I don't own FMA, and nor do I wish to own FMA. I just like fanfiction.

WARNING: This story is AU, which to the ignorant ones out there means that I know this isn't what officially happened. I wanted to try something. Love it or hate it, I honestly don't care. Also, Ed and Al are nine and eight in the beginning.

This is a rewrite of The World I Seek because a reviewer got me thinking. Thank you.

To See the World

Edward was different. Something inside him changed since he spent a month on Yock Island with Alphonse. The ten-year-old distanced himself from Izumi and Al. Nobody understood why. He would spend all day in his bedroom, staring at the walls, or in the store with Sig, just listening to the man rumble on about different food dishes. It changed after about two weeks when Ed would just take off with Sig and Mason hunting him down.

"What is going on?" Mason asked as he cornered the child in an alley. Edward's eyes didn't glare anymore. He looked sad. Edward wouldn't move, so Mason ended up carrying him. They were lucky because they didn't always find him, but he always came back by dinnertime (not that he ate much). Mason worried because Izumi wouldn't because Edward was his own person. "Why are you acting this way?" Al asked that question so many times, but Ed never answered him

"I don't want to do it anymore. I don't think I can anymore," Ed whispered. Mason didn't understand the child's mumbling, but he accepted there was just something big that Ed was running from. He carried Ed home because he didn't have the heart to make the kid walk. Izumi would just beat the crap out of him earlier. As soon as they reached the house, Ed stirred. He was put down to walk.

"Ed!" Al shouted, excited. Nobody could tell that the spark in Ed's eyes wasn't happiness. It was guilt and regret. Al waited until Ed was at least inside to interrogate. Ed monotonously answered every question. Izumi just watched Ed as if waiting for something to break. "Why are acting this way?" Ed snapped at that question that only Mason had the answer to. The smaller blonde boy shoved his little brother to the ground.

"Just stay away!" Ed screamed, holding his head. He took off out the door before anyone could grab a hold of him. Izumi looked at Al, who was crying. How much longer would this continue? Al didn't move for several hours. He looked lost and confused, like a hurt puppy. His mouth was opened, almost like he was going to speak. Silence choked him instead.

"Al, get up," Izumi said, sternly. Alphonse stood up because he was obedient. He listened well. "Stop worry about Edward. He'll be fine and be home soon enough." The words sounded so sure. Izumi didn't want to break Al's heart, but she didn't want to encourage it either. She hoped Ed would wake up and realize that he was becoming a stranger to his only family left. Izumi patted Al's shoulder as he headed up to bed, and that was enough to give Al hope.

WORLD

"Ed will be back soon." Those words were becoming increasingly repetitive and less sure. After a week, Ed was still missing with Sig and Mason searching whenever they could. They asked around and looked everywhere that a small boy could fit. Nothing ever came up. Nobody saw him. Another week went by, with Al getting desperate, Sig told Izumi to suggest something to the boy. "Maybe Edward went back to Resembool." Al called back home to get an excited Winry. The excitement died before Winry told him that Edward didn't come home. Nobody has come from the train station in weeks. Mason went to the stationmaster who sternly said that no little golden eyed boys showed up. The man made an offer to check Yock, but it was refused because Izumi wanted Ed to wake up. "Take me to Yock." Izumi ordered Mason a month after Ed ran. Poor Al stayed behind with Sig.

"I'll be back early tomorrow," Mason said as he readied the boat for departure. He looked over at Izumi, who didn't move. "I hope he's here." Mason never said anything about what Ed told him. He rowed away as Izumi stepped closer to the forest. Her pack cared extra clothes for the missing child. Her eyes narrowed and glared into the darkness. She was being watched. Calmly, she walked to the place she laid her child in the ground and spotted something that made her stomach drop. Fresh blood looked up at her from some blades of grass. Edward was injured, and Izumi had to guess he was feeling a little sick by now. She needed to find him quickly.

"Edward," Izumi called out. Nothing came from the forest. She frowned and looked around her. "Come out and talk. I won't hurt you." Movement came from behind her, and she took off after it. It led her to a small cave. Ed was glaring at her from where he sat against the entrance. His eyes dared her to invade his tiny world as they looked distant. Izumi looked at his chest, which had claw marks. Ed managed to get his tattered shirt to cover most of it. "Ed, let me help you." Izumi stepped closer, but the boy didn't move. He just watched in silence as she crouched next to him. The clothes she brought were made into bandages, and Izumi noticed that Ed's skin was cold under her fingers. She hugged him as he started to drift off. "You shouldn't have run away. Everyone is worried about you." Izumi let Ed go as he waited for her to begin yelling at him. When she didn't, he started to relax. "Easy." Izumi smiled softly as she brushed some of his hair out of his face. "I'll start a fire. You feel like ice." Edward drew close to the fire as it came to life. Izumi was silent as she watched him throughout the night. He wasn't the same anymore. Something in him made Izumi sorry that she was trying to get him back.

