土
Air Temple Island, Republic City.
Unleashing a massive yawn and a huge stretch, Korra's thoughts slowly stirred to life. She stopped at a nearby window and peered out of it, pouting at the sight of the cold and dismal sky hanging over the trees growing outside. Not even the sun was up.
She sighed as her eyes flicked over to Naga happily lapping at a bucket of pristine and icy water, just the way she liked it, over by the wall of Tenzin's dormitory. The polar-bear dog was lucky that Tenzin wanted to talk to her so early.
Korra winced as her fingers tugged at a big clump of tangled hair and jerked, she hissed as she pulled her fingers free of her now fully loose hair and stopped for a moment to rub the back of her head.
"Ow." she murmured, shaking her head and rolling her shoulders as she turned into a large stretch of hallway, walking halfway down its length and reaching for the wooden handle on the paper-thin door, hearing Lin and Tenzin talking inside, and the movement of at least another person.
Stifling a yawn she opened the door, stepping inside. She noticed Tai in the corner of her eye, looking down at the airbender as he slouched on the couch, head turned to the side and mouth wide open and eyes closed. Korra folded her arms at the spittle seeping out of his mouth, stepping over his outstretched legs to drop onto the empty spot next to him.
Bumi paced the room while Kya eaned against the wall. She smiled at Korra. "Morning!"
Korra flinched at the loudness and the cheeriness in the woman's tone, pulling a face at the evil smirk on her.
Both Tenzin and Lin looked up and noticed her. "Sleep well, Korra-" He paused and loosed a sigh, raising his hand to indicate Tai. "-Uh, could you do the honors?"
Korra brightened up as she innocently let her hand slip the wrong way and fly into the boy's shoulder. He awoke with a yelp, giving away to a grumble as he noticed her. "Really? Not even a simple shake?"
"No sleep for you, no sleep for me." Korra smirked at the dark look Tai had.
"Which side of the bed did you fall off of this time?" he muttered darkly, rubbing his shoulder and scowling at her.
"... My bed's in a corner."
"Hah." Tai rolled his eyes before opening his mouth and giving a loud yawn.
Korra found herself doing the same.
He rubbed at his eyes and sighed, glancing at her. "How many bruises?"
She raised a eyebrow before shuddering. "All over."
"Yes. I've got quite a few myself." The two of them looked over at Tenzin.
Lin looked between them with her arms folded. "So am I finally going to get the story?"
"Yeah, some strange earthbenders attacked us at the Southern Air Temple. Shifty looking with these huge hats and weird gloves."
The woman nodded immediately, her expression thoughtful. "Dai Li." She exchanged a glance with Bumi and Kya.
"The what?" Korra glanced at Tai, who shrugged.
"They used to be in control of the Earth Kingdom's goverment during the Hundred Year War. Aang, as well as my mother, helped put a end to their manipulation of the Earth King, Kuei."
"Dad kicked them out. They haven't been seen much since then. Well, not that regularly." Kya added.
Tenzin nodded at his older sister. "Right. That being said, they are infamous for gathering information at the drop of a hat. Korra, that means you can't be seen by anyone. We need to keep your arrival in Republic City discreet until the National Gala in a couple of days, Korra."
"And, uh, how's that going to work?"
"I'll ask Asami if she can house you for a few days. The reporters will be too focused here and on the arrival of the Fire Lord and Earth King to notice you've left Air Temple Island."
"Well... she does have a nice pool-"
A knock on the papery surface of the door interrupted them. Tai narrowed his eyes and got up, walking over and pulling it open. He scowled and grabbed the collar of Ling's singlet, dragging their new guest in as he yelped in surprise.
Korra stood up as well, arching a eyebrow as Tai turned to him. "How much did you hear?"
"All of it." Ling's innocent tone grated on him.
Tai lifted his finger to push into the guy's chest only for it to hit thin air.
"Hello. Ling Yao, at your service, Avatar Korra." Tai noticed the smirk on Kya and the amused look on Bumi, he looked over his shoulder to see Ling clasping Korra's hand with delicate grace.
His eyebrow twitched. "Hey!"
"Uh, nice to meet you... Ling." Korra had a amused smile on her as Ling bowed and turned back to Tai.
The strange earthbender rubbed his hands together and addressed the room. "Right, questions?"
"I'll start, why exactly were you in our dad's temple? A little scruffy for a Acolyte, don't you think?" Kya arched a eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at the smiling earthbender.
Ling studied a few of the books on a nearby shelf, standing near the arm of Tai and Korra's couch, his hands in his pockets. "Well, snooping around for a couple of scrolls."
"What?"
"You were going to steal them?" Kya scowled and folded her arms.
Immediately he turned around and held up his hands in apology, shaking his head. "No! Not ever steal them, honest! I was going to talk to the head abbott about examining some of them. Of course the Dai Li kind of caught up to me."
"So why were they chasing you then?"
