The golden haired kitsune landed silently on all fours, thanking Koenma that he had sense not to have the portal appear in a crowded part of town. There is still, a small matter of dropping in a way that didn’t jar his sore, broken ribs and the several deep gashes on his back, courtesy of Koenma dispatching him on the last mission without any backup. The toddler god had received quite an earful from Kurama when his ‘kit’ came back home drenched in his own blood and depleted youki reserves.

Ed snickered from the memory of toddler Koenma peeing in his diaper when Kurama had summoned his death tree on top of his paperwork, then winced. He had forgotten his broken ribs. Damn, that hurt.

Rubbing one hand over his sore chest relieved that the fall didn’t break open his stitches. Ed studied his surroundings critically. He seemed to be in a middle of a field that stretched for as far as his eyes can see. In a ningen’s point of view, this is definitely not a good sign, being lost in the middle of nowhere. To Ed’s sense of smell, however, he could smell the burnt stench of coal and steam from a nearby railroad station, the perfume of fruit trees coming from the warm Westward breeze, and the stink of pollution coming from a nearby large city.

Sometimes Ed did not regret being a kitsune.

Ed placed his duffel bag beside him, rummaging around to find his disguise. Kurama, his mentor, had taken him to Ningenkai to stay with Genkai for training. Ningenkai was much more technological advanced than his home world. Ed had stared in fascination at the televisions, airplanes, video games, satellites, space travel, and bullet trains. This opened up a new world of knowledge that Ed was all too willing to explore and forget how he could no longer do alchemy.

The explanation is really rather simple. Being the general truth behind all truths, it took a while for Ed to accept it.

Because as we all know, the real truth is never as great as it sounds.

Koenma’s bastard of an uncle took away all his alchemy skills in return for banishing him into Makai and returning Al’s body. Unfortunately, the uncle was slightly drunk at that time, which made sense seeing how Ed remembered the god appeared somewhat giddy, banished him through the wrong gate and Ed ended up in Ningenkai, setting off shrill warning alarms in Koenma’s office. The Reikai Tentai picked him up only to be recruited by Koenma who saw the potential in having another kitsune in the team. One that could be trained and tamed as he saw fit. One who isn’t a kleptomaniac with several overly-protective potential mates.

His training began almost immediately, pushed along by Genkai’s forceful, homicidal ways of teaching and Kurama’s gentle persuasion. Because of his full youkai status, Koenma had to issue a permit in which he could travel freely between Ningenkai and Makai. The young god reasoned that Ed needed to get used to fighting and going incognito in both worlds, similar to what Yukina had only she didn’t need to fight youkai to earn her keep. Much to Koenma’s displeasure, Ed had ended up spending more time in Ningenkai than Makai, saying that it was infinitely more peaceful there and that there weren’t random youkai trying to test their strength by killing him, or seeking revenge against Kurama.

Ed had neglected to inform Koenma that the real reason was that opening a portal was too tiring.

Now that Ed is back to where he came from, he couldn’t help but hope that his world had evolved somewhat like Ningenkai, with all its conveniences.

Ed loved his I-pod too much to let go right now. Too bad Kurama had purposely left it out of his duffel bag.

Stretching his youkai sense out, the golden kitsune felt no distinct reiki (1) coming from anywhere around him. No humans nearby. The wild grass welcomed him as their own, lightly brushing against his legs and furred, golden tails – Ed had two, displaying his now adult status as a kitsune. The wind smelt faintly of rain, a promise of a storm coming towards him.

Ed hurriedly donned his disguise, the same one as he uses for infiltration work in Ningenkai. He had no wish to become a drenched kitsune. Most foxes don’t mind the rain, but Ed was different. He despised it. It probably came from the fact that every time it rained his automail would get rusty and he’d have to begin the tedious work of oiling himself or face the Winry’s almighty wrench of doom.

Putting on the last touches of his disguise, the golden kitsune examined himself to make sure no odd bits were sticking out. It wasn’t anything spectacular. Just a gray beret atop his head to hide his furry ears and a long sleeveless, waterproof coat closed in the front with pieces of leather, flaring out at his waist, hung down to his ankles, effectively hiding his two tails underneath it. Beneath the coat, Ed wore a long sleeved black T-shirt and soft silk pants, to hide all the many layers of bandages Kurama had placed on him.

