AN: Story based loosely on a game my friend and I used to play; I only own fullmetal Alchemist in my dreams. Review and tell me what you think; I love constructive criticism, but flaming is simply rude. Don't like it, don't read it. There is an exit button right there, and if all you are going to say is "You suck, go die in a hole", I would appreciate if you would use it.
Jolted awake by the screeching of the demented alarm-clock, a pale hand emerged from a pile of blankets, groping the floor surrounding the futon for something to silence it. The hand touched upon a moldy food-encrusted plate, a cup, a fork, a sock, and leather-bound book before it found a hammer. The hand swung the hammer at the alarm-clock with force, but the hammer was taken away before the blow could land.
"Lynn, get your lazy butt up!" an irate blond boy stood in front of the bed, tapping his foot and holding the hammer. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a faded T-shirt, and he looked pissed. "C'mon! It's almost time to leave, and I don't wanna to be late! Get UP!" So saying, he threw the hammer in a corner and pulled the blankets off. At the rush of cold air, Lynn sat up and rubbed her green eyes with a hand, glaring at her younger sibling. The pale morning light shined from the window behind Kay, making him look like an angel…if angels looked like they wanted to murder people.
'Did you have to pull my blankets off? I was getting ready to get up…' Yawning, she stood up and stumbled over to her dresser, pulling put a pair of leather pants and a black shirt. Taking a strip of cloth from the drawer, she bound her breasts, creating the image of a boy; she didn't like to deceive people, but it was necessary for the exam. The State might let a younger person join up, but a chick? Her voice wasn't too high, and she wasn't particularly endowed; she could pass for a guy.
"Yes, actually; if we don't leave soon, we are going to miss the exam. We've been studying forever, and I don't want to miss it and have to wait until next year again just because of your lazy butt." Looking around at the room, Kay wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"When did you last clean your room, woman? Are those dishes from last week's dinner?" Lynn grunted in response and pulled her fuzzy pajamas off putting on the day's outfit. "I was wondering what that smell was…GROSS! He rushed out of the room looking kind of pale, and Lynn smirked. Kay could be so girly sometimes! Turning to her mirror, she ran a hand through shoulder length hair, binding it into a braid. Yanking on her steel-toed boots and donning black gloves, she deemed herself dressed and grabbed her crimson cloak, clomping out into the living room. From the smell of things, Kay had already cooked breakfast. Said brother was leaning against the door jam and tapping a boot-shod foot impatiently. Lynn rolled her eyes and poked him in the tummy.
"Finally! Time to go. And when we get home, you are definitely cleaning your room!" Kay opened the door and stalked into the street. "We have to catch a ride to central and then register for the exam still, which means waiting in line forever…great. Hopefully it will be worth the trouble."
Bemused, Lynn followed Kay down the street towards the station. It was kind of lucky that they lived so close to it, because it meant less walking. She yawned and looked around. They lived in the automail capital of the world, something that Lynn was grateful for; Kay tended to get his automail arm broken a lot, and it was inconvenient at the best of times. He had lost his arm as a little kid first learning alchemy, in trying to bring back their pet bunny; knowing more about alchemy now, she considered Kay lucky that The Truth had only taken his arm…the creature it brought back was definitely NOT Bun-Bun…shuddering at the thought, Lynn looked around. They were almost to the station, and Kay was prattling again…something about the exam.
'We'll be fine; my boobs are too damn tiny to stand out, and they're bound anyway. You actually have the required hardware, and I look like I do; stop worrying! We just have to impress them enough to let us in. It shouldn't be a problem; they let Elric in, didn't they? Kay worried his lip with his teeth and nodded. They reached the station, and Lynn handed the ticket salesman their fare, handing one ticket to Kay and keeping one herself. The train was due to arrive any minute. The air at the station was hot and sticky, and the roof provided little protection from the Sun's brutal strength. After a few miserable minutes of the unyielding heat the train finally arrived, and they boarded. They took their seats next to a robed figure, and Kay excitedly started up a conversation. Lynn sighed and let the cool air coming from the air vents on the celling wash over her sweaty face; this was going to be one long ride.
"Hi mister. How is your day?" Kay politely inquired. The man was wearing a long brown cloak and a pair of sunglasses. Scar stared at the boy, shocked. People usually avoided him, sensing the blood on his hands…He assessed the boy warily. He practically oozed innocence; not a state alchemist, then.
"Fine so far, thank you. Where do you travel today?" Polite conversation; he could this.
"My Sis...err...Brother and I are headed to central to take the-" The words were cut off by a hand covering they boy's mouth as another boy, obviously the brother, leaned over.
"Sorry about that, sir. My little brother tends to talk too much. I promise he won't bother you anymore. Have a nice day." The boy stood up and walked down the hall, pulling his brother with him. Curious…to take the what? Scar pushed the question back in his mind for later, setting his mind to a more holy subject; he would pray for the souls of those who would die today.
"Don't talk to strangers, you dolt! I got a bad vibe off of that guy…I don't know how you didn't…he gave me the creeps!" Lynn shuddered, taking a seat far away from said creep, glaring at her little brother.
