Loveless

Part 5

Eloise walked toward the training room in a haze of exhaustion, silently hoping that Sephiroth would show at least a trace of mercy and remember how brutal the Third Class training schedule already was. She was realistic enough to know that he was not going to kill her, but experience told her that mercy from Sephiroth rarely meant walking away unscathed, and broken ribs were still well within the realm of possibility. When she reached the door, her hand trembled as it closed around the knob, and she couldn't quite tell whether the shaking came from excitement or fear. After a long breath meant to steady herself, she pushed the door open and shut her eyes tightly.

"Are you planning to keep your eyes closed for the entire day?" Sephiroth asked calmly.

She cracked one eye open first, then the other, taking in the scene before her. The training room had been programmed to resemble a forest in precise detail, complete with towering trees, uneven ground, and filtered light that felt unnervingly real. Sephiroth stood at the center of it all, perfectly still, as if the environment existed solely to frame him. Eloise stepped closer, openly staring, her amazement impossible to hide.

"This looks really nice."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, faintly amused, and crossed his arms across his chest, his posture alone enough to make her feel smaller by comparison. Eloise bit her lower lip and clasped her hands behind her back, suddenly aware of her own nervous energy.

"You don't have to be shy," he said evenly. "I'm not going to bite you."

She tilted her head slightly, an expression not unlike an innocent puppy's. "I'm not afraid you'll bite me," she replied. "I'm afraid you'll beat the hell out of me."

A quiet chuckle escaped him as he stepped closer, then turned and gestured toward a nearby tree.

"We won't fight today. Instead, you're going to learn how to control your energy. There are eight trees positioned in a circle around us, and we are standing at its center. Each tree has a target attached to it, some smaller, some larger. Your task is to strike the center of every target using nothing but your energy."

Her eyes widened. "I don't even know how to activate it. It's not like there's a switch or a button."

Sephiroth took hold of her arm without warning, his grip firm enough to make her flinch, and directed it toward one of the trees. His hold tightened further, cutting off circulation just enough to make the point unmistakable.

"Think," he said quietly. "Focus on something that makes you feel inferior."

His presence alone was an obvious answer, but he was her mentor, someone she admired rather than feared or resented, and that wasn't what he was looking for.

"Think about Genesis," Sephiroth added, his voice low and unwavering.

Her head snapped toward him with inhuman speed, but his expression remained blank, his gaze fixed on the target. Eloise exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. Genesis didn't make her feel inferior, but he irritated her deeply, especially the way his red hair and smug expression always appeared alongside that book he carried everywhere. She had no interest in what it contained, yet he quoted from it endlessly, as if the world were his audience. With every thought of him, she felt something shift inside her, energy slipping through her body and growing stronger with each pulse.

Sephiroth's lips curved into a faint smirk when he sensed the change. He released her arm, and the energy surged forward, striking the target dead center with explosive force, shattering not only the target but the entire tree in the process.

"That was interesting," Sephiroth remarked, studying the damage.

Eloise opened her eyes and stared at the fallen tree, sparks still crackling along its broken surface.

"Indeed," he continued calmly. "A good start, but you still have seven more. That one was easy. Let's see how you handle the rest."

He stepped back and pressed a command on his device, causing the remaining trees to shift into motion, some rushing closer while others pulled away at varying speeds.

Eloise rubbed her forehead and groaned softly. Of course it wasn't going to be simple.

⸻

After the session ended, Eloise went straight to her room without stopping for food or water. All she wanted was her bed—large, quiet, and mercifully still. Her back ached, her fingers had gone slightly pale, and she could feel how much energy she had burned through during training. Sephiroth had been relentless, refusing to dismiss her until every target had been struck and every tree reduced to splintered remains.

As usual, she encountered Genesis at the elevator. She tried to glance at him without being obvious, but subtlety was never his strength.

"You're glowing," he said casually.

She had heard many unsettling things from Genesis, but this one caught her completely off guard. He smirked and stepped closer, clearly noticing the faint flush creeping into her cheeks. With each step he took forward, she instinctively moved back until her shoulders hit the wall. Rather than turning the moment into something theatrical, he grabbed her arm and lifted her hand in front of her face.

"Your hand is glowing blue," he observed, amusement evident in his tone.

Eloise felt heat rush to her face, mortified to the point where she wished she could simply disappear into the floor.

Genesis raised an eyebrow and laughed softly. "Don't get ahead of yourself, newbie. Just because you've got electricity running through your veins doesn't make you special."

The remark made little sense to her. Expectations about what, exactly? Her place in SOLDIER? Her future? She scowled and shoved him away.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't think I want to," she said sharply. "But for the record, I won't give up my principles. I have the right to hope and expect whatever I want, no matter how unlikely it seems."

Genesis looked ready to respond when footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"What are you doing with my protégé, Genesis?" Sephiroth's voice cut through the space, colder and sharper than it had been earlier that day.

Genesis's expression darkened.

"Your protégé," he repeated with a scoff, bracing his hands on either side of Eloise. "We'll see how long that lasts." His eyes flicked to her with a suspicious glint. "Or whether it changes in a few weeks."

Only then did Eloise fully realize how much difference Sephiroth's presence—and his mentorship—had already made. To Genesis, she was no longer just a curious fan hovering around Shinra's finest. She had crossed into something else entirely.