Hello all! Hope you all have been well. I apologize for the late post. Blame college, new job, life, and three friends (one German Butt, one Tea Drinking Dingus, and one Little Baka Shit) that have been making me play Borderlands 2 and Town of Salem (if you are reading this, you know who you are. Fak you XD). Anyways, here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

The rest of the school day went a little bit better than Edward thought it would. They had gym after lunch, satisfying Ed's desire to move around for a bit and not be stuck in a desk listening to the teacher spout words about things he could care less about. In addition to this, they also began their chemistry lesson, which Ed was excited for. That was, until the teacher began to teach stuff he already knew. The teacher even made a few mistakes that Ed wanted to correct her on but decided not to. He did not want to instantly be labeled a genius (even though he was) and have everyone up his ass. Being the center of attention was the LAST thing he wanted.

He and Winry were walking out of the building with the rest of the students. "Well, time to meet up with Kitamura and the others." Winry said excitedly.

Ed laughed a bit and let out a sigh. "You know, this is my mission to come to this school and "try to have a normal life". You only came here to get away from the country and yet you're enjoying this more than me."

Winry pat Ed on the back. "That is because you do not know when something is good, even when it is right in front of your face."

"What was that, gear-head?!" Ed yelled.

"You heard me, alchemy-freak!" Winry yelled back.

"Uh… are you guys ok?" Ryuuji called from behind them.

Ed and Winry nearly jumped out of their shoes and turned to Ryuuji. He was standing hand-in-hand with Taiga. "Yea, everything is fine! Aha, don't worry!" Winry replied, trying to hide her nervousness.

Taiga looked to her, and then to the alchemist. "You sure? If he is being an asshole, I can make him stop you know?" She replied, cracking her knuckles.

Ed glared hard at the Palm-Top Tiger and balled his fist. "You wanna go?"

It was then Ami walked up to the four of them. "Oh boy, what did the shorty do this time?"

Ed and Taiga turned to Ami. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PEA-SIZED MIDGET?!" Ed barked at the model, while Taiga yelled. "I AM NOT SHORT YOU STUPID CHIHUAHUA!"

The two of them turned to each other. "Wait, you don't like being called short either?" Taiga asked. "But you're not short?!"

Winry shook her head with a smile. "He used to be. He was shorter than me for a while."

Ed walked up to the brunette. "You too understand the pains of being the… the… "s" word?"

Taiga nodded. The two then instantly hugged each other with "tears" pouring out of their eyes. "YOU UNDERSTAND MY PAIN!" They yelled in unison with each other.

Ryuuji and Winry both sighed and pinched the bridge of their noses. "Is he always like this?" Ryuuji asked her.

Winry laughed. "Probably as much as, if not more, than her." She replied.

At this point, Kitamura and Kushieda both walked up to them. They then lead the mechanic and alchemist to Sudoh-Bucks, each of them ordering a drink for themselves. They got a table for themselves and got comfortable. "So," Kushieda spoke up enthusiasticly, "where are you guys from?"

"We are from a country called Amestris." Ed replied. "It is somewhere around where Germany is. Though it won't be on a map. Neither would the countries that border us. We kind of like to keep to ourselves."

"So, you're aliens?" Kushieda accused, making a freaky expression.

"… no… just not from around here."

"What made you want to come to our high school?" Ami asked, her eyes not moving from either Ed or Winry.

"Well, we wanted to get out of our country and wanted to travel. We heard a lot about Tokyo and it seemed nice. This school was one of the few that Ed's mom liked for us, so we came here." Winry replied sweetly.

Taiga looked up from her drink and from cuddling with Ryuuji. "Did you guys do anything there? Like a job or something? It is surprising that someone from a barely heard of country to come here."

Winry kept a straight face but panicked on the inside. That was, until Ed spoke up. "Well, my mom worked in the government there. She made a lot of money and was able to afford this. She was not crazy about the schooling there, so she looked here."

Winry mentally sighed. She didn't want to tell them about themselves but did not know how to articulate her words without seeming suspicious. She thanked her luck that Ed was actually smart when it came to on the fly thinking.