WORLD

Izumi was shocked when she woke up in the morning, and she didn't wake up until Mason came stomping in to the camp. Izumi looked around, drowsily, and found that Ed had taken off into the shadows. She sighed in defeat and looked at the brown haired man. He laughed cautiously, waiting to be beaten. Mason was dragged by his ear back to the shore where Sig and Al were waiting with the boat. Izumi looked away from Al as his face dropped at the sight of no Edward. Izumi looked at Sig because she didn't need to know that she failed.

"You should go home," Izumi said. Sig and Al looked at her, and Mason just waited for orders. "I can try again. Mason can come get me in the morning." Sig had to force Al onto the tiny boat that shrunk as it went back to the mainland. Izumi found her way back to the cave. Ed was smart enough to make it look like he was never there. She sat down where she did before as she waited to feel like she was being watched. A cold feeling came over her as she thought about last night. Ed could be dead somewhere on the island with his injury. Izumi got up and began her search in the different hideouts on the island with no results. Defeated, she returned to camp as the sun fell and started a fire. Something fell next to her, scaring her. It was a makeshift net holding two fish captive. Izumi looked up at the tree at Ed, with the same daring eyes as the night before.

"You should've gone home," Ed said, breaking the silence of the fish cooking. Izumi didn't say anything as she nodded. They wouldn't look at each other, preferring to stare at the fire. Ed slowly ventured closer until he was across from her and looking at her. "Sig and Mason want you to go back to the mainland." Izumi shrugged and didn't say anything. "I know you're sick, and I'm not a doctor." His excuses weren't working, so Ed reverted back to the silence. He watched the flames dance and didn't notice Izumi had moved until she sat next to him. He didn't move away.

"You should come back with me to the mainland," Izumi said. Ed's eyes darkened as he looked at the flames with sadness and fear. "You're injured, and it will become infected if not treated." Edward shrugged and couldn't say anything. He didn't feel or wanted to be a part of Al's world anymore. He preferred isolation because it didn't feel so damn suffocating. He didn't think he could do it anymore. "Stop being an idiot, Edward." Ed looked at her. "There are people at the shop who love you and worry about your safety." Izumi was desperate to get through the blonde boy, but he was almost too far gone. Edward just picked up his fish and bit into it without a care, and Izumi left the subject alone.

Like the day before, Ed was gone when Izumi woke up. She didn't stay another night though. Mason was waiting at the shore for her alone and didn't smile when he saw her by herself. The ride back was silent because they had nothing to talk about, and Mason didn't have the heart to ask about Ed. Al and Sig met them at the dock, and Al's face fell harder when he didn't see Edward. Izumi stood before her remaining pupil and sighed. She would have to break him to fix him.

"Give it up. If Ed wanted to come back, he would've come back with us. There is no reason that you can't fulfill your reason for being here," Izumi said. Al never admitted it, but he suddenly hated Teacher. She was a cruel woman. Izumi didn't say anything about finding Ed or what had happened. She ignored Sig's questions and promised to put her heart into training Al. Ed was to become just a secret for the darkness. He was gone, and Izumi forced herself into not caring.

WORLD

Edward had been gone for a little over a year with Al progressing quite well in his training. Izumi spoke to Sig once about Ed in the dead of the night. She told him her fears that Edward had probably died alone and cold from the infection. She tried not to think about it, but every flash of golden yellow made her thoughts think back to the last night. Edward was gone. He was out of everyone's reaches, and he had no plans of coming back. Something was keeping him away. Al was training in the yard with Izumi with Sig watching when a young man dressed in a suit came to the gate.