The earthbender dropped his cheery demeanor only for a moment, before looking back up at Tai and Korra. "What do you know about the Earth Kingdom?"
"Uh. Its ruled by a King and Queen?"
Ling held up a finger and smirked. "The basics, everyone knows that from daycare."
"Believe me. You're lucky he was able to answer that." Tenzin glanced at the scowl Tai directed at him. "But at least he's been paying some level of attention in my lessons." He added, getting a scowl from Korra.
"The Earth Kingdom is very large and very crowded. Ba Sing Se alone has upwards of 5 million people within its walls. Ah, I do miss that pungent aroma of the streets-"
"The point, Ling." Tai growled.
"The point is that two people alone can't possible rule over a entire continent by themselves. They have a entire cabinet of ministers and dukes beneath them. Among them is our dear Director."
"Love that guy." Korra glanced at Tai in curiosity, but he said nothing else.
"You have no idea. The Director means to gain control of the Kingdom. And he's close to doing it, especially with my father under his control."
"Who's your father-" Tai stopped at the knowing smirk on Ling.
Korra took over. "You're the Prince of the Earth Kingdom."
"Once upon a time."
22nd Floor, Tai Sho Tower, Republic City
Tap. Tap. Tap.
It was all her ears registered, the only recognisable sound in the room that sounded unique and different than the general quiet buzzing of indistinct voices.
None of that mattered after the series of hammer blows she had just received one after the other.
"Ms Sato? Are you paying attention?" One of them managed to form distinct words, sharp and biting words, but words nonetheless.
She blinked twice and found she had been lost in the graceful swirls and flowing lines engraved in the surface of the long desk, forming shallow lines with a light layering of crimson paint, which against the grey coloring of the ironwood table made for a striking yet simple appearance.
The engravings themselves were contained within a rectangular border of sorts that covered most of the table except its outer edges, where small black blocks with the symbol of a half-gear in gold leaf stood.
In front of her was a block similar to the others, only this one had a full gear. She had never actually seen this desk until a few months ago, thinking of it as a goal to aspire to. But now that she was seated at its head…. It just felt like a burden.
Asami blinked again, dumbly realizing she was about to get lost again.
"Hey. Boss?" She quickly adopted a smile and sat up straight, her fingers laced together. She looked at Verick. "We can take five, if you need-"
"No I'm-" Her smile just grew, even though she had nothing behind it. "- Just, collecting my wits." She assured him, throwing occasional glances at the two out of place people seated at the other end of the table.
"Which, I'm afraid will have to wait. Ms Sato, do you understand the consequences of the Moonflow's disappearance? The United Forces will not be pleased." She nodded in time with his words, still trying her best to stare at the engravings on the table rather than focus on the million or so problems that come with saving a world-reviled company. "Our deal with them will be in jeopardy if they can't trust us to protect our assets."
"Not only that-" She glanced up, looking at one of the most withered old men currently sitting at the table near the end. "But, there is no way that we can recuperate our investment that was aboard that freighter."
"I know, Bao. We'll figure something out-" Asami started when another member sitting at the table, a heavyset man wearing masterfully tailored clothes that were a size too small for him smacked a palm down on the table, getting her attention and irritation.
She glanced up at Iroh as he stood next to her, hands clasped behind his back and posture impeccable. But a scowl was very clear on his features.
"Ms Sato, we need a solution beyond twiddling our thumbs!"
Asami heard the leather in Iroh's glove squeezing together as he clenched a fist. "Mr Tugi, please allow Ms Sato to explain-"
Mr Tugi went red-faced as he stabbed a chubby finger through the air at the young General. "You are a liaison, nothing more! You're only here because of your incompetence and inexperience, boy. I am a senior executive, you don't tell me what to-"
Verick's sigh could barely be heard as the boardroom descended into a cacophony of conflicting voices, some trying to reason while others just tried to outshout each other. Among this, she saw a firey glint in Iroh's eyes and realized she had to do something before this got way out of hand.
"Enough!" She had raised her voice just enough that she could be heard throughout the room, and adopted a tone that she had heard coming from her mother whenever she broke a expensive pot or scraped her knee while driving her soapbox car.
Incredibly, the myriad of voices heard her and slowly began to simmer down. Bao kept muttering things under his breath as he stared at Mr Tugi, whose face resembled the red Oni masks favored by the Ember Island players.
"I know the company is going through rough times right now and likely will for the foreseeable future. But the deals with Tui Industries and the United Forces are vital lifelines that the company needs. We can't sit here and argue about problems we can't fix!" She found herself digging her fingers into the surface of the wood a little, quickly she relaxed them and sat back down as the gathered heads of the company whispered amongst themselves or quietly glowered in the case of Mr Tugi.
Amid the quiet talking one voice rose, belonging to the only one at the table not affiliated with the company. "And what, can you fix?"
