16autumnroad | [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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He just nods to accept the sympathy. It's hard to know what to say, but Sakura tried. She's probably had a hard enough time in the war herself. She has to deal with the wounded as well as the fighting when it comes to battle, and goodness knows Chouji has enough trouble managing one role in the war. "Thank you. For listening."

A thought occurs to him, given their initial hesitance to discuss the war openly. Has Sakura had anyone to do the same for her? "Are any of the others from the war, or are we the only ones this far along?"

He waves off the uncertainty in that offer, a slow smile spreading across his face. "As long as provisions are available. I can always do the cooking myself if I need to."

"Anytime." The ones who know have to stick together, in her mind. They're carrying a burden that the others don't, and so they need to share it. "Tenten knows about it, at least, but she's... not as far long as we are. She doesn't know." And, Sakura quietly hopes, she won't find out. "The others... I'm not sure." It's a topic she's generally tried to avoid, to steer as safe and as clear as she can. "I don't think anyone's from as far along as we are."

She takes a low breath, in and out, and pushes away the unpleasant thoughts. "Pretty much anything is available here, from what I've found. The Malnosso at least keep us in good conditions." Even if the price was far too high.

"I won't say anything to her about it." When she confirms his theory, he hesitates, not wanting to question Sakura's ability to cope. He knows how strong she is. She just shouldn't be forced to use that strength unnecessarily. "If you need anything, you can let me know, alright? You listened to me, after all."

Chouji nods. "The Malnosso are our captors, then?"

"Thank you." The smile she gives him is a little thin -- yes, she has very much been carrying this alone for the past two months and more, but it's hard to relax that hold even a little. And she's never been good at admitting when she's feeling overwhelmed.

"They are," she confirms, happy to be on easier ground. "They're people who've been brought here by this world too, but they're unable to ever leave. So when we appear, they put us in these enclosures to try and figure out how we're able to leave, and to try and replicate it so everyone can." She doesn't sound happy about it, not in the least. "Supposedly it's all for our own protection, because not everyone who's stuck here likes the people who will disappear and go home, but that's a pretty stupid excuse, if you ask me."

"Anytime," he says with quiet emphasis. Chouji didn't expect Sakura to take him up on his offer immediately, but it doesn't have an expiration date. If she wants to later, she's welcome to find him.

He sounds equally doubtful when he answers. " 'For your own good' can be taken too far." An awful thought occurs to Chouji. "Sakura, you don't think they ever put people from the same world in different enclosures, do you?" They must not. His teammates are all here, and the odds of that are low enough even without taking into account multiple enclosures.

"Ah, about that." She frowns, thinking over what she's learned so far. "There are other enclosures, but I don't know whether there's anyone from our world -- or anyone else's that's here -- in them. You might want to ask someone who's been here longer." Shikamaru, really -- of course he's the best source of information. But she doesn't need to rub it in again how long Shikamaru's been here without his best friend.

"Shikamaru will probably give me a spectacularly long mission briefing if I ask enough questions," Chouji mutters, sighing. He doesn't like to think about it, but avoiding the truth won't make it disappear. Shikamaru has been here for years, and Chouji just arrived. He does appreciate Sakura skirting the subject, but he'd rather let it sink in right away. That way it's just one more blow on top of a long, hard day.

After all, if he's missed a lot here, Shikamaru has missed as much at home. Not as much time, maybe, but Chouji remembers things his best friend doesn't. Important things that will hurt a lot more than a couple of years missed. "I'm so glad I talked to you first, though. I couldn't..." He would have given everything away immediately. "I would have done everything wrong with my teammates." Chouji can't express how grateful he is to Sakura for preventing that.

She understands exactly what he means by that. "Shikamaru did the same thing for me, or similar enough," she admits with a small nod. "Filled me in on all the details... it stopped me from blurting things out. And... you know, it's good to know I'm not the only one anymore who knows about..." A vague wave of her hand. "About everything. It's been a lonely feeling, knowing these things and keeping entirely silent about them." Because why should she give everyone else the pain too, when there's nothing anyone can do about it as long as they're here?

"Any time you need to talk," she adds, "I'm around."

"I'm sure it was." The admission catches him by surprise, and Chouji's face and voice soften immediately. He is twice as thankful to have Sakura here, given the reminder of what her own arrival must have been like, no one to share the burden. Chouji's next words are quiet but heartfelt. "I'm sorry you were on your own with it. It won't be quite so lonely anymore, I hope."

He nods at that, reminding her firmly, "The offer is mutual."

"I hope so too." She manages a smile for him; it's a bit on the thin side, but no less genuine for it. If circumstances can't be truly good, at least she's not alone in dealing with the difficulty.

"I'll remember it." Someone to turn to -- and of all people to share this knowledge with, Chouji -- someone who, from what she knows of him, isn't afraid to show his emotions, to admit to them. A step above more than a few guys she knows.

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

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]

[video][filtered]