Hello all! Sorry for the delay in this post; I meant to get it out a bit sooner. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Much love. *heart*
Also, minor trigger warning for references of violence and things that happened in Korra's past. There's a brief chapter summary at the end of the chapter if needed.
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Chapter 3
And it didn't matter whether he liked it or not. Because this wasn't about his desires or his preferences or his urge to just bury this all away; this was about justice, justice that needed to be served.
Investigation
His eyes looked over each word of the note in his hands with severity. He had lost count of the number of times he read the letter; at this point, he could probably recite the content word-for-word by memory alone, if he really wanted to. This was, in fact, something he did not want to do.
If anything, he wanted to get through this as quickly as possible and move on with his life.
Though, of course, he had no idea what state his life would be in after this; the consequences of his actions were too unforeseeable when it came to his fate.
The fate of the ones he was accusing, though… that was a different story, a story he was playing a key part of.
And it didn't matter whether he liked it or not. Because this wasn't about his desires or his preferences or his urge to just bury this all away; this was about justice, justice that needed to be served.
He read over the words again, the note on top of a large stack of papers in his lap. He flinched inside every time his eyes crossed the phrase "savage". His heart sunk with the weight of the situation, though part of it raced with each piece of the threat he reviewed. He didn't know much about this man. To be honest, he didn't know much about many of the students at his college. There were hundreds of them at all different levels and very few of them had ever come to his office to speak with him. He recognized a name here and there, given his past as a teacher at the university, and he knew the basics about them, such as their major and where they were from. But he hadn't matched the faces until they crossed his path, and in all honesty, he didn't even know what this man looked like.
But he wondered, in his late nights beside the fire with a cup of tea in his hand, what was going through this boy's head. Why did he think it was okay to do what he did? What had brought him to such violent acts? Even amongst these thoughts, there was something that pulled on his interest moreso than the intentions and history that lead to his behavior and threats:
What was it that Korra had done that made him want to kill her?
He passed over the words again.
"This used to be all about Sentai and your fucking with him and the whole 'grading with biased bullshit' that fucked everything up. Now, after what you did to me, to everyone else, this is personal."
What had she done beyond pissing Sentai off and throwing off the structure of the scandal? What had she done that would make this man want to beat, ravage, and kill her?
"Dr. Suri." A man called to him as he crossed the room, his voice strong and stern.
The sound pulled him away from his ruminations. He straightened his papers and rose from the bench on which he sat, keeping the stack close to his hip as he did so.
"Are you ready to present your case?" The man straightened his outfit and adjusted his glasses, the wear from the many cases in his life clear on his face. He had both defended justice and witnessed injustice in his time, and his feelings on the details of this specific predicament were mixed. While he would be helping to expose a huge scandal within the system of the University of the United Republic of Nations, he would also be playing a hand in the consequences to come, consequences that he didn't necessarily want to occur.
"Have the officers arrived?"
He nodded. "They are waiting inside."
Dr. Suri bobbed his head. He took a deep breath, a blend of emotions in his eyes.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," the man stepped forward, speaking into Suri's ear as quiet as he could. "You've already kept this hidden with your information about Sentai's affairs and this Kuru kid. We don't have to make this public; we can keep it between those involved and simply remove the others from the University without consequence."
He met the pale grey-green irises of his lawyer as part of his mind considered this option. It would spare them the bad publicity and a full scale investigation.
But at the same time, would it really solve anything?
"And what do you think will happen if you just let everything go?" Asami's words rang in his head. "They're just going to get away with more and more shit. More people will get hurt. Who's going to stop Kuru and his friends from getting drunk and nearly killing another person, just because they know they can get away with it?"
Even if he did manage to expel Kuru and the rest of the people involved in the assaults, he had no way of predicting whether or not something like this would happen again. In fact, he wasn't even entirely sure of who else attacked Korra, other than Kuru.
And the next time, the victim might not be so lucky as to live.
"No. This is something that has to be done. Nothing is going to change if we don't bring attention to the atrocities that have occurred." He faced his lawyer. "This is a systemic flaw, not just an issue with a group of people. The university as a whole needs to be investigated and those who have been involved in the structural crimes need to be accounted for. We cannot allow this to continue; we need change just as much as we need justice." He turned to the door of the courtroom. "If we want to help the university, then we need to go from the bottom all the way to the top." He tightened his grip on the papers in his hand. With a deep breath, he approached the entrance and did the best he could to hide the shaking in his legs.