Kitamura took a sip of his drink and smiled. "Well, it is nice to have you guys here. I am curious though, do you know who the other person is? The teacher mentioned the last exchange student would be coming later."

With this, Ed's face went a tad sullen, him not being able to keep a straight face. Kitamura made a similar look, a feeling of guilt washing over him. "If it's personal, you don't need to answer. I am sorry I asked."

The rest of the group looked curiously at the two exchange students. Winry turned to Ed, who simply nodded. She then looked back to the others. "We do know the other person. His name is Alphonse, and he is Ed's younger brother."

Ryuuji looked a tad confused. "Wouldn't it be exciting to have your sibling in the same class? Is he a mean person?"

Ed looked to Winry, easily telling that she was trying to come up with something to say. He put a hand on Winry's shoulder. "I am, and he is a truly caring and amazing person. It's just that…" he let out a sigh. "He is in the hospital at the moment. He had a bad sickness that ate away at his muscles. He is about as skinny as a twig."

The group felt bad for prying too much. "I… I am sorry… we-"

Ed held up a hand with a small smile on his face. "Please, don't worry about it. You didn't know." He leaned back in his chair. "Actually, we were going to see him today until you invited us out."

Kushieda jumped up from her seat. "How about we all go see him!"

"Minori, he is in the hospital. It sounds like he needs to save his energy. Too many people might be a lot for him." Taiga replied.

Winry looked to Ed, the same thought crossing their minds. After a few seconds, Ed shrugged. "Well, I think Al would like to meet his classmates. I bet he would enjoy the company too." Winry said.

The group smiled a bit and nodded at the proposal. They each paid for their drinks and left.

-AT THE HOSPITAL-

Ed's eyes were looking all over the place, starring at every nurse and doctor that walked by. Taiga noticed this and turned to Winry, tugging her sleeve to get her attention. "Uh, is he okay?" she asked.

Winry looked over to the Palmtop Tiger. "Yea, he just doesn't like hospitals. Hates needles."

Taiga snickered at the new fact she learned as Ed looked through a door window. "Ok, he is here." He then let out a sigh. "I know you all are interested in meeting him, please try to be calm." He then glared at Kushieda. "That goes for you, Ms. Too-Hyper-For-My-Own-Good."

Minroi raised her right hand in a salute. "Aye aye captain!" She replied.

Ed shook his head and took a deep breath, opening the door. "Hey Al, it's Winry and I. I hope you don't mind us bringing a few people with us."

Al rolled over to face his brother. "That's okay. The more the merrier. I am just surprised that you made friends on the first day. Knowing you, you would have probably started a fight." He said playfully.

Winry giggled a bit at Al's remark. "He almost did actually. If it wasn't for me he would have."

Ed growled in annoyance at the two of them teasing him. "Hey! You don't know that! I can keep myself from trouble… most of the time… and besides I am not that unbearable. Jeez."

The others waited a bit before they walked in, noticing Al's appearance. He had short hair, a shade lighter than Ed's. His eyes were the same as his brother's though. They could tell they were indeed brothers. They also noticed how skinny he was, as if he did not move for about a few years. Al looked to the new people that Ed and Winry brought with them. "Hello there, my name is Alphonse. I hope my brother was not too much trouble for you guys." He spoke nicely.

Ed growled at his brother. "Hey, I was no trouble whatsoever!"

Ryuuji laughed a bit at their comments and shook his head. "He is okay Alphonse. Don't worry. My name is Ryuuji Takasu. This Minori Kushieda, over there is Yusaku Kitamura, the blue haired girl is Ami Kawashima," he then put an arm around his girlfriend. "And this is Taiga Aisaka."

Kushieda walked up next to Al. "That's his girlfriend." She spoke, emphasizing the last word to tease the both of them.

Taiga ran up to Minori and lightly hit her, blushing madly. "Hey, don't say such embarrassing things!"

Al laughed at the two of them. "That's very nice. And it's nice to meet all of you. You guys can call me Al if you want to though. It will probably be easier."

Ami sat next to Al, with an interested look on her face. "Man, he is so different from Ed. So nice, kind, and polite. Are you sure you two are brothers?"

