Chapter 3! I'm uploading this on Christmas so that those who read my story so far can enjoy a Christmas update. I had fun writing this although at times I almost lost the will. Well, hope it's up to the same standards at the previous two chapters if not better!

Disclaimer: Nobody in FullMetal Alchemist belongs to me...*Weeps* Reiya is mine though! *Clutches Reiya to her*

Just before I start this, Merry Christmas!


Light escaped through the curtains to illuminate a figure. Reiya groaned as she was roused from her sleep. Cracking an eye open tiredly she glared at her surroundings. Untangling her legs from her covers she sat on the edge of the bed, staring inattentively in front of her.

"Mow." Eddy-Kins stretched and proceeded to jump down from the bed, trotting to the door and waiting patiently. Standing, Reiya trudged slowly towards an adjoining room, growling at the light shining through the opaque window. Ignoring the light she sluggishly moved towards the sink.

The small bathroom consisted of a sink, a toilet and a shower; plain white tiles decorated the walls and floor of the small room. It was enough for Reiya to get along with. Glaring at the mirror above the sink she left the tap running to fill the porcelain basin.

After a few moments of glaring at herself, Reiya felt the water reach her fingertips from where she rested her hands on the basin. Deciding then was a good time to stop the water; she let the steam heat the area around the basin.

Here goes.

Reaching into the basin she cupped her hands together, gathering as much of the boiling water as she could. It didn't remain in her hands for long and was dripping down her face after being discarded. She stood there for a moment before frantically reaching for the towel she kept beside the basin, wiping as much of the hot water from her face as quickly as she could.

Hot water is hot...

Bringing the towel from her slightly stinging face Reiya looked up in the mirror to see her skin tinting red.

"Mow." Reiya blinked, pulling her sight from her reflection to look at the kitten rubbing himself against her legs.

"What?" Eddy-Kins looked at his owner expectantly. A sigh was given in reply.

"I know, I know." Reiya groaned; the feline was so needy. Grabbing a toothbrush from atop the basin she proceeded to put toothpaste on it and stick it in her mouth. Moving out of the bathroom, kitten at her heels, she began brushing her teeth while on the move.

Before she even realised it Reiya found herself in the kitchen. She briefly acknowledged the kitten dashing to his food bowl. Walking to the fridge, she opened it to view is contents. She paused in her brushing to grab the desired item, her toothbrush simply sitting in her mouth. Before she knew it Reiya had filled Eddy's bowl with the rank smelling meat. Leaving everything on the counter she headed back upstairs to finish brushing her teeth without Eddy-Kins tripping her up.

Damned cat, damned sun, damned everything.

Upon entering the bathroom once more she purposely closed the door behind her. Trudging up to the sink she finished brushing her teeth, leaning against the porcelain basin lazily. She found herself leaving the bathroom a moment later, glancing at her clock on the bedside table.

10AM? It's too early for me!

Growling under her breath Reiya slowly made her way to her wardrobe. She remembered the condition of her favourite clothes after her usual raid on Roy's office. Sighing in defeat she glanced at the other clothes she had, frowning at the many clothes she had hardly touched before selecting out an outfit.

After changing Reiya glanced into her full length mirror with a frown; her black trousers she wasn't bothered by, it was her shirt. A white shirt that was loose, puffy at the shoulders and had ties on the wrists to make the sleeves seem looser and puffy like the shoulders. A brown leather corset sat over it. Overall in her eyes it seemed...puffy.

Avoiding anymore thoughts on the outfit Reiya forced herself downstairs, automatically heading into the study. Glancing upon the small table she remembered why there was a mess of papers there; she was looking for an automail mechanic.

Maybe I should hire a cleaner or something...I'm making more mess than I'm cleaning.

Sitting herself down into her armchair Reiya sighed. Reaching out towards the mess she began to browse through them again, taking in more of the information on them than she had the previous night.

This is going to be a looong day.


"Hey Roy, I need help with something." Reiya closed the door to Roy's office behind her, heading towards the couch and placing a long plastic bag on it. The clear plastic revealed a white coat.

Roy lifted his head briefly to look at the teen before focusing on his paperwork again. "Whatever it is the answer is no."

"What! C'mon! You don't even know what it is yet!" Reiya slammed her hands on the desk in frustration, a couple of pieces of paperwork gliding slowly to the floor. Unfortunately Roy noticed this and pointed roughly towards the door.

"Out." Roy glared. He would not have her creating bother for him while he was working; she was a disaster for his office.

"But-" Reiya began to protest before being cut off.

"Out."

