Chapter 10: Mission is what I Need!

Another day was over and Ed looked forward to that new morning. The unintentional break turned out to be a disordered reflection of his identity. It was funny because he was more afraid of facing the fact of his life than the assignments Mustang let him to do just to get him away from the city. The traces of what happened and he had done haunted him yesterday. Secretly, he was really listening to Al, but he didn't finish his snooping because his dream called him and subsided easily to the trance. He became conscious of what his little brother's sentiment on the tragedy they experienced. He noticed that all the words he heard from Al were a little mature. He's tougher now, he thought. That idea pierced to his mind that he should not let any emotion of being defeated slip out of him. He swore that he wouldn't be simply staggered by any obstruction along the way for his brother. Of course he needed to make a way to gain back what were taken from them.

"Al I'm raring to go, where are you?" Ed stretched his arms and made a warm up. He was the first to get outside the house.

"Wait up brother," Al was running toward him.

"Take care yourselves, especially you Ed," the old bat mentioned.

"They should be the one to look for their selves," Ed replied.

"Here you go again Ed, and then you'll be going home armless," Winry inserted to the talk.

"Nyah… don't start our day with this bantering," Al on the acted as the referee to the two.

"You're still not used to them?" Pinako turned away to them and got inside the house.

"You know Al, as if I don't know, that's Winry's way of telling me to take care myself," he teased.

The lass raised her fist and controlling her temper, "ED! Shut your mouth or I'll smash your head!"

"See? She's guilty," and Ed didn't manage to laugh because the wrench landed to his head. Winry closed the pathetic door.

"Ouch…" Al mumbled with his eyes closed.

"Let's go Al?" and he even smiled after what happened.

"Okay."

"Uhm, brother? You had your head crashed the other day and now your skull suffered again, do you think it will happen tomorrow?" Al asked seriously that made Ed to continue his impeded laugh.

"We should be thankful that it turned out to be like that. If she didn't do that, then something wrong was going on. I mean, that's just normal."

The brothers took the train going to the Central. They were quiet while on their travel, which was usual. The older one would always look outside the window and Al on the other hand was sitting firmly opposite to his brother. Ed wouldn't want to come up with a conversation because it might just lead to their childhood memories then resulting to regrets again, also, he didn't want to open up the topic of Azureth who was still missing at the moment. The leave was helpful for Al to forget the ruffled alien. He chose to look around the train from his seat. Base on what he was seeing, the passengers were not of the ordinary classmen. He even noticed the fat woman, sitting adjacent to them, with so many jewelries sticking to its neck and wrists. The woman made an eye contact and stared at him with a grim face.

"As if I'll be stealing your precious gems from you?" he buzzed exasperatedly then looked to other people along for the ride.

He changed his look and slid his back making his body lopsided on his seat. That time what he spotted from afar, near the joint of the train, was a group of five people in black,.

"Seems a notorious gang…"

"Huh? What is it brother?" Al disrupted his thoughts.

"Ah? Oh nothing. I'm making myself busy with our co-commuters," Ed reasoned in no time and straightened his sit.

"Why don't you take a little walk, you're just bored here I guess," Al suggested.

He nodded and stood up with his hands both on his pockets. "Don't leave here Al, I'll be back a sec."

"Take your time brother, and I won't leave here."

Ed started to walk on the moving train. He smirked unobvious to the jeweled woman and headed to the door of the trunk, he made his mind up to go to the last part of the train to inhale fresh air. As he went along the way, the suspicious men he saw a while ago were there, he passed to them when the other man in black moved fast and aimed a gun on his side, particularly to his ribcage.

"Give all what you have there and I'll spare your life," the stranger whispered with a hardened voice.

Ed sensed that he shouldn't make a wrong move or else the rest of the rail users in the trunk would panic and would attract the entire passengers of the train. He observed the baddies and couldn't help but to grin.

"If you think it we will be frightened by that look to your face think again," one of the members murmured and pushed the gun to him.

"Better play with them first, as for now I can handle the situation," and he laughed in his mind.

"Are you afraid that you can't even say a single word?"

"Please, show a little mercy on me," he pretended to be pathetic in the situation.

"Gimme your belongings and be sure that you won't resist," the guy stood up and like a security guard inspecting Ed to get the things that were worthy to sell. One of the hoodlums seemed to get something out of him.

"Gotcha! You're a nice kid after all, here" and he handed the watch to their 'boss'.

The 'boss' with a skinny figure snatched the stuff from his member and scrutinized it with his specs. After that his face went like an eggplant when he saw what was engraved at the pocket watch. His eyes were looking for something or someone and when he spotted what he was searching for, he returned the timepiece immediately to Ed and knocked the guy who pestered kid.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, we're just kidding," and there goes the fake laugh.

"Ah, I get it. Well, okay I'll be going. Good day to you gentlemen," he feigned and passed them.

"Boss! Why did you-"

"Shut your mouth or you'll get your face to the mud pit."

