Title: Hideous Heart
Author: The Moof
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Characters: Solf J. Kimblee, Fu and Fan Lan
Shipping: Solf J. Kimblee and Fan Lan
Word Count: 2,539
Rating: T+
Summary: Kimblee has an interesting conversation with Fu.
Notes: Mention of rape and other dark themes. (Updated and complete.)
Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters from Fullmetal Alchemist, they are all owned by Hiromu Arakawa. I own Fan Lan.
Fu was uncomfortable with the fact that Solf J. Kimblee wanted to talk to him. The old Xingese bodyguard had heard about the dark deeds of this man and that he was practically responsible for turning the tide in the favor of Amestris during the Ishval conflict. And how in the hell did Kimblee become the new homunculus Wrath thus giving the man three philosophers stones was beyond him. All Fu knew that the man couldn't be trusted.
Walking into the smoky bar in one of the sleazy areas of Central, a place that the old man wasn't surprised to find a man like Kimblee to be at, Fu found a man in a white tailored suit and wearing a fedora in a booth in the darkest corner of the place, it was Kimblee alright. It wasn't hard to find the monster; his aura was screaming with a sick glow of blackness that he only has seen once in another person and said person did fit well with the man Solf J. Kimblee, maybe too damn well. As Fu walked up to the man, Solf saw a old battle worn Xingese man with a thick white mustache and a black overcoat that showed classic Xingese style battle armor. Kimblee smiled at him calmly and gestured to have the Xingese man sit across from him.
"I am glad you decided to show up, Mr. Fu." said Solf in a calm and polite manner.
"I only came because she said that you wanted to speak to me and she begged me to do so. Normally I wouldn't talk to a monster such as you." replied Fu coldly.
"My harsh words, Mr. Fu, but I only want to talk to you for personal reasons. It has nothing to do with Amestris, the homunculi or Xing."
Fu looked at Kimblee with a raised eyebrow, 'What was this creature really up to?' the old man thought as he finally sat across from the Crimson alchemist. "What do you want to know?"
Solf smiled at Fu, he understood that Fu didn't trust him but if anything, Fu was the only man he knew he could get the answers he wanted to satisfy his own curiosity. "I want to know more about Fan Lan. I know that she was an assassin for the Yao clan and she was trained in a monastery but that is about it. I want to know more and I want the whole truth."
Fu frowned, 'Now this explains things, but I am not telling this monster everything.' Looking coldly at the alchemist and started to explain everything about his oldest granddaughter and Lan Fan's sister. "Her being an assassin wasn't her decision like everyone in our clan thinks. Not even the young lord or Lan Fan knows about this. There was one day about ten years ago when the emperor of Xing was visiting our clan and our princess, Ling's mother. I was teaching Ling and Lan Fan outside of the village when the emperor showed. "
"Fanny told me that she got hurt because a wild tiger attacked the village. I already know this."
"DON'T EVER CALL FAN LAN THAT IN FRONT OF ME KIMBLEE!" Fu was annoyed at the nickname that he called his oldest granddaughter but he wanted to know things, Fu will only tell him the bare essentials
"No, that isn't the truth. It was a lie that is to protect the emperor. The real truth was that the emperor wanted to have relations with my daughter-in-law and my son forbid it; but the emperor demanded it. There was a struggle and a massive fight. Our clan's princess begged the emperor not to hurt my daughter-in-law but the emperor refused and proceeded to rape Fan Lan's and Lan Fan's mother. Fan Lan walked in on this and instinctively attacked the emperor causing him to not finish. The emperor then turned his attention on Fan Lan and started to abuse her but she defended herself and cut herself with a sword in the process."
Abuse was an understatement, Fan Lan lost her virginity to the emperor of Xing that day in a brutal rape after her father was almost killed and her mother was raped as well. That was one secret Fu believed that Kimblee had no right to know. "The emperor being impressed with Fan Lan's skills decreed that this incident was caused by a wild tiger and as punishment, Fan Lan was forced into the monastery were Xing's greatest and most feared assassins where trained."
