Riza opened the door to her apartment. She tried to smile, but what she was doing wasn't making her at all happy. "It's Tom, isn't it?" She asked.
"Yes. That's me. You're selling the dog, right?" He asked. He was a tall man. At least 6'2 and quite stocky, with light brown- hair that was both going grey and greatly thinning on top.
"Yeah." She sighed. "Come on in. You can meet him if you like."
"Well of course I need to meet him." He laughed. "I can't just take a dog without knowing what I'm getting myself into."
"No, I suppose not." Riza said. She did smile now. She still wasn't happy, but did feel quite foolish, which had a habit of raising a smirk all on its own with her. She led him into the kitchen where the Shiba Inu puppy was sitting on the floor. He lit up when Riza came back into the room, eyes happy, tail wagging. Like a happy dog should look. It had no idea why this visitor was here.
"He's not very old at all, is he? A couple of months I'd say." He said, stooping down to look at the little puppy and then scratching his chin stubble.
"12 weeks, I think. That's what the vet thinks. Maybe a little younger." Riza explained, looking down guiltily at the dog that looked so happy to see her.
"Vet, huh? So does that mean he's had all of his shots?" He asked, his interest levels increasing.
"Yes. All up to date." Riza answered, feeling a lump in her throat remembering. Hayate had been quite shy around the vet, and a bit scared by his vaccinations. It had been hard to get him back into his pet carrier after that, and generally became less trusting and more apprehensive for a day or two. But he had long forgotten that now. There wasn't a doubt in the dog's mind that he trust First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.
"Got him wormed too? Treated for ticks and fleas? Tell ya, those can be the worst." He continued his line of questioning.
"Yes. I take good care of him." She replied, sounding quite defensive.
Tom put his palms up, showing he meant no harm. "I wasn't accusing, mam. I just want the full disclaimer before I take him off your hands."
Hayate put his front paws in the air, mimicking Tom. The little puppy looked a bit off balance, just standing on his back paws for a moment.
"Would you look at that." Tom said, scratching his chin again. "Looks like he learns quick. Speaking of which, is he toilet trained?"
Hawkeye froze before her gaze fell to the floor. "No. That's where the trouble has been actually."
"Well, there had to be something at that price. 22,000 cenz isn't much for puppy with all the medical stuff taken care of." He said, sounding a little cynical. "I've got to say, I was a little surprised when you gave me the address. I didn't know these apartment allowed dogs."
"No, there's no rule against it. But not many people in the building have pets. As you can see, there's not all that much space." She said.
"What were you planning to do when he grew up?" Tom asked. "You couldn't keep him here fully grown."
"I'm not sure." She smiled, again feeling foolish. "My friend found him and couldn't keep him in the barracks with him. He couldn't find anyone else suitable to take him, so I volunteered. I thought it would be nice to have someone to come home to."
"Oh, you're friend is military."
"So am I, actually." Riza said. Her tone was a little assertive. She wasn't proud of everything she'd done in the military. That was a given. But she wasn't going to let her position be overlooked either.
"I never would have guessed. I thought you'd have had him well toilet trained by now then. How long have you had him?" He asked.
Riza stiffened. She didn't like her authority being undermined. But he didn't want to put a potential buyer off the idea. "Just a week." She said.
"And already looking rid of him? Must be a real handful." He laughed.
"My work takes up a lot of my time." Riza explained. "I'm not sure I'm cut out to be looking after a dog at the same time."
"Mind if I take a closer look?" He asked, lifting the dog up face to face, without waiting for permission. Hayate looked a little nervous. He hadn't been lifted by anyone but Riza and the vet since she'd taken him in. He paused in silence, like a centurion weighing up the verdict on a beaten gladiator. "He's ok, I guess. Is he always this quiet?"
"He's just a little shy right now. I'm sure he'd be more lively once he got used to being around you." Riza assured.
"Well I'd hope so. Does he know any tricks?" Tom asked.
"Tricks? Where would I find the time to teach him tricks? I haven't even got him house trained yet." Riza asked, sounding a little annoyed.
"Right, right. That's why you're giving him away. I forgot. Sorry." He apologised, setting Hayate back down. "I'm getting him for my son, you see. He gets bored easily. He'd probably like it if he could do a few tricks." He shrugged.
