Hello everyone. I'm here again. So. This is a short chapter - just because it is - and I'm posting it now because I'm going away somewhere in the next four days. (Really don't want to.) Also, today's weather was very muggy - to echo Roy's earlier statement, terrible luck on muggy days. To prove this point…I broke a door.
gaap237 was the winner of that last reference, as the first person to get it. Far more people guessed it than I thought; Sherlock!
This reference is;
"I'll be watching you, Wazowski. Always watching. Always!"
Heh, it's from one of my favourite movies.
Of Flashbacks and Fashion Sense
"…and it is such a great advantage to us all that every one of our admirable countries can join together in this unified state. I for one am sure that together we will achieve much…"
The Emperor of Kambei, a man of about forty and average appearance - brown eyes, black hair, slightly wrinkled face and kindly smile - yammered on about 'great countries' and 'astounding feats', on and on and it was boring Roy to death.
Most of the other attendees were listening intently, smiling and nodding, taking sips of the fragrant tea they'd been offered.
They were situated in a great, exquisite hall with a huge table down the middle. The Emperor occupied a large chair at the end, and Roy was situated about halfway down from there. There were somewhere around ten people there in total.
The Colonel picked up the pen he'd been been supplied with and began to doodle aimlessly onto the notepaper on the table in front of him.
Before he knew it, the Fuhrer had somehow appeared on the paper underneath a scrawled drawing of Roy's own person, who had his foot planted firmly on the older man's back. 'VICTORY!' had been written in block letters above that.
Roy had just subconsciously doodled treason onto a piece of paper.
He quickly and furiously scribbled over the top of it, his face going a little red. Next to it, he quickly scrawled out a few notes and professional sounding words.
"Colonel Mustang?" The Emperor's eyes were on Roy, who quickly noticed that everyone elses' were as well. "Are you quite alright?"
Roy, startled, looked around at the pairs of eyes all staring at him and muttered, "Yea—yes, I'm fine. Thanks."
Roy looked down, feeling his cheeks burning. I shouldn't be here, he thought. Not yet, anyway. I'm probably the lowest ranking man here. I can literally feel everyone else looking down on me. That's why I'm so far down the table. Normally the representative of such an influential country as Amestris would be further up, but someone like me…
Risking another glance around the hall, Roy spotted Prince Claudio further up on the opposite side of the table. Tyrell was seated to the right of said prince, shooting worried glances at him.
Roy's brow furrowed. Tyrell mentioned that Aerugo and Orato were close countries, didn't he? So wouldn't the sons of their two countries' rulers have been together a lot as children? If so, why is he acting that…
Tyrell flinched and looked at the floor as Claudio sent a glare his way.
…scared of him?
The Colonel picked up his pen again, one eye still on the shaman across the room.
Enviously, he remembered that Edward would now be off in a library somewhere doing whatever he wanted. Lucky kid, Roy thought grumpily. This meeting is boring me to tears.
Setting his pen to the paper again, Roy began to sketch randomly once more, his hand moving on it's own as his half-lidded eyes watched the Emperor's movements.
He recalled the moment in his past where he'd received the unwelcome news that he would be travelling to Kambei.
The door to the outer office of Colonel Roy Mustang opened quickly, slamming into the frame as a burly, excessively muscled man shoved it into the wall.
The ensuing noise was enough to startle the headset right off Master Sergeant Kain Fuery's head, the younger man jumping to attention as what seemed like a hundred men streamed into the room.
Havoc snapped out of his doze, whipping his feet of the table and trying rather unsuccessfully to disguise the cigarette in his mouth by sucking it in as far as it would go without burning his lips.
Lieutenant Hawkeye clicked open the door to the inner office, peering out curiously and blinking. She turned her head, calling back, "Sir, I think there's someone here for you."
Breda stood up, holding his arm in a salute and stuffing the last of his food into his mouth hurriedly, whilst Falman hovered by his desk and moved his hand to his forehead.
