[IC] Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

[Engel]

Avani woke up late, not afternoon late like she did sometimes, but it was getting close to noon by the time she opened her eyes. She took a quick shower before she went anywhere. Unfortunately, her mind decided that it was a great moment to remind her of when she had shared a shower with Kasai, so she switched on the cold water.

She ate a small breakfast before leaving her apartment. The breakfast consisted of bread, eggs and juice. It didn’t taste like anything special, and she was kind of tired of eating the same thing every morning. It was better than nothing, she supposed.

Avani put on a white shirt without arms, a black leather vest over it and a pair of dark pants. She didn’t wear anything on her feet like usual. She owned a pair of leather boots, but she rarely used them as an earthbender. Once dressed, she grabbed the keys to her motorcycle and went outside after locking her apartment.

The motorcycle gave off the pleasant sound of a humming motor once she put the key in and turned it. She didn’t drive by Kasai’s place. It was a detour and she was likely not at home anyway, not when she could be working her respectable sergeant job. Avani felt just a little bit annoyed at the thought. It wasn’t like Avani’s choices in life were Kasai’s fault though. Well, at least she planned to begin the process of ending her criminal career today. Kasai would never find out about any of it, and they could live happily ever after. Not that she believed in happy endings.

She parked her motorcycle on the street in front of the building, where she had gone a number of times to ask for work when she was low on cash. Avani knew the people rather well by now. It was slightly melancholic to open the door and think it was the last time she would ever go there.

It took longer than expected to ask them for work and make it clear that it would be her final job. They didn’t seem to want her to leave them. She knew she wasn’t the first one to do so. They kept offering her a more permanent position in the gang, and complimenting her on how competent she had been in the past. Avani thought they were overdoing it, with a surprisingly nice attempt at flattery that likely would have worked on her younger self.

They gave up after about an hour. She’d stayed that long to say her farewells, at least that was what she told herself. They hadn’t given her a job yet, but they had promised that she could get cash if she helped with the preparations of a larger job. They asked if she didn’t want in on the larger job too. She said no.

Eventually, a couple of hours after Avani had entered the building she existed it with a faint smile on her face. She got on her motorcycle, then turned to look at the building one last time before she turned the key. Avani drove off with no particular destination in mind.

[The Kraken]

Kasai had remained at her post on the bench, looking around for the millionth time to try and occupy her time. She almost hoped that something sparked up across the street so that she had an excuse to get up and in on some action finally. The joint had seen increased activity since she arrived, which wasn't a good sign if they truly were pulling in resources for a bigger job. All remained calm, though.

That is, until a motorcycle rumbled up and interrupted the subtle calmness of the area. Kasai looked over and cocked her head to the side. That motorcycle sure did look a lot like Avani's, if her memory served her well. Well, maybe it was a popular model... Kasai had to squint whenever the driver got off of the bike. Huh, that kinda looked like Avani... but with a... tattoo?

Kasai blinked a few times as she watched Avani walk into the gang's hideout, gliding through the doors as if she had done it many times before. She was left sitting there in shock, different excuses and scenarios playing through her mind. Well, it's not like she thought Avani was the most law-abiding citizen in Republic City. But getting wrapped up with people like this? It was a serious issue.

Now came the part of what to do. Kasai couldn't ignore the fact that Avani was in with a gang just because they were kind of dating. She had plenty of time to think about what to do, as Avani went in and it didn't seem like she would be coming out. Finally, Kasai reached for the radio on her hip and stood up, walking around the corner of an alley before calling in to the station.

"This is officer Inoshi... I'm going to need a backup officer to cover my post. I have a suspect that I am going to pursue."

She waited for confirmation of her backup before rushing back to her car. She pulled it around to the street just in time to see Avani walk out of the building to get on her bike. Kasai still didn't know exactly what she was going to do, but she waited for Avani to drive off before following behind her.

Kasai made sure that they were several blocks away from where the backup officer would be before she pulled up closer behind Avani. Flipping on the little light on her car and the siren, hoping that Avani would see her and pull over instead of the more 'adventurous' choice.

[Engel]

Avani had been in a good mood when she had exited the building that belonged to the gang she worked for every once in a while. It didn’t last particularly long though, as she soon heard a siren and saw a police vehicle following her. They weren’t close to the gang’s hideout anymore, so hopefully she was just being pulled over because of some minor traffic violation. She didn’t think she’d been going too fast or anything, but it wasn’t like she kept track of every silly rule while driving.

Avani slowed down and prepared to pull over at the first and best opportunity. She recognized who was sitting behind the wheel of the police vehicle when she turned her head to look. Kasai. It made her wonder if she should be glad or even more worried than normal now that she was being pulled over. Surely, the police couldn’t know about the gang owning the building, right? But what if they did?

Well, it wasn’t like it was illegal to enter a building and talk with some friends. She could always straight up deny that she knew anything about their illegal activities. On the other hand, she didn’t want to lie to Kasai. Honesty was always the best course of action in a relationship, but what if she thought less of her if she told the truth?

Avani pulled over and stopped, having decided that she would try to play coy. It wouldn’t be lying if she avoided the topic all together. Besides, Kasai was weak for her feminine charms, or so she hoped at least. She remained seated on her motorcycle until Kasai exited her own car, then Avani got off her motorcycle and walked over to Kasai with her hands raised in a mocking gesture.

“Oh, hey babe.” Avani said with a sly smile. “You gonna try to arrest me for seducing an officer again? Maybe you were in the mood for a quickie, must get boring working so much you don’t have time for me.”

