Empathy- the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position
Empath- a highly sensitive individual who has a keen ability to sense what people around them are thinking and feeling
-
Empathy had always been such a strange concept to little (Y/n). Ever since she could walk, before she even understood the idea of sentiment, the emotions of those around her were always much too easy for her to detect. Much too overwhelming. Having been raised by a poor family, there was always some kind of wavering aura of sensitivity that was quite impossible for the toddler to ignore and not to feed off of.
She couldn't remember much of anything from the time she spent with her mother and father, only the feelings. The hope, the desperation, the fear, the anguish. That's all she could ever see if she lost herself deep enough inside of her mind. Just the swirling mixture of colors representing the only memory of her parents that she had left. No faces, no voices, just poignant colors.
Then again, she had no real reason to truly remember her parents in great detail. The child had only been five years old when they died of a cause that she had yet to understand or even be aware of, leaving her behind. Leaving her confused, adrift, afraid. She was only five when she had been found on the verge of starvation and dehydration in the middle of the desert, ratted clothes dusted with a hot layer of sand and small body depicting no signs of consciousness.
(Y/n) had always been a mystery to those who had fortunately found her before it was too late. And when she finally woke in an unfamiliar place and on an unfamiliar couch, she saw them again- she felt them again. The colors of kind strangers.
Four years later, after she was brought back to a state of health and after she was adopted by a man of the military, she occupied her time by studying. Having been raised in an environment that heavily supported the use of alchemy, (Y/n) could only ever focus on learning all she could about this branch of philosophy- this extraordinary form of power that the kind people around her often embraced. Maybe she had been inspired by her legal guardian, or the idea of growing up to become knowledgeable about something she hadn't been aware of before.
No.
It was the pure feeling of adrenaline and pride that ran through her veins when she transmuted her first cement boat. It was the usefulness she felt when she learned she could use this power to make something of herself. It was the hope she felt for her future when she dreamt of a life spent protecting others with a power that she independently learned to control. (Y/n) grew up having and knowing very little, she had been so frail and so dazed. All she knew was emotion, all she knew was to feel. If she could take her greatest strength and weakness and use it to live up to the life that was given to her and to understand the world around her, to make people feel less frail and less dazed, then that's what she would do. And she would do so with alchemy.
The young girl sat silently in a pile of books residing in the Central Command Archives, completely mesmerized by the text before her. She had buried herself into the pages and pages of alchemic history and technique, every word and phrase the textbooks had to offer engraving themselves into her brain. She was only nine, but her heart had been set on taking this information to become one of the military's state alchemists, just like her guardian. (Y/n) was willing to do whatever it took to ensure and manifest this path before her, even if it meant stowing herself away into the library from sunrise to sunset. Not that she didn't like the research. In fact, she found herself looking forward to these consuming hours each day.
She heard the door creak open behind her, but she didn't pay any mind to the sudden presence of two people. She knew exactly who was standing in that doorway, observing her focused figure from some feet away. (Y/n) was too busy reciting chemical formulas under her breath and dragging her finger eagerly along the printed text to even acknowledge the men.
The one grasping the doorknob shook his head in exasperation, leading the General standing behind him to chuckle lightly. "What's it been, almost eleven hours now?" the officer known as Maes Hughes asked his weary friend.
"Sounds about right. It's starting to be a pain in the ass trying to pull her out of this room just to get her to eat," Colonel Roy Mustang responded, scratching his raven hair as he gazed at (Y/n)'s hunched back.
"She sure does have her heart set on this, huh?" the General adjusted his glasses with a cheesy grin.
Roy sighed. "All she ever wants to do nowadays is read until her eyes give out."
"You can't really blame her. She was bound to pick up your little habits at some point."
The onyx eyed male clicked his tongue, knowing his dear friend was right, (there weren't really many instances where the sympathetic man was wrong). It had nearly been five years since Roy took in that girl- just before the Ishvalan War. Five years since he had felt his heart drop at the sight of her limp body nearly buried in the sand. Roy had only been returning from a mission in Liore, the same way he had come when he discovered her. The moment his eyes landed on the small figure, he wasted no time in scooping her up and taking her to Chris Mustang, terribly unsure of what to do. He had only been twenty at the time, and he knew absolutely nothing about raising children.
But when he watched her wide eyes open, orbs adjusting to foreign surroundings and pupils slightly constricting in realization of a harrowing memory as she came to, he did know one thing. He knew that he would never let a child grow up alone, the way he would have if Madam Christmas hadn't adopted him. The look in her (e/c) eyes told him he was already in over his head, and Chris did nothing to steer Roy into a much more logical direction that involved him passing the child onto someone much more experienced with parenthood. She saw what Roy saw in that child that day, and as (Y/n) clung to his arm in fear of letting go of the kindness and comfort he showed her in his face, Roy concluded that she wasn't going anywhere. Not without him, at least. She didn't say much to him or anyone that day. She only shared her name and the fact that her parents had been killed. And inexperienced or not, by God Roy Mustang was going to care for that kid and protect her with everything he had from that moment on.
