DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I don't own FMA…but Jin is my character so…YAY!
a/n: well, actually I'm impressed; I hardly even expected to get one review, LoL (but I'm glad you all reviewed anyway—it makes kitkat happy!)
Cookies to my reviewers!
XxXHellzFireAngelXxX: Of course I'll update WEDoB! LoL, even though the next chapter isn't exactly finished yet (but I do have the last part of the chapter done! If that counts as anything that is…:nervous laugh:)
Gozilla: Thank you! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!
Dragonwitch66: Well I'm glad you liked it! Hehe, it was just kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, but if you want me continue, I will—but I still have to update my other stories too!
Oh, and on another note, I'm kinda basing Keiji on Haru from Fruits Basket—but most likely on looks rather than personality…
Just so all of you know…
Thoughts/Flashback
Hagane Memories
:Suspicions:
"Huh…?" slowly, the raven-haired child blinked open her eyes and glanced around. It was then that she realized she was being carried piggy-back down the familiar dirt road and that she was staring into a head of short, silver hair.
The boy carrying her gazed up quickly at her before shifting her weight, "Ah, so you're finally awake…you're such a wuss, you know that?" he told her with a short laugh.
She pouted, "Am not!" but then she blinked and looked around a second time, "But…um, Keiji…how did we get here again…?"
"You fell asleep, remember?" he reminisced to her, "You were waiting for me outside of headquarters...and you seemingly got bored sitting there…" he said, inferring to her pleasant nap.
For a moment, she stared at him stupidly before a thought occurred to her, "Oh! That's right! Keiji, I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to fall asleep… how'd it go?" she questioned hurriedly.
There was a pause and the girl thought that it hadn't gone at all, but then she noticed a small smile curling at his lips, "Check my pocket…"
She blinked, but nonetheless obliged. As she rummaged through it, she found that her tiny fingers clasped around something cool and metallic. Her eyes widened as she withdrew a silver pocket watch engraved with a picture of a dragon-like figure and several other designs.
"Keiji!" she exclaimed happily.
Jovially, she hugged her brother around the neck—only to find that her grip was far stronger than she thought.
"Jin…I can't…breathe…" he wheezed and she quickly lessened her hold.
She laughed nervously, "Heh, whoopsie…" her smile was faint as she turned her head to watch the setting sun fade behind the horizon. Mama would have been happy…she would have been happy to know that they were watching out for one another; especially now that Keiji would have his own part in the military.
…But if they had known how long that would have lasted…
They wouldn't have taken it all for granted…
-:-
Jin moaned quietly and tried to move her arms, but her body wouldn't let her. Inwardly, she frowned. She was able to make out a pair of voices—they both sounded pretty young too; they were almost indistinguishable, however, over the sound of clanking metal.
"Nii-san…are you getting tired? Maybe we should stop and rest for a little while…" the youngest voice said. The girl listened for a moment; this seemed to be the closest to her.
"I told you, Al, we're not stopping till we reach Central…"
Central! She thought, suddenly frantic when she was finally able to comprehend what he said; why were they going there?
She furrowed her brow and tried to open her mouth—only to find that it took a great deal of her energy. What the hell! Had these people drugged her or something? Worse yet, were these people trying to kidnap her?
"No…No—stop!" she cried abruptly and unexpectedly began to flail her arms.
"Ah! Wait! Stop, you'll hurt yourself—!" The young voice cried, but Jin suddenly found herself falling until she crashed onto a dirt road. She cried out when a sudden shock of pain raced through her arm and abdomen.
The girl winced and blinked after a painful pause before she was able to look up at the two boys…or at least, what she thought were going to be two boys. Instead she was looking back at a blonde-haired teen and a suit of armor.
Weird…
"I…I told you so…" the armored one said quietly and this caused her to start; she realized only now that this was the owner of the younger voice.
After her shock, Jin shook her head fervently, "No! No, see? You can't take me to Central—you don't have to! I'm just fine, see?" she told them frantically as she waved one of her limbs, "This arm won't move, though—but I'm still just fine—!" she cut herself off suddenly and cried out, immediately clutching onto her wounded arm.
