Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Descent ❯ Sparring ( Chapter 31 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: ZaKai

Descent

Chapter Thirty-One

Sparring

As the train pulled into the small station in Dublith, Ed tapped his fingers impatiently on his suitcase. He just wanted the train to stop so that he could get out and have a smoke. At this moment, that was all he cared about. He felt jittery and irritable, and the damn train was just taking its sweet time...

When the announcement came that passengers could unload, Ed jumped up, grabbed his suitcase and pushed people out of his way as he hurried toward the door. As soon as he was off the train, Ed dropped the suitcase, pulled a cigarette out, and lit it.

After he took the first drag, Ed glared down at the cigarette. Since leaving Central, he'd found out just how incredibly frustrating it could be not to be able to smoke when he wanted to. Maybe I should quit... he thought. He'd started smoking to relax, but having to go without like this was definitely not a relaxing experience. Ed shook his head and took another puff. He'd worry about that later. Perhaps he'd quit when he got back to Central...

Ed glanced around and frowned when he saw another train on one of the different tracks with soldiers filing out of it. He scanned the line and found three more trains with soldiers unloading or milling about. Strange... he thought, until he remembered the Fuhrer's orders about sending troops to each part of the country.

So, he thought, taking a drag and pulling the cigarette out of his mouth to blow out the smoke. They're just arriving here... He didn't think he needed to worry about anything, but it was good information to have.

Realizing he'd smoked the cigarette down to the filter, Ed flicked it away with a finger and pulled out another one. He didn't generally have two at a time, but he'd gone a whole fucking long time without one.

Putting the cigarette in his mouth, Ed lit it, then watched Sig exit the train and look around as if searching for someone. The teen raised a hand to show where he was and the big man looked at him, then beyond him. Ed's forehead crinkled in confusion and he was about to call out to the man when he heard someone speak behind him.

“What do you think you're doing?”

Ed's body stiffened. In all his frustration over not being able to smoke on the train, and the soldiers, he hadn't thought that perhaps Izumi would come to meet her husband at the station.

Slowly, Ed turned and looked up into his former teacher's scowling face. For a moment, they just stared at each other, then the woman reached over and plucked the cigarette from Ed's mouth, dropped it on the ground and crushed it beneath her sandal.

He opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when her scowl deepened.

Maybe he'd quit now...

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Bartholomew Kagegkuski quickly passed the rows of tents as he made his way to the council meeting he was to attend shortly. Looking to the right, he saw a group of women; washing clothes, hanging clothes on a drying line, and mending or sewing clothes. Older children were helping with the chores, and younger children were running around, laughing, and playing.

He frowned and shook his head. He didn't like women and children traveling with the army. The women contributed much by doing the laundry and the cooking, but he still worried. The little children caused him even more worry, but there was nothing to be done about it. Many of the men refused to leave their families behind, preferring to risk their death by war rather than death by poverty and starvation.

He supposed he could understand them, but he didn't like the idea of women and children being in harm's way. But, besides the danger aspect, it also brought more mouths to feed. The women earned their share, and so did many of the older children, but the little ones... They didn't do anything to contribute to their cause, and if rations were cut short, it was the little ones who would die first.

Bartholomew sighed. No matter how much he disliked the situation, there really wasn't anything he could do about it either. He needed the men more than he didn't want the children there.

His eyes darted to the left and he stopped walking. In the shadow between two tents was a darkly clad woman with her arms crossed beneath her breasts. Bartholomew looked around quickly before changing direction to her. As soon as he was near her, he said, “What are you doing here?” Normally she only came to speak with him at night.

She smiled languidly. “You're on your way to meet with the council.” It wasn't a question. He nodded. The council was partially made up of generals, some of whom were from the original organization, some leaders from various towns they had convinced to join their cause, and some were men who were well known by the people or the soldiers. The third group was an especially important addition to the council because they had a better idea of what the people wanted than the town leaders or the generals.

“I want you to propose taking over East City,” she said calmly, as if she were suggesting they all just take a nice long stroll in the park.

“What!” he hissed. “Are you insane? We have a fairly sizable force and the backing we have from most of the East is substantial, but... East City... Dammit woman! Their main eastern force is stationed in East City, not to mention the state alchemists they have there. We have alchemists, but they're not nearly as skilled.”

“I think you give your alchemists too little credit. You've done a good job attracting talented alchemists to your cause.”

He shook his head. “I still don't think it's a risk we should take. The Fuhrer hasn't sent a big force at us yet, but if we take over East City...”

