Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Unforgivable Sin ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

 

I may have been reluctant to leave my home at first, but by the time a year had passed, I was glad. This year in Central City, I was the happiest I had been since that fateful train wreck, and it wasn't because of the sights and opportunities offered by the capital city. Nor was it the chance to live free of my father's ever-domineering, controlling ways.

 

It was Malik Ishtar.

 

At first glance, he was cold, shunning everyone and thinking only of himself. And that was the way that most people thought of him. I could see it in their eyes as Malik passed them on the streets. And he didn't care one whit, either.

 

But inside, he was caring and protective, fun-loving even. He treated me carefully in the beginning, extending invitations to me but not pressing when I declined them. Always saying a kind word when he passed me in the hall, but never carrying the conversation further unless I showed signs of wanting to talk.

 

And I didn't talk much at first, but gradually I opened up, accepting offers to try a new restaurant or take a trip to one of the many entertainment centers for sports matches, concerts, shows, and the like. The trips on his motorwheeler were always nerve-wracking; he had a habit of driving fast and recklessly, and when one is the passenger on this narrow seat plopped atop two wheels, one gets rather fearful of one's life. But he never hit anything, and we always arrived at our destination in one piece, though I often had to take a second to steady myself as soon as I got off the thing.

 

Our friendship grew over the months as I opened up more and more, and he did likewise. And so he was the first to know when I discovered an ability I hadn't known I possessed. An ability that startled me, and even frightened me.

 

I was in the kitchen poking around when it happened. The day was hot, and the kitchen staff were on their afternoon break, so I decided to sneak down a find a snack. It wasn't anything new to me; I had been chased out of the kitchen by angry cooks many times growing up. Of course, I used to have Akira getting into trouble right beside me, but now I had to go alone.

 

The kitchen, like the rest of the house, was large and airy, white walls and tall windows making the most of the sunshine that poured in. I tiptoed carefully between two counters, staying away from the open windows. I couldn't hear anyone outside, but that didn't mean the cook wouldn't randomly pass by and see me.

 

It was times like these that I envied Yugi and Atemu. Sure, they weren't rich—in fact, they could rarely afford extra comforts—but their simple lives seemed so much better. No servants constantly looking after them, trying to keep them out of trouble, or rather, “having fun.” And they could walk into their own kitchen and grab an apple any time they wanted.

 

I made my way to the fruit counter, intending to do just that. Grab an apple and get out. But I slipped a little on the polished tile floor—automail didn't have quite the same traction as real feet, after all. I managed to grab the counter and steady myself, but in the process I knocked off a teapot. The blue ceramic thing fell to the floor and shattered.

 

I froze. If someone had heard that, I was in big trouble. Ishizu loved that teapot; she used it every time someone came over for tea. And it was expensive, too. That didn't disturb me much, though; such a cost was well within my price range. But it had been an heirloom, and that was where the guilt really made its presence known.

 

Of course, that was where alchemy came in. I looked towards the windows and the doors, making sure no one had heard the crash and come to investigate. After a few seconds of silence, I pressed my hands together, now searching for something to draw a transmutation circle with.

 

And froze again. Something happened when I pressed my hands together. A power loop. The energy transfer that marked the beginning of an alchemical transmutation. But that was impossible without a circle! I figured I was imagining things, but I knelt down anyways, pressing my trembling hands to the floor.

 

The pieces of the teapot flew towards each other, attaching to their mates and assembling themselves, the fractured joints bonding together again and smoothing out until after just a couple of seconds the teapot sat on the floor, whole again. I jumped back in shock, sitting against a counter and staring at the pot like it had done something wrong.

 

Then I heard the cook's voice, chatting merrily as he passed by the window, and that spurred me into action. I rose, picking up the teapot as I did so. After setting it down on the counter again, I made a beeline for the door, trying to be as quiet as I could be with bare metal feet. Once I reached the sanctuary of the hall, I let out a sigh of relief and headed for the back of the house, where the servants' stairwell and the shortest route to Malik's room was.

