Model Behavior
Summary: Modern/AU. Korra thought it was an ordinary day of art class at Republic School for the Gifted. But then, the art model Asami Sato walked into the room... Korrasami
Chapter 18: Team Avatar
Asami awoke with a start. She blinked slowly and forced her eyes open, her ears picking up a soft melody. Realizing it was her cell phone, she got to her feet to walk over to her desk. She kept walking, and kept walking, and kept walking, until she stubbed her toe.
"Ouch," she cried, the pain instantly making her aware of her surroundings. She had stubbed her toe against the chair in the living room of her apartment. Asami followed the sound of her cell phone to the kitchen. She couldn't help but laugh when she found it sitting in her candy cabinet. She looked at the caller id before pressing ANSWER and putting the phone against her ear.
"Asami Sato," she said into the phone. Asami walked back into the living room and smiled at Korra curled up against Naga on the floor. She rubbed her head and thought back to the night before after the gala. Upon returning from the part, Korra and Asami instantly changed into their pajamas to go to sleep: Korra in long pants and a tank top and Asami in a nightgown. The engineer still had trouble getting to sleep so Korra had convinced her to just sit in the living room and listen to music until the two fell asleep. They happily found that they liked a lot of the same music. Asami had tried to get Korra to listen to a little bit of country music, but she ended up locking herself in the coat closet just to escape the distinctive sounds.
"Ms. Sato, we have a problem," Raiken, the executive vice president and COO of Future Industries said the minute she picked up the phone.
"That's news to me since I thought the company was moving forward," Asami mumbled. She pressed her phone between her shoulder and neck, before walking around the front of the couch and started to clean up the blanket and pillow she had used last night. Korra stirred a little bit before turning onto her side.
"That's exactly my point," he snapped. "You haven't been very attentive to the company these past few months; at least not since you started sponsoring the Fire Ferrets."
Asami snapped the blanket into the air before folding it. "We knew that things wouldn't be running as smoothly initially once I took over the company. School has always been my top priority-"
"And now, Future Industries should be your top priority," Raiken interrupted.
She placed the blanket and pillow on one of the couch's arm rest before putting the phone back into her hand. She crossed an arm over her chest and started to pace around the room. Before answering, she had to take a few deep breaths to keep her anger in check. "I understand that you worry about the company but I am the CEO and you should speak to me with respect."
"I'm just thinking, that maybe it is time to accept help from an outside source," he said slowly.
"No."
"Ms. Sato-"
"No!"
"It's what your father would have done," Raiken added.
"My father accepted outside help from the Equalists and besmirched the name of this company," Asami answered with a snarly. "I'm running it now and I don't want help. I don't need it."
"Are you sure?"
"I am!" she insisted. "You have been my second in command since I took over. Things are going to be hectic until I graduate and then after that everything will run like a well-oiled machine."
"I thought you wanted to go to university."
Asami bit her bottom lip. She breathed sharply out of her nose while looking at a few textbooks sitting on the table. "Well, like you said, Future Industries should be my top priority."
"…If you're sure, but…"
"I am," she answered evenly. "Once I finish my schooling I'll take over full-time." She cleared her throat before raising her chin. "As of late, we don't need outside interference. I'm putting my foot done on this one." And to drive her point, Asami stomped her foot, even though he couldn't see her.
"Ow," Korra screeched while sitting up. She pulled her foot back and rubbed the rapidly swelling portion. She tried to glare up at Asami, but failed with how sleepy she looked. Asami had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep herself form laughing.
"What was that?" Raiken asked.
"My roommate," Asami muttered. She mouthed an apology to Korra before stepping around her. She sighed before reaching up to rub her now throbbing temples. "I have to get ready for school. Keep me posted on anything that may arise," she instructed.
"Of course, Ms. Sato," he answered before hanging up the phone.
"What was that for?" Korra asked.
"Sorry, Korra," Asami said lightly. "That was an accident. Anyway, it's time we get ready for school."
"I hate mornings," she muttered with a whine. Korra picked up her cell phone from beside her and checked the phone. "Anyway, you're right. Mako and Bolin will be here soon," she answered. Asami paused in the doorway to her room. She slowly turned around looked over at the Avatar, whose eyes had widened. Her back muscles tensed as she stiffened up a bit.
"Why are they coming?" Asami asked her voice full of suspicion. Korra quickly took interested in Naga's big paws. She started to exam every nail and the padding on the underside of her foot. Asami marched over and stood above the darker-girl, her arms crosssed over her chest and an eyebrow raised. "Korra?" she said firmly.
