Damn this place is huge…My thoughts were interrupted as I was pushed aside by a large crowd of people.

"Oh my God it's the Elric brothers!"

From somewhere to my right: "I heard he is the youngest person to ever become a state alchemist!"

"Really? But he's so small!"

"Who are you calling so small he could commit suicide by jumping off a curb?" An angry voiced yelled out followed by a few chuckles from the crowd.

Ugh. State Alchemists. They were ok, I guess. Sure their little tricks were nifty, but jeeze were they a pompous bunch of assholes. I sighed and shifted the bag on my shoulder. It had everything, my entire life; it was all zipped up in that little backpack. Sure it was convenient, and it was a great feeling to just be able to go whenever I felt like it, but after fourteen years of it, I was just ready to stop and sit for a while.

Now let's see…. I quickly became lost in thought as I tried to figure out where I was. That guy at the train station said there was a decent apartment building around here somewhere…did he say take a right on fourth, then a left on main? Or a left on fourth and a right on main..? Gah! It was all so damn frustrating. I'd never been good at directions and the stupid man wouldn't speak slower.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere…" I mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" A kind looking, if rather short, man with glasses and a military uniform turned around.

"Oh I'm sorry! I was talking to myself" Nice, now he thinks you're a basket case. I thought to myself angrily…he chuckled kindly.

"It's ok, I do the same thing. You look a little lost, do you need help?"

"oh uh…yeah" I laughed sheepishly "directions have never been my forte." I told him where I was going and he gave me decent directions on how to get there. Maybe this city wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. My name is Sergeant Kain Feury." He offered me his hand. I was slightly shocked; so far everyone in this town had just answered my questions like it was some big inconvenience and stalked off.

"I'm Emory Alexander, nice to meet you." I shook his hand and put on my friendliest smile.

"Sergeant Feury!" A stern voice cut across the crowd and the man jumped to attention.

"I have to go, it was nice to meet you though Emory! Good luck here!" Wow, was it that obvious that I was new? I thanked him for his time and watched as he walked over and saluted to a stern, but kind looking blonde woman and a taller black-haired man. They both looked over and I smoothly shifted my gaze. This many years in the work I do and you get pretty good at things like that. They almost become…natural.

I shifted my bag again and walked off in the direction the man suggested and soon found my way to a medium-sized, decent looking building with a 'vacancy' sign taped to the front window. I walked in and the place was light and inviting. I walked up to the desk and struck up a conversation with the woman who I assumed was the landlord. She seemed nice enough, so I just decided to go for it, gesturing to the sign in the window, I smiled and said:

"I'll take it." She looked at me, completely stunned.

"W-what? Don't you want to look at it first?" I shook my head.

"You sound like you run a pretty tight ship and judging by this lobby the apartments are nice." I shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, I need a place to stay, pretty much right now." She laughed.

"I wish all my customers were as decisive as you. Here" she handed me a stack of paperwork "fill these out, make the down payment and the apartment is yours!"

I skimmed the paperwork, signed my name and made the payment. I walked up the stairs and opened the door. There was a small entryway that opened up into a fully furnished living room/kitchen ensemble (the rooms didn't really have boundaries) and there was a small hallway to the left that led to the bedrooms. It was light, and open which was nice after a long time traveling by cramped train. It was almost homey. I laughed. After taking a moment, I went room-to-room unpacking things from my bag and placing them where they seemed to fit best.

After about thirty minutes or so of arranging and unpacking I sat down on the couch and just thought. I wonder how Roku's doing... I shook my head to clear my thoughts and stop the hollow ache in my chest. Man I missed him. What am I doing? I need to be out trying to find a job! I got up from the couch, grabbed my keys and walked out the door.

I wandered aimlessly for almost an hour, while trying to keep track of where I was, when I found a small bar that needed someone to bus tables. Ah what the hell, why not, it's a job right? I walked in and was greeted by the sharp scent of liquor and the dusty scent of the building itself. I walked up to the bar and a middle- aged man stood up and greeted me warmly. We struck up a conversation and he hired me. The job wasn't too demanding, just a few hours everyday to clean tables and sweep the floors and whatnot. Besides, the man seemed like a nice enough guy. He told me to come in tomorrow afternoon for some training and then I would be ready to work tomorrow night. I walked outside and noticed that the sun was steadily sinking towards the horizon and a cool breeze was starting to blow. I headed off in the direction of my apartment, trying to get back before it got dark.