“Don't worry about the Fuhrer,” she said, cutting him off. “He won't be sending anything sizable against you for a while. If you follow my plan, East City will be yours long before he sends a large force against you, and by the time that happens you'll be able to keep the city.”

He frowned in thought and searched her face. She hadn't led him astray yet... Finally he nodded. “Tell me your plan.”

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Ed trudged down the road, carrying his suitcase with one hand and holding his black trench coat in the other. He'd forgotten how fucking hot it was in the South during summer...

“Ed! Is that you?”

The teen looked up and saw one of Izumi and Sig's workers, Mason, walking toward them with a grin on his face. Ed nodded and when Mason reached out his hand, Ed growled, “Pat my head and die.”

The man grinned and said, “Wasn't going to. You've grown a couple of inches!” This was said with a few hard pats on his back.

“Of course!” the teen seethed indignantly. “What'd you think, that I'd stay short forever?”

“You just might if you keep smoking,” Izumi growled. Ed made an exasperated sound. There was no way he was going to hear the end of this...

Mason shook his head, and said, “So how old are you now?”

“Seventeen,” he answered defensively. “But my birthday is next week...”(1) He trailed off. Until he'd said it, he'd completely forgotten about it...

“Oh, really? We should have some sort of a party. How long are you staying?”

Ed glanced at Izumi, who was folding her arms and glaring at him. “Err… well, I'm not sure…” Not long if he had his way. He didn't need a lecture every time he wanted a smoke. He could just go back to Central and get that from Mustang... “Probably just a couple of days. I have other responsibilities to attend to...” He hoped they didn't ask what those were, since it had just come out without him thinking.

“Hm, well, stay long enough for us to have a party at least,” Mason said with a grin, then glanced at Sig. “You want me to take that knife back to the shop?” When Sig shook his head, the other man nodded, then started away with a small wave.

Izumi looked up at her husband and murmured, “You can go. I'll be fine.” He hesitated for a moment, then followed after his employee. Ed watched them go for a moment before Izumi spoke. “I hope you've kept up on your training.”

He cringed inside a little. Except for that one little sparring match with Roy, which could hardly be called that, he really hadn't done much since leaving Rizembool. He'd been so depressed for a while and then he'd been so busy researching and, well, fucking...

She grunted as if the guilt was painted across his face, and walked toward the front door of the house. Sighing, Ed followed her, knowing full well that he was going to pay for his neglect...

He watched as she let herself into the house, then reluctantly followed after her and shut the door behind him. Ed breathed out slowly, grateful for the cool interior of the house after the heat of the day. He followed Izumi to the back of the house and was about to ask if he could put his stuff away when she pointed to the back door.

“Just set your stuff on the back porch. I think you could use a sparring match.”

“Well, I'd kind of hoped to rest for a bit,” he explained with a hopeful grin. “I mean, I've been traveling all this time and...”

“Outside!” she barked.

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered immediately, thinking that at least he'd get a break once she whooped his ass, which he was soooo sure she was going to do. That's just what Izumi did when you did something she wasn't happy about...

Opening the door, Ed let himself out onto the back porch and stopped when he saw a young, blond boy practicing. Dropping his suitcase and coat off to the side, Ed turned and looked at Izumi who had followed him out.

“What's he doing here?” He didn't even know that Izumi knew the Tringham brothers...

“It's a long story. Suffice it to say that I've decided to take him in as a student for a short amount of time.” She turned her head and barked in that commanding way she had, “Fletcher!” The boy stopped what he was doing and turned toward her, then looked at Ed in surprise before running over to meet them.

“Ed... what are you doing here?” the boy asked. By his tone, Ed wasn't sure if Fletcher was happy to see him or not.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he replied, then added, looking around, “Where's Russell?” Where Fletcher was, his annoying older brother was sure to be near.

The boy glanced nervously at Izumi and said, looking back at Ed, “He went to Rizembool...”

Ed blinked. “To Rizembool? But... why?”

Fletcher opened his mouth to speak, but Izumi cut him off. “Edward is in need of some sparring, and you need someone to spar with. Now get out there.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Fletcher said immediately, but Ed hesitated. This was Fletcher after all... How good of a spar partner could he be...?

He was about to voice those concerns when Izumi scowled at him and said, “Or perhaps you'd rather spar with me?”

“No, that's alright,” Ed said quickly. He was sure he'd get his chance soon enough, best to warm up with the kid first.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Al grinned as he watched Winry try to follow his instructions before he pulled her arm in and moved her fist slightly. “Like that,” he instructed. “Now punch.” She did so and he laughed, shaking his head. “Don't swing. Punch. Like this.” He took a stance and punched forward, striking at the air.

