Chapter 11

Be careful

Author's note: I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read this story so far. I would also like to place a trigger warning before this chapter, as it does get intense. I have placed a summary of what happens at the bottom so that you don't have to read through it if you choose not to (I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or trigger anything).

Korra spent the next few nights at Asami's apartment, returning to her dorm during the day to retrieve some clothes and textbooks. The window was fixed in the time she was gone, and the letters under her door stopped. She wasn't sure if Opal had seen any of the chaos, but she had not been around to be questioned. The Southerner still avoided her mailbox, cringing at the thought of another note crammed inside.

They traveled together as much as they could. The engineer kept a very watchful eye wherever they went, though she was secretive enough to circumvent worsening Korra's anxiety. Once the threats ceased fire and the tension began to lighten in the classroom, the Water Tribe girl relaxed. She no longer looked over her shoulder down corridors and in crowded places. The intensity of her nightmares had lessened to the point that she could get a full night's sleep on the couch without waking Asami in the middle of the night. It wasn't uncommon for them to lay in the same bed together during those times, for both their sakes.

"Are you sure about this, Korra? It's only been a week." The older woman was hesitant about Korra leaving her apartment.

"I'm sure, Asami. Things seem to be looking up now. There weren't any more letters when I went to my dorm, and I just… I don't feel afraid anymore. I think everything has finally blown over."

The engineer was reluctant. "Let me at least walk you back."

"Then you'd have to be out alone. If anything happened to you…" Korra trailed off.

Why can't she see that the feeling is mutual? Asami sighed.

"Plus, you have that big project you need to work on. I want you to have time for that. And you've got a bunch of other homework that's due after the weekend, too."

She couldn't deny Korra's argument; she had directed so much of her attention on the Southerner that she had started neglecting her own studies.

"Be careful, Korra."

"I will." Asami walked her to the door and gave her a tight hug. She watched her leave until she was out of sight. It was true that the feud seemed to die down between Korra and Sentai's Legion, as they had been calling the group that had threatened the younger woman's life.

Still… Being one with an eye for detail was sometimes too much for Asami. It made her overthink things. She tended to have control over her thoughts to prevent this, but this was also a matter of the heart, and she was still working out the gear box to that. She took one last look out of the window.

Just be safe.

(-)

Korra was in the mood to whistle, but she didn't. She did, however, keep that pep in her step. Chemistry was starting to make more sense to her, along with her other classes. Not to mention, the four week break between semesters was coming up soon. A half-frown approached her lips to the thought of that. She was excited to see her family and Naga again, but it would also mean being away from Asami for several weeks. The swing in her pace lessened a bit.

It'll be nice for her, though. She'll get to see her father again.

A different voice responded. That doesn't mean I won't miss her.

The frown infected her entire face. I will really miss her. She's just so…

Several adjectives came to mind. Wonderful. Nice. Funny. Smart. Beautiful. Kind. Talented. Important. Loving. Lovely.

Her mind repeated love like a broken record. Love. Love? Love! Love…

Korra stopped and stared into the distance.

Love? What do you mean, love? Was… was this love? Even though she grew up in a small village, she couldn't say she ever experienced a romantic version of love. She loved her parents, her friends, her polar-bear dog, her village and culture… But she had never loved a person.

What did love even feel like?

She knew the difference between love and attraction, even though she couldn't explain it. And she was aware, without a doubt, that she felt enticed by Asami. It took her weeks to decipher just this portion of her feelings. Something about the way Asami moved, and her voice, and her face… well, her entire body and personality. Korra swallowed. Now this whole love business started creeping in.

We are just friends. She doesn't feel the same way. She couldn't. A voice popped into her head.

Korra disputed this. I think you're wrong.

