The point I'm makin' is the mind is a powerful place
And what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way
It's pretty cool, right? Yeah, but it's not always safe

-NF
The Search

Chapter 16 - Coming to Terms

Days passed in a blur. Since no one would permit Asami to leave her hospital bed longer than necessary, Future Industries had to come to her.

Gin either visited or sent an update every day and was pleasant through their business talks. The same couldn't be said for her executives. Many actually believed the papers upon seeing the stitches and bandages. That earned being chewed out by the pent-up CEO who demanded respect.

The medical staff would've had to be deaf to not hear the shouting that shook the whole floor. They moved in as soon as the executives were out and went to work on relieving the pressure in her head and body. So long as she didn't burst a vein in her head or tear her hand apart again by punching one of the pompous assholes, she was going to be released the following day with strict instructions to take it easy.

Korra was occupied with assisting Beifong and the police with examining the evidence. There was no remote detonator or explosives incorporated into the mecha suits. It was a scare tactic for what was to come for Korra, precious seconds passing by. They did have all those explosives above though so that was certainly a backup plan if they wanted to bring the whole operation down.

But they didn't. Living with the experience could very well be worse than death if all else failed.

Victims' families came forward. Only after many evaluations of their minds and tests with family present were they released back into their custody. If there were any signs of confusion, dazing, or attacking anyone, they were to immediately call the authorities and head to the local medical center.

Su and her guards saw they were no longer needed. They volunteered to assist a team of Lin's officers and healers and doctors to return those from other territories, freeing up precious time for Korra and the police to focus on the evidence.

Korra was taking a break from everything to fulfill her promise.

They had barely made it off the docks when Meelo swooped in.

"Why hello, beautiful lady," he began with a flirty smile, sidling up to Midori who looked at him blankly, blinking slowing. "Who may you happen to be?"

"Midori."

"Midori! I have to say you're much prettier than your brother! He's aigtht, but he's a bit uncultured and uncivil."

Almost immediately, she pulled on his ear and hissed, "Don't talk badly about my brother!"

"Unhand me, woman!" Meelo shouted, pushing against her shoulders, but she stood her ground.

"Split it up," Korra ordered, shoving the kids several feet away from one another. "Why don't you go help your mother in the kitchen, Meelo?"

Meelo blinked at the Avatar then broke out in a smirk. Looking back at Midori, he said, "Meelo the Man will return, beautiful." Meelo blew her a kiss then scampered off.

"Sorry," Korra muttered and motioned to continue walking. "He means well, but he's a bit rough around the edges."

They found him sitting on a rock in the pond, back facing them. Not a second later, a water whip shot towards them. Korra redirected it back into the pond and was met with the wide eyes of Hisakata.

He was frozen at the sight before him. Midori took a tentative step forward. He jumped off his island and barreled towards his sister, crashing into her with hot tears in his eyes. She couldn't hold back her own tears as the two fell to their knees.

Korra watched them from a far tearfully embraced each other for the first time in weeks. Pema and Tenzin joined her a few moments later.

A lot of tears had been shed by families and victims the last several days, but witnessing the exchange between the young siblings brought a smile to her own face. In the pit of her heart, she wanted to blame herself for inadvertently causing their separation, but forced it aside. The important thing was that they were together now.

"Tenzin, Pema, I can't thank you enough for allowing them to stay here for a little while longer. I haven't had time to a find a good orphanage for them or even attempt to locate any unknown family of theirs. I don't want to just dump them off somewhere because part of this is kind of my fault, but at the same time, they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"It's no trouble at all. While his manners could be better, he's certainly easy to look over. Easier than Meelo at least." At the exact moment Pema finished, a loud crash sounded from inside. Pema sighed, gave a tired smile and went to investigate, leaving Korra and Tenzin.

"Give me the word, Tenzin, and I'll go find a place right now."

"Korra, stress is written all over your face. Take a deep breath in and out." Tenzin demonstrated, earning him a scowl. She had been using all the fancy breathing techniques from all the elements, but none did much to help her. "Right…if I come across some free time, I can find some recommendations to get you started."

