Riza Hawkeye

Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye (リザ・ホークアイ, Riza Hōkuai) is an officer in the Amestrian State Military as well as the personal adjutant and bodyguard of Colonel Roy Mustang. A sharpshooter and firearms specialist, Lt. Hawkeye is an invaluable asset to the Colonel both in office and on the battlefield and serves as his closest and most supportive subordinate.

Appearance
Riza Hawkeye is a woman in her mid-to-late twenties with a moderately muscular and curvaceous build, blonde hair that reaches the middle of her back and brown eyes. The author has stated that Riza has broad shoulders from her military training and flared hips appropriate for her age.

While she has been known to wear her hair down, on the job Riza wears it fastened up in the back with a clip barrette in a style that resembles a bird tail. Her bangs fall in a hawk's wing pattern from right to left, occasionally partially obscuring her left eye. Though she had worn her hair short in her youth and during her tenure in Ishval, she began letting it grow out in 1910 after becoming acquainted with Winry Rockbell. Each of her ears is pierced with a silver stud and, while in disguise, Riza has been known to don faux eyeglasses. Riza frequently wears a black, short-sleeved turtleneck under her military uniform and often while in casual dress as well. Though Riza has noted (in Perfect Guidebook 2) that skirts restrict movement and therefore are not welcome in a military office, while in civilian clothes, Riza is mostly seen in long skirts and boots.

In the manga and 2009 anime, she has a large and ornate tattoo that covers most her back with large parts of it completely obscured by burn scars. She always wears clothes fitted to hide the tattoo.

Personality
Riza is a quiet, collected woman, with a serious but courteous demeanor. Hawkeye is viewed by her peers as the model of a perfect soldier; strictly disciplined and extremely rational, she rarely relaxes when on the job and is usually tasked with keeping her colleagues on track. Though from the outside she might seem strict, rigid, and even a little mean, Hawkeye is not as cold and distant as she may appear. Those close to her know that there is more to her than her no-nonsense attitude; beneath her professional aura is a kind soul who understands the difficulty of carrying a heavy burden.

Riza's softer side tends to make itself known through her interactions with younger characters, such as the Elric brothers and Winry Rockbell, and it isn't unusual to see her behaving sweetly toward her pet Shiba Inu, Black Hayate, while in private. Very disciplined, Riza takes her work seriously and is almost never seen “dropping formalities,” even with those who are most intimate to her. She’s not prone to public displays of affection, preferring to show her feelings through more subtle ways. Hawkeye seems the personification of "tough love," demanding excellence from those she respects or considers important. Her interactions with Hayate can be seen as a metaphor for all of her significant personal relationships—a stern hand and demanding nature tempered with genuine and deep affection.

It can be inferred that Riza also changed across the years; in her teens, she appeared to have been rather timid and idealistic about the world at large. Growing up at her father's house, she probably experienced a sheltered sort of childhood. After joining the military, her experiences in Ishval destroyed her youthful idealism and transformed her into the nearly stoic Lieutenant Hawkeye. Hawkeye emerges from the war with a tremendous will, strong enough to shoulder the heavy guilt she willingly bears, and uses this motivation to stand along side and support Mustang in the hopes that future generations will remain free of the horrors of something like Ishval. Reticent, she doesn't speak unnecessarily or express her feelings often through words, but reveals her most of her thoughts through nonverbal communication, with trademark sharp looks and rare, subtle smiles.

Her character shows a mix between a tortured woman looking for redemption she feels is unreachable, and a resigned acceptance of past mistakes and their consequences. Hawkeye learns from Ishval to accept responsibilities for her actions herself, rather than placing blame or burden on another. She decides she must sacrifice her own happiness and comfort and continue to dirty her hands with blood as a soldier in order to bring peace to the people. Despite the emotional difficulties in facing her mistakes, she learns to school herself and her emotions as personal struggles, brushing off the concern of others, always bearing grief or physical pain with a stiff upper lip.

When meeting Winry Rockbell, Riza indicated that she also doesn't like the military, because she is sometimes forced to kill. However, when Alphonse Elric refers to her weapons as "a tool for destruction" later in the story, she corrects him, telling him it is a "tool for protection." Riza seems to hold the belief that a gun is simply an object, by itself unable to cause pain or suffering without a person pulling the trigger. It is not her weapons that she dislikes, but the death that she causes by using them. After Ishval, Riza tells Roy Mustang that "a gun is good. It doesn't leave the feeling of a person dying in your hands." When he counters that this mindset is self-deception, she agrees, indicating that she is willing to deceive herself and continue to do her duty as a soldier if it means assuring the safety of others. While in the 2003 anime, she's seen using her guns to intimidate her work colleagues into doing their jobs, in the manga (and 2009 anime), she seems to take weapons a lot more seriously and is never seen taking out her gun when she doesn't mean to shoot it.

