Manami and Ed stood at the door to his room. The brunette took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled before Ed went to open the door and poke his head in the room.
"You ready?"
"Yeah." Manami heard Al reply.
"What's going on, guys?" She heard Winry ask, and it made Manami's heart pound. "You're acting really weird."
Ed didn't reply, looking back at Manami before opening the door more to let her in. Surprisingly enough, her feet moved immediately to step inside, and Manami lifted her eyes to meet the blue eyes of Winry Rockbell.
She could tell, just for a moment, that Winry looked a little confused— probably because she didn't recognize her.
"Hi… Winry…" Manami spoke, and her voice helped Winry remember.
Her mouth hung open, eyes wide in surprise.
"Ma… Manami..?" She whispered, and Manami gave a nod.
"B-But…" She looked to Ed and Al for a moment, then back to Manami. "But... how..? You…" She trailed off, and Manami swallowed thickly.
"There's a lot to explain… a-and don't worry, I'll explain everything... but before I do, I just…" She swallowed again. "I just want to say that I'm really sorry first…"
Winry looked pained, and it killed her.
"How long did they know?" Winry asked, making Manami blink in surprise.
"Today would be the twelfth day." She answered.
"So, where were you yesterday?" Winry frowned, and Manami flinched.
"N-Next door." She pointed to the wall with her thumb. "But that's my fault. I asked Ed and Al to not to say anything, not until I was ready." She said, and that seemed to be enough for Winry.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but let me tell the story... I'm hoping that I'll answer most of your questions along the way… okay?" Manami asked, and after a moment... Winry nodded.
"Okay…"
After Manami finished explaining the story, Ed was sitting next to Winry on his bed, while Al stood leaning against the wall, next to Manami who had taken a seat next to the bed.
"Now we're here... and that's everything." She concluded.
"So you're telling me... you expected us to turn our backs on you because of what you did?" Winry asked, her eyes full of tears, but her expression angry.
"... I'm not saying it was the right thing to expect." Manami shook her head.
"I, for one, am still angry about it." Ed spoke up, making Manami's eyes widen.
"I've been keeping the peace because our jobs depend on it." He admitted. "Yeah, a part of me is glad to have you back. That makes it easier. But a part of me just can't help being angry." He looked down to his lap.
"... It hurts... to hear that you had such little faith in us. You thought we would abandon you, and so you abandoned us, first." Winry finally spoke, not looking Manami in the eye either.
"My thoughts exactly." Ed added, his arms crossed.
"..." Manami looked down. "And you have every right to be angry, and to be hurt, about that. That was a mistake, and I can't apologize enough."
The room fell into a deafening silence.
"..." Winry sighed. "I've made up my mind."
Everyone looked up to her.
"Manami, don't think for a second that I'm not relieved that you're alive and with us now." She spoke. "I am also glad that you've realized your mistake and are taking the steps to earn our forgiveness..." She paused.
"But... I need a little more than that to earn back my trust. The only way that will come is with time." She forced a small smile.
Manami nodded quietly. "I understand. And I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to fix things. It may not ever be the way it was before, but..." She trailed off, but everyone seemed to understand.
"So, now what..?" Winry looked to Ed. "Are you guys leaving again?"
"Yeah." Ed answered.
"And you're going with them?" Winry asked Manami, who nodded. "The military order is to be basically attached to Ed's hip as much as possible, so... yep."
"... did you ever think of coming back home?" Winry asked nervously, making Manami's eyes widen in surprise.
"W-Well..."
She felt everyone's eyes on her.
"... I know I'm not ready yet... but I'd be lying if I said I didn't." She answered, honestly.
"I see..." Winry smiled a little. "That's good to hear."
"I owe Granny an explanation as much as I owed you guys one. It's just..." Manami's eyes narrowed as she looked down to her lap. "I haven't been there in so long, and... I don't know if I'm ready to see it all again."
"Well, lucky for you, Brother doesn't like going home too much." Al chuckled, earning a glare from his older brother.
"Only because there's no leads to get our bodies back there!" Ed protested.
"Yeah, that's definitely why." Winry rolled her eyes.
"Anyway," Ed huffed, going to change the subject. "Win, I was actually going to ask you a favor... if you could go to the train station and get us three tickets." He grabbed his wallet and a small notebook off his bedside table along with a pen and went to scratch on it, before ripping the page out and handing it to her.
"This is the location, and..." He reached into his wallet to pull out some money. "And this should cover the expenses."
"I-I can get money for my ticket..." Manami offered.
"Don't sweat it." Ed waved his hand. "We'll take turns covering the expenses, sound good?"
"Yeah, like I need to owe you anything else..." Manami sighed.
It couldn't be helped.
"Alright, I'll be back then..." Winry had gotten up and walked to the door, flashing a small smile to everyone, even Manami, before she walked out.
"..." Manami went to rub her head with her free hand and sighed heavily. It was only the early afternoon, but she was exhausted.
Ed opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Maes and Armstrong.
"Hey!" Maes grinned as he and Armstrong stepped inside.
"Miss Kami! I'm glad to see you awake and well!"
"Thanks..." Manami smiled weakly.
"You got all that awkward stuff out of the way, I take it?" Maes asked, noticing how Manami looked tired.
"Yep." She nodded.
