Long Winding Road
EdxOC &AlxOC
Yep, a remarkably fast update. ENJOY!
Mikayla stepped off the train, stretching her arms above her head. "That was the longest train ride of my life."
Lynelle laughed. "You were never a huge fan of trains to begin with."
"Nope," Mikayla said, readjusting the straps of her duffel bag. "Let's head back to Kane's I'm beat."
"I'll walk you guys there," Ed said.
The three made their way down the dirt path towards the older alchemist home. As the house came into view, Mikayla spotted her training partner lying on the ground.
She smiled and shouted out, "Hey Nami!"
Nami sat up, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She saw Mikayla, Ed, and another girl approaching in the distance.
"Hey Mikayla!" She shouted back, smiling. She stood up and stretched, arching her back.
Lynelle felt herself freeze up a bit, trying to figure out why this girl looked so familiar. She glanced at Mikayla and Ed - wondering if they felt the same nervousness she felt, but wasn't surprised when she found they were totally comfortable with the girl.
She tried to force a smile as Mikayla introduced her, saying: "Nami this is my friend Lynelle who, granted Kane lets her, will be staying here for a while. Lyn this is Nami - she's being trained alongside of me by Kane."
Lynelle kept the same shaky smile, "Nice to meet you."
Nami paused for a split second and took in the girl. She knew this girl, she knew her somehow. Is she the girl from... no, she couldn't be.
"As Mikayla said, I'm Nami, it's nice to meet you too," Nami said, smiling.
Lynelle let herself relax, trying to convince herself she was wrong about Nami and deciding to let that flame of sudden hatred and anger go. Suddenly, the front door flew open and Reena came running out - latching onto Mikayla's waist.
"I missed you!" She shouted, glaring up at the older girl. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because I didn't feel like dealing with your attitude," Mikayla smiled, ruffling Reena's black hair. "And I missed you too."
Reena let go of Mikayla, flashing Ed a smile before looking at Lynelle in confusion. Mikayla quickly got the introductions over with before asking about where Kane was.
"Kane saw you guys out of the window and said he was going to make a phone call before coming out," Reena replied. "I think he's calling Ms. Pinako."
"It's dinner time soon; maybe they were planning a dinner or something?" Nami suggested. "Or maybe he just needs Winry to make more stuff for him."
"Maybe," Mikayla replied. She headed inside, Lynelle following close behind her while Reena lingered behind to annoy Ed. Mikayla found Kane hanging up the phone as she walking into the kitchen. "I'm back! Did ya miss me?"
Kane rolled his eyes, "Nope, not at all."
"Hey!"
Kane smiled, "Whatever." He then inquired about Lynelle and Mikayla told him the short version of why she was here: Lynelle was a friend who needed a home after a tragic accident consisting of her home catching on fire; she found this easier than telling him Lynelle had ties to the Blade Children.
With a sigh he agreed to let the girl stay. He then went on to say, "Pinako wants to invite us over for dinner to celebrate you and Ed's mission. I'm sure she won't mind that Lynelle comes."
"Awesome," Mikayla grinned. "Free food!"
The three then walked outside to tell the others the plan- Reena, Ed, and Nami all turning to see the trio approaching them.
"So what did Pinako say?" Ed asked.
"She invited us all over for dinner to celebrate you and Mikayla's mission success," Kane answered. He looked at Nami. "She invited you too."
Nami smiled, "Awesome."
The group headed down the path to the Rockbell residence soon after getting word of the dinner party (once everyone had freshened up). The elderly woman greeted them when they arrived - happily introducing herself to Lynelle who smiled at the warm greeting. She was then introduced to Winry who came down the steps moments after the group walked inside. Lynelle could sense the tension between Winry and Mikayla who both purposefully put distance between themselves, but made chose to ask questions later.
"Dinner is ready!" Pinako called from the kitchen.
"Yay!" Reena cheered, running in front of the teens and adults to claim her plate first.
