"Fuck me for making promises on my free days, and my bartender is sick." Akashi, hand in pocket, walked inside the pro-bending arena, thinking about all of his troubles. The least of them was what he was muttering.

But instead of going to the spectators' seats, he went to the training arena. And yeah, he had to pay a fee.

Although not that much, he had to attend. After all, he promised Korra to come. That, and the fact that she hinted to him that she contacted the avatars while doing meditation, which meant that she was close to triggering the Avatar State at will.

For that, Akashi had to be close to monitor her and see if her mental training was doing fine. But for now, she seemed to be doing fine on her own.

If there was someone in the city who was doing better than her, it was Tarrlok.

Contrary to Akashi's hopes of Tarrlok attacking him, trying to break free, the latter just lazed around and enjoyed all of the dishes Akashi made him. His favorite was French fries with different sauces.

'I'm going to make him drink vodka on the hottest day this summer,' Akashi thought.

The good thing in this world was that they prioritized farming other grains over potatoes, which meant that it was cheap for now, allowing Akashi to ferment vodka and make a good business opportunity. That, and opening a fast-food place seemed like a good idea. As long as he buys land and farms it with potatoes, that is.

"Akashi!" called a voice.

Turning his head, he saw Korra between the many training fields. It was amazing to see how many people were here, practicing their bending and all. Whoever made this arena wasn't just milking the crowd and the sponsors, but the players as well. Must be nice to be on the other side of capitalism.

"Hey." He replied calmly.

"I see that you made it in time," she said. "My team is in the waiting room."

"And?" Akashi replied with a bland expression, trying to remember why he came here. What was he thinking about again? Potatoes?

Man, he had so much going through his mind that it started confusing him.

Sighing, she said, "Let's meet them."

Akashi could tell that something was wrong with Korra, but she seemed to be masking it very well.

It was just a hunch of his.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as he followed behind her.

She replied with a stretchy smile, "Why wouldn't everything be alright?"

"How are you progressing with your training?" he asked, thinking that it may be related.

"It's more like a way to calm myself now," she replied. "Anyways, let's stop with the interrogation."

Following his hunch, he knew that she was telling the truth.

"Interrogation?" Akashi tilted his eyebrow. "Since when can you interrogate the Avatar?"

"I'm just teasing you." She elbowed his rib.

Elbowing his ribs? It seemed that she got comfortable enough to start breaking boundaries.

"Well, as long as you're fine," Akashi replied, following her.

She opened a door to a room that seemed to belong to her team, the Red Ferret.

'They have their own room?' he thought, but it didn't seem bizarre, as professionals would have their personal changing rooms. They had to pay the rent, that's all.

Upon entering, Akashi could spot three people.

"At last you arrived," said a tall black-haired boy coldly.

"Come on, Mako. We still have plenty of time before our match," replied a shorter, green-eyed boy. Yet, he seemed to have quite a strong jacked physique that he could be called a gym bro.

"I didn't want to be distracted," Mako replied.

"If so, why did you bring your girlfriend?" replied the younger man.

In the corner stood a pretty black-haired tall girl with green eyes and a slender yet full figure.

"That's different."

"How?"

"She's our sponsor."

"Guys!" Korra shouted, "Enough." She grabbed Akashi by the arm. "I wanted to introduce you to my mentor. Please, make a good impression."

Akashi stepped in, eyes looking down to see Korra holding his arm with hers.

He could read the room clearly.

And he found the reason why Korra gave off vibes. Mako found Asami. And girls are competitive toward non-single guys.

"Akashi, this is Mako, the team leader and our firebender. This is his younger brother, Bolin, the earthbender. And as you may hear, this is Asami, the recent sponsor of the team," Korra said.

"I see, nice to meet you all," Akashi replied.

Mako gave Akashi a silent gaze.

"Have we met before?" he asked.

"I don't think so." Akashi shook his head. But the truth was that Akashi, when he was an officer, blended with the triads. Mako here was a previous member of a triad, that's why he found him familiar.

"You seem to be too familiar," replied Mako.

"Why would you have ever met him before?" said Bolin.

"Aren't you a member of the triads?" asked Mako, seeming to be certain.

Akashi sighed deeply when everyone looked at him. It seemed that Korra didn't tell anyone that she was bringing him.

Well, it's fine.

He got out with important information.

Today's Korra mood was jackshit. She was off her mind.

And since this was the team that had the Avatar, betting against them would yield the best results.

"Yes," Korra nodded, "he's a member of the Homicides triads, his rank is sergeant."

Bolin opened his eyes widely.

"It's not time for your jokes." Mako rolled his eyes.

"He is indeed. The youngest sergeant, Akashi. His feats are legendary enough to name him a celebrity to anyone who reads the news," Asami, who had been silent, spoke. "Taking down triad operations, stopping a human trafficking organization, closing most of the homicide cases, and recently finding a serial killer. Not to mention, he's the only airbender outside Aang's bloodline."

For the first time in his life, Akashi felt his cheeks burning red. He felt so happy that somewhere, someone recognized his work.

"That's right," Akashi nodded and smiled. "Mako here may refer to the days I worked undercover. Wonders how did he find out?"

He then gave him a glance. The latter froze in place.

"Hahaha… I read about you in the news catching triads. No wonder your face was familiar." Mako faked a laugh.

Truth to be told, he didn't want his new girlfriend to know about his past when they hadn't even started dating.

"And this must be Asami Sato, right? The daughter of Hiroshi Sato," Akashi said. "My car's brand is your first name."

Seeing him talking good about her, Korra rolled her eyes. The happy mask she put on cracked for a couple of seconds.

Then, he looked at Mako.

'This little shit had no manners. He knew Korra was bringing her mentor, yet he talked rudely in a way that embarrassed her by hinting I was in a triad. Yet when his past was hinted in front of this girl, he acted like a bitch.' Akashi smiled at him widely.

"Now, on second thought, I remember you." Akashi pointed at him and laughed. "I was the one who arrested you and let you go because your story of working hard to provide for your brother and your promise to not do it again touched me. Man, it's been three years, time goes fast."

That was a true story that he forgot about, until now.

Mako's face deepened into a frown. But he didn't dare to say anything back to Akashi. Well, if he did, he'd be spending a few nights in custody every time Akashi had a case and wanted a suspect. Well, this world has many bureaucrats.

"For the record, I didn't know I was working for a triad," Mako lied. "And I was in the wrong construction site."

"Dunno. I keep records for people like this." Akashi replied. "And if my memory was a shit, I wouldn't make it to my rank."

"Okay, guys. I think we all started wrong. Let's forget about the misunderstanding now." Bolin laughed awkwardly. "We have a match to prepare for, remember."

The girls gave Mako glances. Korra seemed to be shocked. Asami had a mix of betrayal and shock.

'Well, I doubt that this would make Asami leave him. But she'd win every argument.' Akashi hid his smirk. 'And now that everyone's mood is wrecked, I'm going to bet half a million on the Red Ferret's loss.'

"Oh. Anyways, I think I should let you prepare. It was nice to meet you all." Akashi patted Korra on the shoulder. "See you after your match."