She made a motion to put one of her hands on Kasai’s cheek and caress her, but it didn’t seem like the other woman was all that amused or in the mood for something like that. She pulled her hand back to herself. while it was still a tiny distance from touching Kasai, before she was actually arrested for sexually harassing an officer. Avani bit her lower lip, and looked past Kasai at her vehicle. It was unlikely that she would take any more dumb chances with Avani after how it had gone last time, wasn’t it.

“I guess it would be too much to hope for that I’ve got a sexy stalker and this is nothing else?” Avani asked with a faked smile.

[The Kraken]

Avani was all jokes as usual, but Kasai's expression did not change from the cold stare and crossed arms that she had approached the car with. It wasn't a joking matter, this was something serious. Something Kasai couldn't even get her out of if she got too wrapped up in it. Hell, Avani was lucky that Kasai was the officer on post and not someone else who would report her as a gang member.

"I should kick your ass right now." Kasai said, unfolding an arm to point a finger at Avani. She didn't know whether to be more mad or concerned about her.

But what if Avani really was a gang member? Kasai did remember a few comments she had made about how she came about her money, but she had assumed those were also all jokes to pick at the fact that Kasai was a cop. If she really was in with the wrong crowd then Kasai couldn't ignore it... she might have to use those handcuffs for less pleasurable things this time.

"What the hell was that? Waltzing in to one of the city's most powerful gangs like you belong there?" She was getting angry now, but she realized she needed to calm down before the situation got too heated. Kasai took a step back and sighed.

"Avani, there are cops all over that place. We've been watching that gang's activity." Kasai hoped that Avani wasn't a part of whatever big scheme the group was conjuring up. But if she was... a light bulb went off in Kasai's head. If Avani was in pretty deep within the veins of the gang then the police department may offer to make her a deal if she reported as an inside man...

"I need you to be honest with me and tell me exactly what's going on."

Kasai didn't know if Avani would tell her the truth or not, especially considering her feelings towards law enforcement. However, if Kasai was going to keep her out of prison again then she needed to know what role Avani was playing with these people.

[Engel]

“Now, now babe. You already tried kicking my ass and you lost that fight, remember?” Avani smiled, feeling a bit nostalgic as Kasai’s anger at her made her remember how their relationship had initially begun. “I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt just cause you bit off more than you could chew. The only way you’d be able to kick my ass is if I didn’t defend myself, and that’s not gonna happen.”

“Oh, they must have grown more than I imagined if they’re one of the most powerful gangs these days.” She noticed that Kasai seemed angry, but that didn’t persuade her to stop joking or provoking her. It was pretty hot actually. Now that she was this close to the woman she had dreamt about the last week it became difficult to ignore how vulnerable she was to her. Well, apparently Avani was the one weak to Kasai then, and not the other way around unfortunately. “I needed money to get out of my current work situation. It was nothing else.”

Avani moved close to Kasai when she said that cops had been watching the gang’s hideout. “I like the thought of you watching me, babe.” She said, in an attempt to change the subject to something else. “We could go somewhere else and do some more watching?” She winked in a very obvious way.

“Uh, okay if you prefer me to be blunt about it…” Avani said, rubbed her neck and decided to play dumb. It wasn’t like Kasai had specified what point in time she wanted her to be honest about. “I think we should forget about the other stuff, get out of here and have some fun naked together once more. Many times more.”

“I’ve really missed you.” She said, put her hand on Kasai’s shoulder and gazed into her eyes. She hadn’t considered the negative effect such an action would have on her. Avani couldn’t gaze into Kasai’s eyes for particularly long without feeling bad about what she was trying to do.

She sighed, and closed her eyes. It would be the best to come clean, wouldn’t it? At least if the gang was going to be taken down soon by the police, Avani would have a contact within the police that might be willing to help her out. That is, as long as she was honest and dropped the act. Several minutes of silence passed before Avani did it though.

“I already told you how I get some of my money.” Avani said and opened her eyes. “I just do some small jobs for those people every now and then. It was going to be the final time I asked them for money, which is why I was held up longer than usual. They thought I was too useful, but I never wanted you to find out about it.”

Avani feared that Kasai would shun her because she was a criminal and never want anything to do with her in the same way again, so she did what criminals do. She stole a kiss from her, craving a final one before it truly ended.

[The Kraken]

Kasai crossed her arms in front of her and made no effort to entertain Avani's playful demeanor. She wasn't in a particularly playful mood at the moment, considering the circumstances. However, she remained silent while Avani tried to dance around the subject and switch topics to distract her. Kasai bit the inside of her lip to keep from blabbering off something she would most likely regret.

"Now is not the time for smooth talk, Avani." Kasai said, not blinking as she looked up to return the gaze.

"If you think you miss me now, wait until they've had you locked up for a few years."

And finally, the flood gates of truth opened up. Kasai wasn't really too surprised with what she heard, which was maybe the part that concerned her the most. Morally, it went against everything she stood for and believed in. But there was just something about this damn girl that made Kasai tolerate it. She did remember the teasing Avani did about how she got her money, and again with her hatred of law enforcement it did all add up correctly.

The tidbit that did draw some attention was the fact that they wanted her to stick around. That was definitely a bad thing... or a potentially good one, if they were going to use her as an inside scout. It might be the only way to guarantee she doesn't go down with them.

"I would've found out eventually, better now than when you're behind bars wondering if I can sweet talk my boss again."

