Chapter Ten: The Quarrel of Curiosity

Girl instinct… Ed thought as he, Megumi, and Tio rode home from the concert. What exactly is girl instinct? He looked at Tio beside him sleeping with her mouth hanging open, and Megumi staring out the window. Should I ask them? Ed began debating with himself whether or not to ask.

Megumi had sensed Ed's worries. She turned around. "Something bothering you, Ed-kun?"

"N-No…" Ed said, startled. "No…"

Megumi was a little skeptical, but she left the subject alone, looking out the window again. Before she knew it, they were home. After Megumi woke Tio up, Tio immediately went into the bathroom upstairs. Ed started climbing the stairs to go into his room. As he climbed, the answer hit him like a bullet: Winry.

"Hey, Ed-kun…" Megumi called. "Before you go to bed…"

Ed stopped, his left foot one step higher than he was, and turned around.

"Tomorrow's an in-service for the teachers at my school, and I took off work so I can go out with Tio. I haven't been spending much time with her lately, so tomorrow's dedicated to her."

"Do I have to come?"

"You're not allowed to come, Ed-kun. It's girls only."

That was the perfect opportunity to learn more about girls—what they do, what they talk about, everything. Ed briefly etched out a plan in his head. He interrupted himself midway, realizing that not getting a little angry would be kind of awkward, so he said, "Fine. Gash, Kiyomaro, Al, Umagon and I are going out on a boys only thing tomorrow, then!"

Megumi smiled. "That's okay with me." She paused. "Oh, that's right. I stopped by Winry's yesterday while rushing to my manager's car. She's agreed to come with us."

That wasn't good. Ed was going to ask Winry about girls tomorrow. He had absolutely no idea what to do to ask her before she left.

"Okay then," Ed said, continuing to climb the stairs. "I'm going to bed."

"Good night, Ed-kun."

"'Night, Megumi." Ed closed his bedroom door. He leaned against it, thinking about what to do. He suddenly remembered the alchemy books and alchemic gloves he was keeping under his bed. He walked over to the bed, bent down, and reached for the first volume. After accidentally picking up the fifth and third volumes, he got the first volume and his knapsack of supplies. He turned the light on and flipped through the pages, looking for the sleeping pills so Megumi would have a deeper sleep and wouldn't hear him sneaking out of the house. He eventually found the page they were on and took out a sleep-aiding pill and an aspirin from the knapsack.

He needed to get a glass of water. He opened his bedroom door a little and poked his head out. Megumi's bedroom door was closed, so he assumed that she had already gone to sleep. The bathroom door was open, so Tio was already asleep. He left his room and tiptoed down the stairs, trying not to make a sound; he didn't want to wake Megumi up.

He finally touched the floor after what had seemed like an eternity. He casually walked into the kitchen, opened the cupboard, took out a glass, and filled it with tap water. He went out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs more carefully than before, not only so he wouldn't make noise, but also so he wouldn't spill the water.

That trip seemed longer than the last. He practically ran into his bedroom and closed the door. He immediately alchemized the sleeping pill.

Now came the hard part. He needed to go into Megumi's room and somehow make her take the sleeping pill. He opened the door again and crept to Megumi's bedroom door. He put his hand on the handle and slowly turned it. To his relief, there wasn't a sound as the handle was turned all the way down and he opened the door.

Ed walked over to the dresser, took Megumi's cell phone, and put it in the same pocket the pill was in. He needed to inspect it for anything that could revealing about girls.

He looked at Megumi lying on her stomach, her hands at her sides. That made his job even more difficult; he had to lift her head to make her gulp the pills. Even though he knew she would probably wake up, he had to try.

Ed snuck over to Megumi's bed. He stuffed the pills in his pocket, put his warm hands on the cheek that was facing up, and wormed under her head with his other hand until it laid on her other cheek. He was about to lift her head when Megumi's eyes opened a little.

"E-Ed-kun...?" she said, still a little drowsy. Ed quickly slid his hands off her. "Ed-kun!" She was fully awake now. "What're you doing here?"

Before Ed could lie, Megumi guessed at what the answer was.

"Oh, you were having a nightmare, weren't you?"

Ed blushed. He remembered his parents letting him sleep with them when he had a nightmare. He imagined what could happen if he did have a nightmare. He felt his whole face grow hot. He shook the image from his mind. He had to stay focused and not give anything away.

"Why were you blushing like that, Ed-kun?" Megumi asked, becoming suspicious. "Were you trying to do something perverted to me?"

