Liquid Alchemist
Ch. 1 Unusual Girls
Disclaimer- I only own Rena, Hikari, Aya, and Fyra. Of course, further chapters will have more of my creations. Actually, all my characters are based on friends and family. I'm Rena, obviously the most hyper character even. I promise I only get like that when I'm tired, on a sugar-high, really happy, bored, and some stuff inbetween…'
"Ow!" said a young girl as she sat down on the sidewalk of East City to nurse her throbbing toe. She had been so amazed by the size of East City that she had stubbed her toe as she carelessly crossed the street. The girl's appearance was very strange compared to her surroundings. She was in the military district but her outfit was a bright blue skirt with a peasant style green blouse. Her light blond hair was cut short in an almost boyish style and her sapphire blue eyes glowed with energy. At her side was a mix-breed dog.
Finally she stood up and continued on her way to the command center. She needed to give her report and turn in her paper work for her assessment. She was a state alchemist, after all, and she always made sure she turned in her paper work on time. The only problem was, she was completely lost.
After walking in a circle three times, she was beginning to get annoyed. The dog began to whimper. "Don't worry Hikari, we'll find the command center soon and then I can get you a treat," she said in a soothing voice. It was at that moment she noticed another girl her age standing with her hand on a tree. The blue-eyed girl decided to approach this mysterious other.
"Hi! I'm Rena Watari! I was hoping you could help me 'cause I seem to be lost. I'm looking for the military command center. Could you show me where it is?" The mysterious girl turned around. She had striking purple yes and black hair cut an inch past her ear lobes. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a bright green leafy vine running vertically down it. She also wore khaki colored capris and sandals. The other girl began to reply.
"Hello. I'm Aya Meiko. I guess if you're lost then I can help you." Thank a ton!" Rena replied enthusiastically, "I have to turn in my assessment forms or I'm done for! Gotta keep my license!" "Oh, you're a state alchemist?" Aya asked. "Yep! I'm the Liquid Alchemist! It's a lot of work but it earns quite a bit of money!" "Well, it's nice to see a fellow state alchemist my age. I'm called the Botany Alchemist." Aya said in a nonchalant way.
Rena stopped dead in her tracks. State alchemists the same age as her? She had only heard of one her age, the famous FullMetal Alchemist Edward Elric. "How old are you?" Rena asked. "I'm fifteen," Aya replied. "If you don't believe me, here's your proof," Aya continued as she showed Rena her pocket-watch. It had the tell-tale dragon in its cover. Rena could hardly believe it!
"This is so awesome! I didn't know there were others! This will make life a whole lot more interesting! So where are ya from?" Rena asked. "I'm from the Eastern country of Xing. I moved to Amestris when I was 13. How about you?" "I'm from Aquroya," Rena replied. "I got taught by this famous thief, Psiren. Just don't tell anyone 'cause I guess I could get in trouble." Rena grinned. "This is gonna be so much fun!!!"
After an hour, the two girls arrived at the command center. Aya led them to her room in the dorms where Rena got to meet Aya's pet, a phoenix named Fyra. Aya said Rena could stay with her for awhile and the two girls talked until Rena remembered her paperwork and had to leave. Hikari, the dog, stayed with Aya.
Rena easily found the front desk and gave them her papers. As she was returning, she turned a corner and bumped into someone with a loud clang.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I just wasn't looking where I was going." Rena said apologetically. She looked up and was astounded by the size of the person in front of her. After a few moments, Rena began to crack up. Soon she was laughing out right and had to sit down. The person in front of her kneeled down and asked, "Are you okay?" "I'm fine! Don't worry about it! I just can't believe I'm meeting someone my teacher told me about. You're Alphonse Elric, right?" The suit of armor gave a jolt of surprise. "How do you know me?" Al asked. "And who's your teacher?"
"Oh come on! Don't you remember Psiren? In Aquroya? The famous thief. I'm her old student, Rena Watari. She told me all about you and Ed." Alphonse could hardly believe it. Of course, he remembered Psiren. She was helping Aquroya by bringing back publicity. Rena interrupted his thoughts. "So where's Ed?" She asked. "I almost forgot," Al said hurriedly, "Ed's going to fight Mustang for his assessment. And that's starting right now. Would you like to come?" "I'd love to! Let me just call a friend to tell her to meet us there." Rena replied.
Rena grabbed a phone hanging on the wall and punched in Aya's number. Aya picked up and Rena told her about the event. Aya said she was busy but would meet them for dinner afterwards. Rena asked her to feed the pets and then hung up. "Alright," she said, "let's go!"
As Rena and Al arrived at the parade grounds, Rena could hardly believe her eyes. It looked as if the entire military had turned up to see the event. Luckily since Rena was with Al, he was able to clear a path to the front. The blue mass of soldiers parted and Rena stepped up to the barrier.
