Brief Commentary:
I figured I should get started on the next chapter because I have nothing better to do in the mean time (besides homework, but who cares?). I just realized...I'm really close to like...twenty chapters...-shot- Surprisingly, I don't have much to say beforehand...so, here you go. :)


Reasons Not For Your Ears
Chapter Eighteen

Pinako had quickly applied a few bandages and ointment to his external wounds and mopped the blood from his lip and chin, before she announced him fit enough to leave.
"I don't have enough experience to deal with the organs he," here she jerked a thumb at Edward, "fucked up. If you start hacking up blood or collapsing on floors, I'd recommend seeing a doctor."
Alphonse nodded, although his eyes showed his slight confusion,
"However, wouldn't a hospital be more efficient?"
"No," her grandmother snapped. He appeared taken aback, but nodded again anyway, before stepping lightly over to Winry, who was adjusting the ice under Edward's back. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he murmured,
"Thank you for your hospitality, Winry. And thank you for taking care of my ignorant older sibling."
She nodded, biting her lip as she finally managed to place the ice under the bullet wound. Noting the bandages running up and down her arms and around her stomach (thanks to her shirt riding up), Alphonse's tone became sharper.
"What are these bandages for? Did he hurt you?"
He glared at her, expecting an answer. Winry froze up, suddenly alarmed. Slowly turning her head to look him in the eye, she said as calmly as possible,
"I was, uh, making soup. I accidentally dropped the bowl onto the floor and it broke...and some shards were stuck in my arms and stomach. Baa-chan got them out and dressed the wounds, so I'm okay."
Alphonse glanced at her disbelievingly, but did not press the subject. Straightening his shoulders, he instead gave her a small smile and nodded towards her grandmother.
"Thank you again for your hospitality. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Winry?"
"Y...yeah," suddenly remembering her grandmother's excuse for her absence, she added quickly, "I got a lot better."
There was no need for him to know that she had stayed home out of concern for his older brother.
"Great," he smiled again, waving as he started back to the door, letting himself out into the afternoon sun and closing the door behind him.

"Well, that certainly was interesting," Pinako remarked, looking Winry in the eye. "Care to explain why they suddenly started fighting in the center of the room?"
Winry's anxiety returned as her grandmother glared at her expectantly.
"It's kind of a long story..."
"We've got time."
"But my home-"
"You don't have much; I trust you can get it done quickly."
"...but, Baa-chan-"
"Winry."
Sighing in defeat, Winry slumped onto the floor, staring helplessly at the cold gray tiles around her feet as she slowly began to explain what she knew; the Elrics' unusual history, the spite held for Edward, the hatred Alphonse had for him, and, after much hesitation, the events that had unraveled surrounding Scar. Pinako listened in grave silence, her lips drawing into a thin line as she requested for more details about the latter of the three. With a shuddering breath, Winry quietly elaborated.
"He was firing a lot of rounds...Edward had pushed me to the ground and...kept me from screaming," with a blush, she added in a mutter, "He was basically on lying on top of me."
Her grandmother raised her eyebrows, but motioned for her to continue.
"I think the bullet in his arm was from the first shot Scar made; he - Edward - ran out in front of me, then pushed me down. Um...the second one was from another shot, later...then he stood up and had a hand covering my mouth still, and pulled a hand gun out of his pocket. He fired at Scar too, until they both ran out of bullets - I think he got Scar in the shoulder."
"Did you see what he looked like?" Pinako's tone was extremely serious.
"Uh..." Winry wracked her brain for a clear memory. "Dark skin...uh...white hair...he wasn't old, though...his clothes were actually kind of nice-looking. Not, uh, dirty and torn...um..."
"Anything else?" she pressed.
"He had a...an X-shaped scar on his...forehead...I think. I can't remember too clearly...but yeah, he definitely had an X-shaped scar."
Her grandmother let out a sigh.
"I see... Winry."
She glanced up at her.
"I don't say this often, because I don't want to sound like a doting mother, but please, for Christ's sake...be careful. I understand you did nothing to provoke this, but try to avoid going too near alleyways alone, and try especially hard not to get caught out after dark. I want to suggest moving...but at the moment we aren't in the position to be able to do that...with our little amount of money..."
"It's okay, Baa-chan," Winry assured her quickly. "I'll be very careful, I promise. I don't like being mixed up in this, either."
There were a few moments of silence before she spoke up again.
"Do you think we should pop his left arm back in place? I don't exactly want to encourage him fighting, but he was having a lot of trouble when he was going up against Al."
Pinako nodded,
"Help me out?"
The process only took a few seconds, her grandmother commenting that it would have been a lot more entertaining if he had been conscious at the time. Winry only smiled and shook her head as she stepped into her bedroom to get started on the day's homework, which she had snatched off of the kitchen table to bring in with her.


