Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading this story. I can't believe I have 2,000 hits. O.o It's mind-boggling.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, alerted, or even just read it. A special thanks goes out to my anonymous reviewers as I can't send you a message. ZAP, bugz, and, of course, purple: your reviews make me smile every time I read them. Also, bugz: thank you for the good advice, I don't think I'll be able to re-write the first chapter, but I will keep it in mind. I really appreciate the time you spent.
Thank you everyone, and now on with the story! =]
The translucent curtain waved in the breeze drifting through the open window. The scent of cool morning air filled the hospital room. The breeze crept its way toward the only occupant of the room and caused him to fidget at the sudden chill, pulling his blanket up further over his thin shoulders. The morning bird-song, however, was not so easy to ignore. The sounds of the nearby forest filled the sub-consciousness of the boy, prodding him toward self-awareness.
Al's mind was gradually stirring. The first thing he was aware of was the sounds of the birds. If he concentrated, he could almost identify him. In the distance were the sounds of the town: the buzz of talking and the noises of the shops opening for the day. What a strange dream. Al thought. When I open my eyes I'll be back in Resembool. I can already smell Granny's cooking. Ed probably got up before me and is sitting at his desk studying right now. He gets so absorbed in his reading that he isn't aware of anything. Well, except Winry's wrench, that is. He always feels that.
Al was laughing to himself at the thought of how Winry could scare Ed more then many of the homunculi when he heard the distinctive sound a page flipping. He paused in his thoughts. Wait. Ed? His mind began to sluggishly turn as he waited for another sound to confirm his thoughts as reality.
Fwip
Al's eyes jerked open and focused on the source of the noise. It had come from the direction of the window, and now that he looked he could see a shaped perched in the windowsill silhouetted by the light.
"Ed!"
The figure turned to face him at the sudden outburst and Al realized his initial impression was wrong. Ed's customary braid was instead a mass of spiky hair, and closer inspection revealed its color to be white, not blond.
The figure raised a hand in greeting.
"Yo."
Definitely not Ed. Memories came flooding back while the sudden movement shook loose the cobwebs clouding Al's brain. He was in a "ninja" village in what seemed to be another world. The person in the window would be one of the "ninjas" judging from the headband that dipped down to cover his left eye. A fleeting puzzlement about how the ninja survived without proper depth perception crossed his mind, but Al dismissed it as inconsequential. He'd figure it out eventually.
The white haired ninja hopped down from his perch while pocketing his book that had so badly mislead Al. He ambled his way over to the bed. "What's up?"
"Ummm…" Al looked around the room hesitantly. He has his hands in his pockets, and nowhere near his weapons pouches. My best bet would be to head for the door. If he shows any sign of being a threat, I'll chuck my pillow at him and make a run for it. Al knew it was a slim margin of a chance, but any plan was better than none. He'd been caught unaware too many times in the past and it wasn't about to happen again. Not even when the potential threat looked so… nonchalant. He hadn't even put his book away properly. Al could see it peeking out of the pouch ready to escape its confinement at any sudden movement. "Who are you?"
"Oh! Did I forget to introduce myself? Oops. Hatake Kakashi at your service. Your name is Alpha, right?"
Al winced. "Alphonse. You can just call me Al."
"Al. That's much easier." His mask covered his mouth making it difficult to judge his emotions, but the blond would have sworn that the ninja was smiling. His eye seemed to be twinkling.
"So, Kakashi. What do you want?" Al pushed himself into a sitting position shifting his sheets as he did so in order to make it easier to flee if the need arose.
"Huh? Oh, Lady Tsunade sent me to fetch you, and I was just enjoying my book as I waited. No use in rushing anywhere, right? It's a morning."
Al groaned. He was NOT up for another day of questioning. That was all it had been for the past three days. She wanted every single detail she could get out of him. The fact that he had completely made the bandits up on the spot didn't help, he had barely avoided some sticky situations with problems about the bandits' attire. He had accidentally said that they wore headbands, and then had to take it all back when he learned that only ninja wore them. He also had no idea what words to use for the clothing he had seen and so had given them the simplest outfits he could – normal pants and shirts with shoes similar to the kind that Naruto wore. Apparently "Lady Hokage" had been sending letters to every ally asking for information on these mysterious bandits. It wouldn't achieve anything. Al knew that they didn't exist anywhere except in his mind. He was beginning to wonder if it would have been better to tell the truth.
"Hello? Hello?" Kakashi was waving his hand in front of Al's face. "Good, I have your attention. Get dressed; I'll be waiting right outside." With that he turned around and hopped back out the window, disappearing in a flash. Al shook his head. What was with these people and not using doorways? Well, Ed hardly ever bothered either, but in Amestris he was the exception. Here, people like Ed were normal.
