AUTHOR'S NOTES: Denial is a powerful tool, and if Korra's fears about Hiroshi turn out to be true, it's going to cut deeply, because the idea of living with someone Korra thought she could trust, only to find out they were her enemy, is something Korra is not unfamiliar with thanks to Nakkoa and the Red Lotus. Fortunately, she's got friends in other places, and Nakkoa's sister Kwan is one of them.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: THE REALIZED FEAR
The first person Korra informed of this terrifying revelation was Tenzin. She couldn't bear to show her face to Asami right now, and the more she thought about it, the more she also pondered on how hostile she had been to Asami in situations where the industrialist had simply wanted to help her closest friend. She wondered if Asami would handle it more civilly than Korra handled her own shortcomings and fears, but right now she did not want to find out.
"That's a bold accusation," Tenzin noted after Korra had shared what she had learned, "But what proof do you have?"
"None, technically," Korra sighed, "But I overheard him on the phone. He mentioned CabbageCorp, and said that I and Asami didn't even know what he was up to."
"He does have the means… and the motive," Tenzin frowned.
"Asami's told you the story too then?" Korra looked up at him.
"She has," Tenzin frowned, "and I think that might be why Hiroshi was trying to frame your friend Kwan. I think they know who she actually is."
"But it was Nakkoa that killed Yasuko, not Kwan," Korra shook her head.
"Kwan was still guilty by association," Tenzin reminded her, "A getaway driver is integral for a criminal's escape. Surely you know this."
"It just fits though…" Korra had tears running down her already red face, "he's been harbouring anti-bending sentiment all these years… and how! He did an amazing job, and fooled me completely. Now I'm scared, Tenzin. How do I break it to Asami?"
"We will have to conduct a police search," Tenzin explained, "I will inform Lin of your tip. Hopefully it was a misunderstanding, but we cannot allow the Equalists to continue to receive such dangerous equipment."
"I know, I know…" Korra sighed, "Asami though, it's just…"
"I will get back to you on this matter, Korra," Tenzin assured her, "But if this is true, then this changes things completely." He did not mean to brush off Korra's concern about Asami, but there was nothing he could really do when he was operating under the law. As long as Asami had no involvement she had no justice to fear.
Korra returned to Sato Estate that evening, but was confronted by Asami.
"Where'd you run off to?" she inquired, "Usually when you are out this late you at least let me know. Did something special happen?" Korra's face dropped at seeing the liveliness in Asami's expression. She truly didn't suspect a thing until she realized that Korra's face showed all of her telltale signs of serious emotional distress, which in turn caused her face to drop.
"Korra?" She put a hand on the Avatar's shoulder, "are you okay?"
"No…" Korra sighed, nuzzling into Asami's shoulder for a moment before pulling back. "My whole world got turned upside-down."
"No secrets, Korra…" She whispered assuringly, "We've been over this."
"You're going to hate me for this though…" Korra frowned, "But I overheard your dad earlier. He talked about CabbageCorp… about you and me not even realizing what he was doing… Asami, this is just as distressing to me as it probably is to you—and please don't kill me for this—but I think your dad's dealing with the Equalists."
"What!?" Korra had been bracing for a blow-up reaction and had not been too far off-point, "Korra, for crying out loud, we went over this! Why would he be an Equalist when he's busy sponsoring your friends' Probending team, he's let the Avatar—the antithesis of the Equalist movement—live with him for almost three years, and he knows about us! Would an Equalist let his daughter date the Avatar!?"
"Asami, please," Korra pleaded, "Don't do what I did… don't be like me. Do you think I'm thrilled to tell you about this information? I hope it's not true just as much as you do! Do you realize how terrified I am of everything going on? You wanted me to be open with you about my fears, and so here I am being honest about them!"
"Paranoia might be born of fear," Asami shook her head, "But there's a difference between blind accusations and actual concerns."
"Why would I lie about this though, Asami?" Korra took her hands, the desperate look on her face thus far failing to sway Asami, "I love you, and I'm scared for you more than I am for me. This is your dad. Remember how badly I flipped out when I thought my parents had betrayed me? Please, PLEASE—you're turning into me—the me that both of us really hate! I swear I'm telling the truth about what I heard; and I swear I want it to be false just as much as you do!"
"Then I guess it's my turn to be you, Korra," Asami sighed, pulling her hands from Korra's, "I don't want to believe it… I can't believe it! All these years, and then just…"
"Asami, please…" Korra whispered again, "Let's do what you did when you dealt with my nastier side—let's take this one step at a time. The police are going to show up tomorrow, and probably ask him some questions and search the place. I hope as much as you do that they don't find anything and that Hiroshi can explain what his words meant."
"Korra, I…" Asami stammered, sighing as her angry expression melted into a distraught frown, "I can't begin to fathom… my entire life it's just…"
"I know," Korra pulled Asami into an embrace, "If, for some terrible, horrible reason it does turn out to be true… I want to be the support for you that you were for me these last three years."
