Well, it's been a minute, but I've returned to continue this fic! Thank you all for the response to this story. It makes me so happy to know you all are enjoying it!

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Riza Hawkeye

"Did I say you could slow down?" she yelled across the track. The group of boys running together stopped laughing and picked up the pace instantly. It wasn't much longer until they weren't able to talk at all. She yelled out again when they ran by her. "Keep this pace for four more laps."

At least two of them blanched at the instructions, but neither of them said a word. All the girls ran in a group together and were less than half a lap behind them. One of them was clutching her side. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

According to the notes the previous teacher left me, they should be in much better shape than this. He even specified the pace, and the kids couldn't even keep it for their first lap. Did he just let them sit around and do nothing all class?

When the students finished running and a few were on the verge of vomiting, she figured that to be the case. She checked her watch.

I guess a quick break wouldn't hurt.

"Get some water. You all have push-ups and sit-ups next."

Sighs of relief echoed amongst the students. They trudged over to their water bottles and plopped down on the ground. For a couple minutes, they didn't say a single word. It wasn't until they'd guzzled at least half of their water did any of them try to talk again.

"I'm going to be so sore tomorrow."

"How are we supposed to make it through the rest of the day?"

"That cute new kid definitely won't like me if I'm all sweaty from gym class!"

Riza barely suppressed a grin at the latest complaint. She approached the students.

"If you all have the energy to talk, I think you're ready for class to continue. On your hands and feet. Fifty push-ups for all of you." She was met with several gawking faces and merely raised an eyebrow back up at them. "Get to it. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll be done with class."

Grumbles erupted from the students, but they begrudgingly started their pushups. She sighed when she saw some of them barely moving their arms.

I suppose I can let it slide today. It looks like it's going to be a rough week for them, after all.

Edward Elric

He opened the double doors to the library. A desk sat to the wall just to his right. A few tables and chairs were set up further along the wall. Otherwise, the massive room was filled with nothing but shelves and books, giving the library in East City a run for its money. His jaw dropped.

"You must be Edward!"

He nearly jumped at the voice. He looked around for the source. A yelp and crash followed a couple seconds later. A plume of dust erupted out of one of the aisles. He shrugged off his backpack and ran over and saw a woman clamoring to her feet and dusting herself off. A ladder lied in the middle of the aisle, and books were scattered all over the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked, stooping down to pick up some books.

The woman laughed and straightened out her skirt.

"Yes. I'm Ms. Nelson. It's nice to meet you! Sorry about this. I should know better than to get distracted when I'm dusting off these shelves!"

She took some of the books out of his arms and put them back on the shelves. He grinned and bent down to pick up more.

"This is an amazing library," he said.

Ms. Nelson's smile stretched from ear-to-ear.

"I'm so glad you think so! I don't get a lot of students in here."

Ed snapped his head up.

"Why?"

He looked around at the shelves, finding dust covering them. Ms. Nelson simply laughed.

"I guess most of these kids aren't interested in books. Besides, their parents could pretty much buy them any book they wanted. I guess they don't really have a reason to be in here." She sighed. "It's still a shame, though."

It really is. We didn't have anything like this at our little school back in Resembool. We only had a couple books in the classroom.

Ms. Nelson put her hands on her hips.

"You're free to read as many of these books as you want! Aside from having you help me dust them off occasionally, I don't have anything planned for you. You could get a head start on your homework if you wanted. I'm just happy to not spend all my afternoons alone in here!"

Ed nodded and went back to the front of the library to pick up his backpack. Ms. Nelson headed back to her desk and motioned for him to sit at one of the tables. The door opened, the two whipping their heads toward it. A man with short, gray hair poked his head in. His eyes widened when he met Ed's gaze. He disappeared; the door slammed shut a second later.

What the hell?

"Who was that?" he couldn't help but ask.

"That's Sal," she sighed, the corners of her lips quirking into a frown. "He's the janitor and just started about four months ago. He doesn't really talk to the rest of the staff nor the students. After hearing some of the rumors and stories the students have started about him, I can't really say I blame him. Sometimes he'll stop by here to read for a bit before starting his shift…."

