018 -- [Action]

[endgames]

[He wakes up to a mostly empty apartment, every scrap of evidence that his best friend shared it with him removed, save for one small kitten. It’s not the first time, with that exception. Chouji’s disappeared like this before – barely two months ago. But he came back.

And now he’s gone again. Shikamaru isn’t sure what to think about that, mostly because he's considered it all before. He knows what Chouji is going back to, knows it's important, knows it will be all right because eventually, he's going to leave this place too and see him again.

He knows he's going to miss him, even though he shouldn't. But that it's okay to admit that too. So with that thought in mind, Shikamaru ends up sitting on the couch, trying to think about nothing at all. At least until he can get his head clear and straight on his shoulders again. He can't afford to sulk all day.

He still ends up checking on Temari’s apartment, just to make sure evidence that she lives in it are still there. (Though if it weren't, that'd be okay. She has less of home here than he does.) And then he takes a deep breath, and goes to knock on Ino’s door. No public announcement, and he’s not going to hunt down anyone else today. If he runs into any of his and Chouji’s friends, he’ll tell them, but if not… everyone else can wait a day.]

[After talking with Ino, and a few hours spent in or around CH1, Shikamaru heads out to take a walk into town. There’s a black kitten with blue eyes grudgingly carried along with him that’s keeps trying to climb up onto his shoulders, or his head. Empty as he thought their - his - apartment looked, there’s apparently still enough in it for one little kitten to wreak havoc with. So not trusting he could leave him alone, said kitten is getting dragged along for the ride.

He shouldn’t complain too much. Most of the stuff Shikamaru is picking up is for him anyways. Food, litter. He doesn’t think the cat needs much else, but feel free to correct him on that if you see him.

For his last stop of the day, Shikamaru makes a detour into the item shop, browsing through the puzzles and games, and the kitten’s mewing isn’t going to make him leave any faster. He needs something new to play.]

Fine, you don’t like the idea of that one. Don’t see how it matters to you – you’re not the one who’s gonna be playing it.

Comments

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue glanced up when Shikamaru entered the Item Shop, and then proceeded to ignore him once she saw he was a Veteran. The soft strains of Garbage fill the place from her lovely, lovely little Mp3 player and dock.

...it's the kittens mewling which eventually catches her attention.

Rogue doesn't like cats.

But kittens are fairly adorable. And hard to resist.]

If ya can't find anything to agree on, there's always Mousetrap.

[endgames]

Yeah? What's that involve?

[Hopefully not actual mouse traps... thought the way this kitten is trying to claw his way to sit on top of his head, he may be tempted.]

[touchofrogue]

Second shelf from the top, third box on the left.

[Actual moving? Unnecessary in this case. She doesn't want to accidentally kill your kitten in the event it grabs onto one of the holes in her jeans.

Actual explanation? There's no point. Figure it out yourself or don't, she doesn't really care.]

[endgames]

[Sigh.] How troublesome...

[Okay, taking a step back to get a better view of those boxes - and there it is.]

Looks like a kids games. [He reaches up and grabs it anyways. It's not like he's that picky.]

[burningdownfate.livejournal.com]

[The item shop is a popular destination. Zuko's poking through the shelves, too; he glances up as the person walks by -- and does a double take when he notices the kitten trying to claw up to ride on the guy's head.

... That's interesting, but hardly the weirdest thing he's ever seen.]

Cute kitten.

[endgames]

[Did you just say cute. 8|]

A pain, is more like it. [Don't mind him, just prying the little guy off his neck now.]

[burningdownfate.livejournal.com]

[Yes, he said cute. Care to deny it, Shikamaru? Kittens are, by default, cute.]

Acute pain?

[Best pun ever, right? Right?]

[piggybabe.livejournal.com]

[Upon hearing the knocks on her door, Ino shoves away her book on ikebana she's reading to answer it. It takes a while because the book's interesting but she still manages to open the door with relative ease. As Shikamaru's face greets her, the blond blinks a few times.]

What brings you here? [She opens the door wider.] Come in.

[endgames]

...thanks.

[It strikes him as funny, just then. He'd told her not to be bugging them when she first showed up here, and it seems like he's been knocking on her door more times than she has his. It gets a snicker out of him, quiet and meant for himself. It's not really a happy sound.

But it's time to be serious again. He'll stand by the door, keeping his eyes on it and waiting for her to close it before explaining himself.]

