Kahn turned toward the familiar teasing voice and saw Azula strolling over with her usual confident smirk.
This time, however, she wasn't alone.
Beside her were two girls about their age—one quiet and composed, the other lively and full of energy.
Both were cute enough to look like they'd stepped straight out of a painting.
So these are Azula's friends? Kahn thought in surprise.
"I wasn't crying!"
Zuko immediately raised his voice in protest, quickly rubbing at his eyes when Azula's words hit him.
But Uncle Iroh just laughed heartily, showing no mercy.
"Hahaha! It's fine for kids to cry! What's the big deal?"
Zuko's face stiffened. "I'm not a kid!"
"But only kids say that," Iroh said with a teasing grin.
"Uncle Iroh!" Zuko shouted, completely flustered.
Azula burst out laughing at his reaction, while Kahn had to look away, hiding his grin.
Wow, Uncle Iroh, you're terrifying when it comes to messing with your own team.
Finally realizing he'd been teased, Zuko crossed his arms and sulked, turning his attention to Azula.
"What are you doing here?" he asked unhappily.
Azula spread her hands in mock innocence, "Can you not talk to me like that every time, Zuzu? I haven't even done anything yet.
Besides, I didn't come here on my own—someone was very worried about you and insisted on tagging along."
With that, she gave one of the girls a sudden shove.
The quiet girl stumbled forward, about to fall—until Zuko dashed forward and caught her in his arms.
"…See? You'd say so, wouldn't you, Mai?" Azula said, watching the scene with pure amusement.
Zuko looked at the girl—Mai—with concern. "Are you alright?"
Mai's cheeks turned pink as she shook her head. "I'm fine."
But when she met Zuko's eyes, both of their faces turned even redder.
"Shhh~!" Azula gave a loud, exaggerated whistle.
The two immediately jumped apart, both looking down, awkward and embarrassed.
The other girl giggled, while Azula clapped her hands dramatically. "Wow~ how sweet!"
Realizing the source of her embarrassment, Mai glared at Azula and shouted, "Azula!"
Azula just raised an eyebrow and feigned innocence. "Uh huh?"
Kahn stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded. Wait, what? Are Zuko and Mai… a thing?
They were only nine or ten years old! Kids these days were really evolving faster than he expected.
He exchanged glances with Iroh, who was barely suppressing laughter.
"Looks like our young prince has quite the charm," Kahn whispered.
"I didn't expect that either," Iroh chuckled. "And here he claimed he had no friends."
"Yeah," Kahn said with a smirk. "Guess a girlfriend still counts as one."
Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I wonder when they met. I've been to the palace countless times and never seen that little girl before."
"Interesting," Kahn agreed.
They both smiled at each other like two professional gossipers ready for the next episode of palace drama.
At that moment, Azula sauntered up to Kahn and gestured proudly toward the two girls. "These are my friends—Mai and Ty Lee."
The quiet one was obviously Mai, so the bubbly one had to be Ty Lee.
Ty Lee waved cheerfully. "Hi! I'm Ty Lee!"
Her bright smile was pure sunshine.
Now that's how a normal little girl should act, Kahn thought. Azula, take notes.
Mai, who had recovered from her embarrassment, nodded politely. "I'm Mai."
"Nice to meet you all," Kahn said with a friendly grin. "I'm Kahn—Zuko's friend."
Azula shot him a sharp glare that made his back stiffen.
"And Azula's friend too," he quickly added.
Ty Lee tilted her head curiously. "When did you two meet? I don't think I've seen you before."
Before Kahn could answer, Azula huffed, "Don't be nosy, Ty Lee."
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Ty Lee squeaked, curling up like a frightened bunny.
Kahn blinked, a giant question mark over his head. These are her friends?
Azula, however, seemed perfectly content and turned to him. "Anyway, come play with us."
Ty Lee and Mai exchanged glances. Azula was being weirdly nice to this boy.
Before Kahn could respond, Zuko stepped forward protectively.
"Kahn won't play with you! It's enough for him to play with me and Uncle Iroh!"
"Oh, Uncle Iroh, you're here too," Azula said, pretending to notice him just now.
Then she smirked, "Don't you think people our age should play together? Having an adult around makes things awkward."
That was Azula's not-so-subtle way of saying get lost.
But Iroh just laughed. "You make an excellent point, Princess."
He patted Zuko on the shoulder. "Alright, you all have fun. I'll take care of some things and come back for Kahn later."
"Wait! I don't want to play with them!" Zuko protested immediately.
"Are you sure?" Iroh asked, his tone full of mischief. "Someone came especially to see you because she was worried."
"I…" Zuko froze, glancing at Mai guiltily. He didn't know how to respond.
Finally, he pointed at Kahn. "But Kahn doesn't want to play with them either, right?"
"Me?" Kahn said, shrugging.
He could feel Azula's sharp gaze on him—less of a hint, more of a threat.
"Eh, isn't it more fun with more people?" he said casually.
Azula's glare softened into a satisfied smile.
"Fine," Zuko muttered, defeated. "We'll play."
He snuck a glance at Mai—only to find her looking at him too.
Their eyes met for a split second before they both turned away, blushing again.
Kahn couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Good spirits, are we in a romance drama now?"
Before leaving, Iroh leaned down and whispered, "Ask him later how he knows that girl. I'm dying to know."
Kahn gave him a solemn nod. "The sacred duty of gossipers shall be fulfilled."