As the soldiers fanned out around the room, a gap was formed just in front of the door and in stepped none other than Fuhrer King Bradley, waving jovially at the Colonel who'd just appeared in the doorway opposite, his somewhat tired demeanour becoming one of shocked stupor.
"F…Fuhrer King Bradley…" he uttered in surprise, snapping his wrist into a salute. His hand trembled as the effect of writing and filing an unusually high amount of paperwork began to set in. His hair was messy and his uniform a little wrinkled, leaving him looking somewhat dishevelled. "You should have warned us of your arrival… We would have cleaned up a little first."
The Colonel suppressed a yawn; this was one of those days where it would be opportune for the Fuhrer to not show up.
The entire office was exhausted after having to sort out the masses of paperwork that was the aftermath of capturing an up-and-coming serial killer and the recent state alchemist application exam. Roy glanced at the soldiers lining the walls, picking out a familiar face amongst the Central men.
Hughes shot him a quick smile from his position, twisting his hand a little in a wave.
Roy looked back at the Fuhrer, who then put everyone at ease and said, "Ah, not to worry, Mustang. Now, I'd be much obliged if we could move into your office, there's a matter I need to discuss with you."
Roy cringed, casting a glance back into the cluttered inner office. "If we must…"
The Fuhrer chortled as he moved into Roy's office, leaving his entourage milling aimlessly about outside.
Roy caught Hughes breaking ranks to catch up with Havoc, and probably to share his latest additions to his photo collection with the rest of the Colonel's men.
Roy glanced around his workplace, sighing. It was a mess, with huge stacks of paperwork piled up wherever they fit, and because of the ridiculous workload, Roy hadn't even had the time to clear up the normal clutter - pens, screwed up balls of paper, books, timetables - so all of it had just accumulated and was beginning to swamp the place.
"Apologises about the mess, sir," Roy said dully, tugging on the hem of his jacket in a bid to straighten out the wrinkles.
"Ah, this is a good thing. All this hodgepodge is proof that you're working hard!" The Fuhrer laughed again and Roy shifted aside several stacks of paper to gain better access to the seating.
Both men sat down opposite each other and the Fuhrer said, "So, Colonel, how has Eastern Command been treating you?"
"Relatively well," Roy answered carefully. "There's been a lot happening in this sector, which of course means paperwork for us, so we haven't been taking it easy, by any means."
"I see," Bradley responded. "Well, if that's the case, you'll be glad of the news I have to give you. You know about the annual treaty meetings that the countries allied with Amestris hold? Amestris hosted it two years back."
Roy gave a nod.
"Yes, well, this year it's being held in Kambei, that little country down in the south-east. But I can't attend, because we're trying to form an alliance with Drachma, as impossible as that may sound. And they demand that I be there. All the details are classified, so don't even bother asking."
"But sir," Roy began to protest. "That's obviously a trap! There's no way a country like Drachma would ever—"
"Yes, yes, I know that. But the General up north says it may be worth a shot at least - and also that if things go wrong, her soldiers will be able to take out many of theirs in one sweep."
"But there's always the chance that you could get—"
"Oh, I can handle myself!" Bradley said light-heartedly. "But the thing is, we need to keep our old alliance with Kambei and the new, fragile one with Aerugo solid."
Roy's eyes narrowed slightly out of puzzlement. "So we have to send a representative. But you can't go. Which of the Generals can?"
"None of them," Bradley answered. "Each one is busy - you can check if you want."
"I believe you, sir," replied Roy. He hesitated before asking, "What does this matter have to do with me, if I may ask?"
"A logical question indeed…" Bradley stood, wandered to the window and peered out, his moustache twitching from a smile to a serious expression. "Here's a pop quiz. You're a smart man, I'm sure this won't be any work at all for you. If all the Generals are busy, Mustang, which rank is the next most likely to be sent?"
"That would be Colonel, sir," Roy answered without thinking. His face became abruptly devoid of it's previous confusion as he realised what this meant.
"Very good. And your rank is…?"
"Colonel, sir," Roy responded. "With all due respect, Fuhrer Bradley, why me? I'm sure there are Colonels within our midst who have served longer and are much more worthy candidates for this than I am."
