Chapter Two – Interrogation
Mustang looked into the boy's defeated eyes, remembering the day he found Edward.
"Let's start with something easy. "What's your name?" Mustang asked. The child looked at him a few seconds before answering.
"Dark Niwa." He said quietly, his chin resting on the table. Mustang nodded and jotted it down.
"What's your name?" The child asked, shifting slowly into an upright position.
"Colonel Roy Mustang." Mustang replied, thinking it only fair to answer the boy's question. Dark nodded slowly but stopped when it seemed to leave him dizzy. "How old are you, Dark?" Mustang asked.
"Six and a half," Dark replied, "how old are you?" Mustang jotted down the boy's age before he answered.
"I'm twenty-nine." He answered. Dark nodded slightly.
"Who are the others?" Mustang inquired.
"What do you mean?" Dark asked tilting his head to the side.
"Who are the people you were with?" Mustang asked, tapping his foot slightly. Dark paused to think for a second, his brow furrowed in concentration as he thought about the best way to answer.
"Krad Hikari is the sadistic blond with freakishly long hair and a really short temper, he says I have a God complex but I disagree. Satoshi Hikari is Creepy Boy and is Krad's little brother; Krad is very protective of the icy eyed creep. Daisuke is my little brother, he is sweet and kind and caring. He's also really clumsy and stupid, but Momma said I can't call him stupid so Satoshi said Daisuke's naïve instead." Dark said almost all in one breath.
Mustang nodded and wrote that down, leaving out all the irrelevant parts. "Who were the people in here earlier?" Dark asked.
"The woman was first lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. The man with glasses is a friend of mine and is called Maes Hughes. The teenager is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." Mustang told him. "When did you meet the others?" He asked the kid after a few seconds. Dark frowned as he thought.
"I've known Dai since Momma and Papa brought him home from the hospital after they managed to get him outta Momma's tummy. Krad used to live next door with his Momma and Papa and Creepy Boy." Dark informed him. Mustang scribbled that down in his notepad. "How did Momma and Papa get Daisuke out of Momma's tummy? Why was he in there?" Dark asked his voice full of childish curiosity.
"I'm not the right person to tell you that, kid." Mustang said, "Why did you say 'used to'? Have you moved house?" Dark thought for a few seconds before he replied.
"We don't live there anymore, not since Momma and Papa went to sleep. Krad and Satoshi don't live next door either; their Momma and Papa are sleeping too." Dark stared at the table as he spoke, his eyes glazed over with tears. Mustang marked that down and waited for the child's next question. A few minutes passed in silence, the child staring at the table and Mustang staring at the child.
"It's your question." Mustang said.
"I want my brother." Dark said in a shaky voice, his bangs hiding his face from view.
"If you answer all my questions I'll take you to him." Mustang replied.
"Then ask the next damned question." Dark snapped. Mustang was shocked into silence at the boy's sudden mood shift and cussing. Mustang recovered after a few seconds.
"Are you the thieves?" He asked.
"Me and Krad, not Dai and Sato." Dark said quietly, his gaze still fixated on the table. Mustang nodded and wrote that down.
"Why did you steal?" Mustang asked, already guessing at the children's motive. "So we could keep our little brothers alive. We only took what we needed to survive, never anything more than that." Dark explained. Mustang nodded and jotted it down.
"Why not go to someone for help?" Mustang asked.
"We have no one who would help us." Dark replied. Mustang nodded, adding it to his notes.
"What about the Military? Don't you think they'd help you?" Mustang questioned.
"Don't trust 'em." Dark said in a bored tone. Mustang added it the paper.
"Then why not go to an orphanage?" He asked. Dark seemed to be at a loss for words but after a few minutes silence he answered.
"I'd have to explain to Daisuke that Momma and Papa aren't coming back, aren't waking up. I just couldn't do that." Dark explained, staring at his lap.
"So you risked you and your friends' lives just so you wouldn't have to tell your little brother that your parents are dead?" Mustang asked, knowing he sounded harsh. Dark's eyes widened and his head shot up.
"Shut up! You don't understand anything! Just shut up!" The child shouted as loudly as he could.
