Chapter 2:
~Edwards P.O.V
In the past few days, I've been living at Mr. Shou Tucker's house along with Al and Mr. Tucker's daughter, Nina. It's been good the past few days, except a few visits from several people from the military and unpleasant visits Sayuri Iwakura, the oldest daughter of Lieutenant Iwakura. One day, Al, Nina, their dog Alexander and I were playing in the snow, when Major Hughes and the wretched witch herself (Sayuri) came. "Looks like someone's fooling around instead of studying for his test," Sayuri said in an insulting manner. "C'mon now Sayuri, you can't fight the birthday boy on his birthday," Major Hughes said which caught my attention and earned a "Humph" from Sayuri. "H-How did you know? I haven't told anyone yet!" I ask him. "I'm in the investigation department, wouldn't be a major if I can't handle that," he informed smiling and then I turned to Sayuri. "My dad's in the investigation department too and this is the only way I can escape from babysitting that brat," she says rolling her eyes. "Aww, c'mon Sayuri, Sasami's such a nice kid," Major Hughes said smiling at Sayuri who sighed in agony. "Awww…" Nina said in a pouting manner, and then I realized what she meant. "Now don't look sad, all of you are coming," the Major said. "I can't throw you a birthday party without inviting your friends." Then, Sayuri handed me two wrapped boxes, one in blue and the other in orange. "Miyabi and Masuyo wanted to go but no one will be taking care of their little sisters," Sayuri said, and for a moment I thought both were gifts from her, ugh! What am I talking about?! She's a wretched witch who probably hates my guts, why would she give me a present anyway?
At Major Hughes' house, we were greeted by his wife Gracia. "YOUR STOMACH'S A MELON!!!" I exclaim looking at it in disbelief, earning an annoyed sigh from Sayuri. "Are you having a baby?" Al asked. "Any day, there's a big fuss in my belly saying, 'She wants to come out and see the world,'" Gracia said smiling at us. "Wanna feel?" she asked kindly, but us being boys, we couldn't have, Major Hughes would arrest us for rape. "Relax, it's just a baby, it's not like Major Hughes would arrest you for harassment or something," Sayuri reassures; bored. "I do Mrs. Hughes!" Nina smiled. "Well, go ahead Nina," Gracia smiled back. "I felt it! It moved!" Nina exclaimed smiling up at Mrs. Gracia. "Can I feel?" Sayuri asked her eyes giving out an expression I never seen before… kindness? "Go ahead Sayuri," Gracia reassured. When Sayuri touched her stomach, her smile seems to fade a little but then she looked back up at Gracia with a smile. "She's kicking," Sayuri pointed out. The party went on when Gracia suddenly fell; Major Hughes went to her in shock. "Hunny… it's here…" she said as if she was struggling. "The tea?" Major Hughes asked stupidly. "The baby," Gracia corrected annoyed. "B-BUT THE DOCTOR SAID NEXT WEEK!!!" Major Hughes panicked and we all tensed up. "Well the baby said now, and I'm pretty sure SHE gets to choose!" Gracia said groaning a little. "Ok, I'll get your bags," Major Hughes says. "But you can't it's a blizzard outside!" Al exclaimed pointing to the window. "Right! You can't leave, I'll get the doctor. You kids help her! Sayuri you're in charge!" Major commanded running out the door. "But how do we do that?!" I called behind him. "Relax, you guys just help me bring her to the couch and then get some hot water and a lot of fresh towels," Sayuri instructed helping Gracia up. Me and Al did as we were told, "I got the hot water bowl!" I announced. "Great Edward, set it on the floor next to me," Gracia instructed as Sayuri massages her back carefully. "I'm just glad your pain passed," Al said quietly but then she started screaming in pain. "He's taking long…" Al said worried. "He probably had to walk," I tell him. "AHHH!!! