Senior Year

Question:  what happens when Championship Finals coincides with midterm finals?  Answer:  a lot of homework is assigned the week before, which also happens to be semi-finals.  Korra, Opal, Zhu Li, and I found ourselves having a girls study night at my house Thursday.  It was the only night we could agree on, and Dad just so happened to be out on a business trip.  His schedule had started to fill rapidly when news that Security Fauns were under investigation; he now had to personally make sure that everything in the company was running smoothly.

I rubbed the sides of my head.  This was the third night in a week that he hasn’t been home because of business.  This Equalist movement is starting to hit home hard now.  I sighed and rolled onto my back on my bed.

“Everything ok?” I heard Korra ask.

I leaned my head back and saw the worry that was etched on her face.  She had been surprisingly quiet the entire night, which wasn’t a characteristic of her.  Usually, she’d be trying to get everyone to slack off on their homework by tempting us with movies, snacks, or something along the lines of that.  We’d always end up giving in to the temptations.  Tonight, though, she was rock hard focused on studying.

I shrugged. “Just a lot on my mind.”

“About?” Opal asked, setting her notebook down.

I sat up, spinning around so that I could look at everyone. “It’s just…Dad’s been away on business a lot since the whole Faun investigation started,” I said with a sigh.

Opal placed her hand on my knee and smiled up at me. “Hey, everyone’s worried ok?  This movement’s got everyone on edge, but it’ll work out.  We just need to believe that soon Amon will get what’s coming to him.”

I nodded.  I hope so, Opal.  We sat in silence for a few minutes before Korra excused herself.  I watched her get up and head towards the kitchen.  The way she walked, the way her shoulders hung…something wasn’t right.  I got up, not bothering to explain where I was going to Opal or Zhu Li, but I had a feeling they knew where I was going.

She was leaning against the counter, a glass of water in one hand and the other on the side of her face.  I stood by the doorway of the kitchen, watching her.  I could see it written on her face.  She felt like she was the one who HAD to take Amon done, yet he was still out there causing trouble for everyone in the city.  She wore the burden on her shoulders, and it was eating at her.

“Korra,” I said softly.

She looked up, and I could see the reds of her eyes.  My shoulders deflated.  She shouldn’t have to have this much on her shoulders.  This is more than a one person job.  She looked away when she saw it was me who called her name.

“Sorry,” she said as she wiped her eyes.

I took a step towards her. “You don’t need to be sorry, Korra.  This isn’t your fault.”

She bit her lip. “Yes, it is, Asami,” she said with a pained expression. “If I was stronger, braver, then Amon wouldn’t be here.  I should’ve taken care of him back on the island.  I should’ve ended it then and there.  If he wasn’t around, then everything would be normal, would be better.”

I closed the distance between the two of us and pulled her into a tight hug.  It was a moment before she finally returned it.  We stood in silence, her shoulders starting to shake.  I pulled her closer to me, trying my hardest to squeeze the burden off her.

“Korra, you can’t do everything by yourself.  Yes, you’re the Avatar, but Aang didn’t defeat the Fire Lord by himself.  He had Katara, Sokka, Toph, and so many others,” I said, leaning back so that she could look at me. “You have friends here who want to help you.  Mako, Bolin, Opal.  Me.  We’re all here for you, and we’re all here to help.”

She sniffed, wiping away the tears from her eyes. “I don’t want you guys to get hurt, Asami.  If you got hurt when I could have prevented it, then I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

I smiled softly. “Korra, I can take care of myself.  All of us can.  Mako and Bolin are your teammates; you’ve seen how well they can protect themselves.  Opal’s mom, Suyin, made sure that all of her children, benders or non-benders, knew some form of self-defense, so Opal can easily take down anyone who steps in her way.  And I know several forms of martial arts and self-defense thanks to Dad being really paranoid after my mom died.  We can help you, but you have to let us.”

She looked at me then hugged me again. “Thanks, Asami.  I needed that.”

