After nearly an hour, Shinobu sat up and looked over at the curtain. Very little light poured in, it must've been only sunrise but the first train would be coming in shortly.
Shinobu stood up and walked out of her room and into the diner/check in room. Nobody was awake, so nobody could tell her how much to pay. Shinobu took out Two-Hundred Sens and placed it on the counter next to a note that said: I wanted to pay you something.
She then walked out the door and to the station. She paid the ticket master the amount needed and sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the train to Central City.
After only ten minutes, the train rolled up and stopped. A man shouted for everyone to board quickly, which was only Shinobu, before the train left. Shinobu ran on the train, giving the strange man her ticket before boarding. She sat in a middle car, this being her first time riding a train she didn't know what to make of it. When the train started moving, she started forward and almost fell flat on her face…but someone had caught her.
Shinobu looked up to see who it was that had caught her and saw the same man from her dream. Lt. Jean Havoc. The only difference was that he wasn't wearing a military uniform, but a black t-shirt and a pair of slacks.
"Are you okay?" Havoc asked Shinobu, the cigarette in his mouth moving with his bottom lip.
Shinobu nodded and sat up straight. "I'm…fine…"
Havoc laughed a little, he seemed strangely relaxed around Shinobu. "You seem a little out of it. By the way, I'm Jean Havoc, call me Jean."
"Shinobu." She looked down, avoiding Havoc's eyes. She didn't know what he would do if he were a State Alchemist and knew she was from Xing, and it scared her.
"Embarrassed? Can't really blame you, almost falling off of your seat on a train, like you've never been on one before, is pretty embarrassing."
Shinobu laughed nervously.
"Don't worry, Shinobu, I won't tell anyone." Havoc smiled.
Shinobu looked up for just a second and saw that Havoc's smile was soft and kind. He didn't seem like the kind of person Shinobu saw the State Alchemist's as. Suddenly, Shinobu felt as if she could tell him anything and that he wouldn't care at all.
"Jean…" Shinobu started, her heart racing.
"Yes, Shinobu?" Havoc asked, leaning forward to where his face was only inches from hers.
Shinobu didn't draw back from him, as much as her mind told her to do so, she wouldn't. "I…"
Havoc leaned in closer and took the cigarette from his mouth. "You look…familiar. Have we met before?"
Shinobu shook her head. "I don't believe we have." She leaned back to the point that she was pretty much lying down in the seat. Shinobu wanted to tell him that she wasn't from Amestris, that she was from Xing…but his question made her not so sure anymore.
"What's wrong?" Havoc put his cigarette back in his mouth. "What were you going to say?"
"…I'm heading…to Central City." Shinobu said, looking out the window.
"Me too, I was on leave for a few weeks but now I'm heading back to work." Havoc said, leaning back.
"Hope we meet again." Shinobu said, smiling to herself.
Havoc looked down and said, "Do you…have a place to stay?"
"No…I'll find a place."
"Well, I live alone, why don't you stay with me during your stay…?"
Shinobu looked over at Havoc and smiled at him. "I'd like that."
Havoc looked up at Shinobu and smiled widely. "So, is Youswell your hometown?"
"No." Shinobu said, knowing that she'd tell him sooner or later…
"Well then, where do you come from?" Havoc asked, still smiling.
But she'd prefer that it be later. "I don't enjoy sharing my past."
"That's okay."
"How long to Central City?"
Havoc laughed again. "We should get there around five. I don't have to be at work until tomorrow so we can go straight to my place. And please call the place Central."
Shinobu nodded. "Jean…?"
"Hmm…?"
"Are you always this nice?"
Havoc shook his head. "Unfortunately, I gained the gene from my father known as lechery."
"So you only choose the girls who are cute…?"
Havoc nodded.
"Then why me?" Shinobu looked back out the window at the green trees and the rolling landscape pass by.
"What'd you mean? You're plenty cute!" Havoc all but shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you that, Ka–" Havoc stopped, realizing that he was talking to Shinobu.
Shinobu looked back at Havoc, confused. "That's the only time you've told me that. And who's Ka?"
Havoc looked at the ground. "I thought I was talking to someone else…I don't like to talk about it."
