Chapter 4: Mechanic
Rain pounded hardly on the streets of an unfamiliar city in a country far east. The country was known as Xing. The silver brick-covered streets were like a shallow, flowing river, as the rain showered over the bustling city of busy lives. Even in the hard rain people still attended work and used bikes as transportation. Water flowed down drainpipes like waterfalls, and the torrential rain continued pouring. People didn't care even if they heard a thunderstorm coming. All they would do is just take their stores inside or put up super-thick blockers to shield from the heavy rain. But mainly their lives would continue even through terrible weather.
A young woman in a dark purple women's business suit was walking through the river-like streets of Xing. She wore a really thick Chinese straw hat that shielded her from the strong torrential rain. It took her a few minutes to finally reach her destination, which was an enormous Chinese mansion, but not as big as the Emperor's castle. She knocked three times on the door and knocked the door again, except this time in more of a musical tone. The door slowly slid open and a voice came from the darkness of the mansion.
"Your codename password?" it whispered in a really quiet tone.
"Hanabi…" the woman answered as the door slid open further and she walked in.
"We've been expecting you, Hanabi." The voice said as it turned on the lights. Once the lights shined upon the dark room, it revealed that the mysterious voice came from a cute, young girl who looks no older than fourteen. She had long blonde hair and always wore a small white flower that was tied tightly to it, a little bit above her left ear. She wore a white flower-girl hat with a matching white dress to go along with it. She straightened her small, oval glasses, and flapped open a small fan with the Kanji character for Chu imprinted beautifully on it.
"It's about the project, right Chu?" The woman said as she took of her straw hat to reveal her bright orange hair. "And by the way, please refer to me as Ayumi and not my codename."
"All right!" Chu said as she smiled happily at Ayumi. "Then please call me Hana!"
The two women then walked from the front door and paced quickly up the stairs of the large mansion.
"How is your part-time job as a nurse, Ayumi?" Hana asked as she chuckled a bit on her way up the long staircase.
"Going good. I guess." Ayumi replied as she was also climbing the stairs. She then noticed something and mumbled to Hana, "Why the hell are you chuckling?"
Hana chuckled again and answered, "I just thought it was cute to see you as nurse and pretending to act nice and gentle. I can't imagine you acting like that at all, Ayumi. You're usually quiet, but most of the time angry at the slightest things. Plus, you hardly ever smile. Seeing you put up such a silly act to obtain simple information is pretty funny."
"I'll have you hanged if you're not too careful." Ayumi said with an angry tone in her voice while Hana continue to quietly laugh a bit more.
The two then stopped with their fun and jokes when they came upon the highest floor of the mansion. Their faces were placed with serious expressions as the walked down the long empty corridor. When they reached the end of the long hallway there was a large Chinese door. Ayumi slid the door open and inside was a Chinese styled meeting room. There were three other women in the room, and one of them got up from her chair. She had black hair that she always kept in two Chinese buns with two small braids hanging from them. The sides of her bangs are down to her collarbone, and she would occasionally have a tight gold and black headband on her forehead. She wore a tight black ninja outfit with a shiny red plate to shield her chest, red defensive elbow pads, thick, red shoulder pads, sturdy, red kneepads, black and red ninja boots, and a crest on the collar of her outfit that reads Kanjin.
"Obtained anything useful, Ayumi?" the ninja woman asked.
"Maybe something, Kanjin." Ayumi answered as the ninja woman rang a small bell as a sign of an important meeting.
"Thank you Ayumi." She thanked. "But please call me by my real my name, Namine."
All five members then took a seat around the meeting table as Namine stood with a big announcement, "Everyone, it seems that Ayumi Hanayuki, codenamed as Hanabi, obtained valuable information on Project Tsubasa."
