Hello Peoples! I am so excited for chapter 4! I am sorry about it being late. It was my last week of school and I have had a really busy weekend, between prom and finalizing stuff for graduation and actual graduation itself! Please forgive me! Sadly the action I had planned for this chapter has not shown itself. Instead I had this in mind! But trust me; there WILL be action in the next chapter! I, myself, am tired of seeing my character cower away in fear of Izumi.
Leah: So why make me scared of her?
Me: Because she is a scary woman that no one, and I repeat NO ONE, should mess with.
Leah: She doesn't seem that scary to me. If anything, just very protective.
Me: Oh, just wait.
Leah: Huh?
Me: *evil smirk*
Start:
Leah's POV
I fought back the memories that attempted to flood my mind. How did I do it? Easy.
The tender meat melted against my tongue. The sweet tang of the gravy complimented it so well as it went down my throat. When I closed my eyes I could see bright stars. This was the best food I have had in awhile and I was relishing every bite, but in a haste like fashion.
Shoveling the food in my mouth, I was quickly done with my plate. My hand rubbed my stomach as I leaned my chair backwards. "Mrs. Izumi, you are the best cook I have met. The way you cook your meat makes it so tender and flavorful, practically to die for!" Everyone but Izumi stared at me dumbfounded.
"Well, I appreciate the compliment young lady." A small smile etched across Izumi's lips.
Despite eating all of that delicious food, I was still hungry. I began to eye Al's untouched plate, my mouth watering.
"Al, aren't you going to eat?" Izumi's voice grew stern. She had not even glanced at the suit of armor, instead was promptly cutting her steak.
"Uh, I'm not very hungry." The poor boy stuttered.
"You need to eat Al." She was persistent.
"Mrs. Izumi, since Ed and Al are so good at alchemy; that must mean you are even better, right?" She looked at me, an unreadable expression across her face.
"You flatter me, I am but a housewife." A smirk replaced the previous expression. It remained silent for a few moments. Al sat there staring at his food, Ed ate slowly, and Winry had just finished. "What about you, Leah?" Izumi's voice brought my attention back to her. "What kind of alchemy do you perform?" She now eyed me carefully.
I get it, in some strange way this was a test. A small laugh left my lips, "Oh no, I'm not smart enough for all of those equations and formulas." My eyes drifted from her to muscle man, whose name I now knew was Sig. The man was biting into a big piece of meat, tearing it right off the bone.
"Hmm, I see. And why are you traveling with the boys again?" I felt like I was being interrogated by an overprotective mom.
"I was assigned to assist them on their journey." I faced her once more, her eyes glowering at me.
"No, I am not formally part of the military."
"Wait, what?" Ed's shocked cry met my ears. Despite his cry being slightly annoying, I appreciated him butting into the tense conversation. "You said Mustang assigned you to aid us."
"He did, I work only under Mustang, momentarily at least." I crossed my arms. In less than 24 hours I have had to explain this twice; it was more than a little irking.
"Momentarily, what do you mean?" This time Winry spoke. The confused blonde was leaning forward waiting for an answer.
With a heavy sigh, I glanced at each person. Sig was still eating the piece of meat, Izumi was analyzing me, Ed just stared defiantly, and Al was only looking at me. A pang of guilt swept through me, but I brushed it aside. 'I'll apologize later.' I thought to myself. With another heavy sigh I began. "I was only passing through Central however something happened and Mustang called upon my assistance." It was quiet. "In all honesty I owe Mustang, that is why I agreed to work for him; I told him only momentarily though." It was still quiet.
"What happened in Central that made Mustang need your help?" Ed broke the curtain of silence. His fierce golden eyes were on me, and my emotions wavered. They had the right to know Hughes was dead, but Mustang ordered me not to tell them. Yet…
Taking in a deep breath, I drew out the tension. I looked at Ed square in the eyes and said, "Top secret." A wide grin flew to my face. It was difficult to hold back the hysterical laughter as Ed made one of his faces.
"What the hell! You're always doing that!" Once again his anger amused me.
"Doing what?" I averted my gaze and whistled.
"That, you avoid our questions!"
"No I don't!"
"Yes you do, you're doing it now!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ed was about to yell back but we both froze, tensing up. I could feel an evil aura resonating from across the table. The feeling of black tendrils choking me began. I don't know who looked but someone did. All I could remember was seeing the bottom of a shoe colliding with my face.
