Chapter 6
“It started when I was a kid,” Asami starts. The two agents sit in her home, a small, messy apartment in the suburbs of D.C. “I was about ten years old when they took her”.
“They?” Korra asks.
“You're not going to believe me, but spirits. They took her to the spirit world”.
It was clear to Korra that Sato had clearly developed this idea as a sort of coping mechanism to deal with her mother's disappearance.
“Dad was at work,” Asami continues, “Mom and I were indoors, baking cookies, when they came”.
“'They' meaning spirits?” Korra asks. Asami nods.
“This giant angry spirit just carried her off. I don't know where or why, but it did. I still remember her screams as it dragged her away from me”.
“What did they look like?” Korra asks, humoring Asami.
“Hold on,” Asami stands and rummages around in a drawer before bringing out a folded, worn sheet of paper. She hands it to Korra, “They put me in therapy. My therapist was kind of new agey, believed in the healing power of art,” Korra has to stop herself from scoffing. If anyone is kind of new agey, it's Asami Sato, “So I made this”.
Korra unfolds the paper and looks down at it. It's a clearly a child's drawing, but the feeling behind the drawing feels anything but childlike. It was clearly drawn in confusion, in anger, in pain. Feelings no child should feel. The drawing itself is of a large, glowing monster with red eyes, dragging away a woman by the hair.
“Sato,” Korra says softly.
“I’m fine now,” Asami gives a small smile, “But anyway, after we lost Mom, Dad kind of lost it. I had to live with an aunt. I haven’t seen him in years”.
“I'm so sorry, Sato,”
“Eh, it's not your fault,” Asami shrugs, “Besides, all that’s the reason why I joined the X-Files. And if I hadn’t joined the X-Files, I wouldn’t have met you”.
Korra smiles, fighting the guilty feeling that threatens to overtake her. Asami’s been nothing but nice to her, and she’s repaid that with nothing but biting sarcasm and annoyance.
They spend the afternoon talking, Korra telling stories about her days at Quantico, Asami filling Korra in on all the wild cases she’s taken. They talk late into the night, not even noticing when the sun sets or when the clock strikes 12.
-
Korra arrives at work the next morning in much better spirits than she had the days before. Her and Asami’s new rapport makes going to work on the X-Files seem less like a chore. In fact, she’s even looking forward to the day with enthusiasm, which is a first for her.
“Sato,” Korra nods at her partner, who sits at her desk looking at a piece of paper.
“Raava!” Asami smiles, “Your teacher sent us the coordinates!”
Korra makes her way to Asami’s desk and looks down at the paper, “Sato,” Korra says, “We’re not seriously going to Vietnam, are we?”
“‘We’re’?” Asami looks up at Korra hopefully.
“Of course,” Korra shrugs, “You’re my partner. Can’t have you going off to a dangerous jungle all alone”.
Asami beams.
-
Korra is packing when she gets the phone call.
“Hello?” she speaks into the phone.
“Is this, uh, Agent Korra Raava?”
“Yes, this is she,” Korra replies.
“Good. It’s my aunt, Kya. She’s in the hospital and she’s asking for you”.
It’s all Korra can do to stop herself from hanging up right then and running out the door.
“I’ll be there,” she says, “Thank you for calling”.
Korra rushes out of her house and drives about five miles over the speed limit. She can’t help but feel that whatever happened to her old teacher, it’s her fault.
-
Asami gets the phone call when she’s in the middle of watching yet another rerun of Happy Days.
“Hello?”
“Sato, it’s me,” Korra’s familiar voice comes from the phone.
“What is it, Raava?”
“It’s Kya. She’s in the hospital. They don’t know if she’s going to make it. She wanted to talk to me, but she slipped into a coma before I could get there”. Asami hears Korra hold back a sob.
“Stay at the hospital,” Asami stands up, “I’ll be right there”.
-
Asami rushes to the fourth floor of the hospital, where she finds Korra sitting defeatedly on a bench.
“Raava?” Asami says softly.
Korra looks up, tears streaming down her face.
“Sato,” Korra stands, “You came”.
“Of course I did,” Asami pulls Korra into a hug, “What are partners for?”
Korra pulls back and smiles weakly up at Asami.
“They found her in her house. Everything was ransacked. She has multiple concussions. Somebody did this to her, on purpose”.
“And you think it has to do with the case”
Korra nods, “We need to get to Vietnam,” she sets her mouth in a grim line, “It’s just gotten personal”.