Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

It had been a few months since the Elric brothers had traveled to Dublith to visit their former Alchemy teacher, Izumi. Really, they didn't know how she was taking the fact of seeing the homunculus she had created.

"I bet it's really hard for her." Al sighed as they rode a train to Dublith.

"Yeah, but she's strong. She'll be okay." Ed murmured, as he looked down at his auto-mail arm. " We've all paid the price, and we can't do anything about it. That's why you never here her complain about her problems."

"What time do you think we'll reach the Dublith Station, brother?"

"Maybe around late afternoon, just relax Al." Ed informed. He lied back and crossed his legs.

As usual, Edward drifted off to sleep, leaving Alphonse practically alone. He stared out the window and watched the fields of grass pass by. His brother and he had been through so much. He slightly chuckled as he watched his brother sleep. It was as if he had always lived a normal life, without any problems. Even though Al couldn't sleep, he imagined his brother and him with their original bodies back. It was as good as any dream.

"Hey Edward, I think we're at the Dublith Station!" Alphonse said as he nudged his brother awake.

"Wha-?" Ed moaned as he slightly woke up.

"Come on Ed!" Al shouted as he grabbed Ed by the arm and dragged him off the train.

"Al, let go! I'm not in the mood to lose my other arm!" Ed shouted as he broke loose from his brother's grasp. "What's the rush anyway."

"Oh, I'm sorry brother. It's just that I'm a little in a rush to see her." Al confessed.

"Well it's not like she's going anywhere, and besides, I called Mason to see if they were planning a trip."

"Does Teacher know we're coming?" Al asked.

"Nah, I told Mason to keep it a secret. She'll be happy to see us." Ed said.

They continued casually walking down the street towards their sensei's house. On their way they spotted familiar places they had been when they were training their as Izumi's apprentices. They were somewhat happy that nothing had changed. The brothers spotted the familiar 'MEAT' shop in the distance. As they got closer they could see their teacher sitting on the small porch in font of the shop. She seemed as if she was starring off into space.

"Hey, teacher!" Ed called out to her.

Izumi snapped out of her day dream and looked up. She gave a slight, soft smile at the sight of spotting her apprentices. She sighed and stood up; brushing the dust off her white tunic. "What a pleasant surprise to see you two so far South in Dublith. Shouldn't you be in Central with your fellow 'State Dogs'?

"Well there's not much to do in Central. A dog's life can be pretty boring." Ed joked.

"You've always been such a fool Edward. But back to business, you must have had some reason for showing up here at such short notice. Don't you have some kind of lead to follow to help get your bodies back to normal?" Izumi said in a more serious tone.

"Teacher, you don't get us at all. We just came for a visit." Al informed. "We're just a little worried about you."

"Heh, you two have your own problems that you need to worry about. I'm fine." Izumi said.

"Well that's good." Ed sighed in relief. "Have you been feeling well?"

"I told you not to worry about me, I'm fine." Izumi informed trying to drop the subject. "Now, I'm sure you haven't eaten yet, come and help me fix lunch."

"Um…okay." Al said as he first looked at his older brother and then followed his teacher into the shop.

Izumi led them through the shop portion of the Curtis's home. Ed and Al waved at Mason, who was working the cash register. However, something seemed to be missing.

"Hey Teacher, where's Sig?" Ed asked as he noticed that Izumi's abnormally big husband wasn't around.

"Oh, him? He went up North visiting some family. He should be back by tomorrow." Izumi informed.

"I bet you get lonely." Al said.

"No, it's actually kind of nice being in the house alone. And I always have Mason."

"Do you still visit that island?" Al asked.

"Al-" Ed snapped and nudged his brother.

"That's enough talk. Come help me." Izumi sighed as she made her way to the kitchen.

The whole time they were making lunch, the tension seemed to be strong within the room. Izumi looked incredibly irritated. She finally slammed a knife, which she was using on the table and turned around looking at the Elrics.

"Are we doing something wrong, Teacher?" Al asked, still caught off guard about her sudden movements.

"Yes something is indeed wrong!" Izumi said sternly. "You two, for some reason, are acting incredible strange! Reason being, you randomly show up in Dublith and acting like I'm some trauma victim! The only time you guys ever help me is if I tell you to do it, and even then you still moan and ground about it! What's gotten into you two!"