Nami sat down at the table across from Mikayla and in between Al and Kane. Pinako say next to Kane at the head of the table and Winry sat on the other end next to Ed and Al.
"So how was the mission?" Pinako asked, smiling. "If you can't tell me much, I understand."
Winry did not like the thought of Ed and Mikayla on a mission together; it made her stomach twist.
Ed and Mikayla exchanged knowing glances; trying to come to a silent agreement on what to say.
"We can't say much," Ed replied, giving an apologetic smile. "But, it was a research mission - it went pretty smoothly actually."
"That's good to hear," Pinako replied. "I'm glad you both came back unharmed."
They both smiled, both equally as glad to be back home. It was then that Reena's shoulders suddenly quivered, dropping her spoon onto the floor. Mikayla's smiled morphed into a worried frown, looking over at the girl who sat on the other side of Lynelle - next to Pinako.
"You okay, Reena? You look a bit pale."
Reena forced a smile, picking up her spoon again. "I'm fine, just a chill went up my spine."
"Are you sure you're not getting sick?" Pinako asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, really!" Reena reassured. But, what the heck was that feeling?
Nami raised an eyebrow but continued eating. Everyone was acting strange - that Lynelle girl obviously recognized her and Reena's gone pale
I wonder what's going on, she thought.
Directing the conversation somewhere happier, Winry turned to Nami.
"How's your leg holding up?"
Nami smiled, "It's great, you're the best mechanic I know."
Winry grinned. "Thanks! So are you staying with Kane too?"
Nami took a sip of her water and shook her head, "No, I'm staying with Ryu since Kane's house is a bit full, and I don't want to intrude."
Al didn't know how to react to the piece of information Nami had just shared.
I wonder if Ryu is her boyfriend. He continued eating his food as his mind tried to analyze her sentence. He mentally scolded himself seconds later for doing so - it really wasn't any of his business. Besides, he had only talked her a few times and wasn't really friends with her in the first place - just a friend of a friend (though he won't mind being her friend).
Mikayla had to hold back a laugh as she watched Al try to preoccupy himself by eating. Call it sisterly-intuition, but she had a feeling that Al had some sort of interest in Nami.
Aw, so cute. She would have to mention to him to walk her home after dinner.
"So how is training Mikayla? Nami?" Pinako asked.
"Great, I'm learning a lot," Nami answered before taking a sip of water.
Good," Mikayla answered, placing her fork down beside her empty plate. "I guess you have a good teacher if you crash every night after a day of training."
Kane's held an indifferent face, taking a sip of water, but internally he was happy that his students were improving through his teachings. He knew they would both be highly skilled and respected alchemist once he was through with them.
Pinako smiled, "That's good to know. I was worried he was killing you two girls over there with his harsh training."
"They're not that bad actually," Mikayla replied. "They're getting easier."
"Easier?" Kane said, raising an eyebrow. "Guess I'll have to up the difficulty, huh?"
Mikayla groaned, wishing she hadn't said anything. "Great..."
"Thanks Mikayla..." Nami glared playfully.
Once everyone finished up their plates, Mikayla insisted on doing the dishes for Pinako, telling the elderly woman to go relax and prop her feet up. She noticed Ed trying to sneak out of the kitchen so he wouldn't have to help and dragged him back by his braid - telling him to help dry and put away the dishes.
Kane thanked Pinako for the meal and announced he had some work he needed to attend to at home. Reena trotted back with him, her full stomach making her sleepy and she didn't feel like waiting around for Mikayla. Lynelle decided to stick around to wait for Mikayla, and in the meantime Winry sat next to her on the couch and struck up a conversation.
Winry needed a distraction from the pair in the kitchen, but was also wanted to get to know Lynelle. Lynelle thought the blond was nice and didn't know why Mikayla had a problem with her, but knew that there must be a story behind the reason why the two girls refused to speak to each other.
Nami also thanked Pinako for dinner and excused herself outside.
