I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra. If I did, I would probably just make hentai.
Her steps echoed hollowly as she walked down the empty corridors, towards the main offices located near the back of the headquarters, the monotonous rhythm of her steps lulling her mind. She had carefully avoided the paths that were connected to most of the squad rooms, not wanting to risk running into any of the other officers, taking the routes that she had long since memorized, their quiet and desolate nature allowing to drop her mask of indifference that she had kept on the off chance that she did bump into anyone.
Now, her neutral expression melted into one of worry and apprehension, the weight that had plagued her mind and body feeling heavier than before. Already, the tendrils of regret were beginning to creep into her mind as she questioned the wisdom of her decision to agree to help that woman. She felt that she had already done so many things wrong; her career as an officer, alienating her mother through her ineptitude, she had failed to even attempt to contact and console those she considered her extended family in their time of sorrow; instead she had been wallowing in her own despair. Although still angry, she hadn't even tried to find the one who would be going through his darkest moment right now, she knew she could not begin to imagine the despair he would be experiencing. Her arm twitched as it had done anytime she had thought of him; she massaged it unconsciously before forcing herself to stop, realizing what she was doing. It was a bad habit, one she knew she had to break before it became permanent.
She felt disgusted with herself, she knew that she had made so many mistakes, she had committed so many errors, and now she had went and put herself in the position to commit another. She knew that had it been any other day, under different circumstances, she would have politely refused that woman, knowing she was already assigned a mission, moving on without a second look back even if she had protested. But no, in a moment of insanity, she had rashly succumbed to the woman's pleading, and now she risked disappointing yet another person. She felt like slamming her head on the walls to punish her stupidity but with her luck even something like that would find a way to go wrong.
She turned around the corner, freezing at the sight that beheld her. She cursed herself silently, her thoughts had distracted her and her feet had ended up taking her to a place she was all too familiar with. Before her, the door to her mother's office lay directly ahead of her, the heavy metal doors a silent guardian a warning to who was its occupant. It was usually a welcome sight for her, she would regularly retreat into it when she needed to blow off steam when someone would make her temper reach its limit, which had happened quite a lot when she was younger. Otherwise, she would often share a meal with Toph within the privacy of the room, their hectic schedules meant that it was one of the few times they could spend some time together, before their respective duties came calling.
Now though, it served as a bleak reminder of one more place that had been cut off from her, one more place that she would not be welcome again. She wondered if all the time she had spent in there, her mother had been silently wishing she would just hurry up and leave, her annoyance at her daughter for taking up her time. The way she had lashed out at her left Lin wondering what else her mother had been hiding from her, what else she thought was true was actually a lie. At least there was one thing going her way after all that had happened for the day: Her mother had not shown up to work, at least for now. She didn't know what she would have done; knowing her mother would have been able to read her like a book given the emotional disarray Lin was going through. Deep down, she felt that Toph would have taken the doubt and confusion that swirled inside her as further proof of her daughter's incompetence and lack of ability. She knew that would be her mother would feel since those were the same thoughts that were running through her own mind.
For a few moments she stood there, staring at the door, her legs unwilling to take a step further, as though to punish her further as her mind assailed her with stinging rebukes. Slowly, she managed to tear herself away, heading left and further past her mother's office, feeling more relieved each step she took that put distance between them. One thing's for sure, I wasn't going to win that staring competition with that door, a small chuckle escaping her at that thought. It felt strange to hear herself laugh, it had been almost hoarse coming out as though she was unaccustomed laughing. She sighed, something she had become used to doing, and continued her walking down the corridor, knowing that her recent past had been taking a toll on her, how much longer it would continue was a question she did not have an answer to.
One final turn and she was on the home stretch to Marae's office, she let out a huff of frustration, feeling as though she had been walking for miles to get there, and her constant forays into her thoughts had made the trip seem far longer than it had been.
She knew why Marae kept her office so isolated from the rest of offices and squad rooms; simply put, she just did not like dealing with people, and had no qualms about openly saying it. While her mother, as Chief of Police, had to deal with her officers on a face to face basis at one point or another, Marae had point blank refused to have anything to do with most of the officers other than the minimum interaction necessary, which had made her appointment as the deputy chief all the more puzzling. Factor in the fact that she was a non-bender and the whispers of nepotism and favouritism had predictably sprung up. Only a visit by the Avatar to address the unease of her appointment had broken the tension, as no officer would think to dare to outright question his decisions, although doubts had remained and lingered long after. During all that had happened, Marae had simply gone about acquainting herself in her new role, never showing a sign that the uproar had affected her in the least. Not that she had ever seen that for herself, she thought wryly; the older woman had always been distant towards her even before she joined the force, and that had not changed over the years. Wish I could borrow her attitude during all….. this, she thought tiredly.