"We…uh…we just wanted to see how your doing, right Al?" Ed explained, and turned to Al for support.

"Uh…yeah, I-I guess so." Al agreed nervously.

Izumi wasn't buying their lame excuses. She walked over to the two brothers and grabbed Ed by the collar. "You stupid little bastard! I don't need your pity. You don't see me traveling to Rismbool every month or so to check on you! Because, believe it or not, I couldn't care less about you and your brother and your pathetic sob story! Your arm and leg, his body, and my internal organs are nothing but payments! So shut up about this 'We just came to see if your okay' crap!"

"But we barely get to see you, Teacher. We're always so busy trying to find leads that could help us get out bodies back." Al explained, trying to watch his tone so he wouldn't piss her off even more.

"Can't we just drop this subject and just enjoy being together?" Ed said trying to calm everyone down."

"Fine, whatever." Izumi growled. "Just make sure you don't make a mess. I'm busy enough right now." She began to walk out of the room.

"Teacher, where are you going?" Ed asked as he began chopping up some vegetables for lunch.

"Well since Sig isn't here, I have to help take care of the shop. Mason helped take care of the register while I took a break so I better get back to work." Izumi explained. "I'm sure you two can manage things."

"Uh…yeah…sure." Ed said.

Izumi walked out of the room. Ed and Al knew that if they said anything more, they would pay for it later. Izumi was pissed and it was best to just let everything go. By the time they finished making lunch, it was already evening. Mason walked in the kitchen and greeted the Elrics.

"Hey you two, sorry I didn't give ya guys a proper greeting earlier. I've been really busy with Mr. Curtis gone and all." Mason apologized in his usual cheerful tone.

"That's okay, we knew you wanted to say 'hi'" Al chuckled.

"Well I guess lunch will serve as dinner, huh?" Ed said as he brought a pot of hot stew over.

"Wow, that sure looks great. I didn't know you could cook." Mason laughed as he looked at the stew.

"Well actually this is my first time ever making anything." Ed confessed. "I just hope it wont kill anyone."

"Heh heh, wouldn't that be tragic!" Mason snickered.

"Well you have to tell me if it's good or not 'cause I'd like to try it when I get my body back." Al told Ed. "Anyway where's Teacher?"

"Izumi's closing up the shop. She told me that I could come back here and see if you wrecked the kitchen." Mason said as he walked around the room examining it. "But looks like you guys did a good job keeping it clean."

The Elric brothers sighed in relief. They didn't even want to think about what Izumi would do to them if they had left the kitchen a mess. As Izumi finally entered the room, Mason noticed that Ed and Al's posture and attitude tensed.

"What's wrong with you?" Izumi asked as she starred puzzled at her two apprentices." your acting like you've seen a ghost."

"Oh, uh…sorry Teacher." Ed apologized, still tense. "A-are you…still mad at us?"

"Of course not! There's absolutely no reason I should be mad at you two." Izumi explained. "Now you should eat and get some rest; You'll have to wake up early to train with me."

"But we're not your students anymore, Teacher. You expelled us, remember?" Al said.

"Well if that's the case, then why exactly do you two call me 'Teacher'?" Izumi protested.

"I guess it's habit." Ed laughed.

"*Tch*, whatever come on you two, let's eat." Izumi grunted as she snatched the pot of stew from Edward's hands and headed towards the dinning room.

After dinner, Izumi went strait to her room without saying anything. Ed, Al, and Mason stayed behind to clean up.

"So, What's up with Teacher? I mean, she seems a little weird." Al asked Mason.

"What do you mean? She seems okay to me." Mason said.

"What Al means is that she seems more moody and irritated." Ed explained.

"She's probably just a little upset that Sig is gone. They go everywhere together." Mason concluded. "You'll get used to it."

"Yeah." Al sighed.

"Well enough about that , I think we're done here." Ed said as he put a broom he was using into a small closet. "We have to wake up early to train with her."

"O-ok, brother." Al said as he followed Edward up the stairs.

"You are going to be okay, right Mason?" Ed said trying to confirm it was okay for them to turn in for the night.

"Oh yeah, it's fine." Mason smiled. "You need two need to be ready for tomorrow."

"The Elrics said good night to Mason and headed down toward their room down the hall. They tried to walk quietly as to not disturb Izumi. As they walked past their teacher's room they noticed that she was, as usual, reading an alchemy book.

