endgames | 030 -- [Action]

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030 -- [Action]

[Shikamaru's a hard man to find after this (on-going) thread.

He doesn't return to his apartment until the next morning, through the spare bedroom and not the front door. It's doubtful anyone else will catch him outside of his own floor for the next several days, though he always has his journal on him.

Those days are also partially spent tracking down Tony Stark, Law, Itachi, Gold, Silver, and a few others in his building to warn them about Hidan. Masaomi will no doubt hear from him when he gets back, and Riku may have learned what he needs to know from Ino before Shikamaru gets to him, but they're both on the list. He'll also be visiting the Avatar house for a few people in particular, but given that's half the house he won't be shunning anyone else he runs into there.]

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[Of course, Ino's pretty aware of what's happening. Hidan wasn't exactly the stealthiest ninja in his introduction journal post. Waiting outside his and Masaomi's apartment door, she looks serious if not worried and this should be the expression she'll be wearing the moment she spots him.]

Shikamaru.

[Far from the cheerful wave she always uses to greet him, really. She never thought this day will come.]

[Since he didn't come home through the front door, he probably won't bump into her until after he's showered and gone across the hall to get something to eat. So like 5-6 AM.]

I-Ino. [Jeez, if he'd known she'd still be up, he would've gone to her sooner. He closes the door behind him quietly, since Masaomi is sleeping on the couch.] Sorry. I didn't know you were out here...

It's fine.

[She crosses her arms before her chest. An early riser, it's not really odd to find her around the halls at an early hour but this early is something unusual even for her. She couldn't sleep and after tossing and turning in bed, she takes a quick peek into Riku's room (where he's sleeping) before deciding to talk to Shikamaru.]

I guess I should have knocked, anyway.

[He shakes his head.]

You'd have just woken Masaomi up. I only got back a while ago. [And since his roommate is sleeping...] Let's talk somewhere else.

I figured.

[And that's part of why she didn't knock, but the main reason was because she's feeling terribly uneasy. Giving him a once over, she nods at him and begins to walk to the direction of the kitchen.]

You'll tell me everything, right? [About getting back late, about everything because she knows something happened.]

There's not a lot to tell. [That said, she's of course one of the few to get the story. He follows, and opens the fridge when he gets in there.] We fought. I trapped him in a tree.

And you engaged on a fight with him without telling me?

[Of course, Ino knows he meant well. Hidan's dangerous and the last thing he wants is for her to get on his way but they're a team here. Or maybe it was an ambush and he didn't have time to call her. Whatever it was, Ino just doesn't like to know Shikamaru (or anyone close to her) is out there alone fighting some immortal freak. It was enough for her to know Chouji went back home during that retrieval mission severely wounded or their sensei dying before them.

No, Shikamaru, you're not doing that anytime soon.]

You do know a tree won't keep him for long.

[He didn't have a lot of time. Not that it's an excuse, so he just takes her reprimand with a dull nod. His lack of other response to that should be enough indicator for her that he started it.]

I know. I'd meant to kill him, but...

But you know he's immortal.

[She says this immediately to finish his sentence as if stating something obvious that Shikamaru should have known. She knows he knows this, though, but Ino can't help but point it out. Leaning against the nearby wall, she watches him, trying to imagine the battle that transpired without her.

In any way she looks at it, she feels fear.]

Don't do that again. We need to think this through. We need to regroup and plan how we're gonna deal with him.

[Her voice sounds neutral, effectively masking the worry she's feeling. Although, she's suddenly taken back to that day he returned severely injured that she visibly cringes in fear. Time and again, she's a silent witness to Chouji leaving, to Asuma leaving (and even dying), to Shikamaru returning injured. She knows what dying will do to a person in this place as she's seen what Temari had to go through.

So even when she believes in what Shikamaru's capable of, they can't be lax here. She won't let anything bad happen to him if she can help it.]

Alright?

[And even with the reprimanding she's doing, her eyes should visibly show the anxiety within her.]

...yeah. [He sighs.] I know you're right. I'll come up a plan for both of us.

[Her words are like guilt turned to salt over open wounds. They were raised on teamwork, and he deliberately cut her out of it on this run to take on Hidan himself.

He did the same thing the time they went after him and Kakuzu. Gave them supporting roles, but planned from the beginning to let no one handle Hidan but himself.

Even saying this, and wanting to mean it, he knows he'll do it again in a heartbeat too.]

...but he can die here, you know. These wings... They're an instant kill spot. Even gods can die here if you remove them.

So that's your plan?

[Her voice is calmer now as she actually considers this suggestion for a moment or two. It's not bad, really, and she almost instantly thinks it's a good idea. The problem is how to cut it off from him in the first place, though.]

Sounds okay to me. We just have to remember not to fight him if we can help it, but if he does something even remotely dangerous, we should be prepared.

[A part within Ino knows he'll act alone again. She knows him too well, but she wants to believe he'll listen to her. She wants to cling on the idea that he'll return to her in one piece despite handling Hidan by himself.]

