LunarFallenStar: Well, this was like a ridiculously late update. I'm really sorry, but yeah... it was really busy with doctor visits for my brother and a bunch of other junk that happened that I really didn't have time, nor was I in the mood to write at all. But I'm hoping that I'll be able to update more often now, as I've gotten a lot of my motivation back. Not to mention for a while, my email forwarded all messages from this site to my spam folder and I wasn't aware of that. So, I thought no one really cared anymore, but I guess I was wrong... Not to further delay this chapter anymore, I guess I'll start the story.
Previously
"Hey are you sure this is okay?!" Tsuna inquired, whispering to his tutor, "Gokudera-kun's getting different families involved!"
"Pretty interesting right?" Reborn smirked, "I'm all for it."
"You too?!" Tsuna sighed in exasperation.
'There's something about Shimon...' Reborn thought to himself, gaze briefly flicking to Edward who sat staring at his drink quietly, 'If we work with them, I might be able to figure it out.'
Ed lay asleep in his bed, snoring soundly. It was a peaceful weekend morning, which, in short, meant no work for him whatsoever. He had the freedom to sleep in as late as he wished. The world showed no signs of waking the alchemist from his slumber prematurely. The birds outside were softly chirping, and it seems that everyone in his neighborhood was in agreement with the blond's lazy outlook.
He wouldn't have been woken up under normal circumstances, but he wasn't living under normal circumstances. A loud banging sound caused the blond's eyes to fly open in shock, Ed sputtering and flailing about as he was rudely awoken from his slumber. Landing in a heap on the floor, Ed angrily got up, hastily grabbing the faux skin covers for his automail. Awkwardly bouncing down the hall, he tried to pull one cover over his leg, he soon reached the front door. Quickly giving himself a once over to make sure his automail was well hidden, he slowly opened the door.
He was surprised to find none other than Ryohei, Kouyou, Enma, and Tsuna, Reborn standing atop his right shoulder. Rubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes, he stared at the guests standing on his front porch, "So... Why are you here exactly?"
"Well, those two boxers destroyed Dame-Tsuna's room in order to get out of solving a problem," Reborn replied simply, "And in order to not inconvenience Mama, I thought it would be rather wise to request your services."
Ed sighed, running his hands through his loose hair, "Fine, fine. It's not like I planned on enjoying my weekend. However, I am going to have my breakfast before we go. You just woke me up..."
"We gathered," Reborn said, gesturing to the teacher's sloppy state of dress.
Ed stepped back from the door, inviting the group into his house. When everyone was inside, he closed the door with a dull click and headed towards the kitchen, "Make yourself comfortable... I guess. Do you guys want anything to eat since I'm making something anyway?"
At the groups collective negative, he busied himself in the kitchen, making his breakfast.
Kouyou looked around, whistling softly, "Pretty nice place for a teacher's salary..."
Hearing the comment from the kitchen, Ed called back, "What can I say? I'm a frugal person."
Turning to face the other four at the table, Kouyou mumbled, "I still don't see how a teacher's going to help us rebuild your trashed room."
"You'd be surprised with what Edward-sensei can do... It's pretty shocking actually," Tsuna replied, shyly rubbing the back of his head.
"I'll believe it when I see it."
When his breakfast was all made, Ed walked over and sat down at the table, wasting no time in digging in.
"Your hair... is rather long isn't it?" Kouyou said hesitantly, "It's like... girls' hair almost."
Not stopping his eating, Ed reached over with one hand and whacked the teen upside the head. Swallowing quickly, he replied, "Guys can have long hair too, dumb ass."
Ed stood in the doorway of Tsuna's room, dressed in casual attire with his hair pulled back in a loose braid. He couldn't help how his eye twitched in annoyance. Glaring at the two fidgeting boxers, he heavily hit them both on the head, "Just how did you idiots manage to do this?!"
The two teens were sprawled on the floor, murmuring quietly to each other, "Your teacher... or whatever the heck he is... has quite the punch..."
Ryohei nodded, "It's quite... extreme."
Turning to face his project, Ed sighed, "Well the sooner I get this over with the better."
He slowly stepped into the wreckage, eyes closing as he focused on the task at hand. A slight grey aura surrounded him, practically filling the space with energy. Four of the five onlookers couldn't help the slight awe they felt at the sight. Magnifying the energy, Ed focused on gathering the needed materials and then deconstructing them, then rearranging them in precise ratios and formations. When he opened his eyes, the room was back to normal. Heck, even the bed was made.
