TN: GOMENASAI! _ I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME! I CAN'T SEEM TO UPDATE THINGS AS FAST AS I DID! GOMEN, GOMEN, GOMEN! (The gomens' and gomenasai means I'm so terribly sorry, or sorry in Japanese.) I REALLY AM TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THIS!
I had so much go on this new year! I absolutely had NO time to update anything! I was lucky if I even got time on the computer! Plus, with Writer's Block going on with me, IT JSUT MADE IT WORSE! T_T
Me: T_T WHYYYYYY?
Seiren: Really, I have no fucking idea why you took so long.
Me: I SAID SORRY!
Ed: Sorry doesn't always work!
Me: Edo kun! Your mad at me too?
Ed: Eh, more or less. I just want to know how in the hell you got me here! Last thing I remember I was sleeping on the train!
Seiren: Tell me about it...I don't even know her!
Me: T_T My characters don't even know who I am...*sulks in corner*
Seiren: Uh...
ME: Anyway, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, everything belongs to Hiromu Arakawa! I only own Seiren and my plot twists!
Seiren: WHEN IN THE HELL DID YOU OWN ME?
Ed: And Hiromu-wha? Who the hell is she and why does she own me?
Me: -_-"
Seiren yawned as she stretched her right arm over her head. She felt something hit her thigh and she looked down to find that her left arm had slipped out of the sling. She sighed as she picked up her limp arm and slid it back into the sling. She found that happening more than often. I know that my left arm is completely useless right now, but this is ridiculous! she thought as she turned her head. Looking out the window, she found that the land seemed to become greener and greener. Away from the city life.
Seiren's eyes widened as she leaned in toward the window. She spotted a small farm with a herd of cattle running into a group in the middle of the field. On the outside was a man on a horse riding around the herd, grouping them together. Upon seeing the scene, a half smile spread across her face. She started scanning the land more thoroughly, her eyes lighting up in what seemed like happiness.
Ed rose an eyebrow as he watched her ease closer to the window. Soon enough her face was pressed up against it so close that altogether she decided to open the window up. She poked her head through it, the wind rushing over her face and pushing back her raven hair. Ed chuckled almost seeing her grin in excitement.
"Excited?" Ed asked, bringing Seiren out of her daze.
"Huh? Wait, what - What are you talking about?" Seiren stuttered, a tint of pink brushing over her cheeks. A scowl set itself on her face as she saw Ed smirk at her flustered state. She narrowed her eyes at him as he chuckled.
"You seem a bit happy there. Are you sick?" Ed asked sarcastically. Seiren growled in response.
"Ha ha. Very funny," she remarked bitterly as she eased herself back into her seat.
Armstrong sweat dropped. Before the two started bickering, he needed to smooth things over. "What he means, Seiren, is that seem happy for some reason. Why?" he asked, making her icy demeanor melt somewhat.
She blinked her eyes. "What makes you say that?"
Ed was about to reply, but Armstrong cut in. "You seemed happier when you saw what was outside," Armstrong elaborated.
"Oh, that…." Seiren said scratching her head. "It's just….never mind. Forget about it."
Ed rose an eyebrow. " 'It's just' what?" Ed asked, staring at her. "What is it?"
Seiren sighed as she looked out the window again, her eye twitching. "When I was younger, I lived out in these types of rural towns. Farms everywhere, close-knit towns that everyone knows everyone, and everything was green. Then I moved out into the city where there was no green in sight, everything was always busy, no one knew you unless you were famous, and yadda yadda yadda." She then allowed herself a small smile, seeing trees and fields passing by in a blur. "I guess it was good to see something from the past after all these years."
The train whistle brought Seiren, Ed, and Armstrong out of their conversation quickly. Without intending to, Seiren jumped at the sound, flinching and shutting her eyes tightly. She put a hand over her chest out of force of habit as she breathed deeply to clam herself down. She cursed silently at her freak out sending small 'fucks' each time she breathed out.
"Passengers, passengers. We have arrived at Risembool. I repeat, we have arrived at Risembool. If this is your stop, please get off now."
Seiren opened up one of her hazel eyes as she looked around. Seeing as though everything was fine, she cursed one more time before getting up to get the luggage. She shook her head as her eyes narrowed. Damn it….Why did I freak out like that? she thought annoyed. She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard a small laugh. She snapped her head towards the noise only to glare at the cause.