Korra nodded in appreciation, but had another favor that she hated to ask from her master. "I have to leave for Ba Sing Se in three days. I shouldn't be gone longer than a week and a half, two max. I know Asami's in the clear, but I can't help but worry. She's still fighting with some of the media about those publications and people don't seem to realize she was sliced open and bleeding out after almost being electrocuted to death and wasn't suicidal. I-"

"Yes, we will check in with Asami." Tenzin stepped closer to Korra and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But who is looking out for you? You look like you haven't slept for days and the stress isn't helping. You won't be helping anyone if you're not looking out for yourself."

Korra didn't glare this time, but released a frustrated sigh. "As soon as Asami is released from the hospital tomorrow, my stress levels will drop dramatically. I'll be a whole new person."

"Never hesitate to ask me anything, Korra. You may be a fully realized Avatar, but whenever the need arises, I am still your mentor and friend," he affirmed, pulling Korra into a much-needed hug.

She murmured her thanks into his shoulder, taking just a moment for herself.


Three items laid on the table before Mako and Korra. They had already been examined, but it was a new day. One item didn't belong in the lineup yet it looked like it did: Asami's broken glove that was still saturated with her blood.

It made Korra sick to her stomach. Again, a mover played in her head, seeing the blood and bone. She had to take several calming breaths again, but the smell of blood invaded her nose.

She turned away from hers and focused on the gloves meant to kill her, blades extended. Asami's updated plans had only been half-finished, but she had laid a foundation down.

Sketches and notes were clearly from two different people. Korra immediately identified which were Asami's, remembering seeing the plans briefly a few months ago. However, the finishing notes to make the plans a reality, she could not identify. Someone unknown had finished and altered them.

There was no flamethrower component, but further examination of the gloves and the updated plans revealed that the power output was much more powerful than Asami's. As far as they knew from their interrogations and talks, these and the faulty prototypes were all that were built. No one would confess to who finished them even with the Avatar and chief of police's glares and warnings.

No matter, Korra oversaw the entire in-depth analysis of the gloves and made sure the examiner understood that if a single word about the gloves left his mouth, he'd be swimming in the middle of Mo Ce Sea.

"Fire Lord Izumi's still investigating the high-profile crime rings in the Fire Nation and businesses that have the resources to develop something like this. She hasn't discovered anything related to this case though." Korra only hummed in response. She was almost in a daze taking in the gloves on the metal table. "Korra, you have that look in your eye."

"What look?" she asked, turning to look at Mako and casually crossed her arms over her chest.

"That you still feel responsible for what happened to Asami. We've all seen how you've reacted to everything, and you're barely getting any sleep. Have you been back home or even Air Temple Island since that day to get sleep in a proper bed?"

Korra looked away and grumbled. She couldn't return home without Asami, and she couldn't sleep on Air Temple Island knowing Asami was in the hospital.

"Like I told Tenzin, once Asami's out of the hospital I'll be fine."

Mako sighed dejectedly, not seeing a point in fighting her. "We should wrap this up then so we can get her and your stress levels can drop." He began collecting the evidence back up, but Korra gripped his wrist. Korra's eyes narrowed and became dark, a fire burning.

"The first chance you get, destroy them, Mako. Until then, keep them under wraps and locked up like your life depends on it. For me. For Asami. Promise?"

"Of course, Korra."

The two hopped into Mako's car to pick up Bolin so they could all be present when Asami was finally released from the hospital.

"Geez, could you guys take any longer to get here?" Bolin joked, hopping into the back quickly. Mako began heading in the direction of the hospital.

"How's Zhu Li doing?" Korra asked, knowing her situation wasn't much better probably.

"For everything that's gone down, I feel she's doing very well," he answered, nodding his head with a confident smile. "But all of this has made me realize maybe I'm not cut out to being an assistant for her. Kaida's great at all this, but these serious politics and public relations aren't really up my alley." Mako glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that, Mako! I'm still young and have time to find my true calling!"


Asami stood in the bathroom of her hospital room, looking in the mirror as she craned her neck up. Because of the delay in receiving proper medical attention due to the chi blocking and the severity of the burns, it was taking a little longer for the skin to heal. Of all her injuries, this one was the worse on the surface and most noticeable.

