Not Your Hero

Chapter 6

"My family has owned this for decades before I was born. My father now owns an apartment near the Future Industries building to lessen commute time. He pretty much lives there full time now, since I moved away. I'm not going to lie, but living in such a huge place alone is pretty intimidating, especially since it reminds you of some bad memories." Asami shuddered at the mention of "bad memories".

Korra, meanwhile, was taking her time admiring the Sato Estate. The drive up to the mansion alone took ten minutes. Asami kept pointing out various facilities: the huge garage that was her and her father's working space (also the place where most of Future Industries' inventions were conceived), their private gym (which had every sort of workout equipment imaginable, a swimming pool, and of course, sparring courts), the botanical garden (which Asami's mother, Yasuko Sato, particularly liked)... The place was bigger than USOF headquarters, which was already thrice as large as any known military compound. Not that current military compounds were large anyway, they were mainly for tourism while the military itself was a hoax with USOF doing all its work.

"I can't believe you live here! But you probably get this a lot, and I sound like a douche. But your place is huge, have I mentioned that? Oh no wait, I have. Am I rambling? Sorry, I'm rambling..." Korra's voice trailed off as she noticed the amused look on Asami's face. "This place can get a bit overwhelming. But I think your rambles are pretty cute."

Korra flushed at this. She didn't recall blushing so much during her previous conversations with Asami, not that the two had a lot of contacts anyway. They'd barely known each other for a day, and here Korra was, blushing deeper shades of red by the minute. At least it's an improvement from the airship, where Korra had to catch herself from staring too long. Funny, she couldn't place what her feelings were for the woman. Asami was probably just a friend, and one within professional boundaries. Korra can't afford anything outside of those boundaries. She snapped out of her thoughts.

"This place really is incredible. I never knew what it was like to live in my own home. For almost as long as I could remember, I'd stayed in the academy dormitories." Korra chuckled wistfully. Asami raised a sympathetic eyebrow. "The house often feels lonely. I'm constantly overwhelmed by it, especially after my mother was killed here."

Korra reached out for Asami's hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "Well, now you don't have to live here alone anymore. You don't have to be alone anymore, you've got me and the organization. And I know this doesn't mean a lot coming from someone you met just over 24 hours ago, but for what it's worth, I'm really sorry for what happened to your mom. I know how hard it is to grow up with a small fragment of memories with a parent. Parents, in my case."

"Thank you."

The pair made their way into the mansion under a comfortable silence.

--

They were following the crowd go into an apartment building. There had been posters here and there, printed with the unmistakable insignia of the Saviors. The posters weren't widely distributed, there was probably only one of them in each block. But Korra and Asami found them anyway and followed the slowly gathering crowd.

They were in the center of the high-class circle, but quite far away from the United Republic Government. The Saviors didn't want attention near the government, it seems.

The building they entered had a fully air-conditioned main hall adorned with marble tiles. One would never mistake it for a terrorist gathering. It truly seemed to be one of the business gatherings the socially elite would go to. Only the topic was so much more in business.

A tall masked man and in a hundred-yuan suit lept up onto the podium. He wasn't very young, his hair showed graying streaks, but he hid his face and closed off the door to his true intentions. Once the crowd, if it even counted as a crowd, settled down, the man began his speech.

"First, I'd like to thank everyone for coming. We all have rather important positions, and I'm well aware how every minute spent here should be otherwise extremely valuable to you. But since we're all here, please hear me out. I go by the name of Amon. My relatives are all wealthy businessmen with deep ties within the government. And it is through my family's connection with those officials that I have come to know a truth: that there are too many people in our republic. Resources are only limited to a few, but there are too many people to share them with. Now, immense taxes are being forced upon us to help share those resources. And I believe all of us has asked, at one point, that why should the incapable share the fruits of our labor? My ancestors worked hard just to buy an apartment so that their children would have a better future. My family worked its way from the slums, and now the government is asking us to share our resources with those who can't fight for themselves. Now, why will we do that? Don't you agree?" The crowd erupted into cheers. Korra tensed in the background. Asami put a light hand on her shoulder to calm her down, smiling understandingly. Korra steeled herself--she'd have to get through a lot more of this for the duration of the mission.

Amon raised his hand for quiet. "There are only that much available. The poor have to go! Isn't that the point of evolution? The unfit get kicked out? Well, I say, kick out the unfit, before it's all too late!" The crowd started clapping. Amon spoke up again: "I invite all of you, to attend a meeting tonight. I lead followers called the Saviors. We are saving society from these people. Join me, and we will save this failing republic."

With that, his followers began passing out invitations. Asami gave Korra a look they both understood. Korra felt herself pulled towards a Savior, and before she knew it, Asami was asking for the invitation. "May I ask your name, miss?" The person said politely. Korra's heart chilled--Asami was, in fact, part of the elite, but they couldn't risk giving their names away. They hadn't really talked about what to do when those kinds of situations came up. Asami was the one to speak up. "The least you could do in those kinds of meetings is to show some respect. My partner and I hardly give our names in public gatherings. You know how things are in the upper circle, one name and the paparazzi are around you in a second. We've all had our share of embarrassment in the papers, so you'll excuse me if I'd like to remain anonymous. I presume you also won't want to draw attention to yourselves, correct? But you know attention, once our names get out, is inevitable, especially in this part of the city." The man furrowed his brows, but didn't say anything and slightly nodded in agreement. He gave both of them invitations without further argument.

"Quick thinking back there, I had no idea what we were going to do," Korra said once they were alone. Asami gave her a knowing wink. "Growing up a Sato wasn't an easy thing to do. You learn how to handle yourself in this kind of situation. I'm actually surprised no one here recognized my face from the papers. Let's get far away from here before they do."