It was later in the afternoon that Ranma arrived at the train station. He fidgeted as he kept glancing at the wrench Winry brought along. Unlike most weapons, he actually feared the wrench. For some reason, he couldn't actually tell if it was coming or not. The mallet, that delivery bike, or any of Mousse's toys were easily dodged. He was finally convinced that perhaps living with them would be better in the long run instead of Nerima. He had thought about the possibilities of living with the Elrics and Kasumi without the massive everyday battles and everything else. He was sorely tempted, but his mind would not let go o the danger of his troubles following him. So he chose to do as he was told and sulk a little. Ed looked at the sulking martial artist, "Cheer up Ranma, after today you won't have to deal with Genma or any of them."
Ranma turned towards the alchemist, "That is not why I'm depressed. It is just that I still think that all the chaos will follow me. I've tried for years to keep collateral damage down but…"
"Things don't go the way you planned? Trust me, I know about plans not working," He tapped his arm, "But you can't let it haunt you. It took me years to figure that out."
"Like alchemy?"
Ed shook his head, "I tried to bury that long ago. I use it every now and again. It is usually a broken plate or something Winry threw at me,"
Both of them laughed. They knew that Winry had calmed down over the years. The wrench hadn't been used in anger for years. Ranma looked at Kasumi. He didn't know why but for some reason his thoughts were trailing back to her. He tried to ignore it, bottling it away with everything else he had over the years. Only letting what he felt comfortable with out. But the bottle was full and the contents were now under pressure. Thirteen years of repression works wonders on people. Ed watched Ranma look at Kasumi with an almost pained look. "You like Kasumi?" he asked quietly.
Ranma snapped to attention, "Shut up Ed." He said quietly.
"Come on Ranma, you can tell me."
Ranma looked away, "Even IF that is the case, there is no chance of it happening. I gave up on that a long time ago. She deserves better than me."
"And if she didn't want anyone else?"
"I don't know,"
To say that Ed was frustrated is like saying that Ryoga can take a punch. He wanted to help Ranma to be happy and he couldn't really do much. He began to think until Ranma disrupted his thoughts, "Tell me about alchemy Ed. You said you would,"
Ed grimaced, "Ok, where to begin. Hmm, alchemy is based on a few laws. Only one can not be violated normally without consequences. The law of equivalent exchange, to obtain one must first give something in exchange. Normally you must draw out a special circle for what you're doing. Not everyone can perform alchemy; it is one of those things you're born with and some can't do some transmutations. Then there is studying and studying and then more studying so you don't leave anything out. I can identify what most things are made of down to the trace elements, including people."
Ranma cringed at the thought of trying to learn half of what Ed knew. He probably can recite the periodic table of elements. "What are the other rules?"
Ed laughed, "They were set up by people. No making gold. No creating new animals also known as the chimera rule." His voice dropped to a lower volume, "And the last on of which I violated, no human alchemy,"
"How did you break that one?"
Ed looked away, "I'd rather not talk about that,"
Ranma nodded as Winry and Kasumi came back with tickets to Nerima. They both noted the sheer angst that was washing over the two. "Ok, what have you two been talking about? It feels like I'm in the presence of that Ikari character"
Ranma spoke up, "Never mind, Lets go. The sooner we get our stuff the sooner we can leave right?"
Winry nodded and handed then their ticket stubs. Ranma found himself feeling dread as he stepped aboard the train. For some reason he knew that his life was about to be tossed in a blender set to puree.
Yet again, I probably am short on an update, and I'm sorry.