16autumnroad | [Voice / Action : Forest, 3/17] Arrival

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[Voice / Action : Forest, 3/17] Arrival

Kai! [Sudden absence from the battlefield prompts Chouji's immediate attempt to dispel an illusion.]

Why won't the genjutsu break? It must be too strong. [Not to mention that genjutsu and fine chakra control are not his strongest skills. Pain should also work. It's hardly the preferred method for breaking illusions, but it's more reliable for anyone whose chakra control isn't near perfect. He reaches for a kunai, but none is available. Unarmed and unarmored in a genjutsu that could be used to do pretty much anything to him; somehow that isn't surprising. Chouji is starting to worry though. He crouches down, snatches a jagged rock, and slices open his left palm. Still nothing.

Unwilling to simply sit and wait, he pushes off lightly, leaping into the trees. Chouji conceals himself as well as he can among the branches, only now noticing the journal lying open on the ground below. Shivering from the cold, a twinge of pain between his shoulder blades makes Chouji twitch, wondering if the attack he's been braced for is finally coming. His eyes widen as he looks over his shoulder to see a pair of feathered wings. A little desperate now, Chouji makes one final attempt at breaking free. He stabs his thigh with the rock. Still trapped, he resigns himself to staying here until someone manages to free him, letting the stone fall back to the ground. Chouji keeps watch for any further signs of danger on the off chance the genjutsu's caster slips and gives something away.]

[Chouji can heard over the journal; he will pick it up as soon as he receives an answer. He can also be found in the forest or anywhere in the common areas of town after he eventually makes it there.]

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Leafing through the journal, especially during New Feather time, is a habit that Temari is unlikely to ever break. It's not unusual to recognize someone -- usually a friend of a friend somehow, given how many Konoha shinobi have popped into Luceti now and again. But that profile she catches a flash of is familiar and she can't help half-smile that curves one corner of her mouth.

"Oi, Chouji," she calls and hopes that he's still close enough to the journal to hear her.

As for the rest of the conversation, if he does... Well, she'll figure that out.

By this point Chouji has gone back for the journal. He may take perhaps a second longer to pinpoint this voice than Sakura's, but it's just as recognizable. He looks at the book as he says her name. "Temari?"

Chouji was not unhappy to hear from friends and allies, but their presence couldn't be as reassuring as he'd like it to be. Had the genjutsu taken out the majority of the Allied Shinobi Forces? The army would be decimated if too many people were out of action.

"What's going on? The battle--"

She holds up her hand, eyes narrowed as she peers at the tiny picture. Gods, but this is difficult. She's done it a few times before but lip-reading through the journal is headache-inducing at best and nigh impossible at worst. "Slow down and calm down. The battle will wait." Whatever battle he's speaking of, at any rate. She has a feeling it's something she hasn't run into yet. It always is.

When she is certain that she has his attention, she speaks again. "I need you to look at me and enunciate when you speak, you got me?" Once upon a time -- not too long ago even -- she might have muddled through without telling him what she needs from him, but that has caused more trouble than it ever alleviated.

Chouji is disinclined to be quite as calm as Temari with regard to the war. "But--" before he can speak more than a word of protest, she continues.

He goes still at the request. There is only one reason he can think of for her to make it. Chouji is slow and careful, the movement of his mouth deliberately more pronounced than usual, when he replies. "Your hearing?" Chouji asks quietly. For a shinobi, sensory damage is among the worst injuries.

"I'm sorry." The apology slips out inadvertently, and Chouji knows Temari won't appreciate the pity. He can hardly apologize for his own apology, though, so Chouji will accept any response she feels necessary.

Her eyes narrow and lips thin at the apology, but she says nothing; to snap at him would be counterproductive, to deny it would be a lie, and her silence on the matter will confirm it anyway. She leaves the subject behind them; her request has been made and acknowledged and that's all she needed.

"This is Luceti." Her tone is a little more business-like, an edge that comes with trying to brush off his pity. Her expressions softens, just a bit, and there's a twinkle of something -- humor, amusement as his expense maybe -- in her eye. "How's your back?"

Because those wings can ache -- and they can be quite a shock upon seeing them.

Edited 2013-03-17 16:49 (UTC)

Chouji notices and appreciates the restraint, and he doesn't mind the sharpness in her voice as she gives a frustratingly short start to an explanation.

"Should that mean something?" Was it a technique or a place? Obviously Temari knows more about the situation than he does, so he'll wait for her to share it. He frowns at the question, though. "Aside from the fact that I've grown wings, fine." After all, his back is no more sore than his thigh or his hand, the damage he inflicted on himself after arriving. The wings themselves are more problematic than the pain, as far as Chouji is concerned.

She almost tells him that of course it should mean something. Without even really thinking about it, she pinches the bridge of her nose before refocusing on the journal. Damned tiny pictures.

