Reigning Cats & Dogs [Issac/Zeshin;Open]

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

[This takes place two days before Rajah's trek to Barcelona, Spain, and the day after the events of "Meditation" and "-Jin and Tonic"]

The Tora-Jin lay underneath the grandest of oak trees, lit by a starry night sky. His body was completely rested; he couldn't move if he tried. With his arms at his sides and his legs resting on the ground underneath, his spirit magic echoed the calling of the live plants and trees around him, telling him that something was heading his way.

He could see it as clear as day. A black panther prowled toward him as it emerged out of the bushes across from him. He could hear it echo a mixture of a growl and a purr as it continued to walk it's way toward Rajah. However, as it reached the Tora-Jin's legs, the panther started to take a different shape.

It took the shape of a woman.

Rajah sat there amazed. It was the same woman he dreamed of earlier; the one with the golden eyes. She knelt between his legs and stared into the Tora-Jin's eyes. The sweetest of smiles emerged on her face as she began to stroke his cheek. Rajah was weak to do anything but blush. Hearing her giggle, she immediately continued toward his face, seemingly about to steal a kiss.

_________________________


Rajah woke up in a cold sweat; his fur matted to his body from the perspiration. His reaction to his wake was rather spontaneous as well; bolting up from the bed Zeshin's mother graciously allowed him to sleep in during his stay in the tavern and gasping for air rather heavily. He sat on the edge of the bed, placing his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his legs.

This was the second time he had dreamed of the woman in question, and he had no idea why. Usually whenever he dreamed of things, they seemed to make sense of themselves after time. But this one he just couldn't figure out.

The Tora-Jin stood up, dressed in only his blue training pants. Walking outside to a nearby stream, he dove inside to take a short swim and to wash the perspiration off of his fur. Emerging out of the stream, he shook his fur dry before leaning against a shady tree with his forearm and resting the other on his hip, trying to forget the dream and dwell on how he was going to spend the day.

[Issac Verro]

Issac had been back from his trip, his spirits renewed from travel and his sword repaired, he was comfortable now to seek out Zeshin and begin their training once again. Issac had gone through the trouble of waking at dawn, something that was an incredible rarity for the Inu-Jin, seldom waking before noon unless it was to relieve himself or stretch before dozing back off. Having already gotten out of bed, Issac awoke to see Zeshin diligently sweeping the tavern floor, as the smells of breakfast emanated from the kitchen. Issac walked over to where Zeshin was cleaning the floor, smiling as he prepared to speak to his pupil.

"Smells good in there kid, almost as good as being back." Issac said to Zeshin, his smile and his pleasant demeanor rocked by the look of anger on Zeshin's, as the young man was well aware of the Inu-jin's return, having awoken before sunrise to see Rajah exit the tavern and Issac asleep in his place in the corner. Several moments of silence passed as Issac awaited as response, scratching the back of his head in anxiousness as he was unsure of what to say to see what mad Zeshin so mad. "Umm, something bothering you Zeshin?"

[Zeshin Lak-el Ury]

Issac had suddenly appeared back in the bar when Zeshin had woke up that morning, lounging in his usual corner. His sudden reappearance perturbed Zeshin, he had taken notice of his absence days before his training with Rajah, a fact that still did not sit quite well with the fiery lad. Despite his promise to help Zeshin, Issac training methods were rough and embarrassing for the young man, when they did occur at all and Zeshin was left with a bitter taste in his mouth at the notion of continually training himself, as Issac left without even giving him a word of consideration. Over the last weeks or so Rajah had proved to be much more instrumental in helping him unlock his talents.

He looked over to the Inu-jin with a heated glance, something that took Issac aback as he tried to make general conversation with Zeshin, something that Zeshin was not in the mood for particularly with Issac. "I don't know, you plan on leaving again, or was lounging around here all day top on your list of things to do." Zeshin said as he set the broom against the wall, scorch marks imprinted where his hands used to be. Walking into the kitchen, Zeshin coldly turned his back to Issac, walking near the stove where a wave of his hand extinguished the heat, taking a spoon to taste some of the thick, meaty stew he prepared, shoving the spoon into his mouth and relishing in its taste, seemingly unaffected by the heat.

