Hey all and welcome! This is my first Fullemtal Alchemist story, so please be kind! ... Not to mention it's one of the first anime

I'm pretty stoked about this and am hoping that at least one person will enjoy this. I really love the Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series, so with that in mind I decided to give this a shot! I probably (well, most likely) won't be following the actual story line to a T, but I'll see what I can do about keeping up with it. Anywhoo, enough of my rambling and on with the fic! :)

Thank you all for taking a peak at this fic and hopefully please enjoy!

Chapter 1; First Impressions Count

It seemed like every other day when I walked out of the family home and took a casual stroll through the town. The sun was shining like it always did every morning in Rush Valley. The people were friendly and always hollered a 'good morning' or waved with a friendly smile as I passed by. This morning in particular I was heading to Mr. Garfiel's shop to pay Winry a visit. On my way there, I noticed a huge group of people standing there watching something in the distance. As I walked closer to see what the commotion was about, two figures dashed by me at a fast pace as another two jumped off in another direction.

I blinked and then released a small sigh, "If I didn't know any better... I'd say those two Elric brothers got themselves into more trouble!"

I continued to watch Al's disappearing form until a voice caught my attention.

"There they go!" Pause. "Hey pops! Lets add some desert to my tab!"

When I turned around I was met with a unique fellow clad in yellow and white. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail aside from the long bangs that cast themselves in front of his face. His eyes were a dead giveaway that he was not from around here, as well as the way he seemed to carry himself. The way he had his arms neatly folded reminded me of some old samurai master.

I hadn't realized I was staring at him until he finally spoke again.

"Well, I must say," He flashed me a very friendly grin, "You have the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen! Care to join me for a delicious desert?"

I gaped at him completely taken aback by the compliment and suddenly my face heated up, "Uh... Sure?"

When I sat across from this overly friendly stranger, I watched him closely. He offered me some of his desert but when I declined he shamelessly dug in. It was almost shocking to watch him eat. It was as if he tasted absolutely nothing as he continued to literally shovel the ice cream in his mouth. How does he not get a brain freeze!

"Yuw nefa fold me yorf name!" He managed to spout out in the middle of his eating.

I continued to watch him in awe, "Huh? Oh! Sorry, my name's Xya. How about you?"

Once he finished what I feared would be his frozen ice cream treat, he sat back giving a confident smile.

"I'm Ling Yao, twelfth son of the Emperor of Xing!"

I deadpanned, "You're a prince? And you're fom Xing?"

He nodded and grinned, "Yup, that's right!"

Oh boy. "So, uhm... Why are you all the way over here? Isn't Xing across the desert?"

"It is, and let me tell you, it was one rough trek that's for sure," He crossed his arms as the old man that owned the shop came over and took the plate, "I decided to stop because I wanted to visit the ruins of Xerxes."

"Is there anything special there?" I asked, becoming curious as to why this Xingese prince would want to come to Amestris.

Wait. Maybe he caused the ruckus with Ed and Al?

"Not really. Just ruins." Ling answered casually.

Suddenly he was leaning on the table with his attention fully on me, "So, Xya was it? That's a pretty unique name for living around here?"

"My parents aren't originally from Amestris," I smiled, "But I was born and raised here."

"I see," Ling nodded slightly, "So then, what do you do around here? It seems like a pretty boring town."

I shrugged, "I usually help a friend of mine whenever she's backed up with appointments for her clients needing automail repairs, but other then that I practice alchemy."

"Ah, so you're an alchemist? Seems there's a lot of you around these parts," Ling's face suddenly lit up, "So if you practice alchemy, you must know of the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Every alchemist knows about that stone," I put my elbow against the table and leaned my head against it, "It's not something I'd ever want in my possession though. A lot of bad comes from it."

Ling listened quietly, "I see."

"Why do you ask?" My eyebrow rose.

"I'm looking for it in order to obtain immortality so I can save my clan," Ling gave the honest, unfiltered reply.

My eyes grew big, "Wow, uh, that's one heck of a goal you got there. But is gaining immortality really the way to save your clan?"

