Authoress Note: Hey everyone I'm back. I know it's been a while and I'm sorry but as usual life's been getting in the way. I'm also still struggling with my writers block and feeling sorta bad because people seem to be losing interest in my stories. Oh well enough of that. On to the reviews! White Alchemist Taya:Thanks for the review! And yes Ed does lecture her. Though it doesn't work out the way he had originally planned. I'm glad you liked the father-daughter bonding moment. I usually don't have those kinds of things in my stories. Pheonx Lake: You know I really like your name! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Thanks for the advice. You see I have been struggling with grammar and the likes for as long as I can remember (It even says so on my profile page lol) and can never seem to get it right. Oh well...anyways! Thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this. R and R please!


Kageko was uncomfortable. Ed was still standing by the door watching her. He hadn't said anything or even moved and it's been almost five minutes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him move farther in to the room.

Ed came to stand in front of her but she still didn't look up at him.

Sighing he said "Kageko will you please look at me?" There was still no response from the cat girl. He was starting to get frustrated. "Come on Kageko there's nothing to be ashamed of." Kageko's ear twitched but that was all. Getting desperate Ed reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Startled she looked up at him and saw his face was only about a foot away from hers. Her face flushed red. Why was he so close?!

"Well now at least I got you to look at me." He said as he moved to sit on the bed next to her. "You know Kageko I understand how you feel. You feel ashamed and that people think your weak or pathetic. But it's like I said before. You aren't weak or pathetic. In fact you are a very strong person. To be able to survive what you've gone through and still be able to smile a genuine smile is amazing." This only caused her to blush even more. He watched as she silently fiddled with her tail like she had done earlier. At this rate they would be there all year. Reaching out Ed grabbed her hands so she would stop fiddling with her tail and look at him. This worked. Well….for a second at least. Kageko looked up at him surprised then quickly looked away face bright red once again. 'Oh boy…' He thought. How could he get her to look at him and listen properly? He didn't know. He shifted on the bed as he tried to think of a way.

After a few minutes he came up with an idea. Preparing himself for the possible negative side effects Ed got up and grabbed her by the shoulders once more. In one swift movement he had her pinned down on the bed.

Needless to say Kageko was very shocked. One minute she's sitting on her bed the next Ed's straddling her waist and is pinning her arms over her head with his auto mail arm. Her first thought was 'What the hell?!' and then her next thought was 'He damn well better not try anything!' After that thought she began to struggle. Naturally though with his auto mail arm Ed had no trouble keeping her arms pinned above her and the rest of her body pinned down by his weight. "Let me go!" She said as she struggled.

He glared down at her and said "Struggle all you want Kageko you won't be able to get away." This only caused her to struggle even more. After a few minutes she finally settled down and her gaze met his. His golden eyes were serious. More serious than she had ever seen them before. "All I want is for you to look at me and listen to what I have to say." Swallowing hard Kageko nodded silently with signs of a faint blush across her cheeks (Aw come on she can't help it. You'd probably blush a little if you were in her position right? Right.). "Good. Now stop beating yourself up about this. You aren't a freak. Just because the people in Soma are complete idiots it doesn't mean they should treat you like that. You are a living human being. Just like everyone else. Who cares if you can use alchemy? I don't. It doesn't matter to me. I'd still be your friend with or without it."

Kageko was surprised. She had never heard Ed talk like that. It was great to know that he felt that way but she just couldn't put the words and hate from the people of Soma out of her mind.

Seeing the look in her eyes Ed let out a low growl startling her. "Come on Kageko! Don't let them do this to you!" He said in a frustrated voice.

It was hard but she broke his gaze. Closing her eyes she laid perfectly still beneath him. Feeling his warm breath on her face she twitched slightly. He must have moved in closer. Barely cracking an eye open she saw his face was once more only about a foot away from her own. Her blush darkened and she couldn't help but think what someone would say if they found them in the position they were in now.

Ed was getting frustrated. Without realizing it his grip on Kageko's wrists tightened and she cried out in pain. The sound startled him so much he jerked away from her and moved to stand by her window.

Sitting up slowly Kageko gently rubbed her wrists. He hadn't squeezed them hard enough to leave a bruise but they still hurt a little. Looking towards him she saw he was resting his forehead against the glass of the window. "Ed?" She asked softly. He didn't respond.

He just couldn't believe he had hurt her like that. As he stood there at the window his mind raced. Obviously the tuff approach wasn't working so he had to come up with a different idea. After a few minutes he thought of something. 'Would that work?' He wondered. Well there was only one way to find out. With his back still towards Kageko he took a few steps away from the window and knelt down.

She watched him curiously as he clapped his hands then placed them on the floor. After the bright light faded he stood and turned towards her. Kageko couldn't see what he was holding but knew it was something. Ed walked slowly over to her until he stood about four feet away. Looking in to his face she wasn't able to read his emotions. He looked down at his hands then looked back up at her.

"Do you want to see?" Kageko nodded slowly. He held out the object so she could see it and her eyes widened. In his hand he held a beautiful blue silk rose. The blue was the same exact shade as her eyes. "Do you like it?" He asked softly. She nodded unable to speak and he held it out to her. She just looked at him surprised. "Go ahead and take it." Slowly she reached out and took the silk rose from his grasp. As she was looking at it in awe Ed began to speak. "I'm sorry Kageko. I didn't mean to hurt you."

With a small smile she looked up at him and said "I know." In all the time she had known him Kageko never thought that Ed could be as sweet as he was being at the moment. "Thank you Ed. It's just….sometimes I can't help but feel like this."

Nodding he said "I understand. Al and I went through some hard times a few years back and I sometimes feel the way you do. It's natural but you can't let it control you. You just have to remember all the good in your life."

Her smile widened when he mentioned the good. In the past few weeks a lot of good things have happened to her. She met Ed and Al for one. It was an amazing feeling to have friends. To know that they like her even though she is what she is. Rising to her feet Kageko moved so she was standing in front of him.

He waited patiently for what ever it was she was going to do. He was stunned when she reached out and pulled him in to a tight embrace.

"Thanks Ed for being my friend." She murmured.