His lawyer followed him, adjusting the collar of his outfit once more.
Dr. Suri pushed the doors open. The officers who were seated rose as he made his way to the front of the room.
There was only one man who did not rise and he was in the center of the long desk that Dr. Suri was approaching. His uniform was different from that of his comrades at his sides; while he bore the insignia of the Republic City Police Force, his armor was not made of sparse plates of metal as the rest were, nor did he have the small gold symbol on his chest marking him as one of the Metal Bending officers under Lin Beifong's sole command. He peered at them through his eyebrows, observing Dr. Suri's appearance. He was a calculating man, and with everything that had been going on in the City, he did not particularly have time for petty matters in a university that was not even within his City.
Still, he was one of the lead detectives in the headquarters, which gave him special jurisdiction over different areas and affairs within the United Republic of Nations, and he was placed on the job by Lin Beifong through Shen, the front desk assistant. He was suspicious at first when he was handed the paperwork, but the signature on the bottom looked authentic. And given Lin's title as Chief of Police, it wasn't exactly an order he could refuse; her authority wasn't just over the Metal Bending units, after all.
Why she had given him this task when they were working on an investigation with the Strikers was beyond him. He didn't have time to hunt her down and question it, though, as she was swarmed with meetings, patrols, and other conflicts involving the Strikers and Triads alike. Couldn't she have assigned this to one of the newcomers or someone who did not have such a strong hold – or busy plate, perhaps – already? Why pull her lead investigator for such a task?
Maybe she figured you would be the quickest to solve this case so that she wouldn't have to waste too much time on the matter?
Or perhaps she was too busy to notice what she was signing?
He folded his pale hands together and rested them against his chin, leaning his face a bit into his arms for support. His dark green eyes never left Dr. Suri or the man following him – most likely his lawyer, given his wardrobe. He noted the large stack of papers in Suri's hand as he placed them on the table across from him.
Dr. Suri and his lawyer waited for the investigator's command before sitting.
He's conflicted, he thought to himself as he stared into Suri's eyes. It's not by much, but it's there.
"Sit," he murmured, remaining still in his analyzing position.
They did as they were told. The officers on either side did the same.
"In case they have not already told you, I am Officer Jisuan, lead detective for the Republic City Police Department." He lowered his hands to the table but maintained a tall stature. "You are Lee Suri, of the University of the United Republic of Nations, as I've gathered from the report." He opened the folder in front of him and retrieved the file. "You have come to the Republic City Police Department with a complaint against the University."
"Yes, sir," he spoke as clear as he could.
"Why is it," Jisuan asked as he flipped through the pages in front of him, "that you've come to us concerning this matter? Surely, the university has its own police force to handle these types of investigations, do they not?"
"They do –" Suri replied, though his lawyer interjected.
"My client has come to the Republic City Police Department because he needs a third party for this situation, an investigator that is not tied to the university."
Jisuan lowered the papers just an inch and glanced up at the man beside Dr. Suri. "I don't believe I was asking you."
He didn't falter. "I understand that, but my client has given me permission to speak for him when details of the case are involved, expressed solely through the binding contract in his possession, and only when speaking within his presence with members of the police force. I can take you to the page, if you would like –" He reached out for one of the packets in Suri's stack.
Jisuan flicked his hand towards him. "That will not be necessary." He returned his attention to the report in front of him. "Why is it that you need a third party, Mr. Suri?"
"I am under the belief that the authorities working for the university may be corrupted by what it is I am requesting an investigation for."
He raised a brow and brought his deep green eyes up to Suri. "What has led you to this conclusion?"
"My client has evidence of a scandal ensuing within the university structure that he believes spreads beyond that of a simple professor and a few students. With this in mind, he requested a third party to prevent biased judgment in the investigation."
Jisuan glanced at Suri's lawyer for a moment, considering him. He lowered his papers and nodded. "Fair enough. Trustworthy people are hard to come by these days. While acting on suspicion is not always the best plan, it is sometimes advisable in these types of situations." He brought his attention to Suri. "You've done the right thing coming to a third party on the matter. You haven't provided much detail in your report, though. Is there a reason for that?"
"You never know who can be listening or watching." Suri eyed the officers at Jisuan's sides before locking back onto the dark green irises before him. "The last time evidence was attempted to be procured, it was stolen. I intend to prevent that from happening again, as well as any other information leaking about this case."