I woke up late the next morning, it was after noon, and realized that I had no food. I inwardly groaned as I heard my stomach growl and dragged myself out of bed to get dressed. I would go shopping later. Luckily, I found a great little café down the street, bought a muffin and coffee and went out to sit on the patio and enjoy the cool early fall air.

As I sat there nibbling on my muffin, a tall, good looking blonde man in a military uniform with an unlit cigarette in his mouth opened the gate for a pretty little blonde haired woman. I suddenly lost my appetite. Just a letter or something. I keep sending him letters with my destinations and plans and he just won't write back! I could feel my great mood slowly being dragged down, so I stood up in disgust, threw my unfinished muffin and coffee away and brushed past them. As I walked past, I noticed how kind and deep the man's eyes were and how sweetly the amused smile played across his lips, I remember wondering if all the men in central were that good looking.

I wandered the city for a few hours, going in various shops until I caught sight of a clock. It was after two and the bartender told me to be there at three for training, so I decided to head back towards where I thought the bar was. At least his way when I got lost, I would have plenty of time to find my way back. As I wandered through the city, thoughts of everything that had happened in my life began to cloud my mind. Feeling my mood dampen even more, I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Since when have you been so nostalgic? I looked around and realized I was in front of the bar. I walked in, trying to forget the dark memories that were threatening to take over. The bartender greeted me and began to cover everything I would need to know.

"We don't start serving drinks until after four, but we get here at three to get everything ready. Just go light the candles and set out the chairs." The bartender informed me; I nodded and quickly went to work. After a while a bunch of men in military uniforms began to file in. I seated them and took their orders. It was Thursday, so the traffic wasn't too bad, but this definitely seemed to be a popular military hang out. All the men left after 11. The drunks included…well with a little persuasion anyway. I stretched and hung my apron up on the rack. The Bartender, whose name was Akio, praised me on a job well done and told me I could go home.

I got back to my apartment and kicked off my shoes before collapsing face-down on the bed. My stomach growled. Damn I forgot dinner… I would definitely need to go shopping tomorrow morning. I stood up and walked into the bathroom for a nice long shower.

"Roku!" I could hear the panic in my voice as I screamed his name. I was clutching him desperately, and I sobbed as I felt strange warmth spreading quickly down my arms and into my lap. Blood. I sat there helplessly, tears streaming down my face, as I watched the life slip from his eyes.

I woke up in a panic, breathing heavily and clutching the sheets so tightly my knuckles were white. I sat there trembling and sobbing for who knows how long. I tried to convince myself that it was just a nightmare and that Roku was fine. I got up and stumbled to the bathroom and turned the shower on cold. I got in and sat down, pulling my knees to my chest, not even bothering to undress. I needed to get his blood off of me. I knew I was being ridiculous, that it was just a dream, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being covered in blood. After what I guess to have been about twenty minutes, I stood up, swaying slightly and turned the water off. Damn…that was…stupid I thought to myself weakly. I grabbed a towel on my way out and curled up in bed, trying to shove the nightmare into that small compartment in the corner of my mind where I stored unpleasant things. I was shivering uncontrollably. The sun slowly rose as I sat there and stared out the window. I sighed heavily, got up and prepared to face the day.

After changing, I walked outside in search of a market. I had heard from the landlady that there was a really good one just a ten-minute's walk from here. The little café I had stopped at the day before supplied me with another muffin for my journey. As I walked, I took in the architecture and really noticed the immense size of Central Command. After about eight or nine minutes I saw a market tucked off to the side. Ah, there you are. I changed my course and surveyed the immense number of goods. I tried to stick to the food, knowing that I could blow a whole day and all of my money at the other stands. I quickly narrowed in on some apples. I reached for one, only to bump into another hand. I looked up to see a familiar face. I stammered out some sort of apology and he laughed. He had a great laugh.

"It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention." He said with a warm smile. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey, I saw you at the café yesterday, right?" It took me a minute to remember what he was talking about.

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing you." I replied.

"Great place isn't it?" He said cheerily, I laughed a little.

"Yeah, I'm glad I found it, I'm new here so I have no idea where anything is." Shit. What was I doing? I couldn't just go around advertising that. People were searching for me…He looked at me in surprise.

"Really? Well, welcome to Central!" I smiled and opened my mouth to say thanks when a shorter, heavyset man with red hair walked up and interrupted.