"It is," Ling sat up properly and folded his arms into his sleeves, "In order to gain favor with the emperor, I need to gain immortality."

"He's your father though, why not just show that you want the throne?" I asked, my mind completely skipping over the fact he had just told me he was the twelfth son.

"It's not that simple I'm afraid," Ling's face dropped, "The emperor has forty-one children including myself, and with that being said we've all been at war over who will gain favor."

I frowned, "So I take it you've had attempted assassinations?"

"Yup," Ling nodded, "All my life. It's taught me how to fight efficiently though, so I guess you could say it was worth it."

"Always optimistic, are you?" I couldn't help but giggle.

Suddenly, two explosions erupted and tore our attention away from the topic at hand. Ling stood up and stretched before walking away from the table. He gave me one last glace before flashing that charming smile.

"Coming?"

I sat still for a moment before getting up and following him to where the biggest explosion had been set off. Sure enough, when we arrived, there stood Ed with his unattached automail arm slung over his shoulder glaring up at a restrained woman who hung about thirty feet above the ground. Meanwhile, Al walked towards up carrying a man clad in a similar get-up as the woman, and was set gentle on his bottom while the two brothers greeted one another.

I observed both ninja for a moment before looking back at Ed, "Man, Winry's going to kill you."

He deadpanned, "Don't remind me."

Ling whistled, "Wow, great job. Hey, why not come work for me and together we can take over this place!"

Ed narrowed his eyes as his temper flared, "Why don't you take these two and just go back to Xing!"

Ling, not at all phased by Ed's raw temper, just continued to smile like a fool and ignored the outburst. I couldn't help but smile and think to myself at how Ling's seemingly easy-going, silly personality easily negates Edwards "easy-push" button temper and would probably have a positive, long-term effect eventually if Ling was around more often. Then again...

Maybe not so much.

The blonde seemed sated for a moment before a huge crowd of Rush Valley citizens arrived, each one sporting an angry face.

"Look at what you did to our town!"

"Which one of you is going to pay for the damages!"

"It's going to take years to repair all of this!"

"Don't forget about your restaurant bill!"

Ed backed away from them all flustered and motioned towards Ling's two captive companions, "H-Hey, wait a minute! It was because of these guys!"

I watched as Ling danced uneasily in place, "Oh sorry, I no speak much language of this country! Okay, bye bye now~"

Ed, as always, screamed angrily after the Xingese prince before finally noticing the two that had been tied were in fact gone. Ed and Al looked at one another in defeat before agreeing that they would fix the town, even though it only ended up being Al that was capable of performing the alchemy needed.

While distracted, I took that as my chance to leave and finally head over to Mr. Garfiel's shop. To my surprise, none other then Ling himself sat across from Mr. Garfiel as the two drank some tea.

"Wow, two meetings in one day! I must be the luckiest guy ever!" Ling smiled brightly as he watched me walk into the shop.

I blushed, "Nice to see you too, Ling."

Mr. Garfiel smiled, "Winry won't be long. She just had to go get some more supplies."

"Sweet," I went over and joined them at the table before giving Ling a suspicious eye, "How did you know to come here?"

Ling waved his hand carelessly, "Lets not talk about those details. Now tell me, you know those brothers personally, right? Can you convince them to help me?"

"Help you with what?" I blinked before realization dawned on me, "Oh, you mean help with finding the Philosopher's Stone, don't you?"

"That's right!" Ling grinned, "Unless you'd like to assist me?"

I gave my head a quick shake, "Nope. Not in this lifetime!"

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun~" Ling sang.

"-you're right Al, she's going to- HEY!"

All eyes were on Ed and Al as they walked into the shop. Ling said his hellos and was quickly replied to with a metal arm being bashed against his head sending him hurtling to the floor.

"Ed!" I stood up and quickly went to Ling, "You know, you really do have the manners of a gnat!"

Ed blanched before his face burned red with anger, "Hey, don't side with that guy! Do you know what his flunkies did to us?! They didn't go down easily, you know!"

