AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter may share the name with a chapter from the show, but it's still notably different, and there's a lot of little things that go on. Sometimes, small details dropped here or there turn out to be important later down the road. A lot of other things are on Korra's mind, and she's still got that ray of hope that her mind is just playing tricks on her about Hiroshi. Time will tell—very soon indeed.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER SIXTY: THE AFTERMATH
For everything that had happened at the Probending Arena, there was still one thing that still nagged at Korra's mind as she and Asami drove home on their own.
"Hey," she turned to Asami who had put on a straight face, "Where'd your dad go? The Equalists didn't get him, did they?"
"I hope not," Asami's face dropped, "He disappeared shortly before the whole thing went down. I thought they had abducted him or something, but there's no sign of him."
"You don't think he had anything to do with these hooligans, do you?" Korra's suggestion had been entirely innocent, but the way Asami tensed up made Korra suddenly understand a lot better how Asami must have felt during one of the many times Korra had snapped at her. It was one of those moments where she knew she had just said exactly the wrong thing.
"No." There was a bite to her words, "My father wouldn't associate with those awful radicals—especially not if he's allowed you to live with us for nearly three years, Korra."
"Asami, I didn't mean—" Korra pleaded.
"That's seriously rather audacious of you, Korra," Asami's tone remained terse and the car sped up, "especially after everything he's done for you."
"Asami, I know!" Korra threw her arms around, "Do you realize how badly even *I* would be shaken if that was true? Trust me—I would be just as devastated as you; it's just—never mind. Sorry for bringing it up. I guess I'm just a bit paranoid after everything that just happened at the arena. I thought Lin and the police had everything secured, but the Equalists slipped in right under our noses… and my mind did the rest."
"I don't want to believe it either," Asami shook her head as they took a very sharp turn, "Where would he go, why would he leave me behind, and…"
Incidentally, by the time they got home, it was Korra that was looking far more disturbed between the two of them. If Hiroshi was in fact an Equalist, then it would be like Nakkoa and Kwan all over again. Korra had known Nakkoa for years, and had effectively also lived with the firebender for over a year and a half before she had gone berserk and tried to murder Korra. If Hiroshi was associated with the violent Equalists that wanted to strip Korra of her bending and her sanity, she wasn't sure what she would do.
Korra's room was small enough that the Avatar State was often bright enough to illuminate most of it, especially since Korra woke up in a panick at least twice that night, both times with nightmares about Hiroshi being involved with the Equalists. One of these nightmares had him as Amon's right-hand man, and he had electroshocked Korra into submission as Amon stirpped her bending; the other had Amon removing his mask and revealing it to be Hiroshi. This dream was only exacerbated by the fact that the Equalist next to him removed her headgear and revealed herself to be Asami.
It took Korra a full 25 minutes to shake herself out of the panick-induced Avatar State for that one. She laid there, gazing up at the ceiling and wondering what was real and what wasn't.
"I'm the Avatar…" she muttered to herself, "I'm the goddamn Avatar; the spirit of the world in human form; the single most powerful person in existence, and I'm crying over a fucking nightmare! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?"
She screamed into her pillow, not evne sure how long she did before falling asleep.
There was a shift in activity the following day, and sometime around 10 that morning there was a knock on Korra's bedroom door. Those on the other side heard a long, uncomfortable moan followed by a thud that sounded heavy enough to be a person hitting the floor. There was a slight rustle, and then a few heavy footsteps before the door opened, revealing a very unkempt Korra, her bedhead, her morning face, and her slightly loose, disheveled clothing betraying that she was not by any means ready for the day.
"Whadya want?" with the way her eyes were squinted, it was clear she didn't even realize who she was talking to. She knew Asami wasn't the type to wake her up early unless it was an emergency, and the lack of urgency in the knock made Korra assume they were safe.
"Korra!" it was Bolin, and a 2nd voice indicated Mako's presence as well.
"What're you two doin' here?" Korra smacked her lips, clearly not fully aware of what was going on right now. "Go back to bed."
"Well," Bolin began, "After they closed down the Probending Arena, Asami invited us to live in her dad's giant mansion! From here on out, it's gonna be the lap of luxury for us!"
