005

[deathsdoctor]

[In light of recent developements... namely Mister Strawhat declaring war more or less on Yuber and Nu, the normal routine has been shaken up slightly.

He's up on the roof of CH2 for his morning warmup longer than usual... just concentrating on movement and manipulation of filial magic. The tenseness just doesn't leave... nor does the feeling of restlessness. Anyone coming to the roof will likely catch him there until a nagging sense of time compels him downstairs to make breakfast.

Breakfast and a meeting of sorts. Though it's entirely unsuprising to him this has happened (and would be to Bepo, as he informed him of what occured on the draft), still this is something that has to be discussed. He begins frying up steak and eggs, and puts the coffee on.

Today, like so many days, he's going to be living on it.

Then he sharpens his sword, and heads out to town to gauge the mood and learn what can be learned. Just hanging around, watching. For those of you who know he was in charge of the Medical center during the draft (and therefore probably knows something about what went on), feel free to bug him for details about the circumstances that lead to Nu being pummeled into the fountain. He will likely not give many, but, who knows?

Depending on who you are, you may end up with a better grasp on the events that led up to this.]

Comments

[deathsdoctor]

[Law is the same - his playing doesn't suffer. That rook of his harries both pieces, and then turns to obsessively attack the moderately strong piece as all the while Law's bishop moves ever closer to that fray. The weak piece gets away. He eyes his captured pieces, and decides which ones he's going to drop back into play.

Keeps an eye on the Gold General on Shikamaru's side. He'll need to direct a certain rook over there sooner or later.]

No they can't. And when people around them don't know the whole story when it comes to certain types of misfortune, it's worse, isn't it?

[Meanwhile he's let the piece he's been harrying threaten his rook for a change.

Enter the black bishop.]

[endgames]

[He thinks he's getting a clearer picture now, though some of the roles remain vague.]

Well you know what they say. Ignorance is bliss. [He begins to set some of his stronger pieces up to the side now, leaving the lance open but with the promise of backup incoming.] Or conscientious stupidity.

[He could defend the lance with the gold general now, if he wanted, but he's seeing the way you're eyeing it Law. In the story you're telling, it hasn't come into play yet.

He doesn't know why you're telling him of all people, mind. A warning, maybe. Either way it's not just to satisfy his curiosity.]

[deathsdoctor]

Mn. True. Blissful until it bites one on the ass. [He lays a finger on the black bishop.] With all the myriad monsterous troubles it can summon. [He taps the bishop three times very clearly on that last word. Summon. Like in monsters.

And then he sets his sight on the white knight and rook very pointedly for just a moment and then looks to the lance.]

And then things can get messy. And not for just those involved.

[And now the black rook and bishop swing in for the kill.]

[endgames]

[Monstrous. Summons. Well if Shikamaru hadn't already suspected that the events taking place on the shogi board happened during the draft, he'd know it now. From what he understands, Yuber was among the few who had his summons at his disposal out there - three of them, apparently?

He narrows his eyes at the board. And that would make the rook Nu. What made them attack 'the lance' and the weaker piece it was protecting is still a mystery to him, though he's suspecting that answer is not a clear cut and simple one.]

Tch. That's how stupid decisions work. It's like a domino effect - it can have an impact on anyone.

[Subtle way of asking if this is going to effect a lot of people in its aftermath, which is a chief concern. The pieces have already been played, after all.

He brings his knight in tighter; it will be closely followed by the rook.]

[deathsdoctor]

[The knight and the bishop face off and the rooks follow suit soon after. The battle is fierce and eventually the lance escapes. The black bishop takes off, and moments later, the black rook as well, though her own escape takes her into dangerous territory.

Drifting closer to the gold general.

He knows for certain of the two. He's fuzzier on the third... he's heard rumours that Yuber has many, and Yuber had been going for broke. So it's an adequate guess, and if it was two or three, it doesn't affect the end outcome of things. It was still brutal whatever the number.]

And with domino effects, it's difficult to tell how far the impact will be at the very beginning. When you have high profile people for instance, they will generate a lot of opinion, and people will start taking sides. Some will do nothing, some will rashly act for various reasons because they know too little, misunderstand, or just want to help, and some will be a bit more deliberate. Enemies may make alliances, others opportunistically advance their own agendas.

And there's always those who don't care about the consequences beyond achieving their goal.

The truth will be twisted as it goes along as it always is. And there's little enough out there, that it can be warped into many things. So it depends on who gets involved and what happens as things progress as to how far it gets. But the potential for it to go far is high indeed.

[The black rook is in the gold general's crosshairs. Now for what happens next.]

[endgames]

[Considering all of the pieces that would be in harm's way if he didn't, action is very necessary now. No well-played shogi strategy depends on a single piece so much as they do the ability for several pieces to work together.

The gold general can't touch the bishop from this position, and so it harries the rook.]

Of course it doesn't have to get that far. A situation like that could be mostly avoided if one side were to back down.

[He's reminded of Naruto and his talk of peace - how hate and revenge are a cycle that has to be broken by one side if they ever want to see it.

...but Shikamaru isn't Naruto; he's a realist, not an idealist. Even as he says it, he knows that there are some things that you can't just step down from.]