Log 23 | Forever to keep one step ahead...

[neverbeamemory]

Characters: A: Sephiroth & Ganondorf [Closed], B: Sephiroth & Sheba [Closed], C: Sephiroth & YOU [Open]
Setting: 22nd July, Afternoon. A: Floor 75, B: Floor 81, C: Floor 38
Format: Action, can switch
Summary: Sephiroth offloads his latest acquisition onto Ganondorf for 'safe keeping', Encounters Sheba on the way back and then eventually settles in the Floor 38 Lounge to do some reading.
Warnings: None specific yet, usual Sephiroth violence-warning applies.

A: Floor 75 [Closed to Ganondorf]
[There isn't much time. He's already spent an entire night of sleeplessness pondering this fact.

A fool would think that they weren't already onto him. Between his network post which initiated the boycott nearly two weeks ago, his own shadow of a retrieval unit always watching and the cameras between the Infirmary and the Dormitories there is no way they don't know he's got it. Or at least, if there was any doubt, whomever looked on the network already today would know as well, courtesy of a certain loud mouthed girl - he should have cut her tongue out instead of outright killing her. Sephiroth is certain there are others within the Tower who will be looking for him as well, soon enough.

Even without Yukiko's little broadcast Sephiroth knows he can't hold onto this treasure. As precious and as crucial to him as it is, as it will prove to be; it needs to be put somewhere safe. Somewhere hidden, or at least as hidden within the Glamour as he, or rather someone he knows can possibly make it.

In order to gain as much distance as possible from the stairwell, and any other prying eyes, Sephiroth had taken to the air as soon as he stepped onto this floor. He waits hovering, one large black wing beating at the air intermittently as if it were really keeping him afloat, level to but not too near to the top-most platform of the Tower within the Tower. Both arms wrapped unrelentingly around that blasted container, wrapped in a bed sheet and with his jacket pulled around it as much as he can make it.]

B: Floor 81 [Closed to Sheba]
[Is he supposed to feel lighter now? He doesn't.

Who would have thought that he'd had to ask Ganondorf for help. It prickles at his pride like an unwelcome stitch that he doesn't have the means to conceal anything in the Tower, well as much as anything could be concealed here. Ifrits-hell such tactics are not his usual forte, but going down furiously defending that thing certainly wasn't an option. He'd be right back where he started with nothing to show for it - or worse.

Sephiroth presses the button to call the elevator but then wanders away from it more into the lounge area of this floor. As ever his gaze drawn to the window before he realized he was doing it. He blinks harshly and forces his gaze away. It's just a wall, there might well be something out there but it's probably not the beauteous cosmos that it appears to be. The ghost of broken hands cramps his knuckles momentarily and he takes the moment to crack them.

He shouldn't linger, he knows it won't be long before his supervisor catches up to him --he's been lucky enough to have learned how lose him on stairwells quite well. Sephiroth turns and strides back towards the doors to the elevator-]

C: Floor 38 [Open]
[Having retreated back up to his dormitory via the showers Sephiroth has resolved to grab a book and head for the less residential lounge. He seldom makes the effort to climb all the stairs from the 21st Floor but by that fact alone, it might earn him some privacy. To finally try to place the recognizable voice that he hears every time he reads through this poem book; the name always escaping him always and plummeting into a great black hole of a missing memory. There was a red head who had lived here once, with a similar tone to her voice but it wasn't quite a match.

Sephiroth's expression, as he lays back across one of the sofas reading is one of concentration - as if he were studying some complicated science, or trying to learn a new language just by reading the words. That retrieval unit lurks nearby, and every so often Sephiroth will force himself to look away from the book to make sure it hasn't switched into grab mode. It's paranoid and he hates it, but he's expecting it.]

Comments

[seekinganswers]

[--and when the elevator doors open, the person standing inside looks up and her eyes widen in surprise. Sheba had been standing at the back of it, waiting for the elevator to come to its final stop - she knows sometimes it stops on other floors to pick people up, but it never fails to surprise her. One would think that by now she'd be used to it.

