Authors Note: I said I would update on Sunday's but due to Endwalker being out for FF14 I decided to post early (since I am waiting in que haha). Let me know what you think!
Please do not hesitate to review - it helps motivate me.
I sat at the dining room table, partaking in some bread that had been set out. I could hear the grandfather of the delivered baby cooing over the bundle of joy from the other room. I smiled as I continued eating my bread. After a few moments, Ed walked in and halted as soon as he saw me. His golden eyes narrowed as he regarded my presence. I blinked and arched a single eyebrow. Sighing, as I swallowed and picked up another piece of bread. Tossing it at the blonde teen, I asked, "Truce? As soon as I am able, I will no longer be your 'babysitter'."
The teen blinked in surprise, catching the bread with one hand. I placed a gloved hand on my hip as I stood and waited for an answer. "Yeah, fine. Truce." He took a bite of the bread, glancing away.
Smirking, I trotted over and past the teen. While I walked away I could feel his stare on my back.
Later that afternoon, I found myself at the train station. I was sitting on a bench as Al, Ed, Winry, and Paninya were saying goodbye. I had my white sweatshirt back on, covering my dog tags and black turtleneck. I flexed my fingers in my gloves, looking at the frayed fabric. "I may need to buy new ones." Speaking to myself, I sighed.
"Hey, Leah!" Blinking, I turned my head towards Winry. She stood next to me with a smile on her face. "Ed may have a funny way of showing he is sorry, but bear with him. I for one am glad that the brothers have someone keeping tabs on them. Thank you for helping to keep them safe." The blonde blushed and her smile grew bigger.
I stood somewhat dumbfounded. This girl barely knew me but trusts me so readily. Smirking, I said, "Of course, Hughes warned that Ed was feisty but don't you worry. I can put the kid in his place."
"Hey, I am not a kid!" Said kid shouted from a few paces away.
Turning to face Ed, my smirk grew. "Oh, but I was told you were only sixteen. If that's the case you're younger than me. So in my books, a kid." Ed looked surprised for a moment but then he glared, a blush creeping along his cheeks.
"Well you may be older but age isn't everything." Ed gave me his own smirk, while crossing his arms.
"But being taller than you has to mean something." The fast retort came out before I could think twice.
Ed's smirk fell as an angry blush took over. "Who are you calling a shrimp?" The teen stomped his foot as he yelled. Al and Winry sweatdropped as they watched the two of us in the background. Sighing, both teens slumped their shoulders. I had a wide grin on my face as Ed's rant continued.
"Some bodyguard, I am starting to think the only thing you can do is talk." That last remark caused an eyebrow to twitch.
'Oh...he was asking for it now.' I could feel Al, Winry, and Paninya's eyes on me as I approached Ed from behind. "Is that a challenge, kid?" My eyes glared as a dark smirk grew across my face.
Ed was unfazed as he turned to face me. Gold daggers met my purple. "Yeah it is." Ed had his own dark smirk.
Smirk growing, I placed my bag down and flexed my gloved fingers. "Let's go then kid." At my acceptance, Ed put his own suitcase down and flexed his fists in front of him.
Me and Ed squared off, a few bystanders paused to stare at the strange spectacle. Before I could launch forward, Ed got whacked on the back of his head. I blinked surprised and stared at the culprit.
Winry's eyebrows furrowed as she glared at Ed. "Stop picking fights!" The two teens argued back and forth. Winry threatened him with her wrench again before Ed finally conceded. Suddenly, a train whistle broke through the air. Turning my head, I saw our train slowly beginning to pull from the station.
"Shit, Ed and Al, isn't that our train?" Grabbing my bag, I began to run towards the train.
"Damnitt, it is!" I could hear the heavy footfalls of Ed and Al behind me.
Without breaking stride, I leapt onto the back of the train. Quickly, I sidestepped to make room for the brothers as they caught up with the train. Al jumped first, quickly turning to help Ed by grabbing his gloved hand. The wind began whipping strands of my hair that framed my face. Glancing over, I saw Winry running towards the train.