"Explain. And start from the beginning."
"Of course." Suri adjusted in his chair and folded his hands on the table. "It all started during this previous semester at the university, about three months ago. A student named Korra was enrolled in a general chemistry class, taught by Dr. Sentai – one of the men I'm requesting an investigation on. He had a policy in which students who are late to his exam are forbidden from taking the test. Korra ended up being late because she was giving my daughter CPR in the outside quad of the college; she had collapsed when I was giving her a tour. Korra saved her life. I ended up finding Korra on my way to my office and she told me about what had occurred. I confronted Sentai on the matter and abolished his rule, allowing Korra to take the exam."
"Your position as the Dean of the college gives you the authority to do such a thing?"
"Yes. The fair treatment of students within the university allows me jurisdiction over the professors when it comes to certain classroom policies."
Jisuan retrieved a pen from the inside of his outer robe and scribbled something on the paper beside him. "Carry on," he continued, not looking up from his sheet.
"Several days after the exam, I crossed paths with Korra once more. She was upset about something, so I brought her into my office and spoke with her. She told me she had failed her exam. I requested to look over the test, as I had taught that course prior to my appointment as Dean of the college. She allowed it. After reviewing her work, I came to the conclusion that she had not, in fact, failed the exam. Rather, her professor had graded the test with bias so that her score was below the passing mark." He paused for a moment, waiting to see if the detective wanted to say something. After nothing but silence and not even a glimpse in his direction, he continued. "I called Sentai into my office and requested that he regrade her exam. I gave him a warning that if I caught him grading with bias again, I would have him put on suspension for falsifying academic information."
"Where does the evidence come into play, Mr. Suri."
"He's getting to that part," his lawyer spoke up, prompting a glance from Jisuan.
"Continue," he instructed after he looked away from the pair and brought his attention to his notes.
"Of course. A few days after this, Korra began receiving – death threats," he choked the words out, trying to stop the sight of Korra in the campus hospital from flashing into his mind.
This forced Jisuan to freeze. He locked onto Suri's eyes. "Death threats?"
Suri nodded, dropping his gaze for a moment to gather himself. "Yes, sir."
"When were these brought to your attention?"
"When it was too late."
The air thickened between them with the silence that ensued.
If she had just brought them sooner, this whole thing could have been avoided.
"She was afraid," Suri muttered, his eyes still on his hands and the papers stacked in front of him. "That's why she didn't bring them to me before the attack."
"The attack?" His brows narrowed, his pen abandoned to the tabletop. "What attack?"
"A group of students assaulted her near the campus lines. I am under the suspicion that they were the same ones that had sent her the death threats." Suri lifted his sight to meet the dark greens before him at the end of his statement.
"What makes you suspect these students?"
"I have evidence from one of them – a threat that was delivered to her dorm around two weeks ago, after the conclusion of the past semester and after Korra was dismissed from the college." Suri took the letter from Kuru and handed it to Jisuan.
"Dismissed? Why was she dismissed?"
"For biased charges against her."
"Biased charges?" He brought his attention away from the note before he could read it.
Dr. Suri nodded. "I read over the dismissal letter that the Judiciary Board of Trustees sent her. They did not give her a trial nor did they contact her for defense, claiming that the nature of the charges allowed them to rule without her input."
"Is that something they are allowed to do?"
"Technically yes, but –"
"What my client is saying is that the charges brought against her were warped and one sided, based on reports that did not take into account the situation at hand. An example of which was the claim by a student that she maliciously harmed them. This instance was, in fact, an accident. Korra was having an anxiety attack from the sight of her aggressor after the assault and fled the area, running into the student by mistake."
"What were the other charges? And what evidence do you have of Korra having an anxiety attack at this time?"
"A witness. Asami Sato." Suri replied before his lawyer could speak up.
"Asami Sato?" Jisuan held his chin in thought. "She is involved in these affairs?"
"The accused have targeted Miss Sato due to her relation to Korra as a friend and from her participation in this debacle. This can be seen in the note that my client has given you." The lawyer responded as he flipped through the stack of papers in front of Dr. Suri, looking for Suri's copy of the dismissal letter from the Judiciary Board. He continued as Jisuan read over the threat. "Other charges against Korra include verbal harassment, damage to institutional property, and conduct which threatens the safety of any person or persons." He paused and lowered the sheet, waiting for a reply from the investigator. When he was met with nothing but silence, he glanced up at Jisuan to find a twisted expression on the officer's face.
