Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, I'd put in oh-so-much more stupid. It needs more crack humor.
I do not own Chicago. Also, none of the characters are mine.
They are true people, but names were changed to protect the innocent.
A girl walked around the guest room of a Chicago apartment. Her long black hair, tied back in a ponytail, swished about her neck, as she got ready for the day. She pulled a blue tank top over her form, and then pulled on a pair of jeans with white stitching down the sides. The sixteen-year-old took out two small bottles from a pink saddlebag. She twisted the caps off both of them, setting them on the table near a window facing Lake Michigan.
She hummed a tune as she tapped a little bit of lotion from the first bottle into her hand and applied it to her dark skin. She took a few drops of lavender oil from the other bottle and rubbed that into her skin once the lotion was on.
When she finished, the girl picked up a sky blue umbrella and a denim backpack, slipping the bag over her shoulder.
"Perfect," the girl whispered, looking at her reflection in the mirror in the hallway. On the way out of the apartment, she stopped at a black and green-painted door.
"Chetan," she said, knocking. "Are you still asleep, wolf?"
She received no reply. The girl opened the door of the bedroom, stepping inside. Various items nearly concealed the carpet.
She rolled her eyes, looking around. The door barely matched the rest of the room: a strip of bright yellow police tape and a red and black sign reading "Posted, No Trespassing" advised visitors to stay away.
The resident long since painted the walls a light grey, and various symbols and images on the walls made delicately painted murals.
The bed, a light wood structure with a green bedspread, was empty. No one lay on it or anywhere else in the room.
"Chetan, come on. No hiding," she said. "It's Hazuki."
She still received no reply. Now, Hazuki wasn't the most patient, and she was getting angry. "Come on, Piartic, where the hell are you!"
Nothing. Hazuki walked across the room to the other side of the bed and sat down, looking at the desk next to her. It matched the dresser and the bed perfectly with its light surface.
Under the desk was the sleek black exterior of an amplifier, and a black cord led from it to a crimson Ibanez bass guitarher friendused to play the blues at a bar down in the suburbs.
Hazuki ignored the scene for a moment and walked over to a black and green Post-it note on a piece of unused canvas.
She picked up the note and read it quickly, then angrily let it flutter to the ground.
"Zuki—
Saw it was raining and decided to take off for the day.
Be back whenever.
:3,
--Chetan"
"CHETAN NIGEL MCMURRAY!"
Meanwhile, the Fullmetal was still racing after the coat-thief. At one point, the kid stood cornered, standing between Ed and a chain-link fence.
"I've g-got you now," Ed panted, standing in front of the boy. "Now, kid, give me back my jacket."
His response came forth in a quick shake of the head.
"Fine, then I'll make you hand it over," Ed told him.
The kid grinned, his mouth the only part of his face not shadowed by the hood. He jumped up, climbing over the fence in a flash. When he turned back for a one-second smirking glance at Ed, Ed caught a glimpse of his face.
Al? he thought, and then raced after him, snagging the knee of his pants on the wire and ripping open the knee of his left pant leg. Automail exposed, he darted after the boy again.
Hazuki twirled the umbrella in her hand, causing a flurry of raindrops to fly off in all directions.
A girl like her had to be careful in this part of town; boys constantly asked her out, but she always said the same thing: "Sorry, guys, I'm taken." Either way, she knew what she was doing. Hazuki Robins spent the time between birth and age six living in the ghetto. There she'd learned how to dance, how to "talk the talk and walk the walk," and also how to keep away the perverted freaks that roamed the streets.
Now, however, was a peaceful time. It was May, school was almost out, and Hazuki had a place at San's apartment with Chetan, her "older sister."
It got confusing sometimes.
Born in August, Hazuki was the youngest "sister." Lai, born in April, was the second oldest. Chetan of February was oldest, younger only to Erin and San, whom she lived with.
It was just an ordinary day for any of them, or so Hazuki thought. Her idea for these days halted in its tracks when she spotted something large and grey sitting in the alley between two buildings.
She froze, looking at it. It looked oddly familiar, whatever it was.
Hazuki took a few steps towards it and jumped back when it moved to glance at her.
"Hello," it said.
It was a suit of armour. Not just any armour, you see. It was undeniably Alphonse Elric.
Hazukistoodthere,her heart racing.
She swallowed then said, "Hi."
"Do you know where this place is?" Al asked.
Hazuki nodded. "This is Chicago."
"I've never heard of 'Chicago'…" Al said quietly. "Oh, and my name is Alphonse Elric."
"My name's Hazuki Robins."
She stood quaking before him. This was unbelievable. She'd been a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist since the show began, but Hazuki wasn't a "Fullmetal Junkie" like Chetan was.
She was a fangirl of Ed and Mustang, however.
"Okay, Hazuki." Al stated her name slowly, as thought trying to get used to the sound of it. He then paused for a minute before asking, "Have you seen someone named Edward Elric around? Nii-san has blonde hair, in a braid, and he's about this tall…" He held out his hand to show Ed's height. "Also, he's dressed in black with a red cloak—"
"Hey, get back here!" Ed called.
Hazuki turned around, and Al looked out of the alley around the corner. "Nii-san?"
"NEVAR!" The taunting, childish toneof his prey echoed around as they raced around the corner, and the teen slammed straight into Al.
The impact made a ringing sound on the armour, and just as the boy stood up, Ed came crashing into him.
The pair lay sprawled on the ground.
The teen's hood had slipped off, and Ed, not bothering to give his quarry a second glance, pulled the cloak off.
When he looked down at the figure after a cry of "JESUS!" came from the boy's mouth, Ed dropped the cloak and stumbled backwards from shock.
"A GIRL!"
"Yeah, a girl," she said, standing.
Hazuki walked towards the girl, looking her over. "Che, where in hell have you been?"
"Walking, until this guy started chasing me."
Che glared at Ed.
Part of her blonde bangs had fallen into her eyes. The bangs themselves were extremely long, and were the same length as the rest of her hair, which she held back with a clip.
The tips of each hair, dyed black, contrasted greatly with her pale complexion.
"You stole my jacket," Ed retorted.
"Pssht. Yeah, right," she said, rolling her eyes.
Hazuki picked up the cloak while Ed and Che argued.
After a while, Che sighed.
"You know what? Fine. You can have the damn…"
Hazuki jumped back as a bright red Mustang came rushing past down the street, splattering mud up from the gutter into the alley.
The trio in front of her stood there for a moment, drenched with dirty water and black mud.
"Perfect," Ed said sarcastically.
Behold, the end of chapter two.
Chetan is the"other Al."
Next time
Mustang meets up with Ed and Al, and they taketrip to the suburbs while the true culture shock of 2006 sets in.
Review, peoples!
Al: -holds up a sign that says R&R-