Ayumi cleared her throat and explained, "While I was working at my part-time job in Central, Amestris, I seemed to come across some valuable information that I believe is an important part of Project Tsubasa. I was taking care of a female patient. She had black hair that's always kept in a high ponytail and awkward looking crimson eyes. She then asked to use the restrooms and I let her. The restroom was an incredibly dark room and nothing can be visible unless lights were turned on. She walked in the restrooms and I never saw the lights turn on. That gave me a feeling that she might be important in Project Tsubasa."
"I agree with you, Ayumi." Hana added on. "From an old worn-out military soldier's diary I read that Tsubasa's vision is more enhanced than that of the average human. But since the diary was old and the majority of it was burnt, I couldn't obtain more info from it. I feel that someone was trying to hide the information about the creation of Tsubasa by burning the information."
"They probably must've killed the military soldier, as well, for punishment." Said a girl who went by the name Midori, and the codename Kokoroe. She had long greenish-black hair that was tied in a loose ponytail. Just like Hana, Midori wears glasses, but her lenses were large and thick, making her eyesight bad without them. She wore a long forest green princess kimono with red-orange and gold flowers imprinted on it, a jade colored sash with dark green fern leaves marked in a clear random pattern, and a long silky piece of string tied tightly around the waist in the center of the sash. She carried a green bamboo umbrella with the Kanji characters for Kokoroe imprinted in large text on it. Midori then continued, "I think the military may be involved in this somehow or at least an organization that doesn't want a single member of the military to find out about the project."
"Can you think about this matter more clearly though?" Protested a 15 year-old girl whose name is Luna. She had violet-blue hair, which happens to strangely be her natural hair-color. The sides of her bangs are longer than her short hair. She had lavender eyes that are more of a round shape than slanted. She wore a regular white t-shirt with a Sakura blossom on the front, plain black business pants, and dark brown boots. She wears a necklace with a crescent moon and the moon had the Kanji characters for Kokoroyasa(shii) imprinted in the center of it. She went on, "You can't just go and assume any random person that you believe is strange. Then come back and report that person saying that they're part of Project Tsubasa."
"We're not picking random people, Luna." Namine admonished her. "Do you know what almost happened to Xing because of Tsubasa?"
"Yes, I know…" Luna said as sighed with sadness in her heart. "But I believe that we should be more reasonable about the people who we believe that could possibly have a connection with Tsubasa. Take that girl that Ayumi mentioned earlier for example. All she asked was for the use of the restroom. She never turned on the lights, but can't you just assume that she just went in there to wash her face or hands. You guys go and blame her just 'cause she has crimson eyes. You never blame me for anything, and I believe that I'm more strange and different than her. Just look at me! I have violet-blue hair from birth! I don't see you guys calling me strange or ever tried to blame everything against me because I'm different!"
"That's a strong point that should be considered," Midori said as she began to think a bit more. "Thank you for bringing that up, Luna."
Luna smiled happily to see that her idea was taken into concern. Namine then got up from the table just when Luna sat back down from her seat. She cleared her throat and announced,
"All right, guys! I want you to all further investigate Project Tsubasa, but remember to take Luna's idea into consideration! Get in your original groups and even without Shia here we'll still be able to manage!"
Hana rushed over to join Ayumi who was now standing in the corner of the room looking through what seems to be an Alchemy book. Hana peered over Ayumi's shoulder in full interest. Ayumi was startled to see Hana gazing at the Alchemy book from behind.
"I didn't know you were Alchemist, Ayumi." Hana said chuckling a bit as she wiped the oval lenses of he glasses with her lacy handkerchief.
"I-It's my method of battling." Ayumi stuttered and straightened the red ribbon tied underneath her white collar. She rubbed her hands over the golden Kanji characters that stated her codename, Hanabi, until she was able to calm down a bit. Hana continued to giggle at her partner's reaction.
"I guess it'll only be the two us," said Hana with some sadness in the tone of her voice.
"I wonder what happened to Shia…" Ayumi said in deep thought.
Just as Hana and Ayumi were having their private conversation, Luna rushed over to Midori and Namine. Midori was checking to see if her bamboo umbrella's in perfect condition, while Namine was sharpening her kunai.
