Continued Summary : Greed x OC x Ling. The OC is an obnoxious, arrogant troll whose goals are to live life in complete luxury. Unfortunately for her, a certain blonde midget won't allow her escape reality (Or sate her avarice) so easily. In doing so, she is unwillingly thrown into the plot and is bended against her will.
Luckily for her, she can keep a smirk drawn on her face with a ballpoint pen.
A/N: Typical title, I know. BUT I like the word avaricious. Cata-nee's here with her very first FMA: Brotherhood story, as well as her first fanfic regarding CanonxOC and an actual plotline in a story, in a long time. I think it's been like two years? You probably don't care, in fact, you probably didn't even read this. If so, then kudos to you, because I am only going to be placing a disclaimer here. Thank you for taking the time to click this oh, humble story of mine. Mary-sue protected.
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA: Brotherhood or any of its characters. If I did, then I wouldn't have let Edward's growth apparent in episode 46, I think it was. Because it's two episodes away from my favorite one.
Avaricious
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| Only slightly… |
Chapter 1
Atoms, atoms, and atoms.
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"Hydrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon…" [1] Words without much purpose droned out of her mouth, almost like smoke. She was exasperated and anxiety was eating her inside out.
Other people around her were busy either selling or buying things, or perhaps just hanging around as she was.
But they weren't waiting for the results of a State Alchemist test.
Ah, yes, the infamous State Alchemist exam. After slaving over a plastic seat in order to hastily write out the basic concepts and layout of alchemy, Catalena had to explain her abilities and how it would prove fundamental to the State Military. She remembered grimacing down at her paper, quietly swearing that she had always proved a loyal dog of the military, under her secretly insane superior officer. Speaking of him, she had always admired that pretty silver pocket watch he had.
Her brown-gloved fingers tapped against the meal table she was seated at and her gray eyes stared blankly at the menu that she had asked for upon arrival. She had considered the desire for a nice pancake, but then rejected it, concluding that she wasn't so hungry after all. Catalena's gray eyes bored holes into the menu, and she was far from relaxed.
"Alright, you're coming with us, illegal alien."
She craned her neck at the voices of Central's local police, her gray hood folding neatly behind her neck as the sudden gesture ensued. Her matching colored eyes distinguished a passing by duo of Central policemen pulling a foreign-looking man by the scruff of his clothes.
The man who had his black hair tied in a ponytail, besides the spiky bangs that protruded onto his right eye, didn't look very hostile at all. Catalena, watching with newfound interest, stood up from her seat.
How the hell could a helpless looking alien like him be arrested?
Thinking this as she blockaded them with her body, she formally addressed, "Good afternoon, mister sirs~" She waved one of her gloved hands and smiled with a blooming personality.
The two cops and even their captive looked with a sense of alarm. Peeking through one of her previously shut eyes, Catalena could catch the airs of Xingese countrymen about him.
Her arms fell limp and her eyes opened again, revealing stormy orbs, "May I infer what is it you two are doing with this young man?"
An ordinary bystander probably wouldn't have been answered, but the people had rights. Besides, the gloves and type of clothes she wore were pretty known to be Alchemist-wear. One of the two, the one who had found him to begin with replied, "This man says he's from Xing, but he doesn't have an entry visa."
"Therefore he's an illegal immigrant, and should be accounted for illegally crossing the border. We're taking him to jail, miss."
"As if that's any of your concern," the first one added again.
Catalena huffed, dropping her eyebrows in offense. Sliding her hands from her gray jacket's soft fabric, she held her hips, "Where did you find him?"
The two officers seemed irritated by Catalena's interference, but they didn't want to start an upheaval within the nearby bystanders. "Um, we found him passed out on the roads, miss. He says he's starving or something…"
The Xingese man uttered a pathetic cry in approval.
Catalena smirked, holding her hips a tinge more triumphantly. She chortled, waving one hand, "You having a bad week? Are you honestly going to throw this poor guy into jail on an empty stomach?"
The captors and the captive looked surprised at her modesty.
"Come on, come on! You haven't ever tried prison food? Not that I've ever been imprisoned, but really—the food is revolting." She concluded her argument.
First the two shared glances at each other, then at the awaiting woman, and finally at the young man. They both sighed before making their decision.
.
Food flew everywhere; it didn't matter where one sat.
Was this how Xingese eating habits differentiated from Amestrian?
The restaurant bill seemed to lengthen infinitely…
.
He was almost like the homunculus Gluttony, voraciously wolfing down food that the chef kept piling up. Catalena instinctively had the urge to gape, but she was frightened of half-chewed pieces of food projecting into her mouth cavity. Looking past it all, she pondered if the change she had in her pocket would suffice to the bill.
"I guess it's good to savor every bite…" she pointed out, resting her cheek on one hand, "because it's going to be a while until you can eat like this again." Her short, light brown neck-length hair tickled her nape as it naturally layered against it.
He was swallowing a bowl of soup in one gulp before finishing with a satisfied sigh. Then he looked at the young woman, a flurry of noodles becoming consumed in one loud slurp, "Oh yeah, it was all quite delicious! Thank you so much!" He folded his hands within each large yellow sleeve.
Catalena sat up erect again, inquiring the young man, "So you're from Xing, are you? And you came to Amestris without an entry visa?"