"If you think my father's an Equalist though, what makes you think I'm not one too?" Asami made it clear that she was both still very upset about Korra's claim, and also extremely hurt by it. Her remark even gave Korra pause, and very briefly there was a fear in Korra's eyes.
"Because…" she stammered, originally going to say 'because I trust you', but that made it come off as if she had never trusted Hiroshi, which simply wasn't true. She had trusted him almost fully up until the reveal earlier.
"Because if you were, I think you would have destroyed me in my sleep by now." she sighed, "If your dad wants to win you over, there's no way he'd lay a finger on me and incur your wrath. This is all just theorycrafting though, Asami. Let them search and find nothing, and then they can publicly announce that your dad's innocent. Everyone wins, right?"
Asami frowned, and did not respond, but looked Korra directly in the eyes with a melancholic expression that hinted at her pain and betrayal.
"I love you, Asami…" Korra whispered, "You helped show me how nasty I was when I felt hurt or betrayed… I don't want you to become that kind of person either. You're better than that—you're better than me—and you're better than those nasty Equalists. The truth of the matter is—is that I'm going to probably be just as scared as you are if I'm right. But I can't expect you to be the one that's always there for me if I can't return the favour. I owe you that much."
"Hopefully it's all just a terrible misunderstanding," Asami sighed. "For both of our sakes."
"I couldn't agree more!" Korra nodded vigorously, "I'm in denial about it too. I want all of this Equalist conspiracy shit to be over with. I miss the times when we could laugh and enjoy life without living in fear of these fucking goons! I miss our dates; I miss going to Kwong's Cuisine and coming home and… well, y'know…"
Korra took a huge risk with her next move, but in a swift and audacious gesture, she had moved some of the hair on the right side of Asami's face, before swooping in and kissing a still-distinctly-red part of Asami's neck that both of them knew the significance of.
Asami sighed as Korra pulled away. "You needed time, Korra," She whispered, "I'll need it too."
"Of course," Korra nodded, opening her arms invitingly, "Please, I want to help—not as some sort of payback for all the times you've helped me—but because I love you. You're the most important person in my life, Asami. I don't know how to put that into words like you do, but I mean that with every ounce of my being."
Asami sighed, and did not reply, and so Korra went into full Asami mode.
"Do you trust me, Asami?" The tables had truly turned. Asami briefly hesitated, but then nodded.
"I just want to go to sleep and wake up realizing this was all a bad dream," she sighed.
"Hopefully it will be." Korra pulled Asami into a gentle embrace.
Despite Korra's attempt at reassuring Asami (which, to her surprise, worked), she had a dread feeling at the pit of her stomach that Hiroshi was in fact an Equalist, even if they didn't uncover any evidence right away. Asami was right that Korra was very paranoid, but trusting shady people had only brought trouble for Korra in her life. Asami and Kwan were some of the only exceptions to this rule—Asami because she wasn't shady, and Kwan because she had proven time and again that she wished to straighten her life out.
Sure enough, Lin and Tenzin were at Asami's front door the next morning, and as such, Korra found her beauty rest being disrupted much earlier than she would have liked.
"This was your idea," Asami still seemed unhappy, much to Korra's dismay as she grabbed the Avatar's leg and dragged her out of her bed. Korra grunted as she hit the floor with a thud, and mumbled something about getting up, laced with a few profanities. She stayed in her sweatpants and white tanktop, which together comprised her trademark sleeping attire, and stumped after Asami, squinting. The idea of doing anything to neaten her hair was a far cry from happening, her morning face and bedhead clear signs of her disdain for the early AM hours.
Asami led Korra to her father's study, where Lin and Tenzin were already waiting with Hiroshi himself. All three of them looked fairly calm and mostly unfazed, although each one also reacted differently to Korra. Lin raised both of her eyebrows, Tenzin raised only one of his slightly, and Hiroshi hardly batted an eye.
"Mr. Sato, we just have a few follow-up questions to ask you." Tenzin clarified.
"My father is innocent," Asami interrupted, shooting a toxic glare at Korra before turning back to Tenzin, "Just because we're not benders doesn't mean we'd align ourselves with those awful Equalists, let alone support them!"
"Equalists?" Hiroshi was as calm as he always seemed to be. Perhaps it was Korra's paranoia, but that was highly unsettling to her as well. "Is that what this is about? Because I can assure you that I have nothing to do with those radicals. Evidence supporting my claim is standing in this room right now, dressed in blue…"
"How does Korra's presence prove anything?" Lin was the one to inquire.
"The Equalists have labelled her as Enemy #1," Hiroshi clarified, "and she's lived off of my hospitality for years. If I was truly an Equalist, would I have allowed my biggest enemy to roam my house right under my nose?"