"If I was, I'm sorry," Ed began his lie. He tried to seem as confused as possible. "I didn't realize… I don't remember anything…"

"You sleepwalk?"

"I guess so…"

"I didn't know that. Well, just go back to bed. It doesn't seem like a major problem, so there shouldn't be any more interruptions."

Ed purposely didn't close Megumi's door on his way out. Fortunately, Megumi was already back asleep and didn't notice. He went into his room and sat on the bed. He reached into his pocket and threw the pill in the trash can next to the nightstand.

He took out the cell phone. He pressed a button, and it lit up. He checked the contacts list, but there was just the phone numbers of her co-workers, Kiyomaro, Folgore, and Sunbeam.

He looked at the photos and saw various pictures of Megumi, Kiyomaro, Gash, and Tio, her and Tio, and her, Al, and Winry.

Finally, he checked her messages. Unfortunately, there were just messages from her co-workers and Kiyomaro asking her to come to his house to discuss something about demons.

He sighed and put the cell phone back on Megumi's dresser. He closed the door and went back in his room, sitting on his bed. He closed his eyes and pondered how he would follow the girls. He soon fell asleep without knowing it.

Ed woke up earlier than Tio and Megumi to go to Winry's. He left his room and ran downstairs, not trying to be quiet. He opened the door, and was about to leave, when he was caught.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ed turned around. Megumi stood at the top of the stairs, still in her pajamas, her hands on her hips.

"Us guys like to start the day off early," Ed said.

Megumi smiled. "Oh, is that so? Well then, I'll see you later on today, Ed-kun." She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Ed proceeded to Winry's house, glad that Megumi hadn't questioned him further. When he got there, he rang the doorbell, and, to his relief, Winry answered it. She was dressed and ready to go.

"Hi, Ed!" she greeted him. "What're you doing here so early?"

"Megumi said that you and Tio and her are going out," Ed said. "Are you guys really…?"

"Yep."

"Okay, then… Um…this may seem random, but…what exactly is girl instinct?"

"Girl instinct? Girl instinct…" Winry smirked. "Girl instinct…is something that only girls have."

"I know that. I wanna know exactly it is."

"Sorry, that's all you're gonna get out of me." Winry closed the door.

Ed stared at the door for a minute. Even someone as straightforward as Winry wouldn't tell him. He decided to go get Al.

"Hey, Ed," Al said once he had answered the door. He, too, was dressed. "You're up early. Is something wrong?"

"Very," Ed said. "Girls."

"Girls? What's wrong with girls?"

"There's something up with them, and you're gonna help me find out what."

"I don't think that's a very good idea… Besides, you could just ask a girl like Megumi-san, Tio, or Winry."

"I tried asking Winry, but she told me what I already knew... That only girls have it. And Megumi and Tio…they'll just tease me. Besides, I wanna know what they do when boys aren't around."

Al sighed. "Fine, I'll help."

"Awesome. Now, here's what we're gonna do…"

"Can you hear me, Al?" Ed spoke through the walkie-talkie he alchemized.

"Yeah," Al replied. "Can you hear me?"

"Yep. You're behind the house, right?"

"Right. You're…"

"Inside the house. Remember to follow them as closely, but secretively, as possible. Don't say anything until they're out of earshot. You can't get caught, or else…" Ed gulped. "Tio could really kill us."

"Alright." Al saw Megumi, Tio, and Winry walking down the street. "They're leaving." He listened closely.

"So, Tio," Megumi said, putting her sunglasses on, "where do you want to go?"

"The beach!" Tio answered.

"That sounds fun!" Winry said.

"Beach it is," Megumi said.

Al told Ed where the girls were going. He ended with, "I don't think this'll reveal anything about girls... See, Megumi-san, Winry, Tio…they're all different ages, and I don't think Megumi-san would talk about anything real girly unless she was with peers or alone with Winry… You see what I'm saying?"

Ed was impressed. "What you said sounded…knowledgeable. You know about girls, Al?"

"Not really. I don't spend much time around any girls except Winry."

Winry wasn't that girly when she was around Al and I, Ed thought,but since she's with two other girls, she might be more girly around them. "Keep following them, Al. I really think that we can find something out from this."

"Got it." Al continued to eavesdrop.

Tio was happy to have a day just for her, like her birthday. It was better than going to another one of Megumi's concerts, tours, anything else Megumi had to do, or staying home with Ed.

