Chapter Seven
(SARAH)
I sensed a funny pattern. First our dad worked with Mustang and Scar, and now all of their children had somehow found each other. Ha.
I approached Theo and Kain, wanting to introduce myself a bit better than Theo had done.
"I'm Sarah," I said smiling and holding my hand out. Kain reached for my hand to shake it, but I reflexively jerked my hand back after I remembered that his hand had that boy's blood on it. I swallowed nervously and tried to avoid looking that the dead boy on the ground less than five yards away from us. I only then wondered what the heck Kain had done. All he did was touch him... I shuddered involuntarily.
Kain followed my gaze over to the boy on the ground. He sighed and crossed his arms. "If you are concerned about him, don't be," he said bitterly, then turned to Theo. "What was it that you needed help with, Theophrastus?"
"Just Theo, okay?" Theo said. "And...we need a lot of help." He looked over at the boy on the ground. "In the mean time, we should probably get out of here, unless you wanna be arrested."
----
We took Kain back to the hotel we had stayed at two nights before. We had also gotten Travis, Clint, Maes, and our pillowcases. We didn't plan on going back to Elicia's house.
I sat on the bed and Travis sat next to me, attempting to put his arm around my shoulders. I eventually had to shove him in the floor. Clint sat in a chair in the corner, his eyes still glued to the alchemy book. Maes and Theo sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, and Kain sat criss-crossed across from them. He had since washed the blood off his hand, though his shirt still had a couple spots of it, some of which were there before he killed that boy.
"So," Kain said. "What did you need my help with, Theo?"
"Well, I'll start from the beginning," Theo said. He told Kain all about what Elicia had told us. About Alphonse helping rebuild Ishval, and the anti-Ishvalan group attacking and abducting him.
Kain scoffed. "Well, looks like they're not only after us, but anyone trying to help us as well."
"Yes," I said. "And we really need your help to--"
"Forget it."
My eyes widened. "W-what?"
"I said, 'Forget it'," he reiterated. "I'm not helping." He started walking towards the door.
"Wait!" Theo shouted, standing up. "You really mean after you heard all that happened, you won't help us?!"
Kain whipped back around. "Help you!? I don't care if he was helping rebuild Ishval! The people doing that are part of the reason the anti-Ishvalan group even exists!"
"How can you say that?" Maes asked. "They're trying to help rebuild your country!"
"We're fine on our own!" Kain was very upset at that point and started breathing quickly. "You don't understand the effects of all of this on Ishval. If the Amestrians hadn't tried to 'help', then we could've just lived peacefully and handled rebuilding our land on our own. Then the anti-Ishvalan groups would have no reason to...to..." He punched the wall. "Don't tell me about your problems when I've got plenty of my own."
"Come on, man," Travis said. "Just help us out." That idiot didn't know the right times to speak.
Kain glared at him with burning intensity. "Help would be nice, wouldn't it?" He laughed darkly. "Your last name is Mustang, correct? As in Fuhrer Mustang?"
Travis nodded.
"Well, a few years after your father became fuhrer and put his idea to rebuild Ishval into action, there were a lot of people who weren't happy about that. And that caused the first major attack on Ishval not long after." Kain leaned against the wall casually, seeming a lot more calm. "I lived in a rather large village with my father and mother, and life was good. Everyone was happy. I was about 12 years old when they attacked. Angry Amestrians wielding any kind of weapons imaginable, and taking out their rage on us. They set fire to the village and bombs went off everywhere. My mother told me to stay hidden as she and my father went outside. I didn't listen. I followed them. I watched them get killed, right in front of me. I tried to run from the people armed with guns and knives, who were mercilessly slaughtering every Ishvalan in sight. I turned around to see if they were still following me, and when I turned back, a tall pale man wielding a knife was standing in front of me. I had no time to move before he slashed at me, leaving a huge gash running the length of my upper body. I eventually passed out from blood loss. When I woke up, I was in someone's house in Amestris. An Amestrian couple apparently took me in after I was brought there by one of the surviving Ishvalans." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Everyone else didn't say a word. We were all in shock at Kain's story. And not even the Mustang kids knew anything about the attacks on Ishval. That scared me a little.
"They were killed four months later," Kain continued. "I've been living here on my own since." He looked back at Travis, scowling. "And all of this happened while you were enjoying your relaxed life as the fuhrer's son." Kain chuckled darkly. "So don't try to think you can guilt me into helping." He walked towards the door again.
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(THEO)
I looked at Sarah for help, but she just stared and shrugged. I sighed. Guess this one was on me.
"Dude!" I said, throwing myself in front of the door.
"Get out of my way, Elric," he said, voice calm.
"Dude, look, I don't care about you're backstory. I've gone through enough hell in the past week to not give a crap about anything anymore. My dad hates me, my grandma just died, my uncle could be dead, and guess what, I have to make sure my sister which I stupidly drug along doesn't die. So, yeah, I get your life sucks bro, but you're not the only one with problems. And yes, Travis is a major butt hole."
"Hey!"
"But, we gotta put up with him. My uncle and father risked their lives God knows how many times to save your dad's ass, so technically, in a way, with out my dad, you wouldn't even be here! You kinda owe me, dude."
He didn't give me any thanks, just stared.
I sighed. "Listen, I'll do whatever you want, if you just take us to Ishval. Alright? Take us to where my uncle is kept, and I'll give you whatever you want."
He looked back from Sarah to me.
"I want money."
I looked down and sighed.
"How much?" I asked.
"Theo!" Maes said, but I ignored her.
