A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows.
It had been a year since Hohenheim left them and not once did her father write a letter to them, telling them where he was going. Emma was fine with not knowing where he was going but it wasn't the same for the other members of her family. Edward and Alphonse started to run to the door after one week of their father's disappearance while her mother pretended to be strong, only crying when she thought no one could hear her. The research her father was doing had to be worth it because what could make him leave them for so long.
Shaking her head, the blue-eyed girl stared down at the basket of apples she had brought for their family to eat. Why should she concern herself about Hohenheim? It was her siblings and mother she had to care for. With their father gone, it was her job to make sure everything was fine. She had to be the strong one for their broken family because of the two sets of memories she had.
Taking a deep breath, the four-year-old went on her tiptoes and placed the basket of apples on the table before heading towards her father's study, where she knew Edward and Alphonse would be. Those two brothers of her had made it their life goal to read Hohenheim's journal, no doubt hoping to see the allure of Alchemy had on their father. She joined them in their research though she only did it after she finished helping Trisha with the housework.
"Emmy! Sit beside me!" Emma grinned at the sight of her nearly three-year-old brother smiling at her as he waved for her to take a seat beside him. Her twin brother just looked up from the book he was reading and grinned at her. Smiling widely, the little girl picked up the book Alphonse had finished to read while she had been doing housework. Flipping the book open, she began to skim read through the topics presented in the journal.
"Now that I think about it, there are a lot of similarities between Alchemy and sealing isn't there?" Kurama asked her as she read about the Law of Natural Providence. The blond-haired girl thinned her lips at the question but did not immediately answer the question, instead choosing to continue to read the details of the laws. A transmutation circle was needed for things to be done, Emma summarized as she furrowed her eyebrows together. This wasn't the same for sealing where it was not necessary for her to draw any circles or symbols nor would she be able to create things from the matter around them.
No, sealing for her had been always to store things, cause explosions and so many other things. She had used it to win a war but not once did Naruto Uzumaki thought of the potential of building things. The blue-eyed girl grimaced as she realized the truly helpful seal she ever made was the anti-rape seal, which if Emma thought about it, could be useful in this place. Perhaps if she made the seal again and sold it, as someone else, then they could get more money.
Hmm, maybe she should also consider the idea of putting seals on her clones which would connect her to them and allow them to absorb a little bit of her chakra to make them even more study. Of course, this experimenting would have to take place when her family was dead asleep.
"There is also a lot of differences between them," Emma finally answered, flipping to the next page. "Alchemy is something that requires logic and has its limits while sealing does not. I could not, for example, use Alchemy to prevent rape during the act but I could use sealing to do it. Alchemy will not be able to be used as storage while sealing can. Alchemy cannot summon the Shinigami while Sealing can...out of the two, which one is more dangerous for me to use."
"It would be sealing, however, you are still learning about Alchemy because you want to see if any of the principals could be applied to your use of seals," Kurama stated.
"The best thing I think would work was if I use a storage seal alongside the alchemy transmutation circle," Emma mused, picking up the piece of chalk that her brother had dropped. She ignored Edward and Alphonse's curious looks, instead choosing to draw the transmutation circle alongside with one of the seals she created in her previous life. "Of course, there is no guarantee I could use the alchemy transmutation circle to manipulate the water and then unleash it another area. It would require a bit of experimenting."
"Emmy, what are you writing?" Edward asked, staring at the letters she had written on the ground beside the transmutation circle she made. "It doesn't look like the letters we were taught in school and why did you put it beside the transmutation circle you made?"
"It is my new code language which is why you can't understand what I wrote," Emma answered, looking at the storage seal she made on the ground. She licked her dried lips and traced the letters she wrote. "And I put it beside the transmutation circle to see if it will make sense to me...it doesn't really change anything."
"Can we learn your code language?" Alphonse asked, looking at her with those big golden eyes that he knew was hard for her to resist. She bit her lips and debated on whether or not to actually those two little brothers of her, the language she had grown up learning in her first life. There was no need for them to know the language but it might become useful in the future. There was no telling what was going to happen in the future but it was better to be prepared than sorry.
"I will teach you guys," Emma answered, running her hand through her hair. "You see the letter I wrote, it means to store."
"Why would you write the letter store?" Her twin asked, furrowing his eyebrows at her. "It has nothing to do with the transmutation circle you drew and if you add it to the circle then it can cause an imbalance in the property. It won't work."