Kurama really did fuss too much.

Ed smiled at the memory of his mentor. He was one of the only people that ranked high in Ed’s list of favorite people. Of course Al came first but…on second thoughts let’s not think about that.

Sighing to himself, Ed made his way to the nearest place of civilization. It’d probably take him an hour to get there. Hopefully he’d get there without experiencing being drenched, catching a cold and wheezing with four broken ribs.

Mentally, Ed cursed at the youkai that had wounded him, placing him on restricted youki usage.

Well, at least the bastard’s dead now. The curse should wear off soon and Ed could finally use his youki without hurting himself once more.

Not being able to use alchemy or youki sucked…

Better start hiking…

---G-O-L-D-E-N --- K-I-T-S-U-N-E---

An hour and fifteen minutes later…

Edward was shocked.

No. More than shocked. Maybe bordering hysterical.

Staring gobsmacked at the date on the corner of the current newspaper, Ed did a quick metal calculation. 1932…

14 years…

Somehow he had jumped back in time…well, Koenma’s uncle did say the gates bends time as well as reality since the two intertwined with each other. He tried to drop Ed in the same time zone as the rogue youkai but nothing is certain. At least this time, Koenma’s uncle didn’t act too drunk.

That meant Al was still alive!

And he would be…29 years old!

And bastard Mustang probably retired finally!

Ed sniggered softly at the thought of Mustang hobbling around with a cane and bad back.

“Are you buying punk? If not then scram!” The vendor glared at him, anger coloring his reiki into a brighter orange color.

Amused at the brusqueness of the ningen, Ed placed down a paper and moved on. If that was how the man did business, he did not deserve to be paid for it. Well, that and Ed had no intention of buying the paper anyway, he’d already finished the first page.

Ed crossed the street, rounded the corner away from the vendor’s sight and took out his stolen paper. The news wasn’t all that interesting. In fact, after the war, Ed suspected it ended shortly after he’d disappeared, left this world quite peaceful with minor skirmishes here and there. Of course, there were still robberies, corrupt officers, unorthodox transmutations…but those occurrences are rarer than the suppressed rebel group trying to overthrow the government.

Ed glanced back down on the paper, amber eyes scanning for any oddities. Except for a rather large section of how a politician was cheating on his wife, there’s nothing really that important.

Maybe he should try the library or something. Ed sighed wistfully, thinking back on those old days where he and Al would sit side by side with books scattered around them in a chaotic, organized fashion. Al, being a suit of armor, did not deter his glee when he found something useful for their latest mission. Bruising from Al’s enthusiastic hugs was more common than Ed getting hurt from a mission. Often, he would fall asleep on one of the many books and Al would have to carry him back to his barracks, or simply drape a blanket over him to ensure he wouldn’t catch a cold.

He missed those days.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Ed moved to more important things. He decided to lay low for a while, hunt for underground rings to gain information. Currently, it wouldn’t do for him to get into another youkai confrontation relying on his depleted reserves. Research would be first priority. Then move in for the kill before hunting down Al. It wouldn’t be safe for his brother to be caught up on demonic doings, even if Al could do alchemy and he couldn’t.

A few hours later, Ed found himself boarding at a rundown inn on the poorer side of Central. Since working for Koenma didn’t pay well, in fact it could be said he was paid less than decent wages. What little wealth he acquired came from looting the youkai he dispatched or from odd jobs usually given by Genkai or Yusuke when they felt too lazy to move from their television set. And of course, Kurama doted on him but he gave mostly gifts not money.

The inn, Ed felt, would have been aptly named as a forgotten whorehouse where all the older workers found themselves after their fountain of youth was depleted. However the board was cheap, the water relatively drinkable and the bed had no bed mites. That was good enough for Ed, even though he had to evade wandering hands from temporary, drunk boarders.

Down the street from the inn was a seedy bar, where most of the patrons hold unsteady jobs depending on gang feuds and the number of scheming, paranoid politicians. Some patrons came mostly to gamble, drink, or looking to have a good time with one of the many dolled up laborers slumped seductively over each other. It was noisy, messy and sweaty. An ideal place for underground gossip to fester with many of its patrons coming from different rebel factions of the city.

