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skerenCharacters: Sephiroth, Yuffie Kisaragi
Words: 4021
Note: This is an AU universe, it's an RP and Yuffie isn't done by me, where Sephiroth was given over in trade as incentive from Shinra to cooperate with the Reactor infringement as part of a pre-war treaty. He was 14 at the time and thus has been here quite some time.
For some reason, Yuffie had always been warned away from this area. This time she just slinked over when the people who should have been paying attention weren't-- most likely due to the rampaging herd of Chocobos over yonder... All too easy.
It didn't take more than a moment for the movement to register as someone came into his little corner of the world, and he bristled a little, not wanting to deal with it. Moving a bit deeper into his corner of gardens, having already finished his practice, he decided to avoid first.
"Hello~?" Yes, forget caution. It really wasn't what Yuffie was known for. She picked her way further into the unknown territory, half-remembering to keep an ear out for trouble.
Not interested. Slipping into his apartment area, he set his blade down over a look over that indicated it didn't need attention, going directly away from the girl. It wasn't a voice he knew in any case.
"Aww, come on..!" Yuffie knew somebody was there. Damnit, she really did. Kicking idly at a rock, she scanned the vicinity before poking around some more.
Ignoring it. Perhaps he'd get lucky and it would go away. Taking the sticks out of his hair, he shook it down out of the loose knot and padded over to put them in their pot with the others. If nothing else, he would never lack for decoration.
Hm... This didn't seem to be working. "I'm not goin' anywhere!" Yuffie called, wondering just vaguely if she'd have to sleep in a tree tonight. Probably, at the rate this was going.
Blissfully ignoring the noise, he moved to his nest of pillows and blankets and settled into it after a last few lazy stretches. Where had he put that book?
Ah, but she didn't like being poked in the butt with nobbly bits of twig... "'Kay," she mumbled, "If you won't come to me..." Perkily, she made her way further in and looked around. Lo and behold! A trace of a grin appeared and she made her way over.
Settled in to firmly ignore the interruption to his day, he had gotten the book open by the time he heard her come in. At least girls tended to not attempt to do anything to him. Easier to ignore that way.
She investigated the door. No lock? Hopefully no lock! After a little glance around on her tip-toes, she tested the door and found it, strangely enough, not to be locked. "Hi!"
He tucked himself a bit further down into the pillows. Perhaps she would not see him and go. Yes... Making sure he was in the right spot, he started to read.
Whoever it was sure was quiet! Yuffie cocked her head to the side and stepped in, looking left and right. "Heyhey, I'm the ninja here. Come on out~."
Turning a page, he did his very best to tune her out while still keeping track of where she was. Well, ninja meant she had some rank, so the girl might think she had a right to him or something similar. It made him bristle a little and he eyed the page closely.
A small pout, and she scuffed at the floor with her foot. Too quiet! She was perfectly happy to yap to herself for hours, usually, but... "Pleeease? I'll be quiet if you do!"
More suspicious with that statement, he decided it would be wiser to the abort the book for now and tucked himself deeper into his bedding.
Well, at least she could see movement. Not letting herself be disheartened, she walked right on forwards and stopped again a few feet away. "I don't bite or anythin'."
As though that made a difference? Slinking under his covers, he contemplated sneaking around and back out.
"I'll probably leave sooner if you come out," Yuffie suggested, inching closer. When she was in range, she reached out and poked at his bedding. "Otherwise I'll never leave you alone."
The poke earned her a deep chested growl, and he shifted the bedding enough to give her a feline, glowing eyed glare.
"Aha! Life!" She seemed completely unperturbed by the glare, though she did blink a little. "What'cha looking at me like that for?"
He shifted slightly to push the blanket out of the way, ignoring having once more proved a futile deterrence. "Go away."
And, aha! It spoke! Yuffie added a score to her inner 'win' tally. "Nah. Y'look kinda shiny." She tilted her head slightly. "And I'm kinda bored of talkin' to everyone else."
He growled again, eyes narrowing a bit as he pushed himself up to a proper sitting position. "I don't care. Go away."
Her shiny-meter went off the chart. "You're kinda pretty! The way you were hiding like that, I kinda thought you'd look like a Tonberry or something..." She blinked a little at his words, head tilting to the other side.
He just continued to glare at her through his hair for a moment before turning his gaze out the window, attempting wordless dissmissal instead.
"You're snippier than Chekhov." What an achievement. Yuffie bit back a snigger and shuffled closer. "What'cha looking at?"
He looked back to her and growled again. "None of your concern."
Yuffie blinked again, and this time she did pause. "Oh really~..."
"Yes." That said, he turned his gaze back out the window.
"So, Snippy! What's your name?" She had an idea who he was, of course... but nothing definite. She peered at him, sitting on the very edge of the bed.
Her action gained the benefit of him immediately moving to ensure he was out of arm's reach, then silence.
"Okay, then you're Snippy. Or Shiny... Which do you like better?" She waited where she was.
