Stand by You

XV

A few days later after Hughes was shot in the booth, there was a funeral. It was a closed-casket one. The Amestrain flag was hung on his ebony casket while flowers from everyone surrounded it. The military cap he received was placed on top of it. Soldiers heaved and picked up the casket, holding it on their soldiers as they marched to the cemetery where Hughes will be buried. There we're a lot of officers there, I along Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Hawkeye, Major Armstrong, and even the Führer. Mrs. Gracia attended with Elicia as well.

Shotguns fired in the honor of Hughes. All of us wore black Amestrain military uniforms instead of our dark blue ones. There was a hole for the casket and the soldiers placed the casket inside, beginning to cover the casket in dirt. Everyone surrounded the grave, watching and saying final farewells before Hughes will be forever buried beneath the ground.

I stood next to the Colonel. His head was tilted down, unable to look at his best friend's body. He was also holding back tears. Elicia held her mother's hand and flinched wth every fire of the gun. I was also holding back tears as well. "Mommy?" A tiny voice cut in. It was Elicia. She clung to her mother and tugged her hand. "Why are they burying Daddy?" She asked.

"Elici--" Mrs. Gracia sobbed, placing a handkerchief by her eyes.

"If they do that, Daddy won't be able to do his work," Elicia began to tear up. Mrs. Gracia began to sob some more at Elicia's ignorance at what's going on right now. Mrs. Gracia picked her the wriggling Elicia, now beginning to cry. "Daddy said he had a lot of work to do," she wailed. "No! Stop it! Stop putting dirt on him! Daddy!"

Major Armstrong began to cry as well, putting a gloved hand over his eyes. The Führer stood still, hands trembling on the sword, his sadness probably influenced by Elicia as well. Colonel struggled to hold back his tears, but I had stopped trying. I sobbed quietly as well, placing a hand over my eyes as well, tears flowing down.

"Soldiers don't cry" huh? Bullshit.

*~*~*~*~*~

Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Hawkeye, and I stood over the fresh grave of Hughes. He had a tombstone that said his full names and dates of life as well as a kind message written beneath it along with a stone plaque that displayed his full name and dates of life as well. A fresh wreath of white flowers was placed on his grave. "Promoted two grades for dying in the line of duty...Brigadier General Hughes, huh?" Colonel Mustang muttered. "What good does it do to have someone who said they'd support me from below get above me...you idiot?"

"Colonel..." Lieutenant Hawkeye said.

"Alchemists are nasty creatures, aren't they, Lieutenant?" He sighed. "There's a part of me that was just frantically piecing together the theories of human transmutation in my head. I think I can now understand what those boys felt when they tried to transmute their mother."

"Are you all right?" Lieutenant Hawkeye asked, staring at him intensely.

Colonel out his hat in his head and looked up at the sky, "Oh, no, it's started to rain."

"No, there's no rain--" Lieutenant Hawkeye was confused, but when she looked back at her superior, she was surprised at the sight.

"Yes, it's raining," Colonel repeated, finally shedding the tears he held so desperately back. Lieutenant Hawkeye softly gasped, finally getting what he meant. I looked up at him, tears forming in my eyes and falling again as well.

"Yes, you're right," Lieutenant Hawkeye muttered softly. "Let's go back. It's chilly out here."

*~*~*~*~*~