Before she could remark another smartass comment, she was cutoff by Avani's lips on her own. It took her a moment to register the action before she unfolded her arms and put a hand on Avani's shoulder. Kasai pulled away and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just stuck in cop mode. This isn't a good situation, Avani. Even if you never go near those people again, they could still rat you out and take you down with them. Once the castle starts to crumble, they tend to pull everyone down with them." Kasai shrugged her shoulders.

"I have an idea, but it'll require you to play nice with some people at the PD..." Kasai half-grinned, knowing that the idea was sure to raise a few hairs on the other woman. "But on the bright side, it keeps you from being arrested. All you have to do is agree to work as an inside-man and report the activity back to the department. Then you won't be charged with anything when the sting goes down."

[Engel]

Avani stepped away from Kasai after she had spoken, gritted her teeth and felt anger building. She ran her hands through her long red hair, and stared up at the sky. “Fuck.” She said, then mouthed it repeatedly while keeping the same position. There was no good option here, despite Kasai’s claims that she would go free if she worked as a rat. Free to die.

She wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful or pissed at Kasai. She didn’t like her attitude one bit though. Oh, you’ll miss me so much after you’ve been in prison for years. I don’t care to confess missing you though. Bitch, I would have found someone new in prison. On the other hand, she was offering her a way out which probably meant she cared some. However, it could just be a way for her to brag to her superiors, and earn a promotion too.

Avani calmed down faster than usual. She mostly had herself to blame for this situation, and if Kasai wanted to use her to further her own goals… Well, two could play at that game. She shouldn’t have expected anything less from a cop, because letting her go and pretending like she hadn’t seen her was clearly too much to ask.

No, it wasn’t a good situation, but she doubted it was as hopeless as she made it sound. Even if they did rat her out, was that all it would take to put Avani in prison? There was no proof that she knew of. Furthermore, if the gang found out that she had ratted them out they would come after her sooner or later. In that case it would be a choice between prison and death. Somehow, the former seemed preferable.

“That sounds like a great idea for you to earn a raise or promotion.” She said with resentment. “Since all you care about is yourself. You think they’re gonna let me live when they find out I was the rat!? I imagine it’s gonna look pretty bad if the pigs were to find out that you’ve been intimate with someone you knew was a criminal. It might look particularly bad if someone testified that you were on the gang’s payroll too, huh?”

She felt petty for threatening to lie to get Kasai convicted with her. It was a pitiful attempt to reclaim some power over the situation. She couldn’t know how well it would work. Maybe it would genuinely make Kasai worry for her own hide. The woman had even gone so far as to get her out of prison at one point, and that would probably look worse in light of the current situation.

“Perhaps I should try my luck with the gang instead of you. At least they got me work when I needed it, and they acted like friends. All you ever tried to do was fuck me over.”

Her emotions were running high, and she said things she would likely regret at a later point in time. Avani was afraid of either option presented to her, but she would never admit it. It felt like no one was on her side.

[The Kraken]

Kasai clenched her jaw and grit her teeth behind her stony expression. Was it so hard to believe that she wanted to help? After all, that's what police officers are supposed to do. Protect and serve? The whole Oath of Honor thing? Apparently all Kasai was good for was looking out for herself, or at least that's what Avani seemed to think.

And furthermore, how was Kasai the bad guy here for doing her job? It wasn't her fault that Avani was working for a gang of criminals. All she was trying to do was keep the situation from escalating. It wasn't uncommon for gang's to clean house when things start to go awry, that's why gang busts were usually so large and tedious. Kasai was trying to cover the bases just to stay safe.

One thing was for sure though, she wasn't going to be bullied for trying to help.

"Do you really think threatening me is going to do anything? Go for it." Kasai tried to keep her voice even and calm, even though she was getting frustrated underneath it all. She couldn't keep her voice from raising an octave in volume, though. "If all you can do is find ways to threaten me then you need to get your priorities straight."

It was getting under her skin, but not because she was actually scared of the consequences of an accusation. She was mostly tired of Avani's bipolar attitude, and how easily she seemed to want to attack Kasai over something that wasn't even her fault. But, if she didn't want to take the help that was being offered to her, then so be it.

"For fuck's sake, if I'm that terrible to you then by all means go see what your 'friends' have to offer you." She threw her hands up in the air in a gesture. "But remember who tried to help you first, you were just too stubborn to listen to someone who actually cares."

Kasai wasn't going to stick around for any more verbal abuse, it wasn't her head that was on the chopping block after all. Maybe Avani needed some tough love to get her emotions in order. Or that could make it worse, who knew.

[Engel]

Avani didn’t respond to Kasai’s comments about threatening her. She kept a cold expression on her face, and waited for the woman to arrest her for doing nothing again. At least she’d have a reason for getting Avani into trouble with the pigs this time, even if it was weak, which was more than she’d had last time.

She didn’t think Kasai was all that terrible to her, not all the time. As long as she didn’t force her to interact with other cops, lock her up or try to get her killed, but here she was trying to achieve at least one of those. Admittedly, she doubted she was doing it out of spite.

They were just too different. They’d lead very different lives. It felt natural for Avani to feel distrust and hatred towards cops. She’d ended up on the other side of the law like her mother before her. The trust Kasai seemed to expect for her to have for them to help her didn’t exist.

Avani didn’t much care for the gang members as friends either. If anything, she should have left Republic City before being dragged into this mess. Perhaps if she went back to her home city of Ba Sing Se she’d avoid both groups, then when matters had settled down she could return. Kasai would likely not let her go free after confessing something like that though, as she could tell the gang about it and make everything more difficult.

