chapter 11

"What...?" Edward says after you finish. "I don't get it. So there are people using us? To do what?"

You shake your head. "I don't know."

You told Ed and Al everything, from the time you stepped into the shop to the fight to the last words you heard. They both listened quietly.

Now, the siblings are still sitting quietly, though they both seemed to be deep in thought. You, too, are thinking, gathering all the pieces of evidence, of information you had and trying to put them together.

us they

Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the front door. You snap back to the present, and Ed stands up.

"I'll get it."

He walks out of the room, leaving you and Al by yourselves.

You stay quiet, slipping back into your thoughts.

"Why do you think they need us?" Al breaks your train of thought, repeating exactly what you had thought before. You look up into his brown eyes and shrug.

"I really don't know, but something really weird is happening."

Al nods in agreement. "Right. Something weird."

You stare into the distance. "This is all my fault, isn't it? If I didn't come, you guys wouldn't have been dragged into all this trouble with me, and you... You would be fine now."

Al shakes his head forcefully. "No, (Y/N), stop blaming yourself. They were targeting us, too, so that must mean that they knew us from before you came along. It's not your fault at all."

"But that man who attacked you..."

"That was an accident."

You look away, eyes landing on the machine you saw earlier, sunlight glinting off the metal.

"Do you... Do blame me about your leg?"

Al hesitates, and your heart sinks even more from what Ed had said. So he blame you.

It's quiet for a moment, and you look away from Al.

"No."

You snap his gaze onto him, surprised.

"No, I don't blame you, it was my fault for being so weak."

You don't feel any better. He could easily be lying. But you lean forwards and pull him into a tight hug anyways. "Thanks." You whisper.

You pull away after you hear a cough from Ed. Ed was holding the daily newspaper, and his expression was one of surprise. You stand up hastily and walk to him, gently pulling the newspaper out of his grip you go back to the bed and hold the paper up in a way where Al could read it too.

"it read. You skim over the article, catching snippets of the important parts.

"Missing people... Disappeared suddenly... Hundreds of humans... Including children and adults... Specific pattern... Not found... Found dead yesterday... Abandoned laboratory... Related to the infamous Alchemist... Metal Alchemist... All affiliations disappeared..."

You look up at Ed, who was back to where he was, sitting on the side of Al's bed. "What could this mean?" You ask, not expecting a reply.

Ed shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know, but you better be careful, (Y/N). You too Al. I don't want any of you getting hurt again."

As if on cue, pain shoots up your automail arm, and you give a small yelp. Bending over and grabbing on to your shoulder, you go quiet in pain.

"(Y/N)!" They two brothers yell simultaneously. Al reaches over and taps you on the shoulder. You grit your teeth and look up, trying to smile through the pain.

"I- It's nothing. Just my automail acting up." You turn to Ed. "Where did you put the automail maintenance stuff?"

Ed stares at you, concerned. "Um... I think I left it on the kitchen counter."

You nod quickly and stand up, closing the door behind you and limping towards the kitchen. You spot the black toolbox on the counter quickly and grab it, bending down a little in the weight. Your leg starts hurting, but you continue walking towards Al's room. You stop when you hear the brothers arguing.

"-her don't you?"

"No! Al! It's not like that, she's just a friend I promise! I just can't let her die that's all!"

You listen, interested. The room goes silent, and you place your hand on the door knob, about to go in. You imagine the atmosphere, Al's adorable smirking expression and Ed's frantic blush. Al's voice interrupts your thoughts.

"You know, to be honest, I-"

You open the door. "Owowowowowowowow ow." You put on a show to deny that you had done any eavesdropping, bending over and pressing your hand to your gunshot wound. "My leg ow someone help me ow ow ow."

Ed stared at you with an expression that kind of looked like this: o.O while Al was looking away at the window, face dusted a red color.

Ed suspiciously walks towards you and takes the toolbox from you and places it down on the desk. You smile at him as sweetly as you could. "Thanks."

Ed grunts. Opening the toolbox, you scan through the assortment of different sized screws, metal sheets of different element, screwdrivers o match each screw type, silicone sprays for smoother movement, rust-preventive sprays, and wrenches covering the top. At the sight, Ed recoils and steps back, scared.

"Wh-what is that... That doing here...?"

You look at Ed, curious. "What 'thing?'"

Ed points shakily to the wrench. "Th-that ."

You look back at your toolbox as Al giggles. You give Al an odd look, picking up the biggest wrench from your toolbox. "thing? Oh, it's the best, high-quality wrench I have!"

Ed steps farther back. "Y-you're not gonna hit me with that, aren't you..?"

You look at your wrench. "Huh? Why would I?"

You turn to Al for assistance. "What's going on with him?" You ask with a whale face.

"Our childhood friend used to hit him with that all the time."

"Friend? How brutal." You says.

"...."

"WAIT! ," you point your thumb at Ed, "had ?"

Ed snaps out of his daze and gives you a glare. "What? Do you think I didn't have friends just because I was a speck so tiny that I don't even need to worry about being squished by a shoe because I would fit in the cracks!? Huh! How dare you. Just because I'm-"

You stare at Ed with a poker face as he continues to steam. Your gaze slides slowly to your wrench.

[anime mode on where some violence does not actually cause harm]