The Legend of Korra is owned by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.
Four Years Ago
I finished out my high school career without much fanfare. I signed with BSSU, played soccer, received decent marks, and of course kept emailing Asami. Incidentally, her company had begun to recover once she contracted with the Southern Water Tribe.
I spent the summer hanging with my friends and training on my own. People tried to help—Ikki and Meelo played soccer with me, Bolin did workouts with me once or twice, and Asami offered to run with me, though she always ended up cancelling because she was so busy—but for obvious reasons I was better off on my own. Jinora and Tenzin did meditate with me every morning, which was terribly boring, but I supposed it would come in handy when I was a nervous wreck before games.
I had to move into my dorm mid-July to train with the BSSU women's team. Like the whole world apart from Republic City High, they played soccer in the fall and we had a few friendly matches scheduled before the school year started. Kuvira, another girl on the team, and I also would be traveling with the U-19 women's national team to play in the world championships, albeit on different teams.
The beginning of July came and I still had none of the belongings I needed for school. Pema had been reminding me for weeks that we needed to go shopping, but I kept putting it off. If I didn't think about leaving, I wouldn't have to. That was my thought process until I realized I only had a week before I had to be at school.
…
From: Korra (avatarkorra )
To: Asami Sato (asamisato )
7/5
Subject: ARRGGGGGHHHH!
Asami!
I leave for school in a week! Pema made me go shopping today and now I have so much stuff! I have bedding, hygiene supplies, a hamper, pillows, a laptop, and a bunch of new clothes! She even bought me a small TV and DVD player. This is more stuff than I've had in my whole life! It's so strange! I don't like this! I'm going to miss having a friends and family. I loved having little brothers and sisters and friends. I mean, I guess I'll make new friends, but that's scary to think about too. Were you nervous before you left for ZU?
I'm glad your company has been doing so well. My dad loves the new snowmobile you sent him. He sent me a picture of it and it looks so awesome! I'm going to ride it when I go to visit over winter break.
How are things with Iroh? Do you still think you're going to marry him? I know he's deployed a lot, but have you ever considered moving in with him?
Smile!
Korra
…
To: Korra (avatarkorra )
From: Asami Sato (asamisato )
7/7
Subject: calm down!
Korra,
It's going to be okay. I know going to college is scary (I was terrified), but it will be okay. Truthfully, it might suck for a while, but you'll get used to it fairly quickly. It helps that you've moved around a lot. I can imagine how hard it will be to leave Pema and Tenzin's, but you should stop referring to everything in the past tense. You will still have little brothers and sisters. You won't stop being their older sister just because you're going to college. Pema and Tenzin talked to you about this. Remember? They still want you to be a part of their family. If you need proof, Pema bought you a TV. There was no obligation for her to do that. She did it because she loves you. Accept it, kid.
That's great! I'm so glad your dad loves the snowmobile. I didn't really know what I was doing, so I'm relieved it turned out well. Honestly, I've never seen more than a couple of inches of snow, so I wasn't sure about the mechanics of a vehicle that drives on snow.
Iroh…yes. I still think I'm going to marry him. We've only talked about it in abstract terms, but we both have the intention of marrying one another in the future. We'd like to wait until my company is more stable and until Iroh has been promoted to general. I'm guessing it will be another few years. We actually haven't talked about moving in together. The Fire Nation military is still pretty conservative, and they wouldn't look kindly upon one of their officers living with his girlfriend.
When do you leave? Let me know because I want to see you before you head out.
Regards,
Asami
…
Asami and I agreed to meet up the night before I was going to leave. Pema had made a fancy meal, and though she said I could invite friends, I decided it was better to have one last meal as a family. Afterwards, the kids (apart from Rohan who was still too little) and I played a game outside until it was time for them to go to bed. Once they were asleep, I heaved a sigh of relief; Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo were wonderful, but they were exhausting. I reached into the back pocket of my cargo shorts and pulled out my flip phone to text Asami. Before I could even close the phone, it buzzed, alerting me to her response. She'd be over in just a few minutes.
