and yet again, i update! now you guys can't complain.

disclaimer- i don't own fma. don't sue me.

but i do own aka. you can't sue me.

-----Part 11 - Exam -----

Al's POV: I wonder where Ed took Aka You thought. They'd been gone for about half an hour, and you didn't really know when they'd be back. But apparently before you thought.

"Full Metal Sir! What happened? Are you alright?" You heard a voice say. Worried, you hurried to the front hall to see Ed standing there with Aka on his back. Both were soaking wet.

"Brother! What's wrong with Aka? Is s-he okay?" You said, so worried that you almost said 'she' right in front of Ed. Ed gave you a weak smile.

"We kinda fell in the river, and I think Aka was more tired than we thought. Could you help me get him back to the dorm?" Ed asked.

"Oh, sure." You said, taking Aka off of Ed's back and holding her bridal-style.

"Thanks." Said Ed, rubbing his shoulder a bit.

"Did you have to carry him far?" You asked as you started back to the dorm. Ed shrugged.

"Not really, he wasn't as heavy as I thought he'd be." He said. Of course not, girls are lighter than boys You thought, but didn't dare say it aloud. Finally reaching the dorm, you laid Aka down on the couch.

"Hey Ed, isn't that your coat?" You asked, realizing what she was wearing. Again, Ed just shrugged.

"Yeah, he was pretty cold when I pulled him out of the river, I figured he needed it more than I did." You turned to face Ed.

"The river is kind of cold this time of year, you should get some rest too." You told him, concerned. (just a head's up, when Ed and Al met Aka in Trezaga, it was late winter. so it's about early spring now. sorry, forgot to mention that) Ed nodded and crawled into his bed. Looking back to Aka, you went to pull Ed's jacket off of her. But to your surprise, she just jerked away and pulled the jacket closer around her.

Does she- like Ed? You thought. You knew she and Ed were becoming good friends, but you didn't know how good. It must be hard for her if it's true You thought sadly. Ed doesn't even know she's a girl Youmomentarily toyed withtheurge to tell Ed the truth. No! Aka might not make it to the exam if people know she's a girl, and if she did, it'd just make it harder for her Sighing, you stood up and left.

I hope you pass the exam Aka. Maybe then you'll be able to tell everyone the truth...

-----Fast Forward: 1 1/2 Weeks Later-----

Aka's POV: You got up early, nervous as hell. Exam Day, Exam Day, Exam Day You kept thinking nervously.

"Dammit! I'm too nervous! I'll choke for sure!" You groaned.

"Aww shut it Aka, we all know it won't happen!" Ed said, annoyed by your lack of confidence. You, Ed and Al were all getting an early breakfast. Just then, Hughes and Roy came up.

"Hey Aka! Ready for the big, hard, nasty, long, painful exam?" Asked Roy. You looked up and glared at him.

"I was, and then you got here."

"Really? Well, glad I could help. So anyway, Full Metal- you're bet's on Aka, right?" Ed looked confused.

"What bet?" He asked. Hughes smacked his head.

"Oh man! You guys missed the last exam, didn't you? I guess you wouldn't know then..."

"Know what?" Asked Al. Roy smirked and held up a small bag. Shaking it, you heard a jingle of coins inside.

"Every exam, there's always a few well-known alchemists who compete. Here at Central, we all put little bets on who we think will win. This year, most of the bets are on Aka."

"What? Why'd you have to go and say that?" You cried, your head falling to the table. Roy and Hughes laughed.

"Why, do you want us to bet on someone else?" Asked Hughes. Your head popped back up.

"No! Well, maybe-I mean-" You broke off, blushing as everyone started laughing. Groaning, your head fell to the table again. "You guys are supposed to be encouraging me! Not freaking me out!" You whined. Hughes grinned and patted your head.

"Just consider it motivation!" He said cheerfully. "Elisia's my motivation! Hey! how about she becomes your motivation to! I have plenty of picture if you want to-"

"NO!" You yelled, trying to stop him. "Uh, I mean-don't you want her to stay your motivation? It just isn't as special if she's someone else's." Hughes shrugged and returned the picture book he'd been drawing out.

"Well, good luck anyway!" He said walking off.

"Yeah, I've got a big bet on you're head, so don't screw up!" Called Mustang as he followed Hughes.

"Why me?" You whined.

"Aka, you'd better eat something. You need to eat some good food for the tests." Al told you. Ed nodded.

