see? i'm updating again! don't get mad! btw, playing naruto: clash of ninja between updates. short game, but freakin awesome. if anybody out there has a group of friends who like naruto and video games, it's a good buy.
am i getting paid to say that? i wish. i'm broke.
so don't sue me. i'm broke.
Recap- Talyor is one of the assassins who killed her dad! And there's something wrong with Aka...
Start- Ed's POV-
Aka clung to your shirt, her eyes closed and her breath coming in small gasps. You held her tighter against her with your one good arm, wishing you had the other to hold her with.
"Aka..." You coaxed softly, "What's wrong? Please...let me help." You felt her trying to push away from you and quickly released her waist, only to grab it again as she almost fell over. Leaning down, you pressed your forehead against hers, pleading her with your eyes to let you help her.
"Who is Talyor?" You asked softly, taking a stab in the dark. Though, from her previous actions, it was pretty clear that Talyor was the source of her problems. Aka opened her mouth to speak, letting out a shuddering gasp as she did.
"A-assassin." she choked out, so quietly that you almost didn't hear it. You studied her face for a moment, trying to realize what she was talking about. Then, your eyes widened as reality hit you harder than Winry's wrench. (snicker)
"You're telling me he's one of the-?"
"That's right." A voice interrupted. Straightening, you looked up to see Talyor standing a few feet away. Al, Winry and Pinako were running out of the house.
"STAY AWAY!" You yelled as loud as he could, "GO BACK!" The three of them stopped running and stared at you, trying to figure out what was going on. But a few questions were answered when Talyor pulled a gun out of his shirt pocket. Winry brought a hand to her mouth in horror and Pinako took a step back, keeping her eyes on the gun. Al stepped protectively in front of them, crouching in a fighter's stance.
"Go ahead and try to shoot me." He dared, looking straight at Talyor. But Talyor just chuckled.
"Do you think I didn't learn anything the first time? I still have you to thank for this gimpy leg." He said, lifting his right leg slightly. Al's body straightened a bit as he heard these words.
"Wait- you're-?"
"Jeez, why does everyone seem so surprised?" Talyor asked. "I wasn't even wearing a disguise, but she's the only one who even recognized me!" He said looking at you and Aka. "Now I remember why I hated you little brats." He continued, sneering at you. You glared back and held Aka a little tighter.
"Cut the crap- what do you want?" You yelled. Talyor shook his head.
"Honestly Elric," He said, "Doesn't anything reach that hard skull of yours?" He asked, "Your girlfriend there killed my friend!"
"You killed her Dad!" You yelled back. "And at least she didn't do it on purpose!"
"Oh yeah, that lightning just lightning just poofed up out of nowhere." He snarled, pointing the gun at you. "She killed my friend, so now I'm gonna kill her." You gritted your teeth.
"How do you expect to take down two state alchemists? You asked. Talyor just smirked.
"On the contrary, I was only supposed to take down one, but since she's here, I'll just kill her too."
"Wait- you were after Ed first? Why?" Al asked from behind Talyor. Talyor glanced back at him and shrugged.
"Your brother's getting too nosy." He said, "My orders are to finish up where Scorpulus left off."
"How do you know Scorpulus?" You demanded. Talyor smirked, shaking his head.
"Now now Elric," He said, "If I just told you, I wouldn't have the pleasure in seeing that little brain of yours trying to think."
"WHO YOU CALLIN-" You started, ready to break into one of your famous fits but broke off when you heard Aka start to cough violently. You stopped yourself, looking at her in worry. "Aka...?" You asked, but she went on coughing. Eventually, they stopped, but now her breath was even more ragged than before.
"Ahh...I see the poison is taking affect. About time." You heard Talyor say. Whirling around, you glared at him with as much hate as you could muster.
"What poison?" You demanded. Talyor chuckled.
"I knew that I wouldn't be able to go after you if she was...able to fight. So I got all those cows riled up and suggested that Winry could fix the lock."
"But how could you have poisoned Aka?" Al asked, confused. Talyor flashed him an evil grin.
"Simple. I shot the injection into her arm when she jumped on the fence. She was too stupid to notice."
"That's because she was too worried about the people you were endangering you jackass!" You yelled, totally pissed at this guy. "What exactly did the poison do?"
"Oh, don't worry." Talyor sneered, "It won't kill her, I'll do that myself."
"Like hell you will." You growled, carefully laying Aka down on the ground. "Stay here." You told her softly before standing up. Stepping forward, you kept a fixed gaze on Talyor.
"Well well," Said Talyor, "Look who's trying to be brave. Too bad you're too short to be intimidating."
"To hell with being intimidating!" You yelled, running forward. Talyor tried to whip out his gun, but you got there too fast and grabbed his wrist, driving your shoulder into his ribs. Talyor let go of the gun, giving you the chance to chuck it as far away as you could. Staggering backwards, Talyor glared murderously at you.
