The missing Yin Shu

"Because of his father?"

Kahn asked. He thought the complications Iroh had mentioned referred to the struggle for the throne between Ozai and him.

Although Zuko might know nothing about it, as Ozai's son, he was already caught in this whirlpool of power and could not remain outside it. Ozai becoming the new Fire Lord would undoubtedly affect Zuko as well.

Iroh nodded, then shook his head. "His father is indeed the reason he probably won't be able to come out lately. But I'm afraid there's another issue that has affected Zuko more deeply."

"His mother, Yin Shu, has disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

Kahn froze at that, then repeated Iroh's words. "Disappeared? What do you mean?"

Although he had spent only a short time with Yin Shu when he went to play at Zuko's home, she had left a deep impression on him.

In fact, it was not just Yin Shu who had left a deep impression on him, but everything that had happened that day.

The strangely temperamental Azula, the polite and loyal Zuko, the maid who remained silent throughout, the odd way Yin Shu and Azula interacted, and the way Zuko and Azula interacted, Azula's strange, sinister smile and venomous way of speaking, and Zuko's father, Ozai, who had never appeared.

Of course, there was also the firebending he had been promised lessons in, which had been delayed all this time without any word.

Apart from that last item, Kahn had not felt anything was amiss while he was there. Afterward, though, he kept feeling that something was wrong. Thinking it over carefully, he could find no problem, yet there was an uncomfortable feeling, a sense of discord. He had even felt a faint chill down his back, as though he had glimpsed some taboo-a taboo like an abyss in human nature.

That night, Kahn had a nightmare. The next morning, news came that Ozai had become the Fire Lord.

So Kahn took the previous day's discomfort and nightmare as a portent of the upheaval in the palace and stopped examining them.

When Iroh mentioned Yin Shu, however, Kahn instinctively recalled what he had seen and heard that day, along with the Yin Shu who had praised him so highly and been so friendly.

Yin Shu should be a good person, right?

Iroh took a sip of tea and continued:

"Exactly what it sounds like. She disappeared. Apparently, Yin Shu mysteriously vanished the day after my father passed away."

"Mysteriously vanished? Could it be..."

Kahn instinctively suspected a conspiracy. After all, the timing of Yin Shu's disappearance was far too suggestive. It happened to fall on the day of the old emperor's passing, the succession, and Ozai's selection. It was hard not to suspect some unspeakable reason behind it.

Of course, that was merely his instinctive judgment. He had no evidence.

That was how it always played out in television dramas, anyway.

Iroh seemed to know what Kahn was thinking and shook his head.

"In short, we don't know. No one knows what this is about or what happened."

Still, he did have some suspicions.

There really was more to it, and the only person who knew about it was probably his younger brother, Ozai.

After all, it was his wife who had disappeared, so he must have been the first to know. Yet while handling affairs over the past few days, he had never shown any other emotions, as though he did not care about Yin Shu's disappearance at all.

Or rather, as though everything was in his grasp.

In fact, Iroh himself had only recently learned of Yin Shu's disappearance. Before that, he had been completely caught up in all the tangled affairs surrounding the succession, and in an extremely passive position, almost entirely at Ozai's mercy. With his father's funeral arrangements to handle as well, he had been too overwhelmed to attend to anything else.

Only then had he remembered Zuko and Kahn, whom he had not seen for a long time. He had planned to visit them, and only then learned that Yin Shu had disappeared.

One could say that he, too, was lost in a fog, relying on nothing but speculation.

But there was no need to tell Kahn those suspicions. It was too dangerous for him.

So Iroh decided to end the subject and said:

"Apart from that, there's nothing else really. You should be able to see him in a few more days."

"I see."

Kahn nodded, then added, "Zuko must have been having a hard time lately."

After all, his father had suddenly become emperor, while his mother had mysteriously disappeared. His entire life had become a complete mess. Even an adult might not be able to withstand the shock of such upheaval, let alone Zuko, who was still a child. Had Kahn been in Zuko's position, he would probably have been at a complete loss too.

Iroh, too, sounded somewhat wistful as he said:

"Yes. That's why I'll need you to comfort him properly when the time comes."

Kahn nodded. He would have done so without being asked. After all, he now regarded Zuko as his own younger brother.

Come to think of it, another child was in the same situation as Zuko: Azula.

Azula had also left quite a deep impression on him, perhaps because it was the first time he had met a child with such a foul mouth. Of course, she was also clever-extremely clever-and powerful and exceptionally gifted.

He just did not know why her temperament was so changeable, with an inexplicable sense of disconnection.

Kahn was somewhat worried about Azula too, but his concerns for her were different from his concerns for Zuko.

With Zuko, he was more worried about his safety. During this dangerous transition of power, he feared that Zuko might inadvertently get himself killed. After all, he was Ozai's only son, the current crown prince.

As for the effect Yin Shu's disappearance might have on him, that was secondary to his safety.

His worries about Azula were the opposite. He felt that, given what Azula had going for her, he probably did not need to worry about her safety, although that feeling had no basis at all.

In short, he was more worried about the effect Yin Shu's disappearance would have on her.

Although the Azula he had seen that day had talked back to Yin Shu almost constantly, and Yin Shu had mostly scolded Azula, some details had also revealed the complicated relationship between them.

He vaguely felt that Yin Shu might hold an even more special place in Azula's heart than in Zuko's, which was why he wondered whether her mysterious disappearance would have some effect on Azula.

Just as Kahn was considering Azula's situation, Iroh seemingly mentioned her in passing. "Speaking of which, you must have met Zuko's younger sister when you went to his home to play last time?"

"Azula? Of course. We even played together that day."

Kahn answered.

Iroh was somewhat surprised. "You played together?"

Then he paused and asked, "What do you think of Azula's personality?"

"Hmm..."

Kahn pondered for a while, somewhat torn, before finally concluding:

"She's a very special girl."

Once again, Kahn's answer took Iroh by surprise.

"A special girl..."

Iroh repeated it, seemingly lost in thought. Then a hint of wistfulness surfaced in his eyes. "Yes, special. Very special indeed... perhaps I was wrong... perhaps..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter, and Kahn did not hear what followed.

Only after Iroh emerged from his emotions did he continue:

"You know? To me, she's very much like her father..."