Hello! I'm back with Chapter 4 of Weeping Willows. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed! I need 2 reviews to update. No flaming please! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Only the OCs.
Weeping Willows
Chapter 4: Cinnamon Hearts and the Full Moon
It was now 9:00AM. Edward stepped in the Colonel's Office, ready to be barked at, and having to put up with his sarcasm. He hated it. He hated everything about Mustang; every meeting would be the same. The figure at the desk motioned him to come closer, and sweat started to drip from the young alchemist's nose. "How was the detour, Elric?"
Ed gulped hard, "H-horrible, sir…" Mustang tapped his foot against the floor waiting for a better explanation. He wasn't going to let him off the hook, not today; not ever. "There was an incident and-"
"Did it involve you, Fullmetal? Or did you just push yourself in, out of curiosity?"
"I-I…"
"Once again, you disobey my orders. I simply instructed you to come straight to HQ after your mission, and instead you take another joy ride, expecting me to brush it off!"
Edward clenched his fists and his superior, ready to attack. He managed to contain himself and gave a death glare, "If you just let me explain…" he grumbled.
"No!" Mustang shouted, "I am sick and tired of you making excuses all the time; thinking I'm that stupid to actually believe you! Why can't you act more responsible like you're brother, Alphonse! He listens to his superiors, unlike you!"
Ed had enough; his head was about to explode and he wasn't going keeping listening to this idiot tell him who he should and shouldn't be. He was not going to let someone accuse him and have no input, "Just shut up, Colonel! Stop telling me to act like my brother, because I am not him!" Tears started to form at the corner of his eyes, sliding down on his pale flesh, "I hate you all! And I hope you burn in hell!"
Without a doubt, Edward left the scene; eyes red and watery, fists still clenched. Mustang just stood there still trying to process the situation that had just happened. He sat back down on his leather seat, laying his head back, looking up on the pale white ceiling. Was I too hard on him?
The creaking sound of the office door was heard admitting a tall, thin figure with a cigarette in his mouth through its opening. "Colonel, what just happened? I just saw Ed storming through the halls in tears; coming from your office!"
"Havoc! Haven't you learned to knock yet?"
Outside Headquarters
The morning sky was mixed with beautiful shades of blue and orange, welcoming a new day. The smell of rain was still fresh in the air, filling up the lungs of Edward Elric; his nose stinging from sharp breathing and eyes red from sobbing. He sat down at the front steps, head lowered and arms hugging his legs, coughing heavily. He was aching all over, from both sitting out on the ground in the rain, and feeling ever so hurt on the inside. He felt that everyone was using him, messing with his head, making decisions for him. The one thing he was hoping for right now was to be loved. He looked down at the small red meshed bag with a gold tie, in his left hand. It held a handful of red and spicy, cinnamon hearts.
"Um, Miss? Are you alright, you look a bit sick?" Alphonse asked once stepping off of the packed train.
"Yeah, I just have some kind of fear of moving vehicles, especially cars… nothing to worry."
The two walked down the busy streets of Central, in hopes of finding a young blonde at HQ. The young girl was not in the slight mood to see Al's older brother, but was interested in seeing the grand sights of Central. She was wearing loose army pants, with a black tank top, accompanied with an army hat to pull it off. She walked slowly behind Alphonse, unsure of where to go. After 20 minutes of searching, Alphonse then abruptly stopped in Front of her, causing the female to smack her nose.
"You could have at least given me a warning!"
"Sorry, about that! But I think I spotted him just ahead at the stairs," Alphonse said pointing towards the red blob straight ahead, "but I think it is best if you go and speak with him…"
"What do you mean me!"
Alphonse simply shook his head, "I know you guys hate each other, but I still need to think things through about last night. And besides, this is your chance to know him a lot better… so… See ya!" Alphonse dashed quickly in the opposite direction leaving it up to her to clear things up with some stranger…Alone!
The young miss took steady paces looking down on the hard, cold, slate coloured concrete ground. Who the hell does that punk think he his? Leaving me to do his dirty work, especially with a stupid jerk who tried to kill me! And it's a guy too! Ugh, why am I so naïve? And soft hearted too…
She had finally reached at the same level as the young boy at the top steps. She gave a quiet sigh and sat down on the cold ground, setting herself next to the alchemist, with a reasonable space between them. "So, what's up?"