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANY LONGER! I'M GONNA DIE!!!" she screams making us all panic except for Sayuri. "What are we gonna do?! She said she's gonna die!!" Al panicked. "Shut up you guys, that's just an expression!" Sayuri scolded. Somehow, I just cant understand how she can stay calm at a time like this! Then Gracia fainted and Nina screamed. "She's dead!" Nina cried. "Listen, she's not dead she's just asleep!" I assure Nina panicking. "Don't do it Gracia! A life is expensive you have to give something up!" Al yelled idiotically. "Giving birth is not Alchemy you dope!" I scold him. "Keep quiet all of you!" Sayuri yelled in a manner that made us remember our teacher, and so we all obeyed. Then Gracia started screaming again. "Ugh! Alchemy is the ultimate science there has to be a way to help her!" I yell in frustration. "Well, lesson learned; Alchemy can't do everything," Sayuri says practically annoyed. "Little big brother, the water's getting cold," Nina said dipping her hand into the water. When I touched the bowl, it suddenly heated! "Brother, what did you do?!" Al asked surprised. "I have no clue," I answered timidly. "You used Alchemy to heat the water! How can you use alchemy without a circle?!" Al asked surprised and Sayuri sighed as if she knew something…
~Sayuri's P.O.V
Why can't they focus on what's really important? There must be some alchemic reaction with his automail that must be it. "Ahhh!!! I can feel its head now!!!!" Gracia screamed making all of them panic again. "YOU CAN FEEL IT'S HEAD WHAT'S THAT MEAN?!" Ed practically yelled. "It means it's coming out," I say plainly. "HOW CAN YOU STAY SO CALM AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!!!" he asks me. Then finally, Major Hughes came with the doctor and the baby was delivered. "It's all thanks to you kids, I couldn't have done it without the other birthday boy and his friends," Gracia thanked us. "We didn't do anything," Ed smiled shyly. "No, you were right by my side…" she said hugging her baby. Then a knock came on the door. "I'll get it!" Major Hughes called going to the door. "Well hey Ginji! Picking up your daughter? Well my daughter looks 10 times as cute as Sasami and Sayuri together! If you want you could even put Kantarou in it!" Major Hughes bragged. Looks like my family got a little worried. "C'mon Sayuri, your mom's already crying at home, she thought you got lost in the blizzard on the way home," dad told me smiling. "Mom… worries… all too much," I say taking one last look at the baby and everyone else, but I nearly forgot something. "Hey Elric," I call Ed; well he knows it was him since I call Al, "Al". I then handed him a small box wrapped in red and without a word; left.
~Edward's P.O.V
I looked at the red box that Sayuri has just given me, not noticing that a crept on my cheeks. I opened it, and found a book with the title, "The Alchemist". I smiled, looks like she did get a present after all. "Oooo! Ed's blushing!" Major teased after the Iwakuras got out. "Wh-What?!" I exclaim earning a giggle from Gracia and Nina and a laugh from Al.
~Sayuri's P.O.V
It's been a few weeks since Ed's birthday, and I heard he passed the State Alchemy test. "S-Sayuri-chan…" Miyabi said nervously before me. "What is it?" I ask not even ripping my gaze from the clouds to look at her. "I-I saw… something bad… will happen tonight… with Nina…" she trails off looking at the floor, this caught my attention. I pulled her out of the classroom and into the girl's bathroom. Apparently, Miyabi has learned to read the future using candle and so is able to tell if something will happen but doesn't disrupts the flow of time. She then told me about Nina turning into something else and Ed beating the hell out of Mr. Tucker. "We're going in there, ask the others if they'd like to crash the party too," I say humor not present in my tone of voice. Miyabi smiled, "I knew you would say that." And with that, she turned and searched for the others, as for what she just said, it's either she saw me saying it or she expected it from me, oh well, anything goes.