Zeshin was choosing to ignore Issac, to angry to say anything in fear of being overtly disrespectful, a notion that seemed to late to embark given his last words to the Inu-jin. Seeing that the soup was done, Zeshin placed his hands on the pot and pulled all of the ambient heat from the container, dispersing it harmlessly into the air, as the Stew was now cold enough to be stored and used later that evening, removing his apron and walking out the kitchen, back to the front. Setting his garment on a hook, Zeshin silently walked past Issac out of the doors of the pub. He was not used to having a another male influence around, and the sudden departure of Issac made Zeshin feel uncomfortable, feelings that would later manifest into anger, an emotion that would help Zeshin as he was on his way to meet Rajah.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

"I just don't understand," Rajah contemplated to himself, finding it useless to try and divert his attention away from his latest dream about the woman with golden eyes. "Why do I keep dreaming of her? What does this all mean?"

The confused Tora-jin released his arm from the tree and allowed his back to lean against the strong oak granting his slowly drying fur a good amount of shade. He folded his arms, let them rest against his bare-chested fur and closed his eyes, trying to find a center of peace on the subject.

"This is going to wreck my brain until I figure out what this stands for," he said to himself. He opened his eyes and stared at the grass before him. "Or until I can find something else to occupy my energy."

That was when the nature around Rajah started to alert him that someone was heading his way. He opened his eyes in shock, realizing that the exact same scenario was playing out exactly like his dream of late, give or take a few differences. But from what nature was telling him through his spirit magic, it wasn't the footsteps of a black panther; it was the footsteps of a boy.

Looking over to his right, he could see the blue-haired young one Zeshin head his way. Rajah released a sigh of relief upon seeing his new-found friend and chuckled at the sight.

"Well, wonders never cease to amaze me," he said to himself before Zeshin came within earshot. When he did, he smiled toward him, glad to see a friendly face after his troubling morning.

"Good morning, Zeshin," he said to him. "You look well."

Before Rajah could wait for a reply, he could sense angst in his spirit. Instantly worried, Rajah knelt down and rested one of his paws on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Zeshin?" he asked sincerely.

[Issac Verro]

Issac was taken aback by Zeshin's cold words and foul temper, Issac had expected some level of awkwardness, but not to this degree. "Zeshin I..." The Inu-jin began, but his speech interrupted by Zeshin walking away, ignoring his pleas for conversation. After he momentarily walked out of the kitchen, Zeshin slightly brushed past Issac, who could feel the heat coming of the boy on his fur as Zeshin walked outside the tavern, the wind from the door closing knocking the broom to the floor, its singed handle clacking against the hardwood floor of the tavern.

"Dammit, I can't talk to him while he's like this..." Issac said, following behind, making sure to keep his distance. As he exited the tavern into the warm afternoon sun, Issac noticed Rajah, sitting quietly underneath a tree. As Zeshin approached him he inquired as to the cause of his obvious distress, and Issac stood a fair distance away, not wanting to evesdrop, but listening nonetheless.

[Zeshin Lak-el Ury]

Sighing, Zeshin placed his hands inside his trouser's pockets and kicked a small stone in front of himself in frustration. "Nothing Rajah, just Issac back unannounced to mooch once again, training me in the fine arts of sleeping and not pitching in on chores..." Zeshin said, realizing that Issac was within an earshot of his words, to annoyed to be too concerned with his feelings. Noticing that the sun shone brightly in the cool air, Zeshin stretched his limbs in anticipation for what Rajah had in store for their training.

"So what's first, martial arts, or some weapons training?" Zeshin asked, his eyes fiercely focus on the Tora-Jin, starting to grow more and more brighter as he sensed Issac getting closer and closer to the tree. Zeshin was not usually this upset, but lately his powers had began to grow more wildly, simple training exercises proven to be beyond his control, the messes he made within the confides of his kitchen having to be carried out elsewhere. Almost starting a brushfire the previous day made him even more upset, as he was barely able to contain the fire without drawing attention to his actions only further feed his frustrations, the culmination of which led to his confrontation of words with an aloof Issac earlier.

