withFIREin-hisEyes

When Mako was eight, his parents were killed by a firebending thug right in front of him, leaving Bolin as his only family, and his treasured red scarf as the only memento of his father. He was forced to take on adult responsibilities from that point on, costing him his childhood. He had to often use his firebending to keep him and Bolin protected on the streets.

As an orphan, Mako did whatever he felt he must in order to survive and protect his brother. This attitude brought him in contact with the Triple Threat Triad, for whom he was an accountant of sorts, though he never did anything outright illegal throughout his employment. After a while, the cooperation between the Triple Threats and the two brothers came to an end, and, acknowledging the dangerous nature and moral ambiguity of their past, Mako was determined never to return to that life and explicitly forbade Bolin from associating with the Triple Threats in any way.

Mako and his brother first began competing in the pro-bending tournaments when a former pro-bender, Toza, discovered Mako fighting in the streets. Toza offered the brothers a place to live in the attic of the arena and let them work odd jobs to pay rent, which allowed them to focus on pro-bending. Mako eventually became the captain of their pro-bending team, the Fire Ferrets.