She was noticeably surprised when Kasai turned her back on her to walk back to her car, after she had finished speaking. Was she not going to take her in…? Wasn’t that part of her job? Avani worried that she may have taken it too far if Kasai wasn’t going to bother doing even that.
“Uh… Aren’t you going to… you know…” Avani mumbled.

It wasn’t that she wanted to be arrested. It was more that she was already regretting some of what she had said and didn’t want Kasai to get in trouble because of her. What would the pigs do if they found out she had let Avani leave the city? She could be a useful witness to them, but she was definitely a suspect too.

She glanced back at her motorcycle for a second, wanting to forget everything and actually escape. It wouldn’t be that easy though.

“Wait!” Avani exclaimed, and used her earthbending to move herself between Kasai and the car before she entered it. The gaze that met her was as hard as a moment ago. “Look, you’ve got me stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I didn’t mean what I said. I panicked, okay.” She sighed and frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t think those things about you. I think you’re special.” Well, for a cop she certainly was. “I’d rather not pick a side. If I could, I’d go back in time to make sure I never dealt with cops or criminals to this degree. Except for you, maybe.” She smiled shyly. “If I was alone in this I’d be on the next train out of here. But I’m not, and I don’t want to get you into more trouble than I already have with the pigs… Shouldn’t you take me in at the very least?”

She couldn’t believe she was suggesting it herself, and yet, it didn’t make her feel dumber than she had when threatening Kasai.

[The Kraken]

Kasai had full intentions of getting in her car and driving off to leave Avani to whatever fate she chose for herself. She could only try up to a point, and she knew when it was time to give up and let the other person fend for themselves. It would probably be a bit hard to explain where her suspect is when she shows up empty handed at the PD. Kasai would have to think of something to cover her ass, probably tell them the suspect got away on a motorcycle, which was part of the truth.

Truth was, Kasai didn't feel like being continually griped at all the way to booking, even if she really should take Avani in. If she did, she would just be a traitor and the bad guy yet again, so instead she found that it was not worth her time. Kasai was worried for Avani, though. Either way she could be in jeopardy, and Kasai didn't want that to be her fault too.

When she didn't hear the sound of Avani's motorcycle starting up immediately after she walked away, she considered turning around. Kasai had thought that after that little scuffle she would not hesitate to take off and get as far away as possible. But then again, Avani seemed to do the opposite of what would be thought when least expected.

Kasai put a hand up to wave off Avani's mumbling, taking it for mockery before she reached to get in her car. However, when she looked up, she saw Avani standing between her and her car. She was surprised to hear Avani apologizing, but she kept her face expressionless.

Kasai sighed and looked down, staring at her feet for a moment before she looked back up at Avani.

"I'm sorry too," she frowned. "I didn't mean to be pushy, I just don't want you to come out on the wrong end of this. And of course, I think my way is better. But that doesn't mean I should force it on you." She did raise an eyebrow at the suggestion that Avani made about arresting her.

"You... want me to detain you?" She stared at her for a few more confused seconds, and then shrugged her shoulders after she thought about it. "I mean, only if you're sure." Kasai felt bad about it now, even though she still thought it was the safest bet. "Let's find somewhere safer to park your bike first."

Kasai followed behind until the motorcycle was parked safely and then got out of the car.

"Well, let's do this the easiest way possible. I'm detaining you for questioning, not arresting you. So no cuffs necessary, so long as you play nice." She smiled lightly and then got back in her car. After Avani got in with her, she pulled off and headed for the department, hoping everything would work out as smoothly as possible.

[Engel]

She smiled as Kasai explained her reasoning to her, and kept herself from lashing out again just because she had said her way was best. There was no good option here as far as she could tell, but she’d rather not argue about it to the point that they truly went separate ways.

“If it’ll keep you out of trouble then I’m sure. Maybe I’ll be able to sneak away afterwards.” She doubted it would be a possibility though. “My bike? Fair enough, don’t want to get a ticket on top of everything else…”

Avani returned to her bike to move it to a better parking spot. She could hear Kasai following behind her in the police vehicle. The thought to speed up and leave her crossed her mind, but she shrugged it off. There was no point, even if she might be able to lose a larger vehicle in narrow back alleys. It didn’t take long for her to find a good place to park it, she knew the city well.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!” Avani exclaimed disappointedly when Kasai told her they were doing it the easy way, and no cuffs were necessary. “You know you can put those on me whenever you want too. There’s no need to care about necessity or anything.” She got in the car together with Kasai without raising anymore objections. Better to just get it over with than drag it out.

She scooted closer to Kasai as the car began to move, and laid her arm behind the other woman, on top of the large singular seat. “I was serious about the quickie, babe.” Avani whispered into Kasai’s ear. “In case you needed to unwind after a hard day at work, even if the day isn’t over yet. I’m not gonna run away.”

Avani laid her head on the woman’s shoulder, and pressed her nose against her neck to take in her smell. It was familiar enough after their weekend and days together. She’d missed it. Well, she’d missed everything about Kasai really. The smell allowed her to close her eyes and imagine they were somewhere else entirely though. On a tropical beach, or in a shared bed after a wild night.

She begun to hum a tune she’d heard somewhere, while keeping her arm around Kasai and her head on her shoulder. It was best if she didn’t try anything too bold, lest Kasai crash the car because of it. Second time she was being taken to the police station when previously she had avoided the attention of the pigs for the most part. It was easy to see whose influence was causing these frequent visits to the pigsty, but maybe it was a bad good influence on her. Perhaps it would set her down a better path if she survived the ordeals.

[The Kraken]

Kasai rolled her eyes and smirked at Avani's whining. Well, she didn't expect anything less than the usual from her. At least now it wasn't the hard-headed part that she was experiencing. She put the car in drive and headed down the street.

