Maintaining the Balance: Ch. 11 (Patreon)

Over a several-week period, Katara slowly pried information out of Kahn before transmitting everything she had learned to her friends and former allies. Technology had advanced quite a bit since she was a child. Just a few years prior, the only way to send messages long distances in a short time was to use messenger hawks. Now, with the advent of radio, it was possible to communicate with the other side of the globe in real-time.

Upon hearing what Katara had to say, the senior members of the White Lotus that had once journeyed or fought alongside the Avatar wanted to meet in person. More specifically, they wanted to meet with Kahn and ask him for more information about the Elemental Avatars and their purpose in the world.

Fortunately for Kahn, Katara managed to deter the group from convening with an explanation of his quiet and reserved nature. The only person she couldn't stop was Toph, who, upon learning that Kahn was in contact with her husband, journeyed to the South Pole to both ask questions and help in Korra's training.

Though she was severely lacking in experience, Korra was already at the level of a Master Waterbender even before her training with Katara. Kahn had drilled all kinds of theories into her head, and, while she didn't have a great understanding of any of them, Korra had exhibited the rare ability to Bend plantlife, condense water from the atmosphere, and heal injuries.

As impressive as these three abilities sounded, it was Kahn's emphasis on control that turned Korra into a little monster. He had taken advantage of Korra's inability to sit still to teach her various control techniques that she could practice while, as Kahn put it, 'fidgetting about'. As a result, not only was Korra able to manipulate water into various animals, she could control both them and water using nothing but her mind.

Telepathic Bending, according to Kahn, was one of the most crucial skills any Bender could possess. He used the armless Waterbender, Ming Hua, the Combustion Bender, P'Li, and even Toph to illustrate how a person's mental image superseded the need to adhere to a specific form.

While Martial Arts could amplify the power of Bending, Kahn likened the average Bender to someone who was basically 'flinging' Chi out of their body in the hopes of something sticking. His teaching methods focused on directing and manipulating the flow of Chi within the body rather than trying to force it out through movement. Not only did this make a person's Bending more potent, it drastically increased their strength and durability.

Though most Avatars possessed relatively average strength in their base form, they would become monstrously powerful when they activated the Avatar State. Most people assumed this was a unique trait of the Avatar, but the truth of the matter was that their massive influx of Chi enhanced their senses and made their bodies exponentially stronger.

Thanks to the 'games' she had played with Kahn, the eight-year-old Korra could empower her body with Earth Elemental Chi to lift even the heaviest weights in the gym. It was one of the things she most enjoyed, as, even if he pushed himself, the six-month-older Kahn could only lift around 40kgs. Compared to Korra's 350kgs, he was far behind.

Fortunately, while there was no way he could compete with Korra in terms of physical strength and durability, Kahn more than made up for this with raw speed and destructive capacity. His mastery of the Lightning Infusion Technique effectively made him untouchable, and, thanks to his ability to condense plasma and siphon the heat from a person's body, conventional defenses were useless against him. 

So long as he didn't agree to arm-wrestle her or something similar, there were few activities where Kahn didn't have the upper hand against Korra. Even wrestling and sparring were no exception as his spatial awareness and control over his body were head and shoulders above hers. She may be a martial arts prodigy, but, without cheating, there was no way for her to keep up with Kahn's speed and surgical precision. And if she did cheat, Kahn could simply use Chi Blocking to level the playing field or altogether disable her.

The only instances where Kahn had lost against Korra was when he had unintentionally brought her to tears. It was rare, but there were moments when Korra would just stop in the middle of a fight, sit on the ground, and start crying. More often than not, this was the result of sustaining a heavy blow to one of the more sensitive parts of her body, particularly her shins.  Other times, however, she would get so frustrated by her inability to land so much as a grazing blow on Kahn that she would break down and start bawling.

As resilient and determined as she was, Korra was still just an eight-year-old girl. Her ability to press forward despite numerous losses was one of her most commendable traits. Even so, she was far from perfect. Losing dozens, if not hundreds of times in a row, was bound to take its toll. She did her best to keep it from Kahn, but, every now and then, the pain and frustration became too much to bear. 

Though he often wore a mask of indifference, Kahn was quick to reveal his true colors whenever Korra was in pain. He hated seeing her cry, so whenever Korra broke down, he was quick to try and console her. Korra would generally reward his concerns with a few frustrated punches and kicks, but, once she had gotten everything out of her system, she would become remarkably docile.

While it was difficult to argue that these occasions were a kind of triumph in Korra's court, Kahn certainly didn't walk away from them feeling like the victor. It didn't help that Katara had taught her how to make puppy eyes...

...

..

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Despite standing only 152cm tall due to her advanced age, Toph Beifong gave off the impression of an immovable mountain whenever she adopted her trademarked Neutral Jing Stance. At first glance, she appeared to be standing rather casually with feet shoulder-width apart, elbows tucked in, and palms turned up. In reality, she was compensating for her blindness by sending vibrations through the air and ground like an advanced form of sonar.

