A/N: Just a little oneshot to make up for my inability to work on TWAS this week! The plot bunny just wouldn't let go.
East City Training Facility
Recruit Barracks
0200 Hours
"On your feet, recruits!"
"Oh fuck!"
"Get up, get up!"
"No no no no no no no no no!" Denial seemed to be the prevalent feeling in the barracks this morning.
"Get up, or you're all running!"
"Yes sir, drill instructor!" Thirty feet hit the floor as one, their owners wincing at the impact of the cold floor. The instructor stormed down the hall, eyes critiquing every aspect of the recruits' appearances.
"Kowalski! Socks not on properly! Thirty push-ups! Now! Henderson! Boots on the wrong feet! Forty pushups! And Madison!" The instructor stopped and stared at the recruit in disgust. "Your pants are on! Fucking! Backwards! GIVE ME FIFTY!" The terrified recruits immediately dropped to the ground and began pumping. A moment of inappropriate hilarity ensued as they attempted to correct their clothing simultaneously. The gods frowned on one recruit, the unfortunate Recruit Kaufman. He could not hold it back and quietly snorted at the predicament of his comrades. Unfortunately for him, the DI had the ears of a hawk. "Did. You. Just. Laugh. Kaufman?" The calm that had suddenly come over the DI scared the recruits more than the bellowing and screaming that had come before. Except for those doing push-ups, of course. They had more pressing concerns.
"Sir no sir!" Kaufman shook with fear. The DI got up right into Kaufman's face, eye twitching.
"RECRUIT KAUFMAN! I DO NOT LIKE BEING BULLSHITTED! SEVENTY FIVE! PUSH-UPS!" The DI did not let Kaufman get down by himself. Instead, the DI grabbed the back of Kaufman's neck and shoved him to the ground. "Let this be a lesson to ALL you recruits! You do NOT laugh at the misfortune of your comrades! You train together, you fight together, and you suffer together!" The DI took a breath. "FIFTY PUSH-UPS! ALL OF YOU!" All the recruits fell flat to the deck and began bouncing. "YOUR COMRADES ARE YOUR ONLY ALLIES! THE ONLY ONES YOU CAN COUNT ON IN THE TRENCHES! YOU WILL PROTECT YOUR COMRADES, AND THEY WILL PROTECT YOU!" The DI continued the lecture, pacing up and down the row of recruits. The DI's face was red with passion, waving around an automail left arm to make the point clearer. "YOU SEE THIS ARM?! I GOT THIS BECAUSE MY COMRADES WERE WATCHING MY BACK! WITHOUT THEM I WOULD HAVE DIED!" The recruits nodded frantically, trying enthusiastically not to displease the DI.
"Alright kiddies, that's enough. At ease." Everyone promptly collapsed to the floor and gasped for breath. The DI let out a breath of annoyance. "You are all the future of the Amestrian military. The responsibility for holding the line is yours. You knew that coming in and I expected you to live up to that. So far, you are all failing miserably. But don't worry! I have the perfect quick-fix!" The DI's eye gleamed. "Fall in for a PT run! Go, go, go!" The recruits pushed themselves up from the floor and ran for the exit, panting and sweating in the oppressive East City heat. The DI ran beside them. "Come on! Move like you've got a purpose! One early morning 'bout zero-five!"
"ONE EARLY MORNING 'BOUT ZERO-FIVE!"
"The ground will rumble there'll be lightning in the sky!"
"THE GROUND WILL RUMBLE THERE'LL BE LIGHTNING IN THE SKY!"
"Don't you worry don't come undone!"
"DON'T YOU WORRY DON'T COME UNDONE!"
"It's just my squad on a PT run!"
"IT'S JUST MY GHOST ON A PT RUN!"
The cadence continued as the training platoon panted and pounded its way through a 5-mile run. Recruit Ramirez leaned over to speak with Recruit Allard. "DI is such a fucking hardass!"