"Yo Havoc. Mustang'll have our asses if you don't quit flirting and get a move on!" I blushed slightly and looked away. What was I doing? I was supposed to be waiting for Roku, not flirting with the military men. He laughed and told the man to shut up.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Jean Havoc." He said with a grin. I grinned back. Damn he was charming…

"I'm Emory Alexander, nice to meet you." We shook hands and the man called Breda yelled at him again.

"I'm sorry" he said with a sheepish grin, "I have to go, see you around?" I was shocked at how kind he was; he just assumed I was a normal girl. I kept forgetting people wouldn't recognize me here. I was just another woman.

"Yeah" I said with a grin. I watched them walk away, completely oblivious to the world. I heard a woman giggling. I turned towards the source of the noise to see a pretty, young woman watching with a delighted smile on her face.

"I would definitely pursue him. He works for Roy Mustang," another giggle, "and Havoc's easily dumped" I looked at her in shock and disgust. He was such a nice man, why would anyone even think of doing that. She continued to babble away, completely oblivious to my angry stare.

"Roy is so gorgeous, most girls date Havoc in order to get close to him." I shook my head in disgust, paid for the apples and walked away. He's so kind, why would anyone take advantage of the poor man like that. It really made me angry. Wait, what the hell do I care? I'm just here waiting for Roku, nothing else. I finished the rest of my shopping in a foul mood and stalked back to my apartment.

After putting the food away, I sat on the couch, trying to figure out what to do. I still had five hours until I needed to go to work.

"Gah!" I threw my head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. I couldn't get that blonde soldier out of my head. I closed my eyes and tried to sort through my thoughts like one would sort through tangled string. After a while I dozed off and woke up to mid afternoon sunlight. I looked up at the clock and realized it was half past two.

"Shit!" I stood up in a panic, grabbed my keys and ran out the door. Somehow, after a few wrong turns I managed to make it there on time. I arrived short of breath and a chuckle from Akio. I mumbled an apology and told him about my problem with directions. He grinned and said to not worry about it.

"Now, as I'm sure you've noticed, today is Friday which also happens to be the busiest time of the week. Just keep your head about you and don't let stupid drunken men get to you. If you have any problems, come find me and I'll take care of them for you. I scowled before remembering that this man had no idea of my past, or my abilities for that matter. I let it go, but I wasn't about to let some old man come and save my ass from a drunken soldier. I walked over to the rack, put my apron on and waited. All of the tables were still set up from our clean up the night before so there was nothing left to do. I sat at the bar with my chin resting on my hand when I heard the door open. And now it begins…I thought. I sighed, stood and headed to the group of men.

After about thirty minutes, the place was full of more people than I would have ever thought could fit in the small building. A few lightweights were already being loud in one corner and a few older men with the burden of their pasts etched into their faces were sitting at the bar, drowning war memories in their drinks. I pressed my lips together. I had a deeper connection to those men than I would ever let on. Too ad alcohol didn't make me forget, like it did for them. The bar had a few women in it, obviously hunting for a good looking soldier to go home with, and there were a few with dates. I was waiting on a table with five women; internally cringing at their stupid remarks and constant blathering. All of a sudden they ignored me, sitting up straighter, and primping their hair and makeup. I turned to the door and saw a group of men come in, the first of which was a dark haired man, a bit on the tall side. He was pretty good looking but I could tell by the way he walked in and ignored the stares from all the women that he was an arrogant ass. I rolled my eyes and tried to recapture the women's attention so they could finish ordering. One hushed me and before I could spit out a retort she whispered without looking away from the man;

"Just come back in a few minutes…"

"Um, excuse me, but who is that?" All of a sudden five pairs of eyes were drilling into my face along with a chorus of "you can't be serious?" and "are you kidding?" The one I was talking to just sat there and stared at me, dumfounded.

"He's the Flame Alchemist...You know, Roy Mustang?" I groaned inwardly, not this guy again…I looked again, trying to figure out what they saw in him, when I saw a tall gray- haired man and a few familiar faces. First was the smaller man I met on my first day in central…what was his name...oh yeah, Feury. Then Breda walked in and then the tall blonde man, Havoc.

I quickly turned around again and the woman misunderstood my actions.

"Gorgeous, I know." Her dreamlike tone quickly turned bitter "but he wouldn't go for a homely little barmaid like yourself" I smiled and said:

"Good, he seems like an arrogant ass anyway..." This earned me plenty of fierce glares. I just laughed and walked away. I returned with their drinks, but tried to leave their table as quickly as possible, I wouldn't want one of them to blow a fuse from the heated glares they were giving me. I heard May call to me from a nearby table,

"Emory, can you get the group that just walked in? My hands are a little full here" I laughed and told her I would take care of it. I walked over to their table and was greeted by a delighted "Hey" from Jean. I pretended to be surprised to see him (didn't want him thinking I had watched them come in).

