Ch.2-An Anger Outlet
Haha, yeah if you couldn't tell, this is longer than the first chapter xD Almost three thousand words without this author's note. :3
So, I really don't have anything to say. :/
I don't own FMA. ):
Please Read and Review. :)
After lunch had concluded, Envy snuck out of the cafeteria with Lust, Wrath, and Gluttony faithfully following after him.
Slipping into a deserted hallway, Envy slid out of his jacket and tossed it at Wrath to hold as he inspected the damage done to his shirt.
The teen gave an irritated tsk, staring at the faded pink splash of Wahoo punch staining the center of his shirt.
"My favorite shirt and now it's got this ugly pink splotch on it. Damn kid…"
"You know he didn't mean it," Wrath mumbled timidly, keeping his head down in an attempt to not appear like a threat to his older brother.
"Ponyboy won't take me seriously if he sees me with this on my shirt!" Envy snarled, snatching his jacket from Wrath who flinched as he pulled off his ruined shirt and threw it at Gluttony. "Dispose of that."
As Envy slid on his jacket, regretfully buttoning it up halfway, Gluttony stared at the white piece of clothing in his hand curiously.
Just as the constantly ravenous boy opened his mouth to devour the shirt, Lust took it from Gluttony's hands.
Gluttony whined.
"Lust…!"
"You know what happened the last time you ate that washcloth? It gave you a stomachache for a week."
"But, Lust…!"
"No but's, Gluttony," Lust placed a hand on Gluttony's head, fondly patting him. "I'll find you something else to eat."
"Okay…" Gluttony muttered, gazing at the shirt forlornly as he sucked on one of his fingers.
"Speaking of Ponyboy…" Envy grumbled as he pulled out an ebony-colored Blackberry Bold from his pocket. "I got some anger I need to release."
After hitting 1, the green-haired teenager pressed talk and placed the phone to his ear, lazily inspecting his nails as he leaned against the wall while he waited for the other line to stop ringing.
"What?" a low, rough voice asked in annoyance.
Envy grinned as he straightened a bit.
"Hey, Greed," the boy chirped, perfectly imitating the person's voice. "What are you up to?"
"Stop copying my voice, you creepy fucker," Greed growled on the other end. "What do you want? I'm heading to class."
"If you pass by Ponyboy on your way to autoshop," Envy continued, this time mirroring Lust's sultry voice while Wrath snickered. "Can you tell him I want to fight? And to bring two of his men; other than Scar, of course."
Envy could practically see Greed's shark-toothed grin.
"Ooh, of course, Lust," the avarice replied sarcastically. "I'll do anything for you."
"Great. Thanks, babe. Tell Flamie that we meet at Knife Woods in a half hour."
"I'll send the message to him with love."
"You're an angel," Envy smirked, blowing a mocking kiss into the phone before terminating the call. "Isn't Greed just the sweetest thing?"
Wrath finally caved and began howling with laughter while Lust scowled and Gluttony remained puzzled.
"Will you stop imitating my voice when you talk to your brother?" Lust questioned in disgust, crossing her arms beneath her voluptuous chest.
"Oh, calm down," Envy rolled his eyes as his voice returned to normal. "He knew it was me. Now come on."
The sin strolled toward the nearby door that lead outside.
"We gotta go meet Pony."
As the group headed toward the door, Envy realized that something was off.
He glanced behind him to see a happy Wrath trailing after him.
The shaggy-haired boy stopped when someone placed a hand on his head and he glanced up to see Envy smiling down at him.
"And where do you think you're going?" Envy asked sweetly.
"I'm coming with you," Wrath replied with a blink.
"No, you're going to class," Envy turned Wrath around, pushing him back toward the cafeteria. "Now go on."
"But—" Wrath turned halfway around, confused.
"This battle isn't with the entire gang; just three of us. Go to class, Wrath."
"But—!" Wrath protested again, facing Envy pleadingly.
Envy's eyes hardened as his pupils thinned to slits.
"Go, Wrath," he whispered, his voice making no room for argument.
Wrath pouted, obviously put off that he wasn't allowed to join before he turned and slunk back to the cafeteria to head to class.
Envy sighed once his brother had turned the corner, pupils returning to normal.
