medicalpunch | 1st Punch

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1st Punch

[Action: Where the rivers meet in the village]

[Sakura's arrival in Luceti comes with a short, bitten-off yell of surprise and a splash as she drops into the icy water. The white-clad figure vanishes underwater, then reappears, struggling, fighting to surface long enough to catch her breath. It's shockingly cold, iced over in places -- although thankfully not where she fell -- and even if she knows nothing else yet, she knows she must get out of the water.]

[Flailing, gasping, reeling in shock from the sudden cold, it's extremely difficult for her to get atop the water as a ninja would normally go -- but she's too cold to swim properly, she knows that all too well, and with the ice besides, she has no other choice.]

[She's proud of her own strength and control, and she makes herself display it now, pushing up out of the water and working her way until she is balanced by chakra on the surface.]

[Now, though, she's exposed to the bitter air, soaking wet, with nothing but a thin, backless white dress to cover her. And she's freezing.]

[She makes her way toward the shore, where there's a journal waiting for her. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a warm blanket or anything like one. Just the journal, with her name on it, and a biting chill to the air.]

[Video]

[Sakura's hair is is still damp when her face appears on the journals. She's managed to get dry and warmed up -- and much more warmly dressed than when she arrived -- but she looks disoriented, worried, and worn.]

I don't know what this place is, where it is, why it is. I'm not sure I even want to speculate. But if there's anyone... familiar out there, anyone who knows me -- I'm here.

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[Shounen speeches are effort, she wouldn't expect one out of Shikamaru. Just about anyone else from home, perhaps, but not him.]

Terrible at jokes, I'll grant you that. He's still getting one to the face when I see him.

[Unless Masaomi finds a really good way to mollify her, of course. She's a reasonable lady. Just her master's student.]

[Shikamaru's are the exposition sort.]

I'll let him know to expect it. I'm sure he said something to earn it...

[With a short sigh, like it's routine by now. Masaomi's likely still in one of those moods, he figures.]

He's a thug, and like most thugs he can be a real asshole. He strives to have the image of a ladies' man, but more often comes off as a weirdo. Not very many people like him.

Edited 2013-01-17 19:54 (UTC)

Well, so long as I know what I'm dealing with.

[Her tone lightens. She can handle thugs. As long as Shikamaru's not going to tell her this is his new best friend and she needs to play nice, everything is cool.]

Now that that's settled... What do I need to know, most importantly, about this place or the people in it?

[If there's anyone who can answer that question with decent scope and accuracy, it's Shikamaru.]

[He doesn't expect her to play nice, but his own interactions with Masaomi will betray later on that he actually thinks very fondly of him. He's not his best friend, but he's one of them. Even if he gives him more headaches than most.

He can be more than a loser, when he puts his mind to it and when people give him the chance. Shikamaru's seen it, and doesn't point it out to others because he wants them to see it. And more than that, he wants Masaomi to earn it for himself.]

Hm... a lot of that's best discussed in person. [Subtle hint as to the nature of the journals.] When I get out of the clinic, I'll meet with you.

[And we can fast-forward to that, should you like.]

Is the clinic itself not a good place to talk? [Because she's willing to just go find him right now, if it's not a problem. She needs to hear this, and the sooner she's oriented and knows what's going on, the better, so far as she's concerned.]

Edited 2013-01-21 16:03 (UTC)

[He's never been hugely comfortable with it, though in the past month he hasn't had much choice...]

It's not the best place for private discussions, though I've gotten used to it. I figured you'd want to use your time to get the rest of your things and settle.

[Since that's time-consuming.]

You'll be out soon, then? [Getting settled and locating what of her possessions wound up here shouldn't take that long, all things considered...]

Two days, like I said.

[That feels soon, for how long he's waited.]

Mm. If you'd like to put things off that long...

