Rain poured hard against the sidewalks, washing away all footprints. All traces of life stalking the streets. Or at least the life that was crazy enough to venture into the storm.
Sasori and Deidara knew not of the old-time streets they walked, mostly because of the pitch black lighting that this particular storm had offered. Sure, the puppet and the blond had been flying, regrettably, according to Sasori. But they were thrown down from the clay bird when lightning struck it's wing, causing the whole thing to detente.
This probably wouldn't have bugged the redhead much except for the fact that the explosion sent them hurtling to the ground, and because Hiruko was already damaged by the lightning didn't improve the massive puppets' landing. Hiruko was smashed, broken, shredded, and fried crispy. This ticked Sasori off past the point of a simple "I'm sorry" from Deidara.
So the pair hurried through their unknown surroundings and wound up at an old-time town neither knew, nor had caught wind of, named Resembool. No maps they could find said anything about this town ever existing, and the maps that the town held said nothing about the forest that the Akatsuki hideout hid in, or even any of the Hidden Villages.
Sasori wanted to scream in frustration. "God dammit, you brat! You fucking got us lost in the middle of this damn town that obviously doesn't know any real fucking places around here!" He hauled off and slammed his wooden foot into a light post that offered dim, yellow street lighting in the heavy rain. There was a rattle, a popping sound, and the light busted in an explosion of sparks.
"Nice going, Danna!" Deidara yelled back, now frightened that there was no light whatsoever. He hid his fear in a mass of forced frustration."Now we're really screwed!"
Sasori growled. Deidara gave a hoarse cough, and Sasori was grateful that his puppet body offered protection from such sicknesses.
"Are you two okay?" There was a hollow ringing call from the rain. Loud shuffling, like that of armor, sounded across the concrete sidewalk.
Deidara could just barely make out the figure of a large, large man wearing spiked, old-style metal armor advancing toward him. Of all of it, two gleaming, red eyes pierced through the helm of the armor and right through the rain, staring both curiously and intently at the two criminals.
Sasori figured that this armored man would be slow, and Sasori was fast, so there was no need to alarm anyone, or give away plans for attack, that is, by showing defense.
Deidara simply stood, head cocked to the side. He saw no danger, no threats of danger. To him, after all, this town didn't think the Hidden Villages existed. So if there was no hidden villages, no Kyubi to live there, or to hunt after, right? And if the Akatsuki were to be known here, nobody would know or even think that their evil, because it would seem that it was a group of kids who ran away from home to chase after, and play ninja with, a bunch of imaginary monsters.
So no defense was needed. The armored man approached them, a little more cautiously. But he had every right to; they were strangers in his town, after all.
"Are you lost? You don't seem like you belong around here." He looked Deidara and Sasori up and down without them even realizing it. -They could really pitch a fight.- He thought numbly. -But they don't seem to be knowledgeable about alchemy of any kind... I best warn Brother.-
"Uh, yeah, we are, un." Said Deidara with a hint of relief in his voice. He was glad they had found someone who seemed to know the town remotely.
Sasori flashed Deidara a glare. Relying on strangers was downright stupid; Admitting to such a downfall could cause this stranger to take full advantage and lead them to an impending doom. Not that Sasori didn't think he could could easily protect himself.
The man in the armor nodded slightly and squared his shoulders so they faced down the street. "My older brother knows all of Resembool really well. I'm sure he can tell you how to get to... Say, where are you two headed?" He turned his helm and his red eyes locked on Sasori and Deidara.
"We are headed to the Hidden Sand village." Sasori answered before Deidara had the chance to give away the hideout of the Akatsuki base. From the sand, Sasori could easily find his way back to the base.
Deidara huffed, and glanced over at his redheaded partner. Sasori cast the blond a glare that told him to shut up before something bad happened.
"The Hidden Sand?" The armored man paraphrased. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I've never heard of a town like that. It must be somewhere close to..." He trailed off. "Well, my name is Alphonse. I can take you to my big brother, and maybe he would know where that place is." Alphonse sounded confused, and frankly wary of both Sasori and Deidara.
Sasori nodded. "That would be best... Come, Deidara." Alphonse started down the road, and Sasori followed.
"I'm no dog, Sasori-Danna, un." Deidara growled in reply, trotting after the two.
Sasori disregarded the comment. The trio neared a large building, a place that Alphonse had called the 'Military Headquarters.' The redheaded ex-suna nin doubted such a child could possibly take residency in such a large building with such a large security team.
The armored man led Sasori and Deidara into the broad doors of the Military Headquarters and through a series of winding hallways. Sasori kept a skeptic glance at the old-fashioned items that this building held, while Deidara thought the antiques were complex, and just cool.
Alphonse took the two ex-nins to a small office, where from behind a closed door they could hear bickering from two officers. Alphonse opened the door to reveal a short blond arguing with a taller, black-haired male.
