Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Great & Grand Ideas ❯ Water vs Flame - The Great Idea ( One-Shot )

 

“Come on Father!” She yelled as the tall man looming over her (well not looming, considering she was almost eye level with him now) arms crossed and frown firmly framing his face.

 

“No.” His baritone voice rumbled in a tone she'd heard him use many times on his subordinates.

 

Of course it had a little affect on her considering, well, she wasn't his subordinate. She was his daughter. Hardly holding back her sly grin, Anna wiggled her eyebrows. “She'll love it! You know she has needed one for sometime!”

 

Her father's frown deepened and he pulled his glove tighter, the alchemic circle straining against the back of his hand. Anna sighed knowing that was a sure sign that the discussion was over and that their lesson would begin.

 

Grabbing her canteen, she loosened the cork and fingered the alchemic pattern trying to remember some of her previous lessons. She relaxed her stance trying to make herself feel more comfortable in the restrictive pants and shirt. Typically she went with a light dress with shorts and undershirt on these warm days, but her father had insisted she use the clothing that the military used. Her mother would have freaked out if she had seen her in this outfit imaging that her father was preparing her for a life as a military alchemist. It was tough enough to convince to let these lessons continue after her great-aunt left all those years ago.

 

Anna smiled slightly as she prepared for her father's first move. Really, Mama was overreacting, if anything these `lessons' were more like mock battles for Papa to relieve the stress of the day. She was always exhausted and her muscles a little sore afterward but it was a great way to skip out on doing chores. It also kept her out of her mother's hair when she had a deadline to meet.

 

Her father also knew this as well, but never seemed to take heed, as evident by the fading palm mark on his right cheek just under his eye patch. Anna couldn't resist letting her smile turn into a cheeky grin at the memory of events earlier that morning.

 

“Roy!” Her mother had yelped before turning around sounding slapping him. “Don't you dare grab my ass when I'm soldering! God, I nearly burned myself too! Ugh! I need to get this done by tomorrow! That's it, you're sleeping on the couch and I'm locking the door. And don't you dare even think of trying to climb through the window again, buster, or you're getting a wrench to the temple.”

 

“Anna, what are you smiling about this time?” Her father's question returned the blonde girl to the present. She noted he looked none too pleased.

 

“Let's make a bet.” She replied immediately. “I beat you in an alchemist battle and you agree to my plan for Mama.”

 

“Fine.” Her father's stern expression turned to a crooked half smirk. “Let's begin.”

 

Great, Anna moaned mentally, now he was excited. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

Without a moment's hesitation, the older alchemist snapped his fingers, the flint sew into the tips creating a spark. The alchemic circle glowed and Anna could feel the oxygen concentrate in the air. Immediately, Anna dashed away as the cloud of pure oxygen ignited, creating a fireball that nearly singed the tips of her blond hair. She cursed under her breath that was closer than he'd done before. Then she grimaced, she was trying to grow it out too.

 

Idle thoughts were pushed from her mind as several more fireballs followed closely on her heels. Strategizing quickly, Anna formulated a plan and gripped the canteen with hands, the alchemic circle glowing. A dark cloud of vapor blew from the canteen as Anna danced around the field avoiding several more fireballs.

 

Once the mist settled in on the battlefield, Anna dove for the silhouette of her father pulling out a leather pouch tied to around her neck. Ripping off the cork, Anna charged the circle on the hide creating an icy dagger.

 

She could see her father twist towards her with his hand ready to snap only to have the circle on his glove torn by the sharp tip of Anna's weapon.

 

“Ha!” Jumping back with her dagger still aimed at her father, Anna bounced around victoriously. “I won!”

 

However, Anna's wide grin slowly shrunk when she noticed her father was smirking down at her. “I'm proud of you my lovely daughter, but you forgot two things.”

 

Her father raised his ruined gloved hand. “One is all war is deception. If you think your enemy has a weakness, it becomes his strength. And two-“

 

Anna nearly dropped the dagger and squeaked as her father whipped out his other gloved hand, the alchemic circle glowing brightly. “I never lose.”

 

The resulting explosion nearly tossed Anna on her head. For a moment she felt like she was running on air before the rubber soles of her boots impacted the earth. It was a miracle that she stayed on her feet at all.

