Unlikely Bond

Chapter Seven

"No…that makes number three."

Rated M for violence, and strong and offensive language, and sexual situations

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist…and I bet there are a lot of people who are glad about that.

"We have passed this tree seven times!"

"How do you know? They all look alike!"

"Because I put that rock at its base four circles ago!"

"And why the hell did you do that!"

"Because we kept passing this spot!"

"No we haven't!"

"Yes we have!"

"Will you just shut up, woman? I know where I'm going!"

"No you don't, asshole, you've had us going in circles for the last four hours!"

Edward snorted and turned around, looking at the forest. The sky was just starting to darken and he guessed it was around 7. They'd followed the river for a time after lunch, looking for signs of recent activity and having meaningless conversations. They had found remains of dead animals and tracks, but it was hard to tell if it was chimera or a real wild animal.

When they found a well used trail littered with animal footprints, they'd decided to follow it. Unfortunately, the path had been a dead end, leaving them to guess where the tracks had gone. Now, they were lost and the map Fletcher had given them wasn't helping.

Edward started off into the woods, "Stop whining; I know exactly where we are."

"Oh really?" Akume shot, following him, "And just where the hell are we?"

Ed stopped and moved his hands about, "We're right here in the woods near Xenotime."

Akume looked torn between laughing and killing him. She hit him upside the head with her left hand, yelling, "No kidding, jackass!"

Edward rubbed his head ruefully as Akume stalked off, mumbling darkly. She sighed and turned, looking back at the boy, frowning deeply and glaring darkly, "Why don't we just try and find the damn river and go back?" Edward looked uncomfortable and Akume narrowed her eyes and looked around, straining her ears. She bit her lips and looked at the older boy, "You lost the river?" She turned around and threw her arms up in the air, "How can you lose a river! For crying out loud, I swear, men have no sense of direction!"

Edward dropped his hand and grabbed the hood of her coat, his face flaring red in anger, "This is my fault? What about you? Weren't you paying attention to where we were?"

She shoved his hand away, "I was looking for signs and tracks! And if I'm not mistaken, you were the one who said 'I'll lead; I've been here before'."

"That was because you have lousy sense of direction!"

"Whoever said that was lying!"

"YOU SAID THAT!"

Akume threw up her hands, "Right; I was lying." She ran a hand through her bangs and looked behind her, "Well…not that we've rightly placed the blame, what do we do now?"

Edward blinked and looked around, "Dunno…try and find the river."

Akume tilted her head up, "It's getting dark."

Edward smirked, "You're not scared are ya'?"

Akume glared, "No. Let's go this way."

"Why?"

"Because it's downhill moron, and the river was downhill."

They set off in silence, casting glances up to the sky every few minutes, growing increasingly uncomfortable. Akume had taken what food was left in Ed's pack and put it in her own, 'Just in case' she'd said and Edward heard his stomach grumble. He hadn't been very hungry all day, but now his gut was telling him he better put more in it or there was going to be trouble. He stopped and patted his stomach, silently apologizing and planning the best way to take the food from Akume, then heard a loud growl behind him. HE grinned and turned, "You hungry too, Akume?" He blinked, confused, because she wasn't behind him.

Akume looked back, "I'm here, dolt."

Ed looked back at her, then behind him, looking troubled and slightly scared, "Did you hear something?"

"Yeah, it's called your mouth."

"No…I heard a growl, I thought it was you."

Akume pushed the worry from her mind, a growing unease, "Ha. You're hearing things. Let's keep going, okay? I'll let you into the food."

Ed sighed, "Okay, but I'm telling you I- AKUME!"

The black haired girl turned to look to her left and screamed, throwing up her arm to defend herself. She fell hard onto the ground, the beast on top of her, its jaws clamped around her metal arm, it's claws digging into her chest and side. She kicked at it and tried to clap her hands together, but the beast made it impossible.

There was a flash of alchemic light as Edward's hands came together, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Son of a bitch!", then a spurt of red blood. The young man's transformed arm cut the beast's right arm off, the lion-like appendage falling to the ground. The creature roared in pain, ignoring Akume and putting its sights on the blond.