My cheek throbbed but I refused to whine. The last thing I wanted was to bring on Izumi's wrath back with any whine. I had a new found terror for that woman.
The bubbles from the soap slid off the now cleaned dishes. Izumi had put me on kitchen duty after slapping me with her sandal. I stared at the large pile of dishes and sighed heavily. Pouring soap into the empty side of the sink I thought to myself, 'Kitchen duty isn't so bad, just a ton of work.' Yet again, another sigh escaped my mouth. 'At least it will keep my mind off…' Shaking my head I snapped out of it, I refused to even think about remembering.
Instead I thought about something else. Winry, perfect subject. The blonde had gone off with Sig to grab extra groceries; leaving me and Ed to suffer. I was wrong, Winry would not protect me from that woman's wrath, no one could. I guess you could say I got off easy with kitchen duty; Izumi was currently chewing Ed out in the living room.
Curiosity got the better of me. I turned the faucet on and walked toward the door, lightly pressing my head against it. A grin flew to my lips, Ed was going to be punished like a little kid, and I would not miss that for anything in the world.
"We transmuted our mother!" My eyes widened as I took this information in. This was not what I expected Ed to say.
"We only wanted to see our mothers smile again." Al spoke next; the echoic voice was laced with such sorrow that it caused my heart to feel pangs of sympathy.
Suddenly, I heard a deafening crunch and a thud. "Your bigger fools than I thought! Ed you lost your right arm and left leg while Alphonse lost his entire body. Your directly disobeyed my teachings!" Izumi's voice was seething with anger. A thunderous smack echoed through my ears and was followed by another thud.
"Brother!" I guess Ed go slugged.
"I'm fine Al."
"Ed, I have one question for you." Izumi spoke once more. There was so much tension that it flowed from the pores of the door and into the kitchen; causing goose bumps to crawl on my skin. "Did you see it?" My breath hitched.
The silence seemed to go on forever, but finally Ed replied, "Yes." All of my suspicions had been correct.
"Sacrifices…" It came out as the smallest of whispers. Once again my thoughts were jumbled. The sound of rushing water brought me back to reality. My attention was drawn back to the sink and dirty dishes, but I was unable to see any of it. Bubbles had overrun half of the kitchen while I had been distracted. "Ah!" Swiftly, I ran over to the grand mess. The suds were spilling out of the sink and all over the floor. "What do I do?" My cry escalated, I grabbed the sides of my head and began to panic. Izumi was going to kill me. Taking my hands, I began to scoop up the bubbles and tossing it back into the overflowing sink. Sadly, with my poor luck, I tripped falling on my back with a loud thud. My brown poncho was no soaked and plastered to my thin frame.
"What the hell?" Izumi's voice boomed. I was so dead. If I thought that smack earlier hurt, then I had another thing coming.
I could already feel the bruises forming on my delicate skin.
The boat rocked back and forth on the choppy water. I laid my head on the side of the vassal and watched the long tips of my hair dip into the water. My body no longer hurts but trust me it had. Yesterday that woman had given me one hell of a beating.
Ed and Al sat on each side of me, while Izumi stood at the front of the boat. She had said something about re-educating and an island.
Sighing, I dipped my arm into the water as well. It was not cold but it was not warm either, just the right temperature. This was so boring; no one spoke or even moved.
"Stop that." I did not even turn my head when Ed spoke. I could just picture the way he was sitting, arms crossed with an annoyed expression.
"Stop what?" I rolled my eyes and stared deeply into the clear water. Fish, there were a lot of fish swimming around.
"Sighing so much, it's getting annoying."
"Well excuse me." Sand, now I could see the bottom. 'Wow, shallow just like Ed. 'I smirked to myself. The boat stopped, we must be here. I did not even bother moving.
Before a fight could break out between me and Ed, Izumi stepped in. She grabbed my poncho.
"What are you-" Before I could finish the half crazed woman tossed me out of the boat. With a hard thud, I landed on some not so soft sand.
Two more thuds and then the next thing I knew I was being crushed. She had tossed Ed and Al on top of me.
"Teacher!" Both boys hopped off of me. Gasping I took in air, sweet oxygen!
"It is the same rules as last time! You are here to survive for one month, with no alchemy!" Looking up I could see her beginning to row away.
"Hey!" Panic shot through me. "What about me? Why am I here?" I could not stay here, this was not happening.
