Asami didn't want to see any of her business associates until after contacting Kuvira, but her search had been fruitless for five days, and she was starting to get a little nervous.
She had finished the shoreline and was now wrapping up her first quarter with a stop at Mitsubi Financial Group, located in the heart of Eguichi. Her father had investments with this firm for a very long time. He often reminded her that he always kept some money in the Fire Nation.
Fortunately, Asami was able to maintain the connection with little effort. She doubted if any news about public figures associated with Amon ever made it across the shore. The Fire Nation got the headlines, and that seemed to be it.
Asami reaches for a magazine on the table beside her in the lobby. The feature on the cover was for an upcoming opera. Her father had once brought her to a performance in Republic City. She didn't quite get it but loved the elaborate costumes and painted faces. Based on the posing of the two figures, this opera appeared to be a romantic one.
"Asami Sato!" A booming male voice calls out.
Asami looks up to see Mr. Nagasura standing in front of her, arms open. He wasn't a tall man, so when they embraced, Asami could almost see over the top of his head, but his topknot obscured her view. He wore a gray business suit with a deep amber cravat at his neck. A combination of Republic City formal and traditional Fire Nation upper-class fashion was becoming the norm, even this far away from the mainland.
"Mr. Nagasura." Asami lets go of the older man and reaches for the decorative bag next to her seat. She passes it over to him by the string handles.
Mr. Nagasura accepts the bag and immediately peaks inside. "Please call me Sota, your father and I are old friends."
The somewhat genuine smile on Asami's face slips away at his words. Mr. Nagasura is too engrossed in digging through his gift bag to notice he has sucked all the air out of the room. He peeks out from the bag to check on Asami, noticing her silence. Her face had recovered back to a pleasant smile.
"Could we perhaps sit down somewhere while we catch up?" Asami asks sweetly.
Mr. Nagasura slaps the bag to his side and gestures to a door. "I've got a nice spot in my office." He opens the door, ushering Asami in, then turns to his young and beautiful secretary in the hall. "Bring us some tea." Mr. Nagasura moves to close the door, then whips it open again. "The good tea. Not the swill from the break room again."
The secretary bows deeply. "Yes, Mr. Nagasura."
Asami has already seated herself, so Mr. Nagasura takes the lush lounge chair beside her. He unbuttons his suit jacket and gets himself comfortable. "She's a looker but not the most intuitive. I bet you don't have that problem," Mr. Nagasura taps Asami on the arm with the back of his hand. "You don't care what your secretary looks like. Bet you have yourself some elderly schoolmarm. No life, so she never calls out."
Asami was about to answer Mr. Nagasura, but he cut her off. "Unless you got yourself one of those male secretaries. The problem with them is you can look, but you can't touch. That kind of man isn't interested in a strong businesswoman if, you know what I mean?"
Any concerns Asami had about being truthful with this man began to vanish. He was too chatty for Asami to get a word in before moving on to the next subject. She also wonders if it was advantageous or depressing that so little mention of what was going on in Republic City reached the Fire Nation.
The secretary entering the room broke Asami from her thoughts. She had completely stopped listening to Mr. Nagasura, so this interruption would perhaps save her and allow her to catch the following subject matter.
The young woman, maybe a year younger than Asami herself, places the tray containing the ornate jade teapot and matching cup set on the small table separating Asami's chair from the older man.
Mr. Nagasura lifts off the lid and gives the steam a quick sniff. "Thank you, that should be all for now, Yua." He pours a cup for Asami and then one for himself.
"I thought about setting her up with my nephew, but I think she's more trouble than she's worth. Plus, she'd quit after they married, and I'd need to hire again," Mr. Nagasura blew a few breaths over his steaming cup, then took a small sip. "I don't see a ring on that finger. Any interest in relocating back to your motherland? Settle down with a nice investment banker?"
What Asami would have given for a copy of The United Republic to toss in his lap. Before she could even think of a clever answer, Mr. Nagasura waves a hand at her. "I know, you could never part with your big city life. My nephew will never live more than five minutes away from his mother, my sister-in-law. I tell my brother it isn't healthy, a boy being that attached to his mother, EVEN after he's made chief operations officer at my brother's firm." Mr. Nagasura shakes his head. "What am I thinking, my nephew, is the burden. Maybe I should pair him off with my secretary. I could hire one that knows what tea to brew when important clients visit. Speaking of visiting, what brings you here?"
Asami relaxes back into her seat. This time she knew better than to even consider responding.
"I have a huge investment opportunity I could present to you. Get you in early, make a lot of money."
Asami answers with a shrug.
Mr. Nagasura leans towards her as if what he is about to say is a secret. "A very close friend is purchasing a coal mine up in Atsuzen. The patriarch of the family who owns it now just passed, and his kids don't want the business, so they're selling it off and taking their cuts."
"Coal is lucrative, but what makes this one so special?"
"The history," Mr. Nagasura says, emphasizing with his teacup. "It's an old, old mine. Opened during the Sozen era, and the quality; phenomenal. It's an unbent mine. No Earthbender has ever moved a spec of dirt in the whole place."
