I hate reformating this so that it actually shows the damned page breaks...-.-
A Twist of Fate Makes Life Worthwhile
Part 4
They swore that they would not lose him this time. They lost him in Rush Valley, but they found him quickly enough. Central was bigger though. If they lost him here, it would be impossible to find him again. For a week, they followed the young prince, watching his every move. Maybe they grew too confident, and that's why he was now gone.
Lan Fan was starting to panic. Sure, Ling could take care of himself, but he had a tendency of fainting in alleyways. That could lead to trouble. She didn't want the Young Lord to get hurt.
There was no use in worrying, however. All they could do was search some more and hope that he'll be found before things got too bad.
/
The girls had been taught for a week now. They originally thought that adjusting to this life would be difficult, but it wasn't at all. The girls quickly bonded. Mia was their leader, not only because she was the oldest, but also because they all admired her her realistic drawing of the male anatomy, though nothing lower than the waist was drawn; every time she tried to do that, she was overcome with a fit of giggles and red cheeks. Eva was the smart one, the one who knew everything about the world thanks to her books. Kaitlin was smart also, but she was also the youngest. Therefore, all of the girls took it upon themselves to always look out for the small girl, no matter how much she protested. Namori was the happy one, the one who no matter what happened, could always make them smile. They also thought they should protect her, but only because she was innocent.
Their classes were going well. The weekdays were reserved for learning as much as they could. They expected to have Saturday off, like their teachers, but found themselves forced into a grueling exercise. They were forced to run as long as they could before collapsing. They were then given thirty minutes to recover, then they ran again. It was difficult, but they noticed that they were becoming stronger during the day. Their endurance was picking up. Over the coming weeks, they expected to have all fat peeled away to be replaced with muscle. Sunday was technically off, but all of them spent their time practicing what they learned during the week.
Eva spent half the teaching time with Mustang, learning about Alchemy. The other half was for whatever needed to be learned. She spent two days with Falman, learning how to identify and analyze surroundings. Two days were with Hawkeye, learning how to shoot. She learned how to load a gun and fire it, though she wasn't quick at loading, jumped while she shot, and missed every time. She took it upon herself to practice on trees after class. She was getting better as time went on. The last day, she was with Furey, learning about the way of the radio. In a short amount of time, she learned a lot about the workings of electronics.
Namori had a rough week. Edward didn't spend much time on Alchemy, preferring to fight. He chased Namori around, trying to get her to dodge attacks. On Wednesday, she finally got tired of him. When he swung the staff at her head, she grabbed it. Edward loosened his grip, shocked. Namori wretched the staff out of his hands and swung at his head. She managed to get a couple hits in before Edward grabbed the staff, using his Alchemy to cause the staff to dissolve into dirt. She expected to be hit, but he only praised her. She had impressed him. He then taught her some basic fighting movements, showing her how to fight with a spear. Alphonse was gentler with her, teaching her about the basic Transmutations. By Friday, she succeeded in making an angel shaped statue in under a minute.
Kaitlin did most of her learning in books. She practiced Alchemy with Armstrong. He also tried to teach her some combat as well. When he realized that her limbs were not made for fighting, he instead taught her about self-defense, to use the opponent's weight against them. He then took her to the armory, trying to see if she would find a gun easy to use. When he was about to present her with a gun he thought was good for her, he found her staring at a small area that had swords in it. Armstrong agreed to give her a sword, as long as she promised to carry a knife and a gun with her. Kaitlin eagerly agreed.
Mia's classes were a bit difficult, though more to do with her teacher than with what she was learning. After the incident with the boner, Kimblee was very careful about staying a good distance away from her, making sure to not touch her if they were in close quarters. Mia was slightly annoyed at this. Part of her was grateful about having a former convict always staying away from her, but she didn't like having the attractive man refusing to touch her. Sure, it was embarrassing about his feelings for her, but she preferred to have him close. She had developed a crush on him, and her hormones were telling her to be as close to him as possible. Too bad Kimblee decided to not listen to his boner, and stayed away from her.
The week passed by quickly, and all of them were looking forward to Monday.
"Bad news," Eva said, coming into their room, wearing her pajamas, a black tank top and sweats. "The air conditioning is wonky. It won't decrease the temperature at all."
"You sure?" Mia asked, wiping her forehead. She didn't want sweat to get on her sketch.
"I'm sure. I got Fuery to check it out just to confirm. It's useless. It's broken. They won't be able to fix it until tomorrow while we're working."
"What's the temperature right now?" Kaitlin asked, taking a drink of icy water.
"The thermostat is stuck on thirty-two centigrade." Eva muttered.
"That's too hot!" Namori said. That was weather that was present during the summer, when the dry winds of Ishval blew into the slums.
"It doesn't help that the hot water in the bathroom is heating up everything else."
"Can we turn off the hot tub…bath…soaking…thing?" Mia said, struggling to find the right word.
"I would ask Fuery, but he's kinda embarrassed about coming into our showering area."
"Aw…that's cute…" Namori said. "But there's still the problem of it being really really hot."
