"Excuse me, who's the leader here?" Kirina asked, tugging on the shirt of a State Alchemist.

The alchemist sank to one knee to see eye to eye with her. "And who are you?"

"My name is Kirina Miracle," she said, curtsying. "What's your name, sir?"

"I am Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist."

"That's a nice name, Mr. Armstrong."

"Thank you," he said, smiling. "Now, why are you looking for the person in charge?"

"I want to request permission to stay here. I promise to work hard and help people."

"Help them with what?"

"I could do chores so all the other alchemists will be able to do their work without worrying about cleaning up."

Armstrong gave it some thought. "All right. Take my hand and come with me."

Kirina hid behind Armstrong, trying not to draw attention. Since she was so small, no one really noticed her. Armstrong stopped before a door and knocked.

"Fuhrer, there's someone who wishes to speak with you."

"Send him in," voice called.

Kirina looked up at Armstrong with a slightly frightened look in her eyes.

"It's all right. Don't worry. I'll be outside if you need me."

"Okay."

Kirina opened the door and silently slipped inside. At first, the Fuhrer didn't seem to notice her.

"Um. . ."

The Fuhrer looked around. "Who's there?"

Kirina walked up to his desk. "Um, it's me."

"Oh, and who is 'me', little girl?" the Fuhrer asked with a smile.

Kirina relaxed a little. This person seemed so kind.

"I'm Kirina Miracle and I was wondering if I could stay here."

"Here? But you're not an alchemist, are you, Kirina?"

Kirina shook her head. "No, but I'm learning."

"Learning?"

"The truth is I've been here for about a year now. I've watched all the other alchemists and have learned a little."

"What have you learned? Can you show me?"

"Well, uh, is there anything here that's broken or needs cleaning?"

"The vase in that corner is cracked. Can you fix it?"

Kirina swallowed nervously and slowly walked over to the vase. The crack was long and the vase old and frail.

I don't think it would be wise to use chalk, she thought.

Slowly, Kirina licked her finger and drew a transmutation circle on the surface. Taking a deep breath, she tapped her fingers on the surface. After a big flash of light, the vase was as good as new.

Kirina turned around at the sound of clapping. The Fuhrer was smiling at her and clapping his hands.

"Impressive, Kirina," he said. "After that display of alchemic genius, of course you can stay."

"Oh, thank you!" Kirina said. "I promise I'll do all the cooking and cleaning and---"

"No, no, Kirina. You misunderstand. You won't be working as a maid. I'm going to apprentice you to one of the alchemists here. Now, which area of alchemy is your favorite?"

"I don't know much about areas. I've always liked crystals, though."

"Crystal alchemy? Well, I do believe we have a crystal alchemist in our midst."

"You mean Mr. Marcoh?" Kirina asked.

"Oh? You know him?"

"Not exactly," Kirina lied. "I've seen him, though."

"Good. Why don't you go to him? Tell him the Fuhrer sent you."

Kirina nodded and smiled. "Okay. Thank you once again."

The Fuhrer watched her leave. He stared at the laceration scars, frowning. He shook his head and sighed.

Kirina burst out the door, smiling.

"How did it go?" Armstrong asked.

Kirina gave him a hug. "He said I could stay! Thank you for showing me where to find him. I got to go home now. Bye-bye!"

"Mr. Marcoh! Mr. Marcoh!" Kirina said, opening the tent flap with a smile. "Guess what? I --- Huh?" Kirina's smile faded.

Marcoh looked up from the table. "Oh, hello, Kirina. Where were you?"

"Were you sleeping?" Kirina walked over to him, reached up, and felt his forehead. She gasped. "You're burning up!"

"I'm all right. Don't worry about me. What were you going to say?"

"Um, I went to see the Fuhrer and requested permission to stay."

"Stay! Didn't he tell you this will soon become a potentially dangerous war zone?" Marcoh demanded. "It's no place for a frail little girl like you!"

