This story was inspired by me, picking up the broken glass from my bookcase's shelf that my mother broke. As I was sitting there I could see... well.. the moments leading up to the beginning of this story occurring in my head. Anyway, R&R please. Thanks3
Story: 2,345 words (lol?)
It was a long shot, but Hell, any Inshbalan that was able to live in Central could have a clue. Fullmetal looked at the small picture in his hand, ignoring the sun's gleam on his metallic would-be skin.
The woman pictured was less Ishbalan-looking than most. She wasn't as tan but he eyes were no definitely about as blood red as they get. The picture was taken a few months before when she was accused of housing wanted Ishbalans. Thieves and the likes.
Of course No one would know it by the looks of it, she seemed pretty innocent-looking, and since they couldn't find the thieves or any proof they even stepped foot within her house they let her go.
Ed was sure Roy's sadism was acting up, as since they were only walked a few blocks from their room in the library, yet their babysitters, Brosh and Ross were stalking them, again. Ed pushed a few blond hairs from his face and checked the address on the back of the picture again, only another block, by the looks.
A cheaply paid for apartment was her residency as they neared the door. The red stone was fading from age and sun exposure and the door's paint was peeling, and the iron guardrails up the three steps to her door were rusting and needed to be re-bolted into the concrete.
Hell knows what this woman did to have the military voluntarily pay for her residency within Central, probably turned over some of the rebelling forces in Ishbal, Ed mused. But that would make her more less likely to be hiding any Ishbalan thieves, and as the thought passed through his mind, he thought of Marco and his idea of repention. Perhaps allowing them to do as they need to live was her way of atoning for her sins against her people previously... of course, based upon the theory she really was hiding them.
They approached the door and as Ed raised his hand to knock, the door opened and the face of a man wearing the military's standard blue uniform was on the other side. The man was older looking, at least forty, with short, black hair that hadn't been brushed in days but was held together with a thick looking gel that made his hair shine, even though he was still in the shade of their informant's house.
He looked a little taken back by the presence of the four. Two being military, a state alchemist, and a large suit of armor. And if it hadn't been that the way of Ed's robe wavering slightly in the breeze, he would have instantly began praising Al.
"You..." He began, unsure of what to say. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, aren't you...?" He worded his sentence carefully, directing the question to Ed, rather than the seven foot monster of his brother.
Unaccustomed to the recognition, and about ready to lose his head for Al being the state alchemist, Ed smirked and assured him he got it right.
The military-man nodded and held out his hand, "The name's Captain Kenta Hirosaka, over in the military's branch for handling Ishbalan affairs, not that anyone really calls us that."
Ed took it happily, "Guess you already know me, this is my brother, Al," Ed motioned to Al who bowed slightly and waved. "And our.. body guards... Denny Brosh and Maria Ross." He mentioned grudgingly. "What're you doing here, though?"
"Just checking up on her, since she was accused of aiding and abetting wanted criminals, she agreed to keep her Central housing in exchange for random house searches." He shrugged. "I don't blame her, it's much nicer here than in any of those refugee camps." He laughed but then seemed to remember something. "I guess I should get out of your way, but if you need me, I'll be walkin' real slow on my way back to the base," he winked, "Paperwork."
"Gotcha, Captain." Ed replied, stepping aside to let the captain past. Kenta waved once when he was ten feet from the house, them kept walking.
Ed knocked on the door now, watching as small flecks of paint fluttered off it. The sound of tumblers tumbling alerted them she was at least kind enough to open the door. The silver door knob turned and the face of the woman pictured appeared, though slightly different, through the opened door.
She was thinner, much paler and her eyes seemed darker, almost a red-brown now... not to mention the bruise on the side of her face, and the red print over her cheek. "Yes, sir?" Her voice was soft and slightly shaky.
Now that he was face-to-face with her, he could see a small scar under her left eye, almost crescent moon shaped, like she'd hit her face on a pipe. It stood out almost as bright as Scar's scar, but it was obvious she had paled since the picture was taken, making the white flesh hide a tad more.
"Mrs. Jennaria?" Al asked hesitantly, seeing her face already seem unsure of the group.
"It's Miss. I'm sure the file they have on me over in the Ishab says I'm married or something, but I'm not. Those military idiots always..." She stopped herself as her voice began to pick and and hushed herself again. "Sorry, force of habit. I would invite you inside but..." She glanced over her shoulder nervously. "My place.. is a mess.."
"We don't mind!" Ed replied, practically forcing himself inside her small apartment, she blinked and stepped aside for him, the unsure expression still upon her face.
When all four were inside, she slowly closed the door and instantly Maria knelt by what seemed to Ed, from afar, to be a small pile of shining rocks in front of a bright black bookcase of glass shelves.
Random ornaments adorned the shelves, colorful hair ties and pictures and even a little stuffed cat with white fur and rainbow stripes. Ed payed careful attention to the picture of her and another woman who looked much like her, though he could tell they were both much more tan that she looked now.
"Oh my, were you taking your shelf off?" Maria sighed, picking through the pile of broken glass, pulling a wooden picture frame and a picture from it's mess.
"Oh... y-yes. It just slipped out of my hands. I was about to clean it up when..." Jennaria began and was cut off by Brosh cut her off,
"Capt. Hirosaka came to check on you? He seems like a real nice guy, doesn't he?" He smiled, leaning back on the counter by the opening to her kitchen.
"Oh..." She looked away, brushing a strand of black hair out of her eyes. "Yes, I suppose so." She smiled, nodding to enforce her point.
Maria had fit the picture back within it's frame and held it out to her, and smiled. "That baby is real cute. What's his name?"
The woman jumped and relaxed, slowly taking the picture with a shaking hand. "Creed." The woman brushed the glass from the frame- which had not broken- and pushed the picture of herself and the other woman out of the way.
