AN: Pure ANGST! The ending isn't fun... (no this isn't the final chapter, no worries)
Please don't kill me...
To say I was angry, is putting it lightly. I was furious. I felt like a volcano, ready to erupt and cover anyone and everything in scorching lava. Burning anything away. In the end, I knew it wouldn't fix anything. Most of all I felt betrayed. I should have known Korra would be one of them. One of those greedy asshole that I deal with every day.
After my visit to Korra, I buried myself in work. I no longer cared or showed interest in anything else but my machines that I could work on. The documents that laid before me and needed to be signed. I ignored each call from Korra. Deleted her texts even before reading them. I didn't care what she had to say. What she wanted to tell me. She betrayed my trust. Something I don't easily give to anyone. Even though she hurt me, I couldn't suddenly stop caring about her. She crushed my heart but it still held onto her for dear life. No matter what I did.
It was the third day after our video had gone viral. I was currently sitting in my office at the Future Industries factory. Enjoying some Fire Whiskey that I had in my office. I held the glass in my hand, swirled its contents around gently and leaned back in my chair. My arm rested on the armrest and I sighed while I took another sip. My phone had stopped buzzing some hours prior. It was a strange feeling. Mixed. Korra had stopped texting and calling me. Finally. Was the first thought that had come to mind but if I was totally honest with myself, I missed her…
I felt my heart ache in my chest as I remembered the time that she came to visit me here. What we had done in this very room. She had hid under my desk and… well… of course Varrick had to come in and ruin the moment. He and his assistant quickly left after I pretended to be sick. There was a gentle smile that formed on my lips and I took a deep and calming breath as I let the memory play in my head. It doesn't make sense… why would she wait so long to sell the video? Why didn't she do it right after it was made?
The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. She had a steady income and could continue to focus on her studies without having to worry about money… I just don't… The door of my office flew open and I nearly dropped my glass onto the floor. I flinched and turned my head to see who dared to disturb me. "Varrick…?" What the hell…
"Ha! Hello to you too Asami! May I be the first one to say, you are the smartest person I've ever met!" He grinned and stood in front of my desk, stroking his mustache.
I frowned at his words and turned my seat slightly to face him and his assistant completely. "What are you talking about…?"
The grin on his face only grew wider. "That video! Having it spread! The idea is just amazing!" He continued to rant and tossed his arms into the air to add more drama to his words. My eyes flew open when he mentioned the video. "I… I didn't spread it Varrick…"
He crossed his arms over his chest and raised a curious eyebrow. "Really? I mean, you can tell me Asami. I mean, the word is out already and we're already doing business."
"I didn't. Someone… else did…" I cleared my throat and placed my elbows on my desk.
"Ah… well, I guess the rumors weren't just rumors. They are true. I thought you had it spread yourself, you know, to boost your company by blaming Cabbage Corp. Now I realize that it was Cabbage Corp for real. Howling hog monkeys!"
I frowned at his words. "What? What do you mean? Can you explain yourself for once instead of just rambling what comes up in that head of yours."
"Zhu Li here did some digging, she's amazing with a computer. She followed some leads and found out that it had been someone at Cabbage Corp that put the video online. Hiding under a secret account. I thought it was you, since you're a nerd as well when it comes to computers and anything else that has wires, screws and gears."
My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. "What…? Are you sure?" I turned my attention to Zhu Li instead. "You, you're sure it was someone from that company?"
Zhu Li nodded and opened a small laptop. "Yes. If you want, I can even look up the person that they wired the money to." She said and gazed at me.
"Do it." I said without even thinking twice. If it had been Korra, I would be crushed again but I just had to know. If there was a chance, no matter how small, that she had nothing to do with it, I wanted to know.
Zhu Li moved to one of the seats that stood in front of my desk and placed her laptop on the wooden surface. Her fingers started typing so fast I had trouble keeping up. I was good with computers yes, but she was a master. She was an amazing hacker and as I stood up and moved behind her to get a better view, I saw that screen after screen popped up and got closed again. What I saw most were numbers. Digits that made no sense to me whatsoever. Within ten agonizing minutes, she slightly turned her screen and showed me her result. "There we go." And she pointed at a name on the screen. "Miss S.A. Yamata is the one who sold everything to Cabbage Corp, who in turn sold it to the press." She turned to face me. "Does it ring any bells?"
Anger boiled up inside me and both my hands were clenched into fists. My knuckles slowly became white from anger as I stared at the screen. The name that had ruined everything I had with Korra. The moment that the Southerner came to mind, the feeling of guilt overwhelmed me. I hit her… oh Spirits… Tears burned in my eyes and my vision slowly blurred as I let the memory of what I had done play out. "What have I done…" I sobbed.
I heard the soft click of a laptop closing and barely noticed that Zhu Li had gotten from her seat. "Come Varrick… let's give miss Sato some privacy." She said and I heard him agree. They said something to me but I had no record of what it was. I lowered myself on the chair that Zhu Li had occupied earlier and buried my face in my hands. I had no strength left to keep back my tears so I just let them go. The only thing I could think of right now was what I had done and said to the young woman whose friendship I had lost.
I had no idea how long I sat there as I cried but my seemingly endless sobs turned into an occasional sniffle. I was determent to make things right with Korra, no matter how long it would take. Or what I had to do for it. I got up from my seat so fast, that the piece of furniture fell over. I didn't care enough to put it back the way it was while I gathered my things. "I'm coming Korra… please… I need your forgiveness…." I whispered more to myself. I had everything in hand and fumbled with my keys when I heard a soft knock on the door. Now what? "Yes?"
The door opened slowly and in came Lin Beifong, looking as intimidating as ever. Oh shit… crap crap crap… what did I do? Is she going to arrest me? Wait, for what? My thoughts were interrupted by Lin's voice after the door was closed behind her again.
