-Micha's PoV-
Everyone was minding their own business, the four men was so steeped in whatever they were doing. They probably wanted to leave early so that if the colonel needed to cram anything due that day, they wouldn't have to do his paper work for him. I sit behind the typewriter, with a few papers next to me. I was typing the documents that they needed. I would hardly call it a burden.
"I'm done with this one, Sergeant Fuery." I take it from the typewriter and place it with the other pages and staple them. "I'll take this to the Fuhrer's office." I say standing up.
"Oh no!" He exclaimed. "I'll take it. You already did so much." He stands as he reaches for the papers in my hands.
"It's ok. I need to stretch my legs anyway." I flash him a grin. "I'll be back soon." I open the door then shut it behind me. I make my way through the long halls. After getting lost for five minutes, I finally find the office.
I see a young lady with long brown hair sitting behind a desk set beside the Fuhrer's office door. I approach her.
"Umm… Excuse me, miss, but are you the Fuhrer's secretary?" I ask sheepishly. If this wasn't her, I'm done for.
She looks up and smiles at me. "Yes, I am. Do you need anything?"
"Can you please give these to him?" I hand her the papers. "It's from Colonel Mustang's office."
"Wow. He actually submitted something early." She laughs. "It usually takes Lieutenant Hawkeye a few bullets before he gets to work."
"That's right." A deep voice agrees followed by a jolly laughter.
The secretary stands and greets him. "King Bradley!" she bows.
I freeze.
"Well, who do we have here?" He asks.
I turn around and bow to him. "King Bradley, It's an honor to meet you."
"Oh, why, isn't it Isaac's daughter." He smiles at me.
"It's an honor to be remembered by you, sir." I straighten up.
"I see you're delivering Mustang's papers. Lieutenant Hawkeye's been housing you, correct?"
"Yes, sir." I reply meekly.
"Maybe you'll come and work for me someday, hmm? I've always liked seeing youthful people work for the government." He laughs. When the Fuhrer king laughs, everyone has to laugh. No matter what the situation.
I force a laugh, so does the secretary.
He walks passed me, making his way to his office. "Or maybe babysitting my son, Selim." He laughs before he closes the door.
The secretary shakes her head and sits back down. "Honestly, sometimes I think that King Bradley's turning the military into a child's playground." She talks to herself.
(((-----)))
I walk back to the office. As I shut the door, they look up and go back to work.
"What took you so long, Micha?" 1st lieutenant Havoc asks me.
"Nothing really, I got lost for a while, talked to the secretary and other people, met King Bradley and back here." I shrug.
"You met the Fuhrer?" 2nd lieutenant Breda asks in disbelief.
"Yeah, he was telling me to get a job here." I laugh nervously. "I wonder—" I turn my gaze to the clock. "Oh, I have to go." I say as I get up and push the chair back in its place. I take my bag and slip it on my shoulder and leave the room.
-Leila's PoV-
After the bell rang, I gather my things and make my way out of the classroom. I wave my friends good bye and exit the halls. It was hot out in the courtyard. I see my car and my driver. He was holding the door open in the back seat for me. I make myself comfortable and wait for him to get into the car.
"Where to, Miss Schneider?" He asks as he looks at me through the back mirror.
"Head Quarters, I need to pick up Micha, then off to the bazaar, the next two blocks to the right." I say passively. I cross my arms and look out the window. It took us about ten minutes to get there. I see Micha sitting under a tree, with Hayate sleeping on her lap. She pets the dog as she reads a book.
The driver opens the door for me and I step out and walk towards her.
I pause in front of her and look down. "Couldn't you wait inside, Micha? It's so hot out here." I open my red fan as I slowly fan myself.
She looks up. "It's better out here." She grins.
I shake my head in amusement. "You ready to go?" I ask her.
She slowly wakes Hayate and gently pushes him off her lap. She stands up and brushes her dress. "Let's go." She grins.
We both walk toward the car and hop in. the door closes behind us.
