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

[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.]

[endgames]

[If he wanted an easy game, he'd be teaching this to someone else. Like he thought, Albert makes a good challenger, inexperience or not. Future games, if there are any, would be interesting.

Shikamaru doesn't say anything for several minutes, both to think and observe, and to let Albert learn the game uninterrupted. Eventually in his turns, he takes to putting the pieces he captured from Albert into play for his own side.]

This's always been one of the things I like about this game.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert tilts his head to watch as Shikamaru begins to drop his captured pieces back onto the board, making a quiet sound in acknowledgment as he studies the board. He doesn't take too long to make his own move.]

Your games must last awhile with a good opponent.

[endgames]

There's a reason it's still a hobby of mine.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He snorts at that, pausing to drink his tea before returning his attention to the game.]

[endgames]

Kinda sucks, though.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert raises a brow at that. Hobbies relying on having another person around could "suck," but he wasn't about to put words in Shikamaru's mouth. There were other aspects that could displease him.]

[endgames]

Had more downtime in the tunnels than you'd think. Not so many people who'd bother with a game like this, though.

[chikaidestroyer]

Unfortunate. I'm sure trying to play a game while walking would have been interesting.

[endgames]

Wasn't that much walking to do, if you remember.

[He should. They talked about it.]

[chikaidestroyer]

Enough of it, at least.

[Completely unapologetic. He preferred waking up in his own house.]

[endgames]

[He snorts, eyes on the board as he tightens the net of his strategy here, though it comes with some prices of its own.]

If I could do it, you could have too.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert is able to capture some pieces as there is a shift in Shikamaru's strategy, but he seems more intent on observing than dropping the captured pieces back into play.]

I could. I have. I did not.

[endgames]

Didn't bother telling me either.

[chikaidestroyer]

Annoyed?

[endgames]

Pissed.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He snorts, as if that's all he needed to know.]

Thus shogi.

[endgames]

If you're gonna keep pulling this crap with me, I figured I should get something out of it.

[chikaidestroyer]

If. [There's a faintly amused tone there as he again reaches for his tea.] Very well.

[endgames]

Yeah. If.

[He doesn't look up from the board; studying it, and going over every possible outcome. A hundred paths to choose from.]

I'd be lying if I said I don't care if you do.

[chikaidestroyer]

Of course. Encouraging someone to be unreliable would be quite foolish.

[Likewise, he does not actually look at his opponent as he addresses him.]

[endgames]

So you'll understand that I ask you not do that to me again.