The first official chapter. This story was reasonably easy to write, but also a lot of fun. I hope it heightened my skill and that all of you enjoy it. I love suspense and horror, so I hope that I met that genre reasonably well. Constructive critism is the best, as well as any nice comments. If you have any questions, just review or send me a message.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. I only own my OC and the plot.
"Okay, uniform, keys, wallet..." A young woman muttered, counting the objects off on her fingers. Her long dark hair swished behind her as she moved down the hallway of her apartment, and her sapphire eyes darkened upon the realization that she was missing something.
"Left shoe," Another voice added coming from the couch in the room the woman had just entered. The blonde male just mentioned smirked at the girl's surprised look while she looked down at her bare foot, wiggling her toes.
"Dammit!" She exclaimed, hurrying back in the direction she had just recently come from to search for the darned thing. Honestly, it was like the little buggers just loved to hide on her every morning.
"You know you're going to be late if you don't hurry!" Edward Elric called after the woman, the smirk still occupying his lips.
"Oh, here's a thought, help me!" Lilia Julian cried back at him, sticking her head out of their bedroom door to glare at him.
This was an average morning for the two roommates, and had become practically a daily routine. Lilia would forget something, and it would be up to Edward to point it out to her. Without him, the girl would probably forget to even get dressed in the morning, let alone put on her left shoe. Edward tended to tease her about it as well, but that was to be expected from the young alchemist. It was only who he was, and even though Lilia acted mad at him, she didn't mind it as much as others thought.
Although the two of them have been friends for years, now lovers at that, the two still find themselves stuck in little squabbles, or teasing the other immaturely. The two were both nineteen years old, and yet they both didn't seem to want to let go of some of their past routines, unable to face the fact that they indeed weren't the hormonal teenagers they both knew anymore.
Lilia was a nurse's apprentice when the two of them had met. The nurse she was training under had been assigned to watch over Edward after he had been beaten to a bloody pulp from one of his missions. She had been checking his bandages one night, having been given the night shift, and she ended up striking up a conversation, since she had been bored and definitely sleep deprived. From then on, she always managed to snag a place as one of Edward's nurses, and slowly their relationship blossomed.
Indeed, it had been just over four years since the end of Edward's long journey in which to restore his younger brother's lost body. Once having succeeded with that, and visiting all of their old friends, Edward soon found himself restless and bored most of the time. Now that he didn't know what to do with his new free time, he moved back to Central to help with the military again, hoping that that would ease his restlessness a bit. One day, he just happened to run into Lilia again, and they picked up right from where they had left their relationship. A few months later, the two found themselves living together.
Edward didn't move from his spot after Lilia's head ducked back through the open doorway, only scanned his eyes over the living room calmly. There, sticking slightly out from under the arm chair was a white healed shoe.
Edward rolled his head back in the direction of the hallway, calling out, "I spy with my little eye something that is white. Sticking out from under a chair. Dubbed "little bugger" by you."
It didn't take a minute for Lilia to rush out of the bedroom, sliding across the hardwood floor to get to the shoe faster so she wouldn't be any later then she already was. After slipping it on quickly, and double checking if she had everything, she kissed Edward's cheek and rushed toward the door.
"Have a great day off! I'll be home later, love ya, bye!" With that, she slammed the door, and she was gone, high heels tapping against tile flooring before slowing fading away.
Ah yes, Edward had been given a day off today, and even though he should have been thrilled, he was actually the opposite. Now officially under the title of "Colonel", though still Roy Mustang's subordinate (nothing irritated him more than knowing that), he almost enjoyed being given work to do every day. It made his life somewhat interesting, gave him something to do, even if he didn't have to run from town to town anymore on pointless missions. From time to time he still had to, but it wasn't as much as when he was still a mere Major.
If you would have asked Edward Elric if he was bored with his life right now, he would have said yes. However, if you had asked if he was displeased, he would have said no. He wasn't unhappy with his life at the moment, he fairly enjoyed it actually. Getting to see Lilia everyday and dealing with her interesting personality was an upside, especially on special days. He enjoyed seeing Mustang and his crew at work every day as well, though Mustang still attempted to get under his skin a lot. Besides that, though, it was just ordinary day to day life. He almost missed having to deal with the homunculi, and all the other enemies he had faced over the years. That had at least brought adventure and adrenaline into his life. Now he didn't know what to do half the time.
