Senior Year

I sat back in my seat, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes closed.  Right now, my mind should’ve been in the present, patiently waiting on them to arrive, but all I could think about was this morning.  Amon had threatened the benders again; this time he had threatened to attack the Championship tournament if it wasn’t cancelled. 

Not wanting to let the championship slip through their fingers, I drove Korra, Bolin, and Mako to the Republic City Council Chambers during lunch.  Opal joined us as well, while Zhu Li and Varrick stayed behind in case we were missed.  Traffic was congested due to lunch time, but I was able to get us there relatively quick thanks to the side roads.  We ran inside, catching all of the membership when they were about to make a decision.

“You can’t shut down the tournament!” Korra yelled as we ran past the guards.

Tenzin looked at us surprised. “Korra?  Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?”

Korra turned her attention mainly to Tenzin. “Tenzin, you can’t shut the tournament down.  If we give in to his demands, how is that going to look on us?”

Tenzin’s face grew grim. “Korra, I understand that you and your friends made it to the finals, but we can’t risk any of the participants or audience members getting hurt.”

“Well then, don’t worry about it because it’ll be my security team there,” a new voice announced from behind us.

We all turned, surprised to find Chief Beifong and a couple of her sergeants behind us. “Aunt Lin!” Opal shouted, a smile on her face.

Beifong returned her smile before looking at the Council. “I can guarantee the safety of all those present tonight at the tournament finals.  My people are up to the task, and you know how I deliver.”

Tenzin rubbed the bridge of his nose, but the rest of the Council members were ecstatic about the proposition.  All were in favor, though Tenzin made it clear to Beifong that he’d be attending as well to make sure that no one was harmed.

“Hey, you alright?” I heard Opal ask, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I opened my eyes and looked up at her.  She had just came back with Dad from the concession stand, arms full of snacks. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, sitting up as she handed me my cup of popcorn.

“Still thinking about this morning?” she asked as she took the seat to my right.

I nodded. “Even with all this security, I’m still worried.”

Opal smiled sadly. “So am I, and I’m related to the police chief,” she said as she looked at towards the ring.  Korra and the boys were on the platform currently moving out to the main stage. “Amon’s a scary guy, so he could try anything.”

I smiled as I watched Pabu do his opening routine. “That’s what I’m worried about, Opal.  That he could try anything, especially tonight.”

We didn’t have a chance to talk more as the lights around us went out.  The announcer made the Wolfbats introductions, and I cringed at their costumes and fireworks that accompanied their entrance.  Seriously?  I can’t wait until Korra and the boys knock these guys on their asses.  The two teams met in the middle for the beginning of the match.  Even from here, I could see Tahno’s ego-confident smile, which only made me want to personally punch him in the face even more.  I felt Opal place her hand on my shoulder; I sighed and leaned back, trying to relax.

“Sorry,” I said softly, a pout on my face.

Opal chuckled a little. “I get it.  I want to knock that stupid grin off his face too.”

I smiled as I heard the bell ring, signaling the beginning of the match.  The Wolfbats came on strong, catching Korra and Mako off guard and knocking them back into the second zone.  Opal and I laughed as Bolin managed to knock the firebender on his ass as he was trying to show off.

“That a boy, Bolin!” Opal shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

I watched as the expressions of Tahno and the earthbender change; they began their targeted assault on Bolin.  An attack from Tahno, which knocked Bolin back to the third zone, should have been called for a foul, but none was to be found.  I groaned at the thought that this ref was going to be as bad as the one from the semi’s.  Mako seemed to think the same, complaining to the ref about the hosing limit, but the ref motioned to carry on. 

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “That’s just…god why do they have to be such jerks!” I said, throwing my hands into the air.

Opal sighed. “We’ll just have to hope that they can pull out a win.”

Korra and Mako managed to get a couple nice shots in, but a sudden movement of the earth panel below Mako’s foot allowed for a hard hit by the earthbender.  I jumped up as I watched Mako get hit back into the third zone. “Are you blind, ref?!  Like seriously!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“Honey, please relax.  There’s nothing we can do right now,” Dad said from his seat.  I groaned and dropped back into my seat.

Trying their best to hold on, Korra and the boys got a few more hits in.  Dodging back and forth in the second zone, Korra sent an attack at the earthbender, knocking him hard into the ropes.  However, this gave an advantage to Tahno and the firebender;  Tahno was able to cause Bolin to slide as the firebender sent an attack that hit Bolin square in the chest as his foot slid.  A moment later, Bolin smacked front first into the water.  I cringed at the sound of impact; Opal jumped to the window, watching as Bolin slowly swam to the platform.

That left just Korra and Mako.  Soon enough, Korra was knocked back into the third zone with Mako, and a barrage of attacks soon followed.  A well-timed hit knocked both Korra and Mako from the platform, and I sighed, looking down as their chance at the championship fell with the knockout.  Maybe next year.  Funny thing is I never heard a splash.  When a collective gasp originated from the audience, I looked up and saw Korra hanging by the ledge and holding onto the collar of Mako’s shirt.  With a hard swing, Korra flung Mako back onto the platform, sacrificing herself as she plunged into the water.  Mako was able to send one more attack, hitting the three Wolfbats into their second zone, before the timer for the first round sounded.

I cheered with Opal at the round’s end, watching with a smile on my face as Korra and Bolin met back up with Mako on the platform.  I looked over at Opal, a smile wide on my face, when I noticed that Dad was texting someone on his phone.  Please don’t be working on work stuff right now, Dad.

“Everything ok, Dad?” I asked, leaning back so that I could get a better look at him.

He looked up and smiled. “Everything’s fine, honey.  I didn’t realize I had misplaced a file today, and one of my assistants was asking where I had placed it, that’s all.”

