Heart of a SIN - FMA Envy Fanfic [Edited]

29 - Explanations

Arisa pov:

Though I had stopped the bleeding of Dr. Marco's wound and wrapped it up with a support so he wouldn't move and strain his arm, I figured that he would have to get it looked at by a real doctor soon. Nonetheless, it would suffice for now, for the time our discussion would last.

I was quick to prepare rice, salad and a tangy gravy for dinner and serve them onto a plate on a tray. I stepped to Dr. Marco with the tray and held it out to him. I said, "You should eat to regain your strength."

"Oh, thank you," he said, taking the food from me. After a bite, he asked uneasily, "So, you're a State Alchemist?"

"Yes, I am."

"I'm quite surprised. You seem a bit young to be in the military. The way you fought that homunculus too was quite unexpected." His voice was soft as he spoke and the light shudder that escaped was noticeable.

"I'm sure you've heard of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist – I'm actually a year older than him. I guess my small physique is a little misleading," I said, suppressing a sigh. Then I met his eyes with a small smile, "I knew Hughes san – the soldier who was killed recently – and I also found out what he was trying to investigate secretly in the military. He came to meet you a couple of days ago, led by the Fuhrer's secretary. But he was killed because he found out that the Fuhrer's secretary is a homunculus, which means, the homunculi themselves are controlling the military."

Dr. Marco gasped in surprise and even more unease, "The homunculi are controlling the military?"

"That's right," I answered, while shifting my gaze to the floor. "Although, it is something that cannot be revealed at the moment. If it is, there are many people who could possibly lose their lives. That's why I decided that I would take responsibility to solve this. It doesn't matter if I have to fight them the way I did today and I don't care even if I have to become an enemy to the military itself in order to stop them. I've already made up my mind."

The room was silent besides occasional clanks of cutlery and giggled from Leo as he read through a picture book. My gaze remained on the floor, narrow and serious.

"You're very brave," Dr. Marco said and I met his gaze to find him watching me with a smile. It made his face even more wrinkled than it was before. "You're very brave to be able to take such a serious decision at such a young age. Fighting without hesitance, to understand what to put as first priority is something people don't learn very easily but you really think beyond your age."

Perhaps it was unexpected for a sixteen year old to think about this matter so seriously but it wasn't surprising with me considering the person I was and the kind of life I had lived.

"It's not something to be surprised about, Dr. Marco. I've been this way my whole life and I want to help, so it's nothing surprising." Nodding, Dr. Marco resumed eating. I then added, "I have some questions I wish to ask you. May I?"

"Of course. What do wish to know?"

"How is the Red Stone created? The Red Water is made from sacrificing human lives, isn't it? just like the Philosopher Stone, but in lesser number. Is the Red Stone created in the same way? Or is there some special procedure you use besides the way the Red Water is made? I need to know this first because the homunculi are after the Philosopher Stone and are looking into all research concerned to the Red Water in the military."

"Actually," Dr. Marco answered, putting the spoon down, "the Red Water is not made with human lives."

"It's not?" I mused, narrowing my eyes.

"No, the Red Water is created using multiple alchemic catalysts. The Red Water can be created in very large quantities and is usually store underground with continuous kinetic energy to keep it in the right composition. For the process to be finalized and for the Red Stone to be created, it has to be synthesized with an organic component. It cannot be combined with a human because it's poisonous and would just end up killing the person and not creating the stone. However, it can be combined with plants."