Winry noticed Kirina staring out the kitchen window the next morning. Both girls had made breakfast and were now washing the dishes.

"Is something wrong?" Winry asked.

Kirina blinked as if she had been snapped out of a trance. "No. Why do you ask?"

"You were staring out the window so intensely. I gotta say, you looked completely out of it."

"Winry, was there ever something out there?"

Winry looked out the window. All she saw was a tree . . . and a pile of ashes.

"Oh, that's where Ed and Al used to live."

"What happened to their home?"

"They burned it down."

Kirina gasped. "Why?"

Winry shrugged. "Don't know. Guess it just brought them too much pain to see it."

"Where are they?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Their parents."

Winry sighed and stared at the soapy sink. "I don't know about their dad, but their mom died when they were little."

"No wonder they look so sad."

"Sad? When?"

"They always do. In their eyes I see many unshed tears, many unspoken words." Kirina smiled at Winry. "You must mean a lot to them."

Winry blushed. "What do you mean?"

"They looked happier once they saw your face. I suppose that means that whenever they want to shed tears or confide in someone, they'll come to you. It must be nice to comfort someone."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. Ed can be a real pain when he wants to be." Winry's face softened. "But you're right. It is nice to have them confide in me."

Kirina laughed. "Winry, when we're finished with the dishes, would you show me around Risembool? Please? I've always wanted to see the country."

"Sure thing!"

"Thanks for showing me around," Kirina said. "This place is so calm and quiet."

Winry laughed. "That's the country for you."

Kirina sighed and sat down on a low tree branch. "Look at all those stars."

"There aren't many stars in the city, are there?"

Kirina shook her head. "I know what the stars are made of. I know their life cycles, the gases, length, width, all that mathematical crap, but to gaze at a star is like gazing at a huge burning question. Have you ever asked the stars anything?"

Winry nodded. "I asked them a question when I was little."

Kirina turned to her. "What was it?"

Winry leaned against the tree trunk and bowed her head. "I asked them why bad things happen to good people. My parents, Ed and Al, They're all good people, but bad things happen to them."

"I wonder that, too. I've never had any parents. If I did, I forgot them. I only had my mentor."

"Mentor?"

Kirina nodded and unclasped her necklace. "See this? He gave it to me when I was little."

Winry touched the necklace. "It's beautiful," she said softly.

"He said it was to protect me."

"Protect you? He must've loved you a lot then."

Kirina's eyes widened with surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"No one gives you protection just for the heck of it. People only protect those they care about."

Kirina smiled. "I guess you're right. Oh, I almost forgot." Kirina took something out of her pocket. It was a bluish green stone. She handed it to Winry with a smile.

Winry took it. "It's gorgeous! What is it?"

"A stone called blue aura. It's a false stone that I created in a lab from quartz and other crystals."

"You made it?" Winry asked, astonished.

Kirina nodded. "With alchemy and the proper ingredients, I can create any stone I want. That's why I'm called the Miracle Quartz Alchemist." Kirina took out three more stone. "This one's amethyst, though you probably already knew that. I didn't create it, but I did smooth it out. It's for your grandmother. This is a smoky quartz stone for Al. Oh, and this is a chemically enhanced rose quartz. It's for Ed."

"Don't just show them to me!" Winry said. "Come on! Let's show 'em your creations."

Some of my ideas are derived mainly from superstition (you'll see in the next chapter). Since I'm not creative and don't know a lot about Fullmetal Alchemist, I end up making things up. It's like with Sukinamono wa Sukidakara Shouganai. I really want to see that anime, but it's not available here, so to know what goes on, I rely on titles, episode summaries, and the like. What I don't know, I make up. I was considering writing a fanfiction about it, but don't know much about it to throw something together. Besides, I'm not good at writing shonen ai or yaoi stuff. You should consider looking it up. From what I've seen, it's really adorable and Sora and Sunao are really cute. Boys might not want to look at it because it's shonen ai (and the fact that the idea for the anime came from a game for girls called "Boys Love"), but it's not that bad. It's super-duper cute and Sunao is wonderfully adorable! I think I can describe him. He's got a sweet, innocent face, slightly shy-looking, with long, pale brown hair, and cute darkish brown eyes that look out at you shyly. He's so, so cute I just can't stand it! (Now you think I'm insane, right?)