Chapter Eighteen - Kaori's Party
As he watched Central Station come into view Nick was surprised by the fact that, for once, he actually felt relieved to be back. He normally hated returning to Central because being there put him back under the military's thumb however after one harrowing battle after another it actually felt good to be back where he was relatively safe.
When the train came to a stop Nick jumped up and grabbed his suitcase from the overhead luggage rack and quickly exited the train.
"Mr. Elric," a voice called out as Nick stepped onto the platform.
Nick glanced around and saw a man dressed in military blue, standing a few feet away from him. The man hurried over to the spot where Nick stood and saluted.
"Can I help you?" Nick asked the soldier.
"Col. Havoc sent me to fetch you sir," the soldier replied. "He wishes to see you ASAP."
"Oh," Nick said, wondering whether the colonel had another mission for him already. "Okay."
"Come with me and I'll take you to Central HQ."
Nick nodded and fell into step behind the soldier. But as they walked away from the train Nick thought to himself, "He sends someone different to get me every time. I could end up kidnapped like this."
That thought caused the boy to chuckle softly. If such an unlikely scenario took place it wouldn't be the first time he'd been kidnapped and it might actually prove to be an amusing diversion. "Come to think of it, that might not be so bad. It would definitely liven things up and after the people I've faced mere kidnappers would be a piece of cake."
The soldier led Nick to a car and opened the back door for him. Nick climbed into the backseat and the soldier closed the door. He then walked around to the front driver's side and got in.
When they arrived at Central HQ the soldier quickly got out of the car and once again opened the door for Nick. Nick got out of the car, still lugging his suitcase, and gazed at the soldier.
"You're dismissed. I don't need an escort to the colonel's office. Thanks for the ride."
The soldier saluted and walked off.
Nick left his suitcase in the front lobby and then headed off in the direction of the colonel's office. As he walked down the hall toward his superior's office Nick saw a woman dressed in a gray suit walking toward him. The woman was tall, with blonde hair, and as they drew closer to one another Nick recognized her as Fuhrer Mustang's wife.
"Hello Nicholas," Hawkeye said, smiling at the boy as she came to a stop in front of him. "I didn't know you were back in Central."
"Just got back."
"I see," Hawkeye said. "So how did the mission go?"
"Fairly well," Nick replied. "I managed to come back completely intact this time."
"That's always a plus," Hawkeye said. "I realize that it's a little short notice but since you're back you should come to Kaori's birthday party tonight."
"Today's Kaori's birthday?"
Hawkeye nodded. "And I know it would make her happy if you came to her party."
"I don't know if I can ma'am," Nick said in an uncertain voice. "Col. Havoc sent for me as soon as I arrived back in Central so he may have another mission planned for me."
"Well if he tells you that he has a mission for you then simply tell him that you have plans this evening and that any missions he may have planned can wait until tomorrow. And if he has a problem with that then tell him that he can take it up with me."
"Ma'am?"
Hawkeye smiled, a knowing look on her face. "And I promise you that Roy will behave himself."
Nick stared at the ground. He was running out of excuses.
"The party begins at six."
Nick nodded.
"I'll see you then." And with that she walked away, leaving Nick no opportunity to further protest.
Nick watched as she walked away, thinking to himself, "Damn she's good."
Once Hawkeye was gone Nick continued his journey down the hall toward Col. Havoc's office. When he reached the office, Nick knocked lightly on the door.
"Enter."
Nick opened the door and entered his superior's office, closing the door quietly behind himself.
"Welcome back Chief," Col. Havoc said cheerfully as Nick walked across the office.
Nick nodded and took a seat in front of Col. Havoc's desk.
"Do you have anything to report?" Col. Havoc asked after the boy sat down.
Plenty of things had happened to him during the time that he'd spent in the southern city of Kishua however since none of it pertained to the actual mission that Col. Havoc had sent him on Nick chose not to confide any of the details to his superior. He shook his head in answer to the colonel's question.
"Didn't expect that you would," Col. Havoc said. "Well seeing as you've been gone for so long I suppose you've earned a break. You may take the rest of the day off. However I want you to be here early tomorrow morning."