Edward back up and readied himself, taking in the creature quickly. It looked to have been made of three different creatures, part lion, part reptile, and back scorpion. Its face, back, and legs were feline, but it was covered in scales and the teeth were long and lizard like, and its paws were twisted and clawed like a reptiles. Its back was covered in black body armor, an exoskeleton, and the tail was long and curved upward, a stinger on the end. The beast roared and leapt at Edward, its massive clawed remaining forepaws slashing at him while its tail came down toward his head. Edward leapt back, his arm arching to slice at the beast, but it dodged and bit down on his left shoulder. Edward screamed in pain, his bladed arm plunging into the creature's side. The chimera did not release its hold and its tail came up and down. Edward closed his eyes.

He didn't hear the clapping, now did he see the flash of light. Akume had stood and clapped her hands together only to them rub them together, one up and one down, in a fluid, practiced motion. Her gloves sparked with static electricity and a band of electric light formed between her palms. With a cry, she sent a bolt of light at the chimera's tail, blasting it clean off the beast in a thousand pieces. The cat-like beast released Edward, screaming to the darkening sky and turned. Akume sent another bolt at it and it reeled, only to fall moments later as Edward's arm struck out, slashing its throat.

"You okay?" Edward asked. Akume nodded, looking at the dead beast, muttering, "Bastard." Both were covered in blood, Edward bearing more of the beast's blood than his own while Akume's were becoming soaked as her life fluid leaked from the deep gashes. Akume wobbled on her feet, putting out a hand to steady herself, only to yelp and fall backward to the ground. Another beast came into sight, landing between the two alchemists. It trilled, a bird-like sound, for it appeared to be some sort of cross between an ostrich and dog. It bared teeth that were in its beak and trilled louder, striking out to peck at Edward's head. The boy beheaded it in a matter of seconds and ran to Akume. He pulled her up, wincing from the pain in his shoulder while she yelped in response to the laces sent through her body.

"We need to get out of here."

She girl nodded, "Yeah…before more friends show up."

There was a chorus of cries behind them and rustling of the bushes. Edward gripped Akume's arm and they ran in the opposite direction, blindly shoving the vegetation aside, Edward cutting small trees and vines away when they impeded their progress. The sounds of pursuit did not disappear, if anything, they grew in number and closer.

A large snake dropped down before them, ape-like arms on it and longer fangs that dripped poison. Edward and Akume screamed and dodged. The black haired girl looked back, her eyes wide. Seven…she could see at least seven monstrosities but she knew there were more. She looked back around and her eyes went wider.

"EDWARD!"

The boy had been looking back and to the side, not in front. But it was too late to stop their progress. He gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on Akume's arm as their feet left the ground, falling down. Akume screamed and Edward closed his eyes, hoping that the water below was deep enough. Well, I found the river again, he thought before they plunged down into the icy wet, the breath ripped from their lungs and Akume's arm torn from Edwards grasp.

The blond surged upward, pulled along by the swift current, looking around for his partner. He didn't see her and he almost started to panic. The thing had almost mauled her, she was in no shape to be swimming, and with the current as fast and hard as it was…. Then he saw her. She was a few feet away, stuck between two rocks, facedown. Edward fought the river, trying to make it to her. His arm, still a deadly blade but washed clean of he blood now, he used to his advantage. He dug it into the rocks poking from the water to hold him steady until he reached the girl. His left shoulder was on fire and his mind told him he shouldn't be pushing himself.

He didn't know how, but he made it to Akume. His feet were almost swept from under him, but he wrapped an around the rocks. He clapped his hands and turned his arm back to normal quickly, pulling Akume back, flipping her so her face was out of the water. She was pale, her lips wrinkled, split, and blue. With the roar of the water around him Edward couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Dammit!

He looked in vain for a safe way out, but saw none. No! There, downstream. If he could reach the tree he saw half in and half out of the water, he could get them out. He pulled Akume to him, cradling her head against his chest, his flesh arm around her chest. If he was going to pull this off, he'd need his good arm.

