Hmmm… I wonder where this'll go… I like the idea of this, so I hope it all works out :3

Also! In this chapter and part of the next, Kyoko is 13, almost 14, Ed just turned 14, and Al is 13. I'll smooth out everything eventually.

Cold rain poured down from the sky in thick sheets, ruining the little makeshift shelter tucked away in an alley. The chilly water seeped through the cardboard roof, steadily dripping onto its inhabitant's back. Her scarlet hair fell over her eyes, and she trembled from the cold. She tightly held a gem the same color of red as her eyes, but her eyes were squeezed tightly shut at the moment, shut like she could just close out the entire world and block it out with such a simple action. Just a few days ago, everything was fine. So why had everything she held dear to her crashed down around her so quickly and easily? She had even gone so far as to abandon and attack her best friend over a stupid disagreement. Now all she felt like doing was lying around, not caring enough to get out of the rain. So she did just that.

Her senses dulled, she opened her eyes and allowed her gaze to slowly skim across the dark, wet alley. She heard clanking and someone talking, and the noise approached her. She narrowed her eyes, and wanted to run away so that she could just... be alone for a while. If she was going to be alone, then damn it, let her! But her joints were stiff from the chilly air and frigid water, so she could barely even move. She slowly slipped into unconsciousness as she was lifted up.

"Hurry up Al!" Ed yelled as he ran down the street, eager to get out of the rain. Alphonse trailed behind him at a steady pace since the downpour had no effect on his armor body.

"I'm right behind you, Brother." Al responded, chuckling at his older brother's impatience.

They continued down the sidewalk, but then Al stops to look in an alley. He saw a small red glow emanating from the shadows.

"Huh?" Al mumbled as he wandered in. The glow was coming from a soggy shelter.

"Al? Al, you aren't picking up strays are you!? You know we can't take care of a cat!" Ed yelled as he followed him into the alley. Al ignored him and let out a quiet gasp, then he crouched down to pick something up.

Ed furrowed his brow in confusion, then Al stood up and turned to him. In his arms was a girl with long red hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her eyes were half opened and she seemed pretty out of it. In her hands was a tiny red gem that twinkled with a strange light.

The older brother blinked.

"What do we do?" Alphonse asked as he tried to keep the rain off the half-unconscious girl. "I don't think she's conscious..."

"Hm. Let's take her to the dorm for now." Ed said as he turned around. "She looks like she could use some warming up. Might as well help her out, then. C'mon."

The girl slowly woke up. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't very cold or wet. Second was that her jacket and gem was gone. She groaned and tried to sit up, pushing a towel and blanket off of her, but a pair of hands gently pushed her back down.

"You need to rest." An echoey voice told her. "Brother, she's awake!"

"Okay!" A male voice replied from another room.

The girl scowled and opened her eyes. After she adjusts to the light, she blinked a few times. "Uh…" She muttered, staring at the huge suit of armor in front of her. It had glowing red orbs in the openings of its helmet. Eyes she guessed. Pretty weird, although she had seen plenty weirder.

"Hello!" It… he? said cheerfully.

She blinked again, comprehending what kind of mess she had gotten herself into this time. "Hi…" She mumbled warily. "Who are you? And where am I?"

The armor sat down on a chair across from the couch she was lying on.

"I'm Alphonse Elric." He introduced himself. "You can call me Al. Right now you're at my brother's dorm. We found you in an alley nearby and since it was raining really hard and it looked like you needed a place to stay… You passed out as well, so… uh. Why are you staring at me?"

The girl was staring at him with a look of suspicion in her crimson eyes. She frowned slightly and looks away.

Awkward silence filled the room.

"Um… What's your name?" Al asked politely, breaking the silence.

"The name's Kyoko Sakura." She stated dully.

"It sounds foreign." Al commented.

She gives him a sideways glance. "That's 'cause it is. 'S Japanese." Kyoko told him.

"Japanese? So... Japan. That's the country east of Xing, right?" Al said. "Are you from there then?"

"Sorta. Born there but moved to Amestris when I was a baby." She muttered. She sat up, propping her back up against the arm of the couch. She looks around the room. It wasn't all that homey. Two armchairs and a coffee table in the center of the room and a lamp by a window. There was also the couch she was lying on.

"So that means you have a family right?" Al asked. "Where are they?"

