Ed and Manami sat across from each other in the same booth on the train. The ride through the first two stations were mostly quiet, because Ed had to make up something to write for his report. Manami gave him the silence he needed to concentrate, staring out the window and watching the scenery go by.
Ed managed to finish right as they arrived to the second station, so after some awkward silent after departing, Ed decided to spark some conversation.
"... sorry you had to go with me." He looked out the window. "We were just so busy with everything..."
"No, it's okay..." Manami shrugged her shoulders, also keeping her eyes on the scenery outside. "There wasn't much free time since I joined up with you two."
She looked back to notice that Ed raising a brow at her, his expression saying that he had realized something.
"I just thought of something we could talk about," He said. "I've actually been meaning to ask you and forgot..." He gestured towards her. "Your alchemy."
Manami blinked a few times. "Oh!" She never got to fully explain, did she?
"Yeah, I guess I told you that I would tell you, didn't I..." She turned to grab her bag and start digging in it."Really comes to show how busy we were."
Ed watched as she pulled out a small notebook and a pen.
"So... the whole concept of wind alchemy..." She flipped to a blank page and began to doodle. "The best way I can explain it is that it's the same way regular alchemy is used with earth or its materials. You deconstruct, reconstruct, and amplify."
"Right..." Ed nodded as he watched her scratch onto the notepad.
"So, all around us are air particles. Think of those air particles like... well, not infinite, but just about endless material." She went to hand him the notebook, and he looked down at the drawing.
* X )) ~
"I use my fans to gather these air particles from all around me into one spot, deconstruct them, then reconstruct them— using even more air particles to amplify the initial gust my fans made. That's what makes the power of a regular hand fan turn into a gust of... uh..." She thought for a moment. "I don't know the exact math, but it's enough to move heavy things around..."
"Enough to move you around," Ed commented, eyes not lifting from the drawing.
"Right," Manami pointed at the X in the drawing. "But behind the gust that I make, a sort of 'dead zone' is created, where there actually is no breathable air. The bigger the gust, the bigger the dead zone. For my normal uses of it, though, it isn't to where I can't breathe. But let's say I made something big, like a tornado—"
"You can make a tornado?!" Ed asked, looking up at her incredulously.
"Yeah," Manami nodded. "But they're more risky than useful. Not only does it make a hell of a dead zone for me, but I can't control where it goes."
"I see..." Ed put his hand on his chin, visibly processing the information Manami had just given him.
"So you mostly use it for the defensive, like keeping enemies at bay?" He asked.
"That, launching projectiles at enemies, running faster and gliding, or moving myself and allies away from the enemy, pretty much." The brunette nodded.
"One thing's for sure..." Ed's hand dropped from his chin into his lap, and his lips curled into a small smirk.
"You suck at drawing, Manami."
"Wh—" Manami's jaw dropped, taken back by the sudden comment, making Ed snicker.
"Sh-Shut up! You're one to talk!" Manami snatched the notebook back from him and went to shove it back in her bag.
Suddenly, the two began to feel the train start to slow down. They looked up as the train whistle blew.
"South City! South City!"
"We're here..." Ed sighed and went to gather his things. "That killed some time, huh?"
"Guess so." Manami replied, following him off the train.
"Hopefully this will go by just as fast, and get back to Dublith by tonight." Ed muttered, glaring at the building in the distance that was South Headquarters.
That didn't seem to be the case at all... Ed and Manami had walked into the wrong sector of the Headquarters, and were directed to three separate locations in the building before finding someone who was able to help them. The assistant was nice at least, but she took forever to copy Ed's report for their files before handing it back to him in a cream colored folder.
"Take this to the Technique Assessing Department. This is past due, so you might have to wait a while" She said.
"Okay," Ed took it and turned to walk away. "Thank you."
He and Manami both groaned after they walked around the corner.
"We're not getting back to Dublith tonight..." Manami sighed.
"Nope... that was confirmed the moment we got to that lady. She took forever..." Ed mumbled, looking around at the signs on the walls. "Agh, I don't even know where the Technique Assessing Department even is..."
"We could ask someone." Manami said as they approached another corner. They saw someone standing there, seeming like they weren't busy, and Manami approached them.
"Excuse me? Do you happen to know where the Technique Assessment Depar—"
She froze immediately. Ed raised a brow.
"What—"
And then he saw the giant mustached Alex Louis Armstrong, grinning happily at the two of them.
"Miss Kami! Edward Elric!"
Oh no...
Before they knew it, Ed and Manami had been escorted by Armstrong to see none other... than King Bradley.
"Good to see you two are well!" The Furher greeted them.
"Likewise..." Ed and Manami forced smiles back at him.
"I was assigned to escort the Furher for his inspection of Southern Headquarters." Armstrong explained.
