Summary: Ed and Al stop at a slum called Kanama only to find that the townspeople have themselves a hero! Who could it be? Dedicated to Winrie McGeeky!
Disclaimer: I do NOT, under any circumstances own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
A/N: Hi guys! This story is a silly little one shot piece that I'm dedicating to Winrie McGeeky since she was the one who gave me my 50th review, ultimately making me reach my goal! She wanted this story, so I'm writing it for her! I hope she likes it!
The Hero of Kanama
Ed and Al walked into the slums known as Kanama. Word had it, that a man was going around killing women, and was headed towards Kanama. Figuring that it would be an easy task, Ed and Al went to Kanama in search of the killer. "Well, lets get this over with so that we can go back to our search for the stone," says Ed, when they reach the outskirts of the slum.
"Yeah," says Al, nodding his head. When they get into town, Al notices that a lot of people were stopping and staring at them, but since he was used to getting that sort of attention – being a seven foot suit of armor made a person stand out a bit more than usual – he disregarded it, that is until a kid ran up to them with a huge grin on his face.
"You wouldn't happen to be Edward Elric, would you?" asks the kid, excitedly. Ed and Al stop and look at him. Ed grins and points at himself.
"Yep, that's me. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist," he says, proudly. Al could already see Ed's head getting too big.
"WOW! Can I have your autograph!" asks the kid, excitedly. Just then, three other children ran over, all of them holding paper and pens.
"Us too," says a small girl.
"Well, alright," says Ed, taking a pen from the boy who had approached him first, and giving the four children autographs. While Ed was doing that, Al began looking around. That was when he saw the statue.
"Brother, look!" says Al, pointing at the statue. Ed looks to where Al was pointing.
"What the – ?" Ed walks over to get a better look, and sure enough, the statue was of him. The statue Ed, was the same height as Ed, his expression was serious, and he had his hands together like he was getting ready to perform a transmutation. Ed stares at the statue for a few moments before grinning.
"I think I like this place, Al," says Ed. Al sighs heavily. This town was going to inflate Ed's ego to dangerous proportions. Then Ed notices the plaque on the statue.
Edward Elric: Fullmetal Alchemist and Hero of Kanama
"I wonder why they think of you as such a big hero," says Al.
"Are you trying to say that I don't do anything heroic? You've been with me all this time! Don't I deserve some sort of award for all of my hard work?" asks Ed, scowling at Al.
"Of course, but this seems a bit...excessive," says Al, with a heavy sigh. Ed didn't seem to agree with Al. With a sigh, Ed walks over to a food vendor. The woman working it gasps and blushes at the sight of Ed.
"W-welcome," she says, shyly.
"What kind of food do you sell here?" asks Ed, looking for a menu.
"Well, it's mainly ramen, but we also have stew over rice in the evening," says the woman.
"Okay, well I'll take some ramen," says Ed.
"Okay. Chicken or beef?" asks the woman.
"Surprise me," says Ed, as he takes a seat on one of the stools. Al walks over to them and sits down on the other stool.
"Would you like some ramen, also?" asks the woman, as she works to make a bowl of ramen for Ed.
"No thank you, ma'am," says Al, watching the woman place two boiled eggs, some carrots, green onions, mushrooms, and slices of beef in the bowl of ramen, before setting the bowl in front of Edward, along with a pair of chopsticks.
"I hope you like it," says the woman, as Ed wastes no time digging into the bowl of ramen.
"My brother likes everything," chortles Al. Ed ignores Al, as he eats.
"So, what brings you two to Kanama?" asks the woman. Ed stops eating long enough to present his state alchemist watch.
"We're here on military business," says Ed, before going back to eating. Al sighs heavily before speaking.
"We heard that there's a man killing women, and were wondering if anyone in Kanama noticed any strange men come through," says Al. The woman seemed to think about it while she took Ed's empty bowl and washed it.
"Well, now that you mention it, I had a man stop here last night. He seemed a bit shady," says the woman.