He had never really enjoyed telling Wrath that he couldn't join in beating the Alchemist gang; the young boy would rarely talk with him after that, keeping his distance for a few days.
"Come on," Envy opened the door, the warm autumn breeze rustling his clothes and hair. "Let's go beat the crap out of a pony's herd."
The woods were dimly lit and filled with oak and pine trees; the little light that filtered through the leaves had earned the forest the nickname Dark Woods among the most common name—Knife Woods.
The woods grew behind the academy, cutting between it and the nearby Central College, causing many students to call it Knife Woods since from above the forest appeared to be in the shape of a knife.
While Gluttony curiously inspected the many mushrooms thriving at the base of an oak tree, Lust stood nearby watching him and occasionally reminding the stocky teen that he didn't know if the mushrooms were poisonous or not.
Envy gave a low growl as he stared ahead of him stonily, arms crossed over his chest.
"He's late," Envy muttered, his vexation slowly beginning to grow.
"Who's late, palmtree?" a dignified voice asked a person strode into the clearing where Envy, Lust, and Gluttony waited.
"Oooh, I thought you'd chickened out," Envy smirked as he pushed himself from his reclining position against a tree. "Roy-boy."
Roy scowled, angered at Envy's multiple nicknames for him.
Roy was the leader of his gang, which he had aptly named the Alchemist gang as more than half of his members, including himself, were strong alchemists.
Roy was twenty-one and attractive for his age.
He kept his black hair casually unkempt, allowing some of it to fall over his stern onyx eyes.
With black slacks and a white dress shirt beneath a black buttoned-up jacket, Roy was the perfect image of a class president; it made Envy sick to think that both Roy and Pride were struggling to become class president that year.
"So who'd you bring with you, Mustang?" Envy mocked, mimicking the college student's rich, strong voice. "That widdle girl and the scrappy thief?"
"You making fun of my cousin, you anorexic freak?" a warm voice laced with hidden ice questioned as a tall and lean male a year younger than Roy came up to stand beside his gang's leader.
"Oooh, Ling!" Envy grinned happily, this time imitating the Xingese's voice. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since I broke your arm."
Ling's normally closed eyes opened a crack to reveal dark irises hidden beneath his eyelids, burning with fury at Envy's reminder.
Ling's long black hair was tied in a ponytail with a white ribbon, allowing spiky bangs to drape over the right side of his face.
The Xingese prince wore loose white trousers, a goldenrod shirt bearing a white flame pattern at the base and cuffs with small wing decals at the collar and a large bird's head embroidered into the back; the shirt was worn open to reveal his bare torso and the sword strap that held the Dao sword suspended across his back.
Strips of white Sarashi cloth wrapped around Ling's forearms, abdomen and his sword in place of a sheath.
"What a scary group," Envy frowned slightly. "The flame alchemist and the Xingese prince. Where's your third person?"
Lust gasped when she spotted movement behind Envy and warned, "Envy, watch out!"
Thin but strong arms suddenly wrapped around Envy's throat, pinning the teen against a tall form.
"Oh, hello, Kimblee," Envy said calmly, keeping a firm grip on the man's arms as he grinned. "Still pissed at me?"
"I won't ever forget that," Kimblee whispered, squeezing his arms tighter around Envy's throat, the two strands of black hair that weren't held back by the neat ponytail brushing against Envy's neck as he leaned closer to the highschooler.
Kimblee's voice was soft, but like the hiss of a venomous snake ready to strike at any moment.
"You pinned my hands to the ground with two knives."
Envy gave a breathy chuckle as he glanced back into Kimblee's piercing blue eyes.
"Because you know the rules: no alchemy."
"I'm not one to abide by the rules. And I hold grudges for a long time, palmy. This time, I'm gonna blow you up and revel in your screams."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Zolf!" Roy shouted at the twenty-three-year-old. "Release him."
Kimblee gave a low, disappointed growl, but he let go of Envy with a slight shove and stalked toward Roy; Envy noticed that Kimblee wore his blue slacks and a thin white tank top.
He also had new alchemic circles tattooed onto the palm of both hands.
As Envy rubbed lightly at his throat, realizing that he was probably going to have a bruise later, he gestured to Roy.
"Go ahead, pony. Pick who's fighting who."