"Thanks colonel," Nick said. "Well that solves one of my problems," Nick thought to himself ruefully.
Nick stood up and walked toward the door but stopped when he was about halfway across the room. His mind made up the boy turned back toward his superior. "Colonel, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it Chief?"
"What kind of gifts do girls like?"
An evil grin spread across Col. Havoc's face. "Trying to impress a girl, Fullmetal?"
"NO!" Nick snapped. "It's nothing like that. She's just my friend and I just wanna get her something nice for her birthday. That's all."
"I see. Well I'm not sure if I'M really the best person to be asking about this kind of thing but you can't go wrong with jewelry."
"Jewelry huh?" A thoughtful expression appeared on Nick's face. That he could work with. "Thanks colonel."
"No problem kid," Col. Havoc said with a knowing smile. "Happy to be of service."
Nick nodded to his superior and then left the office. He quickly made his way down the hall and left the building, his mind occupied by thoughts of what kind of jewelry Kaori might like.
The boy left HQ and made his way to Central's shopping district. Having never had need of one, the boy had a little difficulty located a jeweler and even more problems finding one willing and able to make what he wanted on such short notice.
However he was finally able to find one who said that he could have Nick's order ready by the deadline that Nick provided.
"Thank you so much sir," Nick said, his voice filled with gratitude.
The jeweler nodded.
It was six fifteen and Kaori found herself surrounded by a large group of snobs. They were all children of high ranking military officers and she knew that her parents had been obliged to invite them or risk insulting people but all the same they were getting on her last nerve.
She and her two actual friends, Rika and Erin, were sitting on a sofa in the middle of the large sitting room and they were flanked on all sides by a bunch of self absorbed airheads.
"Cheer up Kaori," Erin whispered. "It's your birthday and you're supposed to be enjoying yourself."
"Like that's gonna happen," Kaori said bitterly. "I'm surrounded by stupid, phony people who only want to talk about themselves. They're too self absorbed to even notice that they're being talked about right now and I'm forced to spend time with them. Sorry but that's not my idea of fun."
At that moment the group heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. Rika scanned the room full of guests and then looked over at Kaori. "Are you expecting more guests?"
"Not that I'm aware of. I thought that everyone who was invited was already here."
"Apparently not," Rika said. "I wonder who it could be."
Their curiosity was soon satisfied. Moments later Hawkeye entered the room, followed a few steps back by Nick.
"Who is that?" a dark-haired girl whispered to one of her friends.
"I don't know," the other girl said in response. "But he's cute."
The dark-haired girl laughed at her friend. "Don't get any ideas Sienna. I think you're too old for him. Look how small he is."
Sensing an upcoming conflict and seeking to prevent it, Kaori leaned over and interrupted their conversation. "His name is Nick Elric and he's roughly two and a half months older than I am. And you'd better not let him hear you calling him small. He has a nasty temper where that particular subject is concerned."
"Look Kaori," Hawkeye said cheerfully as she and Nick came to a stop in front of the sofa where Kaori and her friends sat. "A late arrival."
Kaori smiled. "Hey Nick. Glad you could make it."
Kaori nudged her two friends, who immediately moved over and made room for Nick on the sofa. Nick sat down beside Kaori and gazed around the room. The group stared back at him with identical looks of disdain.
Nick leaned over closer to Kaori. "What's their problem? Is this a birthday party or a funeral?"
Kaori laughed out loud and then gave Nick the first real smile that she'd worn all day. "They all come from prestigious military families and have had a 'proper' upbringing. Which, in short, means that they think they're better than everyone else."
"I see," Nick said. "Well aren't they special."
Kaori nodded. "Yea, special in the way that nobody wants to be."
Nick laughed. "Succinctly put."
Erin and Rika leaned over so that they could join the conversation.
"You, we like," Rika said with a smile. "My name's Rika."
"I'm Erin and I second that."
"Nick. And I appreciate the votes of approval from two of the few people in this room not wearing vacant expressions."