"Don't tempt me, you know I'm capable of using these well." Kasai patted the cuffs on her hip and grinned before grabbing the radio on her car dash. "Dispatch, this is Sergeant Inoshi, coming in now with a 10-15 en route." Kasai put the radio down and returned her attention to driving.

"Oh, I'm not worried about you running away." Kasai teased, but didn't comment further on the offer until she felt Avani breathing on her neck. She had to clench her jaw as a wave of goosebumps tingled down her spine. She swallowed the lump in her throat and played it cool, even though the small gesture was unnerving.

No, she couldn't just pull off into some alley. Afterall, she had already called in to the PD and they'd expect her soon. Although... the definition of a "quickie" was in and of itself a brief excursion. It had been a rough week, with the long days spent working and after hours occupied with hunting down a reporter to talk to. Kasai was stressed out, and to be honest she had missed Avani, regardless of the scuffle earlier.

Kasai kept her eyes on the road ahead, even as Avani hummed into her shoulder. It didn't take long before she groaned in frustration. Kasai pulled the car over at the next alley and put it in park before turning to the woman next to her.

"Okay, so maybe I have had a stressful week... and maybe I've kinda missed you." She paused to plant her lips onto Avani's for a moment before pulling back. "But... we have more important things to attend to. I don't have a 'get out of jail free' card just sitting in my pocket." She frowned before sighing and putting the car in reverse to get back on the street.

"I promise I will do what I can to help though." They continued on and soon reached the police station, where Kasai escorted Avani inside.

"They usually don't let the detaining officer do the questioning... to make sure both sides of the story are heard. But I'll be right outside of the questioning room. Trust me when I say that the truth is better than lying."

She waited for the interviewing detective to arrive and left to write up her detention report. Hopefully when Kasai left work at the end of the day, Avani would be leaving with her.

[Engel]

Avani smiled into Kasai’s kiss and closed her eyes, moving her hands to pull off her own jacket, but before she had a chance to do so the moment was over. She frowned and moved away from Kasai, seating herself at the other end of the seat. “I think you misunderstood the concept of a quickie.” She snorted. “I guess you’d prefer it if I was nowhere near you either then, as they might see it when we arrive.”

She didn’t say anything more, even though Kasai did and it was tempting to respond with more snark. It wouldn’t lead to anything else than a temporary satisfaction. As much as she may want to lash out, her words would achieve nothing. It had dawned on her. If she truly wanted to get what she wanted she had to play it all a different way, and by being patient. At the moment, that just meant she had to soldier through this bullshit.

Avani listened to Kasai’s final advice as she was lead inside, and nodded. Soon she found herself in another interview room, similar to the one she had been in a couple of weeks ago. As she waited she began to hum again, and look around the room. There was nothing noteworthy inside. Actually, it was devoid of anything else than chairs and a table.

Once the detective that was going to interview her arrived, she answered her questions truthfully, albeit with a large amount of sarcasm and flirtation. Where were you on this or that date? Where was I? No, where were you, sugar?

Maybe it would make Kasai reconsider that quickie if she was outside like she had said she would be, but really she had a better excuse to do it. As dumb as she thought the pigs were, she didn’t imagine they had all forgotten about her apparent relationship with Kasai. If she flirted with another woman within their ranks like it was nothing, it should give Kasai more deniability.

She found it amusing too. It would likely be the one time she could flirt so obviously with someone else in front of her current love interest. No, babe, I totally did it for you. Now you can deny there was anything special between us. It was just a slight misstep on your part, tell them you’ve always wanted to experiment and I was too hot to pass up. Especially that last part.

The detective was less than amused by her behaviour though, but as she did tell the truth eventually when pushed there wasn’t much she could do about it. The interview took much longer than it might have if she had been more willing to cooperate. Avani was not threatened by the detective when she told her she would make sure she got what was coming to her if she didn’t start answering her questions properly. What do you mean? I’m telling you everything I know. My attitude? Sorry, your body is distracting.

She was left alone in the interview room when the detective exited, left to wonder what would happen next.

[The Kraken]

Kasai stood outside of the interrogation room with her arms crossed as she listened to the interview. One of her bosses walked up and stood beside her, watching as well.

"So, what brings this one in today?" The silver-haired man asked as he peered through the one way glass to watch the detective and Avani.

Kasai shifted on her feet before replying, not bothering to look at him when she did. "Been monitoring the Shozin hangout for weeks now, first new face to show up in all that time. Thought she might have some useful information for us from the inside, since we can't get any of the undercovers to get in with them."

The older man nodded and said nothing else, walking off before the end of the interview. Kasai stayed where she stood, shaking her head as she listened to Avani's remarks to the detective. Spite is an interesting thing. Still, Kasai figured Avani would get over it eventually.

Despite her attitude, Avani seemed to be telling the detective the truth when she finally got down to answering the questions presented to her. So far, so good. The interview ended and the detective walked out of the room holding her notepad. Kasai fell into stride next to her, pointing back towards the room Avani was in.

"So? What do we have?"

The woman scoffed, "Other than a pervert? Nothing. There is no evidence to hold her with anything, even though its obvious she is an associate of the gang. We'll have to wait until we bring the gang down to actually charge her with anything." And with that, the woman turned and walked down the hallway.

Kasai stood there for a moment to process the information. Okay... so Avani wasn't being charged with anything. That's good. But now she's been interviewed and identified as part of the gang, so when they go down, she'll unfortunately be hunted down with them. Damn. Well, shit. Think, Kasai, think...

