"Just hang in there~" the soft feminine voice repeated in his head, over and over. He could almost feel her hand on his shoulder, her voice reassuring him, her face smiling down at him. He couldn't imagine having anything better on his mind until there was nothing left...

.

.

.

Havoc's eyes flicked open and he shot up, gasping for air as if he'd been drowning. Frantically he looked around, and quickly found himself confused - he was laying in a bed in the military infirmary, surrounded by a nurse and his superior, both surprised at his sudden awakening. His hands went to his stomach and he felt and prodded around, but somehow his skin was perfectly intact. There were no bandages, no dressings for gunshot wounds, no blood, no...

"Havoc! Relax, you're safe now."

Havoc looked up to see his superior and close friend, Roy Mustang, at his bedside. "But... but how?" How in the hell am I still kickin'? Again he looked back down to his stomach, his hand rubbing over the infirmary gown where he knew wounds should have been. "I was shot right here... three bullets, right through... but there's no..."

"What are you talking about?" While one of his eyes was obscured with an eye-patch, Mustang's visible eye softened as he looked down to his friend. "You were hit in the head with a chair, we found you out cold on the ground when we got to the scene."

"A... chair...?" His eyes widened in growing confusion, but he still couldn't accept this story. "No, I was never...? I mean, no, I remember getting shot. Trust me I'd love to forget that, but... wait! Private Cromwell, did he-"

Mustang let out a quiet sigh and gently shook his head. "We found him with a bullet in his head. He was the only casualty, unless you count the attackers, of course."

"... Huh? What do you mean?"

"They were all dead when we arrived. And not just dead, Havoc, they were ripped apart. I'd like to say by some kind of wild animal, but I'm not familiar with anything that big, and certainly not something that big that could wander through a crowded city and not be seen by a single witness."

MY LITTLE MONSTER
Chapter 2: My Hero

"Wild animal...?" Havoc's brow furrowed as he tried to remember what had happened in the attack, although it seemed his memories weren't exactly adding up to what had really happened. Could he even trust his memories at this point? "I don't think there were any animals in the pub when we..." His voice suddenly trailed off as images flickered in his mind like some deranged slideshow of horror. That creature that loomed over him, with its massive jaws that took off a man's head with a single, nasty crunch, its gleaming purple eyes and snarling muzzle.

"None of the others reported seeing an animal either-"

"-no wait, there was a... well I don't know what it was, but it looked like a wolf, like a huge fuckin' wolf."

"A... wolf?"

"Yeah, but it was standing upright like a person, and it was all black and had these crazy as hell eyes and it went to town on those guys."

"A black wolf that stood like a person?" Mustang's gaze drifted off to the side for a moment as he processed this information. Havoc was the only one who apparently saw this giant creature, but then again he also thought he'd been shot several times. "I... think you were hit in a head a little too hard."

"Mustang, I'm serious! And I was never even-" Reaching up to feel his temple, he suddenly hit a tender injury that caused a wave of sharp pain to rush through his entire head. "Ahh- shit, what the hell is that?!"

"I told you, we found you knocked out cold with that on your head and a broken chair next to you."

Havoc could definitely verify that there was a knot on his head that felt like he'd had a chair broken over him, but it still didn't make any sense. "But... wait, my uniform! Wasn't it soaked in blood?"

"Actually... yes, which is why we searched you for wounds, but never found anything. Must have been someone else's."

"Someone else's...?" The blonde growled in frustration as he flopped back against his pillow. Had he really imagined so much? He tried running through everything he could remember, to see if anything else had- wait! "Mustang, the girl!" Again he sat up, regretting the sudden movement as his head pounded with pain. "There was a girl there with me, wasn't there?"

"Uh, there were several girls in the pub."

"No no, she uh, she had long black hair and pretty eyes and-" He stopped, experiencing the unpleasant image of blood spurting from her head as a bullet sped through. "She was shot, right in front of me, she was trying to help me..."

With a sigh, Mustang lay a hand on Havoc's shoulder. "How about you just get some rest, alright? I need you out of here and back on your feet as soon as possible." Grabbing his jacket from a chair in the corner of the room, he gave his friend a nod and left.

The nurse, who had remained silent during their whole interaction, moved to his side after Mustang was out of earshot. "I... didn't want to say anything but... that girl you described? It sounds like one of the girls that was at the scene when medics arrived..."