"Really, Leila, do we have to take your car to the bazaar? I mean, it's only two blocks away isn't it?" She fixes her clip using the reflection from the darkly tinted window.
I sigh. "We can walk all we want when we're there." I open my fan and stare at it for a moment.
The driver hops in and closes his door and starts to drive away.
I'll never get tired of my fan. It's red, with a gold colored transmutation circle in the front. It had my name written on it in kanji. It also had a small, but elegant, pure gold tassel hanging from the bottom. It was a gift from my mother when I was old enough to do alchemy.
Micha gently takes the fan from my hand and starts to fan us. "Honestly, Leila, you fan to slow. So slow, that, you don't feel any air." She laughs.
"Yes you do!" I argue. I take the fan from her and start to fan myself, as slow as I usually do. "See, I can feel it." I tell her.
She takes the fan from me and fans herself as slowly as I did. "No… Not at all." She looks at me weirdly. "I think you have a super sensitive nervous system, Leila." She returns the fan.
"I guess so." We both laugh for the remainder of the car ride.
Once we reached to a stop, the driver got out and opened the door for us. "What time should I pick you up, ma'am?" he asks me.
"Umm…" I look at Micha. "What time do you want to get picked up?"
"I don't know. I have to go back to Head Quarters after." I shrug.
"Around twelve." I say to him before he leaves.
(((-----)))
The place probably took up how many blocks. It was huge. There were so many stalls and food were also café's and little restaurants off to the sides in the buildings. There were colorful flags everywhere. It was very festive.
Micha and I look around, window shop, and talk as we make our way around the bazaar. At first, it wasn't that crowded. But as the lunch hour approaches, more and more people appear out of nowhere. I started bumping into people's shoulders. It was starting to get really crowded. I hate crowded places. It's hot, humid and more chances of you catching some airborne disease. I cringe at the thought.
We've been walking around for some time now, and I noticed that we were being followed by a group of men. I look over my shoulder a few times. They always seem to come to the same street, and line we do. I get suspicious.
"Micha, we're being followed. Stay close to me and don't you dare wonder off." I say in a low voice. I hear no response. "Micha?" I look at my side. Oh shit, she's not there. I stop in my tracks. Since I lost her, I should finish these guys off before they go after her instead. I turn around. They were gone as well. For the love of God, why did this have to happen?
I immediately back track and start to look for her. Perfect timing, it was already twelve. All workers were out. I'll be favored by the Gods if I find her now… And I'm an atheist.
-Micha's Pov-
The crowd seems to grow by each passing minute. Because of this, I got separated from Leila. I don't think she heard me when I tried to call out to her. I don't blame her. There are just too many people. I look around for a not so crowded place, and some place shaded while I'm at it. It was getting hotter every waking moment.
I spot an ice cream cart next to a small café. I make my way out of the crowd. As soon as I reached the cart, I scan it for a flavor I want. There was Vanilla, Strawberry, Coffee, but there was one flavor that I really can't resist.
"Chocolate, please." I smile at the vendor. I love ice cream. I love chocolate as well. And when you put them together, it's heaven.
The vendor hands me the cone and I reach into my bag and grab a bill. I give it to him and receive my change. I drop it into my bag and look at the cone with pure excitement and bliss. But before I could get a lick, I hear a soft and quiet crying.
I look over to my far right and see a little boy, around six or seven, maybe.
I approach him. I bend down a bit to see him better.
He rubs his eyes and looks up at me. He had big, innocent, jade eyes. They were beautiful.
"Hi there." I smile sweetly at him. "Why are you crying? A boy, as handsome as you, shouldn't cry."
He rubs his eyes more and wipes the tears away. "I-I can't find my brother." His voice was small and shaky. He's so cute! It makes me want to pinch his cheeks and fawn over him. But then again, this isn't Elysia. I don't know who this child is. I don't want to scare him.
"Oh, well, maybe I can help you find him." I flash him a grin. "Here." I hand him my cone. "Don't worry, I didn't touch it yet." I laugh lightly.
He pauses and studies my face. "My brother says I shouldn't accept food from strangers." He says innocently.
