Through The Looking Glass Ch. 7
Author: Only_dani
Title: Though The Looking Glass Ch. 7
Rating: PG (for language)
Warnings: Spoilery abounds
Summary: Ed and Al just saved each other from the gate, but when they land in Karakura town and find that Shinigami are fighting Envy it turns their little world upside down. Rated M for adult situations and language but mostly will be PG. Possible het and Yaoi pairings in future chaps. WARNING: The pairings will be odd.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fullmetal Alchemist and I dont make any money writing this, its simply the product of my over active imagination combined with my overwhelming urge to write.
Previous Chapters:
Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6
Chapter 7: Seek and Ye Shall Find
Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find;
Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asks, receives, and he that seeks will find,
and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
Al had to admit he was feeling pretty good since Urahara gave him that round blue pill. It was like everything was normal and then -BAM- unlimited energy! And really, who didn't want unlimited energy? The only real drawback was the fact that he really couldn't stop talking and Brother was starting to give him dubious glances out from under his golden bangs the faster he talked.
"And I never thought food would taste as good as it did! I almost forgot but man am I glad I remember now, candy is so sweet and meat is so meaty. Although I don't really like those little green ball thingies, I think their called peas. The only bad thing about being in my body again is going to the bathroo-mff frmmf lnggpft," Ed had clapped a hand over his mouth but the moment the thought was in Al's head he just couldn't let it sit silently. Ed watched him with a rather pink face and after a few more muffled words he removed the hand covering his mouth in the hopes that the topic had changed.
"-looks kinda like-frrmgh hnngh grffht-"
"Urahara what the hell was in that thing you gave Al?" Ed asked, looking from his brother to the shopkeeper talking quietly with Tessai across the training room floor.
"Oh it was just a little gift from the 4th division. It's a reiatsu booster they use in times of battle in order to keep up with all the casualties. He might be a little on the energetic side for a few hours."
"fantastic." Ed said dryly and kept his mouth over Al's rambling mouth. Rukia had come up alongside the two and gave a long look to Al.
"That's made for people on our side of the gate, are you sure it won't change his reiatsu Urahara?" Rukia queried. Urahara shook his head.
"No it works by boosting the persons own reiatsu. He'll be fine. He also might start to glow but that's simply a side effect, it just means you can see his reiatsu better."
"I think he's starting to glow right now! It's a really nice red color." Orihime said as she looked over Al. Sure enough she was right, he could feel his body start to tingle just the tiniest bit and when he raised his arm to look it over it was surrounded by a faint crimson light that looked eerily close to the glow the philosophers' stone gave off. His rambled, muffled words died out as he took a closer look at himself. It must have been the connection he had to the stone; it was the only real explanation he had for glowing that exact color. He caught Ed's eye and could see some dark emotion that Al wasn't sure of as he looked over his small frame.
"What's wrong brother?" Al asked as he pushed Ed's hand from his mouth.
"The color. It's the same as the philosophers' stone. It's changed you in so many ways." Ed's head tipped downwards so his hair fell in his eyes, hiding the sorrow Al knew was there.
"Of course it was going to change me. It was either that or death remember?" Al said lightly and brought up a hand to rest on his brother's forearm. Ed gave a quick laugh at that.
"And now we're using you as bait for this fucking experiment. I'm a horrible brother." Ed said softly.
"It needs to be done, and I would have done it whether you asked me to or not. We need to get home. I wanna see Winry again." The words just tumbled out and Al cursed himself for the slip. He could feel his face heat up and his brother's all too intelligent eyes snapped to his.
"Winry huh?" Ed asked with a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Al didn't bother saying anything else, just nodded his head with flaming cheeks, then inwardly blamed it on Urahara and the energy pill, and made a mental note to himself to grow his hair out.
"Alright I got everyone setup on the hills back there. We're ready any time you guys are." Renji stated to Urahara and gave a quick smile to Ed and Al. The two boys nodded at that.
Renji was actually a great help in strategizing everyone, as well as where the gate should go after he had received an explanation of the size of the thing. Ed and Al were directed to an area near the centre of the facility where a wide flat area approximately twenty feet by twenty feet was flanked on three sides by large hills. The first one was directly behind where he, Ed, Orihime and Tessai were going to be and Renji had decided that Rukia and Ichigo were to be placed on that shelf. The second one, off to Al's left was at an angle where Uryuu was placed so that he would have a good vantage point with his bow. The third hill off to Al's right was where Renji was taking up his place and everyone was cautioned about what could happen if that gate were to open.
Tessai and Orihime were walking up behind Ed and Al to take up their places for the experiment. According to the plan Tessai was going to use some kind of Kidou in order to keep the doors closed so that Urahara could get some readings alongside Chad, who was asked to stand beside the gate and push the doors closed if in fact they did open. Truthfully Al would have been happy in not doing this at all. Just thinking about bringing that gate back up gave him chills and turned his stomach. The problem was that in order for them to get home they would actually have to travel through that thing. Again. And he grit his teeth at just the thought of doing something like that.
"Tessai, Orihime are you two ready?" Urahara asked as he watched the two take up their places, Tessai behind them and Orihime between Ed and his own now glowing body. They both nodded at the shopkeeper.
"Tessai you know what to do. Orihime remember to bring up your shield to protect these boys. Now is everyone ready?" Urahara asked as he came up alongside the four people standing in the centre of the training facility.
"No but we don't really have much of a choice now do we." Ed sighed and tightened his fists that rested at his sides. "Al I'm ready whenever you are." Al looked up at his brother with worried but excited eyes.
"We're gonna need to make a circle that will bring up the gate but without the aid of human transmutation. This is going to be tricky brother."
"Tell me about it." Ed said and the two started talking about different circles that could be used. Eventually they decided on the human transmutation circle that would most definitely bring up the gate. Ed stepped forward into where they had designated the circle to be and clapped his hands. The blue light crackled along the ground in a diameter of ten feet and when the light faded a six pointed black alchemy circle surrounded Ed and Al completely.
"There I think that's what we're looking for." Ed nodded. Al walked back to the outer edge; he took in the circle and thought it over a little. If they were wanting to do an actual human transmutation then this would be perfect but since they wanted to bring up the gate it felt like there was something missing. He stared hard at the circle on the ground, as if willing the information to be found in his head.
"I don't know brother; this one is strictly for human transmutation. We would actually need a human for this one to work." Al said giving a small shake of his head. The circle needed something else, something more.
"Well what do you suggest?" Ed asked. There was a long pause before Al finally shrugged.
"This might work." He replied and clapped his hands in order to change the circle. Instead of a blue light it was red, matching his glowing reiatsu and it flared out, covering and changing the markings his brother had placed only a few moments ago. When the light faded and the new circle came into view it was still a six pointed alchemy circle but the points looked more like a star, in the centre he placed the eye that was on the doors of the gate. Ed looked over the changes and eventually nodded his head.
"I think that will work better. Good job Al." Ed clapped a hand on his shoulder but didn't look into his eyes.
"Thanks." Al started to feel a sort of tension fill him. He had never wanted to see this gate again but looking down at the ten foot circle realization struck home with a sickening thud. They were actually going to bring up the gate and not on accident either. This time it was for real.
"Wow that looks kinda creepy." Orihime said as she took a look over the boys' shoulders at the black lined circles streaming across the training ground floor.
"Wait a few minutes and you'll be able to see it up close and personal. Urahara we're ready." Ed said. Urahara nodded in Ed's direction with a small smile.
"Good to hear. Tessai here will use a binding spell to keep the doors closed. Now where did I put that detector…" He commented absently while patting down the folds of his clothing.
"I thought you were ready?" Ed yelled out and Al could see that the tension he was feeling was starting to affect his brother as well, his jaw clenched and Ed's gold eyes glittered at the delay. Urahara slapped through all pockets twice, then his eyes landed on one of the larger rocks on the outskirts of the experiment area and pulled up his short walking staff and a small piece of equipment that Al was sure looked like a kid's tape recorder with a mic attached.
"Aha! Ok now I'm ready." Urahara gave a wide smile.
"Is that a fisher price toy?" He heard Ichigo ask behind him in tones of deep amusement.
