AN: …. What can i say… i like (k-drama like) drama
TRIGGER WARNING: Hiroshi goes cray cray, need I say more? Very insensitive comments as you can expect and Asami has a breakdown (towards the end tho, wholesome stuff at the beginning)
P.S. There's another wholesome fanart which u can see on ao3 or on my insta drawn by katydoodles :3
Ch 12: Hearts Collide
Aside from the eerie silence of her home, Asami was beginning to get used to being alone. It was a slight relief that she didn't have to force herself to attend countless mixers and parties but even so, if she was being honest, she missed them. She missed that hectic life and somewhat carefree life she had because, at least then, she wasn't cooped up in an office without endless papers to skim through. There weren't any decisions that she would have to make that could literally change the lives of many. It may have been hectic but at least it wasn't heavy.
Letting out a deep sigh, she rubs her temples in deep thought as she leans back on her office chair. She may have been at home but was there really a difference between her home and work office? It wasn't as if she had someone waiting for her so getting ahead of her schedule was what she had left rather than rotting away in emptiness. The only good news that she could point out these days was that she was finally in contact with Korra again. That made her life easier. Lighter even. It reminded her that her life wasn't so dark after all.
With her eyebrows deeply creased, she sighs once again before setting down a stack of papers and slumping back in the chair. Shortly after she groans before standing up and stretching out her back. "How should I approach this…"
She starts pacing back and forth.
"We need their steel but their demands will only give our company a loss over time."
She snaps her finger at a sudden thought.
"What if we compromise by dropping the deal to a twenty percent discount instead of twenty-five…"
She hums before closing her eyes and scrunching her face.
"But the cost of steel would double overtime with inflation…"
She groans before pushing her hair back.
"Unless we can convince them for a discount somehow…"
With yet again a huff of annoyance, she heads into her kitchen to grab a glass of water. Then, once she was hydrated, rather than going back into her office, she headed into her at-home workshop in hopes of clearing her mind. She flipped the light switch on and everything lit up in an instance. Her shop looked exactly how she left it from the last time she stepped foot in here, messy yet organized. Rolling her shoulder, she sighs softly again before walking over to the workbench and taking a seat.
"Well… let's just ponder while we keep our hands busy."
She ended up spending the rest of her day in her workshop fixing pointless appliances and fun little nick nacks. By the time she realized she had stayed up for a little more than fifteen hours straight, she called it a night with a particular charm in hand. As she held it up in the light, she couldn't help but wonder and whisper to herself.
"I wonder if Korra would like it…"
She held up the small wooden bear that was painted with a soft blonde white coat and admired her work. She had carved it using the spare wood in her shop by using a few woodwork tools. Of course, it was modeled after her own Alexander plush but with a more of a water tribe twist. After a few seconds of staring, she lets out an unsatisfied breath before detaching its re-attachable arm. Even after giving it her best work, something about it felt off but she thought she knew what was missing before walking over to another table and adding on another design. Once she was done, she waited for the next paint to dry before reattaching it to the wooded bear. She let it sit on the palm of her hand before smiling again.
"There we go, looking better now."
She smiles sweetly at the new tribal sleeve-like pattern on its arm.
"What should I name you…"
She swings its arm up and down in a waving manner.
"Korbear…"
Her cheeks flushed pink before she cleared her throat.
"Maybe not… what was her last name again…"
She scrunches her face before it eventually comes to mind.
"Varney, right hmm…"
She fiddles with the bear in her hand, swaying it back and forth before mumbling to herself.
"Korra, Korra Varney… Hmm… Kova? Korny?" She makes a dumbfounded face. "Okay, now that's plain stupid. Raney… rainy? No… ravar… no… rava?" An eyebrow raises at that. "Rava… that kinda has a nice ring to it…" she then walks over to her whiteboard before writing out its potential name.
"Ra…va." Once it was spelled out, she took a step back. "Okay… sounds good but it looks a little weird spelled out like that…" she grabs the marker again before writing out another name. "Maybe… I should add an extra 'A' creating Raa…va… Raava."
A smile brightens up her face.
"Raava… Raava."
She looks at her new friend with a warm smile.
"Welcome to my family Raava, it's nice to meet you."
