Trouble in the streets! S.O.S.!

People turned their heads abruptly as they saw a young Ishvallan walking along the city streets. Not only that, but he had cat ears and a tail...a cosplayer, perhaps? Sal was no cosplayer, he was the real deal. Today he set his sights on East City. Maybe he'd find a nice little hideout here...or take one. Maybe. he didn't know how well the authorities did their jobs around here...so he might have to find some backwater, smelly, alleyway apartment to take. Ho-hum. His red eyes scanned for a nice little place to get some food. He was hungry. Again. As always. With a groan, he stopped in his tracks and turned around to face a kid that had tugged on his tail. This kid...he couldn't have been too much older than Sal...and he looked as though he hadn't washed in ages. He smelled bad, too. Sal showed his teeth at the kid, who screamed and ran at the sight of a large, sharp-toothed mouth.

"Oh, you're no fun," Sal muttered as he chased the kid into a nearby alleyway. Upon reaching a dead end, he scratched his head and turned around to find that he was being surrounded by adults. These looked like some pretty dangerous people... and Sal had to laugh. He would have been afraid not too long ago, but now...Now he had nothing to worry about. Sniffing the air, he let out a rather mischievous laugh. There were 5 of them and then there was the kid...the kid who had tugged his tail. So this was a set up to jump the kid who was only here on business? Oh, well.

"We bash in the skulls of freaks like you, kid...don't take it personally."

What? Don't take it personally? Well, what a statement, given the situation. Sal was about to engage them as more people grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth and holding his legs and arms in place, taking him by surprise. He hadn't heard the men approach, and the smell of the alley had masked their scents... DAMN IT. The others began to surround him, and one raised a metal baseball bat to hit him while the others pounded their fists together. The chimera took a deep breath and braced himself for the impact...he didn't like pain. The only problem was that he couldn't really move, either. There had to be some way out! If they tried to kill him, they'd find out...that he wasn't really human.

Another odd figure was walking around the streets at that time. His blue jacket with gold trimming flowing in the air as he walked. A katana sheathed and strapped to his hip. The Brigadier General, Tataki Masu was roaming the streets. He had finished all his paperwork he had needed to do that day. So he felt like taking a small walk. He saw a little boy with cat ears and a tail, chasing a another kid into an alley. He was only gonna dismiss it as two kids playing but suddenly a group of adults seemed to follow in behind the kids. This seemed odd to him and he went to investigated.

Sure enough he had walked in on something very unsettling. The group of adults were planning on harming the child with ears and a tail. This.... was unacceptable in his city, and yes this was his city. He grew up here born in the slums of east city. He clawed his way up in the military and was assigned the job of leading the HQ in his own home city. This was not acceptable here and it urked him greatly. Then that bat, that was the last straw. As the bat came down a flash of metal and fire speed through the air at remarkable speeds cutting straight through the bat itself.

The man was stunned when he realized the bat he swung was much lighter and shorter than it once was. Completely missing the little Ishvallin boy. But this was not all in Tataki's reclamation of his city from those who would ruin it with these misdeeds. He quickly resheathed his katana. Then he sent a devastating kick into the mans gut actually sending him launching into a wall. "Now really is this how we treat people in this city. I Brigadier General Tataki Masu request you all leave this area immediately.....before I have to do something drastic." He said rather calmly for how angry he was. Now a showing of force was not what he would have liked but if he had tried something else. He may have been too late.

Wait, there was someone there, by the alley's entrance? Whatever just happened, it was too fast for Sal to pick up. He did realize that this stranger ended up somehow breaking the bat that was supposed to hit him in the face...which was a bit intimidating, but relieving at the same time. Since the bat was taken care of, Sal would have to do something to free himself from these jerks. The man that had originally held the bat was being kicked into the wall. Sal wriggled about a bit, but these men were strangely strong...not to mention there were 5 of them holding onto the homonculus, and they didn't budge. The Ishvallan did pick up the subtle smell of sweat, though. Man, it stank.

"Whatever, man! We don't care about your stinkin' military!" A man shouted, clearly a little upset about the situation. The thugs that weren't holding Sal all charged at the man, hoping to overwhelm him with their number...but four to one wasn't too overwhelming, in the kid's opinion. Speaking of kids...the younger boy that had started this mess was nowhere to be found. Did he run off? Oh, well... Sal just kept wiggling around and waited for the man to make another move.

'If I get out of here unscathed, I'll make sure to keep away from this guy in a fight...hahh...'

