When Roy Mustang had heard about the death of the paladin Van Hohenheim, he had been shocked. He had studied under the man, and he had almost seemed untouchable. No demon could lay a finger on him. He was a master of all trades when it came to misers, although mainly stuck to his talents as an aria. However, he was still human, and no man or woman could stand up to the powers of satan.
They had kept what exactly had happened classified to most, he himself only being debriefed on it as he was sent by his boss, mephisto pheles, to investigate the incident. The man's church had burned down in literal hellfire last night with him inside. Only a few survivors remained, including two boys who were living with him as adoptive children, and a fellow exorcist that had been working under the man. Mephisto apparently was passing the orders down to him from higher up.
Roy sighed as he sat in the back of the car. He didn't know what they expected him to find. It was clear that the devil caused this, all the evidence was destroyed in the fire, and there were only a handful of surviving witnesses of the event. Still, orders were orders, and as that scheming palm-tree bastard's underling by employment contract, he was obligated to comply.
He slumped in his seat and his eyes drifted to his companion sitting next to him. Unlike him, the blonde woman's back was straight as she stared out the window, watching the streets roll by. The light of sunset reflected off her skin and hair slightly, causing her face to softly glow orange and her hair to shimmer like gold.
He smiled as he stared up at her. She truly was beautiful like this. It almost made him forget their situation sometimes. "Quiet a lovely city, isn't it?"he asked.
She turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Hardly," she said, facing forward again.
He gave her a curious look. "Then why were you staring out the window? Surely something must have caught your attention," he asked.
"I was noting all the garbage on the streets," she said, "On the way here I saw at least twelve empty cans, four broken bottles, and six loose plastic bags." Her attention returned to the window. "Humans wish to protect their world from demons, when they can't even protect it from themselves," she mused. There was sadness and disappointment in her tone.
Roy frowned and sighed. "Yeah," he muttered, "We're quite the mess, aren't we?" His smile then returned as he got an idea. "How about after this I take some time off and we take a little trip to Kyoto?" he asked, "Picture it: a picnic in one of the beautifully kept, clean gardens, visiting all the temples, spending the evening sampling some of the local drinks…" he smirked as he noticed her smile at that. "I'm sure Mephisto wouldn't mind me taking a few extra days off from, and I'm sure the students would love an extra day or two away from me," he said, "Heck, I might even be able to make an excuse that I got called out for something and get paid for the leave. So what do you say?"
She shook her head, although she still smiled. "I say that's a bad idea for a number of reasons," she said, "After all, you know exactly what would happen if your true intentions behind such an expedition were exposed," she said, causing him to wince, "And if Mephisto saw through your ruse, though he'd probably be willing to keep quiet, you'd be more than just a little indebted to him."
Roy shuddered at that before frowning and sitting up. "Alright," he grumbled, "I see your point." In his heart he knew from the beginning he would get shot down, but that didn't stop him from trying. If only things could be less complicated…
The car came to a halt and the two got out, heading into an alley. The site of the fire was a few blocks away from here, but they had decided to walk the rest of the way. Mostly it was because they didn't want any civilians near the blockade that had been set up around the area incase there was any left over demonic forces at play, but roy had another reason too.
Roy glanced over his shoulder as they were now half way down the alley. The cab driver had sped off and there was no one still around. "Alright, Riza, you're clear," he said.
She nodded before her body was suddenly engulfed in red flames. Roy stared on casually as they encased her like a vortex before being swept away by the beating of wings from the creature inside. Once they had, there was no longer a woman standing before Roy, but a bird made of orange flames hovering in the air. She then flew over to him and perched on his shoulder.
"More comfortable?" he asked.
"Much," the phoenix responded to her human companion. Roy was one of the few exorcists alive to have a phoenix for a familiar. Many hated humans for hunting them in the pursuit of the secret of eternal life. Roy had originally discovered her trapped inside a sealed urn in the attic of his old teacher's home after the man's death when he had just become an exorcist. Knowing how powerful phoenixes were, how strong they were against spirits, kin of rot, as well as many other kinds of demons, and how their flames could be used to purify infections and heal injuries, he immediately tried to forge a contract with her to be his familiar. When she had denied him and disappeared into the nearby forest, he had sought her out and brought offerings to her to earn her favor. He spent weeks trying to appease her. Eventually she agreed, but in forging his contract with her, he had to agree that he could only use her powers for what she deemed appropriate. He could not use it to kill or destroy as he saw fit and would have to ask for her consent before putting hers in harm's way. If he broke these promises, he would perish by her fire on the spot.
He agreed completely to these conditions, and the two had been together ever since, working side by side not as master and familiar but as partners. He saw her as his equal, if not his better. After all, without her he would not be nearly as powerful of an exorcist as he was today without her. Demons feared the name of Roy mustang, not for his skills as an Aria or a dragoon, but for his ability to merely snap his fingers and set them alight. That deadly force was because of her, not him, and the only reason why she lent him her power so easily was because of their mutual trust from the bond they had shared for years.