"Why yes it is Ichigo, luckily I was able to remove all the electronics from inside and switch it out rather easily. The mic does a good job of picking up reiatsu vibrations. Quite ingenious don't you think?"
"I swear you make the weirdest shit sometimes." Ichigo said while shaking his head slowly from side to side on the rock pillar directly behind Al.
"Ok everyone take your places." Ed said alongside him and the group reacted immediately. Ichigo being the first, he pulled his zanpakuto from off his back and held it by his side.
"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime stepped back a few paces and created a small amber shield that would protect him and his brother once they were done with the circle.
"Hiho Zabimaru!" Renji shouted to Al's right and he watched as his sword changed from a normal katana to slotted, spiked metal pieces attached by metal chords of some kind that looked quite nasty if you were to be hit by it.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." Rukia called out confidently and the sword in her hand changed to a beautiful shimmering white with a long tail.
"Shinigami always seem to be a little on the showy side." Uryuu said derisively off to Al's left and simply raised his arm and formed his bow. Al gave a small smile to the archer before turning back to his brother.
"Ok Al we're both gonna have to bring this up. Ready?" Ed asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Al said somberly. The two locked eyes and stepped to the outer edge of the circle. Al took a deep, shaky breath and tried to steady his hands against the emotions he felt in trying to bring up the gate.
"Ok brother, on three." Al gave a small nod to his brother. "One… two… THREE!" Al yelled the last word and the two clapped their hands simultaneously, then placed their hands on the outer edge of the circle.
The moment his hand touched it he could feel the swirl of energy that was so like that day long ago in their fathers workshop and swallowed convulsively against the memories that bubbled up within him. The energy took its time working through each circle and line, starting with the outermost lines and working their way in. Ed's half glowed electric blue while Al's glowed a deep vermillion. When the two energies met they melded together forming a metallic purple color. Eventually the two colors completely mixed together and when the entire circle glowed purple the alchemic swirl of energy started to change, picking up speed and strength and wind started blowing, whipping their hair in small circles and pulling at their clothing.
The purple color seemed to throb and Al could hear the alchemy energy crackling loudly. Then without warning the energy flow surged upwards a good twenty feet into the air, completely blocking out any view of the training facility beyond.
"We gotta get behind that shield!" Ed yelled in his ear. He was right, the light was starting to fade and he knew what was behind it. He let his brother haul him up and behind Orihime's shield. By the time they got there the purple had almost completely faded and Al could feel himself break into a cold sweat.
His brother still hadn't let go of his arm and he knew without a doubt it would be bruised come morning but at that moment he didn't care. His eyes were fixed in horrified fascination on the scene before him. The gate had appeared all right. The purple light threw the shadows into sharp relief, making the stone glow an unearthly color of grey, blue, red and silver. The large columns alongside the doors were surrounded by stone bodies and looked as if they were in some kind of eternal dance stuck on pause. The crowning above the doorway held the same stone figures, holding up a secondary stone platform that was wide and flat, also a deep grey, but what held his utmost attention were the doors. They were wide, thick and high with the same swirling eye that was in the centre of the circle.
"Holy shit!" Renji cried from his perch. Tessai strode purposefully in front of Ed, Al and Orihime, then raised his hand.
"Bakudou number sixty three - Sajo Sabaku!" He yelled and a large, thick glowing gold chain wrapped itself entirely around the gate, effectively keeping it closed. Al took a steadying breath at that. One thing he really didn't want was for those doors to open. "Urahara you can make your observations." Tessai nodded towards Urahara and the older blonde started walking up alongside the gateway, holding the mic out in front of him. After a few moments Urahara's mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown.
"Hmm. I'm getting some mixed readings here, it looks as though-" Urahara was cut off and his eyes widened in shock as the doors started to creak open. The gold chains strained and pulled tightly against the slowly opening doors.
"Urahara get back!" Al yelled. The shopkeeper only had a moment to jump out of the way to land beside Chad before the chains completely broke and the doors swung open, revealing complete darkness.
"It broke the bakudou chains!?" Rukia's tone was incredulous but Al had no time to say anything. The eyes started to open, all of them looking at him, into him, searing through his small body and he grabbed his brother's hand from his arm and held it tightly. He chanced a look at his brother and saw the same desperate and horrified face he knew he had on his own young features.
"Tessai get behind Orihime's shield NOW!" Renji yelled at the shocked, large man. The words seemed to pull him out of his trance and he scrambled back behind the shield and the three others standing mute and wide eyed at the open doorway.
"Look at that! It's like a thousand eyes all staring at me." Ichigo said uncomfortably. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the black arms started slinking out of the darkness at a high rate of speed, reaching for anything and anyone it could get a hold of.
"Al get down!" Ed yelled and threw him to the training floor, only seconds before one of the arms had come completely around the shield and a visibly shaking Orihime to grab at his glowing body. The hand grasped at air for a quick moment before pulling away and aiming for a different target that Al couldn't see.
"Hadou number eleven - Tsuzuri Raiden!" Tessai shouted behind him and the man threw a wide rope around the gate like a lasso. Tessai pulled the rope hard and a gold electrical current surged into the rope. The gate doors trembled and started to close slightly from the double attack but it was too late, the eyes were already open, the hands already grasping for anyone they could reach. The electrical current along the ropes only managed to singe some of the stone before that snapped as well, the rope falling to the ground between them.
"Holy shit this is bad. We need to destroy that circle!" Ed yelled over the clashing sounds of swords against black hands. A fearful glint was lighting his gold eyes.
"But how are we going to close the gate when we can't get to the transmutation circle?" Al asked worriedly.
"I don't know yet I need a minute to think this - Urahara look out!" Ed raised a hand to the shopkeeper. One of the hands had slunk around his left foot, pulling the older blonde completely off his feet.
"Sing Behihime!" Urahara shouted and in one deft move pulled a sword out of his short walking staff with a glow of bright red and cut into the hand around his foot. The hand immediately coiled back and Urahara was dropped in a rather undignified heap to the ground below before grabbing his hat and scrabbling to get alongside Chad, now trying to bodily close the doors with little luck.
Al was starting to feel sick. How the hell could this happen? The hands never reached for anyone and everyone before, the two times he remembered being near the gate it only tried to pull in the one opening it. He had no more time to contemplate the matter though as he watched in fearful amazement as another black hand stretched outwards, this time towards Uryuu. The archer scowled darkly and tried to jump out of the way but the hands were fast and wrapped around his waist, pulling him at a high rate of speed towards the gate. He pulled his bow back and shot three arrows into the long column of the arm. It Jerked and dropped the archer as if stung, and Uryuu landed heavily on his shoulder about ten feet off to the left of Ed, Al, Tessai and Orihime.
"The doors! Someone close those damn doors before we all get pulled through!" Uryuu shouted as he pulled himself to his knees, a hand going to the shoulder he landed on. His arm hung at an odd angle and Al swallowed thickly.
"We have no choice brother! We have to get to the circle and destroy it!" Al shouted. Ed nodded quickly but before Al could make another move he was pulled into the air, arms wrapping around neck, arms and legs. Oh god not again.
"Brother! HELP!" Al screamed and reached out with his right arm in order to grab hold of his brother.
"It went right through my shield!" Orihime cried and dove out of the way of another arm at the last moment so that the hand grasped at empty air before changing direction.
"LET GO OF HIM!" Ed screamed and Tessai and Ed both grabbed a hold of Al's body. He could feel the disgusting oily hands wrapping tighter around him, pulling him towards the terrifying darkness of the gate.
"Aim for the arms everyone!" Uryuu shouted.
"Chad we have to close those doors NOW!" Urahara cried and started helping Chad push on the heavy doors but it was no use, they didn't even budge an inch.
"I'm trying! They won't close! We need more help!" Chad shouted back.
"Tessai give me a hand!" Urahara didn't even look up from his task, desperately pushing alongside Chad in order to try to close them before Al got pulled through. Even with Tessai and Ed trying to hold him back he was still slowly sliding towards the gate.