"For your information, I did sense it. I think he was an Ishvalen; who else would wear weird sunglasses and wear a cloak in heat like this? I was curious." He pouted and looked out the window, crystal blue eyes flashing in defiance. Lynn rolled her eyes and looked out the window also; they were close to central now, which meant closer to the exam. She crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. The train finally arrived, and the girls walked out into a crush of people.
"Holy crap! This place is PACKED!" Kay looked around with eyes wide and full of wonder. "Do you think they are here for the test?" Kay was hyper as hell, and Lynn worried that he might get lost in the crowd. She grabbed his arm and carefully guided him to the edge of the crowd; it was a big city, full of pickpockets, and Kay was far too naïve. They used to live here when Kay was still a baby, but they had been sent away to Risembool to live with their aunt when their parents had died; Lynn didn't think he remembered. Shaking her errant thoughts away like a cloud of bugs, she hailed a cab and pushed the still gawking Kay into it, getting in after him.
"Where to, lads? The candy store?" The cabbie chuckled, laughing at his joke.
"No, actually, the State building, if you please." Lynn replied politely. Kay stuck his tongue out at the cabbie and glared.
"Going to go watch your daddy try, then? Or perhaps your older brother?" He inquired, pulling the yellow car away from the curb.
"Nope, we're going to try ourselves! Try and succeed." Kay enthusiastically replied. "We've been practicing a lot."
"Aren't you two a bit young, though?" The cabbie swerved to avoid hitting an old lady crossing the street, the inertia squishing him against Lynn.
"Nah. I'm 15 and he's 16. We're practically adults!" Kay grinned toothily, and Lynn winced; it would be a far stretch to call them that.
The cabbie snorted in disbelief and pulled up to the building. Lynn handed him some money and got out. The yellow cab pulled away, and they stood, looking around.
"Lots of people here for the test, ne Lynn?" Kay mused, surveying the masses. As she was about to respond, a bit of commotion caught her attention.
"Who you calling so short that he would need a stool just to get up the steps?" An irate (and rather small in stature) blond boy stood a few feet away, yelling at a hapless man who looked like he was just trying to help him up the stairs into the building.
"I didn't say that, sir, I was just offering you some help; you looked like you were in pain. I didn't mean anything by it!"
"I'm fine!" he screeched. A man wearing a suit of armor picked the small boy up like a sack of potatoes, turned to the man, and apologized.
"Sorry about that, he's kind of sensitive about his height. Have a nice day!" Seeing where his sister's eyes were fixed, Kay burst out laughing.
"You two could practically be TWINS!" Kay pointed and laughed some more. Confused, Lynn looked down at her own clothing, seeing the resemblance. Looking back at the duo, armor dude and Short Rude Boy now stared at them. Short Rude Boy squirmed, and Armor Dude let him go, watching as he walked up to Lynn and stared.
"You TOTALLY stole my style." He announced, pointing to my coat.
"Whatcha going to do about it, Yell me to death?" Lynn yawned and brushed past Rude Short Boy, nerves on edge; she was pretty sure she knew who she was talking to, but wanted to be sure. With a clap, He transformed his arm and rushed her. Ready for it, Lynn whirled out of the way, clapped her own hands and pushed at the air. The gesture sent a gust of wind that knocked Elric off his feet. He sat on the steps and looked up at Lynn, dumbfounded. Lynn wiggled her fingers and grinned toothily.
"Ya know, I'd really hate to interrupt this lovely pissing contest, but we have to go, Lynn. It's about to start!" Kay tapped his foot impatiently motioning to his watch.
"Who are you?" Edward picked himself up off the ground and stared at Lynn, looking as if he was trying to see the answer written on her forehead.
"Nice meeting you too, Elric. See you around" Lynn walked away, smiling at his confusion.
"At least a hint? C'mon!" Edward yelled after Lynn's back, clearly frustrated.
"You can't catch the wind; there's your hint. I've heard you're intelligent, figure it out." Kay rolled his eyes and pulled Lynn along.
"So that's the Fullmetal Alchemist, huh? I could take him." Lynn remarked happily.
"You're crazy! Plain NUTS! I heard what he can do, he was taking it easy on you! And did you really have to taunt him? Oh crap, I hope we aren't late…" Kay wailed and grabbed Lynn's arm and ran up the remaining stairs and into the State building.
Edward rubbed his butt where he had fallen. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? 'You can't catch the wind' Cryptical bastard! Do you think that he's here for the test?" Edward fumed at his younger brother, who was staring after the couple.
"I don't know, but I think that they might be the reason Further asked us to oversee this year's test. It takes some talent to knock you flat on your butt, I should know." Al turned his head to look at Edward. "What kind of alchemy did he use, though? I don't think I've seen anything like it! It almost looked like he was controlling the wind, but that's not possible…is it?"
Edward shrugged and started up the stairs. "You heard them, the test is about to start. We wouldn't want to miss this, right?" Al followed his brother into the building, putting the question to the back of his mind.
AN: dun dun DUN!~ I'm happy so far, but I don't know when I will have time to post the next chapter. Reviews might persuade me to type faster, though! :D