Kimblee looked at Fu with a raised eyebrow but kept calm. He couldn't believe what he heard at first but that would explain to him why Fan Lan would get moody and glare at him every time he brought up that incident. "And I thought it was a tiger that attacked her."
"Yes, the reason for this was to not alarm the village and not scare Ling or Lan Fan. It has been a secret I have kept till now."
"I see." Kimblee takes a sip of his wine before putting it down, "So what was her training at the monastery like? She never really told me anything about her time there."
"Not much is known about the true workings of the monastery, but basic information has been leaked enough throughout Xing to give one an idea what the training is like. The things I do know is that the training isn't a cakewalk. The only thing that made the training easier for Fan Lan was the training as a bodyguard that I have gave her before her exile. Other than the basic training in martial arts, bomb making and alkahestry, there are other things she was taught."
"Such as?" asked Kimblee.
Fu kept an ice cold glare at Kimblee, the monastery was just as abusive and deadly as the emperor himself. There was things that he knew of the monastery that would cause him to be a target for assassins if the more darker secrets were leaked out, "There are the study of alchemy from the west of Xing and alchimia from the east of Xing. As well as more deadly and forbidden techniques in various other things, things that are looked down upon by most everyone in Xing. Fan Lan always had a natural knack for grasping things and understanding things. She takes after me I guess in most ways. It is because of her early training and her natural talents she excelled at the monastery. It is rumored that Fan Lan is their prized student and that was why she was given the name the Black Dragon of the Yao."
Taking another sip of his wine, Solf started to piece things together, but not why she did what she did. It confused Kimblee to know end. He admired the fact that Fan Lan always stuck to her personal beliefs and her solidarity, but he wanted to know her secrets that she kept hidden, even from him.
Fu continued telling Kimblee about Fan Lan. "Her early missions were not well known till later. Some of the most strange and deadly murders and assassinations of various major members of other clans and other clans' assassins have been done by Fan Lan. For example the latest murder of an Amestrian merchant of Xingese opium is Fan Lan's doing."
"What?" Kimblee was flabbergasted, he was assigned to find out who murdered the person and all clues pointed to an associate of Greed who stopped by the Devil's Nest to pay a protection fee to keep the black market dealing of Xingese drugs a secret, it looked like nothing more than a bad drug deal between dealers gone wrong. There was no sign of alchemy or alkahestry unless he missed something. "How can my Fanny be the one responsible for that?"
Fu growled quietly in anger when he heard Kimblee call his eldest granddaughter that nickname again, he knew that Fan Lan was responsible because the person who was the merchant of the opium was also an assassin from a rival clan who was going to kill Ling and blame it on one of Greed's lackeys. He hated the fact that Fan Lan was an assassin and never approved of her lot in life, but he was proud at his granddaughter's skills. "That is how good Fan Lan is. She takes advantage of people and their weaknesses in the most subtle of ways. And besides Mr. Kimblee, are you sure she isn't using you and that monster inside of you to her own personal ends?"
Kimblee sat there silent, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, was it possible that Fu was telling him these things so he would leave Fan Lan and not marry her? Possible, but then why would a woman like Fan Lan scare him, hardly according to Kimblee, so there must be something about what Fu was telling him. Kimblee couldn't answer Fu.
"My granddaughter is a liar and con artist, but to be an assassin one would have to be. Fan Lan doesn't trust others easily and she will find out more about a person than she will reveal to others. And from what I can tell she knows a great deal about you Mr. Kimblee, enough to be concerned." Fu internally smiled, he had the Crimson Alchemist right where he wanted him, deep in thought and confusion. He didn't want to tell him about Fan Lan's psychotic and insane nature. There were three sides to his granddaughter, the cunning and calm liar and con artist, the sociopathic and sadistic serial killer and assassin, and then there is the true Fan Lan that has a heart and is willing to protect all she holds dear with her life. "Tell me Mr. Kimblee, does Fan Lan act sweet and happy when she is around you when she is taking care of the baby and she doesn't see you?"
