Author's notes- *peeks out from behind a chair.* Hi everyone. *ducks down to avoid a million knives thrown at me* HEY! I'm sorry that the last chapter took so long to update! I've been really busy with school and everything!
So as I said last chapter, I have a feeling that you might hate me for what I wrote here, but let me reassure you that it turns out okay!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa or FMA. If I did, I would have made more Kurofai moments, SyaoSakura moments, and I would have added Carmen into the FMA series. As a little side note, I would have made Kurogane and Fai kiss in the series and the manga.
KCH33: Oi. -*points behind Carmen*
Me: What?- *looks and sees a pissed off Kurogane* -Shit.- *runs away from Kurogane*
Kuro-puppy: I'M GONNA KILL YOU! *runs after Carmen*
KCH33: *looks after them running around in a big circle-turns back to fans* So yeah, I guess I'll finish this up for Carmen. I've edited these chapters to the best of my ability for your enjoyment. On Carmen's behalf, we hope you enjoy this chapter. Please wish Veiga over here the best of luck. *jabs her thumb in Carmen's direction-(they're still running people).
~Chapter Seven~
"Hold still, I'm almost done." Tomoyo's voice ordered. Taking out the last pin, she stepped back next to Winry and Sakura to admire her work. "Stop making that face, Carmen. You look so pretty!"
"Just get this damn thing off me!" I protested, wobbling as I took a step forward in hot pink high heels. The four of us had gone to Tomoyo's apartment after school had ended. Autumn had come to Amestris, turning the leaves shades of reds, yellows, and oranges. Tomoyo had insisted that she make holiday dresses for us, which I found pointless since she was making them two months before Christmas. What I hadn't known was that Winry had once again volunteered me to be Tomoyo's little dress up doll. For the past hour I had been poked with pins, smothered in stupid frills and ribbons, and had my face ruined by loads of makeup. The raven-haired girl had made me model a dark pink dress with unnecessarily puffy sleeves and about two dozen ribbons and frills. When I had asked why they always chose me to try on dresses and makeup, all three of them answered: "Because you're so pretty, that's why!"
Winry fixed me with an exasperated look as she watched me become caught in a wrestling match with the dress in an attempt to get it off. She finally walked over and helped me pull it over my head. "I still can't believe that after all the years that I've known you, you still hate everything pink, cute, and girly." she said. We had since made up after what she said in the hallway, though she still isn't that happy about Kurogane. Sakura somehow managed to find out but... that's another story. A very painful one to be exact.
"I don't despise this stuff. I'm just not as obsessed about it as some other girls our age." I answered jabbing my thumb in Tomoyo and Sakura's direction. They both just smiled innocently.
I stood up from Tomoyo's bed and pulled on my coat. "Anyway, I have to go." I told them.
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"My truck finally got fixed, so I have to go pick it up. Not to mention that I have to pick Sarah up from her friend's house, AND I have to start dinner soon." I answered.
"Jeez, you always have a ton of stuff to do," Tomoyo commented as she started putting away the unfinished dresses.
"What do you expect, I'm the only one who has legal authorization to take care of her." I replied.
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The sun was slowly sinking in the sky as I neared the garage. I pulled the collar of my coat up a little higher and stuffed my hands in my pockets as a chilling wind started blowing.
After paying the mechanic, I pulled out of the garage and went to go pick up Sarah. She slid into the backseat and we headed down the street.
Unfortunately for us, we hit some traffic on our way to the grocery store, which put me in a pretty bad mood. Finally, we got out of that situation and drove along the highway. It was dark now and it was getting a little harder to see.
Sarah, who had been pretty quiet the whole ride, planted the back of her feet on the top of the passenger's seat.
"Sarah, can you please get your feet off the seat?" I asked her moving her shoes off. She put them right back up.
"Sarah," I said in a firmer tone, "I said get your feet off the seat."
"Maybe I don't want to."
A little surprised at this, I frowned at her in the mirrior. A similar scowl looked back at me.
"What's your problem?" I asked her. She turned her head to look out the window.
"Leave me alone." she muttered.
"No, I'm not going to leave you alone. Now what's wrong?" I asked her again. I was started to get irritated that she wouldn't tell me.
Her angry expression snapped back to me in the mirror. "Are you deaf? I said leave me alone, so stop talking to me and just keep drivng!" she yelled.
"Don't talk to me like that!" I screamed back, my anger starting to boil over. "If you're not going to tell me, then fine! But that doesn't give you the right to act like a PMSing bitch, because no one wants to listen to it!"
What happened next came out of nowhere. The car lurched forward as another car slammed into us from behind. The truck swerved in a complete three-sixty. When it came to a complete stop, my heart was beating so fast. Someone had just rear-ended us.
