The mid-day sun beat down on the back of their necks, causing sweat to pool and drip down their skin in this time of high tensions. Regardless of the day seeming so bright, down on a wrecked and abandoned street below stood four people, whom were currently at a standstill amidst their battle. Two of the beings huffed slightly, being almost out of breath while another had barely broke a sweat and the other was not capable of such acts as breathing or sweating.

Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, glared across the way at the Ishvalan with cold red eyes. He grit his teeth and tightened his hand into a fist as the man known as Scar simply stared back at the boy with a blank look. Scar could simply care less about any of the occurrences going on at the moment and that's what ticked the Elemental Alchemist off most.

Mika Hawkeye, sister of the very say Riza Hawkeye stared at the man before her as she stood a few feet away from Edward. Her hair was a tangled mess from the fight that had just ensued between the four of them and her glasses were cracked a bit too. There was nothing more that she hated more than her glasses getting broken, albeit she could just fix them with a flick of her wrist.

She followed the outline of Ed's tense features, watching as he thought over his next move, to which she would back him up on completely. Mika would follow the boy to the end of time and back if it meant doing it with him, and nothing would stop her from doing so.

The Elemental Alchemist had followed her partner and friend this far and she was never going to turn her back now. Loyalty was something you just don't throw away in her eyes, and she intended to see Edward and Alphonse's endeavors through to the end. Even if it meant getting caught in situations like this all the time.

"It's true, we alchemists have committed some mistakes", Edward began.

Mika knew that Ed was referring to himself when he said that, and she also could help but let her mind flicker to all the wrong she had done also. She had killed people, something that she was not proud of at all. It just seemed as if you held the title State Alchemist then the job requirements called for you to commit such acts. This is something that Edward, Alphonse, nor Mika could condone and the Ed could now understand why his master hated the dogs of the military.

Because all they brought was death and destruction in their wake.

"But even so, it doesn't mean that we can accept what you're doing", he defended.

His next statement made both Al and Mika tense up from the harsh memories that came with it.

"You're so self-righteous. . . Do you remember an Amestrisian doctor named Rockbell?"

Mika swallowed the lump in her throat and fought back the tears that threatened to spill over from the words. She would not cry in front of any one, never would she show her emotions to her enemies, nor her friends. Like the earth she would be hard; like fire she would be fierce; like water she would be swift; like the wind she would be strong. She would never give in to fear nor sadness in front of anyone.

She turned her gazed to the ground to look at her shoes, trying her hardest not to kill the man before her. Mika just listened to Edward's words trying to figure out where he was going with these painful memories.

"Even after the order to exterminate uprising in Ishval they came out, they kept right on helping your people!"

Mika turned a glare up to the Ishvalan, the gleam on her broken glasses added to the menacing look in her deep chocolate eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Rockbell were selfless people who only wanted to help the most amount of people that they could. How could someone do that to them?

It wasn't until Mika fully focused her gaze that she saw a new outline out of the corner of her eyes. She turned with wide eyes, along with Al, to see their friend Winry, frozen to the spot with a confused and broken look upon her delicate features. Al gasped and called to Edward,

"Wait, Brother!"

Yet Ed just kept on, being absorbed into his own situation,

"Don't you remember them? Those doctors saved your life and you killed them!"

"Brother!"

"Ed!"

Al and Mika called, trying get their companion's attention off of the darkly skinned man before them. It had finally worked and so he looked to the side catching Winry's confused gaze.

The young girl simply stared at her long time friend, "What are you talking about Ed?"

Edward was at a loss for words, "Winry, I –"

Winry changed her gaze to Scar's burly back, staring a whole between his shoulder blades with those sad blue eyes.

"You mean he's the man who killed them? My parents", her voice cracked little as she spoke barely above a whisper. "He killed them?"

Her eyes quivered as tears threatened to break through their barrier. Winry's clasped her hands close to her chest as it had begun to hurt immensely from the sudden tightening deep within.

"And what's worse- they helped save you. . . and you killed them."

Mika jumped forward to help her friend as she collapse to her bare knees; she held Winry from falling onto her back. The girl had become weak with shock and misery. Everything she had just learned hit her like and brick wall and it took all the strength she had to push Mika away from her. She didn't want anyone touching her right now, and so Mika backed away with a simple nod to her friend; she respected Winry's wishes.

"Why did you", Winry questioned. "They were my mom and dad, what did they ever do to you?"

Her voice rose an octave higher, "They were doctors. They helped people. They didn't deserve to die!"

Sobs wracked her body now, and it took all of Mika's strength to keep herself from going to her friend. Tears finally broke the dam as Winry cried with her head in her hands. The girl had lost all sanity at the moment.

