Guess who didn't take three or four months to update this time? Hope you all enjoy the chapter!
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Riza Hawkeye
She yawned and trudged down the stairs, hand gliding along the railing. She rubbed her eyes once she reached the last step.
We may not have gotten too much information this week, but at least it's Friday. We'll have a couple days to recuperate before trying again next week. Hopefully nothing….
She mentally shook the thought away and entered the kitchen. Sunlight streamed in through the window onto the table. She automatically wandered toward the cabinets and rummaged around for the tea kettle. She stifled another yawn while she filled it up with water and set it on the stove. The stairs creaked, and a pair of footsteps descended them. Roy walked in with his hair sticking up in the back and his shirt and sweatpants slightly wrinkled. Considering his eyes were half-closed, she could only guess he was still half-asleep.
"Morning, sir," she said, grabbing a couple mugs from another cabinet.
He mumbled something like "good morning" and sat down at the kitchen table, hanging his head in his hands. She turned back to the stove. Steam slowly rose out of the kettle.
"Did you open the curtains?" he asked.
She whipped around to face the table. Roy was sitting straight up, all traces of sleepiness gone. His eyebrows scrunched together as he stared out the window.
"No. They were already open when I came down here. You probably forgot to close them last night."
Roy shook his head.
"I..I thought I…." he shifted his gaze down to the table. "You're probably right. I just forgot."
"I can't say I'd blame you. It's been a long week. You've practically had to rearrange the entire curriculum for your students. You've been up late every night."
"I guess so." He stood up and left the table. "I'll go make sure Ed's awake. We'll need to leave in an hour."
Riza smirked.
"I'd recommend getting yourself ready first. I don't think you'd appreciate his thoughts on your current look."
She barely caught a glimpse of the glare he shot her way. She removed the kettle from the stove but stopped before she poured the water in the mugs. She looked over her shoulder back at the window.
Roy usually does close the curtains every night before he goes to sleep…no. It's just been a long week. This case is a lot different than just procrastinating paperwork, after all.
Edward Elric
He walked through the halls, tightly clutching the tray in his hands. He used his shoulder to push the door leading out to the courtyard open. The wind whipped around him. He couldn't help but sigh once he left the stuffy hallway behind.
"Hey, Ed!" He looked to his left to see Kenneth standing up and waving him over to one of the picnic tables. "We're sitting over here today!"
He grinned and headed toward the table. Anya perked up and scooted down the bench to make room for him. The other two girls were already eating their sandwiches, but they still waved when he sat down.
The one with red hair is…Petra! That's right! The other one is….
"How'd you think you did on the geometry test, Nora?" Anya asked.
Nora! Dammit I can't forget that. This is the third time I've eaten with this group this week.
Nora paled at the question She ducked her head, letting her long, brown hair cover most of her face.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I don't think anyone does," Kenneth chimed in. "I studied every single night this week and still feel like I failed."
"You say that after every test, and you get one of the top scores every single time."
Kenneth turned to Ed.
"I'm surprised you took the test, Ed. Mrs. Wendell said you didn't have to if you weren't ready yet, but you were the first one to finish!"
Ed shrugged.
"My last school covered most of the material, so there wasn't much for me to catch up on."
"Guys!"
All five heads turned to the other side of the courtyard. A boy was sprinting straight toward their table. Ed squinted a little.
That's...Ted? No, Theo! He's in all but one of my classes.
Theo skidded to a stop and hunched over the table while he tried to catch his breath.
"You guys won't believe this!" he managed between gasps. "I overheard Mrs. Wendell talking to Mr. Mason on the way to the teacher's lounge, and Ed got the highest grade on our exam!"
Kenneth jumped up, rounding the table and clamping his hands on Ed's shoulders. Ed nearly flinched at the contact but allowed Kenneth to shake him back and forth.
"Congratulations, Ed!"
Anya was beaming at him.
"That's quite impressive!"
Ed stared daggers into his sandwich and decided to ignore the heat rushing to his face.
"I don't know why you're so happy, Anya. Looks like you've got some competition for top of our class besides Kenneth!"
Ed took a bite of his sandwich and kept his gaze down on his tray. The conversation faded around him. His eyelids started to droop, but he forced them right back open. He took another bite, hoping the food would give him energy.
How can these students stand to be cooped up in this building all day only to go home and do homework for hours on end? It sounds like they've never had a decent chemistry teacher if Mustang's lessons are kicking their asses. I'm lucky I already understand that material—
"Are you coming with us, Ed?"
Ed shook his head and swallowed his food.
"What?"
"Are you coming?" Anya giggled. "We're having a picnic at the park across the river tomorrow if you'd like to join us."
"Oh…I…I al-already…." he stuttered.
Nora shook her head and offered him a smile.
"You don't have to. We know it's only your first week. If you're anything like me when I moved here three years ago, it'll take you over a month to get your stuff unpacked."
Ed rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah. I've still got a lot to do at home."
"You can join us next time," she offered.
Ed nodded. The students quickly finished their lunch and headed back inside the school with their trays. Theo slung an arm around his shoulders and steered them toward their next class.
"Since you seem to know geometry, would you mind tutoring me? I've been really struggling with these lessons…."
He inwardly groaned while Theo rambled.
At least we only have three more classes, and we're done until Monday.
