Title: Swine among Pearls
Rating: T, for Ed's ...er... "colorful" vocabulary
Summary: When Ed, Al, and Winry are sent to Japan to dig up information, they go undercover as students of Ouran Academy, and Truth only knows what trouble they'll stir up. Rated T for Ed's vocabulary. A Drama/Comedy with a sprinkle or romance towards the end
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Fullmetal Alchemist or Ouran High School Host Club. Each belongs to it's respective owner, and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: HO SHET. A NEW STORY! :D *bricked*
I completely gave up on Traces of Regret. It needs more than just editing and re-writing. I read it over and over, and it's not that I dislike the plot, I just dislike how fast it moved. The story needs to be a bit longer and slower, and I need to rework the plot a bit for that to happen. So from this point on, until further notice, ToR is on Hiatus. In the mean time, I have a new project!
Swine among Pearls is a crossover story, Between Ouran High School Host Club and Fullmetal Alchemist. And of course, seeing as it is a crossover, this has a ton of AU-ness. Geography, timelines, plots and family trees have been altered :3
Originally, this story was a three-way crossover with Soul Eater, but that messed with the plot. And the moe.
Anyway, this came to me in the middle of Spanish class a week or so ago. It had a different opening chapter (And ponies. It had ponies. :U), but that was because that one didn't have Soul Eater in it. Adding it at first is what made this story better than it was at first, and aside from it having pretty much the same couples, the same plot, the same challenges, and the same clichés that all the other crossovers between these two animes have, I sincerly hope it will be at least a little different.
The title idea came from the (somewhat) combination of the expressions "Pearls before swine," and "Diamonds in the rough."
There will be pairings in here! All Canon, of course. I wouldn't have it any other way, even if you bribed me with a truck full of Pocky.
Inspiration: A box of Pocky, two bottles of Ramune, the song "Period" by Chemistry (FMA:B Opening 4), and 3 consecutive snow days (due to a blizzard) that led right into the weekend.
Anyway, On with the show! Prepare yourself for a bunch of terrible writing! This has been edited only by MS Word, so there will more than likely be mistakes! Bear with me, please! D:
Haruhi sat on the couch in the supposedly-abandoned music room. The host club had finished business for the day, and they had all hung back to relax after work. However, earlier that day, two girls had been arguing over which of the Hitachiin twins was the better host. They had ignored it while the club was still open for business, but they exchanged smug looks with each other throughout the rest of the time. And as soon as the doors had shut behind the last of their customers for the day, their egos had gotten the best of them, and they were now caught up in continuing the ridiculous argument those two girls had begun.
She was honestly tired of listening to the twin's bickering, but she had no other choice but to sit there and watch, as they were blocking the exit. She knew better than to interfere with their petty arguments, but this was getting on her nerves. She still had to get to the supermarket before heading home, and her classes had given out somewhat generous amounts of homework. Although Haruhi had attempted to get a start on the assignments, it was rather difficult, as the twins had begun to throw projectiles at each other, and she needed to stay focused on avoiding the makeshift weapons that were now flying through the air of the club's meeting room.
Tamaki was stuck between the door, and the fighting brothers. Tired of waiting for the two to stop, or at least move to the side so he could escape, he waved frantically at Kyoya, hoping he would be able to do something about the situation. Kyoya looked up from his laptop, and seeing Tamaki freaking out about being trapped, decided to take action and end this the fight. And he had a perfect idea to do so.
"Everyone, can you all come here for a moment? I have an important announcement to make." Kyoya's tone of voice made it obvious he was just as irritated with the Hitachiin brothers as everyone else was, and to all but the brothers, it was obvious he was attempting to end the brawl. Hiraku and Kaoru froze in place, turning to face Kyoya, with their projectiles still in hand. Reluctantly dropping the objects to the floor, they moved to join the rest of the group, whom had circled around Kyoya, looking at his laptop screen.
On the screen were a few pictures, of people whom none of the hosts had seen before. All of them looked to be foreigners, possibly European? Names were written underneath the photos, all in Katakana (1), confirming the belief of the people being foreign. Tamaki was looking over Kyoya's shoulder, not really saying anything, but looking between the three pictures. Haruhi stood on the other side of him, wondering who the people were, and why Kyoya had enough of an interest in them to look them up in the first place. Before she could ask him though, Honey, who was sitting on Mori's shoulders, beat her to the question.
"Kyo-chan, who are those people?" Honey was obviously curious, as were the twins. Mori was as straight-faced as ever, and Tamaki had a look on his face that Haruhi couldn't really read. Kyoya stood, turning away from the computer to face the group.
"These three people are all new transfer students. They'll be coming from a military academy located in the small European country of Amestris; Considering that they will be arriving on a scholarship, I figured they were worth doing research in to." Haruhi blinked. Scholarship students? That was somewhat rare. But why would they be coming to Ouran? Surely there were better schools closer to their homes. Turning around, she saw that the twins were already deep into planning a so-called 'welcome' party for the group, and Honey seemed to have lost interest, returning with Mori to the table where he had been eating his cake.
