savedtheworld | [Appointments] March 2012-February 2013

Yeah, she told me all about Tobi. I'm sorry. I had no idea, and now he knows about some of my powers.

I'm pretty sure he could have figured that out anyway, Aang, if he went far enough back in the book.

She's right. [He nods.] It's a good rule of thumb to just be careful about what you say on these things, instead of who you say it to.

But what's done is done. No one's expecting an apology for something you weren't warned about first.

I know... But that's part of why we wanted to meet you here. We were wondering if we should warn people to stay away from this guy and stop others from making the same mistake.

[Katara shakes her head a little. She hadn't exactly been wondering that - this was Shikamaru's problem to handle. But a little more specific instructions about who she could or couldn't tell would have been great.]

That's... tricky.

[He folds his hands together and leans forward.] My comrades and I are working on a better way to warn everyone, but certain conditions haven't been met yet.

Publicly, I would prefer you left it to us. Among your friends, I would encourage you to spread the word, so long as you're careful about it.

Yeah, I can do that. I'm Mr. Careful! [He then considered Shikamaru's words] Everything about this guy seems tricky.

[..."Mr. Careful," huh?

Quietly listening.]

You don't know the half of it. [That, and Aang's response about being "Mr. Careful", gets a small smile even as he remains serious.] It's probably best it stays that way. The abridged version is that at the time I left my home, he is considered the number one enemy to the ninja world.

[So there is a possibly Ozai-level threat in this world. Not good.] Definitely not good.

...What exactly is a ninja, anyway? He didn't really give me a straight answer and gave me the idea that they can use elements too.

Cheaters. [Katara decided the time to interject humor into this conversation had come, and she crossed her arms and smirked at Shikamaru.]

Ninja are cheaters.

Tch. You can't reduce it to that.

[HMPH. You're just jealous, is what you are. 8|]

They don't play by the rules?

Exactly.

[And she cants her head to the side while looking at Shikamaru - see? Aang gets it.]

Life isn't like a game of Pai-Sho, with rules you know to follow. In fights, especially.

We have Pai-Sho in our world too! [He then realizes the actual point] I guess there aren't always rules... [He remembers the savagery of Ozai during their final battle.] But there's still honor.

[She hadn't meant to lead this conversation down this path. Let's just... redirect. She's a waterbender, she's good at it.]

Actually, I taught Shikamru Pai-Sho a little after we met. He's very good at it, but that isn't really what I meant when I called ninja cheaters. I was talking about their abilities. In actuality, they're extremely loyal to their villages. I just think that being able to move faster than I can see in a spar happens to be unfair.

[There, you've got like five openings there, Shikamaru. Take your pick.]

["I just think that being able to move faster than I can see in a spar happens to be unfair."

Haha, it's much safer when he can get her to make his point herself. He shoots her a smug look - he knew she was still sore about that speed thing - but doesn't say any more than that.]

It's not that we're without honor. Most of us, anyways. We just have specific loyalties and priorities, I guess you could say.

There are ninja from other worlds. We all seem to be trained in certain martial arts, among other things. But ninja from my world are more than that. We're shinobi. I guess you could liken us to specialized soldiers, who use ninja techniques.

Oh. I think I can get it now. You guys sound cool. I wouldn't mind seeing some ninja techniques in action sometime. And a game of Pai-Sho too!

[Katara made a face at his smug look. Yeah, yeah.]

I should warn you, Aang - he's really good at it.

[Ha, take that.]

[Wait he came here to talk about serious things--

Screw it. Games. Derailed. Also a chance to rib Katara. BEHOLD: THE DEJECTED SHOULDER SHRUG.]

She won't play with me anymore. It's troublesome.

[and isn't

that

awful]

So you're pretty good already, huh? I'm still up for a challenge!

[Aang? You're her hero. No, seriously, you are.

She doesn't even have launch into a speech about how losing all the time wasn't fun.

Besides. She'd bet that you'd be able to give Shikamaru a run for his money. She even drops the tease of trying to make it so that no one will play with Shikamaru - she'd rather that the two of them were friends.]

He beat me our first game. [Katara shrugs.] But you know I'm not very good at it.

I'm game if you are. It's hard to find anyone else who knows it or wants to learn, so I don't get to play often. Which is a shame, because I hear up to four people can play it at once.

[First he glanced towards Katara.] You're pretty good, Katara. [And he saw no harm in sprinkling in a nugget of future.] And you get better at it.

[He then gave a more boastful grin towards Shikamaru.]

Great! It'll be fun.

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