"Mr. Curtis?" the man asked. He looked like he was a salesperson with his suit tie being crumpled. "My name is Jack Thompson. I work for the hospital." He held his hand out for a handshake, but neither of the adults took it. Izumi walked over while giving him the death glare. Sig had Al leave before following. "An Edward Elric was captured by two hunters on Yock Island, sir. He was shot twice, and the nurses only got the surname Curtis out of him. We were hoping that he was your charge, Mr. Curtis." Jack looked a man with big hopes. He waited, but Sig shook his head. Izumi stepped forth. This didn't surprise Jack because a fevered Ed had told Jack to find Teacher. "Mrs. Curtis, we're asking for you to come to the hospital with me. Mr. Elric is delirious and has been restrained for attacking a nurse." It didn't take Izumi long to leave Jack and Sig just standing there while she rushed to the hospital.

WORLD

They had cut his hair quite short and had leather straps attacked to his wrists and ankles. The nurses let him out of them when she entered, and he immediately sat up and brought his legs to his chest to wraps his arms around them. He didn't seem to hear the nurse's concerns for his stitches. He was looking at Izumi with one eye. The left eye was covered by bandages because, as the doctor said, his left ear was in tatters from an animal attack. Izumi stepped carefully towards him. Edward began to cry as he let go of his legs and crawled over to the edge of the bed. Never had Izumi seen Ed so…broken. She walked over and gently touched the bandage over his eye before he latched onto her.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I shouldn't have left you there. I should've tried harder," Izumi whispered softly as he hugged her tighter. His skin was warmer now. He wasn't letting her go even for her to sit down. The scrawny boy was light as he curled up against her as she sat on his bed. He was crying and shaking. A timid nurse came in to ask if charges would be filed against the hunters, but she was sent running by an Izumi glare. The dark haired woman held Ed close and rubbed his back to calm him down. He was mumbling out tearful apologies that hurt Izumi even more. She briefly wondered if her son would be just like Ed, but the thoughts disappeared when something warm was spreading against her clothes. Izumi managed to pull Ed back to see the blood. He had pulled his stitches. The ten-year-old screamed when she put him down onto the bed to get a nurse. Izumi had to force herself to block out the crying when they ripped off the hospital gown in the struggle. She left before she could see what had happen to the boy that was growing on her heart. She couldn't stop the tears though.

WORLD

"Al, you're going to have to stay calm," Sig said, two weeks later. Al was practically bouncing all the way to the hospital. He was excited to see Ed again because Izumi had finally came home and reported to them that he was doing better and allowed out of the restraints. Sig took the nervous but excited child up to the room where they moved Edward after he stopped attacking other people. Only Izumi was there, speaking with a police officer. She smiled at Sig and Al.

"He's in the play room with the other children. They wanted him to become more of a social person," Izumi said. A kind nurse showed Al and Sig where to go. There was a giant window for doctors and parents to observe from. Al looked in at all the children in hospital pants and shirts. Some of them were in gowns. Ed was in a pair of paints and a shirt as he sat in a wheelchair at a table with some other boys. He was laughing at something. Al didn't walk in as he just watched his older brother. The picture of his brother, frail and weak, was burned into his mind.

"Get in there and tell him hi at least," Sig said. He looked at Ed from the window and measured up his injuries. "Al, Ed probably won't be home for a little while, so this should be your chance." Ed was still under close watch by the nurses, but he wasn't the only child. He watched his friends get up to leave as he just sat there. He wasn't allowed to move his own chair. It could hurt him somehow. Ed didn't care. He just watched the other children. He didn't even notice when the door opened. Everyone was watching Al walk in because they wanted him to be there for them. The nine-year-old gathered his courage and crossed the room where Ed was counting the tiles on the ceiling. He glanced at Al and smiled brightly. Al was relieved.

"Ed, it's Alphonse," Al said, reframing from slapping his forehead for sounding stupid. Ed didn't say anything as most the children moved away from them. They knew to give them some privacy. Al sat down at the table and was so nervous. He looked at Ed's bandages and felt disturbed. "I missed you a lot, but Teacher told me to think of something else. It helped some." Ed nodded and stared at the bandages on his hand. "Sig said that you'd be in here for awhile. What happened to you?" Ed looked at Al and just blinked. How could he tell his brother this?

"I don't remember most of it. There was a flash of lights and sounds in the end. I vaguely remember fire, warmth, and Izumi. I can also remember heat and love, but that's about everything," Ed said. He looked at all the children with a quick glance at the line of nurses against the wall. He was just waiting for one to jump out and whip out a syringe to stab him. "They told me that I was mauled by an animal and shot twice. I'm such a mess." Ed looked back at his hand and wondered if he'd ever remember what happened on that island. Al sat with his older brother in silence until Izumi came to give Ed a painkiller because he refused to let the nurses do it. The younger boy went home with Sig when it came time to change the bandages. "I'll get better. I promise." Al wanted to believe those words.