Bradley's back was now to the younger Colonel, who was watching somewhat nervously, unsure of what would come next.
"Why you, you ask?" Bradley echoed. "The answer is quite simple."
He moved back to just behind the Colonel, where the raven-haired man could not see him. "I want for the representative of this country to have a younger, more powerful appeal to our neighbours. I am sure that the renown of a man such as yourself has probably reached their ears already."
Roy's brow furrowed.
"Let's be honest here," Bradley began, a tone of lightness re-entering his voice. "Who do you think has more of an influence on the other representatives at this meeting? A dashing young man of great intelligence with many years ahead of him and a great power at his disposal, like you, or an old dog like me who can't go anywhere without an escort at his heel and is moving towards the latter half of this great tale we call life?"
"Sir," Roy said quietly. "You said only moments ago that you can handle yourself - and besides, that theory could work in the opposite. The other countries could end up seeing Amestris as an irresponsible country who give their positions to people far too young to handle them."
"Yes. I had considered that. I had also considered the fact that Prince Claudio Rico of Aerugo would be attending, with whom I understand you are not particularly friendly."
"Not overly so," Roy muttered, his face dark.
"The fact that you two aren't exactly on good terms adds to the tension between our two nations. And then there's the 'irresponsible nation' problem… Which is why I have come up with a clever solution that will successfully kill both birds with one stone. You will have one travelling companion out of your group of subordinates."
"Who, Lieutenant Hawkeye? But people will know her. And besides, we're only allowed to send one person, as a sign of respect…"
"There is one exception," Bradley interjected. "A child. The representative may bring a son or daughter."
Roy became confused. "But who…?"
"Why, Fullmetal, of course!" Bradley said with a laugh. "I believe it would be a beneficial experience for the boy!"
Roy sat in mute shock, in awe of the sheer craziness of the man they called their leader.
"By sending you with a son, it appears as though you are capable of handling an important responsibility as well as taking care of your job and still being important enough to represent the country at a prestigious event like this. A model soldier! Wins any way!"
"Sir, no-one would believe that Major Elric and I were related…" Roy protested futilely to the man behind his back. "And what if—"
"No 'but's, Colonel," Bradley interrupted. "I am sure a clever man like yourself can figure out how to pull it off. I have thought this all through, and I am leaving Lieutenant Colonel Hughes here to help you organise the event. He still does not know all the details, but I am sure you will fill him in."
Roy sat still like a stunned fish, his mouth half-open and his eyes wide. "Sir…"
"That is all. I leave the responsibility of briefing Fullmetal up to you." Bradley's voice became stricter. "And remember, Mustang; the country's reputation rests on your shoulders. Don't mess up."
Then he brightened, slapping Roy in the shoulder heartily. "And take a break, okay? Use this trip as an opportunity to get away from the office and the paperwork! Sleeping at the desk isn't good for you or for your uniform! Good day, Colonel!"
Roy stood up and saluted the man, watching in shock and disbelief as he walked out the door and his escort of soldiers flooded out after him, all apart from Hughes.
That man's every appearance is the equivalent of a hurricane tearing through, Roy thought before collapsing back into the chair, his hand on his eyes. He slammed the door shut with his foot and slipped into a slouch, tired, baffled and annoyed.
Hawkeye opened the door and stepped into the office, glancing at her superior - who was now sprawled on the carpet with his face pressed into his arms - and raising an eyebrow inquisitively. "Sir?"
"When I'm Fuhrer," the man decided monotonously, "I'm not going to randomly go around and hand out missions like that to people who obviously don't want to do them without any warning at all."
"What is the mission, if I am authorised to know?"
"I'll suppose you are," Roy mumbled to the floor. "I have to travel to Kambei on business to the annual alliance meeting as our representative…and I have to bring Fullmetal along so he can pretend to be my son."
"What is your quarrel with that, sir?"
