A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows.
Was it alright for her to let them go alone?
Emma couldn't help but ask herself this question while she waved her goodbyes to her brothers and their new teacher. She knew it was better for her to let them go now then to follow them. She didn't have the same interest as her brothers did when it come to Alchemy. She knew if she went then she would spill the beans to their teacher about what they planned to do and then they would look at her with betrayal.
She didn't want them to feel like that so it was better for her to leave them.
"They will be back soon," Winry said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Yes, but I won't be here," Emma pointed out, staring at the fading train. "I don't know when I will see them again but I hope it is soon. We have never been a part before…we have always been together."
"You could go with them," Pinako said, staring at the trains passing through them. "There is nothing stopping you from travelling there."
"If I go with them then I will be so overprotective of them to the point that they will get sick of me," she whispered, running her hand through her hair. "If I go with them then I'll never ever let them grow up. I want them to grow up and not depend on me…I need to let them make mistakes."
I don't want them to rely on me and I want them to get used to a life without me, she wanted to say those words to the old lady but Emma knew Pinako would be furious at her for having these thoughts. How dare you have those thoughts? How could you think like this? Those were the words Emma knew Pinako would yell at her. The old woman didn't know how much she struggled before coming to this conclusion.
She would never think of leaving them if she didn't know Edward and Alphonse would soon leave this town to finish that crazy idea of theirs.
"Are you still planning to go through with that idea of yours? The world out there isn't kind, Emma and while I know you can take care of yourself, I still think you should wait a little bit more," Pinako said, looking up at her with concern eyes. "You will have to cross the desert if you wish to go to Xing. Also there is the language barrier to consider…not everyone there can speak our language."
"I can learn," Emma answered, giving the old woman a smile. "Between Ed, Al and me, I was the one with the most talent in language."
How many times had her two brothers came to her for help? She might not have been as smart as them when it came to science or math but language was where Emma shined. It might be the memories of Naruto which bled through her but Emma knew the importance of knowing how to talk. How many times had her previous life stopped fight because of her words? It was for this reason she did her best to master the language.
"It is one thing to master our language, Emma, but it is another thing to master the language of the people of Xing," Pinako pointed out, thinning her lips. "They do not use letters like we do, they use characters. Their language is completely different from us to the point that we have no common words with them."
You think I'm going there blind? I have done my research, Emma thought to herself, clenching her hands into a tight fist. From what she know, the language of Xing was similar to the language spoken in the Elemental Countries. There were some variations with the language being a little bit less formal then her original language but, it would not be hard for her to learn the language.
Even if it was hard, Emma would not leave the country until she could master the language.
"Grandmother, if anyone can master Xinese then it will be Emma," Winry declared, turning her body around to look at them.
Emma grinned at her best friend's words, who smiled right back at her but the blonde didn't miss the lingering sadness in her best friend's eyes. She knew Winry wished she stayed here with her and Pinako but she couldn't do it. With her brothers gone, there was no reason for her to stay here. She might have her best friend but it was not going to be the same thing. She would never hear Alphonse and Edward whispering ideas on how to bring their mother back. She would never wake up to her baby brother bouncing on her bed in order to wake her up.
No, it would be better if she left.
"You do plan to visit before you join the military and when you come back from Xing, don't you brat?" Pinako questioned her.
Emma grinned. "Of course I will, Granny! I don't want you to forget my face and I will be bringing you a lot of presents from there because there is no way I'm not going to work there."
"Who is going to hire a nine-year-old?" Pinako asked, raising her eyebrow at her. "You have not mastered Alchemy and only scumbags will hire a little kid like you."
Who says I'm going to work with an appearance like this? Or that I will be working like a normal person? Emma wished to say those words to Pinako however she knew the old woman would demand to know what the hell she was talking about. Pinako might not be an alchemist but the woman was smart. She would catch her meaning and asked her what insane plan she had going through her head.
If the woman knew about chakra and how she planned to use it to work her ass off then Emma knew she was going to get an earful for abusing her rare gift.
"I won't know until I try, Granny," Emma finally said.
"Nothing I say will convince you to stay a little bit longer?" Pinako asked but it sounded more like a statement in Emma's ears.
Emma nodded her head. "I love this small town but I was never meant to stay here for the rest of my life. I always felt restless in this town, always wondering what the world out there was like. I also knew I can't become a housewife like Mother or an alchemist like Father. I don't know exactly when I decided but I am meant to be a soldier. I want to make this country safe enough for you, for Winry and for my baby brothers. If I want to become a good leader then I must get to know the countries around me. Besides, this town holds some bad memories…I can't stand being in that house now that I know Al and Ed are gone."
