I bring you Chapter 4! TA-DA! Please enjoy!

Chapter 4: Izumi's Lesson

Soul grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So, where are you guys from?"

"Resembool, it's in East Amestris," Al replied, "Though you've probably never heard of it, our country's pretty far from here."

"Yeah, I heard you guys had to travel pretty far west to get here to Death City."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, we're pretty far from home. Winry was not happy when we told her we were leaving and going pretty far away too. Which means I'll have to be careful with my automail here..." he said as they got closer to Izumi's classroom.

"Automail? What's that?" Maka asked, tilting her head.

"Oh..." Ed said blinking. He forgot that people here weren't familiar with automail. He then slid off his glove to show her his right hand. "This. It's a prosthetic limb. My left leg is one too."

"Oh I see..." Maka said as she stared. 'So that's why his hand felt weird earlier when I shook it.'

"How'd you get that! It looks cool!" Soul said in excitement.

Al looked down at his feet. "We... we'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind..."

"Oh... I see. Yeah, I can respect that."

Ed put his glove back on and nodded. "Yeah...It happened in an accident, and a pretty bad one at that."

Maka looked down at her feet. "I see... I'm sorry about that."

Ed shook his head. "Don't be. What's done is done."

"Uh huh. Maka and I have had our trials and tribulations, so we get it." Soul nodded in agreement. He lifted up his jacket to show a scar that went from his right shoulder to his left hip.

Al gasped, "Ouch! What happened there!"

"Me doing my job as a weapon, that's what happened."

Maka hugged herself, still not able to get over what had happened that night.

Ed shrugged. 'I wonder if anything like that will happen to us? No matter... I must protect Al at all times...' he thought, just as a loud crash came from the room next to them, making him jump.

"WHEN WILL YOU DO IT RIGHT! AGAIN!" the yell of Izumi Curtis sounded.

"Guess this is Teacher's room...Heh..." Ed said, sweat dropping.

Al opened the door to see Ling huddled in the corner, with his hands on his head. "N-No more! P-Please!"

"Uhh... Teacher? Is this a bad time?"

From the seats, a boy with pink hair looked at Alphonse. "Oh dear, more new students. I don't know how to handle that..."

"Yikes..." Soul winced, "We have her next?"

Izumi huffed and turned to look at who entered the classroom. "Oh hello, Edward. Alphonse..." she said and sat down, picking up her book from her desk. Apparently there was a dark aura around the woman from irritation.

"Oh! Crona! You're in this class too?" Maka asked, walking over to the boy. "Ms. Curtis isn't scaring you too bad, is she?"

Ed glared at the boy hiding in the corner. "Still being a wuss? It figures..." Ed muttered with a 'humph!' at the end. There was then a throwing star that flew by Ed's cheek and planted itself into the wall.

"Don't speak of Master Ling like that!" Lan Fan growled, going over to help Ling up.

"Lan Fan, seriously, it's okay." Ling grumbled as she helped him up to his feet.

Crona shook his head, "N-No, not really Maka-chan. Sh-She was scarier than Miss Curtis..."

"I can imagine," Soul sighed, "And she was you mother."

Al walked over to his teacher and put his hands behind his back, "How're you feeling? It's been a while, yeah?"

Lan Fan bowed to Ling. "Young Lord, I don't think she's treating you fairly. If you want to drop out of this class then you should do so. Don't bow your head to someone so low..."

Izumi suddenly snapped her book shut, her aura turning red and eyes glowing with rage. "If you want to drop out of this class then go ahead! I can do nothing more for an idiot like you!" she yelled, suddenly stopping short as she spit up blood, answering Al's question.

"Teacher!" Ed yelled and ran over to Izumi, digging out a handkerchief for her to wipe off the blood. "Still sick, huh?"

Izumi took the handkerchief. "Thanks, Edward. I'm fine..."

Maka nodded to Crona. "Don't worry, Crona. I'll make sure no one harms you," she said and looked at Izumi. "Oh my! Is she okay?"

