endgames | 022 -- [Action || Voice]

[Filtered to Konoha Shinobi and Temari || 100% Unhackable]

Meeting tonight, at sundown. [What about goes without saying - most of them should know already.] Fourth floor's kitchen. Try not to pull a Kakashi.

[And thus starts off the long to-do-list of Shikamaru's day. The filter goes up in the morning, giving - hopefully - everyone time to see it.

He's decided he needs to talk to Naruto before then. On his way out the building he'll stop by his apartment, or send another filter off to him if he's not around. With everything going on he would be surprised. After he's tracked him down, it's off to the other side of the village to find Tony Stark at his casa, to hand over a project he's been working on for the last several nights. Playing delivery boy again, ugh. No notice this time, though. He's acting like a functional human being again, but he's not up for the sarcastic banter. Once he's done there, it's over to the school to find Katara in the thirty minute window he has after classes let out. Apologies are an order.

Specific things attended to... wow, without Masaomi around this week, he has a lot of time on his hands, huh. Well okay. He goes off to the forest with a bag of coconuts of all things and lines them up at head level when he finds a good spot to sit them for tanto practice - or more precisely: strength training. He's never used his short sword much. The one time he did, he wasn't strong enough with it to do as he intended, so he should work on that now.

And okay, surely by then the sun will be going down... or okay, nope. With a few hours to kill, somehow he winds up at the Seventh Heaven restaurant. In part because he figures it could be a good place to drop off some of the coconuts, and also because he realizes on the way over he hasn't actually eaten yet. Or done much of anything this past week, besides getting Asuma up to speed about Luceti, or working on various projects.

Sooo. Might be nodding off there at the restaurant. Might be napping after he eats, if he doesn't get kicked out for it. SITTING DOWN WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA. Fine, he'll pose a random pointless question to the masses, maybe that'll keep him occupied.]

[Voice]

Wonder why they call this place Luceti. Seems like a dumb name. Does it even mean anything?

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[She gives him a bit of a strange look.]

You don't have to thank me for that

[Since you're her friend too.]

I know. But I want to.

[Heh.]

I consider myself thanked.

[Thank you.]

[There. That was the hard part. He smiles, a little more genuinely, before blinking as if remembering something.]

Oh, right. I brought your blanket too. [He reaches to flick the latch of one of his vest's front, slender pockets with his thumb, and a scroll comes sliding out.] Cleaned it. If you don't have time to stop by your house, I can run it over for you.

[She looked at the scroll askance.]

You brought my blanket and you put it in there. How am I supposed to get it out?

I kinda planned on opening it.

And giving me a blanket to carry around for the rest of the day?

That's why I said I could take it, if you don't have time to drop it off yourself.

You know I don't. [It was your back-up plan for a quick escape, surely. In case she started asking questions again. Which she was about to.]

So is everything all right? Are you okay?

[Actually, this time no. He was busy all throughout the morning, and by the time she gets back from the clinic, he'll be in a meeting with his friends. And about ready to get some much needed rest. Without having Masaomi around to train this week, he plans to sleep until noon.

This was the only time he had for his apology, and he didn't want to put it off any longer.

This week has been very troublesome...]

Eh... Things could be better, but I'm managing.

[He has no choice, really. With Madara here, he has to have his head in the game. He measures his words carefully.]

...some troublesome things have come up. I can't talk about it to you right now, because I need to speak with the rest of my comrades first. But I'll let you know soon.

[She stops and turns to him frowning.]

You mean some troublesome things besides the troublesome thing that I tried to talk to you about before.

[It's a question, but it sounds more like she's looking for confirmation.]

Yeah.

[Much more troublesome.]

Oh. [She frowns and wants to press but - doesn't.

So she holds out her hand.]

Why don't you give me the blanket for now. You can take it out of the scroll when you talk to me later, and it will be one less thing for you to carry around.

[Simple confidence, that he'll come talk to her later.]

Fair enough.

[He will. So he doesn't even think twice about the implications of that, he just hands over the scroll.]

Until then... [His eyebrows furrow. Should he even say this now? Too late, go through with it.] I'm gonna describe someone, and if you see him before I can explain things, I want you to avoid him.

[Her eyes go wide and then she sighs and lowers her voice.]

Another Uchiha?

[Seriously, for a clan that was supposedly wiped out, they sure have caused the majority of the trouble she's heard about from Shikamaru's world.]

[...your guesses, Katara.]

He calls himself Tobi.

[He is an Uchiha, but that's not something he wants to broadcast he and his friends know for now.]

Just Tobi.

[...that is not a "no" and that is not a "yes," what the heck, Shikamaru.]

...okay. And what does he look like?

[Based off of what he saw in the journals, and the vaguest reports nearly two years old in his memory... Nothing changes in his tone, but his eyes go flat as if he can see them clear enough to turn the pages.]

Dark hair. Short crop, and spiked. About my height, and average build. He may or may not be wearing a cloak: one that's black, with red clouds.

He'll be wearing a mask that covers his entire face. [That much is certain, though kind of an oddity.] It's orange with a swirl pattern, and covers everything with the exception of his right eye.

[Katara takes in those details and nods.]

All right. I'll avoid him.

[And again, very simply.]

[He mimics the nod, posture loosening. All he needed to hear.]

I'll tell you more later on. [Headscratch.] That's all I needed to say.

And we're nearly halfway there. [A small smile.] Go get some rest, Shikamaru. You look like you need it.

Right.

[Only no time for that today. He smiles anyways.

...and out of nowhere, quickly catches her in a hug with both arms. He releases her just as quickly, already side-stepping away with a wave.]

Take it easy on the training.

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endgames - 2012-03-19 02:53 (UTC) - Expand

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