Chapter Fourteen of "Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist Crossover" by Melinda-chan
I know that most of you were wondering where I've been. If you got me on Author Alert, then you know that I've been writing other stories, just not this one. While I know that so many were waiting for this one, I was taken aback by all the criticism (both good and bad) and I wanted to see whether I was still "in" it or not in my story. Since I'm now including manga-only characters, I have to be very careful, as I know that some of you may only be acquainted with them superficially. If you see a mistake of any kind, please tell me. Just to let you know that I may change a few things, so it may not matter anyway, but still let me know of any discrepancy.
I also know that a number of you have been waiting for the big chapter, and I do guarantee you that in a few more chapters, Ed and Al will make their debut. Yes, I know that I put them off until now, but I simply didn't have the chance to put them in the story. As well, of all the FMA characters, they would be the ones that I would need to focus most of my attention on. I just want all of you to know that.
As well, if there's anyone that can tell me the summaries of the recent chapters (from 60 onward), please let me know. I want to keep track of everything so far, so if you can help me, please tell me.
In case you didn't know, Fruits Basket had finally finished its run at 136 chapters recently. No, I'm not going to tell you how it ends. As well, Fruits Basket has reached two million units alone in the U.S. With being the first manga-ka of any kind to be interviewed by TIME, Natsuki Takaya sure had a good year. I wish to thank her and hope that her next serial will be a success and just as well-loved as Fruits Basket.
If you're a Canadian Inu-Yasha fan, please let me know. I'm hoping to do an essay about Inu-Yasha's popularity in Canada and would like some input. Just leave your e-mail with me or review with your login name. And if you know someone that's a Canadian Inu-Yasha fan, let me know too. You can either provide their e-mail address to me or refer me to their account that has their e-mail on it.
I also would like to inform my readers that I have a blog in TOKYOPOP. You can read about my semi-boring life by going to the webpage link on my profile.
Now that is over with, let this chapter begin!
Kyo of course didn't know what was going on until he felt something touch his back.
"Ayame, get out of my bed now or I'll-" Kyo then rolled from his side and found himself eye-to-eye with a feline.
"MEW!" the cat said. That made Kyo get up and look around.
'Dammit! I'm still in this place!' Kyo thought. 'I was hoping that it was just a bad dream!' All of a sudden he heard someone shouting from below.
"I knew it! It's the Cat Man!" a boy shouted. Kyo looked down to see a big crowd watching him. A bunch of cats also surrounded the place.
'Damn! I got a bigger crowd than last time!' Kyo thought. 'How am I suppose to get out this time?'
"Well, why don't you know," a man yelled. "That guy does have orange hair!"
"He's the Cat Alchemist!" another boy yelled.
'They know who I am!' Kyo thought. 'I got to get out of here, but there's so many people down there!'
Kyo looked everywhere. He could see that he was surrounded on all sides of the building. Most came out of curiosity, he figured, but he still couldn't see anywhere to land on and make a clean getaway. Whether the crowd realize it or not, they had him trapped on the roof.
Kyo then looked at all the nearby buildings. There were no skyscrapers- certainly no buildings as tall as the ones in Tokyo. This was actually a good thing, as Kyo could get on them easier.
He then heard a loud voice.
"THIS IS COLONEL DOUGLAS! ARE YOU REALLY THE CAT ALCHEMIST?" the voice came from behind him, so Kyo had to back and looked down. He then saw a man with glasses shouting at him. The man was wearing the standard blue uniform that it seemed that most of the military wears here. He had enough of them.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Kyo shouted back.
"I AM COLONEL DOUGLAS OF THE AMESTRIAN ARMY!" the man replied. "NOW ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER MY QUESTION?"
"I AM KYO SOHMA!" the orange-head yelled. "I'M NO ALCHEMIST!"
"JUST SURRENDER PEACEFULLY AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS LATER!" Colonel Douglas shouted.
"NO!" Kyo said. "WHY SHOULD I?"
"DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO?" Colonel Douglas yelled. "THIS IS THE ARMY SPEAKING!"
'I know that' Kyo thought, annoyed. He then looked at a brick building close to him. An idea came into his mind.