"Don't fight and take care of each other!" Winry's voice echoed as she shouted at us. I watched Ed and Al wave at the blonde, as they entered the train. I slowly followed behind the two brothers.
A few quiet hours had passed since we sat in our seats. Al sat across from me and Ed. With Al taking up almost the entire bench, me and Ed, begrudgingly sat next to each other.
I placed my hand under my chin as I stared out the window. The scenery blurred as the sun began to set. "Why are we going to Dublith?" I finally broke the silence.
Al closed his book and glanced towards me. Ed sighed and did the same. "We are going to speak with our teacher."
"Why?" Ed sighed once more, glowering.
"Because we think she may be able to help us with something we have been looking for." Ed was being surprisingly patient as he answered my questions.
"What exactly are you looking for?" I crossed my arms in front of me, turning my body to face the brothers. Both brothers seemed to pause. Al looked back down at his book while Ed narrowed his eyes and glanced away. I arched a single brow as I examined both reactions. 'Secretive...fair. I can't expect everyone to be so trusting.' "Tell me about your teacher then. What did she teach you?"
Al seemed to perk back up, his helmet clinking as it turned towards me. "She is our alchemy teacher. She taught us everything we know." His voice seemed to be cheerful as he reminisced in his memories.
"How fun, she must be really nice to be able to deal with Ed here." I smirked at the braided blonde.
Scowling at me, Ed retorted, "No more trouble than I am sure Hughes has with you." I was about to fire back but suddenly both brothers slumped in their seats. Blinking at them I waited. "Oh, god...she is going to kill us." My eyebrow arched again.
"It would have been nice to have had a girlfriend before I died." Al's voice chimed in, depressed.
My curiosity peaked, "Why will she kill you?"
Ed sat back up, his face pale. "Because, I became a dog." he ran his gloved hands over his face.
"Come on, she can't be that bad." A soft smile played on my lips as I watched the brothers wallow in their self pity.
"You will see. She shows everyone." Al's voice chimed in and trailed off a bit.
'She can't be that bad. No worse than the guy that trained me.' I scoffed to myself.
Two hours later, our train had finally arrived at the station. The brothers were even more distraught and glum as we walked the road towards their teacher's home. Soon enough we came to a butchers shop. The shop had a spacious front yard and was surrounded by a white fence. A large tree set off to the side of the yard.
'Hmm...based on the brothers I half expected the building to be an evil castle.' I smirked to myself as I held my bag over my shoulder. Glancing over, I could see that both brothers were trembling slightly. "Wow, you two are genuinely afraid." I scoffed. As I spoke, the door to the butcher shop creaked open. My eyes became fixated on a huge butcher's knife as it protruded from the dark doorway. My eyes widened as the huge man, who held said knife, stepped out of the darkness. "Oh my." I could feel a trickle of sweat go down my cheek.
"Uh, hello Mr. Sig." My eyes never left the large burly man, even as Ed spoke.
Sig approached the brothers. I nervously eyed the knife, still in his hand. My tense posture was not necessary. Sig placed his free hand on top of Edward's head. "Welcome back, I see that you have grown a little." I blinked in surprise as a gentle smile grew on the man's face.
Al stepped forward, "You may not recognize me, but it's me Alphonse." His armored finger pointed to himself.
Sig seemed to pause as he regarded Al, but his smile only grew wider. Closing his eyes, he patted the top of Al's helmet. "You have grown a lot."
Smiling at the sight, I remained where I was by the front gate. Sig seemed to have finally noticed me, his eyes looking me up and down. "Is this your girlfriend Edward?" I sputtered, trying to contain my laughter as Ed yelled in denial.
I clutched my stomach, "He wishes!" Laughter took over and racked my body. Slowly, I walked forward, still laughing a bit. "My name is Leah. It's great to meet the oh so feared teacher of Ed and Al." I helped my hand out to the man.
