tushanshu_logs | Catch-all for October

Leonardo has, of course, heard of this place from his inter-dimensional twin. Having lived in this world for almost a year, he's even visited it a handful of times when seeking the unique tranquility of an open and empty area. But it's not a place he frequents by any definition of the word; he has his own favorite spots around the Water Sector, and as far as things go, he's always felt that this one belonged to his cousin more than it did to him.

Today, he's here to run through a set of kata undisturbed. A simple change of the accompanying scenery is all that drew him here, and in all honesty, he hadn't really expected to run into anyone at all. So when Korra's boots hit the ground, he instantly breaks form to turn to the newcomer, caught somewhere between surprise and the hair-trigger "fight" response. When he sees who it is, however, he relaxes - mostly. Despite the closeness between her and his counterpart, and even despite the fact that Leonardo has been tutoring Toph in blind martial arts, Leonardo has rarely crossed paths with Korra herself. It's not that he doesn't like her; quite the opposite. He's just...

...it's a bit awkward, really.

Leo smiles sheepishly, and gives a friendly, if polite, bow. "Probably not the Leonardo you had in mind... but it's good to see you again, Korra. It's been a while."

That scar on his shell was definitely the give away which turtle it was, and every the Avatar couldn’t help but wonder if Leo would endure whatever it was that happened to Leonardo. After what happened to Mikey, Korra wasn’t eager to see a newly damaged carapace.

If there was any group of foreigners Korra held respect for, it was the turtles. Returning the bow was natural to her, especially when she saw that she had interrupted his kata.

"Good to see you too." Mike’s Re-Mutation Pizza Party is the last time she caught a glimpse of him, but she and Leo were in conversation back then. In fact, it had been one the rare instances she’d seen them both in the same place.

"Chi Gung?" she asked curiously as she tried to piece the kata to one of the martial arts forms Dinah had been teaching her.

He grins in response to her question, his posture relaxing into something much more natural. He knows Korra is an experienced martial artist, so it's really not all that surprising that she recognized the style, but Chi Gung is a personal favorite of Leonardo's. He's always appreciated it much more than certain other turtles he can name.

"Thought it would go well with the scenery," he says lightly, glancing back out towards the open field. There's a very slight apologetic note to it, too; he didn't mean to intrude on her training spot, if that's what she's here for.

"Well, it does work with Water pretty well; or T’ai Chi Ch’uan." Considering what sector it was, Korra couldn’t help but say that with a smile. "At least, that’s what I’ve learned so far." This spot was one she always associated with Leo, it was secluded enough that it played perfectly into the turtles’ preference for privacy.

Sure, there had been two Tony Starks, two Dick Graysons, two Hal Jordans, and at one point to Michelangeos. But for Korra, two Leonardos was the only one that she was unsure on how to feel about.

"Is it weird?" She asked, voicing the question that came from her line of thinking. It took a moment for her to add "For both of you?"

His brow knits in confusion for only a moment. It doesn't take him long to get what she means by that, and when he figures it out, he gives a slow, thoughtful smile and shakes his head.

"You would think so. Our memories and worlds - nothing matches up like it's supposed to. But it's less like gazing into a mirror and more like..." he hums thoughtfully, then raises a hand to tap the very center of his chest twice. "...hearing it. Right here."

Not exactly the most descriptive of answers, but he's not sure how else to put it. Leonardo and Leo feel each other in their communications rather than speak.

"Wow, that’s quite a connection." Even though she and Aang had shared the soul, the spirit of the world she hadn’t felt that strong of a feeling when they were near each other. Though, if it was another her…

That was something she deliberately avoided thinking about, it didn’t seem like it would go well. But that actually makes it seems acceptable. Being able to understand exactly how another person felt and thought.

"But you guys still had to deal with Shredder, right?" That was something Leo vehemently warned Korra about, in the chance he ever showed up.

His face darkens a bit at that; he glances away, mouth pulling into a thin line. They most certainly did. It's almost comical how many times they had to 'deal' with Shredder, only for him to return in a blaze of glory months later. You'd think decapitation would wrap things up nicely the first time...

"It was a long battle, but we won in the end," he says, looking back at her. He gives a slight, firm nod. "And I know my cousins will, too."

Maybe not without scars; Leonardo's own final confrontation with the Shredder is what left him with the gouge in his shell, and there were scars beyond the physical to deal with, too. But if there's one thing he's certain of, it's that his counterpart's family will one day prevail over that same evil that haunts their lives.

She knew exactly what that look meant, there was a battle she had to endure as well. It's price had almost been the three voids left behind from losing her bending.

"Of course they will, they have the right leader, too." She folded her arm and grinned. "I already promised to help all of you just in case he shows up." While Korra did have a high opinion of her abilities, she also knew that it was important to not face things alone.

Especially when they were scattered brothers from different worlds.

"Since I've never really learned to fight along with you guys, I can only say that I'll just give it my best shot."

It doesn't surprise him that she's offered her help in dealing with Shredder. It leaves him a bit conflicted; the turtles are at war with Shredder, and it's a blood feud that has lasted more than one generation. Having allies willing to fight that war with them is humbling - but if anything should happen to them, the weight of responsibility falls upon the turtles.

