Ding dong ding!

"DADDY!" Nina called, smiling, "I hear someone at the door."

"I'll get it!" I called.

I finished washing the dishes I was doing, dried my hands, stepped off my stool and ran for the front door.

HOWL! "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" CRASH!

Uh-oh, I think Alexander's in trouble again...

I reached for the door handle and pulled it open, Nina and Tucker just behind me.

"You can't do that and you know it, Alexander." Nina scolded in her childish-no-nonsense voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tucker apologized, bowing his head.

The boy who was being crushed by Alexander looked up from the ground and stared at Tucker, "You're… Tucker-san?"

He had golden blonde hair in a braid, golden eyes and tanned skin. He was wearing a mostly black, leather out-fit with a red coat over it and looked rather short.

"Gomenasai!" I called as I ran over to the boy.

Once I reached them, I scowled at Alexander and said in the most mature voice I could, "Alexander, please get off the boy or no biscuits for a week!"

Alexander's big ears flopped down even more then they normally are and he stopped wagging his tail as he got up and off the boy. I sighed and held my hand out to the boy.

"Sorry about Alexander, he can get excited around new people, that's all." I smiled at him as he took my hand, "I'm Shoko Celina Tucker, Shou Tucker's adopted daughter. The girl is Nina Tucker, my little sister, the man behind her is Shou Tucker the Sewing Life Alchemist and you've already met Alexander."

"I'm Edward Elric and this is my younger brother, Alphonse Elric. And the old man is Lieutenant Coronal Mustang, the Flame Alchemist." The boy said, smiling at me and gestured to the suit of armor and black haired man in uniform behind him.

I smiled back at him, tilted my head and giggled, "Nice to meet you, Edward-san, Alphonse-san and Mr. Mustang!"

That was how I met the two 'boys' who changed my life. In the front yard of my step-father's house on a late autumn morning with a military man at their side and a dog at mine.

Tucker invited Edward, Alphonse and Mustang into his house, apologizing as he picked up books, "Yeah, I'm terribly sorry about all this. We don't really have a woman's touch around the place to keep it clean anymore. It's like this inside the rest of the house, too."

I sighed as I helped with picking up the books, "It's my fault, really, I'm the one who's supposed to keep this place clean."

Our guests seemed a little bit surprised by this, but let it slide so they could get on to more important matters. Nina wasn't having any of it, though.

"Wow!" Nina grinned as she grabbed Alphonse's hand clad in leather and looked up at him with innocent bright eyes full of wonder, "Bigger Brother's cloths are funny. Aren't they heavy?"

Alphonse didn't seem to mind in the slightest and based on his voice, I think he was smiling, "It's alright. Big brother is very strong."

Nina hummed in amazement while Alphonse noticed Tucker was staring at him. If he wasn't my step-father, I would have kicked him for staring. Sure, it's not normal to see a boy walking around wearing armor, but that's no good reason to stare.

"I'm sure you'll have a chance to discuss their natures at some point." Mustang stated, cutting into the situation for the first time, "Until you do, just accept them."

Tucker's eyes were wide with shock and then he turned to Nina and me, "Okay, Nina, Celina, go play outside."

Nina and I moaned our protests, me speaking up, "But we never have guests and this place is a mess. At least let me make it more presentable before you all settle down for coffee or something."

"Alexander is probably lonely and he hardly gets to play with you, Celina. Both of you can keep him company." Tucker insisted.

This was weird. Tucker never 'insisted' us to do things. I'm just gonna have to play along for now. Nina and I sighed one more time.

"Okay then, I'll see you later." Nina turned and smiled at Alphonse and then was out the door, with me hot on her heels.

As soon as it was closed, I knew they'd start talking so I sat down on the steps and leaned back on the door in an attempt to listen in. I know it's rude to eavesdrop, but I wanna know what's going on and why Tucker doesn't want us there.

"Who would have thought you'd aspire to be State Alchemists at your ages… If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know, okay?"

"Well, Tucker-san, I'd like to have you show us the Chimera you transmuted."

"Me too."

"…Oh, it died not long after it was transmuted, you see."

I heard Edward and Alphonse gasp, I almost did, too. I knew Tucker got his license because he transmuted a talking Chimera (it's the main reason I never call him Shou or Dad) and that he's never let anyone see it, but I had no idea it was dead.

"Anyways, passing marks comes first. It will take more then just an overnight effort to pass this test."

I heard their foot-steps walking away and used the time to gather up what I'd learned.

