wazzup everbody? sorry i didn't update yesterday, fanfic was ignoring me. anyway, i'm uploading again, so watch out!

oh, and just in case-

Ed and FMAbelong to Hiromu Arakawa. all hail.

Aka belongs to me. all hail.

President Bush is president. all boo.

Recap- Aka fought some cows...(i'm sorry, funny images...snicker- ANYWAY) and ended up passing out. ouch. anyway, the four of you were on your way home when Aka cracked a height joke. Yeah, real smart Aka...

Start-
You kept running as fast as you could, wondering why you could never keep your mouth shut. Then again, Ed was so cute when he was mad...

Looking back, you tried to catch a glimpse of Ed's face when you crashed into something hard. Stumbling backwards, you fell painfully on your but.

"Ow..." You groaned, wincing as you came in contact with the ground, "Why the hell can't dirt be soft?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Here, let me help you." Came a voice from above. Your heart stopped when it started talking. You'd heard that voice before...

No way... You thought, your mind processing this very slowly.

Looking up slowly, your eyes widened as a tall man with dark hair, but light skin. But the thing that attracted you the most were his eyes. You'd seen those eyes when-

"Aka! Hey, you okay?" Ed yelled running up. Al and Winry were right behind.

"Aka, you and Ed really need to stop- oh, hello Talyor! It's been a while!" Winry said, smiling at the man in front of you. You looked at him again, your eyes wide in shock. But he wasn't looking at you anymore, the hand he had offered had even dropped. He was too busy smiling widely at Ed. Maybe too widely...

"Hey Ed, Al," Talyor said, "It's been what, 5 years?"

"At least." Ed answered. Looking down at you, he frowned. "You okay Aka?" Your head snapped in his direction, your eyes still wide. Ed looked surprised. "Aka?"

Shaking your head, you quickly stood up and dusted yourself off, trying to avoid Ed's gaze.

Maybe...maybe I'm wrong You thought, glancing at Talyor, There's no way he could be...but what if he is? You pushed your thoughts away, trying to focus on what everybody was saying. But it turned out to be something you didn't want to hear.

"So Talyor, you wanna eat dinner with us?" Winry was asking, "I'm sure my Grandma would let you stay."

"That sounds great." Talyor said, smiling that weird smile again, "Mind if I come with you?"

"Sure!" Winry and Al said in unison, but Ed didn't say anything, glancing at you. But you quickly turned your head away, refusing to meet his gaze. The other three started to move, but Ed stayed behind with you.

"Aka, what's going on?" He asked, concern in his voice, "You look weird." You just shook your head, not trusting yourself to speak. Ed narrowed his eyes, starting to lose patience.

"Aka, tell me what's-"

"ED! AKA! C'mon you two, or we'll start dinner without you!" Winry called. Looking ahead, you saw that the three of them had managed to create quite a distance away from you. You moved to follow them, but was stopped as Ed grabbed your wrist.

"Aka please, just tell me what's going on!" He pleaded. You looked away yet again.

"It's nothing..." You said softly.

"Aka-"

"It's nothing!" You said a little louder, tearing your wrist out of his grip and running after the others. Ed stared after you for a while, a worried look on his face. Shaking his head, he picked up the pace, not wanting to fall behind.

Ed's POV-
All of you had returned to the house, where a worried Pinako was waiting. You and Winry explained to her about the cattle fence and how Winry had to fix it. When you got to the part about Aka helping out, you looked around for her so that she could tell it herself, but she was nowhere in sight. Talyor on the other hand, seemed to be looming over your shoulder. It was kinda creepy, but you were too worried about Aka to really care.

What happened to her? One minute she was making fun of me as usual, and the next minute, she's all crazy! What the hell is her deal? You were brought back to earth as Winry started telling Pinako about how Aka used her alchemy on the cows. (hold on...funny images!...kay, back to the story)

"It was amazing!" Winry was saying, "All Aka did was point her hand in the direction of the cow, and red lightning shot at them!" At this point, Talyor jerked his head in her direction, his eyes flashing.

"She hit the cows with red lightning?" He asked, sounding excited. Winry blinked a second before answering.

"Um...yeah...but don't worry, she didn't hurt any of them." She said. As she went on to talk about how you all had met Phaidra, Talyor seemed to lose interest. You frowned at his actions.

Why's he so interested in Aka's alchemy? You thought. Then, something else clicked in the back of your brain. Aka started acting weird right after she ran into Talyor...does she know him?

Your thoughts were once again interrupted as talk of dinner began. You glanced around the room for Aka, but she still hadn't shown up. Sighing, you decided to leave her alone for a little while.

"Ed, you'll be helping me make dinner." Pinako said, "Since you were sleeping yesterday. The rest of you can do whatever you want until it's ready."

"It wasn't my fault I was sleeping!" You protested, "Winry-" But you quickly cut yourself off as Winry twirled a wench she'd suddenly gotten from out of nowhere. Gulping, you ran to the kitchen and started helping Pinako with dinner.

"What happened to Aka?" Pinako asked as she chopped vegetables, "She looked rather ill when she walked in, is she alright?"

