Mystic Design

Chapter 4

Leah's POV

I fought back the memories that attempted to flood my mind. How did I do it? Easy.

The tender meat melted against my tongue. The sweet tang of the gravy complimented it so well as it went down my throat. When I closed my eyes I could see bright stars. This was the best food I have had in awhile and I was relishing every bite, but in a haste like fashion.

Shoveling the food in my mouth, I was quickly done with my plate. My hand rubbed my stomach as I leaned my chair backwards. "Mrs. Izumi, you are the best cook I have met. The way you cook your meat makes it so tender and flavorful, practically to die for!" Everyone but Izumi stared at me dumbfounded.

"Well, I appreciate the compliment young lady." A small smile etched across Izumi's lips.

Despite eating all of that delicious food, I was still hungry. I began to eye Al's untouched plate, my mouth watering.

"Al, aren't you going to eat?" Izumi's voice grew stern. She had not even glanced at the suit of armor, instead was promptly cutting her steak.

"Uh, I'm not very hungry." The poor boy stuttered.

"You need to eat Al." She was persistent.

"Mrs. Izumi, since Ed and Al are so good at alchemy, that must mean you are even better, right?" She looked at me, an unreadable expression across her face.

"You flatter me, I am but a housewife." A smirk replaced the previous expression. It remained silent for a few moments. Al sat there staring at his food, Ed ate slowly, and Winry had just finished. "What about you, Leah?" Izumi's voice brought my attention back to her. "What kind of alchemy do you perform?" She now eyed me carefully.

I get it, in some strange way this was a test. A small laugh left my lips, "Oh no, I'm not smart enough for all of those equations and formulas." My eyes drifted from her to muscle man, whose name I now knew was Sig. The man was biting into a big piece of meat, tearing it right off the bone.

"Hmm, I see. And why are you traveling with the boys again?" I felt like I was being interrogated by an overprotective mom.

"I was assigned to assist them on their journey." I faced her once more, her eyes glowering at me.

"Oh, so you must be high ranking to be assigned to protect my weak students." She grinned at her own jab. 

"No, I am not formally part of the military."

"Wait, what?" Ed's shocked cry met my ears. Despite his cry being slightly annoying, I appreciated him butting into the tense conversation. "You said Mustang assigned you to aid us."

"He did, I work only under Mustang, momentarily at least." I crossed my arms. In less than 24 hours I have had to explain this twice, it was more than a little irking.

"Momentarily, what do you mean?" This time Winry spoke. The confused blonde was leaning forward waiting for an answer.

With a heavy sigh, I glanced at each person. Sig was still eating the piece of meat, Izumi was analyzing me, Ed just stared defiantly, and Al was only looking at me. A pang of guilt swept through me, but I brushed it aside. 'I'll apologize later.' I thought to myself. With another heavy sigh I began. "I was only passing through Central however something happened and Mustang called upon my assistance." It was quiet. "In all honesty I owe Mustang, that is why I agreed to work for him, I told him only momentarily though." It was still quiet.

"What happened in Central that made Mustang need your help?" Ed broke the curtain of silence. His fierce golden eyes were on me, and my emotions wavered. They had the right to know Hughes was dead, but Mustang ordered me not to tell them. Yet...