The question gets a chuckle. Practical concerns - he can sympathize with that completely.
"It used to," he replies. "But over the years I've become so accustomed to it that I know how it will react without thinking about it - momentum, wind, spell blowback. Learning to adjust for it so that it'd never obstruct my vision in battle actually helped me get better at never losing sight of my opponent, even without worrying about the hair. It made it more of a priority for me."
Since they're talking anyway, he takes the moment to tug off one of his gloves, so that he can glide a bared hand over Cloud's chest. His hand is surprisingly soft; he must wear gloves almost all the time to have not developed the expected callouses, but then as Cloud's probably never seen him without them that's consistent with the evidence.
"My hair was allowed to grow long in the labs. There wasn't any particular need for it to be short. And then when I was sent to Wutai, and became a hero...after the media coverage..." There's almost a faint distaste to the words. "...ShinRa forbid me to cut it after that. They wanted to preserve that image of their war hero to the public, as I'd looked then, so they didn't want me to drastically change my appearance. And it made me strike a more impressive figure for their SOLDIER propaganda, as well."
no subject
"It used to," he replies. "But over the years I've become so accustomed to it that I know how it will react without thinking about it - momentum, wind, spell blowback. Learning to adjust for it so that it'd never obstruct my vision in battle actually helped me get better at never losing sight of my opponent, even without worrying about the hair. It made it more of a priority for me."
Since they're talking anyway, he takes the moment to tug off one of his gloves, so that he can glide a bared hand over Cloud's chest. His hand is surprisingly soft; he must wear gloves almost all the time to have not developed the expected callouses, but then as Cloud's probably never seen him without them that's consistent with the evidence.
"My hair was allowed to grow long in the labs. There wasn't any particular need for it to be short. And then when I was sent to Wutai, and became a hero...after the media coverage..." There's almost a faint distaste to the words. "...ShinRa forbid me to cut it after that. They wanted to preserve that image of their war hero to the public, as I'd looked then, so they didn't want me to drastically change my appearance. And it made me strike a more impressive figure for their SOLDIER propaganda, as well."