Author's notes- Chapter Four! *happy dance*. Once again, my personal editor, KawaiiChibiHime33, is responsible for editing these chapters for your enjoyment! :3. So, Carmen got off to a rough start with Kurogane. What will happen? Will Kurgy accept her? Will KawaiiChibiHime33 stop acting so hyper? (*Sooory* Hey Tsubasa Alchemist fans! I'm Carmen Veiga's editor! She's at my house right now using my laptop. Hope you like the story! I need to go right now, but hopefully you'll hear from me again soon! *bye bye!*)-End of message from KawaiiChibiHime33- On with the story!

Chapter Four: Registration, Outfits, and Guitars

Early the next morning, Fai and Carmen set off for City Hall. Fai told her that they would have to register her name and occupation if she was to use Outo's services.

When they arrived at the registration desk, Fai picked up a pen and filled out the form, shielding it from Carmen's view. The alchemist tried to look over the magician's shoulder, but he wouldn't let her see. Finally, Fai handed the form to the woman behind the desk, she thanked him and gave Carmen a disc shaped like a cherry blossom, which was her "credit card." Fai then put his hands behind his head, and walked casually out the door with Carmen following.

"Fai, what did you write down, and why didn't you show me?" she asked while putting her cherry blossom platelet in her pocket.

"I wasn't sure how you would react to the name I gave you. If you're anything like Kuro-puu, you'll blow up at me as soon as you hear it," he explained, a mischievous smile spreading across his facial features.

"Oh, come on. I won't be that mad," the alchemist said. Like she would have an explosive temper like Kurogane, of which she had seen the previous night when Mokona had been annoying him, along with the occasional teasing comment from Fai.

Fai shrugged and said, "We can use your real name, but don't you think it's more fun to use aliases? So I put down that you're name was Rubi,"

Carmen was quiet for a moment, then squeaked, "Rubi?"

Fai nodded and smiled. "The name seemed to fit you,"

After thinking to herself for a bit, Carmen gave him a small smile. "I like it,"

Next, they stopped at a nearby clothes shop. Carmen was fitted into many different outfits. She winced at the frills on the tons of dresses she put on one after another. The employee at the store seemed to be on her last strand of energy trying to find something Carmen liked. Then Carmen noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something bright trying to catch her attention.

Carmen wondered how she hadn't seen it before. Across the store's main room hung what looked like a yukata, colored a deep, rich red, with some camellia flower embroidery on the edge of the sleeves. This dress' design seemed so simple, yet so well-crafted, Carmen couldn't resist it.

"It reminds me a bit of Kurogane's eyes. Red, like the color of blood on a battlefield." thought Carmen.

"That dress suits you," said Fai from behind her. This pulled Carmen out of her head. "Would you like to try it on?"

"Oh, um, ah, yes. Yes I would," replied Carmen clearing her head of her thoughts.

She wrapped the yukata around her, and tied it with the sash that it came with. The long dress fell past her knees and down just above her ankles.

"Here," she heard Fai say from behind her, "Try this," He came up behind her with something shiny in his hand. He pulled back a bit of her hair, and clipped it up with a red jeweled clip with more camellias on it. The new hairstyle made Carmen's hair flip up and bounce when she walked.

Carmen looked at herself in the mirror. She was a bit surprised at how different she looked. Wearing this dress made her feel more grown up. This immediately made her think of her mother. Daniella had always wanted her to wear something nice like this, but Carmen, being the headstrong tomboy type when she was growing up, had always turned her back on ribbons and curls. A hollow feeling filled Carmen. She quickly pushed the feeling away before she could start crying. She then picked out a pair of brown sandals to match.

As Fai paid for the outfit, Carmen slipped her blue cloak over her shoulders, attaching both folds of the fabric with the blue pendent. It's engraved water symbols shone in the light. The employee that had been helping them smiled a meek, tired smile, glad Carmen finally chose something.

