Growing Up

Kouri sighed as she pounded her hammer against a nail. That's the fifth time I've dreamed about that kid in a week. That makes a totally of thirty five times since we arrived in Ishval. But that was the first time I used my magic in my sleep like that and the first time that dream was so intense. Could it mean something or am I just being paranoid? Did I really kill those people like Ling suggested?

Mustang just told last night after her dream about what Ling had told him about two years ago. She was conflicted in how she felt about the news, but understood why he kept it from her until now. She pounded the nail again then paused to look at the rebuilding country around her. Her eyes scanned over the area, but her mind slipped away to her dream last night.

Kouri restlessly rolled around in her bed. Her dreams lead her back to a strange, yet familiar setting of a mountain village set in a land she didn't recognize. She couldn't see the peoples faces or hear their voices, but she did hear the cries of a new born baby and saw the people were running around almost in a panic.

She stood in the mist of her dream unsure of how she should be feeling about it. Looking down at herself she was wearing an ice blue, strapless dress that fell just above her ankles, with no shoes. Even though she couldn't physically feel the cold against her skin, she did notice that the temperature of the room dropping at an alarming rate. She looked up and noticed she was now standing right beside the crib of the crying infant. 'Is that baby me?'

She raised her eyes when a woman ran over to a man who stepped into this room from another. The man shook his head and the woman dropped to her knees, covering her already unseeable face with her hands. 'What's going on?'

Kouri's dream world was covered in a flash of white light. She raised her arm to shield her eyes and when she lowered her arm the baby, now the age of three or four, was standing in front of her. 'Who are you? How do I know that you're that baby? Are you me?'

The kid remained staring head. Silent as the stars. The kid's eyes began to glow and exploded with ice magic the exact same as hers. 'No! What are you doing?! Stop it!'

"Kouri! Kouri, wake up!" Hawkeye shouted as she shook the teenager's shoulders.

"Stop it! Please stop! Don't hurt them!" Kouri screamed as the temperature dropped drastically in the room.

"Kouri?!"

"Hawkeye!" Mustang said as he entered the woman's room.

"General! She won't wake up!" Hawkeye said as she moved so Mustang could take her place on Kouri's bed.

"Kouri? Wake up, baby," Mustang said as he tried to reach her. Hawkeye gasped as Kouri began to freeze the room. Mustang lifted Kouri up and held her tightly in his arms. "Kouri! WAKE UP!"

"Uh!" Kouri gasped she finally woke up. Her breathing was labored as she looked around the room. She put her arms around Mustang and clung to him as she cried. "D-Daddy…I killed them."

"Hush now. It was just a dream. You're safe here," Mustang spoke softly as he rubbed her back. "I've got you."

"No. It was real," Kouri cried.

"Kouri, dreams can feel like they're real until you talk about them. So tell us what it was about. Was it that kid again?"

Kouri nodded and told them everything. Mustang and Hawkeye were shocked. They exchanged glances. Mustang sighed then told Kouri was Ling had told him two years ago.

"Hey, Kouri? Kouri?"

"Huh?" Kouri snapped out of her daydream and looked up to one of her Isvhalian friends she's made since being there.

"You're not getting tired are you? You know what your dad will say."

"Oh! He worries like a mother hen!"

"And you love it."

"Hm. Yeah," Kouri blushed and rubbed her neck.

"Here. I brought you some more nails."

"Thanks, Link."

"Don't work to hard now." Link teased as he waved goodbye to go finish the rest of his own work.

"Good grief," Kouri shook her head. She then turned back to her work until she was interrupted again.

"Hey, Kouri! You have a visitor!"

"Busy at the moment!" Kouri replied without turning around to see who her visitor was.

"Too busy to say hi to your boyfriend? And after I came all this was just to see you," A familiar voice exclaimed with fake exasperation. The hammer slid out of her hand as she turned around. Her lips curved into a bright smile as she propelled herself off the edge of the building she was standing on.

"Alphonse!"

