Unlikely Bond

Chapter Six

"Let's keep going."

Rated M for violence, and strong and offensive language

The next morning, Edward awoke by falling onto the floor. He'd been in a blissful sleep, only for his eyes to fly open as the couch was tipped over, making him fall hard onto the floor. There was gale laughter and the blond looked up, his gold eyes fixing on Akume and Fletcher. Akume had tears in her eyes and Fletcher was bent forward, then there was a thud as the boy fell to the floor. Edward glared, pulling up the blanket that fell with him to hide his bare chest. This only made Akume laugh harder and she joined Fletcher on the floor.

Edward growled and reached for his shirt. He'd discarded it last night because the room had gotten too warm. It was still warm, to him at least, but that might have been because of the massive blush that had turned his whole face red. Or maybe it was because he was annoyed at being thrown from bed so rudely.

Once his shirt and boots were on, he grabbed his watch and attached it to his pants. Turning around, Akume and Fletcher had stood, both gasping and clutching the back of the couch for support. Their eyes and cheeks were wet with tears of laughter. Ed glared at them, "What the hell did you do that for!"

Akume looked up and started doubled up again, holding her sides. Fletcher joined her. Ed waited about another five minutes before the two could look at him without busting out into hoots. Akume straightened herself up, a broad grin on her face and, despite how irritated he was, Edward couldn't help but notice how the smile made her eyes twinkle.

"You should have seen you face," Akume said, almost breathless because of all the laughing. She wiped her eyes, snickering, "We tried to wake you, but you wouldn't get up."

Fletcher nodded, "Shaking, threatening, bells…" He snickered, "I even asked if it was like Sleeping Beauty, and Akume said she'd find out and kissed you…not even that worked."

Akume didn't react; she didn't even go red, leaving Ed to wonder the truth of the statement. But, if it was true, he was going to kick himself. Instead, Akume stretched, clasping her hands behind her head, closing her eyes. "So, I had the idea to flip you out…hahaha! You shoulda seen your face. It was absolutely priceless!"

Ed rubbed his rear, looking at her ruefully, "Yeah…well it hurt. Don't do that again!"

Akume opened her eyes and gave him a wicked grin, "You want a kiss to make it all better, you cry baby?"

Ed flushed, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Akume kept her wicked grin on her face and he placed her hands on Fletcher's shoulders and guided him from the room, saying over her shoulder, "Whenever you stop gawking, breakfast is ready and Fletcher and Russ have the stuff for us to go through. I want to get started before lunch, please."

Ed stared after her, and then rubbed his nose furiously. She was going to drive him insane, absolutely, 100 bonkers. How could she say something like that with a straight face and then just leave. Oh, he was going to get her for that, he was going to make her pay. The question was, how was he going to do that?

/------------------------/

After breakfast, Edward and Fletcher cleaned up since Akume and Russell had done it the night before. Edward groused the entire time, trying to get Fletcher to move faster. Russell and lead Akume outside to discuss the chimera sightings, saying that the light was better and they would need the room. If Ed didn't know any better, he'd bet Fletcher was taking his time on purpose.

Once the kitchen was clean, Ed ran from the house with Fletcher following. Outside, Edward paused on the steps, looking around for the two other alchemists. When he didn't see them, he almost panicked. Fletcher chuckled and tugged on his arm, pointing, "They'll be over by the pond, Ed."

"Well, don't just stand there!" Ed said heatedly. Fletcher flinched and ran, waving for Ed to follow. The older boy clenched his hands, following Fletcher. The younger blond rounded a corner and waved. Russell looked up and waved back, but he frowned at Ed. The older boy chose to ignore this, instead looking at Akume.

The girl was sitting by Russell, holding something up to the light. Papers and pictures were scattered on the ground. The blond clenched his fists, deciding that they were sitting way too close together. Russell was on her right and Ed growled. Mustang had said he was to do everything within his power to protect Akume and keep her safe. First order of business, protect Akume from Russell, he thought.

