Disclaimer: I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist characters. I own my original characters. I don't own the rights to the song either.

PLEASE READ! Authors Note: Half of this chapter is humorous just to lessen the tension from the first few. Please Note: Half of this chapter takes place in the present time. Please Note: I had to change my username ... way too many people had the username knight-that-says-ni (or something similar to it). I have changed my username to avoid confusion; readers thinking that when their stories were my stories and vice versa. My username now is Madhubala.

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Chapter 5 - Conversation With A Dog

Present Time

Colonel Roy Mustang snapped out of his daze when Black Hayate nudged him with his cold snout. "Hmm," he thought, "it's not raining anymore." He picked Black Hayate up and replied, "Where has Riza gone?" Black Hayate tilted his head to the side and blinked twice. "Don't send me that puppy dog look," the Flame Alchemist teased the dog. Black Hayate gave a loud bark that made Roy cringe. "All right," Roy sent the dog a smug look, "no more teasing." Roy shook his head, "Great, I'm talking to a dog."

Roy continued to speak to Black Hayate, "Yeah, as though you would know where Hawkeye is, right?" He placed the dog upon the bed and began to pet him, "I messed up back then."

Roy looked out of the window as though he were worried. For, he heard the cry of the nightwatch man and looked back at the clock. "She shouldn't be out this late," Roy took in a deep breath. He paused when he heard a familiar folk song being sung by a group of villagers in the distance. Meinay dil tujko diya naino mein thee pyaar ki roshanee (I have given you my heart) ... teree aankhon mein duniyaadaaree thee (The world was in your eyes) ... That song made him remember a simple time. A time that was lost to him now. He was innocent and careless during that time. It was a time when he was young and inattentive. For, he believed that all the solutions for every problem could be found if you searched hard enough. "How wrong was I," Roy whispered as he listened to the song playing in the distance. "Sometimes, a solution can never be found."

To his surprise, Black Hayate seemed to have understood him as he nudged Roy's hand with his nose. Roy absent-mindedly began to pet the dog, "You want to know what I did, don't you?" Black Hayate gave off a sniffing sound which seemed just as good as the word yes.

Riza Hawkeye did not mean to hear this as she stood outside the apartment door. She had placed two grocery bags upon the floor as she was fumbling in her pocket for the keys. She had left the reunion party to purchase new bandages and food that Roy needed. With wide eyes, she stood for a moment and then thought to herself, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop." She paused, "I know."

Riza made a movement as though she were walking past the door. However, she was just walking in place. "I feel like an idiot," Riza blushed and shook her head when Roy's neighbor opened his door. "I'm trying to sleep," the man sneered and then slammed the door shut.

Riza did not respond to the man and then jangled the keys in her hand. Suddenly, she could no longer hear Roy. Quickly, she opened the door and then she sighed as she grabbed the two grocery bags in her arms. She pushed the door open a little further until she heard Black Hayate bark. Holding the keys in her hand; she pushed the door shut with her foot.

Black Hayate pawed at her and Riza laughed, "You know, these aren't for you."

Roy sat up in his bed and nodded towards the grocery bags. "You could have asked me to come. I would have." Roy paused, "Hawkeye, I don't like the idea of you walking alone at night."

"Permission to speak, sir?" Riza looked away, for, she was still stuck in military mode.

"Hawkeye," Roy sighed, for, the military formalities were beginning to frustrate him. He took in a deep breath, "Permission granted."

She continued, "It isn't night. It's five in the afternoon."

"Nevertheless." Roy shrugged, "I don't think you should go out on these streets alone."

"I know, sir." Riza paused, "But, you need time to recuperate."

"Hawkeye?" Roy looked away, "I hate being cooped up in here. What kind of recuperation is this?"

"Sir, it's for your own good."

"But, if you had the memories that I do ..." Roy trailed off and shook his head, "Nevermind. What did you get?"

"Noodles." Riza sifted through the bags, "Fruit. Some cereal and --"

"What kind," Roy inquistively interrupted.

"Of cereal?"

"Yeah."

Riza looked at the box, "The sugary kind."

"Good." Roy tiredly responded, "I hate the grown up cereal."

Riza tried hard to hide her smile, however, faltered. Roy looked at her in confusion, "Something wrong, Hawkeye?"

"Nothing." Riza looked down at Black Hayate and sighed, "What is it?" Riza sighed as she pulled a box of treats from the grocery bag, "Is this what you've been looking for?"

Hawkeye stood up and commanded, "Sit. Sit!" Reluctantly, the dog sat and extended his paw. "Good. You get a treat," Riza opened the box and pulled out a dog biscuit. She placed the biscuit in her hand and watched as Black Hayate wagged his tail. Riza kneeled before her dog and placed the biscuit into her dog's mouth.

Roy watched as Riza fed the dog. However, he did not respond. When Riza stood up, he quickly looked away and focused upon the wall on the other side of the room. "I bought you new bandages, sir."

Riza picked up the second grocery bag which was full of items that Roy needed for his recovery. She walked towards the chair that was next to Roy's bed and sat down, "I bought you some new antiseptic too."

