Chapter 1
Do I know you?
Wave after wave thrust Asami below the thrashing surface of the water. Her limbs were weak and her determination to survive was fading, but once again she found her head breaking the surface of the crazed water. Another wave crashed on top of her and water filled her aching lungs. She spluttered to the surface once again choking against the water.
"Help! Please, someone help!" she cried into the void of endless sea. The only response was a booming clap of thunder accompanied by a blinding flash of lightning. As soon as the bolt finished its route to the earth the young woman was plunged into the darkness once more. Asami rubbed her face to get the water off of it. She cried out for help again. Water filled her mouth with each breath. Another wave struck her and she sank further down into the depths of the ocean. She struggled to find the surface. Her lungs burned with each passing second of being devoid of fresh air. The darkened depths glowed momentarily as another strike of lighting lit up the night sky. She swam towards the surface. When her head was finally free from the waters grasps she gasped for air and blinked the stinging water from her eyes.
Swiveling frantically around in the sea she looked for something, anything that would help in her survival. As she turned something in her peripherals caught her eye. It was a woman standing perfectly still on the surface of the water. The waves were calm around her, the sky perfectly blue. Asami swam closer. Comfort, kindness, and safety radiated off of the strange woman. The closer she got to the woman Asami was able to see just how startling blue her eyes were. The only thing she could think of that was even close to being able to describe the color was the light blue of an iceberg. They were simply mesmerizing and trained perfectly on Asami.
The exhausted woman screamed for help once more. The woman's eyes bored down on her and she extended an arm to Asami palm facing up. Asami reached out, but something cool wrapped its way around her legs. Asami began to panic and thrashed in the water. She fell below the surface and another wave passed by her. She looked at her feet and discover large metal chains wrapped around her ankles. She kicked to the top but nothing was stopping the chains from pulling her down further and further. The mysterious woman was visible still and Asami reached out to her. Pleading for her help.
"Asami." A voice echoed throughout the stormy air. The one word buried itself deep in Asami. It felt like she had been hit by lighting. With another panicked throw of her arm, the drowning woman's arm caught on something solid. She pulled it down with her.
The sheets ripped off of her face and light blasted into Asami's vision. She bolted up gasping for breath. She clutched at the offending article of clothing which although fairly loose seemed to be suffocating her. Relaxing her grip on her shirt she tried to slow her breathing. Light delicately filtered into her room brightening up the rather dark space. Sunrays reflected brilliantly off of the trophies, medallions, and ribbons that adorned her walls. But most importantly it lit up the family picture sitting on her dresser. A slightly portly man with a large mustache and golden spectacles beamed proudly at the camera. His hand gripped the shoulder of the woman's next to him. She was stunning. A pile of obsidian hair was neatly pulled back into a bun on the top of her head, long tendrils pooled down the side of her face. Her piercing green eyes conveyed nothing but happiness. And sitting on her lap was a small girl, who donned a red ribbon in her jet black hair. Her eyes so green they rivaled peridot crystals.
A loud knock on her bedroom door caused the Asami to practically jump out of her skin.
"Ms. Sato. Is everything alright? I heard some yelling."
"Yes, Lee. Everything is alright. Thank you."
There was a pause before her butler continued, "Very good, ma'am. Your father has requested that you meet him in the kitchen as soon as you are ready."
"Thank you Lee. Will you tell him I'll be down shortly?"
"Yes, Madame." Her butler's soft soled shoes scuffled away from the door, alerting Asami that she was once again alone.
She took a few more steadying breaths before she swung her legs to the edge of her bed. Hissing as soon as her feet touched the cold wooden floor she quickly tiptoed to her closet to pull out an outfit. She went for her generic black and red leather Future Industries jacket, with a black t-shirt, and black pants. She rushed to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and hair. She put on her signature purple eyeshadow and crimson lipstick and smacked her lips a few times in the mirror, before she got dressed.
As she began to head down the stairs she couldn't help but remember the strange dream she had. Who was that mysterious woman and why in the world was she in her dream? In fact, the woman had been the focal point for her last couple of dreams. Pushing the thoughts from her head she entered the kitchen,
"Hi daddy! How are you this morning?"