I plodded to the kitchen, relishing the smooth wood floors on my bare feet, to see if Pema needed any help cleaning up. Instead, she handed me a brownie from the pan she'd made earlier and told me I didn't need to work on my last night. It was weird. Suddenly I felt like a guest in the home I'd worked so hard to make my own. The brownie was perfectly done—not too cakelike, but not runny either. It was the ideal balance between the two that makes the brownie melt in your mouth. Pema had even sprinkled in peanut butter chips because she knew it was my favorite. It got stuck in my throat as I tried not to cry. Pema caught my distress even though I tried to hide it and pulled me in for a hug. For the first time I realized I was taller than her. I'd never noticed before then. I took deep breaths, trying to control myself, breathing in her familiar scent: green tea, honey, with an ever-present hint of curry. I snorted as I thought about what a weird combination that was and that it should be unpleasant. Unfortunately, I still had brownie in my mouth and accidentally sprayed it in Pema's hair and down the back of her robes.
Pema pulled back and stared at me, too surprised to know how to respond. Then we both started laughing and everything was okay again. It was good. I needed to be in a good state of mind if I was going to talk to Asami. As Pema left to get cleaned up, my phone buzzed again, letting me know Asami had arrived.
I hurried out of the house to Asami's convertible and vaulted over the door into the passenger's seat. "Where are we going?" I asked, the taste of brownie still lingering in my mouth.
Asami surprised me by laughing…hard. I didn't know what was going on until she reached over and wiped the corner of my mouth with her thumb, and then my cheek, and oddly, my forehead. "Eat something good?" she asked through her laughter.
Only then did I realize that it was not only Pema who needed to clean up after my brownie-spewing incident. "I don't want to talk about it," I muttered. My face burned from embarrassment, and the searing trail left by Asami's touch hadn't helped matters. I thought I left my awkwardness behind during my sophomore year, but apparently I was destined to make a fool of myself in front of Asami forever.
"Okay, okay. I'll give you a break this time," she relented. "I actually wasn't planning on going anywhere until you hopped in my car. I thought we could walk down to the bay and maybe sit in the gazebo for a while. Would you rather we go somewhere? We could always go back to my house."
Huh. Maybe we should have clarified plans earlier. It would have stopped me from looking like a moron yet again. "Oh. No, that's okay. I guess I'd rather stay here, anyway, since it's my last night."
"Makes sense," Asami said, cocking her head thoughtfully as she climbed out of the car. "Do you want to talk about that?"
We headed down to the water, stumbling on loose rocks. "I don't know what to say that I haven't said already." Asami didn't say anything, so I figured she was giving me the chance to try to come up with something. "Is it okay if I still email you?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I'd improved on the impulsivity with Katara's help, but sometimes my mouth still got ahead of my brain.
The wind had picked up and was whipping Asami's hair in both our faces. She reached back and pulled her hair up with the hair tie she always kept around her wrist. "Of course! Were you really worried about that?"
I was so lost in watching her beautiful, glossy locks that had just the right amount of wave and miraculously no frizz, that I wasn't even listening for her response. "Uh…what?"
"Were you really worried we would stop emailing just because you were going to college?" she repeated, patiently.
"I don't know. We'd never talked about it, so I wasn't sure. I figured maybe you were just waiting until I graduated to tell me you were through with me." All of my fears were tumbling out of my mouth. I had to turn away from Asami under the pretense of looking out over the water in order to hide my tears. I didn't even know why I was crying; I was probably just feeling out of sorts because of all the coming changes.
Asami wasn't fooled, however, and placed a comforting hand on my upper back. "Korra, you should know better than that. I've told you you're one of my closest friends. I don't ever want to be 'through' with you."