Roy ignored the nickname, staring at Lust and Gluttony slowly.
"Ling, you're against Gluttony. Kimblee, Lust. And I," Roy fixed his dark gaze on Envy who smirked, "will take you, Netami."
"Oooh, I think I made the stallion angry," Envy snickered as Roy slid off the white gloves he wore and placed them in his pocket.
Roy calmly breathed in before he exhaled and then charged at Envy who immediately dropped into a fighting stance while Lust and Gluttony both ran at their opponents.
Roy threw the first punch, aiming for Envy's face, but the teen easily dodged it with a cackle.
"Oh, I felt some wind in that one! Gotten better over the summer, I see."
"I took a four month self-defense course," Roy smirked, ducking down when Envy swiped at him and lashed out his leg to trip the teen.
Envy jumped above the attack, flipping up and over Roy.
In mid-air, Envy twisted around, aiming a sharp kick at Roy's head, not expecting the black-haired college student to grab his ankle and flip him around, trying to get the teen on his back.
Envy landed on his hands and used all his weight to flip Roy over, watching in satisfaction as he roughly landed on one of his arms; despite his thin stature, Envy weight about 160 pounds, 60 pounds heavier than Roy.
Just as Envy was about to kick Roy's side to roll him on his back and claim his victory, Roy flipped onto his feet and distanced himself from the teen.
"You know you can just forfeit," Envy enlightened when he noticed Roy panting and gripping his injured arm.
"Like hell I'd submit to you, bastard!" Roy yelled, charging at Envy with a growl.
Envy aimed a punch at Roy, not expecting him to drop down and slam his right palm against his collarbone while grabbing Envy's right arm with his free hand.
Before Envy could even realize what was happening, Roy had his arm painfully pinned up between his shoulder blades.
Envy gave a soft hiss, struggling slightly before he fell still when Roy twisted his arm tighter.
"Forfeit, Envy," Roy ordered softly, keeping a firm grip on the teen. "And I won't break your arm."
"Never."
"Then you obviously don't need this."
As Roy pushed the arm to its breaking point, the ground suddenly became unsteady, surprising everyone.
Roy separated himself from Envy as both he and the sin struggled to remain balanced.
"Kimblee!" Envy glared at the calm alchemist. "No alchemy!"
"Oops," Kimblee grinned innocently, a hint of malice behind it as he held up his hands. "My hands slipped."
Roy glanced at Envy and aimed a kick at him, connecting with the left side of his chest; it had only been the heel of his foot, but it still had the same effect.
Envy fell on his back with a grunt, holding his chest with a slight wince.
Roy took off, Ling and Kimblee following after their leader, as the ground slowly began to settle, small cracks visible in the dirt.
"Damn it, Kimblee, you cheated again!" Envy shouted after the three gang members as he stood up. "Get back here, Mustang!"
"Envy, I think your rib's broken."
"Shut up, Lust!" Envy gave a smoldering glare in Lust's direction as he stomped down the empty sidewalk. "I'm fine!"
School had ended a few minutes ago and Wrath had gone home with a reluctant Greed who wondered why Wrath couldn't just join Envy.
Envy was still furious at Kimblee's cheap shot and he needed to take his anger out on something; it wasn't that Wrath wasn't used to his brother's outbursts, but Envy still didn't want Wrath near him in case he lashed out at one of his members.
"You should also get your arm checked," Lust continued, still trying to prompt Envy into seeing a doctor.
"I told you—" Envy started before he ran into someone. "Hey, watch—"
The purple-eyed teen found himself staring into wide gold eyes.
Envy smirked, his mood brightening somewhat.
"Oh, hey there, pipsqueak," he purred, baring his teeth in a grin. "Remember what you did to me at lunch? Well, I was thinking about how I could return the favor!"
Grabbing the front of Ed's shirt, Envy raised his fist to punch the boy, but was interrupted when Al and Winry stepped in his way.
Annoyed, Envy glared at the duo.
"What, these your watchdogs now? You need someone to fight your battles?"
"Leave Ed alone, you big bully!" Winry yelled, blue eyes fierce.
Envy blinked before he laughed in amusement.
"Ooh, you're scary. Heyyy, Lust, Gluttony, take care of these two so I can finish talking with Edo."