Feeling the hairs along the back of her neck stand on end, Toph slid her foot in a counter-clockwise motion before raising her hand to intercept a large boulder. Upon contact with her palm, it immediately reduced to sand before reforming into a series of dulled, cork-like projectiles that barreled towards the young girl standing near the very edge of the elevated arena.

Clicking her tongue, Korra flexed the muscles in her gradually developing calves and thighs in a manner that deformed the arena like the surface of a trampoline. The cork-like projectiles promptly flew over her head before the ground beneath her rebounded, propelling her several tens of meters into the air.

Sliding her feet and repositioning herself so that she was oriented in the approximate direction of Korra, Toph spread her hands before bringing them together above her head in a circular, slapping motion. A massive dome of earth formed around her petite frame just as Korra unleashed a literal flamethrower-like breath of flames on her position.

Believing she had forced Toph into a corner, Korra used a combination of Air and Firebending to propel herself toward the dome of reinforced earth like a spinning ax. It was a ludicrous display that no one in their right mind would expect from an eight-year-old girl, but Korra was able to time it so that she came out of her spin just as her foot was about to make contact with the dome. When it did, a massive crack divided both the dome and the arena below, but Toph was nowhere to be seen.

"What the-"

"Nice try, brat."

Emerging from an unscathed section of the area, sand pouring from her body, Toph thrust her right hand forward before twisting it in a counter-clockwise motion and closing her hand. The dome that Korra had broken through immediately turned to sand, and, though she did her best to try and escape, the young Avatar failed to flee the dozens of sandy tendrils that coiled around before enveloping her entire body up to her neck.

"Ugh...I can't...breathe...!"

Wriggling her body, Korra attempted to use Earthbending to break free, but Toph was several steps ahead of her. She had turned the entire arena into an eddy of perpetually shifting sand, so the more Korra struggled, the worse her situation became.

"Give up, brat. You may be the Avatar, but I'm the greatest Earthbender in the whole world. You're ten, no, fifty years too young to defeat me without the Avatar State."

Gritting her teeth, Korra refused to give up even as her head was about to be pulled under the encroaching sand. She hated losing, but she would rather lose a billion times over than simply give up.

Unfortunately, despite Korra's heartfelt bravado, it did little the change her situation. The training she was currently undergoing was supposed to help her achieve the Avatar State. She believed it was the only thing that would allow her to defeat Kahn, so, even though Katara and Toph had told her it was too soon, Korra insisted on unrestrained sparring.

Using her seismic sense, Toph was able to monitor Korra's state as the young Avatar's body sunk deeper and deeper into the sandy quagmire. The moment Korra lost consciousness, she immediately commanded the sand to bloom outwards before turning towards Katara and Kahn, her pale green eyes focusing on the latter as she asked, "What? Are you going to attack me? Korra asked for this herself."

Though Kahn could hide it from others, Toph could sense his Chi and the fluctuations of his heart. She had spent nearly sixty years alongside her husband before his death. Kahn was a distinctly different person, but his internal structure was just as 'flawless' as her husband's. She had learned to sense the subtle changes in Rokr's emotions by observing the changes in his Chi, so Kahn may as well have been an open book in front of her.

Ignoring Toph's remark, Kahn inhaled a steadying breath before jumping up and propelling himself onto the stage using thrusters at his hands and feet. He found Korra lying near the center of the arena with half her body still covered in sand. Fortunately, thanks to Toph's truly masterful control, no sand or dust had gotten into her mouth, eyes, ears, or lungs.

Pinching Korra's nose, Kahn waited for her to startle awake before asking, "Can you stand...?" in his characteristically calm tone.

Seeing Kahn's face just a few centimeters away from her own, Korra felt a fluttery feeling in her stomach that was quickly suppressed by the notion she had, once again, lost. 

Exhaling a disheartened sigh, Korra freed herself from her sandy confines before glaring at Kahn and saying, "Turn away..."

Though he rolled his eyes, Kahn promptly turned away so that Korra could use a combination of Earth, Water, and Firebending to oust the sand from her clothes, clean her body, and dry off. She used to not care about such things, but, as she grew older, she became progressively more concerned with things like cleanliness and maintaining her appearance.

"You can turn around now."

Finding Korra 'glaring' at him with her hair down, Kahn exhaled a sigh of his own before pulling out the incredibly expensive hair comb Katara had gifted her during her eighth birthday. She had subsequently entrusted it to Kahn, who, during one of his attempts to stop her from crying, helped to comb Korra's hair. She usually let her mother take care of it, but, from that moment onward, whenever Korra felt upset, she practically forced Kahn to comb her hair.

Fortunately for Korra, it was therapeutic and calming for Kahn as it was for her...