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015 -- [Action || Voice]
[Shikamaru is heading out to train in the forest today. Should anyone run into him out there, they'll be in for an interesting sight.
Deer. Not a lot of them at once - and fancy that, none are being slaughtered - and while at first skittish hearing footsteps, they don't run away from him when he approaches them. In fact, they come closer to him when they see what he's brought - apples and sembei biscuits. It took a lot of work getting these deer to trust him - he has no intention of taming them, but they're not like the ones his clan raises back home on their land that are just used to his presence either. The Nara are deer tenders, however, so Shikamaru's picked up more than a few tricks over the years. He'll walk about the forest for a while longer, feeding them as he goes.
Eventually, he'll find the deer he was looking for and get down to his training - which is half the reason why he worked so hard to get the deer used to him. They make excellent picks to practice his shadow jutsus with, though he'll stick with just the Kage Mane for now. When he's done there, he'll cut through town and back to CH1.
...don't mind the bloodstains - dried, not his - down the back of his flak jacket if you see him. He'd have left it back in his room, but it's easier to store his weapons in the vest, and with Sasuke back in Luceti he's keeping those on him at all times, yes.]
[Filtered to Sokka || 100% Unhackable]
You at the smithy today?
[Filtered to Itachi || 100% Unhackable]
[...
...yeah, actually, he's got nothing. He closes the journal without a word.]
[The next day, however, after he's recovered his chakra, Shikamaru will be making a trip to the roof of CH2, looking for the garden Itachi kept before he disappeared from Luceti, curious if he'll still find it there. Or him, if he's even still in the building. No, he doesn't care that it's pouring rain out there - if he gives any more thought to this than he already has, he's going to be sick to his stomach.]
[ooc: action for both the nineteenth and the twentieth! Obviously the bit with the deer is while the weather was still decent.]
Deer. Not a lot of them at once - and fancy that, none are being slaughtered - and while at first skittish hearing footsteps, they don't run away from him when he approaches them. In fact, they come closer to him when they see what he's brought - apples and sembei biscuits. It took a lot of work getting these deer to trust him - he has no intention of taming them, but they're not like the ones his clan raises back home on their land that are just used to his presence either. The Nara are deer tenders, however, so Shikamaru's picked up more than a few tricks over the years. He'll walk about the forest for a while longer, feeding them as he goes.
Eventually, he'll find the deer he was looking for and get down to his training - which is half the reason why he worked so hard to get the deer used to him. They make excellent picks to practice his shadow jutsus with, though he'll stick with just the Kage Mane for now. When he's done there, he'll cut through town and back to CH1.
...don't mind the bloodstains - dried, not his - down the back of his flak jacket if you see him. He'd have left it back in his room, but it's easier to store his weapons in the vest, and with Sasuke back in Luceti he's keeping those on him at all times, yes.]
[Filtered to Sokka || 100% Unhackable]
You at the smithy today?
[Filtered to Itachi || 100% Unhackable]
[...
...yeah, actually, he's got nothing. He closes the journal without a word.]
[The next day, however, after he's recovered his chakra, Shikamaru will be making a trip to the roof of CH2, looking for the garden Itachi kept before he disappeared from Luceti, curious if he'll still find it there. Or him, if he's even still in the building. No, he doesn't care that it's pouring rain out there - if he gives any more thought to this than he already has, he's going to be sick to his stomach.]
[ooc: action for both the nineteenth and the twentieth! Obviously the bit with the deer is while the weather was still decent.]
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And if you're going down the stairs, you've got to pass by the eighth floor.
And if you look through the entrance to the eighth...
...
...
Hi there. Law's not surprised you're dropping by. Not by one bit.]
This only took over a week. /sob
Law will hear the door close long before he hears anyone on the steps. Shikamaru stands there for a long while, fists clenched as he tries to process all of emotions that came with the information he just learned.
He needs to have a clear head before he gets back to the apartment - before he runs into someone who will ask too many troublesome questions.]
...fuck it all. [It's barely audible; said under his breath. But it is kinda quiet up here - nothing but the sounds of the rain going outside. He sticks his hands in his pockets and goes down the stairs.
For once, in about the first time since he's been in this place, he's actually paying little attention to his surroundings. He doesn't think to check the entrance to the floor as he passes it, though he should know full well Law lives up here. He's visited him for games of shogi enough times.