"I can't I'm trying to keep Al from going in!" Tessai's grim voice carried to the shopkeeper and he looked up with worried grey eyes at Al being dragged closer.
"Getsuga TENSHOU!" Al heard Ichigo's call and a blue energy arc surged towards the upper portion of the gate. The doors rattled with a reverberating boom and all the eyes on the upper portion of the gate closed simultaneously as the center of the energy burst went inside the darkness.
Al was almost at the doors now, only a few feet away and his entire body strained against the blackness he was being inexplicably drawn towards. He couldn't be sucked inside again, it simply wasn't an option and fought tooth and nail to tighten the grip he had on his brother. Tessai's large hands holding his legs were tight and strong and he could feel his body pulling uncomfortably in two directions. More arms enclosed around his body, trapping him more in their darkened grip and he screamed unintelligible words of fear and distress.
Al looked fearfully at the inside of the gate he was being pulled towards and for a small moment time seemed to slow down. Everything started to come into a strange kind of focus in the darkness beyond the eyes. It was like a blurry picture of somewhere that he had seen before and he squinted his eyes at what was being shown to him. It seemed the closer he got the more in focus the picture became. It looked like an evening sky over white buildings…
"Tessai hold him and for the love of everything don't let him go!" He heard Ed's hard voice and time started to move again. He looked away from the darkness and saw the look in his brothers eyes. There was no fear, no hesitation, just the same steely determination he had always known his brother for. I'm not letting you go again his eyes seemed to say and he let go of the death grip he had on Al's midsection. Al gave him what he could of a nod, letting him know that he understood. In the blink of an eye Ed clapped his hands and smashed them into the circle under his feet. There was a loud explosion, a large cloud of grey smoke encased him and the black hands surrounding him abruptly snaked away.
Al fell hard on to the training ground floor and heard an almighty thump as the gate doors closed. He looked over to watch the last of the gate fade, shimmering into nothingness. It was like he could still feel the arms around him and looked down to see that he was in fact correct, one black arm was still coiled tightly around one of his legs.
"Get it off!" Al cried, shaking hands trying and failing to pull the black, repulsive thing off his body.
"Al your still here oh thank god your still here." Ed coughed through the smoke and hugged him tightly. Al didn't have time to hug back.
"GET IT OFF ME!" he screeched again and Ed pulled a smoke singed face away to see the remaining arm wrapped tightly around his leg. The last chunk was leading to where the gate was only moments ago and flopping like a landed fish on the training ground. Ed made an undignified noise of revulsion in the back of his throat and both Tessai and Ed helped to yank the thing off him.
"That was your gate?" Chad asked breathlessly, dark eyes wide and chest heaving.
"That's what we had to get through in order to come here yeah." Ed said in a hoarse voice and coughed explosively again. The smoke was starting to clear and Al could see that where the transmutation circle once was there was now nothing more than a pile of rubble.
"Is everyone still here?" Orihime asked before a she started coughing from the smoke as well.
"I think so." Uryuu replied, still kneeling and holding his oddly angled arm.
"Al, Ed are you two alright?" Rukia landed lightly a few feet away and looked the two over. A small cut had formed along her right cheek and blood trickled down her pale skin, staining the white fabric underlining her shinigami uniform.
"Yeah I'm fine." Ed growled out in a smoke roughened voice.
"I t-think so. When the arms grabbed me I thought I saw something…" Al said in a wavering voice and sat up slowly.
"What did you see?" Ed asked and stood up, gritting his teeth at the scrapes and burns he was sure to have.
"I think I saw home brother." Al replied. "It was evening there, and I'm almost sure that it was Central. I saw the large white buildings…" he swallowed the sob that almost lodged in his throat. He was so close to getting home.
"Large white buildings huh? That sounds like central alright. At least we know we can get to the other side then." Ed croaked in a hoarse voice.
"I can't believe those things went right through my shield." Orihime said as she dusted herself off.
"It also broke down all those barriers that Tessai put up. Don't blame yourself." Ichigo had come up alongside the group on the ground and patted Orihime's shoulder in consolation. She gave a half hearted smile to Ichigo and nodded a little.
"Are you ok Uryuu? I saw one of the arms attack you." Chad had come up alongside the archer, helping him to get slowly on his feet.
"I'm fine Sado. You think some skinny black arm could take me down?" Uryuu gave a cocky grin but it faltered when he moved his arm and he leaned into the larger teens frame. Chad quirked an eyebrow at the dark haired teen. There was a pause in which Uryuu grimaced in pain. "Ok so there is a possibility that my arm may be dislocated, but other than that I am the absolute peak of health." Uryuu grumbled and Chad gave a snort of laughter and tightened his arm around Uryuu's uninjured shoulder.
"Holy shit that was some friggin' scary stuff." Renji said. Al looked over at the redhead and noticed a large cut had opened up above his right eyebrow and blood was streaking down his face.
"Well it's good to know we still got it." Ed said with a bitter laugh.
"What do you mean brother?"
"Never mind Al. Let's just get everyone healed up." Ed took another long look at his brother and gave a forced, wan smile.
"Well this is an interesting little specimen indeed." Urahara grinned and limped heavily over to the still wriggling arm.
"That's what you're worried about? Fuck Urahara, you Uryuu and Al almost got pulled in!" Ichigo gave the older blonde an irritated look.
"Well since we're all in one piece and no one was pulled through I would consider this a good end to our little experiment don't you think? Besides this little wriggling item here might hold the key to how this gate ticks, and how to get them home without the earlier catastrophe."
Al watched as Urahara removed his torn black haori, then picked the long black arm with thumb and index finger and placed it neatly inside the fabric. He wrapped the haori around it and slung it across his back.
"I don't know about all of you but I think we need some healing. Tessai do you think you would be up to the task?" Urahara turned to the older man. Tessai crossed his arms over his chest and gave a quick nod. "Good to hear. I think the first would be Uryuu, then Ed since he looks more than a little singed around the edges."
"I can help as well Urahara." Orihime gave a small smile and walked towards Uryuu while Tessai grabbed Ed's shoulder and started murmuring words of a healing kidou.
Al sighed and slumped back into the rubble under him. Even with the energy pill he was given he still felt drained after all that.
***
Ed sat on the roof of the shoten watching the stars gleam their pinpricks of light against the velvet black of night. He usually wouldn't be sitting out on a cold night like this as it affected the portals of his automail, making the junctures ache and the cold seep into his bones but tonight he ignored the pain. He wanted to be alone from all the people currently still in the small shop getting healed. His mind was just too full from the situation earlier and he sighed heavily, watching his breath puff white and pull away on the light breeze.
He should have realized the futility of bringing up the gate without the possibility of the doors not opening. Once the gate had reared its huge ugly head it had no choice but to open, bringing all Ed's nightmares into a painful fruition. It was only by sheer dumb luck that he was standing in the circle when Al almost got pulled in, and he thanked the lucky stars above him that he had the wherewithal to do what he had done. He and Tessai had both come away with some fantastic burns on their legs from the explosion, not to mention Uryuu's dislocated shoulder, Urahara's broken ankle, and Rukia's bruises. All of those injuries were nothing in comparison to what he had done to Al though.
Ed had cracked two of his ribs in trying to keep him from the entryway of the gate. He still heard his brothers terrified screams from being bodily lifted by those black hands. The worst of it though was his desperate flailing in trying to get that black arm that was wrapped hopelessly around his right leg. Ed had yanked it off as quickly as possible with a horrible feeling of revulsion, not only for the thing around him but the fact that the entire situation had blown up so spectacularly in their faces. He had used his brother like a frigging pawn in some stupid experiment and no amount of justification could placate the guilt he felt wracking his system.
He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to dispel the memory of earlier but nothing worked. He tried to remind himself that no one was pulled through and he was able to close the gate in time, and everyone had been ok in the end. Only because of the people who knew how to heal us all up his thinking mind supplied him and his shoulders slumped at the truth of it.
It's exactly like all the other quests we've done in trying to get our bodies back and trying to get the philosophers stone. More blood, more pain, more tears…
"Yeah, we definitely still got it." He said in a soft, weary voice to the stars above.
