AN: On May 12th I went to Zenkaikon as Pride and I met Sonny Strait (Maes Hughes). It was awesome! The dude is so nice.
This is going to be a short chapter and I'm going to try and finish this story up by the end of the month (fingers crossed).
Riza may seem a bit OOC but I am as always doing my best to keep her in character but certain things need to take place and well given this strange situation, who knows how Riza would respond?
They never really tell you where Hayate goes in Brotherhood while Riza is at work, though there is an episode or two that shows Hayate tied up in a courtyard outside of Headquarters. One can only assume that Riza would leave him there while she was working and bring him home when she was finally able to leave.
I hope you've all been well since my last update ^_^
Thank You: YesMyLord666, Mellowwy, ayon, xXRedPokerGirlxX, XxXPeaceReaperXxX, Eli White, Mcrtrix, Sniper Riza Hawkeye, Riza Hawkeye fan
Riza felt someone behind her. She lowered her weapon and turned around. It was Sergeant Colt.
She was not standing directly behind her or in a way that would pose a problem to someone who was firing a loaded weapon onto the range. She saluted her like it was a reflex or something and then she spoke, "Are you alright, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, I'm fine." She gave her a light smile in an attempt to throw her off but Sarah was having none of that. Then in her most uncharacteristically bold move yet, Sarah pointed towards Riza's target board and said "Your aim is a bit off."
Sarah could hardly believe what she had just said and to whom she had said it to. Ever since she started reading that damned book her head had become full of so many awful ideas. Perhaps it wasn't really the book's fault; perhaps this horrific bluntness had always been apart of Sarah's true personality. Perhaps she didn't know herself at all…
Riza did not particularly care to have her suddenly poor aim pointed out to her but she knew it was true. There was no point in denying it and it was better that Sarah had been the one to see this disgraceful shot as opposed to the Colonel. If he knew how this whole thing was affecting her, he'd try and convince her to go home, after all what use would she be to him in this condition?
"Yes, I know. That's what happens when you aren't paying attention." Her tone was stern, though she was not angry but rather disappointed with herself and with her normally steady hands. She was not so engraved in her thoughts as to not notice Sarah's odd behavior, particularly as she continued to press on.
"I don't mean any disrespect" Sarah said as she maintained a firm stance, "but there is obviously something troubling you."
There was a momentary pause as Riza eyed the woman standing before her. She looked as she always had and yet Riza was certain that she had changed somehow. Her lips no longer quivered while searching for a proper response, for the thoughts in her mind seemed to flow more easily now and she showed no signs of fear over speaking above her rank.
Riza's mind jumped to attention and she gripped her gun tighter as a cautious feeling began to loom over her.
'Could she be…?'
Riza's eyes moved over Sarah's head and looked upon the clock. It was time that she feed Hayate.
"I'm sorry but I have other things to attend to." She began walking off towards the lockers, her gun still in hand. She thought upon what she was going to do next. She could easily have Fuery feed Hayate while she kept watch over Roy, though that would hardly be fair to Fuery.
Still with someone out there who clearly wanted to harm Mustang, how could she dare leave his side? Even practicing her aim had been a foolish decision. At any given moment shots could ring out and there he would be lying in a pool of blood; his dream for Amestris destroyed and it would all be her fault.
Then there was that possibility that the one they may be looking for was actually a woman and Sarah was behaving so strangely.
'Could she be the one? Could she be Anonymous?'
Was there anyway to be sure without tipping her off? That woman held such a gentle face and she could speak so delicately that even if sent into battle and upon her return, no one would ever imagine her to be a murderer; a soldier. How then was Riza to tell?
She closed her locker door and locked it up before leaving. When she left she found Sarah still standing out on the shooting range floor just where she had left her. She'd been waiting.
Riza fought to hide her increasing discomfort.
"Are you sure you're alright, Lieutenant?"
It's funny how such normally kind words can leave a chill running down your spine when they come from the lips of a normally mousey woman. It was then that Riza decided that the only thing she could do to try and see where Sarah's head was at was to talk to her as casually as she could without allowing Sarah to over step her boundaries as a soldier and without informing her as to what her true motives were.
"Yes, thank you but I'll be fine. I should go check on my dog, though. He can get so lonely." She smiled softly, trying to ease off her own inner tension. She would have Fuery feed Hayate later and make it up to him somehow, for while a civil conversation could be held whilst checking up on Hayate, there was no way that she'd ever place a potential stalker, her dog's food, and Hayate in the same area. There were after all, people who were sick enough to poison a helpless animal.
