"For someone who claims to be a pro-bending fan, Korra doesn't seem to have the rules quite figured out..."
They were in the match leading up to the championship. Hasook hadn't shown up, and Korra had taken the waterbender's place—but her performance left much to be desired.
Well, to be fair, she had probably only ever listened to pro-bending matches on the radio and had never found people to actually play with. She hadn't seen many matches in person since arriving in the city either. Still, somehow, they managed to secure a spot.
One week—that was how long Mako and Bolin had to come up with the thirty thousand yuans needed for the championship entry fee, which would take place in two weeks. Even as the owner of the Arena, Jin couldn't waive the payment without being unfair to the other teams.
…
"So, mind explaining why you're sleeping in the park?"
The question was pure theater. Jin already knew Bolin had been captured by the Equalists and that Korra and Mako had been searching all night.
Why hadn't he stepped in?
On one hand, it was a chance for Korra to gain experience fighting chi-blockers—she was still far too green in real combat. On the other hand, aside from missing a meal or two, Bolin would be perfectly fine during Amon's "Great Revelation," which would take place that very night.
He already knew where it was happening; he could get Bolin out anytime he wanted.
"Jin!" Korra jumped up from the grass, waking abruptly with a blade of it stuck to her cheek. "Hey, can you use your earth sense to locate Bolin? Those Equalists took him last night!"
"Please, help me find my brother," Mako added, bowing deeply. Family outweighed pride, and if Korra thought Jin could help, he wouldn't hesitate.
Jin raised an eyebrow. That wasn't the approach he expected from Korra.
"Sure, I know where he is."
"Seriously?" both said at once.
Korra looked relieved; Mako looked shocked.
Just how sharp was this guy's perception?
Jin walked to a bus stop, raised a finger, and pointed at the map posted there. They could've noticed themselves that behind the flyers, there was a four-piece puzzle of the city map with the meeting point clearly marked.
"Tonight, Amon's hosting an event. Most likely, Bolin's going to be a… 'participant' in that event," Jin explained.
"How do you know that?" Mako immediately asked, suspicion in his tone—but Korra silenced him with a smack to the back of the head.
"Hey! What was that for?!"
"You have no idea," Korra muttered, realizing that Mako didn't really know who Jin was—not completely, at least. "If he says Bolin's there, then he's there. No doubt about it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Ah, I'll tell you later," Korra brushed him off and turned to Jin. "Would you come with us to rescue Bolin?"
Perfect—he now had a legitimate excuse to be there.
…
"Amon sure knows how to put on a show."
Watching as Amon used bloodbending to nullify a firebender's power, Jin quickly confirmed that the method wasn't as flawless as it seemed. With his own ability, he could easily undo it if he wanted to.
Not that he would, at least not for a criminal. Those people were better off as nonbenders.
But for metalbenders like the ones who worked for Lin—those, he would help.
"Maybe I should pay Jargala Omo a visit soon," he thought absently as the waterbender became the next to lose his bending. "Taking the Climbing Crystals and turning them into subordinates would be useful."
Once Korra and Mako finished hashing out their steam-powered plan to rescue Bolin and escape, Jin acted symbolically—knocking out a few Equalists with earthbending so subtly that no one noticed. They probably assumed the Avatar had done it.
"Mmm, what was next again?" Jin scratched his head as he left the rally on foot. "Oh right, Tarrlok's so-called special task force against Amon. Lin won't be happy about that. I should let her know. Ah, and Korra's bound to have some nightmares—I should probably talk to her too."
…
Yeah, things hadn't gone as he'd hoped. After hearing everything, Lin was not pleased that Jin hadn't just captured Amon and his followers on the spot—because she knew full well he was more than capable of doing it.
"I'm not going to turn Amon into a martyr. That would be worse," Jin told his niece calmly.
For the movement to collapse on its own, people needed to learn the truth—that Amon was a bender himself, the very kind of person they claimed to be fighting against.
In the end, Jin had to placate her by giving up the locations of several of the Equalists' secret training facilities in the city—but not all of them. Tarrlok still needed to believe everything was under control.
As for Korra…
After organizing and completing her first proper earthbending improvement session (which left her covered in bruises and self-healing), Jin brought over some drinks and snacks, sitting beside her.
"Are you afraid of Amon?" he asked bluntly, taking a glass. "Afraid of his ability to take bending away?" He took a sip.
"What? Pfff, no, not at all, I just—"
"Korra, do I need to remind you that you can't lie to me?" he said, pointing at his bare feet for emphasis. "Come on, fear's natural—but letting it dig into your heart is bad. Talking about it helps, and trust me, I'm an excellent listener."
Korra stayed silent as she finished healing herself, and Jin didn't rush her.
That was why he'd brought drinks and snacks, after all.
"That ability of yours is completely unfair," Korra muttered after finishing her healing and downing a full glass in one go. "Maybe—and this is purely theoretical—seeing Amon take people's bending away affected me… a little. I mean, I'm the Avatar! If I lose my strongest trait, what's left of me?" she practically shouted the last part.
"Theoretically? You'd still be Korra, the girl from the Southern Water Tribe," Jin said, taking another sip.
Korra stared at him wordlessly.
"Come on, don't tell me they never trained you to fight without relying on bending?" Jin teased. "Or taught you how to deal with chi-blockers?"
Korra's silence was deafening.
"Well then, let me just say the White Lotus has done a terrible job training you," Jin growled, setting down his glass. "They've isolated you socially, you barely have friends your age, some of your teachers are laughable—especially the one who taught you earthbending—and they focused way too much on just one side of who you are."
How do they not feel ashamed calling themselves an elite secret order?!
"You think you could've done better?" Korra still felt compelled to defend the White Lotus a bit—they had trained, protected, and funded her, after all.
"Yes—and by a colossal margin!" Jin didn't hesitate for a second. "They're stuck in the past, full of mystery and wisdom, but they don't lift a finger—or when they do, they mess it up. Like during the war: they reclaimed one city on the day of the comet and acted like they'd saved half the world. They didn't move a finger for a hundred years! You know, Asami could teach you some self-defense without bending. Seriously, it's something you should look into."
"I don't know," Korra hugged her knees. "I still have to train for airbending, and I've been making progress. I've got to improve my earthbending—thanks for that, by the way—then I have to teach Asami waterbending, and there's practice with the Fire Ferrets," she counted on her fingers. "There's no time! And now Tarrlok wants me to join his special task force to capture Amon…"
"Really?" Jin pretended not to know.
"Yes, he's such a pain! He keeps sending me gifts!" Korra pulled a brown envelope from her clothes. "Look, he even organized a dance tonight in my honor without telling me!" She only realized what she'd said after the words left her mouth. "Sorry! I didn't mean—"
She always forgot Jin was blind.
"Relax," Jin said, not offended in the least. With a flick of his hand, the invitation flew back to Korra via inkbending. "You planning to go?"
"Well, it'd look bad in front of the city if I didn't…"
"Mmm, I see."
…Was that another one of his jokes? Korra wasn't sure.
"Relax, you're way too tense. I was trying to distract you," Jin chuckled, fully aware of his own dry humor. "But I do think it's a great opportunity to test you," he said, waving the invitation in front of her. "Pop quiz on politics: why do you think Tarrlok invited you to such an event?"
"I don't know, I guess he wants to try recruiting me again."
"Mmm, I'll give you a three out of ten for that answer."
"What?! Why?!" Korra clutched her head at the poor grade.
Ugh, how she hated tests!