Relationships
Roy Mustang - Riza's connection with Colonel Mustang is easily the most significant of Riza's personal relationships. Having known Roy since his youthful days as her father's alchemy apprentice and throughout his entire military career, the course of Riza's life seems to bend to suit his. As a result of their deeply intertwined histories, the Flame Alchemist has entrusted Hawkeye with his life as his adjutant and has deemed her as both his conscience and executioner by giving her the express authority to shoot him in the back should he ever stray from the righteous path. In normal situations, this role seemingly amounts to Lt. Hawkeye being a sort of "babysitter" to the irresponsible Roy, frequently nagging him to complete his administrative paperwork and offering sharp criticisms when he steps out of line. Under more extreme conditions, however, it becomes quite clear that Hawkeye's censures come from a deep devotion to Roy and his ideals. Willing even to risk her life to ensure the success of her commander's plans and guard his well-being, Hawkeye has girded herself to follow the colonel through any peril without hesitation and only truly betrays fear when faced with the real possibility of losing him. In turn, Roy displays the same devotion for his lieutenant, even going so far as to risk his life and goals for the sake of protecting her from harm.

Though their relationship has not shown any explicit signs of crossing into traditional amatory during the series, there have been many scenes where such a romantic nature is implied.

Black Hayate - A very strict mistress, Riza trains Black Hayate to be a very well-disciplined dog. Hayate is clearly a useful and valuable companion, and they share a very deep loyal bond. Hayate has a profound love for his mistress, jumping to save her in dangerous situations. While in the presence of Hayate, we are shown a more domestic, intimate side of the infamous "Hawk's Eye".

Rebecca Catalina - Riza's best friend, Rebecca is the opposite of Riza in terms of temperament. She's an outgoing, smart-mouthed woman with a healthy sense of humor. They both went through the military academy together and remained friends after graduation. Rebecca is probably the only person, aside from Colonel Mustang, who knows how to push Riza's buttons and make her angry, making jokes about the coincidence of Riza working for famous womanizers and being assigned to important positions. She also pesters Riza with questions about men, boyfriends, and marriage. When the two are together, we see just how much of Riza's dry sense of humor is sharp and acidic.

Berthold Hawkeye - Very little is known about the relationship between Riza and her father. However, Riza states he was an estranged, mad man, of whom she was afraid, and that when he researched, he seemed possessed by something. She seems to blame the Flame Alchemy for that, since she has drawn parallels with Roy and her fear of "Flame Alchemy driving him mad." Riza's father had his research notes tattooed onto his daughter's back; this is another facet of her close relationship with Roy Mustang, who is the only person she has ever permitted to view the notes. It is unclear whether the tattooing was done against her will or with her consent.

Overall, the relationship between father and daughter appears to have been difficult and distant. His death leaves her quite shaken, but she is not shown to shed any tears during the private funeral that she and Mustang hold for him. Nevertheless, it is implied that she was devoted to him in a fashion, and believed in his assertions that Flame Alchemy would be an asset to mankind.

Abilities
Aside from her high-level administrative and secretarial skills (keeping subordinates in line, organizing and filling out paperwork as well as preparing tea and coffee expertly), Lieutenant Hawkeye is an expert sharpshooter and firearms specialist. Whether armed with a bolt-action rifle, sniper rifle, pistol or even two handguns at once, she is well known for never missing her mark and, in the manga, made a name for herself as the infamous "Hawk's Eye" of the Ishval Civil War. A true professional, Hawkeye is able to disassemble, properly clean and reassemble a standard issue firearm in record time and rarely goes into battle with fewer than two loaded firearms on her person. Additionally, she is quite skilled in combat tactics and covert operations, and is able to instinctively sense that Homunculi are a greater threat than a typical human. Such sensitivity is likely due to her sharp instincts from her experiences in combat.

History
After losing her mother relatively early in life, Riza Hawkeye was effectively brought up by her father Berthold who, despite his meager earnings as a civilian alchemist, was able to furnish his daughter with a respectable education. As she approached adulthood, Riza became acquainted with her father's young apprentice alchemist, Roy Mustang. Though they were the only associable family members either Hawkeye could bring to mind, the father and daughter remained emotionally distant while sharing the steadily deteriorating family estate, with Berthold becoming increasingly obsessed with his alchemical work and Riza growing to fear her father's mania. Perhaps further straining - or serving as an indication of - their already shaky relationship, Berthold (afraid of documenting his findings in the usual fashion lest his Flame Alchemy expertise fall into the wrong hands) instead tattooed a large, coded Transmutation Array containing his secret discoveries onto her back, effectively making her very flesh the guardian of his life's work. In the year 1905, however, when Riza was in her late teens, Berthold Hawkeye died of a mysterious illness.



With no other known relatives to turn to, Riza accepted Roy’s help in making all the necessary - yet meager - arrangements for her father’s funeral. At the burial, Roy let her know that she could seek him out within the military if she were ever in need of assistance. In doing so, he inadvertently let slip his endeavor to strengthen the foundation of Amestris and protect its citizens as a soldier. Though Roy displayed embarrassment at his long-winded optimism, Riza deemed his dream charming and informed him that her father's alchemical secrets still survived upon her back. Hoping that he would take the knowledge and use it in the service of the Amestrian people, Riza showed him her father's code. After deciphering it, Roy left to prepare for the State Alchemy examination and a military career. Meanwhile, Riza furthered her education by entering the military academy within a year.

