Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Demonic Misadventure ❯ Solo ( Chapter 3 )

Envy: *walks in, bandaged up*

 

Zeal: PHOO-EEEY! *pinches nose shut* Envy, you smell!

 

Envy: *eye twitches angrily* I got smacked around by a fish! OF COURSE I smell!!

 

Miranda: *pincher on her nose* You need a bath!

 

Envy: Grr!! You hungry?

 

Miranda: Yeah! ^_^

 

Envy: Good!! *grabs Miranda by her shirt* `Cuz I've got a knuckle-sandwich with your name on it!!

 

Miranda: AAAAH!! *covers her face*

 

Brunette: I dun think so! *yanks Envy back by the scruff of his neck*

 

Envy: Hey!! Let me go!! ><

 

Brunette: … *smirks* Okay. *drops Envy on his bum*

 

Envy: OUCH!! >.< …Who the hell are you anyway?!

 

Brunette: Not telling. At least not now… Ja ne minna!! *waves and disappears through the portal*

 

Zeal: *shakes head* Sheesh…

 

Miranda: Hihi! That's all folks! ^-^

 

Envy: Excuse me?! We still have to start!!

 

Zeal: GET GOING THEN!! *heals Envy and sends him spiraling through the portal*

 

Envy: YAAAH!!

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Solo

 

Envy was sitting slightly angry at the spot where Naji had been sitting previously, rubbing a lump at the back of his head. Naji simply wiped off the blood off her scythe, and licking up the drops from her fingers. Needless to say, the tension was so thick you probably couldn't cut it with Naji's scythe.

 

And it probably would've lasted for quite some time if…

 

“HIII!!!”

 

Envy nearly jumped a hole in the air, but he managed to calm down a bit, before glaring at the source of the sound. “Shut up, stupid brat!”

 

Aku grinned cheekily, walking over to their position, one sword slung over her shoulder and the other dragging behind her. “Neeeee… why's tha? I's was jus' sayin' I'm back!”

 

“Yeah, so I heard!” Envy grumbled, trying to unplug his ear.

 

Naji snorted, before standing up. “…I should be off,” she said, much to Envy's delight.

 

“Whaaaa? But why, Naji-kuuuuun?” Aku whined with a very sad look on her face.

 

Naji nodded once and said: “Hunter,” before she turned tail and ran.

 

Envy blinked, before looking over to Aku. “Hunter??”

 

“Demon Hunter. Solo's back!”

 

“Solo???”

 

“That'd be me!” a voice from behind Envy suddenly said, making said Homonculus leap up with a yowl. The guy standing behind Envy laughed as he sat down on the place where Naji sat a few seconds ago. “What are you? A cat or something? Awfully high-strung aren't ya?”

 

“Gimme a break! I got the shit scared out of me by one too many Demons alright?!?!”

 

As the guy, Solo, no doubt, chuckled a bit, Envy took a moment to study him. He couldn't possibly be any older than 17, 18 at the most.

 

The guy's hair was long and would've reached his backside, but it was pulled up along the underside, tied near his neck to avoid it from getting tangled. However, the hair on top of his head was spiky and seemed to have been ruffled several times, letting the unruly locks hang all around his face. His hair was a chocolate brown color, with several chestnut highlights here and there. Whether those were natural or self-applied couldn't be said just yet.

 

He was dressed in a pretty long, black coat, much like the one he'd seen on Ed all the time, only this one had several emblems adorned in the chest with silver. He also wore a hat of some kind, though it wasn't your average hat. It reminded him of the ones he saw on Vampire Hunters.

 

Frowning a bit, Envy decided to ask: “Who the hell are you?! And how the hell do ya dare ta compare me to a cat!?”

 

The guy just looked up with a grin, and Envy blinked when he realized the guy had two different eyes. The left was cobalt, the right was amethyst. And shockingly, he had slits running through his eyes.

 

“Me? Name's Solo, and I assume you've met Aku,” the guy said with a nod to said girl.

 

“Yep-yeps!” Aku chirped with a smile, stabbing her swords into the ground before sitting back against them. “He's Envy-kun, ne?”

 

Envy decided to ignore Aku for the moment, and focused on Solo. “And you're a Demon as well? Judging by your eyes.”

 

“Nope.”

 

“…no?”

 

Solo shrugged and said: “No. I'm a Demon Hunter/Summoner.”

 

“…`Summoner'?? What's that?”

 

“Where've you been?! Under a rock?”

 

Aku giggled at that comment, and Envy twitched a little bit. “No, I've been in the Gate!”

 

Solo's smirk instantly faded from his face and he stared at Envy with a look that could only be described as awe. “The… the Gate?!”

 

Envy blinked, before it seemed to dawn on him. “YOU KNOW THE GATE?!?!”

 

“YOWCH!! Don't shout like that, will ya?!”

 

“Owchie!”

 

Envy snorted, before he spoke again. “Whatever… but really, do you know the Gate?”

 

Solo just shrugged, removing his hat and using it as a makeshift fan. “Maybe… maybe not… What's it to ya?”

