If Ed was in his kitsune form, he would have purred, since all that was on his mind was Al. Al’s warm voice telling him that they’d get there soon. Al’s warm voice asking him whether his wrist hurt.

Just like the caring Al he had once known. It’s good to know Al’s personality was still the same after all these years.

Ed’s mind wandered back to those days in that one-tracked determination normally associated when training or researching. As it was, he didn’t notice where they were heading until Al stepped into the brilliantly lit, sterilized hospital.

If Ed was in his kitsune form, he would have yowled, bit, clawed and tore off into the night before you could say ‘Colonel Bastard.’

But he couldn’t.

So Ed settled to a tantrum, though if you had asked him, he would have replied it was a loud discussion not an argument and definitely not a tantrum. He was simply screaming how bringing him, Ed, into the emergency ward for a full-body check-up is hardly necessary. He wasn’t hurt! Not that much…

“But…Edo! You’re hurt! Please just let they doctor look at you.” Al pleaded to the golden kitsune hugging one of the supporting pillars outside the hospital doors. For a person with a broken wrist, Ed was amazing resilient to any tugging and dragging. For a person, or a youkai, Ed was acting more like a koala than anything humanized.

“Nooooo!” Ed howled, shaking his head. He was acting like a kitsune kit but he didn’t give a damn. Hiei and Yususke weren’t there to laugh at him. Kurama wasn’t here to scold him for embarrassing all kitsune with his behavior. Koenma wasn’t there to tell him that he could bawl louder than him any given day. And Botan wasn’t there to give him the hug-o-death.

“Come on Edo. It’s going to hurt a lot more if you leave it.” Al’s brown eyes pleaded into Ed’s amber, feral ones. For a moment, the glare softened before Ed shook himself out of Al’s temporary-induced hypnotism. It’s annoying that your younger brother looks so much like mother with those pleading eyes.

“No! It’s not! Not going! Can’t make me!” Ed attempted to climb higher on the pillar.

“Let go of the pillar Edo. Your wrist will get worse if you cling onto it like that!”

“NOOOOO!”

It took a while but Ed won, barely, but only because the head nurse kicked them out for waking up half the patients at 3am.

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

Five minutes later, Al had suggested the other to bandage his wounds in his house. Ed agreed quickly, curious to see what conditions his younger brother lived in and whether it was as spotless Kurama’s den or a pig-sty like Yusuke’s.

But there was something wrong that night, when they rounded the corner near Al’s street.

The sky was on fire. And it wasn’t evening.

Ed cocked his head and sniffed the air tentatively, his sensitive nose picking up the faint smell of smoke, dust and burning wood. This doesn’t bode well.

“Al. Is your house over there?” Ed turned his head to the side so he could look at Al in the eyes. They were the same as he remembered them. So much like mother’s. Why couldn’t his eyes be like Al’s instead of that bastard of a father?

Al nodded worriedly. Ed slid to the ground elegantly; Al had been carrying him before, allowing his brother to rush forward to find his street, and his house, merrily ablaze with swarming military personnel and firemen trying to put it out.

It took a few pats on the head before Al calmed down enough to start looking for the person in charge. It was an age-old method garnered through experience when Ed calmed a younger Al during thunderstorms and bloody knees. A few pats on the head conducted in a pattern of three short pats and three long rubs, followed by the infamous Elric smirk and a taunt.

It worked. Al had been too distraught to notice the familiarity as he nodded his thanks and rushed to help drawn alchemic circles of water. A few minutes later, the blaze was under control. Ed sighed, both from the tension and stink of smoke and ash that masked over everything. All around lay rubbles of bricks, stones, burnt wood, hurrying uniformed people and crying children.

Families clung to each other, reassuring themselves that they were alive. Children screamed from burns, scratches and terror in unison, causing much of the panic from parents. Al’s tall figure moved easily among the crowds, making sure that everyone he knew or acquainted was fine, making sure no pets were left unsaved, especially cats. Ed smiled at the sight of a couple kids clinging to Al’s legs, eyes bright and shouting above the din exactly what happened in too many made-up words. It seemed that Al’s popular wherever he went, Ed mused.

Ed wanted to join the action too. He was quite sure he still had those burn-soothing aloe seeds hidden away somewhere. He took a step towards his brother and immediately caught the attention of a medic.

The medic gave Ed a stern look and ushered him onto a bench, exclaiming about burns, scars and blood. Ed protested to deaf ears for a few moments then gritted his mouth shut as the medic unrelentingly poured alcohol on every small scratch with practiced ease. After that came the bandaging and the discovery of a fractured wrist, which took even less time to bandage and a sling placed around his shoulders for support.

Ed admired the efficiency of the job, considering there was no alchemy involved, and thanked the medic, who immediately blushed. Humans are such passionate creatures, and to think that Ed used to be one long ago. Was he that passionate too? He didn’t think so.

Well, he wasn’t on Koenma’s interrogation squad for doing nothing. “Do you know what really happened here?” He cocked his head in an inquisitive angle for a better effect.

The medic shrugged. “From what I heard, a fire broke out in the basement of a house. It burned quickly and quickly spread down the street from the strong winds. Don’t worry though,” he quickly added, feeling Ed’s concern. “The military says their alchemists will repair the houses.”

