A/N: Hello. It's Heartless Shinra Alchemist. Here's chapter two. By the way, the bookstore is based off of my favorite used bookstore, Bookman. They really do have cats that live in the store...it's so cool! And the whole place is covered in books! I love it.

Havoc sighed as he looked around his new apartment. It was sparsely furnished, with an oven, a table, and a microwave in the kitchen and a bed with a nightstand in the bedroom. The bathroom had a toilet and a large shower, too. At his feet were five stuffed suitcases filled with his clothes, blankets, and other necessities. He pulled his cigarettes from his front pocket and lit one up with the lighter in his other hand.

"Well, looks like this is home..." he muttered. Sighing, he kicked the suitcases down the empty hallway into the bedroom. He kicked the door open, cringing slightly as it slammed against the wall. The walls were painted a neutral blue, and the carpet was a dull grey. Havoc collapsed onto the bed and began to rummage through his suitcases, pulling out clothing and blankets. He stopped as his hand collided with something hard and square. Curious, he pulled it out. It was a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend Sasha. Havoc snarled and flung the picture across the room, wincing as the glass shattered against the wall. He glanced over and slowly walked over, picking up the picture through the glass shards. He placed the picture in the drawer of his nightstand. Silently, he put all his clothes away in a small footlocker at the foot of the bed. When he was done, he rolled onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with a bored expression.

"What am I going to do?" he asked himself. He honestly had nothing to do. He was getting paid for not doing any work. Havoc sat up slowly, remebering the bookstore he had seen on the way to the apartment. It was only a few blocks away, not that far of a walk...Havoc ran to the door, pulling his boots and jacket on, and shambled outside. "Time to go to the bookstore," he said.

Havoc walked into the store cautiously, suddenly nervous. The store was a used bookshop and although it was fairly large, there were books crammed everywhere. Apparently there were more books than space on the bookshelves, because there were piles of books in front of almost every shelf. There was a small counter to the left of him, just barely visible behind the piles of books that covered it. Havoc jumped as he saw a large grey cat standing on the counter, yawning lazily. With a smile, he walked over to the cat, hand outstreched.

"Hey, cat," he said in a friendly tone. The cat viewed him from one blue eye before streching to rub itself against his hand. Havoc laughed and stroked the cat behind its ears, which caused the cat to purr.

"Aww..." called a voice from the back of the shop. "He likes you." Havoc looked up to see a girl approaching him, her arms laden with thick books.

"Oh," he said as the cat jumped from its perch on the counter and began to wound itself around the girl's feet. The girl giggled and set the books on the counter with a smile.

"Hello. My name's Misha. What's yours?" Her grey eyes sparkled kindly. Havoc rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Uhm...Second Lu-wait...sorry. Jean Havoc." He turned beet red. Misha giggled again.

"Well, Mr. Havoc, what can I do for you?" She leaned over to pick up the cat, who lept lightly into her arms. Havoc sighed.

"Honestly, I've got nothing to do and I was wondering what the shop was like." He fiddled with the cover of a book on the counter. Misha nodded and placed the cat down.

"Well, what kind of books do you like?" She asked, tucking a strand of short black hair behind one of her ears. As she did so, the many bangles she wore tinkled pleasantly. Havoc's face screwed up with concentration.

"Uhm...I like books on the history of Ishballa...but they're really rare," he said, embarrassed. Misha grinned mischeviously.

"I think I can find something for you," she said, flying to the back of the store. Havoc followed her as she muttered under her breath, tapping bookshelves as she went. Suddenly, Misha halted in front of a shelf with lots of books that were easily six inches thick. Long fingers danced quickly over various spines, halting on one with symbols that Havoc couldn't recognize embossed into the red leather of the spine. Misha pulled the book out, flipping it onto its side.

"I can't read Ishballan," Havoc stated, slightly embarrassed. Misha turned and stuck her tounge out at him.

"I can see that." She opened the book, revealing that the words were written in the common language. "But this book isn't written in Ishballan." Havoc smiled and took the book.

"Thanks, ma'am. May I stay and read it?" Misha glanced at him curiously.

"Sure, but...why?" she asked, obviously confused. Havoc laughed.

"I'm here because I have tons of time to waste. I figure sitting down and reading a two-thousand page book might take some time," he chuckled. Misha smiled.

"In that case, come with me," she said, grabbing Havoc's hand. She half-dragged him to another corner of the store, where several large armchairs and a somewhat squashed sofa stood. OoC// Hooray for alliterations!// Misha grinned and sank into the blue armchair. She laughed at Havoc's stunned impression and pointed to the sofa. Havoc sat nervously, still staring as Misha as if she were insane.

"It's not very often that customers are all that interested in staying," she explained, propping her feet up onto a small table that sat in between the chairs. "Most of them just come in looking for some rare alchemy book and then leave." Misha sighed. "Since my parents died, this shop has been so lonely..." Havoc glanced at Misha curiously.

"Your parents are dead?" he asked. Misha nodded. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. Misha shrugged.

"It was their time. And now they are with Ishballah or wherever souls go after they're dead, so I can't complain..." She grinned. "And besides, that means that I can keep my chimeras in the store!" Havoc jumped.

"Chimeras?" he asked nervously. Misha nodded, then pulled a whistle from her pocket. Placing it to her lips, she blew, but no sound came from it. However, many different chimeras began to swarm around Misha, all purring or chirping, or making some other noise of contentment. Havoc whistled.

"It's not what you think, Mr. Havoc," she said defensively. She looked at him, fear in her eyes as she picked up a cat with blue bird wings and a feathered tail. "All these were made from animals that were dying. I did it to save their lives." Havoc nodded.

"I believe you, ma'am, I'm just a little surprised at how many there are. How do you feed them all?" Misha smiled.

"I let them outside and they fend for themselves. The neighbors know that my chimeras are harmless and sometimes leave food out for them." The bird-cat chirruped as Misha stroked its feathered tail. "Actually," she said with a modest grin, "I've helped with a lot of animals around here too. I've saved the lives of quite a few of my neighbors' pets by turning them into chimeras." Havoc smiled.

"Why haven't you signed up to be part of the military yet? I'm sure they'd love to have your talents. You'd make a great State Alchemist!" he said, nudging her slightly. Misha's smile slipped a little.

"Yeah. I'd love to be part of the military, but my place is with the shop. And besides," she giggled. "I get to read nonstop with this job!" Havoc smiled and looked down at his watch.

"Damn," he swore, standing up. He turned to Misha, an apologetic smile on his face. "Ma'am, I have to go and meet a friend of mine. Can I drop in tomorrow?" Misha nodded, her face dumbfounded. Havoc grinned and placed the large red-bound book into the girl's hands. "Keep this safe for me, will ya?" Misha nodded mutely, waving meekly as Havoc rushed out the door.

Day I:

It appears that the Second Lutenient has already met with the person I intended him to meet. Even better, he seems to have accepted her idiosyncrasies. He has arranged to meet the girl again tomorrow, but that doesn't count as a date quite yet. Things seem to be going as planned.