She was so free with physical affection. I rarely intentionally touched my peers; it always felt so uncomfortable. It wasn't that I didn't like touching Asami, but that I simply didn't know how to handle it.
"Yeah?" I wiped at my eyes with the neckline of my blue tank top. BSSU's colors were green and gold; not wearing blue all of the time would be weird. That was another change I'd have to get used to.
"Yeah. I don't know what I would do without our daily emails. You give me something to look forward to, especially on bad days. I like having someone to bounce ideas off of and talk about the hard things with. And I really like having someone to joke around with. Everyone at work sees me as a CEO, but you treat me like a normal person. I love that."
"Me too," I managed to choke out. I didn't even know if that made sense, but God, I needed Asami to know that she meant so much to me.
"Really?" Asami asked with her eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "People see you as a CEO? Are you hiding a secret company from me?"
I laughed, which I figured was Asami's goal. "Shut up, Sato."
"Okay, Avatar."
We stood in silence for a while, enjoying the beautiful summer evening. The air was warm, but blessedly not humid. We were on the side of the island facing Republic City, so there were no stars visible. Instead, the lights of the city lit up the skyline, the Future Industries tower most prominent.
"I need you to make me a promise," Asami said eventually, her hand still on my back.
"Okay."
"Promise me if you ever get lonely or need to talk about something, you'll call me."
I thought about it. It was a lot to ask. Asami knew I hated asking for anything from people. Still, it was Asami asking; I would do anything for her. "I promise."
…
The next month was a blur of soccer, travel, and new faces. Most days I woke up at 6 for morning training, ate breakfast, went back to sleep, ate a late lunch, went to afternoon training, ate dinner, and hung out with the girls on my team. One week was spent in the Fire Nation playing in the world championships. Republic City got creamed. We didn't even make it to the final. Kuvira, however, was on the Earth Kingdom team that won. She didn't let it go for months, which was irritating, if justified.
The best part of that month was knowing I had people back home I could talk to. I Skyped with Pema and Tenzin once a week and talked on the phone with my parents every few says. Opal, Bolin, and Mako texted me periodically, and Asami was as consistent as ever in responding to my emails. I could always count on her to make me laugh when I was feeling homesick or exhausted, which was pretty much constantly. Soccer was great and the girls on the team were nice and welcoming, but nothing was familiar. It was little things like the water tasting different, but it was also big things like being the only Water Tribe girl around. Even in Republic City there had been other Water Tribe people. My hair was different; my skin was different; even my undergarments were different. It was unnerving. Having Asami's emails was a daily dose of familiarity, which I tried to make sure she knew I appreciated.
Before I knew it, classes started. I thought about following in Asami's footsteps in majoring in business (because let's face it, I was never going to be a mechanical engineer), but it didn't feel right. I decided on athletic training; that way, I'd always be around sporting events, and it would hopefully help me in my own soccer career.
My fall schedule wasn't too grueling. I took a lot of GenEds. It turned out college wasn't as bad as everyone made it sound, provided you stayed on top of your work. The challenging thing was fitting in all of my soccer games and practices and still finding time to study.
…
From: Korra (avatarkorra )
To: Asami Sato (asamisato )
10/25
Subject: tired, tired, tired
Asami,
College is so tiring! I'm pretty sure I made myself the pariah of my English class by saying college work was a joke. I mean, I'm right. It's easier than high school. Still, I shouldn't have said it because now everyone hates me. Oh well, at least my classes are going well and my soccer team doesn't hate me.
I have to volunteer for twenty hours this semester for my government class. My professor sent us a list of options. I'm volunteering for a political activism committee that's working to stop climate change by lobbying for more environmental enforcements. I told Tenzin about the group because I thought he'd be excited, but he wasn't too thrilled. I'm not really sure why. The Red Lotus seems like a quality organization to me.