"Wait, really?" He blinked for a moment. "No way, but he said there weren't any other casualties."

"Oh no, she was perfectly alive and unhurt," the nurse said, "but she was concerned about you in particular. In fact, she insisted on coming with us, and last time I checked she was out in the lobby area waiting to hear an update on your condition."

"She... she's here? Right now? Is it... possible to talk to her?" He wasn't really sure what to believe. His memory seemed clear, but if it was accurate, he and that girl would have both been dead. Maybe he had fabricated details after he was knocked out, but he still couldn't even remember getting hit with a chair. Something was off about this whole thing, and Havoc found himself hoping that the girl would at least be the same beautiful vixen from his broken memories. With his luck, though, that wouldn't be the case; either she was super ugly and old with a snaggletooth and liver spots, or she was beautiful and happily married to some schmuck with gorgeous children and a giant house. But, then again, he was alive, and lucky to be so. That's all that really mattered... that and if this girl actually exists and is single. He couldn't lie to himself - that mattered to him, too, even if just a little bit.

"Of course, sir. I'll go see if she's still here, and if she is I'll bring her in."

"Alright, thanks."

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine~" Saya spoke into the public phone in the corner of the infirmary's waiting room. "Did you get everything I bought? I asked for a military official to deliver them to you while I came here with the medics."

"Yes, they brought everything over, but I'm more worried about you! They said it was a pretty bloody crime scene, I just..."

"I know, but mom we're both fine. I promise. We'll be home first thing tomorrow, alright? I think we're just gonna crash here until morning."

"Okay, just please be safe. I love you both."

"We love you, too~" With an exasperated sigh, she hung up the phone and glanced down to Aiden, who lay at her feet patiently. "I can't imagine being a mother and worrying so much all the time." Aiden looked up to her and yawned, stretching his narrow jaws before turning to the doors that lead to the patients' rooms. A couple seconds later, they opened up and a nurse walked out, looking around before spotting him and Saya. Her eyes brightened, telling him that they were the ones she was looking for.

Looks like we're about to get some news.
Do you think he remembers anything?
Only one way to find out, I suppose.

The nurse quickly scampered over to them, moving in close to Saya and speaking just above a whisper. "The Second Lieutenant is finally awake," she said, nervously looking down to the fox for a brief moment before returning her attention to the other female, "and he'd like to talk to you. Seems that his memory is rather fuzzy, I think he wants to hear what you have to say, so he'll have a better idea of what happened."

"Oh, of course!" Saya nodded and agreed to follow the nurse, and the little black fox automatically followed after them.

As they traveled down the hallway, passing other nurses and visitors and doctors, Saya seemed to catch the eye of a particular soldier - his charming pretty-boy face was barely affected by the wide eye-patch he wore over his left eye. As they passed him and another soldier, they briefly made eye contact and his solid gaze never left her, even when she quickly looked the other way. There was an unsettling look in his eye, one of both dread and anger, and it made her uncomfortable.

The nurse opened the door and held it for the girl and her fox, and Havoc gazed at them with a mixture of disbelief and awe. Holy shit, that's really her! And she's... she's just as beautiful as I remembered! He tried to remind himself not to get his hopes up, because that probably meant she was dating or married to an equally attractive, rich guy. They always were.

"Uh, hello there~" Saya said softly with a smile, standing at his bedside. It was that voice that had echoed in Havoc's head until he blacked out, and he was more than happy to hear it again. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, suddenly at a loss for words, "but uh... I don't, or more like I can't..."

"Remember?"

"Yeah."

"The nurse said your memory seemed pretty fuzzy."

Havoc blinked for a moment, pulling himself together. "I... thought maybe you could help me line the pieces up."

Saya gave the nurse a look, and she nodded with understanding and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Which pieces aren't lining up?" She asked, turning back to the wounded male.

"It'll sound crazy."

"I'm sure I've heard worse."

"Well, for starters, I watched you die."

Saya's eyes ever so slightly widened.

Of course he remembers that part.
Doesn't look like we have much of a choice.

Havoc continued. "You were right beside me, and I watched the life fade from your eyes."

"Heh," she chuckled uneasily, "maybe you just-"

"-and another thing, I remember getting shot, myself. In the stomach. And that was right before you showed up, you and that... that thing."

"... thing?"

"This is probably the craziest part," he said with a slow exhale, "but there was some big... monster that came in and started mauling the assailants."