Ms. Nelson kept rambling, but Ed tuned her out.

He started working here about a month before the murders started…I suppose that could just be a coincidence….

His heart plummeted into his stomach.

And there's already been another victim….

Ed dropped his backpack and sat down at the closest table and plopped down in the chair. He pulled out a couple of his notebooks but couldn't get himself to open them.

Mustang didn't seem surprised in the slightest. There's no way he couldn't have known about it. He nearly missed walking to the school with Hawkeye and me. He was probably at the crime scene.

He clenched his hands into fists and grit his teeth.

Why the hell didn't he tell me anything?

Roy Mustang

The students flooded the halls and filled the entirety of the main lobby. He didn't let them slow him down, instead weaving in and out of the chattering students and staff while he made his way toward the front doors. It seemed as if a dozen students were right on his heels. They quickly shuffled around him and ran down the rest of the stairs. Riza and Ed were waiting at the bottom steps for him. He put a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"How was your first day—"

"Fine!"

The way Ed shoved his hands into his pockets indicated otherwise. His shoulder briefly jerked, but after a quick look around, Ed decided not to shrug it off. He risked a glance at Riza. She frowned before leading them down the sidewalk toward their house.

"Did you get along with the other students?" she asked.

"They're fine."

Ed didn't talk the rest of their short walk home. The second Roy unlocked the door, he stomped up the stairs. They barely heard the faint thud of his backpack hitting the floor before his bedroom door slammed shut. Roy trudged into the living room. He dropped his briefcase by the coffee table and slumped down on the couch. Riza joined him a second later. He buried his face in his hands.

"He found out from the other students," he muttered, the words slightly muffled. Riza didn't say anything, but he didn't let the silence last long. "Honestly, I didn't think the news would've traveled that fast. The students were all talking about it by the time I had him in class."

"Do you regret not telling him?"

Roy nodded.

"He's angry, and I can't say I blame him," he grumbled.

"Then you should apologize."

Roy sighed but nodded again. Riza squeezed his shoulder.

"We should give him some time to cool down, though. I'm sure his day was stressful enough. I'll start dinner."

Roy stood up.

"No, you cooked last night. I'll—"

Bang!

The two cringed at the sound. They could only imagine the force required to make the door hit the wall that hard. Footsteps thundered overhead and down the stairs. Ed stalked into the room, having already thrown off his tie and blazer. Fire burned in his eyes.

"What the hell, Colonel?"

Neither of them bothered to correct him. Roy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look, Ed, you have every right to be upset—"

"How could you neither of you tell me there was another victim?"

"I ordered Hawkeye not to," he barely got in before Ed continued.

"Why? I thought we were supposed to be working together to catch the guy doing this. I trusted you to tell me everything during this assignment, so why wouldn't you tell me that? Isn't that something I should know?"

"Because I was wrong!" Ed's mouth snapped shut at the words. After a few seconds, seeing that Ed wouldn't start yelling again, Roy continued. "Havoc called and let me know there was another victim this morning. I made the decision not to tell you. I didn't think the other students would be talking about it by the second class of the day, and I thought a genuine reaction from you would be what was best for our cover, but I can see that I only upset you. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

Ed's eyes widened. He crossed his arms and shifted his gaze down to his feet.

"Are you really?" he mumbled.

Roy didn't hesitate for a second.

"I am."

Riza stepped forward, getting Ed to look back up.

"You were right, Ed. We're supposed to be working together. We'll never withhold information concerning this assignment from you again."

Ed looked between the two military officers.

"You won't?" They both shook their heads. Ed took a deep breath, but slowly uncrossed his arms and unclenched his fists. "All right."

He turned around and headed back upstairs to his room, much quieter than when they first got back to the house. Riza's shoulders sagged, and Roy nearly collapsed back on the couch.

That was close. We can't afford not to trust each other. Not on an assignment like this.

"I'll start dinner," he mumbled.

He retreated into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.

We've only been here a few days and there's already been another murder. The killer doesn't seem to wait a specific amount of time between victims. For all we know, there could be another victim tomorrow. We hardly got the chance to talk to the rest of the staff today….

"Need some help?"

