I do not own FMA: B or Harry Potter
Aria often wondered if life was supposed to be this chaotic before remembering that she'd died and popped back up in a new world. Watching Greed playfully snap at Kimblee for his new white suit she found herself feeling more amused than anything else. It was true that the suit wasn't exactly subtle but her bright blue hair ribbon wasn't subtle either and he had no issue with that. Personally, she thought that the outfit suited him especially the hat he'd created; however, she didn't want to cut into their argument. Humming softly as they argued she drew the scene in her sketchbook. The entire thing reminded her of something Greed would do with Dolcetto...but he was gone.
It was only for a second but she felt nothing but pain at the reminder. Resisting the urge to press a hand to her chest as her heart ached, she took a shaking breath. Well, let's just shove that emotion back into the box and forget that it exists. She definitely wasn't remembering how Dolcetto would argue with Greed for fun, how Roa would bake her cookies, or how Martel would brush her hair, nor did she think about how Bido would leave her presents in her room. She couldn't think about any of that since the moment she did her heart would shatter into pieces. Clenching the pencil in her hand she shoved back her emotions almost violently. They needed food did they; that was suitably distracting wasn't it?
Laying down her pencil, she set the sketchbook down on the couch. The second the pencil was out of her hand Greed's eyes were on her. She could feel him looking at her and knew he was waiting for any sign that she wasn't alright. The look of worry in his eyes was almost enough to make her falter but she didn't want to trouble him with her problems. Instead, she forced a small smile to appear on her face saying, "I'm going to go hunting."
"Be careful, and don't take too long," Greed ordered before turning back to arguing with Kimblee. At this point, she was pretty sure they were both simply bickering for the fun of it.
Walking out of the house before Greed could change his mind, she kneeled to draw a simple transmutation circle on the ground. Creating a few throwing knives, she didn't notice the black cat watching her from a tree branch. Envy was vaguely sure that they could ambush the girl before Greed noticed. All they had to do was kidnap her and Father might forget their colossal failure; anything was possible. Still, they couldn't help but notice the way she stumbled against a tree for only an instant or the way she reached up to rub at her eyes when her back was turned to the house.
Trailing after the brat, they kept to the shadows making sure not to be seen. She was good with those knives too; it was obvious that Greed had wanted her to be able to take care of herself when he wasn't around. They could also see the Alchemy circles on her palms now too; so she hadn't performed human transmutation. That made her a potential sacrifice but not unkillable. If they had to, he could use her life as a bargaining chip for escaping their brother if they failed to escape unnoticed with the girl. The real trick wouldn't be capturing the girl it would be escaping the island with her before escaping Greed's notice.
Shifting on a branch they accidentally released a little bit of their presence at the thought of fighting their brother causing the girl to stiffen. Before they could reign it back in there was a knife flying at their face. Eyes widening, as much as they could while they were a cat, they jumped out of the tree. By the time they reached the ground, they were once more in human form and there were several more knives thrown in their direction. She really didn't hesitate, did she?
"Watch it you little brat!"
The shout caused her eyes to narrow even as they realized that they were nowhere near far enough from the house for them to go unnoticed. Spinning away from the knives, they growled at the girl who frowned at them. The stupid brat couldn't wait five more minutes before discovering them. Honestly, they were beginning to really dislike this little brat. Watching her glance back at the house, they internally cursed before kicking off the ground. Rushing in her direction they saw no point in trying to keep his presence hidden; instead, they would try to catch the brat before she could escape again.
Catching her arm when she tried to sidestep, they twisted tossing her toward a tree. Either she was used to fighting something faster than her or she was extremely lucky because she turned in midair to kick off the tree. Feeling their eye twitch Envy sneered as she landed and began running back toward the house. Was running the only thing Greed taught his pet how to do? Rushing after her, they transformed their arm into a blade hoping to injure her enough to make her stop moving. Then the girl tripped over a root, which was honestly something they hadn't expected, watching her eyes widen Envy was unable to stop the blade before it cut across her stomach.
Her scream ran through the air and was honestly the loudest sound they'd heard from the girl. Their plan had been to hit her leg or back not her stomach; not when doing so might kill her. If the girl died then they would fail Father and be sent back to Pride. The thought was terrifying; they'd already been punished by their brother once, which included getting their limbs cut off. Staring down at the girl who pressed a trembling hand to the wound they didn't notice Greed until the man was punching them in the face.