Frowning at the colonel the teen walked as slowly as she could towards her wrapped up coat, intent on delaying her exit as much as she could. She was half way to her destination before a paperweight slammed into the back of her head. Yelling in pain and spinning around she gave Roy a furious glare in return for the one he was giving her.

"You jerk, what was that for?! That could have killed me!" Reiya could see Roy was struggling to not burn her to a crisp. She rubbed the back of her head before barely dodging a second paperweight aimed at her head, her eyes wide in shock as she glanced from where the painful object had landed and the colonel.

"Just get out of my office!"

No more needed to be said, Reiya was out of the room in a flash. Slamming the door behind her she stared at it while clutching her coat to her, almost expecting another paperweight to be flying towards her through the wood at any moment. Only a couple of minutes of tense waiting scared her thoughts from her head.

Sighing she began to move mechanically towards the break room she often visited when kicked out of Roy's office. She wasn't permitted to be there as she wasn't part of the military but Hughes or someone always snuck her in, even if it was just to show her pictures. Part of her was glad to be accepted into the small band of friends but at the same time she didn't really feel like she belonged there.

Upon reaching the moderately sized room from the maze of corridors minutes later Reiya was instantly bombarded by pictures of Elicia. Briefly glancing at the photos sitting right in front of her she turned her attention to the source; Hughes. She registered that he was rambling and squealing in relevance to his daughter, eyes shining in joy.

"Reiya, it's been so long! I haven't shown you the latest pictures of Elicia! She's so adorable now and she follows me everywhere! Here, take a look!" Hughes couldn't contain his excitement as he spoke, slowly edging the many pictures of his daughter further into the teens face until her eyes crossed at the proximity.

Don't look, don't look, don't look...

Reiya chanted in her head as she tried to keep herself from focusing on the pictures for too long, she knew she'd fall victim to the cuteness of the small child in the pictures if she did. Silently she cursed the Lieutenant Colonel in front of her for knowing her weakness and exploiting it; children.

"Hughes, as much as I enjoy seeing them I don't have time for it." Reiya glared at the elder, trying to keep her face from showing her internal struggle. She wasn't about to let Hughes distract her from her current mission.

"But Reiyaaa" Hughes whined "You never visit enough for me to show you." The Lieutenant Colonel pouted and began to sulk in a far corner of a room, causing a pang of guilt to rise up in the teen. She knew he was just playing by her weaknesses again but she couldn't help it.

"I'll look later ok? I have something I really need to do right now so..." Reiya yelped as Hughes bounced back up to her and spun her around, abruptly stopping and dashing away when someone else entered the break room.

Trying to gather her bearings Reiya looked towards the new victims of Hughes's photos and blinked "Ed? Al?"

The younger of the Elric's looked up at hearing his name and waved to the still slightly disorientated teen. He began making his way over while Ed still struggled to escape from the Lieutenant Colonel's grasp.

"Miss Reiya, you're part of the military?" Al questioned. Reiya burst into laughter when she registered the question, waving her hand in dismissal when she noticed the Elric looked nervous.

"No, no. I wouldn't dream of joining this pit of dogs. I just come to talk to some of the people I know, Roy mainly but you know." Reiya explained, smiling. She noticed Ed finally break free from Hughes's trap and make his way over to his brother, mumbling what Reiya assumed to be curses under his breath.

"Next time we find somewhere where there aren't maniacs to relax." Ed grumbled, glaring up at his sibling who seemed to shrink away from him.

"What's wrong with here kiddo?" Reiya grinned as Ed seemed go red at the comment. She prepared herself for an ear chewing and felt her grin grow as the bigger of the two held back the blonde.

"Who're you calling a kid, you crazy cat lady?! I bet I'm years older than you! You're just judging me on size aren't you?!" Ed yelled. Reiya felt that there was more said but none of it registered in her mind as she watched the blonde squirm in his brothers grip.

"Older than me eh? Just how old are you then?" Reiya leered at the blonde, prodding him in the chest sharply while she could. She wouldn't have dared touch the blonde in his current state unless restrained.

"I'm sixteen, bet you didn't see that coming eh? Yes, I am that old and I wouldn't be surprised if you were ten." Ed grinned as he saw irritation sprout on her face, an eyebrow twitching. He felt Al's arms loosen up around him and took the opportunity to cross his arms in a triumphant stance.

"Actually, to put you in your place, I'm seventeen. Seems I'm older than you, what a shame eh?" The female regained her grin as she watched Ed's face drop. She didn't know why she found arguing with the Elric as fun as she did but she didn't question it.