Still no reply, and he was back to not even looking at her, a hand absently brushing his hair back so it wasn't impeding his view... of whatever he so happened to be looking at.
Since he wasn't being helpful, Yuffie settled on Shiny. Like his hair... she could barely resist poking at it. "Hey, hey... Shiny, do you know my name?"
Not his name, thus she was even more persistently ignored than before.
"Shiny, it'd reeally help if y'gave me a hint. Wouldn't it be a bit, y'know, embarrassing if the name I thought you were called is actually the wrong name?" She leaned over and prodded at him.
He looked to her but said nothing, just giving her a level stare.
Apparently not. Yuffie heaved a huge sigh and ran a hand through her hair, hmphing softly. "Alright, alright! fine.... Lessee..." She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she ran over names. "Ch-- no, To-- naaah, Um..."
One eyebrow arched at the... options, but he said nothing, shifting slightly to face her, out of reach, for the first time since she came in the room.
She noticed the movement and shifted faintly, but didn't open her eyes. Instead she wrinkled her nose in concentration. "Ahh... Cu-- no! Thats not it! Shinj... Nah, thassa stable hand..."
Shaking his head and deciding that she hadn't the faintest idea, he pushed his hair down along his back, then made himself comfortable.
"Se..." Ooh, that sounded like it was on the right lines! She straightened a little and cracked her eyes open. "Se... Seph-" Hmmm... What was it? Gah!
Perhaps not entirely clueless then. Still, he just watched her. If she could read it wasn't as though his name was hard to spot as he was currently.
She closed her eyes again. Bah! "Seph... Hmm... Sephi-something! Sephichuu?" No.
Blind. He tilted his head. He always had wondered what they'd done when ninja got stupid. Did they set them on the young ones then?
Aha! "Sephiroth!" She was quite pleased with herself, but her face fell as soon as she noticed-- oh....
He just hummed a little and continued to watch her with that look.
Yuffie glared at him. "That was mean."
"Your point?" He tilted his head, just watching her.
"You could have told me," she pointed at him, "that your name was right there!"
"Why would I do something like that?" He gave her an arch look, tone implying that was a bit stupid.
"'Cause it wasn't-- uh, polite! Yep, thats it. It wasn't polite." She dropped her hand and settled for just glaring at him sulkily.
"Oh, you're one of those misguided into thinking that I actually have a semblance of civility aren't you?" He arched an eyebrow at her before shaking his head.
"No, I'm one of those who know you obviously don't actually have a semblance of civility." She parroted, still sulking.
"Then why would you think I would tell you anything?"
"Because I didn't know you were a jerk before. But I'll think I'll call you Sephichuu anyways." The sulk was replaced with a small grin.
He arched an eyebrow at her, then promptly rolled over to lay on his stomach and picked up his book to look for his last page.
Argh, no! He wasn't supposed to go back to ignoring her! Yuffie huffed and edged closer. "Aww, c'mon. Talk to me! Its gotta be boring, being over here n' all alone."
He paged through until he finds where he stopped on her arrival and started to read.
Yuffie twitched slightly, and finally stopped moving once she was right next to him. "What're you reading?"
He didn't even bother trying to answer. She wasn't touching him, and thus was perfectly ignorable.
She peered around a little, trying to see. She could always poke him if he kept ignoring her, anyway.
He didn't try to hide the book, though he did shift it to keep it in the light.
Hey-- and she'd been able to see it then! Yuffie tilted her head a little more so she could see the page again, without obstructing his light this time. ... Hmm. It felt like she was forgetting something.
This time, he ignored her perfectly well, turning the page once he reached the end of it. Of those who seemed intent on harassing him, at least this girl had a concept of quiet. With effort.
She had experience in keeping her mouth shut. Sometimes. It didn't usually last long, but... Yuffie blinked, following the words on the page with no small amount of confusion. "Huh..."
Realizing the girl had no idea what the book was about, he rolled over onto his back, letting his hair fall over the edge of the bedding onto the floor. It was comfortable.
It was kinda hard to follow him... but she did it anyway, keeping her eyes on the page. "Oh yeah! Did I tell you my name?" That's what she'd forgotten!
"Hmmm? No." He turned another page.
She settled again, continuing to try and read what she really, really didn't actually understand. "M' Yuffie! Kisaragi."
"............" He actually looked at her at that point, a small frown crossing his face.
She blinked at him, nonplussed. "Eh?"
".......Oh."
"Ehhhh?" She repeated, blinking at him some more. Well... this was a switch. Normally her being a Kisaragi didn't bother anyone...
He eyed her critically, the small frown staying firmly in place.
She frowned back, "Whaat? Did I say something stupid again?"
"Kisaragi?"
She nodded slowly. "Uh huh... Old man Godo's my dad." (She muttered 'unfortunately' under her breath). A small tilt of the head. "Why?"