"Ah sweetheart, good your up." He drew his eyes away from the newspaper and set it down on the table, "I'm sorry I can't stay and chat, it's going to be a busy day in the office. I just wanted to remind you of the meeting today at two. There are going to be some pretty important investors there and I really want you there to pitch your inventions to them. Spirits know you can describe what those machines do better than I can."
Asami smiled, "Of course I would never forget the meeting." Hiroshi stood and planted a kiss on the top of his daughter's head.
"Excellent. Then I will see you at work." He smiled one last time and headed for the door.
She looked at the clock on the wall. Perfect. She had a couple of hours to spare before she needed to head into work. Asami quickly poured herself some cereal and ate it even faster.
Grabbing her car keys from the bowl near the garage door she practically jogged to her car. Asami was the head engineer at her father's company and because of that she prided herself in every project she undertook. But her pride and joy was her 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2. She poured her soul into every inch of that car and it came out as a work of art. She popped the door open and stepped into the perfectly manicured interior. The black leather seats with red stitching formed perfectly as she sat down. She plugged the keys into the ignition and the 302 engine purred to life. Asami shifted the car into gear and absolutely gunned it out of the garage. Smoke poured off of her tires as she raced out. She ripped down the street maneuvering through traffic until she came into the city limits. Heads turned as she cruised down the street. The sunlight glinted perfectly off of the pitch black paint. The five spoke chrome wheels glinted so brightly that they were practically blinding the pedestrians on the sidewalks.
Miraculously a spot opened up right as she drove by and Asami pulled in. She hopped out of the car and headed towards the bookstore. A bell jingled as the door open. Fresh parchment and a light scent of mildew filled the engineer's nose. She hummed in delight as she began to peruse the shelves. A book caught her eye and she picked it up. A creature of habit, Asami normally bought engineering books but on the rare occasion she enjoyed a good trashy romantic novel.
"The Notebook?" she said aloud.
"Can I help you with anything." A voice sounded from nowhere.
The heiress startled with a quiet yelp and turned to look at the woman next to her. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she had a small beauty mark under her right eye.
"Oh, I'm just looking, is all. Is this one any good?" she held the book out for the employee to see.
"Well yea. And you should know you've bought like a hundred copies." She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, "I see you come in here every day and you buy a new copy of the same book every time. I mean I've only worked here like a week, but still you're our best custo-" the woman's sentence with an audible 'oof'. Asami tuned to see the owner of the bookstore, her arms still stretched out from shoving her employee away from the black haired beauty.
"Thank you, Kuvira. That will be all. Can you please go restock some shelves near the back?"
Kuvira sent the owner a dirty glare before she stomped towards the back grumbling under her breath. "I will speak to you later about this." She called after a very disgruntled Kuvira.
"That was weird. You should really do back ground checks on your employees Opal. That one seemed rather… crazy." Asami chuckled, waving her finger in a circular motion by her head to get the point across. Opal's face turned bright red and she laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Heh. Yea, Kuvira's quite the character." She paused briefly before changing the subject, "So how are you Asami?"
"Well much better that I was able to come into the store. I haven't been here in ages and I've missed hanging out with my best friend." She playfully punched Opal shoulder. Tears began to well into the younger woman's opal colored eyes as she rushed forward gripping, a rather shocked, Asami into a tight hug. The engineer would have hugged her back if her arms weren't being crushed to her sides. When Opal released her, Asami gave the book keeper a questioning glance, "Is everything alright, Ope?"
"Yea... yea, everything is fine." She gave her a weak smile as she wiped her nose on the back of her hand.
"Opal Beifong, I've known you since we were six years old. I can tell when something is bothering my best friend."
Opal chuckled lightly, "It's nothing really. I'm just really glad that you're here. I'm really glad that you are okay. I've missed my best friend."
Asami pouted her lips as tears began to form in her eyes, "Well look at what you've done. You got me crying now." She stated trying her best to sound scornful, but failing miserably as she started laughing immediately after. She pulled Opal into a hug, "I'll try and stop by more often Opal. I just haven't been able to lately with how crazy work has been. I've got a meeting today and I'm pitching my idea for that new engine I designed. I think I mentioned it the last time we talked."