"Carmen?" came a small and terrified voice from the back of the truck.
A bright light suddenly filled my vision.
SMASH!
Glass splintered everywhere and there was a horrible crunching noise as the truck completely flipped over.
And then... everything went black.
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Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The sound was faint at first, but it got louder and became clearer as I slowly regained conciousness. My eyes opened, but I snapped them shut and groaned in pain as the light on the ceiling shined in my eyes, making them hurt.
Wait. A ceiling light?
My eyes snapped open once again and I sat up. Worst thing I've ever done. I cried out in pain as a burning pain jolted to life in my ribcage and raced throughout my body. I was then gently, but firmly forced into lying back down.
"Don't move. You were badly injured in that crash." I looked up to see a doctor hovering over the side of my bed, his hand on my shoulder. I then noticed that my left arm was covered in bandages, and my automail hand was smashed. Other bandages covered one of my legs, forehead, and I could also feel some wrapped around my right shoulder from under my shirt. They were already starting to soak through with my blood.
My voice was painfully dry and I couldn't talk at first. When I was able to regain some of my voice I asked, "Where's... my sister?"
I sensed his tone completly change right after I asked. "Your sister... Her injuries are more serious than yours, Carmen."
I froze, feeling as if someone had just punched me in the gut.
The doctor then explained to me that a drunk driver had been the one who rear-ended us. Another truck hadn't seen us after we had done the three-sixty and had rammed us from the side. I had only just escaped with some bad cuts from the broken glass, but nothing life threatening. Sarah however had been put in the ambulance with a broken arm, two fractured ribs, four stitches in her leg, and a concussion. The doctor said that even though it sounded bad, my sister was going to be fine. I however, wasn't convinced one bit.
After a few hours, they let me leave the room and go into the waiting room. I was informed that Ed, Al, and Winry were already waiting.
As soon as I entered the room, Winry ran over to me and hugged me, being careful of my cuts. Her eyes were red from crying over-dramatically. Ed, who looked like he had almost been in tears himself, had signs of relief in his expression and tear stains on his shirt which obviously showed that Winry had cried into it. A similar expression shone on Al's face as I sat down next to him.
Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Fai arrived not long after. Watanuki and Doumeki shuffled in after them. Sakura burst into tears when she saw me, and ran to hug me like Winry had done. She said that she had been terrified for me and Sarah when Winry had called her. I assured her that I was fine and Sarah was going to be too, though I doubted my words entirely.
As everyone else sat down with us, Tomoyo left the room. She then came back a second later with the person who surprised me the most in coming: Kurogane. Though he didn't say anything, I saw the relief in his eyes when he saw me, and that slowly disapeared as he saw my bandaged body.
We all sat there in silence for the longest time, the minutes slowly ticking by, feeling like hours. Only one thing was on my mind at that moment, and that was Sarah. I started blaming myself for screaming at her in the car. It was my fault that we had gotten into that stupid accident in the first place. I should have been paying closer attention. If I had done that, then I probably would have been able to avoid the drunk driver and none of this would have happend!
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Al. He was looking at me with a knowing expression on his face. He then lowered his voice so no one else could hear. "I know that you're probably blaming yourself for what happened," he muttered, "but it wasn't your fault. These things can happen, and if anything it was that driver's fault. Sarah will be fine."
I nodded, but I continued to hit myself across my face over and over in my head.
Finally, a nurse came into the room. She told us that Sarah was slowly starting to wake up. The tension lowered immensely, and was replaced with relief. The nurse then told me that I could see my sister if I wanted to.
I stood outside the door to her room, debating in my head if I should go in or not. I did desperately want to go in and see her, but I didn't want to see how bad of a condition she was in. I finally took a deep breath and stepped into the room. When I opened my eyes, I almost turned and ran.
Sarah was laying on her back in the bed with bandages covering her arm, forehead, leg, and torso. Her face was ghostly pale, even paler than Fai's.
I swallowed hard and made my way slowly over to her side and sat down in the chair to the right of the bed. The only thing that reassured me somewhat was the heart monitar and it's readings of Sarah's heartbeat.
"Sarah," I thought, feeling tears stinging my eyes and slowly start to roll down my cheeks, "I'm so sorry." The sobs came then. All thoughts of staying strong melted away as my shoulders shook intensely with each strangled choke coming from me. It was my fault. It was all my fault.
That's when I heard it. A weak voice that sounded far away. "Ca-chan?" my eyes snapped opened and I slowly forced my head up. Sarah was looking at me. Her eyes had a heavy look to them, like she had woken up from a nap, not knocked unconcious on the highway from another driver.
"Carmen, why are you crying?" she continued.
I quickly turned my head out of habit and wiped the tears from my eyes. "I'm not crying." I answered stubbornly, commanding my voice to stay steady.
