i'm not even gonna try and excuse myself for this, i'm just going to embrace the fact that i'm lazy. anyway...

don't sue me, i don't own Ed. or FMA altogether.or France. that comes later.

i have managed to actually come up with an original thought, whom i've dubbed 'Aka' don't steal her.

i also bought a new harvest moon game, so don't steal that either. not that i'd let you.

-----Part 15-Fresh Start-----

Recap-Ed stormed out after you stopped Vharley. He and Aka later met up in a farm field and Ed told Aka that he didn't hate her and still wanted to be her friend.

Start- Al's POV:
Where are they? You thought, worried. It had been a while since Ed had left, and there was still no word from Aka.

I hope they show up soon... You thought. Then, as if on cue, Aka came bursting through the door, gasping for breath.

"Aka! What's-"

"Hide me!" She interrupted, running behind you. Before you could ask anything else, Ed ran in, also out of breath.

"Where is she Al?" He demanded.

"Wh-what do you mean brother?" You asked. Was I wrong? You thought worridly, Does Ed hate Aka after all? Ed made a fist with his hand.

"Don't give me that crap Al, I saw her run in here! Now where is she?"

Suddenly, you heard a faint giggle from behind you.

She's...laughing?

"Aha!" Yelled Ed, darting under your arm. Turning around, you saw that Ed was giving Aka a noogie, Aka gasping for breath between laughs.

"Stop laughing!" Ed yelled, "I'm not that short!"

"Yes you are!" Aka gasped.

"Am not! You're shorter than I am!"

"What? Since when are you a human measuring stick?"

"I'm not! I'm just stating the obvious!"

"Oh, I get it. It's because you're only a foot tall."

"WHAT? Take that back!"

"MAKE ME!" Aka yelled, jerking herself out of Ed's grip.

"You're at least a foot shorter than me!" Yelled Ed.

"Aw shut it, that's not true!" Aka yelled back. Raising her right fist, she tried to punch Ed. He sidestepped to avoid it. Aka sent another punch, and this time Ed just grabbed her wrist. Trying to avoid too much violence, you quickly intervened.

"So...are you two-um-friends again?" You asked quickly. Ed and Aka glanced at you and then looked at each other.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Ed said, smiling a bit. You sighed in relief and then chuckled, noticing something.

"Apparantly good friends." You said, still laughing.

"What do you mean?" Aka asked.

"Yeah Al, what's so funny?" Ed asked, suspicious. You didn't answer, but pointed to the space between Ed and Aka. The two of them looked down and started blushing as they realized that Ed was still holding Aka's wrist. You laughed again, causing them to blush even more and jerk their hands away.

"I'm glad you two are friends again." Al said happily.

Aka's POV: Ed suddenly rubbed his eyes and you looked at him worriedly.

"You okay?" you asked. Ed shrugged.

"Yeah, just kinda worn out. Weird day..."

"Sorry about that." You answered.

"The girl thing? I already said-"

"No, I mean the pocketwatch thing. Looks like I kinda slipped up, huh?"

"But you handled it so well!" Al said, "That locater circle worked perfectly."

"Maybe," You said, "But if you guys hadn't shown up when you did, I probably wouldn't have made it."

"Yeah, well- just be more careful from now on." Ed said, yawning. "Oh, and you're buying me breakfast tomorrow." You laughed.

"I guess it's the least I can do, but with the way you eat...heck-I'll be broke!"

"What do you mean be broke? You havn't spent a dime yet! Me n Al have been paying for everything!"

"Gimme a break! It's only been like seven hours! Wait- isn't all our money in a joint account thingy?" You suddenly asked thoughtfully.

"Oh, I guess so." Al answered. Ed pouted.

"Aww man, so even if you buy breakfast it's still my money..." He said, trailing off as he broke into another yawn.

"We should all get some rest." Al said, "Tomorrow we have a lot of research to do."

"Yeah we'll- wait a sec, where's Aka going to sleep?" Ed suddenly asked. Looking around, you saw that, yet again, there were only two beds. Al shrugged.

"I guess we could get another room..."

"Does it really matter?" You asked. The Elrics stared at you, making you blush. "I mean, it's kind of a waste of money if there's only three of us..." you muttered.

"But what about when you and Ed have to change clothes?" Al asked. Now Ed was blushing to. "We'll just do it in the closet or something..." He muttered, "But what will you wear from now on Aka? It seems kind of pointless to be wearing that kind of stuff if you don't need to look like a boy anymore."

