The Water Alchemist (Greed X Oc)

Chapter 22

Ling and Greed's eyes widened when they saw Jeanie's arm bruised.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Greed angrily shouted as he tried to gain control over the body.

"Don't be a fool! You'll only make things worse!" Ling yelled.

"HE DID THAT TO HER, AND YOU WANT ME TO DO NOTHING?!" Greed angrily shouted.

"Calm down! Lan Fan!" Ling yelled. Lan Fan appeared next to him.

"Young Lord, I'm here. What do you need?" Lan Fan asked frantically, recognizing Ling's struggle with Greed. As much as she wanted to help her lord, she knew there was nothing she could do. It pained her to the deepest parts of her soul to watch Ling suffer so.

"Keep an eye on Jeanie," Ling spat out hoarsely, "Make sure she stays safe. I'll be behind you shortly. I need to calm him down. Go! Now!" Lan Fan nodded and ran to catch up with Mason and Jeanie before they left.

Mason and Jeanie boarded the train without speaking to each other. Both of them were unaware that Lan Fan was tailing them. Jeanie continued to keep her arm hidden from Mason. She began to experience waves of pain in her arm that would recur every few minutes. Her arm would encounter waves of throbbing pain.

"At least it's not broken," Jeanie thought to herself. She looked at Mason, who kept his eyes outside the window. Jeanie knew he was feeling extreme levels of guilt. The anxious pit in his stomach was all too visible for Jeanie. She sighed, knowing that Mason overreacted because of her.

"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?" Jeanie said, standing up. Mason shook his head, refusing to look at Jeanie before she walked off. However, Mason's eyes wandered to her backside. He gasped, seeing the purple and blue marks on Jeanie's arm from where he grabbed her. Instinctively, he covered his mouth.

"I... I grabbed her that hard?" Mason thought to himself. His breaths began to quicken. His skin changed from slightly tanned to white as a ghost. He's never felt more horrified with himself. He replayed his anger in his mind. "Why did I act like that?" Mason thought to himself as the scene of him punching Greed replayed over in his mind. "I've seen her with guys before. Why is this so different?" Mason thought to himself. He remembered Greed's evil smile and his devilish laughter. "I've been jealous before," Mason mumbled to himself, "But this..." The memory of forcefully grabbing Jeanie fly across his mind. The pit of guilt and anxiety grew a little larger. Like it was consuming him. "This is pure insanity. I've never been angry like that before. I had no reason to be," Mason thought to himself.

He proceeded to think about all the fun times he had with Jeanie since he met her. She used to help him in the meat shop when she didn't want to go to school. Izumi wanted to get angry with her, but Mason convinced her otherwise.

"She should be in school so she could get somewhere in this world!" Izumi yelled at Mason. She was livid when she found out Jeanie helped in the meat shop rather than go to school, and Mason didn't send her back. "You should've sent her straight back to school!"

"If I sent her out, she would've wasted her time fighting or stealing!" Mason argued, "At least with her here; I was able to get ahead on everything! Did you even look around the shop? Everything is clean, organized, and all the orders are sent out early!" Izumi paused and looked around the shop. She quickly learned that Mason was right. "Not to mention, Jeanie hasn't been in any trouble all day. She didn't even try to sneak out," Mason said in a softer tone.

"Where is she right now?" Izumi asked.

"She delivered that old lady's order. You know, the one that can't walk very well?" Mason said as he continued to wipe down the store.

"Mrs. Jackson?" Izumi question. Mason nodded easily.

"Yeah," Mason said. The shop door swung open.

"I'm back!" Jeanie yelled before realizing her mom was standing inside the shop. Suddenly, fear rushed her body as Jeanie, and her mom made eye contact. Her mind had a nanosecond to decide between fight or flight.

"Jeanie," Izumi said, scarily calm. Without hesitating, Jeanie ran out of the store. She didn't get far when Izumi caught her. "Hold it, young lady!" Izumi said with an angry fire in her eyes, "Why the hell aren't you in school?"

"Because all I do is sleep there!" Jeanie said fearfully, "I came here so I can at least be productive in some way. I wasn't causing any trouble! Tell her Mason!" Izumi sighed finding it hard to stay mad at Jeanie.

"He already told me everything," Izumi said, gently placing her hand on Jeanie's head, "Next time, tell me you're not going to be in class, so I don't have to worry about where you've gone." Jeanie smiled, knowing that she wasn't in any trouble. That was the first time Mason and Izumi realized that Jeanie isn't always trying to make trouble.

Mason smiled, thinking about Jeanie. He felt butterflies sucker punch the pit of anxiety in his belly. Upon realizing how he was feeling, he sighed.

"He's right. I fell for her." Mason muttered to himself.

"Fell for who?" Jeanie asked.