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029 -- [Action || Video]
[The afternoon finds Shikamaru bundled up against the cold and out and about in parts of the village he won't normally be in. Wandering, it might look like; he drifts in and out of high-traffic areas like the bar and the item shop to places less visited. The coffee shop he'll be at for sure, and his final stop will be the building that was once Azzip's Pizza.
This will do.]
[Video]
[Later in the afternoon, with dark still far off, the journal feed will click on to see Shikamaru surrounded by various colorful boxes among other things. He folds his hands over a table.]
It's come to my attention over the last few months that some of you have never heard of boardgames, or have otherwise never played. As a reasonable guy, I can let a lot of things go, but that... just seems sad.
[He shakes his head here. With woe, even. And then he gestures to the board games from various worlds strewn in the background. Close inspection will find a shogi set, a chess board, Go, Pai Sho, Plateau, Candy Land, Mouse Trap,Jumanji and so on. You can pretty much make up any family-friendly board game you want here and he will have it somehow. Go for it, actually. He hasn't played all of them.]
I'm here to tell you why they're awesome. [...] And possibly to petition for a partner. It's troublesome, but you'd be surprised how hard that is to accomplish here...
Katara. [Hint, hint.] Kotomi-chan. [Who he can't tease as well, so he'd best clarify:] If you're still up for that.
[He shakes himself with a grin, saluting at the journal with his left hand. He picks up the nearest game.] Anyways, let's get started. It goes like this...
[And from here he'll be giving the abridged rules of the games he knows to start. Feel free to interrupt him, or call him out on any games he skips.]
[/end Voice]
[Action || Locked to Konan]
[Much later in the night, after he's seen to everything he needs to, Shikamaru takes a box out of a drawer and goes outside. From it, he withdraws an origami hummingbird, and contemplates it slowly for a few quiet minutes.
When he's done, he holds it up at eye level and speaks seriously.]
It's about time we spoke again. Don't you think?
This will do.]
[Video]
[Later in the afternoon, with dark still far off, the journal feed will click on to see Shikamaru surrounded by various colorful boxes among other things. He folds his hands over a table.]
It's come to my attention over the last few months that some of you have never heard of boardgames, or have otherwise never played. As a reasonable guy, I can let a lot of things go, but that... just seems sad.
[He shakes his head here. With woe, even. And then he gestures to the board games from various worlds strewn in the background. Close inspection will find a shogi set, a chess board, Go, Pai Sho, Plateau, Candy Land, Mouse Trap,
I'm here to tell you why they're awesome. [...] And possibly to petition for a partner. It's troublesome, but you'd be surprised how hard that is to accomplish here...
Katara. [Hint, hint.] Kotomi-chan. [Who he can't tease as well, so he'd best clarify:] If you're still up for that.
[He shakes himself with a grin, saluting at the journal with his left hand. He picks up the nearest game.] Anyways, let's get started. It goes like this...
[And from here he'll be giving the abridged rules of the games he knows to start. Feel free to interrupt him, or call him out on any games he skips.]
[/end Voice]
[Action || Locked to Konan]
[Much later in the night, after he's seen to everything he needs to, Shikamaru takes a box out of a drawer and goes outside. From it, he withdraws an origami hummingbird, and contemplates it slowly for a few quiet minutes.
When he's done, he holds it up at eye level and speaks seriously.]
It's about time we spoke again. Don't you think?
[Action] No problem!
There's a hill besides the river, not far from the first community housing complex. [His birthday present specifically; made through bending, it literally looks scooped up out of the earth around it, so it should stand out once found.] I'll meet you there.
[Action] I'll probably be slow on weekdays for the next little while
[Sure enough, when Shikamaru arrives, she'll be waiting. Travel is quick when one can move as papers in the wind.]
[Action] I can backtag as long as we need to, so don't worry about it. 8|b
He doesn't show any apprehension when he shows up, but it still provokes an odd feeling in his gut. He never met this woman himself, but there's not anyone in Konoha who doesn't know who she is. Everyone lived through Pain's invasion, thanks to Naruto, but the question of what if had hung in the air for some time, never spoken out loud.]