Sig chuckled and shook my hand that I had held out. "Oh, I am not the boy's teacher. That pleasure belongs to my wife." Letting go of my hand, the man turned back towards the open window. "Izumi, the Elric shrimps and a friend are here to see you. Do you think you can see them?"
"I'll be right there. I am feeling a little better today." A soft feminine voice drifted out of the window.
'Is she sick?' I wondered as I glanced towards the open window. The curtains were fluttering in the wind.
"Lying down? That's not a good sign." Al spoke aloud.
"I guess she hasn't gotten any better since last time." Ed turned towards Al and me. I stood beside Al now, glancing between both brothers with watchful eyes.
Suddenly, a foot darted out of the doorway slamming into Ed's face. The teen went flying across the yard. I stood dumbfounded, watching the ordeal. "Ed!" I yelled out. "Are you alright?" I eyed the boy in question from afar, tears rolling down his face as he groaned in pain.
Slowly, a figure stepped out of the dark doorway. A woman with long black dreads stood there, her dark eyes gleaming with anger. "Hello, there my stupid pupil. I hear you have become a military dog." I shuttered as the terrifying woman turned her gaze to Al and me.
Al gasped in fear, "Teacher...you see it's because uh…" Al was panicking and apparently rightfully so. The armor moved his arms around as he stumbled for his excuses.
The woman's anger melted away suddenly, a soft alien smile appearing. "Al? Look at you! You have gotten so big!"
"Huh?" Her personality seemed to do a complete one-eighty.
Al's armor clinked as he dropped his arms to his sides. The boy sighed and walked forward, "Teacher, its really good to…" As Izumi grabbed Al's hand for a handshake she flipped the armor over her shoulder and onto the ground. With a loud thud the metal hit the yard, groaning.
"Your skills are rusty." The dark haired woman crossed her arms. After a few moments, her eyes trailed to me. Her black eyes narrowed and seemed to be examining me carefully. "Who might you be?"
"Oh uh, my name is Leah. I have been asked to watch over the brothers as they travel." I stammered at first. Slowly, I walked over and had a sheepish look on my face.
Seeming satisfied with that response, Izumi held her hand out to me. "Wonderful to meet you. Thank you for watching over my dimwitted pupils." A smile etched across the woman's features.
Blinking in surprise, I reached out with my gloved hand. As I grasped her hand and was about to reply, my body began to lift and be flipped. Gasping, I quickly redistributed my eight and moved my legs. I was still flipped over her shoulder but instead of landing on my back I had arched my back to land with my feet wide apart.
Izumi let go of my hand as I wobbled to stand up straight. My poor back had been bent at such an awkward angle. I turned back to face the woman, my eyes wide and my face pale. After seeing Al get flipped I should have seen it coming. My wide purple eyes met Izumi's narrowed black gaze. Nerves flipped in my stomach. 'Should I have let her flip me?'
A wide smile suddenly broke across the woman's face. "You have some good reflexes." A slight blush grew across my face. Suddenly, Izumi spurted blood from her mouth causing all of us to panic.
After Sig took care of Izumi, we were led to where me and the brothers would be staying. The boys and I had adjacent rooms. Stepping into my room, I glanced around. There was a single bed and a dresser with a mirror. A bookcase teeming with texts was against the wall near the foot of the bed. 'Simple yet cozy.' I smiled to myself. I could imagine the brothers running around as children in these rooms and halls. Walking over, I placed my duffel beside the bed and removed my white hoodie. Doing so only left me in my skin-tight turtleneck. My half sleeves stretched slightly as I arched both arms upward to crack my back. I ran a gloved hand through my hair and exhaled a breath.
A knock sounded at my open door. Turning, I saw Ed standing in the doorway. "Teacher says it is time for dinner." His face remained stoic.
:Alright." Turning fully, I stepped towards the door.
I followed Ed down the hall and into the kitchen. On the table was a wide variety of dishes. My mouth began to water as my eyes sparkled. "Oh my gosh, this all looks delicious!" With an extra skip in my step, I moved towards the table and an empty seat.
