InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Tomiko's Journey ❯ Tomiko's Confession ( Chapter 3 )
Disclaimer:
Turtlequeen2: Hey! I’m back…after making you wait for so damn long…sorry!
Tomiko: How could you?!
Turtlequeen2: I know! I’m sorry! Many things have come up with school and all…
I would thank my reviewers: laa_girl and vbollman!
I give my thanks to my beta, vbollman, for helping me write out Roy’s part!
I do not own Inuyasha. Only Rumiko Takahashi does! Hiromu Arakawa owns FMA! I only own Tomiko!
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Chapter 3
Tomiko’s Confession
******Tomiko’s POV******
I arrived with Kirara at the area where the rest of the group were waiting for us.
“Keh! Took you long enough!” Inuyasha exclaimed in irritation at the instant sight of me.
Kirara let out a small growl while Kagome and I gave him dirty looks. Shippou, on Kagome’s shoulder, only rolled his eyes out of frustration. The hanyou turned away, with nothing to say, only shrugging it off though I could tell that he was scared.
“Tomiko-chan, are you okay?” Sango asked, walking up to me. Kirara instinctively jumped into her arms, making her smile when she looked down at the small neko-youkai. “Oh Kirara!”
I let out a small smile. “Kirara helped me feel better about myself,” I admitted. Kirara mewed in response, making the rest of the group, excluding Inuyasha, (he was still sore from our earlier glares at him) laugh.
Miroku then took this as a sign to flirt with me. “My lady, I have to say that with or without one arm, you are still breath-taking,” he said with a sly smile.
“Thanks Miroku-sama, but I’m not interested,” I replied bluntly.
“Who says that I was inferring anything?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“Maybe because you always are?” Sango growled out in annoyance. At this, Miroku only let out a nervous laugh.
I threw a glare at Miroku. “So monk, you like getting shocked, eh? I have plenty more from last time, trust me,” I smirked. At this, he cringed, not liking the memory.
“N…no need for that,” he laughed, immediately backing away from me.
“When shall we take rest?” I asked them. “I think that I should tell you some things…” I trailed off, looking away in a sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Kagome asked, full of concern. “If Inuyasha doesn’t mind, I think we could stop for the night. It’s not like we’d get that far anyways, considering it’s already almost sunset,” she pointed out.
“There’s no way in hell, we’re stopping! We’re already behind a day!” Inuyasha shouted stubbornly.
“I think that this is important for you all to know. I cannot keep secrets from my companions,” I explained, staring directly into all of their eyes.
“It must be important for you to be so desperate to tell us,” Sango said, nodding her head in agreement of stopping. “Let’s stop for the night, Inuyasha. Then at the first signs of dawn, we can leave,” she complied.
“No!” Inuyasha still shouted in protest. Sango looked ready to plummet the hanyou, but another voice stopped her from doing so.
“Inuyasha…OSUWARI!” came Kagome’s booming voice of anger. She was tired of arguing with him for the night and knew that I had something I needed to tell them. “I tried to reason with you, but seeing as one of our friends need our help, we can’t put up with your stubbornness today,” she explained, making me lightly smirk.
The hanyou gave a growl into the ground where his face hit with much force. After the spell wore off, he got up with a scowl on his face. “Damn you all!” he growled out, jumping into a nearby tree.
We all gave a roll of our eyes at the childish hanyou. “Inuyasha, I think it’s best that you heard this too,” I explained in a serious tone once again.
“Wench, I can hear from here, ya know,” he growled out in irritation.
“Wench?” I demanded, my eyes narrowing. “Where the hell did that come from?” I demanded.
“Tomiko-sama…perhaps we should get back on track?” Miroku asked.
“Oh…yea,” I sighed, tuning away from Inuyasha. “Don’t think I’ll forget though,” I muttered under my breath.
“So does this have something to do with your arm?” Kagome pondered, quickly cutting to the chase.
“Yea, you could say that. Do you remember what I told you about Human Transmutation?” I asked.
“Was that what you called bringing humans back to life?” Sango inquired.
“Yes. In Alchemy, we scientists have to follow a balance, an equivalent exchange if you will call it. Something cannot be obtained without first giving up something of equal value in return. That is the most important law of Alchemy. Failing to do such will result in one’s destruction,” I explained, casting them all glances.
“Destruction? Tomiko…did you….?” Kagome gasped realizing what I was intending to get at.
I hung my head in shame, my bangs hiding my downcast eyes. “Yes…” I said in a whisper.
******Ed’s POV - Amestris******
Nothing new is going on here. The military was obtaining samples from the wood, thinking that would do something. How boring. Where the hell was the Colonel?
“Brother?” Al asked, making me turn my attention to him.
“What?” I demanded with a raised eyebrow.
“How do we go along with bringing Tomiko back?”
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait for the slow bastard to finally show up!” As if my luck was turning up for the better…I think…the colonel’s car pulled up to the road. “Finally!” I growled out.
Me and my brother ran up to the car as it slammed open and Mustang walked up to the scene.
“So, anything new?” he demanded to me.
