I like my food with chili in / I like to laugh 'til it turns in

[inthecenterfold]

Characters: Principally: Smoke/Sha Gojyo (inthecenterfold), Aniki/Ganju (stonewave), and Suzy (rappig). Also featuring: Sniper/Usopp (longnosedliar), Snake/Ichimaru Gin (kamishininoyari), Juliet/Grell Sutcliffe (esoteric_rose), and Peachblossom/Keladry (of_mindelan)
Date/Time: Afternoon of September 16th 2010
Location: Wilderness-as-Japanese-Festival
Rating: PG-PG13
Summary: Smoke and Aniki go wandering in the Wilderness

Comments

[longnosedliar]

After reading the relieving news of Cloud's return, Sniper decided that he'd take a small trip into the Wilderness. Lea's report made it sound pretty fun, and that meant that he didn't have to find anybody to accompany him; in a place like this, there would be plenty of people milling about to find somebody to follow into the elevator.

It was a good place to keep his hands busy while his mind worked. He wondered why people who disappeared came back far more seldom than those who died. He wondered why all who died came back at the same time. He wondered why the culprit did it, and why the Watch seemed intent on imprisoning him instead of executing him.

Sniper had a worrying habit of wondering about just about everything, but as those thoughts nagged at him from the back of his mind, he was also wondering if anybody would notice if he just took a particularly nice looking green wrap from one of the stalls and one of the rice balls stuffed with dry fish in the other one, and maybe he could steal - borrow - some of the

[longnosedliar]

Sniper gave a small, self-deprecating chuckle at that and fiddled with the handle of his bag as he realized just how morose they had sounded there. And with a complete stranger, too! "You're right," he said, a mite apologetically. "People are gloomy enough without talking about stuff we can't change all the time."

He thrust one fist into the air. "So let's find him! Think Suzy could be a tracking pig?"

It wasn't something he'd ever heard of, but hell, he'd never heard of a pig as a pet either. He laced his fingers behind his back while he walked and inquired, "So, why were you up here, anyway? Are you an Adventurer?"

[stonewave]

Aniki set Suzy down and waited for the little pig to go a direction that didn't seem to be aimed at food.

Suzy planted his rear firmly in the dirt.

Aniki glared a moment before sighing and looking over to Sniper. "Scavenger for now. Might pick up somethin' else later. Few odds and ends 'til I find what I'm good at." He gave Suzy's leash a tug. Suzy turned a baleful glare in Aniki's direction and started trotting slowly ahead. "Uh... he might be on to something?"

[longnosedliar]

"Really? I haven't seen you around. I'm a Scavenger too, but I guess we've got different shifts."

Sniper watched Suzy plod along with some disbelief, and raised his brows at Aniki. "No offense, Aniki, but I think the only thing he's smelling is food. So we might be out of luck unless Smoke is eating a sandwich."

He tilted his head, a smile playing across his face. "Maybe it'd be better if I just shouted his name. I mean, he doesn't know that I'm with you, anyway."

[stonewave]

He scowled at the little rappig because that was better than scowling at a guy sincerely trying to help. "Maybe," he grunted. He juggled Suzy back up in his arms again and that bundle of clothing as well. Aniki glanced at Sniper with at least some of the annoyance gone from his eyes. "Sounds like a better idea than lookin' for his sandwich, I guess."

[longnosedliar]

Sniper noted how frustrated Aniki looked, but shrugged it off. People tended to look at least a bit frustrated when around him. It wasn't really a strange occurrence in that respect--and he was going to get even more looks once he finished.

"Okay," he said, then shrugged.

"Oi! Smoke! Are you out there?!" He hollered at the top of his lungs, then looked around to see if he could see the man himself anywhere.