What neither of them knew was that Jisuan did not take kindly to these types of threats, especially those involving sexual abuse. He blinked his eyes slowly, pushing away the memories trying to force themselves into his head. The first read-through of the note left a pained look on his face. The second morphed into sadness. After the third, there was simply anger on his furrowed brow. He set the letter in front of him and met the pair with penetrating eyes. "You said this note was delivered to Korra a few weeks ago. What of the threats originally given to her?"
"Those were stolen from Asami Sato when she attempted to deliver them to my office."
"Why didn't Korra bring them to you?"
"This was after the assault. Korra was in the hospital and unable to get to me in her condition. Asami Sato attempted to deliver them on her behalf."
Jisuan folded his hands across his chin once more. "What do you know of the assault other than what you've told me?"
"My client has the police report given to him by the campus police that found her on the night of the attack," the lawyer flipped through more papers and pulled the sheet out. He slid it over to Jisuan. "She was attacked at night near the campus outskirts as she was, presumably, heading to her dormitory. The officer reports that there were –"
"I can read what's written," Jisuan held up a hand to silence the lawyer as he scanned the paper in his fingers. "Have you a medical report from what occurred?"
"Yes," Suri responded, handing the officer what he requested. "I – I also saw Korra in the campus hospital the day I was given the report from the campus police. She… she was not in good shape."
He raised a brow and met Suri's eyes. "Explain."
"The right side of her face was completely beaten and swollen. She had a cut across her left cheek from some sort of blade. There were multiple bruises along the rest of her body – from what I could see – and she was unconscious when I arrived."
Jisuan glanced back at the medical report. "It says here that she was stabbed?"
"Yes. She was." The words were solemn as they left his mouth.
"Did the campus police start any sort of investigation on this matter? Did you contact them at all?"
"No, they did not. I am unsure of whether Korra or Asami contacted them for further assistance, but as far as I know, they did not investigate the matter. I believe they did increase their patrols, but there was not a formal search into what happened."
Jisuan scoffed. "That doesn't seem very smart." He flipped back to the police report. "Why did you not contact them? You said Asami Sato came to you for help, even though she had lost the threats."
"While the situation – impacted – me, I knew that, without evidence, there would be no case for the police or the Judiciary Board."
"The officers seeing Korra assaulted wasn't evidence enough?"
Suri paused, his heart pounding. "From what I was told, they couldn't make out who was attacking Korra. And since I believe they might be involved in the scandal, I feared they would have disregarded or destroyed any evidence we brought them."
"Yet you refused to ask for a formal investigation, not even from a third party."
He swallowed. "Like I said, I wanted to wait until I had evidence –"
"And now you do?"
Suri nodded, a bit of fire in his eyes to hide the nerves. "Now I have evidence."
"How did you acquire this threat?"
Suri hesitated again, considering Asami's words once more. "I found it in Korra's dormitory room." He took a breath. "Five days ago, on the 22nd," he added, marking the time when Asami had given him the threat outside of his office on that cold morning.
"What were you doing there?"
He lied; he had to. "I wanted to speak with Korra about everything that had happened last semester and about her dismissal letter. I knew she was still on campus since she was opting to stay here during the break. When I went to her dorm, she wasn't there. The door was unlocked. When I entered, I found the note amongst her dismissal letter, while the rest of her things were gone."
"She left the premises?"
"To my knowledge. I haven't seen her or heard of her whereabouts since."
Jisuan set the reports down and scribbled something on another piece of paper. "Do you believe this threat has come to fruition?"
Suri looked away, pain in his tone. "I certainly hope not."
Jisuan glanced up at him again. "So what is it you want me to do? Where does this all connect?"
He brought his eyes back to the deep greens boring into him. "It all connects to Redemption."
"Redemption?"
He nodded. "It is my suspicion that the students who attacked Korra and sent her this threat are Redemption players for the college."
"And?"
"Redemption brings in a large amount of revenue that is put towards the funding of the university –"
"My client suspects that the professor who graded Korra's exam with negative bias was also grading the exams of the players with positive bias," the lawyer interjected, looking to get straight to the point. "With the threat against Sentai of suspension if he graded with bias again, it is very possible that he stopped giving the Redemption players passing scores. This lead to the threat – and actuality – of violence against Korra and all those involved."
