see? i'm trying to update! really! i swear on my videogames!...okay, that was stupid.

rule #869858594375843782 of life-

never. bet. anything. on. a. videogame.

it sucks when you lose. anyway...

fma isn't mine. ed isn't mine. aka is mine.

is ita good idea to say 'mine' in a disclamer so much?

Recap-You and the Elrics made it to Resimbool, where you 'met' Winry. Now the three of you have been invited to stay at her house.

Start-Looking up, you noticed a sign above Winry's house that read:

Rockbell Automail

"So you're an automailist?" You asked Winry, though from Ed's stories, you already knew the answer.

"Yep! My grandma's been teaching me since I was little." Winry said. Sighing, she claped her hands together and got all starry-eyed. "And once you're introduced to the world of automail mechanics, it's just too wonderful to ever forget! Metal limbs that act like the real thing!...It's just all so amazing!"

"Err...yeah, I guess..." You said, a sweat drop behind your head.

"Winry? Where do you want me to put Ed?" Al asked from behind you two. Winry looked up at him and shrugged.

"I dunno, just put him on the couch or something. Oh, and make sure he's not laying on his arm!"

"Are you really going to look at his arm while he's asleep?" You asked as Al walked past you carrying Ed's unconcious body. Winry nodded.

"Might as well, he'll probably want it fixed as soon as possible." She said, frowning. "And I can't stand to see my wonderful work just sit there and not be perfect. Anyway...come on in! You must be starved from the trip. Where were you anyway?"

"A town called Iseila. There's a lot of cliffs there." You said, wincing as you remembered a certain one.

"Iseila huh? It's so weird, ever since those two left on this journey they keep ending up at all the places I've never heard of. Why can't they just go to familar places, like Rush Valley? That place is so amazing! It's the automail capital of the world! It just kills me that those two have access to almost anywhere in the world, and they don't even go anywhere interesting!"

"Well, I think anywhere can be interesting if you make it." You said thoughtfully. "I guess they- AHHHHH!"

What? What's wrong?" Winry asked. Not answering, you rushed past her and tackled something on the ground.

"He's so cute!" You squealed, hugging a large black dog. "This is Den, right? The Elrics told me about him. HE'S SO CUTE!"

Winry laughed and knelt down, petting Den's head. "Yeah, this is our dog. We've had him since I was little. You like dogs?"

"Are you kidding? How can you not like dogs?" You asked, genuinely surprised. Winry smiled and stood up.

"Good question. I'd better get started on Ed's arm, you want to watch?"

"Really? Al said you didn't like it when people watched."

"I'll make an exception. So, you want to?"

"Alright! But...Den's coming to, right?" You asked, looking down at the dog. Winry laughed and nodded.

"Of course. C'mon!" She said, walking into the room where Al was putting Ed down on a couch.

"Alrighty then. Let's see what you did to my poor work this time Ed." Winry said, fishing a wrench out of her tool belt. Grabbing Ed's arm, she pulled it over the arm of the sofa and sat down in a nearby chair. You sat on the floor, giving Den a belly rub as you heard Winry clanking away on Ed's arm.

"Um...Aka?" Winry asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I don't wanna be rude, but...Really, I'm just curious, I don't mind, but..."

"Am I an Ishbalan?" You asked, taking a guess at what she was stumbling over.

"I don't really care-but-"

"It's alright. And yes, I am. I just wasn't raised in Ishbal." You explained.

"Really? Then, is that why you do alchemy?"

"Yep. I was raised by a State alchemist, so I pretty much grew up around it."

"Your dad's a state alchemist?"

"Yeah. Well...he was..." You said, trailing off.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Winry apologized, understanding.

"It's okay, I don't mind."

"My parents died to." Winry said quietly.

"Guess I know how you feel then." You answered, just as quiet. The two of you were silent for a moment before Al piped up.

"Hey Winry, When's Aunt Pinako getting home?" He asked.

"Any minute now, I think." She answered, not looking up from Ed's arm.

"Huh?" You said, confused. "I thought you guys weren't related."

"We're not, it's just that Winry's grandmother has been like an aunt to Ed and I since we were little." Al explained.

"Am I finally going deaf, or is that you Al?" Came a voice. Looking up, you saw a short woman with large glasses and a pipe in her mouth walk in carrying a paper sack.

"Grandma! Nice to see you're back. Did you get all of the groceries?" Winry asked, abandoning Ed's arm for the first time. Pinako nodded.

