Okay readers, it was totally unintentional that I update like, months after the primere. x.x Complete accident. Gomen! I won't do it next time...maybe...probably...I dunno...

Disclaimer: Bah, I don't feel like doing this. -.-;; You know what I'm gonna say anyway.

---------

She jolted awake, suddenly sitting upright in her bed. Her blankets fell away from her. She panted heavily, sweat dripping cold down her face, dark green hair clinging damply to her pale skin. She closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath. Dammit, why do I always have to visit that moment over and over again?

She sighed, looking down to notice her right hand clenched hard, her knuckles white as a result. Has the transformation been completed? She wondered, slowly opening her hand to stare at her palm. On it, a dark red mark of a snake, eyes closed and docile and mouth clamed shut as it's tail wound down into a spiral, further and further into the pentagram in the center. Her narrow green eyes slitted even more as she exhaled in a hiss. "Murder..."

-

Ed was sitting in Roy's office, sitting cross-legged on the dark blue couch. His red jacket was draped on the back. His eyes were skimming fast over a newspaper, before tossing it on Roy's desk in disgust, glaring at him. There was a moment of silence before he spoke up.

"Well? What's the meaning of all this?" He asked.

Roy chuckled simply, leaning back into his chair. "I thought you'd find it interesting."

"Interesting? More like sick." Ed muttered, folding his arms and continuing to glare at the Colonel with a disgusted look.

"Ranya," Roy sighed, pointing to the headline on the newspaper. "A pretty new town. At least 300 people living there. Not much...but how, in only one night, all of them were wiped out?"

"Except for one, right?" Ed glanced at the article.

Roy smirked. "Glad you can read. Yes, there was only one survivor of the massacre. Found unconsious on a large transmutation circle."

Ed twitched, trying hard to hide his shock, which he succedded completely on doing. "What?"

"Gets you thinking, doesn't it?" He started reading the article over. "Most think she was the one who did it. But there's no exact proof, it's not like she's talking or anything."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Calm down, Fullmetal, I never said she did it." Roy looked at Ed, a smug smirk still on his face. "But she could've."

"So now what, you want me to interrogate her or something?"

"Exactly."

"I see..." Ed stared hard at his clenced fists on his lap, trying hard to control his anger. "Making me do something real low so you wouldn't do it your damn self."

"I'm not telling you to do it. The military is. You really want to disobey it?" He said casually.

Ed stood up, glaring daggers at his higher-up. "How can you just sit there and tell me to do something like this?! This girl just got out of some real crap and you just want me to bother her more about it!" He yelled.

"If you have a problem, you can turn in your watch and leave." He answered, strictly glaring him down.

Ed glared at him again, standing where he was. Then he turned on his heel, grabbing his coat and walking hard out of the office.

"She's in the infirmary." Roy called after him.

-

Al was waiting for him outside, seeming nervous as Ed angrily stomped past him and down the hall. "Brother, what happened?? He asked, running over to catch yp, his armor clanking loudly with each step, making the sound echo through the halls.

"It's nothing, just the Colonel being an asshole as usual." He replied in a controlled voice, still obvious that he was enraged.

Al sighed. "But Brother-"

"Al, do me a favor and wait for me in the dorms for a bit? I have to do something really quick."

"Um...okay."

"Thanks." Ed forced a smile, stopping and waving at Al as he ran off. Then he turned and ran down the hall, towards the infirmary. Once there, he knocked lightly on the door. "Anyone in here?"

"Yeah, come in."

He opened the door, expecting the worse but only seeing a girl casually leaning on the bedstand. Her arms, one metal, were thrown behind her head, and a detached automail leg was laying in her lap.

She blinked, pushing dark green hair out of her eyes. "You got automail too?"

"How'd you know?" Ed asked with a hint of nervousness, glancing down at his gloved hands.

She laughed. "No, its not showing. I can...hear them." She smiled. "Been with automail all my life, so I know how it sounds."

