The next day passed very slowly. Tifa tried to talk to Eloise and make her stay in bed but the older woman was stubborn. She kept the bandage around her waist but that didn't mean she was in pain nor had a wound to cover.
"I wonder what happened," Tifa mumbled to herself. "No matter how much I think about it, something doesn't add up."
Cloud walked downstairs and noticed Tifa staring worriedly at Eloise although the former SOLDIER wasn't doing much. It was still early and the bar wasn't opening until 8 o'clock. All Eloise could do was take care that tables were clean and the garbage was thrown.
"She's fine." Cloud commented nonchalantly.
Tifa punched his arm with a strict motherly expression. He cared for Eloise more than he let out but he was still unable to show his emotions properly. Years have passed and yet no sibling relationship grew between the two soldiers.
"But she was bleeding. She was actually bleeding and she was in pain. It wasn't something she could just get over with so easily."
Cloud sighed and glanced at his former mentor. Eloise was arranging the place and placing the chairs around the tables. She looked normal and acted normal.
"Even if something is wrong, she's not going to tell us. She is so used to keeping everything to herself that she won't say how much it hurts until she collapses." Cloud said before he grabbed his helmet and left shortly after.
Tifa remained to prepare everything for the opening hour. If Eloise was not going to tell her or Cloud, then she must tell someone. Someone like an old friend of hers.
"Yo! Eloise!"
The brunette rolled her eyes and got ready to leave. Reno caught her arm and dragged her to his table. It was Sunday night so the turks were out for a drink including Tseng who was a workaholic. He didn't want to go out and didn't like to drink with his colleagues but Elena was a stubborn woman and knew how to get him out of the office. Seeing Eloise was a bonus. The elder turk hasn't seen her in months and Reno's stories about what exactly she was doing were vague.
"Look who we have here! Isn't this a rare sight?" Reno was referring to Tseng. He was stiff and hated loud bars which was quite weird because she remembered Tseng used to drink with Zack quite often.
"It's been a while, Eloise." Tseng said with a smile, looking at her carefully as if to check if she was alright.
"Indeed," she answered in a dry manner, "I have work to do. Just tell me what you want." she said, already done with their fuss.
Elena nudged Tseng but he didn't say a word.
Eloise was a smart woman and she learned how to pick up subtleties in the line of work she did before. But she was still ignorant to the things and people that mattered. Reno knew that and used it in his advantage.
"So, I was just talking to these guys about a new mission. It seems someone wants to eliminate Rufus Shinra as soon as possible." Reno started, "You know, we are always around him and we are amazing at protecting him but this guy is really good." He smiled boyishly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"I'm not getting involved. Ask Cloud."
"Oh, come on. You're our friend! We've known each other for more than 10 years!" Reno exclaimed. She glanced at Tseng, waiting for some kind of comment but he didn't say anything. Since there was nothing else to discuss, Eloise left.
"You shouldn't force her to do your work." Rude's statement was rather rude but realistic. She wasn't going to protect someone who meant nothing to her. Moreover, she suffered a lot because of Rufus' father.
"But she's been sulking for more than 10 years! Don't you think it's time to move on?" Reno leaned back against his chair and looked rather childish. He really wanted the old Eloise back, the one who could lighten up the atmosphere with her simple presence.
"She's not going to accept working for Shinra." Tseng knew that better than anyone. However, Reno was right. She had been sulking and regretting for too long. "I will talk to her about it later."
Reno's eyes brightened and he grew more excited than when he entered the bar. One taste was going to be enough to make her crave for that feeling again. He was sure of that. She was a fighter.
Tseng didn't have time to deal with her, though. A week passed and Reno was getting anxious. Nothing improved and nothing broke. It was all the same and he hated it. Therefore, he decided to take the matters in his own hands. Since she wasn't going to do anything on her own, he was going to do it for her.
"What do you want, Reno?" Rufus wasn't in a good mood. He hasn't been able to sleep for weeks. Someone was after his head and that someone became more brutal in his attacks.
