ah jeez...looks like i've been dead for a while. but i got so much written! seriously, i'm gonna update like four times tonight. or, at least, that's what i'm gonna try to do. anyway, let's get on with it-
i'm zago
ed is ed.
aka is an ishbalan named aka.
zago owns aka.
zago doesn't own ed.
zago wouldn't mind being owned by ed. but she's not.
-----Part 9 - First Night-----
You stared at Ed, a little dazed. "What?" you asked numbly. Ed turned his sheepish look to the floor.
"I don't know where you'll be sleeping." He mumbled.
"Brother, I can't believe we forgot!" Al exclaimed. You were the first to recover.
"No big, is there a couch I can crash on or something?" you asked. Ed looked thoughtful.
"Well, yeah I mean there are couches around Central, but I don't know if that would work..." he said. Then he snapped his fingers.
"I got it! Al and I have a sort of dorm here, its not all that big, but there's a couch in there. Why don't you stay there?"
"Brother, Aka doesn't have to do that, he can have my bed. Its not like I really need it." Al added softly. You shook your head.
"I don't care if you don't need it. I may be a freeloader now, but there's no way in hell I'm taking your space. Keep your bed, I'll just crash on the couch."
Ed shrugged. "Whatever, your loss." He said, more to the air than you. You rolled your eyes.
Gee Ed, thanks a lot for caring you thought sarcastically. Then you grinned evilly.
"Okay then, but for your sake I hope your room isn't far." You said evilly.
Ed looked confused. "Why's that?"
"Oh, nothing, just...remember the race!" You said, breaking off into a run.
Eds POV- "Oh nothing, just...remember the race!" Aka shouted before dashing off.
The race? What's he...?
"Oh shit, AKA YOU TRAITOR!" You yelled.
"What's wrong brother?" Al asked hurriedly. You glared at the pile of books.
"I lost the race, remember?" you said, recalling the dash to the library.
"Yeah, so why-oh." Al finished. "Well, its your own fault for giving him so much work brother." You glared up at him.
"What is that supposed to mean? You remember how hard we had to study for this test! If you ask me, Id say were already going easy on him!"
"Maybe," Al replied, "Or maybe he's just learning it faster than we did."
That's true You thought to yourself. He read those books in record time, and he says it was easy!
Outloud, you said, "Yeah, well, you're still helping me carry the books."
"What? That's not fair, I'm not the one who lost the race!" Al cried. You shook a finger at him.
"Yeah, but you didn't beat Aka either, so technically we both lost."
"Brother, your logic doesn't even make sense." Al said matter-of-factly. You snorted.
"Fine. How's this then? You help me carry the books, or the next time you get broken, you can fix yourself!" Al grumbled, but picked up some of the books.
"This is all I'm taking brother, no more and no less." He told you, walking off before you could reply. Rolling your eyes, you picked up the remainder of the books and trail after him.
Akas POV- Heh heh, serves Ed right for giving me so much damn homework you thought evilly. Then you realized something. Coming to a quick stop, you looked around carefully.
Uh-oh you thought. I'm lost! Kicking yourself for your own stupidity, you tried desperately to find something familiar.
Suddenly, you felt a sharp pain in the back of your head. Turning around, you saw a book on the floor nearby.
"Ow what was-OW!" You yelled as another book hit you straight in the face, knocking you backwards.
"Ha! That's what you get for trying to make a butler out of me!" Came Ed's voice.
Growling, you shot up and threw a book in the direction of his voice.
"Ow! Hey, what'd ya do that for?" Yelled Ed. You glared at him.
"Take a wild guess dumbass!" You yelled. "What you throw gets thrown back!"
"Ed, Aka, please stop fighting!" Al begged. You and Ed continued to glare at each other. Al sighed.
"I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice..." He said. Then, faster than you could realize what was going on, Al had picked Ed up and thrown him over his shoulder, and you were now being carried under his arm.
"Al! Put me down!" Yelled Ed.
"In a second brother." He said calmly. You and Ed struggled in his grip, but he gave no signs of letting go. Finally, you sighed and gave up, letting Al drag you down the hallway.
After a while, he stopped in front of a door and threw you and Ed in it. You landed on a bed, and Ed...landed on top of you.
Blushing furiously, you threw him off and made a dash towards the door, but Al closed it before you could make it. Slamming your fist onto the door, you yelled,
"Al! Let us out!"
"Only when you and Ed have said sorry to each other. I'm going to go talk to Armstrong." Al replied calmly.
"What? You're just going to leave me behind? I thought you'd never distrust our brotherly bond!" yelled Ed. Al sighed through the door.
"Funny how you never bring up that brotherly bond unless you want me to do something for you. It's only for a few minutes Ed, you'll live."
