CHAPTER ONE

A girl with long, ice blue hair that reached the end of her spinal cord peeked out of the alley way. A transmutation circle was embedded on her forehead. Her green eyes narrowed with concentration, she ran across the street and down the sidewalk.

A dark blue flash of light speared towards her, and she dodged it expertly, the spear transmutation effects appearing on the wall and not her chest.

"I thought human transmutation was forbidden!" she called into the night, challenging her opponent.

"Then I am the devil," a voice answered. A girl walked towards the first, her hair dark blue and short. It shone like oil, "Akitian."

Akitian, the girl with the ice blue hair, snarled under her breath and held out her hand. Her hand faced palm down, she pointed her fingers down as well, but kept her palm in the same place. A light blue light flashed, and a glacier suddenly rose out of the ground, made from the moisture and puddles of water on the sidewalk.

Akitian's enemy squeaked in terror and jumped back to avoid the blockade of ice, "Damn you!"

"Until next time, Ame," Akitian spoke her enemy's name, also the Japanese word for "rain". Then Akitian disappeared into the shadows, her icy cloak billowing behind her.

Ame cursed and kicked the glacier, then held her foot and cursed again, but in pain this time. "Ugh!" she growled.

People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something.

You must present something of equal value to gain something.

That is the principle of equivalent trade in alchemy.

We believed that was the truth of the world when we were young.