When Rose said that she'd take us to the church so we'd have a place to stay in, we followed her all the way here.

They were talking about random stuff like, "Why is it that Al's taller than Ed even though Ed's the eldest" or "Why's Al wearing an armor" or "Why is Maki so far behind now?"

Hey… Wha-

I look up just in time to see the three of them staring at me then look forward real quick. I sighed and walked hastily and ended up behind Ed.

Ed looked back at me with his brow up in a questioning look. 'What's the matter with yah?' he asked.

'Nothing.' I replied. 'Just tired. How long till we get to the church, Rose?' I turned to her.

'Oh we're almost there!' She said in her cheerful tone.

They started chatting away, leaving me in my thoughts once again.

Finally, we reached the church. Rose left us in the room where the mass is usually held so that she could ask permission to Father Cornello.

The three of us sat down for a while. Ed and Al looked pretty bored. I just sat here, quietly admiring the carvings of gods on the walls, those ancient, golden crosses, staffs, and other mythical things.

Well, even though im an alchemist, which is, more or less, a lot like a scientist, I still am a great fan of fantasy and myths like gods or wizards and stuffs like that.

Unfortunately for me, Ed noticed that I was looking around in my seat.

'Don't tell me that you believe in these kinds of stuff.' He said in an accusing tone.

I glared daggers at him. 'What's it to you?'

He snorted and shook his head. 'We're Alchemists, Maki. A-L-C-H-E-M-I-S-T-S.' he said.

'So what?' I replied. 'Is it bad for an alchemist to admire myths and fantasy?'

He shook his head again and was about to say something again when Rose appeared. Lucky me. With that, I returned to looking at the walls.

'Hey everyone! Oh, I see you're looking at the carvings.' I realized she was referring to me, so I looked at her.

'Are you interested in Letoism?' she asked.

Before I could say anything, Ed popped in. 'Sorry, but we're Atheists.'

Rose gasped and shook her head. 'That's not good!' she said. 'When you believe in Leto, he will grant you whatever you may wish for! When you believe in him you two will surely grow taller! ~Major Emphasis~ '

'WE'RE NOT SMALL!' Ed and I yelled together.

'Maki, Brother, she didn't mean it that way!' Al tried to calm us down.

Rose giggled and said, 'Im sorry. I was just kidding. Anyway, Father Cornello said he's glad to let you stay. So, come on and I'll show you your room.'

With that, we stood up and followed her.

Well, Rose led us here in this room this afternoon. Ed and Al are playing poker, and im reading a book beside the window, where I can clearly see the old man's store and the alley way that lady told me about.

We ate dinner two hours ago, so now im just waiting for Ed to fall asleep. Al never sleeps, so I'll either lie to him or tell him the truth. I don't want to lie to Al cuz he's really nice. But if I tell him the truth he might not let me go. But then… oh well.

Finally I heard Ed yawn. 'Im beat. Hey Maki, you gonna sleep yet?'

I turned to him and said, 'Nah. You go ahead.'

He shrugged and bid Al good night, and then he plopped down his bed. A few minutes later, he was already snoring. I noticed Al pulling out a book from Ed's bag and started reading as well.

Ok, Ed's asleep now. I should go. But what do I tell Al?

I looked outside the window and then to Al. I've made my decision; I'll tell him what that lady said.

'Hey, Al?' I said while standing up.
'Yeah?'

'I… well…' I took a deep breath. 'A while ago in that old man's shop, a lady told me that she saw a boy that looked like me. And… I was thinking that… maybe…'

'You think that boy she was talking about was… Seiko?' he guessed.

I gulped and said, 'Yeah. She said that she saw him go through an alley where a clinic is stationed. And, I was planning to check it out. So, can I go now?'

If Al could frown, he would've done just that. 'Maki, you know it's not right to trust what a stranger tells you.'

I knew that was coming.

'I know but, what if that lady really saw Seiko? I… I can't let this opportunity slip.'

Al thought about it for a bit, then he said, 'Alright, as long as I come with you. Brother's already asleep and he won't wake up until tomorrow morning.'

'Alright.' I said. We got ready and went out of the church and made our way to that alley.

Ok… We're here…

Jeez! Why am I so nervous?

Ok, Ok, calm down…

We walked in the alley and reached a clearing where a small clinic with a few patients is placed. Some of those patients were already leaving. Some were still being treated by a black haired man, maybe in his early thirties.

The man noticed us standing here and he smiled. 'Oh, come, come. Don't be shy. Is there anything I can do for you?'

Al was about to say something, but the man cut in again. 'Oh! Silly me! Hey, will you take out two more chairs out here, lad? And grab some more fever meds in the cabinet, will yah?' he yelled.

'Ok! Jeez! You should really stop yelling. It's not like im on top of a mountain or something.' A voice in the clinic complained.

'Yeah, yeah, yeah… Stop yappin' and bring those stuff outta here.' The man grumbled.

I could hear a faint voice mimicking what the man just said. Then after a while, the door opened and a blond boy with his back faced to us came out. He was dragging two chairs and a small medicine box held under his arm.

My heart skipped a beat as the boy turned to face us. But when he saw us, his face was filled with shock and his glasses almost fell. I wasn't sure if he was surprised in seeing Al or me.

