So this is another response for a prompt from the ficbending community over at LJ. This chapter is mostly set up, so it may seem a bit slow.

Disclaimer: LOK and its characters belong to Bryke. The only things I own are the healer and Toma the servant because I didn't want to keep typing the word 'servant'.

Past Grievances
Chapter 1

No one questioned it when Asami disappeared in a Satomobile for a few hours. It wasn't that no one cared. They knew that she had gone through a lot over the past few months: the trouble with Mako and especially the rift that now separated her from her father.

She never had a particular place in mind, just as long as it was somewhere that didn't remind her of things. There was also the fact that she wouldn't be able to do this as much as she wanted since she would be taking over Future Industries. Even before the threat of Amon occurred, she knew that the company would one day belong to her. No one expected it to be this soon.

It took her ten minutes to get outside city limits. There wasn't any transition. As soon as you passed the "Thank You for Visiting Republic City" sign there wasn't any trace of civilization aside from the paved road to provide easy access for travelers and citizens alike. However, it wouldn't stay like that for long. The city needed more space.

The road ran along the Yue Bay, making for a pleasant drive. As the wind blew her hair, she spotted a remote outlook father down the road. Shifting gear, she sped toward it.

As she got out of the Satomobile, she wondered if other people knew about this place. The view was gorgeous. You could see far out into the bay with the only sounds being the ocean and the ships that dotted the water.

Her peaceful moment was interrupted when she heard a grunt from the bushes. It sounded human. She immediately went into a defensive stance.

"Who's there?" She advanced cautiously, peering over the bush and gasped. "What happened to you?" she asked as she kneeled next to him.

The man had dark hair. He was wearing dark clothes and lying on his stomach. On his back and partially on his left side, there were patches of clothing missing, revealing burns. A wave of nausea hit her, but she forced it down. The skin that wasn't burned was pale. She gently put a hand on his good shoulder, noting that at one point there must have been a shoulder pad.

Faster than she could register, he grabbed her hand. "I don't want your help." He said in a deep voice, staring at her with eyes that were such a light blue that they appeared gray.

"But you need a healer."

"No." The man tried crawling away.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's not what I'm concerned about."

She huffed in annoyance. Was he really going to keep arguing with her? Maybe she had to try a different approach.

"My name is Asami Sato."

The man stopped and looked at her. "Hiroshi's daughter."

"It sounds like you knew him."

"I did."

Numerous questions popped into her head, but those would have to wait.

She stared at him expectantly. "What's your name?"

"Noatak." he replied after a brief silence.

She inched closer to him. "Can you stand?"

"I don't want to go anywhere public."

She was surprised at how quickly his attitude changed. "Are you worried about people seeing your injuries?" He didn't answer. "You can stay in my mansion then."

When she offered her hand, he shrugged it off and managed to stand by himself. Yet, he wasn't able to go very far before he stumbled. She darted to his right side for support. He grudgingly put his arm around her shoulder.

She opened the passenger side of her Satomobile and helped him in so that he was lying against the seat on his good side.

"How long were you lying there?" she asked as she turned the ignition on.

"About a day."

They were on the road and she made sure to drive slowly. Periodically, she would glance at his back out of the corner of her eye. Her thoughts kept switching between trying to piece together his identity and wondering whether or not he was going to live. She didn't really have any form of medical knowledge, but even she could tell that his wounds were serious.

As she pulled up to the front of the mansion, an older male servant came out. "Miss Sato?" The man was puzzled at the sight of his employer carrying a wounded man up the stairs.

"Toma, please call for a healer." she said.

"Right away." He quickly went to use the phone.

A bell was rung, causing a small group of servants to appear in the main foyer. Gasps and muttering were heard.

"Miss Sato?"

"It's a long story."

"Let us help you, Miss Sato."

"I'm fine. Please make proper preparations in one of the guest rooms." It was evident that many of them were relieved at the excuse to leave.

"Miss Sato, where did you find him?" Toma inquired as he entered the foyer and walked with them to the guest room.

"Outside of town."

"I don't mean to be rude, but why didn't you take him to a healer directly?"

"He wouldn't let me help him otherwise. I'm sorry to have to put you through this."

"There's no need to apologize Miss Sato. I'm just concerned for you." He opened the guest room door. "I'll go wait for the healer."

Asami helped Noatak lay down on the bed. Like the rest of the Sato household, no expense was spared furnishing the room. This room was a calming blue with some silver trimming. Besides a bed and nightstand, there was also a chair with a lamp next to it on a table. Also on the table was a radio. The servants had taken care to replace the usual bedding with a lower quality set.

She stood by the bed. "For a while there I thought you had passed out."

"Miss Sato, the healer has arrived." Toma announced from the doorway. He gestured to an older woman.

"Thank you Toma." Noatak glanced wearily at the healer. "There's no need to worry. I hired one of the best healers in the city."

She left the room, shutting the door behind her. Crossing her arms, she went to the room across the hall to wait.

It hadn't occurred to her before, but she felt that if the press found out about her guest, it would bring more scrutiny upon the Sato name. She remembered how the press had bombarded her with questions about her part in taking down the Equalists. "It had to be done." was all that she had given to them.

She didn't realize that she was crying until she felt the dampness on her lap. Quickly drying her tears, she went over to a mirror to see if her appearance was still intact.

"Miss Sato? I've finished with the patient."

She turned and faced the healer. "How is he doing?"

"I was told that you had found him outside of the city." Asami nodded. "Has he told you what happened?"

"No. I'm sure you saw that he's not very talkative."

"Whatever happened to him, it's a miracle that he's even alive."

"What do you mean?"

"I've treated many burn victims, but this Noatak has the worst burns I've ever seen. However, he'll survive, but he'll need multiple healing treatments. I expect you'll be seeing me for the next few days." She handed her a small bag "In this bag are ointments. They'll help with the pain."

"Thank you."

"Good day, Miss Sato." She went into the hallway where Toma was waiting and followed him out.

With the bag in hand, Asami went across the hall to Noatak's room and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"You may."

She opened the door. His clothes had been stripped and now a thin sheet covered him so that he wouldn't be completely naked. Bandages had been applied to his injuries to help with the healing.

"The healer gave me ointment to help with the pain." She placed the bag on the small table.

"Why did you help me?"

Why was he asking that now? "Because you were hurt." He gave her a piercing look. "Do you think I had some hidden motive?"

"I find it hard to believe that someone would be so… good natured."

"Helping people should come naturally, but I understand that not everyone is like that."

"Certainly not."

"Anyway, you'll be staying here for a while, so I'll get some things to keep you occupied. I'll arrange for new clothes for you once your wounds have healed."

"…Thank you." The words came out awkwardly.

She smiled at him. "You're welcome."

I apologize if I made Asami slightly OOC as this is my first time writing her and I also wanted to try to do some introspection with her character after the season finale.

Thanks for reading!