Brief Commentary:
Currently it is 1:30 AM. I'm still wide awake and hungry. What is an 'authoress' in her 'prime' to do at such an hour? Make a sandwich and write the next chapter for a fanfiction, of course! Yay for peanut butter. :D Reviewing is teh awesome. So is 'Caramelldansen' by the Swedish (NOT JAPANESE) band Caramell.

Dansa med oss
Klappa era händer
Gör som vi gör
Ta några steg åt vänster
Lyssna och lär
Missa inte chansen
Nu är vi här med
Caramelldansen
O-o-oa-oa...


Reasons Not For Your Ears
Chapter Twenty-Four

"Why do I need to stay here a second night?" Winry blinked over at Ling. He merely smiled and shrugged as she continued to speak. "I mean, I know I was kind of - well, okay, really freaked out because it turns out Scar is the guy who murdered my parents, but-"
"I told your grandmother about your head - that is perfectly true, although I might have done a little editing when I said you'd have to stay around longer because of an inability to walk," he interrupted her suddenly, choosing this moment to examine the cleanliness of the fingernails on his left hand.
"...wait, what?"
Ranfan took it upon herself to explain, her tone impatient.
"You are perfectly capable of moving around and walking on your own, Winry-san. Ling-senpai has convinced your grandmother of otherwise. However, we've calculated, while you were asleep, that it would be safest for you to remain inside. At the moment, anyway."
"Oh...uh, then thanks...?"
The exchange student let out a huff, muttering something like "Incompetence" before she slid to the floor, legs crossed and her arms folded over in her chest in what could have been a pout.

Ling, meanwhile, seemed to be mulling over something in his mind, eyes wandering in opposite directions as his fingers twitched individually. Winry resisted the urge to go over to him and smack him out of it - it was extremely disturbing to watch him do such a thing. Finally, he appeared to have come to a conclusion, as his pupils reverted back to a normal stance and his hands stilled. Sitting upright, he grinned at what he seemed to have just calculated.

"Well, I have an interesting theory," he announced. Ranfan immediately made a grab for a near by piece of paper and pencil, while Winry squirmed inwardly with unease. She wasn't so sure how much she liked Ling's 'theories.'
"Suppose," Ling began relentlessly, a smile on his face, "Scar decides to try and remove Winry-san of her allies, potential or those that already are. We'll count Edward-san as one, perhaps Alphonse-kun as another...Paninya-san, of course, Ranfan and myself, although he probably doesn't know that yet...oh, and Pinako-san could be a potential victim as well. However, the most accessible victim and, at the moment, the largest threat known to Scar would have to be Edward-san. Although Scar is cunning and incredibly strategic, he gives into strong feelings rather easily and, like any normal human, would rather catch the easy 'prey,' if I may use that term, first. So I suppose there will be a little cleaning up for Ranfan and I to do to keep Edward-san's possible death covered up - we don't want the authorities disrupting our assignment."

Winry, who found herself as white as a sheet, easily disregarded the fact that Ling was speaking mostly to Ranfan (who was busy scribbling down his speculation word for word), one of her greatest fears coming to light. Suppose...suppose...that word, that seemed uncertain at first when Ling used it, but now seemed as matter-of-factly as a promise...what if...what if was always worse.

What if Edward died?

She shook the thought away, refusing to think like that over him.

What if anyone died? By her faults? ...her parents' murder had been a toll on her life already. Not to mention, their deaths were already by the hands of Scar...if he killed anyone else, she wasn't sure how she'd be able to handle it...unless Scar skipped killing her 'allies' and went straight to her own death. She clutched at the fabric of the sweat pants so tightly that her knuckles grew a snowy white. Attempting to appear calm, she said quietly,

"You called Al 'Alphonse-kun.' Do you know him?"
"Eh?" Ling blinked at her, then his smile broadened into a genuinely happy grin, "Oh, yes, Alphonse-kun and I have spoken many times before; he is a very intelligent person, I have to admit. In our country he would do well as a government investigator...not that those who posses that title have much 'adoration' from the people. Government investigators often dig far deeper into people's lives than need be."
He admitted this last part with a shrug and a sheepish upturn of his lips, the grin having slunk away.