"I had a feeling you were up here." He heard a voice behind him and turned to watch Rukia climbing the last few steps to the top of the roof, still in her shinigami uniform.
"Hey Rukia, be careful those slats are slippery." He said absently. "How did you know I was here?" He asked, not making eye contact.
"Simple, you want to be alone but still close to your brother and since the shoten is still full of people it would make sense you would come out here. How is Al by the way?" She asked, taking a seat to his right.
"A few cracked ribs and some bruises but Tessai was able to heal them up pretty good. The energy pill finally wore off so he's out cold." He shrugged a little and gave her a weary smile.
"That's probably a good thing; he would need the sleep after an afternoon like that." She nodded towards him.
"He says he's fine but I know him too well. He was just as terrified as I was of being sucked in. I can't believe I almost let it happen again." Ed shook his head slowly.
"You mean your brother getting sucked into the gate?" She asked softly, concern tingeing her words.
"Yeah I feel like this whole thing is my fault." He said sadly, looking to his clasped hands.
"You're such an idiot." She said with a derisive snort.
"What? You can't say that!" Ed replied, looking at her for the first time that evening.
"I can say anything I want, especially when it's the truth." She gave him a direct look. "What happened back there wasn't your fault; you had no control over what those hands did anymore than I did. Besides you were the one who destroyed the circle and made sure no one got pulled in - at the possible expense of yourself I might add."
"But I was the one that opened it remember?"
Rukia sighed in exasperation and smacked him lightly on the back of his head. "With your brothers help. Or did you forget that little piece of information?"
"Ow! No I didn't forget." He yelped, rubbing the back of his head. "I still feel responsible though. Almost everyone got hurt, including you."
"Don't worry about me, I've had worse than a few cuts and bruises. If I remember correctly you were far more injured than I was." She said looking him over. He was one of the first people to get healed as his right leg and left arm were badly burned from the explosion. He shrugged a little.
"Maybe. I'm just glad it's all over now."
He paused for a moment, rubbing his recently healed leg. "Man you gotta show me how to do that kidou healing stuff, it sure beats three weeks of sitting around in a hospital bed getting better." He gave her a quick rueful smile.
"It wouldn't have taken you three weeks to heal from that." She said confidently, folding her arms across her chest.
"It so would have." Ed replied giving her a smirk.
"Now you're just trying to get sympathy." She said with a disdainful sniff but the corners of her mouth were pulling up in a small smile.
"Actually I'm trying to get you to teach me Kidou. Is it working?" He asked hopefully. Honestly learning healing kidou would definitely help considering all the times he had wrecked his body on missions, and being taught by Rukia as opposed to Tessai would definitely be a perk to the situation.
"We'll see." She gave him another smile before turning her eyes to the stars above and shivered slightly.
"You're cold. Here, take my jacket." Ed said, removing his red coat and holding it out to her.
"I'm not about to take your only jacket," She frowned a little at him, "anyways I'm pretty sure that metal arm of yours gets pretty cold out here. I've dealt with worse growing up in Rukongai." She said with a small shrug and her eyes glazed over slightly in some distant memory.
"I've heard of that. Ichigo told me it's in Soul Society right?"
"Yes. Renji and I grew up in the 78th district; it's one of the poorer slums. We spent many a winter huddling together for warmth."
"Well you're not there now so take my jacket already." He held out the coat again and shook it a little for emphasis. Rukia looked him over again and gave him an impish grin.
"I have a better idea." Before he could ask what the idea was she scooted over until their sides were flush against each other, took the jacket, and draped it over the both of them. Ed swallowed and tried to figure out where the heck to put his metal arm. Rukia gave him an amused look from under her lashes.
"I uh… guess this works too." He tried to sound nonchalant but the sound came out somewhat strangled. Eventually he placed his metal arm around her shoulders, the warmth of her body seeping into the metal and warming the juncture slightly.
They sat like that for some time, Ed trying to calm himself and Rukia looking up to the night sky. He had been close to girls before, he had even had a girlfriend once or twice - albeit for short stints - but it still didn't help the fact that every time he came close to a pretty, intelligent female that smelled as nice as she did all his tact somehow flew out the window.
"Are the stars the same in your world?" She asked quietly, eyes not moving from the glittering heavens.
"Some of them. We have those two constellations but there are a few stars I don't recognize." He pointed out the two he recognized; Orion and Gemini, always close together. Rukia nodded in understanding.
"It's the same in Soul Society. Some stars are the same but others are missing, or in a different place. It's interesting how that works." She looked up at him and he gave her a small smile, noticing once again how close they were sitting together and swallowed the nervous laughter he felt tickling the back of his throat.
They sat for a little longer, each taking solace in the quiet of night. Even with the comfort of sitting close to another person with her body heat seeping into his automail, he couldn't deny the dropping temperature and eventually started shivering himself.
"It's getting colder, we should probably go in." He said softly and started to rise.
"Alright, give me a hand up." She held out her hand and he took it, helping her easily. She stumbled slightly and leaned into him. Ed's eyes went wide and noticed with striking detail all the little things about her. The bright blue flecks in the irises of her eyes, the soft black feathers of her eyelashes and the sweet smell of her skin. Oh man all I want to do is kiss her.
When he had first gotten to this place he hadn't even thought that there might have been someone that he would have been attracted to, and truthfully he didn't really want a relationship with someone that was from another world. It simply wouldn't work, kinda like that fish and bird thing. He tried to remind himself that he was leaving so it wouldn't do to start anything here. Even if she is a confident, beautiful smart person that doesn't take any crap from me.
Unfortunately those small issues made the whole situation worse. She wasn't anything like the previous girls he had dated, those ones seemingly only interested on the next school test or the latest fashion or gossip, and they usually only wanted to date him because of his bad boy attitude rather than for who he was. With Rukia he was worried that like could form into something deeper and really that was a dangerous thing to get into when trying to get home and…
...Oh fuck it.
He also decided that over thinking was overrated, leaned down and kissed her. It was quick, just a soft brushing of lips. He noticed that she tasted crisp, like freshly fallen snow and her lips felt velvety soft. When he pulled away her eyes were wide and surprised. He gulped and started feeling a little more than awkward, his cheeks warming uncomfortably.
"I ah… sorry I didn't mean to uh-" He stuttered and mentally cursed himself. See? NO TACT! His brain reminded him a little belatedly.
"Don't apologize." She said quietly and lightly touched his cheek, then pulled him down for another soft kiss. This time he took his time in getting to know the fit of her lips. They were still soft, still sweet, and he tipped his head a little and brushed his tongue against the seam of her mouth in a tentative question. She parted her lips and the tips of their tongues touched lightly for the first time, gliding against each other in a way that sent a warm shiver through Ed. If he had thought the taste of her was sweet before it was nothing in comparison to this. His flesh hand came up to cup the back of her head, pulling her closer and enjoying the feel of her soft hair against his palm.
Unfortunately that move also knocked the jacket from his shoulders and a frigid autumn breeze made both of them shiver where they stood. Ed pulled away slightly and gave her a small soft smile.
"Maybe we should go in now?" She asked tentatively.
"Probably, if we don't we'll probably freeze both our asses off." He gave her a roguish grin and stepped back from her embrace, then picked up the jacket in one fluid move. He mentally congratulated himself on the graceful move he made before stumbling on the slippery roof slats and falling off the roof with a loud and undignified curse.
He landed in a bush with his legs in the air and hair pulling at the horrible branches but that was nothing compared to the flaming cheeks he knew he had. So much for being romantic. Fuck. Above him he could hear Rukia's laughter ringing loudly into the night.
***
Bakudou number sixty three - Sajo Sabaku: Way of binding - Locking bondage stripes
Hadou number eleven - Tsuzuri Raiden: Way of Destruction - Bound lightning
Also I'm not really sure about late autumn constellations in Japan but since I really like Orion I used him.
If you want to see the circles Ed and Al used you can click on these... and imagine the eye in the center of the second circle. If you haven't seen Conqueror of Shambala and don't want a spoiler then no-clickie on the second one please.
I didn't draw these, I actually found them of deviantart so props for the art should go to the respective (and awesome) artists themselves.