Roy spun around to find Ed setting a couple notebooks and folders down on the kitchen table, all traces of his previous rage completely gone.

"Don't you have homework? I heard your teachers gave you quite a bit of work you need to catch up on."

"Do I actually have to try?" Ed whined.

Roy smirked but kept looking through the cabinets.

"I'd imagine a kid getting into such a prestigious academy would put a lot of effort into his homework. You need to keep up your cover, don't you?"

He ignored the swearing under the kid's breath and pulled out a few cans.

"At least I got most of it done during study hall," he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Have you seen the library? It's incredible, and none of the students use it."

He stooped down to pull out a pot and set it on the stove.

"That's a shame."

"I guess the janitor stops by there sometimes. He saw me, turned right around, then left. I found out from Ms. Nelson he only started working there about four months ago."

He froze and looked over his shoulder at Ed who was tapping his pencil against the open notebook.

"I suppose it could just be a coincidence…."

Ed bit his lip and nodded.

If it really is the janitor…and Fullmetal saw him today….

He suppressed a shiver and started opening the cans. He dumped the contents into the pot, mindlessly grabbing a spoon and stirring.

I know Riza and I only got to talk to the staff briefly during our lunch break, but no one mentioned anything about the janitor. I guess no one had a reason to. It might just be a coincidence….

"Let me chop up the carrots for you."

Riza bumped into him and shook him out of his thoughts. She gathered a knife and cutting board and set them on the counter next to the stove. Within seconds, she was chopping up the vegetables and adding them to the pot. She grabbed the potatoes next and started peeling them. Roy met her gaze. Her lips barely moved, but he understood, nonetheless.

Are you okay?

He stopped stirring for a second, then nodded.

I have to be. There's already been another victim, and I've made a bad call this early-no. I can't think about that. I won't do that again. I'll keep Fullmetal in the loop on everything we know. We have to move forward.

"How was your first day of school?" he tried asking again, adding the potatoes to the soup as Riza finished cutting them.

Ed shrugged.

"It was fine, I guess. The other students seem nice enough." He briefly cringed. "Although, it doesn't seem like they're taking these murders too seriously. A couple of them were joking about being nice or they'll get cut open."

Roy clenched his eyes shut but kept stirring.

I guess I shouldn't really expect anything else from high school students. Besides, who knows what their parents are telling them about the murders. I'm not sure if they really understand—

Steam rose from the pot, and the liquid was starting to bubble. He grabbed the nearest rag and wiped his forehead.

"Looks like the soup is ready," he announced.

Ed swiftly cleared the table and grabbed three bowls down from the cupboard.

"How did the first day of teaching go for you all? I'm sure it was difficult for you, Colonel, considering you actually had to work and couldn't sit around and avoid paperwork all day."

A vein popped in Roy's forehead, but he took a deep breath. Riza handed him a bowl with a wink.

"It was good, however," Riza drawled, sparing Ed a brief glance while she poured herself some soup, "I noticed a lot of the girls were distracted during class. They were talking and I'm pretty sure I heard something about some cute new kid that just transferred."

Blood rushed to Ed's face. He tilted his head down, allowing his bangs to hide most of the blush. Roy chuckled.

"A couple of the students in my last class mentioned a new kid that was supposedly a math genius and I quote: 'insanely hot.' They couldn't have been talking about the same kid, could they?"

Ed groaned and plopped down at the table, and neither of them could contain their laughter any longer. Riza joined Ed while Roy set his bowl down. He walked over to the window, noticing the kids running into the house across the street as the last rays of sunlight started fading. He closed the curtains. He turned back to the table and grinned at the sight of Ed and Riza already eating and talking. Ed pulled out one of his notebooks and slid it across to her, pointing at the equations within them. Roy's grin faltered. He left the kitchen and headed straight for the front door, turning the deadbolt with an audible click.

I wonder how many families ate one last dinner like this, not knowing what would happen to one of their kids….

He shook his head before finally joining Riza and Ed at the table.

And there it is! I do apologize for the short chapter, but I hoped you all enjoyed it anyway! I'm super excited about the next chapter. I sincerely hope it won't be near as long before the next update. Until next time!