Colonel Mustang looked up from the document that was supposed to have been signed the other day when he heard the sound of heels clicking together in attention. He glanced up lazily, as though he were annoyed at the distraction, and frowned at Lieutenant Havoc. He allowed the man to stand in the uncomfortable position for a few moments longer before stating, "At ease." When the blonde fell into the relaxed-looking stance, Mustang continued. "You're late."
"I'm aware of that, sir." Havoc wished he dared reach for a cigarette, but Mustang was glaring.
"And the child is not with you."
"I'm aware of that too, sir." His fingers twitched.
"And your explanation is?"
"If the child is indeed hiding something from us, it wouldn't be a good idea to have him where he could overhear anything confidential."
Mustang nodded once. "Then where did you leave him?"
"With Edward and Alphonse Elric, sir. They are both trained to protect themselves in case the child should attempt to harm them."
Mustang paused before nodding again. "Sensible. And now your oral report."
Havoc stood at attention once more. "During surveillance of the child Naruto Uzumaki, there have been no signs of suspicious behavior. However, further investigation may be necessary for complete analysis."
"And Uzumaki is to remain under your watch?"
"Yes." Havoc coughed. "About that sir…" Mustang raised an eyebrow in a 'go on' motion. "I will need a cost of living adjustment for Uzumaki. I barely make enough for myself as it is, and I will need to support the child as well…"
Mustang growled. "I am not filling out any more paperwork for you." Havoc sighed internally and prepared to leave, when the colonel continued. "But if I let you fill it out, you'll just try to weasel yourself more money." He sighed. "Fine. Dismissed, Lieutenant. You'll see your adjustment in your next check."
Havoc saluted. "Thank you, sir." With the stressful show of respect over with, Havoc reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Letting it dangle between his lips, he left the colonel's office and pulled out a lighter when he reached his desk.
"Did I just hear you ask the Colonel for a raise?" Breda asked with a grin as Havoc inhaled. "And did I just hear him give it to you?"
A wave of white smoke drifted past Havoc's smirking lips. "I didn't ask for a raise - I asked for a 'cost of living adjustment'."
Breda chuckled to himself. "I stand corrected."
Havoc waved cheerily to the librarian behind the desk, pointedly ignoring the way she glared at the unlit cigarette that was resting between his lips. He gave her a wink and she made a disgusted face, pretending to gag. Instead of being offended, as any other man would have been, he just chuckled to himself. He knew the librarian - he'd asked her out four months ago only to be informed that she was a lesbian - and as well knew her sense of humor. If she had acted any other way he would have been upset.
He swaggered his way up to the desk and plopped his elbows on a sign-in pad that everyone ignored. He moved the cigarette to the opposite corner of his mouth with his tongue and asked in a flirtatious tone, "Would a pretty lady like you happen to know where I can find the Elric brothers?"
"This pretty lady might have the information if you stop acting like an ass," she responded in the same sickly-sweet voice.
"But then where's the fun in that?"
He continued to grin as she glared. He could feel his shoulders shaking and noticed the minute twitching of her lips. He wasn't sure how long he would hold out, but damned if he was letting her win again.
It was the very moment that the librarian stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes that Havoc bit into his cigarette to muffle his laughter. In his mind he cursed her, promising himself that he would win their staring contest the next time she started one up. The woman flashed him a triumphant grin and told Havoc, "The Elrics have only been to my end of the library once today and that was to return a few books they checked out last week. Other than that, they've been holed up in the reference section reading all that science gibberish."
"And the other boy? I know you saw me bring him in here?"
The librarian frowned in thought, glancing off to the thick novel she had been reading before Havoc had entered. "The blonde boy with the blue eyes?" Havoc nodded and suddenly she brightened. "Yeah, I remember now. He came in with you today and after that I haven't seen hide nor hair of him. If he's not here, then he must have left through an emergency exit."
"Thanks, sweets," Havoc said, leaning over the desk to give her a peck on the cheek.
The librarian made a gagging sound and told his retreating back, "I told you already that you can only call me that if you bring some!"
Havoc waved lazily over his shoulder as he made his way through the shelves of books, taking a mental note that the next time he entered the library on her work hours he would have to bring some candy. But the musky smell of old and new books was beginning to give him a bit of a headache, which was only adding to the dull throb that had begun at work when he'd had to sit through form after form, reading the tiny print. Vaguely he hoped that when Mustang became the Fuhrer he would mandate that the print size on forms would be bigger than the tiny mashing together of letters that was the norm now.
The reverberating sound of a young boy's voice brought him back to reality and he looked on as he approached the trio of children gathered at a table that seemed to be sinking under the weight of all the books on it's surface. He paused momentarily as smiled as he watched Alphonse say something to Naruto only to have the blonde say something back and crumple up a piece of paper in frustration. Beside him, Edward said something and Naruto made a face as he pulled a clean sheet of paper from the tiny stack next to him. All over the floor were wadded and torn paper balls and pens with no more ink left in them. Bits of pencils were scattered amongst the books as well, some that were no more than stubs, some that had their erasers chewed clean off and some that had been snapped in half.