"By the way…" Winry started. "Ed came over to my house and asked me if I were going with you two."

"We don't need to worry about him," Megumi said. "He said he was going to have a boys only outing with some of his friends, including Al-kun."

"But I think he might be following us. I mean, it's possible."

"Following…?" Tio growled.

"Don't worry, Tio," Megumi said to stop her from going on an all-out rage. "I'll go and see if anyone's following us."

Megumi checked behind people's houses, in bushes, trees, everywhere she thought Ed could've hidden. She was looking behind a house when she heard something rustle behind the fence. She stood on her toes and scanned the area. There was nothing but a bush behind the fence. It shook.

"Who's there?" Megumi called.

No answer, just more rustling.

Megumi climbed over the fence and stuck her hand in the bush. She felt something lick it. She touched the something and felt fur. She gently took both its sides and pulled it out. It was a cat. Megumi smiled and put it back down. She watched it run across the field into the distance, and then returned to Tio and Winry.

"Nobody's following us," she reported.

"We should still be on the lookout, though," Winry said.

"Right," Tio agreed. "If Ed's following us, I'll…I'll…" She balled her hand into a fist.

Al was behind a tree in the corner of a backyard. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Megumi didn't catch him.

"They're suspicious, Ed!" Al said in the walkie-talkie. "What do I do?"

"Don't panic," Ed replied, digging in a box of CDs in Megumi's basement. "Just stay alert and stealthy."

"Okay." Al stood up and continued following the girls. "How are things on your end?"

"I haven't found anything girly in the house yet. I'll be going to Kiyomaro's house to ask him about girls, although it'll be hard; he and everyone else in that house are all boys—except his mother and Umagon, who's a horse."

"Who's house? And what about a horse?"

"Kiyomaro Takamine's, and Umagon, their pet horse."

"Pet...horse? How can they keep a horse...?"

"Oh, yeah, you've never met him and his 'family.'"

"No." Al saw the girls come into view. He slowed down. "I see them, so I'll be listening."

"Alright, good luck." Ed turned the walkie-talkie off. He finished his house inspection, sadly not finding anything, and went to Kiyomaro's house. Umagon's doghouse was empty.

Ed knocked, and Hana answered the door.

"Hello, Ed-kun," she said. "Kiyomaro doesn't have school today because the teachers are having an in-service, so you can talk to him as well as Gash-chan and Umagon."

"Well, actually," Ed started, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Um…" Ed was a little nervous about asking her. "Why do girls…know everything?"

"We don't know everything, but we do have girl instinct, which tells us a lot."

Ed couldn't believe it. Even someone as sophisticated as Kiyomaro's mother said that girls had girl instinct.

"Are you coming in?" Hana asked, moving aside.

"Uh…yeah…" Ed waddled in, and then ran straight into Kiyomaro's room. Umagon and Kiyomaro were so surprised that Umagon knocked down the blocks that were stacked up while putting his head near them, and Kiyomaro's chair tipped back and fell.

"You could've knocked!" Kiyomaro yelled, clearly annoyed.

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon agreed.

"Hi, Ed!" Gash ignored Ed's startling interruption, not perturbed by it at all. He held up Vulcan. "Wanna play?"

"Um…sure…" Ed said, scratching his head. "But first, what do you all know about girls?"

Umagon shook his head while Kiyomaro positioned the chair correctly and sat back down in it and Gash stared at Ed blankly.

"That's okay, Umagon," Ed said, smiling. He looked at Kiyomaro and Gash. "What about you two?"

"Girls…?" Gash went into deep thought. After about a minute, he said, "I don't know!"

Ed let out a heavy sigh. "Kiyomaro, you're smart."

Kiyomaro sat up straight.

"Do you know anything at all about girls and girl instinct?"

"Girl instinct?" Kiyomaro said. "Girl instinct…" He paused. "Who told you about girl instinct, Ed?"

"Megumi said it first, then Tio, then-"

"Has it ever occurred to you that they might just be screwing around with you?"

"They can't be, because even your mother said that it existed."

"My mother did?"

"Sure did. So, do you know anything at all about girls?"

"My mother said...my mother..."

"If you can't answer, then..."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, I...guess I don't know anything about girls."

Now I can only rely on Al. Ed thought. "Alrighty," he said, looking at Gash and Umagon, "Gash, Umagon, I'll play with you guys."

Gash's face lit up, and Umagon grinned, showing his bucked teeth.

Al had arrived at the beach along with Megumi, Tio, and Winry. Tio started running towards the beach. Winry ran after her.