The grass under his feet browned from the heat he began to give off, taking his hands out of his pockets, he folded his arms over his chest as he awaited further instruction from Rajah.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Once the blue-haired young one confided in the Tora-jin on what was troubling him, Rajah started to feel a bit uneasy. When he was first introduced to the two, Rajah immediately assumed that the relationship between Zeshin and Issac to be rather stable. And whereas he was indeed thankful that his own friendship with the boy has grown to the lengths as it has currently, it seemed that in order for that bond to hold, his bond with his current sifu was slowly yet surely loosening.

And that was something Rajah just couldn't allow.

The boy was quick to change subjects, asking what type of training the two would undergo today. The Tora-jin didn't have to use his spirit magic at all to realize that the boy was trying his best not to show any anger toward him, especially since he saw what his powers were doing to the grass around him.

Rajah took the time to glance behind Zeshin inconspicuously, seeing Issac listening in on their conversation at a distance near the entrance of the tavern. Hoping that the Inu-jin caught his glance, he gave him a serious look. Looking back at the boy before him, Rajah smiled as he removed his paw from his shoulder.

"Well," Rajah began, set on answering Zeshin's question, "It's such a beautiful day out, and I do believe we've touched grounds on everything but weapons."

Rajah rose himself up from his crouching position and stretched his upper limbs from his earlier swim and wash. "Stay here and practice your memory lapses from earlier," Rajah suggested. "Let me go fetch my shirt, your sword and weapons of my own and we'll begin shortly."

He smiled at Zeshin before playfully rubbing the hair on his head with one of his paws and walked toward the tavern, noticing Issac standing near the entrance. By the time he reached the Inu-jin, Rajah placed his maw by one of his drooped ears.

"Walk with me," he whispered, just in case Zeshin was able to sense the Tora-jin's intentions.

Rajah immediately continued inside the tavern, hoping Issac made his way inside as well.

[Issac Verro]

Having been caught, Issac turned away mildly embarrassed. He heard Rajah ask him to follow him, making his way back inside of the bar where Issac had just left, Issac turned to see Zeshin readying himself for today's exercises, noticing the scorched grass he sighed and placed his hands inside of his robe, following behind Rajah into the tavern. Walking past the swinging doors, Issac looked around to see if there was anyone who would hear their private conversation, and not sensing anyone in the general vicinity, the Inu-Jin stretched his limbs and looked to Rajah with concern.

"It's nice to see that you and Zeshin have developed such a great rapport with each other, he seems to respond to you much better than he does myself, as embarrassed as I am to say so." Issac said, chuckling lightly despite feeling terrible at the rift between he and his pupil. He remembered how hard it was for his father to deal with him during the period where he barely understood his own powers, but Clint had never abandoned his son, much like Issac would stay there for Zeshin, but it seemed that his student was not very enthusiastic in having him around at the moment.

"I don't know how I'm going to reach him when he is like this, but I think giving him time to cool off will only cause the rift to grow wider, he doesn't seem to deal with abandonment well, ever though I had every intent on returning here." Issac said to Rajah with a hand on his chin, pondering on how to patch things up between he and Zeshin.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Once the two of them were in the sanctity of the empty tavern, Rajah proceeded to his room to gather his blue sleeveless training tunic and a metallic box out of his traveling pack. While he was tending to such gathering, Issac started to speak to the Tora-jin in a distraught tone.

While listening to Issac's words, Rajah's emotions once again started to get the best of him. By the time he gathered his own things, the Tora-jin pouted in the solidarity of his room. He looked at the Inu-jin as he left out with his belongings, blinking once to allow the retinas of his eyes to turn green with spirit magic. Seeing him with his sight over spirit, he could see the aura of the dog show immediate signs of depression and grief.

