voice ]

[blondejokes]

There had better be a good reason why I'm fighting- [ A grunt is followed by the sound of flesh being punctured. ]- against these blood-thirsty... things and why I'm not in Konoha.

[ Ino is not very happy. Or informed, actually, because she left as soon as she came to. ]

Comments

[blondejokes]

[ A sound of rustling and feet running across pavement. ]

Only one. But wouldn't it attract more of them if I set it off?

[underachiever]

It'll stun them. Set it off and head for the tallest building closest to you. There's no point in fighting these things. They'll just keep coming, so retreat.

I'll meet you there.

[blondejokes]

You got it. Don't make me wait, Shikamaru.

[ She can't remember the last time she felt this exhausted and sore, but she fights through it and distracts the monsters and gets away. One last push of chakra and she's atop a tall building, kneeling and panting hard. Never one to vomit, she resists the urge to throw up. What the hell was this place, and why was that stupid thing on her wrist beeping so damn loud? ]

[underachiever]

[He doesn't make her wait. It only takes him a couple of minutes to arrive, running the whole way as a ninja does. He lands on the rooftop a few feet away from her and sweeps the area for any flying monsters. Nothing yet, but that probably won't last long.]

Let's get inside.

[He doesn't wait. No point in chatting out here in the pitch dark. The roof entrance is locked but it takes him all of two seconds to pick before he opens the door for her.

It's only once the fluorescent light of the stairwell hits him that it becomes apparent how different he looks: early twenties now, no more ponytail, and civilian clothes.]

[blondejokes]

[ Ino is silent, trying to process this. Genjutsu is the first thing that comes to mind. She tries to dispel it, but the small amount of chakra she uses won't do anything, she knows. And it doesn't, but her trying to dispel it tells her something shocking- it isn't a genjutsu at all. Or, if it is, not one she is able to detect. ]

Shikamaru? Is- what happened to you? [ She had expected the teammate she had only seen a few hours ago when the rest if them had gotten together to discuss Sasuke. Not a completely different Shikamaru. ]

[underachiever]

Four years and a lot of travel.

[Plus - you know - prison, slavery, drug addiction... Another story for another day. He makes sure the door is sealed up behind them so the Darkness doesn't leak in. Then he starts down the stairs. He doesn't really look at her. At all.]

[blondejokes]

...Four years? But- have I been gone for four years? [ ugh this hurts her head ]

This isn't Konoha, is it?

[underachiever]

This is Siren's Port, Canada. Konoha's a few universes away. You've been here before, but it's common for people to forget.

[He glances at her now, just to see what state she's in. She looks to be about the same age as last time.]

I'm the one who's been gone for four years. The last thing I remember from Konoha is watching it get wiped off the map.

[blondejokes]

Konoha's...gone? Are you sure?

And you- I just saw you. You haven't been gone for four years. [ It'd be nice to wake up from this nightmare now. ]

[underachiever]

I'm not sure of anything. My memory's been rewritten at least twice and there's a good probability I'm from an alternate dimension or that I'm a clone.

To put it simply: I'm not the Shikamaru you know.

[blondejokes]

That's not simple at all! What do you mean you aren't the Shikamaru I know? And different memories? What is the deal with this place?

Wait- a clone? Like a Kage Bunshin? [ Her mind is going to implode soon.

She blinked and leaned against the wall, putting her palms up to her eyes. Even breathing would slow her thoughts down, right? ]

First Sasuke, now this...

[underachiever]

[He wants to ask what about Sasuke but he very firmly reminds himself he doesn't care. About Sasuke. Or any of them. Or their stupid war.

He stops on the landing and looks back at her.]

You're not gonna pass out, are you?

[blondejokes]

[ She shakes her head - huge mistake - and looks at him. Confusion and exhaustion are all she feels right now. And maybe a little heartbreak that she just missed out on four years of her teammate's life, which may or may not have been spent in this hell. Her mind was still trying to process this information given to her and rationalize it. Shikamaru wouldn't go through the hassle of playing a huge joke on her like this.

Clones, travel between universes, possible time travel on one of their parts, and suddenly being relocated to a hostile environment. If she'd known this was going to happen to her, she would've packed more weapons. ]

Not after I catch my breath.

Is anybody else here? Chouji, Sakura, Naruto? You haven't been alone for four years, right?

[underachiever]

[He doesn't quite know how to answer that question. Not definitively, anyway. He looks at the wall like it's a cheat sheet. What's the best way to phrase, "They're probably all dead"?]



I haven't been alone the whole time. But they're gone now.

[blondejokes]

Dead or back in Konoha? Or in some other weird universe?

[underachiever]

Dunno.

[blondejokes]

You're the genius, Shikamaru. You should know these things. [ well she's feeling marginally better now that her attitude is back. She moves slowly over to him. ]

But since you're here still, there isn't a way to get back to Konoha, is there?

[underachiever]

[He gives an uncomfortable shrug of his shoulders at being called a genius.]

You might get pulled back by accident, but there's no way to leave here intentionally.

[blondejokes]

Why not? Is it some kind of jutsu?

[underachiever]

More like a malfunctioning piece of machinery. It's supposedly accidental to begin with, getting pulled here. Of course, that's just one of several stories people'll tell you about the Core.

[blondejokes]

The Core? [ Scowl central over here. ]

If its malfunctioning, why doesn't somebody fix it? Even just getting rid of it would be safer than allowing it to keep doing what it's doing.

[underachiever]

There's the problem. Half the people here think it should be fixed and the other half think it should be destroyed. They're practically at war over it, and in the meantime, no one can go near it.

[blondejokes]

Four years and they still haven't decided on something? Isn't there somebody in charge here that can just make the decision for everybody? Fighting over it won't do anything.

[underachiever]

The government here is a joke. Both factions have to go down. But people here aren't used to fighting and they're scared to take action.

[blondejokes]

So they're fine staying with whatever's going on outside to avoid conflict. Cowards.

[ She paused. ] What are those things out there?