She fought to keep her lip from curling in irritation and slight revulsion at the sound of councilman Pok's nasally high-and-mighty tones. The obese representative of the Northern Water Tribe stood up, directing a bow to her and the gathered board members. "These shipments, full of cutting-edge technology I might add, have been seized by the Red Monsoon Triad without too much difficulty, I don't suppose you know how to fix such a obvious danger to the city that you and your company let spiral out of control?"
Making sure to fully ignore the fact that he was absolutely right about their screw-up, she managed to keep her voice level. "Councilman Pok, every piece of equipment on the Moonflow was tagged with a marker that only metalbenders could detect. Chief Saikhan and his officers are searching the city for the stolen shipments right now. The Triads won't hold onto them for long."
"But that still does not ignore the fact that Republic City is cleaning up after you."
"I-"
"Or the fact that much of this equipment has been found in the hands of the recent protesters and rioters claiming to be 'Equalists'."
Dead silence filled the room as Pok stopped speaking and sat back down in his seat, lacing his fingers and resting his hands on his generous belly. The company heads exchanged looks with one another, with quite a few directed at Asami that just screamed disappointment.
"It...seems, that your company has become a far greater threat to the city than the Equalists ever were." She chewed her lip, focusing on something simple like that to stop the tears she could feel building up.
Next to Pok sat his fellow representative, Wu. The withered old man nodded in agreement with him, sharing his sentiments. "Ms Sato, I believe that you'll find the best solution to this problem."
"Oh, as do I." Pok stood up in time with Wu and the two of them bowed to the board members. "I am confident that you'll have this under control-"
"This meeting is over." Iroh didn't bother hiding the glare he directed in Pok's direction, who currently held the barest vistages of a self-assured smile. The fact that it was barely noticeable only served to make it much more arrogant and self-serving.
The board members all exchanged nods with one another and got up to leave the room, some of them muttering and others shaking their heads with worry or stroking their chins in thought.
It didn't take long for the room to be clear, leaving only herself, Iroh and Verick.
"Wow." She whispered in shock, lying her head down on the table and letting her hair form a curtain that kept her hidden from the world.
"Told 'em to go easy. They never listen to me." Verick murmured as he idly spun in his chair, stroking his chin deep in thought and utterly frustrated at how that just went.
"Asami, are you-" Iroh's features softened as he sat on the edge of the table to face her, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine, Iroh. Really." she whispered, hoping that all he could hear was muffled sounds coming from within the curtain of shiny raven hair.
"Hmm. I've been around here long enough to know that's not the case."
"You are a terrible liar, Asami. Take it from a pro." Verick piped up, getting a smirk as he spun around while looking up at the ceiling. "I should by this chair."
"Right." She found herself chuckling a little, which did enough to make her lift her head off the table a little bit and give the two of them wry looks.
"So, Ms Executive, what's the game plan?"
"Yeah. Game plan." Going back to her hiding place sounded like a good idea for a few moments, and she was sorely tempted to just not say anything at all. But the rational part of her, which unfortunately tended to be the biggest part of her, decided for her. "I don't suppose we could send a salvage crew down to the South Pole to check for any of the missing cargo?"
"Even with my father's ships it would take too long and cost too much."
"By now they're probably long gone anyway." Iroh added.
She nodded and sighed. "Alright. Look, I think I just need to get home and clear my head. We've got a few days before the world leaders arrive..
Verick stood up and made his way to the door, leaning against the doorframe as General Iroh left her side and walked along long table's length before stopping and looking at her. "Coming, Asami?"
"What? Yeah, I just need a few minutes. Need to grab a few things." She hoped he didn't pick up the shaky tones in her voice, for a few moments it looked as if he would. But being the gentlemen he was, Iroh nodded and gave her a smile.
"See you tomorrow, Asami." He ignored Verick's eye roll as he moved through the doors, leaving with the inventor and closing them behind him.
She released a pent-up sigh and leaned forwards on the table, rubbing her temples.
Everything was falling apart.
The nearby phone rang with a series of shrill notes, shocking her and leaving her heart pounding a million miles a minute. She swallowed and blinked a few times, realizing she was taking in deep breaths. She calmed herself down and composed herself, picking up the reciever and bringing it to her ear.
"Asami." Tenzin's voice came in loud and clear.
"Tenzin I...Uh, hello." Her mind raced, a little surprised to hear from him so soon. "You're already back from the Southern Air Temple?"
"Yes... We decided to leave early." She arched a eyebrow, hearing someone like Tenzin sound so unsure and...like he was hiding something was no small surprise to her.
"How is Korra?"
"She's fine. I'll tell her you're back in the city."
"Thank you, Asami. Perhaps she could stay longer if you-"
"No, no-that's okay. I would have liked the company but..." She trailed off, remembering the three hundred or so rooms occupying the huge mansion. She shook her head and smiled shakily. "That's fine. She'd probably just make a mess anyway."
"If you're sure. Take care, Asami."
Tenzin's voice faded away as she placed the reciever back down with a click and sighed.
Police Headquarters, Republic City.