I smiled as I returned the hug. “Of course, Korra.  What are best friends for?”

It wasn’t long after that Opal called for us, wondering what was taking us so long.  The rest of the night went on without a hitch; we were laughing, making fun of each other, and Korra was acting more like herself.  My chest swelled whenever she would laugh or a smile would last longer than a few seconds on her face.  To see her happy was one of the best joys I had that night.  Yet, it feels…different this time.  Like, really different, and I can’t place my finger on why.

The weekend rolled its head around, and, of course, new problems arose.  The day of the semi-finals, Bolin and Mako decided it would be the best of time to fight over Spirits-knows-what, and it eventually rolled over into preparation for the match.  Even with Opal and I trying our hardest to help sort the brothers out of this funk, they still went into the match pissed at each other.  It showed, unfortunately, when their opponents began to knock the boys around senselessly during the match, leaving Korra out to fend for their chance at the final. 

I covered my eyes after watching Mako and Bolin both get knocked off the platform. “I can’t watch this,” I groaned.  There goes their chances at the championship.

A few minutes later, Opal began to vigorously shake me in my seat. “Asami, look!” she shouted, pointing to the platform.

I dropped my hands, and I was amazed at what I saw.  Korra was moving back and forth with ease, dodging each attack that was thrown her way.  She looked as if she were walking on air.  Their opponents weren’t giving up, but each attack continued to lose intensity as they were fired at Korra.

“Go Korra!” Opal shouted from beside me.

I clasped my hands over my mouth.  Come on Korra, you can do it.  As if sensing my thoughts, Korra shot off an attack that knocked one opponent into the next and then into the third; all three fell into the water for a late second knockout!  Opal and I cheered at the top of our lungs, hugging each other as Korra stood in the middle of the ring, waving at the cheers around her.  She did it!  She really did it!

I grabbed Opal’s hand and dragged her to the door. “Come on!  Let’s go find them!” I said, a smile wide on my face.

We sprinted as fast as we could to their locker room, almost breaking down the door as we slammed inside.  Opal ran to hug Bolin, and I ran to hug Korra.  She smiled as I threw myself into her arms.

“That was just…just amazing, Korra!” I yelled, leaning back so I could see her face.

She smiled and rubbed the back of her head. Wait, is that a blush she’s trying to hide? “It wasn’t anything really.”

“Stop being so…so…Korra!  That was amazing, and you know it!” Opal said, smiling at Korra.

Bolin unwrapped himself from Opal and Mako joined them as they came over to her.  I let her go so that Bolin could wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Korra, you single-handedly secured our spot in the Finals!  Without you, we wouldn’t have made it this far,” he said, that big Bolin smile on his face.

Mako nodded with a smile. “He’s not wrong, Korra.”

Korra smiled at their compliments. “But I didn’t do anything really,” she said, turning her attention to me. “We wouldn’t really have been here with you, Asami.  If it weren’t for you and your dad, we’d never have been able to have the chance in the first place.”

Course, now it was my turn to hide a blush. “It…it was nothing…uh,” I said, coughing to try and break up the awkward pause. “If we don’t hurry, we won’t be able to make it back to the box seats to watch the varsity play.”

Everyone was in agreeance with that.  Opal and I waited as Korra and the boys grabbed their gear before quickly running back to the box seats.  Thankfully, Kuvira and the rest of the varsity had just made their way onto the platform.  I took my seat, smiling when Korra took the seat next to me.

“Who are they up against tonight?” Opal asked as she took the opposite seat next to me.

I looked down at the program. “White Falls High’s Wolfbats,” I said, scrunching my nose as I read it off.

Korra saw my expression. “What is it?”

Mako crossed his arms as he watched the Wolfbats make their entrance onto the platforms. “They’re notorious for cheating during these matches.  Tahno, their waterbender, also has a reputation for being a punk who has no respect for women whatsoever.”