"I guessed that would happen which is why I said it doesn't change a thing," Emma answered, erasing the character away. She stared at the transmutation circle and thinned her lips, wondering if it was possible to combine the transmutation symbols along with the sealing characters. If those two could combine, what would be the result? Storing would be impossible but if she could make it in a way which made attacking easier than it would be awesome.
"Emma, Edward, Alphonse! How many times have I told you not to mess with your father's study?" Their mother asked, drawing their attention away from the floor. "Do the three of you truly enjoy reading his journals?"
Well, it was definitely more interesting than the things I am being forced to learn again, Emma grumbled to herself as her brother ignored their mother's question and begin to draw his own transmutation circle. Hell if this had existed in Konoha then Emma had no doubt she would have done everything in her power to master it. In fact, she would have her clones study it when everyone else was asleep but their mother locked the study up at night; probably knowing that they would sneak in to read the journals.
"Hey! Don't do that Ed! You can't just draw anywhere!" Her mother cried, rubbing the side of her head. "I have already cleaned the drawing Emmy did on the living room floor."
Why did her mother clean the barrier seal she created? God damn it, Emma knew she should have used her blood to make the seal but she hadn't entertained the idea of her mother cleaning it up. Right, next time if she was going to make a seal then it better be in a place where her mother couldn't find it. It was her job to protect their family now that Father wasn't here to do his job.
"The three of you are going to get scolded by your father when he returns back from his trip," her mother informed them, putting down the basket of clothes on the floor. Trisha knelt down and looked at the transmutation circle Edward made.
"We're not messing around," Edward declared, pointing to the transmutation circle he made. "Look!"
Emma watched as a small part of their father's wooden floor was transformed into a tiny bird. In the past, the people of Konoha might have tried to explain it by saying it was due to chakra or by suggesting it was magic but the little girl now knew better. There were certain things which could not be done by chakra or the very least without having a Kekkai Genkai, which allowed them to manipulate the nature around them. The usage of Chakra did not need any knowledge of science while Alchemy demands it.
"This is alchemy," their mother stated, looking at the bird with wonder. "Did your father teach you three?"
"How could he teach us when he was always busy studying?" Emma asked her mother before her brother could say some rude comment about their father decision to leave them. Shaking her head, the little girl grinned and placed her hands on top of her two brothers. "We learned it from the books Father left here."
"The three of you could understand these difficult texts?"
"A little bit," The three of them answered in unison.
Trisha started at them for a good couple of seconds before letting out a sigh. "If the other alchemist finds out about what the three of you did then it will make a mockery of their efforts."
Would you say the same thing if my body match my mental age? Emma couldn't help but asked herself as Edward asked their mother if the three of them did something wrong. A four-year-old shouldn't understand these complicated texts but she was a twenty-one-year-old woman stuck in a four-year-old body. She was not truly a genius. The real geniuses in their family were her twin brother and Alphonse. She was just lucky to have them explain the parts she didn't understand.
"You three are truly your father's children," Trisha said, wrapping her arms around them. "Mom is proud of the three of you."
Would her mother still say those words if she knew the truth about her? Emma couldn't help but wonder as she basked in the warmth Trisha gave her.
This was a question she knew would always haunt her mind.
Emma clutched her mother's hand as the two of them walked to the grocery store to get their usual grocery supply while her brothers spend time with Winry and her grandmother. It was mother and daughter bonding time or so Trisha would tell her whenever she whined about going to the grocery store. There was just something about the way the owners looked at them that just made her feel uneasy, made her want to snap at them for giving her such looks.
She grimaced and stopped walking once she spotted a man with dark hair and black piercing eyes staring at her and her mother. The little girl tilted her head, wondering why a soldier from the army was here. Was there going to be a war happening soon? Or was the man here for a short tour before going his merry way? Either way, Emma wanted to know why this man was here. This small town rarely had people visiting them and the ones that did visit were either relatives or some weirdo.
Hmm, the man might be a weirdo.
"What are you looking at, Emmy?" Her mother asked, drawing her attention away from the soldier. "It must be something interesting for you to stop paying attention to your surroundings and stay still. Hmm, should I guess what you are looking at, Princess?"
The blue-eyed girl tore her eyes away from the dark-haired man and stared at her mother's shining turquoise eyes. Nodding her head, Emma watched as her mother tapped the side of her chin and looked around the area to find the source of her interest. This was a game they played, a game that belonged only to her and her mother. This was the game Trisha would always play whenever she didn't pay much attention to her mother's words.
