Look at me go! Three chapters in three days! Don't get used to it. They're gonna be further apart now so you have time to review and such. They won't be too far apart though. Not like my other stories with months between chapters. I won't say much this time around except that I hope this makes up for that crappy last chapter. I tried much harder to make this one better. So, I hope you enjoy! Oh, and I don't think you're reading this, but thank you Kayt for letting me use your name! And yes, I do realize that I update at only 8 reviews instead of 10, but I'm really looking forward to hearing y'alls opinion about this chapter.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
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Crying. More crying. Edward had been reminded immediately of earlier that morning as soon as he stepped inside that house. Alphonse was crying into his mother's dress. As for Trisha, her tears had stopped if only for Al's sake, but it was evident by her puffy, red eyes that she had been crying all day. Ed immediately felt guilty for having forgotten about the situation. He should have been more upset than Al, but all he could think about was the strange girl he had met.
"Brother, you're back," Al stated through tears as Ed came inside. Edward mentally smiled at Al's habit of pointing out the obvious.
"Yeah…" Ed replied, desperately wanting to get away from the crying again.
"Come here, Ed. Let me see your hand," Trisha Elric said gently as she transferred Al to the couch.
"Al!" Ed shouted casting a betrayed glance at his brother.
"Sorry, Brother, but what if it got infected?"
Ed pouted as Trisha carefully wrapped the wound in gauze. Al hid behind his mother, trying to avoid his brother's gaze.
"There," she said once his hand was covered. "Isn't that better?" She felt something pull on her dress and noticed Al cowering behind her. "Now, Ed, don't be mad at you brother. He did the right thing. It could have gotten infected. So no more hurting the poor trees, alright Ed? They never did anything to you."
Ed couldn't help but smile. Even under the current circumstances, his mother was able to joke with them. No matter how bad things got, she would never let on about how bad it was.
"Right," Ed said.
"Good. Now, what would you like for dinner?"
"Stew!" the brother's said together.
"Alright then, stew it is."
"Hey, Al," Ed said as Trisha left to start the meal.
"Hm?" Al asked still teary-eyed.
"I know something that'll cheer you up! There's a new girl here!"
"A new girl?" Al repeated, his eyes brightening slightly.
"Yeah. She's around the same age as us, and her name is Kayt. She's a little weird, but she seems friendly enough. She wants to meet you and Winry so I told her we'd come by and we can all play together tomorrow."
"I think Winry'll like that!" Al giggled remembering a comment Winry had made earlier that week about growing up as a tomboy if she had to keep hanging out with the two of them.
"Yeah, definitely!"
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He saw his face all night, the conversation replaying too many times to count in his head. Every time, it would start as a normal day, nothing out of place, but then he'd hear his father's angry words, see his mother's tears, and the door slamming shut. What had gone wrong? Was it his mother? Or perhaps Al and himself? Had they done something to upset him? Why? …Why?
Edward woke for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Every time his eyes shut, it was the same. His father, no that man, would haunt his dreams. Sometimes the conversation would simply repeat itself, but other times, the man blamed him. He told him it was all his fault. If only he hadn't been born, Alphonse and his mother would be happy. Ed couldn't take it anymore. Glancing over to make sure that Al was still sleeping, he let a few tears roll down his cheeks. Few turned to several until he cried himself to sleep to face that man again. But this time it was different. Not once did that man enter his dreams. Instead, he dreamt of Kayt.
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"Come one, sleepy-head," Trisha said gently shaking the blond. "Are you going to sleep all day?"
"Five more minutes," Ed grumbled.
"It's already noon, Ed. It's time to get up."
"Huh?" Ed's eyes fluttered open as he let her words sink in. Suddenly, it was like he'd been catapulted out of bed. "Noon!"
"What's wrong, Ed?" Trisha asked as she watched her eldest soon get out of bed and dress almost faster than she could see.
"Where's Al?" Ed asked, ignoring her question.
"Winry's."
"'Kay, see ya later, Mom!"
"Wait! Ed!" Trisha called out, but Ed was already gone.
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"Man, how could I oversleep today?" Ed scolded himself as he ran as fast as his legs could take him to Kayt's house. "I haven't even known her one day, and she probably already hates me!"
Seeing her house in the distance, Ed picked up the pace. He started knocking on the door before he'd even stopped running or had a chance to catch his breath. He was still panting when the door was opened. Instead of Kayt, it was the strict-looking woman from yesterday. From her crooked features, Ed wondered if it was even possible for this woman to be Kayt's mother.
"Hm?" the woman mumbled as she glanced over her thick glasses down at Ed. "Yes, the boy from yesterday. Edwin, was it?"
"Edward, actually," Ed corrected.
"Yes, well, what do you want?"
"Um, is Kayt here?"
"Yes, is that all you need to know?"
