Asfghj- Guys. I totally wrote this chapter in one day. It took me four hours and that is the shortest amount of time I have ever written a chapter in. I'm totally proud of myself right now.
The Lovely Daaaarlings!
SIFProductionsdesu-yo: Thank you! And ahaha, Hetalia references. =w= Regarding your second review; BRO, BRO, BRO. You need to be made aware that I had not written a single sentence of this chapter until I read that review. It is because of you and your birthday. So Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the chapter! I threw in a 'hello' to you. How old have you turned, eh?
Guest: (I'm thinking you're katsekala, but I don't want to assume this.) Indeed, Ed's become a bit a lover boy! xD
cmbgoncrazy: I'm really excited about writing scenes between Ed and Blackburn, especially that spar. It's going to be intense. Riley's got her own adventure going on as well!
AHAHAHA BECAUSE I'M THE WRITING GODDESS. Seriously, I came down from Asgard and everything.
I noticed that button's gone! It's still really weird to me. ;-;
Leslie Amarilis: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!
Want to Be a Lovely Daaaarling? Review! Bwahaha…
Happy birthday to SIFProductionsdesu-yo! Go wish her a happy birthday and thank her for getting me off my ass as beautifully as she did.
Alrighty, ladies and gents, I don't own FMA or its official content. Riley, Shiori, Daisuke, Tesser Hills, and that little butt Jonah all belong to me. (Does anyone read these things? I've given spoilers in them so many times…)
Chapter Six:
The First Day
The scorching heat of Tesser Hills was a lot like that of the remnants of Ishval that the Elrics and I had witnessed. It was hot and it was dry, which made the small town all the more uncomfortable.
Tesser Hills was a city you didn't vacation in. It was a place you passed through on your travels or a place you stumbled upon by sheer misfortune. Being home to the largest market in Amestris, stalls and venders lined every road in town, cluttered with products of varying use. You could go down one road and by the end of it, have two bags of clothes, a large basket of fruits and vegetables, two bread sticks, and maybe a lamp and fold-up table. If you didn't come with money in your wallet, you came with an armful of junk to sell, or you were a thief.
I loved Tesser Hills, and for many reasons. My first trip was when I was six, with my parents, and every month afterward warranted another memorable visit to the town. I remember seeing a man lug a dresser, a bed and a loveseat behind him once while his wife added to the pile of purchases, and I also remember finding some of my favorite fascinations there. The prettiest doll I'd ever seen became my best friend at six, an intricately designed hairbrush was the center of my attention was I was seven, a blue satin dress I found there when I was eight haunted my dreams, and gloves with the most beautiful stitching of a transmutation circle caught my eye when I was nine.
The day I'd gotten those gloves was the last time I'd gone to Tesser Hills, and it was one of the last times I saw my parents. They had left to Ishval no more than a day afterward, and were gone ever since. Despite the nostalgia of it all, I found myself in a better mood walking across the station platform at Tesser Hills, even with Daisuke following behind me, griping about Shiori.
I turned on my heel once I'd walked far enough away from the train, shooting Daisuke with a sharp look. He hadn't quieted down since he found out about Shiori in cargo hold, and I was beginning to wish I had gone to the cargo myself. "She's fine, Daisuke, probably safer than we were," I told him before looking past his head.
Scanning the crowd that was leaving the train, I spotted train workers making way to the cargo hold. Without saying more to Daisuke, I slipped by him and rushed toward the cargo hold, realizing that the innocent workers had no idea of the raging, sword-wielding twelve year old behind the doors of the cart. I didn't have a chance to warn them before the doors burst open, a gust of wind knocking the workers onto their backs.
Shiori was panting as she stood at the exit of the cargo, looking through the gathering group of concerned citizens. Once she spotted Daisuke and I (or more precisely, me), she jumped out of the train and pushed through the crowd in front of her. They backed out of her way as she approached, and I could hear Daisuke behind me muttering a small prayer.
"You think you're funny, do you?" Shiori yelled up at me once she reached us, her fists clenched at her sides and her teeth gritting together. "Do you have any idea what it's like being stuffed in cargo with sheep and chickens?"
I nodded in response, slipping my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "I imagine it's rather noisy with you in there," I told her in an even tone.
Perhaps if she were older, the glare Shiori sent me would have been more intimidating, but Daisuke's groan spoke well of the immaturity we were displaying in public. "Can we just continue our trip?" He asked, pleading the both of us to see some shred of sense and stop glaring each other down.
Shiori was the one to give in, looking ahead of her and grumbling as she shoved past us. "Let's just get this over with," She growled out under her breath as she stormed out of the train station. I turned to leave as well, and saw Daisuke glaring at me. He sighed when I shrugged at him, shaking his head as he too left the station.
