A/N: Well, it's time for the next chapter of this fanfic. You thought you were never gonna see it update again, huh? Well, you're wrong. Here is the next chapter. This time it's from a new character's perspective, that of Izaya (aka Roy formerly), so we will get to see a new face today and understand what he went through. It's a bit lighter than the other chapters, but it's most definitely interesting. It's been eight months, so time to update. See you in another six months, haha.

Chapter 6 What Izaya sees

Izaya Orihara sighed as he sat in his office, looking over the Internet on his phone out of sheer and utter boredom, since people watching had become a totally pointless venture for him today.

His mind returned briefly to the subject of his past life, which he remembered in bits and pieces, but acknowledged at least, unlike a certain someone who was stubborn as always in ignoring the past or any significance it might have had to him.

On the plus side, Izaya knew that now he was not as corrupt as he had once been, the thing is, he did have feelings, even though two blonds did not believe that to be the truth.

He did care about Saki, he did care about people.

He did care about his sisters.

Thing is, this wasn't the first life he'd had where he'd had to manipulate others in order to stay alive-only back then, people died. This time, no one that Izaya knew of died.

Sure, he still manipulated people, but this life was a hell of a lot better.

Sadly, there was no trace at all of his former alchemical abilities, but he did enjoy setting shit on fire, still, just to have a connection to what once was; he still hated rain a great deal (it was so inconvenient to walk and have rain pour on you while you walked, why did people enjoy walking again?).

The saddest part of this life was that now women seemed to freaking hate him and find him creepy. At least in his past life, he'd managed to attract some women.

He'd received zero.

It was very disappointing, but at the same time, he accepted it with a degree of sorrow.

Shinra used to give him funny looks when he would try to snap his fingers, only to have nothing happen. It was an old habit that he still knew of, even though it was utterly worthless here.

As Roy, he'd had so much shit on his plate to deal with, from terrorists, to military people, to crazy ass homunculi-now he just had run of the mill gang leaders, the Mafia and people who were much more predictable and easier to deal with.

Now, he mostly had to amuse himself, which sucked.

Second of all, being a kid again sucked.

He'd always been rebellious, but now he understood exactly why Edward had acted the way he did-because being a kid, simply put, sucked ass. Everyone treated you like you were stupid, needed your hand held, and were condescending (god, the childish talk was the worst. The way the adults would lean down to talk to him, god, now he knew how much of an ass he'd been to do that to Ed. Nothing like your second life to throw some humility in your fucking face.)

He was an adult, for god's sake-sitting in a classroom, doing schoolwork was boring as hell to him.

So of course he seemed like a natural genius to his parents (now he wondered just how many geniuses were just using past life knowledge to seem smart), and they bragged about him. Yes, he did see himself as smart. But part of it was cheating.

As a teenager, he'd distanced himself from everyone because first of all, teenagers are nightmares to talk to, second of all, he had zero interest in seeing people kissing everywhere, and third, the girls did not find him attractive at all. That had been the second biggest shock to him. Izaya Orihara was just the weirdo that the girls turned their noses up at.

And by god, he had looked for others who were his former friends, but he hadn't found too many. He hadn't found Riza, which stunk a lot. Sometimes, he still talked to himself like she was here, only to be reminded that he was alone. It stung.

Did he still have standards?

Of course he did.

He did care about his two younger sisters (this was a new thing for him as he had never had siblings before, so this was definitely an exciting thing to take in.).

Only...he had had no idea how to care for them.

The Elrics-they were boys, he could understand them and manage them-Alphonse had been agreeable enough and pleasant to get along with, and even Ed had his moments where he wasn't annoying or arrogant.

But sisters? They were a totally terrifying new concept to Izaya.

He supposed, if the Elrics had been female, he would have had experience with them, but alas, he did not. Some of his colleagues had been female, some of his enemies had been female, but alas, he had never had sisters.

He remembered thinking that maybe, this would be easy, when his sisters were born (twins, of all things). I mean, how much harm could babies do?

A lot.