Opal smiled sadly, "That's really great, Asami. I'm sure they'll love it."
The heiress flashed her a grin before turning back to the book, "So is this a good one?"
"It's just the best. It sells so quickly I can hardly keep it on my shelves." She giggled causing her short black bob hair cut to dance around her face.
"Well great. I'll get this one then. We should get coffee sometime this week to catch up? Does Friday work for you?"
"I would really like that. And Friday works perfectly." Opal said as she turned around to walk to the register. Asami couldn't be sure but she could have sworn she saw tears form in her friend's eyes once again.
The bell signaled Asami's departure from the store. As she was leaving she could hear the distinct voice of Opal yelling at Kuvira. She tried to shield her eyes from the sun's bright rays as she headed back to her car. But her eyes were adjusting strangely slowly causing her to not see the woman coming her way. They collided in a flurry of flailing limbs as both crashed towards the concrete. Before she could rationalize what just happened Asami was being picked up by a pair of very toned, tan arms.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you walking there. Are you alright?"
Asami looked up from dusting herself off to gaze into a pair of very recognizable crystal blue eyes. Her jaw slackened as she stared at the woman before her. She looked so familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on where she had seen her before. Short brown hair framed the face of the stunning woman standing before her. Her crystal gaze filled with concern as she stared at Asami.
Breaking from her trance Asami finally responded, "Yea. I- uh, uh- I'm fine." She smiled warmly at the woman. Relief rushed over the stranger's face. The tanned woman looked down at the ground, her eyes widened in despair.
"You're book. I've completely ruined it. I'm so sorry!" She bent down and picked up the pages that had fallen out of the now ruined binding.
"Oh. That's alright. I'll just go buy a new book. It's really not that big of a deal." Asami stated.
"Please. I feel awful. Let me make it up to you. Can I buy you a coffee or something? I mean there is a shop right over there." She pointed to a quaint shop three doors down.
Asami shook her sleeve away from her watch and checked the time. She didn't have long, but she did have time to kill. Why not? "Sure. I've got time." She smiled and looked up. The younger woman was positively beaming at Asami's response. She extended her arm and Asami gripped her hand. It was surprisingly warm. The grip not too tight, but not too loose. It was just right and it felt perfect in Asami's own hand.
"I'm Korra, by the way."
"Asami." The engineer was pulled into a trance once again; completely captivated by the woman standing before her. When she realized she had been shaking her hand for far longer than deemed the norm Asami blushed and pulled her hand away. Korra threw a thumb over her shoulder, smiling once again,
"Come on lets go."
Korra led them to a table near the back, "I come here a lot so I know the best things on the menu. The chi tea latte combined with the coffee cake is absolutely to die for." She finished flashing a lopsided grin.
Asami chuckled lightly, "Alright. I'll trust you on this one." She stood to go place her order, but Korra held her hand up,
"Please. Let me get this. Consider it a payment for the book." A bashful smile fell upon her face, her cheeks turning slightly rosy. The corners of Asami's lips pulled up into a small smile as she nodded her permission. Korra was gone in a flash, hurrying towards the counter to order their drinks.
The young heiress barely had a moment to think before the tanned woman was back in a flurry of rushed limbs. She practically fell over when she sat down, placing two steaming cups of tea on the table. She cleared her throat softly while she composed herself, tucking her hair behind one of her ears. But the rogue strand just bounced back into her face. Asami studied her curiously. Who was this woman and why did she look so familiar?
"So tell me about yourself?" Korra asked genuinely.
"Well where to begin," Asami tittered, "hmm, might as well start out with the big guns." She smiled at the confused expression of the woman sitting across from her, "I'm the lead engineer at Future Industries. My father is the owner, so I guess that makes me the heiress of the company. I love all things mechanical. My pride and joy is Raven, my '65 Ford Mustang fastback-"
"Ah so that beaut sitting out there is yours?" Korra nodded towards the window.
Asami picked up her mug and took a small sip before answering. She set the mug down smacked her lips- very satisfied with Korra's drink choice- and nodded in answer to Korra's question.