Kirina frowned. "Well, it's no place for an ill alchemist like you!" she shouted. "How can you do alchemy if you're sick? After spending a year here, I already know about alchemy and all its principles. Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving up something in return, right? You took care of me when I was sick and now it's my turn to do the same."

"Kirina . . ."

Kirina sighed. "Forgive me for yelling. Now, please go to bed. I'll cook something up."

"Kirina, don't be ridiculous. You can't cook."

Kirina smiled. "I'll figure something."

At that moment, two alchemists came into the room.

"Hello, Mr. Mustang," Kirina said, dipping into a curtsy. "Hello, sir."

Colonel Gran frowned at Kirina. "You're the whelp that has been apprenticed to the Crystal Alchemist?"

Apprenticed? Marcoh thought.

"Yes, I am."

Mustang's eyes widened. "You went to see the Fuhrer by yourself?"

"Well, an alchemist helped me find the way. He was very nice."

Gran turned to Marcoh. "What are you doing lying in bed? Resting? You know you need to go inspect the Quarry Valley today. Oh, and I suggest you bring some sulfur and red phosphorus."

"Colonel Gran, with all do respect I don't think---" Mustang began.

"Be quiet, Flame Alchemist. It's his fault for getting sick. The Ishbalans are rising up. They're becoming an even more serious threat every day. We need that thing very soon."

"No!" Kirina cried, grabbing Gran's hand. "He needs to rest. I'll go get what you need. I'll do all the work. I swear. Mr. Marcoh has already taught me some alchemy so---"

Suddenly, everyone in the room heard a loud cracking sound. Marcoh and Mustang gasped. Trembling, Kirina looked up at Gran, her hand on her swollen cheek.

"Stop talking nonsense, you brat!" Gran shouted at her. "You think you can do all the work? Well, do you!"

Marcoh stood up. "Kirina---"

"Yes, I do!" Kirina snapped, standing up. "I know I can do it if I tried."

Gran slapped her again, knocking her down. "You don't even know what you're talking about! You're like an ignorant cockroach that needs to be stomped on."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Kirina snapped, standing back up again. "Tell me why you're in this war? What's the point of all this hate? What's the point of killing innocent people?"

Gran grabbed the little girl by the collar of her dress. "You know what happened to the last person who talked to me this way?"

"What?"

"I broke them in half!"

"Then go ahead!"

"Kirina, what's wrong with you?" Marcoh asked. "Colonel Gran, please, let her go. She doesn't know what she's talking about. She's just a little girl."

"Don't interfere, Mr. Marcoh!"

Marcoh backed down. This child. When did she become so strong?

"What are you waiting for, Mr. Gran?" Kirina challenged. "You said you were going to break me in half. Go ahead. I dare you!"

Gran glared at the little girl. With a loud growl, he hurled her to the ground.

"Kirina!" Marcoh exclaimed and picked her up. "Are you all right?"

"He's a liar," Kirina whispered. "Mr. Gran, you failed to break me in half."

"Crystal Alchemist, I expect to have those minerals by sunset!" Gran barked, completely ignoring Kirina. "Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Gran left. Mustang rushed over to Kirina and Marcoh.

"Kirina, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asked. "Colonel Gran is someone you don't want to mess with."

"He's a coward," Kirina mumbled. "I'm not afraid of cowards. Or death. Or anything else for that matter."

Marcoh sighed. "What am I going to do with you? Kirina, the military isn't a place were you just say whatever's on your mind. You take orders and don't question your superiors."

"Well, I'm not a puppet, Mr. Marcoh. Why should I take orders from a coward? I bet he's never even been near a battleground before. And if he has, it was from a discreet distance where all he does is bark orders."

"Flame Alchemist, would you mind taking care of her? I need to go get the things Colonel Gran requested."

"Wait!" Kirina cried in such a loud voice that the two alchemists in the room became startled. "Don't go away! I'll go get them."

"But, Kirina, the Quarry Valley is no place for a little girl like you. It's dangerous and---"

Kirina grinned and walked outside. "I'll be back by sunset!"

