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. First in "Model U.N." series


Chapter 46: To Err is Human, To Forgive is Divine

"Where is Asami?" Bolin asked. He was sprawled out on the couch, one leg up on the arm and the other on the floor. He tossed a ball over to Naga to just watched it bounce and roll away in front of her nose.

"Bolin, if you ask that one more time, we'll leave you behind," Mako said with a glare. He turned his attention back to the playing cards in his hand. He let out a sigh before picking one up from the deck in the middle of the table.

"What, it's a legit question," he said defensively.

"It would be if you didn't ask every two minutes," Mako commented. Korra snickered while looking at the cards in her hand. She hummed to herself while picking a card up from the discard pile.

"Two?" Bolin repeated. "I thought it was five."

"Gin!" Korra cried, laying her cards out on the table.

"I thought we were playing Cribbage," Mako commented in confusion.

"I don't think you can play cabbage; I think you eat it." Korra asked.

"Okay grandma and grandpa," Bolin commented while sitting up on the couch. "Has anyone even tried to get in contact with her?"

"I've sent her five text messages," Korra said. She leaned back in her chair, balancing on the two back legs. "Sending another message isn't going to make a difference."

The three of them shared confused looks as a loud rapping came on the door to the apartment. It paused for a moment before the knocking turned to loud banging. "That must be a persistent pizza delivery guy," Korra commented.

"Or woman," Bolin said, "no need to discriminate."

"Touché," Korra responded. She slammed the chair back onto the ground before getting up and walking over to the door. After peering through the peep hole, she opened the door before jumping back as it was pushed open. "Where's the fire?" she commented as Kiyoko rushed in.

"Is Asami here?" Kiyoko asked, while looking around. Without waiting for an answer, she began rushing around, looking in every open door.

"No, we haven't heard from her all day," Bolin called out from the couch.

"So, it is true!" she cried.

Mako grabbed Kiyoko by the shoulders, forcing her to stand still. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Asami was expelled," Kiyoko announced. She moved out from Mako's grasp towards the table where Korra and Mako were sitting at. After brushing off the playing cards, she pulled her laptop out of her school bag and placed it onto the tabletop. As she waited for it to boot up, she pulled out a charger and plugged it into the wall.

"There's no way she could have gotten herself expelled," Mako said.

"It wasn't her; she was framed," Kiyoko responded. She pulled up a video player software and began to type furiously. Bolin, Korra, and Mako gathered around, glancing over her shoulder. After two more clicks with the keyboard mouse, she made the video player screen bigger. "Check this out," she instructed. "They're security cameras at RITA."

"How did you get this?" Korra asked.

"I'm good with computers," Kiyoko said. She pulled up the video of Asami fighting back against Rika and Manami. Mako, Korra, and Bolin let out cries of discomfort when they saw Asami push Rika up against a row of lokers. Bolin then let out a gasp of surprise when it was shown Asami had slapped her across the face. Korra let out a laugh, and Mako's eyes widened in surprise. "Rika and Manami set her up so she could be expelled out of RITA. This is the full video." With that, Kiyoko pulled up another video but from a different angle. It clearly shows Asami being confronted by Rika and Manami before defending herself.

"Why is this video different?" Bolin wondered.

"The other video was doctored to show Asami being the main aggressor," Kiyoko explained. "Probably done by Manami. We went to the same coding summer camp last year."

"You rich kids really need to get a life," Korra snickered. "That's not a summer camp, that's voluntary summer school."

Mako continued to silently watch the video. After a moment, he leaned forward and replayed the video, pausing it when Manami tossed an object to the ground. "What's with the water-bottle?" he asked.

"They switched her water-bottle to frame her for having cactus juice," Kiyoko said. "But, that's not the worst part," she said quietly. With a few more clicks of the keyboard mouse, the camera feed changed to view the outside of RITA. It showed Asami walking out of the front doors of the school. A few moments later, the camera angle shifted and showed Asami being dragged to the side of the building. Manami appeared from a dark spot in the corner, picking up Asami's legs and assisting Rika in moving her out of frame.

"They abducted her?" Bolin gasped.

"I didn't find out until a few minutes ago, when I got this." Kiyoko reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her cell phone. She pulled up a recent text message and handed her phone to Korra, who read the message out loud:

Manami: -6:23pm- Si Wong Desert in a hidden bunker. Near Misty Oasis. I'm sorry about this. About everything. She's alive, last I saw.

"Si Wong Desert?" Bolin repeated. "How'd they get there so quickly?"