I pulled a chair out and took a seat. I hummed to myself and let my eyes wander over the piles of meat, potatoes, and cooked vegetables. Soon enough the others joined me. Izumi sat across from me and Ed, while Al and Sig each took an end of the table. Me and Ed began digging in. The smell of the tender meat and garlic potatoes overwhelmed my sharp sense of smell. Picking up a piece of roast, I put it in my mouth and sighed in happiness.
"Oh man, I haven't had a meal like this in weeks." I quickly put another forkful in my mouth.
I heard Izumi chuckle as she regarded my response. "Well, I am glad my cooking is given such high marks." Her fork and knife worked to cut the piece of meat as she spoke.
Glancing around as I chewed, I noticed all were eating but Al. "Hey Al, aren't you going to take off that armor to eat?"
The boy sputtered and waved his arms around. "Uh, you see...I ate on the train ride! I am still very full!" What an obvious lie. I would have seen it happen. My eyes narrowed towards Al in suspicion.
Ed seemed to pause in his eating. His eyes were bugged as he regarded Al and his teacher, whose eyes had also been eyeing Al. The gold orbs flicked between the two. "Uh, hey! In Rush Valley we were able to help with delivering a baby! It was awesome!"
Izumi now smiled softly. She closed her eyes, her brows furrowing for a moment. "There is nothing more magical than bringing a baby into the world." A hint of sadness was clear in her soft voice, as if she was grieving for something.
I observed the exchange while eating my food. Chewing, I picked up some mashed potatoes; but, before I could take a bite Izumi asked, "So Leah, the boys tell me that you started traveling with them. What were you doing before accompanying them?"
Placing my full fork gently down, I smiled at the woman. "I was helping a friend as a civilian consultant for police cases." I blinked at everyone's expressions, they all seemed to have gone bug eyed. Did I say something strange? Winry had not acted like this. I never did tell the brothers what exactly I did while living with Hughes. I finally took that bite of mashed potatoes, sighing happily and ignoring the shocked stares.
"What about your family?" The question came from Ed. I swallowed and halted my movements. My eyes stared ahead blankly, the wall was very interesting all of a sudden.
Despite my fixation on the wall, memories crept in.
'What a failure.'
'A disappointment.'
'You should just give it all back.'
The voices began invading. Darkness seemed to creep on the edges of my vision even as I tried to reign my thoughts back in. Biting back bile, I looked up at the ceiling. "I don't have any." Without meeting a single gaze, I took another bite of food as I brought my head back down. My eyes leveled with the plate, not leaving it.
Eds POV
Ed's eyes widened as he watched Leah, after her admission. Guilt rolled in his gut for asking such a question. His gaze slowly wandered to his own plate. The past few days that Ed has known Leah, he hasn't spoken to her much. Especially one on one. The girl was not hostile but their personalities just clashed. She was as brash and blunt as he was, telling him like it was. From the few conversations and arguments he could glean this much from the girl. Despite these facts, he did not expect her to have no family. What happened to them? Did they die? He wanted to ask so many more questions but was afraid of probing. He did not want to cause bad memories but he also did not want the sharp tongue lashing he was sure he would receive from both her and Al.
"I see, so how did you get involved with the military?" Shocked, he looked up from his plate at his teacher. I guess he should have come to expect brashness from his teacher, but still. Glancing at the white haired girl, he could see that she had placed on a cool mask.
"I was found by a military officer when I got into Central. Apparently he had a habit of not taking no for an answer. He insisted I stay with him and his family. He always gushed about his family, shoving pictures in my face." Leah's face seemed to soften for a moment, her smile was slight. "I stay with him and his family. It is...was a lot of fun." The last statement was a sigh from her lips.
'Hughes never did take no for an answer.' Ed's eyes looked back up towards the white haired teen.
"I see, if you have been with the military then, do you perform alchemy?" Izumi continued questioning the girl, while taking a bite of her own food.