"I meant the wings," she says as she settles her cheek onto her fist and leans over the journal. "They've marked you as part of this world."

Chouji is probably nearly as frustrated as Temari in spite of his more easygoing nature. He has no idea what's going on, and the hints of explanations are creating questions rather than answers.

"What do you mean, this world?" He shakes his head. "And what do wings have to do with anything?" Chouji looks straight at the journal till he finishes speaking, then glances over his shoulder again to frown at what little he can see of the wings.

Well, this is ridiculous. Temari straightens, her hand dropping to the table with a low thud as she sighs in absolute frustration. "Chouji, I think this needs done in person. Have you seen any signs of a village near you?"

Shaking his head again, Chouji says slowly, "No, but if there's a village, I'm sure I can find it eventually." He thinks for a moment. "I'm in the middle of a forest, and I don't know which direction it might be. Are there any rivers or other landmarks that would lead me in the right direction if I happen to find them first?"

He jumps back up into the trees after making his request, ready to move out as soon as she answers.

She smiles slightly as she nods. "There are rivers; they run right through town. Both are lake-fed. One is south of town, one west. The village itself isn't that hard to find and you're sure to run into people before too long."

Temari frowns, her fingers tapping the tabletop in front of her. "Do what you need to." Meet your teammates first, get things sorted out with them is what she means. She knows very well that there are people he wants to see first - and she won't deprive Shikamaru and Ino that chance. "I'll be out at the fountain in the center of town most of the afternoon. You can find me there whenever."

She does still want to see him, in person, because conversations over the journal are a damned pain. Because he might still have questions that she can answer.

Because, damn it all, she actually likes Chouji.

"Thanks," Chouji says with a smile, careful to look away from the journal at his surroundings only when he stops speaking. "That'll help a lot."

And her next statement, with its implied meaning, gives him further cause for gratitude. Chouji's face softens, and he nods. "I think Ino's on her way here, and Shikamaru can't be far behind. I'll find you as soon as I've seen them."

True to his word, Chouji joins Temari by the fountain at the earliest opportunity, now fully dressed rather than wearing only those white pants. "Hello, Temari."

As has become her wont, Temari is alert almost to the point of hyper-vigilance when in public. In some ways, it's exhausting; in others, it's invigorating. She never relaxes in public, but she can put on a pretty good show: she's seemingly idly running her hands through the water, but near the instant the Chouji is in view, she's looking at him.

One corner of her mouth quirks upward in a genuine half-grin before she raises a hand to return the greeting. She gestures toward the bench as she sits. "You settled a bit, then?"

The alertness is hardly a surprise given their profession, especially in light of Temari being short one sense now.

"As well as can be expected," Chouji replies, admitting, "It's a lot to get used to." But he still has a ready smile available for her, because he appreciates what Temari did. She put in the effort to read lips even in that small image, and she gave him time and space to meet his team. Plus, with his teammates here, it's easier to be optimistic.

"I've gotten information in bits and pieces from everyone else. Is there anything in particular that you think I ought to know?" One thing that has been very clear throughout his day so far is that everyone sees situations a little differently and emphasizes different things when questioned. And some people have shared information relevant to his team, while others have kept to a broader scale.

There's something to be said for extending a little good will; besides, Shikamari might never forgive her if she didn't try to give Chouji time to catch up. She sits at an angle -- another habit she's fallen into -- glad that she doesn't have to remind him to face her.

"I could answer that question easier if I knew what they told you," she says, but doesn't give him time to answer it. It's an observation, not an admonishment. "This is a strange place. Long periods of just living day to day interrupted by either war or..." She hesitates, nose wrinkling. "Or the strangest things you can possibly think of. You need to be prepared for anything at anytime."

"Sakura talked about time." Chouji pauses here, and his brow creases, his voice slow not for Temari's benefit but due to his own doubts, "and the dead." He is still frowning when he continues, but it dissipates by the end of the sentence. "Lee explained wings and a bit about the environment of where we're trapped."

If Temari says that stranger things happen than being pulled into another world, Chouji is willing to believe her. He is torn between curiosity and apprehension when he asks, "Could you give examples?"

Temari nodded once; then he knows that many of his comrades and friends could be from other points in time. That realization is, to her, the most overwhelming and she's glad that she doesn't have to reveal that one to him. She leaned back on her hands for a moment after he's through speaking, looking up at the sky as she thinks through her answers.

She runs a hand through her bangs and makes eye contact again. "There's some things going on behind the scenes; Shikamaru can fill you on a lot of the political machinations. You've heard of the Malnosso, yeah? They like their experiments. Most of them are pretty innocuous."

