Chapter 25

“Asami, are you alright?” Xing finally asked as they were in the safety of her Satomobile. With the driver’s compartment separated by a thick sliding metal panel specifically meant to offer visual and aural discretion, the two of them now had a measure of privacy within the plush passenger’s compartment.

Asami looked at Xing and felt another swelling of irrational outrage at the fact that this diligent, considerate man had been so…so…neglected by the Avatar and the White Lotus.

Well, if Korra didn’t think Xing was worth much, then Asami would be more than happy to have him by her side to appreciate his counsel and company.

“I…spoke with Korra.”

“I know. Did she…insult you?”

Asami shook her head. “Not really, but…she insulted you,” she said a bit petulantly as she leaned against him. “Which is just as bad.”

Her date scoffed lightly, and gently placed a hand over hers. “Broken, useless bender?” At her nod, he broke into a short chuckle. “Yeah. It means she’s a bit miffed.”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s being ungrateful.” Asami paused and pulled away a little from Xing to lock her gaze to his. “Is it true you spent nights outside her place, to keep watch?”

Confusion played across his face for a moment, and then the aide-turned-director shrugged. “It was my responsibility.”

“How did you get any sleep, then?”

“In the daytime, whenever Korra was with the masters...which happened often enough.”

“But you still had to stay outside, at night? In the South Pole?”

Again, Xing’s blase reply was shocking. “It wasn’t so bad, the furs and blankets made things quite bearable.”

Asami started to frown. He was trying to brush it off. She wanted to say that he was so young back then, but then the faces of Kai and Ren flashed across her mind.

No wonder Xing cared for them so much.

“Well, it still isn’t right. Especially since she’s being so disrespectful despite all you’ve done for her.”

Xing frowned and went thoughtfully silent for a moment before shrugging again. “I guess looking back, it did seem I was being…mistreated. But it was a necessity at the time. At least it felt like it.”

“Is it?”

There was a firm, resolute nod, and Asami felt a pang of sympathy as she saw how his gaze darkened. “The Avatar has…enemies.”

Obviously, otherwise the White Lotus wouldn’t be so protective of her. “But that doesn’t mean they should be putting a boy your age against them.”

“Unless they couldn’t trust anyone else.”

Asami’s eyes went wide, her instinctive rebuttal dying in her throat as she processed his words. Was he saying that the White Lotus was compromised somehow? But still, to place the burden of safety all on Xing…

There was a weird silence that threatened to drag on, but then Xing broke it with a sigh. “It’s…well, I know I don’t owe them any loyalties, but…I’d rather not get into it. Just…just know that it was a stupid burden I chose to take in hindsight, but it made the most sense at that time.”

He fell into a mutter that was just barely audible. “Though… Could’ve moved her next to Katara, or the middle of… Or organized patrols… Stupid tunnel vision…”

Xing suddenly froze mid-mutter, and Asami found herself starting to pull away from him as a heavy, almost grim aura fell on him.

“Xing?” A silent gasp left her mouth as he gave her a guilty, regretful look. “Xing, is everything alright?”

Xing gulped, and then seemed to resolve himself to a grave task. The hesitation looked out of place on the usually stoic and alert young man.

“Asami, I…I need to confess something…”

Something cold fell into her gut at the severity of Xing’s words. “Wha- What is it Xing?” Her own words came out in barely a whisper, as her mind raced through possible reasons for the sudden heavy mood.

Was he planning to leave, to return to the White Lotus?

Did he have a sweetheart back in the South Pole? A child, even?

Did he…was he pretending to like her?

Asami’s mind raced through a myriad of outcomes for all of four seconds before Xing provided the real answer.

“Asami, I…I’ve killed people.”

Oh, thank the spirits it’s not-

“What?” Asami stared at him as her mind finally caught up to what he just said. As if mirroring her shock, the Satomobile rocked from a turn.

Xing nodded. “I have killed people…”

“Why?” came the impulsive, stupid response.

There was a short pause as he braced himself. “The Avatar has enemies…and some of them had to be…removed.”