The train station at Tesser Hills was the one relatively calm place in town so upon leaving it, you would be greeted with loud noises, a lot of people, and tons of sights. Daisuke and I were expecting it, but this was Shiori's first time being at Tesser Hills.
Her eyes grew in size as her shoulders eased, her anger replaced with surprise. "Whoa," She whispered before looking toward Daisuke and me. "Don't tell me we came for grocery shopping."
As Daisuke chuckled, I shook my head, examining the sights in front of me. Stalls ran down the road, several of them selling fresh foods; exotic fruits, home-grown vegetables, and baked goods hot off the oven. The smells wafting through the air was enough to make a man break his fasting. "This is only a part of it," I mumbled toward Shiori, knowing she was too busy ogling to really hear me anyway. We began to walk down the road, Daisuke nudging Shiori to bring her attention back to her immediate surroundings. She leaped forward to catch up, and continued to look around once she had.
"Freshly baked pies, five different flavors!"
"Goto apples and oranges, the freshest you can get 'em this far out of West City!"
Shiori grinned, watching as people waved their hands through the air, yelling at random citizens. I was just as content, walking at a slow place next to the girl. Daisuke tapped my shoulder and I looked back at him in question. His eyes were glued to a fruits vendor. "I'm going to get us some healthy snacks and meet up with you later, alright?" He asked, finally turning his gaze down at me.
"They have swords!" Shiori exclaimed, her instincts causing her to reach out and wrap her fingers around my wrist. I had no time to reply to Daisuke before the girl dragged me down the road. Daisuke laughed (though I was sure it was at me and not at Shiori) and I stumbled a bit, trying to keep up with Shiori's speed.
I stood behind her as she examined the blades displayed out for everyone to see. The vendor spoke with her in excited tones, pleased someone was as interested as he was in his creations. They rattled off facts each of them knew about wielding a blade and I was a little proud to see that Shiori knew just as much, if not more, than the weapons master she was speaking with. After a few moments of conversation, I tuned the two out.
Among the chatter of the people around me, there was another sound. It was rhythmic – whether a group of instruments or multiple people singing together off-key, I wasn't able to make it out. It was warm, though, and upbeat, like a church choir. I could tell that if I saw this group, I would not see tears or grief, I would see happiness. Turning around at a slow speed, I tried locating the source of what grabbed my attention.
Finally I found it. It was across the street, behind all the stands facing my direction, and on the porch of someone's home. A small group of people, all familiar with one another, gathered around a round table near their front door, singing together. A girl nearing my age sat at the table as the object of their affection, and a small round cake was placed atop the table in front of her. Her embarrassed smiles and the others' gazes told me enough of the situation. It was her birthday.
I watched them for a few seconds, taking note of her parents who hugged her and spoke to her in what I assumed were kind tones, and her friends who laughed at each other's jokes. Despite the heat of Tesser Hills and the crowds of shoppers, they were managing to hold a nice gathering for the girl.
"Thief!"
The sudden scream that echoed down the road silenced everyone – the vendors who were shouting about their products, the people wandering, and the small birthday party across the street. Short of a fatal natural disaster, thief was the worst siren that could go off in Tesser Hills. It was also the most common one. Upbeat attitude or no, the people who lived in Tesser Hills stressed about thieves on a daily basis, so hearing a man screaming it at the top of his lungs was not much of a surprise, but was sure as hell a downer.
I looked to the right of me, spotting Shiori and the weapons master behind me do the same, but with more curiosity. The crowds of people in the road hunched together, backing up against the stands, not wanting to risk being tangled up with a thief. This provided us with a clear view of a jewelry stand, where the vendor and the victimized customer had displeased glares plastered across their faces.
Their glares were aimed at a boy racing down the path the crowds had given him. He wore a jacket with a hood that covered his face, and his build was lean and of average height. He was most likely an inch or so taller than Daisuke. I couldn't be sure as he leaned himself over due to the way he was running.
One other thing I knew about Tesser Hills, was that everyone there were pretty much cowards. Thieves ran amok because no one ever tried interfering and stopping them. Which meant, unless I wanted to feel bad about it later, I would have to do something and handle the situation with my own two hands.
With a small sigh at those thoughts, I reached back and, grabbing her collar, shoved Shiori into the middle of the path. She led out a girlish yelp as she stumbled into it, almost toppling over before gaining full balance. Her eyes were wide as she realized what I'd done and how close the thief was getting, but unlike Shiori, I had noticed the thief slow down. It wasn't by much, but it was enough to show me he was surprised, and worried about running into a child.
I had to give credit to Shiori, who moved her feet apart and bent her knees, ready to brace for impact and fight. Her hand rested over her sword, but she didn't unsheathe it just yet. The thief began to regain what speed he lost and I could hear people around me gasping as Shiori brought her left leg forward. She bent further, grabbing the hilt of her sword as she glared up at the boy, and began to unsheathe her weapon. Her sword came out and she swung it around to aim at the thief and persuade him to stop, but his next actions surprised all of us.