"I didn't know you had a dog." It was a lie, she had seen Hayate on the premises many times before and often he was in the company of either Riza or Roy.
"What's their name?"
"Black Hayate."
"Can I see him? I mean…if that's alright with you, Lieutenant?" she spoke with a sudden burst of enthusiasm.
Had that slight stammer been an act or was Riza reading into this too much? Perhaps there were changes taking place in Sarah's life as well and it was making her seem different. Perhaps she had nothing to do with the burning of Roy's car or those letters. Perhaps Riza really did need to sit down and relax for a bit.
"Of course."
Sarah followed Riza to the Eastern courtyard where Hayate was kept. Riza hated having to leave him outside for such a large portion of the day but it was not as if she would be allowed to take him into the building, no matter how well behaved he was. He was well behaved though, he didn't need to be tied up and he seemed to have a natural understanding about Riza's busy schedule.
Riza called to Hayate and the dog pranced over to his master, his tail wagging back and forth. Riza knelt down in front of him and told him to shake with his paw; first the left and then the right. Sarah marveled at how obedient he was; how loyal, just like his master was to the bastard who tugged at her leash.
For the briefest of moments a flashback to that horrid kiss between Riza and Roy intruded Sarah's mind. It was so painfully difficult to remove such a ghastly image from her thoughts.
'Of all the men…'
"Would you like to pet him?" Riza questioned; Hayate now sat at attention, conscious of Sarah's unfamiliar presence.
"Yes." Sarah knelt down on the freshly cut grass, her nerves returning to her. She stuck out her hand for Hayate to sniff. Her friend from childhood had once had a puppy and she taught Sarah that dogs need to get a good sniff of you before you try and pat their heads.
Hayate licked her, his tongue swiping its way across her index finger.
She smiled down and the young pup and she preceded to lightly pat the top of his head. The black fur was being brought up and down with every soft and delicate stroke. Hayate just sat there, enjoying the attention but unsure as to why he was suddenly receiving so much from this stranger.
"What kind of dog is he?"
"He's a Shiba Inu."
She nodded, still stroking his fur "I thought he was a Husky at first but now that you mention it, he is a bit small to be a Husky."
Riza and Sarah had spoken often before but it always about aim, and shooting, and anything military related. Never had they come so close to having a real conversation about things outside the walls of Central HQ. Still Riza had to prompt just such a conversation and with any luck she'd be able to tell whether or not there was any true reason for her to worry about Sarah's odd behavior.
"Do you own any pets?"
"No, my landlord won't allow it. I've always wanted a dog, though. I used to ask my father for one all the time. It drove him crazy." She said letting off a slight laugh.
"Why wouldn't your father buy you one?"
Sarah shrugged "He doesn't like them." The mentioning of her father caused her to stop touching Hayate and stand up.
"If he was against something as simple as buying you a dog, I can't image how he must have felt when you joined the military."
Sarah felt her nervous tick creeping its way up on her and she grabbed hold of her arm. She had Riza talking to her….really talking to her and even if it was about things that she didn't want to speak about, they were still talking. Riza was acknowledging her and it filled her with a warm, glowing sensation. This new bold attitude of hers was working; she just had to keep it up.
"Actually my father was the one who allowed me to sign up for the military. I was 17 when I joined and I needed his consent. I grew up in Pendleton and due to the constant border skirmishes my father and I were always very used to having a military presence. I hear that the border wars are still going on." Once more they had stepped back onto the subject of the military. What a pity.
"What about you, Lieutenant? Why did you join the military?"
Just as Riza was about to reply, she saw Sergeant Denny Brosh heading towards them.
He saluted Riza and then turned his attention towards Sarah, "Major Armstrong needs to speak with you."
"Alright, I'll be right there." She turned to Riza "I'm sorry, Lieutenant but I have to go."
In that short lived conversation Riza had not been able to determine whether or not Sarah posed any threat to Roy but she had been able to find out that Sarah was defiantly not fond of speaking of her father but then again, Riza wasn't fond of her own father either.
Why anyone would want to stalk her was beyond her understanding. There was nothing special about her, nothing at all. However, stalkers are sick people and in their warped view of reality Riza could only assume, that they had diluted themselves into think that she was different somehow from all of the countless other soldiers in Amestris. Either that or the stalker's true motive wasn't really to chase after Riza but rather to simply gain access to her in order to kill Roy.
Either way she would have to keep an eye on Sarah.
EN: Stay tuned folks cause' in the next chapter, Sarah crosses all kinds of lines