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

[etherealblast]

Sure thing. [He settled on the couch, wondering if that's where Souji wanted him. Or would it be easier if he sat on the ground?] Here?

[ahappylie]

Yes, that's fine.

[Souji rose up onto his knees and then reached over, dipping his fingers in the water. It didn't take him long to start dampening Fayt's hair with careful movements of his hands through the boy's hair and then he started taking the longest strands and, by threading his fingers through, separated out strands to cut.]

Just how short would you like it? Or would you rather it stay longer?

[etherealblast]

It's usually a little long in places, especially around the bangs, since I sweep them to the side. [He demonstrates with his fingers, tugging lightly on the hair that's normally a little longer than the rest to point it out.]

It's probably gotten a bit shaggy in the back.

[ahappylie]

So just a quick trim up to clean up the back and to even out your bangs?

[He demonstrates by turning Fayt's head gently to the side and holding his fingers an inch or so off the back of his scalp to show where he'd cut to.]

[etherealblast]

That'd work. I just don't want it to get too long it gets in the way, you know? [He liked his hairstyle, but he didn't want it flying all over the place and becoming an inconvenience, either.]

Do you do this kind of thing often?

[ahappylie]

Alright. [He starts trimming from the back, moving fluidly with experienced hands.]

I used to, back in Kyoto. We didn't often have the luxury of getting hairdressers to come in and even then I didn't want anyone near me or certain friends of mine with a blade. And after living here for so long, it's become a necessity since there is no real hairdresser here.

[etherealblast]

Yeah, that's true. Guess this place can be pretty weird like that, huh? [So many people brought in, and as far as he knew no one in the village cut hair for a living.

Then again, there were a lot of oddities about who this place drew in.] This place never seems to draw in a lot of average professionals, does it?

[ahappylie]

A hairdresser has less worth to a scientist than a mage or a warrior, don't you think?

[He snipped away casually, as if he didn't just imply that everyone here was some sort of creepy experiment.]

There have been people who have tried before, but it's never seemed to take off. Two years ago, and a year before that, I believe.

[etherealblast]

Maybe. It really depends on their goals and the quality of the results they want. Keeping the village in a functional order has it's uses, too, but they do seem to value combat ability over anything else here. [Far be it from Fayt to disagree-- he knew it was creepy even from a scientific standpoint.]

Really? So there have been people?

[ahappylie]

[It always makes him wonder about the children they bring here, but then he's noticed that few of the children are ever simply "children." They have some sort of story to them - always. He snips away, cleaning up as he goes and putting the hair cuttings into a small pile on top of a piece of paper.]

For a short time, yes, there were people advertising their skills, but it was rare that they stayed for long after that.

[etherealblast]

[Seeing as the claim was that this world itself brought people in, Fayt was more inclined to believe they were sorting people into enclosures if that was the truth-- placing specific 'kinds' of individuals in each one for a specific purpose and desired result. Luceti seemed more... combat oriented.]

When you put it like that, I'm not really surprised that any business hasn't gotten off the ground.

[ahappylie]

It's almost like the Malnosso don't want us to be kept and tidy. [Souji shrugged a little and kept snipping away, gathering up the hair as he went and wetting his fingers when necessary.]

But it does mean that most residents here are getting quite good at cutting their own hair.

[etherealblast]

People tend to get more self sufficient and creative when they have less to work with. [He gives Souji a small, wry grin, though he keeps his head still. Sure, they had it pretty easy here in some ways-- free food, room and board. But other parts of daily life were way more limited than what Fayt was used to.] This place gives us the basic necessities, but it's still a downgrade from my home when it comes to some resources.

[ahappylie]

So I've heard - your time is very advanced by even Luceti's standards, isn't it? Space travel, Symbology, scientific research. [He almost doesn't say it, but decides to slip it in as he finishes trimming up the back of Fayt's head.] Other realms.

[etherealblast]

[Fayt almost swerves around at the mention of 'other realms'. Almost. But he's aware enough of the situation that he keeps still, even if he does tense, surprise obvious in the set of his shoulders. Did he mean--?

He remembers enough of what he'd told Souji while feverish, even if he'd never brought it up since. It was embarrassing and mortifying, but he was sure he hadn't...]

Other realms?

[His voice is quieter than before, low and even.] ...Who told you that?

