At the end of her speech, of sorts, her hand remained outstretched in a non-threatening gesture. Her body language remained just the same.

The man before her did not change his expression. He stared at Arashi for quite a few moments, as if measuring his options and replied:

"You seem to be more...level-headed than the other kids that have come to me asking the same question, so I'll let you in on a secret. The military is not where you should waste your life, at least if you're this young."

"I've heard this speech before, sir, but I won't change my mind. May I take the test?" her hand remained out; she tried to be as respectful as possible despite her disregard to his last statement.

"Are you prepared fully for the consequences of what you choose to do?" the man asked darkly. His expression changed to match the tone.

She nodded. Then suddenly, the man snatched her hand, and gave it a firm shake.

"Then I welcome you to the military, miss. I'm sure you'll pass." He smiled what seemed to be a warm grin. It turned more smug as he released her hand and walked around his desk to meet the girl. "I just need the paperwork from the Fuhrer and then you can begin."

The man started to lead Arashi out of the room. Edward saw this, and quickly jumped in.

"Hey, wait! What happened to my report?!" his tone was simply frustrated.

"I think I'd call this a more pressing matter, don't you agree, Ed?" the man replied as he passed.

The small alchemist remained silent but it was obvious he didn't trust his superior's intentions. It didn't matter though, for the two exited the office, leaving Edward to his thoughts.

Once they left his office, the two walked by Alphonse, who promptly greeted both of them. The man merely nodded, and Arashi gave a small smile and a thumbs up.

They walked through the military base for about five minutes in silence, until the man brought Arashi to another door. He unlocked it and told her that this was where she would take the exam, with a certain time frame. Also, he told her to go in and he would retrieve the testing materials from the Fuhrer and return shortly.

Inside was not glamorous in the least. Like the rest of the base, its walls were a drab, unexciting color. There was one desk in the center of the tiny room, with one chair. Lighting was adequate, however, and she was sure she could manage.

After sitting down, Arashi waited awkwardly for the official to come back. The wait seemed more horrible than the test would be.

Finally, he came and almost tossed the packet of the exam to her. He wished her good luck and went back out. The girl could hear him lock the door behind him.

It made her wonder if he would remember she was in there. . .

Question after question she answered competently. They seemed to be core, simple facts of alchemy and only about five or ten questions were beyond her educated guess.

Minutes passed by. The test was almost done.

There came a sound at the door. The man was unlocking it.

As he intruded, he spoke, "Time's up. Did you finish?"

Arashi stood up quickly and handed the official her exam. She replied firmly, "No, sir."

Taking the pile of papers, he said, "Then I hope you had enough knowledge to make up for it."

"I believe I did."

He looked at Arashi, and then motioned for her to follow him out of the room. She obeyed without a word. After they had left and were walking down the hall, the conversation began once more.

"There are two more parts to this exam. Did you realize that?" his tone was strangely passive.

She glanced at him almost nervously.

"Yes, I've heard from alchemists who attempted this." It was true; Arashi tried to find as many former candidates as possible to extract information from.

"Oh, really?" the man almost sounded amused, "Then I don't need to waste time explaining; we can start right away."

"Wait, sir!" Arashi was alarmed. She wanted real knowledge from this official, "There's no need to rush this."

"Nonsense. You'll be fine." He pushed her down the hallway, with the girl being powerless to oppose, for fear of invalidation.

As they continued down the hall of the military base, they arrived at an incredible set of doors that seemed to bear down on Arashi simply for being in their presence. The State symbol, the platinum dragon, centered it. Gazing about, Arashi found the wood had been tediously polished, with gold leaf at the door's rims.

She was told once again to wait outside. Were the higher government officials that had fled to the Eastern Headquarters in that very room? Arashi could only guess. As she stood there for an increasing number of moments, the girl began to feel quite a bit awkward. Every once and awhile personnel of the base passed by, unknowing to why she was standing in the middle of the hallway. Harassed with questions each time, she found that it wasn't difficult to dismiss them, leaving her alone with her own contemplations.

Having just about enough of waiting, Arashi found a spot up against the wall, safely away from the swinging door, and rested. She thought back. Did she regret starting this journey? Absolutely not; she had wasted too many years on this goal if that was true. There was no turning back.

Then she realized something dire; quite a few things, actually.

First off, she had lost her traveling bag somewhere between walking to Edward's superior's office and that moment. That could be a very serious issue if she didn't find it soon. Not only did it have any money she possessed currently at all, but it contained something much more valuable and precious to Arashi.

A more pressing problem occurred that she simply couldn't get rid of. It was the color of her eyes.

Since the rebellion near this very headquarters, the east, Ishbalans were considered refugees, and were not looked upon kindly by anyone in the military. This was why she covered her appearance, most importantly her fiery orbs with thick, dark sunglasses. She still wore these now.

Would she be able to get away with concealing her eyes? What would happen if they figured out she was Ishbalan?

Just when her worries reached a quintessential form, the entrance to that room opened up, and the same man as before came to greet her, closing that gate behind him.

"Sorry for the wait, it took the old geezers time to look over your papers. They're ready for you." He informed, and motioned to the doors.

Arashi lifted herself from the floor and stretched a bit, to mentally prepare herself for the next part of the exam. Before she could take a step however, the man clasped her shoulder, and looked at her with a dangerous expression.

"Do you think glasses will cover up who you are? It only took me one glance. I don't know what they'll do to you but I have a good idea. Are you sure you want to take the risk they'll figure you out?" His tone was straightforward and harsh.

Her voice was distant and filled with ice as she replied, "I accepted those possibilities the moment I wanted my certification. Your words can't stop me...sir."

The man started with disdain at her for a moment, as if annoyed at her persistence, and then sighed slightly. He turned and began to open the heavy doors. Arashi followed after him, not knowing what would happen next but as ready for it as she could ever be.

It was the beginning of a much harder journey, however, one that the young alchemist could never have expected.