"But boss…" and became quiet when he noticed the infuriated face of their superior.

"Didn't you become aware of the watch? Take a look at the passenger at the left third seat from ours."

The constituents looked on one way and saw Al sitting and making his self busy. They all trembled at the sight, and they got the message that it was a great decision not to mess with the long haired kid a while ago.

"So you're saying that…"

The 'boss' continued what the hoodlum would say, "Yes, the one who is sitting there is the Full Metal Alchemist. With that armor he is wearing he can even break this whole train if we quarreled with his little brother. So thank me that I acted fast that we prevent-"

"I think you're making a TINY mistake there," Ed said calmly while his fist was shaking uncontrollably.

The pathetic 'boss' was kissing the floor due to the unmerciful punch of Ed whenever he is insulted by anyone with regard to his height.

"It's okay if you miss on thing that I'm the alchemist but I won't permit that you're saying that I'm little!" he bellowed.

"Well let's make it the other way around. Why don't we make any wrong to your identity that you're the alchemist but it's okay to say the truth which is you're really a miniature type alchemist right guys?" and the whole gang laughed that it shook that part of the train. Some were clutching their tummies that made worse the anger of Ed.

"So you want some pain in your asses? Then I'll give it to you!"

Al appeared at his back and stopped his blows. He was holding his brother's arm. "Brother, i know you're bored and it's all right to kill your time wandering in the entire train but I don't remember that you should kill this people."

"Watch your words Al, I'm not killing this people, I'm just teaching them to straighten up their zigzagged minds," and he even managed to kick someone's face.

Al lifted Ed and set at his back, "I'm making the apologies in behalf of my brother," and he bowed afterwards.

"But Al! They are the baddies here, hey you don't understand," and he saw the grins of the gangsters.

Al took a deep breath, "Brother, all I can say is we need to take other seats, away from them."

Now the men are letting out their tongues and pulling their lower eyelids with their index fingers.

"You're saving the butts of that ridiculous creatures? Why don't you look at them?"

It triggered the scandalous men to stop making funny faces and turned out to be pathetic once again.

"Whoah, what a fast change of emotion huh? You can't trick Al!" then suddenly Al made apologies again and pulled him out of the trunk.

Ed witnessed again the insulting faces of the worth-killing people, and then the door closed.

After minutes they arrived at their destination. "I'm thankful that we're out of that, now we can walk from here going to the Central."

"I really want to go back there and squish them."

Al did not say anything more.

"I'm sorry but there's no available mission at this rate. You can come back tomorrow if you're really dying to have one." It was Mustang.

"I am here to get a mission give it to me now!" Ed was gripping the edges of the table.

Mustang turned to Al, "is there something going on with your brother?"

Al just raised both his shoulders as answer.

"Now, if you want to waste your entire day throwing your insignificant words at me, I can't permit you because I'm feeling troubled now because Hawkeye is having her silent treatment upon me and I'm thinking of possible ways to eradicate that behavior," Roy was obviously shooing him out of his office.

"What! It's more important for you to think of unnecessary things than helping those people in need? Come on! I know you're just hiding things from your nose. GIVE IT TO ME NOW!" Ed was red as if about to explode.

"What do you want for me to do make a problem for your sake? Hah! Even I'm stupid I won't do that. Make-out mission, you're crazy," and faced the window.

"Hey I'm still talking to you! Don't turn your way from me!"

"Brother, there's no allotted assignment for us, we should head home instead," Al suggested.

"I can't this, power hungry general is doing nothing, he should provide me the never-ending missions!"

"But this time there won't be any mission so the only thing left is to go home."

"If you want to let go of her out of your mind… why not trying to find her?"

"Huh?"

Ed and Al were walking down the hallway and Riza was walking opposite them.

"Mustang is like in cuffs, what are you doing to him?"

"He started it all. About the cuffs you're talking about, he is the one who made that, maybe out of his guilt," and Hawkeye continued on walking passing them.

"There's a cold war between them right?" Al murmured.

"It's all her fault. If she's okay she should be here so that no one is getting anxious about her condition."

"Azureth? She's the one making them like this? You must be wrong brother, don't say that…"

"She's also my reason why I want to take missions even it's a useless one. Making myself busy, like that."

"One day, she'll come back, so we have to wait. She knows how to come here, however we don't know how to track her. So it's up to her if she wants to go back here."

"So you're ready that she won't come back?"

"Of course not, I'm really looking forward to see her again, but maybe this is not the time."

"In spite of what you said, she should be here, and not making all of us to worry about her. She's making herself so important, I hate it."

"You just miss her," then he giggled.

"Actually not, I'm just curious of what happened to her, that's all."

"You can't lie to me brother."

"It's not like what you think okay. Now let's go to another place."

"Hmm? Where?"

"Ahh, just come with me."

"I thought it would be a different place. We're just going back to Risembool," Al with slight sadness to his voice.

