Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Memories ❯ Yearning of that faintest of hopes ( Chapter 2 )

az: Wonder I'll make this long.... or short...

He couldn't believe his eyes! She's here.... definitely. Oh dear... how he hoped that this was no illusion...

'What is it... Ed-kun...?', queried the other as her voice broke his line of thoughts. Ed blinked as he stared into those two cerulean orbs that his heart has long yearned. He shook his head as he wrapped his arm around her small body. 'No... it's nothing. I was just so glad... I missed you so much!! Winry...'

'Me too...', said the other as both refused to let go off each other for even a second.

'Touka kouka...'

Edward Elric immediately became alert and swerved around towards the speaker. To his surprise, it was Scar... standing before him in his Ishvarite attire. 'Scar-san... what, what are you doing over here...?', gasped Edward as the Ishvarun stepped closer.

'Do you really wanted to return to that world?', he spoke again. Ed frowned at the note he's using. 'Of course!!', he shouted back, '--There's a lot of people... no, it's just... that I belonged to that world. This world... do not... need me to be here. I just... I just wanted to--'

'You don't have to explain... Fullmetal-boy. We understood your feelings...'

Ed's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. 'Lust--san??', he managed to say as the Homunculus knelt before him and touched his face. 'I know that you belonged more to that world than here. But... in order to return, are you willing to pay the price? It's the equivalent trade... isn't it so?'

Ed shook his head dejectedly. 'There is no such thing as the equivalent trade...'

'Surely you didn't believe that for the real truth, Ed-kun?', Ed looked up in shock as the other woman emerged in front of him. 'Sloth--?', he gasped as the woman shook her head. '...kaa-chan??', he cried as tears flowed freely from his eyes. Trisha Elric nodded to her son as she placed a short kiss on his forehead. 'The law of the equivalent trade might not be the ultimate truth of the world we knew. But still... it was a part of the truth. A way home... might just be inside your heart.'

Tears fell like rain as Ed reached out to hold his mother's hand. 'But... why must it be so hard?!!', he whispered hoarsely as he heard another person approaching.

'There's no such thing as no such thing. Didn't I told you before?', said Greed, smirking as he was accompanied by his Devil's Nest gang. 'You won't know anything if you don't try Ed!!', chirped Martel as Ed felt his heart caught up. And slowly as if in an eternity, both Lust and his mother rose to leave him. Winry also got up and stood before him.

'I'll be waiting for you to come home. This time... please make sure that you did.', said Winry, winking at him before running towards where everybody was. Terrified, Ed quickly got up to try to chase her...

--

'Winry!!', shouted Ed as he woke up to find that he was back inside his room. '... don't... leave... me...', he gasped in vain as he felt his body about to fall back onto the bed before someone else caught him. Ed looked up to find his father eyeing him with worry. 'Oyaji--?'

Hohenhime shook his head in disagreement as he wiped away the cold sweat on Ed's face. 'You should have called me. Shouldn't have gone home by yourself right after that surgery you took. Thankfully a friend of mine was at the station...'

'What... happened?', he gasped as Hohenhime smiled weakly. 'You collapsed when you arrived at the Munich Station. Dr. Hans said that you had a fever. Probably because of your body adjusting to the new arm...'

'Oh...', said Ed as he felt his father embraced him tighter.

'What is it? I heard you calling out while asleep. Was it a bad dream?', he asked as Ed shook his head. 'No... but it's not happy either. Everyone was there...'

'You still missed them, isn't it?'

'Oyaji...'

'Hmm...?'

'Am I wrong? Trying to get back to that world again... after all that I've gone through...'

Hohenhime kissed his son's head as he held him longer. 'No... you have all the rights to. I'm just sorry that you had to face all of this.'

'That's good to hear...', sighed Ed as his eyes closed for that welcoming sleep...

--

Central City...

Roy Mustang lifted the earpiece as the young officer's voice rang in his ears. 'What is it?', he asked as the officer spoke. 'There's an open line call from Risenbul. The speaker said that she wanted to talk to you.'

'She--?', queried Mustang with interest. But then the thought of Risenbul would mean that she probably was...

'It's okay. Connect me to her...', he ordered as the officer connected the line. Sure enough, the familiar voice was heard from the other side.

/Taisa desu ka? Sore wa... Win-ry. Winry desu/

Roy frowned as he noted the hesitant tone. But he knew it would be like this. The fact that he was the one who took her parent's life was not something that can be forgiven by anyone. Even himself.

'What is it... Winry--san? Is there anything that I can help you with? Oh... and it's Junsho. I have been promoted a few months ago...' Yes... that would be it. At least there must be something that he could do to atone for his guilt.