He entered the classroom, instantly folding his arms on the desk and laying his head on top of them. Theo was still talking, even after Ed let his eyes close.
"Quiet down, everyone!" His eyes shot right back open when his Xingese teacher entered the class, picked up a piece of chalk, and started scribbling on the board. "Picking up from yesterday…."
He reluctantly picked up his head and propped his chin up on his palm.
The day really can't end soon enough.
Roy Mustang
He unlocked the house and headed straight for the couch. He plopped down, pinching the bridge of his nose.
I didn't think this week could last any longer. Riza and I barely got to speak with any of the staff this week. If we hadn't spent so much time adjusting the lesson plans, maybe we could've—
"It's only been a week, sir."
I swear she can read minds.
"I know," he sighed.
The couch dipped when Riza sat down. She leaned back, letting her head drop against the back of the couch.
"There could be another victim at any time…."
He flinched at the thought.
"I know," he said again. "We haven't made any progress either."
"We have a cover to maintain. Havoc's been trying to investigate the staff and getting nowhere. The reports were right. The staff won't talk to anyone outside the school. There's no evidence leading us to any of the teachers, so we can't exactly force them to speak with us."
"You'd think a killer targeting students at their academy would be enough motivation to cooperate with the military during the investigation. They have to be hiding something."
Riza shrugged.
"Probably, but there's also the chance they don't know anything. It really wouldn't surprise me if they didn't want to waste their time talking with officers if they didn't think they had any useful information."
If that's the case, I wish they'd just say that….
Roy straightened up.
"Do you think someone told them not to talk to the military?"
Riza's eyes widened.
"Mrs. Wendell mentioned something about her and another teacher meeting a donor for dinner this weekend. It would make sense for an academy like this to get extra funding. Since no one's talking with the police, we don't have a list of who's funneling money to the school."
Roy stood up and made for the stairs. He stopped in the doorway of Ed's room to find the kid sprawled out face-down on the bed. He smirked at the sight.
"I know you're tired, but we need to talk. You can sleep afterward."
Ed groaned but rolled over and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Roy headed downstairs, hearing Ed following him when he reached the bottom step. Riza was already in the kitchen. She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. Roy joined her, and Ed sat down right across from them.
"I know it's been a long week," Roy started, "but we think we've got an idea of how to move forward."
*break*
Riza shifted next to him, jolting Roy awake. He closed his eyes and carefully rolled over onto his back. After a few minutes, he opened them again and glared at the ceiling.
Dammit.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He slid out of bed and tip-toed toward the door. He cracked it open, light filtered in from the hallway. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Riza hadn't stirred. When she didn't move, he crept out of their bedroom. He looked up to the lone light illuminating the hallway and top of the stairs. He shook his head.
I must've really been tired if I forgot to turn that off before we went to bed.
He started down the stairs. A couple creaks echoed throughout the house, and he froze.
Fullmetal crashed on the couch after dinner. Considering his door was still open, he's probably still sleeping down there.
He carefully took another step, wincing when it creaked again. He slowly descended the stairs, grateful when he finally reached the entryway. Light streamed in from the kitchen into the living room.
Did I really forget to turn off the kitchen light, too?
He rubbed his eyes, quietly walking through the living room. He rounded the corner into the kitchen and shivered when the cool breeze hit him. His heart stopped.
I've never opened the window….
His eyes shot open. His dinner threatened to reappear at the sight.
"Ed!" he screamed.
He rushed to the table and gripped the edge. Ed lied on it, eyes closed and unmoving except for the slight rise and fall of his chest. His shirt was sliced open. Blood streamed down his sides from a cut running from his chest to the middle of his stomach. Roy scrambled over to the counter and grabbed as many rags as he could, rushing back to the table and pressing them over the cut to staunch the blood flow.
"Roy!" Riza called from upstairs, her footsteps rapidly running down the steps a second later.
He's still breathing, but we can't handle this.
Riza stopped when she reached the kitchen. Her gun clattered to the floor, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Roy took a deep breath, relishing the rising and falling of Ed's chest beneath his hands. Riza was at his side in an instant.
"He's still breathing, but he's unconscious. We need to get him to a hospital. That cut's too deep for us to handle on our own."
Riza nodded. She grabbed the keys to their car while Roy slipped his arms under Ed's back and legs. Ed's head lolled against his chest when he picked him up. Riza held the front door open for him as he sprinted to the car. In a flash, she was opening the back door for them and jumping behind the wheel. Roy slid into the backseat with Ed. He pressed down on the rags as the engine roared to life. Riza grabbed the back of the passenger seat, looked over her shoulder with only a brief glance at the two, and pulled out of the driveway.
"We saw a hospital when we came in. It was a couple kilometers before the bridge if I remember right."
"Hurry!" he ordered.
She sped through the streets, her eyes flickering to the rearview mirror often. Roy kept pressure on the wound. He concentrated on the slow rise and fall of Ed's chest under his hands. He swallowed around the lump in his throat.
If I hadn't woken up….
His hands clenched into fists around the rags. The car slowed down. He didn't even wait for it to completely stop before he flung the door open. When he picked Ed back up, the kid groaned.
Dammit!
"We're getting you help, Ed. Hang on."
He slammed the door shut with his foot and sprinted inside the hospital.
And there it is! Feel free to let me know what you all think! I can't thank you enough for the feedback on this fic so far. I hope to update again soon! Until then!