In 1908, as a result of her excellent progress at the academy as well as manpower shortages in the region, Riza was shipped out to the front lines of the ongoing Ishval Civil War to act as a sniper during her final year as a cadet. While there, her superb abilities earned her the name "The Hawk's Eye" and, even while she stained her hands with her targets' blood, she was forced to watch the massacres perpetrated by her fellow soldiers and the State Alchemists. It was only a matter of time before she encountered Roy Mustang - now a Major known as the "Flame Alchemist" - on the field. Greeting him after their long separation, she expressed her despair that the ideals to which she had clung in her youth had devolved into senseless slaughter; the military, which she had always believed to be in the service of the people, was being deployed for the purpose of murdering Amestrian citizens and alchemy, which she had always believed to be for the benefit of mankind, was being used to commit constant atrocities.



By the time the war ended in 1909, Riza had become wracked with guilt and regret over the countless lives she had taken, but more so by the fact that she had chosen to join the military and entrust her father's secrets to Mustang of her own free will. As she dug a small grave for a dead Ishvalan child on the final day of the war, she was approached by the Flame Alchemist and, expressing her grief, she asked him to burn the sigil off her flesh, so as to bury its secrets forever and prevent the creation of yet another Flame Alchemist. Reluctantly, Roy complied, burning the most dangerous parts of the array into illegibility and allowing Riza to continue the rest of her life as an individual person, no longer bound to her father's wishes. With peace's arrival, both Roy and Riza were deployed away from the battlefield However, Riza chose to stay within the military and found herself assigned directly under Mustang's command in East City.

When asked by her new superior why she had opted against resignation Hawkeye responded that, in exchange for allowing future generations and the innocent to live their lives unencumbered by suffering, the soldiers - those who have chosen their painful path - must shoulder all of the suffering they can. Having heard this, Roy positioned Riza as his personal adjutant and bodyguard, stating explicitly that - as the person guarding his back - she would be responsible for protecting him from harm as well as for shooting him in the back if ever his march to power caused him to stray off of the correct path and use the alchemical knowledge she had entrusted to him with ill intentions.



In the aftermath of the war, as several State Alchemists had thrown away their licenses as penance for the atrocities they had been ordered to commit, Lt. Col. Mustang was assigned to investigate and recruit possible candidates for the State Alchemist program. One such lead brought him, along with 2nd Lt. Hawkeye, to the rural eastern town of Resembool in pursuit of an alchemist named Edward Elric. Upon arriving in town, they discovered not only that this Edward Elric was only eleven years old, but also that the boy's empty home held the horrific telltale signs of a Human Transmutation attempt. Rushing to next door neighbor's house to confront young Edward, Mustang and Hawkeye made yet another discovery - that the boy had miraculously survived the Rebound from a failed Human Transmutation and managed to bind the disembodied soul of his younger brother Alphonse to a suit of armor (two unheard-of alchemical feats) at the cost of his right arm and left leg. Faced with this information, Mustang offered Edward the chance to join the program under his command, mentioning that the boy might even find a way to restore his and his brother's bodies with the resources at his disposal as a State Alchemist. Meanwhile, Hawkeye made the acquaintance of the boys' young friend Winry Rockbell, assuring the little girl that no one would force her friends to join the military - the choice would be up to them. A year later, after Edward had replaced his lost limbs with automail, Hawkeye escorted Mustang and Edward to Central City, where the twelve-year-old achieved his certification.

Eastern Headquarters
First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye makes her first appearance in Chapter 4 when she accompanies Colonel Mustang to the East City train station to greet Edward and Alphonse after their capture of a terrorist. In Chapter 6, after it becomes apparent that the ex-State Alchemist Shou Tucker has been murdered by a mysterious serial killer wanted in the capital, Lt. Hawkeye explains the situation to the young Elrics and warns them to stay away from the murder scene. When it becomes apparent that the mysterious suspect - a State Alchemist-targeting serial killer known only as "The Scarred Man" - is loose in East City and attacking the Elric brothers, Mustang orders his men onto the scene to back the boys up. They arrive in time to protect Edward from being killed, but when Scar goads Roy into engaging him in combat, Riza is forced to intervene with gunfire, as the Colonel has apparently forgotten the fact that the pouring rain would render his combat alchemy useless. With the help of Lt. Hawkeye and Major Alex Louis Armstrong - who happens to be the "Strong Arm Alchemist" - the East City forces manage to prevent Edward's demise as well as ascertain a bit more about Scar before his flashy escape: namely that his strange method of execution is a brand of alchemy that stops at the deconstruction stage and, perhaps more importantly, that the man is an Ishvalan survivor of the Civil War bent on taking vengeance for his slaughtered people.

