Shiro Mori

It ended up being longer than a week before they could activate the arrays because their best place had turned out to be right in the bloody Temple—they needed permission to do it, and a space near the middle of the building (at least the altitude wouldn't matter) prepared for them to do it in. While Ed and the alchemists were working that out with the Priests (he was sure the majority were only hearing them out because 'Jed' was an Avatar of Ishbala), things were happening elsewhere. The first he knew of them was when Wrath stepped into his path while he was on his way home from the Temple one day a little over a week after he'd spoken with Minerva.

He froze and stared for a moment, then heard a faint sigh and an annoyed mutter in what he thought at first was Wutain, so looked past and off to Bradley's side—where he saw a man dressed in robes similar to the ones worn by many native Wutains in their homeland. The twenty-some-odd-year-old man also looked generally Wutain, but his eyes were shockingly blue (a lot like Cloud's when he didn't have Mako enhancements, actually) while his hair was plain black and tied in a high tail which fell nearly to his waist. The man's clothes seemed to have 'priestly' allusions to them, but he was sure they weren't either Wutain or Xingese.

"Well met, child," the Führer-homunculus began genially with a smile. "I have someone I'd like you to meet. You see, there were some oddities about you which I felt it best to look into, and this young man has agreed to see what he may of the situation here. Meet our new Japanese Ambassador, Shiro Mori (1). Mr. Mori, meet young Jed, the Ishbalan boy I told you about."

Well, that answered the question of where the man had come from. Even though soldiers had brought back word of Japan and some things like their games, Ed had never met a Japanese man before. But, Shiro Mori's intensity as he gazed at him and gave a small, formal bow at the introduction worried him. To be polite, Ed gave a bow back, but it was the way Ishbalans bowed, not the way Wutains or the Japanese did.

Then, the Japanese man said in a faintly accented voice, "You have very interesting energy, Jed-kun."

"Do I, Sir?" Jed asked warily.

"Very much so," the man agreed. "Two distinctive energies are flowing within you in a quantity I have previously only seen in a spirit who had taken a tangible form for a time. Yet, you are no spirit—that, too, is true. Also, the odd barrier hovering in this region has a good many holes in it, all of which leak energy. Energy which is somehow invariably trailing to you primarily. Though, it admittedly flows to the rest of your people as well, it does not in the same quantity as it does to you."

Right then, he wanted to actually gasp 'holy fuck', because honestly—how in the world could anyone besides a planetary sentience have worked all that out just by looking at him? Wait—was he somehow seeing energy?

His stunned expression made the man chuckle lightly and say, "My family has had an affinity to the skills of a particular group in our society for a very long time. That skill is known as onmyoudou, which is practiced by onmyouji. There is no accurate translation for it in your language, or in any other. However, a basic skill most onmyouji have is the ability to see energy and spirits—the world is a much more colorful place for us. We also qualify as nobility in Japan, and are advisors to the Emperor or—as needed—Ambassadors to distant lands. We were curious about why our deity has apparently taken an interest in the affairs of this part of the world of late, so I agreed to visit when the Führer requested assistance. I am glad to have done so."

Blinking, Ed realized that was a skill Wutains had long-since lost, and their likely closest approximation was the half-Eidolons. Or, no onmyoujis had crossed over to the Planet with them, so they had never really had it, but that would have been unlikely. "Why are you glad you came?" Ed managed to make himself ask. The rest was actually a bit much to process all at once. Did they always talk to their children that way? Though, he should probably be thankful they did...

"Because this is a very rare and unique situation to find myself in, between the Führer being a made human and you effectively being two deities housing themselves in a human body," Shiro replied in amusement.

And Ed immediately scowled, though a part of him was amused to note Wrath also scowling. "First, they're planetary sentiences, not 'deities', and second, they're not 'housing themselves in me.' The energy you can see just lets them talk with and keep track of me."

His brow rose, then he smirked and agreed, "Yes, Lady Amaterasu has said much the same to us before. We, as such, associate the term 'deity' with planetary essences and with their various spirit-form helpers, largely because it happens to be an easier word to say and sufficiently explains things to the common person, who cares not for such particulars so long as the message is clear." Ed stared for a moment, then blinked as the man went on, "And I appreciate you having admitted you know those details—it would have been odd of you to not."