Alphonse pulled on the clothes that Sakura had brought for him – sandals, shorts, something that looked a little like a t-shirt, and a green vest covered in pockets. The vest was already heavy as Al pulled it on. He had wasted no time in filling the pockets with useful gadgets. He had also filched a kunai from one of the storerooms and sewn a new pocket for it on the inside of the vest. It wouldn't be handy in a sudden fight (its hiding spot would make it hard to get at) but it made Al feel better to know that he had some means of protecting himself. Naruto had also given Al a hoard of smoke and stink bombs to use. He'd actually begged Al to use one on Sakura, but Al's sense of self-preservation was still intact.
When Al was finished, he poked his head out the window. Kakashi was sitting on the roof calmly propped up against the wall reading his book. Again. What could possibly be that interesting? It doesn't look like research. Al had to go out onto the roof and tap the ninja on the shoulder before he realized that Al was there.
"What? Oh, already? Alright then, off we go." With that, Kakashi got up and motioned for Al to follow him along the roof-top. Al sighed, He really hates doors.
However, after all the days of recovering, Al was up for a challenge. It took a few minutes to get used to the different architecture, but Al had run on roofs before. Soon, they reached the end of the hospital complex, climbed down a tree, and began a leisurely walk toward the main parts of town, once again on solid ground.
As they headed toward the Hokage's office, Al kicked the stones on the path in dejection. He knew it was childish, but he really was not up for another day of questioning. All the while, he remained unaware of Kakashi's appraising eye watching his every move.
Tsunade's office looked much the same as every time Alphonse had entered it – messy. The only difference was now there were more people. Alphonse noticed Naruto right away. In fact, it was safe to say that he'd heard him even before he entered the room. Naruto was blathering away at top volume. "And then I said, 'You're not so tough without your weapons, are you?' and he said, 'That's what you think.' And then BAM he pulled this sword thing out of thin air, so I created this GIANT Rasengan and it was awesome. We charged at each other and just before we collided – HI AL!" Naruto began waving frantically.
Alphonse waved back pausing to get a better look at the others in the room. Beside Naruto, he also recognized Sakura, and Hinata. There was also a boy with a ponytail that Al didn't recognize slouching against the wall. And, of course, there was Tsunade, looking smug and self-satisfied as she rapped her newly painted fingers against the desk. How she could fight with long nails and high heels Al would never know. Actually, he didn't know how Izumi did it either. He just knew that heels hurt more then regular shoes when you were kicked by them. He'd been on the receiving end enough to be an expert.
"Here he is Tsunade-sama, just like you asked." Kakashi half-heartedly gestured at Al, and then walked over to join ponytail-boy in slouching by the wall.
"And what excuse, Kakashi, do you have for being late this time?" Tsunade asked pointedly.
"Eh, I got lost."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Now that you're here… Al, this is Shikamaru, a Chunin. I believe you know everyone else." The ponytail-boy, Shikamaru, Al reminded himself, made a non-committal sound from his spot against the wall. He flicked his fingers in greeting. "The people you are looking at will be your new team. Well, minus Kakashi, he has a separate mission he has to attend to, but he will meet up with your team if he's able."
"Wait a second." Al was just a little bit confused, "My team? What's going on?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention it? Silly me." The smug look never left Tsunade's face making her seem more than a little pompous to Al. "The Lord Kazekage responded. He thinks he might have an idea about where to find these bandits of yours. If our luck holds out, we might even find your brother. These ninja are here to guide you to Suna, the Village Hidden in the Sand. The bandits you describe seem to be masters of blending in, so we will need you to positively identify them."
"Sweet! We get to go see Gaara! When did this happen?" Naruto was literally bouncing around in excitement.
"Moron!" Sakura reached over and smacked Naruto on the top of the head. "Didn't you pay attention to what was going on?"
"No… Nobody told me!"
"I did you idiot. FIVE TIMES! What do you have in that brain of yours, air?"
"Really? I would've sworn you didn't. Oh well, there must have been more interesting things to pay attention to. I think we passed a ramen shop on the way here…"
"So ramen is more interesting than I am?" Sakura's eyebrow twitched dangerously.
"Well, it smells better…"
Sakura snapped. "SMELLS BETTER!!?? GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO THAT EMPTY HEAD OF YOURS!" With that, Sakura began to chase Naruto in circles around the room shooting off threats as she went. Naruto attempted to apologize while running for his life, and wound up digging his grave even deeper.
Al glanced around the room in bafflement. Hinata was attempting not to laugh and failing badly, Shikamaru gave his patented eye-roll, Kakashi moved his feet out of the path of the two maniacs, and a vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead. More veins popped.
"QUIET!!!!!!"
Naruto and Sakura skidded to a halt, Sakura with a firm grip on Naruto's hair. The room went silent.
"Ahem! Now that it's finally quiet, I can give my orders. You are all to meet at the front gate in exactly three hours. You know what to do. Sakura, make sure Al has everything he needs for the trip. Shikamaru is in charge. That is all, you're dismissed." Tsunade rubbed her forehead. "Now get out before I get a headache."
The group filed out in silence. Sakura gave Naruto one last punch and then grabbed Al, guiding him outside. Al went into a state of near-shock as Sakura began to list things he needed and the supplies he should pack.
What have I gotten myself into?