[Open]

[eastdetective]

Who: Conan and Anyone
Where: Genessia
When: Now
Warnings: None

Conan had always done his best thinking when kicking around a soccerball.

There was something familiar about just spending time practicing some of his favorite soccer tricks. And best of all, no one ever gave a kid playing soccer a second glance.

Which was why he was outside today. He'd found an empty wall near his apartment in Genessia, and so he'd taken the chance of a free day to come out here. He'd started with the simple kicks. Bit after a few minutes he'd switched over to practicing complicated rebounds off the wall.

After all, one never knew when something like that would be useful. 

Comments

Action;

[spitfireprincess]

"You're really good."

Sakura had stopped to watch the boy while holding a few bags in her arms. She went to the store to pick up more food for her kitten but hadn't expected to see Conan. The wind tugged at her dress as she smiled at the rolling ball.

"How long have you been playing?

Action;

[eastdetective]

Conan catches the ball under his foot and gives her a bright childish smile.

"A couple of years. But I like to practice a lot!"

Action;

[spitfireprincess]

"It looks like it."

Her smile brightens.

"I don't know many games like this. What is it?"

Re: Action;

[eastdetective]

"It's soccer. Some countries call it football instead. It's very popular back home."

Action;

[spitfireprincess]

"So you kick around the ball?"

It sounded like a lot of fun and he appear to be good at it.

"Can I watch a little bit? It looks amazing."

[fierybluebird]

At some point when the ball doesn't have enough momentum to completely bowl him over, Marco, still in bird form, stops the ball with a taloned foot, and temporarily balances on it before rolling off and kicking it (gently) to Conan.

"Thanks for the help earlier, yoi."

[eastdetective]

He catches the rolling ball under his foot.

"Did you find the people you were looking for?"

[fierybluebird]

"My wife at least."

It might be weird for a bird to be married, but Conan hadn't seemed fazed by Marco being a speaking bird, so fuck it.

"I'm still looking for the others, yoi."

And since that was kind of lackluster, Marco tilts his head to the side and adds, "Do you play ball here often?"

[eastdetective]

Once, Conan would have been extremely offended at reality's failure to live up to his standards. Again.

But that had been before Paradisa. Before three years living in a castle that ate souls and granted wishes, and where absurd things happened every week. Before aliens and talking ponies and busybody timelords and wendigos.

His idea of what was normal had changed a lot.

"Well, it's good to have some family here at least," Conan comments neutrally. He didn't really want to know which person from the list it was.

"As often as I can. I just moved here a few months ago.

[fierybluebird]

What a smart kid.

Marco's trying not to take an instant liking to him, especially after Toby, but he's a sucker like that sometimes.

He flicks his tail up and down in thought. He'd just been about to ask how long Conan had been here for too. "Do you have any family here at least?" A slightly concerned head tilt. "Or even just new friends can go a long way, yoi."

But he gives a birdie grin all the same. "You seem to have adjusted to this place pretty well so far." Well, that was debatable, they'd only barely had two conversations so far, and Marco had been pretending not to panic at the first one, which would make any kid seem more stable than him, but still... even after a couple of months, he'd seen a lot of rookies and people fresh to the Garden still unable to adjust, much less come out of their shells to do something like play ball.

Action

[wizard_redfive]

Dairine has the good luck of being off from work for the day. While she could stick around the apartment and get some spellwork done, it's a little boring with no one else there. So after an hour or so, she decides to go for a walk.

It's a little brisk outside still, but Dairine doesn't mind. Her Sylveon and Flareon trot ahead of her, chittering as they go. They notice Conan before Dairine even does. Flareon bounds forward to greet him, calling out in her Pokemon way. Dairine shakes her head before following her.

"Getting some practice in before the next snow?"

Re: Action

[eastdetective]

"Something like that."

Mostly he'd just wanted out of the apartment. He traps the ball under his foot as Dairine gets closer.