Mako barely noticed as someone brushed past his shoulder as they rushed down the stairs, instead too wrapped up in the last few days. He grunted in brief annoyance as he reached the second level of the staircase, moving into the stark and utlitarian hallway that was once plush and airy looking, but had been converted back into a hallway that looked just like any other in the storied building.
His boots clacked on the polished black metal floor and left a trail of scuff marks behind him, much to the disapproval of a nearby janitor who shook his head and sighed.
He ignored him and kept on moving down the hallway past a series of doors until he found the one he was looking for.
"How's the arm?" He leaned against the wall next to Boto, who kept as still as possible to make sure he wouldn't knock any of his injured muscles or limbs. Which happened to be every single one of them.
"Coping."
The two of them fell silent, both of them realizing exactly what was going to happen once they stepped into Saikhan's office. They messed up. Badly.
"Ready to face the music?" Mako grunted noncommitally, finding the water triber's sarcasm to be a little out of place right now.
Usually with situations like this he could just think of her and- he shook his head and scowled, the mere thought of her doing the exact opposite.
Boto noticed this and looked at him with a question, before nodding and pressing a palm on a small grey block jutting out next to the square frame of latticed metal making up the door.
With perfect smoothness and no jarring at all it slid into the wall, allowing them access to the austere office within that had the exact same coloring as the hallway they stood in.
Inside Saikhan sat at his desk, running a palm down his face while balling up a piece of paper and tossing it in a nearby bin as Makei stood at attention in front of the desk, his back to Mako and Boto.
Makei glanced at the two of them and nodded. "Good too see you two. I didn't think you'd show up."
"Sir." Boto stood at attention immediately in front of the desk. "We'll take any and all responsibility for our failure. This is our mess-"
"Stow it, lieutenant. Right now, I've got a entire city on the brink of outright anarchy. And right as the leaders of the other nations are scheduled to arrive for the summit." Saikhan sighed as he looked up at the two of them and held up a light blue folder. "Is there anything else that wasn't in the report you sent over?"
Mako shook his head. "No, Chief. We made contact with our source at a dive on the edge of Inna, and from there traveled down the southern road to tail the Grey Man. We lost him in the cover of a blizzard and switched to alternate targets going to the same location. We tailed them to the warehouse where the Monsoons had hidden the Moonflow and witnessed them loading the last of the crates from the ship onto a few trucks."
"We also witnessed Rorik making some kind of trade with the Grey Man."
"And... that's when everything went south." Mako admitted, staring at the floor under his feet as he recalled the sensation that came with the shrill ringing in his head. "I...compromised our cover."
"Hmm. Tenzin witnessed the same thing in the sewer substation during Avatar Korra's rescue. You were affected then as well." Makei flipped through a folder as he said this, rubbing the salty black stubble on his jawline.
"We encountered him while making our way out of the Monsoon's base." Boto confirmed, recalling the chilling sensation just from seeing the vivid grey eyes in that hood.
"I compromised our cover and the Monsoons had us surrounded. Then the source who provided us with the location of the ship saved us. I was taken to safety, but... Boto-"
"I blacked out and regained consciousness in the middle of a blizzard. There was a old ship nearby that I took shelter in... Rorik was waiting for me. I managed to injure him but he escaped." Boto didn't like recalling what happened in that ship, especially the comments about his father. He shook his head and continued on. "I would have died on that ship if it weren't for Yem."
"The White Lotus Agent chasing after that precious sword of hers?" Makei asked, folding his arms and leaning on the corner of the desk.
"Mako was with her."
Saikhan glanced at him with a raised eyebrow and a slightly suspicious look. He turned his attention to Mako. "Is this true?"
"They were the ones who dragged me out of that warehouse. Amon's protege was leading them."
"Tarrin?"
"Yeah. I have no clue where they are now though, we can't bring them in." Mako fell quiet, finding that as soon as he didn't have anything left to say his thoughts kept going back to what he said to Korra back at the White Lotus compound.
"Terrific..." Saikhan muttered. "I can't fault you two for the investigation going nowhere. You were unprepared and without backup in a hostile environment. We need to focus on what we can do now to solve this problem."
Boto nodded, glancing at Mako and elbowing him to get his attention. The firebender shook his head and scowled at him before nodding as well. "Anything further, sir?"
"Nope. The only thing on the cards is providing security for the arena when during the National Match. But you two need to take some time off."
"Sir, we can continue, just say-"
The Chief fixed Boto with a withering look. "Lieutenant, this is the only time you'll hear this from me: Take a few days off. See the match, spend some quality time with your gal, just be ready when you come back."
"Great... time off." Mako muttered, not looking forward to spending all of his time in his apartment. The only alternative included Korra.
"We'll take that... advice, sir."
Saikhan sighed as he nodded and grabbed a pen from a pot on his desk, scribbling the first of many signatures on the first of many copies of the exact same warrant sheet. "Try to have fun."