"Second time today..." Crona whimpered.

Al frowned, "Maybe you should lie down for a bit, Teacher."

Ling glared at Izumi, "No way, Lan Fan. If I'm going to be Emperor, then I've got to get stronger. This school is the only way."

"Heh, then good luck," Soul said to Ling with a smile, "This place will chew you up and spit you back out if you're not careful. But it's certainly done a lot for Maka and I, so I think you'll be fine."

Ling smiled back, "Thanks. I'm Ling Yao by the way."

"I heard. I'm Soul Evans."

"No...I'm fine..." Izumi said and stood up, walking over to Ling.

Lan Fan suddenly put herself in front of Ling in case Izumi was going to do something.

Izumi just stopped and stood before them. "Good. I'm glad to hear it..." she said, looking at Ling. "Then will you try again? Face your fears?"

Ed shrugged, looking at the floor covered in blood. He felt Izumi was pushing herself too much, but she would never listen to them.

Maka stared at Izumi and the two other students. 'She has a very strong soul. Almost as strong as Professor Stein's. But she also looks very ill...' she thought.

Ling nodded, "Yeah... one more time." But he was interrupted before he could get back in the game.

"THE INFAMOUS BLACK STAR IS HERE! LING YAO, I CHALLENGE YOU, MY NEW RIVAL!" In his hands was Tsubaki in her kusarigan form.

Soul sighed, "Bad timing there, buddy."

"Oh no," Crona moaned, "Not another fight!"

Izumi nodded, ready to attack him again but stopped, glaring at the interruption. After a few moments of glaring at Black Star, she then grinned. "Hmmm... You know, having someone at a lower level fight Ling may not be such a bad idea," she said then stepped aside. "Fine, I will observe the fight and judge you on how well you perform," she said and sat down.

Ed sweat dropped. "Does this guy pick fights with EVERYBODY?" he mumbled to Soul.

"Pretty much..." Soul sweat dropped.

Black Star jumped for joy, "YAHOO! Prepare yourself, Ling Yao! I'll be the one to take you down! Not that old hag over there!"

Ling's eyes grew wide, "Uh oh..." He knew what was coming. He had made a similar mistake earlier.

"B-Brother...? Is Black Star going to die now?" Al asked, shaking in his boots.

"You shouldn't have said that..." Crona said, twiddling his fingers, "You're a goner..."

"Oh yeah... he's gonna die..." Ed said and hid behind a desk.

Izumi suddenly stood up, stomping her foot. "OOOOOOLD HAAAAAAAAAAG!" she yelled and trusted her palm into Black Star's stomach, releasing her soul wavelength and hurtling him through the already broken window.

Tsubaki transformed back to normal before she too flew out the window. "Oh, Black Star... You have to learn to respect your elders..."

Maka slapped her palm to her face. "Oh dear..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa..." Black Star screamed as he was he was thrown 30 feet.

Ling sighed and slumped down onto the floor, "Well... I'm glad I didn't have to do that..."

"You still have to go one-on-one with Teacher though..." Al said sheepishly.

"Yeah, but that's better than going at it with that guy. Totally not worth it."

"Actually," Soul started, "He's a pretty decent fighter. Just ask Ed and Al."

"You fought Black Star?" Crona asked the two Elrics.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, we ended up in a draw..." he said and shrugged. "The guy's kind of an idiot though..."

"Humph!" Izumi said, brushing her hands together and turned to the others. "Forget what I said about fighting him, let's get back to what we were doing," she said to Ling. "Are you ready?" she asked, getting her wavelength attack ready again.

Lan Fan turned to Ling. "I'm ready, Young Lord."

"Right," Ling nodded as he prepared himself for Izumi's next attack by taking Lan Fan in hand. He was used to a curved sword, but the scimitar still felt foreign to him. Perhaps because it was his friend he was actually wielding.