She promptly turned on her heel and headed for her Captain's office. After several minutes of explaining and convincing, she left with a smirk on her face and headed for the interrogation room. Walking in, she closed the door behind her.

"The RCPD has no evidence to charge with, let alone hold you with, anything. Therefore, you are free to go. However, we do have an offer for you. Your first option is to leave here and continue about your life as you have. Or, you can report to us an an informant. If you bring us inside information from the Shozin gang, we will pay you for the intel and also waive any charges that may come in association with the gang."

Kasai shrugged her shoulders and held her hands out, moving them like a balance to see which choice Avani would make. In the end, Kasai would respect whichever decision she made, especially considering she pretty much forced her to come in to the station.

"Oh, and we can also provide protection for you during the trial if and when we bring the gang down. You'll have me as a body guard."

[Engel]

Avani was leaned back in her chair with her hands behind her head, and her feet up on the table, when Kasai walked in. She opened one eye briefly to confirm it was Kasai, then closed it again. “Hope you didn’t have to see too much of that.” Avani said. “I figured I’d take advantage of the fact she was female. I imagine there’s still some who remembers the two of us. Now it’ll seem like you’re nothing special to me.” She smiled, and let Kasai do the talking she had clearly come to do.

She did interrupt her at one point by laughing though. It wasn’t intentional. It was just difficult to suppress. Avani had told the pigs as much as she could without going into needless details, and they had found her at the gang’s hideout, but they still didn’t have anything to charge her with? That was true police competence for you. She should have tried getting away with murder or something. As long as it wasn’t one of their own that got killed, clearly they weren’t able to do anything.

“I wouldn’t leave here and go back to my old life thinking I would be left alone. I’d probably be out of the city before sundown.” She answered when Kasai had stopped talking. “I’m not comfortable with being a snitch either, especially not after today. I told them I was leaving after a final job, and they’d probably find it suspicious if I became more active than I’ve ever been before after saying that.”

However, it would be a shame to give up the chance at getting double pay checks for a short time. The whole reason she was in here right now was because she needed money, and she still did. If she worked for both the police and the gang she would be able to earn quite a bit she imagined. They’d even waive any charges that may come with working for the gang? Maybe she should try to commit a murder in if she got a chance, didn’t sound like there would be any better time to do it.

“How much money would they pay?” She asked after considering it for a while. “I guess it would be best if I moved in with you then too, huh… Can’t be too far apart if you’re gonna be my bodyguard, right?”

Avani meant to push herself away from the table and put her feet back on the floor, but miscalculated the motion and ended up on her back on the floor. She quickly jumped back up on her feet and shrugged it off, then strode over to Kasai and placed herself in front of her. So close that their bodies grazed each other.

“I’d be taking the gang’s money too, you know.” She whispered, hoping that no one else could hear. “You’d think I’d be more eager to do this than I am then, but even if having you nearby to guard my body could be nice I would still be putting my life at risk. Not just at the time of the trial, but during any jobs I would do to get more information.” Avani grinned. “It’s dumb and reckless, but maybe I’m too fond of things around here to flee at first chance. Then again, dumb and reckless is certainly up my alley...”

[The Kraken]

Kasai managed to ignore Avani's sudden laughing and finish her spiel. She already knew that what she was proposing sounded preposterous to Avani, so there was no need to address her outburst. Kasai finished with her offer and waited for Avani to laugh in her face and walk out of the station, but she was pleasantly surprised when her reaction was a little more tame than expected.

"You're more than welcome to leave here and skip town, I'm just offering you another way out." Kasai hoped that Avani would think on it a little more before shutting it down completely. It would provide her with the money she apparently needed and she wouldn't have to pack up and move her life from Republic City. "But I hope you'll consider it."

When Avani asked about the pay, Kasai perked up a little. "Well, it's not enough to buy a big shiny mansion. But, it is a healthy sum. The department understands the risks associated with what you're doing. It'll come out to about twice what you would get from the gang if you hold up your end of the deal." She hoped that would be enough to convince her, but if not then at least she could say she tried. "I'll even share my bed if you feel more safe at my place."

Now it was Kasai's turn to have a laughing fit, unable to contain it as she saw Avani tip over and land on the ground. She shut up real quick though when Avani made her way over. "Well, I'd expect nothing less." Kasai returned the grin with a smirk of her own. "If nothing else, you could get a thrill from it, no? It's sure to keep the adrenaline pumping." Maybe the danger of it all was enough to attract Avani to it, who knew?

Kasai held the short distance between them a moment more before turning to open the door for Avani. "If you'd like your chance to do this dumb and reckless thing then we have some paperwork to fill out before we leave." Kasai led Avani over to her desk where she already had the papers laid out. "Alright, feel free to read it all. But long story short, these papers serve as the agreement between you and the department. Your protection details as well as payment details are laid out. You can agree to these terms and sign the papers, then we can be on our way out of here."

Kasai waited to see if Avani would follow through completely and sign the papers or not. She knew it was a lot to ask and expect, but she hoped that this option sounded more compelling than the others she had at her disposal. If Avani agreed, it meant that Kasai's job would be taking on a different nature than it normally did. Instead of surveillance, she would move to security and protection detail. Essentially, she would still be surveilling the gang house, but now it would be to keep an eye on Avani. On paper, that made her job easier. But she had a feeling that it wouldn't be as easy as it seemed.

[Engel]

Avani would very much like to share Kasai’s bed, and more, but not because it might make her feel safer. That would be a benefit she could bring up at any point if Kasai went back on the offer though. She followed Kasai out of the interrigation room to her desk, only glancing down at her behind once.

