Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

The Three Year Gap, Month Fourteen: Asami

Rubbing tiredness out of her eyes, Asami tried to imagine what possessed Mako to think that he had to call her at the latest possible hour just to tell her about his strange day. It was times like those that made her wish she was talking to his brother on a more frequent basis.

Amidst finishing her personal bike project, Asami needed to find new things to take up her time that she actually enjoyed doing. Natso got busy with the store so she took up trying to learn to cook which wasn't very fun even though she was good at it. Mako decided university life was for him so she went to visit a couple of times only to be vividly reminded why she had not chosen to pursue higher education. Everything she tried inevitably turned her back to work, which she supposed she couldn't really complain about.

Her company did need some love.

Without giving the phone a second glance, Asami picked up the receiver and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?" she said absentmindedly as she set the phone into the crux of her shoulder.

"This is a collect call from Republic City Prison. Hiroshi Sato is attempting to call you. Say yes if you would like to accept."

Asami felt a sharp pang run up the skin surrounding her scar. She had half a mind to march down to the switchboard office and tell them to never patch that number into her office again. Her gut told her to say no, to hang up the phone right there and not even bother letting whatever came out of it into her life; but she was over it, and there was no easier way to get him to stop than to tell him straight up.

"Yes."

The phone clicked before a raspy voice filled the silence on the other end. Her father sounded too hopeful that the call had actually gone through, and the thought that he'd had a feeling she'd come around eventually churned her stomach.

"Asami, my dear, it's been—"

"Save it. I only answered your call to tell you to stop sending me letters."

She could practically see her father lower his head on the other end like he always did when she disappointed him in some way. "I just want to talk to you, Asami."

"And I don't want to talk to you."

As she slammed the receiver back onto its stand, she tried not to think about the last time she had said those words. Some days, she had the bizarre feeling that none of the bad things that had happened in her life over the past few years had even happened. She'd wake up some mornings, half expecting to be back on that deafening airship, stuck in the Earth Kingdom with no way out until they finally laid to rest the targets looming on their backs or even back in her bedroom before her mother remolded it, wondering when she would finally start to be happy with her life.

Maybe that was why reading Korra's letters felt like a breath of fresh air. For once, she wasn't pretending that everything was alright and she had moved on from what had happened. Part of her was still there and she didn't know if she would ever get it back.

Asami,

Not to start off on a bad note, but I'm sure Raiko's ineffectiveness as a world leader isn't helping one bit. My advice to you is to pay him no mind. And, if you really need ideas, maybe try meeting in the middle. Give the non-benders and the benders some skin in the game and maybe both of them will stop calling for your guys' heads.

Speaking of, I read about your fair and it seemed like a wonderful event. I wish I could have been there and gotten to meet all the people you and Zhu Li recruited but I guess I'll have to settle with hearing about you guys' next big moves from the newspaper. Or from you, if you finally decide to give me some inside scoop on everything going down in the city.