Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Spirit of Alchemy ❯ On the way to Machiko Mansion ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

'Could you tell us how to get to the Machiko mansion?' The boy's words echoed through Michi's head. She just looked at him, stunned. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she found her voice again. "Uh... Sure, in fact, I can take you there." She still avoided eye contact with this strange person. She no longer cared about the train. If someone was looking for her, her house, well... Finding out why, exactly, beat a train ride to who-knows-where any day.

"So," Michi said, gathering the courage to look at the two people she was leading to her house, "why are you going to Machiko's mansion anyway?" She was careful not to say anything that indicated who she was, suspecting that they may not tell her if she said it was her house.

"We wanted to see something," came the not-so-very-clear answer. Michi looked at the speaker. He wore a suit of armor, so she couldn't see what he looked like. He sounded pretty young -- at least, younger than his companion, with the blonde hair and red jacket.

"Are you two brothers?" Michi asked.

"Yep. That's my brother, Al," the blonde said, gesturing towards the metal armor, "and I'm Ed."

Michi nodded, indicating that she'd heard, but not giving her own name away. "Pleased to meet you," she said, and looked away, walking down the dirt path. She stopped for a second to admire the beauty of the flowers along the path, and to look up ahead. In the distance, on top of a hill, she could just barely make out her mansion, in the dim light of the rising sun. She turned to look at her two companions. Ed looked slightly impatient, but Al, on the other hand, seemed to be appreciative of the view. Michi continued walking, trying not to upset them. She wanted to ask them more about why they were there, but didn't know if they would be annoyed at her questions, or if they'd answer.

But the silence was overwhelming. She looked down at the ground, and walked a little more quickly. She wanted to be a little bit ahead of them, so she could talk comfortably, avoiding their gaze.

"I'm sorry, but.... Are you the eldest?" she asked, temporarily turned, looking right at Ed

Ed stopped in his tracks. He looked towards Al, then slowly looked at Michi again. "Don't be sorry! 'Least you're intelligent enough to figure that out." He said, in a manner so that he either meant 'You're an intelligent person, smart enough to figure that out,' or 'You seem so stupid, I'm amazed you actually figured it out'. He looked slightly annoyed, and Michi guessed it was common for people to guess their ages incorrectly. She figured it was probably because of his height, but didn't say so, thinking it would be rude to say something like that.

"How did you know that brother was older?" Al asked, walking behind Ed, who had continued walking, and looking curiously at Michi.

"He sounds older -- even though in that armor, you're taller."

For a second, there was silence. Ed stopped dead again. He looked at her, a very scary expression indeed on his face. Al sighed, and reached for his older brother's arms, to hold him back. He seemed used to it, making Michi wonder briefly just what it was that was going to happen.






Then she found out.




The quiet of sunrise was interrupted with a shout of, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORTER THAN A MICRO-SIZED SPECK OF DUST?!?" from Edward. He looked ready to lunge at Michi.

Michi looked at him, taken aback. Then, she started crying, trying to hide it. "I'm s-sorry! I-I didn't m-mean f-f-f-or it to sound that way!" she said, her voice breaking. She rubbed her eyes furiously, trying to get rid of the tears stinging them.

Ed stopped mid struggle to watch Michi. He hadn't expected that sort of reaction.

"H-hey..." he stuttered, unsure of what to say next.

Michi looked at him. She wanted to be left alone, but she had to guide them to her house now. She briefly considered claiming she was lost, or running off, but that probably wouldn't work with these two. Besides, she didn't like lying, and was still very curious to know what they wanted with her house. That, and, there was nowhere else she could go anyway; the train had left by now, and another one wouldn't be there until midday. Michi just kept walking, for the time being, ignoring Ed. He fell silent, and just walked. An eerie silence settled over everyone.

Michi was mad. 'How could I have let them see me cry?! How could I get so upset over him yelling? I hate it........ I'm so weak... I shouldn't let myself cry over something as stupid as that!' her face burned in shame -- not that anyone could see that.

After a few seconds, Al broke the uncomfortable silence "Is that the mansion?" he asked, pointing up the hill, and examining what appeared to be a photograph.

"Mmm," she said, looking up at the house, with the red words on the windows. "Is that a photograph?" she asked, pointing towards the paper Al was holding.

"Yeah. It's of Mr. Machiko and his daughter, Michi," Ed said. "The most prominent pair in alchemy."

Michi's heart thumped. 'Why do they have a photo of my dad and... me?' Al held the photo out for Michi to take, but she didn't. Instead, she looked at it from over Al's shoulder.

"Did you want to speak with Mr. Machiko?" she asked.

"Yes," Ed said, "he may know an alternative way to make what we need."

She looked at him. "What's that, if I may ask?" she looked away, scared that he'd get mad again.

To her surprise, he only looked at her. "What happened here?" he asked, pointing to the red letters.

She blinked and looked up at the letters. "Michi left them to warn the townspeople that she'd be returning. They want her house, but her father... Well, his last wish was that this house be somewhere she could always return to, as long as she wanted it."

" 'Last wish'?" Ed breathed. "Meaning........."

"Akira Machiko is deceased. He has been for over five years now," Michi stated, in a detatched sort of way. She felt as if someone other than herself were speaking of her father's death. "He died in a fire. It was horrible. The fire destroyed his house. His daughter.. She rebuilt it with alchemy - much as the townspeople figured she would."
"He's.... dead? Damn..." Ed muttered.

"And his daughter isn't here anymore either..." Al sighed.

"Yeah, we coulda talked to her about it, at least.. Well, I guess we'll just have to keep moving then... Damn it... This was the last lead.." Ed trailed off. He had a strange expression on his face. He seemed both in shock, and angry. Taking a deep breath, he began yelling. "DAMN IT WHY DO ALL OUR LEADS END UP DEAD OR THE FREAKING BAD GUYS?!" His shout sent birds flying up into the sky. Michi was surprised that the townspeople managed to stay asleep with all of this racket. Then again, her mansion was seperated from the town, so they probably didn't hear..

Ed sighed, now calmed down. "Thanks for your help anyway," he said, looking at Michi.

"It was no trouble," Michi said, edging away from him.

"By the way, what's your name?" Al asked, looking at her.

She smiled slightly. Ignoring her irregular heartbeat, she took a deep breath, and looked at both of them. "My name is Michi... Michi Machiko."




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AN: Okay, chappy two is up! XD I have no inspiration for the next chapter -- Well, that's not true.. I do have inspiration, I just have no motivation. So, until I decide to stop procrastinating, and just start WRITING, there probably won't be any more updates. Of course, if you REALLY like it so far, you could R&R, and maybe that'd motivate me. XD You don't have to though, I'm bound to start writing more again sooner or later, and honestly, I don't think it's that good of a story, so there's no real reason to make you people R&R two chapters that are just junk. XD