I blink a few times. Of course, this is a child after all. His parents or any one older would tell him these things. "Oh… Well, would it help if I said that-I pull out my father's silver watch-I'm a state alchemist?"
His eyes grow wide with excitement and joy. "Wow! Really?" He's smiling now. Obviously amused by the lie I told him.
"Yup." I bite my tongue but keep my smile wide and friendly. What am I saying? I'm not a state alchemist. I'm not even anywhere near that! And plus, this is my fathers. God knows what this watch really is. Or what's in it, for what it's worth.
"I guess it's fine then." He takes he cone I offered him and starts licking it.
I straighten up and look around. "I wonder where your brother is…" I mumble. "Say, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"My name's Lorenz, Lorenz Fritzer. My brother looks just like me, only older." He continues to lick the ice cream. He obviously enjoys the icy delectable as much as I do.
Fritzer? I know that name. Where have I heard it before? I thought.
"Lorenz!" A voice called. I look at the direction.
A young man runs towards me and Lorenz. He does look just like him; the same messy brown hair, and those beautiful emerald eyes. He looks vaguely familiar. He's young, but definitely older than me. If I'm not mistaken, he's probably sixteen and he's really tall, probably as tall as Auntie Riza or a little bit taller.
He notices me and flashes me a set of pearly white teeth. "I'm sorry; did he give you any trouble?"
"Uh… No, not at all." A lopsided grin plays on my face.
He takes a closer look at me. "Hey, do I know you? You seem really familiar." He laughs.
"I-I don't… think… so?"
He scratches the back of his head. A lopsided grin grows on his face as well. "Oh, sorry, I guess I mistook you for someone else." He straightens up and extends his hand. "Hi, I'm Daniel." He smiles.
For some god forsaken reason, his smile mesmerizes me. I shook it off and took his hand in mine. "I'm Micha." I return the smile.
"Well, we really have to go." He takes hold of Lorenz's free hand. "It was nice meeting you, Micha. I'll see you around." He waves then takes off.
"It was nice meeting you too." I wave back.
"There you are!" Leila exclaims and grabs my arm then pulls me away. "Where the hell have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"
"Sorry, the crowd overwhelmed me." I sweat drop.
"Yeah, sure." Leila says unconvinced. We both start walking. "Who was that guy anyway?"
"Daniel and his little brother Lorenz."
"You know them? Like, from school or something?" She raises a brow.
I shrug. "No, just now. I spotted Lorenz crying. I offered him my ice cream then, Daniel came."
She looks at me from the corner of her eye. She was skeptic. I knew she was thinking about something else. She had a dead serious look on her face. But I didn't mind it. After all, she already knows the real me.
We walk in silence for a while.
"Hey Leila," I break the silence.
"Hmm?" Her ice blue eyes were lighter now. I guess she stopped thinking about it.
"I met the Fuhrer today." I grin.
"Oh really?" She smiles. "How was he like?"
"He was really nice, he knew who I was because of dad… And—"
"-Hey, hey cutie! Don't you look good today." A voice called from behind.
Leila and I stop in our tracks and look back. Her ice blue orbs were as hard as ice. She swiftly turned around and glared at them. There were three of them.
The one who called our attention was wearing a black jacket and dirty jeans. He had trouble written all over his face, ugly too. The one on his right was huge, both vertically and horizontally. He looked like your typical brute. And the other, on his left, was a thin one. He had messy, greasy hair and beady eyes. He had a club in hand.
"What the hell do you want?" Leila growled, reaching for her fan.
They were closing in us. They were trying to back us up in an alley.
The one in the middle shrugged dramatically. "Just some fun." A sly smile grew on his ugly face. The two men behind him laughed wickedly.
"The three of you better back off or I'll kill you." Leila wasn't playing around. She really meant what she said. And I know she's capable of doing so. Her glare was harder, colder, harsher.
"Whoa. We do the threatening around here, missy." The big one said as he cracked his knuckles.
I sigh. "I suggest you do so. She really means it." I tell them sincerely.