"Hey!" Al cried in a bit of a shock as Kouri jump into his arms. He caught her and somehow managed to keep his footing.

"What are you doing here?" Kouri asked as she looked at him.

"I came to see you of course," Al replied as he stared down at her as she was a few inches shorter than him.

"Al," Kouri cooed as they began to move into a kiss.

"Let's go see if we can be of assistance else where," Jerso said.

"Yeah. I don't think these two need our help at all," Zampano chuckled. Al blushed paused as he remembered his current traveling companions.

"Who were they?" Kouri asked as they passed by the love bird teens to see where they could pitch in and help while in Ishval.

"Jerso and Zampano. We're traveling together," Al replied.

"Traveling? Where else are you going?" Kouri asked as she turned her innocent eyes back to him. Al hesitated to tell her. Instead he leaned down and kissed her before getting interrupted again.

"Ahem," Mustang cleared his throat. "I'm surprised to see you here, Elric."

"Yes, sir," Al blushed and sweat dropped as he quickly released Kouri and saluted the General.

"What's with the salute?" Mustang asked with his typical smirk knowing full well that Al was just intimidated by his presence.

"Uh," Al lowered his hand and looked at it.

"Daddy, when are you going to stop teasing him?" Kouri crossed her arms.

"He'll have to endure it as long as he's dating my baby," Mustang shrugged casually.

"There you are, Kouri," An Ishvalian lady said as she walked by with a large pot in her hands. "We're getting lunch ready and could use some help."

"Alright…uh," Kouri looked at Al.

"Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere," Al smiled.

"Ok then," Kouri kissed Al's cheek.

"There better be some left for me," Mustang huffed.

"Of course, daddy!" Kouri chuckled and gave a kiss to her dad. She waved to both of them before joining the woman.

"She's so tired," Al mumbled softly.

"I'm not surprised you picked up on that so quickly," Mustang said as they watched Kouri walk away.

"It wasn't hard. I could tell just from her letters that that dream's been bothering her."

"Alright, Alphonse, what is it?" Mustang asked and Al turned his shocked eyes to the man. "I can tell you didn't come all this way just to say hi or talk about a dream."

"Uh, yeah," Al guiltily rubbed the back of his head. Mustang signaled for the young man to follow him. He lead Al to a tent with a table and some chair under it. Lemonade was being passed out by some Ishvalian children as the two men sat down.

"So how's Edward doing?" Mustang asked.

"He's find. Right now he's heading west to see what he can learn from there," Al explained.

"At least he's staying out of trouble for now."

"Yeah," Al chuckled.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Mustang bluntly asked.

"Well, um," Al twitched under the man's gaze and struggled to form his question.

"You're not going to ask for my permission to marry my baby, are you?" Mustang asked as he held an annoyed glare on his face.

"W-What?!" Al blushed and waved his hands. "No! T-That's not it at all! I mean if I was going to ask that I would be way more nervous about this talk!"

"So you are planning on marrying Kouri?"

"Well, I-I…maybe! I-If I was would you accept it?" Al stuttered as he wondered if he could blush any harder than he was at the moment.

"That's not my decision to make," Mustang said.

"A-Any way," Al said as he composed himself, a bit shocked that Mustang didn't fry him right there. "What I really came here for was…I'd like to take Kouri with me…to Xing."

Mustang's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What?!" Kouri demanded as she stood up from her chair. Hawkeye and Al remained quiet.

"Kouri, it makes sense. This dream of yours is getting worse and the only way to get answers is to go to Xing," Mustang said.

"What about Zampano and Jerso?! They don't know about me!"

"They have proven themselves to be trust worthy during the fight against Father. It'll be fine if they find out about you," Mustang replied softly.

"No," Kouri shook her head. "No. Going to a strange land won't solve anything!"

"Kouri," Mustang reached out for her.

"No! I won't go!" Kouri shouted then ran out of the building.

"Kouri!" Mustang began to go after her.