“Not much. They think obtaining samples from the wood will do something useful,” I snorted out.
“You have any brighter plans Fullmetal? If you do, I‘d love to hear them,” Mustang said in sarcasm.
“Colonel Mustang!” Lieutenant Hawkeye shouted as she ran up to him. “Sir, we didn’t expect you here so soon.”
“Well I didn’t expect this to be so much of a big deal either. Where’s this well?” Mustang demanded.
“Right this way, Colonel!” Hawkeye exclaimed, leading the way. Wanting to know what he was going to do, I followed him. I heard Al’s clanking armor behind me, meaning that he too was also curious.
After going towards the edge of the well, the Colonel peered down into it.
“Why the hell is an abandoned well here anyways?” the Colonel asked of no one in particular, almost mumbling it to himself.
“I’ll need you to tell me what exactly happened here Fullmetal. Down to the last detail,” commanded the “high and mighty” bastard.
“I told you already. Me and Al were walking with her down this path when we spotted this well. We thought that it was filled with water, but when we looked down into it, there was nothing in it. Then Tomiko went on to say that she heard a pulse then she tripped into the well. She screamed, but then there was all silence and when we went to look down, there was nothing there,” I explained.
“It’s true, Colonel,” Al added. “I witnessed the whole thing too!”
“It’s not that I don’t trust your words, but it seems all too convenient,” he replied, his eyes narrowing in thought.
“What the hell do you mean by that?” I demanded.
The colonel just moved his hand in an impatient movement, "Just that? It’s too convenient. A pulse? That would mean that a power source was needed, yet none is found. Is it a trap? But a trap for who?” he continued to himself.
“Permission to speak Sir?” Hawkeye questioned suddenly. Mustang just waved a hand in acknowledgement. She continued,” Perhaps it has something to do with those homunculi?”
“That’s why we told you we believed that it has something to do with the Philosopher’s Stone. They are after it also. Maybe they are the ones that planned it.”
“If that's true Fullmetal, why is that no one else can find this pulse?” the Colonal stated, almost too calmly.
Right before I had a chance to remark, Hughes came up behind us.
“Hey Roy!” exclaimed the leading investigator, tapping the colonel on the shoulder.
Whipping around to Hughes, Mustang sent the man a glare. “What was that Lieutenant colonel?” he snarled softly. Must have been the lack of respect…
The Lieutenant Colonel let out a nervous laugh. “Geez, you don’t need to be so uptight,” he replied. Isn’t he always? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
Mustangs stare turned to ice. “What is it precisely that you wanted Hughes?”
The man’s expression turned serious at this. “Alright, just trying to bring up the mood around here. This investigation makes no sense as of now.”
The glare lost the icy quality, but remained firm as the Colonel waited impatiently for Hughes report.
“It seems as though the Pure Alchemist has disappeared without a trace. No clues whatsoever. We checked for anything and everything possible. Nothing. Hard to believe that this even happened.”
I rolled my eyes and threw the Colonel a glare. “Of sure, wait for Hughes’ report to begin to believe me. I already knew that this was going to happen before the whole military was sent down here!” I exclaimed.
"Of course I'll take Hughes word before yours, after all, you have only been with us for such a short time compared to him," he replied, adding much emphasis on short.
My eye twitched.
“Who are you calling short?!” I demanded.
"Take it as you will."
I smirked a little. “Let me guess. Is it that you’ve been on so many dates that you can’t even form a good response?” I taunted.
Mustangs eyes narrowed in response, but before he could respond verbally, a shot rang into the air, making a loud BOOM. Me and the Colonel were both startled, but found that it was only Hawkeye’s annoying habits of stepping in again.
“Now, now boys. This isn’t the best place to have any bloodshed occur at,” she replied coolly, making both of our glares turn to her.
The silence lasted until Al’s voice was heard. “Brother! I hear it!” he called out.
All of our eyes went towards him. “What are you talking about Al?” I demanded.
“I know what Tomiko was talking about! It’s a pulse!”
******Tomiko’s POV - Feudal Era******
All around the clearing were sounds of shock. It even caught Inuyasha’s attention as he hopped down from his perch and landed beside me.
“Don’t tell me that you were that stupid!” Inuyasha snorted out in disbelief.
I glared back up at him, evident fury glowing my eyes. “Don’t even try to lecture with me. You of all people should understand why I did it!”
He was taken aback along with the rest of the crowd. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I ground out, trying to finish what I was going to say. “What does matter is that I have committed the worst sin and now I have paid the price for it.”
Miroku took this time to step in. With a serious stare, he began,” I would have to agree. Trying to resurrect human life is a great sin. However, what caused you to commit such a thing?”
“Have you ever loved someone so much that would give anything to be with them? Even if that meant your life?” I instead replied, shocking everyone in the vicinity.
“Perhaps love is a powerful thing, but do you really think that they want you to suffer for their sake? You already knew that it might have taken your life,” Miroku replied calmly.