"Gosh, you really do have a work voice," Korra commented. "Mako said that whenever you want things to get done, you use your work voice," she quickly explained. Asami glared. "Okay, okay. I may have mentioned that I'd be walking you to school," she admitted.
"When?" she demanded.
"Last night when you were asleep," Korra quickly answered. "We were skyping and talking about the party."
Asami gasped before throwing her hands up in the air. "Why would you tell them that?" she demanded.
"It slipped out," Korra whined. "And in my defense, I only told Bolin."
"This is just great," she groaned. "I didn't want to make too big of a deal out of it."
"It is a big deal if you're being bothered on a daily basis," the Avatar answered gently.
Asami stared at her for a long time. Korra shifted uncomfortably underneath her gaze. Finally, Asami pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing deeply. "Let's just get ready," Asami suggested. She reached out and pulled Korra to her feet. The engineer walked into her bedroom and then into her bathroom. She took note of her uniform hanging from the pole that the shower curtains were hanging on. She turned on the shower to its hottest setting so that the steam could get the wrinkles out of her shirt.
Asami looked at her reflection in the mirror before grabbing a wash cloth. She ran it under some water before scrubbing the old makeup off of her face. She winced as the bruise on her side flared up. Asami dropped the wash cloth into the sink and lifted the side of her nightgown, lightly running a finger over bruise.
"Hey, do you have a spare surf board I could use?" Korra asked while appearing in the doorway. Asami jumped and dropped her nightgown. She turned around and looked at the darker girl in confusion.
"A what?" Asami asked.
"Oh." Korra turned a deep red. "Growing up, that's what I was told to call a…you know…" she slowly trailed off, growing shyer with each passing word. "I can see in your eyes that you're thinking hard about this. You're almost there."
The Avatar smiled as Asami's green eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh!" Asami reached underneath her sink a pulled out a package of pads. "Here, just take the whole thing." She handed the green package over to Korra who took it with a small smile.
"So, how did you get that bruise on your side?" Korra asked casually. Asami bit her bottom lip before looking away. She turned back to the sink, fidgeting with the wash cloth. "Don't think I didn't notice."
"It's nothing," Asami answered with a shrug.
"I'm beginning to think that should be Rika's codename," Korra snickered. She placed the pads onto the ground before stepping into the bathroom. She bent some water from the shower into a small orb. It then began to blow a bright blue. "Why didn't you tell me about this? I'm a healer. Let me take care of it." She walked over to Asami's side and lifted up the side of her nightgown high enough to see the bruising. Korra pressed the glowing water orb to her side and started to move her other hand to the left and to the right, across the bruise.
"That feels so much better," Asami sighed, relaxing underneath the soothing warm water. She unzipped her makeup bag that was sitting on the counter next to the sink before reaching in and pulling out a small tube of lipstick and eyeliner.
Korra watched as she applied the cosmetics. "Why do you wear so much makeup?" she asked.
Asami's hand paused briefly, the lipstick hovering above her bottom lip. She then sighed hard before swiping it across her lips. "…After my mother died, my father barely looked at me. I used to think it was because he wanted to throw himself into his work as a part of his grieving process. It always bothered me because I felt like he wasn't proud of any of my accomplishments." Asami unscrewed a mascara container and moved the wand to skirt over her eyelashes. "I got so fed up that one day I cornered him in his office and demanded to know why. He told me, that it hurts to look at me because I looked so much like my mother." She felt Korra's hands pause briefly over the bruise. Asami recapped the mascara before tossing it into her makeup bag. "So, I started to wear makeup so that he would look at me like his daughter again, not like someone he lost."
"I'm sorry," Korra whispered.
"Well, that and because I was teased a lot when I was younger for being 'weird'." Asami made air quotes around the word weird. She started to quickly apply her pink eye shadow. "Apparently, it wasn't normal for me to wear overalls all the time, be interested in cars, motorcycles, sports like pro-bending, and other guy stuff. Essentially I was a tomboy. Plus, I kind of blossomed late. Aside from my long hair, people would think I was a guy. So, I started to put makeup on to look more like a girl. Then, I started to get interested in clothes and fashion and other things and ended up wearing skirts and dresses more.
"They made fun of you because of that?" Korra bent the glowing orb of water down the drain of the sink. "I'm a tomboy," she added.
"Yes, but you have the muscles to back it up," Asami pointed out.
"True." Korra lifted her right arm and flexed. Asami laughed before throwing the wet wash cloth over towards her. She laughed harder when it hit the Avatar in the face with a loud smack. "Hurry up and get dressed or we'll be late."