Edward gave no response. The girl simply looked at him, understanding that he needed some time to think about what he would say. She spoke again, "Having some issues, huh?"
"…"
This started stress the young teen out. She stood up in front of Edward, "You know what? You are really starting to tick me off! I'm trying to help you out here and all your giving me here is silence! Maybe that's why no one likes you if that's the case! For one reason, you have a bad attitude, and two, you don't listen to other's input."
"Well, maybe I would not be so rude, if people actually gave me a chance to hear what I have to say! Maybe if you stopped stalking me, I would not have to shout right now!" Edward was pissed and stood up meeting eye to eye with the young girl. In return, the female gave a small pat on Ed's shoulder and gave a deep sigh.
"I apologize; I understand how you must feel right now…"
His behaviour, his actions, his words, they made some kind of impact on her; somehow. It reminded her on how silent she would be when she was hurt, and how she never told anyone. No one seemed to of cared; no one cared if she shed tears of pain in a dark corner in the attic. If only she were…
"What's your name?" The question interrupted the girl's thoughts, making her heart skip a beat. She snapped back into reality as she looked back at the young and determined eyes of this strange man.
"What's it to you? You tried to kill me… besides; I don't lend my name out to men."
"It's only fair, we've bumped into each other many times already. I think it's necessary that I know the name of my stalker." He gave a sly smirk, sending chills down the girl's causing her to shift her gaze to the side, facing a nice view of the landscape. "Besides, I'm not a man; I'm just a teenaged boy."
"…"
"I thought so… To start things off, I'll go first. The name's Edward Elric!"
Ugh! That jerk! I can't believe he outsmarted me. "I-It's Rivera…" She whispered barely audible to anyone. She looked down at her stiff legs, with no feminine shape at all.
"I can't hear you," Ed taunted, "I think you need to speak a bit louder…"
She averted her gaze back at Edward, outstretched her cold right arm, giving a non- welcoming smile, "I-It's Rivera… Luna Rivera. It's a pleasure to meet you," Luna shook the gloved hand, regretting what she was doing. For some reason, she just had a bad feeling about men. She never trusted them and never will. This boy though…he had some strange connection to her, as if they were bound to meet. Or was all this just a joke; a game, and in the end he will just throw her away just like everyone else in the world.
"The pleasure is all mine. You know what? Maybe it was a good thing you came after all. I feel a bit more relaxed, and eager to move forward. Anyways, I better go…I have to clear some things with my brother." Luna simply nodded and stood aside for the red cloaked figure to proceed on his mission. "See ya!"
Luna's POV
"See ya" was all he said, with a brim smile of confidence and power. His red jacket flowed through the crisp air as I stood there, at the front steps, simply watching him go. I decided to take a small detour by myself down the busy streets of Central, gazing at the beautiful landscape. I take steady paces, watching the vehicles travel by, and seeing people get on with their daily life. An hour passed then two, then eight? Yes, eight hours has passed and it is now 6:45PM. Have I been walking in circles?
When I thought things couldn't get any better, the dark blue sky started to shed transparent tears of relief, falling on the crowded streets, drowning out the human voices. The only thing worth looking at in the sky was the beautiful sights of the full moon. It reminded me of my name and its significance. I ran to the nearest shed I could find at the current time, and the only thing close was the train station. I was ready to purchase a ticket and go home. The only problem was… I'm penniless!
End of Luna's POV
At Some Hotel…
"Brother, are you sure you are alright? You were pretty mad with me last night-"
"I've told you ten times already, I'm fine! Now stop worrying already." Edward brushed it off and continued to read a local newspaper on the bed with a petite red pouch with a gold tie, next to him. Thunder roared outside, frightening the suit of armor, causing him to give a small yelp. "Don't tell me you're scared of a little thunder and lightening, Al?"
"Um, no brother… it's just a simple reflex…" Al lied, "and I'm also a little worried about that young miss from earlier. Now that I think about it, she's poor…"
"So! She could just steal some money, she's a thief right?" Ed butted in, "she's a tough gal anyway, with all that attitude. I think she will do just fine," Ed stared back to his newspaper, trying to focus his mind on to something else. For some odd reason though, he just couldn't stop thinking about her. It was as if she triggered some chain of memories of his childhood, and they wouldn't go away. It wasn't as if he loved her or anything, but her name… Rivera… I reminded him of someone. Who exactly was this child?