[piggybabe.livejournal.com]

[She closes the door behind him when he's already inside. As perceptive as Ino is, she catches the sound briefly before dismissing it. Once the door is successfully closed, she gives him a smile. She's not having this serious mood if she can prevent it.]

These visits are getting very frequent.

[abidinglaw.livejournal.com]

[Norrington is in the item shop, too, clicking through the settings on an electric fan. 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, off. He can even make it blow from side to side. Hmm. But! When he picks it up and turns, intent on bringing the device to his apartment to experiment with, his excitement makes him strangely heedless and he accidentally blows a gust of 3-strong air directly at the kitten and its host. Immediately he apologizes, cycling through the buttons until at last he puts a stop to its infernal gusting.]

Oh! I am sorry. Please, one moment.. There. My apologies.

[endgames]

[Fortunately, Shikamaru had been eying Norrington and that fan out of the corner of his vision and had had the foresight to think that maaaaybe he should put away that deck of cards he was looking through, in case they accidentally blow everywhere.

Wasn't expecting to suddenly find his shoulder full of KITTEN CLAWS though. Should've worn his flak jacket, ow.]

Don't worry about it. [Said with only a touch of sarcasm and irritably.] It's not a big deal.

[abidinglaw.livejournal.com]

"My goodness."

[He says once his attention is able to shift from the operation of the fan to the damage that he might just have inadvertently caused to this unfortunate young man. His embarrassing leads him to do something that he otherwise probably wouldn't.]

"That is an energetic creature."

[yourhatred.livejournal.com]

[If Shikamaru stops by the grocers during his rounds, he may come across Itachi carefully scrutinizing a can of cat food himself.

He's being surprisingly picky, considering mixing together ingredients on his own should this not prove satisfactory.]

[endgames]

[Yup, the grocery store is definitely on the list. Same reason as Law - the cat was low on food.

Shikamaru freezes for a second when he sees who else is in the aisle, but just mutters something like 'troublesome' to himself and steps in anyways. It's not like he has to talk to Itachi. He can be civil.

...never mind the fact that he's realizing it's been ages since he really has had a civil conversation with him.]

[yourhatred.livejournal.com]

Good afternoon, Shikamaru-san.

[Itachi doesn't look up from the can he's holding about two inches from his eyes. He doesn't have to. The voice is obvious.]

[markofthebrave]

[Upon further consideration, let's just get this over with. If just so I know how to play her from here on out. We can totally placeholder it until the end of the other thread, though.

So she'll just be headed towards town - partly on a visit-oriented mission, partly to pick up groceries again, and even in part just to stretch her legs and enjoy the crisp beginning of fall.]

[endgames]

[By this point, let's say Shikamaru has finished getting everything he needed - and a game or two he didn't - and is taking a break to sit in the grass. For once his focus is down the earth and out of the clouds, watching Chouji's cat run around and expend some energy.]

[markofthebrave]

[She's not completely ignorant of her surroundings and so although he is off the beaten path, his hair makes him kind of hard to miss.

She hasn't been avoiding him since their conversation, but... she hadn't been trying to seek him out, either.

The cat's cute.

So there's a smile on her face when she gives them a wave.]

Hey, Shikamaru.

[nextgen-hokage.livejournal.com]

[Shikamaru will probably notice another shinobi in the item shop, more specifically looking between different types of water balloons. He's just standing there, comparing them and testing how stretchy each one is in comparison to each other.

And that's really all he's doing. Besides muttering to himself.] Eh... This one kinda sucks.

...you waited until the exact moment I decided to go to bed, didn't you? 8|

[endgames]

[Well it's not like he's about to ignore Naruto, when he spots him on his way to look at something else.]

Should I even bother asking what you're up to?

NO.

[nextgen-hokage.livejournal.com]

[Naruto doesn't look over to Shikamaru, rather just recognizing his voice right off the bat and continuing to stretch the balloon in his hands.]

It's nothin' important.

[simplestgift]

[Archie's ears are caught by the mewling. He peers down the next aisle to see Shikamaru there, and is hit with an odd feeling.]

Good day, Shikamaru.

[endgames]

Hm- oh hey, Archie. [What do you know, a person he's actually happy to see today.]

How've you been?

[simplestgift]

Extremely well. [This whole system of dining with Aubrey once a week has really raised the morale in his house.] Was that one Dr. McCoy's as well? He liked having them around despite himself.

[Talking about the kitten.]