"And that is a desirable form of excavation?"
"For old, proud, nationalist, and rich families? One hundred percent."
"But the children don't want to keep this big money maker?"
Mr. Nagasura leans back and crosses his legs. "Apparently, the old bastard forbade any new owner from changing the method of mining, even his own children. And, of course, his kids wanted to get with the times, industrialize, and increase the volume of the product. Just like what you at Future Industries are all about."
"Yes, those are some of our principles." Asami wills herself not to scowl at his words. "You're proposing I invest in a mine that will remain in the dark ages."
"You gotta diversify your portfolio, can't bank all your money in the new technologies, sometimes the money can be where it always has been, traditional institutions."
"Why don't you send me the business plan," Asami starts as Mr. Nagasura passes a portfolio. She juggles her tea for a moment to accept the folder being handed to her. "Ah, I'll give it a look tonight."
Mr. Nagasura grins.
Asami slides the portfolio into her shoulder bag at her feet and then leans toward Mr. Nagasura. "So, the reason I came, there are a few life events I need to inform you about..."
Mr. Nagasura offered to buy Asami dinner and show her the town, but she politely declined. She was honestly a little surprised he wanted to spend any more time with her, thinking the man might be a bit embarrassed he didn't know one of his clients had died or that she was dating only the most recognized human alive. Not this man, quick on his feet, apologized, laughed some of it off, and then ran his mouth at her for a bit longer. Asami turned him down primarily out of sheer exhaustion.
She walked to a small noodle house for dinner and then planned on catching a cab back to her Inn for her final night's stay. She had to decide where to relocate next and make the proper arrangements.
Asami parts the painted fabric flaps covering the doorway into the restaurant and peers inside. It was a small space, a long bar with stools where most patrons sat hunched over their bowls and then a few two-top tables along the wall. Asami picks up a menu from the pile by the door and takes one of the tables. A gangly teen comes to take her order and then shuffles back behind the door.
Asami slides the menu to the other side of the table and pulls out the business proposal from Mr. Nagasura. She flips through the pages, and it appears to be a good investment, one she could take or leave. At the very back is a portrait of its current owner, a Mr. Kamakura, dressed not unlike the Fire Lord would. Based on the deep frown lines at either side of his grimace, the man may have never smiled in his life.
Asami's mind drifted back to the conversation, a mine where no bender could work. She couldn't imagine a lot of Fire Nationals interested in that grueling work. So, of course, machinery or Earthbenders would be ideal for excavation. But no bending, no equipment, back-breaking labor, this would be done by the very poor. Asami pushes the portfolio away. She couldn't in good-conscious profit from over-priced, needlessly complicated harvested coal.
The food arrived and took the place of the investment proposal. Asami slurps up some noodles and thinks. Lower-class workers. Faces covered in soot, no bending, and they likely pay out the workers in cash each week.
Asami reaches for the proposal again. There is an elaborate rendering of the mountain's exterior. Of course, the sky is a beautiful cerulean with wisps of clouds. It looks more like an advertisement for a vacation destination than a coal mine.
"This could be the spot."
The first thing the following morning, Asami used the inn's only phone to call Mr. Nagasura for a contact at Kamakura Mines, under the guise of wanting a little more information before investing. The chatty man was able to set up a full tour for her the following day. She just had to get out there.
She was tempted to ask the couple at the inn for a hotel recommendation, but Mr. Nagasura had eagerly reached out to the hotel he frequents in the downtown area and asked them to hold a room for her. Asami didn't push back, remembering that she was traveling as Asami Sato, the businesswoman in this city.
Over her final breakfast, Asami scribbles down her to-do list. She needed to call Kali to ask her financial advisor to contact Mr. Nagasura for more details about the investment she will make. Then ask Kali to put on her calendar a reminder for next year to consider selling her shares of the Kamakura mine, especially if she does not like what she sees on her tour tomorrow.
Late that afternoon, Asami and her aircrew landed in Atsuzen. The Kamakura mine was a two-hour drive from the airport, but she didn't have another option for her air vessel. She once again secured rooms for her small crew near the airport and then caught a cab into the city.
The downtown was quite lively, with old pagoda roofed storefronts and shrines mixed with more modern architecture. Asami's hotel is a sleek-looking tower. As she passes through the entrance, opened to her by a doorman, she misses her simpler accommodations. The one where she could imagine going with Korra one day. Sure, she could take Korra to a fancy hotel, but she noticed that her girlfriend was more relaxed in simpler environments.
Asami began to wonder what a shared space of theirs would look like. Korra didn't own any furniture at the temple. Would she want some items from her home in the south shipped out? Rustic family heirlooms, perhaps? It might be easier if they got a different place and put them on equal footing. That way, they'd both be moving in, not Korra coming into Asami's space.
Asami tossed her bags on the bed. Who was she kidding? Korra likely didn't care about any of this. Korra would defer to Asami's wants and ideas in a home. Korra's main concern would be how comfortable the furniture is.
