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]

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.

[chikaidestroyer]

You handled running the show just fine.

[endgames]

That's not the problem.

[chikaidestroyer]

You already know that allies disappearing at any time is a real problem.

[endgames]

[He snorts. No shit.]

If that was all there was to it, I wouldn't bother with this conversation. You didn't just disappear.

[chikaidestroyer]

[His response is airy at best.]

No, I did not.

But if I had not, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all.

[endgames]

[That does make him look up from the board now, studying him.]

Much as I like this game, that's not a good thing.

[chikaidestroyer]

Hm. Is it not? [He folds his hands on the edge of the table for now.] You learned something new.

[endgames]

[.....]

And you taught that to me.

[chikaidestroyer]

And now I am learning something from you.

[endgames]

You think so, huh?

[chikaidestroyer]

[He simply smirks, dropping a tile back into play on his side.]

[endgames]

[He remains quiet for several turns, quietly thinking this over until finally... he smirks.]

That may be true. There's really no way of telling for me. [He slides a tile forward - this game is really coming together now.] But I call bullshit on the first thing you said.

[chikaidestroyer]

[The longer the game goes, the more time Albert has to learn of how captures and maneuvering work. At this stage, he can regroup from his earlier mistakes.]

Well, bluffing was never one of my strong points.

[He clicks a tile down in response to Shikamaru's move.]

[endgames]

Somehow I doubt that.

[chikaidestroyer]

You can carry those doubts with you if you wish.

[endgames]

Generous, too.