"And you can get your flaming ass out that damn door and melt the damn sidewalks before I fall on mine again!" He yelled at the jet-black-haired officer.
"Don't talk to your superiors like that, Fullmetal!" The older male shouted, equally angry, back.
"I can talk however the hell I want, Mustang!" The blond screamed back before turning to the open door. "C'mon, Al, let's go."
"Brother, we have guests." Alphonse said, stepping aside from the door frame, revealing Deidara and Sasori.
The blond blinked. "Visitors for what?" He asked, looking past the armor and at the pair of criminals.
"They're lost, Brother." Al explained. "We were thinking you would know how to get back to their town."
Alphonse's brother paused for a moment, wondering what the two men behind his brother were up to. They could be homunculus. Or chimeras. But the blond doubted chimeras to take such a human form, and homunculus wouldn't put on such a distraction when right now it was too cold and dark to execute any sort of important plans.
"My name is Akasuna Sasori." The redheaded nin piped up, taking a dominating step forward.
"And I'm Deidara Iwa, un." Deidara held out a hand, forcing the tiny mouth sealed into his palm to keep shut.
"My name is Edward Elric, and I'm sure you've met my kid brother, Alphonse." Edward extended his hand and firmly shook Deidara's with his flesh hand. No use in letting them know he was equipped in auto-mail just yet.
Alphonse let slip a nervous, metallic laugh from inside the armor. "Nice to meet you."
Edward's suspicions rose when Deidara nor Sasori reacted to the news of Alphonse being his brother. Surely the size difference would have shocked them.
Sasori caught Edward's glare and narrowed his own eyes as a response. Deidara and Alphonse shook hands, talking formally, while this new blond brat and the puppeteer silently questioned one another.
"We're headed to The Hidden Sand village." Sasori answered in a low growl.
Ed exchanged a confused glance with his armored brother. "I have never heard of a place with that particular name..."
"Perhaps the town you two are looking for is Liore, or Amistris." The black-haired man interrupted.
"What do you mean, Colonel Mustang?" Alphonse asked, tilting his head to the side with a hollow clank.
"Liore is quite a sandy place, if I'm correct. The 'Hidden Sand Village' could be a practical slang term for most people who reside there." Colonel Mustang answered, flipping a page of a document on his desk. "I'm afraid I haven't the pictures to show you two young men and get an exact answer, but I can have Mr. Elric escort you on a train to the town and see if it is the same place."
Sasori deeply disagreed with this thought. There were no train tracks even remotely close to his village. Liore was not his village, and he and Deidara had not the time to be wasting on a wild goose chase. The longer they spent in the public eye, they became more susceptible to being discovered as criminals.
"We can try." Edward glanced back over at Sasori and Deidara. "I suppose now is not the time, however. The trains aren't running this late. Can they bunk in your quarters, Mr. Ever-so-generous-Colonel-Mustang?" Edward smirked at his own cleverness.
"No, they can not, Fullmetal. They can go to Miss Rockbell's house, which is as of this particular date and time, your current residency. Miss Rockbell surely is kind enough to support two lost travelers." Colonel Mustang shifted a deep glare at the blond.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Mustang." Edward hissed. "You're going to pay for their train tickets!" He snatched up his read cloak and headed out the door. "Come on, Al."
The armored brother turned to the two nins. "Follow us. You're going to have to stay the night at our friend Winry's house. Don't worry. Her and her grandma are very nice. They've been supporting my brother and I ever since our mom died."
"I'm terribly sorry to hear that, un. It must be hard." Deidara said, following Alphonse at his side. "It must have been really hard."
"It probably was for her grandma Pinacco. She had to feed and raise us since we were boys. My brother is 16 right now. I'm 15."
"You two are really young, huh, un?" Deidara asked. Alphonse nodded.
"Hurry up, Al!" Ed called, already halfway down the hall.
"Sorry about this, my brother is really impatient sometimes." Alphonse apologized and set off at a trot down the hall.
Sasori and Deidara followed quickly after.
Rain poured down on the steps of the humble little Rockbell house as the rhythmic tapping of footsteps sounded up the wooden stairs to the door. A dripping Edward emerged into the home first, followed by a drenched Alphonse, Sasori, and Deidara.
"Ed! Wipe your feet at the door!" Winry called.
"I have some visitors!" Ed called in reply, ringing out his hair on a towel that served as a mat in front of the front door.
Al tromped off and explained to Winry who and why they had visitors. Winry let them stay, at promise Ed would share dinner with Deidara, because both Sasori and Alphonse claimed they 'weren't hungry'.
The night was off to a remotely smooth start. That is, until the smell of flames engulfed the kitchen and woke everyone in the Rockbell home.