She went to the large window overlooking the city. The sun was just starting to dip down, tinting the sky pink. What she desired was a home Korra would want to come back to. Asami knows she can never keep Korra all to herself. The world will steal her away from time to time, sometimes for long periods. But when Korra stepped back into Republic City, Asami wished that her first stop was home, their home.
Asami wondered if this is how birds felt before making a nest. A surge of energy and will to build the perfect home to get their mate to settle down in. Perhaps it was something they could start discussing when they both returned. Maybe Korra was also ready to take another step together.
The following morning during breakfast, a hotel attendant shuffled her way with an envelope.
"Miss Sato?"
Asami pats her lips with a napkin before answering. "Yes?"
The attendant slips the letter beside her plate. "This is from the driver waiting for you outside."
Asami's lips pout as she tries to figure out what the attendant is talking about, but they slip away before she can ask any follow-up questions. So she settles on the envelope hoping for guidance there.
"The Kamakura family is happy to provide your transport to and from the mine. A chauffeur will be waiting outside your hotel to leave at your convenience," Asami quietly reads to herself.
She goes back to her room to dress, and when she steps outside, she is expecting perhaps a luxury Satomobile, but the only vehicle in sight is something more rugged looking, not unlike a military jeep. A man stands in his seat and waves her over.
"Wasn't expecting a ride like this, eh?" The driver says, opening the passenger door without leaving the vehicle.
As Asami got closer, she got a better look at her escort. He was likely in his thirties, pure Fire Nation, coal-black hair cropped short and amber eyes. His cheekbones and chin were strong, attractive enough that if she were a different woman, she'd be swooning over the notion she was about to go off-roading into the jungle with this man.
"I'm Junji Kamakura," Junji starts, offering his hand to Asami as she takes her seat. "I'm one of the grandchildren."
"Are you for or against the sale?"
The vehicle starts with a deep rumble, and Junji puts it into gear. They take off down the main thoroughfare. "Not my opinion to have, as a grandchild."
"But surely you must have one all the same," Asami presses.
As they drive, the area around them becomes less urban and more rural. It's not long before the cityscape of downtown disappears from her view in the passenger-side mirror.
"I was hoping they'd keep it, but of course, modernize the production. Which my walking- antique of a Grandfather forbade."
Asami chuckles. "So I've heard."
"Asami Sato of The United Republic and CEO of Future Industries. What's a modern industrialist like yourself investing in an ancient relic of the past?" Junji asks as he sneaks a look in her direction.
Asami shrugs."My financial advisor encourages me to keep my portfolio diverse with both new and old businesses."
Junji shot Asami with a knowing look.
Asami tries to hide the strain she feels as she thinks up another lie, more convincing. "He's a friend of my father's, and I want to do him a favor, so maybe he can help me out on some future business plans I have."
Junji snaps his fingers and points in her direction. "There it is."
"I'm coming out here to make sure I'm not completely throwing my money away on this. Other ways to pay him forward are just less appealing, like marrying his nephew."
"You'll get your investment return, depending on how big a partner you want to be in the buy. Just know long term, business is going to go down. There aren't THAT many citizens so invested in the pure harvesting of coal. They're starting to die off along with my grandfather."
"This may be presumptuous, but you don't appear to be that upset by your Grandfather's recent death."
Junji chuckles. "I guess my sister was right. It is obvious. Sure I loved him, he was my grandfather, but he could be a real bastard sometimes. You know?"
"I know?" Asami asks, tilting her head to the side.
"You love your father, right? Even after all he did."
Asami wishes she could be shocked by his knowledge of her father's crimes, but she was bound to meet at least one informed person on this trip. "I did, but anger kept me away from him too long. I wish I had gotten over that sooner because he passed just recently."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Thank you,"
The rest of the drive was mostly in silence, but not an uncomfortable one.
As Asami and Junji got closer to the mountain and mine, they drove into a small town that was bustling with activity.
"This is Sakayo," Junji near shouts over the street noise. "Most of our workers end up living here. Our business offices are about half an hour away in Kikonai, which is considered a major city by local standards. That's where my family lives."
Asami looks around. She is surprised by the number of people living and working in the area. Junji slows the vehicle down and parks temporarily on the side of the street. "There is a big farming population here. Rice mostly. It's grown on the outskirts, processed and packaged in small outfits here in town."
"Makes sense."
"Should we grab some lunch, or do you want to head over to the mines first?" Junji asks.
Asami turns to look at the big mountain looming menacingly close to the town. "Mines first."
Junji starts the engine again. "Figured. You can tell me your thoughts over the meal."
The initial tour of the mine was a little briefer than Asami had hoped, so she continued to poke her head into different caves or ask more questions about the delicate technique of hand harvesting. She desperately wanted more opportunities to look at as many soot-covered faces as possible, hoping Kuvira would be among them.
Junji started getting a bit short with her. Asami wondered if she should have eaten lunch with him first. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed because he was hungry or because it was reminding him of what his family was about to give up.
Asami saw one last little corridor she hadn't explored. She decides it would be her final look, and then she'll let them go eat. Asami points to the area and gives Junji an apologetic smile. He shrugs and gives a permissive motion to the site but doesn't move. Asami sneaks around the bend to find a storage shed of shovels, hard helmets, and nothing more.
