"This is the only way….The only way I can move on. I will watch my house burn and I'll never again have to come back. So many memories I would rather forget and not think about, but they haunt me to no end. I will never forgive them…Mother, Father…You left me all alone with no one to look after me. With your deaths, I have learned to take care of myself and I don't need anyone or anything, not anymore. I won't forgive you."

A black cloud of smoke started to rise towards the heavens when fourteen year-old Sakura Takani threw inside her house a thick branch set on fire. Her house set ablaze and slowly but surely the home where she had grown up and lived in her entire life started to burn to the ground. Frozen solid, Sakura could nothing but watch and remember for the last time all the bad and good times she spent with her family in that house. The heavens seemed to cry tears as the inferno engulfing Sakura's house slowly vanished. All that was left of her home were charred pieces of wood left upon a black circle of ash.

"My time to move on from this place has come. I have to find the answers to the questions that you wouldn't answer. If I stay here any longer, I will never learn anything. Alchemy is my passion and always will be, and you taught me all there is to know about alchemy Father. Mother you taught me to be strong and to be independent.

Human kind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equal exchange. Bringing humans back from the dead is forbidden alchemy. I know all the elements that make up the human body. So many other things I want to learn and about the philosopher's stone. There are so many mysteries about alchemy. For thousands of years scientists have been trying to figure out all there is to know about alchemy. I don't know where I'm going exactly but wherever it is I'll study hard and I'll make you both proud of me. No longer will I make kid stuff out of using alchemy…..No I'm moving on to bigger and better things."

Sakura started walking towards the other side of town but stopped in front of a two story house and looked up. The rain from the clouds blended in with Sakura's tears. She had decided to not even say goodbye to the one person she treasured deep in her heart. Edwards Elric was his name. He is a dependable fifteen year-old boy who lost his right arm and left leg trying to bring back his mother from the dead. He paid the penalty for using forbidden alchemy. He had come home after a four years of traveling looking for the philosopher's stone. Sakura couldn't bare to say goodbye, she knew in her heart that if she did she wouldn't be able to leave. She took one last look at her secret love.

"Goodbye Ed.."

With those last words Sakura kept walking down the muddy road. Without Sakura realizing it Ed had saw a glimpse of her looking up at the window then walking by. Edward started talking to himself and wondering if something had happened.

"Where does she think she's going? There is a storm coming and she shouldn't be outside"

Edward quickly throws on his red jacket and runs outside in order to catch up with Sakura. Sakura was already half way out of town when she hears a far too familiar voice.

"Sakura!"

Sakura knowing if she turned and stayed where she was she would end up staying. Without looking back she stats to run away from Ed. Not knowing that Ed wouldn't give up so easily he too sped up and tried to catch her.

"Sakura! Stop! What are you doing!"

After about a ten minutes of chasing Sakura Ed knew she wasn't going to stop running from him. Knowing something was obviously wrong he stopped and yelled towards Sakura's direction

"Fine! If you wont stop I'll make you stop!"

With those words Ed clapped his hands and hurled them towards the ground. Sakura not expecting Ed to use alchemy against her four walls of hard mud surrounded her stopping her dead in her tracks. Sakura could hear Ed's footsteps pounding against the ground coming closer and closer. Finally the footsteps stopped right in front of the of Sakura. Ed started to talk to Sakura knowing she wasn't going anywhere until he destroyed the muddy prison.

"Now look her Sakura! I don't know what the hell you're trying to pull running off from home when there is a storm coming! Plus you were running away from me when I know you could hear me calling you! Now what the hell is going on!"

Ed paused for a second and besides the pounding of the rain he could hear Sakura's soft crying as she leaned against the mud wall. Finally she spoke to Ed knowing it would be easier if she didn't have to look him in the face.

"Shut up and quit treating me like a little girl!"

Surprised by Sakura's answer Ed could do nothing but wonder if he had missed something.

"Huh? What you mean? I'm not treating you like a little girl!"

There was an eerie silence between the both of them. For sometime both Ed and Sakura said nothing to each other. Ed decided after Sakura's remark he destroyed Sakura's prison and she just stood there. Ed looking deep into Sakura's eyes.

"Your right, I do sometimes treat you like a little girl. That's only because I am protective of you. I care about you and always will Sakura"

The rain started to die down and Sakura lowers her head and the tears she had been holding back have began to flow. Ed lifts Sakura's head with his hand and gently kisses her on her lips.

"I love you Sakura….I always have"

Sakura begins to break down and drops to the floor in Ed's arms. She felt safe and protected in his arms. Sakura resting her head on Ed's chest and Ed's resting his head on Sakura's shoulders.

