Laughter broke through the hot summer air as children played sidewalk games in the small town of Moroa. The townsfolk all stopped to greet each other as they passed, occasionally stopping to glance down a small alley in the center of the market place, looking for the nameless child. Two people came walking down the street, a blonde boy and a large suite of armor, talking about some kind of stone. They stopped in front of the alley, talking in low tones. A little kid ran passed, followed by some others. They ran down the alley, stopping in front of a pile of boxes.
"I dare you to throw somethin' at her!" One of them whispered.
"No way, I'm not gonna get near that thing!" The other replied, stepping back. The children whispered among themselves and the blonde boy came up behind them. He tapped one of them on the shoulder then asked them what they were doing.
"There's a weird girl who lives on the other side of the boxes," one of them replied. "She just sits there all day, and never moves from the spot!" Edward Elric looked at the boxes then signaled for his brother to come over. The kids ran off at the sight of the massive armor. He told Alphonse what the kids said, then crept closer at the sound of sniffling. He peered over the edge of one of the boxes, and saw a girl, about 14 or 15, leaning against the wall of boxes wrapped up in an old, dirty sheet. She was crying, and didn't seem to notice as the two walked up to her.
"Hey there," Ed said, putting his hand on her shoulder. The girl looked up and pulled the sheet tighter around herself. She had brown hair just shorter then shoulder length, but with a small section of long black hair she kept tied with a piece of rope. Under her right eye was a red tattoo-looking mark. The girl jerked her shoulder away from Ed, who let her. He stared at her as painful memories rushed to his mind at the familiar sight of her.
"Go away," the girl said her voice weak from little use. "Go away. Leave me alone." She began to cry again, letting the sheet she was holding drop a little. Around her neck was a silver locket, a small red gem gleaming in the center. "Just go away, okay? D-don't you think I've been laughed at enough?" She looked back at the Elrics, who were just looking at her, blank expressions on their faces. The girl began to look puzzled. Ed put his hand out, his face looking friendly.
"Come on," he said. "We'll get you something to eat." Al looked down at his brother. Did he really believe this girl was her..? "By the way, I'm Ed an' this is my brother, Al." Al snapped out of his thoughts.
"Hi..!" He said only half paying attention. Ed turned to the girl and helped her stand up.
"You must have a name." He inquired. "What is it?" The girl looked at her feet.
"I-I don't know," she mumbled. "I never really knew anyone who could tell me, either." Ed seemed a little distracted for a moment, then took her hand and lead her out of the alley.
"Well, we need to think of something, don't we?" He said. "That's a pretty locket you've got." He lifted the locket from her chest and looked at it. "I bet you anything that's a ruby in there." He looked back at the girl. "Why don't we call you Ruby?"
"Ruby..? It's a pretty name, Yes, I like that." She said. Al looked at Ed. Brother, I hope you aren't trying to do what I think you are, He thought.
"It's settled then. Your name is now Ruby." Ed smiled and Ruby looked as happy as she could, being so scrawny she could barely walk and talk at the same time.
"So, Ruby," Al said, watching Ruby scarf down a plate of pasta. "You don't know who you are, where you're from or anything about yourself?" Ruby swallowed.
"All I know is this locket means something about my past, and I can't give it up or else I might never know anything." She replied, then leaned back and gave a content sigh. "Why are you guys being so nice to me?"
Ed looked at Al then replied, "We're just nice people, I guess." Ed and Al paid the bill then they took Ruby to a shop.
"What's this place?" She asked with wonder. Ruby had always stayed away from everything, always to herself.
"It's a clothing store." Al answered. "You can't keep going around in that old sheet, can you?" Ruby smiled.
"New clothes," She whispered. They walked in, and after a while, Ruby decided on a pair of denim Capri's and a purple sleeveless shirt that tied around the side of her neck. She got some socks and sneakers, though Ed wouldn't let her wear anything until she had cleaned up.
"You can stay with us in our hotel room." Ed offered. "But you'll have to get used to us being lazy in the morning." Al chuckled. They walked into the hotel, but the manager stopped them.
"I'm sorry, no shirt, no shoes, no service." He said, eying up Ruby with a disgusted look. Ed stepped in front of her.
"She's staying with us. We'll serve her you just have to serve us." He said then lead the way to his and Al's room.
"It's soft to stand in here." Ruby commented. "It must be nice staying in places like this all the time." Ed smiled.
"It better be soft for what they charge. Anyway, you'll want to get cleaned up. The bathroom's over there." Ed pointed to a door on the right. "You know how to use a shower, right?"
"Yes." She replied. "I may not remember a lot of things but showers are just common sense." Ruby walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. She put her foot under the faucet to test the temperature, sighing as the warm water soothed her sore foot.
Three figures stood around in a dark room. "So, did it work, Envy?" Asked a woman's voice. Another voice answered, this one male.
"Hook, line and sinker. The girl is doing just as we'd hoped, and the boys are playing along with it."
"Good." The woman said.
"Lust," came another male's voice. "What do we do once we have the Elric's?" The woman spoke again.
"You'll see, Gluttony." She answered. She laughed a little. "This will all work out perfectly,"