Then again, her surprise could have more to do with the fact that the person who'd called the elevator was the same person she'd been looking for. It takes a moment for her expression to settle into a small smile.]

Sephiroth... hey. Where are you headed?

[neverbeamemory]

[Catching an elevator with other residents already inside it isn't a rare occurrence at all. Though out of all the residents to encounter, Sheba is at least worthwhile to know.

Noting the apparent pause in her smile but not making anything of it Sephiroth moves into the lift, then finally the small smile breaks and he nods his acknowledgment of that.]

Heading up.

[He goes to press the button himself but she could easily have it pressed for him if she were close enough to the buttons inside the lift.]

[seekinganswers]

Oh, me too!

[Sephiroth will find that the button has already been pressed - not because she's moved to press it for him, but because Sheba had been taking the elevator from the first floor. From there, the only way to go was up.]

So... I never got to ask, after we talked on Sunday. Did you end up going back to look at what was going on in the infirmary? Was there anything good there?

[neverbeamemory]

[He stops mid-motion as soon as he realizes the next button up; for the Dormitories, is already pressed. Sephiroth drops his hand back to his side and straightens up as the doors close.]

I did. It was fruitful enough; they left the door open. [The smallest hint of that smirk of his pulls at the corner of his mouth though it's only just visible in the shadows cast over his face by his hair.]

[seekinganswers]

What was in there?

[She sees that hint of a smirk - or at least, she sees enough of it to know. Something had been there. And would he really have described the experience as being "fruitful" if there had been nothing to find?]

It must have been something really good.

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth side-eye's Sheba half-suspiciously. Despite their recent conversations, in which they seem to be developing some awkward respect for each other, Sephiroth doesn't trust anyone. How much of her concern is it, what he took from that room? Who would she then go and tell? No, it's not worth the risk.

Quite frankly the less people know about what he took and (more vitally) how he's arranged to be hiding it, the better. Ganondorf and Sephiroth see much eye-to-eye, but others in the Tower are most definitely not on the same wavelength.]

Perhaps.

C of course

[notsogrimreaper]

[Privacy is not something Sephiroth is going to be getting at the moment. As soon as Ryoji finished comforting Yukiko, he returned to his dorm, took one of Diarmuid's training swords (hopefully he'll be finished with it before Diarmuid noticed it was gone), and started walking through each floor, one by one, searching for the man to blame for this. He usually wouldn't be so reckless, especially after what Sephiroth had done to him not too long ago, but Yukiko...

She had been so guilty, so apologetic, so miserable. She blamed herself for getting hurt, and for upsetting Ryoji. He had to prove to her that wasn't the truth. Sephiroth was the only one to blame... and anyone who made Yukiko that upset needed to pay.

He spots Sephiroth on the sofa, and slowly approaches him, mouth set in a firm line. He's not going to back down, no matter what happens. He needs to be brave this time.]

[neverbeamemory]

[Fortunatly for Ryoji, the sofa isn't facing the direction he's approaching from at all. In fact if not for the whispers of silver hair trailing over one end and his crossed boots protruding from the other he might well have missed Sephiroth entirely.

But then, the way his presence feels is probably something Ryoji wouldn't be forgetting for a long time. He has had such intimacy with the same.

Sephiroth doesn't seem to be noticing Ryoji approach either, he seems to be concentrating hard on reading his book and oblivious to what else might be going on around him. Though, Ryoji really should know better than to make that mistake.]

[notsogrimreaper]

[He certainly knows Sephiroth's appearance is misleading. He isn't going to attempt to sneak up on him at all, because he knows he has no chance at surprising him. Besides, he might as well do this fairly, and prove he's above Sephiroth's manipulative ways.