As Ed and Al leave town under escort to have their injuries tended to, Lt. Hawkeye and her comrades are ordered to initiate a citywide search for the alchemist killer with Scar's capture or execution a top priority. Though two weeks go by without a solid lead, in Chapter 11 Riza is summoned to the scene of a sewer tunnel collapse where a bloodstained jacket identical to that worn by their elusive quarry has been found. Identifying the artifact as the Scarred Man's jacket, Hawkeye discerns from the apparent stains that the Ishvalan fugitive must have been seriously injured - if not killed outright - when the tunnel collapsed. But as the search continues for further signs of Scar's possible demise, Eastern Command is shaken by the sudden news that the Colonel's close friend and ally Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes has been mysteriously murdered in Central City.

Lt. Hawkeye accompanies Roy to Hughes' military funeral in the capital where she consoles him and assists in his quick investigation of the events surrounding his friend's death. They learn that Hughes had been attacked in one of the records rooms after uncovering something vital to the military, but decided against relaying this information via the military phone line instead venturing to a public phone booth, where he was shot dead. Mustang and Hawkeye encounter Major Armstrong, who mentions that his men have a rough idea of the identities of Hughes' killers, but refuses to give the Colonel any further information aside from the fact that the Elrics had recently been in the capital on their search. Riza expresses her disappointment that Armstrong was so unhelpful, but Roy explains that their friend Alex had been quite informative - he had let them know with his deliberately cryptic speech that Hughes' death was most likely orchestrated by a mysterious group or organization, that a higher-ranking officer (most likely within Central Command) had apparently placed a gag order on the finer details of the incident and that the Elric brothers' search for the Philosopher's Stone is somehow involved. Roy informs Riza that he will soon be transferred to Central and, vowing to get to the bottom of this mystery on his way to the top of the country, asks her if she will follow him. She agrees, reminding her commander that there is no need for him to ask.

A few days later, the Colonel's transfer goes into effect and he opts to take a handful of subordinates along with him to the capital, including 2nd Lt. Jean Havoc, 2nd Lt. Heymans Breda, Warrant Officer Vato Falman, Sergeant Major Kain Fuery and, of course, Hawkeye.

"Fishing" in Central
As soon as she arrives in the capital with her squad, Lt. Hawkeye is swamped with administrative paperwork and transfer procedures - so much so that she is unable to unpack her belongings in her new apartment or take a single day off for quite some time. However, on her way back from grocery shopping on her first night of rest, Riza is accosted on the street by a man in a suit of armor claiming to be the infamous (and long-dead) serial killer Barry the Chopper. Unfazed, Hawkeye draws her sidearm and opens fire on her assailant, who is shocked but not deterred by her lack of fear. When the Chopper removes his helmet to reveal that the armor is empty inside, just like Alphonse Elric, it is Riza's turn to be shocked - though she regains her calm and resumes firing in short order. When the Chopper inquires as to why not even his inhuman body is able to frighten her, the lieutenant responds cryptically that she knows someone with a similar body; but when the armored attacker mentions Alphonse himself, Hawkeye realizes that this mysterious madman may have even more to him than meets the eye. She immediately places Barry under her custody (an act made all the easier by the Chopper's sudden infatuation with her nerve) and heads to a phone booth in order to summon Colonel Mustang.

Together with Warrant Officer Falman, the Colonel and Lieutenant take Barry to a warehouse in the military district for clandestine interrogation. Falman takes charge of verifying Barry's identity, cross-checking his encyclopedic knowledge of the Chopper murder cases against the armor man's own memory, but when Barry accurately describes all his crimes and even passes Falman's trick question, they've no choice but to believe he is the real deal. Mustang begins to interrogate him about his body and Barry counters with a questions of his own, wondering why they don't already know about his body when they're part of the military that experimented on him and asking if they knew anything about recent incident involving Central Alchemical Laboratory #5. When Mustang responds in the negative, Barry agrees to tell them everything he knows if Roy promises not to report him to the higher-ups.

With a deal brokered, Barry explains that he was torn alchemically from his human body and bound to his current armor form to stand guard at Lab 5 - a supposedly abandoned military facility which was in actuality being secretly used to manufacture imperfect Philosopher's Stones using military personnel as researchers and live prisoners as ingredients - and had met Alphonse Elric when he and Fullmetal snuck into the compound a short time ago. With this information adding further meaning to the cryptic snippets given by Major Armstrong after Hughes' funeral, Roy deduces that Central Command is likely behind the experimentation at Lab 5 as well as the sudden destruction of the facility. As for any lingering evidence, the Chopper explains that all the researchers at Lab 5 were executed just days before the facility mysteriously collapsed - turned into a fresh Philosopher's Stone by two individuals named Lust and Envy who appear to have been in charge of Lab 5's personnel. Having exhausted the Chopper's wealth of information, Mustang poses another question, asking Barry if he had murdered Maes Hughes. Along with Falman, Riza senses and becomes alarmed by the strange, furious mania that comes over Roy's frame as he asks this question, but when Barry reveals that he knows nothing about the incident, the Colonel drops the subject and regains his composure. Before leaving, Mustang assigns Falman to keep an eye on the ex-murderer and Hawkeye - whose orders Barry seems willing to follow - tells him not to chop anyone else up.