 

The Homonculus groaned and hung his head. “Great… I'm always stuck with the idiots…”

 

“I'm not an idiot,” Solo retorted icily, making the green-haired male look up in surprise. He gulped when he stared straight into the other boy's eyes. His eyes were ablaze with anger, which was obviously not a good thing. “This `idiot' is simply trying to make a living. I don't work for free, ya know.”

 

Envy rolled his eyes. “It was just a figure of speech, bozo.” That was a flat-out lie, but alright…

 

“Listen onna, I don't give a damn about that. But if you don't like me, fine.” With that, Solo put his hat back on his head and stood up. Dusting his bum off, he tipped his head to Aku, and walked off without another word.

 

Envy sweatdropped a bit, watching Solo walk off. “Soooo… what next?”

 

“Solo! Wait up!!” Aku called out, making Solo pause and turn to look over his shoulder. “Can't yous help Envy-kun in finding his way back?”

 

Solo shrugged. “Maybe. Don't think he'd be interested though…”

 

Envy glared, before he hissed: “Maybe some other time.” To himself, he added `I'm not leaving till I kill that bastard!'

 

The brunette said nothing, before shrugging again and starting to walk again, until he started running and vanished from sight.

 

“Neeeeeeeeeeee???” Aku droned, rubbing the back of her head. “How's he do tha all the time?”

 

“Ch. Humans…”

 

“So wha's the `Gate'?” Aku chirped, plopping down in Envy's lap, usual grin in place.

 

Said Homonculus was literally seething in anger. “Three words kid; get-the hell-off!!”

 

Aku blinked, and made a quick count on her hands. “…Tha's four words.”

 

Envy was about to just strangle the small Demon… when he realized something. “You've got five fingers! Every other Demon has four and you've got five!”

 

The small Demon looked at Envy strangely, before she looked down at her hands. Her eternal smile seemed to melt like snow before the sun as she watched her tiny claws. “…uh… What'd I say?”

 

“…I… I…” Aku bit her lip as she started shaking, hanging her head to hide her face. “…mommy always said… not to go to the hospital… alone… I… I entered a human…” At that point, she held up a hand to her face. “…I came out like this…” She bit her lip harder, before she promptly latched onto Envy, crying.

 

Envy didn't even have the chance to pull back, and he didn't think it'd help any. He'd never been good in consoling anyone, especially little kids, so he tried to recall how Sloth had comforted Wrath. He didn't feel like losing the one person who could get him to Hohenheim so soon. Somehow, he managed to reach around and run his hand over her head, patting her small head as she just about drenched his shirt.

 

 

 

Blinking his eyes open, Envy found himself staring up at a ceiling. “Whuh?! Where the hell am I this time!?”

 

“Aku's old place,” came a familiar voice. Looking up, Envy found himself looking at a familiar set of dual-colored eyes with vertical slits.

 

“SOLO?!!?”

 

Said Demon Hunter smirked simply, closing the door to the living-room. It was at that point, Envy realized he was lying on a sofa. “Whuh… what happened??”

 

“Bunch of Demons showed up,” Solo mumbled, shrugging off his coat and taking off his hat. Hanging both on the coat-rack, he ran his hands through his hair. Under the coat, he wore a simple black shirt, with a silver emblem on the front. “Aku took most of the damage.”

 

“…Where is she?”

 

Solo blinked, before he shrugged, pointing over to one of the recliners. Huddled up like a little kitty-cat, was Aku, bandaged up in white cloth, dyed red at several places. She had a ribbon tied around her forehead, and she didn't look too good, as her skin was way too pale, even for her.

 

“Blunt force trauma to the back of her head. She'll sleep for a while…” Solo said before Envy could even ask a thing.

 

Envy shut his yap and nodded, before he surveyed the room he was in. It was… to put it bluntly; cozy. Nothing in the room said a thing about the child now lying curled up in the recliner, as if she hadn't lived there, like Solo had said. Or at least, not in a while. Other than the three of them, it seemed to be abandoned. There was a layer of dust on the coffee-table in front of him.

 

Just for the hell of it, he reached over and wrote down “wash me” in the dust. Looking around, he saw that the windows were barred shut, preventing sunlight from entering the room, and shrouding it in darkness. Luckily, Solo had lit a few candles beforehand, out of reach from either him or Aku.

 

By the looks of things, the place was mainly made of wood, so chances are it'd catch fire if one of the candles tipped. Envy spotted the kitchen a bit off to the side, though that too seemed to need a good dusting. No doubt the fridge was empty, too. Realizing that something was warming his face, he turned ahead, staring straight into a fire.

 

A fire place.

 

Snorting a little, Envy looked around once more. There was a broken fan on the ceiling, though it was still spinning around lazily, though not producing much cool air. As he looked behind him, he spotted a bookcase, with a number of thick leather-bound books lining the shelves. He also realized Solo had left the room somewhere between him writing on the table and looking around. Standing up, he stalked over to the bookcase (kicking up dust as he went) and took a moment to study the titles.

