Maintaining the Balance

A few days after Korra's eighth birthday, a convoy was arranged to escort her to a secret training facility that had been constructed for her near the Southern Water Tribe's Capital City.
From above, the Southern Water Tribe Compound resembled a sword tip jutting out from the base of a mountain. It was surrounded by walls of ice more than 40m tall, and, while there were several hidden passageways, the only way to enter was through the massive gate located near the 'tip' of the sword-shaped compound.
As it had been designed explicitly for Korra's training, the compound's interior was furnished with a 500m track, a series of obstacle courses, and a large, elevated arena used for sparring. In the event of inclement weather, there was also an indoor gym with weights and stones of various sizes she could use to exercise.
To ensure the comfort of Korra and her mother, the White Lotus had even gone out of their way to prepare a replica of her childhood home near the compound's entrance. The only difference was a small igloo situated near the back, a private room where Korra could stay when she felt the need to get away from others.
The only part of the compound that wasn't intended for Korra's exclusive use was the fortress-like structure near the mountain's base. It served as a temporary Headquarters for the White Lotus and an emergency shelter to protect from winter storms and enemy invasions. Korra could enter it if she wanted to, but she would need someone to escort her.
In a blatant attempt to keep a closer eye on him, Kahn's residence was intended to be near the barracks occupied by the White Lotus Sentries. Instead, he ended up staying with Katara after she argued that it would be good for her to have someone nearby in the event of an emergency. She wasn't exactly getting any younger, so there were times when she could use an extra pair of hands.
Seeing no reason to refuse, Kahn accepted Katara's arrangements since his only other option was to camp outdoors or find someplace to stay in the nearby city. He had no intention of holing himself up with a bunch of soldiers in a place where Korra wasn't allowed to visit freely, so Katara's surprisingly cozy igloo was the best option available to him.
Fortunately, despite her words, Katara was remarkably self-sufficient. The only things Kahn ended up helping her with were a few household chores and the occasional meal prep. Even then, she never outright asked him to help out; Kahn just felt awkward staying there without doing anything...
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Though he could have spent his newfound free time working in the Spirit World, Kahn decided to spend his days observing Korra's training.
In the beginning, Korra had told Kahn not to come since she didn't want him seeing her progress and developing measures against her. What she hadn't accounted for was the amount of free time she would have during, or, more accurately, between her lessons. Thus, after suffering through a few days of boredom, she eventually gave in and allowed him to observe from a distance.
Thanks to the type of the Spirit he was fused with, Kahn's sight, sense of smell, and hearing were significantly more attuned than any human's. He could make out the features of a person's face from well over a kilometer away, so Korra insisting he watch from a distance did not affect his ability to ascertain the specifics of her training. If anything, it made things easier for him.
By observing from a distance, Kahn could better grasp the nuances of the techniques Katara was trying to teach. By cross-referencing these details with the information within his mind, he could identify virtually everything being taught. The only time he was even remotely confused by what was going on was when Katara taught one of her self-created techniques or failed to execute a more complex art due to her advanced age.
Based on the other Masters that Kahn had observed, Katara's finesse and control were head and shoulders above the rest. However, despite this, it was difficult for Kahn to view her as a genuine Master.
Because of his immense knowledge, Kahn couldn't help feeling that the bar for mastery had been set remarkably low. Thousands of years of war and several efforts to erase Bending knowledge had drastically reduced the average strength of Benders across the globe. Back during the Era of Wan, the First Avatar, humans could fight against Spirits and Spirit Beasts on equal footing. Now, if even a single Spirit were to be released into the human world, not even a group of Benders would be able to stop it.
The thing that annoyed Kahn the way even the most basic knowledge of Bending's origins had been erased. Groups such as the White Lotus were aware of the existence of Chi, but, more often than not, its secrets were shared via word of mouth and only to other 'Masters'.
Knowledge of Chi had improved with the relatively recent spread of Chi Blocking and Healing, but, even then, very few people understood just how instrumental it was to Bending.
Bending was, at its core, the ability to manipulate Chi beyond the body to exert influence over the environment. In other words, true mastery over the art of Bending could only be ascertained through mastery over one's Chi. It was purely a matter of quantity and control, not any specific way of movement.