"What?" Seiren snapped, her hazel eyes glaring at the blond boy.
"Nothing, nothing," Ed answered contently, smirking. "Just thought I'd let you know that the train whistle doesn't hurt you."
Seiren growled as her right hand gripped a suit case. An idea dawned on her then and she smirked. "Oh, yes. I know that." At incredible speed, Seiren snagged the suit case quickly at the handle and flung it towards the blond. The case hit him bluntly on his forehead, causing him to fall over and onto the floor. She smirked happily as she loomed over him, right hand on her hip. "Just thought I'd let you know that suit cases were attracted to idiots," she retorted smugly, seeing Ed's fuming face.
"Why I oughtta…." Ed started as he sprung up onto his feet.
"You oughtta what?" Seiren remarked, smirking at his anger.
Armstrong sighed loudly, going unnoticed by both teens. This was bad. They were bickering more than ever. He's heard Mustang complain that they never got along, but this was ridiculous. They teased each other back and forth just because it angered the other. Now he knows why Mustang assigned him to guard these two. It wasn't for protection against anyone who might harm them. It wasn't because they needed someone to carry Alphonse.
It was to baby-sit these two.
"Maybe if you weren't so short I wouldn't have to tease you about it."
"WHO YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD DROWN IN A RAIN DROP?"
"How do you come up with those so fast?"
"Shut up!"
"I only asked a question, no need to be so angry about it."
"DAMN IT CAT EARS!"
"My name is Seiren! NOT CAT EARS!"
"Seiren Smith, Edward Elric!" Armstrong yelled, finally gaining attention of both teens. They both turned to him, eyes still narrowed from their argument. "Enough of this pointless bickering! You are acting like children!"
"He/She started it!" they both shouted back, pointing at the other.
Armstrong fumed. He shed his military jacket as he flexed his arms. "MUST I SHOW YOU THE DISCIPLINARY LESSONS PASSED DOWN FROM THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY LINE FOR GENERATIONS?" Armstrong boomed in warning, staring at the two teens who stood paralyzed in fear.
"No sir!" Seiren squeaked, quickly grabbing her duffle bag from off the luggage rack.
"Not necessary!" Ed agreed, picking up his suit case that was on the floor. They both quickly ushered themselves away from the train, keeping their heads down trying to avoid the sparkles that surrounded Armstrong's body.
Armstrong watched as the two hurriedly ran off the train, one in tow of the other. He grinned in approval as he walked to retrieve Alphonse from where he was keeping him.
XoXo… Ten Minutes Later …XoXo
"Are you sure this is where they live?" Seiren asked skeptically as she peered around a tree, pocket knife at ready.
"Yes, I'm sure! Think I didn't know where my own house was?" Ed asked annoyed, then pointed at her. "And put that knife away!"
Seiren chuckled as she clicked the pocket knife closed. "I'm your body guard. Can't afford to be careless in a new land," she said, stuffing her weapon in her pocket.
"Don't worry, Seiren," Alphonse said, looking down at the raven haired girl from Armstrong's shoulder. She looked up in response to her name. "Risembool is a peaceful town. There's not a threat for another hundred miles."
Seiren's eyes sparked at the new statement as she clicked open her pocket knife again. "A hundred miles is too close for comfort," she remarked quietly as she hid behind a tree with her knife at ready.
Alphonse, Edward, and Armstrong sweat dropped.
At the sound of a dog barking, all heads turned to face the hill in front of them. A dog was barking loudly in greeting, an old lady waving from the front porch of a homely looking house. The house stood in a color yellow as it towered as two stories. A veranda covered the second floors' outside, and flowers of different colors surrounded the home.
Seiren and Armstrong began to walk forward when they saw Ed move toward the hill. He held his suit case over his shoulder and called out to the old woman.
"Hey Granny! I'm going to need your help again!" Ed called.
The small woman proceeded forward and Seiren's eyes twitched as she smelt the smoke from her pipe. The woman looked Armstrong up and down, a confused expression going over her face.
"Who's this?" She asked.
"That's Major Armstrong." Ed pointed in the major's direction.
"Pleased to meet you," Armstrong said kindly while he smiled.
"Pinako Rockbell," the small woman greeted as she shook Armstrong's massive hand.