"Whatever, man! We don't care about your stinkin' military!"

Tataki sighed. He wouldn't kill these men. They were simply misled fools in his eyes. They did not understand that not all the military wanted war. In fact Tataki wanted peace and just for Amestris to keep the land it had right now, though maybe reclaimed the south. But he was not in to make these decisions...yet. The men began to charged him. He sighed once again waiting for the men. The first to get to him received a fist to the stomach and as he doubled over a elbow to the midde of his back. The second received a round house to the back of the head.

He then proceeded onto third guy. When landing he flipped over the man grabbing him and dropped back putting his foot into the mans back and kicking him into the fourth. He then proceeded to draw his katana and pointed it towards the other five men. "Now I will ask again.....leave NOW," he was starting to get a little irritated. Where these en really that prejudice?

The militant...no, the Brigadier General had skillfully and effortlessly taken care of most of the men one by one. It was an impressive sight, but Sal wondered how well the man might fare had he been tied up as the chimera was. After the man repeated his request for the thugs to leave, the five men loosened their grips on the homonculus, allowing him to wiggle free...but just for an added measure, he licked the hand covering his face. The man that hand belonged to then pulled it back and ran away in disgust. The other four received elbows and feet to their bodies (respective of their positions) and likewise left, holding their stomachs. It wasn't long before the alley was clear of the smelly thugs, and Sal tried not to vomit from having licked that man's rather unsanitary hand. He spat into the corner and walked toward the Brigadier General with a rather relieved expression on his face.

"I was sure that I die here...but you save me, and I say thanks, General Tacos," he stated, clearly not versed in the ways of Amestrian grammar or foreign names. It was the best he could do, though...and if his physical appearance wasn't enough to convince the man that he wasn't a native speaker, then his accent would surely do the trick.

Tataki kind of chuckled as the child made swift work of the rest of the men. He would make on fine soldier one day if he ever decided to join. Maybe Tataki could give him a recommendation. After all he was a Brigadier General that had to count for something. He began his walk over to the young man he seemed to have licked one of them. Whether this was on purpose or accident was unknown to him but he found it a little amusing. The child seemed relieved which was understandable as he had just been attacked, and they seemed intent on killing him. It was only by stroke of luck that Tataki happened upon them and even followed behind. He wasn't really expecting that sight though now that he thought about it...

"I was sure that I die here...but you save me, and I say thanks, General Tacos,"

General Tacos? Well it was obvious that the boy wasn't very good with his Amestrian. He was going to correct but decided against it. He would let it slide only cause he had only just met the boy and besides, he was a very...cute kid. Could he be the ultimate source of cuteness that Tataki secretly sought after? Who knows? "Well I'm just happy your safe. They didn't hurt you did they?" He asked genuinely concerned for the young boy with...cat ears? "Oh I also noticed you seem to have a foul taste in your mouth~," Tataki said reaching into his pocket he might have something in there that could take care of that. "Ah here you are," he said as he presented Sal with a piece of candy. "Now, may I ask what your name is?" he asked ruffling the young boys hair. It was strange Tataki was always softer around kids his seemingly cold outer shell seemed to melt away in their presence.

"Well I'm just happy your safe. They didn't hurt you did they?"

It seemed that this man was genuinely concerned about Sal's well-being. He wasn't hurt, which was a good thing, but he now knew better than to follow random people into random alleyways. He really needed to snag himself a weapon. An antique-looking gun, maybe? To fit the image of a pirate, of course. What about a sword? Neither of them would be that effective though, since he never learned to actually use them properly. Oh well.

"Not hurt," he said bluntly, accepting the piece of candy. The homonculus twirled it around a bit before unwrapping it and tossing it into his mouth. Hmm...cinnamon? Sal continued to pinpoint the flavor in his mind as the man reached down and ruffled his hair, asking for his name. Right. When giving your name to someone else, it's safe to assume that they'll tell you their name in return. After moving the candy around in his mouth for a few seconds, he looked back up at Tataki and put a hand on his head about where the man had placed his. "I'm Sal," he replied. It wasn't long before the candy had disappeared completely. Now he was focused on his growling stomach. He was hungry. Again. As always.

The Ishvallan began to walk past the Brigadier General, out of the alley. Suddenly, he had an idea. With a swift motion, he turned around and gave the man a very serious look. "Hey, Tacos...got any donuts?"

