. . . Damn. I guess I should've updated sooner, huh? All those quickies and this one's late as hell. Well, not to make any excuses, I got sidetracked by Pokémon, then summer vacation ended and school started, then came the homework, and lastly of all . . . IT'S FUCKING HOT OVER HERE. And the computer where I type these chapters is upstairs.

Summary: Of all the strange and interesting people Uzumaki Naruto had met over the years, Edward Elric definitely took the cake.

Note: This story does not follow the Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist timeline.

Also, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are sixteen years old.

And for hell's sake, let's just pretend that ninjas read newspapers.

"So you've come back, young alchemist."

"Restore Al to his proper body. Game's over, Truth."

"Ah, but I'm not done toying with you yet . . ."

Sun Boy

Ch. 4

"Alphonse Elric"

A giant blue array burst to life on the ground, crumbling the nearby buildings and making the earth quake and tremble ominously. The civilians screamed and fled for their homes while brave shinobi gathered at the sight to prepare for an attack. Out of the strange circular design rose a tall young man with bright-blond hair.

The blue array vanished, and the young man fell forward. Wary shinobi approached the unconscious man, checking for signs of danger or traps. There were none. The Anbu arrived on the scene and prodded at the man as well. The captain sat back and said, "This man isn't a shinobi. He's also clearly unconscious, so the village is not in immediate danger. Take him to the interrogation room until further notice."

"Wait!"

The Anbu who were preparing to carry the unconscious man turned to the urgent voice. Edward and Kakashi came running to the scene.

"What's going on?" asked Kakashi. "We heard a rumbling sound and came to see what caused it – Sun-san?"

Edward froze at the sight of the young man. His golden eyes were wide with shock, disbelief, and also relief. Tears pooled out of the corners of his eyes as he whispered, "It worked . . . it worked . . ."

The young man stirred in the Anbu's arms. They let him down as he groaned miserably, "That was the worst wake-up call of my life . . ."

Edward ran forward, pushing the Anbu away from the young man. He touched the blonde's shoulder gently and shook it. "Al. Wake up, it's me."

"Brother?" the young man murmured, opening hazy gray eyes. Then what he just said clicked in his mind.

"Brother!" he yelped, sitting up. He stared into the older, but familiar golden eyes of his one and only older brother. Tears filled his eyes. "I found you, Brother. I found you." He grabbed the Sun Boy in a bone-crushing hug, his tears leaking into Edward's hair and his clothes. "I found you . . ."

"I'm right here, Al."

Kakashi, the Anbu, and any other onlookers watched the joyful scene for a few moments, enjoying the happy (and tearful) reunion between the two young men. Kakashi stepped forward and laid a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Sun-san, I hate to interrupt this reunion of yours, but could you explain to us who this person is?" he asked softly.

The Sun Boy pulled away. "Kakashi-san, I'd like you to meet my younger brother, Alphonse," he replied.

As Alphonse stood up, Kakashi stifled the urge to snicker. Instead, he said, "Younger, and apparently taller."

"WHO'S TOO SHRIMPY TO BE AN OLDER BROTHER?"

Alphonse grinned. "You haven't changed at all, Brother," he said. "Still have those height issues."

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?"

"My own."

"Al!"

"Sun-san!" a young voice called out.

Alphonse turned to see a teenager with spiky blond hair run up, waving his hands wildly. "I've been looking for you!" he exclaimed, thumbing his chest. "Have no fear; Uzumaki Naruto has arrived!"

Kakashi strode over to his former student and chided him gently, "Naruto, you should analyze a scene before you rush in. We're not in danger; we're experiencing a reunion."

"If we're not in battle, I don't have to be so careful," said Naruto childishly, though inside he knew his former teacher was right. Kakashi just chuckled to himself and ruffled the teenager's hair.

"Ah, Naruto-san," said Edward. "Since you're here already, you may as well be told too. This is my younger brother, Alphonse."

Naruto paused. "If he's younger, why's he taller?" he asked.

"Because Brother hates drinking milk," Alphonse cut in cheerfully, interrupting Edward's upcoming rant.

"You didn't have to tell them that!"

"Oh!" Alphonse started as though he just remembered something important. He turned to his seething older brother. "Brother, why do they call you 'Sun-san'?"

"Because I don't want to tell them my name," replied Edward.

"You don't want to or you can't?" said Alphonse.

Edward stared at his younger brother, mystified. "How did you figure that out?" he asked incredulously.

"Brother, we were side by side for years. You can't say I don't know all of your little quirks, habits and mannerisms by now," answered Alphonse.

Edward sighed. He leaned over and whispered into his brother's ear, "The Truth made me promise not to tell my name to anyone as part of the exchange to get your body back."

"Oh. So, I can tell them my name, but you can't tell them yours? What happens if you say your name?" mused Alphonse.

Edward shuddered. "I don't know. I don't want to find out," he replied. "You're all I have left."

Alphonse smiled at the little tidbit at the end, but a question popped into his head. "Brother, what if I tell them your name?"

Edward paused. Now there was a loophole Truth had apparently not thought of (or had he?). "I guess it might be safe. It's not like I can summon Truth here and ask him if that was legal," he considered.

"Excuse me, Sun-san?"

Kakashi's voice broke into the conversation of their private little world. Edward was startled by the sudden intrusion and jumped a little. "What?" he snapped.

"You do realize you have an audience?"

Edward stared at Kakashi, and then glanced around. Shit. Had they been talking out loud for everyone to hear? He groaned.

"So your name is Envy?"

In a dark, dank cave that stank of mold stood a tall figure with orange hair. His blue eyes stared hard at the smirking person in front of him, who tossed back his long hair in a swish of dark green.

"But of course. Now, I would like to make a deal with you."

"What makes you think you can make a deal with me?"

"Because I know what you want. If I go out and capture a jinchuuriki for you, will you make an exchange with me? All I want is the Sun Boy. Don't kill him; I want to take that pleasure for myself," said Envy.

"The Sun Boy? What do you want with him?"

"Let's just say that he and I go a long way back."

"Very well. You have a deal, Envy-san."

Envy's malicious violet eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Excellent. I hope you hold up your part of the deal, Pein-san."

Short? Yes. I already mentioned the crappy things at the beginning of this chapter, so I'll make this little author's note short. Well, the three-day weekend is here, so I have some time to sit down and start writing (I can't write in the afternoon or evening because of the heat).

MangaFreak15