Korra hummed in response. She picked up the package of pads before walking back into Asami's bedroom. She stopped by the floor length mirror that was hung up on the wall by the bedroom door. A color flier was tucked into the frame. "What's this?" she pulled it off of the mirror and held it up in the air so that Asami could it see it in the reflection of the bathroom mirror.
"A flier for the upcoming Winter Formal at my school," she called back.
Korra scanned the lettering on the piece of paper "Backwards dance?" she asked.
"Yes, it's somewhat of a theme." Asami stepped into her bedroom, holding the hanger of her school uniform in between her fingers. "Obviously since it's a girls school we have to ask our dates, but the girls can wear suits and the guys can wear dresses, if they choose to. Although, no one has done it since the senior class a few years ago graduated."
"Why not?" Korra gasped. "That sounds cool."
"I don't know," Asami admitted with a shrug. "I think it's because a lot of girls these days care how they look."
"Are you going?"
"I wasn't planning on it," she answered with a scoff.
"Let me guess: you can't dance?" Korra smirked. "This is it! I finally found something that makes you less than perfect."
"I never had someone to go with," Asami responded with an eye roll. "I never had friends at RITA and Iroh was always gone, so what was the point?"
"It's your senor year. I think you should go."
"Who would I go with?" she demanded. Korra stared back at her, blankly. "Exactly my point. Now, hurry up!"
"Geez, calm down, Mom." Korra playfully stuck her tongue out at Asami before leaving the room to get dressed.
Just like she had promised, Korra walked Asami to school with Mako and Bolin in two. Naga had joined them as well since she needed to be walked. They had decided to walk to the Midnight Dragon first to pick up Asami's rental car before heading to the school. Korra, Mako, and Bolin rode Naga as Asami drove herself the rest of the way.
Upon reaching the school, Asami scanned the campus, looking for Rika, Manami, and Kiyoko. She hadn't spotted them and was kind of disappointed that they hadn't seen her entrance. Korra forced Asami to promise her roughly three times that if anything happened, she should call her.
Asami felt much more comfortable walking through the halls of RITA that day. News must have spread to Rika about her friends being with her that morning. She hadn't seen during homeroom, although she was in their shared classes. Rika just spoke with Manami the entire time. However, during lunch, when she spotted the girl in the cafeteria, Rika seemed to find her chocolate pudding more interesting whenever the two locked eyes. Normally, Rika would find a reason to insult her, causing the whole room to erupt with laughter. While Asami still sat by herself to eat her lunch, she felt much more content in years. She did notice, however, that Kiyoko wasn't sitting with Rika.
In fact, Asami hadn't seen Kiyoko at all during the first half of the day. She had explained her worries to Korra, who would occasionally text her to make sure everything would be fine. Asami found herself bubbling with more energy every time her phone indicated a new text message from her roommate.
She was scanning over their conversation, something had happened during Korra's PE class where Tahno got caught in some netting, as she passed the nurse's office. Asami heard someone call out her name as she walked by. Since she was so engrossed in her phone, she wasn't really sure if she was making up the greeting in her head. Asami turned on her heel and walked back towards the nurse's office. As she stepped into the room, she noticed one of the two exam room doors open. She paused when she noticed Kiyoko gave her a small wave, with her left hand. This spiked Asami's curiosity since the girl was right handed.
"Kiyoko, what's wrong?" Asami rushed into the room. She grabbed a nearby chair and sat down next to the examination bed. The nurse had excused herself to go and look over another student, muttering about some unfortunate science lab accident.
"Nothing; just Rika being a bitch." Kiyoko forced a smile. She sniffed and felt a tear slide down her cheek. She instinctively reached up to wipe it away with her right hand and flinched when she felt the roughness of the gauze wrapped around her wrist.
Asami gasped before reaching out and taking hold of Kiyoko's injured arm. She gently ran her hand up and down the bindings which ran up to the girl's elbow and all the way down to her the start of her fingers. "What happened?" she whispered.
"I told her I didn't want to be her friend anymore," Kiyoko answered. Asami looked up and couldn't help but feel her heart ache for the injured girl. One side of her wanted to be happy. She wanted her to feel the pain that she's been going through for the past few years. And yet, the other side of her felt so much compassion that she could feel herself tearing up. "She was terrible and I don't know why I put up with it as much as I did. Somehow she turned it around and made it seem like I was the blame. She even had Manami-"
"She did this?" Asami gasped.