During the whole discussion, the Führer had kept silent, but then he decided to ask, "So am I correct in my assessment that those—beings of yours are preventing him from being severely harmed, Mr. Mori?"

"Oh, that is most certainly a part of it, though I daresay this child may have protected himself from the man you called Kimblee, and the deity who responded may only have provided power. The child may not know how to direct those energies himself, or know only partially—he is only six years old, after all," Shiro told the man in some amusement. "In the other incident you spoke of, it would be unlikely to have been him unless he somehow already had complete control of his powers. As for the girl—Amaterasu has informed some of our number that she kept the girl from your sight because you were far too close to having done something you would have regretted."

There was a long silence as Ed realized one of the other four sentiences really had done what he'd thought, for both him and Winry, but then the Führer asked, "And why would a deity from the Far East have done such a thing for a child here? What relevance do these events and people have to you or your people?"

"Mine, Xing's, and a multitude of other nations in that area," Shiro replied in vague amusement. "You were about to do something which would have impacted us. And I do not mean through trade—you and we did without the other's goods for thousands of years, and we both could and would do so again."

That was when Ed actively realized this man spoke in much the same way as the first Sephiroth he'd met had. It made him glad any Sephiroth who had known Lady Shinra, Vincent, and Lucrecia (like the current one) had normal speech patterns.

"Then what would have been the problem?" Wrath asked curiously.

With a sigh, the Japanese man replied, "I will be blunt, Führer Bradley. I do not care what you are or how you were made, but this war of yours must stop, otherwise the results will be explosive and your forces here—which is ninety percent of your military—will be obliterated. Amestris will cease to exist without that force to defend its borders. That explosive force will even reach us on our islands and will damage us, both directly and through a forced change in weather patterns which would take likely decades to settle. In fact, it is highly likely only the Ishbalans would take no damage, though their buildings and such may well cease to exist. A building can be rebuilt. A person cannot. Or many of them."

The homunculus' gaze moved to Ed's surprised one, then the man sighed and said, "I don't know that I can 'just stop' the war. I have Generals I also report to, and most of them want this war whole-heartedly. I'm also not sure the Ishbalans would accept peace after so long, and our peoples intrinsically don't get along due to incompatible belief systems."

"Only because you don't teach Amestrians tolerance, you teach them militaristic absolutes," Ed commented bitterly, and both men looked at him in surprise.

"You've never spoken to me using such advanced words before," Wrath commented. "I thought your language ability was merely the average of any other child in this area."

"Mr. Mori already gave you the reason," the boy answered flatly, and Bradley blinked.

Then, the Führer asked, "So, do you believe this war is solely Amestris' fault?"

Snorting in amusement, Ed answered, "No. You were the instigator, though. And I'm trying to fix the things causing an issue on the Ishbalan side so hostility goes down, because that's what Ishbala wants. And you can stop the war, and you know it. Unless, of course, your only real goal is to paint the land with blood."

The Führer's gaze suddenly sharpened and there was a flash of movement—and Shiro Mori was between Ed and Wrath, his own katana blade (where had it come from?) blocking the homunculus' sword only about an inch from Ed's neck. At his angle, Ed was just able to see a moment of surprise in Shiro's gaze before his expression became angry and turned on the Führer. Those locked blades were still so close to him, but he somehow couldn't move (he vaguely realized it was a spike of sudden panic at the close call), and everyone nearby had stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the sound of ringing metal.

"You will not harm this child, regardless of your temper, Führer," Shiro informed the man in a shockingly cold tone. "Step back. Now. And if you are unable to keep control of yourself, I suggest you leave."

"Jed!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted in alarm, and he felt Rashad's large hands pulling him back and gathering him in his arms protectively. Rather than watch what happened next, he just hid his face in the older man's shoulder. He needed to get down off the panic before it became a full-on attack.

A silence which felt very long followed, then a calm-voiced Führer said, "As such, we'll return to camp."

"I will be staying here for now. You go on ahead," Shiro Mori's still-cold voice answered.

Another long silence fell, then Rashad asked quietly, "What happened, and who are you? Thank you for protecting my son, by the way."