Al took a seat next to Crona to watch the fight. "I'm Alphonse Elric. I never got your name."

"C-Crona. I... I..."

"Don't kill yourself trying, Crona," Soul joked, "All he wanted was your name."

"Oh... okay then... sorry."

Ed sat on the other side of Crona, further away from the fight. "I'm Edward. Nice to meet you," he said, but didn't make any attempt to shake his hand.

"Get ready then!" Izumi yelled and ran for Ling, but instead of hitting him straight on, she curved herself around him so she was behind him and pushed the heal of her palm into his back.

"Wow, I was right..." Maka said, observing Izumi. "She is just like Professor Stein. She's a meister who can fight without a weapon using her soul's wavelength."

"Ed... ward... That's a nice name..." Crona said simply. Suddenly, something popped out of his back. It was black with a white X on its face and two beady white eyes. It also had cartoonish white gloves for hands. It began to beat on Crona.

"NICE NAME! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY! NICE NAME! YOU DIDN'T EVEN OFFER TO SHAKE HIS HAND YOU RUDE LITTLE PIG!"

"Ow, ow! S-Stop it Ragnarok! Th-That hurts! I was just being polite, I didn't know what else to say!"

"YOU'RE SUCH A MORON! YOU ASK ABOUT WHERE HE'S FROM AND HIS HOBBIES! SAME WITH THE LITTLE BROTHER!"

"B-But Ragnarok!"

Al nearly fell back in his chair at the sight, "Oh goodness! What is that thing!"

"Ragnarok, Chrona's weapon," Soul replied simply.

Ling coughed as Izumi hit him and he stumbled forward. He spun around and swung Lan Fan at his teacher, but missed by inches. He wasn't really trying to cut her, but more use his soul energy as a buffer to the blade, making it feel like a foam bat rather than a sharp knife. Still, he couldn't make a dent on the experienced fighter even if he tried.

Ed literally did fall out of his chair at the sight of Ragnarok. "HOLY CRAP THAT THING IS FREAKY!" he yelled, not really sure what to do at this point.

"Aw, Ragnarok is harmless..." Maka said and laughed. "I have a tuna sandwich for you today," she said, digging into her bag for the sandwich.

Izumi easily dodged each swing of his sword like it was just an annoying fly buzzing around her. "Is that the best you've got?" she asked, flipping over his head and drop kicking his legs. She then held out her palm again. "Soul beam!" she shouted and a bright yellow beam shot through Ling's stomach.

"YOUNG LORD!" Lan Fan cried, seeing her meister get hit by the blow.

"FREAKY! YOU'RE FREAKY! I'LL-! Ooh... tuna!" Ragnarok floated over to Maka and took the sandwich. With one bite, he ate the whole thing with glee.

Crona groaned, "Ooh... now he's going to smell like fish for the rest of the day, I don't know if I can handle that..."

Alphonse laughed, "I-I'm sorry! Th-That's just too funny! HAHAHA!"

A splurt of blood came out of Ling's mouth from the blow, but he wasn't down for the count. He wrapped his legs around Izumi's arm and threw her down similar to what she had done to him. He shot up as he did so and held Lan Fan tip down, thrusting the blade into the floor next to Izumi's head. He breathed heavily a few times and then fell over on his side. "I... I... I did it..."

Ed coughed and stood up, looking over at Ling and Izumi. "Oh! Ling won?" he asked in amazement.

Izumi smiled and stood up. "Congratulations. You get an A for today's class. I think you'll do well here. I didn't have much faith in you before," she said and went to go write the grade down in her assignment book.

Lan Fan turned back to her human form and her usually scowling looking face turned into a slight smile. "Young Lord, you did it!"

Maka sweat dropped. "Sorry about that, Crona..."

"AHH! N-NO, IT'S OKAY MAKA, R-REALLY!" Crona exclaimed, waving his hands in protest.

Ling laughed weakly, "Y-Yeah... couldn't have done it without you, Lan Fan."