"Yeah, you're dead if you don't get some good food inside you." You sighed and finished your meal.

"We'd better go, the written exam is going to start soon." Al told you.

"What are you guys gonna do?" You asked. Ed grinned.

"We'll be waiting outside for you." You smiled.

"Thanks guys." Ed waved his hand.

"Don't waste your time thanking us! Get going before you're late!" You nodded and ran off, hearing Al's 'Good luck!' as you ran. Coming to a large set of doors, you entered to see long rows of desks. There were some papers in every seat, and some people were already there. Ignoring some of the weird looks the guys were giving you, you sat down and waited.

Finally, a man wearing a military uniform entered and announced, "The State Alchemist Written Exam is now in progress. You will have one hour to fill out the test in front of you. You may now begin."

Picking up your pencil, you read the first question:

When using alchemy, what would you substitute for zircon if you had no supply for it?

Sighing, you filled in the answer. This is gonna be a while...

-----Fast Forward: Two Hours -----

"How do you feel?"

"Like my wrist has turned into a mutant claw."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums up how I felt." Ed said nonchalantly. You grinned at him.

"Think I'll remember this to?" He nodded.

"Yeah, it's not something you can just forget."

"I remember the written test to. The questions were pretty hard." said Al.

"Oh yeah, you didn't drop out till the second test, did you?" You asked. Al nodded.

"Yeah, Al didn't have to do the second one...but it's not that bad!" Ed added hastily, seeing your worried look. Then, getting a thoughtfully look on his face, he bent down to some nearby bushes and grabbed some weird looking plants. Coming back, Ed suddenly grabbed your arm and pulled up the sleeve, rubbing the plant all over it.

"Ed! What're you-IS THAT POISON IVY?" You yelled. Ed ignored you and kept rubbing it on your arm. Jerking it away, you quickly pulled your sleeve back down.

"What the hell was that for!" you yelled. Ed just shrugged and looked away.

"We'd better get back, the second test will start soon." Al intervened, trying to avoid a fight. Still grumbling, you re-entered Central and headed for the room Ed had told you about. As you walked inside, you saw that they had made the room extremely dark. Squinting through your sunglasses, you saw that a strange chair stood in the middle of the room. For some weird reason, it only had one leg. Suddenly, a voice came out of the darkness.

"Don't worry, the chair will hold. It was made by a special kind of alchemy, and if you yourself are skilled in alchemy, it will let you sit there."

Slowly, you walked to the chair and carefully sat down. To your relief, it didn't fall over. So far so good... Squinting again, you saw a table in front of you with dark figures sitting at it.

"State your name." Came a voice near the left.

"Akaro Maron." You said. You felt a slight vibration from the chair.

"Do not lie, the chair can also tell us if you are."

A lie detector...crap, what will I do now? Thinking quickly, you said, "Well, I guess it's not my official name. I was adopted, and I never really learned my real name."

"Adopted? Oh yes, I recognize your last name. Hojo, right? I had no idea he had a son..." Came a voice from the right.

"Well, it's been a while since he got military work." You said.

"I see. Why do you want to become a state alchemist?" You'd actually been expecting this one.

"There is something I do not know, and it concerns alchemy. If I become a State Alchemist, I will be able to understand that something." You knew you were being vague, but you had a feeling that going into detail was against the military's wishes. Maybe they knew it too, because they continued right into the next question.

"Why do you wear sunglasses indoors?" You wondered how to answer this, and then suddenly remembered something. During hand-to-hand combat with Ed yesterday, he'd made a mirror-like gadget and made the sun blind you of his incoming attack.

"My eyes were recently damaged by the sun. I keep seeing spots everywhere without my sunglasses."

"Really? And the clothes? It's rather warm to be wearing such clothing."

Oh crap, what am I supposed to- But broke off your train of thought, remembering Ed's Ivy-Attack in the park. Pulling up your sleeve, you saw that there was now a large red rash on your arm. Holding it up for the people to see, you said, "I got in some poison ivy, and I just can't stop scratching. I thought maybe if I wore a lot of clothes..."

"Interesting." Answered a voice. "You seem to be getting into a lot of accidents." You smiled weakly.

"Preparing for the Alchemy Exam isn't exactly a walk in the park." You heard a low chuckle from the middle of the table.

"True enough. You may leave now." It said in a deep, yet strangely carefree voice. (guess who) Nodding, you stood up and left. Going outside, you almost fell over as Ed and Al tackled you.