Pulling a slip of paper from his jacket pocket, he held it against palm and, once near Shiori, brought his palm down against the blade. The paper lit up and I realized he was carrying around mini transmutation circles as the sword transformed into a chain with large links. His fingers wrapped around the end of it and he yanked the chain, tossing a shocked Shiori into the air. He let go of the chain once it had done what he wanted, but he left his arm in mid-air. Shiori, instead of tumbling to the ground on her head or her neck, fell into his arm, and once her movement was slowed a drastic amount, he lowered his arm and continued running.
Shiori stumbled, but kept to her feet as she glared at the back of the thief. "Since when did thieves learn that?"
"You failed that horribly," I muttered to her in passing. She turned her glare toward me, about to yell at me for pushing her into that situation, but I had taken off without giving her the chance to. "Hey, get back here!" I yelled after the thief.
It wasn't long after I began running that I felt the burn of my lungs, as though I'd been running for hours. It confused me. I hadn't trained as much as I used to, but I wasn't that out of shape, was I? There was no reason for my body to start protesting as quickly as it had. With the dizzying shake of my head, I dismissed it. Tesser Hills was hot. That was why – the heat got to me and limited what I could do. This only made me more surprised by this thief, who was clad in a thick-clothed, long sleeved jacket.
Soon enough, we were beginning to reach a section of the road where the people hadn't heard the shouts of a thief. They still walked down the road with interest in the stands and I cursed under my breath. If I couldn't catch him before we got to the crowds, I would have lost him for good.
Upon spotting a familiar face emerge from the crowd of people, I perked up. "Daisuke!" I shouted over the faint chatter of the environment. He looked toward me and a frown pulled down at his lips when he saw me chasing someone toward him. "Don't let him past you!" I could see the thief shake his head, though I wasn't sure if it was frustration or amusement. Either way, it urged me on. An expression of understanding reached Daisuke's face as he prepped his own stance. It wasn't as perfected as Shiori's, and I began to hope it was enough this time to stop this guy.
The thief reached Daisuke in no time, no feelings of worry impeding his speed like it did with Shiori. He lifted his left arm, angling his shoulder and aiming it toward Daisuke's torso. As he ran at Daisuke, he threw his arm out, intending to knock him over and continue onward. Daisuke would not have this. A dark look flashed across his features as he grabbed the thief's forearm. He pulled on it just enough to bring the thief stumbling backwards, and Daisuke kicked up his leg, sending it into the stomach of the thief at his side.
Going to the ground, the thief broke his fall and slipped out another transmutation circle. By this time, I was close enough to do something about it. Clapping, I lunged to the ground, slamming my hands down without much thought as to the people around me. The ground around the thief rumbled before shooting up, forming a rock hard hand that held the boy in place.
Immediately his eyes were on me. "You didn't need a circle…," He muttered, watching as Daisuke and I reached the front of the hand.
I crossed my arms over my chest, sending him a firm look, even though I couldn't see his face from under the hood. "And you didn't need to join your hands together," I replied, "Show my your trick and I'll show you mine."
Hood or no, I could make out the arrogant snort he gave as he looked away. I ignored it best I could, walking toward him to snatch a golden necklace I noticed dangling from his gloved hand. His head snapped back in my direction as I took it. "Give that back!" He yelled at me.
"It wasn't yours in the first place," Daisuke told him.
Seconds later, Shiori came running toward us. Once she reached us, she glared at me. "You really like to piss me off, don't you?" She spat, to which I nodded, my lips twitching upward.
I handed her the necklace. "Here," I began, motioning my head toward the direction she had come from, "Go take this to that man it was stolen from."
Dropping the necklace into her hands, I watched as her eyes went wide. "Are you kidding? I just ran all the way here and now you're sending me back?" She yelled, looking up at me with incredulous distaste. Once again, I nodded. She let out a loud huff, shaking her head as she march back off, leaving the thief with Daisuke and me. I ignored Daisuke's pointed look as I turned toward the thief, reaching up to yank off the hood that had been getting on my nerves since I saw it.
The boy looked to be Daisuke's and my age. He had a long face, with a squared jaw and a wide chin. His wide but entirely proportionate nose had a slight upturn, his lips were bottom-heavy, and his deep-set eyes were a dark green. Brown hair, short and scruffy, ran down the back of his neck and ragged bangs toyed with his eye sight, I was sure. His skin was tanned, but I had a feeling it was naturally a lighter, peach color.