Chouji hesitates before he asks, "What about you? What's the last thing you remember?" He doesn't ask if she wants news, but Chouji will tell Temari anything she wants to know. He assumes her questions would refer to her brothers or to the situation overall. Temari is much easier to face than his own teammates or the members of Team Gai. And if she doesn't want to hear any mention of future events, he'll respect that too.

"Alright, I'll ask Shikamaru about the politics." The last word she says makes him pause. "Innocuous?" He raises his eyebrows. Chouji really doesn't see how being kidnapped and used as a test subject could fit that description. "How so?"

Temari makes a face; most of the people from her world are ahead of her, as far as timelines go (which makes these conversations interesting. Getting information about the future from Konoha-nin gives her a general idea of what's going on back home, but leaves her with precious little about her family or home.) "Ah, well." She sighs and shrugs one shoulder. "Uchiha Sasuke crashed the summit. We were forced to retreat. I guess I ended up retreating to Luceti." She gives him a little half-smile. "I don't need you to fill me in about anything, unless there's something you think I need to know."

She nods. "Innocuous. Scavenger hunts, some weather issues." Although those weren't so harmless, come to think of it. "Don't get me wrong; not everything is going to be easy." Her voice is hard when she says it; she had first-hand experience in such matters.

Nodding, Chouji makes a mental note not to mention anything past the summit around Temari. "Not really. Your brother gives the best speeches I've ever heard, though. I can see why Gaara is Kazekage."

Chouji obviously isn't referring to Gaara's fighting skills. If Gaara were simply strong, he couldn't have unified their forces. His character was the important part. Through words alone, Gaara managed to rally nations that had been at each other's throats for so long no one even knew the original source of the bloodshed anymore.

"Scavenger hunts and weather? They brought us here for that?" He is still a bit incredulous but agrees Temari's warning nonetheless. "I believe you."

She can't help the grin. Temari has been so long without her brothers that one word of them doing well back home brings her a sort of bittersweet happiness that she can't -- and probably wouldn't even try to -- deny. "Yeah, he's pretty good at that. Never would have thought it, back in the day."

She'd give just about anything to hear one of those speeches again. Just one; if that's all she could have, she'd take it.

She shakes her head. "If they're to be believed, the Malnosso can't control who ends up here. Luceti's an enclosure, surrounded by a barrier none of us can break through. Whether it's to keep us from leaving or designed to protect us, I can't really say; it could be both. There's a war going on out there. We sometimes fight."

Chouji doesn't say anything, because he's sure that Temari knows better than anyone how scary Gaara was at their first meeting. The smile that lights up her face at the compliment to her brother tells him he definitely made the right choice in mentioning it. He returns her smile with his own.

"So they claim it's entirely random?" He does not seem very eager to buy into this story, but it isn't that important right now.

"How different is it from battles at home?" Because while war is nightmarish, fighting is their job, and it's what they've trained for. Chouji has no desire to fight for a cause and an organization that mean nothing to him, but if his friends fight, he wouldn't willingly be anywhere else.

Edited 2013-03-21 00:44 (UTC)

Temari shrugs one shoulder and holds her hands out in a sort of "hell if I actually know" gesture. "They claim a lot." She'll be one of the first to admit that there's a lot going on behind the scenes that they don't know about and she tends to take every declaration with a few grains of salt.

She hums under her breath at his second question. "As far as the actual battles go, it's not so different. You go, you fight." Her expression hardens. "We aren't given much of a choice, though. They tell us who's going, send us there, and, if we give a damn about surviving, we'll fight the soldiers attacking us." She sighs; Temari doesn't have it in her to back down from a fight, but she hates feeling as if she's forced into it. "For the most part, we fight for them because we'll be killed if we don't."

A silent nod is the only answer to that. Chouji will have his own doubts about any information they're given. Misinformation is a valid tactic. He's always been the muscle on a team with intelligence gathering capabilities, and he knows how much knowledge can be currency, can save or lose lives.

"It's not the same when it's not to protect your village," Chouji sums up. "We didn't sign up for this."

He adds thoughtfully, speaking quietly in case of passerby, "I have to protect my teammates and the village. With the number of Konoha shinobi here, I haven't been released from any oath I swore just because I'm in a different place. But it isn't the same." All of Chouji's vows still apply, and he is determined not to need another reminder of that.

Temari's hum of assent is quiet; no, they didn't sign up for this and, yes, it was very different than fighting to protect something one believes in. She would fight any day -- anywhere and with everything she had -- to protect her village and her family. (And they were, oftentimes, one and the same.)

She nodds at his declaration, though when she speaks her voice isn't pitched as carefully as his. (Doing so would have been difficult, if she'd even caught that he'd lowered his voice.) "Konoha is an ally," is all she says but she means so much than that. Here, in Luceti, she would fight for them as she would Suna.

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