Author's Note: Yay, chapter two, here we go!

Disclaimer: Don't own FMA, but I own Saya and all her hyperness!

Chapter Two: Bells and Bombs

Mustang's eyebrow twitched. He surveyed the three people before him. "So you all have met each other, huh?"

Saya grinned. "Hallo Mustang-san! Or do you prefer 'Colonel' now?"

"It really has been a while, Saya-chan!" Hawkeye smiled. "You've been busy sightseeing all over the country, from our reports."

Saya winked. "I've been practicing, Hawkeye-san! I bet I could outshoot you now!"

Hawkeye saluted. "Good luck with that. Tomorrow at noon then?"

"You're on!" Saya crowed, punching the air.

"No, not quite," Mustang interrupted. "Edward Elric, as a State Alchemist, you have a mission. You'd better prepare for it. Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Yes." She handed Ed a sheaf of papers. "These are your documents and your orders."

Mustang looked at Saya. "You're technically not under my command, so this will be a request. Will you go and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid?"

Saya saluted playfully. "Roger that!"

Ed twitched. "Oi… can you get the bomb out of my hair?"

"No way! You're stuck with me 'till you find the Philosopher's Stone, and don't you forget!"

Mustang narrowed his eyes. "The Philosopher's Stone? Saya, I thought we talked about this already-"

"And did I listen to all the comments about me being an idiot for wanting it?" Saya shot back.

Mustang leaned back in his chair, sweatdropping slightly. "Saya…"

Ed read out his instructions. "'Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric. I order the above to inspect the Youswell coal mine.' This is a job for a State Alchemist?"

"It also includes the inspection of the mined material. Since you are an alchemist, you have knowledge of ore deposits, correct?"

Mustang smirked at Ed. "This is your first job, so I have you an easy one. But do not underestimate it." He looked at Saya. "You'd better be careful," he told her. "It's almost time for you to update your automail, so it won't be in the best condition ever."

Saya bent her elbow. "It has been getting a little harder to move lately," she admitted.

"Be careful. I've put too much time into you for you to go off and kill yourself doing something stupid."

"Whatever. I'll be fine, stop worrying!" Saya waved.

"You expect me to believe that after what you tried to pull off a couple years ago?" Mustang demanded.

Saya's eyes widened for a moment, but she shrugged it off with a bright smile. "You still worry too much."

After the trio had left, Mustang sighed and put his head on his fist. "I'm not worried about the brothers much… but Saya worries me."

"It seems that your memories about how you first found her are resurfacing," Hawkeye commented.

Mustang was silent for a moment. "Seeing a three-year-old in that sort of condition is something that I never want to see again. The stunt she tried a couple years ago too… I can't really help but be worried about her."

"She's still wearing those bells, isn't she?" Hawkeye said.

"Yeah… she still is."

"It feels like we've rented out the whole train," Ed commented later.

The sun was setting, and the train was completely empty except for the three of them sitting in one compartment.

"Vacations on trains are pretty nice," Saya sighed. "The feeling of going somewhere for something important…"

"I agree," Al said. "All you have to do is sit an-"

"Al, Bomb…" Both of the mentioned looked in Ed's direction.

"What is it?" Saya asked, leaning her head back. "And I'm not a bomb."

"This is a job for me, as a dog of the military. Neither of you had to come along."

"Are you still saying that?" Al demanded. "I'm always going to be with you Nii-san, since…"

Ed smiled a little. "Yeah…"

"As for me, this was a request from Mustang-san," Saya said. "But I'd still come along or else you two would run out on me, and I'm putting my bet on you both finding the Philosopher's Stone. You're not getting away from me so easily."

Ed and Al sweatdropped.

"Look!" Al suddenly said. "I see it! That must be the City at the East End, Youswell Coal mine."

"It's been a while…" Saya murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing! Nothing…"

"I thought mines were livelier," Ed commented, looking around.

People were sitting around listlessly on the street, and there was hardly any noise.

"Everyone looks so tired," Al noticed.

"There's nothing interesting to look at," Ed sighed. "Al, let's investigate this place and go home quickly."

"What about me?!" Saya demanded.

"I'm going to dump you the first chance we get," Ed growled.

"What was that, you small fry?!"