 

He was there, as usual, working to translate some book into Common. His knowledge of the world's more ancient cultures made him very popular at the library, even more so because he could read and write a few of the oldest languages. And Amestris had been investing a lot of time and money into research on old cultures. “Brown-nosing,” my father had always said with a snort. “Trying to present a good face to the public and cover up the massacres of Ishbal and Lior.”

 

I didn't agree with that, though I didn't dare say that to my father. The military hadn't been deployed in a long time, ever since Fuhrer Mustang had come into power. He didn't have the same ambitions as his predecessor, and he had settled agreements with all neighboring countries, even helping the survivors of Ishbal and Lior, sending contingents of soldiers to help with the reconstruction of the cities. His rule had brought peace and prosperity to the land. Why try to cover things up and “present a good face?”

 

Malik turned to me as I paused in his doorway, gasping for breath. I hadn't run quite that hard in a long time. “What's up, Ryou?” he asked. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

 

“I…” I started, struggling to find words. “I…you've got to see this.”

 

Malik twisted his chair around to face me fully and frowned. “See what?”

 

Looking around, I spotted a clay vase sitting on a nearby shelf. It was nothing fancy except for the simple drawing of a mountain lion on the side, but it was an artifact that Malik liked. Grabbing it, I threw it on the floor, praying that this new power of mine would work a second time. Otherwise, I was facing one pissed off ex-best friend.

 

“Hey!” the lavender-eyed boy snapped, coming out of his chair. “Do you have any idea how old that was?!”

 

I ignored him and crouched down, pressing my hands together and feeling relieved when I felt the same power loop as before. I touched the ground, and just like the teapot, Malik's vase reassembled itself.

 

Malik stared down at it, his jaw hanging open as angry protests died on his lips. I picked up the vase and held it out, biting my lip.

 

He took it, lifting his eyes from it to me as he did so. “No transmutation circle,” he commented.

 

I nodded. “I…I don't know how. I thought it was impossible to do without a circle, but…”

 

“Well, I guess this makes you a genius!” Malik said with a grin as he walked over to put the vase back in its spot.

 

My face grew hot. “I am not! Geniuses understand what they do. I have no clue how I just did that.”

 

“You must, on some unconscious level, at least.” Malik turned back to face me, his tanned features serious. “I don't pretend to know a lot about alchemy, but I do know the basic stuff. Recognition, destruction, and reconstruction. Those are the three steps. The circle basically controls the energy used for those steps, right?”

 

“Yeah…” I nodded again, wondering where he was going with this.

 

“So maybe you've somehow figured out how to control that energy without the circle.” He laughed, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. “I don't know. My sister would, though. Why don't you ask her when she gets home?”

 

“Because I'd have to tell her that I snuck into the kitchen for an apple and broke her favorite teapot.”

 

We both shared a laugh at that as he sat back down at his desk. “Ask her about it,” he urged again. “I'm sure she won't mind as long as her precious teapot is back in one piece.”

 

* * *

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in Malik's room, listening to him as he quoted pieces of the book he was translating to me and explaining things about the people who had written it. It was interesting stuff, but I felt drained after the day's discovery, and somewhere along the line I allowed the sounds of the typewriter and his voice to lull me to sleep.

 

He woke me some time later with a sharp jab in the side. “My sister's home,” he announced, giving me a fake scowl. “And you need to find your own bed to sleep in, lazy bum.”

 

“Sorry,” I answered with a yawn. “But there was this droning sound coming from the desk, and it wouldn't shut up, so…”

 

Malik poked me harder. “Up! She's downstairs waiting for you.”

 

“Yes, Mom,” I answered, jumping up and running out the door faster than he could throw a pillow at me. I slowed as I neared the stairs to the main foyer, the grin fading from my face. Malik's suggestion was a good one; Ishizu was well-known and quite accomplished in the field of alchemy. But to tell the truth, she intimidated me.