First Circle
Second Circle
Title: Though The Looking Glass Ch. 7
Rating: PG (for language)
Warnings: Spoilery abounds
Summary: Ed and Al just saved each other from the gate, but when they land in Karakura town and find that Shinigami are fighting Envy it turns their little world upside down. Rated M for adult situations and language but mostly will be PG. Possible het and Yaoi pairings in future chaps. WARNING: The pairings will be odd.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fullmetal Alchemist and I dont make any money writing this, its simply the product of my over active imagination combined with my overwhelming urge to write.
Previous Chapters:
Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6
Chapter 7: Seek and Ye Shall Find
Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find;
Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asks, receives, and he that seeks will find,
and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
Al had to admit he was feeling pretty good since Urahara gave him that round blue pill. It was like everything was normal and then -BAM- unlimited energy! And really, who didn't want unlimited energy? The only real drawback was the fact that he really couldn't stop talking and Brother was starting to give him dubious glances out from under his golden bangs the faster he talked.
"And I never thought food would taste as good as it did! I almost forgot but man am I glad I remember now, candy is so sweet and meat is so meaty. Although I don't really like those little green ball thingies, I think their called peas. The only bad thing about being in my body again is going to the bathroo-mff frmmf lnggpft," Ed had clapped a hand over his mouth but the moment the thought was in Al's head he just couldn't let it sit silently. Ed watched him with a rather pink face and after a few more muffled words he removed the hand covering his mouth in the hopes that the topic had changed.
"-looks kinda like-frrmgh hnngh grffht-"
"Urahara what the hell was in that thing you gave Al?" Ed asked, looking from his brother to the shopkeeper talking quietly with Tessai across the training room floor.
"Oh it was just a little gift from the 4th division. It's a reiatsu booster they use in times of battle in order to keep up with all the casualties. He might be a little on the energetic side for a few hours."
"fantastic." Ed said dryly and kept his mouth over Al's rambling mouth. Rukia had come up alongside the two and gave a long look to Al.
"That's made for people on our side of the gate, are you sure it won't change his reiatsu Urahara?" Rukia queried. Urahara shook his head.
"No it works by boosting the persons own reiatsu. He'll be fine. He also might start to glow but that's simply a side effect, it just means you can see his reiatsu better."
"I think he's starting to glow right now! It's a really nice red color." Orihime said as she looked over Al. Sure enough she was right, he could feel his body start to tingle just the tiniest bit and when he raised his arm to look it over it was surrounded by a faint crimson light that looked eerily close to the glow the philosophers' stone gave off. His rambled, muffled words died out as he took a closer look at himself. It must have been the connection he had to the stone; it was the only real explanation he had for glowing that exact color. He caught Ed's eye and could see some dark emotion that Al wasn't sure of as he looked over his small frame.
"What's wrong brother?" Al asked as he pushed Ed's hand from his mouth.
"The color. It's the same as the philosophers' stone. It's changed you in so many ways." Ed's head tipped downwards so his hair fell in his eyes, hiding the sorrow Al knew was there.
"Of course it was going to change me. It was either that or death remember?" Al said lightly and brought up a hand to rest on his brother's forearm. Ed gave a quick laugh at that.
"And now we're using you as bait for this fucking experiment. I'm a horrible brother." Ed said softly.
"It needs to be done, and I would have done it whether you asked me to or not. We need to get home. I wanna see Winry again." The words just tumbled out and Al cursed himself for the slip. He could feel his face heat up and his brother's all too intelligent eyes snapped to his.
"Winry huh?" Ed asked with a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Al didn't bother saying anything else, just nodded his head with flaming cheeks, then inwardly blamed it on Urahara and the energy pill, and made a mental note to himself to grow his hair out.
"Alright I got everyone setup on the hills back there. We're ready any time you guys are." Renji stated to Urahara and gave a quick smile to Ed and Al. The two boys nodded at that.
Renji was actually a great help in strategizing everyone, as well as where the gate should go after he had received an explanation of the size of the thing. Ed and Al were directed to an area near the centre of the facility where a wide flat area approximately twenty feet by twenty feet was flanked on three sides by large hills. The first one was directly behind where he, Ed, Orihime and Tessai were going to be and Renji had decided that Rukia and Ichigo were to be placed on that shelf. The second one, off to Al's left was at an angle where Uryuu was placed so that he would have a good vantage point with his bow. The third hill off to Al's right was where Renji was taking up his place and everyone was cautioned about what could happen if that gate were to open.
Tessai and Orihime were walking up behind Ed and Al to take up their places for the experiment. According to the plan Tessai was going to use some kind of Kidou in order to keep the doors closed so that Urahara could get some readings alongside Chad, who was asked to stand beside the gate and push the doors closed if in fact they did open. Truthfully Al would have been happy in not doing this at all. Just thinking about bringing that gate back up gave him chills and turned his stomach. The problem was that in order for them to get home they would actually have to travel through that thing. Again. And he grit his teeth at just the thought of doing something like that.
"Tessai, Orihime are you two ready?" Urahara asked as he watched the two take up their places, Tessai behind them and Orihime between Ed and his own now glowing body. They both nodded at the shopkeeper.
"Tessai you know what to do. Orihime remember to bring up your shield to protect these boys. Now is everyone ready?" Urahara asked as he came up alongside the four people standing in the centre of the training facility.
"No but we don't really have much of a choice now do we." Ed sighed and tightened his fists that rested at his sides. "Al I'm ready whenever you are." Al looked up at his brother with worried but excited eyes.
"We're gonna need to make a circle that will bring up the gate but without the aid of human transmutation. This is going to be tricky brother."
"Tell me about it." Ed said and the two started talking about different circles that could be used. Eventually they decided on the human transmutation circle that would most definitely bring up the gate. Ed stepped forward into where they had designated the circle to be and clapped his hands. The blue light crackled along the ground in a diameter of ten feet and when the light faded a six pointed black alchemy circle surrounded Ed and Al completely.
"There I think that's what we're looking for." Ed nodded. Al walked back to the outer edge; he took in the circle and thought it over a little. If they were wanting to do an actual human transmutation then this would be perfect but since they wanted to bring up the gate it felt like there was something missing. He stared hard at the circle on the ground, as if willing the information to be found in his head.
"I don't know brother; this one is strictly for human transmutation. We would actually need a human for this one to work." Al said giving a small shake of his head. The circle needed something else, something more.
"Well what do you suggest?" Ed asked. There was a long pause before Al finally shrugged.
"This might work." He replied and clapped his hands in order to change the circle. Instead of a blue light it was red, matching his glowing reiatsu and it flared out, covering and changing the markings his brother had placed only a few moments ago. When the light faded and the new circle came into view it was still a six pointed alchemy circle but the points looked more like a star, in the centre he placed the eye that was on the doors of the gate. Ed looked over the changes and eventually nodded his head.
"I think that will work better. Good job Al." Ed clapped a hand on his shoulder but didn't look into his eyes.
"Thanks." Al started to feel a sort of tension fill him. He had never wanted to see this gate again but looking down at the ten foot circle realization struck home with a sickening thud. They were actually going to bring up the gate and not on accident either. This time it was for real.
"Wow that looks kinda creepy." Orihime said as she took a look over the boys' shoulders at the black lined circles streaming across the training ground floor.
"Wait a few minutes and you'll be able to see it up close and personal. Urahara we're ready." Ed said. Urahara nodded in Ed's direction with a small smile.
"Good to hear. Tessai here will use a binding spell to keep the doors closed. Now where did I put that detector…" He commented absently while patting down the folds of his clothing.
"I thought you were ready?" Ed yelled out and Al could see that the tension he was feeling was starting to affect his brother as well, his jaw clenched and Ed's gold eyes glittered at the delay. Urahara slapped through all pockets twice, then his eyes landed on one of the larger rocks on the outskirts of the experiment area and pulled up his short walking staff and a small piece of equipment that Al was sure looked like a kid's tape recorder with a mic attached.
"Aha! Ok now I'm ready." Urahara gave a wide smile.
"Is that a fisher price toy?" He heard Ichigo ask behind him in tones of deep amusement.