"Are you asking for a death wish or something?" the blonde-haired boy asked bluntly, "'Cause you're going to bleed to death if you keep moving like that; we could only fix you up so good after what those guys did back there…"
Back there…? Urgently, Jin turned her head back down the opposite road, only to find that their town was long gone…and in its place was a wide expanse of rolling hills along with the single path they were traveling on.
Crud.
But…what was she supposed to think? These two were the ones who helped her the other night and who had tried to bandage her up to the best of their abilities—
But they were also kidnapping her (not to mention the fact that it was a little curious why they didn't take her to an actual hospital first…)
They had saved her though…
And yet it was odd that they were kidnapping her too—after all, the teenager wasn't even taller than herself; if anything the guy in the armor was more of a threat than him. Why bother trying to kidnap her anyway? Who would want to?
Well, she supposed these guys would…
"Uh…thanks…" was all she could mumble while she massaged her wounded arm.
The two 'boys' glanced at one another briefly before the shorter crouched down to her eye-level (though, technically, he didn't really need to crouch down at all), "Why are you freaking out about Central anyway? You aren't some fugitive on the run are you?"
She stared at him stupidly for a moment, "What? No! No! You don't understand; you just can't take me to Central!"
"Problems with the military?" he wondered.
"No!"
"Crazy relatives?"
"No!"
"Fear of traveling?"
"NO!"
Jin shook her head forcefully and stared down at the ground when she abruptly felt tears burning at her eyes. She said nothing for the longest time as she tried to force her tears back; but she still sensed both of them watching her.
"You…wouldn't understand…" she whispered and shook her head once more, "No one would understand—especially them! They…they probably despise me…even now…"
There was another tension-filled pause between them while the girl continued to shake her head. When it appeared as though they either wouldn't stop watching her or say anything more, Jin shakily tried to make it to her feet.
She winced painfully as she clutched at her arm; it almost appeared as though her legs would be ready to give way at any moment, and yet she forced herself to stand.
"What do you think you're doing?" the blonde-haired boy demanded as Jin started to pant heavily.
"I'm…going home…" she heaved, "If I had one goal in life…it was to avoid that place at all costs; and I'm sure as hell not going to break that streak now…"
"Wait!" the boy in the armor desperately pleaded with her, "You'll bleed yourself to death if you try and walk back!"
She gritted her teeth against the pain, but didn't answer him.
"Al's right…" the other cut in as he watched her under scrutinizing eyes, "Right now we're closer to Central than we are to that town of yours; you might as well find a hospital there first before you try to head back…"
Jin breathed heavily, "If you're trying to get me to go with you…it's not working…" she muttered, "You'll have to drag me by my hind legs if you're going to try and make me go to Central—"
She was cut off suddenly as her knees buckled beneath her. The girl cried out in pain and whimpered quietly under her breath while her knuckles turned white from clutching at her arm so tightly. Both Elric brothers noticed the patch along her side beginning to stain once again with a crimson liquid. She didn't seem to realize this, however, and tried to stand once more.
"You'll kill yourself!" Al exclaimed frantically as he watched her.
The girl heaved deeply as she stared at the ground before her, "Good…" she muttered after a pause, "…Then that's one less sinner God will have to deal with on this earth…"
Without warning, the road became silent—save all but Jin's desperate attempts at breathing. Neither brother looked at one another, yet somehow they were both thinking the same thing. It was as if what she said had set off a trigger somewhere that had struck them both in the same place…it was as if she knew exactly what they had told so many others before.
But it made them wonder…
Had she done something just as terrible as them?
There was a quiet sigh that came from Al's armor. Without saying a word, he walked up to her while his armor clanked deafeningly in the silence. And without giving her time to object, he promptly lifted her off the ground with both hands, and carefully placed her along his shoulder.
She blinked in surprise and stared down at him; there was no anger in her violet eyes, but only wonder. The shorter of the two brothers stood in front of them and rested his hand on his side casually as he stared up at her. But after a moment, he lowered his eyes and watched a patch of ground off somewhere else.