The slamming of the door ahead startled her, abruptly ending the twisted flight of fancy her mind had taken her on. Instinctively, she ducked behind one the supporting pillars in the corridor, its towering presence allowing for her to hide in the murky shadows it had formed. Inwardly she winced; Marae would not be in a pleasant mood after dealing with whoever it was that had come out of her office. Having to deal with another person would mean that she would have to be especially careful about what she would say around the older woman, it was not the first time an officer had been ejected from her office for his poor choice of words and she didn't intend to add her name to that list. Although, with the way this day has been, it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen, the thought bringing a bitter ghost of a smile on her face.
It quickly faded as the footsteps, abnormally loud in the quiet of the corridor approached. Not wanting them to identify her presence, she refrained from using her earthbending to confirm who they were, the low murmurs that reached her straining ears being sufficient to confirm her suspicions that it was not one but two persons that slowly neared her position. She knew it was ridiculous, it was not as though there was a high risk of her being attacked here of all places, the headquarters being one of the safest places currently, but she didn't want to be caught unawares yet again. Slowly inching away from her hiding space, she peered at the couple drawing ever closer to her, her eyes widening slightly as recognition and more than a fair bit of trepidation hit her.
One of them was a face she knew all too well, it belonged to one who had always gleefully sought any excuse to become a thorn in her side. Sena Mitarashi. A short, raven haired woman who even Lin could grudgingly admit (to herself, of course) would be considered a beauty by many. The number of male officers who would surreptitiously direct their admiring gaze at her when she would enter a room, their eyes focusing on her flawless face before travelling downwards to focus on the curvaceous body that lay tantalizingly hidden within the confines of the police uniform, a hidden treasure they were all too eager to explore also seemed to share her sentiments, the thought making her snort in faint derision.
They had first encountered each other during Lin's days in the Police Academy. Lin had attempted to speak to the girl, but had been unceremoniously rebuffed, her eyes coldly raking over Lin's features before abruptly stalking off. Since then she had become one of her fiercest rivals for Lin. Whether it was during physical training, mock drills or even regulation exams, Sena seemed to have made it her top priority to not just beat but humiliate Lin. Coming from a wealthy family, she had the money and plenty of charm to influence a significant number of recruits against her. While they had never dared physically confronting her (the Bei Fong name wielded considerable weight in Republic City, even more so than Sena's family, much to the other girl's chagrin), it had led to Lin being ostracized and alone for a long while, before she had eventually made a few friends.
Fortunately, Lin had managed to ignore (for the most part) the taunts, jeers and rumours that had swirled around and involving her, her goal of graduating was something she considered too great and important to her to risk losing over pummelling the obnoxious woman, although she was severely tempted at times, having to grit her teeth and bite her tongue until they had bled. It did make their sparring matches all the more intense, as both women had seized the rare chance to physically clash with each other, trying to take their frustration, anger and hatred on their opponent's bodies, with their instructors having to step in before the blood shed by the women had gone too far. Their matches had always attracted a sizeable crowd, both recruits and trainers watching on with keen interest as two top recruits had fought. At least I won most of them, Lin thought, a small smile of satisfaction gracing her lips.
They had both graduated the same year, with Lin topping her class and Sena coming in a close second, much to the latter's displeasure, which she had been very vocal about. In the months following her graduation while waiting to become fully integrated into the metalbending force, Lin had heard of the other woman's behaviour as she refused to believe that Lin could have placed ahead of her, even going so far as to lodge a formal complaint against her, alleging bias and favouritism. As expected, nothing of substance came out of it, and Sokka had casually mentioned at a dinner function they had attended once that her father had threatened to disinherit her if she did not stop dragging her family's name in the mud. As he had noted, wiggling his eyebrows at her, oblivious to the looks of consternation being directed at him, apparently her father was smarter than her, or just had more common sense to know it was bad business to trifle with the Bei Fong family. He had leaned in and added with a weariness that came from personal experience that no one wanted to have the Chief of Police showing up at their doorstep to have a 'polite' chat. Lin's own personal explanation was that her family didn't want to hurt her chances of rising up the ranks and having a hand in the police force's operations, before fighting back the snarky thought.