"But what about my skin?" You asked, "What if people don't like Ishbalans?"

"No offense Aka," Al said, "But I don't think you're an Ishbalan unless you practice the beliefs."

Ed nodded encouragingly. "Yeah, if anyone has a problem with it, we'll just rearrange their face!" He said, making you laugh.

"The scary thing is that I actually took that as a compliment." You said, giggling. "As for clothes, I still have some stuff from Trezanga. They should still fit okay."

"But where are you gonna sleep?" Al asked. Looking around the room, you saw that there were two beds, but no couches.

"Uh...I'll just put some blankets on the floor and-"

"Aka, no!" Al interrupted, "Please, take my bed! I really don't need it! I feel bad enough for making you take the couch at Central!"

"Whoa, hand on a sec Al." You said, "First off, you didn't make me do anything, the couch was my idea, remember? And second off, I don't care if you don't need it. You're the one who paid for it, so you're the one who gets it."

"But all our money is-"

"Drop it Al, she's not going to back down." Ed interrupted. "He- argh, I'm never gonna get used to this. She's too stubborn, you'll never win." Giving Ed an annoyed look, you hit him over the head. "Ow! What'd I do?" He yelped.

Rolling your eyes, you pried some sheets off of Al's bed and tossed them on the floor.

"See Al? You're still giving me your blankets and stuff."

"That's not the same thing..." He muttered. You smiled up at him.

"I'm glad you care, but it's really okay Al." You said sweetly. Al sighed.

"Fine...but promise you won't be tired tomorrow." He said. You nodded, giving him a mock salute.

"Promise."

"Enough talk, I'm tired." Ed said, throwing himself onto his bed. Giggling, you laid down on your makeshift bed and snuggled under the covers.

"Night guys." You called.

"Night Aka." They answered in unison. Smiling, you hugged your pillow and was soon asleep.

Ed's POV: You were having trouble sleeping. You were tired, but you couldn't get to sleep. So much had happened...

Turning over for the millionth time, you looked at the floor where Aka was sleeping. Moonlight came through an open over, lighting her face and hair that fell around her head.

You'd always tried to imagine how she would look without her glasses and bandana, but it looked nothing like this. Even though you'd thought of her looking like a boy, she looked nothing like it. Aka didn't really look like anything you'd ever seen before.

And yet...she was the same. She was still the best friend who Al liked. She was still the friend who laughed at the simplest things. She was still the best friend who bugged you about your height. Even though she was a girl...she was still the friend...who made you feel so happy when she was around.

For some weird reason, you weren't even mad at her anymore. Watching her now, you couldn't imagine ever being mad at her. You watched Aka for a bit longer before you blinked and fell asleep.

Aka's POV
Opening your eyes slowly, you sat up and looked around. The room was empty, and Ed had actually taken the time to make his bed. Glancing at the window, you saw that the sun was still getting up, so you figured it was still fairly early. Standing up, you stretched and picked up your blankets, putting them back on Al's bed. As you made the bed, you noticed a white paper on Ed's bed stand with your name on it. Picking it up, you flipped it open to read.

Aka-

Went to breakfast. Hurry up.

-Elrics

Smiling at Ed's messy handwriting, you grabbed your bag and walked to the closet.

This feels so weird You thought as you changed. It had been a while since you actually wore your regular clothes. It made you feel kinda exposed, but you figured you'd get used to it.

You were wearing a red tanktop with dark blue capris. On your feet were your normal red boots with black strappings and had a pair of black fingerless gloves on your hands. Reaching back, you pulled your hair into a low loose ponytail with thick bangs.

Shrugging to yourself, you walked out of the hotel room to find the Elrics.

Al's POV-
"Brother! Slow down, you're gonna choke!" You cried as Ed tried to stuff a whole pancake in his mouth. Giving you an annoyed look, he tore off a piece and started chewing it.

"I'll veet twhavever I nwat." He mumbled through chews.

"You're so sloppy Ed! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Ed glared and quickly swallowed.

"I said I'll eat however fast I-" Ed cut himself off, gaping at something behind you. Turning around, you saw Aka in the doorway of the buffet looking around. But there was something different about her. She looked-

Aka looks more like a girl now You thought as you saw her new clothes. Glancing back at Ed, you saw that he was still staring at her.

Figures You thought Only Aka could distract Ed from food...maybe Ed likes her more than I thought

Aka's POV-
Jeez, where are they? You thought, I can understand not finding Ed, but Al should be pretty noticeable...there they are! Striding over to where they were sitting, you folded your arms.