"Alright, I think I've seen it all. How about that lunch?" Asami says as sweetly as she can muster.
Junji fishes a pocket watch from his vest pocket, reads the face and scowls. "More like dinner at this point."
"It'll be my treat for indulging me so much this afternoon. Do you have a restaurant in mind?"
Junji's face softens. "There is one place here that makes a decent cocktail. The food is so-so, but the drinks are almost worth driving down from Kikonai."
Asami steps to his side. "Lead the way."
Any residual grumpiness from the mine tour had vanished after a few drinks at Junji's restaurant of choice. He became very animated, and Asami was surprised to find herself having a genuinely good time. The only problem was the sun had gone down, and her 'chauffeur' was definitely no longer fit to make the two-hour drive back. She would have to gamble that some small hotel in town had availability for the night. Junji did not seem at all concerned, which led her to believe the family had a home or apartment nearby.
At nine, Asami decided to call it a night before it got any later, and her options dwindled further.
"Well, I do believe I will need to get a hotel tonight. Any recommendations?" Asami asks as she looks for her pocketbook in the depths of her shoulder bag.
Junji blows out a puff of air. "C'mon now, you don't need to put all of that one. My family has a three-bedroom apartment right down the street. You can crash there."
"I appreciate the offer, but I would prefer to take care of my own accommodations for the evening," Asami says, leaving the Ban necessary for the tab and tip on the small tray holding the bill.
Junji gets up from his seat and pushes it under the table. They walk together to the exit and pause out in front of the restaurant.
"You don't ever mix business with pleasure?" Junji asks, flashing her a charming grin.
"I don't," Asami replies swiftly.
Junji shrugs. "And that's why you've probably gone so far in this world. Meet me here, say, at nine am? They make a decent breakfast as well. Then we can drive back."
Asami nods. "I'll see you then."
Junji nods back and then starts to make his way to his apartment. She notices his gait isn't as sure as it was before the four stiff drinks. After tasting the generous pour on her first drink, Asami nursed her second, and then that was it for herself.
When he disappeared from her view, Asami let out a breath of relief. She wasn't surprised he made a pass, but she was really hoping he wouldn't. She did appreciate his ability to take no for an answer. That would make the ride back in the morning all the more comfortable.
Asami readjusts her shoulder bag and goes in the opposite direction of Junji in search of a hotel. She winces, realizing she should have pressed him more for a recommendation, but if he had a place to stay, why would he? Still, she should have asked again.
The busy streets were fairly quiet now, except a little ways ahead. She heard the din of people having animated conversations and, as she got closer, the sizzle of a griddle and the scrapping of spatulas. It was a pub responsible for the commotion. A few patrons had spilled onto the sidewalk out front, carrying on their conversations under the glow of red paper lanterns.
Asami finds herself walking towards the establishment, perhaps because it was glowing so brightly in the dark streets. As she got nearer, she recognized the outfits worn by some of the patrons standing out front, and it all came together when she was close enough to see the poorly washed soot on their cheeks. This is where the miners hang out after work.
The men hanging by the door stop their conversation as she steps closer. Likely confused as to why a well-dressed young woman was making her way inside. They all took a few steps back to clear a path for her.
Asami smiles at them politely. "Thank you."
"No problem, ma'am," one mutters back.
Inside the pub are several small round tables, and at the back of the room is the bar. As Asami marches to the back, she tries to get eyes on every table she passes. When she reaches the bar, she orders a simple pour of rice whiskey, neat.
Asami doesn't want anything else to drink but takes the glass in hand as a prop and eyes the room. No Kuvira. She is about ready to slam the drink and go find that hotel she was pushing her luck on with each passing minute when her eye notices a small nook in the far left corner. Someone sits alone, their back to the room, long dark hair cascading down it, hunched over a drink.
Asami slowly crosses the room. She tries to think of a conversation starter to get this person to turn around, but then they do her the favor of taking a wary glance over their shoulder. It must have been the sound of her delicate boots clicking on the old wood floors. A very unlikely sound at this establishment. Asami's breath left her chest as Kuvira's face came into view, and then their eyes met.
Kuvira squints, confused as to why this out-of-place woman is looking at her so intensely. Then Asami sees recognition wash over Kuvira's face. Asami picks up her speed and sits down before Kuvira has a chance to think of bolting out of there.
Once Asami settles, the two women eye each other for a moment. Kuvira's name is at the tip of Asami's tongue, but she can't seem to bring herself to say it.
Kuvira glances down at her drink. There isn't much left, so she takes the glass and polishes it off. She carelessly releases the glass with a thud.
"Something big must have happened for you to take such a huge risk to track me down."
Asami leans across the table. "So you haven't heard?"
Kuvira shakes her head. "I'm afraid not."
"That is a bit of a relief, honestly," Asami sighs, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You're quite isolated here, right?"
"Suyin knew just the spot to dump me. Is that surprising?"
Asami shakes her head.
Kuvira leans away from the table and crosses her arms. "So, are you going to tell me what is going on?"
