Whoops so I guess I'm a bit late. Okay so I'm gonna make the pace faster coz I want Pride to meet the Bradleys soon. Actually just Mrs. Bradley but anyway!

Chapter 3: The loyal and the rebellious

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Today Father made another homunculus. I didn't know about him until he strode into my cozy little hideout and claimed it for himself. He just barged in when I was reading and declared, "Get out kiddo, ya ain't got no room now. This space belongs to me, and so do you." I felt shocked for half a second before I pinned him down with my shadows and tried to kill him. Well, torture, to be precise. I couldn't just let him die after how he'd humiliated me by calling me a 'kiddo', and totally ignoring the fact that I was Pride, the first homunculus. And he might be a human.

I didn't rest until Lust ran in and screamed, "Pride! Stop, he's your BROTHER!" It took me a few seconds to let the words sink in. Then I let go. Then I prayed that Father would never know about this. Then Father stepped in. Then my 'brother' yelled about how I 'planned to kill him and claim all of his belongings'. And I've never felt so embarrassed before.

From that moment on, I tried my best to distance myself from 'Greed'.

I never liked Greed. Like, I don't hate him, but I just don't want to be too close to him. I think he feels the same too. He has that kind of rebellious personality that really gets on my nerves, and he never listens to what Father says. It's like he thinks everything in the world should go his way, and he takes everything for granted, encluding Father's love for him. Whenever Father orders him to do something, he just makes up some kind of excuse and runs away. And then I will step out and teach him a lesson. And he never listens. Never. And that really hurts me. Not just my pride, but... Me.

Sometimes I wonder if I softened my tone and expressed my feelings to him, maybe he would listen to me. But every time I almost got there, I just couldn't bring myself to say it. Because that would mean lowering myself to his level. Acting like the 'caring and compassionate' humans. Giving up my pride as an elder brother. So I just went the hard way, you know, scolding him and stuff.

Sometimes, I wonder if Father had any problems like this. If he had a brother. Or a sister. Or a father. But then again, I have no right to question more about Father's past, because it's not relevant to anything that I should know.

And sometimes I just want to know the reason behind Greed's rebellious acts. I know he's not a bad son. Just rebellious. And I want to help him. And I know that this isn't anything my shadow powers can do. And sometimes, things get really, really hopeless.

So I decided to go out for a while.

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There are many different exits in my home. All of them lead to Central city, but they come in different sizes and shapes. Most of them lead to deserted alleys where gangsters hang around, but some of them lead to the inside of old houses, and some lead to very unhygienic bars, and some of them are just sewage holes on the road big enough for a human child to crawl in. There's also one that requires climbing over a mass amount of sewage pipes, and if you don't get lost, you have to squeeze through a certain gap between two pipes to find the exit, which is also a very small hole. Father never acknowledges this exit, or maybe it's because he never uses them. But I often go to the city, so I know every single tunnel, every secret passage, where every exit leads to, and every single sewage pipe and how it twists and turns in and out of the dark, massive tunnels. The hole is located in the basement of an old warehouse, which is rumored to be haunted so no one ever goes near it. No one knows when the warehouse was built- people said that it just appeared out of nowhere one night. No one knows what had been in there. And no one knows that it is used by Pride, the first homunculus, as a connecting bridge to Central city, for more than a hundred years.

I hopped out of the hole in the basement, feeling the creaking of floorboards beneath my shoes, and climbed the stairs to the basement door. I guessed that was what humans called a 'haunted house'- with squeaking hinges and spiderwebs loosely hanging from the dusty ceiling and occasional hisses from a stray cat. And of course, the dark. But that was what made me feel safe. I guess that's one thing that sets humans from homunculi apart. Humans, so cowardly and ignorant.

As I slowly walked towards the giant warehouse door, more and more light began to enter my eyes. I pushed open the door, carefully, slowly, only opening a small gap enough for me to slip out. I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust them to the light. Although my weakness is complete darkness, I'm not too keen on very bright light either.

I stepped out into the open. The grass beneath me was sparse and brown and thin, but it didn't matter. I didn't leave the lair for very green grass, anyway. There weren't any humans around, just the quiet chirping of crickets, and one or two birds soaring across the clouds. I stuck my foot into a crack in the outer walls of the warehouse, and searched for another with my hands, then lifted myself up. I continued climbing the tattered walls of the warehouse until I reached the roof, then I pushed with both hands until my upper torso was completely lying flat against the wooden roof, and I allowed my legs to move up too.

After I reached the very top of the roof, I sat there and stared at the sky. I'd climbed up to the roof within a minute, because I've done this for the millionth time- something I am really proud of. I didn't really focus on looking at things, or think about anything. There wasn't any purpose, I just wanted to observe things without thinking too much. And sitting on the roof was one of my favorite things. It made me feel on top of the world, above all of the living creatures, with the wind brushing against my face, and using the container Father had made for me to do what normal humans couldn't... It just felt good. Not necessarily happy, but it was a decent feeling.

I figured out that if I stayed too long with Greed, I would just lose my temper and throw myself into humiliation in front of Father. I didn't want to think that I have failed my job as an older brother. I didn't want to admit to myself that I couldn't train my little brother. My name was Pride, after all.

So I just stared at the sky and the birds. Some day, I would be able to do this whenever I want. I just have to wait for the Promised Day. Then I could take Father and Lust (and Greed) out here and be on top of the world, not ever having to hide underground anymore. Someday we could enjoy ourselves together.

As a family.

I look forward to the Promised Day. The day that I can keep my promise to my family.

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This took me a while, but I hope you guys would review because it means a lot to me. I hope I can make the story better. Thanks to all the followers again!