Akashi stared at Asami's pajamas for a second. They were tight around her alluring shape, and he was just a man with eyes.
"You haven't slept?" he asked, looking back at her eyes.
"I couldn't. I felt someone was watching over me." Asami raised an eyebrow, looking at him suspiciously. "But I heard some bangs here and there. Who were you fighting?"
Akashi thought of a lie.
He couldn't tell her that there were assassins after her because they were blackmailing her father.
Not because it would be a breach of trust between him and Hiroshi, but he simply didn't want her to feel anxious the whole time being here.
"I chased away some perverts," Akashi said, nodding firmly. "They were around this room, as if they were waiting for a woman. I came and talked to them gently. You know me. But they got rude and said I should just guard my own woman. So, I simply kicked their asses and sent them away."
Asami crossed her arms. "I'm not convinced. Why would you come here to my room to find out in the first place, while both of our rooms are far from each other?"
Akashi raised his eyebrows, impressed.
Having been with the naive Korra, he forgot that some women were very smart and very hard to fool.
True. She picked on the missing details. Korra wouldn't have questioned it.
Akashi raised his hands in defeat and lowered his head. "Okay, you caught me lying."
She narrowed her eyebrow and teased, "So, why did you walk to my room, leaving your girlfriend? Aren't you the pervert you just spoke about?"
Akashi looked at her, as if she was jumping to conclusions. It's best to give her the truth, like he would give Lin. Say just half of it.
"No," he shook his head, "There were a bunch of trained assassins who wanted to use you to blackmail your father. The whole reason your father sent you to the South Pole is to keep you away from them. That deal with Varrick was just a cover. That day, Hiroshi came and asked me to watch for them and protect you. I thought he was imagining things at first, but it seemed right after all."
Asami opened her eyes in shock. "No way. Father asked you to do this!"
But more than not believing him, she looked like she was shocked.
Akashi reached into his pocket and grabbed a check, showing it to her.
She looked at it.
"My father just gave you twenty million." She grabbed the check and checked it with her fingers, "and it's not fake."
She put her hand on her forehead. "Suddenly, everything makes sense. We were doing financially too well to need an investment from Varrick." She then held the edge of her nose, sniffing some unsettled tears, "Why would he lie to me! Now, he may face those dangerous guys alone."
"Asami… I think he has his ways to deal with them."
"I can protect him. But… he lied to me to get me away." Asami bit her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed, a tear forming in the edge of her green eye.
Akashi held her by the shoulders. He firmly said, "Listen, he did this to protect you, and he told me that. Consider it just a free vacation. I just dealt with the guys they sent, and threw them to the sea."
"I'm not upset because of that. I'm upset that he's hiding things from me. Yet, he didn't know you for long and trusted you with a secret." She pointed a finger at him.
Akashi shrugged, "Hey. Just consider why he did it."
"I get it. Still, I will have some words when I get back." Asami sighed, wiping the corner of her eyes, calming on her own.
"Anyways. Good night. No one will bother you," Akashi nodded, turned, and was about to leave.
Asami let him take two steps and said, "Wait. Can't you stay? I mean, I can't sleep when I'm emotional like this."
"Stay…" Akashi considered for a second. "Why?"
Asami nodded, "It'd be lonely, and I may get used to having someone to talk to. I'd feel safer that way. Or, won't your little girlfriend let you do so."
"I understand your feelings, but what would we have to talk about." Akashi said, wanting to avoid her. He didn't want to explain the whole beef between him and the Earth Queen. It would take him to write a novel to explain why things went to this side.
"I have cards to play with." Asami said, "You know how to play, don't you. We'll gamble a few hundred Yuans."
For some reason, Akashi's heart agitated.
Remember that he made it big, thanks to accumulated money from gambling — ahem, high-risk investment.
So, the mention of it again made his heart flutter. And unlike drugs and alcohol, he didn't have the resistance skill to stop the gambling urge.
"Okay. You seem to know me a bit." Akashi said, "So, what are we playing?"
"Get inside." Asami invited.
Akashi got inside, and she looked left and right, before closing the door.
The two of them had a good night, playing, talking about random things. Akashi would occasionally enjoy some details before focusing on the play. Asami was a beauty, model-like but not muscle-mommy-like, and was different. So, it felt appealing to stare occasionally. Asami noticed it, but didn't say anything. And after 5 hours or so, she got sleepy and fell asleep.
Akashi collected his money and left, only to find Korra in their room, wondering where he had been.
Akashi chose to be honest and told her the whole thing about Asami being threatened, how her father was worried about her, and how he acted like a guard, throwing the scums into the merciless ocean.
"Oh… You should have told me then. I thought something was going on. I don't want to have to deal with anyone other than the police chief." Korra heaved a sigh in relief.
Akashi narrowed his eyebrows. "Are you implying you are wanting to handle someone else? Wouldn't it be simple to let go and live a better life?"
Korra chuckled and stood up on the bed. "Are you kidding? I love you, dude, and I know what I got myself into. I wouldn't give you up for any reason, even if I have to handle the whole world's responsibility."
Akashi's heart felt flattered, seeing the innocent look in her eyes. "I love you too," and he hugged her.
Korra blushed and pushed him slightly, "Let me remind you I'm not fully recovered from yesterday. Waterbending can't heal every internal pain and can only relieve it temporarily, so let's not start our morning in a way that ruins the day."
"Come on, it's just hugging." Akashi smiled, narrowing his eyebrow.
To be fair, looking at how cute she was acting, he wondered why there was a time when he wanted to beat her up to get experience points. But, he actually started loving her and cared enough not to see her get hurt.
"Both know where it leads." Korra crossed her arms.
"Hahaha… You caught me." Akashi nodded.
And so, they held hands and toured the cruise. There were plenty of things to do. From reading magazines and books, to watching stage shows, to gambling and all. This ship was designed for people who could afford it.
The rest of the week was quite entertaining, calm, and fast-going without all of those assassins to watch out for. In fact, Akashi managed to secure some meetings with other entrepreneurs to secure some land deals. Asami would come occasionally to his room, and both would play cards. After Korra learned that Asami almost had gotten kidnapped, she went soft on her and let her in their room. Though, Korra felt a bit jealous of seeing them playing cards, so she let herself in. And the results were nothing but Korra's continuous loss, which frustrated her enough to break some items in the room. But everyone just laughed it off.
After the week was over, the weather got colder. Akashi saw the lights in the South Pole city.
Akashi looked at it in amusement. After the hundred years' war thing, the South Water Tribe seemed to thrive. They had buildings everywhere, streets, lights, and people walking all around. That, and some snow.
Akashi smirked, 'Okay. If this plays right as I had calculated, I will gain probably more than the war with the Earth Queen and maybe bully her.'
Because of the last months, not only did Akashi make business, but he also cooked up a plan for the long term.
-.-.-
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