"Don't you know not to take what isn't yours?" I asked him, raising a small brow. He seemed a bit too old and a little too clever for snatching objects in broad daylight and running. Or maybe I was just hanging around all the weird teenagers. Not all of them had auto-mail limbs or years of martial arts and stealth training. That was a good point – it was probably just cause everyone I knew was weird.
He glared down at me, his hands resting on the large rock fingers that gripped at him. "I needed the money," He growled, jerking his head in the direction of which he came, "That guy had plenty of it, he could have bought himself a new necklace and a pretty little dress to go with it."
Daisuke crossed his arms over his chest, replying with, "That doesn't make it any less criminal of you. What did you need the money for?"
As I looked to Daisuke with furrowed brows, wondering why the hell he wanted to know, the boy voiced my thoughts. "Why do you want to know? It's none of your business," He spat. The expression on Daisuke's face matched that of a scolding mother. I began to realize the direction this conversation was taking and, suddenly, I wished I'd let the thief go. Giving in, the thief sighed and frowned down at us both. "I need a train ticket to Rush Valley. You happy now?"
No, I'm not happy at all with this turn of events, I'd thought to myself as I turned to face Daisuke. He glanced toward me and I started shaking my head in protest, willing him to stop before he said it and gave me an actual headache instead of the imaginary one I had just thinking about it. With a small and decisive 'hmph,' he looked back to the thief. "We can take you to Rush Valley."
The boy's shouts of "What?" mixed in with my exclamation of, "Oh, come on!" The corner of Daisuke's lips twitched upward and I knew from that moment that this was both his version of charity and his idea of revenge for Shiori being stuck in cargo.
Daisuke nodded his head. "If you want to get to Rush Valley, you can come with us. Otherwise Riley will babysit you until we get to official authorities," He explained, shrugging his shoulders. I looked over my shoulder at the thief, who looked down at me. We made eye contact, the both of us debating over which was worse – to be stuck with each other for multiple days or to fight against one another for half of a day in Tesser Hills heat.
The sighs we gave let Daisuke know he won. Smug bastard.
. . .
Plopping down onto the hotel bed, I let out a loud sigh of comfort. Between the train ride to Tesser Hills and the heat and him, that damn thief, a nice soft bed was just what I needed to cool my nerves. It didn't help that I still felt short-winded. If it weren't for the heat of the town, I probably would have been more concerned about it, but I couldn't bring myself to care about the shortness of breath. All that mattered to me was the cool hotel room.
"How unlady-like."
My eyes snapped open to welcome the white ceiling above me. Him. It had taken Daisuke and I longer than necessary to find out that the thief's name was Jonah, and he never stopped being annoying. His tongue was sharp, his attitude harsh. He was the definition of asshole. I craned my neck, turning my head to look over at the boy who had sunken into a chair in the corner of the room. His jacket was long since removed, arms crossed over his navy colored, v-neck clad chest. The sneer he was sending me made me want to smash his head through the window.
I scoffed at him, looking back to the ceiling before closing my eyes. "Like a thief's opinion is worth much," I spat back in response. I could almost hear his flinch and while in any other situation, I would have felt bad, he was too much of a pain in my side to feel anything but pleasure at the reactions I got from calling him a thief. Daisuke asked me to stop, but there was no way in hell I would. At least not for a while.
"Will you both knock it off? You're acting like babies," Shiori grumbled under her breath as she exited out of the bathroom, a white towel wrapped in her wet hair. Her PJs were simple; a pair of white shorts and a brown thin-strapped top. She walked across the room, sitting down into a chair by the table to unravel the towel from her hair.
Groaning, I shoved my boots off and climbed to the pillows where I let myself crash down. Daisuke had left a few minutes earlier to scour some food for all of us, but I wasn't so sure I'd be able to stay awake, or conscious. I was exhausted, and as I smashed my face into the pillow, I was sure it was obvious. I could hear a faint snort from Jonah's direction and I lifted my hand, thrusting my fist into the air toward him. "Walk into this," I said simply, my voice muffled but still clear through the pillow I was laying into.
"Yeah, 'cause that will work," Shiori snorted out. I waved her off before wrapping my arms around the pillow and closing my eyes. The sound of her brushing her hair was the last thing I heard as I faded away to sleep…
…Opening my eyes, I pulled myself up from a bed I didn't fall asleep in, and looked around. The bed, the desk and chair set, the bookcase, the pictures hanging on the wall… All of it hinted at where I was. I groaned, shaking my head. "Great," I muttered, pushing myself to my feet and out of the bed, "This again." I walked to the door, thankful that at least this time, I could make out all the details and colors of the Rockbell home. I grumbled under my breath as I walked down the hall and toward the stairs, my bare feet silent against the wooden floors.
As much as I complained about it, a part of me was relishing in the idea that I'd see Ed again.
Anyone notice the biblical foreshadowing? Hurr...
Be Responsible. Don't Flame and Drive! Rawr.