"Give them back! Give me back my mom and dad, you monster!"

A sympathetic look flashed across Mika's eyes and she took her gaze to Edward who look just as torn as she did. Neither knew what to do at the moment, for they both always tried their hardest to hide their emotions. Yet neither of them knew what to do for their childhood friend.

It wasn't until Ed gasped that Mika followed his sight. A gun that one of the MP's had dropped during the attack laid innocently on the ground, a very convenient distance away from their friend. They watched as her hand slowly rose up to reach for the metal weapon on the ground.

"Winry", Ed spoke, actually a bit frieghtened. "Hold on- you can't. Don't do this."

Al took a step forward towards her, "Winry."

A look void of any sense at all filled Winry's features as she raised the gun up to aim it shakily at the Ishvalan in front of her. Tears streamed down her face and it took all she had to try and pull the trigger of the gun.

"Winry, listen to me! You can't do this", Mika called to Winry.

The girl ignored her words and instead focused her sights full on Scar, whom stared at her.

"You're the doctors' daughter", he asked plainly. He didn't even give her a chance to answer, "You have a right to shoot me."

Then he just stopped speaking, as if something else plagued his thoughts. No one could guess what it was that took up his consciousness for a good minute or two. Mika had an idea that he was thinking of the Rockbells, but she knew that it was too good to be true to think thathe would regret his actions.

"Shoot", muttered.

"Don't Winry! Don't do it! Put the gun down, you're not meant for this", Mika said, trying to convince her friend. The reaction she got was not the one she expected.

Winry suddenly turned her broken gaze to Mika, where she shoot her a glare through all the jumbled up emotions that she had. Her teary blue eyes narrowed with malice,

"What do you care", she screamed at Mika.

"You didn't even cry whenever you found out they died! And they had given everything to you when you had to stay with us! They treated you just like their own daughter and you didn't even shed a tear over them!"

"Winry, she-"

"Shut up, Ed! She didn't even care! And now she's protecting the man who killed them. She's just as heartless as he is!"

Mika stared at her friend blankly, not having a single thing to say except the single uttered word, "Winry. . ." She didn't try to deny Winry's hurtful words. She did cry, but she wouldn't admit it to anyone but herself.

The girl soon turned her broken eyes to Scar again, where he stared back at her.

"Shoot me! But if you shoot, in that moment, I will consider you my enemy!"

"Scar", Al called, followed by Edward taking a step towards the man offensively.

"If you think I'll let you harm one hair on her head-"

"Will you kill me", asked Scar as he turned toward Fullmetal. "That'd be fine with me. Until one of us dies boy, this chain of hatred will continue. But don't ever forget! Don't ever forget, it was the Amestrisians who first pulled the trigger during the civil war! It was your people!"

Winry started to hyperventilate as her hands tightened on the gun. Mika, trying to forget Winry's words, called to her sincerity lacing her voice,

"Winry, don't shoot. Just put it the gun down and get out of here!"

Al called out her name trying to distract the young girl from Scar,who turned to her. He narrowed his glared at her,

"If you can't shoot, then do as they told you", he turned to Edward and slammed his right arm of destruction down on the ground, eliciting a flash of lightning in its wake. "You're in my way!"

Edward leapt out of the way of the attack and landed next to Mika who had taken a defensive stance, prepared to protect him at all cost. She helped him flip to the other side of Scar, providing a distraction while he yelled to Winry,

"Don't shoot!"

He landed in front of her, shielding Winry from Scar's ensuing onslaught. But the man had stopped. Scar stopped his attack as he saw the selfless act of the Fullmetal Alchemist towards his friend. All the while Mika and Alphonse took up defensive posts on either side of Scar to make sure he didn't do anything drastic. Something flickered across the Ishvalan's eyes as he stood there staring at the two below him.

Both Al and Mika took advantage of his pause to attack him. Al swung a heavy round-house kick towards his head, to which he dodged it swiftly and jump out of the way. A crack of lightning flew in from his right side when Mika gave a flick of her wrist. She growled as the man flipped out of the way; she never misses! Alphonse then clapped his hands together and shoved them towards the ground where a current flew through the stone towards Scar's feet. The man jumped up and out of the way, where he used his arm to break a wall down to bits. He escaped through the hole.

Alphonse turned to Edward and yelled, "Ed you idiot, what are you doing? Both of you will get killed! Hurry and get Winry somewhere safe." And with that he leapt away, Edward to tend to Winry and Mika to watch them both.

Once he was gone Edward turned back to Winry, whom sat shaking on the ground before him. Mika took to leaning against the nearest wall watching the two with a protective eye. She also took the time to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Edward took the shaking hand that held the gun in it. "Winry let go of the gun."