It was a lot better than getting scolded by her.
"Hmm, are you looking at one of your classmates?" Her mother asked, subtly pointing to the male classmate that kept glancing at her. The blond-haired girl laughed and shook her head, earning a pout from the young woman. Why would she look at her classmate who wasn't interesting? Why didn't her mother think she was looking at the soldier, who was now starting to head in the direction of the train station. She tilted her head and stared at the man, who was being approached by a smiling man in the same kind of uniform.
"Your father will be upset if he sees that you are already interested in boys," Trisha said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Emma blinked her eyes and tilted her head at the older woman who stared at the raven-haired soldier, who was busy arguing with his friend and then gave her an amused smile. Why would she presume she had an interest in the soldier? Emma had no idea who the male was nor did she have any desire to know him personally. No, what interested her was the fact there was a soldier here.
"Silly Mother, why would I like him? Boys are icky," Emma stated, using the same excuse that she would make as Naruto Uzumaki when she had been bullied by her female classmates, who presumed she was in love with Sasuke. "Father has nothing to fear. It will be a long time before I find a man that I like."
"I hope it is never," Kurama commented and the blond-haired girl couldn't stop herself from mentally raising her eyebrows at the fox. The thousand-year-old fox snorted. "You do realize if you are ever going to be in a relationship then I will be forced to share my space with any future brat you have and see you do the deed."
"Figure out a way not to see it," Emma stated, smiling at her mother who had a strange far away look on her face. She rather not have to deal with having to know the fox was watching her every single move. In fact, the blonde may just try to develop a seal inside her mind which could prevent the damn fox from seeing something it shouldn't see. Honestly she rather not deal with him making any comments about the man she might potentially date.
"I hope the man will be a decent man to you that would give you all the respect you deserve," her mother said cheerfully, running her hand through her long hair. "Though I really do pity the poor boy who will try to have a relationship with you; your brothers and father will try to kill him."
"Mother, why are you talking about something that isn't going to happen anytime soon?"
The young woman just smiled and ruffled her hair but Emma didn't miss the wave of sadness and pain radiating from her. Was something wrong? Why was she acting so sad about the future? And why was her mother talking like she would never see the man who will marry her? No, she was just imagining things. Everything was fine. No, everything will be fine. Their family still needed to get used to the idea of not having their father around.
"Mommy is just being silly," Mother said, ruffling her hair. "Now what are we buying today?"
"Milk, tomato, corn, pasta, apples, cabbage," Emma listed before pulling out the list of groceries her mother had forced her to write for them. The little girl handed the list to the brown-haired woman, who smiled at her. There was definitely something bothering her mother, the blue-eyed girl thought, noticing the slight tremor in the woman's hands and how her mother had forgotten to ask her to give her the list. What was wrong though she couldn't figure out. It couldn't be sadness due to the lack of letters because her mother would never do it in front of them.
She thinned her lips and stared at the brown-haired woman. "Mother, is everything alright? It isn't like you to forget the grocery list."
Trisha laughed and smiled reassuring at her but Emma was not fooled one bit. It was their father who forgot the small things, always needing their mother to remind him of the important dates in the year. Forgetting a grocery list might be a minor thing but Emma had lived through a war. She knew even the smallest clue could be of help and her gut instincts were telling her that the forgetfulness and the tremor weren't things she should ignore.
"I'm fine, Emma," Trisha answered, snapping her out of her train of thoughts. "Mommy just had a few things on her mind."
Liar, a voice in her mind whispered as they entered the grocery store. If things were truly fine like her beautiful mother claimed then why did the woman feel guilty when she was saying those words to her. Why had her mother talked in a tone, which suggested that she would never ever see her get married? She clenched her hands into a fist. Should she tell Edward and Alphonse about her concerns? No, she couldn't confirm anything.
"Emma, everything will be fine," her mother said, kneeling down to look at her. "I know things hadn't been easy since your father left but as long as we have each other then things will be fine."
It wasn't true but for Trisha's sake, Emma would accept her mother's lies and pretend everything would be fine.
"Since when were you interested in medical books?" Kurama questioned her as she scanned through the medical journals that she borrowed from Winry's parents, who had been more than happy to lend it to her. The little girl didn't answer the question immediately, instead choosing to put the lamp closer to the book. Her friend was right to wonder about her sudden interest in medicine but Emma couldn't ignore the subtle changes in her mother's daily routine or the slight changes in the young woman's chakra. Something was happening to her mother but she didn't know what it could be.