Mia sighed and stood up. "Well, there's only one way to combat that."
"How?"
"Stripping." Mia said, removing her pink pajama tee-shirt and long pants, putting on her bra.
If anyone had told the girls that they would have to shower with other girls, they would've blushed and told them to stop saying such things. However, the showers in their dorm area were communal. There were four showers in the jade tiled room, and there was no dividing wall, so no privacy. The girls were a bit traumatized, but Eva managed to get some of her senses, and told the girls that there was no big deal, as they all had seen the same thing before. The only difference was the size of their breasts—and comparing flat Kaitlin to busty Namori, there was a big difference. It still took them ten minutes to get the courage to shower together. However, once they got past that hurtle, it was easy. They talked to each other in the showers, and even enjoyed relaxing in the hot bath together. There was no shame anymore between the girls.
Mia relaxed a bit. "It's not as hot anymore." She smiled. The rest of the girls did the same, enjoying the quick drop in temperature. They opened the windows to drain some of the heat and talked a bit before heading to bed, Kaitlin first, followed by Eva shortly after.
"Mia?"
"Yeah Namori?"
"You mind if I watch you draw for a bit? It's too early for me to go to sleep." Mia nodded, and Namori sat next to her, looking over her shoulder. "Is that your teacher?" she asked after a while.
Mia nodded. "Yeah."
"No wonder you have a crush on him," she said, tucking some hair behind her ear. "He's cute."
"I don't think that's the right word."
"Hmm?"
"See, cute is what you used to say that the boy in your class has some attractive qualities. He's not a boy anymore."
"So he's attractive?"
"Hot might be a better word."
Namori rested her head against Mia's shoulder. "Just be careful, Mia. He was in prison."
"I know…I know…"
"It doesn't matter how sexy he is, he's still dangerous."
Mia smirked and turned to her. "Did you just admit he's sexy?"
Namori blushed. "Well…He's sexy on paper. Everything looks different on paper."
"Uh-huh…"
"I'm going to bed now." Namori said and stood up, walking to her bed.
"Night, Na-Na."
"Na-Na?"
"Yeah. Mind if I call you that?"
She smiled widely and clapped her hands together. "Not at all."
Mia blinked. "I just gave you a nickname. I didn't say I loved you or anything."
"I know. I'm just happy. I've never really had any friends so when you gave me a nickname, it made me feel for the first time in my life that I had a friend that—"
Mia threw a pillow at her. "Stop being sappy and go to sleep."
/
"Kaitlin?" Eva said, pulling on her miniskirt.
"Yeah?" Kaitlin was seeing if she could finish the next chapter of her Alchemy book. She only had thirty-two pages left of the chapter. That won't take much time at all.
"It's your turn to wake up the lug."
"We really should try to get Mia to wake up earlier. It's getting difficult to do this."
"Yeah, but at least she doesn't stay up to midnight anymore."
"True…I'll wake her up. Don't worry."
"Thank you." Eva kissed her head, causing Kaitlin to push Eva's head away. "Have fun learning about—"
"Causing structures to emerge out of the ground and beat rivals to a pulp."
"Cool."
"Have fun wearing a miniskirt."
"Oh, shut up."
Kaitlin read for a bit before sparing a look at the wall clock. "Nutburgers!" she swore. "I'm going to be late!" she put some food into Bunny-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's food bowl, filled up the water, put on her gypsy skirt, leather jacket, and cat ears, and ran out of the room, trying to balance the heavy books in her arms.
The lug was left to sleep.
/
Kimblee was getting annoyed. He was willing to give his student the benefit of the doubt. She might've had some problems at the apartment. He understood that things come up, but this was a bit too late. Too much time had passed. Just what was she doing? He sighed and stood up. He'll just have to fetch her himself.
He walked into the apartment, not bothering to knock. There was Mia, sleeping quietly on the bed, sheets tucked up to her neck. Kimblee sighed. She was sleeping in. That was not acceptable. If he was forced to take care of that girl, the least he expected of her was for her to wake up in a timely manner. He walked to the side of her bed and looked down at her. She was sleeping softly, looking at peace. He smiled a bit at her despite himself. She looked a bit like Kimm—
He shook his head, telling himself to forget about that time. However, when he looked at her while she was sleeping, the resemblance was uncanny. He put a hand on her shoulder and shook it gently. "Mia."
Mia didn't react.
"Mia." He said a bit firmer.
Mia muttered a bit in her sleep.
He shook her shoulder harshly, voice raising, though he wasn't yelling quite yet. "Mia!"
The lug was still asleep.
He sighed. It was useless. She was a heavy sleeper, his actions doing nothing to wake her. He brushed a bit of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She shivered and leaned her head towards his hand a bit. Kimblee looked down at her and ran his fingertip down the shell of her ear. She moaned softly, enjoying the soft touch. Ah, her ears were her weak spot. He stuck his finger into his mouth, getting it wet. He then stuck his finger into her ear.