The burn damage to her left hand had since healed. All of the stitches had since dissolved through her healing sessions, but the fresh, lighter, delicate skin was fragile and at a higher risk of tearing. Some burn marks from her side were still healing, but looking much better than her neck. She had some aches and pains, but at least her appearance was on its way of healing.

"Hey," Korra greeted with a timid smile after knocking, entering the room with a bag and closing the door behind her. "Ready to get out of this place?"

"Definitely." She walked over to her and kissed her. Stepping back, she would've had to be blind to not notice the bags under her eyes even with the dim hospital lighting. Asami rubbed her thumb across her cheek with a frown. "When was the last time you slept?"

Korra nervously looked down then back up, not wanting to admit her lack of sleep, but not wanting to lie either. "Last night…at the station."

Asami thanked the spirits above that she was going home today because it looked like Korra needed sleep. Asami was going to force her to sleep whether she liked it or not.

"Do you know what I want to do when we get home, baby?" she asked nonchalantly and twirled a piece of her girlfriend's hair. Korra shook her head. "I want to go to our room, lay in our bed in each other's arms and sleep. It's been a while since we've both been in our own bed together." A flicker of shame crossed Korra's face, and it only took her a moment to conclude why. "You haven't slept at home since last week, have you?"

Again, Korra shook her head. "No. I-I haven't even stepped foot on the property since last week. Bolin grabbed some clothes and took Naga to Air Temple Island for me. I couldn't be there without you."

"Korra, look at me," she ordered softly, leaning down to rest her forehead against hers. Their eyes bored into one another as blue ones slowly slipped into vulnerability again. "I'm okay and feel great. I love you. I hate seeing you like this. Please, for me, let's move past this."

Asami leaned down and brought their lips together in a soft kiss, pouring every emotion she had for her into it. Things were never going to be easy for the two of them, but they'd always have each other to lean on whether it was physically, mentally or emotionally.

"I'm sorry my emotions have been everywhere," Korra softly apologized, pulling back from her a little. "You don't belong in a hospital, and you don't deserve to be drug through the mud by assholes."

Asami chuckled, thinking how cute her girlfriend was being. "You sure know how to lay the romance out, Korra. Then again, we're hugging and kissing in a hospital bathroom." Korra's cheeks heated, remembering where they were. "Ah, that makes it a little more romantic. So, Bolin was rifling through my clothes then?"

"Um…" Korra stuttered, awkwardly offering the bag.

None of her clothes were in it. She found a lot of blue clothes. A parka, two blue full sleeve armbands, pants, a fur pelt, a white tank top, a newly purchased red bra and panty set and a pair of new combat books that looked very similar to the ones Korra wore in front of her.

"I kind of forgot about clothes for you," she confessed, rubbing the back of her neck and blushing. "I didn't want to bother Bolin again and make him go all the way back to your home. I hope this is okay."

"It's not my home, it's ours." She smiled sweetly and leaned over and kissed her cheek, deepening the red already there. "You're adorable. I did promise we'd change wardrobes for a week. I could use a helping hand since I've never worn Water Tribe garb in my life."

As it turned out, it wasn't very difficult to get dressed in, though the pelt had some getting used to. The soft, silky texture of the clothing against her skin made it feel like she was engulfed in a warm bath of light.

The lingering caresses against her shoulder, side, hand, and neck weren't missed by Asami though. She simply cupped the Avatar's face and continued to reassured her they'd get through it.

"Well, how do I look?" Asami asked playfully in full Korra ensemble and twirled in place. The only problem was that the pants were a little short.

"Breathtakingly beautiful." Yet again she blushed, admiring the view of her gorgeous girlfriend in her culture's attire.

"Come on, we've kept the guys waiting long enough." Asami sidestepped Korra and reached for the door handle. Before she opened it, she looked over her shoulder and threw a seductive wink at the Avatar, bending at the waist a little. "You can stare more later. How do the pants make my ass look?"

