Chapter Four

The sun finally peeked over the hills as the dark clouds from the night vanished. You would have never thought there had been a storm the night before. Pinako was in the kitchen, making breakfast when Izumi and her husband came in.

"Has anything changed yet?" Izumi took a seat at the table.

"Nope, I checked on him this morning." She didn't turn around as she spoke. Izumi let out a tired sigh. "You should at least be glad he's back at all. It was very unsettling around here when we didn't know anything. This way we can say we know where he is." Izumi nodded silently. Too many thoughts were going through her mind ever since last night. She knew the solution to all of this but it was a hard decision to make and she wasn't going to talk about it to anyone here. There was a familiar feeling in her stomach that caused her to stand up quickly. Hurrying off to the bathroom, she didn't saying anything to the other two but they knew what was happening.

"It's been getting worse now. I don't know how much longer she can take this," Her husband mentioned in a low tone.

oOoOo

Izumi stood over the sink, staring at her reflection. She hated this condition. What kind of life did she really have anyway? There was nothing she could do about it though. Weakly she stepped back into the kitchen, trying to regain her composure. Pinako didn't say anything about her leaving, just handed her a glass of water. She caught the look her husband was giving her and shook her head. Once she was done with her water, she turned back to him.

"I'm fine, honey, really." He was about to answer her when there was a knock on the front door.

"We aren't expecting anyone so who could that be," Pinako stated, drying her hands on a towel. Whoever it was knocked again. Winry called from the stairway.

"I've got it!" The automail mechanic opened the door to find a young girl standing there. She had deep blue eyes and dark hair that went down to her shoulders.

"Can I help you?" She smiled happily as she eyed Winry.

"Yes, I was wondering if Edward was here." Alphonse heard the knock at the door from upstairs. He put his book down after the second knock and Winry yelled down stairs. Stretching his arm above his head, he went to the kitchen where the other three were sitting.

"So whose here," He asked Pinako. She just shrugged.

"I don't know, ask Winry." She was too busy placing breakfast on the table. He walked towards the door where Winry was blocking his view.

"Um...do you know Edward?" Al heard her ask. The other girl looked around her to see Al standing there. She smiled and pushed past Winry.

"And this must be Alphonse. You've changed so much since I saw you last." She walked over to him. "It's been so long." Al looked over at Winry, nervously. He didn't remember this girl. She was familiar but it was all blurry. Winry took a step closer to them.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name." The girl turned, causing her hair to flip behind her shoulders.

"I'm Lyra. Guess I don't know you either though. I helped Ed and Al when they were looking for the Philosopher's stone."

"I'm Winry, Ed's auto-mail mechanic." Winry's tone was dry and she reached out her greasy gloved hand and shook Lyra's roughly. Lyra pulled her hand away unimpressed, glancing around the house.

"Yes, speaking of which, where is he? I've been so worried about him, since I haven't heard from him in soo long." She spoke in such a sad tone. It made Winry's eye twitch.

"Sorry but he can't see anyone just now. We'll let him know you stopped by," Pinako told her, coming into the room. This was after all her house and she could kick anyone out she wanted to. And this girl was sending off a bad feeling. Lyra hurried over to her happily.

"This must be your auto-mail shop. I've seen your work in action and it's amazing when it's mixed with Alchemy," She praised her. Pinako smiled back up at the young girl.

"Thank you. I do my best." Winry jumped into the conversation again.

"Hey I said I was his mechanic!" It was clear neither of the girls were impressed with the other.

"Winry, you shouldn't yell at guests. Have you had breakfast yet? We're just sitting down." Winry jaw dropped as Lyra followed her grandma into the kitchen. She turned back to Al.

"Hey, do you remember her at all?" She pointed with her wrench and he shook his head.

"Not really. I know Brother was with her a lot though." It was all he could remember but it was enough to cause Winry's shoulders to slouch.

"Really?" She couldn't imagine Ed having much to do with any girl. He was always too busy and he only put up with her cause she made him. The two of them headed towards the kitchen for breakfast. 'This is silly, Ed didn't have any time for girls other then me,' she told herself but her jealousy wouldn't go away. Izumi stood up when she saw Lyra. She knew her from somewhere but she wasn't sure. Everything was working to her advantage. As long as Al couldn't remember and Ed was unconscience then she had nothing to worry about.

"Hello, Miss Izumi, I've heard a lot about you," she said, taking the seat that was offered to her. It was Winry's chair. She grit her teeth as she pulled another chair up to the table.

"So how do you know about me," Izumi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I used to work for Dante before she was killed by that creature. Wasn't it called Greed or something. Anyway, she told me about you and that you were once her student as well."

"Is that how you met our boys then," Pinako questioned.

"Well I met them before then but we kinda kept running into each other. It's good to see Al is back to normal." She glanced in his direction. "I'm sure your brother is happy about that." He looked down and didn't answer her.

"So you were wondering about Edward, right," Winry brought up, getting Lyra's attention. "That's why you said you came isn't it?"

"Yes, actually. I've been soo worried when I didn't hear from Al or him. I was sure that something bad had happened. He always so reckless."

'Well she definitely knows him alright but that doesn't mean anything.' In reality, the only person who could tell them anything about Lyra at this point, was Ed. And that wasn't possible right now. Lyra continued to chatter on and on but by now Winry was lost in her thoughts again. If this girl was an Alchemist like she bragged she was, then maybe she could help Izumi and Al find a way to get Ed back completely. But then she also wanted her to leave as well.