InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ In Pursuit of the Green Dragon ❯ The Sunset Shrine ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Sharibet
Ed and Al meet Professors Higurashi's family, and discover that the Special Higher Police are all-too-eager to send the boys on their dragon hunt.

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 07.18.2008 | Updated On: 07.18.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 634 | Status: Work In Progress

Tokyo, May 1925
The car finally came to a stop at the base of a hill. There was a flight of steep stone stairs running up the hill, which covered in trees and crowned with one of the red shrine gateways.
Smiling, Higurashi turned around in his seat as the car pulled up to the curb at the base of the stairs. "My home," he said to Ed and Al, in English. "The Sunset Shrine."
Escorted by Ikeda, they lugged their suitcases up the stairs, their luggage growing heavier with each step. Ed's automail arm didn't feel fatigue, of course, but he still found himself winded when he finally reached the top of the hill.
Al staggered up behind him, his cheeks red and panting noisily. Souta Higurashi, annoyingly enough, was scarcely breathing hard as he came to a stop under the red gate and looked around with an air of satisfaction.
Ed felt a pang as he recognized that look. Higurashi had come home.
"This shrine is over a thousand years old," he told Ed and Al proudly, still speaking in English for Ikeda's benefit.
Ed wasn't sure why Higurashi wanted to hide the fact that they could understand and speak Japanese, but he was willing to go along with the older man's plan...for now.
"Our Japanese culture is very ancient," Ikeda puffed, as he brought up the rear.
Ed was about to remark that the buildings looked awfully new for a thousand-year-old shrine, when he remembered what Higurashi had told them about the earthquake.
Glad he hadn't opened his mouth, he looked around the paved terrace, set with stone lanterns and a single huge tree that was surrounded by a fence and encircled by a thick hemp rope strung with paper banners.
"It's a beautiful place," Al said, when he had caught his breath enough to speak.
"Where's the well?" demanded Ed, looking around. The only well-like structure in the area was a long water-filled basin in front of the largest building, but it wasn't anywhere near large enough for a human—or a dragon—to pass though.
Ikeda looked surprised. He held up a preemptory hand to forestall Higurashi's reply.
"All in good time, Mr. Elric," he said. "There are certain preparations that must be made, as I am sure you understand. We would not ask you to hunt a dragon without the proper equipment." He gave Ed an obviously false smile, and inclined his head in a not-quite-bow.
So close and yet so far…! "Look, I just want to—" Ed began but protest, but Al put hand on his shoulder.
"We can look for it later, Brother," he whispered, in Cretan again.
Ed yielded, but fumed as Higurashi led the way the steadily upwards. The shrine buildings were scattered over the top of the hill in a series of terraced courtyards, surrounded by low walls and connected by shallow stone steps.
They followed Higurashi across the main terrace, past a number of interesting-looking buildings, up a short flight of shallow stone steps, and around the back of what looked like the main shrine building.
There, they found a wrought-iron garden gate set in a tile-topped wall. Inside the gate lay an ordinary (if rather overgrown) garden, and a new two-story Western-style house.
Ed saw a face at one of the upstairs windows. Then the face vanished, followed by the sound of excited shouts from inside the house. The front door slid open with a bang, and a group of boys of varying ages ran out, shouting, "Souta no nii-san! Souta no nii-san! Welcome home!"
Higurashi put down his suitcase, and Ed saw him give his first real smile since they had encountered Ikeda at the train station.
"I'm home," he said in a rather choked-sounding voice to the boys, who surrounded him, jumping, talking in a rapid tumble of voices, tugging on his clothes, and hugging him around the waist.
Ed caught fragments of the boys' comments. "--glad you're home, Older Brother!" "Why were you gone so long?" "--thought you were never going to come back--" and "Who are they?"
The milling group of boys--Ed saw there were only six of them, but their frantic energy gave the impression of a much larger crowd--came to a halt and turned to stare at Ed and Al.
