Melting in the heat

Tobi nodded. "That sounds...depressing. I could tell you my story, if you like, though it isn't nearly as interesting."

"Go ahead. It's probably a bit less... morbid than mine." Yuan nodded the go ahead.

Tobi chuckled. "Maybe..." He took a deep breath. He'd told this story only once before, and even then not the whole thing. "I don't even know where to start..." He muttered. "I guess...it started when my younger sister Amaya was born. It was a hard childbirth. My mom died. I don't remember much about her, but after she died my dad sort of snapped. There was a lot of...violence. Through all the beating and cursing, my sister and I grew very close. We didn't really have anyone else, since dad didn't allow us to go to school. To most people it was almost as if we'd never existed. Anyways, I think my dad saw how close we were and it made him...angrier. One night he was really mad. Madder than he'd ever been before. I knew the beating was going to be bad so I hid Amaya in the closet and..." His voice broke slightly as he spoke. "He...he killed her." He paused, looking down at his feet. "I...I changed after that. I started going out of my way to annoy him. At the time, I thought it was just to put him through hell, like he did with us. But really? I wanted to die. What did I have to live for? He'd taken it all away. And then one night...I saw my chance to get out. There was a...knife. He left it on the counter, the idiot. I took it and..." Tobi looked up at Yuan, eyes clouded with guilt, depression, sorrow, and all sorts of other emotions. "I killed him, Yuan. I killed my own father. After that I left. I learned alchemy and learned how to protect myself. How to protect other people. Then I joined the military. And...here I am. I guess that's it."

Yuan's face softened slightly. "You had a right to kill him. Death... is hard. Especially if you're close to the person that died. Of course, death also happens. sometimes just more quickly for some than others." Yuan's gaze held a far away look, as if he were looking at something only he could see. "But, that's horrible, what he did to you and your sister." he added, still stareing at something just beyond what a normal person could see.

Tobi shook his head. "No one has a right to kill anyone. I became a murderer when I did that, just as bad as him. In a way, I guess I did become like my father by killing him. Nothing I do in the military can make that go away. No matter how many lives I save, they'll still be outweighed by the one person I killed."

"You take it to seriously. Don't you alchemists go by equivelent exchange? She very well ahd the right to kill. Me on the other hand..." Yuan said with a tiny frown playing across his lips. "For me to live, one hundred people died. Not a good feeling." he shook his head.

Tobi looked away. "It's different with you, Yuan. Those people knew the risks. They knew good and well what would happen. They did it anyway. You didn't kill them. It's not the same. I killed him myself, my own father. And no one deserves to die, not even him."

"I suppose you make a good point." he sighed. "You've got some good morals." he nodded, a sort of approving dip of his head.

Tobi sighed. "I wish I'd had them a few years ago," He admitted.

"Coulda, woulda, shoulds." Yuan shrugged.

Tobi shook his head. "Suppose so."

"So what's it like working for the military?" Yuan asked, changing the subject.

Tobi shrugged. "Not as interesting as most people would like to think. I've yet to see any sort of battle or war, and I have a stack of paperwork on my desk that nearly touches the ceiling every single morning. So...what are the perks of being a homunculus?"

"You can do this and be fine." Yuan gripped his left hand with his right and twisted it around, breaking it. The skin and bone recomposed itself into proper shape within minutes. "You are partially immortal and threaten people to shut up if they're annoying, but you also have people afraid of you." He sighed.

Tobi nodded. "I can't break my hand and be okay, and I'm pretty sure I'm not immortal, but I can scare the piss out of people when I want to." He grinned. "All you need is a gun and a high rank."

"That'll do." Yuan laughed, a real laugh that left a grin on his face.

Tobi laughed. "Oh, you have no idea."

"No, I don't." he was still grinning.

"It's quite effective."

"Sounds interesting. I'll have to see some time." Yuan laughed.

Tobi nodded. "Yeah. The whole 'don't make me freeze your blood' thing kind of helps, too."

"Ew. That's just creepy." Yuan stated.

"But you can't say it wouldn't come in handy," Tobi pointed out.

"I suppose ti would. It's still kinda gross though." Yuan answered dryly.

"Gross?" Tobi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not really. Here, lemme see your arm."