DISCLAIMER - see chapter one
"Mmm…wha? Where am I?" Riza groaned as she opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying on a hard uncomfortable mat on the floor of what seemed to be a tent, and she also seemed to be alone, her body ached all over, she could barely move and it hurt to breathe, but at least she was alive…but…what happened? Oh God! Oh no! What…what…who am I? She wondered frantically, the panic enough to force her into a sitting position,
"Oh you're awake…whoa there, lie down." An Old man ordered as she bent over clutching her ribs, his hands gently easing her back, his hand gently wiping her eyes as terrified tears flowed down her cheeks, her breaths coming in gasps, not only from the pain but from shock as well,
"Do, do you know who I am?" she asked desperately as she reached up and clutched the beige material of his worn ragged robes, his hand taking hers gently, his old face looking kind and gentle, his red eyes calming as she looked up with her deep hazel ones,
"From what we can tell your name is Riza Hawkeye, and you have a friend here who hasn't left your side. His name is Hayate." He added as a fluffy black and white dog jumped up, his front paws resting on the edge of the mat as he leaned down to lick her face, panting happily. Riza smiled softly at the attention, the glinting tag reading R. Hawkeye and the dog's name Black Hayate, the numbers were a blur to her though, perhaps an address of some sort.
"How do you know the R stands for Riza?" she asked as she looked up at the old man, "How do you know he's even my dog?" she added as an after thought, the old man pulling a hair clip from his robes and handing it to her,
"This was in your hair, there's an inscription…as for Hayate, well, his behaviour makes it clear." He replied, the dog whining and pawing at Riza with a bandaged paw. Riza reached out and touched Hayate's head, stroking the soft silky fur, finding a deep comfort in the contact,
"Okay, so I know my name…but…what about everything else?" she asked, the old man sitting cross legged besides her,
"Well, we really don't know, we found you half dead at the bottom of the slope and brought you here, well, not here exactly, we've moved on since we found you, but we brought you with us. You took a knock to the head, hopefully the memory loss will be temporary, but don't worry, you'll be safe with us." He assured kindly, Riza leaving one hand resting on Hayate as she closed her eyes, "That's right you rest and heal up, you've been sleeping for two days, but I doubt a little more will do any harm. I'll bring you come food and water in a little while." He added as he got to his feet, Riza already sleeping soundly once again.
"Falman! What have you got?" Roy asked as he carefully climbed down the slope, his feet slipping often on the loose rocks, dried blood staining some of the larger rocks, There's so much blood…I hope she's alright…He thought worriedly as he reached the bottom, brushing his legs off and looking down to see a bloodied white blanket,
"Sir! This man…he was Private John Corline, stationed at Ishbal under Colonel Harrison to oversee the rebuilding of the city. Lieutenant Hawkeye checked in with the Colonel six days ago, and checked out three days later, but he didn't see her after that, and the same day one car and Private Corline disappeared without authorisation." Falman reported as he stood to attention, his chiselled features set in his usual serious expression, his white fringe brushing his slit-like eyes in the light breeze,
"Why did he not notify anyone about this?" Roy wondered aloud as he looked down at the body, "Perhaps for the first few hours, perhaps even the first day, he might have thought the car was borrowed, it's not uncommon for soldiers to forget to sign cars out when they're in a hurry, but three days?" he continued, Havoc appearing at his shoulder and nodding in agreement, the gesture reminding him strongly of Maes, who always had a habit of appearing at his shoulder like that to offer input, and in true Maes Hughes style havoc stepped closer,
"Perhaps he was in on it…" Havoc suggested, Roy looking at him with a look that demanded he explain himself, "Look, we know Hawkeye, she would never just get in a car with a Private without some sort of proof of orders, and where would a Private get those orders?" He asked meaningfully Roy nodding thoughtfully as he crouched down near the body, lifting the blanket, fighting the strong urge to drop it as he looked at the mutilated corpse, the face barely recognisable where animals and birds had taken bite out of it, not to mention the fall down the slope.
"Falman, was there any proof of these orders found?" he asked as he dropped the blanket and looked up, Falman pulling a folded sheet of paper from his jacket and handing it to Roy, who looked it over before handing it to Havoc, it was orders for Corline to transport Riza back to Central,
"These orders make no sense, it would be quicker to take her to the train station in Ishbal and have her go back by train." Havoc said as he looked over the paper, Roy nodding in agreement as he got to his feet,
"Unless Harrison thought she had some valuable information to get back, then it would be safer to assign a car, but Hawkeye was working in secret, even if she had been ordered to reveal why she was there she wouldn't be able to." Roy pointed out, looking around the area, a few uniformed offices conferring at various points around the general area. Fuery and Breda were absent, away checking different areas for news,
"General Mustang Sir! You'll want to see this!" A young man's voice called, one of the young Privates was just coming out of the forest to the left, his dark hair windswept, his breath ragged from running, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead,
"Private?" Roy questioned, the Private turning back to the forest,
"This way Sir!" He insisted, Roy not bothering to ask again as he and Havoc followed the young man through the forest to a clearing, signs of recent habitation clear in the ground, a circle of rocks filled with ash and a few unburned branches, areas of grass and shrubs around the trees clearly grazed, five large squares showing where tents had been erected, and wheel trails from about half a dozen carts as well as hoof prints marked the ground leading out, away from the forest into the barren land beyond.
