In Her Eyes, I See The Stars Dancing

Remembrances

One light flickered at the far-right corner of the room in the visitor area. Asami sat parallel to Hiroshi at their usual table.

Hiroshi moved the red flower tile with a rose symbol vertically to form a harmony that concluded the game.

"Game, set, and match," Hiroshi clasped his hands together, elbows propped on the table, gazing at Asami on the opposite side with a sly smirk on his face.

"You win again," Asami shook her head but was smiling, nonetheless. She leaned back on the chair while she crossed her arms. A scraping sound of a chair against the floor caught her attention. Her gaze followed the sound. One woman got up, probably in her thirties, Asami thought and the guy with the same grey clothes looked the same age. She watched as the pair side-stepped and met in the middle for a kiss. Asami didn't realize she was staring when Hiroshi cleared his throat and she snapped back out of her trance.

"You're distracted," Hiroshi said without making eye contact with her daughter. He began clearing the table, fixing the tiles back in the box. Asami reached for some of the pieces with the intention of helping her dad but Hiroshi waved his hands and continued making her lean back to her chair again. She let out a breath and shook her head.

"It's mostly stuff in the company. We're gonna have to double the working hours. I figure, with Kuvira's army rising and getting more powerful, it's best to be prepared. Raiko doesn't seem to be making any moves about it, though, so that's another issue."

"Does he even have a backup plan?"

"He just wants to wait. He doesn't want the citizens of Republic City to panic. The board has had dozens of meeting with him already. One with me convincing him to approve the mecha tanks I've customized to at least stand guard and be used by lin's forces outside the city's border. He said it was too provocative," Asami pinched the bridge of her nose, remembering the disastrous meeting she had a week ago. A teacup was almost ready to fly in the air if not for Tin intervening and cutting the meeting short.

Asami had more metal scraps to break back in the office that night to let out some steam.

"I see, but I'm assuming you didn't listen anyway...?" Hiroshi started his sentence as a statement but ended it with a note questioning at the end. He finished putting all the tiles in the box and the board was folded neatly at the side. He leaned back to his chair and rested his arms on the table. He finally looked over at Asami, regarding her for a moment.

"The mecha tanks are ready. It's in the factory by the docks. I have all the engineers double-checked the interiors. It will take them approximately fifteen to twenty minutes to get to the borders. We've also managed to create a temporary holding place up north in case they come for that side." Asami said it gracefully and nonchalantly as if she's been practicing it prior to visiting his dad. A stranger would've been impressed by the distinct confidence and power Asami radiated, but not her father. He always knew the capabilities of his own daughter and he seemed rather pleased.

"So you have it all figured out."

"Of course," Asami raised one hand, flicking her wrist and studying her nails in the process.

"Then what's bothering you?" Hiroshi asked. Asami met his gaze, shocked by the least.

"I—" She crossed her arms again and her lips formed a thin line, "I told you—"

"Yes, but the problem you say that is distracting you, you already have a solution to it. So, there's something else." Hiroshi paused, clasping his hands once again then continued, "Is there?" A smile crept slowly into his face as he raised an eyebrow.

Asami rolled her eyes, cursing in her head as she thought of other excuses to dodge a topic she is literally having a hard time avoiding. The events never left her mind from three days ago. The unsuccessful lunch, the prince's kidnapping, and the mixed emotions she's been having with Korra. She tried to push the thoughts away, but it just kept finding its way back.