"What did he say or do that made him seem shady?" asks Ed.
"Well, it's mid-summer, and last night was very hot and muggy, but he was wearing a trench coat. Also, he didn't say much, no matter how many times I tried to start conversation with him," says the woman. "And he acted like he was in a big hurry."
"Okay. What'd he look like?" asks Ed.
"Well, he was wearing a hat that shaded his face, so I didn't get a good look," admits the woman, apologetically.
"That's okay. Did he happen to mention where he was going?" asks Ed.
"I know he was looking for a place to stay for the night. I had suggested the Inn, but he said that he didn't want to stay so close to Central, so he may have gone to the next town over," says the woman. Ed groans and lays his head on the counter in front of him.
"Why the hell does this have to be so difficult?" asks Ed.
"Did you honestly expect a serial killer to stay in one place until we got there and captured him?" asks Al, incredulously.
"Well, sort of," says Ed. Al had to resist the urge to hit Ed at that moment.
"Ed, that's unrealistic," says Al, flatly. "If a person kills someone, they would try to get as far from the crime scene as possible."
"Okay, Al! Who's the state alchemist here?" demands Ed.
"Well I find it hard to believe that it's you," says Al. Ed groans before looking back at the woman.
"Thank your for your help ma'am. How much do I owe you for the ramen?" asks Ed, already reaching into his pocket.
"It's on the house. After all, I couldn't charge our hero. Not after he saved us from that shadow creature," says the woman. (A/N: She's referring to Pride. So let's say this takes place after that, but the promise day never happened...)
"I was just doing my job, ma'am," says Ed, as he lays 1000 cenz on the counter. "Since you're not charging me, I'll just give you a tip. It was great, thank you."
"What's the plan, brother?" asks Al.
"We'll ask around some more and call Mustang, let him know that the man might have went to the next town over. He might be able to get someone, over there, to look for him," says Ed.
"Okay, then I'll ask around while you call the colonel," says Al, before walking away. Ed turns back to the woman.
"Do you have a phone?" asks Ed. "Preferably one that I could use in private."
"Of course. In the back," says the woman. "I'll lead you there." Ed nods, and follows her to the back, where she kept everything for running her business. She walks over to a phone.
"Here it is," says the woman. Ed walks over and picks up the phone.
"Thank you," says Ed. The woman nods and leaves the store room. Ed calls Roy's office.
"Mustang."
"Hey, I'm calling in with a report," says Ed.
"That's a first," says Mustang.
"Hey, shut-up! I call!" argues Ed.
"Enough! Report! What did you find?" asks Mustang.
"A woman I spoke to said that he showed up here last night, but he didn't want to stay at the inn" says Ed. "She suggested that he might have went to the next town over," says Ed.
"Okay, I'll call the authorities over there and let them know to look out for him. You and Al keep asking around, and then get over to the next town," says Mustang.
"Okay," says Ed, before hanging up.
When Ed goes back out front, the shop was surrounded by people. They all seemed excited as they spoke to each other, Ed could hear his name mentioned. "There he is!" could be heard shouted from the group, and suddenly Ed was surrounded.
"Wow, he looks just like the statue!"
"He's much more handsome than the statue."
"He's dressed just like they say in the songs!"
"Does he really just clap his hands to perform alchemy?"
"I thought he had metal limbs."
"He's a lot smaller than I imagined." This last comment came from a young man in the group.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE COULD BE CRUSHED BY AN ANT?" screeches Ed, suddenly angry. The group of people are silent while they listen to Ed's rant, but as soon as he was done screaming at them, they begin to cheer. "What is with you people?" asks Ed, confused by their cheers.
"So, are you staying long?"
"Who are you staying with?"
"You can stay with me."
"We should have a party to celebrate!"
"That's a great idea!"
"You'll come as our guest of honor, right?"
"Umm..." now Ed was beginning to get slightly freaked out by the hero worship thing. And then a guitar could be heard, being played, and a man began to sing.