Edward and Alphonse Elric are two kids about 12/11-years-old who came to Tucker with Mustang because they want to enlist in the military as State Alchemists and to see his talking Chimera, that neither of them knew was actually dead.

Something stinks here and I'm gonna find out what...

I opened the door, stopped breathing for a moment and listened out for anything. I heard the clanking of metal and mismatched foot-steps heading for my sanctuary AKA the library and went there, taking extra care not to step on any creaky flour-boards or land too fast and hard on the flour. I glanced over the corner of the wall, only to turn back around and press my back against it since they were still out-side of the library and if I stepped out, they would probably see me. So, I listened once more.

I heard the lock being opened and the creaky doors allow entrance into the library. I heard Edward and Alphonse gasp in astonishment.

"This is the materials room. You are free to use it."

"This is incredible, Brother. It's full of books I've never even seen!"

"The materials in here are just a fraction compared to what they have at the National Central Library. If you pass the test, you can get materials that will give you dozens-no, hundreds of times more knowledge then this."

"Is that right? Brother, we should get busy-"

For a while, all that was heard was the grandfather clock ticking away; if you could call it ticking, at least.

"Oh, brother…"

I think I heard Mustang chuckle.

"I will take my leave now, since my attention is probably needed at Central Headquarters."

"Oh, yes of course, I will see you later Colonel Mustang."

Knowing I would be spotted if I didn't move now, I dashed down the hallways, back into the front yard and got into a playful leaf fight with Nina and Alexander.


An hour before everyone normally has dinner, I went back into the house to start making it. Today, I was cooking mashed potatoes, beef and for a side dish some salad and bread buns. After leaving it to cook for about 30 minutes, I prepared the table and 10 minutes before it would go off, I called everyone to the dining room and served them their food.

For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the clinking of cutlery on the plates, when Tucker spoke up, "Ed-kun, making any progress with your studies?"

"Yeah, some." Edward confirmed, smiling sheepishly, "But there's so much stuff here that I didn't know."

Tucker smiled in understanding, "The test is hard even for adults who have received special education. But you're still so young. You needn't force yourself to worry about taking it this year."

"No…" Edward disagreed and got a faraway but determined look in his eyes, "I'll try to do everything that I can, no matter how slim the possibilities are of me passing. If I can keep moving ahead…"

And that was when I finally noticed it. His eyes... They held within them a story of tragedy that stared a young boy reaching for redemption...

Don't ask me how I can tell this, I've always had this 'ability' to see these things deep inside people whenever I look and try to really see them for the first time. Even when I was little, I've had this ability to read people. Maybe it's because I've seen my fair share of demons to...

Nina made a sound of disapproval, "Bigger Brother, you haven't eaten anything!"

And that was another detail I had failed to notice until now. Dang, whenever I go into my "zone" I end up missing everything else!

Nina pouted, picked up one of the bread buns and held it up to Alphonse, "That won't do! You have to make sure to eat!"

"Huh? Ummm…" Alphonse raised his hands as if to decline the offer and turned to face Edward, but after sharing a look, Alphonse relented, took the bread from Nina and said, "Thanks. This sure does look delicious."

"Be sure you chew it well!" Nina added in a bossy tone.

I chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Come on, Nina, don't be so bossy or you'll end up scaring all the boys off when you're older."

"But Celina-chan…" Nina whined, "I don't wanna have a boyfriend!"

I laughed and grinned at her, "You don't now, but that's a good thing, just means they'll be after you like a shot the second you hit puberty!"

Nina tilted her head in confusion, "Celina-chan, what's puberty?"

"It's how little kids become big kids, sweet-heart." I explained, grinning, "And then after they become big kids, they become teenagers and then, well, you know where I'm going with this. In fact, if you have any questions on puberty, you should ask Edward-san since he's old enough to be going through it right now."

"Wha-what?!" Edward explained, suddenly flustered.

I laughed and grinned at him, "I'm just kidding minna-san! If Nina needs puberty advice, she should come to me since I'm the only other female in the house!"

"But you're only 5, Celina, you don't need to be thinking about that stuff just yet." Tucker chuckled.

I shouted at him with my face red with anger, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO IMMATURE THAT SHE COULD BE CONSIDERED TO BE 5 WHEN SHE'S REALLY 7?!"

Never. Call me. Anything younger then what I am. I don't mind being called 9, kid or anything like that but anything under the age I am is going to get you your butt blow off with my yelling. I hate being called an immature kid.

Everyone at the table burst into laughter while I pouted and glared at them.