Reiya watched as Ed stomped away, blinking at his response. She was expecting him to give her another nickname instead of walking away. She turned back to Al and shrugged to herself, logging down the behaviour as just something the blonde must regularly do.

"Well, was nice to see you again Al, I'd best get going before one of the high ups finds me in here. See you around." Giving the suit of armour a pat on the arm Reiya began on her way out of the break room. She gave Hughes's a look of disappointment as she noticed him still sulking in a corner. Shaking her head she exited the room, lingering by the closed door for a moment.

I'll have to ask him later.


All around Reiya people danced, talked and laughed. Elegant gowns and expensive suits swayed around the room, dazing the teen. She felt inferior in her own gown. Amethyst fabric made up the expensive gown she wore, a corset-style dress which flared out at the waist to make it seem bigger. Matching gloves situated themselves over Reiya's arms, stopping just after the elbow. They effectively hid her automail but the bulk was still visible through the thin fabric.

Reiya situated herself at a table by an archway leading to a balcony. Sitting down she scanned the crowds for anyone she recognised. The teen frowned. She spotted Roy not that far away but he was too busy flirting with some of the other guests. Hughes was a bit further away, showing pictures to anyone who'd look. It was then she noticed one person she couldn't miss. She began weaving her way through the crowds excitedly, leaving her small bag on the table to stop anyone from claiming it.

"Al!" Reiya shouted. She hadn't quite made it to the younger Elric but she had gained his attention effectively.

"Miss Reiya! Wow, you look amazing! What happened to your hair?" Al asked. He looked at her hair in confusion, when he had seen her just earlier that day her bangs were crimson, now they were as black as the rest of her hair.

"How come you're here? I didn't think you were the party type. Why are you still wearing your armour?" Reiya blinked.

"Well, uh, oh look! Brothers back!" Al rushed the rest of the way towards Ed, pushing the blonde and his platter of food to where they'd been standing.

"Look brother! Doesn't Miss Reiya look so pretty?" Reiya glanced at Al, she could tell by how he had bothered his brother that he was hiding something.

"What? You mean this is the crazy cat lady? What happened to your hair?" Ed asked, mouth half full of a sandwich from the platter in his hands.

"I dyed it" Reiya twitched, shooting a glare at the blonde "is that a problem?"

"No, no, no it looks good doesn't it Al?" Ed looked to his younger brother for help. Al merely nodded, not noticing the worry in his brother's eyes.

Reiya looked between the two before smiling. Reaching forward to take one of the small sandwiches on the platter Ed held, Reiya suddenly remembered something as she glanced at her automail arm in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, Ed, you said you had automail right?" The female glanced at the blonde curiously.

"You remember that? What about it?" Ed resisted the urge to slap at Reiya's hand as she took one of his sandwiches.

"Is your mechanic any good? I've been looking around but I don't want to pay for automail and have it worse than what I have now." She held out her arm, flexing her fingers to prove her point. Her right arm was a good few inches shorter than it should have been.

"You bet! She's the best of them all!" Ed boasted, raising his own mechanical arm despite it being hidden under his black jacket.

"Great! Any chance you could hook me up with her?" Reiya beamed. She was beginning to give up her search for a reliable mechanic but now her search was over.

"I'll give you the number sometime." Ed choked on the sandwich he was part way through eating, trying to regain his composure while pushing Reiya off. He hadn't expected the young woman to leap on him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You've just made my day Edward Elric! How can I repay you?" Reiya grinned joyfully at the two brothers. Ed merely watched her carefully as though she was going to blow while Al stood there nervously; neither of them knew what to do in this situation.

"I have a table saved if you want to use it? Unless you already have one of course." Ed's face lit up at the thought of being able to sit. Since he'd arrived he'd had to stand and talk to people he didn't want to, now was his chance of a respite.

"Where?" Pointing in the general direction of her table Reiya blinked as the shortest of the three disappeared into the crowd of people. It took her a moment to realise that the blonde had already reached her table and was already munching on the platter of sandwiches he still managed to keep with him.

How did he know that it was that one...?

Following the path that Ed had taken the two teens made their way to the table, Al sitting himself across from his brother leaving Reiya to sit between the two no matter which of the two seats left she took. Reiya briefly took in the cheap decorations scattered upon the small table, all Christmas related items to fit in with the occasion.

"So Miss Reiya, how did you get automail? I haven't seen that many girls with it." Al questioned. He curiously gazed at the outline of the mechanical arm the female adorned. Reiya leant back in her chair as she lifted her right arm.