Jisuan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I see. So you suspect that the professor was passing them to allow them to play and bring money into the college."
"Yes. But I don't believe that Sentai was the only one engaged in such affairs. I believe this is a system-wide issue. The Redemption fund is spread across many areas of the college's finances: the Board of Trustees, the professors, the hospital, the police force –"
"Hmmm," Jisuan muttered, bending closer to the table as he did so. "As terrible of a financial policy that this is, I can see now why you didn't want to go to the campus police or the board."
Suri simply nodded.
"This is quite a heavy accusation, Mr. Suri. You do understand the gravity of what you are asking me to do with this situation?"
"I understand completely."
Jisuan glanced at the papers in front of him, considering and calculating. His eyes fell on the threat and picked one word out amongst the rest: 'ravaged'.
"I will lead this investigation," he spoke in a booming voice, realizing that this was much more complex than he would have thought from the report.
No wonder Lin had me assigned to this.
A slew of emotions riled up inside of Suri. All he could do was nod.
"Do you have any leads? Anything that can help this investigation?"
He pulled from Asami's idea once more. "I would start with Sentai's office. He should have the past final exams on file there. You can use it to both confirm the threat was from Kuru based on the script and compare the grading system between the different students. That should help provide evidence for his biased behavior."
Jisuan nodded and scribbled a few notes on another piece of paper. "I want warrants for every professor in that university to search their offices," he grumbled to the officers at his sides, "to obtain any evidence that may indicate any sort of biased grading, financial crime, or other illegal activity." He ripped one sheet off from his pad and handed it to the officer closest to his right. "I trust Dr. Suri will provide a list of them?"
"I will do whatever you need me to do."
"Good." He jotted something down on another piece of paper. "Because I also want a list of all of the Redemption players for this past semester."
"I can assure you my client will do what it takes to help with this case."
Jisuan ignored him as he tore another sheet. "I want the contacts and warrants for the members of this Judiciary Board as well. I want to speak with them concerning their ruling on Korra's dismissal and any involvement they might have in this issue." He handed the paper to the officer on his left. "You two," he called his remaining colleagues over while he scribbled on a fresh notice. "You are to find Sentai and bring him in for questioning," he pulled the sheet off and gave it to the man as he addressed him, "and you, Zhang, are to find Kuru to do the same." Jisuan removed an additional piece of paper and passed it to the other officer. "Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir." They replied in unison.
"Dr. Suri here will help you with the addresses, should you need it. I expect reports by midday today. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
Suri and his lawyer rose from their seats, gathering their things as they did so.
"I will keep in touch with you on the progress of the investigation. If there is corruption in the university, I will find it."
Suri offered him a bow. "Thank-you."
Jisuan nodded. They departed, Suri and his lawyer to the exit and Jisuan to his officers.
Once the door clicked shut, he addressed his comrades. "This requires the utmost privacy; if anyone hears about this or if information is leaked out, then we could lose evidence. Is this understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." Jisuan spun around and straightened the papers that were given to him. "You're dismissed."
The officers saluted him. Three of them left the room while one officer lingered behind.
This didn't go unnoticed. "Is there a problem, Zhang?"
"No, sir. I was just wondering… what are you going to do?"
"If you're going to be a good investigator someday, then you must never forget that there are always two sides to a story, if not moreso."
"I don't think I understand, sir."
Jisuan faced his comrade with fierce eyes. "I'm going to find out everything I can about Korra and Asami Sato. Every. Last. Bit."
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Chapter summary: Dr. Suri from the University of the United Republic of Nations meets with an Investigator from the Republic City Police Force concerning the scandal at the University. With evidence that Asami Sato provided him in secret, Suri and his lawyer look to Investigator Jisuan for help. They recount the tale that happened at the university with Korra, Asami, Kuru, Sentai, and the violence involved, and Suri provides one of the threats that Kuru wrote to Korra as evidence for the investigation, along with his suspicions about the institutional corruption at the college. After reading the note and seeing the threats of violence against Korra, Jisuan agrees to help with the case, realizing this is a much more complex case than he once thought. He assigns several Metal Bending officers tasks to retrieve warrants and bring in Kuru and Sentai for questioning. After everyone leaves except the young Metal Bending Officer Zhang, Jisuan gives him a piece of advice: there are two sides to a story, and Jisuan was going to learn everything about Korra and Asami that he could.
Every. Last. Bit.
Chapter 4: Delicate healing