Kamaitachi Chronicles

By: Aviantei

Twenty-Nine

"Liaoning?"

I don't know why I'd bothered phrasing it like a question; I wasn't quite capable of confusing one person for another, barring any twin shenanigans. The color of his hair, the shape of his face, the way he moved as he talked—it was all him. And if there was someone I knew in town, there was no reason not to use that connection to help out with the mission on hand, even if I was going to be interrupting a conversation in the first place.

"Hey, Liaoning!"

I raised my hand in a wave, hoping to catch his attention. And I succeeded—though not with the results I'd intended. He turned at the sound of his name, mouth half opened for a response, froze the moment he saw me, then gave a hasty farewell to who he'd been talking to and slipped around the corner in a sprint.

He can't be that upset to see me, can he?

I frowned, replaying the scene in my mind. No doubt, he'd recognized me before he'd left, so then why leave. "Someone you know?" Mustang asked.

"Yeah, but…" I sighed, not liking the theories that I was starting to form. "We can't talk about it here, though. Let's just get takeout and talk it back over at the hotel."

Looks like I'd ended up in a line of work that allowed no time for rest.

"Nicolaus Liaoning. He was another State Alchemist candidate at my certification exam."

As much as I craved eating in a restaurant, I couldn't deny sharing the intel I had was much more important. So we'd cleared out our shopping, Mustang letting me use the desk to eat at while he set up shop while sitting on the edge of the bed. Not that either of us were doing much in the way of eating as I explained my circumstances.

"We crossed paths, and he gave me some insight on my transmutation circle before my demonstration. He seemed friendly, so I don't think he has any ill will." And yet, since he'd run away the moment he saw me… "I think he either knows something about my fake, or he is my fake. That's my working theory at the moment. And as for why he'd do something like this…"

I've been working so hard because I want to help people, too. If you're a State Alchemist, you get all sorts of research funds and stipends. My town's not the best out there, and I do a lot with alchemy, but having that money would mean I could do so much more, you know?

"…He just wants to help his hometown. That's why he was testing in the first place." Why he'd tested several times over, at that. It had been a goal he'd been working towards for years—and here I was, snagging that position on my first try, thanks to complete coincidence. "Honō, what sort of punishment does one end up getting for impersonating a state official?" Because if my theory was right, I at least needed to know what I was going to be getting Liaoning into.

"A combination of fines and jail time, in short. Neither in small amounts." I grimaced. If Liaoning had had money, he wouldn't have felt the need to try and be a State Alchemist in the first place. "In more extreme cases, capital punishment wouldn't be out of the question if the actions taken involve abuse of power and harming others." Yeah, that was even worse, and that Mustang could say so in such a calm demeanor wasn't doing my mood any favors. "Kamaitachi," he said, his tone stern, "you don't want to let your personal feelings get mixed up in your work. This isn't a place that will take too kind to that. I'm sure you understand that."

"I don't need you to lecture me." As if I hadn't snapped at him, Mustang shrugged and pulled out his dinner roll from his to-go bag. "Besides, isn't this supposed to be a test of how I handle things? I didn't ask for your opinion, so don't give it." My head was way too full with everything I was thinking about, let alone Mustang adding more pressure. "I'll figure something out by morning. So if you could leave me alone until then, that'd be great." Was I on the verge of throwing a tantrum? Sure, but if I didn't have some quiet, I'd be the one with a bounty on my head, and then we'd just have a bigger mess on or hands.

"Alright, alright. Just make sure you eat your dinner."

We didn't say another word to each other for the rest of the night.

I didn't feel better by morning. I didn't get a lot of sleep, my head too full with thoughts. I'd at least been able to channel that energy into making some progress on my scythe research, but it wasn't like that was going to solve the problem. When it came down to it, I'd fallen asleep on top of my notes, so I had a nasty crick in my back when I woke up, a blanket draped over my shoulders that very much had not been there before.

So Mustang had taken pity on me. Not quite how I wanted to start my day.