Al sent Mikayla a 'should-I-go-too?-look' before following her out.
Mikayla laughed as she watched Al walk outside after Nami. Too cute!
Ed gave her a confused look, "What are you laughing about?"
"Your brother is adorable!" She grinned. "He sooo has a small crush on Nami. It's so cute! I can totally see Nami thinking Al is cute."
Ed couldn't help but roll his eyes, not understand why she was going on about it, but decided not to make a comment. Lynelle walked into the kitchen for another glass of water when she heard Mikayla talking about Nami.
"Um, Kayla," She began awkwardly. She didn't want to cause any problems between Mikayla and Nami, but she had to know. "How long have you known Nami?"
Mikayla blinked, before pondering on the question. "Uh, a few weeks maybe - not long. Why?"
Lynelle looked uneasy, rushing to her friend's side to whisper: "It's just that... she looks familiar. She looks like the girl I saw when I woke up at the BC's base, but I could be wrong. It's just this nagging feeling that I have..."
Mikayla frowned, worried about her friend and if what she was saying was true. "Well... I dunno..."
Lynelle then sighed, shaking her head. By the look on Mikayla's face she was at a loss of what to say and Lynelle didn't want to put her in an awkward position, especially since she could be wrong about Nami. "Never mind... let's drop it."
"But-"
"Really it's fine... I think I'm just tired and confused," Lynelle cut in.
She wondered back to the living room where Winry sat at a desk, looking over a piece of automail. Lynelle fell back on to the couch to wait for Mikayla to get done with the dishes, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep.
Nami was leaning again the railing, facing the house.
It was a beautiful evening now that the heat had disappeared and a nice breeze replaced it.
She glanced up when the door opened and smiled at Al.
"Here for some fresh air too?"
Al nodded and smiled, "Yeah, it's nice out."
He walked over next to Nami and leaned against the railing, staring out across Risembool.
"So how has your stay been in Risembool?" Al asked, trying to spark a conversation.
"Very nice, though training is tiring," Nami said. "What about you? I don't think the famous Elric brothers stay in one place for too long."
Al laughed. "Well, you see, this is like home base for us, so we just come back here until we have something to do."
Nami nodded, "Sounds like a legit plan. Are you a state alchemist like your brother?"
"No, but I can do alchemy like he can so I probably could, but he doesn't want me getting hurt," Al explained. "But I can protect myself!"
Nami smiled to herself, thinking of her older brother. "Every brother has his ways."
Before Al could respond, Pinako called to the duo.
"It's getting dark, you better come inside!"
"Alright!" Al called back. He turned towards Nami to see her already heading inside, and followed her.
[That Night]
Mikayla sighed, glancing over to where Lynelle slept on a cot on the floor and to where Reena slept close to her side - wishing sleep would come for her as well. She groaned as she quietly rolled out of bed, slipping on her socks. Dressed in her sweatpants and tank, she wondered out into the living room in search of a book to read. She was surprised when she spotted Kane reading on the couch.
Kane looked at her and smiled slightly, "Can't sleep either?"
Mikayla shook her head. "I can't relax at all and I don't know why."
Kane folded the corner of the page to save his place before closing the book. "How about we go for a walk?"
Mikayla smiled, "Sure."
They slipped on their shoes and walked into the breezy night air, the stars and the moon illuminating the night sky. They talked quietly about training, alchemy, and their lives in general; nothing too personal, but a nice friendly conversation between student and teacher.
As they were walking, Kane caught a voice. "Stop," he said.
Mikayla stopped and they both crouched, straining their ears.
"Give me what you have."
"That's Scarlett," Mikayla hissed.
"Here it is."
Mikayla looked at Kane, with eyes wide, whispering: "That voice..."
Kane nodded, keeping himself calm and trying to think about it rationally. "Sounds like Nami."
Mikayla's eyes widened as Kane confirmed her fear. Kane simply stared into the dark where he thought the voices were coming from, thinking: What the hell is going on?