LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! I noticed there weren't a lot of Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Fullmetal Alchemist crossovers out there so I decided to right my own. I'll get a few things straight first. This is taking place after the first FMA anime and Ed figured out that he doesn't age like Hoenheim and he's been alive for a long time so he starts hopping around the world not staying in a single place for long. So most of his friends are dead and he lives by himself, constantly traveling. This story is stationed in Katekyo Hitman Reborn between the Varia Arc and the Future Arc so Tsuna is in line to become the boss, but they haven't gone to the future yet.
Ok, on with this new story!
~In Front of Namimori~
Edward stood in front of the gates of Namimori Middle School. His travels had once more brought him to Japan, and had gone looking for a job. He was pleasantly surprised to find an opening as a teacher, hence why he was currently staring at the impassive middle school building.
He was already prepared for the looks he would receive from the students. After all, it's not every day you get seemingly eighteen year old teacher. If he told them his real age he'd probably be shipped off to some mental health facility.
In regards to his strange 'aging', it had come as a surprise first. When he finally figured out he wasn't aging, five years had passed in this world, and he'd barely changed a bit. Al even got taller than him!
The thought of his younger brother caused a small, barely noticeable frown to grace his lips. He sadly outlived Al… how he missed his little brother. He spent his whole life after Al's death wandering around, waiting for his own soul to finally pass on. He never understood why people craved eternal life. It was a constant curse weighing over his sanity.
Shaking his head to clear the negative thoughts, Ed let a small sigh pass his lips before he stepped onto the school grounds and begin his new 'adventure' in this school.
~At Tsuna's House~
Sun slowly filtered in through the small window in Tsuna's bedroom, casting a pleasant glow over the room. The town and neighborhood was slowly waking up, people getting ready for their jobs and for other tasks. Everyone, that is, except a young Tsuna, who still lay sleeping peacefully in his bed. Such a shame that it was a school day, and his tutor doesn't tolerate tardiness.
The peace was interrupted by a loud thump, slightly muffled by various sheets and well, Tsuna's own head. The poor brunet was once more woken up by a large hammer swinging down on his head, wielded by none other than Reborn. It was a wonder he hadn't got serious brain damage (not that there was much too damage in the first place).
"Dame-Tsuna, get up!" Reborn chided, stepping into his student's line of sight, "You have school today."
Brown eyes widened slightly as Tsuna regarded the mafiaso with disbelief, before glancing at the calendar and spotting the messily circled date.
It was already the new school year, and that meant he would be getting a new class. He hoped that he would be lucky enough to end up in Kyoko's class. Naturally, he wished to be in the same class as his other, few friends, but he was mainly concerned about which class Kyoko would be in.
He was snapped out of his fantasies when his face collided rather painfully with the floor.
"Reborn! What was that for?" Tsuna whined, slowly pushing himself off the floor. His fingers tentatively felt his nose, briefly estimating the damage.
"A mafia boss shouldn't space out and give the enemy a time to strike," Reborn told him.
Tsuna groaned in irritation before glaring at the baby before him, "I told you already, Reborn! I don't want to be in the mafia!"
"Your going to be late at this rate," Reborn stated, quickly cutting off any further conversation, "Hurry up Dame-Tsuna."
Scrambling slightly, Tsuna turned to look at his clock. Reading the figures displayed, he felt panic seep through his body. He really did not want to be bitten to death by a certain tonfa-wielding prefect.
Quickly removing his sleepwear, he rushed to put on the stuffy uniform. Briefly checking in a mirror to make sure everything was on correctly, he didn't waste time with breakfast and rushed out the door. Nana looked into the hallway just in time to see the door slam shut, cutting off her son's rushed good-bye's in the middle. Shaking her head softly, she returned to the kitchen, a small smile on her face.
Still focused on getting to school on time, Tsuna barely registered the small weight on his head that signified Reborn was yet again hitching a ride on him.
