Arisa pov:
I walked past Sou Tucker's house to the Central Command Office, ready to take the final exam to become a State Alchemist. I had had a sound breakfast that would surely give me energy until the exam was over and, hopefully, I passed.
With the weather warm and pleasant, I wore a comfortable, loose shirt that fell off my shoulders, exposing the straps of the camisole I wore underneath. My knee length shorts were low waist, held up by a leather belt, and my feet were covered with comfortable, thick-soled leather shoes – I'm sure they would be most comfortable for the lifestyle I would have here. They were great for walking and running, with amazing grip for easy maneuvering even on wet surfaces.
Upon entering the grounds of the Central Command, I took in the setting prepared for the exam – many people were gathered near the barricade surrounding an expanse with trees and water and stone and every other element possible that could be transmuted. Nodding, impressed by the preparation, I stepped to the entrance but was stopped by a soldier.
"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't go beyond this point. Entry is for examinees only," he said.
Showing him my papers, I said, "I'm taking the exam."
He was momentarily surprised. He stuttered, "O-oh, I see. I'm sorry, it's the first time we've had a girl take the exam. And you look younger than 16."
I regarded him with a smile before I stepped into the barricade. The other examinees sent me curious stares though there were a few who didn't seem happy to see me there.
"A girl is taking the qualification exam?"
"She looks pretty weak! What is the military thinking, letting a girl take the exam?"
"She actually thinks she's good enough to stand in the same place as us?"
I rolled my eyes at the comments I received though didn't bother looking at the ones who had spoken them. It was not long after that, that Gen. Haruko stepped towards us with documents in hand, ready to commence the exam.
"Alright everyone, I have your attendance and track record sheets with me. The Fuhrer hopes to see some skilled alchemists join the military this year, so let's see what you got." He wished everyone good luck but eyed me a moment with an expectant smile. Bowing, the men began to show off their skills one by one.
I watched as one guy converted stone into a huge ten feet statue. Military personnel who were watching gasped and clapped at the transmutation. The guy grinned but staggered as he stood up. He walked to the side and ended up collapsing to his knees because he was so exhausted.
Another guy walked into the pond that was created and splashed in the water. I raised a brow because he looked like a child flailing about in the water. When he was drenched, he touched the transmutation circle that was drawn on the back of his hand and the water from his clothes and hair disappeared. From his arms, he had ice swords which he used to cleanly slice down some trees close by. People clapped for that too.
It was a few more men later that I stepped up to show my skills, or rather, test my skills without restriction. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes a moment. I felt the build-up of energy in me and when I opened my eyes, I was ready to roll. The tattoo on the back of my neck pulsed and I got down on one knee to place my hands on the ground. I erected six slabs one behind the other – each a meter thick and of various hard metals. Those watching me didn't seem too impressed by what I had done but my next move caught their attention. Placing my hand on a stone that was next to me, I transmuted a huge halberd.
Widening my stance while gripping the hilt with both hands, I eyed the slabs. I condensed air and moisture at the tip of the blade causing it to spark. The audience broke into curious whispering as I raised the halberd. They gasped when I made a clean slash, releasing the wind, water and electricity together in a crescent shaped blade. It sliced through all the slabs cleanly and easily, leaving what fell crumbling and debris rising around the whole ground. The blade hadn't dissipated and before it could come in contact with the military building, I raised my hand and fisted it making everything dissipate with a bright blue spark.
When all the dust settled, I heard more whispers and every person standing around me was watching me with wide eyes. I felt a little awkward under the sudden attention so I just bowed and scurried out of the grounds. When I was a good distance away from most of the crowd, I placed a hand on my chest as I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked at my hands feeling my heart pounding hard against my ribs.
"Wow, I didn't think I could actually pull that off. It looks like Krystal was right in saying that I am a powerful alchemist," I mumbled to myself.
"That was a splendid show, Miss Arisa!" The Fuhrer's voice had me whirl around to see his cheery expression.
"Thank you, Fuhrer Sir," I responded, bowing in respectful greeting.
He chuckled, holding one hand up. "I suppose it's alright for me to say welcome to the military. You are a strong alchemist and will surely be a great addition to the military. You'll also be quite famous as the first female State Alchemist. It's truly an era of change."
"You flatter me, Fuhrer Sir," I said, smiling wide. It felt great to be appreciated for my alchemy, and by the Fuhrer himself! I felt euphoric, and finally proud of my ability.
"Not at all. Anyway, I was informed that you will be stationed under Col. Mustang if you passed the exam. You should pack and make haste to East City since I have passed you – I will have the appointment letter sent there."
"I understand. I will pack and take my leave immediately!"
"Ah, but take this. You need this if you're going to be let into the military's building in East City," he said, holding out a signed paper that was handed to him by his secretary. It was an unofficial appointment letter with the Fuhrer's sign – a temporary document until I received my official appointment letter in East City.
