Chapter 6: 5. The New Igi

Turned out, that there was no such thing as Truck Kun. It was a joke, albeit a tasteless one, but a Joke nonetheless. It was something Aaron's precocious disciple did now– if he was his disciple– yet it was not the strangest thing he'd noticed.

Apparently, 'Igi' had future knowledge but didn't at the same time, and he and the other spirit had been reincarnated by two warring deities in a tournament of sorts.

It's all very nonsensical.

"What do you mean by tournament," Aaron groused.

"Well, the way the dude put it, I had a unique spark in my soul that allowed me to be empowered. He said he would give me a second chance at life, with powerups to boot, if I agreed to be his champion. All I had to do was face off against a reincarnator with the same advantages as myself. He'd be a Firebender instead of an Earthbender,  but it's semantics at this point. Either way, he's on the bad guy's side and nearly sure to be some moustache-twirling asshole hellbent on gathering a Harem of women or something equally nonsensical such as world domination."

"What!' Aaron's brow twitched. Was Igi pulling his leg?

Igi shrugged, ignoring his question. "I am free to assist the Avatar, remain neutral, or do whatever I choose. At the end of the day, I just have to kill the other Reincarnator before he causes a fatal deviation of the timeline."

"Define fatal deviation?"

"Something like murder the Avatar, open portals to the spirit world, let the free Nation win the war, and so on," he said.

Aaron was at a loss for words and just stared at the kid, confused.

He wanted nothing more than to dismiss the creature's words as the ramblings of a scheming dark spirit, but he'd felt the other spirit descend, and he'd heard the creature speak of things it shouldn't know -- like Chi-bending.

There was a large chance that it was right. And if he was, what would that mean for their mission? If his Grandfather would caution that he shouldn't be quick to make enemies, not when he could forge alliances.

However, for that to happen, he needed to know more about the spirit.

"That spirit apparition you keep staring at, it is your god's gift?" Aaron asked as he watched the boy fiddling with the air.

He nodded. "It's one of my many gifts. It lets me track my progress while training, guides me with quests, and provides helpful information. My real blessing is something far more overpowered." He said with a smirk.

"Something to do with your learning speed?"

"Maybe," he said. Aaron simply shook his head, slumping into the grass.

"The way you speak, you sound older, Jaded even. How much of my disciple is left in you?"

The boy winced at the question but did not meet his eyes. "Enough."

The silence seemed to stretch forever as Aaron sat there and mourned the memory of his student. The memories, the spars, and emotions mixed and churned as he began to recall what his student was really like.

Whatever was sitting in front of him was; it was not him.

Despite everything he'd learned, the loss stuck with him the most. Suddenly, learning their world was a playground for extraterrestrial gods and spirits seemed less important.

"Was it the arrow wound?" Aaron asked. He'd flipped the events of the day over and over again, and he couldn't help but hold himself responsible.

The boy seemed stunned for a moment, but he finally did speak. "No, no, it wasn't," he said a bit too quickly. "It was completely random. But they were only so many 'prodigious, young children who came from a small village in the Earth Kingdom.'"

Aaron gave him a confused look.

"That's what I chose as my background when I started this new life," he said.

"But the arrow could've helped?"

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To that, Igi had nothing to say.

Aaron looked into the distance as his thoughts drifted, and anger and regret seeped into him.

It took several long moments to center himself and focus on what was really important.

What all of this meant for their mission

How would the revived Air Nation begin to react if he told them what he'd learned?

Would they consider him too much of a loose element and make moves to remove him?

Or would they seek to use him?

Either way, it was for Grandfather to decide if he hadn't already. He was probably watching him this very moment, although Aaron couldn't sense him, and he couldn't help but be worried he might be disappointed.

Would he be disappointed that he was putting so much at stake or chastise him for not taking definitive action with Igi?

Shaking off the thought, he looked across to the spirit that claimed to be Igi, perusing his 'status page' as he'd called it, with the same childish wonder and greed Igi typically had. Even though he was only a shadow, he was hesitant to hurt or manipulate him.

Yet, duty came first, and the boy needed to be close when his Grandfather made a decision. And the next time he'd be able to commune with him was during the solstice.

"What do you plan to do?" Aaron asked. "The world is yours to explore, but from the sound of things, you have a battle to prepare for."

Igi blinked, drawn from his mutterings and thoughts, and looked at Aaron.

"Well… I think I'll find the Avatar and help him master the elements while becoming a total badass myself. Then, I'll whoop my evil twin's ass when I feel good and ready."

The boy didn't need convincing to stay close, apparently, but did that mesh with the mission he'd spoken about earlier?

Aaron raised a brow, "Why help the Avatar?"

"For one, my mortal enemy is in the Fire Nation, so it makes sense to join the side of the most powerful bender. Second, you're sworn to protect him, and I am still shit at martial arts. Plus, energy bending is totally broken, so I think I am better off sticking with you."

Aaron didn't understand half of the reference, but he got the gist of things. "What part of the world did you say you were born in your previous life?"

"I never said."

"You've got a peculiar way of speaking."

"You'll get used to it, eventually."  Igi shrugged.

Aaron looked at the village, which seemed to be entirely awake now. Torchlight danced above the walls, and at the gate, he could already see search parties forming. Aaron hesitated before he spoke.

"Your father will be heartbroken."

"It's safer for him if I am not here," he said.

"Then we should get going." Aaron got up to his feet and led them into the forest. The Solstice was weeks away, and it was plenty of time for Aaron and Grandfather to watch the boy and puzzle his intention and unearth his secrets.

Aaron could already think of a dozen interesting ways in which his conditional foresight could prove useful.

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