"Man. What I wouldn't give to have a car like that." Korra chortled. She shot the engineer another one of her endearing smiles and waved for her to continue.
"Well… I love reading engineering books, but you can probably tell from my book choice for today, I'm a sap for a good trashy romance novel."
"I'm gonna be honest, I did not see that one coming."
Asami smiled gently, "Not many people do. But I guess to finish off this round of speed get to know the stranger I'll say I enjoy sunsets and long walks on the beach." This caused the younger woman to let out a loud chuckle. A couple heads turned towards the sound. But Asami didn't mind at all. It was the most musical sound she had heard in a long time and she was determined to make the woman laugh more, just to hear the music again. "Your turn."
"Hmm well I own and run a non-profit dog shelter. It's called White Lotus Acres. We take in abandoned, surrendered, and stray dogs that are not wanted anymore or deemed unadoptable because of a health or behavior issue and we rehabilitate them. It's our goal to find a forever home for every one of the animals we have." She finished with a wide smile, clearly proud of the work her group did.
"Wow… that's very admirable."
"Thank you. It was really rough in the beginning, but I'm proud with how far we've come." She paused briefly, scrunching her face up in thought, "Let's see here... Oh! I have an adorable dog named Naga. I rescued her from her previous home. It was a very abusive situation and we weren't sure if we were going to be able to help her. She was so aggressive." Her smile turned down slightly, "But with hard work Naga has become the best dog I have ever had. She wouldn't hurt a fly now."
"I would love to meet her sometime." Asami began picking up her mug.
Korra flashed her another lopsided grin and then it hit Asami. She knew exactly where she had known this woman from.
"Oh my spirits." She put the mug down.
"What? Is something wrong? Is there something on my face?" The dog lover asked, slightly panicked.
"I knew, I knew you from somewhere. I knew you looked familiar." A tan hand shot out and placed itself on Asami's arm, squeezing it slightly. Tears brimmed in the eyes of the woman sitting before the heiress.
"I looked familiar?" She asked, sniffling slightly, "Where have you seen me before?"
The question struck Asami as odd momentarily, but her words bolted out of her mouth without a second thought, "You were in my dreams."
All color drained from her face. She slapped a hand on her mouth, "I can believe I just said that aloud." She mumbled underneath her smothering hand. The younger woman's eyes fell slightly and she retracted her hand from Asami's arm. Immediately, the engineer missed the loss of the warmth that radiated from Korra's hand. But the look of sadness was gone in mere seconds, quickly replaced by her signature lopsided smile. It didn't reach her eyes.
"You dreamt about me?"
"I'm so sorry. That sounded so creepy."
Korra laughed gently, "No it's alright. I don't mind. It makes for interesting conversation."
Asami smiled wistfully, "I suppose it does."
The woman stared at each other. Silence cut the tension where words would have failed. Each lost themselves in the color of the other woman's eyes. Sapphire and peridot swirled together in a seamless dance. Cerulean pools bore into the depths of the emeralds willing them to understand the emotions she felt. The ones that she couldn't put into words. The ones that words simply failed to describe. Words that were not enough.
A gentle ringing broke the ethereal dance between their gazes.
"I'm sorry," Asami began, "that's my phone." She jostled around in her purse, looking for the offending item. By the time she managed to pull it out of the bottomless pit that was her purse the phone had stopped ringing. Asami tapped the home button and the time lit up.
"Oh my spirits! I'm late! I'm so late!" she stood up quickly, almost knocking over her tea as she went. She was about to run out of the door before she remembered Korra. The woman was sitting there calmly, looking up at the fluster heiress with a look of complete adoration on her face. "Korra, I'm so sorry that I have to leave like this. But I really have to go. I have an exceedingly important meeting today."
"Its fine, Asami. I understand." She held out her hand again, "It was absolute pleasure running into you."
Asami giggled, "Quite literally. And the honor was all mine Korra. We should, maybe, if you wanted to of course, grab another cup of coffee. And I promise I won't rush out on you like this next time." She finished quickly.