She sets it down on the counter before crouching down to look at it at eye level. She sighs with a dreamy-like tone before booping its nose with the tip of her index finger.
"Can I be honest with you…"
She tips its little head back and forth in a nodding motion before continuing.
"I…feel lost." Her eyes narrow in on those little inanimate eyes. "I don't know what to do with this contract. I don't know what dad is going to do. I hope I'm wrong but for some reason, I feel like something terrible is going to happen. I just know it and there's this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach…"
Frowning at her newest friend, she slouches onto the table before whining helplessly.
"I don't know… I just don't know and this thing between Korra and I, I—" she chokes up with a deep sigh. "I'm so confused… Why is my life like this? Why!"
Groaning to herself, she huffs before picking up Raava and bringing it over to her bedroom. She sets it down next to Alexander before getting into bed. After she pulls her blanket up to her chin, she looks over at her two protectors and allows the darkness to settle in. Her eyes quickly grew heavy and she found herself nodding off.
"I didn't realize… I was this sleepy…"
Her head subtly rocks back and forth until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.
"Good…night…Alexander…Raava…"
xXx
"Miss Asami, are you sure you don't want to join the rest of the team at the cafeteria? I heard today's catering service is a highly anticipated one."
Asami raises her hand gently, "No thank you, I appreciate the offer but there are some files that need my approval ASAP."
Her coworker looked somewhat displeased but knew he couldn't protest. "Alright, I understand but when you're hungry, feel free to come on down! There's enough to go around!"
"Thank you," Asami gives him a sweet smile, "I appreciate it."
"Of course!" With a single nod, he was off on his way.
With that out of the way, Asami went to her office and holed herself in there again. The rest of her day was as predictable as usual but the truth is told, rather than being mostly productive this time around, she couldn't exactly shake off the need to check her phone ever so often. She was hoping that Korra would respond to her text soon.
It took a lot of her courage to ask but she had invited Korra over for dinner this morning. It was going to be her treat. Well… at least the ingredients were. She had caved into her whim and asked her if she wanted to come over to try out and cook this new recipe of some trending pasta she saw on the internet.
It looked amazing and all but honestly, it was just an innocent excuse to see Korra today since she knew by the time she was going to get home, she was going to be completely drained. And thankfully, Korra agreed with no serious suspicions and was excited to try it out as well.
The last time Asami heard from Korra though was when she sent her a text about what drinks she should bring over. Asami honestly didn't know how to respond either so she sent back a 'surprise me' message with a cat rolling on the floor gif. That was about thirty minutes ago and Asami had expected Korra to reply with something but she hadn't.
"No no no… let's not think about it too hard, Asami. She's probably just busy…"
Sighing for no good reason, Asami leans back in her chair to roll her neck. She ends up leaning against her backrest with her eyes closed. Enjoying the moment, Asami took some deep breaths before exhaling slowly. She repeated that a few times and once her mind was refreshed, she went back to her work. By the time her day was finally over, she headed straight to her car without delays since there were still quite a few things she wanted to prepare before Korra came over. The top of that list consisted of last-minute deep cleaning.
She makes it home in a flash and once she exited the elevator, she headed straight to her head. However, the moment Asami unlocked her door, something felt wrong. She felt these tingling sensations that went through her entire body which were practically screaming in her ears. She couldn't put her tongue on it so she proceeded to walk inside with caution.
Something was off.
The silence she was used to was lonesome but not deafening like this. It was as if some animal instinct was kicking in and she felt goosebumps grow on her skin as she took one hesitant step forward. She carefully scans the living room but nothing is out of place. From the spare shoes at her entrance to the dining room chair in the kitchen, they were all in the same position she had left them in earlier this morning. Even the pillow on her couch was still upright as it had been.
So what was the problem?
Why did she feel so off?
Something was wrong but she didn't know what. But, just as she made it to the corridor in her room, her eyes widened when she saw the reflection of a masked figure behind her back. Her adrenaline immediately spiked and she quickly pivoted around to guard herself. The perpetrator runs up in front of her before attempting to shove something in her face.
Asami could only assume that it was chloroform or some chemical meant to put her asleep. Meaning… they were most likely trying to kidnap her and there was no way she wasn't going to put up a fight.
