Chapter Text
Edward Elric was not suited for military life. Everyone who knew him in the slightest knew this. However, here he was again, part of the government because he needed information. Information that would be much easier to have access to as a Marine.
It was ironic that he couldn't swim, though he was not the only one in the corps with that problem. His stemmed from something different than the others though. While some of his colleagues were unable to swim due to a freaky fruit they ate, Ed was hindered by his metallic prosthetics.
It had been a year since the defeat of Father and Ed had been on his way to meet up with Al when the explosion happened. Some idiot had been experimenting with Alkahestry to be able to teleport. He and Al had wanted to go and look at the research, which meant they were both there when it happened. He'd only caught a glimpse of his brother before everything went white. Literally.
Truth had been surprisingly helpful, even if Ed wasn't too happy about losing his arm in exchange for his alchemy. At least the white bastard had given him his automail, in perfect condition even.
“Think of me what you want, but I've actually grown quite fond of you. You'll need this if you want to survive this world. Don't worry, I've made sure your little brother lands somewhere where he'll survive. I'm sure you'll do well here Mr. Al-che-mist.”
And wasn't that odd, having Truth actually like him. He must've really impressed him with giving up his alchemy in exchange for his brother. It had been a pain to excessively study his Automail so that he could make new ones as he grew. He also had to repair them, so he'd had to learn fast. He would never be as good as Winry and Grandma Pinako, but he was no third-rate either. With his alchemy back, he'd quickly started using it again to survive the world he'd been dropped into. His alchemy was often confused for Devil Fruit powers, which was why he'd done as much research on them as possible. He'd avoided using it ever since he joined the Marines, though.
Suffice to say, he'd never corrected anyone when they assumed he couldn't swim due to the consumption of a Devil Fruit, as they were called. It meant no one questioned his abilities, though many tried to guess what fruit he had. It had been a shock to his system to hear (and read) about the scientific anomalies that were Devil Fruits. Thankfully, he'd not been in the Marines while he researched Devil Fruits, otherwise he was sure he'd be in some Laboratory 5-esque facility being poked and prodded. He knew what people like this were like and “The World Government” sounded a lot like Amestris before the end of Father. He'd looked into the history of the world he'd ended up in and he'd found a lot that made him dislike the organization he'd joined. Unfortunately, it was where he'd stay until he heard word of his brother. The only thing he was certain of was that he was at the very least not a Marine or an active pirate, since there'd been no one else named Elric among the recruits and there was no bounty poster with his brother's name or picture. He checked. Frequently. A lot of his colleagues eyed him strangely for his bounty fixation. What they didn't know he wouldn't have to hurt them for.
Then again, some of it might be because he'd risen up to Lieutenant Commander in three years of service. He was quite young by their standards, heck, Ed had been the youngest State Alchemist to date back home. That and the fact he wore whatever the fuck he wanted, even though he still wore the rather pretentious white coat with “Justice” printed on the back. He wore his black outfit and white gloves under the jacket, which unlike everyone else he actually wore as a jacket and not a cape. It made him really stand out and while he missed his red coat, he didn't want to be seen using it as long as he was a Marine. It just didn't feel right.
That wasn't to say that Ed disliked all Marines. Sengoku reminded him of Mustang when he was serious, otherwise the two were nothing alike. He wasn't against Garp or Smoker either, but that was about as far as his like would go in the corps. Not that Kuzan or Fujitora were that bad either. At least back in Amestris his position didn't hurt his brother. The slightest hint that his position as Lieutenant Commander would put him on opposing sides with his brother and he was out. Either that, or if he had to do something that went against everything he believed in or stood for. It hadn't happened yet.
But it was about to.