"WHO DID YOU CALL A SMA-" Suddenly, Ed fell forward from being hit in the head with a beam.

The boy holding the beam turned around. "Ah! Sorry about that," he apologized. With pointy brown hair and brown eyes, he sported a bandage on one cheek and seemed to be only slightly younger than Ed and Saya.

"Ouch…"

The boy inspected the trio. "Are you tourists?" He suddenly stuck his face into Ed's. "Where'd you come from? Where are you going to eat and stay?"

"Who are YOU?" Ed snapped.

The boy didn't listen. "Dad! We've got guests!"

A big man carrying a pipe and wearing a helmet came into view. "What?"

"A guest! We have money spenders!"

"'Money spenders'?" Saya repeated.

The big man took off his helmet. "Welcome! I'm Halling, the innkeeper here! Let me show you to our inn!"

Without knowing exactly how they got there, Ed, Al, and Saya were pushed into a well-to-do inn.

"Sorry it's so dusty," Halling apologized. "We miners don't make much, so I also run this inn for the occasional traveler who comes."

"Three guests for one night, correct?" asked a kind looking lady behind a desk.

"How much is it?" Saya asked.

"It's expensive, I'll warn you," Halling laughed.

"Don't worry," Ed said. "I have a lot of money, even if I don't look li-"

"Baka!" Saya hissed, hitting Ed on the head.

Halling smirked. "Three hundred thousand."

Al and Ed got blue lines on his head. Saya sighed. "You moron…"

"Three hundred thousand?! Don't joke around!" Ed yelled. He pointed at Saya. "I'm not paying for her!"

Halling raised an eyebrow. "It'll be two hundred thousand for you two then. And you still have to pay little miss. One hundred thousand."

Saya sighed. "I can do math you know."

"Two hundred thousand is still too much for only one night at an inn!" Ed raged.

Halling smirked. "We're the best inn here in Youswell. We're also the ONLY inn here in Youswell, so cough up unless you want to sleep under the stars tonight."

The boy laughed. "You're our first guests in a long time, so we have to squeeze all we can out of you!"

"Well, I'm sorry but I don't have one hundred thousand," Saya said. "So how 'bout I earn some of my keep? Got any sick or injured people?"

"A chibi like you is a doctor?" Halling said in surprise.

Saya grinned. "I'm an alchemist."

A man from the back of the room called out jokingly, "Hey, Doctor-san, d'you think you can heal my leg over here? I hurt it yesterday with a pick."

Saya grinned. "Only if Halling gives me a discount here on the price of staying here one night."

Halling's eyebrow twitched for a couple seconds, but he gave in. "Five hundred thousand then."

"I've got that, but you're really stretching my finances here," Saya muttered, taking out a wallet. She pulled out a bunch of bills and handed nearly the entire stack to Halling. "There you go. One night's stay at a discount."

Halling grinned and took the money. "Thank you very much, little miss. You'd better fix him good for me to be giving up a good five hundred thousand."

Saya walked over to the man and took off the bandages. People surrounding cringed a bit and looked away as she surveyed the damage. "This happened yesterday, you say?"

"Yeah," he said. "I won't be able to work for a while if I don't get this hea- ow!"

"And I only brushed it with my finger," Saya muttered, her face serious for once. "You've got muscle and tissue damage, and it's gone all the way down to your bone. Be thankful that your bone isn't cracked from the impact, or that the pick didn't slice through any major blood vessels. There's a slight infection… I'll fix that for you too." She clapped her hands together, and suddenly there was a soft green light emitting from her hands. She placed her hands on the wound. The glow faded… and there was no trace of a wound on his leg. Everyone oohed and aahed in amazement.

The man moved his leg in astonishment. "I… it's as good as new!" he cried out. "That's amazing! You really are a doctor!"

Saya cringed, then her face broke into a grin. "What, you were doubting my word?"

Ed grinned. "That gives me an idea…"

Everyone oohed and aahed again as Ed fixed one of the miner's picks.

"It's back to normal!"

"No it's not, it looks brand new!"

"Are there any other things you need fixed?" Ed asked with a grin.

"Could you fix this?" asked the lady. She held a broken vase in one arm. "I treasure this, but I accidentally broke it."

"What, you haven't thrown it away yet?!" Halling cried.