"Ready to move out now, Luna?" Namine asked looking at her. Luna was gazing down at her crescent moon necklace and just stared in deep thought at her codename. The crystal Kanji characters glowed beautifully in her lavender eyes. Midori closed her umbrella and tied a golden string around it to hold it in place.
"C'mon Luna." Midori sternly reminded her. "We'll move out once you're ready."
Luna looked up and quickly replied, "A-all right."
Namine gave her big grin that showed her sharp canine teeth and then shouted, "All right! We're all ready to depart! So let's head off onward to Amestris!"
Lightning struck the sky strongly as the thunder roared loudly in the far-off distance. Rain almost fell like a waterfall and it doesn't look like it's going to let up soon. But in Elendia it's a whole different story.
Ed, Al, and Armstrong were all walking underneath the large canopy of the forest. Since the leaves were so thick, the rain didn't pour much on them. They crossed through the forest without having to worry much about the rain. Armstrong led the way as he was carrying the small wagon filled with Al's broken armor pieces. Al was following Armstrong at a quick pace to keep up with the Major, while Ed was falling behind, tired and worn out from all the walking.
"Ugh! I can't take this anymore!" Ed screamed as he collapsed on to the damp forest floor. He was exhausted from the excessive walking and the trouble of having to keep up with Armstrong's fast striding pace. He began to start having doubts and asked, "Major, are you sure we're not lost? Or maybe this special mechanic of yours is just a figment of your imagination?"
"Edward, I can assure you that the mechanic I speak of is real." Armstrong reassured him as Al ran over to help.
"Do you want me to carry you there, brother?" Al asked in concern.
"It's ok, Al." Ed said as he got up from the ground. His body was still flimsy and wobbly, but he managed to stand. He straightened himself as he continued, "Half of your body is missing and I'm only missing my right arm. I shouldn't be overusing you in that way, Al."
Al was delighted to hear his brother's respect for him, and despite the fact that Ed turned down his offer Al still picked him up. He lifted his Ed up with his remaining left hand and carried him on his shoulder.
"Al, you didn't have to carry me." Ed resisted.
"You're tired brother." Al insisted. "I'll carry you there the rest of the way. Besides you can actually get some rest now."
"Oh fine." Ed gave in. "I'll just take a nap right here."
Al laughed as his older brother fell asleep so peacefully on his shoulder. Even when Al was running to catch up with Armstrong, Ed didn't wake up. He was so exhausted after everything that happened since his battle with Scar that he slept so peacefully as if nothing can possibly disturb him.
But something did. After a half an hour of walking forever in this huge forest, Al dropped Ed on the lush, green grass and he fell right on his bottom.
"Ow!" Ed shouted as he woke from his wonderful sleep to find himself lying on the ground. "Al, what the hell was that for?"
"We're here brother!" Al shouted with excitement as Armstrong knocked politely on the humongous, red front door. Ed stared in awe at the gigantic white mansion that was about 5 stories tall and with four balconies on each floor. The house was covered with moss, vines, and the back of it was connected directly to a giant tree. Ed was more shocked to see the giant tree. It was massive and was the largest tree he had ever seen in his life. He was surprised that a certain mechanic actually lives in a deep, lush forest full of dangers and plant life rather than living in the city.
I wonder what the mechanic looks like. Ed began to wonder in deep thought. Probably a giant with a long brown beard and muscles just as massive as the Major's. He probably has a really aggressive attitude since he's living so far from society and if you tick him off he'll rip your spine right out of your back! Ed was scared by his own thoughts as he snapped back into reality when the giant red door finally slid open.
The door creaked as it slowly opened for the three travelers. Light entered the darkness of the main room of the mansion as Armstrong walked proudly in without fear. Ed and Al followed closely behind the Major, somewhat cowering in fear. The large doors suddenly closed in on them with a loud thunderous slam. Ed and Al were both startled by the loud noise.
"Brother, what if this is a haunted house?" Al asked in fear.
