A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait. Shit arose. Shit happened. Fandoms interfered. Specifically, Homestuck. For those Homestuck fans out there, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. For those people out there who have never heard of or read Homestuck, think of it like, your whole world crashing around you for six. Acts. Straight. Like every fandom feels you get combined into one, epic, amazing, heart wrenching/heart shattering webcomic. I honestly can't describe it any other way.
I'd like to thank Tracey4t for enduring my rants about several different fandoms and my obsessions in them throughout all of these months. :)
Also! I realized that all state alchemists are the same ranking as Major, and I figured if she was ranking as major and got two promotions that would make her a Colonel. Seeing as Mustang is a Colonel at this point and higher up than she I've decided to make her only have had one promotion, making her a Lieutenant Colonel from now on.
And now with all of that shit outta the way, behold! The long awaited, ninth chapter of The Elements Alchemist! :o)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
Lectures are tiresome. That realization came to Yumi during the hour that Colonel Mustang paced back and forth lecturing her on how she shouldn't have gotten kidnapped in the first place, Shouldn't have beat Ed up so badly, and she didn't really listen to the rest.
She yawned pointedly. "Can I go now?" She asked, dragging the words out in a bored tone of voice.
"Can you- NO! I'm talking to you!" She rolled her eyes before she stood up and headed out of the room. "Hey! Come back here!" He yelled after her.
"Sorry, sir." She tossed the words over her shoulder as she left.
Draw me with a picture of a higher place I know
When the color fades to white again is where I'll go
Grey-slated heather
The sky's got my back, might be lost but I'm moving on
Whatever the weather
Dreams dot the map, when you see them I'll be gone
Red-light shrouds
Change everyday, but I'm sure it won't be long
I know step by step I'll fly far beyond the highest clouds
Always be strong
Never be wrong
That was all a front for my heart
Empty as a well
Finally the raindrops fell
Revived the dream and showed me where to start
Outta sight like rays of light and I am on my way
Through the bluest moon and the darkest river
I'll go through it all and never fall astray
Burn the prize into my eyes and let the image play
For no matter where I am, forget the 'yes or no'
When the color fades to white again I'll seize the day
"Hey there, Fullmetal." She greeted earning a glare. "Look, I'm sorry I beat ya up." She apologized.
He glared at her a moment longer before turning towards Al. "What, did you find a cat or something?" He questioned.
"Uh, not exactly." He said as he held up a man that seemed to be about 17. He had long black hair tied up in a ponytail and wore yellow and white Xingese clothes.
"Woo hoo! You guys are real life savers, thanks a lot!" The boy said a little while later.
"Mhm. Don't mention it." He opened his mouth to say something else but Yumi's glare deepened. "Ever."
"Your treat, right?" He questioned cutely, completely oblivious to her cold attitude.
"When did I say I was paying?" Ed questioned.
"Lets not quibble over something so small." He said as he waved his hand dismissively.
"Here it comes. You've really done it now." Yumi said with dread in her voice.
"What do you mean?" The boy asked.
"Incoming headache in three. Two. And...one."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL!" Ed screamed.
"How fortunate I am to have found such hospitality so far from home." The boy said as he wiped a fake tear away.
"Far from home? So your not from here?" Al questioned causing Yumi to roll her eyes.
"I'm from Xing." She smirked.
"I could've told you that." She remarked slowly, as if talking to a five year old.
"From Xing, that's the country to the east of the dessert." Ed commented in amazement.
"Yeah." The boy agreed. "And crossing that dessert was tough, let me tell you."
"I can imagine." She commented nonchalantly, seeming not to care one way or the other as she putt one arm under her head, placing her hand on the left side of her body and placing her other hand the right side of her back, making an 'x' shape with her arms under her head before she used her arms as a makeshift pillow, leaning her head back with a almost defeated look on her face.
"Hey are you oka-" The Xingese boy didn't get a chance to finish his sentence due to the fact that Yumi whipped her head around to glare him down.
"Fine." She hissed sharply at him before she returned her gaze to the clouds over-head. She closed her eyes and found herself thinking about the Ishval Rebellion.
~Flashback~
Gun shot sounds filled the air. Yumi had been brought in along with the other state alchemists. She watched as Roy started to snap his fingers mercilessly. Her head whipped back round' when she heard laughter fill the air as Kimbley blew stuff up. She gritted her teeth in anger before she stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She looked behind her to see her old mentor, Alice Williams standing there, gun in hand. "Welcome to the war, Kid." She said grimly.
She sighed. "Anyway to reverse the invite." She joked blankly causing Alice to smile sympathetically.
"Come on. Let's get to work." Yumi nodded slowly before she slowly pulled her silver bracelets out from under her sleeve. She slammed her hands onto the ground causing fire to shoot out and burn them to ashes. Another slam of the hands and the earth wrapped around a handful of ishvalan's, working as a tight little cocoon. She took a deep breathe before slowly taking out her gun and blowing a single hole through the top of the ball of earth.
She ran forward and jumped up to land on the top of it. She shit a bullet through her hand causing blood to drop down into the prison she'd made. She took a deep breath, slamming her hand down onto the top of the prison, causing a bright blue alchemic light to shine from it. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she heard the muffled gurgling screams as water filled the entire crater, drowning the ishvalan's inside.