Mustang watched the little girl leave. She's so bony, he thought. So frail and thin. It really was a miracle she survived. He turned to Marcoh and laughed. "She's really brave for someone so little. I've never seen Gran so upset. He looked like he was going to pop."

Marcoh remained solemn. "She's very outspoken. I admire that, but I can't say that I'll be able to keep her safe if she continues like that. Colonel Gran didn't show any mercy when he was hitting her. I hate to think what he might do to her next time."

Kirina chewed her lip and stared down at the Quarry Valley.

"It sure is a long way down."

Getting to the valley had been easy. Going down it was going to be another story.

Kirina took a step at the edge. A couple of rocks fell down. Suddenly, Kirina felt nauseous as she stared at the dark bottom. She backed away from its edge and sank to her knees.

"I can't do this," she said. "I'm too scared."

At that moment, Gran's words came to her mind.

"You're like an ignorant cockroach that needs to be stomped on."

Kirina grinned. "So, I'm a cockroach, eh? I might as well live up to my reputation."

Slowly, Kirina eased her way toward the edge of the cliff and inspected it. She wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, yeah. There's definitely sulfur here. Something must be down there. It smells like rotten eggs and that only happens when sulfur is burned."

Kirina found a vine and slowly eased herself down the narrow cliff. After a few feet, she banged her forehead on a sharp rock.

"Owie," she mumbled and rubbed her forehead. Kirina blinked when she felt something wet on her fingers. "Uh-oh. It's blood."

At that moment, something snapped. With a startled cry, Kirina realized it was the vine. Kirina shrieked and fell down the dark cliff.

Marcoh rubbed his head and stared at the stack of books and papers before him.

"You really should take it easy," a voice said.

Marcoh looked up and saw an unfamiliar person standing at the window. This person had undistinguishable features, but from the voice, Marcoh could tell it was a woman.

"Who are you?" Marcoh asked, backing away from the window.

The woman looked up and peered at Marcoh with colorless eyes.

"How do you say 'alchemy' in Greek?"

"How should I know?"

The young woman hopped off the windowsill and neared the table. She looked over the papers and then looked back up.

"It's Khumeia," she said in a slightly raspy voice. "My name is Khumeia."

"What do you want?"

Khumeia smiled. "You sound deeply frightened. I'm merely looking for Kimiya."

"Kimiya?"

"Ah, I see you don't know her." Khumeia grinned and hopped toward the window. "Well, I'll be seeing you." Halfway out, she turned around. Her smile was replaced by a look of complete seriousness. "It's easy to create a human using alchemy. It's not easy to generate a soul. Be careful not to commit a kesenai tsumi."

"Kesenai tsumi? How do you know this?"

Khumeia smiled slowly. "It might have something to do with Kirina. Ta-ta."

"Wait!" Marcoh said. "What do you know about Kirina?"

Too late. The woman was gone.

Kirina moaned and tried sitting up. She felt dizzy and her moves were slightly uncoordinated.

"Oh, no," she said, gripping a branch that stuck out of the side of the cliff. "I must've fallen down. Where am I?"

Kirina looked up, wincing. The top of the cliff was nearly seven miles up. Kirina bit her lip and touched her head. It felt wet and Kirina didn't need to look at it to know it was blood. It already smelled and nearly overpowered the scent of burning sulfur.

"Mr. Marcoh is going to scold me for this," she thought.

After walking a little, Kirina discovered a zigzag path that led straight down. Going down was going to be easy from now on. At least that's what Kirina thought.

"Ugh, it smells!" she mumbled, gagging.

The further down she went, the more it smelled of rotting eggs. The scent was too much for anyone. Kirina sank to her knees and covered her nose and mouth. She looked up and saw everything was blurry.

I can't give up. I'll show Mr. Gran. I'll show everyone I'm not an ignorant cockroach.

The farther down she went, the more it smelled. Kirina had to stop every few minutes just to barf. It really was bad! However, she soon saw a yellow glow.

Sulfur!