"We'll be across the house from you though," Mako gave a curt and simple explanation, "So you don't need to worry about us disrupting your beauty sleep."
"I'm not sure if that's a jab at me hating evil mornings, or if it's something else," Korra mumbled, "but I'll assume the latter. Anyways, welcome and stuff I guess. What did you need?"
"We just wanted to say hello," Mako answered.
"What's up with your room though?" Bolin couldn't help but look over Korra's shoulder.
"There's nothing really in there," Korra shrugged, although this was one of the biggest outright lies she had ever told. "I'm going back to bed though, so close the door when you're done looking around or whatever. I'll be up in a couple hours."
Korra trudged back to her bed and flopped rather unceremoniously back onto it. She had spent way too much time awake last night, primarily calculating what exactly she would do if Hiroshi did turn out to be an Equalist, because that, to her, was one of the most terrifying notions for her—and not because she worried about losing her place at Sato Estate.
"Nothing in here!?" Bolin gawked as they looked around, "Holy moley Korra, you really weren't lying about how much money you had!"
While Korra's room was fairly tidy apart from her unkempt bedsheets that she was now flopped ungracefully over, there were still bags of money and stacks of coins or bills on almost every surface, including in her small closet and in a fairly neat pile in one of the corners by her bed. Probending action figures lined one of the dressers, and a statue of herself guarded her little writing desk. Trophies and posters lined the walls, and a large bow was mounted on the wall above her bed. Korra did not talk much about her mercenary life (or that she had technically never quit that career choice) but there was evidence of it scattered around her room.
"Look don't touch…" she mumbled, barely coherent.
The brothers exchanged looks as they stared at the room. While it was only about 9 or 10 paces from one end to the other, this little room told more about the Avatar's life than Korra had ever actually shared with either of them.
Korra dozed back off the the sounds of the brothers conversing, although she was tired and lazy enough that she didn't even look up. She trusted them, and liked to not think about what would happen if they betrayed her trust. As normally trust-breaking as the time Asami had read parts of her journal had been, Korra realized looking back that it had been more of an 'emergency override', since Korra had stopped listening to reason. She hoped she could keep a grip on her reasoning as she dispelled those fears of Hiroshi being an Equalist.
Fortunately for Korra, the brothers spent most of the afternoon enjoying the luxuries of Sato Estate. Korra meanwhile, went off to find Tenzin and Lin. She and Asami had never found out what happened to Hiroshi the previous night; his explanation was that he had stepped out for a moment of personal time and by the time he had returned the place was in chaos and Asami was gone. This was actually true, since Asami had moved shortly after Korra had taken off in search of Amon, but even then, Korra's fears that he might have had ties with the Equalists still gnawed at the back of her mind—much to her frustration. She didn't want to accuse Hiroshi; she definitely didn't want to accuse Asami, and because of Asami she also hoped that Hiroshi was innocent like he claimed.
On her way to the police station, she actually grabbed a newspaper for some light reading, and Naga waited patiently as Korra scanned the headlines. Naturally the event at the Probending Arena was the main bit of news, although the article then went on to propose that CabbageCorp, a rival of Future Industries, was at fault. Korra sighed with relief at the idea. A competitor was likely the one trying to frame the Satos, capitalizing on Yasuko's tragedy as an excuse and a motive behind why they would side with the Equalists.
At the police station, Korra was surprised at who she found there.
"Tahno?" It was hard to hate the man when he looked so distraught and downtrodden; his hair was a mess, and there were heavy rings around his eyes. Korra knew he had been stripped of his bending the previous night, and considering that she had even somewhat pitied the mobsters that had lost their bending at Amon's Equalist rally, she definitely pitied Tahno and his teammates, wherever they were.
"Listen," She sat down next to him. "I know we're not exactly friends at all, but I'm sorry Amon took your bending. I'm sorry for a lot of things, in hindsight."
"Our rivalry was just the name of the game," Tahno muttered, "The only reason it became personal was after your showing off back when you were with the Prison Breakers."
"So nothing personal then?" Korra raised an eyebrow, "I mean, all things considering."