The locker room had just emptied of officers as Mako and Boto walked in, watching as off-duty officers laughed and joked with one another on their way out of a station and to the nearest club or dance hall, while others were on their way to a long and lonely night of patrolling the streets.
From what Boto had been hearing ever since he stepped off the ferry with Korra and the others, the gang wars had only gotten worse and a lot of people had been injured. Many of them police officers or just average benders.
Standing in front of a nearby locker Boto bounced his wolf helmet in the air for a few seconds before laying it down on the nearby bench, briefly brushing the bridge of the wolf's nose with his fingers. He just couldn't get what Rorik said about his father out of his head. The sadistic madman was about as far away from being a trusted source as you could get. He shouldn't dwell on what he said. It was what he did to get to people, it was his own special brand of violence.
He sighed and opened his locker, carefully placing his father's helmet on the top shelf. He looked over at Mako. "You gonna see your brother?"
"Sure." Mako answered without even sparing a thought, finding himself more interested stripping off his gloves and placing the pair of them on a hook on the door. A photo set in a simply wooden frame caught his eye as it stared at him above the hook, briefly pulling him back a couple of months to a date with a beautiful girl on a warm summer night.
His fist clenched for only a second when he slammed the locker shut, getting a raised eyebrow from Boto. "You know she never would have let him get hurt if she could, Mako."
"Brilliant for her." He hissed, focusing on checking his wallet rather than looking at him. "Maybe the next time she takes him out on a field trip she can try again."
"Right. Its completely her fault."
"Yep."
"If you say so." Boto's silence for a few seconds communicated exactly how finished he was with the subject. The waterbender leveled him with a look of concern before turning back to his locker. "Going to the match?"
The change in topic was blatant. "Wouldn't miss Bo's chance to shine." Mako muttered as he placed his foot back down on the floor. "So what about you?" He wasn't really interested, just eager to steer the conversation away from the current topic of her.
"I've got some business to take care of at the hospital."
"Duty stops when we're off-duty."
"But the Red Monsoons don't. I need to find out more about them."
"Whatever."
"And you?"
"No plans." He lied, already going over how much of a bad idea it was going to be talking to her so soon.
Sato Mansion, Republic City.
Korra stared up at the ceiling, trying and failing to find any cracks in the high-quality wood the study was made up of.
On an nearby desk one of the ever-present radios, which she had discovered occupied almost every room in the place, talked to itself with barely any static at all. "Aaandd we're back, Republic City! We couldn't even stay away for three whole minutes! Could we, Lian?"
"Definitely not, Lan! We love our listeners far too unconditionally to even think about it!" Lian's chirpy tones weren't enough to get Korra's attention, she stretched out to take up as much space on the surprisingly comfy leather couch as possible and yawned long and loud.
Being by herself in the mansion had lost the novelty. It gave her too much time to dwell on he thoughts.
"I'm afraid we can't help it, can we, Lian?"
The two voices on the radio laughed in unison, compounding her frustrated mood.
"So where were we, Lan? The Avatar?"
"I believe so, Lian. The Avatar."
She lifted her head from the arm rest, now looking at the little brown box on the table with a mix of dread and anger.
"Y'know, I've found it strange that she still hasn't been sighted. I've seen her in action and boy howdy is she a loud one!" Korra grunted, flexing and unflexing her fingers as she thought of bathing the little gadget in a blast of fire.
"And so close to the Meeting of Nations too. Our council will have a hard time answering those questions, especially coming from the current Fire Lord and Earth King!"
"I got a brainwave here, Lian. I have it under firm authority that Avatar Korra is related to the Royal Family of the Northern Water Tribe. Sounds like a open and shut case to me!"
"We all need some time to visit family, Lan. Even the savior of Republic City."
"I can understand the pressures and all, and especially after that business with the Red Monsoons, even I would-" Korra growled and hopped off the couch, storming over to the little radio. She breathed heavily as she clenched and unclenched her fists before violently wrenching the dial on the radio's side to the OFF position.
The grating chirpy tones of Lian and Lan died away under a sea of static, and she nodded in satisfaction. She stormed back to the couch and flopped down on it.
Soon enough her thoughts started to creep up on her again. She tried to stop this by focusing on the time she was able to spend with her parents, but instead she kept coming back to the brutal smackdown she recieved from Telei, and the chilling time she spent in the Dark Cave.
She couldn't help the feelings of dread crawling up her spine just thinking about that place, and especially her encounter with Koh. Korra's mouth went dry just at the image of that bone-white mask on the grotesque centipede body, and found that wrapping her arms around herself gave her a small measure of comfort in light of it.
Rather than stay like that forever a rebellious thought managed to banish the painful memories, forcing her off the couch and demanding her to do something to occupy her time.
Korra had no clue what to do as her eyes ran over the room, seeing the bookcases making up most of the walls. Apart from the large desk sitting in front of a massive window that currently had crimson curtains closed over it there wasn't much else that held interest for her.
