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Chapter 5 - Pulled punches, broken jaws

Meia sat down at the conference table first and Angeal sat next to her, placing her file on the table before him. Genesis and Sephiroth leaned on the wall behind the duo, happy to let Angeal handle all the talking. It was his 'big brother' thing after all, he enjoyed it,

"Ok, we've been given instructions to train you for two weeks by Verdot. He's advised that 'anything goes, as long as it's tough" He stated, reading from the file.

Meia swallowed.

"We'll start with a fitness test then, see how much you can take so we know what needs improving. We'll record your ghost to train against as well. Are you ok? You look nervous…"

"Heh, I am. It's not every day your director orders you to training with three First Class SOLDIERS"

"Well. We'll try and be gentle" Angeal said, rising out of his seat,

"Please, you don't have to babysit me" She stated, a subtle confidence in her voice, "Give me your best shot" She finished, her lips curling to a small smile.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and looked at Genesis, who was watching her with an amused look on his face. Angeal chuckled softly as the Turk rose, following his gesture to leave the room after Sephiroth and Genesis. He knew they couldn't give any where near their 'best shot' though he suspected she knew that as well. He sensed a subtle hint of sarcasm in her statement. She had the right attitude at least.

They began with a standard endurance test, running between two points in time with a set of bleeps that got gradually quicker. Sephiroth declared himself judge for this one, sitting out while the remaining three ran. He was impressed with Meia's performance but he pulled her out before she collapsed. Still, she'd done well; It was obvious she kept up with her fitness. Some Turks he knew got out of breath climbing the stairs.

Next they tested her combat abilities. Naturally, her marksmanship was very good. All Turks were trained to use firearms to the highest standard, their aims honed to deadly pinpoint accuracy. They gave her a standard SOLDIER sword to use next, but she wasn't as well trained with a blade, which was apparent when she fought Genesis. His blows hammered down on her like a behemoth, each parried strike jarring the bones of her arms as she struggled to deflect his advances. At no point could she go on the attack and this began to visibly frustrated her.

Next up, Sephiroth tested her hand to hand abilities. She was trained in this area, but her opponent's height was putting him at an advantage. His calm, steady composure was also unsettling; Meia noted it looked as though he were barely trying. But this was Sephiroth. His reputation preceded him. He was almost smirking, she though, as she tried her hardest to block his blows. But again, and despite being more confident in this area, she could not identify a window in which to attack him.

Meia was beginning to tire and lose focus. Twice she thought she had a chance to attack, but both times she was reversed and pushed away. Then she failed to bring her arms up in time to defend her face and Sephiroth clipped her jaw with his gloved fist.

It was like being hit by a train.

She reeled back, lost her footing and tumbled over. She couldn't recover; her ears rang and her face throbbed. The shockwave from the blow had hit every nerve and then some. She could have sworn her jaw was broken, but when she touched it gingerly there was no sign of a break. Meia shook her head. She was aware of Angeal crouching beside her saying something but she couldn't make it out, so she held her hand up. He fell silent again and she closed her eyes and focused. Things were beginning to come back. She blinked several times and looked up at Sephiroth standing over her, his expression hinting at concern but making no move to check if she was alright,

"Can you hear me now?" Angeal asked again. She nodded. "Ah, that's a relief. We thought your jaw was gone. Luckily it was just a glancing blow or it would have been a break for sure" He helped Meia to her feet. She felt so frustrated with herself now. Even though she knew by all rights she was out matched, she still couldn't help but feel her confidence waning. She was still taking the ruling of Verdot personally, despite trying to reason with herself that it wasn't the end of the world, that this wasn't entirely her fault. But Meia had always pushed herself to be the best she could and was usually rewarded with success. But lately she had been taking a few blows to her self esteem that were trying to stir up old, unwanted emotions rooted in her past. She was having a hard time coming to terms with it all.

They broke for lunch and she headed off alone without a word.

"You were going in with a full swing, weren't you?" Genesis asked Sephiroth when she was out of earshot. The tall SOLDIER nodded,

"I was, but I saw she wasn't going to block it so I pulled the punch and tried to miss but..." He hesitated, "well, pulled it more than it was already"

Angeal and Genesis also knew Sephiroth was barely trying. He had to pull his blows or the severity of them would break her bones even through a perfect, solid block. She was only a Turk after all. They headed down to the food hall as well, grabbing SOLDIER sized portions of everything and finding a quiet table by one of the lush trees to sit at. There was no sign of Meia.

"She looked pretty crestfallen" Genesis said through a mouthful of chicken wrap. Sephiroth looked at him in disgust, "Do you think she'll come back?"

"I hope so..." Sephiroth replied "To be honest I thought she wouldn't be able to so much as defend against us but she did quite well"

Angeal and Genesis looked surprised. It wasn't like him to express interest in someone they were training, be it SOLDIER or Turk or anyone. He quickly realised this was out of character, so Sephiroth closed his eyes in his usual haughty way and went back to eating his lunch.