"Why yes it is Ichigo, luckily I was able to remove all the electronics from inside and switch it out rather easily. The mic does a good job of picking up reiatsu vibrations. Quite ingenious don't you think?"
"I swear you make the weirdest shit sometimes." Ichigo said while shaking his head slowly from side to side on the rock pillar directly behind Al.
"Ok everyone take your places." Ed said alongside him and the group reacted immediately. Ichigo being the first, he pulled his zanpakuto from off his back and held it by his side.
"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime stepped back a few paces and created a small amber shield that would protect him and his brother once they were done with the circle.
"Hiho Zabimaru!" Renji shouted to Al's right and he watched as his sword changed from a normal katana to slotted, spiked metal pieces attached by metal chords of some kind that looked quite nasty if you were to be hit by it.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." Rukia called out confidently and the sword in her hand changed to a beautiful shimmering white with a long tail.
"Shinigami always seem to be a little on the showy side." Uryuu said derisively off to Al's left and simply raised his arm and formed his bow. Al gave a small smile to the archer before turning back to his brother.
"Ok Al we're both gonna have to bring this up. Ready?" Ed asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Al said somberly. The two locked eyes and stepped to the outer edge of the circle. Al took a deep, shaky breath and tried to steady his hands against the emotions he felt in trying to bring up the gate.
"Ok brother, on three." Al gave a small nod to his brother. "One… two… THREE!" Al yelled the last word and the two clapped their hands simultaneously, then placed their hands on the outer edge of the circle.
The moment his hand touched it he could feel the swirl of energy that was so like that day long ago in their fathers workshop and swallowed convulsively against the memories that bubbled up within him. The energy took its time working through each circle and line, starting with the outermost lines and working their way in. Ed's half glowed electric blue while Al's glowed a deep vermillion. When the two energies met they melded together forming a metallic purple color. Eventually the two colors completely mixed together and when the entire circle glowed purple the alchemic swirl of energy started to change, picking up speed and strength and wind started blowing, whipping their hair in small circles and pulling at their clothing.
The purple color seemed to throb and Al could hear the alchemy energy crackling loudly. Then without warning the energy flow surged upwards a good twenty feet into the air, completely blocking out any view of the training facility beyond.
"We gotta get behind that shield!" Ed yelled in his ear. He was right, the light was starting to fade and he knew what was behind it. He let his brother haul him up and behind Orihime's shield. By the time they got there the purple had almost completely faded and Al could feel himself break into a cold sweat.
His brother still hadn't let go of his arm and he knew without a doubt it would be bruised come morning but at that moment he didn't care. His eyes were fixed in horrified fascination on the scene before him. The gate had appeared all right. The purple light threw the shadows into sharp relief, making the stone glow an unearthly color of grey, blue, red and silver. The large columns alongside the doors were surrounded by stone bodies and looked as if they were in some kind of eternal dance stuck on pause. The crowning above the doorway held the same stone figures, holding up a secondary stone platform that was wide and flat, also a deep grey, but what held his utmost attention were the doors. They were wide, thick and high with the same swirling eye that was in the centre of the circle.
"Holy shit!" Renji cried from his perch. Tessai strode purposefully in front of Ed, Al and Orihime, then raised his hand.
"Bakudou number sixty three - Sajo Sabaku!" He yelled and a large, thick glowing gold chain wrapped itself entirely around the gate, effectively keeping it closed. Al took a steadying breath at that. One thing he really didn't want was for those doors to open. "Urahara you can make your observations." Tessai nodded towards Urahara and the older blonde started walking up alongside the gateway, holding the mic out in front of him. After a few moments Urahara's mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown.
"Hmm. I'm getting some mixed readings here, it looks as though-" Urahara was cut off and his eyes widened in shock as the doors started to creak open. The gold chains strained and pulled tightly against the slowly opening doors.
"Urahara get back!" Al yelled. The shopkeeper only had a moment to jump out of the way to land beside Chad before the chains completely broke and the doors swung open, revealing complete darkness.
"It broke the bakudou chains!?" Rukia's tone was incredulous but Al had no time to say anything. The eyes started to open, all of them looking at him, into him, searing through his small body and he grabbed his brother's hand from his arm and held it tightly. He chanced a look at his brother and saw the same desperate and horrified face he knew he had on his own young features.
"Tessai get behind Orihime's shield NOW!" Renji yelled at the shocked, large man. The words seemed to pull him out of his trance and he scrambled back behind the shield and the three others standing mute and wide eyed at the open doorway.
"Look at that! It's like a thousand eyes all staring at me." Ichigo said uncomfortably. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the black arms started slinking out of the darkness at a high rate of speed, reaching for anything and anyone it could get a hold of.
"Al get down!" Ed yelled and threw him to the training floor, only seconds before one of the arms had come completely around the shield and a visibly shaking Orihime to grab at his glowing body. The hand grasped at air for a quick moment before pulling away and aiming for a different target that Al couldn't see.
"Hadou number eleven - Tsuzuri Raiden!" Tessai shouted behind him and the man threw a wide rope around the gate like a lasso. Tessai pulled the rope hard and a gold electrical current surged into the rope. The gate doors trembled and started to close slightly from the double attack but it was too late, the eyes were already open, the hands already grasping for anyone they could reach. The electrical current along the ropes only managed to singe some of the stone before that snapped as well, the rope falling to the ground between them.
"Holy shit this is bad. We need to destroy that circle!" Ed yelled over the clashing sounds of swords against black hands. A fearful glint was lighting his gold eyes.
"But how are we going to close the gate when we can't get to the transmutation circle?" Al asked worriedly.
"I don't know yet I need a minute to think this - Urahara look out!" Ed raised a hand to the shopkeeper. One of the hands had slunk around his left foot, pulling the older blonde completely off his feet.
"Sing Behihime!" Urahara shouted and in one deft move pulled a sword out of his short walking staff with a glow of bright red and cut into the hand around his foot. The hand immediately coiled back and Urahara was dropped in a rather undignified heap to the ground below before grabbing his hat and scrabbling to get alongside Chad, now trying to bodily close the doors with little luck.
Al was starting to feel sick. How the hell could this happen? The hands never reached for anyone and everyone before, the two times he remembered being near the gate it only tried to pull in the one opening it. He had no more time to contemplate the matter though as he watched in fearful amazement as another black hand stretched outwards, this time towards Uryuu. The archer scowled darkly and tried to jump out of the way but the hands were fast and wrapped around his waist, pulling him at a high rate of speed towards the gate. He pulled his bow back and shot three arrows into the long column of the arm. It Jerked and dropped the archer as if stung, and Uryuu landed heavily on his shoulder about ten feet off to the left of Ed, Al, Tessai and Orihime.
"The doors! Someone close those damn doors before we all get pulled through!" Uryuu shouted as he pulled himself to his knees, a hand going to the shoulder he landed on. His arm hung at an odd angle and Al swallowed thickly.
"We have no choice brother! We have to get to the circle and destroy it!" Al shouted. Ed nodded quickly but before Al could make another move he was pulled into the air, arms wrapping around neck, arms and legs. Oh god not again.
"Brother! HELP!" Al screamed and reached out with his right arm in order to grab hold of his brother.
"It went right through my shield!" Orihime cried and dove out of the way of another arm at the last moment so that the hand grasped at empty air before changing direction.
"LET GO OF HIM!" Ed screamed and Tessai and Ed both grabbed a hold of Al's body. He could feel the disgusting oily hands wrapping tighter around him, pulling him towards the terrifying darkness of the gate.
"Aim for the arms everyone!" Uryuu shouted.
"Chad we have to close those doors NOW!" Urahara cried and started helping Chad push on the heavy doors but it was no use, they didn't even budge an inch.
"I'm trying! They won't close! We need more help!" Chad shouted back.
"Tessai give me a hand!" Urahara didn't even look up from his task, desperately pushing alongside Chad in order to try to close them before Al got pulled through. Even with Tessai and Ed trying to hold him back he was still slowly sliding towards the gate.
"I can't I'm trying to keep Al from going in!" Tessai's grim voice carried to the shopkeeper and he looked up with worried grey eyes at Al being dragged closer.
