hello! wow, look at me. i updated what, yesterday? i'm on a roll! but just for the record, let's go over this again:
i do NOT own FMA. love it, but don't own it.
oh- and i just wanna thank everybody's who's reviewed. they really help.
-----Part 7-Study Time-----
Recap: You gave Roy the letter, but he wouldn't let you see it. So you decided to become a state alchemist so you could read it and find whoever killed Hojo. Ed's agreed to be your teacher. So now he's dragging you to the library.
Start- "Uh, Ed?" you asked.
"Hm?"
"Ya know...MY ARM'S NOT A FREAKING LEASH! SO LET GO!" You yelled. Ed let go of your arm like it was on fire and picked up his pace so that he was walking a greater distance from you. You rolled your eyes and looked over your shoulder at Al.
"Is he really the one who's going to be teaching me?" You asked, faking a whine. Al shrugged.
"If you want to be a state alchemist, you might as well let him teach you a few things. I learned a lot of my alchemy from his help."
"It wasn't all me." Came Ed's voice from infront of you. "We learned at the same pace. Ijust showed you some details here and there." You looked back forward at Ed's back.
"So you learned alchemy together?" You asked.
"Pretty much." They answered in unison. "But we had a teacher to." Added Al.
"Was he a good alchemist?" You asked, walking backwards so you could focus on Al better.
"Yeah, she was great!" He told you. You jumped a bit.
"She? A woman taught you alchemy?" You asked in surprise.
"I know, girls doing alchemy seemed weird to me too. But our teacher was pretty skilled, even if guys are usually a lot better at it." Came Ed's voice again. You were about to turn around and hit him, but Al held up a hand to stop you.
"Just play along Aka." He said quietly, so that Ed wouldn't hear. You sighed and forced yourself to calm down.
Suddenly, your back hit something hard. Whirling around, you saw that Ed had stopped in the middle of the hallway, a look of panic on his face.
"Ed, what're you-" But you didn't have a chance to finish your question, because he seized your arm and dragged you behind the side of a sofa. As he crouched down besides it, he pulled you closer to his chest, making you blush a bit.
He's really warm...WTF? Snap out of it! He doesn't even know you're a girl! You screamed in you mind.
Al had crouched down besides you as well. You looked up at Ed, but he was looking over the arm of the sofa, as if waiting for something. Finally, you felt his grip on your arm loosen and you quickly pulled away from him, certain that your face was as red as your eyes by now.
"Brother, what was that about?" questioned Al.
"Oh, I heard Hughes and didn't want-"
"Oh, Ed! Al! There you are, I'd heard you were back!" Came a voice, interrupting Ed. Ed winced and turned around. Looking over his shoulder, you saw a man with a military uniform and glasses rushing over to Ed.
"Hey Hughes!" Al said cheerfully. Ed gave him a grin as well.
Huh? I thought we were avoiding this guy. Why are they-
"Oh, since your back, I'm sure you'll want to hear all the Elysia news you missed while you were gone!" Hughes said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small thick book. Flipping it open, he shoved it into Ed's face.
"She's two months older since the last time you saw her, hasn't she gotten cuter? Just the other day she-"
"OKAY HUGHES! I heard you the first time! Now stop throwing pictures in my face, I remember what she looks like!" Ed yelled, interrupting him. You smirked.
Ahh, so it's the father they're avoiding, not the person You thought. A wave of pain shot through you. I wonder if Hojo kept pictures like that of me... You thought sadly. You shook your head at the thought. No, of course he didn't, he'd never endanger me like that. What if someone else hadseen them?
Trying to push it away, you picked up one of the pictures that had slipped out of the book. On it was a picture of a cute little girl with brown pigtails and big green eyes.
"She is kinda cute..." You said.
"Oh, you think so?" Hughes asked, taking the picture. He studied your face for a second.
"Isn't it dark?" He asked. You looked at him blankly. He motioned to his eyes.
"The sunglasses, doesn't it get dark?" You suppressed a gasp.
Aw shit! How am I gonna tell people about that?