"According to some gossip I've been hearing, your school is going to be getting a new teacher," Reborn began, "I've looked into it some, and they look quite qualified. Maybe even well suited enough to join your family."
Tsuna stumbled slightly in surprise at both his tutor's presence and words, "Reborn! Stop pointlessly dragging people into this! How'd you even manage to learn anything about this teacher?!"
"It is a tutor's job to check the backgrounds of the people affiliated with their student," Reborn responded simply.
Tsuna ignored him and picked up the pace when he heard the warning bell for class ringing. He charged onto school grounds and hurried over to where the new classes were assigned. His eyes quickly scanned over the lists and searched for his name. Finally spotting it, he didn't even bother to check whom he was with and just headed straight for his new classroom.
Walking briskly through the halls (Hibari wouldn't be too happy to find him running through them), Tsuna found his classroom rather easily, sliding the door open harshly. Eyes ghosting over the multiple faces he found in the room, he was relieved to find a few that he recognized. Briefly glancing up at the clock to find that he had a few minutes to spare, he headed over to his friends.
"Yo, Tsuna!" Yamamoto greeted, "Isn't it great we're in the same class this year? Even Gokudera is here too!"
"Baseball Idiot! Don't great Juudaime so casually!" Gokudera yelled, before turning to face Tsuna. Bowing slightly he offered a greeting, "Good morning, Juudaime."
"Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto!" Tsuna said, raising his hand in a small wave, "Good to see you guys!"
The door snapped open again and the noise echoed around the room slightly. A few heads turned to see the new arrivals, and turned away in disinterest when it wasn't any of their close friends. Tsuna's eyes, however, lingered on the two new arrivals. More specifically one of the new arrivals. Kyoko stood in the doorway, calmly walking in while idly talking to Hana who walked along beside her.
"Kyoko-chan…" Tsuna murmured happily to himself, thanking the gods silently for his good luck.
Noticing the trio, the two girls walked up to them and said their hello's. It didn't take long for the conversation to shift to that of idle gossip.
"I'm looking forward to this class," Kyoko said, features lighting up in excitement.
"Why?" Yamamoto inquired, shifting slightly towards the girl, displaying his interest.
"Well, this class gets the new teacher! He's a total enigma and such a strange name too..." Kyoko explained, trailing off slightly. When noticing Tsuna's expression falter briefly she continued, "Of course, I'm happy to be in a class with all my friends too!"
"Oh yeah," Hana responded, "I heard about him. They say he's German or something like that. Really smart too apparently…"
"I just hope he's not a crodgedy old fart," Gokudera muttered darkly.
"Maa, maa Gokudera," Yamamoto breathed, attempting to placate the moody Italian
The chattered around the room dimmed when the bell was heard resounding throughout the school. Lazily, they found their way into their seats and waited, watching the door patiently for the arrival of the new teacher.
The minutes dragged by lazily, until twelve minutes had passed. The students had resumed their conversations and idly waited for the teacher to show up, disinterest evolving out of their impatience. A random student was about to go to notify the office when the door slowly slid open with a grunt. Slowly, a foot crossed the invisible threshold, followed by a body, hidden away by an irritatingly large stack of papers.
The reactions varied. Some looked around in confusion, others stared intently. Some even showed no interest whatsoever. Tsuna however, was greatly interested in this 'enigma' of a teacher that had caught even Reborn's interest.
The figure slowly walked over to his desk, dropping his papers down in a huff on the sturdy surface. This teacher was obviously of smaller stature, as he was still hidden behind the stack of papers, as well as younger, or at least fit, considering he was able to carry such a large stack of papers in the first place.
Coughing to clear his throat, the mystery teacher slowly began to walk out from behind the obstacle, "Sorry, sorry. I got held up at the office and somehow got stuck with a load of paper work on my very first day. Quite a warm welcome from the school, really," The man's voice dripped with sarcasm at the last sentence.