I almost stopped breathing when he managed to say something, 'M-Maki? I-Is that-?'

'S-Sei…ko…?'

He dropped the medicine box and hugged me. My vision suddenly got blurry. Then I realized tears started forming in my eyes.

'Maki… I thought I'd never see you again!' Seiko sighed in relief.

'Me too… Im so glad I found you!'

'Seiko-kun!' Al exclaimed. 'Do you still remember me? Im Alphonse, Ed's little brother? We nursed you back to health when we saw you back in Resembool, remember?'

Seiko chuckled and said, 'Of course I remember you, silly.' Then he blinked and looked at Al then to me. 'You're with Al?' he asked.

'Yeah. I've been with them for the last three years.'

He face palmed. 'Oh man. If I'd known you were gonna meet each other, I should've stayed with you guys.'

Al and I laughed. Seiko laughed along after a while. Then he eyed Al and said, 'Whoa, Al. I know you're tall, but, this tall? What've you been eating?' He said jokingly.

Al laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

'Hmm, I bet Ed's still a squirt, huh?' Seiko said thoughtfully. Al giggled. 'Don't let him hear that or he'll throw you off a cliff.'

'Eh?' Seiko blinked.

I cleared my throat. 'Literally.' I smirked.

'Well, looks like someone got even scarier than before.' He chuckled.

'You three know each other?' someone asked.

Seiko slightly jumped from the voice. He turned around and scratched his head. 'Heh. Uh, yeah. This is my twin sister, Maki. And my childhood friend, Alphonse.'

Al and I nodded to the man and he nodded back. 'Im Mack Miller. Just call me Doc Miller. Please to meet yah.'

After that, Doc Miller said he'd give Seiko a break, so we went inside the clinic to talk.

I was really anxious to know what happened to my brother. But somehow, I couldn't even force myself to ask him. It's probably because it's been years since I last saw him. And then there's the fact that I left him in that place where he almost died, so I don't know if he's really glad to see me or not.

'Seiko-kun, what happened to you? Where've you been?'

Al's voice broke my thoughts.

'Well, I've been everywhere looking for Maki. From Resembool to Dublith, then to Rush Valley… I even had a chance to set foot in Xing, but for a few days only.'

Al gasped. 'You've been to Xing?' he exclaimed.

'Woah… Jeezers… What's it like?' I asked.

Xing's, like, a gigantic country! I kinda wanted to go to Xing, but since I have a mission here in Amestris… well, you guys get the idea.

'Oh gee, it's a great place.' Seiko said. 'Lotsa sightseeing to do, lotsa food, lotsa people, clothes, food, things and stuffs… Oh, did I mention food?'

'Haha!' Al and I laughed. 'You said that three times already!' Al exclaimed.

'Sei, since when did you become a food-addict?' I asked curiously.

I thought I saw Seiko gulp uneasily, like he didn't know how to answer my question. But then he smiled again, so I thought it must've been my imagination.

'Since I tasted the food there.' He chuckled.

'Is it that tasty?' Al teased him.

Seiko scratched the back of his head.

Then we heard Doc Miller call out, 'Hey! Mind bringing out some gauze bandages? They're in the cabinet.'

Seiko was about to stand up when Al said, 'I'll get it Seiko-kun. You guys stay here.'

He stared at him for a moment before he nodded.

Al took the bandages and went out. I knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to leave us both in here so we could talk. Al's such a nice kid, huh?

Ok, I thought. I gotta seize this opportunity to ask him.

'Seiko… After, you know… What happened to you…? The truth… please…'

He looked at me. I didn't know what to make out of his expression. It's like he's sad or angry or disappointed or something… It scared me, to be honest, not knowing what he felt. Now I wish I didn't ask him that question in the first place…

Me and my big stupid mouth…

'Well,' he started. Then he paused. 'I- uh… I used alchemy on them and ran away from that place. I guess that place was close to Resembool where I ended up meeting Ed and Al. They helped me recover from my injuries, then I set off to find you.'

'Are you mad at me?' I regretted the moment those words came out of my mouth.

'No!' he yelped. 'Why would you think that? I never got mad at you. Why would you think I was mad?'

'Because I left you back then…'

'No… I-I wanted you to leave. I didn't want to get you hurt.' He sighed. 'Don't ever think that I was mad at you, or I'm really gonna be.'

I smiled half-heartedly when he chuckled.

With a few more conversations, Al came back and said we had to leave. I didn't realize it was past twelve already. We bid goodbye to Doc Miller and Seiko who said we should meet at the old man's store so we could take him to where we were staying. After that, we went back to the church.

There we saw Ed still asleep with his stomach exposed, as always. I said goodnight to Al as he fixed Ed's clothes. For once, I slept well, relieved to know that my brother is just around the corner, happy to see me as much as I do.

I hope…

Author's Notes:

Momo: Whoopie! Yay! Maki saw Seiko! What do you saaaayyy?

Maki: -sighs- Thank you, oh great author, for reuniting me and my deaaaarrr brother once again... *rolls eyes*

Ed, Al, Seiko: *laughs out loud*

Maki: HEY!

Momo: Haha! Alrighty! Reviews please! ^^