No excuse...other than computer issues, writer's block and escaped muses. And they HAD to be conspiring, the bastards.
I have stuff up on livejournal, for anyone who's interested: http:/ kazi-kun. /tag/fanfic
Reviews:
Dark Queen Helba: Yes, that chapter's from Ed's point of view, and it's a tremor of power he felt. Not a quake, despite Japan being notorious for them.
And rereading the comments, I've got Kurotengu demanding him being the "Lucky Guy"...again. He's a rather annoying sort when a certain author has had to locate missing muses...and only located would be the Goth Peacock himself. As for a picture, well...he's offered to pose nekkid an' I had to shove him in a box in my closet...again.
Full Metal Knight: It's now updated! No more Sad Knight! And thanks...though that's not what I had planned originally, to be honest. They were being so cutesy on the sofa while I was writing and it just kind of turned out that way. I'm glad people like it.
Anyway, here's the overdue chapter 8!
Harry Potter/Sailor Moon/Full Metal Alchemist
"Harry Potter and the Living Stone"
Chapter 8:
"Hoping for Aid"
Ed looked at his brother mildly dumbfounded as the other students half pushed passed them on the landing of the staircase they were on. He closed his eyes and tried to wrap his brain around what his little brother had said.
"You did what?"
"I found out the enemy of the Tengu and the name of their leader as well as where they roost." Alphonse repeated. "I want your help to find out more information and the location of this roost is."
Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "Al, didn't you just say you knew where the roost was?"
"It's confusing, I know, but I know the roost is in a specific place but not the location of that place." Al emphasized, trying to explain it to his brother.
"And the roost would be where?" Ed asked, suspecting he was going to regret this on some level.
"The Wizened Lady."
Ed lowered his hand from his face and looked at his brother. "The Wizened Lady?" Al nodded. "That's one of the offspring of the Wandering Elder, only it doesn't go anywhere. Demons live around and in those trees, Alphonse. You want to go up to a demon roost and say 'one of my friends is getting stalked by a tengu prick, care to help us out?' and actually expect them to help us?" Al nodded again. "Are you insane? Or did time in that can warp your brain?"
Al scowled at his older brother. "You're the one taking the historical lore class. Tell me what the karasu are."
"They're-they're guardians, protectors." Edward answered. "They're the demons that are kind and gentle but aren't above ripping someone open for messing with whom they've sworn to protect. What does that have to do with anything?"
"The karasu are enemies of the tengu, Ed." Alphonse earned a milidly surprised blink as Edward reshouldered his bag.
"Seriously?" Ed asked, getting a nod. "Who told you this?"
"Someone I would like to keep out of this." Al replied as he started up the stairs. Ed followed him, just a step behind, getting his little brother to look at him over his shoulder. "Do the karasu have a special name for their leader or is it just 'Lord Whatever'?"
"It's 'Silver Wing'."
Both brothers stopped and looked at the speaker at the top of the stairs. Headmistress Hirahito stood above them in all her silver glory, her shawl wrapped around her arms and flowing around her. She was smiling softly down at the brothers, her mercury eyes never leaving them.
"The leader of the Karasu is known as the 'Silver Wing' which is in contrast to the 'Blood Talon' of the Tengu." The woman in silver said, making the brothers exchange a nervous glance. She motioned them to follow her without losing that smile. "Come, come. We have much to discuss if you wish to know more about the Silver Wing and his flock."
"H-how did you know?" Ed asked with a nervous smile.
"Come, come. We'll discuss this over tea." The headmistress instructed, stepping away from the staircase. Edward and Alphonse hurried up the last of the steps and followed the silver-clad woman down the deserting corridor.
Headmistress Hirahito led the boys down the hall without a care in the world, the occasional teacher or hall monitor passing by receiving a smiling nod in greeting. Ed and Al were only a couple feet behind her but none of the other adults even paid them a glance. It was both a relief and nerve raking.
"Ah, here we are." The dignified sorceress replied merrily, a shouji panel door sliding open without her touching it. She motioned for the boys to go into the room first and followed them inside.