"Aka! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you alright? I was kinda worried about the exam, did you-"

"I think I did okay guys." You interrupted. Grinning at Ed, you said, "Thanks Ed, you gave me some good answers." Ed smiled back weakly.

"Sorry about that. I was kinda worried you wouldn't have any ideas." You smiled, but then became serious again.

"You never told me what the third test would be."

"Well, that's because we don't know." Ed answered.

"What? I thought you-"

"The last test is called the 'Practical Exam.' But they change it for every exam, so past test takers don't know what it'll be." Al explained. Ed nodded.

"Yeah, for me, they gave us a practice area and told us to do what we wanted, but I know that's not what they did for the last exam." You sighed. I wonder what it'll be this time.

"Hey! Aka!" came a yell. Turning, you saw Havoc run up to you.

"Hey kid! Great job on passing the first two tests. Just got word from Roy that the next one'll be in about five minutes at the arena outside. See ya there!" You tried to say something, but Havoc was already walking away. You looked back at the Elrics with a worried face.

"Five minutes? I'm gonna be late!"

"Well then let's go!" Yelled Ed, running past you. You hurried to catch up and heard the clank of Al's armor as he followed.

I wonder what will happen now...but I've come too far to go back You thought.

Reaching the arena, you saw that you and only a few other alchemist from the earlier exams had made it. There were about five of you all together. Roy stood on the arena with a microphone in hand.

"Ladies! And guys I'm not trying to impress, I am Colonel Roy Mustang, otherwise known as the Flame Alchemist!"

"Gimme a break, what a narcissistic asshole." Grumbled Ed. You could have sworn Roy gave a glance in Ed's direction when he said that, but it was so fast that not even you were sure.

"For the Practical Exam," Roy continued, "all testers will face off against military personal. Whoever is left standing will become the next State Alchemist!" You heard a murmur of surprise from the military personal watching.

"Who will we be facing against?" Asked one of the testers. Roy grinned.

"Three State Alchemists. Myself, the Strong Arm Alchemist (that'sArmstrong in case you don't know)and the Full Metal Alchemist."

"What? Roy, you jackass! You never told me about this!" Ed yelled. Roy just gave him a smirk.

"I tried to find you, but you're just so short..." He said tragically. You smiled as you saw Ed's body go rigid.

Let's see...3...2...1-

"WHO YOU CALLIN SO SHORT THAT THEIR SHOE SIZE WOULDN'T FIT A BABY!" Roared Ed, trying to claw his way out of Al's grip. Roy rolled his eyes.

"Consider your pocketwatch in danger if you don't get up here." He said. Grumbling, Ed walked over and jumped up onto the arena. Armstrong was already there. Following the other testers, you went up as well. Looking across at the others, you saw Roy whispering something to Ed. Ed glanced in your direction and nodded at Roy.

What was that about...? But you didn't have much time to think about it, because a loud whistle was suddenly heard and the three State Alchemists charged forward.

Armstrong aimed a punch in your direction, and you rolled out of the way. You heard a loud cry and glanced back to see that one of the testers was already unconscious.

"Is this even legal?" You yelled, dodging another attack- one of Roy's this time.

"Beats me! Roy, I'm not going to jail with you if it is!" You heard Ed yell.

Getting sick of dodging, you made a fist and summoned your sword, using it as a shield to block Roy's explosion. Jumping backwards, you slammed your sword into the ground, sending a shockwave of red electricity towards the mob of alchemists. Ed, Roy and a few of the testers jumped to avoid it. But it hit Armstrong and another tester head on. The tester fell to the ground, but Armstrong's body just went rigid.

At least he's paralyzed You thought, quickly dodging another explosion. As one of the remaining testers stopped to catch a breath, Ed came up from behind him and hit him in the head with his metal arm, causing him to collapse.

Now it was just you, Ed, Roy and two other testers. Ed went after one of the two and Roy sent a spark in your direction, but swinging your sword like a baseball bat, you hit the spark and sent it spiraling backwards.

Roy sidestepped to avoid it, but it caught another alchemist head on. A second later, you heard a loud 'Oof!' and saw that Ed had knocked out the last tester. Then he turned and gave you a smile, Roy giving you a smirk as well. Walking over, he grabbed your arm and held it above your head, like you'd one a boxing competition.

"It is official! Akaro Maron will become the next State Alchemist!"

you know, i wondered what i could have done if Aka didn't pass the exams...

always questioningher own ideas-

zago