"I dunno..." You said softly, shaking your head. Pinako shrugged.

"She's probably tired from all the alchemy she had to use. Surely you can relate?"

"Yeah..." You said. Then, trying to change the subject, "How's my arm coming?"

"I finished the outline a couple of hours ago." Pinako said, "Winry should be able to finish the rest by the end of tomorrow." You nodded, though not really interested.

Aka...

About half an hour later, you and Pinako finished up dinner, setting it all on the table.

"Oi, everybody!" You yelled, "CHOW TIME!" Al, Winry and Talyor walked in, but you saw no sign of Aka. Frowning, you turned to your 'little' brother.

"Hey Al, you seen Aka?" You asked. Al shook his head.

"No, but I noticed that she was acting strangely." Al said, "Do you think she's alright?" You thought for a moment.

"I'm gonna go look-" But you cut yourself off as Aka walked in, looking at the ground. Wordlessly, she walked over to the table and sat down, staring at her plate. You quickly sat next to her on her right, and Talyor sat on the left. You noticed that Aka's body stiffened when Talyor sat down, and reached across her lap to squeeze her hand. She jerked her head in your direction, and you could see...fear?...In her eyes. You were about to say something when Winry struck up a conversation.

"Hey Ed," She said, "Talyor was telling us that he did some alchemy now. Maybe you guys could teach each other a few things." Talyor laughed.

"Yeah right Winry. Me? Teach the Full Metal Alchemist? He probably knows more about alchemy then I ever will."

"I guess you heard." You said simply, noting his use of your title. Talyor grinned at you from the other side of Aka.

"Yeah, I gotta admit, it's pretty cool. You always did learn a lot at a young age." You forced a laugh.

"Yeah...lucky me." You said, lacing your fingers together with Aka's. Her hands seemed to be trembling.

"You know, Aka's a state alchemist too Talyor." Al piped up. Aka's hand tore away yours.

"Oh really?" Talyor said, grinning down at Aka, "I've heard of your alchemy. Lightning, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Aka murmured, her eyes not leaving her plate, though she hadn't touched her food.

"I can see why the military would make you a state alchemist." Talyor went on, "Lightning is a pretty powerful weapon, it actually hurt a friend of mine once." Aka's entire body went ridged, and you saw her eyes widen from under her bangs.

"So Aka...Winry said your alchemy is a certain color...what was it...oh yes, wasn't it re-" Aka stood up, pushing herself away from the table.

"I'm sorry." She said, "But I'm not very hungry." Before you could do anything, she dashed out of the room.

Aka's POV-
Earlier that evening

As everyone hurried into the living room to tell Pinako about the afternoon, you headed up the stairs, shivering as you felt someone's gaze on your back. Practically flying down the hall, you came to the door of the room you'd been staying in, fumbling with the doorknob. Finally opening it, you quickly shut it behind you, wishing it had a lock.

Aka, CHILL! Look at yourself, you can't even keep still! You thought to yourself angrily. But in another part of your mind, you were scared. Scared as hell.

Scared of what? You asked yourself, trying to regain your composure. You don't even know if he's...well you don't even know it's him! Stop being a sissy and calm down!

Sitting on the bed, you forced yourself to slow your breathing. Eventually, your face became calm, and your eyes were no longer fearful. Taking a deep breath, you fished your bag out from under the bed, carefully unzipping it. Tossing some clothes out of the way, you took out a parcel that had been carefully wrapped in cloth and held together with some string. Untying the knots, you slipped the cloth off of the parcel, revealing the black frame Ed had given you underneath.

The words 'Never Forgotten' shined as light hit them, illuminating them in a peaceful manner. You looked down at the picture, where Hojo was smiling up at you, dressed in his military uniform. Tracing your finger around the outline of the frame, you closed your eyes, thinking about how you had lived with Hojo. The farm...the chores...the fields...the schoolwork...even his smile. It had only been two months, and yet, so much had happened since then. You'd met the Elrics, run away from Trezanga, become a state alchemist, and came close to death more times than you wanted to count.

And even though it hadn't been very long, the pain from the day Hojo had died was beginning to fade, making you feel happy, and at peace. Even Ed had noticed it, he'd said so himself. You owed most of it to him actually. He and Al had been the first real friends you'd ever had, the first people other than Hojo you'd ever trusted. With their help, you were finally learning what it was like to just be happy.

And now this. You felt a stab of pain enter your body, too real to not hurt. You shivered, thinking of the man who was just downstairs. Talyor. Just seeing his face brought you back to that day, made you remember every detail. The rain, the gunshot, Hojo's face...and him. You were hoping with all of your heart that you were wrong, but deep down, you knew it was probably true.

If you were right...then Talyor was a lightning alchemist also, and one of the men who had killed your father.

You shook your head angrily. Why hadn't you thought of this before! Maybe it was the shock of killing the other assassins, or maybe you had just been too busy with the alchemy exam to think about it. But you'd never given the other assassin a second thought.