"I was unaware there was any children of the line at your age." Closing his book after a glance, he held it loosely in his fingers.
She sat herself up properly and raised an eyebrow slightly, "Wha-? You know my family?" Stupid question. Everybody knew her family, but most didn't pay much attention anyway.
He was still giving her that intensely studying look. "Who was your mother?"
That look unnerved her a little. She shifted, looking away briefly. "Nioan."
The diverted attention was long enough she likely missed the flicker of surprise. "So she had a daughter."
"Well, obviously." Yuffie muttered, eyes on the wall. She never usually let herself think about her family or the past much.
He studied her for a moment more, then closed his eyes. "I see."
She shook her head sharply and looked at him again, refusing to let her mindset settle like that. "See what?"
"If you discredit my memory of her, I will be most cross with you." He gave her a level, intense stare, then picked up his book and started to page through it with nothing further.
"Wha- hey!" Yuffie, for all that his stares un-nerved her, wasn't willing to be quiet just yet. "The only one I 'discredit' is Godo! Mom was... really special. I wouldn't say anythin' bad about her." She frowned at him.
"Good." He found his page, relaxing some and looking for where on the page he'd stopped.
"Why d'you care, anyway?" After a moment, she settled back down and went back to reading it as well.
"She was the only person in Wutai I've yet met who was worth anything." It was a simple statement, and one he deemed true. Then again, considering what sorts of things people tended to want from him, it wasn't unreasonable.
"... Tell me about her?" She continued to look at the page.
"... She was very intelligent."
"... I know that."
"She understood how things ought to be." He gave her a narrowed eyed look then looked back to the book, turning his page.
"Isn't there another word for that?" Yuffie blinked, eyebrows furrowing slightly, and 'hmphed' at his look. She started reading again at the page turn.
"That?"
"Understanding stuff. The world, people n' stuff. Not just textbook crap."
"Empathy? Not the same. Though it was there, better than most of the fools here."
Now it was Yuffie's turn to give him a slightly narrow look, but then she deflated slightly. "... I guess some of them are kinda... But what is it if it ain't empathy, then? I don't get it."
"Perception." He flicked his gaze to her. "Kind of? Hm."
"Perception? Ohh... yeah." She paused on a word on his page that she didn't quite understand and frowned again. "Godo is about as perceptive as a dead fish, I think."
"Godo is selfish at best." The words were laced heavily with venom, but were also oddly flat.
"Y'can say that again." She figured out the word and that cheered her enough to stop her from snarking too much. Strange, they seemed to share an opinion on something...
"There would be no point. It is, after all, a point that makes no difference in any present standing."
"... Huh?" She glanced at him, blinking again.
He flicked his fingers at his surroundings and then turned his page in the book. "Tell me princess, what do I seem to be to you?"
She looked around at his gesture, then back to the book, then back to him. "Dunno. You're weird. You knew mom and you think Godo's a selfish idiot. You're.... Different." She shrugged, not quite understanding the question. "Not a bad thing, even if you are a bit of an ass. Why?"
He was quiet for a long moment, then slowly turned his head to eye her. Dear gods she was serious. "Girl, how old are you?"
"Seventeen." She eyed him back.
He watched her for a moment, then closed the book with a snap of the pages, twisting to move nose to nose with her. "I see. Now, using intelligence hopefully not inherited from your father, answer my question in a more technical sense, hmm?"
She twitched back immediately, staying quiet while she mulled it over.
He didn't move, still and patient, eyes slightly narrowed, feline since he was in direct light.
She could figure this out! It wasn't that hard! "You..." Hmm...
"I?"
"You belong to my family? Is that it?" She wasn't sure, but... maybe? Maybe. It would make sense.
"Hm." Settling back on his heels, he just watched her, not saying anything further.
"Am I right?"
"Unfortunately." He narrowed his eyes further at her for a moment, then tipped his head slightly, the action nigh concealing his face as his bangs slipped forward.
She cocked her head to the side slightly then snorted, looking irritated. "Assholes." She said simply. Belonging to somebody... Ugh.
"Hmph. It was your mother who made the deal." He rolled his shoulders, then tipped over backwards onto the pillows, gaze hunting for his book. "It's just unfortunate she died, as that means Godo got sole rights over me. The arrangement is unfortunate."
"Why would she..." Probably a whole lot of backstory she had no idea about. She picked up the book almost gingerly and held it out to him, but kept the slight distance she'd given herself. "What'd happen if you just... I dunno, left?"
"Shinra has a fiscal responsibility to return me if found." He took the book and started to page through it for the third, fourth? time.
"... Guess it'd be no fun living in hiding all the time. What does... 'fiscal' mean?" She still looked irritated.
"People are pointless and confusing in any case, I doubt it would be a different matter elsewhere. Fiscal deals with things pertaining to money."
"... Hey, doesn't that mean you think you're pointless and confusing?" She raised an eyebrow and sighed heavily, flopping more comfortably to go back to reading his book.
