Hello guys! First, I would like to thank the people who reviewed chapter 4. I was surprised by the sudden downpour of reviews… kinda like the rain here. ;) In this chapter… there's another challenge. :D Another game.

So here's chapter 5. :D I hope you enjoy it! And please and thanks for reviewing!

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"Ah, that was good…" Ed said as he finished is food. Then he realized that Mustang was smirking at him.

"I didn't mean your cooking Mustang. I bet Hawkeye helped you with this."

"Just admit it, Ed. You liked the food didn't you?" Roy said not even looking at Ed, a smirk very visible on his face.

"Did not. The food tasted terrible. I had to force it down so that I won't starve." Ed replied, trying to act as disgusted as he could.

"Edward. Just admit it! The food tasted good! I didn't know you knew how to cook, General Mustang." Winry piped up before Ed could say anything.

"You can't make me."

"Brother, you're as stubborn as always. Everyone enjoyed the food, right?" Everyone nodded except Ed.

"Well, I'm an exception." Ed said smugly, pointing to himself. Al leaned in and whispered to Mustang as Ed was boasting.

"He's lying… he enjoyed the food trust me." Roy just nodded with the same smirk on his face. A little while later, they all helped in clearing up the table and washing the dishes.

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"Now, I'm bored… it's only 7 in the evening. Well, no wonder I'm bored." Ed said as he lay down on the couch. Falman and the others looked for things to do in the bookshelves. A little while later, Al joined them.

"Brother look what I found!"

"What? Some old book or something?" Ed replied in a bored voice. Al approached him and showed it to him. It was a chessboard.

"It's just an old chessboard, Al. What are we supposed to do with it?"

"I believe somebody said the word chessboard." A voice rang out. It was Mustang, who entered the sitting room with Riza and Winry not far behind him. Ed sat up, knowing what he might do.

"Let me guess, Mustang. You want to play chess don't you?" Ed asked with a smirk on his face. Behind Roy, Winry whispered to Riza.

"I feel another challenge coming…"

"No doubt about it. When will they ever learn?" Riza whispered back, shaking her head.

"Course I want to play chess, Ed. What do you say? Just a quick game."

"I don't think quick is the right word to describe a chess game."

"Oh, you'll never know…" Roy replied with a sinister smile.

"Fine then. Al, set the chess board on the card table"

"Are you sure, brother? Chess is a mental game. A game of the mind"

"I may have to agree with your brother, sir. Chess is a very challenging game to play. It requires concentration and a quick mind, so that you'll be able to think of a move before your opponent can." Falman said, sounding like a teacher.

"Can you people just stop bringing me down? I can beat Mustang even in his own game!" He said, a bit steamed now.

"Oh really now, Ed. You might end up regretting this in the end." Winry reminded him.

"Let's get this started, Mustang, so I can prove to these people who don't believe in MY talent and skills that I can beat you! Even if it is in your favorite game!"

"You're on!"

Roy kindly asked Al to set up the chess board, and Roy and Ed decided who would go first. The rest just sat around them in a circle. Roy would be playing the white pieces, while Ed would get the black.

"Ready Ed?"

"I'm always ready! What kind of a question is that?!"

"I meant, ready to lose Ed?"

"There's no way I'll lose to you Mustang!"

"White moves first Ed." Roy said as he moved the pawn in front of his queen 2 spaces forward.

"Hah!" Ed moved his leftmost pawn a space forward. Roy was just silent as he moved the knight on his right. Ed moved the pawn in front of his king forward by 2 spaces and smirked. He could capture Roy's pawn on his next move. Roy moved the pawn which was third from his left by a space. Now Ed couldn't capture Mustang's pieces because it was well guarded. He had no choice but move his rightmost pawn a space forward. Roy moved his leftmost bishop 3 spaces diagonal to his right.

'What the hell is he doing? He's not eating anything! He could already! Uh, could he?' Ed was puzzled at what Mustang was trying to do. He just moved the pawn second from the right forward. Roy responded by moving his rightmost pawn a space forward. Ed moved the pawn third from his right a space forward. Roy moved his bishop 2 spaces diagonal, downward, just in front of his rightmost rook. Ed moved the knight on his left, and it was noticeable that the clanging of the chess piece got louder compared to when he handled the other pieces. Roy moved the pawn in front of his king a space forward. Ed was getting frustrated at Mustang's move and just moved his rightmost rook a space forward. Roy immediately responded by moving the bishop to his right diagonal so that it was in front of the king. Ed moved the pawn second from the left a space forward. And then, Roy castled. He switched the places of his king and rook so that the king was protected by 6 pieces, including the queen.

