A.N. I:

'Thoughts'
"Writing"
"Speech"


To Build a Home

Chapter II


The Amestrian shop was a curiosity in Xing. Therefore it comes to no surprise, except perhaps the Hohenheim-Elrics themselves; that it was much frequented by every kind of person around it. Tourists flocked to eat something a bit more familiar, and that reminded them of home. It was advertised in guides, which was a very impressive feat for such a new shop. The youth of the local area regarded it as somewhere 'cool' to hang out; widely considered too modern and far too different for the older citizens to willingly go. They often bought more of the 'tat' which the Hohenheim-Elrics offered, like yo-yos or putty that bounced.

The more aged of the populace did, however, visit a few times at first; though some became regulars. They were more likely to browse through the goods offered, instead of eating the cuisine on one of the tables provided. Some bought radios, others linens, whilst many preferred to converse with the strange Amestrian couple in their midst. The two were obviously very much in love, but had strange inside jokes and ideas. Mrs Hohenheim-Elric's reactions to what was considered normal in their country, such as polygamy and concubines, were particularly amusing. This was likely due to the fact that she was still learning the language, so it took a while for her to translate facts.

It was discovered that Ms Elric was pregnant, and that the pair had moved to Xing in an attempt to provide more for the child; spreading around the city in under three days, a record. This meant that many of the housewives took it upon themselves to teach Trisha how to be Xingese as best they could. Many visited regularly to converse with Trisha in their own language, making her practically fluent in no time at all. Some invited themselves for tea, while others made Trisha and Van meals and brought clothes of all manner of shapes, sizes, materials and colours for the baby. Some even tried to set up contracts for business, as "Ho-E Inc.", as the youth had nicknamed it, boomed; trying in all manner of ways to integrate themselves into the Amestrians life.


"So, Trisha, have you decided on names yet?" asked 'Madam' Mei Surou, leaning forward over her tea. Her grip was tight over the cold porcelain, with her tone warm and friendly, but with an undertone of steel. She had been a mother four times over and a grandmother twice. The importance of a name in Xing's blood-based culture had been deeply engraved into her mind, and she wanted to make sure that the new resident had the importance impressed on her as well.

Trisha leant back in her chair, deeply grateful for the puffy footstool Van had had the foresight to place there for her this morning. Her swollen ankles were murder. "Yes, Madam Surou. My husband and I decided Christina or Elizabeth for a girl, and Edward or Alexander for a boy". She smiled wistfully, rubbing her stomach. She was surprised when she felt the baby moving around in response, but then the small life growing inside her was very sensitive to what was going on around it.

"They're… pretty names," decided Lui Jiang, a local beauty and socialite, the daughter of a nouveau riche merchant that had married into old money. "What do they mean?"

"Well," said Trisha, sliding into lecture mode as comfortably as she always did when questioned about her old country and culture, "Traditionally, Elizabeth means 'God's Oath'. However, in recent years in some of the other countries, it has been used for royalty or other important cultural figures. Take Aerugo and their monarchy. There was a Queen called Elizabeth there that ruled for eighty years with no conquest. It has a lot of history and weight to it, and it sounds pretty enough. Christina is simpler to explain, I suppose." She shot a small eye-smile to Van, who was carving little wooden items and serving customers, all the while keeping a careful eye on her. "It means 'Golden'. If the baby is indeed female, and inherits their father's colouring instead of mine, I think that might be a good name." She paused. "Van disagrees, but that's mostly because of his embarrassment of having something named after him. It died down a bit after I reminded him that the baby would end up with his surname anyway!" The table erupted into laughter, especially after seeing Van's flushed face. He didn't speak up in objection, instead continuing to paint the plate he held, as a group of fascinated young girls watched carefully.

"And what of the male names you mentioned?" asked Sheng Tuo, snapping Trisha's attention away from her husband. She was a raven haired and physically fit member of a martial-art specialising family, who was nearly a quarter of the way through her own (first) pregnancy. "What do they mean?"