It wasn't a light tap like something a human would be able to do either, it was a hit that sent them flying away from the girl with enough force to shatter the tree they impacted. If Wrath was a monster built only for fighting then Greed was a demon. The man had completely bypassed his usual hand only shield during a fight and fully activated his ultimate shield making him look far more demonic than Wrath or even Pride. Pushing themself up despite the shards of wood piercing their back, Envy couldn't stop shaking as their brother stalked forward.
This was the first time they'd ever felt fear at the sight of Greed. The other Homunculus was always this coward who ran away due to his fondness for humans and his desire to live with them rather than over them. Such an idea had never resonated with Envy despite how jealous they were of humans. Greed was the coward who refused to fight for their cause that made him weak, so why was he so terrifying right now? Wrath had even stated that he'd defeated Greed less than a month ago.
At this moment, Greed was scaring them more than Pride had. Raising their hands in surrender; what else could he do, Envy screeched when Greed's foot impacted their ribs. Feeling their body leave the ground again, they couldn't help but scream in pain when Greed took the opportunity to punch them in the chest. The clawed hand tore through their skin, muscle, and bone easily and left them in agony, however, the pain was nothing compared to the hell swimming in their brother's eyes.
Did Greed care about the girl this much? They could feel every single centimeter of Greed's hand as the man allowed them to drop to the ground. Crumbling Envy did nothing when their brother raised his foot. The girl was a human wasn't she; what possibly made her worth this level of care from Greed? They didn't understand. Greed was just like them a Homunculus so why did he care so much about a human; that would bring nothing but pain. The immortality the man had meant the girl would die and leave Greed alone. It was the reason Envy had never tried to become close to a human.
Greed had chosen humanity at every turn; not just today but when he first turned against Father too. Why? It didn't make sense. He had to know how painful it would be when the humans he favored died. Humans were fragile; it was so easy to kill them that it had become a sport. Humans were cruel; they killed each other without mercy or thought. Humans were selfish; none of them could truly be loyal to anything but themselves. What about them was possibly so appealing that Greed chose them over being the ruler of everything?
It didn't make sense, so why did it feel like Envy was being left out of some big secret? Greed's anger made them afraid but at the same time, they felt jealous that Greed cared about the girl when they had no one besides Lust to care for. It wasn't fair, that despite leaving them and betraying them all he got to have something Envy didn't. Curling into a ball even as their body tried to heal, they couldn't stop wishing they could feel this level of anger.
Kimblee kneeled beside Aria ignoring the beating going on a few feet away. At first, when he'd seen her laying here with her eyes closed he'd thought she was unconscious, then he noticed the blue lightning aching off her skin. Her eyes were shut from concentration, not pain as she froze her own blood to stop the bleeding. It wasn't something he would have expected from a normal child, however, Aria was nothing like a normal child.
Watching the red ice slowly spread over her skin, he noticed the minute trembling of her hands. She was forcing herself to stay focused; something most people wouldn't be able to do. Even a soldier would be screaming rather than treating their wound; he'd seen many do so during his time in Ishval. Her Alchemy was impressive as well, he was willing to bet she'd surpassed Issac in terms of raw talent but not experience. What he found more impressive than her Alchemy however was her resolve; she wasn't even whimpering.
Opening her eyes as she finished Kimblee's frown was the first thing she saw. It was a strange sense of Deja Vu and for a moment she saw her aunt in his place. Despite knowing that she was on Yock Island with Greed and Kimblee she suddenly felt as if she was seven years old again laying at the bottom of the stairs. At least this time the demon dog wasn't chewing on her ankle. Still, the memory made her feel weak as if all the work she'd put into becoming Greed's Alchemist was gone. The idea of being that little girl again made her want to cry; that Aria was weak and scared. She didn't have Greed or the ability to stand on her own; never did she want to be that little girl again.
Then he was reaching down to lay a steady hand on her forehead and bringing her back to reality. The touch caused her to relax even as pain rushed through her body like fire; he felt warm against her cold skin. He grounded her and reminded her that she was here with Greed only a few yards away. She was safe; even having been injured she was safe. Letting her hands lay against her skin, she didn't care that Greed would most likely kill Envy. Don't get her wrong she wasn't angry that he hurt her, she would just accept that Greed would make the best choice.
