ALRIGHT! IT'S MAH HOLEEDAYZE!1!
Okay, so, guess what? I've got a puppy now! She's a little tan Cairn Terrier named Hachi, (short for hachimitsu, which is Japanese for honey. She's also named after the famous dog Hachi. And it's also eight in Japanese, so it's a lucky number.) and she's very cute.
I'm also collaborating with a friend of mine to write a Hetalia fanfic.
On with the thingy, the reference prize goes to BarkingLynx, although lots of others got it too and I am pleased to see that many of you gave me the entire scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. (And right down to the page number, greekfreak101!)
"I don't want to lose the boy with the bread."
Yeah! Let's gooo!
(Of Arthritis and Amestrian History)
"Ow."
Edward glanced up at the sky, grimacing at the dreary clouds laden with water and stupid, unnecessary atmospheric disturbance.
He had nothing against the rain itself, (in fact, he sort of liked to observe the Colonel Bastard's reactions to it) but the changes in the air that came with it were a real annoyance to his metal limbs.
Bending over, he rubbed the base of his left leg tenderly, reaching in through the tear in his trousers Saburo's sword had created and feeling around his skin.
It felt hot and swollen.
"Gonna rain for a while…" he muttered. "And heavy."
Moving through the city towards the towering structure if Kin Palace, the same dull pain started up in Edward's shoulder and began to make it's way across his chest.
The streets were considerably more empty by this stage, many people having seen the grumpy skies and run for cover from their oncoming wrath. The odd Kambeian still wandered the streets, however, and Edward returned brief greetings to those who sent them his way.
By the time he'd reached the palace, the first drops of rain had begun to fall, tiny and barely noticeable. Edward thanked whatever influential forces were out there for being on his side today and keeping him dry.
He growled under his breath as he half-limped up to the gates, the dull ache in his leg intensifying to an almost unbearable throb.
If Edward hadn't already been through worse, he might have called for help by now.
But no, he was Edward Elric, the most stubborn, most persistent, most enduring State Alchemist out there, and he was going to make it back to his room without anyone's help, darnit!
"Oh, now don't you start!" he hissed between clenched teeth as pain started to mount in his shoulder. It was times like this he almost wanted to murder whoever invented metal prosthetics for making them so damn painful.
He was allowed past the guards and through the gates into the front courtyard, the same one where all the pretty trees stood with blossoms waiting to burst. At least they would get something out of this troublesome spring downpour.
But even the beauty of the garden couldn't distract Edward from his current occupation. It was too painful. But he grit his teeth and kept walking with his head held high.
A couple more guards opened the inner gates to the castle and let Edward through. Great. How to go about the next part. Good going, Eddie. Really thought this one through.
Stairs. Three flights of stairs.
He could hardly hop up them on one leg, but putting pressure on his rapidly inflamed thigh wasn't the best way to treat the already immense pain.
He went over, no longer trying to hide the limp he'd been forced to adopt and allowing for his left hand to sneak up to his right shoulder stump and clutch it gently.
Favouring his right leg greatly, he pondered his predicament. He decided against transmuting the stairs into a ramp or other convenient lift on the grounds that if a guard saw, they might bring it up with Roy and then he'd be on the receiving end of a lecture on 'defiling important cultural structures with terrible taste and disregard for basic aesthetics'.
He had just decided that his only option would be to man up and climb the stairs when a familiar voice sounded.
"Master Ed, is that you? Why are you staring at the stairs? The allure and beautiful marble carvings are quite magnificent, but I didn't think that was any reason for a person to spend so long looking at them!"
Edward cast a glance over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows. "Oh! Inuya! It's you!"
"Yeah, I was just on my way back up to wait on the meeting on the fourth floor. I was sent on a message down here by the Emperor's esquire…just running some notes down to the repairman whilst I was free," the guide explained. "What are you doing here?"
"I went down into the city to do a bit of exploring," Edward explained.
"You should have notified us!" Inuya proclaimed. "I would have been able to show you all the best spots in Ranri!"
"I wouldn't want to pull you away from your duties," Edward said. "Your main job is my father, so you should just hang about him, right?"
"Well, technically it's to both of you…" Inuya's brow furrowed. "Say, why are you holding yourself that way? Almost like you're hurt."
He blinked. Then exploded. "Wait, you're not hurt, are you?! Did you get in a fight?! Aah! Your trousers are torn! You did get in a fight, didn't you?! I should have been there! I'm so sorry, Master Edward!" He flailed his arms around and then burst into tears.
Edward, flustered by Inuya's sudden outburst, made shushing movements with his irregular hands. "Hey, hey! Don't freak out! I didn't get in a fight! It's not your fault!"
"It's not?" Inuya sniffled, looking up with ashamed puppy dog eyes, tears still trapped within.