Mia's eyes snapped open at the unpleasant sensation. She sat up and squealed, the sheet falling down to her thighs. She then slapped the person across the face. She didn't care if it was her friend, she didn't want them doing that to her ear. However, the person she slapped wasn't her friend, but an Alchemist who hated being slapped. "Hey!" he yelled, and then froze.
Mia looked at Kimblee, realizing who she just slapped, and realized what she wasn't wearing. All her blood flowed up to her face.
Kimblee looked at Mia, realizing that she was only wearing her black bra and matching underwear. All his blood flowed downwards.
"What—what are you doing here!" she cried, grabbing the sheet and covering her chest to censor herself, even though Kimblee had already had a good look at her.
Kimblee blinked and quickly turned around, his own cheeks turning a bit red. She had to be wearing black underwear…"You weren't in my office. I was seeing where you were. You were asleep, so I woke you up."
"Did you have to do that?"
"You wouldn't wake up any other way."
She sighed, pulling the sheets closer to her chest. "How late am I?"
Kimblee pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. "An hour and fifteen minutes."
Mia looked away from him, embarrassed about being late and about being practically naked in front of him. This day was not getting to a good start…
Kimblee looked over his shoulder at her. "I'll give you ten minutes to get ready." He walked to the door. "Be in my office at 9:45."
Mia looked at the clock on the wall, noticing that it was only 9:20. She didn't need that much time to get dressed. However, Kimblee might need a bit of time…"Mr. Kimblee?"
Kimblee turned around to look at her. "Yes?"
"I wish you wouldn't masturbate every time we meet. It was embarrassing at first, but now it's annoying." Mia told him, her face straight and serious.
Kimblee blinked at her and laughed a bit. "Alright, Mia. I'll try to control myself around you." He touched his forehead, bowing a bit, and left the room.
/
Envy—in the form of a blonde military man—entered the bathroom and knocked on a stall, after checking that the bathroom was empty except for that one.
"Occupied." Kimblee grunted from the other side.
"How's class work going?"
"Oh, wonderful." He groaned a bit, not bothering to keep quiet anymore.
"I don't know much about how humans work, but I would think if you just fucked her, you wouldn't have to do this every day."
"This is only the third time. And if you had the same workings as a human, I'm sure you would be in the same position as I am."
"Oh?"
"She wasn't in class, so I went to check on her. It turns out she was asleep—"
"You're turned on by sleeping people?" To each his own, but Envy couldn't help but feel it was unorthodox, and not suiting with the bomber's personality.
"Please don't assume such things; let me finish, Mr. Envy. She was in her underwear. It wasn't as bad before, because all her clothes were baggy enough to leave something to the imagination, so I could always pretend that her body had some scar, lump, or some other disfigurement that could be present. That way, I wouldn't be so affected. However, that is not the case now. Her skin was pale and smooth. Unless she has some horrible deformity hiding on her nipples, I could still use that excuse, but I highly doubt that would work."
"You haven't gotten attached to her have you?"
Kimblee moaned loudly and flushed the toilet. "Not at all." He opened up the stall and washed his hands, covering them with soap.
"Really?" Envy couldn't help glancing down at Kimblee's pants.
He glanced at Envy. "Really. She's a hindrance. The sooner I get assigned a mission, the better. She's annoying."
"And yet you still get a boner every time you're around her."
"Lust means nothing. As soon as I pay off all of my house payments, I'll hire a hooker or two and I won't have to deal with this distraction anymore." He rinsed his hands, chuckling a bit. "That's the only thing she's good for. She gives me more cenz. Anything else you have to ask?"
"Nothing. Just checking up on you." Envy moved to leave.
"Tell Bradley or Father to assign me a mission soon. I'm not living up to my potential here." Kimblee said, not looking up from his hands.
"I'll tell him."
Kimblee dried his hands and left the room just in time to crushed by a young girl tripping down the steps.
/
Namori quickly drew two circles, one inside the other, and drew a triangle touching the larger circle. She slammed her hands around the perimeter of the circle and stood up as a blue light emerged. She guided a spear into her hand and pulled it out of the ground, and swung her spear at Alphonse. Alphonse held up his arm and blocked the attack.
"Thirty seconds." Edward said, smirking. "Nice. You're not useless after all. Have you been practicing?"
"Yes. Every day for thirty minutes after class. I practice fighting the other thirty minutes." She said proudly, loosely cradling the spear in her arms.
"Huh…I'm actually impressed."
She smiled at him. "Thank you, Edward. That's what I was hoping for."
"Great." Namori was about to get down on her knees again to fix the floor, but Edward grabbed her arm. "Hey, Alphonse can do that."
Alphonse nodded and clapped his hands, pushing the spear back into the ground.
"Wow…You can do it too…"
Alphonse looked at her, confused. "Do what?"
"Clap Transmutation…How do you guys do that?"
The brothers exchanged glances. "It's a secret."
She pouted. "I can't know?"
Edward shook his head quickly. "Nope."
She frowned.