Gritting her teeth, Asami quickly smacks away their arm before throwing an uppercut. Of course, they retrace their steps but offense was always the best defense. Asami was quick to follow after them. She relentlessly kicks and punches whenever she sees the opportunity. She hadn't received self-defense lessons when she was little for nothing. She manages to land a few hits, enough to make the grunt in pain. So far, from what Asami could gather, he was a male and he also wasn't fighting her back properly.
"Who are you! Who do you work for?" She angrily shouts with a straight punch. "What is your motive? Why aren't you fighting back!"
He simply continues to evade her attacks and sure enough, she fell into his trap. The moment Asami took a step out of her condo, she had instinct regrets. There had to be at least five additional people camping outside her home. She clenched her jaw in uncertainty. If it was only one guy, she could've easily taken him down but a group of six? She wasn't some sort of crime-fighting hero but, even so, that didn't mean she wasn't going to put up a fight. With an angered yelp, she focused on the closest target to her one at a time. It was a slow fight of endurance but she knew it was doable. She could get out of this situation.
"Urgh… this is taking forever. Hurry up and get her!" One of the thugs shouted.
"We're trying but she's tougher than we thought!"
"We're getting paid big time so don't mess up!" The same guy barked.
They started to attack Asami more aggressively and she was starting to get tired. Fuck… this isn't looking good.
"HEY! No rough play understood! If she gets even the smallest cuts, our client is gonna be furious."
Client? I knew it. "Who are you working for? Who's paying you to do this!"
At the time, she makes eye contact with the one shouting orders around. He may have been wearing a mask but Asami could tell he was laughing mockingly. "Oh you poor girl… if you knew, that would only hurt you more than it would us."
"What…" she grits her teeth. "What the hell does that mean—"
Before they could resume their fight, they all froze when the elevator dings. However, the one who reacted first and the most was Asami. With her eyes widening, her face grew pale and her heart instantly sunk to her stomach.
"Oh no— Kor…KORRA RUN!"
She lunges forward in an attempt to fruitlessly protect her friend. Having completely forgotten about her invite, that was when she let her guard down. Someone from behind her back manages to latch onto her arm and that's when she got silenced with a towel. Grunting at the attack, she struggles helplessly in an attempt to break away. Unfortunately, she couldn't fight back the urge to take a breath of air. She inhaled the chloroform and the next thing she knew, Korra's face was growing blurry and dark as Korra began running forward to help.
"ASAMI!"
She blacked out.
xXx
"Asa…mi…"
Some voice was calling out to her.
"Sami… Asami…"
Whoever it was, it was a familiar voice, one that she had grown to love.
"…mi…you have to wake up… Asami…wake up…You have…to wake up…Asami!"
Her body jolts and she twitches before forcing her eyes open. The first thing she sees is Korra's eyes. They brighten upon eye contact but Asami then notices the cut on her lip. She immediately sits up hoping this was all a dream.
"Korra!" She raises her hand to cup her cheek, "Korra you're hurt! Are you okay!"
Korra winces in pain when Asami touches her body. She awkwardly turns away from Asami's touch before speaking up. "I'm fine Asami. Are you okay? You're the one who's been out the longest."
"What— what do you—" that's when it dawned on her. The guy who attacked her in her condo… the group of people that had been waiting outside to ambush her. That's right. She had been kidnapped. With Korra. "Oh my spirits. No— no no no nononono… no!" She started hyperventilating. "No! No no no no NO! This has to be a dream— I— you— this is my fault! I got you hurt and kidnap—"
Korra was quick to pull her into a tight comforting hug. "Shh shh shhhh… hey hey hey… listen to my voice." She gently strokes her back, "It's okay. Breathe… you're okay… I'm okay… just breathe Asami… just breathe…"
Tears quickly burned her eyes and she had a hard time breathing. Her chest hurt and with each breath she took, it felt as if someone was stabbing her chest as if they were pulling some kind of sick joke on her. There was no way that she had been kidnapped in a high-security condo. Much less with Korra. Korra. How could she let this happen? How could she drag another person into her mess! It had to be because of her father… right? Maybe he was playing some sick joke on her and was going to let her go once she was up?