"No, no!" Edward assured him. "I had a sparring match with a samurai and his sword glanced my leg. But it bounced off metal, no harm done! I won without any injuries."
"Oh," Inuya straightened himself out. "Then what is wrong with you? You look like you're hurt."
"Well." Edward rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You said your duty was to both of us, right? You wouldn't be able to help me up the stairs to the third floor as you pass, wouldja?"
"Yeah! Of course!" Inuya exclaimed, instantly brightening at the prospect of providing his assistance. "But why?"
"Uh, you know how I have these metal limbs? My arm and leg?" Edward pointed at the two mentioned appendages. "Well, they get really sore when it rains heavy, and it's about to come bucketing down."
"Like arthritis?" Inuya asked as he walked over.
"Something like that," Edward responded, reluctantly accepting the fact that he needed Inuya to help him out here.
Supporting Edward's left, Inuya helped him make his way up to the third storey, conversing and asking questions the whole way to try and take Edward's mind off the pain.
When they reached the third floor, Edward managed to convince the escort to continue on his way. "I can get back to the rooms without you. I appreciate your help, man."
"Sure you don't want help?" Inuya asked worriedly. "It seems like you're in quite a bit of pain there…"
"I'll manage," Edward told him with a smirk. "I've had worse than this before."
"If you insist…" Inuya replied finally, turning and taking a few steps towards the next floor. "Be careful, then."
"'Kay." Edward watched him go until he disappeared from sight.
Seconds later, he let out a hiss of pain between his tightly clenched teeth as a spasm of pain wracked his chest from his arm. "Ow! Ow, ow, ouch!"
Rolling his shoulders, he stumbled forward towards the corridor the room he shared with Roy was situated in.
Reaching the door, he used the key he'd been supplied with to unlock it before pitching forward onto his hands and knees. Pushing the door closed with his flesh foot, he reached forward and used a sideboard to pull himself to his feet - er, foot - before hopping across the room and collapsing onto the sofa.
"Ah, ah, ah…! Ouch…!" He gently levered his leg onto the arm of the chair and rolled up the loose sleeve of his trousers to where he could see the part of his thigh where flesh met steel.
It was definitely swollen, an angry red colour against the light tan of his skin. Biting his lip, he prodded it softly and then decided to not do it again.
Gosh, it was going to be one hell of a downpour.
Easing off his jacket, he slung it over the back of the sofa before undoing the top few buttons on his shirt. His arm was in much the same condition and was aching up something terrible. His head had started to hurt too.
Edward made a mental note to treasure every moment he spent not in pain.
Sitting as still as possible, he let the throb of agony consume him. He closed his eyes, face creased with pain, and grit his teeth again as he waited for the storm to end. Or even start, first off.
He'd almost drifted off when the sound of the door clicking open snapped him back to full attention. Pulling himself up to see over the edge of the sofa, he caught Roy making his way into the room. The man let out a heavy sigh and trudged across the carpet before falling face down on the couch opposite.
"How was the—" Edward began.
Roy raised a hand for silence. "Don't even ask," he mumbled around a face full of pillow. "It was boring and stressful and pointless and Claudio wouldn't stop giving me a creepy stare and the Emperor talked for hours and gave me a really bad headache and now it's gonna rain."
Pause.
"Ngguhhh." Roy moaned. "Stupid world."
"How can you tell it's gonna rain?" Edward asked a few seconds later, puzzled. There weren't any windows between the meeting room and here, and Roy hadn't looked out the window when he'd arrived.
After a few seconds, his muffled voice responded, "Magical Flame Alchemist sixth sense - rain prediction powers." He wiggled his fingers theatrically.
Edward snorted. "Yeah, right."
"Hurts," said Roy eventually, raising a hand from his side and pointing to his knee. "Broke it jumping off a building. Metal pin. Scars tingle, too."
"You too then, huh?" Edward said, setting his head down on the arm of the chair.
For the first time since his arrival, Roy took a closer look at Edward's position. Turning his head to the side, he took in two metal limbs attached directly to flesh and bone and his own pain seemed insignificant.
Blinking wearily, the man sat up and straightened out the blue uniform he'd just crumpled after crashing face-first into the sofa. "Oh," was all he could bring himself to say.
Edward scowled, almost his signature expression now. "It hurts and it's all swollen now. I nearly had to drag myself back here."
Roy gazed at him thoughtfully as a clap of thunder echoed through the afternoon. Rain began to thunder down like bullets.
"Ow." Edward cringed as a tidal wave of gnawing pain surged into him from the ends of his severed limbs, clenching his left hand around the edge of the sofa. "Ow. Owowow, ow."
Lost, Roy stepped around the coffee table and over to the boy, casting worried glances around the room. "Ed, is there anything I can…?" He trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't know this stuff.
