I seem to be on a roll with these past few chapters. pray that Jashin doesn't decide to give me writer's block anytime soon.

DISCLAIMER: Ed Elric, Al Elric, Sergeant Brosh, Lieutenant Ross, etc. © Hiromu Arakawa / Shukaku, Sabaku no Gaara © Masashi Kishimoto / Marina © author.

Key:

Normal text - speaking/narration

Italics - thoughts

Ch 15: Stepping Stone

Ross chased us down and ran in front of us, effectively blocking our way with arms spread wide open. "Please wait! Where are you going?"

"We're going to stay in the Central Library for a while, since that place is filled with information and dictionaries." Ed explained.

Well, DUH! Isn't that the whole point of a library? The tanuki tailed beast commented, rolling those big eyes of his.

Quiet you. I have a feeling this is an important conversation, and I'd like to pay attention to it, thank you very much.

"What? We still don't know Scar's whereabouts. We can't guard you in a place with so much traffic!" The female lieutenant clearly objected to her charge's plan.

Ed's voice rose, indicating his displeasure at being limited. "Then report it to your superiors! This is our problem." He walked straight past our escort.

I groaned. Ed, why do you have to be so hot-headed?!

Al followed his older brother, but stopped to talk to Ross for an instant. "This is a clue we've been seeking for a long time. We're sorry."

I bowed towards Ross. "Lieutenant, please don't hold this against Ed. He just wants to get as much done in as little time as possible, damn the consequences."

"Marina, are you coming?!" my boyfriend shouted.

"Yeah, in a minute! Just go ahead and I'll catch up!" To Ross I said, "I really appreciate all the hard work that you and Sergeant Brosh are doing. Well, all three of us do, though one doesn't show it outright. I know it's not the easiest job in the world to essentially baby-sit a couple of teenagers, but.........."

The Lieutenant suddenly pulled me into a bear hug. "I just want to keep you guys safe. That's all."

My eyes widened at the sudden show of affection. "I know. You're doing a fine job Lieutenant."

"Just Ross is fine. I know that we're supposed to keep our personal lives separate from work, but if you ever need anyone to talk to, feel free to come find me," she offered.

"Thank you Ross!" I returned the hug.

Awwwww, how touching! Shukaku remarked wryly while Inner Me made a face.

Ross and I eventually caught up with the Elric brothers and Sergeant Brosh in one of the rooms in Central Library. When Ross opened the door, the sergeant was in the middle of asking Ed, "Is this kind of cookbook really an alchemy research manuscri––" All three of them looked up, and Brosh interrupted himself. "There you guys are! We were wondering what happened!" he exclaimed.

I noticed Ed warily eyeing the Lieutenant and quickly kissed my boyfriend. "It's all right. We came to an understanding of sorts."

".............." He said nothing in response, but kissed me back. "To answer your unfinished question Brosh; if you misuse alchemy, it's a dangerous art. With the aim of preventing that," he held up a ream of paper, "this is an encryption of alchemic research. Even though it looks like a mere cookbook to a normal person, its contents are understood only by the one who wrote them. That means it's an advanced, coded alchemy text."

"When you say 'understood only by the one who wrote them,' how are you going to decipher something like that?"

"With knowledge and insight. After all, they say that alchemy was born from the kitchen. It'll be a cinch if I work on it!" Ed took a closer look at the manuscript. "Al, there's a section on cooking doves."

"Doves? By that, could it mean––?"

"Yeah. The Green Lion. It might be the Philosopher's Moon. Did you bring Flanmel's manuscript or something about Ramzpring's Philosopher's Stone?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, let's do this."

"The what? Who?" My questions went unheard, as Ed and Al immersed themselves in their research.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A rumble suddenly cut through the moderate quietness in the room and I glared at my stomach.

Shukaku let out a childish giggle. Heehee!

Ichibi......... I warned.

Hey, I've been stuck behind bars for at least 17 years! Would you deny a prisoner his entertainment? If I was able to make out his features, I would bet that the bijuu was sporting a moue.

Yes, yes I would. And what are you talking about? You had your little moment of freedom when Gaara let you out during the Chuunin Exams!

I saw a giant tongue protrude from the darkness. You're a horrible jinchuuriki, Marina.

Grinning maniacally I countered, Oh, you have no idea. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the real world now, kthnxbai.

"Hey guys, I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want me to bring you back anything?" The only sound that reached my ears was the scratching of Ed's pen as he furiously scribbled something down. "Edward, if you don't give me an answer in the next couple of seconds, I'm bringing back milk for you, and that's final."

He finally looked away from his notes. "What was that Marina?"

I rolled my eyes. Why do I even bother? "I'm going to try to make my stomach happy by giving it food. Do you want anything while I'm gone?"

"Just water is fine, thanks." With that, Ed resumed his attempts to crack Marco's code.

"M'kay then." As I exited the room, I noticed that our escorts had positioned themselves on either side of the door.

"Marina?" Ross questioned, clearly confused as to why I was separating myself from her other charges.

"I'm gonna get some food for me and Ed. Would you like anything?"

"No thank you."

"What about Brosh?"

The lieutenant glanced at her partner and noticed that he had fallen asleep. "........I think he's fine for the time being."

"All right. I shall be back in a few."