Ed's eyes examined Leah's reaction, the girl had put her purple eyes back on Izumi. A smile, clearly fake, was plastered to her face. Dimples accented the small beauty mark under her left eye. "Nah, I can never understand that stuff." She shoved another bite of food into her mouth. How much food could she eat? Ed's eyes widened as he finally noticed that she was on her third plate.
"Wait, then how does Mustang expect you to be our bodyguard? If you don't know alchemy you will just end up in the way." Her words had finally registered with Ed after he gawked at her eating habits. The blonde folded his arms over his chest after placing his fork down with a light clatter.
"Not everyone relies on alchemy to defend themselves. I bet I could still kick your ass, alchemy or not." Leah's annoying, shit eating, smirk returned. She placed her fork down and propped her chin on her hand, her eyes on Ed.
"Is that another challenge?" Ed shouted at the girl, clenching his fists on top of the table.
"Brother…" Al sweatdropped from across the two older teens.
"Alright you two, if you are going to shout and argue, why not spar?" Izumi glared at both Leah and Ed, her dark eyes darting back and forth.
Leah's smirk grew as her eyes narrowed on Ed. "Fine by me, I have been wanting to kick your ass for a while, kid."
Ed gritted his teeth as anger pulsated within him. "Stop calling me a kid!"
"Stop shouting at my dinner table!" Izumi stabbed her wooden table with a knife, punctuating her final word. The table rattled as the knife was deeply embedded in the wood. Izumi's dark eyes glared solely on the blonde.
"Yes mam!" Edward squeaked and quickly put his hands in his lap. His golden orbs darted down to his lap, avoiding his teacher's heated gaze.
Chuckling, Leah took yet another bite of food.
Leah's POV
Everyone had gone to bed in their separate rooms. I was no exception. I laid on top of the soft covers, my black turtleneck riding up on my stomach. I was starting at the ceiling, bored.
"Ugh…" Sitting up, the front strands of my hair touched my chest. I could hear the dog tags jingle as I moved my legs over the side of the bed. Reaching for the tags, I began to fiddle with them. Glancing down, I watched my gloved hands move over the scratched out name. I love and also hate this gift. It was a constant reminder of what I had done and the amazing man the world has lost.
Sighing, I dropped the tags to stare at the bookcase across the room. I had checked it out earlier in the evening but it only contained alchemy books. "It's pointless but…" I stood up and walked over. I chose a random text and examined the title. "Better than nothing I guess." Cracking open the book, I began to read. I understood the words themselves and the basic science behind it; but, it was all pointless.
Hours ticked by and before I knew it the sun had risen. Rays of light began shining through the window. Glancing away from one of the many books I had read that night, I looked out the window. My eyes narrowed in the bright light.
I propped my leg up, closing the book in my hands as I heard a soft knock on my door. Before I could say anything, the door opened. Ed stood in the doorway, his blonde hair still in a braid but his red coat discarded. He only wore his black jacket and black pants. "Teacher says it is time for...hey!" His eyes glided over the several books that were piled around me in the bed.
Raising an eyebrow, I said, "You should have waited after knocking, rude." Ignoring his open jaw, I cracked the book in my hand back open and looked away from the annoying teen.
"I thought you said you didn't understand alchemy!" The blonde yelled while pointing an accusatory finger at me.
With my eyes never leaving my book, I stated, "I don't but it is the only thing to read in the house. Beggars can't be choosers Ed."
"Did you sleep at all? You have several of these books in the bed with you?" His eyes continued to roam over the numerous texts, his eyes wide.
"Of course." The lie fell from my lips easily. Closing the book with a thump, I tossed it as I stood. "Not everyone reads as slow as you." I teased and ducked to avoid the fist that was thrown my way. Laughing to myself, I walked past the aggravated teen and jogged down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Al, Izumi, and Sig were at the kitchen table eating. Well Izumi and Sig were, Al was staring at his full plate. It was still a strange sight and it continued to aggravate me that I could not figure out why he refused to eat or remove the armor. With a smile plastered on, I walked up taking a deep breath. The scent of bacon and pancakes reached me, making me salivate. Izumi's cooking really was divine.