Shikamaru, I'm here. [She takes a step closer to her.] Lean on me. [Just as much as I lean on you.]

[He doesn't know what he wants to do. He nearly says as much, but can't find the words to put it to so he just listens to hers.

Maybe she'll pick up on it anyways. He is counting on her; there's no brushing her off or anymore falsities. His shoulders sag heavy, and a hand comes up to rub at his temple as if to push back the headache therein.]

[The moment she saw those shoulders sag, Ino shakes her head and smiles a little for him. She raises a hand and places it on one of those relaxed shoulders to somehow comfort the genius before her.]

We're all going to be here. [She tries to catches his gaze.] It's troublesome, I know, but it's more troublesome dealing with him alone.

[Oh, she does pick up on it that her smile widens at least for a little bit. She's instantly taken back to the idea that they both need each other and even if Shikamaru won't openly admit it, he needs her too.]

We'll pull through.

...I don't want him killing anyone else, Ino.

[I don't want anyone to die because of me.

He's stubbornly looking past her shoulder, mind still going a mile a minute. This isn't like last time, when they could be rid of him in a week. Luceti works in circles; there's no definitive end. He's as much Hidan's target as Hidan is his, only he's not likely to stop there.

He already promised to come after his team. Chouji's not here, luckily, but will Ino be the end of it? They'll watch out for each other, but they have other friends here.

What if, what if, what if.]

We can't drag anyone else into it. I'll think of something-- [He shakes his head, as if to forcibly drag him out of his thoughts.]

No one's going to get killed.

[She immediately counters, her tone stressing the finality of her words. This weighs down more than it should for her - maybe because she's a medic. Not being able to save her sensei still has lingering effects on her more than it should.

Ino can see his point. Truth be told, she feels the same way sometimes. What if Hidan goes after Riku? What if he goes after their friends like Masaomi or Katara? What if-

But she often shakes these thoughts because it's no use thinking of them in times like these. Fear is a luxury she can't afford and in a place like Luceti where the bad can easily go worse, she has to be brazen.

Squeezing his shoulder gently, she attempts to make him look at her.]

I know. I understand. I fear the same fears. What if he goes after someone special I met here who's sleeping in a room next to mine? [Her voice shakes a little but Shikamaru may be able to tell she's keeping it steady.] I get it and Kami knows how I shake in fear just imagining it.

But won't it be cruel for us to not let them help?

[She lets that sink in first.]

[That may be harder than she thinks. Much like before, he's only carefully calculating how close they can get without winding up in danger.]

Involving them would be worse. He doesn't need more targets than me and you.

[Again, he has a point that she slowly drops her hand to her side as a sign of defeat. She's silent for a moment as she looks down.]

I understand.

[He's relieved she gets it. That makes him feel less unreasonable. But seeing her dejected like that... is he being too stubborn?

But there's no room for softness right now.]

...be prepared. He told me he'd be gunning for me and you.

[Much as he'd like to keep even Ino out of this, there's no choice with that. And he'll admit it: he needs her.]

[That dejected look doesn't last long. She frowns, crossing her arms before her chest.]

I think that's inevitable. Let's just hope you and I are enough.

[While, yes, she's against the whole leave them out of this, at least she's hoping Hidan will leave out innocent people who didn't even have anything to do with him.]

I'll always stay alert but chances are he'll go after you first. [And by the way she says that gives an underlying message of 'I'll watch your back.']

I'm prepared for that.

[From the way his expression shifts from bothered to determined, he's banking on it actually.]

I've already worked our multiple strategies around it, if it happens.

[She smiles a little at that determination.]

That's good, at least. If anything, it's nice to know we're prepared. [She has that much faith in him and in his strategies, if not her own faith on herself. It's comforting to frequently regard the positives.]

But I think you should have some sleep.

[Her words remind him how exhausted he is. Hungry too, but now he doesn't think he has the stomach to eat like he'd hoped he would when he came out here. He sags a little.]

After I've talked to Masaomi. [His brain's still running a mile a minute. He honestly doesn't know if he could sleep if he tried.] Maybe I'll have cooled off by the time he wakes up.

Don't overwork yourself.

[Or overthink, for that matter. She can tell from the start that he's tired and if not only because this conversation is urgent, she wouldn't have pressed him on it. She knows sleep is important to him and to know he seems too bothered to even sleep says something.]

You'll need to rest and reserve your energy for when something comes up. [A sigh as she looks to the side.] I guess we both do.

Hai... [He'll give himself a day to refresh himself before going out again, body and spirit. Cool head, agile mind, like his father would say.

This thought process clicks with her words, however, and he looks back over to her.]

You didn't stay up this whole time too, did you?

[She snorts at his question, shaking her head a little.]

Of course not. I managed to sleep a few hours. [Which would probably indicate that, yes, she had trouble sleeping too.]

030 -- [Action]

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[action!] welp, sorry for the late ;w;

[action!] no worries! <3

[action!] /hugggg

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