The magician then left the shop, with the young alchemist following close behind. Carmen was intrigued by this world. Who would of thought that there was another universe just beyond hers. Then, she froze in her tracks. Something had caught her eye across the street. Fai kept walking, unaware that his companion had stopped. After finally noticing, he stopped and turned around to look at her. "Carmen? What is it?" he asked.

Carmen turned her head back to him. "You go on ahead, Fai. I need to check on something." she told him. Fai was quiet for a few moments, then replied, "You know the way back to the cafe, right?" Carmen gave him a small nod. Fai smiled and continued walking down the sidewalk.

She waited until he turned the corner before crossing the street and entering an antique shop. A soft, golden light lit up the store. Dishes, bowls, and copper kettles lined the shelves. Lamps and vases sat on table tops, their glossy surfaces catching the light. Wooden chairs with strange, but well crafted designs surrounded the tables. But the thing Carmen had her eye on was right in front of her, sitting up in it's dark blue case; a wooden guitar.

She walked forward and delicately took the instrument in her hands, like it would crumble into dust as soon as she touched it. She held the guitar neck in a light hold. A beautiful full sound filled the store as she gently strummed the strings.

Suddenly, something resurfaced. A memory. Memories of the days back in Central. When her mother first taught her how to play the guitar, back when she was only six. A tear then slid down her cheek. She gripped her locket. This was exactly why she had locked away Daniella's guitar back home. It was just another burden to remind her of that horrible afternoon; the afternoon of her mom's death.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the employee at the counter asked, "Are you alright Miss?"

Carmen quickly brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. She then brought the guitar and it's case over to the counter. She slowly took her credit card out of her pocket. Without another thought, she quickly paid for the instrument with some money the group had transferred onto her sakura card(Editors note-Sakura=Cherry blossom).

The water alchemist slowly walked down the sidewalk, carrying her guitar close. She soon started to come closer to Cat's Eye. A thought then came to her head. "Damn! How am I going to hide this?" she thought, clenching her teeth.

She was now outside the cafe, hiding behind a nearby bush, so that Fai and Sakura wouldn't catch sight of her. Her heart was pounding with nervousness. Why hadn't she thought of this before she bought the guitar? Why had she even bought this guitar in the first place!

Her thoughts were then interrupted when she heard the sound of someone cheerfully singing. She peered over the bush to see Mokona singing a made up tune and sweeping the front steps with a self-made leaf broom.

"Psst! Mokona!" Carmen whispered.

"Huh?" the manju bun asked aloud. Then, seeing Carmen behind the bush, she squealed happily and hopped quickly over. "Carmen! Oops! I mean, Rubi-chan! What are you doing back here?" Mokona asked in her excited, high pitched voice.

"Shh!" Carmen exclaimed putting a finger to her lips.

"Sorry." Mokona whispered, making an adorably cute pouting face that made Carmen feel a little bad about snapping at her.

Carmen then showed her the guitar. "You know what this is, right?" she asked.

"Yup yup! I sure do! It's a guitar, and it makes pretty sounds, just like the piano in the cafe!" Mokona said excitedly.

"Good, because I need you to help me hide it,"

"What?"

"I need you to help me hide it."

"But, why? You didn't steal it, did you?" Mokona asked in a shocked tone.

Carmen's eyes widened. "No! Of course not!" she exclaimed.

Mokona smiled. "Then, what's the use of hiding it?"

"It's... a little too complicated to explain right now," Carmen explained quietly. "Do you know someplace where I can hide this for the time being?"

"Of course I do! Watch this!" Mokona then opened her mouth up, and shockingly wide. A sudden sucking wind came from it. Carmen watched in horror as the case, with the guitar in it, was jerked out of her hand and sucked into Mokona's mouth!

"Mokona! You ate my guitar!" she whispered

The manju shook her head. "I just stored it inside of me. Just one of my 108 secret talents:Storage!"

Carmen stared at Mokona for a few moments longer, then shook her head to clear it. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone that your holding onto that, or that I bought it." she told her.

"Deal! And make sure to play it for me once in a while. I'd love to listen to you play a pretty song!" Mokona exclaimed. She then proceeded to jump on Carmen's shoulder as she stood up and walked through the door to the cafe.