Amidst panting in Korra's chest, Asami finally managed to get a look at her surroundings. Her eyes were somewhat clouded from her tears but she could tell that they were in some warehouse. But there it was. The reality was that Korra and she were stuck in some enclosed space with little to no hope of help. Where the hell were they? Were they somewhere in Republic City? If so, maybe she could somehow think of a way out of this mess. If not… where the hell were they! Fear quickly set in and this was far worse than any nightmare she could have.
"K-K-Korra— w-where are we? H-How are we gonna get out— I— oh my spirits what have I done!"
Korra finally frowns before quickly leaning back and slapping Asami's cheeks. "Asami!"
Asami twitches at the surprising gesture. She just stood there on her knees in shock as Korra kept her face squished.
"Calm down. Panicking is not going to help us okay? Just breathe… we're going to be okay. Trust me. We'll be okay…"
Finally taking Korra's advice, Asami breathes some shaky breaths. Korra ends up breathing along her side and it wasn't until after Asami regained her composure that she felt relatively herself again.
Frowning at Asami's distress, Korra runs the back of her hand across Asami's cheek. She wipes away her tears before looking into her eyes. "You good now?"
Asami didn't realize she was shaking until Korra grabbed her hand firmly. She ends up grabbing her hand back before looking away. She found it hard to make eye contact with Korra. "Y-Yeah… I'm good now…"
Korra smiles warmly before rubbing Asami's hand with her thumb. "We should probably look for a way out." She tries to stand up before immediately grunting at the pain.
That snaps Asami out of her funk. "Korra you're hurt aren't you. Let me see."
"Argh… I'm fine Sami, don't worry about it…"
That doesn't make her face lightened up anymore.
"Okay okay fine… It's just one of those guys landed a good one on me… and my shoulder."
Asami's face fell and she honestly did look heartbroken. She nervously reaches for Korra's shirt before nervously asking, "C-Can I…?"
Korra finally falls onto her butt. "Be my guest…"
"..." With caution, Asami carefully pulls up Korra's shirt before gasping. She covers her mouth before guilt washed over her. "K-Korra I—"
There was a deep bruise on her stomach and Korra was suppressing her pain. "It's fine I'm okay… Kuvira's done worse, you know?" She tries to laugh it off before regretting her decisions and adjusting her position. "Okay, well fine, it hurts a bit but it's still manageable okay? We should focus on trying to find a way out. I don't know about you but I don't plan on staying here forever."
As much as Asami wanted to retort that, Korra was right. The quicker they found the way out, the quicker they could find help. "You're right… we need to get you treated ASAP."
Korra smiles softly at her statement. "Of course…"
xXx
After fruitlessly searching the warehouse left and right and up and down, neither of them could find anything of use. Since they had all of their belongings removed, the only thing that they could rely on was that one window that was high up in the ceiling. At least that was the only object that provided them with some sort of information. At least one night has passed since they were trapped here. Their captivators still had yet to show themselves and Asami could only guess it was on purpose as some sort of kidnapping tactic.
Letting out a frustrated groan, Korra plopped down onto the floor. "I can't believe there's nothing."
Asami simply sits down next to her before pulling her knees up to her chest. "You're telling me… we can't even figure where we are let alone how to get out of this place."
Korra spares Asami a glance before playfully tapping her shoulder. "Hey. Don't be so negative, we'll figure something out."
Asami could only pucker her lips out. "Like?"
"Like…" grabbing her chin, Korra thought for a bit. "Like ambushing the guy when he comes in and checks up on us! Since they've gone out of their way to do that, I'm sure they'll feed us something so we don't die."
Unfortunately, Asami couldn't hold back her sarcasm. "Wowwwww. That sounds amazzzinnnng."
This time Korra frowns. "Hey well, I don't see you thinking of something!"
Asami flinches at that. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just…" she sinks back into her depressed state. "I'm sorry. You wouldn't have been in this mess if I didn't invite you over."
"Hey don't say it like that. It's not like you were planning to get us kidnapped."
"But that doesn't change the fact that you were dragged along thanks to me. What happens if they hurt you more Korra? They already did so I don't think I can handle you getting hurt anymore. It's my fault in the first place. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"..." Korra had a hard time rebuking that. She just honestly wasn't sure what to say.