Kyoko frowned and her gaze hardened. "None of your business." She growled. "And before you ask I ain't got a home either. Not anymore."

Al shifted a bit, creaking quietly. "Sensitive subject." He made a mental note.

Ed walked in. "Just got off the phone. Mustang wants us to come in tomorrow. He got a new lead." He said to Al. He then looked at Kyoko. "But… Right. What's your name?"

"Kyoko Sakura." She said. "You?"
"I'm Edward Elric." He told her. The look in his eyes became serious. "I want to ask you about something."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" She asked.

Ed stepped closer to the couch and he sat the red gem on the arm of the couch that Kyoko wasn't leaning on. "This. What is it? I saw it glow earlier and it looks a lot like something I'm looking for." He said, watching the red eyed girl carefully.

"You're lookin' for a soul gem?" She muttered quietly. It was almost so quiet that Ed didn't hear her, but he caught the key words 'soul gem'.

"A soul gem?" He questioned her. "What is that? Why is it glowing?"

Kyoko snorted and quickly thought of something to make up for her little slip up. "Just a fancy piece of jewelry. Ain't anything special." She lied casually.

Ed's eyes narrowed as he detected her lie. Being in the military for a while had taught him to learn when people were lying, and Kyoko had answered a bit too quickly. "Really?" He persisted.

"Yeah. If you knew anything 'bout girls you'd know that they're startin' to get really popular." Kyoko retorted. Somewhat a lie. "But since you don't know what it is, I take it you've never had a girlfriend before."

Ed scowled. "I've never seen anyone that has one. And I haven't seen any in stores before." He pressed.

"You go jewelry shopping?" Kyoko smirked.

Al looked at the two and sweat dropped.

"You're avoiding the question." Ed growled, ignoring her taunts.

An annoyed look crossed Kyoko's face. "Maybe I don't want to answer your question." She replied as she crossed her arms and looked away.

Ed glared at Kyoko for a moment.

"Well I think I'm good to go now." She scowled, standing up.

Al got up. "Are you sure? It's still raining outside and-"

"I'll be fine." She interrupted him as she makes her way to the door, snatching up her soul gem as she walked.

Ed frowned and grabbed her arm. "Not so fast. You haven't answered my question." He reminds her.

Kyoko stopped, then the atmosphere changed. She suddenly seemed more threatening for some reason, but Ed chose to ignore the feeling.

"Let go." She told him.

"What? No!" Ed said, tightening his grip. "Not until you- AH!"

Kyoko twisted out of his grasp and turned to him. Before he could react she shoved him into the wall and held him up about three inches off the ground. Her elbow pressed against his flesh shoulder with her forearm just under his neck, her hand holding a fist of cloth on his jacket so that she didn't lose her grip.

Ed freaked out slightly. A moment ago she was just an annoyed girl who almost froze to death. Now she was lifting him like he was nothing and looked pretty damn calm about it.

"I ain't gonna make a big scene or anything, 'kay?" She said, her voice low. "I really am grateful that you helped me 'n all, but I didn't ask for help either. I don't owe you any answers about my stuff or my life or anything." She dropped him.

"Brother!" Alphonse exclaimed, rushing over to his surprised older brother.

Kyoko smirked and walked towards the door. "Calm down. I didn't hurt him." She assured Al. She snatched her still damp jacket off a rack by the door and she slipped it on. "Thanks for the hospitality." Kyoko walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Ed blinked a few times, still comprehending what had happened. "She shouldn't have been able to move that fast. She definitely shouldn't have been strong enough to lift me so easily!" He thought.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al said, shaking his dazed older brother a few times.

Ed frowned. "Yeah, I'm okay." He told him. "…Oh crap! She's getting away! C'mon!" Ed quickly stood up, then he darted out of the room.

"Wait up!" Al called, running after him.

...

Outside, Kyoko walked into an alley. She rolled her soul gem around in her right hand, watching it with lazy interest. Tiny raindrops fell from the sky, hitting her lightly and dampening her recently dried hair and clothes. Footsteps come from behind her, and she stopped to glance over her shoulder.

"'Course…" She muttered as Ed and Al turn into the alley, slipping slightly on the wet cobblestone. Her eyes glimmer with mischief as a plan forms in her mind. A half-assed plan, mind you.