It was good to know that the kid was safe. Tataki smiled when he ate the candy, it kind of made him wonder if there was a child anywhere who didn't like candy. He shrugged this off and was intrigued to finally learn the child's name. Sal, he didn't think he had ever heard that one before but it sounded like it was short for something. He kinda wondered what it could be but figured he may learn it in due time. Well there was that name again, Tacos, eh he figured it could be an OK nickname for himself, and it wouldn't really effect much though it may change how people saw him...That could be bad. Donuts? Tataki thought for a second he didn't really carry donuts around with him. He had it!

"Well not on me, but there might be some in the East Headquarters break room." Yes even though Tataki was a stickler when it came to work there was a break room. He guessed some people didn't have the required drive to get there work completely done before stopping. That was actually a trait he hated in people. "If you wish to follow me I could take you there or would you prefer something else?" He was more or less just trying to help the kid in all regards. "Also, do you have anyway of defending yourself at all, you know in case you are attacked again, if not I could probably help you there." Tataki was not offering the kid a weapon, as he didn't really think a child should carry one, but he was offering something more along the lines of martial arts training.

Sal rubbed his ears as General Tacos - Tataki, rather - explained that the break room in the eastern headquarters would have donuts. The headquarters! This would prove to be an exciting trip. After all, so far he'd only been inside the Central headquarters, and even then he was too busy running from militants to take in the structure's layout. Paying a visit to this building would prove useful in more ways than one: free donuts and a free tour in a single visit. Well, not a formal tour, of course...unless...

"Donuts! Do I get free tour, too?" The young Ishvallan asked, smiling cheerfully. Hopefully the man would oblige, but if not...oh, well. He'd just have to think about visiting for a tour later. Then the general mentioned defending himself. Well, Sal did have a way of doing that, but it wasn't necessarily practical. Eating people in public would only make things harder for him, after all. Ah, well. Maybe this could prove to be fun as well. "I... do not know to defend much," Sal replied with faked modesty, rubbing the back of his head and putting his other hand behind his back. Learning some good techniques couldn't really hurt, so...why not? If things got out of hand he might be able to escape. The homonculus was a pretty fast runner, and could scale a building faster than a donut leaves a shop. Sal laughed aloud at that mental comparison. Hopefully this General Tacos guy wouldn't dwell on that uncalled-for laughter.

BUMP

"Donuts! Do I get free tour, too?"

Well... he was very... enthusiastic. He wanted a tour of Eastern HQ? Tataki hadn't expected a kid to be interested in anything like that. Oh well, curiosity was an odd thing, it could pop up anywhere he supposed. Tataki thought about it for a moment. "Certainly, I can take you on a tour though it will be rather limited, for obvious reasons." Its not like he could take him to secured areas or areas off limits to visitors now, could he? Though its not like it would matter to a child would it? He only wanted a tour and he was going to give him one. Perhaps there first stop would be the break room. For the donuts.

"I... do not know to defend much,"

Hmm... well it looks like Tataki would have to teach, the young Ishvallan, some self defense at the least. He then laughed out loud, rather randomly at that. Tataki gave him a questioning glance. What was he laughing at? Was he really that excited for those donuts? Oh well he thought as he shrugged it off. "Well then follow me," he said gesturing and then began to walk towards Eastern HQ. Well plenty had certainly happened today. He met a new person, saved them from harm, and finished his paperwork earlier. To some that was a full day, but to Tataki it was a rather small one.

[Exit Thread]

Sweet! Literally! Sal would be getting a tour and free donuts from none other than the Brigadier General Tataki Masu himself! If that wasn't something to be proud of, then the small Ishvallan wasn't sure what was. Then again, he was Gluttony. Not that he really felt proud about that fact. Shaking off the thought, he focused on the task at hand: Donuts and a tour!

"I like donuts," the young male said bluntly. It was true, he did like donuts! Not as much as fresh meat, but still! Donuts were the tastiest tasty pastries ever! Sal's tail wagged and his taste buds tingled at the thought. He could barely keep himself from drooling. Donuts, donuts, donuts! With a happy wiggle, Sal ran up to Tataki and hugged him. The way to Sal's heart was through his stomach, and Tataki flawlessly hit the mark. Absolutely flawless. The only thing that could have made the situation better was some raw steak. Or pork. Or any type of meat, really. Although, raw meat was always better. The blood just made it taste that much more amazing.

With a purr, he let go of the man and followed him to East HQ.

"Donuts, here I come!"