InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ In Pursuit of the Green Dragon ❯ Rival ( Chapter 19 )

Pretty much everyone in the village overheard Inuyasha and Kagome's argument. The walls of Kaede's cottage were thin, and both Inuyasha and Kagome possessed healthy sets of lungs.

"He must be feeling better," Ed overheard Miroku tell Sango over their morning bowls of rice and vegetables.

Alphonse grabbed a bucket filled with water, wearing a determined expression that worried Ed, and headed for Kaede's hut.

Whatever was said in the hut didn't take long.

Alphonse emerged, followed by Kagome, and the two of them spoke quietly for a few moments before she returned to the hut.

Alphonse, barely slowed down as he passed Ed with a determined stride, muttering something about getting some firewood. He looked angry--a rare expression on his usually good-natured face--and his face was flushed.

With a sigh, Ed put down his half-finished breakfast--damn, how he missed toast, eggs, and coffee!--and followed his brother.

Ed found Al sitting some distance from the others. Instead of gathering the promised firewood, Al was sitting on a log that overlooked the mirrored surface of a rice paddy, his expression still set in a scowl.

"Hey." Ed seated himself next to Al, and joined him in contemplating the view silently for a few minutes.

There was a long-legged white bird stepping delicately through the shallow water. As Ed watched, he saw the snake-like head strike downward, and the long yellow beak spear a wriggling frog.

Tendrils of smoke from breakfast fires hung in the morning light, mingling with patches of pure white mist clinging to the slopes of the hills surrounding the village.

He hoped that Al might say something, anything, that Ed could use as a conversational opening. But Al remained silent, his elbows resting on his knees. With an internal sigh, Ed decided to plunge right into the difficult topic.

"Look, about Kagome...I'm sure she's a sweet girl, but she and Inuyasha, well, um—"

"I'm not giving up, Brother," Al said, turning to him.

Ed saw how his brother's jaw was set, and his heart sank. People were usually fooled by Al's generally cheerful, polite temperament, but Ed knew that when his brother wore that expression, nothing would sway him.

"Inuyasha doesn't deserve her. He's so rude, Brother, and he treats her like a servant, and—"

"And he was willing to die for her," Ed interjected. "He's acting all tough now, but you should have seen him while the well was closed. He wasn't eating, and if you think he's rude and ill-tempered now..."

"I don't care," Al said quietly. "I'm not sure I'm willing to die for her, but, Brother, when I kissed Kagome, it just felt so right. And I think she felt it, too."

"You kissed her?" Ed asked in horror.

If Inuyasha ever finds out...Ed shuddered. He had grown to respect the hanyou youth even if he still didn't like him very much, and he would regret having to kill Inuyasha if Inuyasha tried to hurt Alphonse.

Al's stubborn expression hardened into a frown. "Why are you taking his side? Why don't you want me to be happy?"

Ed felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. "Of course I want you to be happy!" he snapped. "That's all I've ever wanted. But I don't think you'll be very happy, torn into several large pieces by an angry half-demon." He realized he was shouting, and forced himself to speak in a normal voice. "And what about Winry? Don't you want to see her again?"

Al cocked his head, studying Ed. "Haven't you ever been in love, Brother?"

"Wha—no!"

"Why not?"

Ed blinked at his sudden right turn in the conversation. "Well—no time, for one thing. I mean, first, we were searching for the Philosopher's Stone, and I didn't want to get distracted. And, then, stuck in this world, I didn't want to get involved with anyone because I knew I'd go home one day, and it would harder if I had...ties...here. And now..." he shrugged. "With any luck, we'll find Envy, open a Gate home, and then maybe..."

Al sighed, and drew up his knees to rest his chin. "I knew you wouldn't understand, Brother. You're so single-minded...

"Hey!" Ed said, indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Al grinned at him. "It means that I think when you get home again, maybe you should go see the Colonel."

"Why him?" Ed blinked, trying to follow his brother's logic. "You think he might be able to give me some tips on picking up women, or something?"

"He said something, that time when you came home, just before we—" Al smiled. "It made me think that he had really missed you."

"Missed me? What?" Ed asked, indignantly. "You think I'm—I'm--" he flailed around, sorting through various pejoratives, before settling on, "--interested? In Colonel Mustang? Another man? You've got to be fucking kidding me! Rose, yeah, sure. Winry, maybe...but the Colonel?"

"Methinks Brother doth protest too much…" murmured Al, with a wicked smirk. As Ed lunged for him, Al retreated with a swift back flip.

"Sorry, Brother!" He rose to his feet, laughing.

Ed lashed out with his right leg, confident that Al would dodge it.

And Al did, his hands held up in mock-surrender. "No, really, I'm sorry! I just thought..."

"What, exactly, did he say?" True, Roy Mustang had seemed happy to see them, Ed recalled, but amidst the bloodshed and chaos of the Thule Society's invasion of Amestris, there hadn't even been time to ask about the eyepatch.