"Brother, PLEASE!" Alphonse interrupted, this time irritating the boy out of his thinking.
"Fine Al, we're going dammit!" Edward finally gave in, placing his newspaper and the red pouch on the dark umber desk.
Central Streets
The two boys walked down the seemingly endless streets of Central, looking for some girl they just met. Edward was very tired while Al was overly eager to look for her.
"So, Ed? Did she by chance tell you her name?" asked Al, "I think this search would be easier if we called out her name."
"Yeah," Ed replied, "she did tell me. She said her name was Luna. She also told me that she doesn't tell men her name."
"She told me the same thing…Then how did you get it?" Alphonse questioned, waiting for an explanation on why she told Ed and not him.
"I tricked her!" He mentioned with such ride in his voice. But still... why does she dislike men so much?
After a full half hour, searching in the heavy rain for Luna, Ed and Al found themselves at the Central train station. Edward was fully drenched, while Alphonse was glistening ever so brightly. "Al, I told you this wasn't a good idea. We've found no trace of that girl, and most likely because she left already, you dope!" Edward argued trying to convince his younger sibling to just give up already.
"Oh yeah! Well, if she left already, why is it that I see her on that bench fast asleep," Al replied not exactly specifying which bench she was on.
Edward looked towards a bench at the west side of the fairly lit station, and squinted, "Al, I'm sorry to say this but I think you are hallucinating things." As soon as the teen turned his sights back at his brother, he was gone. "Hey, Al! Al, where are you?" Edward ran around in large circles trying to find a large suit of steel in the area.
"Brother, over here!"
Edward stopped running around like an idiot, and turned behind him to see his brother at a bench, with a sleeping Luna on it. "You could have warned me first, before leaving you know!"
"Shh, quit complaining! Let's take her to the Inn and get her a room," Al requested looking at Ed. Edward shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest. He then walked off in the large train station looking for the nearest exit. He did not want to waste his money on this girl, but he did not want to cause another commotion either. "Brother, please? She's soaking wet…"
The state alchemist slowly turned his head and gave a small grin. He then continued to walk off into the distance with Al with a sleeping child on his back behind him. The rain had stopped, leaving a beautiful sight of the full moon.
The Next Morning
The sky was clear and the intense sun was accompanied with the visible sights of the full moon beside it. The bright sunlight hit the windowsill reflecting on the face of a young child on a soft and fluffy, white twin sized bed. Her pale flesh was very frigid, and her long hair was in tangles. The scars on her face were barely visible anymore, and the bruise on her cheek was completely gone. She was in such deep sleep, she did move from the two figures above her.
"Rise and shine sleepy head!" Edward and Alphonse chirped in unison. Luna's eyes slowly flickered open, revealing the colours of cyan and magenta. She slowly sat up, the blanket now covering her legs, meeting face to face with the two brothers.
"Where am I? What am I doing here?"
"We knew that you needed a place to stay, so we brought you to the hotel. It was the least we could do." Al said with pride.
"Enough of these explanations! We came here to bring your breakfast," He shoved to her a tray with pancakes and syrup, a small bowl with plump, light green grapes, orange juice, and three cinnamon hearts.
She looked up and gave a small smile, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. We'll check up on you later." Both siblings left the room, leaving Luna alone in the beige coloured suite. She looked intently on the cinnamon hearts. She took one and slowly put it in her mouth. She savored every bit of it, until there was nothing left. At that second, she felt… different.
Next door, Edward was getting ready to go outside while the small, red meshed bag of cinnamon hearts on the desk caught his golden eyes. He felt drawn to it somehow, as if there was some kind of magical aura around it. Without hesitation, he picked one of the small hearts up and popped it in his mouth. The spicy taste burned his tongue for a few seconds; he was savoring every taste of it, for it was so good. For some odd reason, the instant he popped it in, he felt… different.
"Edward, hurry up!" Al yelled from the front door. Edward quickly tied the gold ribbon around the opening of the petite bag, slid it his right pocket, and left.
"What exactly is the mystery behind the cinnamon hearts? What significance does Luna's name hold? Find out in chapter 5 of Weeping Willows!" Sorry! I just had to say that! Anyways, that was such a long chapter for me to write, so hopefully you enjoyed it. Sorry it took a while to update two. Remember, no flaming and at least 2 reviews are needed to update. Constructive criticism is welcomed! Peace out!
JinxJinki