An annoyed face came over Korra, and I had to stifle a small laugh.  That was too cute of a face for her. “I don’t know the kid and already I hate him,” she said, her attention now fully on the platform.

It seemed that the Wolfbats and their reputation would continue on into their match against the varsity team.  It lasted longer than most, but their dirty techniques and lack of a good ref made it impossible for the varsity to win.  The last round was the worst by far.  The last man standing for the varsity was Kuvira, and she was doing all that she could to keep them in the fight.  Suddenly, events took a scary turn.

A rock-filled water shot by Tahno hit Kuvira in the helmet, knocking it off and knocking her right into the water.  Acari, already injured, wasn’t in any good position to help her teammate as she watched her drop into the water.  All of us in the box seats ran to the window, watching the water and waiting for Kuvira to come up, but as the seconds ticked by, we could tell something was wrong.

“Kuvira!” Opal shouted, about ready to jump into the water when Korra beat her to it.

Korra dove head first into the water, waterbending it to break her fall as she dove for Kuvira.  I held Opal back, not wanting her to get hurt.  She struggled as we waited for Korra to reach Kuvira.  Seconds later, Korra broke the surface with Kuvira in tow.  She gave us a thumbs up before pulling Kuvira to the platform on the water, medics waiting nearby to help.  Opal broke free from my grip, leaving the room to go to her foster sister’s side with Bolin right behind her.  Mako and I left the room soon after grabbing the gear that was left behind.

Kuvira was awake and coughing up water with Opal beside her when we arrived.  Mako and I dropped the equipment into a pile and ran over to them, the medics insisting that Opal take a step back.  She was vehemently against their suggestions until I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder.

“Opal, you need to let them do their jobs, ok?  Kuvira’s going to be fine,” I said, looking her in the eyes as I spoke.

After a moment, Opal nodded and took a step back to stand with Bolin, Mako and I.  When I guided Opal into Bolin’s arms, I turned my head and started to scan the room.  Where is she?  I found Korra being tended to by her own set of medics.  By the way of her movements, she was trying to explain to them that she was ok herself, but by the annoyed face she had on, it wasn’t working.  I jogged over to her and pulled her into a hug, which in turned gave the medics a reason to leave her alone for a moment.

I leaned back and looked at her before slapping her shoulder. “You idiot!  You just had to go be a hero, didn’t you?” I said, shaking my head.

She smiled. “Awe, you care,” she said, laughing.

A blush escaped onto my cheeks. “Course I did,” I said softly looking down slightly.

Her laughter stopped, and I saw a slight blush appear on her cheeks. “Well…uh…thanks,” she began to stutter, rubbing the back of her head.

We stood there, awkwardly blushing at each other, before Bolin’s shout broke our silence. “Guys, come on!  We need to drop Opal off at home so that she can grab some stuff for Kuvira!”

I turned to face him. “Alright, alright!  We’re coming!” I shouted back before turning back to Korra. “Ready?”

She smiled a little. “Always.”

I smiled back, and we jogged over to where they were waiting for us.  I was the last of the group to leave, Korra being in front of me.  As we walked to my car, I couldn’t help but find myself staring at Korra, watching her as she laughed to something Bolin and Opal were talking about.  It was then that I thought back to what she had said.

“Awe, you care.”

I placed my hand above my chest.  What was this feeling?  It’s…so different than before.  I hadn’t realized until Korra’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Hey, you ok?” she asked, concern written on her voice and on her face.

I looked at her.  For once, I didn’t know how I felt, yet I knew I wanted to smile.  I wanted to smile for her.  So I did. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, yet it felt as if I should’ve said more.

She smiled back that smile that had always gave me butterflies.  That smile that always made me second-guess myself. “Good.  Let’s get going,” she said as she held her arm out to me.

I smiled, linking my arm with hers, and walked to my car with her.  As I drove us to Opal’s, I couldn’t help but think about what had just transpired and wish that it could stay like that forever.  Forever with Korra.