He ends up behind Sephiroth, sword in both hands, lowered at the ground for the moment. He glares at the back of the man's head, and speaks in a cold voice, only betraying a hint of the emotion inside of him.]

Sephiroth.

[neverbeamemory]

[There is something of a low sigh from the man lying across the sofa and Sephiroth shuts his book. It's a sigh meant to sound as if he's being disturbed when he wants to be left alone, but really Sephiroth knew it would only be a matter of time. He doesn't even turn his head to look back at Ryoji before growling out an answer.]

What do you want?

[He's ever so good at inviting violence-]

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji isn't phased by that growl, though normally, he'd back off. This time, whatever small amounts of self-preservation within him are completely overcome by his desire for revenge, and his protectiveness of Yukiko. He can't let someone this cruel continue on the way he has been without consequence.]

I want you to stop hurting the people close to me. Yukiko did nothing to you. There's no reason to bring her into this!

[neverbeamemory]

I can't stop those that would ignore a warning.

[Book is placed carefully on the floor next to the sofa and then Sephiroth turns his head for a moment. Just enough to catch a glimpse of Ryoji over his shoulder armor; it doesn't seem that he can see the training sword since it's pointed at the ground.]

She asked for it. Loudly.

[notsogrimreaper]

She wouldn't ask for it. You were just looking for an excuse to hurt her!

And anyone who hurts the people I care about doesn't deserve a warning.

[He raises the sword and immediately thrusts it at Sephiroth. A reckless move, but Ryoji isn't listening to reason right now.]

C

[warriorscribe]

*Well, he'd taken the shorter route here - his armor made it incredibly easy to get any squashed bugs off of them, and he could move quickly if he needed to. His motivation in going to this suddenly emptier lounge?

He wants to take the time to be the old man he is. Even though they're making great strides (even greater, once Ganondorf replies to his message tomorrow morning, though he doesn't know that yet), it's not enough to stop these low moments, these times when he's feeling so, so...old. His mind even imagines vague aches in his limbs and back sometimes (lacking the psychological knowledge to know that it had nothing to do with his mental age and everything to do with his mental health).

He stops short a moment as he sees there's someone else here. But he doesn't let it deter him; the man's just reading, after all. He curls up on a couch, head resting on the armrest and looking out the window at the fog.*

((ooc: I don't know if Sephiroth knows about the mutual info arrangement with Ganon or not; if you want to set up the deal about the research tools here, we certainly can! If Sephiroth would tell him about the plan at a stage where not even Ganon has just yet.

If not, I am so sorry for the boring tag, I would have thrown in a monster or something if it wasn't for this possibility, so feel free to bring in a couple of monsters or something if Sephiroth wouldn't react!))

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth looks up from his book just as Enoch passes his line of sight, on one of his intermittent looks around every so often. If only to clarify the ping at his spacial awareness that someone was approaching him.

Well now, what luck. Here was Sephiroth with a mental note to go and find Enoch at some point with regards to certain equipment that they were clearly lacking in this area of the Tower. Despite his reservations regarding the application of science in general, he certainly has a knowledge enough about physics and he understands 'souls' as far as it goes in his own universe at least; Sephiroth fancies he could learn a great deal from that collar liquid. He might even find the 'key' to his own freedom, now that would be clearly worth the mild comparison to his father - besides it's not as if anyone else here knew.

He doesn't gaze over at Enoch for long, watching for the time it takes for the other man to get settled in the nearby armchair, before Sephiroth forces his gaze downcast back at the pages of LOVELESS. Though suddenly it's not as important. The words run together and he starts to not take them in over the course of the following minutes. Eventually-]

Good to see you, Enoch. [The greeting is very uncommon, coming from him. The one who wouldn't usually break a silence.]

[warriorscribe]

*That does seem uncommon, and uncommonly friendly for him. Enoch turns his head to look at Sephiroth, as if there might be some visual cue to what has caused this.*

And you, Sephiroth. You sound as if you wanted to speak with me.