"Yeah. I told the nurse I fell off of my bike this morning." Kiyoko pulled her hand back out of Asami's grip. "It's okay, Asami. Everything is fine," she insisted.
"But, won't she tell everyone about your…situation." Asami looked over her shoulder. She peered out of the doorway towards the other room. The nurse had shut the door behind her when she went to check on the other patient.
"Not if she's smart," Kiyoko said with a short laugh. "It was an empty threat. She won't say anything because she is a part of it."
Asami nodded once. She got to her feet and patted Kiyoko softly on her injured arm. She gave her a soft smile before heading towards the door. "I hope you get better soon," she said.
"Wait, " Kiyoko called out. She hopped off of the examination table and rushed over to the door. She pushed it closed with her foot and locked it. "I want to tell you what she was blackmailing me with," she whispered. "I want to tell you because we used to be friends. I could tell you anything and I knew you wouldn't spread it around. I want to go back to that. I only did what Rika told me to do because I was scared."
Asami reclaimed her seat in the chair. She crossed one leg over the other and nodded over at Kiyoko, indicating that she could explain. Kiyoko nodded n response before taking a deep breath. She started to pace around the small room.
"I cheated on the entrance exams," Kiyoko admitted. Asami's jaw dropped in shock but she remained silent. "Rika helped me. She used her name and status to be able to find someone to take the test for me." The girl dropped her head in shame. "That's how I got a good enough score to get into RITA."
"For your parents," Asami concluded. Kiyoko nodded. The engineer got up out of her seat and wrapped her arms around Kiyoko. She held her tightly for a few seconds before taking a step back. She wiped a stray tear from the girl's cheek with her thumb. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Kiyoko shook her head. "My friends and I are going to meet up to go bowling and I'd like for you to come with us." Kiyoko instantly brightened. "I know what it's like to go through life without having friends and I don't want you to go through it as well."
"…Will Mako be there?" she asked softly.
Asami frowned. "Of course, it was his idea. Why?" She noticed a light flush rising up the girl's neck. She then smiled. "You like him, don't you? That would explains a lot."
"He's just so cute and athletic, and he's doing something with his life," Kiyoko gushed. "I think that's very admirable."
"No need to explain," Asami laughed. "I understand, completely. How about I help you with him tomorrow?"
"You'd do that for me?" Kiyoko asked. "Thanks, Asami. That's so nice of you."
"To take a page from Korra: what are friends for?"
"We believe there are chi-blockers here, training in combat. Are you ready?" Tarrlok asked. Korra nodded before slipping a piece of black cloth over her mouth. Tarrlok, Korra, and the other members of the task force rushed up to the side of an abandoned building. The wood paneling along the outside was splitting and cracking. Korra peered down into one of the holes and watched as a small group of people
"What's that?" Korra asked. Tarrlok moved next to her and peered through the hole. "In the corner," she pointed out. "It looks like a chi-blocker's pair of goggles." Sitting in the corner of the room was a long table filled high with bags and coats. In the corner was a pair of yellow goggles, partially sticking out under pile of black clothing.
"This is it," Tarrlok announced. "Let's roll." As the other members of the task force got into position, he placed a mask over the bottom half of his face. "You're the Avatar, Korra, so I will follow whatever decisions you make."
Korra scanned the room. She frowned when she noticed the people in the room, pairing off in small groups of two. She got to her feet and faced the rest of the task force, before giving a big nod. Two task force members climbed up into the truck they drove in on, and opened a giant tank filled with water. "On my count," she instructed.
Tarrlok and task force member stepped up to the main doors of the building. Korra closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the main doors. "Now," she ordered.
The two task members on the truck bent the water out of the giant tank, shooting towards the doors as Tarrlok and another task force member pushed the main doors open. The water quickly flooded the room and knocked the chi-blockers inside against the walls. Korra charged through and split the water in half, freezing the chi-blockers against the wall.
She spotted movement from the corner of her eye. A chi-blocker had flipped over a table to block the water from him hitting him. Korra rushed over, kicking he table away from him. The chi-blocker grabbed her leg before flinging her across the room. Korra landed on her feet. She waved her arms high in the air, bending some of the frozen water into a stream. She circled the stream of water around her body before punching it forward.