However, Akume foiled his plans. She looked up as Fletcher called out and waved to Ed, patting the ground beside her on her left side. Ed stalked over, plopping down, glaring at Russell. Russell didn't seem to notice; he was looking over a piece of paper. Akume leaned over, poking Ed's back.

"Where's your coat and gloves?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Akume laughed, looking back at the photo in her hand, "You should wear them less often." Ed looked at her, but he wasn't able to comment because she held the photo out to him. "What do you think of that?"

Ed took it while Akume pulled her knees up to her chest, laying her head on them, waiting for his response. Ed scanned the photo; it was down to business. The photo was blurry, but it was defiantly a picture of an animal, a large green animal with spikes and fur. He handed it back to Akume, "Looks likes a blurry chimera."

Akume rolled her eyes, "You didn't se it?"

"See what?"

Akume held the photo before him, pointing at one of the blurred bushes. "There."

"It's a bush."

"No, look right there, between the bush and the tree."

Ed looked, nudging her fingertip to the side so he could look better. Then he saw it, it was so subtle, so small, he wondered how Akume had seen it. It was a ball of blue, blurred, but he could defiantly make out what looked like a hand. He looked at her, "Looks like a hand."

Russell coughed then spoke, "The man who took this picture is dead. Before he died, he said he saw something moving in the forest, so he went after it and snapped the picture. Then he said there was a flash of light and he was thrown through three trees. That was all he was able to say before he kicked it."

"A flash of light? Sounds like alchemy to me."

Akume nodded, "That's what I was thinking, which begs the question; why would an alchemist be with the chimeras."

Ed gave her a look, "You can't seriously not even have a guess."

"I do…and I'm not happy about it."

"Another alchemist making chimeras," Ed said, leaning back, looking up at the sky.

"Not just any kind of chimeras," Russell said, making Ed look over at him, reminding the older blond just how close Russ was to Akume. "According to a few eyewitness reports, these things have talked."

Akume glared at Russell, "You didn't say that before."

"I was waiting until you were both here."

"Can we speak to any of these eyewitnesses?" Ed asked.

"No," Russell said darkly, "they're all dead."

Akume bent over other photos, all blurry, and some of the papers with notes and/or sketches. "Great, so we have an alchemist making talking chimeras and all our eyewitnesses are dead. Sounds wonderful."

"Well, it's a start," Ed said, sitting up and looking at some of the other papers and photos. Then something occurred to him. A talking chimera…Shou Tucker made one by combining his daughter and dog. Ed's eyes flashed and he looked at Russell, "Russell, have there been any reports of missing persons?"

Russell shook his head, "Nope. A lot of people have been leaving the area because of the sightings and killings, but no missing persons."

"Can all those people be accounted for?"

"Except for the children, yes, everyone has kept in touch with what family or friends have remained here."

Akume glanced up, thinking along the same lines as Ed, "What do you mean 'except fro the children'?"

"The orphanage here, those children. A lot of them have been adopted over the last few months, and since they are orphans they have no need to keep in touch with anyone here." He noticed the look Ed and Akume gave each other, neither looking very happy. "What?"

"The best way to make a chimera with and animal and a human is to use a child," Ed said darkly. Akume looked over at Fletcher, who'd been silent through the whole thing.

"Fletcher, go and get Ed and my coats and gloves. Get two canteens of water and two bags of food to last the day, and a map of the area if you have one."

Fletcher nodded and left. Akume gathered up the photos, Ed helping her while Russell looked mildly confused and appalled. "So…those kids…you think…"

"There's only one way to find out. We have to find that cave Uncle Maes told us about, the one the kids found."

"I'll come with you," Russell said, standing as the other two did. At his offer, Ed glared and was on the verge of actually growling. Akume, either unaware of the rising testosterone or ignoring it, put the papers in Russell's hands.

