"It means that the bloodbenders will back-stab you again." Korra glared at Akashi. "Think! Why wouldn't they take revenge on you!"
"Because they know I can kick their asses," Akashi sighed. "And I'm the one who told them to lead a rebellion against the queen."
"Huh? When?" Korra narrowed her eyebrow.
"I told them on the airship." Akashi forced a silly smile, hugged her from behind, and said, "If I didn't, she wouldn't have stopped sending assassins after me. Remember, the last time was when she tried to kidnap Asami. Now, she has kidnapped Asami's father."
"Oh, right. Poor girl. I forgot about her father," Korra said, calming down, and considered Asami.
Akashi was impressed. Despite her and Asami being on bad terms, Korra acted like a bigger person.
"See," Akashi replied. "Sometimes, we don't have other options."
Korra turned her head to Akashi and asked, "If you're strong enough to invade her palace and force them to release Asami's father, why didn't you get rid of the Earth Queen at that moment? I wouldn't blame you for that."
"Wouldn't that trouble you?" Akashi asked.
"It wouldn't," she replied firmly. "That queen has overdone it. It's self-defense."
"Well," Akashi rolled his eyes, "if I did get rid of her, forget about the rebellion. You'd be in a tough spot."
"How! I interfere, I'm a bad person. I don't, then I'm bad."
"Well, it is how it is. I become an international terrorist who killed the queen. But since I'm your boyfriend, they'll say that you ditched your Avatar's duties, were biased, and all, and let an international terrorist called Akashi walk free. The rejection you will face will be tougher than you faced back at your home," Akashi said. "It's not like I can't survive with the whole world against me. But you'd be criticized, mentally broken, and emotionally damaged since you take your life as the Avatar seriously. Well, it's your identity after all."
"But if I let the rebellion win, I'll be able to do what I want without dire consequences for me or other innocent bystanders."
Korra paused for some time, staring at Akashi with her mouth agape. She blinked a few times, processing what he said, and thinking about how much thought he had put into that. She had acted based on emotion, believing that killing a villain was the best course of action. But Akashi had seen far into the future. And what scared Korra was how logical his words were.
True. She wouldn't mentally be able to handle the pressure.
To her, her life as the Avatar was everything. And if she lost it, she'd lose her sense of identity. She had gotten depressed once when her tribe treated her like an outcast.
And here, Akashi considered her well-being above everything else.
"Wow. You've thought about it all. Since when?" Korra asked. "Sometimes, I wonder if you would have made a better Avatar."
"Well, I won't," Akashi replied. "I'm too selfish for that. I would have invaded the world with that power."
Korra chuckled, thinking that he was joking.
Little did she know that Akashi was honest. But the only thing that prevented him from doing so now that he gained power was that it was too much effort for him, and with no personal returns. He could barely relax by managing a restaurant chain. Ruling the world after conquering it? There was no way.
Just living on his hard-earned money, having three girls at him, was enough for him.
"Forget it. Let's leave the hospital. And don't rush anything; we have time to talk about the queen and all..." Korra said.
Akashi smiled. 'Look at her, thinking that I'd change my plan just because we talked. So cute.'
-x-X-x-
For the next couple of days, Akashi stayed close to Korra. Since she wasn't allowed to fight or do something extreme—to recover from oxygen deprivation—he acted like a nearby guard.
He wished he could say that things were peaceful. But with an event that would change the world, and Asami hanging around him while being next to Korra, it wasn't peaceful.
"So, Akashi." Asami held his arm and put it between her breasts. "My father said it's okay if it were you."
"What kind of cuck of a father allows his daughter to be in a relationship with an already taken man?" Korra grumbled.
Asami pretended not to hear her and kept smiling at Akashi's face.
"Well, me and Hiroshi get along very well," Akashi nodded. "It's no wonder."
More likely, Hiroshi feared Akashi but trusted him enough to keep his daughter safe.
"Anyways, what's your plan for the next few days?" Asami leaned in and said. "We could spend some time alone and have some fun, if you know what I mean."
Akashi looked at the roof of his office, feeling pain in his chest.
Why did he plan for a rebellion for the next few days?
And he needed to be with the rebels days before.
"As much as I wish for free time," Akashi looked at her, "I'm having a business trip to the Earth Kingdom."
"We could go there together, rent an airship, and enjoy the trip," replied Asami.
Korra laughed all of a sudden, and Akashi shook his head.
"I need to be there today," said Akashi.
"What's so funny?" Asami glared at Korra.
"Sorry to break it to you, but an airship will only slow him down," Korra replied, patting Akashi on the back. "In case you don't know, Akashi can fly faster than the wind."
Asami seemed to believe that. She just pouted, convinced that common logic didn't work on some people.
Akashi swept his finger on her cheek, leaned in, and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll find time to get back." Well, he could find some free time anytime, considering how fast he was.
Asami smiled at him and kissed him in front of Korra, who had vines appearing on her face. For once, Korra could understand how Lin was feeling.
Talking about Lin, Korra felt that she hadn't seen her in a while. After all, Akashi wasn't consulting anymore. He was most of the time running his business. And when he wanted to have some time with Lin, he would visit the Police Headquarters, have some fun with her, and then depart. For some reason, Korra missed having her around. As much as annoying as that old lady was, it wasn't boring with her around.
-x-X-x-
While flying in the sky, Akashi looked nearby the great walls of Ba Sing Se. A camp of rebels, around... Akashi counted for some time, more than a hundred thousand people resided outside the walls.
How did he count them? Well, using the same method to count the surface of a square. It's not accurate, but it gave an approximate number.
As for who these people were, they were the combatants of the rebellion.
Akashi had to admit that Noatak did a good job convincing this many to join him.
As for the great walls of Ba Sing Se... Well, they were useless, since the rebellion camp was mostly consisted of earthbenders. You know, having walls against earthbenders was useless. And if you want to have a good chance against them, you'd have to build a wall using pure metal. And it was very difficult to produce a bit of pure metal, let alone enough to build a wall around a country-sized city.
Akashi descended to the rebellion camp. As his feet touched the ground, no one seemed to be able to detect him. Akashi credited this to his high agility stats and max-level flying skill. It was a blessing, that's for sure.
"Excuse me," Akashi declared, getting the attention of some people.
They turned their head in his direction.
Despite being consisted of many people, not everyone knew everyone.
But Akashi seemed unfamiliar.
"Who are you?" one of the rebels asked.
"I'm one of your sponsors, Akashi," Akashi said gentlemanly. "I'm here to meet with Noatak. Where can I find him?"
Everyone looked stunned for a second.
Akashi thought that they would doubt him, think he was crazy, or they would think he's a spy and would attack him before he could reach their leader.
But instead, it came to him as a shock when they gently bowed to show him respect. Akashi felt a shiver in the back of his neck, eyes wide open.
"We have been waiting for you, Founder," one of the leaders said, "Leader Noatak is waiting for you."
Akashi paused, seeming to realize one thing.