"Yes, that. You are quite welcome, though I have never been able to move so fast in my life without support from a deity. Normally, that would have been Amaterasu...However, it was not she who gave me such an ability just now. That only reinforces how important that child is to this world—to all of its deities," the Japanese man replied, then gave his formal introduction again, and Rashad gave his own. "As for what took place...Perhaps we should go to a place where your son will be able to rest?"

Soon after, they were at Rashad's, Al cuddling with his brother in Ed's room while Zahir, Nasima, Rashad, and Shiro went over the situation in the living room. Not long after they started, Winry joined them, as did her 'parents'. And for once, Ed really didn't care what they were discussing without him—he was being calmed by Minerva's assurances in his head and Al's and Winry's presences at his sides.

FoWD-HC

In the morning (Al, Winry, and their families had left the night before), Ed was yawning when he got to the kitchen—and just stopped to stare in surprise when he saw Shiro sitting at the table while Rashad prepared their usual breakfast. The Japanese man turned to him and offered a small smile and a, "Good morning, Jed-kun. Or should I call you Edward-kun in private?"

First, Ed blinked at the man, then looked at Rashad and asked, "You told him that?"

"Did you think I would be able to get out of it after the very unusual way you reacted to Wrath's attack, or after he realized just how much you know?"

"Does that mean you told him everything?" the boy asked in annoyance as he sat at the table—and Shiro chuckled.

"Probably?" Rashad replied questioningly. "I might have forgotten some things. You'd better eat, because Zahir and Nasima will be here soon so the lot of you can go try bargaining with the Priests for space again. Shiro wants to see your arrays and go with you."

Ed snorted. "You're on a first-name basis already?" His gaze moved to a highly amused Shiro as he asked, "Don't your people really take a long time to give others permission to be so 'informal' with you?"

"Normally," Shiro agreed. "However, nothing about this situation is normal from the start, and honestly—Ishbalans are so incredibly informal it would be nearly impossible for me to maintain such a formality here. Yes, that means you may call me Shiro as well. Fighting over what one is called when much more important things must be done is foolish."

Ed began giggling at the words, knowing both that it was true, and that some people were anal enough about it to do so anyway. Though, he did have to admit that calling someone what they wanted to be called was still an issue of respect, and the proper thing to do once you knew what they wanted to be called was to do so.

"Okay, then," the boy agreed once he stopped giggling. "Do you have paper here, or do I have to get some from my room, Rashad?"

"The drawer in the corner by the door should have some," the man answered, and Ed quickly rose to retrieve it and begin drawing out the arrays the group had finally decided on.

"What are you doing?" Shiro asked in mild surprise.

"Drawing out the arrays for you," Ed answered. "I've memorized them and can replicate them in small form in about an hour for this number. So, I make a habit of starting with the main array and the others more-or-less in the order they would activate in once the main array is activated. Unless you only want the main one?"

"The main one and the ones which direct it to its actual task—guards, defenses, details of interactions with the surroundings, those types of things are unnecessary for my primary assessment," Shiro answered, gaze thoughtful. "So it is also true you are no child. I had wondered by the way you naturally speak."

"Did Rashad also tell you who—and what—the Führer really is? Or about the woman he told you about who became energy lights?" the boy asked absently as he worked.

"Both are made beings known as homunculi, the woman called Lust and the man called Wrath. He said there are also others," the Japanese man explained.

"Seven in total, eight if their 'Father' counts as one entirely, and the more I think on it, the more sure I am that he doesn't quite qualify as one," Ed nodded. "The first one 'born' was Pride, though he's either being, or going to be, put into a child's body the way Wrath was put into an actual man's. So was Greed, for that matter, though I never found out if his original form was that, or if that was only something which happened later because Greed acted against their 'Father'. Lust, Sloth, Envy, and Gluttony are the last ones."

"Amestris' Seven Sins by their religion," Shiro commented with a raised brow.

"And the funny part is that 'Father' removing those from himself didn't make him any less arrogant, prideful, or anything else he wasn't already," the boy replied with a wolfish grin and a glance at a startled Shiro, then he went back to drawing. "All he was doing was splitting his soul and making himself more insanely determined that his path was the right one. But hey, that's corruption for you. Some people are actually so insane they would rather destroy the world than take a loss of power or wealth, so..."