Following the transference to Central, the Homunculi began to realize the Colonel’s moves to investigate Maes Hughes’ death could lead to him discovering more than he should. With that in mind, they create a diversion, blaming Second Lieutenant Maria Ross for the death of the Brigadier General. Thinking the accusations sound suspicious, Hawkeye reports the news to Colonel Mustang, who, in return, asks her to investigate further into Maria Ross. Looking over her files and information, Riza reinforces her first impression that Maria would have no reason whatsoever to kill someone. When she confers with Mustang, he asks Hawkeye to hide her discoveries and to collect Maria Ross’ dental information, erasing them from the military archives.

While Mustang leaves to fake Maria Ross’ death, Hawkeye stays in the office for cover up.

Wanting to confirm Barry’s information about the Military being involved in the 5th Laboratory incident, Mustang asks Major Armstrong to take Edward to the East with him since, in Mustang's words, Ed was “too passionate and can ruin the plan”. Mustang's unit begins the plan to use Barry to capture a Homunculus for information.

Pretending to be upset with Mustang for killing Maria Ross, Hawkeye asks for a small vacation. Instead, she goes into hiding in a tower near the apartment where Barry the Chopper is being guarded by Falman, waiting for the Homunculi to come after Barry. With the help of Fuery, who builds a small communication network, Hawkeye then proceeds to call Mustang several times as if she were one of Mustang’s flirty girls, under the codename Elizabeth, and passing him coded information about the situation at the hideout.

Helping Havoc and Falman once Barry’s body attacks, Riza gets ambushed by Gluttony. Mustang, hearing the commotion over the telephone, explodes in an uproar and rushes down to the scene to save her, only to get scolded by Riza for being foolish and risking compromising their position. Despite this, Riza thanks Roy later on.

Hunting Immortals
They begin chasing Barry’s body, which they believe could lead them to the Homunculi’s lair; passing Alphonse Elric in their car, they agree to let him accompany them. Barry and his body enter the 3rd laboratory; Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc and Alphonse follow, discovering a network of tunnels which lie beneath the buildings. Mustang decides to split up to cover both directions of the tunnel, sending Riza with Alphonse and taking Havoc with himself. While Mustang and Havoc meet up with and are attacked by Lust, Al and Riza discover Barry with his body, standing in front of engraved gates. Short after, Lust appears, blasting Barry’s armor to pieces and claiming to have killed the Colonel. Upon hearing this, Riza completely loses her normal stoic demeanor and, in something of an echo of Mustang's own reaction to her being attacked by Gluttony, fires continuously at Lust until she runs out of bullets. Her ammunition exhausted, Riza falls to her knees, weeping, and urges Alphonse to flee. He refuses, shielding her body from Lust's attacks, only to be interrupted by Mustang's arrival. The Colonel, having used his flame alchemy to cauterize the wounds Lust inflicted on him, turns the same powers on the Homunculus herself. While Alphonse protects Riza, Mustang burns Lust to death.

In the hospital after the battle with Lust, Roy harshly scolds Riza for believing the enemy's words that he was dead, and tells her to never give up no matter what. He then asks her to continue watching his back, to which she agrees. As an apology, Riza produces a map to Central City, explaining she counted the steps while their party was traversing the underground facility, but because the hallways were slightly curved, she was unable to calculate the exact location of that large white room, and could only confirm that they had ended up somewhere within a circle she had drawn on the map with the 3rd Laboratory at the center. Complimenting the lieutenant's exceptional work, Roy gets right to the task of examining the evidence they had gathered. He notices that both the Central Command and the Führer's executive residence lie within the circle and begins to wonder whether King Bradley is an enemy or an ally. Though the path ahead seems daunting, he vows to get to the bottom of the conspiracy that Hughes had uncovered and asks Riza and Jean to continue following him loyally. Riza complies wholeheartedly, but she and Roy are shocked when Havoc suddenly bows out, stating that he can no longer feel his legs and must retire from the service.

Concerned with Havoc and Roy, who starts to obsess over the guilt of making Havoc paraplegic, Riza continues to attend both at the hospital without rest. When he discovers that Havoc has been discharged from the Military for his injury, Mustang demands to be released from the hospital, against Riza's better judgment.

Upon his release, Mustang finds that Edward has grown very active and appearing more than necessary in the city. He follows Ed and learns of his plans to lure Scar out, as Fullmetal reasoned the Homunculi wouldn’t allow Scar to kill him. Taking advantage of the situation, Mustang and Riza help Edward by confusing the Military Police and, when the Homunculi started to appear, Riza is sent to capture one of them. She disguises herself with Fuery’s glasses and clothes and encounters Ling, who has just arrested Gluttony, picking both up with her car. However, she’s spotted by King Bradley while doing so, which leads to consequences later on.

