Welcome to the Family

Offer

Two Years Later

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Izumi has known Francis for a while now. He's a local customer, but doesn't come in more than twice a month. To see him come in her shop for a third time this month is quite a shocker, as one can imagine. It only adds to the shock when Izumi sees two young boys with him.

They've got to be around ten or nine. Brothers, no doubt, not when they both look to be sent from the sun. The shorter one is much like Francis - cocky, wears leather. The taller one is more pure in a sense. He pretty much looks like a goodie-two-shoes.

To say Izumi is concerned is putting it mildly. She knows who Francis really is out in the night, on the streets. His gang name is Greed for fuck's sake. Izumi has only heard whispers about what goes down in his nightclub, the Devil's Nest, and she's sure most of it is true.

What she's trying to get at is: why are these children here with a criminal?

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Curtis," Francis greets.

"Greed. What do you want?" She asks bluntly.

The shorter one shares a surprised look with the taller one. Are they shocked that someone would dare talk to the great, infamous Greed that way? Izumi will show them a thing or two.

"My usual order, please. You might have to double that," Francis adds.

"Okay, sure. Just tell me, since when were you a pedophile? I didn't think you were into little kids that way." Izumi crosses her arms, every bit of her radiating in unfriendliness.

The shorter one chokes on spit, and continues to release his painful coughs into his fist. He pounds on his chest for good measure, too. The taller one is deep red, and it isn't from coughing like his brother. The mere thought of being with Francis in that way must really embarrass him.

Francis only laughs in good humor. He slaps the money on the glass case where she stands with a non-threatening mood.

"I'm not a pedo, Mrs. Curtis. These are my cousins, Ed, the shorter one, and Al, the taller one. I'm just watching them for a couple weeks is all," an idea brightens his face. "Hey, you're an Alchemist, aren't you? So are my cousins. Why don't you show them something?"

Izumi scoffs, snatching up the notes. She counts them quickly before typing away in the register. She stashes the money in there, and glances up to see the two brothers eyes are lit up like fiery explosions. A thought makes Izumi slam the drawer closed.

"What of their parents? Are they okay with you being around their children?" Izumi demands.

The fire is suffocated out of one of the brothers' eyes. The shorter one keeps his fire, yet it shifted into something of more determination. Why is that?

"Our parents are dead," the shorter one, Ed, declares.

"Ed!" Al gasps.

"What? Stop making it a big deal, and maybe it won't be," Ed shrugs.

Izumi frowns. They're parents are dead? And they don't want to make it a big deal?

"If you're just staying with Greed for a short time, and you have no parents, who are you staying with?" Izumi asks, not really caring if she's prying or not.

"Family friends. If the boys haven't known them all their lives, I probably would've asked for custody," Francis explains.

Izumi's aggression visibly goes down. Isn't this depressing?

"You don't have any other family?"

"Well, we've got six other cousins and an uncle, but we have no idea where they are," Ed confesses.