FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, GOLDEN EYES

By Born of Starlight

Perhaps I should confess something. Ahem.

Forgive me, Reviewers, for I have sinned -- GREED! -- Ahem. Lol. Right. Whatever. Sorry, I got very little sleep last night. Princess Mononoke was on TCM and I watched it. Then I went to my room and read manga for an hour or two. Well, to cut to the chase, I got about four hours or less of sleep, I've had three cups of coffee as of now (I'll get more, don't worry), and I haven't eaten in hours, and then not very much (eating dinner now, though). I'm feeling a bit random.

Delightfully Wicked, you asked about Korin's alchemist title. You're so impatient! Lol. You actually learn it in this chapter, and this is about halfway through the second arc of this story. As of this chapter, we're about two thirds of the way done!

Other landmarks? I hit the halfway point of the first chapter of my doujinshi! Yesterday I finally got up to fifteen pages. I'm going for thirty per chapter. Four chapters per volume, four volumes all told. Yeah... I've got my work cut out for me... It's about werewolves. Right now it has nineteen pages. Not bad, huh? I'll probably draw page twenty later.

Where was I going with all this...? Oh, right, confession. So, anyway, I've never been in a relationship (total waste of time -- guys are just...not like they are in ballads, and chivalry is completely dead, so they're all just...jerks and idiots) so it was really hard for me to write some of the stuff in the next couple of chapters (Ed/Korin, one-sided). Okay, so the one-sided part I can write. Unrequited love sucks. Nevermind that I haven't seen him in ages... Lol. Ignore me, please. I just wanted to apologize incase it was all horribly fluffy and dumb. That's all. :begs for forgiveness:

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Chapter 9

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The next time Ed saw her, Korin had a delicate chain tucked into her pocket, though she wasn't wearing the standard uniform of a State Alchemist. She should have been looking happy, but she didn't. She was just sitting in the armchair looking at the book in her lap; looking at it but not reading.

"You okay?"

She looked up, startled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Ed shrugged. "What're you reading?" Edward…? Attempting small talk?

Korin looked up at him. Something in her eyes made him feel as if she was laughing at him. He concentrated on not blushing. She silently handed over the book.

It was made of dark leather with a wooden spine. The pages inside were slightly yellow. Ed stared at it --

Then dropped it.

I thought they confiscated that," he hissed. Korin nodded.

"They did. I saw it on Colonel Mustang's desk, and explained that I needed it back. Somebody," she glanced knowingly at Ed, "must have fixed it. Last I saw it was mostly just charred remains…"

Ed shrugged. "I found it at the scene of…your 'alchemic experimentation…' It was in ashes but I transmuted it back to how it's supposed to be. That bastard made me hand it over."

Korin's mouth twitched.

"What the hell is it?"

"My notebook. In it, is everything I know about alchemy." Her reply was quiet and her voice trailed off. She leaned over the arm of the chair and picked the journal back up. "I designed all of these arrays… Most of them have never been tested." She flipped through the pages, a smile just barely touching her lips. Ed could tell she wasn't entirely with him in the library, but rather back in the time and place she had designed the transmutation circles.

Ed flopped down on a couch opposite to her and opened his own book. He wasn't really reading either. He kept finding himself watching Korin as she paged through absently.

And that was how the librarian found them, some hours later. They were in the same positions, but Korin's eyes had closed and Ed's were unfocused. The woman smothered a yawn and looked towards the clock. 10:55.

She shook Ed's shoulder gently. "You two kind of have to leave now. The library closes in a few minutes. Personally, I suggest you go home and get some sleep. You look like you could use it…"

Ed looked at the clock and swore quietly. He thanked the librarian and she left. Ed reached out to shake Korin awake as well, but he hesitated. He couldn't bring himself to wake her. Instead he picked her up and carried her out.

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Korin woke up in her own quarters the next morning. She looked around before rolling out of bed.

The single-room appartment was nearly empty. There was a plain table and two chairs, a small kitchen area with empty cupboards, an old couch, and a bed in the corner. There was a door to a small bathroom on one wall, and a closet door on another.

As she looked at her small home, Korin noticed she was still wearing yesterday's clothing, and her pocket watch was digging into her hip. She pulled it out.

One look at the time, and she was rushing around her apartment, gulping down some of the previous day's coffee, and trying to figure out how the hell her uniform was supposed to be worn. Finally, she just gave up on the uniform and pulled on some regular clothes.

As she neared Mustang's office, she slowed down. It wouldn't do for her to arrive out of breath.

The door opened just as she was raising her hand to knock. Roy Mustang closed it, snickering to himself at some private joke. When he turned and saw Korin watching him with raised eyebrows he instantly resumed his "smirking bastard" face. He stepped to the side and reopened the door a crack so Korin could see into his office.

Edward was sitting the small couch, his chin on his chest. He was snoring gently.

"Fullmetal fell asleep while I was reading a report. He didn't leave the library until late, and his brother says he didn't get home until 2:00 this morning. I decided to let him sleep." His smirk widened. "But believe me when I tell you I'm never going to let him live this down!"

Korin believed him. Her fingers twisted the watch-chain at her waist as she closed the door with her gloved left hand.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about, Elemental?"

Korin jerked at the sound of her new title. "Yes, Sir, there was." She hesitated, then pressed on. "I'd like permission to go look for a way to get my soul back. Her voice was just barely audible.

She was gone before Edward woke up.

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Reader Worship! Come on guys, with such a devoted worshiper as me, you should be lining up to review for me! (My God, another religion reference...? What the Hell -- hee hee -- has gotten into me? It's not like I'm severely religious, either. Personally, I think the Bible is a load of shit -- it was written by human beings, and is therefor flawed. I do believe in God, though... Not that you care.)

Delightfully Wicked: No pity? Not even for watery-kitty-eyes? What would Alphonse think of you? It was similar to "Flame vs. Fullmetal," wasn't it? I had probably just rewatched that episode. And see? I revealed her title. There is method to the madness:::runs to get her coffee: I am not addicted to coffee! I can stop drinking it whenever I feel like it:::violent twitching: Remember the Sonnet in the very first chapter? Go back and read the last line.

Lady of the Storm: Don't worry, there's more of the story. It's not so much a matter of actually writing it though. I finished the actual writing process June 7th of last year. Now it's just getting it typed. :grins: I like June. There's an anime convention I go to every June! (I cosplayed as Ed! And I plan to do so again this year. I improved my costume... Cosplaying rocks.)