A/N: Egggh, sorry friends. I was not able to keep my promise. All other stories right now are on temporary hiatus. I shall await the pain that is to come. From what i experianced, first chapters are always sucky, so cut me some slack, people. NO FLAMERS SHALL BE TOLERATED!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, xxxHOLiC, or either of it's characters. I only own Misery. Joshua belongs to Omegaman 2012.
Chapter 1 - Fox of the Sand
"There is no such thing as 'coincidence'. There is only that which is inevitable. There is only 'Hitsuzen'." -Yuko-san xxxHOLiC
"Please, save my daughter! I don't care what the price is, just don't let her die!" a woman cried. She herself looked no more ordinary than other women, only that she had a tattoo of such upon her collarbone. A serpent, devouring it's own tail. She held a child in her arms, who looked no more than seven or eight herself. Hair the color of snow, dark skin, and fading red eyes. The small girl had been slipping in and out of consciousness. A bullet wound to the neck showed the reason for blood loss.
Two other women looked upon the first, one with a look of pity in her eyes. She glanced at the third with a look, and said, "I can save her. But are you truly willing to pay the price?"
* * *
Liore. A small desert village, what was once poor, now greater than ever. In a matter of a few years, the village prospered, living to believe that miracles were possible, and that the dead could even be brought back from the dead, thanks to a priest named Cornello.
Until Edward Elric arrived.
And proved Cornello to be a fraud.
And angered the townspeople.
"What did you do to me? What do I do? What am I suppossed to believe in now!? Are you going to tell me?" a young woman cried to the blonde-braided-haired boy. The reason of this fiasco. The Fullmetal Alchemist, from what was heard around. Youngest person to become a state alchemist.
"Well, are you?" she cried.
Edward looked away. "You need to figure that out on your own. Stand up and walk. Keep going forward. At least you have a strong pair of legs to take you there," he said, walking away from the crying girl. He had not been aware of the small sandfox watching them from the shadows.
* * *
"Sir, are you sure it was wise not to go after him?" a young woman asked a cloaked man, both in hooded desert capes. They were a tan color, in order to better blend in with the sand and surrounding buildings.
"Absolutely positive, he needs not to know of our presence yet," he replied in a calm, quiet voice. He looked toward the golden haired boy and the suit of armor leave the now battered city of Liore. The young woman looked toward the man, about to put up an arguement, until she saw his eyes.
With eyes the colors of the night sky, right eye black and left eye blue, they held an unknown emotion that she knew none of. She shut her mouth without saying anything.
"I understand your decision, sir, and shall not stand against it." The small sandfox appeared on the corner of the roof of which they were standing. The girl reached her hand out for it, and it lept obudiantely into it. The minute the small animal touched her palm, it dissolved back into it's true form, no different than the sand from the desert winds. Black markings of swirls and ancient left the sand, unknown to any but her eye.
The man sighed when the sand from the faux fox drifted away into the wind. "It never does seize to amaze me. It does seem you have her spiritual power." By now, the young blond alchemist had left, and few of the suns golden rays lay into the sky. The woman looked into the darkness of the approaching night.
"Sandstorm coming in from the east, sir. Shall I find shelter?" she asked him. He merely gave her a shake of his head. "It is not neccesary."
The night had fallen. Darkness upon the desert except for the light of the moon. "We move now."
"Understood, sir."
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