At first, Rufus thought it was only some random anti-fan. Someone threw vegetables at his head and eventually, at his car. That was nothing. But, one week later, someone shot in the car and at him. It didn't even scratch him but that was probably part of the plan. The next two weeks, his house alarm turned on but no one was inside; his house got broken into, he started to hear weird things at night and he became paranoid. It was worse than being shot at. He was always living with the thought that someone was watching him. He moved in the office but he still couldn't sleep. It was excruciating.
"I know you've been really stressed lately, boss. I was thinking that maybe we need some professional help."
Rufus raised an eyebrow but didn't take Reno's advice into consideration. He just went back to sorting his documents. His secretary wasn't good at that, she was always mixing them up.
"I have the turks, don't I?"
Reno tilted his head to the side. Indeed, the turks were the best bodyguards in Edge but that was besides the point.
"What if we hire someone with an objective eye? Someone like an ex-SOLDIER?"
Rufus' first idea was Cloud, it was written all over his reluctant expression. He was an ex-SOLDIER and they worked together before. It was under some special circumstances but Cloud did help Shinra.
"If I need Cloud's help, I'd send you for him, wouldn't I?" Rufus asked and rolled his eyes.
"I never said anything about Cloud, boss. I'm talking about Eloise. She's an ex-SOLDIER, isn't she?" Rufus stopped arranging his papers and looked up at the redhead, "Should I go and ask her?" Reno really had high expectations.
"No. I'm going to do it personally."
Reno didn't expect such an approach. But as long as she was going to say yes, he didn't care what method was used.
Once Rufus entered Seventh Heaven, Eloise found it vital to make him feel uncomfortable. The whole bar was watching the two with amusement.
"What do you want?"
His bright face was making her feel sick. His eyes were watching her like a prey. She hated how he always attracted attention on her.
"I need a favor. You don't have to be so mean about it." He leaned closer to her and smirked. "I did heal you before, didn't I?" Her eyes hardened instantly and she bit the inside of her cheek. He was pushing her buttons.
From the outside it looked really suspicious. He was whispering things into her ear, her face was covered by his shoulder and Reno couldn't see anything from where he stood. He was fuming in the back. They were on a mission not on a break.
It was quite a show when she kicked him and sent him flying into Rude. She didn't look happy at all and Reno was sure she wouldn't cooperate. It was probably worse than before. But he had a surprise.
"Fine. But don't bring that awful event back into my memory." She glared at the blond and went in the back of the bar.
Reno was curious. On the way back to the Company, he just couldn't endure it anymore.
"Hey boss, why did you tell her? What awful event?" Rufus chuckled.
"My 16th birthday party." That was a weird hint. The redhead didn't quite catch the drift. Rufus rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to spoil the fun for Reno. If he wanted to know so badly, he was going to remember sooner or later.
He did remember; a week later. His eyes widened suddenly and he started to laugh loudly. Rude didn't even want to know what he was thinking about but Elena was a woman and she was curious what made the redhead so amused.
"Ah, the party of course. I forgot about it! Can't believe he used that to blackmail her." He was laughing so hard that he started to cry. Elena didn't understand and preferred to ask Tseng about it later.
When she asked the elder turk, he chuckled bemusedly. Somehow, that party was very memorable. She was really curious. Tseng didn't tell her, though. He said it wasn't exactly something he could talk about. She puffed her cheeks in annoyance and went directly to the subject itself.
"I heard you're going to help us with the anti-fan." Eloise had no choice but attend to Elena. She was a customer. "I was just really curious how Rufus made you agree."
"He just loves to show off. As a kid, he did that a lot. Besides, he loves to make you feel uncomfortable and grab attention with cheesy speeches. He did that before, to me."
Elena tilted her head to the side, growing even more curious.
"Is that why you agreed to help him?"
Eloise stared at Elena for a few minutes before she gave in.
"No. He helped me once and in return, I will help him." That seemed like a better response than what Reno assumed."Why?"
"Everyone thinks you agreed because of what Rufus whispered to you." She could feel one of her eyes twitching in annoyance. "I guess he did that for his own amusement." Elena smiled and she looked relieved. Once she left the bar, Eloise felt like breaking something; more especially, Rufus' head.