Trisha cast her mind back, attempting to remember what Van had told her as he had gently closed the baby names book all the way back in their little house on the hill. "Umm… If I recall correctly, Edward means 'wealthy guard' and Alexander means 'man's defender' or 'warrior', and they both came from Xerxesian words originally." Trisha smiled softly, sinking into the comfy cushions on her chair, thankful that her memory hadn't let her down.

"Have you got a career in mind for him already then?" teased Sheng lightly.
"No!" said Trisha, shocked, though realising the implications of the names almost immediately. "No. Van just thinks that men should be defenders of the oppressed and the perfect image of chivalry."
All of the women gathered at the table snorted at that, impressed at Trisha's mimicry of the quieter of the pair's voice.

"It's a worthy cause!" Hohenheim insisted, accidentally knocking the plate he was painting onto the floor. It smashed into pieces on the floor, causing Van to revert to Xerxesian curses. Reflexively, he shot the alchemical power straight out of his body, forcing the parts to re-join together in the same pattern as before. The red light was hidden by the counter from his customers, and for those behind him his body hid it almost well enough.

"Oh, Van," grinned Trisha, trying to hide her amusement at his cursing and adorable clumsiness. "And on that note, ladies, I think you'd better return to your own men. Everyone knows that they're useless without their women!"
"Same time next week?" asked Lui, hiding a smile behind a beautifully manicured hand.
"Of course!" smiled Trisha, "If, of course, little one here hasn't arrived yet. The Doctors are estimating that the baby will be here within a week or two!"
Madam Surou nodded decisively. "We shall make preparations and donations for you and your child then." Her steel grey hair bounced as she strode purposefully out of the door, with Lui and Sheng following her out.

Van moved to lean against the door, putting the plate on the nearest table. "Is it wrong to be relieved that they're gone? Because, as much as you like them and all, the old lady is really scary, one's almost a ninja, or something, and the other has ridiculous amounts of political power; and they are all trying to run your-our?-life!"
Trisha stood on her toes to kiss the top of his head, before tying on her apron. "You poor, poor man; I'm sure any other would kill for such beautiful and influential women deigning to dine in his home!"
"I have only need of one such woman, my love, and she is right in front of me!" replied Van, running his fingers through his wife's hair before loosely pulling it back in one of the side ponytails that she favoured.
"Well, aren't you slick, handsome?" smiled Trisha, her breath warm across his lips, before she gave him a quick kiss and went off to stand before the customers.
"Go and get some rest, Van! You deserve some down-time!"

A laugh and a smile on his lips, Hohenheim slipped out of the house-turned-shop, nodding to a fair few people, on his way to the local bookshop.


"My liege," murmured the masked man as he knelt on the stone tiles before his emperor. "I believe this Hohenheim to be the man of legend." The black bearded man nodded, as if confirming a belief he had held privately. An advisor, one of the brothers to a favoured empress called out from his corner. "And how could you tell, Guard Tuo?" he inquired. "If the emperor fails, if you were wrong, it has the possibility to directly impact his imperial majesty's current popularity; it may even cause a revolt!" The small man was growing more agitated, his hands flapping in circles that twisted his long sleeves into each other.

The guard looked up, revealing black eyes filled with intelligence. "The man refers to himself as 'Van', a highly uncommon name, especially when coupled with 'Hohenheim'-"
"-It could be a name passed down through the family-" interrupted the advisor, balking at the cold stare the guard gave him, before the guard continued.
"He uses Xerxesian curses and occasionally writes in the language, from what the scholars have told me. When he goes to the bookstore, he goes to the history section, buys a book and then gets out his pen and starts correcting it."

"That proves nothing," hissed the advisor, pompously drawing his robes together. The emperor raised his hand and he fell silent. "On the contrary, my friend, I feel it is quite conclusive. However, you seem like you have something else to say, Fu. What is it?"

