Author's Note: Just pretend that Edward still knows alchemy. ^^

…It had to get away. The cloud had to disappear to be able to resist the strong pull coming from everyone else. Turn into a mere wisp of air and escape. Say good-bye…

1st person POV:

It was a very awkward dinner. Pinako-senpai had invited me to join them for the day. There wasn't much I could do to say no. When I tried, they all but refused.

Al wanted to know about my adventures and to share his.

Pinako-senpai wanted to know if I had found anything about my parents.

Winry wanted to update me about Al and her…well; actually, I made her do that…

Ed wanted to know how I've been.

Even Major Armstrong was interested in me.

So, when we first sat down at the dinner table, everyone was staring at me. Feeling self-conscious, I couldn't help but look down at myself. Was there something on my face? Was it my clothes?

I did a quick assessment and found nothing wrong. I was wearing my usual white tee under my typical blue hoodie-vest. I had a matching short, skirt, and my knee-high boots were waiting beside the door. My navy blue bow and arrows were on the floor next to me, and my 7-inch knives were tucked safely in my belt. My dark blue hair was tied in its normal, high ponytail.

But, I was probably being paranoid. I think.

"So, what's been going on, ever since 5 years ago?" I asked. Anything to get out of this uncomfortable silence. Ugh, hated them.

They looked at each other. Some unseen signal went through the air, and I guess Ed was chosen to tell the long story.

I sat quietly through the whole thing…or at least I think I did. Well, on the bright side, I managed not to interrupt them, despite my little surprised gasps and facial expressions.

"Oh," I struggled to find something to say. "Um, wow."

My mouth had formed into a small O.

Before I could congratulate them, and say how brave and awesome they were like any normal best friend would say, Al asked eagerly,

"How about you? Did you find your parents?"

Ah, Al, always the excited one.

And so, I went through my side of the story.

"I went to Central to find my old Sensei. The one who had taught me when I was young. I trained with her for about 3 more years. She taught me how to master my aim with the bow, and introduced me to some new…er...projectiles."

I motioned to my knives.

"It actually comes quite in handy," I grinned, feeling a little proud.

"Anyways, after that, I set off to explore the East. There, I found…someone."

My voice got real quiet from this point on. I never liked this part, although Al's orbs were bursting with anticipation.

"His face was masked, so I couldn't see anything. But, I found out that he was the one who killed my mom. I couldn't figure anything else after that, because he had fled. All I know is that he knows where my dad is, and I'm going to whoop the ass out of him until he gives me an answer!"

Suddenly, Major Armstrong leaped off of his chair, with dramatic tears in his eyes.

"OHHH, SO TOUCHING! THIS MUST BE THE PURE LOVE BETWEEN A DAUGHTER AND HER PARENTS! OH MY, I'M SO-"

I interrupted him by pushing him off the table.

"Major, really, you're going to break the table standing on it like that," I grumbled.

"And, can you please put on your shirt? We're having dinner here," scolded Pinako-senpai.

Major Armstrong went to hide in his little, anime, sad corner.

Edward sighed, "Jeez, you don't even know her name."

With a startled jolt, I realized I never really introduced myself to the Major. And I shot in him the back with a poisoned arrow. Not a good start.

"Ah…gomen, Major. I'm Yumi Akiyama. I've been friends with Ed, Al, and Winry ever since we were toddlers."

Next to me, Edward seemed to complain under his breath. Something that sounded like, "humph, friends."

For some unknown reason, that made my turn a slight shade of pink. I looked away from him so he wouldn't notice. That was when my eyes caught onto Winry and Al, who were sitting next to each other.

"Ah, so, when did you two get together?" Although I tried to hide it, I was sure the others saw the burning desire to know more about this sudden relationship.

Everyone's mood immediately became different. Winry, who was blushing, turned to Edward, who seemed indifferent to this subject, but looked like he couldn't help but become tense. Pinako-senpai's mouth was set into a firm, thin line, while I supposed Major Armstrong himself didn't even know the answer to this question from his confused and interesting expression. Only Al was unaffected by the changed atmosphere.

"Well, after a year or so, Nii-san and Winry got into a big fight. It was about- "

"Eh, Al!" interrupted Winry. "Um, it wasn't a very important subject." She laughed uncomfortably.

Al gave her a searching look, then shrugged and continued, "Anyways, they both got real angry at each other and didn't speak for weeks. I took Winry's side, and after that, well, I started to look at Winry in a different way and…"

Winry smiled a little, and said, "You know, Yumi, Al isn't a child anymore." Then, she punched Ed playfully on the arm, obviously trying to lighten the mood, and joked, "Unlike a certain baka over here."

Ed just grumbled, but it didn't look like he was any bothered by the fact that Winry liked Al better than him. Huh- they appeared a lot less affected by this than I had expected. How odd.

After that, silence took place, and we all ate Pinako-senpai's fried tempura quietly. I tried to relish every bite, enjoying the taste; it had been some time since I had had a homemade dinner like this. A guilty part of me wondered how amazing it would be to just give up my trip and stay here, with a nice bed to sleep in and a yummy dinner each day. But, my mind dismissed this thought almost just as soon as I considered it. What about my parents? And, I knew that Ed would never look at me again if I gave up my parents just for me to have leisure time. And, whether I was something more than his friend or not, this bothered me too much for me to contemplate about this anymore.

