The Flame Alchemist and the Fine Print

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The sunlight filtered in red and gold through the window, illuminating the room. A bed was shoved in a far corner, the bedding made meticulously. In the other corner was a desk and chair. On the floor were scattered boxes, some still sealed closed with packing tape. Others were open and empty. The rest sat on the floor, holding an assortment of clothing, office supplies, and personal effects.

At the far end of the room from the window slept a small dog next to the apartment door. Well, the dog had been sleeping, until the clatter of keys and the clacking of a door knob turning woke it up. The dog's eyes opened, and the ears perked. The dog looked towards the source of the noises, then stood and greeted his mistress as she entered.

"Hey there, Black Hayate," murmured Riza, scratching the dog's ears with one hand, the other supporting a box tucked under her arm. The box was like all the others in the room, closed loosely with packing tape and bearing the name Hawkeye scrawled across it.

Riza strode across the room, pulling off her boots, barrette, and jacket. She tugged off her socks for good measure.

As she hung her jacket across the back of her desk chair, Riza addressed her pet. "Guess what, Hayate? I finally got the last of Dad's boxes out of storage!"

She settled on her bed and opened the box, Black Hayate leaping up to sit and peer inside.

"Now let's see if I can get this sorted out by a reasonable hour." She began to shuffle through the contents. "Hmmmm, mostly papers," she mused. Then she came across one that looked distinctly different from the others. It was parchment, she realized, and it was a contract. She gazed at it with some surprise, then brought it close to her face to squint at something. Her brow furrowed, and she glared into space over the top of the sheet.

" . . . I'll kill him." She muttered, her words loaded with fury.

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The only noise that could be heard was the loud clacking footsteps of someone running down the corridor. Suddenly Riza stopped, and threw open the door to the colonel's office. The room was empty, save for the Colonel himself, lounging in a chair in front of his desk. His head was turned toward her, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Huh? Is something wrong, Liuten-"

The word was cut off as Riza punched Roy in the side of the head, the piece of parchment crumpled in her fist. Then she seized the front of his uniform, and began to shout in his face.

"Pardon me, SIR, but what kind of a moron doesn't read the fine print?!?"

The man held his sore head in a hand as she continued, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"It's a goddam contract, you idiot!! This affects both our futures!"

A creak from the doorway made her stop. In the near silence, she realized that she was practically sitting in the Colonel's lap; she had been so intent on delivering her message. Then she glanced towards the door.

The entire crew was packed into that small space. Of their faces, Al's was the hardest to read. Havoc's cigarette had fallen from his mouth. Ed gaped. Feury adjusted his glasses as though unable to bring the scene into focus. Breda just stared. Falman looked dazed. Armstrong beamed. And Hughes, who was responsible for the lack of silence, was howling with laughter.

Riza didn't know how to react.

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