Author's Note:Hey everybody! Haha! I'm back with a brand new story on my hands! xD! Yes, yes I know. How could I start a new story when I haven't even completed the first two? Well i've been very busy and alot has happened in my life where I guess I just gave up the inspiration for even continuing story writing. Although thanks to an old run in with my old Quizilla friend FullmetalDonut!! Well she's known as Kaytlin-Broflovski on here now, xD! I now feel inspiration again!! WOOO!
But basically after running into each other again we had the same crazy idea! Why not finish the old story we use to work on Quizilla!? We never finished it, unfortunately, but now we have this chance! And so here it is! Promises of Forever!! You will all get to see our different writing techniques as we work together on this brand new story with the Elric brothers and their adventures! So be sure to check it out every once in a while to see if we updated! And be sure to leave some awesome reviews to tell us what you think!
Overall we hope you really enjoy this story and all it's glory! Haha! Later!~
Chapter 1: Promises of the Beginning
This wasn't how it was supposed to happen…
I even remember the last things you said to me.
"We'll meet again one day, and together, the four of us will become the best alchemists in the whole world! And we can't forget each other, okay? So, we'll all keep practicing, and then we can show each other how far we'll have come. We'll miss you, a lot, Mai!"
Then you gave me that bracelet…you had made it yourself, without alchemy, and beaded in our initials…
M.T. A.T. A.E. E.E.
The four of us! All of us, together again, as the best alchemists in the world, never once forgetting each other! A-and we would stay together! Well, we've done our part! You and your brother…
YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE!!
You lied…you made me think you liked me…Every night, as a child, I would think about you, how there might be someone who likes me. And every night since we parted, my sister and I have thought of no one but…
YOU!!!
And now we've finally gotten back together. All four of us. Yet you had to fill the void with…I-I can't even think about them. Never. We left you, so they'll do, right?
Can this even be fixed anymore…? I will hold onto my hope. It's all I have now, thanks to you. I still have the bracelet. I will keep it for now, in my hope that this nightmare will soon end. It CAN end. It's all up to you.
Even though she's…
Ayumi…
xXSIX YEARS BEFOREXx
"Okay, Ayumi! It's your turn. Go count, and we'll hide!" Mai giggled, dashing off with Edward and Alphonse.
"Hey, you can't watch, 'cause then you'll know where we're hiding! You've gotta cover your eyes!" snickered Ed.
Ayumi turned to the tree and counted. "Uh…one…t-two…three…um…four…" she muttered. Finally, she reached the number twenty and whirled away from the tree. "Uh, ready or not! Here I come…" Ayumi was quite shy and never one to be loud. Her eyes scanned the area for a while before she even moved away from the tree.
Suddenly, two arms snatched Ayumi from behind and a fist dug into her scalp playfully. "Ha-ha, I was hiding up in the tree! Couldn't you hear me?" she heard Ed laugh. Ayumi chuckled as she squirmed about.
"All right, now we gotta find Mai and Al!" Ed huffed with determination as he let Ayumi go. Ayumi nodded.
Alphonse and Mai were the best at hiding. About ten minutes later, Edward and Ayumi finally found the two hiding under the porch of the Rockbells' home.
"Hey, Brother, you're not supposed to help her once she's found you!" whined Al, crawling out after Mai.
"Hey, what are you doing under our porch?"
The four children glanced up to see Winry Rockbell, another friend of theirs, who wasn't much older than Ed.
"Hiding!" piped Mai.
"You wanna play hide-and-seek with us, Winry?" Al offered.
The five children played far into the evening, and then they all watched the sunset together. Ed, Ayumi, and Winry went back home, but Al and Mai had fallen asleep next to each other in the grass.
Al yawned, waking up at around midnight. "Huh…? Where did everyone go?" Al blinked when he saw Mai, curled up next to him, snoring. "Mai? Mai, wake up. Aw, why didn't Brother wake us up? Hey, Mai!"
Mai finally stirred and gazed up at Al's smiling face. "Oh, geez, we dozed off, didn't we?"
"Yeah," Al chuckled. "Mai, I was wondering- have you ever wanted to learn alchemy?"
"Alchemy? I don't know…maybe. Why?"
"My brother and I are going to study it. We want to be alchemists."
"That's cool. Hey, maybe I will, too!"
"Really? And Ayumi could, too!"
"I don't know if our dad would like that. I remember a long time ago, he told us that he was at least ten years old before he was allowed to learn alchemy, and if Ayumi and I ever took interest, we would have to wait that long, too. It's so dumb."
The two were silent for a while, finding themselves lost in the stars.
"I guess we should head home," said Al.
"Yeah," Mai agreed.
"I had fun today! I'll see you tomorrow, Mai!" he called over his shoulder as they parted to their separate houses.
"Bye…" she uttered, even knowing that he couldn't hear her at that point anyway.
Mai tiptoed up to her room, which she shared with Ayumi. Ayumi was fast asleep in her bed across the room, but Mai was pensive and restless. She stared out the window at the Elrics' house, where Edward and Alphonse lived.
"Onee-san?" Ayumi suddenly blurbed, rubbing her eyes.
