sunshineverse | What is this even....

He blinked down at the girl, surprised to see her, and then a small, pleased smile came to his face as he inclined his head to her. "Not what you deserve, but better than no visit at all. I'll be sure to attend the next when you compete, mm?"

"I agree." But she also understood. The team's cohesiveness as a unit still needed to stabilize, and they still needed more missions to back up their eligibility. "I will send word when we finally get the chance. But I suppose observing has its own merits."

"It does. It means that you can see the mistakes the others made and not make them yourself." He reached out, shifting a ribbon so it wasn't tangled in her hair, careful not to touch her int he process before pulling back, clearly satisfied with whatever that was supposed to accomplish. "Are you expected back quickly?"

"I've always been a quick study," she murmured, neither modest nor boasting. She stayed exactingly still as he fussed over her ribbon, allowing him to do what he wished and relishing in the casualness of the motion. Friends did things like this, she was sure. It made something go soft and warm in the pit of her stomach. "No. But I need to send periodic messages on my scroll. Sensei insisted." Because of you hung between them, unspoken but without blame.

As good as Masanori was at getting lost when given the initiative, he was equally good at finding, if not better when he put his mind to it. Finding Ami hadn't been a terribly difficult task for the care he had taken in seeing she was properly tracked for the placement of one of his tiny spiderlings. Hospitable or not, Kirigakure was foreign territory and Ami, for all that she could be perfectly capable, was a genin, not to mention one possessed of the height and looks to attract all sorts of unsavory types. Shisui was right to worry. It was a point they agreed on, in any case, and one that saw Masanori unwilling to depend upon the good will and desired positive press of a foreign village that touted a violent, blood history.

"Because you have an uncanny ability to attract lolisnatchers," he said matter-of-factly as he walked onto the scene, eyes keen and quite narrowly focused on the tall man that had just had his hands upon the teammate at whose side he arrived nonchalantly, his expression smoothing into faux easiness and as convincing as ever.

"Something that would incur my immediate wrath were it to happen in my presence." He waved the boy's words away with a complete lack of concern, giving him a quick glance over before returning his gaze to the girl he'd been speaking to.

"I met your sensei, he's very vigilant. I have no doubt he's done excellent things for your growth as a shinobi. Eventually, when you feel you would be a degree of challenge, we'll have to spar and see how long you last." He cocked his head with a smirk then, playful. "Of course, I'm curious to see your specialties given what I've already seen of your skills."

Ami paused, eyes narrowing at Masanori. Sephiroth had either missed or ignored the implied accusation, but she had not. She was torn between indignation at Masanori and bright pride at Sephiroth's expectations of her. After a moment, she reverted to her normal state of careful apathy, and nodded. "Sephiroth would not let anything happen to me that I could not handle." Though it would still be quite a while before she thought she had a chance at handling him in a fight.

"How refreshing to know you place such a high degree of trust in an unproven shinobi from a village reputed as the Bloody Mist. A name like that with traditions like that really gives the impression that they'd go easy on anyone, ne? Oh, wait."

A scathing commentary, to be sure, despite the easiness of the words and the little chuckle tacked on, but it was completely directed at Ami as opposed to Sephiroth in that moment for a sudden degree of apprehension about her mind. Was she truly that foolish? That compromised? Deceit was the nature of shinobi. To earn the trust of someone from another village, to become intimately familiar with their techniques, their mind, to use that against them and their village if the situation called for it -- it was all within the realm of realistic possibility with a declaration of treason following the refusal to cede such information to the village if it was requested. Had she forgotten herself? Possibly, but that was a jump he wasn't willing to make untested, nor was he particularly keen to usher in such a messy affair on such grounds. He wasn't Sakura, after all.

And then, there was Sephiroth himself, who Masanori was rather intently sizing up subtly. Too tall, that was his initial complaint, and entirely too pretty. Effeminate, even. Could men do that? Was that allowed? He might have frowned if not for the necessity of holding his expression. That he'd met Shisui and his teacher was insistent upon holding caution to this degree, though... well, it made sense. The man's posture, the confidence in his words and speech didn't lend itself to the idea of him being prey. No, he was a predator of a different sort, someone to be watched, observed.