It was a strange question, but then Fan Lan was a strange woman. He had caught the love of his life talking about him to their son Zolf in a manner that was genuine, not fake as if she was talking to a diary that wrote itself but kept its secrets. "Yes, yes she does. She says nothing but good and honest things to Zolf. Nothing more and if she does say anything bad about me it isn't cold or cruel, more like annoyed and frustrated to be honest."
"Well then. She is not using you." Fu looked at Kimblee with a deep and honest expression despite the fact that he knew that Fan Lan knew millions of things about Kimblee and Wrath and how to control both the alchemist and homunculus to her own ends, "Fan Lan does not give her secrets away easily, even to family members. She will say more negative things about people than positive and is more cold, calculating and cruel than any woman you have ever met. Fortunately for you Kimblee you have only seen her lighter, caring and sweet side. That means that you mean the universe to her and she will be submissive only to you and no other man. Be grateful for that, because many a man and woman have misunderstood her kindness as genuine."
"So you are telling me that she only acts friendly and kind and whatnot to fool others enough to do them in?" asked Kimblee as he folded his fingers together in front of his face to hide the cold frown from the old man when the thought of him possibly being used by Fan Lan all this time.
"Yes, that is correct. Fan Lan's kindness is only an act so she can use others, but her genuine kindness is only saved by people she sees as… worthy." Getting up from his seat, Fu bowed to Kimblee before leaving, he then said. "So be blessed that you are one of those lucky few. I bid you a good evening sir."
As Fu left, the more he thought about it, the word 'worthy' was an understatement when it came to Fan Lan. The girl was raised not to trust anyone, but to use the weak and gullible to her own whim and devices' and love being only something that was so special that only the right person was allowed to have it from her.
"Yes and thank you for telling me what I wanted to know Mr. Fu." Solf saw the Xingese man leave the bar as he finished his wine. He was more confused than ever now. The woman he loved had more secrets and was deeper than she let on. Fan Lan was only friendly and nice to others to find out their weaknesses and secrets out to only turn around and use those said weaknesses and secrets against them. Fan Lan was a cleaver woman, a deadly woman, a woman after his own black heart.
Paying for his drink and leaving the bar the night was calm and still. As he walked he saw a drug dealer in an alley talking to a street punk. Nothing off but then there was a familiar blue glow of a transmutation from the roof of one of the adjacent buildings. As he looked from a safe distance he saw one men stab the other as if he was being mentally controlled then the other man made a transmutation circle out of the blood of the other man and set himself and the other man on fire. Strange to say the least at what Kimblee saw, but suddenly there was a loud explosion as the fire quickly increased and suddenly one of the buildings started to catch on fire.
As the fire slowly raged and glow a shadow of a woman was seen up on another nearby roof. When the moon broke through the clouds, Solf saw the woman in question dressed up in black clothing and a smile that was all too familiar to him, it was Fan Lan. She saw Kimblee looking at her as she blew him a kiss and quickly vanished in the smoke and confusion.
A while later Kimblee walked to his home and opened the front door to see Fan Lan reading a book on the loveseat. Smiling at her as he put his jacket on the coat rack, Solf just walked casually to the loveseat and sat next to her. "So tell me, were you responsible for that double murder and fire in the alley about an hour ago?"
Fan Lan looked at Kimblee through the corner of eyes without moving her face from the book as she continued to read, "Yes, it had to be done. Are you going to turn me in?"
Solf just chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her, "No from the way it looked to me it looked more like a murder homicide. I didn't see any sexy Xingese assassins doing their jobs."
"Good." She said as she turned the page and leaned against him, "Wanna know how I did it?"
Smiling, "Yes, but what price do I have to pay?"
"Just keep your mouth shut and I will let you in on a lot more than I have."
"Oh?" asked Solf as he hugged her, "Why do you say that?"
Kissing him gently on the lips, Fan Lan closed her book before standing up to check their son. "You are the only one worthy to know my secrets because I know all of yours my love." she said with a dark smirk and a wink before she disappeared into the hallway.
Seeing her leave all Kimblee could do was take a deep breath as he said to himself, "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?"