In the morning, as agreed, Shizuka arrived at my house. Without wasting time, we headed to a secluded clearing hidden among ancient trees. We could have discussed the specifics of opening the first chakra at my house, but unnecessary risks were best avoided.
Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors, Shizuka surprised me by memorizing all the necessary information in just two hours. The rest of the time before lunch was spent discussing various tips and nuances not written in the book but gleaned from my own experience of opening the Earth Chakra.
"The most important thing to remember is to be extremely cautious when you feel close to breaking through the barrier," I said sternly, looking at the woman who had suddenly tensed up. "In my time, I ignored this, and I paid for it with what felt like a heavier test of my will. It was hard to distinguish what was real and what was just my chi playing tricks on me."
"After all your warnings, I'm not so eager to open this chakra anymore…" Shizuka muttered nervously. But regaining her composure, she continued more confidently, "No! I have to do this! Too much depends on it!"
"That's the right attitude! If anyone can do it, it's you!" I said, matching her determination, and patted her hair, just as I was used to doing with Yui and Katara. "I believe in you," I finished with a smile.
"Thank you," she replied with the most beautiful and charming smile, making me stare at her. Over the past few days, I'd grown accustomed to her constant serious expression.
From her, I also learned about the Avatar Kyoshi's Temple—a grand and imposing name for a simple wooden structure where her belongings are kept. Seeing my interest, she promised to secure permission for me to visit the temple from the other authorities. After all, allowing a stranger, even a small one, into their sacred place wouldn't be very proper.
To expedite this, I decided to do what I do best—heal people. Maybe I'd find interesting new cases, and the locals would grow accustomed to me faster. It felt like a habit now, healing people in every new village I visited.
With my understanding of bloodbending and life energy, I'd gradually moved away from simple waterbending healing. But that wasn't ideal. Everywhere, people were used to seeing healing through waterbending—glowing water near the hands was like a calling card. I shouldn't stray too far from that image.
As soon as the words "Healer of Water" were spoken, the island's residents rushed toward me like shoppers on Black Friday in a capitalist society. Chaos erupted—arguments, disputes—everyone wanted to be seen first. It almost brought tears to my eyes; I'd not only seen but also participated in similar scenes in hospital queues in my past life.
The noise drew the Kyoshi Warriors, who began calming the crowd while glaring at me reproachfully. Why not have some fun? There were no fistfights, just orderly chaos, like at a marketplace.
One particularly memorable moment stood out amid the chaos.
"Take us first, and you can marry my daughter right now!" a lively old woman shouted without a hint of embarrassment, pushing forward a pretty girl whose face was flushed as she tried to hide from the crowd.
"What are you babbling, old woman? You've lost your memory in your old age? Who promised to unite our families? You came to propose last month yourself!" another loud woman shouted, forcibly dragging a young man by the hand. He tried his best to appear uninvolved in the whole spectacle.
Eventually, the future newlyweds stepped in to defend their relationship, and there was undeniable chemistry between them. Listening to their banter was so entertaining that the crowd even quieted down to eavesdrop on the amusing exchange between the two families. But all good things must end, and the impromptu comedy show concluded with the help of the beautiful warriors.
"Friends, please calm down! I'll see everyone! Let those with real issues come first!" I shouted, trying to be heard over the crowd.
The next few hours were more mundane. Only a couple of people had serious problems—surprisingly healthy folks. Comparing some facts, the reasons became clear. First, the climate here isn't as harsh as the poles, so their bodies don't constantly need to protect against the elements. Second, there are no dangerous animals on the island to harm them, and they mostly eat fish caught in safe areas. Third, the island grows rare healing plants that the residents use in everything—food, ointments, tea.
The Kyoshi Warriors and their predecessors had the most injuries. Pushing their bodies to such extremes requires skill, though their obsession with training makes sense when even mediocre benders can casually destroy your village. You begin to understand the vast gap between two seemingly equal people, one with a gift and the other without. At the North Pole, you won't find such dedicated warriors; they've grown complacent, relying more on stronger benders in the settlement. Here, these women had to take on the role of protectors, becoming the shield. I already liked these stern girls, but seeing the whole picture from this angle made me admire them even more.