Sephiroth blinked at the boy a few times, taking in his words and quickly determining that he was being sarcastic, but the idea of him even implying he would go easy on Ami was bewildering at best.

Frowning, eyes narrowing in confused irritation, he turned to Ami and let out a rather put upon sigh. "Does your teammate genuinely have the impression that I wouldn't kill you if we ended up opposite sides of battle? How disrespectful. He should know you better than that shouldn't he? I was under the impression Konoha was fonder of... bonding between teammates."

Edited 2015-04-09 23:05 (UTC)

Almost instantly, the happy, open presence Ami had slipped to after seeing Sephiroth was cut off, icy walls choking even the faintest embers of warmth from her eyes and rendering her words clipped and cold. "I don't think anything I've written to you about my current affairs implied that we were close. He seems to enjoy making assumptions and treating himself as an authority figure over matters that existed before his intrusion into my life, as you can see."

She turned her head towards Masanori, inclining it in a cordiality that was practically poisonous. "If you wanted to be technical about matters that are none of your concern, then fine. Sephiroth is a person who could likely murder us both right here and now and manage to sweep it under the rug without a hint as to his involvement. He is not inclined to do so. The Hokage is explicitly aware of our connection, and if he does not have an objection, you certainly don't have the right to make wild accusations and spit things I already know."

"You're the one becoming defensive," Masanori replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Ah, and another thing, Ami! You are my teammate. As distasteful as you may find it, you'd do well to remember that. You and any choices that appear questionable to me are my concern insofar as they relate to your being a ninja. Your association with a foreign ninja you admit could murder us here and now and 'sweep it under the rug without a hint as to his involvement' if his inclination should change falls under that parasol however unlikely a change in his inclination may be by your reckoning. The Hokage may not have an issue with your correspondence either, but Shisui does if he's keeping you on a kiddy leash, for what that's evidently worth to you. I don't know if you've noticed it either, but Obito also isn't here right now."

Not that he figured there was much point in continuing this dialogue as while Ami seemed to understand what he was purposefully doing to some extent, she didn't seem to be registering the purpose behind it. She wasn't thinking insofar as he could tell or realizing -- ah, well, it didn't really matter all that much, hm? As defensive as she had become, there was little chance of reaching her save for speaking plainly and he had no intention of doing that. He expected more of her, after all. If she wasn't aware of his purpose for venturing to find her even, it couldn't be helped.

Sephiroth peered at the boy for a long moment, cocking his head to the side as he stared at the youth, eyes sharp and alert. He was incredibly intelligent, and there was no missing it in that moment, even if he at times he was oblivious to how people interacted to one another on a level that applied to himself.

"You're worried that her worth to me is less than the sum of what she can give me."

It was a blunt statement, and he looked back to Ami, shifting slightly, leaning forward and down just a touch to easier meet her eyes. "He's not here to force you into an untenable position nor negate our interactions Ami. He's Konoha, as are you. It is as it should be. While I understood the inclination, you needn't protect my feelings, they are not hurt."

"He's not worried about me." There was a smoothing of hackles, a tentative de-spiking of the hedgehog she had reverted to once Sephiroth parsed the situation down so that it made more sense to her. But that just made the bitter resentment ring clear. "He's not worried about anything. He just enjoys prodding and poking for the sake of getting a reaction. He likes twisting things, for fun. He has no actual concern for me, so you needn't waste your time placating him." There was the faintest tinge of defeat, at the end of it, when she stopped to breathe.

When she met Masanori's eyes, full on, her own were tired; tired enough that she didn't bother hiding the wariness. "Uchiha-sensei has not stopped me from corresponding with Sephiroth, Shizuoka-san. They have met in person. He would not have brought me to Kirigakure at all, if us meeting was as repugnant as you seem to think. I don't know what game you're playing, but if it's anything like what my classmates tried in the past—it won't be fun, or whatever you're hoping to gain from it."

She rubbed her throat, grimacing behind her high collar. She hated having to talk so much.

