Making friends?

Iroh was the crown prince, so his brother was a prince. Zuko was Iroh's nephew, which made him his brother's son, which made him a prince's son, which made him the emperor's grandson.

Got it.

"Your Highness, Prince Zu-"

"You two are about the same age. Just call each other by name."

Iroh firmly cut Kahn off and told Zuko, "His name is Kahn. He's the son of a friend of mine. I hope you two can get along."

"I understand, Uncle Iroh."

Zuko nodded obediently, then said to Kahn, "Hello, Kahn. You can just call me Zuko."

Kahn glanced at Iroh and replied, "All right. Hello, Zuko. Nice to meet you."

"You too!"

Zuko responded happily.

Like a little puppy.

That was Kahn's silent assessment of Zuko.

Wasn't it a little disrespectful to describe the emperor's grandson that way?

"I'm glad you've both made a new friend. I think you'll need some space to spend time together."

Iroh patted them both on the shoulder.

"I'll stay a little farther away. I hope you can get to know each other."

He walked off to a spot just the right distance from them, far enough not to disturb them but close enough to keep them in sight.

"Hey-"

Kahn watched Iroh's retreating back, utterly helpless. I don't want to get to know some little brat.

After Iroh left, Kahn and Zuko stared at each other in silence.

Kahn couldn't find anything to talk about with a child, so he simply said nothing. It wasn't as though he feared awkwardness.

As long as he didn't feel awkward, someone else would.

But Zuko wasn't feeling awkward either. He was just a little shy and a little excited, working hard to organize his words in his head.

Finally, Zuko spoke first. "Um, Kahn, what do you usually do for fun? Can we go play together?"

What did I usually do for fun?

Kahn couldn't help thinking back. Images surfaced in his mind of himself in the courtyard when he was bored, imitating the movements and poses of anime characters from his previous life and reciting their classic lines, along with the little imaginary scenes before bed that he looked forward to most every day...

Come to think of it, lately he had favored imagining and imitating characters with flame powers, because he could play with fire now too. Not only could he add his own special effects while imitating their moves, but he could also practice his firebending while having fun. It really was killing several birds with one stone.

Ahem, off topic.

But he definitely couldn't mention any of that. It wasn't a question of whether it was embarrassing; his main concern was that little Zuko wouldn't understand.

So Kahn considered it for a moment, then answered:

"Usually, I mostly study and practice firebending."

That's right. I'm just that kind of diligent little star student.

Kahn affirmed this to himself.

Zuko, however, looked a little disappointed by Kahn's answer. "Isn't that the same stuff I usually do?"

Then another idea struck him, and he suggested:

"Don't you play with other people? Why don't we find some other people to play with?"

"But I like studying better. Studying makes me happy."

Kahn answered with a perfectly straight face.

He had only just turned down those people's invitation. If he went looking for them now, where would he put his pride?

"Then, then, then..."

Faced with Kahn's refusal, Zuko was at a loss. He looked toward Iroh nearby as though appealing for help, hoping to receive some assistance.

But Iroh merely smiled and waved at him, doing nothing else.

Looking at the somewhat flustered Zuko in front of him, Kahn suddenly felt that this child was rather cute and quite fun to tease (?).

But this guy does count as a prince. It wouldn't be good to tease him until he cried. What if he held a grudge and came back to persecute me?

So Kahn took the initiative. "I was planning to go to the library earlier. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure!"

Zuko immediately agreed happily, instantly forgetting who had just rejected his suggestion and left him at such a loss that he had appealed to Uncle Iroh for help.

This kid's pretty interesting.

At that moment, Kahn seemed to awaken to a certain interest.

As they walked, Zuko looked this way and that, his face full of wonder, as though he were seeing some rare sights. Yet all around them were only students in groups of three or five and some ordinary scenery.

Kahn asked, "Have you never been out before?"

Zuko shook his head. "Father won't let me leave home to play, though our family occasionally goes traveling together. But even then, I can't run around, or I'll get scolded."

"I only got to come out today because Uncle Iroh is with me."

Kahn felt sympathy for him. For a child, being shut up at home all day really was miserable.

Still, Kahn could understand Zuko's father's approach. After all, Zuko was the emperor's grandson. For the sake of his personal safety, he really couldn't be allowed to run around everywhere.

Then Zuko pursed his lips. "Only Azula gets to run around everywhere without getting scolded."

"Azula?"

The sudden appearance of an unfamiliar name left Kahn a little confused.

"Yes, Azula. She's my younger sister."

Zuko nodded, then complained:

"But sometimes I even wonder whether we're really brother and sister. She's absolutely crazy!"

The moment Azula came up, Zuko became visibly annoyed. He was just about to complain to Kahn when he heard Kahn say:

"We're at the library."

At that, Zuko immediately forgot his complaints about Azula and looked up.

Before them were three flights of nine steps, above which stood an enormous, classically elegant library.

Although the library in the palace was grander and more imposing than this one, Zuko still found it quite novel, because the palace library didn't have so many people coming and going.

Even before they entered the library, their previously noisy surroundings grew quiet. Most of the people entering and leaving were a little older than them, but some were around their age, carrying books and remaining very quiet.

Zuko instinctively held his breath and nearly choked himself.

Kahn chuckled and patted his back, signaling for him to relax, then walked forward. "Come on, let's go in."

Zuko came to his senses and hurried after Kahn.

Zuko wasn't a student at this school, nor was he a teacher, and he hadn't paid either, so by rights he wasn't allowed inside. However, the librarian recognized the Fire Nation's crown prince following behind them.

The librarian approached respectfully, and the two exchanged a few quiet words. Iroh was all smiles, and after they finished talking, the librarian bowed to him.

Although Iroh had suffered a crushing military defeat, he apparently remained much loved by the people of the Fire Nation.

After entering the library, Kahn headed straight for the shelf he had in mind and began searching for his target.

Beside him, Zuko pulled out a thick book at random. Its cover read Chronicles of the Fire Nation III. When he opened it, the densely packed words made his head spin, and there were many characters he didn't recognize.

So these shelves held the history section.

Zuko was surprised and asked Kahn:

"Can you understand the books here? There are so many characters I don't know."

Kahn scratched his cheek. "Me? I do all right. I can read the general content without much trouble."

Who knew why this world's writing was traditional Chinese? Still, it was very convenient. Although there were some characters he couldn't write, he could understand most of them.

"Ah, found it."

At last, Kahn found the book he wanted at a spot above his head. Zuko leaned over curiously and saw that it was called History of the Avatar.

"The Avatar? I know about that. Mother mentioned it when she told me bedtime stories."

Seeing a familiar name, Zuko grew a little excited.

"History as bedtime stories?"

Uh, I suppose there's nothing wrong with that.

Kahn was surprised at first, then immediately accepted it.

In a world with supernatural powers, history looked much like fiction, especially this History of the Avatar in his hands. Its contents were downright fantastical, to the point that it was hard to believe any of it had really existed.

He himself was reading the thing as a novel anyway.

With the book in hand, Kahn was ready to start reading, but looking at Zuko standing beside him, he thought for a moment and suggested:

"How about I read it to you?"

"Sure!"