"Nani?" Mai shot back with a smirk. The sisters enjoyed Japanese titles now and then. "Sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"It's okay," Ayumi assured her, joining her at the window. "Oh, look! The moon is right over their house!"
Sure enough, the top half of the moon peeked out over the roof of the Elrics'. "How beautiful…" Mai gasped.
It seemed to be hours that they watched in silence.
"Alchemy…wouldn't that be cool…"
***
One year later, Mai was ten years old, and deep into the study of alchemy. She, along with Edward and Alphonse, were already very skilled with the science. However, Ayumi was not allowed to learn.
"But, Dad! I'm just as smart as Mai is! I'm sure I'll get it, if you just let me study some! Why won't you trust me?" she begged one day.
"You're only eight years old, Ayumi," said their father.
"Eight and a half!"
"You can learn when you're Mai's age.
Ayumi stormed out of the house in tears. Outside, her sister was using alchemy to grow a patch of grass in the dirt.
"It's not fair!" screamed Ayumi. Mai watched, confused, as her sibling ran off towards the Elrics' house.
"Ayumi?"
Crash!Ayumi hadn't been watching, and found herself on the ground next to Edward.
"I'm sorry…" she sniffed as the two sat up.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked, rubbing his head.
"No, I don't wanna bother you. You just lost your mom."
Ayumi curled her legs in as Ed just stared at her solemnly.
"But it's been almost a month since that happened. I'm fine. So, what's up?"
"Father still won't let me learn alchemy…he says I'm still too young."
"Well…I don't think I can help you with that. I guess you'll just have to be patient…" Ed sighed. Ayumi gazed over at him. He attempted a sorry smile. She smiled back, understanding.
"I know…it's all right. I know I'll get my chance."
***
Within one more week, Mai and Ayumi were told that they were moving. Their father had been accepted as a State Alchemist, so the Toshi family
So, the two sisters stood outside what was now their former home and said their farewells to Edward, Alphonse, and Winry.
"I can't believe this is happening…I wish we had spent yesterday a little better," Mai sobbed, clutching Ayumi's hand.
The five of them talked for as long as they could. Winry finally went inside.
"Ayumi, when we meet again, I want you to show me all the alchemy you will have learned, okay?" Ed smiled down at Ayumi warmly.
Ayumi's teary eyes went wide with admiration. "Yeah! I'm going to be an awesome alchemist, you'll see! Maybe I'll be even better than you!"
The two hugged and laughed.
"I'll miss you, Ed…"
"You, too, Ayumi."
Ed said goodbye to Mai as well and headed over to where Winry had come back out to stand with her grandmother in front of their house. Ayumi told Alphonse goodbye as well and joined her parents in front of the car, clutching her mother's hand.
Al and Mai faced each other.
"Al, I'm really gonna miss you. You're my best friend, ever!"
"Ditto." Al chortled. "Your alchemy has come a long way already. But I know that you'll get better, and Ayumi will be right there with you, right?"
"Of course!"
The two snatched one hand together with big grins on their faces.
"We'll meet again one day, and together, the four of us will become the best alchemists in the whole world! And we can't forget each other, okay? So, we'll all keep practicing, and then we can show each other how far we'll have come. I'll miss you a lot, Mai!"
They hugged. Mai felt him slip something onto her right wrist as he whispered, "I made something for you. It took me a while." In a flash, he had joined Ed and Winry in front of the Rockbell home.
Mai and Ayumi got in the car with their parents and left over the hills of Resembool. Ed, Al, and Winry waved until the car was out of their sight.
Ayumi burst into tears. Mai glanced at her wrist. Al had made her a bracelet. Without alchemy. And each bead had a different letter, spelling out:
M.T. A.T. A.E. E.E.
Forever and Always...that's the way it was always ment to be...
XxPRESENT DAYxX
"Another day, another mission…" sighed the fifteen-year-old Mai as she and her sister dragged their feet down the halls of Central.
"You're kidding, you have another mission already? God, Mai, what's up with this lately?" Ayumi complained.
"This had better be pretty freaking important, or I'll have quite a few things to say to that damn Mustang."
The girls staggered around a corner into another very long hallway. At the end was Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang's office. Just then, the girls saw two boys enter the office and close the door behind them.
"Looks like he's busy," Ayumi pointed out. "Should we come back later?"
"He's the one who called us down here," Mai reminded her sister. The two made their way down the hall and knocked on the colonel's door.
"Come in!"
Mai entered, Ayumi following.
"Ah, there they are now. Mai, Ayumi, I think you already know these boys. This is Edward Elric and his younger brother, Alphonse.
The two sisters stared at the two brothers. They knew each other, all four of them. Mai, gasped on excited breath.
"It's you," she breathed.
The four of them were together again, as promised.
Haha, well there's the first chapter for you! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Me and Kaytlin-Broflovski promise to update for you guys soon! But in the meantime you HAVE, HAVE, HAAAVE!! to check out Kaytlin-Broflovski new Fullmetal Alchemist story Playing with Fire!! It's still in the works but it's really great! You guys wont be disappointed!
Heheeee, check out the rest of her great stories as well!
Also be sure to check out my own updates for Your Not Alone! I'm currently working on the next new chapter now so stay alert! WOOO! HAHA!
Thanks for reading!
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