singingoriole | This is the story after the story has ended

She'd resigned from her position on the Amestris after the world nearly ended.

Huang Rong won't say it hadn't been fun, but there were things she needed to do, a Sect to organize and a father to go see when she was finished with everything. She'd already received word from her mentor and from her father; they were both fine, so there was no real reason to rush besides the fact that she was starting to miss the familiar smells, sights and tastes of Peach Blossom Island.

It would be nice to go home.

But, as previously mentioned, she had business to take care of before she left and as much as she wanted to just hand the Dog Beating Staff over to someone, there was really no one to entrust it to. Besides, she had promised her mentor she'd look after them. So, Huang Rong couldn't very well just leave.

But luckily, she was almost finished. Just a couple more people to see and she would be free to go home. She just had to wait on news from a couple more people and...

...and there they were now. She could recognize the two men coming up the hill easily, despite the way she used to complain that all beggars looked the same.

Her smile turned into something more curious when she noticed the young woman following them. Well...this looked like it was going to be interesting.

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Ichi didn't quite remember how she had got from the ship to the tree then to the ground. Only a sensation of falling, the dark hands grabbing at her, trying to slow her fall, then a soft swish as she had made contact with the tree and being cocooned in darkness.

She had followed those two because they had happened to be there. And it was lonely. And they were there. And...it was too lonely.

She needed to get back. To the ship. To anyone. Mister Captain, Mister Orange Pip...She had lost everybody. So she had followed them, because there was nowhere else to go. They had tried a few times to tell her to stop and leave, and Ichi had always hung back obediently only to follow them when they turned to walk away.

Now there was this little bird...Dressed all in pale colours...

Huang Rong was sitting on top of a rock even taller than her with her legs crossed when the two Beggars Sect members made it to the top of the hill.

They knelt in front of her, one hand in a fist over the opposite shoulder and the other planted on the ground.

"Chief."

She waved and they stood up.

"Hey, who's that?" She asked, letting the Dog Beating Staff spin gently between her fingers.

Apparently they'd found her in a tree and hadn't stopped following after they'd helped her down from it.

Huang Rong jumped down from the rock, the loose sleeves and skirt of her hanfu fluttering a little as she went, over the heads of the Sect members and landing softly in front of Oichi.

"What's your name~?"

Oichi hadn't even reacted when Huang Rong jumped, just watching, her eyes slowly drifting from the fluttering cloth to the dark hair, then to the eyes that were watching her.

She held Huang Rong's eyes for a moment, before seemingly losing interest, head tilting to watch something bright and sparkling only she could see.

"Ichi. That...is Ichi's name. Ichi..."

"Ichi." She repeated. She couldn't say it was in a language she was familiar with. More importantly, however...

Huang Rong turned to look in the direction 'Ichi' was staring in. There was nothing.

She tilted her head, levelling a curious look in her direction.

"What are you looking at?"

Oichi slowly turns to Huang Rong, as if she was loathe to take her eyes off that spot even for a moment. When her eyes meet Huang Rong's, she smiles, "Nothing. Ichi is looking at...nothing..."

She raised her eyebrow.

"Very interesting nothing, is it?"

Tilting her head at the raised eyebrow for just a moment, her eyes drifts to a point above Huang Rong's head, "A very bright, beautiful...nothing..."

Oichi raises her hand then, suddenly catching hold of a handful of air. She holds her hand tight for just a moment before opening it, disappointed, "Ichi...can't catch it though...so Ichi...can't say if it's interesting...or not...Sorry..."

...was this woman being serious?

"Why do you want to catch it?"

"Why...?"

Bright, blinding, beautiful...beautiful nothing...The hand that hadn't reached to catch nothing gently touched the empty hand that had, "Ichi...can't remember why..."

"Then why try to catch it?"

She had never worn sympathy well, but her voice wasn't unkind. There was something...not quite right about this woman.

"If you don't even remember, isn't it better to just leave it alone?"

"Why...because Ichi...must try to catch it...Ichi doesn't know...but...it's empty. It...can't...be empty. See?"

Oichi showed her empty hands to Huang Rong, before pulling them back to herself, holding them shut tightly once again, "There should be something...Ichi...can't remember what it is. But there should be something..."

It said a lot about her that, upon hearing that, in addition to a faint beginnings of something like pity there was a much stronger feeling of this person seems interesting.

"You must remember something. Even if it's just a little, it might help you find what you're looking for."

"Something..."

She appears to consider this for a very long time, gazing down at her hands that were shut too tightly for anything to escape. "I..."

Tiny tendrils of smoke begin to drift around Oichi, not threatening, but curling and catching at her hair, as if to soothe her. It's alright, they seemed to say, it's okay if you don't rememeber. Don't remember.

And Huang Rong reaches out for one of those shadowy tendrils. Cautiously, mind you, because for all her curiosity she is certainly not stupid.

"Yes. Something. A smell or taste or colour or feeling. Anything at all."

The shadows briefly jerk back as Huang Rong reaches for them, before gently settling down again. They didn't much mind her presence. It wasn't threatening. Yet.

Oichi turns to look at the tendrils when one touches her face, "...Warmth. Like the sun...only..."

How interesting.

"Only what?" She prodded.

There was probably a story here, and Huang Rong very much wanted to know what it is.

This is the story after the story has ended

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