studyingfear: (half-shadowed)
[personal profile] studyingfear
It said something about how unsettled Rufus was after Fandom's latest... adventure... that he'd voluntarily opted for going home when no one and nothing was expecting him, or needed him, there. Dark Nation came along, of course, and the half-grown dog anxiously haunted Rufus' footsteps as Rufus went through the motions of being the useless, worthless heir. Someone was always watching, after all. But while normally he made it challenging for the watchers, if only because it was their fault if they got lazy watching him and he hated lazy workers, on this visit, he didn't bother.

Rufus lingered near the shooting ranges, watching the Academy students practice but never making any move to do any himself. When he wasn't there, he was in his room. Usually, Rufus despised such empty predictability and routine, but he had a lot of think about and there was something comforting about the near constant sound of guns going off and Dark Nation's presence as he brooded.

And it was brooding.

Unusual, that.

[For a Turk!]

Date: 2016-12-15 12:39 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Determination)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng's hands were neatly clasped behind his back as he stood and observed the Academy students at work, supervising less to make certain nobody shot themselves in the foot, and more to see if they were raising up any promising Turks material here. But he was distracted, today, by an extra presence on the outskirts of the range. A presence he'd been made aware of, but still hadn't quite decided how to approach since Rufus' arrival back in Midgar. Intel had suggested that Rufus was out of sorts during this trip, and that phrase alone had him pausing to consider the boy's reasons for returning at all.

After a good twenty minutes, he decided that there wasn't anybody promising in the range now who wouldn't still be promising tomorrow, and he turned to approach Rufus, hands still clasped behind him, expression mild, if curious.

Date: 2016-12-15 12:41 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Wistful-ish)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Hell, Tseng would encourage Rufus to sit in on a class. At least that meant something useful that he could put into a report to the President. This was just... watching.

Tseng cleared his throat a little. Not because he didn't think Rufus had noticed him, mind. More because... it was as effective a conversation starter as any.

"What would you say," he said, turning his head slightly toward the range. "Any that look promising to you?"

Date: 2016-12-15 12:45 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Intense)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng gave a brief, agreeable nod. Nobody had really jumped out at him today on the range, though lack of skill with a gun didn't mean they were utterly hopeless with materia, or with a sword. The infantry often lost sight of that fact, preferring to stick to firearms no matter what the proficiency of their recruits. Just one more way in which the Turks were superior.

Not that he was boasting to himself or anything.

"I've seen them," he said, thoughtfully. "They'll serve your family well in time, provided they get the proper training here."

Date: 2016-12-15 12:47 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Calm)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng considered that agreement, and then shook his head a little.

"Shame they're likely to be wasted on the Infantry."

Or SOLDIER. Tseng almost, almost rolled his eyes at the thought.

"ShinRa's biggest folly always has been allocating resources to places where they'd be wasted." Now he wasn't talking about the people training in the range, no. He suspected Rufus was bright enough to catch on to that. "Places that do them more damage than they can do good, in some cases."

Date: 2016-12-15 12:50 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Determination)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"Mm, true," Tseng allowed. And then he inclined his head faintly. "If I may, though, sir? The role of the Turks is to mitigate that damage as much as possible."

They were damage control in every sense of the word. Often in the ugliest sense.

Caring about whatever the hell was eating at Rufus right now was literally the job.

Date: 2016-12-15 12:54 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Side)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"No," Tseng allowed. "We can't. We're only human."

He looked back toward the range.

"But that doesn't keep us from trying."

Date: 2016-12-15 01:07 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Calm)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng wouldn't even know where the hell to start when it came to fixing Rufus. But Rufus' situation? That was another story. A somewhat more realistic one, at that.

"I suppose that depends on what's damaged."

Date: 2016-12-15 01:11 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Me > You)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"I could," Tseng agreed.

He made no move to leave.

"I would rather not."

You know. With all due respect, kiddo.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:14 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Very Tsengly)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
That simply got a slight raise of Tseng's eyebrow.

"I beg to differ," he said, tone almost deceptively light. "I've been assigned to see to your personal well-being, after all. And 'a funk' is... decidedly out of character, from what I've observed of you so far."

