Seven-year-old Kirina watched the experiment with fascination.
"Are you really going to try to create a Celestial Stone?" she asked.
Marcoh nodded sadly. "I really don't want to, though."
"Why? It's an alchemy amplifier, isn't it? You'd be helping a lot of people."
"More like helping them kill a lot of people."
Kirina sighed and sat down. "Mr. Marcoh, is this really necessary?"
"What?"
"This war. It started with a child getting murdered many years before by a State Alchemist. You said the child had been about my age when you first found me." Kirina frowned. "I'm just wondering why it needs to go on. The child was killed and that State Alchemist was executed, correct? It looks like Equivalent Exchange, but I don't think it is. To kill a person just because he killed another doesn't bring the fallen one back to life."
Marcoh sighed and sat down. "They know it's not Equivalent Exchange. That's why there's a war going on."
"And as a soldier, you can only do what is asked of you. I'll help you with this stone. Then maybe you'll finish faster."
Marcoh took Kirina's thin hands. "I don't want your hands to become stained like mine's are about to become."
"So Colonel Gran considers it an Equivalent Exchange for only you to get your hands stained? It's unfair! I know I'm not supposed to be here. I know I'm only a nuisance. Heaven only knows why I'm alive, but the least I can do is help you with your work."
Marcoh smiled and stroked Kirina's hair. "Kirina Miracle, you really are an amazing child."
Kirina's face grew confused. "Huh?"
"Never mind. Listen to me well, Kirina. You must never tell anyone that you helped me with this. I know in the future I'll get into a lot of trouble because of it."
"But---!"
"I'm sorry, Kirina, but please don't protest. I'm glad that you want to help me, but I don't want this to tarnish your future. Do you understand?"
"All right," Kirina said reluctantly. "But I swear I'll pay you back for all your kindness one day. This is just a start. I believe in Equivalent Exchange and understand the concept well enough to know that helping you forge this stone is but a token gesture."
"You don't need to repay me," Marcoh said. "I was glad to help you."
"That's nice, but the law of Equivalent Exchange won't let me forget your many kindnesses."
"You've been studying alchemy for too long."
"I know that, but the first law of Equivalent Exchange is true. Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving up something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."
"All right. Hand me the red-colored water."
Kirina walked over to where the basin of water was and gasped. Suddenly, she felt very cold and clammy.
I'm afraid of this water, she thought. Why? What's going on?
Marcoh turned around at the sound of strained breathing.
"Kirina? Kirina, what's wrong? Why are you so pale?"
Kirina clutched her chest and sank to her knees.
"Kirina!"
Kirina heard her mentor's voice, but it sounded far away now. She looked up and saw everything swimming before her eyes. Before her eyes something else appeared. Someone resembling something half-demon and half-human. This being was nearing a very frightened child. Kirina's eyes widened. The child was her!
"No!" Kirina cried, shaking her head wildly. "No, please! No! I'm sorry! I never meant to commit a kesenai tsumi! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"
Marcoh grasped Kirina's shoulders and shook her hard.
"Kirina! Kirina! It's all right. You're safe."
Kirina shrieked and tried to leave. The door swung open.
"What's going on?" Mustang asked. "What's wrong with Kirina?"
"I don't know," Marcoh responded. "I asked her to fetch me something and she just started screaming. I can't get her to calm down."
Mustang knelt in front of her and slapped her.
"Why did you do that for?" Marcoh asked.
"It's okay. I think she's calm now."
Trembling, Kirina looked up. She could see everything clearly now.
"Wha-what happened?" she asked.
"That's my line," Mustang said. "What's going on?"
Kirina frowned. "I could see something. Something dark and scary."
Marcoh sighed. "Why don't you rest, Kirina?"
"But I was supposed to---"
"It's all right. You need your rest."
Kirina nodded. With trembling hands, she sank under the covers of the bed and fell asleep.
Mustang turned to Marcoh. "Repressed memory, huh?"
Marcoh nodded and sat down. "If Kirina remembers what happened to her, it could damage her whole life."
"Give her some credit," Mustang said and sat down as well. "She's a strong kid. There's no way she'll just give in to whatever is haunting her."
"I don't get it. I want to help her. I want to know what happened to her. Whoever harmed her, I want to find them."
Mustang smiled. "You speak as though you're her father and not her mentor."
"She really has grown on me," Marcoh said, smiling fondly at Kirina. "She's like a daughter."
"She's a daughter to everyone here. I don't think I've ever met anyone so helpful. She's like the daughter of people's dreams." Mustang sighed with worry. "You asked her to get that pitcher?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I get the feeling that's the reason why she cried out. Could she have been involved in this little ruse long before you found her?"
Marcoh gasped. "No, it couldn't be . . ."
Since I read about psychology during my spare time, I can tell you all about repressed memory. Won't that be fun? (Aw, who am I kidding?). Anyway, when you're little and something bad happens, you want it to disappear, right? That's why you tell Mommy and Daddy to make it go away. But if they're not there for you, you repress it. That means you think of something else until that memory is completely gone. In some cases of repressed memory, a person can't remember anything from their childhoods because of repression. Weird, huh? That's the case with Kirina.