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The Razor Wind Alchemist

Chapter 1: Sharing

"Please, Father! I know what I'm doing! And didn't you say that Elric boy was 12? Wasn't it half a year ago that he passed the exam? I'm only a year younger than he was! I'm ready!" I gave him my best puppy eyes.

"You know everything, huh?" I nodded eagerly. "Well, I suppose I can test you."

"If I pass, I'm a state alchemist for sure!"

He stared at me evenly. "If you don't, you wait and don't complain, okay?"

"Yeah, fine!"

"What makes up the average adult human body?"

"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorus, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Niter, 100 grams. Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, 7.5 grams. Iron, 5 grams. Silicon 3 grams. And fifteen other elements."

"Good. But let's have you take the real thing. First, what does an alchemist's transmutation circle represent?"

I didn't hesitate for very long. "The flow of the world's energy/"

"What makes up roughly 30% of the human body and can be as hard as diamond and as soft as graphite?"

"Carbon."

"What does the Law of Equivalent Exchange state?"

"To create, something of equal value must be lost."

"What is alchemy typically referred to as?"

"A science and an art."

"Well done. I can't believe I'm saying this, but welcome to the military. You're now our youngest dog. And for proof, just write down the answers here. I'll take them to Fuhrer Bradley sometime this afternoon, and he can tell me when the oral and practical examinations are."

I laughed cheerfully and started scribbling on a piece of paper, neatly but quickly. In about 8 minutes, I finished and ran outside.

Now, after about a month and a half, I'm proudly bragging of my position as the youngest state alchemist, the Razor Wind Alchemist. I was idly opening and closing my pocket watch when I saw a kid with blond hair in a braid and a walking suit of armor.

I cried out. They looked at me. Then my eyes were wide again, this time with horror. "You didn't…" The blond haired kid was obviously confused. I continued, "The armor… He was a human before, wasn't he? And you attempted human transmutation, didn't you?"

"Uh, yeah… How'd you know?"

"What's wrong with you? Whoever the poor guy is, his soul is trapped in that armor and he's hardly human now! Am I right? You can't eat, sleep, feel pain or any touch at all…"

"No! No, no, you've got that wrong." The suit of armor's arms flailed. "It's a long story, but he saved my life. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here… I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my brother Ed."

Elric! My father always talked about "the Elric boy," the youngest state alchemist. He said he was the Fullmetal Alchemist. "Then you're the second youngest state alchemist?"

"No, I'm not a state alchemist…"

Ed broke in. "Wait, what do you mean, the second youngest?"

I grinned. "Oh, so it's you, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist. But you haven't answered my question."

"I mean, you're the second youngest to become a state alchemist. Hasn't Mustang told you?"

"We just got back here... Who's the youngest now?"

I walked over to him. "Here are a few fun facts about the newest state alchemist. Her name is Kaytlyn Mustang. She became a state alchemist a month ago. She's only 11 years old. Her parents are dead, so the colonel took her in and…

"She thinks it's a pleasure meeting you." I grinned at his reaction: slow realization. "How's it going? I'm the Razor Wind Alchemist."

"No way! I guess you're the first female state alchemist, then."

"Think so. But I could be wrong." My face lit up like the bright bulb of an idea. "Hey, why don't we have a quick fight? Huh? Huh? How 'bout that?"

"What? No way am I gonna get my skull bashed in for hurting the colonel's daughter!"

"I'm not actually his daughter… Come on, it's bad enough that you're kinda puny for your age, now I see you're a wimp!"

"Don't call me puny!" His eyes narrowed angrily.

"Ooh, did I strike a tiny little nerve?"

He growled. "It's on!"

I clapped my hands together and raised one as a sword materialized from blue electricity. I held the blade in front of me as he did the same, but his automail limb transformed into a sword.

"Brother…!"

"Al, don't get yourself in this, okay?" Al made a worried whimpering noise, but stood his ground.

I charged at him and the swords colliding sent sparks to the concrete. I feigned a jab and he flipped back. He stumbled forward and swiped out at me. I barely managed to do a matrix, his blade-arm nicking my forehead. I yelped slightly, not in pain, but fearfully.

He backed up for a second. "You all right?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I'd be more worried about you!" Takes more than that to hurt me… I held a finger to the tiny injury, small as a paper cut, but now unnoticeable. As I swung at him, it startled drizzling. I laughed and whipped out one more time before stopping. I loved the rain! And I didn't really want to fight in it, anyway.

I laughed again and pointed the sword at the ground. It faded in sparks. "All right, let's just call that a draw."

"Yeah, sure." Ed looked at me, slight amusement on his face.

"Think Al here will rust up?"

Al looked up into the sky. "No, I don't. Too bad I can't feel it, though…"

I looked at him sympathetically and thought of my own story. "Do you two mind telling me why you're all metallic and stuff?"

Ed looked at Al and nodded. "We were trying to bring back our mother." I cocked my head to the side.

Al explained, his voice pained, "She was really sick, and just died. So we attempted human transmutation… Brother lost his arm and sacrificed his leg to attach my soul to something. My body was gone. He managed to stuff me in here."

"Oh. I'm sorry." I looked down. "What about your father?"

Ed's glance was steely. "He abandoned us."

I was regretting asking, but decided to share with them my tragic tale. "That's how it is for me, too. Kind of…" I looked at a tree not far off, focusing my attention on anything but the ground. "I never knew my parents… I was with my older brother. One day he just disappeared, and I roamed the streets for a while.

"I studied all of Mustang's books when he took me in. It was raining hard that day, but when I saw the books, it's all I wanted to do. So I know alchemy like the back of my hand." I did leave some details out, but I didn't want to mention them…

Ed's gaze was solemn. "We should get going inside somewhere. I don't want to get soaked."

I nodded curtly. "Come on." I led them to a smaller building near Central. Inside, I snapped and the flame of a candle leapt half an inch. Upon snapping three more times, three more candles gave the room a mysterious glow.

"This is my sanctuary, if you wanted to give it a name. I just come here to learn more, and think. Or nap sometimes."

I sat down on the old couch, which wasn't as torn as it ought to be. It was just ancient. I invited them to sit. Ed sat, Al scanned the room. Ed's eyes landed on a flask. In it was a red liquid. "Is that a…?"

"Philosopher's stone? Looks like that, doesn't it?" I shook my head. "I experiment all the time, but I can't tell you what to expect from that…"

"You know, you act a lot more mature than your age," Al mused.

I gave a soft laugh. "I was raised by Mustang." Ed yawned and stretched. "If…if you guys need a place to crash, there's a spare room through that door."

Ed stared for a second. We were both contemplating the fact that we had just met, but his fatigue won him over. "Thanks." He and Al headed through.

I walked to the slightly cracked mirror and took off my bandana. Grabbing a needle and black thread I always had handy, I sewed the slight tear. Turning from the mirror, I headed back over to the couch. A little nap couldn't hurt.

But a dream could. My true identity, my history and who I really was… It haunted me all the time.

A voice lewdly muttered, "She's just like us. We must pay her a visit."

"We don't have that time," another voice spit.

Yet another person huffed, "No time? We have plenty of time!"

An overconfident voice: "That's true. We're wasting it. We need to put him before anyone else, even kin."

"Or what?" Voice # 5 griped.

Someone else whined, "Can we eat first?"

"No, I doubt it," a bored voice drawled.

The first voice, distinct and female, hissed, "Quiet!"

I sat up, sweat trickling down my forehead.