For as long as Edward could remember, his twin sister Emma had always been different.

Out of all his siblings, his twin sister was the only person who didn't inherit their father's eye colour, having inherited their mother turquoise eyes and those strange whisker marks on her cheeks. Emma always clung to their mother and father, demanding for hugs and being picked up by their father. Sure, Edward loved how their mother wrapped her arms around him but it wasn't like his younger sister. Alphonse was a toddler but he wasn't like his big sister. In fact, Alphonse asked for less hugs than his twin sister.

"Play with me, Ed."

Edward looked away from his storybook and stared at his twin sister, who had one of the toy blocks his mother had given him for their second birthday. Just like Winry, his younger sister never went for the dolls their mother and friends gave her. No, his twin sister always went for his toys. Not that he minded because his twin sister was more fun to play with. She never ever cried whenever he picked on her, always smiling and laughing at him while their baby brother cried.

"No."

"Why not? Mama won't play with me because she is taking care of Al," his twin sister said, folding her arms against her chest. "And she wouldn't be spending so much time with our baby brother if you haven't made him cry again. It is your fault he is always crying."

Edward scowled at his sister's words and wondered why she always took Alphonse's side over his. They were twins so why didn't she take his side? Why must she always worry about their baby brother? And why wasn't she angry their mother favour their only brother over them? Of course, Emma also had their father's favour. Father would smile at their sister, ruffled her blond hair and accept her demands of him carrying her over his shoulder. His baby sister didn't understand why he kept picking on Al and her.

"Mother always prefers to take his side over mine and the same goes for you," Edward muttered, looking away from his twin sister's curious eyes. His sister blinked her eyes, stared at him for a good few seconds before finally taking a seat beside him and his open storybook, which told fairy tales of a land far away. The girl flickered her eyes to the book, looking at it with a pain that Edward didn't understand, before looking at him straight in the eye. "You and mother love Al more than me."

"I don't want to take Al's side all the time but you always make him cry," his sister pointed out, staring at the book. "Mama doesn't take his side because she loves him more than she loves us. She carried me and you together and babies aren't easy to carry if they are anything like the puppies that one of my friends have. Also, I don't love Al more than you! The both of you are my little brothers!"

"I'm the older twin!" Edward grumbled, earning a laugh from his sister. Why did she always call him her little brother? Who was Emma to call him little? He was older than her by ten minutes and she was shorter than him by one inch. If anyone should be called young, it should be Emma. She was the shortest one between them and the younger twin, not him. Mother and Father always pointed this out to her but his sister refused to listen to them. It was getting to the point their parents was simply agreeing to their sister's demand.

"You don't act like the older brother," Emma grumbled, staring at him with strange eyes. "Big brothers are supposed to protect their younger siblings, Ed and you haven't done a good job on it. It is our job to protect Al when Mother can't protect him even if it is from each other. She wouldn't have given birth to us if she hates you and if I didn't love you, I wouldn't ask you to play with me or tell everyone you are my brother. I wouldn't have to tell you all my secrets or explain to you why Mother spends so much time with baby brother 'cause I would let you get into even more trouble."

"You let Mother scold me for being mean to Al."

"Being scolded by Mother isn't that bad," Emma said, looking out at the window where their younger brother was following their mother. She smiled at him like she knew something he didn't which was impossible because he had always been the more knowledgeable twin. "A lot of people would kill to get scolded by a parent once in awhile….it means someone cares about us, it means they are paying attention to us."

It is when his twin sister says those words that even at the age of two, Edward knew his sister was hiding something from him. He didn't know what it was but the sadness in her eyes was strange. It made her look older and he didn't like it. He was the older brother, he was the one who should look older, not her. Emma was supposed to be the happy twin; the sister who would never stop smiling even when he picked on her.

"I still don't like the fact she scolds me."

"One-day little brother, you will miss the way Mother and Father scold you," his sister said, staring out at the window. "And when that day happens, you will only have me and Al to help you through it, which is why you should be good to us! Now go downstairs and apologize to Al for being a jerk. Please, Ed, Al is our only brother and we need to protect him like Mother protected us when she had us."

When his sister put it in that way, Edward guessed he had no choice but to apologize to their baby brother but he was going to do it in front of their mother. He understood his sister's point and maybe he could be a bit more nice to their younger brother, if not for Mother's sake then for Emma's sake.

The last thing he wanted was to disappoint his twin sister too.

