Here's chapter 3, yadda, yadda; same old, same old. Except this time I need 2 reviews (No flaming). Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Only the OCs.
Weeping Willows
Chapter 3: Alone
"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" the woman exclaimed. She grabbed a hold of her purse and took out a little treat. They were red little candies in the shape of hearts. She gave a handful to both boys.
"Thanks Miss, but you did not have to give us anything," said Edward looking down at his boots, now dirtied with a splash of blood.
Alphonse gazed at his brother, who seemed to of been in some kind of trance. He just stared at his feet, not lifting his head from that position. The woman, who now clutched her little pink purse, started walk off, "Thank you, Miss! We really appreciated the gift!" Alphonse mentioned quickly before the woman was out in the distance. She turned around, gave a welcoming smile, and continued her stroll down the busy streets of Floral-Hill.
The night sky turned grey, raindrops started fall, landing on the young girl's face; forming tears of hatred and sorrow. The lush green grass she was sitting on started to glisten in the moonlight, stray leave were dancing in the wind. Her dirty blonde hair turned dark brown from the moisture, and the bruises on her face became more visible. She then whispered to herself, "Mami, Papi…why did you have to go? Why did you leave me in this cruel world alone? I think I would rather be in heaven right now… to be with you."
She slowly stood up and looked behind her to see a little cottage in the distance. The cottage was beige/white and had a sky blue rooftop; her home for 13 years, "I better head inside. I would not want my limbs to rust now, would I? "
"Don't worry brother, we'll just take shelter in some shed or something, 'k?" the shining suit of armor assured his older that everything would be alright for the night, but Edward did not seem to have paid any attention.
His blonde hair glistened in the moonlight; flower pedals dancing in the air landed in his palms as he watched the raindrops pound against its soft texture, "Looking at this reminds me of that girl; and how she was being beaten by those kids."
"Reminds me of how that girl was being strangled by someone…"
"Al, just drop it! You know as well as I do that it was just a reflex!" Edward shot back at Al. He started to hate how Alphonse always had to be right, always had to be perfect!
"A reflex? Ed, that looked like you were going to kill her without a care in the world! Think of what Colonel Mustang might do, he probably would of-"
"JUST SHUT UP, AL!" tears of defeat started to form in the older Elric's eyes, "Just shut up. I'm sick and tired of people telling me who I should and shouldn't be!" he fell to his knees, "please…just this once just let me be."
Alphonse obeyed his brother's wishes and left towards the other direction; leaving his miserable brother behind. I hope brother will be alright. He strolled down the now empty sidewalk of Floral-Hill, raindrops falling heavily against his metal armour; creating loud music. Fog shrouded his surroundings, and all was silent, until…
"Meow."
"Huh?" Al jerked up not expecting to hear any noise from the ever so quiet street, "Is that what I think it is?" He shifted around to see a goldenrod fur ball, soaking wet to the bone. "A kitty!" Alphonse crept quietly towards the little creature on the cold concrete floor, shivering to death. He carefully stretched out his limbs, picked up the kitten from its current position, and cradled it in his hands. "Don't worry little fellow, I'll take care of you."
Al ran as fast as he could, looking for the nearest shelter he could find. After 5 minutes of passing through thick, lush green bushes and fragile trees, he finally spotted a little beige cottage with a sky blue rooftop, "Yes, shelter! Let's go ki- hey?" The little kitten dashed towards the cottage having Alphonse to lag behind, "Kitty, don't run off like that!" The wet suit of armour caught up with the kitten and cradled it back in his arms. I guess I better knock.
Edward sat down, leaning against the cold and clammy wall, thinking of that girl. He gazed at his left and spotted a tulip, petals barely hanging from the center. "I guess you had your heart broken too now, huh," He placed the dying tulip in front of him, watching it wither apart from the heavy rainfall. Will I die like that? Will I die all alone, without Al, Winry, or even those two childhood friends next to me? The two that made being alive so great and adventurous. Edward slowly closed his eyes thinking back at his early childhood.
Flashback
"Mom, may Edward take us to the lake?"
"I don't think it is such a great idea Alphonse. I definitely would not want one of you kids to drown or anything, especially going off on your own. Maybe another time when we can all go together as a family."
"There is no need to worry," Mr. Rivera mentioned, "Edward is grown man! Isn't that right, son?"
"Yeah! See Mom! Even he knows how big I am!"