I am not immature. I am a strong, capable and very able young woman even if I'm legally still a kid.


The night, as I was walking down the halls and doing a little bit of dusting, I passed by the Elric's rooms.

"Can't sleep?"

"Yeah. My head is too full of all the things I learned."

I should probably go; I know I have a bad habit of eavesdropping and I need to work on it.

"Oh, yeah. Say, sister-"

Sister?! Oh, there is no way I'm leaving now!

"Al, be careful, someone could be listening!"

"But it's the middle of the night and I can't hear anyone outside our door and besides, even if you act like and are pretending to be a boy, it doesn't mean I can't occasionally call you sister."

"Fine. But, you were saying…"

Oh my gosh, Edward's a girl! Shoot, I shouldn't have learned about that this way!

"I'm sure you'll be able to pass the test, sister. So you should at least get some good rest at night."

"Yeah, I know…"

"It sure takes me back the way this all feels."

"Yeah, it sure does… Goodnight, Al."

"Night, Ed."

With that, I went on my merry way and updated the situation at this house in my head:

There are 2 males living here (Alphonse and Tucker) and 3 females (Myself, Nina and Edward), one of which is pretending to be male for unknown reasons. It's my job to keep the house clean, Tucker's to keep owner ship of the house, Nina and Alexander's to make sure we remember to eat and take breaks, Edward's job to make it through the exam and Alphonse's job to help his 'brother'.

Dang, I knew things were messed up in this house the second I stepped onto the grounds.


For the next month, life went on as normal as the snow began to fall. The Elrics studied, Nina and Alexander played, Tucker locked himself in his room and did his research and that left me doing all the other jobs in and around the house. Every once in a while, Edward and Alphonse would offer to help me, which I appreciated and would normally accept.

Right now, I was washing the dishes from this morning's breakfast when I noticed that the stove was on. And that is really weird, I mean, we didn't even use it this morning! I dried my hands and went to turn off the stove and after I did, I turned around to do the dishes again-

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" THUMP!

Before I knew it, I had tripped on something and landed flat on my face, shocked to the core and hurting like heck. I heard Alphonse running down the halls.

"Celina-san!" Alphonse gasped as he entered the kitchen, "Are you okay?"

"Owww," I moaned as I moved to sit up, "What the heck did I trip on?"

Alphonse was at my side and I heard him shifting his metal head as he looked me over and then gasped, "Celina, you're bleeding!"

"Huh?" I questioned and looked at my hand.

Sure enough, there was a small cut on my finger and it left a trail of blood running down my palm, making me sigh, "It's okay, Alphonse, I get these all the time and besides, it's just a little cut."

I heard him hum in disapproval, as if my lack of concern wasn't something he wanted to hear, but I turned to him and smiled, "Really, Al-san, I'm okay. I don't even remember cutting myself on anything and it doesn't even hurt, not a bit."

"Then why are you crying?"

I was? I placed my hand to my cheek and felt that it was wet, but it could have been from accidentally getting water on my face while I was washing the dishes. But when I felt a drop of the water land in my mouth and I tasted salt, I knew that wasn't the case.

"I…" I said softly, noticing now how shaky my voice was, "I don't know really. I haven't cried for years and I know it isn't because I'm in pain or anything. The last time I cried was the day my parents died."

Alphonse gasped at that and silence hung in the air for a bit. I heard Alphonse shift, the taring of tissue paper and then saw him reaching for my wrist. He gently took it into his hand and then wrapped my bleeding finger with the long strip of paper in his hands.

I was shocked, "Alphonse-san, you don't need to do this for me, I can do it myself, easily-"

"My mother died too." Alphonse began, "She got really sick one day and no matter what the doctors did, she couldn't get better. He said she'd had it for years and was only taking it's finally attack on her 2 years ago when I was 10. She never made it."

"What did your father do?" I asked, but then hastily added, "But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"

"I don't think he even knew about it. He went away on some trip when I was really little and he never came back; I can't even remember what he looks like, not very well at least. For a long time, it's just been brother and me." Alphonse explained.

I stared at this young boy, barely 5 years older than me, admitting such a dark truth to me and I decided to tell him mine.

"My father was an angry drunk and alcoholic and my mother was a prostitute and drug addict." I began, "One day, the two of them came home to see me down stares trying to destroy their precious alcohol and drugs by stomping on them with my favorite leather boots and my dad went ballistic. He beat me into the ground and then started chocking me; sometimes at night when it's really dark, I think I see the bruises shaped like hands around my neck and that was when my mother decided to step in."