I heard about your award, you awesome CEO, you. In my Government and Politics class, we've discussed Future Industries a few times. It's really weird hearing people talk about how awesome you are. I'm pretty sure half of the guys in the class are in love with you. Maybe a few girls, too. Anyway, everyone is really impressed with how transparent you've made Future Industries. I'm really proud of you, too!
Peace!
Korra
…
To: Korra (avatarkorra )
From: Asami Sato (asamisato )
10/26
Subject: oh gosh
Korra,
I laughed for about five minutes when I read about how you made your English class hate you. That's so great. I'm glad everything else is going pretty well, despite their hatred of you and your exhaustion.
I don't know anything about the Red Lotus, but if Tenzin doesn't like them, there must be a reason. Be careful. I'm working on getting Future Industries to be greener, but I don't really know enough about it. Fortunately, I can hire experts, which is what I've done.
Oh my gosh. I'm so embarrassed! I'm glad people like what I've done with Future Industries, but it's so weird to know that your class talks about me! And thanks, Korra. It means a lot that you're proud of me.
So long,
Asami
…
The best part of my semester was getting to spend my fall break in Zaofu with Opal's family. Her brothers were hilarious, even the weird artsy one I'm pretty sure didn't know how to smile. Kuvira came with me; it turned out she was the adopted daughter of Opal's parents and was engaged to her oldest brother. It sounded weird, but somehow it actually wasn't.
Our train arrived in Zaofu in the midafternoon. Imagine my surprise when we were greeted at the train station not just by Opal, but also by Bolin, Mako, and Asami. I dropped my bag and tackled them in a giant group hug. "Guys!" I shouted.
"Were you surprised? We were trying to surprise you. Did it work?" Bolin asked, excitedly.
"Completely!" I turned to Asami who was dressed casually for once in jeans and a ZU sweatshirt. She looked gorgeous. "I can't believe you kept this from me!"
She shrugged. "It wouldn't have been a surprise if I'd told you, would it?"
I rolled my eyes and Kuvira came up behind me, lugging my bag along with her own. "Hey loser, thanks for making me carry your stuff."
She threw my bag down at my feet and slung her arm around my shoulders. "Hey, Opal. Hey, Bolin. Hey, other people I don't know."
"This is Mako and Asami," I chimed in. "Guys, this is Kuvira."
Mako looked between us, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Kuvira and I looked at each other, shocked, and sprang apart immediately. "No!" we exclaimed in unison.
"I'm engaged!" Kuvira clarified and seemed to reconsider her words. "To a man. I'm engaged to Bataar Jr."
"And I'm—" I stopped, not sure where I was going with that sentence. I didn't really know what to say. I didn't like anyone. I hadn't really ever liked anyone. If someone forced me to pick someone to date, Kuvira would have been near the top of my list…not that I liked her like that or anything. She was just cool, and funny, and had awesome fern-green eyes. That wasn't something I particularly wanted to talk about, though. "I'm not dating anyone," I finished lamely.
Bolin and Opal had dissolved into laughter. Mako just looked embarrassed, but Asami looked at me and frowned, though I never found out why.
The rest of break was pretty much the same as the greeting—fun, funny, and embarrassing. Basically, it was fairly standard for hanging out with this group of friends. The only weird moment was when Asami cornered me and asked if there was anything I wanted to talk about. I said there wasn't and was genuinely confused by the question. In corresponding emails over the next few weeks, Asami asked what I thought of Kuvira, but I didn't think much about it.
…
As the semester wore on, the more suspicious I became of the Red Lotus. Now that I was paying attention, the organization seemed rather sinister. They might truly believe in combating climate change, but there were a lot of closed-door meetings where I wasn't sure what they discussed. In a move that would haunt me forever, I decided to sneak into one of the meetings and expose whatever dirty secrets they held. I'd be a whistleblower, a term I learned about in my government class. Whistleblowers had protections, so I couldn't be sued or anything.