~End Flashback~
She slowly re-opened her eyes and quickly whipped her head around as an explosion reached her ears. She could see Ed and Al in the distance, jumping through the air, followed closely by two black figures.
The boy from before was still sat at the table but was staring at her like a creeper. "Take a fucking picture. Maybe it will last longer." She snapped in irritation.
He laughed. "I'm sorry." He suddenly got a curious look on his face. "What did you say your name was?"
"I don't recall telling you." She snapped icily before sighing. "Anyway, isn't it common courtesy to introduce yourself and then ask who I am?"
He laughed. "Good point. I'm Ling Yao." She scoffed, rolling her eyes before she sat up completely and put her elbows on the table with her fingers entwined with eachother. She slowly rested her chin on them with a small smirk on her face.
"Yumi. Yumi Yatsuke." She said.
"You're an alchemist, right? Like the Edward and Alphonse?" Ling questioned.
"How did you know that? Did Al and pipsqueak tell ya or something?" She snapped.
"No, no! Nothing like that." He pointed a finger at her wrist where one of her bracelets was clearly visible, as were the charms on it. "Those are Alchemy signs, right?"
"Good guess." She said with a smirk before sighing. "But if you must know, then yes, I am an alchemist. If you wanna stick to specifics, my full title is Lieutenant Colonel Yumi Yatsuke, The Elements Alchemist." She commented bluntly.
"Ooh! You're a state alchemist too?!" Ling exclaimed.
"Mmhmm." She nodded.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Philosopher Stone?" His eyes opened for the first time since they had been talking, glaring at her darkly. She couldn't look away. He was cocky. Confident in his own abilities. Deep in his eyes she could plainly see the greedy intent. 'Greed. Greed. Envy. Wrath. Dead. Killed. Military. Homonculus. Greed. Elric. Greed. Greed. GREED!? Where are you? You lied! You lied! YOU LIED!' She shook her head furiously as the thoughts seemed to echo off the walls of her brain.
"Hey are you alright?" Ling asked.
"Too much. Too soon. Damn it. Why does he have to have that look in his fucking eyes?" She growled out before she swiftly flipped the table over unexpectedly. She tugged a piece of glitter off of one of the charms that dangled from her wrists and as she ran, jumping up onto the roof, she allowed a trail of fire to separate her from Ling. Ling Yao. The Xingese brat that looked so much like Greed the Avaricious.
"You attacked Master Ling!" A voice said from behind her. She rolled her eyes and jumped into the air. She turned around in mid-air and fired wildly at her with her guns causing smoke to rise up into the air. She sat perched on a chimney with her face in her hands.
"Are you alright?" Ling asked as he tilted his head to the side to peer at her hidden face.
"...Ckfff." Was all Ling heard from her muffled response.
"Ckfff?" He questioned.
She raised her head to glare at him, her face wet with tears, her eyes red and puffy. "FUCK OFF!" She screamed at him before she slammed her right hand against the side of the chimney causing a tornado to sweep her up and away from him onto the next roof. She landed on her feet before she took off across the roof, landing on a different roof where she wiped her face, making sure there were no signs that she had been crying remaining before she sat down, cross-legged on the roof and worked on taking apart her guns.
Once all the pieces lay before her she worked on putting them back together, ignoring Ling's presence as he landed on the roof she was on and peered over her shoulder. "Wow! You're really good at that!" He said with a smile.
"Hmph. Flattery will get you nowhere." She grunted in response and quickly twirled the gun around and pointed it at Ling pulling the trigger only for a puff of smoke to come out. "Apparently not that good." She said as she got back to work on fixing it.
"Why do you dislike me so much?" He asked politely.
"Somebody I deeply cared for just died." She said coldly. "You remind me of him."
"Oh." He said. "Well, I've been told by many a people that I remind them of themselves. Maybe I know him!"
"I doubt it!" She snapped.
"Well, who was he, a childhood friend, a brother?" Ling persisted.
"He was the only man I ever, and will ever love." She shot back, shoving the bullet holder thingy into her second gun before she jumped to her feet and stalked away.
"At least tell me his name! You did toss a table on me, and nearly shot me."
"Please! That shot would've either gone straight past your head, and even if it didn't your bodyguards seem to be the type to die for you." She said bitterly. "I had some friends like that. Though, being loyal was kinda in one of their bloods." She said, think of Dorcetto and Roa.
"Come on! Who was he! A name, that's all I'm asking." Ling pleaded as she continued to walk away, but stopped at that.
"Names mean more than you think." She muttered and put her face in her hand before she spun around with her hand on her hip as she glared him down. "Your utter disregard for that is foolishness." She snapped and swiftly spun around before she started to walk off again but stopped. "But I suppose I do owe you." She slowly escalated her voice so that it bounced off of the air itself and back to Ling's waiting ears.
"Oh, and his name was Greed."
Let it all out, let it all out
You don't have to act so brave
The graffiti flower that someone painted on the wall sways
Nobody knows who their real selves are
Losing and finding things in the middle of this long, long road
There are days where we feel alone and we feel like crying, but...
Change these tears and this pain into stars
Turn on the light that will shine on tomorrow
I may lose my way a little
But together, we'll create stardust and search for an eternity that glows so brightly.
I hope you guys liked this chappy. Next chapter will come a lot sooner than this one did! Don't worry!
Review!?
~The Goddess of Darkness.