"You're a mechanic?"

"I make my own automail, if that's what you mean." She said, throwing the blankets off her. "Just finished up my leg." She said with a nod, pointing to the blank space where her leg should be.

"Oh...uhm..." Ed stared hard at her face, trying not to look for damage, or scars, or anything showing a struggle as result of the massacre. Nothing.

"Oh, and before you ask, I'm Kotoko." She added. "You're the Fullmetal person, right? You're pretty famous where I used to live."

"Ranya, right?" Ed asked dryly. She nodded.

"So...um...do you know what happened there?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Of course I do." She snapped. "But like I told the other soldies sent to find out, it's none of your bullshit, so go away."

"Look, I'm gonna keep getting crap from Mustang if I don't find out something, so I'm not leaving until you tell me." Ed said firmly, taking a seat next to her bed.

She flicked her tongue out, licking at the air for a second before her tongue dissapeared back into her mouth. He blinked. She sighed. "Huh..." She looked around, before reaching for a nightstand besides her, grabbing a small black book and opening it to what seemed to be a random page.

"And if any man think he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he out to know." She started to read outloud. He stared at her. She grinned at him before continuing.

"Bit if any man love God, the same is known of him..." That's when Ed realized that she was reading from a Bible, sighing again.

"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

"Aren't you an alchemist?" Ed muttered, squirming slightly in his seat, feeling uncomfertable.

She flicked her tongue at him. "I dabble. Why?"

"What you're reading..." He gestured at the book. "Don't you think its a bit unscientific?"

"Not at all." She blinked at him. "Religion and science go hand in hand after all. Religion is why while science is how."

"Oh..." He sighed. She looke suspeciously at him. "You really aren't gonna leave, are you."

He shook his head. She grinned. "Great, I could use someone over here, it's boring."

Ed groaned. "Can't you just tell me?"

Kotoko shrugged, looking thoughtful for a minute. "If you want answer, you have to give me some first. Equivalent exchange is the rule, right?"

His eyes narrowed a bit. "Like what?"

"How'd you lokse your arm and leg?" She asked with a smirk.

"...in the East during the Isvarlan revolt." He answered slowly.

She flicked her tongue again, her smirk growing. "Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"I can always tell if someone's lying." She replied. "And you sure as hell are lying."

He sighed. "Great..."

"Hey, I don't mind you staying here. I enjoy the company." She said, clicking her tongue in approval and reading her book silently. "You know, it's like the Bible says. The truth will set you free."

He was silent for a minute, staring at the automail in her lap. "...you promise not to tell anyone?"

She shrugged. "That's equivalence, right? I won't tell on you, and you do the same for me."

Ed grimaced, remembering that he had to report everything to the Colonel. "...how do I kow I can trust you?" He asked, hesitating.

"You don't." She smirked. "What's trust anyway? Why should I tell you my secret when I just met you? Load of bullshit, this is. It's your decision, now."

"Okay, fine..." He stared hard at the floor. "My brother and I...we tried to bring our Mother back to life." He whispered. "And when we failed...I sacrificed my arm to bind his soul to armor."

Her smirk fell, replaced with a sad but weary look. "...oh..."

"Remember, don't tell anyone. We'll never be able to complete our mission if you did." He added quickly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She threw a reproachful look at her automail, grasping it with her flesh hand. "Guess its my turn, huh..."

He nodded, staring intently at her. She flicked her tongue again, looking warily around the room. It's not safe here... "So...uhm...Ed, right? Sorry about this."

He gave her a questioning look. She suddenly swung her automail hard a tthe back of his leg before he could react.

He yelped, toppling from his chair and hitting the floor hard. "Dammit..." He groaned, struggling weakly to stand before losing consiousness.

---

"When in doubt, knock Ed out!" XD I made that up, and its true. I totally just realized how many times Ed loses consiousness in my fanfics. XD

Please review!