"Hey, could you do me a favor?" Al asked. "Yeah, what?" Rena replied. Al removed his hands from behind his back and revealed a little kitten. "Could you take care of him for me?" he asked. "Sure! Go support your big brother!" Al ran over to talk to Edward and Rena settled herself and got ready for the fight.
It was at this moment she noticed a giant poster covered in a white cloth. Standing in front of it was a man wearing square glasses. He had short brown hair except a long piece in the front. He also had a thin beard. "Who's that?" Rena asked a fellow soldier beside her. "Who? Him? Oh, that's Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. He's a great guy but be warned- he's totally obsessed with his daughter."
Hughes stepped up with a microphone and began speaking. "Thank you all for coming here for today's event. Incidentally, take a look." He pulled the sheet off and on the poster was a picture of a little girl holding a teddy bear. Hughes continued, "This is my daughter who turned three this year! Isn't she adorable?" Some of the men were getting anxious so they threw all kinds of things at the poster and started yelling for Hughes to get on with it. One of the objects that hit the poster made it start to fall. "No Elysia," Hughes said, "don't fall on daddy!" Whump! The poster fell on Hughes.
After getting out from under the poster, Hughes announced the names of the contestants. "Ready?" he asked. As Hughes bolted to get out of the way he yelled, "Get ready, Fight!"
Suddenly there was a huge explosion. So that must be why Roy Mustang is called the Flame Alchemist, Rena thought. Explosions continued to go off. Two soldiers were talking nearby. One had large round glasses and brown hair and was rather short. The other had short blond hair and a cigarette in his mouth. The first soldier was asking the second one how Mustang was making the flames. "His gloves are made of a special reactive cloth that when rubbed together makes a spark. Colonel Mustang just has to adjust the oxygen in the air and boom. Bombs on command." The blond soldier replied. Oh, so that's how it works thought Rena. She remembered the fight and turned her attention back to it.
As luck would have it, Ed chose this time in the match to hide by jumping into the crowd. In fact, he used Rena's shoulder as a pole vault to leap over the barrier. As soon as he hit the ground he was running. If Rena blinked, she might have missed the entire thing.
"Well, I guess I can't torch you all," Mustang said, "It's so hard to hit a target this small!" Rena flinched. She knew the comment wasn't directed at her but she hated to be called small. Suddenly Edward popped up from between some military officers. "Who are you calling a bean so small that you have to use a microscope?" He yelled across the crowd. "If you opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate and never fall for an enemy's taunts." Mustang said in a cool voice. Another snap of the fingers and Edward plus several other military men went flying.
A veil of smoke covered the scene. Rena tried to peer through the dust and saw a silhouette of Ed standing in front of Mustang. "Okay, I guess I over did it," Mustang said. Then he noticed Ed's profile in the cloud of dust. "Still want more?" He yelled.
The dust settled and both Mustang and Rena were surprised. What they had thought was the silhouette of Edward was actually a decoy he made to throw Mustang off. Suddenly Ed jumped out from behind Mustang and used a blade on his auto-mail arm to rip the transmutation circle on Mustang's glove.
"Without that glove you can't make fire! That's advantage Elric!" Ed yelled as he clapped his hands together and pressed them to the ground. Rena was stunned. He could really do transmutations without a circle. Just by using his hands. Amazing to find another so similar.
Rena thought for sure that Edward had his victory in the bag when she noticed Mustang smiling slightly. He pulled his left hand out of his pocket and revealed another glove with a transmutation circle. Both Rena and Ed gaped at this turn of events.
Another explosion completely destroyed Ed's giant cannon. Once again, the arena was covered in smoke. When it cleared for a final time, a dramatic scene was in play. Mustang was standing right in front of with his fingers poised to snap. Edward was retorting by holding his auto-mail arm up with the blade to Mustang's neck. It was the ultimate stand-off.
The furher approached them both and told them that it had gone far enough. "Don't stop us now! We're not finished!" Ed yelled. "That may be true but if I let this continue, the mess would be too big for you both to clean up." Furher King Bradley replied. Well, Rena thought, this is gonna take some time if I don't help out
After the Furher and the rest of the military left, Rena approached the battle site. Ed and Mustang seemed to be deep in an important conversation. Al was standing a little ways off next to a woman in uniform. Rena went up to Alphonse. "Here's your cat back," she said. "Oh, thanks for taking care of it." Alphonse replied. "Here," he continued, "let me introduce you to First Lieutenant Hawkeye." "It's a pleasure to meet you," Rena said as she shook Hawkeye's hand. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to help with the clean-up."
Rena returned to the rubble. I'm not much good with earth but I can try. She put her hand to her neck and pulled on a clear string, revealing a silver amulet. It was circular in shape and had a transmutation circle drawn on it. The transmutation had two circles with a triangle spread out a little past the circles. It also had a "v" with curly ends that was the symbol of the zodiac, Aries. She touched it lightly with one hand.
A soft blue glow was emitted from the charm. Rena put both hands on the ground. The blue light flowed over the destruction and turned it back into flat ground. There, now we can go get dinner!
