011 -- [Voice || Action]

[endgames]

Here's a question. If you're in hell and you get pissed off at somebody, where do you tell them to go to?

[In before Luceti.]

[Shikamaru's been a busy guy lately. There's been a lot of details to go over with the draft, as well as outlining strategies, and there's still more to come. A question un-battle related seemed like a good distraction.

But duty calls, and he can only put it off for so long.]

[Filtered to the Shifter Hunting Squad || 100% Unhackable]

In case I missed anyone at the meeting, we're getting in some practice tomorrow. Come prepared; we'll meet at the barracks around noon.

[/filter]

[...someone else is getting a more personal invite, though that's not going to be the only thing they discuss. He's put off talking to her long enough, as it is. So Temari, if you're home, there's an idiot knocking on your door again.]


[ooc: by the magic of bending time and space, anyone from the Shifter Hunting group on the draft will have met Shikamaru at the meeting at the barracks. Anyone who's seriously interested about being a reserve member is included in this too. I'll have a free-for-all log up later where the team can interact with each other for the first time, though that can also be assumed if you have no time to tag.]

Comments

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[You're a bastard, Nara Shikamaru, making her figure out how to start this.]

They messed with my mind. Again.

[She's a ninja. Trained to figure out and combat deceit. And she just. keeps. falling for it.]

[endgames]

[The way he sees it, it was only fair. You're the one who wanted to do this.

...though her answer makes him quiet for another reason entirely. Much as he doesn't know where they stand right now, he's sorry she had to have that happen to her again.]

Seems to be a favorite tactic of theirs. Not just for you, either.

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Well. They can go hang.

[endgames]

[Snort.] I'm sure you're not the only one who feels that way, either.

...long story short, I think we can agree that we were both manipulated into doing things we wouldn't normally do, right?

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[She nods, and then there's silence for a moment.]

That's the thing, though, isn't it? How often have we trained against that very thing?

[Please don't think less of me for falling for it so many times.]

[endgames]

[It starts out as an excuse, but even so he can rationalize it; can see how it was just a battle they couldn't win.]

Tch. Most of our lives, I'll admit that. But even back home there were people that could do the same thing. We just didn't have to deal with them like this. We can't hold that against us.

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[Her answer is a short, bitter laugh. Oh, she can hold it against herself pretty well. And, yes. She knows how illogical that is. Shut up.]

Would you sit down? You're making me want to pace.

[endgames]

[He can't tell if she's laughing at herself or at him. Tradition would normally indicate him - he wouldn't be surprised - but she's usually make it more obvious.

He frowns, but nods, flopping himself down on the other end of the couch.]

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[And suddenly she wants to throw something across the room. Damn you, Malnosso. Damn you and damn all your experiments.]

They made me so... happy.

[Bastards.]

[endgames]

[He actually can't help but laugh at that, even if it isn't amusing at all. He agrees.] And somehow that's the crueler thing.

[He picks at the fabric of his pants, not meeting her eyes. A little more solemnly he adds:] I've never liked a girl that way before.

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[Temari snorted. Yeah, he was right about that. That she could be manipulated into such happiness was more than she even wanted to think about.]

I think we can safely say that this was definitely a first in a lot of ways.

[endgames]

[He really shouldn't have admitted that. Thankfully, she didn't quite seem to catch onto the meaning.]

So we can agree on that, and that the Malnosso are assholes. [He counts the two points off his fingers.] So what about the rest of it?

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

Which rest of it?

[endgames]

The part where we talk about you and me. Somehow I figure you wouldn't have been so adamant about doing this if we were just going to bitch about the Malnosso.

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[Silence, and then simple honesty.]

... I wouldn't know where to start.

[endgames]

Kinda why I figured it would be less troublesome to avoid the subject all together. [He can't help it. It would've been easier to pretend it never happened. 8|

Even so, he can still understand why it has to be done.] But if we're doing this, we gotta start somewhere. I guess the first thing to ask is if this is going to be a problem when we have to work together.

1/2

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[It slips out before she really catches it; one day, she'll discover that a brain-mouth filter is a good thing to have.] That's why you were avoiding me. [Or part of it, at least. Nara Shikamaru, you have no idea how relieved she is to hear that.

... She's still pissed at him for avoiding her, though.]

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[And, just like that, she pulls herself together. He's not off the hook. Nowhere near it, but she feels a little better.]

Only if you start slacking off while you're reminiscing about the good times.

[endgames]

[...

Yeah, looking away again. He's a coward and he knows it, but he wishes he had better reasons for it.

He's quick to react though.] Tch. Don't worry. If I start to feel my mind wandering, I'll just remind myself about how much I hate waiting for the Malnosso to fix the walls in my apartment.

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[Oh. Right. The damned wall.]

Eh. Speaking of... sorry about that. [And by that, she means all of it.]

[endgames]

It's fine. For what it's worth, I'm sorry too.

[There's a small grin.] Hard to imagine either one of us would've acted that differently under normal circumstances.

[...minus that last part of the experiment.]

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

Heh.

[Pause.] Just makes me wish we were beating Malnosso ass out there instead of this Third Party.

[endgames]

If pretending they are makes you feel any better, I'd say go for it. We're encouraging complete and total destruction on this one, after all.

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

[Silence for a moment.] This feels wrong.

[endgames]

Which part?