"Horray!" Al cried happily, "Way to go, Ling!"

I guess all these new comers aren't so bad after all... can't wait for my turn! Soul thought as a large grin formed on his face.

Maka smiled at Chrona then look at Soul. "What are you thinking about, Soul?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ed rolled his eyes. "It was a lucky win..." he said, referring to Ling and Lan Fan.

Lan Fan just glared at him. "There's no such thing as luck... We won because we were strong."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Ed said and went up to Ling, patting him on the shoulder but said nothing else.

"Alright, now that that's over, everyone get out of my classroom. Next class isn't until 4:00," Izumi said and closed her attendance book.

Soul was caught a bit off guard by Maka, "Huh! Oh, nothing. It's okay."

"Lan Fan, please..." Ling sweat dropped sheepishly, "Don't do this now. I just need something to eat..."

"Then let's head down to the cafeteria until Teacher's class starts," Al suggested.

Ed nodded. "Yeah...I'm starved!" he said and grabbed Al's hand, dragging him toward the cafeteria...Or so he thought.

Maka shrugged at Soul and looked to Ed and Al. "Uh...The cafeteria is that way," Maka said, sweat dropping.

"Oh...Really?" Ed asked and laughed nervously. "My bad!" he said and began walking in the opposite direction.

"I have to go find Black Star..." Tsubaki said and sighed, walking out as well.

Ling skipped after the Elrics whistling a Xingese tune. "Wait for me Edward~! I'm hungry too~!"

"This is one hell of a ride," Soul laughed, "Let's go after them, Maka. Make sure they don't get into any more trouble."

"M-Maka? C-Can I come too? I don't want to be alone with Ragnarok," Crona said as he stood up too.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING AROUND ME!" Ragnarok began to beat on the poor boy again.

"N-Nothing! It's just that I don't like it when you do these things to me!"

Ed growled. "I'M NOT PAYING FOR YOUR LUNCH IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE AFTER!" Ed yelled to Ling.

Lan Fan sighed. She could feel a huge headache coming on.

Maka smiled and nodded. "Of course, Crona!" she said and took her friend's hand, taking off after the boys.

"Aww~! BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!" Ling called after, just to make Ed squirm just a bit more.

Soul laughed, "Fighting over something like that? They're going to be disappointed to find out the food isn't exactly gourmet."

"I still think it's good," Crona said, forcing a smile, "Ragnarok sure enjoys it."

"Friends don't mooch off of other friends!" Ed growled as they got to the cafeteria.

"We usually sit over here," Maka said, pointing to a table close to the window. "You guys are welcome to sit with us if you want."

Ling frowned, "But you always have money..."

"Sure thing, Maka! We'll be right back!" Al said with a smile. He followed Edward and Ling to get some food as well.

Soul laughed as he followed his meister to their usual spot. He was glad the new students were so comfortable in their new surroundings... and he was glad that they were turning out to become good friends along the way.

"I don't care! If I keep buying you food, you'll clean out my wallet!" Ed growled as they approached the counter.

"It's alright, Young Lord. I have enough money for both of us to get lunch," Lan Fan muttered, glaring at Ed.

Maka smiled as she sat down. "It's nice to make new friends. I hope we can all work together as a good team someday. I wonder if Lord Death will have them go on some kind of mission soon..."

"They should if they want Ed to be a Death Scythe like your dad," Soul chuckled.

Crona looked at Maka in confusion, "Your papa is a Death Scythe?"

"What's that?" Alphonse asked when they returned with their food. Ling's face was hidden behind the mountain on his tray.

Maka growled. "Ugh...I can hardly call Papa my father..." she muttered and looked at Crona. "Yeah he is. Mama was the one who made him into a Death Scythe." She then looked up at Al and smiled. "Oh! Back so soon?"

Ed set his plate down and nodded. "So what's a Death Scythe? Sounds powerful."

Maka blinked. "You're a weapon and you don't know?"

