Soubi held Ritsuka close to his chest with his eyes closed. He breathed in the scent of his soft black hair and gently stroked his little cat-ears. Ritsuka. I love you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. The words echoed in his head over and over again. It was as if he were trying to send the message through touch alone, through force of will, through his very bones: I'm sorry. I love you. I'm sorry.

In that moment, Soubi felt utterly powerless. He could craft spells with his mind, causing the laws of physics to cease their normal function and bend to his will. Yet he could do nothing for his little Sacrifice, the one he loved most in all the world. He was pouring every ounce of energy his soul possessed into this little boy, this exquisite creature whom he had come to cherish more than his own existence, and yet, it was nothing. He was nothing. What the hell kind of Fighter are you? A useless one. A piece of garbage.

If only he had encouraged Ritsuka to come to him, to confide in him… He had made himself unapproachable, somehow, without meaning to. Why had he acted in such a way? He could have helped; he could have talked Ritsuka down from it. If only he had been paying closer attention…

Soubi was no stranger to suicide. He had seriously attempted it twice: once after Seimei had gone, and once, before that, during his… training. After crossing that threshold, after the act of taking his own life had moved from the realm of abstract concept to concrete reality, his world had been permanently altered. The Angel of Death became a constant companion, beckoning to him at every corner. It became necessary to make a choice, every day, whether to live or to die. To refuse the Angel meant finding the strength to endure one more day. To accept would mean the end, the end of everything.

Walking with this choice every night and day was exhausting. It caused reality to blur a bit around the edges. Things just didn't seem as real once you had the option of leaving them all forever spread out in front of you. Everyone and everything seemed distant. People spoke, but their words were dull and muted. The veil between the worlds became thin once the gates of life and death stood open.

To think that Ritsuka had been walking this path alone and Soubi hadn't even cared to notice… it was eating him alive inside. How had he become so numb, so uncaring? How could he have missed the red flags? Why hadn't he seen…?

But he knew very well why. The truth was, and this was the thought that was making him sick… Soubi didn't have any red flags, and he hadn't had any for a long, long time. He had always told himself that if things ever got really bad with Ritsuka, he'd have to intervene… but the problem was, he had no means of measuring what really bad was supposed to be. After all that he had seen and experienced, the flags had just stopped working. What was dangerous? What was really bad? He honestly didn't know. He would have asked other people if he had had someone to ask.

To Soubi, pain was relative. He could remember being Ritsuka's age, lying in bed, trembling and nauseous, trying desperately to heal his broken bones overnight so that he would be able to deal with whatever was going to happen to him in the morning. He would breathe into the pain, willing it to go away, and at the same time relishing it, as it was the one sensation that was uniquely his, that belonged solely to him. Of course he didn't like it that Ritsuka's mother hit him, but surely it wasn't… like that. Systematic. Brutal. Pitiless. So long as it wasn't… really bad.

If that Elric kid hadn't shown up and waved all the flags in his face like that, he wouldn't even have noticed. Ritsuka would have bled to death in that alley, and he, Soubi, would never have known. He'd have found out on the evening news with the rest of Tokyo. The thought was horrifying. Ritsuka. You deserve so much better than this, a Fighter much better than me. Someone… whole.

Just then, Soubi felt something odd. It was a little tug on the spell he had cast over the door to keep everyone out except people who needed to give Ritsuka medical attention. Someone was nudging it from the outside. Then he heard a voice calling to him through the weave of magic. He didn't get all the words, but the gist of it was, "Undo this damned thing or I'm gonna have the Colonel burn a hole through it!" Edward. Soubi unraveled the enchantment temporarily to allow Ed and Roy in.

As the two of them stepped through the door, Ed immediately rushed to the side of the bed and took Ritsuka's hand. "Is he okay? Did they say he's gonna be okay?"

Soubi nodded. "He's just sleeping."

"What the hell happened? That moron with the lollipop said his mother was here, and she attacked him. Is that true??"

Roy crossed the room and put his hand on Ed's shoulder. Soubi noticed that he was back in his military uniform, complete with his white gloves and newly-shined boots. "Edward. Give your half-brother a minute to breathe. He's had a rather trying day, Son."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Keep calling me that, Dad, and you're going to eat my metal fist."

"I take it you got into the hospital by posing as Ritsuka's father," Soubi guessed.

"Got it in one. They even bought it that Ed was his step-brother, and that I had been away on military duty and had no idea what had been going on in my absence."

"Heh. They must all be pretty stupid if they actually bought that I'm related to you," Ed scoffed, but he was too focused on Ritsuka to really get into it with Roy. Are you really okay? Please tell me you're okay...

Roy paced the room once, glancing out the window, then switched directly into military mode. "As soon as Ritsuka is conscious, we should be able to make use of the same ruse to get him out of here. They want him to see their psychologist before he leaves, but I had them phone his regular therapist, so that should expedite the process. His mother has been committed, so she's out of the picture for now."

He paused, coughed, then continued in the same style. "There are three guards on this floor, seven nurses and two roving doctors, one whom you've met and one other who will relieve his shift at 0600 hours. From this room there are two possible exits: one 50 paces to the left, right through the double doors, take the elevator down six flights to the lobby, then right one hundred paces to the front desk. This security desk is manned by two lightly armed guards who require patients and visitors to sign out, but that can easily be arranged or simulated. Alternately, if we are left with no other options, Edward could take Ritsuka out of this window by means of alchemy. If we really wanted to, we could get the hell out of here right now. But I would recommend waiting it out and dealing with the red tape. It will be better for Ritsuka in the long run."

Soubi glanced in Ed's direction, then turned back to Roy. "I see you've been putting those Sentouki combat strategies you read about to good use, Colonel Mustang."

Roy smirked, but it was Ed who answered. "Nah, this has nothing to do with those dusty books. He does this all the time back home. He has the entire army corps wrapped around his little finger; it's disgusting. People just listen to him when he talks. And if they don't, he yells at them until they do listen. He's the only person I know who can keep shouting at you for 15 minutes straight without breaking his stride or letting you get a word in edgewise. It's much less about his skills as a Fighter and much more about the fact that he's a royal bastard who wont take no for an answer."

"Are you quite finished, Fullmetal?"

"Actually, I'm just warming up," Ed retorted, but it was really only a half-hearted threat. The truth was that he was indebted to Roy for once again taking care of things - of him - so well. He continued to stroke Ritsuka's small hand thoughtfully.

"About the moron with the lollipop," Soubi cut in. "You didn't set him on fire, did you?"

"Well, not technically…" Roy made his best attempt to look innocent, which made him resemble a blameless pit viper.

Ed snorted. "Put it this way: I think your friend Kio is going to need some debriefing," he explained. "Meanwhile, can we go over what happened, again?"