Chapter 3:: A Memory Emerges

Sakura flipped absently through the book, not actually reading any of the pages. She was more caught up in the strangely familiar feeling she got when she held it.
She was wearing a new outfit consisting of a blue dress with white sleeves that buttoned all the way down and had a white ribbon around the waist, along with matching blue flats.
"Alright, here are the rules," Edward began just as the train they were on started moving slowly, "We get into some dangerous situations. If I tell you to do something like get away, do it. No questions asked."
Sakura frowned. "Relax, mother. I won't cause any trouble." She sighed. "On one condition: tell me why exactly you're searching for this Philosopher's Stone."
Edward and Alphonse exchanged unsure glances. "It's...a really long story. We'll tell you some other time." Alphonse murmured.
Sakura nodded. Right now, the group was on their way to a town called Martris, where more rumors had appeared on the stone. Sakura sighed and settled into her seat, flipping the book open to the first page and actually reading.
After a few moments of silence, Edward asked, "What are you reading?"
"Just a book I got from that shop." Sakura replied distractedly.
Edward and Alphonse exchanged confused looks. "But I never saw you buy anything." Edward pointed out.
"You didn't...steal it, did you?" Alphonse whispered.
Sakura hesitated. "Not really. Some creepy mystery person gave it to me." She answered.
"What's it about?" Edward pressed.
Sakura was quiet for a moment as she turned the page. "I'm not entirely sure. It's about some weird thing called Ketsu-" She cut off suddenly and her eyes glazed over.

"Ketsutaken, ma'am?"
"That's right. Everyone has the ability to use it. You do, too."
"But I've never heard of it."
"I know! I'll introduce you to the members of the Agency. Maybe one of them can train you."
"But...are you sure, ______-sama?"
"Of course. You know, Sakura...I think you'll turn out to be the most powerful of us all."

"Sakura!"
Sakura blinked and quickly looked up to see the brothers looking at her worriedly. "What's the matter with you? You just zoned out." Edward said.
"I...I think I just remembered something." The girl murmured, holding her head.
"Really? What was it?" Alphonse asked happily.
"It had to do with whatever's in this book." Sakura whispered. "But who was that person who gave it to me? And who was that woman in my memory? And...why can't I remember her name?"
"Maybe you'll remember soon." Alphonse suggested. Sakura smiled at him.
"Yeah. Maybe."

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"Did you give it to her?"
A person sighed as he threw off his cloak. "Yeah, I did. I still don't see why, though."
"Because she's important. Apparently her soul is nothing to underestimate." Another woman purred.
"But...I want to eat her. Can I eat her, please?" A third man groaned.
"No. We need her. However...once her soul is ours, I could care less what happens to the brat." The woman said.
"So now we just wait for her to remember, right?" The first man asked.
"That's right. Keep an eye on her, would you?" The woman instructed.
"Sure. Whatever."

Chapter 2:: The Stranger's Book

"Alright. We've gotten permission to give you a little bit of money, seeing as how you don't have any possessions." Mustang said, handing Sakura a few bills.
She held up the money and smiled. "That's really nice of y- OH MY GOSH!!! This is a whole lot more than a little bit of money..." She cried, staring wide-eyed at the 50,000 sens in her hand.
"Well, you need clothes. You can't just wear the same thing every day." The Colonel replied dismissively. "Fullmetal will be going with you, of course. And..."
Edward sat up at that. "And? Who else?" He demanded.
"Edward Elric! It's so wonderful to see you again!" A voice boomed. Sakura turned to see who the voice belonged to when suddenly a very VERY muscular man bounded into the room and enveloped Edward in a death grip.
Through his pain, a look of utter horror crossed the short alchemist's face. The other man put him down as pink sparkles began randomly appearing around his head. He turned to Sakura and held his arms out. "And I can't forget the newcomer~!" He called, stepping forward.
Sakura shreiked in terror and fled to hide behind Alphonse. "NO! Al, save me from the scary, sparkly giant!" She wailed. The suit of armor sweatdropped.
"Sakura, that's Major Armstrong." Al whispered.
"Would you all quiet down? It's getting late, so you should head out now." Mustang growled. Armstrong nodded and cheerfully led the way to the city.

