The CEO & The Avatar

Chapter 17

Korra's P.O.V.

I kept listening my heart pumping. That was the only noise I could hear in this lone emptiness. Everything other than that was blurry. Bump. Approximately 17 seconds later was another bump. I kept counting but soon lost the track of time. I couldn't concentrate on anything else than the thought of dying alone. Thoughts of dying without doing anything meaningful. And I was scared of being forgotten. Being a vain. Korra! Someone called my name. To think of it, this wasn't the first time I've heard that voice calling after me. I was ignoring it before but this time the yell was near and more clear. I put my remaining strength to look around the area. "A..." I whispered but couldn't hear voice coming out my mouth. "A..." I tried again. "Asa..."

Asami's P.O.V.

"Asami..." I've heard Korra's whisper. It was so quiet that I almost missed it. Naga started digging. I got closer.

"Korra?!" I shouted and burst into tears. "Korra!" I yelled again and rushed towards her. Naga stopped digging and gave me space. I quickly but carefully removed the remaining snow.

"Asami?" Korra half asked. I couldn't believe that she was here. In the woods. In front of me. I could tell that she didn't expect to see me either. She looked at me and shivered. I immediately took off my black coat and wrapped around her. "Asami." Korra repeated and smiled slightly. My heart filled with warmth and I hugged her tightly. I could feel her face against my chest and her chest against my stomach. She was barely breathing.

"Let's go home." I whispered and carried her to the motorcycle. Naga barked and followed us as I started the engine. Korra weakly opened her eyes, running them all over my face before going unconscious in my arms. "Hang on, Korra."

***

"How is she? Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she'll wake up." I rushed the questions on Zhu Li who was waiting in my house since she saw me ditch her in the yard.

"Calm down, Asami." Zhu Li answered and freed herself from my hands on her shoulders. I must have been squeezing real hard. "I'm not that experienced, but I'm sure Korra will be okay. She's lucky you had found her on time or she wouldn't have made it otherwise. I've done everything I could, all we have to do is wait for now. Korra needs some rest."

"Thank you, Zhu Li." I replied and hugged her. I couldn't understand what I did to deserve a friend like her.

"I know that it's hard for you but you can't make any difference by being worried about Korra. She will wake up eventually and you will be there for her but let's use the time before that rationally..." Zhu Li answered and looked at me. "The reason you called me here." I couldn't believe that she was all about that recordings while Korra was fighting for her life in another room. "I know, it isn't the right time now but after you decided to ditch the company, I was doing everything I could not to fail you. Apparently the job was too hard for me to handle alone. 'Fire Ferrets' made their solo comeback in the industry and then there were some flaws in management and workers decided to quit." She added and sighed. "I'm almost sure that the disorder was developed artificially in order to stain corporation's trustworthy name."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked. My mind wasn't completely catching up with everything she was telling me.

"What I am trying to say is, that these events seem unnatural to me." Zhu Li answered shrugging. "I have been working for you for years and have never failed my job. I know that mistakes happen but not in my segment, okay? I make sure everything is right more times than you can possibly imagine. There was no way on Earth for a flaw to happen in management. Unless someone from the inside messed things up on purpose."

"You're right. It's not the right time, Zhu Li. I appreciate what you've done for me." But I'm not sure I'll be able to return back to working just yet. I sacrificed everything... for what? For the city that has taken everything away from me? I have more than enough money to spend in this lifetime but I couldn't do anything to rescue Hiroshi from prison nor help Korra on time.

"Asami..." Zhu Li lowered her voice. "I know how much Korra means to you. But you can't sob over her when there is nothing to worry about. All you need is a little distraction while she is recovering. Think about it."

"There are some video and audio recordings in Hiroshi's room. Can you scan through?.." I added. "While I'll be busy inspecting the flaws?" Zhu Li's face brightened up.

"That's the Asami I know and respect... I'll write an algorithm to quickly run through the files." Zhu Li nodded and hurried to Hiroshi's cabinet.

***

I've grabbed the laptop and been working on it for hours. But I couldn't put my mind into it at all. Nothing could have kept me distracted enough from not thinking about Korra.

I tried to distance myself but couldn't resist. I took the laptop and entered the room. Korra was breathing heavily... Every inhale costed her too much effort. She was fighting and I had to be with her. I sat down next to the bed and grabbed her hand. "Korra, I'm sorry... Don't leave me, please." I felt my voice crack. "Please, wake up soon... I'm not sure I can handle losing you too."