005 [Audio/Action]

[aerialassault]

[Audio]
Yo. Everyone.

[It was midday that he addressed the village as a whole, without any lead-in or hint of apology in his tone for being so goddamn casual.]

I'm lookin' for a friend of mine. He's got long hair and has a pet pig-- lemme know if you see him.

[Action]

[It was training, Souji had been insisting for the last few weeks when he set an enraged, squealing Saizou upon him without any warning. Speed training for a little game between the two of them that they both had a stake in. And, finally-- after many days of running from the grumpy little pig-- the game was on.

Cliff had 24 hours to catch Souji. Truth be told, he had no idea what the little prankster was up to.

He'll be anywhere and everywhere around town that day, searching every corner and under every table for any hint of that teasing smile...all the while remaining on high alert for anything that would attempt to dive-bomb him.]

Comments

[Voice]

[goldenglasses]

Hmmm, long hair and a pig? [Vash really only knows one person well who fits that description.]

Do you mean, Souji? Is he missing?

[Voice]

[aerialassault]

Nah. He's hiding somewhere in town. Want's me to find 'im.

[Headscratch. He hoped that Souji was hiding somewhere in town. Souji disappearing for real would ruin his day.]

[Voice]

[amberguardian]

[That's a description she knows very well.]

Has he gone missing?

[Voice]

[aerialassault]

He's playing a little game of Hide and Seek, and he took Saizou with him.

...you have any idea 'bout where he'd be?

[Video]

[faithfulflame]

Did you lose Souji-san? Or...has he been kidnapped?

[Video]

[aerialassault]

Just lost track of him...but he's given me a deadline to find him. Who knows what he'll do if I don't make it?

[He laughed sheepishly. Oh man, he had a hunch that he would never live it down...]

[Action]

[spellfeather]

[Karis would completely miss the broadcast as she was out and about, leaving her journal in her apartment. She was on her merry way to grab a quick bite to eat, though stopped and stared at Cliff for a moment when she noticed him and--

BY THE ARCHMAGES CLIFF, HOW FREAKIN' TALL ARE YOU!? Karis had the pleasure of meeting a few tall guys in her time, comparing her 5'3" frame to theirs, BUT DAMN, he certainly took the cake.

She took a moment to mentally slap herself before clearing her throat as she tried to grab his attention.] Uh, hey! Did you lose something?

[Action]

[aerialassault]

[He stood at 6'5, and he had no shame in using his height to help him get a look at what might be in the rafters of the building. All he needed was a chair and a little bit of caution...

Except there was someone speaking to him. He pulled out and looked down at the white-haired individual standing below.]

Uh...yeah. Sorta. Have you seen any pretty guys with long hair today, or any pigs with a bad attitude?

action: forward-dated to evening, Cliff and Fayt's apartment

[ahappylie]

[After spending much of the day wandering around so people saw him in as many places as possible, Souji quietly made his way back to his original hideout. He was certain Cliff was out after hearing his midday announcement and so it was easy to slip in to the Klausian's shared apartment. He'd picked up his entertainment earlier and hidden in a different room, so just as the sun began to dip lower in the sky, Souji snuck in and made himself at home since it was so quiet.

Taking up a seat on the living room sofa (and making sure Saizou was equally comfortable on his own cushion), he began folding origami from the book he'd brought with him. As he worked, he hummed lightly to himself, pressing the colorful paper into flowers, giraffes, samurai helmets, peacocks and anything else he could find.]

action: forward-dated to evening, Cliff and Fayt's apartment

[etherealblast]

[Souji might not even know anyone else is in the apartment, Fayt's sleeping so soundly. But it's maybe an hour after he settles in with his origami that Fayt creeps out of his room, hair a mussed up mess from the late nap he'd taken.

And he stares at the person occupying the couch from the hallway, blinking drowsily.] Souji?

[Voice]

[misterbrief]

...

Why.

[Voice]

[aerialassault]

I've, uh....kinda misplaced him. You don't wanna know what he gets up to when he's left without supervision for too long.

[Cliff didn't want to imagine what Souji must have been doing to keep himself amused, but it surely had to involve something sparkly.]

voice

[fervidity]

If your friend is missing you don't sound very upset about it.

voice

[aerialassault]

He's playing a little game on me, that's why.

...how good are you at 'hide and seek', Kushina?

[Voice]

[yourfononsarewhack]

It sounds like you may have unusual tastes in friends.

[Jade does know Souji - and knows about his pig. But the description is similar enough to that of Peony that he thinks of the emperor instead.]

Perhaps you should file a missing persons report.

[Voice]

[aerialassault]

Story of my life.

[Because, truly, when he stepped back and considered all of his friends, they really were an odd and very troublesome bunch.]

I'd be tempted to file one, 'cept that there's no one to file with. You offering to change that?

video;

[wildsaber]

[Luke doesn't think it could be anyone else than Peony.]

I saw him a little while ago. Something wrong?

video;

[aerialassault]

He's playing a game with me, and I need to beat him. [Chinscratch. Cliff didn't know this stranger, but any lead was helpful.]

Where did you see him?

[voice]

[seleniahymn]

Has something happened to him? [Like several others, it seems Tear is assuming Cliff is talking about someone else.]

[voice]

[aerialassault]

Nothing much; I've just misplaced him.

[Spoken with a smile. Cliff had no idea that there were multiple people in town who fit that description.]

Got any idea 'bout where he'd be?

[Video]

[friendshipfirst]

A pig? Does it look anythin' like a Grumpig?

[ They both contain the word of well.. 'pig' obviously. ]

[Video]

[aerialassault]

...Couldn't tell ya, but the pig is definitely a grump.

[And, while he didn't know pokemon very well, he was fairly certain that Saizou was not one of them.]

[Voice]

[distressedude]

Oh? I didn't know the two of you were acquainted, Cliff.

[The mistaken identity hi-jinks continue!]

[Voice]

[aerialassault]

Huh?

[Wait, what?]

I dunno where you've been, kid. But we've kinda...uhm, gotten close recently.

[He hesitated at those words, once more floundering as he tried to figure out how to describe their relationship without sounding like a teenager.]

after all the other threads

[ahappylie]

[Fayt had left Souji with a lot of questions, but unless Cliff missed the deadline in the next few minutes he wouldn't be able to get answers to any of them. Since he was at a stalemate and moving now would just be foolish, Souji stayed where he was on the couch; his menagerie of colorful paper animals growing until it covered the sofa, table and several spots on the floor. He didn't know half of these creatures, but the book he'd taken from the library said they were things like peacocks, gorillas, giraffes, elephants - exotic things from far away lands.

Souji simply waited, folding a bright pink dinosaur out of a large sheet of paper, keeping one eye on the door.]

CONGRATS. YOU'RE MY FIRST TAG POST HIATUS

[aerialassault]

[He was late.

He knew it in his bones, in the way the sun had slid from the sky and the moon had taken it's place, but he didn't let the facts deter him. A deal was a deal-- and, after everything that had happened throughout the day, he didn't think that his loss was too great. He had made some new friends, after all.

It was well after dark when he returned to the apartment, planning on kicking his boots off and shooting Souji a brief, congratulatory message before he flopped onto the couch for the night. He didn't expect the veritable flood of colored paper that brushed against the toes of his boots when he opened the door.

He stared at the mess, surprised, and scanned the room for it's source before his eyes lighted on the familiar figure sitting comfortably amid the clutter.]

...Souji?