I looked down at my half-empty plate, and decided to savor it while it lasted. I didn't say anything and didn't try to make conversation, for it seemed to be so much better while it was soundless. Maybe I could keep the others from feeling the urge to talk, too.

And, I almost succeeded, too. I had my last shrimp stuffed in my mouth when Ed asked,

"So, are you leaving soon?"

His tone made me surprised. I had thought, with the way he was acting previously, he wouldn't have wanted me to leave. But, search as hard as I might, there was no implication in his voice that I should stay.

I swallowed, and then replied cautiously, "Yeah, I should get going after this."

Al whined, "But, you only stayed for a couple of hours! I haven't seen you in such a long time! At least hang around here for the night!"

…Well, at least someone made it obvious they wanted me here. From Ed's sulking face, you'd think he wanted me to set off as soon as possible!

Before I could open my mouth to argue, Winry also agreed.

"Yeah! It's best to go out in the morning, after a night of good sleep and rest."

"But, don't Ed and Al need to go on their exploration thing, too?" I protested. As much as she was my best girlfriend, I couldn't stand being here with just Winry and Pinako-senpai. My urge to bolt out after the two brothers would be too great. Ah, the lure of adventure. Always getting me into trouble. T_T

"We're leaving in the morning," said Ed, with some hidden meaning behind his words that I didn't recognize. It didn't sound like "we're" was Al and him.

"If you can stay longer, we'd be happy to postpone our journey a day or two," added Al.

I heaved a sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll stay- just until tomorrow morning. So, do you have an extra couch or something?"

They all seemed surprised I would ask such a thing.

"No, silly! We're not going to make you sleep on a couch!" cried Winry.

"But, there are only 4 beds. Did you add some more in while I was gone?" I asked, confused. This house didn't have that many bedrooms, though. I couldn't see where they could find the space to put another bed.

"Yumiiii," groaned Al, stretching out my name as if I wasn't getting something obvious. "Nii-san or I can sleep on the couch. Or we could share a bed if need be."

Pinako-senpai nodded, "You're the youngest one here! And, you need a proper sleep more than anyone else. When was the last time you've slept in an appropriate bed, with a nice roof over your head?"

I had no idea. Guess they did have a point. But, wow, ever since I came back, everyone was just teaming up on me over and over again…traitors.

"Ugh, alright. So, whose bed am I going to steal for the night? Ed or Al's?"

"Hmm, well mine is bigger..," mused Ed.

"I'm taking Al's," I immediately cut him off in his idea. At least I wouldn't be that big of a burden.

I snatched my stuff off of the floor and headed up to his room, before anyone could voice their objections; I had been in their house enough times to be able to memorize where everything was.

"Good night!" I called, hurrying up the stairs at lightning fast speed…well, as fast as I could possibly manage.

I heard Ed sigh.

"Don't you have to take a shower and brush your teeth and everything?"

Oh, shit. Right. I tiptoed to the bathroom, and tried to do all of my before-sleeping stuff as fast as I could, but I still didn't finish in time before Ed and Al came upstairs- Winry was back making some rushed automail orders.

When I flopped onto the bed, Ed was sitting on it, waiting for me, while Al was playfully jumping around the room.

"Good night," he murmured, with a strange longing in his voice. What was with him? It felt like every word he said conflicted with the way he said it. Was I misunderstanding anything?

"Don't let the beg bugs bite!" added Al.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a child anymore."

This made Ed smile. "To us you are. You're a whole 2 years younger!"

"Not to Al," I grumbled. "Besides, I need to sleep. Now get!"

I teasingly pushed him off of my bed and burrowed into my blankets.

"Don't forget to turn off the lights." My voice was muffled by the blanket.

"I thought you weren't a child," muttered Ed, as Al bounced happily out of the room. Really, it seemed Al was on a high dose of sugar today.

"Too bad, I'm already too comfortable here to move," I giggled, a hint of my childish side coming out.

"Fine, fine. Good night, Yumi."

He closed the door, as I closed my eyes. It wasn't particularly hard to fall asleep. It wasn't unreasonably cold, like the days when I'd camp outside. There were no dim, flickering stars above me, keeping me awake. And, although it was a little too quiet for my liking, the silence wasn't eerie. I was happily falling into a well-deserved, deep sleep with no dreams to bother me, when there was a light knock on the door.

Habit made my eyes snap open and almost jump out of bed, ready for action, before I remembered that Ed and Al were still awake, and they'd probably notice if any bad things were coming. I sat up, tiredly rubbing my eyes, as if I had just woken up on an early summer morning, instead of in the middle of the night and after just a few hours of sleep.

"Um, come in?" I sleepily called.

The door slipped open a few inches and someone slipped in and closed it behind them. For the one second that the light hit the person's face, I knew it was Winry. She was biting her lip nervously.

"Sorry, Yumi, but, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Mm-hmm, sure," I nodded, trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice. That was such a nice sleep. Like the homely dinner, I wasn't sure when I'd get another sleep again like that when I set out again.

"Erm, it's about the fight Ed and I had." Her voice was so quiet and shy; I almost had to strain my ears to hear her. Geez, what happened to that dangerously-throwing-wrenches-and-screwdrivers-around Winry that I loved?

"Yeah?" I asked, a little more awake now.

"Well, the fight was about – "

A/N: Cliffhanger! =D Ha-ha, wow my chapters are getting longer and longer as they progress. Anyways, please review and comment. I'm open to all suggestions. ^^