/I... I'm coming to central today. I should be arriving by tomorrow. I don't know if I can still stay at Glacier-san's place but.../

'You don't have to worry about that. I'll handle that problem. But first... why is it that you're coming to Central?', he asked again, puzzled by this sudden news. There's nothing here that the young lady would find pleasing. And certainly not like her to suddenly come to visit him. Glacier's would be more like it... but she shouldn't need his help for it, he hadn't the rights...

But then, wouldn't it mean that she's probably wanted to...

/That... I wanted your help. Can you... I mean, Ed.../

/Can you help me find Edward?! I knew the military would have some resources.../

It was that. But he never thought that Winry would also asked him to help her. Was it a coincidence? Or did fate wanted to give him a second chance. A second chance to protect that last flicker of light in his heart. Of hope... or anything that can convince him that he was not chasing an empty one. That for one day that he would finally found Fullmetal... no, Edward. He had accepted long ago that he had lost Hughes and would never get to hear his taunting of wanting him to marry. And Edward... he was like someone that he hoped to be able to protect. Someone close to a...

Oh yes... he had a sort of family here. Or what's left of it. Riza, Armstrong, Falman, Havoc...

But everything started with him. When he received that letter and helped the boy to become the state alchemist. It was then that everything started to become worthwhile. Can he still... protect that important memories...?

/Err, Brigadier... Roy-san? You still there? Sorry... if this turned out to be so sudden... But I--/

Roy blinked as he remembered where he was now. 'Oh... sorry, Winry. I... had been thinking...'

/Is it okay? Tell me if it's not.. I don't want to force you--/

'It's okay...'

Roy heard a soft gasp from the girl as if she had not expected it to come from him. 'It's okay... I, myself... had been searching for.. you know--'

/Oh... and-- nothing??/

'Unm.... but you're welcomed to come help. I... am glad. At least... I can keep on hoping...'

/Mmm... yeah. Thanks... anyway/

Roy looked up as Hawkeye entered his office. She raised an eyebrow as he waved her concerns away. 'So, anyway... won't your family be worried if you suddenly come here for this?'

A small snort was heard as Roy heard the girl sigh. /Grandma won't mind. She had Roze and her baby for company. And Al... he already in Dublith with Izumi-sensei. He's fine anyway... if you're wondering.../

'Yup, I see... Well, call me when you finally arrived. I'll sent for Hawkeye to meet you...', he said as he heard the phone clicked from the other side. Roy gave a sigh. So it seemed that Al had gone to relearn alchemy with that sensei of theirs. Wonder if history will be repeated again...

Not that he cared that much. Sheska has reported to him before that Al has still retained his form before, when the boys tried that forbidden transmutation. As a 10-year-old boy with no memories of the last four years that they had been through...

'These are the new reports that you need to confirm. It seemed that the war had been broken at the southern region...', said Hawkeye as she placed the stacks of paper on his desk. And then, she took out another set of papers, clipped together in a single bind. 'And these... are Havoc's reports. Still... nothing. Erm.. who was that just now?', said the lieutenant colonel as she placed a hand on his shoulders.

'It's Winry... She, wanted to know if I could help her find Ed...', said Roy sorrowfully as Riza ran her fingers on his shoulders. 'And you agreed?', she asked as Roy nodded his head. 'When will she be arriving?', said Hawkeye, knowing that she couldn't convince him to drop the idea.

'Tomorrow's the earliest.', he sighed as he looked up towards her. Riza nodded. 'Okay. I'll be ready for her then. Now you... how's today? Did you take your medications?', she asked sweetly, knowing the answer already.

Roy smirked at the irony. 'I did. Dared not to not take it... you've made sure of that, right? Anyhow... it's fine, thank you. I didn't do anything rash today...', he replied, much like a child seeking approval from the mother.

Riza grinned. 'Don't blame me... I hated it if anything happened to you once I let you slack off. Later then, uh? Or do you want me to make some coffee?', she said as Roy smiled charmingly at her.

'Could you? I'd love too...'

Riza snorted as she pinched the general's nose. 'Of course, dear...'

--

The outskirts. Several miles from Central.

Wrath looked around him, across the desert sands. This was the place. This was certainly the place where he saw that strange light. He wondered...

It's not like him to suddenly care about anything happening around him. He never cared about the humans. But it struck him odd at the mere fact that something was pulling him to check this place. Due to the fact that he had wandered this far to search for the new purpose of his life.

Still... it was odd. He felt that he was called here... by the voices that he knew, he wouldn't suppose to be able to hear again. Wrath walked again as he suddenly tripped over a boulder, hidden among the sands...

He cursed lightly at this misfortune and was about to vent his anger at it. But a different thought came over him as he saw the thing that had tripped him. Or more exactly... who, had tripped him.

Yes.... that was odd.

So very odd...

|TBC|