The introductions were caught up, and Kyoshi was left speechless, staring at Inkasha. She could understand why her birth had been such a great event in the Spirit World.
"Uh… Dad?" the spirit called out when she saw Kyoshi standing there like a statue. "I think you exhausted Mom too much, she's not responding anymore."
Jin felt like digging a hole and hiding. Why did his daughter have to talk like that?!
When Kyoshi heard her calling her "Mom," she suddenly understood what Jin had mentioned earlier and, driven by maternal instinct, hugged Inkasha.
"Yes, I'm your new mom!" Kyoshi cried happily as tears streamed down her face, inevitably remembering the daughter she had left behind in the material world.
She didn't even know what had become of her bloodline all this time.
"Hooray!" Inkasha tried to lift her arms, but Kyoshi's embrace was like an iron lock. "Wan Shi Tong was right, Dad really is a casanova!"
It had only been a few days since she had emerged from her seal, and she already had a mom!
How long would it take to get the next one?
Jin's expression darkened.
That old owl—what kind of nonsense had he stuffed into his girl's head?!
In his library, Wan Shi Tong shivered, his feathers standing on end.
"What is this strange premonition?" he tilted his head ninety degrees to the right. "Never mind, let's see, the radio uses waves…"
Back with the trio.
"What's your plan next?" Kyoshi asked, sitting on a chair from the table-and-chairs set they had conjured up, with Inkasha in her youngest form sitting happily on her lap.
"I'll go see my sister first of all," Jin explained. "I feel like she's on Jasmine Island, so after catching up with her and checking how my island is doing… I'll see what to do next."
He still didn't quite understand why Toph wasn't in the swamp, but he would find out soon enough.
"Mmm." Kyoshi nodded while stroking Inkasha's melted hair, which to her felt like a warm, silky, gelatinous blanket. "I'll stay hidden for now. It wouldn't be good if Yangchen and Aang knew about my escape. Even though I can tell the current Avatar hasn't contacted us yet—her past lives—it's better to be cautious."
"Oh! Oh!" Inkasha raised her hand. "I know a good place to hide."
"Good, then help… your mom hide until we deal with the bad guys," Jin said, feeling weird as hell expressing it that way.
It was like waking up one morning next to one of your lifelong best friends and, all of a sudden, she starts calling you husband like it's the most natural thing in the world. He'd need some time to adjust.
They hadn't even celebrated a wedding! They'd just spent hours with…
Actually, it hadn't been bad.
"Ah! Dad," Inkasha called out, waving her hand. "I found the information you asked for."
"And?" he gave her his full attention.
"There are records that there might be a little bit of that thing in the Earth Kingdom's royal vault," Inkasha explained. "But the most recent record is from two hundred and thirty years ago. I don't know if anything's still left."
"A lead is better than nothing." Jin shook his head. "Thanks," he added as he gently pinched her cheek.
"Hehe, Dad praised me!"
Kyoshi felt her heart melt. Her stepdaughter was so cute~!
Wait—she hadn't actually been born from a woman. So, didn't that mean there wasn't really a problem with calling her daughter?
"Be careful." Jin prepared to leave. He wasn't sure how much time had passed here, but he had to catch the ship before it set sail again.
Kyoshi and Inkasha nodded as they also began to hide themselves.
If anyone entered this place later, they would only find an empty prison.
"How long have I been here?" Jin wondered as he stood up.
Using his Chi Vision, he located one of the few clocks on the island and confirmed he had only been gone for a couple of hours.
"Strange. I could've sworn I was there much longer," he thought, scratching his head. Spirit stuff, he supposed. "By the way, where are the Kyoshi Warriors of this generation?"
The dojo was clearly well maintained, but there didn't seem to be any in the village or on the island at all, which was strange at the very least. Aside from a few weapons in the armory behind the dojo, no one on the island carried metal fans.
Even when traveling to Jasmine Island for trade or occasional work, the Kyoshi Warriors had always kept a permanent local group. Even if they were only apprentices.
"In fact, they should have driven me away the moment I approached the totem."
Very strange…
Even the temple was being guarded by ordinary people.
He wanted to ask the locals, but the ship was about to depart and he had to hurry back.
…
That strange feeling lingered at the back of his mind, so instead of staying quiet, he tried asking other passengers and crew.
"The Kyoshi Warriors?" an old sailor who was trembling gave him an answer. "Oh, I remember, they scattered across the world." He scratched his thin beard with one hand. "They took up the custom of gaining experience in pairs across the world, only returning to their island during winter."
Jin pulled a strange face at that description.
Why did that sound so much like the custom of the Wolf School?
While he absentmindedly thought about it, the ship didn't take long to reach Jasmine Island. After all, they were close enough that a single radio tower could connect the two.
The moment he set foot on the island, he saw a hunched figure waiting for him at the dock, hands behind her back.
Jin felt tears threaten to fall.
"It's good to see you again, little sister," he greeted in a restrained voice.
"You just had to do it even in this situation, huh?" Toph rolled her eyes as she approached. "Welcome back," she murmured, hugging him.
Jin felt even more emotional. His lively little sister had become an old woman; he could feel the weakness just from holding her. He felt his shirt grow wet and the trembling of her thin arms, but as always with Toph, he pretended not to notice so as not to wound her pride.
"Damn rain!" he thought as warm drops fell down his cheeks while he returned her hug.
The villagers of the island looked on in confusion as the island's former princess embraced a strange young man.
"Could he be related to the royal family?" many wondered. "Maybe a grandson?"
But the elders—the grandparents and great-grandparents still alive on the island—trembled when they saw and recognized Jin's appearance deep in their memories. They dropped to their knees, crying and trembling, slamming their foreheads against the ground.
This only confused and frightened their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren even more!
"Dad!" a man called. "What are you doing?!"
"Grandma, how could you stand up from your wheelchair?!"
"Look, Mom, Grandpa's jumping!"
"It's him!" an excited toothless old man shouted as he lifted his gaze, his wrinkled eyes brimming with tears. "Our king has finally returned!"
Those words seemed to hit everyone, and they all looked at Jin carefully.
In fact, he was the living image of the king in the palace!
But hadn't he disappeared a long time ago?