021 -- [Action]

[endgames]

[Today when Shikamaru woke up to his morning routine of journal stalking, there was a mission notice waiting for him. Fantastic. But you reap what you sow with these things...

Shikamaru spends the next few hours going over everything he thinks he'll need for this mission before heading out of his apartment. Most of his plans for the week are on hold (again) but there's still a few things he wanted to take care of; people to see.

In particular, he'll seek out Ino and Naruto, stopping to talk to most of his friends from home too, if he sees them. Give them a heads up on where he's at for the next week or so. After that he'll head into the square in the mid-afternoon in search of one Albert Silverberg. Masaomi is next, though Shikamaru will actually bother hailing him over the journals if he doesn't see him. Same for Sokka, if he can't find him at the smithy or the Avatar House.

Even if he isn't seeking anyone else out, he'll still stop to speak to people he knows if he runs into them today. Especially if they came along into the tunnels during that last experiment. Curiosity, mainly - he wants to know if anyone's doing better now.

Feel free to catch him anywhere in town this afternoon. Until he finds Albert, he'll be the guy carting around a shogi board under one arm.]

Comments

[chikaidestroyer]

[Ah, the square. Mid-afternoon, Albert can be found in the tea shop above the Welcome Center. He's only recently returned to the village, and he's trying to unwind.

We'll see how that goes whenever Shikamaru decides to check the shop.]

[endgames]

[Hahaha... good luck with that.

He spots him from the entrance to the shop, having only poked his head in for a quick look. But there he is - Shikamaru steps in.

Gotcha.

He'd probably be grinning if he weren't so busy linefacing.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Well, it's a good thing that Albert is so used to linefacing, because that's as much of a reaction as Shikamaru is going to get for now. He is enjoying his tea at the moment.]

[endgames]

[If anything, that probably means Albert's less likely to get up soon, which is good. Shikamaru won't say anything.

But he will pull up a chair to the same table, setting the board down before sitting himself and bringing out a bag with the tiles for it.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert had noted the board underneath Shikamaru's arm when he had stepped into the room, but the placement of it in front of him--no, in between them, he amends--was certainly worth a raised brow.]

A game board.

[It's not a question, but the wording speaks to his lack of knowledge in this particular game.]

[endgames]

You're a master of observation.

[Very deadpan here. There's a manual to the game in the same bag he carries the tiles in, though. He slips it out and across the board in front of Albert. The word SHOGI is printed clearly on the front.]

[chikaidestroyer]

Hah. Of course.

[Now if only this particular word meant anything to him. It's not exactly Solitaire or Hearts ... or even Minesweeper, the somewhat-obviously titled games his computer had installed. It might as well be something obscure like Checkers.

Not that it matters. Shikamaru seems intent on showing him this board, so he might as well pick up the game manual and open it while he drinks his tea.]

[endgames]

[If he reads the manual, he'll probably note the game is very similar to chess, though more complicated. Certain pieces are different, and there's more spaces on the board for starters.

The manual details each tile's name and how it's supposed to move. There's also several strategies within.

Once Shikamaru finishes carefully setting up each piece, he laces his fingers behind his neck and waits.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert frowns thoughtfully as he reads the instructions, glancing down at the tiles that Shikamaru has set up to associate them with the tiles pictured. It doesn't take him very long to read through the simple strategies before shutting the manual.]

I suppose I will play Sente, since I have the manual in front of me, unless you wish to do a pawn toss.

[It's a wry commentary on how the manual's game board is from the first player's perspective.]

[endgames]

Fine with me. I'll play Gote.

[He prefers it that way, actually. He's never been a fan of going first.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Meanwhile, Albert is used to it; he had played the initiator so often, both in games and war. With Shikamaru's acknowledgment, he makes his opening move.]

I imagine there were not many of these boards in the store.

[endgames]

[Shikamaru's turns tend to be quick in this game, especially towards the beginning, unless he's distracted or momentarily stuck. He slides a tile forward with a wooden click.]

Not usually. Picked this one up a year ago.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert studies the tiles carefully before choosing his next piece to move. The surety with which Shikamaru moves already speaks to how often he has played this game, and he knows he is slowing the game down immensely with his own inexperience.]

Opponents must be short in supply.

[It's not so much a comment about Shikamaru's intellect or experience as it is about his choice to spring this upon him now. But how can he be truly surprised when he expected a reaction for what he had done?]

[endgames]

You have no idea.

[Because of that, Shikamaru is understandably patient now that he's actually gotten a game going. That, and Asuma would often play slowly himself.]

You're my third opponent in a year. Fourth if I can count Tsinku.

[chikaidestroyer]

[The game continues even as he converses with Shikamaru.]

You have interesting timing, coming over today.

[endgames]

How's that?

[chikaidestroyer]

[He makes a thoughtful sound as he slides a piece forward.]

I haven't been back in the village more than a handful of hours and here you are with this game.

[endgames]

Huh. Coincidence.

[A pause to plot his strategy; the click of another tile.]

It's not like I could count on you to tell me that sort of thing, and all.

[chikaidestroyer]

Thus the need to always have alternative plans.

[He's not doing himself any favors by saying something any tactician--any planner--should know. But what could Shikamaru have possibly done with that board if he hadn't found him that day?]

[endgames]

Or one really good one to start out with first.

[chikaidestroyer]

Even the best laid plans may go awry. Especially as more variables are introduced.

[endgames]

That's why you make 'em flexible. [He captures a piece, but doesn't put it into play for his side yet.] Leave room to improvise.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Improvisation was an alternative plan ... unless the original plan was to wing it to begin with. He simply smirks and considers his next move, one piece down. It doesn't take long before he moves another tile.]

[endgames]

[Shikamaru just plans strategies within strategies. It can take a while before he needs to move from Plan A to Plan B.

Shogi's not an exception to this, though he's pleased to see that Albert is as interesting of an opponent as he'd have liked, even if he's new to the game.

There's a lot he could say now, but he's content with this. He's pretty pissed at Albert for everything that happened... but that's the whole reason for this match. He wants to see how Albert plays the game.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert's strategies are varied, mixtures of the straightforward and the unorthodox, and his inexperience with the game shows in the frequency that he loses pieces across the board. The apparent lack of cohesion in his play is peppered with moments of noticeable shrewdness; he's not going to make this game easy for Shikamaru by any means.

He doesn't bother with further conversation at this point. The ball was in Shikamaru's court, so to speak.]