Pinako looked at Kirina coming down the stairs and then at the clock.

"Well, about time you woke up," she said.

"Sorry," Kirina said. "Good morning, Al. Good morning, Miss Pinako."

"Good morning, Kirina," Al said.

Kirina looked around. "Where's Ed?"

"He's visiting Mom," Al responded.

"I see."

Pinako turned to Kirina. "Where's Winry?"

"Asleep."

"You girls came in pretty late last night."

"We were talking about the stars."

Pinako took a big breath from her pipe. "Don't forget all that heavy talk about alchemy."

Kirina nodded. "When did Ed say he was coming back?"

"Who knows? It's best just to leave him alone with his thoughts."

Noticing the look on Kirina's face, Al said to her, "The cemetery isn't very far. Go north and turn at the river's end. You can't miss it."

Kirina smiled. "Thank you, Al."

"Ed?"

Ed looked up and saw Kirina standing by a tree. He stood up and smiled.

"Hey, Kirina," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Kirina shrugged. "Nothing. Just walking. What are you doing in the cemetery?"

"Just visiting my mom," Ed responded.

"May I meet her? Your mother?"

"Sure."

Ed led Kirina to the grave and sat down in front of it. Kirina sat down beside him.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like to have a mother?"

Ed turned to her. "Huh? What kind of question is that?"

"I never had a mom."

"Oh. Well, our mom was nice. She took care of me and Al all by herself."

"She must've been a strong person."

"What makes you say that?"

"Your prosthetic limbs and your brother's hollow body. You tried to bring her back to life, didn't you?"

Ed sighed. "Yeah. It was mostly my idea, but Al was the one mainly affected by it." Ed lowered his head shamefully. "Sometimes I think he hates me."

Ed felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Kirina?"

"He doesn't hate you," Kirina whispered softly. "Al could never hate you. Brothers have their ups and downs, but they can never hate each other. And I can tell that Al isn't the sort of person who would hate anybody. He has a good heart. A humane heart." Kirina sighed and placed her head on Ed's shoulder. "You do to. There are so many people out there that look human on the outside, but are pure demons on the inside. Your brothers, merely a soul in armor, and you with prosthetic limbs, are more human than they ever will be."

"You say that because you don't know me very well," Ed mumbled. "If you had seen the things I've done, you wouldn't think so highly of me."

"And you don't know me at all. Ed, tell me something. Those things you did. Were they for your sake or for your brother's sake?"

The question surprised Ed. "For Al, of course."

"Then it doesn't matter. As long as you don't harm anyone, it's okay."

"That's just the thing, Kirina. I did harm other people. It may have been for my brother, but I still harmed them. How can that make me a good person?"

"Some questions are too difficult to answer. And I'm no one to answer such a question. Ask yourself that. Look deep within your heart and tell me if you're a good person or not."

Ed remained quiet for a moment.

"Well?" Kirina asked.

"I don't know. I'm myself, but even I don't know who I really am."

"Neither do I."

Both remained quiet for a long while.

"Kirina, why did you decide to become a State Alchemist?" Ed asked. "I mean, was it to look for your mentor? Or do you have something else in mind?"

Ed turned and Kirina fell against his chest.

"Whoa, hey!" Ed shouted.

Kirina had fallen asleep. Ed stared at her.

Are her cheeks normally this rosy? And why does my face feel so hot?

Ed stared at Kirina's eyes. They were closed now, but he could remember the day Al had returned her book. How she had looked like she had wanted to cry.

Al said her tears were red, but how can that be? She's human, isn't she? There's no way she can be a homunculus like Envy. She's kind and warm . . . and beautiful.

Ed lowered his head onto Kirina's hair. Her hair felt soft against his cheek like a river of smooth, black silk. The sun was setting and it was getting a little cold. Even so, Ed felt himself drifting off to sleep.

What is this? This bizarre feeling that I get when I get near Kirina. Ever since she gave me that rose quartz---

"What a touching sight."

Awakened, both alchemists stood up.

"Who's there?" Ed called.

"Aw, did you really have to break the moment?" the same voice asked, the pout evident in the voice. "It was getting so romantic."

Both Ed and Kirina blushed.

"Come out before I force you to!" Kirina shouted.

Before them, a tall, red-eyed woman appeared. She cupped Ed's chin in her hand.

"Wow, you are cute," she said. "No wonder Kimiya likes you."

Ed shivered. The woman's hands were colder than ice.

"You got the wrong girl," Ed said, trying to remain calm. "She's not Kimiya. She's Kirina."

"According to her beloved Mr. Marcoh she's Kirina. But to the ones that nearly killed her, she's Kimiya."

Ed gasped and turned to Kirina. "So Al was right. Kirina, did you know Dr. Marcoh?"

Kirina looked shocked. "What are you talking about? Who the hell are you? Answer me, dammit!"

"You weren't raised very well, were you? I'm Anger."

"Anger?" Ed pulled away from her and stood protectively in front of Kirina. "You're a homunculus?"

"Damn straight. Hey, Kirina, ever hear a song about an inerasable sin?"

"You mean the song with the words 'kesenai tsumi'?"

"That's the one."

The song came to Kirina. The fast-paced rhythm, the words, the melody, the meaning. Kirina shrieked and sank to her knees with her arms wrapped around her. A memory was coming to her. The same one she had when she was seven.

"Kirina!" Ed cried.

Anger held Ed back. "I suggest not getting near her. If she starts crying, it's bad news for both of us, but mainly for you."

"What are you talking about? Is this because her tears are red?"

"So you've seen them?" Anger frowned and knocked Ed down. "At least tell me you weren't foolish enough to touch them."

"She wouldn't let me."

Anger growled and stepped on Ed's metal arm. "Why'd you get involved with her? She's a dangerous thing."

"You leave Ed alone!"

Along with the sudden cry came a huge bolt of electricity.

I really, really need to finish those chapters faster or people will start to wonder. Well, let me occupy this space and your time with pointless nonsense.

Another thing I want to see is Kyo Kara Maoh! Animerica called it "Fushigi Yugi . . . with boys. . ." That's what makes it sound so interesting. The only problem is that it's twenty five bucks and I can't even keep track of my allowance. I'm lucky enough to have a Fruits Basket DVD and five Yuyu Hakusho DVDs (six if Fujiko, one of my friends, hadn't lost it. Another thing, all the names of my friends will be changed so as to not reveal their identity. Hope they like the names I picked for them!) Anyway, about Kyo Kara Maoh! You can probably guess the reason I want it. The main character is totally cute! His name is Yuri and he has a cute rival. According to Animerica, it's mainly for teenage girls and fans of innocent shonen ai. That's me! (You probably think I'm gross for liking shonen ai, don't you? Well, that's not the reason I watch it. I watch it for the boys. I just love cute bishonen. Next time, I'll make you a list.)