Deep down, Asami wasn’t surprised at all. It made sense after all; Xing was tasked to protect the Avatar, which meant he’d obviously have to deal with violence. And Asami’s own loss was a lesson that not reacting or containing the violence appropriately could result in tragedy. Deep down, she knew to expect Xing’s hands to be bloody in doing his duty as a minder. Just like how her family’s security detail probably ‘escorted out’ quite a bit of trouble that trespassed onto the Sato estate.

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But hearing the admission was still startling, somehow.

There was an ugly resignation in his eyes as he drew away from her, shifting all the way towards the door. “I didn’t mean to hide this fact from you, I was just…”

“No.” Asami shook her head as she reached out to him. “It’s alright, Xing. I mean, you were doing your job, right? You were keeping Korra safe.”

The guilt on his face intensified. “It was…but…”

“But?”

Xing gave a heavy, aching sigh before the words left him in a pained whisper. “Nob- I hid them from everyone.”

Asami blinked a few times. “Everyone?”

He nodded, and she blinked again.

Hid? He hid his kills? A picture flashed in her mind, of a stony-faced Xing cutting down somebody from just behind Korra and then dragging the body away even before the figure was dead. Why would he need to hide the ki-

Ah, right. It was like her family’s security detail again, intercepting trouble to give their charge peace of mind and go about their day without distractions. Except with Xing, he had to take out threats to the Avatar, a venerated figure of the world. Immediately Asami began to think of the negative ramifications of a public attempt on Korra’s life.

It would, incidentally, also explain the Avatar’s…cavalier behaviour. Korra was oblivious to the danger Xing was staving off.

Then Asami remembered that he had been doing this when he was in his young teens, a boy forced to kill because that grim responsibility was thrust upon him by his elders.

And Asami found a new reason to dislike the Avatar and her White Lotus.

The newly enlightened heiress regarded the young man she’d come to trust and grow fond of in a short time, and found that she hated the naked trepidation that now weighed down on him. Xing had decided to open up to her, to trust her with a secret she doubted anyone else knew, and he was expecting to be rebuked, rejected…discarded because of it, instead of seeking understanding or acceptance.

A small part of her wondered how the Avatar and her White Lotus might react to the revelation; Would they be angry? Sympathetic? Judging from Xing’s current reaction, probably the former.

Her curiosity itched to draw out more details, but Asami ultimately gave a nod of understanding as she respectfully let the matter be. Korra’s dismissive thoughts of Xing didn’t cast any doubt or suspicion on him, if anything it only highlighted the value of his character.

And the value of the Avatar’s, the ungrateful bitch. If not for the lucrative sponsorship (and that it was tied to Xing’s own performance), Asami would’ve been happy to just cut all ties with her.

“Asami?”

Ah, she was riling herself up… Asami relaxed her jaw and loosened the grip on his hand, sourness taking over her voice and expression. “Sorry.”

“No, I-”

She cut him off with a soft, reassuring smile. “You’re not going anywhere, Xing. You did what you had to do. Your secret’s safe with me, I promise. I just hate that you had to go through all of…that, growing up.”

There was a pause from him as he realized that he wasn't about to be screamed at or thrown out. Then the meekness in him melted a little to allow for his lips to form a smirk.

“I can’t complain, since it led me to meet you,” came Xing’s suave reply, and the heiress blushed and felt her heart flutter at the admittedly cheesy line as their eyes met again.

“I wouldn’t have minded if we met a little earlier,” she whispered as her face slowly moved closer to his. “Growing up with you would’ve made things…better. For both of us.”

“It probably would have,” Xing muttered back, his head tilting a little and his fingers rising to lightly hook under her chin to guide her closer.

If not for the light swaying reminding them that they were in a moving vehicle (with a driver who’d snitch to her father), Asami would’ve insisted on taking things further. She had to settle for a slow, gentle kiss instead, and savored the contact of her lips against Xing’s, and his hands against her body.

Even as she enjoyed their little moment of intimacy, a corner of Asami’s mind made a note to talk to her father about Xing’s lousy upbringing (sans the killing, of course), which shaped his selfless diligence. Asami will see that Future Industries does not take its new subsidiary director for granted, like how the White Lotus and its Avatar did.

She’ll also have to find a way to flaunt Xing’s successes at the dimwitted bitch. If not for Xing’s sake, then for Asami’s own satisfaction.

