Fullmetal Alchemist and all characters besides "the girl" belong to Hiromu Arakawa. Canon plot also belongs to that brilliant mind. Anything else comes from my crazy imagination that won't rest after watching the anime in three days straight.
The young girl walked down the abandoned alley way in the raggedy, porcelain dress that she had worn for the past few days. Eyes of ice that had been shattered since she came back to this country wandered for a place to rest. Seeing a spot near the center of the path that would be suitable to hide out in come nightfall, she decided to stop there for the evening. Grungy waves of hair covered her face as she let her head fall onto her knees into a light slumber. It had only been a month, but there was nowhere to go.
The girl had slept only a couple of hours before being awoken by sounds of laughter. She opened her eyes and looked up, but there was no one surrounding her. She stretched and stood before beginning to check the main road. As she began to move, a pipe lying on the ground averted her attention, and she fell swiftly to the concrete leaving an open gape on her knee. Thinking nothing of it, pain rarely bothering her anymore, she scratched a small circle into her skin before touching it. After a flash of light, her knee was completely healed.
"That was alchemy, wasn't it?"
She turned her head to the voice that came behind her and saw an older man of about sixty standing there in a blue military uniform that was highly decorated. His left eye was covered by a black patch and a sword was sheathed at his side. She had spoken to no one except that mysterious man for months now. She nodded curtly before regaining her stance in front of him.
"Alchemy that can heal, that could be useful." The man took a step towards her and smiled. "You look like you're having a pretty rough time. Are there problems back home?"
She could not sense anything strange about this man, and he was military. It would not hurt to maybe talk to him. Besides, maybe he could point her in the direction she needed to go. She needed to know what this feeling was that she felt when she came back. Something had changed, but was it her or this country? In a small voice, she replied, "I don't have a home anymore."
The man's eyes widened in a bit of unsurprised shock. "Where are your parents?"
"They died during the Eastern Conflict." Her head dropped to stare at her feet as memories of being younger rushed into her mind. Memories before everything, including her, had changed. "They sent me with an old man to Xing to protect me from it. When I came back, the village wasn't there anymore. Someone told me it had been destroyed years ago during the war. So I came here to Central."
"Why Central?"
Taking a deep breath, she looked back up and answered him with the partial truth. "My father was an alchemist. He taught me the basics when I was still young, but I want to learn more. I came here to Central hoping to study it with all the resources that I was told it had. I've not really come that far into what I really want to figure out. All of the material is restricted, so I can't get to it."
The man saw a chance with this girl, and children could always be easy to manipulate to how you wanted them to be or what you wanted them to do. She would be a prime candidate that he would have to bring up later. She had opened the conversation to a door of opportunity for the both of them, and he jumped in and took it. "All you need to access those restricted materials is certification."
"What type of certification?" She was indeed intrigued by his knowledge on the subject that she desperately needed to know everything that she could. Something told her that he had other plans in mind. It was the way his body energy shifted, but she could still take advantage of the situation herself.
"As a state alchemist. State alchemists receive unlimited access to restricted research materials. They also receive a grant to fund their research and travelling expenses. On top of that, they receive a base income which can cover living expenses. We take good care of our state alchemists, and I know your alchemical skills would be put to great use. We need someone with an ability to heal."
The mentioning of state alchemists and knowing what they did in Ishval sickened her. Alchemy was meant to help the people, not kill them. Alchemy was meant to recreate, not destroy. Ishval was nothing but ruins in the sand which was down deep, soaked in the blood of thousands. However, these advantages of the certification could be just what she needed to understand the problem she came across; a problem that most Amestrians had no idea was in existence.
It was a dangerous route, knowing that if she decided to do this, she would be called up in any time of national need, whether that be to defend their country from invaders or to destroy so-called infidels that were her own countrymen that she should be protecting. She was only a child, barely sixteen, but sometimes, this is the path that you're forced to take. No one said life was easy, and this task was extremely important.
"So how do you become a state alchemist?"
The man once again put a smile on his face. "You're in luck. The exam is in a week. If you pass that, then you will be fully certified as a state alchemist."
"Next week? Okay. I'll think about it."
"I hope to see you around then."
As the old man left, the young girl went back to the spot she had fell asleep at earlier and thought over the idea. Eventually, taking the exam won her over. She would be ready. She would pass, and she would discover what was wrong with this country. She would discover what the man who traveled with her to Xing had meant. People say curiosity can be deadly, and perhaps they are right. This, however, was curiosity that was leading her to the direction that she needed to go in order to be ready for when the time came. That's all he said. "Be ready when the time comes. I'll need you. It has to be you." The old man with golden hair and golden eyes sounded desperate, but he was promising.
A week later, the girl had managed to get herself cleaned up and found some new clothes addressed to her that morning. She knew who they were from, but was surprised that he managed to find her once again. She changed into them and made her way to the examination grounds. There were more people there than she had first imagined there would be, all older than her with smug looks of being the best.
Soon enough, she was called into the room to take the practical portion of the exam. This is where she could really show what she was capable of, which when it came to healing, was a lot. The man from before stood at the front of the room with two men at his side. He sneaked in a small grin, pleasantly relaxed to see her there. She returned the greeting before realizing that she had yet to ask who he was. The two who were beside her stood straight, waiting for permission to begin. She thought it would be okay to ask one of them quietly who he was since the room felt tense with him there. The soldier beside her acted like she was an idiot and informed her just as quietly that that was his Excellency, Fuhrer King Bradley.
She was only slightly stunned by this information, immediately understanding when she first met him that he was someone important in the ranks with the military. She expected him to maybe be a general but definitely not the ruler of the country. Her thoughts were brought back to present when Bradley announced that he was ready for her to begin. The soldier she had asked earlier turned to ask her if she needed something to draw a circle with, which she kindly proceeded to tell him that she didn't need it.
The girl took a step towards Bradley and pointed at his sword. Her request shocked most everyone in the room. "Sir, would you mind using your sword to cut off the bottom portion of my arm. That should do, I think."
Bradley was not taken aback by her request as he already knew she was capable of alchemical healing. What he didn't understand was pain. He drew his sword and stepped in front of her held out arm. She nodded to him signaling that it was okay, and he cut her arm off from the elbow. He saw a flinch of pain flicker on her face, but in an instant, it was gone. The girl stood there, blood dripping from her arm, her forearm lying on the ground. It didn't make sense how this girl could not feel pain.
She understood his confusion and answered everyone's question. "Pain is only a figment of the mind. Control the mind, control the focus of pain. It takes a while to master, but this is nothing."
Taking her own blood that had dropped on the ground, she drew a transmutation circle onto her upper arm. She picked up her forearm and placed it back to where it would connect and held it steady. There was a flash of light, and her arm was back to normal. The blood that had spilled had disappeared without any traces of it ever being on the floor. The room was amazed.
"That was very impressive, young one." Bradley was thoroughly in awe with much to report in about. This new alchemist may be exactly what they were looking for. "Good luck with the rest of your exam." He exited the room without much more said between anyone there. She knew she was set. If the Fuhrer wanted her, then she definitely obtained the certification. There was only a few more things left to finish for this examination period, and then she would know what would happen from there.