Fu Tuo bent his head low, mask hiding the rest of his features. "My liege, he has the red alchemy of the stories, and-"
"And?" said the Emperor, raising his eyebrows. He didn't think that the guard could've gathered more intelligence, but here was evidenced why a Tuo was in the guard, not an Emperor's hand. The Tuo family focused on assassination and loyalty to their chosen client. A Tuo in a solid job, albeit on a contract that Fu had full control over, with loyalty to Xing and its emperor, was a rarity and one the Emperor fully intended on using.

"And he has the feel of many thousand souls inside him, even though he is adept at hiding it." His emotionless tone had an undertone of pride when he said, "My daughter discovered it when she felt him mend a cracked plate."

"A man that powerful, in our country, fixing plates?" scoffed the advisor. "You believe this guard?"
The emperor nodded slowly. With a huff, the advisor stormed out of the room.
"My liege, would you wish me to…?" asked another guard, motioning the universal action of 'kill him'.
"No. He'll come crawling back on his belly, and be much more willing to do what I want." The emperor smiled, a shark smile that was all teeth.

"Get me Van Hohenheim. I need to talk to him, persuade him into working with us. I need his loyalty." He clapped his hands and the guards vanished. The other advisor stepped towards him. "You have a plan, I presume?"

"But of course. How are alliances between families normally created, Advisor Wang? We need him, and we need him all of the time. There can be no question of his loyalty."

The pair chuckled together, the emperor leading with a deep belly laugh, and his advisor with a meek nervous laugh. They let the large stone doors swing close with a loud bang behind them, intent on scheming and drawing up documents.


Hohenheim was sitting by his favourite pond, with golden koi fish inside. Cherry blossoms bloomed, laughter was in the air and there was a smell of rice floating towards him. He had his book and pen out, lazily drawing lines and circles around certain parts and jotting down his comments.

He didn't notice when the ninjas appeared.

He didn't notice when one stood behind him.

Van did, however, feel the short sharp shock caused by having a pressure point pushed behind his neck, and the hard pain of having something slammed on his head. His eyes rolled comically and he fell to the ground.

"I thought that would be harder," remarked one of the younger guards.
"Shut up and help me carry him! He's bloody heavy!" said his partner, before they vanished from sight and began the trek back to the imperial palace.


Van woke up leaning on a comfortable chaise lounge chair, made of expensive silk and stuffed perfectly. He considered his surroundings, hoping beyond hope that he knew where he had ended up this time. There was no Pinako around, so he wasn't drunk. There was no Trisha around, so he wasn't at home. There was no nature, so he wasn't anywhere outside.

'If there wasn't this headache, I could think', he groaned internally, before sitting up. He looked at the room. It was quite dark, with long curtains trailing to the floor. 'Are they… velvet?' The walls were stone, and there wasn't even the illusion of a divider. There were ebony and tulip wood furnishings, as well as expensive drapery, so it was obvious that Van was a long way from home.

A servant appeared, carrying a glass of water, which she handed to Van. "Please, Sir, have a drink. His Highness, the Imperial Majesty, will see you soon."

He gazed at the glass in shock, his mouth open like a goldfish. "Do you have anything stronger than water, Ma'am? I think I might need it."


A.N. II: Hey, guys! Look at me, I'm updating at a reasonably good speed! Isn't this great?

Anyway, this chapter sets up quite a bit of background for everyone. Yes, Sheng Tuo is Fu's daughter. Fu has no last name in canon, so I made him up one. I used a Chinese name generator I found on Google, so I hope that it is at least mildly authentic.

Trish can speak Xingese, and there has been a mild time-skip of a few weeks. I'm pretty sure you don't become fluent in a few weeks, but that's the only timeframe I have to manage, so for the time-being, please assume that Van was teaching her back in Risembool, so that she had an easier time in Xing, and now she has become fluent.

So, can any of you guess the emperor's plan? If you think you know, drop me a review!

On that note, thank you to Moonlit Water Sunny River, Joker Oak and Violetlight for reviewing, and all of the others of you for reading, favouriting and alerting!

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed!

-Tom [Started: 22.7.12] [edited: 24.7.12]

Words: 2,438 [Total]