A/N: I don't have much to say here . . . enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Oops, forgot this last time . . . I don't own anything in this story!
Chapter 11
"Tamaki, we need to talk to you."
The Host King looked up from the book he was reading to find the Elric brothers standing in front of him, Ed's arms crossed over his chest and a slight frown on his face.
"Oh, um, sure," Tamaki replied, closing his book and setting it on the table. "What about?"
"We think that there's something really fishy about Crona," Ed said. Tamaki merely blinked at him.
"Whatever do you mean?" he asked. Ed sighed in annoyance; Tamaki could be so dense at times . . .
"Have you seen the way he acts? It's obvious he's hiding something!" Tamaki's eyes widened slightly and he looked at the ground.
"Well, that might be true, I guess. But even if he was, I'm sure he'd tell someone if he really wanted them to know."
Ed and Al shared a knowing glance. It seemed that Tamaki also knew more than he was letting on.
"Alright, spill it," Ed commanded, walking closer to the chair the Host King was sitting in so that he could lean over him, trying to suppress a grin- Ed was secretly elated by the fact that at this particular moment, he seemed to be taller than the other blonde.
"W-well . . . he doesn't want me to talk about it. It's very personal," Tamaki admitted.
"Does it have anything to do with the pure soul?" Al piped up. Tamaki frowned at him.
"Pure soul? Oh, no, it's nothing like that! I don't even think he knows what that is!"
"I'm not too sure about that," Ed said, and Tamaki turned his questioning gaze on him. "Remember when we showed him that note the other day? By the look on his face I could tell that something struck a chord when he read it."
"Yeah, it was really subtle, but I could see that something was up, too," Alphonse added.
Tamaki's frown deepened; had he really not noticed that? He guessed that he'd still been concerned about Crona being okay after their talk about his mother that he hadn't been looking out for subtle signs such as that. After a few seconds of thought, he looked at Ed again.
"Well, why don't you just ask him about it?" he questioned, and Ed laughed.
"Ask that kid for information? He'd probably just stop talking and stare at the ground like he always does."
There was another silence for a moment, until Al spoke up.
"The point is, Tamaki, we think you should be a little more cautious around Crona," he said. "At least until we figure out exactly what he's hiding."
"And while you're at it, maybe you could try to figure out what's up to, too," Ed put in. "He seems to talk to you a lot more than he does to other people."
"I can't do that!" Tamaki exclaimed, and Ed and Al jumped, surprised at this outburst. "He's my friend! I don't want to pry him for information that he doesn't want to tell me!"
"But Tamaki-"
"No, I'm not going to do that, Ed." Tamaki stood up resolutely, making Ed scowl as he was once again the shortest person in the room. "I'm sorry, but I think that if you want to get information from someone, it's best to just ask them directly. Especially with people like Crona; I think he'd be really hurt if he figured out that you guys were trying to sneak information out of him. He'd be hurt if he knew you were suspicious of him as well!"
"He probably already knows!" Ed yelled, starting to get aggravated. He wished that Tamaki would just listen to him for once, instead of trying to be the saint that can see no bad in anyone, even when other people try to convince him otherwise. "Tamaki, you always try to see the good in people!"
"Is that a bad thing?"
"What Brother is trying to say," Al interjected, stepping in-between the two warring blondes. "is that not everyone is as innocent as they seem at first. We've dealt with people like that before, so we know that even though it's hard to admit, it could be possible."
"Did you ever think that the way he acts could just be a cover?" Ed piped up, stepping around Al to see Tamaki again. He saw a slight bit of doubt on the tall blonde's face, so he continued, hoping that he'd be able to get his point through. "What if he's really not a nervous wreck and he's just acting like that so people won't be suspicious?"
"We'd never know unless he told us his story," Al added. The doubt on Tamaki's face immediately vanished as he frowned again.
"No, trust me, there's a reason that he acts that way; it's not a ruse." He paused, looking at Ed's expectant face- the alchemist waiting for him to back up this claim. Tamaki debated whether or not to tell them about Crona's childhood; Crona had expressly told him not to divulge it to anyone. But, Tamaki knew that Ed and Al wouldn't be reassured unless they knew the truth. He sighed, hoping that Crona would forgive him for what he was about to reveal.
"Crona . . . had a bad childhood," Tamaki admitted. "He . . . he didn't tell me everything, but from what I gather, his mother never really loved him. He always did whatever she said, but he never got any affection in return. That's why he has so much trouble dealing with people nowadays; he never got the love from his mother needed to be able to give love to anyone else."