There was a silent pause in which all of her thoughts stopped. Only feelings pulsed into her mental viewscape. Everything with Asami just felt so natural. It flowed, just like energy. Korra didn't really have to think about it at all, and maybe that was her issue. She always had to pry her mind apart, instead of just feeling. She took a breath and let the waves hit her. She closed her eyes. It was a simple conclusion, a resolution her subconscious had already known: it was something more than friendship. It had to be. It might not be official, but she felt a greater bond with the engineer than with any of the people in her village back home.

Maybe it is love.

Or maybe it's all in your head.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Korra muttered to herself.

"Wait and see what?"

There was a deep voice behind her. She didn't realize that she had been frozen in thought. Now, she was frozen with fear.

The man walked around to face her. She heard the footsteps of several others flanking her.

"None of your business." Korra tried to push away from him but her path was blocked.

"I asked you a fucking question, and I expect a fucking answer." He bent down into the Southerner's face. His brown eyes were glazed over and his breath reeked of alcohol.

She remained silent and unmoved. There was a burning in her core that she couldn't place, but she drew on it. She continued glaring into him, never breaking contact.

He straightened and cracked his knuckles. The man had raven hair, was a foot taller than the Water Tribe Girl, and was all bulk. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before. "You think I don't know who you are, huh? That we don't know."

The circle of men closed in on her. They were two arm lengths away.

"Oh, we've been watching. We've been waiting. And now that you're all alone, it's time."

His grin was full of pure evil just before he threw his left fist at Korra's face. She ducked under his arm and pivoted in her crouched position. She stuck out her leg during her spin and swiped his calves, sending him back-first to the ground. The Southerner turned to face the next man, who was just as muscular but a bit shorter and had more facial hair. His right hook had already been surging at her. She sidestepped the blunt of the force, grabbed his forearm, and flung him forward onto the pavement with a smack.

Before Korra could focus on her next target, two men lunged at her from opposing sides. One grabbed her from the front, the other from behind. They had all been too close for her to get much leverage around them. She managed to land one punch onto the third man, who was shady looking with black hair and a straw stalk in his mouth. Needless to say, the twig and some of his blood spattered the cement. He stumbled back enough for the Water Tribe girl to kick her now-free legs right into his groin.

Korra replanted her feet by the time he hit the ground. The man behind her had restrained her arms after the jab, but it didn't stop her from trying to throw him forward off of her shoulders. Just as she started shifting for a toss, a swift kick to the back of her right leg decommissioned her. She fell to the weight on top of her and was brought to her knees. The man constraining her torso used his own legs to confine the Water Tribe girl's ankles.

She knew there was nothing she could do. No amount of struggling was going to get her out of his grip. The raven man walked up to her, rubbing the knuckles on his left hand. He bent so close to her face, she could see his pores.

"You're going to fucking pay for what you did, and what you are, you dirty fucking snow savage."

A hard fist struck the right side of her face and nearly sent her head flying off of her shoulders. She continued to fight against her human chains, ignoring the pain. That fire inside kept burning and she never stopped pulling from it. The same fist hit the same side again. And again. And again.

She looked on with her left eye, blood dripping from her nose, as he shook his hand out. Half of her vision was blocked by the swelling around her right socket and cheek. Instead of punching her with his other hand, he slapped her multiple times. She couldn't tell which side stung more. Her head was swirling and she was losing stamina. The flames were dying down. So was her hope.

Just… hang in there… maybe… there will be… an opening… Her thoughts were as jagged as her breathing.

He moved to her torso and pounded it without stopping, using both fists. She felt like a punching bag. Korra's body was afire with pain. It shot through her limbs and radiated. She grew limp but remained conscious.

You can't... give in...

"Lift her up." The man holding her pulled her to her feet, though only the insteps touched the ground. She struggled to breathe as he continued, sending excruciating jabs into her abdomen. An ultimate blow to her solar plexus left her gasping for air and coughing up blood. She wasn't sure when she had started crying, but she was aware of it now.