In the distant past, even untrained vagrants, people who only had access to Bending thanks to the Lion Turtles, could perform incredible feats from the start. What these early Benders didn't know was that the Lion Turtles had granted them a very tiny fraction of their own Chi.
As the Chi of the Lion Turtles could not be passed down, the descendants of the early Benders, commonly referred to as Pioneers, were significantly weaker than their ancestors. To compensate, they developed Martial Arts and innumerable Styles of Bending. While this wasn't the wrong way to go about things, the mistake of these Pioneers was that they often neglected the spiritual aspect of Bending.
During the Ear of Wan, humanity was constantly at war with itself and the Spirits. A few of the more prominent tribes around that time even turned on the very Lion Turtles that had granted their ancestors power in the first place. These tribes had convinced themselves that consuming the flesh of a Lion Turtle, one of the beings that had selflessly protected humanity for generations, would increase their power and bestow them with the gift of immortality.
While consuming the flesh of a Lion Turtle did increase the power of one's Bending, it also cursed both them and their entire family line. The moment they died, Dark Spirits would be drawn to the scent of the Lion Turtle that had attached itself to them in the form of a grudge. After that, their Spirits would suffer hundreds, if not thousands of years, being digested until not even a trace of them remained.
Though Kahn's Creator had taken steps to remedy that particular aspect of the Actualized World of the Avatar, there were still a number of deeply rooted issues that needed to be resolved. The crux of the matter was that Kahn didn't care. Unless Korra approached him and asked for his help, he had very little interest in fixing the world abroad. He may be an Avatar, but he was not THE Avatar.
The only reason Kahn was even considering lending a hand was that it was almost painful to see Korra being led astray despite Katara's good intentions.
Kahn knew that Korra was determined to defeat him. Hardly a day went by when she didn't actively remind him of that same goal. The problem was, no matter how much Korra trained with Katara, she would never get any closer to defeating him. Katara was exceptionally skilled compared to the vast majority of Waterbenders, but she was nowhere near the level of what Kahn considered to be a Master.
Though Kahn rarely trained his body outside of his playtime with Korra, his power had increased exponentially since his 'arrival' in the Actualized World. He never missed a day of Chi training, and, thanks to his ten-hour meditation sessions, his control had improved considerably since the time he nearly fried his insides using the Lightning Infusion Technique.
While he would be no match for a fully actualized Avatar, primarily due to the fact Raava provided her host with infinite Chi, Kahn was confident he could best several self-proclaimed Masters without breaking a sweat. If he didn't play fair and fight them head-on, they might not even know how they died...
With such thoughts plaguing his mind, Kahn appeared to be staring off into space from the perspective of others. It wasn't until Korra looked over and started waving at him that he came back to his senses.
"Hmmm? Is she already finished...?"
Extending his hands, thick bands of electricity emerged from Kahn's palms, his hair becoming noticeably more rigid as he levitated himself from the ground. Then, in a stunning display of speed, he appeared next to Korra and Katara before dissipating the lightning and asking, "What's up?"
Though she had been smiling previously, Korra clicked her tongue when Kahn rushed over, muttering, "Show off..." before immediately losing her desire to demonstrate the new techniques she had learned.
Blinking in confusion, Kahn looked between Korra and Katara only to find the elderly Waterbender staring back at him with an exasperated smile on her face.
Piecing things together relatively quickly, Kahn returned his gaze to Korra, retorting, "I just spent the past three hours watching you show off. Don't I get a chance...?"
Cocking her head to the side, Korra responded with a confused, "Huh...?" before quickly asking, "How was I showing off...?"
Without missing a beat, Kahn adopted a faint smile as she said, "You pick up new techniques remarkably fast. Even your predecessor, Avatar Aang, struggled to master the elements until well after the Hundred-Years War. You're only eight years old, and you're already mastering the self-created techniques of one of the greatest Wanderbending Masters in the world. If that's not showing off, I don't know what is..."
Not expecting such a detailed response, Korra suddenly became bashful as she placed her hands into her pockets and averted her face and eyes to the side. It was pretty rare to hear Kahn compliment someone, so she didn't know how to react to receiving such high praise.