'I only know how to make this rod into a spear, so if I can-' Kyo started to think. He then clapped his hands against the rod. A yellow light came out of it.
"What is he-" Colonel Douglas started to say when he saw the rod turned into a long spear.
"Doing?" a shorter man with glasses finished his question.
Kyo then started running across the roof.
"What is he trying to do?" a bigger man with brown hair asked.
Kyo then leaped into the air and planted the spear into the plaster of the building wall. He then yanked the thing from the wall, flipped in the air, clapped his hands against the spear again, and used the newly transmutated pole to land on the ground. Kyo then ran like his shoes were on fire.
"What an elegant technique!" a moustached man said.
"May I ask all of you a question?" Colonel Douglas asked. He then turned to the three men. "How come Colonel Mustang sent you three here but not himself?"
"That would be Plan B, sir," Fury said. "Plan A is us."
"Then why don't you do your plan right now?" Colonel Douglas asked, pointing at the direction Kyo ran off.
"We were about to do that, Colonel," Armstrong said. He then turned to Fury and Breda. "Here." He then handed them a few pieces of paper. "This is my elegant portraiture skills that have been handed down from generation to generation in the Armstrong family-"
"Um yeah, but we only saw him right now," Fury said.
"You forgot that he's already been seen in several occasions. I got my sketch from one of the reports," Armstrong said. Fury looked down at the sketch again. It did look like a lot like the orange-head with the scowl to match.
"Colonel Douglas, did you seal off the entire area like I requested?" Armstrong asked.
"You think I'll let him get away?" Colonel Douglas replied. "Don't worry about that. Just go and get him!"
"Yes sir!" all of the subordinate officers said. Armstrong then turned to Fury and Breda again.
"You two will go out together," Armstrong said. "I shall go out on my own."
"But isn't that dangerous?" Fury asked.
"His skill in alchemy is amateur at best," Armstrong said. "In any case, we wasted enough time! Let us find him now!"
"Yes sir!" Fury and Breda said. The search for Kyo by the military has now turned up a notch.
Kyo, in the meantime, was trying to lay low.
'I should've stayed with that Scar guy after all,' Kyo thought. 'He could've at least show me how to get out of here!' Kyo then saw a couple of military officers walking and went out of view. All of a sudden a car came by. A man dressed in a similar uniform came out and talked to them. They then went inside the car and drove off.
'They're gone, thank god!' Kyo thought. 'Now maybe I can get out of here!' He then went out of the alley. By the sun, Kyo could tell he was going west.
'If only I can find that Scar guy again, maybe I can finally get out of here!' Kyo thought. He couldn't find anyone on the street.
'Did something happen?' Kyo thought. He couldn't see any fire or riot or anything else that would require an evacuation. Maybe that Scar guy was discovered after all.
Kyo was about to go up north when a big shadow came over him. He looked back to see a big muscular man dressed in a military uniform looking down at him.
"You're the Cat Alchemist, aren't you?" the man asked. "You matched his descriptions exactly."
"Who are you?" Kyo asked suspiciously.
"You don't know the Armstrong family?" the man asked.
"No," Kyo replied. "I just got here."
"Then I'll give you a treat," the man said. "Here's a sight for your eyes. Behold, a member of the fine Armstrong specimens. Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist!" At that, he ripped open his uniform, revealing his marvelous physique. Kyo just stood there speechless.
"What sort of freak are YOU?" Kyo asked.
"You should be honoured, my boy," Armstrong said. "However, as much as I would love to show you all of the famous Armstrong posturing techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation, I have work to do." He then put on a golden glove. "I shall present you with this!" He then threw a piece of wood up in the air. "Lo and behold, the elegant Armstrong alchemical technique that have been handed down from generation to generation!" Kyo watched in amazement as he punched the block of wood and turned it into a big metal spear. Kyo had to jump sideways to avoid it. It landed on the street, blowing a part of it up.
'What?!' Kyo thought.
"As you can see, my magnificent technique is perfect," Armstrong said. "Now be a good boy and come with me. I guarantee that you'll not be harmed as long as you're with me."