"Getsuga TENSHOU!" Al heard Ichigo's call and a blue energy arc surged towards the upper portion of the gate. The doors rattled with a reverberating boom and all the eyes on the upper portion of the gate closed simultaneously as the center of the energy burst went inside the darkness.
Al was almost at the doors now, only a few feet away and his entire body strained against the blackness he was being inexplicably drawn towards. He couldn't be sucked inside again, it simply wasn't an option and fought tooth and nail to tighten the grip he had on his brother. Tessai's large hands holding his legs were tight and strong and he could feel his body pulling uncomfortably in two directions. More arms enclosed around his body, trapping him more in their darkened grip and he screamed unintelligible words of fear and distress.
Al looked fearfully at the inside of the gate he was being pulled towards and for a small moment time seemed to slow down. Everything started to come into a strange kind of focus in the darkness beyond the eyes. It was like a blurry picture of somewhere that he had seen before and he squinted his eyes at what was being shown to him. It seemed the closer he got the more in focus the picture became. It looked like an evening sky over white buildings…
"Tessai hold him and for the love of everything don't let him go!" He heard Ed's hard voice and time started to move again. He looked away from the darkness and saw the look in his brothers eyes. There was no fear, no hesitation, just the same steely determination he had always known his brother for. I'm not letting you go again his eyes seemed to say and he let go of the death grip he had on Al's midsection. Al gave him what he could of a nod, letting him know that he understood. In the blink of an eye Ed clapped his hands and smashed them into the circle under his feet. There was a loud explosion, a large cloud of grey smoke encased him and the black hands surrounding him abruptly snaked away.
Al fell hard on to the training ground floor and heard an almighty thump as the gate doors closed. He looked over to watch the last of the gate fade, shimmering into nothingness. It was like he could still feel the arms around him and looked down to see that he was in fact correct, one black arm was still coiled tightly around one of his legs.
"Get it off!" Al cried, shaking hands trying and failing to pull the black, repulsive thing off his body.
"Al your still here oh thank god your still here." Ed coughed through the smoke and hugged him tightly. Al didn't have time to hug back.
"GET IT OFF ME!" he screeched again and Ed pulled a smoke singed face away to see the remaining arm wrapped tightly around his leg. The last chunk was leading to where the gate was only moments ago and flopping like a landed fish on the training ground. Ed made an undignified noise of revulsion in the back of his throat and both Tessai and Ed helped to yank the thing off him.
"That was your gate?" Chad asked breathlessly, dark eyes wide and chest heaving.
"That's what we had to get through in order to come here yeah." Ed said in a hoarse voice and coughed explosively again. The smoke was starting to clear and Al could see that where the transmutation circle once was there was now nothing more than a pile of rubble.
"Is everyone still here?" Orihime asked before a she started coughing from the smoke as well.
"I think so." Uryuu replied, still kneeling and holding his oddly angled arm.
"Al, Ed are you two alright?" Rukia landed lightly a few feet away and looked the two over. A small cut had formed along her right cheek and blood trickled down her pale skin, staining the white fabric underlining her shinigami uniform.
"Yeah I'm fine." Ed growled out in a smoke roughened voice.
"I t-think so. When the arms grabbed me I thought I saw something…" Al said in a wavering voice and sat up slowly.
"What did you see?" Ed asked and stood up, gritting his teeth at the scrapes and burns he was sure to have.
"I think I saw home brother." Al replied. "It was evening there, and I'm almost sure that it was Central. I saw the large white buildings…" he swallowed the sob that almost lodged in his throat. He was so close to getting home.
"Large white buildings huh? That sounds like central alright. At least we know we can get to the other side then." Ed croaked in a hoarse voice.
"I can't believe those things went right through my shield." Orihime said as she dusted herself off.
"It also broke down all those barriers that Tessai put up. Don't blame yourself." Ichigo had come up alongside the group on the ground and patted Orihime's shoulder in consolation. She gave a half hearted smile to Ichigo and nodded a little.
"Are you ok Uryuu? I saw one of the arms attack you." Chad had come up alongside the archer, helping him to get slowly on his feet.
"I'm fine Sado. You think some skinny black arm could take me down?" Uryuu gave a cocky grin but it faltered when he moved his arm and he leaned into the larger teens frame. Chad quirked an eyebrow at the dark haired teen. There was a pause in which Uryuu grimaced in pain. "Ok so there is a possibility that my arm may be dislocated, but other than that I am the absolute peak of health." Uryuu grumbled and Chad gave a snort of laughter and tightened his arm around Uryuu's uninjured shoulder.
"Holy shit that was some friggin' scary stuff." Renji said. Al looked over at the redhead and noticed a large cut had opened up above his right eyebrow and blood was streaking down his face.
"Well it's good to know we still got it." Ed said with a bitter laugh.
"What do you mean brother?"
"Never mind Al. Let's just get everyone healed up." Ed took another long look at his brother and gave a forced, wan smile.
"Well this is an interesting little specimen indeed." Urahara grinned and limped heavily over to the still wriggling arm.
"That's what you're worried about? Fuck Urahara, you Uryuu and Al almost got pulled in!" Ichigo gave the older blonde an irritated look.
"Well since we're all in one piece and no one was pulled through I would consider this a good end to our little experiment don't you think? Besides this little wriggling item here might hold the key to how this gate ticks, and how to get them home without the earlier catastrophe."
Al watched as Urahara removed his torn black haori, then picked the long black arm with thumb and index finger and placed it neatly inside the fabric. He wrapped the haori around it and slung it across his back.
"I don't know about all of you but I think we need some healing. Tessai do you think you would be up to the task?" Urahara turned to the older man. Tessai crossed his arms over his chest and gave a quick nod. "Good to hear. I think the first would be Uryuu, then Ed since he looks more than a little singed around the edges."
"I can help as well Urahara." Orihime gave a small smile and walked towards Uryuu while Tessai grabbed Ed's shoulder and started murmuring words of a healing kidou.
Al sighed and slumped back into the rubble under him. Even with the energy pill he was given he still felt drained after all that.
***
Ed sat on the roof of the shoten watching the stars gleam their pinpricks of light against the velvet black of night. He usually wouldn't be sitting out on a cold night like this as it affected the portals of his automail, making the junctures ache and the cold seep into his bones but tonight he ignored the pain. He wanted to be alone from all the people currently still in the small shop getting healed. His mind was just too full from the situation earlier and he sighed heavily, watching his breath puff white and pull away on the light breeze.
He should have realized the futility of bringing up the gate without the possibility of the doors not opening. Once the gate had reared its huge ugly head it had no choice but to open, bringing all Ed's nightmares into a painful fruition. It was only by sheer dumb luck that he was standing in the circle when Al almost got pulled in, and he thanked the lucky stars above him that he had the wherewithal to do what he had done. He and Tessai had both come away with some fantastic burns on their legs from the explosion, not to mention Uryuu's dislocated shoulder, Urahara's broken ankle, and Rukia's bruises. All of those injuries were nothing in comparison to what he had done to Al though.
Ed had cracked two of his ribs in trying to keep him from the entryway of the gate. He still heard his brothers terrified screams from being bodily lifted by those black hands. The worst of it though was his desperate flailing in trying to get that black arm that was wrapped hopelessly around his right leg. Ed had yanked it off as quickly as possible with a horrible feeling of revulsion, not only for the thing around him but the fact that the entire situation had blown up so spectacularly in their faces. He had used his brother like a frigging pawn in some stupid experiment and no amount of justification could placate the guilt he felt wracking his system.
He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to dispel the memory of earlier but nothing worked. He tried to remind himself that no one was pulled through and he was able to close the gate in time, and everyone had been ok in the end. Only because of the people who knew how to heal us all up his thinking mind supplied him and his shoulders slumped at the truth of it.
It's exactly like all the other quests we've done in trying to get our bodies back and trying to get the philosophers stone. More blood, more pain, more tears…
"Yeah, we definitely still got it." He said in a soft, weary voice to the stars above.
