The rain fell gently, but I found myself wishing for it to pound down hard, painfully so. Anything to distract from everything that was happening. Roy, standing stoically beside me, Elysia, her cries echoing around the graveyard, the stupidly itchy sling that bound my arm, and the scene before me. The coffin lowered into the ground. The last scene of this place that I had viewed through a screen from a different world. I took a deep breath, bowing my head, just praying that it would be over soon. My eyes closed and the last few days played back against my will.

Lust left me there, bleeding out, to be on her way in order to blow up the lab. That's what she assumed. She was mistaken, but how was she to know that 7 years ago, in an alternate world, I had studied up on the components of Kevlar bulletproof vests for a school project? And that I had made an alchemy project out of synthesizing some? And then made it my personal mission to use this new magic/science art to make it thinner, lighter, and more durable?

However, her 'Ultimate Spears' were indeed ultimate. She used only enough force to burrow halfway through me, in theory, so she did indeed get past my 'armor'. Barely. I had a glorified scratch rather than organ damage, but I played dead and waited for her to leave the room. I either waited too long, dreading her sudden return, or she was faster than I had assumed. I wasn't all the way out when the explosion threw me into the street. I saw blue uniforms heading my way through the haze of pain and smoke. I dragged a breath in, setting off a coughing fit that made my vision swim. Some of the blue uniforms reached me, one of them tried to sit me up, but they didn't even check where I was injured. Strong hands grasped at my right arm. My screams only stopped when I lost consciousness.

When I finally woke I was in the hospital. Once I realized where I was I struggled to sit up. The twinge in my right arm when I tried to use it to push myself up told me something was cracked, but not quite broken. I sucked in air, trying to stop the world from spinning. I screwed my eyes closed, breathing deeply, saying the Gringotts poem under my breath, trying to get my head straight. I switched languages for variety and eventually felt that I wouldn't immediately throw up if I moved. I opened my eyes, only to be met with Hughes's stare. Well, I have some explaining to do. I opened my mouth to explain what had happened but he held his hand up. He closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

"There's no need to explain yourself, Edward and Alphonse already gave me the rundown before they left."

I tried to look sheepish but dropped it once what he said finally made it through my head.

"Left? They've left?! How long was I out?"

He looked at me, worried now,

"Only two days. Edward wasn't nearly as bad off as you were, he said you got there right in time. He and Al have headed off to Resembool early today to get his automail fixed, then they're off to see their teacher."

This morning. He left this morning. That means today was D-day. I had to get out of this hospital, I was behind schedule because I was an idiot who just had to follow the boys into danger when I knew that they would be okay. True Edward was better off than he had been originally, but still...it wouldn't be worth it if it cost Hughes his life.

I nodded, then turned and threw my feet over the side of the bed, gently but expertly unhooking the IV. Hughes reached out to stop me but I kept going.

"What are you doing?!"

I glanced up at him briefly but kept going, swiftly and easily putting the equipment away or disposing of it as needed. I plopped a bandage on the needle mark on my arm, it had kittens on it and I tried not to roll my eyes. This was a military hospital, and they have kitten bandaids stored in the hospital rooms…

"I'm leaving. There's investigating to be done, I'm not going to sit here all uselessly. I'm perfectly fine, anyway. No need to stay in the hospital. Besides, I don't like hospitals. Something about the smell. Disinfectant mixed with despair, I think. And I get to thinking about how universal health care isn't a thing and I get sad..."

I swayed slightly, and he gently pushed me back onto the bed.

"Relax, the investigation won't up and disappear while you're recovering."

I took a deep breath to argue, but I could feel it in the air. I was going to lose.

Hughes left the hospital without me, and I waited approximately a half hour before I signed myself out. Hughes hadn't 'ordered' me not to leave. So it was technically alright. I may have bribed the woman at the front desk with juicy gossip I picked up a few weeks ago so that she wouldn't tattle to Hughes on me.

I acted like I was going home to rest, rather than straight back to work, just in case she told him that I left anyway. I ignored the meds they prescribed, not wanting the fog on my thoughts, not today. I wore the sling until I was home, then took it off, despite the pain and decreased movement. There was no way that I could get ready in time using only one arm. One and a technical half, maybe.

I closed my black-out curtains, bought for this very reason. I was going to be throwing around some serious alchemy, I didn't need anyone to see the light show and wonder what was going on. I gathered my materials, checked my notes (more to make myself feel better than out of any real need to), and began. By the time night fell, I was finished. I wrapped my project up in a dark-colored tarp, packed my other stuff, and gave my usual coat a longing look. I turned instead to a dark-shaded one, of a similar but not identical style. My normal clothing being my uniform I had changed into dark pants, and a dark shirt. Not true black, more dark grey. Black wouldn't fit into all shadows, but would rather stand out. Theoretically. I was kind of getting a crash course in all this ninja shit.

Under the cover of darkness, in that small margin of time between when the sun went down and the street lights were turned on I made my escape with my tools. I had found the place that matched Hughes's murder scene perfectly a while ago and marked it out in my mind. I was just stashing my stuff, going to see if he was approaching yet when I heard the shot. I felt the blood draining from my face and my lungs froze for a split second and then I was running. Slipping as quietly and quickly as I could through the shadows to the phone booth. I saw Envy fleeing, wearing Ross's face, Hughes laying on the floor of the phone booth.

I was brought back to the present by a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into Roy's face, still remembering his voice coming through the abandoned phone.

"Come on Sergeant. We have some paperwork to do."

He led me away from the grave, and I finally noticed that everyone had left, probably a long time ago. I finally dragged my eyes from the headstone and back to him, looking odd with his hair slicked back like that and actually in regs for once.

"...paperwork?"

He nodded, opening the back passenger side door of the car for me.

"Yes, the paperwork. I have to get you transferred to my team somehow. Hughes would never forgive me if I left his favorite subordinate to just float around in a mess of bureaucracy."

"...your team?" I asked, bewildered.

I could almost hear the eye roll as Hawkeye shifted the car into drive.

"Yes, Arcaro. My team. Unless you don't want to investigate what's going on with our military? I would understand, you aren't exactly a citizen, you don't owe any loyalty to our people so-"

"No."

"Oh?"

"I don't owe the people any loyalty, honestly the only people here I know are military, I'm not familiar with many regular citizens. But Hughes has my loyalty. Him, his wife, his daughter. I won't fight for your nationalism, don't delude yourself. But I will fight for the Hughes family."

I saw his head tilt, and I just knew he was smirking.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

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~TimeLordOfPie