Chương 6: Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 6
"He's just been...playing with her?"
After returning from taking care of her brother's funeral, the first thing Katara wanted to know about was the mysterious boy, Kahn.
Before her departure, Katara had told the members of the White Lotus to let Kahn do as he pleased so long as he didn't try to take Korra away from the compound. Her decision made the other Elders apprehensive, but, as someone who had journeyed alongside and married an Avatar, Katara had a much better understanding of fate/destiny than them.
Nodding her head in response to Katara's question, Senna had a fretful expression on her face as she explained, "Korra seems quite...taken with him. She used to be very difficult in the mornings. Now, she often comes to wake me up so I can cook breakfast for her. After that, she runs off to play with Kahn and doesn't return until late in the afternoon."
"I see...and what kind of games do they play? I trust you check on them frequently?"
With a wry smile on her face, Senna answered, "I did in the beginning, but Korra kept complaining about how I was embarrassing her..."
Having raised three children, two of which were remarkably independent from a very early age, Katara couldn't help chuckling. However, as Korra was a notorious troublemaker even before her contact with Kahn, Katara didn't want to focus on it. Instead, she redirected the conversation back to the subject of games, asking, "I imagine Korra at least tells you what they play together, correct? She doesn't strike me as the type of child to keep secrets."
Nodding her head for the umpteenth time, Senna explained, "From what I have seen and heard from Korra directly, they play whatever she feels like playing. The thing that worries me is that Kahn actively encourages her to incorporate bending into their games. I've seen her propelling balls of fire and rocks the size of her head at him. He is able to dodge everything she throws at him, but I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before she seriously injures or kills someone..."
Blinking in surprise, Katara asked, "You're not concerned about Korra...?"
Shaking her head, Senna regained her wry smile as she answered, "I was in the beginning. However, after bringing up my concerns with one of the Firebending Masters, he told me that Kahn's control is unlike anything he has ever seen. He's only six years old, but he has mastered virtually every form of Firebending. Some of his techniques, such as Blast Bending, have never even been heard of..."
Though it was a little difficult to imagine a six-year-old exhibiting such an extreme degree of mastery over their element, Katara's expression didn't reveal the shock in her heart. If Kahn was who, or, more accurately, what he claimed to be, it made sense.
"I see...it sounds to me like our young Avatar friend is helping Korra in her training. Given Korra's personality, I can't imagine her responding well to a more structured lesson plan. Disguising her lessons as games makes a lot of sense considering her competitive and ostentatious nature..."
As she had been planning to try something similar, Katara could easily see through Kahn's intentions. There was no way Korra could ever sit still and listen to someone lecture her about the principles behind bending. Maybe when she was older, but certainly not now.
Rising to her feet with a grunt of exertion, Katara gestured for Senna not to worry as she asked, "Where do the two of them usually play together? I would like to see it for myself."
Though she was a little concerned that Katara might overexert herself, Senna answered, "Kahn had Korra create a ring and a field of pillars near the south-western corner of the compound. If they're not there, the only other place I can think to check is the north-eastern corner. Kahn built a treehouse there to serve as their secret base. Based on what you and the other Masters have speculated, I'm pretty sure he built it there in order to improve Korra's stamina. They often race from one corner to the other..."
Imagining the scene of Korra and Kahn chasing each other through the large, military-style compound, Katara couldn't help smiling. She hadn't vocalized it at the time, but she was actually in agreement with Tonraq that his daughter deserved a normal childhood. Keeping a young girl in a military installation and forcing her to train every day was an injustice. If Kahn hadn't shown up, Korra would have lived a very sheltered existence without anyone her age to play with, only much older training partners.
"It would appear our young friend's concerns for Korra are genuine. I'm looking forward to meeting him..."
Smiling wryly in response to Katara's words, Senna resisted the urge to disagree with her. Kahn was a very polite boy whenever they met, but his level of maturity made Senna uncomfortable. Though Korra seemed to be the one to decide what they did throughout the day, Senna couldn't shake the feeling Kahn was discreetly manipulating her. He was already the only person Korra talked about, and while that made sense considering he was her only playmate, Senna was worried that Kahn would one day choose to leave the compound. When that happened, Senna was almost certain that Korra would follow after him...
...
..
.
Giving credence to Senna's concerns, Kahn was currently reading a book while the tuckered out Korra used his lap as a pillow. Most of the games they played were highly physical and, more importantly, Chi exhaustive. The White Lotus compound was also around 0.8km from corner to corner, so Korra was thoroughly exhausted by the time they reached their secret, constantly monitored hideout.
Since his Creator had blessed him with functionally unlimited stamina, Kahn didn't need to sleep. Instead, he spent his idle time meditating and exploring the Spirit World. He wanted to take care of a few things before Korra started her spiritual journey, so, with upwards of fourteen hours a day of free time, Kahn divided his focus between preparing for the future and gathering knowledge.