"Hey! I wasn't expecting to see you here." He laughed and said something about this being a weekly tradition of theirs. "Oh, let me introduce you. This is Warrant Officer Vato Falman" gestured to they Gray haired man, "I'm sure you remember Breda," I laughed a little and nodded "next is-"

"I remember you, we talked a few days ago" the small brown haired man interrupted. I nodded and smiled,

"Yeah, you're Kain right?" He grinned and nodded.

"And this is Colonel Roy Mustang" He said with a little less gusto, gesturing to the black haired man.

"Well it's nice to meet you all, I'm Emory Alexander" I said with a smile, "What can I get you guys to drink?" I then saw out of the corner of my eye that Mustang was giving me an odd look, I pretended not to notice as I took their orders. I walked away and returned with their drinks. There was something in the look that Mustang was giving me that really bothered me. He looked like he might have recognized me. They said they didn't need anything else so I walked back to another table of mine to check on them, lost in thought. There's no way. Rohan is all the way on the other side of the world-my thoughts were interrupted by an unwelcome hand on my ass. I turned around to face a group of clearly plastered men.

"Excuse me." I said furiously.

"Hey cutie" he replied with a creepy grin

"Back off, you asshole." I fired back. His friends started laughing obnoxiously and he stood up. Unfortunately we were near a wall and he quickly had me pinned with both of my hands being held by one of his above my head and his knee between my legs. I said with a menacing tone:

"I'll give you one more chance to back off. If you don't, you'll regret it." He chuckled and began to nuzzle my neck, which really pissed me off. I could see Havoc and the other men at his table take notice and start to head over here angrily. I wrenched one of my hands free to punch the man in the gut then grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into my knee. He fell to the ground groaning and holding his now broken nose.

"Told you." I crossed my arms and glared at him for a moment before the other four men at his table began to approach. I looked up at them.

"What you're all going to take me on now? Didn't you see what happened to your friend?" The rest of the bar was starting to take notice and I could hear them quiet down. One man lunged at me and I easily dodged his punch and elbowed him in the back of his head, effectively knocking him out. At this point Havoc and the other soldiers were just standing there with stunned looks on their faces. I took out the other three with out much fanfare, just in time for Akio to show up.

"What happened?" I looked up from the men that lay groaning on the ground.

"He grabbed my ass" I responded calmly. At this point Havoc decided to step in,

"We looked over and the man had her pinned up against the wall. She acted in self defense." I looked at him in shock. What was he doing defending me? Akio sighed heavily and told everyone else to go back to what they were doing. He brushed passed Havoc, who had come to stand between us, and walked up to me and held out his hand. He said quietly,

"Those were military officials, I told you to come find me if you had trouble. I have to fire you now…. I'm sorry" I nodded.

"Its fine, I understand. I let my temper get the best of me." I took off my apron, handed it to him, thanked him for his time and walked out. I took a deep breath of the cool night air and mumbled to myself "Well shit…you really messed that one up didn't you?"

"Hey, Emory, wait a minute!" I heard a familiar voice; I turned around to see Havoc walking after me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, tilting my head slightly in curiosity as he reached where I was standing. Wow he was tall…

"I'm sorry about that, we should have intervened sooner."

"What? No, no," I shook my head "it's not your problem, I let my temper get away from me…I really appreciate you sticking up for me though." I said smiling slightly. He chuckled.

"Hey, miss Alexander." I heard a deep voice call. Havoc turned and I looked around him to see none other than Mustang walking towards us. "That was pretty impressive in there." My eyes narrowed a bit.

"Thank you"

"Do you mind if I asked where you learned how to fight like that?" I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I taught myself." This earned me stares of disbelief.

"Wow…forgive my prying, but if you need a job you can come work for me at the military." He said. I just sat there, slightly stunned at the offer. He laughed "Just think about it. C'mon Havoc." He turned to walk away and after a moment's hesitation and a goodnight from Jean, he followed. Mustang called over his shoulder, "if you decide to join us, just come find me at Central." I nodded then yelled thanks. I stood there for a moment watching as the two walked away. I shook my head and scoffed. That's just what I need to do, get involved with yet another military. I thought with bitter sarcasm before turning to walk back to my apartment.