They continued to trial Meia at various disciplines during the day, but noted she had lost some of her spark since Sephiroth had hit her and she was dismissed looking noticeably tired and worn. What an awesome first day. She returned to her room and showered, taking care around her bruised face. She examined it in her mirror while she dried off. A nice purple lump had taken form by now; it was going to be an impressive shiner in the morning. She sighed and went to bed, feeling utterly exhausted.

Over the following week, Meia was pushed to her limits by the SOLDIERS. After the first day, sporting her bruised face and ego, she was determined to give it her all and they saw steady improvement as the week progressed. They taught her how to use a sword properly and pitted her against her ghost data each day, watching her from all angles to make sure her form was good. She was actually beginning to enjoy herself, despite only just being able to stay ahead of the SOLDIERS. This was intentional, she knew. Despite her request, Meia was fully aware they were lowering themselves to her level. They had too; she didn't stand a chance if they didn't.

On the tenth day, snow covered Midgar in a soft white blanket and while it didn't last long, the crisp, slightly fresher air remained. Meia stood on the canteen balcony on the 25th floor and looked out over the city. A chill crept up her body and she shivered against it, tucking her chin into her zipped up hoodie. She held her cup of well-earned coffee with both hands for warmth.

Today had been her best yet. She had surpassed her ghost data by a hefty margin, successfully dodged and guarded all of Sephiroth's hits and no longer felt like a giant bag of bricks was being dropped on her when she parried Genesis' blade. She sipped her coffee and smiled. She only had four days left and the thought of her special assignment coming to an end actually saddened her. She enjoyed being mentored closely like this. Once she had made it into the Turks, virtually all training stopped except marksmanship assessments every month. It was up to the individuals to develop themselves which was fine, but there was nothing like being coached by three personal trainers. Who happened to be SOLDIERS's she added, taking another swig of her coffee.

She also had grown to enjoy their company. Angeal was the kind of big brother figure everyone wanted; he was patient, supportive and very warm. He did the most coaching so didn't actually fight her as much. Genesis was different altogether. He held himself perfectly at all times, like a stage actor practicing his performance. Most people at Shin-Ra knew him for the play he studied, Loveless, so Meia figured it was normal behaviour. You could tell he was more playful but worked to keep it contained, trying to remain professional in front of someone he didn't know that well.

Then there was Sephiroth. Everyone knew of Sephiroth, so when she saw him standing there on the first day she felt like she wanted to be ill from nerves. This was the first time she'd actually worked with him. Sure, she'd seen him here and there in passing; Corridors, mess hall, helicopters, but had never had the chance to work with the man. The Turks preferred to operate alone though occasionally the two divisions needed each others help. Meia leaned against the balcony and remembered the night before her training assignment began. He had just walked off and ignored her when she tried to talk to him in the pool and he didn't seem any friendlier when he shook her hand the next morning. And when he hit her, well...she felt utterly put out. But she didn't know whether this was normal behaviour for him or not, he was so hard to read.

But as each day went by, little by little, he opened up. Yesterday he even asked her how her jaw felt. It was the first time he had spoken to her properly. She was slightly stunned and spent a few seconds simply looking at him, until a subtle raise of his eyebrows prompted her to answer. A smile played itself across her face and she felt her cheeks warm slightly. So, this is how most women feel when they see him, Meia thought. All the time in the ladies changing rooms, she would hear his name giggled and thrown around. Like a pack of wild animals salivating over their dinner. She even heard there were fan clubs, not just for Sephiroth but for other people too, including Angeal and Genesis. There was no denying the fact he was beautiful and his personality was alluring. But getting past the facade was hard work. Nice to look at, a challenge to get to know, she concluded, finishing her coffee and heading back inside the building.

Sephiroth sat alone in the briefing room of the 49th floor, leaving Angeal and Genesis sparring so he could relax a little. As far as distractions went, training a Turk wasn't as bad as he imagined, though that was mostly down to the individual, he concluded. Some Turks were lazy and insubordinate, but Meia seemed genuinely interested in bettering herself. He was pleasantly surprised.

Then there was that urge of familiarity he kept experiencing. When she looked at him a certain way. When she laughed. That was the most unsettling thing about her. That laugh. Though it was obviously lower in pitch due to the fact she was an adult, Sephiroth could have sworn it was the same laugh that kept invading his mind. The same dream. Fragmented and forgotten but desperate to be remembered. He was curious about her. There must be some reason for all the thoughts she was inspiring.

He stood up and reached into his pocket for his phone. No messages. He hesitated a moment and contemplated sending a note to Meia... but what would he say? How would he break the ice? He stared at the screen but eventually pocketed it again and forgot about the idea.

Last edit; 01/03/2016