"Well, aren't you a nice one." The thin one snickered.
"They didn't take your warning seriously, aren't you upset?" Leila asks me.
My eyes harden, almost as hard as hers. "What do you think?" it came out as a growl.
She snorts. "Not really."
"Hey! Cut the crap already!" The one in the middle says. "Grab them!" He tells the other two.
As they approach us, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "You first." I tell Leila.
"With pleasure." Leila steps in front of me, opens her fan with her right hand and reveals the transmutation circle. Her right arm swept from the left going outward to her right. The transmutation circle glowed and a strong gust of wind sent the three of them flying into the open street. They crashed on a small wooden cart.
We both step out of the alley and into the sunlight. Everyone was staring at us.
"Bitches…" The thin one cussed.
I shot a glare at him. "You should've taken my warning seriously." I tell him harshly. I take a gallon of water from a nearby cart, and place it in front of me. Leila was enjoying this.
"You guys are in trouble now." She sang teasingly.
I place a hand on the water container. The pink orb on my hair glowed and the container exploded. This sent sharp icicles flying toward them. It pinned them on the wall. Then, I take the remaining water and cover them in a sheet of ice.
When I was done, I crossed my arms and said, "See what happens when you don't take a woman seriously?"
I look back at Leila. She was slowly fanning herself again. She looks at me passively. "It's so hot." After all that, she was already bored.
Leila pays for the water I used and we both transmute the cart back to normal, but we leave them frozen and pinned to the wall. After that, I skipped to her side.
"What now?" I ask her.
"I don't know. Want to get some ice cream?"
"Sure!" I grin happily.
As we walk back toward the ice cream cart we were at earlier, Leila seemed upset.
"We should've just killed those bastards off." She says coldly.
"Lei-Leila, wasn't that enough?" I ask her. "I mean, they're probably having a hard time breathing right now, not to mention really cold." I snicker.
"Still," she said every word slowly and emphasized each one. "You should've slowly frozen their blood until their heart gives in from frost bite and—"
"O-ok, Leila. I get it." I laugh nervously. "Don't be so cruel."
She crosses her arms and looks away from me. "Those bastards had it coming. Besides, you warned them, didn't you? And I did too! They had it coming." She says terrifyingly.
I sweat drop. It wasn't long before we reached the ice cream cart.
Leila and I peer over and look at the flavors. There were five flavors: Vanilla, Strawberry, Coffee, Mocha, and Chocolate.
"Vanilla." She points to the far right.
"Chocolate." I point to the far left.
The vendor scooped hers first then mine. I hand the vendor a bill and smile. "Here you go, thank you."
"What? Wait, I'm paying!" Leila shoves a bill up the vendor's face.
"No, I'm paying. You payed for the water I used." I argue. We both argued over it for a while. The vendor seemed shocked and didn't know what to do.
"Relax, you can pay for mine." A deep and smug voice said from behind. He wore the military's blue and gold uniform under a long black coat.
"Here's your change!" The vendor says cheerfully and hands some coins to Leila.
I shifted to face them. My mouth hung open. "No fair!"
"Too slow." She sticks her tongue out playfully.
"But that's not fair!" I whine. "It was your fault." I point accusingly at Roy.
"Too bad, you looked away." He shrugs and grins at me teasingly. He strode over to the cart and placed his order in. "Coffee." He takes the bill from my hand and gives it to the vendor after he receives the cone.
"Hey!" I pout.
He starts to walk away. "It's not for me... It's for Riza."
My face fell from what he said. "Is he serious?" I whispered.
Licking the ice cream Leila bought me, we walk to the spot where her driver had dropped us off. Just in time, the black car pulled in front of us, and her driver steps out and opens the door.
We both slide in and devour our ice creams in silence until we reach the main gates of the head quarters. I get out of the car, thank Leila and wave to her good bye.
I make my way through the empty halls; almost everyone was at the mess hall at this time. It was twelve thirty after all. But to my surprise, I see Warrant officer Falman with a stack of papers. I call out to him.