"Of course not. I said people were. I hardly class myself as a person." He gave her an arch look that implied the obviousness of this, then looked back to his book as well."
"You're more a person than a lot of the losers 'round here. 'Least you think for yourself, even if you are stuck here." ... She would have to read this book from the beginning.
"I'm better than the people here you mean. That doesn't make me one. I prefer it that way." He turned the page, settling into the pillows.
"So... what are you? If I see you as one thing, they see you as another thing, and you see you as another thing?" A small glance before she started following the writing again.
He considered that for a moment, eyes half closing as he mulled it over. Better than these people, that was obvious. His upbringing suggested other things, but he wasn't a thing. "A chained god perhaps, something of that caliber would do well enough."
"Could ya break those chains?" She asked, light and curious. He thought so highly of himself... Yuffie wasn't sure what to think about it.
He tilted his head and just looked at her with a slow smirk. "Would you want to see what would happen if I did?"
She debated for a moment. "Dunno. Would I want to?"
He watched her from under his lashes for a moment, then looked back at the book and turned the page.
"I wanna know, but I can't decide if I trust ya or not yet."
"You realize, of course, that I don't like people. I have good cause to despise most people, some more than others."
"I wouldn't like people much if I was cooped up in here either. I woulda gone loopy in a week." She settled herself more comfortably. "So~?"
"So what?" He tilted his head, continuing to read.
"So~... D'ya despise me?"
"You have a margin of lead to hang yourself with due to your mother and the fact you haven't tried to touch me."
Yuffie wrinkled her nose. "Why would I wanna do something like that?" It was more a rhetorical question. "But it's good that y'don't hate me! That means I can come bug you and you won't throw me out, right?"
The childish question had him relaxing reflexively, not even really intentionally. "Then you don't take after you father. Good."
"I'd rather eat rocks than take after him," She muttered, shaking her head. "Ick. But you didn't answer my question! I can come visit ya, can't I? Its boring being stuck at home all the time..."
"It's not as though I can stop you." He flipped the next page of the book, not looking over at her, though the action was less clipped.
"Sure ya can. I probably wouldn't listen, mind... but its the principle of the thing! So if I get really, really annoying or something, y'can just throw me out." She'd come back, of course; he was weird, but she kinda liked him.
"Hmmmm." He didn't bother giving a more clear answer than that, just trying to get accustomed to the idea of the girl.
She quieted for a moment before starting to hum softly, an old tune that her mother had taught her years ago. Of course, she was still reading the book (and trying to keep up with his reading).
When the sound fully registered, he stilled, tipping his head the slightest fraction.
She knew the words to the song, and sang it often enough when she was alone, but for now was content with humming it; the song always came to mind when she thought about her mom. Eyes half closed, she continued to hum.
Slowly, he turned his attention back to the page, relaxing in place without thinking about it, far more so than he had earlier.
She could hum this song in her sleep- sometimes she hummed it to herself to get to sleep. Yuffie stretched slightly and flipped herself onto her back, following the words on his page from upside-down, never ceasing her mom's song.
Turning the page, he ended up letting his eyes drift closed and just listened. He hadn't appreciated the woman while she was alive, but he knew her value after she was dead.
Godo never liked her singing the song, always getting that look whenever he caught her. But Sephiroth wasn't complaining... So the song continued.
Shifting the book slightly to rest on his chest. The girl wasn't so bad.
She felt a wash of sleepiness that almost made her falter, but she managed not to. Too bad her favorite song just had to be her lullaby. She hummed the last part of the song, gazing at dimly at the ceiling.
Shifting when the song finished, he rolled over, setting the book down on the table before he tucked himself against the softness of his nest.
Yuffie yawned, realizing in the back of her mind that the whole atmosphere of the place seemed to have changed, and rubbed her hand across her eyes, her movements heavy. Really... really shouldn't take a nap here.
He watched her intently, eyes glowing under his lashes, but got comfortable. Comfortable was good.
She blinked slowly at the ceiling as she battled the warm, fuzzy urge to curl up and nap. Wouldn't be good. When she finally noticed she was being watched, she tilted her head to look at him questioningly.
He didn't say anything, just staying put and studying her. She could figure it out.
Another slow blink, and she continued to peer at him sleepily. Trust humming to almost put her to sleep...
He hummed faintly, then closed his eyes and tucked his face against his arm.
"'R you sleeping now?" She asked in a soft mumble.
"Yes." He didn't bother to move.
She curled onto her side, still watching him. "Can I stay?" If not, she could probably drag herself up a tree nearby somewhere...
"I don't care." It was a murmur and he shifted a little before burying himself in covers.
"Goody," She mumbled, her eyes drifting shut. Perfectly happy to stay curled in her little spot... not so bad to nap if he didn't mind her being there.
Pleased she'd quieted, he just nestled down for a nice sleep.
After another little yawn, she tucked herself into a comfortable curl and gave in to the urges to sleep.
