School Bullying?

It was the last class of the day, but Kahn paid close attention because it interested him-it was a music class.

Kahn found this quite novel. In his mind, a country at war should have had a society actively preparing for battle, with a rather tense pace of life.

Yet the Fire Nation, which had single-handedly launched a world war lasting nearly a century, shattered Kahn's preconceptions.

Everywhere he looked in the city, prosperity met his eyes. The streets bustled with a ceaseless stream of traffic and people coming and going. It was hard to believe that this country was fighting the entire world on its own, and had been doing so for nearly a century.

Then there was the school he attended.

It was hard to imagine that a country whose clothing, lifestyle, language, and even institutions resembled those of his homeland in ancient times actually implemented six years of compulsory education!

Perhaps this was one reason the Fire Nation could take on the entire world and only grow stronger as it fought.

At the moment, Kahn was concentrating on his music lesson.

Music classes here did not simply teach them to sing; they also taught them the basics of playing instruments.

Kahn had chosen an instrument that interested him: a transverse flute. It looked cool when played and was easy to carry.

He could not help imagining himself playing a tune before a future battle, then effortlessly finishing his opponent in an instant.

Dong~ Dong~ Dong~~

The dismissal bell rang. The students said goodbye to their teacher and left the classroom in little groups, discussing walking home together or where to go and play.

Lately, no one had been taking the initiative to invite Kahn to play with them anymore.

It was not because he was being excluded or given the cold shoulder. Rather, after spending this time with him, they understood that Kahn had a mind of his own and would not change his plans just because someone invited him. If he did not want to go, invitations were useless; if he did, he would naturally tell them.

Instead, this made him even more popular at school.

The Fire Nation's educational philosophy prized dignity and restraint. To the teachers, Kahn's behavior was precisely a display of restraint, while the other children his age thought he was impressive because they could never resist going off to play.

Kahn did not find that strange. Loving to play was simply a child's nature.

Even he occasionally felt like joining them for a game of hide-and-seek or some- ahem!

But he had no such plans today. He intended to head to the library next.

Zuko and Azula could not come and play with him every day, either.

Leaving aside Zuko and all his restrictions, even Azula could not sneak out every day.

As for Iroh, he had taught Kahn Firebending every day at first. But as the lessons grew more difficult, even with a cheat at his side, Kahn could not possibly maintain that pace forever, and his learning gradually slowed.

According to Iroh, learning Firebending required steady polishing, like a thin stream flowing without end.

Iroh himself breathed a sigh of relief over this. If Kahn really could maintain his initial rate of improvement, he would not be a genius at all, but a monster!

At least he no longer had to worry about running out of things to teach him.

In short, during his school days, he could spend most of his time-especially after school-however he pleased.

"Hi, Kahn!"

Just as he stepped out of the classroom, Kahn heard a bright, clear voice calling to him.

He turned around, and sure enough, it was Ty Lee. Mai stood quietly beside her and nodded to him in silent greeting.

Come to think of it, after getting to know Azula's two little followers, Mai and Ty Lee, he had unexpectedly discovered that they attended the same school as him.

That was only natural, though. His school was one of the best in the capital. Although quite a few students came from commoner families, even more had parents or relatives who held government posts, or belonged to the nobility or the wealthy.

His family was the same. At least before he became an orphan, his family had been a distinguished one. The father he had inherited had even been Iroh's deputy.

Of course, although he was now the only one left in his family, it could hardly be called fallen. After all, he was mixing with royalty now-the absolute pinnacle of social circles.

Whenever they ran into one another at school, the two girls, especially Ty Lee, would greet him warmly or stand and chat with him for a while. After enough such encounters, the three grew familiar, and Ty Lee and Mai became Kahn's closest friends at school.

Perhaps because Azula was absent, Ty Lee was more cheerful and enthusiastic at school than she had been when he first met her, a very energetic little girl.

Zuko's little girlfriend Mai behaved much the same as before. Besides, the look she gave him always felt a little odd, as though she were afraid of him.

He was probably imagining it, right?

Kahn walked along with the two girls, making small talk.

He asked casually, "Are you going somewhere to play?"

"No, Mai and I are just going home together. Our houses are very close, right, Mai?"

Ty Lee spoke animatedly, then asked Kahn:

"Are you going to the library again today?"

"Yeah."

Kahn nodded.

"That's amazing!"

Stars of admiration sparkled in Ty Lee's eyes.

The three chatted for a while in a fairly harmonious atmosphere. But just as they were about to part ways, Kahn caught sight of a less-than-friendly scene.

In a corner by the school's perimeter wall, two girls were surrounded by three rather sturdy boys.

More precisely, one girl was confronting the three boys, while the other watched her anxiously, at a loss for what to do, silently and urgently looking around for help.

No matter where one was, schools always brought many beautiful words to mind: youth, innocence, simplicity, hard work, friendship... Even so, there were plenty of words that had nothing to do with anything beautiful.

School bullying, for instance.

What was unfolding before Kahn's eyes was probably school bullying, all right.

"Kahn, what's happening over there?"

Ty Lee looked at Kahn. Clearly, she had also noticed what was happening in the corner. Faced with something like this for the first time, she was evidently at something of a loss.

In fact, at such an elite school, bullying was indeed extremely rare, even somewhat unusual.

Mai observed quietly from the side and soon noticed something different:

"That girl looks unfamiliar. She doesn't seem to be from here. Maybe she transferred recently."

"What is this, big-city hostility toward outsiders?"

Kahn was no stranger to this sort of thing. When he had attended school in his previous life, especially during his middle school years, the young-gangster craze had been all the rage. There had been a few little delinquents in his class, and bullying happened from time to time.

Although he was no model young citizen eager to help others, he could at least notify a teacher in passing. Besides, the two girls being bullied were acquaintances-

His classmates.

It was just that one of the girls had only recently transferred here, exactly as Mai had guessed.

Although meddling was not a hobby of his, they were still his classmates. He would not be a man if he ignored this.

So Kahn stepped forward and said:

"Excuse me, is there a reason you're blocking my classmates?"

"Hm?"

The girl confronting the three boys-Kori-gave him a surprised look. She recognized him as a classmate, but what was his name again?

"Kahn!"

The girl beside her called out Kahn's name in delighted surprise.