First of all, they crawled over everything when they got old enough, and they bit into things and stuck things in their mouths and they colored with crayons on everything. It was a challenging experience for Izaya. He'd have to keep his door shut so that toddler Mairu and Kururi couldn't come in and mess up his room or try to eat one of his possessions (his mom always nagged him about cleaning the floor, much to his exasperation.)

They also got into his books and ripped out pages of them, colored in them and sat on them.

Once, they had spray painted his clothing pink.

Izaya was not amused.

And...temper tantrums.

If he thought Elric's tantrums were bad...they paled in the wake of a Mairu temper tantrum.

All the stares when she started screaming in public or crying...god, it was a nightmare, and she was so manipulative, too.

He couldn't even reason with them sometimes, they were so weird and out of this world.

Through these experiences, Izaya realized two things: one, he was not good with small children, and two, he did not like kids.

All too often, he liked pretending that he didn't have sisters, because he didn't understand them at all.

Even worse was that his sisters had decided to hate him and kill him, for whatever reason, as if that made any sense at all.

Suddenly, they went from liking him to hating him.

He wasn't sure how or why this even started, but Mairu had decided she hated her Izaya-niisan and would try to make things miserable for him one day.

He missed when they weren't saying how much they'd like to push him in front of a train and watch.

Elric would have been much better at this whole siblings thing, hell he did so well with Alphonse...even with the whole suit of armor thing.

If there was one thing that had not changed, it was that he still had some sense of charisma and people seemed to believe what he said, both good and bad, for different reasons.

He wasn't sure if he actually wanted to do half the things he said he would do, but gang wars were invariably better than the Ishval Massacre.

But one thing he had to think about was-in his old life, people had respected him, looked up to him and admired him. It was hard not to become a bit narcissistic when faced with that kind of attention. Now, he was just that annoying, creepy guy that pissed Shizuo off.

Of course, he still strutted around, acting like he was someone worthy of respect, as he was still too used to the term Colonel. It was a bad habit that died with time.

Speaking of reincarnation, his mind had first wondered, when Shizuo had attacked him for the first time-if this guy was Full Metal.

I mean, that temper of his, exploding, constant use of violence, sudden dislike for him-he seemed more likely to be Ed than anyone else. He had a younger brother whom he seemed to get along fairly well with-and he couldn't control his temper-dude, the evidence had seemed logical enough for him to believe it.

Instead, that had not been the case.

He had no idea who he had been, Shizuo was just Shizuo, an eternal being of chaos.

Either way, there was one thing to be said-although Full Metal was destructive and impetuous, he could be controlled, whereas Shizu-chan couldn't be.

He was tall, and strong, which is why on that day, he definitely went a bit too far.

Being in a teenage body sucked ass, and worst bit was from that day on, he never left him the hell alone.

The Homunculi had had a bone to pick with them, sure.

But Shizuo was just unprecedented.

Second, dogs were still just as terrified of him as they had been in his past life, despite attempts to befriend them. It did not work, and as a result, Izaya now disliked dogs, due to principle.

He didn't understand-why did they growl at him and try to bite him?

He still wondered why Shizuo hadn't been Elric-guy was the perfect candidate, the whole walking around acting like Mr. Justice and Righteous, the scolding people, the arrogance...it would have been perfect.

He'd wondered if Kasuka could be Alphonse, but Alphonse was not emotionless.

Also, Izaya missed those blue suits.

Endless black reminded him of Elric.

Yeah, he supposed he was a bit more warped, but why did only crazy women come to him?

What he wouldn't give for a Hawkeye.

As for Shinra, perhaps he was a more twisted version of Hughes.

Celty was obviously not anyone.

She was an entirely new entity to him.

The existence of a creature like that just could not be ignored, and Celty had noticed his fascination, too.

'You know, sometimes I think you're way too used to seeing supernatural things,' She had typed to him one day.

"Why would you assume that?" He had responded, in the same casual tone he always used.

'Well, you're not even afraid of me. Isn't that kind of strange?' She typed, 'Japan doesn't even have any supernatural creatures, but you act like this is nothing new to you.'

