((Well, I've had this story idea for quite a while now. It's inspired by a song, and I'm sure at least a few of you will be able to guess which one. :3 I've actually had this written for about a month now, but I never finished the chapter. Now I've decided to split it into two chapters instead.

Also, this chapter focuses mainly on a new character who will be important to the story; no Elrics yet. And no, she is NOT one of those annoying OCs. She's actually not a fancharacter, and technically not even an OC. She's a character I adapted for the purpose of this story, and she's... Well, you'll see. xD But yeah. I guess if you really want to you could skip this chapter, but it does have some important stuff, so I wouldn't recommend it. And, uh... Don't mind the line breaks. xD))

Prelude

It was a sunny day in Central, perfect for gardening. The young girl hummed to herself as she made her way through the garden, skipping lightly.

"How are you doing today, my sweeties? Are you thirsty?" She poured water on to one of the pots, smiling and still humming when she wasn't talking to the contents of the pots. She moved from pot to pot, watering the soil with a small watering can, when she stopped at one particular pot.

"Oh dear... Wilting already?" She sighed and touched the thing gently, frowning when something fell off with a snap and landed in the soil. She attempted to stick it back on, to no avail. "Oh well... I'll deal with that later." She continued moving and came to one special pot, the item inside it fresh and beautiful.

"Hello, my baby. You're looking lovely today," she said cheerfully, blowing a kiss at it. "I'm going to see him today. He's not doing so well... They say he might die." She stared at her feet, deep in thought. Then she looked up again and poured some water into the pot.

"At least I still have you."

~~~Tiny Miniskirts~~~

Leo Kaiser was dying.

He was lying in a hospital bed, his breaths shallow and irregular, his face pale and contorted in pain. At his side was a scared-looking young girl, clutching his one hand in hers.

"Leo... I'm so sorry," she whispered, fighting back tears. She reached out to caress the boy's soft face, brushing his dark blonde hair out of his eyes. He weakly reached his arm up and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Ri... ley..." he gasped, his voice barely audible.

"Leo..."

"...have... to... ask you... a question..."

"What is it?" The girl's voice was strained, clearly showing how close she was to crying. "Come on, Leo, you know you can have anything you want. Anything at all."

"...if... if we... could... be... reborn... would you still love me?" he asked, struggling to stay awake.

"Of course I would! I'll always love you, I promise!" Riley exclaimed, holding his hand tighter. Leo smiled a tiny bit.

"...good..." he whispered, and closed his eyes. His body fell limp, and Riley's blue-green eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, Leo!" she sobbed, putting her head on the side of the bed. A nurse gently pulled her away from the bed, while another pulled the white sheet up over him. Riley knew that she would never see him again, that he was gone forever, and desperately wished it wasn't so. Not her Leo...

~~~Pantsu Nugeru Mon~~~

Riley was looking rather stressed as she went about her day. She handed in her homework silently, accepted her grades without even looking at them, didn't pay attention in class, and sat through lunch ignoring her food with a frown as if she was trying to solve some invisible puzzle. The truth was, she had quite a problem. Not only were her flowers wilting, but her boyfriend was dead too. This was a huge problem. She'd have to find some new flowers, of course, but she was running out of good sources. And most of her friends were either dead or in the hospital, so they were no help. She'd need to find a solution. But how?

She was poking at her food and attempting to think of a way to solve the problem when she happened to overhear a snippet of a conversation at the table next to her.

"...State alchemist..."

"...Automail arm..."

Riley immediately perked up upon hearing this, curious. Could it be? If this alchemist guy was interesting and talented enough that her schoolmates would gossip about him, maybe he could help her. She began listening intently, hoping for more details.

"Supposedly he became a state alchemist when he was just twelve."

"Twelve? Really? That's incredible!"

"Yeah, and remember that guy recently who was killing state alchemists?"

"Vaguely, I think so."

"I heard that the Fullmetal Alchemist was the only one to survive the attacks."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. That's what I heard, anyway."

"Woah. This guy must be pretty tough."

"I bet he's hot!"

"And he's smart, too. Best alchemist in the country."

"They say his automail arm is strong enough to bend steel."

"And I've heard he's used it to deflect bullets, too. Must have some pretty quick reflexes, huh?"
Riley smiled to herself. Yes, surely this Fullmetal Alchemist was the person she was looking for, the one who would make her garden... perfect. She smiled as she walked to her next class, now that she knew what to do. It would all be ok. No, more than ok. It would be wonderful.