A look of confusion swept over her face as she scanned the scene. Major Armstrong stood with a crate over his shoulder, on the right side of Edward. Due to his massive size, he towered over him. To the left, a young raven haired girl stood by Ed's side, her left arm in a sling. Her skin was pale, but it complemented her dark-purple hair and hazel eyes. Pinako found that she was also a size over Edward. She stood at a good two inches taller than him, standing straight.
Pinako looked over them one more time. "Is it me, or is it the last time I saw you, Ed…" Pinako trailed off, sweat dropping. "You seem a lot smaller."
At this comment, Ed jumped as he looked behind him. Armstrong and Seiren were both taller than him, an acted like objects of contrast compared to his short stature. He immediately blew up. "WHO YOU CALLING "SMALL", YOU HALF PINT HAG?"
Pinako grew an anger mark. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU LITTLE RUNT!"
"YOU HEARD ME, GUPPY GEEZER!"
"CHIBI CHUMP!"
"MICRO MINI GRANNY!"
Seiren had to refrain from laughter as she looked over the scene. Soon she couldn't take it and released her laughter, clutching her stomach out of pains from laughing too hard.
"HEY ED!"
Ed turned toward the shout.
*CLONK!*
A wrench came flying through the air, soaring at great speed. It soon clonked Ed across the head, sending him falling backwards.
Seiren knew she should be concerned, being his guard and all and this could be a potential threat. She sucked up a breath and held it, staring at Ed falling over. She was supposed to be getting battle ready, but instead of grabbing her pocket knife, she burst into more laughter.
Ed heard her laughter and turned to her, enraged. "You jerk! I thought you were my guard!" Ed yelled. She nodded, still laughing.
"But it was just so funny!" was all she managed to say.
"How many times do I have to tell you to CALL before you come for maintenance!" a seething blond yelled, standing firmly on the veranda on the second floor.
Ed turned to her with the same annoyance. "You're a jerk too, Winry! You could of killed me!" he yelled back.
The blond laughed and then smiled. "Welcome back!"
XoXo… Five minutes Later ….XoXo
"WHAAA -!" Winry screamed, grasping her head in horror as she took in the information Edward had just told her.
Ed sat on the couch casually, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate that Pinako had made before. "Yeah, it got a little broken."
"What do you mean, 'It got a little broken'!" Winry shrieked, "That was my master piece! A state-of-the-art Automail prosthetic. Gah! Just let me see the damage so I can fix it and get you out of here!"
Ed chuckled emptily. "Yeah…When I said 'broken,' what I meant was 'smashed to bits'," Ed replied.
Winry nearly fainted. She fumed and growled as she brought up a wrench and slammed it onto Ed's head.
Winry turned to Alphonse, seeing him in his crate and missing large parts of his bodied armor. "And what's this? You went and broke Al too?" Winry asked, hands and hips and staring at him in annoyance. "What kind of lifestyle to you two lead?" Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the new raven haired girl sitting on a chair and sipping the hot chocolate Pinako made. Her left arm was in a cast, and her head was wrapped in a bandage. Winry narrowed her eyes at Edward. "And did you go breaking her too?"
Ed grumbled under his breath as he turned to the side. "I get the point already…"
Winry sighed heavily and then walked up to the raven haired girl. She gave a warm smile and held out her hand. "I'm sorry. We've completely ignored you up to this point. Hi, I'm Winry Rockbell," Winry greeted warmly, extending her hand out.
Seiren extended out her right hand and shook Winry's. She then half smiled. "Seiren Smith. And it's fine about the whole ignoring thing," Seiren said politely.
Winry frowned as she saw Seiren's arm. "What happened to you? Did you break your arm?"
Seiren shook her head. "Worse than break…it's…complicated," Seiren replied with a small chuckle.
"Hope it wasn't Ed who got you in that state…" Winry grumbled.
Seiren laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Um…Well, it's half his fault and half mine, I guess…"
Ed and Al watched as Seiren and Winry both shared conversation, occasionally laughing and giggling. For some reason, it seemed as though both demeanors of both girls changed drastically, and they were now friendly. What surprised Edward was how nice Seiren was being, and how she smiled a small smile every now and then. And the fact that she was giggling. Like a girl.
Ed leaned towards Alphonse, who turned to him in surprise. "When did Seiren become…friendly?" Ed asked incredulously.
Al sweat dropped as he stared at his older brother annoyed. "Don't be mean like that, brother. Seiren can be nice at times too," Al said.