I…

He shoved his hand around her throat, forcing her hung head upwards. His grip was powerful. "I want to hear you fucking beg, savage." Even if she had clear access to her vocal chords, she refused to plead to him. A part of her wanted to, by all means, to make this torture stop. But that little piece of her, that little fucking inexplicable fire she sometimes loathed, prevented her. Was it stubbornness? Pride? Survival instincts? Or something else? She had never been able to discern it. Regardless, she found herself drawing from it time to time, whether on purpose or without intent.

She was conflicted. This was one of those moments where she had no control over these mysterious surges. While she wished for nothing more than to suffocate the spark, surrender, and hope her aggressors release her, she just… couldn't.

Korra shot daggers into his eyes instead. The corners of her sight grew fuzzy from asphyxiation.

The black-haired man wrenched her from her captor and threw her onto the ground. Her head smacked against the pavement and dizzied her version. She bounced like a ball and clutched her abdomen.

"Go ahead, boys."

It was like a pack of angry, starving saber-tooth moose lions had descended on her. Fists and feet were striking her everywhere. They kicked her back and torso. Pounded her face and limbs. Stomped her entire body.

She let out a cry and the flame diminished.

Korra tried to curl into a ball, but there were too many of them. One kick cracked a rib. She bawled. Another stomp crushed her left wrist. A punch into her throat and she couldn't breathe.

Punch.

Kick.

Punch.

Stomp.

It was relentless.

Please…

"Hold her down."

His voice brought about the end of their onslaught. It had to have lasted for several minutes, though it felt like hours. The same hands held her limbs down so that her stomach was against the pavement. Not that they needed to; she couldn't move if she tried. Panic shot through her body when they spread her legs. The raven leader kneeled down and began tugging at her pants.

NO.

A new rush of energy flowed from within. Korra tried to squirm away, fighting harder than she ever had. She was met with a sharp object that sliced across her left cheek. Soon, it had impaled her side and exited.

She screamed. She cracked. She submitted. She cried.

"No! No, please. Please stop. You said if I begged, you would stop. Please…"

She felt disgusting. She felt pitiful. She felt afraid.

"Please…" She wept.

The man laughed in a way that Korra could never forget, like this was all just a game to him. An ordinary event. She came to the conclusion that to him, it probably was. "You think I'm going to stop? Clearly you didn't read my letters very well, unless you savages can't read. I'm going to make you beg but I'm never going to stop."

He pulled at her pants again, almost successful in ripping them off.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Within a second, they had all scrambled, leaving Korra in a sobbing, throbbing heap. Her hand went to her side to cover the stab wound. She heard the man radio in for an ambulance and looked around for what she believed to be her last time.

I tried.

She recognized the buildings around her. She was still on campus, but on the outskirts of it. She had been just a few blocks away from her dorm.

I was so close.

The officer rolled her onto her back and began examining her. She looked away from him towards the direction of her apartment. Her palm remained on her abdomen.

I almost made it.

Her body numbed with pain.

This is it. This is how I go. This is how it all ends.

Korra could feel herself slipping into black, despite the officer urging her to stay awake. Her tears never stopped.

They were right.

She searched for something to anchor her to reality. She recalled the last conversation she had before this all happened.

'Be careful, Korra.'

She felt like such a failure.

I tried. I couldn't fight them. I'm no warrior.

She saw flashing red lights, men in blue uniforms, a stretcher, just before she closed her eyes. The world faded away into her final thought:

I'm sorry, Asami.

Summary: After Korra leaves Asami's apartment, she begins to walk through the campus to her dorm room. During which, she contemplates her feelings for Asami and realizes that there might be something more than just friendship there. She decides to just let time tell her whether or not this is actually something. She is then attacked by five drunken men. They are bulky and tall. Their "leader" has black hair and brown eyes. She tries to fight them off, but they overwhelm her. She is beaten and eventually stabbed. The attackers also cut her left cheek. An officer on patrol finds the group and they run away before he can arrest them. He calls in for an ambulance as Korra lies on the ground, bleeding out. She thinks of the last thing that Asami told her before she left: "Be careful, Korra".