Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 33 (Patreon)

Seeing the same girl from the poster in real life, Korra's expression and body visibly tensed.

Shifting her attention between Kahn and Korra, various thoughts went through the petite, sporty-looking woman's mind. Her glacial blue eyes formed into a catty squint as a smile that was equal parts mischievous and predatory developed across her face.

"I see what's going on..."

Surprising her three companions, the silvery-white-haired girl made her way forward until she was nearly in line with Kahn, eyes focused on Korra as she said, "I honestly can't blame you. Tanned skinned, blue eyes, and a rockin' body...I'm practically half-mast, and I'm a chick..."

Seeing the woman stand much closer to Kahn than was necessary, Korra recovered from her momentary stupor, asking, "Who are you?" as a smell reminiscent of ionization spread through the clothing store.

"Oh? The envious type, are we? How cute..."

In an attempt to try and rile Korra up, the silvery-white-haired woman moved a little closer to Kahn, her left hand gravitating towards his abs with every intent to give them a feel. Before she could, however, Kahn promptly grabbed her hand, his expression serious as he said, "You're going too far...Akua..."

Raising one of her brows, the comparably petite woman, famously known as Regina Akua, gave Kahn a once-over as she teased, "Damn...and here I was looking forward to having a bit of fun..."

Pulling her hand free from Kahn's grasp, Akua took a moment to shake it out as she stared back at Korra and explained, "Don't get your knickers in a twist, sweetheart. I'm not going to steal your baby beau away from you. If anything, you should be more concerned about yourself..."

Recovering from her secondary stupor, Korra moved forward to 'protect' Kahn, an intense, threatening glower on her face as she repeated, "Who are you? I won't ask a third time..."

Rolling her eyes, Akua slipped her hands into her fashionable, self-made jacket as she replied, "Pay attention, sweet cheeks. Kahn already said my name aloud. Don't tell me you haven't heard about me before now...?"

Directing the question towards Kahn, Akua's face formed into a slight pout when his brows faintly yet noticeably furrowed.

"Seriously? Does she at least know about your status as the Av-"

Remembering they were in a relatively public place, Akua shook her head and said, "Wait, scratch that. We'll talk about it someplace else. For now, why don't the two of you get checked out? As a gesture of friendship, I'll let the clerk know to ring up everything for free. I own most of the higher-end fashion stores in the area, so feel free to pick out as many outfits as you like. Just don't be surprised if I ask you to demo them later."

Punctuating her words with a playful wink directed at Korra, Akua made her way over to the trio Kahn recognized as Asami, Mako, and Bolin. The two boys had been staring somewhat slackjawed since the beginning of the 'altercation' while Asami had an expression that was equal parts cute and terrifying. Kahn even detected a fair amount of bloodlust radiating off of her, the majority of which was directed at him.

Noticing Asami's expression, Akua squinted her eyes as she said, "Don't be jealous, kitten. They're the two I kept telling you about. Be a good girl and try to get along, okay?"

As if Kahn had imagined it, the bloodlust exuding from Asami promptly disappeared as she adopted a naturally alluring smile, her pastel green eyes focusing on Kahn as she remarked, "Oh, I see. If that's the case, I suppose I'll need to be on my best behavior, won't I...?"

Amused by Asami's instantaneous shift to her business persona, a soft chuckle emanated from Akua's throat as she mused, "You're cute when you're jealous. For real, though, don't cause any trouble. Kahn and I will probably butt heads in the future, but he's one of the best allies anyone could have. Don't mistake our playful banter as genuine animosity, okay?"

With Akua placing her hand on her waist, Asami's smile became markedly more sincere as she lowered her head and said, "If that's what you want, I have nothing else to say..."

Surprising no one except for Korra, the comparably taller Asami planted a chaste but lasting kiss on Akua's lips. This was a pretty dangerous action for them to be performing in public, but the employees had been paid off long ago. As for the customers, most of the people capable of shopping in the Upper Ring were wealthy and affluent individuals. They were prone to gossip but understood when to keep their mouth shut.

No one in their right mind would go around spreading rumors about the two most famous and affluent heiresses in the city. Such an action would be tantamount to sociopolitical suicide.

When her kiss with Asami was finished, Akua took a moment to observe her surroundings, a mischievous smile on her face as she asked, "What's with the stupefied expressions?"

Though Korra was the only person genuinely surprised by the interaction between Akua and Asami, Mako and Bolin still had awkward expressions on their faces. The only person who didn't was Kahn, who, as usual, had a stoic, borderline deadpan expression as he turned to Korra and said, "You should get changed. We'll have to continue our date another day."

"Uh...right..."

Coming to her senses in response to Kahn's words, Korra wore a distinctly bashful expression as she retreated to the confines of the changing room. Akua's actions had left her feeling discombobulated. She knew there was such a thing as girl-on-girl relationships, but she had never seen two girls kissing in public. For reasons she couldn't quite explain, it made her heart palpitate nearly as much as when she was with Kahn...