Date: 2016-12-15 01:17 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Heh.)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"For the most part?" Tseng's eyebrows raised just slightly, in something that could be taken as amusement only by those who knew him very well. "You're the biggest pain in my ass since Reno. You're an irreverent, disrespectful, troublesome brat who manages to make me question my job almost on a daily basis."

He let that hang in the air between them for a moment. When he spoke up again, it was in a much quieter tone.

"Which belies the flashes of brilliance that you show when you're confident enough that nobody will notice. And neither of those aspects of you have ever suggested that you're the sort to mope. Either you don't care enough about anything, or you have more important things to care about."

Date: 2016-12-15 01:24 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Laughing)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng's posture didn't waver. He did nod at the occasional instructor as they passed by, not about to draw more curiosity by ignoring them outright. When the room was all but silent, he replied with a simple, almost desert-dry statement.

"It's my job."

You were brilliant, Rufus, there was no doubt about that. Tseng was still a Turk.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:35 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Determination)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng nodded faintly. That, at least, was a fair enough answer. They were hardly friends, after all. Rufus went out of his way to antagonize Tseng, and there were days when the boy was lucky he wasn't on Gaia, because he'd find a deranged Turk strangling the life out of him in short order if he was.

"I know it's... unorthodox, sir," he said, finally, "but if at any point you feel that an outside opinion would be useful in the thought process... I have been known to omit information from reports to your father in the past already."

He was a professional storyteller at this point. The President didn't need to know any of what went on over on that damn island.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:41 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Intense)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng's expression didn't waver, no. His eyebrow edged up on his face just slightly, perhaps, but besides that... No, he didn't show much of a reaction at all.

"While it wouldn't be an inaccurate assessment," he allowed, "and I don't tend to broadcast the fact, I am capable of taking an interest in matters that aren't directly influenced by my ability to follow orders."

Date: 2016-12-15 01:47 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Heh.)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng was silent for a moment before, biting back a sigh, he decided to lay a few of his cards on the table.

"You're interesting," he settled on.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:51 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Intense)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"I know."

It was possibly one of the smartest things that Tseng had seen Rufus do to date. Play off young and impetuous, play off the disrespectful teen who craves attention, all while hiding from the important kind of attention right there in plain sight. And it would have had him fooled, too, if he wasn't left contending with the boy. Rufus' cover was the biggest thorn in Tseng's side, and worse still, it hindered his ability to do the job. Of course he was going to put two and two together eventually. He had to.

"We'll work on your cover."

Sorry, Rufus. You were stuck with him now.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:53 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Seeeerious)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng considered his answer carefully at that, frowning just the slightest bit.

"Unfortunately, not much," he said, finally. "The assignment was presented to me not long before it was shoved at you, and while I did use all of my available time to prepare, there wasn't much beyond the basic, 'interdimensional nexus' available to me until I had more opportunity to investigate."

He'd listened to a lot of drunken squirrel blather after the fact.

He'd beaten his forehead against a wall a lot while he did so.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:55 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Side)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
If Tseng had known that, he'd probably have that hit coming to him.

"You presume correctly," Tseng confirmed. And then his tone went dry again. "I did come across some similar information a few months later, in radio reports that made me wonder if there was some sort of hallucinogenic drug in the water." Tseng had found the Soap Opera Weekend recordings. "But I'm certain you can guess at why I was unable to deliver that information to you then."

So, so many hours spent trying to get a gods-be-damned call through.

Date: 2016-12-15 01:58 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Me > You)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"I thought you might, yes," Tseng agreed, though to his credit, he didn't roll his eyes.

Date: 2016-12-15 02:01 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Intense)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
Tseng allowed that silence to reign until the shooting had started anew. And then he looked at Rufus and simply raised an eyebrow.

"I would be interested in working on our professional relationship. Not just for my sake."

Because yes, Rufus, Tseng had plenty of intel on the island that you were going to want. He could guarantee it.

Date: 2016-12-15 02:05 am (UTC)
ponytailedturk: (Saaad)
From: [personal profile] ponytailedturk
"That's all I can ask."

Well, that wasn't strictly true. Tseng could ask anything he damn well pleased. That didn't mean he was going to get any of it. He turned his attention back toward the shooters, and fell back into silence.

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studyingfear: (Default)
Rufus Shinra

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