She nodded at Kasai, eager to get out of there, especially when she kept saying that they would leave together. Had she finished working for the day then? Would she finally relax and stop being such a stuck up police officer? She hoped Kasai wouldn’t be too tense during her new assignment as bodyguard for Avani. That would get very tiresome fast.

She supposed she was a bit of a thrillseeker, but she had never deliberately put herself in a situation such as this before. If she was found out during the job, she would likely get killed and her body would be dumped in the sea. The closest thing she’d done before was probably the mission to the spiritworld, but then she hadn’t expected to end up in the danger they had found themselves in. This time she knew the danger.

Avani sat down and picked up the papers, skimmed through them and pretended to read everything. The pay was pretty good like Kasai had promised, but combined with the money she got from the gang it was more than anything she had ever made before. There were some other police in the large room at their own desks.She glanced at Kasai from behind the papers with a playful grin, the expression she usually got when she had thought of a new way to play a prank on someone.

“Um, miss… This paragraph here seems oddly personal.” Avani pulled the papers away from Kasai’s reach, and begun to read out loud for the room to hear what she pretended was written in the papers, but she really made up on the spot. “During Kasai Inoshi’s work as a bodyguard for Avani Shailesh, she is allowed certain means of pleasure and relaxation. Miss Shailesh will be required to provide these whenever Officer Inoshi orders her too. She is to submit to her will and desires without delay. These will likely be of a sexual nature as Officer Inoshi is known to be insatiable when she has her hands on an attractive babe.”

“Oh my…” Avani said and feigned blushing. “I don’t know what to say officer. I’ve never done such things with another woman before. I thought you were supposed to be my bodyguard and that was it? Does your superior know you added this paragraph to the contract?”

As most in the room had focused their attention on the two of them and Kasai in particular, Avani had to sign the papers quickly and as discrete as possible. She then stood up and acted flustered.

“Gee miss, I’m sorry. I think I need some fresh air before I decide on this, if that paragraph is going to be in the contract.” Avani turned her back on Kasai and strode towards the exit.

She needed to get away before she burst out laughing. Once outside, she stopped next to the door and let the laughter flow freely. She had to lean herself against the wall to keep standing, and her stomach begun to hurt before long. When Kasai caught up with her she sighed and tried to control herself, but the occasional giggle escaped.

[The Kraken]

Kasai was twiddling her thumbs waiting for Avani to sign the papers so that they could leave when she looked up to see Avani donning a mischievous expression. Immediately she knew something was up, especially when Avani suddenly acquired manners and began using pleasantries. Arching her eyebrow in suspicion, she waited and listened to what Avani was beginning to say. It didn't take long before she was reaching across her desk to swipe at the papers that were just out of her reach.

Quickly, she backed her chair up and attempted to run around her desk to silence Avani. Unfortunately, her desk had other plans for her. Kasai's foot caught the leg of the wooden frame and down she went, tumbling to the floor. If there was a pair of eyes in the room that wasn't already aimed her direction, they were now.

In a fraction of a second, the laser-beam glare that she had given Avani what seemed so long ago now in the spirit world was back. She clumsily and embarrassingly fumbled around on the floor before finally finding her feet beneath her to stand up. By the time she made it back to an upright position, she could see Avani high-tailing it out of the squad room and downstairs.

Kasai looked at the papers on her desk, seeing they were signed. Everyone in the vicinity was still staring at her, some laughing and others with their mouths agape. Kasai laughed nervously and quickly filed the papers away on her desk.

"Heh... criminals. Who can trust em, right?" The nervous laughter continued as she slowly backed towards the exit. "Nope, can't trust a one. Nuh-uh. Always making stuff up and whatnot." She was almost to the door now, just a few more feet to sweet freedom. "Oh, hey Jai, is that a new badge? Very nice." She reached for the door and flew out as quickly as humanly possible.

Outside, she found Avani busting up, as she had predicted. She imagined her face was still as red as the fire nation's crest, but she at least was away from the staring beady eyes now.

"You think you're soooooo funny." She said between bursts of laughter from Avani. "Well, I'll have you know that it doesn't affect me in any way. Nope. And I meant to trip..." Kasai bit her bottom lip and urged the knot in her gut to go away. Usually she wasn't easily embarrassed, but being bombarded in front of all of her coworkers... yep, that'll do it.

She thought about how to turn it around on Avani, but found no such plan. In the end, she turned quickly towards Avani, making sure there was no one else coming out of the station first, and pushed her up against the wall of the building. Her body pressed against the other woman's and she narrowed her eyes to her.

"It might have been all in good fun, but secretly you wish your words were actually a part of this little contract we have. Don't you? Wouldn't that be fun?" Kasai grinned this time and hovered closer to Avani to whisper. "Well, we don't need it in writing to make it happen." Kasai lingered for a few seconds more, her lips brushing Avani's cheek before she pulled completely away and retrieved her keys from her pocket, acting like nothing had happened.

"Well, come on then. We need to go get your bike." She said, heading towards her car and not looking back to see if Avani was following or not. She waited in her car and then pulled away, driving towards the area where they had left the motorcycle. "I can follow you to your place if you want to grab some stuff and bring it over to my apartment. You're under my watch, after all."

[Engel]

“Did you mean to paint your face red as well then?” Avani asked, and burst into a giggle fit.

