RoyAi leads by TWO since I was seriously touched by the latest chapter and felt that I needed to get this through despite all my deadlines. ALL OF THEM. I'm dead.

And yes, this is a bit rushed but I tried.

015

The scent of blood

When a soldier dies, most often he knows exactly what is happening to him. Is he being tortured or is he being granted a quick, merciful death? Especially if that soldier has been in war.

In war, the scent of blood and corpses could choke you, make you feel sick and faint, but a soldier faced it with grimness.

Her hair was a soft golden blonde that sometimes looked at odds with her grim face. It was probably as far as you can get from the image of bright red blood and the dirt and filth of a battlefield. Her skin was smooth, young, obviously that of a woman's even if the calluses on her hands were considered.

Her eyes were bright, once with innocence. Quite some time ago, but if they are bright now then it is because of unshed tears. Even that was rare. Usually she was businesslike, firm.

The Elric brothers made her worry sometimes, though. I know it. They were so young, and yet… so mature. They've had to grow up faster than they should. Like she did.

Even if we were in Central, there was still blood. I know she hates it. Hates how I end up in the hospital. Hates how the homunculi were so hard to kill and that she couldn't be any better help because her bullets were almost useless. To some extent, she hates how the homunculi can't bleed themselves, yet cause others to bleed. Of course, that only makes her work harder. Riza is like that. My first lieutenant.

She works harder and pushes herself because of that, and though she isn't an alchemist, I think she understands Equivalent Exchange clearly.

I also don't like the smell of blood. It feels wrong to smell what keeps people alive out in the open—it means someone died. It means death and I couldn't stop it.

Especially not when it's the blood of the people who believed in me, my precious subordinates. But somehow it's worse when it's her blood that scents the air.

Like now.

Well, her getting injured was something I obviously didn't like, but I accepted the possibility of it happening. But now… Now I couldn't protect her at all. Couldn't move. They ripped my glove and made sure I couldn't use the other one. And they wanted me to open the Gate.

I was sick of loss. Sick and tired of it. Hughes' death made me almost lose sight of my goal, and almost caused my death and hers. I wouldn't have cares so much of my death if it didn't also mean hers. That's… who she is. Simply put. She was that sacrificial.

And she is with me now. I am sane and she is alive even if neither of us could move to help the other.

Her hair was down—it came away at the fight with Envy. Now her hair is down and one of the things that failed to be homunculi was cutting her because I refused.

She didn't even get the time to scream.

Bright scarlet spurts out and even as I scream, desperately, that so-called Doctor is already talking. He was talking before and I was paying attention but somehow I don't recall it much anymore. It all paled in comparison to what was happening now.

"LIEUTENANT!" I bellow, and even as the words escape my lips, I remember her father dying and me calling out her name. 'RIZA!'

Her golden hair spattered with red, blood dripping on her skin, her face, her clothes.

I could feel anger, blazing and scorching and hot and penetrating. Fire in my blood, in my bones, in my soul. Flames and burning and death.

"Now…"

Her eyes were wide in shock even as she fell forward. The scent of blood was acrid, I could smell it and nonother, it couldn't be her fallingfallingfalling...

His voice was soft but his eyes were insane.

Not her. Of all people, not her. The blood...

"Open the gate, Mustang."

… I couldn't help but feel tempted.