"Some heat would be good," Edward growled, scratching his fingers against the fabric of the couch. "If you could find something warm that'd be much appreciated…!"
Roy looked up from the boy, mentally running through his options. Warm, warm, something warm… Food - no. Blankets - no. Fire - definitely not. C'mon, what's warm? Warm that's not fire?
Ping! A light flicked on in the back of Roy's head as some half-hidden memory of his childhood resurfaced; as a young boy he'd been quite sensitive to the cold (sometimes he still was) and any of his caregivers had always known one particular item to be especially useful throughout the winter.
"Be right back!" he said quickly before vaulting the couch Edward was using and disappearing out the door.
The Fullmetal Alchemist just marvelled at how athletic the Colonel could be when he felt like it.
Seconds later, he reappeared, Inuya at his side. Both looked worryingly proud of themselves. Like the look of a child who'd stuffed a frog in the teacher's desk.
"What did you do?" Edward asked slowly, delicately strangling the life out of a small pillow that had been unfortunate enough to end up near his hand.
"Hot water bottles!" Inuya exclaimed proudly, snorting out a little huff of steam as he presented the things to the ceiling as if they were an offering to the gods.
"I'm good, aren't I?" Roy said, puffing his chest out and smirking victoriously. "I can solve anything."
"Whatever." Edward sighed, smirking back before shuddering in pain. "Ouch!"
The two others made for him, Roy placing one of the flubbery objects at Edward's knee and Inuya placing the other on his shoulder.
"That's better…" Edward murmured, loosening his grip on aforementioned unfortunate pillow. "But what kind of a hot water bottle is this? Last I checked they were made of ceramic."
"It's a new invention in Kambei," Inuya explained. "They're made of rubber now! It's a lot more efficient than before!"
"Oh," Edward replied. He paused. "Wait, how did you manage to get these and heat water so fast? You were only gone about thirty seconds…"
Roy slipped his gloved hand behind his back and tried to put out of his mind the crazy stunt he'd just performed involving a large bell, a rolled up cone of newspaper, a horseshoe and riding a metal serving tray down several odd staircases.
I have my moments," he answered cautiously.
Edward's suspicious glare lasted a few seconds longer before he rolled his eyes, settling himself into the sofa. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Roy said with a nod, back to his usual, no-nonsense attitude. This lasted about three point two-seven seconds before he himself flopped onto the floor like a ragdoll and let out a long sigh.
"Okay there, man?" Edward asked as his superior rolled under the coffee table.
"I'm going to barricade myself against the rain," came a depressed voice. "Because something is going to go wrong now that I've used up all of my luck for this evening."
"What are you on about this time?" Edward said, staring blandly at the man lying face-down on the carpet under a table.
"I told you, you don't even wanna see what my luck's like in this kind of weather," Roy mumbled. "Hot and wet and I'm doomed."
"Didn't know you took that stuff so seriously," said Edward, looking towards Inuya. "Thanks for the help, Inuya. You can go do whatever you like now."
"Yes, Master Edward!" Inuya exclaimed. "I'm happy to help!" He smiled. "I hope your auto-mail doesn't give you too much grief."
With that, he vanished out the door.
"It's coming for you, too, Ed…" moaned Roy in a ghostly voice, the area around the table darkening slightly as light hurried to skitter away from the Colonel's depressed aura.
Edward rolled his eyes again, massaging his shoulder. "If you say so, Roy, if you say so. On a more logical note, I phoned Lieutenant Hawkeye a couple of hours ago—"
"You what?!" Roy sat bolt upright, his forehead slamming into the only metal bar running through the entire length of the wooden table. It jumped slightly with the impact.
Edward winced as he watched Roy clasp his hands to his head and roll over, pulling himself out from underneath the table.
"Owowowowowow…" he muttered, tears sparking in the corners of his eyes as he rubbed his forehead tenderly. "You did what a couple of hours ago?"
"I called Hawkeye," Edward repeated, watching as Roy reached up to grab the arm of the couch and heaved himself to a standing position. "To let her know we were still alive, everything was going well, y'know…"
Their gazes met as Edward finished, "That kinda stuff."
Roy's eyes narrowed but his hand remained over his forehead. "How much did you tell her?"
"All of it," Edward answered unflinchingly. His golden eyes stared straight ahead.
Roy was the first to break the locked stare, closing his eyes and sighing. He moved his hand to run it through his hair. It leaned back when he pressed it down, but sprang forward to it's previous messy fringe only seconds after. "I see."
In a few seconds, Edward saw the man age by decades.
"I guess there was really no point in trying to pretend it didn't happen," Roy murmured. "I'd have to tell her eventually. And better sooner rather than later…she's less likely to shoot me for hiding it."
That tired, depressed, isolated look had come back into Roy's eyes.
It scared Edward a little.