When she said those words, she spoke the truth. How could she stay in the house her second mother died in? The place where she saw her mother slowly dying? There were days where she expected to hear Trisha calling out to her? Climbing tress no longer brought her the same joy because of how she remembered her loving mother being worried for her. Cooking in the kitchen made her want to cry because her sweet mother would apologize to her for making her do this.
She had been able to handle it because Emma had her two brothers but now they were gone too.
If Emma wanted to live then she needed to leave this town.
Stuffing her clothes into her duffle bag, Emma sat down on her bed and picked up the family photo from her bedside table. Edward had been upset with her when she told him that there was no way in hell they were going to burn the only photo of their father that they had. He demanded, begged and even threatened to run away from home because she refused to let him lit it in fire. It had been childish of her but she didn't want to burn the photo, not when she remembered how he was crying in the photo.
If her brother knew what she remembered then Emma doubt he would have done those childish things to her. No, if Edward had lived through the life of Naruto Uzumaki or any other jinchuuriki then her baby brother would never think of burning it. This photo was proof he existed. This piece of image reminded her, reminded them, that he had been in their lives. It was true he didn't come back home to their mother but she could still see the love in their father's eyes as he stared at their mother.
There had to be a good reason why he left them all alone and it had to be the reason why he thought he was a monster.
"Edward thinks Mother would have been tried harder if you have come back home," Emma said, staring down at the photo in her hand. "He thinks you abandoned us…that you abandoned Mother. He hates talking about you and he forgot every good thing you did for us and Al. Maybe if Truth had taken my memories away, I would think the same but I can't hate you. I wish I can blame you like he can. I wish I can say it is your fault that my brothers have this insane idea to bring her back to life."
She didn't even know why she was saying these words to a photograph. Hohenheim would not be able to hear these words she was saying nor would it change the situation she was in. If anything, it was just a pointless thing to do. It was just like Naruto drawing the picture of her parents when in actual fact, it would not change the fact she did not know what her parents looked like.
Shaking her head, Emma wrapped a piece of cloth around the picture fame before placing it inside her bag. She then pulled open her drawer. Pulling out a needle from her pocket, the blonde poked the needle into her thumb and placed the few drops of blood into the storage seal she made a few years ago. She grabbed the journals, stuffing all but two journals, inside her orange duffle bag.
Emma looked at the first pink journal in her hand, took a deep breath before opening it. This was just one of the journal she could not afford to put inside her bag or have stolen. It was her proof and reminder to the world that she had been someone else, a reminder that there was a next life and that the actions of this life determined a lot of things. Once she made a name for herself, she would have it publish.
"If no one thinks you are crazy," Kurama said as the blonde took out one of the scrolls that she purchased from the Xing merchants. "You think anyone is going to believe that you lived a thousand years ago?Those people believe in science. Heck, your idiotic brother plans to bring your mother back to life by using science. If he knows about your previous life then he will talk some bullshit about how it isn't scientifically possible."
"Who says I'm going to make it biography? I'm going to make it into a story and change the names…well except my original name," Emma answered, drawing the storage seal into the scroll. "Also, my idiotic brother thinks everything can be explained by science! He thinks the human body isn't that complicated. The only reason why he joined his master is because he needs more understanding on how to do the transmutation. If he knows about my past life then he will demand to know how it is possible."
"You think he will believe that you were some saint in your previous life?" Kurama asked as she channelled her chakra into the storage seal. "I mean you were an absolute saint with how you were willing to forgive that Uchiha for the crimes he committed to you. You made friends with that Gaara despite the fact he nearly killed your comrades. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't do the things you did. You even made friends with me despite the fact I'm the reason why you didn't have any parents."
"He won't believe my story unless he found some proof of my words and even then I don't think he will fully believe me," Emma replied, taking the second book from her bedside table. "I was willing to forgive Sasuke because he meant the world to me but I agree I was a fool. My love for him in that life is toxic and I have read enough books, have enough talks to know that a relationship like the one I had with Sasuke is too dangerous. However, I would like you to know that I would have even forgive Edward or Alphonse if they tried to kill me. I made friends with Gaara because I could have become like him if I didn't have the friends I had. Besides, he understood me and I understood him. Our friendship was born from this understanding. I became friends with you because I learnt that you were just as much as a victim as me. You kept being passed through my family like a piece of furniture…it wasn't fair to you."