It surprised the boys to find themselves in a tea room with a garden just past the open shouji panels and the veranda. There was a low table with tea and refreshments for three set out and three cushions sitting on the tatami mats, 2 on one side and 1 on the other.
"Sit down. Sit down." Hirahito coaxed good naturedly, the panel door closing behind her. She drifted over to the lone cushion and gracefully sat down on the cushion. "Come, boys. Sit. Sit."
Alphonse looked at Ed and his older brother shrugged with a dismissive "what the hell" kind of look. He set down his bag off to the side and went to the table, dropping onto a cushion. Al set his bag down and sat beside his brother, not sure what was going on.
"Not to be disrespectful, Headmistress." Ed began, trying to be polite. When he was surprised, Ed usually got defensive and snappish but that wouldn't do with the powerful woman before them. "But why the hell are we here exactly?"
"You're both close to Hotaru, aren't you?" She asked as the teapot lifted itself into the air and poured tea into the 3 teacups unassisted.
Ed and Al excahnged a look. "Well, as close as she'll let us get. She's kinda like Hawkeye, cautious as hell."
"That is so very true. You do know of her involvement with Kurotengu, do you not?" The headmistress inquired, seeing the brothers' expressions harden. "Do you know what their relationship is exactly?"
"He claims that she belongs to him. He snuck into her room last night and caught her cheek." Ed answered. "I managed to slash his kimono when I chased him out the window. Al was with 'Taru to keep her from getting involved voluntarily or not."
"According to the laws of her people, should she raise her voice above a calm tone, then it is an admission of defeat and she follows the one who has made her raise her voice. However, what he doesn't seem to understand is that she hasn't submitted, not the way she's supposed to. She insults him and gets hurt because of it. If she had submitted according to her people's laws, then she wouldn't give him cause to hurt her." The Headmistress replied, surprising her 2 guests. "As Blood Talon, Kurotengu receives visions from the proof of his throne, if you will. The medallion he wears is a black talon clutching what looks like a red marble, that gives the leader their name, for that is the Blood Talon amulet. It's a demon amulet that curses any other life form, except for the one it chooses to wear it. It gives Kurotengu his immunity to her abilities but he's not aware of it and because of that immunity, he uses her to decipher the visions and messages he receives."
"But why the tengu? Why him?" Alphonse asked softly.
"Hotaru told you she named him, correct?" Both brothers nodded. "She found him very badly hurt when she was 7, in the dining hall of the Suzaku Tower. She tended to him, gave him shelter in her room and gave him a name, for a child's logic dictates that every friend, whether a toy or a demon, needs a name."
"She saves his life when other mystics would have blown his ass to hell and this is how he thanks her, 9 years later?" Edward scoffed, picking up his teacup and taking a drink. "He's a classic, ungrateful bastard."
Alphonse looked at his brother and then looked at the Headmistress. "Forgive me for jumping straight to the point but how did you know what we were talking about the karasu and where we were?"
Hirahito smiled warmly at him. "Because much like Hotaru's connection to the current Blood Talon, I have a connection to the current Silver Wing. However, in my case, Shirogarasu saved me when I was so very little and dying in the forest, just because I showed signs of being a very powerful mystic. Japan's visitors weren't tolerant nor respective of our culture, of our mingled existance."
"Because mystics and muggles live side by side, like the stories of demons, tennyo and magic are not stories but reality and history." Alphonse earned a nod from the Headmistress. "Your bond with Shirogarasu, what is it exactly?"
"When I was a child, my eyes were the color of Redwoods and my hair was as black as a raven's feathers. When he saved me, he temporarily overshadowed my essence with his own and from then on, our power has mingled. As I grew older and I was schooled, as you boys are, my hair began to turn white and my eyes, the color of mercury." She answered with a fond smile. "When I became a student here, Shirogarasu followed me with his Silver Wing and their flock. When the previous Silver Wing passed, he passed on the title to Shirogarasu. They have become the protectors of our populace. The problem is…"
"The problem is that he can't protect Hotaru who 'belongs' to Kurotengu." Ed finished, reaching for a cookie in the basket near the teapot. Hirahito nodded solemnly. "But how are the karasu and the tengu enemies? I remember what Fujino-sensei said about the tengu looking like crows, ravens and 'karasu' being the Japanese word for crow or raven."
