[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.]

[Today is an understated awesome day, ladies and gentleman. To everyone? Okay, maybe not. But Shikamaru sure is pleased as punch. After a month's stay in the Battle Dome clinic recoveries from the injuries he got in his fight with Hidan, Shikamaru's finally cleared to check out today.

Before he gets the all-clear, he can be found in - brace yourselves - one of the Dome's simulation rooms. He's actually been using them for the past week for his physical therapy. If he's going to be doing a lot of walking, might as well change up the scenery.

Namely, he's replicated parts of the Nara Clan's forest. At its opening, the sky is more open, but the further in you go the thicker the trees grow together. Wandering will reveal easter eggs - old statues, broken and ruined, or a path of moss-covered stone lanterns. Maybe a young deer if you're lucky.

Other parts of the forest seem to be swallowed by shadow completely, offering nothing but pitch black that no amount of light will ease and the sense you're being watched if you step into them.

He'll try and clear up some stuff with Law before he goes, but after that he hits the journal.]

[Voice]

For those of you who saw that Vaskoth place... I figure it's been long enough. Name something you liked about it, if you can recall.

( [Filtered to Molly (NPC) || 100% Unhackable] )

[Feels like forever since he's been back in the swing of things. Shikamaru can be found at CH1 of course, in or around his apartment. Throughout the days following, he'll also be at the place formerly known as Azzip's, getting back to turning it into a convenience store.]

If I see another mountain again, it'll be too soon. Did any of you know that sirry means "ridiculous"? [He snorts.] Explains a lot. Avalanches. Yetis. More freaking snow. Man, that mission was a pain...

[/whine and complain]

Anyways. I'm back. [Technically has been for two days albeit not in town, so he'll make it official.] Anything interesting hap- [His disinterested tone gives way to irritation as he turns his attention to something off-screen.] Oi that's not for you-

[The journal snaps shut with a sigh. He never finishes speaking, but about an hour later the post is transcribed... minus the interruption, and now with complete sentences.

If you're out today now that the heavy rain of the few days is finally letting up, you might spot Shikamaru coming back into the village from the North... closely followed by a deer much larger than Luceti's usual fare ((think five feet at the shoulders, six at the head, and eight feet with antlers)). The stag seems pretty content to follow him around - even into town or just standing around when he sits - despite sticking to the tree-lined paths when he can. Shikamaru talks to him sometimes.

Yes, talks, shut up.]

( Filtered to Konoha Shinobi and Temari || 100% Unhackable )

[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? 

How often have you run into people in Luceti that you personally knew already, back where you're from?

[It's something he's been wondering about idly these past few days. In the last week, five people have shown up from his world. Most of the people here now he's met face-to-face - hell, went to school with - back home, sans Itachi. And he'd at least heard of him. He knows it's not unusual for people you know to show up here, but now he's beginning to wonder how frequently it happens.

It also makes him wonder who else might show up here someday. Not just from his world.]

( Filtered to Raine Sage || 100% Unhackable )

( Filtered to Leonardo || 100% Unhackable )

[After he's finished his to-do-list for the day, Shikamaru makes his way to the Seventh Heaven for a particular game of shogi. It's only later on that he catches on to what the day is - possibly by being suspiciously informed several times B| - not that the date means much to him.

As always, though, it's a good reminder of what the day after is. And that he should get on that. How troublesome.]

( Filtered to Masaomi Kida || 100% Unhackable )

[Unless dragged off somewhere, Shikamaru's bound to be hanging around town today, looking at items like clothes and jewelry and other things he would never get for himself because why would he ever need something so stupid. 8|

Eventually, he'll wind up at Flonne's Flower Shop of Love in particular. Girls like flowers; Ino likes flowers. At least he can't go wrong there, right?]

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.]