"You have been found alive in the Earth Kingdom."
Kuvira's eyebrows shoot up. "How?"
"Apparently, you have a doppelganger. The woman moved into some small town, got mistakenly recognized as you, and is now a part of a gigantic conspiracy in Ba Sing Se."
Kuvira tries to picture the scenario Asami describes to her but can't. It's all too nightmarish and improbable. "How do you plan to fake her death?"
Asami narrows her eyes, unamused.
"Sorry, what do you all need me to do?" Kuvira motions at Asami."I doubt you'd come all this way just to catch me up on world affairs." Kuvira says, trying to put on a brave front. She doubts Asami would be sent if she was going to be asked to turn herself in, but maybe she wasn't actually alone.
"I'm here to deliver you a formal identity, which you will not slide into until things settle." Asami starts, slipping off her shoulder bag and reaching inside. "All we need is you showing up in some new town and starting this nightmare cycle again."
Asami removes a folder from her bag and slips it onto the table. She pats the folder for emphasis as she speaks. "This will also mean we will be able to keep some sort of tab on you, should we need to contact you again in the future. We can't go around asking people if they have seen a woman that looks like Kuvira."
"Is that not how you found me tonight?" Kuvira quips.
"I honestly can't believe I'm sitting with you in this workers' bar in the middle of nowhere. I don't even have everything I need to give you with me."
"Another wardrobe and make-up kit? Do I get to wear a fake mustache this time?"
"Yes and no," Asami replies sternly.
"I was just starting to settle into my life here. Twelve hours in a dark cave each day has been character-building. I could have leveled that mountain with one hand, and now I'm shoveling dirt like some sorry-" Kuvira stops herself. "It's been an adjustment losing a part of myself."
They both are silent for a moment as they ponder the admission. Kuvira's fists collide with the table, and Asami jumps in her seat, startled.
"I gave it willingly!" Kuvira moans, pounding at the table again. "At night, I lay awake on my dingy cot and wonder, what if I had tried to fight it? I maybe could have taken them all, just long enough to slip away." Kuvira looks to Asami, but she gives no response. "But then I think, what would I have done after? I'd probably have died lost in that damn desert." Kuvira leans forward, letting her head slip into her hands, her elbows sliding apart as she settles into cradling herself.
Asami looks down at her lap."You know I wonder about what-ifs and what could have beens. If I hadn't let my father fly the hummingbird suit, If I had flown us away before you crushed him like a mosquito. We could have tried another spot, still cut a hole in your metal monstrosity, and he'd still be alive today."
"It's not your fault he's dead," Kuvira murmurs, clutching her own head.
"I know. It's yours."
Kuvira purses her lips. She releases her head, and her hands slap the table. "What are you doing here then?"
Asami looks up from her lap to meet Kuvira's gaze.
Asami feared Kuvira's outbursts may have drawn too much unwanted attention and urges from them to carry on their conversation outside. Kuvira left the table so quickly she didn't even grab her folder. Asami swiftly scooped it up and followed Kuvira out of the pub and into the street.
"Could we perhaps go to your home?" Asami asks as she trails behind Kuvira.
"Nope," Kuvira stops and turns around. "I hang my hat at the mine dorms. Room and board come right out of my paycheck, couldn't be simpler."
Asami looks around the empty streets and sees one building with a porch. "Let's talk over there then." Asami uses the folder to point to the spot.
The two women step onto the small, unlit wooden porch and take a side at either end.
"So," Kuvira starts, crossing her soot-covered boots and leaning her back into the porch's railing. "Tell me about my new life."
Asami tucks the folder in her bag for the moment and places both hands on the railing behind her. "You will be aspiring to a career in middle-management. Your education was with Future Industries' two-year management training program, which you traveled to Republic City to complete. You are a Fire Nation native. Your parents immigrated from the Earth Kingdom, of course."
"Of course," Kuvira repeats.
Asami sucks her teeth for a moment and then continues. "Now that you graduated, you are looking to start your career in your homeland. The certificate of completion and transcript of areas of study are all in the folder. This will explain the recent relocation you will be making and some of the more urban clothing you own. I have included a list of companies I think you would be best suited to apply to and a letter of recommendation from Future Industries. You will write to me once you have chosen a new location and been hired. Future Industries keeps tabs on its alums and will check in with your employer periodically."
Asami looks to Kuvira for some indication that she approves of the offer, but Kuvira keeps her face down, eyes on the floor.
"It will be a decent life," Asami urges, taking her weight off the railing and leaning her body in Kuvira's direction. "You'll have a real identity which will allow you to have employment, a bank account, and a home. Heck, you could even settle down and make a life with someone. I'm sending you off into the sunset."
Kuvira shakes her head and then looks up to meet Asami's gaze. "All this, for the person who destroyed your city, killed your father, and even kissed your girlfriend, whom I know you're mainly doing this for?"
"What?"
Kuvira smirks. "They actually all kept it a secret?"
"You're messing with me," Asami growls, crossing her arms.