Very few knew of the true nature of their relationship. Even though many exorcist still have demon blood running through their veins from ancestry spanning back as recently as a hundred years ago, today, even considering such a relationship with a demon could result in burning at the stake. Even one considering a demon their friend is enough to cause suspicion of an exorcist in certain circles. Currently, only a handful of close friends of Roy knew of how close the two were, those including third class doctor Kain Fury, Second class aria Vato Falman, First class aria and dragoon Heymans Breda, First class dragoon Jean Havoc, and first class knight, and his closest friend, Maes Hughes. Mephisto might have found out, but if he did he wasn't showing that. He was probably saving such knowledge for the right moment to blackmail him. Roy frowned. As if he didn't have enough ways to toy with him…
He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that now. He had a job to do. He just had to write up his report and check for any more activity in the area. Then he could go home and relax before the next semester started in a few days. He sighed as he thought about that. The school year hadn't even started and he was already needing a drink.
He then smiled as a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Riza," he said, "I know heading to Kyoto together may be suspicious, but sharing a "wine offering" with you tonight would be more than reasonable, don't you think?"
The phoenix smiled. "I believe that would be perfectly acceptable," she responded.

The two had arrived at the scene and spent an hour Investigating. There was barely anything left of the structure. It had been burnt to the ground in the unholy blaze. There was also very little evidence From the exorcists that had come earlier to put the literal hellfires. From them they learned that the exorcist Izumi curtis was a survivor of the fire, rescuing two young boys and a handful of clergymen. They were currently all healing at the New Hope Hospital not too far from the scene of the demon attack.
"Well it appears that there isn't any left over activity in the area…" Roy said, "So it's clear whatever he was here for is over now."
"Could it be he was after something that Van Hohenheim owned?" Riza asked.
"Maybe he had found something powerful enough to destroy him…or the key to manifesting in this world…"
"Could be…" Roy said, "At least if he was trying to destroy something, anyways. Burning the whole place down would have certainly done the trick. If not, he royally screwed up and probably destroyed the thing he was looking for." He kicked a piece of rubble and it disintegrated into ash before looking over at the flat pools of solid steel mixed with lumps of ash that had once been the support beams of the building.
"Or he used the fire to cover his tracks," Riza said, "Mephisto wouldn't have sent us here for nothing. Even if it is Satan that attacked, if everything was said and done and the demon had acted on his own, he wouldn't be interested."
Roy smirked. "You read my mind," he said before frowning, "Finding out what he wanted isn't going to be easy though…We can't exactly bring him in for interrogation after all…and there isn't much evidence left to draw conclusions from." He sighed, "Our only hope is if the witnesses are in good enough condition to tell us anything about what happened…Has anyone else interviewed them yet?"
The phoenix shrugged. "I don't believe so. If you recall, one of the other exorcists said that almost all of the surviving victims were unconscious and/or seriously injured when help arrived," she said, "they might not be awake yet."
Roy closed his note book. "Well there's no harm in going to check," he said, "Come on. Let's see if we can get in during visiting hours."
As they began to walk back towards the edge of the investigation sight and lift up the police tape to exit, they noticed a young, blonde girl arguing with one of the officers blocking the site.
"Please sir, you've got to tell me what happened!" she said, "That fire burned down my best friends' home! They're in the hospital right now thanks to whoever did this! I want to know everything I can about this! I want to know what kind of monster caused Father Hohenheim's death!" There were furious and pained tears in her eyes as she spoke.
Roy felt slight pity for the girl as the officer tried to persuade her to leave. He could only imagine all those who had been affected by this tragedy. There were a few other victims besides father Hohenheim, a few of his clergymen that had presumably died in the fire. They had friends and family that were surely rife with grief at this moment. And that wasn't even considering all those who attended this church. Those that may not have been particularly close to the priest but sought guidance from him. Countless people falling into despair from this attack, as well as countless that Satan has caused suffering too. It boiled his blood to think about especially how helpless they all were against him. There must be some way to stop that monster…or at least weaken him…
He was suddenly pulled out of this train of thought by the girl running up to him. "Hey, are you a private investigator?" she asked, grabbing him by his arm as he walked away from the scene and catching him off guard.
He looked down at her in surprise. Her eyes were focused on his face, not even glancing once at the phoenix resting on his shoulder. The pair exchanged brief looks. The girl most likely did not have a temptaint. She would have known he was an exorcist if she could see his familiar, or would have at least been slightly distracted by her wings that had fire coming off of them.
"What gave you that impression?" he asked.
"Well you aren't dressed like any officer or fireman," she said, "And they certainly aren't letting any civilians through."
Roy shrugged. "Fair point," he said, "you could say I'm an investigator of sorts, although I'm not working independently." "I work for a sect of the Vatican that Father Hohenhiem had ties to," he explained, "They sent me in here to investigate the cause of his death, what started the fire, and so on."
She blinked at him in surprise before giving him a confused look. "What are you talking about?" she questioned, "This was clearly some kind of arson case. There was no freak storm last night and I've over heard the cops and they say it wasn't a gas leak."
Roy shrugged. "You may very well be right, but all accounts say that the church burned down in blue flames, which isn't a common occurrence. Unless the building was made of sulfur, it shouldn't have burned blue."