"Yes, for once they actually had everything...and I see we have a new visitor." She said, turning to you. You quickly stood up and nodded to her.

"Um, hi. I'm Akari, but-you can call me Aka." You stammered. You weren't quite sure why, but being in Ed's hometown made you nervous for some reason. And I was so hiked up about going here... you thought, I wonder what happend,

"Well, it's nice to meet you Aka. I take it you're a friend of the Elrics?"

"Yes, Ed and I have known Aka for a while now." Al said. You blinked in surprised and smiled up at Al.

"I guess it has been a while. About a month in a half, right?"

"I think so...anyway, Pinako? Is it alright if Aka stays here while Ed's getting his arm fixed?" Al asked. Pinako smiled and nodded.

"Of course, any friend of yours is welcome here. But she's going to have to earn her board." She warned, waving a finger at you. You smirked, knowing a challenge when you saw one.

"Don't worry about that." You said in a cocky tone, "I'm no lazy slob. Now Ed on the other hand..." You trailed off, looking at his unconscious figure. Winry and Pinako laughed.

"Yeah, I think Ed's built up an allergy against work." Winry said, giggling.

"He does seem to avoid work." Pinako said with a smirk. (again, the freaky rhyming thing...)

"I need to make dinner. Al, Aka? Would you mind helping me?" Pinako asked. You and Al nodded, following her into the kitchen.

"I'll come help as soon as I finish with Ed's arm!" Winry called after you.

"So, what're we making?" You asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Chicken. Your job is to heat up the stove." Pinako said simply. "There's some firewood outside."

"Is it the same firewood Armstong cut that one time?" Asked Al. Pinako sighed.

"Yes...I swear, the neigbors keep thinking we cut down the whole forest from what he cut...warn us next time you bring him here." She said.

Smiling, you walked outside and grabbed a few logs of wood. Sticking them in the oven, (bear with me, i don't know how they did it back then, so i'm making it up) you stood back from the door and sent a spark of lightning into the oven. The spark caused the logs to ignite with a roaring flame. Quickly shutting the door, you turned around to see Pinako staring at you.

"That's some impressive alchemy child." She said, "I may be wrong, but- did you do that without a circle?"

"Oh, um...yeah I did..." You said, a little embarrassed. Pinako shook her head.

"I should have known...you being a friend of the Elrics and all..." she said. You were about to say something when Winry walked in, looking sad.

"Winry?" Al asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's Ed's arm." She said sadly, "I'm afraid we have to replace it."

Ed's POV- You sensed were tingling. Your whole body felt sore and stiff, and your head felt a little foggy. But you also sensed something else...

...something edible...

Snapping your eyes open, you saw a dark hand holding a plate of steaming chicken near your face. Looking up, you saw Aka standing above you with an amused smirk on her face.

"Figures." She said, "That you'd only wake up when food was around." You smirked back and sat up, taking the plate and wolfing down its contents. Glancing around, you saw that you were sitting on a couch in Winry's living room. Wincing, you clutched your head, remembering Winry's 'greeting.'

"Argh..." You groaned as the pain increased. "Remind me to wear a helmet next time I come here..." Aka laughed and flopped down on the couch besides you, making you bounce a bit.

"It's your own fault to start with, Winry says you're awful about taking care of your arm.

"Hey! I think I've been doing just fine with it considering all I do!"

"Oh? So just what do you do that puts my poor automail in danger?" Came an angry voice.

Stiffining, you turned around to see Winry standing in the doorway, her arms folded.

"N-nothing." You stammered, feeling like an idiot. Winry just glared.

"Don't try to pretend." She said, "Al and Aka already told me about the rockslide." You glanced at Aka, who blushed under your gaze and looked away.

"Traitor..." You muttered. Aka shot you a quick glare before grabbing your empty plate and getting up.

"I'm gonna help Pinako and Al clean up." She announced, "Give him hell for me Winry." Winry smiled and gave Aka a mock salute.

"You got it! I'll make this as painful as possible!" She said over-cheerfully. You groaned and collapsed down on the couch.

"Great...now there's two of them..." You groaned. Footsteps approached you and you heard the clinking of metal.

"I wouldn't be talking that way if I were you Ed." She said, "She is your girlfriend after all." You blushed and shot her a glare.

"No she's not!" You cried, bright-red. Winry smiled and waved a wrench in your face.

"Oh no you don't, Al's given me all the juicy details between you two." She said smugly, "There's no point in hiding it." You grumbled and looked away, leaving Winry to sigh at your chillness.