Fai and Sakura both looked up as the door opened. A wide grin spread across the blond's face as Carmen walked in with Mokona.

"Look who I found on her way back!" Mokona said, waving her small paws back in forth happily.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Fai asked Carmen.

"Unfortunately, no." she replied.

Fai shrugged. "Your outfit is near the door. Go change into it and then you can help us with some work."

Carmen thanked him and picked up the bag. She headed into her room to change. Tying on the sash, she slipped her feet out of the combat boots and into her sandals. She carefully pinned back her hair so it would look like it did back in the shop. It wasn"t quite as neatly done as Fai's job in the store. She was baffled at how good he could put up hair for a guy, compared to Carmen who didn't exactly have experience with hairstyles. She then folded her shirt, pants, and cloak in a neat little stack and put it on her bed, leaving her boots and dagger belt on the floor.

Fai then set her to work. She helped Sakura set tables, helped Fai with some of the cooking, helped Mokona with the cleaning, and a lot of other things. Carmen then noticed that she hadn't seen any sign of Kurogane or Syaoran on her way back.

"Do you guys know where Kurogane and Syaoran went?" she asked them.

"They left for training a little while after you left for City Hall. Kurogane is teaching Syaoran how to fight with a sword." Sakura told her.

Jealousy began to gnaw at her. It had been a while since Carmen had practiced any combat with her daggers, or even the Ivory Blade for that matter. Kurogane and Syaoran were Oni hunters, and that meant they could go and fight. Carmen wished she was out there with them too, instead of just working in the cafe.

"Well, I haven't fought anything for a while, so I might be a little out of practice. But, Fai needs more help to run the cafe and take care of Sakura, with her having lost her memory and stuff. Besides, I don't want Kurogane thinking that I'm some annoying little tag along." Carmen thought to herself. From what Carmen had seen of Kurogane, he was the black sheep of the group. He had a big mouth, and it annoyed her sometimes that he would yell so much.

The two Oni hunters came back late that night. Syaoran arrived with a thin rip in the front of his shirt, which Sakura jumped right in at questioning him if he was alright at the sight of it. He assured her with a gentle smile that he was, and that he has a long way to go in his sword training. Fai served everyone dinner, which Carmen thought was pretty good. Everyone shared news of what happened during the course of the day. Kurogane, for some reason, stayed quiet for most of the meal, though Mokona and Fai flared up his temper with the silly nicknames and usual teasing.

Later that night, Carmen was curled up in bed. Mokona, who decided it was the alchemist who she was going to sleep with tonight, was cuddled up in the crook of Carmen's elbow, snoring softly. The little manju reminded Carmen a little bit of Black Hayate, Lieutenant Hawkeye's sweet black and white dog back home.

The alchemist slowly shifted to her back, careful not to wake Mokona. She had this weird feeling that had been sitting in her stomach for most of the afternoon. Was it homesickness? She certainly felt homesick. She couldn't stop thinking of Sarah, Winry, Ed, and more importantly... Al.

Why was she thinking of him so much lately anyway? He was just a friend, right? But now, every time she thought of him. His brown, gentle eyes, sweet smile, and his comforting voice, she felt happier inside. That had never happened before.

Pushing away the thought, she let her eyes close as she drifted off to sleep.

Post notes- Wow, long chapter. Here's another installment of history. It's kind of short though.

Al actually, when they were little, developed a crush on Carmen when they first met. Then he kind of forgets it when they get older. But, in the "movie," he then realizes he still has feelings for her. Then, she finally realizes she feels the same way. That's why she doesn't realize why she feels this way when she thinks of Al.

I think this will probably be the last installment. (Hey Tsubasa Alchemist fans- KawaiiChibiHime here. I'm Carmen Veiga's editor if you didn't already know. You should be hearing more from me soon hopefully. Carmen and I are working hard to get these chapters to you as soon as we can. Please take care of us! Until next time!-)See you in Chapter Five!

Your friend,

Carmen Veiga