"Oh, yes, that is indeed a common symptom of insanity, to think one could actually, truly control the world or its sentient people to such an extent. More so because they all feel they somehow have the right to do so," Shiro agreed in amusement. "Thankfully, our world is not easily destroyed."

"Yeah, but there were two utterly insane fools on Minerva's who almost alternately managed to utterly destroy it unless we managed to stop them on time. And Jenova—the insane sentience there—sure didn't help matters because she was trying to destroy the world, too. Minerva described the remains of Jenova as 'a frightened infant', though, so maybe she's not completely lost yet."

"That is an intriguing point," Shiro admitted. "Though for one deity to give such an opportunity to another who tried to destroy them is very, very rare, and Minerva is a truly kind and caring deity."

"Ishbala is actually nearly a duplicate of her in perspective," Ed replied dryly. "By the way, other than Ishbala, who is genderless and agreeable to a male pronoun, and Amaterasu, who is female, what about the other three sentiences?"

The Japanese man chuckled and answered, "Well-thought. There is another female who seems to span much of the southern planet—only the continent south of here is not under her direction. The other two are male."

"Hmmm...So this world was actually oddly balanced, with two males, two females, and one who hasn't chosen. Minerva would be a third female, and Ishbala might just make the choice to be male then. The only oddity in that case would be infant-Jenova," Ed mused thoughtfully, then paused in his drawing for a moment to turn back to Shiro directly to ask, "Where in the world did your sword come from?"

The man's brow rose, but his lips quirked. "It is composed of solidified energy and is referred to as an 'ethereal blade'. That is, it has a type of soul. There are ethereal blades forged by taking the base of an actual blade and merging the energy into it. That could have been more general 'energy' which gained varying degrees of sentience once compressed into a stable space, or it could have been an actual soul allowing itself to be bonded to the blade.

"Mine is one of a rare type which was formed by a soul choosing to take the shape of a blade so one whom they deem as 'worthy' could use them, and they never need to fear being used by one they have not chosen. As such, they have no actual weight—which is often far more difficult to control than a weighted blade—and they have a kind of holding space within the flow of planetary energy which keeps them until their user calls. That was where I took it from when it appeared, and where it returned to when I released it."

Ed blinked at him in something like amazement as he commented, "That sounds an awful lot like what I do with Minerva's Materia..."

"Materia?" Shiro asked curiously.

Going back to the drawings he needed to finish—he was almost done with the actual 'function' ones the man wanted—he explained, "Solidified planetary energy which allows access to effects like fire, ice, or healing. Most have a sort-of emotional presence in a way, but they aren't sentient. The 'Summon' Materia, however..." Ed paused to point the top of his charcoal at Shiro and finished, "Are just like your sword. Except, when you need their help, you call their name and they appear, like Odin or Bahamut. And I perfected a way of storing them in the energy making up Minerva's core so that, no matter what dimension I was in, I could access them."

The black haired man blinked slowly in surprise, then asked, "And she allowed you to do such a thing?"

"Of course she did," Ed answered flatly. "I've been with her for nine thousand years, Shiro. I've been struggling through pain, and death, and torture, to try to save her, and within a hundred years, she'd started letting me access her core for things like that. She didn't want to see me suffer, and that was something she could allow me which did help, a lot. So, she allowed me to place literal 'holding arrays' there to—"

Suddenly, the boy cut himself off as his eyes widened in realization and he shut his eyes to reach for Minerva's core. She eyed him curiously as he scanned the massive arrays there—and while he found the 'holding' arrays (full of his Materia—even though he hadn't shoved them into it this time—and other Materia besides), he also found the arrays storing his shapeshift form. It was still there.

It looked more masculine, and more like a child's form.