With a slight roll of her eyes, Lust did as she was told, both her and Gluttony herding Al and Winry off to the side.
"What do you want with me, Envy?" Ed asked with an irritated sigh. "I'm busy."
"Big words coming from a little man."
"I am not little!" Ed screeched, aiming a punch at Envy who merely caught the blonde's right wrist easily.
Envy then cruelly brought Ed's arm down, slamming his knee into the blonde's abdomen causing Ed to gasp and choke.
The sin released Ed, watching smugly as the blonde instinctively curled up to protect his injured stomach.
To prove his point, Envy kicked Ed a few times, ignoring how Winry and Al were screaming at him to stop.
"I hope you've learned your lesson, shrimp," Envy snarled, stepping back after he had heard a crack come from Ed's left shoulder, "to never mess with me."
Envy turned, his anger satiated for the moment, only to pause when someone grabbed his ankle.
He glanced back to see that it was Ed holding his ankle.
"Oh, looks like the pipsqueak's raring to go."
Ed glared up at Envy from beneath his bangs, gold eyes burning fiercely.
Envy appeared surprised and amused at Ed's expression.
"Oh, that's a pretty vicious glare you got there."
"Don't call me pipsqueak…" Ed panted, still glaring at Envy.
"Oh?" Envy raised an eyebrow, pulling his ankle out of Ed's grasp and turning to face the young alchemist, crouching down. "Then what would you prefer? Eh, pipsqueak?"
For someone with a possible dislocated left shoulder, sprained right wrist and bruised abdomen, Edward moved faster than Envy had anticipated, lashing out with a furious punch that almost nicked Envy's cheek.
Envy leaped back as Ed stood up.
"Brother, stop!" Al pleased, trying to force his way past Gluttony.
"Yeah, Ed, quit it!" Winry agreed. "He's not worth it!"
Ed ignored his brother and friend as he charged at Envy with a yell, aiming blind punches at the teen.
"Whooa, you're not even trying, pipsqueak!" Envy chuckled as he nimbly pranced out of harm's way. "Oh, almost hit me that time!"
With a furious growl, Ed aimed another punch at Envy, not expecting the teen to grab his wrist with one hand and clamp down on his throat with the other.
Envy shoved Ed onto the ground with such force the blonde's head cracked against the sidewalk.
"Okay, kid," Envy snarled as he straddled the small blonde to keep him pinned to the ground, face morphed into an ugly grimace. "Your act's not cute anymore."
The first punch came harder than expected, causing Ed's head to snap to the side and his teeth to rattle, but he didn't make a sound.
Disregarding the taste of copper in his mouth, Ed glared back at Envy only to be struck again.
Every time he got punched, Ed glared at Envy, but after a while it became an unconscious effort to block out the pain.
And soon he found himself staring into the amethyst eyes, wondering what it was that made Envy so mad at the world.
Just as Envy was about to land his tenth punch, Lust grabbed his wrist.
"Envy, stop. You're going to kill him."
With a growl, Envy glanced at Lust before he looked back at Ed.
Despite his face being a bloody mess, Ed still stared at Envy with defiant eyes.
Irritated, Envy stood up, yanking his wrist out of Lust's grasp, and began to walk away.
Lust and Gluttony followed soon after, neither saying a word.
Al and Winry instantly rushed to Ed's side, shouting his name.
Ed could see them hovering hover him, asking if he was all right, but he couldn't answer them and before he knew it, his mind had already faded to black.
Whooo! End of Chapter 2!
Hahaha, as I was re-reading this I remembered this fight scene with Ed and Envy and I was like 'I wrote THIS?' cause I was surprised. I felt it was good. xD
Also, I suppose I should explain a bit about Envy and the others.
Yes, I sitll call them 'sins' even though they aren't technically Homunculi.
Yes, Envy and the others can use their abilities to an extent; Envy can regenerate lost limbs and as you can tell, imitate voices (I have yet to remember if I wrote down if he can transform or not), but cannot heal small cuts/wounds. Gluttony can eat anything, but he can't eat cloth (as you can tell) and will not eat humans. The others are pretty self-explanatory.
Anyway...I hope you can't wait to look forward to what happens next. :)
Please read and review. :D