I couldn't see everyone that day due to an incident requiring my immediate attention. A woman was giving birth—a seemingly ordinary event, as people periodically enter the world this way. But everything changes when the child is a future bender and the mother has no bending ability.
It was scary. Theoretically, I knew what to do, but I'd never delivered a baby before. We have an entire battalion of female healers, so I'd never encountered this.
It turned out simpler than I thought. The midwife would handle the delivery; my task was to monitor the mother and child's condition. Holding the expectant mother's shoulders, I understood the main problem. The child wasn't receiving enough energy from the mother, so the not-yet-fully-formed Earthbending gift was draining her life energy. Without hesitation, I began transferring my energy into the woman's body—though she was more like a girl, still in her teens.
Using my Earthbending on the child would be unwise, with too many unknown factors. I could accidentally kill the newborn or overload their energy system with my more potent energy.
As my powerful life energy flowed into her, the woman, forgetting her pain, moaned in bliss. She looked confused, and I received strange glances from everyone in the room. No need to be a telepath to know what they were thinking about me.
After two hours and a quarter of my reserves, the first bender of Kyoshi Island entered the world. Both were stable, with nothing threatening their lives—a healthy baby girl and a slightly exhausted mother. Despite her fatigue, the child's mother persistently urged me to name the girl, but I steadfastly refused. I couldn't say I was bad at choosing names…
Before an hour had passed, people began bringing tables and chairs outside. Some arrived with ready-made food, while others carried raw ingredients for cooking. There was even high-proof alcohol, a rarity in this world.
The celebration began late in the evening and didn't quiet down until morning. Joy knew no bounds. Most importantly, there was no room for malice; everyone sincerely wished only good things for the child's mother and the newborn. They didn't forget about me either. It was pleasant, or rather cozy, sitting in such a warm family atmosphere.
The next morning, I woke up with a slight headache and a dry mouth—and it was great! Because I'd drunk far more than one glass of alcohol. It was like a student after finals, drinking recklessly, yet my body didn't complain. That's what natural products, an open first chakra, chi, powerful life energy, and so on can do. I scratched my head thoughtfully. With such an impressive list of passive abilities, I shouldn't have had any consequences. Not dwelling on it, I went to eat freshly prepared food.
It felt like I was on vacation abroad. Sandy beach island? Check. Three meals a day? Check. Tons of beautiful girls? Absolutely. Even local alcohol yesterday. Bliss. As my body absorbed the nutrients it needed, my brain actively recalled memories of the previous night's revelry. That's where the real Spanish shame was, and the worst part was that I was the source of it.
It all started when, thoroughly drunk, I went around fraternizing with everyone, offering my undoubtedly important advice. Sometimes, my speech switched from Russian to the local language, then to English, and so on in a loop. Shizuka followed me everywhere, holding me up when I was drunk and removing new drinks in time. She did a good deed, accepting all my antics with the composure of a true warrior. She even protected my innocent body from the advances of certain women who, under the cover of noise, wanted to "take care" of me.
My body felt good, and when a hot woman is nearby, it feels twice as good. While Shizuka held my body, I held her hips, sometimes her chest. My drunk—or maybe sick—mind thought it was absolutely necessary. My clumsy advances weren't stopped but even rewarded with a faster heartbeat and heavier breathing. Even tipsy, I actively used bloodbending and life energy to know exactly how to play such a beautiful instrument, flawlessly finding her easily aroused spots. All this indecency happened near my house when I didn't want to go to sleep, knowing there were still many pitchers of divine nectar on the table.
I remember starting to tell her about my life in the tribe, about my relatives. In short, my tongue had no bones, especially when I went into detail about my love for girls. That's when I really got carried away. They pulled out all the details of my relationship with Kaya, and it would come back to bite me soon. Here I was, hitting on her, but I already had another—not cool, buddy. At that moment, Shizuka was in no state to influence it; my fingers were working too well, and orgasm was closer than ever. I almost blurted out about my past life but somehow managed to hold back—no, I just started falling forward while Shizuka was on a wave of bliss and stopped holding my hand. Then darkness. I think I fell asleep mid-air…
*Thud of my dumb head on the wooden table* "You're just amazing, Yuki!" I said sarcastically.
Alcohol is evil!
But a little bit is okay…