Turning back to face the other people present, he smiled, "Your walls and windows might be slightly thinner Tsuna, as many of the materials were blown out onto the street and who knows where. Whatever those two did, it sure was effective. And Kouyou, you might want to pick your jaw off the floor."
Kouyou opened and closed his mouth a few times before straightening his glasses, "That was rather... impressive."
Ed smirked at the compliment, "No big deal."
The teacher walked over to his brunet pupil's bed and sat down, staring at the four people by the door, "So, I'm assuming that the whole 'Protect Decimo' plan that Gokudera proposed is in full effect now?" he asked, emphasizing his question by looking at Enma and Kouyou in turn.
Tsuna sighed slightly, entering his now repaired room, Reborn still seated on his shoulder. He plopped down beside his table and turned to look at his teacher, "It's almost... overwhelming in a way..."
"Is that anyway to talk about the people who're helping you?" Kouyou said in a snide fashion, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tsuna frantically waved his hands, "No, I'm grateful you'd even be willing to do such a thing! It's just that..." he trailed off, not really sure how to phrase what he wanted to say.
The four teens continued with idle chatter, Reborn remaining silent on Tsuna's shoulder. Ryohei and Kouyou often got into quick and petty arguments, Enma and Tsuna carrying on a much quieter conversation with each other. Ed couldn't help but smile at the scene, feeling his own memories of when he was in their shoes. However, those moments were a long, long time ago. He would waste time with his friends just like them, but now he realizes that he should've done more worthwhile things with them when he had the chance. Ed let too many moments slip by, wasted. He foolishly believed that those times would last forever, but they were slipped by all too quickly, greatly dwarfed by the centuries he spent alone.
Ed chuckled, a hint of sadness detectable in it, "Youth, it seems, is truly wasted on the young."
The people sitting in the room turned to look at him, with varying stages of confusion. Enma hesitantly spoke up, "But aren't you rather young yourself."
Ed laughed a little louder, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "I guess you could say that."
After the initial confusion at the teacher's comment, they returned to their conversation. Tsuna's eyes, however, kept on flitting back to stare at his teacher every now and again. A few thoughts plagued his mind, 'Just what is Edward-sensei thinking? Is he hiding something from us?' Tsuna shook his head to clear his mind of such thoughts. Nothing could be gained from pointlessly doubting and questioning your friends.
A few hours of simple small talk pass by before Nana quietly knocks on Tsuna's door, stepping inside, "Dinner is ready! Oh, Elric-san, I didn't see you arrive! Feel free to join us if you like!"
Flashing a charming smile, Ed replied, "Just Edward or Ed is fine, Sawada-san, and I'd be delighted to join you. I've heard nothing but great things about your cooking."
Nana smiled, "Well Edward-san, feel free to call me Nana," On that note, she turned and exited the room.
Kouyou stared at the teacher in slight confusion, "He sure can pull off quite the personality switch when he needs to."
Tsuna chuckled humorlessly, "You haven't seen the half of it..."
The group made their way to the kitchen downstairs, seeing a plethora of various foods lining the table. Nana called over to them, "Feel free to dig in! I need to run to the store really quickly for something I need. I'll be back soon."
They could hear the dull sound of the front door closing as they began to eat. Tsuna fidgeted slightly in his seat before speaking up, "Um, Kouyou-san, who will be guarding me tomorrow?"
Kouyou looked up, rice sticking to the corners of his mouth, "Ah, Mizuno will be the one guarding you tomorrow, I believe."
Tsuna paled slightly, "The Mizuno-kun that's guarding me tomorrow is that delinquent looking guy right?!"
"Mizuno's not that bad," Kouyou trailed off, "Though he is known as 'The Hospitalizing Dynamite Devil Kaoru'."
"I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO RELAX AT ALL DURING THE WEEKEND IF THAT SCARY GUY WAS WATCHING ME ALL DAY!"
Looking up with food stuffed in his mouth, Ed gave a slight not, "Valid point. That guy was pretty huge. Will he even fit in your house?" His comment was slightly muffled by all the food in his mouth.
Reborn looked at his student and began to state a solution, "Who said that he has to come here to guard you? Why don't you go to be guarded instead? The place he is at should be pretty open and so you shouldn't feel too restricted."
Tsuna's tension lessened slightly as he turned to face his tutor, "Where is it?"
Tsuna ran up to the baseball field, panting slightly. It turns out that Mizuno actually ended up joining the baseball club, as opposed to what he initially proposed. He saw Yamamoto kneeling in the catcher's position, his mitt raised and ready to catch any pitch the rather tall teen threw at him.