"While that is true, tengu are black and are demons and the karasu are white and are dieties, guardians. They both are similar to crows or ravens in appearance but their auras and coloring are different." Hirahito replied, clarifying the explanation for the boys. "May I ask a question now?"
Ed looked at Al then back at the headmistress. "Uh, sure."
"Why are you boys looking for the karasu?"
"To…" Al began. He licked his lips before starting again. "To help Hotaru. There has to be something we can do to help her and…and maybe the Silver Wing can point us in the right direction."
"Al an' I can handle the messy stuff but we just need someone, like Al said, to point us in the right direction." Edward added. "We're alchemists, not mystics and Hotaru's keepin' her mouth shut about this. We can't ask questions from anyone around here, since that black-feathered bastard's bound to overhear. We should be able to get the answers from another demon. Their rival clan should know something because the rival always knows the other's weaknesses in order to defeat them or in this case, keep them in line, correct?"
Hirahito gave Ed a wry smile. "Very good, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel. You're a credit to your reputation as the Full Metal Alchemist. And with the future 'Soul Alchemist' as a second pair of eyes, a second point of view, you two will be going very far, going new places so very, very soon."
The two brothers exchanged a look as Hirahito held her hand out to the air beside her and a swirl of light appeared, forming a scroll tied with a dark blue ribbon tied around the middle to keep it closed. She held it out to the young men.
"This will help the Silver Wing to understand your motives." She said as Ed tentatively accepted the scroll. She tipped her hand and a bright crystal hang from her long fingers on a fine silver chain. "This will lead you to his roost and will also be a gift for his assistance. If this doesn't look like a deal between the 2 of you and the karasu, then this could be taken as a move of aggression and negate the pact I have with Kurotengu as the leader of the ruling demon clan. I must put the safety of the others before Hotaru's but I can't abandon her, not in good conscious. I must ask you to do this in my stead, though this doesn't sit easy with me either. You are also in my care and I am to protect you both as well."
Al accepted the crystal and put it around his neck, dropping it under his uniform. Ed glanced at the crystal before it disappeared under his brother's clothes and then redirected his attention to the headmistress.
"You still didn't answer Al's question." Ed pointed out, getting a slightly quirked eyebrow in response. "How did you know we were talking about the karasu?"
"Did you know that there isn't a tea room on this floor?" Hirahito inquired in return. Ed was about to ask what that had to do with anything but he stopped as soon as he opened his mouth. He closed his mouth again, knowing the answer. His reaction made a knowing smile grace her lips. "You're welcome to stay here until class is over but you must make it to your next classes without fail. I'm afraid you'll have to make up what you missed in this class, however."
"Small price for helping a friend." Alphonse said without hesitating.
A knowing smirk curved her lips. "And is that all she is to you, Alphonse Elric? Or is she much, much more than that?"
Al looked away, blushing dark red. Was he seriously that easy to read?
"Do remember, boys." Hirahito said, getting their attention. "When going to the Wizened Lady, keep in mind that not every demon in the woods is like the karasu and the guards of the Blood Talon would love to come after the one who almost damaged their master. Whatever you boys do, do not let down your guard."
Ed looked at Al and then back to the headmistress. "Wasn't planning on it."
A smirk curved her lips, a darker light in her eyes. "Good."
The Headmistress is aiding in conspiring minors...this CAN'T be good...
Ed: Wow, do you have ANY idea just HOW long we've been on HOLD?
O.o Ed? Where the HELL did you COME from?
Ed: Starbucks. Needed caffine.
Where's everyone ELSE?
Ed: Al's on a date. Firefly had plans. Annnnd I'm not sure about the others...wait-where's Kurotengu?
In the "I'm a Bad Bird for Offering Posing Nekkid for Pictures" Box in my closet...again.
Sephiroth: Are you going to update the REST of these stories?
O.O ...Ifrit's boxers! How did YOU get here?
Sephiroth: ...did you or did you NOT play Final Fantasy 7?
...good point.
Right, read and review while I play Muse Round-up.
