What is this even....

[silverterror]

Where: Kirigakure
When: January 23rd
Who: Team Shisui Members
Notes: During the Kiri Chunin Exam Sephiroth runs over a couple people he thought weren't going to be there.

It was a cloudy day, and that suited him just fine, as it dimmed down the sunlight to something a bit more bearable. It also meant that being off rotation left him without much to do as he felt uncomfortable with the notion of training with so many strangers in the village.

Of course, that meant he was in the perfect position to make his way toward a familiar face when he spotted it, more than interested in satisfying his curiosity about them being here.

Comments

[silverterror]

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."

[thelittleprincess]

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."

[trapweaver]

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!"

[silverterror]

"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?"

[thelittleprincess]

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."

[trapweaver]

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."

[silverterror]

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.

[thelittleprincess]

"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.