Gone Fishing: Part 2

[King of Cats]

This thread is a continuation of Gone Fishing.

As Roku waited for Jirou to lay the fish fillets down onto the hot rock he had previously positioned in the campfire, the Shuryo crouched down low to the ground. It felt good to stretch his back and the Shuryo let out a loud moan of relief as he bent over and his bones cracked. Roku was still a young man, he hadn't even hit thirty yet, but he did suffer from old people-itis. When he let out a moan, Hideoyoshi awoke from his slumber. The spirit seemed to be relatively passive in this encounter with Roku's apprentice, which was strange to Roku. Usually Hideoyoshi had a mischievous nature that came out in wacky ways, but today Hideoyoshi was being cooperative. The spirit had mentioned that their bond was growing stronger, Roku wondered just what that meant for him.

Kneeling down now, Roku listened to Hideoyoshi. "I want you to go all out on this boy. I know you plan on sparring with him to ascertain his level of skill. You should throw away your reserves, this boy deserves you at your best." Roku found it most curious that Hideoyoshi was coming at him with such requests. If anything Roku expected that the spirit would want to unleash his own Yoshijutsu on Jirou, like he had with Suzuko. Roku didn't say anything to the spirit, he merely took in the spirits opinion and then stood up. By now Jirou was cooking the fish and it was looking good. Roku's stomach gurgles from hunger. Taking that squid out may have looked easy, and it was, but it was still exhaustive to swim through the thick tissue of a sea monster. Roku was feeling famished!

[Drak]

Jirou glanced over from the fish – its skin bubbling and charring over the open flame – over to Roku, a grimace on his face. Why’d he have to moan like that? It’s weird. A pop from the fire directed his attention back to the task of preparing their meal. He was no skilled chef like his father or sister, but he had picked up a few tricks from working at the Scallop and Nabe. The fish was looking just about done. Jirou used the skewers he had manufactured to move it from the fire and onto an impromptu wooden cutting board. By focusing his Oudouchi bloodline powers, Jirou morphed his right hand into a chef’s knife, and used it to quickly take apart the fish.

“Dig in!” Jirou announced, morphing his knife hand back into a hand and producing a pair of brass chopsticks with which to eat. He drove his chopsticks through the cod’s crispy skin and revealed the white, flakey flesh below. The fish could certainly have used some more seasoning, but even so it was fresh and delicious. He took another bite.

“So, what’s next?” Jirou asked Roku between bites. “Are we going to do some training? Some sparring?”

[King of Cats]

To eat, Roku sat down on a matte, white rock. He had his feet placed together and his knees spread apart so he had room to put his hands and tear into the cod. Roku ate the fish with his bare hands, smushing the fish against the cutting board with his fingers and making little packs of deliciousness to swallow.

It didn't take long for Roku to eat all of the food that he and Jirou prepared. Roku was an exceptionally hungry man with no boundary when it came to eating. If Jirou hadn't finished his entire meal Roku would have tried to get himself some of that delicious white fish. When both of them were done Jirou asked the Blue Tailed Beast what was next. Roku scoffed. "Alright kid, so I see you don't listen." Roku put together some handseals and stood up. He expelled a single bubble from his mouth and fired it toward the fire. The bubble floated fast toward the scorching fire, and it exploded when it met a lick of flame. The water bubble covered the fire in water and put it out instantly.

"Alright Jirou, seriously. I said we were gonna spar. You know that. Cut that crap, kid." Roku said to his apprentice and then stuck his tongue out. "On the water, yep. I was going to take you to the mainland for a show of your talents were you were best suited. But what the hell? You wanna ask me stupid questions, I'm gonna play stupid games with you." Roku laughed and took a deep breath in, preparing himself for battle. "Okay. Follow me." Roku started walking back towards where he had previously found his fishing pole by chance, where he was now going to spar with his student.

In silence Roku led Jirou to the little cove where he had found Hideoyoshi. As he walked Roku swung his fishing pole in the air, it's line dancing around his body ever so elegantly. Roku was pretty excited to have such a student so very much at the ready, though Roku was also a bit concerned if his skill was at the same level as his eagerness, but the Blue Tailed Beast knew that it didn't matter. When Roku was Jirou's age he had probably about the same level of potential. Roku was good with a fishing pole, but that was his only claim to fame back then. Before climbing the samurai ladder Roku didn't know nearly as many ninjutsu. Roku knew Jirou would improve, and with a good teacher he would probably surpass The Blue Tailed Beast.

Walking Jirou to the place where he would get his ass kicked was cathartic for Roku overall, Roku enjoyed being a teacher. More than that though, he relished the idea of showing off in front of his student.

Once the sensei and student arrived to where they would spar, Roku put his fishing pole back on his back and turned around to Jirou. The Blue skinned, shark man put his two arms out in a sort of come hither gesture. "Come at me, bro." Roku was smiling widely, his shark teeth bearing a menacing, and cocky, grin.

---

The area in which the two of them were fighting was on the water. Roku had led Jirou about ten yards off the shallow waters edge. The water was about waist high on Jirou, he would need to stand up to fight Roku. Or he could run back to the shore. Roku was hoping he would do that. It seemed clear to Roku that the boy knew what a danger the Shuryo were on the water, but Jirou did seem stubborn and hardheaded so Roku wouldn't be too surprised if he fought him on the water, at first.

On the shore there were large branches that had washed ashore, sun bleached from sitting on the beach for years. The wood was dry and perfect for a substitution jutsu. Along with washed up branches there was also all sorts of rocks and even a few dead fish on the sandy edge of land. It was a perfect place for Jirou to battle, but first he would have to escape Roku. He would have to be intuitive, and fast to get away; but more than that he would have to avoid charging at Roku on the water. If he did that it was all but over for Jirou.

Would Jirou Kisama fall to ego? Only time would tell, and Roku stood on the water waiting for his student to show his hand.