"Come on Sakura lets go home"

Ed gently helps Sakura to her feet and guides her back to his house. They enter the warm house and Ed takes off Sakura's jacket and lays her down on his bed. Sakura dazed from everything that has happened starts to doze off and falls asleep. Ed shuts the door to the room and decideds to go to Sakura's house to see if anything had happened in the time he was gone. Much to his surprise when Ed arrives there is nothing left of the house but charred wood an ash.

"What happened? Where are Sakura's parents?"

Ed stunned by what happened to the house runs back to his house to talk to Sakura and find out what happened. When he arrives, Sakura is still asleep and her jacket and suitcase were open. Ed notices that a note is peering out of Sakura's jacket. He takes it and stares at it for a second then starts to read it. It was addressed to Sakura and stated:

Dear Ms. Sakura Takani,

We are very sorry to report that your parents have been murdered. We found their bodies in the office that they had been working in for the military. They were in charge of taking care of wounded soldiers. There was a surprise attack on the medical center. We are very sorry to report such horrible news to you. Are prays are with you.

Sincerely,

Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang

Ed stunned by the news now understood why Sakura had burned the house down. The same thing had happened to Ed too. He also lost his mother to a sickness she had had for years. His no good father didn't even come to her funeral after finding out she was dead. Ed furious by what the note said clinched it in his fist and brought it up to his forehead.

"Damn it! No wonder she was running away! No wonder she didn't stop when I called for her. She no longer wants to stay here! She lost her parents the only family she had ever had. And me leaving didn't make things better!"

Ed started to have a flashback when he was only eleven. He left home and only said goodbye to Sakura and her family. Her parents weren't happy about it but they could do nothing.

"Goodbye Sakura, goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Takani"

"Goodbye Edward good luck on your journey you make sure and come back to visit ok?"

"I will Mrs. Takani thank you"

"Edward"

"Yes sir? You must be very careful on this journey of yours. Never let your guard down. Not all people out there are good willed. Take this with you"

"What is it sir?"

"A picture of our family. Take it and never forget if you ever need anything, we will always be here.

"Thank you sir I'll always treasure it"

"Good boy"

"Ed?..."

"Sakura!"

"Are you really leaving?"

"Yes I am but I promise to come back"

"You do? You better!"

"Don't worry about it! I will come back you can count on it!"

Ed quickly gave Sakura a hug and ran down the road to start his journey. Ed remembered that day perfectly and couldn't help but feel sorry for Sakura. He whispers to himself

"We were so small back then. We knew nothing of how much pain we would go through in the future. No wonder she was doing what I had done, she was going to go out and look for answers."

The door from Ed's rooms slowly opened and Sakura slowly walked out. She sat on a chair and looked up at Ed. Ed stared and opened his mouth to say something. Both of them engaged in talking to each other to try and clear this thing up

"Sakura? Your awake that's good"

"Human kind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain something of equal value must be lost"

"Alchemy first law of equal exchange! Where did you learn that Sakura?"

"My father taught me everything he knew about alchemy while you were gone through out those four years I studied hard. And yet I felt that my father and mother were hiding something about alchemy from me. I could just feel something was wrong."

"Your father taught you all that?"

"Yes"

"So wait you could have broken out of the mud walls that surroned you using alchemy?"

"Yes I'm just like you"

"Just like me? How?"

"You don't need a transmutation circle to use alchemy. Well neither do I"

"I don't believe it! Show me!"

"Very well"

Sakura clapped her hands and rested her real arm on her metal arm. A bright blue light shown and Sakura now had turned her auto mail arm into a sword. Besides him, Ed was the only person he knew that could use alchemy without a transmutation circle. Ed couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Your not the only one who can use alchemy without a transmutation circle!"

"Sakura why didn't you tell me!"

"Well lets see you were gone for four years!"

"But!..."

"Exactly you left me all by myself! I had no one to turn to when times got rough! And"

"Shut up! I'm here now aren't I!"

"Well…it was hard Ed. I was always worrying about you if you were safe if you were hurt. I hated myself for feeling like I shouldn't have let you go so easily. You never stopped by; you never wrote I was always so worried!"

Ed could obviously see that him not doing any of those things really hurt Sakura. He couldn't believe how selfish he had been.

"I felt like you didn't care about us since you never came by. You knew that you always had our home to come home too. Yet you would always say that you didn't have a home to come too. You don't know how bad that made me feel. Throughout those four years that you were gone I probably got a month of scattered sleep…."

"Sakura…."

"But you're here now safe and sound and that's all that matters."