Yo. Island Air Temple.
We had to return without Dria. It turned out that gaining full control over her own chi would take much more time. Without that, her path to the human realm was forbidden—it was too risky to endanger her life. According to rough estimates, Dria would spend one to two months in the Spirit Realm. Only then would even the smallest bursts of ancient energy no longer leave her body without her permission. Currently, Dria is helping Gaia safely relocate other nature spirits.
As soon as Chitara and I stepped into the house, we saw my little girls with glum faces sweeping the floors, wiping the windows, and generally tidying up the place.
"Father! Daddy!" they cried, immediately abandoning the mop, broom, and dustpan as soon as they saw me. My arms easily embraced all four of my daughters as they jumped into them.
The girls thought I would stand up for them and stop Celine from continuing her discipline, but… no. This time, I didn't interfere with my eldest daughter's efforts because I was genuinely upset by their reckless behavior. If not for their bending abilities, things could have ended much worse. And what if Celine hadn't been there? What if they'd run into a strong, experienced bender? My mind was flooded with "what ifs," but it all boiled down to one thing: I had spoiled the girls too much. And that needed to change immediately.
The fear for my daughters' lives came a bit late, but it didn't stop me from joining in on the disciplinary moment. I know that children usually tune out most of their parents' lectures, but I hoped something would sink into their little heads.
Parental duties didn't take up much time, so Chitara wasn't left alone and was always occupied with something. For that, I had to thank Celine, who kept her company with another spirit while I was busy.
At first, Chitara behaved just like a real cat. With a slightly tense gait, she cautiously explored her new surroundings. Her cute little nose kept sniffing at the new "scents" of energy that permeated the entire house. It was like watching a miniature version of "a cat adjusting to a new home" on the first day.
"Everything feels… strange," Chitara shared with me one evening, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Tienhai. The city's lights reached us peacefully, creating a breathtaking view that could be admired for hours.
"Next week, we'll visit Tienhai," I said, understanding her unspoken desires. "But someone will have to hide certain non-human attributes by then," I added, my hand instinctively reaching for her ear and gently stroking it. It was clear that no one had invaded her personal space before, at least not so boldly. Knowing who her father is—everything falls into place…
Chitara didn't resist my touch; she probably just didn't know how to react. After all, this was all new to her. It was amusing to see her shyly avert her face when her body involuntarily emitted purring, slightly vibrating sounds.
"It seems Father brought home a new mommy," I heard Tomoko's quiet voice. She, along with the rest of the group, loved to watch Chitara and me.
"We need to tell all the other mommies!" Kushi said. I thought you'd always be on Dad's side…
After about twenty minutes, they grew bored of watching our supposedly dull interaction. This made the atmosphere more intimate. And honestly, I relaxed too, not even noticing that I was now stroking not only her ears but also her back.
"Nyaah!" Chitara exclaimed when my hand ran the full length of her tail. Sorry, I couldn't help it. Her back gracefully arched, her ears perked up, and it seemed not just her ears…
"Seems I moved too fast," I sighed, watching Chitara's embarrassed and somewhat confused figure run toward the house. "The little cat isn't used to affection yet."
After some time, Chitara stopped reacting so intensely to my touches. And she understood perfectly what they meant. That made it all the more enjoyable, as my aggressive advances were received quite favorably.
I was curious to learn about Chitara's bending abilities. Her element was pure lightning, and she had achieved considerable success with it. Beyond the basic but effective techniques I'd seen in other spirits of the same element, the hot little cat could boast unique skills.
I particularly liked the technique that allowed her to multiply her speed. Seeing the yellow lightning covering her entire body, memories of the Third and Fourth Raikage's Lightning Armor Technique from the Naruto anime immediately surfaced. For now, Chitara's technique paled in comparison, as it only significantly increased speed and reaction time. Maybe later we could improve it so it enhances not just speed but other attributes too. But even without that, the technique was worth mastering.
The technique was very demanding. First, without a full-fledged source of lightning, we had to resort to the same methods as other benders to obtain it. Second, the lightning had to be channeled through specific pathways at varying speeds—all of which added complexity. Just completing these two stages took me a full two minutes, an unaffordable luxury in a life-or-death battle.
Because the physical and energy bodies are fused together, the lightning energy could simply injure my body. Fortunately, my body's overall "hardiness" clearly exceeds normal limits. If my chakras weren't open, I'd be walking around with torn ligaments or forget about using my legs for a while. The technique is definitely not suitable for an ordinary bender—after all, spirits don't have muscles, tendons, or ligaments to worry about.
Gradually, I managed to reduce the activation time of the lightning armor by several times. The speed gained from the technique far surpasses what I achieve by reducing air resistance. Perhaps one day, this technique will save my life.
