endgames | 025 -- [Action || Voice]

[When Shikamaru heads down to Asuma's apartment Monday morning, he finds it empty of everything but Kurenai's things and a silver lighter standing on the table. It's wrong, but he doesn't give in to the false hope.

Of course it would stay. Even though Shikamaru gave it back to him, the lighter stopped being Asuma's the moment he picked it off his dying body.

Kurenai must've stepped out before it happened. She's a ninja, and not so senseless to have left the door wide open and run off in her grief. And so he waits for her, and tries to find his words.

After he leaves Kurenai, he has to tell Ino. Team 8 he'll find in person too - he has a request for them on top of this. It's been too long since they've heard a stir from their enemies.]

[It's well past midnight before an announcement comes, after he's made this post and spent a few hours going over the discussions there. When people are either busy with the information he gave them, or asleep.

He smokes a cigarette on his way back to his apartment in the night air, putting it out before he steps into the building, his posture falsely relaxed until he steps into his own room.]

Sarutobi Asuma is gone. [There's a pause and- no, he doesn't think it was mentioned.] Also, Haruno Sakura returned to her world a few weeks ago, for anyone who knew her.

Funnily enough, I haven't seen that masked Akatsuki guy in a while either...

[Too many people to filter that too. It's vague enough, but anyone who needs to know should get what he means. It would have been better news if he'd known before.

He'll answer journal comments in the morning.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Only after Kiba and Hinata felt confident their was no one to turn up from their search.]

Not a trace of him.

That? Is a relief.

[He'll keep his guard up for the next little while just in case.]

We won't let our guard down just yet, but I have great faith in the guys who conducted the search.

Neither will I... but if it's who I think is looking, I know that nothing went unchecked.

Edited 2012-07-03 08:05 (UTC)

[He wonders at that, but after a moment chalks it up to ninja memories from that other Law.]

You'd be correct.

[He knew the abilities of the other shinobi in Luceti very well when he was Toshio. Keeps tabs on many people as Trafalgar... who is here... who is not...]

... we should have another game of shogi sometime.

[It's Law's way of saying he's worried for you after all that's happened.]

I'm not so focused on games right now.

[He nearly broke his shogi table when he saw it last night, in fact. Before making this entry. Instead he carefully gathered it up and put it away in the closet. He has no intentions of bringing it out any time soon.]

I have a project I'm focusing on. [He speaks pleasantly about it.] I'm making some interesting break-throughs, but haaa... It is time-consuming.

[That? Causes him to frown heavily. Shikamaru refusing shogi is basically a sign of the apocalypse and very telling of his state of mind.]

I bet it is. [Sounds like he was pursuing something related to this mess, given the comment about games.] You'll have to tell me about it sometime. It sounds intriguing.

[Though his voice is mild and pleasant in turn, the undercurrent is very much concern.

The fallout from this has been so messy all around.]

[So long as they don't dip into that current, Shikamaru's content to ride it as is. It's the same easy cooperation he used to get himself out of the clinic.]

It is. My world doesn't have that kind of technology, so it's an odd learning experience.

[Not on the journals, no. If he does so, it will be in person.]

... oh? I bet. [Okay better idea now...] Then you'll definitely have to tell me about it over coffee or tea sometime.

Might work better when I know the actual terms. I know what I'm doing, but I don't know what I'm doing. I couldn't explain it.

[This is a legit response. He's been learning engineering on his own with no teacher or reference materials, just that old droid replica Tony left behind. Until the guy agrees to give him some real lessons, the most technically he could explain it is "this thing spins" and "this wire is blue". 8|]

Hopefully I'll have a teacher soon.

I hope it works out for you too.

If not, I'll start using bullshit terms.

Anyways. I should get back to the others.

I'll talk to you later, then. Bye.

See ya.

[And when the journal closes... it's none too soon.]

025 -- [Action || Voice]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]

[Private]