"One; Kambei on business, and two; this is Fullmetal! He's… He's…Fullmetal! Of all the soldiers, why him? He's impetuous, rude and hot-headed, not to mention annoying and sulky when he doesn't get his way. And besides that, he's fifteen years old! The Fuhrer thinks that having a son will make me seem more responsible, but a twenty-nine year old man with a teenage son just makes me seem like a—"
"I wouldn't recommend finishing that sentence, sir," Hawkeye said slowly.
"Uugghh…" Roy moaned, pushing himself up. He made his way to his desk, flopped down in his chair and put his hand on his forehead, saying, "Lieutenant, fetch Fullmetal and his brother. I get the feeling it'll take quite a while to get him to agree to this."
Roy breathed a quiet sigh. Turns out you were wrong, Bradley… These people would respect you a hell of a lot more than they do me.
"I do believe introductions are in order," the Emperor said, rising to his feet. "As we will be spending much time together, it would make sense for us all to get to know each other. So, in a clockwise direction around the table, I welcome you to stand and give everyone your name and a bit about yourself."
The Emperor smiled. "As an example; I am Ryuumaru Kambei, the eleventh emperor of this country. I have three sons and a loving wife, for which I am very grateful. I am forty-seven years old and took to the throne at the age of twenty-five. I hope you all enjoy spending time in my country."
He bowed his head as polite applause sounded through the hall.
The prince of Aerugo stood next, his handsome yet detached face raking the room with cold eyes. "Prince Claudio Rico Aerugo," he stated coldly. "I am the son of the King of Aerugo. That's all you really need to know."
He sat, leaving the rest of the room slightly puzzled.
Next, Tyrell stood, looking around nervously. "I-I'm Tyrell, fifteen years old. I am a shaman, which is like a doctor only with different powers. I have an older brother and sister, and I'm here representing Orato because my father and brother are busy."
They continued in this fashion, until before Roy knew it, the man beside him was standing and introducing himself.
He sat and Roy rose.
"I am Colonel Roy Mustang," he said, as firmly as he could. "I'm thirty-three years old, and have been serving for many years now. I am a state alchemist, an alchemist employed by the military. My wife passed away several years ago, and I have cared for our one son since then. His name is Edward, and he's here with me in Kambei. Thank you."
He sat down, thanking whoever out there had permitted his legs to remain standing long enough for him to say that. Personally, he thought it was a good act; he'd almost convinced himself of those made-up things.
After a few more introductions, they finished and the Emperor continued his meaningless speech for another full hour.
Roy contemplated whether or not becoming the Fuhrer meant you needed to learn how to talk about absolutely nothing for ages on end.
"I hope that in the next week or so, we will be able to reaffirm the bonds that tie our countries together through these trying times. This introductory and welcoming meeting is concluded, so you are now free to roam the streets of Ranri as you please. Thank you for your courtesy."
Roy perked up at this. His notepaper was now saturated in drawings, most of them blueprints for his miniskirt designs and other such pointless - or high priority, in Roy's opinion - things.
He slipped it into his jacket in the hopes that no-one would see his top secret plans. Roy wasn't the best artist out there, so any good sketch of the future female military uniform that was legible as a miniskirt was worth keeping.
"And also, we'll be hosting an event at six tonight. All of Ranri's aristocratic society will be present, and we have hired the finest entertainment in the city. We would be delighted if you would all attend. We want to try and give you the most authentic experience possible, so please come in formal Kambeian attire if that's not too much to ask. That is all. Your escorts will guide you back to your quarters, where you can rid yourself of your current formal dress and then they will happily show you to anywhere in the city. Good day."
After this, all the representatives filed out of the room, following their respective guides.
"Colonel!"
Roy turned at the sound of what seemed to be his name now being called. It was the Emperor himself.
"Yes, sir?"
The man smiled, striding forward and holding out his hand. "Oh, there's no reason to address me as 'sir'. I'm not your superior; in this meeting, we're all the same rank. It's just Ryuumaru."
Roy took the man's hand, shaking it. "I think the Fuhrer would prefer I stuck with 'sir', if that's all right. I don't want to come across as disrespectful."