Her shoulders shook as Edward knelt before her. Her voice broke, "I couldn't shoot."

"I know you couldn't", he said. "It's okay."

"But that man", Winry held her head with her other hand and tears streamed down even more, " he's the one you said who killed my mom and dad. He tried to kill you and Al too Ed. But I couldn't. Why not?"

Winry sobbed quietly and Mika could only look at the two from the corner of her eyes. She couldn't help but feel a teensy pang of jealousy through her heart at the fact that Ed was so close to her. Regret also filled her heart as she couldn't believe that she felt this way during her friend's time of need. Edward was merely consoling her, nothing more. But these feelings grew more as Mika silently listened and watched the two.

Edward raised Winry's hand up a bit, "Remember in Rush Valley, when you delivered that baby? You saved two lives."

He uncurled two of her fingers from around the gun, "And you gave me an arm."

Another finger, "And a leg."

The last one, "To replace the ones I've lost."

The gun clattered to the ground between the two. He then took her hand in between both of his, causing Mika's arms to fall limp from their crossed position. She watched intently now, jealously and remorse mixing together in her heart.

"It's your hands", he said simply. "They weren't meant to kill. They're meant to give life. That's why."

Winry's shoulders shook even more and she collapsed into Edward's arms where she sobbed uncontrollably. He comforted her by wrapping her into him, holding her as closely as possible. The two stayed that way for a while, unconsciously making Mika suffer the whole time. She stood there, watching over the two, repeating to herself that he was merely helping their friend and nothing else.

It wasn't until the MP's had arrived that he let her go and wrapped her in his own jacket. That was something that Mika wasn't too happy about either.

"Officer", Ed said offering the man the gun that caused the whole fiasco. "Please take somewhere safe."

He then turned his attention to Winry, "Al is still fighting, so I have to go. I'm sorry. I'll tell you everything once we get back."

Finally after what felt like forever, Ed turned his golden gaze to Mika, "Come on Mika, we have some work to do."

Mika nodded silently and followed in behind Edward, keeping up with him every step of the way. She never said a word to him as they followed the trail left behind by Scar and Al. This wasn't very normal for her, as she loved talking to Edward all the time. And Edward took notice to this. He looked to his partner who was running beside him with equal fervor, never once looking towards him with her beautiful chocolate eyes.

He cocked an eyebrow and without further notice reached out an arm and yanked her into an abandoned alley way. Al could take care of himself, just as long as he made this quick.

"Ed? What the hell are you doing", she yelled at him as she was roughly pulled. Her eyes were widened a bit from the sudden movement made on Edward's part.

"Al can wait a few minutes. What's wrong, Mika", he asked genuinely concerned about his friend and partner.

Mika was stuck in a tight spot, literally, for the alley was small and it had scrunched Ed and her closer together. A small blush had filled her features and she raised a hand to fiddle with her broken glasses a bit. How was she supposed to admit the horrible feelings that had been welling in side of her? On one hand she felt horrible about the jealousy she felt towards Winry and on the other, this could be the chance to tell Ed how she felt. After all this time she could tell him.

She came to decision, it was now or never, and they didn't have much time. A sigh escaped her lips when she looked up into Edward's soft golden orbs. She raised up onto her toes a bit to place a tender kiss on his lips. This sincerely surprised the alchemist, for his heart gave a hard thump beneath his ribcage. He groaned and brought both of his hands up to grip her arms and hold her in place.

Mika honestly felt surprised when he returned the kiss and it made her pull a away slightly with a smile.

"Mika", he muttered, a certain gleam swam in his eyes. "What brought this on?"

She gulped and looked to the ground, "I hate to say this but I got jealous a bit back there when you were comforting Winry. I know I shouldn't have, but hearing you talk about her so reverently made my blood boil."

The Elemental Alchemist bit her lip, "You spoke of her so sweetly, as she has done all these great things, like giving life. And all I've done is taken it."

When she was finished Mika felt a cool metal finger trail along her jaw line, making her shiver in pleasure. The hand raised her head up to look at its owner, to which loving golden eyes stared back.

"I love you, Mika, not Winry. I'm not pure either, so I guess we're a perfect match. Besides, I know that you trying hide your feelings. Winry just doesn't understand that; maybe you should tell her how you really feet about her parents."

Mika sighed in bliss as she listened to his words, "I love you too, Ed. I think I will tell her."

Edward placed a short loving kiss on her lips before taking her hand in his, "Good. Now, come on. I believe Al needs our help."

Mika grinned and yanked him out of the alley way, "You got it short stuff!"

"Dammit! You're smaller than me!"