He got the feeling that Celty, at least, knew there was more to him than met the eye.

But maybe even Celty could see through the whole thing and she knew somehow that he was an old soul.

When he hadn't responded, she'd continued typing.

'I would say that maybe you're older than you look.'

He was surprised and he wasn't.

"How'd you guess?" He said, annoyed that his mask had been penetrated through so easily.

She was much older than he was, both physically, mentally and psych-gah, he gave up trying to count how old she was.

'I mean it's quite obvious. You walk around, acting like you're older than you actually are. It's obvious that Shinra would never believe it. So I'm betting you're actually really an old man, huh, Izaya?'

And then Celty had gone on to be so savage that Izaya could do nothing but stare, open-mouthed.

"I'm not old!" He snapped.

'Well, your soul is, so you are old and decrepit.' And she'd left it at that.

Shinra had wondered what they were talking about, but Izaya had blown it off, and had tried to not blow his top afterwards.

He was...not...old!

He was...young, dammit.

Back on the search for the Elric Brothers...he'd tried, but unfortunately, there was no massive human transmutation attempt that would have made locating them easy as pie.

At first, he thought the Ryuugamine kid might have been Alphonse, but dismissed that once he saw the kid's twisted side. Alphonse would never be that way.

But then, he'd taken a certain interest into a certain dysfunctional family.

Izumii Ran could NEVER be Elric.

But his brother, Aoba, was a curiosity-he seemed to hate him for no real reason, and seemed to think he knew a lot about him.

He remembered how he'd met him.

That had gone...well.

God, he hated kids.

Saki was the only acceptable teen.

"You're Kuronuma-san, right?" He said, extending his hand out for the boy to take.

The kid didn't take it, however.

"I don't like you." Was the only thing he'd said.

At first, he'd thought this brat was Elric, the impudence and arrogance fit so well.

However, the more he thought about that-the younger brother wouldn't be Ed.

But apparently, this one was Alphonse. Was, he thought, as Aoba Kuronuma was so twisted that it was unbelievable.

But on the inside, he was still the same kid that wanted his brother, which sucked ass knowing what kind of monster his "older brother" was now.

"I know why you're looking at me like that." He said, which caught the kid off guard.

Bingo. Alphonse had never been good at hiding his emotions, unlike Ed.

"What?"

"It's been a long time, Alphonse."

"I don't go by that name anymore." He groaned.

"So it is you, then? I figured."

"Always manipulating me in some way or another," Aoba grunted, doing a very Ed-ish face.

"You're even more like your brother now than you were back then." He chirped, which earned him a death stare.

"Which brother?"

"Why, Ed of course. Do you even know where Ed is?"

"No, and he's definitely not Izumii." He said.

"No, of course he isn't." Izaya agreed.

Reincarnation wouldn't be that much of a dick.

Aoba smirked at him. "How is your luck with the ladies? It's kind of hilarious seeing you be around our age, you know. I bet they run in fear at your jacket and horrible fashion sense, Colonel-or should I say, Orihara?"

"Shut up." He muttered. Since when did Alphonse adopt his brother's snide ways?

"I knew it, your fashion sense is terrible, even you know it-"

"You're making it worse." Izaya sank into his chair.

Oh god, why.

"And you can't even set anything on fire, so you kind of suck. But I do have a potential idea as to who my brother could be."

At this, Izaya's interest was piqued. "Who?"

"Um, the rival gang, the Yellow Scarves...their leader."

"Gang leader?" Izaya muttered, quite skeptical.

"Yeah, Kida Masaomi. I know it's hard to believe, but he looks a lot like him and stuff, we've never actually met in person, though. The description I got of him sounds like him, and I just have this feeling that it's him. To be honest, I thought Shizuo was Brother, but he's not."

"I know, I thought so, too."

"You know, you're actually nicer these days and less of a dick. Did being a kid again make you change?" Aoba said.

"I am not nice." Izaya muttered.