"I would love nothing more." Tears filled her eyes once again, "But shoo," she smiled, "You've got an important sales pitch to get to that you cannot miss. I know you've been designing that engine for months!" Asami smiled and gripped her hand one last time before she sped for the door. "Wait a minute," she stopped dead in her tracks, turning around to look at the table, "I never told you about what my meeting was about today." But the tanned woman was gone, leaving Asami alone to forever wonder, who was that mystery girl?
The elevator hummed gently as it raced the raven haired woman to the 65th floor of Future Industries tower. Asami sprinted out of the door and practically ran straight into her father, who was pacing in the lobby.
"Asami! Thank the spirits you are alright!" He rushed over and pulled her into an excruciatingly tight hug, "Honey where have you been? I've been so worried! Are you alright? Did something happen?"
Asami pulled back slightly and placed her hands on his shoulders, "I'm fine dad I just got caught up talking with a… friend. But I am so sorry I'm late for the meeting. Are the investors still here? I haven't missed the meeting completely have I?"
The CEO let out a sigh of relief, "Mr. Tanaka came down with the flu and wasn't able to make the meeting. I'm just glad you are alright."
Raven hair fell and covered her face as she looked down in defeat. A saddened sigh escaped her.
"I know you were really looking forward to the meeting, honey. We already have it rescheduled for next week. It'll happen, I promise." Asami looked up, she was about to speak when Jinora, her father's secretary, daughter to Mayor Tenzin, and close friend of Asami's walked into the room.
Asami smiled at her, "Hey, Jinora. How are you?"
"I'm great Asami! How are you?"
"I've been better." She smiled sadly. Jinora was about to respond when Hiroshi's gently throat clearing reminded her why she came,
"Oh. My apologies, Mr. Sato. You have a phone call on line three."
Hiroshi's eyebrows creased for a moment before he sighed, "Yes, I'll be right there. Thank you." He looked back to Asami and patted her cheek gently, "It'll work out."
Asami watched him return to his office. Jinora spoke up, "Anything you want to talk about?"
"Oh. It's nothing really. Just kind of a frustrating day."
Jinora nodded in silent agreement, "Well, I should probably get back to work. If you need anything you know where I am." She said with a smile.
Asami grinned at her, "See you later, Jinora."
The heiress started her walk to her own office. Her father's booming voice, which he was desperately trying to keep at a whisper, caused her to pause by his door,
"I just don't want you to get your hopes up. You know better than anyone that I want things to go back to how they were, but the likely hood is slim. Just… I don't know." He was silent for some time, obviously listening to whoever else was on the other line.
"Alright, meet me at six. Thank you for calling me. I'll talk to you later."
The phone clicked down on the receiver and heavy footsteps started coming to the door. Asami rushed away from his door and headed to her office to continue working on her other designs.
Hiroshi stormed into his office. When he was talking with his daughter nothing irked him more than someone calling him. He sat down roughly at his large mahogany desk and lifted up the receiver.
"Hello. This is Hiroshi Sato speaking."
"Hello, Mr. Sato. How are you doing today?"
"Ah Korra. I am doing well. But something is telling me you are behind my daughter's tardiness today."
"Mr. Sato, I am telling you she remembered me for real this time today. We were sitting in the coffee shop and she literally told me I looked familiar. And when I asked her how she knew me she said she had dreams about me. Dreams! As in the plural! What else can that mean? She's remembering!"
Hiroshi let out a sigh. He received many calls like this one. If nothing else it was the girl's tenacity that the suave business man admired.
"I just don't want you to get your hopes up. You know better than anyone that I want things to go back to how they were, but the likely hood is slim. Just… I don't know." The line was silent for some time.
"I know. It's just… I wanted you to know. If there was any chance… any chance at all, I wanted you to know to look for the signs. I just had a really good feeling about today. Maybe I could come over and we could talk about it some. I know she is probably going to be working late tonight so I could swing by when she isn't there."
"Alright, meet me at six. Thank you for calling me. I'll talk to you later."
Author's note:
Hello everyone! This is my first modern AU so I hope you guys like it. I've been having a blast writing it thus far. I don't know if you guys have figured out yet what is going on, but comment if you think you know! As always comments and critiques are always appreciated. I hope you guys like this one. I think it will become less ambiguous as time goes on