"Alright, now lie still. We have to get this arm off of you." She said. You blinked in surprise and looked back at her.

"What? I thought you were just gonna fix it!" You cried. Winry shook her head.

"Can't, I had a look at it while you were unconscious. Most of the internal gears have been smashed to pieces-replacing then without taking the whole thing apart would take months. It'll be a lot faster to make a new one. Besides, I've come up with a lot of new methods since the last time I fixed your automail."

"Oh, just great." You said, rolling your eyes. "Well, hurry up and get it over with then."

Still Ed's POV- A few hours later, you were sitting under the bright stars, feeling funny without the extra weight on your right shoulder. Sighing, you leaned back onto the grass, closing your eyes.

Home sure hasn't changed much, You thought. It was true: the sounds you heard were the same sounds you remembered as a kid. It feels so different to be back, You thought, Almost like I shouldn't be here or something...

"You gonna sleep out here? Or are me 'n Al gonna have to drag you inside?" Came a voice. You smiled a little, recognizing it as Aka's familiar sarcasm.

"I dunno, I just might choose the latter to piss you off." You said jokingly. You heard a growl of annoyance and opened your eyes to see that Aka was now sitting besides you, studying you with her scarlet eyes.

"You'd better watch it." She said threateningly, "I know where you used to live." You blinked in surprise.

"You do?"

"Yeah, Al said it's over the hill."

"Hate to break it to ya, but that could be anywhere. This town's full of hills..."

"Then will you show me?"

"Show you what?"

"Your house! I know it's burned to a crisp, but I still wanna see it." She said. You stared at her for a while before sighing and looking up at the stars.

"Fine, Al 'n I will take you tomorrow."

"Alright!" Aka said happily. Falling back, she spread her arms and legs wide, like she was absorbing the moonlight.

"You've been acting kind of weird lately." You told her. She just shot you a questioning look.

"I mean, you've been...I dunno...happy." You said. Aka gave you an amused look.

"Well gee, sorry I'm not dreary enough for you. I'll make sure to wear my sad face tomorrow."

"Not like that! I meant...happier." You said. Aka blinked for a bit before closing her eyes.

"Maybe you're right...maybe I shouldn't be this happy...after all that bad stuff that happened..." She said sadly. You winced, quickly sitting up.

"N- no! That's not what I meant either! I- aw dammit- I didn't mean to make you sad!" You said hurridly, feeling like a heel. Aka didn't speak, just looked up at the stars with a thoughtful look.

"Does it go away?" She asked softly. "This empty feeling?" You stared at her, unable to understand. Then it hit you.

"You've never gotten to talk about your dad..." You said softly, smiling faintly at her. She closed her eyes and smiled a little too.

"No...I guess not. I just thought- with everything that was going on-"

"What was he like?" You interrupted, laying down besides her. You could tell she really wanted to talk about him.

"Well...he was nice, that's for sure. He was kinda quiet too. He didn't talk much, but just being around him made you feel good. Like...I dunno...just safe I guess. Like nothing bad would happen. And whenever you wanted to talk to him? He'd listen. He'd always listen, no matter how stupid you sounded. He didn't get mad very easily, that's for sure. And even if he did, he'd just go to be alone for a little while before coming back, just smiling. He was just always so happy. Happy to be outside and just be...alive. He was.. kinda an airhead actually." Aka broke off, giggling. You smiled.

"He sounds kinda like my Mom. I wish I could have met him." You told her warmly.

"Yeah, me to. I think he'd like you a lot. Even if you are short." Aka said, giggling again. You glared, but then smiled, deciding to let it slide.

Reaching down, you grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze. Aka scooted closer to you, laying her head on your shoulder. The two of you just stayed there, looking up at the stars. Then-

"Oh yeah, she's sooo not your girlfriend Ed."

Wincing, you tilted your head back to see Winry standing over you two.

"Has anyone ever told you just how annoying you are?" You growled, annoyed. Winry just grinned.

"I'll see you guys inside." She said, prancing off. You sighed and looked down at Aka.

"We'd better get some rest. I'm taking you on a tour tomorrow." You told her. Aka grinned and nodded.

"Kay then Mr. Tour Guide. I'd better get my money's worth!" She said happily, getting up. You watched as she went back to the house, doing a bit of a cartwheel in the process.

I don't think Hojo was the only one who was an airhead, You thought, shaking your head.

and that's that. the end of the seires. just kidding, i'm too addicted to stop now. seriously though, we're talking SERIOUS updates to make up for lost time. hope it works.

probably won't.

-zago