"Thanks, but not thanks Russ. Ed and I are State Alchemists, you're a civilian. This is our job, not yours. We thank you for your help, but you'll just be in the way. Besides, Ed and I work better alone; throwing you into the mix will just complicate things." She turned, Fletcher having come back. She took her things and a canteen of water and food while Ed looked at Russell and smirked. Then he took his things, ignoring the other teen completely.

Russell sighed and handed the papers to Fletcher, "Go put those back in my desk, please." Fletcher nodded and left, leaving the three alone again. Russell looked at the both, then only at Akume, "Are you sure I can't come?"

"I'm sure you're perfectly capably of coming, Russ, but no you may not. If you do, I'll use my alchemy on you."

Russell smiled. "All right then, I'll stay here and we'll have dinner ready for when you get back." Then he stepped forward and wrapped Akume in a hug, putting his mouth next to her ear. Akume jumped, surprised, and then hugged him back. Ed, however, was having visions of how best to transmute him arm and cut the younger male into tiny little pieces. "Be safe," Russell said in her ear, then let go, pulling away. He looked at Edward, "You better keep an eye on her; if she gets hurt, I'll kill you."

Ed was glaring daggers. He grabbed Akume by the upper arm and pulled her away. He shoved her in front of him, then turned around and gave Russell the finger. Russell in turn mimed that he'd rather do Akume than himself. Ed turned redder then his coat and snarled, shoving Akume roughly forward, away from the farm.

"Edward, stop pushing me; I'm going to fall or trip."

Ed looked at her and walked beside her, "Sorry."

She looked at him, eyes furrowed, "What is your problem anyway?"

Edward kept silent, looking forward and no where else. Akume eyed him, and then her lips formed into a wide smile. She poked Ed in the shoulder, making his wobble slightly. He looked at her, noticing the grin and almost smiled until she spoke. "Edward…are you jealous?"

He looked away sharply, sputtering, "Of course not! Why would I be jealous? I am not jealous. Is it my fault if Russell is a fucking prick who should know better than to be within 100 feet of-" He stopped talking, turning around to see Akume doubled up, laughing, her head between her knees. "What's so funny?"

Akume looked up, gasping. "You are."

"What!"

She waved her hand and stumbled forward, passing her partner. "It's nothing…absolutely nothing. Let's keep going."

Edward eyed her back then jogged to catch up, falling into step. She was still grinning and Ed smiled to himself. Damn…he'd always liked that smile. He wasn't sure if he liked it because it made her eyes light up, or because it occurred in his presence so rarely it was like a precious treasure. His eyes looked sideways and he stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking straight ahead, horrified of the thought that had just crossed his mind

Akume stopped, pointing at a tree with a red ribbon around it. "There it is. Russell said this was as far as any of those kids would come, saying they'd entered the woods here, but beyond that…."

"So, from here, we're on our own."

"Looks like. Hope you're ready to flex that metal arm of yours."

"Right back at you; there's no way I'm gonna waste my time watching your perfectly capable ass."

"Well I should hope you don't plan on checking me out if we run into trouble."

Both just kind of stood there, looking at each other. Edward pushed forward, shoving her out of the way as he stepped into the woods, saying over his shoulder, "Let's go."

Akume followed silently, eyes looking around the forest and up to the sky, but carefully keeping Edward out of her vision. Edward did likewise; as long as he could hear her moving through the brush near him, he didn't need to look back, not even when he heard her trip or slip as they walked. The girl in turn offered no hand when he stumbled, of when he ran into a low hanging branch, causing him to fall backward.

Two hours later, they found river. Without saying a word, they decided to follow it upstream. The report had said the boys had been soaking wet when they stumbled, terrified, into town. Most likely it was this river that was the source of their dampness.

Another hour of silence later, they came across a group of large rocks. Akume looked up at the sky and then jumped up onto the rocks, finding a nice perch. She opened her pack and dug out her lunch. Edward joined her on the rock, his back to her. She heard him rustle around and said, "Don't eat it all in one sitting; it has to last for snacking."

