Summons

Chapter 22: The School of Hard Knocks

     "Raijin?! Raijin, the Japanese god of thunder and lightning, Raijin, is your summon?" Crowe asked in exasperation.

     "At your service," The figure bowed dramatically to Crowe, "If I wore a hat I'd remove it."

     Raijin stood slightly taller than Hayato and his hair was the same color of blonde only his was long and wild. A gold colored vest adorned his torso but lay open to show his chest which in itself was pure lean muscle. A mixture of blue kanji and runes decorated his vest in vertical lines. A single drum lay at his left hip, a leather strap connecting to it slung around his right shoulder. His pants were baggy and black intermitten with dark grey clouds; the same blue and gold kanji and rune combination of marks adorning his pants as his vest. Lastly on his feet were traditional Japanese straw sandals. At any given time there seemed to be a light breeze blowing his clothes as they always fluttered around.

     "Since you bumped into me that day he's been pestering me to talk to you," Hayato said.

     "Can you really blame me? I mean come on! It's SORZORAN! Ever since I was young I've wanted to meet him!"

     "You were young? Aren't you a god?" Crowe asked.

     "YOU are the ones who called us gods, I just play upon it," Raijin laughed. "But yes, I was born and raised just like you humans just I'm from a different place is all. Unlike you, though, I am immortal, so that's probably why they call me a god, that and, you know, lightning magic."

     "Wasn't there another one of you? Something else jin or something like that? My history and mythology is pretty rusty."

     "Oh you mean my brother Fujin he," A glare from Hayato made Raijin stop and scratch his head before continuing, "he uh... he's busy... Anyway I'm glad to finally meet you so can I meet him now?"

     "Sure. He's behind you," Crowe motioned.

     Raijin turned around and the look on his face was reminiscent of a child in a candy store. He rushed forward to Sorzoran and took a deep bow.

     "It is an honor to meet you Shadow Dragon," The man said in a much more serious tone than before.

     The pleasure is all mine. Sorzoran's deep voice echoed with a hint of a chuckle emanating from his throat.

     "Don't let this first meeting fool you," Hayato brought Crowe's attention back, "He is incredibly disciplined and powerful despite his airy personality. He trained me from a young age."

     "He trained YOU? That's odd..."

     Hayato sighed and smacked Crowe on the back of the head.

     "WHAT THE HELL?" Crowe exclaimed as he rubbed his head.

     "You ask too many questions sometimes. Now, I suggest you enjoy your last day of freedom. Tomorrow, you begin training," he said as he walked off towards the mansion.

     Crowe grit his teeth and scoffed as Fiera came up beside him. Brogen and Alira followed Raijin in order to hear more about his stories.

     "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

     "Yeah... It's just been a rough couple of days...  and it doesn't sound like it's going to get any better..."

     "I'm sure you'll pull through it. Just stay strong!" she said as she playfully smacked him against the cheek. "It's just more training and you're already used to a daily regimen."

     "You're right," he laughed, "I'm sure it won't be much worse."

     The rest of the day went by slowly and without incident. The majority of time was spent listening to Raijin's charismatic stories, even Sorzoran listened intently. Hayato remained eerily quiet all night but Crowe decided to relish the moment rather than ask and receive a lecture. They all departed after dinner and went to their rooms for some much needed sleep.