That evening, us girls (the whole former magical girls club) decided to take a visit to the Tucker Mansion. "Ne, Sayu-chan," Airi called from behind me as we walk secretly in the halls of the mansion. "What is it, Airi?" I ask sighing. "Saying that something bad is gonna happen is a lame excuse, you and I both know that you just think Ed's cute and you just say that because you wanna see him!" Airi accused smirking at me. "No! I really saw it! Something bad is gonna happen!" Miyabi defended me; she usually does that, even if the situation was low even for me. "Miyabi let it go, as for you Ai-chan, we'll just have to see now don't we?" I asked her smirking as we reach an open door that probably led to a secret basement, and apparently, there was… a noise from below. When we got down, we found Ed beating the hell out of Mr. Tucker and I can see why… he had turned Nina… into a chimera. "I'M NOT LIKE YOU!!!" Ed yelled punching him more. "Stop it Elric! You can't accomplish anything by killing him!" I yell at him trying to knock some sense into his brain. "Sayuri!" Al exclaimed, surprised by our presence. "Nina…" Miyabi looked at the chimera which was a combination of Nina and Alexander…. Miyabi knelt down next to her and hugged her, tears running down her face. "How cruel…" she whispers loud enough for everyone to hear except Ed who was too busy punching and yelling at Mr. Tucker. "Enough Edward!" I yell at him, for the first time, using his name, but he didn't stop. I pulled him off of Mr. Tucker, and for the first time in a very long time, tears rolled down my face and somewhat drenched Edward's back. Suddenly, the Brigadier General Gran showed up and so I let go of Edward. "What the hell is going on in here?!" he demanded and he looked around the room. "So, Iwakura's and Hawkeye's kids huh? I knew they shouldn't have brought kids into the military, we're not an adoption center; we're a military for peet's sake!" he yelled. Miyabi was about to talk but I interrupted her, "Forgive then sir, I was the one who dragged them into this, don't involve my father, we were just visiting the Elric brothers…" I made up an excuse so that he couldn't touch anyone. "Forgive me sir, but he used his own daughter," Ed explains looking down. "You idiot, he's the one who pushed him to do this…" I thought scrunching my eyebrows, something that my friends noticed and I would have to explain later on.
"Mr. Tucker will face a court martial and take the chimera with us," the Brigadier said, surprising Ed. "Naturally, you are to tell no one what you saw tonight, all of you," he continued glaring at us. "Control freak…" I whisper silently enough for him to not hear but the girls did. "What?!" Ed exclaimed and started pulling on Gran's shirt while Miyabi, Masuyo and some soldier tries to pull him back. "You wanna cover this up don't you?!" Ed yelled continuing his tantrum as I sighed annoyed. "Idiot, that will only get you―" I thought, but then Gran hit him with the metal on his hand making Ed quiet. "―hurt…." "Ed!" all of the girls, except me, cried out running to Ed's side. "Let's go," Gran ordered and they started their trucks. Ed started to wince in pain and Miyabi went to my side. "He's not going to let them take Nina and he's going to use alchemy to crash those trucks…" Miyabi whispered for only me to hear, and somehow, she seemed to be narrating the whole thing while he does it. "Nice guess…" I say smirking at her. As the trucks crashed, Nina came out and started to run, Ed called her but she didn't turn back. Then, Ed ran after her and Al and the girls (except me and Miyabi) ran after him. "Don't you think we should run after them?" Miyabi asked me as we started to walk calmly after them. "It's gonna rain soon," I say, sure I didn't answer it, but she was used to it, somehow she already knew my answer. "They're gonna find Nina's exploded blood marks in some alley…" Miyabi said taking out an umbrella, getting ready for the rain.
~Airi's P.O.V
"Look at those two, just walking there. Don't they even care?!" I ask annoyed watching Miyabi and Sayuri just walk as if nothing was happening. "Since its Miyabi, they probably know that's going to happen… let's just follow time and go after Ed," Tsubame said in a serious tone. "Hm… she's very loyal to Sayuri…" Masuyo remarked looking back at them before running aftr Ed and Al again. We saw them go into an alley with Ed surprised. The three of us stopped, suddenly, I had the feeling I didn't want to go there… and see what happened. "I'm hoping… that that face… wasn't made because of what I think it is…" Masuyo whispered before walking into the alley with Tsubame and I behind her. And there we saw it, a blood mark showing that Nina's body has exploded. I looked down along with the others as it started to rain. Miyabi and Sayuri caught up and walked towards Ed and Al.
