I heard Mustang swear as I walked out the door. I didn't stop though. It didn't matter. I'd talk to him more after he cooled off. I can't deal with anything right now, much less an angry pyromaniac. Maybe I should give him something later to make up for it. Yeah, I can at least do that. I'd rather bite off my thumb then actually apologize, but a gift. That's much more doable.

As I reached the end of the block, I heard yelling come from behind me. It sounded like the person I just walked away from. Great. That's exactly what I didn't want to deal with. Even before I completely turned around, I felt his fingers close around my flesh arm, digging into the skin turning it red. How fun; the slight pain feels familiar after all this time.

"Fullmetal, what is your problem!?" Mustang screamed in my face. My ears started to ring and I gritted my teeth. I fully knew I had a bunch of problems, I didn't need him to point that out. The real question is, which one was he referring too? Eh, he'd probably tell me anyone, or actually yell since he seems to like doing that.

Mustang growled and his grip around my arm tightened. I guess he doesn't like not being answered. Oh well, I have bigger issues than that. "You're going to walk with me back to your dorm and you're going to explain what the hell is going on with you. You are my subordinate and I have to ensure your safety!" I rolled my eyes. Of course, that's all it is. That's all it'll ever be. He's obligated to me.

"It's fine, sir. You can go back to whatever you were doing before. Nothing's wrong." Usually I would go out of my way to be a jerk to him, but what's the point of that? Really what's the point of anything anymore? It's all empty. I tried pulling my hand away, but Mustang held tight. Apparently he really didn't like me right now, but was that any different than normal?

"There is obviously something wrong, or you wouldn't be tearing up your own arms!" Mustang ran his free hand through his hair and let out a breath. "Look, how about this, you tell me why you're being like this and I'll let you know something I found about the philosophers stone." Oh, he was upset. I guess I should find out what he knows. It is supposed to be part of my goal right now. Doesn't feel that important anymore to me though.

I just nodded and followed along as he dragged me back up to the room I had just left. Even just walking back there felt like it was draining all of my energy, not that there was much of that to begin with. I let my body collapse on the couch and slumped over, Mustang sat next to me, staring expectantly.

I stared at him, meeting his eyes. They were blank as usual. I don't know what I was expecting to see there, I guess it doesn't really matter. Why do I feel so disappointed though. I dropped my head, staring down at my legs.

Shaking my head, I let my hair fall in front of my face. "I have no idea what you want me to say." I heard Mustang sigh and felt him shuffle around. A hand fell on my shoulder, making me jump. I looked at him, eyes wide. He looked at me. A minute passed, nothing was said.

"When I was in Ishgar, it..." He let out a dark chuckle. "Well best way to put it is it was hell. There were screams everywhere, scared children crying for their mothers, bodies lining every street. I was there in the middle of it all, burning anything that moved. At one point, there was this kid, around your age. He was trapped in a building, I could've let him go." Mustang swallowed heavily, his hands clasped together, shaking. "I had my orders though. No survivors. I snapped and...he was gone. Just another body on my list of murders." He looked at me, sorrowful. "He was about your age I'd guess. Doesn't really make a difference now though. What's done is done."

He didn't say anything. The silence laid thick between us. Why was he telling me this? What did he want? I wasn't sure anymore. I thought he'd just wanted explanations, but that. What would he have to gain from telling me that? I realized he was waiting for me to say something.

"You were doing what your country needed. It wasn't-" He cut me off with a harsh, wet-sounding laugh.

"Wasn't my fault. Sure. I wasn't the one who charred that kid, it was the country. No country is so desperate that it needs to kill children. There's no excuse for that. I made the choice to follow that order. It was the wrong one." Mustang grimaced. "What I'm trying to get at is there are things everyone has experienced that aren't that great. You can either move on or let it control you until you fall apart. You're on the way to falling apart, and I'm trying to stop that from happening. I've seen too many soldiers lose their life that way, and I don't want to see it happen to you. So talk, about anything that you can't get out of your head. It's the better option."

I'm not really sure what to say to that. I knew Mustang had some issues, everyone does. But to be so open about it is hard. I guess I'll have to do the same. It's equivalent exchange." I found something I hadn't felt in a long time. Determination.