Hey ya'll! This is one of the first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic I've written, so I hope you like it! This was based off the song "Hero of War" by Rise Against. Spoilers if you don't know who Roy's master was, or who Riza's dad was. Also, if you haven't seen the Ishbal episodes of Brotherhood. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood, Rise Against or the song.

~Royai~

It all began the day Master Hawkeye taught me alchemy. I worked my ass off for years until I perfected the technique. Master Hawkeye refused to teach me what he called "flame alchemy." It was only when he was on his death bed did he tell me the secret to it was, in fact, tattooed on his daughter Riza's back. Of course, I saw her from time-to-time, seeing as she was my master's daughter, but the only socializing we ever did was polite nods, hellos, goodbyes, etc. It came as a shock to me to find out Master Hawkeye went as far as to tattoo his discovery on his daughter's back. At the funeral I felt as if I should have felt sad, but I wasn't. I was excited to learn this new form of alchemy whilst studying her back. Riza seemed to feel no sorrow after her father's death and was willing to allow me access to the knowledge entrusted to her.

I studied flame alchemy for a year before I finally became a dog of the military. Not long afterwards I participated in the hellish war that was in Ishbal.

I blocked out the cries of the helpless women and children while I scorched them to death, feeling no sorrow. During this time I would have lost my humanity if it weren't for my dear friend Maes Hughes, who was always a beaming ray of sunshine with all the talk of his precious fiance.

But even still, the sorrow and devastation surrounding me managed to seep into my very being. What was I doing? Was it right? This was for my country. I was serving my country. I'm a soldier who does good for the people. But if I did good for anyone why would I be taking away lives of defenseless people without even sparing their children who wailed louder than anyone when I snapped my gloved fingers?

Is this why Master Hawkeye never wished to teach me flame alchemy? Is this why he was oh so hush-hush about his experiments and research? Somehow I feel it would have been a better decision not to tell me where the knowledge of this murder weapon lie.

It had been months and months since I'd seen Riza Hawkeye, so when I saw her holding a gun and killing - as any sniper does - you can only imagine the shock I felt.

"Hawkeye," I greeted her in a statement-like fashion.

"Major Mustang," she greeted back.

I couldn't help but notice the bags which had formed underneath her light brown eyes. Her cheeks were also hollowed out as if she hadn't been eating much. The grief she felt was clearly written all over her face.

"How long have you been stationed here?" I questioned casually.

Master Hawkeye asked me of one thing; to take care of his daughter. I knew now how horrible of a job I'd done with this task as I eyed her in the military uniform, holding a gun and murdering people with it.

"Three months," she replied, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, which I noticed was scratched up and had soot covering it.

We both remained silent for several moments, simply listening to the ring of gun shots and more in the background as we both observed one another.

I cleared my throat before responding, "You shouldn't have come here. This is no place for little girls."

"Major Mustang, with all do respect I'm no 'little girl.'" She spoke sharply.

"You were in your father's eyes," I said. "This isn't a place for you, Riza Hawkeye. I always imagined you would go on to be a nurse or something of that practical nature."

"That just goes to show how little you know me," Riza scoffed. "Maybe I want to play a role in this big picture, serving Amestris, just as you are." Pause. "Perhaps I'm simply one who doesn't care for the people I'm taking life from. Maybe I'm one among the few who can stand to hear these piercing screams ever day. The ones where women beg for you to spare their children or where fathers ask you to not harm their family. I just want to play a part in making our country great! There's no harm in that, is there?" By the time she finished speaking a few tears had run down her face and her breathing was rather labored. She'd had a meltdown after three months participating in the extermination of Ishbal.

Before I could do or say anything Kimblee, an alchemist serving here, slapped Riza clear across the face harder then any other being would have found necessary in this particular situation.

Riza eyed the ground while Kimblee proceeded to lecture her in a calm, yet dangerous manner. "We have no need for soldiers who go into hysterics just because they witness or cause a few murders. If you want to stay here, sugar, you're gonna have to get your act together or pack it up and go home." With this he left in search of his next kill.

"I apologize, sir," I heard her mutter a few minutes afterwards.

"He's right, you know," I stated. "Emotions must be left out on the battle field." As I spoke these words I couldn't help but remember Armstrong, who had a breakdown after killing a child a few weeks earlier.

Riza didn't bother with another word, but simply walked away.

Exactly two days later she came to me, asking of the most shocking request I've ever received.

"No."

"Major Mustang, do you want destruction such as this to happen again?" She replied, not budging from her stance directly in front of me.

"Hawkeye, I am not going to burn your back, no matter how many times you ask me. I'm not a sadist," I scoffed.

She appeared to have given up hope of me burning her father's research off of her back, until she replied, "Then I'll cut my back up myself and risk bleeding to death, if that's what it takes. I don't want this horrible knowledge to be known to anyone ever again." With this she looked down, but not before I noticed her lip which was bleeding from how hard she had been biting it.

"It's going to hurt a lot," I stated.

"Do you honestly believe I don't know that?" Riza glared at me from underneath her bangs, plastered to her forehead with sweat and dirt.

"Go behind that building," I said. "We'll need to be out of sight."

She did as I commanded and I followed. She removed her cloak, revealing she had already slashed the back of her uniform shirt, ready for me to scorch the skin on her back.

"Are you ready?" I questioned.

"Please, let's just get this over with."

With one snap of my fingers I burned through Master Hawkeye's precious research. She didn't exactly scream so much as whimper in pain. I knew she was biting her tongue in a futile attempt to silence herself. Her moans of pain and the blood running down her chin has always been one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen. Riza Hawkeye, who always appeared to be as strong as bamboo, was suddenly writhing in pain that she requested. This girl - woman - I've known since I was fifteen was squirming whilst trying to find an escape from the searing pain she was enduring for the sake of the world. And all of the hurt she was enduring right now was all my fault.

I wiped away a bead of sweat as I came to the realization that I barely knew how to treat wounds, but needed to do something fast, otherwise Riza would bleed to death.

I pulled out the multitude of bandages I kept on me for emergencies and hastily unwrapped them, along with several large gauzes. I began taping each of them onto her back, being sure to cover up each area I had burned, and applied pressure to each area after I covered it.

"Holding in there, Hawkeye?" I asked as I taped the last bandage in place.

"Yes sir," she grunted in response.

Once I finished up I asked another question. "Are you lightheaded? Do you need any water?" I offered her my bottle of water, which was filthy for all the wear and tear it took.

She grabbed the water bottle and guzzled it all down in two gulps.

"Come on, we need to get back to our posts or we'll be scolded," Riza stated.

I nodded in response and followed the shorter blonde.

~Royai~

"I'll follow you for the rest of my days, Colonel Mustang," Riza proclaimed to me as we were on the train back to central.

"Do I have your word on that?" I questioned, to which she nodded. "If I ever step out of line as a soldier of the military, don't hesitate to kill me."

~Royai~

For the last line I tried to find the actual quote, but I couldn't for the life of me. -.- Anyway, I hope you liked! Review, if you will. ;D