Ed tried to protest, but you could hear the clanking of Al's armor move away.
"Shut it Ed, he's already gone." You said, tossing a pillow at his head. (is it me, or did that freakishly rhyme?)
Ed glared at you and threw the pillow back. You caught it in mid-air and ran towards Ed ready to hit him with it. Ed seized another pillow and blocked it, so you tried to hit lower. Ed blocked that to, but this time he sent a fist towards your head.
Stepping back, you let it swipe air as you took advantage of his lack of balance, throwing yourself at his stomach and knocking him over. Standing over him, you slammed a pillow into his face with an evil grin.
"Ha, score for me midget!" You yelled. Ed's body seemed to freeze.
Then, in movements faster that you could imagine, Ed shot up and pinned you to the ground...knocking your glasses off in the process.
Ed stopped over you, his gold eyes boring into your now-revealed red ones. You hurriedly tried to shut them, but you knew it was already too late.
Crap You thought. Opening one eye, you saw that Ed was still staring at your face.
"Uh, Ed?" You asked softly, "Could you, um-get off me?"
Ed scrambled off of you, but kept a fixed gaze on your eyes.
"Your an Ishbalan?" Ed asked, still staring. You nodded, wishing you could look away from his eyes.
"How...and alchemy...what the heck...?" He stammered, as if unsure which question he wanted to ask first. He blinked in confusion, and you were finally able to look away.
"I was born Ishbalan, but that doesn't mean I practice their beliefs." You said.
Ed still looked confused, so you continued.
"I was just a baby when my village was attacked. My real parents must have left me behind trying to escape. Hojo was one of the alchemists sent by the State. He found me and got me out of there."
"So an Ishbalan was adopted by an alchemist..." Ed said to himself. You nodded.
"Pretty much. I look like an Ishbalan, but I was raised on alchemy."
"So that's why you cover up? To hide your dark skin?" Ed asked.
"Yeah, so people uh-dont see my dark skin." You said hurriedly.
Great lying Aka, I'm sure he believed that You told yourself. But Ed seemed to buy it.
"I wondered about your weird clothes, I thought it was because of the cold weather but..." He trailed off. Another thought hit you.
"You won't tell anyone, will you?" You asked hurriedly. Ed shot you a surprised look. "I know Ishbalans are at odds with the military, but I have to make it to State Alchemist! If they know-"
"Know what?" Ed interrupted. Grinning, he said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just know that I'm teaching a guy with eye problems and, uh-weird skin conditions alchemy."
You stared for him for a long time before smiling.
"Thanks Ed." Ed's face suddenly became serious again.
"Does Al know about this?" He asked. You gulped.
Yeah, just a different version of it You thought. Outloud, you said,
"Um, yeah my glasses fell off when I first met him." Ed nodded.
"Yeah, I'm kinda surprised he wouldn't tell me, but he has a soft spot for Ishbalans." You looked at the ground.
"Do you?" You asked softly. Ed stared at you for a while.
"Look at me Aka." He finally said. You obeyed.
"I don't care what you look like. You use alchemy for the right reasons, and you want to be a State Alchemist for good reasons. As long as that stays true, I can help you." He said, staring straight into your eyes. Then he broke into a smirk.
"But you'll have to get rid of that attitude if you want to be better than me." You smirked back.
"I already am." You said, making Ed cock an eyebrow.
Wow, he looks cute when he does that...SHIT! DAMMIT AKA, WAKE UP!
"We'll see about that tomorrow." Ed said. You blinked, confused.
"What does that mean?" You demanded, suspicious of Ed's plan. He just waved a hand at you.
"Oh, nothing, nothing." Ed said in an annoying voice.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"I don't hear any yelling, so the two of you have either stopped fighting or killed each other." Al said through the door. You were about to answer back, but Ed grabbed your arm. Putting a finger to his lips, he quietly led you to the side of the door. Catching on, you grinned and nodded at Ed.
"Ed? Aka? Are you in there?" came Al's voice again. Slowly, the door opened, and Al cautiously walked in.
As soon as you were sure he was totally in the room, you pounced on the door, slamming it shut. Ed jumped on Al's back and tore his head off, throwing it to you. You caught it and ran out the door.
"AKA! No fair!" yelled Al's head. Deciding you'd ran far enough, you stopped and flicked Al's 'forehead.'
"Yeah, well-it wasn't fair that you locked me and Ed in that room." You said smugly. Al's head groaned.
"I knew you'd come to get me for that!" He said sulkily. You grinned, but then made a serious face.
"Al, can you really see me right now?" You asked, no longer speaking in your disguised voice. Al seemed to notice.
"Yeah, why? What's the matter?" He asked. You dropped your voice to a whisper.
"There's something you need to know."