The blonde mechanic watched his demonstration before trying to copy him. It was very sloppy, but it wasn't bad either. He thought that if she spent a good amount of time training, she could get rather proficient. She looked at him, then scowled before folding her arms and giving him a stubborn look.

“What?” he asked at the sudden change in her attitude.

“You're laughing at me!”

He was about to protest when he realized that he really had been laughing at her. “Well, okay, I was, but not because you looked bad or anything.”

“Yeah right,” she growled. “I don't see why I need to learn how to fight like you, Al. If I'm in trouble, I'll just smack someone with a wrench.”

That brought another laugh from him. Shaking his head, he said, “You're not always going to have a wrench on hand. I'm not saying you have to learn how to fight like me, but I'd just feel better if you knew a few self defense moves.”

“You worry way too much, Alphonse,” Winry murmured, trying the move again. Al watched her fumble with the move, and thought fondly of when he and Ed had begun training together. Those really had been good times, despite his brother's desperate drive to bring their mom back.

He missed those days.

He missed Ed.

It was funny how you really didn't appreciate something until it was gone. True, his brother was frustratingly stubborn sometimes, but he had a lot of good points too. Correcting Winry's stance, Al stepped back to let her continue practicing.

Perhaps after he and Winry were married, he'd go try to find Ed. Really try. He had a feeling his brother was in Central, or at least he had been when he'd spoken to Colonel Mustang. Al still felt a little irritated that the colonel would lie to him like that, but perhaps he'd had a good reason...

Or perhaps he'd done it simply because Ed was under his command. From what he could tell of the man, Roy Mustang was fiercely protective over those in his core group. That's probably why they were so loyal to him. Well, all but Ed. Al couldn't count the times those two had gotten into arguments and Ed had come back complaining about the man.

Of course, if the colonel was covering for Ed because he was his subordinate, then that meant that his brother was still in the military... With all the talk Ed had done about leaving the military, Al was surprised he hadn't already filed his resignation papers...

Well, Al would deal with all of that when the time came. He could go now, but... Besides the fact that he was engaged, Al still couldn't help feeling a little unsure about how Winry felt about his brother. It had been a little obvious that she favored him in the past, but what about now?

Al shook his head before explaining to Winry again about not swinging her arm, then stepped back. He knew it was stupid, but he was a little afraid of losing her to Ed. He didn't know exactly why his brother had been so upset all the time before, but he still had a suspicion that it had to do with how much time he'd been spending with Winry. Maybe Ed had been jealous because he liked her and was mad because Al seemed to be taking her away from him. He supposed he'd be mad too...

“What are you thinking about?” Winry asked, wiping her forehead.

He gave her a small smile. “Oh, nothing,” he answered. After they were married, he'd find Ed...

“I should probably get back to work now, Al,” Winry said turning toward the house.

Nodding, Al fell into step beside her. “Well, until you've really got it, you probably shouldn't go anywhere without me, just in case.”

Scowling, Winry said, “I'm not a glass doll, Al. I can take care of myself. I wouldn't mind your company if you wanted to go places with me, but I don't need a guard.” Al glanced at her, then decided to let the subject drop for now. Winry was stubborn, and she probably didn't see that she was in danger, but Al did and he was going to be sure to protect her.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Ed blocked, then punched before moving aside and dodging Fletcher's attack. Sparring with the Tringham boy wasn't exactly challenging, but it was a good warm-up. Ed could definitely tell that Fletcher had been trained by Izumi. The boy was much better than he expected him to be, but still he wasn't even close to Ed's skill.

Ed's mind drifted as he worked with Fletcher. It was good to have someone decent to spar with. Roy really sucked... Ed smiled a little in amusement at the thought. Mustang sucking was something he definitely missed... He laughed at the dirty play on words and dodged when Fletcher directed a particularly hard kick in Ed's direction.

The boy had a scowl on his face and Ed thought that perhaps the boy believed he was being laughed at. Smoothing his face, Ed concentrated on what he was doing for a moment before his thoughts again turned to Roy.

After all this time away, Ed still hadn't decided what he wanted to do. Sometimes he wondered if Mustang was just using him for sex, but whenever he got on that line of thought he realized that if that were so, then things would probably be different. Ed could just as easily have stayed at the dorms and there would be less of a chance of them being found out.

Ed backed up a few steps and turned quickly when Fletcher nearly broke through his guard. Frowning at the boy's smirk, Ed tried to keep his mind on the match, but again his thoughts drifted away.

Ed was sure that the colonel did care about him, and Ed cared about him too. He wasn't sure if he wanted to use the word love... it just seemed so... sappy. But he did have strong feelings for the other man.