As if on cue, Aiden leapt up onto the foot of the bed, calmly sitting at Havoc's feet, his fluffy tail curling around him. His eyes gazed straight into Havoc's.

He remembers everything, then.
There's no way we can explain it all away.
No, not this time, it seems.

"Well, sir, I can tell you one thing. You aren't crazy."

Havoc could hardly hear her, he was too focused on the small fox. Those eyes, they were just like...

"You were shot," Saya admitted, and with a sigh she gently sat against the edge of his bed, her gaze falling to the ground. "Three times, to be exact. Two bullets into your stomach, the third grazed your lungs, probably why you had a great difficulty breathing."

"That's right, I couldn't bre- but..." His eyes widened and he sat forward, feeling his stomach again, his hands searching for signs of injury. "But where are they?!"

"And you're also right about me."

"I don't have any gunshot wounds on me at all, how can- wait, what do you mean I'm right about you?!"

"I was shot in the head shortly after finding you."

His muscles tensed up. How could she say these things so calmly?! But... if she'd truly been shot the way he remembered, how could she be right here in front of him? It was impossible... unless... Oh fuck, he spat in his mind, realizing what he was staring at. "Then... you're one of them. You're a homunculus, aren't you?!"

Saya glanced up, her eyes meeting his, and she blinked for a moment, her expression suddenly dumbfounded. "What's... a homunculus?"

[[ Havoc: (._.)~ what? ]]

The two stared at each other, confused. Havoc finally broke the silence as he quickly squeaked out, "Wait, so you aren't gonna kill me?"

"Wha- why in the world would I kill you?!"

"Because you just told me you were a homunculus?!"

"I don't know what that is!"

His lips pouted as he watched her, trying to make sense of this situation which only seemed to get more and more confusing. He knew Mustang had dealt with the homunculi before, as well as the FullMetal Alchemist, Edward Elric and his brother, but... he'd never personally encountered one. He did think he remembered something about Mustang mentioning their purple eyes, but he wasn't absolutely certain. But what else could she be?

"Look, I... I'm not sure what I am, but I heal from wounds that would kill a normal person. It was only a few seconds after getting shot that I regained consciousness. You were already out, still alive but not by much."

Havoc's eyes darted back to the fox. "So, that's the monster?!"

She quickly glanced to Aiden and back. "Uh, yeah but don't worry, he's completely tame!"

"You have a funny way of defining tame," he said, before raising his hand to point at his injured head. "So then what about this?"

"... oh, uh."

.

.

The mutilated corpses in the dim lighting of the pub caused the scene to look particularly morbid. Several tables had been smashed in the beast's rampage as he ripped and clawed apart the terrorist attackers. The civilians in the corner, unharmed, had been lulled into a gentle slumber. The danger was finally over, and the giant creature sulked with a dull growl over to Saya, still on her knees at the blonde soldier's side. The holes in his stomach had been successfully healed and he lay there peacefully unconscious. "Wait, Aiden," she suddenly said with concern, looking over her shoulder and up to the beast above her, "won't it look strange for him to be completely unharmed in the middle of all this?! I didn't think about that! What should we do?!"

The beast exhaled with a deep grumble as he looked around in thought, his long muscular arms then reaching out to grab an overturned chair. Lifting it above his head, he suddenly slammed it down on top of the unconscious soldier's head. Saya yelped, clasping her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened. "Aiden!"

.

.

Saya narrowed her eyes at the fox, who blinked back at her before turning away, his ears laying flat as he let out a quiet snort. "It may have reflected badly on you," she said, trying to dress up the truth a bit, "if you'd been found unscathed in such a situation. It would have also excused your memories if you came to, yelling about monsters and undead girls."

Havoc frowned as he tried to take everything in, folding his arms and letting out a long sigh. "Well, I... I guess there's only one more question."

"Hmm?"

"Are you... seeing anyone?"

Aiden's head perked up as he turned to the other male, his ears flicking up. Saya froze, her mouth slightly agape, red heat flushing across her porcelain white skin. "Wh-what...?!"

Havoc's head lowered a bit, his own cheeks beginning to heat up. "Sorry, I just hoped- er, thought that maybe if you weren't, we co-"

With every word he spoke, her face turned a deeper red, until she jumped up to her feet, interrupting him. "Y-you're asking if I'm single?!" Her hand shot up to cover the lower half of her face in vain attempt to hide her furious blush. "What the hell is wrong with you, I'm trying to tell you I'm not human and you're worried about that?!" She flung her free arm towards him, pointing accusingly to the bandage on his head. "Aiden I told you, you hit him way too hard!"

