Kamaitachi Chronicles

By: Aviantei

Seven


"Congratulations," Mustang said when he walked back into the hotel two afternoons later. "You not only managed to finish the written exam faster than anyone else, but you scored more than high enough to make it into the practical. You test tomorrow morning."

I looked up from the bed, where I had been resting after experimenting with Liaoning's proposed transmutation circle. I had needed to make a few adjustments to better suit the flow of my alchemy, but it did the job. I'd be more than ready to go the next day.

"Don't sound so surprised," I said, pulling myself up into a sit. My mind swam a bit at the sudden movement, but settled down after a few blinks. I tried to pat down my resulting bedhead. "I told you I had the written exam handled. Didn't you believe me?"

Mustang worked off his boots and pulled the desk chair closer to my bed before taking a seat. There was a slump in his shoulders from whatever work he'd been pulled into. I'd been so focused on avoiding him that I had no idea what he was up to. "I'm glad you're progressing well," he said, but there wasn't any of his usual smirking. "You're early on the list, so we'll be able to head back to East City in the afternoon once you're done."

I quirked an eyebrow. "In that much of a rush? We're not gonna stay and wait for the results?" There were a lot of things I could learn from watching other State Alchemist candidates perform their demonstrations. Part of me was even curious about what Liaoning's alchemy was like—or what he'd think of the way I'd applied his circle. "I'd thought you'd be all for playing hooky an extra day."

"As nice as it's been to get another break from the office so soon, I can't stay away too long. It looks like there might be an investigation or two that needs my presence." Mustang leaned back in the chair, opening up his military jacket to reveal the pale blue dress shirt underneath. "They'll contact my office with your results, so we'll find out just as quick as we would here. Best get the travel out of the way."

I nodded. No sense in delaying time on the road. After a week of free range walking, I wasn't quite looking forward to another train ride, but nothing to do about it. "So what happens after I get my qualification anyways? I know for a fact I'm not gonna be able to wander around the country like I did before."

"Yes, that's right." Mustang sighed, tapping his fingers across his kneecap. Without his gloves, his hands looked so ordinary. "Considering the route you're going for in your practical, they're going to want you as more of a soldier than a researcher." It seemed a convenient assignment into Rosomak's office wasn't happening anytime soon. "You being a minor creates difficulties, too, but you're not the first person to go through this. They'll expect you to take on some core training, plus report to an advising officer until you reach legal age."

I gave him the best stink eye I could muster. "And I'm assuming you pulled in enough favors so that officer will be you?" Mustang's smirk came back in full force. I resisted the urge to punch the mattress. "If it weren't for the fact that you got me into this position in the first place, I'd be very much questioning your motives in helping me, Lt. Colonel."

Mustang shrugged and stretched his arms above his head. His joints popped loud enough to make me wince. "I'll spare you the long version," he said, knowing full well I'd much rather have the long version to hold against him, "but I know what becoming a soldier so young can do to someone. At the very least, I want you to have some time before you have to worry about those decisions."

How long had he been a soldier? Long enough to understand what it meant to be a State Alchemist at the very least. I almost asked, but I didn't want that much knowledge sticking to me. Alchemy notes were one thing, because I could use them no matter the outcome, but personal information led to trouble.

Personal information meant I was willing to become attached.

"Don't be so stupid," I said, flopping down onto the mattress with my back facing him. "If you knew all that, don't go recruiting kids for this job in the first place."

Mustang let out a mirthless chuckle. "You're right. Too bad I didn't think of that sooner."


The practical exam hall was in the same building the written exam had been held in, but didn't have any convenient windows to let the sun in. Dull gray spread across the walls, up to the observation level that circled the edges. Any exam participants were allowed to watch, and it was open to soldiers as well, while civilians were excluded. Mustang had checked us out of the hotel early enough they hadn't even started serving breakfast yet, but several of both parties were spread out around the space by the time we arrived. A quick cursory glance showed Rosomak and Liaoning among them.

Liaoning and I were in the same testing group, as the passing participants were grouped by alphabetical order—we were the first batch, and the remaining practicals would take place the next day, while Mustang and I would already be back in East City.

