A/N: Hi everyone. Yusuke343 here. I hope at least someone pm'd TNFMA to tell her what a good job she is doing with the chaps. Soon..very soon these chaps will get a bit longer and a bit more mine lol..I will explain what that means later. Anyways enjoy!

Disclaimer: Neither of us own FMA...although Yusuke343 does own the two alchemists in this fic..

The hostess, visibly shaking, tried to hold her ground. "I'm sorry, sir, but you always cause trouble whenever you come here."

"LIKE HELL! I'LL KILL YOU!" he shouted as he brandished his gleaming, silver sword.

"Jayson! We have to help her!" Jacque whispered to her brother urgently.

"Right!" he nodded to her as he took a sword hilt from his pocket. "Hey, you!" he shouted to the thug.

The man turned, glaring daggers at Jayson. "Who? ME?"

"Yeah. You." Jayson responded coolly, keeping any nervousness he had well hidden.

"What the HELL do you want, kid?" the man snarled.

Jayson ignored him. "Put away that sword and get out of here. Or else…"

"Or else what?" he challenged sarcastically. His blood-red eyes looked down to Jayson's hand… "Are you going to hit me with a hilt?"

Jayson gave him a level stare. "I'm warning you…"

The man stood for a bit, taken aback. Then he threw his head back and let forth a harsh, outrageous laugh. "You've got to be kidding me! What the hell could you possibly do to me?"

"Last time - leave peacefully, or else…"

"Make me! I DARE YOU!" the man shouted before charging madly towards Jayson, disregarding the people scrambling to get out of his way.

"JAYSON!" Jacque screamed.

"I warned you…" Jayson sighed. Suddenly he narrowed his eyes, squeezed the jet-black sword hilt tightly, triggering a red transmutation circle craftily hidden amongst the hilt's gold swirls and symbols etched throughout; having activated the array, a shaft of ice appeared, gleaming dangerously where a blade would normally reside.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the man screamed, skidding to a stop.

"You asked for it!" Jayson said with a shout as he charged towards the man, bringing the icy blade down with a deadly hiss.

"AAARGH!" the man roared as Jayson's transmuted sword of ice cut through his sword and then through his flesh.

Jayson stared down coldly at the man who was now cowering in pain on the floor. "I'm not going to say it again - leave. While you still have your life…"

The man's lip trembled as he gasped violently for air. "Y-you… YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF ME!" he screamed before quickly staggering to his feet and dashing through the crowd and out the door, running into a large suit of armor along the way…

"Jayson, you did it!" Jacque squealed with delight.

"Jayson! Jacque!" Alphonse called out in alarm, completely ignoring the fugitive who had just run out the door. Al tried his best to get through the crowd, which was now clamoring happily all over Jayson.

"Thank you so much, sir!" the waitress said, still quite shaken up from the encounter.

"No problem! Really!" Jayson said politely.

"Oh, no! Jayson, come on! We have to get going now! We're about to miss the exam!" Jacque whispered urgently to him.

"Right," he nodded. He looked up and saw Alphonse at the back of the crowd, waving to catch his attention. "Look, there's Al! Come on, sis, let's go!"

Jayson and Jacque ran through the crowd and fell in stride behind Alphonse as he hurried back down the road towards Central HQ. Even though Jayson had just faced off against a full-grown, well-armed man, the knots in his stomach then were nothing compared to what he was feeling now… With a pang of dread and anticipation (and the nausea to go along with it), Jayson and his sister ran towards HQ and the State Alchemist Certification Exam - by far the hardest thing they'd had to deal with yet…