Chapter 164 - Roy Mustang, Lt. Hawkeye

"So, you have decided on leaving?" the tiny old woman asked, looking at Tatsuya and Miyuki carrying the bags on their shoulder.

It was too early in the morning; barely a few rays of the sun had shined upon them.

With the fog covering the rural town of Resembool, Miyuki and Tatsuya stood below the stairs of their house.

"Yes, we want to see the whole Amestris," Tatsuya answered her question.

"So, where do you plan to go first?"

"East City, then we would move towards the south and then west, finally back to the east before going to central."

Pinako sighed, "you really plan to travel all over the Amestris...(sigh) Take care of yourself, don't go near borders. There are skirmishes all over the place. Also, write back to us regularly, let us know you are safe."

"We will!" Miyuki had a happy expression on her face. It was rare to think someone would care so much.

Pinako looked up at the sky, "what should I tell the kid?"

Tatsuya waved his hand, "tell them we will be back..."

After they left, Pinako turned to enter her house, whispering, "how is that supposed to stop them from crying..." Just thinking about telling this to Winry made her sigh.

While Tatsuya kept their bags, Miyuki sat down near the window seat, "So, Onii-sama...what is the real plan?"

"Hmm?" Tatsuya glanced at her, confused, "real plan?"

Miyuki nodded, "the real plan? Where are we going? What do we plan to do with the country and all that?"

"Huh...there is no plan."

"Eh? ...No plan?" Miyuki widened her eyes, "then where are we going?"

Tatsuya sat down in front of here with a gentle smile on his face, "of course, I want to take you everywhere. Enjoy what this world has to offer, meet its people, watch every scenery, eat all kinds of foods, and I want to do all that with you." He hesitated before asking, "Should I have asked? Do you, maybe want to stay here longer?"

Miyuki's face turned rose as she tucked her hair away, smiling warmly, "No, this was a pleasant surprise. I would want nothing more than accompany you."

Tatsuya was relieved hearing, he looked outside the moving train, "it's beautiful...it could even be said that it's artistic."

Miyuki put her chin on her palm, "it truly is. By our time, there weren't many places left like these ones."

"True, most of the places I saw were artificial. Although Ancestral Demonic Saint Land was beautiful, there is something different about this simple beauty." There were many places in Divine Continent, Draconic Ruins Realm, even the Myriad Painting that could be called beautiful. Those places didn't make him feel like this.

"Maybe because of the nostalgia? This place is a lot like earth." She chuckled, thinking about it, "there is even an old religion of christ here."

"If I still had my sight, then I could look outside and see if this is the earth or not." Tatsuya looked towards the sky, thinking about it.

"Is that why you are studying Astrology now?" If they knew astrology, then they would have recognized the stars.

"Yes, we should be prepared for the next time."

Miyuki started agonizing that Tatsuya studied so much. If she wanted, she could do it too, but the truth was she didn't like to read and learn as much as like Tatsuya.

As if he knew her worry, Tatsuya glanced at her with smiling eyes, "Don't worry about it, I do it because I love to do it."

"I know, but it always feels like I am not working hard enough."

"Don't worry about it, just work on your Alchemy."

Sighing, Miyuki looked away, "Onii-sama really knows how to ruin the mood." She had zero progress when it came to her Alchemy.

Tatsuya gazed at her with a smile, "I believe in you...you will find your very own Alchemy." He gazed towards his left hand, 'I have to complete my own."

In the Evening, East City,

"Is that fish?"

"Yeah, what did Onii-sama get?"

"Only thing I found was pork pie..."

"There are some skewers there, want to try that?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

On the streets of East City, Miyuki and Tatsuya were wandering around trying all the street foods in their sight.

They were practically hoarding everything they could see. It was a simple plan, eat today, shops tomorrow, rest the third day and move on to the next city.

Tatsuya took a bite from the chicken skewer, "strangely, the ones in the Resembool were better."

"Well, central's military is based in this city. It lacks the finesse when it comes to certain things." A strange yet familiar voice interrupted their conversation.

Tatsuya glanced to look at the man standing behind them as Miyuki wiped her mouth with a tissue, "Not only did you eavesdrop, but also interrupt our conversation? there is a limit to rudeness."

The clean shaved young man with black eyes and unkempt black hairs; looked at the two of them with a cocky smile, "I just came to say hello, when I saw some old friends."