I heard Alphonse lean forwards in anticipation and gasp, but I continued to stare at my lap, my eyes unseeing. I didn't see my lap, I saw that horrible night that changed me forever.

"Richard, let her go or how are we going to use a corpse to pay us back for destroying our property?" My mother, Morgan, requested.

"Fuck that, I'm gonna kill this little nuisance right here and now!" My father, Richard, growled.

"Let her go, Richard, I mean it."

"Shut up, woman, can't you see I'm busy here?"

"Richard, let our daughter go now!"

"Our daughter…" Richard sounded so angry as he lifted my limp form up by my shirt, "Oh please, I don't make mistakes like her, this was all on you. You're the one who decided not to get the abortion, you're the one who didn't let me stamp on the little shit's head the second I saw her and knew she'd be a trouble maker."

Morgan scoffed, "You know what? For once, you're right. She isn't our daughter; she doesn't belong to you or me. She isn't our mistake she is just that; a mistake. It's not our faults I got pregnant, so why should we waste our time blaming each other when the cause of all our problems is dangling to what little she has left of her pathetic life-span? She deserves to die for making you and me so miserable, hell, she deserves to die just for existing; that's how pathetic she really is."

"Mama…" I cried, "Papa…"

Richard smirked at the idea and then turned his evil eyes on me and my tiny body, "Yeah, she does deserve to die, in fact, once I kill her I think I'll fuck her. The only good thing she could have ever done later in her life was become a prostitute; preferably mine without pay."

Morgan laughed at the idea, "Oh, you believed she'd take after me? How original of you, Richard. Let's get some shit from the stores so we can poison her to death; that would be so much more pleasing to see."

Richard also smirked, "Let's do it, Morg."

With that, he tossed me aside and my head hid the cupboard doors. My vision swam in and out of focus, I watched as the people I was born to walk out of my life for the final time.

"Mama, Papa, please don't leave me all alone!" I cried as I reached for them.

"…A week later, police men came to my house, saying my parents were dead due to a hit and run accident and that I needed to go into the foster system, only to find me with a high fever and a broken heart. I didn't know what all those words my parents told me on that day meant, but I told every one of them to the person who they sent into listen to me and after telling her word-for-word what had happened in that kitchen, I was really shocked to see her crying. About a year after being in the horrible foster system, Tucker adopted me. That was two years ago on the day he became a State Alchemist." I finished my dark and deathly tale.

The truth is, I found out what those words meant while I was in the foster system, but even then I didn't cry about it, not even once. Why was I crying now all of a sudden? Why in front of Alphonse did my shield drop so dramatically? Why did I feel so safe with him?

I stood up and bowed my head in apologies, "Alphonse I am so sorry I dumped my horrible past on you like that. That was my burden and my burden alone to carry and I am so sorry for wasting your precious time on me and my tears."

I expected a slap, for him to walk away or just the silence for a while. He did the one thing that I never expected anyone to ever do, besides Nina on occasions.

He hugged me.

And then I did the last thing I expected myself to do.

I cried again. I hid my eyes in his wonderfully cold, but kind and strong armor and poured all the pain I've lived with over the years out in the form of tears. Alphonse didn't say a thing the entire time, he just gently ran his hand over my head and hair while hugging me. He didn't say anything to comfort me, he didn't complain I'd get his armor rusty. He just held me as I cried.

And dang, has it been a long time since I ever felt happy yet sad at the same time.

I could have been crying there for the entire day or just 5 minutes, but I eventually pulled back, whipped my eyes and smiled a weak smile towards him, "Thanks so much, Alphonse. I… I should probably finish the dishes now."

"Can I help you in anyway?" He asked softly, smiling behind his armor, "I'd like to see if I can."

I smiled, "Can you just… promise you won't leave, just for a few moments, please? I… I would really like your company."

He nodded, made a sound of agreement and then I went back to do my business as usual. Only this time…

It feels like the air above my shoulders isn't as heavy as it used to be.

I didn't cry for a good number of years after that day, but whenever I did, Alphonse or Edward seemed to always be there for me, like a magic charm or tear-catcher, but then I realized something: they were neither. They were just Alphonse and Edward Elric: the 'boys' who broke through my walls without destroying them and let me lighten the load on my shoulders, just for a while and let me know that it was okay to cry because I was just human in the end.

At least, I thought I wouldn't be crying for a good number of years after that. And I thought I was always going to be only human. And that they'd always be there for me, together. Too bad I ended up being wrong about all that; but at least he was there when they weren't.