"Rika has family ties to Cabbage Corps. They probably got an airship," Kiyoko explained.

Korra gasped, snapping her fingers. "Maybe that's why Rika doesn't like her. After Hiroshi framed Cabbage Corps for Equalist involvement, the company practically folded."

"There's more. She's been inducted into some group called the Red Lotus."

Mako, Bolin, and Korra all exchanged looks of horror with each other. Kiyoko looked in between the three of them before hunkering down at her computer. The sounds of her typing quickly filled the silence. A moment later, Korra lifted her fingers to her lips and let out a loud whistle. Naga jumped to her feet and rushed over.

"Come on, girl, we have to go find Asami!" Korra ordered.

Mako quickly grabbed her by the middle of her elbow and pulled her away from the polar-bear dog's side. ""Korra, it can easily be a trap," he insisted. "They probably adbucted Asami to get to you."

"Well, we have to do something," she shouted. "Asami's in trouble. We don't even know if she's still alive."

"Mako's right," Bolin said. "There's no point in rushing out to get Asami if we don't know where she is."

Korra pushed Naga away. She clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace back and forth. She was muttering to herself as Bolin and Mako watched her movements. Naga began to follow behind her, sniffing lightly at her heels. Suddenly, Korra stopped walking, let out a grunt as Naga kept moving. The polar-bear dog slipped her head between her owner's legs and slid Korra down the back of her neck, resting at her shoulders.

"I have an idea," Korra said happily. She leaned forward and gave Naga a kiss on the back of her neck before turning to scramble up her back. She made herself comfortable before crossing her legs in a sitting position. "Watch over my body," she instructed, before closing her eyes.


Asami woke up with a gasp before closing her eyes against the hot sun. She took in a few deep breaths of dry air, which only sent discomfort into her chest. Hermes purred before rapidly flapping its wings, directing cool air over her face and neck. Asami hummed in content before sitting up. She groaned when she felt sand slip out of her hair and into her lap. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked around at the miles and miles of sand. A few yards in front of her was a set of train tracks. Shimmying out of her school uniform's jacket, she took the arms and wrapped them around her waist, tying it in a not.

"Hermes, where are we?" she coughed. Hermes looked at her with its big green eyes, cocking its head to the side. "I guess you don't know either," she commented. "Thank you for rescuing me." Hermes jumping into her lap and curled up into a ball, folding its wings.

Asami slowly climbed to her feet. Hermes landed on his feet before sinking into the sand before disappearing. Asami removed the jacket from around her waist before placing it on top of her, blocking the sun and providing a little bit of shade. "Okay, how am I going to get out of this?" she muttered to herself.

"Asami!"

Asami turned around, letting out a cry of pain as the dry wind picked up, blowing dust into her face. Her school jacket blew off her head and off into the distance. The sand buffeted against her legs and neck. She spat into the sand, desperate to get the grainy dirt out of her mouth.

"Asami, I'm right here!"

"Korra," she said quietly. Asami slowly opened her eyes, her jaw dropping upon noticing a Korra spirit in front of you. "Is this real?"

"Yes, ever since the Harmonic Convergence I've been able to project my spirit," Korra said proudly. "Jinora taught me how to do it. Are you okay? We heard what happened."

Asami grunted, rolling her eyes. "I'm fine, but I'm not yet sure how to get out of this one, or where I need to go." She, again, looked over in the direction of the train tracks. After a moment she started to walk in its direction, attempting to gauge which direction the tracks her heading.

"Misty Palms Oasis should be close by," Korra suggested. "It is a great little spot for refuge." A moment later, a frown hardened her face. "Did Rika leave you in the desert?" she demanded. "Just wait until we cross paths. I mean it, Asami, this girl's head is going to roll-"

"No!" Asami insisted. She stood on top of the train tracks before bending down. She winced as the glare of the sun flashed off the metal railings. She shifted so that the reflection of the sun was in a different spot. The sudden movement caused her to lose her balance and lean forward. Her shin pressed against the hot metal, burning into her skin. Asami let out a cry of pain as she moved to stand up. "I was stuck in this metal room," she hissed. "She called Zaheer a-and showed me her Red Lotus tattoo."

Korra's anger faded. "So, it's true," she said quietly.

Asami ended up picking a direction and began to walk along the tracks. "Rika is in over her head," she admitted.

"You're making excuses for her?" Korra demanded.

"No, I am not!" Asami insisted. "I'm pretty sure it's the same way my father got involved with the Equalists."

"How'd you escape?"