"Is he here?" Al asked, his unbridled curiosity for this woman's baby was pouring out of his metallic body.
"I..." She began, "No, he's not. That picture was taken years ago..." She looked away, then sighed, and retreated to her couch. "Just... what are you here for? My house-searching just happened, but if you're here to double check, go ahead... just try not to break anything." She scratched the back of her neck, avoiding eye contact with any of them.
"Ms. Jennaria..." Al began, walking to her. "Kai." He paused. "You don't have to be afraid of us, we're not here to hurt you. We just want to ask you some questions."
She laughed, truly laughed, and turned to look Al in his eyes. "Fear isn't an emotion for the survivors. It's a way of life. Most of us have to end up choosing: How do we want to feel about the fact our families were destroyed, our houses burned before our very eyes, everyone we'd known and loved shot as we watched from the shadows, trying to make our own escape? Do we want to hate the world? Do we fear it?" She paused and looked to the floor, staring at her own hands, a few specks and trails of blood shining.
"I envy the few who can accept what happened as how the world works, or even the ones who believe in equivalent exchange, that our horrid loss will be compensated with a great gain..." She stood and walked to her bookcase without a word, picking up the picture and staring at it a long time.
"Fear isn't the only thing that consumes me, however. Hatred still resides. I loathe the man that took my sister from me, who stood and watched my sister give birth and die because he refused to allow the doctors to help her..." She gripped the frame so hard her knuckles turned white. "I hate that man, Captain Hirosaka, who thinks the best way to treat an Ishbalan is like dirt, and keep hitting and breaking and yelling until they do as you ask... I hate the soldiers that shot my parents, yet missed me. In.. only a few days I was alone in the world. Only me and Creed, my sister's baby."
She put the picture down and turned back to the group, "But that didn't last forever. Creed was born and never received the health care he needed... He fell ill often and finally.." She smiled as though the thought was absurd, "One day I woke up and was just.. dead."
She stared at the group, all of which looked depressed and slightly ashamed. "Of course, my fiancee and I were both heartbroken. We'd begun to raise the child as though it were our own. But, we can never have children. I'm infertile, and Creed was a God-sent, for a while.
After a few years, it stopped hurting to talk about Creed and Kamar. It was near the end, however, I lost everything. My fiancee.. was mortally injured. He and the remnants of his family died at the hands of a state alchemist. " She curled her hands into a fist. "I made myself promise that if I ever met the man who did it..." She smirked. "I'd kill him myself, the same way he killed my love."
She brushed her hair out of her face, breathed deeply and relaxed. "So what was it you wanted to ask, Alchemist?"
Ed looked away and dug the second picture from his pocket, putting Kai's picture back. He held the picture out for her, and Kai crossed the room to take it from his hand.
An Ishbalan man was pictured, his hair was white and cut short and rather spikey, his jaw square and hard. Shades were over his eyes, but the red tint was unmistakable. But the white X-shaped flesh over his face was also unmistakable. "We just... wanted to know if you'd seen this man. We'd heard you'd been accused of helping some other Ishbalans out, I guess.. we were hoping to find him on your couch or something..."
Kai handed the picture back and shook her head. "No, he's not familiar at all. Why're you after him?" She asked, a faint curiousity coated her voice.
Maria beat the others to it, "He's been killing state alchemists. He's a serial murderer and will kill anyone who gets in his way." As though she had rehearsed it.
Kai shook her head and frowned. "That's terrible... but that face isn't easily mistaken. I'll call you guys if I see him."
Maria smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Ma'am." She hustled the rest of the boys out. Kai followed them to the door. She waved them off, but as they just got off the steps she called out, "Hey, Fullmetal!"
Ed turned and looked to her, wondering what she forgot. She was smiling, her white teeth showing. "Watch your back."
He raised and eyebrow, quite ready to go back and pound on her door until she told him what she meant, since she obviously knew more about Scar than she was letting on, but with his babysitter dragging him around.. he'd just come back later.
Kai closed the door and went back inside, going to her bookshelf and picking up a photo that was buried behind the rest. Its glass was dusty and clean of smudges by fingerprints on the left side, over the woman's face. The right side, over the man's face smudge marks were abound. The frame itself was worm on the edges, as though it had been picked up more than it was meant to in its lifetime.
The couple was Ishvalan, the woman having long, black hair and blood red eyes with a round face with a feminine chin and small nose with thin, pink lips. The man had a strong, squared jaw line with white, slightly spikey hair with a calm expression, a slight twinge of joy could be seen tugging at his lips, though he barely showed it.
"Try not to get yourself killed." She called out into the house. "Not sure what the kid wants with you, since it's the upper ranking officers that want your head plastered on their wall with a plaque under it... Just.. I don't want the next time I see you to be in a coffin.." She paused and rubbed the dust from the picture's glass. "If there's anything left to bury."
She turned to look at the hallway. It was empty. But the click in the background told her he'd found the backdoor. She rubbed the glass as tears formed on her eyes. "I guess.. we all died a little.."
She looked to the hallway, in the slightest hope he'd be standing there, eyes pleading for them to run away from all of this.. but the emptiness was no surprise. "You more than most.."
Did I totally forget to include that Ishab was my way of differentiating between IAB (Internal affairs) and Ishbalan affairs? Yessss3333
and did I forget to mention how she got the scar and why she was so pale (from Kenta hitting her with his ring that I didn't mention -kills self-, and from not going out in the daytime in fear of seeing him) Yess v_v
Anyway, despite Scar having no -real- appearance in the whole damn short story (by my account), I love this piece but I do need to edit in the few (coughmanycough) bits I forgot.
Hope you enjoyed it3
~Kat