"Umm...yeah, kinda. Ya see I, uh-have eye problems! Yeah, my eyes are, er-sensitive to light!" You said, stumbling through what you hoped was a liable excuse.
Hughes seemed to buy it. "Ah, well, we all have some flaws." He said, tapping his own glasses. "But of course, Elysia doesn't, I mean, she's like-"
"We KNOW Hughes!" Ed interrupted. Waving a hand at you, he said, "Hughes, this is Akaro. He's studying to be a state alchemist. Akaro? This is Maes Hughes, he's a Lieutenant Colonel. And really annoying." He said, muttering the last part under his breath. If Hughes heard him, he gave no sign.
"Nice to meet you Akaro." He said, reaching out a hand and shaking yours. "So, you really want to be a state alchemist huh?" You nodded. "Well, good luck to that! I'm sure Ed and Al can help you get ready." He assured you. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Roy."
"Good. Tell him he's a self-obsessed jerk who won't live past next week if I have anything to say about it." Ed said with a smirk. Hughes grinned back.
"I'll repeat it word for word. See ya later guys!" With a small salute, he continued down the hallway.
"He was...interesting." You said after he was gone. Ed chuckled.
"Yeah right. Interesting is the understatement of the century! The guy's gone nuts over that kid of his." Al gave a metal shrug.
"He just loves his daughter Ed." You looked away as another wave of sadness washed over you.
Damn, how often is this going to happen? I've gotta snap out of it! He's gone! Yeah, I'm sad about it, but I can't just mope around, I have things to do!
Your thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the back of your head. Turning around, you saw Ed and Al standing behind you.
"Don't be ashamed about it Akaro, we went through the same thing." Ed said, his voice full of sympathy. Al nodded.
"It took us a long time to get past our mom's death, and you're doing a lot better than we did." he told you. You just nodded dully
. "C'mon, we need to find you some study material! You won't get to be a state alchemist without some serious back-breaking studying!" Ed said. You groaned.
"Great, I'm so good at school to." You said sarcastically.
"Well, we'd better make that true!" Ed said, taking off down the hall and calling over his shoulder, "Last one to reach the library has to carry all the books!"
You didn't know how big the books would be, but not wanting to find out the hard way, you sped off after him.
"Wait! No fair, you guys got a head start!" Yelled Al as he struggled to keep up with you.
"You cheated!" panted Ed. You just smirked at him.
"Consider it motivation to not give me so much homework!"
"I still can't get over how fast you are!" exclaimed Al. You shrugged.
"Grew up on a farm, remember? I had to out-run a lot of things."
"Like what?" Asked Ed. You quickly fell silent and turned around.
"So what kind of books do we need?" You asked, trying to change the subject. You didn't want to have to talk about having to hide whenever visitors showed up on the farm unexpected. Your father didn't want to make you have to wear your disquise at home.
Not that it makes much of a difference now... You thought, realizing that you'd probably be in your baggy clothes 24/7 for a while.
Turning to Ed you asked, "So how did I do the lightning thing?" Ed shrugged.
"I'm still working on that. Are you sure you didn't have a transmutation circle?" You nodded.
"Yeah, I know a little about alchemy, but I've never heard of doing it without a circle." Ed gave you a sly grin.
"Well you have now. I do it all the time." He said proudly. You stared.
"You're joking..."
"Nope. Pure fact. Ed doesn't need transmutation circles." Al told you. You continued to stare, before finally saying, "Show me."
"Here?" asked a shocked Ed. You nodded.
"If I see you do it, maybe I can do it again." You said simply. Ed sighed and walked over to to a burnt-out candle. clapping his hands, he held them over it. You watched in amazement as the candle wax became whole again.
"Awesome! And I can do that?" you asked, excited. Ed gave you a serious look.
"Don't forget what happened the last time you did it." He said sternly. You blinked.
Duh, don't be an idiot Aka. You killed someone! Don't just pass it off as something amazing You sighed and hung your head in guilt.
"I'm so stupid." You mumbled to the ground.