Black daggers stabbed me as she finally looked up from her rowing. "If I let you stay in my house for a whole month you might end up destroying it!" Was she still mad about that?
"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry! Don't leave me here!"My pleas were in vain as she rowed away faster, soon disappearing.
"It will be okay Leah. We've survived on this island before." Al's reassuring voice did help, but not by a whole lot. I was touched that he was trying to comfort me, though.
Standing up, I smiled at the suit of armor. "Thanks Al." Glancing back at the horizon, I sighed. This was going to be a long month.
Ed's POV
Edward stoked the fire and glanced back over to his brother. Al sat in the water, waiting for the fish to come. It was a curse to have such a body, but it did come in handy.
Sighing, Ed sat back and looked towards the sky. It had been such a long time since him and his brother had been here. This was where he and his brother had learned the most important rule of alchemy, and despite it being so important they still broke it. Ed already knew the reasoning behind teacher placing him and his brother here.
"Edward!" Turning his head, he could see Leah running towards him. She was waving a piece of fruit in her hand. "Look, I found food!" A wide smile etched her face as she reached him and handed it to him.
"Thanks, why not go find more?" He was surprised and wary of her new demeanor; of course he did not hate it, it was better than constantly arguing with the girl.
"Sounds like a plan! What would you do without me?" A wide grin replaced her smile. He sweatdropped and slightly shook his head, he cannot mock her for being so arrogant; Edward was the same way.
Ed turned back to Al after she disappeared into the forest. "Alright Al, lets empty you out before she gets back." The last thing he wanted to do was explain why his brother had no body to Leah. Water poured out as Al clanked onto the shore. Opening his hatch a few fish fell out along with the remaining water. "Sweet, we got dinner! Teacher underestimates us!" Ed cheered, clenching his automail fist in triumph.
The smell of the fish made Ed's mouth water. He had not eaten breakfast or lunch and it was already late in the afternoon.
"Brother the fish is almost ready." Al sat next to him. The suit of armor prodded the fire making it crackle.
"Good, I'm starving!"
"Well that's too bad." What did his brother mean? Turning away from the delicious scented fish, Ed faced his brother. "We cannot eat without Leah." Oh yeah, she had done off earlier searching for more fruit but has yet to return. No wonder why it was so peaceful around here. "You will end up eating all of the food before she even knew it was ready!" Al was right, that's why Ed got a bit irritated. Despite becoming irritated, Ed knew there was no arguing with 'Mama' Al. Grumbling, he stood up and began to trudge away. "And don't even think of coming back without her!" Ed stepped into the dense foliage.
Ed was growing frustrated; he had been searching for half an hour and the heat was no aid. Seriously how long could it take to find a girl on a small island like this? Forever, that was Ed's answer!
His mind wandered as he trudged through the blistering forest. Al's attitude puzzled Ed even more; the suit of armor had been acting strange since they arrived in Dublith. 'Does Leah have anything to do with it?' The blonde wondered. The previous evening as the boys had been going to bed, Ed had asked him but all he could get out of his brother was, 'Don't worry, it is nothing.' The stubborn younger brother would not budge. Thinking like this only irritated Ed further.
Ruffling his hair, he stopped in his tracks and glared at a small rock in his path. Taking in a big breath, he launched forward and kicked the defenseless rock.
Blip
That did not sound like it hitting anything solid. Ed was puzzled, he knew he was somewhere close to the center of the island and so the beach was not anywhere within kicking distance. Curious as to what the rock had landed in, Ed followed where the sound had come from.
Once he reached his destination, his breath was stolen. A big pool of water glimmered in the late sun. The thick bushes gleamed from the dew that had formed. It was a beautiful sight to see.
"I guess it formed over the years." This was a new sight to the alchemist. New but still breathtaking. It had been years since Ed had been here with his brother so it only made since that the island would change as well. He knelt down and leaned over the edge of the pool, looking into the water. Despite squinting his eyes, Ed could not see the bottom. "It must be connected to the lake, basically a big hole in the middle of the island." He leaned upwards and placed his thumb under his chin and began to ponder the variety of ways that such a thing could form.
While the poor blonde pondered he failed to notice the growing shadow within the water. Ed was crushed as the shadow leapt out of the water and pinned him to the ground. Algae smothered his face, impairing his sight. "The hell?" He let out a cry as he squirmed trying to kick the thing off of him. Clapping his hands together he was ready to turn his automail into a weapon but the laughter of the creature stopped him.