Ignoring my childish reply, my sister slowly sat up, wincing as her injured body protested at the sudden change of position. She turned her head towards me again.
"What is it?" I asked, reading her expression.
She looked down at her bandaged hands folded in her lap, "You're going to be mad."
I raised my eyebrow. "Sarah, what happened?"
The silence seemed to strech on forever before she sighed. "I need to tell you the real reason why I was so ticked off in the car tonight."
Silence.
"Before you came to pick me up, my friend Hikari told me that it wasn't normal that you took care of me in place of Mom and Dad. We had a big fight and decided that we wouldn't be friends anymore."
The dangerous beast that was my anger roared to life in me, but I forced it down and balled my fists in my lap instead.
"Please don't be mad." the blonde pleaded quietly, raising her head slightly to look at me.
I took a deep breath and forced a small smile on my face. "I'm not mad. You shouldn't worry yourself like this. It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around."
At that moment, one of the nurses came into the room, telling us that the hospital would be closing soon for the night. I got up and said goodbye to my sister, promising over and over that I would get some rest tonight and not to strain myself.
It was freezing out when we got out to the parkng lot. Luckily, Winry had been smart and had brought an extra coat for me since my other one had been thrown out from the amount of blood on it. That part really sucked. It was my favorite coat.
I was going to get a ride home with Winry since I had no other way to get there. Just as I was about to slide into the passenger's seat, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye: a black SUV, and a familiar-looking guy walking toward it.
"I'll be right back," I told Winry, ignoring her confused stare. I walked as quickly as I could over to the car, only wincing once when I felt a painful stab in my leg.
"Kurogane!"
He turned around and waited until I got to him before asking, "What?"
I was silent for a few minutes. Then I looked up at him.
"Thank you for coming tonight. I . . . I really appreciate it." I told him. He looked at me, a faint look of confusion on his face.
The both of us nearly jumped when Winry blared her car horn. "CARMEN! Hurry up! I'm not sitting in here while you're out there in the freezing cold! I have to get you home!" she yelled out the car window.
I yelled back to her that I was coming. I turned back to Kurogane, awkwardly holding out my hand. "I meant it when I said thank you. Friends?"
He was silent for only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity before his larger, warmer hand closed around mine in a small handshake, being careful of the bandages located all over the place. "Yeah. Friends."
I flinched and nearly swore when Winry beeped her horn again. I let go of Kurogane's hand and walked back to the car.
"What were you talking about with him?" the blonde asked.
I buckled my seatbelt and settled down into the seat. "Let's just say that we're going to be adding a few more friends into the circle," I replied quietly.
"WHAT!" came Winry's indignant reply, nearly blasting out my eardrums. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep so I could avoid her ranting. Luckily it worked and we drove down the street in silence.
But whether Winry like it or not, Kurogane was our friend now. And I had a feeling it was going to be like that for a long time.
Post notes-
CV: *Comes dancing crazily into the room*
KCH33: *Looks up from desk* What's got you in such a good mood?
CV: One, I finally finished this chapter-
KCH: Which took you over like five months to write beause you're a huge procrastinator...
CV: *death glare* I'm going to ignore that. And two, CHRISTMAS IS NEXT WEEK AND I'M SO EXCITED!
KCH33: Hahaha. I already had Christmas because I'm leaving on a trip for Christmas, so I won't be editing for a while(Sorry guys). And that still doesn't give you an excuse for your procrastination.
CV: *explodes* WELL WHAT ABOUT YOU! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN UPDATED SYAORAN LI VS. THE WORLD YET EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF CHAPTERS WRITTEN UP! YOU SHOWED THEM TO ME! I HAVE EVIDENCE AND-
KCH33: KCH CHOP!
CV: *Goes to a corner and holds head, moaning in pain*
KCH33: AT LEAST I HAVE MY CHAPTERS WRITTEN ALREADY! YOU JUST HAVE EXTREME WRITER'S BLOCK FOR A WHOLE SIX MONTHS? I DON'T THINK SO! I HAVE BEEN HOUNDING YOUR ASS FOR THESE CHAPTERS FOR FOREVER! *Turns back to audience* Oh. Forgot you were there. Sorry if I'm scaring you guys. It's that time of the month, you know? Check out my profile for upcoming chapters in my stories that WILL *glares at Carmen* be coming out soon, and naughty little ideas that are swimming around in my head that you, the fans, get to decide which of them are to be published! I will be going away soon, to Thailand, for the holidays, but I'll be trying my best from a distance.
Keep on reading my freinds! There is so much more to come. Beleive me. I know. So... yeah... uh REVIEW!
CV: NOOOO! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO! *grabs onto KCH's leg and cries.*
KCH: *Sweatdrop*