Havoc saw Alphonse motioning to something and then drawing it in the air. Naruto watched intently and carefully traced out the same shape on the paper in front of him. Edward looked at the paper and made a face that meant that he was trying not to laugh too hard. Naruto scowled at the other blonde, making him sigh in exasperation. Something was said between the two boys that made Edward glare in determination. He reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand in his own, tracing out the correct shape on the paper.
A smile crossed Havoc's face as he witnessed the scene. He was almost certain that the flash of humanity he had seen in the hospital had been a fluke, but now he relaxed. Naruto was a human with the same human thoughts and feelings. It was nice to know that there was something in his life that could actually make the boy happy.
"Hey boss," he greeted as loud as the library would let him. He tried to hide the surprise he felt when Edward turned to him blushing. He would have never thought that the boy could get so embarrassed as to turn red. Havoc approached the table and, without thinking, playfully mussed Naruto's hair. "What're you up to."
Naruto stuck his tongue out at the man playfully, though there was a warm light in his eyes and a light dusting of red on his cheeks. "Nothing."
"Looks to me like something." Havoc put his hands on top of Naruto's head as though he were an armrest and looked over him at the paper. "Is that a Q?"
Naruto scowled and puffed out his cheeks, which made him greatly resemble a frog. "It's supposed to be an A."
"Looks like a Q," Havoc teased.
"I think it looks more like a B," Edward added, smiling in mock-innocence when Naruto turned a glare on him.
"Then you people just don't know how to read properly. That's an A plain as the sky is blue."
"Actually it's pretty grey out today," Havoc quipped, laughing when Naruto scowled again. It was nice - Naruto actually acting like a human.
Naruto shook his head to make Havoc remove his arms and stood up, nearly stumbling at the sudden deadness in his legs. "What time is it, Havoc-dono?"
"Quarter till six."
Naruto blinked, he hadn't realized that he'd been sitting all day.
"Really?" Edward asked. He turned thoughtful for a moment. "Well, there's still four hours until the library closes."
"No way, boss," Havoc began, making Edward and Alphonse look up at him. "If what Angel said is true, you haven't eaten anything all day." He looked at Naruto and smiled. "You want to get something to eat?"
Naruto grinned. "I'm game." He looked at the brothers. "Come on, Elric-san, Elric-sensei."
Edward scowled, tucking away the Japanese in his mind so that he could look it up later. He was about to refuse when he felt a metal hand on his flesh shoulder. "Come on, brother, I know you're hungry. And if you don't eat then you can't read."
"Oh, all right," Edward sighed, though internally he was glad. He wouldn't mind getting up and stretching. After all, it wasn't like they'd found anything on the Philosopher's Stone they didn't already know.
"Right then," Havoc said as he ushered the boys out the door. "What do you want?" He was curious as to what Naruto actually liked to eat.
Naruto looked around the unfamiliar street bathed in gold from the near-setting sun. Street lamps were already being turned on, and lights in the stores were flickering to life. Strange scents assaulted his sensitive nose and he felt a pang of homesickness that was quickly washed away by a wave of red heat from his stomach and the most wonderful scent ever to drift past his nose. His eyes looked up and down the street before locking on to a small, run-down looking building with odd letters inscribed on a banner overtop the doorway. "There!" He decreed. "That one."
Havoc considered the building. He'd always known it was there, but had never actually gone inside. He looked at Edward, knowing Alphonse wouldn't care since he couldn't eat anyhow, and asked, "Is that all right with you?"
"Sure," Edward replied flippantly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He too was curious as to what it was that made the blonde boy so excited.
Naruto cheered happily and all but bounced across the road into the building, the other three following closely behind. He pushed the door open, a small bell jingling to signal his presence, and his mouth watered as the scent washed over him, even stronger than before. The store inside was just as small as it appeared, with only two empty tables and a long bar that stretched along the back wall, hiding behind it pots and pans and a man boiling something in water. Stools were lined up at the bar and the only other patron was tall enough to have to hunch over to eat his food.
Vaguely, he heard Havoc and the brothers enter, but Naruto was more interested in miraculously finding the one stool that was actually balanced on it's legs and sniffing deeply. The man, in actuality the only chef on duty, turned just enough to have an eye on both the quartet of new customers and the dish he was preparing, and asked, "You guys need a menu?"
Havoc and Edward responded yes, but Naruto took a breath though his nose to sort through the scents and decreed happily, "One Bar-Be-Que Pork Ramen, onegai, with extra noodles."
The man blinked and then laughed heartily, reminding Naruto of another kind man that prepared the godly noodles. "Finally," he spoke as he turned away from the pot to grab a pair of menus for the two older blondes. "Someone who knows something about ramen."
I am determined to finish this– I even have nearly all the chapters planned out. So don't worry, loyal readers!
I don't own Naruto or FMA, so, till next time!