*Because he's never heard him use that phrase. Granted, he hasn't been around him all that often either, but all the same...*

[neverbeamemory]

[Well, it is good to see Enoch in this instance. While it might be entirely considered a friendly greeting for most, Sephiroth is just stating a fact. He raises his eyes and lowers his book as Enoch looks over and offers a nod in the other mans direction. He doesn't move from his reclined position however, he doesn't see the need to.]

Well this certainly removes the need to have to comb the entire Tower after you.

[He doesn't believe in coincidences but then what other reason could there be for it. This sort of strange occurrence must have a reason somewhere. His gaze flicks for a moment over to the nearby retrieval unit, as if trying to decide whether he cared if he were overheard or not.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch follows Sephiroth's gaze to his retrieval unit, then to his own.*

You were searching for me?

*For now, the conversation is neutral. He'll move closer to Sephiroth if it shows signs of becoming more sensitive. Possibly under the guise of taking an interest in his book.

If he immediately moved, that would just look suspicious and he's sure Jason would want his retrieval units to get closer.*

[neverbeamemory]

Not as any matter of great importance, you understand. Or rather, I was pointed in your particular direction by one who could be considered to have mutual interests.

[By which of course is the greatest hint that yes actually it is a matter of at least some importance. It's fairly obvious Sephiroth refers to Ganondorf but his retrieval unit, at least, has already seen them in the same vicinity several times and not to mention has been displaced on numerous occasions as a result of the meetings the troll-king held.

This would be nothing new to the Administration, and from Sephiroth's point-of-view: let them cower in the knowledge that, until-now definable groups may be prepared to put their differences aside and push in the same direction. Right or wrong, Sephiroth would always prefer to take the more-aggressive stance. He cares little for what the unit would think that it's reporting on.]

Floor 38

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko had wanted to take a bit of a walk after dealing with her library duties, and while she had managed to walk up the stairs without stopping, her stamina was low, and after awhile, she wanted to rest a bit, so she had wandered into the lounge with the intent of doing so..only to find Sephiroth reading, a stalker unit of his own a few feet away. Tohko's stalker unit-Ivan-was behind her, but looked a bit more foolish, wearing a paper hat, a nametag, and had a piece of paper with the information Enoch had found about the lost souls taped to his back.

Normally, Tohko would have ignored him. However, she had promised him that if he ever bothered her friends, he would receive a beating, so she stopped and spoke to him, one hand on one of her daggers.]

Sephiroth, I have three things I have to say to you. One, I am sorry for calling you a liar a few months ago. I was annoyed and spoke without thinking. Plus, I had no idea if you were just trying to brush me off. Two, why are you bothering Ryoji by stalking him and affecting his mind? If I know Ganon, Ryoji's probably been kicked out of the group or assigned grunt work.

And three..what are you reading? I haven't seen that book before.

[neverbeamemory]

[Why hello Tohko, It's been a while. I thought you weren't talking to me.

But Sephiroth doesn't release that thought into speech. His eyes creep from within the book to atop the pages, granting a glance over at his nearby stalker unit, then across to Tohko's somewhat-decorated one before green eyes rest on Tohko herself.

The first two questions are covered easily enough by one comment.]

Well then you shouldn't be so quick to assume that I work as one with Ganondorf so seamlessly. Ryoji, like so many others in this place, pretty much invite whatever misery I feel so inclined to deliver.

As for what I'm reading. It's a- [He pauses. Closing the book and looking over the front cover as if he didn't know already what it was called. How ironic that, after Tohko trying to make him write a song, that he was reading poetry. It draws the smallest twitch of a scowl from him.]

-it's a book from my World.

[tohko_amano]

[Normally, she wouldn't, but Tohko wasn't one to forget an agreement, and that agreement had stated that she would try to smack him or punish him if he ever messed with her or her friends. Ryoji was her friend so..she was here for that purpose, as well as a few other things.