"WHEN I DIE PLEASE BURY ME DEEP! Yeah, I know. I wonder where that attitude came from. That automail probably has something to do with it."
"DON'T CRY FOR ME DON'T SHED NO TEARS! Too bad they couldn't replace that attitude with some metal. At least automail is designed to be user friendly."
"JUST PACK MY RUCK WITH PT GEAR! Just shut up now before we get caught. Hey, when we finish, we might even get to do more push-ups if we're good!"
0600 Hours
"One!"
"ONE!"
"Two!"
"TWO!" The drill grounds were filled with recruits doing various exercises and being screamed at by their DIs. In particular, Recruit Platoon 850 was in trouble.
"You fucking cocksuckers! It'll be thirty more if you don't start screaming!"
"THREE!"
"That's more like it!" The DI walked up and down the row of bouncing recruits, inspecting their forms.
"FOUR!" The DI let the screaming of the recruits bring on a dream-like state where the reminiscing began. The DI remembered good times with buddies now stationed just a few miles away. The DI remembered receiving orders to deploy to the Southern Front to combat Aerugo. The DI remembered how the Aerugan general looked through a scope and how the rifle kicked when it fired. And of course, the DI remembered the retaliatory bombardment, the artillery kicking up fountains of earth all around. Then, the DI's luck ran out. The Aerugan gunners shot well and the DI remembered the sudden shock of an arm disappearing. The DI had lay in the dirt, stunned and in terrible pain. When the bombardment finally stopped, the DI's comrades had rushed to a field hospital. The DI remembered being congratulated on a shot well taken and comrades giving encouragement, telling the DI to stay awake.
"FORTY!"
"That's enough, at ease." Thirty bodies fell to the dirt. The recruits didn't even bother to turn over, they just lay there. "Alright, thirty seconds and then we head for breakfast." Normally everyone present would have brightened up at the prospect of a meal but no, not these unfortunates. Their lot was to be bread and water. They had five minutes to eat all of it and if they didn't it was PT for them.
After a short run to the dining hall, the recruits were shoveling food into their mouths while the DI timed them. When they were done with another training session they would be handed off to a different instructor. Then the DI could have some private time. The DI was looking forward to shedding the tough, mean, nasty persona the job forced one to adopt. There were calls to make and people to see.
"Five minutes is up! Move, move, move!" Ugh. That much yelling hurt one's throat.
East City Training Facility
Officer's Rec Room
1100 Hours
"Hey."
"Hey there."
"So, how's your day?"
"SSDD, dealing with the recruits. They've got potential, but they haven't really come together as a team yet."
"Mm. Keep at it. You don't really enjoy doing this, do you?"
A sigh. "No, but I guess I had to do something while recovering. I almost have full control of the arm. I'll be back at the front soon."
"Don't rush."
"I know."
East City Training Facility
Range
1400 Hours
Rifle cracks filled the air as the DI walked into the range. The DI looked over the recruits, evaluating their skills and weak areas. One recruit in particular was having trouble. "Recruit Williams!" The man paled and turned around. "Y-yes drill instructor, sir?" he stuttered out.
"Why can you not hit the target?"
"S-sir, I don't know! I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do - I think - and I-I just can't hit it! Please don't make me do PT…" The DI sighed. This sight had been seen before.
"Recruit Williams, come over here." At that moment Williams knew he was dead. He knew it as sure as he knew that one plus one equals two. He began to walk, every step echoing within his mind.
"Sir!" Williams was surprisingly pleased at how his voice didn't shake. If he was going out, he was going out with dignity.
The DI lead him into a side room. "Recruit, your technique is good. There is no reason why you shouldn't be able hit the target."
"S-sir, I don't know…"
"Come on recruit, you can tell me. Off the record. Want me to make that an order?"
"Sir…" Williams struggle to tell the DI what he was thinking. After all, this was the person who had terrorized his life for the past two and a half weeks.
"Recruit, I order you to tell me." That made his decision for him.