"Nah," Tahno shook his head, "I've got bigger fish to fry now anyways. I've been to the best healers in the city, Korra. Whatever Amon did to me—it's permanent. You gotta get him for me."
"I will," Korra nodded, "and if I find a way to restore people's bending, I promise I'll make sure you and your team are included on that list of those I help…"
They were disrupted slightly as Tenzin, Lin, and Hiroshi appeared, and their discussion also seemed to be about the incident last night.
"Mr. Sato," Lin spoke, "If you remember anything else about what you saw last night during Amon's attack, be sure to let us know."
"Of course," Hiroshi smiled, "I'm happy to help in any way I can. I want these Equalists to pay for what they've done."
They parted ways, and Korra's eyes briefly met Hiroshi's.
"Avatar Korra," He gave her a smile and respectful gesture to acknowledge her presence as he exited the building. Tenzin and Lin turned to Tahno.
"We're ready for you now," Tenzin gestured as Tahno got to his feet.
"See you around," Tahno flashed Korra a weak smile as he flicked two fingers the same way Korra often did when saying hello or goodbye. "...Uhvatar."
One thing that did slightly concern Korra was that Kwan's Collision Repair had also come under fire for supposedly supporting the Equalists, but even as Korra came upon Kuvira interviewing Kwan about her past activities the following afternoon, the idea seemed ludicrous.
"I'm a metalbender just like yourself," Kwan reasoned, "I mean, if I fixed a car by a fella who happens to be an Equalist or somethin', then I guess I'm connected to 'em, but I can't exactly go around interrogatin' all my customers and asking if they're Equalists. Besides, I don't reckon too many of 'em would admit that up front."
"I want to believe you, Kwan," Kuvira explained, keeping a level head, while also remaining aware of Korra's presence, "But when suspicious information arises, it is both protocol and essential for the safety of the citizens of Republic City that we root out all potential suspects."
"I mean, if you wanna search my shop, go ahead," Kwan shrugged, "But I'm pretty sure Amon wants to strip me of my bending just as much as anyone, especially given my criminal history and such. I just wanna put all that behind me and get back to livin' an honest life; no more joining criminal organizations for me, yeah?"
A pair of officers emerged from the garage a moment later, indicating to Kuvira that they had found nothing. Kuvira smiled and turned to Kwan.
"It seems the leads were false," She explained, "I apologize for your time."
"Hey, think nothin' of it," Kwan shrugged, "I've done my time for my past crimes, and so at this point, the innocent have nothin' to hide."
Kuvira and the officers left Kwan in peace, where she turned to Korra.
"Fancy all this Equalist shit, huh, kid?" she sighed, bending a slab of concrete up from the floor and plopping herself down on it, "can you imagine the outrage if one of the Equalists was a bender? Even if I wanted to join those hooligans, I don't think they'd let me. That'd be like the cops letting an ex-con join their ranks."
"CabbageCorp and Future Industries are the prime suspects from what I understand," Korra explained, "Any thoughts on the matter?"
"It's definitely one of 'em," Kwan shrugged, "I don't reckon there's any other company that could produce so much equipment that fast. My money's on CabbageCorp what with how shady their vehicles are. Shave a bit of time and money off the quality of their legal merchandise, and put those resources to illegal merchandise, yeah?"
"I hope so," Korra sighed, leaning back against a wall, "I accidentally brought up the idea of Hiroshi being an Equalist, and Asami reacted about as well as I did when she poked at my past."
"Hot damn!" Kwan gave a hollow laugh, "that bad, huh? Well, I'll tell you what—pay me a visit now and again; I'll keep you updated on anything I learn."
"How much do you tend to know?" Korra tilted her head.
"More often than not, I know a great deal," Kwan chuckled. "Remember, kid: knowing things I'm not supposed to know is basically what I do."