Words: 4021
Note: This is an AU universe, it's an RP and Yuffie isn't done by me, where Sephiroth was given over in trade as incentive from Shinra to cooperate with the Reactor infringement as part of a pre-war treaty. He was 14 at the time and thus has been here quite some time.
For some reason, Yuffie had always been warned away from this area. This time she just slinked over when the people who should have been paying attention weren't-- most likely due to the rampaging herd of Chocobos over yonder... All too easy.
It didn't take more than a moment for the movement to register as someone came into his little corner of the world, and he bristled a little, not wanting to deal with it. Moving a bit deeper into his corner of gardens, having already finished his practice, he decided to avoid first.
"Hello~?" Yes, forget caution. It really wasn't what Yuffie was known for. She picked her way further into the unknown territory, half-remembering to keep an ear out for trouble.
Not interested. Slipping into his apartment area, he set his blade down over a look over that indicated it didn't need attention, going directly away from the girl. It wasn't a voice he knew in any case.
"Aww, come on..!" Yuffie knew somebody was there. Damnit, she really did. Kicking idly at a rock, she scanned the vicinity before poking around some more.
Ignoring it. Perhaps he'd get lucky and it would go away. Taking the sticks out of his hair, he shook it down out of the loose knot and padded over to put them in their pot with the others. If nothing else, he would never lack for decoration.
Hm... This didn't seem to be working. "I'm not goin' anywhere!" Yuffie called, wondering just vaguely if she'd have to sleep in a tree tonight. Probably, at the rate this was going.
Blissfully ignoring the noise, he moved to his nest of pillows and blankets and settled into it after a last few lazy stretches. Where had he put that book?
Ah, but she didn't like being poked in the butt with nobbly bits of twig... "'Kay," she mumbled, "If you won't come to me..." Perkily, she made her way further in and looked around. Lo and behold! A trace of a grin appeared and she made her way over.
Settled in to firmly ignore the interruption to his day, he had gotten the book open by the time he heard her come in. At least girls tended to not attempt to do anything to him. Easier to ignore that way.
She investigated the door. No lock? Hopefully no lock! After a little glance around on her tip-toes, she tested the door and found it, strangely enough, not to be locked. "Hi!"
He tucked himself a bit further down into the pillows. Perhaps she would not see him and go. Yes... Making sure he was in the right spot, he started to read.
Whoever it was sure was quiet! Yuffie cocked her head to the side and stepped in, looking left and right. "Heyhey, I'm the ninja here. Come on out~."
Turning a page, he did his very best to tune her out while still keeping track of where she was. Well, ninja meant she had some rank, so the girl might think she had a right to him or something similar. It made him bristle a little and he eyed the page closely.
A small pout, and she scuffed at the floor with her foot. Too quiet! She was perfectly happy to yap to herself for hours, usually, but... "Pleeease? I'll be quiet if you do!"
More suspicious with that statement, he decided it would be wiser to the abort the book for now and tucked himself deeper into his bedding.
Well, at least she could see movement. Not letting herself be disheartened, she walked right on forwards and stopped again a few feet away. "I don't bite or anythin'."
As though that made a difference? Slinking under his covers, he contemplated sneaking around and back out.
"I'll probably leave sooner if you come out," Yuffie suggested, inching closer. When she was in range, she reached out and poked at his bedding. "Otherwise I'll never leave you alone."
The poke earned her a deep chested growl, and he shifted the bedding enough to give her a feline, glowing eyed glare.
"Aha! Life!" She seemed completely unperturbed by the glare, though she did blink a little. "What'cha looking at me like that for?"
He shifted slightly to push the blanket out of the way, ignoring having once more proved a futile deterrence. "Go away."
And, aha! It spoke! Yuffie added a score to her inner 'win' tally. "Nah. Y'look kinda shiny." She tilted her head slightly. "And I'm kinda bored of talkin' to everyone else."
He growled again, eyes narrowing a bit as he pushed himself up to a proper sitting position. "I don't care. Go away."
Her shiny-meter went off the chart. "You're kinda pretty! The way you were hiding like that, I kinda thought you'd look like a Tonberry or something..." She blinked a little at his words, head tilting to the other side.
He just continued to glare at her through his hair for a moment before turning his gaze out the window, attempting wordless dissmissal instead.
"You're snippier than Chekhov." What an achievement. Yuffie bit back a snigger and shuffled closer. "What'cha looking at?"
He looked back to her and growled again. "None of your concern."
Yuffie blinked again, and this time she did pause. "Oh really~..."
"Yes." That said, he turned his gaze back out the window.
"So, Snippy! What's your name?" She had an idea who he was, of course... but nothing definite. She peered at him, sitting on the very edge of the bed.
Her action gained the benefit of him immediately moving to ensure he was out of arm's reach, then silence.
"Okay, then you're Snippy. Or Shiny... Which do you like better?" She waited where she was.