"You think I don't understand anything? I understand a lot more then you, kid. I understand what it's like to lose your parents at a young age; I lost both of mine at about your age." Mustang said his voice strained with anger.
"You don't understand what it's like watching someone shoot your parents! What it's like having to explain to your baby brother why your Momma won't be able to sing him a lullaby at night, or why your Papa won't be able to play with him anymore, or that they won't be there at dinner anymore! You don't know what it's like having to look after your baby brother all by yourself at the age of four! You don't understand what I've been through!" Dark shouted, angry tears cascading down his cheeks.
"You've been on the streets for two years?" Mustang asked in shock. Dark nodded and tried to wipe his tears away only to notice the handcuffs.
"Take these off! I want them off! Take them off now!" Dark shouted, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. Mustang nodded and quickly undid the handcuffs, letting them fall to the floor with a clang. Dark sniffled and rubbed his wrists, tears still dripping down his face.
"I want my brother." Dark stated, "I answered your questions so let me see my brother."
Mustang nodded and stood, picking up the handcuffs and his notepad. "We might have some questions for you later but for now we're done." He said before leaving the room. Dark watched him with tear filled amethyst eyes, emotion swirling in the purple crystal like pools.
Ed sat watching the ruby eyed kid whose eyes were darting around them quickly. The child swung his legs that dangled off the floor.
"What's your name?" Ed finally asked after a few minutes silence. The child turned his focus onto him.
"Daisuke, what's your name?" The boy chirped happily.
"I'm Edward." Ed replied as he wrote the boy's name down. The child nodded as he watched Ed write. "How old are you?" Ed asked once he'd finished writing.
"My brother told me not to tell strangers things like that." Daisuke said innocently.
"But he lets you tell people your name?" Ed asked, quirking an eyebrow. Daisuke looked shocked for a second.
"No, I did an oopsy." He said childishly, putting his hands over his mouth. Ed sighed.
"Well seeing as we know each other's names are we really strangers?" He asked. The red haired child thought for a few seconds before moving his hands away from his mouth.
"I guess not." He replied slowly.
"Ok so how old are you?" Ed asked again. Daisuke counted on his fingers before holding six up.
"I'm four." He said. Ed raised an eyebrow at the number of fingers being held up.
"Ok." He said as he wrote down four.
"How old are you, Mr Edward?" Daisuke asked his head cocked to the side. Ed looked up at him from writing.
"I'm twelve." He said.
"Cool! So you're a big boy?" Daisuke said excitedly. Ed was taken aback briefly.
"Yeah, I guess so…" He said, "Who were the other people with you?" Daisuke's brow creased as he thought about it. "The blond haired one that bit my brother is Krad, he's mean sometimes but he's also really protective and kinda cool. The blue haired boy is my friend Satoshi, he's Krad's little brother and is super smart. My big brother is the purple haired one, he can be stupid sometimes but that's only because he doesn't always think things through before he does them. Dark is really kind and always looks after me; he also looks after Satoshi and Krad though he'll never admit he cares about them." Daisuke explained, his voice shifting through different emotions depending on who he was speaking about. Ed nodded and wrote down the relevant information. "Who's the man with my brother?" Daisuke asked once Ed had finished writing. Ed looked up into the boy's ruby eyes.
"He's my superior officer, Colonel Roy Mustang." Ed replied.
"I hope my brother doesn't give him too much trouble." Daisuke muttered. Ed couldn't help but let out a small laugh at Daisuke comment, earning him a small smile from the child.
"Why do you say that?" Ed asked the boy.
"Dark can be difficult sometimes." Daisuke stated his eyes full of sadness.
"Difficult how?" Ed inquired.
"Well he'll be all happy one moment then the next he'll be really sad or really angry. When he's like that it's hard to calm him down, Krad is the only one who can get him to. Krad used to make Dark take these pills that are meant to help him but I don't think Brother has been taking them recently. He also gets really jumping during storms and has lots of nightmares." Daisuke explained, his eyes filling with tears.
"How long ago did this start?" Ed asked, writing down everything Daisuke had told him.
