A/N: So, if any of you are interested, I posted up a picture of Tatsuya on my profile- check it out sometime- and I also updated it with some of my random favorites. :P Feeling bored.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, never will, from FMA Brotherhood...or FMA.
Enjoy, be sure to R&R, and vote for your favorite couple. (Wow, lots to do, eh?)

The sky was like a large, blue wallpaper, painted over the Earth; the sun a big circle of heat and light, hovering on the horizon, but not over; the clouds floating in the sky, scattered here and there. It felt like you could just reach up and grab one of them. They looked so close, so still, yet you could never really extend your hand and end up with a puff of white between your fingers. If you really looked closely, the clouds were actually moving, inch by inch, across the cerulean picture. And the sun wasn't just that round yellow ball you'd draw in the corner of your paper when you were little, always staying there in that exact area; no, it was rather a shining beacon of brilliance, rising up into its usual place in the sky. Once you noticed, once you realized the sun was coming up and another day was coming, the sky suddenly seemed alive again. Everything was moving again. Reality had set in.

Narrator's POV (basically 3rd person) :
The two were sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree. One had an elbow propped up against the side of her knee, her chin resting on a palm, and she was leaning forward intently with an smile on her face. The other, a boy, was chatting animatedly with her, his eyes bright with excitement, and his hands gesturing in different movements, as if telling a story.
The sun was high up in the sky; it was almost noon. Its rays were casting a large shadow on the trees, and the blackness loomed over parts of the clearing. It made the forest seem full of life, with a beam of light here and a dark hole there. You never knew what was jumping around in there...or rather, lurking around, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Yumi's POV:
I don't know how long we sat there, I captivated by his tales, true or not I didn't know, and he next to me, seemingly delighted of finally having someone to talk to.
I couldn't help but notice the softness his hair had, and the genuine pleasure that was shone in his orbs. His smile was relentless, and I had the feeling that I was really, really appreciated. It was impossible not to notice it. The way his words flowed out of his mouth, the way his emotions were so transparent, made it hard for me to second guess him.
"And, so, we actually found a homunculus that was a doppelganger of King Bradley once! To think, only a week later, the Fuhrer was declared dead!" he was saying.
"Really?" I murmured. In the back of my head, I remembered Ed's warning to not tell anyone about the truth about King and Selim Bradley.
He stopped for a while and peered at me. "Yeah, why?"
I stifled a giggle, amused by his anxious reaction. "No, it's nothing. It's just that Ed also met-"
His eyes suddenly became unfocused, the dancing white orbs dimmed. He stared at me, but I had the feeling he wasn't really seeing anything.
"Um...are you okay?" I asked hesitantly, waving a hand near his face, for the first time in hours, worried. "Hello?"
He took a deep breath, and I sat up and tilted my head in confusion.
Then, a slight grin returned, he reverted back to his usual mood.
"Ehhh...," he dragged the word out, almost groaning.
"What?"
"Sorry, the mention of him makes me feel weird," he vigorously shook his head back and forth, trying to clear his mind.
"Why? Because he really met the Fuhrer before?" I teased.
He merely rolled his eyes and waved away my taunt. "Psh, yeah right. I mean, it's not like he fought him, like me," he mocked with a hint of sarcasm.
I scoffed, "You never crossed swords with him!"
He chuckled, "Fine, fine, you got me there." After a thought, he added seriously, "But, I swear, everything else is true."
His abruptly somber expression had me cracking up.
Suddenly, the trees beside me exploded. No kidding.

Ed's POV:
We stumbled around the woodlands a little more, before I heard the talking; there was a voice that didn't belong to neither Mustang nor the Lieutenant to the west of me.
It was a male, I recognized, and he was continuously talking, with only a few pauses. This has to be it. Why he was talking so much, I couldn't figure out. It was too suspicious; why would he talk so loud, when he knew that we would certainly be looking for them? And, besides, this was only a few miles into the forest. He could've got at least a few kilometers head start, I assumed, with the speed he was fighting at earlier.
During the pauses, I guessed someone was answering, but I couldn't even make out the vaguest sound. Then again, that was probably Yumi, and she didn't talk nearly as loud.
I put a finger to my lips and motioned for the Mustang and Hawkeye to follow me carefully. I saw an bright opening about 20-30 feet ahead, and as we neared the break in trees, the voices grew louder. One of them I realized to be Yumi. Then, when I was only a mere few feet away- I was running now, with the two adults at my heels- a groan rang in the air.
It was like lead appeared in my heart, heavy with anxiety. I motioned wildly to Mustang. Luckily he understood, snapping his fingers just as I leaped into the clearing. Anything to buy some time.