Kaori smiled as she listened to Nick talk with her friends. She was glad that Nick had taken up with her friends so fast and she was equally glad that they seemed to approve of him, since they were really selective about who they talked to.
As the party progressed it soon became apparent to Nick that none of the guest, save for himself, Rika and Erin, were paying any attention to the guest of honor. They all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and completely ignoring Kaori.
"You aren't enjoying yourself are you Kaori?" Nick said softly.
"It's okay," Kaori said.
"No it's not," Nick said, a far-away look in his eyes. "Everyone deserves to be happy on their birthday. Come on, let's ditch these losers."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Kaori wanted to know.
"Simple," Nick said with an evil grin. "Hawkeye told me that after dinner everyone would be moving to the rec room for a little entertainment. That will give us the perfect opportunity to slip off."
Kaori's eyes brightened. "Sounds like a plan."
"Have fun you guys," Erin said.
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked. "You're both coming too."
The two girls smiled. Neither of them had expected an invitation but they were both extremely happy to be included.
After dinner Mustang led the guests down a long corridor toward the rec room. Kaori and her friends followed as well, so that their plans would not be too obvious.
"Now's our chance," Nick said as he and the girls slipped to the back of the pack.
The three girls nodded.
The four kids walked really slowly down the corridor until the rest of the group disappeared around a corner.
"Come on," Nick said as the group disappeared. "It's now or never."
The four kids turned around and began to walk quickly in the direction they'd just come from. As they went Nick kept a sharp lookout for any of the military officers who'd accompanied their children to the party.
The group made it to the foyer without being seen and Nick thought they were home free. That's when they ran into Hawkeye, who smiled at them, a knowing look in her eyes.
"The birthday girl has to open gifts in two hours," Hawkeye said before abruptly turning around and walking away.
"That was weird," Kaori said. "Maybe we should rejoin the others."
Nick shook his head. "We'll be fine as long as we're not gone longer than two hours."
"Come on Kaori," Rika said. "Don't back out now. We've gotten this far."
"Yea and we got caught by my mom."
"But she didn't stop us," Erin pointed out."
"Guys," Kaori said. "Don't make me revert to being the responsible one of the group."
Nick took Kaori's hand. "That won't be necessary. I'll take full responsibility if anything bad happens."
"Fine," Kaori said, giving in.
Nick smiled and opened the front door. He led Kaori out by the hand and the other two girls followed a few steps back. Erin was the last to exit the house and she quietly closed the door behind them.
"We made it," Rika said. "Now what?"
"Moonlit stroll through Central?" Nick said with a shrug, scratching the back of his head. "Hell, I don't know. I just thought that Kaori would be happier away from her guests."
Kaori smiled. "You were right. I don't care what we do, I'm just glad to be away from there."
Suddenly Nick eyes lit up. "I know, let's play a game!"
"What kind of game?" Rika wanted to know.
"Hide and seek."
"In the dark?" Erin's voice was filled with uncertainty.
Nick nodded. "Yea. My sisters and I used to do it all the time. It's more fun in the dark."
"But what about our time limit?" Kaori asked.
"Not a problem." Nick pulled out his pocket watch and held it up. "I'll keep track of the time and when we're almost out of time I'll use alchemy to make a flare."
Kaori nodded. "The Garden District is the boundary and when we see Nick's flare we'll all meet up at the fountain. Sound good to you guys?"
Rika and Erin both nodded.
"Okay, then it's settled," Nick said. "I'll be it. Take off while I count."
The three girls laughed as Nick turned his back and began to count.
"Better go," Rika said.
Kaori and Erin nodded and the three girls dashed off into the darkness.
Nick quickly counted to fifty and then turned around and called out into the darkness, "Ready or not here I come."
Nick walked around the Garden District, listening for minute sounds, and he soon rounded up the three girls who weren't used to playing this game in the darkness. However they soon became adept at the game and by the end they were managing to elude Nick for longer stretches of time.
For some reason even though Nick had insinuated that the group would take turns being 'it' by saying that he would be it first, the boy continued to be the seeker throughout the entire course of the game.