"Good work Private." Roy said as he knelt by the ashes, running his bare hand through the black dust, rubbing it between his fingers and eyeing it closely, picking up a lump of black wood and watching it crumble in his grip,
"What's the verdict General?" Havoc asked as he crouched down, Roy taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his hands as he got to his feet, Havoc following suit,
"One day. They left one day ago." He replied as he eyed the trail, watching it stretch through the trees, but was Riza really with them? Was she even here? Someone made that other patch of blood, and she did disappear about the same time as Corline left his station…I need proof. He decided as he turned to Havoc, "I want the area searched thoroughly, I need proof that she was here, and when we have that proof we're going tracking Lieutenant." He announced as he looked back at the trail, Havoc snapping to attention and heading back to the base of the slope at a run, they needed the proof quickly if they were going to find her.
"Sir!" Another Private called as he came sliding down the slope from the top of the slope, the missing car had been taken, but they couldn't tell who since they had no idea what had happened here, but the Private had something clutched in his white gloved hand, "I found this near the top of the slope." He said as he handed it to Havoc, who examined it, knowing it immediately, it was Riza's bracelet, she always wore it off duty, it had been a sixteenth birthday present from a close friend, and Havoc had no doubt of who that close friend was,
"Chief! Riz-I mean Hawkeye's bracelet!" he shouted as Roy appeared at the edge of the trees, at his side in an instant and taking the bracelet, clutching it in his now gloved hand tightly.
"It's definitely hers." He announced as he slipped it into his pocket,
"Sir, blood tests are a positive match." Another private announced, Roy nodding in acknowledgement as he turned to Havoc, who took a final drag from his smoking cigarette, throwing it aside and savouring the last exhale of smoke,
"Havoc, you know what to do." Roy said simply, the tall blonde saluting before shouting at the rest of the troops, giving orders for tracking groups to be sent out immediately, others going to fetch transport to meet them on the way.
"Uh…Miss. Riza…Miss. Riza!" Avon called, gently at first, then a little louder as he shook her arm. The blonde woman was a wonder to him, he had never seen an Amestris woman up close, she was very beautiful, especially now that the bandage was gone, the cut no longer bleeding, in fact the stitches were almost healed in the ten days she had been with them. They were now in another green area near a town called Hoshi. It was a very green town on the outskirts of Amestris, a very small town, not a lot there other than a few old mines, the town making a living off fruit, the inner areas of the town quite green considering how close they were to the desert. Riza slowly opened her hazel eyes, looking up groggily at the dark haired boy,
"Avon, good morning." She said as she sat up slowly, her bruised limbs still aching and stiff, but no as bad as they were, in fact many of the bruises that had been a dark ugly blue were now a faded yellowish green. Her hair fell messily about her shoulders as she crossed her legs, Hayate opening his eyes briefly before settling his head down again.
"Good morning, Jinto, he wishes to see you." Avon replied as he got to his feet, Riza slowly following, slipping her feet into her high heeled boots, her ankle now normal again, but still a little tender, making her wince as she slipped her foot in, "Oh wait! Here, my mother's old shoes may fit you." Avon said as he saw her pained expression, searching in a corner of his mother and father's part of the tent until he found an old faded pair of brown slipper-like shoes that did look more comfortable than her leather boots.
"Thank you." Riza replied as she slipped her feet into the slippers, which were a little snug, but they'd be fine for the time being. As she headed for the door Avon watched her, she still wore her white fitted shirt and black trousers, even through they were ripped she insisted on wearing them, she had long legs, the trousers hugging her shapely hips, he blushed as he realised what he was thinking and followed her out to Jinto, who sat in a small group in a circle where a fire would usually be burning at night, but since it was early the fire was out.
"Ah, Riza, please sit down." Jinto invited, handing her an apple as she took a seat beside him, his long grey hair tied back as usual as he idly prodded the ashes with a stick, "You are much better I see…this is good, we could use another pair of hands…if you will stay with us that is." He added, glancing at her from the corner of his eye,
"I don't know…I belong…somewhere, I just can't remember where…" she said as she looked at the red apple, turning it in her hands, a troubled look on her face,
"Perhaps if we travel we will come across your home, perhaps you will see something you remember…either way at least with us you are safe." Jinto replied, Riza nodding in agreement, "Well, let's get you more…appropriate attire shall we?" he suggested with a smile, Riza frowning reluctantly, "Surely you will not stay in those ruined clothes for however long your memory loss lasts?" he reasoned, called a woman to them, Shereen if Riza remembered correctly, she had made some long white dressed for Riza, dresses that came in at the waist and cut low at the chest, but stayed high at the back, Jinto aware but secretive about the array he had seen on her back. "Go and change, I have a job for you when you are ready." He added, watching as Riza took the pile of three dresses and headed back to Marto's tent, where she had ended up living, for the time being anyway, perhaps if she took a husband she would take her own tent, that would by tent number six, unless they found her home before that time.