Private Lessons - Tahno x Reader

Chapter 16

"A-Ah..."  The whimper falls from his lips like a broken plea. He's holding his hand under the running water of his faucet, trying to cool the throbbing wrist. The skin was bruising in a nasty way, and while Tahno was almost 100% sure it was fractured, he decided not to bandage. Kaito would kill him if he knew what happened.

His trust in his underlings was tested after he told them to keep their mouths shut about the ocurred relative, and his group had sworn not to spill even a thoughts about what happened.

The skin seems to settle down a bit, and after seeing how the swelling fades, Tahno decides to bandage the skin until tomorrow. At least the fracture would be protected until his Chi - training.  Perhaps practicing with a broken wrist wasn't the best idea, but if Tahno wanted to escape this place without anyone noticing, he couldn't go around whining about injuries. 

The art of chi bending was something that didn't come naturally to Tahno. His movements had been too slow, and while he always used to defend himself with water, the days of easily freezing people in place were no longer. 

Now he was tracing his own steps hundreds and hundreds of times in order to learn Chi blocking, with his teacher yelling insults with every step he got wrong. He wasn't made for this. He was meant to water bend, however while he was aware of his fact, fear was something that kept him from doing what had always been part of his life.

 Kaito, however, was fear himself, and it was him that kept Tahno focussed and concentrated. Because if something wasn't of his liking, people would experience his strength in more ways than one. 

 Tahno was forced to submerge under his growing strength, because he as well wasn't a match for the assasin. At least that's what he had been told.

He didn't see the way Kaito heaved as he entered his home. His arm supporting the rest of his body as he held himself up using the wall. Curses falling from his lips as he held his side with his metal prostetic. Kaito wasn't immortal, and some people seemed to forget this fact.

With much difficulty he carries himself into the living area of the building, where a few of his students are energetically conversing. As soon as he sets foot in the room, the atmopshere changes and eyes turn towards his massive presence. Their eyes scan down his form, inspect the way he hunches. No one dares to say a thing, and instead they follow Kaito with their gazes as he stumbles towards the couch and seats himself near the armrest.

"Leave." He speaks, and with that word alone, the room has cleared within seconds. Everybody fleeing towards their dorms, except for one.

"You don't look too good, Kaito. Benders been stepping on your toes?" 

Kaito raises his head and meets the eye of Tahno, who lurks within the shadows of the corner of the room, eyes directed towards the man on the couch. Kaito hums, and narrows his gaze, leaning back and motioning Tahno to step forward.

"You don't look to well yourself. Is that a broken wrist?" The man nods towards his wrist, but Tahno hides it behind his back and scoffs, embarrased by the quick discovery. He had worn gloves to hide the bandages, but Kaito could see right through him.

"It's nothing. Things got ugly back in the city." 

"You managed to get rid of that shop owner?" 

"Of course."

"Good." 

There's a heavy silence disrupting their conversation, and while Tahno's urge to flee is gnawing on his conscious, he decides to stay, too curious to know about how Kaito got roughed up like such. 
Kaito stares at him, knowing there's something the boy wants to ask him. If it's about his current form or an upcoming mission remains unknown, but soon enough Tahno opens his mouth and lets his curiosity take charge.

"What happened to you?" 

Kaito grumbles, and averts his gaze down to himself. His clothes wear burn marks, and his prosthetic is covered in black marks. Anyone would be curious to know about what happened. There were only a rare amount of people that knew what he would be up to though, and his students, assistants and underlings were definitely not a part of that group. 
But Tahno holds something within his gaze that Kaito wishes to discover. He wasn't just another student he picked up on the streets. He was a fighter, not a follower unlike the rest of them. He held potential that Kaito was busy to decipher. 

He unscrews his arm, while Tahno was unaware that was even possible. He places it in his lap and leans back once more with a heavy sigh. He's not going to tell Tahno what happened, but to show him one of his vulnerabilities was something that showed how much trust was placed in the young boy.

"You're not a bad kid, Tahno. I'll tell you that. You're not afraid like the rest of them. That's why I was so desperate to find you." 

Tahno tenses at his words, knowing them not to be true. If there was anyone who feared Kaito, it was him, maybe even more than any of the others who lived here. He just didn't want to give the man the oppertunity to make use of that fact. He wouldn't ever show Kaito how much he feared him.

"Show me your wrist." 

After a few seconds of hesitation, Tahno approaches the man and takes a seat next to him. Slowly and unsurely he lifts his arm takes of his glove, offering Kaito the full view of his swollen wrist. The man whistles at the sight, and Tahno glances up at him with narrowed eyes. He grabs his wrist with his only hand, and turns it around so he can get a full look. 

"That's a pretty nasty bruise you got there... you wrapped it up nicely though. You should be fine." 

For some reason Tahno relaxes, for the first time ever in Kaito's presence. He's weak, vulnerable, and if Tahno would charge right now he had no chance of winning. However, there's a warmth coming from within his chest he has never felt before. Praise. An actual compliment. 
He swallows thickly and quickly puts on the glove again after Kaito pulls away. 

"I didn't need your approval." Tahno tells the man stubbornly, but to his surprise he's offered an amused chuckle, one he had never heard coming from the metal armed giant. He scratches his beard, before placing his hand on the prostetic.

"Yet, you took off that glove." 

Tahno rises from his position on the couch and hurries in the direction of the dorms, eager to get away from Kaito. Before he can remove himself from the room, Kaito calls for him, and he halts mid-step to glance back at him over his shoulder.

"You did good today. I'll see you tomorrow at practice." 

Tahno's gaze lingers on his presence for a few more seconds, before mumbling a "sure" and rushing off towards his room, leaving Kaito on his own in the living area. 

Once he's in bed, he stares at the ceiling with a frown tugging at his features. For some reason he feels content, knowing he has done something right for once in his life. He was met by a genuine smile, instead of a cold look, and it had left him confused and unsure.  

But deep down in his chest, he was happy for some reason, but he didn't want to be. He shouldn't feel glad to spend his life ruining the ones of others, just because the community he was in had other beliefs about benders. But he did feel happy. He did feel accomplished.

And that night, he fell asleep. More content than he ever had.