On a whim she decided to move towards the desk. She stared at its smooth surface, wondering if she should even think of touching anything on it, knowing that this was Asami's mother's personal study.
She resolved to be as careful as possible. Korra eased one of the top drawers open, the inkwells and canisters within rolling around and bumping into one another immediately. Panicking slightly at the huge amount of noise the small group of objects managed to make she quickly stopped them from moving around, placing them around the edges of the little space.
Something lying flat against the bottom of the drawer space caught her eye. A picture. She tried and failed to get her finger tips underneath it, so she settled for pointing a finger at it and gently generating a tiny stream of air.
It didn't take her long to recognise Asami, even as a kid she still had long flowing hair. The man standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder and a smile on his slightly doughy features.
Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head, wondering how someone as happy as that could do the things he did not a few months ago.
Korra answered her own question when she looked at the beautiful woman standing by Hiroshi, a barely-there cat-like smile on her easygoing features. She had her done up in a different style than Asami's, but the exact same hair made it clear that was her mother standing there and holding onto her daughter's little hand.
She laid the old photograph back down in its resting place, and closed the drawer. Realizing exactly what Asami had lost.
Everything.
A knock on the door made her squeak in surprise. "Lady Avatar? Master Mako is here to see you."
Air Temple Island, Republic City.
The golden sun began to dip below the waves of Yue Bay the day approached its end, lending a sparkling shine to them and casting a warm lazy light over Air Temple Island and the two teens that had just stepped foot on it.
"Owwwww."
"Oops, sorry!" Sensha shifted her weight again, trying not to panic or let her grip on him slip like it did on the way up the ramp. "You said you felt fine."
"What? I needed to get out of the Hospital. Its my last day anyway, I might as well be back on my feet."
She fixed him with a look and sighed, wondering why she even decided to ask him along. "You could have rested at home or something. Take it easy or something."
"Hey. I wanted to hang out with you, you need a great guy like me to look stunning and gorgeous."
Sensha couldn't help but chuckle, sincerely touched that he agreed to go with her. "Right." She shook her head and rolled her eyes as they reached the top of the ramp, now standing at the edge of the massive courtyard that dominated the center of Air Temple Island.
"So... what are we supposed to be doing?" Came the inevitable question she had expected to hear ever since she came by the hospital.
"Well, due to me being a Kyoshi warrior and all, I have been handpicked by the esteemed grand master of my order to act as bodyguard for some important people from the Northern Water Tribe while they are staying in the city. I have no clue who they are."
"I'm sure you can stand being around a couple of snobby windbags. Right?" Bolin yelped as she 'accidentally' slipped on a non-existent rock, he rubbed his shoulder and turned a pout on her.
The thing with his pouts was that they were usually genuine and accompanied by his damn green eyes. She tried to hold out for as long as possible but in the end he won out. "I'm sorry."
"Works 60% of the time, every time." Bolin beamed at her, looking pleased with himself.
"That doesn't make sense." She shook her head and continued to help him across the courtyard, then came to a stop on top of the ying-yang symbol dominating the stonework. She looked up at the sky, seeing a boxy blur dive out of the clouds and slowly descend towards where she and Bolin stood.
"So where are these 'dignitaries'-" Bolin made air quotes with his fingers, getting a chuckle out of her. "- That you'll be hanging around?"
Sensha picked up the speed a little, but made sure that Bolin could still keep up as they approached the stairs leading to the main temple. "I'm supposed to meet them in councilman Tenzin's office. They'll actually be staying on the island while visiting."
It took a little longer than usual for them to climb the stairs because of Bolin's injuries, but they made it to the top and into the building.
"So anything else?" Bolin asked after a while as she helped him up the stairs going to the second level of the large house.
"Nothing much, just that there's three of them." Below she heard something barking along with the laughter of children. Making a mental note to say hello to Tai she led the way into the nearby hallway, looking for a door with a simple orange doorframe around it.
She found what she was looking for past a couple of doors further down, stopping in front of it and taking a deep breath. "Okay, I can do this, not a drama..." She said to herself as she closed her eyes.
They flew open when she realized Bolin had placed a hand on her shoulder. She caught her breath for a few moments before glancing at him and giving a weak smile. "I'm good."
He nodded, and Sensha turned back to the door with a look of resolve. She rapped the door with a few firm knocks and waited a few seconds before grabbing the handle and opening it.
Inside, three people dressed in varying shades of blue, greys and purples talked with Tenzin quietly for a few moments before turning to look at her.
Bolin's eyes lit up at the sight of the slight young woman standing off to the side, her head bowed. "Eska?"
Sensha ignored the look in his eyes as she moved into the room, trying to stride with as much purpose as she could before standing in front of them and Tenzin. She bowed.
"Sensha, good to see you've arrived." Tenzin bowed as well, before straightening and indicating the three Water Tribers. "Chief Unalaq of the Northern Water Tribe and his children. Eska and Desna."
The slight boy standing by his father's side, similar in looks to his sister, bowed deeply. "How do you do."
