The Girl After

Chapter 6

The rumbling of Bolin's earthbending knocked both me and Dakota onto our behinds. "Can we just sit down and talk about this?" Bolin pleaded.

"Gee, I dunno, Bolin," Dakota sneered as she stood to her feet. "Are you sure you can control yourself with Leinani sitting down?" He winced at the remark, and rightfully so.

I snickered, "Oh, please. With your arm, you won't be able to hold yourself up anyway."

She glared at me, then her eyes darted to my hand. "Give my boomerang back," she growled through a clenched jaw.

"Oh," I dangled the trinket in front of me, "you mean this old thing? Why would I give it to somebody who can't properly use it?"

Dakota's rage was fighting to be released now. "Don't make me say it again. Give it back, Leinani."

I smirked. "Make me," I said.

Mako and Asami quickly came running, apparently just returning from their search. "What is going on?" Asami asked as she helped me to my feet. She took the boomerang from my hand and frowned at Dakota. Mako had his arms coiled around the Avatar's sidekick as she fought to lunge at me. He muttered something in her ear, but she wasn't listening. She was screaming like a lunatic, and I was doing so too.

Bolin yelled, silencing us both. When we were quiet, he sheepishly explain. "I... I cheated on Dakota with Leinani..."

Mako and Asami shared an angered "What?!"

Bolin flinched, then continued, "Well... Leinani brought up some old feelings. We started kissing and... and then Dakota walked in, and they started fighting."

Dakota scoffed, no longer fighting Mako's restraints. "Tell them the rest, Bolin," she yelled at him. "Tell them that you two were undressing each other!" Bolin refused to look at anyone. Dakota attention returned to me. "I hate you!"

You wouldn't be the first, I wanted to say, and you sure won't be the last.

Asami, hooking her arm with mine, frowned and said, "Leinani, we need to have a word." I nodded and followed her away from Bolin as Mako led Dakota away as well.

Asami led me back into the building, closing us the nearest room - which so happened to be a broom closet. "What happened, Leinani?" She demanded. When I didn't answer, her voice became hard, "You've been acting weird lately. What is going on with you? You're sneaking around a lot, whispering with my father and-"

She paused, making my heart stop. I looked away in preparation for her to yell. She knows, I thought, biting my lip and fearing for the worst.

Asami's hand lifted my chin so that she could look at me. Her fierce, green eyes pierced into me. "Are you and my father.... together?!" She asked with a look of horror painted all over her face.

"No!" I blurted, eyes wide. "Of course not! Why would you even think something like that?!"

"Can you blame me?! You and Bolin were getting busy, apparently! Leinani, just because your last name is Ho doesn't mean you need to play the part." Asamk stopped and took a deep breath to compose herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I need answers. Now."

"You have to be more specific than that," I said quietly.

"Leinani, I swear-"

"Okay, okay!" I put my hands up in surrender. "Back when I first came to Republic City, I was overwhelmed. I wanted to be independent and leave my own legacy so I wouldn't have to live up to my grandmother's. I did everything she wouldn't do. I worked with the Triple Threat Triad. I was their leading lady, and Bolin was oftentimes my partner. We were a dynamic duo, and we became really good friends."

I looked at Asami, who was intrigued by my story. I took a breath and looked down at my feet. I said, "I was able to negotiate with the owner of the arena, so they could live where they did. I arranged for them to become a Pro-Bending team. When you have that kind of history with someone, feelings grow." Feeling like I was confessing too much, I added a half-lie, "I guess seeing him with Dakota kind of sparked those feelings again and made me jealous..."

I looked up again and found that Asami's eyes had softened. "Oh, Leinani..." She pulled me in for a hug, though I wasn't sure why. Did she feel bad that I was "jealous"? This is what you get for lying, my conscience reminded me. You get unwanted hugs and confusion.

She pulled away and said, "I'm sorry that you felt like that. Please, though, promise me you won't try to fight Mako's friends. I would rather not have that discussion with him."

I nodded, then flinched when the door was opened and light spilled in.

"Miss Ho," said the butler, "Miss Sato. Please, come out of the closet. Master Sato wishes to see you right away." He turned away and disappeared down hallway. As Asami and I made our way to her father's office, my heart was beating so hard against my chest that I was positive that I would explode.

Just then, Lin, Dakota, Korra, the airbending man (who's name I'd yet to learn), and a few police officers arrived.

"What are you doing here?" Asami growled.

"We have reason to believe that there's a factory hidden beneath the mansion," Lin replied calmly. Asami rolled her eyes, but I looked down.

"I think I would be noticed if there were a factory underneath my house," Asami scoffed. "The lies you people come up with just to persecute my father!"

"They aren't lies," I said abruptly. Everyone stared at me in shock. Whether they were surprised by my statement or the fact that I'd finally spoken after many silences during their interrogations. I looked up at the faces, directly at Lin and refusing to look at Asami. "Every accusation you've made has been true," I said. "Hiroshi Sato has been creating weapons for Amon and his followers."

Chief Beifong stepped closely to me, hands on my shoulders. "Leinani," she spoke in the almost-motherly tone she only used with me, "how do you know all of this?"

I looked away again. I suddenly heard Hiroshi's voice in my head, If I am discovered, you will go down with me. What good it would it do me if I confessed? I'd be arrested as well. Then what? Iroh made it very clear that he wasn't helping me out of trouble again. You know Gran Gran would waterwhip you out of your senses if you didn't tell the truth, my nuisance of a conscience pestered.

"Leinani," the man was speaking to me now, looking past Lin's shoulder at me. "You need to help us. How do you know all of this?"

My voice came out as a whisper of shame. "I've been helping him..."

"You've been what?" Korra's jaw was dropped, as was Dakota's.

The police officers metalbent my wrists together, but Lin quickly undid it. "Not yet," she said in her commander voice. " Tenzin and I have a few more questions for her, but, for now, let's focus on Hiroshi."

The man, apparently named Tenzin, looked at Asami and asked, "Where is your father?"

"In his workshop," Asami replied coldly. "Behind the house."

Tenzin and Lin shared a glance at Korra, all of them communicating silently as Asami led the way. Her lips were pressed in a thin line as we walked. Lin's hand was latched to my bicep, as if she thought I would run away.

I looked over my shoulder at Dakota and Korra. Dakota glared at me, but I didn't reciprocate. I didn't blame her. In the short time that I'd been involved with this group, I have made a questionable number of mistakes.

Something told me that things were only going to go downhill from here.