"Wait!" Al jumped in front of Mustang. "Let me talk to her. Colonel, please."

"Alright," Mustang nodded. Al nodded in reply then left to go find her. Mustang smiled lightly. "Colonel, huh?"

"General, think she'll go?" Hawkeye asked.

"Of course. She wants answers. I can see that in her eyes as plain as day. I'm pretty sure she just doesn't want to go because she doesn't want to leave or hurt me," Mustang explained as he sat back down. "She's such a stubborn girl when she wants to be."

Al found her easily. He just knew where to go. She was sitting on the outskirts of Ishval. Her knees pulled up, arms wrapped around them and her eyes buried in her knees. He sat down beside her. "Kouri?"

"Hm?"

"Talk to me."

"I don't…want to hurt him. He's done so much for me. How can I just take off like that?"

"He already knows, you know?"

"Yeah," Kouri nodded. "There's nothing I can really hide from him."

"Then why are you trying to hide now?"

"You already know why."

"I know. You just need to admit it for yourself."

Kouri leaned against Al's side. "I'm scared."

Al leaned his head against hers and remained quiet as she spoke. "What if Ling is right? What if it was me that killed all those people? What then?"

"I can't answer those. While I don't believe you killed them I do believe there is a connect between you and those mountains. And the only way to figure out what it is is to go there," Kouri sighed. "Hey, I'll be right there by your side. I won't let you go through this alone."

"Alright, Al," Kouri agreed quietly. The two teens stayed there for about an hour longer before returning to the house they were staying at to inform Mustang and Hawkeye she was going to go with Al.

The small group remained in Ishval for one more day before headed out for Xing.

"Here," Mustang said as he held out a pair of ignition gloves and a certain blue button up shirt.

"You never change, do you?" Kouri asked as her eyes teared up and she took them from her dad.

"Never when it comes to my baby," Mustang kissed her forehead. She placed the items in her suit case and closed it. He grabbed it and her hand then lead her outside where her traveling companions were waiting by their car.

"Riza, keep daddy out of trouble," Kouri said while Mustang put her bag in the car.

"Don't I always?" Hawkeye smiled. She hugged Kouri. "Good luck."

Al smiled as he watched to two women. His smile vanished as a hand landed on his shoulder. "Alphonse, I expect you to treat my baby like a lady. That means no children before marriage."

"General!" Al blushed furiously as he rushed to stop a noses bleed. Zampano and Jerso were close enough to hear Mustang's threat and they busted up laughing.

"What's going on?" Kouri asked as she and Hawkeye turned to the men.

"Nothing!" Al shouted. "Everything's just fine!"

"Um, ok," Kouri blinked confusingly.

"W-We should get going," Al said as he opened the car door.

"Daddy!" Kouri jumped into Mustang's arms. She tried to bite back her tears, but couldn't. "Love you so much."

"Love you too, baby," Mustang held her tight before reluctantly letting her go. "See you when you get back."

"I won't be long," Kouri nodded then climbed in the car. The guys followed and they were off. Kouri was leaning against the door with tears streaking her face as she blankly watched the scenery go by. Al took her hand in his and she looked at him.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. It still hurts to leave him," Kouri smiled. "But as long as I'm with you I'll be fine."

Al smiled then leaned down in attempt to kiss her only to get interrupted again. "That's so sweet!"

Jerso said teasingly with Zampano nodding fiercely. The teens jerked away from each other and blushed.

"You two are never going to survive marriage if you keep getting embarrassed like that," Zampano chuckled.

"We're not getting married!" Al and Kouri shouted blushing furiously.

"Sure, sure," Jerso said while waving his hand as if to brush them off while Zampano kept chuckling.

"Why did I let you two come?" Al asked more to himself than anyone. He lifted his eyes to Kouri. She was looking down at her hands in her lap. She was fiddling with her fingers with a light smile and blush on her cheeks. He couldn't help but wondered what she thought of the idea of marrying him.

Gee! Mustang sure knows how to be subtle, doesn't he? Poor Al.