Whatever. You have a job to do. It's time to focus. At least Mustang didn't comment on it, and neither did I. We got ready, got some quick breakfast, and went hunting for the local phonebook—more of a pamphlet than a book, due to the size. Since people knew about their local "State Alchemist," we doubted he was in hiding. And since we had a name, there was nothing stopping us from finding Liaoning's address and heading there.

The address was on the edge of town—which wasn't that hard to be whenever town wasn't all that big. The house wasn't all that big, either, and the tractor and other various bits of farm equipment made it clear that the fields of wheat nearby were theirs. On the way past, I ran a hand over the food of the tractor, feeling a little bit nostalgic. If I hadn't happened to take that alchemy request at that moment, would I have even crossed paths with Mustang? Would Liaoning even be trying to impersonate me, or would he have found someone else's title to swipe? Would he have earned his way into the ranks of the military on his own?

"So we're here," Mustang said. He hadn't put his gloves on, so he wasn't in combat mode, but I could see how he was adjusting the accessory that wasn't even there. It would've been novel to see him looking so uncertain if we weren't about to possibly head into a conflict with someone I knew. "What's the plan?"

"Well, first we check and see if Liaoning is here. If not, we'll have to ask where he went. If he is, we'll need to talk with him." I wasn't about to go in with guns blazing without an explanation first.

"And if he doesn't want to talk to you?"

I pursed my lips. Of course he would ask the one question I didn't want to hear. "I don't want to have to, but I'm not against pulling on my authority. It's not as if we're not within our rights to pull a warrant based on what we know."

"And if he fights?"

"We're both combat-oriented State Alchemists, Honō. I trust we're more than capable of apprehending him alive in that instance." And if it went that far, he'd just be confirming that he was doing something suspicious. Tired of dealing with hypotheticals, I strode straight towards the door, Mustang following behind me. We were still in our civilian clothes, so we didn't look all that intimidating, so the peace option it was.

In other words, I knocked on the door.

It took a few moments, but it opened soon enough. I hadn't expected it to be that easy, but it turned out it wasn't Liaoning who opened up, but instead an older gentleman. "Hello," he said.

"Hello," I said in return, operating on autopilot. I might've stayed stunned were it not for Mustang's presence behind me, and I cleared my throat before offering a smile. "Sorry to drop by without notice. Is Liao—" It occurred to me that, if they were living together, there was every chance this man was also a Liaoning, too. "—Nicolaus home? We wanted to ask if he could help us with some alchemy."

"We're from out of town," Mustang said, having put on the same friendly attitude he'd used with the waitress the other day. "We'll be here a bit longer, but if we could see him today, that would be for the best."

The old man nodded in understanding. "My, people have heard of him from that far away, have they?" He had no idea, considering we were from East City, but there was no point in bringing up such a thing. "He should still be in his room, so I'll go get him. Why don't you two come in?" Liaoning the Elder waved us in, shuffling further back into the house. The furnishings were pretty modest, and the living and kitchen areas were combined, the shelves with a handful of Xingese knickknacks scattered about. It doesn't look like any extortion was happening here, so maybe we can resolve this without too much issue?

"Don't let your guard down," Mustang murmured, snapping me out of my thoughts. "If your friend ran on you yesterday, we don't know what he'll do once he sees us."

"I was hoping that being in his house near his family would prevent anything drastic," I murmured back. It felt a little bit manipulative, but I was a fan of avoiding casualties wherever I could. The experience in Central had left a sour taste in my mouth, all things considered. "Let's just sit down and act polite, and that should make things a lot easier." Which was perhaps an unrealistic expectation when it came to the both of us, but still.

Don't make this hard on me, Liaoning. I don't want to fight you.

But would I if I had to?

If it'll keep other people from getting hurt. You never could be sure of what someone would do when backed into a corner.

Footsteps came from the hallway, and Mustang and I both tensed—not enough to be obvious to anyone else, but plenty obvious to each other. Mustang had folded his hands over his knee, and he gripped them tighter, so as to keep himself from putting on a glove right away. I hadn't quite been able to resist the urge to put my hand over my capsule in my pocket, but I realized that was a bad look and gripped onto the edge of the couch instead.