Soon as he hears something though, he'll be on guard again.]
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Dangerously distracted. Not like you.]
Oi...
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Outwardly though... his body language gradually relaxes into something easy; casual. Not too sudden, no, that'd be an obvious lie.
Hands still in his pockets, he turns his head back towards the entrance he just passes almost lazily.] Yo. Sorry, I didn't have time for a game of shogi today.
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But. Not this time. Not with those whispered words. There's no passing it off as just honest and very understandable embarrassment. Most people here don't make idle trips to the roof in this building, say nothing of the ones in the rest of the village.
Law slouches in the doorframe.]
Yeah. You looked in a bit of a hurry.
[He glances down the stairwell past Shikamaru for a moment, to the entrance of the sixth floor. He's not sure what would happen if the younger Uchiha made his appearance known now. Sure he's caught snippets of journal conversation and pretty well an entire rooftop conversation, but he doesn't know where things lie with you and him, or what would happen if he stumbled on you without warning.
Hn.
After a second, Kipinn's magic muffles any voices escaping the stairwell. No need to tip the man off if he hasn't been tipped off.]
Get what you need?
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[Having worked with Kipinn a few times now, and just being savvy to how his voice isn't echoing as much as it should in the stairwell, Shikamaru stays for now. Best to work out Law's reasoning for doing that before taking off.]
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Fix for a moment.
Then travel back.] Or have things settled down with our new arrival.
[Eyes are traveling again...
... saying things that need saying.]
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That would depend on your idea of settled. And how much you think you should be concerned with.
[He did not miss that discussion with Sasuke, and he knows you talk to Itachi. It probably bears mentioning. Just not in a stairwell.]
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[Yeah. The sound cancelling and those looks. That's what those are for.]
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Sasuke lives here too then? Ironic - that's the same floor Itachi lived on before. That could've been dangerous.]
That would be entirely up to him. [Stoic again, he looks back to Law.] So there's really no way of telling.
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[Very dangerous.]
I think we should move this conversation away from the stairwell then.
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General sword maintenence then. The presence of his waterstones also indicates he was doing some sharpening of the blades... and that needs a little more room than his apartment provides. The weapons are on a table where he doesn't eat or prep food. His designated work table in the room.
He pulls out a chair and sits on it... pensive and silent for a while. Then:]
... I take it he and your fellows have some bad blood back home.
[Not a question. Volatile temper, an axe to grind over past history, and a desire to purge villages? Understatement.]
no subject
Depends on who you ask. Naruto still thinks they can be friends.
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[Because, honestly? Despite what he's learned, he feels he doesn't have enough information on the guy to make an accurate read on the situation.
A situation he's going to get drawn into, based on all the ties he has, and the mere fact that Mister Uchiha has the notion he's useful, due to his medical skills.]
1/2
[He chews on his next words carefully, aiming to make what he says next both as straightforward and as unrevealing as he can.]
Uchiha Sasuke is a world-class criminal. He's been here in Luceti before - I even ran into him once or twice. He's younger than he was the last time he was here. [An inch shorter, Shikamaru noticed, but what really gave it away was his eyes. Sasuke had difficulty making out his Konoha forhead protector even when it was in plain sight the first time he encountered him - eyesight troubles, like his brother - overuse of the sharingan, possibly, but no, Kakashi never had that problem - but this time he's shown no such difficulties. Yet.
But right. Back to the question.] If I'm right, from his point of time his rap sheet isn't that long yet. Even so, he's always been unstable. Maybe that'll change, with Itachi's influence...
[For a brief moment, uncertainty creeps into his voice. Is that what had happened between them before? If it is, can he really count on it?]
no subject
But that's hypothetical for now. If he comes to you, keep your guard up. People are only good to him so long as they're useful. He'll turn on you the second he thinks you're standing between him and his goals.
[And according to Sasuke himself last they spoke, his goals are annihilating anyone from Konoha.]
To put it simply - unless he tries something, my opinion is that it's best to stay the hell away from him.
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The key word here for him is unstable.]
