Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 31 (Patreon)

After a quick tour of the Pro-Bending Arena's interior, Kahn and Korra headed outside to where the latter had moored Naga. A rather sizeable crowd had gathered around to gawk at the enormous creature, but they quickly dispersed upon the duo's arrival.

"Well, what now?"

Raising his brows, Kahn asked, "You're asking me? I'm just going with the flow. You're the one that wanted to explore."

Clicking her tongue, Korra pretended to ignore Kahn as she turned to ask, "What about you, girl? I'll bet you're pretty hungry after that swim, huh...?"

With Naga responding with a massive tongue lick, Korra chuckled before pushing away the giant, puppy-like creature and saying, "Then that's our next stop. Time to see what the food of Republic City is like."

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At Korra's behest, the group quickly found themselves outside a cozy, Ma and Pa-style restaurant specializing in hot and cold noodles. They were a couple hailing from the Northern Water Tribe and Fire Nation, so they had blended the cultures to create a unique series of dishes resembling curry and naengmyeon.

Though she wasn't particularly good with spicy foods, Korra went out of her way to order the spiciest thing on the menu. As for Kahn, he ordered something he knew Korra would like, fully anticipating a meal swap once the food turned out to be too spicy for her.

Unsurprisingly, Korra only got a few bites into her deceptively sweet curry before beads of sweat began to form on her brow. Shortly after that, as if it had been her intention from the start, she started proferring her food to Kahn, claiming it was something all couples did.

Though it earned them a considerable amount of attention, specifically from the old couple running the tiny restaurant, Kahn played along with Korra's antics. He actually enjoyed spicy food, and the 20% discount they received from the owners was a pleasant surprise; doubly so when they extended it to the food provided to Naga.

"Now what...?"

Raising his brows, Kahn was tempted to repeat his previous response but ultimately decided against it. He realized Korra was basically treating their outing as a date, so, after a moment of consideration, he suggested, "How about the park? Though I doubt it'll be as scenic as Air Temple Island, Republic City Park is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the entire city. Other than that, the only places that come to mind are the Harmony Tower and Little Ba Sing Se. The former provides people with a panoramic view of the city while the latter promotes itself as the largest shopping center in the entire world."

Hearing the word shopping, Korra immediately grabbed Kahn's arm and shouted, "We're going shopping~!" in an excited tone. She had heard a lot of good things about shopping from the girls back at the academy, so she was really looking forward to giving it a try. At the very least, she wanted Kahn to help her pick out a swimsuit...

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After a quick stop at the Republic City's International Bank and Currency Exchange, Kahn and Korra arrived at a massive shopping center modeled after the walled city of Ba Sing Se.

Similar to the actual Ba Sing Se, the rings of Little Ba Sing Se catered to people of a specific social or economic class. The outer and middle rings were accessible to everyone, but only affluent individuals could afford to shop in the latter. As for the centermost district, an extravagant complex resembling the Earth Kingdom's Royal Palace, only those with members' cards or those willing to fork over a 100,000 Yuan holding fee could enter.

Fortunately for Kahn, not that he couldn't afford it, Korra didn't insist they immediately check out the Upper Ring. Instead, she dragged him through various stores in the Lower/Outer Ring, a district predominantly utilized by restaurants, small boutiques, and crafts shops.

"Hey, Kahn, check this out! This place sells jewelry from the Northern and Southern Water Tribes!"

Ignoring the stares he was receiving, both as a result of his looks and the ever-growing number of bags in his hands, Kahn joined Korra outside the window of a small jeweler. They had a number of beautiful necklaces and wristlets on display, but, unlike the genuine article resting snuggly around Korra's neck, most of the items were rather apparent knock-offs.

Not wanting to waste money on fraudulent goods, Kahn elicited a bashful smile from Korra as he said, "I'll make you something better later. For now, we should drop these bags off at a courier service before making our way into the Middle Ring. It's pretty expensive, but they should be able to ship everything back to the island before the end of the day."

Directing her gaze to the thirteen bags straining in Kahn's fingers, Korra's blush became marginally more prominent as she replied, "Yeah, sure, let's do that. In hindsight, I'm not sure how they would have fit on Naga, so it's probably for the best."

Having eyed every courier during their three-hour tour of the Outer Ring, Kahn immediately beelined towards the nearest one. Korra, feeling a little guilty, offered to help him out, but he promptly refused. She might be able to carry exponentially more than him, but there were certain things 'men' simply couldn't compromise over.

Fortunately, at least for Kahn's wallet, the service to ship things to Air Temple Island was cheaper than anywhere else in the city. Since it was the home of a Councilman and the only Air Bending Family in the entire world, at least for the time being, the island enjoyed a number of unique privileges. The discounted courier service was simply the most pertinent to the present situation.

With his hands freed up, Kahn and Korra were able to walk hand-in-hand through the noticeably more luxurious Middle Ring. Korra's desire to shop had momentarily waned, so the young couple simply meandered through a large portion of the second ring before stopping at a relatively high-end restaurant located just outside the entrance to the Upper Ring.

While waiting for their food, Korra, still feeling guilty about making Kahn carry her bags, slumped her head and shoulders as she muttered, "Sorry about before. The girls back at the academy told me it's the 'duty' of the boyfriend to carry his girlfriend's bags. I just got a little carried away..."