Then Liaoning entered the room (grandfather behind him), his face turning conflicted in an instant. "Caiman," he said, sounding resigned, "I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"That you expected me at all means you know why I'm here." He flinched, which was sinking my chances of making this a happy ending. "Before we get to any of that, though, I'd like to have a talk. Do tell, Liaoning, how did you expect to see me?"

Liaoning's dark eyes wandered over to Mustang, who had dome such a good job at looking innocent that it had looped all the way around to being suspicious. "Grandpa, my friends and I need to talk in private. Do you mind going out to the garden for a bit?"

"No problem, no problem. Don't forget to make them some tea, though. That's just good manners." And with that, the old man hobbled out through the kitchen. I didn't see him leave the house, but I heard it, none of us moving until the sound of a door closing echoed out through the silent house.

Liaoning made the first move, stepping forward. It seemed he didn't have any intentions of fighting, though he didn't sit down or go to the kitchen, where his back would be turned on us. "Who's your friend, Caiman?"

"Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist," Mustang said. Liaoning flinched again, his face contorting into a grimace. "That saves me some explanations. I'll leave the rest to Kamaitachi, then. This is her job, after all."

If couldn't pick up on such an obvious segue into me taking the reins, then I'd have to question my suitability for my line of work. "I'm not going to waste my time lecturing you, Liaoning. You know how serious what you're doing is. I'd just like to know what you're trying to accomplish." That had been bothering me the whole time, not to mention he had chosen my name in particular.

Of course I was going to be invested in the matter, fuck the military's involvement.

"I told you, didn't I?" Liaoning asked, though he had no intention of waiting for me to answer. "Not that I expect you to remember. I've been trying to get a State Certification for years now. I promised myself that this year was going to be the one for sure." But he hadn't made it—I had. "My family believed in me. My whole town believed in me. If I'd gone back without passing, I would've let everyone down."

"So you lied about the result." It all tracked with what Mustang and I had guessed so far, though I had doubts such a plan could be effective. "You mentioned that you wanted to help your hometown out with the state funding, though. I'm not sure how you intended to accomplish that part of your ruse."

"…I told everyone that I was focusing on my research, and that I needed to go to the nearby city's bank to access anything. I haven't made false gold or anything like that." Which was good, because that was a much bigger crime, so one less thing to worry about. "I've been trying to come up with some sort of breakthrough to give me a chance at the next exam, but I haven't been having much luck. I was hoping I could pass this year and make it not a lie, but it looks like word got out to you first."

Liaoning smiled, but it was empty of any joy. In comparison to the face of the young man enthralled by alchemy I had met before, he seemed hollow. "You were using the title of an alchemist who wasn't stationed anywhere near you. Of course some people were going to be suspicious."

"Are you familiar with the myth of the Sickle Weasel?" Liaoning asked, to which I nodded. "Then you know it's a Xingese fable. That's about why I picked it for myself. I thought using a real title would provide better cover in case someone looked into it, and yours seemed fitting. It even gave Grandfather a good laugh when I told my family about it." Liaoning sighed. "I just wanted to bring some more life to my town. Even without funding, if people thought a State Alchemist lived here, then they'd come and visit. It hasn't been all that much, but we've seen some more tourism. Plus I am an alchemist, so I'm capable of solving most people's problems."

"But none of that's going to do you any good since you've been found out," Mustang said, his tone rather calm considering the circumstances. "You would've done much more good for this place just continuing to study and practice your skills, rather than trying to pull off a dangerous case of fraud."

"Perhaps, but you two are already here. It's not like I can take it back. I'm going to face consequences, either way. But don't you think," Liaoning said, stopping behind an empty chair in the living room and pressing his hands behind it, "that the story of someone who impersonated a State Alchemist and managed to escape will be a pretty good piece of tourist bait?"

And then there was the all too familiar flash of light from alchemy, signaling that Liaoning was not about to go down without a fight.

[Author's Notes]

One more chapter left in Part One - are you ready?

Thanks to kitcat93 for the follow. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

This time, we get a lot of answers to questions! We also get a cliffhanger, because of course. I had fun pulling this one together, so I hope you all enjoy.

The next chapter will be the season finale and drop in two weeks! Please look forward to it.

-Avi

[10.14.2023]