Ed and Al stood there, shocked. Crona seemed to have had a pretty hard life, with no father and a mother that never loved him. At least Ed and Al's mother had cared about them . . .
"That poor boy . . .," Al muttered. He looked at Ed. "Brother, if what Crona said is true, then maybe he's not as suspicious as we thought; that's just the way he normally acts."
"I still don't trust him," Ed said defiantly. "So he has a reason for acting like everyone has a disease and he doesn't want to get close to them- so what? I'm still suspicious. I know that note struck a chord with him for some reason. Plus, there's other things that he's done, too. Remember that weird tea he brought the other day? It was pretty out of the blue, don't you think? And everyone thought it was gross. Well, everyone but . . . Tamaki . . ."
Suddenly, Ed gasped and stared up at Al. After a second, Al gasped as well, taking an involuntary step back as the realization hit him.
"Brother, you don't think . . .," the suit of armor breathed, and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, I do," Ed replied. Tamaki looked from Ed to his brother, completely lost.
"What? What are you guys thinking?" he asked, and Ed and Al shared another glance before turning to him.
"Tamaki, what if Crona brought that tea to test something?" Ed said, and Tamaki's expression went from lost to confused. "Do you remember? He didn't drink any of it himself; it was like he knew it was going to taste bad. And then when he saw that you were the only one not affected, he got really upset."
"Like he was hoping that whatever he was looking for, it wasn't going to be you," Al continued. Tamaki shook his head.
"I still don't get it. So the fact that I was able to drink the tea meant something to him?"
"Yeah, it all makes sense!" Ed exclaimed. His golden eyes were shining with excitement. "That note from the other day said that the pure soul was 'closer than we think;' a few days later, Crona shows up with some random drink that he knew was going to taste bad to everyone, and that's why he didn't drink it. But, when he saw that Tamaki, the kid who's been the nicest to him out of everyone so far and who he'd apparently felt that he could confide the secret of his past in, was the only one who wasn't spitting it back out, he became upset.
"Maybe he was upset because that drink was the way to find out who the pure soul was! Whoever didn't think it was disgusting was supposed to be the pure soul! That's why he got so distressed when it was his closest friend that wasn't affected, because he knew that he would have to be sacrificed to make the philosopher's stone!"
"Wait- but Brother, then that means . . .," Al trailed off, staring at Ed.
Both brothers turned their fascinated gazes on Tamaki, whose heart was starting to beat very quickly as the tall blonde was beginning to put all the pieces together.
"Tamaki . . . you're the pure soul!" Ed and Al exclaimed at the same time.
"What?" Tamaki said quietly, not believing it. How could he be the one soul that could stand in the place of hundreds to create the philosopher's stone, when he hadn't even heard of the thing until a few weeks ago?
But, as the Elric's logic ran through his head, it all made sense; maybe there was another side to Crona that the boy hadn't revealed. He'd been searching for the stone the whole time as well, and that's why he'd looked so distraught in the bathroom the other day!
"Maybe . . . maybe that's what he was going to tell me before he started acting strange!" Tamaki exclaimed, recalling how Crona had seemed like he was about to say something right before he'd has his little "mental breakdown," as Tamaki referred to it. "He was going to tell me that I was the pure soul, but something stopped him before he could!"
All of a sudden, the blonde rushed over and gripped Ed's shoulders, startling the alchemist.
"Ed, you're right! I'm the pure soul!" Suddenly, Tamaki stiffened. His eyes widened and he released Ed, taking a step back. "But- hold on . . . I'm the pure soul . . . then that means . . ."
He glanced at the Elric brothers, and Ed and Al were shocked to see a hint of fear in his violet eyes.
"Tamaki, how could you ever think that?" Ed shouted, at the same time Al said:
"We'd never use you to make the stone!"
"Really?" Tamaki asked, still gazing at them warily. "I know how much you want the stone . . . and by using me you'd only have to use one soul-"
"Geez, would you cut the crap?" Ed interjected. He stomped over so he was right in front of Tamaki and locked gazes with him, his arms crossed in front of him. "We already told you we were going to find a way around having to kill anybody, so stop acting like you're going to be a human sacrifice! We said we'd figure out how to create the stone without anyone losing their life, and we will! The fact that you're the pure soul has nothing to do with whether we sacrifice anyone or not!"
"Yeah, it only makes us more determined to find a way to make the stone without losing any lives!" Al put in. Tamaki looked from Al's glowing eyes to Ed's resolute ones, and a small smile spread across his face.