"I had a feeling you were up here." He heard a voice behind him and turned to watch Rukia climbing the last few steps to the top of the roof, still in her shinigami uniform.
"Hey Rukia, be careful those slats are slippery." He said absently. "How did you know I was here?" He asked, not making eye contact.
"Simple, you want to be alone but still close to your brother and since the shoten is still full of people it would make sense you would come out here. How is Al by the way?" She asked, taking a seat to his right.
"A few cracked ribs and some bruises but Tessai was able to heal them up pretty good. The energy pill finally wore off so he's out cold." He shrugged a little and gave her a weary smile.
"That's probably a good thing; he would need the sleep after an afternoon like that." She nodded towards him.
"He says he's fine but I know him too well. He was just as terrified as I was of being sucked in. I can't believe I almost let it happen again." Ed shook his head slowly.
"You mean your brother getting sucked into the gate?" She asked softly, concern tingeing her words.
"Yeah I feel like this whole thing is my fault." He said sadly, looking to his clasped hands.
"You're such an idiot." She said with a derisive snort.
"What? You can't say that!" Ed replied, looking at her for the first time that evening.
"I can say anything I want, especially when it's the truth." She gave him a direct look. "What happened back there wasn't your fault; you had no control over what those hands did anymore than I did. Besides you were the one who destroyed the circle and made sure no one got pulled in - at the possible expense of yourself I might add."
"But I was the one that opened it remember?"
Rukia sighed in exasperation and smacked him lightly on the back of his head. "With your brothers help. Or did you forget that little piece of information?"
"Ow! No I didn't forget." He yelped, rubbing the back of his head. "I still feel responsible though. Almost everyone got hurt, including you."
"Don't worry about me, I've had worse than a few cuts and bruises. If I remember correctly you were far more injured than I was." She said looking him over. He was one of the first people to get healed as his right leg and left arm were badly burned from the explosion. He shrugged a little.
"Maybe. I'm just glad it's all over now."
He paused for a moment, rubbing his recently healed leg. "Man you gotta show me how to do that kidou healing stuff, it sure beats three weeks of sitting around in a hospital bed getting better." He gave her a quick rueful smile.
"It wouldn't have taken you three weeks to heal from that." She said confidently, folding her arms across her chest.
"It so would have." Ed replied giving her a smirk.
"Now you're just trying to get sympathy." She said with a disdainful sniff but the corners of her mouth were pulling up in a small smile.
"Actually I'm trying to get you to teach me Kidou. Is it working?" He asked hopefully. Honestly learning healing kidou would definitely help considering all the times he had wrecked his body on missions, and being taught by Rukia as opposed to Tessai would definitely be a perk to the situation.
"We'll see." She gave him another smile before turning her eyes to the stars above and shivered slightly.
"You're cold. Here, take my jacket." Ed said, removing his red coat and holding it out to her.
"I'm not about to take your only jacket," She frowned a little at him, "anyways I'm pretty sure that metal arm of yours gets pretty cold out here. I've dealt with worse growing up in Rukongai." She said with a small shrug and her eyes glazed over slightly in some distant memory.
"I've heard of that. Ichigo told me it's in Soul Society right?"
"Yes. Renji and I grew up in the 78th district; it's one of the poorer slums. We spent many a winter huddling together for warmth."
"Well you're not there now so take my jacket already." He held out the coat again and shook it a little for emphasis. Rukia looked him over again and gave him an impish grin.
"I have a better idea." Before he could ask what the idea was she scooted over until their sides were flush against each other, took the jacket, and draped it over the both of them. Ed swallowed and tried to figure out where the heck to put his metal arm. Rukia gave him an amused look from under her lashes.
"I uh… guess this works too." He tried to sound nonchalant but the sound came out somewhat strangled. Eventually he placed his metal arm around her shoulders, the warmth of her body seeping into the metal and warming the juncture slightly.
They sat like that for some time, Ed trying to calm himself and Rukia looking up to the night sky. He had been close to girls before, he had even had a girlfriend once or twice - albeit for short stints - but it still didn't help the fact that every time he came close to a pretty, intelligent female that smelled as nice as she did all his tact somehow flew out the window.
"Are the stars the same in your world?" She asked quietly, eyes not moving from the glittering heavens.
"Some of them. We have those two constellations but there are a few stars I don't recognize." He pointed out the two he recognized; Orion and Gemini, always close together. Rukia nodded in understanding.
"It's the same in Soul Society. Some stars are the same but others are missing, or in a different place. It's interesting how that works." She looked up at him and he gave her a small smile, noticing once again how close they were sitting together and swallowed the nervous laughter he felt tickling the back of his throat.
They sat for a little longer, each taking solace in the quiet of night. Even with the comfort of sitting close to another person with her body heat seeping into his automail, he couldn't deny the dropping temperature and eventually started shivering himself.
"It's getting colder, we should probably go in." He said softly and started to rise.
"Alright, give me a hand up." She held out her hand and he took it, helping her easily. She stumbled slightly and leaned into him. Ed's eyes went wide and noticed with striking detail all the little things about her. The bright blue flecks in the irises of her eyes, the soft black feathers of her eyelashes and the sweet smell of her skin. Oh man all I want to do is kiss her.
When he had first gotten to this place he hadn't even thought that there might have been someone that he would have been attracted to, and truthfully he didn't really want a relationship with someone that was from another world. It simply wouldn't work, kinda like that fish and bird thing. He tried to remind himself that he was leaving so it wouldn't do to start anything here. Even if she is a confident, beautiful smart person that doesn't take any crap from me.
Unfortunately those small issues made the whole situation worse. She wasn't anything like the previous girls he had dated, those ones seemingly only interested on the next school test or the latest fashion or gossip, and they usually only wanted to date him because of his bad boy attitude rather than for who he was. With Rukia he was worried that like could form into something deeper and really that was a dangerous thing to get into when trying to get home and…
...Oh fuck it.
He also decided that over thinking was overrated, leaned down and kissed her. It was quick, just a soft brushing of lips. He noticed that she tasted crisp, like freshly fallen snow and her lips felt velvety soft. When he pulled away her eyes were wide and surprised. He gulped and started feeling a little more than awkward, his cheeks warming uncomfortably.
"I ah… sorry I didn't mean to uh-" He stuttered and mentally cursed himself. See? NO TACT! His brain reminded him a little belatedly.
"Don't apologize." She said quietly and lightly touched his cheek, then pulled him down for another soft kiss. This time he took his time in getting to know the fit of her lips. They were still soft, still sweet, and he tipped his head a little and brushed his tongue against the seam of her mouth in a tentative question. She parted her lips and the tips of their tongues touched lightly for the first time, gliding against each other in a way that sent a warm shiver through Ed. If he had thought the taste of her was sweet before it was nothing in comparison to this. His flesh hand came up to cup the back of her head, pulling her closer and enjoying the feel of her soft hair against his palm.
Unfortunately that move also knocked the jacket from his shoulders and a frigid autumn breeze made both of them shiver where they stood. Ed pulled away slightly and gave her a small soft smile.
"Maybe we should go in now?" She asked tentatively.
"Probably, if we don't we'll probably freeze both our asses off." He gave her a roguish grin and stepped back from her embrace, then picked up the jacket in one fluid move. He mentally congratulated himself on the graceful move he made before stumbling on the slippery roof slats and falling off the roof with a loud and undignified curse.
He landed in a bush with his legs in the air and hair pulling at the horrible branches but that was nothing compared to the flaming cheeks he knew he had. So much for being romantic. Fuck. Above him he could hear Rukia's laughter ringing loudly into the night.
***
Bakudou number sixty three - Sajo Sabaku: Way of binding - Locking bondage stripes
Hadou number eleven - Tsuzuri Raiden: Way of Destruction - Bound lightning
Also I'm not really sure about late autumn constellations in Japan but since I really like Orion I used him.
If you want to see the circles Ed and Al used you can click on these... and imagine the eye in the center of the second circle. If you haven't seen Conqueror of Shambala and don't want a spoiler then no-clickie on the second one please.
I didn't draw these, I actually found them of deviantart so props for the art should go to the respective (and awesome) artists themselves.
First Circle
Second Circle