"Kurama, is there an easier way to narrow down what illness my mother has?" Emma asked him as she circled the common symptoms her mother had in the illnesses. There were probably four or five diseases the brown-haired woman might have and none of them looked curable. She undid her hair tie and traced the letters, which were haunting her. She could be wrong about the five diseases. For all she knew, her second mother was fine and everything would be alright for them.
"Medicine has never been my specialty; if you wish to know about fire and wind jutsu then come to me but never ask me about medicine," The fox grumbled as she flipped to the next page. "Matabi always had more interest in this kind of things. She would ask the Sage all kind of questions about medicine."
"If only I know where Matabi is," Emma muttered to herself. "Hey, is it possible for Matabi to heal any illness? I know it will be impossible for me to heal mother since the Sage took away his gift after I finished doing what I had to do."
"Matabi may have an interest in medicine but it doesn't mean she can heal your mother," Kurama said sharply. "None of us were given abilities which would allow us to heal people outside of our hosts. If this had been possible then your mother would have tried her hardest to heal Mito from her sickness. You should learn to accept the fact your mother is not going to get better soon."
"It isn't confirmed," Emma reminded him as she flipped to the next page. "My mother might have something else. She might have a curable disease that Winry's parents could heal. She might get better and I won't have to tell my brothers that our mother is sick with an incurable disease."
Kurama didn't say a word to contradict her words, which wasn't much of a surprise to the little girl. The tailed beast inside of her might be cruel, sarcastic too and even annoying at times but he knew better than to ruin her feelings about her mother's situation. She would not accept the words 'she wouldn't get better' until her mother or the doctors tell her those words. Just the mere idea of losing her second mother figure was enough for her heart to break into tiny pieces.
"Emma, why are you still awake? It's an hour passed your bedtime." Emma looked away from the medical books and stared at Trisha, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning like there was no tomorrow. The blond-haired girl didn't answer the question instead choosing to look at the textbook in her hands. What was she going to say to her mother? How could she tell her she was trying to figure out what kind of illness her mother had? There was no way the young woman was going to be happy with the fact she had been researching on this kind of things.
"I was reading," Emma finally answered, putting the medical textbook behind her back.
Her mother arched her thin eyebrows at her, telling her she wanted more details than just that. The little girl just smiled and shrugged her shoulder, standing up to leave but to be stopped by Trisha, who snatched the book from behind her. The brown-haired woman flipped open the book, eyes widening as she realized what Emma had been reading for the past couple of hours.
"Why are you reading medical books, Emma?" Her mother asked softly, placing the book on the coffee table. Emma opened her mouth but Trisha just shook her head. "Sweetheart, if I know you are truly interested in medicine then I would never ask you but I know you hate medicine, so tell me the truth: why are you reading this book? Why have you highlighted symptoms of diseases?"
"Because you haven't been acting like yourself," Emma admitted, staring down at her small hands. "Edward and Alphonse hadn't noticed you have been acting weird but I notice, Mother. I heard you coughing and complaining to Winry's parents about the headaches as well as the vomiting. I can't ignore it, Mother! I can't pretend everything is fine or believe you like Edward and Alphonse can. I just can't do it."
Hohenheim had already left them while their mother had a sickness which could not be cured. She was beginning to experience the pain Sasuke had gone through when he lost his whole clan except there was a difference between the two situations. Her best friend would always have someone to blame for what was happening while Emma had no one to blame. She couldn't even blame her father because she knew it wasn't his fault. She clenched her hands into a fist and wondered why it was so hard for her to accept the fact her mother was sick? This was life.
Death wasn't all that scary so why was she so scared to admit to herself that her mother was sick.
"I always knew you were going to be the one to figure it out," her mother said softly, wrapping her arms around her. "When you asked me a few weeks ago if everything was alright, I realized right then that nothing will escape your eyes. Your father was also quite capable of noticing the smallest of details just like you," Trisha sighed. "I knew I should have started telling you about my sickness but I just wanted you to be happy. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy."
But how she be happy when she knew her mother was sick? How could she pretend everything was fine when Emma knew her baby brothers were going to suffer from this? She looked down at her shaking hands, which had once taken so many lives. Why couldn't she be like Sakura? Why hadn't she taken her studies seriously and master her chakra control? If she had done it then maybe she would have learned medicinal ninjutsu, which she could have used to heal her mother.
Why was she so useless?
