Progress and Everyday Life

It had been quite some time since Kahn last went to the Royal Palace.

Now, on the training platform at Kahn's home, he and Azula were trading blows.

More precisely, he was trading dodges.

Although Kahn had been improving rapidly under Iroh's instruction, as long as he had not entered the second stage of learning Firebending and mastered its variations, he could not contend with Azula head-on.

But he was not the only one improving. As a Firebending prodigy, Azula was naturally improving too.

Although the Firebending variation Azula had mastered by chance was much more powerful than basic Firebending, it also required somewhat broader movements, which effectively slowed it down and opened up more gaps.

However, Azula's supple body as a girl and her exceptional talent for combat made up for these shortcomings very well, making this enhanced version of Firebending appear flawless to others.

But against someone like Kahn, who had maxed out his dodging skills, her agility fell short, and those shortcomings were exposed once again.

That was also why she had been unable to hit Kahn before, no matter what she tried.

After figuring this out, Azula began studying basic Firebending a little more seriously and immediately had Kahn on the back foot again.

Now, Azula no longer attacked exclusively with powerful Firebending. Instead, she preferred to break through with basic Firebending, then use powerful Firebending to inflict damage. She even mixed in feints to confuse Kahn's judgment, nearly beating him so badly he could not tell north from south at first.

Azula was not just a Firebending prodigy, but a combat prodigy too.

If Kahn had not received Iroh's instruction, that combination of Azula's could easily have defeated his former self.

Even so, the pressure Kahn faced when fighting Azula rose sharply. He could not afford the slightest carelessness, nor could he shamelessly dodge without thinking whenever he could not beat her, as he had before. Their exchanges were finally beginning to look like a real fight.

Fortunately, as his grasp of Firebending deepened, Kahn's attacks also grew more varied. Combined with his agile movements, he could even launch attacks as unrestrained as a heavenly steed galloping through the sky, unpredictable yet precise, while dodging.

Azula could not ignore Kahn's attacks either and had to dodge or defend as best she could.

Whether Azula dodged or defended, it disrupted her attacking rhythm, giving him some room and time to maneuver.

So the two still maintained a fragile balance, evenly matched, though there was no telling who would break that balance first.

"They're so good-"

Watching the two fight, Zuko could not help swallowing.

Compared with those two, his Firebending looked like playing house. Azula was one thing, but wasn't Kahn improving far too quickly?

Beside him, Iroh was equally moved.

"Young people these days really are..."

Judging by their current exchanges and tactical interplay, even setting aside differences in physical capabilities, plenty of adults could not reach this level. Even the teachers at the Firebending School would probably feel ashamed if they came.

Let him think back. What level had his Firebending been at when he was their age?

Never mind. He could not quite remember.

Probably about the same as theirs, Iroh thought shamelessly.

"Uncle Iroh, am I really a useless good-for-nothing with no talent for Firebending, like Father says?"

The fight between Kahn and Azula was so astonishing that Zuko had even lost confidence and begun doubting himself.

"Of course not. You're already doing very well. Those two are just a little special."

Iroh ruffled Zuko's hair, inwardly sighing over how hard things were for him.

Who could have imagined that two geniuses like Azula and Kahn would appear at the same time, let alone end up together?

It was easy to imagine the pressure Zuko would bear growing up alongside these two monsters.

He believed Zuko's character should see him through without trouble.

As the saying went, fortune and misfortune leaned upon each other. With Kahn and Azula as his goals, as long as Zuko could withstand that pressure, he would certainly grow into someone even more outstanding.

"If you don't want them to leave you behind, you'll have to work hard from now on."

Iroh smiled.

"Yes, I understand!"

Zuko gave an emphatic reply. This time, he really had been spurred on.

And once Zuko became the Fire Nation's emperor in the future, Kahn and Azula would undoubtedly be his strongest and most trustworthy supporters.

At that thought, Iroh looked back toward Azula on the platform.

In the past, he probably would not have included Azula. But now... Iroh revealed a meaningful smile. That would depend on Kahn's performance.

When he had talked to Kahn about Azula before, he had thought they were merely playing together as ordinary friends. He had not expected things between them to progress so quickly.

Indeed, ever since Zuko's restrictions on going out had also been lifted, Azula had grown increasingly brazen about climbing over the wall.

Originally, she had avoided Iroh, waiting until he was absent before coming to see Kahn. Now, however, she seemed too lazy even to conceal it, climbing straight over the outer wall under Iroh's and Zuko's astonished gazes.

Aside from their astonishment, only Zuko argued with Azula for a while before accepting it too. Iroh did not even say a word about it, simply welcoming Azula to come over on Kahn's behalf.

Huh?

This is my house, all right? Why are you all making yourselves so at home?

And a princess this big is secretly climbing walls to sneak out of the Royal Palace, and none of you are going to do anything about it?!

Faced with Kahn's accusations, Iroh heartlessly smiled and said that he could not do anything about her, while Zuko gave him a strange look.

Azula was even less polite, aiming an irritated kick straight at him, though he dodged it.

Damn it, there's no justice in this world!

Regardless of Kahn's reaction, gradually, besides Azula, Iroh, and Zuko, even Mai and Ty Lee were brought over to his home to play.

His family had once been well-off too. Their courtyard was not large, but it was not small either, and the house had everything it ought to have.

Although it could not compare with the courtyards in the Royal Palace, or the extravagantly luxurious ones that even had their own lakes, it had the advantage of greater freedom. The palace courtyards might be large, but thinking of all the maids and guards outside, along with the new emperor Ozai, whom nobody liked, made people feel invisibly constrained.

The important thing about Kahn's courtyard was that there were no maids, no guards, and certainly no Ozai. They could do whatever they pleased, and that felt very nice.

These sheltered young ladies even began cleaning his home of their own accord, as though playing a game. Apart from Kahn's original bedroom, they cleaned the living room, kitchen, and every other space, then made alterations, leaving the place looking brand-new.

They enthusiastically discussed which rooms they wanted to turn into what, treating Kahn's home entirely as their secret base.

Even Iroh became interested, planning to take a room and turn it into his own dedicated tearoom.

But Kahn did not actually dislike it, because his home had finally, for once, become lively, once again filled with the warmth of everyday life.

That feeling was unexpectedly nice.