"I wasn't going to; I do have some self control," Edward retorted. He bit into the sandwich Fletcher had made for him, and his face suddenly went red as he left Akume lean back against him. They would fall if they remained that way. Blushing, he leaned back. He looked at his sandwich. "It's my fault."

Akume tilted her head, looking at him, but only able to see his ear and part of his nose. "Huh?"

"My arm and leg; they happened because it was my idea and my Dad helped me."

Akume looked away, continuing to rest against his back, chewing thoughtfully.

"You know my Mom died when I was little, everyone knows that. My Dad wasn't there to help her. Al and I wrote a whole host of letters to get him to come back. But he didn't. Al and I didn't know what to do, so I suggested we learn and study as best we could to bring her back, transmute her.

"Boy did we study. We apprenticed under Izumi, you know her?"

Akume nodded, "Oh yeah, I know her. Uncle Roy had her train me apprentice under her for a little while. Left me on an island on my own for a month with some masked man."

Ed chuckled, "Did that to me and Al. Even with Alphonse there it was scary…but we learned a lot. After we had learned all we thought we could from her, we left. Al didn't want to bring Mom back; he kept having a bad feeling.

"We were surprised to find Dad home when we got back. Al was so happy, his eyes just lit up like the sun. Dad made dinner for us and put Al to bed then talked to me. He said Al had told him I wanted to bring Mom back. I was pissed at Alphonse for that. But Dad said he'd help me, he knew how to do it right.

"I never liked my Dad too much. He left Mom and us alone for so long, never wrote, didn't come home for her funeral, and it had taken him so long to come to us. Still, the thought of getting Mom back was just so tempting. We needed her. So, a few days later, Dad sent Al to Winry's and he and I made preparations in the basement.

"Everything was set, you know? Everything was perfect, I knew it was. We started the transmutation together. I was actually glad o have Dad there, doing it with me. I kept thinking how big Al would smile when we went to Winry's with Mom.

"But it was wrong. I don't know how, but the next thing I knew the room was yellow, then purple. I panicked because Dad was panicking. He stumbled back and away from the circle and I tried to follow, but there were these things on my leg and arm. I couldn't move, seeing my lower leg and entire arm just vanish like that.

"Next thing I knew, Dad pulled me back and the black things attacked him. He vanished before my eyes, and then the light died. And he was gone…. It was all my fault, my idea."

Akume looked forward, "Did you see it?"

"Which it?"

"All of them."

"Yeah…I did."

There was a long moment of silence, and then Akume leaned forward. She set her lunch aside and turned, wrapping her arms around Ed's neck. Edward froze, startled, then raised his hands and pressed them against hers, returning the embrace as best he could from his position. Akume let go and looked at him, tugging his braid gently. "I'm sorry Edward…but I don't think it was your fault. You're Dad was a genius alchemist, he should have known better. Besides…it's all past now, right? No more blame, right?"

"You're one to talk; I thought you still blamed your Mom."

"I do…I blame her for being stupid and leaving me, not for what she did, not anymore."

Edward grinned, "Akume…could you answer a question for me? Truthfully?"

"Maybe."

"Do you like Russell?"

Akume blinked, "How did Russ get into this?"

"Just answer the question."

Akume thought a moment, "He's dull. He's too much of a gentleman and doesn't have enough emotion in his voice. He's cool, but if you mean like as in like no, I don't."

Edward turned back around, biting into his sandwich, "Too bad."

"Why?"

Ed gave her a mischievous grin, "I was kind of hoping I would get to beat him up."

He turned away and Edward didn't see her blush. Akume picked up her lunch and leaned back against Ed, sighing, looking up at the sky. Edward leaned back against her and sighed. "Akume?"

"Yeah?"

"When will…I mean do you…."

"Well?"

"Never mind."

"Of course Edward."