Suddenly, he began giggling with mirth, which caused Minerva to send him a questioning sense, even as both Shiro and Rashad traded puzzled, apprehensive looks before focusing on Ed again. :My shapeshift form!: he gasped to Minerva through his laughter. :How is it there? Shouldn't I have lost that when all the experiments done to me were undone?:

:My Ancient Sentinel...: she sighed in vague bemusement. :A true shapeshift form is not bound to your genetics, it is bound to your soul and energy. It operates by switching the physical body you are currently using with the other which matches certain viable specifications. The experiments previously done to you had created a non-viable form, and the shapeshift form would not hold until some of my little children learned to remove some of those energy barriers. As it is bound to your current soul—both older and younger—it has chosen to keep itself closer to your physical size so you will have fewer difficulties in directing its movement when you take it. However, until I was within range for you to reach my core, you could not have taken it, regardless.:

:Wait, does that mean Ed's a child right now?: Aeris' voice cut in to ask in amazed confusion.

:Yes, Aeris, I look like a six-year-old,: Ed replied in an annoyed tone—which turned into a scowl directed at her as she began giggling.

:I can't wait to see how cute you are!: she told him happily, and he just sighed.

Then, Ed blinked. :Wait, that's how 'Vincent's soul' is always the one bound to Chaos, too, isn't it?:

:It is,: Minerva agreed.

Damn...Maybe there wouldn't be quite as many changes as he'd thought. :So will it hurt to take it?:

:Did it once you had a true shapeshift form?: Minerva asked in reply, sounding highly amused.

:...No,: he blinked. :Okay, then...But it's still going to do strange things to fur under my clothes, isn't it?:

:That it may, yes. And to your tail and wings unless you have given them space in your clothing,: she informed him.

He knew those troubles, too, but until the Gaians could reestablish themselves, there was really very little he could do about it—he now didn't have his suit like Vincent's which would change with his shapeshift form to accommodate it. Thanking her and giving Aeris a quick parting mental hug, he returned his attention to the two men in the room with him, where Rashad was putting breakfast on the table and Shiro was still sitting and watching him apprehensively.

"So, what just happened this time?" Rashad asked in a dry, resigned tone.

"Um...Apparently true shapeshifting is soul-bound, not genetics-bound, so I can still shapeshift now that Minerva's in range. It's just that I'm going to look more like a winged, humanoid kitten than a grown cat in that form until I physically grow up," Ed told the man in wry amusement. "I thought of it when I was talking about the holding arrays in Minerva's core—there had been similar arrays she made for my shapeshift form in her core, too. That was what I just went to check on, and they're still present and accessible. And Aeris got a laugh over the fact that I'm now a child."

"Do me a favor and don't, please?" Rashad sighed. "There will be no possible way to hide or explain that away."

"I only really do in emergencies. And there's a good chance I'd have to build up its strength again after a year of disuse in which I haven't been in stasis," Ed answered in amusement, then quickly finished the last of the arrays for Shiro and pushed them over to him. "I'm surprised you have nothing to say after hearing that, though," the boy commented to the onmyouji.

Shiro smiled faintly and answered, "Why should I be when I know a good many shapeshifters? All you have done is given me an explanation for how that functions." As he did, he picked up the arrays to examine them thoughtfully.

Ed blinked. "You know other shapeshifters?"

"I do. A few of those are onmyouji. Some we nominally call 'demons', though we generally mean 'long-lived, physical beings with power' when we use the term, even for ones we feel were generated by 'wishes' of people. Others are some of the deities when they take a tangible, or even human, form. It is an intensive path of study and can take many years to perfect, though we almost expect it of deities and demons at this point. My family line even stems from a demon-human pairing over a thousand years ago, when the demon had taken human form to mate. I have never held the interest to learn it myself, though my ancestor has tried to teach me."

That made Ed blink again as he tried to process what that meant—then his brain shut down and he said, "I won't ask. Nope. No way, no how." He then began eating as Shiro burst into laughter and Rashad just smiled and sighed in faint amusement.

Notes:

(1) Shiro Mori is introduced this way because 'Europeans' place given names before family names. Technically, if he introduced himself, it would be Mori Shiro, after the traditional method of Japanese name arrangements. The character template isn't based on anyone in particular, just on the general idea of what an onmyouji is. He's also the only Japanese person who will appear in the story. And, well...you'll see what ends up happening to him. He insisted to my muse that he wanted this name, and this persona, and even the path he'll end up on because of it. In the meantime, adding him just kick-started my brain into realizing I almost made huge plot holes, so please thank him for being a useful OC!