"My, my...you truly are an intelligent one, aren't you, Kahn? If Aang had been half as smooth as you, I might have become a criminal..."
Taken aback by Katara's words, Kahn was about to say something when Korra beat him to the punch, shouting, "Gran gran! What are you saying!?" while grabbing the tufts of hair dangling from the sides of her head.
Amused by Korra's reaction, Katara issued a light chuckle before sending a wink towards Kahn's and saying, "These bones of mine are beginning to ache. I think I'll head home to get an early start on dinner. Why don't you take Korra somewhere to play? Just make sure to have her home before it gets dark."
"..."
Unable to respond to Katara's teasing, Kahn just stared blankly as the old woman scurried off with the sound of her laughter lingering in the breeze. An indescribably awkward silence descended upon the platform where he and Korra were standing. Fortunately, depending on how you viewed the situation, Korra was never the type to allow such silences to linger. After a minute or two had passed, she mustered up the courage to tug on Kahn's sleeve and ask, "Where do you want to go...?"
Coming to his senses in response to Korra's words, Kahn found himself suppressing a sigh as he closed his eyes and answered, "Wherever you want to go..."

After returning to the igloo he shared with Katara, Kahn found the former resting in a rocking chair while a pot of seaweed soup boiled on the stove.
Hearing Kahn's entrance, Katara kept her eyes closed as she asked, "How was it? Did your little playdate go well~?"
Exhaling a sigh, Kahn made his way over to the stove to adjust the heat and sample the seaweed soup. Katara wasn't a bad cook by any means, but her tastebuds had numbed rather drastically due to her age. Most of the food she prepared was too salty or too sweet, so Kahn had developed a habit of making minor adjustments to make it more palatable.
Opening her left eye a smidgeon, Katara gazed at Kahn's profile from the corner of her eye. She didn't mind him pretending to ignore her or making adjustments to her food. After tasting his food, the only reason she even bothered cooking was that she felt guilty about him handling most of the chores without even needing to be asked.
Kahn would never admit it, but he was a very good-natured child.
"That girl never stops talking about you. Even during our training, she is constantly bringing up the things you've taught her. When I told her she couldn't use the other elements during our training, she even lectured me on the importance of maintaining one's Chi Pathways..."
Stopping what he was doing, Kahn looked over his shoulder to see Katara leaning in her chair, eyes closed, and with a smile on her face.
Clicking his tongue, Kahn poured a portion of seaweed soup into a bowl before adding a few additional seasonings as he explained, "All Bending stems from the same source. The quality and quantity of a person's Chi are important but so too are the paths through which they travel. If you leave an irrigation ditch unattended, it will gradually clog up or fall into a state of disrepair. The correct way to teach someone with Korra's unique constitution is to have her focus on all the elements at once...if she were to follow your method, it would make mastering other elements far more difficult. Depending on the damage done, she might not even be able to enter the Avatar State without suffering a trauma..."
No longer smiling, Katara's opened her eyes and stared at Kahn with a glimmer of anxiety in her gaze as she muttered, "I see...I nearly made a terrible mistake, didn't I?"
With his characteristically apathetic expression, Kahn handed the bowl of soup to Katara as he flatly replied, "Mistakes are a natural part of life. The same can be said for traumatic and other kinds of formative experiences. Don't blame yourself for having Korra's best interests at heart."
Though she accepted the bowl from Kahn's hands, Katara didn't touch its contents. Instead, she just stared off into space for several minutes until Kahn sat down on the nearby rug. When he did, she shifted her gaze him, asking, "Have you ever heard of an Earthbender named Ragna Rokr...?"
Meeting the old woman's gaze, Kahn caught Katara completely off guard by calmly answering, "He was the Avatar of Earth and Loyalty. His body is the vessel of the Great Stone Dragon of the East, Baade."
Dropping the completely frozen bowl of soup, Katara rose to her feet with a mixture of confusion and excitement in her expression as she exclaimed, "Aha! I knew it...!"
Without rising from his spot on the rug, Kahn gave Katara an incredulous look as he replied, "Good for you?" before taking a sip of his soup.