[Quietly, she's itching to have a look at him, to see for herself that everything's been done right, but to ask for it would be an implication about Ino's medical skills, which Sakura's not really keen on doing. If Shikamaru requests her assistance, she'll give it, but otherwise, she'll trust Ino, as well as this other doctor.]

I'll see you when you're out, then.

[And when he's on the way back to his apartment, she'll be waiting for him by the community house door.]

[To his credit, he was assuming the others would fill her on things. She has Ino, who's been here for over a year, and he knows Lee in particular would trip over himself to abswer any of her questions.

Until he makes it back to the building and sees her waiting there that he considers maybe she had very specific questions. And he feels a little bad about making her wait, but at least this way she's at least settled.]

Yo. Sakura.

[If she's being astute, she'll see he's a good two or more inches taller than last he was back home. He's also a little thinner, having lost weight and some muscle mass in the hospital stay.

Still, he stops a few feet away with her with a short grin. It's good to see people from home, even if he wishes not so many would be stuck here.]

[Considering she'd just been seeing him before she was brought here, yes, the difference is notable.]

[And it's a pang to see him; she's been doing her best to act normally around Ino, to think only in the moment, to react to Ino's teasing. Ino's complete lack of curiosity about the war has helped. But she doesn't imagine Shikamaru will be that incurious, and she's going to have to work harder to hide the truth from him...]

Shikamaru.

[A hesitation. And then, quietly,]

You've grown.

Aa...

[He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, smile dropping as he dismisses a more teasing comment. "Maybe you've just shrunk."

She doesn't look like she's in the mood. Most people who first come to Luceti aren't, but there's a more somber mood to her even aside from that.]

It's... been a while.

[He'll hold the door open for her.]

[Yeah, leaving off the cracks about her height is a good plan. She's already tiny!]

That you've been here.

[Not a question, just... a little confirmation, mostly to herself. If Shikamaru, the genius, now the sixteen-year-old strategist for the entire shinobi alliance, hasn't been able to figure out a way out of this...]

[She accepts the open door with a small nod.]

It's an adjustment to make. All of it.

[He's nearing nineteen, biologically. He's been here over two years, and still he can't help but think that Naruto was here longer than that.

But he's gone now too.]

Just think of it as that, no matter how long you're here for. I might be used to this place, but I don't plan to live my life here. It's a temporary residence, until we can carry out that mission.

[That mission, yes. She nods grimly, studying him as he steps in after her.]

It's difficult. [Unspoken, that she understands what he's saying.]

I'll do what I can, though.

That'll be more than enough.

[Sakura's long since grown beyond that girl he and the others left at the gate, when they went after Sasuke. She can accomplish that and then some.]

So where are you staying? We can talk there.

[He's really eager to go to his own apartment - he misses his cat of all things - but he's not sure if Masaomi's there or not, so it's probably best to go with her place.]

I hope so.

[But there are so many times when it isn't.]

I'm staying in the same building as everyone else, apartment 19.

Aa. You'll be across the hall then.

[Same room as before. He makes a beeline towards the elevator.]

[She follows him and peers into the elevator with a raised eyebrow.]

... Did Lee pick the paint?

[It's a freight elevator, so there's tons of room by the way. And also an armchair in the corner that's quite comfy.]

Ha. It just showed up one day, paint and all.

[Says the person who totally picked it.]

[That's a very nice looking armchair 8|a]

Just... showed up? If I look somewhere on it, am I going to find wings?

Heheh, okay not like that. [He smirks and hits the button for the fourth floor.] But building modifications happen sometimes. New stories will be added; that sort of thing. This is the only apartment complex you'll find with an elevator, though.

[Well, that's a relief.]

Lucky for us, then. And for you.

[Because of course the building Shikamaru lives in would get the lazy box. Though she won't mind not climbing three flights of stairs a day.]

Very.

[He

sorta bought it]

[And isn't telling her that. Because reasons?]

[But now she'll shift and look for a new conversation topic.]

Is there any kind of a need for medics here? I'd like to be useful, if I must be stuck.

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