Huzzah for new chapters! I really needed to update this…

Roy: You never give up, do you?

…Well, not often at least. And how can I give up on something as totally awesome as a story about you?

Roy: -Ponders- You have a point…

Egomaniac. Anyways – onward!

Chapter 3

She furrowed her brow as she concentrated on the ice crystal suspended in the air between her hands. Wandering in a circle about her was her father, rambling on and taunting her every so often. This was on purpose, to help her ignore background noise. Roy knew the Fullmetal Alchemist liked to chat during a duel, and if it got to Kota's head, she would be too distracted to ice him properly.

"What are you, Kohaku, an infant? I don't want an icecube, I want a frozen storm. You're being weak!"

Kota dug her feet into the earth, biting her tongue between her front teeth. The crystal grew as she spread her hands apart. She used the moisture from the air, slowing the molecules to cool them into freezing. Such a wonderful science, alchemy. She formed her giant creation into separate spikes and shot them at her father.

Roy jumped to the side, still rather agile for a man getting on in years. The few spikes that would have hit him anyway were melted and evaporated as he made a fiery barrier to shield himself. Steam rose in a puff and dissipated back into the air. As he opened his mouth to speak, however, a second flurry of frozen spears forced him to clumsily leap backwards, thus falling onto his backside in brief shock.

Kota fell over, too, in laughter. How sweet it was, every so often, when she could show up her father. He had been so ready to taunt her again, and hadn't even thought that she could so quickly follow up her first attack.

He pushed to his feet, brushing himself off. "Very good, Kota," he told her in approval as she got up. "Edward Elric's weakness is his tendency to get cocky. Use it. Make him think you're down and out, and come back with a blizzard he'll not soon forget. Your ice is going to be more difficult for him to stop than it is for me, as he does not use the element of fire like I do. That will be to your advantage as well. You're used to facing off against your opposite, and that will give you an edge. But don't underestimate him. The Fullmetal Alchemist is not to be taken lightly. He'll pull tricks out of his hat that you've never even dreamed of. Don't. Get. Comfortable," he warned, solemnly. "And don't. Get. Cocky."

In other words, if she whooped him with a move, she wasn't to fall to her butt, laughing. That would be the end of her. "Got it," she replied, nodding just as gravely.

"Now." Roy started to speak once more, but he paused just for a split second. The look that flashed over his face made her nervous. She didn't have time to question him, however, because he barked an order – and Kota was trained well to follow orders first, and ask questions later. "Kohaku, attack at once!"

Maybe he was just trying to keep her sharp and on her toes, she reasoned, doing as he said. She sent hail the size of golf balls at him on reflex, though she had an odd, nervous feeling in her gut. She didn't know why, but something felt wrong. Even as he countered her strike defensively, she felt there was more to it than a simple training exercise. Was it just her imagination, or did she feel the fire not only in front of her, but surrounding her closely on all sides?

Her heart racing and adrenaline flooding through her body, Kota faced her father with widened eyes. "What the heck was that about?" she demanded faintly.

It seemed to her that the man was looking over her head, as though looking for something. Almost immediately, though, his expression relaxed back into passiveness. He rolled his shoulders in a shrug, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Just making sure you weren't getting too comfortable. Your reflexes are inspiring, Kota. Very well done."

She wasn't sure she trusted this explanation. Every once in a while he would do something like that – just tell her to do something right out of the blue and expect her to do it without flinching. But his words were never as urgent or rushed as they had been a moment before. It was weird, as well as unnerving. What had he seen that she hadn't? Or was she just being paranoid and silly? Even so, she cast a glance behind her on the off chance that she might catch a glimpse of whatever had seemed to catch Roy's attention.

Seeing nothing, she slowly looked back up at him. "Th-thanks…"

"That's enough for this morning; it's almost lunchtime. Let's go home for now," suggested her father. He slung an arm around her shoulders and started walking back homeward with her.

She was very tempted to press him for further explanation, but she wasn't sure. She probably wouldn't get a straight answer even if she did make the inquiry. Obviously, he didn't want her to think it was anything out of the usual. So was she just being paranoid? Kota pursed her lips but ducked out of his grip to slip her hand into his instead.

After a moment, she tentatively posed her question. "Daddy…"

"Mm?" he grunted.

"What were you looking at before, after you told me to attack you?"

"Eh?" Roy looked down at her, his face perfectly unreadable. "I was just making sure I hadn't caused any fire damage to the park. My counter was a little bigger than I had intended."

"You scared the heck out of me with that command, y'know. It came completely out of nowhere." She was trying to work the truth out of him.

"You have to stay on your feet, Kota. And you did a good job of it. But you can't let sudden things frighten you. There will be a lot of things happening in your duel with Edward Elric that you won't be expecting – you simply have to deal with it and strike back."

"So that was just for training purposes?"

"Just for training purposes. What did you think it was?"

Kota shrugged. "I was just wondering." She still wasn't convinced, though. Nevertheless, the two returned home, where her mother was preparing lunch. There the girl left again to take Kernel, their dog, for a short walk upon her father's request. She took her time, pondering even then over his odd behavior. There had to be more to it than he was making out. …She just had to figure out how to discover the real story.

End Chapter 3

Dundundun. What's Roy hiding!?

Roy: ...

Are you hiding anything?

Roy: ...

You're cute, Roy. Tune in next time, readers, to see if Roy is telling his kid the truth, or if he's not giving the whole story...