Mustang chose a position close to the exit and dropped his baggage against the support wall. I followed suit and rolled my shoulders, my capsule feeling heavier than ever in my pocket; I'd have an easier time carrying around a lead weight. On the other side of the room, Liaoning shot me a quizzical look at my company, but was distracted as the first practical underway.

Leandra Abrams was the older woman I'd noticed during the practical exam. Her limbs were all long and lithe, but her face was covered in rivulets of wrinkles that made it impossible to guess what she might have looked like when she was younger. I knew better than to judge people based on their appearances, but she still looked every bit like she would fall over as she set a few small canisters out on top of her air based transmutation circle.

The entire room burst into gray smoke, a cacophony of coughs erupting from every direction. I pressed my sleeve into my mouth, trying to blink tears out of my eyes. There wasn't much to be said about setting off a natural chemical reaction, but getting this far meant she had to know that.

I heard the crackle of a new transmutation before I saw the light from it, and the blanket of smoke retreated, snapping back to the center of the room. Two whip-like appendages were in Abrams's hands, fluctuating without so much as her movement—she hadn't created a solid, but instead contained her gas show. Abrams flicked her wrist once, the gas whip rending a deep gash in the floor, showing just how substantial it could be.

That made her display of what seemed to be a martial arts form, whips cracking in all directions, all the more impressive. I had thought she'd be aiming for a research position, but she still had some fight in her.

Making a stand out impression was not going to be easy.

Not that I was giving in. Mustang urged me to head downstairs as two standby alchemists repaired the damage. Whether or not Abrams had impressed him, it seemed leaving on schedule was his priority after all. I shrugged him off and reconfirmed my registration with the proctors downstairs and waited my turn.

I had always considered myself a good thinker under pressure. Living though travel tended to have acting on your feet as a prerequisite to staying alive. But when I stepped out into the practical hall, a different sort of pressure washed over me, the kind that came from being the center of attention. All eyes were on me from military officers of all ranks. Up above, Mustang kept his casual stance, as did Rosomak. Liaoning seemed to be leaning over the edge of the railing, as if that would make it easier for him to see what I was doing before I did it.

I didn't close my eyes. I looked them head on. There was no need for hesitation; just action. I had done everything I could, from research to practice.

This is my alchemy, dammit. Like I'll let anyone else show me up.

"Ivrena Caiman," I announced, pulling out my capsule and letting the familiar weight sink into my palm, "sixteen years old."

Staring the proctor across from me straight in the eyes, I flicked my capsule into the air, caught it in the opposite hand, and spun in a circle as my scythe extended to life. I didn't let myself focus on the people watching. I couldn't falter. Grasping my scythe in both hands, I felt the weight of the blade, and the counter balance I had placed on the other side.

Abrams had given a demonstration of her alchemy mixed with her fighting style. And as much as I would have liked to take on a more researched based position, I had planned the same thing.

Unlike martial arts, I didn't have any set kata or forms I could use as a reference. My own fighting style had been built through trial and error, sometimes flailing around on the battle field. The best practice I could get was replicating sketches of pole arm forms and adjusting the way I threw the scythe's weight around to account for the blade.

So I didn't focus on showing off forms, instead initiating a mock battle with an invisible enemy. It would have been ideal to have an actual opponent, but I could make do. I thought back onto every thug I had met on the road, Mustang included, and fought against their shadows until I had knocked each one of their sorry heads off, leaving just as many gouges in the exam hall as Abrams did.

That in itself should have been a good enough stopping point, but I hadn't tweaked my circle to high hell and back just to not use it.

Liaoning hadn't been lying when he said he was good with metals. His circle had such an effective conversion rate that transmuting my capsule to my scythe left over a good amount of excess material. And while I could have just ditched that excess to solve my weight problem, it didn't make sense to me to not make use of the weight I already knew how to swing around.

Stomping my foot to the ground as I stopped, I slapped my scythe into rotation, as I would to revert its form back. I'm sure Mustang and Rosomak, who had seen my closer before, thought that I was through. But I pushed the transmutation to the next level, extending out the counterweight on the opposite end of the scythe.

