Battle of Wills! The Case of the Missing Pocketwatch

I sat in my room, alone, listening to the sounds of laughter and board games. I heard the occasional "Hey Al! That's cheating!" or the "This game is so stupid" with the retort of "That's only because you're awful at it Ed!" I flipped on my side and began to think about if I should join them, but then I always thought they just started and I'd stay still. My naseua was completely gone, but I was still reluctant to go and say goodnight to the boys. It seemed, however, that Winry answered that question for me. As I just turned on the light, she stomped into my room. "Koda! C'mon! The guys have come all the way from Xenotime just to see their friends, and here you are cooped up in your room! Come and at least say goodnight to them!" she said, grabbing my hand. "Win--!" I began to fight, but she didn't care. I finally came down to the living room, and the two guys were talking to each other. When they saw me, however, Al spoke. "There you are. Feeling any better?" he asked. "Yeah, I do. Well um.....I just came to say goodnight to you guys and....thanks for coming to see us. It means alot," I said. "No problem. It was our pleasure," Ed joked as he placed his feet on the table. Grandma whacked the back of his head, and he said "What the he--" then he stopped talking completely. I felt still like Ed was upset with me, so I hung my head, passed Al a sad look, and walked back up to my room.

That night, I couldn't sleep. It was a good thing, however, that I couldn't.

 

"Brother....can I talk with you?"

 

It was Alphonse's voice that I heard on the other side of my bedroom door. I knew that Ed must be nearby, so (even though I knew I probably shouldn't) I eavesdropped.

 

"Yeah Al? Whats up?"

"Well, I talked to Koda today, and she asked me if you were upset with her."

"No."

"Well then, tell her that. She's scared."

"Why? Is she afraid I'm going to hurt her or something?"

"I don't know. You've done worse."

 

A long interlude of silence. Finally, I heard Ed's voice again.

 

"I know. I'll tell her tomorrow."

 

Then, I heard footsteps going to the guestroom. "Brother..." I heard Al say, but then the clinking of armor lead to the guestroom as well. I sat in silence. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard the guestroom door creak open. I stiffened up. It was just Al walking around the house.

 

And somehow, he knew I was awake.

 

It scared me at first, the way he just walked in. I gulped. "Al..." I said, sitting up. Al kept standing there. "I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Brother for you," he said sweetly, as if he was proud of himself. For the first time that day, I smiled. "Thanks, Al. Aren't you tired?" I asked. He shook his head. "No. Do you remember when I lifted my helmet and showed that there was nothing inside? My soul is trapped in here, so I don't have those physical feelings anymore. But thanks anyway," he said. I nodded, then laid back on my pillow. "Al...do you wish you had dreams sometimes? At all?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could dream about the past, but at other times, I don't."

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The next morning, I woke up to an annoyed Ed banging on my door. "Hey Hermit! Are you gonna wake up or not? I'm not going to sit here forever, ya know..." he was saying. I sat up, startled, then I said "Why don't you come in? I'm awake."

 

Silence.

 

"Fine, I'm coming," I said. When I answered the door, he looked me straight in the eyes and said:

 

"Where is it?"

 

I looked at him, confused. "Uh...where's what?" I asked. Ed grunted. "My pocketwatch! Where is it? Do you have it?" he asked, overly annoyed. "No....I didn't even know you had a pocketwatch!" I said, annoyed he was accusing me. "Winry said she didn't have it, Al doesn't have it, and Granny Hag says that she doesn't have it! You're the only one I haven't asked! Where is it, Koda? Seriously!" he said. I grit my teeth, then calmed down. "Ed...really, would I steal from you? Besides, I was in here all day!"

 

He didn't buy it.

 

"You have it! I know you do!" Without warning, he stormed into my room, throwing my possesions on the floor and searching through my clothing drawers (he even ran his AutoMail arm around in my underwear drawer!!). "Ed! Ed! Edward! I don't have your pocketwatch!" I screamed. When my room was in shambles, he looked at me with the eyes of a tiger. "It's in your pockets!" he said. "Pockets?! Ed, get real! I'm in a nightgown! I don't have pockets!" I screamed back.

 

Were we arguing?

 

"Then you won't mind if I look!" he cried as he ran over to me. Before I had time to react, he already was running his arms around my waist. I screetched and slapped his face. "What is wrong with you?!" I cried, then stormed out of my room, racing for the bathroom door. I barely made it to the toilet by the time he tried to follow me. He slammed his fists against the door. "This isn't funny! I demand you give me back my pocketwatch now!" he was screaming, ignoring the vomiting noises I was making. When I was finished and gasping for air, I said, "Ed, I don't have your pocketwatch, so leave me alone! Pervert!" I cried. I stood up, wiped my mouth, and threw the door open. Pushing Ed out of the way, I ran to the front door and slammed it behind me.

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I ran. I ran as far as my legs would go. I ran as fast as my legs would go. Despite being in a nightgown, I ran. My feet were cut and bleeding by the time I fell onto a hillside. I was crying. I was partially scared, partially mad, and partially confused. All these mixed feelings inside of me exploded. I was sobbing so loud that one woman asked if I was okay. When I had shooed her away, I sat alone and cried. I was not going back to that house, no matter how many times Winry sent Al to come and get me.

It wasn't Al that was coming for me.

I heard Ed calling me in the distance. He was screaming something else, but I reacted by running again.

Running seemed to be my only escape.

I ran until I couldn't anymore.

I fell aside on another hill, gasping for breath as tears ran down my face. Suddenly, I had the urge to puke again, but I didn't. I was completely and utterly silent, listening for Ed's voice.

Nothing.

My breathing regulated, and I looked out to the water. It was just as beautiful as yesterday. I sometimes wondered if the ocean had any feelings. Did it thrash onto shores when it was angry? Did it sparkle when it was happy? Or filled with pride? Or maybe did it gently caress shores when it was feeling flirtatious? I don't know. But now it sparkled, as if to say Relax Koda. Everythings good.

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By the time Al had found me, it was afternoon. "Koda....uh....why are you out here?" he had asked the minute he saw me. "Did you brother tell you? He thinks I stole his precious pocketwatch!" I exclaimed, still annoyed. "I know you didn't take it, because Winry gave it back to him. She lied. She wanted to take a closer look at his watch's mechanics," Al explained. "He went through my underwear drawer, then 'checked' me for it!" I cried. "That's Brother for you. If he thinks he's right, he'll make sure you know," Al said, laughing. Then, he extended his big metal hand. "Come back with me. I'm pretty sure it's safe now. Besides, if I remember correctly, it's just about lunch time," he said.

Reviews

[State of Grace]

Wow, Ed was a jerk. But the watch is really important to him so I can see why. Next chapter!!

[Luna Northstar]

Ed cracks me up; he can be so stupid!!!! LOL. Poor Koda, but maybe, because of this, her taylors child wont be as bad for her. she seemed to be able to get over it this time. Oh well, onto the next chapter!