"Glad to see you're here." She said but raised an eyebrow at the chair that still laid on the floor. "Uhm… did I interrupt anything?"
"Yes, no…" I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Can I help you with anything? Is there some parking ticket I didn't pay? I'll pay it, don't worry about it."
The Chief of Police cleared her throat and I saw something I would never have believed could ever happen to her, if I wasn't right here. Right now. There was a faint blush present on her cheeks and she didn't really dare to look me in the eye. "I'm… here for another reason…"
"Well, what is it then?" I asked curiously and still wondered what on earth could make Lin Beifong blush.
"Its about the video." She suddenly blurted out.
I rolled my eyes internally and sighed. "Alright… fine, whatever…"
"It's not about the who. It's the what that we're interested about."
"We? The what?" I was utterly confused.
"Me and my girlfriend." She finally said and straightened her uniform. "We've been looking for… well… what you're using in that video… Kya wants to know where you bought it." The blush on her cheeks only deepened in color.
My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets as I looked at the Chief of Police in shock and disbelief. "I… well… that… I… didn't buy it…" I started and it felt like my face was matching Lin's. "I made it… we… we're sort of testing it out. It's a prototype."
Lin crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, Kya wants one. When will it be in stores?"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was I seriously discussing this kind of subject with the Chief of Police? Are you kidding me? "I… well."
"There are more women who want it. Just so you know." She cleared her throat once again, the deep red color had faded to a slight pink. "We..- She'll be expecting either a prototype to test or the original thing in stores soon! Don't disappoint us..- them, Sato!" She said and before I was able to react, she was already gone.
"Uh… sure… I guess…?" I shook my head to clear it from the strangest conversation I ever had. And I've had quite a few meetings with Varrick. Finally, I was able to gather everything I needed and could go and see Korra. If she still wants to see me… I sighed at my own thoughts and felt my stomach clench. I need to at least try and make this right… I have to apologize… beg her to forgive me… If she can't… I felt sick. The very thought of never being able to see her again, literally made me sick. Enough that I leaned against the door to keep myself from crashing to the floor.
I swallowed down the lump that had settled in my throat and opened the door. I told my assistant that I'd be gone for the rest of the day. All my appointments would be cancelled. I didn't care. All that mattered was fixing things with Korra. No matter what I had to do. No matter what it would cost me.
I hurried to my car and drove off in a deadly rush. My knuckles were white from clenching onto the wheel. My heart started pounding in my chest. It felt like it was trying to break free. Break my ribs in an attempt to escape. What if she won't forgive me. What if she will reject me? She had every right… I hurt her. Literally. If she'd reject my apologize, I'd deserve it. I had my eyes on the road and the building Korra lived in, finally came into view. I parked on the same spot I had parked last time I came here. I slammed the door shut and rushed up to the top floor of the building. No time to wait for the elevator that seemed to stop at every floor.
By the time I was at the top floor, I was wheezing and gasping for air. Shit… I'm out of breath… I leaned against the wall and put a hand on my chest to try and ignore the burning sensation that occupied my lungs and kept me from reaching my goal. Finally, after a few minutes, I managed to get my breathing back under control. Slowly but surely, I walked towards my target. Going over the things I wanted to tell her, inside my head. How much of an asshole I was. That I should have trusted her. That I'd do anything to get her back into my life. How much I missed her. How much I truly cared for her.
I rose my hand up in the air. Ready to knock. It never came in contact with the wood when it suddenly opened. Slowly, a young man with green eyes came into view. The area around his eyes was red from crying. He looked at me, tears still present in his eyes. I recognized him from when I paid Korra a surprise visit. He was one of the three people that she went out with. "I… hi…" I managed to stutter.
The green eyed young man smiled weakly at me. "H-hi… y-you… look familiar…" He said and sniffled.
"I'm Asami… can… is Korra home?" A feeling of dread filled me when I saw his reaction to my question. Fresh tears broke free from his eyes and he shook his head. He started to sob uncontrollably, so violently that his body started to shake. He held a small suitcase. Some fabric poked out at the sides and the blood in my veins seemed to freeze. "Please… please tell me…"
He kept looking at me with those eyes full of fear as he finally managed to speak. "K-Korra… s-she… she's…"
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Eight hours prior.
"Please please please pick up the phone…!" I begged my phone as if Asami could hear me that way. I had tried anything to get back in touch with her. I called. I texted. I emailed. I even called to Future Industries and left messages there. All remained unanswered. So today I made a decision. I decided that I'd go see her at her office. So here I was. Still texting her. Still trying to call her while I drove to her office.
Once I reached the office building, I was stopped by the security officers. They told me to turn around and leave. They had been instructed not to let me pass under any circumstances. I was yelling at them. Threatening them and nearly attacked them to get through. They told me they'd call the cops and have me arrested if I wouldn't leave. I had no choice, so I left. Under protest.
I drove off into a different direction this time instead of going back home as I should have done. I was close to the outer rings of the city when my vision became to blurred to continue driving. So I did what any responsible driver would. I pulled over somewhere and cried while my head rested against the wheel. I leaned back against my seat eventually and grabbed my phone with shaky hands. Slowly but surely, I started to type. My tears never stopped and I sniffled a few times before I decided I was finished. I reread the few words and swallowed hard.
This is it… she'll know how I feel… I was about to press the send button, when the sound of shrieking tires snapped me out of my daze. My eyes shot open wide at what I saw. It was a truck. It was coming directly at me. Out of pure instinct, I rose my arms in front of me. As if I could stop whatever was going to happen that way. I dropped my phone. My final text was never send when everything turned dark.
Asami, Please, call me. Please, I love you…