"Dear! You rarely buy things like this for me, so…"

Ed smiled. "Alright! Leave it to me!"

He fixed the vase.

"Ah! I'm so glad!" she cried, hugging the vase.

"Way to go landlady!" one of the men cheered.

"Oi, Doctor-girl! Could you take a look at my arm? I think I sprained it the other day."

"No problem!" Saya smiled.

Halling smiled. "This is interesting! Our guests are alchemists! I used to study it, but I quit 'cause I didn't have much talent for it."

Ed and Saya chuckled.

"Oi, why did you guys come to Youswell in the first place?" the boy asked. "There's really nothing interesting to see out here."

"Except the people," Saya grinned.

Halling looked strangely at her. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?"

Saya suddenly sweatdropped. "N-no! I'm sure we haven't met before!"

"Hm…"

Ed grinned. "I'm here on a job. I just came to inspect the mine."

A sudden silence fell.

"'Inspect'?" Halling repeated, his tone suddenly cold. "You're from the military?"

"Yeah," Ed replied. "I'm a State Alchemist, after all!"

Suddenly, Halling picked up Ed by the scruff of his cloak and threw him outside. His suitcase went flying after him.

"We neither have food nor a place to stay for a dog of the military," Halling said. He turned on Saya. "Are you a State Alchemist too?"

Saya met his gaze with a bored face. "No," she answered coldly. "I'm not a part of the military."

"What about you?" he said, turning on Al. "Are you a soldier?"

"N-no, I'm no-"

"He's not related to me!" Ed shouted. "He's just some guy I met on the way here!"

Halling turned to Ed. "Fine. Then you go get yourself eaten by the dogs," he called, before slamming the door.

"You all seem to hate the military here," Al commented.

"Of course!" the boy replied, his face dark. "Everyone hates the military around these parts. The guy called Yoki who does this is a money pig, draining all our rightful profits!"

Saya narrowed her eyes. "Come again?"

"Yoki. And on top of that, there's a State Alchemist here," Halling grumbled, setting food in front of Al and Saya. "'Alchemists do good for the public.' What a joke! I'm not going to forgive those devils who sell their souls to the military for just a few special privila-"

"You're wrong," Saya interrupted. She picked up a cup of tea and sipped. "It depends solely on the individual if he or she is a good or bad person. Where does being in the military come into that? But you all believe what you want," she added, seeing Halling about to make an angry reply. "I believe in the goodness in individuals. I hate stereotypes. You can't put a group of people into a small box that's labeled with only one word."

Al stared in astonishment. "Saya-san…"

Saya stood and picked up her tray. "Is it alright if I eat outside? It's too stuffy in here."

"Sure," Halling said indifferently. "But be sure to bring the utensils and everything back."

"No problem."

Ed sat on the porch of the inn miserably. "Ah, I'm hungry…" he groaned.

"What a tragedy," drawled a voice behind him. He whirled around and saw Saya carrying her tray.

"What're you doing out here?" he demanded.

"Bringing you some food," she retorted, thrusting the tray at him. "Got a problem with that?"

Ed was surprised for a second, but he quickly recovered. "What about you?"

Saya grinned. "I don't need as much food as regular people, thanks to the amount of my body that's automail. Just hurry and take it before I dump it on your head."

Ed hesitated, then took the tray. "Thanks. You're not so bad after all."

"I see that soldiers are hated here," Saya commented, sitting next to him as he started to eat.

"I was sort of prepared for that though," Ed grinned.

"Is 'Fullmetal' your real name?" she asked.

"No. When I became a State Alchemist, it was the name given to me by the Government. What about you? You haven't told us your full name."

Saya was silent before answering. "It's Hanabi Saya," she said.

"'Firework'?" Ed repeated in surprise.

Saya grinned. "It's an awesome name, don't you think?"

Ed sweatdropped. "It really suits you…"

She laughed at that, then she opened her eyes and pointed. "Look!"

Ed looked up just in time to spot a shooting star.

"Mama always said that shooting stars were signs of good luck," Saya said. "But I think my good luck's already come."

"What do you mean by that?" Ed asked.

She grinned. "I found you two!"

Suddenly, a commotion in the inn drew their attention.

Next: Yoki and Lyra come onto the scene. If you want to see any pairings, review and tell me!