Kurama snorted at her words. "That may be true but if I had to choose my favourite container then it might be you. If I had to choose being stuck in a pot or you then I pick you."
Emma smiled widely at hearing those words. It was perhaps the best compliment she heard to date from the grumpy fox. A thousand years ago, the fox would have said otherwise but he chose to be with her. In fact, she distinctly remembered Truth giving the nine-tailed fox a choice to move on or to be stuck with her. Kurama chose to be with her in this life, chose to be stuck with her and for that she was grateful.
"I choose to stay with you because I don't like the idea of growing up."
Liar, Emma thought fondly as she placed her book inside her bag. It would have been the freedom he had always wanted but the Kyuubi decided to stay with her in this life. For this, she would always be grateful because the fox reminded her that she hadn't always been Emma Elric. If she ever thought she was going insane then the fox would prove her wrong.
She was grateful to have the fox in her life.
This brings back so many memories, Emma thought to herself as she stared at the vast desert in front of her. When she had been so stressed from her work, Naruto would always demand to get a holiday. Once Tsunade agreed to her demands, she would travel to visit Gaara. The red-haired boy never once complained about her surprise visits instead he would just sigh and tell his secretary to bring out her favourite drink. Once that happened, she would release all her pent-up frustrations at him, telling him of the problems she was currently facing while he just nodded his head, offering the occasional advice.
"This is as far as I will take you, kid," the young man said, snapping her out of her train of thought. "If you are really going through with this idea of yours then I will give you the best of luck."
Emma twisted her body around and stared at the young man, who seemed like he wanted to tell her not to go through the desert. She knew if it weren't for the money she saved up then the man would have never agreed to take her here. A young child should never travel by themselves or so the people of this world believed but she was a fighter. She was a kunoichi in her past life and there was no way she would allow heat to kill her.
"Thank you, sir."
If there was a difference between her and Naruto then it was the fact that she knew manners.
"Thank me? You must be an insane little girl," Emma blinked her eyes at the man, who stared at the desert in front of her. "The desert is very big and very little people have survived going through the desert. I am sending you to your death…and I did it because I wanted money."
Emma smiled. "You think just because you wanted money that you are a bad person? There is a reason why you agreed to take a little girl's money and it is because you wanted to support your family. It is thanks to your actions that your family will now have enough food in their house tonight."
The young man blinked his eyes and stared at her like he had never once thought about it in that way. The blonde thanked the man before taking the first steps to begin her new life of travelling and soul searching. This was her time to figure out what was wrong with the world. It was time for her to know whether it was the lack of understanding of people that brought war or if it was just greed for more.
She shook her head and stared at the forged documents in her hand. It had taken her a few hours how to figure out how to forge a document using alchemy but once she got the idea in her head, she couldn't stop herself from not using it. In fact, she even tested on a few officials, who truly believed the document in her hands were true. If she had been any other little girl, she would feel guilty but Emma knew better.
She knew if she wanted to continue with her dream then it was time for her to be a little bit dirty.
With that thought in her head, she pulled out the light pink scarf from her bag and wrapped it around her head. The first rule she remembered when it came to surviving in a desert was to wear something that could protect her head from the heat. She also recalled never to wear any of your favourite clothes in the desert; a lesson she learnt from Sakura, who cried her heart out because her clothes were ruined.
Naruto might not have been a girly girl but she also had her favourite clothes.
She didn't want to have the clothes given to her by Winry and Pinako ruined nor did she want to lose the hairclip Edward and Alphonse given her after their first birthday without Mama.
"How do you plan to cross the desert?" Kurama asked as she took another step forward. "Don't tell me you are planning to walk the whole way there!"
Emma stopped walking and tilted her head. "Yes, why not?"
"Some things never changed; your damn idiocy seemed to have carried over to this life," Kurama complained and the blonde wished she could hit the fox where it hurts. "Why the hell would you walk when you can use your damn chakra to run and get there faster? If we were to do it your way then it will take us five days to cross."
Well when the fox put it in this way then Emma would admit she was acting like a damn idiot.
Taking a deep breath, the blonde channelled her chakra to the soles of her feet and charged in the direction that the map had told her to go through. She had never pushed herself to the limits when it came to the usage of chakra in this world but Emma was going to let herself loose. There was no one to hide her powers from. Her brothers were no longer here to judge her.
