I then felt like leaving a parting message, and pulled out a marker and drew a smiley face in the centre, leaving immediately after.
I checked back in the morning. Three people were gathered around the board. Mustang, Farman, and another black-haired dude who seemed familiar, but I couldn't tell because I was looking at the back of his head. I watched for a bit as they pulled the image apart after examining it. I didn't know if they had figured out the message, and I probably would never know. Either way, I sat myself down on the edge of the roof, knees pulled up to my chest as Cody sat beside me.
Mustang sat in his desk, as did Farman. The other man turned around and placed a hand on the Colonel's desk, leaning over conspiratorially.
I then recognized him as the man I had run into that one day in the market. He was rather persistent, him… he couldn't be Hughes, could he? I stayed there by childish interest, wishing I could hear what they were talking about. I pulled the hood on my black sweater up as a gust of wind passed through, causing my bell to jingle a tad.
Hughes looked up, straight at me. I didn't move, pretending to be a chimney of some sort. Despite my stiffness, I still felt that he knew that I was the girl he had run into that day, and he knew I was something different.
I did the only thing I could to escape his gaze, and jumped from the roof, blending into the alleyway beside me. Hughes sprung into action, leaving the office immediately, but I didn't see anything beyond that; I was already running.
I went towards the west, crossing behind the HQ and not looking back.
I then thought of a plan. It was still morning, so I had lots of time. I went from the west part of the city to the south, heading for the arch with Central that I couldn't read.
Someone was there. In the shadows, Cody told me, so I wouldn't see him. I guessed it was Mustang; he must have sent his men to guard the gates on Hughes request. Now they all knew I was something special, something to pay attention to.
I paused in the nearest alley, wondering what kind of action I should take now. I didn't know how to fight, but I was practically invincible and couldn't hurt myself without healing seconds later. Roy also could overpower me, though, and their goal wasn't to kill me but to capture me and ask questions.
I took off my glasses and placed them on a garbage can next to me, counting on my speed for this. And I ran, towards the gate and the man in the shadows.
He didn't notice me coming, and so I pretty much got a head start. I surprised him by heading directly towards him, preparing to attack. Still, the man had more power than me, and although I was fast, I was rather weak. I used my self-defence knowledge to avoid his lunges. He had moved into the light, and I saw that I was right; it was Mustang.
"Yo." I greeted, an angry grin on my face.
"Kit? Why you?" He asked, as our fight continued. Dodge, kick, dodge again, aim for the knees, and so on. I felt like I actually knew what I was doing, which was strange.
"Why don't you ask you precious Fuhrer?"
"What does he have to do with this?"
"He ordered you to find me, didn't he?"
"No, that was a request from Fullmetal. The Fuhrer heard about it and decided to ask about it, but nothing else happened."
"It was ED? I'm going to KILL HIM! Actually, that would be a bad idea, and just proving his beliefs. Either way, the Fuhrer is bad news; do me a favour and don't mention me to him, okay?"
"Any particular reason why?" He grabbed my fist and spun me around, my bell tinkling as he locked me in his grip. I struggled, but couldn't get loose.
"I don't want to be like them." I said. I had thoroughly confused him, and the venom in the last word threw him off enough for his grip to weaken, and I ducked out of his arms, aiming a kick to his gut. He gasped for air. "Sorry, Mustang. But please believe me when I say I'm not at all evil, no matter what Ed says." I knocked him over the head, effectively making him unconscious, and I scampered off through the gate to Rush Valley.
I felt bad about leaving Mustang like that. I really did. But there was nothing I really could do. He now has a strong hint that I was staying in the city the whole time, or at least visiting daily. It was dangerous even staying in the same area, but since I needed time to figure out what to do (I couldn't go back to the Curtis house) and where to go. I told Paninya I was going to visit her sometime anyways, and I promised myself while I was running that I would tell her everything.
And so I did. I arrived at the automail shop around 10am, and told her everything that happened, excluding the fact that I was a homunculus. She got a kick out of the pranks I had pulled, but wondered why I was being chased by the military.
She suggested I go to the town that was barely even noticed by the military, which just so happened to be Resembool.
I questioned this, but I recognized that I wasn't exactly in a position to argue, and I didn't know the area too well. Maybe she was right, and Resembool really was the place to go. The only thing I was afraid of was the Elrics finding me there. I would be sure to avoid the Rockbells, and—
"Dominic knows the Rockbells, you could probably stay there for a bit."
"…Come again?"
"I said--,"
"Rockbells?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?"
"There is. The Rockbells are practically family to Edward Elric. Edward Elric is in the military. If you were listening earlier, I said the military was trying to find me."
"…I see."
"Yes."
"I'll come with you then, and we'll stay in the Inn for a couple nights. I've got money. It'll be like a sleepover!" She seemed exited. I reminded myself that she probably didn't have many female friends.
"Okay, Metal-limbs. Uh, I don't suppose I'd be able to send a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, would I?"
"You can write one when we get there, 'kay?"
"Sure."