I sighed. “I know, but I was desperate. He promised marriage, but then he died from an illness that was sweeping through the town at the time. I would‘ve done anything to see him alive again. And boy did I get that wish,” I added in a bitter laugh.
“What do you mean?” Sango asked. I then noticed Inuyasha being tense. Perhaps this reminded him of himself?
Kagome also noticed this as well. “Inuyasha? Are you ok?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” he growled out. “So continue your tale,” he said, turning back to me.
“Very well. As I was saying, I did attempt this and the results were none I expected. At such a sight I saw, I thought it to be Hell,” I said with much difficulty. My fists clenched at my sides out of frustration.
“W…what do you mean?” Kagome murmured.
“Remember what I told you about bringing back something that wasn’t human?”
“No…” Sango and her gasped at the same time.
“Yes…I brought back a soulless husk from the Other Side of the Gate. A homunculus. A thing that isn‘t even human,” I growled out, my eyes narrowing as tears threatened to build up again.
Inuyasha’s eyes widened and I didn’t fail to catch it. “The price I paid is still being compensated to this very day. It is my duty to remove that sin from the world. My duty to put things back to normal as it once was.”
Miroku heaved a sigh. “Do you really believe that you can return to a normal life after you have killed this ’homunculus’?”
“Yes. That and with the help of the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“You are only creating a circle of repeated offenses. Taking a life for your own is called sacrifice is it not?”
I glared at him. “You don’t understand. A homunculus is not human nor demon. The creatures are like copies of their original selves. They are composed of a body of a normal human, but their souls are not of a human. They have capabilities not of those of humans. Sort of how you guys are. Powers beyond those of normal people. Therefore, this is sending them back to where they belong.”
The group gave a nod in understanding, though I think Inuyasha was in too much of shock to respond.
“Still, isn’t using that stone reckless?” the monk inquired.
“If I can manage to get to the Other Side, I’ll do anything that is necessary,” I replied in all seriousness. I then heaved a sigh. “So now you all know why I have this auto-mail arm and why I joined the military…”
“So you could research on the information about the stone?” Sango asked.
“You sure catch on fast,” I smirked. I then looked at all of them. “So…you guys don’t think me to be a freak of nature?”
Kagome gave me a comforting smile. “Of course not Tomiko-chan! Why should we think of you that way?”
I looked down at the dirt. “I’m not sure. It’s just that in my world, even though I am praised for my alchemy skills, I still get look upon in disgust. In a sense, I am one of the greatest sinners and people think me to deserve everything that gets thrown at me. Hell, I even have a stalker that’s out to kill me!”
I looked back up to see Inuyasha’s eyes soften a bit. “Keh! Stop your babbling wench! We all have our own crosses to bear!” he shouted nevertheless.
“Inuyasha!” Kagome shouted, glaring at him.
I gave him a bitter smile. “No, he’s right Kagome-chan. You all have your own problems as well, with Naraku and the Shikon Jewel. Here I am complaining about my life when you clearly have your own controversies.”
“Tomiko…” Kagome gasped. Inuyasha’s eyes locked with mine in surprise. He then looked away in a huff. He obviously had nothing much to say.
“I’m sorry,” I trailed off, looking away.
Miroku gave me a grave look then smiled sadly. “Although I think you caused this upon yourself, I do not think that you should apologize. Everyone has their own conflicts.”
Sango gave a nod in agreement to the monk’s statement. “Houshi-sama does make a good point. Everyone here has joined together because of their similar, and yet, unique problems. Despite many fights we have amongst ourselves, we remain to be a close group. It‘s the same for you and your group of those brothers, am I correct?”
I gave her a small smile. “I never thought of it in that way before. Thank you Sango-chan.”
“It’s what friends are for,” she grinned back, Kagome also agreeing as she gave me another smile. Shippou then hopped into my lap form Kagome‘s shoulder, surprising me.
“Shippou?” I asked stunned.
“I don’t what you’re so upset about. You have more friends now right?” he asked innocently.
I looked down at him and smiled. “You’re right Shippou-chan. As long as I’m part of your group, I might as well enjoy myself.” The group, including Inuyasha, gave small smiles in assurance.
******No One’s POV******
Unbeknownst to the Inu-Tachi, a new pair of red eyes watched the group in interest. The male figure gave a small chuckle in enjoyment.
“That will be all Kanna,” came his malevolent voice.
“Yes, Master Naraku,” the small albino youkai responded with no emotion shown or heard whatsoever. The child-like demon controlled the mirror she held in her hands, to fade the picture the was being presented to her creator.
“So…they have another amongst their group?” Naraku smirked, his crimson eyes showing glee within them as he sneered.
“She is an Alchemist,” youkai explained in an eerie tone.
“An Alchemist, eh?” he repeated to himself. “I shall have to send my greetings.” He let out another evil laugh as he prepared a “welcome” gift for the Pure Alchemist.
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To be continued…
I know this was a long time to wait….I’m so sorry but I was stuck so long on how to write Roy.
Next time on Tomiko’s Journey: What is Naraku planning? And what’s going on with Al and the well?
Find out next time!
Please Review!
Ja ne!