The food wasn’t all that bad either.

Neither was the ale.

Being in such a run-down area had its advantages afterall. Ed looked about sixteen years old and still on the short side but the barman didn’t care as long as he could pay. Kurama had kindly informed him that he was probably a desert fox, thus his smaller stature and fragile appearance. He had finally accepted, after about mulling over that idea for a few days, that he’d never be as tall as the other kitsune. But ‘fragile’ had a simile to ‘weak’ and that Ed found was unacceptable. Ed had thrown a tantrum due to that comment.

Until Kurama taught him how to use it to his advantage.

His long locks of silky gold trailed down to his waist were no longer in its customary braid. It hung loose, tempting others to trail their fingers through to marvel at its softness. To strangers, it appeared harmless, but for Ed it was merely for practical reasons. It was easier to pull seeds out without having to worry about messing up his braid. His long bangs remained unchanged, framing his heart-shaped face and tied at the bottom with delicate vines, to which ningens assumed to be a green hair tie. In reality they were vines with thorns that could be plucked and thrown like a dart to paralyze his enemies. (2) His golden eyes were brighter than before, probably due to the fact that he could see in the dark, reflected light easily. Similar to Kurama, he had the pale, flawless skin that was inherent in all kitsunes and a natural charm that pulled people to him, often causing more trouble and headaches than Ed would like. That was, as mentioned above, before Kurama taught him how to handle troublesome youkai and manipulate them to do his biddings.

Using his looks and youth in his advantage, Ed gathered information easily from the perverted, drunk patrons all too willing to share their dark dealings with the illegal side. Unfortunately, most were also eager to share their beds. Those that did asked ended with their wallet severely slaughtered as Ed ordered more beer and food for they could consume. With a flash of pearly white teeth, they were all too eager to spend their entire savings on him, as well as incurring a large amount of debt, courtesy of Ed.

It was a perfect strategy that hadn’t failed him.

Until now.

By the end of two weeks, Ed was frustrated and annoyed. He wanted to get the mission over as soon as possible, so he could start hunting down Al. Unfortunately, all the information he had garnered in those two weeks was that he desperately needed a new lead.

Talk of illegal alchemy was rare. The ningens seemed afraid of it. Some went further saying it was an unholy science that should be banned. Most the dealings Ed had discovered had to do with illegal arms trading, running pleasure houses, and feudal gangs. He had kept an ear out for any major robberies, violent deaths, or sudden disappearances, but so far there had been nothing.

This was really odd considering most youkai Ed fought wanted either wealth or the power needed to obtain said wealth.

So he’s either dealing three misplaced, confused youkai or unconventional, cunning youkai.

Ed believed it would most likely be the latter. Koenma wouldn’t send his only Reikai Tentai to do a job Botan could do.

The barkeep pushed another glass of ale towards him, ignoring the fact that Ed looked underage but smiling as he had received a generous tip. Business had been booming for the past week. Rumors that a young and very attractive person frequenting their bar had got around the rougher side of town fairly quickly. Though the young man never stayed for long, it was enough for the many perverts and pedophiles in town to become very interested and drunk. This also included many pimps who were quick to figure out that he was unclaimed. Unfortunately for all of them, Ed managed to give them the slip every night so far. “It’s from that gentleman with a blue jacket.”

Ed nodded his thanks. He looked at the man wearing a furred blue jacket at the end of the bar, another pervert no doubt. He was rewarded with a wink and come-hither look. The kitsune suppressed a sigh at the depravity of humanity. Another pedophile on the loose. It is quite surprising there seems to be such a lot of them around. Ed took a sip from the mug and left the bar, ignoring the longing gazes behind him.

It was time to move on.

Humming a soft song, Ed meandered his way down the streets of Central. Things certainly have changed. There were more people out at night for one thing. Perhaps the city was made safer while he was gone. Maybe it was because he is in the ghetto side of Central. Or perhaps the threat of rebels had already been forgotten. Ed didn’t really know, but then he couldn’t really remember clearly what it was like either. Being that it was more than 200 years ago that Ed had been here.