"Hold on, you two," Megumi called after them.

Tio and Winry slid to a stop and turned around.

"We need to put on bathing suits."

"Oops," Tio said, looking at her red and pink dress. "I forgot."

"Come on," Megumi said, walking towards the nearby beach house. Tio and Winry ran after her.

Al turned his walkie-talkie on and hid in the corner of the beach, still able to see everything well. "They're at the beach."

Meanwhile, at Kiyomaro's house, Gash, Umagon, and Kiyomaro stared at Ed, knowing that the strange voice had come from him. Ed was keeping his walkie-talkie in his pocket.

"Excuse me," Ed said, running into the bathroom.

"Since when did Ed get a cell phone?" Kiyomaro wondered.

"A what?" Gash asked.

"Never mind."

"So, you said they're at the beach?" Ed said, putting the lid on the toilet seat down and sitting on it.

"Yup." Al watched the girls run out of the beach house in their swimsuits. Megumi's sunglasses were off, and she and Winry each carried a surfboard.

"What are they doing?"

"It looks like they're going surfing."

"Alright, then. Report back if they're doing anything…girly."

"Girly…? I'll try." Al turned off the walkie-talkie.

Ed went back into Kiyomaro's room. "Sorry about that. Now, where were we in our adventure, Gash?"

"Who was that, Ed?" Kiyomaro interrupted.

"My friend whom you guys have never met."

"What's your friend's name?" Gash asked, suddenly interested.

"His name's Al. I'll introduce him to you guys one day."

"Okay!" Gash's face lit up again. He was eager to meet a new friend. "Come on, let's get back to playing!"

"Meru-meru-me!" Umagon merued.

"Wait one second," Kiyomaro interrupted again.

"What, Kiyomaro?" Gash was getting a little impatient.

"Ed, is your friend spying on Megumi-san?"

Gash and Umagon looked at Ed. They also wanted to know.

"Yeah," Ed began, "but you've gotta understand. I wanna know more about girls, and this is one of the few ways to do it."

"You can't find anything out this way," Kiyomaro said.

But Ed refused to believe it. "I'll definitely find something out about girls. I don't care what anyone else says. I will."

"Paddle, Tio, paddle," Megumi said. She and Tio kneeled on their surfboards. Winry had already gone out far from the beach.

"I-I can't…" Tio said, staring at the water with growing fear.

"Yes you can. Now, come on, paddle!" Megumi started paddling with her hands.

"W-What if there's…a squid…or…a jellyfish...or...a shark?" Tio got more and more scared as they went out farther into the ocean.

"Don't worry so much, Tio. Have fun."

Tio dipped her hands in the water, but immediately took them back out. "M…Megumi…"

"You're afraid of drowning again, aren't you?"

Tio said nothing, but Megumi was right. Even though she was in a safer situation with Megumi around, she was still afraid of the surfboard tipping over and falling into the ocean.

"Tio, if you don't want to surf, we could just go back to the beach."

Tio slowly put her hands in the water. She waited a minute to get used to the warmness of the water, then began paddling.

"Good!" Megumi praised.

Waves bobbed the surfboard up and down. As each wave came and went, Tio became more comfortable. She was okay until she saw a wave that towered above her. She looked behind her. The beach was no longer visible.

"Okay, Tio!" Megumi said, standing up and spreading her arms apart to balance herself. "Here comes the first big wave! Stand up!"

Tio was a little reluctant to, as she was thinking that would make her more likely to fall off, but she trusted Megumi. She stood up.

The wave seemed to get bigger as they came closer to it. The surfboard was tilted upward; they were now on the demonic wave.

Tio was shaking. Megumi must've sensed her fear, because she turned around and smiled, saying, "You're not going to fall, Tio. I promise."

Her assurance made Tio feel a little bit better. But Tio's small bit of relief quickly turned to fear when she looked down, realizing that they were at the top of the wave. She thought they were going to fall when Megumi made the surfboard swerve. Tio grinned, amazed, as Megumi maneuvered it up and down the wave, the wave getting smaller each time. Then, the wave crashed down on them. Tio closed her eyes as water flooded both her and Megumi. She thought they were drowning, but the water suddenly stopped pounding them. She opened her eyes. She and Megumi were still standing on top of the surfboard.

"Are you okay, Tio?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah," Tio replied.

"It wasn't as bad as you thought it was, right?"