Thank you for meeting me.
[Not really gracious, but polite.]
[Action]
[She's taken care to show through her actions that she doesn't intend to harm the Konoha shinobi here in Luceti, but neglecting to attack on its own could still mean that she's biding her time.]
Particularly since the Malnosso seem to be able to take people from different points in time.
[Action]
...no doubt, you don't need me to tell you that Naruto is gone from here.
[Action]
[She hadn't responded, but it does make her wish she'd sought out Naruto. They spoke when they lost their memories, but it wasn't the same.]
[Action]
If she was smart, she would keep up with things.]
Before he left, he and I had a talk about you. He told me that after the Akatsuki invaded Konoha, when you left you had allied yourself with him.
[Action]
I did. He spoke to us about Jiraiya's teachings...and it got through to Pain enough that he sacrificed his life giving life back to the Konoha citizens that died that day.
[Action]
Naruto's an incredible guy.]
You as well?
[Action]
Pain entrusted the future to Naruto and died with a smile on his face.
[She hadn't seen Nagato smile like that for so long. As much as she mourned his death, he died in a way that made him happy. There's some solace in that.]
Naruto is the bridge to peace and I decided from then on to be a pillar that supports that bridge.
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[She also remembers dying, but she'll keep that to herself.]
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[And in that, she'd help him in a heartbeat.]
I would tell him about the discussion that he had with Naruto, though, and I would go to speak with him as soon as I found out about his arrival.
[She won't promise to go against him, because she is loyal - to a fault, even. She can agree to reason with him, though.]
[Action]
[Action]
[She has to be frank about this much, at least. Her loyalty is ultimately to Nagato, but that doesn't mean she was unmoved by Naruto's words.]
[Action]
That's acceptable.
In return, I promise we'll make no move against you - or him if he shows up - unless our hand is forced. I can't promise the same for some of your other former allies if they show up, but I have a feeling that won't be an issue in the case of at least one.
[Action]
[Not all of them, though. She's fairly certain Kisame would, as would Sasori. Deidara had a temper but made an effort to be calm and collected. Kakuzu's rage made him unpredictable, but since there was no money to be collected if he killed anyone, she doubted he'd be actively seeking to harm anyone when in control of himself. Hidan is most likely to pose a problem. Then there's Zetsu, who won't actively cause problems, but who she knows is loyal to her enemy and a capable spy.]
As a gesture of goodwill, I'll tell you what you need to know to have a chance against Tobi - also known as Uchiha Madara.
(ooc: Poor thing doesn't know his real name)
[Action]
[That gets the first unsevere look out of him in this conversation.]
We could've used that information months ago, when he was here before. [He takes a spot to lean against a tree.] If he came here once, he can come back again. Anything you have to say is appreciated.
[He doesn't say that Itachi has already told him some things. Not a lot, but with Naruto gone, Shikamaru is the only person who knows he was a double agent in a sense. It's troublesome, but he's promised not to let on more about how things really are until Itachi reveals himself on his own terms. Explaining why he knows those things would therefore be a pain.]
[Action]
[All things she took care to observe over time, never revealing that she was planning to take him out one day. Nagato's Rinnegan was too tempting.]
[Action]
That's with his Sharingan ability, correct? Reports described a distortion around the hole in his mask.
[Uchiha = eye powers, naturally.]
[Action]
[The only reason he survived his fight with her. He should have died. Izanagi is a tremendously inconvenient ability for an opponent to have.]
Izanagi. It allows him to warp reality for a short time in exchange for the sight in that eye.
[Action]
[He heard right. He assumes it's just as it sounds, but he's incredulous. The guy didn't need another ace in the hole.
He wonders if Sasuke has this same ability.]
If it's an Uchiha ability, you wouldn't know it from research. Does this mean he's already used up one eye?
[Action]
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...a theory is kicking around in his head, but he'll work on it in his own time.]
Of course he would be. [Shikamaru brings a hand to his forehead.] He won't find it here, at the least.
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