A Different Kind of Hero ~ MHA x FMA

Chapter 10

Alphonse's POV

Ling was able to recover quickly. Within two days or so, he was out of the Nurse's office, his cuts now distant scars. Brother visited him regularly, checking up on his recovery and anxiously awaiting when he would wake up. When Ling finally did, Ed was right there next to him. Of course, Recovery Girl shoved him aside, so Ling could take it easy, and brother ended up having to wait outside for him.

Then, only a couple of hours after waking up, he was free to come to the dorms with Ed and me. Brother was curious about everything that happened. What the villains did to him, what they talked about... But Ling was still tired and wanted to rest. When we got back to the dorms, everyone was gone except for Kaminari, who was passed out on the couch.

I walked up to him and woke him up, "Hey, weren't you supposed to go to class? Your head should be healed, right?"

He gave a sleepy smirk, "It's called playing hookey; you should try it. As if I was actually going to go to English today." He pretended to rub his head in pain before laying back down on the couch and lazily reaching for the television remote.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ling sway, and brother caught him. "Let's take you to your room. Looks like you still need a little more time." Brother waved me over, and I picked up Ling, taking him up the stairs and to his room. On the way up, however, Winry stepped out in front of us and simply stared at us before recognizing us.

"Edward? Alphonse!" She leaped forward and hugged Brother, but then her smile faded into anger, and she hit him over the head with her wrench. "You idiot! Do you have any idea what you've done?" She looked like an angry parent scolding her child, with her eyes locked on brother like that...

Ed just snapped back, rubbing his head in pain, "Yes, I already know. I've gotten that a lot lately, thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I've got bigger things to worry about." Winry noticed Ling and stepped out of the way immediately, concerned. Brother began to storm off but stopped for a second and clenched his fist. "I regret what I did, ok? But I was just trying to survive. If I could, I would go back and fix my mistake. But it's, uh, good to see you again." He sighed and kept walking, keeping his head forward.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I didn't know what to say. And it is good to see you." Winry muttered as Ed continued walking away.

I followed him quietly until we got to Ling's room. Ed propped open the door, and I shuffled in, laying Ling on the small mattress. I stepped out of the way, and brother rushed to the bedside. Ling blinked his tired eyes open and tried sitting up, but brother put his hand on Ling's shoulder to stop him. Ling lifted his sleeve to check his arm, and a few scars traced his bicep. Brother reached his hand over Ling's cuts, feeling each one. "What did they do to you?" He whispered.

"They're monsters... One of them cut my arm and chest to drain my blood, another stabbed my leg for the hell of it, and a third lit my hair on fire. My hair-" His eyes went wide in horror, and he felt the back of his head. All that remained was a handprint-shaped burn where his long hair used to be. A single tear fell down his cheek, and he closed his eyes with a look of utter defeat.

Ed wiped the tear from Ling's face, "Hey, you can still grow out your hair. I'll even help you braid it to cover the scar."

Ling looked at Ed and half-smiled, "I look forward to it." Ling then closed his eyes to rest, and Ed stood up.

"I'll be downstairs." He sighed and left without another word. I looked back at Ling, who had fallen asleep already, and I decided to just sit there and keep watch until he woke up again.

~~~

I have no idea how much time passed, but there was a very sudden and loud commotion downstairs, and Ling started to stir because of it. I decided to go down and see what it was, and it just got louder as I got closer, and I realized that it was brother arguing with class 1a.

"Attack the League of Villains? You're a damn idiot if you think we'll agree to that!" Bakugo shouted over the noise. Everyone was shouting at brother, who just stood in the middle of all of it and scowled.

"Well, maybe I'm an idiot, or perhaps the world is ending, and the adults aren't taking this seriously. I heard their plan. They have a team of six people to extract two immortal beings from this League of Villains. They won't be able to do anything with only a few people; but if we attacked them all together, they wouldn't stand a chance. Trust me." Ed clenched his fist, shaking slightly, and I could tell he was worried. He had a look that said he was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Tsu noticed, too, and spoke a little softer to him. "Hey, don't worry about it, kero. If the pro heroes think they only need a couple people, then we should trust them. This isn't all weighing on you, and you don't have to do everything; the heroes are here to help, and they will have things fixed quickly."

"I couldn't agree more. Brother, from day one, you've made every problem your responsibility. Now we finally have help and the chance to let someone else handle things. I know you like doing things yourself, but for once, trust the adults." Ed took a deep breath and looked at me, reluctantly nodding, then storming back upstairs. I turned around to look at the others, and everyone was staring at me with distress in their eyes.

Yaomomo stepped to the front and raised her voice, "What do you mean, 'from day one?'"

Iida then placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her, "It's clearly something private that is none of our concern."

"No, I should probably tell you. It might help explain a couple things." I grabbed my helmet and took it off, kneeling to show everyone the empty metal shell that is my body. When they noticed the sigil drawn in blood, a couple of them let out a small gasp, and Koda even got a little dizzy.

I explained my story from the beginning. How I learned alchemy, my mother dying, and us losing our bodies. Then getting to the promise that brother made me. That, no matter what, we would get our bodies back. After I explained everything, I stopped and looked around.

Everyone looked confused, and no one said a word for a long and painful silence. I was about to apologize for bringing everyone down, but Teacher burst into the room with Eraserhead. "Kids, listen up. I finally convinced Mr. Aizawa here to let you all help with getting the homunculi. Every single one of you. As able-bodied as these 'pro-heroes' may be, I still want as much help as I can get. So, I am taking with me on this mission: Edward, Alphonse, Ling, and all of Class 1a." Teacher then looked over in my direction and noticed my helmet on the floor. "Hmm, must have interrupted something."

Everyone's jaw dropped, and Iida waved his arms around in chopping motions, "Mr. Aizawa, you're letting us fight? Isn't this against school rules?!"

"Yes, it is, but given the circumstances, Mrs. Curtis and I agreed to bend the rules this one time. Might even be a good way to practice new techniques on the field." Eraserhead muttered, ignoring the eruption of chaos as everyone talked amongst each other anxiously.

But then, Yaomomo let out a yelp, "Uraraka is gone! And...Mineta, too."

Everyone looked around the room, but neither of them was anywhere to be found. Eraserhead's eyes went wide, but Teacher put her hand on his shoulder, "You have nothing to worry about. It seems that Winry and I swapped places with them. If I'm right, then Uraraka will be safely at my house with my husband, and Mineta will meet the capable Ms. Rockbell, who raised Winry, Alphonse, and Edward." All of us let out a sigh of relief in unison, but we were still nervous. I could see it in Class 1a's faces; none of them thought it was a good idea to fight the League of Villains, or that any of this was safe.

Eraserhead spoke up, "I know you all are scared, but each of you will be in a team with one of the pro-heroes. Please, for now, just go to bed, and we can deal with everything tomorrow." Eraserhead and Teacher then left without a word, and everyone was silent once again. Some of them went to bed, others went outside for air, and some just stayed there, sitting in silence, still processing everything.

I decided to go back upstairs to Brother and Ling to fill them in. I didn't think there was any way I could help the others...