[ahappylie]

[The sudden tension tells Souji everything he needed to know. This was something Fayt knew about as well, a shared secret they were keeping and something that brings fear to the boy. Souji stopped cutting for a moment while the initial shock sets in, then goes back to cutting along the sides of Fayt's head, continuing his work.]

Then it's true - your universe has more realms than one?

[etherealblast]

....Yeah, you could say that. But not exactly. [It wasn't so much fear anymore as unease.... it was a difficult topic, even when the problem had managed to be sorted out for the most part for Fayt, at least.]

You didn't get the full story then.

[ahappylie]

It's rather hard to get the whole story out of someone you're threatening to kill.

[He finished up the sides of Fayt's head, knowing he wanted them to only be trimmed up rather than cut short and set his scissors aside for a moment as he swept the cuttings up onto the paper.]

He said enough though, to make me curious.

[etherealblast]

....Albel. [Thinking about it, he might have been feeling nasty enough to let something slip. Fayt takes the opportunity to glance over at Souji, wondering what he was thinking.

If he didn't have the full story, then...] Let me guess, you want to know more?

[ahappylie]

Mmhm, your angry cat can be quite a bit more honest than he seems. [He finished brushing all the clippings onto the paper and moved it to Fayt's lap. Next came the scissors for his bangs.]

As for the story - you and Cliff-san have your reasons for keeping it a secret, but if Cliff-san loses, then I get to choose my prize. [And it's obvious what he'll be asking for.]

[etherealblast]

Oh, he's a lot more honest than you'd think at first, it just depends on how you look at what he's saying. [Albel had a habit of giving away far too much about himself, especially in his more surly moods. But he knew what Souji really wanted to hear, even if it was an awkward topic.]

Then you should ask him. It's not my place to tell you without him knowing first since It's not just my secret to tell, it's all of ours. In my opinion, you have a right to know, being as close with us as you are.... but I'm not surprised he's keeping it a secret. [He smiles, but there's no humor to it.] It doesn't matter anymore, but it's still heavy enough to make you want to keep it quiet.

[Telling anyone was pointless.... but it was still likely to be disturbing.]

[ahappylie]

That's what I noticed. [Albel had a short fuse, but he also had a lot of self-loathing in him that came from a place that Souji could only imagine. After the fight, he'd goaded Souji into attacking him and Souji would have if it hadn't been for Cliff. After seeing Albel's actions, he knew the man wouldn't have given much of a fight. It was something Souji knew all too well, and something he hated in himself too.]

It still matters if you three decided to keep it a secret. Just like with your abilities, Fayt-kun, I'll pry but I won't force you to tell me anything. [Cliff though was another matter. Souji had told him of his future, but Cliff had kept everything a secret on his end.] If I have your blessing, I might ask him later.

[etherealblast]

[He grimaces a bit at the mention of his abilities. That hadn't exactly been something he'd thought through properly at the time, feverish and dazed as he'd been. He still thought it was better for Souji to know than find out by accident, when he's working on learning to use it.... But it definitely hadn't gone down like he would have planned it to go.] ...Yeah. Uh... sorry, by the way. Didn't mean to dump it like that.

But don't worry, I think he'll be alright with telling you. He's not as far along into the future as I am, so it's still pretty fresh for him.

[ahappylie]

Like I said that day, Fayt-kun, nothing really strikes me as strange anymore. [He may have been angry at Fayt's father for experimenting on unborn children, but he would never be angry or even scared of Fayt. To live with the burden of power and ability beyond that of your peers was something Souji knew, even if it was on an incredibly small scale in comparison. He knew why Fayt would want to keep his power a secret and why Souji would be certain to do just that.

He smiled faintly and kept trimming Fayt's bangs.]

We'll see how he reacts to my asking. Right now he's probably running all over the village out of breath just trying to find me.

[etherealblast]

Right..... [If Souji asked, Fayt would have probably told him he wasn't angry. His dad and his team had only done what they'd felt was necessary. If it hadn't been for that..... who knows if they'd have had a way to stop everything? They might not have been able to stop Luther, let alone reach him.

Even if he had to hide for the rest of his life, having an existence at all was more than preferable.]

Yeah, he probably is. But don't worry too much, alright? Even if he somehow manages to find you before his time runs out, I have a feeling he'll be willing to tell you regardless.