Hey there every one! This is my second fanciction! It's a Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic! xD Please r&r! Enjoy! Please R&R! Thank you! Disclaimer: I do not own or make profit off of Fullmetal Alchemist. All rights go to the respected parties.

Chapter 1

"Breathe in. Breath out." The river washed over my bare feet. I concentrated on the energy flowing through the earth. I let the current of the water pace the current of my blood. This was Alchehestry. It is the study of using the earth's chi to transmute. It came from Xing and is mostly used for medical purposes. I, however, am an Alchemist. That is the study of deconstructing and reconstructing matter. I lived my life based on Equivalent Exchange; something must be lost for something to be gained.

My brother, Alphonse, and I were now learning Alchehestry in order to combine the two sciences. A fish swam over my right foot, breaking my concentration. I lost the connection to the chi.

"Damn," I swore under my breath. My prosthetic metal left leg didn't feel the fish as it swam over my left foot. I lifted my leg out of the water just to test if it still worked properly. I laughed at myself. Of course it still worked. I had the best mechanic around! I kicked my foot above my head and felt eyes upon me.

I looked across the narrow river to the forest on the other side. My eyes crashed into a pair of big brown eyes rimmed with thick lashes. My loose hair and bangs fell into my eyes, partially obscuring the other pair of eyes. I realized that I still had my foot in the air. I lowered it slowly to the ground as blood quickly ran into my cheeks. Why am I blushing? I don't blush! I'm Edward Elric! The Fullmetal Alchemist! The sound of disrupted water broke my self questioning. The girl was crossing the river.

She was wearing an ankle-length, flowing, red skirt with a loose, light purple t-shirt. Her hair was black, wavy, thick, and running all the way down to her mid-thigh. I noticed she was carrying a water jug under her left arm. There were the ends of faint scars peaking out from under her sleeve. Her skin was a light brown. While she crossed, I put my hair back in its usual braid. When she finally reached my side she didn't even say hi!

"That's automail, isn't it?!" Her voice was excited. I stared at her blankly.

"Yeah," I answered cautiously.

"Yay!" She squealed, clapped her hands, and began to jump up and down. She's just like Winry, getting excited over automail, I thought. My smile was rueful as I thought of Winry. I barley noticed that the girl stopped jumping.

"Could you tell me who your mechanic is? My brother needs to get automail!" Her eyes were no longer excited. The shimmer in her eyes had hardened in to a fierce determination. She reminded me of Al.

"Yeah, sure. My mechanic is the best you'll ever meet." Al and Winry, they made me feel alone sometimes. But before I could become too depressed on the subject, the girl assaulted me. Well, not really. She threw her arms around my waist and the blood rushed back into my cheeks. Damnit, Ed! Get a hold of yourself! Her wet clothes were cold against my bare chest.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She buried her face into my neck. Her tears fell onto my shoulder. I tentatively wrapped my arms around her shoulders and she cried even harder. I knew that feeling. It was the feeling of not being able to help your brother, the absolute despair of seeing your brother in pieces. Luckily, Alphonse and I were past that. He'd gotten his body back. I didn't get my limbs back. I didn't really care though. I still had alchemy and, more importantly, my brother's body back. I saw the goose bumps form on her skin as my cold left arm touched her.

"Nobody would help us," she whispered into my collar bone. "They called us 'Dirty Ishvalans.' We're not Ishvalan! I swear! We're from the west of Creta! No one would listen to us! Our brown skin stopped them from listening!" Her tears flowed freely again. I hugged her back tightly and rested my cheek on top of her head. How much could this girl and I have in common?

"I knew you weren't Ishvalan. But, even if you had been, I wouldn't have turned you away." I tried to be positive. She sniffled and looked into my eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. I smiled and patted her head.

"Let's go get your brother. My mechanic's not far from here." She smiled and apologized for crying so much.

"It's nothing to be sorry for but, um, could you please let me go?" I asked. She blushed! Ha! I'm not the only one who blushed today! She released me but took my hand instead.

"I'll show you to my brother."

"Hm." I nodded in agreement and we crossed the river.