Tamaki, however, was still staring at the screen for some unknown reason. Deciding not to question his motives for the time being, she turned to face Kyoya. "Are they really all scholarship students?"
"Yes, they are, in a way. The scholarship was not officially from the Academy, but has been awarded by their school, which has paid the full tuition for the students. None the less, they still count as scholars." Pausing for a moment, he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "And another interesting piece of information you might want to know, they seem to be moving into the same apartment complex you live in. Such a strange coincidence." So they would be her new neighbors? Haruhi had wondered when the apartment next to hers would be rented out again. At least this meant she would be able to meet the trio before the host club got a hold of them.
Kyoya then turned to his laptop and closed it, breaking Tamaki of his trance, who shook it off as though it never happened, and swung an arm around Haruhi's shoulder. "Isn't this wonderful, Haruhi? A bunch of new students, and they're all commoners like you! Daddy's so happy that you'll finally have some more friends to play with!" Tamaki was beaming with joy at the unexpected news. Haruhi just rolled her eyes, shrugging his shoulder off.
"Senpai, must you always act so surprised about anything commoner related? And what's with the way you were staring at the laptop? It looked like you were in some sort of trance." Haruhi was honestly curious as to what on the screen had caught his attention.
"Oh, it was nothing, nothing at all, my little darling!" Tamaki was still joyful with the news, and was twirling in place. "Just a few familiar faces!"
Familiar faces? What could he possibly mean by that? Before Haruhi could ask him however, he left the room, skipping out into the hallway in a rather dramatic fashion. Sighing, she followed suit, heading out in hopes of being able to stop at the supermarket before it was too dark outside to do so.
Edward looked up from the piece of paper he held in his hands, meeting the smug eyes of his superior officer. "Undercover assignment? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly as it sounds, Fullmetal." Roy's voice was as arrogant as the expression on his face. "We need you to infiltrate a school in Japan for us. Seeing as you are the only teenager in this military, you're the only one qualified for this job, but honestly, I still have my doubts as to whether or not you can pull this off."
"What do you mean by that, you damn Colonel Bastard?" Ed knew he shouldn't have paid any mind to Mustang's superior attitude, but it really did get on his nerves some times. Alphonse, sitting in the chair next to him, looked as though he was ready to have to hold Ed back if he decided to strangle the Colonel.
Winry sat in the chair near the door of the office. She wasn't sure why Colonel Mustang had requested she be here for this briefing, but decided against questioning him. He probably wanted her there to keep the two brothers in line. God only knows how the two hadn't been court-martialed for any of their erratic behavior in the past, specifically Edward's. Sitting up in the chair, wrench in hand, she was just as prepared as Al was to prevent Edward from bringing the Colonel to an early grave.
"Fullmetal, I'm sure you're aware of our country's strained relationship with Japan." Mustang chose to ignore Ed's outburst; he was too used to them already. "Ever since the unexplainable murder of two Japanese diplomats here in Central, the eastern country has been rather wary of our actions. In an attempt to bring peace, we were planning on sending a few diplomats to help explain the situation. That's when the equally unexplainable event concerning the death of three military men on leave visiting Japan occurred, leaving the relationship twice as strained. After careful consideration, as well as some investigative work, we have concluded that the two murders are indeed linked, and are believed to be caused by an extremist group, residing in Japan."
"Well that's all wonderful, but how does me infiltrating a high school have to do with any of this?"
"If you would keep your mouth shut, I was about to get to that point." Honestly, the kid had no patience. "The group is one of prominent wealth, with its own insiders within the Japanese government. There are believed to be a few men in charge of the operation, and two or three of the men suspected to be the ringleaders have a few brats of their own. They all are enrolled within the same high school, Ouran Academy. The academy is one for wealthy blue bloods, however there have been scholarships awarded to students of a middle-class social standing before. Therefore, we have decided to enroll you, your brother, and Miss Rockbell, in to the school on a military scholarship, to gather information for us."
Winry blinked. She was a part of this mission? And Al was as well? They weren't part of the military, and therefore had the right to refuse these orders without fear of punishment, but she kept her mouth shut, interested in exactly what this plan required.
Al, on the other hand, wanted to know why they were a part of this plan. "Colonel Mustang, I may not be in the position to ask this, but why are Winry and I being sent on the mission with Ed? Not that I have a problem with it!" He added hastily, hoping he didn't sound skeptical.
Mustang was expecting this question, and replied with another smug grin. "It's simple, Alphonse. I know that you and Ed spent a lot of your childhood searching for the philosopher's stone, and have been deprived of getting a proper education. Now that your search is over, wouldn't you want the chance to make up for lost time in education, especially considering that you'll be sent to one of the most prestigious schools in the eastern hemisphere?" Al couldn't deny that an education was one thing he had been hoping to get as soon as his body was back to normal. Now that it was, this was as perfect of a time as any. (2) "And as for Miss Rockbell, we can't send Edward to the other end of the world without his mechanic, now can we? Who knows what kinds of trouble he might get in?"
