Note:

Hi guys! Moonlight here! Once again, want to thank you guys for all the comments and reviews and favorites we're getting, we really do appreciate it! We also hope you guys understand as to why we haven't posted the last few weeks. There was Christmas, then New Years, then it was the first week back to school, couldn't fit anything in those three weeks. Anywhale, here's chapter 12; enjoy, rate, review, favorite, all that good stuff. ^_^

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Chapter 12

Tsunade's POV

The Elric brothers were quite interesting indeed, there was something Anko wasn't telling her, but that was completely understandable. There was something about the younger one that was severely off. She did indeed say that she was going to speak to the Elrics first, so she had the mechanic and the bodyguard to go upstairs, leaving the conversation to the four of them. Anything she was about to say wouldn't startle Anko.

"What did you want to talk about Miss Hokage?" The one in the armor asked. His voice seemed like there was an echo to it. That armor was definitely hallowed, somehow, someway. She was confidant she wasn't wrong.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you two for your time and effort, helping to restore the buildings in the village in our time of need. It's greatly appreciated, and I can guarantee you're hard work will be repaid with any information that you require. No one here knows more than I do about this village and it's ninja. Feel free to ask whatever it is you want, but in exchange, I will ask a question about you two, and we both must be completely honest. Agree?" She asked, and the one sitting down looked over at Anko who gave a reassuring nod.

Ed's POV

"So? What do you wanna know?" He asked and looked at the Hokage lady. He immediately thought how quickly Colonel and her would get along. She didn't seem like she was devil spawn from hell like his boss, but looks can be deceiving at times.

"Oh no, you first." She responded and gave them a small smile.

"Do you and your people have something that is called a philosopher stone?" He asked eagerly.

"No, we have nothing close to such a cursed stone here." She said, as if she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Cursed stone? What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"Nope, my turn now." She said and looked at the brothers.

"Explain to me how your Alchemy works." She asked.

"It's hard to explain it in detail, but in a nutshell, it's science down to the Nitti gritty. It's knowing how to breaking down matter and used the materials in it combined with something else to form something new, or to take the old parts and put it together. Alchemists can do that with no tools, just with a certain symbol as to the type of alchemy we're doing and then we transmute it." He explained the best he could.

"What did you mean by 'cursed stone'?" Al asked.

"I've studied that stone, I know what it takes to create it. Orochimaru tried desperately to make one, to rip off the cap to his own power, but he couldn't do it. I found his research notes and just about fainted from what he found." She said and shivered slightly. "Alright, my turn, who is the man that has been chasing you?" She asked.

"We don't know his name, but we just call him Scar. He is a surviving Ishvalan from the war, which I'm assuming you've heard about." She nodded in response. He took another look at her and decided that she was possibly way too young to running this village. She seemed about the same age as Mustang. "How old are you?" She blinked at the question.

"I am 52 years old." She said bluntly, and Ed's jaw dropped. "I've noticed that you and Al do not need a circle to transmute like other alchemists like you've said, why is that?" She asked and Ed seemed to panic. "Or is that the same reason why Al is a hallow body of armor?"

Ed looked at Anko, in a glare and she held her hands up in defense.

"Anko has told me nothing. There are few ninja here who wouldn't notice Al is a hallow body of armor. If that reason is completely personal and something that I genuinely need not to know, then just nod." She said and the brothers both nodded. They didn't like retelling their story over, and over again it hurt them sometimes

"Who is Orochimaru?" He asked, wanting to know whom the man is, since when he asked Anko, he didn't get much information.

Anko's POV

Anko blinked a few times when Ed asked once again who Orochimaru was. She looked at Lady Hokage as she began to answer, and went on to explain how they were teammates, and eventually got to how she and Lord Jiraiya were betrayed by the man, and since he's been trying to crush the village, however there were rumors that he had been killed by Sasuke and that he has joined with the Akatsuki, and that now, Kabuto, his apprentice has stepped into his shoes.

"He was your teammate? And he just tossed you and your other comrade out the window?" He seemed astonished, appalled even by what he just heard, and Tsunade simply nodded.

"Are there other enemies we should be worried about that concern you?"

"No, none for right now." He said almost immediately. "Anko gave me a book to help with how you Ninja's perform your abilities, but I'm still not understanding it 100%."

"Ah, I see. Alright, I know what you're asking. Think of Jutsu as a close cousin to alkahestry." She said and began to think more on it. "The circle they use are the hand signs we weave to unlock the pool of chakra. Depending on the signs, it depends of the jutsu we cast." She explained. "Does that help?" She asked and Ed nodded. She smiled and sighed a bit of relieve.

"Is that all you need Lady Tsunade?" She asked.

"Yes. That should be it for right now. I hope to see your arm once its finished Ed." She said and walked out the door.

"How you feeling Ed?" She asked.

"I feel fine." He responded and she nodded, and walked upstairs and fetched Winry and Armstrong, allowing them to come back downstairs.

"Alright, Winry, I assume you want to start working right away, go ahead and use whatever room you'd like to do your repairs. Armstrong, would you like a look around of the area?" She asked. "I have to stay here, but your build reminds me of a colleague of mine you might become well acquainted with." She said and Alex nodded in response and she left the house for a little bit, searching for Gai.

Winry's POV

"Ed… what in the world happened to you?" She asked, looking at his semi bedridden state.

"Nothing that needs to be mentioned." He said and Winry got a little bit upset.

"I see…" She said and gathered the parts that she needed and headed upstairs to start working on the automail. She hated that Al and Ed kept her in the dark, that they didn't ever tell her anything even though they had been friends since the dawn of time. This land was indeed strange, and odd to her, not a single automail in sight, she wondered if it was something she could introduce here, or maybe that's want the Hokage had planned to do, and that was why she wanted to observe her work. That thought alone got her smiling and energized to start working on Ed's arm.


Note:

Yay! Another chapter done! Sorry these two chapters were a little short, they'll get longer soon I promise! So, this weeks question, Do you think Tsunade and Roy would get along? Leave your creative answers and responses in the reviews! Continue to follow the story, we really appreciate you guys favoring this fanfic, thanks so much! ^_^ -MoonlightScars