"Thank you," he said. "You truly are mes amis!" Al let out a chuckle and Ed grinned back, but then his forehead creased in worry.
"I don't want to spoil the moment, but we still need to figure out what we're going to do about Crona," he said. "Obviously, we need to figure out why he wants to find the pure soul, and when he has to do with the homunculi. I'm almost positive that they're connected in some way."
"Should I tell him that I know I'm the pure soul?" Tamaki asked, and Ed put his fist up to his mouth, thinking. After a moment, he shook his head.
"No, we won't tell him . . . yet. Let's pretend that we haven't caught onto his plan and see if we can get him to tell us what he's up to. If that doesn't work, we can reveal that we know what he's doing and see if that gets him talking."
"Good plan, Brother," Al said, and Ed grinned at him. Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that could be," Tamaki muttered as a maid rushed by to open the door. "I wasn't expecting any visitors . . ." After a few seconds, the maid came back into the living room where the boys were standing.
"Master Tamaki, there's a boy with pink hair here to see you," she informed him. "He says he's a friend of yours. Should I let him in?"
"Well, that's convenient," Ed muttered, and Tamaki glanced at him.
"Should we talk to him now?" the tall blonde asked, and Ed shrugged.
"Might as well get it over with."
"Okay." Tamaki turned back to the maid. "Send him in here, please. Thank you."
"Certainly, Master Tamaki," the maid replied, and then she left. She quickly returned, leading Crona towards the living room. Once he was past the doorway, she gave Tamaki a curt bow and exited again, leaving Crona standing there looking like a deer in headlights.
"Hello, Crona," Tamaki said cautiously, taking a step towards him. Crona immediately flinched and took a hasty step back. Tamaki glanced behind him and saw Ed and Al share a shrewd look. The tall blonde turned back to Crona, to see the other boy still staring at him. "How are you feeling?"
"Feeling?" Crona echoed, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.
"You were acting kind of . . . strange earlier; I was just wondering if you were alright."
Crona kept frowning, and then he let out a little gasp of recognition and nodded quickly.
"Oh, y-yes, I'm fine. Uh, t-thanks for asking," he said, and Tamaki nodded curtly. There was a strained silence for a moment as everyone waited for someone else to speak up.
"Oh, forget this!" Ed exclaimed suddenly, startling everyone. He walked over and poked Crona in the chest, staring up at the pink-haired boy determinately. "Why are you so interested in the pure soul? And don't try to say you're not, because we've already figured it out!"
"Brother!" Alphonse exclaimed, and Crona's eyes widened even more. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again and took yet another step back.
"Deny it!" Ragnarok hissed in the back of his mind. "Act like you don't know what they're talking about! We can't let them get onto us when we're this close to the end!"
"U-um, what are you talking about?" Crona said quietly, gripping his arm. Ed rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder at Tamaki.
"See, what'd I tell you? He's just denying it!" He whipped back to Crona, narrowing his eyes. "Come on, spill it! We know that that 'tea' you brought the other day was a test to see who the pure soul was!"
"W-what?" Crona exclaimed; had they really figured it out?
"So much for the plan . . .," Al muttered as Tamaki stepped forward. He gently took Ed's shoulders and moved the shorter blonde out of the way- ignoring Ed's protests- and gripped Crona's hands in his own.
"Please, Crona, we just want to know what's going on," he said, refusing to let go as Crona started to struggle in his grip. "This could be very important information for Edward and Alphonse that could help them get their bodies back!"
"S-stop! Let go! I don't know anything!" Crona cried; he hadn't been prepared for this. He'd just wanted to come over and invite Tamaki over to his house tomorrow. He didn't know there would be an ambush waiting for him . . .
"Please," Tamaki said again, the look in his eyes almost begging. Crona quickly scrunched his own eyes tightly closed when that feeling of revealing his heart and soul to Tamaki started to creep through his mind once again. Tamaki gave Crona's hands a gentle squeeze and Crona opened his eyes ever so slightly.
"Crona, I know I'm the pure soul."
Crona blanched; that was it. Medusa was going to be so angry with him . . .
"What are you doing, you idiot?" Ragnarok yelled. "Say something! Just keep denying you know anything! Hurry up, before they get even more suspicious!"
"Uh, um . . .," Crona trailed off, looking everywhere but at Tamaki.
"Just tell us what you know!" Ed yelled, and Al put a hand on his shoulder.