She glanced behind her quickly, seeing the almost star-struck look in Bolin's eyes and questioning the brief flutter of...jealousy...that came with it. She ignored it and nodded. "Sir. I'll be your bodyguard during your stay in the city."
"Actually..." She glanced at Eska, trying very hard not to dislike the girl as she inclined her head in respect. "You will be my bodyguard. I am looking forward to it."
Sato Mansion, Republic City.
Asami focused on turning the key in the ignition as much as she could, knowing that the movement was as natural to her as breathing was. Even still, she kept most of her attention on it rather than the whole matter of saving a dying company that constantly plagued her mind.
Trying to stay out of her thoughts as much as possible was proving very difficult to do.
She frowned at the sight of the brown and sturdy looking motorcycle parked on the curb nearby, vaguely remembering that Mako was issued one just like it when he first started as a patrol officer.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she ascended the steps leading to the mansion's front deck and she spotted Mako leaning against the doorframe and staring up at the ceiling.
"This...is a surprise." She folded her arms and stood in front of him.
He looked at her and unfolded his arms. "I'm waiting for Korra to get ready.
"For what? You haven't exactly been polite to her from what I've heard." She couldn't help the biting tone in her voice, unable to get past the fact that she been in this exact situation herself and knowing Mako's track record from personal experience.
"I guess its my way of an apology."
She sighed inwardly at his gruff tones, resisting the urge to shake her head as she walked past him and into the lobby of the mansion. It didn't take her long to spot Korra, looking the happiest she had in a long time as she practically bounced the stairs onto the ground floor, throwing her jacket on.
"Hey! You're back! Listen, I got a thing with Mako-" She babbled on and on, absolutely filled with excitement and sheer joy.
"I know, Korra." Asami smiled at her. "Tenzin called me-"
"Whatever, just tell him I'm at the park with Mako!" Korra beamed as she wrapped Asami in a bearhug, before setting her down and running to the door, she stopped for a moment and slapped her forehead. "Get him to pick me up at 10:00pm or something! Uh, by the central fountain thingy! Bye!"
Asami waved weakly as the door slammed shut, a look of genuine worry on her.
Central Park, Republic City.
He coaxed the motorcycle to a stop up against the side of the curb, taking his feet off the pedals and flipping the kickstand down. He went to swing his leg over when he realized there was a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
Outwardly he chuckled, inwardly he couldn't stop thinking about what a terrible idea this was.
"Going somewhere?" He heard her tease with a hint of amusement. She laughed and released him, getting off the backseat of the bike and standing on the footpath.
Mako hooked his fingers under the bottom edges of his helmet and then hesitated. She'd know something is up as soon as he removed his helmet. He found himself looking into her eyes however. He sighed as he balanced the helmet in his palm for a few seconds, before placing it on the end of the handlebar and stepping away from the bike.
On the footpath he felt her hand wrap around his automatically. He just couldn't see the point in not letting her.
His feet started moving almost of their own will, carrying him down the footpath running along the perimeter of the park and the spiked iron fencing separating it from the street.
Her hand squeezed his a few times and he felt her cheek nestling against his shoulder. Once again, he tried to ignore it and focus on the warm glow of the street lamps overhead.
The open gate to the park soon came into view, admitting a number of people into the park at a steady pace. A nearby pair of Metalbenders in full uniform patrolled up and down the streetside in front of the gate, the two of them gave him nods of recognition.
"You know those two?"
Mako remembered who was with him. "What? Yeah, from work." He felt her cheek rubbing his shoulder as she nodded, giving his hand yet another squeeze.
Not saying anything further the two of them walked through the open gates, passing a few couples along the way. Who all just seemed to be there to irritate him. A few of them whispered to each other excitedly, especially when they spotted Korra.
She waved at a few of them just to be polite, but didn't linger, wanting this night to be about her and him.
Soon enough as they continued along the stone path and the trees on either side of them started to grow closer together, the frequency of other couples dropped sharply. Soon enough, it just seemed like it was the two of them alone in the park.
The lights from the apartment blocks didn't reach as far in the park as they were, only able to give the still ponds and quietly gurgling streams strewn in the dimming light around them a soft warm glow.
A pleasant sigh lifted from her, breaking Mako out of his thoughts. He looked around, recognising the large bricked square up ahead and the elaborate fountain taking up the center.
"I remember this place." Korra unwrapped her hands from him and jogged over to a tree growing near a corner of the square. "We spent the night here while waiting for that Equalist goon. That was embarassing."
"Yeah." He glanced at her, finding that she was overlooking a very important detail. "Well, we couldn't really find Bolin any other way, could we?"
"Uh, no." Mako shook his head and sighed explosively.
The firebender found that he enjoyed the silence that ensued.
"You know, ever since we've gotten back from the South Pole, you've been acting kind of strange." He almost growled at the 'concern' in her voice. She couldn't seriously be doing this?