"These are my guests, Edward Elric and his brother, Alphonse Heiderich," Higurashi said in Japanese, and then switched to English. "Please give them your greetings."
The youngest boy, who looked about eight or nine, stood staring at them in wide-eyed fascination, while the older boys bowed and chorused raggedly in English, "How do you do, Mr. Elric, Mr. Heiderich?"
Like Ikeda, Al's German alias gave them some difficulties with pronunciation. Ed and Al looked at each other, and reaching agreement in a single glance, Ed told them, "Please, just call us Ed and Al."
The two oldest boys, who looked like twins, shuffled forward after a nudge from Higurashi, and hesitantly stuck out their hands.
"My name is Shiro," said the boy on the left, and Ed took his hand and shook it. "And my name is Shou," added the boy on the right, shaking Al's hand. "We are very pleased to meet you, Ed-san and Al-san!"
The exercise was repeated with the younger boys under Higurashi 's fond eye.
Ed found out that there were two sets of twins--in addition to Shiro and Shou, who were sixteen, there were Kaoru and Yoshi, who were twelve. The remaining boys were Takeshi, a sturdy-looking fourteen-year-old, and the youngest, Ryuichi, who looked to be about seven.
The boys also greeted Ikeda, politely enough but with a great deal less enthusiasm, and Ikeda eyed the boys with an expression as sour as if he had been sucking on lemons.
Then, to everyone's relief, Ikeda declined an offer of tea, and turned to go. "I will return tomorrow," he said in English to Ed and Al, making the statement sound threatening, somehow. "We have many preparations to make."
"I look forward to it," said Ed, telling the truth. And I'm sure I can talk Higurashi into letting us look at the well as soon as you leave.
Something in Ed's expression must have given him away, because Ikeda added, "I will of course, leave one of my associates here to assist you, should you require any help before I return in the morning."
Fuck. He's setting a watchdog. Ed bared his teeth at Ikeda. "Yeah, I appreciate all your efforts."
He made no attempt to disguise the contempt in his tone, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Higurashi's worried expression.
At the moment, he looked nothing like Mustang, despite the similarities in face and features. For one thing, the Colonel would never have let a slimy little bastard like Ikeda push him around.
But there was nothing to be done now. Maybe later, though…
Ed watching Ikeda disappear around the corner of the main shrine building, then followed Higurashi and Al into the house, pausing to remove his shoes in a little foyer.
The inside of the house looked pretty much what Ed would have expected from a household filled with orphaned teen-aged boys.
Higurashi stopped as he saw the chaos of books, clothing, toys, and dirty dishes, and sighed.
"I'll make tea, nii-san!" offered Shiro, and he ran towards the back of the house without waiting for a reply. "Ryuichi--go buy something at the bakery!" he commanded the youngest over his shoulder.
"Okay." The boy dashed back to the front door, nearly falling over in his haste to put on his shoes.
Higurashi led the way into a larger room, which was furnished with a single low table, a scatter of large square cushions, and shelves.
There was less of a mess in this room, but Higurashi still looked dismayed. The other twin, Shou, grabbed Takeshi and the set of younger twins, and the four boys began grabbing armfuls of books and toys, and removing them from the room.
Ed watched them with bemusement. Higurashi had not uttered a single word of reprimand, and yet his brothers were acting as if he had barked orders like a general.
In short order, the room was cleared, a battered-looking lacquered tray with a teapot and handle-less cups had been set on the hastily-wiped table, and five of the six boys quietly sat down on the perimeter of the room.
Higurashi poured tea for all of them, serving Ed and Al first.
Ed looked at the contents of his cup. The tea was pale green, and he didn't see either sugar or cream on the tray. He raised his cup to his lips, and took a cautious sip. It was different from sweet, dark tea he had known in England, but it wasn't bad.
A short while later, the youngest boy came running in, breathing hard and carrying a large package wrapped in paper. Ed guessed that his mission at the bakery had been successful, a guess that proved correct when Higurashi opened the package, revealing smooth white buns.