Yumi's POV:
Smoke rose up into the air, like a waggly trail of grey. We both whipped our heads towards the cause of the explosion. I smelled ashes burning; the bitter remains of whatever trees had been in that area was carried into the clearing by the wind. I coughed a few times, thinking of some previous forest fires I had witnessed.
Jeez, Mustang, if you're going to blow something up, make sure it won't spread. -.-
Then, the presence that was once beside me was there no more. A fierce gust of wind swept by me, as someone ran out into the clearing.
"Ed?" I coughed.
I heard blades grinding and clashing and turned around.
Ed had just appeared out of nowhere and was now fending off Tatsuya. Panic and worry filled me. For them both. They zipped back and forth, almost too fast for me to comprehend. All I knew was that Ed was trying to keep the fight away from me. Trying to find a place to jump in and stop all of this, I noticed Tatsuya's face.
His originally black eyes were now tinted with a small hint of red; I was too far to make sure, though. But they were intent on Ed. On killing him. No...this wasn't the person I had been with the past few hours. Even though his attitude still hadn't reverted completely into the evil man he'd been before- thank the gods, his sword-fighting would've been much better than Ed's if he had- yet I couldn't help but feel a certain anger to his movements.
"Stop!" I fretted, unable to do anything other than yell, afraid that I would hurt any one of them if I intervened.
A kick and a punch, a scratch and a bruise, they all made me wince; whether it was to Ed or Tatsuya it didn't matter.
Why were you fighting...Tatsuya? Why? Why are you starting to change back into that monster? Why are you trying to hurt Ed? I thought you cared for me...
"Multiple personality disorder?"
His words echoed in my head, answering my question. But that was impossible wasn't it? How could it be that one, so, so, convenient excuse, that explained everything.
Hah, nothing is impossible, baka Yumi.
Ed used to always tell me that. He told me that when I objected to him leaving home to become a state alchemist. He told me that when I asked him about the fictional- or so I thought- Philosopher's Stone. He even told me that when I went to him for advice because I thought my parents would never come home.
Before this day, would I have deemed it impossible that Mask's assistant was someone so sweet and innocent?
"Stop..." I whispered, a salty drop of water running down my cheek this time. Idiot, I scolded myself, why was I such an easy crier? I let it run down, feeling it touch my lips, too scared to raise a hand and wipe it away if anyone should see.
Ironically, this got more attention than my previous try. Ed's eyes met mine as he got distracted for a moment in his wrangle. They were two, perfect, amber orbs of alarm. I saw Tatsuya follow where Ed was looking, and hesitated for once in his thrust.
Looking into those black-red eyes, I saw him flickering back between the lines of the sadist and the person that I talked with only a few minutes ago. For a moment there, I could've sworn he actually stood still in open shock.
Ed was the one quicker to recover, after giving a quick reassessment of my safety. He took the chance left by Tatsuya to drive his blade forwards.
"No!" I screeched, surprising myself with the shrill sound I had made. I heard the sound of my knife tearing through the air before I understood what I had done.
Clang, my blade thudded against Ed's with a resolute sound. It pounded into his with such force it drove his left arm to the side. Although my aim had been spot-on, I hated the sound and winced at impact.
"Gomenasai," I whimpered, my knees giving out.

ED'S POV
I visualized my blade sinking into his chest, twisting it for every time he hurt Yumi. How dare he? How dare he get so close to her...like, like, a lover? Disgust rolled around in me like a hurricane. So foolish of him to get distracted by Yumi. It wasn't like he cared about her or anything.
When I had watched him get sidetracked by her, fury just took over my worry.
He. Had. No. Right.
Suddenly, I felt a heavy weight slamming into my arm. The momentum sent it flailing, and I swiped the air inches next to my target.
I stared dumbly and my limp arm, and the knife that lied to the side of my feet. The handle was a deep navy blue, the dagger glinting silver.
"Yumi!" I heard Mustang finally make it into the clearing. Seconds late.
My eyes bore uncomprehendingly boring into hers. But she was not to me. Her two sapphire eyes were watching to the right of me, studying him cautiously. As if she was afraid of what he'd say.
My head whipped back and forth, between the two. The other person's face was just a picture of plain bewilderment, and Yumi's an apologetic gaze.
Why? I wanted to go over there and shake her out of this ridiculous trance. I wanted to bring her home, away from all of this craziness, these lies.
And then he fled. I saw a agonized look of strained indecision- it scared me how sadistically it pleased me- before he turned his back and darted silently into the forest.

Yumi's POV:
I watched Tatsuya as he swiftly dashed away. Moments after his green shirt vanished from view, I could barely think about anything else. I didn't pay attention to Mustang's worried questions. I could care less about the Lieutenant's concerned voice. I even blocked out Ed. Because I wanted him. I wanted it all to go back to the two of us, sitting underneath that shady tree. Back to a few minutes ago, when I wasn't worrying about anything else; not about Mask, not about my feelings for Ed, not about impressing Hawkeye, not about my dad. Just me and the person I had created to be my prince.

Ed's POV:
"Yumi?" I shook her again. She only stared past me, at the trails of where that person had run off to, as if hypnotized. Desperately, I called her name once more, as loud as the lamented whisper would go. Nothing.
Finally, dumbfounded by her aloof reactions, I crumbled back onto the ground beside her. We were all safe. Yumi was alive. We had encountered someone close to Mask, face-to-face. We had found a place that could be holding dozens of necessary clues to this case. It was by all means a victory.
But, we had lost. We had lost Yumi to her own little, faraway world. With him.

A/N: Again, I shall be so kind as of to remind you to vote. (the couples are: YumixEd, YumixTatsuya, EdxYumi, or AlxWinry) Please. Pretty please. With hot fudge on top (nah, no cherries, I don't really like them. :l ) Mmmm...yes, hot fudge. You know you want the hot fudge. :)
And, maybe because I want to stress this voting thing, or maybe I'm just in a sadistic mood, I'll post up the next chapter once I get 5 votes (via comment/review I suppose).