As he approached the duo, Tsuna raised a hand in greeting, "Yamamoto-kun! Mizuno-kun!"
"Hey, Tsuna!" Yamamoto called over to him, "I'll be guarding you too! The kid filled me in to everything."
Tsuna nodded in understanding. In a few moments, he noticed something missing and looked around in confusion, "Where's the rest of the baseball team?"
Yamamoto shrugged, replying nonchalantly, "They ran off when they heard that Mizuno was coming."
The brunet tean deadpanned at the answer, shocked out of his slight stupor when he heard someone yelling at him. Turning he saw Gokudera running up to him, "Good morning, tenth! I'll leave the baseball idiots to guard this area, while I head off to patrol the perimeter."
Tsuna sighed, 'He's so natural at this to a worrying degree...'
Watching as the two baseball players continued to talk to each other by what exactly they'd be going over this practice, Tsuna zoned out, lost in his own thoughts, 'I thought I'd be able to think of ways to get out of the Inheritance Ceremony this weekend, but it just keeps getting more and more out of hand.'
He was once more startled from his daydreams by a slightly high pitched voice behind him, "Don't tell me you're thinking up pitiful ideas. To distract you, I brought along your equally pitiful friend."
Looking behind him, Tsuna saw Enma and Reborn approaching, the red head out of breath and panting heavily.
"Enma-kun!" He approached his friend, noticing a smeared, sticky red substance clinging to his cheek, "Is that... sauce on your cheek...?"
Enma looked away awkwardly, replying, "I was having some Takoyaki, but a dog tried to steal them from me and I had to have Reborn save me..."
Tsuna just stared at his fidgeting friend, mouth hanging a gape and overall just at a total loss, 'A dog tried to steal food from you...? Even I've never had that happen to me...'
"What's all the commotion out here for?"
Turning, Tsuna saw Edward approaching them, exiting the school building, "Edward-sensei? Why are you here so early today?"
Edward sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his bangs, "Well, the school called an emergency staff meeting on a weekend for who knows what reason. I was so tired I didn't even pay attention, and I fell asleep, so then I got a lecture for falling asleep. Uptight teachers are pretty scary when they're wound up too tightly. I was going to head home... but it seems like something here is pretty interesting, judging by the 'crowd' out here on a weekend."
"That's quite the... chain of events..." Tsuna replied.
"Ah, Enma-kun, you've got some sauce on your face," Pulling out a handkerchief of sorts, Ed passed it over to the red haired teen who took it with a silent thank you.
The group turned to face the field, watching as Yamamoto called out cheerily, "Let's get started!"
He paused for a few moments, waiting for Mizuno to pitch. When the teen gave no sign of throwing the ball, Yamamoto smiled softly and spoke up, "What's wrong, Mizuno? Throw! Show me a good Pitch and prove to the rest of the team what you're made of! If you show them some impressive pitching, I know the team will change their minds!"
Mizuno clicked his tongue and dropped the baseball, "This is a waste of time!"
Tsuna jumped at the outburst, Ed let out a slight whistle, "Dang..."
Yamamoto tilted his head to the side slightly in a silent question. A few moments pass before he speaks, "What, do you not want to throw, Mizuno?"
He only offered a silent nod.
"But I thought you wanted to be pitcher?"
Looking at his shoes, Mizuno offered a silent nod once more.
Yamamoto chuckled softly, "What's that supposed to mean? Then take your time and I'll just wait until you feel ready to pitch, okay?"
This light hearted response caused Mizuno to look up in slight shock.
Tsuna stared in disbelief at his friend, "Yamamoto really is amazing... he can be kind to anyone..."
Edward nodded in agreement, "Number one pep talker award goes to Yamamoto. I don't think I've ever seen that kid not be nice to someone..."
Enma offered his own nod of agreement.
Mizuno looked down at his shoes once more, voice surprisingly soft as he spoke, "It's just that... I'm embarrassed... To pitch in front of people..."
Yamamoto's eyes widened, Edward almost choked on air, and Tsuna just shrieked, "What the heck?!"
Reborn stared calmly at the pitcher, "A shy one..."
Yamamoto stood up, smiling, "I see! So you get nervous when other people are watching! Then let's get over this fear together!"
Reborn spoke up from his spot on a bench to the side, "How about imagining that the people watching you are vegetables? You wouldn't be nervous if you thought you were surrounded by pumpkins and tangerines, would you?"
Mizuno looked disheartened as he spoke, "I tried that too... but I still get nervous..."