Everything appeared fine, except for the fact that Mustang didn't seem to trust him with anything important. It was so frustrating. Ed wanted to be part of whatever was going on. He wanted to be able to protect Roy, but he couldn't do that when he was left in the dark.

Ed blocked and made a half-hearted attempt at attacking. Then there was what Hawkeye said. It had really hit a sore spot with him. Mustang did have problems, more than he ever would have thought before he'd become intimate with the man, but did it really matter? Ed could live with a few problems... Even the colonel's drinking problem wasn't... that bad... not really... Ed frowned at the thought. So Mustang had been a bit rough with him a few times while drunk...

He could handle it.

Really, it was no big deal...

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Roy leafed through the documents, then handed the heavy folder back to the private. “I need something more recent,” he said and watched as the young man scampered off to the back of the records office. Shaking his head, Roy turned to say something to Hawkeye when the door to the office opened and Colonel Henry Douglas walked into the room. Closing his mouth, Roy turned to the older man and folded his arms.

It was no secret that Colonel Douglas didn't like him much, but Roy was fine with that. He didn't like Douglas either. Of course, there were many people who didn't like Roy because of how fast he'd ascended the ranks. When the white-haired man noticed him, he scowled and said, “Well, I didn't know that you ever came down from your grand pedestal to do something as menial as coming to the records office.”

Roy fought the urge to roll his eyes; a bad habit he'd picked up from his missing lover, and said blandly, “I'm surprised that you could actually find the records office at your age.”

Douglas glared at him as he walked up to the counter, pushed up his glasses with a finger, and looked around, probably for the private who worked in this office. Roy smirked. They both knew Roy would probably come up for promotion before Douglas, and he was sure it irked the older man to no end.

The private came back in the room and said to Roy, “It will be just a few minutes, sir. Private Willington is looking for them right now.” When Roy nodded, the young man turned to Colonel Douglas and said, “Can I help you, sir?”

Irritably, the older man flopped a folder on the counter and growled, “This information you gave me is worthless. I need you to get me the police files on the Homeless case.”

The young private looked a bit stricken and said nervously, “But sir... Those files are classified and only meant for...”

“I don't care who those files are meant for! I'm a colonel in the military and I take precedence over some worthless police officers!”

“Y..yes...sir…” the young private stuttered and rushed off.

Roy glanced at Hawkeye who returned his glace with a bland one of her own, then looked at Douglas. “Don't tell me you're trying to solve the Homeless case. I thought they closed that.”

The older man glared at him and said, “The civil police are idiots. We military police know how to solve cases, and I want to see to see that case solved.”

You mean you want to put a nice little star on your record, Roy thought, but said nothing along those lines. He'd done the same thing before; the Barry the Chopper case being the most well known of those. Despite it being Ed who had solved the case, Roy had gotten notice about it since he was Ed's commanding officer.

“You don't really believe someone was going around kidnapping random wanderers and homeless people, do you?” Roy asked.

“What do you mean by that?” Douglas growled.

Roy shrugged. “Well, think about it. These people are drifters; they go from place to place. Who's to say they didn't just wander off somewhere else. Maybe if there were dead bodies, that would be something, but there is no evidence that points to anything malicious. Besides, the supposed disappearances stopped months ago.”

Douglas pressed his lips together, then opened his mouth as if to say something, when the young private came back with a stack of folders. “Here you are, sir...”

Snatching the folders from the young man, Douglas stalked away from the counter, all the while glaring at Roy, then stopped and growled in a low voice, “If I were you, I wouldn't be such a cocky little bastard. You never know when someone might get tired of it.”

Roy narrowed his eyes a little. “Is that supposed to be some sort of threat, colonel?”

Douglas turned his gaze to Hawkeye before looking back at Roy. “Just an observation, colonel...” he said, then stalked out the door. Roy glanced at the lieutenant who was staring flatly at the door. He knew she hated dealing with the man. So did he, but it had to be done. For now at least. For now they would deal with the man, but eventually...

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Izumi shifted where she was sitting as she watched the two boys punch and block, then dodge and kick. She tried not to think about the pain in her stomach and chest and tried to concentrate on what was happening before her. She could tell Ed was out of practice, but not too much so. He'd been in the hospital all that time; but then he and Al had practiced everyday, so she'd been told, until Ed had left Rizembool. That had been enough time for him to recuperate from the hospital, but what had he been doing these last couple of months? Izumi wanted to beat it out of him, but she had a feeling that might not work very well. Instead she waited and watched.