 

`Note to self.' She thought wearily. `Never challenge Papa in anything but cooking.'

 

She let her legs take her as far as she could and then ducked behind a large oak tree. Between shallow breathes, Anna tried to think of something to get the upper hand. Along the way she lost her ice dagger and she had already used all the water she had on her. Anna placed her hand on the tree and thought frantically where she could find a large source of water. The pond was too far away; her father would catch her for sure.

 

`Damn it!' She cursed in her mind. She was a Rockbell woman and Rockbell women didn't give up. That's what her Mama and Gran taught her.

 

Listening carefully, she could her heavy boots trampling grass. Taking a peek around the trunk, Anna nearly lost her footing in the damp ground near the tree's roots.

 

Anna's eyes widened. “That's it!”

 

Frantically, she drew a circle in the malleable dirt. She rushed the symbols and prayed under her breath that she had it right.

 

“Sorry Mr. Tree.” Anna said as she placed her hands on the edge of the circle.

 

The energy it took to perform the alchemy nearly made her lose consciousness. However, she heard the gurgling yelp her father made as the torrent of water burst from the ground around the tree and doused him.

 

Using the now withered dry husk of the tree for support, Anna crept out of her hiding place to see a very wet military general standing before her.

 

Anna couldn't hide her grin. “Does this mean I win, Papa?”

 

The taller man looked at his teenage daughter and then slowly returned a tight smile. “Yes, I suppose so.”

 

“Does that mean you'll get Mama that car for her birthday?”

 

Her father sighed. “Not the model you were talking about. Your mother and speeding automobiles don't mix. She can fix them but she sure as hell can't operate them.”

 

Anna raised her eyebrows surprised. When her father cursed, especially in front of her or her twin brother, he meant what he said.

 

“Can't I just bake a cherry pie or something?” Her father suggested.

 

Anna bit back her grimace. The last time her father attempted to make the family something in the kitchen they were all sick for a week. “Uh, how about a compromise?”

 

The dark-haired man tilted his head. Anna was ecstatic. He was open to the idea! “What if you buy Mr. McKinney's old one and we let Brian and Mama fix it up?”

 

A smile spread across her father's face. “That's a great idea!”

 

Warmth spread in Anna's chest, it was always nice to see her father so happy with her ideas. Today she was able to outwit her father in an alchemy battle and then got Mama the gift she'd been hinting at over the past few months. She was even able to accomplish both at the same time! On top of all that, her father thought her idea was great! It was nice to be complimented for your cunning when dealing with one as cunning as the infamous General Mustang. She hoped she made him proud someday.

 

“Then we can have Brian put a governor on the car so that way it doesn't go over 15 kilometers per hour!” He exclaimed pumping one water slogged glove in the air.

 

Anna's jaw went slack as she followed her father back to their home. “Yeah, Papa, great idea.”

 

Maybe she still had a few things to learn from the master.

 

-Happy Birthday, Winry. The End-

 

Note:

This is a birthday present for my good friend, Ryoko Blue. She put a lot effort into making the pairing of Roy and Winry work and even made it fit into the canon of all things. I gotta give her credit. She pulled it off rather effectively. Besides, that story made me wonder what the daughter of Roy Mustang would be like when she was a teenager. ^^;;;

 

When Cherry Blossoms Bloom can be found here:

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/137374

Gotta warn you about two things though:

The story has adult content so don't read it unless you're 18, or is that 21? Whatever, just make sure you're old enough, or don't get caught reading it. I don't need your parents hounding me. Second, the story is a sequel to Feel Me, Shame Me, Heal Me which can be found here:

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/131829

Again, adult content ahoy! It's recommended that you start out with this one first.

 

Hmmm, if I get enough reviews on this puppy I might be tempted to explain why Roy doesn't let Winry drive cars. =evil grin=

 

Thanks for reading! Now go read Ryoko Blue's fics and tell her she needs to finish Cherry Blossoms. ;)

 

Disclaimer:

Fullmetal Alchemist is owned by Hiromu Arakawa, Funimation.

Original characters Anna and Brian are owned by Ryoko Blue and are being used with permission.