[ it's only a brief question, straightforward, but it still manages to draw tseng up short—in all the time he's been doing this, he's not entirely sure that anyone has ever asked him whether he enjoys it. enjoyment has never factored into it. he was brought into the turks so young, with so few other options; the course of his life has been a steady forging, the way a weapon is forged, to make him into the best turk he can possibly be. the lessons have been brutal and hard-won, and the cost has been immense.

but does he enjoy it? does anyone ask the sword whether it enjoys the kill? ]

I've been a Turk for eighteen years, [ is what tseng finally settles on, after a moment of silence. it's a quiet not of discomfort but of consideration, giving sasuke's question the thought it's due. ] After that much time, I'm very good at what I do.

[ competent, efficient, brutal. and besides that, he owes his life entirely to rufus shinra. the opportunity to prove himself loyal, to pay back the way that rufus shinra put himself between tseng's turks and the firing squad... even if there were nothing else, that would be reason enough.

notably, tseng hasn't said he enjoys it. he's sure sasuke will notice. but it's the best answer he has, for now. and he thinks that sasuke will perhaps understand why, after a moment, tseng gently changes the subject. ]

What does being a shinobi entail, if not acting as an intelligence agent in the shadows?