Of course, it's nothing he isn't positive his double has already considered. He's the one who really knows Korra, here, and who is Leonardo to doubt his judgment? Korra's offer is very kind, and Leonardo knows that she has the skills to back it up. He has no doubt that if push comes to shove, she'll make good on her promise.

What she says next is a little more surprising - though it makes sense. All of the turtles had over fifteen years to gel as a unit in their respective dimensions, and even in a place like this, their patchwork-quilt family has been learning how to compensate for the missing pieces. Korra and Leo may have sparred and trained together, but doesn't mean they know how to work together.

"Has he ever mentioned anything like that to you?" Curious, Leonardo brings his hand up to his chin and frowns in thought. "Learning, I mean."

So far, Leo had been the only one she had sparred with. Naturally, her and Mike usually devolved to jokes, food, and games. Usually. There was that one wrestling match in Sinbrilee that was awkward at best.

After thinking through that, Korra jutted her lips thoughtfully and completely seemed like she would nod, but instead she just shook her head. Ninjutsu was one of the arts she wasn’t learning from Dinah, and she never even thought to ask her sifu if she knew it.

Even the new Team Avatar had time to train before they started to actively work against Amon, even if it was just pro-bending training. Even with Tarrlok’s task force, Korra knew the three elemental styles they had to use and working in concert with them wasn’t hard thanks to that familiarity. But with a style she didn’t know at all, let alone the variations each of their weapons brought to the table, and that was just them individually.

"Nope. That never really came up." That was something she should have thought of on her own, and yet it never crossed her mind even once. "There’s usually so much going on, I think he’s usually too preoccupied." At least, he always seemed to be thinking of something when she saw him.

"I did want to tell you guys about the dojo I train at." When she’s training with Dinah anyway, the second floor of her suite is set up for all training aside from that. "It’s closed at night, so I could just leave one of the windows unlocked for you guys to use. It’s huge."

Leo nods, shelving the topic for now. He thinks he'll bring it up with his double in one of their future sparring sessions; he's sure the younger Leonardo will appreciate the idea of keeping their friends close in heart and blade both. Ninjutsu might take years to master, but that doesn't mean they can't use their mastery of it to mesh with other styles.

Something to think about, either way.

When she mentions the dojo, his brow shoots straight up. "A whole dojo?" An edge of youthful teenage excitement that Korra might find familiar creeps into his expression, lighting his face up. He quickly checks it - or tries to, at least. "Are you sure? I mean - I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

The only time she had seen Leo be that excited was when he brought her to this very spot, eager to practice their styles against each other. Now, it was apparent that that look must be something that all Leonardo’s shared.

Her smile may have had a hint of mischievousness to it.

"My teacher runs it, she won’t mind. It’s huge, a lot bigger than what I’ve got set up. You can throw someone and they’d hit the ground before a wall." Not that she had done that or anything.

She might have. Maybe.

"You want to see it?"

That sounds quite impressive, considering the setup Korra has in her suite isn't half bad itself. Back home, Leo's family had the entire lower level of an abandoned pumping station to utilize as their training space, but he hasn't been to a real, authentic dojo since his brief stay in Japan.

He returns that smile of hers full force. Gone is the apprehension, in its place the eagerness of a bona-fide teenager that could only be more obvious if he were bouncing up and down. Which he is not. Although we're probably getting there.

"Well... if you insist."

"Well, I did bring it up. The Wood Sector’s a ways off. Feel like some rooftop hops?" Normally she kept off the rooftops at night, fear of another run-in with the Batman, but she wouldn’t be alone. And bother Leonardos were skilled, she knew that if her sparrings with Leo were anything to go off of.

"I’ll try and slow down for you if you need me to." Teasing isn’t something she can help when she knows that there would be fun to be had. It was one of her favorite things to do, Dark Knights notwithstanding.

Rooftop jumping? Now she's speaking his language. Leonardo's smile widens a hair, because he figures that this means his younger self must have already shared with her the art beloved by ninja turtles everywhere. Either that, or rooftop jumping is a thing in her world anyway.

"Whatever you say," he returns jokingly, shoulders lifting in a mock-shrug. He doesn't mind the light teasing at all; he's no stranger to hearing it from his brothers, and in a way, it keeps things familiar for him. He gestures north, towards the general direction of the Wood Sector. "After you."

Definitely a thing learned from Leo. Something she enjoyed, even if she currently couldn’t do it as often.

“And here I was thinking of a little race.” She lamented with a smirk. Breaking into a run, Korra headed north towards the city limits of the Water Sector. Once she reached the first building, she crouched only for a moment and jumped upwards with a large gust of air pushing her to the top.

After her first few jumps, some of them assisted by earthbending the ledges to give her a boost, Korra gave a quick look around to see if Leonardo was keeping pace with her. Last race, Leo had gotten there before her and now she was determined to win this race.

Even if they really didn’t agree to it being a race, that’s just her competitive edge showing.

Her next jump allowed her some better lighting since she used firebending to give her some extra propulsion across a longer jump. They would be in the Wood Sector in no time thanks to simply cutting across the city without having to follow any winding roads or avoid any of the kedan walking below.

Just a straight line.

Catch-all for October

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