"I see…" the girl said, "Anyways, if you find out anything, can you let me know? My name is Winry Rockbell. I'm really close friends with the boys that lived in that church with that priest."She pulled out a slip of paper and wrote a number on it before handing it to him.
"I see," he said, getting an idea, "Alright, I will, but can you tell me one thing? Have you visited them yet? Do you know if they are awake yet? I have to interview them to see what they know."
The girl nodded and furrowed her brow. "Ed and Al aren't awake yet," she said, "But Ms. Curtis is."
Roy nodded. "Very well," he said, "Thank you." With that he turned to leave. After they had walked a small distance, roy turned into an alley and called a cab, while riza turned into her human form.
"You don't really intend on giving her any information do you? She won't believe that Satan had anything to do with it," she said.
"Oh I do intend on giving her some," he said calling a taxi, "But only what the other exorcists decide to release to the police." He turned to her. "Honestly if I told her the truth, she'd think I would be making fun of her or something," he defended, "And I couldn't exactly walk away. She seems like the stubborn kind of person who won't take no for an answer." He smirked before turning to her. "Kinda like someone else I know…" he teased.
"Yes… you always have been quite annoyingly persistent, Sir," she said smirking back at him. Roy pouted at her retort before grumbling and continuing on his way to hail their cab while Riza followed behind him.

Blue flames. They had surrounded her as she burst through the door to the burning church. She had left to pour holy water into the sewers as van Hohenheim had requested she do to prevent any demons sneaking in that way, and when she had come back, the whole building had been engulfed by the satanic flames. She coughed as air baked her lungs as the heat and smoke wafted through the air, looking around wildly to try to understand what had happened. How had Satan gotten in here? She thought it had been Astaroth they were fighting! However, her confusion and distress had quickly turned to horror as she saw three bodies lying on the ground. Her heart stopped and the flaming room suddenly grew cold as she recognized them: alphonse, who looked to be covered in several burns; Edward, who's hand was gripping something and was covered in the flames himself; and not to far away from either of the was the body of Hohenheim, face covered in blood and body slowly being consumed in the blaze.
Izumi Curtis gasped as she opened her eyes again, panting and clutching her chest as she did so. The other hand gripped the hospital sheets beneath it, tearing a few stitches in them as she tried to calm herself down. She glanced around at her surroundings, eyes gliding around the room at white hospital walls to remind herself of where she was. She sat up in her bed and held her head in her hands. This was the third time she had tried to sleep since coming here, but it was still unsuccessful. What had happened that night haunted her and most likely would for as long as she lived.
Although when she had first come to work under Father Hohenheim and aid him in his work as an exorcist she had not expected him to protect the son of satan, ever since that day she had known this was coming. That Satan would come to collect. Still she had somehow been unprepared for this. She had called him crazy, and desperately tried to get him to change his mind, but he had been unwavering. She couldn't believe him at the time. What was he thinking? Was he going to turn the boy into a weapon or something? Despite this, she had still stood by him and promised to help protect Edward. And over time, she had grown attached to the half demon and his brother, enough to where she dragged their bodies out of the burning building, despite it being clear Edward's demon half was now unleashed.
She shuddered as she remembered the moment of hesitation she had when she first saw him passed out on the ground in his new form. His ears were elongated, his fingernails too. He had long canines sticking out of his mouth and a long golden tail sprouting from his back. His human brother Alphonse a good distance away had been burned severally, there had been a wound on his neck like a large hand print gripping it as well as a large one on his chest and a few on his arm. Had edward done that? To be honest, she still didn't know. Still, it didn't stop the female exorcist from carrying them out. She then saved as many of the clergy as she could before collapsing on the ground. She woke up the next morning in the hospital, soon learning the church had burned down and that Edward and Alphonse had not yet awoken.
No one had gotten interviewed just yet, mostly because no one had been awake when other exorcists first came by, and for that she was relieved. She couldn't let anyone see Edward as he was now.
Speaking of, she should check on how he was doing. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed as she got up, wincing slightly as she put pressure on a burn wound on her hand. She then walked down the hall towards Room 351 where the two were. However, she froze as she came to the entrance to the room. The door was a jar and as she peered inside the room, she noticed two people standing at the foot of the boys' beds: a black haired man and a blonde woman in exorcist uniforms. They stared down at the boys in shock and horror, particularly Edward as they could see long ears peeking out from his hair, and a golden tail draping onto the floor from underneath the bedroom sheets.
Izumi could feel her heart fill with panic. She hoped she would have more time until someone came to check up on them to come up with a plan. At least enough to explain to the boys what had happened, anyways. But of course the universe couldn't let that happen.
She grimaced as a determined look came to her eye. She quietly grabbed broom before lunging towards the man's head with it. However, the woman caught her movement in the corner of her eye before swiftly stopping the pole before it could strike him. He turned to her in surprise before glowering at her. "Are you Izumi Curtis?" He demanded in a cold tone. The woman paused before glaring at him and nodding. "Good, because you have a lot of explaining to do," he growled as he glanced back at the teenage demon lying in the bed.