"I don't know how I'm going to reach him when he is like this," he heard him say as he made his way down the stairs. "But I think giving him time to cool off will only cause the rift to grow wider. He doesn't seem to deal with abandonment well, even though I had every intent on returning here."

Rajah immediately stood in front of Issac with his hybrid look of sadness and concern. "Did you tell him yourself that you would be returning?" he asked the -jin before him, as sincere as ever since being around him.

[Zeshin Lak-el Ury]

Zeshin nodded and moved next to the tree, seating himself directly underneath the tree. Commencing to focus on his breathing, Zeshin closed his eyes and began to calm himself down the last image in his view was Issac and Rajah returning to the tavern, despite Issac attempts to look discrete. Zeshin had only in recent days regained the full utility of his powers, his clouded thoughts made it nigh impossible to hone his abilities, so now would be a more than ample time to focus his emotions through exercise. His temperature was now stabilized internally, and his breathing aid him from letting his excess energy spill out into the environment wastefully. Zeshin could feel his blue aura surrounding him, a soothing stream of warm light covering his entire body as he sat, his loose closing flowing gently in the wind.

[Issac Verro]

Rajah asked him the question that should have smacked him in the face, plain and simple he had not told Zeshin of his absence, and it was as plain as day the result of his negligence. Issac sighed, and lowered his head in both shame and embarrassment, "No, I didn't say word to him, I just snuck off in the night. I didn't think I would have been gone so long though..." Issac said crossing his arms as he stood there talking to Rajah. The lonely Inu-jin had grown accustomed to coming and leaving as he pleased, never in spot for too long, he never thought to tell anyone he was leaving, out of habit more than malice but the damaged had already been done and now it was in his hands to fix.

"I want to tell Zeshin I'm sorry but, he won't speak to me with insults. Usually I'd be in the mood to trade pop shots with him but... he's been so angry lately, his frustrations lie in his training no doubt, or lack of it due to me. I think he feels he's plateaued, but why is he pushing himself so hard these days is a mystery to me..." Issac said, lost in his own thoughts that he choose to verbalize, not having anything important to say otherwise, getting back to the topic at hand as he stared back at Rajah.

"Besides, I don't want to interrupt the thing you two have, you much better suited to instruct him than I am. Honestly Rajah, I haven't even mastered my own powers, so what can I really give to Zeshin that he doesn't already have... he's damn near more powerful than the two of us combined." Issac said walking over to the door, looking at his pupil from afar as he shed some insight into his own personal struggles with the patient Tora-jin. "You'd better go, he gets impatient quick you know..."

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

The Tora-jin stood there, hearing Issac pour out his heart about the situation with his pupil and he. He could hear and see the guilt in him; no spirit magic was necessary to determine that conclusion. And upon hearing Issac start to talk down upon himself nearly tore the poor tiger's heart in two. So out of his caring nature, Rajah placed the items he held and placed them on a nearby table. He placed his free paws on Issac's shoulders and looked him dead in his eyes.

"Don't ever let me hear you browbeat yourself again," Rajah said in a serious yet caring and soothing manner. "We all have our faults, Issac. But with faults, we also have strengths. Zeshin looks up to you, Issac. My being here does not change that reality any less than before our meeting weeks ago. The way he is acting toward you now is simply because he missed you, and he has no other outlet other than anger to expel how he feels upon your return.

"I tell you this without any remorse, Issac; I deeply care for both of you," the Tora-jin admitted. "It is because of this that I stay to offer my assistance where it is needed." Rajah chuckled. "It just so happens that my assistance was with Zeshin. But believe you me; whereas it seems that he adepts well toward me, just remember this."

Then, without any warning at all, Rajah embraced the saddened Inu-jin in an affectionate hug. He rubbed his back a bit, hoping it would help ease the tension.

"You were here first," he assured Issac, growing a warm smile on his maw. "So no more talk about being unnecessary."

He released the Inu-jin from his hug and looked at him with the same smile, retreating his paws back to Issac's shoulders.

