Asami turned out to be a waterbender—and a talented one at that!
"Just as I thought," feeling Asami bend the water only confirmed what Jin already knew.
Throughout the series, few characters had shown as much adaptability to changing circumstances as Asami, persisting and making her way forward like a flowing stream. Moreover, her chi felt like that of a waterbender, even though her parents were not from the Water Tribe.
A flicker of pain crossed Jin's face when he couldn't help but overlay Asami's excited movements with Honu's.
He still had trouble accepting that he would finally be able to see her and the others again.
"This chi…" Kyoshi looked at Asami in surprise. Now that the newly-minted waterbender was actively moving chi to perform water control, she could feel it clearly. "It feels very familiar, almost like…Kirima?" Her expression of surprise turned into shock. "Asami is a descendant of Kirima?!"
Jin heard Kyoshi's words and seemed to understand what was happening.
So, Asami had some kind of chi atavism? That was definitely unusual.
He knew about Kirima—not only was she a long-time member of the Flying Opera Company, but she had also been Kyoshi's very own water control master!
"I won't pass up the chance to go down in history as the Avatar's Water Control master," those were her exact words when explaining to Rangi her motivation for teaching Kyoshi.
She had also been present during the fight against Yun, although that encounter ended with her legs broken alongside Wong's, and after her subsequent recovery, she chose to take less risky jobs in preparation for retirement.
From Kyoshi's words, it seemed that she had descendants, and Asami was the latest addition to the family tree.
"Who?" Asami stopped at Kyoshi's words, and the water fell to the ground as she lost focus—a sign of her inexperience.
Jin and Kyoshi explained Kirima's identity and her possible connection to Asami.
"So, my chi is similar to my ancestor's, the one who happened to teach you water control back in your time?" Asami was surprised once again, this time by the incredible coincidence.
"Yes. To be honest, I didn't expect Kirima to have children with anyone," Kyoshi admitted, eyes wide and arms crossed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I applaud the man who dared to climb that mountain and succeeded."
Asami made a face at that, wondering what kind of person her ancestor had been for Avatar Kyoshi to say something like that.
"Well, I think we've had enough surprises for now, and we've drifted away from why we came here," Jin clapped to get the attention of the three of them. "Knowing that the supposed spirit turned out to be Inkasha playing tricks…"
"Bleh!" Inkasha stuck out her tongue, not the least bit guilty.
She hadn't asked the people of this place to leave—they decided that on their own!
"…I'm going to buy the place," Jin laughed as he turned to the new waterbender. "Asami, I know becoming a waterbender can be exciting, and you'll want to experiment, but I suggest you don't try water control anywhere, not even at home. Give me a few days to make the place presentable, and…perhaps you could give lessons, Kyoshi?" He turned to the spirit of the past Avatar. "We can disguise your practice as visits to the new neighbor. With me here, no one will be able to spy, even if they wanted to."
"Sounds fun," Kyoshi agreed with interest. "I've taught many people, but never from one waterbender to another. This way, we can spend time together and get to know each other better."
If Asami was serious about having a relationship with Jin, Kyoshi wanted to know her well.
"I'll notify the owner. I'm sure you'll give him the thrill of the year," Asami said, looking at the water on the floor, pulled from a vase with dead flowers nearby. "Knowing how eager he is about the sale, you'll probably have the title to the property by tomorrow."
"Perfect. Once I have the property, I'll clean and renovate the interior."
He wasn't going to make anything too extravagant, but basic furniture was necessary, stocking the pantry and hiring staff were priorities. That said, staffing could be a bit tricky…
Unlike when he had countless workers and loyal subordinates at his peak, here he would have to be more cautious with hiring, especially with people whose thoughts didn't align closely with his.
Luckily for him, he had some useful skills to filter candidates during interviews.
Now, he needed to act before second thoughts crept in.
"Asami," he called. "Sorry for the question, but I'm curious—what is the tunnel under your father's workshop?" he asked. "Do you have another testing field deep in the mountains?"
"What tunnel?" Asami looked at him in surprise. "There's no tunnel in my father's workshop."
"No, I can definitely feel one," Jin assured her, scooping up dirt from around and forming a three-dimensional map of the workshop and the secret access. "Stairs, rails, the whole setup is there, although the entrance seems quite hidden."
"…My father never told me anything about a tunnel," Asami observed, confused by the map, too detailed and accurate to be a lie, though she didn't believe Jin would deceive her after what they had just been through.
"Oh…" Jin feigned discomfort, shifting his weight from foot to foot, as if he had accidentally revealed someone's birthday gift in advance.
He hated having to fake it like that, but he couldn't tell her outright that her father was crazy enough to seek revenge regardless of the cost or the lives that might be lost.
Asami looked away to focus on Jin.
"Can you sense what's on the other side?" she asked.
Since Jin refrained from adding a possible collaboration between Hiroshi and the Equalists, Asami didn't focus on denying the evidence and was instead more interested in discovering what her father had been hiding from her.
There were supposed to be no secrets between them—until now.
"Vaguely," Jin said, knowing it was better for Asami to see the evidence on-site and connect the dots herself. Giving her the information without explaining the sources wouldn't be a good idea. "The distance is considerable, and it would be easier to just go there in person. I can only say there's a lot of metal."
Asami frowned. That didn't tell her much. Industries of the Future used a lot of metal for Satomobiles, among other things. There was also the possibility that the rails ran through a vein of metal, confusing Jin's "perception."
"Do you want us to go investigate?" Kyoshi asked Asami. "We can go and come back without alerting anyone, not even your father will notice."
Ah, that would be useful. Asami would know what her father was plotting, and he wouldn't have a clue that his cover had been blown, and they could—
"No, I want to see it with my own eyes," Asami declined the offer, wanting to see for herself what it was and why her father had done it. "My father has a board meeting in three days and will be gone all morning that day. Could you come with me to investigate?"
Having a pair of spirits to explore and a powerful earthbender by her side would make things much easier!
"We're in!" Inkasha raised her hand, excited to go on a family adventure exploring and uncovering secrets.