Volunteered Against His Will

"Although that was a very stirring speech, and I completely agree, still..."

Kahn interrupted Azula at an inopportune moment and ventured, "You're not asking me to help you investigate, are you?"

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

"How old are you this year?"

Kahn asked.

"Nine. Why?"

"You're nine, and I'm nine. You're saying two little brats whose ages only just add up to adulthood are going to investigate this?"

Kahn stressed their ages, then pointed at himself and said:

"Besides, you need to understand clearly that the person standing in front of you is just an ordinary commoner. You're coming to me for help? Do you really think I can do anything?"

Just look at the identities of everyone involved: the old emperor Azulon, the former crown prince Iroh, the current emperor Ozai, Ozai's wife Yin Shu, who should technically have been the empress, and even Zuko and Azula were the current crown prince and eldest princess.

Six people in all, and which of them wasn't someone of exalted status?

Huh?

Kahn suddenly felt something was odd.

Iroh was his guardian, Zuko and Azula were his friends, and Yin Shu treated him quite well-

Apart from the old emperor Azulon and Ozai, how come I have some sort of connection to everyone else?!

Fucking unbelievable!

"I don't care."

But despite Kahn's reasoned arguments, Azula remained unmoved. She folded her arms and said:

"That's your problem."

Motherfucker!

Kahn immediately buried his face in his hands, feeling utterly miserable. A melody even started playing uncontrollably in his head:

I'm washing kelp~ Washing kelp~

In truth, Kahn wasn't the only one suffering. Azula was having a hard time too.

Azula might have looked like a hot-tempered, pigheaded, unreasonable brat right now, but that was only a mask she deliberately wore to protect herself, hiding the panic and helplessness inside.

Even if the intelligence Azula displayed far surpassed that of ordinary people, at heart, she was still just a nine-year-old girl.

Only after discovering for the first time that the father she had always trusted was unreliable, and going against Ozai's wishes for the first time by deciding to find Yin Shu, did Azula realize how awkward her position was.

The talent and intelligence she took such pride in seemed so laughable in the face of Ozai. For the first time, she realized that everything she thought she possessed came from her father, and that away from him, she seemed utterly useless.

That gulf between her mindset and reality put enormous pressure on her, leaving her more helpless and panicked than she had ever been.

Under these circumstances, Azula could only bury the idea of finding Yin Shu deep inside and keep growing along the path Ozai had laid out for her, carrying that repression with her. Amid that repression, she would come to agree ever more with Ozai's beliefs, until she was finally crushed, twisted, driven to greater extremes, plunged into madness, and then erupted and died.

If nothing unexpected happened.

Fortunately, something unexpected did happen.

As she panicked, at a loss, someone's figure inexplicably appeared in Azula's mind:

Not Zuko, nor either of her two playmates, but Kahn, whom she had spent less than a day with.

Kahn had been deeply affected by Azula, and hadn't the same been true for her?

Among the people her age she had met, he was the first who wasn't afraid of her, the first who could beat her, the first who seemed just as clever as she was, the first to defend her, the first who didn't speak ill of her, the first to take the initiative to praise her.

They had spent less than a day together, yet Kahn had left a deep impression on her.

And so, decisive as thunder and swift as the wind, she came straight to his door without another word-

And put a mask of anguish on Kahn's face.

"Hahahahaha!"

Seeing Kahn's expression as he questioned his entire existence, Azula finally couldn't help clutching her stomach and laughing, glittering tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

This was the first time she had been this happy since the struggle for the throne.

Although she still hadn't made any progress in finding her mother, talking with Kahn here had eased much of the repression building inside her. Azula decided to stop teasing him and said with a smile:

"I never said I wanted you to look right now. I'm just letting you know in advance."

Hearing that, Kahn stopped and glanced sideways at her. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. But if you're capable of looking right now, of course I'd be delighted."

"I also think we should take our time planning this. We'll investigate quietly, then amaze everyone."

Kahn hastily made his position clear, speaking with a perfectly straight face.

"Investigate quietly. Tch."

The thought that her current predicament was all because of Ozai stirred disgust in Azula's heart, but she soon regained her composure.

"Anyway, that's that. I'm heading back."

Having said everything she wanted to say, Azula didn't drag things out and simply left.

Before Kahn could say anything, Azula deftly scaled the courtyard wall in two or three steps. Crouching atop it, she suddenly turned back and asked:

"If you were Yin Shu, where would you hide?"

Kahn thought for a moment and said:

"If I could, I'd naturally hide as far away as possible, preferably somewhere your father could never reach, no matter what. Of course, there's also a saying that the most dangerous place is the safest."

As he spoke, he remembered that this world had all sorts of wondrous abilities, so he added:

"Maybe there's some ability that can keep other people from finding you."

"I see."

Azula offered no opinion and leaped off the wall.

A place he couldn't reach, the most dangerous place, a wondrous ability... Mother, which did you choose?

Can you really hide for the rest of your life?

"Can't she use the gate? That crazy girl."

Looking at the courtyard, empty once more, Kahn shook his head and returned to his room.

"Wait, didn't I want to stay out of this earlier? How did I suddenly agree? Have I gone mad?"

"No, no, no. To be fair, this should count as being coerced, right? Coerced by a six-year-old brat... I'd rather just be mad."

Just then, he suddenly remembered a quote:

"The Chinese disposition always favors compromise and taking the middle ground. For example, if you say that a room is too dark and a window needs to be opened here, everyone will surely object. But if you propose tearing off the roof, they will come around to a compromise and agree to open a window."-Lu Xun.

How true.

"Come to think of it, a struggle for the throne, one conspiracy after another, a princess searching for her mother... Could this be the [main storyline]?"

"But judging from the descriptions in the books, the Avatar seems to be this world's absolute protagonist, even though he hasn't appeared in nearly a hundred years."

"So this only counts as a side quest?"

"Ha, maybe we don't even qualify as supporting characters. I'm really overthinking things."

Flump!

Kahn flopped onto the bed. "Sleep!"

Five minutes later, Kahn got up.

What was he doing sleeping in broad daylight?