Seeing how casual Kahn was behaving, Katara's mood quickly diminished as she said, "It might not matter to you, but this is a very big deal, young man. Rokr was one of the most influential people in the entire world prior to his death. Were it not for him, why-"
*sluuuuurp*
Since he knew a lot more about Rokr than Katara, Kahn just continued staring at her with a thoroughly indifferent expression on his face. As a result, Katara's formed into a pout that didn't suit her wrinkled face as she said, "You could at least pretend to care..."
Lowering his spoon into his soup, Kahn questioned, "About what...?" in a genuinely confused tone. Katara hadn't actually made any points, so he wasn't entirely sure what it was he should care about.
"..."
Plopping back into her chair, Katara massaged her forehead in a clearly exasperated manner before asking, "Just to be certain, there are at least two other Avatars alongside you and Rokr, correct?"
Understanding that Katara was referencing his fellow Templates, Kahn nodded his head, explaining, "There is the Avatar of Air and Perpetuity, Yao Yoko, and the Avatar of Water and Virtue, Regina Akua."
"..."
Inhaling a deep breath, Katara did her best to stay calm as her mind slowly processed the information Kahn had given her. She had never heard the names Yao Yoko and Regina Akua, but she didn't doubt for a moment they were real.
Raising her head to meet Kahn's gaze, Katara asked, "If I were to ask, would you tell me about them...?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Kahn answered, "The only one I know anything substantial about is Rokr. He sometimes stops by whenever I'm taking a break and drinking tea with Old Man Iroh. As for Yoko, she spends most of her time in Wan Shi Tong's Library. I tried meeting her a few times, but she is even less sociable than me..."
"..."
Reclining into her chair, Katara fell silent for the better part of a full minute as she reconciled the fact that Kahn was apparently in contact with both Rokr and Iroh. She was aware he substituted sleep for meditation, but it hadn't clicked that he was meditating to enter the Spirit World.
"The banes of old age...my mind truly isn't what it used to be..."
Understanding that Katara was muttering to herself, Kahn returned to his soup. He could always reheat it using his Firebending, but he would rather finish eating quickly so he could retreat to his room. Katara was easier to talk to than most, but that didn't mean he was just going to sit around for hours answering whatever question popped into her head.
Noticing Kahn scarfing down his food, Katara opened her mouth to speak but ultimately decided not to. She knew Kahn disliked being interrogated, so she did her best not to ask more than 3-4 questions a night. She was already well past that quota, so, after a moment of deliberation, she made use of her Waterbending to retrieve her bowl and liquefy its contents. Fortunately, even without asking, Kahn was willing to reheat it of his own volition...
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Unaware that Kahn had effectively exposed her identity, a young girl with platinum-blonde, nearly white hair tied in a ponytail was casually roaming the backstreets of Republic City. Her perpetually annoyed expression and piercing blue eyes were supposed to give people the impression she was cold and ruthless, but her small stature ultimately undercut her intentions. After all, she was only ten years old.
"Haaaaaa...I wish the Avatar would hurry and show up. I'm getting tired of just waiting around all day..."
A stark contrast to her words, the platinum-haired youth pulled moisture from the atmosphere before forming it into a disc of glowing blue ice that cut through the steel door barring her entry into a secret warehouse. Her actions immediately alerted the people printing false currency inside, but the moment they turned to face her, a layer of frost covered their eyes as the young girl directed an arrow-like ice projectile to pierce through their wrists and ankles.
"Shit! It's that White Demon bitch! Run for your lives...!"
Furrowing her brows, the platinum-haired youth, now wearing a layer of ice and snow in the form of a very aggressive-looking bunny, directed the ice projectile to impale the man who had called her a bitch. She didn't kill him, but an ice spike through the lumbar vertebrae all but guaranteed he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
"Asshole..."
Forming a second projectile, the girl was prepared to continue where she left off when one of the half-frozen workers pulled out a police badge and stammered, "R-R-Republic City Police! P-P-Put your h-h-h-hands up...!"
Shifting her attention to the man, the girl sent a shiver through his body as she raised her left middle finger and said, "Bite me, pig. If you assholes did your jobs, I wouldn't need to get involved. If you dumbasses can't do anything about the people ruining our lives, at least shut the fuck up when we take matters into our own hands."