"Al, we're Alchemists." Ed answered. "We have to be more rational about things. There are no such things as ghosts and haunted mansions. So forget about what you just asked and…"
Suddenly there was another loud thunderous slam! Both Ed and Al jumped in fear again. They ran screaming and hid closely behind Armstrong.
"O-Ok…" Ed stuttered. "Now I'm really scared…!"
"Have no fear, Elric brothers!" Armstrong shouted with sparkling balls of light surrounding his proud face. "I shall protect you from the evil that lurks in the darkness!" Armstrong put down the small wagon and began to punch the air of the dark room. He tried to rapidly punch into the darkness hoping to actually hit something, but all he hit was the air. Even though he's been continuously hitting nothing, Armstrong still carries on his punches.
Suddenly a small candle was lit in the darkness. Armstrong noticed the small flame and quickly picked up a random object. That random object just so happens to be Ed. Armstrong hurled Ed across the room and towards the burning flame of light. Ed was screaming as he was flying fast through the air and then he slammed into something. The candle's flame ran out of light and suddenly all the candles in the chandeliers lit afire!
Now that the room was filled with clear light, everything became visible. It seems that the mysterious figure happens to be none other than Hikaru. Both Hikaru and Ed were lying on the floor, with Ed lying on top of her, passed out from Armstrong's freakishly strong throw. She pushed Ed off her with her face slightly red with blush. He woke up once he hit the floor afterwards.
"It's you!" Ed shouted with excitement to see Hikaru sitting on the marble-tiled ground next to him. "I want to thank you for saving me and my brother back when we fought Scar." He went up and clutched her hands. Hikaru was surprised to see him doing this and her face blushed a small tint of red. But once that happened she felt pain in her chest again.
She held on to her chest in pain again and fell right on Ed's lap. She was panting heavily as she said, "I-I'm sorry…I-I don't want to… be a burden to you…You can just leave me here… and go off and do your business…I-I'll even open…the doors for you…Just leave me here and do your…own business…Y-You're so nice to me…I-It makes me feel…"
Hikaru suddenly passed out and Ed tried all he can to wake her up again. He shook her body trying to make her snap back to reality. He tried all he can, but she never awoke. Al pulled his brother off her and sadly said,
"She could've died, brother…"
"She can't Al!" Ed protested. "I want to know more about her! Why did she save us from Scar? Why did she mention about me having the 'wings' she was searching for? Why does she feel pain in her chest like the way she did just a second ago? I want to learn, Al! Especially her name…"
Hikaru's eyes began to open a slight bit and then flickered a bit. In the meantime her eyes were fully open again. The pain from her chest lifted and she was quickly back up on her feet. Ed's golden eyes glowed with happiness as he, too, got back up on his feet.
"Please," Ed begged her. "Please, tell me your name. You saved our lives from Scar and…I really want to know whom I'm thanking."
Hikaru stared into his pleading gold eyes as he stared into her mysterious crimson ones. She gave him a small smile and replied, "My name is Hikaru."
Ed was delighted to hear her name ring in his ear and gave her a big smile. "I'm Edward Elric!" He introduced himself and held out his hand. Hikaru stared at his left hand for sometime. The she grabbed it and shook his hand. Ed gave her a large toothy, while Hikaru just gave him a small smile, but slightly bigger this time.
"Edward, aren't you supposed to be looking for the mechanic?" Armstrong reminded Ed.
"Oh yeah. I almost forgot!" Ed exclaimed. "Hikaru…"
"Yes?" She softly replied.
"Major Armstrong here claims that there's a mechanic that lives in this large, giant mansion, all the way in the forbidden forest of Elendia. Is that true?"
"Yes." She answered.
"Can you tell where this-so-called mechanic is?"
Hikaru began to think for a bit and held her pointer finger in the air. She began to move her finger in an upward direction, but then quickly pointed it down to herself.
"N-No way…" Ed and Al stuttered shockingly. "Y-You can't be…"
Hikaru nodded with a small smile and said, "I'm the Mechanic of Elendia!"