aerialassault | 002 [text/action]

[The text showed up in the journals around dawn, in the style of a wanted ad in the newspaper-- if Luceti had a newspaper. The letters were straight and friendly. The message was concise:]

PING PONG TABLE SEEKS HOME
PUBLIC ACCESS REQUIRED

REPLY FOR DETAILS

[That was all Cliff needed to do. He had spent the last month or so just toying with it as a side project, taking his time with the plans, materials, and other details of the table. He found proper measurements for everything and made sure that it was up to professional standards.

Anyone who dares to tell him that ping pong isn't a sport is liable to get payback for the suggestion. Somehow.

Cliff took off for the day after the announcement, after scribbling out a quick note for Fayt that he was headed out. Luceti was relatively safe, but he preferred to keep his people informed of what he was doing. His first stop is Seventh Heaven to grab a bite to eat, since the man can't cook for the life of him. There's a reason he's banned from the kitchen, after all. Throughout the day afterward he can be found in various parts of the plaza, gathering supplies for what looks like a trip to the Beach. With the weather getting warmer, he saw no reason to not take advantage of what the sea had to offer. Diving under to see the fish was always fun, after all.

Feel free to catch him anywhere. Talk to him, harrass him, prank him, join him. Anything goes.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Smart man, Cliff. Smart man.]

The beach? Oh, I suppose the weather is getting nice enough for that. But why not go when the younger crowd is going?

[His lips quirked in a bemused smile.]

I thought you enjoyed hanging out with "the kids."

[The smile was met with a stubborn frown.]

What, and let them scare the quiet away? No, sir. Not on my watch.

You're not going to be boring and just sit on the beach, are you?

[Because that's boring. Really boring. And quiet. But Souji hates the quiet sometimes.]

Because I might have to send Saizou with you, if you are.

[Cliff just stared at Souji for a beat before he pulled a pair of goggles out of his bag.]

I was actually gonna do some free diving. The loud kids scare off the fish.

[Fish? That caught Souji's attention and he seemed to forget about his teasing for a moment, looking at the goggles.]

I didn't know Cliff-san was interesting in seeing the fish. Is it very hard to go diving?

I'd say so? But I also don't go with any extra gear. Just myself, my goggles, and that's all.

[Aka: he'd invite you, Souji, but he's worried about your breathing.]

Cliff-san is very Spartan then. [Like the women who dive for abalone and pearls off the coasts of Japan. He didn't think Cliff would like being compared to that, however, so he kept that to himself.]

That's pretty impressive. Did you often go when you were stopping on planets?

[If Okita ever saw some of the women he hung out with, he would realize that Cliff didn't care about being compared to badass chicks. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking over Souji's question.]

Ya know, I hardly get a chance to have some downtime anywhere I go anymore. This place ain't so bad in that respect.

Mm, I suppose that's true.

[He turned and picked up a towel, turning it over in his hands.]

The problem is there is nothing but downtime here. Or, I suppose that isn't really a problem for most people.

[Souji held the towel out to Cliff, wondering if this was more of what he was looking for.]

Are you enjoying the vacation then?

[He shrugged.]

Like you said, vacations can get boring. I'm just not gonna turn down a chance to relax if it's doable. And, even if it's not, I've still got my priorities.

[Like being Fayt's guide and bodyguard.]

How do you take all of the downtime around here? Any tips for a new guy?

Tips?

[He thinks for a moment and then reaches into the pouch that hangs just behind him off his obi. He pulls out a small, palm-sized rock that is painted up to look like......Cliff. Yup. That sure is a rock that is painted like Cliff.]

I picked up a hobby. And I work. [He turns the rock over in his hands.] I try to keep a schedule like I did at home, although there aren't nearly as many patrols.

[He stared at the rock, eyebrows furrowed in complete disbelief for a moment as he took that in.]

You have picked up one helluva hobby, man. [He didn't know if he should be flattered or not.]

Can't say I've gotten far with the hobby thing myself, [did ping pong tables even count?] And I don't think that helping a few kids counts as much of a job. Still, it ain't so bad. It's just been a long while.

There isn't much else to do when you're awake while everyone else is asleep. [Before, he would stay up and take care of Hijikata, or go over plans for the city patrols. He'd interpret intelligence gained by the spies or sit in on the upper echelon's meetings. Now, he just has the desk and a lot of free time.] I heard you were training the younger ones in self-defence. How is that going?

...there's always someone awake.

[Himself included, although he was more apt to sleep lightly than completely forgo sleep. Anything that hit the journals and demanded his attention in the wee hours of the morning could gave it on the spot.

Being able to adapt meant being able to survive. Although, it was mostly just a habit he had picked up a long time ago.

He sighed.]

I'm mostly just working with a couple of people, and most of them are on a flexible basis. Fayt and I meet regularly because...well, he's a talented fighter, but he's had no actual schooling. I'm just trying to help him work on that.

The only actual student I've got is this kid who really wants to be a hero. I had to give him a talking to at first and lay down the rules, but he's eager and willing to try. He's a good kid, really.

[There was always someone who was awake. Cliff's words were true, but it didn't change what Souji knew. People needed their sleep. He slept when they were awake, stealing a few hours here and there because the night, being alone, it gave him time to think.]

He's had no formal schooling? [It shouldn't have been as surprising as it was to hear that about Fayt considering how many people Souji knew who had never formally trained anywhere. Still, to have seen him perform such amazing feats during the draft and to know that he had such raw talent... It piqued his interests far more than he knew was safe.]

And it sounds like you could open your own school here, Cliff-san. What with all the people coming to see you.

[Cliff grinned. Souji, please. You've been here for longer than him...shouldn't you be used to this stuff by now?]

He's just got talent, and he'd run on it too back home. Here, well. We've got the time to work on stuff.

[Like training. It wouldn't be anything like the hours and days that he spent at the dojo with Mirage, sparring ~~and losing~~ against her while her old man and the rest of the class watched on, but it would focus on the psychological skills that go along with training. The basics would bore Fayt at his current skill level, so their sessions were practices in creativity on Cliff's part. The old man, ever a stubborn bastard, prized any level of creativity in his students.

Cliff laughed, a little embarrassed by the suggestion.]

Nah, it doesn't need to be anything so formal. People've already got a few gigs like that 'round here, so it's pointless to add more. [Even though he had helped train youngsters in the basics from time to time, before he earned his infamy in the galaxy.] I'm just gonna keep it on a one-on-one basis. That's easier for some folks to handle.

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