Noticing Korra's uncharacteristic behavior, a faintly exasperated sigh escaped Kahn's throat as he turned to find Akua staring at him with a smile reminiscent of a cat. 

"Are you always going to be like this...?"

Raising her brows, Akua appeared even more amused as she retorted, "I'm not the one that had my girlfriend dress up like my counterbalance. Tell me, did it make you excited to see her dressed like me...?"

Disregarding Akua's question, Kahn shifted his gaze to Mako and Bolin, repeating, "Is she always like this?"

"Uh..."

Exchanging glances with his older brother, Bolin promptly swallowed his response when he saw Mako shaking his head. Akua might trust him, but Mako got the impression Kahn was dangerous. It didn't help that he was 'secretly' in love with both Akua and Asami. The former had bullied him a lot during their childhood, but Mako couldn't help respecting her strength and everything she had done for the people, particularly the impoverished of Republic City.

Seeing through Mako's thoughts, a helpless expression developed across Akua's face as she remarked, "Choose your battles wisely, pup. Kahn isn't the type of opponent you can take on. Even if I were to go all out from the start, I doubt I would be able to eke out a victory against this asshat. You wouldn't stand a chance."

Rather than being discouraged, Mako was thoroughly provoked by Akua's words. It didn't matter that he had never come close to defeating Akua in a bout; he couldn't just going to back down when she said he didn't stand a chance against another guy.

"You said your name was Kahn, right?"

Furrowing his brows, Kahn shifted his attention from the amused glimmer in Akua's eyes as he flatly replied, "You're mistaken."

Not expecting Kahn to refute his own name, Mako found himself at a brief loss for words until the former clarified, "My name was first mentioned by Akua. I haven't said it once throughout this conversation."

Opening his mouth, Mako tried to rebut Kahn's words but found himself at another loss. It didn't help that Akua had immediately burst into laughter, her voice simultaneously pleasant yet incredibly painful to his ears.

With a faint red hue to his cheeks, Make seemed equal parts embarrassed and incensed as he shouted, "Whatever! If you're a real man, you'll have a match with me! I don't care what Akua says. Unless I see your skill-"

Interrupting Mako's challenge, Akua asked, "You don't care what I have to say? That's a pretty bold choice of words, pup..."

Blinking several times to reboot his mental faculties, Mako's voice became a stammer as he answered, "No...I...that isn't what I meant. You know that isn't what I meant."

Giving Mako a withering, upturned glower, an action made easier by the 22cm difference in their height, Akua asked, "So my hearing is shot? Is that what you're trying to say...?"

Raising both his hands and the bags contained within, Mako appeared to be surrendering as he insisted, "I would never say that!"

Realizing she might be taking things too far, Akua's pretend glower faded as she exhaled a sigh and said, "Seriously, Mako. I already told you I have very little interest in men. When you ingratiate yourself to me or try to act like a knight in shining armor, it makes me feel like we're not even friends."

"Akua..."

Feeling a mixture of pain and guilt washing over him, Mako attempted to find an excuse for his behavior, but, as was often the case when he was around his two childhood crushes, words failed him. Instead, it was Bolin who stepped in, hands raised in a similarly placating gesture as he said, "Hey, now, no need for such words. How many years have the four of us known one another? Of course we're friends."

Though her expression didn't change, Akua nodded her head in response to Bolin's words, repeating, "Right...friends. That's what we promised all those years ago, wasn't it? You remember, don't you, Mako...?"

Inhaling a deep, steadying breath, Mako's expression turned apologetic as he exhaled a sigh, lowered his head, and said, "Sorry, Akua...but you know how I feel about you. I'm not sure we can just be friends...I don't want to be 'just' friends..."

As if the present situation were somehow Kahn's fault, Akua directed an icy stare in his direction, asking, "See what happens when you take your sweet time to show up? This wouldn't have been an issue if you had made your appearance a few years ago. Now, we won't even be able to banter without it causing some kind of drama."

Without waiting for Kahn's response, Akua just shook her head, muttering, "Teens..." in an exasperated tone before walking off. Asami attempted to follow after her, but Akua stopped her by adding, "I need some space to breathe." in an icy tone that caused the surrounding temperature to drop.

Extending a hand in Akua's direction, Asami wanted to call out to her but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she waited for Akua to depart the store before turning to Mako, a fierce glower marring her beautiful face as she hissed, "This is why men are the worst! And to think, I actually used to think you were cute...!"

With Akua leaving through the entrance, Asami was forced to storm off towards the back room behind the counter. It was an area off-limits to customers, but, as the heiress of Future Industries and Akua's financial backer, there were few places Asami couldn't freely trespass. The Store Manager even rushed over to hold the door open...

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Ignorant of the drama occurring outside, Korra was having troubles of her own within the changing booth. In her rush to get changed, she ended up accidentally tearing the extremely expensive swimsuit. It wasn't that big a deal since Akua had implied she could have whatever she wanted for free, but the notion of explaining the situation caused Korra's face and ears to burn bright red...

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