1
"Hahaha you'll never catch me!" Kimiko yelled back to the three state alchemists that chased her through the city streets. Sticking out her tongue, she jumped up a narrow alleyway up to the rooftops, climbing the walls with her feet. Her long light brown hair swishing back and forth as she ran. She wears only a pair of long black pants, black boots, a black t-shirt and her black fluffy parka. Her eyes are deep blue like the sea and her skin is pale like the moon above her. Only 14 years old, she's already had so much to regret in her short life.
"Damnit, we almost had her." One officer clad in blue said as he sighed, looking up at the bright full moon up in the sky. "Let's go around the back, maybe she dropped down the other side." He said as he turned and ran on his heel, as did the other two.
Kimiko continued running along the rooftops with a small black satchel of jewelry on her hip she had stolen from the market earlier that day. Panting, she stopped for a moment and opened up her puffy black coat. A small black cat jumped out and meowed. "Goddamnit Kona you're getting heavy." Taking a few deep breaths to regulate her breathing. "Let's go." She zipped up her coat again and ran with her companion.
Down below she could see the same three men in blue uniforms with a ladder. She scoffed, she couldn't believe she was being chased by a trio of numbskulls who couldn't use alchemy. Well, they probably could, just not very well or they could have intercepted her fairly easily by now.
She was going to run once again but before she could move, she saw blue lightning bolts around Kona. "KONA!!!" Kimiko screamed and screeched to a halt. The small cat had been contained in a cage. A cage that was meant for her. Grunting, she reached in to grab her cat, whimpering desperately to get him out. A shadow creeped over her back. Kimiko looked back and gasped in horror, screaming.
Then everything went black.
Kimiko woke up with a groan, opening her eyes slowly. Her hands were tied behind her back with a bright light shining down on her. Looking around frantically, a voice came from behind her "So you're finally conscious eh?" Freezing, Kimiko stared straight ahead and a young man who looked no older than 15 came into her line of sight. With semi-long braided blonde hair and golden eyes, he was dressed in a blue military uniform, much like the ones the state alchemists who were chasing her earlier that night wore.
"I've heard quite a bit about you Kimiko. My name is Edward, but you can call me Fullmetal, as in the Fullmetal Alchemist." Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. "I know who the Fullmetal Alchemist is, I wasn't born yesterday. I know quite a bit about you and your brother Alphonse." Edward smirked, not in the least bit surprised. "I know you have an automail arm and leg, and your brother….is a sad soul encased in armor." He was surprised at that last comment.
He stared at her. "I know enough about alchemy to know a soul transmutation when I see one. Alphonse is the one who captured me? Where is Kona?" Kimiko glared at Edward. "You'll get to see your companion soon enough. Al has your cat. No harm will come to him under his watch, you have my word Kimiko" She glared at him. "I'd better, or else…." Her stomach made a sickening series of growls and moans, causing Kimiko to cringe and sigh. "It looks like you haven't had much to eat lately. I'll bring you something soon, Kimiko." Edward said as he walked behind the chair and started to untie her. "Do you think that's such a good idea? After all, I am nothing less than a thief you know." She said as she tried to look back behind her at him. "Nah you'll be fine, you're too weak to do much of anything."
Kimiko groaned and rubbed her wrists, thankful to have those coarse ropes off of her hands. "Thank you Edward." She tried to stand but he put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She looked up at him. "It would be best if you stayed in my room for the night and had something to eat as well" Sitting back down, she was exhausted, weak with hunger. "I guess I have no choice do I?" She groaned, her head lowered, staring at her lap and her stomach made another loud growl. Edward smiled at her, opening the door. "Hey Al, do me a favor would you?"
Kimiko closed her eyes, making it easier for her to cope with the hunger. "Yes brother?" She could hear the clanking of metal against concrete. "Hi Al." She said weakly, not looking up for a moment. "Hello Kimiko." He said then looked down at his older brother. "Could you please take Kimiko into my room. I need to get her something to eat. And I'll even bring her cat to her also." "Thank you Edward." Was all she could say before she felt cold metal of armor slide underneath her and lift her up. She rested her face against the metal, which brought her back to reality for a moment. She drifted off to sleep in Al's arms, before he even put her on the bed and brought the covers up over her. "Well, I guess I'd better go get her cat and some soup shouldn't I?" She could hear the soft clanks as Al quietly left the interrogation room with her in his arms.
About an hour later, Kimiko woke up to have Kona curled up in a ball beside her, purring. The black cat lifted up his head and looked at her, perfectly content. She smiled and petted her companion's head, his tail slowly moving back and forth. Looking a little farther up, she saw Ed sitting by her legs, with a hot bowl of soup in his hands. "I see you're finally awake….again." Kimiko blushed, embarrassed that she had fallen asleep. "I'm sorry Ed, guess I fell asleep again."
She sat up slowly, and Edward watched, with a small smile on his face. "Do you have the strength to eat?" She looked at the chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwich in his hands, and nodded. "Mm-hmm. What do you think Kona? Are you hungry?" The cat meowed, and rubbed up against Kimikos cheek. She smiled and Ed put the food down on the tray beside the bed. "I think that's a yes." She said chuckling as she slowly sipped at the soup, draining the liquid off the spoon so there was a piece of chicken on it. She put the spoon down in front of Kona and he slowly took the small piece of meat in his mouth.