"Actually…" Tio smiled. "…it was…fun! I enjoyed that!" Tio realized that she wanted to feel the adrenaline rush and excitement of surfing again. "When are we gonna do it again, Megumi?!"

"Right now." Megumi was staring at another wave, this one bigger than the last.

"Ed…" Al spoke into the walkie-talkie. Darkness surrounded him, and he could barely keep himself awake. "They went out into the ocean and haven't returned for hours… I can't see them at all… Can I come back…?"

The worry of not finding anything out was slowly becoming an actuality, but Ed was still determined to find at least one thing out about girls. He could take that one piece of information and squeeze more out of it. "No, stay there until they come back."

"Hey, Ed," Kiyomaro chimed in, throwing a blanket over Gash and Umagon, who were both sleeping on his bed, "don't you think that it's a little…odd that they've been gone this long? Do you think…?"

Ed eyes grew wide; he had already figured it out. He practically screamed into the walkie-talkie, "Al, go into the ocean and look for them! Don't worry about changing into a bathing suit! Just go!"

"Got it!" Al jammed his walkie-talkie into his pocket and ran towards the ocean.

Tio looked all around her. Nothing but water. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't swim. She was helpless. She had gotten separated from Megumi getting thrown off the surfboard. It seemed that all hope was lost.

She looked up for any sign of something that could save her. She saw the body of someone swimming with all their clothes on, their head poked into the water. Tio's vision had faded without her realizing it and she couldn't make out who it was, but she could see that it was a boy. The person dove into the water. He gently took her and carried her up to the surface. As soon as she reached fresh air, Tio coughed.

"Are you okay, Tio?" the boy asked.

Tio couldn't ask him how he knew her name because of her bad cough. Even though she was out of the water, the effects were still getting to her.

"It...Al..." the boy said. It was becoming more difficult to make his face out and hearing. "I...explain how I found you... Right now...need to...you to shore...Megumi-san…"

Tio couldn't fight the urge to sleep anymore, even though she wanted to help save Megumi. Everything went black.

It was dark. Megumi could only hear the water around her. She didn't have the strength to swim to the surface. That last wave had sucked all of the energy out of her. She let herself sink.

She stopped sinking and was pushed up. Megumi wondered if she was swimming without realizing it. She felt bursts of air slap her face. She could breathe again. She opened her eyes and saw her savior.

"Win...ry…?" she made out. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Winry said. She hung Megumi over her surfboard. "You were drowning."

Megumi opened her mouth to explain, but Winry cupped her hand over it.

"Don't talk, that'll make you more tired." I have to try and find my way to the shore… she thought. I hope I can…

She began swimming, Megumi unconsciously hanging over the surfboard, but something pulled her down. She tried to stay above the water, but the creature was too strong. She and Megumi were enveloped in water.

Winry looked down and saw a giant squid with one of its giant tentacles wrapped around her legs. She pushed Megumi and the surfboard back up to the surface right before the squid wrapped another one of its tentacles around her arms.

The squid continued dragging Winry down. It became harder and harder to struggle against the squid; she could hardly breathe and see. It was like the strength was being sucked out of her. She had to think fast.

Then, she came up with the perfect plan. She bit the squid's tentacles as hard as she could. The squid unwrapped its tentacles from around Winry's legs and arms, the water becoming polluted with its blood. Winry grabbed one of the squid's tentacles and used all of her remaining strength to try and pull it up to the surface, but it was too heavy. She tried harder, and the squid started getting pulled upwards. She and the squid reached the surface. Winry took in a big breath of air while the squid started to die.

Winry looked at the squid, and saw Al floating next to it.

"Al…" she said. "You…"

"I followed you and helped you with the squid. I'll explain everything onshore. Tio's waiting there, and she's still unconscious."

Back onshore, Al pushed the water out of Tio. He watched it spray out of her mouth.

"You were…following us…" Winry couldn't get over that. It was strange that Al had followed them instead of Ed. Then, the reason why came to her.

"Please don't get angry," Al said. "At least not until Tio and Megumi-san are awake."

Tio coughed and opened her eyes. Her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Megumi…" she said. "Where's Megumi? We were drowning, and—"

Megumi stirred and opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around, dazed.

"Megumi!" Tio leaped into her. Megumi, unprepared for Tio's hug, was pushed down onto the ground.

"Tio…" Megumi was still flustered. "What happened…?" She looked around again, her eyes more adjusted, and recognized Al and Winry. "Al-kun…what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with-?" She stopped talking, realizing what had happened.