"Sorry. It's not…it's not something that people should be able to do. It comes at a cost." Edward exchanged glances with his brother, and a thought passed between them in that gaze that Namori couldn't identify. Edward turned back to Namori, walking over to the small desk that was granted to him as a State Alchemist. "Now, would you mind doing something for me?"
Namori smiled, excited. "Anything."
He shoved a stack of papers into her arms. "Take these down to that bastard Mustang's room for me."
"What—"
"It's training for the world of the military. Get going."
"Oh—alright…" she walked out of the room. She approached the steps and carefully stepped down. She could barely see above the papers. When the steps ended, she relaxed and continued walking normally. However, she forgot that the steps continued after a couple feet of being flat. She walked forward and her foot found no ground. She screamed a bit and tumbled down. Luckily, someone caught her. She crashed into the person and the two of them fell to the ground.
Kimblee was walking out of the bathroom the same time Namori fell. He didn't really have a choice whether to save her or not. Either way, she would've crashed into him. He simply took the way that would give both of them the least amount of harm, which was catching her, softening her impact into him. It was enough to launch him onto the ground, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been.
Kimblee groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He looked down at the girl pressed against him. She was wearing all black, except for a red coat with the Flamel on it and white gloves. She had brown hair with blood red streaks in a loose braid, one antenna sticking up slightly. Her face was pressed into his neck, and he could feel her breath coming out quickly. Her head was near his cheek, and he could easily smell the relaxing scent of lavender drifting off her hair. It was so relaxing that it almost distracted him from another thing about her.
The unmistakable feeling of her breasts against his chest.
He could tell they were large by the way they felt, even if he couldn't see them. They were pressed against his chest, and he could vaguely since the circumference of them. Big breasts. Very big breasts. He also felt the rest of her body against his. He groaned again, though not from pain, but from the growing object that he got rid of just a minute ago.
"Oh!" the girl said, seeming to gain realization of what happened. She stumbled back off of him—which caused him to frown despite himself—and covered her face with her hands, clearly embarrassed. "I'm—I'm sorry! I—I was just walking a-and I fell and—"
Kimblee chuckled a bit and sat up, knelling on one knee to hide himself from her. She was kind of cute too. A different kind of cute than what Mia had. Mia was a sophisticated cute, one that showed when she was in thought. This girl was cute in the area of being a girl. He wasn't sure which cute was more appealing. Of course, he didn't want to be comparing the cuteness between two teenagers that he should have no interest in. "It's quite alright, Miss. It was only an accident." He looked at her chest. He saw the deep cleavage and the way the shirt struggled to hold them back. Really big.
"No, no…" she shook her head, still covering her face. "It's my fault…"
He touched her arm slightly. She stiffened and relaxed at the touch. "Stop apologizing, please." It was very annoying. "Might I ask your name?"
She relaxed and slowly lowered her hands and looked at him. "Namori."
Kimblee froze. Her—her eyes! They were red! Her skin was dark too. It was unmistakable. Sitting in front of him was an Ishvalan! She was young too. She must've been alive while the war was going on. Yes…she would have to be. Did she live in the city, or within Ishval itself? It was probably Ishval, for not many of their kind left their 'holy land' as they so thought it to be, especially if they were children. But if she lived in Ishval, then she wouldn't be allowed to escape the area or the country. He wondered where she lived. Did she make her home in the region where he was charged with exterminating? No. Impossible. He left none alive, he was sure of it. Then again, even if she wasn't from his region, he was from another's. She should be dead right now, but she wasn't. He would have to fix that.
He would be the one to kill her.
There was no one around, no one to see her and him together. Who would care though? She was just an Ishvalan. No one would mind. They annihilated nearly their entire race before. Why would doing it now change anything? He'd be praised for killing her.
It would be easy for him to kill her. Just a simple clap of the hands and pressing his palms against her, one on her chest, and the other to cover her mouth so she doesn't scream. He would love to hear her scream though. It would be a pleasure to hear it. He couldn't risk it though. He moved his hands, ready to clap.
"Na-Na!" Mia rushed out from behind Kimblee and helped her up. "Are you okay?"
Kimblee put his emotional mask back on, hiding his malice for the Ishvalan. "She fell. I managed to be there and I saved her."
Mia bowed her head slightly at him. "Thank you."
Namori blinked and shook her head to clear her mind. He was quite attractive…and familiar…"Yes. Thank you—"
"Kimblee. I am Miss Mia's teacher."
So this was Mia's teacher…she blushed a bit, remembering her comment from the night before. "Thank you, Mr. Kimblee." she bowed low, giving Kimblee a rather nice view down her shirt. "How can I repay you?"
Let me kill you. "It was nothing, really. You don't need to do anything." Kimblee helped pick up the papers, hoping that he wouldn't have to straighten up and show his shame to Mia again. He arranged them so the edges were straight and held the stacks. "I'll carry these for you."
"Oh. Thank you." She bowed again.
He smiled, holding the papers below waist height. "Where are we going then?"
"Oh! This way." Namori led the way, talking to Mia.