"Sir! I don't know if I'm cut out for this! I-I don't think I can handle this!" A shake of the head and a sigh came from the DI along with a sad smile. This had been seen before.
"Recruit, let me tell you a little story. Once, there was a little soldier, just like you, wet around the ears. She joined up, looking to save the country. During boot camp they put her through hell. She almost broke. Then one day a friendly DI saw her struggling. He took her aside and showed her her potential. He gave her encouragement. And now? That's what I'm here for." A smirk. "I'm not going to lie. You knew what you were signing up for coming in. It's a little too late for second thoughts. But as long as I'm being honest, you have potential, recruit. I see it. Everyone sees it. We all think you can do it. Do you?" The DI patted him on the back, then shoved him towards the range. "Now get back on the line."
The DI walked away to review the other recruits. Williams stared, stunned. He gave himself a hard knock on the head to make sure he didn't imagine that. "Well then." He permitted himself a small smile and then jogged back to his rifle.
East City Training Facility
Grenade Range
1600 Hours
"And pull the pin… and throw!" The grenade soared through the air and landed in the pit where it exploded in a display of fireworks. Recruit Peterson sighed in relief and patted Recruit Siegel on the back. Siegel gulped and took his place on the line. The DI handed him a grenade which he cradled gently, as if it were a bomb.
"Siegel, show us your stuff. Pull the pin and throw the grenade." Siegel did as told. He pulled the pin and threw the grenade. But on the way up his hand, shall we say, slipped. The frag dropped from his grasp. All the veterans nearby dove for the cover at the sound of the live grenade striking the ground. Siegel cringed and mentally counted down from six.
"Six… five… four… thr-" Suddenly he was flying through the air, the DI's arms around his chest. As they both hit the ground the grenade went off with a whomp. Dirt fountained into the air on the other side of the range wall.
"Recruit! Report your status!"
"O-operational sir." Siegel prayed for a quick death. Surprisingly the wrath of the DI did not descend on him.
"Recruit Henderson, accompany recruit Siegel to the infirmary. Get him checked out." Siegel's jaw dropped at this act of supreme mercy. The DI glared at Siegel. "Don't think you're off the hook. It's PT when you get back."
East City Training Facility
Military Rehabilitation Center
2200 Hours
"One… two… three…" The DI grunted as the therapist counted off the reps. "Okay, that's enough now lieutenant. Good work. You're automail therapy is almost done. Just one more week of training should do it." The therapist patted the DI on the back. "Go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
The DI toweled off the sweat and walked back into the lobby. "Dammit, where is he? He said he would be here…"
"Hello, lieutenant." The DI whirled around at the voice and smiled.
"Sir. I was wondering where you were."
Colonel Roy Mustang walked up and hugged the DI. "Rough day Riza?"
"A little. No more than usual." Riza yawned. She had been up since 0200. "The recruits are doing well. They're learning. Nice call on taking the job offer."
"Yeah, you were bored out of your mind. I could tell."
"So, where to tonight?" Roy grinned.
"I have a special night planned. Just you, me, and some fine Xingese dining." Riza licked her lips.
"Sounds amazing! But first…" She whirled around and pointed at the eavesdropping Recruit Henderson. "Give me thirty! Now!" Roy laughed. Even if she said she didn't enjoy the job too much, she was very good at what she did and embraced it wholeheartedly. It probably came from keeping everyone in line in the office.
"Shall we go?"
Riza punched him playfully. "This better be good. Otherwise, it's PT for you too."
As they left, Henderson completed his push-ups. He collapsed, but had a grin on his face. His buddies in the barracks were going to love this one.
A/N: I just imagined Riza as a drill instructor and the plot bunny wouldn't let go. I believe I have successfully terminated it.
Tell me how I did! Reviews are reviews, faves are faves, follows are follows. For all you who were expecting a chapter of TWAS, I'll try to get one out within a week or two. Until then, mash that review button!