"Maybe you just need practice." Al said encouragingly. You smiled at him.
"Maybe..." You said softly. You heard a small thump on the table next to you. Turning, you saw that Ed had pulled a large stack of thick books off the wall. Staring at him, you said as pitiously as you could,
"This is everything I have to study to pass?" Ed grinned evilly.
"Of course not, this is only for tonight!" You groaned an collasped into a chair.
"That stupid letter better be good." You mumbled into the table. Ed was tsking at you.
"C'mon Akaro, excuses aren't going to ace you this test! Now open a book and start studying!" You looked at the pile, scanning through the titles. Picking one from the middle, you flipped through the first few pages in a rush, trying to find the right chapter.
"Just start with chapter one, it's no good to start in the middle." Al told you.You groaned and flipped back to the beginning, not too excited about all the small print you were seeing.
"Uh, Al and I are gonna go do some stuff, just wait here for a sec, okay?" Ed said.
You grunted in reply, too engrossed in the book- which was surprisingly intersting -to give a full sentence. You didn't even notice the sound of Al's armor as it clinked away.
But you did notice something else. Looking up, you gave a small yelp when you saw two big brown eyes staring back at you.
"Sorry!" The girl squeeked. "I didn't mean to startle you!" You looked at her more closely. Her hair brown and rather short, and she wore a pair of large glasses over her large eyes.
"I'm Librarian Sheska, sorry again for startling you." You shook your head.
"That's alright, I'm Akaro by the way." You told her, surprised at how easily you said your 'new' name.
"I was just wondering who was reading so many books! I've read these before, they're all about basic alchemy. Are you planning on taking the exam?" She asked. You nodded.
"Yeah, Ed got these for me."
"Oh! Mr. Elric is teaching you? Well then you're sure to pass! Mr. Elric is the youngest person to ever pass a state alchemist test!" Sheska told you with an excited squeek. You smiled.
"I hope so..."
"I'm sure you'll pass. Oh, I guess you might want to study though, sorry for bothering you!" Sheska said, walking away.
"It's okay." You called after her. Then, re-opening your book, you eagerly resumed reading.
Ed's POV- Akaro didn't even look up as you told him you and Al would be gone.
He must really want to be a state alchemist. At least he's doing it for good reasons you thought, thinking of all the jerks who just wanted military positions for power. You were glad you had friends in the military that were actually there to help people.
But people still call us dogs...
"What are we doing brother?" Al asked.
"To get the latest scoop on what's going on. Akaro needs to study, we might as well be too." You answered.
"So we're going to see Ross and Brosh?" Al asked.
"Who else? It's not like we'll get a straight answer out of Hughes, and there's no way in hell I'm asking Mustang." You answered.
"Brother," Al said sternly, "You should stop talking about Roy like that. He's really a good person." You rolled your eyes.
"Tch. Yeah, real saintly guy, Roy. 'All women under my protection are safe. But to be undermy protection, I must ask you wear a mini-skirt!'" You said dramatically, striking a pose and giving Al a mock-salute. Al shook his head and sighed.
"You need to act more mature if you're going to teach Aka." He said. You blinked a bit before giving him a suspicious look.
"Hey, you've called him Aka before, I heard you. What's that about?" Al's armor straightened up a bit.
"Uh, he mentioned something about people calling him Aka as a nickname." He said quickly. You raised an eyebrow.
"Why would he want a girl's name?" Al shrugged. "Aka also means red. Akaro said something about liking strawberries." He said.
"So they call him red...because he likes red fruit?" You asked slowly. Al shrugged again.
"I guess." was his simple answer. You decided to put it off for another time, because the two of you had finally reached Ross's office.
Knocking, you were answered by Brosh, a young man with messy dark-blonde hair.
"Oh! Mr. Elric sir!" He said surprised, giving you a salute. You waved you hand up.
"At ease. Is Ross here?" You asked.
"In here boys, come on in." Called a voice from inside. Brosh opened the door wider and admitted you and Al.