Shinobu nodded. "I understand."
For the next ten hours, an awkward silence had settled in between Shinobu and Havoc. Neither was sure what to say to the other. Once they reached Central, Havoc waited for Shinobu to get off the train before leading her to his apartment.
It wasn't very big, the walls painted an almost opaque white with very little on them. A small red sofa sat in front of a small TV, a wooden end table sat on the left side of the sofa with only a black lamp sitting on it. The carpet was a light brown color that reminded Shinobu of the sand in the Great Desert. The kitchen had the same color walls as the living room, but had tatami flooring. There was an electric stove/oven on the far wall, next to the refrigerator. Next to that was the sink. Underneath the sink, once the cabinets opened up, there was a trashcan. On the right wall all the cabinets sat on the wall, directly above counter tops with wooden cabinets under them. Directly in the center of the kitchen was a fold out table and fold out metal chairs. Havoc's bedroom had only a queen-sized bed against the far wall and end tables on either side. The carpet and walls the same as the living room. The bathroom was next to Havoc's bedroom, the same walls as the rest of the house but had white tile flooring the same color as the walls.
"…and that concludes the grand tour of the apartment." Havoc said.
Shinobu nodded, her bare feet felt strange on the carpet of Havoc's living room. Havoc had told Shinobu that because of the kitchen flooring that she had to take off her sandals.
Shinobu's stomach growled, she hadn't had anything to eat since in Youswell. "Do you have anything to eat?"
Havoc nodded and walked into the kitchen with Shinobu closely behind. "I don't have much…do you like Chicken Teriyaki?"
Shinobu shrugged. "I'm hungry, just make it."
"Yes ma'am." Havoc teased.
Shinobu put her hands on her hips defiantly. "You said that you were on leave. You're in the military?"
Havoc's shoulders slumped. "I had hoped that it wouldn't matter."
"It doesn't. I just need a job." Shinobu said innocently.
Havoc looked back over at Shinobu like she was crazy. "You want to join the military?"
Shinobu nodded. "Yes, I need a job and I already know you. Connection."
Havoc sighed and put the left over Chicken Teriyaki in the oven for five minutes then took it out. He and Shinobu had half of what was left, which wasn't very much to begin with but enough to satisfy Shinobu's hunger…well until…
"Do you have any cookies?" Shinobu asked with complete innocence.
Havoc eyed her funny then nodded. "In the top shelf of the cabinet closest to the living room."
Shinobu quickly located the cookies and grabbed the entire box. She sat back down in her seat across from Havoc and started eating the cookies straight out of the box.
Havoc sighed inwardly. That was my last box of chocolate chip…
Shinobu finished the box of cookies and threw the empty box in the trash. As she finished the cookies, Havoc put his plate in the sink and walked into his room. He took off his shirt and pants, pulling back the covers and sitting on his bed.
Shinobu walked in as Havoc pulled a picture out of a drawer in the end table. She saw that Havoc seemed sad about looking at the picture, but, though this was, no tears were falling from Havoc's eyes. Shinobu didn't want to walk in during this, afraid that Havoc would be mad but she didn't know where she was going to sleep.
Shinobu walked in and Havoc quickly put up the picture. Shinobu, acting like she saw nothing, asked, "Where do I sleep tonight?"
Havoc pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed. "Next to me."
Shinobu blushed lightly and walked over to the other side that Havoc wasn't laying on. She lay down next to Havoc, after stealing one of his baggy shirts and changing into it of course, and pulled the covers up to her chin.
Havoc rolled over onto his side to face Shinobu. "I'm sorry if I acted weird today…but you remind me so much of somebody I used to know."
Shinobu smiled and rolled on her side to face Havoc. "It's no big deal. I don't really know you, so I can't say that I can tell that you're down. I'll be here for you though."
Havoc smiled back and shut his eyes. Shinobu followed shortly after. Soon both were asleep, both dreaming. Of what, the other didn't know. But sometime during the night, their hands became linked together and their bodies drawn close, their foreheads touching the other in a silent promise.
Next Time:
Dog Of The Military;
Shinobu wants to work next to Havoc, but this might mean that she'll see more things about her past…and who's Kari?