A few days passed. Akashi was doing his job as usual, casually teaching Korra when she came with Tenzin, while managing his work.
He and the chief had never returned to the topic about Korra.
But he would occasionally tease her and say things like, "Don't worry. I know you'll get jealous." He wished she would only glare back at him.
The Police chief had stopped screaming, as the last time she had screamed at Akashi, the whole Police Department had heard about her, destroying the door and accusing Akashi of bringing a whore.
Some people had thought that she had misunderstood. Other people thought she was doing Akashi.
Guess which rumors were more interesting to spread.
As Akashi was walking down the police station with a coffee mug in his hand, he turned his head to hear what people were talking about.
They weren't gossiping about him or the chief.
But about something else.
A mythical beast.
"That fucking Cock."
"The Cock?"
"It's the mythical beast that screams every night."
"Oh, fuck that monster. It's getting louder every night."
"We should hunt him."
"Fucking kill him with fire, freeze him, and crush him with millions of metal shards."
Akashi, who was standing by, turned his head away from everyone else. He scratched his chin.
[Wavesbending — level 3]
Yeah, with each level up, he could amplify the screams more.
And in the last three days or so, he had been training his best, screaming to his best capacity.
"What do you think, sergeant?" asked someone from the gossiping cops.
"Me?" Akashi turned to them. "I'm just drinking coffee."
"I mean, about The Cock."
"Come on, guys, isn't the title, 'The Cock,' too much?" Akashi asked.
In this world, the cock was just an animal that screams at dawn. Nothing more, nothing less. The slang hasn't been used yet.
There's no porn industry yet, and people's minds weren't dirty yet.
"Yeah. I bet you can't sleep too." A woman said. "That Cock isn't a normal cock. It's a Monster cock."
Akashi's face stiffened.
"Nah. Akashi doesn't sleep at all. Barely 5 hours. He must have heard that." A man added.
Akashi shrugged. "I don't know, guys. Sounds like a poor man screaming. Besides, most animals have two names in them. Cock alone isn't enough."
"No man can scream that loud." Some said. "And even if he could, he's no longer a man, but should be named Monster-Cock."
Suddenly, the titles 'Detective Monk' and 'Mad Monk' seemed to be very nice titles.
"Maybe he has a speaker. It's not a big deal." Akashi replied, "Anyways, nobody died, so, I think I'm not involved in this…"
If you think that Akashi was going to stop screaming and training, then you're wrong.
'I'm very sorry. I'll try to get further away.' He thought.
After all, if he doesn't scream, he may never win against the challenges he had put to himself.
He had made a whole kingdom his enemies, and the strongest bloodbender alive his enemy as well.
And if you think that Akashi was the kind of person who would waste a hard-earned skill point to be a friendly neighbor, then you'd have to reconsider.
But he wasn't a monster.
And he would be more considerate in his training from now on.
-x-X-x-
Akashi was at the cafeteria, having a mountain of food in front of him.
As someone who's working out twice a day and trying to build muscles — aka strength stats — he had been eating a lot lately.
Not too much food though. Just enough to cover his energy costs and build muscles. And the only difference between lean bulk and more food is the amount of fat one could put on.
'Just one thousand calories… fuck me… this is more difficult than working out.' He stared at the plate. Double meat, double rice, and double veggies.
"No wonder we're on a budget." Commented a familiar voice.
"Chief," Akashi replied as he lifted his head, seeing her looking over him.
During the last days, things had been turning back to normal, and the chief hadn't brought Korra ever since.
"So, how's that little student of yours?" she asked as she took the seat across from him.
"Hmm…" Akashi titled his head, "You mean Korra."
It didn't escape Akashi's eye that Lin's eyelid flinched when he mentioned Korra.
"Yes." She said, "I'm quite curious about the Avatar training under you. I hope she's not that failure."
Akashi smiled. "Well, she's a nice girl, free spirit, and innocent one."
"Better she doesn't do anything, or else, I'd bust her in jail." She replied.
Akashi closed his eyes and laughed.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
"You realize that if she went to the Avatar state, nothing in this world can stop her. And yet, you want to put her in jail." Akashi sighed.
"She's not above the law." Lin snored. She seemed to know the logic behind his reasoning, yet she couldn't bring herself to admit it.
"You're. The mayor is. The council is." Akashi waved his hand. "Law is above everything when everyone is equal in power. You possibly telling me that there are not people out of jail because they have connections?"
"Just eat your food. No need to go into deep topics." Lin scoffed, "It's all the bureaucrats' fault."
Akashi shrugged and kept eating.
Akashi then stopped eating, realizing one thing.
He looked at Lin.
She had never eaten in the cafeteria, let alone sitting with him publicly.
Stares were on them from everywhere.
"Chief. Are you okay with sitting with me here?" He asked.
She sighed. "The rumors about us have been spread already, thanks to you."
"Thanks to me?" Akashi raised an eyebrow.
"Okay. It wasn't your fault, or my fault. It's the fault of whoever spread the rumors and caused the misunderstanding, which led me to yell at you for breaking the law. And the worst rumors have been spread. One of them is true."
"Aren't you too calm. Wasn't that what you feared?"
"Well, for now, there is that Monster Cock covering for us." She sighed, calmly reaching for his food and eating. "But everyone is a cop, and the truth will be spread eventually."
Akashi's eyelids shook.
'I've spent a lot of mental calculation to get the calorie count right. And she just ruined it.' No one could understand his pain except a gym bro on a diet.
He looked at her with wide-opened eyes that had a lot of hurt behind them.
She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. She thought that he felt pain because of what had happened. It's a rare display of emotions from Akashi.
She assured him, "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you. At worst, I'll take all of the responsibility."
"That's not what—" Akashi looked at her, ruining his calorie count… snatching his food, again.
"It's the consequence of my action. I'll take the whole responsibility." She said, making a slight smile. "And who knows, I may be above the law too."
Akashi decided not to bother anymore, and he simply nodded.
She added, "Just be prepared for a hearing soon."