Time flew as the four kids played and all too soon their time ran out. Nick pulled his watch from his pocket and glanced down at it. They had thirteen minutes to get back to Kaori's house.
"That was quick," Nick thought to himself as he clasped his hands together and transmuted a flare. He watched the red sparks for a few seconds before quickly making his way to the fountain that was situated in the middle of the Garden District.
Nick was the first to arrive and he patiently awaited the arrival of the three girls. The girls soon joined him at the fountain and the four quickly made their way back to Kaori's house.
When they arrived at the mansion they quickly and quietly entered and made their way down the hall to the rec room. They managed to make it down the hall without being seen and they slipped into the rec room and hid in the back of the crowd.
No one seemed to notice.
"That was close," Kaori said, glancing around the room. "But no one seems to have noticed that we even left. That's slightly depressing."
"Don't sweat it Kaori," Rika said. "I bet we had way more fun than these guys."
"Hmm," Kaori said.
A few minutes later the door opened and Hawkeye entered the room. "Alright, everyone back into the sitting room."
The group filed out of the rec room and trooped back down the hall to the sitting room. They all took the seats they'd occupied earlier.
"Okay," Hawkeye said. "Now we'll let Kaori open her gifts and then we'll have cake."
A stack of gifts had been placed on the coffee table in the middle of the room.
As Kaori opened the gifts she was once again reminded that these people knew absolutely nothing about her or her interests. While the gifts were nice, not to mention expensive, none of them were anything that she would have picked out for herself.
That is until she got to the last two, which were from Rika and Erin. Both of her best friends had bought her books, each about advanced alchemy.
"Thank you," Kaori said, smiling at her two friends. She'd thanked the others as well but hadn't meant it nearly as much as she did now.
"Alchemy books," Nick said softly, staring at the gifts that Kaori's friends had given her. "I didn't even think of that."
"What was that Nick?" Kaori asked.
"Nothing." Nick pulled a small wrapped package from his pocket and handed it to Kaori. "Here's a little something from me."
Kaori took the box from him and smiled. "You didn't have to get me anything Nick."
"I know I didn't have to," Nick said. "But I wanted to."
Kaori carefully unwrapped the box and took the lid off. Inside, lying on a lining of blue velvet, was a necklace. Kaori gasped as she picked up the necklace and gazed at it. It was made of gold and had a charm of two dolphins circling an aquamarine stone. And upon closer inspection she saw a tiny transmutation circle inside the stone. And it wasn't just any array, it was the very one that she used for her transmutations.
Taking her gasp for displeasure Nick said quickly, "If you don't like it I can get you something else."
"Don't be silly. Of course I like it." Kaori said. "I love it. But how did you know about the array?"
"I saw you draw it once," Nick replied, with a shrug. "Now you won't have to."
Kaori threw her arms around Nick. "Thank you."
Nick blushed slightly. "You're welcome. Incidentally, that's why I was late. I had to find a jeweler who could make this on such short notice and it took him a little longer than he thought it would."
"That's okay," Kaori said, placing the necklace around her neck. "Having you here tonight was well worth the wait."
"Then you should thank your mother," Nick said. "She's the one who invited me. I ran into her at HQ today."
Kaori nodded, making a mental note to give her mother a big hug after everyone left.
When Kaori was finished opening her gifts the children were all served cake. This was the conclusion of the festivities and after everyone finished their cake the guests began to depart, a few at a time.
Rika, Erin and Nick were the last to depart and as they sat talking to Kaori Mustang walked up to them.
"So tell me," Mustang said, instantly capturing the quartet's attention. "Did the four of you enjoy your little outing?"
"You knew?" Kaori said, staring at her father in disbelief. She found it hard to believe that her dad had known what they'd done the whole time and had waited until now to say something about it.
"Of course," Mustang said. "You didn't think you could slip past me did you? I'm your father and father's know everything."
"Sir," Nick said quickly. "Don't blame them. It was all my idea."