"Ryuichi bought his favorite kind," he said, a little apologetically. "They are filled with a sweet red bean paste. I know it is not what you are accustomed to, but I hope you will try it."
Ed and Al each took one, and Higurashi distributed the rest to the patiently waiting boys. This was apparently the signal for everyone to start talking.
Like the tea, the bun was not what Ed had expected. It was light but chewy and contained a dark filling that reminded him of sweet potato in taste and texture, if not color. He took a second bite, decided he liked it, and stuffed the rest into his mouth. He looked over to get Al's opinion, and saw there were only crumbs left on Al's plate.
"It's good," Al said, unnecessarily, around his own mouthful.
Meanwhile, the boys were peppering Higurashi with rapid-fire questions. "Nii-san, what was America like?" "Did you see any cowboys?" "Nii-chan, Ikeda-san was mean to us!" "Nii-san, will you be going away again?" "Nii-san, how long are those foreigners staying with us?"
Higurashi chuckled, and held up his hand. "Boys! One question at a time!"
He pointed at his brothers in turn, answering their questions. "America was a very large country. It took us four days to cross by train. It's a very rich country--we ate beef with nearly every meal. But I did not see any cowboys. Edward-san and Alphonse-san have come to help me find the dragon that ran away. I do not know how long they will be staying. And--" he raised his finger to his lips. "Now I am going to tell you a secret. You must promise not to let anyone outside this house know, and especially not Ikeda-san or any of the other policemen."
"We promise," chorused the boys.
"We don't like Ikeda-san, anyway," added one of the twelve-year-old twins. Ed couldn't tell if it was Kaoru or Yoshi.
"He yelled at us a lot," added the other twin. "Even when we weren't doing anything wrong. He yelled at Ryuichi, too, and made him cry. At least we never cried."
"I did not cry," Ryuichi said, indignantly.
“You did! You were a big old crybaby!” Kaoru—or maybe it was Yoshi—insisted.
"You're lying. You're both liars!"
"You did so cry! He did, didn't he, Takeshi?"
Higurashi cleared his throat and stopped the argument before it could escalate, earning him a grateful look from Takeshi.
"About the secret," he said loudly, and the brewing argument stopped immediately. "Edward-san and Alphonse-san both speak Japanese fluently, but we don't want Ikeda-san or the other to find out. So, can you remember to speak English to our guests whenever you're outside?"
"We promise," said Shiro and Shou, and the other boys nodded solemnly.
"Now," said Ed. "I know Ikeda nixed the idea, but Al and I would really like to take a look at your well, without the police breathing down our necks the whole time."
"It would be very helpful," Al added.
Kaoru and Yoshi had apparently taken an instant liking to him, and were sitting on either side of him, showing him some brightly-printed papers.
"I'm sorry, but it's impossible.” Higurashi looked down at his teacup. "If Ikeda-san finds out that we had disobeyed him…"
"But he won't find out," Ed burst out. "None of us will tell him, right? We can sneak around the cop he left behind."
"There will be other watchers, I am sure of it," Higurashi said. "Perhaps the neighbors have been suborned, or there are others watching the shrine. I cannot risk it."
"But," Ed began, marshalling his arguments for another attempt, only to be interrupted by Al.
"Professor Higurashi, who are the Tokkou? And why are you so, um, worried about them?"
Higurashi's gaze dropped back down to his tea. He studied it for a long moment, as if seeking answers in the steaming liquid. "The Special Higher Police have the authority to investigate and control political groups and ideologies deemed to be a threat to public order," he said. "Things in Japan are not the same as they are in England, or America. I myself have known of several students and professors who ran afoul of the Tokkou and simply…disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Al asked frowning. "You mean, no one ever heard from them again?"
Higurashi nodded. "And there are rumors that some of the labor union leaders who supposedly died in the earthquake were actually taken away by the Tokkou." He shivered a little. "I understand your impatience, Edward-san, after such a long journey, but I do not want to risk angering the police by disobeying them over such a small thing. Please wait until Ikeda returns in the morning to visit the well."