Miyuki bowed and politely greeted, "Colonel Mustang, First Lieutenant Hawkeye, it's nice to see you again."

Tatsuya eye's turned to the woman standing a step behind Mustang.

A pale-skinned woman in her mid-twenties with mid-back length blonde hair; Her hair was fastened up in the back by a dark-colored clip barrette style. It resembled a bird tail with bangs falling in a hawk's wing pattern from right to left, occasionally partially obscuring her left eye.

Tatsuya greeted her by nodding while his eyes turned to Mustang, who had been trying to flatter Miyuki. He sighed, hoping this won't become troublesome, "is there anything you needed, Colonel?"

"Oh, come on! Don't be such a buzz kill! As I said, I just came to see old friends."

Tatsuya didn't believe that for a second, "If you say so, anyway want some food?" He asked, offering food that was stuffed in his arms.

Lt. Hawkeye shook her head, "Thank you for the offer. But, I am on duty."

Mustang didn't mind; he took the pork pie from Tatsuya's hand, "I wouldn't mind..."

"You are on duty as well!!"

While walking on the busy streets of East City, the four of them talked.

"Say, how are Ed and Al?" Miyuki had been wanting to ask this question. They had heard about their situation a few times. Every time they came, they told more about their different adventures.

Mustang was carefree about them, "Oh them, they must be running around somewhere."

Hawkeye gave Mustang a glare, "they are currently in the west, trying to get some leads on the philosopher stone."

"Philosopher stone..." Miyuki narrowed her eyes, thinking about it.

A sharp look flashed past Mustang's eyes, "Miss Miyuki's wouldn't happen to know something about it?"

Miyuki shook her head, denying that, "not really, the only thing I know is what I heard from Onii-sama."

"Onii-sama?"

Hawkeye looked at Miyuki with confusion, "what does that mean?"

Miyuki curled her lips in a naughty smile, "from where we come from, it is how you call your loved one."

"In Xing?"

"No, we come from father then there, we crossed the ocean to reach Xing."

Mustang rubbed his chin with an impressed expression on his face, "I never got to ask you, Why did you come so far?"

To travel across the ocean, then a desert again, just to reach Amestris.

Tatsuya glanced at Mustang, "someone offered us the story about Alkhestry and Alchemy. You might not know it, but these two are only native to this continent. You can't find them on any other."

"How is that possible?" Hawkeye opened her mouth in surprise, while Mustang narrowed his eyes and stopped eating.

Amestris was Alchemy based nation, but it wasn't like others didn't have it. They just didn't have this much knowledge on it.

"We heard a legend about it, a country named Xerxex that was wiped out in one night. We think that two people survived the destruction; one went towards Xing, while the other towards Amestris. Both from the different schools of Alchemy, resulting in Alkahestry and Alchemy. We have learned Alkahestry, now we came here to learn Alchemy."

Mustang knit his brows in deep thought, "Xerxes, I think I have heard of that country. So, you think both country's Alchemy originate from there?"

Tatsuya stopped walking after seeing something, "Yes, that is why we wanted to learn both Alchemy and see if there is something more to them. Maybe, even find the reason behind Xerxes destruction."

"If that's what you want, how about becoming a state alchemist? You can access the research and confidential ones." Mustang gazed at him with a confident smile.

"No, thank you." Tatsuya rejected without even thinking.

Miyuki could only smile apologetically, "We have just started our tour of whole Amestris."

Mustang wasn't disappointed, "how about you think about it? You can continue your tour; the military will pay for everything."

Miyuki observed Mustang, "is there a need to go this far?"

Mustang glanced at her, "I have seen the wonders that his Alchemy could do. The military would do anything to have you on our side. They would even allow him to roam free, as long as he responds to the call." He had seen it, the miraculous healing. The stories of him being able to treat any disease, plague, and injury. Nearly everything, but those that were created by Human Transmutation.

At first, he only treated a few people from Resembool, but somehow rumors started spreading. More and more people appeared to be treated by him.

Probably that was how they earned money for their journey. Mustang knew having someone like that on his side would be beneficial to achieve his goal.

Tatsuya held Miyuki's arm, "Maybe after our trip is over. Anyway, our hotel is here. We will see you later."

Watching the two of them leave, Hawkeye glanced at Mustang, "it seems you failed."

Mustang just smiled with intrigue flashing in his eyes, "did I?"

Suddenly, he became stunned, "damn! I forgot to ask what they knew about Philosopher stone!!"