"Okay, I get everything. But why are you looking like a homeless?" Lin asked Akashi.
"I'll answer that later. Now, ladies. If you excuse me, a man needs to take a shower," Akashi replied, feeling fresh as Korra's healing increased both his Health Points and Stamina points. The wounds disappeared, and no scar was left behind.
"Sure." Korra nodded, sniffing. "Though, you don't smell that bad."
Lin slowly turned her head to Korra and looked at her with deadly green eyes.
Korra just smiled.
"That's the nicest thing I have heard ever since someone paid my bank loan," Akashi smiled back at Korra.
There had to be some tension in the air as there was a pause.
Lin grabbed Korra by the arm and dragged her out of Akashi's room.
"You're unwelcome here, you heard him," Lin said as she closed the door.
"When did he say that?" Korra turned to her and asked.
"When he said you need permission to enter his private domicile," replied Lin.
"I guess so." Korra shrugged before walking out of the shop with the chief.
"Do you need a ride back to the temple? If you do, I'll call Tenzin," said Lin.
"Why are you nice so suddenly?" Korra replied, already having a feeling that Lin wanted to get rid of her.
"Because you don't have a house in this city," Lin said. "Where would you rest or sit…"
"Public seats," replied Korra calmly. "My teammates invited me to hang out with them as well."
"They don't have privacy," Lin said. "You know what, why don't you go to my office and take a rest there."
"What's your purpose?" mused Korra.
"You healed Akashi, and I appreciate it," replied Lin. "I know that healing takes a toll on you."
Korra thought about it for a second and nodded.
As they walked to the station, Lin stopped and said, "Right. I forgot something. Hey, you. Take the Avatar to my office."
Lin pointed to someone and gave him orders.
"Hey!" Korra said. "What's going on?"
"I forgot my car keys," Lin replied. "They must have fallen on the way. I'll be looking for them personally."
"Do you need help?" Korra suggested.
Lin placed both hands on Korra's shoulders, smiled, and said, "You already helped enough."
"Okay…" Korra said slowly and didn't seem convinced.
Just then, Lin made her way back to Akashi's shop, looking for her keys.
She traced her path all the way back to Akashi's residence.
And there, she found the key to her happiness… right between Akashi's legs.
Then…
Akashi was harassed in his private domicile.
-x-X-x-
After Lin left for work, Akashi was left to lay down on his bed, exhaling loudly.
Man.
Those spirits were very tough opponents to fight.
And they were so petty.
Just because he screamed two nights, as a form of training, he had almost lost his life.
And the worst part, being called a monster by both realms. Spiritual and physical realm.
Akashi thought about the invitation he had gotten from the Equalists when they had thought of him as a homeless guy.
The idea of pretending to be a homeless guy and meeting them was alluring.
He could eliminate the threat as long as he was out of Amon's radar.
But he shook his head at the idea.
Being with the Equalists wouldn't do much good.
Amon wasn't the main threat. Tarrlok and the Earth Kingdom were.
It was Akashi's guess, but somehow, the Earth Queen had decided to help the Equalists with resources in exchange for having Akashi delivered to her.
The only variable to watch out for was Tarrlok.
'But he's worth a lot of experience. I believe that beating him one more time would give me two level-ups,' Akashi thought to himself, smiling widely.
Now that he felt refreshed, Akashi walked out of his room and went to his coffee shop, greeting the clients who happened to be colleagues.
Then, he left for work.
There, he found his lieutenant, upset and scolding him for missing a day at work.
Akashi just shrugged and didn't say anything.
The old man had all the right to yell.
As long as he didn't cross the line with the words, so be it.
"I'm taking a day out of your payment!" yelled the lieutenant, a middle-aged man with a mustache.
"Sir! No!" Akashi closed his eyes and pretended to sob.
The way his chest shook up and down wasn't because he was crying.
He was holding his laugh.
Even without counting the money he had gotten from looting the bad guys, the profit he was making from his side business exceeded his salary by a large margin.
"You're young and talented. But you need to learn discipline before it's too late," the lieutenant said, his tone softening.
"May I leave now?" Akashi asked.
"Yes."
As Akashi left and closed the door, he laughed out loud, earning glances from everyone in the shared office.
As the second in line in command here, he asked them,
"So, boys. Did you solve any case while I was gone?" he asked.
And needless to say, their productivity was below average.
He shook his head.
Only 10% of the homicides had been solved.
So, he spent time revising their cases, pointing to the indicators that they missed and helping them find new clues.
Akashi told them what they lacked, but not why or how to fix it. If you're a personal trainer, if you taught your client everything they need to know, they wouldn't come back to you when they lose their muscles or regain their fat.
While working, Korra approached Akashi at his desk.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey."
"We didn't have a chance to talk properly with that chief there."
"Was there something you needed to talk about privately?"
"I wanted to ask you if you're free to hang out after the pro-bending fight," she said. "I want to introduce you to the guys, and we may have fun."
Akashi thought about it, and then shook his head.
"A girl asking me to hang out with guys. Nah," he replied. If he was to be social, he'd have a drinking party or something similar.
"Is it that bad?" Korra asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "But I don't think you waited for all these hours for me to say that alone."
"Ah, right. Thanks for reminding me." Korra's eyes lit up. "I was about to ask you about my training. That meditation thing. I found myself in a strange place after doing it. And I met Aang."
Korra had hinted at an important detail.
"Did you unlock your Avatar State?"
"No. I was about to ask you about that. Do you have another sheet—"
"You know, affirmations aren't magic that fulfill wishes. It's about you. If you want the Avatar State, just believe it's yours, and you'll have it," Akashi replied.
"That's it? How do you know?" she asked.
"Just a guess." Akashi smiled as he stood up. "Matter of fact, when is your next match?"
If she was nearly to unlock the Avatar State, then pushing her would be the most logical step. He'd prefer to have her turn into that super Avatar. Because by then, if there was an army of benders after him, he could hide behind her.
"Next week," she replied.
"Great." Akashi nodded. "I'll clear my schedule."
"So, when is our next training session?" she asked.
"Next week," Akashi said. "If you wonder why not now, I have quite a busy schedule."
————————————
"Okay. Guys, you're in luck," Akashi announced to the office. "For three nights, we may catch a big fish."
Everyone gave him attention.
If he said that he was going to catch someone, no one thought about doubting him, given his credit.
Matter of fact, there was a game in that office.
Bet if the sergeant can find the killer.
If you bet on Akashi finding the killer, you get 1.3 your money.
If you bet otherwise, you'd get x3 times.
People rarely won that game. Only one person won once because the killer had already left Republic City.
"A big fish?" someone replied after him.
"For three nights, we're going to hunt a serial killer," Akashi announced.