The kitsune soon found himself at a very familiar building. The library. Still boasting having nearly a complete collection of everything, in spite of having been burnt down more than a decade ago. It would simple matter of breaking in and entering the building to research.

But Ed ignored it for now. It had been a military complex before but he knew, by past experiences, that important documents would be kept out of sight and under highest security. Plus, the library contained outdated information, which, for Ed, is rather useless.

That in mind, he decided to check out the military complex in the center of the city. He was fairly certain he could slip in easily, but just as a precaution he should check how the security worked first.

Kurama did a good job drilling in him battle tactics and the consequences of using fist first, brain later. Sometimes, Yusuke would barge into Kurama’s lecture, ignoring the red head’s scowl, boasting how many opponents he’d taken out by using his fist first, think later strategy. His red-haired mentor would calmly retort that it was Yusuke’s only strategy that it successfully caused him to die twice. Yusuke would then stomp off and sulk, saying that he was still alive and that’s all that matters.

Ed privately agreed with Yusuke when he was younger. He liked the spontaneous battle now and then. Until Kurama told him in a patronizing manner that he is still young, still comparatively weak, still underdeveloped…

He felt his two tails bristle at the thought and immediately took several deep breaths to calm himself down. The long coat hid his tail well enough if he remembers to relax and let them droop. Right. Centuries later, Ed is still slightly sensitive over the ‘weak’ and ‘puny’ issue. He blamed it on his bad DNA, Yusuke’s relentless jokes, and being surrounded by overly tall brutes when he was young.

Central’s military complex remained unchanged. He couldn’t quite recall what it looked like in detail but the present building looked similar to what he could remember in sketchy detail. There were night sentries posted in the front, talking and smoking amongst themselves. He could detect several wandering around the building doing their rounds. There were no surveillance cameras. Ed didn’t believe his world invented it yet. The only thing that secured the building was the high wall with barbed wire and broken glass atop of it. Really pathetic.

He casually tucked his hands into his pockets, rounded the corner to check the back of the building by reaching his senses out to his surroundings. Like all city buildings, there was very little green around. A few scattered, and dying, bushes barely surviving underneath windows. The few trees that managed to grow to a reasonable height is starting to be riddled diseases and parasites.

It was pathetic.

But clever.

Dead trees provide little shelter for suicidal, brain-dead criminals who are dumb enough to break into the complex after getting severely cut up from climbing over the wall and leaving a trail of blood so thick a blind dog with a cold could follow...

Unhappily, Ed was also included in that list.

Without his youki, Ed would have to rely on his enhanced senses. This didn’t really help much. His sensitive hearing and his glowing amber eyes could help him detect nearby ningens. But with his physical speed is still lacking due to his wounds.

He’ll have to try back later in the week. The wounds he had garnered from before is mostly healed but Ed didn’t want to risk breaking his mending ribs. Well, he does have five and a half months before Koenma’s check up. Plenty of time to find several rogue youkai and prepare for the upcoming bloodbath. He grinned with anticipation. He couldn’t wait! He’ll kick their asses and prove that he’s not puny and weak! Take that Shura -

“Kid! This area’s restricted to authorized personal. You got id?” Ed blinked looking up into the eyes of one of guards around the perimeter of the military complex. The man looked back down, eyes unblinking with a slight frown at the confused look on the kid’s face.

“Huh?” Ed said intelligently.

“Kid. This is a military complex. You need permission to enter. I need to see your id or some kind of letter of authorization.” The man droned on in a patronizing manner as though Ed was a particularly slow and dull-witted.

“Er…I’m just leaving.” He mumbled, embarrassed by how he managed to sneak in without himself noticing; face flushed with slight anger at the term ‘kid’. Somehow having someone call him that when Ed’s the one old enough to be his great-grandfather vexed him slightly.

Ed wondered briefly whether it was just the person that was slow or whether the military’s standard took a nose-dive while he was gone. The security must be really lax if anyone, namely him, could wander halfway into a restricted area without being waylaid until he’s right by the front door. Or maybe because he looked so puny and harmless the guards just let him in figuring the most damage he’d do is the bruising on his own fist if he tried to take out a guard.