Edward sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, golden eyes subconsciously gazing over at the old clock hanging up on the wall. It was only nine in the morning, and Lilia wouldn't get home until much later, which meant that Edward would be painfully alone and bored for hours to come. He could work on some of the reports that were due tomorrow, but that almost seemed like too much effort for him at this hour in the morning. Edward was never a morning person, and the mere thought of paperwork at 9:00 in the morning was horrible. After that, though, he didn't have much else to do, now did he?
With another sigh, he got up from his spot on the couch and started heading toward the apartment's kitchen. He began to retrieve the reports and papers he needed to sign and finish, when his mind deterred to the thought of breakfast. Deciding to procrastinate longer, he threw down the reports on a nearby counter and started scouring through the fridge and cupboards for something to eat. After coming up with nothing but a note on the now empty box of cereal, and orange juice, and multiple other things, Edward rolled his eyes; but a smile was still found on his lips. Without a second thought, he grabbed his keys and wallet and headed over toward the door. The notes were Lilia's implied message that one of them needed to go grocery shopping, which Edward happily took the job up. He would do anything to get away from work, at least for a little while.
The walk down to the market wasn't very long, and he found himself there in no time. Even with slowing down his walk and taking time to examine the changing leaves of the few trees in Central, he reached the market in shorter time then he first wished. Picking out the food and other things he decided to pick up didn't take that much time, and soon he was exiting the market with two full bags of supplies.
Once more, he slowed his walk, breathing in the cool air. Now that October was here, the weather was starting to get colder, even for a city such as Central. Trees of parks, or lined along the sidewalk, were beginning to change color and lose their leaves. The sky was clear most of the time, and Edward realized that the autumn sky is the most blue of all the seasons. Compared to the fire-like colors of the leaves, it should be.
Not paying attention to where he was going, he ended up bumping into someone, making the two of them stumble back a bit. Shaking off the initial shock, he looked up to apologize only to freeze when he saw dark brown eyes glaring at him. The eyes were small compared to the chubby face they were situated on, and the large body of the woman didn't help this. Edward frowned down at her – silently celebrating that he was taller than her -, matching the woman's unimpressed look.
"Why don't you watch where you're going," She snapped, placing her hands on her large waist.
Edward rolled his eyes, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I'll make sure to look out where I'm going next time."
"You sure as hell will. If I didn't have great balance, I would have toppled onto the sidewalk! That wouldn't have been so nice, now would it?" She growled at him.
Edward fought the urge to say that she was so large that it should've been Edward to fall onto the sidewalk, but bit the remark back. He shrugged, and began to walk around her, trying to get home before he had to deal with this woman any longer. She seemed to take the situation far too seriously when it truly was an accident.
"Don't shrug at me, boy! If I had fallen, I could have cracked my skull open!" She ended up exclaiming, making Edward stop once more. "Then I would've sued you for all you got!"
"If you were even still alive to even sue me," He replied dryly, receiving another snarl from the pudgy woman. "Look, it was an accident, I'm sorry. Let's both just forget it happened."
"Easier said than done," She snorted, but allowed Edward to pass now, much to his appreciation.
Edward scoffed at the woman's words when he was a fair distance away, thinking that it really was done easier than stating it. Look, he had already forgotten, and now all he could think about was getting home and making himself a nice breakfast.
Lilia stood beside the stove later on that day, listening to the boiling water in the pot and observing the cooking noodles inside. Her sapphire eyes shifted over to Edward when the blonde cussed loudly while throwing down the knife he had recently been using to chop vegetables for their dinner. It was also the same knife that had left a reasonable sized cut on his index finger.
Lilia sighed, grabbing his hand to examine the cut, "You gotta be more careful, you know? Luckily, it isn't too deep. I'll go get a band-aid, alright? Wait here."
Before Edward could disagree, she was already exiting the small kitchen and heading down the hall towards the bathroom. He slumped his shoulders in defeat, and leaned against the nearby counter to wait until she got back. During that time, he resorted to sucking on his wounded finger so the bleeding wouldn't get any worse than it already was.
Lilia didn't take long to come back with a tan colored bandage, grinning as she said, "Here I am, back to save the day."
"It's not like I'm bleeding to death," Edward scoffed, allowing her to take his hand again.
"You never know, my dear Edward," She stated, tearing off the pieces of garbage that were covering the sticky sides of the bandage. She placed the bandage over the cut, before placing her rosy lips over the same place. She grinned once more before turning back toward the stove, "There! All better!"
"Ah, yes, what would I ever do without you," Edward commented, smiling wryly toward her back.
"Die from blood loss, or maybe suffocation of paperwork," Lilia replied, "Almost like you did today. I literally almost had a heart attack when I saw you face down on the coffee table until I heard you snore."