"Thank you, Your Excellency. I will be on my way now." Sparing him a bow, I left the Central Command, punching the air in a cheer once. I was ready for my new job and new life as a proud, strong and confident State Alchemist.
Envy pov:
I was more pissed off than usual at the humans I had been dealing with off late. They were all so pathetic. Incredibly useless, weak, and greedy. The world would surely be much better if they all just disappeared.
"It seems you're not in a good mood again, Envy," came Lust's smooth voice as she eyed me entering my room in Dante's mansion.
I spared her and Gluttony a sharp glare before hissing, "No one asked for your opinion, Lust. If it wasn't for Pride, I could have been having fun ridding the world of pathetic humans! Or even better, I could have had my fill of entertainment watching the Fullmetal pipsqueak suffer in despair! I could have found ways to traumatize him and the metal freak he calls his brother."
Lust chuckled, crossing her arms and shifting on her feet. "Envy, always so hasty. Come, Dante sama is calling for us. It seems Pride has arrived."
With a click of my tongue in annoyance, I followed Lust and Gluttony to the huge library where the old hag usually spent most of her time. I didn't really care for the old hag who called herself our benefactor – the only reason I followed her was because I could enjoy my life to the fullest by killing many pathetic humans. It was always fun messing with their heads and then watching them beg for their lives before I killed them just like they deserved for all their flaws and fakeness. The sight of blood splattered on the floor and walls was thrilling.
And it was even more fun messing with the Fullmetal pipsqueak, watching his face contort in expressions of fear and agony and anger.
I kicked open the doors of Dante sama's library with ease before striding inside with Lust and Gluttony following close behind. Pride stood in front of her, his posture fitting for his title as the Fuhrer of the military.
"Oi, old man, what's your problem, calling me here when I was having fun with some humans? Just because you don't have anything else to do besides stand with all your sick groveling human subordinates, it doesn't mean we've got nothing else to do," I spat as I came to stop in front of him.
"Envy, calm down. Pride has some very important information to tell us," spoke Dante sama. "What information do you have for us, Pride? I hope it is something that would be useful to us."
With a scoff, I moved to lean against the French windows on the side of the library.
"Dante sama, I believe we don't have to depend on the Fullmetal brothers anymore." Pride's words had me eyeing him with a narrowing gaze. He was in a good mood, smiling while he spoke. "We had a very interesting candidate during the State Alchemist Qualification Exam yesterday. She got selected even, because of how powerful and skillful her alchemy is."
"A girl?" I questioned with obvious amuse. "You're telling us that a stupid girl is better than the Fullmetal? Let alone passed the tough exam?"
"Yes," he answered. "I was quite impressed by her ease of using alchemy. It is similar to what the Fullmetal uses, in fact, though something about her seems tougher."
If what he said was really true, I had to see this human for myself. I was curious now and I wanted to see if she was really as good as Pride said...based merely on seeing her perform alchemy just once.
"Is that so? Then perhaps we can lead her to create the Philosopher Stone for us – if she is stronger than the Fullmetal boy, as you seem to have deduced, she's probably just as good as Hohenheim of Light."
"Don't mention that b******'s name in front of me!" I snapped, feeling intense anger bubble within me. I loathed that man with every fiber of my existence, that man who threw me away for some human and fathered those two b*******, even though he had always said he loved me more than anything else in the world! I despised him and wanted to kill him when I finally found him, I hated that he chose those two over me who he said he loved the most. The very fact that I was the son of someone like him when I was still human disgusted me. The day I found him would be the day he would die at my hands.
That traitorous b******!
"Calm down, Envy," said Dante sama, her tone nearly nonchalant and annoying me more. Her aloof attitude towards everything often vexed me. What could she possibly understand about us Homunculi despite having been with us for so long? No matter what, we were still outcasts, hiding and exploiting humans for our survival and earning fear and hatred from the latter just because we were different.
With a scoff, I looked away again, filling my mind with thoughts of slaughtering humans – it relieved a bit of my anger but also amused me. The way they blindly trusted each other when each clearly had hidden motives was nothing short of a joke. It was even more bewildering that they wished for company, no matter how fake, because they would get betrayed in the end, just like me. Their cheeriness and smiling irked me every single time, their holding each other's hands and talking away merrily like they had no care in the world making me wish to turn them into expressions of fear instead. On that note, the initial interest I had in the girl faded.
"This girl's appearance could not have been better," spoke Pride, shattering my train of thought. "We can use her without much concern for she has no family. I heard that she has been travelling alone for very long and after an incident recently, she is suffering from amnesia, unable to recall her home or anything else I could consider important. Besides, she's been hesitant about using alchemy because she's never been appreciated for it. We could use some flattery to get her on our side."
"Well, isn't that a corny idea? Do what you want – I'm not interested in this girl," I muttered. Pushing off the window frame, I was about to leave the room. However, Dante sama seemed to have other plans.