"Don't talk to us about sinning…" he told her absently, "…We know first-hand what happens to people who try and trespass into God's domain…"
Her eyes widened, "…Wh-What…?"
Both brothers were silent and didn't answer her. The girl felt a shiver race down her spine; what could they have possibly meant by that?
But she suddenly started when she noticed that the blonde-haired teen turn his back towards them and start to walk back down the dirt road, "Well it's a little late to turn back now, don't you think?" he asked a little too casually as he placed his hands behind his head, "Might as well get as far as we can today…Central shouldn't be too far after that—"
"I told you I'm not going to Central!" Jin cried frantically while Al started to move forward, "I just can't go!"
He inclined his head towards her slightly before returning his gaze to the road, "Well seeing how it is you can't stand…it looks as though you have no choice; believe it or not, but you're stuck with us."
She stared at him with her mouth gaping…
He wasn't serious!
-:-
Unfortunately for Jin, he was.
But at least it would have been more bearable if they had at least said something to her; but the only noise that came from them was from Al's armor clanking whenever he walked. But now, his armor had grown quiet and the two of them were sitting in utter silence underneath a small sapling.
Great. They were kidnapping her and torturing her with this stupid silence of theirs! Was it just because of her, or did they always do this to people?
Growing bored, she glanced up at the landscape around her. The shorter boy—Ed, she thought she heard Al call him—had gone up ahead of them to see how much longer they had to travel. Not that it matter to her; she would give anything to delay this trip as much as she could.
She sighed quietly and fiddled with the strap along her glove…
Of all the places…of all the places, it just had to be Central…God, you must really want to punish me—
"So…um, why were those men chasing you before?" Al suddenly asked. At the sound of his voice breaking the silence, she nearly fell over from her surprise. It took her a moment though, before she could actually comprehend what he was asking.
Her eyes flickered towards her glove then down at the ground below her, "Just…something stupid…" she mumbled.
If she had been able to see his face, she probably would have seen him quirk an eyebrow at her, "I wouldn't have thought it was stupid, seeing that they were carrying guns with them…And one of them said you owed them something…"
At this, her eyes averted away from him, "Oberon…yeah, I never liked that guy…" she said absently while still trying to avoid confrontation with the first question. Not that she would have preferred to remain quiet and keep that damn silence…she just never liked those kinds of questions.
Jin frowned slightly as she stared back down at her gloved hand. If they were taking her to Central, they would probably find out sooner or later; and she would rather explain it herself than have those military dogs do it for her.
With a sigh, she began to fish for something in her pocket. Al noticed this and turned his head towards her in curiosity. After a moment, she was able to withdraw a small chunk of coal that was probably no bigger than a quarter and she set it in her open palm.
Swiftly, she was able to remove her glove from her left hand; hoping to cover up the tattoo along her skin. Al's eyes widened when he noticed the transmutation circle etched along her palm.
But without taking notice to his reaction, she placed the piece of coal on her palm and curled her fingers over it. Sparks of purple light suddenly emitted from between her fingers and crawled along the rest of her hand; the armored-boy made a noise of alarm, but as quickly as the light had started, it faded away.
Jin sighed again and opened her hand, holding it out towards Al.
Now, instead of the chunk of coal, a piece of crystal twinkled in the setting, orange sunlight.
She smiled grimly and tossed it to him. He jumped in surprise and juggled it for a moment before he was able to hold it between his fingers, "Is it…Is it real?" he wondered.
"Yup…" she answered bleakly as she stared back down at her hand.
"I'm the Crystal Hand Alchemist."
-:-
Ed stared at his brother, "The what?" he asked again.
"She said she was the Crystal Hand Alchemist…" he repeated and glanced towards the girl sleeping peacefully a little ways off. She had tried with all her might to stay awake, but her fatigue had crept up behind her and she was out cold in a single hour.
He furrowed his brow as his gold eyes scrutinized her suspiciously, "…I've never seen that name in the archives before--and we would have heard something about it too; she doesn't look any older than us…" he said off-handedly then thought a moment, "You don't think she's related to doctor Marco somehow, do you?"
