Manami and Winry met Ed and Al at the train station the next morning, to be greeted by Armstrong, Second Lieutenant Ross, and Sergeant Brosh. They were already accompanied by Gracia, Elicia, and Maes. So the six of them said their goodbyes before the Hughes family turned to Manami.
"I made you something to eat during your trip." Gracia smiled as she handed Manami a small box. She could tell immediately by the warmth of the box that it was a pie, and a freshly baked one at that.
"I'll hold it." Winry offered kindly, and Manami handed her the box.
"You take care and be safe, okay?" Gracia asked, going to hug Manami. She wore her sling today, so like yesterday, she only hugged her back with her left arm.
"Bye Nami..." Elicia's eyes were filled with tears. Manami smiled sadly as she bent down to her height.
"Bye, Elicia... you be good, okay? I'll bring you a souvenir, just like I did last time." She went to hug her, and the little girl squeezed as tight as she could, unwilling to let go. But she had to... Gracia picked her up as she started to sniffle and Manami looked to Maes.
"You be safe out there, kiddo. And come home soon." He said softly. She could tell, only by looking closely, that he had a tear or two at the corner of his eyes.
"I will. Promise." Manami went to hug him. He held her close before leaning in to her ear.
"I love you." He whispered, so only that she could hear.
That was the first time he ever said that to her.
That was the first time any adult said that to her in... forever.
"... I love you too." She whispered back, feeling her own tears start to form. They were both hesitant to break the embrace, but when they did, Maes quickly threw up a firm salute.
"FullMetal and Wind Alchemists, may your travels be safe and pleasant!" He said, while Armstrong and his subordinates joined him in a salute.
"Thanks!" Ed went to wave before going to board the train, followed by Al, and then Winry. Manami only turned the face the train, but didn't step forward.
She was hesitant.
"Go on," Maes insisted. "They need you."
"..." Manami nodded. "Yeah..!" She flashed a small smile back at him before going to run to the train and get on board.
She found the others in a booth, where Al had politely stood aside to let her in and have the window seat. She felt the train start to move forward as she looked out to see everyone standing there, waving. Elicia was full-out crying now... and so was Armstrong? Geez...
They all waved back from their booth until they disappeared from sight. Manami ignored the bad feeling she had in her chest. She felt the same way when she went to Xing. She just missed them already, that's all.
"So, what made you two want to visit your old teacher?" Winry looked to Ed, her question snapping Manami out of her thoughts.
"Well... for two reasons. One, we want to get stronger. We've been kind of on a losing streak lately, so..."
"You guys are really obsessed with fighting..." Winry rolled her eyes.
"It's not that simple, idiot!" Ed barked. "We want to get stronger on the outside, but on the inside, too! Right Al?"
"Exactly." Al nodded.
"Okay, and the second reason?" Manami was the one to ask.
"We want to ask her... about human transmutation." Ed answered. "She never taught us anything about human transmutation or the Philosopher's Stone, and since its dangerous to get involved with..."
"Maybe there's some off-chance she knows another way to get our bodies back." Al finished for him.
"We gotta be brave and... try to ask..." Ed began to sweat.
"... she's gonna kill us, isn't she..?" He whined.
"I'm scared, brother..!" Al joined him. He at least wanted a girlfriend before he died!
He slowly glanced over to Manami, watching her look out the window for a moment.
"Sounds like you need some comfort food." Winry said, pulling out the small box that Gracia gave them.
"Mrs. Hughes made a pie to eat during our ride." She went to open it. "As I thought, it's apple pie!"
Manami knew that Al couldn't sleep, but she was just about to realize that he couldn't eat, either.
"Brother, you can have my slice." The suit of armor offered, hiding any sense of disappointment in his voice as everyone else took one.
"You want me to get fat, don't you? So I can't beat you at sparring again." Ed scoffed, taking a slice before biting into it and chewing for a moment.
"... yeah, I'll have that second slice." He said, his mouth still full.
"It's delicious..!" Winry hummed happily. "Mrs. Hughes actually taught me to make this pie, so I'll bake some for you when you get your body back, Al!"
"Yay!" He threw his hands in the air happily.
Manami eyed him, now connecting the dots in her mind. He didn't have a body... of course he couldn't eat.
