"So, what did you want to talk about, Mr. Tenzin?" Akashi gave a polite smile to his mentor… more accurately, the father of his mentors.
"It's about your training. It's been more than a month since you last stepped into the airbending temple. I understand that you have a job, but as an airbender, you have the responsibility not to let your skills decline or be consumed by work," he explained.
"Not consumed by work. You spit words of wisdom there. You should say that to my bosses—I'd love that. But you know, I'm a sergeant now and a business owner, so you should try to understand my concerns." Akashi shrugged.
"I understand. That's why I'm going to take you with the bison and bring you back whenever there's a chance," Tenzin replied. "The distance isn't that wide. Besides, I'm going to visit my mother."
"Hmm…" Akashi thought about it. He had been holding back his skill points for a reason. It wasn't to level up through training—he was already at a high level, and gaining another would take a year or more.
The reason he'd been saving those points was because he wanted to compare his skills to others'. And the only airbenders left in this world were Tenzin and his kids.
Akashi wanted a quick comparison before increasing his level. He should be able to surpass Ikki by now. But he wondered about Jinora—the one who had never insulted him, intentionally. That alone made him feel strangely hurt.
"Alright. Just let me inform my employees," Akashi sighed in defeat.
"Employees?"
"Yeah." Akashi nodded. "By the way, if the kids need a job or something, I've got a cashier position open."
Tenzin's kids didn't seem like the stealing type.
"No, I'd prefer to keep them safe in the temple," Tenzin replied.
"Understandable," Akashi nodded. "Let me do one thing, and I'll catch up to you in no time."
-x-X-x-
It didn't take long to arrive at the Air Temple Island on the flying bison's back. About 20 minutes, give or take. These creatures always made Akashi wonder how fast he could be if he learned how to fly.
'But the only one who managed to fly was Zaheer. Something about leaving your earthly attachments. When his girlfriend died, he learned how to fly, right?'
'So is the key having a girlfriend and then losing her? Or is it just about letting go of attachments? Or did she treat him like the little spoon too much that she became his earthly attachment, so, he could fly when she died.'
'Man. I'm getting a headache…'
'Fuck me. Is it that I don't want to accept I need to lose something dear to fly? Or is my low stamina bar messing with my head?'
Akashi rubbed his forehead.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?" Tenzin asked, noticing his furrowed brows.
"I'm thinking about studying the wisdom of our ancestors," Akashi replied.
"That's a good thing."
"Did they marry women with… specific physical features?" Akashi asked.
"Why are you wondering that?" Tenzin frowned.
"I don't know. I think my mind's been wandering lately," Akashi replied. "In the Homicides department… no matter how low I think people can go, I always get surprised."
Seriously, he'd caught a killer by finding his genetics on the grave of the woman who had rejected him.
"I advise you to meditate. Learn to focus on the present," Tenzin said.
Akashi gave him a side-eye. Tenzin was known for being not-so-spiritual—barely able to meditate himself. Yet he was prideful enough to never admit it, at least in the original timeline.
"So that's why you're so wise," Akashi said.
Tenzin laughed, clearly a little embarrassed.
Akashi chuckled. To him, Tenzin was like a stubborn kid, easy to tease. His wife probably didn't have a hard time manipulating him.
Very soon, they arrived at the temple. On the way, Akashi was greeted by members of the White Lotus, familiar faces. That's when he remembered the promise he made to the kids—to bring them souvenirs.
He smacked his forehead.
"What?"
"Forgot the souvenirs."
"Figured you'd say that."
Tenzin reached into his pocket and pulled out a few small, wrapped boxes.
"They were so excited about your return, I couldn't forget," Tenzin said.
Akashi felt… embarrassed. For the first time in a long time.
"I get it. Planning to take down a bloodbender and solving cases at that rate must eat up a lot of mental energy," Tenzin laughed. "But remembering right before stepping in—that's impressive."
"Next time's on me," Akashi said, taking the boxes and striding forward as if he had bought them himself.
"Kids! Your student is here!" Tenzin called out.
The three children appeared in the courtyard with their pregnant mother.
Meelo was already flying—using his farts.
They surrounded Akashi like excited puppies. To them, he was more like a playmate than a teacher.
Akashi laughed and held out the gifts. "Got you all some souvenirs from the city. Here, take 'em."
The kids accepted them happily. Meelo was the most over-the-top. Ikki followed close behind. Jinora? Just a polite "Thank you."
'I don't know why, but the younger the sibling, the wilder they get.' His gaze drifted to Pema, the pregnant wife. 'Whatever's in her belly is probably a monster. God help her.'
"Akashi, let's play!" Meelo shouted. "I'll show you how to bend air with your farts—"
"Meelo!" Tenzin barked, face turning red.
Meelo dropped the idea.
"Did you improve? If you did, we can race," Ikki said.
Akashi patted her on the head. "I don't want to hurt little kids' feelings."
"You talk like you weren't barely able to pull off a basic combo when you left," she shot back.
Akashi rubbed his chest.
"But I trained on my own," he said in a mock child voice. "I believe I now suppress you all."
"Hmm… being humble would help more," Jinora commented.
Akashi turned to her, grinning. Her reaction to his baby voice was priceless. She looked annoyed.
"I'm not arrogant." He pouted.
"Then you should be able to block this," she said, stepping forward. With a push of her arms, she sent a concentrated gust strong enough to launch a grown man off the mountain.
Akashi clapped his hands together, splitting the gust in two as it hit him. Then, he pulled back, redirecting air from behind her to her legs.
Somehow, she sensed it—jumped, crossed her legs midair and floated until the air current passed.
"That was tricky," she said. "Not fair."
"You talk like you didn't ambush me." He remarked.
"I said 'you should be able to block this.'" She justified, shrugging.
"Okay, okay." Akashi laughed. "Let me take a little break, and I'll play with you."
"You shouldn't call training 'playing,'" she remarked.
"Yeah. Call it something respectful—like 'entertaining the master,'" Meelo added.
'Sorry, Tenzin. I'm about to make your kids cry,' Akashi thought.
At the same time, his mind drifted back to the Earth Kingdom officials at the court.
'Yeah… they'll definitely be meeting with Tarrlok. And he'll tell them about the book.'
'Even if they don't find it, I'll make sure they do. I've been getting little to no experience points lately.'