"Please don't run!" Al yelled to her. "We just want to ask you some questions! We're sorry if we offended you or anything." He was a bit upset that she attacked Ed before, but if he was rude she might not listen. Not that he'd be rude... Just mad.

Kyoko smirked, her little fang popping over her lip. "Alright. But first, ya gotta catch me!" She announced. "If ya do, I'll talk to ya!" Before they could respond, she zipped off.

"Ah! Hey, wait!" Ed shouted, running after her. "Grrr, she's making this way harder than it needs to be!"

Al followed suit, moving at a slightly slower pace than Edward. "It shouldn't be too difficult. She just woke up and isn't completely healthy."

Ed considered this, then nodded. "Yeah." He agreed. "We just have to keep up!"

…Easier said than done.

The tricky redhead was pretty fast, and she never stopped to rest either. Ed and Al managed to stay a couple yards behind her, but every time they got close she made a different turn or something stopped them from getting closer.

"What the HELL!?" Ed yelled in frustration. "Every time we get close we fall behind! Why won't she stop!? She's gotta be cheating or something!"

Kyoko changed her route, dashing into an alley with a sharp turn.

"Well two can play at that game!" Ed said under his breath as he claps his hands together. He turned to the alley and slapped his hands down. There was a satisfying crackle of alchemic energy, then the blue sparks traveled across the ground.

"Eh?" Kyoko muttered as a wall rose up in front of her. "Aw, what the hell? Alchemy…?" She turned to Ed with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. "Ya know. That's cheatin'."

"You cheated first!" He yelled, pointing his finger at her. He then leaned on a wall, trying to catch his breath. "You… were… dying of cold… yesterday… damn it!"

"I wasn't "dying of cold". I just got a little chill is all." She said nonchalantly, adding a little shrug to punctuate her lack of fucks given.

"A little chill!?" Ed yelled, now extremely frustrated.

While Edward raged, Al stood at the entrance (well…now the only exit) of the alley. He watched them carefully, waiting to step in if something goes wrong. "We did catch you." Al pointed out.

"Yeah, by cheating." Kyoko muttered, crossing her arms. She leaned against the wall behind her, tapping the back with her heel a few times.

"YOU CHEATED FIRST!" Ed roared. "QUIT SCREWING AROUND!"

Kyoko looked at him. "Don't blow a gasket there shorty." She said, tilting her head to the side with an unamused expression.

"SHORTY!?"

There was a clap, then several stone fists shot at Kyoko, much to her surprise.

"What the!? Ah!" She shouted in shock. A fist crashes into the ground next to her, shattering and creating a cloud of dust. The others shoot through the cloud, making crumbling noises when they hit. It didn't sound like they had hit Kyoko though…

"Brother! Don't hurt her!" Al exclaimed, worried that his brother had crushed the girl in his fit of rage.

There was then a red flash of light, and then a string of chains and metal bars spun around from within the muddy cloud away. Kyoko stepped out with a look of intense annoyance on her face. The chains and metal bars connected, forming a powerful lance in her hands.

Ed blinked. She was wearing a red dress that was split down the middle with a pink and black skirt underneath. On her chest was the red gemstone from earlier, and it glimmered with a mystical scarlet light.

"Well then." Kyoko sighed as she twirled her lance into an offensive position. "That wasn't very nice."

Didja like it? I've been thinking about making this fanfic for a long time, and I finally decided to write it. Here's some things to clear up… Kyoko's family died a few days ago in the current time, and she recently broke off from Mami. That's why she was all sour and lying in the rain 'n stuff.

Also, as for the geography of this world... Japan is aaaall the way over to the east of Xing. Sorta kinda like how it is in our world! Sorta...

Omake:

Ed furrowed his brow in confusion, then Al stood up and turned to him. In his arms was a girl with long red hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her eyes were half opened and she seemed pretty out of it. In her hands was a tiny red gem that twinkled with a strange light.

The older brother blinked.

"Al, you can't keep a hobo as a pet." He said sternly, eyes blazing. "Go put her back right now!"

"YOU'RE SO MEAN BROTHER!" Alphonse cried, turning around and running away with his new hobo pet.

Kyoko was just barely conscious, but she could tell what was going on. "Fuck my life..." She muttered before slipping into unconsciousness.