Her strong reaction pulled a smile out of him. God, she's cute, he thought, reaching out to take her outstretched hand within both of his. "Human or not, you saved my life. Please, allow me to repay you, let me take you out on a date." He then flashed her the most dazzling, charming smile he could muster.

Again she froze, her brow twitching slightly as she stared at him with disbelief, still blown away by the fact that he would make such a request. "You... must have brain damage," she finally managed to mutter, the hand at her face lowering, her voice now hardly louder than a whisper, "but... okay."

His eyes brightened and his smile widened into a grin. "Really?! I mean- could I get your number?"

Before she could respond, Aiden was at her feet, a pen and a pad of paper in his mouth. Neither of them had even noticed him jumping off the bed. "Oh, uh, thanks," she said, taking the items from the fox and jotting down the number for her parents' farmhouse and handing it to him, "and my... my name's Saya."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," he said with a playful wink, now just making her blush more to amuse himself, and after enjoying her reaction, he looked down to the fox, "and he's... Aiden, was it?"

Aiden perked up again, looking up at him with bright eyes, tilting his head to the side. To Havoc, it almost looked like the little animal was smiling.

"Jean Havoc, and it's a pleasure to meet you both~"

It was nearly sunrise when they left Havoc's room. Aiden had an extra pep in his gait, but Saya's normal bubbly personality had been burned out from the unexpected proposal she received, and was rather absent minded as they walked down the long hallway, her expression blank, though a hint of red remained at her cheeks. Perhaps it was because they were both off their guard, but a dark-haired male suddenly appeared before her and pulled her forcefully around a corner, where she recognized him as the soldier she'd seen earlier - his eye-patch was pretty hard to miss.

"And who the hell are you?" He asked with a growl, watching Saya closely, as if he was ready to rip her throat out at any given moment.

"Uh..." Her brain tried kickstarting itself back into usual functioning, her wide eyes blinking as she wondered why he could possibly be so angry. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met...?"

"Don't play dumb with me," he said with a smirk, "I know what you are. Those eyes, when I saw them earlier, I knew. One of my men is dead, and the other claims to have watched a girl die in front of him, one matching your description. I thought maybe he'd imagined it, but then I saw your eyes and I knew he was telling the truth."

Should we attack?
No, we don't want to cause a scene.
Besides, it's not like he can kill us.
But how does he know about us?

"Sir," she spoke, still unsure of how this situation would unfold, "I'm sorry for any trouble we might have caused. We didn't mean to make such a mess but we couldn't have stopped them otherwise."

The male's visible eye widened slightly, and he backed off just a bit. "So, you were the one who killed the attackers."

"Me? Oh, no, that was all him~" She said with an uneasy laugh, gesturing towards the fox, who glared up at the male with a threatening snarl. "I'm just the one who fixed up Jean and kept him and the others alive... When it comes to force, I'm not much use-"

"You saved him?" Again his expression turned aggressively suspicious. "But why? Why would a homunculus save a human? Is this some part of a scheme to-"

"Geez, does everyone else know that word?" Saya interrupted with a sigh. "Look, we were just on our way home when we sensed something bad was about to happen. We followed our instincts and found these guys shooting up a corner pub, and couldn't just stand by and watch people die."

He continued to watch her closely. "If your intentions were good, then prove it. Go back to wherever you came from and stay there. If I see you around here again, I will kill you."

The tone of his voice scared her - if he knew what she was, and knew that she could survive a bullet to the head, then how did he expect to kill her? But then again, it was starting to seem like these people knew more about what she was than she ever did. Was there really a way to kill her permanently...? Quietly she nodded to him, and he let her go, and she waited until she was further down the hall until letting out a breath she'd been holding for far too long.

He sounded serious - you think he could really kill us?
I dunno, but we probably should have mentioned the date.
Are you kidding? He doesn't need to know about that.
So what happens when he sees us again?
Maybe he won't see us. . .?
Oh, he'll see us again if we start dating one of his men.

As they left the infirmary and headed home, Saya found herself wondering just what a homunculus was, and why everyone had turned so defensive.

She wasn't anything bad, was she...?