Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 17 (Patreon)

*knock* *knock* *knock*

Hearing a knock at his door, Kahn, now appearing as a young boy with an athletic frame and wild, nearly pitch-black hair, opened his eyes and said, "It's open." in his usual, monotonous tone. He immediately came to regret this as the person who opened his door was none other than Jinora.

"Kahn? Are you-"

Seeing a shirtless Kahn supporting himself upside down on nothing but his fingertips, Jinora's brain briefly short-circuited. Physical training was an essential component of Chi development, so, ever since he was eight years old, Kahn had been training and refining his body every day, and it showed.

Though she had just turned seven a few months prior, Jinora had always been a curious, borderline precocious girl. She spent a lot of time reading historical dramas and romance stories, so, even though she shouldn't, she couldn't help gawking until Kahn flipped to his feet, back turned to her as he asked, "Do your parents know you're visiting the Men's Dormitory?"

"Uhh...."

Averting her eyes from the muscles of Kahn's back, Jinora replied, "Mom was the one who gave me permission. Dad wanted to speak with you, so I volunteered to fly over..."

Noticing Jinora avert her eyes, Kahn quickly donned a form-fitting black t-shirt and the fur-collared vest Korra had sent to him for his tenth birthday. It barely covered half of his torso ever since his growth spurt, but he still wore it whenever he went out.

"Understood. Let's go."

Without giving Jinora time to respond, Kahn practically ushered her out of his room. He didn't want her to develop the idea he was comfortable with her trespassing the Men's Dormitory, much less his room. Unless it was an emergency, she could have called out to him or asked one of the Acolytes loitering around outside to inform him of her arrival. There was no need to enter the Men's Dormitory directly.

Realizing she had erred, Jinora meekly inquired, "Did I mess up? Are...are you mad?"

Inhaling through his nose, Kahn made a show of exhaling a sincere yet feigned sigh of exasperation. He still struggled with emoting whenever he was genuinely angry or upset, but he had gotten a lot better at emulating the reactions others expected from him.

"It's fine so long as you don't make a habit of it. Next time, just call out to me. My ears are sensitive enough that I could probably hear you shouting from the Temple."

Misunderstanding Kahn's words, a faint blush colored Jinora's cheeks as she muttered, "I'm not that loud..."

With Jinora looking away from him with a pout, Kahn just shook his head before asking, "Do you know what your father wants to discuss? The only thing that comes to mind is Korra's coming of age ceremony, but that isn't for another five months."

Hearing Kahn mention Korra, Jinora's brows creased as she ignored his question and asked, "Do you miss her? Korra, I mean. You wear the jacket she made for you everywhere you go..."

Raising his brows, a faint smile developed across Kahn's face as he asked, "Didn't you say this jacket looked cool on me? You really change your tone whenever I mention Korra..."

"..."

Feeling annoyed, a burst of wind pulsed away from Jinora's feet as she said, "We should hurry..." before ascending into the sky as if gravity had suddenly stopped affecting her. She had improved significantly over the past three and a half years, so much so that she could easily cover more than a hundred kilometers before needing to rest. If she had a glider with her, she could easily quadruple that.

Exhaling yet another sigh, Kahn slipped his hands into his pockets as tiny bands of vibrant, bluish-white lightning began to crackle across his body, further accenting his already untamed hair. He could also fly if he wanted to, but his preferred method of travel, at least across short distances, was a technique he had coined the 'flash step'.

While the knowledge of numerous Flash Steps existed in Kahn's mind, the version he used was effectively just a superpowered leap. He had gotten much better at infusing lightning into his body, so much so that he could now target specific muscle groups. Fire Elemental Enhancement also had the curious effect of reducing the user's weight, so Kahn could now cover as much as 130m in a single step. The downside was that executing more than a dozen or so steps in quick succession would make his thighs and calves feel as though they were going to explode.

Unfortunately for Jinora, her maximum speed without her specialized equipment was only around 60km/h. Kahn's 'effective' speed was close to 400km/h, so he was already there waiting for her by the time she reached the Temple.

Landing a few meters away from Kahn, Jinora's expression was now a full-on glower as she said, "I hate when you do that..."

Scratching the back of his head, Kahn elected to remain silent as Jinora walked past him. He had learned to stay quiet whenever a woman, even a girl as young as Jinora, was behaving irrationally. Asking why they were upset or trying to reason with them would just further upset them. Thus, unless he had done something meriting an apology, he would just remain silent until they invariably apologized or explained why they were upset.

Demonstrating the value of this wisdom, Jinora and Kahn only made it a few steps into the Temple when the former lowered her head and softly muttered, "Sorry...I don't actually hate you or anything..."

Nodding his head in affirmation, Kahn stated, "I know." before extending his hand to ruffle Jinora's hair. She shook her head away in response, but, after checking to make sure her buns hadn't come undone, a faint smile developed across her face as she revealed, "I heard Dad say something about Fire Lord Zuko stepping down. I'm not sure what it has to do with you, but that's what they were talking about earlier."