When the light finally hit his form, no one could believe their eyes. Their new teacher looked like he was only eighteen years old, young twenties at most! He was wearing simple brown slacks with a matching vest over a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. If one was looking intently, you could see a barely perceptible difference in the skin tones of his arms. What also shocked them was his long, golden hair pulled back into a high ponytail, leaving only the bangs parted evenly in the center. A small antennae of hair poked up in between his bangs. His eyes were a fiercer shade of burning gold then his hair. If one were to gaze deeply into them, you would notice a seemingly never-leaving tinge of sadness.
"I'm your new teacher, Edward Elric. You don't have to call me Elric-sensei or anything like that, I don't like such stuffy titles. Just Ed or Edward would be fine by me," A small grin stretched across his face, "Now, introductions. As per usual, just go around the room and say your name. If you're feeling adventurous maybe even tell us something about yourself."
The long and tedious process of introductions began, and one by one, students stood and introduced themselves. This occurred without Tsuna's knowledge as his gaze was still fixed on his teacher, questions assaulting his mind. He looked around in confusion when laughter spread through the room.
Tsuna looked up and noticed with dread that it was his turn. Embarrassment caused his cheeks to flush when he realized he'd been spacing out for so long, and had been holding up the mandatory introductory process.
"Still No good Tsuna, isn't he?" One of his classmates questioned. The red on his cheeks darkened at the comment.
In his peripheral, he noticed Gokudera take a breath, eyes darkening considerably. The dynamite specialist was going to go off on a tangent, but was beaten to it. An authoritative voice filled the room quickly, demanding attention, "All of you be quiet right now. You're putting yourselves on a pretty high pedestal by saying that. No one is 'perfect' at everything so who gave you, who are just as flawed, the right to judge others? The only one in this room with the right to judge anyone is me. And from my observations so far, you all are the no-good ones. I shouldn't see anything like this again, got it?"
Tsuna looked up in amazement and gaped at his new teacher, the one who had defended him.
Edward looked at him and offered a small smile before asking, "What's your name?"
"Sawada Tsunayoshi…" Tsuna replied softly.
Edward closed his eyes and offered a small nod in confirmation. Turning to his class, he began, "Let's get started shall we?"
Everyone snapped out of their shocked obliviousness and got out their books to listen to the lesson.
Tsuna knew it for sure now that this was his favorite class.
~Time Skip – At Lunch~
Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto slowly walked through the halls, talking lazily to each other. It was finally lunch hour and the trio was heading to where they would eat lunch. They usually would go up to the roof, but unfortunately Hibari was taking a nap there, and none of them wanted to wake up the irritable skylark. So, they'd decided to go eat under the cherry blossom trees instead.
Tsuna stopped however when he saw a flash of golden hair and changed directions, trying to get to his new favorite teacher.
"Tsuna! Where are you going?"
"I'll meet you guys later! I have to go do something!" He waved a dismissive hand, and refocused all of his attention on catching up to his teacher.
Tsuna walked briskly and rounded the corner, immediately spotting his teacher. Edward pace had slowed and his golden eyes scanned the scenery outside through the windows. Tsuna approached him, calling out softly, "Elric-sensei!"
Edward jumped slightly before turning around and smiling, "Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun, what did you need? And I thought I told you all that you could just call me plain Edward or Ed."
"Oh sorry, El- I mean Edward-sensei," Tsuna quickly corrected himself before answering his teacher's question, "I really just wanted to thank you for standing up for me earlier today."
"It's fine really," Edward ruffled Tsuna's hair, before drawing his hand back quickly, "Sorry, force of habit. You might want to get back to lunch though before the hour ends."
Ed turned around without a word and slowly continued down the hall, leaving a smiling Tsuna behind. He surprisingly didn't mind the childish treatment he had gotten in the form of a pat on the head. He turned on his heels and walked on towards his own destination, an air of happiness around him.
This happiness dissipated quickly, however, when he collided with another person. He was knocked backwards slightly, and stumbled to regain his balance. Looking up, he saw a group of upperclassmen who regularly targeted him staring down at him impassively.