They had been called up at roughly the same time to the regular police force; thankfully, they had been placed on separate teams, something she had always suspected her mother of having a hand in, although she had always denied any involvement. From then on, they had managed to avoid running into each other, consumed in the plethora of tasks and missions usually given to the rookies, until Lin had advanced to the rank of captain. The rumours of favouritism had sprung up once again and while Lin knew that Sena somehow had a hand in it, it seemed the crafty vixen had matured in her tactics, for her attempts at finding the root cause of the rumours had always come up empty handed. Even though she now outranked Sena, she knew the malicious and troublesome nature that existed that lay hidden within the beautiful façade that most had difficulty looking beyond.
While Sena could certainly prove to be a handful, her companion was the one who, though she was loathed to admit it, genuinely unnerved her. Akito Yasau had already been considered a veteran when she had first entered the police force and his reputation had only grown since, although not in the way honest officers would wish. At over six and a half feet, he towered over most of the members of the police force, his dark eyes, usually looking blank or uninterested, was said to hide a ruthless streak within them. He was generally regarded as a silent man who would stand in the middle of a squad room, dwarfing those around him, and would speak only when spoken to, and even then there wasn't a guarantee that he would respond. He reeked of danger, whose path one did not want to cross and instead given a wide berth, whose gaze one avoided for fear that being met with his penetrating start would allow him to pierce their very being, allowing him to leave them feeling exposed.
It was common knowledge that he had been pulled up and reprimanded on several occasions for the missions he had been involved in for using excessive force. There had even been some rumours that his actions had caused the deaths of some of the suspects. Some of the victims of his alleged brutality had seemed afraid to talk, refusing to even meet with any investigators and with good reason too. It had been whispered that he had connections with more than one of the triads and the criminal underworld at large. She knew that his activities had been investigated on more than one occasion, yet nothing of substance could be proved to pin against him.
When Lin had asked her mother about these rumours, Toph had remained uncharacteristically silent, before quietly warning Lin to avoid Akito as much as she could help it. If it was another occasion, if it was another person, Lin might have bristled at the implication that she was weaker or fear someone, but for this man she had, agreed however reluctantly. Even though with her relationship with her mother like dust in the wind now, her advice from the past still rang true. To Lin, he was like a scourge, a black mark against the metalbending force, the reason a section of the populace of Republic City held them with distrust and contempt. And now, she had to cross paths with these two.
Briefly she considered remaining within the shadows until they passed but quickly discarded the notion; they were bound to sense her the closer they got and the remnants of her pride would not allow her to stomach the notion of literally cowering in the corner like a whipped dog. Her mind made up, she stepped out of the shadows and into the corridor, slipping a mask of indifference on her face as she strode down towards them, hoping against a confrontation, a futile endeavour, her pessimistic side told her.
They had been so immersed in their conversation that they had failed to react to her presence until she had closed the gap between them considerably; either that, or they had merely pretended in order to wait for her to approach, a scenario Lin had not discarded, given who she was dealing with. When they did, however, their discussion was abruptly ended as their heads sharply swivelled as they turned to confront the interloper.
Sena's eyes locked with hers, Sena's eyes flashed with a fleeting look of surprise before recognition took its place, swiftly filling with hatred. Even from this distance, Lin could see the slight sneer that seemed so out of place on her flawless alabaster face as she glared at Lin. Akito's face remained impassive as she expected it to be, his eyes seeming to stare in her direction but never directly at her; Lin knew, however, that beneath the façade of studied indifference, he was watching her, studying, observing, analysing her every action. To what extent, Lin did not know and she certainly wasn't eager to find out, suppressing an involuntary shudder that had threatened to rack her body.
She could see them shifting, almost imperceptibly moving into a position to block her path, inwardly she groaned, knowing she would have to at least acknowledge them and not just breeze past them as she had hoped. More importantly were the faint warning bells that had begun to ring in her head, as she realized how fluidly and coordinated they had gotten into position. They've definitely worked together before, or probably still do, she observed, feeling a pang of dismay at the thought.
She stopped a few feet in front of them, choosing to stare at Sena silently, the green eyes of the woman opposite seemingly boring into hers, while the half smirk that had always seemed to be present whenever they had met face to face threatened to be blown into a full one.