"What the hell was that?!" Ed shouted.

"Ed, this is a chess game. No need to shout. That was a defensive tactic called London. Now move your piece."

"Damn, now I really hate you… I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just move your piece, Edward!" Winry told him.

"Fine then." Ed said as he moved his second knight. "This is going to be a freaking long game."

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It turned out that Ed was right, for once. It did turn out to be a long game. They played for an hour or so, before Roy was able to capture Ed's king using his two knights. There's was no other space where his king could move and Ed had no choice but accept defeat. Roy had triumphed in his favorite game. Ed banged his automail hand when he lost; shaking most of the pieced and making them fall over.

"You won this one then! But to tell you the truth, I meant to lose… felt sorry for you, that I might beat you in your game." Ed said, with a smug grin on his face. Winry responded to this by hitting him with a wrench. Ed shouted in pain.

"What the heck was that for?!"

"That… was for being an arrogant jerk. Just admit defeat for once." Winry explained, her arms crossed at her chest.

"She's right brother… it's not always that you'll win… why I remember the time when you did win in that card game, then it turns out you were cheating…"

"Alright enough. I got the point. And I did not cheat! Hey Mustang! Next time, I'll be the one to win got it?" Ed said as Roy stood up and went to the kitchen followed by Riza.

"You got that, Ed. Hopefully, you'll know how to play your pieces properly the next time… For crying out loud, they're really small like you, and you might end up breaking them when you're using such force to move them." Roy said with a smirk as he waved his right hand, not even looking at Ed, who got pissed by Roy's statement on the small pieces.

"Who are you calling small that he's like a small chess piece that I can easily break using my automail hand?! One day, you'll eat your words, Mustang!!!"

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That night, when everyone was asleep, Winry went to the sitting room, lit a candle and sat down on the couch. She thought she was alone, when she heard Riza's voice.

"So, why aren't you asleep, Winry?"

"So you noticed that I went out? You've got really sharp senses, Ms. Hawkeye." Riza switched on the lights, and sat down on the couch beside Winry. Winry put out the candle.

"Call me Riza. Why did you come here? You couldn't sleep?"

"More or less… there's just something on my mind."

"You mind if I know what this is about? I may help you." Winry was silent as she crossed her legs on the couch. She nodded and told Riza.

"Whenever I'm around Ed… it's no longer that feeling of just being friends, or being like brothers or sisters… it's like there's something else. I just don't know. When Ed almost drowned on the beach, and I found out it was because of his automail, I blamed myself for it… I felt that it was partially my fault."

"Oh… so you got that feeling as well then?" Riza said with a small smile, without looking at Winry, who looked surprised at her statement.

"I thought that…"

"That we soldiers can't fall in love? Sometimes… we just can't seem to have control over our feelings." She said in a soft voice, a far cry from her usually sharp and commanding tone.

"Yeah… that… You have feelings for the General don't you?" Riza just nodded to answer the question.

"It might seem easy to hide our feelings for others, especially if it's no longer a feeling of infatuation, but in reality, it's hard to mask that feeling of being in love."

"But how do you do it? You seem like you have perfect control over that feeling, when I don't…" Winry said with a small, sad smile on her face.

"Maybe it's because I tell myself that the reason I'm around him all the time is that so I can protect him… but lately, here on the beach… it's been hard to do so. Especially if the only thing you can protect him from is from the squealing fangirls…there's no real danger here…"

"If you don't mind me asking… do you plan to tell him?" Riza paused for a while, as if thinking of her answer.

"When the time comes, I will tell him."

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whew! Done… I think I'll be ending this in the next chapter, but hey… I had fun writing this.


Let me explain the chess game… The moves Roy used (London) was a defensive tactic my teammates taught me for our game during the sports fest… and the Knight combination, I don't remember how I did it, but I used both knights to checkmate my teammate's king… :D

Song I hope you enjoy! And thanks for reading this chapter, and I hope you review… :D