Sweat drops fell from the side of his bare face, and he tilted his face to the side childishly, "Um, to be honest I sort of lost it while crossing the desert. Sorry~"
Catalena folded her arms in front of her chest, sighing, "Actually, I'm sorry for you." As she spoke, her voice was easily directed towards the two Central officers lingering nearby, "Because you're heading straight to jail after this."
"Oh…" he turned cautiously to stare at the two grumbling men.
"…What's your name anyway? And why did you come to Amestris? Central?"
Instantly his face lit up, and he proudly beamed, "My name is Ling Yao~ And I came here to study alkahestry. I'm here because Amestris is known for its alchemy."
"Catalena," she quickly announced, but then repeated after him in an astounded voice,"Alkahestry? And you want to learn more about alchemy, now? What do you need to know about it?" Suddenly she seemed interested. It was the sense that someone actually needed her help, and she was more than capable of giving it. Catalena cherished the thought of being gratefully useful.
His shifty-eyes surprisingly opened, and initially became sharp, serious-worthy black pupils. "I'm here with my subjects to discover the secrets of immortality."
At the ambitious objective, Ling had earned scoffs of disapproval from the nearby officers. Catalena, however, believed him. She didn't know the full story of why he needed one, but nonetheless she allowed it. She rested her head on her fist as the man accompanying her folded his arms across his bare chest. "…So basically you're looking for a Philosopher's Stone."
"Exactly," Ling confirmed, ushering a smirk.
Catalena wasn't sure how to continue from then on, but regardless, she fueled his undying interest in the preposterous object, "You realize the only way to obtain a stone is to sacrifice thousands of human souls within a transmutation circle, right?" Not entirely true, she thought. She wanted to stretch the truth a little to demotivate him.
"Of course! You don't assume I came here without knowing a few things about what I'm looking for!" Just like that, he had gained squinty eyes again.
How ironic. "…So you're just looking to find one. That's it?" Her disposition became bored.
"Yeah! You know where to get one?" Unaware of her gradual evasion of the subject, Ling sprang up from his seat, looking excited. He caught the attention of the two officers nearby.
"Nope."
He slunk back in his seat, disappointed.
"Ling, was it? I'm sorry; I guess I wasn't much help. Philosopher's Stones aren't very often to come by." She dryly stated this; still desiring to change the subject.
He was satisfied though, probably already sensing that she wasn't able to help. However the insane Qi that she was giving off interested him.
She pushed the chair back, standing up in her seat. Her stormy gray eyes were pinched closed as she laid a bundle of whatever was in her pocket as payment to the chef.
He stood up as well, and the two Central officers began walking in. Before they could get their hands on him, he asked her, "Excuse me, Catalena, right? Do you happen to be an alchemist?"
She opened her eyes again, not really in shock, just blankness. "…Oh…" she glanced at the police,"Actually, I just finished my State Alchemist test." She smirked, touching her collarbone profoundly, "I'm pretty damn sure I aced it, too."
"Is that so~?" Ling ringed after her ego expanded itself.
"Hell yes—" Just as she had answered he flung himself forward, looking as if tripping. He even sounded an "Oops" as he fell towards Catalena, and for some reason his face landed squarely on her chest. The feeling of his skin becoming so tightly surfaced against hers caused her to physically shut down. The two Central officers and Catalena were too morbid to react promptly. Disgusted, shocked, or nose-bleeding faces appeared on anybody witness to this, but Catalena was more of the naive types—hence, her buckled knees. Besides, it was too fast for her to even frown.
Everyone didn't move, even Catalena, believing that it was a coincidental accident. Ling's face stayed comfortable on her breasts for a while, but then he straightened himself upwards again, smiling with his shifty eyes.
"Oops~ so sorry! Looks like I tripped; clumsy me." He mused, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically.
Catalena, however gracious of accepting his apology…
Was unable to do so as the two officers from before took a hold of him,
"Now you're being accounted for sexual harassment as well as being an illegal alien. You're in a heap of trouble." With both gripping the shoulders of his yellow shirt, they pulled him away.
"It was a complete accident, I swear!" He cried, almost laughing hysterically.
Catalena spared the three a glance before disregarding it. After hearing the Xingese man's intentions, she hadn't wanted to get any closer to him. She furrowed her brows, "Although…"
Her fingers tentatively touched her collarbone, right where the pervert Ling had buried his face into.
Colorless eyes narrowed as she stared down at her chest "…He knew exactly where my Philosopher's Stone was located. That Ling Yao…"
The disarrayed sounds of familiar voices lingered as they grew farther away.
"…People from Xing are freaking crazy."
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[1] She was repeating what atoms carbohydrates are made out of, if anyone cares. She herself probably doesn't even know what she's saying, though.
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this if you did. Reasons to bash me are because I haven't watched the entire anime, only about 40 episodes, so I'm not familiar with the little details in it. I'm probably going to get hate for naming the character Catalena, when my penname is Cata-nee. Well I think Cata-nee sounds catchy, so I was like, "Cute." Please don't think of it as a Mary-sue trait.
Please review and voice your opinions.
I don't like long prologues, so I usually write first chapters as an eye-opener, so that the reader can become interested and become motivated to read the next.