"You little son of a bitch." He growled, charging at you. You tried to defend yourself, but was caught off balance by your lack of arm. Talyor kneed you in the gut, bringing his elbow down hard across your back. You coughed, feeling his hand grip the back of your shirt. In one easy move, he had thrown you five feet, forcing you to land at Al's feet.
"Brother!" Al yelled, kneeling down and helping you sit up. You turned to look at Talyor and felt your face pale when you saw him rolling up his sleeves...revealing transmutation circles tattooed onto his wrist.
"Just my luck." He was saying, "If this storm hadn't shown up, my alchemy would be useless...Oh well, luck is luck. Now...do I strike you one at a time? Or do I just let you all burn together?"
"You...you monster." Winry whispered. Talyor just smiled.
"I've decided, He said in an excited voice, "That you'll all die together!" With a maniacal laugh, he streached his hands towards the sky, causing the circles on his wrist to glow a dull white. Your eyes widened as lightning fluttered across the sky, shooting into Talyor's hands.
Your mind whirled as you tried to think of a way out of this, but there was no answer. No time to get away, no way to use alchemy. Even if you could make a transmutation circle, it wouldn't be powerful enough. You could only look away as you saw Talyor release the lightning from his hands. You gritted your teeth, bracing yourself for an impact...but felt nothing.
Instead, you saw a flash of light from over your shoulder. Looking up, you saw something that made you smile. A flickering red wall of light was in front of you, with small red sparks dancing around it.
"What the- YOU BITCH!" Yelled Talyor, turning around. You looked to, and saw that Aka was trying to stand up, her knees wobbling.
"Don't...don't act so surprised." She said, her voice strained, "I'm...the Spark Alchemist..." she continued, "and I won't let...you use the same...power...that I have...to hurt my friends."
Aka's POV-
Your legs felt like jelly, and your headache was bad enough to rival a hangover.
Shut it Aka, You scolded yourself, Talyor said the poison wouldn't kill you, so stop worrying about it, worry about the others.
You still couldn't belive that you'd actually been able to get a shield up that fast, but then again, you'd had the Elric Brothers as your teachers.
Gotta pay 'em back somehow. You thought, surprised a bit at your own good mood. Oh well, You thought, dismissing it, At least no one can say I have a bitchy mood during fights.
"You're just an amateur!" Talyor yelled, interrupting your thoughts, "I've been using lightning for years!"
"Time's got...nuthin to do with skill!" You yelled back, "And if you had it for...so long...why did you do such...crappy things with it?"
"Shut up!" Talyor yelled, "I won't take this kid of disrespect from a bratty little kid!" Your eye twitched. Little. Sighing, you made a fist with your hand, punching the air. Red lightning came out of nowhere, striking your fist. Now it glowed with a reddish color. Bringing your arm down, you smirked, drawing it back.
"I'm...not as little...as I used to be." You said, punching in the direction of Talyor. A red ball of electricity flew out, tackling Talyor in the stomach. He let out a cry and fell backwards, clutching his stomach.
You dropped your fist, the glow subsiding. With wobbly steps, you made your way over to where Talyor was lying. Ed and the others were gathered 'round as well. Ed quickly strode towards you.
"Ed-" You started to say, but stumbled forward, falling into his body. He quickly wrapped his arm around your waist, making sure you didn't' fall.
"S'okay Aka." He said softly, "You can rest now." You turned your head to look at Talyor's body.
"Is- is he-?"
"Chill Aka, he's still alive." Ed said, smiling at your concern. "You just knocked him out."
"What'll happen to him?" You asked softly. Ed shrugged.
"Resimbool doesn't have much of a police, but they'll be able to send him to a place that does."
"Okay," You said, "Then let's go."
"No way."
"But-"
"Aka, you're still poisoned! You need rest, let me take care of this. I kinda owe ya one for saving my life anyways."
"But you've-" You tried again, but was interrupted again, this time by Ed's mouth covering yours. Your eyes widened, but then closed as you melted into him. Ed pulled back, leaning his forehead against yours.
"What do you know." He said with a smirk, "It's fun and it shuts you up." You blushed, dimly noticing that Al was walking towards you two.
"Here." Ed said, pushing you towards his brother, "Make her rest, and don't let her get up while I'm gone."
"Right." Al said playfully, scooping you up into his arms.
"A-Al! You-you...traitor!" You stammered, still having trouble talking. Al just ignored you and walked into Winry's house, going upstairs to your room. Gently laying you on the bed, he chuckled as you squirmed under the covers, trying to get out.
"Please Aka," He said, "You really do need rest." You growled and stopped, pouting up at him. Al sighed, walking out. But he stopped in the doorway, glancing back at you.
"You know..." He said, "I bet your dad would be really proud of you." You blinked in surprised and looked at him, but he was already gone, his metal footsteps echoing down the hall. You smiled and sat up, ignoring the screaming pain in your stomach. Reaching over to the dresser and turning your frame so that it faced you. Studying Hojo's face for a few minutes, you thought about something he'd said once.