Kimblee looked at them, slightly confused. Mia looked very excited as she talked to her friend. He raised his eyebrow at the pair. Did friends really give that much pleasure? The only friend he really had was just a person to talk to who never understood what was going on in his life, but pretended to care. Maybe girls talked on a whole other wavelength. Maybe their talks gave pleasure in ways that guy talk did not. That made sense. Females were more feeling creatures than males.
Namori opened up the door. "In here." She took the papers out of his arms. Thankfully, there was nothing he'd regret under his pants.
"Mr. Mustang?"
Eva looked up from her studies. She frowned. Poor Namori and Mia…They would be roped in…She had figured out quickly that Mustang was ecstatic about having teenage girls within the military. He also liked making them wear very revealing clothes. Luckily, Namori was wearing clothes that didn't show much skin, other than her breasts and some of her stomach, and Mia was wearing pants and a tee-shirt and had Kimblee's jacket draped over her shoulders.
Mustang looked up. The first thing he noticed was a cute girl. That was the one in the mini skirt! She didn't look like she was in one now though. Pity. Edward had to dress her up in his outfit. "Hello? Can I help you?"
"Hi, Mr. Mustang. Edward told me to give these things to you."
Mustang looked shocked at the comment. "Edward made you do this?"
"Yes." Namori nodded.
"How rude of him, making a girl carry these things around! Here, Eva, take these." Mustang transferred the papers from Namori's arms to Eva's. "Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Colonel Roy Mustang." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "The Flame Alchemist."
Namori blushed. "Umm…"
Mustang smirked while Kimblee rolled his eyes. Mustang's eyes drifted to Mia. "And who is this beautiful girl?"
Mia blinked at him. Beautiful? She was beautiful? She blushed a bit, but for some reason being called beautiful by Mustang didn't make her feel as happy as when Kimblee called her cute. It must've been the fact that she didn't have a crush on Mustang. He was attractive, sure, but she preferred long hair—as evidenced by her own waist long hair—and she found the danger that seemed to emerge from Kimblee intriguing. "Um…I'm Mia."
"Pleased to meet you, Mia." Mustang moved to grab her hand and kiss it.
Kimblee's eyebrow twitched, not liking the fact that a flirtatious man like him taking advantage of a young woman. As soon as Mustang gently took Mia's hand, Kimblee grabbed the nearest part of Mia—her hair—and pulled her away.
"Ow!" she cried, gripping his hand and pulling her hair free.
"Please stay away from him. He's nothing but a flirt."
Mustang froze, suddenly realizing the man in front of him. His eyes widened as he looked at Kimblee. "You! What are you doing out of prison?"
Mia looked up at Mustang. He looked horrified at the Alchemist before him, but his eyes glinted with malice. She looked up at Kimblee. There was a smirk on his face, obviously enjoying making the Colonel squirm. "I don't believe that it that is any of your concern, Mr. Mustang." Kimblee said. Mustang obviously remembered their conversation in Ishval, or he wouldn't be so shaken up from him being here.
The horrified look quickly faded, only malice in his eyes. "I believe it is."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah." He pointed to the badges on his uniform. "I'm a Colonel, and you're a lowly Major."
Kimblee's gaze hardened. "Lowly?"
Mustang smirked, knowing that he was getting under his skin. "That's right, Crimson. I outrank you, and I demand to know an answer."
He demands? What made him higher than him? Sure, he might have a higher rank, but he would not tolerate that man looking down on him. His position of power meant nothing. He would not allow him to push him around. His Alchemy was stronger than Mustang's, and he could easily kill a man with a smile on his face and a hum on his lips. Mustang couldn't say the same. And when it came down to the battlefield, the ability to kill, not rank was all that mattered. He was about to voice those things, but he was interrupted.
"He's out of prison to teach me Alchemy." Mia said. She glared at Mustang, but kept her face and voice as serious as she could, not letting anger direct her actions. "Please don't insult my teacher like that."
Kimblee looked down at her, shocked that she would defend him like that. Kimblee noticed that one hand was behind her back, clenched in a tight fist. Was she that angry at Mustang for insulting him? Kimblee reached down and lightly took her fist in his hand, squeezing it as a way of thanks.
Mustang was surprised, not only that the pretty girl defended Kimblee, but the fact that the pretty girl was being taught by Kimblee. "Who would be crazy enough to let a mad bomber like him out of prison?"
"Mad bomber?" Kimblee glared at him as that nickname was brought up again.
Namori looked at the three of them. A fight was bound to start soon. She took Kimblee's hand gently in her own, hoping that it would calm him down. "Come on. Edward's going to get mad at me if I'm late."
Kimblee nodded and left the room. They walked down the hallway in silence, allowing the anger to simmer down. "Thank you both for your actions in there." He said, causing the girls on either side of him to look up. "Now…why are the two of you still holding my hands?"
"You're holding onto mine." Mia said, though she was slightly gripping his hand now that her hand was no longer a fist.
"I needed to calm you down." Namori said, cheeks turning a bit red. Both of the girls let his hands go, both of them slightly sad and disappointed that they were no longer holding onto him. "I'll see you back at the dorms, Mia. Remember that it's your turn to make dinner."