"Or is it your failure with women and your small-"

"That's enough." He snapped. He'd expect this shit from Elric, not his brother.

Had the world turned upside down or something?

So he'd decided to check out this "Kida Masaomi," and much to his surprise, Aoba was correct.

So, when he had met Kida-kun, it was through sending Saki-chan to him.

The second he'd met the boy for the first time, he wasn't quite sure if his suspicions were correct.

His aura was way too easy to read; nervous, curious but...wary, and nervous mostly.

Full Metal didn't tremble before him, he had always stared defiantly.

He supposed the rebelliousness was still there-defiance for authority was the same.

Still, he scolded the kid mentally for being so easy to read.

From what he'd read now, Edward-er, what was his name now-Kida, yes that's right (the name felt weird, but at least it had a D in it). At least Ed was still a boy.

"You're Kida Masaomi-kun, right? I'm Izaya Orihara."

"Izaya-sama knows everything and whatever he says comes true."

'That's only because I've had another life to figure things out before this one.' He thought, annoyed.

The plan was to have Saki find out more about Masaomi by dating him.

But he didn't expect her to actually fall for him.

Cue yet another shock-Elric wasn't oblivious to romance this time, amazing.

Actually aware of romance?

Izaya felt his reality crumble to pieces around him.

A flirtatious Edward Elric was not the Ed he wanted to see.

This was creepy.

What the hell.

The smirks and the confidence were still the same, but it was more casual and relaxed.

But still, a mask.

His eyes were still the same, though they were amber in color.

His hair was what puzzled him the most-it was actually brown, but dyed blond.

Perhaps he innately knew that he was supposed to be a blond-he couldn't fault him for remembering that.

However, his fashion sense, too, seemed to have died.

A scarf? Seriously?

He'd preferred him with his coats.

No more red, but yellow and black, apparently.

The first thing he'd said was that Kida looked like a bee, which made Saki laugh and Kida frown.

He expected an Elric temper tantrum any second now, but instead got a whiny response.

"I think it looks cool."

"Your fashion could use some work." He said, trying to get some semblance of Ed out of him.

"So could yours!"

Wow, such a lame insult.

Full Metal had been much better-but perhaps he was being unfair here, this was just a kid who knew nothing of trauma or war or pain.

Then again, he had lost his mother, in like a terrible car accident, apparently.

And his father?

His father apparently lived separately from him and did not visit.

...That was way too familiar.

Izaya felt himself feeling bad for the kid, losing his mom in not one lifetime but two?

That was some awful luck there.

The one thing he was glad to see was that the kid had his limbs attached. No more automail.

He glanced over his arm and leg and was momentarily stunned to see no automail before chiding himself.

Oh right, new life.

Still, it was really strange to see him with no metal limbs.

"Why are you staring at my arm? It's kind of weird."

"Oh nothing, I guess I've just...taken an interest in you."

The boy stared at him. "Why? Are you a pedophile?"

At this, Izaya almost died inside.

Come to think of it, his past self taking in a twelve year old and his brother would not fly in this world.

This insult did hit him a little bit, but not enough. That was proof enough for him that this boy was Ed.

"So, tell me about yourself, Kida-kun." He said.

"Tell you what?" Kida snapped, "I don't even really know you."

"But we're supposed to get to know each other as acquaintances."

"You're really creepy."

"Do you have any siblings?"

Upon hearing this question, a strange look crossed his face.

"No...why would you say that? I'm an only kid."

Wow, fate really was a son of a bitch.

Even Izaya had assumed that Ed would have a sibling, he was just the best kind of brother. The fact that he had none now was nothing short of a tragedy.

"Well, I have two and they're a pain in the ass." He said half-heartedly.

"I always wanted a sibling, but it's easier to just take care of myself."

Count time number two the difference blew him away.

For a few seconds, he wondered if he had actually heard him right.

"I really don't know how I would handle a sibling. Something tells me I do know, but whatever, I never babysat kids." He sounded dismissive of the whole thing, "I don't know, maybe it's just longing."