Releasing the rock, Edward and Akume were swept away. The boy kicked and shoved at rocks, maneuvering them toward the tree, trying to keep his and Akume's head above water. They almost missed the tree. Edward flailed, reaching out, crying in relief as his metal fingers wrapped around a firm branch. The water pulled and tugged at him, but he won, pulling himself and Akume out from the icy cold and onto the rocky shore.

The light was fading fast now and it was growing cold. Edward coughed and put his head on Akume's chest. He thought he heard a heart, but it could have been the river or his imagination. He felt for a pulse and sighed with relief, she was alive, but her chest wasn't rising. The boy didn't think; he just acted. He tilted her head back and opened her mouth, exhaling then pushed on her chest. He did this several times before she coughed. He pulled away and she rolled over, coughing, vomiting up the water and other contents of her stomach. Ed put his hand on her back comfortingly. Once she was done, she rolled back over and shivered.

"Cold," she whispered and Edward nodded. Her lips were still blue and she was pale. She looked at him, "You're…blue."

Edward forced a laugh, "So are you…I'll be right back."

He stood and looked at their surroundings. They were on a beach of rocks at the base of a hill. They wouldn't be making it back to Xenotime tonight. Trying not to shiver, he clapped his hands together and placed them on the hill. He did this several times until he'd made a nice little cave, stable and would hold in warmth. He went back to Akume and half carried, half drug her inside. He lay her down and wondered how he was going to get her out of those wet clothes.

He could have kicked himself. Clapping his hands together, he placed them on her chest and abdomen. There was a flash of light and her clothes here dry once more, but she still had wounds to be taken care of. He dried his own clothes, and then sat down, wincing. She was still blue and he could feel goosebumbs all over his body.

"Ed…go and get kindling…and brush…I'll make…a fire…" Akume's lips chattered as she spoke. Edward nodded. He stood and left, holding his left arm to his chest. Akume had lost her pack in the fall as did he, which was very unfortunate. But one his way back, he saw one of them stuck on the tree. Dropping the woods, he splashed into the shallows and fished it out. Ignoring the pain in his arm, he opened it and wiped his eyes. It was Akume's, the one with the food!

He looped it over his arm and gathered the wood back up. He stooped and sat down. Akume was sitting against the wall, her legs drawn up to her chest gingerly, shivering. The boy arranged the wood and the girl clapped her hands together, rubbing them against each other, a band of electricity form between her two palms. She sent a slight jolt to the kindling. It caught fire. Edward added wood until it was burning nicely. He then looked at Akume, handing her the pack.

"Look at what I found."

Akume took it, biting back a whimper of pain, "That's good…we won't go hungry…"

"Akume, you need to take your shirt off."

Akume glanced at him, knowing full well what he meant, but even as she gingerly removed her coat and shirt, she muttered darkly to him, "Pervert."

Edward rolled his eyes and sat next o her, looking at the wounds. He held his left arm close to his chest, using his right hand to examine the marks. She'd been opened up good. There were five, long, deep gashed from her right shoulder to slightly below and in-between her breasts, her bra covering her breasts only because her hands were holding the cups in place. Her side was torn open, a mass of blood and skin and muscle. It looked like she'd had some flesh torn from her body by the creature's claws. Everything else was minor cuts of bruises. Edward sighed. He was no doctor.

Akume looked at him, looking dazed, "How bad?"

Edward shook his head, "You'll be fine. You have a first aide thing in your pack, so I can set it so it doesn't get infected, but you need a doctor, not some idiot teenager."

Akume nodded and looked at him, "You need to take off your shirt."

"Now who's the pervert?" Ed joked, gingerly removing his coat and black shirt. He winced and Akume looked at his bite. It encircled his entire shoulder, the teeth marks deep, some skin missing, showing muscle. The girl swallowed, "We both need doctors."

Edward tended Akume's side wound first, letting her grip his knee each time he applied hydrogen peroxide or too much pressure as he tried to put on a bandage. She then returned the favor and took care of his shoulder, telling him to stop being so damn macho and just scream. When she was done, Edward went very red and Akume sighed, leaning back against the earth wall, her hands holding her cups in place, but far enough apart so he could tend to the claw marks.

"Just do it, Edward. It hurts."