Much to Korra's relief, within two days headlines of the newspapers were reporting about the exposure of CabbageCorp and their dealings with the Equalists. Korra felt somewhat bad for the man who ran the place in a way, because the frantic tear-filled expression on his face did almost seem like he was an innocent man—but it also brought her relief. They had been the ones trying to frame Future Industries, or so said the article, with commentary from Hiroshi Sato himself supporting the claim. If the police were able to freeze the assets of the Equalists and whoever was providing arms and equipment for them, it would severely weaken the movement and thus weaken Amon. More importantly to Korra, it meant that the Satos were innocent, and that everything would be right in the world.
Unfortunately, because of certain events in her life that may or may not have involved The White Lotus, Amon, and Nakkoa, things had a tendency to go wrong right around the time they felt like they were starting to go right.
On one hand, Bolin and Mako both learned two truths about Korra that Asami had learned years ago—Korra looked good in a bathing suit, and that she always wore blue.
"Not gonna lie," Bolin floated on his back with Pabu perched comfortably atop his chest, "This is the life! Is this where you've been the last few years?"
"You know it," Korra flashed a smirk as she climbed out and promptly cannonballed back in. Mako and Bolin both moved to grapple with Korra again the moment she resurfaced, causing her to laugh a she realized what they were doing. Asami floated a distance away, knowing full well that she had nothing on Korra in terms of brute strength.
"I told you once, and I'll tell you again," Korra held them both off, "I'm stronger than you and you gotta deal with it!"
She dunked Bolin only for Mako to take advantage of the opening and promptly plunge Korra's head beneath the water. They all resurfaced with a laugh.
"Right, because it's totally fair for a waterbender to challenge a firebender to a fight when surrounded by water on all sides." Mako joked.
"Hey, Lord Zuko did that to Master Katara once," Korra laughed, "In the Northern Water Tribe, no less. I mean, maybe not, but Katara never really struck me as the kind of person to make up tall tales. That was more of Sokka's thing."
"Live it up," Asami chuckled, and for a while, they all continued to relax.
After a few minutes, Korra and Bolin both emerged from the pool, where they stopped and asked each other where they were going.
"Got a little emergency," Bolin put his hands in front of his shorts. Korra turned to Asami.
"Mind if I use the one upstairs?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Why would I say no?" Asami chuckled. Korra gestured to her wet figure.
"Right then, Miss Waterbender," she teased, "I'm sure you can figure it out."
"Oh, duh." Korra slapped her forehead for it slipping her mind, but on the other hand, her mind had mentally registered just how pretty Asami looked when water ran down her face and made her hair glisten more than it normally did.
Korra left the pool, unaware that both Mako and Asami had watched her leave, both of them (albeit unbeknownst to each other) watching Korra's hips and thighs as she walked out. Korra went upstairs and did her business, taking a moment once she finished, to admire her form. In typical Korra fashion, she flexed and struck a pose, before noticing one of Asami's many piles of cosmetics. She took a powder sponge, glanced at it for a moment with an analytical pout, before slapping it right into her face. She gagged, choked, and coughed as she tried to breath in clean air, and staggered out of the bathroom rather comically. It was only after she heard a voice from Hiroshi's study that she paused. It was rare for him to be there these days, and where he disappeared to, not even Asami seemed to know. Despite that, the company was doing better than ever, and so whatever he was doing was clearly working "Harder work meant larger profits", Hiroshi would always say. Still, Korra couldn't help but humour her sense of curiosity, and so she peeped through the keyhole, also keeping her ears open for whatever she could hear.
It was in fact Hiroshi, although who he was conversing with on the telephone was a mystery. The words he spoke, however, cut Korra to the bone.
No no," she heard him say, "No, I assure you, everything is going exactly as planned. Mm-hmm, yes. Luckily, despite that nosy metalbender with the repair shop, the CabbageCorp investigation has bought us enough time. Trust me, by the end of the week, we'll be ready to strike. No, the Avatar does not suspect a thing. Not even my daughter knows, but I'm sure she will embrace it all the same."
"NO!" Korra was internally screaming, her hands splayed out against the wall as if she was trying to dig her fingers into it, "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"
She gritted her teeth, taking off at an alarming speed, where she locked herself in her room, buried her face into her pillow, and screamed. All of those built-up fears about Hiroshi—after all of these years—it had all been a lie, and Korra's fears were realized: Hiroshi Sato was an Equalist.