"Other than you being a girl?" He asked. You nodded, looking at the ground sadly.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but..." You trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"I trust you Aka, please trust me." Al said. You looked at his head surprised.
"Its true." Al continued, "You're the first person who didn't know me before I became like this, but still treated me like a normal person. Its one of the nicest things anyone has done for me." You smiled.
"Okay Al, I trust you." With that, you pulled your glasses off your face, making sure that Al got a full look of your eyes. You heard his head gasp.
"An Ishbalan!" He whispered. You nodded and quickly put your glasses back on.
"Ed found out by accident, and I felt bad about not telling you." You told him, explaining how Ed had knocked your glasses off. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I told Ed you already knew." You said sadly, ashamed of yourself for not trusting Al.
Al's head was silent for a while. Then, finally, he said, "It's okay I guess. But this is the last secret, right?" Al asked suspiciously. You laughed.
"I hope so. Things are complicated enough as it is.
"What's complicated?" Came a voice. You froze and whirled around to seeHawkeye, strolling down the hall. In surprise, you accidentally dropped Al's head.
"Hey!" He cried before his head hit the ground with a clank.
"Sorry!"
Riza had now reached you and was regarding you with an interested look.
"You might want to walk around with your head on your own body Alphonse." She said calmly, bending down and retriveing Al's head from the floor.
"Don't blame me, it's Ed and Aka's fault." He said. You glared at his head.
"Well if someone hadn't locked me in a friggin room with the jerk, I might have been a bit more merciful." You said smugly.
"Who're you callin a jerk?" came a yell. Looking around Riza, you saw Ed coming down the hallway, dragging Al's body with him. (i know in the anime the armor's waaayyy too heavy, but bear with me. pertend it's the right arm)
"Good point. You're more of a moron than a jerk." You said.
"Ha ha, real funny Aka." Ed answered.
"You should act a bit more mature if you're going to tutor him Ed." Riza told him. "I'd advise leaving your brother's head alone until Aka is finished with his studies."
"Yeah! What she said!" Al added as Riza returned his head to the armor. You laughed.
"Yeah Ed, act a little more like my tutor!"
"Aww shut it Aka." Ed growled. Al put a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Easy brother, we're all just a little tired. Why don't we just all go to bed." Al told him calmly. Ed rolled his eyes and shook off Al's hand.
"Yeah, whatever." Ed grumbled as he walked down the hall. When he was out of earshot, you sent a worried look at Al.
"Is he really mad?" You asked. Al's armor shrugged.
"Ed has a short temper, but he usually gets over it just as fast. He'll probably be back to normal in the morning." He told you reassuringly. Riza nodded as well.
"Yes, even Roy can't make Ed hate him forever. Fullmetal is quick to anger, but quicker to forgive." She said.
Quicker to forgive... You thought. That's what I need to work on
"C'mon, I'll take you back to the room." Al said. You smiled up at him, grateful to him for not asking if you were lost.
Too bad Ed can't think things like that through You thought sarcastically.
"I'm envious of you Aka." Al suddenly said. You looked at him in surprise.
"Of what?"
"Being so brave. When my mother died...I totally fell apart. Ed's the only thing that kept me togethter. But you...you've totally taken control of your life. You're being so brave, I wish I was more like you."
You shook your head. "No you don't, there's a ton of stuff about me you don't even know about. And I'm actually not handling things that well. There have been so many times where I almost went over the edge, and each time gets harder. I don't know how much longer-"
"But you haven't gone over yet." Al interrupted. "And I promise I won't let you. Ed won't either. Neither of us want you to lose Aka, and we're not going to let you. So don't even think about it!" Al finished fiercely.
You blinked for a few seconds, but then broke out into a grin. "Okay then, State Alchemist or bust!" You said, punching the air. Al laughed and lead you to the dorm room.
Knocking on the door, you were greeted by Ed's 'Open it yourself.' Rolling your eyes, you entered to find Ed lying on his bed, already half asleep.
Deciding not to wake him, you quietly walked to the couch and lay down, pulling one of the cushions under your head as a pillow. Closing your eyes, you heard Al's armor clank past you as he sat down on his own bed.
"Aka, are you sure you don't want to sleep here instead?" Al whispered. You pertended to be asleep already. Al sighed and lay down.
"Fine, your loss." He said, copying Ed's line from earlier. You couldn't help but smile into the pillow.
You tried to fall asleep, but were having trouble. You kept thinking about all the weird stuff that had been happening.
Ed, your disguise, Ed, the alchemy exam, Ed, and how...FLIPPIN FREEZING IT WAS!
Damn, why is Central so cold! You'd think with a fire alchemist here and all... You thought, shivering. You could pratically feel the goose bumps popping up.