Al said nothing for a moment and stared into the measly fire they had built, "No...but Nii-san! Nii-san, what if she's not telling the truth?"
"I thought about that already…" he informed his brother quietly, "But then…how did she come up with the watch? Those pocket watches are restricted only to State Alchemists…" he told him and his brow furrowed again as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. With his other hand he withdrew his own watch and stared at it for a moment.
The two brothers sat in silence for awhile as the fire crackled between them.
After a moment, Ed smiled grimly and tossed another log into the flames, "The only thing I can think of is that she stole the watch from someone and took up some fake State Alchemist name…but she just doesn't seem like the person to do that, somehow…"
His brother thought for a moment, "Maybe…she actually is a State Alchemist—only her name was removed from the records for some reason."
Edward cocked an eyebrow at him, but didn't reply right away. That…that did make sense; but why would they erase her from the archives? It made him remember her statement from before, though; about how there would be one less sinner in the world if she died…had she done something so terrible that even her name had to be erased from the military's knowledge?
"She's definitely not telling us the entire truth, that's for sure…" he said under his breath.
Al went silent for a moment, "But…brother, why are we taking her to Central anyway? She said she didn't want to go; maybe she just doesn't like it there…and if she's been erased from the records, how do we even know she's a State Alchemist? For all we know, she might have just found the watch somewhere…"
"I doubt it…" the alchemist said grimly, "I don't think a State Alchemist would easily part with one of those," he let out a dry laugh and absently poked the fire, "Maybe she killed someone and stole it from them…"
"Brother!" Al reprimanded quickly, "Don't kid about those things! You said it yourself that you didn't think she was the type of person to do that!"
He frowned for a moment, "…True…but we don't exactly know her, Al," he sighed heavily and stared down at the ground, "Hell, we don't know anything about her for that matter except for the fact that she calls herself the Crystal Hand Alchemist—that's not very creative anyway, especially since it sounds like Marco's nickname…"
His brother didn't reply; his eyes wandered towards where Jin lay sleeping (he realized just now that she had probably fallen asleep away from them on purpose). He couldn't imagine her having done something so terrible that she was erased from the archives—let alone killing someone. Ed was right; they didn't know anything about her—but nonetheless she didn't look like someone who would kill someone—
"…K…Keiji…"
Both Al and his brother glanced up quickly as the girl began to shift restlessly. The younger of the two brothers noticed how her brow furrowed as if she was having a terrible nightmare. She began to whimper quietly in her sleep her fingers clenched around the blades of grass beneath her.
Before long however, she started to cry out and tossed even more fitfully. Ed sighed and got up as he walked over towards her. He crouched back down and carefully prodded her in the shoulder with his finger.
"Hey…Hey!"
In an instant, Jin's eyes nearly shot open. She hurriedly glanced between the two brothers as she shot up off the ground.
"You were having a nightmare…" Al explained as she stared at Ed uncertainly.
She paused a moment; trying to get over her shock. But after she had recovered, she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah…I guess you could call it that…" she murmured and stared off at the dying fire, "…I've been having a lot of those lately…" she said off-handedly.
"Who's Keiji?"
Jin blinked and turned to Ed; her eyes almost seemed to widen in horror, "What?"
"You were talking in your sleep," he said casually as he turned back towards her former seat next to the fire, "You said Keiji or something like that…just wondering who you were dreaming about…"
There seemed to be a blush that formed at the tips of her cheeks as she stared off at the ground somewhere, "It's…no one…"
Al blinked; even though Ed didn't notice it, he was able to see tears beginning to form in the girl's eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. He also noticed how her gaze almost seemed to grow distant as she continued on:
"Just…someone I used to know…"
-:-
a/n: um…I think I'll just end it there…(I'm kind of running out of ideas anyway, LOL)
But the good news is that since I'm running out of ideas—I'll get to work on WEDoB! YAY! Haha, though I'm not sure how good it's going to be (this time, I sort of worked backwards, so now I have the ending done and I need to work on the beginning…werid…)
Anyway…I probably should go to bed now or I'm going to be a lethargic ball tomorrow morning…
Peace and Luv!