Bonus Chapter: Short Story

Synopsis
Ed and Al are depicted as young children and Ed is picking on Alphonse, causing him to cry. Trisha comes in and complains about Ed being a troublesome older brother and that he should protect Al, asking him to apologize to Alphonse for hitting him. Ed slaps Al’s head and runs out the door into the hall.

Ed mumbles to himself Al is “mom’s favorite” and that he bets Al is more important to Trisha than his is. Hohenheim, who was in the bathroom, overhears his son complaining, but says nothing. Ed continues saying they always demand things from him because he’s the older brother and that his mother must hate him. Hohenheim then calls Ed, handing him a bucket full of water as a punishment for bullying Alphonse. He asks that Ed just stands there and holds the bucket without letting it touch the ground. Ed complains the bucket is heavy, but tries his best to hold unto it.

Hohenheim opens the bathroom door and Ed is sulking once again, the bucket on the floor. Hohenheim asks if he has already given up, and Ed justifies that it’s heavy and he couldn’t possibly carry it. Hohenheim comments Ed has given up quickly and that the bucket had a similar weight to that of a baby and that Ed weighted just about the same when he was born. Trisha had carried that weight for months inside her, and while Ed gave up easily, she held on and kept him safe. Hohenheim finishes up by saying that someone who would hate him wouldn’t have endured that, so Edward should say his mother didn’t love him.

Edward goes back to Trisha and Al. Ed raises his hand and Trisha thinks that he would hit Al again, but he instead pats Al in the head and then storms out of the room. She asks Hohenheim if he said something to Ed, but he justifies that he didn’t.