Kirina picked up a large piece of sulfur. With a cry, she dropped it. It was hot and had burned her hand. Kirina looked at the welts already forming on her palm and fingertips. Kirina undid her bloody hair ribbon and wrapped the sulfur in it. It still felt hot, but not as bad as before. Kirina walked to the other side to pick up the red phosphorus. The phosphorous was there, all right. The only problem was that it was brown, not red.

Now what do I do? Wait. I think I can make it red.

With her blood, Kirina drew a transmutation circle around a rock the size of her hand.

Please work.

Kirina concentrated on the stone. There was a big burst of red light. When it was gone, in her Kirina's hands lay a perfect red phosphorous stone. Smiling, Kirina trudged up to the top of the cliff. By the time she got there, she was extremely exhausted.

"Come on, Kirina," she whispered. "You made it down a cliff that smelled worse than a latrine. You can definitely make it home."

However, the more she walked the weaker she become. Kirina fell on the ground. The soft earth was so inviting. The chirp of the crickets seemed to be a sort of lullaby. The stars were her nightlight. She could sleep here. Yes, sleep sounded nice and it would be welcome at exactly this moment. Kirina felt her eyelids droop. At that moment, she remembered the events of earlier.

Mr. Marcoh. Mr. Mustang. I can't fail. I won't. If it comes to that, I'll crawl home.

Kirina tried to stand, but couldn't any more. All she could do was crawl, and that was difficult because she was already weak and had two large stones in each hand. With each pull, she felt weaker than before. Her eyesight was diminishing. Her hair and back were sticky with blood and smelled pretty badly.

"I can . . . make it," she said, breathing hard. "I will. I know . . . I will."

After hours of excruciating pain, Kirina was ready to give up when she came upon the camp. Smiling happily, Kirina forced herself to crawl all the way. She came upon the doorstep and that's when her strength gave out. Kirina collapsed on the doorstep. She really couldn't move now, no matter how much her mind wanted. Her body just didn't have the strength to obey.

"These rocks," Kirina whispered.

Kirina pushed one to the door, hoping the sound was loud enough.

I'm sorry, Mr. Marcoh. I said I was going to be home by sundown, but it's practically the next day. I'm really sorry. . .

Growing even dizzier, Kirina began to hear something. It was a human voice, no doubt, but it didn't seem as though the person was talking. This sound seemed melodic and had a tune. What was it called? Singing? Music? Kirina heard one word. Slowly, to taste the feel of it, she said it out loud.

"Kesenai . . ."

Inside, Marcoh heard the sound of light tapping. He opened the door and gasped.

"Kirina!"

Kirina looked up. "I'm sorry. . ."

The cry startled the rest of the people who were inside. These people were Mustang and Armstrong. They came rushing to the door and saw the little girl with her bloodstained clothes and the trail of blood that went from the doorstep to who knows where.

"Oh, my God!" Mustang gasped.

Armstrong picked up the little girl. "Relax, she's still alive."

"How could I have let this happen?" Marcoh asked. "Look at her!"

"Mr. Marcoh . . ."

Everyone became silent and turned to Kirina. A blood-stained package fell from her hands. Inside were the sulfur and red phosphorous.

"I . . . made the . . . red one . . ." she whispered, smiling softly with childlike pride. "Told you . . . I knew . . . alchemy. . ."

I gotta say one thing: I'm so not good with titles. That's why most of my fanfics are named after songs (ex. In the Blue), so this could turn out to be a song -fic (Nah. I'm not that creative.)

"Kesenai Tsumi" is a good song, though. (It's the song I'm always listening to when I write a new chapter). My favorite one is "Tobira no Mukune" ("Beyond the Door") by Yellow Generation. Maybe my next fanfics will be called that. . .

Another thing. This fanfic may be a bit of a downer. I can't promise that it's going to be super-duper cheerful because I was in a pretty lousy mood when I started writing it, so I apologize in advance. I'll try to make it better, I swear! Please bear with me. (Besides, it's not supposed to be humorous).