"Geez, I was worried one of you fell in, and we'd have to go fishing," Bolin joked and came over to hug Asami. "Looking good in the Water Tribe get up. Is it just me or do your eyes pop more with all the blue? No, wait! It's because Korra's by your side. Yeah, that's it! Definitely! There's that twinkle in your eyes that's always there when you're with her."

Looking into the cyan eyes, that sparkling shine in them must've been the same one in hers that Bolin saw. The bags were still beneath them, but Korra's spark had returned.

"Well, can you blame me? Having the Avatar as my girlfriend and proudly being able to wear her clothes isn't something everyone has the privilege of doing. They also don't have the right to do this." Asami grabbed Korra's chin and claimed her lips in a greedy kiss. "Come on, we've spent enough time in this room."

"Are you two still visiting Takeshi before you leave?" Mako asked as they started down the hall.

"Asami? If you don't feel up to it, we don't have to."

"No, I want to."


Bolin and Mako went down to wait in the car to give them privacy. Korra and Mako had filled Asami in on what transpired with him. She personally wanted to thank him and tell him it wasn't his fault for what Tokuga and the Dai Li manipulated him to do.

They knocked on the door and heard a muffled 'come in'. Takeshi sat up in his bed looking well and a woman with black hair in a top knot sat with her back to them. A small smile curled on his lips and the woman turned around.

"Kinu?"

"I was wondering if you'd come visit me. Hoped my wing girl here would be of help, but she refused to intrude on you," Takeshi joked, but Kinu turned back around and slapped him in the gut. "Ow! What the hell, Kins? We may be leaving tomorrow, but it doesn't mean I'm back at a hundred percent."

"Don't mind him. He's so delirious he called me," she jabbed and turned back to the couple. "How're you feeling, Asami?"

"I'm doing good thanks to all the healers, doctors, and Korra."

The two walked in and stood on the other side of Takeshi's bed. Like when they were under Mo Ce Sea, the two stared at one another. Takeshi's eyes looked up and down the woman who reminded him of his old friend very much. He had kidded when they came in, but the reality of what he'd done rose to surface again.

"I'm so sorry for burning you, Asami." He oscillated between the set of green and blue eyes before him, still waiting for someone to physically punish him for his actions. It was the least he deserved he believed.

"You have nothing to apologize for, and I'm almost as good as new, Takeshi," she argued, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and flipped her left hand over to reveal the healed skin of her palm. "Several months ago, I experienced a similar phenomenon as you, but much stronger. I forgot days of my life. Korra's never told me what I did or said, but the troubled look I received was more than enough to tell me something bad happened." Asami reached out and squeezed Korra's hand with her right hand, letting her know she was only trying to relate to him and to not take it personally.

"That and the recent occurrences will always be a part of our history together, but the important thing is that we're still here. I can't speak for how much everyone will remember or the potential nightmares. I can say that it is in the past though. You and everyone else were not of sound mind. Would you agree with that?"

"Yes."

"Then it's settled. You were forced to be a small army for Tokuga and the Dai Li. Korra and I have dealt with him before. The important thing is that you were able to break free from their control and free me from Tokuga's grasp."

Feeling a little better, the corners of his lips curled up. "Thank your mother for giving you all her genes and helping me snap out of it. While her eyes were gold and yours are green, they're so familiar yet so different. And thank the spirits you didn't end up with more of your father's genes, but mostly his brains I've heard."

That image had everyone in the room bent over and laughing. The heaviness had lifted for now, allowing the four to move on to more light topics.

"I suppose you're right. It's the one thing they never could've anticipated."

"I have a bit of a confession to make about your mother and I," he began, sitting up straighter in bed. Kinu quirked an eyebrow at him, silently asking him something. "Don't give me that look! I think she deserves to know."

"This isn't something bad, right?" Korra sat beside Asami and wrapped an arm around her waist, preparing for the worse.

"No!" He wildly waved his hands at them. "Yasuko and I dated when we were teenagers. It wasn't anything serious, and it was long before Hiroshi came into the picture," he clarified, hoping to soothe the widen eyes directed at him. "It felt more like we were trying to force something that wasn't there. Once we broke up, we agreed it felt more like we were kissing our non-existent siblings."