When the water struck the chi-blocker, she expected him to be swept off his feet from the force of the water. She was thrown off guard as a huge cloud of steam filled the room. Korra flinched as the how water vapor stung her cheeks. The Avatar shielded her eyes and peered through the steam, looking for the chi-blocker. She dropped her arms, her mouth opening in shock when she watched the embers of a fire being put out at the end of the chi-blocker's fist. "What?" Korra gasped. The chi-blocker, no, firebender, slowly moved into a low, crouching position. He raised his arm high into the air and stepped forward, before being pushed back by a giant wave of water. It instantly froze "Wait, Tarrlok, what are you doing?" she demanded as he unfroze the bender and put him in handcuffs.
"They're being arrested," he answered simply. Tarrlok nodded his head once. The task force members were quickly subdued and put into handcuffs. Korra watched as they were marched out of the room and towards the truck that they had all driven in together. A bender looked over at the Avatar in a silent plea for help. She moved forward to help but Tarrlok stepped into her path.
"They aren't chi-blockers, they're benders," Korra explained. "They're one of us. They weren't doing anything. They're innocent."
"They're benders who are working for Amon," Tarrlok said harshly.
"We don't know that," Korra shot back. "And why would they work for Amon if he's forcing equality?" He rolled his eyes before holing up a hand. The other members of the task force quickly exited the building. As he turned to leave as well, Korra ran up and grabbed him by the arm. "Councilman Tarrlok, this isn't what I agreed to do. I order you to let them go. You can't-"
Korra gasped in pain as she felt her limbs beginning to twitch and turn in various directions. Pain erupted out of every nerve ending. She grunted as she felt herself being flung across the room and into the wall. The wind was knocked out of her and her lungs began to spasm. She dropped the floor, gasping for air. Tarrlok stood above her, staring down at her.
"You said…back up," she rasped.
"Only when you made the right decisions," Tarrlok answered. He stared down at her for a moment before exiting the room. Korra flipped herself to her back and stared up at the ceiling. Her vision blurred and corrected itself over and over again.
"Korra!" a voice called out.
"Mako?" she muttered. Mako quickly ran over to her and helped her to her feet. Bolin and Asami arrived a few seconds later. The engineer's electric glove glowered brightly in the dark room. It crackled every few seconds from the electric current running through it.
"What happened?" Bolin asked.
"Tarrlok," she muttered. She rubbed head before slowly moving her arms and legs, working the circulation back into them. "How did you all know I was here?"
"We heard a news report about the task," Asami answered. "We kind of knew you'd be at the center of all the action," she added with a small smile. Korra chuckled in spite of herself. She stepped out of the building and into the open. She took in a deep breath of the cool air.
"You joined Tarrlok's task force?" Mako asked. She looked at him in surprise and confusion. "Lin mentioned it in one of my criminology courses. She has suspected that it wasn't created to help the city but to help himself to political power," he explained.
"I did join. Man, that was stupid," she spat. Korra cried out in frustration before stomping her foot into the ground. A piece of rock popped out of the ground and traveled high into the air. Asami cowered behind Bolin as it fell back in their direction. He punched at the air, a tower of rock erupting in front of him. The piece of rock hit the top of the towel before rolling away. He dug his heel into the ground, bending the earth back. "Sorry," she apologized. "Tenzin told me that Amon and the Equalists are suspected to be organizing an attack. Councilman Tarrlok made it seem like his group would be defending the city."
Asami stepped forward and placed a hand on Korra's shoulder. "Everything will be fine, Korra. The Equalists were stopped before, so they'll be stopped again."
"But innocent people, right now, are getting their bending taken away," Korra answered. "Everything isn't fine. I made a mistake," Korra whimpered. She reached up dabbed the corner of her eyes with a finger. "Now I think Republic City will pay for it," she added.
"Then we'll be there to stop them," Bolin insisted. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Together as Team Avatar."
"Aang had his friends by him, so we're by you 100%," Mako added. He stuck his hand out. Bolin placed his hand on top of his, and Asami placed hers on top of his. The three of them looked over at Korra expectantly. She smiled softly before placing her hand on top of the pile.
"Thanks, guys, for having my back," Korra said sincerely. "I think Amon will only attack once the city has settled. He already struck fear into everyone in the past with the Equalists kidnapping and taking away people's bending even before I arrived. This way he can sneak up on everyone."
"Then we'll be ready for him," Mako answered simply. Korra looked at each of them before nodding in confirmation.
AN: I'm going to try my hardest to get back on track with my schedule for my fics, but I may end up throwing out my schedule and go back to updating when I have the time. It was a little bit easier that way.
Here is the next chapter's title: Mako and Kiyoko
Review Response: to guest reviewer Mat - the chapter titles are just clues/hints. It doesn't mean that it'll be the only thing i write about ;)
