[ Action ] .041

[markofthebrave]

((The following takes place between 11:30pm on the 19th and 4:00-5:00 am on the 20th.))

[Katara awoke with a start - another nightmare. They'd been bothering her on and off since the draft, since seeing Nami... but now that Sokka was back she'd been getting better rest, so at first she thought all she'd have to do was lay back down and fall back asleep. No such luck. She feels more awake, more alive than she's felt in weeks. Deciding to get up and get a drink of water, Katara soon discovers the reason.

The moon is full. And it looks so close. All she needs to do is close her eyes and she can feel the pulsing of her own blood... of Zuko's, of Suki's, of Toph's, and Sokka... She opens her eyes, sets down the water, and tries to go back to bed, but she's too restless to sleep, and every time she begins to rest she can feel it. The push and pull. And she's so awake.

Katara decides it's a good night for a walk. The chill of winter is still in the air, so she bundles up, grabs her waterskin and her journal, and quietly makes her way out of the house. At first she starts to head towards town, but it's too brightly lit with those electric lights and she turns about halfway towards the plaza, deciding to walk along the river instead. She doesn't mean to go all the way to nearest lake - it's supposed to just be a quick walk to clear her head. But as the full moon battles with the clouds and the air fills with the heavy promise of rain, Katara loses track of time.

Feel free to bump into her as she walks up through town, along the river, or even down by the lake if she makes it that far - housemates can also bust her upon re-entry. >> This post inspired by the fact that the moon is closer to the earth tonight than it has been since the early 90s.]

Comments

[markofthebrave]

[He can trade places with tree branches.

So she doesn't dodge, but the wonderful thing about water is that it's just so adaptable. This stops the barrage of rain, of course, as she converts some of the water in her control into a waterwhip. It would be easier to chop the thing in half, but instead she just pushes backwards.]

[endgames]

[Doesn't look as if he's switching with that branch though, and it drops harmlessly to the ground near the lake.

There's the sound of movement in the trees again though - from the right this time.]

[markofthebrave]

[Full moon or not, that kind of move can wear on a girl at nearing 3 am, and so Katara does not immediately again make with the rain.

Instead she pulls the water back and stands, ready.]

[endgames]

[There's the dull sound of kunai hitting wood, and then there's a series of pellets being launched into the air again, from the same direction as the last sound came.

It's closely followed by the sound of an explosive tag going off - at the right - and then another series of pellets come in that direction.]

[markofthebrave]

[...you know what? She's not going to block those. She's right by the water, so she is just going step back on top of it and hold herself still ready - when doesn't look like those few steps are far enough, she converts some of the water under her feet to a small board, and bends herself quickly well out of range.]

[endgames]

[No attack comes afterwards - the trees and the surrounding area are practically silent.

Of course, Shikamaru hasn't been near any of them since he used his shadows to throw the branch.]

[markofthebrave]

[No sign of him. Katara glances around, and then risks a brief look behind her. Assuming he's not waiting there to tap her on the shoulder, she starts to move closer to the shore. She's going to have to think of some way to drive him out or locate him - but what?

...besides that.

And just like that her focus slips again.]

[endgames]

[...Shikamaru would be so disappointed if he could see that distraction again, Katara. As it is, his current view doesn't offer much.

The closer Katara gets to the shore though, in the stillness, she might be able to make out the ticking of the stopwatch. Come to think of it, there should only be a few minutes left now.]

[markofthebrave]

[...well. Fine. If he's not going to go out, and he's going to keep hiding and she utterly refuses to locate him-

-even if it would be so easy and he'd probably never know-

Katara decides that she'll wait him out a different way. Arms whirling, she disappears behind a sudden maelstrom of water, forming a perfect sphere in a wide radius all around her. It suddenly solidifies into ice.

She's tempted to just take a seat. But she stands ready instead, hands by her waterskin instead. Feeling the tug of water against the ball, she bends down for a moment, and creates an ice base for it to rest on.]

[endgames]

[...Huh. This could make things difficult.

He considers using an explosive tag to get through the ice... but he doesn't quite feel like it. It wouldn't do him much good either, what with his position. It'd be wasted effort.

He still has a trump card or two in play though - and if they don't work, a tie is better than losing.

If they do- oh hey, there's the stopwatch going off nice and clear, in the same tree he dropped out of earlier.]

[markofthebrave]

[The ice starts melting from the top down, and then the water splashes harmlessly into the lake. She raises her voice to call out.]

Time?

[endgames]

[Worked. Like. A. Charm.