Now gather 'round for a tale that's tall The leader of the Shadows
But true as it can be
'bout the day the alchemists of Risembool
met the Shadows in middle Kanama
a giant of a fella
set out to show that his monters
were anything but yella
(Ooo ooo ooo)
By this point the other people had begun to sing as well.
Across the line a shorter man
But with fire in his eyes
Would lead the Alchemists in their quest
To squash the shadow guy
By this verse Al had shown up and was holding Edward back. After all, it was his song, he should hear through to the end, instead of killing the grateful citizens of Kanama.
The vicious match was set to start [Chorus] (Ah-ooo…) Then someone shouted "Sudden death' [Chorus] When the smoke had cleared, the Alchemists stood So if you're ever passin' by (ooh oooh) And that game of such great danger (great danger) [Chorus]
Of the world's most dangerous game
That tests the metal of each man
Lyrics .com/lyrics/vic_mignogna/
And alchemy is its name
And they dipped and they ducked and they dodged that day
But they could not dodge them all
And the shadows fell and the monsters went down
When the Alchemists rule that alchemy
Old Ed dove flat up on the ground
The dodge heard 'round the world
(both sides) Both sides are jumping back and forth
As the transmutations were hurled (echo: transmutations were hurled)
And the leaders took the field (they took it, ooo…)
But when the showdown ended
It was the shadows who would yield (echo: would yield)
And they dipped and they ducked and they dodged that day
But they could not dodge them all
And the shadows fell and the monsters went down
When the Alchemists rule that alchemy
The Shadows went down in flames
The team led by a pipsqueak
Had won the alchemy game (Oh oooh oooooh…)
And Kanama's the spot (ooh oooh)
You can see where Alchemist bested Shadows
By the great big bare spot(ah ah ah ah aaaah)
To Alchemist great and small (great and small)
From henceforth and forever (and forever)
Will be known as Alchemy
And they dipped and they ducked and they dodged that day
But they could not dodge them all
And the shadows fell and the monsters went down
When the Alchemists rule that alchemy
From henceforth and forever
Will be known as Alchemy
By the end of the song Ed couldn't stop laughing. "Brother, don't laugh at them," scolds Al.
"I'm sorry, it's just a funny song," chortles Ed. "I appreciate everything that you guys have done, but really, I was only doing my job as a state alchemist. You guys didn't have to go through all of the trouble of making a statue or writing a song."
"Are you saying that if you weren't a state alchemist that you wouldn't have saved us?" asks the little boy from earlier.
"If I weren't a state alchemist this probably wouldn't have happened in the first place. I was pretty much finishing what I started," admits Ed.
"You still saved us though! For that, we're grateful. And we'd still like to celebrate, if you'd let us," says a woman.
"Well, if you insist," says Ed.
"You just want free food," says Al.
"Shut-up! That's not why I'm agreeing!" argues Ed. Al laughs and holds his hands out in front of himself in surrender.
"Okay, brother, whatever you say," says Al.
That evening Kanama threw a huge party to celebrate Ed's win against the shadow monster, and the next day, the Elric brothers captured the serial killer.
A month later, the boys found themselves back in Kanama, but where Edward's statue once stood, there was a new statue, this time, of Roy Mustang.
End Chapter
A/N: Well, I hope this is what you wanted Winrie McGeeky. If not, I'm super sorry! I tried really hard though, I swear! Okay, so in case nobody noticed, that song was actually a song by Vic Mignogna entitled The Legend of Middle Tennessee, but I changed some of the lyrics...I tried writing my own song, but I suck at writing songs, and this was the closest thing to a hero worship song that I could get to, and it worked! Sort of...it doesn't flow as nicely as the original version though...sorry about that...okay, onto shameless self-promotion! YAY! If you liked this fic, I also have an FMA fanfic entitled Far From Home! So, if you're curious about what sort of torture I can put poor Ed through next...you should check it out! It's rated M...but only because of violence...and a bad dream...So...thanks for reading this little one-shot! Please review and let me know what you guys think! Thanks! Sayonara! =]