Ryuumaru nodded. "Fine by me. Now, you mentioned before that you had a son with you?"
"Yes. Edward. He's my twelve year old son," Roy stated. "I left him back in our room."
"I see," Ryuumaru rumbled. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to bring him along to the gathering tonight?"
Roy's mind was filled with many horrific images of what would happen if he brought Edward Elric to a sophisticated event.
"I'm sure he'd love to come," Roy said blandly, kicking himself on the inside.
"Great! I would love to meet him. I'm sure he'll get a lot out of it," said Ryuumaru, reminding Roy a lot of the Fuhrer. The Colonel wondered why everyone thought that the boy would 'get a lot out of' everything. "Now, I noticed during that meeting that you were looking quite out of place."
"Yes, well, I'm not quite used to taking part in matters as important as this," Roy explained. "I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually."
"Yes, I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said; we're all equals here." Ryuumaru smiled again. "I can see great things coming from you, y'know. You're a good man. I can see why the Fuhrer chose you to come here. That's all I wanted."
"Alright, then." Roy turned, and as soon as he was out of earshot he let out a tense sigh and made his way out.
Inuya was there waiting, as bubbly as ever. "Good morning, sir! Back to your room?"
"If you wouldn't mind," Roy said.
"Not at all!"
Tyrell walked up behind the two, hands in his pockets. He was no longer wearing the scrappy beige cloak and shorts, having swapped it for his formal attire - baggy white silk trousers and a short purple vest, all covered by a creamy-coloured cloak. "Hey. I s'pose I should go with you."
Inuya blinked dumbly for a second, then reached behind him and pulled forward a young girl whose resemblance to him was startling. She blushed and looked down.
"Mr Torfell, sir, this is your escort!" he said with a grin. "My little sister, Usa!"
"N-nice to meet you…" she said with a tiny smile. "I'm Usagi Kamagawa, your escort. Name any place, and I'll take you there…"
"Alrighty, then. Let's go back to our rooms. I wanna get outta this thing," the young prince said, tugging on his coat.
The brother and sister led the way back through the winding corridors to the guest compound, where Roy strode in and almost tripped over a stack of books on the floor.
After successfully not tripping over the stack of books, the Colonel tripped over a different stack of books.
And fell over another stack of books.
To then have a separate stack of books fall on his head.
And knock down another stack of books.
"EDWARD!" the man roared, struggling to pull himself out of the swamp of paper.
"BWAH?!" The boy himself snapped upright, sending the book on his face flying across the room. "HUWAZZA?! MNNGAHFUH?! WhudizzitAl? Weunner'ttack?! Ikantaykum! Zeregunz?! Theygodgunz, ya runn'way!"
Roy grabbed the thickest book at hand and launched it at Edward's head with full force. It bounced off, leaving a big red mark on his forehead.
The Fullmetal Alchemist finally came to, glancing around at the mess of books and the Colonel pulling himself to a standing position in the midst of it all.
"Hey!" he protested angrily. "You messed up my books!"
"I messed up your—" Roy repeated in a hiss, flicking his wrists in annoyance. "I messed up your books?!You messed up the entire room!"
"For a good purpose!" Edward retorted. "These are all books I've never seen before! Not this type of book, not anywhere! I had to get them; I need to read as many as I can before we have to leave."
"You've got a week and a half, Ed! You didn't need to bring the whole library back here!" Roy growled, attempting to pick his way through the stacks of books. "And how did you even manage to carry all of this?!"
"I grabbed Inuya and we made several trips," Edward explained, stacking and pushing to one side any book he could reach. "Easy."
"You messed up the entire room…" Roy muttered, stacking books left right and centre.
"I know. You've already said that," grumbled Edward, pushing his stacks to the side. "You don't have to point it out again."
"Alright," Roy began. "The Emperor has invited you to come along to a special event tonight. You—"
"Awesome! Is there gonna be free food?"