"Dominic!" Paninya called. "I'm going out for a few days, I'll be back in a while." She grabbed a few changes of clothes, stuffed them into two bags (I thought this was strange until she handed one to me and said I could keep it) and snagged her money purse before we headed towards the train station.
There were at least eight stops between Rush Valley and Resembool. It took a good while to get there, at least 8 hours. We kept ourselves busy playing cards and telling random stories (I told her about Charlie the Unicorn, which she laughed loudly at, catching the attention of half the people in the train car). We bought sandwiches from the diner-car and ate in our seats, and we eventually fell asleep, each on our own bench.
A nice man with a welcoming expression shook us awake and told us it was the last stop of the day, Resembool, and we hopped off the steam-engine.
The town was way smaller than I had imagined. People lived above the tiny shops they owned, and those shops were the bare minimum necessary. Most of their goods were imported or handmade, which forced me to be amazed at the people who wanted to survive out here. Then again, there was loads of space for farming, so it was rather profitable.
The in was small, but cozy. The innkeeper greeted us personally, and knew us by name right away, which was a little creepy how she memorized it so fast (Paninya wasn't exactly a common name) and showed us to our room.
I wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Curtis immediately, which I was going to give to the innkeeper in the morning. It would go on the train and arrive at Central then. In the meantime, Paninya and I hung out in the hotel room. She commented on my new accessory, my bell, and made fun that I was like a little kitty, and called me so for the rest of the night instead of Kit. I tried to correct her, saying that Kit was short for a word that meant fox, but she wouldn't listen. She was great company.
I woke up to a scream. They had found me… how? Then I saw who held my friend at gunpoint, and realized that the man who had woken us on the train had also followed us to the inn.
"Who the hell are you?!" I demanded.
"Denny Bloch. I have orders from the Fullmetal Alchemist to take you into custody by whatever means necessary."
"That damn kid… Did he tell you why?" I asked, hoping this would work.
"H-he said you were a dangerous criminal." This guy was telling the truth, that was for sure.
"…How old do I look, Block?"
"Uh, it's Bloch, and… I'd say 12?"
"Honestly, I'm fourteen, and I've never done anything. The Fullmetal guy thinks that I'm like a certain group of people, and can't accept that I'm different. Now if you don't mind, could you put my friend down?" Paninya looked scared out of her wits by now. Bloch wasn't exactly a very good military man, though, because he did as I said. "Want some tea?" I offered.
I chatted with Denny Bloch for a while. I let him get to know me a bit as the immature teenage girl that's seen just a bit too much. He didn't know any of my secrets, and I didn't dare mention anything that could tip him off, but he was good company. Paninya tried to fall back asleep, so we moved down to the dining area downstairs, where we talked over apple cider and hot chocolate. I told him of the pranks I pulled on Mustang and his men, which got a laugh, as it always did, and gave him a few riddles to puzzle over.
We were both laughing when the door to the inn opened. We didn't look over, feeling safe in our little corner.
"Okay, here's one that they didn't get, I had to give them the answer: what has roots that nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, yet never grows?"
The worst voice I could have possibly heard at that moment answered from behind, followed by the clicking of a gun. "A mountain."
I turned around, the smile turning into one of annoyance and slight fear. "M-Mustang! How nice of you to join us. Pull up a chair!"
"I don't have time for games, Kit. You're a homunculus, aren't you?"
The smile was wiped from my face. I sighed. "I'm different, though." I told him.
"How so?"
Bloch was now thoroughly confused by what was going on.
"I remember my past, for one. I had an older brother. My parents were divorced. I died by a gunshot to the head."
"That's why you jumped out of a second story window?"
"Er—about that… well, yeah. You're good at this."
It was rather intimidating, actually. I stood up, and Mustang cocked his gun, prepared to shoot.
"You're going to have to come with me, you know."
"I'm going to stay away from Central, you know."
"And why is that?"
"I don't like the Furher."
"Any particular reason why?"
"There is, actually."
"…And?"
"Escaping fate?"
"What do you mean?!"
I smiled sadly at him. "I don't suppose you're going to teach me how to read anytime soon, are you?" I asked.
"Answer my question!! I have men waiting outside, don't even think of running!"
"Sorry, man. Apparently since Fullmetal doesn't trust that there can be exceptions to any rule, running is keeping me alive right now."
Mustang shot me.
A/N: Voila. I've lost the sheet that I've recorded the poem-war on, so I'll add the next section in the following update. Which will be on Thursday, if I have any say at all.
Lemme tell you this, though. I hate Tuesdays.
In the meantime, here's a prayer that I wrote. I'm not Catholic, so use this prayer for whatever you wish:
/Burn a candle for those who are lost
Let the light guide them back with clear heads
to safety, and let them realize that
what they have is so much more
than meets the eye/
I never used to be poetic. I guess it comes with puberty?
Kidding!
-HW-
P.S. Everyone thank Mickay, she got me a notebook for X-mas! Now I have a journal again! I used to have one, but then I lost it. I have something to write in again!