Everyone looked at him differently after that, wondering why in the hell a young man who desired to become the future Fuhrer took on the responsibility of a kid. Some assumed it was for his image, but Hughes knew better than that. Riza knew better than that after she met him, and after she met the young girl who clung to his side at her father's funeral. Roy himself didn't even know how he managed to get this far with (Y/n). But as she grew older, as those once dull and frightened eyes grew bright with excitement and innocence, he figured he must have been doing something right. He figured that he had made the best decision of his life by taking in the little devil.
Rolling his neck, the Colonel smirked at the thought. "I just hope she doesn't end up too much like me."
"I'll say! The last thing this entire militia needs is two Roy Mustangs," Maes agreed excitedly, slapping Roy's back rather harshly. The Colonel sent him a weary glare as Hughes laughed at his own playfulness. "You think she'll end up qualifying?"
Roy turned his gaze back to (Y/n) once the subject shifted. "I've got no doubt about it. The kid's not just smart as hell, but she's got the drive. She's got the strength and the passion, and that's what's really gonna count in the end."
Maes quirked a brow upon detecting the change in his tone. "Then why do you sound so defeated?"
"At the rate she's going, she'll be ready soon. In two or three years, give or take. It's just- once she's in, there's no going back. She'll be a dog of the military, she won't ever have a normal child's life."
"That may be true, but look at her, Roy. This is what she really wants, you can see it in the way she looks at those stupid old books. In the end, it's her choice. No one just says they want to join the military without knowing what they'd be sacrificing," Maes said wisely, smiling gently.
Roy nodded slowly, having already been aware of the things his friend told him. "I'd hate for her to regret this. Or worse, get hurt."
"Well I doubt she'll get terribly hurt, she is training with highly skilled military men after all. As for her remorse... I'm pretty sure you're actually more afraid that she won't regret this." The flame alchemist didn't reply, he just hummed.
"I can hear you guys, you know."
The pair of men froze at the sudden sound of (Y/n)'s small, yet clear voice echoing throughout the dimly lit library. She had finally paused her studies to look at them over her shoulder, smiling sweetly. "You're not the greatest whisperers in the world."
Maes' eyes watered as he muttered something about 'how fast the cutie's growing up!' while Roy sweatdropped at his overdramatic friend's comments. He gestured for (Y/n) to come over to him, to which she pouted.
"Five more minutes?" she pleaded, batting her eyelashes. Roy gritted his teeth in annoyance, quite frankly embarrassed by the fact that a nine year old could still use puppy dog eyes to break him down.
Hughes gripped Roy's shoulders eagerly, as if he were struggling to remain standing. "It's a trap, Mustang! She asked for five more minutes two hours ago!" he hissed into his ear.
"Dammit, I know! She pulls this every time," Roy groaned. This man's ginormous ego was honestly no match for his inability to say no to his kid, and it was honestly quite damaging to his reputation as the man who would be Fuhrer- or so it was in his mind. Inhaling slowly, he forced his eyes to meet (Y/n)'s gigantic ones. "You had more than enough time to study today, (Y/n). You haven't eaten, so let's go." Roy almost bit off Hughes' finger when he congratulated him quietly for his assertiveness.
(Y/n) would have kept up the act longer, but as soon as her eyes tore from those pages and she reconnected with reality, she was suddenly aware of her hunger. She reluctantly gave in and cleaned her mess of books before standing up. Roy internally rejoiced at his successful parenting just before threatening Maes through clenched teeth if he were to ever mention this to anyone. (Hughes was gonna tell Riza later anyway).
The little girl rushed over to Roy and threw her arms around his torso, giggling at the surprised 'oof' that he let out before he rested his gloved hand atop her head.
"Read anything interesting today?" he asked, smiling softly down at her.
She lifted her head from his abdomen to beam up at him. "Yep! It's just the same old stuff I've been studying, but it's still really cool. Oh, can I show you a trick I learned that I've been practicing when we get home?"
"Knock yourself out," Roy chuckled.
Maes locked up the archives as (Y/n) let out a shout of excitement. The two officers walked down the hall on either side of the girl as if they were her bodyguards, listening patiently as she rambled on about her findings. Roy couldn't deny the pride he felt swell in his chest when he listened to the girl he was raising speak with such purpose and joy. Though he couldn't help but fear for her, he knew that she would grow to do extraordinary things.
Still, he never would have guessed how extraordinary she already was from the start.