Yeah, she better run if she wanted to get there in two days' top.
Emma stopped running once she saw ruins in the middle of the desert. She had enough energy to run, had enough chakra to cross the desert but the ruins just called to her. Maybe it was her desire to find out about the past but something was telling her to go there. She unwrapped her scarf, released her hair from her hair tie and took a seat on one of the ruin walls. God, maybe it was a good thing she followed her feelings because she needed to catch her breath.
"Do you have any idea which civilization this is?" Kurama asked her as she gulped in the air.
The blonde flickered her eyes at the stones and shook her head. "I can only confirm it isn't Konoha nor Sunagakure."
If Kurama was physically beside her then he would be rolling his eyes at her for pointing out the obvious. She took in a deep breath, pushed herself off of the stone she had been sitting and began exploring the ruins that drew her in. Perhaps, these ruins could answer the questions that were troubling her or the very least give her more things to think about.
This place must have been pretty at one point if you asked Emma. She was no architect but she loved to draw just like Naruto did. The buildings may have been built in stone but it had been built from the most beautiful stones Emma had ever seen. With the sun shining the way it was, she had no doubt that at one point that this had been the most beautiful civilization that anyone had ever seen.
As she walked around, Emma heard footsteps and whispers around the ruins. Was there someone here? If so, why weren't they making their presence known to her? The blonde licked her lips, placed her hands inside her pockets and continued to walk through the lost civilization. There was no reason for her to be worried, not when the blonde knew she could protect herself.
Nodding her head, Emma relaxed her body and stared at the stone that she had never noticed before. It was very pretty if you asked her but it was incomplete. Maybe if she looked around more then maybe she could find what was missing. In fact, she wondered what this ruin was. Tilting her head, she pulled out her journal from her bag before taking out her pencil.
If she wanted to know what this ruin was then she would need to draw it and look for some historian who could decode it. Although, Emma mused, it looked almost like one of those complicated seals she used to love to draw but the art of sealing had been lost for a long time now. Whatever this ruin was about, it had nothing to do with her past life.
"Then why the hell are you so keen to know what this ruin is about? It just a god damn drawing in a wall," Kurama grumbled as she sketched the drawing in front of her. "It has nothing to do with you. I thought you wanted to see how much the world changed, not draw some ruin inside your precious notebook. You should just ignore it."
"Because it is incomplete and I don't like seeing things not being incomplete," Emma answered, furrowing her eyebrows together as she drank the detail in front of her. "Besides if we can discover what is the missing piece and bring the whole thing to the capital, there is no telling how much money we can get. Besides, it feels weird."
"What do you mean weird?"
"It just feels weird to me," Emma replied, shrugging her shoulder. "I don't know whether it is the alchemist in me or if it is because I am a seal mistress but it doesn't feel right. Actually, this whole place doesn't feel right to me."
Maybe it was her imagination but the blonde felt like the ruins were haunted by the past. There was no one here, not even a hint that the descendants of the people of the civilizations even visit. In fact, if she sat here and concentrate on the remnants of the chakra that once existed, she would no doubt feel its misery. The whole place screamed it in her mind.
Thump.
Without putting her book down, Emma tilted her head, swung her leg over her shoulder and kicked the intruder who even dared to sneak up on her. Flipping the book closed, the blonde twisted her body around to see the it was a young boy with white hair and red eyes staring hatefully at her. Oh, was he an Ishavalan? She only heard what they looked like but this was the first time she saw one in person.
"Why did you attack me?" Emma asked, tilting her head.
"You're a Amestrian!" The boy snarled, running towards her with his fist swinging towards her. "Your people murdered my parents!"
Anger. Hate. Resentment. These were the only emotion shining through the boy's eyes as he tried to hit her for the crimes that the capital committed. They were feelings she understood all too well. Those three emotions reminded her of what caused the third shinobi war and how it ruined her best-friend's life. The world would be a better place if there was no war.
This world would be a better place if people didn't focus on getting revenge.
"Will hurting me bring them back?" Emma asked, ducking under the boy's fist. "Because if it will then go ahead and kick my ass but it won't bring your parents back. You think I am the reason why this war started? You think you are the only victim in that war? My best friend's parents died in that war too! Your people weren't innocent in that war too, they murdered people too. You aren't the only victim in that silly war."
