[With Naruto MIA (and if he's being experimented on, he hopes his pal fries the Rogues good in the process), Shikamaru can't afford to cut out at the convenience store, much as he wants to. He takes the morning shift, debating whether he should look into hiring more people again, before finding his journal returned to him halfway in.

Yeah, returned. Don't ask. ...it got eaten, okay. Don't ask.

Later in the day, when he's off, he decides to mark the occasion.]

[Voice]

Congratulations, Luceti. As of today, it's been a year since TERRACE, and so a year since this village's seen a draft. They've been happening less and less frequently, but that's a record even for us. [Which is a good thing, if you can't tell from how pleased he sounds.]

Speaking about misconceptions... Let's play a game. Pretend I'm a New Feather here, freshly arrived and working on the half-naked problem. A couple dozen people have explained the thing about the wings, don't worry, but I still have no idea how I got here, or where 'here' is.

How do you explain the situation? What's the first thing you tell me about the world, or the Malnosso? If you don't feel comfortable saying it on the journals, you can find me at the playground if you want to say it in person. Any of you who've been here for less than two years, I'd be interested in your response especially.

[/end]

[True to his word, Shikamaru will be at the playground all afternoon, hogging the roundabout while school's still in session and begrudgingly giving it up when the kids are out for a spot in the sand. He'll have his journal and a separate notepad with him, scribbling in both.

When the sun goes down, he'll hang out for a little while longer for latecomers before calling it a day and going to the bar. He has no intention of getting sloshed, but he'll stick around long enough to have some fun and knock back more than a few.]

[Video]

[The feed kicks on to a counter in the convenience store, height adjusting a split second after as if the person holding the journal realized he needs to hold it higher if anyone is going to see what's on the counter.

Correction made, the journal reveals a SLURPEE MACHINE, clean and ready to go with cups stacked to the side. The labels of the four flavors it offers are clearly displayed, from left to right: Mountain Dew, Blue Raspberry, Orange, and Dr. Pepper.

After holding it there for a good thirty seconds, Shikamaru turns his journal back to himself, straight-faced as he checks to make sure he got all the important bits shown. When it's confirmed, he focuses back on the feed itself with a grin.]

You're welcome.

[/end video]

( Action for the convenience store, and later the bar )

[A ninja walks into the bar.

Okay, that's getting ahead of the story. Let's backtrack then. Not too far. Everything he's been through in the past two weeks doesn't need to be said. At least, this isn't the place for it. What's important to mention is that on March 27, Nara Shikamaru left Luceti, gone back to home and to war. He returned on the same day and got thrown into another, and coming back to day-to-day life in this village after has felt almost unreal.

It's been nearly two weeks, but it wasn't until today that any of it definitively sunk in. All of the deaths. Everything they've lost - that he's lost. That the fighting is over, even if the war isn't.

You wouldn't think moving on with your life would be the scariest thing about that.]

[Voice]

Yo. [The greeting comes after he's gotten a grip on himself, so lackadaisical you wouldn't know the difference.] Some of you might've noticed that old pizza place was being remodeled. It's taking longer than I thought, but I've been working on turning it into a convenience store since November. It can probably open soon.

I'm gonna stock it with the basics. Milk, bread... staples like that for when no one wants to walk all the way to the grocery. So what snacks and drinks do you guys want? I'm not going to the trouble of getting things it turns out no one likes. That way, they'll just sit on the shelf to collect grease and dust. That's gross.

[He waves lazily, like he gave up on the motion halfway through, and reaches over to switch the feed.] Lemme know.

( [Filtered to Trafalgar Law || Unhackable] )

( Several hours later, a ninja walks into a bar. )

( Next Day Action for CH1 )