"How much do you have?"
"How much do we have, Maes?" I asked. She looked pitifully at me, before moving to her black pillow case.
"...162."
I knew it was a lie. We had about 20 more dollars than that. I felt ashamed now that I taught her how to lie to that vendor about money, now that she was applying it everywhere. At the same time, I was happy. If he didn't want to help us, sure.
"You hear that?" I said. "162. You'll leave us broke. And if we bring Alphonse back home, I can get more from him and my parents. Alright?"
He looked me up and down again, as if my shoe laces could tell him if I was lying or not.
"Alright, Elric," he said,"I'll help you. 162 when we get to your Uncle. 200 when you get the rest. Got it?"
I shook his hand firmly, making sure my fingernails dug into the skin. He did the same to me, and I smiled evilly at him.
"Alright," I said. "Let's sleep guys. We won't get anything done during the night."
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(SARAH)
My dreams were full of what I imagined of Kain's past. I had no idea what Ishval actually looked like, but my subconscious improvised. When I played all of the things Kain told us through my head, I felt positively awful for him. Theo may not have a sympathetic bone in his body, but all I could do was feel sorry for Kain. Theo and I may have had some unfortunate things happen to us, but we didn't have to watch it like he did. And our parents were still alive. Kain had been on his own in Amestris for years, probably dealing with discrimination just as violent as when I first met him.
My awful dreams startled me awake. It was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep.
"Hey, Sarah."
Except Clint.
I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Clint, you haven't slept in two days. Go to bed," I whispered.
"I'm not tired. And I have research to do." He had a lantern sitting next to him, illuminating the pages of the alchemy book.
"You must've read that entire book by now."
"Not even close."
I sighed. "You're going to be tired tomorrow."
"I'll be fine." He flipped a page and looked up at me through the darkness. After a long silence he closed the book. "Don't trust him."
"What? Who?"
"Kain."
"And why not?"
"When you found him, he killed someone. He's dangerous."
"He is not dangerous. It was self defense," I countered defensively.
"If it was merely for self defense, why does he have his weapon tattooed on his arm? Unless he needed to use it frequently."
"What the heck are you talking about, Clint?" I sighed.
"The transmutation circle he has tattooed on his arm."
"It's a transmutation circle?"
"Describe what happened in the alley," Clint demanded.
I paused. "Um... He just kinda put his hand on the guys chest and... I don't know..."
"Alchemy is composed of three things. Recognition, deconstruction, and reconstruction. His alchemy that he uses stops at the deconstruction phase. Therefore, he's a lot more dangerous than he looks. Keep your distance," Clint warned.
"Clint, I'm sure that--"
"Would you two go to sleep," Kain's voice boomed from across the room.
How long had he been listening? I tried not to think about what he heard us say and lay back down. The next day, we would make plans to go to Ishval.
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(THEO)
Kain's voice woke me early in the morning. I saw Sarah's frame, silhouetted by the window, lay down. Maes stirred next to me. She looked up at me, black eyes full of emotion and warity.
"It's nothing," I said, subconsciously running my hand through her hair. "Go back to sleep."
She crawled over to me, and curled into my side, just like the other night. I didn't freak out this time, possibly because it was so late at night, I honestly wasn't thinking about the fact the hottest girl in Amestres was practically on my lap, just the fact that I was lucky that she even wanted to be near me. I smiled at her, running my hands through her unruly black hair.
"Maes?" I whispered.
"Don't call me that..." she mumbled. I rarely called her by name, mainly because it was normally in private when we talked.
"Why?"
"It's such a dumb name. And it's a boy's name. So stupid..."
I remember Mustang telling me about his friend, Maes Hughes, for which his daughter had been named. I remember Elicia pursing her lips when she heard her name, and leaving the room. I knew Elicia Bulter had to be Elicia Hughes, from my father's past. She had been only three then.
She fell asleep like that, on my lap, and I didn't mind one bit. But as I watched her sleep, what felt like seconds later, she woke me.
I smiled. It was around five or so in the morning, and Travis kicked Kain's shoe to wake him. Gosh, that boy was stupid. Kain replied by violently waking, one hand seizing his wrist, and the other over his heart.
"No!" Sarah cried, leaping between them.
"Sarah!" I screamed, but Kain had recognized the area, and remembered where he was. Something told me he never forgot, and this was just a reminder.
"Don't hurt him," Sarah said, standing in front of Travis, arms outstretched. I grimaced while the older Mustang boy smirked.
"See, she just can't keep away from me," he said lazily, wrapping his arms around my sister's waist.
I hissed. Sarah pushed him away before I could kill him, and was happy about that.
"Hey," I felt two hands slip onto my shoulders and massage them gently, and I melted a little at the smooth, rich voice. "Don't let that get to you. You'll need your energy for later," Maes said, her chin resting on my shoulder.
"Uh...yeah..." I sighed. Then, she did something that made every part of me flutter. She pressed her dark lips to my cheek. She didn't look at me as she walked off, but grabbed her gloves with the transmutation circles on them, and smiled evilly. I stared the whole way.
"Ready?" Kain asked me. I looked around, and realized I was the only one still in the room, and not the doorway.
"Uh, yeah," I mumbled.
"WOO-HOO!" Travis screamed, bounding down the hallway. "LET'S GO TO ISHVAL!"
Sarah slapped him over the head with her heavy pillow case, and Maes laughed, slipping her hand into mine. I shivered and laughed with her, trying very hard to ignore the fact she hand a weapon on her hand that could char the flesh off my body.
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