"Yeah, yeah…" the two of them parted ways. "Mr. Kimblee?" she asked when they went back to his room.
"Yes?"
"Why did Mustang call you a mad bomber?"
Kimblee chuckled a bit. "My apologizes for laughing at you, Mia. You just sounded like a child saying that. But he called me that because that's what my alchemy is. I specialize in explosions. I suppose I get too caught up in my art to realize that what I see as beautiful, others see as disturbing."
Mia nodded. She slightly understood what he was saying. She tended to find interest in the macabre. "So what will I be learning today?"
"You have an interest in knives, yes?"
She nodded.
"I happen to like knives myself. I'll teach you how to properly use one."
/
Mustang glared at the door for a bit before rubbing his forehead. "Eva?"
"Yeah, Mustang?"
"Why don't you have Havoc teach you for the rest of the day?"
She nodded. "Alright." She walked over to where Havoc was sitting, working on paperwork. "Havoc?"
"Yeah? Oh it's you, little girl."
"Eva. Not 'little girl'."
"Alright, Eva." He took his cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it. "I guessed you wouldn't like smoking that much." He said, explaining his actions.
"I've gotten used to the smell. You stink up the place."
"Stink up—hey, it's not that bad of a smell!"
She giggled. "Yes it is."
"No it's not."
"Yes it is!"
"No it's not."
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No—you know what. You win. I surrender. My cigarettes turn this whole place into a tobacco smelling hole, agreed?"
"Agreed!"
Havoc smiled and shook his head at her. "Alright. So, I guess I'm going to teach you now, right?"
"Yep! So what are you going to teach me?"
"Well…" he leaned in close, as if what he was about to say was a secret. Eva leaned in too, smiling. "I'm going to teach you the most important thing about the military, little girl?"
"What? How to fight in combat?"
"Closer to home."
"Relations between other countries and how we can improve them to the benefit to us?"
"That's important, but that's even further from home, little girl."
"Military strategies?"
"I suppose it could be in a way."
"What is it?"
"Guess, little girl."
"I can't!"
"You want a hint?"
"I want the answer."
"That's no fun though."
"So?"
"Alright. You're too cute to leave in the dark for long."
"I'm cute?"
"Yeah, doesn't Mustang call you cute, little girl?"
"Well, he's a pervert."
"Pervert, loves women, what's the difference?"
"The context, maybe? And you're changing the subject."
"You caught me, little girl. Alright, I'm going to teach you…" He paused.
"Yeah?"
"How to…" Pause.
"Yeah?" she was getting excited.
"Forge paperwork."
Her happiness level that had been built up from the tension dropped. "What?"
"Yeah. Well, maybe it isn't as big and exciting as I made it out to be."
"It isn't."
"But if you got a lazy boss like Mustang, you'll have to carry the load of his paperwork."
"Alright…so what does paperwork do?"
"Paperwork doesn't do anything, little girl. It's what's written on the paperwork that matters."
"Alright. What is written on paperwork?"
"It depends. After we go on a mission, or find something suspicious, we have to do a report on it. Mustang mostly does that on his own, but that's because each one has to be filled out specifically. There's also a lot of documents to be signed. Those documents can be anything. There's too many for me to tell you, little girl. Those are the ones he passes off to us."
"That's not fair to you."
"I guess so. But, he does give whoever does the paperwork half of his pay for the day. It's worth it. Especially since you came along, little girl."
Eva blinked. "Me?"
"Yep. Mustang gets paid a pretty cenz for teaching you along with his pay as a military man. That means that his pay is bigger, and so is my half."
"Oh…so what do you get paid for helping him?"
"Ohh…20000-ish cenz…"
Her eyes widened. "Whoa! That's a lot!"
He shrugged. "Military is a nice job. Now, if you help me, I'll do the fair thing and give you half of my cenz, deal?"
"But don't you need it? You probably have a house and stuff to deal with."
He brought out his lighter and played with it for a bit. "It's just a couple cenz. I can live without it. So, wanna learn the deepest, darkest secrets of the military?"
"You mean Mustang's signature?"
"Exactly!"
"Sounds good to me!"
"Alright then." He split the pile in half and put them in front of Eva. He showed her Mustang's signature and the different curves she'd have to do as well as the flame at the end. Eva practiced the signature for a bit, eventually perfecting the art of Mustang's signature. "That's great. You're a quick learner, little girl."
"Thanks, Havoc!"
Havoc smiled, but then his nose curled and he sneezed, pen falling to the ground and rolling under the table. "Aw shit!"
"I'll get it."
"You sure, little girl?"
"Of course! I'm small enough to fit under there." She ducked under the table.
Havoc looked down at her. He could only see her butt sticking out from under the table. He then looked behind him and noticed that there were two military man delivering things to Mustang, who stopped just to observe her position. "Hey." He said, glaring at the men. "Do you mind?"
Eva's eyes widened and she quickly moved out from under the table, sitting back in her seat. The other soldiers moved away, one commenting that he thought he saw down her shirt. Eva crossed her arms and buried her face in them.