Though it would add to her very long wrap sheet, the overly aggressive youth waved her left hand to produce a layer of frost over the undercover cop's body. She had once tried to work with the police from the shadows but quickly grew weary of them when they kept trying to arrest her. Ever since then, she had always done things her way. If the cops couldn't deal with the criminals due to them exploiting legal loopholes, she would...
Hearing sirens in the distance, the platinum-haired youth created a pillar of ice to propel herself atop the nearest building before parkouring across the roofs of several others. A few Metalbending Officers saw her retreat, but, after failing to apprehend her more than a hundred times, they knew better than to give chase. If they tried, she would just bore a hole into the sewers before freezing every manhole cover and pipe within a city block.
Of course, the most crucial reason for the Officers not giving chase was that the White Demon had the support of the public. She also dealt with a lot of the criminals they wanted nothing more than to put behind bars, so, while they were obligated to arrest her if the opportunity presented itself, few within the Republic City Police Department treated the capture of the White Demon as a top priority. A few even regarded her as a Hero...
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After retreating to her base, an unauthorized and highly secret expansion to the Republic City sewers, the young Waterbender known as the White Demon allowed her costume to melt away before stepping inside. When she did, more than a dozen young children, each ranging between three and seven years of age, crowded around her, shouting things like, "Akua!" and "Big Sis~!"
Though she snorted through her nose, the platinum-haired youth, better known as Regina Akua, ruffled the hair of a few children as she asked, "Is Mako back yet?"
In response to Akua's question, one of the young Waterbending girls she had saved from a group of human traffickers stepped forward to answer, "He sent us a radio transmission saying he would be away for another two days. He got into another fight at school."
Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Akua ran her fingers through her silvery blonde hair before pulling out the scrunchie tying up her ponytail. All of a sudden, her disposition changed drastically. Gone was the always angry youth that seemed one word away from biting out someone's throat. In its place was a relatively gentle-looking girl with fair features, kind eyes, and a faint smile as she said, "Okay. That means I'll need some of you to help retrieve supplies. Any volunteers?"
Without any hesitation whatsoever, each of the children that had gathered around Akua raised their hands. She had saved their lives and given them a place where they could belong. Since she refused to let them help with her hero work, they did their best to help with anything else she asked of them. After all, Akua wasn't just their boss; she was the one who brought them all together as members of the same Familia...

Though her decision was opposed by many of the Elders, Katara's status as Grandmaster and wife of the previous Avatar gave her a lot of leeway regarding the way Korra was raised. The only people who had even more influence than her were Senna and Tonraq, Korra's parents.
As uncomfortable as Kahn made her feel, Senna couldn't dispute he had Korra's best intentions in mind. He also promised he would never try and take her away, so, as the months turned into years, Senna slowly grew to accept Kahn's presence around her daughter. At the very least, she knew he would never go out of his way to harm her.
With Senna supporting Katara's decision, the only person that could have opposed it was Tonraq. However, due to the sudden disappearance of his brother, Unalaq, he was effectively forced to take over as Interim Chief of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.
Tonraq was resistant to the idea at first but eventually accepted after discussing the matter with his wife and the members of the Southern Water Tribe. They were hoping he could ease the tensions between the North and the South, so, after a short stay in the White Lotus compound, Tonraq moved to the North Pole to take over as Chief and help look after Unalaq's orphaned twins, Deska and Eska.
With Tonraq preoccupied with hew newfound duties and responsibilities, he had little time to concern himself with the specifics of Korra's training. He also didn't share his wife's sentiments regarding Kahn. The latter had risked his life to come to their aid, so while he did find Khan to be a little strange, Tonraq was content knowing the mysterious youth was willing to put his life on the line to protect Korra.
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Opening his subtly glowing eyes, Kahn was unsurprised to find Korra lying on her stomach, legs kicking, and arms supporting her head as she stared at him with a mischievous smile on her face.
Suppressing a sigh, Kahn reached for the mirror he kept next to his futon before raising his brows when he noticed there were no markings on his face.
"Did you suddenly grow a brain...?"
