Of Ninjas and Underhanded Tactics

[estaunsinterius.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Sephiroth, Konan, Zetsu
Content: A meeting that changes everything
Setting: Near Niflheim gate
Time: Late afternoon
Warnings: The beginnings of subterfuge. =D

All was not well within the city. That much was obvious to anyone who read the message boards or the journals.

It was a clear day, not an unusual occurrence in Paixao. The sun smiled overhead as it always did, and what few clouds there were, were the white and fluffy variety. Entirely normal... for Paixao.

The people, however, were anything but. The formerly bright and happy people were anything but, it seemed, and they had every right to be frightened or angry. Someone had killed their mayor, after all. All the evidence pointed to Organization XIII. All of it, from murder to subterfuge to kidnapping and torture. All for no readily apparent reason.

Sephiroth stood about a block from the gate, leaning against a light post as he observed the comings and goings, trying to figure out the best way of breaching that gate, preferably one that would not leave a crowd of dead bodies in his wake.

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[weeatbodies.livejournal.com]

The unrest of the city's inhabitants--citizens and visitors alike, it seemed--around them was palpable, a sharp, stirring scent that hung in the air and made his nerves all but quiver with anticipation of action. This barely repressed collective urge for something to happen made him only too glad to accompany Konan in her explorations--something he certainly would have done anyway, simply out of duty and respect. After all, she was his superior, he was one of the Akatsuki held most accountable for knowledge acquisition, and he had been here for quite some time. It was the sort of job his livelihood and usefulness depended on, even in a place as strange as this.

They worked well together as a team, admittedly partially because of their unique spying talents, but especially since they both understood the value of personal discretion. While Konan could make due with a simple clothing change, no amount of wardrobe tweaking could hide who Zetsu was. Therefore he had simply decided to adopt a new persona while out and about, a tough but reasonably friendly looking man of solid height and frame, looking rather curiously like a more militaristically-inclined version of Asuma. Or at least--that would be so, if Asuma had decided to have kanji tattooed up the length of the outsides of his arms, stop smoking, and affect a quite generic jounin's outfit.

Zetsu followed Konan, slightly beside and behind her as he was wont to do; the plant-nin swept (invisibly) Byakugan-enhanced eyes over Sephiroth to see what he could glean from the examination, still finding it slightly odd to not have to use his sight to look around and through leaves enclosing him and sharply limiting his field of vision. An easy half-smile rested on his lips despite his slightly martial bearing, and he nodded to Sephiroth as they approached, content to let Konan speak for them both for the moment. After all, she was the one who gained more from being kind than he did--he was quite effective in just assuming a more typical role and allowing himself to be used as he was needed, guided by others to achieve a maximum effect for them all.