"Save your tears, the best place here on earth can be found here." Ed pointed a certain area on the side.

"Mom?"

"Right, let's get faster. Let's race going to mom," and the elder started to run.

"Hey wait brother! You should count up to three before the race begins!"

"Hurry up! I'll wait you here."

"Mama, is it true that our father is not a human?"

She giggled, "To whom did you hear that?"

"My brother would always say that, that's not true right?"

"Well there are some people who are the true, but there are some who are hiding their true form as human."

"I can't understand."

"The latter one, they are human in form but not human on his actions. You should not really understand it in its literal meanings, you'll be confused if you take it that way." She brushed Al's hair

"So where would papa fall from those categories?"

"A human human. You know, it's fine to doubt sometimes because you can't be absolute of everything."

"Did you doubt about papa?"

Trisha laughed gently, "I must admit, you're questions are being harder and harder, why don't you play with your brother instead?"

"…"

"Ed is saying those words about your father because he left us. Ed is angry about him but the other side of him is missing him, but for now, the hatred is lapping his affection for your father. He must be feeling lonely so what you can do is to accompany him always. He can't control his feeling unlike you that's why he reacts against his will."

"I will mom," and he smiled.

"My brother hasn't change at all, hiding his true feelings with irritation, and at the same time lonely. I know I cannot contain that power to make him comfortable and to send his problems away, but I want to think that I'm helping him to lessen it."

"Al, speed it up!"

"I'm coming!"

Al finally arrived at the tomb of their mother and sat beside it. Ed on the other hand laid his back on the grass and looked up at the sky. The dull image of the moon is visible, it was sunset and the darkness would eat up the red orangey light illuminated by the sun. Hour passed and the stars began to appear and twinkle because of the clouds covering it then revealing it to naked eyes. The hoots of the owl were echoing to the sky and the flaps of the bats were fighting with the other sounds at night. The fresh wind was blowing softly but managed to send shivers to their spines. Now the moon was shining brightly, stealing an ample light from the sun which was sneaking behind the time. The flowers were dancing with the mild breeze and a part of it flew to Ed, he caught it with his fingers.

"I want to make a wish out of this flower but… I know that's just silly."

"All you have to do is to believe."

"I don't believe in it."

"Then I'll make the wish," Al said.

"Okay, you're saying sensible things more than me," and he gave the flower to Al.

The only thing that Ed saw was his brother murmured something and then blew the flower away from them. The flower glided with the wind and successfully didn't land on the ground, as if the flower is a messenger and would go to someone who would grant Al's wish.

"What did you wish for?" Ed asked.

"I won't say it, because I believe that only the wisher will know the wish, and if I said it to you it would be junked."

"So be it, but I know how your mind works. The only thing that I'm sure is, your wish is for the benefit of others, not for your own."

"I treat wishes as gift. So I should give it to others, not for myself."

"What? So you're saying that I'm not giving you any gift because I treat wishes as a silly thing, oh, then I'll pick all the flowers here and make wishes for you."

"Remember brother, those are wishes, plain words with expectations. Yours is better than wishing it to flower, you saved me, and do you think if you wished that I come back after the tragedy I would come back? I guess not, you acted on it and that's better on wishing. You're strong and brave enough to save me from that vacuum thing," and he chuckled.

"Al, you're really bias. You're always praising me," he rested his head to his knees and his shoulders started to shake.

"Are you crying?"

"No."

"Brother…"

"I'm not crying!" and he looked to Al, he didn't know what he felt but he could read an emotion to Al's face, which was an impossible thing.

"I want to cry with you brother, but I simply can't…"

"Don't be envious of me crying. Crying is only for losers, and I'm a big loser! You're not one of us," he wiped his face with the back of his hands and became serious.

"I'm sorry."

"It's late we should go home Al."

"Okay."

"And Al… I want to promise that I won't cry anymore. That's so stupid of me to let those tears out of my eyes… and another one, I'll return both of us to our own body, that's my great promise and that won't be plain words, if those are too idealistic then I won't have any second thoughts to make it for real."

"Uhm. Mama, how will I know that a human is a true human?"

"If he has a soul, and in order for you to know if he has a soul, he should have feelings a loving and a caring heart. Keep in mind that it cannot be understood with only factual things, even you have a heart but if you not used it according to its purpose…"

"Even I'm hollow inside… I'm still a human. I don't even think about my body that can be hurt easily… that is gone. I can live without it, but that's what driving my brother to be fulfilled and to be contented, so I won't steal that promise to him… but, the consequences are too risky. It can even cost his life."

a year passed i think and i thought i will not be able t finish uploading this story, hahaha. i was busy and forgot the whole thing about uploading and my username and password too! T_T i'll be uploading the next chapters till it's end... it'll be 13 all in all, and i just noticed this time about the line breaks from chapter 6 to 9 is missing! i can't edit it anymore, so i'm sorry about the sudden change of scene, probably the line break is missing there. _ sorry. T_T