Of Prideful Justice and An Underdog Spirit

Age 780: Twenty-Four Hours Before the Zen Exhibition Match

"Justice Server!" A young voice yelled echoed throughout the battlefield, heat filling the air blazing plasma dissipated across a wide radius away from the duo that was fighting.

"15-love!" The same person repeated, a second projectile being launched at its target. Brighter than before, this attack was several magnitudes more intense.

He reared his other hand back, and a light blueish ball surrounded it. The orb expanded outward immediately assuming the shape of a blade. "Heroic Blade: Key to Truth Style!" he announced.

"Justice Sabers!" Kahseral echoed back to Inu, "You aren't getting let off easy." The voice had come from behind him. He turned and intercepted the energy swords.

"Quick to the offensive," Inu said back, throwing the blades off his sword and swinging back at the cyborg. Kahseral dodged it and kicked Inu in the chest, knocking him backwards.

"That's enough of this playing around," another voice said. The general disappeared, retreating out of the way.

"I told you at the beginning of this to watch yourself. You can't expect to be a master of the battlefield without being able to perceive possible attacks from all directions. Always be vigilant," Jiren said, annoyed at his nephew's failure to understand the lesson.

Inu furiously struggled. Kicking and shaking proved a fruitless attempt to break free from his captor's bond. "Dyspo," he muttered under his breath. A bright white aura engulfed him. Wind flew outward from around Dyspo, but his grip didn't falter.

"You can't do anything," he said back, responding in kind with his own aura, subduing the canine. Brute forcing proved to ineffective. "Your raw max power is still below my level. You of all people should be aware of your weakness."

Inu stopped squirming, Dyspo having seemingly won the struggle on both a mental and physical level. "Don't tell me you've given-"

"Ahhh!" Inu screamed. Jiren watched Inu's eyes suddenly shift to a crimson red color. "That's where you are wrong," he said, a large mist surrounding him to form a light aura. Inu let out a roar, unleashing his power and throwing Dyspo off him.

"I've got you comrade," the cyborg said, catching his ally, Dyspo swiftly regaining his bearings.

"Nice job junior. You got me, but that won't be enough to stop the fastest cat in the whole universe," he said.

Kahseral struck a pose mirroring that of Dyspo. "And no one is as adaptable as the universe's own fearsome general," he said.

"You think you can challenge the burning power of my fiery justice? You two will feel the wrath of my Justice Incer-" Inu's sentence was cut off. A large bash sound echoed throughout in the battlefield in perfect timing to his aura stopping and him collapsing unconscious.

"Inu!" Kahseral and Dyspo said in unison, rushing up to Jiren, who gently held the boy in his arms.

"Just as I figured from the start. He still does not know to control his power in that form, despite his insistence of the contrary. Toppo can deal with explaining his mistakes to him later. For now, we're calling it a day." he instructed.

The trio descended to the ground, Jiren taking to the front of the group. Kahseral looked at Inu, who was being brought back to their ship by their leader, with a frown on his face. "So exactly what was the problem here? Why did you knock out the kid?" he asked, following Jiren. Dyspo did the same, his arms crossed and mind echoing Kahseral's thoughts.

"Ask Toppo to explain it to you when we get back if you're so inclined. I need to tend to Inu's condition while you two pilot the ship to bring us to base." he said. He turned his head back to the two, a small glint showing in his otherwise black eyes. Unforeseen tension crowded the atmosphere as Dyspo saw the stern seriousness in Jiren's face, the look of no bullshit and straight to business. Kahseral took an unconscious step back. He was intimidated by this, knowing full well how outclassed the two of them were. This is the reason why he was so respected by their leader.

"Understood," they both said in unison. Jiren turned back to entrance and walked inside heading to the medical bay. A moment of silence or two passed between the duo as they waited for something.

"Alrighty, let's head back," Dyspo said, breaking the silence. "Any more of this and I'm going to kill over from Jiren melting my head with his mind."