"Just after Momma and Papa went to sleep. At first he was worse. He was always crying and apologising and jumping at the slightest of sounds, then Krad and Satoshi's Momma and Papa went to sleep like ours and Krad started helping Dark get better. He told him that Dark shouldn't sulk like that because he was needed, they had a big fight but afterwards I got to see Dark smile again." Daisuke said, the tears in his eyes slowly rolling down his cheeks. Ed nodded and added that to his notes.
"How old where you when this happened?" Ed asked. Daisuke thought for a few seconds, letting his tears drip onto his lap.
"I think I was two, nearly three, when Momma and Papa went to sleep. Dark had just turned four the week before." Daisuke explained, his tears falling faster. Ed nodded again, writing down what Daisuke told him.
"Your brother looked after you since then?" He asked, his voice straining with his own emotions. Daisuke nodded.
"Yeah. Brother looked after me by himself for the first seven months I think it was, then Krad and Satoshi moved into the building with us and Krad helped look after us. Dark and Krad always did the look after, they never let me do anything, and they even got Satoshi to babysit me when they went out to get things." Daisuke said, irritation seeping into his voice.
"When you saying they went to get things do you mean steal?" Ed asked, glad they had moved away from the emotional topic of the child's parents.
"They only did it because we had no food or water or clothes. They always took as little as they could and gave the most food and water to me and Satoshi. They only ever took clothes people had thrown out then me and Satoshi would clean and fix them." Daisuke explained in a quick breath, his voice a mix of emotions. Ed nodded and jotted it all down in his notepad. "When will I get to see Dark again?" Daisuke asked innocently. Ed looked up and into his tear filled gaze. The tears making his ruby eyes swim like blood.
"Soon." Ed told him with a small smile of reassurance. Daisuke's face lit up happily.
"That's good, because brother gets really upset when we're apart too long. That's why he acted like he did when Mr Mustang grabbed me. I'm sorry my brother tried to bit you." Daisuke said, his voice shifting through emotions again. Ed couldn't keep the smile off his lips.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like his teeth did much damage." Ed said, whacking his slightly exposed right wrist against the metal table so that a cling sounded into the room. Daisuke giggled slightly, his eyes bright with curiosity as he watched Ed. "Wanna see it?" Ed asked, tilting his head slightly. Daisuke nodded his head enthusiastically causing Ed to chuckle. Ed pulled up his sleeve, letting the silver arm glisten in the low lighting. Daisuke shifted into a standing position on his chair and leant over the table to get a better look at the metal appendage.
"It so cool!" The child chirped. Ed laughed and ruffled Daisuke's spiky hair.
"Glad ya think so, kid." He said with a smile. Daisuke returned the smile with a huge toothy grin. Ed ruffled Daisuke's hair again before standing up. "Well I think we're done here." He said with a smile, "I'll go see if you're allowed to see your brother now." Ed tucked his chair under the table and walked over to the door. He stopped with his hand on the handle when Daisuke spoke up from behind him.
"Brother doesn't think I understand that Momma and Papa aren't going to wake up, he doesn't think I understand that when he says they're sleeping he really means they're dead. I let him think that so he doesn't have to worry about me, if he spent all his time worrying about how I feel he won't be able to look after himself. I think your brother does that too, I think he worries about you like I worry about my brother. He doesn't want you blaming yourself for everything that's happened or to spend all your time worrying about him. You have to put what happened in the past behind you so you can focus on what's ahead of you, if you try to walk forward while looking back you'll just walk into things. I think you need to stop and look back every now and then so you have more strength to look ahead and walk on. That's what I want my brother to do too." Daisuke said his voice swimming with different emotion. After he was done he gave Ed a bright smile, his ruby eyes shifting from glazed over to sparkling.
"How did you know I have a brother?" Ed asked, turning around to face the child fully. Daisuke tilted his head to the side in confusion. After a few minutes of silence Ed shook his head and left the room, closing the door behind him with a soft snap.
Hawkeye sat calmly facing the golden haired boy who was still handcuffed. Said boy gazed deeply into her hazel eyes with his molten gold ones. After a few seconds of silence Hawkeye spoke, refusing to break eye contact.
"Who are you?" She asked. The child smirked, also refusing to break eye contract.
"Krad Hikari." He replied calmly, "And you are?" Hawkeye jotted down his name on her notepad.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye." She replied swiftly, "How old are you?" Krad stayed smirking, his eyes never once leaving hers.