Tails bristling, Ed briefly entertained the idea of seeing the guard tied up in thorns in a lewd position. No, he should recover a bit more first, then he’ll track all the guards down and give the public a dosage of military naughtiness that’s often hidden among the many cloak closets and locked cupboards.

Smirking to himself, Ed walked back to the opened gate, rounded the corner, determined to come back once healed to check out on the top security vaults. He could risk breaking in again tonight, but daylight is only three hours away. Kurama had drilled into him that one could never be too careful. Genkai, while she was alive, had demonstrated that to him, frequently putting extra spices in his food, or putting nails in his shoes to make him more aware of his surroundings. Hiei would delight himself in watching Ed chased by a couple of discretely placed fire wards that when triggered, aim to burn off eyebrows and hair. Being a kitsune, and since all kitsunes are vain, Ed learned that lesson very quickly.

However, whatever training Kurama had drilled into him seemed to have disappeared. Ed hit squarely into a broad something before he realized that a ningen had caught him by surprise.

Which immediately, set off Ed’s alarm bells that there’s something seriously wrong with him if he couldn’t sense such a large, hulking ningen standing in front of him. “Sorry. I was just going…” Ed mumbled, face flushing a deeper red, this time out of embarrassment. Peering through his long bangs, Ed noticed the man definitely outranked him…if he didn’t quit under mysterious circumstances.

The man looked to be in his mid-forties. Ed guessed by the insignia the dark-eyed man wore, that he was a Brigadier in rank. His clothes, neatly pressed and creased in all the right places, hid powerful muscles that left no doubt that the man worked his way up the ranks through physical force if necessary.

The man glanced down at Ed, as if vaguely registering that he had knocked down something insignificant, moved silently passed Ed, not stopping or saying anything. Ed watched as the Brigadier he didn’t recognize, went out the gate and out of his sight, without once turning back to acknowledge the trespassing stranger.

Ed’s eyebrows creased thoughtfully. Why the hell did that man ignore and not tell him off? Perhaps he had overheard the guard earlier, or perhaps he just had a meeting that didn’t go well and was off to sulk in moody silence in a quiet corner of a dark bar. Ed couldn’t help but feel slightly unsettled over the experience. The man’s eyes were hooded, so Ed couldn’t really tell if the man actually saw him or not. But it almost seems as though the man looked right through him and saw nothing.

That was strange. As far as Ed could recall, military men in the upper level are never this lax, especially when surrounded by back-stabbing allies and crocodile smiles from his colleagues.

The kitsune preceded towards the gate, intending to satisfy the innate curiosity all young cubs and kitsunes have. Unfortunately, Ed was both and often found himself, when survival was not in question, wandering to quench his thirst. Kurama had encouraged his protégé to satisfy his curiosity for it often contained challenges in the stealth department, something that Ed was sorely lacking in his younger years. (He tends to explode at any passing mention of ‘short’ and ‘puny’, thus giving his position away fairly quickly.)

But there was no evidence of a hulking, male ningen in the street even with Ed’s enhanced sense of sight.

Pausing, Ed stretched his youki senses out, checking the surrounding military complex, and surprised to find that the inside was fairly empty, except for the top floor on the right wing. There were several sentries posted in the garden, some standing still, some patrolling the ground in pairs. Checking the street, Ed could only find several other sentries, standing at their post by the main gate.

Something was wrong here. Perhaps the Brigadier was chatting with lowly cadets and guards. Well, the times certainly have changed. Nobody took Ed seriously, even if he outranked them.

Perhaps it was an age thing…or perhaps…

Ed cursed at himself when realization dawned him and ran down the street heedless of his injuries, hoping to catch his prey before it got too far.

The man had no reiki, which meant by rights he should be a decaying corpse.

Ed should have noticed it when he bumped into the man. Any living person’s aura will flare when in close proximity of another living being. This is basically how gut instincts and mind-reading works. One looks at the other person’s reiki.

The kitsune hadn’t felt anything from the man, which made his hackles raised, leaving Ed to wonder why.

Now that Ed figured that out, abeit a step too late. Ed dashed recklessly down the street, determined not to loose his one link to the escaped youkai and the start of his search for Al.

TBC