"What a coincidence..." Manami chuckled weakly.
"Now, I hear one of you is here for their assessment?" Bradley asked, looking between Manami and Ed.
"Me, sir..." Ed bowed his head. "I apologize. It's overdue."
"Ah, I see." Bradley waved his finger to his assistant. "Let me take a look."
The assistant handed him the paper, and Bradley barely glanced over it before he waved his finger again. "The stamp as well."
"Huh?" Ed and Manami blinked in surprise as they watched Bradley stamp the paper.
"You pass!" Bradley beamed. "Congratulations, Edward Elric!"
Manami's knees buckled, but she managed to not fall to the floor.
"I had a whole damn diary written out for my trip to Xing, and Ed bullshits a report and passes in record-breaking time?!"
"It's hard to not know of your accomplishments, so that was report enough. I trust that you'll keep up the good work, FullMetal Alchemist." Bradley glanced to Manami. "And, your partnership with the Wind Alchemist is going well?"
"Yes sir." Ed and Manami both nodded.
"Good. So, what brings you two to the south anyway?" Bradley asked.
"Oh, we went to visit our alchemy teacher, she lives around here." Ed answered.
"Ah, with skills as great as yours, your teacher must be amazing!"
Ed and Manami chuckled nervously. Awesome was a word to describe her...
"Would she, perhaps, be interested in enlisting in the military?" Bradley asked, and Ed quickly shook his head.
"Nope. Not one bit."
"Ah, I see." Bradley nodded. "Always worth asking."
Ed and Manami had taken the first train back to Dublith the next morning. They arrived just shortly before noon, where the sun was practically at it's hottest.
"So hot..." Manami quickly took off her overcoat. She wasn't as self-conscious about her wound, as it just looked like a fading scab at this point. She went to tie the sleeves of her coat around her waist, looking down to tie the knot...
"Oof!"
"Oops, I'm so sorr—"
"Hello Miss Wind Alchemist!" She almost didn't recognize him in the flower-pattern tourist shirt.
"F-Furher Bradley?!"
"Dublith is quite pretty!" He laughed.
"Wh-Why are you..?!" Ed stammered.
"What do you mean 'why?' I'm here to visit your teacher!" Bradley went to hand Ed a watermelon. "This is a souvenir. Does she happen to like watermelon?"
"Th-Thanks..?" Ed blinked. "Wait... we were in the same train?!"
"You two don't exactly blend in with the crowd. It was quite easy to follow you." Armstrong appeared before them. "Stalking is a skill that has been passed down the Armstrong Family Line for generations..!"
Manami was starting to get impatient with all this nonsense, along with the heat.
"Can we just... go?" Her eyebrow twitched.
Manami and Ed tried separating from the Furher and Armstrong on their way back to the Curtis residence, but the two men walked into the shop a few minutes after they did. Luckily, the two kids made it into the back before they came in.
"May I speak to Mrs. Izumi?"
"Ham, One hundred grams, One hundred twenty-eight Cens."
Manami could hear Bradley pleading to see Izumi, and Sig's responses only being what was on their menu.
It was kind of funny.
"I'm glad you're back," Izumi approached them. "I have some bad news. Al's been kidnapped."
"..." Ed and Manami stared back at her for a moment as they took a moment to process what she just said.
"... what?!" They both cried.
"What do you mean kidnapped?!" Ed asked further.
"It's complicated..."
"What, they want a ransom?" Ed asked.
"Sort of, but not with money..." Izumi's eyes narrowed. "They want details regarding how you attached Al's soul to his armor."
Ed and Manami flinched with surprise.
"Why... do they want to know that?" Ed asked.
"I don't know... but the person was called 'Greed,' with an Ourobouros tattoo on the back of his hand." Izumi pointed to the back of her left hand with her right one, which was bandaged. "He called himself a Homunculus."
Ed and Manami's eyes widened.
Little did they know, Bradley was hearing this entire conversation.
"You've got to be kidding... you're just joking, right?" Ed asked, unable to accept it at first.
"No. I'm serious. This 'Greed' guy wasn't an ordinary human." Izumi answered.
Manami looked to the floor, remembering the last time she dealt with Homunculi... neither of the ones she saw had that tattoo on their hand, though.
Which meant they had no idea who this guy was, what he looked like, or what he was capable of.
But still...
"W-We've got to go get him..!" Manami looked to Ed.
"Right." He agreed.
"It's a place called the Devil's Nest," Izumi handed him a small piece of paper. "Here's the directions."
Ed nodded, though his eyes stared at her bandaged hand for a moment.
"... he hurt you?" He looked up at her.
"It's no big deal." Izumi answered. "I just underestimated him."
Ed's eyes narrowed. He remembered how Manami said the same thing once.