Havoc put his hand on her shoulder. "That happen a lot, Eva?"
"A bit…I hate it…"
He blinked. Before she was happy and sugar high. Now she was completely serious. He frowned at her. He looked at her for a couple seconds more and sighed. "Damn…I can't stand to see a pretty woman in distress." He started unbuttoning his jacket.
Eva looked up at him. "What do you—" she broke off as she saw him peel off his jacket and unbutton his black shirt. She stared at him as he removed his shirt. "What are you doing?"
He held out his shirt to Eva. "Here."
"What do you want me to do with that?"
"Wear it. You get teased a lot for that outfit, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then put this on. You can button it up and censor yourself."
"But it's yours!"
"I've got a bunch of them."
"But—"
"Little girl, can you make a decision soon? I'm starting to get cold."
She looked at him, eyes darting down to his bare chest. It did look like he was getting cold…"Alright." She took the shirt and put it on. "It's warm…"
He chuckled a bit. "Yeah, little girl, that's cause I was wearing it."
She buttoned up the top buttons, censoring her chest. "This works…yeah, this works really well…"
He patted her head and put on his jacket. "You're welcome, little girl."
"Why do you keep calling me that? I'm not sixteen, so I'm not a girl."
"I'm twenty-seven. You're a girl to me."
"Alright. But I'm not little; I'm taller than most girls!"
Havoc stood up. "Stand up, little girl."
She stood up and Havoc stood next to her. She came up to his shoulder, barely able to see over it. "Alright, so you're taller than me, but not by much."
He put his hand on his head and moved his hand so it was over hers, showing the difference.
"You're cheating!"
"I am? How?"
She reached up and put his hand against her head. "You're counting in your spiky bangs!"
"I was not!"
"You were!"
"Alright, whatever you say, little girl. Now, how about we get to that paperwork done?"
The two of them worked on the papers, talking about whatever came to mind. The more they talked, the more Eva thought that something was odd. When all the paperwork was done, Eva finally realized what was wrong. She smelled the shoulder of his shirt. Why didn't the cigarette smoke smell as bitter as usual? She looked back at Havoc and was about to ask him, but he stood up and ran past her. "Wait, Havoc!"
"Sorry Eva, I've got things to do."
"Havoc!"
"See you later, little girl! Hope we get time to talk tomorrow! I enjoyed being with you!"
She smiled, and the sweet smelling smoke faded from her thoughts. The only thing she focused on was the warm feeling, as if she swallowed a mouthful of soup.
/
Kaitlin took off her cat ears and stuffed them into her backpack as they entered Central City. For some reason that Armstrong had not explained yet, they were leaving Central Command for a bit and were roaming the streets. "So, what are we doing?
"I am teaching you how to analyze your surroundings."
"Couldn't you give me a piece of paper and tell me to find the item? That's what Eva does."
"Nothing can replace doing it in real life. I want you to look around and see things that are normally overlooked."
Kaitlin stopped walking and stared down an alley.
"For example, that women staring longingly at those apples. You can assume that she'll try to steal them."
"Armstrong…"
"As a military man—or woman—you need to be aware of everything around you."
"Armstrong…"
"And always look up. That's the flaw with humans. We're the top of everything, so we never think to look up and—"
"ARMSTRONG!"
"What?"
"There's a dead guy in the alley."
"Hmm?" Armstrong walked over to Kaitlin and peered down the alley. Sure enough, there was a man with black hair and a yellow jacket lying on the ground. "He might not be dead. You should probably stay away though—" Kaitlin ran down the alley and to the man. She took out her knife and rested a hand on the sword around her waist, just in case.
She put her fingers against his neck, under his jaw. She felt his pulse thump against her fingers. "He's still alive!"
Armstrong made his way into the alley and crotched next to him as Kaitlin pulled his head up into her lap, like she saw in a movie. It was slightly awkward for her, having a boy's head on her lap, but at least his head wasn't on the ground. She looked down at him. He looked old, perhaps about nineteen.
Armstrong lightly slapped his cheek. "He's out cold."
"Smelling salts!" Kaitlin suddenly said. "That would wake him up!"
"We don't have those."
Kaitlin dug around in her backpack and took out a chocolate bar that she stole from Eva. She took a quick bite out of it for herself and held it under the boy's nose. His nose twitched as he smelled the food. He gently took her wrist and moved the bar into his mouth, taking large bites. When all the food was gone, he sat up and opened his eyes slightly. It wasn't much, and his narrow eyes still looked closed, but it apparently was enough for him to see. He looked at Kaitlin. She smiled awkwardly as he stared at her. He gently took her hand in both of his, holding his hand close to him. "Does the pretty girl have more food?" he said.
Armstrong had the sudden urge to punch him and leave him to rot in the alley. However, on the request of Kaitlin, they took the starved man to a restaurant and ordered a large, hearty bowl of soup for him. When it came, he took the bowl in his hands and raised it to his lips. He downed the whole bowl in large, loud slurps. He gave a sigh of contentment and put the empty bowl down. "Man, that soup was good! I feel revitalized! Can I have some more, perhaps some pasta?"
