Long Winding Road

EdxOC & AlxOC

Nami followed the path towards Kane's house, slipping on her gloves. She was excited to see what today's lesson would be. As she approached the house, she slowed down when she saw Mikayla and Kane waiting for her outside.

"Hey Nami, I gotta question," Mikayla started. She wanted to get right to the point and not wait until the end of training to ask - she had to know now. "Do you by any chance know a woman named Scarlett?"

Nami paused when she was a few feet from them and blinked.

"Scarlett? None that I know of, why?"

Mikayla's eyes narrowed and Kane was slightly worried that she'd spill out every thought in her head at once, but he knew she had self-control. His plan was to go about this rationally and tactfully - too bad the self-control that he thought Mikayla had had failed today.

"Are you sure?" She snapped. She didn't mean to be this horrid to a girl she considered her friend, but the fact that she was lying straight to her face made Mikayla's blood boil and her heart break. "I'm pretty sure I heard you talking to her last night when I was out walking. May I might add that she's one of my sworn enemies and has attempted to kill me at least twice if not more?"

Her face was twisted into a scowl and she looked dead into Nami's eyes, daring her to lie again.

Nami stood up straight, her eyes narrowing.

"No more pretending huh?" She said. "I know Scarlett - and I'm working for her. Why? You'll have to come and get it, but I won't fight you... not yet."

As she spoke, she slowly began walking backwards.

"You've got a lot of nerve," Mikayla growled, clapping her hands to transmute a silver sword.

"Mikayla," Kane said firmly, stopping his student as she raised her weapon. His eyes never left Nami; curious to see if she'd actually try to attack even if she said she wouldn't fight. "Let her go."

Mikayla stared at Nami before scoffing; her emotions being tangled up inside of her until she finally was able to spit out, "Fine."

"I guess this is goodbye for now," Nami said, turning around. "Thanks Kane, you're a good teacher."

With that, she was gone.

Nami arrived back at Ryu's and went upstairs. She quickly packed her bag and slung it over her shoulders along with her journal she had been using to keep notes (she gave Scarlett the old one).

Scarlett had told her if she was ever caught, to catch a train to the South and head out to rural country where she'd find a hideout.

"Nami?" Ryu asked, knocking on the open door.

Nami spun around. "Hey, I'm sorry, something came up and I have to catch a train out of town."

Ryu frowned. "Why? What happened? What about training?"

"Training is being put on hold," she said, smiling. "Don't worry, everything's fine.

"Alright, come back soon?"

She gave him a quick hug and whispered, "I'll try," before heading out of the room and out the front door.

Once she was a few steps away she broke into a run towards town to catch a train; somehow, she knew that if she stayed, Mikayla would come after her.

Mikayla, Nami thought. Do not feel guilt Nami, she is the enemy.

After she bought her ticket, she got on the trained and grabbed a window seat; her notebook was still clutched tightly in her hand.

As the train pulled away, Nami took a deep breath and looked out the window. She froze when she saw a pair of brown eyes staring at her but they disappeared in a second.

Al...?

"Let's continue training," Kane said after Nami was gone for a few minutes. "We've got some anger to work out of you."

Mikayla looked at him wearily. "Okay."

As she trained she tried to put her all into it, but she was distracted and hurt, unable to put her full concentration into her training.

What if she leads them here? She couldn't help but think. Would she do that?

Noticing how his student wasn't training like she usually does, Kane ended practice much earlier than usual. Though he wanted Mikayla to learn that this is the risks that alchemist took every day, the lines of enemy and friend being blurred daily, he didn't have the heart to push her any further. He wasn't a heartless man, but in a way was desensitized - cutting people off easily when they threatened him or those close to him; Nami just being added to the end of his list.

"I felt like something was going to happen," Reena muttered to the two girls that sat next to her on the porch; Kane was already going off on his own for a long walk. "I didn't know what it was going to be, but I felt it."

Mikayla smiled warily at Lynelle. "Guess you were right about Nami being a part of the BC."

Lynelle sighed, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder. "It's not like I wanted to be right."

"I know," Mikayla replied. "It just sucks that you tried to tell me and I didn't listen."

"It's fine," Lynelle insisted. "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

On the outside, Mikayla smiled simply to appease her friend and silence her worries; but on the inside she was angry and knew that everything was not going to be fine until the Blade Children were completely written out.

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