I decided to film their December board meeting; I figured I had completed all of my volunteer hours and received a favorable evaluation, so I had nothing to lose. One of theatre tech workers I'd made friends with in my government class offered to help by loaning me the equipment and showing me how it worked. It was a tiny camera that I'd plant and turn on before the meeting. It would upload the live video to my Cloud account and I'd go back the next day to retrieve the camera.
The plan worked better than I expected; that is to say, everything went according to the plan. Two days before I was scheduled to take the train back to Republic City, I set up the camera and recorded the board meeting. It went until late at night, so I didn't watch the footage until after I retrieved the equipment the next morning. What I saw was astounding, horrifying. They were plotting to kill the Earth Queen. Today. I checked my watch. I had approximately four hours until they were planning to assassinate her. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I was a freshman in college, for Spirits' sake!
I whipped out my phone and pulled up Asami's contact info. Fortunately, she answered. "Asami!" I shouted in a panic. "They're going to kill her!"
"What?" Asami didn't sound nearly as worked up about this as I needed her to.
"They're going to kill her!" I threw the phone aside and pulled on a sports bra and t-shirt. I could barely hear Asami's response.
"Okay, Korra. You need to calm down and tell me what's going on."
I took a deep breath. Okay, that helped some. "I filmed the Red Lotus board meeting. They're going to kill the Earth Queen in—" I checked my watch again, "three hours and forty five minutes." There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line as I slipped into my Vans. "Asami?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know what to do," I told her, starting to feel panicky again. "I don't know what to do. Who do you call when a world leader's life is threatened?"
"I—" Asami cut herself off. Clearly she didn't know what to do either, but she must have known she had to help, so she said, "I'll make some calls. You go to the highest-ranking person you can find and tell them. If you can't find anyone, go to the city and do whatever you can."
"Okay. Thanks."
I hung up and sprinted out the door, but not before emailing the footage to everyone I could think of, including Mako, Tenzin, and several news outlets. Maybe someone would know what to do. The highest-ranking person I could think of was the President of the university, but the odds of him being there on a Saturday morning were slim at best. I decided Campus Security would be my next best bet because they were connected to Ba Sing Se's police force . Unfortunately, they didn't believe me, even when I showed them the evidence. I threw my hands up in the air in frustration and stormed out.
I'd have to head to the city and take manners into my own hands. The palace was only an hour walk from campus; maybe I could talk my way in. It turned out emailing the footage to the media was a bad idea. Instead of alerting the authorities, they started calling my cellphone, asking for exclusives on how I knew about the plan and if I was worried about retribution from the Red Lotus. Well, I hadn't been until they mentioned it.
That was when everything started to fall apart. As soon as I reached the palace, people were shouting that the Earth Queen was dead. My first instinct was to correct people. They obviously hadn't understood what was going on. She wasn't dead yet, but she would be soon if we didn't do something. My second instinct was to listen. Apparently I'd forced the Red Lotus to panic and they'd assassinated the Earth Queen ahead of schedule. I'd caused the death of a fucking royal. Shit. I sat down on the curb and dropped my head into my hands. What would happen now?
About then, I received a call from a hidden number. I answered warily. "Hello?"
"Hello, Korra. This is Zaheer."
Well, if I'd thought the day couldn't get worse, I had been proven wrong. Zaheer was the head of the Red Lotus. "Okay?"
"I think you'll be interested to know that I'm currently on Air Temple Island where I'm getting acquainted with your foster family. Meelo is such a funny kid, isn't he? And that Jinora? She's as smart as a whip. No harm will come to them if you deliver yourself to me within twenty four hours."
He hung up and I sat there alone on the side of the road, devastated. He was holding my family hostage and it was all my fault. What was I going to do? I picked up my phone to call Tenzin, but quickly realized that wasn't an option. I started to cry; I could always call Tenzin when I needed to know what to do. Instead I called Asami.
"Korra! The Earth Queen is dead! Why did you send out that footage?" Asami started bombarding me with even more guilt and I cried harder. "Korra? What's happening? Are you okay?"