Their conversation was cut short then the steel door finally budged open. Korra was the first to notice and her eyes widened in astonishment the moment she laid her eyes upon the perpetrator. "H-Hiroshi?"
Asami was no better. She froze. The shock was an understatement of what she was feeling right now. She didn't even know what she was feeling now. Out of all the things that she pictured, who was behind this, her father was the one behind it? Just to punish her, this? This. There was no way in hell she could've even dared to fathom this so what was she supposed to say?
"Asami…" Hiroshi says as if nothing was wrong with this situation. He glances over at Korra, clearly in disgust, before looking back at her with disappointment. "Why can't you understand?" He starts slowly inching toward them in a luxurious stride. "I am only doing this for your sake honey."
Korra was the first to react. She lets out a scoff before looking at him with the coldest face out there that Asami couldn't even recognize her. "Doing this for Asami's sake? Do you mean hiring people to kidnap your daughter and trap her in a warehouse? You've gone mad."
Hiroshi quickly snaps back. "Silence! I am talking to my daughter. You were a mistake but rest assured, they will handle you in due time."
She scoffed before continuing. "Just how low have you fallen Hiroshi? You do know that you're making a grave mistake right."
Asami had barely spared her father a look since the moment Korra started talking. She was too focused on her friend's serious expression. Her eyebrows creased slightly in curiosity and she couldn't help but wonder. What does she mean by that? Something about Korra's pressure implied something greater than just her words.
What was she planning?
"Shut your mouth, you insolent girl… It's all because of you. If you hadn't tainted my daughter then none of this would've happened."
Korra easily shot back with an unyielding look. "And if you would have just accepted your daughter for who she is then we wouldn't be in this mess."
That must've snapped a vein because, within seconds, Hiroshi was in front of Korra, slapping her cheek with the palm of his hand. She went flying back from the impact and the echo of the hit made Asami flinch before quickly reaching out to her.
"Korra!" Asami looked more distressed than when she initially had found out her father was the orchestrator. Once she was by her side, Asami shielded her with her body before glaring at him before scowling out, "Don't touch her."
That didn't help his temper. "Asami Sato. Step away from her this instance!"
Asami gritted teeth before defying him. She had enough. The worst had already happened so what else was there to lose? "No. I am not obeying your commands any longer!"
"Asami." He repeats more aggressively.
Something inside of her snapped and she laughed bitterly as she fought back the tears in her eyes. "You have seriously gone mad… just look at yourself dad. Mom would be sickened."
Hiroshi clenches his fist but rather than lashing out at the two of them any further, he turns to the door and leaves the room before slamming it shut. Asami didn't need to be prompted any further. She immediately turns back to Korra with a heart broken and exhausted face.
"Korra are you okay?" She carefully cups her red cheek with a devastated face. "I'm sorry…" her eyes finally welled up with tears again. "I'm so sorry Korra—" her voice cracked. "It's my fault we're in this mess, I am so so so sorry." Tears began spilling from her wavering eyes. "It's all my fault, I'm so sorry."
Korra opened her mouth before nothing came out at first. She simply cupped Asami's hand and smiled reassuringly before pulling her in for a loose hug. "Hey… I'm okay… it's not your fault Asami. It's not your fault."
Asami could only sob in her arms as she began hiccuping out apologies. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."
Korra only shushes her softly as if she was comforting a hurt child. She subtly rocked her body in an attempt to sooth her friend. "It's okay. It's not your fault."
"I'm sorry Korra...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You haven't done anything wrong."
Asami was a broken record and Korra could only repeat her words while rubbing her back. She continued to do so until the poor girl cried herself asleep. Once she was unconscious, Korra stared at the heavy steel door mindlessly.
"..."
She continues to glance around the room again, trying to come up with a plan and get her bearings. She softly taps her index finger on Asami's back before muttering to herself.
"Shit… how do I explain this to dad?"
AN: And a reminder I saved y'all cause of chapter 3b because if I didn't add that by chance, y'all would have to wait until next week XD my inner author demon was DEFINITELY laughing when I realized that XP