She grabbed the boy's arm and threw him to the ground before placing her hands around his wrist, preventing him from hurting her. I might stay here for a while, Emma mused, staring down at the struggling boy. He must think she was a monster. He thought she was like those people with no morals, those people who murdered innocent civilians because the Furher demanded it.
She would become a solider but once she reached the top, Emma was going to change how the system worked.
"You don't know what we have been through!"
"You are right," the boy blinked his eyes but the blonde just smiled. "But I can guess how terrible it is not to have your parents anymore. There is an aching hole in your heart that can't be filled, a hole left by your parents. You must wake up everyday, hating my people because they took it away from you. You want to hurt us in the same way they hurt you but it won't fix your problems. Sure, hurting me will bring you relief…but it will only be temporary. Soon, it won't be long before you start hurting other people just so you can say that you got the people responsible for their deaths. Getting revenge will just make this pointless cycle continue."
He blinked his eyes and stared at her with such confused eyes that Emma was reminded how young this boy was. This young boy might be the same age as her but he didn't have the memories that she had. The war he saw was the first war he experienced and those were the first people he lost. He didn't have to be the soldier or be the girl who felt so much guilt that people were dying for her.
"What is happening? Child, why are you doing this to him?"
Emma twisted her head around and blinked her eyes when she saw an elderly woman yelling at her. So, there was more of them? Well, it made sense if she used her head. The boy would not survive by himself in this vast desert nor would he have gotten here by himself. Unlike her, this young boy did not have the skills or memories to survive in this terrible world.
"He attacked me first because I'm an Amestrian," Emma replied, releasing her hold on the boy. "So it is only fair I defended myself from him but since you are here then I think you can take care of him. I mean you didn't hurt me even though I'm from the country that hurt you."
"Is this true? You are bringing shame to the name of our people because where the girl is from!" The old woman yelled.
The boy nodded. "She hurt my parents."
"The girl is innocent of the crime of her people!" The old woman snarled. Emma nodded, earning a scowl from the boy. "How many times have I told you not to attack strangers? You are lucky the girl knew how to defend herself, if anything had happened then we would have been in trouble. She is a child just like you."
"Hurting me wouldn't change a thing," Emma also couldn't help but remind the boy. "And it is the government that hurt you. It is filled with people who only longed to see blood because the whole problem could have been solved if we had given the solider, who killed that innocent child, to you so you could have dealt with him as you saw fit."
It would have been fixed if the government was willing to listen to them but just like in Konoha, the people of her country did not see her logic. They only wished to see blood and for that, she hated how barbaric the world had become. The world needed to move on. She would make it move on so the world would be filled with children, who did not understand hate.
"What interest me is why a child isn't with her guardian," The old lady said, jumping down from the ruin. "You're too young to travel by yourself."
Emma just had a feeling that she wasn't going to reach Xing with the time limit that she placed on herself.
Question and Answer:
Q: Is this before or after the Ishavlan War?
A: This is set after the Ishavlan War.
Q: Is Roy the reincarnation of Shikamaru?
A: No, I have decided against making any of the FMA characters being the reincarnation of any of the Naruto characters.
Q: Is reincarnated Sasuke a canon character or Oc?
A: Reincarnated Sasuke won't be a canon character.
Q: Is Emma going to join up with Mustang or Olivia?
A: As of yet, I have no idea on who Emma is going to join with since I can see her being in both. I think as I continue to write then I will see where I see her going to.
Q; Did Naruto have to give something in for her reincarnation or did Truth just let her pass for all the deeds she have done to protect the world?
A: I don't know if I answered this one but it has been hinted Truth just let her pass because of all the good deeds that she has done. The idea of reincarnation will be explored more when we see the different characters who have been reincarnated.
Q: How old are the characters?
A: As of now, Emma and Edward are nine while Alphonse is nearly eight years old.
A/N: Please review to tell me what you think about this chapter. Please also don't hesitate to ask more questions. Also for the idea of pairing Emma with reincarnated Sasuke, I still can't see it happening. As Naruto, she was devoted to Sasuke however in her new life, Emma knows how toxic her feelings for Sasuke was. She knows that being in a relationship with him brings more harm than good. Perhaps in the first few chapters, I can see her being with a reincarnated Sasuke but now that I have her developed, I cannot see her being with him. So it is not happening but Sasuke will make an appearance in this story. If you can convince me otherwise, please do but I just can't see it happening. I will put a poll with the pairing.