Still no reply, and he was back to not even looking at her, a hand absently brushing his hair back so it wasn't impeding his view... of whatever he so happened to be looking at.
Since he wasn't being helpful, Yuffie settled on Shiny. Like his hair... she could barely resist poking at it. "Hey, hey... Shiny, do you know my name?"
Not his name, thus she was even more persistently ignored than before.
"Shiny, it'd reeally help if y'gave me a hint. Wouldn't it be a bit, y'know, embarrassing if the name I thought you were called is actually the wrong name?" She leaned over and prodded at him.
He looked to her but said nothing, just giving her a level stare.
Apparently not. Yuffie heaved a huge sigh and ran a hand through her hair, hmphing softly. "Alright, alright! fine.... Lessee..." She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she ran over names. "Ch-- no, To-- naaah, Um..."
One eyebrow arched at the... options, but he said nothing, shifting slightly to face her, out of reach, for the first time since she came in the room.
She noticed the movement and shifted faintly, but didn't open her eyes. Instead she wrinkled her nose in concentration. "Ahh... Cu-- no! Thats not it! Shinj... Nah, thassa stable hand..."
Shaking his head and deciding that she hadn't the faintest idea, he pushed his hair down along his back, then made himself comfortable.
"Se..." Ooh, that sounded like it was on the right lines! She straightened a little and cracked her eyes open. "Se... Seph-" Hmmm... What was it? Gah!
Perhaps not entirely clueless then. Still, he just watched her. If she could read it wasn't as though his name was hard to spot as he was currently.
She closed her eyes again. Bah! "Seph... Hmm... Sephi-something! Sephichuu?" No.
Blind. He tilted his head. He always had wondered what they'd done when ninja got stupid. Did they set them on the young ones then?
Aha! "Sephiroth!" She was quite pleased with herself, but her face fell as soon as she noticed-- oh....
He just hummed a little and continued to watch her with that look.
Yuffie glared at him. "That was mean."
"Your point?" He tilted his head, just watching her.
"You could have told me," she pointed at him, "that your name was right there!"
"Why would I do something like that?" He gave her an arch look, tone implying that was a bit stupid.
"'Cause it wasn't-- uh, polite! Yep, thats it. It wasn't polite." She dropped her hand and settled for just glaring at him sulkily.
"Oh, you're one of those misguided into thinking that I actually have a semblance of civility aren't you?" He arched an eyebrow at her before shaking his head.
"No, I'm one of those who know you obviously don't actually have a semblance of civility." She parroted, still sulking.
"Then why would you think I would tell you anything?"
"Because I didn't know you were a jerk before. But I'll think I'll call you Sephichuu anyways." The sulk was replaced with a small grin.
He arched an eyebrow at her, then promptly rolled over to lay on his stomach and picked up his book to look for his last page.
Argh, no! He wasn't supposed to go back to ignoring her! Yuffie huffed and edged closer. "Aww, c'mon. Talk to me! Its gotta be boring, being over here n' all alone."
He paged through until he finds where he stopped on her arrival and started to read.
Yuffie twitched slightly, and finally stopped moving once she was right next to him. "What're you reading?"
He didn't even bother trying to answer. She wasn't touching him, and thus was perfectly ignorable.
She peered around a little, trying to see. She could always poke him if he kept ignoring her, anyway.
He didn't try to hide the book, though he did shift it to keep it in the light.
Hey-- and she'd been able to see it then! Yuffie tilted her head a little more so she could see the page again, without obstructing his light this time. ... Hmm. It felt like she was forgetting something.
This time, he ignored her perfectly well, turning the page once he reached the end of it. Of those who seemed intent on harassing him, at least this girl had a concept of quiet. With effort.
She had experience in keeping her mouth shut. Sometimes. It didn't usually last long, but... Yuffie blinked, following the words on the page with no small amount of confusion. "Huh..."
Realizing the girl had no idea what the book was about, he rolled over onto his back, letting his hair fall over the edge of the bedding onto the floor. It was comfortable.
It was kinda hard to follow him... but she did it anyway, keeping her eyes on the page. "Oh yeah! Did I tell you my name?" That's what she'd forgotten!
"Hmmm? No." He turned another page.
She settled again, continuing to try and read what she really, really didn't actually understand. "M' Yuffie! Kisaragi."
"............" He actually looked at her at that point, a small frown crossing his face.
She blinked at him, nonplussed. "Eh?"
".......Oh."
"Ehhhh?" She repeated, blinking at him some more. Well... this was a switch. Normally her being a Kisaragi didn't bother anyone...
He eyed her critically, the small frown staying firmly in place.
She frowned back, "Whaat? Did I say something stupid again?"
"Kisaragi?"
She nodded slowly. "Uh huh... Old man Godo's my dad." (She muttered 'unfortunately' under her breath). A small tilt of the head. "Why?"
"I was unaware there was any children of the line at your age." Closing his book after a glance, he held it loosely in his fingers.