 

Spotting a book that was thicker than most, he peeked over his shoulder. Solo was still nowhere to be seen. With a grin on his face, he reached out quickly and snatched the book from the shelf and opened it at the first page. He blinked a little in surprise at the message written in handwriting that seemed… hauntingly familiar.

 

 

 

“In celebration of our 4th anniversary”

 

 

 

Frowning a little, he flipped the page… and couldn't help a small smile.

 

It was a photo-album.

 

The very first picture showed a girl, barely older than 16, 17 at the most. She had long, wavy black hair, and she had darker skin than most others. Sort of like the Ishbalans and the people of Lior. She was coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her torso, and obviously, whoever had snapped the photo wasn't very welcome, though she was laughing as she reached for a pillow behind her.

 

Below it, was written “Shower fun”.

 

Flipping several pages ahead, he came to the same woman. This time, however, there was one major difference. She'd gained quite some pounds, and yet she was proudly puffing up said stomach, holding a hand to the beach ball that had become her tummy. But then he saw what was written below it.

 

 

 

“And baby makes three.”

 

 

 

His eyes lighting up a bit, Envy hurried over to the couch and sat down Indian-style, the photo-album propped up on his knees, as he flipped further. After a little while, he stopped at the picture of a little girl, probably no older than 3, 4. She was playing with blocks, stacking them up to make what seemed like a tower.

 

She had short, dark hair, though her skin and hair were lighter than her mom's. It took him a minute, but then he recognized the happy little smile on the girl's face, because he'd seen that smile over a thousand times on one day.

 

“…Aku?” he whispered, before looking at the text under it.

 

 

 

“Twin Towers… before collapsing.”

 

 

 

Blinking, Envy flipped the next page --- and could just stop laughing as he saw the small girl surrounded by blocks, grinning innocently at the camera.

 

 

 

“Ground Zero.”

 

 

 

Flipping through the book, Envy came across pictures of many of the girl's experiences, going from the time she was still a little baby, to about 7, 8 years of age. She didn't have many friends by the looks of things, as most times, it was either just her on the photograph, or her and her mom.

 

There was no doubt about it that the girl was Aku though, as she was almost a mirror-image of the girl (safe her discoloration and Demon features). Not to mention that both Aku and the girl had the same smile/grin.

 

Deciding to speed up, he flipped to the very last page to find… nothing.

 

Blinking Envy flipped back a few pages.

 

All the pages were blank.

 

Envy frowned a bit, before he seemed to realize. Aku had said she'd entered the hospital against her mother's wishes, and came out a Demon…

 

Maybe she'd been too afraid to return home after that, which would explain the sudden lack of pictures.

 

Deciding to head for the very last picture, he finally found it --- and nearly had a heart attack, the book slipping from suddenly numb fingers…

 

 

 

The very last picture was a group-shot. In front, was the young girl, Aku, no doubt, grinning like an idiot. Behind the girl, stood her mother, smiling warmly into the camera. But that wasn't what had his attention though…

 

It was the man standing behind them. He had one arm wrapped around the woman's shoulders, and his other hand rested on Aku's shoulder. Unlike her mother, the man was a blonde, and his hair nearly reached his shoulders. His eyes were a misty, dark golden, and were shaded behind a set of spectacles, half-moons, which gave him the look of a teacher.

 

There was no way he wouldn't recognize that face, even though he had never liked to look at it in the first place.

 

The face of the man… was his own…

 

 

 

-OWARI

 

 

 

Envy: o.o;;; Uhhh…

 

Miranda: Awwww! Envy's got a new girlfriend! ^-^

 

Envy: >.<*

 

Zeal: Well, not really. Technically Aku'd be his---

 

Envy: DON'T SAY IT!!!

 

Zeal: …daughter. *smirks*

 

Envy: ARGH!! I SAID DON'T SAY IT!!! >.<

 

Zeal: Do I ever listen to a word you say?

 

Envy: …no.

 

Zeal: Good. Glad we're clear on that.

 

Aku: Ooooyyyyy… can't yous be a bit quieters… I's is tryin' ta sleep…

 

Miranda: Awwww… so cute! Just like someone else I know. *grins*

 

Envy: Grrrr…

 

Aku: …Oy? *looks back and forth drowsily*

 

Solo: Go back to sleep, chibi.

 

Aku: …`kay. *toddles off*

 

Envy: …That reminds me; what the fuck does “onna” mean?

 

Miranda: Uhhh… ya dun wanna know…

 

Envy: Well I DO wanna know! That's why I asked!!

 

Miranda: Yeah, but…

 

Solo: It's Japanese for “woman”.

 

Miranda: …

 

Zeal: …

 

Envy: …

 

*dead silence*

 

Zeal: Solo… run for it…

 

Solo: Gone. *zoom*

 

Envy: GET THE HELL BACK HERE YOU GODDAMN --- *dashes after him*

 

Zeal: Go Solo!!

 

Envy: WHOSE FUCKING SIDE'RE YOU ON!?!?

 

Zeal: *sighs* *sarcastically while waving a small flag with the Orouboros on it* Envy, Envy, he's the man. If he can't do it… GOOD!!

 

Envy: >.<