Nick had promised to take the blame if anything bad happened and he had every intention of keeping that promise, no matter the consequences.
Mustang held up his hand. "Calm down Fullmetal. While I appreciate your honesty and your chivalry, it's a wasted effort. I'm not upset."
Nick was confused. "You're not?"
Mustang shook his head. "No. Kaori deserved to have a little fun. It is her birthday, after all. But you'd better be glade that she came back unharmed." And with that Mustang walked away, without another word.
"Well I should probably go," Nick said, inwardly thinking that, all things considered, he was lucky to be able to leave. "I'm sure Col. Havoc will have some mindless chore waiting for me bright and early tomorrow." Nick stood up. "Bye Kaori." He nodded to the other two girls as he walked past. "Rika. . .Erin."
The three girls waved as Nick walked away. "Bye."
"Kaori," Erin said when Nick was gone. "Why did your dad call Nick 'Fullmetal'?"
"Fullmetal is his military title," Kaori replied. "Nick's a State Alchemist."
"That little guy is a State Alchemist?" Rika said in surprise.
"Yes," Kaori said. "And a word of advice. If you ever run into him again don't call him small. He doesn't like that, and that's putting it mildly."
"So noted," Rika said.
"So how long have the two of you been friends?" Erin wanted to know.
Kaori thought about that question for a few minutes before answering. "Well I've known him for about a year but I'm not sure exactly when we became friends."
"You don't know when you became friends?" Rika asked.
Kaori shook her head. "It's complicated. He saved my life but we weren't exactly on friendly terms after that incident. I'm not sure what brought us together."
"Well he seems nice enough," Erin said.
Kaori smiled. "He was on his best behavior tonight. And luckily for the people who said it, he didn't overhear anyone calling him small. That would have been BAD."
Hawkeye entered the room while the three girls were discussing Nick. "It's getting late girls. Why don't you two call your parents and ask if you can stay here tonight?"
"Are you sure that's okay Miss Riza?" Erin asked.
Hawkeye nodded. "You can use the phone in the study."
"Okay." The two girls jumped to their feet and ran from the room.
Hawkeye sat down on the sofa beside her daughter. "I'm sorry your party wasn't what you hoped it would be Kaori."
"Are you kidding Mom? I had a great time." Kaori leaned over and gave her mother a hug. "Thanks for inviting Nick."
"You're welcome," Hawkeye said. "So what did he bring you? I couldn't see what it was from where I was standing."
Kaori unfastened the necklace and pulled it off. Then she carefully handed it to her mother. Hawkeye took the necklace from her daughter and gazed down at it. "The transmutation circle. . .how did he know?"
"He saw me draw it once," Kaori told her mother. "Once! The boy must have a photographic memory or something."
"He's a very gifted alchemist," Hawkeye said thoughtfully. "I think he just picks up minute details that relate to alchemy without really thinking about it."
"Hmm," Kaori said.
Hawkeye handed the necklace back to her daughter, who placed it back around her neck.
By this time Rika and Erin had returned. "Our folks said it would be okay if we stayed."
Hawkeye smiled. "Now don't you girls stay up all night."
"We won't," the three girls said.
"Just most of it," Rika added with a mischievous grin.
Hawkeye left the room without comment, shaking her head as she went, the sound of the girls' laughter following her into the hallway.
Kaori shook her head, gazing at her best friend as they watched Hawkeye leave. "Your honesty is gonna get us all in trouble one of these days."
Nick arrived at HQ early the next morning only to find that Col. Havoc wasn't there. And that completely and utterly pissed the off. His eyes narrowed and a tic mark appeared on his forehead.
"I can't believe that guy," Nick grumbled under his breath upon finding the colonel's office empty. "If he's going to order me to be here ass early in the morning then he should at least have the decency to be here waiting."
Nick stalked back down the hall, to the entrance of HQ, and then went outside. Nick leaned against the wall, still muttering random complaints to himself, and watched as various military personnel arrived.
Nick had every intention of waiting right there for Col. Havoc and as he waited he plotted vile things that he could do to his superior for revenge.