Re: Action

[wizard_redfive]

She raises her eyebrows. His wording is a tad suspicious, but not terribly so.

"So is this for fun or target practice?" she asks. With Conan you could never be certain.

Re: Action

[eastdetective]

"Let's call it a little of both."

Re: Action

[wizard_redfive]

Dairine laughs at that. "Sure. We can go with that."

Flareon bats at the ball with her paws, but it doesn't move with Conan trapping it. Why can't she play?? Dairine doesn't comment on it. Conan can decide if he wants to bother playing with the Pokemon.

Instead Dairine shifts her weight and glances at Conan, her eyes suspiciously calculating. She knows something he'd probably like to know... assuming he hasn't figured it out yet. But Dair doesn't think so. Most likely she'd have heard by now if he had. "Sooo... Been paying attention to the new arrivals lately?"

[pinklight]

Hikari had been giving her pokemon a walk for today, knowing full well that they needed exercise. However she soon stopped, seeing that someone was kicking a ball about. The more she watched the more she thought about her brother. Sure she couldn't recognize his face, or remember his name at all, but it was still a nice reminder.

"I see you enjoy soccer."

[eastdetective]

He moves to stop the ball under his foot as he sees someone approach.

"It's one of my favorite things," Conan says cheerfully. "All of my friends back home play it too."

It was one of the only things he'd managed to keep when he'd lost ten years. He couldn't solve cases under his own name any more. He'd had to change his name and change his life.

But he could still play soccer.

[pinklight]

It still made her smile. She was glad others like the game.

"My big brother loves playing soccer. I know how to kick the ball at least, but I'm not as great."

It made her wonder if she should at least play it at some point, have fun for a time.

[eastdetective]

"It's like most things," Conan tells her. "You don't get good at it unless you practice."

[pinklight]

"I know, that's how my brother got so good at it. I didn't have much of a reason to, so I didn't. But I still find it fun to watch when my friends play or my big brother."

She couldn't help but smile as she spoke. She really did enjoy watching the games when they had any.

[chosen_kindness]

Ken had decided to spend the day doing something that he hadn't had the chance to do in awhile - play soccer, It gave him something to do, reminded him of home and it gave him to chance to see if his skills really had been his own or just another side effect of the Dark Seed.

It had been difficult, discovering that many things he had taken for granted over the years were a by-product of a dark presence that had been inserted into your very self. He despised the Kaiser and had sworn never to become anything like that again. He didn't mind not being the best or the smartest anymore, it was pressure that had finally released him and allowed him and his parents to connect on a level they really hadn't before.

But soccer. Soccer was one of the few things that Ken had that had good memories attached, even with the Dark Seed involved. After all, soccer had allowed him to meet and connect with his now best friend. It was one of the few things that he had in common with Daisuke and it allowed him to forget all that had happened. Which was why he refused to let it be tainted like everything else.

The sound of a ball hitting the wall catches his attention and he makes his way towards it, his own ball tucked under an arm. Finding the source, he stands and watches for awhile, before moving closer. "You're pretty good," he finally allows, once he knows the other knows he's there.

[eastdetective]

"Thanks." Conan instantly spots the ball under the older (and younger) boy's arm.

"Were you planning on playing?"

[chosen_kindness]

Ken nods. "I was. I thought that being away from home was no excuse to allow myself to get rusty." He dropped the ball, bouncing it off his knees a few times before letting it drop, a foot holding it in place. "How long have you been playing?"

[eastdetective]

Conan pretends to frown in thought as he quickly calculates what age kids normally started to play as opposed to how old he appeared to be right now. Then added a year to cover for extra training to account for his obvious experience.

"Three years. I practice it a lot."

[chosen_kindness]

Ken raises an eyebrow at that. Because guess what, Conan, you're talking to a kid who was (still is?) one of the best primary school players in Tokyo.

"You must, because I don't think I was that good when I was your age."