~| Philosopher's Secret |~ [Book One] ||Chapter Four||

< Everybody got themselves bandaged up, and settled in for bed. Edward wore a sling around his left arm, Saya had a bandage on her cheek, and Bree speculated gauze wrapped around her torso and shoulder. After that mass fight, everyone was exhausted. Well, everyone but Alphonse that is. Al couldn't sleep after all, having your soul trapped a suit of armor prevented him to. Al didn't like it, but he learned to live with it by taking the night hours to books and thinking about the past. After everyone when to bed, Al normally when into the study to study more alchemy. Even though, he could always have Saya or Bree teach him (for being the alchemic prodigies they were) Al insisted that he should learn by himself.
As the other slept, Alphonse buried himself in his studies. But tonight, as he was reading a book on Earth transmutations, he heard thumping footsteps above him. He looked up and listened to the sound. When it stopped, he heard Bree yell, "STOP SNORING EDWARD! YOU'RE GONNA WAKE UP THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD!" Al then heard a groan of pain.
"WOULD YOU STOP HITTING ME WITH SHOES?! I'M SORRY IF I WOKE YOU UP!! YOU'RE SUCH A LIGHT SLEEPER!!" was Edward's retort.
The two argued for a little while before they got tired again and went off to bed. It was a wonder that Saya slept through that! Well, like Bree said, Saya could probably sleep through the end of the world. Al, after about 15 years, finally realized that.
Alphonse went back to his studies. After about two hours, he heard another sound. it was small footsteps, like someone trying to walk as quietly as they could. The sound was brief, and it came from directly above Al. He thought about what room he was under and realized it was Saya's. Al stood up and went upstairs to check on her. He peeked into her room to find Saya kneeling on the ground. He saw that her right arm, just below her shoulder, was bleeding.
"Saya, are you okay?" Al asked as he entered her room. Saya didn't respond. He looks closer at Saya's face to find she was sleeping.
"She's... sleepwalking?" Alphonse asked himself.
Saya held the wound with her left hand and the wound seems to bleed right through her fingers. Al watched as Saya withdrew her hand to start drawing something on the floor with her blood. Al Couldn't believe it! It was a transmutation circle, but none of which Alphonse has ever seen! Al walked over to Saya and grabbed her shoulder. He shook her gently and Saya seems to snap out of her daze. She took a sharp intake of breath as if she were surprised.
"Saya, are you alright? You're bleeding." Alphonse said.
"Huh?" Saya asked as she looked at her shoulder.
"Oh..." Saya let out as she covered her wound. "I guess I just missed that cut from the battle. Heh heh, you know me. I miss a lot of things." Saya explained chuckling.
"Well, if you want, I can help you bandage it up." Al offered.
Saya smiled. "Thanks a bunch Al."
As Alphonse cleaned the wound off, and got rid of the access blood, he noticed the shape of the wound. It surprised him so much; he froze and dropped the towel. Saya stared at him in concern.
"Hey, Al. What's wrong?" Saya asked, and then looked at her wound. She became shocked as well. The shape of the wound was in the shape of a flamel symbol*.