Sense. Now there was something Masanori hadn't been entirely certain he would see within the next five minutes, but there it was and spoken plainly and by the person he hadn't expected it from. That was certainly interesting and a credit given to Sephiroth for his issuance. His attention shifted when Ami spoke, however, and his expression fell notably flat as she continued. Truly? Was that truly what she thought? Her expression, the weariness in her eyes seemed to assure him that that was indeed the case and he found himself both slightly annoyed and most assuredly disappointed in the blonde for it.

Really, it was like she didn't know him at all. More importantly, did he care to fix that in that moment?

"I don't enjoy wasting my time, nor do I care to repeat myself again," he said simply, as though that was to explain anything. In truth, it did. Had he not cared, he wouldn't have sought her out to begin with, nor would he have corrected her regarding his right to concern about her person mere moments before, which had been a literal admittance of his care. "You wouldn't be a very good playmate, in any case. You haven't kept up with me at all this entire time."

Sephiroth glanced from one to the other, and his training as an idiot tamer kicked in, as well as his insight into Ami's personality and motives. "Ami, I believe you've let the fact that he is Konoha blind you and curb what you should have been doing with this one."

He hesitated a moment, then straightened to his full height and gave Ami a a level stare, waiting until his steady gaze drew her own back to him. "He strikes me as someone who would have done well in Kiri, not unlike one of my frequent... subordinates." He shook his head fractionally with the sheer exasperation he said the last word with.

"Perhaps you simply should have tried to break his spine and worked from that point?"

"Did it ever occur to you," she asked, her voice quiet but not quite lost in the sounds of the street traffic. "That I never had any intention of playing with you? I don't have—" She faltered, almost imperceptibly, changing her words before they could betray her. "—experience with teammates, prior to you and Itsuki-san. I have been doing my best to fulfill my duty as a teammate. It is not always easy."For her, and because of her. She didn't understand him, and she wasn't sure she wanted to try. "After our promotion, it should not matter one way or the other." Her voice lost some of it's rock-solid certainty; it was obvious she wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad about her belief that they would part ways then.

"He hasn't merited that show of force yet." Again the slight dispersal of tension, like a person speaking a foreign language who's translator just let them know that they hadn't been given a threat, the other speaker was just loud. Again, a refusal to totally relax. "Besides, I told you that he would likely do well here." 'Deranged' was the word she had used. She thought that might have been the letter Masanori had stolen and read, even. "Konoha still frowns on that. I'm certain we discussed that when we met."

Well, it certainly sounded like Sephiroth knew how to show a guy a good time. Pity that they wouldn't be able to talk too much longer, at least right now. That last stretch of clarity provided by Ami's words drove home just how clearly he'd misstepped in this situation and saw Masanori decide that a prompt exit was the wisest course. Damage such as this could be cushioned and repaired, but remaining as a source of stress and tension would make that process more tedious. Thus, it was better to exit stage right.

"Haa! What a good time that would be! Anyway, I'll say this once and only once," he said, eyes closing and something of a smile finding his face as he waved and started off. "If anyone in this village touches so much as a hair on your head, Ami, I'll make them roast their own entrails while they eat them with ghost pepper dip and some fancy little corn chips cut into triangles. You two have fun, okay?"

Sephiroth didn't even blink, simply vanishing from where he was standing and a swirl of dirt drifted to the ground where he'd been as he ended up directly in the boy's path, in exactly the same position he'd been in a moment ago.

"We did discuss it, but you haven't yet learned that some people need such a thing before they can return the favor. Even in Konoha. The fact that you told me the boy would do well in Kiri alone should have indicated that you should perhaps..." He paused, looking for the correct words. "Have been a bit less what Konoha drilled you to be when the opportunity presented itself."

He then let his gaze drift to the boy he'd intercepted, having waited for him to finish speaking before starting his own words, thus leaving a lull where he'd addressed Ami's before looking to the expression of affection. "And that was a sentiment not unlike something someone dear to me would say. She's a woman who killed the teacher of our class to follow me into the ranks when we were genin, so I suspect, Ami, that you doubt the boy's affections unfairly."

Ami had stopped moving after Masanori had ceased speaking, her face set into a thoughtful, slightly confused expression. That sort of threat... it seemed like too much effort, too personalized, to come from somebody who only liked to jerk her around. It was mildly surprising that Sephiroth would choose to intervene to this extent—but, hadn't she given Adela a few nudges, when they failed to understand one another in the past?