"Hermes helped me escape," Asami said. Another dry gust of wind blew sand everywhere. She looked up at the sky, willing for a cloud to be blow across the sun but found herself looking at a vast of blue. "Somehow they were able to phase their spirit energy to me. The last thing I remember is that I was slipping through the floor."

"Through the floor?" Korra repeated.

"Yeah, it was weird," she responded. "I don't think he'll be able to take me all the way back to Republic City though."

"Don't worry about it. You just get to Misty Oasis, and we'll take it form there to get you home." Korra then shyly looked down at her hands. "Asami, I'm so glad you're safe," she said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." She half smiled. "I don't think I tell you enough how much I appreciate you."

Before, she could respond Asami jumped at the loud sound of a train horn. She squinted her eyes, peering forward into the distance to see if the train was coming, but didn't spot anything. It wasn't until the sound came again that she realized the train was behind her. The ground beneath her began to shake. Asami let out a cry as the movement caused her to fall over into the sand. She quickly scrambled to her feet before running along side of the train. The burn on her leg and the resistance of the sand made her quickly fall behind. Asami took a deep breath and forced herself to move faster. As soon as she was an arms length away, she reached out and grabbed the back of the railing on the train, pulling herself up. An attendant at the back of the train, assisted her onto the platform.

"Miss are you okay?" he asked. He looked closer at the crest on the right side of her button-down shirt. "You're a long way from home."

"I know," Asami panted. "I don't have a ticket. I just need a ride to the Misty Oasis. I'll pay my fare when we get there." Her eyes widened as she felt her pockets. "Somehow."

"Miss, it's okay," he said, opening the back door to the train. "Why don't you take an empty bed in one of the resting cars and lie down?"

Asami offered him a smile before entering through the back door the attendant held open for her. She moved through numerous compartments before picking one that was the emptiest, only holding a handful of people. Asami immediately took a seat on an empty bed and looked out the window. In the distance, she saw a few palm trees and a small yellow building appear.

"That must be it," she said to herself. Asami made herself comfortable on the bed before lifting her leg to look at her burn, when she spotted the same skirt in the bed across from her. Asami quickly dropped to her knees, ignoring the abrasive carpet rubbing against her burn. "Rika, are you okay?" she asked.

Rika was laying on the bed, her clothes tattered, a bruise on her lip, and a cut through her left eyebrow. She looked over at Asami, her brown eyes a dull shade of chocolate brown. She made a low sound before turning to look out the window to her right.

"What did they do to you?" Asami questioned. She looked down at her pale legs and noticed a purple spot on her upper thigh. "Were you-"

"No," Rika whispered. She winced in pain as she moved to cover herself with the blanket on the bed. "I asked to leave their group," she whimpered, a tear spilling out of the coroner of her eye. "It was the only way I could leave."

"What can I do to help?"

"Why would you want to help me?" Rika asked. She reached up a shaky hand and touched her lip. She then suddenly curled, pulling her knees up, and letting out a loud groan as she placed a hand to her side. "After everything that's happened." She curled her empty hand into a tight fist. "I'm sorry for everything I did. And now, he wants to hurt you and your friends."

"He's wanted to hurt me and my friends long before you became involved," Asami admitted. "Everything is so much bigger than you and me, but that doesn't mean you aren't important."

"You think I'm important?" Rika looked Asami directly in the eyes. Asami felt the coroner of her lips pull into a small smile.

"Everyone is important in their own way," she insisted. A woman pushing a cart entered the resting car, calling out for drinks and snacks. Asami moved so that she allowed the woman to pass, asking her for some rubbing alcohol and a clean rag.

"Zaheer and them made me feel that way," Rika admitted. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a cell phone. "Here, its yours," she said, her voice cracking.

"Sometimes we're just loyal to the wrong people," Asami suggested. She pushed the power button on her phone, and a few moments later it lit ip and vibrated with the numerous incoming text messages loading onto her phone. One of the most recent messages was from Korra. "And other times, we find that one in a million person who ends up becoming a changing point in our lives."

"And that's you?" Rika asked.

"It can be anyone you want it to be." The woman pushing the cart came back with a small cup filled rubbing alcohol and a clean rag. Asami pocketed her cell phone before receiving the items from her. She dipped the rag int othe alcohol before carefully pressing it against Rika's eyebrow. "You must reach your lowest point to make your greatest change."

"Good change or bad change?

"That's your choice. You already faced a negative change," Asami said. "Is that something you want to continue to deal with?"


AN: The last four chapters of this story are essentially going to be slice of life and Korrasami build-up and fluff