Ed, who was looking at a pen on the desk, heard the comment and accidentally snapped the pen. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kitamura laughed a bit at his fellow students. "Man, seeing Ed is like looking at a male version of Taiga. This is quite funny."

Taiga smirked. "Why, because we are that awesome?"

Ryuuji shrugged. "More like you two are too hot-headed for your own good?"

Before they could retort, the doctor came into the room. "Hello there. I am sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours is over now. I am sorry, but you all have to leave."

The students nodded and walked out of the room. As Ed was about to leave, he asked the nurse if he could talk to his brother for a bit longer, to which the nurse allowed because of his military ID he descretly showed and the fact they were brothers. He looked to Winry and gave a nod, telling her to go ahead. He then closed the door behind him and sighed. Al let a small chuckle escape his lips. "You know Brother, they seem like a nice group of people."

After giving it some thought, Ed nodded. "Yea. They are quite nosy though. I am not sure how to feel about it."

"Were we any different?" Al retored, earning a shrug from his older brother.

Ed looked out the window overlooking the city. "At first I was not thrilled about this whatsoever. I thought this was going to suck. However, this might actually be nice. I cannot believe I am saying this, but Colonel Bastard might have actually done something good."

Al pretended to be surprised. "Did I just hear that right? I must be dreaming!"

Ed laughed a bit, noticing the nurse's look to hurry up. "So, I told them that you were sick and that your muscles were eaten away. I did say you would get better soon. You better not make me wrong."

Al smiled. "Don't worry, I won't." He then made a serious face. "Did you tell them about… your automail and alchemy."

Ed shook his head, making Al fake another face of shock. "You're actually listening to Mustang now too? Is the world going to end soon? You better ask Winry out before then!"

Ed lightly punched Al's arm and laughed a bit. He then went to the door and opened it, saying farewell to his brother, and leaving the room. He went down to the bottom floor and walked outside of the hospital, noticing Winry and the others standing there.

- A FEW HOURS LATER -

It was getting later in the day, but the group insisted on showing Edward and Winry around Toyko. They took them all over, from the parks to a few of the shops. Winry was going googly eyed at the mechanic shop they passed by. Ed was forced to literally drag Winry away before she bought out the place, earning a few interesting looks and laughs from the others. Before it got too late, Kitamura, Kushieda, and Ami all left. Kitamura had to do things as the President the next day, while Kushieda had softball practice the next day and Ami just wanted to go. This left Taiga, Ryuuji, Ed, and Winry to wonder around Tokyo for the rest of the night.

They ended up at the docks as the starry sky lit out their path as they talked, and by they it was mostly everyone but Ed. He still had his brother in his mind, even though he knew everything was going to be okay. "I have to say, this is very pretty here!" Winry let out with joy. "Definitely not like where we are from!"

Ed nodded a bit as he kept his gaze to the water. Ryuuji then sat down at a bench nearby and got into a comfortable position. "Well, what is it like where you guys are from?" He asked politely, not wanting to seem rude.

Ed sat next to him with a soft smile. "Well, for one thing, there were no tall buildings, or technology as advanced as it is here. It was a quite open area with a lot of fields. It was mostly warm since it was closer to the South, which was nice. But it was a small little town with not too many people. If you wanted to look up what a peaceful town is, you may see a picture of our town there." He joked.

Taiga smiled a bit. "That does sound nice. I always wanted to visit a place like that. No noisy idiots yapping their mouths off, no cars to zip pass you, nothing but the quiet field and sunny sky."

Ryuuji smiled a bit at the description that was given. "Yeah, seems nice. I bet you guys had a nice life. Even with Ed's mom being in the military, seems like it was not a scary place to live."

The words that they heard rang in their heads a bit as they left his mouth. Winry tried her best to hide the pained expression. She then realized something and looked over to Ed, who merely had his hair hanging over his face. She would almost feel all the events that happened over the past decade flash through his head. Every little detail from every little thing that he went through washed over him like water. "Uh, Ed?" Taiga asked, cutting the few seconds of silence.

Winry hit Ed's back to get him to snap out of his daze as she laughed. "Sorry about him, he is running on only 3 hours of sleep. With moving and everything he did not get too much sleep and when he does not sleep he becomes irritable and oblivious. It is a wonder he remembers things from school?"

