"When did Zuko get so close to that little girl Azula? They actually went off to play a prank together!"
A day later, after attending a Council Meeting, Iroh heard an astonishing piece of news in the Royal Palace. When he returned home, he eagerly shared the gossip with Kahn, his face full of amazement.
Already knowing the inside story, Kahn suppressed a laugh and asked Iroh:
"And then? What happened to them?"
"Nothing happened to Azula, but poor Zuko was punished with a month of confinement."
Iroh clicked his tongue. Ozai's unequal treatment was quite blatant.
Kahn also observed three seconds of silence for Zuko in his heart. What an unlucky kid.
This was the demand Azula had made of Zuko: the two of them had to play a prank together inside the Royal Palace.
Heaven have mercy, our kindhearted Zuko had never played a prank on anyone. Instead, he was frequently the victim of Azula's pranks, so he had been extremely resistant when he heard her demand.
But in the end, out of his longing to learn Yin Shu's whereabouts, and with encouragement (egging on) from Kahn, his friend, Zuko still took that difficult step.
Their prank's target was their new History Teacher. According to Azula, this History Teacher had little ability but a big mouth, constantly bossing her around. Even Zuko had been kept after class several times.
Azula had long been sick of him. Even without Zuko's involvement this time, this History Teacher would not have escaped.
In fact, to keep the novice Zuko from being too badly shaken, Azula had used much gentler methods than usual this time. That was already a blessing amid misfortune.
For this History Teacher whom he had never met, Kahn could only offer an apology.
Someone chosen to teach the prince and princess naturally could not have lacked genuine ability the way Azula claimed, but his judgment was indeed somewhat lacking. He had failed to read the situation or recognize Azula's position as the Royal Palace's little tyrant, and had suffered an undeserved calamity.
Watching Kahn's expression, Iroh suddenly noticed a clue:
"You don't seem very surprised. Don't tell me you planned this together beforehand?"
Imitating Iroh, Kahn chuckled and said:
"Take a guess."
"You little brat!"
Iroh scolded him with a laugh and gave Kahn's forehead a tap, neither hard nor soft. He did not keep guessing, merely reminding him:
"I know you're clever, but don't take things too far. If something happens, a retired old man without a thing to his name like me can't cover for you."
Although he did not know what Kahn and Azula were doing, he had noticed some of their activities.
But Kahn and Azula were both extremely intelligent and capable, even far surpassing many adults he had met. They were practically two little monsters, so he was not very worried about their activities. An occasional reminder like this would suffice.
Leaving Azula aside, he believed Kahn should know where to draw the line.
"Yeah, I know."
Kahn rubbed his forehead as he replied.
Although that was what Iroh said, Kahn believed that if something happened, Iroh would certainly not abandon him.
Of course, he did not want anything to happen, either.
He had to admit that the luckiest thing to happen to him since coming to this world was probably meeting an elder like Iroh and becoming his disciple.
Having a master like that standing behind him really put him at ease.
Back to the matter at hand: Zuko had been confined for playing a prank, but nothing at all had happened to Azula. After lying low for a while, she climbed over the wall and slipped out again on the third day, giving Kahn plenty of juicy details about what had happened.
According to Azula, Zuko had been trembling with nerves at the time. He had looked less like someone about to prank another person and more like someone being bullied.
After the prank, Zuko had looked utterly dead inside, as though he had been broken by all the torment. That stupid look had delighted her for ages, so she had, for once, refrained from making things too difficult for him. She had carried out most of the prank herself.
Of course, Zuko had taken all the blame afterward.
She really is a demon.
Kahn marveled inwardly.
But regardless, after this test, Zuko had finally become one of them. This also meant that Zuko had begun standing against Ozai, which was a good start as far as Kahn was concerned.
However, since Zuko had been confined for a month, Azula's plan also had to be delayed by a month. Once she realized this, Azula could no longer laugh and became quite frantic.
Kahn gloated, declaring that Azula had brought it entirely upon herself, and then they fought again.
But just when he thought he had another month of peaceful living ahead of him, barely two weeks passed before Azula could take it no longer and came straight to him with Mai and Ty Lee.
"Come on, let's go play with Zuzu!"
Kahn fell silent.
"Isn't he still in confinement?"
"What does confinement matter? We just have to avoid getting caught."
Azula brushed it off.
Kahn looked at Mai and Ty Lee, only to discover, to his surprise, that neither showed any resistance. He did not know whether they thought the same way as Azula, had already grown accustomed to her actions, or both.
At any rate, it was pretty badass.
With even Mai and Ty Lee raising no objections, he had even less reason to chicken out. With no other choice, he followed them into the Royal Palace.
"The place where Zuko's confined should be heavily guarded, right? I think we'd better be cautious. How about we wait until-"
On the way, Kahn was still trying hard to salvage his next two weeks of peaceful living. Yet Azula remained completely unmoved. She led them to an unremarkable junction and suddenly pressed a spot on the smooth wall. A secret passage abruptly appeared before them.
"What's this?!"
Seeing Kahn's astonished expression, Azula smiled rather smugly.
"Do you think I'd do something without any preparations?"
"The place where Zuzu's confined is excellent. There just happens to be a secret passage leading to that room. Follow me. You can learn what our [exploration game] is really like while you're at it."
Azula conjured a flame in her palm and entered the secret passage with practiced ease, looking thoroughly familiar with everything before her.
Kahn looked at the other two. Mai likewise looked as though this was nothing out of the ordinary, while Ty Lee spread her arms in welcome.
"Kahn, welcome to the [Royal Girls' Exploration Club]!"
"Uh, thank you? While we're at it, can we change the club's name?"
"You'll have to ask Azula about that. She's the leader. She decides all of this."
"All right."
Leaving the club's name aside for now, judging by Mai and Ty Lee, they had long since grown accustomed to this and found nothing unusual about it.
Kahn was momentarily at a loss for words.
Exploring the Royal Palace's secret passages actually counts as an [exploration game]? Isn't a game on this level a little too advanced for a bunch of children?
Azula's actions really stretch my imagination again and again. Does your dad know you're this badass?
He doesn't?
Oh, then never mind.
Kahn increasingly wondered whether he had boarded a pirate ship. He was the one who had transmigrated, so why did he feel as though he could not even outplay a little girl?
This is ridiculous!
Before you continue