"Great! I brought the Major with me so that you two could spill the beans on what happened. I even brought you stuff to draw with!"
"We're not babies..." Ed groaned.
"This is strictly for investigation." Maes said, his expression hardening. "I'm helping Major Armstrong crack this case... and, now that it's personal, I would like a word with the punk who gave Manami that nasty shoulder wound, personally."
"So, both of your pictures of the suspects match." Maes compared Ed and Manami's drawings after they each explained from beginning to end what had happened.
"I know that this one was called 'Envy.'" Manami pointed to her drawing of him.
"And they both had this tattoo, of an Ouroboros." Maes had his hand on his chin.
"My concern is the meaning behind these two different transmutation circles..." Armstrong thought aloud as he handed back Manami Ed's drawings.
"That I don't know..." Manami answered. "Maybe this circle was to tamper with the raw ingredients, while the one I saw was..." She lost her train of thought. It was so confusing.
"Ahh, I don't know... I didn't see what Ed saw, and he didn't see what I saw."
"I was just in a big room, with this circle on the floor." Ed said, pointing to the circle he drew. "There was also some kind of mural on the wall, but it was dark and I couldn't make much of it out." Ed explained.
"And I was in a laboratory, with this circle on the floor." Manami pointed to her drawing. "There were a bunch of tanks that looked like they were holding a whole lot of... something."
"Perhaps enough to fuel the East Area Civil War..." Armstrong glanced to Maes.
"Even if we try to investigate this any further, everything that you guys saw is just a pile of rubble now." Maes sighed, and everyone groaned.
"Well..." He took the notebook from Manami. "I can start at the crime list over at the Tribunal. Maybe something will pop up."
"I've gathered a list of Doctor Marcoh's subordinates. I will look into them and perhaps there may be someone who could give us more information." Armstrong added.
"Well—" Al was cut off by another person's voice.
"Excuse me."
Everyone turned and their jaws dropped to the floor. How long had he been there?! They didn't even hear the door open!
"Furher King Bradley!" They all stood at attention, even Ed and Manami.
"Shhh..!" Bradley hushed them as he approached them, both arms behind his back. "No need to be alarmed."
"F-Furher, what brings you here..?" Maes asked, his voice quieter.
"I've come to pay the Wind and FullMetal Alchemists a visit and wish them a speedy recovery! Do you kids like melons?"
"Huh?" Both of them blinked as Bradley pulled both arms from behind his back to reveal a melon in each hand. He handed them to Ed and Manami individually. They almost fell over, but they couldn't tell if it was from the weight of shock that Bradley may have heard everything, or from the melons.
"So, you've all been busy." Bradley went to fold his arms behind his back again. "You've been doing some investigation I hear, Major Armstrong."
"U-Uh, yes sir..! I mean... how did you—"
"I wouldn't underestimate my intelligence network." Bradley said simply, then eyed Edward and Manami.
"Mr. Elric, Miss Kami... you've been looking into the Philosopher's Stone?" He asked, making them freeze.
"Exactly how much do you know about it?" He asked, and they both swallowed. "I can only hope for your sake... that you don't know too much."
Ed and Manami didn't say anything, but stared up at him in horror. What could they say at a time like this? They couldn't tell him everything, but that sounded like a threat..!
Before they could think any more, Bradley had burst out into a hearty laugh.
"I was just joking! You two are pretty uptight for a couple of youngin's." He went to pat Ed's shoulder.
Manami felt lightheaded. Holy crap...
"I'm aware that there are some suspicious, even disturbing, movements in the military lately, and I want to do something about it. However..." He went to pick up a stack of documents that Armstrong had brought. "I've already looked into these names, the ones who worked on the research of the Philosopher's Stone. I've come to find that every single person here has been reported missing."
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Well, there went Armstrong's idea...
"What's more, they had vanished only a few days ago, before the Fifth Laboratory collapsed. I found that even more suspicious. The enemy seems to be always one step ahead of us, and I'm afraid that I don't know how far across our military ranks they've spread. We're at a disadvantage... they know a lot about us, and we don't know a lot about them."
"So in other words, this investigation is much more dangerous than originally anticipated..." Maes said, going to look to Manami. She met his glance, but quickly looked away.
"Precisely. And so... Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, Wind Alchemist, Elric brothers... you've all proven to be of trustworthy character. With that in mind, I give you the direct order to not look into this matter— and all that it concerns— any further. Suspicion is our strongest line of offense, and our only form of defense is discretion."
Bradley eyed Edward and Manami. "Trust no one. Keep this to yourselves at all costs. But..." He turned to Maes and Armstrong. "When the time comes to confront the enemy, I trust that you will join me."
"Yes, sir!" Maes and Armstrong quickly saluted.
"Excuse me, have you seen the Furher come this way?" They heard a voice from behind the door.
"That's my cue..." Bradley went to walk to the window and open it, then lift a leg to climb over the windowsill.
Bradley looked back to see everyone staring at him, dumbfounded.
"You see, I've snuck away from my bodyguards to get a moment of privacy. I'm sure you understand." He explained, and then lifted a hand to wave. "Until we meet again!"
And with that, he climbed out the window and walked away...
"... did he just..?" Manami's mouth was hanging open.
"... yup." Ed answered, his jaw also hanging.
That whole interaction was... really bizarre.