He couldn't help it as he looked at her, barely stopping himself from laughing in outright disbelief. "Yeah, well, I suppose finding your only living family nearly frozen to death out in the cold, after being kidnapped into the spirit world might make anyone a little...strange."
"Have you even gone to see him since getting off the ferry?"
"How- how can you of all people ask that?" He found that he could contain himself no longer. Now he relished waiting for the chance to explode.
"I- sorry." She looked at the ground, her voice dropping to a low level. "Shouldn't have asked-"
"Yeah, you, shouldn't have." He didn't bother hiding the distaste this time.
"Okay, just what is your problem with me?" Korra knew she should have felt angry or something, but instead all she had was desperation. She just wanted to understand him, ever since she'd been kidnapped it seemed like he had been treating her like a distant annoyance at best. Coupled with what happened between them at the South Pole, she felt like she deserved at least some kind of answer from him.
"Gee, how about the fact that you don't think getting Bolin injured isn't a big deal?" He didn't care that he was shouting now, focusing on trying to get through that thick skull of hers. "I've protected him pretty much from the moment he started walking. Then you came in the picture and I-I." He remembered how badly he had treated Bolin in the last couple of months. "I pretty much threw him aside for your sake!"
Korra realised she was making a mistake letting her anger get the best of her. But it proved so easy to just let it go. "I didn't ask you to do that! If you had stuck around and not gone off chasing criminals then he wouldn't have gotten hurt!"
"Not much I can do against spirits, can I?! You keep dragging us into danger!" He started to pace back and forth in front of the fountain, his hand running along the thick stone railing ringing it.
"You're seriously blaming me for everything bad that has happened to you?" Now she was angry, the desperation was completely gone, burned away by a mix of anger and regret. "Bolin asked to come with me into that cave, I didn't force him into anything! He was just being a good friend!"
His bitter laughter answered her. "A good friend?" He asked with a mocking tone. Mako shook his head and continued pacing back and forth.
She advanced forward a few steps closer to the fountain, a small part of still believing there was some way she could fix this. That small part was dwarfed by her desire to get some sense into him. "Its not like you can't be blamed. As soon as you became a cop, Bolin just fell out of the picture for you!"
He surprised her by sighing and leaning on the guard rail of the fountain with his back to her. "And you've always been there for him, right? Is that what you were going to say?"
That stopped her cold.
Her body froze in place, every word he said to her striking true. She could only blink, stunned into silence at the fact that he was right.
"You're reckless and you don't think ahead. You just hope that everything will work out for you in the end, no matter what happens or who gets hurt." He looked away from Korra, unable to stand the sight of her. He looked into the water of the fountain instead. "And you make others hurt each other as well." He whispered, hanging his head in shame.
Korra watched, still silent as a mouse when he shook his head and clenched his fists, stepping away from the fountain. "You're reckless." He muttered with a dark look directed back at her.
And just like that he turned and left, walking back along the path they took to get here.
"Mako?" She whispered in a low voice as she stared down the path, breathing heavily with her fists clenched. Five minutes passed after she no longer heard his footsteps and she finally unclenched her fists.
Korra sank to the ground, and with a sob wrapped her arms around her, burying her face into her knees.
Tenzin heard a low grumble beneath him that lasted for a few seconds, and nodded.
"You'll get used to it." He muttered, the same thing he said the last thirteen times Oogi had gotten used to the clean and fresh air of the Southern Air Temple and flown over Republic City.
Oogi answered with another rumble and bucked his head slightly as his way of nodding. Tenzin sighed as he tightened his hold on the reins and leant slightly forward to whisper in the Sky Bison's ear. "Almost there."
He gently pressed his foot into Oogi's side and bent low over the saddle, the change in wieght telling Oogi to go lower. Tenzin waited until Oogi was just above the shortest of the apartment buildings surrounding bark until straightening in the saddle again,
The Sky Bison leveled out and grumbled again, this time sounding pleased as he moved through the fresh air produced by the plants growing below in the park.
Tenzin kept his eyes peeled for Speaker's Square, focusing on the central portion of the park in particular.
It didn't take him long to spot the red coloring that made it stand out from the trees around it or the bridges connecting to it over the streams of water. He angled Oogi down again, heading straight for the open space.
A frown surfaced on him when he got close enough clearly see the square's fountain, he searched for signs of Korra and Mako but couldn't find anything.
He guided Oogi to land near the fountain, making sure to be gentle about it so the bricks wouldn't crack under the Bison's weight. Oogi rumbled as he shook his entire body and rolled his shoulders, glad to be at rest for the moment.
Tenzin used a small stream of wind to slid down Oogi's flank onto the bricks, he busied himself and straightened his mantle while he looked around himself.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the square, he spotted a small figure sitting at the base of a willow tree near the corner of the square. He moved closer and grunted as Korra crashed into his chest, her eyes screwed shut and wetness visible on her cheeks.
"Tenzin."
He frowned, hands still for a moment before he raised them to hold her close, silent as his student vented.
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