"He has Tenzin and Pema and the kids."
"What? Who has Tenzin?" Asami's voice was hard to hear in the din of the streets wracked by panic and terror.
"Zaheer. The Red Lotus. He's holding them hostage on Air Temple Island. I have twenty four hours before he kills them."
"Twenty four hours to do what?"
"Turn myself over."
There was a long pause that I wasn't sure how to interpret. Finally, she said, "How quickly can you get to the Ba Sing Se airport?"
I thought about it. From campus it usually took us thirty minutes to drive there, but that included sitting in traffic. I guessed it was about six miles from where I was. "Maybe two hours?" Three miles per hour seemed reasonable on foot. I could run, but that could attract attention and end up taking longer. The bus was out because the city was in an uproar. "Why?"
"I'm going to fly the Future Industries jet there. I'll be waiting by the time you arrive. Be safe."
We hung up and I started walking. I made it in two and a half hours. It ended up being farther than six miles, so I had to run the last stretch. "Hey," I panted, out of breath, as I ran up to Asami's jet.
"Let's go," she said shortly.
Why was she being so terse? Was she mad at me? Why with everything else going on did I care if she was mad at me? I didn't know what to do to make things better. I'd screwed up and the Earth Queen was dead because of it. Tenzin and his family were in danger because of me.
"What are you going to do?" Asami broke the silence, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. I took a moment to be impressed that she could fly a jet.
"What do you mean?"
"What are you going to do about Tenzin and the others?" she asked like it wasn't obvious.
I looked at her, confusion all over my face. "I'm going to turn myself over."
She gaped at me, which seemed dangerous for a pilot, but she probably knew what she was doing. "Then who's going to save you?"
That was an odd question. I hadn't even considered it. Would someone rescue me? Would I die? Huh. I felt strangely detached about the matter. "No one."
"You're just going to walk willingly to your death?"
"I—I guess? You make me sound like Harry Potter," I joked, hoping to lighten the mood.
Asami let out a choked sob. "Don't, Korra. Don't you dare. Don't tell me you're going to die and then joke about it. Don't tell me you're okay with sacrificing over something that isn't even your fault."
"It kind of is, though." It really felt like it was my fault.
"No it's not. You didn't turn to eco-terrorism. You didn't assassinate the Earth Queen. You didn't threaten an innocent family. You just got in the way."
We flew the rest of the way in silence. When we got off the plane, Asami pulled me into a long hug. "I'm going to make sure someone saves you," she told me as we pulled apart.
Then I woke up in a hospital two weeks later.
…
Various people helped me to piece together the events that transpired over my missing two weeks. I'd saved Tenzin and the children. That was the first thing they told me. Then they told me about how Zaheer held me for three days, torturing me. He wanted to see how long I'd been videotaping their meetings and what other secrets I knew. He was concerned that other people in his network had been compromised. I told him I truly didn't know anything, but he didn't believe me. He poisoned me and broke my bones. Eventually, a joint coalition of Southern Water Tribe forces led by my father and the Republic City police force led by Chief Beifong banded together to rescue me. Zaheer was now in prison and I'd been unconscious ever since.
"What about Asami?" I asked the nameless nurse, fearfully.
"Who?" He looked confused. "Asami? As in Asami Sato? What does she have to do with this?"
I relaxed then. At least she was safe. I fell back to sleep. When I woke again, Tenzin and Asami were at my bedside. I smiled at them, genuinely glad to see them safe. "Hi."
They looked at each other and back at me, like they weren't expecting to see me awake. "Korra!" Asami exclaimed, rushing to grab my hand. It was weird. I kind of felt her touch, but not as much as I thought I should. Maybe it was because I just woke up.
"Korra," Tenzin said heavily. "I'm so, so sorry for what you have suffered to save my family."
"I saved you too," I joked. "Don't forget that."
"I won't. I won't ever forget that. You paid a heavy price."