"U-uh," Ed stuttered at a lose for words in the presence of this woman.
"I haven't got all day."
"Oh! Right! Uh, can Kayt come out to play?"
The woman didn't answer. Instead, she disappeared back into the darkness of the house, closing the door most of the way. Ed was about to turn away when he heard much lighter footsteps coming.
"You're late!" Kayt said as she pulled open the door.
"Yeah, sorry, I overslept," Ed answered rubbing the back of his head.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are we going to meet Al and Winry? I don't see anyone else so I assume you forgot to bring Al, too?"
"No, he's with Winry."
"Well then, let's go!"
Kayt grabbed Ed's arm and started pulling him in the direction he had pointed out yesterday. She had no idea where she was going though and let Ed take the lead. They climbed the hill in the path, and they both saw a yellow house not to far away.
"Is that it?" Kayt asked.
"Yep!"
As they got closer, Ed could see Al and Winry playing with Den in the front yard. Den was trying his hardest the catch the stick that they were throwing between them, but being so small and lacking the ability to jump high, he was failing miserably. They didn't even notice the two running toward them.
"Hey, Al! Winry!" Ed shouted when he was close. Al looked up. Den seized the opportunity and took the stick. Winry waved.
"Hey, Brother," Al said once Ed had reached the yard. "I told Winry about the new girl. She's really happy about it just like I said."
"Yeah," Winry said coming to stand beside Al. "Where is she?"
"Right here," Ed said indicating to the girl that had stopped next to him. "Kayt, this is Winry and Al. Winry and Al, Kayt."
"It's nice to meet you both," Kayt said with her usual smile.
Neither Al nor Winry reacted at first. They only stared at the spot Ed had indicated before glancing at each other, an odd expression on both faces.
"Well?" Ed said impatiently. "Aren't you going to say hello?"
"Um, Brother…"
"What?"
Both glanced again at each other, first worried, then a slight smile came to both of their lips.
"Uh, hello," Winry said not even looking up.
"Yeah…hi," Al said.
"Come on, are you both that shy?" Kayt asked. "I won't bite!"
Again, neither said a word. They looked at the ground, the sky, Den, anywhere but at Ed or Kayt.
"Yeah," Ed said. "What's wrong with you? I know Al can be kinda shy, but what have you done with Winry? I thought you were excited about meeting her."
"I was, I mean I am, but…So…then, what do you wanna play?"
"How about hide-and-go-seek?" Kayt suggested.
"What do you think?" Ed asked the still silent Al and Winry. "You up for a game of hide-and-go-seek?"
"Yeah!" Al said perking up at the mention of his favorite game. "You're it, Ed!"
"Aw, I wanted to be it," Kayt whined.
"Too bad! I'm it! You can be it next game."
"Fine."
"No peeking, Ed!" Winry said as Ed covered his eyes.
"I won't! One…two…three…four…five……"
The three all took off in separate directions running as far as they dared in the minute they had to hide. As they had all hidden in various corners of Resembool, the game took several hours. Alphonse had been easy to find as he was the worst hider in all of Resembool. Kayt's hiding place was slightly more difficult and took an hours time to find. Winry, however, had hidden so well that even with all three of them looking, it was dinner time by the time they had found her. They hadn't even technically found her. She'd gotten bored and was wandering down the paths of the small town. She'd declared herself winner, and they all went home for the much needed food.
"Winry's too good," Ed said as he stepped inside the house. "I didn't think we'd ever find her. And Kayt's not bad either. Maybe you should take lessons from them."
"I'm not a bad hider!" Al protested. "You're just too good of a finder!"
"Sure, Al."
"Time to wash up for dinner, boys," Trisha said from the kitchen doorway. Ed quickly kicked off his shoes and headed for the bathroom while Al sat down to actually untie his shoes. Just as Ed was about to disappear into the bathroom, Trisha stopped him. "You never told me what the rush was this morning, Ed."
"I was late. I was supposed to have already been at Kayt's house," Ed answered shutting the bathroom door.
"Kayt?" Trisha asked, puzzled. "Who's Kayt?" She directed the question to Al.
Not taking his eyes off his shoes, he answered simply, "Brother's imaginary friend."
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Must not spoil story for readers. Must not! In my effort not to spoil anything, I'll keep this short. I hope this made up for the crappy last chapter. It's longer and (hopefully) not so rushed. I believe I'll go back and rewrite the last chapter. You don't have to reread it if you don't want to. I won't add more information, just make it more interesting to read. Now, you've probably noticed how quickly I've been updating. That's just cuz I was so excited about this story, but the updates are going to be a bit further apart now because I feel that adds to the suspense. Hope you enjoyed the fast updates while you could cuz they're gonna be at least a few days apart now. Hope you've enjoyed it so far!
Equivalent Exchange: I write, you review.