Nick's plotting was soon interrupted however by someone calling out his name.
"Nicholas."
Nick looked up and saw Hawkeye walking toward him.
"You're here early," Hawkeye commented as she came to stand beside the boy.
Nick nodded. "Yea. Col. Havoc told me to be here early today."
Hawkeye nodded, picking up on the subtle note of bitterness in Nick's tone. "I can guess the rest. You're here and your superior isn't. Am I correct in my assumption?"
Nick nodded.
"Some things will never change."
"Ma'am."
"What is it Nicholas?"
"I didn't get the chance last night," Nick said. "But I want to thank you."
Hawkeye was confused. "Thank me for what?"
"I know you're the reason why Mustang wasn't angry that Kaori, Rika, Erin and I left the party last night. You said something to him before he confronted us about it, I know you did."
Hawkeye's eyes widened. The boy was very perceptive.
"You had it all planned out, didn't you?"
"I wasn't one hundred percent sure about what would happen," Hawkeye said. "But I had a fairly good idea that you'd coerce the three girls into leaving. At least I hoped you would."
"I don't get it," Nick said. "Why did you WANT me to talk your daughter into leaving her own birthday party?"
Hawkeye sighed. "The children at Kaori's party, with the exception of Rika and Erin, were all children of high ranking military officers. Roy had to invite those children or risk committing political suicide but Kaori's never liked them and I knew that she wouldn't enjoy their presence. But she loves her father and I also knew that she would endure their company without protest, for him. I didn't know what to do, until I ran into you that is. When I ran into you at Central HQ I got an idea. I knew that if I invited you to the party and you saw that Kaori was unhappy you'd do something to cheer her up. And you didn't disappoint me."
"That was quite premeditated," Nick said, a grin spreading across his face. "And impressively so."
"I learned it from Roy."
"I see," Nick said. "You know I don't think it's a good idea to be picking things up from HIM. It could get you into trouble ma'am."
Hawkeye smiled. "It's okay. I improved upon Roy's technique. And besides, I'm married to the Fuhrer. How much trouble can I possibly get into?"
"I guess you have a point," Nick said.
Hawkeye noticed that Nick was still watching the military personnel that were coming and going through the front door. "You know what Nicholas, why don't you go home?"
"I can't do that. The colonel told me to be here."
"And I told you to go home," Hawkeye said. "I'm going to be here for awhile so I'll tell Havoc what happened. And dare him to say anything about it."
Nick grinned. "You're great."
And with that Nick walked away, laughing softly to himself as he went.
About an hour later Col. Havoc arrived at HQ. He walked down the hall to his office, opened the door and walked inside. The chair behind his desk had been facing the wall but as he opened the door and stepped into his office, the chair began to turn. Havoc's eyes opened wide in surprise when he saw who was sitting in the chair.
"Riza?"
Hawkeye smiled from her spot behind Havoc's desk. She leaned back in his chair. "I take it by your facial expression that I'm not the person you were expecting to see."
"What happened to the kid?"
"I told him to go home," Hawkeye said.
Havoc opened his mouth to say something but closed it when Hawkeye held up her finger.
"Not one word," Hawkeye said. "If you'd really wanted to talk to the kid then you would have been here when he arrived this morning. Since you weren't, whatever you had to say can't have been that important. "
Knowing that she was right, and also knowing that he couldn't argue with her even if she were wrong, Havoc shrugged and sat down in the chair positioned in front of his desk. "This is weird."
"And why's that?" Hawkeye asked. "You know, if I hadn't married Roy this is how it would be."
"I know," Havoc said, still remembering Hawkeye's days in the military and the fact that she'd been one rank above him. Then he changed the subject. "So how did Kaori's party go? Did Nick liven things up?"
Hawkeye smiled. "You could say that?"
"And Mustang was okay with that?"
"Of course," Hawkeye said.
Havoc's eyes widened. "O-hhh, I see."
Havoc, like Nick, knew exactly why Mustang had been okay with what had happened at the party. And unlike Nick he wasn't at all surprised that that was the way it was.