"I planted a big one on your beloved Avatar. Suyin, Bolin, Opal, Suyin's sister, and that little Airbender girl, all watched it happen. And they kept the Avatar's secret from you." Kuvira pushes herself from the railing she was leaning against and saunters to Asami's side of the porch. "I bet you're asking yourself, what the heck are you even doing here? Bet it wasn't your idea. Korra asked you to come to take care of me. Makes you wonder, huh?"
Kuvira stops when she is a few inches from Asami's face. "Why is she going through so much trouble, even risking you, to come make my life a little better." Kuvira pokes a finger curiously into Asami's shoulder.
Asami stiffens but does not move. Kuvira pushes again with her whole hand.
"I know what you're trying to do," Asami whispers.
"What am I doing?" Kuvira asks as she pushes Asami's shoulders with both hands now. The force is strong enough to make Asami stagger back into the railing behind her.
"You're feeling drunk and sorry for yourself. So you're baiting me to fight you."
"Don't you want to hit me? Just a little."
Asami glances behind her and sees there really isn't an easy way out of the corner she's backed into. She tests sliding to her left to see if Kuvira will let her move in the small space they now both occupy. Kuvira does but follows, keeping her face in Asami's.
Asami takes one more big side step, so she is no longer entrapped by three sides of the railing. Kuvira follows again, but Asami now sees she has enough room to work with. She lets her body drop into a crouch and sweeps her right leg under Kuvira's.
Kuvira crumples to the floor. Asami takes the opportunity to get off the porch and back into the street. Kuvira rights herself and follows.
They circle each other in the dark street, no one noticing their tiff. Kuvira brings up her fits and makes quick small steps. She throws a fist, not actually at Asami, but in her direction. Kuvira's eyes go wide as nothing happens.
Asami, just as lost as Kuvira at this moment, catches on sooner. Kuvira tries punching again, this time with the intention of hitting Asami, but she ducks and sweeps Kuvira's legs once again. Kuvira collapses face first.
"Stop doing that!" Kuvira groans into the dusty pavement. She hoists herself up and comes at Asami swinging. Asami goes low and lets Kuvira roll over her back and land on the pavement once again.
Asami steps over to Kuvira and puts a boot on her chest. She fishes out the folder from her shoulder bag and lets it fall at Kuvira's side. A few papers slip out.
"I will come back here the day after tomorrow with the rest of your things. Meet me at that pub at seven o'clock. And don't drink so much." Asami gives Kuvira's chest a tap with her foot for emphasis and then walks in the direction of the restaurant she and Junji parted ways at. Hoping she'd have better luck finding a hotel in that direction.
Breakfast with Junji was a welcome distraction in the morning. He chatted her ear off like nothing had happened last night, he likely might have been just a little too inebriated to remember, or he was pretending that was the case. It didn't matter to Asami.
They spent the two-hour drive back talking about the mining industry, what Junji's parents planned on doing with their share of the profits from the sale, and his intentions to travel to Republic City in the near future.
He dropped her off in front of the hotel, and she assured him she saw everything she needed to and was all in on the purchase. Junji flashed her a smile and told her he felt just a little bit better about the whole thing, knowing she would be one of the owners. She watched him speed away before going back into the hotel. She was about to push for the elevator to go up to her room when she spied the hotel lounge.
She purchased a small cocktail and took a seat near one of the large windows. It was at street level, but she had enough to look at while her mind drifted back to her conversation with Kuvira Kuvira. A big part of her wanted to grab her crew and take off back to Republic City. She technically had done what she had come to do. All the information and paperwork Kuvira needed was in the folder. Everything else she had for that damn woman was just decorum. Extra niceties Asami wanted to give her to enhance her deception. Where would she even stash the clothes if she was sleeping in some packed communal lodging with likely no closet of her own? Asami would have to give her some extra money to rent a storage space.
Were they all just duping themselves into believing this egomaniac could stay low for the rest of her life? Should she just ask Junji if she knew a good hitman and be done with Kuvira? She could tell Korra she sent Kuvira to a lovely farm like her father did when Asami tried to keep a stray pigmy puma kitten a little after her mother had passed. He had one of his goons bring it to a 'nice farm' in the country.
Asami shakes her head. If she was going to kill Kuvira, it would have been her brushing aside Raiko's comment and letting her rigged trial and execution play out. A task a little more easier to swallow had Ikki not been in the room that day.
Asami felt nauseous. Was she her father? Was the only thing keeping her from acting on these darker impulses were the good people in her life? She sets the drink on the small table beside her chair and rushes to her room. Once inside, Asami tosses her shoulder bag in the armchair by the door and her shoes beneath it. She pulls the clip from her hair, throws it on the bedside table, and then runs her fingers through her tresses. Her scalp ached a little from her hair being pulled back too tightly.
Asami crawls onto her bed and sits in the lotus position. She takes in as much air as possible and slowly blows it past her lips. She does this a few times until her nausea dissipates. As the feeling passes, she finds her senses returning to her. She is not her father. She is in control of her own thoughts and feelings. The people in her life have made her a better person, but that doesn't mean they are her only moral compass.