"Shut up," Edward shot back, "Do you know how boring doing paperwork actually is? Maybe the next time you have a day off I should leave you a pile to do."
"And allow me to make you look like an idiot? I don't think that's a very wise decision, especially if you don't wish to be demoted," Lilia chuckled.
Edward was just about to make another remark when the phone they had in the hallway began to ring. After receiving a 'busy' from Lilia, he went to go answer it, only to be greeted by the worried voice of Maes Hughes.
"Oh my god, Ed, I've never been so happy to hear that you're home," Maes sighed, obviously relieved to hear Edward's voice.
"Why? What's going on?" Edward asked, suddenly very wary. Lilia peaked out through the kitchen entry with a confused look, but he merely shrugged.
"Is Lilia there too? Is she okay?" Hughes questioned instead.
"Yeah, she's here, and she's fine. What's going on?"
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, before Hughes' voice came back in a chilling voice, "Somebody was just murdered in your area."
"What! Who?"
"I'm not sure. I was just about to head over to the scene myself, but I wanted to make sure you two were alright first."
"I'm going too. Where is it?"
As Hughes told Edward the directions and location of the murder scene, Edward wrote it down on a nearby piece of paper. The location of the murder wasn't too far from his apartment, and that in itself made a chill run down Edward's spine. He was already in danger most of the time as it was, but now this? After Hughes finished, they bid each other good-bye, and Edward shoved the slip of paper into his pocket before heading toward the door.
"Ed, what's going on?" Lilia asked urgently, following after Edward.
"Somebody was just murdered, and I'm going to head down to the scene," He replied, slipping into his boots and pulling on his coat. He looked back toward Lilia to see her uneasy face, and spot her shifting from one foot to the other nervously. He smiled reassuringly, "I'll be fine. Just make sure the door and windows are locked after I leave, alright? And you know where I keep my issued gun."
Edward may not enjoy killing, but since he was in the military, each officer got an issued gun. He kept it on him whenever he went into work, yes, though it made him feel disgusting to have it on him. At home, he kept it in a closed drawer so that his eyes wouldn't have to fall onto the dreaded thing.
"Why aren't you taking it with you?" Lilia asked nervously, grabbing his arm to keep him from leaving, at least for a little while longer.
"I have my alchemy. Besides, I need to know that you have at least some sort of protection, just in case," He assured her, gently pulling his arm out of her grasp. Hugging her quickly, he turned toward the door, "I'll be back soon."
Once the door was closed, he was relieved to hear the click of the lock as it was set into place.
The scene was a mess. There were military officers everywhere, and yellow safety tape surrounding the area of the murder. Civilians were in groups surrounding the tape and officers, worried and curious looks spread across each of their faces. It took a brief flash of Edward's pocket watch for the officers to allow him to pass, and he immediately began scanning the group of heads for Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. It didn't take long surprisingly, considering the large group of people.
"Hughes!" Edward called out, successfully catching the Lieutenant Colonel's attention, as well as a few others. He walked up to the group Hughes was currently talking with. "Mustang, you're here too."
"Unfortunately," Roy Mustang said, "I would have been on a date tonight if it wasn't for the call I received a little while ago."
"So, what have you guys learned so far? Are there any suspects yet?" Edward wondered, ignoring Mustang's last comment. The two older men exchanged a look. "What is it?"
Hughes shook his head, and began to lead Edward toward the body, "The victim was found approximately twenty minutes ago, but the body appears to have been lying there for at least over a few hours. There are multiple head wounds, and a few bruises along the arms and abdomen, so it appears that the victim put up a good fight."
"There aren't any suspects yet, but that's to be expected since the body was only recently found with no suspicious persons nearby. But... it also depends on what you have to say about this matter, Fullmetal," Mustang added, making Edward give him a confused look.
"Why does my say matter?" He asked, baffled.
Mustang gave him a calm stare, but Edward could see that something serious was going on, "You'll see."
The body soon came into view, and it took everything in Edward's will power not to gasp. The body was lying against the curb of the sidewalk, with her head right against the edge. Blood was splattered everywhere on the sidewalk and the victim, pooling around the head in a dark red puddle. Small brown eyes stared at the group of men in a dead gaze, the short brown hair falling around the pale chubby face. The same eyes that glared at him earlier that day were now asking him why he hadn't helped her. The same face that snarled at him was now pulled in such terror.
"Easier said than done."
Her words echoed in his head, mocking him about just how right she was. She really had cracked her skull open on the sidewalk, multiple times in fact, and it definitely wasn't an accident. Especially from what he could see, and from what the words written out on the sidewalk in her blood said.
"For Edward..."