Winry couldn't help but laugh mentally at Edward, who looked positively consumed by his animosity towards the Colonel, and was obviously planning an execution for him. However, she did agree with Mustang. Edward wasn't much of a pacifist like his brother. He had a bad habit of attracting trouble and making enemies, then attacking them head-on instead of calmly negotiating things. It was a result of this behavior that his Automail would often fall apart, leaving him to unexpectedly pop in on her and request a new arm or leg, and leaving again with both the Automail, and a few new indents on his skull, courtesy of her wrench.
Al had grabbed hold of Edward, who was slowly regaining his composure. As soon as his fury had simmered down, Al released him, and he faced Mustang once again. "I suppose you already have everything worked out, accommodations wise at least? Or are you expecting us to find a place to stay on our own?"
"Actually, we do have an apartment picked out for you. Since all three of you are going on a scholarship, not due to your personal wealth, it's not the most luxurious of locations. The apartments, although not shabby, happen to be in an area getting a somewhat indecent reputation due to rising number of gangs in nearby neighborhoods, and residents were worried that the violence would spread to their own, and chose to leave." So they were being sent to live in a gang-infested dump? How wonderful.
"Aside from the students that seem suspicious, we would like for you to possibly look in to a few other students, make some friends, that sort of thing. It would do well for our country to have a good relationship with some of Japan's more influential families. We have a few background reports on some of the students of the more prominent families, but they all happen to be in Japanese, so you may have to translate them.
Winry was growing more excited about this mission now. She had taken a conversational Japanese class before, so she may be able to find out some information on the students joining them. She picked up the report on the top of the stack that sat on the nearby table, and flipped through it, trying to translate. Al had done the same, but not knowing much written Japanese aside from a few phrases, was more interested in the photos.
"So, what about this school then? Where is it, and is it all full of rich snobs?" Edward didn't look forward to the idea of being surrounded by the wealthy. His only experience with wealthy people had been with the Armstrong family, and he did not wish to be subjected to attending a school full of people of the same manner as that. One Armstrong around HQ was enough for him to deal with.
"The school is in the Bunkyō ward of Tokyo. And yes, the majority of the students are of high wealth and social standing. Those of highest intelligence and wealth are placed in the top class of the school, which is where I expect you three will be placed. This however puts us at a disadvantage, considering most of those students worth investigating are in the lower classes. Aside from that fact, this is the easiest method of investigation of these crimes. The Japanese government was not too pleased with the idea, but has accepted it, so you won't be questioned as long as you don't so much to disturb the peace."
Edward sighed. This was certainly a lot more information than he had expected out of the Colonel, but then again, he would more than likely get in trouble for investigating most of these facts on his own, and the Colonel was more than likely giving him the information to prevent him from causing a national uproar. "Anything else worth knowing? Or are you ready to send us away?"
Ignoring the teenager's annoying attitude, Mustang finished the debriefing. "Just know that even though they have heard of it, Japan is not nearly as familiar with alchemy as Amestris is, so limit your use of it. Brush up on your Japanese, and look into the culture a bit. You should hopefully manage not to destroy the country."
Edward stood, stretched, and yawned. The debriefing had taken a bit longer than he had thought it would. Gathering the reports that were still on the table in his arms, he headed towards the door. "Al, Winry, let's go. We've got a bit of studying to do." Al and Winry looked up from the reports in their hands, said goodbye, and followed Ed as he hastily made an exit.
Mustang stared towards the open door of the now empty room, and sighed to himself. "Try not to screw this one up for us, Fullmetal."
(1) Katakana is the Japanese alphabet used for foreign words or names, such as コンピュータ, pronounced Konpyūta (computer). The alphabet is limited in sounds, and therefore cannot imitate the name perfectly. Those of you who watch subbed animes containing characters with English names, such as Fullmetal Alchemist, may have noticed the fact that the names have been somewhat altered in their pronunciation, and this is the reason for that.
(2) Woo! AU! I made it so Al already had his body back, but Ed didn't get either of his limbs back. Poor Ed! xD But I kept him in the military; It was necessary for plot advancements :D
A/N: Well? Does it suck? D: It probably does. But all that aside, I'm somewhat pleased with this. The idea for an OHSCH/FMA crossover has been swirling around in my head for a week or two. So finally, I did something with the plot bunny, before Lennie could snap the poor thing's neck. (A cookie for whoever understood that reference! And I blame English class for it. We just finished the book :P)
And for those who didn't know, Ed's birthday was two days ago! (Feb. 3rd) *throws confetti* Even though the date's not official, apparently that's what was decided on by everyone else on the internet. My friend did the math, and supposedly, due to the 6 year difference in times between our world and his (See the 'Simple People' OVA), he should be about 106 years old now. Happy (late) birthday, Shrimpy! :D
Thanks for reading this, and please review! All flames shall be directed at Colonel Mustang, and met with equal or greater firepower in return.