"Do you need something?" Izumi sighed, not taking an eye off her book.

Caught off guard, Edward stepped backward and tripped over his brother's foot. With a loud *THUD* and the clinking of automail hitting the wooden floor, Ed fell in the door way of Izumi's room. By this time Izumi had directed her attention off her book and onto her apprentice. Ed was strictly horrified and prayed that Izumi didn't get the wrong idea that they were spying on her, or were they? " Hello T-Teacher." Ed said nervously as he sat up; he was gazing at the floor because he didn't dare look her in the eyes.

"What are the two of you up to?" Izumi growled with annoyance.

Ed shook his head as if he was trying to snap out of a trance. He jumped up and grabbed Al by the arm. "Good night Teacher!" Ed shouted and ran down the hall to their room.

"O….k." Izumi said with confusion, not exactly sure about what her students were up to.

"Ed collapsed on his bed face first and stayed there for a while mumbling to himself. Al didn't bother asking what was wrong. He figured that it was best keeping quiet.

"Brother… I think it would be best if you went to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow." Al sighed.

"What do you think I'm doing, and if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of tired getting my ass handed to me." Ed moaned still face first on his bed. "to tell you the truth, I don't care if tomorrow ever comes."

"But still-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get your point. Good night!" Ed growled as he grabbed his covers and pulled them over himself.

As usual, the night seemed to go on forever to Alphonse. To pass the time he had picked up a near by alchemy book. As streams of the morning light leaked through the window, Al got up and walked out of the room and quietly walked down the stairs. He made his way outside and began warming up. He knew from previous experiences that if you were ever going to compete with Izumi, you had better be prepared. When the sun finally peeked over the distant forest where Izumi's former alchemy teacher, Dante, used to live. A scream broke the silence, and made Al cringe. He knew who that scream belonged to. As if right on cue Izumi and Ed walked out of the house. Ed was limping and had one hand on his cheek.

"Ed w-what happened?"

"What do you think happened! The damn old hag kicked my ass because I wasn't up on time! Why didn't you wake me up!" Ed growled and winced in pain.

"Well I-"

"What did you call me you stupid bean sprout!" Izumi shouted and knocked him in the head.

"N- nothing dearest sensei!" Ed said sweetly.

"I thought so. Come on you two!" Izumi sighed and made her way to the middle of the yard.

"Heh heh, this reminds me of the old days, huh brother?" Al laughed.

"Yeah, and maybe we can finally land a punch this time!" Ed grinned and flexed his automail arm.

"The rules are the same as they where the last time; no pulling heir and absolutely no alchemy of any kind. BEGIN!." Izumi announced, as she pulled out her 'Easy Cooking' book out.

And on that cue, Ed swiftly moved out of sight. His brother waited for him to make an opening but with Izumi there was usually never one. Ed came up behind Izumi and attempted to drop kick her. Without even taking an eye off her book, Izumi nimbly dodged his attack and grabbed his automail leg. She casually flipped him on his back and turned her attention back to her book. Ed gasped from the sudden shock and then grinned.

"AL NOW!" Ed called out.

Al then charged a his teacher head on. He figured that since he was no longer made of flesh, Izumi would be caught off guard. But suddenly Izumi felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. 'Damn, not now!' Izumi thought to herself. She lost her balance and collapsed. Al missed her luckily, but he managed to knock her book from her hand.

"Teacher, you okay?" Ed asked as he stumbled over to her.

Izumi began to cough. Ed and Al have seen this happen before and it usually past. But this meant the end of training for the day.

"Teacher, I think it would be best if we through in the towel." Ed insisted as he helped her up.

Izumi hacked up an incredible amount of blood. She whipped her mouth and pushed Ed away. "Shut up! I'm fine! Let's continue." Izumi gasped. She looked at the ground and at her blood soaked hands. This wasn't normal, she usually never coughed up this amount of blood, and when the time came and this did happen, she would usually be taken to the hospital. "What's going on here?" she whispered to herself.

Well that's chapter one. I know it's a little bland but I promise it'll get better. Chapter two should be coming out soon. But I have a hard time finding internet access so It might take me a while. Please review and let me know how you liked it and also give me some ideas for the story. Thank you! =^.^=