Perhaps he was returning the favor, so to speak.

"Perhaps you are correct," she allowed, after another moment of churning, uncertain thought. "Though I don't know if beating him to that extent would have been accepted by Uchiha-sensei, even if it did improve our bond." She tugged at her sleeves, a small, self-conscious motion. "I... don't understand how, but you may be right."

What an inconvenience. His cool, hopefully thought evoking exit completely blocked by that too tall person! Masanori's expression remained smooth, the slightest tinge of annoyance visible in a slight twitch of his lips, but just that. When he meant to exit, he meant to exit. That was all there was to it, not that he didn't recognize the oddly helpful advice dispensed for being what it was intended. It just happened to be something he could stand to be out of earshot for, what with the 'ear' still planted upon Ami.

"Oi, Too Tall-san," he started, a hand finding his hip. "It's pointless if she doesn't figure out things for herself. It's rude to talk about people who are present like they're a sack of rice, too! Oi!"

"My name is Sephiroth, actually." He glanced down to the boy. "If you truly wished to worsen your relations with one another I could have allowed things to stand, but she is much too close to the issue to understand you. I have a similar issue and she has translated for me on other occasions in the past, though it was more to them than to myself in most instances."

He gave the boy an arch look, then returned his gaze to Ami. "Konoha has a reputation for excellent healers. Next time just beat the boy into the ground and get one of them before the man can find out. That should solve the issue nicely I believe."

He glanced to the boy, then back to Ami. "Should I allow him to go?"

Ami flushed faintly. "No, that's..." Her fingers curled into the hem of his jacket loosely, as if to keep him from going too far or saying too much. "She just... thinks differently from us. She needed more help understanding than you did." She gave Masanori and assessing look, as if weighing his dangling form against the scenario Sephiroth painted for them.

"That's unfeasible for several reasons," she said at length. "Most of which I think involve inter-village politics you don't need to know about." Also, she didn't think she wanted to; hitting that threshold... it felt like throwing in the towel completely, and tossing out all her attempts to be a cordial, efficient cell member.

"Do you really have even a shred of regard for me?" She asked Masa, unconsciously tugging the jacket infant of her a little bit as she looked up with him, honest curiosity in her eyes. "You've given, from what I've experienced, almost every indication to the opposite."

Much too close to the issue to understand him, hm? That sounded about right, not that he needed telling. Time and careful movements could have resolved that with greater care and in the way most familiar to him. Similar, though... was that it? Those two were similar, so that was why they got along? He didn't have much time to turn it over in his head for silently raising hackles that he promptly smoothed over. Being underestimated was a staple he enjoyed; being spoken about like a sack of rice while present was not for his noble upbringing, nor did he appreciate how seemingly out of his hands this situation was and the way he would likely be forced to adapt to redirect it into them again.

"Did I stutter?" He asked, his eyes flitting to Ami. Within them was complete and utter confidence in his prior statement, an unwavering strength that might have seemed inflexible. "Quit judging my actions based on your expectations of other people. I'm me, after all, and you'll never meet another."

But something more direct might be beneficial, he imagined. Even as his gaze was shifted, the words came, all statements of disregard swept under the rug and stomped upon soundly.

"Time is an invaluable commodity. It's spent and you can't replenish it," Breathing easily, he smiled more to himself than anyone else in that moment. "I don't spend my time on people I have no regard for."

That, Sephiroth understood perfectly, and he was sure Ami would too, which meant he turned his gaze back to her, examining her reaction to the statement for only a moment before shifting on his feet and padding around the boy to return to his position at the girl's side without another word.

He was satisfied that the confusion was resolved.

"Oh." It was a simple statement, and her tone was once again even, deceptively smooth. But her eyes slid down, and then slid shut and—

Ami smiled.

She hunched her shoulders up and tried to hide it behind her wide collar almost on instinct, but for people as perceptive as the pair of them there was no missing the sudden soft, happy glow overtaking her body language. She curled her fingers into Sephiroth's coat and tugged lightly—a silent show of gratitude.

What is this even....

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