She sat herself up properly and raised an eyebrow slightly, "Wha-? You know my family?" Stupid question. Everybody knew her family, but most didn't pay much attention anyway.
He was still giving her that intensely studying look. "Who was your mother?"
That look unnerved her a little. She shifted, looking away briefly. "Nioan."
The diverted attention was long enough she likely missed the flicker of surprise. "So she had a daughter."
"Well, obviously." Yuffie muttered, eyes on the wall. She never usually let herself think about her family or the past much.
He studied her for a moment more, then closed his eyes. "I see."
She shook her head sharply and looked at him again, refusing to let her mindset settle like that. "See what?"
"If you discredit my memory of her, I will be most cross with you." He gave her a level, intense stare, then picked up his book and started to page through it with nothing further.
"Wha- hey!" Yuffie, for all that his stares un-nerved her, wasn't willing to be quiet just yet. "The only one I 'discredit' is Godo! Mom was... really special. I wouldn't say anythin' bad about her." She frowned at him.
"Good." He found his page, relaxing some and looking for where on the page he'd stopped.
"Why d'you care, anyway?" After a moment, she settled back down and went back to reading it as well.
"She was the only person in Wutai I've yet met who was worth anything." It was a simple statement, and one he deemed true. Then again, considering what sorts of things people tended to want from him, it wasn't unreasonable.
"... Tell me about her?" She continued to look at the page.
"... She was very intelligent."
"... I know that."
"She understood how things ought to be." He gave her a narrowed eyed look then looked back to the book, turning his page.
"Isn't there another word for that?" Yuffie blinked, eyebrows furrowing slightly, and 'hmphed' at his look. She started reading again at the page turn.
"That?"
"Understanding stuff. The world, people n' stuff. Not just textbook crap."
"Empathy? Not the same. Though it was there, better than most of the fools here."
Now it was Yuffie's turn to give him a slightly narrow look, but then she deflated slightly. "... I guess some of them are kinda... But what is it if it ain't empathy, then? I don't get it."
"Perception." He flicked his gaze to her. "Kind of? Hm."
"Perception? Ohh... yeah." She paused on a word on his page that she didn't quite understand and frowned again. "Godo is about as perceptive as a dead fish, I think."
"Godo is selfish at best." The words were laced heavily with venom, but were also oddly flat.
"Y'can say that again." She figured out the word and that cheered her enough to stop her from snarking too much. Strange, they seemed to share an opinion on something...
"There would be no point. It is, after all, a point that makes no difference in any present standing."
"... Huh?" She glanced at him, blinking again.
He flicked his fingers at his surroundings and then turned his page in the book. "Tell me princess, what do I seem to be to you?"
She looked around at his gesture, then back to the book, then back to him. "Dunno. You're weird. You knew mom and you think Godo's a selfish idiot. You're.... Different." She shrugged, not quite understanding the question. "Not a bad thing, even if you are a bit of an ass. Why?"
He was quiet for a long moment, then slowly turned his head to eye her. Dear gods she was serious. "Girl, how old are you?"
"Seventeen." She eyed him back.
He watched her for a moment, then closed the book with a snap of the pages, twisting to move nose to nose with her. "I see. Now, using intelligence hopefully not inherited from your father, answer my question in a more technical sense, hmm?"
She twitched back immediately, staying quiet while she mulled it over.
He didn't move, still and patient, eyes slightly narrowed, feline since he was in direct light.
She could figure this out! It wasn't that hard! "You..." Hmm...
"I?"
"You belong to my family? Is that it?" She wasn't sure, but... maybe? Maybe. It would make sense.
"Hm." Settling back on his heels, he just watched her, not saying anything further.
"Am I right?"
"Unfortunately." He narrowed his eyes further at her for a moment, then tipped his head slightly, the action nigh concealing his face as his bangs slipped forward.
She cocked her head to the side slightly then snorted, looking irritated. "Assholes." She said simply. Belonging to somebody... Ugh.
"Hmph. It was your mother who made the deal." He rolled his shoulders, then tipped over backwards onto the pillows, gaze hunting for his book. "It's just unfortunate she died, as that means Godo got sole rights over me. The arrangement is unfortunate."
"Why would she..." Probably a whole lot of backstory she had no idea about. She picked up the book almost gingerly and held it out to him, but kept the slight distance she'd given herself. "What'd happen if you just... I dunno, left?"
"Shinra has a fiscal responsibility to return me if found." He took the book and started to page through it for the third, fourth? time.
"... Guess it'd be no fun living in hiding all the time. What does... 'fiscal' mean?" She still looked irritated.
"People are pointless and confusing in any case, I doubt it would be a different matter elsewhere. Fiscal deals with things pertaining to money."
"... Hey, doesn't that mean you think you're pointless and confusing?" She raised an eyebrow and sighed heavily, flopping more comfortably to go back to reading his book.