I don't intend on seeking him out, but... he'll come looking regardless. [He's dead certain about that.] Small village - a run in is inevitable. [A shoulder dips and rises, lips press. They live in the same building, and what will come will come. He has no intentions of moving right now. That would make things worse in his estimation, and not just with Sasuke. He'll have to be careful how he plays this... a sudden shift of behaviour... overt unfriendliness and caution would be suspicious and probably would trigger hostilities easily. Itachi is quite paranoid (so is Law, but not's not the issue here) and if the brother takes after him in that department, that plus instability is just a tinderbox waiting for a match.]
... I'll be careful.
...
You said he views people as disposable. [Frown deepening more. Is he a nakama killer?] What should I expect if he suddenly decides I'm inconvienent?
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Hard to tell. He wasn't always like this... [There's that thin distance again, as he remembers. Him and Chouji and Ino hiding in the bushes again, years ago. "Sakura, who did this to you?"
Then again, months later Sakura was left unconscious on a bench for a night as Sasuke left the village. So maybe he was.]
It depends on how far gone he is, and how far Luceti changes things. At best, he'll write you off and not bother with you again. At worst, killing isn't out of the question for him.
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I don't count on the former happening. [Not with his relationship with Itachi. Not after what he heard up on that roof.]
And if the latter...
[It comes to the latter. There will be a fight to the death - and more than one fight. Itachi will not sit by. And Law does not intend to die. And if Bepo gets dragged into it, he won't let him die.
Messy and with consequences.]
Nn. Troublesome...
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[Unless it was one of us.
But you're not, and you looked kind of contemplative there, so he thought he'd clarify.]
In any case, he's Konoha's problem first and foremost. We'll take care of him if things start to turn sour.
[If that does happen, what he's saying here is that don't take him on unless you absolutely have no other choice. No one else should get that chance to be dragged into it.]
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He has more than himself to be concerned over in this, as you know.]
... [He nods. Law's not looking for a fight. Wonders if you really can take care of him as you say. People have tried to contain others when things have gone sour on their ends. In this place? That doesn't tend to work so well. Not for long at least.
... but he's not going to ask more or ask things again, even though a general warning on his abilities would have been nice. Law does not think you'll really give much more. What you've given has been helpful, but generally evasive and unrevealing. It's... understandable, for a variety of reasons. One being you don't want others dragged in. But you're likely not going to get what you want in the end, Shikamaru. People will get dragged into this sooner or later.
That's just a fact of Luceti.]
1/2
When none come, his mind wanders some. This is not the typical distraction of a regular person - Shikamaru's always had the fortune - misfortune? - of being able to process several lines of thought in an instant. It helps that these are all things he's considered before.
It would have been a good reason - have they done something like this before? - keep it a secret for now - Sasuke might say something - no, Sasuke is an unknown at this - point, there. Itachi might - why all of them? - really don't need to know - the others don't need to know - so we keeping treating him like a traitor? - what he wants - masochistic son-of-a - technically it's still orders - wish I had orders - what can I do?
Patience. Cool head; agile mind.
...would I have been able to do what he did?]
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He's just tired. Tired of thinking, tired of Luceti, tired of all these curve-balls that have been thrown at him and the knowledge that even given everything he can do, it will not be enough to fix things permanently here. He's come and long ways and he's ready to keep going further, but there's been... a lot to handle, these past few months. His first draft. Helping kill that girl. His friends kidnapped one by one, Chouji nearly dying, Temari bleeding out in the forest. That doesn't even include the aftermath of the last experiment, or the problems his other friends were having, and then there's this. This business with Sasuke and Itachi... and Konoha. And everyone who might get involved but shouldn't.
He's tired. It's a realization that's finally dawning on him, and with it he has to make a conscious effort not to let his shoulders sag.
He needs a break - a break break, not shogi or clouds or other distractions - and he's not afraid to admit it. A cool adult would be stronger, but they're also smart enough to know their limits, and he understands that he's finally reaching his. But he also knows he's not going to get that break.
And that is troublesome.
And the water drips. There'll be a puddle of rain water on Law's kitchen floor if he doesn't move soon.]
...you got a window I could jump out of?
no subject
So...
It happens sooner or later to everyone. Law feels cold metal around his throat for a brief second, and touches his throat briefly, unconciously. This is a cage. And sooner or later the bars close in.
And you experience yaki-ire.]
Yeah. I do.
[He turns and leads the way to his apartment. Thankfully it is blessed with many windows.]
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