"Anyway, Winry-san; you seem to have something else you would like to say," Ling quickly brought back Winry's moment of horror. "Would you like to share it with us?"
It sounded like that taunting voice a teacher might take if a student was caught whispering during a lesson. Would you like to share it with the rest of the class?
She swallowed, fidgeting ever so slightly under Ling's narrow gaze and Ranfan's expectant icy look.
"...I...well...you said...Edward...well, he might be...killed..."
Ranfan made a non-committal noise.
"And...I...I don't really...want him to die..."
"Mm?" Ling raised his eyebrows and smirked knowingly, propping his elbow on one crossed leg so that would support his head, which he rested on it now. "And why not? Surely a ruffian doesn't mean anything to such a pretty young woman such as yourself."
Winry tried to keep a blush down as she blurted,
"But he's not-!"
She clamped her mouth shut as she realized what she was about to yell.
"Not what? Intelligent?" he smirked.
"N-no...I meant..." Winry couldn't bring herself to say anything else, and chose to stare at her lap.
Ling, to her relief, shrugged it off, although a small glitter in his eyes signaled that he would be eager to pry later.

At that moment, her stomach allowed itself a loud gurgle, disrupting the slight quiet that descended into the room. Ling and Ranfan blinked, before tiny knowing smiles broke out on both of their faces.
"Hungry, Winry-san?" Ranfan asked politely, already standing to leave the room.
"A-ah...yeah," she admitted, watching warily as she left without acknowledging her reply.
"Don't worry," Ling assured her, all smiles as usual. "Ranfan is excellent at cooking."
"...is she the one who makes those bento-boxes you eat at lunch?" Winry attempted at conversation. He seemed to notice this and kindly immersed himself in it.
"Ah ha ha," his laugh was borderline sheepishness, "Yes, I suppose so. I'm afraid I can't prepare food to save my life."
"Eh, really? Neither can I," Winry admitted, her tone matching his. Offering the remaining bandages on her arms as an example, she blushed slightly as she confessed, "This is from me just carrying a bowl of hot soup in a porcelain bowl across the room."
Ling suppressed a chortle of laughter (it came out as a strange sort of snort).
"I was wondering what the cause for that was," he smiled genuinely, although his eyes held a knowing look, as if he had a pretty good idea of what actually happened. Winry managed to keep the shiver threatening to crawl up her spine from surfacing, looking Ling straight in the eye and shrugging helplessly, a half grin present on her lips.
"I don't think I'm quite made for the kitchen. I'm lucky if I don't burn bread in the toaster."
"I attempted to prepare a very simple meal of rice and fried chicken...both were burnt to a crisp. The whole apartment - or was it called a condo? - stank of burnt meat for days, and the smell of ruined rice is even worse, I assure you. Since then Ranfan has kept me away from the kitchen unless it's for me to get an already-prepared meal," he admitted, raising his hands in the air and bowing his head in mock signs of submission.

When Ranfan returned with three plates piled rather high with the foreign foods Winry had glimpsed in Ling's bento-boxes, it was all eaten rather quickly. Winry was so hungry that it was difficult for her to fully appreciate the spices added, the warm bland flavor of the rice coated in some sort of spicy sauce, and the fried shrimp lying so very neatly one on top of the other. A small salad in an equally small bowl accompanied this meal, and was also eaten with much haste. Surprisingly, Winry found herself not full, but simply no longer hungry. Glancing at the small bits of food left on her plate in slight awe, Winry stood slowly and stretched her arms, perching on her toes in attempt to stretch the muscles in her slightly cramped legs as well. She sat back down, and the room lapsed in a semi-comfortable silence, Ling and Ranfan leaning against the wall with their eyes closed, as if contemplating a simple matter with a difficult decision to be made, and Winry staring off into space, face furrowed into a frown. She too, was considering a difficult decision, but the matter itself was anything but simple.