Imagining several possibilities, none of them good, Kahn's expression morphed into a genuine frown. Tenzin had attempted, quite a number of times, to get him involved with the sociopolitical affairs of Republic City. He had also tried to arrange a meeting between him and Akua, but, as he had no desire to 'trigger' anything before Korra's arrival, Kahn had split his focus between training and educating Tenzin's two daughters, the seven-year-old Jinora and four-year-old Ikki.

Though Ikki was less talented than Jinora, she had the distinct advantage of having Kahn around her entire life. He had watched over her since she was an infant, and, during Pema's third pregnancy, he was the one taking care of her and Jinora while their mother battled a severe illness.

Kahn had refused Tenzin's and Pema's offer to become their adopted son, but he still viewed Jinora, Ikki, and the two-year-old Meelo as his siblings. He still had the duty of protecting Korra, but if anyone ever tried to harm Tenzin and his family, Kahn would show them the rather ironic reason he was the Avatar of Fire and Absolution. He would burn them until there was nothing left to forgive...

...

..

.

Despite seeing Kahn enter the room alongside his daughter, a fatherly smile developed across Tenzin's face as he said, "Ah, Kahn, thank you for coming on such short notice. I know today is your day off, so I appreciate you coming over."

Shaking his head, Kahn said, "It's not a problem." before shifting his gaze to Pema, smiling as he said, "Good afternoon, Pema."

Squinting her eyes in gratification, Pema returned a heartwarming smile of her own as she replied, "Good afternoon, Kahn. I see you used that little stepping technique of yours to get here. Your hair looks like a bird's nest."

Reaching up, Kahn attempted in vain to comb down his hair as he asked, "Tenzin, you wanted to see me? Is there something I can help with...?"

Understanding that Kahn wasn't one for small talk, Tenzin got straight to the point, explaining, "Fire Lord Zuko will soon be ceding his throne to his eldest daughter, Izumi. They have sent you an invitation and even have an airship waiting for you in port."

Rolling his eyes, Kahn asked, "And? I may be the Avatar of Fire, but I have no direct relation to the Fire Nation. I've also met Fire Lord Zuko a total of seven times. What purpose could he have in inviting me to his daughter's coronation?"

Shaking his head, Tenzin clarified, "It wasn't Lord Zuko who invited you, but the soon-to-be coronated Fire Lord Izumi. As for her reason...I don't think I need to explain that to you..."

--flashback to seven months prior---

Though it varied from region to region, most citizens of the Four Nations were considered adults by the age of fourteen, marriageable by the age of sixteen, and old enough to consume alcohol at eighteen. 

After residing on Air Temple Island for the better part of four and a half years, Kahn, standing a commendable 168cm in height, was preparing to celebrate his fourteenth birthday.

Since turning fourteen was a special occasion, quite a number of people, several of which Kahn had never even met, came by to congratulate him. The majority belonged to the Order of the White Lotus, but the group that stood out most was Fire Lord Zuko and his extended family.

As the Avatar of Fire, Kahn was of special interest to the Fire Nation and, more specifically, the members of the Royal Family. They had invited him to come and tour the Fire Nation Capital several times and even extended him an offer to become the Royal Instructor of Izumi's daughter, Princess Ethuza.

Though Princess Izumi's eldest son, Crown Prince Iroh was thirty-three, her daughter, Princess Ethuza, was much younger at fourteen years old. She was considered something of a miracle child, as, before her sudden and unexpected pregnancy, Izumi had been showing signs of beginning menopause. This resulted in numerous complications and a complicated delivery, so, after much deliberation, Izumi decided to name her daughter Ethuza, meaning Precious Gift.

Since her daughter happened to be around the same age as Kahn, Izumi decided to accompany her father to Air Temple Island. She didn't believe anything would come of it, but, at the very least, she wanted to introduce her daughter to Kahn. 

What Izumi had failed to take into consideration was just how exotic and handsome Kahn was. Her daughter was a bit of a recluse, often choosing to spend her time in the Palace Library, but even she couldn't help ogling the remarkably fit, untamed-looking youth.

After a considerable amount of hesitation, Ethuza managed to muster up the courage to speak with Kahn. Since she wasn't very sociable, she tried breaking the ice by quoting a passage she had stumbled across in one of her books. To her surprise, Kahn responded with a quote from the same book before confidently giving its title with a deadpan expression on his face.

Believing Kahn was one of her kin, meaning a bibliophile, all of the fear and anxiety Ethuza had felt approaching him vanished. Their conversation didn't last very long, but by the end of it, she was one reciprocative quote away from pouncing on him. He seemed to have encyclopedia knowledge of every book she had ever read, even the more obscure titles. Thus, after a mere seven minutes, Ethuza surprised virtually everyone at the party by spontaneously asking Kahn to marry her...

---back to the present---

"I have no intention of marrying Princess Ethuza. Please inform Lord Zuko and Fire Lord Izumi that I appreciate the efforts they made to provide an airship, but I won't be attending the coronation."

Without waiting for Tenzin's response, Kahn cupped his hands together before promptly turning around to leave. To his confusion, Tenzin didn't even try to stop him. Instead, the middle-aged Airbender began stroking his beard with an amused smile on his face...