Kahseral let out a laugh, following Dyspo into the ship. The ship took off and they headed back their base."

...

The commander of the Pride Troopers stood on the edge of the landing bay, awaiting the return of his comrades. The red-orange rays of the setting sunlight cast a dark looming shadow behind him like the ominous news he would have inform his team of in the morning. A surprise convening of all the major deities in the entire multiverse was being held and the God of Destruction himself had personally asked Toppo to accompany as an anonymous observer.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as his apprehension had shot sky high within the past few hours. "Maybe I could tell..." he stopped, shaking his head.

"There they are," he said, watching a ship come into view on the horizon. Jiren, Inubōru, Dyspo, and Kahseral were returning from their training session. Upon reminding himself of his son, he stopped worrying.

"Now is not the time. You're working yourself up over petty assumptions. They haven't said as to why they were meeting. Just sit back and see how this plays out, then we'll act accordingly. Right now, is a time to enjoy with the kid." he thought to himself, watching the ship's hull entrance open. The four stepped out with Inu being helped by Kahseral.

"So, how'd it go son? Did you manage gain control of that power Jiren informed me about months ago? " Toppo asked. Inu nervously scratched the side of his face, a little hesitant to inform his father of how the day had gone.

"Well... you see dad-"

"No, he did not," Jiren interrupted Inu. "In fact, he has demonstrated the very opposite of the progress that was expected of him based upon his previous claims. He is still far away from even being able to consciously control the form much less be able to utilize its advantages in battle or on missions."

Inu looked down in shame, knowing full well how right his mentor was. "I'm sorry. I should have done better." he said. Making eye contact with him, Toppo's eyes widened a little bit. Dyspo and Kahseral flinched, unfolding their arms in reaction to what they saw.

"You're awfully upbeat after that," Dyspo remarked, the trio caught off guard by Inu's now present smile. Such optimism and positivity in a young child and even some adults were par for the course, but after absolutely failing an objective his attitude made even Toppo a bit surprised.

"Well it's good to see that you still have high spirits. Use that as a drive for the next time you train. But from now on," he said, looking to his friend, "You are barred from using that form unless training in the presence of Jiren. Do you understand?"

Sensing authority bearing over his person, Inu went straight to attention. "Yes sir!" he responded, sweat glistening in the evening light as he nervously stood in front of his dad. A hand placed itself on his head and he laughed as Toppo ruffled his fur.

"Come on," Toppo said, "Let's head inside and eat some supper together. I imagine you four are hungry."

The group headed back inside the base straight to dining area, and one hearty meal later Inu and Toppo were sitting on the couch in their quarters. Laughs were shared as the two were binging on one of their favorite anime series. It was a weekly ritual for them to indulge in together on a movie, show, or video game together. As the night dragged on, the young adult drifted in-and-out of a half-asleep trance, fighting his body's cry for rest as the day's training had exhausted him.

"Sleepy?" Toppo asked. The bags under Inu's eyes were a dead giveaway, and both knew that it wouldn't be long before the young adult would succumb to sleep. Inu just refused to admit that he was about to pass out, as he wanted to finish the movie. Fifteen minutes later of him continuing the back and forth of fighting slumber, Toppo finally cut off the Holovision. "It's been a long day. We're both tired. Just go on to sleep and I'll bring ya to bed." The father said to his son.

Inu let out a yawn, and he leaned up against his father's shoulder, finally letting his sleep take him. "Goodnight dad," he said, "I love you."

Pulling his son into his chest, Inu put his head up under his dad's neck. "I love you to. Goodnight my boy, sleep well." Toppo said, rubbing his son's back and smiling. These moments were the ones that always triggered flashbacks for him. How Inu had unorthodoxly come into his life had always amused him looking back, but if he had to replay it all over again, he would do a thousand times over just to see his son. Closing his eyes, Toppo recalled his son and all the memories they had together, reminiscing about his time as a dad.