chokuto

I see. [ it's only a minor overlap, but still one that tseng notes: ] What you call chakra, I know as chi. It is an essential and inherent energy that those of us trained in martial arts can leverage in certain specific ways.

[ of course, tseng's martial arts training—while comprehensive—is certainly not the kind of training a ninja would receive, either in wutai or, evidently, wherever sasuke is from. still, it's similar enough to be noteworthy. the notion of training apart from one's village as a soldier loyal to the cause sounds familiar as well, like enough to tseng's own circumstances that it doesn't strike him as odd.

he shakes his head slightly. ] It's all right. The existence of the Turks is no secret to anyone who pays attention to current events.

[ which may well not be all citizens of midgar, but sasuke is more observant than most and wickedly sharp. ]

There are four of us, now. Myself and three subordinates. Only a few years ago there were more, but a series of... political maneuvers has thinned our ranks. [ he lifts a shoulder in a shrug that's almost careless, but the tightening at the corners of his mouth suggests otherwise. it was not easy, to go to junon and to watch good men and women fall needlessly to enemy fire. ] Many of us died at war. A much smaller number survived and chose to retire.

[Chi is an equivalent he's never heard before, and he commits it to curious memory. But only four? That is less than he's expecting, yet all the more impressive if they are able to accomplish what it seems they can with so few — there's a story in death. He finds himself wanting to ask about this war, but by the look on Tseng's face, perhaps not now.]

War is... destructive, in that way.

[So he isn't surprised. The amount of shinobi who made it to old age, let alone found the privilege to retire, is slim.]

Do you enjoy it? Leading the Turks.

[ 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?

[No, it isn't an expression of enjoyment, but Sasuke can hardly begrudge that. He does not have to know the man across from him well to understand the difficulty of such a question. Lifestyles that involve the learned art of violence are not often curated by choice. Tseng has already offered more of himself than Sasuke had anticipated for this conversation — which alone makes him feel justified in seeking the man out at all. Instinct, perhaps, played into it.

Eighteen years, though... that's about as long as he's been alive.]

It depends on a person's motivations. For years, I sought only strength and power for my own reasons. [There is a notable hesitation, then, because it isn't a secret but remains a wound permanently scarred —] For revenge. Others work as shinobi to make a living, to survive, whether independent from a village or not. Or they're born into a clan and gifted a certain genetic advantage so it is expected of them to become shinobi.

But usually... it's for war. In the past, the villages of my world — and the countries they belong to — have frequently instigated conflict and fought against each other. So most shinobi are also soldiers.

[He doubts this will be that surprising to Tseng. But his next question may be a strange leap to the left.]

Is age important to you? When it comes to... [??? help] a sexual relationship.

Edited 2024-04-26 21:23 (UTC)

[ tseng is no stranger to the concept of revenge as motivation. like sasuke, he knows how compelling the desire can be, the desire to return all of the pain and rage and desperation tenfold onto the person who hurt you to begin with. like sasuke, he also knows how easily you can be consumed by that desire, how easily you can be blinded. ]

I see. [ the hesitation in sasuke's voice is notable enough to tell tseng that the wounds still hurt. either that, or sasuke doesn't really want too talk about it. either way, tseng feels that now is not the moment to push for more information. ] The parallels between our worlds are interesting. Turks and shinobi... or the Intelligence Division. Not the same, but similar.

[ it's... sort of nice, in a way. that regardless of the fact that they hail from different home worlds, sasuke understands the circumstances, at least to an extent. the turks who make a living, the turks who are expected to become turks, the turks who are also soldiers, whether by choice or by force.

the question does take a step away from their previous topic, but all tseng does is lift his eyebrows slightly in response. ]

It is more important to me that my partner be well-informed and able to consent. As a matter of personal preference I draw the line at sixteen. [ like, he became a full-fledged hitman at 13. that kind of thing can skew perspective. ] Is it important to you?

[He agrees with that sentiment — not the same, but similar. And perhaps there are others here who could share that experience, living in those worlds, but Sasuke doesn't know them. Doesn't trust them.]

I wouldn't say that it's important to me, but I've seen it discussed here. The age at which one is considered an adult. It confused me, because nothing like that truly existed in my own world. Someone's level of maturity and life experiences mattered more, as well as the age they became fully-fledged shinobi. For me, I graduated when I was twelve.

[Still, he often considers his own beginning even younger than that, when his childlike view of the world was shattered by cold reality.]

I'm eighteen now, though I spent time in another dimension and prior to that I was in prison, so it's not something I can say I've accurately tracked. [What is time, really.] Some still consider this to be young — so I thought that I should ask.

Edited (wait i was wrong) 2024-04-28 19:11 (UTC)

[ twelve. not that much younger than tseng's formal training with the turks began, although like sasuke, he considers his own introduction to adulthood to have begun much earlier. still, he can appreciate why sasuke asks—better to figure it out now, than to learn the hard way much later on. ]

I was thirteen. [ and just barely thirteen at that. ] And I'm thirty—no, thirty-one, now.

[ as of several days ago, thirty-one. he mentions it just in case the question of age goes the other way too, with an upper limit for sasuke rather than a lower limit for tseng. (he does not yet know that cyram the boyfriend is millenia-old eldritch horror!) somehow, he doesn't think that will be the case, given the givens—being forced into adulthood so early does tend to change your perception of these things. ]

Prison and another dimension. You've been busy. [ it's a joke, or at least as close as tseng really gets to outwardly joking. he's curious, and the way his eyebrows lift makes that much clear, but he'll leave it to sasuke to explain if he wants to explain. ] I appreciate that you asked, but your age is not a concern for me.

[That quick correction makes him curious, but he doesn't comment further. Perhaps Tseng also hasn't been tracking his own age reliably — or, it changed recently.

And yes, from an outside perspective it's a lot to go through in the last several months... though perhaps prison is the least of what he deserved back then. A story for later, given all it involves. He has told only pieces to all but one person; it's a lot to share, and to him it feels like an unnecessary burden so soon.]

Okay. I just wanted to check. [He sits up straighter.] That's all I had to discuss, unless you have any more questions for me. I can... contact you later, otherwise.

[How does one do this sexual relationship thing, actually??]

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