Note to self: Never leave home without a blanket ever again
Just then, as if on cue, a blanket suddenly covered you.
What the- Opening your eyes just a little, you caught a glimpse of a golden braid dissappearing under the covers of Ed's bed. You smiled, curling up under the blanket.
Maybe Ed's not so bad... You thought as you finally drifted into sleep.
"Aka...AKA! WAKE UP!" Yelled a voice in your ear. Your eyes snapped open to see Ed hovering over you. You yelped in surprise, sitting up quickly and accidentally comming in collision with Ed's head.
"Ow! Watch it!" He cried, lifting his arm to grab his head.
"Well, don't wake me up like that!" You retorted, rubbing your own head. "Jeez, you'd think it was yourhead that was made of metal!"
"Yeah, well your skull isn't exactlyas soft as a feather either." Ed growled.
"Why are we up so early anyway?" You asked. Ed blinked in surprise.
"How do you know it's early?"
"Hello? Farmer guy, remember? We always wake up early." You answered, acting like it would be obvious. Ed shrugged and stood up.
"Well, get up anyway, we're doing some training." Now you were interested.
"Training? Ya should've said so! Let's go!" You said, seizing Ed's arm and dragging him out of the dorm, passing a laughing Al as you did.
"Hey Aka, any idea of why you did that weird lightning thing?" Ed asked. You two were now standing outside of Central in a large makeshift arena. You casually put your arms behind your head and smiled at Ed.
"What if I do?" You said teasingly. Ed looked surprised.
"You figured it out? Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded. You shrugged.
"You didn't ask." Ed sighed and rubbed his head.
"Alright then, I'll ask now. How did you do the lightning thing, and without a circle?"
"I was struck by lightning." You said simply.
Ed stared at you for a while. "Lightning...?" He said, confused. You nodded.
"One of those weird assassins hit me with lightning, but my body absorbed it. I guess that means I have lightning in my body now, which explains the lack of need for a circle." Ed shook his head.
"Okay, apart from how weird that is, I guess it makes sense. But the question is, can you do it again?" You shrugged.
"I dunno, but hey- that's why you're here, right?" You said cheerfully.
Ed sighed started to walk away. "Hey! Where are you going?" You cried. Ed ignored you and continued to walk. You snorted and glared after him.
"Fine, big help you are!" You yelled before turning around to head back to Central. Just then, you heard a strange sound coming from behind you.
Turning around, you immediately threw yourself to the side as Ed's now-sword-arm came crashing down where you'd been standing.
"What the hell are you doing?" You yelled. Ed ignored you again and made a swing for your stomach.
Throwing yourself to the side again, you narrowly avoided the cut. Ed quickly recovered and made yet another swing for you, but this time you were ready.
Sidestepping his arm, you then jumped on his shoulder with one foot and launched yourself behind him. Without thinking, you made you hand into a fist and then spread your hand wide, forming a small ball of red electricity.
Grabbing the ball, the light spread into the form of a giant sword and then hardened to become a real one. You froze and stared at it, unable to beleive you'd really done that.
The sword was wider than your head, and sticking it in the ground, was almost as tall as you were, yet strangely light. The hilt was black with a cloth-like strip wrapped around it, and the blade was a shiny silver. Strange red markings ran up and down the blade.
"Nice, I expected something a little smaller, but this works to." came Ed's voice from behind you.
You jumped a bit, not realizing he'd moved. Then you glared at him.
"Why the hell were you after me?"
"To test you. I figured your impulse to stop me would make it easier to control your power. Though I gotta admit, I didn't expect that to happen. I thought it'd be more of a lazer, like last time." Ed answered.
You stared at him, dumbfounded. He smiled. "C'mon, I think they're serving breakfast now." You smirked and lifted your sword to poke it in Ed's face.
"Fine, but there better be pancakes." You said.
Ed let out a forced laugh and nudged the sword away from him. "Uh...yeah-sure thing Aka." He said a bit shakily as he started off towards the kitchen.
You started to follow, but stopped looking at your sword.
"Um, Ed? How do I-"
"You should be able to absorb it back into you body." Ed answered without even turning around.
Gripping the handle again, you squeezed it and watched as it glowed a red light and shot into your hand. You let out a low whistle.
"Hurry up! As soon as breakfast is over we get right back to work!" Ed called. You grinned and ran to catch up with him.
"You're such a slave driver." You said sarcastically. Ed glanced at you and smirked.
"Only with annoying people." You were about to say something when...
...i popped out and killed you all! kidding, that would make a really short series! anyway, i just wanna say sorry again for the lack of updates. damn pink hippos...JUST TRY AND DISTRACT ME NOW! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!...more maniacal laughter...some more...pant okay, i'm done.