Ed shook his head. "No….There's something up with her…" Seeing Seiren smile whole heartedly, and then laughing sparked an interest in his mind. He brushed it off as he continued to stare at her in confusion. "Where was this polite and sweet girl when we met her!"
Al glared at him. "Brother…She was our waitress when we first met her. She was polite then," Al said.
"No! I mean, outside of work!" Ed said, exasperated.
Pinako shook her head as she sucked on her pipe. "It's called girl talk, Edward. When two girls are together, they change completely," Pinako stated as she turned towards the two conversing girls. She broke out into a grin. "They're going to be great friends!"
Armstrong nodded in agreement as sparkles surrounded him. "Seiren hasn't had an actual girl friend for a while. The only girl she had hung out with was Lieutenant Hawkeye. And that doesn't count," Armstrong said and then grinned as more sparkles enveloped his entire being. "She just needed someone her age! OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL GIRL SEIREN IS BLOSSOMING!"
Edward, Alphonse, and Pinako all turned to him with questionable expressions. Armstrong didn't take any notice, as he was to busy flexing his muscles to pay attention.
XoXo… Five Minutes Later …XoXo
"Hmm…" Pinako hummed in thought as she digested the information being told to her. Counting on her fingers, she came up with her answer. "I see. So, you're trying to get to Central as fast as possible to gather information on this 'Philosopher's Stone'."
"Yes. Sorry about the rush, but it's kind of important," Seiren said, on behalf of Edward and Alphonse.
Pinako turned back to Ed who now sat in a pain t shirt and shorts as the old woman who looked over his automail. "Hmm…" Pinako hummed in thought again as she brought both of Ed's feet together. Seiren lifted an eyebrow as she saw that the automail foot was smaller than Ed's flesh one. "After we rebuild your arm, your leg needs adjusting, too…" Pinako muttered, answering Seiren's questions.
Pinako stood up, then tapped on Ed's automail leg. "You old leg can still be used, but your arms as to be rebuilt from scratch so…" Pinako said.
"What? So it's going to take about a week?" Ed asked.
Pinako then smirked, breathing out smoke from her pipe. "Don't' underestimate me. I'll have it for you in three days," Pinako said confidently. She then set her pipe down and grabbed something that lay propped against the wall. She pulled on Ed's knee, causing the automail leg to clang off. She then popped on a plastic looking one in place of the automail. "In the meantime, you're going to have to wear this spare."
"Alright," Ed agreed, standing up. He wobbled immediately, almost falling down in the process. "Whoa…." Ed said and lifted the spare artificial leg. "It's hard to walk on a leg that I'm not used to."
Winry picked up the automail leg, examining its contents. "After crafted all the parts, I have to assemble everything. Then there's all the connections to check and the adjustments to make…" Winry sighed as she counted on her fingers. "Aw man…It's going to an all-nighter for sure…"
At this, Ed's head bobbed up. He glanced at Winry from the corner of his eye, still tapping the new leg on the floor to get used to it. "Sorry about that," he apologized.
Winry just smiled as she turned back to him with automail over her shoulder. "You wanna get to Central as quick as possible, right?" She nodded determinedly. "Well then, let's see what I can do!" At this, Edward couldn't help but stare. Winry then grinned as she laughed and smacked him on the back. "But for a rush job like this, you're gonna have to pay extra!"
As Winry smacked him on his back, Ed fell forwards and into a stack of boxes. He simple glared at her as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oops…Forgot you're not used to that leg…"
Seiren chuckled.
XoXo… Much Later …XoXo
Seiren heaved a sigh as she examined her left arm again. "UGH! How is this so difficult?" Seiren yelled in aggravation. She banged her head on the table in front of her, making the pencil she had roll onto the floor. She had her sling on the floor next to her, her left arm laid out on the table so she could get a closer look. In front of her was a poor sketch of her arm, no bones or tendons in it at all. She had her left arm out of her sling so she could examine it and try to sketch out all the measurements of her arm, tendons and bones, so she could give it to Pinako and Winry so she could get automail bones. Seiren was no artist, so her attempt was in vain.
Looking at what she had done so far, she narrowed her eyes. She had thought this would be simple, a piece of cake. It was anything but. Narrowing her eyes even more, she grabbed the paper in front of her and crumpled it into a ball, throwing it behind her where a trash can should stand. Heaving another sigh, she grabbed her head in frustration with her only working arm and grabbed her hair. How was she going to finish the sketches before tomorrow? She needed to get the automail bones as soon as possible.
