"A flying Bison? This early?" Akashi murmured. He went to the balcony to see Tenzin sitting on the back of the flying Bison.
"You must have overslept. It's lunch break for most people," Tenzin replied.
'So, it's not that early after all. Forget that I overslept.'
Akashi smiled widely and replied, "So, we're starting today."
"If that's okay with you," Tenzin laughed. He looked truly happy to find someone to teach airbending.
'So, let me get this straight. My boss and mentor are exes. How will that affect my life… I guess the police chief will end up hating me,' he thought to himself.
"I'm more than happy with your arrival," Akashi replied.
Tenzin looked around and said, "I can see that you tried to learn it on your own."
"There isn't much dust on your balcony."
"Anyways, hop on," he offered as the flying Bison approached.
"Isn't it a bit high?"
"The weight alone would destroy your apartment. So, it's better if you jump."
"Too bad my insurance doesn't cover flying Bison incidents. Stay in the air," he said. The Bison was just a few meters away. Akashi ran forward and jumped.
But his jump seemed much longer than a normal human's.
Well, that's just a side effect of having an extra four points in agility. Double speed meant double momentum, and thus, he could land on the Bison's back on his stomach.
"Looks like you are agile enough. That's one of the most important things as an air nomad," Tenzin commented.
"I've figured that out," he replied. He had already planned to use all his gained points for a build focused on agility.
After a very short flight, Akashi found himself outside the city, flying above the ocean.
On one of the islands, he could see a very large statue of Aang.
'To use a whole island to make a memorial statue. And to spend all that money… my honest tax money on such a thing,' Akashi shook his head. Some people in Republic City were starving. Some people were homeless. Yet the management was wasting money on building a memorial statue. It looked quite green, so it could be made of jade. That was a total waste and an illogical decision. But on the other hand, he didn't have the right to criticize it. After all, every system has pros and cons.
"What do you think of it?" Tenzin asked.
"I think your father is handsome," he replied. "He got you some good genes."
"Really. My wife says so." Tenzin smiled and blushed, as if embarrassed.
"Anyways," Tenzin added, pointing, "that's the Air Temple Island. You will live there for the next fifteen days and come back occasionally to continue your training. On your next vacation, I plan to continue the training at other Air Nomad temples."
"As long as the vacations are paid ones, I don't mind," Akashi replied.
As much as it seemed that Tenzin had planned many things in advance, Akashi had done the same beforehand.
As long as he sold the house before Republic City got ruined by the Avatar, he was okay. He would figure out how much time he had on hand. Maybe a year more, or a few years in the future. But as long as Korra hadn't appeared in Republic City, he would plan quietly.
Very soon, he landed on the island.
He could see people in white armor patrolling around.
This should be the Order of the White Lotus. An organization that does little to nothing, yet holds a lot of power. Practically because they control the current Avatar and had the previous Avatar on their side.
In the middle of the island, there was a huge tower. Akashi suspected this was the headquarters of the Order of the White Lotus.
They landed, and the patrolling members greeted Tenzin on their way to the temple.
Akashi soon found himself standing in front of a very luxurious building… or not. It was a traditional one and should cost a lot. There was a large field with a Yin Yang pattern in the middle and a few houses around the large tower nearby.
"So, this should be where I start training," Akashi asked.
"Yes. In this place, we'll start slowly, from the basics. When I'm not around, you can ask my eldest daughter. She may not seem like it, but she's very good when it comes to airbending," Tenzin said.
"Must be lucky to have a talented one," he said.
"Oh, well, most of my kids are. But they are quite troublesome," Tenzin sighed. "Especially the youngest."
"They're just kids acting like kids," he said.
Tenzin's kids came from somewhere to greet him.
Two girls and a boy. The oldest seemed to be around ten to twelve with short hair. The other was slightly younger with two ponytails. The last one was around three or four years old, with a shaved head and mucus hanging from his nose.
"So, this is the airbender you've found?" asked the eldest.
"Hmm… he doesn't look like one," the one in the middle said.
The last one jumped; the air around him seemed to carry him. He landed above Akashi's head and began examining him.
"Listen, since I train you, call me master!" said the youngest, grabbing Akashi's hair and scratching his nose and head.
Akashi sighed deeply and kept a stoic face.
'Don't tell me Tenzin just existed to find a babysitter instead of an airbender.'
Akashi felt like he had been scammed, with the kids seeming excited to teach him.
"Now, now. Our guest is quite unfamiliar, so let's not overwhelm him." A young woman around her thirties came and picked up the young kid from Akashi's head. She was quite pregnant.
'So, I should assume we have around a year before the canon starts,' he thought to himself.
Then he got to know everyone's names.
The wife was Penma. The oldest girl was Jinora. The middle girl was Ikki. And the cheeky, smug brat was Meelo.
'I think I want to get back to work,' he forced a smile as the two older girls grabbed his hand and led him to the training field, already treating him as a playmate.
Akashi didn't know what he had signed up for. He had calculated everything when he was in the bed of the police med room, but never did he take into account kids treating him as a plaything.
But as long as there were experience points to gain, he was willing to get them.
Jinora was the first to train him.
She showed him a set of moves to practice.
He tried to imitate them. It's fair to say he gained more than he had training on his own. The experience gained was very little, yet more frequent.
However, he couldn't imitate all the movements the airbender girls showed him.
"I initially thought you were talented," Jinora put her hands on her hips. "But you're advancing at a quite normal rate. Just keep practicing what you've picked up, then move on to more complicated things."
Akashi looked at the sky and exhaled a long mental sigh.
Here he was, a transmigrant with an RPG-like system, getting put in his place by a girl more than a decade younger than him.
She was even telling him to keep practicing what he had learned and not rush things.
The worst part was, she wasn't even trying to be passive-aggressive and was totally honest.
'Fuck me!' he thought
I'd prefer to have Lin Beifong yell at me all day at work than be .
The first day, let's say, was very tiring and made Akashi doubt himself.
By the end of the day, his Chi reached zero. However, he had gained more experience points than training by himself, so he decided to stick with it. As long as he could get the desired result faster, he was willing to endure.
By the end of the day, when he joined the Air Nomads family for dinner, he had to endure one more thing.
That's right: the noisy table and kids' occasional interruptions.
"Hope you don't mind," Penma, Tenzin's wife, said, "Air Nomads are vegetarians. So, there's no meat here."
"It's okay. I'm used to it," he said.
You know, when you're a government worker who has a bank loan to pay, you learn to cut expensive stuff like meat and eat it occasionally. Eggs, milk, cheese, and so on were his way to go. Besides, as a cop, he loved donuts and bakery more. The only time he ate meat was when he was hanging out with the triads… good old days. They even had their own private chefs.
"That's good, because that's how you're going to live from now on," Tenzin said. For original chapters go to NoveI~Fire.net
'Until I get back to work,' he nodded.
After dinner, it was sleep. After sleep, it was waking up early and training.
For the next fifteen days, that was his life.