Night Eyes

Chapter 1

He perched on the top of a swing, admiring his handiwork. The way the body lay… it was like art to him. He wiped some blood off his cheek with the back of his hand, knowing that it didn't belong to him.

She didn't know either.

The boy suddenly stood, balancing perfectly on the swing, and jumped off onto a nearby rooftop, vanishing from sight.

"Sir, another one was murdered last night," reported Hawkeye, trying hard not to sigh in frustration. It simply wasn't a professional thing to do. Immediately after she thought that, her superior sighed in frustration.

"We're not getting anywhere on this case, Lieutenant. We've been assigned to it for months, but we still haven't got any clues on the murderer. And the victims aren't related at all!" Mustang folded his hands together tensely and put his chin on them, elbows on his desk. No-one but his subordinates knew that was a gesture of extreme frustration.

"Sir… I hate to be the one to say this, but… the rumors about the murderer…" Havoc said reluctantly. Colonel Mustang instantly swung cold, heartless black eyes onto his subordinate in the most terrifying death glare he could muster, and Havoc felt his knees attempt to give way. The Colonel wouldn't kill him… of course not… right?

"What about the rumors, 2nd Lieutenant Havoc? Is there something you'd like to suggest?" Mustang glared ruthlessly. Havoc swallowed and attempted to answer, but his mouth was suddenly dry.

"Well, um, it's just, err… never mind," Havoc gulped. Mustang gave him an 'I thought so' look.

"Keep trying to find a connection between the victims. And I want the patrol tonight to be extra sharp! Dismissed," Mustang ordered.

"Yes sir," the two replied, saluting. Havoc noticed Hawkeye giving Mustang a concerned look on the way out, but he could hardly blame her. All of Mustang's team was worrying over the toll this case was obviously having on him. Mustang was being alternatively distant or tense, even staying late and actually working on this case. Everyone was stunned.

"How'd it go?" Breda asked. Hawkeye shook her head silently.

"I tried to mention the rumors…" Havoc muttered. Fuery, Falman and Breda all stared at him.

"You're kidding, right?" Fuery asked, the rays of sunset reflecting off his glasses. Havoc shook his head.

"You idiot, Jean! You know that Mustang goes into flat out denial when anyone implies that Ed could be the murderer!" Breda yelled. Silence fell on the office.

"Breda…" Falman trailed off. Breda looked over at him.

"You know it's a possibility. Everyone knows it's a possibility! Every single witness we've had has given us an almost perfect description of Ed and says he was leaving the crime scene!" Breda insisted.

"Yeah, a whole three witnesses. Two drunks and a druggie, real reliable," Havoc snapped.

Breda stood, knocking his chair over. "Look, I don't like it any more than you do. But these are the facts. You twist theories to fit the facts, not facts to fit your theory!"

"Everyone calm down right now!" Hawkeye ordered, pulling her gun. "Get back to work."

The officers worked in silence for the rest of their shift.

Later that day, Colonel Mustang found himself looking at the most recent body. This person was just one dead body in a whole long line of bodies that had been pouring into HQ over the last three months. And this one was in the exact same condition as all the rest- it had two small, round wounds in its neck and had been drained of most of its blood. If that wasn't disturbing enough, the skin of the body was grey and withered as if the body had been dead for 20 years, when Mustang knew that she had been murdered just last night. Recent tests on the skin had revealed that not only was its blood drained, so was all the natural nutrients found in the human body, and that was the reason was the withered look of the body. It also made autopsies almost impossible.

Mustang sighed, letting his mind wander. Havoc had mentioned the rumors earlier… the wild rumors the public had somehow come up with to explain all the deaths. Everyone was saying that it was Fullmetal who had murdered these people, that he was a vampire who only came out at night, who found his victim and drained them of all their blood. It was absurd. The witnesses who saw him leave crime scenes were unreliable and drunk, and the rumor had no substantial base. But that was what the public chose to believe, and it certainly didn't help that Fullmetal went missing at the same time the deaths started. The two were completely unrelated… Mustang knew Fullmetal wouldn't kill people, therefore he knew Fullmetal didn't do it. It was as simple as that. Mustang checked his watch, realizing that his shift was now over. But the real work hadn't even begun yet- he needed to meet his team in two hours for patrol. He stood, glanced one more time at the poor dead girl on the table, and left.

"Are you sure you got the torch? What about the snacks? Did you get the-" the girl got cut off in the middle of her sentence.

"Calm down, Winry, I got everything. So don't worry," Al replied, shifting the bag over his shoulder.

Winry sighed, "I just don't want to have to go back to our apartment for it, that's all." She flashed Al an apologetic smile. He just nodded understandingly. The two teens were walking down the dark, deserted street, with just enough light left to make out the general shapes around them. Of course the street was deserted; no one ever came out after 7pm anymore, except for drunken partygoers, stupid thrill seekers, 'vampire hunters' (which Al and Winry had laughed long and hard at) and Mustang's patrol team. The duo reached the usual meeting spot (the entrance to a park situated in the middle of the city) to find that they were the last to arrive.

"Hey Al, Winry," Havoc greeted them as they came into view. Al smiled and Winry waved.

"Good, now that we're all here," Mustang began, "I want patrol to be extra sharp tonight! I'm not sure how the killer has evaded us for so long, so check every nook and cranny, investigate every noise, whatever you have to do to catch this guy. I want every inch of this district covered before morning!"

"Yes sir!" they all replied, and saluted. The group split up into four groups of two- Mustang and Alphonse headed north, Hawkeye and Winry went east, Breda and Falman took south, and Havoc and Fuery headed west. If they had the choice, Al and Winry would've teamed up together, except that they were both young and while Al could defend himself, neither of them had military experience nor first aid knowledge. Mustang had told them that if they wanted to tag along, they would each have to pair up with a military officer. The patrol team headed off to their designated areas; it was going to be a long night.

There's one.

It was another girl- they must like going out late at night. He followed her as she stumbled along the street.

Maybe she knows…

He studied her as she wobbled along the street, trying to gain her balance. He could smell alcohol on her breath despite being metres away. After a moment, he decided to ask her.

"Do you know?" he spoke, seemingly appearing out of nowhere behind the girl. She jumped wildly and tripped, falling on her side.

"Do I… know… wut?" she slurred, half lying on the ground, gazing up at him.

"Do you know… me?" he asked her. She shook her head, swaying from the movement. "Oh." He leaned in close to her, close enough to kiss her if he wanted to. She stared in his eyes in wonder. They were so… hypnotic. She wanted to kiss him, but her drunken mind told her that she couldn't move. He moved his face to hover over her neck, and opened his mouth. The girl wanted to scream- he had fangs! - But she was frozen in place, completely paralyzed.

Blood soon sprayed over the street.