"I don't even want to accuse you at all, Mr. Sato," Korra reasoned, "but I overheard you on the phone last night; you said that the CabbageCorp investigation bought you time, that you were getting ready to strike, and that not even Asami or I were aware of it."
She paused, realizing eyes were all on her, "...and that she'd embrace it in time?"
There was a pause as Hiroshi processed Korra's words before suddenly smiling.
"My friends, this is all just a misunderstanding!" He gave a hearty chuckle, "My number one competitor was just knocked out of the game. It provides me with an opportunity to strike the market with a new line of Satomobiles. It's just business; nothing nefarious."
"So, that part with me and Asami…" Korra raised her eyebrow.
"Korra dear, I like you. I am unsure how clear I've made that over the years, but considering how highly my daughter speaks of you, how could I not? These new Satomobiles use a design that Asami was not particularly fond of, but that I'm certain she will embrace in time. Given your interest in them, I was going to surprise you with one of your own."
He paused, turning back to Tenzin and Lin, "So once again, merely a misunderstanding caused by the Avatar's overactive imagination. I do not wish to be rude, but surely you know a thing or two about this, do you not, Councilman Tenzin?"
"I do," Tenzin sighed, "Although, in order to put all suspicions to rest, might we have a look into your factories and warehouses?"
"If you feel that that's what's necessary," Hiroshi gave a calm sigh as Asami crossed her arms rather tightly, stepping aside to distance herself from Korra, "then you're welcome to search all of Future Industries if you wish."
Asami stormed out of the room a moment later, and while Korra couldn't get a word out of her, she did run into Mako and Bolin, who also seemed to have a few choice words about it.
"Seriously, what's the deal, Korra?" Mako pointed his finger, "you've lived here how long and then suddenly we move in and you're worried Asami's dad's an Equalist? What brought this on?"
"I'm not saying you're wrong, Korra," Bolin added, "but it does kinda seem paranoid. Are you worried one of us is going to swoop in and steal Asami's heart or something?"
"Given that she probably hates me right now, that crossed my mind." Korra sighed, "But no—no one here seems to understand that I hope just as much as everyone that these claims are false! But I know what I heard, and Hiroshi's story isn't adding up. He disappears for days at a time, and locks himself in his little workshop sometimes from dawn till dusk. It just doesn't make sense; there's more to it than what he's showing us—and if he's giving weapons to the Equalists then of course I'm scared! Amon's already scary enough without giant mecha tanks and evil machines; now imagine him and his goons with those in their hands!"
"And do you think it might have anything to do with your trust issues that you've straight-up admitted to having?" Mako frowned.
"It very well might!" Korra raised her fist, as her eyes narrowed, "Once again—I'm not fucking proud of this a single bit, okay? I don't want to find anything to incriminate Sato. In case you don't remember the other things I've admitted, I may or may not have had a homicidal maniac lie to me for almost two years before turning on me and trying to kill me. The last thing I want is for it to happen again—especially to my girlfriend's own dad!"
In a way it had been something of a double-lie. Nakkoa had admitted many times she had wanted to kill Korra and be done with it, but Korra had dismissed those claims considering that every night the firebender had had ample opportunity to slay or harm the Avatar and had not done so. She wished she could talk to Nakkoa—to get closure on what that psychotic woman had wanted, and why she had done the things she did.
"So what happens when they find nothing?" Mako raised his eyebrow.
"Then I heave a big damn sigh of relief and hopefully things can get back to normal a bit," Korra shook her head and waved her arms, "you would not BELIEVE how stressed I am right now." She pulled her hair downwards as if to emphasize her point, "about Amon; about the Equalist attack on the arena; about Hiroshi; about a lot of things."
Korra felt like she couldn't drive the point home enough just how many things stressed her out, and now with Asami turned against her, it was only going to get worse.
To Korra's relief, however, the searches the police conducted throughout Future Industries produced no results. Asami had followed them to the point of almost literally breathing down their necks, and incidentally, they were also joined by Kwan, who carried a box under her arm. Considering that she and her mechanic shop had become something of a target as well, now she was tangled up in this whole Equalist mess and wanted to see the perpetrators apprehended.
"It would seem Hiroshi was innocent," Lin mused. Asami, who had been hovering over Lin and Tenzin like a hawk, seemed to finally be somewhat appeased.
"Okay, you did your search," she snapped, "now you can leave."
They did exactly that, and only after they had left the warehouse did Kwan finally speak up.
"So…" she cleared her throat, "This may not exactly come as good news to everyone present… but I may or may not know a bit more about Future Industries than I've let on."
"In what way?" Lin warned, "Do not let your criminal past catch up to you, Kwan—I've locked you up many times; I'll do it again."
"Nothin' like that," Kwan shook her head and her free arm, "but this ain't the place. Meet me at my shop at 11PM tonight, and I promise this'll make more sense."
She paused and turned to Lin, "I'd even bet another trip to prison on it."