047 [Action]

[ahappylie]

[From mid-morning to noon, Okita is at the fountain in town, watching all the crazy people wandering around and launching little sailboats across the water. Occasionally his pig will pop his head up, crush one of the boats, and drag it under the water again. Looks like someone is playing pretend at being a sea monster. Come say hello?]

Hahaha. I'm going to run out of boats at this rate, Saizou.

Comments

[justicereigns]

[Watches the sailing.]

I guess you could make more.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Smoker-san~♪

And yes, I could if they're from paper, but he seems to like the wooden ones from the store more.

[justicereigns]

Go figure.

You could try ones made of gourds or watermelons. I hear that's pretty common around this time of year.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Oh? Do you know how to make those?

[And now he stops putting boats in the water, looking up at Smoker. Saizou peers out of the water, wading closer now that his boats have stopped coming.]

[justicereigns]

Yeah, sure. They're easy enough. Paper sail, hollowed gourd or rind.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Can you make me one?

[justicereigns]

Easily. Just help me get the supplies. I don't want to eat a whole half a watermelon on my own. Though maybe your pig will help out.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Oh, he'll definitely help~!

Saizou, we're going to get a watermelon!

[At the mention of food, Saizou leaps out of the water and almost straight into Okita's arms. He takes a towel out of his sleeve to wipe the pig's feet off with and smiles at Smoker.]

[justicereigns]

[Wry grin. Heh Figures. Pigs love watermelon, don't they? And Smoker quietly leads the way. Look at him be so talkative... walking... smoking... saying... nothing.]

Guess that worked. [Three whole words. He must be bored today to say so much.]

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

[........you are a master of conversation there, Smoker.

Okita bounces along after him, all smiles.]

Do you often make boats out of watermelon? Oh! You like kids, don't you? I hear you train many of them in the jitte. That's so interesting~ I train a few of the teenagers here in swordsmanship.

[justicereigns]

[IT IS TOTALLY GETTING WORSE NOW. Because Smoker is just tsun blushing all over the place.]

Yeah... I like kids. And I wouldn't say often. I used to do it in Loguetown. I'm a marine so I like ships. [Oohhh progress, they've moved up to sentences.]

What style of fencing?

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Hm~ A marine? [Takes him a minute.] Ah! The soldiers on the sea~ We're just starting to branch out onto the ocean in my country so we don't have much of a navy yet.

[Not that Souji minds.] I teach Tennen Rishin style kenjutsu here. And back home, too, but that's boring. I preferred playing with children actually. Sooo much more fun.

[justicereigns]

How big is your country?

[Wry grin.] I guess that's how I am with jitte practice too.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Mm, it's four large islands put together so I suppose it's rather big.

[He takes a double step to catch up with Smoker and smiles up at him.]

You prefer to play games rather than practice?

[justicereigns]

That is pretty big. You have four islands, but not a navy??

Heh... well kind. I prefer kidding around with kids with the jitte than a formal practice anyway.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

We were closed to the world until a few years ago. [And people left them alone until recently, too.] But it must be nice, being able to play around like that. Hijikata-san always gets angry when I do it.

[justicereigns]

How would you even keep people out like that? Is it at the end of the world of something?

Hn. Well, so long as you get the practice in there somewhere. Maybe with the kids.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

Mm~ I don't really know. But we were shut off from the world for over 200 years. Whatever our government did, it worked.

Oh, I wouldn't practice the sword with children. [He smiles and then looks down at Saizou, poking the pig in the nose.] He'd be even angrier about that.

[justicereigns]

Really? It was better that way?

Hn. Well I guess a sword is easier to get hurt with.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

I think so. When the foreigners arrived, the war started. Things have been getting worse since then.

[He won't comment on how it isn't the sword as much as him. Souji just smiles.] Yes, it would be.

Ah! We're here!

[justicereigns]

[Smoker's used to clutzy swords(wo)men, given his second in command literally trips over her own sword several times a day, breaks and loses her glasses frequently and gets distracted in the middle of battle.]

All right, let's see. Watermelon to feed the pig, and then we'll use the rind.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

[Haha, she sounds cute. |D Although in Souji's case, it isn't anything near that light-hearted.]

Watermelon, Saizou~ Aren't you excited?

[The pig grunts and wiggles to get its front hooves free, waving them to be put down.]

We can't let him eat the whole watermelon by himself though, Smoker-san~ Don't you think we should help him?

[justicereigns]

Absolutely. [Grins and gets out a watermelon to cut in half.]

It's rather large after all.

[ahappylie.livejournal.com]

It is~

[Saizou protests, oinking and waving his hooves for the thing.]

I think he'll be happy to share. [Said with an emphasis on share and a tap to Saizou's head.] Thank you for offering.

[justicereigns]

[Laughs quietly and hands over half to Saizou and a quarter to Okita. He also takes a quarter for himself, but he'll probably end giving some of that to Saizou anyway. Okay so he's a sucker for children and small animals. Shh...]

So long as he doesn't eat the rind.