Chapter Two. No notes necessary that I can think of. Remember--Leafin equals Ninja country. :-)

-o-o-o-

The next time I saw Edward Elric, it wasn't planned. The next day, we both returned to the place that I had met him. I returned to get away from Naruto and Sakura again. I wondered why he returned. Surely he had learned his lesson last time?

This time, I decided I wouldn't approach him. He would probably just return again the next day. I stayed in the tree.

I saw him bend down and begin to exam the ground and the plants. He either didn't know I was here or he was ignoring me.

"What is your business in Leafin, anyway?" I asked. He jumped, startled. I concluded that he hadn't known I was here. Well, of course not. He's just an Alchemist. Alchemists can't sense living things like Ninjas can, I had heard. He regained his composure rather quickly; I'll give him that.

"I'm supposed to find some ginger for my friend. She has horrible morning sickness. We don't have it in Amestris, but it grows wildly in Leafin." He replied. He appeared to be telling the truth, though it's surprising that he gave me so much information. I could feel his gaze on me, but my gaze wasn't on him.

"That's it?" I asked. Now I looked down at him, and he nodded.

For the first time, I really looked at Edward Elric. His hair was blonde, and he styled it quite uniquely. His bangs were like mine—long and hanging to the sides. The rest of his hair was pulled back in a braid. He wore black clothes under a red jacket. On the back of the jacket was some kind of symbol involving a cross, snake, wings, and crown. I wondered what it meant.

"Do you know what ginger looks like?" I asked. Edward Elric shook his head. "Then how are you going to know if you find it?"

"Well—uh, I have a written description and drawing. I've just never seen it in person…" Edward Elric said. I sighed.

"I doubt that description or drawing is going to get you anywhere." I said. "Do you even know where the part you want grows?" I had no idea why I cared.

He blushed heavily and gave a tiny shake of his head. I almost didn't see it from my spot in the tree.

"Underground." I informed him. "You need the rhizome."

"Oh." He replied. I could tell he had no idea what a rhizome was. I rolled my eyes.

"It's the stem." I said.

"Oh." He said with more force, as if he actually understood it this time. I sighed again.

"So who's your 'friend'?" I asked.

"Her name is Winry. She's a childhood friend." He said. I doubted she was just a friend. No person would risk his or her life to get ginger unless...

"So were you the one to knock her up?" I asked bluntly, just to see him squirm. I watched as Edward Elric blushed and inhaled so sharply that he started choking on his spit. He coughed for a few minutes, trying to clear his lungs.

"No." He said finally. "She's a childhood friend. My brother is the one who 'knocked her up', as you put it."

"So why isn't your brother out here?" I asked, putting as much unnecessary emphasis on the word "brother" as he had.

"He's trying to take care of her. She's having major mood swings. One minute she's happy enough to dance; the next, she's sobbing uncontrollably and threatening suicide."

"That's intense." I said because I didn't know what else to say. She sounded like a crazy bitch, to be honest. Maybe she's get along with Sakura—but they were crazy in different ways.

Edward Elric shrugged. "She has intense emotions. That's all."

Both of us fell silent for a moment. I didn't even notice that he had stopped looking for plants until he started again. The entire conversation, he had stopped and had been looking up at me, with his hands in his pockets, I realized.

He began looking for ginger plants again. I didn't have the heart to tell him that ginger didn't even grow in this part of the forest. You have to go further north for that. I leaned back against the tree trunk, relaxing again. It wasn't as easy this time. My instinct told me that, because Edward Elric was here, I should remain on guard. My brain was telling me that Edward Elric wasn't going to attack me. Can Alchemists even climb trees?

"You don't even know how to make ginger tea, do you?" I asked randomly, not bothering to open my eyes. There was a pause, and I opened an eye to look down at him. He had a pouting, stubborn face on.

"No, I don't, but my granny does." He replied finally. I smirked.

"I'll show you tomorrow if you want." I said. I don't know why I said it, but I did. I suddenly really wanted to teach him how to make tea.

"Okay." Edward said. I sneaked another peek at him, and I swear I saw a smile. I suppressed a smile of my own.