Winry saw her look down at her half-eaten slice of pie in her hand, with guilt in her eyes.
"The Hughes'... are really nice people, huh?" Winry broke the silence, and Manami slowly nodded.
"Mm..." She smiled fondly.
"I don't know how you deal with Hughes sometimes, Manami." Ed muttered. "He's always up your butt, treating us like kids. It's annoying."
"That's what parents do, Ed." Manami replied, finishing her slice of pie.
"And that's great, but he's not our parents," He snapped back, noticing that Manami's eyes narrowed a bit before she turned her head to look out the window again.
That comment stung her a little more than he meant it to, and he could see it on her face.
"... I'm just saying I could deal if he backed off a little sometimes." He went back to eating his slice.
"Come on, brother, you didn't like that he came to visit and check on you guys at the hospital every day?" Al asked, and Ed went to look out the window.
"Yeah, I guess I did..." Ed cracked a small smile. "He even visited when he had a whole bunch of work to do."
He then looked to Manami. "Whaddya say we do something nice to thank him when we get back?"
Manami was surprised to hear Ed of all people suggest that, but she smiled anyway.
"I think that's a great idea."
Rush Valley was hustling and bustling with hundreds of people walking through the streets. There were windows displaying automail crafts, and sometimes more than prosthetic limbs. There were even weapons, jewelry, and things Manami didn't even know what to make of. There were people sitting in front of their shops, photos of their craft displayed as a sort of portfolio, along with their pricing for potential customers to look over.
Winry stopped at each establishment to admire everything for at least ten minutes.
"It's like she's at a carnival..." Manami chuckled to herself, sitting on a bench while she waited with the Elric brothers. It was so hot, but she couldn't take off her overcoat because she only wore a tank top underneath. She didn't want to expose her wound to the public eye... or sunlight.
"How could you even be into this crap?" Ed muttered, obviously cranky from the heat.
"Come on, that crap is the reason you have an arm and a leg. Cut her some slack." Manami said simply, making him grumble. She was right.
"Metallic arm wrestling contest! Current champion has fifty-one straight wins!" They heard someone announce from behind them. They looked over to see a crowd of people, surrounding a table.
"This guy is unbeatable! Think you can take him on?! Entry fee is ten thousand Cens, and the pot goes to whoever can beat the champion!"
"I'll take him on!" A man yelled from behind Manami, sliding past her bench to approach the table.
"It's definitely like a carnival." Manami commented with a grin.
"What's going on?" Winry had returned and looked over to see what the commotion was all about.
"Ready... steady... GO!" They watched as the two men began to arm wrestle. It only took a few moments for the "champion" to slam the other guy's hand down, and rip it clean off.
"?!" The kids' eyes widened as the crowd roared.
"Sorry, boss. Let me get rid of this scrap for you..." The champion threw the arm behind him, not looking to see where it landed. The challenger stared at him in horror.
"I... I just got this today... I still have payments..."
"We can fix it up for you!"
"Let's set up a payment plan!"
"You can work for me instead if you're broke!"
Various men carried him away, like vultures.
"Next up... ah! Check out this Behemoth!" The announcer pointed to Al, making Manami frown. Behemoth?
"Rude." She muttered. The man didn't hear her.
"How about it? You want a shot?!" The announcer asked him, and Al waved his hands.
"N-No thank you..!"
"This kid's got an automail arm!" The announcer noticed Ed next to him. He seemed unimpressed.
"No thanks." Ed turned his head.
"My bad, a little shrimp like you couldn't win anywa—"
Ed suddenly sat at the table, making everyone blink in surprise.
"You think you can take me with that hunk of junk?" The champion let out a hearty laugh.
Manami heard Winry growl next to her.
"Edward, you better win, or I'll kick your ass!" She yelled, making Manami look at her in surprise.
"Ready, steady, GO!"
And, even quicker than the champion did before, Ed slammed his hand down and tore the whole arm off, the same way he did to that other guy last time. Wires hung loosely from the socket as Ed gave him an evil grin.
Everyone was silent as they stared, mouths wide open.
"Looks like scrap dealers are gonna be busy today." Ed tossed the arm behind him, the same way the man did with his previous opponent. The crowd roared once again, the same vultures taking him away. Ed gleamed as he soaked in the applause.