Folding her arms, Izumi frowned at Ed's sloppy guard and his poor attempts to attack. This wasn't from lack of practice. It was obvious that he had something on his mind, but he should know better than to dwell on it while he practiced. Most likely, he didn't think too much of Fletcher as an opponent.

Well, it seems that there was a lesson to be taught here.

She waited for the inevitable, and when it came she shook her head. Fletcher may not be as skilled as Edward was, but if your opponent isn't paying attention it really doesn't matter how skilled they are. The younger boy stepped back, looking pleased with himself for getting in a hit. She shook her head again. It seemed that another lesson was about to be made.

“What's the matter, Ed? Not used to sparring with someone shorter than you?” Fletcher taunted, and Izumi smirked. Oh yes, it seemed that Fletcher was going to get a very good lesson.

Ed's eyes opened in shock, then he glared. “You know, I think being around Russell hasn't done you any good.” Izumi nodded. That was something she could agree with, though for a different reason than what Ed was meaning. The older boy took a stance and growled, “Come on!”

Well, at least he was paying attention now...

Ed focused on Fletcher and suddenly the boy wasn't looking as confident. Taking a stance of his own, Izumi watched as this new part of the sparring match ended in less than five seconds. Fletcher groaned from where he was laying on the ground and Ed stood over him, scowling. The older of the two opened his mouth to say something, but Izumi called out from where she was sitting, “To me, now!”

Ed looked up, then glanced down, giving the younger boy a small and harmless `kick' as he stepped over him to her. She held back a smile. That was something he and Al had done all the time when she was training them. Fletcher got up more slowly and walked over to join Ed.

“Sit,” she said, pointing at the ground. She didn't want to have to look up at them from where she was sitting on the porch step. They sat and she said, “Now, tell me what you learned from this match.”

Ed wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his black button-up shirt, then pressed his lips together and looked down at his black trousers in thought before he started picking at the grass by his right knee. Fletcher glanced at Ed before screwing up his face and looking up. His eyes scanned first to the right, then to the left, then back to the right as he thought.

After about five minutes, Ed said quietly, “I suppose... what I learned was that I shouldn't slack off because of how I perceive someone. I need to concentrate on what I'm doing, but that doesn't just apply to fighting; it also is for life as well. I need to take in what is going on around me and not let myself be distracted by other things... Sometimes what is happening now is more important than things that have happened. I can't change those things, but I can have an impact on the future...”

He trailed off, and his eyes glanced away. He'd answered her question and more so. There was definitely something going on with him, but now wasn't the time. She glanced at Fletcher and the boy squirmed under her gaze.

“Um... well...” He blushed and glanced at Ed before looking back at her. “I guess I learned not to call Ed short...”

Instead of laughing out loud like she wanted to, Izumi gave him a tight lipped smile. “And?”

“Well... I guess I learned not to taunt people when they are better fighters.” He stopped and when she simply looked at him, he said, “And I learned not to be too confident in myself. Things aren't always what they seem to be, and I should always be aware of my limits and abilities.”

She nodded. “That's right.” Standing up, she said, “The two of you need to shower, and then come help me fix dinner.”

“Yes, teacher,” Fletcher said and jumped to his feet. Ed was slower at getting up and instead of starting for the door, he reached over and pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket. He held it between his fingers, but didn't light it.

“I'll be there in a couple of minutes...” he murmured.

Her fingers twitched to relieve him of that one as well, but the only thing it would accomplish would be to push him away. Fletcher looked at Ed, opened his mouth as if to say something, looked at Izumi, then closed his mouth before scampering into the house. Pressing her lips together, Izumi said, “I would appreciate it if you didn't smoke in the house.”

“I wouldn't dream of it...” Ed said quietly, and she realized he hadn't lit up yet because of her. Not because she didn't like him smoking, but because of her declining health. She didn't like others to think of her as frail in anyway, but that's what she was becoming.

Pushing that thought out of her mind, Izumi said, “I hope you've remembered how to fight, because I think you could use more challenge later this evening.” Not waiting for his response, Izumi walked into the house. She would continue to live her life as long as she could, no matter the pain.

1- They never give an exact date as to when Ed's birthday is and it seems like it's warm outside in the series when he turns sixteen (though it seems cold out when he turns twelve) so I decided to put his birthday in July. Recently I read an article on Wikipedia that says he was born October 11, 1899, but since they don't have any sources as to where they got their information, I'm going to disregard that. It seems plausible that it could be in October, but for this story's purposes, I'm going to take some artistic license. I've also decided to not have Ed and Al be exactly one year apart. It seems more plausible to have Al's birthday a month or two away from Ed's, and the anime also never even mentions Al's birthday, so...

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