As Asami thinks and reminds herself, getting all that she knows to be true out, she becomes calmer and calmer. Her mind stops being so targeted and starts to drift. As she thinks about her father, she runs out of the bad and finds her thoughts wandering to older memories before he was bitter, back when her mother was still alive.
She was very young. Asami knew this because when she looked at the door, she was pushing open, the handle was at her eye level. It was already ajar, but she moved it far enough to peer inside her father's study. He was at his desk but not hunched over his papers like he usually would be. He was looking to his left, where her mother sat on the edge of the oak behemoth. Her shoes were kicked off and on the floor nearby, her long legs casually kicking at the air.
Suddenly Hiroshi stands. Asami takes a step back, bringing the door with her to shield herself. But Hiroshi didn't notice. He was only moving close to Yasuko. Without speaking, Hiroshi bends down, and Yasuko tilts her head up for a kiss.
Asami remembers this. Seeing her parents kiss was so rare that she had found it embarrassing at the time. If this was the memory, she was supposed to run away, like she had, undetected. But Asami couldn't bring herself to move. She was fascinated by this casual and tender moment between her parents. How many afternoons were like this? Did her mother often come in and remind her hyper-focused father to stop working and take pleasure in the family and life he worked so hard to build.
There were no photographs of her parents this way. No mover. Asami wishes she could live in this moment anytime she wanted. Like a snow globe she could find on a shelf, turn over and watch her memory play out. All she could do now was somehow weld this to her brain.
Asami was overthinking and had become self-aware. Her vision of her parents went dark, and she was staring at the back of her eyelids once again. Asami opens them, and the world is dark. Was stuck in her meditation? No, the afternoon had turned to night. She was gone far longer than she thought. She slips off the bed and turns on a light.
Asami rented a vehicle for her trip back to Sakayo the next day. This way, she wouldn't be reliant on anyone else. During her lengthy drive, she finally allowed herself to think about the unsettling bit of information Kuvira had thrown in her face, that she had kissed Korra.
Asami tried to imagine the scenario where that was plausible during the time in the desert and why on earth it would ever occur. Was there something between them Asami didn't know about? Korra's interactions with Kuvira were quite limited. She was recovering in the South while Kuvira stepped in to stabilize the Earth Kingdom. Korra was missing when Kuvira declared she would not step down.
Asami arrived in town early in the afternoon with no better understanding. This gave her enough time to take care of her remaining errands. Asami passed through the doors at the bar early, but Kuvira was already there to her surprise. Same table, in the dark nook off to the side. Asami ordered a drink and then joined her.
"I've been trying to come up with what I'm going to tell my coworkers when they ask who the mysterious fancy lady I've been meeting with is," Kuvira says with a weak smile.
Asami finds herself chuckling. "I've been having a similar problem all week. What lie would bring me to you."
"Have any you could spare?"
Asami rests her chin on one of her palms. "Say I'm a cousin checking in on you, and you refused my help."
"Then one day I'll disappear, and they will figure she must have taken that help after all."
Asami considers it for a moment. "That actually would be a great cover. May I ask what you've told them about your past?"
Kuvira twists her glass around a few times. "Nothing really, no one asks, I think it's an unspoken courtesy. Like I imagine prisoners might also extend to one another."
"But you think they'll ask about me."
Kuvira motions her drink at Asami. "You're outta the ordinary."
"Got it," Asami replies, taking a little sip. The drink, again, is more of a prop. She wants to stay sharp, considering how their last evening together went.
Kuvira looks down at the table, her shoulders droop down. "I'm a little surprised you came back, honestly. I was quite the ass to you the other night."
Asami holds her drink close and leans back in her seat. She waits for Kuvira to continue, and after a moment, she does.
"I am grateful for everything you all have done. I really am. I am still alive because of all the risks you all had to take, and I don't know the full cost," Kuvira sits back up in her seat, and she looks more like her old self. If she was in her uniform, Asami might have even been a bit intimated. "But I'm still suffering from whiplash. I spent three years rebuilding an empire. I was moments from achieving reunification of the Earth Kingdom not seen before the hundred-year war. It was to be a moment for the history books, and then a few weeks later, I'm in the middle of the desert on my knees, having my bending removed. And then skip ahead a month, and I'm some nameless urchin shoveling coal in the middle of nowhere." Kuvira grabs her forehead. "I think about the past, and I feel sick. Not for what I have done, but for who I could have been. I had come so far only to land even worse than I started. If I remained an orphan in Zaofu, I'd be a thousand times better than I would be today."
Asami shifts in her seat.
"That being said, here you are, taking a big risk to improve my situation, even though my life maybe even more than I deserve. I want you to know I am appreciative, and I am sorry I did not express that last night. I just wanted to explain myself a little better." When Kuvira finishes, she releases her forehead and rests her hands on her lap.