I held out my weapon, parallel to the ground, and spent a breathless second looking at the second blade protruding from the bottom of my handle.

I gave it a second for that to sink in to the audience. Then I went right back at it.

I had been training with the counterweight so I could be prepared for the adjustments in mass, but the blade added the effects of wind resistance. I had practiced enough to not look like a flailing idiot while fighting with it, but two days weren't enough to make me as proficient as I was with my usual blade. I went through a few additional swipes and twirls to showcase my agility.

Two more motion sets to go, then I could close the show. I went into my next volley of clanging attacks, the lower end's blade scouring into the floor.

Something snagged that wasn't supposed to, and I almost lost my balance. The usual echo of my blade changed in frequency, just enough that I could tell my blade wasn't going to last through another hit like that. I cursed, but having my scythe fall apart in the middle of the examination wasn't going to get me a passing grade. I adjusted the angle of all my swipes up, steering far away from the ground, then performed my last transmutation of scythe back to capsule one volley of battle early.

The practical exam wasn't the sort of place where the audience showed off their appreciation by applause, but even if it was I wouldn't have been able to hear anything over my own ragged breaths and accelerated heartbeat thundering in my ears.

I tramped my way towards the Central military base's exit, not even bothering to look at Mustang's expression as he followed behind me, carting along both our suitcases. I hadn't looked at Rosomak or Liaoning, either. Since I had stopped myself before nothing too outrageous had gone wrong, I didn't think there would be any problem with my exam.

That didn't change the fact that someone who had watched me fight before would notice that I'd hesitated in that second. I grit my teeth and tried not to kick the door open, the sunlight just pissing me off more. Not even a single trail of clouds marred the clear blue sky, as happy as could be. I stomped down the path to the train station.

Why didn't I test the goddamn durability parameters? That's the most obvious part. Swinging around doesn't do any good if it can't take the hit.

Even with my new circle, I was stretching my materials too far. I had fixed one problem, but my resulting upgrade just brought another.

"Hey," Mustang said as he caught up to my side, "I did have a car arranged. You don't have walk all the way there."

"We have plenty of time," I said, glaring at the road in front of me. Not too many people were out given how early in the morning it was, but that was a relative comparison for the population of Central. Either because of my glare, Mustang's uniform, or a combination of both, most passersby cleared out of our way. I looked back to my battered suitcase in Mustang's grip and ripped it from his hands. "Give me that."

He didn't try to say anything else all the way until we boarded our train. I propped my cheek on my hand and stared out the window. My problem was fixable. That wasn't the issue. I just hadn't thought things through enough. For the second time in eleven days, I had acted like a complete idiot.

"Caiman," Mustang said, his tone so neutral it was like he'd bleached all feeling from it. If he had acted concerned or chiding, I might have just smacked him. "Do you want to talk about what's on your mind?"

"I'd rather show off my potential than just sit in mediocrity," I said, watching as Central city buildings gave way to the green hills and trees of the country. "That's what I've decided I'm going to do from here on out."

In his reflection in the train window, I could still see the corners of Mustang's mouth lift into a smirk. "So long as you understand that much, I don't think you're going to have a problem."

I didn't disagree with him. I was too worried if I opened my mouth I might thank him instead.


[Author's Notes]

I don't know about you, but it genuinely feels to me like it's been no time at all since I last updated. The time sure is flying by if you ask me. When it comes to the story though, things may not be moving as fast as they are irl, but it's certainly a marked improvement from the previous years, is it not?

As per usual, I'd like to extend my thanks to anyone who's been reading this fic up til now and to those who will read it in the future. Now that the State Alchemist Exam arc is finally done, we can move onto the next phase.

Definitely one of the things that I'm glad I waited for writing this story on is that I can make Ivy mess up much more often. Did she show off enough skill to pass, or will her slip up with her transmutation impact her results? Stay tuned to see what happens next. Chapter eight will be along as the update rotation comes back around, so please look forward to it!

-Avi

[04.16.2019]