"Emma, it isn't your fault," her mother whispered, placing her head on top of her. "I know you think it is your job to make sure everything runs smoothly but you are still four. You can't do everything and you can't fix everything. Just because I'm not feeling well, doesn't mean it is your fault."
I know it isn't my fault, Emma thought to herself as she hugged her mother tighter, but it doesn't mean I accepted it. This woman holding her gave her the love she longed for in her previous life. This was someone who made her feel warmth, who reminded her it was okay to be different. Her second mother was the one who kissed her bruises away, who told her and her brother's stories but most of all there was someone who loved her unconditionally. How could she accept the fact she wasn't well? She felt her throat clogged up as the memories of the cold, lonely nights in Konoha flow through her mind.
"It isn't fair, Mother. It just isn't fair!" Emma croaked. "I can figure out Alchemy, can do the most difficult math equations and can lift a table without any problems but I can't heal you. What good am I if I can't help you, Mother? I can't get a job because of my age. I can't stay at home to take care of you because the law states I've to be in school and because Ed and Al don't know the truth. What help am I going to be? I am useless."
Humming a small tune, Trisha run her long fingers through Emma's golden hair. "Useless? I don't want you to ever think that you are useless! Do you know how proud I am of you and your brothers? How many mothers can claim they have kids, who learned alchemy from their father's books? Not many that is for sure! And who says you are not helping me? Just being in your presence, hearing the stories you tell me about your school day and knowing you are making sure your brothers don't do anything reckless helps me."
"But I can't heal you," Emma sobbed, clutching her mother's shirt tighter. "I can't heal you. I want to be able to heal you but I don't know anything which can help. Aren't you angry this is happening to you? Aren't you upset that you won't be able to see Ed, Al and me grow up?"
The sadness and pain radiating from her mother were enough to tell the little girl that Trisha wasn't really accepting the situation they were in. Why must good people always suffer? Why must they die young? Why did Truth allow her to be reborn to this family? He was so cruel to do this to her and her brothers. By letting her be reborn, he gave her the chance to experience all the things she missed but he wanted to remind her just how painful life was, by taking away the few things she loved from her. Now it was her mother but who would it be next time? Edward? Alphonse? Hohenheim? Pinako? Winry? Just how many more people would he take from her?
"If there is one lesson I want you to learn Emma, it is the fact you can't get angry over something you can't control," her mother said with a tone filled with so much sadness that Emma was tempted to cry again. "My sickness is no one's fault. I wish I will see the three of you grow up to be the wonderful adults I know you three will become but I can't blame anyone. Instead, all I want is to spend the rest of my days filled with happiness. I want to see you and your brothers smile."
"But they won't be able to smile…" Emma trailed and began to tremble as she realized what Trisha was asking her to do. "You want me to keep it a secret, don't you? You don't want Edward and Alphonse to know you are sick. Mother, it is going to kill them once they figure out the truth."
"Emma, I know I am asking a lot from you but for their sake and my sake, can you please not tell them? I want the three of you to have happy memories," her mother stared out at the night sky. "Please, Emma, do not tell your brothers I'm dying. I have a year left with the three of you...let's make the year count."
She wanted to tell her mother that she was being selfish but Emma knew in her heart her mother was right. Telling Edward and Alphonse about Mother's illness was going to cause them to cry their hearts out. Her two brothers didn't have the abilities to pretend they were fine. They couldn't lie to themselves and pretend to be happy; they didn't have her experience. If Trisha was truly dying then Emma wanted her mother's final year to be ones filled with happiness.
"Okay," Emma whispered, biting her lips to stop the tears threatening to come out.
"My sweet girl, it is okay for you to cry your heart out," her mother declared, hugging her tightly. Emma gulped, opened her mouth to reassure the woman that she wasn't going to cry, but only to find her eyes were already burning. "My sweet Emma, it is okay to show me your sadness. It is okay for you to show your brothers and me that you are upset. You have been trying to be so strong for the past year but it is okay for you to unleash it."
For the first time since her father left, Emma allowed herself to cry the river of tears she had been forced to hold back. The tears falling out of her eyes weren't just sadness for the potential loss of her mother but for the people she lost. She cried for the friends she lost. She sobbed for the good men and women who sacrificed their lives to save this world. She wept about how unfair life was for giving her a mother and then taking it away from her too soon.
But once the tears dried out, the blond-haired girl looked at her teary-eyed mother and made a vow to protect her brothers with all the power and knowledge she had.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter as well as who you think Emma should be with.