A woman with cropped black hair and dark eyes sat at a small desk, with a nameplate that had 'Lieutenant Maria Ross' engraved into it.
Ross stood for a moment and gave you a salute before sitting down and smiling.
"It's good to see the two of you are okay. How have your trips been going?" She asked warmly. You shrugged.
"They've been better. We got lost around Winderscup and ended up in Trezanga." Ross winced.
"I've heard of Trezanga, it's not a place you'd want to be comissioned." You laughed.
"Yeah, no kidding. We had to help a guy escape from there." She looked shocked.
"Really? Why?"
"I'll tell you about it later, but right now, I need information." You said, trying to speed this up. You didn't know how fast Akaro- Or I guess Aka now would finish that book, and you wanted to be back before he did. Ross nodded.
"Just name a subject."
"How about Scar?" You asked, sensing Al stiffen behind your chair. He needs to be less attached you thought. Ross was shaking her head.
"We haven't heard from him in a while. We think he's taking this time to help out those refugees you were talking about. No alchemist deaths have been reported either." She said.
Not yet at least... You thought, thinking about Aka's father. (yeah, ed's gonna start calling you aka now)
Poor guy, I wouldn't wish that on anyone you thought, not sure if you were talking about Hojo or Aka. Probably both.
"All right, anything out of the ordinary?" You asked. Ross studied her desk.
"Not that I'm aware of, but there has been some talk of a conspiracy building." She said.
"Oh yes, uh-I heard about it to." Added Brosh, trying to help. You rolled your eyes.
"So? Since when doesn't the military have a conspiracy after them?"
"Since most of them are suspected as murderers." Said Ross quietly. You looked up in surprise.
"I thought you said there wasn't-"
"I said there hadn't been any alchemist deaths recently. Most of these suspects are for deaths that occured half a year ago." Ross interrupted quietly. You studied your hands for a moment before standing.
"Thank you for the update report Lieutenant Ross." She nodded and gave you a salute.
"It was my pleasure Sir. Now, what about this Trezanga fellow?"
"Oh, him. His father worked for the state, and now he wants to. We're training him to be a state alchemist." You said. Ross looked surprised for a moment before smiling.
"Yes, well, good luck with that." You nodded.
"We'll see you later, kay?" You said. She and Brosh nodded. Exiting the office, you made a mad dash towards the library.
Aka's POV- You were surprised to turn the page and see...nothing.
Whoa, I'm already done? Since when do I read that fast? You thought in amazement. Picking up another book, you started reading it as well.
And finished it.
Picking up a third book, you read through it and were on the last few pages when Ed and Al came back.
Looking over you shoulder, Ed gasped.
"Hey, that's not the book you were suppossed to read!" He said accusingly. You turned and glared at him.
"Get a grip, I finished the last one so I figured I'd just read this one to." You snapped back.
"And you're almost done?" He asked. You shrugged.
It was confusing you to. You'd never read much, and when you did it was at much slower pace than this.
"Maybe it's because I only read books on alchemy." You said aloud.
"What do you mean?" Asked Al. You shrugged.
"I never needed to read in Trezanga, and when it was, it was only from alchemy books."
"Are you telling you've never read anything other than alchemy?" exclaimed Ed.
"I guess..."
Ed shook his head in disbelief. Looking over at the stack, he muttered. "That was actually supposed to last you a week, but at the rate you're going..." He broke off sighing.
"I guess this means I'll have to train you in lightning sooner than I thought." He told you. You blinked in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I wasn't planning on doing it for a couple of more weeks, but seeing how you're browsing through books anyway, I don't see why we can't add somehing extra." You smiled.
"Thanks, this is great!" You exclaimed. Ed smiled back.
"Well, you'd better get some-oh crap!" he broke off, smacking himself in the head.
"What's wrong Brother?" asked Al. Ed muttered something to the floor.
"What?" you asked. Ed looked up and gave you a guilty look.
"I don't know where you'll sleep..."
oooh! what a juicy ending! well, i'll leave you now to yearn for another story. until then!
-zago