"What do you want with me?" Kyo yelled. Armstrong closed his eyes. "Huh?"
"You poor boy!" Armstrong said. He then gave him a big bear hug. Kyo screamed.
"Travelling across this country, with no one that knows you or any place that you know!" Armstrong said. Waterfall tears came down his face. "Oh you poor thing!"
"No wait-!" Kyo started to say when Armstrong hugged him again. Kyo felt great pressure against his rib cage, but he still felt no pain.
"What are you-!" Kyo said. He then pushed himself away, falling on the ground. He then pointed at Armstrong with a shaky finger. "You- You resemble someone I know! Do you know someone named Kagura?"
"I don't know any Kagura," Armstrong said. "I'm a member of the great Armstrong family as you can see!" He then started posturing.
"Okay…" Kyo said. 'I got to get rid of him. I have an idea!' Kyo thought. He then ripped a page from the book after he took it out of the pouch. "Take this!"
"Is it from the book?" Armstrong said. Kyo then flashed the page in front of his eyes. The man's eyes lit up.
"Magnificent!" Armstrong said. "I've never seen such a wonderful piece of alchemy work! Full of life! Full of power! If this is the work of Nicolas Flamel, then I shall get this to the Colonel and…hmm?" Armstrong then saw Kyo trying to run off. "I see you were trying to distract me! That may work for some amateur alchemists but not me!" At that, Armstrong grabbed a piece of rusted pipe and hit it with his alchemical glove. It turned into a long steel arrow.
"Damn!" Kyo yelled as he tried to dodge it. The arrow swerved into the left, hitting the ground. This caused Kyo to lose his balance and fall.
Just then, Kyo heard a few more footsteps.
"Major!" Kyo then saw two men running to Armstrong. One, a brown-haired, big-chinned guy looked up at him.
"Major! The Colonel said to get him, not destroy the street!" he continued.
"I'm aware of that, Lieutenant," Armstrong said. The short, black-haired guy now spoke up.
"Sir, is that the Cat Alchemist?" he asked, looking right at Kyo.
"Yes Sergeant," Armstrong replied. "But be careful. He's quick."
"He does have orange hair," the Lieutenant said. "I wonder how he does that."
"It's real, dammit!" Kyo shouted. He was getting sick of this. "Just who the hell are you all anyway?" The Major raised his hands slightly.
"Now calm down" Armstrong said. "We're offering you an opportunity to surrender peacefully. This may not occur again. So will you do it?"
"NO!!!" Kyo shouted. The Lieutenant turned to Armstrong.
"Can I shoot him now?" he asked.
"Not yet," Armstrong said.
"I already gave you a page," Kyo said. "Do you want another one?"
"Could you give us one that mentions the Philosopher's Stone in it?" Armstrong asked.
"Why is everyone so interested in it?" Kyo asked. "It seems that a lot of alchemists here can do a lot of things already."
"It's not for the military," Armstrong said. "This is for a friend of mine." Kyo was about to ask him what he meant when a car stopped behind the three military officers.
"We got him now!" Colonel Douglas yelled. He then got out of the car. "What are you waiting for? Get him!"
"I'm giving you a last warning," Armstrong told Kyo. "If you don't surrender right now, we might-"
"What? Shoot me?" Kyo said. He then smirked and pointed to himself. "Go ahead! Shoot me! Maybe I'll die and get reincarnated out of this stupid world of yours! Or I can haunt you for the rest of your lives!" At that, Kyo laughed.
"Has he gone insane?" Fury asked, concerned.
"Just shoot him!" Colonel Douglas ordered.
"Remember what Colonel Mustang said," Armstrong told Breda, who was aiming right at Kyo.
"Yeah, yeah, don't kill him," Breda said. He then let out a shot. It missed, even though Kyo was just a few feet away from him. "What the?"
'He actually tried to shoot me- and missed!' Kyo thought. He could try to run away, but he could run into more of them.
Just then, dozens of cats suddenly appeared. It took a while to find the Two-Legged One, but once they did, they sent out a few to get the other cats to this area. Within a few minutes, over a hundred cats came.