"These bandages are fine."

Riza raised an eyebrow up, for,the bandages were stained with blood. "Have you even looked at your bandages, sir?" Riza sighed, "They are in a sorry state."

Roy looked down at his bandages and took in a deep breath. For, this was something that he did not wish to tell her. Bandage changing and wound cleaning were a dislike of his because it just plain hurt. It stung. It did not make sense to him because it hurt a lot less than the fight with the Fuhrer. However, he feared Riza whenever she came to change his bandages.

"Hawkeye," Roy looked up at Riza, "I think I'm capable of changing my bandages on my own."

"Sir, with respect, you can barely move your arms at the moment," Riza stated.

"Fine," Roy groaned. "Just get it over with."

Riza unwound the bandage from Roy's left arm. The bandage fell to the floor and a large stitch in Roy's arm was revealed. Riza reached for the antiseptic and a clean rag. She poured the antiseptic upon the rag and then proceeded to place the rag upon Roy's arm. Roy flinched, for, the antiseptic stung. However, he noticed something new. There were tears in Riza's eyes. Roy ignored the pain as he looked at Riza in confusion, "Erm ... there's stuff coming out of your eyes."

"Stuff, sir?" Riza quietly replied in a questioning manner and looked down. She focused upon Roy's wound as she tried to hide her tears.

Roy quietly replied, "It's better now because everything has calmed down. Things are going back to normal." However, more tears began to fall from Riza's eyes and Roy uncomfortably looked away as though he were guilty, "Erm ... there's ... uh ... more tears falling. Did I do something wrong?"

Riza smiled through her tears, "No."

"Was that a smile?"

Riza quickly looked down and focused upon treating Roy's wounds. "Would you stop squirming around?"

Roy took in a deep breath of exasperation, "Once you stop bringing this antiseptic."

Quickly, Riza bandaged up Roy's arm and stood up, "I have to go."

"So soon?" Roy looked at the clock and was shocked to see how fast the time had flown by. In good company, the time flew by rather quickly. However, when he was alone in this room, the hours droned on and on. When he was alone, he felt as though he had to suffer through the memories of his past and think of all the mistakes that he had made.

Riza began to clean up the discarded bandages as Roy watched. He knew that she needed to get home to rest, for, tomorrow was Monday. Monday was the busiest day at work. Roy cringed as he thought about the Monday paperwork. Riza put her coat on and called out, "Black Hayate." Black Hayate barked and jumped off the bed. Roy watched as the door closed behind them and soon, the apartment was empty again and Roy thought to himself, "I think I can hear silence." His thoughts meandered back to the past as he whispered, "I messed up back then."

Twelve Years Ago

Roy put the phone down and thought things over for a few minutes. Finally, he placed his uniform on and grabbed his coat, for, he was ready. He was ready for whatever came his way.

That night Roy was determined to get back home. For, he wanted answers to why Laiba seemed so weak. He walked onto the gravel road and then stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. Roy clenched his teeth, "Who is it?"

Private Hughes emerged from the darkness, "Where are you off to?"

Roy groaned, "Not that it's any of your business. But, I'm going home."

"Deserter," Hughes nudged Roy. Normally, Roy would have smiled at Hughes' sense of humor, however, his features took on the look of a rather annoyed man. "What is it," Hughes asked.

Roy shook his head, "Nothing."

"No. There is something wrong." Hughes seriously added in, "Something that you're not telling me."

Roy shrugged, for, he did not see any harm in confiding in Hughes. "Someone ... that I know ..." Roy stopped, "is missing."

"And you're going to take a walk home alone to find them," Hughes asked.

Roy looked away, "Yeah. So?"

"Okay. Let's go then." Hughes replied, "But, there's no way I'm walking. Let's take the train."

Roy glanced side-long at Hughes and shrugged, "Whatever gets me from Point A to Point B is fine with me."

- - -

Twelve Years Ago

Meanwhile ...

Amaya dragged Laiba's weak body towards the small grove of trees in front of her bedroom window. Amaya held onto Laiba's arm as though she were afraid that her captive would, in fact, flee. With all the force that she could muster, Laiba tried to twist away from Amaya. And yet, every time that every time she moved; Amaya's grip would tighten.

Amaya let go of Laiba's arm once they reached the tree grove. Laiba collapsed upon the musty earth and saw through half-opened eyes that Amaya was not alone. "Amaya," a boy in a pinstripe suit emerged from the darkness, "is she well?" Laiba's heart stopped for one moment, for, she knew this voice. She watched through half-open eyes as the boy took his fedora hat off and held it in his hands. It was Gabe. He had left town to pursue a career and had joined an allegiance with Amaya. However, to Laiba's surprise several of the individuals that had left town came forth and were now wearing the pinstripe suits with the Collective Coalition symbol upon them. An angry voice whispered, "You said that you would not injure her."

Laiba knew the voice and thought to herself, "It cannot be." However, she did not know exactly if her suspicions were correct. Laiba's eyes became droopy and she fought desperately to stay alert. And yet, before she could find out who was behind the voice; everything went black.

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