"Are you sure you should be getting a present that takes as much work as a dog for someone who might just get bored of it? He's a living creature you have to take care of." Riza said, sternly.
"Look, lady. You know what kids are like. They get these ideas, they want something. You try telling them 'no'." Tom replied.
Riza didn't appreciate being called 'lady', and wasn't getting a good first impression from Tom. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea." She said.
"Look, I'm not saying I'm not interested. I just thought he might know some tricks. You know. Sit. Lie down. Speak. That kind of thing. But whatever. How often do you walk and feed him?"
"Like I said, my work takes up a lot of time. So I feed once in the morning before I go to work and once in the evening when I get back. I walk him either just before or after his dinner." Riza said, talking Tom through the routine.
"Well there's your problem. You feed him two meals and only give him one walk. Why do you think he poops inside? Where else do you expect him to go?" Tom laughed.
"Yes. I know. But if he could just learn to wait until I got home, I do take him for a walk every day."
"But you can't explain that to him. You can't tell him 'oh hey dog, I'm gonna be back in 8 hours so don't poop until then'. Are you keeping him in a crate or a pen?" He asked.
"No. I don't think he'd like that. Since he only gets one walk a day, he needs full freedom in the apartment during the rest of the day."
"Lady, you're killing me." Tom laughed, wiping away tears from his eyes. "You walk him once a day, let him wander all over the apartment and still wonder why you're having to clean up his poop? What did you expect?"
"I know, alright." She replied, a single tear running down her cheek. "It's not working out. But he is a good dog. I know that for sure."
"Look, I'll have to talk it over with my wife. But for now, we're interested. Don't give him to anyone else without letting me make an offer." He said before seeing himself to the door. "Does he have a name?"
"Yes. 'Black Hayate'." Riza said, looking down fondly at the puppy who had followed her to the door to say goodbye to their guest.
Tom winced. "Mmmm. Not so keen on the name. It's a bit long. Does he know it well? Could I change it? How about 'Ben'? He looks like a 'Ben' to me."
"I'm not sure. He seems to respond to his name already. His tail wags every time."
"Yeah, but I'll never remember it. I'm sure he'll get used to being 'Ben' pretty quick. You've only had him a week. I'll give you a call, ok?"
Riza sank down to the floor after Tom closed the door behind him. She had tears in her eyes. An uncommon occurrence for her, and one that almost no one had seen. She pet Hayate's head with one hand, whilst wiping away some stray tears with the other. "I don't want to have to give you away, Black Hayate." She sobbed. "But it's just too difficult. I don't have the time to clean up after you. I can't afford to replace the things you chew up or… make a mess on." She spluttered into a laugh as she said it. "I really want to keep you. But I just can't." Riza continued, cuddling her dog.
"I don't know what I'm going to do Colonel." She said, standing in Roy Mustang's office, dressed in her blue military uniform, hair back in its usual clip. "I know there will be another mess waiting for me when I get home. I just don't know where. That's the first part of the game. Trying to find it." She sighed.
"Lieutenant, he's only a puppy. A really small one." Mustang replied.
"Crazy, right. How can something that small make such a mess."
"What I mean is, it's only been a week. The first week is the hardest. He just needs more time to learn your routine." He reassured her.
"Maybe." She replied softly. "But what if we're just the wrong fit. What he's not able to adapt around my work?"
"If it really comes to it, I will take care of him. That way you can still see him whenever you want, and you'll know he's in good hands."
"Will I?" Riza smirked. "That's a very kind offer, sir. But you're busy yourself. You have your own work to do without worrying about taking on my responsibilities."
"I could always just give Jean some overtime. Send my work home with him." He chuckled.
"Don't you do enough of that already?" She smiled back.
"You have your loyal dog, and I have mine."
Riza laughed out loud. "It's a very kind offer, sir. But I can't take it, I'm afraid. It wouldn't be fair of me to impose on my commanding officer. Although…" She paused. "I will tell Hayate that he has you to thank for an extended period of probation."
"Probation?" Roy asked.
"Yes. I suppose I can put up with his mess for another couple of weeks to see if he shapes up to be the house-respecting dog I need him to be. You will be needed for cleaning duties in the interim though. It was your idea after all."
"Hawkeye…" He grumbled.