He knew that it wasn't because they underestimated these Homunculi guys, it was because they were ruthless.
Ed quickly turned around and went to walk to the door, Manami following after him.
"You be back in time for dinner." Izumi called, but neither of them responded as the door shut behind them.
"..." They walked for a bit, but Ed suddenly stopped.
"..?" Manami looked over at him worriedly. "Ed..."
"... stay on your toes. Keep your guard up." He said quietly. "We can't afford to underestimate this again."
Manami nodded, her expression hardening. "Right."
In that moment, the both of them realized...
... how absolutely livid they were.
How dare they kidnap Al?
They were in for a world of hurt.
Ed gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tightly, the paper crumpling in his hand.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
They strode toward the sleazy bar in silence, their anger only boiling inside their own blood. It was relatively easy to find the bar, and even easier to be escorted once they asked for this "Greed" person.
It was like they were expecting them.
Two thugs went to open a door and gestured for them to step inside. They saw Al immediately and walked in, seeing a guy with spiky hair and glasses standing beside him.
"You're Greed?" Ed asked, as the door shut behind them.
"Brother..! Manami!" Al seemed relieved to see them. Manami was just glad that he was okay.
"And you must be Edward Elric." The sunglassed man replied, but made a face when he saw Manami with him.
"Uhh, why did we bring a girl here though?"
"Because I'm gonna help him kick your ass!" She barked, his comment not helping with her anger.
"Time out," Greed went to shape his arms like an X. "First of all, I don't fight women. Especially little ones."
"What was that?!" Manami snapped.
But the man waved his hand dismissively toward her, angering her more, but then he looked to Ed.
"Second, I had no intention to fight period. Just tell me how you did that fancy soul-attaching trick, and you all can go home. In exchange... you want intel on the Homunculi, right? I so happen to be one, so I got all the juicy gossip."
"In other words..." Ed huffed. "You want to have an 'equal trade.'"
"Exactly!" Greed said with a grin. "No punches involved, 'kay?"
"I DON'T THINK YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GETS TO DECIDE THAT!" Ed roared. "I COULD GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU OR YOUR HOMUNCULUS INTEL!"
He pointed to Greed. "YOU KIDNAPPED MY BROTHER, HURT MY TEACHER, AND STILL THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE DEMANDS?! GO TO HELL, I'M NOT TELLING YOU SQUAT! I'M GOING TO BEAT THE HELL OUT OF YOU AND FORCE YOUR SECRETS OUT OF YOU! YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR 'EQUAL TRADE,' I'M TAKING IT ALL!"
"..." Everyone in the room stared blankly for a few seconds. And then Greed slowly started to clap.
"What a monologue..." He said, still in shock.
"Shall I join in?" One of his men asked, reaching for his sword.
"Just don't kill them..." Greed pleaded.
"Lucky for me, I'm not afraid to fight women!" The sworded man grinned as he ran towards them. Ed braced himself by transmuting his automail arm into a blade, but suddenly there was a gust of wind, sending the man flying back until he hit the wall hard.
"Today might be a good day to start being afraid." Manami sneered, getting into a battle-ready stance with a fan in each hand.
She was really getting sick of these guys looking down on her, just because she was a girl.
"Hoo!" Greed whistled. "You're just as feisty as the other lady! Roa!"
Another one of Greed's men stood. He was big and burly, much like Armstrong or Sig.
"Take the armor boy away," Greed ordered him. "We'll dissect him and analyze him."
"Yes sir."
"Like hell you will!" Ed charged, but Greed stepped in the way with his arm extended. Ed went to stab through his hand, but was surprised to hear a loud CLING!
Greed's hand was black, and it had completely deflected his blade?!
"Ignorant kids need to be punished." Greed snickered before he swiped at Ed, making him back away.
"Al!" Manami tried running towards him from another side of the room, but the man wielding the sword quickly got in between them, slashing at her with his blade.
"?!" She quickly jumped backwards to dodge it. He lunged at her to slash at her again, but she waved her fans to send him flying back.
"Ghh!" He noticed that a gash had appeared on his arm.
How did she cut him..?!
"Dolcetto! Come on!"
"Not so fast!" Manami went to follow them, but this time Greed stepped in front of her.
"You're making this hard on me, girl." He swiped at her, which she actually ducked to avoid, but he went to kick her hand and knock the fan that she was holding out of it.
"?!" In that moment of distraction, he kicked her in the stomach to send her stumbling back.
"Go! Now!" He called back to his men, and within an instant, they were gone.
"You're gonna regret that..!" Manami gritted her teeth, stuffing her remaining fan in her back pocket before clapping her hands. She glared up at him as she touched the ground and pulled out a small blade of her own.
Greed heaved a heavy sigh. "If you insist..."