~Edwards P.O.V
How could I have been so stupid?! How could he do this?! For money?! For fame?! What?! I was crying… somehow, the rain covered my tears, but my sobs proved that I was crying. "Edward…" I heard a familiar voice say from behind me, then suddenly, the rain wasn't falling anymore. I looked behind me and saw Sayuri. For some reason… I saw mom. "Let's go home," she says offering me her hand, but instead of taking it, I wrapped my arms around her waist, burying my face in her stomach and cried to her, maybe I seemed like a baby right now but I just don't care. She knelt before me and I wrapped my arms around her more properly this time and she patted my back comfortingly. Comfort… something I haven't felt in a long time…
~Alphonse's P.O.V
Sayuri and Miyabi came, Sayuri put her umbrella above Ed and herself while Miyabi puts hers above me and herself, but then again, I was too big that it seemed as if it was only her head that was covered. "Y-You don't have to! I―" "You had a hard time, it's really bad to have a cold together with bad things right?" she smiles at me, somehow I felt guilty… I was a hollow armor, I couldn't get a cold, but then again, she insisted and it got a little convenient since the rain wasn't making my armor noisy anymore. We watched Ed's scene with pity in our eyes. After a while, the military came and Lieutenant Colonel Mustang approached us. "There's no use kid," he started making Ed jerk out of Sayuri's arms and stand with a glare at Mustang. "You can't get every living creature that dies on you back to life Edward, it's not possible and it's not healthy," Mustang said staring straight at Edward who was glaring daggers at him now. "And besides, who'd you be helping by bringing a malformed chimera back to life?" he asked taking Edward back a bit. "It's an ugly world out there and from here on out it's gonna get uglier on the path you've chosen. Just be thankful it wasn't you and get on with your life," he said. "Get on with my life?!" Ed snapped but then Mustang took hold of his automailed arm, frightening him a bit. "There's a reason you became a state alchemist, right Ed? Can you afford to get distracted by every little lost cost?" he asked, but then Ed suddenly fainted, luckily, Sayuri was right behind him and so, she caught him.
~Sayuri's P.O.V
He was a little hard on him… heh, I'm one to talk, I do it all the time, but right now… Ed could use some rest. "I'm sorry about this Lieutenant Colonel Mustang," I say trying to hold Ed up. "No problem, your father won't get involved," he reassures me as I give a sigh of relief. "Besides, I bet you already… saw it coming," he smirked at me but I glare back, he knows how much I detest magic, but I felt that this isn't the time to argue. "Miyabi," Riza called from behind Mustang. "C'mon, I'll give you kids a ride home," she smiled at us and we all followed her, with Al helping me support Ed. It was a silent ride and everyone else was dropped to their houses except for Ed, Al, Miyabi (who lived with Riza) and me. "Al, where will we drop you and Ed off?" Riza asked him. "Uh…" Al said, they didn't have a place to stay anymore since they can't stay at Tucker's. "At our house," I answer for him earning a surprised gasp from Al and a small smile from Riza. "I'm taking them in early," I say as I look out the window, well that's probably the only thing I do until now. We got to our house and we bid our goodbyes to Riza and Miyabi. I unlocked the door with my spare key and let Ed and Al inside. When we got inside, the whole family was practically sleeping on the couches, Sasami lying on Kantarou's stomach and mom and dad sitting together asleep, I laugh a little. "So much for the plan on letting you two stay here, oh well, c'mon," then I led them to our spare room. Actually, Mustang has talked to us about taking Ed and Al in but for someone who was desperately trying to make her dad refuse in doing so, I took them in without complain and without Al even knowing about this. "You guys can stay here, I'm sure my family… wont mind," I tell him preparing the beds for Ed. "You can take off your armor now you know? It's not like someone's gonna brake through the window and kill you," I assure him but he suddenly laughed nervously. "Uh… I'd rather not have you around then…" he says then I get his point. "I'll be right back," I say standing up and going through the door. I went up the stairs to take two sets of clothes for both the Elrics from Kantarou's wardrobe, apparently, it took me a hard time to find normal clothes since the guy usually wore kimonos. I went back into the room and found Al looking out the window. "You know, you should try and convince your brother to leave the military," I say surprising him a little. "What?" he asks in disbelief. "I mean, from his earlier tantrums, I can tell he's not ready for this, even if he's a skilled alchemist he's still just a kid," I say laying the fresh clothes in front of Al. "Your just as old as he is," Al laughed. "It's not very obvious," I say sighing. I turn to leave but then, "Hey Sayuri, why did the Lieutenant Colonel say, 'You already saw this coming' and how did you guys know that the chimera was… Nina?" he asks me, for some reason I just didn't want to answer, I don't normally do anyway. "Good night," I say flatly before leaving the room and going into my own. Sadly, he wasn't like Miyabi who would automatically get it when I don't answer. Suddenly, I remember my family, so I took two blankets and covered them with it, it was cold after all. Then finally, I got to bed myself.
Thank you for reading!