"Of course not." Armstrong said, glaring at the man.
He hung his head, frowning.
Kaitlin looked at him. "I'm kinda hungry, Armstrong. And I saw someone walk by with some spaghetti and meatballs. It looked good."
"Of course, Kaitlin—"
"Kaitie."
"—you may have some pasta!"
The boy lighted up as Armstrong ordered two bowls of pasta and bowed to Kaitlin. "Thank you Miss Kaitlin! Or Katie?"
"Katie."
"Thank you Miss Katie!"
"No miss."
"Thank you, Katie! Was that good?"
She giggled. "Yeah. Now, can I have your name? It's only fair since you know mine."
"Of course Katie! My name is Ling Yao!"
"Why were you fainted in an alley, Mr. Ling Yao?"
"I was hungry."
"I figured. You downed the soup quickly."
Ling took a piece of bread and took a large bite. "Uh-huh. I don't have place to stay right now, so I'm just wondering around. I'm also broke, so I don't have enough money to buy food. Ah, but luckily some kind souls stumbled upon me and granted me food." He took Kaitlin's hand. "I am eternally grateful to you, Katie."
"That's nice." She said, pulling her hand out of his grip, blushing. She'd never been this close to a boy before. Well, not when they were actually acknowledging her presence.
"Where are your parents, Mr. Yao?" Armstrong asked.
"My dad is in the capital, and my mother is with him."
"We're in the capital, Ling…" Kaitlin said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant the capital of Xing!" he smiled and took another bite of bread.
"Wow…that's…that's really far away…"
"Yep! I just came here a…a while ago!"
"Where are your immigrant papers, Mr. Yao?" Armstrong asked. He was not happy with the boy's flirting with his student.
Ling's face paled and a cool sweat sprouted on his face. That was a threat. He could go to jail. He didn't want to go to jail! The food there was horrible!
"Don't worry about Armstrong, Ling. He looks mean and scary, but he's really nice and funny. His humor has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"
"Actually, it hasn't…you haven't met my big sister…"
"Ah! That's a relief!" Ling said happily. He didn't have to worry about him killing him. The pasta was placed in front of them, and Ling eagerly dug into his share while Armstrong and Kaitlin ate slower. "So, how do you two know each other? You guys don't look related."
"We're not. And how can you see, aren't your eyes closed? They are closed right? It's really hard to tell…you've got tiny eyes…Well, tiny from Amestris standards."
"Yeah, I keep my eyes closed a lot. Some people say my eyes are shifty, so I'm very sensitive about them."
"How can you see?"
"The people of Xing are taught to learn to feel the movement of life called chi. I can see your chi, so know where I'm headed and where people are. Every living thing has chi. Of course, I keep my eyes open a bit, just so I can see normally."
"Wow…and that seems hard…"
He shrugged. "You get used to it."
"Anyways, Armstrong is my teacher."
"Teacher? Of what?"
"Alchemy and the military. Armstrong is a State Alchemist."
Ling perked up. "Really?"
Kaitlin took a bite of her pasta. "It's hard to believe, I know. He's a great Alchemist, and he's brilliant, but he doesn't act like it."
"So…you know a lot, Mr. Armstrong?"
"About Alchemy, yes."
"Would you happen to know something about—"
He was broken off as Kaitlin stole his sword. "This is cool…"
"Ah! Give it back!" Ling abandoned his food for an instant and leaned forward, trying to grab the sword.
"It's heavy…"
"That's so it can easily cleave through bodies! Give it back!"
She handed the sword back and went back to her pasta. "Can you use it?"
"Of course!"
"How well?"
"Very well."
"Maybe you could teach me how to use a sword. I want to use one, but Armstrong doesn't know how to use it. You can probably teach me."
"I could."
She looked at him. "Will you?"
"Anything thing for a pretty girl!"
Armstrong glared at the boy.
"Pretty?"
"Yeah! You have very nice eyes! There's a lot of colors." He leaned in close, opening up his gray eyes fully.
Armstrong wrapped an arm around Kaitlin, picking up both of the bowls. "We must depart, Mr. Yao!"
"Ah—wait!"
Armstrong ran out of the restaurant, but came back shortly after to get a plastic dish for their food and to pay for the meal. He looked around the restaurant, but the boy was gone. Kaitlin looked around, frowning. He was a nice kid…she would've loved to spend more time with him. Suddenly, she saw something fall out of the corner of her eye. She looked at Armstrong, and picked up the paper.
'If you want to learn more, meet me in the alley where you found me at eight.'
Kaitlin smiled and looked up, wondering where the mysterious Ling Yao was hiding.
And this chapter is probably why this is rated M…Oh well!
I actually went communal bathing in Japan, so I'm speaking from experience. It's actually fun!
Inspirations: The song PoP Goes My Heart from Music and Lyrics (inspired the title)
My friends on devaintART who inspired the teenagers.