"Since when do you two wake up before me?" You asked.

"Ed and I just kinda woke up- we didn't want to disturb you." Al explained. Looking at Ed, you saw that he was staring at you.

"What's with you?" You asked. Ed shook his head and looked away.

"N-nothing," He stammered. "Just...not used to seeing you like this." You sighed and picked at your shirt.

"It feels so different, is it really that bad?"

"No! It's good...really good." Ed answered, muttering the last part under his breath.

"Huh?" You asked, not hearing. Ed just shrugged.

"Hurry up and eat." He said, "We're leaving as soon as you're done."

"Brother, she just got here! Not everyone eats as fast as you do!" Al exclaimed.

"That's okay." Aka said, "No one eats as much as Ed does either."

"Great. Now you're calling me fat?" Ed cried. You grinned and stole one of his sausages.

"Yep. They should have called you the 'Fat Metal Alchemist.'" Ed glared.

"Hey, at least it's not the 'Spark Alchemist.'" He retorted. Now you were glaring to.

"Shut up, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Trying to convince me? Or yourself?" Ed asked, smirking. Rolling your eyes, you decided to just drop it and eat. You were pretty excited about research to.

Virvaine...I will find you.

You and the Elrics left the hotel and just started walking. For such a small town, Iselia sure had a lot of people in it. Everyone seem to have come outside today. Not that it really mattered. Al was so large, he just had to walk forward and the crowd would part. You and Ed just had to keep up.

"Jeez- you think it's always this crowded?" You asked. Ed shrugged.

"Maybe it's market day or something. Good thing Al's so big."

"That's not a compliment Brother." Al retorted. You smiled. It was nice to hear someone other than you fight with Ed. But looking around, you smile faded. A lot of people were staring at you three, some seemed to be staring straight at you. Getting creeped out, you walked a closer to Ed, to where your arms were almost touching.

"Aka?" Ed asked softly, realizing how close you'd suddenly gotten. You didn't look at him, but your eyes darted around the crowd.

"Do- do they always stare like this?" You whispered. Ed looked around and shrugged.

"I guess. Just ignore them. If they try anything funny I'll kick 'em into the dirt." He said nonchalantly. You looked up at him and smiled weakly.

Ed's gotta point...guess I'm pretty paranoid

"Comfortable back there?" Asked Al in an amused voice. Blushing, you saw that you and Ed were still walking very close. Looking away, you did a side-step to make more distance. Ed was doing the same. Deciding to avoid an awkward silence, you quickly asked, "So- what kind of history does this place have?"

"According to legend," Al answered, "The caves in this region grew a certain type a stone called 'Rune Ore' that amplified fire alchemy."

"Fire Alchemy?" You repeated, "Good thing Roy never got a hold of it."

"Aw man- that's a scary thought." Ed said, "He's enough trouble with just the gloves."

"Anyway," Al said, sounding like an annoyed school teacher, "We think that this Rune Ore could be a possible replacement for ingredients to make a Philosopher's Stone."

"Oh, I get it." You said, "So we're going to the caves?"

"Yep. Hope you can rock climb." Ed said cheerfully.

"No problem, I'll just use you as a stepping stone to get up." You said smugly. Ed glared and made a grab for your arm, but you had already rushed past Al in the direction of the cliff formations in front of you.

"Hey! Slow down Aka!" Ed yelled, trying to keep up. Smiling, you looked up at the top of the cliff...and stopped short.

Standing at the top of the cliff was a strange figured cloaked in black. He seemed to be staring right at you. But when you blinked, the figure was gone.

What the... Ed had now caught up with you and was gasping for breath.

"You could slow down for-" Ed started, but cut himself off, seeing your face. His face grew serious. "What's wrong? You look kind of funny..." He said, his voice worried.

"It's okay, I'm fine. Just kinda...zoned out for a sec." You said, giving him a false smile. Looking back up to the cliffs, you almost expected the figure to appear again. But all you could see was rock.

Was I just imagining it? It seemed so real...

"Hey Aka! C'mon, or we're leaving without you!" You heard Ed yell. Looking forward, you saw that they were ahead of you. Shaking your head, you started jogging to catch up.

I'll deal with it later...

or will she? bahaha! you poor people, at the rate i update, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHa...

okay, i'm bored. wait! i know, i'll go play my new video game! huzzah!

-now overly-happy zago (that's also what i called my character. YES!)