The next morning came surprisingly fast, Winry sluggishly preparing for the school day as she managed to climb out of bed and dress herself in her now wrinkled school uniform. Her hair was only brushed for a brief few seconds before she pulled on her socks and left her bedroom, not surprised to find Pinako already preparing breakfast at the stove.
"Up for french toast, Winry?"
"Sure," she replied tiredly, slumping into her usual seat at the table. She nearly jolted as a strained, equally exhausted voice complained,
"You two get up way too fucking early in the morning."
"Not my fault that I actually go to school," Winry retorted. Her mood was already slightly irritable; Edward, if he kept it up, would be doing a good job of making it worse. He mumbled something incoherent before turning over on the couch, letting another complaint slip out,
"Are you ever going to clean this couch? There's so much dried blood on it that looks like some one committed a murder on it, for fuck's sake."
"That happens to be your blood, dumb ass," she snapped at him. "And if it bothers you so much, then clean it yourself."
Edward glared at her and opened his mouth to give a smart reply before Pinako interrupted them with a disapproving grunt.
"If you would please stop trying to get down each others' throats so early in the morning, Winry, your french toast is ready."
"Thanks," she muttered, as the plate was set down in front of her. Her grandmother knew her well enough to butter the slices and add only maple syrup and powdered sugar; she had even gone so far as to put one half of a strawberry on each one. Surprising; they were an out-of-season fruit. Glancing up at Pinako, she was answered with a proud grin as she replied to the silent question,
"A good friend - lives in an old town a little ways away from here. Grows strawberries year round."
"Oh...um, thanks."

The french toast had been eaten relatively quickly, Winry eager to leave in order to avoid being late. Edward had grunted while her grandmother had said good bye, the blonde-haired teenager scampering down the stairs leading from their apartment door to the storage garage provided near by. Pulling the heavy, fire-proof door open, she stepped inside to fetch her bike, which was sitting off in a corner near another door. Unchaining it from the wall-rack and kicking the stand up, the young Rockbell slung her book bag over her shoulder, and wheeled the bicycle outside with little difficulty (she had mastered the technique of opening the heavy doors with merely her shoulder).

The ride to school was also brief; another shocker. There was not much traffic to stall her along the roads, and there weren't as nearly as many driving maniacs out and about that morning. Well, it was early in the morning, she remembered absent-mindedly as she waited for a red light to turn green. A minute or so passed before it allowed her to move forward, now only a few blocks away from the school. Now that she was so near it, Winry suddenly felt nervous. Would Alphonse be treating her any differently? Was he still angry with her for caring for Edward? He had said "You're forgiven," but all the same.
Her stomach flipped in anxious anticipation as the high school pulled into view. Quickly pedaling onto the sidewalk, she expertly avoided the shuffling bodies of fellow students as she headed in the direction of the bike rack. A sudden stop made by pulling on the handle bar breaks too swiftly nearly resulted in her toppling forward, but Winry managed to catch herself before focusing on the task of climbing off of the bicycle to chain it.

She let out an anxious sigh as she strode up to her locker, Alphonse already there at his own, as usual. She couldn't help but grin back when he greeted her with a pleasant smile; she knew that she really had been forgiven. Although, Winry wasn't certain why she needed to be forgiven, but it was of great relief to know, all the same.
"Ready for first period?" he said cheerfully.
"No," she groaned, her forehead pressed against her locker as she focused on entering her combination. Winry was surprised to find that the Alphonse Fan Girls hadn't vandalized it already. Perhaps they had found something better to do, or some one else to pick on. Swinging the metal door open, she quickly emptied her book back and pulled out the binder and couple of books she would need for her first class. Another day with Mustang-sensei...she certainly hadn't missed him.
Seeing that she was prepared, Alphonse nodded cheerfully and began to walk, Winry smiling again as she saw that this was an invitation to walk with him. From his attitude, though...it was as if the afternoon previous had never even occurred to him...either that or he forgave most people easily (Edward obviously being an exception). They walked through the door to Mustang-sensei's room, pealing off in the separate directions of their desks and sitting down quietly.

It wasn't necessary to wait long before the first bell of the day rang, signaling the start of the school day. Mustang-sensei strode purposely to the front of the room, clearing his throat to get his students' attention.
"Today, we are receiving an exchange student."
There was a collective muttering in the classroom. He called for silence again before he continued.
"Please welcome our new student, Mei Chan."

Winry blinked as a girl of small stature walked quietly to the front of the room, her long black hair in two separate buns on the sides of her skull, the remainder of it falling in thin braids down to her hip. A smile was present on the girl's face, her cheeks round and pleasant to look at, as was the rest of her face. She looked not a day older than thirteen or fourteen...although that probably only had to do with this 'Mei Chan' not yet receiving her growth spurt - it was probably due soon.
Long over due, Winry thought to herself as the girl spoke in a pleasantly child-like voice,
"Good morning, everyone."
She turned and bowed to Mustang-sensei and Hawkeye-sensei, a smile still remaining on her face. She then scanned the room quickly for a spare seat, spotting an empty desk not far from where Alphonse sat. The Alphonse Fan Girls bristled at this new comer's offense; from their faces, Winry felt suddenly sorry for the unfortunate Mei Chan. She was going to have to learn the hard way the hardships that came with being near Alphonse. However, she was taken by surprise as the exchanged student turned immediately towards Alphonse and greeted him cheerfully,
"Hello."
He smiled back at her.
"Hello."
She's in for it, Winry groaned inwardly.


I hope you don't think that Mei Chan's presence is insignificant...because it really isn't. I can't say why, though. :(