It had been two years since Naruto Uzumaki was reborn into Emma Elric but unlike her previous life, she had a big brother and a little brother to protect and two parents who loved them with all their heart. Trisha and Van Hohenheim were never going to replace her first parents but they were giving her everything she used to dream about in her previous life. Her mother brushed her long hair, hugged her and praised her for every good deed she did while her father, though distant from her, never refused her demands for hugs and piggyback rides.

It felt good to have so much affection from them but at the same time Emma couldn't help but noticed that something was wrong. Not with their family as a whole but with their father. Van Hohenheim's energy didn't feel completely human, not like the way her mother and sibling's energy felt. It was something she came to noticed when she regained her memories of her past life.

Feeling her throat clogging up, the little girl tightened her grip on her twin brother and baby brother. The death she had saved the world and had given her the life she so dearly wished she had when she had been Naruto Uzumaki. It was, for this reason, she clung to her parents, protected Al and played with Ed like there was no tomorrow.

She would do anything to protect her brothers and parents even if it meant giving her life for them.

Emma kept her eyes closed when she felt her father standing over her and her brothers. Was he going to stare at them like usual? Why didn't he ever stroke their hair or cheeks? What was it about them that their father was scared about? His fear was something she could feel radiating in spades just as she could feel her mother's concern radiating through the door.

"You know you can stroke their hair or pat them," her mother said to their father. "You shouldn't wait for Emma to demand those things from you, for you to do it. They are your sons and daughter. Why must you be so restrained with them?"

Emma closed her eyes tightly and tightened her grip on her two brothers. Her mother was asking him the one question which had been in her mind from the moment she received the memories of her past life as Naruto Uzumaki. This man was one of the few father figures she had, the other being Iruka-sensei and Jiraiya. She knew from her own memories, from watching the other kids that it was strange for their father to try to be distant from them.

"I don't want them to become monsters like me."

Monsters? Did her father really believe he was a monster? Emma knew what real monsters were like. Monsters were people who had wanted Naruto Uzumaki to die and tried everything in their power to make it happen. People who loved to kill, people who would ignore the cries of a crying child were monsters. Van Hohenheim was anything but a monster to her. A monster wouldn't radiate with the guilt that her father had.

Emma let go of her brother and twisted to her stomach, wishing not for the first time she could tell her father that she didn't think he was a monster. She wished she could tell him about her past life, about the things she experienced and the way she died but her father would never believe her. No one would ever believe her if she said she was Emma Elric and Naruto Uzumaki because you couldn't be two people at the same time.

"That man doesn't know what a monster is, does he Naruto?" Kurama said to her as she thought about the conversation she overheard. "A monster wouldn't have done the things he did for you. He wouldn't have given you those piggy rides that you asked for so much nor would he deny you the right to live."

"I can't tell him something that he won't believe in," Emma whispered as her mother's smooth hands pushed her long golden hair back. "Do you think he will believe in the idea of reincarnation? It goes against his very belief as an alchemist. Even then, what if someone overhears me when I tell him this? What if he asked me how old was I when I died? I can't tell him I died seventeen by the hands who I loved with all my heart."

"You still love that fool even though he was the reason why you could never accomplish your dream? You still love that blasted Uchiha despite the fact he killed you!"

"I wish I can control how I feel," Emma answered, causing Kurama to shut up. "Do you think I want to stay in love with him? You think I don't know what he did to me. His actions has been haunting me for the past three months...I am afraid to sleep because I know I will see his bloodied face and body."

"Naruto…"

"Do you know what his last question for me was?" Emma asked the fox as she placed her hands over her two brother's bodies. "He asked me if the two of us survived if I would give him a chance? He told me the word sorry, a word I thought he didn't know how to pronounce."

"And would you? You don't know if he has been reborn like you or if they even gave him the chance like they did with you," Kurama stated and the blonde knew the fox was scowling at her. "That Uchiha of yours carried so many sins and did things that aren't forgivable. He murdered you in cold blood!"

For all Kurama knew, Truth may have allowed Sasuke to pass through the gates. There was no telling what went through that being mind but then again her friend would need to give something in return. The sins her friend carried were just too big for it to be ignored. He had murdered his big brother, had lied and did so many other terrible things just because he wanted revenge.

She wouldn't let Edward and Alphonse walk down a dark path and would make sure they become good people.

"I will protect you guys," Emma whispered, gazing at her two young brothers. "Even if it is from each other because I don't want to lose another member of my family. I will protect the two of you and our parents with all of my strength."

Something was telling her that those two brothers of her would need all the protection that they could get.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think. Also, would anyone be willing to Beta-read this? Please PM me if you are interested.