"I—I don't exactly remember. In any case, it was how he said it, more than his actual words." Color rose in Al's cheeks, a clear sign he was lying.

A new, and troubling thought occurred to Ed. Why is Al trying so hard to convince me of Mustang's possible, er, interest?

"Your, um, feelings for Kagome. Don't tell me that you're thinking of staying here, on this side of the Gate?"

Al looked away, his face dark red now, and Ed felt a wave of fury, bolstered by fear, sweep over him.

Was that why Al had urged Ed in Mustang's direction? As if Mustang, with his ever-changing string of girlfriends, would even consider--? No, that wasn't right, Ed corrected himself. As if he, Edward Elric, could even imagine kissing a--a man?

He liked girls, damn it. Girls!

Not that Ed's preferences were really the point here.

Ed stared at his brother, his only living family member, for whom he had bled.

For whom he had traded his right arm.

For whom he had willingly sacrificed himself to a bleak exile in another world.

And now, he was being asked for one more sacrifice.

It wasn't fair! It just wasn't fucking fair!

After all he'd sacrificed—after how hard they'd scrabbled and scraped and journeyed, just to find a way home-- now Al no longer wanted to go home?

Edward Elric swallowed, hard, and forced himself to say the words he thought Al needed to hear.

"I—I won't stand in your way, Al," he said, his voice sounding high, unnatural even to his own ears. "Do what you need to."

He rose to go, but Al grabbed for his sleeve. "Brother!" he said, looking distressed. "I didn't mean—I'd never send you away. How can you even think that? If I can—if I can convince Kagome, I was hoping that the three of us could go home, to Risembool...But I'd never send you away alone, Brother. Never!"

The scarlet of a minute ago had fled Al's cheeks, and his freckles stood out now against pale skin. His hazel eyes pleaded with Ed.

"I know, Al," Ed said, quietly. He clasped Al's wrist, and squeezed lightly, forgiving him. "But Kagome has a family of her own. What if she doesn't want to leave Japan?"

He thought, but didn't say: What if she loves Inuyasha as much as he loves her?

The stubborn look reappeared on Al's face, and Ed's heart sank. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Brother."

Al released his sleeve, and Ed turned to go, his heart heavy. "Don't take too long with that firewood," was all he said.

ooOoo

Kagome saw Inuyasha's dark eyes flash to her as she re-entered Kaede's cottage. He looked relieved at her return.

She felt an instant of pity for him--normally, he would have smelled her approach, instead of having to look for her.

"Inuyasha," she said, toeing off her shoes, and settling herself down on her knees on her futon. "Can't you at least try to be nice to Alphonse-kun? He's a good person."

He dropped his gaze, his features set in their familiar scowl. "That's what you think. You're too fucking trusting, Kagome."

"I couldn't have returned here if Alphonse hadn't helped me. Uncle Souta, too," she added.

"You wouldn't have been stranded in the first place, if Edward and Alphonse hadn't broken the well," Inuyasha pointed out, sitting cross-legged and tucking his hands into his wide red sleeves. His scowl deepened as he glared down at his quilt. "Besides, he's only being nice to you because--" He clamped his lips together without finishing his sentence.

He knows about the kiss! Kagome's heart contracted with a sudden jolt of fear, and she felt her face grow hot. No, he doesn't. There no way he could have found out, she told herself. Inuyasha's just being jealous, as usual.

"Edward-san and Al-kun are going to help us find the dragon," she said, firmly. "So we're going to have to work together."

"…don't need their help," Inuyasha muttered. "I'll be back to normal soon."

Oh, so that's what's really bothering him! Kagome chided herself for not having figured it out sooner. After all, hadn't she been with Inuyasha for quite a few New Moon nights?

"That's what Sango says, too." She gathered up her courage, and put a hand on his shoulder.

After spending the last three days in constant contact with an unconscious Inuyasha, it felt odd to return to her previous caution about touching him. "She thinks you'll be back to…to your usual self in another day or two."

He nodded, still not looking at her. His long hair had fallen forward, curtaining his expression.

She found herself looking for promising streaks of silver in his dark mane, and became conscious that her hand was still on his shoulder.

Am I annoying him? Should I stop now?

Before she could act on her thought, he moved, and she felt his calloused fingers rest on the back of her hand. I guess he doesn't mind, after all.

"Kagome, I'm sorry." The words were so unexpected--and out of character--that it took her a few moments to comprehend what he was saying.

"It's okay," she said, not sure if he was apologizing for being rude to Alphonse, or for being trapped in human form. Knowing him, it was probably the latter.

But hearing his apology gave her the courage to lean forward, and put her arms loosely around him, pressing lightly against his back. When he didn't show any signs of stiffening or pulling back, she rested her chin on his shoulder.

She felt rather than heard his sigh.

"It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay," she repeated, wishing she could believe it herself.

Author's Note

Many thanks to my beta, the wonderful kokoronagomu, typo-catcher extraordinaire!