"Warrant officer Falman!" I jog over to help him with the papers.
He smiles at me. "Ah, Micha, the Lieutenant isn't back yet, she's out with the Colonel." He hands me some of the papers.
"Oh, yeah, I saw the Colonel a while back. Was he really out with Auntie Riza?" I ask him.
"Yeah, I saw them leaving together." We both start walking towards their office.
When we reached the Colonel's office, the place was filled with papers. Fuery, Havoc and Breda were already fixing up a bit so they could catch some lunch.
"You guys can go. I'll clean up here." I say as I start organizing a pile of papers on the table.
"Are you sure?" Havoc asks. "We can stick around and help, you know. I mean, you don't even work here." He blinks.
"You guys go ahead and catch some lunch. I'll wait for Auntie Riza." I tell them, not looking up.
The four of them started tearing up. "You'll never find someone as nice as her." They all say.
"Nah, I'm just OC." I laugh.
-Riza's PoV-
I was standing in the middle of the street, waiting for the Colonel's return. If I knew I was going to end up being here, I would've told Micha and Leila to stay and have lunch here with me. The place was big and festive. Stalls were scattered everywhere. From plants to clothes, wigs to make up, school supplies to accessories. It was totally unorganized. For a moment there, it reminded me of the Colonel's place.
I see all the women walking around, selling and buying. Then it hit me. He just dragged me out here so he can avoid all the paper work, laze off and stare at the women and maybe catch a date tonight. I roll my eyes at the thought and massage the bridge of my nose.
"What's the matter, Riza? Is the heat getting to you? Maybe this will help." He leans the ice cream he was holding and grins. "Try it."
I look at the treat suspiciously then back at him.
"Relax, I didn't poison it or anything, geez." He says irritated.
I lean my head in and take a lick. It was Coffee flavored. Sometimes he scares me by how well he knows me.
"Take it. I'm happy you like it." He leans in closer to my face, just inches away. He too, takes a lick from the cone.
I blush lightly and pull away. Geez! I just gave him an indirect kiss! I take the ice cream from him.
We both start walking around. He took off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt's uniform, revealing his white polo shirt. His coat hung on my arm, on top of mine on my other hand sat the ice cream he gave me. The crowd kept pushing us closer to each other. Our arms and fingers would brush once in a while. I would blush and shake it off every time.
I think Micha's getting to me. But who am I kidding; I always had feelings for him but it can never be returned. I'm just not his type.
"That's what he wants you to think." Leila's words echoed in my head. I shake it off and look around.
As I suspected, girls from eighteen to thirty kept stealing glances at him. But the Colonel wouldn't even look at anyone in the eye. I guess his motives are different. He's so mysterious, it kills me. I know he trusts me, but there are things that he hides. After the death of Maes Hughes, he just became more enigmatic.
"You should really settle down, have a kid and take it easy." A man with glasses said, talking to the man sitting behind his desk.
"Not until I become Fuhrer, Maes." A dark haired man says seriously.
"Look, I know you can make it. But you need to get as much support as you possibly can. Gain the support of those lower and the respect of those higher than you."
The dark haired man looks up at his friend. He looks down on his friend and grins. He comes closer and whispers something in his ear. "That's why you should hurry up and go get a wife!"
His small eyes grow wide and he yells, "Dammit, Maes! Get out!" he snaps.
The said man just laughs and runs out the door, in fear of becoming a pile of ash.
"I remember that day clearly." I say to myself and shake my head. I had an amused yet bitter smile on my face.
"Did you say something, Riza?" He looks back at me.
"Nothing, sir." I shake my head.
We stopped in front of a wall with three men pinned with ice. I sigh. "Micha."
"She did this?" The Colonel scratches his chin. "So she adapted her father's alchemic specialty, huh?"
"Yes, sir." I straighten up.
"Very nicely done." He nods his head in interest and amusement. "I'll be looking forward to her progress."
Progress? What the hell is he thinking now?
"I want a report about this, Hawkeye. Due tomorrow." He says sternly then walks away.