"We are not done talking, Envy."
Clenching my fists in annoyance, I stalled near the doors. Though I hated having to do her bidding, I had some self-respect. I followed her for she had helped us survive when we could have rotted away. Besides, she knew how to kill us. I would be a fool to stand up against her when I knew what she was capable of. I had no choice but to listen to her...for now.
"If she can create the Philosopher Stone, we'll be able to become human again," murmured Lust, still holding onto her wish to become human. Why would we want to be human again though? I enjoyed the so-called immortality I had as well as the strength and the ease with which I could kill insignificant humans who deserved nothing less. What I got from making them miserable was priceless.
"Envy, are you listening?" Dante sama's voice brought me back to the present.
"What?" I snapped.
"The girl has already left to East City. You are to go there and find out a little more about her. Follow her and find out about her skills in alchemy and fighting, and also her level of intelligence if you can."
"Why should I be the one to go?" I couldn't see why I had to deal with this when I clearly wasn't interested in it.
"Because you are a shape-shifter. It will be easy for you to get the information we need by blending in with the common people. Catch the next train to East City and follow the girl named Arisa Lee," Dante sama instructed.
"Tch, fine. But don't expect me to be nice to her if I meet her as a Homunculus. I'm not giving up on my fun just because she's your new aid. Then again, I would be glad if I get to have more fun with those two brothers instead," I said smirking.
"Do as you wish, as long as you don't kill her or make her disfunctional in any way."
With an excited chuckle at the thought of tormenting my new target, I set out to the closest train station. As I made my way through the forests, I transformed into an absolutely normal-looking civilian though the devious smile surely didn't leave my lips.
Arisa pov:
"Well, I had expected as much but it's still a little surprising to see how under-developed this world is," I mumbled to myself, standing on the platform of the train station in East City.
Not only did the people, the way the dressed, and the buildings appear to be of an older time period, but the trains that functioned were old steam engines that let out dark smoke into the air as they chugged away. They were slow, as a result, and it had taken me more than half a day through beautiful and lush countryside landscape to reach this city from Central. The journey was pleasant though and I had shared my seat compartment with a young couple and a child. The two year old had constantly reached out to me with squeals and giggles. Never having handled children before, let alone adults, I had been hesitant to hold her despite the couple saying that I could play with her for a while. In the end, I did hold her for a while and she had fallen asleep in my arms.
With a sigh, I stepped out of the train station and asked some people passing by for directions to the military's headquarters in the city. I was quick to find it, since the city was smaller than Central, and I stopped a moment outside the huge metal gates while staring up at the huge symbol of the military on the building.
Security here seemed thinner than in the Central Command. No soldiers stopped me at the entrance to question the reason for my visit but I was stopped by a few soldiers when I stepped into the main lobby just before the office rooms.
"Hello there, little miss," said a man with dark brown hair and matching brown eyes, his voice teasing as if he was trying to flirt with me. "Who are you and what are you doing in a place like this?"
I didn't want to seem rude on my first day here even though I was quite tempted to show him an attitude. I sufficed a friendly smile but didn't get the chance to answer him as three other soldiers joined him, one of them even resting his arm on the shoulder of the man who had spoken to me.
"Yeah, little miss, what's a sweet little thing like you doing in a place like this?"
"I'm here to see Col. Mustang. Could you tell me the way to his office?"
Their facing contorting in anger made me curious. The answer came soon enough when they began to mutter amongst each other.
"Col. Mustang? That guy's got another girlfriend? And she's just a kid!"
"When did this happen? How come we don't know about it yet?"
"I can't believe he got himself another girlfriend right after he stole mine!"
My smile widened in amuse while my brows rose. It seemed to me that Col. Mustang was a famous soldier here and not just for his title. From how these men spoke, I guessed him to be a Casanova.
"Actually," I spoke up, interrupting their heaty discussion, "I just passed the State Alchemist Qualification Exam yesterday and I was told that I would be stationed under Col. Mustang."
"What? You're a State Alchemist? A girl actually passed the exam?"
"I don't see why a girl shouldn't pass the exam," I mused.
"Then you're the first female State Alchemist!" another hollered, quite surprised.
"Yeah, that's what I heard too. Now are you going to make me stand here all day or give me direction to the colonel's office?"
Jaws slightly slack, they pointed down the corridor. Sparing a chaste bow, I excused myself. They continued to whisper amongst themselves even after I had left – it had me laughing to myself in amuse.
It was a few moments later that I stopped in front of a door that had name plates on it, the one at the very top being that of Col. Roy Mustang written in bold capitals.
Inhaling deeply, I exhaled just as slowly though my mouth. This was it – this was the beginning of my career in this world as a military official.
Straightening slightly, I knocked thrice with my knuckles. A voice from inside gave me permission to enter so I turned the handle and let myself in.
~~~~~~~~~~
I love the Mustang gang TwT
Vote!
C'mon guys! Comment! :D