"You know Aka, I don't think it matters how much or how little time we have to live. I think we just have to do the best we can with what we have."
Still smiling, you snuggled (dammit, i just can't find another word for it. gotta get a thesaurus)under the covers, your head drifting off to sleep.
Ed's POV-
You and Pinako were walking back from Resimbool's 'Police Station,' where they'd taken Talyor as prisoner and promised to send him to a jail controlled by the Military. You thought it sounded like a good idea, and mentioned that he probably shouldn't be let outside until the storm passed.
The house came rolling into view, just in time too. The clouds had ceased their raining after you and Pinako left the police station, but now it was threatening a downpour. Lightning flashed briefly across the sky, and you realized just how much it looked like one of Aka's attacks.
Going inside, you saw that Al and Winry were sitting at a table, talking. You wanted to go up and check on Aka, but was stopped by Pinako. "Edward, I have a question." She said, "And I expect you to answer it. You too, Alphonse." You looked at Al in surprise. Pinako usually gave you space on questions about yourself, but she was kinda like your aunt, so you figured you might as well answer.
"Ask away." You said, shrugging. Winry leaned forward in her chair as Pinako took her pipe out of her mouth, looking at you seriously.
"Who is Aka?"
"Huh?" You and Al asked simultaneously.
"You heard me." Pinako said, "I want to know who this girl is, how you met her, and why she's with you." You stared at her before sighing.
"Her real name's Akari." You started, "She's from a town called Trezanga..." With the help of Al, you explained how her dad had been a state alchemist, and how he had adopted her. You told them how Aka's father had been murdered by Talyor and another man, whom Aka had accidentally killed with her new power. You then explained how you and Al had taken her to Central and trained her to become a State Alchemist, and that she was traveling with the two of you so that she could solve the mystery as to why her father was killed and who killed him.
"...And from what Talyor said, it looks like we're beginning to get some answers." You finished, looking up. Winry was staring at you in shock, and Pinako had her head bowed, looking deep in thought.
"She...she told me that her dad died." Winry said softly, "But I never guessed...just how bad it was."
"That girl is stronger than I thought, to endure so much." Pinako said, looking up. "Now I understand why you're so willing to let her help you when you won't let us." You cringed, knowing that they wanted to help you as much as Aka did.
"It's...it's not that we don't want your help." Al said softly, "It- it's just so dangerous!" You nodded.
"I have to admit, I'm still not okay with Aka coming at all." You admitted, "But...we're all she has. And...well, I like how she put it better."
"Oh? How did she convince you to let her come with you?" Pinako inquired.
"She said that as long as the three of us are in danger, we could all be in danger together." Al recited. Winry smiled.
"That sounds like her." She said, "Aka's a really nice person- I'm glad she's traveling with you two."
"We appreciate your help too." You said, looking at them, "But we don't want to put you in danger when you're not."
"I understand boys. Now, the outline of your arm is all complete. Winry, how long do you think it'll take to finish?" Pinako asked. Winry looked thoughtful.
"Well, if I do some work tonight-"
"No way!" Al interrupted. The three of you looked at him in surprise.
"What's wrong Al?" You asked. Al looked down, you could sense he was embarrassed.
"I don't think Winry should stay up late just to work on your arm. We all need sleep! So...can't you wait till tomorrow?" He asked shyly. Winry blinked a bit before smiling broadly at him.
"Okay Al. You're right- I'll be able to finish it faster if I get my energy back." You looked back and forth from her to Al, confused out of your mind. What was going on?
"Well, goodnight kids." Pinako said, walking off.
"Yeah, night guys." Winry added, leaving as well. You looked at Al suspiciously as he watched Winry walk off.
"Hello? Earth to Al!" You said, waving your hand in front of his face. He jerked back, looking down at you.
"Wh-what?" He asked. You shook your head at him.
"Nevermind." You said, "Let's go to bed." Trudging up the stairs, you stopped in front of Aka's door in the long hallway.
"I'm gonna check on Aka real quick." You announced to your brother. He nodded and continued down the hall to where you and he were sharing a room. Turning back to Aka's door, you sighed and carefully pushed it open.
Peeking your head in, you saw that she was asleep, a mountain of covers over her small body. Walking in, you made your way to the side of her bed, looking down at her. Her face was a little pink, and she flinched every now and then. You frowned, worried. Talyor had said the poison wouldn't kill her, but you wondered if just sleeping would make it go away.
Turning to leave, a flash of light caught your eye. Looking at the side dresser, you saw the frame that you'd bought her was sitting on top of it.
I almost forgot that I got her this. You thought, picking it up. You'd never really gotten a good look at it before, so you studied it pretty carefully.
He doesn't look very old, You thought, Either this is an old picture or he was really young when he adopted Aka. You put the frame back on the dresser, trying to leave it exactly how she had it, and left the room.
But not without sending a last glance at the sleeping girl.
not enough fluffy? TOO BAD! aka's bedridden! jeez, and people say I'm a pervert...
don't say it
-zago