"I'm seven and you are?" He answered. Hawkeye wrote down his answer and ignored his question. "The other boys?" She asked. Krad rolled his eyes at being ignored.
"The blue haired kid is my brother, Satoshi; he's so annoying and geeky. The purple haired idiot it Mousy; he has a God complex and is a total pretty boy. The little red haired one is Daisuke Niwa, Mousy's little brother, he's a total wimp and is far too trusting." Krad explained. Hawkeye nodded and wrote his answer down.
"Why do you steal?" Hawkeye asked. Krad smirked.
"Nice and direct, I like that." He said smugly.
"Just answer the question." Hawkeye replied calmly. Krad rolled his eyes.
"We steal because we need to in order to survive. And before you start asking why we didn't go to any adults I'll tell you why. Dark, that's Mousy by the way, doesn't trust adults; not after he saw his mother and father get shoot and heard the killers discussing what to do with him and his baby brother. I don't blame him really; after me and my brother saw my parents killed I stopped trusting adults too, especially the uniform wearing kind." Krad practically sneered, his golden eyes focused on Hawkeye's blue military attire. Hawkeye wrote down his answer, ignoring his glare.
"When did you start stealing?" She asked him. Krad thought for a moment.
"Mousy started stealing two years ago; I think it was about a month after his parents got killed. He sold the family house and moved into the warehouse you found us in. He used the money for the house to keep his little brother in school, he himself dropped out. A few months later, I don't remember exactly how many, my parents were killed. Me and Satoshi joined up with Mousy and Daisuke. I sold the family house and we paid for our brothers to stay in school, I also dropped out. Soon the money ran out so our brothers had to drop out too. Mousy stole a few textbooks and made the boys' study, saying they still had a chance to get a good future. We stole food, water and clothes. Barely enough to live off of, but we survived. Dark started to get worse; he'd always been very sensitive about things and had nightmares nearly every night, but it started to get worse. He'd go into rages over the littlest things or he'd randomly start crying, he even went through phases of just sitting there and staring into space. His condition hindered our thieving and worried Daisuke which in turn worried Satoshi so I went out and stole him some medication to help him. Before I nicked it I made sure he wasn't allergic to it and that it would actually help and that children are allowed to take it. Every time he ran out I would steal some more. I used to watch him take the pill every morning just to make sure he did, he hated the pills as he always needed an afternoon nap after taking them, I've noticed he's stopped his naps so I don't think he's taking them anymore." Krad said, his eyes swimming with different emotions even though his voice stayed level.
"Why didn't you take him to the doctors instead of stealing him medication that could have done more harm than help?" Hawkeye asked after writing down what he had said.
"Because Dark hates the doctors. Plus I did enough research into the medication to know that it would help him. Also if I had taken him to the doctors he would have been taken to a physiologist and I know they don't know shit all about what he's going through." Krad replied.
Hawkeye wrote down his response before asking her next question, "What makes you think that?" Krad looked taken aback for a second, as if the reason behind his thoughts hadn't occurred to him before, but soon recovered.
"If I went and told the doctors Dark was suffering from trauma after seeing his parents killed they would send him to a physiologist. I know they won't be able to help him with it because me and Satoshi spoke to one after watching out parents get murdered. Speaking to that woman only made things worse." Krad said. Hawkeye wrote that down quickly.
"How did it make it worse?" She asked.
"Talking to her just pissed me off. Like the way she spoke to us as if we didn't understand what was going on, we may have been little but we understood it enough to know that our parents were murdered. I think Satoshi was affected by the murder more; he became quite, more withdrawn. He stopped talking to people and hardly even spoke to me but seeing that woman made him even more secluded. He would lock himself in his room and refuse to come out for food, he ran away a few times too. The more we visited the woman the more disconnected Satoshi became and the more pissed off I became." Krad explained. Hawkeye nodded and wrote what he had told her down.
"Do you think talking to her made you angry because you didn't think she was helping your brother as much as she could have?" Hawkeye asked. Krad's eyes widened slightly at the thought that had never occurred to him before.
"She just pissed me off." Krad said finally after a couple of minute's silence.