 

I never figured out why. She was calm, gentle, understanding, and forgiving. Much like my mother. Yet I always tread carefully in her presence. Maybe it was her reputation in my chosen field of study. Maybe it was the fact that she had agreed to take me in and she could throw me out if she so wished. Or maybe I was just easily intimidated these days.

 

I patted down my unruly hair nervously as I made my way down the stairs, trying to make it relatively decent with no luck. Ishizu was sitting in a comfortable maroon chair when I walked into the living room. She had a tray of tea in that same pot I had broken and a couple of cups sitting on the table in front of her.

 

“Good evening, Ryou,” she greeted with her usual warm voice, gesturing at the chair across from here. “Malik tells me you snuck into the kitchen this afternoon to steal an apple and accidentally broke a teapot.”

 

I winced. “Yeah,” I admitted, lowering myself into the chair and staring at my lap. “Sorry about that.”

 

“Don't be,” she said. “I could have fixed the teapot even if you hadn't. But my little brother said there was more to the story. Please, tell me what happened.” She poured tea into the cups as she spoke, and then picked up an apple from the tray, offering it to me with a smile.

 

I blushed, taking it but not eating it as I recounted the events of the afternoon to her. She listened attentively, sipping at her tea, and when I finished, she set the cup down and folded her hands in her lap, giving me a grave look. I fidgeted, a feeling of unease growing within me.

 

“Have you ever considered taking the State Alchemist Exam?” she asked after a minute slipped by.

 

I stiffened in surprise and dismay. “I don't want to join the military!” It was true that I believed it was changing, but soldiers were still generally disliked and unwelcome almost everywhere, and despite my efforts to keep my father's words from influencing me, I couldn't help but detest the military, if only a little.

 

“Of course not,” Ishizu agreed. “And perhaps I am wrong for suggesting this, but I believe you could benefit greatly from the research materials reserved for State Alchemists. A whole section of the Central City Library is reserved for only them, and much of the materials include research and experiments by the most skilled alchemists in Amestris' history. If this new ability of yours disturbs you so much, perhaps you should research it, understand it better.”

 

“There's research on this sort of thing?” I asked. I had never heard of anyone performing a transmutation without a circle before, and the idea that I wasn't alone in the world intrigued me.

 

“Of course,” Ishizu replied. “Performing alchemy without a circle is uncommon, rare even, but it is not unheard of. In fact, the current head of the State Alchemist division can perform transmutations without a circle. He's a friend of mine; if you wish, I can talk to him tomorrow and get special permission for you to take the Exam this year. He was the youngest person to ever take the Exam and pass it, so he knows what it is like to be a young man in the military. He will go easy on you, I know.”

 

She must have seen the doubt still on my face, for she continued as she stood up. “You don't have to decide tonight. Give it some thought and let me know your decision tomorrow. The military has changed a lot since the days of war your father has no doubt told you about.” She left the room then.

 

I stayed in the chair, biting into the apple at last as I turned my gaze out the window. The sun had just set, and the west still glowed with a line of rose even as the stars came out in the velvety darkness overhead. The State Alchemist Exam…

 

For the first time in a year, I remembered the strange man on the train. I had balked at him as well when he had made the same suggestion. Yet now it seemed the best path to take. My mother would be disappointed to hear about it, and my father…well, he no longer cared. Why worry about him? I still didn't care much for the idea, but Ishizu had told me to think about it, and the more I thought about it, the less unfavorable it seemed.

 

I polished off the apple as the last of the sunset faded from the sky. Setting the core down on the tray, I walked out of the living room and back up the stairs to my bedroom, feeling like my life had taken the third large turn in two years.

 

I sure hope it's for the better this time, I thought as I sat down in my window seat and stared out at the glittering lights of the city.

 

For the worse is getting old.

 

* * *

 

I do so love my reviews. Keep them coming!