he salty wind of Dublith swept through the port like a memory carried by the sea. The boat docked with a gentle thud, and three young men disembarked—two familiar in stature, one towering in silence.
Edward Elric, Alphonse in his hollow armor, and Auron Elric had returned.
Ahead, the wooden town looked just as they'd left it. But the moment their feet touched the dirt, a bone-shivering chill slithered up their spines.
"She knows we're here," Edward muttered.
Alphonse nodded. "And she's probably mad."
Auron raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"You'll see," Ed and Al said in unison.
---
They didn't even make it to her house before the storm arrived.
The wind bent trees back as a shape blurred toward them from the woods. Auron instinctively activated his Sharingan, chakra flaring.
Too late.
A boot slammed into Edward's chest, sending him flying backward into a barrel. Al was struck squarely in the helmet with a frying pan—somehow more painful than anything else he'd felt that week.
Auron's eyes caught the third strike.
Bare knuckles. Hardened by years. A blur of motion.
He raised his forearm and blocked—but skidded back six feet in the dirt.
The whirlwind stopped.
There she stood.
Izumi Curtis.
Her black hair was tied up, apron spotless despite the chaos. She stood with one hand on her hip and the other casually holding the still-smoking frying pan.
"You runts. Thought you could skip out on writing letters and sneak in like stray dogs?"
Edward groaned. "Hi, Master."
Izumi's eyes flicked to Auron. Her gaze sharpened.
"You're taller than I remember."
"He grew," Al said weakly.
Auron nodded respectfully. "Master."
"You're still hiding your strength."
"…Yes."
She stared at him. Not just with suspicion—but understanding.
"Follow me," she said at last. "All three of you. Now."
---
Her house hadn't changed.
It smelled of herbs, meat, and discipline.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Izumi watched as they explained everything. The Truth. The Gate. The loss of limbs and body. The armor. Auron's unique powers. The military exams. Mustang.
Izumi didn't interrupt once. When the story ended, she sipped her tea calmly and said:
"You broke the ultimate taboo. And you came here thinking I'd forgive you because you're hurting."
Edward flinched.
Al stayed quiet.
Auron bowed his head. "We came here to be stronger. We need discipline. Control. Especially me."
Izumi's sharp eyes bore into him.
"You carry a storm inside you, boy. It's like staring into a chasm."
Auron didn't deny it.
"I don't need broken prodigies. I don't care about power or glowing eyes," she snapped. "I care about resolve. I care about whether you can look at your failure and still choose to stand."
"I do stand," Auron replied, voice quiet. "Even when I wish I couldn't."
For a moment, Izumi didn't respond.
Then she set her teacup down and stood.
"Tomorrow morning," she said, "you'll show me what you've learned. All of you."
---
That night, the brothers trained behind her house beneath the moonlight.
Edward sparred with Alphonse, wooden swords clashing. Auron sat cross-legged under a tree, focusing his chakra in absolute silence. Red-violet chakra flared around him like a dancing fire.
"Izumi's stronger than she looks," Auron said after a moment.
"She threw me through a table once," Ed muttered. "She is a table."
Auron cracked a small grin. "She saw through me. No one's done that before."
Al paused. "You're scared of her?"
"I'm scared of what I'll become… if I ignore people like her."
---
The next morning, dawn broke over Dublith.
In the field behind the house, Izumi waited barefoot.
Edward charged first, using transmuted spikes to try and pin her down. She flipped past them with fluid motion, then tossed him into the mud.
Alphonse used brute strength. She dodged every blow.
Then came Auron.
He activated his Rinne-Mangekyō, lightning crackling around him.
"Don't hold back," she said flatly.
He didn't.
Auron blitzed forward, chakra-wrapped fist aimed at her shoulder.
She weaved beneath it, kicked upward, and launched him back. But he twisted midair, landing in a crouch, palm slamming the earth.
The ground erupted into spikes of obsidian and crackling red lightning.
Izumi smiled.
"Better."
They clashed again. And again.
Hours passed.
At last, he fell to his knees, panting, chakra low. Not because he was defeated—but because she pushed him to give everything.
She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You've got strength. But it's buried under grief."
He didn't look up.
"I can help you unearth it. But only if you trust that there's still something in this world worth saving."
He looked up at her… and nodded.