Ling, recovered and sitting on the chair once more, held his hands up in a submissive position and smiled, "I'll give them a talking to later."

"Who are they anyways?" Al asked, standing behind his brother in case the shorter Elric needed restraining.

"The girl's name is Lan Fan and the old man is Fu," Ling explained, "Their family has served mine for generations, and they're incredibly good at what they do."

"And that would be?" I looked at Ling, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Why, they're body guards, of course!" Ling chimed.

Ed looked at Ling incredulously, "You mean to tell me you can afford two chauffeurs but you can't afford to get yourself something to eat?"

"Well, I am the prince of Xing after all," Ling smiled.

Ed and Al stood there floored for a moment, "You're a prince?!"

I stared at the two brothers when they laid on the floor snickering at Ling's confession, before a kunai came shooting into the room causing both boys to jolt to the side in terror.

"You won't speak of Master Ling like that!" Lan Fan kept a hard glare on both boys (Edward, especially).

I gaped watching the scene unfold before my eyes as conversation got into the ever famous Philosopher Stone topic once more, and now Ling was clinging to the very unimpressed Edward.

"Hey, did you guys hear about all those weird explosions from earlier?" Winry spoke to no one in particular as she walked through the entrance to the shop, "I wonder what it was about- ..."

Silence.

Oh, hell. Winry was pissed.

I felt as though I should duck for cover as Winry's face burned with anger.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR AUTOMAIL?!"

Mr. Garfiel, Al and I stood aside as wrenches and other tools were sent flying in Ed's direction. Winry continued to scream obscene and hateful things towards the cowering alchemist making Al and I snicker.

"Hey," I blinked and looked around expecting to see a Xingese boy beside me, "Where'd Ling go?"

Al looked around as well, "He was right there a second ago?"

"Maybe he went outside to talk with Lan Fan and Fu?" I offered out loud more to myself then Al.

Once things settled down and Ed was only partially conscious, Al and I helped Winry get Ed to the room she did her work in and then gracefully bowed out so the two could talk. In the meantime, I helped Al with polishing his armor and any other small details he needed until it was time for me to go.

Bravely, Al and I poked our heads inside the room half expecting Ed to be bleeding out of every orpheus, "Win, I'm going to head out if you don't need anything."

Winry looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Actually, there is something you could help me with," She stood up and grinned, "You could invite our new friends over to stay at your place? We just don't have the room now that Ed and Al are here."

I blinked, "Well, I don't know..."

Suddenly Ling appeared in the window... Hanging upside down?

"We're staying with Xya? How wonderful!"

I felt my face heat up, "Hey! I never gave an answer yet!"

Ed smirked, "They're all yours, Xya. And while we're off in Central, they can stay here with you."

"We're going to Central? Oh I can't wait! When do we leave?"

Winry and I giggled as Ed clenched his fist tightly and snarled, "YOU'RE NOT COMING WITH US!"

x-x-x

"You know, you could tone down your persistence a bit," I giggled as Ling and I walked towards my house, "Ed would be much more docile if you just asked and let him have his space."

"Hmm, he does tend to just towards the aggressive pretty fast," Ling mused, "Say, are you coming with us all to Central?"

I blinked, "Who said I was going?"

"You should!" Ling turned to look at me.

I quickly thought over the pros and cons before offering him a smile, "I'll say maybe for now."

Ling was having none of that, "I'll help you pack your things for the trip."

"I said maybe, not yes!"

"You're coming? How awesome!"

I deadpanned as Ling continued with his silly antics, "Do you have selective hearing?"

Something tells me that this little trip is going to be interesting.

That, and possibly stressful and/or harmful to my mental health.

Well, how was that? I hope it wasn't too disappointing!

I actually am really looking forward to writing this story because I just love Ling's character and how flexible he is to write. And of course, once Greed is into the picture, that will be entertaining as well. ;)

I promise that the next chapter will be longer, as well!

I just want to give y'all a heads up now about how to pronounce our little Xya's name. Think of it as 'ZY - A'. Simple, right? :D

Please comment and and leave respectful criticism if you have any!

Love you all~ :)