"I have good news for everyone: our Royal Girls' Adventure Team is officially back in action today!"
On the very first day after Kahn's departure, Azula strode out of the palace in high spirits, gathered Mai and Ty Lee, and announced the "exciting" news.
Ty Lee raised her hand and asked, "Why call it a revival? Weren't we always active as an adventure team?"
"Excellent question!"
Azula looked delighted with Ty Lee's response, then spread her arms wide with a grin.
"Because today marks the return of the true Royal Girls' trio!"
Mai frowned slightly and asked, "Just the three of us? Where's Kahn?"
"He's tied up with sothing lately. Won't be available for a few days."
When it ca to Kahn, Azula brushed it off casually, showing no sign of concern.
Mai and Ty Lee didn't question it further.
After all, both Kahn and Azula had been disappearing together quite often recently, and they'd eventually figured out why.
"That's not the point. The point is that our long-lost trio is finally back."
As Azula spoke, a familiar mischievous smile crept onto her face, and she looked practically itching to stir up trouble as she beckoned the two of them.
"So, sisters… don't you feel like having a little fun?"
Ever since Kahn entered the picture, her wild, unrestrained antics had noticeably decreased (Kahn: ?).
Now that he was gone for a few days, she suddenly felt like reliving her old glory days.
Mai shrugged indifferently at the suggestion, while Ty Lee agreed without hesitation.
"Of course!"
"It's been pretty boring lately anyway."
Although the two of them often ended up getting pushed around by Azula during their "fun," making them seem pitiful, the truth was they weren't exactly innocent themselves.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have beco friends with Azula in the first place.
Besides, everyone had their own burdens to carry.
Letting loose with Azula like this was, in its own way, a form of relief.
And so, the first day without Kahn beca a day of complete indulgence for the three of them.
They thoroughly humiliated the fools they disliked, sneaked into restricted chambers to explore, and later settled down to enjoy a leisurely afternoon tea.
During their break, they chatted casually about their recent lives.
Since Zuko had left, Mai had been down for a while, but she had mostly recovered by now.
Ty Lee's life remained as uneventful as ever, filled with routine academy days.
So most of the ti, they simply listened to Azula recount her latest mission.
As the conversation drifted, the topic gradually turned to Kahn.
"Co to think of it, is Kahn on a mission too? Like you were last ti?"
Ty Lee asked curiously.
"Sothing like that. Don't ask too many questions. It's not sothing you should know."
Azula leaned lazily on her arm and spoke in a casual tone, though her words carried a chilling weight.
"If Kahn's situation is exposed, I won't be able to protect you two."
Ty Lee imdiately froze, clamping her mouth shut and shaking her head vigorously.
At that mont, Mai spoke up.
"By the way… how are things between you and Kahn?"
Azula stiffened slightly.
Ty Lee instantly forgot her earlier fear and leaned forward with bright curiosity.
"It's nothing. Things are going smoothly."
Azula shrugged, trying to sound casual, but her acting was noticeably worse than usual.
Mai and Ty Lee could tell at a glance—she was clearly saying the opposite.
Her unconscious awkwardness gave everything away.
For once, Azula couldn't even manage a proper lie.
In that mont, she seed more like an ordinary girl than ever before.
Mai sighed inwardly, never imagining that even Azula would one day fall for soone.
To be honest, when Azula had first co to her asking for advice on romance, Mai's carefully maintained indifference had nearly shattered on the spot.
That night, she even had a bizarre nightmare.
She dread that after being rejected, Azula flew into a rage and buried the poor guy alive.
That wasn't even the scariest part.
The truly terrifying thing was that Mai believed Azula was fully capable of doing exactly that.
And when she learned that the person Azula liked was Kahn, she felt both enlightened—and strangely sympathetic toward him.
She didn't know what Kahn was thinking, but she sincerely hoped he would make wise decisions.
That was the most genuine blessing she could offer her friend.
Back to the matter at hand—ever since Azula started asking for advice, Mai had been paying close attention to their progress.
But now it seed that "rapid developnt" was far too generous a description.
At best, there was still plenty of room for improvent.
"So… up to now, nothing between you two has actually changed?"
"Of course not! I an—we're more in sync now, and we understand each other really well. Our progress is—"
Azula shot back imdiately, gesturing animatedly and listing example after example.
But in the end, she fell silent, forced to face reality.
"…Alright. Nothing's changed at all."
She had tried plenty of thods.
Unfortunately, her way of expressing herself might have had… slight issues.
And Kahn, on top of that, was unbelievably dense.
The result was that none of her efforts had achieved the desired effect.
Ty Lee tilted her head and asked innocently, "Why not just tell him directly? Wouldn't it be better to be honest?"
Hearing that, Mai couldn't help but picture Azula burying Kahn alive after a rejection.
She shuddered and quickly cut in.
"Don't listen to Ty Lee. She's never even been in a relationship—what would she know?"
Ty Lee: "?"
That felt a little uncalled for.
Ignoring Ty Lee's reaction, Mai continued, "Right now, your priority should be adjusting how you present yourself. You need to change the way Kahn sees you—make him realize you're not just a friend, but a girl worth noticing."
Truth be told, even though she and Zuko were together, Mai didn't actually understand this sort of thing all that well.
She had cramd all this knowledge just to give Azula advice.
She had sacrificed far too much for this fragile friendship.
Azula agreed with Mai in principle.
The problem was… actually doing it was incredibly difficult.
Just like the ti she had tried to comfort Kahn—
Even she had to admit it ca off more like a provocation.
As she'd already realized, this simply wasn't her area of talent.
At that mont, Ty Lee suddenly clapped her hands in realization.
"Oh! No wonder those girls at the academy all failed! They got the steps wrong!"
"…Hmm?"
Azula imdiately caught onto the key detail.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What are you talking about?"
Mai felt a bad premonition creeping in.
But Ty Lee remained completely oblivious, speaking excitedly as if sharing gossip.
"Didn't you know? Kahn was super popular at the academy! Before he left, girls were confessing to him all the ti!"
"…That's new information."
Azula's lips curved into a faint smile.
But her eyes were ice-cold.
Ty Lee shivered, suddenly realizing she might have said sothing she shouldn't have.
"I'm sure you two wouldn't mind explaining this in detail… sisters."
Azula's gaze locked onto them like a hawk eyeing its prey.
"I'm very interested in Kahn's academy life."
The first review is over, and I still don't know the results.
I drank a bit too much at the class dinner tonight.
Looking back, four years really passed in the blink of an eye.
Starting tomorrow, I'll resu double updates.
But if the first review doesn't pass and I have to prepare for a second one…
Wish luck.
Life's rough—sigh.
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