She didn’t get a chance to say anything else as she soon found herself pressed up against the side of the building. Her giggling was silenced by the same action, for a second she thought she had actually taken it too far and that Kasai would punish her. Avani swallowed hard at Kasai’s words, and felt shivers run throughout her body. “Yes, miss…” She responded and blushed. In that moment she would gladly have undressed if Kasai had told her too, but all she got was a kiss on the cheek and a longing that left her breathless.

She leaned back against the wall and ran her hand through her hair. Her little prank had backfired on her a bit, because all she felt now was burning desire, and she doubted she’d be able to relieve it easily herself. Thankfully, she’d be moving in with Kasai the same day, and hopefully the woman was pissed enough to let Avani’s words be part of their arrangement.

Avani got in the car with Kasai, but kept to her side of the seat this time. The less time she wasted the faster they’d be alone together in Kasai’s apartment. “Oh, uh, sure... “ She said when Kasai suggested that they go to Avani’s place first to pick up some stuff. “I don’t have much else to bring than clothes and well, my special box.”

Once they had parked, she shot Kasai a grin as she stepped out of the car and headed over to her motorcycle. Avani got on her motorcycle and turned the key, then made sure that Kasai was ready to follow her before she took off at a rather high speed towards her own apartment. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the destination.

Avani parked outside the building and walked over to Kasai in the car. “If you help me carry my stuff this will be faster.” She smiled gently, and offered Kasai her hand. It was an excuse to get her into her apartment, but she doubted Kasai didn’t understand that. Besides, she would be doing a pretty poor job as a bodyguard if she didn’t come with her to at least make sure no one had broken in and was waiting for Avani.

She lead Kasai inside the building and into her apartment, then closed the door behind them and locked it. Her apartment was messy compared to Kasai’s, but it was mostly just because Avani tended to throw things on the floor and leave them there in an organized mess for later.

“Have a seat.” She said , moved some of her belongings off of a chair and motioned for Kasai to sit down. “I’ll gather up what I need in some boxes first." She turned away to look around the room for what she may need, leaving her back turned against Kasai. It certainly wasn't the kind of place she'd want a supposed girlfriend to see, not when they were about to move in together. No matter how short or long a period they would be living together. "I promise I won't be this messy at your place." Avani laughed.

"I hope you don't mind if I change into some fresh clothes? Better to do it now than to have washing clothes be one of the first things I do at your place.” She'd already spent most of the day in these clothes, and the smell of police station wasn't something she wanted to walk around in. It gave her an idea for how she could make Kasai blush for a more pleasant reason and make up embarrassing her in front of her co-workers.

Avani took a step backwards towards Kasai in the chair and removed her black vest, playfully, and swung it over her head before she tossed it in one of the piles. She moved onto her white shirt, but slowed down the pace and made sure Kasai had a good a view as possible, which meant she had to turn around to expose her front. Avani wasn't as busty as her, but she was proud of her toned athletic figure. She did the same with her dark pants, removed them slowly and moved close enough to Kasai that the woman had nowhere else to look than at her. After undressing she was clad in only black underwear, and took a seat across Kasai’s lap.

“I’m a poor host. Can I get you anything, miss?” Avani asked, gazing into Kasai’s eyes with the fire that she had started when she had pushed her up against the wall. “Anything at all?” For some reason, she got the feeling that the proper cop would ask for a glass of water and/or turn down the offer. A giggle escaped her lips at the thought.

[The Kraken]

Kasai followed behind Avani, making their way down the streets to her apartment. Once she parked her car, she got out and shut the door behind her at Avani's request. Well, if she was supposed to be her body guard then she might as well accompany her inside. Wouldn't want any bad guys popping out from around a corner after all, though Kasai was more than certain that Avani could take care of herself in such a situation.

She followed in step behind Avani as they made their way into the apartment. "Bit paranoid, are we?" Kasai said, taking note of how Avani locked the door behind them. The apartment was a bit disorganized and disheveled, but Avani didn't really scream "clean freak" either so it was fitting. Some people were able to make more sense of a mess than a perfectly clean home. Kasai took a seat in the chair that was offered to her and waited for Avani to gather her things so that they could head out.

"Oh, go ahead." Kasai answered, figuring the change would be no big deal and take just a few moments. She wasn't so surprised that Avani chose to undress in front of her, but what did shock her was how the simple action took a seductive tone. She should have known better than to think that her little stunt outside the station would go by without any consequences. Of course she would have to pay for it later, not that it was such a bad thing.

It did render her speechless momentarily, however, when she had nowhere else to look than at her current lover barely dressed in front of her. Words could be heard coming from Avani's mouth, but after she had stradled across Kasai's lap, she had tuned out. It seemed like so long since she'd seen Avani, and for once in the past week she was able to focus on something other than the stresses of work. Which was actually the trick, because this was her job for now.

"Uh... w-what?" She blinked a few times and shook her head. "Oh, uh, something to drink maybe? Yeah, something to drink." She said before swallowing hard, feeling the desert that her mouth had become. It didn't take long for her to realize a couple things. One: she sounded like a babbling idiot, and Two: she wasn't going to be getting that drink anytime soon.

Shifting in her seat, she bit her lip and looked Avani up and down as she regained her composure.

"On second thought, I think I'll take the house special." She said after finally managing a smile through her nervous fit. "So about our little agreement..." Kasai said after relaxing in her seat and placing a hand on Avani's side. "I am supposed to be your body guard. And that means I can't let you out of my sight." Her other hand found Avani's other side and she pulled her further into her lap.

"Are those terms you can agree to?" Kasai asked before leaning forward to gently kiss Avani's collarbone. "Or is there some negotiating you want to do?" She said between nibbling on Avani's neck.