Shina moaned and fell onto the paved ground. "Finally…" Her legs throbbed and her hands and knee cut on the cement. She was so overcome with fatigue that even the hard pavement felt comfortable. She almost fell asleep right on the spot when she felt someone shake her shoulders.
"Hey Shina. C'mon, we're already four days late." Shina pried her green eyes open and half-glared at Edward. She stood up slowly and walked with the two Elric brothers into the military head-quarters at Central, all of them grateful that they had finally reached their destination.
After the train bombing, Shina, Edward and Alphonse had started walking to Central. They were able to hitch a ride on a merchant's wagon, but that only took them so far. They had made camp in any place they found suitable, and it had taken them four days to get to Central. Shina was more exhausted than any of the three, and the cut on her arm looked like it was becoming slightly infected. All she wanted to do was get the injury checked, meet with the Colonel to find out what her assignment was, and fall asleep on a nice, soft bed.
At that moment, all Shina could do was glare at the office door in front of her. She knew that if she entered the Colonel's office, she would go through a living hell. She sighed and slowly opened the door, letting the Elrics enter first. She turned around and stood at the door, glaring knives into Colonel Roy Mustang's black eyes. It was all she could do to keep herself from walking back out the door in which she came.
"Hello, Lightning Shard," Roy said casually. "Long time, no see."
"Yeah, and it was probably better that way," Shina said calmly. She walked over to the couch where the two brothers were sitting and sat down on the arm of the couch.
"Well, you haven't changed one bit," Roy replied. "You're still as much of a smart-ass as you were last time we saw each other."
Shina grinned impishly. "Oh, yeah, just like you're still as cocky and arrogant as you were back then." Roy made a sound low in his throat and Edward covered his mouth with his hand to try and hold back a laugh.
Roy sent Shina an irritated glance and then looked back down at his papers. "On another note," he said, changing the subject, "your assignment is to go to Terrinia and rescue some hostages. General Sakura and her family are being held hostage for ransom. The group's name is unknown, and no one knows what any of them look like."
"Sounds like a pretty decent assignment," Edward said.
"Yeah, but I've got a couple questions," Shina said. "Why send us? I mean, any one of the military members could finish this, so why send alchemists? And what's the General's family being held hostage for?"
"I knew you were going to ask that at some point," Roy sighed. "We're sending you because the ransom is to see the Fullmetal and Lightning Shard Alchemists." He looked up into Shina's piercing green eyes. "Get it?"
Edward raised his eyebrows in surprise and Shina folded her arms across her chest. "Pretty dumb ransom if you ask me, but I guess it can't be helped," Shina mumbled.
"Any more questions?" Roy asked. When no one replied, He smiled in his usual smug way and turned his chair around. "Great, you're all dismissed."
Edward and Alphonse walked out first, and Shina stayed in the room a little longer. When she reached the doorway, she turned around slightly and smiled puckishly. "See ya later, Flame-Ass Alchemist." The door closed and she trotted to catch up to Edward and Alphonse, who by that time were already outside the huge military head quarters.