Now the blond was with the world of the living as he snapped his head towards the automail mechanic. "SAYS YOU! Whenever you saw something better than what we have at home, you drooled all over and had to be forcibly dragged away!"

Winry now was starting to get annoyed as she glared to the alchemist. "Now listen here! I have an appreciation for the sophisticated things. I am not some loser who has his nose in the books all day!"

They went on back and forth a bit with their bickering as Ryuuji and Taiga watched. They turned to each other as a flood of memories came to them, of all the times that they went at each other like this. Seeing where they are now, they both began to laugh a bit. This got the two foreigner's attentions as they turned to them. "WHAT is so funny?!" Ed barked.

Ryuuji looked a bit startled from the sudden outburst, meanwhile Taiga merely shrugged and giggled a bit more. "It's nothing. Just remind us of someone." She replied sweetly.

Winry sighed and giggled a bit herself. She then looked at the time and saw it was really late. "We should really get back before ha- I mean your mom yells at us Ed."

Ed gave a pained expression for a split second at what Winry said and realized what she meant. He nodded and got up. "You're right. Well, we will see you guys tomorrow." He replied as he walked off.

Winry then got up and turned to Ryuuji and Taiga, bowing a bit. "Thank you for taking us around the town. See you tomorrow!" She replied and ran off.

The couple watched as their new friends walked away. Taiga nudged her boyfriend in the ribs with a small smile. "Hey, remind us of anyone?"

Ryuuji shook his head with a small smile on his face. "Oh no, not at all."

It was quiet for a bit until Taiga spoke up. "So, what do you think of them?"

Ryuuji looked a bit confused. "Uh, I think they are nice. They can be a bit odd at times, but then again so are all of us."

Taiga nodded. "Yeah, they seem nice, but I think they are hiding something." She replied.

He titled his head a bit. "Well," she continued, "the way they talked about Alphonse today, it seemed like they were making that on the fly. I mean yeah he was in bad shape, but I think the reasoning may be a lie. In addition to that, just the way they talked about some things, it seemed like it could have been a-"

Ryuuji sighed and pat her head. "Well we don't know for certain though. They did just meet us, I would not share everything with people I just met. Maybe they have their reasons."

Taiga nodded after a while of thinking. "Yeah, you're right I guess. They do seem genuinely nice… but…"

"I get it. After how your father was with lying to you about caring, you can be skeptical about things." Her lover replied, kissing her forehead. "We will have to see what happens."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ed sighed as he and Winry walked into their apartment. Hawkeye was polishing one of her rifles that she brought with them for the "mission". The sharp shooter looked up and gave a small smile towards the two kids. "Seems like you guys had a late night tonight?" She said as she continued her work.

Winry nodded a bit as Ed sat in the kitchen. "Yeah, we already made a few friends at school." She spoke. "They are an odd bunch but they seem quite nice. There is even one there that is a bit like Ed."

Ed gave a scoff as he heard the comment, going through the fridge and grabbing something to eat quickly. "Yeah, they were alright." He replied as he ate the small snack, putting the dishes in the sink. "I am going to sleep now. I will wash the dishes tomorrow." He replied quickly, going to his room.

Riza looked to Ed and then back to Winry. "Is he ok?" She asked.

Winry sighed and nodded a bit. "Yeah. I think so. We talked with our new friends and Ed had some memories come back to him." She replied quietly.

Riza nodded, understanding. "I can imagine. Going through what he did and at such a young age too." She said quietly.

Winry nodded and sighed a bit, sitting on the other side of the couch. Riza put down her weapon and moved over closer to her. She put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up. "Winry, it will be ok." Hawkeye spoke softly. "They finally did what they sought to do. They got their bodies back. In time, they will be able to look back and smile for how far they come."

Winry nodded and smiled a bit getting up. "Well, it is late. I should sleep. Sleep well." She spoke softly, slowly turning around and heading to her room to rest.

Well about time I finally finished this chapter. Sorry again for such a long time to update. Hope you all enjoy it. I shall try to update as often as I can.