Ling then begs Riza for help, since his attendant Lan Fan is very injured and will die without a doctor's attention. Riza agrees to carry Lan Fan along to the shack they were using as hideout and asks Mustang to summon Dr. Knox to attend to her.

Arriving at the shack, Riza stays on guard outside while Dr. Knox works on Ran Fan and Mustang gets acquainted with Ling Yao. Hearing Mustang's name, Gluttony rages out to him, as he was the murderer of Lust. Destroying half the shack, Gluttony chases Mustang into the forest, where Riza attempts to sidetrack him and escape with the Colonel.

Edward and Al volunteer to stay behind to face the Homunculi while Riza takes both Lan Fan and Mustang to a secure location, along with Dr. Knox. Riza lends Edward one of her revolvers. Ed protests, saying it's a weapon to hurt and kill people. Riza insists, telling him that "it's a weapon of protection".

They go to Dr. Knox’s house, leaving Lan Fan to his care and proceeding back to Headquarters, where Mustang wants to survey whether they can get any allies against the top brass and the Homunculi inside the Military. Mustang enters the HQ and Riza stays outside, on watch, for a whole evening, while Mustang is held in by the Führer.

The Belly of the Beast
The consequences of Mustang's activities and investigations arrive quickly, as he discovers all top brass of the Military are involved with the Homunculi. King Bradley holds Mustang at the Central Command for the night, stating that he will not kill the Colonel, but will not allow him to wander, either. To ensure Mustang's cooperation, Bradley reassigns his loyal subordinates; Falman is sent to the north, Fuery to the south, and Breda to the west. Havoc is already gone, having returned to his family's home.

For Riza, however, Bradley has something else in mind. Having deduced that she is the closest and most deeply trusted of Mustang's subordinates, as well as possessing superlative skills, Bradley has decided to make her his own personal assistant. In simplest terms, she is being held as a hostage for Mustang's good behavior, meaning that the Colonel cannot make a move to defy Bradley or defeat the Homunculi without placing his "queen" in grave danger.

With all his subordinates removed from his Command and with Riza as Bradley’s hostage, Mustang is forced to lay low for a while and to stop his investigations in the Military. While he regroups, Edward and Alphonse plan to travel North to learn more about Alkahestry from May Chang. Before they do, however, Ed goes to visit Riza in her apartment just after her transfer to work under the Führer.

Returning the pistol Riza loaned him during Gluttony’s attack, they begin to talk about many important subjects: Edward's goal to return his body, about living and protecting those we love, burdens, responsibilities for their mistakes, and Ed's feelings towards Winry and his brother. Edward asks Riza if she could tell him about what happened during the Ishvalan war, a request with which Riza complies, telling him her view of the Massacre.

Edward thanks Riza for her openness and asks about the future of the country, saying he now understands why Mustang wants to become Führer. Riza explains the complex situation which she and Mustang both face; should they succeed in their aims to place him at the head of the country, they will both likely face trial and possible imprisonment for their actions during the Ishvalan conflict. Nevertheless, they are both committed to bringing peace and democracy to Amestris. She also urges Edward not to worry about their fates, as he has quite enough on his shoulders already. They part on friendly terms, urging each other to be safe.

After this conversation Riza starts her work under Bradley in silence, not meeting or talking to Mustang often. Nevertheless, she remembers Mustang's earlier injunction that she should never give up no matter what, and only obeys orders as far as is necessary to prevent further difficulties for herself or Roy. One day, while working with the Führer, Riza asks him if he has any compunctions about living such a lie. Bradley surprises her by telling her "...but my wife, I have chosen myself".

The Original Homunculus
Not long after this conversation, Riza delivers some military documents to the Führer at his house, late at night. Mrs. Bradley attends to her, making conversation about her husband and his work. Riza feels a strange feeling, turning around to find Selim Bradley behind her. Mrs. Bradley then brags about Selim, telling Riza he’s adopted from a relative of her husband, which raises Riza’s suspicions. Sensing he is discovered, Selim reveals to Riza that he is in fact Pride, the first of the Homunculi. He threatens Mustang and her friends if she dares speak to anyone about him. He adds that he will be watching her from the shadows.

Frightened, Riza returns to her apartment, trying to decide what to do next. She is surprised by a phone call from Colonel Mustang, saying that he's got plenty of flowers and asking if Riza wants some. He can detect the uneasiness in her voice, although Riza tries to deny it, and looks for her in the canteen the next day.

Deciding to take a risk, Riza signals to Mustang that she will give him a coded message, continuing the conversation as if nothing has happened. Colonel Mustang notes down the names Riza mentions in the conversation, taking their initials to write “Selim Bradley is Homunculus.”

The Promised Day
Riza lays low until, when Hohenheim tells Alphonse about the plans of the Promised Day, which triggers a flow of messages from character to character about it. General Grumman receives the news through Briggs and sends Rebecca, one of Riza’s best friends, to Central to pass on the message to Riza herself.