Roy stalked across the room and vaulted the sofa swiftly, pressing his finger to Edward's forehead. "You. On your absolute best behaviour tonight. If you put one toe out of line, I will make your life in the military a living hell full of embarrassing missions and truckloads of paperwork."
Edward, now leaning back slightly, blinked. "Alrighty then, Colonel Overreacting."
"I am dead serious, Edward," Roy said lowly. "If you screw up here…"
"Hey, relax old man!" Edward exclaimed, whacking Roy's hand away. "I'm not totally uncivilised! I can handle a little party! I'll behave."
Roy scrutinised the boy with narrowed eyes. "You'd better."
He looked around, nodding approvingly at the books which were now arranged in neat stacks in the corner. "Better." He looked to Edward. "And now, we have to go find somewhere that sells formal wear in this city. The Emperor asked specifically that we wear traditional Kambeian dress to the event."
"What, like those weird robe thingies everyone's wearing?"
"Yes. But it's not as if they're any weirder than that get-up you run about in."
"WHAT?!"
"What about this one?"
Roy gave Edward a scathing look, glaring despisingly at the garment the boy was holding. "No. Just…no."
"What's wrong with it?" Edward asked, looking offended.
"It's bright red with yellow dragons on it," deadpanned Roy. "I wouldn't be caught dead in that."
"I like it," muttered Edward huffily. "It's cool!"
"Put it away," Roy ordered. "Now."
Edward scowled, hanging the thing back up again.
The two had travelled into the town to buy their outfits for the night, and the extent of Edward's hopelessness with yet another topic - fashion, this time - was made known to Roy.
"Try something more like this," suggested Roy, holding out a misty blue robe patterned with silver vines.
"Boring!" Edward stated blatantly, turning away. "You wear that one. I'm gonna find something more exciting."
"Suit yourself. I…quite like this one." Roy turned his head. "Inuya, is one like this okay?"
The escort snapped to attention at the sound of his name. He stepped forward and scrutinised the clothes that Roy held, nodding slowly. "Yes, that one is exactly the type you need."
"Alright. I'm going to try this one on, okay? Inuya, a little help would be appreciated."
"'Kay," Edward returned. "I'm gonna keep looking."
The two men made their way to the back of the store, where Inuya instructed Roy on the complicated steps to fixing the traditional clothing.
Once finished, Roy inspected himself approvingly. He was now wearing the blue garment with the silver vines decorating the edges. Over the top, he wore large, billowing striped trousers - hakama, Inuya had called them - all on top of a light undergarment.
"There," Inuya said, grinning. "It fits you perfectly. Now you just need a haori."
"A haori?"
"Yeah. It's like a coat that goes over the top."
"I see. Can we get those here too?"
"Yeah. Normally they have the clan crests on them, but I'll suppose you don't have one."
"No. Not that I know of, anyway."
Roy stripped himself of the clothing once again, changing back into his white shirt and trousers, throwing his jacket over his shoulders.
"How about this?" Edward asked, raising his fifth attempt up for the two men to see. "Is this one okay?"
The costume he held up this time was a deep shade of red with a black trim, the hakama much the same as Roy's, only smaller.
This one, however, also had a loose black jacket over the top, which Roy guessed was the previously mentioned 'haori'.
"I think you've finally gotten the hang of this," stated Roy approvingly.
I don' wanna go to teh bush! Waah. I hope someone gets that reference. I'll see you in a few days. Well, figuratively speaking. Because I won't really see you, per se, y'know…
This also means I won't get to read your wonderful reviews 'til then either! OH NOES! Life can suck sometimes. ):
Yup.
And I watched Fullmetal Alchemist and the Sacred Star of Milos. I finally found it. Yay, Fullmetal Alchemist. Heh.
Review, everyone! Next chapter will be longer! And more exciting. So look forward to that.
Responses;
Pervy-Soulmetal-Alchemist: Yes, Prince Claudio is going to do something EVIL next chapter… )8D
nixt j: Glad you appreciate it! I work very hard on that element.
Xodiac 451: I'm not sure… What would happen indeed… Let's just hope that together they're smart enough to stop that from happening.