It took a few hours for Eloise to understand and register everything Genesis told her. On the other hand, Genesis was very calm and didn't seem to realize the position he put her in.
His eyes fell over the silent girl from around his book. Eloise was a simple girl and entering SOLDIER was the beginning of her life's plot. Her bright blue eyes were staring at her hands so he couldn't be sure what she was thinking or if she was scared. Genesis sighed and grabbed a hand through his hair. He didn't expect her to be so silent about it after he practically called her a monster. That was not how everything was supposed to go.
"Are you going to stay silent for the whole night?"
She didn't respond but she did raise her head and looked at him. His eyes narrowed at the way she was staring at him with a blank expression. Genesis walked closer to her and moved a hand in front of her face yet she didn't even blink. He stared at her for a few minutes and decided to let her be. He walked into the small kitchen counter and started to prepare tea.
"What do I do now?"
Genesis raised an eyebrow. She sounded so innocent and vulnerable yet those two weren't parts of her personality. He heard her shuffle around and glanced at her over his shoulder.
"Nothing. We have to wait for Hollander."
"After that fight between you, Angeal and Sephiroth, you got hurt, didn't you?" Eloise started, startling the redhead. "You are jealous of Sephiroth, aren't you? He is the perfect man, the one chosen to become a hero. On the other side, there is you."
Genesis turned off the stove and turned to face her. He was very curious where she was going with her new found theory.
"I could say the same to you. There is Zack Fair, the puppy who follows Angeal around yet he improves fast and has big chances to reach 1st Class." He placed his cup of tea on the nightstand and sat beside her. "And there is you, Eloise Fair. A kid who was lucky enough to reach SOLDIER as it is."
Somehow, she didn't feel as bad as she expected. He was speaking the truth. She was still a beginner while Zack had years of training behind.
"Who were you before SOLDIER?" She asked, her eyes enlightening.
Genesis was a person who must have had a lot of secrets. He was different than Angeal and Sephiroth; livelier. He was genuinely feeling the rush of adrenaline during a fight.
Genesis was a little taken aback by her sudden interest. "I was a simple boy who grew up in an ordinary environment."
She furrowed her eyebrows in concentration and stared at him. He looked like there was nothing wrong with his body or his life in general.
"You are lying." She deducted. "Is this your only lie or is something you picked up in Shinra?"
Eloise was quite an interesting girl. She manipulated the whole conversation so that their prior subject got somewhere in the back of their minds. The brunette noticed how affected he was about the sudden change in his body and how much it meant for him to be seen as a normal SOLDIER. He wasn't normal, he wasn't a hero; he was seeing his own person as a monster and that was both sad and pitiful. She couldn't imagine how he felt but she could understand the need to become a hero.
"Aren't you curious about unimportant matters?"
His personality wasn't going to change anytime soon. He was an annoying asshole until the very end.
"Were you the son of the landlord? Or a thief?" Eloise asked. She wasn't a person who knew when to give up.
He sighed tiredly and walked to his door, unlocking it and opening it widely.
"You should go and rest for a few hours. Your training starts early in the morning." He was subtly telling her to leave but she complied without any commentary.
On the way to her room, she couldn't help but think about Genesis's past. He was careful about everything revolving his past and himself in general. He didn't look like someone who would get so defensive so maybe she was prying into his life too much.
The next day seemed to go like a blur. She couldn't concentrate on her daily training and she got in trouble for being too cautious in combat.
Her mind was always going back to Genesis's words. She had a lot of power but it wasn't genuinely hers; the power came from Jenova cells and mako energy. It was a bit disappointing to know she got so far because of another element added to her body.
With those kind of thoughts in her mind, she was ready to go and live in solitude for the next few hours. However, her plan got postponed when she saw Angeal.
"How is your training going?" He was obviously talking about Sephiroth because the 3rd class training wasn't very difficult.
"It's hard but I will survive." She responded with a shrug.
Angeal patted her head as an encouragement before asking something else, "How about Genesis?"