I'm such a hippocrite! You screamed at yourself, All this time I've been swearing to everybody that I was going to find out why Hojo died, and here I am just ignoring one of the most important parts of the puzzle! You hugged the picture frame to your chest, gasping as it all came flying back to you...

BANG

"Wh-why is he lying there...?"

"Jeez! You must be deaf kid! Didn't you here the shot? We shot him with a gun you idiot!"

"See, we're getting payed a lot of cash to make this guy disappear. And we don't like to turn down cash!"

"You're...so beautiful Aka...I love you...please...take care.."

Another stab of pain hit you, worse than before. You winced, clutching your stomach. Why were you hurting so much? Curling yourself into a ball, you lay down on the bed. You were holding the frame so tightly you thought it would break. You just lay there, looking out the window. You heard the faint murmer of conversation, your name popping up a few times. But you didn't move, made no motion to get up. You just watched as the sky became dark with oncoming clouds. There was going to be a storm later.

"Hey Everybody!" You heard Ed yell, "CHOW TIME!" You thought for a moment, considering just staying where you were.

Ed would probably come looking for me You reminded yourself. Even though you were feeling really crappy right now, you couln't help but smile at Ed's obvious worry. I probably don't deserve it

Sitting up, you carefully put dyour picture on a nearby dresser and walked towards the door.

If I'm right about Talyor, then that means the others might need my help, You thought firmly, And there's no way I can just stay up here and ignore that You paused in the doorway, looking back at your picture of Hojo.

"I won't give up Dad," You swore, "I promise."

You tried to reassure yourself as you walked down the stairs, but the sound of Talyor's voice almost made you lose it again. Taking a deep breath, you walked into the kitchen, noticing that everyone had stopped talking. Trying not to show how close to the edge you were, you quickly sat down, your mind whirling.

Just play it cool, You told yourself, There's still a chance you're wrong, so just let everyone be happy and have dinner.

You almost sighed in relief as Ed sat down on your right- if anyone could keep you from losing it, it was him. You weren't so happy when you realized Talyor was on your left, his body less than a foot from yours. Your mind exploded, and you fought to keep your face straight.

Suddenly, you felt something squeezing your hand, and you glanced at Ed. He was looking at you with worry, you knew from his expression that he'd been worried all night.

What if Talyor hurts him? You suddenly thought. Your fear suddenly increased as horrific images went through your mind of what he might try to do to Ed. Everyone was talking, but you weren't really focusing on what they were saying. You felt Ed entwine his fingers with yours, and you desperately held on to the feeling, trying to just feel normal.

"You know, Aka's a state alchemist too Talyor." You heard someone say, but you couldn't tell who. You tried to focus, but felt distracted. You released your fingers from Ed's and tried to listen.

"Oh really?" Talyor way saying, "I've heard of your alchemy. Lightning, isn't it?" Your heart leaped into your throat as you remembered the lightning that had struck you, the burning sensation that had filled your entire body.

"Y-yeah." You stammered, trying to sound normal. Talyor went on talking.

"I can see why the military would make you a state alchemist. Lightning is a pretty powerful wepon, it actually hurt a friend of mine once." This time, you couldn't control it. Your eyes widened, your breath was caught in your throat. You knew what he was getting at. He wasn't talking about his friend getting hurt by lightning, Talyor was referring to the assassin who had been killed by lightning.

IT IS HIM! Your mind screamed, AND HE KNOWS IT WAS ME! Your vision became blurry- you were pushing your limits. Quickly standing up, you tried to make a quick excuse.

"I'm sorry." You blurted out, feeling light-headed, "But I'm not very hungry." Then you ran, ran as fast and as hard as you could. You ran out of the house, out into the dark storm that threatened to start at any minute. Your mind twisted and turned with thoughts and memories.

What am I doing? You asked yourself, I just left everybody in the same room as a murderer! You stumbled, trying to turn around, but just then, another shot of pain coursed through your body. Wincing, you stumbled, falling sideways. You pushed your palms against the ground, trying to get up, but your muscles wouldn't react.

I'm a murderer too... You suddenly thought. Giving up, you just lay there, your eyes staring at the grass. A raindrop landed on your face, but you could barely feel it.

What's happening? You thought, Why do I feel this way?

You felt so weak, so vulnerable. You wished Hojo were here. You wished you were stronger. You wished that Ed would be alright. You wished that they all would be alright.

What can I do? You asked yourself, I tried facing him, and I failed. I tried running away and I failed. Isn't there something I can do?

"AKA!" You heard a yell. You couldn't even recognize it, your head felt so fuzzy...

You felt your body being lifted upwards, but you couldn't feel anyone touching you. You blinked, trying to figure out what was going on. Ed's face swam into view, his golden eyes staring down at you, full of concern. You reached out to him with trembling hands, weakly pulling yourself into his chest, burrowing your head in it. Ed pulled you closer with his good arm, laying his head on top of yours.

"It's okay Aka." He said softly, "Just relax. I won't give up on you, I promise."

----> cliffie! been i while since i've been cruel and left it hangin like that. gotta do that more often...

me? cruel? never
-zago