He didn't quite hear your question though, Katara. Hard to make out sound when you're underwater and all - as he's been since the explosive tag in the trees went off a few minutes prior. But seeing that ice shelter disappearing - and it was already cold down here, dammit - can only mean one thing, he knows.

So he times it. One-one-thousand, two-one-thousand... twenty. And then he swims abruptly up and towards the shore, using chakra to make his ascent as quiet as possible. The first sign of his presence should be when he hits the surface and has to take in air, but by then there should be a hand at her back once more, the other already moving into half a handseal.]

[markofthebrave]

[What the heck?

Katara jumps at that tag, whirls around with the sudden awareness that - she had been tricked - and one hand abruptly goes down, freezing the water solid in a three foot radius.]

[endgames]

[If there's anything he loves about Luceti, it's how aware it's made him of a ninja's speed. Back home, fast as he is, he was about average in comparison to the rest of the world's shinobi.

Here, though, that reaction time beats most. By the time Katara's hand is in the water, Shikamaru has substituted out of there, and it's his flak jacket that gets frozen in the ice.

Slumped in the branch of the tree now, Shikamaru pants, catching his breath. When he feels like he can speak again, he reaches down below him to pluck the stopwatch off of a lower hanging branch.]

Fun fact... [Breath.] My stopwatch goes off about a minute before time's up.

[And as if on cue, it starts ringing again in his hand.]

[markofthebrave]

And you don't think you should have mentioned that?

[Ugh! And she unfreezes the water, not caring that this allows his jacket to sink as she starts walking out. Jerk. 8|]

[endgames]

[Well at least it doesn't have far to go, close to the shore as it is. The cigarettes will be ruined though - he hopes you're happy. 8|


...Chouji probably is.

But that's besides the point.] And give up the advantage? I don't think so.

[markofthebrave]

That's not just an advantage! That's completely changing the rules!

[And here she'd been bending over backwards to keep from hurting you. And he'd known since the beginning!] You were planning on cheating the whole time!

[endgames]

Ninja.

[markofthebrave]

And that's supposed to mean something.

[Glare.

...but on the plus side, she's not storming off yet.]

[endgames]

It is. You've seen me fight before - when have I ever gone by the rules?

[His tone is calm as always, evening out as gets his second wind. He raises a pinky up to get the water out of his ears.]

[markofthebrave]

The last time we sparred.

[And - abruptly - she's just tired. Her emotions are a tangled mess. It's not even that she minds losing, although she does - it's everything else, it's how suddenly, one more time someone ended up changing everything, playing by different rules, wanting something from her that she hadn't agreed to, tricking her for their own benefit - and she's not sure if she's angry with him for it or not, or if everything is entirely too much like everything else, but she's done.

A hand movement swells the water, brings the jacket to shore after her, another rids it of the water which she lets settle, hard, on the sand next to it.]

Good night, Shikamaru.

[And she turns to start walking back up the river.]

[endgames]

[...]

Why did you hold back?

[markofthebrave]

[A brief glance back, mostly because she's startled at the question. She hadn't thought she'd made it obvious, but on second thought she wasn't too surprised he'd noticed. He'd made fighting his life, after all, and she had a pretty good idea of how smart he was.

But the sour feeling in her stomach and the tightness in her throat aren't completely disarmed with his question.

Why should he think I owe him an answer for anything?

That wasn't fair. This isn't the same.

And then that horrible voice whispers - But it could be. And she pauses, looks straight ahead.] That's not really important now, is it.

[And she wants to start walking again, but his question - the fact that he asked it after she was clearly done - holds her there for a few seconds more. She doesn't really want to walk away from him like this - before it was fine, but now that he's looking for something from her...

It's not the same.

But it could be.]

[endgames]

Maybe. [He sighs; pushes himself forward and out of the trees.]

Except that something was distracting you tonight, and for most of our spar. [And you're not that sloppy.] And it all started about the point you watched me use my jutsu, so if it has something to do with me... then maybe it is.

[markofthebrave]

["Let me get this straight, you think you can just trick me and then expect me to tell you whatever you want?"

"It's got nothing to do with you!"

"I wasn't distracted. I was perfectly fine!"

"It's a full moon tonight, and this was a different kind of spar. I didn't want to hurt you."

She says none of these things. Katara's balanced on the knife's edge of trust, perhaps the most precious thing Hama took away from her that night, and she's unsure which way she needs to go.

He'd tricked her.

He'd implied tricking was his business.

How well did she really know him, after all?

Can I trust you?

The wind picks up. The moon peeks out from behind the clouds. And Katara looks away.]

Why didn't you grab onto me with your shadow?