Asami nods a few times as she chews over what Kuvira has just said. "You know our encounter didn't go as I had planned either. I, too, have been doing some long-overdue reflecting. Honestly, I wanted to come in here and finally get my chance to tell you how much you had taken away from me. But I've realized you didn't put my father in jail. You didn't stop me from visiting him. He could have died that day a free man, protecting those he loved. He could have died that day knowing his daughter all the better through three years of visits in prison. The choices we made affected the outcome just as much as the ones you did. I wanted someone to blame for my father and I's problems outside of ourselves. And that's just what my father did after my mother died. Granted, in that situation, I don't think any choices were my fathers."
Kuvira holds up a finger. "I'm really sorry to ask, but,"
Asami nods. "We were robbed, and my mother was killed. My father never forgave those people, and it poisoned him. Enough to make the choices that put him in jail. I don't want to look up from my desk one day and realize I'm still angry with you, and it's shaped me in ways I'm not even aware of yet." Asami seeks out Kuvira's eyes. She has them, and it's even harder looking into them than she imagines. Her stomach clenches, but she knows what she must say to start healing the sickness inside of her. "I don't want that in my life anymore. I forgive you."
Kuvira is the one to break eye contact. Her green eyes lock on the table between them. She never expected to hear those words, and for some reason, they burned.
Asami reaches into her pocket and places a key with a tag chain on the table. "This key is to a storage box. It's a facility near the post office. Number thirty-nine. Clothes, make-up, a nice business bag for interviewing, enough for a deposit on a new place, and a few other accessories are stored there. Give it a couple weeks and if word of what happened in the Earth Kingdom about you doesn't reach the papers, go ahead. The storage is paid for three months if you need to lay low a little longer. I'd recommend storing the folder I gave you in there too."
Kuvira stretches out a hand to cover the key and slides it towards herself. "About that kiss."
Asami's stomach jumps, but she does not let any concern show on her face.
"We were parting ways in the desert. It was an impulse I had. Avatar Korra didn't kiss me back, not even for a moment." Kuvira makes sure to capture Asami's eyes, to know she is sincere. "So don't give her a hard time."
Asami gives a slight nod. "I won't."
Asami hardly has the patience for the two-plus days it takes her to get back home to Republic City. She called the temple before leaving. She only allowed herself the one call there to tell either Ikki or Korra she was coming home. She almost sobbed with relief when Ikki said Korra was back, just not at the temple at the time of her call. Asami relayed her anticipated arrival time and hoped Korra would be there to meet her.
When they landed and the stairs were lowered, Asami had never felt more relieved to see Korra leaning against her favorite blue Satomobile. It wasn't until after Asami ran down the steps and was hugging Korra that it dawned on her.
"Your legs!" Asami shouts, pushing Korra from her grip for a better view.
Korra beams. "Surprise." She holds her left leg and wiggles her boot.
"But how? You weren't gone that long."
Korra squinches up like a child excited to tell a story. "There was this bone bending healer in the lower ring. He was super weird, and I think he ripped me off, but I guess not because here I am standing."
"How did you find this guy?"
Korra shakes her head. "The whole trip was crazy. I'll tell you all about it when we get home. I got some takeout in the car. I'm sure you're hungry."
"You're actually right. Only now is it hitting me that I didn't eat at all on the airship. Asami touches her stomach as it starts to rumble.
"That's crazy!" Korra gestures to the Satomobile. "Let's get some food in you."
Korra takes Asami's hand and starts leading her away. Asami stops for a moment, still holding Korra's hand, so it tugs the Avatar back. "When you say home, where do you mean?"
Korra cocks her head to the side and shrinks down into her shoulders like a guilty child. "Your apartment? I mean, that's your home, but I uh," Korra stammers. "Did I say something wrong?"
Asami shakes her head. She reaches out her other hand to hold both of Korra's. "What if it was our home?"
Korra gives her that wonderful, lopsided grin. "You mean it?"
"Did you think I'd never ask you to move in with me?"
No, I just... " Korra blushes and shakes her head. "Let's go home."
Korra takes the passenger side. Asami shakes her head and sits in the drivers.
"I'm only comfortable driving if you can't be there to see how bad it is."
"We're starting lessons again next week. I know you can do it," Asami says as she closes her door.
"I can practice using your satomobile to move my stuff."
"That would be like one trip!" Asami says with a snort. "You've got what, half a back seat of belongings at the temple?"
"There might be some overflow to the trunk."
"There is one condition for you to move in with me by the way."
Korra grabs her chin and rests her elbow on the window. "I've got to wash the dishes from time to time, I know."
"Nope," Asami says, shaking her head with a smirk.
"Then what is it?"
Asami peeks over to look at Korra. She had stopped resting her elbow on the door and was now looking back at her intently. Asami playfully looks away back to the road.
"No more kissing anyone else, only me."
Korra cocks her head to the side, confused for a moment. Then her eyes bulge. "SHE TOLD YOU." She starts moving in her seat frantically, unable to sit still with panic. "I can explain! I am so sorry. Whatever she said-"
Asami stops the card at a red light and puts a finger to Korra's lips, quieting her. "Kuvira told me the truth. Just next time, I want to be hearing about this kind of thing from you."
Korra nods her head up and down furiously. When Asami removes her finger to resume driving, she can speak again. "I promise."
To be continued...