"It's a funny story. I decided to ignore all warnings of some slasher guy wandering around the streets and went out after having a fight with my brother. I should have stayed in, now I regret my childish behaviour. I was attacked by the crazed maniac who was going around chopping people up. I pass out in the middle of it all and wake up the next day to find my arm has been amputated. Strange, huh? How about you? You must have some nasty scars or something if you wear that armour all the time, and Ed has automail. How did you come to get yours?"

The young woman noticed the two brothers share a look before continuing what they were doing, mainly Ed eating his sandwiches. After this brief signal between the two, Al finally spoke up.

"We were in an Ishballan attack." Realization lit up on Reiya's features as she heard the reasoning. She knew of Ishbal and all the blood that had been spilled. Never would she have realised that the two sat at her table had been affected by it. She looked back down at the cheap decorations to distract herself from the brothers' predicament.

Lifting her gaze the ebon-haired teen noticed that Ed was talking to his brother, although none of it was registering in her mind. All she saw was how the light bounced from Ed's hair, showing how full of life and looked after it was. Reiya had to resist greatly from reaching out and running her fingers through the bound strands, to see if they were really as soft as they seemed.

Maybe that's why I-

A loud whistling, followed by a shrill explosion pierced the quiet of the night.

Reiya looked up, a look of surprise crossing her features for a brief moment as she was abruptly shaken from her thoughts before she caught a glimpse of the wondrous display of colours covering the night sky as more and more of what she now realised were fireworks set off into the sky. She smiled to herself as she stood from the table she was sat at, the majority of the party goers around having long drifted off in a slightly drunk state to laugh and joke with other guests, and walked to the set of glass double doors leading to the balcony.

As she pushed the door open and stepped outside she was hit by a slight breeze, cool and refreshing after the stuffy room in which the party had been held, yet slightly colder than she was used to. When she got to the rail at the edge of the balcony she simply stood silently before leaning against the cold stone, watching the fireworks explode and marvelling at the many different colours and patterns the explosions created.

Scarlets, emeralds, blues and many more colours, arranged into intricate patterns in the sky, illuminating the dull clouds of few stars above. Reiya watched in awe as the explosions of colours continued on for what seemed an eternity, distracting the teen from noticing her company.

Taking a deep breath Reiya stood up straight, relaxing all her muscles as she double checked lyrics in her mind. She imagined the words in front of her, obscuring the ongoing fireworks from her vision, running her gaze along them before nodding to herself. Taking a final deep breath Reiya began to sing.

Crimson lights the sky, the bird still asleep

Like a dream it shines, from heaven's safe keep

Childrens songs we sung, as soft as the breeze

Endless fields, our home, I long for those days

The teen failed to notice someone watching her as she sang, leaning against the open archway. Reiya tilted her head as she imagined the piano accompaniment playing to keep her in time. Continuing to gaze at the imaginary lyrics in front of her she began the chorus.

I call out these prayers to the sky, heavy with thought, see your face

I carry these memories inside, thoughts of a soul coloured by love

See me grow wings and fly high, passions will die down below

I burn in a basin of fire; watchers look on as they dance in their merciless sky

Watching me, watching you

Wincing as she heard herself hit some wrong notes Reiya paused, letting the piano play through her head. She took the moment to dismiss the words from her vision and look up at the now clear sky. She smiled to herself, hoping that the person she was singing to would notice her efforts.

Silent black, the dawn, and time tell its tale

Darkened blood, it flows, the forest receives

Look within the dark as deep as you dare

There inside you find destruction you seek

Taking one big breath Reiya threw herself into the last chorus, feeling the words flow through her rather than being forced out.

I call out these prayers to the sky, heavy with thought, see your face

I carry these memories inside, thoughts of a soul coloured by love

See me grow wings and fly high, passions will die down below

I burn in a basin of fire; watchers look on as they dance in their merciless sky

Watching me, watching you

Reiya slowly let the end die out before sighing. She turned to go back inside the hall only to jump as she found Ed leaning against the archway, looking at her in confusion. The ebon haired teen shook her head before walking past the blonde, relishing in the warmth of the room.

Don't say anything, don't say anything, don't say any-

"Who was that song for?" Reiya winced. She looked back to the Elric, about to glare at him, but all she could manage was a blank look.

"My brother." Before Ed could get another word in Reiya had already made some distance between them, heading in a specific direction.

I need some of that punch...


Well, there you have it. Reiya's revealed a bit more about herself and found a mechanic for her arm! The song she sings is Growing Wings from the game Drakengard.

Is it Ishballan or Ishballian or something completely different...? If someone has the answer please tell me.

Please give any criticism on this chapter you might have so I can improve in the future, no flames though, what's the point in that?