Turning her head to look over at Greed, she wasn't surprised to see him beating Envy into the ground. Literally, he was making a crater out of Envy's body. Feeling Kimblee remove his hand, she quickly found her eyes covered by white fabric. Blinking she heard the man stand and couldn't find the strength to move the hat he'd used to cover her eyes. Instead of feeling insulted by his action, she closed her eyes trying to push back the pain she still felt.
Looking down at the girl, he wondered if he'd imagined the quick flash of despair and fear in her eyes before deciding that it didn't matter. Stepping over her, he walked toward Greed who he knew was trying to kill Envy. If the man killed the Homunculus, they wouldn't get any answers on what he was doing here; even though the answer was fairly obvious. He would rather be sure than leave himself open to being blindsided. Reaching out he grabbed Greed's arm before he could stab Envy through the chest again.
Meeting those enraged eyes he didn't back down even when Greed snarled at him. The other man had asked him to become a possession he was pretty sure the Homunculus wouldn't harm him. Ignoring Envy's whimpering, he pointed at Aria with his other hand. If Greed cared about the girl as much as he claimed then beating Envy couldn't possibly compare to going to her side. The moment Greed followed his action the man reacted allowing his shield to fade in favor of rushing to kneel beside her. It kept surprising him that Greed cared more for a little human girl than anything else.
Turning his attention to Envy, he found the homunculus looking quite pathetic. Even the red lightning struggling to heal him couldn't disguise the way his body shook in fear. Kimblee honestly thought Aria was handling her injury better than an immortal who couldn't' even die. Envy's reaction was pathetic, he doubted the creature even understood why Greed was so angry. Kimblee didn't really get it either but he was beginning to suspect.
"Kimblee," Greed called gaining his attention. Shiting just enough to glance at the man, he kept most of his attention on Envy. If the Homunculus tried anything he would try out a new trick on him. Holding Aria in his arms gently, Greed's anger was still almost visible as he said, "I'm taking Aria inside. Envy unless you want another beating I suggest you come along quietly or Crimson will show you his art."
"Oh I will," he asked causing the Homunculus to glare at him. Chuckling he raised his hands in surrender as Greed began carrying Aria into the house. He could see her holding his hat against her chest; the sight caused his hand to twitch. Narrowing his eyes at the creature on the ground he said, "well you heard him."
"Why are you helping them anyway? You don't get anything out of it! It would be easier to take the girl and come over to a side that can actually give you something in return," Envy snapped even as they pushed themselves to their feet.
Kimblee raised an eyebrow before smiling. It wasn't a nice smile either, it was the kind that made Envy wonder if the man kicked puppies every day. Shrinking under the gaze they glanced at the human's hands all too aware that this man could turn them into a living firework. Why did they have a habit of ticking off people who could and would kill them just for fun? Jolting as Kimblee laid a hand on their shoulder, they had to bite their tongue to keep from snapping.
"Pick any reason you want, I don't care, but if you're not in that house within two minutes, I'll pick a body part."
Watching the Homunculus's eyes widen with horror before he started rushing toward the house; Kimblee couldn't help but hope the creature was too slow. He was dying to try exploding someone's blood while it was still in their body once again; it had been fun to make living bombs in Ishval and he hadn't had the chance to play around with it since he'd been freed. Seeing Envy shudder he decided that he would start on the left leg and continue from there. Picking up speed the Homunculus almost dove into the house to escape the human. Sitting down on the floor quickly Envy stilled completely as they watched Greed treat the brats injury with careful movements.
Aria was just as trusting as usual as he moved slowly. At most the injury was just a flesh wound; she wasn't in any real danger, however, the simple fact that Envy had dared to attack what belonged to him was enough to enrage him. When he'd heard her scream the first thing he'd thought was that Wrath had come back to take away the last of his possessions. Finding that it was only Envy was both enraging and relieving. He could defeat Envy easily; the other homunculus wasn't a fighter. Once Envy's tricks failed he had a habit of running away, but he'd still hurt her.
Sorry for being two days late. Anyway, what did you guys think about this chapter?