Reborn sighed, looking up as Yamamoto walked over to him, "My little league coach once told me that the reason the trick never worked is because I couldn't picture the people completely as vegetables."
Reborn hummed slightly, before smirking, "I might have an idea..." Pulling out a phone from his pocket, Reborn wasted no time in dialing a number.
A few minutes passed before they heard hurried footsteps in the distance. Ed looked behind them and saw none other than Haru running up to meet them, "Nice to meet you! I'm Miura Haru, and I go to Midori Girl's Middle School! Thanks for taking care of our Tsunayoshi-kun."
She turned to Reborn and smiled, "I brought what you requested, though the costumes might need to be fixed up slightly where rips and tears are."
Yamamoto smiled broadly and walked over to the pile of items the young girl had brought with her, "Woah! I'm surprised you had vegetable costumes!"
"Vegetable costumes?" Tsuna asked in disbelief, "You don't mean to say that we'll be wearing these things?"
More people approached the group, and Reborn smirked, "We needed a larger crowd too, for the full effect."
"It looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us though," Haru sighed, "They really are rather beaten up..."
"Tsuna and Enma, you help too."
"No no no no," Edward walked up to the group, "I've got this, don't worry. And besides..." He pointed at the two whom were just called out to, "I don't trust those two with needles. They could stab their eyes or something and mending nerves and veins and flesh isn't exactly my forte."
He stepped towards the costumes and briefly looked around at the sizes of the people who would be wearing them. Once he had a clear design in his head, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the material in front of them. Opening them once more, he gazed at his handiwork, smirking, "There, practically seamless recovery!"
Mizuno was slightly shocked at the ability, but didn't let it show. Instead, he turned to Yamamoto, "All this... for my sake?"
"Come on! We're friends, so it's no big deal," Yamamoto laughed happily.
After everyone made a quick wardrobe changed, they gathered around and watched as Mizuno readied to pitch.
"What do you think, Kaoru? Do we look like vegetables?" Yamamoto chuckled.
"Feels like... I'm in a bowl of salad..."
"Right on! Let's throw now!"
Mizuno nodded slightly, stepping into position on the pitcher's mound. Staring at his target, he wound up his arm, lifting up his leg in preparation. In a swift, smooth motion, he spun, flinging the ball with brute force towards it's target. Yamamoto hurriedly caught it, skidding back slightly. He looked into his mitt to remove the ball, but was surprised to find nothing there.
Ed gaped, his own jaw dropping for once, 'THIS STRAIGHT UP DEFIES ALL SCIENTIFIC LAWS I KNOW!'
Reborn just whistled, slightly surprised at the incredible force exerted by the teen, 'Mizuno Kaoru... Just what is he made of...'
LunarFallenStar: Anyway, hope you actually liked that... And that it wasn't too terrible or dumb... Well review responses now.
Crimsonlocket: Thanks for that, Crimson. Luckily the tumor's not as bad now, but it's still pending.
diskidi: Thanks for your kind review! My bro's doing a lot better now, and I'm hoping that you liked this chapter as well. And I'm so happy you read my work so often. It's rather humbling that people enjoy my dumb attempts at writing!
YuyaKnightwriter97: Well, here's the new chapter and I hope you liked it!
UniCryin: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the chapter length, it's rather tiring to write for a long time, but it's something I enjoy!
HebaAce: I'm planning to have Ed take a lot more prominent role in this arc, as it directly correlates to Ed's past. And since he's not exactly the type to let sleeping dogs lie, I'm hoping I'll be able to portray him taking more charge, per se.
archsage328: The Shimon arc is one of my personal favorites as well, if not the upmost favorite for me. I really do hope they get around to animating the rest of the show, but at this point I don't know if they will, sadly. And on the two points you brought up, I have to agree. I believe that the ninth gen. guardian isn't deceased, as it probably would've been brought up at some time, but as he's only injured (severely) it probably wouldn't be that important to hit on fully. And with the flame, I'm not exactly sure, but I do like your theory!
Lucenthia: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'm so glad you like my story!
Guest: Well, to the various guests that reviewed, thank you very much for taking the time to do so. But in address to two specifically, I planned to keep Ed on more of the side, because personally many of these matters don't affect him too strongly I guess. However, during the Shimon arc, I am planning to make him a more... influential character, put simply, and he will be taking charge and such.
AnnaBella07: Thank you for such a kind review, and don't worry, I don't plan on abandoning this fic, however it might take some time to finish depending on updating speed.