"How did he..?" Winry asked, and Al leaned to whisper so that only she and Manami could hear. "He used alchemy to break his arm."
"Pheh," Manami chuckled. "Well, serves the asshole right."
"Hey, what kind of automail is that?" Someone approached Ed, followed by a few others.
"I haven't seen this model before..."
"Who's your engineer?"
"That's me!" Winry chimed in.
"Wow, ma'am. Such amazing craftsmanship!"
"He's got an automail leg, too?!" They could feel the crowd surrounding them now.
"Take off your clothes!"
"GAAH!"
Winry beamed. "Everyone is so enthusiastic about automail here! This is heaven!"
Ed glared at her, totally stripped down to nothing but his boxers.
"Not for me! Where are my clothes?!" He barked.
"The FullMetal Alchemist, stripped down to his undewear." Al couldn't help but joke.
"Good thing he chose boxers and not briefs today." Manami snickered.
"I swear, if you two don't help me find my clothes, I'm beating both of your asses!" Ed turned a bright red from embarrassment.
They finally retrieved his clothes and he went to put them on, but something felt missing.
"Wait..." He patted his pockets. "?!"
"What?" Winry asked as Ed frantically patted himself down, then pulled his pockets inside out.
"M-My pocket watch... my silver pocket watch to prove I'm a State Alchemist... i-it's gone!"
"Gone?!" Al, Manami, and Winry yelled in unison. Instinctively, Manami reached for her own pocket and felt around.
"Phew... still got mine." She gave a thumbs up, earning a growl from Ed.
"That doesn't help me!"
"Sounds like you're the newest victim of Paninya." A stranger commented. "She's a thief that targets tourists."
"Where can I find her?! She took something very important!" Ed asked desperately, and the man put a hand on his chin.
"Mm... I can tell you, but..." He grinned. "But first, please let me have a look at that automail!"
Ed clapped his hands to make a blade out of his arm and point it at his throat.
"This a good view for you?" He asked with a deadly tone.
"Sh-She went that way!" The stranger squeaked as he pointed toward the mountains. "At the main street pawn shop!"
And with that, the kids ran.
Ed barged through the door to the pawn shop to find a girl talking with the man over the counter, holding his silver pocket watch in her hand. She looked like she was messing with it... trying to...
"Don't you dare open it!" He yelled, going to approach her. She quickly grabbed a vase off the counter and throw it to him.
"Catch!"
"Noo! That vase is worth a hundred thousand Cens!" The shopkeeper wailed.
Ed managed to catch the vase. But then the thief hopped out the window.
"You get back here!" He went after her. "Al, she's going this way!"
Al and the others were waiting outside.
"You got it!" He looked back to Manami and Winry. "You two stay here, we'll be back!" He said before running off.
Manami frowned. "Like hell I'm staying anywhere. C'mon," She went to walk, motioning her head for Winry to join her.
She saw Ed chasing the girl over the rooftops. She made a mental note of what she looked like as she broke out into a run, Winry following close behind. From then on, they followed the sounds of Ed's yelling, as well as his alchemy.
He was making a mess...
The girls heard a particularly loud noise that sounded more like an explosion than a transmutation, but Manami ignored it for now, going to look around a corner to see the girl in a cage.
Oh... guess Ed got her after all.
But then the girl lifted her leg to reveal a blade coming out of it, then sliced the bars of her cage open.
"?! Stay here!" Manami whispered to Winry and then ran across the street to hide behind the corner of that building. Winry was about to protest, but then Manami pointed.
As she thought, the girl had started to run towards them. Now Winry understood. They were going to trap her from both sides.
"Hahaha, catch me if you can!" The thief teased, but before she knew it, both of her wrists had been gripped tightly, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"?!" She looked to see a blonde gripping one arm, and a brunette gripping the other.
"Gotcha!" Manami and Winry grinned, satisfied with their catch.
"Way to go, ladies!" Ed ran towards them. "Don't let her go!"
"Oh, she's not going anywhere..." Winry snickered. "I've got to see that automail!"
"Eh..?" The thief blinked at the blonde's big shining eyes, then noticed that the other three had fallen to the ground.