"Hurry and eat, I want to see if my students have gotten rusty." I smirked at Izumi's order and nodded all the same. Eager to eat and to kick ass later.
After helping clean the kitchen both brothers and Izumi stood outside. I was off to the side, stretching my muscles as a warm up. Ed and I stood facing one another, a few paces away. The irritated blonde was glowering at me as I happily stretched. He seemed put off by my lackadaisical attitude.
Finishing my last stretch, I placed a gloved hand on my hip. My baggy pants blew slightly in the wind, along with a few strands of my white hair. "Hey kid, how about we make this more interesting?" A smirk grew on my face as the early afternoon sun beat down on my back.
Ed's eyebrows arched in question. His golden eyes narrowed in wariness.
"Whoever wins owes the other no questions asked." I grinned as Ed's own expression turned triumphant. A huge grin spread across the boy's face.
"You got yourself a deal." Hook line and sinker. I rolled my shoulders and began flexing my fingers.
"No alchemy. Hand to hand combat only. Let's see what you both got." Izumi explained. I could feel her careful gaze on me. I didn't dare glance her way. She was testing me, feeling out my abilities and true intentions. What a dangerous yet interesting woman. On her signal the spar began.
As soon as Ed was given permission to smack me, he leapt into action. The teen ran straight at me, his right arm shooting out for a quick jab towards my stomach. Quickly, I jumped back and dodged, landing a few feet away. "Whoa, you didn't hesitate at all. How crude." Giggling, I crossed my arms over my chest.
Ed narrowed his eyes and charged at me again. This time he lunged forward, jumping into the air to kick. Blinking, I ducked down and brought my leg out, aiming for his side with my own kick. Ed let out a grunt as my kick landed, but he did not let it phase him. He brought down his arm, grabbing my leg. Planting both feet on the ground, he attempted to toss me over his shoulder.
I allowed myself to be tossed but with a bit of maneuvering I landed on all fours, only skidding slightly. Standing up, I dusted my gloved hands. "That's all you got?" Angering an opponent was the fastest way to bring them down. With Ed's temper, it was bound to be easy. Ed glared and gritted his teeth. Before he could launch himself forward again, I darted forward. Ed's eyes widened as I was in front of him in a few seconds. His arms went up to guard as I threw a few punches. My fist slammed into his right arm, making my eyes narrow. This arm didn't feel normal. It was much harder than flesh or skin. I smirked and feinted to his right, causing him to drop his left guard. Rearing my fist, I landed a blow to the left side of his stomach, causing the blonde to stagger.
Not letting up, I ducked down and swept my legs under his. The teen landed on his back with another painful grunt.
Standing over the blonde, my smirk grew. "Give up yet kid?"
"No way in hell!" I'm going to wipe that damn smirk off your face!" Ed leapt to his feet and brought his hands back up, in a stance. His amber eyes contained fire in them as he stared at me.
Chuckling I said, "Bring it on, shortstack." Getting under Ed's skin was too easy. The boy's face grew red in fury and embarrassment at my new pet name.
"Don't call me short!" The blonde launched himself once more, throwing a fist towards my face.
The smirk never left my face as I ducked under his arm. I grabbed his outstretched limb and flipped Ed over my shoulder and onto his back. The teen landed with an oof. I watched him pant as I took a couple of slow steps away. "You let your anger get the best of you. You need to control it better if you ever hope to beat me. This fight is over. "
"Like hell this fight is over!" I turned my back on Ed as he yelled. I began stepping towards Izumi and Al. I heard a shuffling behind but before I could turn around and confront the teen, Izumi clapped and with blue sparks a spear appeared in her hand.
'The hell?' My purple eyes widened as she thrust the spear past me and towards the unsuspecting Ed. Holding my breath, I turned and was prepared to knock the spear away. Before I could though, Ed clapped his hands and transmuted his arm. A short metal blade tore the white glove he had been wearing. My eyes widened further as the realization of these few actions hit me.
These people had opened the portal.