he has discovered, uncovered a world of amazing sensations

[breakthroughs]

A man who would attack a civilian woman is, in Shikamaru's view, one of the worst possible types of scum that walk the earth. Quiet and insidious, those who would at least entertain the idea walk around aplenty in Darrow, their eyes lingering and jaws set as the examine the women who pass them by. Shikamaru isn't much of a drinker, but if he has a night free of all other obligations, he's been known to head into a bar just for the sake of keeping an eye on the crowd. Hoping to keep them safe.

He's not sure when he became a man fairly devoted and constantly on the lookout, in spite of his inherent laziness, but there he is. Keeping a watch on everyone.

Doing his best to protect the people, in ways that not many are prepared to. They're outnumbered by here, in this busy urban civilian city, striking a sharp contrast with the military life he's known at home.

When he watches a man with a heavy flush stagger to his feet as a woman leaves the bar, Shikamaru drains the rest of his ale, leaving a significant tip in the glass before quietly sliding his hands into his pockets and stalking out into the night. He is dressed no different than most people on the street, in jeans and a turtleneck sweater, always the type to hide in plain sight. Not like the man would notice, anyway.

But the woman does, and for some reason, she turns sharply as though to cut through an alley that she must know as a shortcut back to her home. Damn. The man picks up pace behind her, not necessarily the most accurate with his direction, but fast enough on his feet to follow. It means Shikamaru has to hasten his own gait, shivering to cover the change in his speed, as though he were only rushing home to escape the cold.

He stops as he gets into the alley, brows furrowing as he finds the man trying to force the woman against a wall. Forming a seal with his hands, Shikamaru's job isn't too difficult; the lamp by the street gives him ample shadow to work with, stretching his own until it meets with the outstretched shadow under the man's feet, freezing him in place. Shikamaru adopts the man's pose, his hands tight and raised in the air, before he deliberately releases his own. And the man obediently releases his as well from around the woman's wrists.

"The fuck," he mutters, eyes wide.

The woman meets Shikamaru's gaze warily, and he tilts his head, raising his chin in the direction she was originally headed in. "I wouldn't recommend walking somewhere secluded. Take the main road. It's early enough that it should keep you safe," he recommends, and the woman nods quickly, not saying a word as she rushes back to the main street, her heels tapping as she goes.

"Now, for you," Shikamaru murmurs with a concerned look, lowering his arms and stepping towards the man.

Four minutes, thirteen seconds remaining.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to go home peacefully and never try that again?"

The man growls, struggling against the restraint of Shikamaru's shadow.

Shikamaru sighs. "I didn't think so."

Comments

[onewhoisall]

It was the woman that caught her attention. The way she rushes back to the main road, glancing over her shoulder. The way she looks frightened, eyes wide that makes Cassandra pause. Taking a breath, she let out a frustrated sigh before turning and making her way down the alley when she spots the pair.

"Stop," Cassandra warned. Her fingertips curl into her palm, marking her with half moons as she glares at the men before her. "Put him down."

The man, the man captured, looks like he is about to thank her when she narrows her eyes at him. Anger, darkness filling her eyes as she glared at him. "We do not kill in this city."