Mustang and Ed were apparently done talking and Ed was leaving with Al. "Hey, Ed! Al! Wait up!" Rena yelled. "Who's she?" Edward asked Al. Rena began to laugh heartily again for the second time that day. "Geez, how many times do I need to explain it? I'm Psiren's old apprentice, Rena Watari. I'm sure you remember her." Ed gave a yelp of surprise. Obviously he remembered. "So what are you doing here?" Edward asked suspiciously. "Brother," Al said with a slight tone of annoyance.
"It's okay," Rena said, "let me clear this up." She pulled out her pocket-watch and showed it to Edward. "Here, I'm a state alchemist okay? I just came to cheer you on, plus Al said we could grab some dinner. I'm starving so let me go get my friend and we can eat!"
Throughout this little speech, Ed stood with a face of disbelief. "Well brother, don't be rude. Let's go!" Alphonse said enthusiastically. "Okay! Okay! I'll even buy." Edward said in an exasperated tone. "Sweet! I'll be right back! I just want to get Aya!" Rena yelled as she ran towards the military dorms.
"Hey Aya," Rena called as she opened the other girl's door. "Let's go! Ed and Al are waiting for us!" Aya grabbed a jean jacket with red flowers embroidered in it and ran out the door. Edward and Alphonse were waiting right outside the building. It seemed Al had left his cat in the boy's room because it was nowhere to be seen. The group headed to the nearest restaurant on foot.
Soon everyone was sitting down with their orders taken. "So who's this?" Ed asked Rena. "Oh, this is my friend, Aya Meiko. She's also our age and a state alchemist." Rena replied. "Wow," Alphonse said, "I didn't know there were so many state alchemists that are so young. How did you get your license so early and why?" Rena spoke first. "Actually, I just got my certification this year. The military thought they could use me 'cause my awesome practical's score. While Furher Bradley watched another participant, I snuck up on him and stole his stars on his lapels. He never even noticed. The only way I managed to pull it off was by using some of Psiren's alchemy tricks. As for my reason for joining, I would rather hear your view of the military first."
There was dead silence from the Elric brothers. Finally Edward said, "Being a dog of the military is necessary but I definitely don't enjoy it." "Good, then we agree in the reason for joining." Rena finished. Now it was Aya's turn. "Well, I suppose I joined to learn more about this country. I'm actually from Xing but I wanted to expand my knowledge so I came here. I managed to pass the exam by creating a wall of vines. That's pretty much it."
Finally the food arrived. Rena had ordered tuna sushi while Aya had a couple of egg rolls. Ed had about three bowls of ramen and was eating them amazingly quick. Rena noticed that Al ordered nothing but didn't bring anyone's attention to it. As the group ate, they talked about many different subjects. The topics ranged from good places to stay to different types of alchemy. Eventually everyone began to trust each other a little bit more. During the dinner, Rena hatched a plan and began to put it into action.
"So guys, since we're all done with our assessments for the year, why not hang out and do some adventuring of our own? I mean, I think it would be really cool to hang out with the famous Elric brothers. And it's not like Aya and I can't take care of ourselves. So what do ya say?" Rena looked up from her drink to study the group's faces.
Ed and Al were exchanging worried looks while Aya seemed to approve. I wonder what those guys are hiding. Hm, it seems suspicious. Rena thought silently to herself. At last, Edward spoke up. "I'm really sorry and that sounds like a lot of fun but we have some… important stuff to take care of. Maybe another day." Without warning, Ed and Al stood up. Obviously they were uncomfortable about something, but what? The two boys paid the bill and thanked the girls for coming and then abruptly left. Rena left about five minutes later after finished their drinks. Soon they reached Aya's room where they settled down to sleep.
"Hey Aya", Rena said, "Was it just me or were Ed and l acting a little strange?" "Yeah, I noticed that too." Aya replied. "I wonder what they're up to." "I've got an idea!" Rena said excitedly. "Let's spy on them! They'll never see it coming! We can use Fyra to find their room and listen in on their conversation!" "Hm, it just might work." Aya said. She turned to Fyra and whispered, "Fyra I want you to find the Elric brothers' room."
Fyra took off with a flash of orange and gold feathers. About five minutes later, she returned. Aya handed Fyra a piece of chalk into the phoenix's beak. Fyra used the chalk to write on Aya's wood floor. First Fyra wrote the brothers' dorm room which was 16. Then she wrote a villages name with the name of a man. The man's name was Tim Marcoh.
"I've heard that name before. In fact, I think it was at lunch in the mess hall. He was some kind of deserter or something." Aya said. "That still doesn't tell us what this has to do with Ed and Al." Rena responded glumly. "Alright, then tomorrow we should follow them and get to the bottom of this." Aya yawned and continued. "But first let's get some shut-eye."
Both girls said goodnight to each other and lay down in their beds. Their minds were still swirling with plans and problems but in no time they were fast asleep.