"I can't believe you fell for that, some alchemic prodigy you are!" Leah got off of him and peeled the algae clinging to Ed's face. The girl's wide grin was met with his glare. She began to remove the algae that had been clinging to her soaked poncho, all the while laughing.
"I didn't expect that to happen!" Cheeks ablaze, he stood up.
"Calm down," She was still giggling, struggling to get her words out, "I was only messing with you."
Ed stayed silent but refused to admit defeat and so was glaring at the dirty blonde. Ignoring his glare, Leah grabbed the edge of her poncho and began to lift it. Quickly realizing what the girl was doing, Ed turned around a bright blush dusting his face. "What the hell are you doing?" Did this girl have no decency?
"What are you talking about?" With a wet plop, he heard the poncho fall to the ground.
Images assaulted his mind and he swatted each one away. A hand was placed on his shoulder and that is when Ed snapped. Smacking her hand away Ed turned facing her. "Don't touch me when your –" Blinking twice he realized that she was not naked. She had on a tight black shirt that barely covered her stomach. The sleeves hugged her thin arms and ended right at the elbow. Her baggy light brown shorts sagged lightly from the weight of the water; reaching just passed her knees. It was a simple outfit that was easily hidden beneath the poncho.
"Awwwww, you big pervert you. You were hoping to see naked, weren't you?" She widely smirked, that was never good.
"N-not true, I turned around s I couldn't see you! You have no decency!" The blush was out of control as he panicked to try and save his dignity.
She picked up her poncho and began to wring it out; the smirk still playing on her lips. "You're too easy to mess with sometimes." Lightly laughing she draped the damp poncho over her shoulder.
Once again he refused to admit defeat. "Well you are too carefree!" She only smiled and sat down. Dipping her feet into the water she let out a sigh. "What were you doing swimming around anyway? You were supposed to be collecting fruit." Giving in, he sat next to her but criss-crossed his legs instead.
"It was too hard to resist." The wind picked up and gently tugged their hair.
"Well Al sent me to get you; dinner is ready." He waited a moment for her to respond but got nothing. Her purple eyes were fixated on the water at the other side of the pool.
Ed was about to stand but Leah finally spoke. "Al's armor is empty, isn't it?" That stopped him in his tracks.
Silence hung thick in the air for several moments. "How do you know?" Being shocked was an understatement; Ed was stupefied. How did she know?
"Al was thrown on top of me, remember? The armor should have weighed a lot more than it did." Ed turned his head and faced her. Her all knowing gaze bore down on him. He waited, waited for her to ask what had happened to Al's body but the question never came. "You two must have suffered." She turned away from him, light dancing across her eyes as it turned back to the water. "You guys suffered so much, but still continue to keep going, that requires a lot of courage and strength."
Finally, Ed turned away from her. Silence once again hung like a curtain. She seemed to know some of their story, but Ed knew nothing of hers. "What about you? You speak as if you know what we went through."
More silence, and then, "Yeah, I suffered as well. Maybe not as much as you did, or maybe more but that doesn't matter. What you go through in life makes us who we are, no point in wishing we can take things back."
Ed watched the water lap against the mini beach shore. How much did she really know? Before he could ask her anything she spoke again.
"We should head back." The serious tone was gone, replaced with a cheery one. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "I'm hungry enough to eat all shares of the food!"
With his stomach taking over, Ed lost all other thoughts. "Oh hell no! You shouldn't get any food; you did nothing but relax in water!" He pointed an accusing finger at her.
Sticking her tongue out, she darted for the tree line, the poncho firmly gripped in her hand. Clenching back his string of curses, Ed darted after her.
IM SO SORRY THAT IT IS SO LATE! I was also having trouble on how to end this chapter and what kind of information I should throw in. I know you are all curious about who this girl is, some of you may even have a suspicion! I would like to know what yall think about whom this girl is and what her past might be. Of course I won't tell yall but it would be interesting! AGAIN SO SORRY IT WAS LATE! I will do my best to get the next chapter in on time. Plus in the next chapter yall are gonna see not only action but more info on this character!
Ed and Al: About time.
Me: What?
Ed: I am tired of not knowing who this chick is.
Me: You be fine, if you keep whining I might just not include that part in the next chapter.
Leah: Yeah Ed, People like having that mysterious character.
Ed: Sais you
Al: please review!