"Come here a sec'," the Fullmetal Alchemist ordered, waving one hand in a beckon.
Roy obliged, more out of curiosity than the feeling that he needed to comply to Edward's wishes. He went around to Edward's side of the table, tripping on his feet and hitting his elbow off the bluntly pointed foot of the couch. He stood up, tripped again, then continued until he stood before Edward.
"Hands," the boy commanded, his own arm raised as if asking for handouts.
Roy raised his two gloved hands, his face lined with puzzlement. "What about them?"
Edward leaned towards him and slowly set to work tugging on the tips of Roy's fingers until he worked the stark white gloves loose, before folding them neatly and setting them on the cusion that he'd previously strangled. "When you want these, I've got them, 'kay?"
"Why would you—"
Edward cut him off. "I've got them."
He couldn't explain to the Colonel why he saw it fit to remove the gloves because he himself wasn't exactly sure anyways. It just seemed like the right thing to do, somehow.
Roy's brow creased, but he didn't press the matter any further. "Okay. Don't damage them."
"You say that like they're the only pair you brought," Edward said with a sceptical snort.
Roy raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "A fair point. But every pair is important."
Edward nestled his head into the arm rest. "I'm gonna try and get a little rest, okay? And I'm gonna do it here because there is no way I'll be making it to the bedroom. Or even my usual sleeping-on couch."
Now Roy noted that Edward was on the sofa he usually slept on.
"You do that," Roy said, wandering down to the bedroom, only tripping on his non-existent shoelaces twice. "I'll be in here if you need me."
Sitting down on the pillow/bed, Roy pulled a book off the nearest stack, several of which were situated about the room. He read the title.
'Alchemy; Myths and Legends'… He flipped it open and read through it. Huh.
Just because he didn't seem like the kind of man who would touch up on his studies didn't mean he wouldn't occasionally allow himself time to delve into the world of science! He was a State Alchemist, after all - if he didn't hand in a report on his findings, they'd take away his license.
Although he did highly doubt they'd actually do away with someone as powerful as himself, he still felt the need to hand up something different in his findings each year. Giving up a piece on the effectiveness of blowing stuff up worked well enough, but Roy was still an alchemist and he still enjoyed testing the limits of his mind.
Suddenly, he had an out-of-the-blue craving for something to drink. Standing and shaking his stiff muscles, he tiptoed down the corridor, past the slumbering Edward and out of the door.
He slipped on a banana peel and smacked his head on an anvil before he reached his destination.
He pulled on a string located just outside the door, and a young maid appeared mere moments later. This bell system was how the maids were summoned.
"Can I help you, sir?" she asked, her dark eyes gentle and doe-like.
"I'm in the mood for a drink," Roy told her quietly. "You know, nothing too strong. Just something to occupy myself with whilst I read."
"Certainly," she said. "I'll be right back."
And that she was, this time bearing a bottle in her hands and a small cup. "Enjoy. I believe this is what you are looking for, although I recommend that you do not drink too much. Kambeian alcohols are well-known for their potency."
Roy nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you very much."
The maid bowed her head and vanished once more.
Roy went past Edward once again, who seemed quite content to spend the night on the sofa. Slightly moving one of the hot water bottles, Roy was pleased to find that the swelling on Edward's knee had decreased rapidly.
He continued to the room, where he sat back down on the pillow and went back to his reading, pouring himself small amounts of the sake to sip occasionally. It had a strong, almost sweet flavour, meaning that Roy couldn't take much of it even if he wanted to.
After about three stacks, the man started to grow drowsy and his eyelids became heavier by the second. He turned the page of his current book - Alchemy's Effect on History, a fairly new book that had only been published a couple of months ago - and yawned.
He reached the next chapter in the Amestris section and his breath caught in this throat momentarily.
Amestris; The Eastern Rebellion.
He made a move to close the book but his hand froze halfway. His teeth showed slightly.
Dammit! His curiousity got the better of him and he flicked the book open again, knowing that he would regret it. But damn, he wanted to know what the book made of that war, seeing as he had actually been there.
Roy hated his own insatiable curiousity.
Was it good? Go on - review! I dare you! (Pweeeeeeease?)
So anyway, I have an advent calendar with Sully and Mike from Monsters. inc on it this year. Hooray for Christmas!
Also, I watched the Hetalia movie and then got hooked on Romano's Delicious Tomato song. And England's Pub and go. Heeheheheheheheh.
BulletWitch1985; Sorry. I just needed another thing starting with 's' that was mentioned in the chapter and 'scary teacher' was the first thing that came to mind, since she makes a brief mention in Ed's mind. -.-" Sorry…
SasunaruEverblue; Me no have the pocky!
'Til next time, dudes! Zakuro away! *I'm seriously out of things to say regarding rainbows now. Maybe I should start running away or driving a tank or something*