Finally giving into her frustration, she whimpered in defeat. Grabbing the pencil off the ground, she got another sheet of paper and began sketching her bow she'd need to make. It came about rather easily, the measurements coming to her quickly, for she had memorized all the measurements if the need to make another bow ever arose. She was right to do so.
A few minutes passed by, and she examined her work. Before her was the sketch of a bow, all the measurements and arrow layouts drawn perfectly. Her eye twitched at the realization. She groaned again in frustration as she grabbed her head.
"How in the hell was I able to draw my FUCKING bow so quickly and easily, and I can't even draw a GOD DAMN arm!" Seiren growled, cursing all the while. Shuffling coming from behind her immediately caught her attention, and she reached to her pocket where her knife lay. She snapped it open, the blade at ready. She darted her eyes to behind her, to find a familiar blond staring at her in surprise.
"…Seiren?" the blue eyed girl asked timidly, slowly inching her way towards Seiren.
"Huh? Oh, Winry," Seiren acknowledged, clicking her pocket knife closed and then turning her head to her new friend. "Something wrong?"
"Was…that you who just yelled?" Winry asked strangely quiet. Seiren rose an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless. Winry bowed her head, her fists clutched at her sides. An anger mark appeared and she threw something swiftly toward Seiren's head. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CUSSING LIKE THAT?"
*CLONK!*
Seiren fell back by the sheer force, stunned for a moment. She fell onto her back roughly, a new sharp pain spreading over her forehead. "Ow…." she moaned in pain. She narrowed her eyes, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"
"For cussing!" Winry yelled back, crossing her arms over her chest. She narrowed her eyes out of annoyance, making Seiren's eye twitch. "Why in the world would you cuss that…outwardly."
"Outwardly?" Seiren repeated, scratching the back of her head. "Come again?"
"The…F word," Winry elaborated, her voice somewhat uncomfortable but still icy cold.
Seiren's eyes widened as she quickly dipped her head down so that she was looking down at the floor. She grabbed her left arm that was still motionless, so that it seemed as though it was working, she bent it with her hand. "I have…an…er…cussing problem. It sort of became a habit with all the…..things that happened in the past."
Winry sighed heavily as she put her fingers to her forehead and shook her head. "Okay, I understand. I don't know what happened to you when you were younger, or whatever bad experience you had, and I do understand how that could affect you. But…" Winry looked up, sending Seiren the coldest glare she could muster. Even Seiren flinched at it. "In my house, no one shall even mutter, no, even think the F word. If this rule should be broken, there will be punishment. Am I clear?"
At this, Seiren was surprised to find that she almost had a chill go down her spine. Seiren gulped and nodded her head, and out of a bit of sarcasm, she smirked. "Crystal," she replied, the smirk still prominent on her lips.
Seeing Seiren's smirk, Winry couldn't help but a small laugh. She smiled, then waved over her shoulder as she continued with her work. "Good to hear it," Winry said with a small remanant of her laugh in her voice.
Seiren watched as the blond began walking up the stairs. "Hey!" Winry turned to her. "If I can't say fu- I mean, the F Word, what can I say to replace it?" Seiren asked incredulously.
Winry shrugged, tossing some of her hair behind her shoulder. "I don't know…How about 'Flip'?" Winry said and then glided up the stairs.
Seiren furrowed her eyebrows in puzzlement as she slumped her shoulders. "…'Flip'?" Seiren said with disgust. "How the fuck is that supposed to help?"
*CLONK!*
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?"
BN:
Seiren: Those wrenches really hurt...
Me: Sorry 'bout that...
Seiren: And can you please explain to me why you're an author, and why you won't tell me your real name? I know FOR SURE it isn't Nikkome.
Ed: Just play along with it! Maybe if we play along she'll let us go...
Me: ^-^ Nope! Not any time soon! Just wait until the stories over, then you're free!
Seiren: HA!
Ed: Shut up! You're not going anywhere either until the stories over too!
Seiren: WHAT? God damn it !$%#$$^$&%*#()&#*&($&*$^*&^*(!
Me:...That is a very...colorful...vocabulary you have there...Before you go on a rampage, can you do that little thing I asked you to do? ^-^
Seiren: Fine...Well, until next chap!
Me: =:D