"Do you think that's why you didn't want to send Dark to see a doctor? In case he had to see that woman and became worse?" Hawkeye asked. Krad thought about it for a few seconds before answering.
"I guess so. I mean I've known Dark since forever and he's always been so full of life, seeing him hurting like that made me so angry. I just couldn't bear the thought that he might become quite like Satoshi is. Dark's only Dark when he's being a pain in the ass." Krad responded. Hawkeye nodded and wrote down his answer.
"Did you ever think that maybe your brother just became quiet because he was growing up?" Hawkeye asked. Krad frowned slightly; he had thought that at first but had quickly dismissed the idea.
"No child changes like that at the age of three." Krad reasoned. Hawkeye gave a nod and wrote that down.
"Well I think we're just about done here. We might have to question you some more later on though." She said as she stood up. Tucking her chair under the table she picked up her notepad.
"Dark doesn't do well when he's away from Daisuke for too long, not after nearly losing him once before." Krad said, his eyes holding a slightly glazed over look. Hawkeye nodded, jotted it down and walked over to the door.
"I'll go see what I can sort out." She said before leaving, letting the door close softly behind her. Krad blinked a few times before his eyes came back into focus. He rested his elbows on the table and leant against his hands. A couple of seconds later he jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over.
"Hey, you forgot the take the handcuffs off!" He shouted at the closed door.
Hughes sat smiling at the blue haired kid who in return looked emotionlessly at him with his back completely straight.
"Mind telling me your name, kid?" Hughes asked. The kid nodded once before answering.
"Satoshi Hikari." He said simply. Hughes wrote it down.
"Well, Satoshi, I'm Maes Hughes and I'm going to be asking you a few questions. Is that ok?" Hughes said. Satoshi nodded again.
"Yes." He said.
"How old are you?" Hughes asked.
"Five." Satoshi answered. Hughes nodded his head, writing it down.
"Who are your friends?" Hughes asked.
"Daisuke is my only friend; he is the red haired boy. The other two people are our brothers. Dark is Daisuke brother and is the one with purple hair whilst the blond one is my brother and is called Krad." Satoshi replied. Hughes jotted it down with a nod.
"Are any of you thieves?" He asked the kid. Satoshi nodded.
"Dark and Krad steal to keep us alive. Daisuke wants to one day make it up to the people the others steal from, though I don't know how he intends to do that." He said. Hughes wrote his answer down quickly.
"When did they start stealing?" Hughes asked.
"Dark started a month and a half after his parents were killed, which was two years ago now, Krad joined him five months later after our parents were killed." Satoshi said, "Dark was exactly four years, a month and a week old when he started stealing. Krad was exactly five years, six months and a week old when he started stealing." Hughes wrote all that down before looking at the kid over his glasses.
"How do you know their exact ages when they start stealing?" He asked.
"I have a photographic memory." Satoshi replied, "So I remember a lot of small details like the exact dates when they started, based on that I can quickly work out how old they were." Hughes' jaw dropped but he quickly closed it and wrote down Satoshi's answer.
"Why didn't you go to an adult for help? Why steal?" Hughes asked after a couple of second's silence.
"Dark and Krad don't trust adults; Krad especially distrusts those in uniform." Satoshi replied. Hughes nodded and wrote the boy's answer down.
"Why is that?" Hughes asked. Satoshi tilted his head slightly as he thought.
"Because the people who killed Dark's parents wore uniforms." Satoshi replied. Hughes jotted that fact down.
"Why does Dark's parents' killer's wearing uniforms affect Krad to the point that he doesn't trust those who wear uniforms?" Hughes asked.
"We lived next door to the Niwa's for our whole lives, we've grown up together. Dark saw his parents get murdered and even listened to the killers discuss what they would do with Dark and Daisuke when they found them, Dark still gets upset by things that remind him of what happened and when he gets into one of his episodes Krad is the only one that can get him to calm down. Dark has always been a mischief-maker and puts on the tough guy act for Daisuke; it's rare to see him openly show that he's hurting unless it is in one of is episodes. That is why I think it upsets Krad so much to the point that he doesn't trust uniformed people; they remind him of the people who killed his friend's parents and have caused all this pain, for both Niwa boys." Satoshi explained. Hughes nodded and wrote down Satoshi's answer.