A few moments passed without a word being exchanged with Lin holding her ground; she knew that while Sena was crafty, she wasn't what one would call the patient type (neither was she). When it seemed that she wasn't going to move however, Lin stepped forward, intent on simply barging through their little blockade, she saw her lips began to move and so halted herself and remained in position.
"I'm surprised to see you back here Linny," she said, almost quietly, yet the faint note of derision was there.
"That's Captain Beifong to you, officer," Lin shot back, the flat tone causing the other woman to blink seemingly almost in surprise. She probably thought I would just ignore her and walk away like in the Academy, she thought, but not this time and definitely not today.
The satisfaction of catching her long time antagonist off-guard was short lived however, as Sena stepped closer to Lin, almost to the point of brushing against her, although she stopped just short of actually making contact, staring up at Lin scornfully, yet looking somewhat eager that she had replied in such a manner.
"Well I do beg your forgiveness Captain," Sena mocked, sardonically addressing her. "It's just such a rare occasion that the highly esteemed daughter of the Chief of Police would grace us lowly officers with her presence, I was caught by surprise. I do hope you can forgive me", she simpered, a contemptuous smirk belying the words coming out from her.
Now I remember how tiresome this idiot can be. "Just what do you want, Sena?" she asked roughly, already fed up of the other woman's pretences.
Sena straightened up, the smirk vanishing from her face as quickly as it had appeared, instead replaced by a more serious look, which was just as irritating as her smile.
"You had better be careful throwing your weight around like that," she said softly, contradicting the sheer malice contained in her voice. "Most of the officers wouldn't take kindly to that sort of tone from someone like you."
Lin snorted in derision, the action causing Sena to jerk back momentarily. "Someone like me?"
"People are getting tired of having someone who got where they are because of who their family and friends are strut around like they've accomplished something," Sena growled in a low voice. "It would be a shame if something happened to that someone in aaaaallll this turmoil happening."
The faint warning bells increased their tempo and sound, ringing loudly in her ears. She stepped forward, glaring down at this woman, this little worm had the audacity to speak to her like that. All the taunts and jeers she had endured came rushing back to her, her rage growing and festering until it reached a boiling point.
"That sounded like a threat, Officer," Lin spat, the words forcing their way through her gritted teeth, her hands clenching and unclenching, aching to punch this odious insect until her hands would be soaked in her blood, until her lifeless body laid wasted below her, as she smashed her pretty face beyond recognition.
The thought shocked her, almost making her recoil, as the rage receded quickly. When did I become so bloodthirsty, she asked herself, silence her only reply.
Unaware of her inner battle, Sena continued her verbal assault "Maybe people around here think that it's time someone who isn't so biased and nepotistic be in charge around here. And maybe, they will do something about it," she finished, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"I suppose that disqualifies you then, although I'm sure daddy will try his hardest for his precious little daughter to get the job….. bitch," she stated tiredly, the drive to combat Sena already diminished.
It seemed to hit a sore spot with the other woman though, as she lurched upward. She could see her shaking violently, seething with rage before lunging forward, her next words leaving Lin frozen in place.
"At least I know who my father is!" she screamed. Lin saw her aim her clenched fist towards her, she could feel the rage, the bitterness emanating from the earth below them. She could have anticipated the attack, easily blocking the blow….. yet she remained still. She almost welcomed the pain it would bring, embracing the agony it would inflict upon her body, hoping that it would drown out her anguished thoughts and leave her unable to think. She closed her eyes, a smile trembling on the verge of existence upon her cracked lips before fading.
And yet it never came. Cracking open her eyes, she saw Sena's gloved fist encased within the massive hands of Akito. I can't believe I forgot about, came Lin's thoughts, reverberating within the confines of her mind. They continued to glare at each other, before Akito shook his head at Sena, the simple action seemingly draining the raven haired earthbender of her desire to fight. With that Akito brushed past Lin, still having not said a word, his huge strides taken him further away from her quickly.
Sena, for her part, simply straightened her uniform, giving one last glare at Lin. Finding no response, she hurried after Akito, leaving Lin once again alone in the corridors of a place that held no comforts for her.
Well here's chapter ten. This one was sheer frustration to write; I had to fight it every step of the way and it certainly gave no quarter! At least it's finally out of the way. Sorry for taking so long to update, at least now I know never to promise an update when I know there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to keep it.