"Okay?"

[Issac Verro]

All Issac could do despite his surprise at Rajah's sudden affection is place a hand on his back and pat gently as he mildly returned the hug. "I'll keep that in mind next time Rajah." Issac said, passively breaking away from their hug, scratching his head in an awkward manner. Looking toward the door, Issac coughed mildly to break away some of the tension he felt in his silence, "Should we get back before he gets too impatient?" Issac asked, forcing a small grin, showing Rajah the he actually took his words to heart, despite lacking the appropriate way of showing it.

He would be happy when this feeling of angst left he and his pupil, happy to have people alongside him during times like this, his past ways of dealing with these issues stunted by his rather unorthodox upbringing, Issac would just have to grow accustomed to these small spats, not always being able to pack up and leave when a problem arose.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah smiled, simply satisfied that he was able to help out in any way he could. Seeing the people he cared about was always worthwhile to the Tora-jin in these situations. And seeing on Issac's face that his words actually made a differnece made him happy indeed.

The Tora-jin nodded at Issac's question regarding joining Zeshin outside, followed by a smile.

"Just let me fetch his sword," he told Issac as he headed toward the back entrance of the tavern. When he reached the back door, he saw the sword leaning against the outside wall. Grabbing the sword, he headed back toward the main entrance, grabbing his own belongings and giving Issac a smile and a nod.

Leaving the tavern, he went back outside by the tree he rested himself near earlier that day. He saw the blue-haired young one, meditating and practicing in the control of his power. That simple sight alone made Rajah smile as he rested the blade by Zeshin's side, yet not too close to be affected by the energies that were expelling from him.

"You're getting better," he said to try and break him out of the meditation. "You're more in control of your emotions; that's a good start."

He sat down besides the boy and placed the large metallic box that was in his possession in front of him, waiting to see if Zeshin was in tune enough to respond.

[Zeshin Lak-el Ury]

Zeshin could feel Rajah approach before he heard their footsteps, like they were fish moving inside the reservoir of water that was his aura surrounding the area. His eyes still closed, he smiled at the praise lauded onto him by Rajah, "Thanks, I've been practicing not getting too heated in training, allowing the frustrations to fuel my desire to exceed and not overwhelm me." Zeshin said opening his eyes to see his own sword Rajah procured from behind the tavern, and a small metallic box near where sat. Looking to Rajah, Zeshin scratched his head as he stretched out his legs, rubbing the small cramps from siting in that position out.

"Mind if I ask what's in the box Stripes?" Zeshin asked, as his glow diminished slowly, and the reverted back to a temperate degree, the excess heat from Zeshin body no longer present under the tree. Issac was not too far behind, but Zeshin was not concerned with him at the moment, and went to knocking on the metallic case, awaiting Rajah's permission to inspect before proceeding.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah found the boy's curiosity quite humorous. He only smiled when he saw him ask about the metallic case before him and even giggled under his breath a bit when he watched him knock on top of it. After stretching his arms while having his paws rest on his legs and leaning down, the Tora-jin rested a paw on top, undoing the latch on the front side.

"Inside this box," he stated, "are my weapons of choice, given to me by a very dear friend I made along the way in my travels."

Rajah opened the case and pulled out two oddly bladed weapons. Closing the box, he propped them both against it so that Zeshin could get a good look at what what they were.



"These are called Katars," he told his young friend. "They're punching swords; a very clever piece of arsenal for swift and quick attacks. They are common in my adopted home of India; many of the warriors I lead in battle called Rajputs would wield these weapons."

He chuckled a bit.

"It's funny, though," he said. "I never did car for weapons back then. Whenever someone gave me a pair of these as a gift, I'd deny them. It wasn't until I left India to find out who I was until I accepted these. And by that time, I was near China."

Rajah shook his head slightly, realizing he had been rambling. He stared at Zeshin and smiled.

"So how about it?" he said. He playfully nudged the boy against his right arm before he rubbed the top of his head in the same playful manner. "You think you can take me?"