"You said something about Dark having episodes. Can you please expand on that for me?" Hughes asked. Satoshi nodded and thought of his words briefly.
"I've read enough books to know that Dark shows symptoms off post-traumatic stress disorder. These episodes, as I called them, being when he has a flashback or when he becomes extremely agitated. He often has nightmares where he relives what happened and certain things can cause flashbacks of the event. During thunderstorms he often becomes scared, he never used to be before the event happened and I have a theory that the thunder reminds him of the gun going off. Dark is often irritable and goes through phases of misplaced anger. I've also noticed that around larger groups of people he becomes somewhat hyper vigilant, though mostly over where Daisuke is and who is near Daisuke." Satoshi said a very matter of fact tone. Hughes nodded and wrote down everything Satoshi had told him. Satoshi waited for him to finish writing before he spoke up again. "I have another theory, on something that could have helped tribute to Dark's condition." He said. Hughes looked the child in the eye before nodding.
"Go ahead, what is it?" he said.
"A year and three months ago there was an incident on a school trip. Neither Dark or Krad where on the school trip as they had both dropped out back when they started stealing, but both me and Daisuke went on the trip. I was in Daisuke group on the trip, if I remember correctly it was a trip to the zoo. A man pretending to be a zoo attendant come to speak with Daisuke and led him away from the group, Daisuke told me later that the man had promised him free ice cream if he went with him. After I noticed Daisuke was missing I left the group to go look for him. I sensed that something was going to happen so headed towards the source of the feeling; I found a small storage building that wasn't being used anymore. When I went inside I was shocked at what I saw. The man who had led Daisuke away was stood with his back to the door; he had a gun pointed at the back of Daisuke's head, who was sat happily licking the ice cream he was promised. I tackled the man before he could fire the gun but we struggled, the gun had already been cocked and went off. I remember Daisuke screaming in pain as the man ran off. I turned to see Daisuke on the floor crying, his hands clutched to his hip. I ran to get help and came back with the zoo security. Daisuke was taken to the hospital and had to have an operation to get the bullet out of his hip. Dark and Krad were brought to the hospital by our teacher. Normally Dark panics in hospitals but he was more worried about Daisuke's safety than anything else. Daisuke flat lined three times while having the bullet removed, it had been close to hitting an artery. Dark's condition got worse after that, after he almost lost Daisuke like that, and as a result he gets extremely distressed when away from Daisuke for extended periods of time. I still don't know which one of us pulled the trigger in that fight, I don't think I'll ever truly know, but I know that I want to catch that man one day. I'll catch him and make him pay for targeting Daisuke." Satoshi said, his voice staying level and calm though his eyes raged with mixing emotions. Hughes nodded and wrote down every word of what Satoshi had said.
"One day maybe we'll be able to help you catch the man." He said with a smile. Satoshi looked shocked before nodding, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"I'd be grateful of that." He said.
"Well I think we're all done here, though I have to warn you that we might have some more questions later on." Hughes said, standing up and tucking his chair under the table. Satoshi nodded in understanding. Hughes smiled as he walked over to the door and opened it. He was just about to walk out of it when Satoshi spoke up.
"Something's going to happen soon, I can feel it…" The boy said his voice dead of all emotion. Hughes looked over his shoulder to see that Satoshi's icy sapphire eyes were focused vacantly on the air above the table. After a few minutes silence Satoshi blinked to focus and shook his head. Hughes frowned in confusion before leaving the room and closing the door behind him with a small snap.
Satoshi turned his gaze on the door just as it closed and let out a small sigh.
A/N: Firstly I wanted to say that the interrogations happened at roughly the same time as each other.
Secondly I know that the questions probably aren't what normally gets asked when someone's interrogated about stealing but I thought the interrogation would be the perfect way to reveal a bit of the boys' back story and to show just a little of how much they depend on each other. Do they even interrogate little kids? *shrugs* Oh well, in my AU they do.
Also I'm sorry if any of my facts about post-traumatic stress aren't right during any of this story but I'm basing it off of a website I found so please don't be mad.
Oh and another thing don't worry if the characters are slightly OCC they'll be back to their normal weird selves soon, I promise.