An idea then came inside Kyo's head.
'If it worked in Rush Valley…' Kyo thought. He then put his arm down.
"NOW!" Kyo shouted. All of a sudden over a hundred cats stormed the place. And of course being cats, they first went to the cat hater.
"HELP!" Breda shouted. He tried to run away (this guy is a soldier?) but the cats quickly jumped up at him and forced him downward, who was screaming as they did.
"Second Lieutenant Breda!" Fury said. He then tried to help his comrade, but a bunch of kitties blocked his path.
"It's all right," Armstrong said. "These are tame animals. As long as we don't try to hurt them, we'll be alright-" Just then, he took a step forward. All of a sudden all of the cats arched their backs. "- or not." Fury tried to take a step forward but a few cats hissed at him.
"We're surrounded by cats!" Fury said. He then saw more cats coming. "And they keep on coming!"
"GET AWAY FROM YOU-YOU-YOU MONSTERS!" Breda shouted. He then started to hit the cats with his gun.
"NO!! DON'T HURT THEM! THEY'RE INNOCENT!" Armstrong yelled. A cat then jumped onto his massive arm. He then looked at the cat. "Let go of my perfect body, little kitty." The cat promptly went off. Breda, however, wasn't convinced on Armstrong's soft approach.
"Do you think these monsters are innocent?" Breda asked. One of the cats then bit his hand, which made him release his gun. All of the cats then jumped on him.
As for Colonel Douglas, he was struggling to get back into the car.
"Get us out of here!" he ordered the driver. The cats, however, was blocking their way.
The horn was then blown. The sound of it made some cats back off, but angered a few even more. The men in the car had to use their guns to swat the cats away. Colonel Douglas looked perplexed, not knowing what else to do. Military training didn't exactly cover what to do when hundreds of maniacal cats surround your vehicle.
In all of the mayhem, nobody noticed that a certain orange-head had vanished, having been long gone by then.
"I don't want to ask, but what happened to you two?" Roy asked as Fury and Armstrong entered the room, looking all scratched up. Hawkeye, as usual, was helping him with the paperwork. Her dog, Black Hayate, was at her feet next to Roy's desk.
"We almost got him, sir," Fury replied. "But at least we now know that he does control cats." That got Roy to frown.
"Where is Second Lieutenant Breda?" he inquired. "He did went with you two, didn't he?"
"He did, sir, but now he's gone-" Fury said. At that, Roy put his left hand on his face.
"I didn't mean to put all of you in danger" Roy said. "Can you give me a full report on his demise?"
"His demise? He's not dead yet, sir" Fury said.
"Why didn't you say that in the beginning?" Roy said with an anger mark on his head.
"I tried, but you cut me off!" Fury said. He then paused. "Sir." Roy just sighed. Falman then entered the room.
"I heard that the team came back," Falman said. "How did everyone- never mind." The Warrant Officer then saw the scratched up Fury and Armstrong.
"Falman, get Second Lieutenant Breda here. If he can walk, I don't care what the doctor says," Roy ordered.
"Yes sir!" Falman said. He then left. Roy looked at Hawkeye.
"It's time for Plan B" Roy said. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, get the file for the Cat Alchemist out and follow us to the far room at the right." He then looked at Fury and Armstrong. "Come with us. I'll leave a note for Falman and Breda to come to the room too."
"But what is Plan B sir?" Fury asked.
"You'll see," Roy said with a smile.
End of Chapter Fourteen
There were times when I thought I'd never finish this, but I did! In any case, I hope that you liked this new chapter. If you see any room for improvement or any mistakes or any suggestions, please tell me! I'm not a perfect stylist, but I do want to do my best. Armstrong, Fury and Breda had failed to capture Kyo. Will Roy and Hawkeye be able to capture him? Or will Plan B be a failure as well. What is Plan B anyway? Fruits Basket (1999-2006) was created by Natsuki Takaya and distributed by Hakusensha Inc. and TOKYOPOP. Fullmetal Alchemist (2001) was created by Hiromu Arakawa and distributed by Square Enix and Viz Media. Don't forget to review!
Next Chapter: Letting Out The Dogs