WORLD

Six months later, Edward walked out of the hospital with Izumi by his side. With nothing to do in the hospital, he practiced his alchemy, bringing him up to par with, if not farther than, Alphonse. He was going to have to work a little harder at the physical aspect. He walked through the gate to be met by a bone crushing hug from Al and Mason. Izumi smiled as she walked past, carrying the bag of medicine. She stood there as the boys were checking over all the scars that weren't covered up by the button up shirt and pants. Ed looked better. He reached out and took Izumi's hand with a smile. The teacher felt relieved because Ed's hand was warm. The coldness had left in the hospital.

"I'm ready to begin my training again, Teacher," Edward said. He held his smile that crawled all the way up into his eyes. He looked so innocent again. Izumi couldn't even see the deformed ear because she could only see the Edward before he ran away. She smiled and punched his arm lightly. It was enough to send him to hit the dirt with a shocked face. He touched his arm and looked after Izumi, who walked into the house. It took another second before he started laugh. Al and Mason looked at each other in shock over his reaction. It was definitely different.

WORLD

It was late that Izumi heard Ed's whimpering and soft crying. She got up and walked into his bedroom to see what was going on. Ed was curled up on the bed and gripping onto the shoulder that was shot. In silence, Izumi picked up one of the medicine bottles off the nightstand and got out a single pill. Ed sat up and tried to push it away. He didn't want the pill because he didn't want to go to sleep. Izumi managed, with a pathetic struggle, to get him to take the pill. She sat at the foot of the bed as he started to drift off due to the drug working.

"I want to see the world someday," Edward mumbled. He looked at Izumi and lazily smiled. "I want to feel what it's like to be alive again. To see the world with new eyes." Ed closed his eyes and went to sleep as Izumi watched. She smiled at him before standing up. She pulled the cover over Ed and brushed some of his hair away. It was getting longer again. Izumi lightly touched his ear. The tattered ear made her remember the harsh realities, but Ed defied realities. Izumi smiled as she kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight Edward," Izumi whispered. She walked over to the window and looked at the moon as it shone bright. "The world is out there, waiting for you. May you find those eyes to see the world's beauty for what it is." Izumi quietly left the room and went back to Sig. He didn't move as she crawled into the bed. Edward was like her child now. She felt the guilt from the firstborn leave her slowly as she tried to care for Ed. As she fell asleep, Izumi wanted to let Ed go into the world so that he could see what he wanted and take it all in.

WORLD

The day finally came. Edward and Alphonse were leaving Izumi's care. They had been there for two years, and they were ready to go home. Al was talking to Mason about something about fighting while Ed was packing away his medicine. Izumi leaned against the doorway and watched him. He finished after taking his painkiller. He looked at her and smiled. Izumi walked over and hugged him tightly.

"Go out and see the world, Edward," Izumi said. She ruffled his hair, which he kept kind of short because it was comfortable. He grinned at her and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. He wasn't truly ready to leave behind this place, but Al and he were done with their training. Home was waiting for them in Resembool. "Remember that you always have a home back here. Goodbye and good luck." Izumi looked sad but happy. Ed nodded and grabbed his suitcase to go meet up with Al. Izumi stayed in the room as she watched from the window. Alphonse and Edward were racing to the train station. She counted the seconds it took for Edward, her second child, to leave into the dust. There wasn't any pain in her heart. There was only pride.

"Ed?" Al asked as the train started moving. Edward looked away from the window at his little brother. He was thankful that he was still taller than Al. "What do you think Winry is going to say about your ear? She might freak out." Ed touched the tattered part and remembered the hospital and Izumi. He didn't say anything as his mind raced through different scenarios. He was afraid of what Winry would do to him. Ed smiled and pictured Izumi being angry.

"We've survived Teacher, so whatever Winry will do to me won't hurt too much," Ed said. He looked out the train window as the world blurred by them. He was going to see the world and bring the adventures back to Izumi. Ed laughed as he made the mental note to get a few journals. Al smiled, happy to see Ed happy. "I can't wait to see everyone again." Edward never looked away from the window until Resembool came into view. He promised himself that someday he'll take the world back to Izumi, but for now, he was busy seeing it.

Finished. Done. Is it better? I don't know. That's up to the reader.