Unamused by Kahn's quip, Korra turned to the side before sweeping her legs like a breakdancer. The action caused a whip of wind to impact Kahn, but instead of injuring him or damaging his surroundings, it simply pushed him to his feet as Korra replied, "Did you forget what day it is? I shouldn't have to come and get you every morning."
Tilting his head to the side, Kahn pretended as though he was trying to recall something. This prompted Korra to ball her tiny hands into fists, but before she could lash out and lay waste to his bedroom, Kahn nodded his head in the direction of his closet, saying, "Check near the back."
Though she briefly squinted her eyes in Kahn's direction, Korra quickly regained her characteristically bubbly smile as she practically pranced over to the storage closet. After searching for ten minutes, however, she burst out of the closet with an angry expression on her face, screaming, "You tricked me...!" to an empty room.
Thinking that Kahn couldn't have gotten far, Korra wiped away the tears building in the corners of her eyes before charging out of the room like a Snow Leopard Caribou in search of its prey. She refused to believe Kahn had forgotten her special day, so, thinking he was playing a prank on her, Korra did her best to stay positive.
Fortunately, Korra's guess was correct as the moment she reached the exterior of the small compound that served as Kahn's abode, she found the hateful youth waiting for her with Polar Bear Pup panting excitedly at his side.
"Happy Birthday, Korra."
Rubbing away some fresh tears, Korra tried to force herself to appear angry but couldn't keep a smile from her face. She began to run toward Kahn with the intent to tackle him, but, before she was able to, the latter gave the Polar Bear Pup a light nudge. In response, it charged forward and pounced on Korra, eagerly licking her face as she laughed and tried to avoid its tongue.
Seeing the oversized pup smothering his childhood friend, a faint smile developed across Kahn's face. He had no way of setting in motion the events that led the original Korra to encounter the Polar Bear Pup that would eventually become her companion and mount. Thus, for the past six months, he had been sneaking out and befriending the local Polar Bear Dog population.
Polar Bear Dogs were challenging to care for, but they were a friendly and easily domesticated species. So long as you provided them with delicious food, they would typically follow you faithfully for the rest of their lives.
By befriending a few of the pregnant Polar Bear Dogs, Kahn was able to take away one of their runts without much of a fuss. After that, he asked Katara and Senna for permission to give it to Korra as a gift before hiding it away in one of the White Lotus's kennels. They reared a few Polar Bear Dogs as sledding animals so they could easily accommodate an extra pup or two.
The sneakiest thing about Kahn's arrangement was that Korra spent a lot of time playing with the Polar Bear Dogs. In other words, she had already been playing with the pup for the past three-and-a-half months. She even begged her mother to let her keep it but was shot down time and again on the grounds she was too young to have a pet.
Now that Korra had turned eight, officially old enough to start her training, she was finally old enough. At the very least, that was one of the excuses Kahn gave when he showed up and practically coerced Senna and Katara into letting Korra keep Naga, the name she had chosen for the Polar Bear Pup, as a pet.
After freeing herself from beneath Naga, Korra's expression was all smiles as she asked, "Does this mean what I think it does?"
Holding up his hand in a stopping gesture, Kahn said, "First of all, I can do without you pouncing on me. Secondly, yes. From today onward, Naga is yours. I al-"
Ignoring Kahn's opposition, Korra tackled him with all her might before causing him to tense like a statue with a kiss on the cheek. Then, with a cheeky smile on her face, she said, "You should see your face right now. You look even dumber than usual."
Pushing the mischievous girl off of him, Kahn rose to his feet with a blank expression on his face, whispering, "You shouldn't have done that..." in a tone too quiet for Korra to hear due to her laughter.
Shaking his head, Kahn looked towards one of the towers where a group of Sentries was keeping an eye on him. It had been more than two years since the beginning of his stay in the compound, but the White Lotus still didn't trust him. Not because he hadn't done anything untrustworthy, but because he consistently refused their requests to pass on his knowledge or obey their instructions. When it came to Secret Societies, anyone who didn't respect their hierarchy and rules was a potential enemy.
Noticing where Kahn was looking, Korra sat up in the snow, asking, "Is something the matter, Kahn?"
Returning his attention to Korra, Kahn surprised her quite a bit by smiling as he said, "No. Just a trivial annoyance. Now then, shall we head over to your place? I imagine the others are already waiting for us."