I nodded.  Of course it was work.  Hopefully, when this Equalist movement is done, we can go back to how things were before when it wasn’t work central.  I turned my head back towards the ring as the bell sounded for the second round.  Hit after hit after hit.  There was no room for error, and both teams were giving it their all.  The Wolfbats continued with their subtle illegal moves, but Korra and the boys weren’t having any of it.  For every illegal move thrown their way, a clean, hard hit was returned.  I smiled as I seen the frustration wash over Tahno’s face.

The bell sounded for the end of the second round, and a tiebreaker was announced to decide who won the round.  I leaned forward, thinking about a conversation I had with Korra right before the match.  I had found her to wish her luck and told her to kick Tahno’s ass for me.

“The first chance I can I’ll make sure he won’t see it coming,” she said with a smile on her face.

The Fire Ferrets won the coin toss, and I could see Korra grin as she stepped forward to take on Tahno.  I leaned forward, my hands clenching the open ledge in front of me, as I watched them take their stances.  The platform beneath them begun to rise as they started to circle around the outer ledge.  Tahno raised his hands, egging Korra on.  A flash of a smile came over Korra’s face as she threw an attack.  He quickly dodged, reading to send his counter, when a water attack from below came up and hit him under the jaw, knocking him backwards off the raised platform and his helmet off.

A short silence followed before the crowd, including Opal and I, erupted into a booming cheer.  Hell yes!  Opal and I were jumping up and down, wrapped in each other’s arms, when I looked down to see Korra looking up in our direction.  She held up a thumbs up and flashed that cocky smile at us.

I leaned out the window and yelled, “Go Korra!” The cutest blush escaped onto her cheeks as she turned her attention back to the match.

I leaned back into my seat, a smile wide on my face.  As the final round began, Opal leaned forward so that I could see she was looking at me. “Something you want to tell me?” she asked softly.

I looked at her confused. “No?”

She gave me a smirk and leaned back in her chair. “Uh huh.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you getting at, Opal?”

She smiled as she leaned closer to me, whispering in my ear. “Someone’s got a crush on Korra.”

I could feel the warmth rush to my face. “I do not!” I whispered as loud as I could get away with so that Dad couldn’t hear me.

She rolled her eyes, continuing to smile. “Uh huh. Everyone sees how much you two flirt with each other, Asami.  How much you two care about each other.  It’s easy to see whenever she smiles at you, and you stare dumbfounded at her for a small moment.”

Shit.  I had hoped that wasn’t the case.  I looked back at the match, watching as Korra and the boys moved back and forth before launching their own attacks.  I sighed. “Is it that bad?” I asked softly.

She laughed a little. “Girl, I can see it a mile away how happy you’ve been since Korra came into our lives.  Not even Mako made you this happy, even when you were dating him,” she admitted, returning her attention to the match.

Even as I watched angrily as the Wolfbats continue to get away with each illegal shot they threw, even as I watched the Fire Ferrets plunge into the water below, in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but think about what Opal had said.  I couldn’t help but think about the months that led up to this point; all those times I stood there wondering what those weird feelings were that would just show up whenever I was doing something with Korra.  Could I have a real crush on my best friend?  I shook my head.  I couldn’t think about it now.  There was a time and place for it, and now wasn’t either of those.

I moved to stand up, intending to go find the three to tell them how proud of them I was, when I started to see flashes of light start to appear around the stadium.  What the hell?  Upon closer observation, I watched as several Republic City police officers went down after the flashes of light.  My eyes went wide in fear.  No.

Before I could yell, I saw Tenzin and Chief Beifong go down.  Opal saw it too, standing up quickly as she watched her aunt hit the floor unconscious. “Aunt Lin!” she shouted.

The doors behind us slammed open, and two masked persons walked in, glowing gloves on their hands.  They walked in slowly, their gloved hands raised at us as they moved us into the corner of the room.  Dad moved Opal and I behind him, but my mind was on the ring.  I hope Korra and the boys are alright and out of harms way.

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Amon and his men appear on the platform, the Wolfbats subdued in front of them.  Amon began to speak, but I already knew what he was going to do to them.  It was the same thing that they did to Zolt and his friends.  My eyes widened in fear when I saw Korra, Mako, and Bolin tied to one of the pillars below the platform.

“Dad, I have to get to Korra,” I said, tossing my jacket off into a chair.

Dad looked over his shoulder at me, worry written over his face. “Like hell am I letting you leave right now, Asami!  These are dangerous people here, and I’m not letting you get anywhere near them!”

I looked at Opal, who looked back at me with a fearful expression.  I looked at Dad before looking at the two masked persons in front of us.  Forgive me, Dad.  I quickly ducked underneath Dad’s arm and moved towards the two people.  They were taken aback by my sudden movement, allowing for me to round kick one into the other into the wall.  They slumped to the ground unconscious.  I didn’t stick around for Dad’s or Opal’s reactions, opting to quickly rush out of the room and towards the lift that would take me to the platform.

It didn’t occur to me until after I arrived at the lift how much danger I was putting myself in.  How much danger we were all in.  All that was running through my mind was that I had to save the boys, that I needed to save Korra.  I couldn’t let what happened to Zolt happen to those three.  I couldn’t let it happen.  I slammed open the door that led to the lift, but to my surprise, I ran into a not so friendly face.  Dressed in the uniform of the man who chased after us at the factory was the man who had hurt Korra before.  Standing in front of me, his electric batons charged, was Leu.

He smiled when he realized it was me. “Well, well, well.  Today’s my lucky day.  Now I get to deal with the bitch who took Korra away from me.”