Ed shrugged. "Well, I'm kind of new here..." he mumbled.

"Well, a Death Scythe is a weapon that devoured 99 kishin souls and one witch soul. Once that's done, the weapon is powerful enough to become Lord Death's weapon."

"Lan Fan, you hear that! Maybe that's our ticket to the throne!" Ling exclaimed happily with a chicken leg sticking out of his mouth.

Al smiled at his brother, "Sounds like fun Ed! Let's make you a Death Scythe!"

"I'll never become one of those," Crona said sadly, "Only I can use Ragnarok and he's a Dark Weapon..."

Lan Fan nodded. "Of course, Young Lord!" she said and slightly smiled. She would do whatever it took to become a Death Scythe for her prince.

Ed grinned. "That settles it! I'm going to become a Death Scythe!" he said and chomped into his own piece of chicken, still grinning.

Maka smiled and patted Crona on the back. "It's alright Crona. It's not really that special. As long as you do well in this school, that's all that counts!" she said, trying to comfort the boy.

Crona forced a smile, but Al looked at him confused. "D-Dark weapon? What's that?"

The boy whimpered and looked down, trying to hide.

"Dark Weapons," Soul started, "are born of the particular individual's fears and although these vary greatly dependent largely on the past events of the specific weapon, it is the succumbing to these vices which begins the descent towards becoming a kishin. Eventually the weapon's desperation to be rid of these fears, develops into an insatiable craving for power that inevitably drives them to consuming the soul of a good human. The ingestion of such a pure soul corrupts the weapon in question, meaning that even with the substantial boost in power afforded by the act, they find that neither their fears or hunger are quenched in the slightest. This begins a vicious cycle in the consumption of a significant amount of human souls, until they either achieve the status of a kishin or are hunted down and killed at the hands of the DWMA."

"So that means just as humans and meisters are susceptible to the afflictions of Madness after the consumption of a pure human soul, weapons are also capable of descending down the path of the kishin and losing themselves to their insecurities." Ling deduced.

Crona whined again and looked away. "It's okay, Crona," Al reassured him, "If we thought you were an enemy, we wouldn't be so nice to you."

Lan Fan shrugged and sat down between Ling and Crona. "I can sense evil... You're not evil," she said and smiled.

Maka smiled as well. She was so happy everyone was getting along well with Crona.

Ed looked up at her and blinked, a bit surprised by her actions. Shrugging, he finished off his meal and sighed. "Thanks for the meal," he said and clapped his hands together.

"Finished already?" Al asked. He was still munching away at his lunch. He was always amazed at how fast his brother ate.

Ling looked up at the young alchemist, still chewing, "Sho what're you gunna do now?"

"I've already decided that for them," came the voice of Colonel Mustang in his proud gait, "Lord Death wants to see you two."

Ed almost fell over at the sudden voice behind him and glared up at Mustang. "Really? Mr. Dead guy wants to see us? What for?" he asked, sipping on his soda.

"Huh...Must be pretty important if Lord Death wants to see you on the first day," Maka said, blinking.

"They probably got into some sort of trouble..." Lan Fan muttered.

"HEY! What makes you think it's something bad!" Ed growled at her.

"Calm down, you're not in trouble," Roy sighed, "He just wants a chat. Ling, Lan Fan, he wants you too."

"But I'm not done yet!" Ling whined, food falling out of the corners of his mouth.

Soul took his plate and pulled it towards him, "Don't worry, I'll finish it off for ya."

Ed got up and grabbed Ling by the collar of his shirt. "Let's go squinty!" he muttered and marched off.

Lan Fan sighed, wiped her mouth quickly and followed the two.

"See you guys later then!" Maka called.

Ling yipped as he was dragged away. "But I'm still hungry~!"

"Bye Maka!" Al called back, "And you too, Soul! It was nice to meet you too Crona!"

Chrona nodded and waved back as he blushed.

End of chapter 4. Chapter 5 will be coming soon! Please review!