[Issac Verro]

Issac trailed behind Rajah, choosing to maintain a fair amount of space between them as he walked back to meet Zeshin under the tree. Watching as Rajah and Zeshin discussed the contents of the box, Issac's mind wandered to thoughts of his own sword, now repair with durable Damascus, he wondered if those weapons were of any true value to Rajah. If they were, they were most likely to suffer both impact and heat damage from Zeshin, unless his ability to control his burgeoning powers has seen some improvement from his differences in mornings.

Seating himself near the two, Issac laid back, and kicked up his heels, his back against the soft, cool grass. Plucking a small plant from the ground, "Never took you for type to use blades Rajah, you're already squeamish as is." Issac said, smiling as he placed his hands behind his back, perching his neck up to view their interaction. "The boy's gonna wipe the floor with Rajah."

[Zeshin Lak-el Ury]

Zeshin could help but smile at Issac's snide comment as to the before and after condition of his weapons, but he still faced Rajah, otherwise ignoring his canine sifu. Placing his hands onto the weapons, he could see that despite their appearance, the blades were indeed sharp, noticed by the small prick against the side of his finger that healed as fast as it appeared. The craftsmanship in the weapons was remarkable from what Zeshin could see, something he wished the village blacksmith Aki could see. "These look nice Rajah, despite what some have to say." Zeshin said, carefully placing them back in the pouch. Standing to his feet, Zeshin stretched his arms and legs, and a rather coy smiled appeared on his face.

"The flea bag may be right though, I think I'll do a little more than take you on..." Zeshin said, reaching for his weapon. Despite the more negative thoughts back to their first encounter, Zeshin had used his series of defeats and small humiliations as fuel in his training, working day in and day out alongside his chores and other daily duties. He was confident in his strength and capability to show both Issac and Rajah how far he'd come by his own merit.

[Nagoyaka Rajah]

Rajah smiled. Seeing the determination in the young one's eyes was always a refreshing sight to behold. Plus, it was good to see Issac and Zeshin start to get along again. For a moment, he worried that the boy would let this one instance spawn some angst between them.

The Tora-jin sprang up as well, grabbing his two weapons out of the metallic box. And even though he only used them about three times in his lifetime, Rajah could easily twirl and show the martial use of the weapons of his adoptive homeland. In a readied stance, Rajah friendly smiled at his human friend.

"Seeing how well you've grown power-wise," he said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

He motioned with one of his daggers to advance.

"Come."

[Zeshin Lak-el Ury]

Zeshin drew his blade from its sheathe, the plain looking double edge sword gleamed with its own modest dignity, held firm in Zeshin's hands as he positioned his feet, one pointed straight ahead toward his opponent like an arrow, the other to the rear pointed outward and perpendicular to its counterpart. As his other hand found the hilt of the blade, Zeshin took one last large breath, steeling himself in his current stance as he looked at Rajah's well polished blades, the smell of the newly shaved metal and oil fresh in his nose, and brung his weapon above his chest, but below his head, the tip pointed out as if to call the sky into battle.

"No, think I'll try something a littl different today..." Zeshin said, finishing his brief sentence with a smirk on his face, the breeze causing his azure cowlicks to waft before his eyes, blowing them in slight annoyance as he continued to stare at Rajah, statuesque save for the small rise and fall of his chest and he breathed in anticipation. In all of their previous encounters Zeshin took the initiative in charging Rajah, something the didn't bode very well as the Tora-Jin had the comparable size and power advantage, making his defense rather difficult to compromise. Today Zeshin would indeed utilized the unorthodox, counting on his speed and precise movements practiced for weeks at the crack of dawn to bridge the gap between their skills. If he he had ever questioned his strength, speed, or skill before today, all doubt was purged from his mind now, and the embers of past defeats had begun their journey to the form of ash, as the fire of victory began to rise in the hearth of his heart, his eyes now glowing as Zeshin began to channel his innate Draconic energies, no longer waiting for them to activate on their own in a fit of anger.