"Brother, stop yelling at him!"
"I can't help it; he's not cooperating!"
"Ed, Al, please-"
"Let us handle this, Tamaki!"
"Um-" Crona started to say again, but the other boys were now in an argument over which one of them should be the one to talk to Crona. Said boy took a slight step back; he had the strongest urge to run out of that chaotic house. However, he knew that he had a job to do, and if he failed to complete it, his immediate future looked quite bleak. He cleared his throat and tried to speak again, but his voice was lost in the yelling of the other boys. He frowned slightly, and then he winced as Ragnarok's voice joined in the cacophony of sound.
"Damn it, Crona, just yell at them!" the Demon Sword shouted in the pink-haired boy's mind. "If you don't tell Tamaki to come over to the house soon, I'm gonna use madness on you again!"
"No! Don't, Ragnarok!" Crona cried; he did not want to go through that again anytime soon. He steeled himself and then took a step towards the bickering boys.
"I . . . I just wanted to invite Tamaki over to my house tomorrow!" he yelled, as loud as he could. The other boys immediately ceased talking and turned to stare at him. Crona gripped his arm and gazed at the floor. "Um, I-I mean, Tamaki, I want you to come over tomorrow."
"Oh . . . really?" Tamaki questioned, surprised; this was certainly out of the blue. Crona gave him a little nod, and Tamaki grinned and clapped his hands together. "Well, of course I'd love to come over!"
"Tamaki!" Ed exclaimed, and everyone turned to look at him. The alchemist glared up at the taller blonde. "Are you stupid? Did you forget our conversation five minutes ago? What if he wants you to come over so he can try and make the stone? He can't be trusted!"
Crona's eyes widened at this statement, but he kept the rest of his face composed in a lost expression; Ragnarok's voice was telling him not to let the other boys know that he understood what they were talking about.
"Ed, please, give the poor boy a break!" Tamaki pleaded, and Crona glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He still couldn't believe that Tamaki was sticking up for him, even when Ed was literally telling him Crona's plan to use Tamaki to make the philosopher's stone. It seemed to Crona as if Tamaki was either ignoring what Ed was saying, or he just didn't seem to care.
The two blondes stared each other down for a minute, until Ed finally flung his hands up in the air and let out a growl of frustration.
"Damn it, Tamaki!" He pinched the bridge of his nose, and then looked up at the Host King. "Fine, if you really want to go with Crona tomorrow, you can go. But me and Al are coming with you, alright?"
"Is that okay, Crona?" Tamaki asked, directing his attention to the shy boy. He gave Crona a wry smile. "I don't think they'll let me go otherwise . . ."
"Oh, um, t-that's fine," Crona agreed.
"There, it's settled, then!" Tamaki exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Suddenly, Ed stomped over to Crona again.
"Listen, Crona, we know you're up to something," he snarled, glaring into Crona's sad eyes. "If you try anything tomorrow, just know that we're not gonna hesitate to fight back. And we will figure out what you have to do with the pure soul and the homunculi, whether you want to tell us or not. Got it?"
Crona could only tilt his head slightly in acknowledgement; he had no doubt that the alchemist meant what he said.
"Brother, back off," Al warned, noticing that Crona was starting to grip his arm even tighter. Ed reluctantly took a few steps back, and Crona relaxed his grip ever-so-slightly.
"Well, Crona, would you like to stay for dinner?" Tamaki asked, glancing at the clock.
"Tamaki!" Ed exclaimed, whirling to face him. He couldn't believe that Tamaki was still ignoring everything Ed had been saying for the past fifteen minutes; now he was even inviting the source of their suspicion over to dinner.
"No, um, I h-have to get home," Crona said quickly, already backing towards the door. "T-thanks anyway, though."
"Oh, alright," Tamaki said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. However, he immediately perked up and rushed over to open the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Tamaki called as Crona started walking down the driveway. "It's going to be fun, I'm sure!"
"Uh, yeah, fun . . .," Crona replied softly. He spared a glance back to see the three boys staring after him. Tamaki was smiling and waving, Ed was glaring, and Al's expression was, as usual, completely unreadable.
Crona turned around and hurried down the rest of the driveway, not wanting to spend another minute at that place. He held back a sob that was threatening to escape through his lips. So much for trying to distance himself for Tamaki . . . now the urge to stop this whole thing from happening was stronger than ever.
He sighed and kept his head down the rest of the way home, thinking of the kind boy with the violet eyes.
It felt as if he was already saying his final goodbyes.