Substitute Alchemist - Bleach X FMA Crossover [HAITUS]

Chapter 11 - Homunculus

Kiana pov:

"Are there any people here at all?" Kyran asked as we walked through ruins in the middle of a boiling hot desert.

"There are people just a little ahead of us, probably past these ruins." I said.

"How can you tell? You don't have heightened senses like me and I can't get any scent despite being half wolf because of all this sand flying around us." Kyran responded while crinkling his nose a bit.

"Instinct, I guess." I said with a nonchalant shrug while looking ahead.

"Right..." Kyran mumbled, not sounding convinced by my words. He didn't question it any further but I knew that I would have to tell him the truth about myself soon. He was my partner now, someone who lived with me and who would accompany me on all my missions, and he was sure to see the Shinigami side of me soon enough. Besides, he trusted me so I should return it by being honest about who I really am too.

Our walk through the desert continued for another twenty minutes with occasional fleeting conversations about nothing in particular. By the time we reached a small town, having passed through ruins and more of the dry, sandy desert, we were parched. Our water supply had not sufficed our whole trip on foot and the first thing we did when we were in the town was walk to the water fountain and fill our tummies completely with much needed water. People who passed by watched us strangely – for the way we drank continuously, like we had never seen water before. Well, we had felt dehydrated and couldn't get enough no matter how much water we drank.

When we finally felt some energy return to our bodies and our mouths were no longer dry, we took a short breather where we stood. I removed my hair tie and ran my fingers through my sweaty hair with a deep sigh while closing my eyes. I also tilted my head from side to side to relieve the stress built up in my muscles before tying my hair up in a ponytail again. It wasn't until I heard a mix of a growl and a yelp from Kyran that I nearly jumped out of my skin, alert and worried about what happened to him.

"Let go of my tail, you brat!" He hissed and yanked his tail away from the hands of a boy who looked to be no more than ten years old. He had tugged on Kyran's tail and it had caused him to yelp in surprise and perhaps even a bit of pain – after all, Kyran had told me that his ears and tail were slightly sensitive.

The boy, however, flinched back in fear at the way Kyran yelled at him. He teared up and Kyran tensed, not sure of what to do. In fact, he looked anxious as he glanced at our onlookers as they whispered while looking at him for his appearance and the way he had just treated the child. I shook my head with a small smile and crouched in front of the boy while placing a hand on his shoulder gently.

"Please don't cry." I said tenderly. "When you pulled on his tail, it hurt him, and that's why he reacted that way. Would you like to touch his tail again, but gently this time?"

"Can I?" He asked while taking a hesitant glance at Kyran.

"Of course. Onii chan won't mind." I answered and glanced up at Kyran while widening my smile. He twitched and looked away while letting go of his tail.

I coaxed the boy to touch his tail again and he reached out to pat it gently this time. I think Kyran liked it because his tail swished about once. Seeing that he wasn't reprimanded again, the boy grinned and even hugged the fluffy tail before looking at me.

"Thank you, Onee chan, Onii chan!" He chimed before scuttling off down the road with a wave.

"My tail is not a toy, you know?" Kyran muttered as I stood up. "And letting that kid play with it and...."