Rebecca, under the guise of having a “day off” at Central City, visits Riza and slips a note into Black Hayate’s collar. She hints Riza to pass on the message by asking her to “Say hello to Havoc” for her. Later the same day, Riza visits Havoc at the hospital. Upon arrival, she notices Colonel Mustang is in the room, hidden, but chooses not to uncover him as to avoid the Homunculi to see them together and just talks to Havoc as if nothing is wrong. She gives him a pack of cigarettes with the note from Rebecca, which states the message from Gen. Grumman. After Riza leaves, Havoc passes the note to the Colonel.

As a preparation to the Promised Day, Riza deserts the Military, joining Major Sargent Fuery and 2nd Lieutenant Breda in a warehouse, waiting to meet Mustang to start a coup d’etat during the Promised Day. Mustang join them in an underground passage after blowing up his foster mother’s bar. Mustang states they’re going down a path with no return, as of that moment, and made his subordinates promise him they’ll not get themselves killed. They proceed to intercept Mrs. Bradley’s car, taking her hostage before the news of the Führer’s train being blown up at the East got to the Military. With Mrs. Bradley in tow, they enter the city only to be chased by Central soldiers.

Leaving the traumatized First Lady in the care of Breda and Fuery, Mustang and Hawkeye continue to move into the city, trying to get to the Central Command. After some struggle, they manage to reach the undergrounds of the 3rd Laboratory, eventually meeting up with Ed, Scar and the Chimeras at the engraved gates, while they fight the Immortal Army.

Aiding Edward to finish the enemies, Mustang finally comes face to face with Envy. Envy reveals to be Brigadier General Hughes’ murderer, setting Mustangs hatred alive. Scar and Ed decide to go on ahead with the chimeras, as Riza states she can take care of the situation with Mustang herself. Mustang attacks Envy mercilessly, with Riza following behind them without him knowing. In an attempt to confuse his enemies, Envy disguises as Mustang to attack Riza. Asking her to “follow close behind”, Riza notes that Mustang might be Envy in disguise, and points her gun at him, remarking that Roy always calls her "Riza" whenever both of them were alone. Falling for her trick, Envy shifts back to his old form and is immediately shot by Riza as she reveals that she lied. However, Envy gets the upper hand in the encounter, almost killing Riza, but being stopped by the Colonel, who proceeds to burn him without end, relieving all accumulated anger into the homunculus.



As Mustang prepared himself to release his final blow and kill Envy, Riza surprisingly points a gun to the Colonel’s head, saying she couldn’t allow him to kill the homunculus. Scar and Ed return just in time, Edward holding on to Envy and scolding the Colonel, stating he’s blinded by hatred. In turn, Scar says he cannot stop Mustang, but is also curious about “what the world would be like with a vengeful man as its leader”. Riza then begs Mustang to see reason, saying she could kill Envy herself. She says she understands what he’s going through, but cannot let him go down the road of becoming a beast. Mustang answers she can shoot him if she really felt like it, but asked first, what she would do after she had killed him, to which she answers:


 * “I have no desire to live a carefree, happy life alone. After this battle, my body will leave this world together with the Flame Alchemy, that only brings insanity”

Upon hearing this, Mustang ceases, sorrowfully stating that “it wouldn’t do” and that he would not lose Riza and apologizes to her for causing her pain.

They continue to follow the tunnels together, trying to find Father’s Lair, but running into an old man with a golden tooth and doctor’s clothes, instead. He activates a transmutation circle, that takes hold of Ed (and Al and  Izumi), making him disappear. He states he was part of the process of creating the Führer and releases the former candidates to attack Mustang, Scar and Hawkeye, seizing them.



The Gold-Toothed Doctor then asks for Roy to perform a human transmutation, to which Mustang refuses. With his refusal, a Führer candidate slits Riza’s throat, to try and make him cooperate. Mustang attempts to save Riza but is held back. The gold-toothed doctor says he’s now the only person who can save Riza’s life, with a Philosopher's Stone in his possession, to which he will do if Mustang agrees to perform the Human Transmutation and become a Human Sacrifice.

Mustang then considers performing human transmutation to save Riza, but upon gazing into Riza's eyes, he gets the message from Riza not to perform human transmutation. Mustang reluctantly refuses to perform human transmutation, seemingly leaving Riza for dead.

However, they are saved by the appearance of May Chang and the other chimeras. May heals Riza's neck wound enough to stop the bleeding. Riza apologizes for worrying Mustang and states that he understood her eye signal well. Mustang replies that this is only because the two of them have been together for so long. Riza is then supported by Mustang until King Bradley arrives. Bradley states he's amazed by Mustang and that he believed the Flame Alchemist would do anything if faced with the danger of losing "someone important". Riza is left in the protection of the chimeras while she can only watch as Mustang gets his hands pinned to the ground inside a transmutation circle and sent through the gate.

She stays with the chimera while the Human Sacrifices fight Father in his lair and, as their position is directly above Father’s room, she and the chimera are not affected when the transmutation circle is activated and all souls sucked into Father.