They slowly advanced, causing to Tsuna to draw back, practically cornering himself. Face drawn up in a sneer, the leader growled, "'ey! Watch where you're going, Dame-Tsuna! Feelin' all high 'n mighty just 'cause a teacher took pity on your sorry soul? We're gonna' teach you a lesson, see? And without your little posse or precious new teacher around, you're totally helpless."
"Yeah! We're gonna teach you a painful lesson," Another hissed, "Then you can go crying back to your protectors."
Brown eyes screwed shut tightly, and Tsuna's form quivered as he drew back against the wall, trying to make himself seem as small as possible. He could hear a rustle of clothing and just knew their fists were pulling back, preparing to swing a punch. He braced himself for the impact, and heard a groan of pain. It took him a while to notice that the pained sound was not his own, but belonging to another. He opened his eyes and they widened as large as saucers.
Edward was lifting one of the thugs up by the back of his shirt, and another one lay cowering on the floor, cradling his bruised, and possibly fractured, hand that was already starting to slightly swell.
In a display of strength, Ed slammed the one he held by the shirt into a wall, and quickly caught a punch that was aimed at him by another goon. Hands still gripped tightly on the bully's wrist, he spun in a 180, and dragged the arm over his shoulder and hunched over, flinging the large teen over his shoulder. Tsuna gaped at the goon now sprawled on his back, defeated.
Ed merely had to look the final one's way and offer an angry glare, barking out a simple question, "Feeling lucky?"
A look of terror spread over the guy's face before he quickly whirled around and took off down the hall. Pulling themselves up off the floor, the other three took off after their fleeing friend.
Dusting off his hands, Ed reached back and tightened his ponytail. Allowing a soft sigh of relief to escape him, Ed turned to face his student, "Are you alright, Tsunayoshi-kun?"
"Y-yes," Tsuna stuttered, both shock and adrenaline still flooding his veins.
"I'll walk you to your friends," Edward told him, voice betraying his relief, "You sure do get in trouble with everyone here it seems. At this rate, I'm going to have to be like a body-guard. But I think your friend Gokudera's got that covered."
Edward laughed softly. He turned and started walking, Tsuna following behind him, briefly telling him where he was planning to eat lunch. A few moments of silence passed by before Tsuna worked up the courage to speak again.
"Why are you so nice to me, Edward-sensei?" Tsuna queried.
Edward's steps paused for a moment, eyes flicking downward for a moment in thought. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before actually speaking, carefully picking his words, "You remind me of my little brother in a way, I guess. You both are kind and gentle. You seem to care about and value your friends like he did..."
"Where is your brother?" Tsuna asked, mind not really quite registering the verb tense used in the blond's last sentence.
Ed's pace halted completely, and if Tsuna had been looking at his teacher, he would've noticed the man's eyes widen briefly, in what appeared to be horror or regret. His eyes took on their regular saddened hue, only more pronounced than normal, "He died a while ago... in an accident…"
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked," Tsuna apologized, feeling a guilty for bringing up such a sad memory.
"No, it's fine…" Edward smiled softly, "He wouldn't want me to be so sad anyway."
They soon reached the outside of the school, and Ed watched as Tsuna began to walk to his group of friends. The brunet's steps stopped and he suddenly turned around, offering a cheerful wave good-bye. Ed smiled widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly, and he offered his own small wave in return. The golden-haired teacher turned around and slowly began to retreat into the cool hallways of Namimori Middle School.
Reborn watched as Ed disappeared beyond view into the school building, "Edward Elric, a prodigy, more rather a genius, with almost know background information. Not to mention, he bears the same name as the mysterious bodyguard of Vongola Primo... A reincarnation? Or maybe... no, that's impossible. Everyone has to die at some point."
LunarFallenStar: And done! I'm trying to give Edward a kind of older brother relationship to Tsuna… well R&R everyone!
*edit*: Well, this is the first chapter that I've re-written/corrected. Hopefully there aren't too many grammatical errors, but eh, it's late and I'm tired, so this'll have to do currently.
