Akashi sat still in his place, rethinking about the report he had gotten.
Tarrlok had escaped. It wasn't out of his calculation, and he had anticipated it a long time ago.But the problem was that he had escaped way before he had calculated. Currently, there were three variables in front of him.
The Earth Queen.
The Equalists.
And the bloodbending brothers.
Each was a powerhouse on their own.
'My training hasn't caught up yet.'
Akashi thought carefully.
One of the things one can't anticipate is who would win in a conflict between the heart and the brain.
But for Tarrlok, who had been defeated in the most humiliating way and lost everything to Akashi, the brain and the heart were set on one target.
The question, or the matter of the conflict, was when.
"Akashi… Look. I won my first match." Korra sat next to him, cheering up happily.
Tenzin, who had been here earlier to see how things would develop, had left.
He too got the report that Tarrlok had escaped. And he had gone to the prison to see how things went on.
Tarrlok was Amon's brother. Amon had the Sato company to support him. And guess who had Tarrlok on that electrical wheelchair.
'They'd probably claim that the device got ruined because of poor maintenance or whatever.' Akashi shook his head. 'It doesn't matter now.'
Korra, who took a seat in front of Akashi, looked at his face, grimy and grave.
He didn't utter a single word back.
She joined her fingers together, thinking that she screwed up.
He had brought her here, took the blame for her lying to Tenzin, and she had sneaked up when she was looking for the ladies' room. A bulky short guy was kind enough to show her the way. But on their way back, they met his brother, who claimed that their teammate left the team before the match. And Korra, being the kind Avatar who helps people, offered to take a slot. It's hard to deny that she had a lot of fun. Listening about the sport on the radio, watching them, and playing them were totally different.
"You angry?" she asked, forcing a smile as he ignored her and kept looking at the stage.
Akashi, who was thinking about the security, muttered. "Can't say I'm disappointed, but I need to be careful from now on."
"I'm really sorry! I just lost my way and ended up playing." Korra apologized.
Akashi, who had decided the next course of actions, looked at Korra, apologizing.
He hadn't been paying mind to her.
In fact, he had been paying mind to the audience, to see if Tarrlok had blended in with them or not.
But probably not, since he'd have attracted attention on his way here, and he still had to have a family reunion.
Akashi patted her head, saying. "It's okay. As long as you had fun."
"Will you bring me again." She asked, looking at his dark eyes with her big blue eyes.
Akashi nodded.
"Why are you less talkative." She said.
"Work problems." Akashi stood up. "By the way, Tenzin had been here, checking on you."
Korra bit her nails. "Oh, no."
"Don't think about lying to him, again." Akashi said, "he'd seen everything and knew everything."
"Damn it, he'd never let me get back here again." She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, he smiled. "Don't worry, I'll convince him to let you play."
"Really! Thank you. Today was the best day I had in a long time." Korra extended her arms to him and hugged him suddenly.
Akashi would have enjoyed the soft pillows hitting against his chest, her soft skin's sensation, if not for his brain being used on more important matters.
"Now, go back home. I've things to do."
"Won't you accompany me."
"Gotta make you pay for going behind my back." Akashi replied.
Truth to be told, he had considered some risk factors.
He was a targeted man, and Korra was the Avatar. But she hadn't mastered the Avatar's state yet. And her being with him at this time of the day would put her in danger, just as much it would put him. After all, if he had to protect someone, he wouldn't be able to escape if he had to.
She was a precious pawn who was one step away from promoting to a queen. That's why it's a must to keep her safe for now.
"Seriously. It wasn't intentional." Korra rolled her eyes.
"I know. I have to do something urgent, related to the job." Akashi said. "You're a waterbender. You can get back to the island in a few minutes if you wanted to."
"Oh, right. Forgot about that part." Korra nodded. "I've got a bit sweaty down there. Maybe a swim would help."
"Sure you do…" Akashi replied. He reached his pocket, grabbing 500 yuan, and he handed it to her.
"What is this for?" she asked.
"Treat yourself to something." Akashi replied. "Eat something before you leave."
"Hm… right. The currency here is paper," she stretched the note. "In my hometown, we still use the old currency. But thank you very much. I appreciate it." She added cheerfully.
Little did Korra know that Akashi got 400,000 extra money thanks to her.
"Make sure to continue with your mental training." Akashi said.
"Not going to miss it for a second." Korra replied firmly.
"Is that a lie?" Akashi asked.
"No." Korra laughed it off.
"I'll keep track on you." Akashi replied, making sure that that she'd improve at the fastest rate possible.
"Okay." She nodded.
After that, Akashi left Korra in the arena while he stepped outside.
His eyes darted left and right.
Some people were looking at him suspiciously, as if they were tracking him.
A woman was looking at him, and the man next to her looked at him. He looked back at her, and the man said nothing.
Unless that man likes to watch, they may have been part of people who were watching him.
Akashi stopped walking, and some people paused, before continuing their walk.
'Zero skills at stalking.' Akashi clicked his tongue. 'Well, if they want to keep track of my movement, they better know how.'
Then, the next second, Akashi vanished from his spot.
Some people were confused. Most people, who treated him as a passing air, didn't give attention to the moment he disappeared and didn't react.
Akashi, who was 50 meters up in the air, stepping occasionally on it to keep his level, looked down.
In his original spot, around 10 people gathered.
"Well, luckily, I can increase my speed." Akashi removed the air resistance around him and ran through the air, moving as if he was a blur. Once he landed on the ground, in the city, he took a zigzag pattern, making sure that anyone tracking him would be thrown off.
"I would have used some experience. But luckily, there are people." Akashi stopped in front of a motel, where he booked a room under a fake name.
Then, for the rest of the night, he spent time thinking.
Tarrlok was released way too early.
And the people who tracked him also moved faster than he had expected.
At this rate, his training hadn't caught up. And wavesbending seemed to take forever to level up now.
Akashi looked at the roof.
'In this case, there is one solution.' He thought.