Staring at Kahn's proferred hand, Korra briefly hesitated before accepting his help in rising to her feet. She hated when Kahn acted all mysterious, but after discussing it with her mother and Katara, she found out he only did it to protect her.
Korra didn't like it, but she had come to accept that until she was strong enough to protect others, she was the one being protected. She had tried to defeat Kahn countless times, but he was always the one helping her up and teaching her new things. Thus, while she wasn't all that excited about having less time to play, Korra had been looking forward to her training.
Adopting a severe expression that didn't suit her young face, Korra stated, "Just you wait, Kahn. Once I master the elements and learn how to control the Avatar State, you won't be able to keep secrets from me anymore..."
"..."
Though he would usually dismiss Korra's words as her usual bravado, the kiss she had planted on his cheek was still fresh in Kahn's mind. He knew she had developed a crush on him, but he hadn't expected her to exhibit the signs of her growing affection so early. At this rate, there was a good chance that Korra would actively confess to him long before they left the South Pole.
While others in his situation may have been beside themselves with glee, Kahn had always viewed Korra more as a daughter than a potential love interest. In fact, he wasn't even sure he understood what love was. The knowledge and information stored within his mind didn't exactly provide a roadmap to understanding the complexities of human emotion.
Unable to think of anything more profound, Kahn averted his eyes from Korra's intense gaze, whispering, "Do what you want..." in a standoffish tone. Despite this, a massive grin developed across Korra's face as she gave him a not-so-gentle punch in the arm and declared, "Don't look so glum! Once I become strong enough, I'll be the one to protect you. Then you can spend all your time cooking, cleaning, and reading! Just leave all the fighting to me...!"
Resisting the urge to ask when he had been relegated to the position of a wife, Kahn just shook his head before attempting to liberate his hand from Korra's. In response, she squeezed his hand like a vice before adopting a toothy grin before pulling him along and shouting, "Come on, Naga~!" in a sing-song tone.
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Hearing the report of his Sentry, the Leader of the White Lotus, an elderly Waterbender with a round figure, balding head, and a full beard, couldn't help exhaling a sigh.
"I knew something like this would happen when that boy appeared out of thin air..."
Shaking his head, the Leader, known to his comrades as Master Tianshu, dismissed the Sentry before reaching into his drawer to pull out a brush and an expensive piece of parchment. Instead of dipping the brush into the ink well, however, he took a moment to reconsider his actions.
In the final few months of Aang's life, Master Tianshu was the one tasked with recording and carrying out his last will and testimony. This included a set of detailed instructions on how to train and, more importantly, protect the next Avatar.
Prior to his death, Aang had concluded that the Avatar Cycle was nearing the end of its usefulness as the lynchpin sustaining the balance between the humans and the Spirit World. He had worked tirelessly to ensure that the absence of an Avatar would no longer place the world in jeopardy. To that end, he asked that the Order of the White Lotus keep the next Avatar safe, secure, and, most importantly, away from the developing politics of Republic City.
After observing the impact he had on Republic City, Aang had concluded that an Avatar should never be directly involved with the administration or politics of any nation. For the sake of ensuring their neutrality, they should be kept far away from such things until they had fully matured and gained at least a basic mastery over the four elements. Before then, it was simply too dangerous, for themselves and others, to let them roam freely.
What Aang hadn't accounted for was the interference of his wife. Katara had always been the more sensible of the two, so, while she wanted to respect her husband's decision, she also knew that Aang had begrudged the Elders of the Northern Air Temple for deciding his fate and forcing him to train. She didn't want to see Korra forced into a similar situation, so the moment Kahn appeared, Katara used his presence as a justification to let matters take their course.
Recalling his many conversations with Katara over the past two and a half years, Master Tianshu breathed an exasperated sigh before setting aside his quill and reclining in his chair. Aang had repeatedly emphasized during his final testimony that Katara and the new Avatar's parents had the final say in their child's rearing. Thus, rather than penning a letter to inform Tonraq that his daughter was being 'stolen' from him, Master Tianshu just closed his eyes and muttered, "Let's just hope Master Katara knows what she's doing..."

Chapter 9: Chapter 9