Korra was stunned; she had never expected Aang to have (supposedly) a dark secret like that. Jin even told her that once she connected with her spiritual side, she could ask Kyoshi herself if it was true or not. As for how he knew she hadn't achieved that yet…
"Your chi shows you haven't reached that point," Jin told her bluntly.
As expected, Pema and Jinora took that information differently.
Pema had met Aang in person, and it was difficult for her to reconcile those facts with her image of Tenzin's kind father, but it was far too easy to check if Jin was lying.
Jinora took it somewhat worse. She had grown up hearing about how incredible her grandfather was and how he helped the world. Knowing he had done something so terrible saddened her greatly, but her logic could reason that if it was an action driven by jealousy, as a human being, it was possible.
"At least that explains how Avatar Aang's statue ended up destroyed," Pema looked toward where the statue once stood. "So it was because you broke free from your confinement."
Jinora understood. Then the chi she had felt back then was Jin's!
Wait—their names were so similar. Could there be some hidden story she didn't know?
"Uh, should I be worried about revenge across time or something like that?" Korra nervously raised her hand, sweating buckets all over as if she had just finished an intense training session.
Honestly, after reading about what Jin Beifong was capable of, Korra knew she wouldn't stand a chance against him. Maybe if she mastered the four elements and the Avatar State perfectly, she could put up a fight, but not now.
"What? No!" Jin looked at her with an offended expression. "You didn't do anything to me, so why would I do something to you? Korra, you need to understand this: maybe I'm resentful (I admit it, I'm very resentful), but I never make someone else pay another person's debt," he said, shaking his head. "In fact, if you'd like us to be friends, I won't refuse."
"Really?!" Korra hadn't expected that at all.
Even if Jin didn't blame her for what happened, she had expected a colder treatment.
"Just promise me you won't seal me away out of jealousy or… any reason," Jin said with a deadpan look. "Ask me for advice if you have doubts, okay? Better to talk than to fight."
He definitely wasn't usurping Tenzin's place as the Avatar's advisor, but… if Korra ever tried something like that, he would do the same to her as he did to Ozai, ignoring her identity or importance.
He wasn't going through that again!
"I swear!" Korra swore without hesitation, a very bad feeling followed by a chill running from the base of her spine to her shoulders for some reason.
"Ah, the situation with Tenzin will be a little awkward," Pema ran her hand over her belly worriedly; she didn't know how her husband would take the information.
"That's putting it lightly…" Jin feigned a complicated expression. "I didn't expect you to be his family. When you told me about coming to dinner, I thought you worked on the island as part of the staff or something. Only when we sat at the table did I realize my mistake."
A perfectly calculated misunderstanding.
"But our clothes—"
"Pema, you have to understand that spending decades locked up takes a toll on me," Jin feigned a sigh of resignation. "My perception is still recovering, not to mention that I noticed there were plenty of people dressed like air nomads on the island. That's why I didn't notice anything until we sat at the main table."
Aside from Korra, the White Lotus, and Tenzin's family, there were still several acolytes helping on the island or studying, also dressed the same way.
Pema felt a pang of sadness. In fact, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be trapped for decades in that state, with the lives of her loved ones and friends moving forward without her.
Jin wasn't too worried about Jinora; knowing her grandfather wasn't perfect wouldn't affect her too much—she was better than that.
"Should I leave?" Jin offered tactfully. He had already left the positive impression he wanted on those who mattered and had revealed the truth. Even if he never set foot on this island again after Tenzin learned of his visit, he didn't care. "I'm quite sure Tenzin will be pretty upset if he finds me here, and I doubt he'll believe this is all just a big coincidence (even if we manage to get him to wait and listen). Let's be honest, the situation is so strange that if I hadn't lived through it personally, I wouldn't believe it either."
"But I still have so many questions," Jinora said. She would never get another chance like this; speaking with someone who lived in the past could be much more informative than reading hundreds of books from the era.
"You're not the only one," Korra also felt curious about some things, like what had inspired him to create Pro-bending.
Maybe she'd even ask for some advice on earthbending—she wouldn't find a better teacher than him on that subject. After all, Toph had learned from him.
Could he perhaps teach her metalbending?
"We can always meet another time. I plan to get a place before heading to Zaofu to see what's become of my other niece and the rest of the family," he explained, not wanting to go into too much detail. "I have a lot to catch up on, and if nothing goes wrong, I'll leave in a few days. I can let you know when I have a house, in case you want to visit—"
He stopped mid-conversation upon noticing that Tenzin was approaching the island on his sky bison.
"Well, Tenzin is about to arrive, so I'll leave quietly," he said, bidding farewell to Pema and the others. "It's been a pleasant meeting and dinner, Pema. Enjoy your gifts, kids. And Korra? I haven't had time to give you anything, but you can look me up if you feel like going out to have some fun or something. Don't let my supposed age give you the wrong impression of me."
"Should I call a boat for you?" Korra asked. "I don't think you want to fly off and run into Tenzin."
She still wanted to know how he did that.
"Oh, don't worry, I have my ways," Jin laughed as he approached the coast and stepped onto the water as if walking on land, moving away across the sea's surface. "Until next time."
If it were daytime and they had paid close attention to Jin's feet, they would have noticed salt platforms forming and dissolving beneath him as he walked.
"I thought he was joking before…" Korra muttered, eyes wide.
Wait, was he able to sense Tenzin in the air?
How far did his strange perception reach?!
"That guy's got style," Meelo concluded, striking a heroic pose on a rock, earning unconscious nods from Ikki and Jinora.
"Let's go," Pema called the children, turning her gaze away from Jin's back, which seemed painfully lonely in the night despite being surrounded by the city lights in the background. "Your father has had a long day and will be hungry. Help me take out and heat the dishes I set aside for him."
"About what happened today…?" Korra's question was tacit.
"Let Tenzin sleep tonight," Pema began walking toward the kitchen.
Korra nodded, understanding the answer.
Ikki and Meelo rushed to follow Pema into the kitchen to help (or at least to do what they called helping), while Jinora held the hand mirror to her chest with a complicated expression.
"Don't overthink it," Korra patted her shoulder. "What's done is done, worrying about it won't change anything. Maybe Aang wasn't as great as we thought, but everyone has their moments of weakness."
Though Korra wouldn't say aloud that she found Aang's actions rather excessive, maybe she should write to Katara…
"That's… unexpectedly deep coming from you," Jinora looked at Korra in surprise, as if seeing her for the first time.
"Hey!"
They both looked at each other and laughed before hurrying to catch up with the rest.
Meanwhile, with Jin…
"They're finally gone." He immediately stopped walking on the salt platforms and rose slightly into the air, rubbing his feet and circulating chi to restore sensitivity in them. "Damn it, the water's freezing!"
He regretted trying to act cool the moment his foot touched the water, but he was too stubborn to give up, so he could only hope the spectators stopped paying attention to him.
"I need to think these things through better," he reminded himself.
He hadn't had that problem during his visits to the Northern Water Tribe despite going barefoot because he channeled chi to his feet, but he hadn't done it here since he thought the waters should still be warm.
They weren't!
"Tomorrow I'll look for a place of my own in the city." Between the money received from the Col Corporation and what he had "recovered" from the gangs, he should be able to afford a decent place. If he didn't find anything to his liking, he'd just find some land and build on it.