*****

Outwardly, Hiroshi only paid little mind to Asami storming out of city hall with Xing in tow, and laughed off Dao’s crass insinuation of the two ‘taking the party elsewhere’. He could admit that his own youth with Yasuko was similar in…enthusiasm.

But inwardly, the father was highly concerned for his daughter. He could trust his driver to transport the two of them swiftly to minimize chances to do anything regretful, and report any suspicious activity in the backseats tomorrow. Maybe he could also trust that if not Asami, then Xing’s sharp and pragmatic mind would stop him from crossing any lines.

Yet, however distressing their exit was to him, Hiroshi found himself even more concerned at the reason that caused Asami to leave in the first place. Few might have seen it, with Asami’s back purposely covering most of her private conversation with the Avatar, but Hiroshi did.

And he was surprised to see just how angry his daughter became after that brief interaction with the confused, and then smug, Avatar. As a father, he was familiar with his little girl’s tantrums as she grew up. This was not so much a girlish outburst or vented frustration, as it was a genuine offense.

As Hiroshi continued to nod and grin with his peers, he tried joining the dots to form reasonable hypotheses. Something Avatar Korra said had greatly insulted Asami. It could quite possibly be about Xing, seeing how possessively she dragged him away with her.

Did the Avatar imply something disparaging about Asami’s relations with Xing?

Did Xing and the Avatar…?

Now that could be quite useful, if it was true. But it’d also be a huge demerit on the young man as well. Hiroshi would not allow some two-timing philanderer take advantage of his daughter’s compassion. He’d have to check in on Asami tomorrow. As much as he wanted to do so immediately, he had to place some trust in his little girl and the competent young man that was her date…or give the latter enough rope.

Until then, Hiroshi just mingled with the other movers and shakers of Republic City, easily glossing over his daughter’s departure. Then as the city’s carrion feeders - better known as journalists - mobbed up before the Avatar, the tycoon paid attention to questions that bombarded the clearly unprepared girl, an obvious setup by Tarrlok to have the naive, sheltered girl herd herself towards his agenda.

“I’m not afraid!” came Korra’s sudden outburst. “If the city needs me, then…I’ll join Tarrlok’s task force and help fight Amon.”

So that’s what it was. Hiroshi’s mask almost slipped as he felt the urge to frown with distaste. Maybe it was better if Xing had remained with the Avatar; that way he’d be able to keep her away from maneuvers like this, and the Equalist movement could progress with far less hindrance.

As it wasn’t the case, Hiroshi gave a subtle nod to one of his peers, a mere crate producer for Cabbage Corp and another fellow Equalist. A much less prominent figure in such an esteemed gathering, which was the point. The other man slipped out of the gala with far less scrutiny and suspicion, to pass the message along to the Amon. Hopefully he’d manage to improvise something appropriate for the Avatar’s intervention.

Curse politicians and their need for showmanship.

“Whazza ma’er Hiroshi?” Dao half-belched out, his face as red as a chili pepper from his drinking. The man barked out a laugh as he gave Hiroshi a friendly smack on the back. “Don’ worry! Yer girl’s smart, she’ll twist the dick off tha’ boy if he tries to do anything she doesn’t want!”

The worst part was that this was Dao being in control of his senses…he probably only drank a couple barrels’ worth of rice wine.

Then Dao’s face split with a wide grin, and Hiroshi felt the urge to punch his old friend. “Of course…that raises the question of what exactly she wants! Hah!”

Hiroshi simply glared at the steel baron as everyone else in the conversation berated Dao for his crassness. As usual, Hwa was the first to smack the man over the back of his head, the Frostfire Diva - and owner of Water Petal Theater - taking the most exception at the utter breach of decorum.

Letting the scene play out, Hiroshi glanced out to the exit, and suddenly found himself far less worried about the Avatar playing police than he was with her former aide being with his daughter. Maybe he’d better start figuring out potential options on how to deal with any…messes that might reveal themselves tomorrow.

If Xing wasn’t as professional as he made himself seem, then maybe he could serve as a test subject for the new gauntlets, or the mecha tanks’ weapon systems…