InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ In Pursuit of the Green Dragon ❯ Separation Anxiety ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tokyo, May, 1925

As the glow of transmutation blazed around them, Ed felt the ground beneath his feet pulse...and then drop away.

The stone walls of the Bone-eater's Well faded away, replaced by a void, sprinkled with stars and hung with curtains of shimmering energy in violet and pink.

Ed braced himself for the stomach-turning sensation of falling, but instead, he found himself floating, tugged gently like a leaf on the surface of a slow-moving stream. It was a gentle motion, unlike the violent dislocation of passing through the Gate.

He looked around frantically, and relaxed a little when he saw Al and Souta floating nearby.

Just below their feet, suspended in the void, the intricate pattern of the transmutation circle burned steadily with azure light.

Souta looked ecstatic. "I knew it! All those stories about the well--"

He was interrupted by an explosion of brilliant rose-colored light that began to swallow the transmutation. Ed fought to keep the energy of the transmutation going, but it was no use.

He felt himself engulfed in the cool, tingling fire, and then everything vanished.

oo0oo

Alphonse, too, fought to keep the transmutation active. Then there was a soundless explosion of pink, and he abruptly found himself plunked back in the Bone-eater's Well.

He staggered backwards, and felt his rucksack bounce off the wall behind him.

His heart was beating fast, and despite this temporary setback, he felt more optimistic than he had in months.

Brother was right! All they had to do was make a few more adjustments to the transmutation circle, and they'd be able to keep the transmutation going long enough to stabilize a portal.

They could go home!

He felt a little ashamed that he'd ever doubted, but really, Brother could be a little...optimistic at times.

He turned to grin at Ed, and found himself face-to-face with Higurashi and a stranger, a Japanese girl wearing a scandalously short skirt and sailor blouse.

Al blinked. Wha--who? But before he could gather his wits, the girl spoke.

"Where's Inuyasha?" she asked, looking remarkably composed for someone unexpectedly finding herself at the bottom of a well with two strangers.

Alphonse blinked at her, and averted his eyes hastily from the length of slim, smoothly muscled leg showing beneath the green pleats of that extremely short skirt.

She was very pretty, he thought, and swallowed, hard, praying his voice wouldn't crack. "Who?"

Then it struck him--there were only three people at the bottom of the well…the girl, Professor Higurashi, and himself.

"Where's Brother?"

oo0oo

"So only one of the brothers was able to follow the dragon?" Mr. Ikeda asked, a short time later, when the three of them had climbed back out of the well.

He studied Al, then the girl, and smiled nastily. "Well, that's all right, I suppose. If we have Alphonse-kun here, then that provides an incentive for Elric-kun to return to us if he succeeds in finding our dragon."

He narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. "And this girl--is she a foreigner? A Korean spy? Where are her papers?"

She drew herself up, brown eyes snapping with annoyance. "I'm Japanese, and my name is Higurashi Kagome," she announced. "This is my family's shrine. Who are you?"

Her tart tone reminded Al pleasantly of Winry, but he saw immediately that it had been the wrong tack to take with Ikeda. Oh, no.

Mr. Ikeda's face darkened.

Then Higurashi stepped in. To Al's relief, he said, with a large, false smile, "Kagome-chan! How nice of you to come visit us again!" He turned to Ikeda. "Ikeda-san, this is my cousin Kagome. She'll be replacing Fumie as a shrine maiden. I'm not certain how she got into the well, but I can vouch for her."

"Who is that?" Kagome asked Al under her breath, while Higurashi was talking.

"Higurashi Souta. He's the head priest--" Al stopped speaking as Ikeda turned his attention back to them.

"I--It's true. I--I work here as a miko sometimes, when Cousin Souta needs me," she said, looking only a little nervous. "I'm not sure how I got here, either, but I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I should probably be going home, so if you'll just let me--"

She smiled at Ikeda, gave a polite bow, and started to walk past him.

He caught her arm with what looked like a painfully tight grip, and Al saw Kagome's eyes flash dangerously.

"Oh, no, you don't, Higurashi-san, if that's really who you are," Ikeda said. "No one's leaving this shrine until I can ascertain what is happening here. And no one is to enter the well-house again without my express permission. Do you understand?"

"But Inuyasha--" Kagome protested, just as Al said, "But my brother--"

Ikeda glared at both of them. "I am holding Professor Higurashi and his family responsible for your actions. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Alphonse forced himself to say, meekly.

He had never possessed his brother's volcanic temper, but right now, he ached for the chance to beat the officious policeman to a pulp with his bare hands.

But then, Mr. Higurashi and his brothers would be punished, and Al certainly didn't want that on his conscience.

No, he would play nice for now, and try to figure out a way to get back into the well, and activate the transmutation circle again.

He glanced over at Kagome, and saw that she looked ready to explode. He'd seen that look often enough on Winry's face. Al reached out, and put a calming hand on her shoulder.

When she jumped, he whispered, "Please, Miss Higurashi. I'll think of something. I promise."

She gave a tiny nod, never taking her eyes off Ikeda. "I understand," she said to Ikeda, reluctantly, and the policeman gave a tight little smile.

"Good." He turned to his men, and addressed a lanky, middle-aged man. "Hasegawa-san, I want you to assign armed guards for this well-house. No one goes in or out of here without my express permission.

"But what about Brother?" Alphonse couldn't help asking.

Ikeda shrugged. "If Edward-kun climbs out of that well, you had better pray he has a dragon in tow."

oo0oo

Ikeda stayed for the rest of the afternoon, drinking tea served to them by a grim-faced Takeshi, and quizzing Higurashi and Kagome about Kagome's identity. They answered smoothly for the most part, as if they really had known each other for years and Alphonse began to wonder whether the girl was telling the truth about being a member of the Higurashi family. Souta hadn't denied it, after all.

For his part, Alphonse remained mostly silent, nibbling on the crunchy, salty-sweet rice biscuits served as a snack while he tried to come up with a plan for reactivating the transmutation circle and joining Brother.

His gaze kept landing on Kagome, though, derailing his train of thought. She was fifteen or sixteen, with lively brown eyes, a sweet smile, and a thick, slightly curling mane of black hair. And those legs...

He noticed that Ikeda kept staring at them, too, and other man's leering attention made Al curl his hands into fists. He felt protective and jealous at the same time, which was ridiculous, he told himself. After all, he had only just met Kagome.

Finally, when the smells of cooking began to drift from the kitchen, where the older twins were preparing dinner, Ikeda finally left, much to Alphonse's relief, and no doubt, Higurashi's as well.

With Ikeda safely out of the house, Kagome knelt back down on the floor cushions with a sigh, her tantalizingly bare legs tucked neatly underneath her. "Professor Higurashi, why did you help me with that scary man?" she asked. "This is the first time we've met, so how did you know I was telling the truth?"

"Two reasons." Higurashi smiled a little. "The first is: I do not like 'that scary man' very much. And as for the second reason--wait here a moment, please."

He left the room, and Kagome exchanged a puzzled glance with Alphonse. He shrugged to show that he was equally puzzled.

Higurashi returned a few minutes later, a framed, sepia-toned photograph cradled in his hands.

"Oh!" Kagome blinked at the photo. "That's--"

"--my mother's wedding portrait," Higurashi said, just as Kagome continued, "--my great-grandmother's wedding picture."

Al craned his neck to see, and Higurashi offered him the photo. It was true--the young woman shown in the formal kimono and wedding headdress could have been Kagome's twin sister.

"Your great-grandmother?" Higurashi echoed. He took back the photo from Al. "Kagome-chan, exactly who are you?"