3 years later...

Captain Manice Johnston walked down the halls of the Central Government Headquarters admiring the new decorations on his lapels. He'd only just been promoted and couldn't help but hold his head just a little higher and stand just a little taller. Manice was already a rather tall person; standing at 191 cm, it wasn't often that he didn't tower above most of the people around him.

Which was probably why he didn't see the person who had crossed his path just as he'd turned the corner.

Manice wasn't a bad guy, or normally even a mean one (quite the contrary on most occasions), but today he'd felt particularly proud and somehow, ending up on his butt in the middle of the floor in the hallway didn't exactly figure into his plans. He quickly got to his feet, knowing that the only thing he'd really bruised was his pride, but he felt the sting particularly strong today.

"Why don't you look where you're going," he snapped at the other person, only then noticing that it was a younger boy with short, brown hair. He couldn't be older than 18, and he wasn't wearing a uniform. "Are you even military? What are you doing here?"

The boy stood there looking at Manice with a considering expression. He didn't say anything.

"I asked you a question! Are you a civilian?"

The boy seemed to come to a conclusion and shrugged as if to say 'why not'. "No," he answered simply, and didn't offer anything else. This, of course, only served to make Manice even angrier.

"Name and rank, then. Now!"

The expression on the kid's face went through several changes, the first being a displeased frown, the second a sort of amused realization and the third…well, Manice hadn't ever been looked at like he was a piece of meat before. It unnerved him, even if he wouldn't ever admit it.

"You know, people like you are the reason why it was so easy for so long to control everything from behind the scenes. And I am asking myself, yet again, why I bother putting up with…this again." The boy shuddered as he looked Manice up and down. Apparently he was far from impressed.

By this point, the captain knew his face had gone a bright shade of red and he was ready to make this rookie's life miserable for the next several years. Must come from some rich family where he'd gotten his every wish. He wasn't like most of the rest of the army who came from the lower and middle class—those people who had to work to get where they were. People like Manice.

He opened his mouth to give out a reprimand, but a call stopped him.

"Major! There you are!" A young woman, obviously a new recruit herself, came running up to them, gray eyes focused on the brat. Then she turned around, causing her short, brown hair to fly out around her with the movement, and yelled behind her. "Sir! I found him!"

A woman with dark hair slicked away from her face and Lt. Colonel stripes on her shoulder rushed around the corner looking for the world as if she was about to murder someone. Manice gulped quietly and studied the kid again. He had to be an alchemist. That was the only explanation for his rank. That thoroughly soured the new Captain's day. Perhaps he could back out of this quietly and then hope he could log a complaint about him being out of uniform in an authorized-only area later. Still, part of him wanted to also see the bratty kid get verbally torn apart too. It would serve him right.

"I cannot believe you! Our first day on the job—our first official mission together—and you ditch me before we're even out of the building!"

The boy blinked at her. If her higher rank made him nervous at all, he didn't show it, much to Manice's annoyance.

"As I understood it, we were supposed to approach the mission separately."

"But not before comparing notes! And I am not going to deal with this through your shadows! Those are supposed to be a last resort! You know how tired they make you!"

The boy…well, pouted. Manice found himself more and more annoyed with the brat, higher rank or not.

"They do not tire me as they used to."

The Lt. Colonel wouldn't have any of it. "Oh, no. I have written orders this time, brat."

The boy alchemist's expression flattened. "Of the two of us, you are younger. Don't call me brat." And that made absolutely no sense at all. She was obviously older than him. It must be some code they were working out or something.

"Don't call me brat, please," the girl corrected, pointing to the stripes on her shoulder. "Lieutenant Colonel Mandy Parkins, remember? I still outrank you. Besides, what would you rather me call you? Cutie?"

That lit a spark in the boy's eyes. Right about this point, Captain Johnston decided that code or not, right now might be a good time to cut his losses and leave. He'd just turned around to do just that, but apparently the movement caught the Lt. Colonel's eye.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't see you there, Captain."

Manice froze and tried to hide his wince. Somehow he knew that this…would not end well.

The Major's smug voice confirmed that. "The Captain, here, was inquiring as to my name and rank. We…ran into each other and our…pride was damaged a bit, I think."

Lt. Col. Parkins sighed. "Oh, you didn't just…"

The Captain schooled his expression, turned and bowed. "You have my apologies, sir."

The boy waved his hand nonchalantly. "It was an honest mistake."

Lt. Col. Parkins seemed taken back by the comment as she blinked and whipped her head around to stare at he young companion. The boy apparently noticed because he returned her gaze.

"What?"

"I…just didn't expect that from you," she said after a moment. Then she smiled a soft, genuine smile. "I'm proud of you."

The boy just rolled his eyes. "And now who's using puns?"

The woman shrugged. "I meant it."

Just then, the younger girl—Manice had completely forgotten she was there—whispered to him (and he most definitely did not jump).

"Apparently, they do this all the time, sir. From what I understand, they've known each other for a while now."

"Besides," the Major unknowingly cut in, "of course I would dismiss this incident. You didn't expect me to eat him, did you?"

That comment took Manice's day from a normal spiral downward and into a sort of worrisome Alice-and-wonderland. Eat him? Why would he say something like that? It had to be their code...right?

"Like the rats?" the Lt. Col. Asked.

"I was hungry."

"Or the dog."

"It was a mongrel and I probably got more from the fleas than from it and it was dying anyway. I merely put the poor thing out of its misery. Besides, you know very well I've kept my word and haven't even touched any humans."

Manice remembered the hungry glitter he'd seen in the kid's eyes earlier and hoped he didn't pale visibly.

Clearing his throat, he gave a slight, very fast bow. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going. Good day, sirs!" he cut in quickly. He did not like where this was going and couldn't quite bring himself to believe them, but also couldn't quite bring himself to disbelieve them either. So he did what he felt was the most prudent and withdrew from the situation.

As he hurried down the hall, he heard the brat say, "Aw, look, you scared him off."

Followed by the girl's reply of, "I will report this to the Fuehrer."

And Captain Manice Johnston decided he was better off not knowing.

xXx

END