Perhaps protection was too strong a word. I mean I can keep off the grass for you, like so.

[A movement of his wrist, and another cloud-shield springs to life, thin but solid, sliding its way through the grasses surrounding Sephiroth to form a highly specialized barrier between man and grass. Kurogiri can shape his clouds with ease, using thought alone. They aren't actual clouds, even though they may resemble them very closely]

Protection from an inconvenience, you might say.

[Sephiroth strikes him as someone who can defend himself.]