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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And what he's willing to do, if he is.

What did you want him to do, if he went and agreed?

Whatever might be necessary. [Vague, he knows.] I'm not set on anything yet, not until we hear what he has to say. Even if he's on board, we're limited in how much we can let the others in on it.

[Unless Itachi's changed his mind and is suddenly cool with everyone knowing how the Uchiha massacre really went down.]

[Naruto nods, agreeing with Shikamaru. It's gonna be tough trying to lay low about Itachi's situation if he gets involved with the ordeal with Madara. This is beginning to get so complicated.]

Then we'd better get to askin' him as soon as possible! Before that meetin', right?

That's the plan. [At this point, he's kind of worried about trying to track him down. But as luck would have it, Itachi will be contacting them.]

Either way, we need to all get on the same page about what we know. At the very least, you and me do. [There's a pause, and his shoulders sag, dropping the soldier stiffness.] That's why I'm here.

[Better now than never to spill the beans as much as possible. Withholding information right now could only lead to disaster, and he knows Shikamaru and he should be on the same page. Naruto nods in agreement, give a look of determination.]

Right. What'dya need to know?

Let's start with what I need to tell you.

[It's a peace offering. Naruto doesn't need it - he's the last person who'd need it, because he just offers everything of himself anyways, no questions asked.

But if they're in this together, they're doing this as friends first. As a shinobi, Shikamaru can hide the truth if he needs to, but it's too troublesome to be like that with a comrade. Not on this level.]

You remember the mission you were sent on, after the announcement of the war?

Yeah. [Where is this going? Is it going to where Naruto has a hunch it's going? His hunches are usually either right or wrong. Wait what.] I was doing some stuff with animals and even got some real good training in.

Why?

[Shikamaru scoots from the door frame a little now, coming closer into the room.]

It was a cover. Your mission was really an excuse to keep the remaining jinchuuriki from the battle when the war begins, and out of Madara's hands.

[Naruto moves forward, clearly shocked by the revelation. A cover to keep him out of Madara's hands during the war!?]

Are you serious!? [Of course. It's Shikamaru.] No! That's not right!

It's not, but look at it from their perspective. [Note 'their', not 'our'.] Is it any better? Having you on the frontlines with the rest of us would've been like handing you over gift-wrapped.

I don't care! I wouldn't hand myself over like that! [He's getting really worked up here, beginning to stand on his bed.] I have my reasons to go fightin' too, and they're just as good as any!

Which is why when you and me finally get back out there, I expect it won't be long before you find out and we end up seeing you anyways.

[Aggravated HUFF.] Better be! There's no way in hell I'm lettin' you guys fight a war while I play stack-'em-up.

[...is that really what he's doing.]

It's not all for nothing, Naruto. Might even be for the best, if you're learning what you said you were.

[He'll be a lot stronger when the time comes. If Madara wants him, and if for some reason they absolutely can't stop him - he tries to ignore how scary he find that - knowing he has to beat Naruto first is a relief.]

[Yes. Yes it is. And it's the most intense block stacking.]

I don't care! I already told you, there's no way in hell I'm lettin' you all do that!

[AND THAT'S THAT.]

Did it sound like I was arguing? I know you'll be out there.

[It's only a matter of time, really. Soon as Naruto finds out, no one will be able to stop him.]

... O-Oh. [AWKWARD COUGH.] Yeah, then that's good! We're on the same page with that.

[Naruto still looks visibly upset from learning this. He thought the training was a side thing he was getting in during his mission, and now he knows it was just biding his time until this war was supposed to end. It's not sitting well with him, even with Shikamaru acknowledging that he was gonna probably end up joining anyway.]

That all?

Heh. [Same old Naruto. Always opening his mouth without thinking.]

Yeah, that's it for me. I haven't been keeping anything else from you.

[Your turn, if you have something.]

[Naruto blinks, trying to consider what things that Shikamaru doesn't already know that might be important for him to know. The war confession was a big thing to tell Naruto, and it's something he wasn't supposed to know. Kankurou's earlier arrival to Luceti was suspicious back then, but with this knowledge, it's obvious that he was supposed to be kept in the dark about the whole ordeal.

And Shikamaru doesn't disobey orders because it was a habit. That's trust.]

... Uh, this is kinda... [Naruto just about sits back down on his bed, contemplating how to say this. It's a big thing to say, but if Shikamaru trusted him enough to spill the beans about the war, Naruto has to return that trust.] It's pretty big.

[Shikamaru's eyes narrow. How big whatever Naruto has to say is he hasn't caught onto in full, but something is already tipping him off. Naruto's just not a hesitant person, in anything it does.

He waits for Naruto to continue, and when he doesn't right away he presses. Encouraging. Assuredly.] Go on.

[After what he learned about Itachi, he doesn't think there's not a lot that can rock him. But he's getting the impression that whatever it is is personal for Naruto.]

Well... [Naruto sighs a bit, scratching at the side of his head. It doesn't feel good, coming back up to this subject after he had it buried away for so long. It's something that was Luceti-specific, and figured it didn't mean anything towards back home. Even if he secretly knew, but it also gave him the reasoning to try and fight against it.

Shikamaru probably wasn't going to have the same reaction.] Sasuke, he uh...

[He takes a quick deep breath. Just gotta say it fast and get it over with. This isn't exactly something he's told anyone for a long while. This isn't easy in the least bit. Please don't bite him in the ass.

His expression turns serious instead of hesitant in the instant he speaks.] I got killed in Luceti before.

[Sasuke, huh?

In the instant Naruto is resolving himself, Shikamaru is sticking his hands in his pockets, settling himself as he expects this could turn into a different kind of talk. And then--

"I got killed in Luceti before."]

[And then everything breaks.

His head snaps up as if struck, eyes wide. He's utterly still and silent aside from that.]

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