"Then he tried dating me a year or two later. Same situation, different girl," Kinu added with a little smirk and lightly punched his shoulder. "Life lesson: don't try hooking up with the friends in your immediate group. We ended up lucky and were able to joke about it."

The engineer and Avatar side-eyed one another with forced grins. If only they knew how close trying to date friends in their friend group hit home for them, but some things were best left to their friend group.

"We don't want to overstay our welcome, but you said you're leaving tomorrow? I'd love to have you two over tomorrow for lunch before you go. We can talk some more and you can have a proper meal."

They both agreed to lunch and bid farewell to the couple. Thankfully, there were no reporters outside the hospital waiting for the first glimpse of the CEO's departure. That didn't stop the two from hurriedly jumping into Mako's car and hightailing it out of there before word did get out.

"So," Korra began quietly, taking Asami's left hand in hers. The sight made Asami smile. She missed the little things the past few days. "I was thinking...is that offer to learn to drive still open?"

Asami wasn't expecting that, jaw dropping open. After registering the initial shock and taking in the bashful look on her girlfriend's face, she broke out in a triumphal grin. "The offer's always been open. I'd be honored to teach the Avatar to drive."

The long kiss she placed along Korra's cheek and strong squeeze of her hand was Asami's silent gratitude for finally agreeing even if the circumstances weren't ideal.


Home never felt so amazing. Asami made some calls to make sure Future Industries wasn't on fire and still sorting everything out with the media, her lawyers, and executives, but nothing too strenuous. Korra made sure of that.

They both agreed to head to bed earlier than usual. This was the first time the two women slept in their own bed in about a week.

At first, the Avatar was reluctant to wrap her arms around her girlfriend, afraid she might accidently crush her while they slept. Korra had laid there awkwardly on her back, staring at the ceiling. That would never do in Asami's eyes.

"Are you going to stare at the ceiling all night or are you going to come over here?" Asami giggled, scooting over closer to Korra. She laid her head on Korra's chest and pulled on her arm to wrap it around her.

"Is this alright? I'm not hurting you?" Tentatively, Korra wrapped her other arm around her body. Asami immediately nestled her head into the crook of Korra's neck.

"Having your arms around me is perfect. You could never hurt me."

Asami's warm breath against her neck and her soft, warm body safe in her arms lulled Korra into a peaceful sleep she so desperately needed. When Asami felt her breathing even out, she too fell asleep.

In the dead of night, green eyes opened, but quickly had to squint because they had forgotten to close the curtains. It was astonishing Korra hadn't awoken from the moonlight. But from the spotlight of pure light, Asami saw how exhausted she was even if she didn't let it on.

Asami had woken up on her own. She couldn't remember a thing which was bliss. Except the longer she laid there and watched the cute facial mannerisms Korra made, the more she began to think she awoke because she needed to use the bathroom and relieve the dryness in her throat.

Carefully, Asami disentangled herself from the arms around her. She sighed in relief when she was able to stand by the bed, and Korra was still sleeping and hadn't moved an inch from her absence.

After using the bathroom, she made her way down to the kitchen. The plan was to sip on some water and head back to bed, but she wasn't tired. She felt rejuvenated from sleeping in her own home, in her own bed, and in the arms of the woman she loved.

Fetching a kettle, she quickly made some tea, making sure to remove it from the heat right before it let out its shrill whistle. She poured herself a cup and set the lone cup on her dining room table.

She returned to her room to find Korra in the exact position she was left in and still fast asleep. She brushed the choppy hair from her face and pressed a soft kiss against her temple.

"I love you. I promise, I'm perfectly safe. You need to sleep."

The curtains remained opened, giving Asami just enough light to shuffle through the bottom drawer of her nightstand. Four letters remained. She wasn't sure if she'd get through them all, but it was time to resume the journey. Before exiting, she slid the curtains closed.

Back in her spot at the dining table, cup of hot tea to the side, Asami began reading the letters. She had managed to get through three of the remaining four.