"S-Saya... how did that happen?" Al asked uncertainly.
"I-I dunno Al." Saya replied. Then she looked serious.
"Alphonse, promise me you won't tell the others about this wound. Okay?"
"What?! But why?! They have a right to know!" Al cried.
"I know Al. But please, just promise me you won't tell them." Saya insisted. Al seemed uncomfortable.
"Please Alphonse? I just don't want to worry them...." Saya asked quietly.
It took a while for Al to respond, but he nodded and continued wrapping Saya's arm. When he finished, Saya went off to bed, and Al went back to his studies until morning.
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The next morning, Ed woke up early and went down to the study. He yawned and stretched his head as he entered.
"Nii-san*, you're awake!" Al said in surprise. Ed normally would sleep later because of those damned teenage hormones, but strangely he got up quite early.
Ed nodded and made an "mmhmm" noise as he flipped through a random book from the shelf. Edward's eyes had dark bags under them, as if he hadn't slept a wink last night.
"Did you sleep well?" Aru asked.
"No, not really. Bree, she came in during the night and hit me with a shoe." Edward started. Then, after a long pause, he said, "I had another one of those dreams last night...."
Al looked at Edward in surprise.
"You mean--?"
"Yeah, the one from the day we tried to bring back Mom...." said Edward, his eyes welling with tears. When Ed realized this, he quickly wiped them away before Al could see them.
Bree walked into the room, yawning.
"Damn, I didn't get any sleep last night. Ed, you kept on snoring." Bree said as she sat on the floor, flipping through a book as well.
"Bree, it's called breathing not snoring. Damn it! I can't go one night without a peaceful sleep?" Edward yelled at Bree.
"Do you have to talk so loud? It's too early for that." Saya said as she walked through the open door, surprising everyone.
"WHOAH! Where'd you come from?!" Bree asked as Saya grabs a book and not even glanced at a page, just skimmed through it.
"Bree, everyone in this room knows where babies come from, must I re-teach you?"
"NO! I know that! I mean, you just appeared out of nowhere!"
"Well, I came from bed. Happy to know now?" Saya asked as she sat on the ground, looking at this particular page in the book. Bree just shook her head, thinking about how much time she could spend with Saya, and she would never understand her completely.
Edward was staring at Saya oddly. He was looking at her right shoulder, wear the gauze was wrapped around her arm. The blood had seeped through and it was trailing down her arm without Saya really noticing.
"Saya, you're bleeding." Edward said, making the blood's presence known. Saya looked at her arm and didn't seem surprised.
"Oh.... Hey, Al, wanna help me with this one?" Saya asked, looking at him. She had a look in her eyes that told him that it was only for his eyes to see the wound, since he already had.
"Yeah." he said getting up. As he moved toward Saya, Ed interrupted.
"It's alright Al, I'll help her." Edward said as he walked to Saya.
"N-no... I'm okay with Alphonse helping me with it." Ed blinked at what Saya just said.
"Are you sure?" Ed asked. Saya nodded and grabbed Al's arm.
"Let's go Al." she said quickly as she pulled him out of the room.
"Saya's acting really weird today...." Edward said.
"HA! You're telling me. She wouldn't just tell someone to help her, she'd ask if she could get help from anyone. That is, if she ever needed it." Bree said, also confused.
Saya breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down on the kitchen chair. Al started to unwrap the bandages.
"That was a close one, wasn't it?" Saya asked, smiling.
"Yeah, but I still don't understand why you won't tell Ed and Bree. I mean, they should know! They could help you!" Al insisted.
"Alphonse, I told you this before, they don't need to know. Not just yet. They have enough worries." Saya said. Al just sighed. After he removed the bandages, Al looked at the wound and stopped. It wasn't that the wound got bigger, it's that the wound seemed to web from the flamel symbol. It seemed threads of skin where disappearing from Saya's arm. They where in a strange pattern as well....
"What is it now, Al?" Saya asked in annoyance as she rolled her eyes. She looked at the wound and gasped. Saya knew she wouldn't like where this was going.
"No, we're not telling them. They're gonna find out anyway. Just let events happen as they should." Saya said sternly.
"But- but- but--"
"No Al!" Saya said as she covered her bleeding arm. She examined it through her fingers, noticing that the pattern traveled all the way around her arm. It sort of looked like Scar's to Saya. But then she thought, 'No... it's nothing like Scar's... This is more complex alchemy. Even a person like me is having trouble understanding it'
"Saya...."
"Just wrap it up Al... I'll tell Ed and Bree later if it makes you feel better. I'll tell them when they have a few less worries. Like, maybe when they're healed. I don't want them going out of their way just for me...." Saya explained.
"But, you're doing the same thing for them!"
Saya was just silent. She didn't respond ,to that comment, but got up and headed for the door.
"I'm gonna be fine Al... don't worry about me."


COOL PICTURE OF EDO!!

COOL!!
Chibi Jooshi
Nii-san- Big Brother
Chibi- small
jooshi- dictionary
Flamel Symbol-
Crown
You may notice in the Fullmetal Alchemist logo, that there is a crown at the top of the image. This sign of royalty symbolizes the successful completion of an alchemical operation or a magisterial accomplishment. The crown would also represent a pure metal's perfection.
Crucified Serpent
Aside from the crown, there is also the crucifix. Arakawa Hiromu did not just create this symbol out of thin air with no intention. After doing some research, the crucified serpent made quite a lot of sense when referring to alchemy. Alchemists derived this image from the biblical testimony of Moses when he used the snake against disaster. To alchemy, the crucified serpent represents the purification of corruption. This refers to making elixirs with mercury (considered as a legendary cure), the process of removing the poisonous mercury element. And so, a normal serpent represents the god, Mercury, himself.
Wings
Apart from your normal impression of an angel's white feathers, alchemists view the idea of wings differently. One of the most obvious reference is to the Roman god, Mercury. Who, in mythology context, symbolizes a person's conscious, intellect, mental capacities, and communication. They also believed wings are interruptions to a alchemical operation for Mercury intervened a battle between two serpents.
explaination for 'flamel symbol' is copyrighted by The Serpents Cross
YAY! Japanese!

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-Lisa G.