boy experiences beach

[biddentodance]

Who: Minato, the sun, the surf, the sand, and you!
What: Beach shenanigans! Training! Officially joining the "Will Nap Anywhere" Club!
When: ICly June 10 through June 16
Where: The beach!!!!!!!
Warnings: None. For now.

[Slightly Sillier]
Blue seas. Blue skies. Blue teens.

No, really, just about everything Minato owns is blue, it's kind of ridiculous.

He may not have proper swim trunks, but he has shorts and doesn't really care about anything. His last beach trip had some...embarrassments. So, with little better to do, he has loaded up on stuff and hit the beach - from the looks of things he may not be planning to come back to the station proper for a bit... While it is possible to find him in a kitchen before the beach, making quite a few sandwiches, it's much easier to find him down by the water.

He's got a sun umbrella set up and can be found doing all of your favorite fun-in-the-sun activities: inflating his penguin inner tube via his own lungs, swimming, putting the 'sand' in 'sandwich', inflating the tube again, sandcastles, apparently trying to make angels in the sand like one might make in the snow, mimicking whatever small sea creatures he might come across, inflating the tube again, beachcombing, suffering sunburn...he's got a week to fill up, here. But there's just...something...]

...It's less fun alone.

[Slightly More Serious]
[In the evenings, and indeed into the wee hours of the morning, Minato might be found training rather than fooling around, occasionally interrupted by just...looking at the stars. His weapon is too short to be called a sword...but it's too big to really be a knife, either, and he's not fully sure how best to wield it. So he has to practice! And it never hurts to punch the air a little.

It's easy enough to tell Minato has experience fighting, and in a variety of ways. He moves easily. Self-taught, mostly, but refined through practical application. Interestingly, he never so much as touches the silver pistol ever-present at his side. Probably most impressive, though, is his stamina - he goes at it well past midnight and doesn't seem to tire.

And then sometimes he might be found having buried himself in sand - all but his head - snoozing away. Or dozing half-submerged, arms around his steadily-deflating penguin. Napping through the mornings, fooling around during the day, and training at night, this is the life.]

Comments

[nojohnyouare]

It's something I've always done. A leader... Your friends must depend on you.

[biddentodance]

Not...that important... [Mitsuru is the actual leader, he's only all that useful in battle.] You must be very skilled.

[nojohnyouare]

...I try. But I'm self-taught. Mostly. So when I finally learned from others... A lot to find out.

[biddentodance]

Mostly self-taught, too. Bet you know a lot more than me.

[nojohnyouare]

Maybe. [She pauses, thinking.] I tried to teach others once. ...Twice, technically. But once I wanted them to learn. What kinds of things do you know?

[biddentodance]

Mostly how to not hurt myself. Don't think my form's as bad as Junpei-kun. He uses a katana like a baseball bat.

....Can use things other than swords. Mostly self-taught for all of them.

[nojohnyouare]

Understandable.

[She raises her sword. In this lighting, it sort of looks real, but sort of looks fake, too.]

We can practice. If you want.

[biddentodance]

All I have's this right now, but sure.

[His weapon is...not really a sword but too long to be a knife, so it's a little awkward. The weight's different. Thus, why he's training. He readies himself.]

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai stands ready and then suddenly darts forward and slashes sideways at him. Hopefully, he can dodge this.]

[biddentodance]

[Dodge it, he does, slipping to the side, past the blade's follow-through. Then he takes a step forward and sweeps his own weapon around toward her back.

Minato isn't too worried about hurting one another - he has healing skills - but all the same if this hits, it will be with the flat of the blade, rather than a sharp edge.]

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai turns quickly, but still manages to get hit the tiniest bit before she can swing back.]

Fast.

[biddentodance]

[He's already spun back around to face her.]

Have to be. [He goes for a lunge of his own, still careful of using the actual blade. Maybe it's a good thing his reach is shorter than he's used to.]

[nojohnyouare]

[She steps to the side and swings her sword to the side. If it connects, she'll turn it back to a plastic toy instead of an impossibly sharp blade just in time.]

[biddentodance]

[He doesn't regain his balance in time to dodge - but he does manage to twist around and block it with his own blade, at least long enough to regain his balance and dart away. This is definitely different from fighting Shadows.

He stays back this time, on guard, waiting.]

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai jumps back and lands on her feet. She follows up with a charge, aiming straight on, even though her sword has a chip off the end.]

[biddentodance]

[Once again he manages to sidestep in time - barely. Almost got him that time...he regains his footing quickly enough.

Which means he'll retaliate with a lunge of his own. Straight ahead, a move he'd usually use a spear for, but well. When all you have is a hammer... If it doesn't look like she'll be able to dodge the blade's point, he'll throw all his weight sideways to keep from actually stabbing.]

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai barely moves out of the way, though it does tear the camouflage sleeve of her hideous jacket a little. She nods.]

Fast.

[biddentodance]

Usually fighting life-or-death. [...] Can repair that for you later, I can sew a little...

[He. Feels kind of bad about damaging her clothes.]

[nojohnyouare]

Oh. Okay. Thank you. [She looks him over.] Self-taught. Dangerous situation. ...Seems common somehow. Has it worked so far here?

[biddentodance]

Haven't fought anything since I got here. Showed up in the most recent Fissure with a high fever...

[And promptly got mom'd into submission.]

Are that many people here from dangerous situations?

[nojohnyouare]

Or lived them before. Some of us... Everything was over. And things were safe.

[biddentodance]

[Huh... Vaguely he wonders the exact ratio. There are so many people just in his world and time that have boring, ordinary lives. Must be an unfathomable about with all of time and space to choose from.]

Safe...sounds nice. Were things safe for you?

[nojohnyouare]

Sometimes complicated. But safe.

[She closes her eyes for a moment.

No -- thank you for fighting so hard for so long.]

I hope your life will get better, too.

[biddentodance]

[Complicated sure sounds about right, at least.]

Don't really care about mine. Normal people can't defend themselves, though...

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai flinches a little and opens her eyes. Doesn't that sound familiar.]

They can't. ...It's good that you're there.