Though the world had recently entered an era of industrialization, there was no standardized schooling. Only the wealthy and the upper class were allowed to attend the various academies dotting the Four Nations. Everyone else just focused on their family's respective trade or tended to crops in the frontier regions. Just gaining access to books and scrolls was difficult, so, taking advantage of the fact he was in a facility belonging to the most powerful and secretive society in the world, Kahn was brushing up on his knowledge.
Feeling a wet sensation, Kahn was broken from his reverie. An annoyed grimace developed across his face, but upon looking down to find Korra drooling on his leg, it quickly faded. She could be extremely troublesome to deal with while awake, but she was pretty cute while sleeping.
Setting aside his book, Kahn checked the time by observing the angle of the Sun before poking Korra's remarkably squishy cheek, threatening, "If you don't stop drooling on me, I'm going to make your outie an innie..."
Though she attempted to ignore Kahn's prodding, Korra was eventually forced awake when he pinched her nostrils. She had a habit of breathing through her nose and snoring very loudly, so she would always wake up very quickly when her nostrils were obstructed.
Sitting up, Korra had a grumpy expression on her face as she rubbed her eyes and sleepily inquired, "What do you want, Kahn? Can't you see I was trying to sleep...?"
Instead of answering Korra's question, Kahn pointed to the sizeable wet spot on his left thigh. Korra followed his finger with her eyes, but, instead of apologizing, she animatedly inquired, "Did you pee yourself...!?" before bursting into laughter and adding, "Kahn is a big baby~! Waaah~! Waah~! Waaah~!"
"..."
Ignoring Korra's provocations, Kahn placed his hand over the stain before using his Firebending to dissipate it. Korra immediately took notice of this, her laughter ceasing as she sat up straight and eagerly inquired, "You can use Firebending to get rid of pee stains? Teach me how...!"
Though he was tempted to get even by asking Korra why she would need such a technique, Kahn jumped to his feet to grab a cloth and a large vase filled with water. Korra had a habit of throwing a tantrum and storming off whenever she felt embarrassed or upset, so Kahn never took her words to heart. He may have been created just a few months ago, but he had tens of thousands, if not more, years of knowledge and information stored in his mind. If he allowed a five-year-old to get under his skin, he would be the one embarrassed.
Carrying the large vase over, Kahn placed it right in front of Korra before sitting across from her. Then, before she could ask what he was doing, he began explaining the water cycle, specifically evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.
What most Benders didn't realize, primarily because they made minimal effort to understand it, was that each of the Elements shared the same origin. Bending was the process of manipulating Chi within the body and the surrounding environment. So long as you understood the process, it was possible to Bend every single element. It was just a little convoluted unless you had the appropriate affinity.
By infusing his Chi into the vase, Kahn was able to convert the contents into water vapor through evaporation. Then, before the shocked eyes of Korra, he manipulated it to form a small cloud above the vase's opening. From the perspective of most people, this would undoubtedly qualify as a form of Waterbending. In reality, Kahn was simply manipulating the Chi he had infused within the cloud of vapor. So long as he didn't let it dissipate, he could emulate Waterbending through an exceptionally advanced form of Firebending known as Steambending...
...
..
.
Though she was eager to meet and converse with both of the children, the first thing Katara did after learning about Korra's and Kahn's location was head to one of the observation towers that kept a close watch on the pair's secret hideout. Kahn had installed large, open windows on the sides of the structure, so, from a higher vantage, it was easy to see the interior.
Seeing Kahn manipulate the water within the vase, Katara would be lying if she said she wasn't a little agitated. Based on what Kahn had revealed, he was a pure Firebender. To that end, his ability to Bend water vapor to form a cloud must be an aspect of Firebending. She just didn't understand how.
Lowering her binoculars, Katara softly remarked, "What a truly fascinating child. Though there is a disparity in power, his control over the element of fire is comparable to Aang's when he was in the Avatar State. Young Kahn may very well be the greatest Firebender in the world..."
While she was tempted to call Kahn the greatest natural Bender, that title belonged to one of Katara's, or, more accurately, Toph's former comrades. The man had pioneered several forms of Earthbending by the time he was a mere eight years old. Were it not for the fact he was a remarkably gentle person; there was a genuine possibility he could have ended the hundred-year war on his own.
"Master Katara...?"
Noticing Katara staring off into space with a pensive expression on her face, Senna couldn't help breaking the silence. When Katara came back to her senses, she offered a grandmotherly smile and said, "We should leave them be for now. I was always of the mindset that five years old is far too early to begin serious training. Since Korra seems to be enjoying herself, I say we let Kahn continue teaching her until she is around seven or eight. Who knows, by then, she may be the one teaching her Masters..."
Recalling how monstrously powerful Toph had been under the tutelage of her mentor-turned-husband, a perceptive glimmer flashed across Katara's eyes as she returned her attention to the young Kahn. She wasn't entirely sure, but her intuition told her the young Avatar of Fire and Absolution had something to do with her former colleague...
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