“The military?” It was odd that certified military alchemists actually had free time to do repairs around the city. These minor problems were usually left for amateur alchemists hired cheaply to do the bulk of the jobs and artisans and laborers to do the details.

“Yes. Probably something about the strange fire that broke out first. It was black.”

“Thanks.” Ed stood up, signaling the end of the short conversation and eyed a crying girl with a bad burn on her arm standing by the bench. The medic rushed out o fix her up and Ed left quickly to find his younger brother.

As it was, it was all Ed could do at the moment. If he still had his alchemy, he would have volunteered to help rebuild the street, and gather information that way. If he had enough youki to divert from his healing process, he could have volunteered to fix the gardens, but that would look odd without the necessary equivalent exchange nonsense.

He would have to look for answers elsewhere.

He had been around Hiei too long not to know that black fire is a sure sign of a fire demon.

He needed to find Al fast. If the other youkai caught his scent from Al, then…Ed didn’t want to think about what could happen. Being on Koenma’s tantei meant he had a lot of enemies.

Ed sprang lightly over smoldering piles of rubble and headed to the noisiest, most crowded area.

Sure enough, Al, being the kind person he was, was in the middle of fray of children, who were clapping their hands with amazement as the tall blond repaired their favourite toys.

Probably the only happy place amidst the panicking and the screaming.

“Shouldn’t you be helping out there?” Ed nudged his brother softly, lifting an elegant eyebrow towards the adults weeping over the loss of their property. Some were trying to lunge their way back to their homes to see what they could save, only to be halted by the military’s strict orders and threats.

Al sighed, running his hand through his sooty hair and stood up slowly. It was then Ed noticed the gaunt expression and the dark circles around the hazel eyes. How could he not notice Al’s exhaustion? He really was a bad older brother…first, losing Al’s body, then trapping his soul in a piece of hulking, ugly armor, then dragging him around the country looking for a cure, only to leave him alone, friendless, brotherless, when Ed finally succeeded.

“You can stay in my place.” Ed lifted his hand to rest upon Al’s shoulder and gave it a comforting pat. He’ll make it up to Al, against all odds, legal procedures, stacks of paperwork and a pissed off Koenma Jr.

“Come on. Rest a little then come back. You can’t perform alchemy if you’re going to keel over any minute. Something might go wrong.”

That seemed to strike a cord in Al, his round eyes grew a little bigger and Ed though he saw regret and guilt for a instant before it was gone. Well, maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned that considering what happened many, many years ago.

“You’re right. Thanks Edo-kun. But I could just grab a room in the hotel, or stay with Russ. I don’t want to impose –“

Russ? Al’s going to Russ? No way was Ed going to let his little brother out of his sight! Especially with that arrogant blond!

“You’re coming with me!” Ed announced and quickly turned heel before Al could protest. Must get Al away from nasty, bad-tempered blond. Must get Al away from nasty, bad-tempered, possibly fire youkai.

“Edo! Wait! It’s –“ Al tripped over a pile of concrete, caught himself before he fell scraping his hand over rusted wire. He winced at the trickle of blood and pain, wondering what it had been like when he was had his armored body immune to all pain. He must have been unstoppable then!

Except he couldn’t remember what it was like. Al stopped, staring as though mesmerized by the crimson droplets, saddened at the pain.

He couldn’t remember.

Not a single memory.

Not a single memory from the six year gap of being armor.

Not a single memory of his brother – the infamous Fullmetal.

Not a single memory of the war that raged and calmed.

Not a single memory of his brother’s older face except from the few photos Hughes-san, a man he couldn’t remember, had taken.

“Al!” The blond man looked up to see an angry, glaring teenager amongst a swarm of nosy neighbours. His hand was on his waist, somewhat reminiscent of his mother on a bad day. Edo’s gray beret lowered, shielding the wearer from the falling soot and ash, but not hiding the blazing amber pools that glowered almost unnaturally.

“I’ll patch you up at my place. The medicine you have here is quite ineffective and frankly outdated.” A medic nearby looked indignant at the Ed’s scathing words. “Come on Al!”

The kitsune turned and walked calmly out the taped zone. His small frame gave him an advantage to slip inbetween cracks of the wall of do-gooders and nosy housewives. Al shook himself out of his daze and hurried after the disappearing figure. The crowd swallowed Edo entirely, if it wasn’t for the gray beret and flashes of golden hair, it could almost be impossible to follow. The man pushed himself into the crowd, his tall frame made it easier to peer over heads and find the golden and grey blur darting expertly like a thief.

The situation seemed vaguely familiar. It had happened before, but Al couldn’t remember when or where. What he could remember was how he panicked about being left behind and hurting nearby people as he chased after a yellow antenna inbetween bouts of calling out someone’s name and constant apologizing as he stepped on toes.

The memory was gone in a flash. Al shook his head and followed. It wasn’t like he could leave the witness alone if the serial murderer came after him. It wouldn’t be safe for the young kid. Especially one that insulted the murderer. The man heaved a sigh and breathed in fresh air when he finally squeezed out from the mob. He’d have to protect the kid. So far, not a single witness had been left alive after their ordeal with a headless corpse. Not a single one.

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

TBC