==============================

Edward groaned and lightly banged his head against the wall of the clothes store. "Why do girls spend 3 hours looking at one rack?" He complained. Sakura walked over and huffed indignantly. She adjusted the brand-new backpack on her shoulders.
"Well excuse me. I'm done now so we can leave." She muttered. Maj. Armstrong followed behind her, lugging a rather large bag of clothes.
"Are you sure you can carry all that?" Sakura asked.
"Of course! Carrying heavy loads is a talent that has been passed through the Armstrong family line for generations!" He replied happily. Sakura chuckled nervously and took a large step away from him.
She, Edward, Alphonse, and Armstrong headed outside and began walking down the sidewalk. Sakura looked around curiously. This place was so different from what she was used to.
'Then again...what exactly am I used to? I don't remember where I came from.' She thought sadly.
Suddenly, something caught her eye. Sakura looked up and saw a small store nestled in between two larger buildings. The door was painted black, with little strings of beads hanging in front of it. A wooden sign read, 'Last Resort Thrift Store'.
"Oh...that place looks interesting. Can we check it out?" She asked. Edward groaned again, but Alphonse jabbed him in the side and nodded.
The group entered the store a bit reluctantly. Sakura squinted in order to see in the dimly lit room. There were rows and rows of shelves containing miscellaneous items of varying type. She turned and began walking down the aisle on the far right, carefully examining everything on the shelves. Sakura came across some interesting items, but was actually a bit afraid to touch them. Especially the shrunken head in the very back.
Just then, Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned slowly and gasped when she came face-to-face with a hooded figure.
"I think...you'll be wanting this, Miss Sakura." A raspy voice wheezed. The figure pulled a small, leather-bound book from its cloak and held it out to her with shaky hands.
Sakura blinked, but took the book hesitantly. She dusted it off and coughed when the dust came flying into her face. "Um...thanks but-" She cut off suddenly when she realized the cloaked figure was gone.
"Sakura, come on. Can we lave now?" Edward called impatiently from the front of the store. Sakura nodded slowly and shoved the book in her backpack before running up to the boys.

Chapter 1:: Who is she?

Edward Elric stared up at the night sky, thoughts running through his mind. A very large suit of armor sat next to him. But, in fact, that armor contained the soul of Edward's younger brother, Alphonse. The brothers had just returned from a small town in the south where rumors were flying about the Philosopher's Stone, the thing they searched so hard for.
But it turned out it was just a hack-job alchemist with a fake stone. The brothers had then returned to East City, where they were currently staying until they found more information.
Alphonse suddenly looked up. "Brother, look! A shooting star!" He said in his usual, child-like voice. The older Elric brother glanced at the light blue streak that was plummeting across the sky. He smiled a bit as he remembered the days when the brothers would watch the stars in their hometown of Resembool. The smile suddenly faltered.
"That's no star...it's coming straight at us!" He cried. The brothers yelled and quickly ran away just as the large ball of white-hot light smashed into the ground.
Edward and Alphonse sat up and stared in shock at the giant crater. Little sparks of energy still flitted about, but they soon died away. They slowly creeped toward the smoldering hole and blinked in confusion.
"W-wait...that's a girl!" Alphonse stammered. Edward's eyes widened as he leaned forward and saw that there was indeed a girl laying--actually, floating--in the middle of the giant crater. A few crackles of energy appeared around her. The energy then faded and the girl was gently let down onto the ground. She had medium length blonde hair with bangs that covered her forehead. She wore a white dress with layered ruffles at the bottom and a ribbon running around the waist. Wooden sandles cradled her feet with white laces that crossed all the way up her ankles.
"What should we do?" Alphonse asked timidly. His brother frowned thoughtfully and slowly reached out and grabbed the girl's arm. She didn't move or rsepond at all.
"I guess we should take her to Headquarters..." Edward said. Alphonse nodded and the two boys gently picked the girl up.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I knew one day you'd go totally insane." A man murmured as he watched the Elric brothers with amused black eyes.
"Shut up. We're being serious. This girl just fell from the sky." Edward growled.
"In all probibility, she might've just fallen from a hill. I mean, it looks so high up to you, you might mistake it for the sky." The man mused.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE GOT STEPPED ON BY A GERM!?!?" Edward roared. Alphonse went chibi and sweatdropped.
The man chuckled and rose from his desk. His dark hair swept over his eyes as he examined the still unconsious girl that Alphonse was carrying bridal-style. Colonel Roy Mustang, also known as the Flame Alchemist, stared at her thoughtfully before saying, "Just put her on that couch until she wakes up," And motioning toward one of the couches in his office. Alphonse nodded and gently set the girl down.
"So...did you fill out your investigation report, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked as he sat behind his desk. He referred to Edward by his military given name, Fullmetal Alchemist. A name which had been earned from his prosthetic auto-mail arm and leg. The limbs had been taken a long time ago, when the Elric brothers tried to resurrect their dead mother through the taboo of alchemy, Human Transmutation. Alphonse's body had been taken completely, but Edward had managed to seal him to the suit of armor before it was too late.
"No. I didn't. And you really shouldn't be nagging about that, considering the fact that you have at least 5 mounds of paperwork that still haven't been signed." Edward replied, motioning to the said documents with a sly grin.
Mustang nodded slowly. "All of them taller than you."
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP YOU MORALLY BANKRUPT COLONEL WITH A GOD COMPLEX!?!?"
Just then, a groan caused everyone in the room to turn and stare at the girl on the couch. Her eyelids fluttered open and she sat up. Her wide aqua eyes were now visible, and they scanned over everyone in the room. "...Um...hi?"
"Hello there. How are you feeling?" Alphonse asked.
The girl blinked and absently kicked her legs. "Good, I guess. Where exactly am I?"
"You're in East City, miss. These two say you fell from the sky." Colonel Mustang said.
"Fell? From the sky? That's totally crazy." She paused. "Am I an angel or something?"
Edward blinked. "I don't know. Are you?"
"I dunno." The girl replied.
"What's your name?" Alphonse asked.
"I dunno."
"Where are you from?"
"I dunno." The girl sighed. "I don't remember."
Edward and Alphonse exchanged weary looks. "Do you remember anything at all?" Edward asked.
The girl frowned. "Umm...I..." She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated. Her eyes immediately shot open when she heard a voice in the back of her mind whisper, 'Sakura...'
"My name...is Sakura. Sakura Kankura." She said. "But that's all I remember."
"I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my brother Edward." Alphonse introduced. Sakura smiled at them.
"Well Sakura. What do you plan to do now?" The Colonel asked.
Sakura frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure." She glanced at the Elric brothers. "What are you guys doing?"
The boys shrugged. "Well we won't be here for very long. We travel most of the time." Edward answered.
"Oh! Can I come?" Sakura asked, her eyes glittering happily. "Please, please, please?"
"I don't know..." Edward murmured.
"Oh, come on, brother. Maybe we'll help her get her memory back." Alphonse whispered. Edward thought for a moment before sighing.
"Alright, you can come."
"Yaaaay~!" Sakura squealed as she attempted to glomp Alphonse, but only succeeded in ramming into his chest plate and falling back with a pained 'Oomph!' She glanced up at the armor before laughing cheerfully.
Meanwhile, no one noticed the dark shadow lurking outside Mustang's office window....