Tio got off Megumi, getting angrier with the passing seconds. She had figured out what had happened, too. "You…followed us…" she growled. "All that time…" She turned around. Al and Winry gasped at her devilish appearance. "Strangle… No, kill… I'll kill you…" She wrenched her hands. Al squeaked.

"Tio!"

Tio stopped herself and looked at Megumi, now sitting back up.

"Is that any way to repay someone who just saved your life?"

Tio looked at the ground, thinking about it.

"I would usually be kinda angry about this," Winry said, "but if you didn't follow us, Tio, Megumi-san and I would be dead right now."

"Yep!" Tio said, not angry anymore. "Thanks, Al!"

"And thank you, Winry, Al-kun," Megumi said. "So much water flooded me at once…I couldn't save Tio. See, we drowned while we were surfing a giant wave. You can pretty much go from there."

"Where were you the whole time, Winry?" Tio asked.

"I got lost," Winry replied. "I went too far out…and while I was finding my way back, I ran into Megumi-san, who was drowning."

"Hey, Al-kun…" Megumi said. "Did Ed-kun ask you to do this?"

"Y-Yes…" Al said. "It's because…"

Al explained why on their way back. They were all standing outside Kiyomaro's house when he finished. Tio was trembling with anger.

"So that's what happened," Megumi said, knocking on the door. "You guys just had to ask us."

"Like I said before, I told Ed to do that," Al said, "but he said you guys would just tease him about it."

"Actually, I would've played with him a little bit, and I'm sure Tio and Winry would've, too. But you and Ed-kun went to such lengths to find out… The least we could do is explain everything." She looked at Tio and Winry. "Right, girls?"

Tio crossed her arms, and Winry rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll explain."

Hana opened the door.

"Hello," she said. She looked at Al and Winry. "Friends of yours?"

Al and Winry introduced themselves. After they finished, Hana let all of them in, and they went into Kiyomaro's room. Gash and Umagon were sprawled out on Kiyomaro's bed, asleep, Ed sat against the wall beside the bed, looking down, and Kiyomaro was sitting at his desk, studying a huge book.

"Kiyomaro-kun, Ed-kun," Megumi said.

Kiyomaro and Ed looked at them at the same time.

"Megumi-san, Tio, you're okay!" Kiyomaro exclaimed. Then, he studied Al and Winry. After he finished examining them, he looked at Ed. "These are the friends you were talking about, Ed?"

"Yeah," Ed said, "Al and Winry. Anyways, I'm glad you guys are alright. I thought you would've drowned."

"Al explained everything," Tio said, stepping towards Ed, her arms in strangling position. "And…I'll strangle the dev—"

"Tio, what did I say earlier?" Megumi said.

Tio stopped and put her arms down.

"Anyway, Ed-kun, Al-kun, I have something to tell you."

Al looked at Megumi, but Ed looked out the window.

"…About girls."

Ed looked at Megumi with sudden interest. Even Kiyomaro stopped what he was doing and listened intently.

"There really isn't anything called girl instinct. I just made that up to tease you, and I didn't mean for you to take it so seriously."

"But…Kiyomaro's mother said…" Ed said.

"Oh, I'm sure she was just teasing you, too."

"Then…how do girls and women know everything?"

"We put little clues together, like detectives."

"Clues?"

"Yes. How we do it… That's a secret that boys aren't supposed to know about." Megumi winked, and Ed looked down, blushing.

"Are you two satisfied now?" Winry said.

"Yep, I'm good," Ed said, looking up, his blush gone.

"Yes," Al said, even though he hadn't really been curious in the first place.

"Al-kun, did you follow us because Ed-kun told you to?" Megumi asked.

"Asked him to, Megumi," Ed said. "He agreed to, he didn't have to do it."

"It's true, Megumi-san," Al said. "I volunteered."

"Erm…can we go home now?" Tio said, a little jumpy. "I have to…you know…"

Megumi nodded, giving her keys, and Tio ran downstairs out the door.

"Man, that Tio…" Megumi said. "I understand she had to go, but she still could've waited."

"She could've just…" Ed caught himself in the middle, figuring it out. "Oh, I get it. Never mind."

"We'd better be going as well," Megumi said, turning. "Bye, Kiyomaro-kun."

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Megumi, Al, Winry, and Ed left.

Ed was surprised Megumi hadn't gotten angry for sending Al to spy on them. He now pondered what made Megumi angry. That's what he was going to find out next.