to be discovered," Naruto answered softly. "What better place than the one part of the world everyone else seems to ignore?"

"She always was a smart woman," Zuko commended, giving praise to her. "I take it she…?"

"Yes… She's gone," was Naruto's subdued answer.

"I see…" Raising his head again, Zuko declared with a frown, "This changes nothing, Naruto. I'm still here for the Avatar."

"He isn't here, Zuko. The Tribe kicked him out after he accidentally set off that flare. Don't drag them," he gestured to the still worried Tribe members, "into this."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the redhead and prepared another question, but both young men were caught off guard when Aang, riding atop a penguin sliding at high-speed, flew through the village and crashed into Zuko's legs. The hit knocked the Prince over and onto his face, where he slid a couple of feet before coming to a stop while his helmet landed comically perfect on his butt.

While the children were happy that Aang was back, and while the Airbender cheerfully greeted Katara and Sokka, Naruto was tense at the boy's return. This meant that the chances of Zuko leaving the Tribesmen alone were dwindling.

He spotted Zuko get back onto his feet and glare furiously at Aang while he glared right back. "Looking for me?"

"You're the Airbender?" Zuko asked in disbelief. "You're the Avatar?!"

The revelation made Naruto sigh while the rest of the Tribe fell into silent shock. The redhead decided to take control of the situation and stood between both Benders.

"Zuko, I know you're after Aang, but leave the Tribe out of this," he declared sternly, his blue eyes narrowed towards the Prince. He then turned to Aang and continued, "And you. Just what the hell were you thinking charging back here so recklessly?! Now the rest of the Tribe could be pulled back into this conflict that has nothing to do with them!"

The Airbender winced at the anger in Naruto's voice while Zuko never lost his glare.

Sighing again, Naruto suggested, "Look, I just want to keep them safe from this. Aang, you and I will surrender ourselves as prisoners."

"What?!" the Avatar cried out while Katara and Sokka looked shocked at Naruto willingly giving himself up.

"You wanna rush in like some wannabe hero? Take responsibility for getting innocents involved," Naruto growled back at Aang, making the boy wince once again. He turned back to Zuko and continued, "We'll come without a fight. Just… Just leave them out of this, please…"

Zuko stared hard at Naruto's unflinching face, seeing the pure resolve in his eyes. After a moment, he relaxed his stance and gave a single, yet stiff, nod of agreement; absently spotting his once knocked out men getting back up.

"Take these two into custody," Zuko ordered before turning around and marching up the ramp with his two new prisoners. "And set a course for the Fire Nation!" he called out to the helmsman before silently adding, "I'm going home."

As the two were forced up the ramp, Katara broke through the crowd and called out, "No, don't do this! Naruto! Aang!"

Naruto looked back over his shoulder and gave her a smile filled with so much shame that she recoiled at the intensity of it. "I'm sorry, everyone…for everything," he called out.

Aang was more optimistic as he called back, "Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

With that, the ramp closed and reconnected with the ship, which immediately began to pull away from the ice and head out towards the ocean. After a moment for everyone to recollect themselves, many of the Tribe pitched in to repair the damages dealt to their home while Katara was seen staring out from where the Fire Nation ship departed.

Unseen by her, Sokka was gathering supplies in a canoe with a small frown on his face.

"We have to go after them, Sokka," Katara declared. "Naruto and Aang gave themselves up for our Tribe. Now, we have to save them."

Sokka sighed and tried saying, "Katara, I…"

But she cut him off, "Why can't you see that Aang is on our side?! And would you really abandon Naruto after we've known him for years?!"

"Katara!" Sokka yelled out, earning her attention and letting her see that he had the canoe prepared already. "Are you gonna blab all day, or are you coming with me?"

"Sokka," she gasped out softly, smiling happily at her brother.

"Listen, I want to save them too; I owe it to them for keeping everyone safe. But, when we get them, we need to have a long talk with Naruto. Okay?"

While she didn't like the angry undertone Sokka had, she knew that he must've felt betrayed by the reveal of Naruto's birthland and his lineage. However, she also understood that Naruto and Kushina, having fled the Fire Nation, hid their past so that they wouldn't be chased off by the Southern Tribe.

They had to lie, or else they wouldn't have found sanctuary with her family.

So, she nodded in agreement with Sokka and prepared to get into the canoe.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Gran-Gran spoke up, catching them by surprise. While looking stern at first, she gave them gentle smiles as she held up their sleeping bags, as well as Naruto's. "You'll need these. You all have a long journey ahead of you…"

Smiling gratefully, the two siblings shared a warm embrace with their grandmother before pulling back to let her speak again.

"Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his." She smiled sadly and added, "Naruto's as well. Don't be too hard on him. He's been through much, and Kushina told me everything before she passed."

"Wait, you knew?" Katara asked in shock.

"I did, but it wasn't my place to say. But I will say this: their decision to come here wasn't made of desperation. Kushina had a valid reason for reaching out to us."

Confused about what she meant, the two decided to wait until the retrieved Naruto to get answers. "There's no way we're going to catch them with a canoe, though," Katara despondently stated before a low groan from Appa caught their attention.

Noticing her grinning excitedly, Sokka blandly asked, "You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?"

Naruto sat in his cell, relieved of his weapons while his ankles were chained together and linked to the wall. He sat on the stiff excuse of a bed in silence as he thought about what was going to happen when he finally returned to the land of his birth. Bitterly, he chuckled at the thought of being publicly executed as a traitor while his mother would no doubt be labeled a defiler for tainting royal blood.

He himself would probably be called an abomination thanks to his mixed heritage; but he wasn't going to make a fuss. He'd made his choice to give himself up. So, he would follow through on it.

The sound of footsteps approaching his cell gained his attention. Looking up from the floor, his eyes widened in absolute shock at his visitor.

"G-Grandfather…?" he whispered out.

Iroh, with a tearful smile on his face, greeted back jovially, "You look well, my boy…"

Tada! All finished!

Now, this idea follows this premise:

Kushina, a refugee from the Water Tribes, left her home and was found by Lu Ten in Fire Nation waters. The two grew close and fell in love, eventually marrying and giving birth to Naruto; making him the grandson of General Iroh.

Kushina was not born a Bender, and her red hair made people assume she was a natural-born of the Fire Nation; something she played along with so that she and her son would be able to live in peace. She assumed that Naruto, with his paternal lineage, would become a Firebender; but instead he proved to be a Waterbender.

Fearing what would happen, she told Naruto to never show his abilities and told him to keep them a secret. And he did, with the only other person knowing being Ty Lee; his closest friend and the pairing for this story.

Unfortunately, he was discovered as a Waterbender and the two were forced to flee without a word; leaving behind everyone they loved so that they could get away. Kushina, deciding to return to her roots, found the Southern Tribe and convinced them to let them live with them while keeping their previous life a secret until her death; in which she told Kanna (aka Gran-Gran) everything.

And that's it! Hope you all liked this first chapter, and I hope to get plenty of reviews/feedback on how I did!

Stay safe! Stay healthy! And stay together!

Dreaming of the Future

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