"Alright, then. Kronos and Edward, make sure you hold onto Al's and Mandarin's hand, okay?" Trisha questioned. All four children left heading out the door each grabbing hold of each other's hand.
"Edoward?" a small baby voice whispered behind Edward's back, he turned around to see a little girl the age of two and a half, with dirty blonde hair let go off her older brother's hand, looking into Edward's eyes intently.
Ed giggled at the cute sight, still walking forward, "Yes, Mandarin?"
"Edoward, hand please?" The four year old reached out his short limbs towards the little girl, and picked her up instead.
"Don't you mean 'pick-up' please?" Ed commented closing his eyes, rubbing his little nose against hers.
Mandarin let out a big laugh and gazed her multi coloured eyes in his, noses and foreheads touching, "Silly Edoward!" The four of them headed merrily towards the lake, playing tag and hide and seek along the trail.
End of Flashback
Alphonse knocked twice on the light brown door, waiting for a reply from inside. No response. He knocked again this time four times, "Hello, is anyone home?" There was still no answer from inside the dwelling. Al gave a deep sigh and drew back his sight to the kitten in his large hands shivering heavily. "Don't worry kitty, we will just find another place to rest." The kitten gave a soft meow and the young brother travelled down towards the river bank, heading towards the forest.
"May I help you? Or are you just here to suffocate me again?" the young girl from earlier yelled. She walked up towards the large figure carrying a lavender umbrella, wearing a cream coloured dress. Her feet made heavy imprints in the mud, covering the soles of her boots.
"Hey, it's you from earlier! I'm extremely sorry for the incident that occurred this evening; you see my brother doesn't seem to think before he acts…" Alphonse stated, "Umm, Miss? Would you mind if we stay for a bit inside; just until the rain stops?"
"We?" the girl questioned, "Oh, no! You are not going to bring that kid in my home!" She began to run back inside, until Alphonse held a steady grip on her shoulder, causing her to struggle. "Let me go!" She demanded.
"Please, don't leave. By 'we' I meant this…" He opened up his hands to uncover the small kitten he shielded from the rain.
"Meow?"
It was now 4:15 a.m. and Edward was still in deep sleep on the hard surface. The small droplets of rain fell onto his pale nose, sliding down his face, causing him stir onto his right side. He slowly opened his golden eyes, squinting from the bright street light across from him. He sat up and looked and looked in all directions possible for his brother, "Alphonse? Hey, where are you?" He looked back at the dead tulip in front of him, and into his palms, remembering about last night, "Oh, yeah… I forgot about that."
He stood up and looked at the grayish blue sky; the moon was still visible even at the mists of sunrise. Well, it's a brand new day. Guess there's no point looking for Al. Probably head back to Central, without me. I should get going too. Without hesitation, he left heading towards the train station; prepared to see an angered Colonel upon his arrival.
"Here kitty, I have a warm bottle for you." The young girl whispered motioning the feline to come on to her lap. She picked it up, cradled it in her arms and put the baby bottle in its mouth. The kitten drank everything from the last drop, considering how hungry it was. "That's a good girl."
"Oh, so it's a she?" Alphonse questioned.
The young girl turned her attention to the talking suit of armor, kneeling in front of her. "Yeah," she answered, "didn't you check?"
"No, and besides, I wouldn't want anyone peaking at me in the middle of the night! Especially outside in the rain!" Alphonse exclaimed.
"I've bumped into you so many times, that I think by now I should know your name. You don't have to if you don't want you though," she stated, "besides, I never tell men my name, unless I want to." She gave a rude tone at the end, stating that she wanted to have no sign of relationship between the boy and his "brother".
Alphonse took the young girl's words into consideration. She must really hate men then. Or maybe she might just really love women. Either way, I think it seems I should tell her my name. I definitely don't want to be called something like "Armour Kid" all the time!
"It's Alphonse Elric." He finally mentioned, giving a long unneeded sigh at the end, desperate to know the child's name, "Anyways, I better get going, and I think this kitten is best left with you. She seems to like it here," He said looking towards the kitten now playing with a pink ball of yarn against the top left corner.
"I want to come…" she said, "I hate being cooped up here all the time, especially when no one appreciates me…"
"Okay…"Alphonse mumbled slowly, "but who's gonna take care of the cat?"
"No need to worry, I've got it covered…"
That's all. Hope you liked the flashback, I think it's adorable! Review, but no flames! Can't wait to read your feedback! Adios!
JinxJinki