"Ohayo!" (Good morning) The two brothers called in unison as they ran past Aunt Pinako who was setting up a sprinkler in the front lawn.
"Oy, Winry! Hayaku, oira ichimasu nimo osoi!" (Hey, Winry! Hurry, we're going to be late) A young Edward Elric called out to Winry as he rushed through her front door with a younger Alphonse Elric, tailing happily behind.
"Rairin!"(Coming) Winry called back rushing down the hall tugging on her socks.
Ed laughed, "Hanka?" (Shoes?)
Winry stumbled a bit and stood straight holding up a pair of shoes in her hand. "Korede!" (Here) She giggled and with her free hand, she grabbed Ed's wrist and tugged him out the door. Al laughed too and followed. Winry let go of Ed, skipped down the porch steps and stopped disappointedly at the bottom. Looking at her bike, the three saw that the front tire was flat but they knew they didn't have time to fix it.
Winry, trying to ignore her own bike, hurried over to Ed's, pulled herself onto the back rack, and started to put on her shoes.
Ed climbed onto the seat of the bike and put up the kickstand.
Winry tapped her shoe the rest of the way on on the ground and pulled her knees up. "Dekiagari!" (Ready!)
Ed pushed forward and began to pedal Al riding slightly ahead.
The ride was smooth and easy for the first part; then Al wanted to take a short cut to be positive they wouldn't be late. Ed agreed, not processing in his youthful mind the odds of crashing on the dirt path. Pulling on, the ride suddenly became very jostled and Ed felt Winry's arms tighten around him. He blushed, but kept peddling past the large scattered rocks.
Unfortunately, not all rocks were avoidable. In the tiniest of moments, the front tire of Ed's bike jarred on a rock twisting and locking the back half of the bike that buckled and fell forcing both children onto the coarse surface of the road. Winry cried out and held her knee as Ed pulled himself out from under the bike.
"Winry." Ed crawled over to her.
The front tire of Al's bike grinded into the dirt and he jumped off letting it clatter to the ground; he ran over to check on the two crashers. "Nii-san, Winry… Otaku kega?" (Brother, Winry… Are you hurt?)
Tears slid down Winry's lightly dusted face and Ed gave up on trying to talk to her and began rubbing his ankle. "Non." He mumbled and glanced at Winry feeling extremely guilty and reddening in the face.
Al bent down to examine Winry's injured knee. A slight wave of nausea took him at the sight of the thin line of blood running down her leg. He rocked back on his heels and Winry pushed her leg to the side too see. The blood only made her cry harder and Ed stood to prop his bike up.
After a moment of comforting her, Al helped her stand and became her crutch while Ed walked the bikes.
They arrived at school late and all three were even later to class having gone to the nurse first. Al helped Winry walk to class with Ed behind them a ways. When they entered the classroom, Ed handed the Sensei the note. She read it and nodded, pointing at their seats.
***
At lunch, the three friends met at their usual spot in the back of the field under the large maple each with their own packed lunch.
Ed, opening his, glared at the bottled beverage and began to bribe the other two into a trade; his milk for their rice ball or apple juice. All attempts failed, so Ed put it aside and ate the rest.
When the bell rang at the conclusion of lunch, they all raced each other back to class.
***
After school Al suggested that they walk home; Winry happily agreed. However, Ed was refilled with guilt and took off on his bike by himself. Winry almost ran after him, but Al stopped her with a hand placed on her shoulder. She looked back at him as he began to walk his bike with a reassuring smile and she followed in equal pace.
They reached home before dinner and went in to find Ed. Trisha Elric, the brother's mom, hadn't seen Ed yet… neither had Aunt Pinako. They all searched and found his bike still missing as well. He hadn't come home yet.
After an hour- and when it started to rain-, Trisha couldn't wait anymore and she called the police.
Winry cried and Trisha paced while Al knelt on the sofa next to Aunt Pinako peeking out the window for a car to drive up with Ed. He got bored with that and decided to go find something to do to get his mind off his missing brother. He turned and hopped off the couch.
Then, as he began to walk away, there came a knock on the door. Trisha rushed to answer it. When she did, she found a soaking wet black haired military man standing behind a very muddy and drenched, tear-stained Ed (and dry-under-an-umbrella- blond military woman standing a ways back). She threw her arms around her child thanking the soldiers for finding him, promising it wouldn't happen again.
Once the door was closed and Ed was safely inside, she stood straight and sent him to the bathroom to get cleaned up.
When Ed didn't come back for 15 or so minutes, Al and Winry went to check on him. They found him half dressed in fetal position on the floor crying. Hurrying to his side, they began to comfort him.
Soon, Trisha was in the door way and Ed stood to take his punishment like a big boy; tears still filling his eyes. Her expression was hard at first, but melted into a warm and loving smile and a second embrace. Ed was surprised for a moment, but choked with tears hugged her back and cried to release the stress of having been lost.
After a moment, mother and son let go and she reached onto the counter for his shirt and slipped it on him. Then kissing him on the forehead stood to let him out.
He wiped the kiss from his face and turned to Winry and Al standing where he had once sat. A grin broke across his face, "Oira engi!" (Let's play!)
They smiled back and ran out after Ed, all of them laughing as they went.