However, that second comment, with what assumptions she had about Ganon's and Sephiroth's relationship was interesting. She had assumed, based on information and her own thinking, that Ganon was involved in a love affair with Edward and had cheated him with Sephiroth. Perhaps Sephiroth had broke it off to make business less personal. Maybe. She wouldn't know unless she asked, and she had promised Edward to keep his secret under wraps if he kept hers.]

I didn't assume that you agreed with everything he stood for or wholly liked the man. But it was a bit of a bad judge of character for me. And Ryoji does not invite whatever misery you have in your back pocket simply by existing and trying to help people. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, you know.

[Tohko watched Sephiroth as he closed the book, looking over the cover. She could see the title, and it looked nice, but she didn't know anything about it. Oh, if only she could read it..not that Sephiroth would let her have it.]

'Loveless'. What's it about? A man who was going to be loved, but was betrayed at the last minute? A person who could never find love? Or a person who never wanted love at all?

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth very nearly nods at Tohko's admission of error. It's as good as an apology but he doesn't take those very well. Part of him wants to do something drastic to dispel the him-and-Ganon hearsay, but the larger, dominantly self-serving part of him doesn't care all that much --let them think what they want, it doesn't matter.]

But it's quite the contrary. The very fact that you can do something, anything remarkable in this place is reason enough to expand on the ability to. Ryoji was - [Smirk, mostly to himself as he runs fingers over the embossed 'LOVELESS' on the cover of his book. Oh yes, his grand experiment in mind control.]

-Ryoji is an open invitation. Which served it's purpose at the time but since then, there are more pressing issues which have come to light.

[Sephiroth flicks his gaze back up to Tohko more directly at her question about his book. There is the smallest twitch of the skin between his eyebrows, it feels so personal to be asked about and to answer questions about this particular poetry book. What irritates is that Sephiroth can't remember completely why.]

It has many interpretations. It could be said to have three of those themes running through it, and more. It was very popular back home.

[tohko_amano]

[For now, he would be right-it didn't matter. However, the moment Edward crossed her or let her secret slip, it would become quite problematic for him and the other three involved. As she spoke, Tohko's glare didn't diminish at all. She looked quite annoyed, like a cat whose kittens had been messed with.]

That's not true. For example, just because Jason can mess with our free will in all sorts of ways doesn't mean that it's right for him to do so. I'm sure you didn't enjoy those experiments either, so you're being a huge hypocrite if you didn't like them and are, yet, pushing your own versions on other people.

I'm not sure what other pressing issues have come into your story, and I'm pretty sure you would just ignore or smack me if I asked. However, Ryoji is not an open invitation. He is not a tool for you to experiment on, but a kind person with free will. You do remember the agreement I made you back in February, don't you?

[..However, even her own promise could be put aside for a moment by a dish she hadn't eaten yet.]

I see..I've never seen it back in my own world. I'm sure you wouldn't allow me to borrow it though, right?

[neverbeamemory]

[Glares of annoyance don't phase Sephiroth in the slightest. Being compared to that man draws somewhat of a scowl though, he doesn't need to reminded of what happened. The Glamour drop went a long way in helping him to bury the utter humiliation from last time; his body wasn't real so it's not like his cells were either. Therefore anything that happened to this wire frame, for all of it's appearances and how it felt, wasn't real either. Sephiroth rests the book on the floor next to the sofa and sits up, offering Tohko a glare of his own - he couldn't expect anyone to understand his motivations with regard to Ryoji, but there is a line.]

What do you think?

[He answers her last question first, with all the displeased tone that he can put into it. Let her borrow his book? After all she just said to him? Hardly.]

I don't expect you to understand any of the complications with regards to Ryoji so I will be blunt. I have my own reasons for what I did, and they are not as personal to him as you make them sound either. You really should learn to keep your nose out of others businesses.