Azula

"Hah!"

"Hyah!"

On the training platform, Kahn was learning martial arts-or, more precisely, practicing firebending.

Firebending, as the name suggested, was the art of controlling fire. It comprised a complete set of movements, and aside from their fire-controlling function, those movements were also a complete set of martial arts techniques.

Whether in bending duels or close combat, firebending was the foundation on which a firebender stood.

The design was ingenious: one set of movements trained both the body and bending, saving time and effort. Whoever had designed firebending was an absolute genius!

Kahn was a firebender too, so besides his regular academic studies, he also had dedicated firebending lessons. Right now, he was reviewing what his teacher had taught him that day.

After his review, he practiced the entire firebending sequence once. Flames danced with his movements, sometimes surging out, sometimes flashing and vanishing. There was both weight and nimbleness to it, making it quite pleasing to the eye-

That was probably how someone who knew nothing about firebending would describe it.

In reality, Kahn's current ability was only average. After days of constant practice, he had merely recovered the level his original self had possessed in his memories.

And his original self's ability had only been above average among his peers.

By the end of the sequence, Kahn was panting lightly.

Besides the firebending his original self had mastered, Kahn had also tried teaching himself more advanced material that school had yet to cover, but performing it was a considerable struggle.

There happened to be a complete set of firebending scrolls at home, one of the few pleasant surprises Kahn had found in his house.

But learning firebending was not like doing broadcast calisthenics, where getting the movements right was enough. When performing firebending, spiritual energy circulated through the body along with the movements. Subtle changes in force and differences in when one relaxed or exerted strength would all produce different effects.

Without grasping the essentials, all the practice in the world would be wasted effort.

Yet without a teacher's hands-on guidance, it was difficult to gauge those subtle differences or notice one's own mistakes.

For Kahn to have not only recovered his original self's ability in the days since transmigrating, but also brought his self-taught firebending to this level, he could actually already be considered a genius.

Bang, bang, bang!

"Kahn, are you home?"

Along with the knocking came Zuko's voice calling at the door.

Hearing Zuko, Kahn brushed the dust off himself and walked over. "Coming!"

Since their first meeting, Iroh had kept bringing Zuko over to play during the past few days.

Kahn's first impression of the child had been quite good. He was a polite, sensible little boy, and polite, sensible children were always well liked. In his heart, Kahn treated him as a younger brother too.

As for Zuko, he had been very happy these past few days, because Kahn was his first real friend-and a very good friend at that.

Kahn was very steady and loved studying too-unlike Azula, who went crazy all day long-and he felt very mature, like an adult. He could even tell Zuko stories.

In short, everything about him was good. Even his mother had heaped praise on Kahn after learning about him, saying she felt quite comfortable letting Zuko play with him.

Normally, he was not allowed out. These past few days, his father had been too busy to keep an eye on him, and with Iroh accompanying him, he had been able to come out and play for a while. So whenever he got out, he hurried eagerly over to Kahn's.

Kahn opened the door, and sure enough, an old man and a boy stood outside. "Uncle Iroh, Zuko."

Zuko answered, "Kahn!"

"Practicing your firebending? How diligent."

Iroh spoke with a genial smile. Kahn smelled of scorching; it was obvious at a glance.

"Not really. It's just homework my teacher assigned."

"Come on in first. Oh, Uncle Iroh, I bought some new tea. If you want some, please brew it yourself. Mine doesn't taste very good. There are snacks too. I'll go wash up first."

The last time Iroh had visited, Kahn had casually brewed some tea for him, only to be subjected to a lengthy lecture about "wasting tea leaves" and "a barbarian's way of brewing." Only then had Kahn learned that Iroh loved drinking tea and was very skilled at brewing it.

But Iroh stopped him. "No need to go to all that trouble. I actually have something to attend to today, so I'll be heading back to the palace shortly."

"Hm?"

Kahn asked in surprise, "Then why did you bring Zuko over to play with me?"

Without Iroh accompanying him, Zuko would never be allowed to stay outside alone.

Iroh stroked his beard with an air of affected mystery.

"Well, that's because..."

"I want you to come over to my house, and my mother wants to meet you too!"

Before Iroh could finish building the suspense, however, Zuko revealed why they had come to see Kahn.

Zuko looked at Kahn expectantly. "Will you come?"

Uh... Looking at his eager little eyes, Kahn felt he did not really have a choice.

"Sure, but am I allowed inside?"

Zuko's home was the royal palace. Was it really all right to just bring some random outsider in?

"Of course. I'll take you inside. Just don't go wandering around."

As the reigning crown prince, Iroh gave his assurance with ample confidence.

"Once you've washed up and changed into clean clothes, we'll set off."

Then he chuckled. "Still, while we wait, I could have a taste of that new tea."

Kahn glanced at him. Why did he make drinking tea sound like sneaking off for an affair?

"All right."

A little while later, Kahn had washed up and changed into clean clothes, and Iroh had finished his tea. Kahn then followed the two toward the palace.

Kahn was actually a little worried. After all, the palace represented the center of power, elaborate etiquette, struggles for the throne, and so on-nothing good. Even if he was a bona fide transmigrator, he still had little arms and legs right now and probably could not withstand being put through the wringer.

So he asked Zuko beside him:

"Are there any particularly important rules in the palace? Things I shouldn't do, places I shouldn't go, that sort of thing."

"Hmm..."

Zuko thought seriously for a while before replying, "There are lots."

No kidding. I know there are lots!

Kahn looked at Zuko speechlessly. Walking behind them, Iroh had also heard their conversation and burst out laughing.

"Relax. You're just visiting Zuko's home. Behave as you normally would. There's nothing particularly special about it."

"Really?"

Kahn was dubious.

For some reason, he kept feeling that this crown prince seemed rather unreliable. Was it really all right to entrust the country's future to him?

He even suspected that Iroh's first policy after taking the throne would be to promote teahouses.

Whatever the case, he eventually entered the palace without any trouble.

After that, he and Iroh parted ways, as someone had come to receive Iroh. He said he would come back to take Kahn home once he had finished his business.

So Kahn walked with Zuko toward his home. On the way, Kahn suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of which, is your father home?"

From his conversations with Zuko, Kahn had gotten the impression that his father, Ozai, was always very strict with him-harsh, even-and did not seem easy to get along with.

Zuko shook his head. "No. Father has things to attend to, just like Uncle Iroh."

Otherwise, he probably would not have brought Kahn home as a guest. After all, the last time he had talked about Kahn, his father had not seemed to like Kahn very much.

In fact, he could simply remove "seemed" and "very much" altogether.

Still, luckily Mother really likes Kahn. She even asked me to bring him home for a visit.

After they had walked for quite a while, a gap finally appeared in the seemingly endless wall beside them. Zuko said, "We're here."

But before the two could enter the palace building, a teasing girl's voice came from above.

"So this is the dear friend you've been 'pining for,' Zuzu?"

They looked up and saw a little girl sitting on the wall, swinging her feet and grinning down at them as she spoke.

In a voice filled with wariness and displeasure, Zuko called out the girl's name:

"Azula!"