The boys had fallen silent, and were staring worriedly at their older brother.
Ed choked back the protests he was going to make about not being pushed around by the likes of Ikeda. "Okay," he said, unwillingly.
Higurashi cleared his throat, and clearly forcing a smile, said, "Besides, we have had a long day of traveling today. Surely, you and your brother wish to rest and refresh yourselves first, before beginning your quest for the dragon?"
oo0oo
Dinner in the Higurashi household was a chaotic but cheerful affair. The kitchen had a large, Western-style dining table, (with Western-style chairs, Ed was glad to note, since he had found sitting on the backless living room cushions increasingly uncomfortable as the afternoon passed) and with a bit of squeezing, the boys made room for Ed and Al.
Ed's first attempt to use the slender chopsticks caused him immense frustration, and occasioned much laughter on the part of his young hosts. His cheeks burning with frustration, he pursued a slippery piece of meat around the communal serving dish, only to have it slither away time and time again from between the lacquered sticks.
And how in the hell was he supposed to eat the bowl of rice that had been placed in front of him without a fork or spoon? He glared around the table, and saw Higurashi and his brothers merrily shoveling food into their mouths using the devilish implements.
At least Al looked as stumped as Ed felt, and a scatter of spilled rice grains around his bowl bore witness that he wasn't doing any better at actually getting food to his mouth.
Finally, Takeshi took pity on Ed, and after a futile attempt at explaining how to hold the chopsticks, took Ed's right hand, his eyes widening a bit at the unexpected feel of the automail beneath Ed's glove, and manually arranged Ed's fingers.
One of the older set of twins--Shou, maybe?--did the same for Al, and things went a little better after that. At least Ed got some food into his growling stomach, though he still managed to spill an embarrassing amount over the tabletop...and the front of his shirt.
After dinner ended, it was back to the floor cushions as the Higurashi brothers caught each other up on all that had happened in the eldest's absence. One of the miko, or shrine maidens, was getting married, and they needed to find a new one. Old lady Michiko, one of the neighbors, had passed away in her sleep a few weeks ago, at the age of 102. The new roof over the main storeroom was leaking, and the roofer wanted to charge them a fee for repairing his shoddy workmanship.
Ed and Al were quizzed at great length about England and Germany and Amestris, and Al entertained the boys with stories about days when Ed had been the youngest State Alchemist in Amestris's history, and Al had been a soul bound to an empty suit of armor. Ed wasn't sure if the boys believed any of it, but Al did spin a good tale.
Except the parts where he gleefully remembered how Ed had screwed up something, or blown up something he shouldn't have.
Finally, it was time to retire, and Ed discovered the great advantage that Japanese houses held over European houses--with a minimum of furniture to move, and the beds consisting of thin mattresses placed directly on the woven flooring, with quilts and pillows added, it was easy for his hosts to transform the living room into a guest bedroom.
The assorted squabbles and thumping footsteps gradually died away as the household settled down to sleep.
Despite the long day of traveling, Ed found that he wasn't sleepy. He lay quietly on the hard bed in the darkened living room, watching the moonlight pour through the window and spill onto the floor like a pool of liquid mercury, and wondered what tomorrow would bring. He had traveled halfway around the world on little more than a fanciful story from a man who might be lying to him, and yet he found himself afraid to hope.
What if this Bone-eater's Well turned out to be another disappointment in a long year of disappointments?
"Brother?"
Ed turned his head, and looked at Al, who was curled up under his quilts a bare foot away. "Can't sleep either?"
Al shook his head. "I've been thinking...what if--"
"No," Ed interrupted harshly, pushing back the doubts gathering like shadows on the ceiling overhead. "It's gonna be different this time. If Envy could open a portal, then we can, too."
"Okay." Al sighed. "Good night, Brother. And..." he hesitated briefly. "Thank you for everything."
Ed shivered suddenly. Al's words sounded too close to Goodbye to be comfortable. "It'll work, you'll see," he said, with a confidence that he didn't feel.
It has to work.