Ed swallowed, "Yeah, but…I mean…"

She looked at him and glared, snapping and wining at the same time, "I swear I'll leave this out of the report so my uncle doesn't kill you, Ed, now just get it over with!" She closed her eyes and banged her head against the wall, whimpering. With the claws on her chest hurting like hell, yelling wasn't a good idea.

Gingerly, Edward bit his lip and applied the antibiotic to Akume's chest, wining as her body tightened and her chest surged as she moaned in pain, her eyes squeezed shut against the tears. Edward pulled her forward and wrapped a bandage around her wound, then laid her back against the wall. The fire was dying down and he turned his attention to it, adding wood. He heard a clap and there was a flash of light. He turned around to see Akume twisting the end of a needle to hold her brazier together. The boy turned away, flushing.

He head Akume rustle in the bag and then her foot nudge his lower back. He turned around and took the proffered container. Thank goodness for waterproof containers. Akume took another and threw the bag to the other side of the little earth cave. "That's breakfast."

Edward pried over the container and sat Indian style, feeling goosebumps trail up his back as he ate. He couldn't put his shirt back on yet, the peroxide on his minor cuts had to dry first. He looked up as Akume set hers aside and the girl started to lay out their clothes on the ground. She looked troubled.

"Akume?"

The girl didn't look at him. She laid his and her shirts side by side, spread on the ground. "It'll be cold tonight."

Edward set his empty container on the ground and inched forward, "All the more reason to put these on." But Akume only tossed him his coat.

"You should go get more wood then we can go to sleep."

"I'd like my shirt first."

"You'll only have to take it off again."

Edward raised an eyebrow and Akume sighed, looking even more troubled, "It'll be cold, we'll have to share body heat to keep warm and the best way is direct contact. Now go get some more wood."

Edward left the cave, pulling his coat tightly around him, his mind completely blank except for the image of his mangled corpse. Mustang had threatened him good back at the train station, and Edward knew the colonel was dead serious. As perverted as Mustang was, he'd given Havoc hell and all Jean had done was mention that Akume was a fine looking young woman. If Mustang found out about this, Edward wouldn't have to need a hospital bed, he'd need a fucking coffin! He gathered the wood quickly, wanting to get back to the warmth of the cave, but not entirely sure about the whole 'body heat' thing. He knew she was right; to sleep apart would not be wise, especially since they'd both lost blood and spent a good ten minutes in the cold river.

But, as he thought about it, piling the wood in his arms as carefully as he could lest he injure is shoulder more, it wasn't a wholly…unappealing thought.

He entered the little cave and put the wood on the fire, placing the extra to the side. Akume was on her right side, her back to the fire, her coat on her the wrong way. Ed sat down next her, looking at the arrangement. Their shirts on the floor gave more padding than they would have had they worn them, plus the fabric wouldn't rub against the minor of serious wounds in their sleep. Edward lay down and pulled Akume to his chest. There wasn't another way to do things considering the slashes on her chest.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, making himself ignore how she seemed to just…fit. Akume moved backward and adjusted herself until their coats covered them completely, blocking out the cold and holding in their body heat. The fire warmed Ed's back and Akume's back warm his front. He held her to him, realizing that she'd lain in such a way that while her own injured right side would be rubbing the ground, his injured left shoulder wouldn't have to suffer. Ed frowned and rolled onto his back, pulling Akume with him. Despite her wounds, he rolled her over until they were chest to chest. Her eyes flittered open and looked down at him. She frowned, berating herself for having fallen asleep.

"What are you doing?"

"We'll be in less pain this way," Ed said, making her head go back down. He felt her smile tiredly against his skin and he closed his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and she sighed, adjusting her head, careful of his shoulder. There was a moment of silence and Edward was on the verge of sleep, his senses groggy.

"G'night Ed," Akume whispered and her breath evened, sleep claiming the girl. Edward lay there for a long moment, wondering if he'd heard her right. No, he was just tired, but in the back of his mind a voice tugged at him saying, 'No…that makes number three.'

But the boy didn't have time to consider this. Warmed by the fire and Akume, he was swept away into slumber, pulled along into dreams that pulled his lips into a smile of contentment.