Edward watched all of this, standing up and walking over to the overstuffed green leather chair that was near the bed. He sat down "It looks like the two of you are very close." Kimiko took a bite of the sandwich and nodded, taking a spoonful of soup. "Yeah, he's been with me for about half my life. He may not look it, but he's about nine years old. I guess the years have been good to him. He still has the energy of a kitten too." She quietly finished her sandwich and gave Kona a few more pieces of chicken, which he gobbled down without even chewing. "Hey, what did I tell you about chewing?" She rolled her eyes, and Ed chuckled.
They heard barking outside the door. Kona jumped off the bed and ran across the room, up a bookcase. "Oh no those are Mustangs stupid dogs." Ed said as he got up and ran to the door. Opening it, he looked back to Kimiko, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Al? Al!" He called out to his younger brother. "Coming!" They heard loud fast clanking and Al running to the door. "What's going on?" Al said as he poked his head inside. "Can you please calm down Kimiko. She hates dogs, even worse than Breda." Kimiko gasped, and glared at Ed. "I am not scared, just nervous of them at first. I usually warm up to dogs rather quickly." She pouted and Al patted her head, kneeling down next to her. "It's okay, Kiko and Black Hayate just probably smelled Kona." Kimiko stared at him, her eye twitching. "There's two of them?" Groaning, she flopped back on the bed, whimpering softly. "Kimiko, I won't let them in here if you're afraid okay?" Edward took his hand in hers and gave it a little squeeze. "Okay Ed. Thank you." She gave him a small smile.
Al looked over at Kona, glaring down at him from the top of the bookcase. Kimiko had a sad expression on her face. "Poor Kona. He's scared to death of dogs. It'll be a couple of minutes before he feels safe to come down." Al reached up to the top, attempting to grab the cat before he died of dust inhalation up on top of the bookcase. "Come on Kona, it's okay." The cat hissed and batted at Al, while Kimiko and Ed just watched. "Oh no, Al just leave him alone, he'll come down on his own." Al looked back at her, "Okay" He replied and walked back to Kimiko. "Al, can you stay with Kimiko for a bit? I'll see what's up with Serena and Mustang." Ed said. "Okay brother." Ed gave Kimiko a grin and closed the door behind him. "Brother will figure out what's going on." Al said as he sat next to Kimiko where Ed had been sitting just a few minutes before.
"Hey Al?" Kimiko looked at the armor, straight into the helmet's glowing eyes. "Hmm? What is it?" He looked back at her. Putting her hand in her shirt, she pulled out a silver oval-shaped locket. She opened it and took it off, handing it to Alphonse. He gasped, inside was a picture of a much younger-looking Kimiko with, who apparently was her mother. Kimiko was sitting on her mothers lap, both of them were smiling. "This is you and your mom right?" Biting her lip, fighting back the tears, she nodded. "She died when I was around nine years old. She was all I had in life." She told Al as she laid back onto the bed.
Sensing that the danger was gone, and his master was in emotional pain, Kona jumped down from where he was, shaking off the dust and jumped up onto Kimikos lap, licking her hand. Smiling, she petted his head, and scratched behind his ears, making him purr loudly. Kimiko sniffled, tears starting to form in her eyes. "At her funeral, I just couldn't stop crying. I thought 'How can I live without her? She was all I had.'" She sighed. "I knew the dangers of human transmutation, so I didn't dare try it. I just thought losing her was natural and I'd find some way to cope with the pain." She sobbed softly.
Alphonse put his hand on hers. "So you became a thief to cope with the pain of losing your mother?" She looked at him, tears streaming down her face, she nodded. "I just couldn't live that way, in an orphanage for the rest of my life. I had to find some way to live and eat." Kimiko looked at the metal armor. "It's okay Kimiko. I can understand the pain of losing someone close to you, especially someone as precious as a mother."
"Fullmetal what the hell has these dogs in an uproar?" Mustang asked Edward. "Sorry sir Mustang, it was another cat Al dragged in." The older superior officers eye twitched. "Well in the morning it had better be out of here. I can't take both of these terrors barking at two in the morning." Edward saluted and ran past Serena, whom he nearly knocked down. "Oh, sorry Serena, kindof in a rush here." Mustang's girlfriend smiled. "It's okay small fry." That stopped Ed in his tracks "SMALL FRY?!?!?!" He growled as he glared back at Serena. "Edward!" Mustang barked at him. "Sorry sir. I'll return to my quarters now." He saluted and ran back to his room.
By the time Edward got back to his room, Kimiko and Kona were fast asleep, Kona curled up close to his master, tail slowly flicking about, his ear twitching every now and then. Al was sitting on the couch, Ed sat next to him. The locket Kimiko had showed him was on the coffee table in front of the couch, still opened. "Kimiko told me a little about herself tonight." Al said as he turned towards his brother. "Brother…she's just like us." Edward scoffed. "Come on Al, get real, she's nothing like us. She's a thief." He lay down on the couch, laying his legs on his brothers armor. "But she's also an alchemist, do you think…." Al started, picking up the locket. "No Al, we've got enough on our hands as it is, we don't want to have another alchemist to be dragged into this too." Ed took the locket and looked at it, looked in back of him towards the sleeping girl and her cat. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand. "I need to talk to Mustang in the morning anyway, let's try and get some sleep."
Okay guys that's the end of Chapter 1!!! Hope you've liked it so far Serena and Kiko are copyrighted by my friend Jessica, so no stealing them please. Send me a review okay?