Leaning forward onto the knuckles of his right hand, elbow atop the table, Kahn adopted a faint smile as he said, "You're cute when you're trying to act conscientiously..."

Though a faint red hue spread through her cheeks, Korra's face formed into an 'angry' pout as she said, "I'm trying to be serious here..."

Without losing his faint smile, Kahn simply replied, "When am I not being serious?"

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Feeling a ticklish sensation in her chest and abdomen, Korra promptly rose to her feet, hands lightly slamming the table as she said, "I need to go to the bathroom!" in a voice that carried much, much further than she intended. Thus, with the tips of her ears turning red, Korra stomped off to the bathroom, more so to cool her head than relieve herself.

Following Korra's departure with his eyes, Kahn's expression softened into a far more sincere smile as he mused, "I could get used to this..." in a soft, nearly inaudible tone.

When they first started dating, Kahn figured that Korra would simply drag him around before ultimately getting tired of his no-nonsense attitude. In his opinion, they were better suited to be friends or allies than something as complex as lovers. It was one of the reasons he refused to cross that final line with her, not because he wasn't curious about sex, but because he didn't want to rob Korra of something she could have given to the man or woman she actually loved.

After nearly a week of dating, Kahn's views regarding Korra had changed quite a bit. She was as headstrong as a Three-Toed Ox Lion, but she was also very considerate. When she realized she had done something wrong, she was quick to apologize, and, unlike most people, she truly meant it.

Envisioning the end to their first date, Kahn's smile became progressively more prominent. For one of the first times in his life, he altogether ceased paying attention to his surroundings. As a result, he didn't notice the many hungry gazes directed at him by many of the restaurant's female staff and occupants. He already garnered a lot of attention due to his cool features and visibly toned body, but his appeal was on a completely different level when he smiled.

Fortunately, more so for themselves than Kahn, most of the girls within the restaurant felt he was way out of their league. The singular exception was a young woman wearing the characteristic black and gold armor of Republic City's Metalbending Police Force.

Unlike the rest of the restaurant's female patrons, the woman in question, an unconventional, ponytailed beauty with stoic features, grey-blue eyes, and brown hair neatly framing her face, was practically glaring in Kahn's direction. She couldn't understand the reason why, but she felt a degree of familiarity towards him. Since the only people she associated with were her fellow officers and criminals, she couldn't help associating Kahn with the latter. He certainly wasn't one of her colleagues.

With Korra taking her time returning from the bathroom, Kahn eventually noticed the odd-eyed woman staring at him. His face also formed into a frown, not because the woman was glaring at him but because he had a pretty good idea who she was.

"Troublesome..."

Spurred by Kahn's reciprocative glare, the dark-haired Metalbender rose to her feet, confidently strolling over until she was essentially staring him down before coldly inquiring, "Have I arrested you before?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Kahn caught the proud-looking woman off guard by saying, "No, you're just confused because my aura is similar to your grandfather's. Either that or one of his direct descendants? I can't be certain without knowing how old you are."

Squinting her eyes, the as of yet to introduce herself, Metalbender briefly considered arresting Kahn on suspicions of being a member of the Triple Threat Triad. Even if he wasn't, she was confident she could convince the Chief to pin charges of indecent exposure on him. He might be eye candy to most, but that didn't give him a license to walk around in clothing that would invariably disrupt the public order.

Noticing the woman's eyes shift to his abs, Kahn's expression soured as he asked, "Are all of Toph's grandchildren like this...?"

Tensing at the casual mention of her grandmother's name, the previously arrogant-looking Metalbender became borderline hostile as she inquired, "How do you know my grandmother? You're clearly not an Earth or Metal Bender. And what did you mean when you said you had the same aura as my grandfather? My grandfather died long before I was born."

Earning no favors from the hairpin woman, Kahn replied with a lazy, "I'm one of the former mentors and current boyfriend of the Avatar. I lived with your grandmother during her stay in the South Pole. If you don't believe me, ask my girlfriend to bend two different elements when she gets back from the bathroom. Regardless of what you decide, I would advise you to stop tensing the metal cables in your armguards. I'm not fond of being on the receiving end of threats, even unspoken ones..."

Though he couldn't help wondering if fate had conspired to have him meet one of Toph's granddaughters when he and Korra were in the middle of searching for an Earthbending team member, Kahn wouldn't hesitate to teach the ostensibly hotheaded officer a lesson. He would probably have to apologize to her mother, but he wasn't going to sit idly if she suddenly tried to arrest him.

Fortunately for the young Metalbender, she only hesitated for a brief moment before retracing the cables threatening to erupt from the hidden compartments of her armguards. Other than a dubious indecent exposure charge, she didn't have anything substantive to pin on Kahn. Thus, for the time being, she decided to wait and confirm his identity. If he was who he claimed to be, trying to arrest him might actually get her suspended from the force. She was already toeing the line of suspension due to her efforts to capture the White Demon, so she couldn't afford the hassle of arresting the Avatar's ally, much less her boyfriend...

Realizing she may have overstepped her bounds, the considerably calmer Metalbender declared, "My name's Suya. Suya Beifong. Identify yourself."

Though he wasn't particularly fond of being told what to do, Kahn didn't feel like making unnecessary trouble for himself. Thus, after a moderately exasperated sigh, he met Suya's steely gaze and answered, "Kahn. Aldr Kahn."

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