Fan-fiction?

So I wrote a fan-fiction! 8D -awaits applause-

Zakuro:...no dip, sherlock. We gathered that from the title.

Me: -mocking- No dip sherlock blah blah blah. Must you always crush my dreams?

Zakuro:...-smirks and starts to say something, but is elbowed by Sakura and shuts up-

Sakura: Soo...are you gonna let us read it or not? ^w^

Me:...yeah...I'm not sure how. I mean...do you post each chapter as a seperate post and make it post type "Fiction"? Or do you do what that paragraph above the post box says? The thing about page break. Do you put a page break in between each chapter? SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

Zakuro: Why don't you just go ask one of your friends?

Me:...maybe I will. Until then, whoever it is that actually reads this stuff can be satisfied with a...PREVEIW~! -insert confetti tossing joy here-

===PREVIEW===

Sakura sat on a high branch of a tree a little over a mile away from the Rockbell home. She stared blankly at the sunrise, her mind a torrent of thoughts.
'Sakura? Are you going to be okay?' Kokoro's voice asked.
Sakura didn't answer for a while. Finally, she murmured, "I don't know where I'm going. I don't know what I'll do when I can't travel with Ed and Al anymore."
'We'll go home. To Aossin. And you can move on with your life.' Kokoro suggested.
"I won't be able to move on normally. The man I loved was a traitor, and now I'm becoming close friends with people in this world. I'm...not sure I want to go home." Sakura replied. She sighed and hugged her knees tight against her chest. "Anyway...what is a home?"
"Your home is where you know there are people who are waiting for you. People who love you." A blonde alchemist answered, staring up at the tree.
"So I have no home, then? I have no idea what's waiting for me...there. I can't remember." Sakura muttered. Her eyes narrowed a bit. "And in the end, probably the only people who would wait for me around here is you and Al."
Edward frowned. "What about Hughes and Elicia? Or Mitzi? Or Karrie? Or the hundreds of kids back in Martris? You saved their lives. I don't think they would just forget something like that."
Sakura remained quiet for a while. "And none of them even know my name." She whispered. "Who do I have left? My friends back wherever it is I came from? Who says they even exist? If they mean so much to me, why don't I remember them?"
"I don't know how to answer that. But...why does it matter how many people you know, as long as you at least have some that you know care about you?"
Sakura blinked and turned to look down at Edward. He smiled softly. Sakura hesitated, but finally returned the expression. "You know...you're right. Thanks, Ed. I needed that." She murmured. "Now...catch."
Edward's eyes widened when Sakura giggled and fell backwards off the branch. He quickly ran over and caught her bridal-style.
"Idiot. What was that for?" He asked, setting her down.
"It's called the trust game. Congratulations, Ebi-chan. You pass." Sakura chirped before skipping away.
"Ebi...?" Edward repeated quietly.
"It's Japanese for 'shrimp'!!" Sakura called. She then screamed happily and began running as fast as she could to avoid being killed by an enraged alchemist, just as the golden sun spread a warm light over the town.