The next morning, training resumed. Edward didn’t go any easier on Natalie today than he had yesterday. He actually looked like he was working her harder. What was he thinking? She couldn’t take too much more of this. Natalie knew that too. If Alphonse didn’t know better, he’d think Edward was taking out the frustration he felt after their conversation last night on her to prove Alphonse’s theory wrong.
“Ed, what’s gotten into you? You’re coming after me like I’m really trying to hurt you,” Natalie said after dodging a particular nasty punch he’d thrown. She was clearly out of breath.
Edward, still poised and ready to fight, looked at her. “You have to learn to fight against someone who really is trying to hurt you Natalie, and the only way to do that is to spare like your life depended on it. Now come on, I didn’t say you could take a break yet.” He lunged for her, his fist cocked and ready to hit her square in the jaw. Natalie hadn’t quite prepared for it but she managed to move enough to not get hit by the punch but she had left herself open and Edward caught her in the midsection with his knee, and not the normal one.
Natalie doubled over, winded and gasping for air. Instantly Alphonse was up and helping her up. “Edward! What were you thinking?” he scolded. “She’s not ready for this!”
Edward stood frozen, his eyes wide. Natalie shook Alphonse off, standing on her own. “I’m alright Al, really…” she said, her voice raspy as she still hadn’t gotten her breath back from the hit. She didn’t want to show the weakness though. If Edward wanted a hard headed full on battle, she was going to give him one. “Fine Ed, if you want it that way…” She took her pen from her pocket and transformed. Once she was done she took her staff firmly in hand and glared at him. She wasn’t going to let him get away with this. Someone needed to knock some sense into him and she was willing to give it a try. Something had gotten into him, she didn’t know what but she was going to find out or at least make him pay for that cheap shot.
When she transformed, Edward snapped out of the frozen stance of horror. The look in her eyes, there was something there he recognized. She was pissed. That was an emotion he could deal with. “About time you got serious,” he said grinning at her.
“Indeed, I just hope you’re ready for it…” She gritted her teeth and came at him, her staff in hand and she was ready to smack him upside the head with it. He dodged it, rolling a few feet from her. He clapped his hands together and created his spear to fight back. He then came after her with it. She blocked it using her own staff. They backed off recognizing this was only going to end in a dead lock. Edward then clapped his hands together once more and put them to the ground. Beneath him grew a pillar lifting him up in the air. He was getting ready to drop down on her but she wouldn’t give him the chance. “Charon Spatial Rift!” she called as she pointed her staff at the pillar blowing it apart. Edward fell hard on the ground.
“What the hell was that!?” Edward yelled as he got to his feet. “Where did that come from? That wasn’t alchemy!”
Natalie stood back looking at him with a smirk on her face, her arms crossed. “You like that huh? I still have a few secrets you know. Now are you going to stop screwing around? I can clearly handle myself well enough without the alchemy.”
Alphonse couldn’t believe what he was seeing. She was just as hard headed as Edward. Even without their training she could easily hold her own against him.
Edward started to get angry. “If you’re so good then why are you still here?”
Natalie didn’t back down. She walked over to him, getting right in his face, her crimson eyes looking just as intense as his golden ones as she stared at him. “You already know the answer to that Edward. I need you to show me how to use the alchemy,” she said sternly.
“Why is that so important to you?” he asked, not giving her an inch.
“I need to be able to defend myself when I’m not transformed or when I can’t transform. I appreciate the martial arts training but that’s not enough, and besides, I know most of this stuff already. We do have this sort of training back home and I’ve been there and done that already. Damn it Ed, why do you have to be such a stubborn ass?”
Edward backpedalled a bit after she called him a stubborn ass. Winry had called him that a few times when he was being unusually hard headed.
No wonder she seemed to pick up the physical training so well though. “Fine, you want to know about the alchemy then we’ll get right to it.” He clapped his hands and put them on the ground, the land around Natalie rose up, wrapping around her completely up to her neck. “If you want to use alchemy like we do it involves more than just clapping your hands together. You have to know the limits and have strong concentration. You can’t make something if you don’t have the materials required for it either.”
Natalie struggled trying to free herself. “I know that.”
Edward walked over to her coming eye to eye with her once again. The look in his eyes wasn’t angry this time though, it was more hurt. “If that’s the case then I’ll ask you again, why are you still here? Don’t jerk me around Natalie, if you need my help then I’ll help you but if you don’t then why are you staying here? If you don’t need me, then leave…” His voice had started angry and pointed but the last sentence his tone changed, it softened.
“Ed…” Natalie started.
He clapped his hands together and put them on the earth that surrounded Natalie freeing her from it. “You heard me…”
In that moment Alphonse realized that he’d been right last night, Edward did have feelings for her he just couldn’t see it or more accurately wouldn’t see it. He hoped that Edward wasn’t really going to let her leave though.
As soon as Natalie’s hands were free she slapped him across the face. “Fine Edward, if you don’t want me here I’ll leave.” Her chin started to quiver and tears welled in her eyes but she was determined not to let her own anger go from her eyes. She was sure by the way he was treating her that he hadn’t figured out the meaning in her words that first night or if he had it didn’t make a bit of a difference to him. She put her hand to her chest and transformed back then without another word she went back inside.
“Natalie wait!” Alphonse called after her.
“No Al, let her go…” he said softly. He put his hand to his cheek where she’d hit him, watching her back as she walked away.
Alphonse went over to Edward and slugged him in the gut. “You really are a stubborn ass Brother!”
“Hey! What did you do that for Al?”
“Because you’re a blind fool, that’s why. Brother, you need to go in there and apologize to her, NOW!”
“But Al…”
Alphonse put his foot down and pointed into the house. “No buts Ed get in there and swallow your pride and apologize! You’ll never forgive yourself if she leaves and you didn’t try to stop her. Now get moving!” The look on Alphonse’s face was nothing short of scary and Edward knew that there was going to be no arguing with him.
“Fine,” Edward said, sighing and heading back into the house.
Making his way up to Natalie’s room he knocked on the door. “Natalie? Can I come in?”
“Go away,” she said just loud enough to be heard through the door.
He could tell that she was crying. It made his heart ache to hear it. Why did she affect him this much? “Come on Natalie, let me in.” He leaned his forehead against the door putting his hand up next to it. “Look, I’m sorry, please let me in.”
“I told you Ed, go away. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“Don’t make me open the door on my own Natalie, please just talk to me. I said I was sorry, you don’t have to go…”
He heard her get up and walk over to the door. He backed off of it so she could open it without him falling in on her. When she opened it, she stood there, her eyes red and puffy and her cheeks soaked with tears. She looked as defeated as she felt and it was his fault.
“What Ed?” she said shortly. “I opened the door now what do you want?”
He went to wipe the tears from her face but she only smacked his hand away. He sighed heavily. “I wanted to say…” He looked into her eyes and his voice choked up in his throat.
“Spit it out Ed.”
“I’m trying,” he said before taking a deep breath. “Look Natalie, I’m sorry.” His cheeks flushed bright red as he put his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously. “I said some things… I didn’t mean I wanted you to… I just…”
Natalie shook her head. “Don’t Ed, it’s alright, really. But I think you were right, why am I still here? It’s something I have to think about Edward.”
“What?” Edward asked, looking a little bit alarmed.
Natalie shook her head. “Don’t worry about it too much. I’m not going anywhere just yet but I do need to think about your question.”
Edward looked down at the floor and nodded. “I understand. I’ll leave you alone then,” he said as he walked away from the door and headed back downstairs.
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