I frowned. What did that mean? I was alive, wasn't I? I hurt like hell all over, but I'd heal in time. "What price?"
Asami and Tenzin exchanged fearful glances. "You mean you don't know?" Asami asked, her voice tentative.
"Know what?"
Tenzin looked at Asami and said, "Give us a minute?"
Asami stood up to leave, but saw the terror on my face and sat back down. "I'm staying," she told Tenzin in a no nonsense tone. "I'm not leaving her."
Tenzin let out a heavy sigh. "Okay." He turned to me. "Korra, both of your femurs and six of your ribs are broken. Your spleen was crushed and had to be removed. You also lost one of your kidneys. Apart from the effects of blunt force trauma, you were also poisoned. Korra, you're currently partially paralyzed. You have dulled feeling in your arms, but the doctors have assured us that will come back quickly. Your legs, however, have no feeling. They're not confident you'll ever walk again."
I looked to Asami for confirmation. This seemed like a bad joke. Maybe she would tell me this was an elaborate prank. However, she nodded in confirmation. I closed my eyes and refused to communicate with anyone for the next few weeks.
Before I knew it, I was released from the hospital. Asami wheeled me to the hospital exit. No matter how much I ignored her, she never left my side. Physical and occupational therapists came to Air Temple Island everyday to help me try to regain movement. Even if my bones were healed, there still wasn't much I could do. My legs were useless and my fingers had the dexterity of a toddler's. People whispered about me like I couldn't hear them. I knew what they said. I knew they were concerned about my mental state. I just didn't care.
Only Asami still talked to me like I was listening. And half the time I was, though I never let her know it. Mostly I just slept. I could feel my hard-earned muscles atrophying. I could feel everything I'd worked for slipping away. If I wasn't a soccer player, who was I? If I couldn't care for myself what kind of life could I have? I didn't want to be a burden forever. I knew Asami was neglecting her company for me. That couldn't continue. That's why, a month into this mess, I decided to return to the Southern Water Tribe to stay with my parents.
"Are you sure?" Asami asked when I told her.
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to come with you, at least until you're settled?"
I did. I really did, but I couldn't ask for that. "No. I won't be gone that long. I just need to get away for a while."
Asami nodded in understanding as she brushed my hair. "Okay. I'm here for you if you ever want to talk…or anything."
My eyes teared up and I couldn't speak through the lump in my throat, so I just nodded.
"Promise me you'll keep emailing me," Asami demanded, her voice suddenly harsh. I knew she was scared. I knew her so well by this point.
Again I nodded.
Asami grew even fiercer. "No, Korra. Promise me aloud. I need to hear you say it."
"Promise," I managed to say, hoarsely. I would keep emailing her. There was no doubt about that. Whatever we'd been through, we'd always relied on one another.
I was useless for the rest of the school year, alternating between depressed and angry. Even Naga bore the brunt of my moods sometimes. There were few people that I talked to, but I kept my promise to Asami and even if I only managed a few words, I always emailed at least every couple of days.
A/N: Two chapters this week, but then we'll have to go back to one update per week. I won't have much, if any, time to write in the coming weeks with papers to grade, various types of schoolwork, and friends visiting. Look for an update on Wednesday.
Also, I've been reminded in various ways this week of the persistent homophobia that exists in the US and around the world that is largely perpetuated by Christian churches. So here's the deal. I'm an academic Bible scholar. I'm working on a PhD in Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), but I'm pretty conversant in the New Testament as well. In a pinch, I can even hold my own in theology. If you have questions about religion and homosexuality or are feeling the crushing religion-induced shame and guilt, feel free to PM me. I don't think the Bible says homosexuality is a sin, and there are numerous published scholars who agree. I realize Christianity isn't the only religion that has a tendency toward homophobia, but I can only speak with confidence about it and Judaism. I simply don't know enough about other religions' holy texts to truly address the matter.