"Maybe you do have a mysterious sibling living elsewhere, who's been raised separately from you, Kida-kun."

"No, the odds of that are ridiculous." He said.

Ah, the logic and sarcasm, still there, though not as biting as they used to be.

The kid was too friendly, too open, however.

The biggest problem with Kida Masaomi was that he was a coward.

The thing he'd admired about Elric was that he'd been a brave kid. He always fought back.

But Kida preferred to run away.

He was totally floored when Saki had been kidnapped, per his orders-he'd been expecting the kid to charge in there and save Saki like the old Ed, but...he hadn't done anything at all.

Clearly, this was not the same Elric who'd been tempered by PTSD. This was just an ordinary person.

The kid was smart, but not as smart as Elric had been.

The kid did seem to be good at science and math, same as usuals.

He didn't seem to be interested in school.

Apparently, he was lazy.

He wasn't surprised.

So when he saw him in the hospital, he'd wanted to chew him out, but he'd approached it a different way.

"You're too different, you're not like what you were like before."

"Before?" The kid asked, after trying and failing to punch him, dramatically. That was in character.

"What do you mean, like how I was before?" An irritable look, very familiar, although much less intimidating.

He hadn't answered him.

The strangest thing that he found out was that the kid didn't hate milk, he liked it.

He'd thought that surely Ed's dislike for milk would carry through all of his lives.

He actually saw him drinking milk, and had to wonder if this was real.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" He demanded.

"Well, because you're drinking milk." He said, hoping this would jog his memory.

"I like it, what other reason is there?"

Izaya stared at him as though hell had frozen over.

"What, it's just milk? I don't get why you're making a big deal out of it, oh, it's probably because Shizuo likes it."

How could something so essential have been thrown away?

"You are pretty short, Kida."

This had to work-

"So?"

That also threw him for a loop.

Not reacting to short jokes?

What the actual fuck.

It was much easier to provoke him, though, way easier.

"Really, I am disappointed, Ed."

The other just looked at him in complete confusion. "What?"

"You know what I mean, Ed."

"What are you talking about?" Kida tried to sound like he didn't know what he meant, but there was a clear, sudden hint of fear about him.

Ah, so he had hit a spot.

"You reacted." He said.

"Izaya, you're creeping me out." He muttered, "I just came here to see Saki and that's all."

Izaya tried speaking in German and the kid had answered, before looking confused. Ah, so he did speak it.

It seemed like he had no idea how.

"You can speak German, huh? You are him, aren't you?"

"What are you even talking about?" He demanded, "I don't even know you that well, Izaya-san, stop."

Then the kid had run away, how predictable.

Really, he would have rather the kid have punched him.

Instead, it was Alphonse who was unpredictable.

One second, he'd act like he liked him, the next he hated him.

However, the kid was still a kind-hearted person at heart.

He did hear Masaomi tell Mikado something that made him wonder how much the kid actually did know, and was just avoiding-apparently, Mikado liked horror movies while Kida didn't.

"I don't like seeing people lose limbs, that's just gross to me."

"Really? I don't mind that."

"It's just kind of scary, maybe."

The kid also hated dogs, which made sense.

"Why are you afraid of dogs, Kida?"

"I just don't like them, or children, especially little girls with their hair in pigtails."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just don't. Besides, dogs are scary."

It was irritating that Kida Masaomi was less independent than Ed.

He did miss Ed, but Masaomi was easier to handle, at least.

He wasn't flying off the handle about almost everything.

"So what's my brother like? He won't even talk to me."

"He's cowardly, he's weak, he's kind of childish, sarcastic and cynical and logical, and still fights easily, but he's also a romantic."

Aoba almost died. "That's impossible!"

"But he is. He even has a girlfriend. And his jokes are terrible."

"He...he doesn't even react to being called short."

Aoba looked more like reality had collapsed.

"What? That's impossible."

"And also, he drinks milk."

"Fate is really fucking strange." Aoba said.

"Don't curse, Elric."

"It's Aoba now, and you're not my boss anymore."

Goddamn it, he had a point.