Part 2

~One Week Later~

Things were going really well.

Ed, Al and I spent the days talking about Alchemy and Alkehistory.

Ed even taught me how to change my hair color with Alchemy.

I decided to change my hair color to be just like Ed's. I figured that if anyone came looking for me, the hair color change would maybe throw them off.

And Winry and I were really hitting it off.

I wasn't making much money but it was a start.

Everything was going so well.

One day, I was helping Winry find some parts for Ed's Automail arm. He had busted it up in a fight but Winry didn't have everything that she needed. So we spent the day shopping around for these parts.

We came back to the shop we worked at around sunset.

We returned to find Ed with his arm in worse shape than it was when he needed it fixed that morning. It was completely ripped off.

Winry started scolding Ed for his recklessness.

But I wasn't hearing what was being said.

I was looking at the tall man standing in the corner of the shop.

He had mid-back length, black hair that was tied in a ponytail and flippy bangs over his left eye. His eyes were shifty. His white and yellow shirt hung open, revealing his formed chest. White clothe was wrapped around his waist and wrists and he wore baggy white pants and black Xingese flats. A curved sword hung from his waist.

This man was Ling Yao, the 12th son of the Emperor of Xing.

I froze when I saw him.

We both just stared at each other.

'Please don't know who I am. Please don't know who I am. Please don't know who I am.'

A smirk spread over his face.

"Good to see you, Kai Ying. We've been worried about you."

I dropped all the Automail supplies I was carrying.

I threw myself into a series of back flips. Once I got to the other side of the street, I flipped my self onto the roof of the store that was just across the Automail shop.

When I looked around, I found that there were two Xingese warriors on either side of me.

I looked back towards the Automail store to see Ling standing outside, smirking up at me.

"You know, your family and your clan miss you. In fact they miss you so much that they've changed their plans and have promised you to any of the Emperor's sons that brings you home, weather that son becomes Emperor or not. I guess it's my lucky day."

I glared down at him.

"I'm not going back."

"You have no choice."

The Xingese warriors took out their weapons. One had kunai while the other bore a katana.

I glared back at Ling.

"So the spoiled little prince looks to his attendants to do his dirty work while he doesn't bother to dirty his hands. If you're going to make threats like saying that I don't have a choice in going back to Xing, why don't you do the work yourself?"

I could tell that I was really pissing off one of the warriors.

But Ling kept his cool. His smirk even widened.

"Are you saying you'd rather fight me, mano-a-mano?"

I returned his smirk with my own.

"Oh, so you can fight your own battles… without calling up your cronies… under any circumstances?"

Silence.

Ling snapped his fingers. The warriors disappeared.

My smirk grew.

'He fell for it.'

"Now, catch up, if you can!"

I ran along, jumping from roof top to roof top.

'I need to get away. I don't want to have to fight him if it can be avoided. If one of us gets hurt, our clans we'll be at war till the end of time. I may not like the cultural choices of my people, but I'll not start a civil war because of it.'

I was thinking so hard that I almost didn't see something in the corner of my eye.

Ling had caught up to me and was jumping in the same patterns I was, but he was making no move to stop me.

"So, what was that you said about catching up?"

I smirked.

"Not bad… but can you keep up?'

I created kunai and daggers out of ice and started throwing them at him.

He not only dodged them with ease, but they didn't even slow him down.

"You know, all of Xing has heard about your Alkehistory skills, but the rumors hardly do you justice. Color me completely impressed."

I smirked at him.

"You say it as if your opinion matters."

I flipped off the last building of the street, land on the balls of my feet.

Ling touched down 10 feet away from me.

"Enough of this."

He drew his sword.

"Fine. Have it your way."

I waved my hand through the air, creating a saber out of ice.

I lunged for Ling.

Our swords clashed and we held each other, our faces inches from touching.

"A sword of ice that can stand up to steel. Not bad."

I swung my foot around in an attempt to trip him. He flipped away.

We kept fighting.

I was using all my energy in this fight because I knew that, if I lost, it was my future. Where as Ling was barely breaking a sweat.

I launched myself into a long chain of attacks, hoping to catch him off guard.

He was blocking my attacks like they were nothing.

'Why is this happening? I was best sword fighter in the Ying clan. No one could beat me.'

I felt slicing pain on my arm. He had sliced my hand open, cutting through the Water Alkehistory Array on my glove.

Not good.

First of all, making and repairing Hydronet gloves is not easy.

Secondly, with out that array, I could still create water but I had not control over it.

I took hold of my hand, trying to stop the bleeding.

Ling took hold of my hand as well, and he threw it down, forcing me to roll onto my back.

I moaned in pain and frustration.

I couldn't let this happen.

I felt him stand over me.

I felt the cold steel of his sword slide over my left arm, under my glove that was still in tact.

With a swift pull, the gloves was cut off my arm and ruined.

I opened my eyes and glared at his upside down smirking mug.

He squatted down so he could get right up in my face.

"You put up a good fight, Kai. It's a pity you couldn't be a part of the army. Oh well, perhaps I can still use you."

"I am not your tool!"

I pushed myself onto the top of my back, throwing my foot at his face.

He caught my foot like it was nothing.

His smirk grew wider.

He turned so that his back was to me and pulled on my foot as hard as he could.

My legs were thrown over his shoulder while my face made contact with his back.

In short, he had thrown me over his shoulder from the back.

"Put me! Put down right now, Ling. I swear I'll shove an icicle up your ass!"

He carried me all the way back the Automail shop while I yelled at him.