Because of his sudden "episode," the discussion ca to an abrupt end.
Despite Kahn repeatedly insisting that he was perfectly fine, Azula still dragged him to the royal physicians for a full examination.
The final diagnosis was vague—sothing along the lines of "ntal instability caused by excessive stress."
Kahn: ???
Thank you very much.
After that, Azula confined him to his quarters, ordered him to rest for three days, and made it clear that resistance was not an option.
And just like that, his attempt at revealing the truth backfired, and he sohow ended up with three days off.
…Actually, that didn't sound so bad.
Originally, he had thought that since his identity as soone from another world might be exposed sooner or later, it would be better to co clean himself.
At the very least, he could keep so control over the situation and give them ti to adjust.
But while spacing out in the bath, he replayed what he had said and suddenly felt it might not be necessary after all.
Not to ntion Azula's reaction—even if he told the truth, no one would believe him.
At best, they would think he had lost his mind.
At worst, they would treat him like a threat.
Better to let things unfold naturally.
Still, it wasn't entirely pointless.
If the truth ever did co out later, and Azula brought it up again, he could at least say, "I already told you."
…Although, honestly, it had been a pretty foolish move.
Still, the result was that he and Azula now knew each other's secrets completely.
Even if that knowledge wasn't particularly useful.
For the next three days, Kahn followed Azula's orders to the letter.
He rested, relaxed, and sorted through everything he had gained recently.
Aside from the information about Ursa and the so-called Face Stealer, his biggest gain was the knowledge of Waterbending that Misu had shared before she left.
What Misu demonstrated during their encounter was far more than basic Waterbending.
She could manipulate flowers, vines, and other plant life, making it look almost mystical.
According to her, this was a specialized application of Waterbending.
By controlling the moisture within plants, a waterbender could indirectly manipulate them.
The mont he heard that, Kahn imdiately thought of sothing far more unsettling—
Controlling blood.
But just like his earlier idea of using Heatbending to manipulate body temperature, it remained purely theoretical.
Living bodies had natural energy flow that protected them.
Unless a bender's control was vastly stronger than their opponent's—or certain rare conditions were t—it was nearly impossible to forcibly override that balance.
It was a sha that their ti together had been so short.
Misu wasn't the type to enjoy combat, but if they had sparred, he might have gained even more insight.
Before leaving, she had also taught him so basic knowledge about Waterbending.
For example, aside from standard techniques, there was also healing.
A rare ability that only certain waterbenders could awaken, allowing them to use water to heal injuries.
Kahn was imdiately stunned.
So there really were healers.
Thinking about that, and then comparing it to the sensory abilities of earthbenders, he once again felt a wave of envy toward the other elents.
At the sa ti, he thought about Zuko's injured eye.
If that healing ability was as effective as it sounded, there might still be hope.
He made a ntal note to rember it.
At the sa ti, he also learned about so… questionable traditions from Misu's holand.
Misu and her brother ca from the Northern Water Tribe.
As the na suggested, it was located in the frozen north.
A place so cold it was almost unthinkable.
It was the strongest stronghold of the Water Tribe, and one of the few places the Fire Nation could not easily conquer.
But in the Northern Water Tribe, there was a rule that completely baffled Kahn.
Only female waterbenders were allowed to learn healing.
They were forbidden from learning combat techniques.
…
What?
Setting aside the issue of gender discrimination, he simply couldn't understand the logic.
Limiting your own strength like that?
Wouldn't it be better to have warriors who could both fight and heal?
Was this so kind of balance system?
It made no sense.
In comparison, the Fire Nation actually handled things much better.
For example, when he had first arrived in this world, he had been told he would be sent to an orphanage and that his assets would be managed by the state.
At the ti, he had assud those assets would quietly disappear.
But later, he realized he had completely overthought it.
Children of fallen soldiers received special care.
Even orphans like him, with no relatives, were properly supported and raised.
After a century of war, the system had beco stable and deeply rooted.
Even Ozai never interfered with it.
It had effectively beco a foundational policy of the Fire Nation.
Of course, that didn't erase the Fire Nation's original sins.
Right was right.
Wrong was wrong.
Both had to be acknowledged.
Even so, despite how short his exchange with Misu had been, Kahn had gained a great deal.
All of it would beco valuable experience on his path to mastering Firebending.
Thinking about it, when he had first started training seriously, Iroh had suggested that he travel the world to broaden his horizons.
Kahn had agreed with that idea.
Learning from both study and experience was the right path.
But plans rarely survived reality.
With Ozai looming over everything like an immovable mountain, he had no idea when he would gain that kind of freedom.
Right now, he had too many things on his plate.
Finding Ursa.
Learning Spiritbending.
Planning how to deal with Ozai.
And the approaching arrival of the cot.
The pressure was imnse.
Maybe the royal physicians hadn't been entirely wrong.
But he would never admit to being "ntally unstable."
anwhile, after several days of quiet observation, Azula confird that Kahn showed no signs of anything abnormal.
He hadn't been affected by any spirit.
No signs of manipulation.
No hidden influence.
Finally, she relaxed.
And, as usual, imdiately followed that up by mocking him.
"Good thing you said everything you needed to earlier."
"Otherwise, if your mind had really snapped, I would've had a bit of trouble."
"Even though nothing actually happened."
Kahn had long since grown used to her tone.
He ignored it completely, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
After all, her concern had been genuine.
He decided not to argue with her this ti.
Now that she was no longer worried, Azula's curiosity about his earlier rambling resurfaced.
She asked directly, without any hesitation.
"So, what exactly did you an back then?"
"'Soone from another world'?"
"…Huh?"
Kahn paused for a mont before answering.
"You can think of it as… I'm a special kind of existence."
"Sothing like the Avatar."
"You?"
"The Avatar?"
"Hahahahaha—!"
The mont she heard that, Azula froze for half a second.
Then she burst into laughter.
Her eyes widened as if she had just heard the most ridiculous joke imaginable.
She slapped his shoulder, still laughing.
"I have to admit, that's the funniest thing I've heard all year."
Even soone like Azula, who looked down on authority, understood what the Avatar represented.
Comparing himself to that was… excessive.
Kahn just shrugged.
Compared to ancient spirits…
Compared to the Avatar…
Compared to all the unknown forces in this world…
What was he, really?
Just a normal person.
A person who, even if thrown into ancient tis, probably wouldn't even know how to make glass.
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