endgames | 022 -- [Action || Voice]

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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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Mm. [He figured. And he's relieved to know that too (if it's true).]

How do you want to discuss it?

[That Itachi came to him would indicate that much. They usually do these things off journals, though, so 'how' is as good as saying 'where'.]

In private.

I remain in my apartment, where I can keep my chakra use limited and have it easily lost among others.

Should you wish to come up here, I will have tea.

I'll be there in thirty.

I will be waiting.

[Almost thirty minutes on the dot, Shikamaru will be knocking at the door, standing just to the side of it. He's alone - for now.]

[Itachi will open the door casually, letting him in. The smell of green tea wafts out from the sitting room.

He will say nothing until they're inside.]

[Shikamaru nods his greeting, scanning the room once as he enters and choosing to remain standing for now.]

Leaving here's not a problem for you, is it? When you need to.

[Because if Itachi keeps planning on drinking that tea, he'd have to at some point. He has no doubt a ninja of his caliber could become all but a ghost passing through the town, but his answer should be indicative of some things.]

[He nods, walking over to a chair and taking a seat despite Shikamaru's choice not to.]

I can, though I prefer to avoid it when possible for now.

There's no chance he won't eventually discover I'm here, but the longer I can keep that from happening, the better.

Agreed.

The rest of us [clearly indicating his friends here] all know he's really Uchiha Madara. We've decided to play it as if we have no knowledge of the fact, however, pretending to know him only as a recruit of the Akatsuki.

Good. That is the best course of action.

Although, that is something we may not be able to keep from him indefinitely either.

Or even for a little while. I have some concerns about... [A pause, and then.] But let's hold on that. Someone else is gonna want to voice his opinion on that.

[He hasn't heard him in the hallway yet, but Shikamaru told him to keep behind by a few minutes anyhow.]

Oh?

[Itachi raises a brow, but doesn't seem all that surprised.]

[Hope you weren't entirely comfortable in that seat, Itachi. Because Naruto is about to show his face by finally knocking the door to the apartment, trying to keep a little cool while he does. He doesn't call out or anything like he normally would, which is only proof that he's serious about this whole ordeal.

This is one hell of a huge discussion that he's about to get thrown into. Hopefully he didn't keep Shikamaru waiting. Or was too early.]

Heh. He's always had a good sense of timing.

[Shikamaru's technically closest the door, having stayed over there in anticipation of this. He'll be reaching for the knob now, unless Itachi really feels the need to get there first.]

[Itachi doesn't rise, but lifts his head and calls toward the door.]

It's open, Naruto. Feel free to join us.

[Oh. He'll just open the door at the same time as Shikamaru, completely defeating the purpose of Shikamaru opening the door. Or Naruto opening it. Doesn't matter, he's coming inside.]

Hey, thanks. I miss anythin' important?

[Well FINE then, he hates moving anyways. He brings his hand back just in time to avoid getting knocked. Semi-annoyed look.]

Nothing I haven't already explained to you before.

I shouldn't need to ask if you were followed, or if you saw anyone suspicious on your way up.

[He gestures toward the other seats. He's not getting up any time soon.]

[Naruto takes that gesture with a nod, moving to sit down as casually as possible.]

Not a soul. [...] So... [He's looking at you, Shikamaru.]

[Nod. Right.]

Like I was explaining to Itachi, the longer we can go without Madara catching on to what we know about him, the better. [Pointed glance at Naruto.] But there's someone here who wouldn't think twice about cluing him in.

Should he find him, of course, that's the least of our problems.

[You guys aren't dumb, he knows you know who he's talking about.]

Yes. Have either of you seen my brother lately?

[The subject makes Itachi look suddenly tired. He hasn't spoken with Sasuke in some time.]

[Mention of Sasuke brings Naruto's mood right down, him averting his eyes from either of the two men and planting it right on the floor.]

No, not even a bit. I barely managed to get him to speak to me before he closed the journal on me.

[Looking at these two, Shikamaru can't help but feel disturbed - a familiar emotion when it comes to Sasuke. How can one man effect people so strongly, in so many ways?

Even he's not as immune as he'd like to be... especially given what Naruto told him earlier today. He keeps reigning in that anger.]

He was in the village that day. We had a brief encounter, and I didn't get far in tailing him.

Edited (because apparently Naruto's confessing about horrible things in another thread, sob) 2012-03-18 22:32 (UTC)

So he's still around.

[It's a little depressing that he can't always be certain in this place.]

I'm afraid there will be little I can do to keep them from convening at this point.

[Here comes Captain Obvious, spelling out a pretty bad idea that would spill suspicion all over the place. It's just the obvious solution to Naruto, even if messy and bad overall.]

Can't you just shoot him a message over the journal?

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