My mood was uplifted, and in my joy, I decided to reward Chitara with another round of petting. But this time, it didn't stop at her back, tail, and ears… My fingers sensually caressed her moderately firm belly, occasionally moving to her toned legs. For several days now, she hadn't been wearing her clothes, which she said were too restrictive. Besides, her father didn't allow her to go without clothes except in the presence of strangers. And in her opinion, everyone on this island had already become her friend. So, nothing was out of line.
"Meow," Chitara purred throatily, pressing against my body.
"Taming is progressing by leaps and bounds," I thought, seeing the way Chitara looked at me. But without the consent of my wives, women, and girls, I definitely wouldn't cross the final line. Their regard is too precious for me to lose it over a rush of blood to one place. Plus, I'm sure Chitara will be liked by everyone. She's not the type to pull any tricks. A big plus is her tolerance for polygamy. In her case, it's influenced by the fact that her father also has several permanent partners. Apparently, Kuro solved the problem of low spirit birth rates in a very original way: "I'll share my energy with many women—maybe something will hit the mark." There's no way to call his approach bad, and the proof is sitting right next to me.
After a week, Aine returned and almost immediately fell asleep. She's currently going through the dragon maturation phase, so for the next few years, she'll spend most of her time sleeping. This way, she accumulates the energy needed to comprehensively enhance all her attributes.
*
Tienhai. Night. Avatar Yangchen Street. Bar "Cheap Booze."
A wooden sign hung on the entrance door of the drinking establishment, announcing to everyone that the bar was closed for the day. Just behind the thin iron door was an unbearable stench of alcoholic beverages. Broken bottles of various strengths littered the floor. Even more were behind the bar counter, where an entire cabinet—once overflowing with the nectar coveted by some—had been completely overturned. Bodies of varying injury lay scattered here and there. Some had only a few bruises, while one unlucky soul had clearly snapped his neck.
Only two men stood on their feet, their faces hidden behind masks that prevented anyone from seeing their true appearances. One of them was now forcefully slamming someone's face against the wooden floor of the bar. The victim's face no longer had a single unbruised spot, and his clearly expensive suit was completely ruined. At that moment, even the bar's regular customers wouldn't have recognized the establishment's owner, who also happened to be a mid-level drug dealer.
"It seems my new subordinate has understood and realized everything, right?" the masked man said with a friendly smile, holding the victim by his long hair.
"Kha-kha," the man spat out the blood pooling in his mouth. "I've understood everything…"
"Why is it that in this city, people only listen after they've been beaten senseless?"
"We have business to attend to," the other masked man said indifferently. "Our people will contact you," he addressed the man lying in his own bodily fluids. "And it's better for you not to go against us," his voice remained just as cold, but this time, the bar owner's heart felt as if it had been tightly squeezed.
"The shadow side of the city is in for big changes," the bar owner thought to himself, watching with cloudy eyes as the backs of the unknown men disappeared into the night. "Damn chi blockers!" he cursed aloud, carefully touching his broken ribs.
Beyond the bar, two figures in dark masks quickly melted into the night, having just thoroughly dealt with a couple dozen people in a matter of minutes.
"Another gang is in our pocket," the man said, stretching his body, no longer hiding his face behind a mask. Without the accessory, a young man with typical southern Earth Kingdom features looked out at the world. "Leader, why is it that I'm the one who has to handle the shadow business?" he finally asked.
"Your chi blocking will reliably suppress the evil intentions of these bandits," Yakon replied just as coldly. "You know yourself that you're not suited for other tasks. Your true face is already on the authorities' watchlist," he reminded him of that incident a year ago when Bakir—his interlocutor—killed a couple of benders. They managed to write it off as self-defense, but with such a past, it's unlikely he'd build a career as, say, a government official. For that, Yakon has other subordinates who, both in mindset and abilities, are better suited for official positions.
"Sir," another man in similar clothing and a mask appeared silently. "By nightfall, all the gang formations will be on our hook."
"Excellent," Yakon smiled sincerely. Very soon, his like-minded individuals would not only control the shadow side of the market but also have numerous agents within the government itself. In the not-too-distant future, cells of their organization would appear in other countries as well.
Thanks to the dark particles of Vatu's energy, everyone unquestioningly accepted Yakon as their leader. On the one hand, he truly surpassed the others in strength, intellect, and charisma, and on the other hand, the main role was played by the fact that he contained the largest portion of Vatu.
"Yakon," Bakir began uncertainly. "Can you really remove this curse from me?" he said the last word with particular hatred.
"Don't worry, my friend," Yakon placed his hand on his shoulder. "As soon as our great goal is achieved, I'll take your chi blocking!"
"I believe you," he would believe… his thoughts have long been marinated in Vatu's energy. "Let's equalize everyone's opportunities!"
"Hmm," Yakon thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Equalizers," he tried the word on his tongue. "It suits us very well…"
"So, the name of our organization has appeared, which very accurately describes our goals," but everything has its time. We're not ready yet to open people's eyes. "Don't forget about tomorrow's meeting with Xuyin Su. It seems she's quite interested in our ideas," this, in turn, will give us enormous financial opportunities…