Ninjas in the Night

Luna was not shocked at all when the ninja spoke of his origins. Luna had to wonder, what was wrong with Midi as the only good man from Midi she knew was her father. She did not approve of his training methods, as she could clearly think of other ways he could have his skills polished and get food. "Really? Is there no morality in Midi? If you needed skills polished, and food in your furry belly, you could have taken a few Mage jobs, there are occasional public boards like the one in Talonia." Luna gave the kitty a playful yet almost devious smirk. "Unless your retort is you can't read..."

Luna let the tension stay for a moment before she nearly laughed, restoring her normal demeanor. "I made a decent survival off those jobs, only took them to help me get back home after the Crystalli crashed."

When the cat gave Luna the cute act, Luna could see through the charm, that worked, too well. Luna sat down on the bed holding Kage tighter as she scratched his ears. "Awe cute kitty. I really want to take you home with me now..."

Luna knew she couldn't though, her grip eventually loosened as she placed the exceed laying down on his stomach on the bed, trying to avoid damaging his tail. "As much as I'd love to take him, it'd be a hassle and I'd probably go to jail for snuggling him to death. That or he'd learn to swipe the Mediocris Lacrimis out of my- nevermind. Indra, I think he's a perfect fit for you though. Brash, reckless, sorta a fool."

"Of course I can read! I'm not stupid!" the cat said, clearly offended and in retaliation hopped out of Luna's hug.

"Stupid enough to pick a fight with me, at least." Indra countered, causing the cat to flinch.

Either way the cat grumbled and looked at his feet. "People don't want to take jobs from some Exceed cat. Stupid reason really... "

The jab at Midi was a sore one to Indra. When next he and Luna would get together for a night, he might beg a little rough with her for payback as he glared at her. "Things in Midi are not so easy, Luna. I certainly didn't have a pleasant time." he explained.

However, before the argument could end-- Kage found himself snagged once again and cuddled into Luna's arms. He let out a bothered meow, clearly not thrilled to be reduced from a ninja to a woman's cuddle buddy. Still, he couldn't hide the blush that pierced through his black fur and the purr that escaped him.

The comment regarding how the two would be a good fit-- despite the clear thrash on their personalities as reckless and foolish. Indra just turned his head away, denying such an assumption. However, Kage glanced at Indra, curious about something.

"Either way, if you promise not to do such stupid things again.. at least steal from us, I got no issue letting you go, cat." Indra said as he kept his gaze away to the distance outside of the windows. "Besides, I got enough on my plate watchng a certain loud-mouthed useless salamander."

"HEY!" Tailong shapped, recovering and crawling over to Luna for a little bit of comfort after being zapped.

Needless to say, Indra had his hands full now and soon left the room-- where he was met by the hotel manager. He got thanked for stopping the thief -- but scolded for destroying the room.

(TIme later... Writing to wrap this up)

It was late at night and Indra had decided it was best to get going. He didn't get as much rest as he wanted, but it was clear the residents and the owners of the resort didn't care for the excessive damage Indra caused trying to catch the little cat burglar. Tailong continued to ride on Indra's head, somewhat asleep as the Dragon Slayer began his march back to the Ace of Spades to get some real rest and learn about any new jobs.

He now walked the streets of Hosenka alone, alit by the dim paper street lamps and stars above till he heard a small scurry behind him. He stopped as he heard and slowly glanced behind him. "Huh... you?"

Up from behind the little black tiger exceed appeared. He stood there watching Indra, a calm and firm look on his face.

"Mr? What's up? Huh! Him?!" Tailong yawned sleepily, and opened his eyes to see the little tiger.

"And just what you want?" Indra asked, his tone a bit on the cold side. "You better not be here to cause trouble again or I won't go as easy on you this time."

The cat however didn't respond, his head hung low and his arms taunt nervously. Indra raised a brow at the odd behavior of the Exceed. Finally, the cat spoke up. "I... I wanted to ask you something important..."

"Yeah, what is it?" Indra grunted, ready to leave the moment the question was answered.

In a sudden answer, however, the little cat fell to his hands and knees and bowed his head deep before Indra. "P-Please, make me your student!!"

"Huh?!" Indra asked, genuinely surprised. His brow raised higher as he looked at the cat, now begging him. Even Tailong was speechless as he rose his head from Indra's wild hair.

"I-I want to be a strong and powerful a warrior as you. A real ninja! The way you fight-- its exactly the kind of skills I want to learn," the cat said in a fast, pleading tone. His attitude was odd to show he went from tough-acting to asking for tips. "I would give my own wings to become a real ninja! Please... Please teach me how to be strong like you!" Tears showed in the corners of his eyes, showing how desperate he was to learn.

Indra looked at the feline, noticing how eager and determined he was to learn. It made him uncomfortable to remember how he used to be that eager-- wishing to learn everything he could to become stronger. Minus the tears. He couldn't help but see a bit of himself in that cat-- more than a little.

"Heh," Indra chuckled to himself. "I'm suppose to teach a cat?"

"I'm a tiger! And I can! I can be as strong as any earthland wizard!" The tiger-Exceed claimed, looking up from the ground to give Indra a strong look. "Give me a chance. Please? ...Sensei?"

Indra hummed at the last word. It had a lovely ring to it in his head. After a moment, and glances from Tailong, Indra shrugged. "Well... Why not? Tch... sometimes I'm just too nice." he said, causing the cat's eyes to widen with joy. "You better keep up, cat. I won't tolerate anything less but your best work. Understand?"

"You bet! Yes, Sensei!" Kage meowed as he quickly jumped to his feet and followed Indra as he returned to the road towards Sabertooth.

END