Eloise froze and looked up at her brother's mentor in confusion. Angeal chuckled under his breath, noticing how she looked exactly like Zack when he knew he was in trouble.
"What about Genesis?" Eloise asked too, trying to cover her nerves, "There is nothing going on with him."
"He told me to never respond to your questions about him. Did you two talk about something?" Angeal continued bemusedly.
Eloise kept her innocent face. She was trying to get out of an embarrassing situation with a clear image.
"E-LO-ISE!" Zack's voice echoed through the whole building.
Thankfully, he saved her from Angeal's interrogation. Zack's happy face appeared from around the corner and eyed his sister.
"Guess who's going on a mission tomorrow!" She rolled her eyes expectantly. "You!"
Well that was indeed a surprise. She thought he was going to brag about his new mission but instead, he announced hers. Her head shot quickly to Angeal, who looked worried.
"Does Sephiroth know about her mission?" Angeal asked with a frown.
Zack shrugged. He was too excited for his sister to think about her mentor. He was ready to call Sephiroth when the said man entered the lounge.
"I'm going on a mission." Eloise announced as soon as she noticed him.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. She wasn't as excited as her brother was; actually, she was frowning.
"I know." He patted her head in comfort before he continued. "It's not dangerous. You will be fine. But that won't excuse you from today's training."
She had only two hours to relax and eat. Those two hours transformed suddenly into a conversation between Angeal and Zack. The younger SOLDIER rolled his eyes and pulled his sister closer. They were in the same building yet they had completely different schedules.
Angeal started to tell his famous lecture, just in case she needed the advice. Sephiroth and Zack rolled their eyes, accustomed to Angeal's lecture. It was always the same.
"Never forget about honor, Eloise. A hero is nothing without his honor."
She understood his point of view but Angeal didn't know about her. As a monster, did she have an honor at all?
In training, Sephiroth decided to teach her different fighting styles. She didn't have a sword so he concentrated on her hands alone. Eloise was very good with different weapons but in combat, she wasn't doing well.
Sephiroth beat her up twice until she got annoyed and used her energy to fight back. Surprisingly, the target training had been useful. She was able to hit Sephiroth and even scratch his forehead but his wounds were nothing compared to hers. She was seriously beaten up: had scratches on her face and body and her hands were burnt, her ego was slashed and her mind was fuzzy. She was done.
"Fucking asshole beat me before my mission." She muttered on her way back.
"What happened to you newbie?"
Genesis just found himself on that floor. He wasn't necessarily looking for her but he knew there were big chances for them to meet. When he noticed how bad she looked, he couldn't help but feel amused. She was finally realizing what she got herself into.
"I don't want to talk to you right now."
Genesis chuckled and leaned against her door-frame.
"Why? Did you realize that you got so far because of Hollander?"
She shot him a glare. It felt even more offensive when someone else was voicing that hypothesis.
"I have a mission tomorrow, so please let me have at least one Genesis-less night." She grimaced and closed the door into his face.
Genesis raised an eyebrow but didn't walk away.
"Take care of you Eloise. You don't want to kill anyone in your mission, do you?" He said through the door.
The redhead took a step back when he heard something being thrown at the door. He chuckled and left for his room.
Unfortunately for the redhead, Angeal was on the same level. He didn't have to eavesdrop to their conversation since the hall had a good sound. He waited for Genesis to get to the elevator until he could talk to him.
"Aren't you taking the whole teasing process to a new level?"
Genesis grabbed the book from his back pocket and opened it at a certain page. He decided he had every right to ignore Angeal for that assumption.
The brunette didn't like his friend's silence at all. "She's just-"
"She is not a child anymore. She entered a dangerous place knowing fully what she was getting into. I am just realistic." Genesis interfered.
"But she is not like us. She is only a kid. You should teach her instead of teasing her, just like Sephiroth."
Genesis closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
"You are wrong, my friend. She is very much like us; more than you can imagine."
Angeal furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. There were many secrets that Genesis wasn't willing to tell him.