One was another birthday letter for her twenty-second birthday. He recalled her fourth birthday when he and her mother had thrown this extravagant birthday party. Asami felt kind of bad she couldn't remember it even with the words right in front of her.

Another was a congratulations about the unveiling about the Central City Station and once again how proud he was of her and all the things she had accomplished on her own merit. He just wished he could've been a part of it.

But one stuck out the most.

Asami,

Most of the time I don't dream or I don't remember them. Who knows at this point? The days blur together. Old age does that to people. But I know it's been a little over three years since I've been locked in here, away from the rest of the world. Away from you.

The dream I had last night, I remember everything. We stood inside my office with the door closed. You peeked past the curtain as I prepared us tumblers of your favorite Fire Nation whiskey.

A sliver of light cast a glow on your face. The sight made me realize something: you were no longer my baby girl. You had grown up to become a confident, beautiful woman that I was blessed each and every day to have as my daughter.

We clinked our glasses together in celebration and drank in silence until that knock came. Before my hand closed around the door handle, you pulled me in and murmured your love for me and how you'd make me proud.

The press became frenzied the moment we appeared. I gave this grand speech about my vision for Future Industries and finally reached my ending remarks. "It is with the greatest pleasure and honor to stand before everyone here today on my birthday. Today announces my official retirement from Future Industries and my daughter, Asami Sato, as the new CEO of Future Industries."

You shook my hand for the cameras then took your rightful place at the podium. You captivated the audience with your vision for Future Industries. You spoke about how you would help lead your generation to a new, better era of peace and technological innovation for the whole world.

Your eyes the brightest I had ever seen, smile wide as the United Republic, you turned to me and your words amplified by the microphone, "Dad, I am going to do everything in my power to expand upon your vision for the world. I will make you proud to call me your daughter and bearer of the Sato name."

I probably wouldn't have retired today had things gone differently, but if they had, that was the initiation you deserved. It's only been three years, but it has felt like an eternity. When you get to be my age, birthdays aren't anything special. It just reminds me that I'm closer to passing, but at the same time, maybe I'm closer to being with your mother again.

Do you even remember it's my birthday today? Later as I lay on my hard bed and stare at the ceiling, I will think of you and how I have always been the proudest father in the whole world.

Love,

Dad

He'd had dreams too. Dreams where everything was perfect, an escape from reality.

Asami was so caught up in the letter and rationalizing dreams that she jumped when a hand was placed on her thigh. The spike in her heartbeat relaxed seeing Korra, but the concern in the blue eyes worried her.

"Are you in pain? Do you need a healing session?" she rambled worriedly, crouched besides Asami with her eyebrows downturned. Her free hand was on the cap of the water skin she had.

Asami smiled, resting a hand against her cheek. "Not at all. Cross my heart."

"Are you sure?" She moved the hand on her thigh to her right side.

"Yes, I promise." She began gathering the letters she had opened. Korra followed and watched, hand still on her waterskin. With the last letter, Asami hesitated, noticing that it was different than the others.

"Do you want to read that one? Or talk about the opened ones?" If Korra noticed the difference, she made no comment.

"Not right now. I can read it another day. We both need more rest."

On their way back to their room hand in hand, Asami couldn't help but glance a second longer where the fictional portrait of the Sato family had hung. In front of her was Korra's back muscles rippling under her white tank top and the water skin.

Someday there'd be a portrait up there to show the whole world.

Asami opened up the bottom drawer of her nightstand again. All the letters were there and only one remained unread.

One that wasn't sealed and wasn't stamped.

This time around, Asami tucked Korra's face into her neck. She was the one who required more sleep. With an impending journey to Ba Sing Se and likely lengthy discussions, she needed all the sleep she could get in the comforts of their home.

"Stop fighting it, baby. I'm safe. I'm not in any pain. You'll be the first to know if I am. Please, for me, get some more sleep. I love you. I'll be right here when you wake up," she promised, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back.

After feeling the pressure of a loving kiss against the healing skin of her neck, Korra's body finally uncoiled and sleep washed over her. Asami laid a final kiss against the top of her head and joined Korra in a peaceful sleep with a smile on her lips.