After several minutes, she licked her lips and stood again, the two exchange students opening their eyes as she did so; they kept themselves slumped against the wall.
"Something to ask, Winry-san?" Ling offered. "You seem to have much on your mind."
"You're face looks very stressed," interjected Ranfan, although she closed her mouth again.
"Well, I...I was w-wondering," Winry began shakily, sweat beginning to coat her body as she swallowed. "If you had...a...if you happened to have...maybe a small..."
"Yes?"
"D-..." A deep breath and a long exhale before another quick intake of air.

"Do you have a gun?"

Ling's face broke out into a grin, Ranfan's expression more of a shy smile as he exclaimed happily,
"Oh, I was guessing Winry-san would ask such a thing! At first I was doubtful, but oh, no, I was quite right! Yes, yes, of course we have a gun!"
"...can I...um...may I please...borrow it...?"
"Certainly! Ranfan, please go fetch dear Winry-san here a nice, polished, and loaded, please, handgun!"
Ranfan immediately stood and did as asked, walking briskly out of the room.
"...I...I plan to...shoot Scar with it...you know..."
"Mm-hmm! And it's quite late already - about 10:00 PM or so at the moment! He'll be out and about rather soon," was the cheerful response. "He always starts walking around killing random street thugs at about 10:30 and on."
"...aren't you going to stop me?"
"Oh, no! I wouldn't dream of it, Winry-san!"
"...but you and Ranfan...and even Mei Chan-san...aren't you all trying to kill him?"
"Yes, yes, we are," Ling's tone grew slightly impatient, "and I'm fine with you going out and attempting to shoot Scar only because I know that you have never used a gun before in your life (although you may have handled one), and you would probably either have a terrible aim or chicken out at the last minute. The latter of the two probabilities is worse, however, because you are more likely to be killed. And of course we'll arrange help for you in case something might go wrong, eh?"
Winry's reply was shaky and faint.
"Oh...I...I see..."

Her face, sweaty and pale, added to her frightened, wary appearance of a sweaty, shaking body and unstable, ready-to-collapse-in-any-second legs. It was blatantly obvious she didn't want to do anything she had just said, and added to the belief that she would rather flee a possible show down with Scar and risk being murdered than standing up to him in a fight and possibly killing him. As Ranfan came back with revolver in satisfactory condition (all the while muttering apologies for misplacing the stupid handgun) and handed it to Winry, she feared it would slip out of her sweaty hands and knock onto the floor, flicking off the safety catch and firing into the room. She managed to clasp it, checking once, twice, three times to make sure said catch was on.
"W-well...thank you for...t-taking care of me," Winry nodded, her nerves wracking her body as she visibly shook.
"No problem," Ling seemed completely unfazed, waving in an optimistic manner. Ranfan nodded in return, as if not noticing Winry's condition.
"Uh, I just have a quick...question."
"Sure."
"...I was just...w-wondering what you and M-Mei Chan-san meant when you said...'deported.' You said you've been here a long time...so what does it m-mean?"
"Stuttering really doesn't suit you, Winry-san," he sighed, rubbing his head and feigning agitation. She suppressed another shiver as she remember the incident that had occurred the day after Paninya's father had died. "But I'll answer you. You see, we were sent here originally to capture Scar and bring him back to our country so that we could properly serve justice. However, this didn't quite work as planned, so a few weeks ago all the families involved in this assignment were given permission to kill Scar whenever preferred or appropriate."
"...o-oh...well...thank you again."
Winry bowed her head, hesitant and reluctant, before she left without a word, extremely disheartened. The allies she had just spoken with had little to no faith in her actually accomplishing anything, and only hurling herself further into danger. As she opened the door and stepped outside into the slightly chilly night air, the young Rockbell took a deep breath and set off the front steps towards the alley nearest to her.

So she was suicidal and possibly insane?

So what? Fuck it all.


Whoa, much longer than usual. o0