"Of course not. I said people were. I hardly class myself as a person." He gave her an arch look that implied the obviousness of this, then looked back to his book as well."
"You're more a person than a lot of the losers 'round here. 'Least you think for yourself, even if you are stuck here." ... She would have to read this book from the beginning.
"I'm better than the people here you mean. That doesn't make me one. I prefer it that way." He turned the page, settling into the pillows.
"So... what are you? If I see you as one thing, they see you as another thing, and you see you as another thing?" A small glance before she started following the writing again.
He considered that for a moment, eyes half closing as he mulled it over. Better than these people, that was obvious. His upbringing suggested other things, but he wasn't a thing. "A chained god perhaps, something of that caliber would do well enough."
"Could ya break those chains?" She asked, light and curious. He thought so highly of himself... Yuffie wasn't sure what to think about it.
He tilted his head and just looked at her with a slow smirk. "Would you want to see what would happen if I did?"
She debated for a moment. "Dunno. Would I want to?"
He watched her from under his lashes for a moment, then looked back at the book and turned the page.
"I wanna know, but I can't decide if I trust ya or not yet."
"You realize, of course, that I don't like people. I have good cause to despise most people, some more than others."
"I wouldn't like people much if I was cooped up in here either. I woulda gone loopy in a week." She settled herself more comfortably. "So~?"
"So what?" He tilted his head, continuing to read.
"So~... D'ya despise me?"
"You have a margin of lead to hang yourself with due to your mother and the fact you haven't tried to touch me."
Yuffie wrinkled her nose. "Why would I wanna do something like that?" It was more a rhetorical question. "But it's good that y'don't hate me! That means I can come bug you and you won't throw me out, right?"
The childish question had him relaxing reflexively, not even really intentionally. "Then you don't take after you father. Good."
"I'd rather eat rocks than take after him," She muttered, shaking her head. "Ick. But you didn't answer my question! I can come visit ya, can't I? Its boring being stuck at home all the time..."
"It's not as though I can stop you." He flipped the next page of the book, not looking over at her, though the action was less clipped.
"Sure ya can. I probably wouldn't listen, mind... but its the principle of the thing! So if I get really, really annoying or something, y'can just throw me out." She'd come back, of course; he was weird, but she kinda liked him.
"Hmmmm." He didn't bother giving a more clear answer than that, just trying to get accustomed to the idea of the girl.
She quieted for a moment before starting to hum softly, an old tune that her mother had taught her years ago. Of course, she was still reading the book (and trying to keep up with his reading).
When the sound fully registered, he stilled, tipping his head the slightest fraction.
She knew the words to the song, and sang it often enough when she was alone, but for now was content with humming it; the song always came to mind when she thought about her mom. Eyes half closed, she continued to hum.
Slowly, he turned his attention back to the page, relaxing in place without thinking about it, far more so than he had earlier.
She could hum this song in her sleep- sometimes she hummed it to herself to get to sleep. Yuffie stretched slightly and flipped herself onto her back, following the words on his page from upside-down, never ceasing her mom's song.
Turning the page, he ended up letting his eyes drift closed and just listened. He hadn't appreciated the woman while she was alive, but he knew her value after she was dead.
Godo never liked her singing the song, always getting that look whenever he caught her. But Sephiroth wasn't complaining... So the song continued.
Shifting the book slightly to rest on his chest. The girl wasn't so bad.
She felt a wash of sleepiness that almost made her falter, but she managed not to. Too bad her favorite song just had to be her lullaby. She hummed the last part of the song, gazing at dimly at the ceiling.
Shifting when the song finished, he rolled over, setting the book down on the table before he tucked himself against the softness of his nest.
Yuffie yawned, realizing in the back of her mind that the whole atmosphere of the place seemed to have changed, and rubbed her hand across her eyes, her movements heavy. Really... really shouldn't take a nap here.
He watched her intently, eyes glowing under his lashes, but got comfortable. Comfortable was good.
She blinked slowly at the ceiling as she battled the warm, fuzzy urge to curl up and nap. Wouldn't be good. When she finally noticed she was being watched, she tilted her head to look at him questioningly.
He didn't say anything, just staying put and studying her. She could figure it out.
Another slow blink, and she continued to peer at him sleepily. Trust humming to almost put her to sleep...
He hummed faintly, then closed his eyes and tucked his face against his arm.
"'R you sleeping now?" She asked in a soft mumble.
"Yes." He didn't bother to move.
She curled onto her side, still watching him. "Can I stay?" If not, she could probably drag herself up a tree nearby somewhere...
"I don't care." It was a murmur and he shifted a little before burying himself in covers.
"Goody," She mumbled, her eyes drifting shut. Perfectly happy to stay curled in her little spot... not so bad to nap if he didn't mind her being there.
Pleased she'd quieted, he just nestled down for a nice sleep.
After another little yawn, she tucked herself into a comfortable curl and gave in to the urges to sleep.
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Date: 9/30/08 04:15 pm (UTC)