Shortly after, Major and General Armstrong appear, all of them meeting Izumi and the Colonel shortly after, as Izumi is going after Father. She leaves the Colonel to Riza, continuing her way up. Roy tells her he has been blinded by Truth, but dismisses any concerns, asking her how are her wounds. Riza scolds him for not worrying about himself only to be cut out by Mustang asking if she could still fight.

Greed, who arrived in the meantime, says he’s going after Father but only allows for the fitted to join, dismissing General Armstrong and Riza for being hurt. Mustang intervenes, saying they need him to fight and he can only do that with Riza at his side. They go up to the surface to face Father, Roy now using Flame Alchemy without a transmutation circle. Riza takes the role of his eyes, supporting the Colonel and giving him the coordinates of where to direct his attacks.

As the fight comes to a close with Edward finishing off Father, Riza and Mustang are shown cheering on Edward as he takes advantage of the Homunculus’ unstable state.

In the aftermath, she is taken to the campaign hospital for proper care to her injuries. Rebecca appears to deliver her the news that the plan has worked and that the population believed they were trying to save Amestris. When Mustang is about to be cured by Dr. Marcoh, he asks to Major Armstrong to tell his subordinates they would have "a heavy job ahead". In the epilogue pictures, Riza is depicted as still working with Mustang, with her hair now cut short again.

Trivia

 * In Perfect Guidebook 2, it's stated that General Grumman is, in fact, Riza's grandfather on her mother's side. That guide states that it's easy to "make the connection" through mementos the General keeps in his office.
 * The relationship between Riza and Roy is a heavily implied one, and fans refer to their relationship as "Royai", The first part of "Royai" Roy is his name, and the end "ai" is likely from the "eye" in "Hawkeye", making the word a portmanteau. However, "ai" also means "love" in Japanese.
 * Like nearly all military personnel in the Fullmetal Alchemist series, Hawkeye is named after a military vehicle, vessel or weapon, in her case, the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, a carrier-based tactical Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft used by the US Navy. Interesting enough, her grandfather's name was also taken from the same aircraft.
 * One of Riza's pistols greatly resembles the FN Browning M1910, while the other pistol resembles an Enfield No.2 snub nose revolver in design.

Manga and 2009 series

 * In the Red Gaiden, aka Simple People, Riza reveals to her friend Rebecca Catalina that she let her hair grow after she met Winry at Resembool and realizing it "might actually look good"
 * In the series' epilogue she's shown with her hair cut short, once again.
 * The name Riza (a Hungarian version of Thereza) has as one of its meanings "Guardian". Though it's unclear whether this was intentionally put by the author, it fits Riza's story, both as the guardian of her father's secret through the tattoo on her back and the guardian of Colonel Mustang and his alchemy, not allowing him to stray from his path to become the Führer and use the Flame Alchemy "for the good of the people".
 * Mustang refers to all of his subordinates as chess pieces; Riza is the "Queen". The Queen is the only "female" chess piece and is arguably the most powerful and useful piece in the game of chess, appropriate for Riza's battle ability and closeness with Roy, who is the "King".
 * There are several implied jokes and remarks on the nature of the relationship between Mustang and Hawkeye in the manga and 2009 series. These include:
 * Lt. General Grumman asking Mustang to "marry his granddaughter" (said granddaughter we know by other means to be Riza), so that she could become "the future First Lady of Amestris",
 * Roy willing to burn and kill Barry the Chopper upon seeing he has a crush on Hawkeye
 * Hawkeye tricking Envy by implying she and the Colonel were romantically involved.
 * Roy being devastated because "Elizabeth has been taken by another man" (Elizabeth is Hawkeye's codename while undercover) when King Bradley first started to take her hostage, and Edward's remark as Riza being "the perfect hostage" in that same occasion.
 * Rebecca implying Riza might have done immoral things to keep such good positions in the military.
 * Madame Christmas asking Roy to "Go play with Elizabeth".
 * Riza going berserk and losing the will to live when she thought that Roy had died
 * King Bradley saying that he could "get to Mustang through 'her' (Hawkeye)", implying Hawkeye's somewhat of a weak spot of Mustang's. The Homunculi play the "Hawkeye card" against Mustang twice during the series:
 * Bradley takes Hawkeye as a implied hostage when Mustang advances in his inquiries on Hughes' murder.
 * During the Promised Day, the antagonists of the series try to kill Riza when Roy wouldn't cooperate in opening the Gate and becoming a Human Sacrifice.
 * Riza is the most popular female character in the series, having come in the 3rd place in the series' final fan poll. Edward Elric and Roy Mustang came in 1st and 2nd places, respectively.
 * Riza's theme song on the CD Theme of Fullmetal Alchemist is called 'Bonne Nuit,' which means 'good night' in French. It is sung by her seiyu, Fumiko Orikasa, who is also a famous singer in Japan.
 * Although one of Riza's personality traits is being extremely dutiful, she has been known to ignore or even outright refuse orders given to her by Mustang if they involve abandoning him.